Lantern in the Woods is the new album from musician and multi-instrumentalist Misha Sultan – a project that marks an important milestone for the artist. It is his first work conceived and realized as a coherent, unified statement, from the earliest ideas and sounds to the final mastering.

The story of the album began back in 2021 in Saint Petersburg, during studio jam sessions with Anton (Mårble), Vova Luchanskiy, and Nikita (Minereed). These live
improvisations eventually led to the formation of the collective Sri Primat and left a significant imprint on Misha Sultan’s solo sound. Some of the instrumental parts on the album were recorded during this period, preserving the spirit of spontaneity and open dialogue between the musicians.

Later, after moving to Thailand, Misha recorded the second half of the material. These tracks absorbed the atmosphere of southern nights, tranquility, and comfort – bringing a distinct “bedroom jazzy vibe”, a touch of sentimentality and gentle melancholy into the music.

The album offers a beautiful blend of jazz and various other influences. At its heart, it’s a search for balance between memories and the present moment, between nature and the city, between the light of the lantern and the darkness of the woods.

“It was especially important to me that my friends and close people were involved in this album. Their presence gave the music that warmth and personal feeling I value so much. My brother Zhenya (Dyad), Anton (Mårble), Vova Luchanskiy — they all contributed a part of themselves to these tracks, as did Nina Livanova, who recorded vocal parts for several songs,” says Misha.

Lantern in the Woods is a soft and sincere work, where all things intertwine naturally.

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Reissue via XL Recordings!

'Erotic Probiotic 2' is Nourished By Time’s debut album on Scenic Route, following up from last year’s two track EP, Erotic Probiotic, which had support from Jamz Supernova on BBC 1Xtra and NTS shows; Yaeji, Shy One, Macca, Anu, and more. 2023 has already been a busy year for the singer/songwriter/producer, supporting 4AD’s sardonic post-punk band, Dry Cleaning on their 20 stop tour of North America. As well as remixing their playful album track, Gary Ashby, dropping on March 1st. Nourished By Time also collaborates with progressive electronic artist Yaeji on her debut album, With A Hammer, out on April 7th on XL Recordings.

Erotic Probiotic 2 showcases the range of this rising Baltimore pop star, telling his transformative story through impeccable songwriting, infectious ear worm melodies, vivid storytelling and intimate DIY production. The album traveresses a broad spectrum of sound, allowing his songwriting to dictate the ever changing mood he orchestrates; whether it is love or loss. Sitting somewhere between indie, pop, alternative RnB, ultimately carving out a fresh sound defined by his vulnerable vocals, raw guitar licks and undeniable groove. Quantum Suicide is the lead single with a bitter sweet sentiment brought to life through fuzzy shoegaze guitar riffs, glimmering synths and beautiful melancholy vocals, leaving you with a dizzying sense of possibilities.

The album was recorded mostly in 2021 - 22 in his parents basement in Baltimore. “At this time, I was in a beautiful and formative relationship that was running its course. Songs like ‘Unbreak My Love’ and ‘Rain Water Promise’ come from that place of dealing with the end. A story of lovers parting and making sense of the battling feelings of resentment and longing. As well as the existential aspect of having to end of a relationship. All while with dealing long-time depression, songs like lead single “Quantum Suicide” and “Shed That Fear” exhibit the importance of choosing to live and that getting out of pits of despair requires tremendous amounts of effort and intention and is a very difficult lifelong task. Whilst other tracks such as ‘The Fields’ and ‘Daddy’ and ‘Workers Interlude’ are attempts at trying to aim my anger at productive targets like Capitalism which both songs are a critique of.”

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Japanese jazz/breakbeat, folkloric mega-rarity as hallowed the likes of DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Egon and co. Uniquely combines traditional Japanese instrumentation with Western jazz influences.

Minoru Muraoka plays ‘shakuhachi’ – a traditional bamboo Japanese flute – joined by his band members accompanying him on the ‘koto’ (strings) and ‘tsutsumi’ (drum) amongst others, to create their ‘Shakuhachi Jazz’ sound.

Official Mr Bongo reissue. Gatefold single LP.

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SML is bassist Anna Butterss (Jeff Parker, Daniel Villarreal, Makaya McCraven), synthesist Jeremiah Chiu (Ariel Kalma, Marta Sofia-Honer), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Nate Mercereau, Marquis Hill), percussionist Booker Stardrum (Amirtha Kidambi, Carl Stone, Lee Ranaldo, Patrick Shiroishi), and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann (Sam Wilkes, Meg Duffy, Perfume Genius). Their debut album Small Medium Large began as a collection of long-form improvisations recorded during two separate two-night stands at beloved Highland Park venue ETA

Tracklist
1.1Rubber Tree Dance
1.2Industry
1.3Herbie for Commercials
1.4Search Bar Hi Hat
1.5Window Sill Song
1.6Switchboard Operations
1.7Soft Sand
1.8Three Over Steel
1.9Chasing Brain
1.10History of Communication
1.11Feed The Birds
1.12Greg's Melody
1.13Dolphin Language

https://listen.k7.com/b7d4a647-d93c-4459-a87e-b6db0d5c8f29

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Field Records proudly presents the first complete vinyl edition of Monolake’s seminal excursion into experimental dub techno, Hongkong. Originally released on the now-classic Chain Reaction label in 1997, this collection of early singles by Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles has gone on to become a vital listening experience in its own right - a genre classic alongside the other groundbreaking works from the likes of Porter Ricks and Vladislav Delay.

The tracks which make up Hongkong were made while Henke and Behles studied computer science and immersed themselves in Berlin’s techno scene. Their early forays into computer-based music production were enabled by the use of the Max/MSP programming environment, forming a backdrop to the landmark work they would undertake in developing the Ableton Live DAW. Henke and Behles travelled to Hong Kong in 1996 to attend the annual International Computer Music Conference, and while there recorded extensive field recordings. These recordings became the glue that pieced together their collaborative tracks into a fluid listening experience for a CD-compilation at Chain Reaction’s request.

While absolutely rooted in the embryonic sound of European dub techno, Monolake’s early work possesses a back room, headphone-ready demeanour which lends itself to the album listening experience. In the cascade of rhythms created by precision engineered delays and subliminal, expansive spatial world building occurring throughout Hongkong, the stage is set for a full and thorough immersion. Before the Monolake sound progressed into a more pointillist form of computer music as Henke’s solo project, Hongkong presented a gritty, grainy sonic still tied in some way to the traditional methods of techno production, even as the artists’ ideas were sending the sequencing and arranging in exciting new directions.

Remastered and presented for the first time as a complete double 12” package, this is the definitive edition of an essential work in the evolution of experimental techno. As Henke himself explains, “twenty-five years later, this record still holds immense value to me in many ways.”

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The first full-length studio album by Richie Hawtin, who was 22 years old at the time and living in Windsor, Canada. It was first released in June 1993 under the F.U.S.E. name on Hawtin’s own Plus 8 Records imprint and again on Warp Records as part of the ‘Artificial Intelligence’ series.
Remastered back in 2019, the reissue features original artwork from Richie’s brother, Matthew Hawtin.

Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Richie Hawtin aka F.U.S.E. would make frequent excursions across the border to Detroit in search of record shops and new clubbing experiences. Soon he would take up a residency at the small subversive club The Shelter and develop his skills as a DJ. Together with his close friend John Acquaviva they launched Plus 8 Records in 1990 to release their own creations and to support other up-and-coming, like-minded techno producers who were in search of a musical home. Richie started recording under the cryptic alias F.U.S.E.- abbreviation for ‘Futuristic Underground Subsonic Experiments’ - and released seminal tracks like ‘F.U.’ and ‘Substance Abuse’ (1991). The From Our Minds To Yours compilations released on Plus 8 would make a mark on the developing techno scene in Detroit and beyond. At age 22 Hawtin released his first full-length studio album under his F.U.S.E. pseudonym. Dimension Intrusion was largely inspired by science fiction films and a collection of available vintage synthesizers and drum machines. Playing with their electronic yet warm sound effects, the young producer in turn discovered some of his favourite instruments. His heady manipulations of the Roland TB-303 acid sound helped develop an influential style that would have a lasting impact on electronic music. The tracks on Dimension Intrusion range from club focused techno to soundtrack ambience and can be seen retrospectively as experiments leading to what would soon become Hawtin’s trademark acid-laced Plastikman sound.

- Spec Black 2LP Vinyl in polylined inner sleeves in wide spine outer sleeve with 12” poster insert

[4th October 2023] Today, Warp announces reissues of two more albums from their Artificial Intelligence series: Dimension Intrusion by F.U.S.E. (aka Richie Hawtin) and Ginger by Speedy J. Both records were originally released in 1993, and these new vinyl editions mark their 30th anniversary.

Although unique records by distinctive artists, there are some strands that tie the two albums together. Dimension Intrusion was the fifth album in the Artificial Intelligence series, originally released on 7 June 1993, whilst Ginger was the sixth album in the series, coming out two weeks later on 21 June. Whereas the rest of the series focused on elevating underground electronic producers from the UK such as Autechre, B12, Black Dog Productions and Polygon Window, these two entries in the series added an international dimension, representing North American and Northern European takes respectively on the techno genre. Both albums were also released in Canada on Richie Hawtin’s own fabled Plus 8 label, with Paap putting out a domestic edition of Ginger in the Netherlands on his Beam Me Up! imprint, echoing the accidental Star Trek reference in Warp’s own name (actually a shortening of original name Warped). Both artists would go on to record for NovaMute, a dance music subsidiary of Mute Records.

The concept that unites this music above all however is the idea of crafting electronic music for home listening, charting the evolution of a musical form that had started out purely dancefloor-focused. Both Paap and Hawtin had started to make tracks with this idea in mind independently, and it chimed perfectly with the series that Warp founders Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett were putting together concurrently to showcase exactly this development. The compilation that gave the series its title and kicked things off, housed in a striking sleeve featuring a robot reclining in an armchair, surrounded by album sleeves, succinctly communicated the central idea with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek humour. It was after Paap had contributed to Artificial Intelligence with Speedy J’s “De-Orbit”, alongside Richie Hawtin making an appearance using his UP! pseudonym, that Mitchell and Beckett invited them to come on board to the series with full artist albums for release on Warp.


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Repress!

Self-titled debut album of Habitat Ensemble, a new musical collective headed up by musician Marius Houschayer.

The collective originates deep in the south of the Czech Republic, on the border with Austria, amongst the idyllic hills and fields of a village called Maríž, where a summer school of outsiders and creatives have been gathering since the 1990s. Enriching each other through intercultural exchange, summer school participants have created a unique gathering of artistic expression and interdisciplinary research.

Originally grown out of the idea of translating the unique energy of the community and its environment into a musical journey where each member makes their own individual contribution, during the summer of August 2022, The Habitat Ensemble became an exciting vehicle for connection and co-creation.

Whether it be musical experimentation, composition, poetry, song or dance, Habitat Ensemble, having started as a series of multidisciplinary workshops, slowly developed into a unique musical recording. The album serves to conjure the unique nature, community, experimentation surrounding the school and the collective’s search for harmony across all of these, both musical and spiritual.

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Repress!

at mule musiq, we’ve focused on shining light on the many aspects of what electronic music can be, putting out house, techno and ambient releases on our main label, while releasing alternative-leaning dance music through our endless flight imprint. but with the launch of our new label, studio mule, we are stepping away from electronic club music for a bit. the label will not be tied to a specific genre, as we will instead focus on releasing any kind of music that we feel is a little bit different and interesting, but somehow make sense in this day and age. for our first batch of releases, we will be focusing on japanese music.

to be honest, i have been watching the recent rise of global interest in japanese music with a skeptical eye, not sure of how to feel about all these labels overseas licensing great albums that were birthed in our country. but then, i was told by somebody i greatly respect that i should do something similar with mule, and put our own spin on it, which sounded like a good idea to me. after a period of procrastination, i finally got around to doing it. we are starting things off with a compilation of japanese disco, boogie and soul music that we selected from a modern dance music perspective — the kind of songs that we feel would intrigue music fans across the world.

at first, i started seeking authentic-sounding disco that sound like it could have been recorded in the states, but after struggling to get licensing rights for many of those tracks, i started to wonder if that was really the direction we should be going in. when we start new labels or projects, we often come up with the title or artwork first, before deciding on the actual music. we came up with the title midnight in tokyo first, which dictated that we needed to find music that would be a perfect soundtrack to listen to at night in tokyo. we ended up compiling a selection of tracks that you could both listen to at home, and play in clubs at certain time slots. the compilation also ended up sounding a lot more pop than we initially imagined…

during the selection process, we did not care whether the tracks have been reissued already or not, and how rare the original copies of the records were. our sole purpose was to gather a handful of songs from across labels, major or otherwise, that we felt could be listened to for many years to come — even after this whole japanese music trend dies down. although we put together this release mainly for listeners outside of japan, the compilation can also be a chance for japanese music lovers to rediscover the greatness of domestic music, as we did during the process.

the compilation starts off with the afro disco classic “mi mi africa” by harmonica player nobuo yagi, which was also included in the compilation mastercuts.

“silver top” is a jazzy fusion disco taken from composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist nobuyuki shimizu’s first album, which he released when he was 19. the track features singer epo, whom he worked with many times over the years as an arranger.

“samba night” is by vocalist keisuke yamamoto and his band piper, from their masterpiece second album summer breeze. a delightful city pop number that should appeal to tatsuro yamashita fans.

“akogareno sundown” is a japanese soul classic, sang by singer haruko kuwana (the sister of well-known musi-cian masahiro kuwana). recorded in hawaii and produced by mackey feary band, known for the soulful classic “a million stars.”

“koiwa saiko (i’m in love)” is a mellow and groovy track by singer aru takamura, the great-grandchild of sculptor kouun takamura, whose son kotaro takamura is a famed poet and sculptor. can be thought of as japan’s answer to cheryl lynn’s “got to be real.”

“what the magic is to try” is a cult electropop track by honma express, a project helmed by producer kanji honma. hailed as japan’s trevor horn, he is also known as the producer of legendary techno pop band tpo.

“colored music” is a song by colored music, a duo of pianist ichiko hashimoto and her partner atsuo fujimoto, who have gone on tour with ymo. taken from colored music’s sole album, the japanese rare groove treasure is a mesh of new wave, synth pop and jazz influences.

the dubby electronic new wave disco “electric city” is a b side of pop idol group shohjo-tai’s debut 12” single, but the girls aren’t actually singing on it, making the instrumental one of japan’s greatest ’80s dance tracks.

“love is the competition” is a breezy disco jam by okinawa-born bilingual artist hitomi tohyama. featured on her album next door, the song’s melody seems like an interpolation of the whispers’ “it’s a love thing.”

taken from mariah project’s diva yumi murata’s first album, “krishna” is a funky and soulful rockin’ disco cut.reminiscent of chaka khan’s “i know you, i live you,” “live hard, live free” is a song by jazz vocalist eri ohno who is known for her work with dj krush and singing on the soundtrack to anime rupin the third.

“rocket 88” is a melancholic disco number by singer minnie. though the track was released through sapporo’s independent label paradise records, the superb production quality suggests otherwise.

closing out the 13-track compilation is japanese disco staple “tokyo melody,” sang by half african and half swedish american singer shoody and backed by tetsuji hayashi’s disco band the eastern gang.

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Endlessness is a deep dive into the cycle of existence. The 45-minute album delicately spans 10 tracks with a continuous arpeggio playing throughout, creating an expansive, mesmerising celebration of life cycles and rebirth. Following Sinephro’s critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Space 1.8, Endlessness further elevates her as a transcendent and multi-dimensional composer, beautifully morphing jazz, orchestral, and electronic music.

The album was composed, produced, arranged, and engineered by Sinephro. Performing on the album are Sheila Maurice-Grey, Morgan Simpson, James Mollison, Lyle Barton, Nubya Garcia, Natcyet Wakili, and Dwayne Kilvington, joined by Orchestrate’s 21 string players.

The album will be available on black 2LP vinyl with d-side etching as well as CD.

- Specs Black 2LP vinyl with etching to d-side in printed inner sleeves in 5mm spine sleeve. Housed in PVC wallet with flap.

Tracklist:
A1. Continuum 1
A2. Continuum 2
B1. Continuum 3
B2. Continuum 4
B3. Continuum 5
B4. Continuum 6
B5. Continuum 7
B6. Continuum 8
C1. Continuum 9
C2. Continuum 10

Praise for Space 1.8:

"An ambient jazz classic" - The Guardian

"A benchmark in ambient jazz featuring outstanding players and delicately woven arrangements." - 8.3 ‘Best New Music’ Pitchfork

"Music so vast could feel lonely, but the sense of smallness one feels listening to Nala’s music is humbling and reassuring; the magnitudes of beauty we can create are unbound." - Jazzwise

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