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Posm is a convergence of talents, emerging from a series of spontaneous jams that took place nestled amongst the hills of Kuringgai country. These sessions continued for two months, weaving hypnotic, incantatory suites through improvisation. The instrumental palette rotates between effortlessly blending acoustic and electronic instrumentation into a heady, organic synthesis, creating sounds that harmonise with the verdant landscape and flourishing fauna of the Bilgola hills. The music itself is an unforced fusion, finding the synchronicity in their improvisations. It feels exploratory, and you can follow along with them in the shared joy of making music in tune with each other and their surroundings.


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Selected Songs 1997-2003 compiles some of the finest moments in the recording history of Hydroplane, the Melbourne-based indie-pop three-piece that operated alongside The Cat’s Miaow through the second half of the nineties. It’s the third release in what feels, now, like a loosely planned series by World Of Echo, documenting the music made by this group of friends in Melbourne sharehouses (The Cat’s Miaow’s Songs ’94-’98, 2022), or in the case of The Shapiros (Gone By Fall, 2023), while traversing the International Pop Underground.

Hydroplane would be familiar to anyone already following these breadcrumb trails – Andrew Withycombe, Bart Cummings and Kerrie Bolton were the group’s core, all members of The Cat’s Miaow. With Cat’s Miaow drummer Cameron Smith itinerant, having moved to London, the trio used this opportunity to expand their music. It’s a subtle, but important shift. If The Cat’s Miaow was about the perfect, minimalist, two-minute pop song, Hydroplane’s music was far more open-ended, embracing the loops and drones, sampled house-y shuffle beats, the burbling of a Roland Jupiter-4 synth, all of which the trio joined, effortlessly, to their endless capacity for moving, elegant melodicism.

They may have only planned to release one seven-inch single, but the sound Hydroplane created was so bewitching, so compelling, that the project’s lifespan ran for around half a decade, and they ended up releasing three albums, including a self-titled debut recently reissued by Efficient Space, and seven singles. There are all kinds of compelling things happening in the music compiled here – the hazy repetition of the gentler side of Krautrock is in here, somewhere, which also suggests Stereolab at their most intimate and disarmed; the gently drifting guitars, gauzy and oneiric, set the songs adrift and floating, each one lost in its own imagined, distracted world. Songs like “The Love You Bring” set indistinct tonal floats across dance rhythms, in a way not quite heard since My Bloody Valentine’s “Instrumental” – but with the added gift of Bolton’s gorgeous voice.

This loose coalition with dance music, and the quiet experimentalism at the heart of Hydroplane, also gestures towards peers like Hood, Acetate Zero and Other People’s Children, and releases on renegade labels like Wurlitzer Jukebox and Enraptured. Like those groups and labels, The Cat’s Miaow were reconciling independent pop music’s past – sweet melody and melancholy, chiming and droning guitars – with the futures promised by DIY electronics and nascent digitalia, the interface of indie and IDM that led to some of the underground’s most blissful, texturally swoonsome music. All that is here, but also, the poise of the melodies is pure Cat’s Miaow, though, with Bolton’s voice sailing, pacifically, over some of the most pared-down, gorgeous music made during their decade.

It was a time, too, when such music could make waves – “We Crossed The Atlantic”, one of their early singles, was picked up by John Peel, who played it repeatedly on his legendary radio show, the song reaching #13 on his 1997 Festive 50. That the song itself was a cover of a tune by 1960s Australian beatnik-pop-poet Pip Proud felt even more perfect – a group of outsiders paying tribute to another outsider, played on the radio one of the few broadcasters brave and human enough to take a chance on this music. But it was a time where everything was up for grabs, and genres were flowing into each other: folk songs went drone; indie re-discovered noise; ambient pop floated, again, out onto the dancefloor. And while they may have been sequestered away in Melbourne, Australia, Hydroplane felt core to that scene, a quietly driving force.

Compiling material from across their brief but mercurial career, this double album perfectly captures the magic and mystery of Hydroplane’s dreamlike, perfect pop songs.

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Dub techno don Steve O'Sullivan's Mosaic label is back with a new dubs series and vol 1 kicks things off with a real doozy on lovely red wax. The boss himself offers up a Bluetrain special edition dub of Hidden Sequence's 'Synapse' which is all icy lines and liquid rhythms which make you think of some frozen lake on a misty morning. Sub Basics (Temple of Sound, Lion Charge Records) opens up with a fresh dub laden track with rippling chords, tons of echo and rolling drums on 'Quarters.' Both are timeless dub outings, as you would expect from this label.

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Tracklisting:
A1 Sweetness - If We Will Take The Time
B1 Sweetness - Can't Tell You Why

Sales Note
Written and produced by Richard Misseijer and Jos Soethout (RIP) the two original songs were performed by the Dutch disco trio Sweetness. Released in 1982 is the perfect embodiment of timeless soul-boogie, quickly becoming essential for Radio and the finest DJs and later one of the genre's rarest records. The producing duo was prominently featured on the cult imprint Rams Horn, set up as a fellow US importer of outputs such as Brunswick and Prelude. The official reissue remastered from the original source comes courtesy of Richard Misseijer himself on the baby bird Emilian-Neapolitan label Baba Records.

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You know Krash Slaughta right? The man behind the recent wildly successful DOOM/Sugacubes mash-up LP Sugar-Coated DOOM, not to mention his unofficial remixes of the Wu’s K.R.E.A.M. and P.L.O. Style and collab. 45 with Phill Most Chill, Rebel Base? ‘Is he at it again?’ the monkey hears you ask. Yes, he is at it again, though the closest of the the three aforementioned releases to what he’s about to drop is the Wu remix 45. And what he’s about to drop is Diggin Deeper, not a single this time but a whole remix album of one of his (and the monkey’s!) all-time favourite hip-hop LPs – to wit, Niggamortis – more usually known as Six Feet Deep (especially in the U.S., though minus the best track under that name) by hip-hop supergroup Gravediggaz.

As many will know, this LP with its horror-movie fixated lyrics gave birth to a whole hip-hop sub-genre – that of ‘horrorcore.’ However, none of those who came after seemed to manage the lyrical humour of The RZArector, The Grym Reaper and The Gatekeeper (a.k.a. RZA, Poetic and Frukwan) and the only bit of production by The Undertaker (a.k.a. Prince Paul) that they seemed interested in was the sub-metal rap sludge of the shouty Bang Your Head – i.e. the LP’s one weak spot. But don’t worry, Krash isn’t interested in that sort of thing. Not only does he avoid rap-metal beats for Bang Your Head, he doesn’t use any on the LP at all – hurrah! What he does do is employ, arguably, as eclectic an array of sample sources as Prince Paul on the original – though with an entirely different end result. Bang Your Head with its apparently sixties garage band-derived beat for example is one of the standouts. The skeletal piano skank of 6 Feet Deep is another, while a beat featuring spaced-out eighties synths forms the new musical backdrop to Constant Elevation. Two more of the monkey’s favourites on this one are Here Comes The Gravediggaz, now underpinned by double-bass-led funk and the glorious inappropriately joyous bounce of Blood Brothers. The result? Your favourite cuts on this one might not be the same as your favourite cuts on the original. Two different versions of a much-loved LP, then; it’s why people remix hip-hop. All the vocal stems were created by Krash and the ultimate intention is to do a limited vinyl release. Cover art is by the Dead Residents’ Junior Disprol.

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Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market. Early house music in SA was no different.

When Ron ‘Robot’ Friedman, former bass player for local rockers Rabbitt, was winding down his label On Records in the early 90s, he reached out for new inspiration as the popularity of ‘bubblegum’ disco waned. For one of the label’s final releases he hired young DJ/producer Quentin Foster, obsessed with the new soulful house sound coming out of the US, to take the reins on a studio project dubbed Citi Express.

On Robot’s insistence it included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’ (from 1973’s Innervisions) as the title track. Foster set to work in his home studio, dubbed Tone Def, selecting and re-working other US and UK tracks — ‘It’s Too Late’ (originally released in 1989 by Kelli Sae), ‘Love is the Message’ (influenced by the 70s soul anthem and credited to Gamble & Huff but bearing a closer resemblance to Better Days’ 1990 release written by Steve Proctor), ‘People of The World’ (recorded by Sorell Johnson in the UK in 1990) and ‘Victim of Your Love’ (released in 1990 by Gary Vonqwest as ‘Victim of Love’) — adding some signature South African touches in the process that foreshadow the imminent rise of kwaito. One original composition was added for good measure, ‘Open Invitation’.

The result offers a glimpse into those early days of house, a uniquely South African take on a global sound that still resonates today — reissued for the first time on Afrosynth Records.

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Through 35 tracks stretched across three volumes, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac delivers the first ever deep dive into The Netherlands’ colourful house sound of the 90s and the under-celebrated producers and record labels whose music soundtracked a countrywide cultural movement.

Plenty of books and documentaries have celebrated the riotous raves, legendary clubs, high profile DJs and promoters who shaped The Netherlands’ hedonistic house scene throughout the 90s. Music For The Radical Xenomaniac dares to challenge these narratives by shining a light, for the first time, on those who created the scene’s kaleidoscopic, game-changing and globally influential soundtrack.

Leading the charge were a disparate group of key creators who not only forged links with their counterparts in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also became celebrated figures on the worldwide electronic underground (Eric Nouhan, Aad De Mooy, Orlando Voorn, Stefan Robbers and Steve Rachmad). Alongside key underground imprints (Stealth Records, Basic Energy, ESP, Prime and Outland Records included) and lesser-known producers, these pioneers gave flavour to a radical musical movement via open-mindedness, unheard-of creativity and a genuinely futuristic ethos. All of these artists and labels are represented throughout the series.

So, what defined this hedonistic house sound from The Netherlands? Stylistically, it was varied – as the series so emphatically proves – but was defined by a set of distinctive sonic characteristics: emotive musical motifs, high-frequency synth sounds, mellow basslines, pulsating rhythms and more than a touch of hallucinatory intent.

Volume 3 is packed with in-demand tracks and hard-to-find gems, including a previously CD-only cut from Dutch techno originator Orlando Voorn (1999’s ‘Still’), a genuine rave classic from The Hague by hardcore DJ Charly Lownoise as Fluxland, and a killer cut from prolific producer – and genuinely influential pioneer – Aad De Mooy AKA D-Shake. He’s represented on this volume by Paradise 3001 cut ‘Surfin The Cuban Waves’, which first appeared on ESP Records in 1993.

Other highlights include Direct Movement’s ‘Natural Chemistry’, a sought-after slow house cut produced by Dennis Buné, who had an enormous impact on the Dutch house scene as Jaimy, and ‘Delphi (Rewaxed)’ by NYX, a highly regarded and hard to find single from former new wave and synth-pop producer Bart Barten, and occasional studio partner Hanz Meyer.

Packed full of forward-thinking 90s gems remastered for today’s dance floors by Alden Tyrell, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac Volume 3 is a life-affirming celebration of a distinctly Dutch musical movement, whose rich textures and melodies are still inspiring new generations of DJs and dancers today.

Music For The Radical Xenomaniac was compiled and curated by long-serving Dutch scene stalwarts Christiaan Macdonald and Arne Visser and marks the debut of their new independent label, Amazing! Macdonald co-founded Rush Hour and Safe Trip, and also co-curated the acclaimed Welcome To Paradise and Planet Love compilations. Visser is known as selector and radio host Cinema Royale, and for his Dekmantel-released Italo-disco compilation, Profondo Nero.

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OFFICIAL 2024 REMASTERED REISSUE

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LP

Electronic

Tracklist:

SIDE A
1. Fallen Angel - DJ Python
2. Sword - Ana Roxanne
3. III - Ana Roxanne
4. The Veil I - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
5. Natural Wonder Beauty Concept - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
SIDE B
1. The Veil II - DJ Python
2. Young Adult Fiction - Ana Roxanne
3. Driving - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
4. Clear - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
5. World Freehand Circle Drawing - DJ Python


The life of the solo electronic artist is equal parts privilege and loneliness. You hurtle across
the sky to spend a few hours in a dark club, behind the decks or on stage at the microphone.
A brief grasp at transcendence, then the lights are on. Afterwards, you chat with friends you
made last month, last year, or an hour ago. Back on the train, the plane. A couple weeks of
this, then home. Repeat. It was against this backdrop that Ana Roxanne and DJ Python (Brian
Piñeyro) struck up a singular friendship and collaboration, culminating in the shared musical
language of their new project, Natural Wonder Beauty Concept.
Brian and Ana met in New York City in the winter of 2020. They’d respectively put out
critically acclaimed albums but due to extenuating global circumstances, the real-world
implications of those records were yet to be seen. Ana’s debut LP, Because of a Flower,
released in fall 2020, trades in both ethereality and directness, stretching timeless pop and
R&B forms into shimmering ambient magic. When the Bay Area-born, Mills-trained artist
sings, on record or live, time slows down and we enter a languorous yet ecstatic present.
The second album from Queens-based deep reggaeton innovator DJ Python, Mas Amable,
also subverts easy temporality. Released in spring 2020, Mas Amable floats in liminal space
—not quite a dance record, a downtempo record, nor an ambient record—unfurling at a
wistful pace, naturally suited for a strange period when each day felt the same yet wildly
different.

Well-loved albums aside, no one was playing shows, and a general listlessness and
disconnection prevailed. Roxanne had recently moved to New York, and while the pair had
previously interacted online and expressed admiration with each others’ work, they were
now able to meet in person for the first time. A quiet understanding developed between the
two artists on their initial hangs – they drove around the outskirts of NYC, listening to
Telegram by Björk, HTRK, Portishead, all manner of melancholy acoustic indie songs. They
pulled over in Filipino neighborhoods to eat. Periods of volubility were punctuated by
silence, laughter interspersed with wide-eyed pondering. For Brian and Ana, studio
experimentation was the instinctive extension of a friendship finding its feet.
The duo’s preternatural communication was present from the start. In early, open-ended
sessions at Gary’s Electric Studio in Greenpoint, they arrived on a moody, novel sound
encompassing trip-hop, synth-pop, brittle IDM drums, and samples of classical music.
Piñeyro threw out ideas at a breakneck pace. Ana impacted the sound with subtle,
monumental chord shapes and textures, eventually singing over strange and beautiful beats.
“There was lots of time to make music during the first year we worked on the project,” they
remember. “The winter in New York felt quite vacuous, so we spent a lot of time reflecting
on feeling too much and feeling nothing at all.”

Then, after a heady start on a prospective album, the world reopened. Roxanne and Piñeyro
parted ways for most of 2021. Ana embarked upon her first headlining tours across Europe,
North America, and Australia, quietly commanding large rooms. Python was a fixture in the
sleepless European electronic club circuit. Ana moved away from NYC and back to the Bay
Area. Alone again, they experienced the exhilaration and fatigue of the road. Their lives, and
the project, were in flux.

After a smattering of sessions on the rare occasions they found themselves in the same city,
Brian and Ana converged on Kranky label manager Brian Foote’s home studio in Los
Angeles in the summer of 2022. The songs were taking shape. Dreamy, densely layered
drum programming and atmosphere, redolent of Seefeel and Boards Of Canada, washed against jungle and oddball ambient landscapes. They listened to tracks-in-progress while
driving through the hills at night, lights flickering out in the expanse. The writing process was
entirely collaborative. Ana sang, Brian sang. They dashed off lyrics together, reflecting an
increasingly shared mental state. “You me you / falling in deeper blue / running through a
circle that surrounds you / mango jelly flowers all around you.”

Later that fall, the duo traveled back to Brooklyn for a last round of sessions with engineer
and producer Al Carlson (Oneohtrix Point Never, Jessica Pratt). Their longtime friend CZ
Wang (Parquet Courts, Huerco S.) mixed and finalized the songs in early 2023, and then a
name for the project materialized. Natural Wonder Beauty Concept was “something Ana saw
in the universe.” The self-titled album does not resemble the previous work of either artist –
Ana’s celebrated ~~~ EP and album; Piñeyro’s various releases as DJ Python and DJ Wey or
his recent EP with Ela Minus. Instead, it’s a sui generis work built block by block over two
years. It’s the longest DJ Python has ever worked on a record, and the shortest period of
time Ana has ever dedicated to a project.

Early on in Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, we hear Python singing for the first time, over a
woozy, Actress-influenced beat. He’s a portrait of alienation. “Isn’t it strange that I kind of feel
nothing at all,” he muses. Ana responds to Python’s call: “Wouldn’t you say that I’m a person…
giving you the time…” By the song’s conclusion, Roxanne’s vocals are an enveloping force
over a lilting street bass. “The project gave us a creative license of freedom,” the pair say. “It
was an opportunity to try anything out, whatever we happened to be feeling or influenced
by.” Python and Ana are both known for bittersweet, contemplative electronic music that
feels like a companion in quiet times. With their new project, the two artists have found their
natural, if unexpected, counterparts. Natural Wonder Beauty Concept is the sound of two
brilliant artists learning to be alone, together

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Walls & Birds‘ debut on the Berlin label Beatbude! Recorded with the aid of “The Whitest Boy Alive” keyboarder Daniel Nentwig at the local Butterama Recording Center, the vinyl is accompanied by a fold-out poster and a digital bonus track.

Much like their previous releases, “Less than a kilometer away” is Walls & Birds’ new take on popular music today. The first song “Wearing a Dress” touches on the theme of modern clothing habits, while questioning relationship patterns still widespread in popular music lyrics. The surprising element of new found love is also one of the themes of the B-side “Heads & Tales”, telling the story of a late night after work taxi ride with the chorus contemplating about the eternal either or question, plainly answered with: love. The cheerful upbeat digital bonus track “Summer 2002” is as meaningless as most nice pop songs these days.

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Repress!

Emotions Electric proudly presents a brand new new artist from Detroit! Bright Raven delivers a high quality EP of the finest Detroit Techno, Big TIP!

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