DJ Support: Chris Stussy, Luuk van Dijk

Oh yes, Kepler in the house!
I’ve been a huge fan for years and when he sent me some unsigned tunes I knew I had to sign these.
Three slamming house cuts + an epic remix by no other than S.A.M. that makes you drive 50mph over speed limits. More

After Kepler’s RM12016 release on R.A.N.D. Muzik, we welcome him to the sublabel for 4 tracks of club ready progressive and tech house. More

The ever reliable Constant Sound is back this week, with Burnski's imprint serving up a full LP release by the ascendant Leeds DJ/producer Matthew Farrow aka Kepler. A solid selection of retro techno cuts are featured on Freedom Mills, and all for maximum dance floor impact. From the bleep techno euphoria of 'Fold', or the classic '90s house motifs of "Contact" to the dusty rolling beats of 'Professor Pace' and the sunset breaks of "Era" - they are all sure to bang the party. Tip! More

R.A.N.D. Muzik Recordings welcomes Kepler to the label with 4 modern takes on the classic 90s UK tech house sound. More

HOARD012 from Kepler. 4 bombs that will destroy the dancefloor More

Hot off the back of a hugely successful PT09 release, Pathway Traxx turns to good friend and rising minimal star Kepler. With a little help from Manhiem's hottest property Fabe and label boss Niko Maxen, this release covers all bases when it comes to smooth grooves and dance floor bombs More

Rapid-fire with the releases like it’s effortless, minimal donny Velvet Velour steps up with his latest 4-tracker. Strong tech house currents in a similar vein to Kepler’s recent ‘Lowlife’ EP, but with extra zonk - it’s a head turning label debut.

The growing catalogue of releases belies a relatively short time spent producing. That said, he’s already a key proponent of the sound’s contemporary vanguard and XK035 might be the most vital effort to date. More

Repress!

In dialogue with both past and future, Slapfunk protégé Julian Anthony drops his debut solo EP and touches down with a 4-track invocation of classic 90s house templates.

Tripped out sensibility meets sci-fi tendency as ‘Full Moon Fever’ and ‘Open Minded’ deliver full-bodied exercises in total dance floor immersion. Fractal fuel for the vision quest, they’re sophisticated like the finest dream house while channelling the buoyant, jacking heft of timeless Chi-town material.

Wide eyed but tuff, ‘Stormy Tuesday’ rolls in with more of the groove-forward drive that typifies Anthony’s best work. It’s just the kind of immaculate gear we've come to expect from the Dutchman, and evoking golden era Dream 2 Science, ‘Virtual Reality’ ploughs the same furrow of propulsive, ‘90s-indebted house. Deep space projections radiating togetherness and warmth from the start. More

Qnete’s back in the building for a third X-Kalay release and it’s an anticipated return for the prominent purveyor of prog. Four diverse but coherently related tracks with pit stops in deep house and electro territory.

We open proceedings with a dose of the lysergic sound that has become his trademark since debuting on the label in 2021. Evoking ritual and ceremony, ‘Going Short‘ commences with choral pads that beckon to the altar. A slo-mo exercise in dancefloor hypnosis with trace echoes of bleep.

Where ‘Wrapped’ takes a turn toward mellow, ‘Stepperals’, like its A1 counterpart, recalibrates trance tropes into something more chugging and restrained. Another example of Qnete smudging his third eye on a tunnelling, wormhole flex.

And finally, the Leipzig native signs off with a nod to the American Midwest. Opening cerebral gates in a way that recalls classic Detroit In Effect, closing track ‘Circuit Friends’ taps into the futurist utopia imagined by Detroit electro’s pioneers. More

Familiar Strangers founder Remotif heralds the 30th release, complete with a digital-only remix from Youandewan.

The first half finds the Bristol mainstay at his deadliest. Harnessing pure proggy momentum, peak-time scorcher ‘In the Blink of a Cosmic’ comes hurtling out the tracks. ‘It’s Inside U’ then keeps pace with more of that driving, fractal pressure. Tunnelling wormhole torque straight out the nether-realm.

Comparatively restrained but no-less mind-altering, the B-side embarks on a full-blown vision quest. Where breaks-fuelled cut ‘For Love or Money’ nods to early ‘90s bleep, ‘In The Mo¨bius Strip Club’ ushers into a chugging, ritual-ready space. Proper third-eye dilating stuff. More

Repress!

Maara makes seductively uninhibited, proggy dance music. In fact, she’s quickly becoming one of its foremost exponents. Barely pausing for breath between releases, ‘Spiral 2 the Other Side’ finds the Montreal artist summoning divine feminine frequencies with a hypnotic, ritual-ready 4-tracker.

Some Maara productions are shot through with an almost radiant optimism, but here, darkroom throb prevails. Big on the gated vocals, ‘Spiral 2 the Other Side’ achieves cybernetic sensuality through trippy,

moire´-d electro, while ‘Take the Wheel Miss Sweetie’, with its driving, fathoms-deep approach, provides a direct take on the blueprint.

The Canadian assumes the role of high priestess on the flip. ‘Forget the world’ is a ritual incantation for bridging seen and unseen worlds; prog house magick with shades of ‘90s trance utopia. Rounding things off with a tunnelling electro tripper, ‘Doom Quest’ references the vortex-dwelling atmospherics of early tribal modes to mind-altering effect. More

Next up on X-Kalay it’s fresh heat from one of the finest among a current generation of prog-inclined producers. Guy Contact’s ‘Out of My Head (Into My Body)’ speaks to a sublime, utopian conception of dancefloor utility; dance music primed to achieve ascension through collective physical experience.

Navigating mystic, offbeat zones, Contact sets out his stall from the start. ‘Out of My Head (Into My Body)’ is as pristine as it is expansive, inducing trance states as trippy flourishes oscillate over driving rhythm in impeccable lysergic style. Then, with another dose of melt-on-the-mind groove, a radiant bliss-out arrives in the beautifully buoyant flex of ‘Sacred Mist’.

Taking its name from a part of the brain associated with emotional processes, ‘Amygdala Tongue Wobble’ propels into fractal introspection with dense, insistent pulse. Finally, ‘Optimystic’ finds Contact channelling new age spirits as he assumes the role of innerzone healer - wide-eyed downtempo to close things out. More

The first X-Kalay release of 2022 finds Melbourne’s Escape Artist traversing wormholes, complete with an assist from the ever-prolific Roza Terenzi.

Picking up where a 2019 Salt Mines debut left off, ‘Wanna Dance’ allows proggy tendencies to flourish across some mind-altering electro. Portals to higher planes of consciousness and uncharted star systems fling open as widescreen, celestial pads make way for lysergic climax.

Ramping up the intensity with her ‘Bassbin Mix’, Roza Terenzi jumps on remix duties; another electro workout, but this time more urgent, more propulsive. Bringing the tribal-breakbeat pressure in spades, it’s quintessential Terenzi.

More prog, but leaning further towards cosmic techno percolation, ‘Levitator’ finds mazy arpeggios in seemingly infinite ascent. ‘Time Knife’, on the other hand, is a radiant, beatless highlight. Deploying cascading synth arps to truly mesmeric effect, it sees the Antipodean achieve sublime tension in a rare moment of introspection. More

Lewis “LT” Taylor returns to X-Kalay and follows up 2019’s “Staminize” with his latest effort, “Disc Trail” - two tracks of blistering proggy techno and hazy breaks backed with a remix from fellow label artist No Moon.

Spanning the full A side and cut to a crisp 45, “Disc Trail” is an epic 9 minute peak time destroyer. A huge proggy roller complete with trance inducing breakdown, it goes for days and absolutely slaps at 140 BPM.
On the flip, Grain sees Taylor in familiar territory; lush enveloping pads cascade over a finely crafted breakbeat and pulsating sub - the adeptly syncopated percussion perfectly showcasing his first love and talent as a trained drummer.

Topping things off No Moon is on remix duty, reworking Grain into a chugged out 4x4 with some expansive arrangement and jacked up bass >:) More

XK025 sees a fresh label debut in the form of Cloudsteppers - a collaboration between Toronto based artists Ciel and Dan Only. Born out of an impromptu jam session at Dan Only's NDG 208 Studio in late 2019, the pair quickly hit it off. Ciel brought her trusty Korg ESX-1 sampler, and alongside Dan Only's arsenal of vintage synths and samplers, they quickly wrote the first two cuts of what would eventually turn into the first Cloudsteppers EP. After getting great feedback from playing them on tour and sharing with friends, the pair wrote the last two cuts when lockdown restrictions loosened during the summer of 2020.

Both artists are instinctively melodically-inclined producers, so for this release they tried to focus more of their attention on the drums and fx, while limiting the amount of melodic parts in each track. Working within those parameters resulted in what is now their debut EP.

Title track, “The Limit”, is a huge undulating cut of 160bpm energy - it shimmies effortlessly between skittish jungle, breakbeat and techno rhythms, centred around a tripped out sample of Manchester’s finest physicist, Brian Cox. “Slinky Bork” brings a distinctly UK Tech House flavour reminiscent of Housey Doingz, Get Fucked and others of the Wiggle/Euka House era - underpinned by a solid 4x4, subtle rhythms and spacey atmospherics abound.

On the flip, “Diva Loops”goes in hard with a pounding kick, warbling bass and some massive clattering drums before breaking out into a playful melodic refrain. Closing things out, “Trigger Happy” is another functional 4x4 club cut full of skippy tech styles and punchy rhythms. A dreamy melody floats along into a tension building crescendo, complete with massive reese-ish bassline. Big! More

Rising Australian DJ and producer Andy Garvey debuts on X-Kalay showcasing her take on deep and breaksy electro. More

Another X-Kalay OG returns to the label this summer and we couldn’t be happier :) It’s not a huge overstatement to say that Lucas’ first record on X-Kalay, “Ataraxia”, was somewhat of a milestone in the development of both artist and label, and it has been a huge pleasure to see him go from strength to strength since its release just over two years ago. These days it’s fair to say that Lucas is one of the most exciting young artists in the game - with a finely crafted knack for electro, and the 303 in particular, pretty much second to none. We’re super proud to welcome him back with his next effort -“Lifeforms”.

The emotive opener is “Amongst us in Harmony” - steadily building through deep pads and bouncing arps, the now trademark Lou Karsh acid bassline ever present. Coming in over 8 minutes, it’s a truly galactic track. “Internally Vexed”is a more stripped back affair. The breaksy groove is underpinned by the snappiest of snares and shrouded in celestial pads, the masterful use of the 303 demonstrating one of the sharpest and slickest basslines you’re likely to hear this year >:0

On the flip, “Alien With a Subwoofer (Skyline Mix)” is pacey club material built around deep wobs, a seriously wiggly 303, and carefully constructed pads building subtle tension. The sound of aliens redlining straight through your hood. Rounding things off, title track “Lifeforms” is beautifully crafted deep electronica; full of emotion and lush pads, otherworldly atmospherics and yearning synths.

This is a special record, and some of Lucas’ best work without a doubt. Don’t sleep!
More

It’s been long overdue but finally No Moon is back on X-Kalay and we are HYPED. A lot has changed in the three years since his debut on the label but Fred’s ability to turn in forward thinking and original electro definitely has not. This latest effort is the work of an exciting producer on the rise.

Opening the A side “CPU Limit 99” is full of jungley skittish breaks, acid bass and off kilter rhythms. By the time we hear the voice of Agent Smith creeping out in the first break we could be forgiven for casting our minds back to Metalheadz circa 2002. Next up, “Aoe_Rushin” is the pick of the bunch for us and continues The Matrix theme, albeit less explicitly, via a full on bonkers trip of searing acid, razor sharp drums and smashed up vocals.

On the flip Adam Pits switches up “Aoe_Rushin” into a pacey 4x4 club joint utilising some expansive arrangement and lovely speed garage-esque bass. Closing things out, title track “Set Phasers to Stun” winds things back and rounds up with a deep and meditative cut of melodic electro. More

Second repress of CoastDream’s debut X-Kalay release and now cult record, Soft Moon. With the title track now racking up 1.2m views on youtube (and counting), and both the original and first repress priced at £40 on discogs, we expect this fresh pressing to sell as fast as the first two. More

Kask returns to X-Kalay with an EP of deep and raw house. Features a remix from Rudolf C and plenty of nostalgia.

More

Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer and musician Nala Sinephro announces her debut album Space 1.8 with lead track “Space 3”. Space 1.8 will be released on 3rd September via Warp Records.

The instrumental “Space 3” is a short clip from a 3 hour improvised session with drummer Eddie Hick (Sons of Kemet) and producer/multi-instrumentalist Dwayne Kilvington on synths bass (Wonky Logic, Steam Down) culminating in a synth driven, particle-splitting, rapture. Speaking about the track, Sinephro explains: “We recorded it in the start of spring, it was a magical day. The day after recording I collaged the drums, added fifteen synths, produced and mixed it at home and it was all done.”

Sinephro’s music fuses meditative sounds, jazz sensibilities, folk and field recordings. Her musical practice is rooted in the study of frequency and geometry and guided by the premise that sound moves matter. Her debut album Space 1.8 takes shape as a metaphysical structure, where each curative space is a womb-like cocoon created by Sinephro in service of relief and affirmative, ecstatic freedom. Space 1.8 was composed, produced, performed, engineered, recorded, mixed by Sinephro at age 22. On the album, she plays modular synths and pedal harp alongside her friends James Mollison, Shirley Tetteh, Nubya Garcia, Eddie Hick, Dwayne Kilvington, Jake Long, Lyle Barton, Rudi Creswick and more.

Following electrifying live performances across the London scene, word of Nala Sinephro’s playing quickly spread throughout the UK jazz scene, consequently landing her performances as part of the celebrated jazz night Steam Down, alongside playing with and supporting the likes of Demae, Eun, Coby Sey, Rosie Turton, Robert Ames, London Contemporary Orchestra, Touching Bass, Spitfire Audio, Nadeem Din-Gabisi. She was touted as one of The Guardian’s artists to watch in 2020, has garnered support from the likes of Gilles Peterson; and is a resident DJ on NTS sharing monthly selections of celestial sounds. In 2021, she joined the innovative Warp Records roster where she continues to weave her unique sound world.

- Specs Black vinyl 12" in printed inner in printed 3mm spine outer with download card insert

TRACKLIST:
A1. Space 1
A2. Space 2
A3. Space 3
A4. Space 4
A5. Space 5
B1. Space 6
B2. Space 7
B3. Space 8

QUOTES:
“A benchmark in ambient jazz featuring outstanding players and delicately woven arrangements” - 8.3 - Pitchfork (Best New Music)
“Space 1.8 is a healing sound bath full of rigorous psychoacoustic knowledge and elegant playing” - The Observer (One to watch)
“Very few records have this capacity to make you temporarily fearless, but on Space 1.8, Sinephro harnesses the power of sound to move and heal the listener in ways that are real, and expansive.” - 9/10 - Loud & Quiet
"What sticks with Space 1.8 is the focus of its vision: precise like mathematics but imbued with a rich cosmic breadth." - 9/10 - UNCUT
'Her debut album sits at a slight angle to anything else you may have heard coming out of the UK in recent years” - Stereogum
"A calming, restorative and mind-expanding blend of jazz and ambient" - Resident Advisor (RA Recommends) More

Repress!

Following the success of his last RS release, 'Ripples,' the enigmatic Wallace returns to Rhythm Section after a series of stellar releases with a highly anticipated follow-up - ‘Papertrip’ that is destined to once again set the dance music community ablaze.

Wallace's impact on the scene has been nothing short of extraordinary, since Ripples he has gone on to play in the iconic Panorama bar, tour Japan and release a double LP on Mule musiq.Wallace continues to cultivate a dedicated following among discerning listeners and industry tastemakers alike. Now, with the forthcoming release, Wallace is poised to ascend to new heights, continuing the undeniable Wallace-maina. More

Originally from Malaga but a Berlin resident for the past 13 years, Carlo is thrilled to unveil his first album released under his own record label, Bisiesto. This label stands out for its unique approach, releasing just one album every four years on leap day, February 29th. In contrast to his previous style, this album blends all his musical influences into a unique mixtape of instrumentals.

Reminiscent of Nightmares on Wax, Kid Loco, and Mushroom Jazz, this album offers a unique auditory experience. Lora Ute brings a hint of tangy mellowness to ‘Because’ balancing dreaminess with playful notes, while Jose Fernancaster, with his immaculate guitar skills, infuses ‘Todo Mal’ with sexy guitar riffs and wahs. Intr0beatz's hip-hop touch enhances ‘Lemon Haze’, while Black Loops, a percussionist at heart, collaborates on ‘Midnight Cruiser’ to encapsulate the solitude of night-time city cruising with a lo-fi sound. Piek rounds off ‘Esperanza’ with an empowering bassline, tying the track together with a golden ribbon. More

Massive vocal driven Garage House pressure here, from way way back in 1992! Yes, 'Follow Me' is one of THOSE records, one that transcended genre boundaries on it's release and continues to do so today. A true classic piece of NYC goodness from back in the day. The super production team of DJ Pierre and george Morel could only deliver the heat and that's exactly what they did - created a timeless House record with the bassline that just doesn't let up! This is the sort of track that got hammered on the US House scene, found a home in the UK Garage world and got spin at almost any and all clubs where the DJ's had half a clue and an iota of taste! Containing the original 3 mixes released in '92 now's your chance to bag a bonafide, hands down classic record! 'Follow Me' has been skilfully remastered from all original master sources and fully licensed and reissued officially for 2017. More

Tracklisting
A1 DJ Sommer - Darling I Pray
A2 DJ Sommer - All My Love
B1 DJ Sommer - Heartbeat
B2 DJ Sommer - So Happy

More

Thankfully, Richard D. James has decided to finally release at least some of the output that he's been banging on about since mid-2000s. In a number of interviews, the might Aphex Twin hinted that he has vast artilleries of tracks stacked up and unreleased, probably more on purpose than out of laziness...or maybe not. What we do know is that AFX is reborn after the string of acid 12"s released about 10 years ago on Rephlex, that saw the alias become one of the most popular of James' alter egos. Orphaned Deejay Selek is a collection of tunes that contain all of the Twin's magic and unpredictably, but that also cut straight to the point and head to the middle of the dance floor. This is banging brain dynamite coated in the man's iconic style and flair. Welcome back AFX, and many hats off to Warp for making it happen. More

The second Jungle Wonz release on Trax, again with Harry Dennis' gorgeous vocals, was sub-licensed to both New York label Vendetta and Breakout in the UK (both subsidiaries of A&M), with some fine remixes by former Area resident Justin Strauss. "This was one of the first house songs I ever heard when I was like 14" recalls Felix Da Housecat. "Marshall Jefferson has been a huge influence on all my basslines. People usually think that basslines come from 80's pop bands but they came from Marshall Jefferson. Marshall Jefferson is probably the best house producer of all time for this period." More

Marshall Jefferson, Ron Hardy & Frankie Knuckles collaborating across 2 sides of a single 12"? Need we say more? Obviously that's a dream line-up right there & of course the results of such a meeting of minds is nothing short of outstanding! Just listen to the record & you'll see! Essential business... "Ride The Rhythm" came out on Trax in 1986, making it one of the "first wave" House records to land & make a massive impression here in the UK & in Europe. Marshall Jefferson's fingerprints are all over this bad boy, his massive piano riffs, non-stop bass-lines, the pounding drums, everything about this record is just HUGE! He had an incredible knack for making accessible, club tracks with cross over appeal that the underground heads clamored to get hold of at the same time. Throw Frankie & Ronnie (literally) in the mix & you've got solid, classic, all-time Gold on your hands (& turntables!). Fully re-mastered, re-pressed & re-released for 2015 in it's original format with the permission & participation of all rights holders with all original Trax label artwork intact.
More

(180 gr vinyl) Musique Pour La Danse presents another collaboration with SF-based Jonah Sharp following the first ever vinyl release of his Reagenz LP with Move D in 2021. This time, the iconic Flurescence EP by his Spacetime Continuum solo project gets the reissue treatment, after being released on the Scotsman's own Reflective Records back in 1993 with an unforgettable holographic center label.

TRACKLISTING

A1. Space Time Continuum - Fluresence (2022 Remaster)
A2. Space Time Continuum - Transmitter (2022 Remaster)
B1. Space Time Continuum - Drift (2022 Remaster)
B2. Space Time Continuum - Drug #6 (2022 Remaster)

INFO

Musique Pour La Danse presents another collaboration with SF-based Jonah Sharp following the first ever vinyl release of his Reagenz LP with Move D in 2021.

This time, the iconic Flurescence EP by his Spacetime Continuum solo project gets the reissue treatment, after being released on the Scotsman's own Reflective Records back in 1993 with an unforgettable holographic center label.

There is a good reason why this EP, actually Sharp's debut release, was so hard to find at reasonable prices and why it has appeared in countless compilations and top lists in the last 3 decades with no sign of slowing down.

Truly timeless, this masterclass in forward thinking electronic music focuses on deeply textured, masterfully arranged, and skillfully morphing tracks with a cosmic tinge that feels warm instead of cold, and rewards repeat listens.

Prepare to bend the very fabric of spacetime during the 28 minutes of heavenly chill out and celestial techno/trance contained in this 12" black hole, remastered and repackaged for the 21st century. Title track Flurescence is one of the very few that actually captures the ambience of those magical floating years and a trip to the edges of outer space that never ceases to amaze, while Transmitter is a deep dive to the bottom of an ethereal ocean of fur suspended in time, with mysterious samples from the producer's answering machine to boot. Drift is a bona fide gem of rhythmic psychedelic electronic music, breaking down and projecting early trance, IDM and electronica ideas like a prism turning revealing a colorful spectrum of colours after being hit by light. Finally, the fast-paced dancefloor weapon Drug#6 is up there with Choice's Acid Eiffel, Resistance D's Cosmic Love, and Red Planet's Cosmic Movement in the intergalactic pantheon of narcotic, acid techno cuts.

Needless to say, zero gravity listening is strongly encouraged. More

2022 repress More

The third Jungle Wonz release on Trax, again with Harry Dennis' gorgeous vocals. A real bench mark in the house sound of Chicago from Marshall Jefferson. More