FLOCKS is a new duo, formed by drone specialist WERNER DURAND and ULI HOHMANN. Musical landscapes that move between traditional as well as experimental sounds with influences from Krautrock and JON HASSEL's "fourth world" aesthetics.

WERNER DURAND has made himself a name with various projects with Dhrupad singerAMELIA CUNI, playing with URBAN SAX, ARNOLD DREYBLATT, HENNING CHRISTIANSEN, DAVID BEHRMAN, ELLEN FULLMAN, CATHERINE CHRISTER HENNIX, as the co-founder of THE 13th TRIBE, ARMCHAIR TRAVELLER and TONALIENS (with ROBIN AYWARD and HILARY JEFFERY) plus numerous solo albums, released on labels like Black Truffle, Unseen Worlds or Edition Telemark. Having studied saxophone as well as Indian / Persian flutes, the Berlin based DURAND is a highly reputated protagonist in the drone scene, famous for his self-built wind instruments like buzz-clarinets or his PVC neys & horns.

His partner in FLOCKS (and longtime personal friend) is ULI HOHMANN whose early encounters with music from Asia, India and Africa led to studies with the Ghanaian master drummer MUSTAPHA TETTEY ADDY and later Tombak and Daf with NEMAD DARMAN (Iran). HOHMANN played in a couple of projects that explored the language of classical Persian music, and started building his own stringed instruments (being an educated carpenter). In 2014 he joined DURAND and AMELIA CUNI for the album "Clearing", and 2018 DURAND and HOHMANN decided to continue as a duo: FLOCKS was born.

On their selftitled debut they shape drone-y soundscapes based on their self-built wind- & stringed instruments, Persian percussion and subtle electronics, drawing additional inspiration from Krautrock (listen to the irresistible, hypnotique groove of "Quicksand") as well as JON HASSEL's "fourth world" aesthetics, placing the duo nicely between tradition and experiment!

Credits:

Werner Durand:invented winds (ur-sax, buzz-clarinets, PVC neys & horns), tenor-sax, blown kalimba, mouth harp, drones

Uli Hohmann:invented strings(plugged, bowed&hammered),frame drums, kanjira, riq,electronics

Recorded at Abendland.studio Lengenfeld and Haveli Studio Berlin between 2017 & 2023

Mixed by Werner Durand & Uli Hohmann

Mastering and lacquer cut by Anne Taegert at D&M, Berlin

Cover painting by Sybille Wissmeyer

Layout by Serkan Sanli More

Remastered vinyl reissue of this 1990 BILL LASWELL / RICHARD HOROWITZproduction of local Gnawa musicians, recorded in the Medina of Marrakesh. Accordingto Allmusic.com "a must for fans of both African and Middle Eastern music" and votedone of the "10 essential Gnawa albums" by Songlines. The Gnawa are an ethnic minorityin today's Morocco, descendents of slaves from West Africawho were brought to Morocco in the 16th century and who (although they quickly converted toIslam) nevertheless brought with them remnants of their animistic practices.The Gnawa perform a complex ceremony (called lila or derdeba) that over the duration of severalhours recreates the genesis of the universe by the evocation of the seven main manifestationsof the divine, represented by seven colours. Those ceremonies, led by a master or "maleem",are still taking place today privately while Gnawa music in general has clearly been modernizingand thus become more profane, but witnessing a performance is still an astonishing experience. With the exception of a handful of recordings by PAUL BOWLES and PHILIP SCHUYLER (moreethnographic documents in a field recordings style), Gnawa music was barely heard outside ofMorocco before 1990 - one of the first westerners to come and record the music was BILLLASWELL, back then running his AXIOM label that portrayed a wide range of ethnic music andmusicians like THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA or MALEEM MAHMOUD GHANIA, toname just two. "Night Spirit Masters", recorded in the Medina of Marrakech, delivers soulfultracks of lead and group singers in call/ response mode, fired by sentirs, drums, hand clapping,and qrakechs, while others are drum features or sentir/ vocal pieces.Over 30 years after its initial release, this essential Gnawa album is finally available again -remastered and on 180gr audiophile vinyl! "Gnawa, bottom heavy trance music of North Africa. Repetitive bass lines, generated by thegimbri or sintir with metal clappers, hand drums and voice.Seven trances, seven colors, seven scents, Gnawa not only moves, it can remove."Bill Laswell Hell's Kitchen, NYC, May 2022 More

Referring heavily on turkish poets and the tradition of a??ks (singer-poets and wanderingbards) these two albums represent unique and modern interpretations of turkish folk songsunmatched to this day. A matured artist with full conviction at the height of her powers!Back in the 60s Tülay German (*1935 in Istanbul, Turkey) shook the turkish music landscapewith several 7" records. Most notably her first 7" record "Burçak Tarlas?" (1964) is nowconsidered the cornerstone of what was to become the Anadolu Rock/ Pop movement andunderlines her rebellious nature and sense of justice.But due to the increasing repression Tülay German and her lifelong partner and intellectualimpetus Erdem Buri decided to leave Turkey a few years later. In fact, an impending prisonsentence for Erdem Buri for translating Hegel's "Dialectic and Science of Logic" andPlekhanov's "Fundamental Problems of Marxism" led the couple to emigrate to France.In France Tülay German signs a major contract with Philips resulting in many 7" releasessung in french under her french moniker Toula?. In the long run Tülay German doesn't feelquite comfortable with this major deal. And thus, despite the success and recognition she hadgained, she decides to quit the contract with Philips!Later on she signs to independent world-music label Arion to pursue her actual artistic goalsmore in line with her origin and temperament. Back to her mother tongue, Tülay Germanrecords above mentioned albums for Arion under full artistic freedom, the only full-lenghthsin her 20+ years career. Alongside with double-bass virtuoso and turkophil François Rabbath(*1931 in Aleppo, Syria) the albums consist of a??k traditionals and intonated poems mainlyby Naz?m Hikmet. Her passionate voice and the restrained arrangements of FrançoisRabbath turn these centuries old melodies and poems into glowing manifestos for love andjustice. The fruitful collaboration of these artists-in-exile adds significantly to the rich heritageof turkish folk music.The self-titled debut, which was awarded with the prestigious "Grand Prix du Disque" ofAcadémie Charles Cros in 1981, is now seeing a vinyl reissue after 40 years.Tülay German ended her musical career in 1987 and after the death of Erdem Buri in 1993she retired from public life completely, leading a quiet life in Paris where she still lives to thisday. In 2021 Tülay German was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the IstanbulFoundation for Culture and Arts, Turkey. More

For their first release, London label Moonworks are reissuing two highly sought-after UK house bombs from Carlos Baker aka Serpico to mark the 30th anniversary of its original 1993 release.

'Just Can't Stop' is a record which fell through the cracks, deemed not commercially viable enough by the major label that Serpico was signed to at the time. Determined to get the music out there, Baker decided to self-release a limited run of blue labelled vinyl. Several big independent labels of the '90s were subsequently interested in putting out the tracks, however it never came to fruition.

Over 30 years this record has aged gracefully, inspiring generations of diggers with its quirky euphoric feel, weighty low-end and intoxicating synthwork becoming a prized possession for some of the biggest names on the scene, with original copies trading hands for £100+. Whether you draw for the ecstasy-inducing Incantation Mix or the acid-infused Orca Space Dub, there’s no denying this is a timeless masterpiece from the UK underground.

Moonworks have worked closely with Serpico to bring this gem back down to earth, restoring the tracks from the original DAT tapes at Gat Decor’s studio, remastering them to modern standards and finally giving this music the official release it deserves. More

Featuring 24 restored and remastered tracks stretched across two volumes, including a handful of previously unreleased tracks and mixes, and accompanied by detailed sleeve notes by Anniss, Notes From The Underground 1986-1994 is a joyful celebration of one of British dance music's most under-appreciated artists. The full breadth and depth of Boninsegna's rave-ready catalogue is explored in detail across the two-part compilation.


TRACKLISTING

A1. Lab Technicians - We Gave U Life
A2. Aural Exciter - U = Euphoria
A3. Original Clique - "F" (Whistle Mix)
B1. Pierrepoint - Tonnerre
B2. A.E.K. - Lick It
B3. Zubbizerretta - Wake The Town (Somnabulist Mix)

C1. Estudiantes - Let The Music Into Your Mind
C2. Zeco - The Witch Trials
C3. Big Showdown - They're Here
D1. The Rhythm Squad - Animal House (Original Mix)
D2. The Rhythm Squad - Manhunt (Instrumental)
D3. Nine-L - Islands, Part 2


INFO

Tony Boninsegna: Notes From The Underground 1986-1994 (Volumes 1 and 2) Cold Blow / Musique Pour La Danse

The story of dance music is littered with hidden heroes and underground activists whose immense contributions have been overlooked, ignored and under-documented. Tony Boninsegna, a producer who made and released countless classic cuts and forgotten gems during the acid house and rave era, is one such example.

Melding elements of all that was popular in underground clubs at the time to create his own dancefloor-friendly sound worlds, Boninsegna amassed a huge catalogue between 1986 and '94, while hiding his involvement via an array of oddball aliases and opaque pseudonyms. Boninsegna's story first came to light four years ago when he appeared in Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music, Matt Anniss's critically acclaimed alternative history of UK dance music in the rave era. Now Cold Blow has joined forces with Musique Pour La Danse to deliver a much-needed anthology of his greatest productions and
co-productions - many rare or hard-to-find - for the first time.
Featuring 24 restored and remastered tracks stretched across two volumes on vinyl and digital, including a handful of previously unreleased tracks and mixes, and accompanied by detailed sleeve notes by Anniss, Notes From The Underground 1986-1994 is a joyful celebration of one of British dance music's most under-appreciated artists. The full breadth and depth of Boninsegna's rave-ready catalogue, as well as an indication of
the sheer volume of aliases he utilised during the period, is explored in detail across the two-part compilation.

Fittingly, volume one features two previously unreleased recordings that mark his earliest explorations of the emerging house sound (both as The Rhythm Squad, with Richard Compton), alongside touchstone releases such as Zeco's 'The Witch Trials' (a 1989 production that marked his first outing on vinyl), celebrated workouts recorded with regular collaborator Mykey Tee (Lab Technicians' bleep-inspired 'We Gave U Life', Big Showdown's epic 'They're Here' and AEK's mind-mangling, bleep & breaks number 'Lick It'), and genuinely overlooked gems (the proto-tribal house of Pierrepoint's acid-smothered 'Tonnerre' and saucer-eyed rush of Estudiantes' 'Let The Music Into Your Mind').

It all adds up to the definitive musical retrospective of a genuine underground, rave-era hero whose time in the spotlight may finally have arrived. More

While this may be the first release on Sheffield's Central Processing Unit from Global Goon, the one known to friends and family as Johnny Hawk brings a whole heap of experience to the Nanoclusters mini-LP. Hawk started dropping Global Goon records on the legendary Rephlex Records back in the 1990s. The project's subsequent releases have taken in imprints as esteemed as WéMè and Balkan. Factor in a whole host of other aliases which have delivered missives via the likes of Planet Mu, and you know even before you press play on this witty, wily record that you're dealing with a master at work here. The confidence with which Global Goon approaches Nanoclusters shines through in Hawk taking much of the mini-album at midtempo. Cuts like 'Khroxic Mould', 'Metallik' and 'Syntheseers' sound like Bochum Welt heading down a dark alleyway. The former in particular is a seasick lope, the tuned synths lurching around like sailors on deck in a storm as bass ebbs and flows underneath the mix. The influence of Kraftwerk comes through prominently at times here, particularly in the way 'Calcula' and 'Digit Six' play pensive, slightly sombre synth chords off some simple but effective forward motion in the drum programming. That is not to say that Nanoclusters is not full of invention, though. None of the productions are overly flash, but this approach allows the little details to shine through more clearly, from cleverly panned hi-hats to hissing synth counter-melodies which flit in and out of the mix. Enthralling and packed full of ear candy, they're further evidence that Nanoclusters is the work of an expert craftsman. While the pulse of Nanoclusters remains relatively steady throughout, it's still a rather lively record. Plenty of these tracks will get the dancefloor moving if deployed correctly - though whether they're heard at home or in the dance, it's the attention to detail which makes them stand out. 'Snapterisk' is as perfect an example of machine-funk as you're likely to find - the drum programming is razor-sharp but rubbery with bongos, the bass a lithe burble, and those wobbly stabs of keys that put a bit of wiggle in the beat? Delightful stuff. Elsewhere the ever-looping arpeggio of 'Metro Esc' has hints of Frankie Knuckles' house classic 'Your Love', though an array of interesting sonic nuggets - snippets of vocal, radar-like bloops, a gently insistent low-end pulse - soften the track's clubbier elements with a pillowy sheen. And Hawk throws us a curveball right at the end of Nanoclusters, tapping back into that old Rephlex sound for the fizzy, braindancing 'Metal Glass'. Global Goon doesn't need to show off on Nanoclusters - from brilliantly slick machine-funk to Kraftwerkian reveries, the CPU debutant lets the music do the talking here. It makes for a confident and vivacious mini-LP, one which wears its expertise lightly. More

Reissued on CD and, for the first time, on vinyl on ESP-Disk'. Please see attached and below the announcement info for "Circular Temple" by the legendary Matthew Shipp Trio
More

Apnea concludes an eventful 2023 with "Sulitkveteba EP" by Tbilisi's Hamatsuki. Recognized for past releases on Fantastic Planet and Mind Controller Rectifier, Hamatsuki crafts a three-track journey that explores the depths of music. Fusing sustained lo-fi pads, ethereal gated echoing vocals, and entrancing trippy acid lines, this EP resonates with a nostalgic rave essence. Each track takes listeners on a vivid sonic adventure, capturing the spirit of bygone rave eras while infusing a fresh perspective into the beats. More

Tracklisting
A1 Sciahri - Temptation
A2 Sciahri - Stone
B1 Sciahri - Magnetism
B2 Sciahri - Dance Of The Knives

More

Welcome to the colorful and loony universe of the new Parisian label : Comic’s Trip Records.
Each episode will highlight a multifaceted protagonist as he breaks free from the existing musical boundaries
Congrats to Muten, Reedale Rise & Daniel Anselmi this time for the music.
“Booth Napper EP” is a rare beauty in an unknown world.
This captivating new journey invites the listener to explore electro from every angle through 3 original tracks, sculpted for different moments of your day, and will follow you everywhere, for a long time. You’ll find all the beauty of the original sound in Reedale Rise’s remix, with its distinctive sensibility. Daniel Anselmi’s remix will take you back to your first love : club culture ! More

By welcoming the beauty of imperfection and simplicity, Sven Wunder applies the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi on this
musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which
illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on
European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yo with jazz rock, this hazy
scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a
Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and
space.
The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom
of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back
to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak
during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional
Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer,
Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.
This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix
of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them
with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation
to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.

A1. Yugen
A2. Shinrinyoku
A3. Hot Winds Arrive
A4. Hanami
A5. Komorebi
A6. Blanket Fog Descends
B1. Wabi Sabi
B2. Bamboo And Rocks
B3. Kachofugetsu
B4. Onsen
B5. North Wind Rattles the Leaves More

Tracklisting
A1 Aural Imbalance - Better Day
A2 Aural Imbalance - Scratch The Surface
B1 Aural Imbalance - Different Times
B2 Aural Imbalance - Spiral

Sales Note
ASC & Dan Azimuth AKA DJ Levi (Okbron, Repertoire, Spotlight) are proud to present their new collaborative project, Curvature.

Curvature will showcase a similar style to ASC's own pioneering label Spatial, which focuses on music inspired by the golden era of atmospheric drum & bass / jungle from the mid 90's. Curvature will shine a light on emerging talent in this space, as well as featuring established artists such as Spatial's own Aural Imbalance - who kicks the label off with Galactic Transmission.

Galactic Transmission features four diverse tracks from the genre stalwart, previously showcased on Dan Azimuth's own Atmoteka mix and the Atmospheals podcast, as well as ASC's 'Spatial Show' on Blast Radio, and will be instantly recognisable to listeners of those shows - finally released for fans to enjoy on Curvature's maiden voyage. More