1
Samuel Rohrer - The Parish Bell 7´10
2
Samuel Rohrer - Labrynthia/Many Rivers 6´25
3
Samuel Rohrer - Schizophonia 8´28
4
Samuel Rohrer - The Gift 4´53
5
Samuel Rohrer - Celestial Body 5´45
6
Samuel Rohrer - Love and Warfare 6´57
7
Samuel Rohrer - Where Things Grow 4´32
GENRE/S: Electronic, Ambient, Experimental, Electronica,…
TRACKLISTS:
A1 The Parish Bell 7´10
A2 Labrynthia/Many Rivers 6´25
A3 Schizophonia 8´28
B1 The Gift 4´53
B2 Celestial Body 5´45
B3 Love and Warfare 6´57
B4 Where Things Grow 4´32
SHORT INFO:
“Music for Lovers” is the new solo outing of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Rohrer (playing a combination of percussion, modular synthesizer and keyboard-based instruments on this recording).
The album’s title, which has been used for other albums in unrelated musical genres, might be deceiving: those who expect overly sentimental, fluffy pieces full of levity from start to finish, or sarcastic and cynical attempts at rejecting such “easy” listening, will be surprised by the emotional and tonal complexity on display here. In Rohrer’s own words, it is dedicated to “those brave lovers, who are ready to not only find, but eventually become truth,” and as such is an exploration of an evolving process rather than an idealized state.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
TRACKLISTS:
A1 The Parish Bell 7´10
A2 Labrynthia/Many Rivers 6´25
A3 Schizophonia 8´28
B1 The Gift 4´53
B2 Celestial Body 5´45
B3 Love and Warfare 6´57
B4 Where Things Grow 4´32
SHORT INFO:
“Music for Lovers” is the new solo outing of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Rohrer (playing a combination of percussion, modular synthesizer and keyboard-based instruments on this recording).
The album’s title, which has been used for other albums in unrelated musical genres, might be deceiving: those who expect overly sentimental, fluffy pieces full of levity from start to finish, or sarcastic and cynical attempts at rejecting such “easy” listening, will be surprised by the emotional and tonal complexity on display here. In Rohrer’s own words, it is dedicated to “those brave lovers, who are ready to not only find, but eventually become truth,” and as such is an exploration of an evolving process rather than an idealized state.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
More records from Samuel Rohrer
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp724
Release-Date:10.02.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp724
Release-Date:10.02.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
[2x12”]
GENRE/S: Minimal, Electronic, Ambient, Downtempo
TRACKLISTS:
1_Body Of Lies 2_Scapegoat Principle 3_Forth Density 4_The Banality Of Evil
5_Talking to Nature Spirits 6_Resurrection — Total playing time: 50:04
SHORT INFO:
Samuel Rohrer - drums, percussion, electronics, keys, modular synths
Music produced, recorded and mixed by Samuel Rohrer
Samuel Rohrer’s newest solo album, Codes of Nature, shows the artist making yet more refinements and
additions to an already rich catalog of musical ideas. Though he has excelled in collaborative projects with Ambiq,
Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Tobias Freund, Dark Star Safari, Nils Petter Molvaer, Oren Ambarchi and
many others, it is fascinating to experience him also working in a field completely his own, yet managing to still give
the impression of being fully integrated or connected with a larger musical universe.
A strange, intriguing ambiguity between the specific and the universal is indeed what makes Rohrer’s music
worth playing on a loop – the cool, downtempo, yet energized constructions on Codes are powered by subtle
atmospheric and tonal changes, and work like a camouflage adaptable to any environment.
This is a record whose strength derives from its versatility. It’s clear that this versatility of sounds has been
inspired by a commitment to positive differentiation that is not just a musical one, and that’s where this work will
inspire others in turn.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Minimal, Electronic, Ambient, Downtempo
TRACKLISTS:
1_Body Of Lies 2_Scapegoat Principle 3_Forth Density 4_The Banality Of Evil
5_Talking to Nature Spirits 6_Resurrection — Total playing time: 50:04
SHORT INFO:
Samuel Rohrer - drums, percussion, electronics, keys, modular synths
Music produced, recorded and mixed by Samuel Rohrer
Samuel Rohrer’s newest solo album, Codes of Nature, shows the artist making yet more refinements and
additions to an already rich catalog of musical ideas. Though he has excelled in collaborative projects with Ambiq,
Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Tobias Freund, Dark Star Safari, Nils Petter Molvaer, Oren Ambarchi and
many others, it is fascinating to experience him also working in a field completely his own, yet managing to still give
the impression of being fully integrated or connected with a larger musical universe.
A strange, intriguing ambiguity between the specific and the universal is indeed what makes Rohrer’s music
worth playing on a loop – the cool, downtempo, yet energized constructions on Codes are powered by subtle
atmospheric and tonal changes, and work like a camouflage adaptable to any environment.
This is a record whose strength derives from its versatility. It’s clear that this versatility of sounds has been
inspired by a commitment to positive differentiation that is not just a musical one, and that’s where this work will
inspire others in turn.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp723
Release-Date:23.09.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp723
Release-Date:23.09.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
LP includes DL Card
GENRE/S: Electronica/Ambient/broken beat
TRACKLISTS:
Side A: 1_Oxygen Beats 2_Bodylanguage 3_Serotonin 4_Ctenophora 5_Window Pain 6_Slow Fox
Side B: 1_Treehouse 2_Human Regression 3_Ctenophora Var. 4_Radar Reflector 5_Ceremonism
Total playing time: 36:04
SHORT INFO:
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer
continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within
the European electronic music realm. Over the past decade he has assembled a repertoire of
music that fills a sadly neglected gap in the modern musical landscape. That is to say, he has
made a number of “electronically”-aided works that never seem to make “electronic-ism” the main
selling point or raison d'être. Rohrer understands that we inhabit a networked media landscape
that no longer sees a novelty value in every synthetic or technological sound, and by realizing
this, he makes a music that fully engages with the present without completely disregarding the
exciting speculative sensibility that has allowed electronic music to solidify into a tradition. His
latest solo album, Hungry Ghosts, again shows the high quality of sonic design that can be
achieved by conceptualizing musical passages as living, breathing entities rather than as
signposts to some still distant reality.
Maybe more so than any of Rohrer’s solo records to date, Hungry Ghosts is the one that
most unambiguously displays the artist as a kind of inspired sound “cultivator” or landscaper
rather than just a straightforward “producer”. The emphasis here seems to be biological growth
processes rendered in musical form, and in fact some track titles namechecking the biodiversity
of the external world (“Slow Fox”, “Ctenophora”) and neurochemistry (“Serotonin”) lend some
additional credence to this interpretation.
As with previous outings, Rohrer starts with his skills as a genre-resistant percussionist
and builds from there, with dense clusters of drum hits and icy cymbal exclamations leading the
way into a wide-open atmosphere full of fragmented phrases, marked with strange reversals or
compressions of time. The percussive portions and other ambiences merge together in such a
way that the latter seems like a kind of shifting, holographic camouflage for the former; an effect
which makes for a greater than usual number of shifts in mood. Rohrer’s already established
ambiguity and mystery are the moods that permeate throughout, to be sure, but there are also
surprising moments of humorous whimsy (the flourishes of cartoon mischief and teasing silences
on the tracks “Human Regression” and “Bodylanguage”), reverence (the optimistic organ swells
and steady sequencer guiding “Ceremonism”), and meditative focus (the slow-motion spectral
waltz of “Treehouse”). Also notable here are very brief etudes, such as “Window Pain,” whose
dark, lush ebb and flow actually seem tailored to repeated or looped listening.
It’s particularly remarkable that almost all of this material is recorded solo and in a “live /
no overdubs” mode, given how much it feels like well-rehearsed ensemble playing, and given the
impeccable timing involved in continually exchanging the sounds at the very forefront of the mix.
And here we come full circle to the idea of “electronic music” mentioned at the beginning here:
instead of making us feel that we are in the presence of some fully-realized form brought back
from “the future,” Rohrer invites us instead to witness fascinating processes of transition and
mutation, and to value them for what they are now as much as for where they are headed.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Electronica/Ambient/broken beat
TRACKLISTS:
Side A: 1_Oxygen Beats 2_Bodylanguage 3_Serotonin 4_Ctenophora 5_Window Pain 6_Slow Fox
Side B: 1_Treehouse 2_Human Regression 3_Ctenophora Var. 4_Radar Reflector 5_Ceremonism
Total playing time: 36:04
SHORT INFO:
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer
continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within
the European electronic music realm. Over the past decade he has assembled a repertoire of
music that fills a sadly neglected gap in the modern musical landscape. That is to say, he has
made a number of “electronically”-aided works that never seem to make “electronic-ism” the main
selling point or raison d'être. Rohrer understands that we inhabit a networked media landscape
that no longer sees a novelty value in every synthetic or technological sound, and by realizing
this, he makes a music that fully engages with the present without completely disregarding the
exciting speculative sensibility that has allowed electronic music to solidify into a tradition. His
latest solo album, Hungry Ghosts, again shows the high quality of sonic design that can be
achieved by conceptualizing musical passages as living, breathing entities rather than as
signposts to some still distant reality.
Maybe more so than any of Rohrer’s solo records to date, Hungry Ghosts is the one that
most unambiguously displays the artist as a kind of inspired sound “cultivator” or landscaper
rather than just a straightforward “producer”. The emphasis here seems to be biological growth
processes rendered in musical form, and in fact some track titles namechecking the biodiversity
of the external world (“Slow Fox”, “Ctenophora”) and neurochemistry (“Serotonin”) lend some
additional credence to this interpretation.
As with previous outings, Rohrer starts with his skills as a genre-resistant percussionist
and builds from there, with dense clusters of drum hits and icy cymbal exclamations leading the
way into a wide-open atmosphere full of fragmented phrases, marked with strange reversals or
compressions of time. The percussive portions and other ambiences merge together in such a
way that the latter seems like a kind of shifting, holographic camouflage for the former; an effect
which makes for a greater than usual number of shifts in mood. Rohrer’s already established
ambiguity and mystery are the moods that permeate throughout, to be sure, but there are also
surprising moments of humorous whimsy (the flourishes of cartoon mischief and teasing silences
on the tracks “Human Regression” and “Bodylanguage”), reverence (the optimistic organ swells
and steady sequencer guiding “Ceremonism”), and meditative focus (the slow-motion spectral
waltz of “Treehouse”). Also notable here are very brief etudes, such as “Window Pain,” whose
dark, lush ebb and flow actually seem tailored to repeated or looped listening.
It’s particularly remarkable that almost all of this material is recorded solo and in a “live /
no overdubs” mode, given how much it feels like well-rehearsed ensemble playing, and given the
impeccable timing involved in continually exchanging the sounds at the very forefront of the mix.
And here we come full circle to the idea of “electronic music” mentioned at the beginning here:
instead of making us feel that we are in the presence of some fully-realized form brought back
from “the future,” Rohrer invites us instead to witness fascinating processes of transition and
mutation, and to value them for what they are now as much as for where they are headed.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
samuel rohrer - Microcosmoism (Burnt Friedman Remix)
2
samuel rohrer - Microcosmoism (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)
Burnt Friedman’s own dramatic interpretation of “Microcosmoism” pairs up his consciousness of deep bass and analog inventiveness with Rohrer’s continually transforming sound objects, making for a flowing and wordless narrative that simply dares listeners to stop paying attention. Feeling more like a collaboration in “real time” than a remix proper, Friedman brings his characteristic ‘mad scientist’ wit to the proceedings and delivers an energetic piece that simply glows in the dark.
This is complemented nicely by Villalobos’ remix of “Microcosmoism”. It carries the energy level of the 1st EP over to a new disk, while heavily experimenting with feelings of emotional ambiguity. At some points aggressive and at other points merely curious, this mischievous collage of attitudes feels as inspired by the questing jazz of Sun Ra as it is by continental techno. Contemplative keyboard runs, enthusiastic spring-like percussion and malfunctioning machine chatter all coalesce to make this a most fascinating piece of multi-purpose electronic music.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
This is complemented nicely by Villalobos’ remix of “Microcosmoism”. It carries the energy level of the 1st EP over to a new disk, while heavily experimenting with feelings of emotional ambiguity. At some points aggressive and at other points merely curious, this mischievous collage of attitudes feels as inspired by the questing jazz of Sun Ra as it is by continental techno. Contemplative keyboard runs, enthusiastic spring-like percussion and malfunctioning machine chatter all coalesce to make this a most fascinating piece of multi-purpose electronic music.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
More records from Arjunamusic Records
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMEL-CD729
Release-Date:08.12.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMEL-CD729
Release-Date:08.12.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
1
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 1. Opening 12:32
2
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 2. Waitati Post 10:04
3
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 3. Flat and endless 10:06,
4
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 4. Cristal Bolloré 08:30
5
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 5. Kallisto 11:43
6
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 6. Bagatto 09:58
7
SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel - 7. Aaah! 12:13
CD
2. GENRE/S: Electronica, Ambient
3. TRACKLISTS:
1. Opening 12:32, 2. Waitati Post 10:04,
4. Cristal Bolloré 08:30, 5. Kallisto 11:43, 6. Bagatto 09:58, 7. Aaah! 12:13
4. SHORT INFO:
Sun Electric, the Berlin-based electronic music duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer, were
among the pioneers of “live” electronica presentation in the early 1990s, when options for realtime reproduction of one’s sound were a fraction of what we enjoy today. Perhaps a spiritual
successor to earlier forms of “kosmische” music, which saw the exploration of outer and inner
space as being equally worthwhile undertakings, Sun Electric’s music was expansive, epic, and
involving in a way that prioritized the communion between sounds and listeners over the public
exposition of the musicians’ personalities. Space was, of course, utilized as an instrument unto
itself: a fact that is evident in this new release of a notable 1996 set in which Sun Electric
performed at the neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna. Over 75 minutes of performance time, the
duo took full advantage of the 20-second reverb decay time offered by the space.
The real star here remains the way in which the interdependent musical objects move through
open space and mutually evolve with it, and the percussive impacts are part of a “sonic
democracy”, standing on an equal footing with the glistening effects and the lapping waves of
sequenced melody. It’s the consistent application of these strengths which allows the music of
Sun Electric not to be a “nostalgic trip” to a simpler time, but very much a part of the musical
dialogue of the present.
ARTIST: SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel
TITLE: Live at Votivkirche Wien
LABEL: Arjunamusic Records!
Produced by Sun Electric aka Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel
Recorded by Teo Schulte @ Votivkirche Vienna on October 5, 1996
Mixed by Ingo Kraus @ Candybomber Studio Berlin 2023
Mastered by Mike Grinser @ Manmade Mastering Berlin 2023
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
2. GENRE/S: Electronica, Ambient
3. TRACKLISTS:
1. Opening 12:32, 2. Waitati Post 10:04,
4. Cristal Bolloré 08:30, 5. Kallisto 11:43, 6. Bagatto 09:58, 7. Aaah! 12:13
4. SHORT INFO:
Sun Electric, the Berlin-based electronic music duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer, were
among the pioneers of “live” electronica presentation in the early 1990s, when options for realtime reproduction of one’s sound were a fraction of what we enjoy today. Perhaps a spiritual
successor to earlier forms of “kosmische” music, which saw the exploration of outer and inner
space as being equally worthwhile undertakings, Sun Electric’s music was expansive, epic, and
involving in a way that prioritized the communion between sounds and listeners over the public
exposition of the musicians’ personalities. Space was, of course, utilized as an instrument unto
itself: a fact that is evident in this new release of a notable 1996 set in which Sun Electric
performed at the neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna. Over 75 minutes of performance time, the
duo took full advantage of the 20-second reverb decay time offered by the space.
The real star here remains the way in which the interdependent musical objects move through
open space and mutually evolve with it, and the percussive impacts are part of a “sonic
democracy”, standing on an equal footing with the glistening effects and the lapping waves of
sequenced melody. It’s the consistent application of these strengths which allows the music of
Sun Electric not to be a “nostalgic trip” to a simpler time, but very much a part of the musical
dialogue of the present.
ARTIST: SUN ELECTRIC Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel
TITLE: Live at Votivkirche Wien
LABEL: Arjunamusic Records!
Produced by Sun Electric aka Max Loderbauer & Tom Thiel
Recorded by Teo Schulte @ Votivkirche Vienna on October 5, 1996
Mixed by Ingo Kraus @ Candybomber Studio Berlin 2023
Mastered by Mike Grinser @ Manmade Mastering Berlin 2023
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Tom Thiel - Emag Ballad 5:46
2
Tom Thiel - Bursts 3:50
3
Tom Thiel - Lakeside 5:19
4
Tom Thiel - Fields 4:59
5
Tom Thiel - Sharif 4:44
6
Tom Thiel - Bubbles 3:42
7
Tom Thiel - Spider 3:47
8
Tom Thiel - Hydro 4:59
9
Tom Thiel - Timeout 3:33
GENRE/S: Electronic, Ambient
TRACKLISTS:
A- 01. Emag Ballad 5:46, 02. Bursts 3:50, 03. Lakeside 5:19, 04. Fields 4:59, 05. Sharif 4:44
B- 06. Bubbles 3:42, 07. Spider 3:47, 08. Hydro 4:59, 09. Timeout 3:33
SHORT INFO:
Producer Tom Thiel has worked in the medium of electronic music since the 1980s, been active in the musical epicenter of Berlin since 1987 and with the Sun Electric duo, he was already at the forefront of live / “real time” electronica since the 1990s.
Incidentally, Sun Electric are set to release an archival live set from this period on Arjunamusic later this year.
Though not everyone becomes exceptional on the basis of “veteran” status alone, Thiel’s latest work shows that he has made good on one of the main promises held out by electronic music and sound synthesis: namely, that it would also provide unexpected, novel, highly individualized syntheses of different attitudes, atmospheres, and affects. This is happily the case with Thiel’s new Arjunamusic release (his first full solo outing since his eponymous 2011 album): it’s a series of colorful, self-contained vignettes that are perceptibly drawn from an eclectic pool of personal experiences and insights.
Like similarly successful musical projects, Thiel’s “Album” utilizes all of the above strengths to craft a rewarding listen in its own right, but also to spark curiosity about what other as-of-yet unrealized fusions may be waiting ahead.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
TRACKLISTS:
A- 01. Emag Ballad 5:46, 02. Bursts 3:50, 03. Lakeside 5:19, 04. Fields 4:59, 05. Sharif 4:44
B- 06. Bubbles 3:42, 07. Spider 3:47, 08. Hydro 4:59, 09. Timeout 3:33
SHORT INFO:
Producer Tom Thiel has worked in the medium of electronic music since the 1980s, been active in the musical epicenter of Berlin since 1987 and with the Sun Electric duo, he was already at the forefront of live / “real time” electronica since the 1990s.
Incidentally, Sun Electric are set to release an archival live set from this period on Arjunamusic later this year.
Though not everyone becomes exceptional on the basis of “veteran” status alone, Thiel’s latest work shows that he has made good on one of the main promises held out by electronic music and sound synthesis: namely, that it would also provide unexpected, novel, highly individualized syntheses of different attitudes, atmospheres, and affects. This is happily the case with Thiel’s new Arjunamusic release (his first full solo outing since his eponymous 2011 album): it’s a series of colorful, self-contained vignettes that are perceptibly drawn from an eclectic pool of personal experiences and insights.
Like similarly successful musical projects, Thiel’s “Album” utilizes all of the above strengths to craft a rewarding listen in its own right, but also to spark curiosity about what other as-of-yet unrealized fusions may be waiting ahead.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-CD727
Release-Date:22.09.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-CD727
Release-Date:22.09.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
1
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 1_The House Behind
2
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 2_Loosing Memory
3
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 3_City People
4
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 4_Concerning the Ice
5
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 5_Passing Wind
6
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 6_Head/Heart
7
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 7_From Below
8
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 8_Lost Small Things
9
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio - 9_Smoke Signals
CD
2. GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
3. TRACKLISTS:
1_The House Behind 2_Loosing Memory 3_City People
4_Concerning the Ice 5_Passing Wind 6_Head/Heart 7_From Below 8_Lost Small Things
9_Smoke Signals
4. SHORT INFO:
Joao Paulo Esteves da Silva piano?
Mário Franco double bass?
Samuel Rohrer percussion
Arjunamusic Records presents the new album The River, from the trio of João Paulo Esteves da
Silva, Mário Franco and Samuel Rohrer, following on the aesthetic developed on their previous release
Brightbird from 2017: it is characterized by meaningful pauses and clever subtractions, but it is also a
strong and mature demonstration of the fruitful partnership that exists between them and more
undeniably perceptible musical features. The group’s willingness to consider the value of the spaces
between the notes (and their understanding that reflection and contemplation upon those spaces is an act
of engagement rather than detachment) is one immediately recognizable feature of their sonic terrain.
However, it’s far from the only one.
In the final estimation, the dialogue between the perceptible and the imperceptible works as well as it
does here because an aesthetic of mutual exchange is central to these musicians’ playing styles. It is rare to
ARTIST: João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio
w/ Mário Franco & Samuel Rohrer
TITLE: The River
LABEL: Arjunamusic Records!
hear albums in which the gestalt can be comprehended rather than voluntarily or involuntarily zooming in
on a single player or aspect of the presentation; the trio here has created something that can be
appreciated in its totality and which challenges listeners to apply its qualities to other areas of lived
experience.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
2. GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
3. TRACKLISTS:
1_The House Behind 2_Loosing Memory 3_City People
4_Concerning the Ice 5_Passing Wind 6_Head/Heart 7_From Below 8_Lost Small Things
9_Smoke Signals
4. SHORT INFO:
Joao Paulo Esteves da Silva piano?
Mário Franco double bass?
Samuel Rohrer percussion
Arjunamusic Records presents the new album The River, from the trio of João Paulo Esteves da
Silva, Mário Franco and Samuel Rohrer, following on the aesthetic developed on their previous release
Brightbird from 2017: it is characterized by meaningful pauses and clever subtractions, but it is also a
strong and mature demonstration of the fruitful partnership that exists between them and more
undeniably perceptible musical features. The group’s willingness to consider the value of the spaces
between the notes (and their understanding that reflection and contemplation upon those spaces is an act
of engagement rather than detachment) is one immediately recognizable feature of their sonic terrain.
However, it’s far from the only one.
In the final estimation, the dialogue between the perceptible and the imperceptible works as well as it
does here because an aesthetic of mutual exchange is central to these musicians’ playing styles. It is rare to
ARTIST: João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio
w/ Mário Franco & Samuel Rohrer
TITLE: The River
LABEL: Arjunamusic Records!
hear albums in which the gestalt can be comprehended rather than voluntarily or involuntarily zooming in
on a single player or aspect of the presentation; the trio here has created something that can be
appreciated in its totality and which challenges listeners to apply its qualities to other areas of lived
experience.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-LP725
Release-Date:05.05.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-LP725
Release-Date:05.05.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
LP
GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
TRACKLISTS:
A1 Garden Of Silence A2 Dare To Dance A3 On Second Thought A4 Ways Of Paradox
A5 Now That We Finally Met - B6 Refraction of Glass B7 Concentric B8 Nostalgia
B9 Gravity Inn B10 Where We Go From Here — Total playing time: 47:55
SHORT INFO:
Klaus Gesing bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects?
Björn Meyer electric bass, effects ?
Samuel Rohrer drums, electronics, mod.synths
The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of
six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left
off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new
Album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players’ abilities. The fundamentals that guided the
debut album – spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal “narrative” quality - are still very much present,
but are this time reinforced with an even more pronounced feeling of communicating across wide
physical and conceptual spaces.
Altogether, Curious Objects is a potent antidote for spiritual and musical fatigue; especially
recommended for those who have already left behind the limitations posed by genres. It is more than the
sum of its parts, and its crossing of numerous different boundaries never feels like the goal in and of
itself: instead, all this activity feels like a tool for unlocking and decoding even more supposedly
irreconcilable qualities and ideas.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
TRACKLISTS:
A1 Garden Of Silence A2 Dare To Dance A3 On Second Thought A4 Ways Of Paradox
A5 Now That We Finally Met - B6 Refraction of Glass B7 Concentric B8 Nostalgia
B9 Gravity Inn B10 Where We Go From Here — Total playing time: 47:55
SHORT INFO:
Klaus Gesing bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects?
Björn Meyer electric bass, effects ?
Samuel Rohrer drums, electronics, mod.synths
The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of
six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left
off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new
Album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players’ abilities. The fundamentals that guided the
debut album – spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal “narrative” quality - are still very much present,
but are this time reinforced with an even more pronounced feeling of communicating across wide
physical and conceptual spaces.
Altogether, Curious Objects is a potent antidote for spiritual and musical fatigue; especially
recommended for those who have already left behind the limitations posed by genres. It is more than the
sum of its parts, and its crossing of numerous different boundaries never feels like the goal in and of
itself: instead, all this activity feels like a tool for unlocking and decoding even more supposedly
irreconcilable qualities and ideas.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-CD725
Release-Date:05.05.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:AMAC-CD725
Release-Date:05.05.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:CD Excl
CD
GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
TRACKLISTS:
1 Garden Of Silence 2 Dare To Dance 3 On Second Thought 4 Ways Of Paradox
5 Now That We Finally Met - 6 Refraction of Glass 7 Concentric 8 Nostalgia
9 Gravity Inn 10 Where We Go From Here — Total playing time: 47:55
SHORT INFO:
Klaus Gesing bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects?
Björn Meyer electric bass, effects ?
Samuel Rohrer drums, electronics, mod.synths
The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of
six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left
off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new
Album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players’ abilities. The fundamentals that guided the
debut album – spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal “narrative” quality - are still very much present,
but are this time reinforced with an even more pronounced feeling of communicating across wide
physical and conceptual spaces.
Altogether, Curious Objects is a potent antidote for spiritual and musical fatigue; especially
recommended for those who have already left behind the limitations posed by genres. It is more than the
sum of its parts, and its crossing of numerous different boundaries never feels like the goal in and of
itself: instead, all this activity feels like a tool for unlocking and decoding even more supposedly
irreconcilable qualities and ideas.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Jazz, Experimental
TRACKLISTS:
1 Garden Of Silence 2 Dare To Dance 3 On Second Thought 4 Ways Of Paradox
5 Now That We Finally Met - 6 Refraction of Glass 7 Concentric 8 Nostalgia
9 Gravity Inn 10 Where We Go From Here — Total playing time: 47:55
SHORT INFO:
Klaus Gesing bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects?
Björn Meyer electric bass, effects ?
Samuel Rohrer drums, electronics, mod.synths
The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of
six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left
off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new
Album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players’ abilities. The fundamentals that guided the
debut album – spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal “narrative” quality - are still very much present,
but are this time reinforced with an even more pronounced feeling of communicating across wide
physical and conceptual spaces.
Altogether, Curious Objects is a potent antidote for spiritual and musical fatigue; especially
recommended for those who have already left behind the limitations posed by genres. It is more than the
sum of its parts, and its crossing of numerous different boundaries never feels like the goal in and of
itself: instead, all this activity feels like a tool for unlocking and decoding even more supposedly
irreconcilable qualities and ideas.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp724
Release-Date:10.02.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp724
Release-Date:10.02.2023
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
[2x12”]
GENRE/S: Minimal, Electronic, Ambient, Downtempo
TRACKLISTS:
1_Body Of Lies 2_Scapegoat Principle 3_Forth Density 4_The Banality Of Evil
5_Talking to Nature Spirits 6_Resurrection — Total playing time: 50:04
SHORT INFO:
Samuel Rohrer - drums, percussion, electronics, keys, modular synths
Music produced, recorded and mixed by Samuel Rohrer
Samuel Rohrer’s newest solo album, Codes of Nature, shows the artist making yet more refinements and
additions to an already rich catalog of musical ideas. Though he has excelled in collaborative projects with Ambiq,
Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Tobias Freund, Dark Star Safari, Nils Petter Molvaer, Oren Ambarchi and
many others, it is fascinating to experience him also working in a field completely his own, yet managing to still give
the impression of being fully integrated or connected with a larger musical universe.
A strange, intriguing ambiguity between the specific and the universal is indeed what makes Rohrer’s music
worth playing on a loop – the cool, downtempo, yet energized constructions on Codes are powered by subtle
atmospheric and tonal changes, and work like a camouflage adaptable to any environment.
This is a record whose strength derives from its versatility. It’s clear that this versatility of sounds has been
inspired by a commitment to positive differentiation that is not just a musical one, and that’s where this work will
inspire others in turn.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Minimal, Electronic, Ambient, Downtempo
TRACKLISTS:
1_Body Of Lies 2_Scapegoat Principle 3_Forth Density 4_The Banality Of Evil
5_Talking to Nature Spirits 6_Resurrection — Total playing time: 50:04
SHORT INFO:
Samuel Rohrer - drums, percussion, electronics, keys, modular synths
Music produced, recorded and mixed by Samuel Rohrer
Samuel Rohrer’s newest solo album, Codes of Nature, shows the artist making yet more refinements and
additions to an already rich catalog of musical ideas. Though he has excelled in collaborative projects with Ambiq,
Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Tobias Freund, Dark Star Safari, Nils Petter Molvaer, Oren Ambarchi and
many others, it is fascinating to experience him also working in a field completely his own, yet managing to still give
the impression of being fully integrated or connected with a larger musical universe.
A strange, intriguing ambiguity between the specific and the universal is indeed what makes Rohrer’s music
worth playing on a loop – the cool, downtempo, yet energized constructions on Codes are powered by subtle
atmospheric and tonal changes, and work like a camouflage adaptable to any environment.
This is a record whose strength derives from its versatility. It’s clear that this versatility of sounds has been
inspired by a commitment to positive differentiation that is not just a musical one, and that’s where this work will
inspire others in turn.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp723
Release-Date:23.09.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp723
Release-Date:23.09.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:LP Excl
LP includes DL Card
GENRE/S: Electronica/Ambient/broken beat
TRACKLISTS:
Side A: 1_Oxygen Beats 2_Bodylanguage 3_Serotonin 4_Ctenophora 5_Window Pain 6_Slow Fox
Side B: 1_Treehouse 2_Human Regression 3_Ctenophora Var. 4_Radar Reflector 5_Ceremonism
Total playing time: 36:04
SHORT INFO:
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer
continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within
the European electronic music realm. Over the past decade he has assembled a repertoire of
music that fills a sadly neglected gap in the modern musical landscape. That is to say, he has
made a number of “electronically”-aided works that never seem to make “electronic-ism” the main
selling point or raison d'être. Rohrer understands that we inhabit a networked media landscape
that no longer sees a novelty value in every synthetic or technological sound, and by realizing
this, he makes a music that fully engages with the present without completely disregarding the
exciting speculative sensibility that has allowed electronic music to solidify into a tradition. His
latest solo album, Hungry Ghosts, again shows the high quality of sonic design that can be
achieved by conceptualizing musical passages as living, breathing entities rather than as
signposts to some still distant reality.
Maybe more so than any of Rohrer’s solo records to date, Hungry Ghosts is the one that
most unambiguously displays the artist as a kind of inspired sound “cultivator” or landscaper
rather than just a straightforward “producer”. The emphasis here seems to be biological growth
processes rendered in musical form, and in fact some track titles namechecking the biodiversity
of the external world (“Slow Fox”, “Ctenophora”) and neurochemistry (“Serotonin”) lend some
additional credence to this interpretation.
As with previous outings, Rohrer starts with his skills as a genre-resistant percussionist
and builds from there, with dense clusters of drum hits and icy cymbal exclamations leading the
way into a wide-open atmosphere full of fragmented phrases, marked with strange reversals or
compressions of time. The percussive portions and other ambiences merge together in such a
way that the latter seems like a kind of shifting, holographic camouflage for the former; an effect
which makes for a greater than usual number of shifts in mood. Rohrer’s already established
ambiguity and mystery are the moods that permeate throughout, to be sure, but there are also
surprising moments of humorous whimsy (the flourishes of cartoon mischief and teasing silences
on the tracks “Human Regression” and “Bodylanguage”), reverence (the optimistic organ swells
and steady sequencer guiding “Ceremonism”), and meditative focus (the slow-motion spectral
waltz of “Treehouse”). Also notable here are very brief etudes, such as “Window Pain,” whose
dark, lush ebb and flow actually seem tailored to repeated or looped listening.
It’s particularly remarkable that almost all of this material is recorded solo and in a “live /
no overdubs” mode, given how much it feels like well-rehearsed ensemble playing, and given the
impeccable timing involved in continually exchanging the sounds at the very forefront of the mix.
And here we come full circle to the idea of “electronic music” mentioned at the beginning here:
instead of making us feel that we are in the presence of some fully-realized form brought back
from “the future,” Rohrer invites us instead to witness fascinating processes of transition and
mutation, and to value them for what they are now as much as for where they are headed.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
GENRE/S: Electronica/Ambient/broken beat
TRACKLISTS:
Side A: 1_Oxygen Beats 2_Bodylanguage 3_Serotonin 4_Ctenophora 5_Window Pain 6_Slow Fox
Side B: 1_Treehouse 2_Human Regression 3_Ctenophora Var. 4_Radar Reflector 5_Ceremonism
Total playing time: 36:04
SHORT INFO:
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer
continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within
the European electronic music realm. Over the past decade he has assembled a repertoire of
music that fills a sadly neglected gap in the modern musical landscape. That is to say, he has
made a number of “electronically”-aided works that never seem to make “electronic-ism” the main
selling point or raison d'être. Rohrer understands that we inhabit a networked media landscape
that no longer sees a novelty value in every synthetic or technological sound, and by realizing
this, he makes a music that fully engages with the present without completely disregarding the
exciting speculative sensibility that has allowed electronic music to solidify into a tradition. His
latest solo album, Hungry Ghosts, again shows the high quality of sonic design that can be
achieved by conceptualizing musical passages as living, breathing entities rather than as
signposts to some still distant reality.
Maybe more so than any of Rohrer’s solo records to date, Hungry Ghosts is the one that
most unambiguously displays the artist as a kind of inspired sound “cultivator” or landscaper
rather than just a straightforward “producer”. The emphasis here seems to be biological growth
processes rendered in musical form, and in fact some track titles namechecking the biodiversity
of the external world (“Slow Fox”, “Ctenophora”) and neurochemistry (“Serotonin”) lend some
additional credence to this interpretation.
As with previous outings, Rohrer starts with his skills as a genre-resistant percussionist
and builds from there, with dense clusters of drum hits and icy cymbal exclamations leading the
way into a wide-open atmosphere full of fragmented phrases, marked with strange reversals or
compressions of time. The percussive portions and other ambiences merge together in such a
way that the latter seems like a kind of shifting, holographic camouflage for the former; an effect
which makes for a greater than usual number of shifts in mood. Rohrer’s already established
ambiguity and mystery are the moods that permeate throughout, to be sure, but there are also
surprising moments of humorous whimsy (the flourishes of cartoon mischief and teasing silences
on the tracks “Human Regression” and “Bodylanguage”), reverence (the optimistic organ swells
and steady sequencer guiding “Ceremonism”), and meditative focus (the slow-motion spectral
waltz of “Treehouse”). Also notable here are very brief etudes, such as “Window Pain,” whose
dark, lush ebb and flow actually seem tailored to repeated or looped listening.
It’s particularly remarkable that almost all of this material is recorded solo and in a “live /
no overdubs” mode, given how much it feels like well-rehearsed ensemble playing, and given the
impeccable timing involved in continually exchanging the sounds at the very forefront of the mix.
And here we come full circle to the idea of “electronic music” mentioned at the beginning here:
instead of making us feel that we are in the presence of some fully-realized form brought back
from “the future,” Rohrer invites us instead to witness fascinating processes of transition and
mutation, and to value them for what they are now as much as for where they are headed.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp722
Release-Date:08.04.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2x12" Excl
Label:Arjunamusic Records
Cat-No:amel-lp722
Release-Date:08.04.2022
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2x12" Excl
1
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer - A. Helix 7:23
2
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer - B. Incus 10:47
3
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer - C. Lobule 11:03
4
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer - D. Cochlea 8:28
Special remarks : 2x12"
Genre: Electronic
Tracklisting:
A: Helix 7:23
B: Incus 10:47
C: Lobule 11:03
D: Cochlea 8:28
Short Info:
Press release by Thomas Bey William Bailey
The Ricardo Villalobos / Samuel Rohrer partnership has yielded increasingly interesting results over the past few
years, with the former’s remixes of the latter’s trio Ambiq being supplemented by further reinterpretations of
Rohrer’s solo work and live meetings at select events like Berlin’s Funkhaus and Radialsystem V. As should be the
case with any strong collaboration, this partnership has been based on mutual challenge rather than compromise,
seeing each participant shuttle key technical and emotive aspects of the other’s work to previously unexpected
places.
Those who have been closely following this relationship will notice a definite sense of continuity between
previous outings and the new collaborative release entitled MICROGESTURES. As with those earlier Villalobos
/ Rohrer pairings, these four new pieces are defined by a special quality of being many things that once: that is to
say, depending on the listener’s own level of focus, these can feel very tightly constructed and disciplined, or
playful and freely wandering. That the tracks are equally engaging regardless of one’s chosen listening “mode” is
a testament to the level of thought put into them; you could almost imagining the creators poring over some
elaborate sketched set of architectural blueprints rather than coolly monitoring the usual multi-track editing
software.
Altogether the music here is firmly a-melodic and percussive, but within these deliberate limitations there is still a
greater variety of individual sounds than most would bother with. Each track is its own observatory of microgestures clustering together into a dense communicative fog or a sort of robotic sound swarm. Yet while all
these tracks are variations on that theme, each one has its own character and, consequently, its own rewards in
terms of the exact sectors of the imagination that it activates.
Take for example “Cochlea” and its twin “Helix,” on which the magnetizing, busy layers of percussion are
tempered with mischievously disruptive blossomings of digital noise, as well as sampled radio communications
(which again bring us back to the idea of listeners’ attentiveness changing the meaning of this music - these
curious transmissions can either be taken as a purely aesthetic element or as something to be actively decoded).
Club-oriented elements are also not absent from this suite, particularly on “Incus” with its traditional sequenced
baseline, crisp synthetic trap and hats, and dizzily sliding set of bell-like tones laid on top.?
Yet this track, too, is powered as much by its restless desire to deviate as by its rhythmic consistency: throughout
the eleven-minute running time, a mass of ambiguous and restless machine sounds build a parallel narrative, and
will maybe
prompt the occasional glance over the shoulder as they seem to be taking on their own life. “Lobule” rounds out
the program with the most rhythmically eventful sound set off the five.
What this all adds up to is a confident music which builds that quality from its faith in possibilities rather than
firm conclusions: it’s an inspiring addition to both the musical landscape and reality in general
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Genre: Electronic
Tracklisting:
A: Helix 7:23
B: Incus 10:47
C: Lobule 11:03
D: Cochlea 8:28
Short Info:
Press release by Thomas Bey William Bailey
The Ricardo Villalobos / Samuel Rohrer partnership has yielded increasingly interesting results over the past few
years, with the former’s remixes of the latter’s trio Ambiq being supplemented by further reinterpretations of
Rohrer’s solo work and live meetings at select events like Berlin’s Funkhaus and Radialsystem V. As should be the
case with any strong collaboration, this partnership has been based on mutual challenge rather than compromise,
seeing each participant shuttle key technical and emotive aspects of the other’s work to previously unexpected
places.
Those who have been closely following this relationship will notice a definite sense of continuity between
previous outings and the new collaborative release entitled MICROGESTURES. As with those earlier Villalobos
/ Rohrer pairings, these four new pieces are defined by a special quality of being many things that once: that is to
say, depending on the listener’s own level of focus, these can feel very tightly constructed and disciplined, or
playful and freely wandering. That the tracks are equally engaging regardless of one’s chosen listening “mode” is
a testament to the level of thought put into them; you could almost imagining the creators poring over some
elaborate sketched set of architectural blueprints rather than coolly monitoring the usual multi-track editing
software.
Altogether the music here is firmly a-melodic and percussive, but within these deliberate limitations there is still a
greater variety of individual sounds than most would bother with. Each track is its own observatory of microgestures clustering together into a dense communicative fog or a sort of robotic sound swarm. Yet while all
these tracks are variations on that theme, each one has its own character and, consequently, its own rewards in
terms of the exact sectors of the imagination that it activates.
Take for example “Cochlea” and its twin “Helix,” on which the magnetizing, busy layers of percussion are
tempered with mischievously disruptive blossomings of digital noise, as well as sampled radio communications
(which again bring us back to the idea of listeners’ attentiveness changing the meaning of this music - these
curious transmissions can either be taken as a purely aesthetic element or as something to be actively decoded).
Club-oriented elements are also not absent from this suite, particularly on “Incus” with its traditional sequenced
baseline, crisp synthetic trap and hats, and dizzily sliding set of bell-like tones laid on top.?
Yet this track, too, is powered as much by its restless desire to deviate as by its rhythmic consistency: throughout
the eleven-minute running time, a mass of ambiguous and restless machine sounds build a parallel narrative, and
will maybe
prompt the occasional glance over the shoulder as they seem to be taking on their own life. “Lobule” rounds out
the program with the most rhythmically eventful sound set off the five.
What this all adds up to is a confident music which builds that quality from its faith in possibilities rather than
firm conclusions: it’s an inspiring addition to both the musical landscape and reality in general
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Special remarks : Vinyl + Downloadcode
Genre: Alternative - Ambient
Tracklist LP:
1 Patria 3.53 - 2 Life Stand Still 4.18 - 3 Portraits of You 3.35 - 4 Measured
Response 4.26 - 5 Father’s Day 4.21 - 6 Invocation 3.54 - 7 Murmuration 4.04
8 Passover 4.25 - 9 Disembodied 3.43 10 Walk Through Lightly 3.40
Total time: 40.24
Short Info:
Press release by Thomas Bey William Bailey
Dark Star Safari is a musical entity comprised of Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset, Samuel Rohrer and John Derek Bishop. Their second fulllength offering Walk Through Lightly is the first to feature all five musicians together in the studio from the outset, making for a more organic refinement upon their already established methodology: gradually sculpting distinct songs out of collective improvisations, or using the raw material from initial recordings as the basis for more carefully articulated compositions. The final mix is one that invites few stylistic comparisons to other musical peers, and in fact few comparisons to existing genres. Though this second offering from the project is frosted over with a Scandinavian sense of spatiality and
melancholy, it’s best listened to without considering any origin points, geographic or otherwise: from the opening moments of “Walk Through Lightly,” listeners will feel as if teleported directly into the middle of an enigmatic film-in-progress.
The album opener immediately and successfully sets the table for what is to follow. The electronic and acoustic instrumentation is pensive, but not passive, with restrained scrapes and stridulations in the background combining with backwards-looped passages and perlescent or granulated sound effects to better emphasize the carefully arranged latticework of guitar, percussion, strings, and bass. In some places, such as on “Father’s Day” and “Measured Response,” the silences or breaths between passages are pronounced enough to be an instrument in their own right (and an elegant confirmation of the fact that silence is also a conveyor of information). This nuanced production, which wisely opts for intimacy instead of relying on overdone "instant atmosphere generators" like lengthy reverb, provides just enough tension to contrast with the sense of elevation provided by Bang’s vocal contributions: smoky, evanescent, and impressionistic recitations offering not snapshots of specific events, but rather complete emotional environments for the listener to hover through and explore.
Within these environments, the lyrical imagery focuses upon coming to grips with sudden transformations on both micro and macro levels (the opening “this was a perfect place / till we lost our way” from “Patria” or the foreboding “Poems that explore / Their silence / Crush their violence / Now their time ends” from “Measured Response.”) It focuses as well upon coming to thresholds or crossings, be they physical crossroads or internal states of mind, or both (see especially the striking turns of phrase from “Murmuration.”) With such things in mind, it’s only natural that there would be consideration of dreaming as well, and indeed four different titles on the LP make different reference to a dream or dream state, seemingly valuing dreams as part of the continuum of consciousness rather than something totally cut off from waking experience.
Given the sense of foreboding, anticipation, and even unease that these kinds of subjects often bring with them, the spare and un-hurried music is all the more intriguing, especially when the eponymous finale arrives and the percolating sound bed seems to hint at a coming resolution, but then leaves the listener with more questions than answers. By competently fusing a mature, economical approach to sincerely romantic lyrical themes, Walk Through Lightly is a rare accomplishment.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Genre: Alternative - Ambient
Tracklist LP:
1 Patria 3.53 - 2 Life Stand Still 4.18 - 3 Portraits of You 3.35 - 4 Measured
Response 4.26 - 5 Father’s Day 4.21 - 6 Invocation 3.54 - 7 Murmuration 4.04
8 Passover 4.25 - 9 Disembodied 3.43 10 Walk Through Lightly 3.40
Total time: 40.24
Short Info:
Press release by Thomas Bey William Bailey
Dark Star Safari is a musical entity comprised of Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset, Samuel Rohrer and John Derek Bishop. Their second fulllength offering Walk Through Lightly is the first to feature all five musicians together in the studio from the outset, making for a more organic refinement upon their already established methodology: gradually sculpting distinct songs out of collective improvisations, or using the raw material from initial recordings as the basis for more carefully articulated compositions. The final mix is one that invites few stylistic comparisons to other musical peers, and in fact few comparisons to existing genres. Though this second offering from the project is frosted over with a Scandinavian sense of spatiality and
melancholy, it’s best listened to without considering any origin points, geographic or otherwise: from the opening moments of “Walk Through Lightly,” listeners will feel as if teleported directly into the middle of an enigmatic film-in-progress.
The album opener immediately and successfully sets the table for what is to follow. The electronic and acoustic instrumentation is pensive, but not passive, with restrained scrapes and stridulations in the background combining with backwards-looped passages and perlescent or granulated sound effects to better emphasize the carefully arranged latticework of guitar, percussion, strings, and bass. In some places, such as on “Father’s Day” and “Measured Response,” the silences or breaths between passages are pronounced enough to be an instrument in their own right (and an elegant confirmation of the fact that silence is also a conveyor of information). This nuanced production, which wisely opts for intimacy instead of relying on overdone "instant atmosphere generators" like lengthy reverb, provides just enough tension to contrast with the sense of elevation provided by Bang’s vocal contributions: smoky, evanescent, and impressionistic recitations offering not snapshots of specific events, but rather complete emotional environments for the listener to hover through and explore.
Within these environments, the lyrical imagery focuses upon coming to grips with sudden transformations on both micro and macro levels (the opening “this was a perfect place / till we lost our way” from “Patria” or the foreboding “Poems that explore / Their silence / Crush their violence / Now their time ends” from “Measured Response.”) It focuses as well upon coming to thresholds or crossings, be they physical crossroads or internal states of mind, or both (see especially the striking turns of phrase from “Murmuration.”) With such things in mind, it’s only natural that there would be consideration of dreaming as well, and indeed four different titles on the LP make different reference to a dream or dream state, seemingly valuing dreams as part of the continuum of consciousness rather than something totally cut off from waking experience.
Given the sense of foreboding, anticipation, and even unease that these kinds of subjects often bring with them, the spare and un-hurried music is all the more intriguing, especially when the eponymous finale arrives and the percolating sound bed seems to hint at a coming resolution, but then leaves the listener with more questions than answers. By competently fusing a mature, economical approach to sincerely romantic lyrical themes, Walk Through Lightly is a rare accomplishment.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Customers who bought this also bought this
Label:Smallville Records
Cat-No:smallville70
Release-Date:05.09.2025
Genre:Deephouse
Configuration:12" Excl
Label:Smallville Records
Cat-No:smallville70
Release-Date:05.09.2025
Genre:Deephouse
Configuration:12" Excl
1
Ashtar Afterhours - Body Music
2
Ashtar Afterhours - Lite Of My Life
3
Ashtar Afterhours - Intro To Ashtar
4
Ashtar Afterhours - Touchy Feely
5
Ashtar Afterhours - Taeya Vs. Gia Maria
Artwork and Typography by Stefan Marx
Tracklist:
A1 Body Music
A2 Lite Of My Life
B1 Intro To Ashtar
B2 Touchy Feely
B3 Taeya Vs. Gia Marie
Here's to a special one..
Ashtar Afterhours is Kenneth Graham - originally from Los Angeles, he has been a defining presence in electronic music ever since the 90s. Buying his first classic synthesizer, a Yamaha CS01, in 1984, he delved into music production at an early stage. Kenneth put out over 40 releases over the years- under his own name as well as stepping up under various aliases- Estelle Montenegro, KG Beat, Exit Strategy and many others. Kenneth also formed some super-groups together with friends, his Sun Children / Sunkiss project- together with David Alvarado- put out highly influential music on legendary Peacefrog Records.
Body Music was originally released on Plastic City in 2001 and it has been a Smallville favourite since a long time, so we are super happy to present this beauty as a repress, as always with a full cover artwork by Stefan Marx.
All tracks written & produced by Kenneth Graham, B3 w&p by Kenneth Graham & Gabriel Ortega
Vinyl cut by Helmut Erler at Lathesville
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Tracklist:
A1 Body Music
A2 Lite Of My Life
B1 Intro To Ashtar
B2 Touchy Feely
B3 Taeya Vs. Gia Marie
Here's to a special one..
Ashtar Afterhours is Kenneth Graham - originally from Los Angeles, he has been a defining presence in electronic music ever since the 90s. Buying his first classic synthesizer, a Yamaha CS01, in 1984, he delved into music production at an early stage. Kenneth put out over 40 releases over the years- under his own name as well as stepping up under various aliases- Estelle Montenegro, KG Beat, Exit Strategy and many others. Kenneth also formed some super-groups together with friends, his Sun Children / Sunkiss project- together with David Alvarado- put out highly influential music on legendary Peacefrog Records.
Body Music was originally released on Plastic City in 2001 and it has been a Smallville favourite since a long time, so we are super happy to present this beauty as a repress, as always with a full cover artwork by Stefan Marx.
All tracks written & produced by Kenneth Graham, B3 w&p by Kenneth Graham & Gabriel Ortega
Vinyl cut by Helmut Erler at Lathesville
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sam Ruffillo - House Tipo Cosi
2
Sam Ruffillo - Mi Fa Volare
3
Sam Ruffillo - Ancora
4
Sam Ruffillo - Perfetta Cosi
5
Sam Ruffillo - Amigo
6
Sam Ruffillo - Dentro Di Me
7
Sam Ruffillo - Danza Organica
8
Sam Ruffillo - Es Buena
9
Sam Ruffillo - Ma Sei Fuori
10
Sam Ruffillo - Chiamami Subito
11
Sam Ruffillo - Non Si Ferma Mai
2 x 12"
Tracklist 12":
A1) House Tipo Cosi 5:19
A2) Mi Fa Volare 6:57
B1) Ancora 4:11
B2) Perfetta Cosi 4:20
B3) Amigo 5:33
C1) Dentro Di Me 4:38
C2) Danza Organica 4:25
C3) Es Buena 4:53
D1) Ma Sei Fuori 4:53
D2) Chiamami Subito 4:44
D3) Non Si Ferma Mai 4:47
Italian producer, musician, DJ, and groove architect Sam Ruffillo drops his long-awaited debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics – a sun-drenched, genre-blurring statement that blends classic house with Mediterranean flair, romantic funk, and tongue-in-cheek Italo vibes. Over 11 expertly crafted tracks, Ruffillo delivers a dancefloor-ready, emotionally rich LP that connects deep musicality with irresistible rhythm and light-hearted elegance.
After three acclaimed EPs and collaborations with revered artists such as Barbara Boeing, Kapote, and Fimiani, Ruffillo has firmly cemented himself as a core artist on the Berlin-based label. Known for his unmistakable signature sound — a warm mix of vintage disco, 90s house, and Italian vocals — Sam’s music has garnered widespread DJ support from tastemakers like Gerd Janson, Palms Trax, Seth Troxler, and DJ Tennis, while becoming a staple on Italian airwaves. His infectious summer anthems like Danza Organica and Perfetta Così have soundtracked countless club nights and festivals, creating a loyal following that eagerly awaited this full-length debut.
Tipo Così is the natural culmination of a musical journey that’s both playful and profound — a travel diary written in grooves, synth stabs, and melodies that feel like postcards from a parallel Mediterranean universe. The album expands and deepens Ruffillo’s world into a fully immersive experience: lush emotional chords meet tight syncopated grooves, vintage synth textures collide with irresistibly catchy pop refrains, and the boundary between sincerity and playful irony is exquisitely blurred.
Entirely written, produced, and recorded in Italy, in his beloved hometown of Bologna, the album finds Ruffillo at the helm on keys, drum machines, and production, supported by a talented cast of musicians contributing live bass, guitar, and other organic elements — further enriching his trademark fusion of electronic grooves and natural instrumentation. There’s a tactile warmth in these tracks, a hands-on feel that adds soul and depth to every beat.
This album also marks Ruffillo’s heartfelt return to singing in Italian, with standout tracks like House Tipo Così, Mi Fa Volare, Ancora, and Dentro Di Me, where romantic naïveté meets pulsing club energy in a way that feels both timeless and refreshingly new. The vocal performances add an intimate, human touch to the music, reinforcing the personal stories woven into each song. There’s poetry in the casual, a bittersweet elegance in the way the lyrics float over groove-heavy production.
Having toured extensively across Europe, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Mexico — with sets at iconic venues like Panorama Bar and festivals such as Sónar Barcelona — Ruffillo has fine-tuned much of this album in front of live audiences. The real-world testing ground infused the record with a dynamic energy and immediacy that only comes from genuine crowd interaction. These songs weren’t just made in the studio — they were lived on dancefloors around the world.
Tipo Così is not just a collection of tracks. It’s a philosophy — playful, stylish and unmistakably personal. A modern club album bursting with heartfelt emotion and sophistication. Music for dancers with taste; for lovers of beauty, rhythm, and the little imperfections that make things feel real.
But what exactly is Tipo Così? More than just a phrase, it’s a way of being. It’s about embracing elegance without effort, mixing irony with sincerity, and letting nostalgia slip into the room without taking over the party. It’s Sam Ruffillo’s signature language: relaxed, confident, meticulous yet never rigid — where a chord progression can say as much as a lyric, and every beat carries intention.
The album’s visual identity complements this vision perfectly. The artwork and promotional materials lovingly reference Italian design from the ’80s and ’90s, combining bold graphic elements with playful pop culture nods. This aesthetic mirrors Ruffillo’s music — a fusion of vintage warmth and contemporary freshness, delivered with authenticity and charm.
Sam Ruffillo belongs to a new generation of European artists who are reshaping electronic music by blending past and present, analog and digital, groove and emotion — without nostalgia or pose. His artistic universe is coherent, vibrant, and alive; a rich tapestry of sound, images, and stories that coexist with lightness, precision, and a distinctive voice.
Reflecting on his artistic journey, Sam describes music as a vital, deeply human impulse — a tribal connection to rhythm and body that has driven him since he was a teenager. His creative process balances meticulous planning with room for spontaneity, usually sparked by clear melodic ideas that evolve naturally. Collaborations with close friends, especially vocalists like Ninfa, add warmth and authenticity, exemplified in tracks like “House Tipo Così.” For Sam, music is honest self-expression — crafted for listeners who crave memorable melodies and rhythms imbued with genuine feeling.
While technical perfection is tempting, Sam prioritizes emotion, knowing that what truly resonates is the soul behind the sounds. His long-standing partnership with Toy Tonics has been key in nurturing his vision, offering a blend of creative freedom and professional support. Looking ahead, Sam Ruffillo is excited to broaden his live performances, and release new projects that continue to blend electronic grooves with organic, heartfelt sounds — maintaining the delicate balance between playful irony and sincere emotion that defines Tipo Così.
Kurzversion:
Italian DJ, producer and musician Sam Ruffillo drops his debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics - a sunny blend of house, funk, Italo and pop, full of groove and emotion. Written and recorded in Bologna with live instruments and Italian vocals, it’s a playful, elegant journey shaped on dancefloors worldwide. A stylish, sincere club album where nostalgia, irony and rhythm meet in perfect harmony.
- Mi Fa Volare
Road-tested across continents and now finally released, “Mi Fa Volare” channels 90s uplifting euphoria with big breakbeats, lush chords, and Italian vocals built to stick. Somewhere between balearic bliss and piano house nostalgia, it’s a feel-good club weapon made for peak-time moments - already sung back by crowds after just one listen.
- Ancora
“Ancora” is a vibrant hi-NRG track inspired by 80s Italo disco, sung entirely in Italian. It blends driving rhythms with dreamy melodies, capturing the radiant spirit of the decade. This fresh yet nostalgic song delivers euphoric vibes and timeless energy, making it a perfect fit for both dancefloors and reflective listening moments worldwide.
- Dentro Di Me
“Dentro Di Me” channels ‘90s sensuality through a fast-paced, UK house-inspired lens. Entirely in Italian, it’s a bold and contemporary dance track where hypnotic vocals meet high-energy grooves. Blending nostalgic textures with forward-thinking production, the result is a seductive and euphoric trip - equal parts emotional and club-ready.
- Amigo
“Amigo” blends Latin groove, acoustic guitar-driven rhythm, and Mediterranean flair into a warm, magnetic, cross-cultural dance anthem. Sung in Spanish and Italian, it celebrates connection, inclusivity, and the joy of moving together - whether stranger or friend. With its unstoppable rhythm and vibrant energy, it’s a feel-good track with a unifying spirit.
- Ma Sei Fuori
“Ma Sei Fuori” is a tongue-in-cheek dancefloor bomb blending raw house energy with catchy vocal phrases and a nod to classic French touch. Driven by hypnotic vocal lines and a playful attitude, it doesn’t take itself too seriously - while still proving serious club impact. Built for late-night moments, it’s bold, bouncy, and impossible to ignore.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Tracklist 12":
A1) House Tipo Cosi 5:19
A2) Mi Fa Volare 6:57
B1) Ancora 4:11
B2) Perfetta Cosi 4:20
B3) Amigo 5:33
C1) Dentro Di Me 4:38
C2) Danza Organica 4:25
C3) Es Buena 4:53
D1) Ma Sei Fuori 4:53
D2) Chiamami Subito 4:44
D3) Non Si Ferma Mai 4:47
Italian producer, musician, DJ, and groove architect Sam Ruffillo drops his long-awaited debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics – a sun-drenched, genre-blurring statement that blends classic house with Mediterranean flair, romantic funk, and tongue-in-cheek Italo vibes. Over 11 expertly crafted tracks, Ruffillo delivers a dancefloor-ready, emotionally rich LP that connects deep musicality with irresistible rhythm and light-hearted elegance.
After three acclaimed EPs and collaborations with revered artists such as Barbara Boeing, Kapote, and Fimiani, Ruffillo has firmly cemented himself as a core artist on the Berlin-based label. Known for his unmistakable signature sound — a warm mix of vintage disco, 90s house, and Italian vocals — Sam’s music has garnered widespread DJ support from tastemakers like Gerd Janson, Palms Trax, Seth Troxler, and DJ Tennis, while becoming a staple on Italian airwaves. His infectious summer anthems like Danza Organica and Perfetta Così have soundtracked countless club nights and festivals, creating a loyal following that eagerly awaited this full-length debut.
Tipo Così is the natural culmination of a musical journey that’s both playful and profound — a travel diary written in grooves, synth stabs, and melodies that feel like postcards from a parallel Mediterranean universe. The album expands and deepens Ruffillo’s world into a fully immersive experience: lush emotional chords meet tight syncopated grooves, vintage synth textures collide with irresistibly catchy pop refrains, and the boundary between sincerity and playful irony is exquisitely blurred.
Entirely written, produced, and recorded in Italy, in his beloved hometown of Bologna, the album finds Ruffillo at the helm on keys, drum machines, and production, supported by a talented cast of musicians contributing live bass, guitar, and other organic elements — further enriching his trademark fusion of electronic grooves and natural instrumentation. There’s a tactile warmth in these tracks, a hands-on feel that adds soul and depth to every beat.
This album also marks Ruffillo’s heartfelt return to singing in Italian, with standout tracks like House Tipo Così, Mi Fa Volare, Ancora, and Dentro Di Me, where romantic naïveté meets pulsing club energy in a way that feels both timeless and refreshingly new. The vocal performances add an intimate, human touch to the music, reinforcing the personal stories woven into each song. There’s poetry in the casual, a bittersweet elegance in the way the lyrics float over groove-heavy production.
Having toured extensively across Europe, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Mexico — with sets at iconic venues like Panorama Bar and festivals such as Sónar Barcelona — Ruffillo has fine-tuned much of this album in front of live audiences. The real-world testing ground infused the record with a dynamic energy and immediacy that only comes from genuine crowd interaction. These songs weren’t just made in the studio — they were lived on dancefloors around the world.
Tipo Così is not just a collection of tracks. It’s a philosophy — playful, stylish and unmistakably personal. A modern club album bursting with heartfelt emotion and sophistication. Music for dancers with taste; for lovers of beauty, rhythm, and the little imperfections that make things feel real.
But what exactly is Tipo Così? More than just a phrase, it’s a way of being. It’s about embracing elegance without effort, mixing irony with sincerity, and letting nostalgia slip into the room without taking over the party. It’s Sam Ruffillo’s signature language: relaxed, confident, meticulous yet never rigid — where a chord progression can say as much as a lyric, and every beat carries intention.
The album’s visual identity complements this vision perfectly. The artwork and promotional materials lovingly reference Italian design from the ’80s and ’90s, combining bold graphic elements with playful pop culture nods. This aesthetic mirrors Ruffillo’s music — a fusion of vintage warmth and contemporary freshness, delivered with authenticity and charm.
Sam Ruffillo belongs to a new generation of European artists who are reshaping electronic music by blending past and present, analog and digital, groove and emotion — without nostalgia or pose. His artistic universe is coherent, vibrant, and alive; a rich tapestry of sound, images, and stories that coexist with lightness, precision, and a distinctive voice.
Reflecting on his artistic journey, Sam describes music as a vital, deeply human impulse — a tribal connection to rhythm and body that has driven him since he was a teenager. His creative process balances meticulous planning with room for spontaneity, usually sparked by clear melodic ideas that evolve naturally. Collaborations with close friends, especially vocalists like Ninfa, add warmth and authenticity, exemplified in tracks like “House Tipo Così.” For Sam, music is honest self-expression — crafted for listeners who crave memorable melodies and rhythms imbued with genuine feeling.
While technical perfection is tempting, Sam prioritizes emotion, knowing that what truly resonates is the soul behind the sounds. His long-standing partnership with Toy Tonics has been key in nurturing his vision, offering a blend of creative freedom and professional support. Looking ahead, Sam Ruffillo is excited to broaden his live performances, and release new projects that continue to blend electronic grooves with organic, heartfelt sounds — maintaining the delicate balance between playful irony and sincere emotion that defines Tipo Così.
Kurzversion:
Italian DJ, producer and musician Sam Ruffillo drops his debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics - a sunny blend of house, funk, Italo and pop, full of groove and emotion. Written and recorded in Bologna with live instruments and Italian vocals, it’s a playful, elegant journey shaped on dancefloors worldwide. A stylish, sincere club album where nostalgia, irony and rhythm meet in perfect harmony.
- Mi Fa Volare
Road-tested across continents and now finally released, “Mi Fa Volare” channels 90s uplifting euphoria with big breakbeats, lush chords, and Italian vocals built to stick. Somewhere between balearic bliss and piano house nostalgia, it’s a feel-good club weapon made for peak-time moments - already sung back by crowds after just one listen.
- Ancora
“Ancora” is a vibrant hi-NRG track inspired by 80s Italo disco, sung entirely in Italian. It blends driving rhythms with dreamy melodies, capturing the radiant spirit of the decade. This fresh yet nostalgic song delivers euphoric vibes and timeless energy, making it a perfect fit for both dancefloors and reflective listening moments worldwide.
- Dentro Di Me
“Dentro Di Me” channels ‘90s sensuality through a fast-paced, UK house-inspired lens. Entirely in Italian, it’s a bold and contemporary dance track where hypnotic vocals meet high-energy grooves. Blending nostalgic textures with forward-thinking production, the result is a seductive and euphoric trip - equal parts emotional and club-ready.
- Amigo
“Amigo” blends Latin groove, acoustic guitar-driven rhythm, and Mediterranean flair into a warm, magnetic, cross-cultural dance anthem. Sung in Spanish and Italian, it celebrates connection, inclusivity, and the joy of moving together - whether stranger or friend. With its unstoppable rhythm and vibrant energy, it’s a feel-good track with a unifying spirit.
- Ma Sei Fuori
“Ma Sei Fuori” is a tongue-in-cheek dancefloor bomb blending raw house energy with catchy vocal phrases and a nod to classic French touch. Driven by hypnotic vocal lines and a playful attitude, it doesn’t take itself too seriously - while still proving serious club impact. Built for late-night moments, it’s bold, bouncy, and impossible to ignore.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
David Brown - Feel Love (Ralphi Rosario Vox Mix)
2
David Brown - Feel Love (Sherman Rogers Underground Mix)
3
David Brown - Feel Love (Red Nail Dub)
4
David Brown - Feel Love (Ralphi Rosario Vox Dub)
Large Music proudly presents the long-awaited reissue of David Brown – “Feel Love”, originally released in 1994 and now making its triumphant return on vinyl for the first time in decades. Cataloged as LAR010, this essential piece of Chicago house history has been lovingly remastered and pressed to wax, reaffirming its legacy as a cornerstone of the genre. Produced by Sherman Rogers and Darren Brandon of the acclaimed Black Ice Productions, “Feel Love” is a quintessential expression of the raw, soulful energy that defined the Windy City’s deep house scene in the early '90s. Blending hypnotic rhythms, warm synths, and David Brown’s emotive vocal delivery, the track captured the hearts of underground dancefloors from Chicago to the world. Adding to the release's weight is an all-star lineup of remixers who need no introduction:
• Ralphi Rosario, one of house music’s original architects and a member of the legendary Hot Mix 5, brings his signature peak-hour intensity and timeless groove.
• Derrick Carter & Chris Nazuka, operating under their cult alias Red Nail, deliver a raw, stripped-back interpretation, dripping with analog grit and deep, jacking flavor.
This reissue isn’t just a nod to nostalgia—it’s a powerful reminder of house music’s roots and enduring spirit. Whether rediscovered or experienced for the first time, “Feel Love” stands tall as a classic slice of Chicago house, as relevant on today’s dancefloors as it was over 30 years ago.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
• Ralphi Rosario, one of house music’s original architects and a member of the legendary Hot Mix 5, brings his signature peak-hour intensity and timeless groove.
• Derrick Carter & Chris Nazuka, operating under their cult alias Red Nail, deliver a raw, stripped-back interpretation, dripping with analog grit and deep, jacking flavor.
This reissue isn’t just a nod to nostalgia—it’s a powerful reminder of house music’s roots and enduring spirit. Whether rediscovered or experienced for the first time, “Feel Love” stands tall as a classic slice of Chicago house, as relevant on today’s dancefloors as it was over 30 years ago.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Dave DK - Herzen Auf (8:08)
2
Dave DK - Ross 308 (7:21)
3
Dave DK - Don't Eat The Homies (6:22)
12”
TRACKLIST 12” Vinyl
A1 - Dave DK - Herzen Auf (8:08)
B1 - Dave DK - Ross 308 (7:21)
B2 - Dave DK - Don´t Eat The Homies (6:22)
PR EN: We'll spare everyone the Promo Palaver and let the wonderful music speak for itself.
Original Tracks written and produced by Dave DK / Published by Kosikos Publishing
"Don't Eat The Homies" contains a sample of the recording, "Run Between The Raindrops (While My Teardrops Fall)" performed by Sharon Revoal, courtesy of The Numero Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Written by Ellis Clarence Taylor Sr and published by Cleanteen Music Pub (BMI), administered by Secretly Publishing.
P+C Pampa Records 2024
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
TRACKLIST 12” Vinyl
A1 - Dave DK - Herzen Auf (8:08)
B1 - Dave DK - Ross 308 (7:21)
B2 - Dave DK - Don´t Eat The Homies (6:22)
PR EN: We'll spare everyone the Promo Palaver and let the wonderful music speak for itself.
Original Tracks written and produced by Dave DK / Published by Kosikos Publishing
"Don't Eat The Homies" contains a sample of the recording, "Run Between The Raindrops (While My Teardrops Fall)" performed by Sharon Revoal, courtesy of The Numero Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Written by Ellis Clarence Taylor Sr and published by Cleanteen Music Pub (BMI), administered by Secretly Publishing.
P+C Pampa Records 2024
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
outlander - Vamp
Classic original version cut loud on each side.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
binh - visio
2
binh - ruski
2022 Repress
UPC827170571969 Rel date 16.2.2015
Tracklistting:
A: VISIO B: RUSKI
2 tracks by Berlin based Germann Nguyen also known as Binh.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
UPC827170571969 Rel date 16.2.2015
Tracklistting:
A: VISIO B: RUSKI
2 tracks by Berlin based Germann Nguyen also known as Binh.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Michel Cleis, - Mir a nero
2
Michel Cleis, - Amaranthus
2022 repress
A: Mir a nero ISRC: DEMM11200019
B: Amaranthus ISRC: DEMM11200020
It's been three years since Swiss producer Michel Cleis conjured a storm with "La Mezcla", a Cadenza hit cemented into house canon as it was swiftly reissued by Strictly Rhythm, bringing the sabor latino into clubs worldwide. Some more 12"s and a number of high-profile remixes (going from tracey thorn to skunk anansie,for labels like rekids , bronswood or Aus) later, he's now teaming up with DJ Koze's crew for his next move: a colorful, crescendoing 12-minute tune that's ready to make a splash in your summer soundtrack. "Mir a Nero" begins with a steady, upbeat kick underlying a simple piano arpeggio - like if Philip Glass make dance music - but then some accents of vibrant hand percussion loosen up the vibe, soon progressing into rhythmic layers that cause the energy to swell. By the 4-minute mark, a subtle, buzzing synth permeates the background, contrasting the track's overall organic feel, leading into the playful piano chords and colombian vocal hook. Simply put, this is Latin House with that anomalous Pampa Records swagger, drenched with flavor like Sangria-soaked mango. Flip that baby over and you get "Amaranthus", named after the famed flower that represents immortality. This piece stands as a color-negative of "Mir a Nero", an unwavering stomp with just shadows of the piano sample heard earlier. Freeze-dried rather than sun-ripened, "Amaranthus" is a dubby, more technofied counterpart to the A-Side, crafted for deeper and darker moments on the dancefloor.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
A: Mir a nero ISRC: DEMM11200019
B: Amaranthus ISRC: DEMM11200020
It's been three years since Swiss producer Michel Cleis conjured a storm with "La Mezcla", a Cadenza hit cemented into house canon as it was swiftly reissued by Strictly Rhythm, bringing the sabor latino into clubs worldwide. Some more 12"s and a number of high-profile remixes (going from tracey thorn to skunk anansie,for labels like rekids , bronswood or Aus) later, he's now teaming up with DJ Koze's crew for his next move: a colorful, crescendoing 12-minute tune that's ready to make a splash in your summer soundtrack. "Mir a Nero" begins with a steady, upbeat kick underlying a simple piano arpeggio - like if Philip Glass make dance music - but then some accents of vibrant hand percussion loosen up the vibe, soon progressing into rhythmic layers that cause the energy to swell. By the 4-minute mark, a subtle, buzzing synth permeates the background, contrasting the track's overall organic feel, leading into the playful piano chords and colombian vocal hook. Simply put, this is Latin House with that anomalous Pampa Records swagger, drenched with flavor like Sangria-soaked mango. Flip that baby over and you get "Amaranthus", named after the famed flower that represents immortality. This piece stands as a color-negative of "Mir a Nero", an unwavering stomp with just shadows of the piano sample heard earlier. Freeze-dried rather than sun-ripened, "Amaranthus" is a dubby, more technofied counterpart to the A-Side, crafted for deeper and darker moments on the dancefloor.
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
The Mountain People - I Kid You Not
2
The Mountain People - Up The River
3
The Mountain People - The Nothingness
Genre: House, Microhouse
Tracklist 12":
A1 I Kid You Not
A2 Up The River
B1 The Nothingness
Short Info:
Twisted House patterns for Sundays or Mondays when your mind has become calm, you have arrived in the Now and your phone remains in your pocket.
VITAL SALES POINTS:
First Mountain People Vinyl since the Fall of 2023
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Tracklist 12":
A1 I Kid You Not
A2 Up The River
B1 The Nothingness
Short Info:
Twisted House patterns for Sundays or Mondays when your mind has become calm, you have arrived in the Now and your phone remains in your pocket.
VITAL SALES POINTS:
First Mountain People Vinyl since the Fall of 2023
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
2025 Repress
Tracklist:
A. Elastobabe
B1. Elastobabe (Soul Capsule's Cosmic Warrior Mix)
B2. Elastoflo Remix
zip (dimbiman) and soul capsules (mark broom & baby ford) on this fantastic deep tech electronic groover
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Tracklist:
A. Elastobabe
B1. Elastobabe (Soul Capsule's Cosmic Warrior Mix)
B2. Elastoflo Remix
zip (dimbiman) and soul capsules (mark broom & baby ford) on this fantastic deep tech electronic groover
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
SCB - Loss (Remaster)
2
SCB - Future Unknown
3
SCB - Loss (Mr G's Raw Dub)
4
SCB - Future Unknown (Vox Mix)
One of the biggest tunes of 2011 gets a reload on Hotflush with a brand new remix from house legend Mr. G.Hotflush label boss Scuba was a dubstep exile in Berlin running parties at Berghain in 2011, following the release of his landmark album Triangulation the previous year. The SCB project had been launched as a platform for his productions outside of the 140 realm, anticipating a stylistic move that would make a serious impact on the dance scene at large.‘Loss’ was released on Aus Music that March, proceeded to destroy dancefloors across the globe, and ended the year at number 7 in RA’s ‘Top Tracks of 2011’. In 2025, it retains the unique combination of minimal elegance and trance power that gave it such impact all those years ago.UK house mastermind Mr. G steps up with a trademark remix - uncompromising in groove and structure, guaranteed to do the business on the floor.And to round off the package, a previously unreleased version of the original b-side, FutureUnknown is included. The ‘Voxattack’ made many appearances in the Scuba DJ set at the time and qualifies for ‘sought-after lost dub’ status.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
DJ Koze - Wespennest (feat. Sophia Kennedy) (8:03)
2
DJ Koze - Candidasa (10:21)
12”
TRACK LIST
A1 - DJ Koze – Wespennest (feat. Sophia Kennedy) 8:03
B1 - DJ Koze – Candidasa 10:21
Original Tracks written and produced by Stefan Kozalla / Published by Kosikos Publishing
A1 - Vocals and lyrics by Sophia Kennedy
Release Info:
DJ Koze unveils a spiritual and surprising journey into rapturous spheres with Wespennest EP. The visionary artist and master of electronic sound, presents his first own release after 2018's global club hit "Pick Up".
"Candidasa" and "Wespennest" are the result of DJ Kozes inspiring stay in a secluded Benedictine monastery on the enchanting island of Sulawesi. Amidst this idyllic setting, he found the perfect environment to unleash his musical vision. He composed all of the music of "Candidasa" while lying on his stomach, in an act of deepest devotion and self-reflection. In doing so, he fed exclusively on so-called heroin kebabs to immerse himself in a trance-like state of creative flow. The result is a soundscape of unimagined depth and beauty that enchants the senses and transports listeners to another dimension by massively increasing the frequency of flicker fusion.
On "Wespennest” the wonderful Sophia Kennedy takes the stage and breathes a new dimension into the music with her impactful lyrics and vocals. With generous dedication, Sophia has provided exclusive excerpts of her yet unreleased songs, giving this track a radiant psychedelic power. The combination of DJ Kozes musical genius and Sophia Kennedy's glorious vocals creates a club track full of wonderment, opening up a mystical rapturous world for listeners. Already an instant classic of German dance music.
With "Candidasa" and "Wespennest" DJ Koze has once again pushed the boundaries of electronic sounds and created a spiritual journey that touches the soul and frees the mind. This EP is the first harbinger of his highly anticipated new album, which will be released in 2024. The time until the release can be wonderfully bridged with the magical album "Hit Parade", which DJ Koze has produced for the British legend Róisín Murphy and on which we can be carried away into the world of musical brilliance.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
TRACK LIST
A1 - DJ Koze – Wespennest (feat. Sophia Kennedy) 8:03
B1 - DJ Koze – Candidasa 10:21
Original Tracks written and produced by Stefan Kozalla / Published by Kosikos Publishing
A1 - Vocals and lyrics by Sophia Kennedy
Release Info:
DJ Koze unveils a spiritual and surprising journey into rapturous spheres with Wespennest EP. The visionary artist and master of electronic sound, presents his first own release after 2018's global club hit "Pick Up".
"Candidasa" and "Wespennest" are the result of DJ Kozes inspiring stay in a secluded Benedictine monastery on the enchanting island of Sulawesi. Amidst this idyllic setting, he found the perfect environment to unleash his musical vision. He composed all of the music of "Candidasa" while lying on his stomach, in an act of deepest devotion and self-reflection. In doing so, he fed exclusively on so-called heroin kebabs to immerse himself in a trance-like state of creative flow. The result is a soundscape of unimagined depth and beauty that enchants the senses and transports listeners to another dimension by massively increasing the frequency of flicker fusion.
On "Wespennest” the wonderful Sophia Kennedy takes the stage and breathes a new dimension into the music with her impactful lyrics and vocals. With generous dedication, Sophia has provided exclusive excerpts of her yet unreleased songs, giving this track a radiant psychedelic power. The combination of DJ Kozes musical genius and Sophia Kennedy's glorious vocals creates a club track full of wonderment, opening up a mystical rapturous world for listeners. Already an instant classic of German dance music.
With "Candidasa" and "Wespennest" DJ Koze has once again pushed the boundaries of electronic sounds and created a spiritual journey that touches the soul and frees the mind. This EP is the first harbinger of his highly anticipated new album, which will be released in 2024. The time until the release can be wonderfully bridged with the magical album "Hit Parade", which DJ Koze has produced for the British legend Róisín Murphy and on which we can be carried away into the world of musical brilliance.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
IVAN IACOBUCCI AND STELLA FIORE - TRIUMPH
2
IVAN IACOBUCCI AND STELLA FIORE - WAITING FOR MY LOVE
3
IVAN IACOBUCCI AND STELLA FIORE - CLOSE THE DOOR
4
IVAN IACOBUCCI AND STELLA FIORE - FEAR AND MADNESS IN THE DESERT
Tracklist:
A1 TRIUMPH
A2 WAITING FOR MY LOVE
B1 CLOSE THE DOOR
B2 FEAR AND MADNESS IN THE DESERT
Brilliant 4 track E.P. by Ivan Iacobucci and Stella Fiore.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
A1 TRIUMPH
A2 WAITING FOR MY LOVE
B1 CLOSE THE DOOR
B2 FEAR AND MADNESS IN THE DESERT
Brilliant 4 track E.P. by Ivan Iacobucci and Stella Fiore.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore