TRACKLISTING

A1. Francesco Farfa - Novanta
A2. Francesco Farfa - Il Bosco Delle Lucciole
B1. Francesco Farfa - Novanta (Dj Tennis Remix)
B2. Francesco Farfa - Il Bosco Delle Lucciole (Adiel Remix)

INFO

Francesco Farfa has got his groove back, leading to Danza Tribale number 10. In recent times, the Italian DJ has found himself re-energised once again, back in love with electronic music and right back at the sharp end of the underground scene. A true digger and sound obsessive, Farfa comes armed with decades of experience and musical appreciation, but now with a fresh perspective that means he is once again doing what he does best: turning musical emotions and compelling rhythms into dance floor art.

Reminiscences Nottetempo represents the soul of a dreamer, who often collides with his memories hidden in the fog: basically what they are.

"I have been living the night for many years and not only because of my passion for clubbing, but also because I am a wandering insomniac.

In the nocturnal phase, when awake, this fog clears up and suggests thoughts that, digging into the maze of memory, bring you solutions that fill latent gaps"

'Il Bosco Delle lucciole' is a vision of dark energy illuminated by living forms, electrons of which everything is composed, as well as the space in which we vibrate.

'Novanta' is pure reminiscence, an abstract flashback to the origins of a movement that is consolidated as a "unique" phenomenon of the 20th century.
It is a song that smells of that memorable era which, fortunately, is positively influencing the new generations.

This EP brings me back to the studio after a long time, for the first time as an independent producer, starting a new path, hoping to be worthy for the continuation.
I am honored by the support shown to me by DJ Tennis & Adiel, with their fantastic remixes, an indispensable value added to the project." More

The archeological excavations into the cult Interactive Test label continues with a 4 track EP originally released by the label's Don, Franco Falsini, in 1991. Generously brought back to the bins, 3 decades later and still highly applicable to any tasteful dancefloor, a timeless expression of early italo-house. More

Little is known about the origins of this project, grasping the curiosity of many 90's trance diggers, this mysterious EP was originally released in 1994 on the now defunct London based label ITP Recordings. Presenting 3 tracks that dive deep into the trancy electronics of the time, going well into the 8 minutes marker on each track the producer takes the time to allow a pallet of atmospheric qualities to gently grow and layer themselves throughout. A very unique aural signature, almost as if fractals had a sound, organised in a highly effective manner for the psychedelic electronic music inclined dancefloor. More

Two track EP from the Italian early 90's cult label, Interactive Test, helmed by legendary Falsini brothers. Both sides going generously past the 8 minute marker and well into the upper 120 BPM class of affairs, "Farf-Ability" is another show case of the experimentally excursive approach to the early Italian progressive sound, this time on behalf of Francesco Farfa. Two flavours served confidently: uplifting daytime ravey on the A side, and darker trancier night time on the B side, heavy on the percussive samples. Remastered and re-issued with new full cover artwork, featuring photographic evidence of a special moment in time for Italian rave culture. More

Another EP from the vaults of West Coast rave scene specialists, Michael Kandel and Tom Chasteen. A side has two versions of a fast passed dancefloor oriented production tactfully presenting woven layers of rhythmic elements underneath dubbed out effects, “Crazy Jane” possibly channeling moments of Debbie Harris' “Heart of Glass” on LSD. B side gets more aggressive on many levels with a bit of a downtempo Gabber feel to it, raging synths and generous cymbal action all around, 3 versions, one of them featuring samples from Jimmy Stewart's 1946 monologue in “It's A Wonderful Life”, another one with very non-western elements mixed in, and finally Juan Ramos bringing a very dancefloor friendly version with a slight Euro-Dance late Hi-NRG edge to it.
"Recorded in Heaven". More

Another EP from the vaults of West Coast rave scene specialists, Michael Kandel and Tom Chasteen. A side has two versions of a fast passed dancefloor oriented production tactfully presenting woven layers of rhythmic elements underneath dubbed out effects, “Crazy Jane” possibly channeling moments of Debbie Harris' “Heart of Glass” on LSD. B side gets more aggressive on many levels with a bit of a downtempo Gabber feel to it, raging synths and generous cymbal action all around, 3 versions, one of them featuring samples from Jimmy Stewart's 1946 monologue in “It's A Wonderful Life”, another one with very non-western elements mixed in, and finally Juan Ramos bringing a very dancefloor friendly version with a slight Euro-Dance late Hi-NRG edge to it.
"Recorded in Heaven". More

Originally released in 1992 on Muzak, an Italian label founded by Leo Mas, Fabrizio Lazzari and Andrea Gemolottoand, which was fundamental in establishing a new Italian dance floor electronic sound in the early 90s strongly intertwined with US influences from what was happening in Detroit and New York at the time. Officially re-issued with new remix of "Fearless" by Berlin based Trent, stripping down the feisty banger from its breakbeat elements and implementing a new Acid feel to it. More

Sound Metaphors Records continues to explore the Italian early 90's techno scene with another re-issue of D.A.T.A.'s precious catalogue. Already 3 decades ago, 4 Italians got together in northern Italy to elaborate this sound, and it's only fair to say it's still timelessly effective, possibly a mixture of pure naivety and/or premeditated distilled club essence, bold and minimal in its use of rhythmic patterns generated by drum machines and samplers of the time. To imagine this music was being made in a time where only petrol company CEO's had cell phones, emails weren't even a thing, let alone social media, a time capsule into a special epoch where "progressive" or "trance" weren't quite established keywords yet. Re-issued with a new remastered face and 2 new remixes from studio guru Anatolian Weapons beautifully adding to this powerful exploration of club oriented electronics. More

Powerfully epic breaky sound hailing from the UK during the early 90s. Beautiful tempo juxtaposition of fast passed driving beats pushed by low ph bass lines under slower piano riffs and patient vocal elements making it a hard one to forget. Low end elements clearly carved from primordial UK Bass aesthetics taking the amen break to new plateaus already very much overlapping with Drum & Bass territory. Ultra dreamy vocals on some kind of The Mamas and The Papas reincarnation, UK dreaming all the way. Heavy ending track vibes. In addition, Juan Ramos' masterful half tempo remix offers the listener a completely different experience with full respect for the original, what else to expect from someone with this caliber of dance floor education <3 meticulously remastered. More

A time capsule from the golden age of Balearic history opened for the first time in 3 decades. Ibiza legends Leo Mas and Sergio Portaluri generously give Sound Metaphors the honor of releasing historical material from a special time and place. Originally produced in 1993 these tracks have been sitting in DAT tapes waiting for an opportunity to tell us a dancefloor story from a golden era where there were no smart phones or social media. Furthermore, the cherry on top, comes with none other than Apiento (Paul from Testpressing) gracefully remixing "Vogue Mars" into a breakbeat DJ tool bound to inspire new energy levels on the dancefloor. Mastered at Manmade Mastering in Berlin for optimal club efficiency. More

Originally released in 1994, this re-issue bring new wind to "Lamento" with a compatriotic remix by Berlin based Italian producer Trent. Sitting somewhere between tribal and techno with early hints of progressive trancey elements, "Lamento" boasts an assertive underlaying beat coupled with playful percussive elements that get skillfully laced with a driving sawtooth wave synths. 4 mixes to choose from, peak time italian 90s early progressive sound brought back to your record bags with newly remastered care. More

From the catlogue of Italy's charismatic Interactive Test label, helmed by the Falsini brothers, Sound Metaphors Records compiles a selection from the two volume "How To Use The World" series. A collection of raw, experimental proto sounding house numbers composed and played by Marco Calderoni with help on production and writing by Giacomo Brunetti. Originally released in 1991, these releases have since then become deeply craved items amongst collectors and specialists of Italo House. With a sound so unmistakably unique, these productions will be hard to forget, from a time when house music wasn't even concretely established as a genre, these experimental proto nuances in club oriented sound played a defining role in Italy's emerging club sound. Thoroughly remastered at manmade mastering in Berlin, same sound new body. More

The original Berlin dance floor trouble makers from the early 90s, Saba Komossa and Gabi Delgado's joint project Anti-Time was a powerful soundtrack to Berlin's nightlife after the wall came down. Merging their naive curiosity with access to latest studio equipment guided by an unmatchable instinct for what works on a dancefloor, Gabi and Saba created a sound so classic and unmistakably their own that still today it refreshes the ears. For many an established masterpiece, for others a time capsule love message from over 3 decades ago, but for everyone it's an essential piece of European club scene history. This album combines both of the known Anti-Time releases from 1990 and 1991 into one release. More

Although his released body of work is relatively small, Dirk De Saever's EPs come with a rather unique aesthetic in sound. Once New Beat was established and exploded as a dancefloor craze in Europe, there seems to have been a bit of a flood of attempts at making “a hit” within the style, filter through most of that and you'll eventually land on Dirk's mini catalogue of top grade Belgian New Beat. This 12” is a compilation of De Saever's 3 EPs combined in one, featuring original mixes on the A-side and instrumentals on the B-side. First track comes with a simple synthesized melody that would have been New Beat chart material, but maybe the sampled lyric was too vulgar for radio play, and maybe Dirk didn't care. The kind of track that makes you think you already know it, yet it's still fresh to the pallet. A2 is like the soundtrack to a stroll down a rough neighborhood in the outskirts of Brussels when all of a sudden the drug dealer, obviously too high on his own supply, jumps out from behind a Friet met Maiyonaise stand trying to sell you some kind of illicit candy in rough translation from Flemish to enthusiastic English – take two of whatever it is he's selling and hope for the best. Later that night, in some warehouse after hours party the DJ plays A3 as your bad trip derails into full on nightmarish Belgian waffle brain damage - New Beat at its best. Always cruising around the 110 bpm marker, waiting to see what happens, no rush, nowhere to go, easy does it. More

Another powerful release from the Exist Dance catalogue, pioneering and shaping the sound of the US early 90's rave scene. A 4 track EP by High Lonesome Sound System - yet another project by Tom Chasteen and Mike Kandel - with a collection of different mixes of “Waiting For the Lights”. Overall a mighty rollercoaster ride in breaky prowess, playful sample wealth and driving synth riffs. Putting the Amen break to unprecedented monumental grandiosities on the dancefloor. Especially with the meticulous mastering on behalf of Manmade mastering. Can't go wrong, buy on sight. More

Another preciosity from the amazing Exist Dance catalogue made readily available to your record collections in newly remastered format. On the A side, “We're Go” is a 3 stage piece of breaky prowess developing throughout a total of almost 13 minutes spiraling around a catchy cosmonautic vocal sample. B1 brings a quintessential Rave energy to the table with samples from live crowds echoing over high octane break rhythms, would be hard to stand still for the duration of this - highly effective on a dance floor. B2 takes a turn towards more introspective moods as it brings in psychedelic elements intertwined with “world music” samples. Very much characteristic of the distinguished Kandel/Chasteen Exist Dance sound. West coast early 90's rave at its best, can't go wrong. “Recorded in Heaven, in 1991, according to the label.” More

Delkom's only known previously released album. Originally released in 1990 by the wonder duo consisting of Saba Komossa and Gabi Delgado. The album is released as a continuous mix with each track delineated on the grooves.
Imagine Berlin in 1990, the wall is about to come down, no social media, no CDJs, new drugs are being standardized and this is the soundtrack to your night out in this debaucherous capital, exploding with energies that anthropology PhD students still haven't been able to fully describe. The entire record sounds like a dub mix that almost wasn't allowed to be released by the record label, unorthodox in its methods, too experimental for most studios yet highly effective on the best of dancefloors. All killer, no filler. Sexually charged lyrics, driving percussive rawness over heftily synthesized bass lines, all boxes are checked for total club mayhem. Pioneers in their own right, clearly marking their territory in Berlin dancefloor culture from its early post reunification days. More

The only known EP released by Sick Hardcore, a project of Florence based Franco Falsini, the founder of Kaos Records, an important outlet for the Florentine 90s scene. “Digital Justice” is a collection of 4 proto rave dancefloor oriented tracks featuring sample based sounds over heavily percussive patterns of rhythm with an overall darker tone. Sometimes bordering EBM and New-Beat sentiments, yet also touching upon more progressive sounds and breakbeat elements. In addition to the original release's tracklist is a secret unreleased (more contemporary sounding) version of “Clinic Rhythm” which might have been put together by Franco himself more recently – hard to tell, but sure to impact any dancefloor for the better. Generously remastered for big room action. More

Strut presents an exclusive release for Record Store Day, an 11-minute previously unreleased version of folk-soul gem ‘Fishman’ from 1972 by legendary Caribbean funk band The Beginning Of The End.

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3 classic and rare chicago cuts plus another recent, searched after house anthem. More

After 8 years Georgian pioneer George Dzodzuashvili is back as Post Industrial Boys with a new album. It's his most personal record to date and opens up its own world: a world full of memories of a bygone time and observations so precise you almost feel like you are living and capturing them yourself with a Super8 camera. More

Minimal don Kepler strikes a balance between dancefloor utility and introspection on his latest record, and debut for X-Kalay. Big house and techno incursions straight out of Yorkshire – Leeds, to be precise. It’s a strong testament to the region’s long standing reputation as a hotbed for late-night minimalism.

Subtle flourishes and details stand out across all four tracks. Uncovering relics from ancient futures, ‘Lowlife’ stimulates the pineal gland with a mescaline-strength take on classic ‘90s tech house. While it dials the trippier elements down just a tad, ‘Control’, like its predecessor, recalls golden era Wiggle or Asad Rizvi under his Silverlining moniker.

No half measures on the next one. Bringing heft in spades, ‘Stranded’ comes hurtling in with swinging, jacking 4 AM NRG. It’s some serious gear, which makes the EP closer such an unexpected left-turn. ‘Need’ offers proper heads-down introspection, complete with widescreen, nebulous chords that ripple out into the vastness of space. More

Today Chicago-based percussionist, composer and producer Makaya McCraven announces the details of his new album In These Times, which is set for release on September 23rd via International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL Recordings. The first offering from the new album is a song tiled "Seventh String," which encapsulates the various musical dimensions present on McCraven's new album, a career-defining body of work that is a remarkable new peak for the already-soaring McCraven. In These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021). With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators - including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill - the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer. Profiled in the New York Times, Vice, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, Makaya and the music he makes today is what Passion of Weiss explains, "is part of a necessary conversation about the next evolution of the Black improvised music known colloquially as 'jazz.' He's found the threads connecting the past with the present, and is either wrapping them with new colors and textures, or he's plucking them gleefully like the strings of a grand instrument." McCraven, who has been aptly called a "cultural synthesizer" and "beat scientist," has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st century folk music. In These Times encompasses his artistic ethos, his experiences, identity and lineage, while pushing his music to new heights. More

Madrid-based beatmaker Big City Lover presents a 13-track album filled with lo-fi flavored beats and influences ranging from classic house to 90's hip-hop. A collection of beats and tracks recorded on tape between 2020 and 2023 using an MPC, vintage synthesizers, and fx pedals.

Mastered by Damian Schwartz at Lyrebird Audio. More

There are certain occasions when you can truly feel the stars align. One of these is when the interstellar voyager of cosmic soul Jimi Tenor finally lands his spaceship at full force on a Timmion recording. In 2024, he will be serving us two spaced out album sessions recorded together with Cold Diamond & Mink. Jimi is no stranger in these space ways as he has operated behind the Timmion scenes for years, furnishing several of the label's artists with his flute and reeds artistry. The first album out is titled "Is There Love In Outer Space?", which begs the question with the force of five extended tracks that are guaranteed to blow your mind to the stratosphere. The pieces are loaded with whooshing and glistening synth noises and span from lofi space funk to cinematic soundscapes. The sweetly floating title track is like some of those galactic ballads that rare soul collectors are spending their pensions on. At the other side of the spectrum, album closer `What Are You Doing?' sounds like Sun Ra sat down at a JBs session, and is straight up meant to get that booty moving. Combined with the raw soul prowess of CD&M, Jimi is able to refine new shades from his already impressive repertoire of talent. Even if you are a friend of his previous work you might not have heard him get down quite like this.

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