In Science Cult's ongoing quest to curate a collection that embodies the vision and direction of the label, 'Commuting Observables' was born - delivered on 12" galaxy design vinyl. This various artist compilation brings together some of the most distinctive talents in experimental electronic music, representing the cutting edge of the genre. The compilation offers a blend of intricate rhythms, complex melodies, and immersive soundscapes, reflecting the diverse and innovative sounds that define the American imprint.

Commuting Observables is more than just a collection of tracks; it’s a carefully curated experience that showcases the future of electronic music. This release invites listeners to explore the evolving boundaries of sound, capturing the essence of modern production through a diverse and dynamic sci-fi inspired journey.

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Legendary German IDM trio drøn appear on Science Cult with a stunning 2x12 album full of previously never before heard of IDM gems spanning over 20 years.

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Roulette Rekordz owner Poladroïd debuts on Science Cult with a 2x12 album. Driven by an enigmatic theme inspired by ancient history and mythology, we weave our way through Kraftwerk informed Electro and IDM. Truly a unique and deep musical story telling experience fit for the dance floor or for deep listening.

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It's the final release of the eight-part Astra Spectra series featuring none other than label co-founder Syrte with a powerful 6 track EP that traverses the space between IDM, Electro and something else. Included is a collaboration with Science Cult co-operator Aura Nox.

Pressed on a limited run of blue translucent vinyl, the colour and name of the EP correspond to Iron on the Fraunhofer Absorption Spectrum of our sun.

Stefan Weise aka Syrte envisioned the “Astra Spectra” series as a celebration of mankind’s vision for space exploration, past and future, while also expressing a love for space science, science fiction and the spirit of discovery. Each release in the series is representative of a color frequency in our sun’s absorption spectrum and the element which is represented by that, hence the name, which means “Solar Spectrum”.

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Techno legend Umek debuts on Science Cult under his electro moniker Zeta Reticula. Four high powered electro stormers lead the charge supported by a dark, pounding remix from Germany’s Tag & Wandrach and a weapons grade Electro / IDM remix from label founders Syrte and Visions Of Glosters.

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Franck Collin aka Fleck E.S.C. returns to Science Cult with a meticulously crafted EP full of precisely programmed drums, intricate bass patterns and IDM informed synth work weaving throughout.

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Texas based Electro giant Cygnus arrives on Science Cult with a timeless cyberfunk 4 track EP. Expertly programmed beats and bass lines mixed with lush synths and vocoders make for an unforgettably smooth sound. Rounding out the EP is an energetic stomper of a remix by The Exaltics. Vinyl includes a download code + digital bonus.

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Lord Jalapeños explores the human machine with his debut Vinyl LP on Science Cult. Inspired by cyborgs, science fiction and real life experiences, Lord Jalapeños' IDM informed Electro vibe is on full display here with pounding rhythms, dark and sweeping bass lines and his signature bit reduction sound.

Artwork by Greta Haga.

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Science Cult continues the Singularity series featuring prolific young artist Gautham Garg aka Decoder. Decoder is no stranger to producing precise and banging techno tracks that deliver, which is on full display with this 4 track EP.

The series, inspired by conversation with Decoder, revolves around a story written by label co-founder Syrte. US based illustrator Renton Hawkey has once again provided a beautifully illustrated comic book style artwork for both the cover and labels. This is again the culmination of months of work writing and storyboarding, revising and character building.

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Science Cult’s Occupants series continues with a surprise version 2. This follow-up features a darker and more experimental sound from artists such as Dez Williams, Fleck ESC, Ben Pest, Rise Black and more. Presented as a double 12” Blue Color Vinyl LP. Astute observers may notice that there is more to the artwork than meets the eye

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Science Cult’s Occupants series is now on Vinyl for the first time and with version 1 we’ve assembled a global array of artists including John Selway, Kim Cosmik, Blixaboy, Thee J Johanz, Arsonist Recorder and more. Presented as a double 12” Orange Color Vinyl LP. Astute observers may notice that there is more to the artwork than meets the eye.

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Picture Disc!

Science Cult is proud to presents CYRK’s second outing on the label via the Kinetic Series: A limited edition of Picture Discs with kinetic artwork crafted by Chris Dowding.

Berlin based duo CYRK regards “Hidden Geometries” as one of their favourite tracks ever made, hence no expense was spared to give it a special home on Vinyl along with a remix by the iconic Plaid. Rounding out the release are 2 more instant classic electro tracks.

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For the sixth iteration of the eight-part Astra Spectra series, Science Cult presents French Electro producer Fleck E.S.C with 5 IDM influenced electro bangers, including a remix by label co-founder Syrte.

Pressed on a limited run of blue vinyl, the colour and name of the EP correspond to Hydrogen on the Fraunhofer Absorption Spectrum of our sun.

Stefan Weise aka Syrte envisioned the “Astra Spectra” series as a celebration of mankind’s vision for space exploration, past and future, while also expressing a love for space science, science fiction and the spirit of discovery. Each release in the series is representative of a color frequency in our sun’s absorption spectrum and the element which is represented by that, hence the name, which means “Solar Spectrum”.

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Science Cult introduces the Singularity Series featuring Lee Holman. Lee gives ua tour de force in the form of four late night Techno stormers.

The series revolves around a story written by label co-founder Syrte. US based illustrator Renton Hawkey has provided a beautifully illustrated comic book style artwork for both the cover and labels. This is the culmination of months of work writing and storyboarding, revising and character building.

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From virtual obscurity to the top of the game, Captain Mustache has seen a meteoric rise with a plethora of high profile releases and collaborations displaying his signature aesthetic. Ranging from electro to indie infused electro clash, his talent is varied and shines true with this brand new double pink vinyl 12" LP on the American Science Cult imprint. With already stellar productions, some of electronic music's heroes are featured as collaborators or vocalists including the legendary K-1 of AUX 88, Dave Clarke, dynArec, and Hiroki Esashika.

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For the fifth iteration of the eight-part Astra Spectra series, Science Cult presents iconic German producer Liebknecht with 4 dance floor ready tracks. Included is a deep and futuristic remix by label co-founder Syrte.

Pressed on a limited run of green vinyl, the colour and name of the EP correspond to Iron on the Fraunhofer Absorption Spectrum of our sun.

Stefan Weise aka Syrte envisioned the “Astra Spectra” series as a celebration of mankind’s vision for space exploration, past and future, while also expressing a love for space science, science fiction and the spirit of discovery. Each release in the series is representative of a color frequency in our sun’s absorption spectrum and the element which is represented by that, hence the name, which means “Solar Spectrum”.

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Science Cult regulars Serge Geyzel and Karsten Pflum deliver a strong 4 track Breaks and Electro EP on white and blue splatter vinyl.

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Picture Disc!
Science Cult presents the Kinetic Series: A limited edition of Picture Discs with kinetic artwork crafted by Chris Dowding. First up are Odd Oswald and Stephan Barnem with their “Horror Haus” EP, an homage to 1980’s Horror movies accompanied by a funky electro remix from Jensen Interceptor. Unique moving artwork is present on both sides, including markers for track start and end points.

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We go through life. We shed our skins. We become ourselves.” This line from Patti Smith was going round and round Felix Manuel’s head as he gradually constructed Under Tangled Silence, his first album in six years and a record of a literal creative rebirth. Felix originally began it in earnest in 2020 Covid lockdown, but a catastrophic hard-drive meltdown destroyed almost all his work and sent him close to psychic collapse himself. However, ultimately this pushed him to rebuild from scratch and in so doing to confront and reassess every part of his musical and psychological processes. The result is utterly extraordinary. Felix was a child prodigy as an instrumentalist and his advanced musicality has always been prominent in his music, but here he has put himself front and centre as pianist, harpist and more. And this sense of exposure as a performer interweaves with an unflinching emotional openness too. Where sometimes electronic production as advanced as this can use intellect and techniques as shields from soul-baring, this is the sound of someone who can boldly say “I feel things, I cry all the time, and I'm not afraid to say it or show it in the music.” But this doesn’t mean there’s a move away from the soundsystems and dancefloors where Felix made his name as a uniquely innovative vinyl DJ. Even just in the opening track “A Tune for Us”, minimalist piano ripples and jazz drumming flow into the breaks of vintage jungle – and as the structure of the LP unfolds, a deep ambient meditation like “Hold” can sit very naturally in between the futurist dancehall of “L’Ancienne” and the high-definition acid house mind movie of “Galaxy in Silence”. In fact, as with the hands-on musicianship, that gutsy big-speaker electronic impact is delivered with more certainty, more expertise, more personal flourishes than ever. And all of those elements are more integrated than ever too: the sound of a total musical personality emerging afresh is truly something to behold. An already remarkable talent has been refreshed, reborn and is making the music of his life.

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Zongamin and Mytron reunite on Multi Culti with an album of collaborations. Exploring the depths of leftfield outer nationalism these two mainstays of our global family serve up a colorful array of mind-altering disco and interdimensional dub. Tribal motifs merge with field recordings while synthesized animals call out over exotic hand percussion. Jams on vintage synths meet 8-bit sampling bounced onto spring reverbs and digital delays from the 80s. Started mid-pandemic, this collaboration ignored the surrounding havoc and social distancing, instead focusing on Good Vibes TM and positivity with a genre-defying approach belying trans-continental origins. The result is a playful symbiosis that is Phatter than the sum of its elements. Mytron is Jacek Janiszewski, a pan-European multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ, born in Poland, raised in Holland and Germany, and now living in London for the best part of a decade, his releases, for labels including XXX, Codek, Bordello A Parigi, Multi Culti, Nein and Les Yeux Orange, herald a similar nomadic spirit. Zongamin, Susumu Mukai is a composer, producer, and illustrator based in London. He has released records on Multi Culti, Flesh Records, XL recordings, Ed Banger, ESP Institute, and AD93, and has remixed for Air, John Cale, Trevor Jackson, Sandro Perri, and others. He is a member of groups Vanishing Twin, V/Z, Holy Tongue, and Stalactite.

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‘No Division’ is the second single from Charlotte’s eponymous long-awaited debut album (out November 7th). ‘This track is another chapter of my upcoming album, and like the others, it reflects a part of who I am. ‘No Division’ is both a call and a celebration. It’s a reminder of what’s possible when we lose ourselves in the music and come together on the same frequency. It reminds us that we are one.’ ‘No Division’: Brimming with an overwhelming, penetrating techno power, this track demands our full attention, with spacey hoover sounds, piercingly hooky main theme, a classic organ sound and hissy robotic spoken vocal lyrics like ‘…cut the wire/break the system/fight the fire/no division…’ It’s a manifesto you can dance to. Charlotte de Witte has an agenda as well as making a killer track; ‘‘No Division’ comes from a place of unity and the understanding that when we come together through music, the barriers between us start to dissolve. It’s about erasing the invisible lines that separate us, whether cultural, emotional, or personal.’ . XSALT was previously sampled by de Witte on her tracks ‘Overdrive’, ‘High Street’, ‘Roar’ and ‘How You Move’. Here he provides exclusive vocals for her for the first time.

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Strut presents the official reissue of a landmark album in the field of African music, Mulatu Astatke’s ‘Mulatu Of Ethiopia’ from 1972.
A1 MULATU 5:00
A2 MASCARAM SETABA 2:40
A3 DEWEL 4:00
B1 KULUNMANQUELESHI 2:05
B2 KASALEFKUT-HULU 2:25
B3 MUNAYE 3:15
B4 CHIFARA

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Biosphere’s album The Way Of Time takes loose inspiration from Elizabeth Madox Roberts’ novel The Time Of Man, sampling Joan Lorring’s voice from the 1951 radio play adaptation of the novel. Biosphere’s signature ambient loops, soothing arctic synths and melodies combine with Lorring’s sweet, wistful and deep-south wonderings to create a record that is both deeply human and searching.


Tracklist:
A1 - Time Of Man
A2 - The Way Of Time
A3 - Like The End Of The World
B1 - All Stars Have Names
B2 - The Old Way Was Gone
B3 - The Way Of Time (On And On)

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Rival Consoles has been concurrently in the foreground and background of electronic music since the late 00s; conjuring tense melancholia for Black Mirror soundtracks, playing in front of 10,000 dance fans at Drumsheds, selling out London’s Barbican Hall, and logging an expansive, wandering collection of synth-sculpted albums that explore a myriad different styles and aesthetics—but always with human emotion as their lodestar. Landscape from Memory, the ninth studio LP from the UK producer and musician born Ryan Lee West, finally blossomed following a frustrating fallow year away from the production desk. For West, having spent the past decade producing and writing in a habitual way, falling out of love with creativity meant a slowing of the clock that makes him tick, a sense of being swallowed whole by some elementary force. However, the time out also made room for his most invigorating record yet.

Partly stitched together from a scrapbook of discarded audio snippets, Landscape from Memory demanded a degree of openness and vulnerability in its assembly. “There is a kind of strange beauty to it because it involves the past, present and future in a very strong way,” offers the Erased Tapes mainstay. He set to work massaging melodic kernels into full tracks, like the skippy, haunted club shuffle of memory-jogging lead single ‘Catherine’, which is dedicated to his partner. “It’s extremely open, just a naked melody on drums, so exposed as an idea… I think because she was so excited by it, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I'm excited too, actually, I just didn't realise,” he reflects.

Appropriately, the title track became the first piece of music that made West “feel an emotional reaction after a long time of having zero reaction”—closing the record transcendently in a fever dream of euphoric synthwave—although ‘Catherine’ can be understood as the spark that lit the fuse, bristling with energetic joy. Similarly, ‘Known Shape’ makes a play for an otherworldly dancefloor, melding a loping drum pattern to a twitchy soundscape. Granted, some of the standout moments of the LP can be found lurking in its weirder, wilder corners, from the broken-sounding synth that runs like a rough river through ‘2 Forms’, to the head-nodding, disembodied bounce of uncanny valley bop ‘In a Trance’. “I remember making that in a New York hotel room, starting it, when Robert (Raths, Erased Tapes founder) was doing something on his phone and I was just being annoying in the background,” recalls West of one of several pieces made on the road. Yet Raths expressed his excitement about the track as he was hooked instantly.

“I like music that has a sense of momentum, really pushing forward,” he adds of the ‘Landscape from Memory’ ice-breaker. “And it just instantly has that from the first breath. So I kind of like moments like that when they appear.”

These climatic productions are characterised by their propulsive quality, and driven by West’s own push to step outside his comfort zone, having found inspiration flowing from new and unfamiliar sources. After his self-built Hackney studio suddenly felt too controlled of an environment, West altered course, mapping out tracks away from his desk. To that end, Landscape from Memory is a travelogue of creativity on the move, a collection of postcards from everywhere, and an album defined by its restlessness.

Just like the record itself sprang from conflicting emotions, bliss and dread tussle audibly for dominance throughout. You can hear this tug-of-war in the radiant swell of ‘Nocturne’, an eerie, reverb-drenched meander through classical tones, or the warm piano figures that collide with percussive crunch on ‘If Not Now’. Away from the music, this essence resides in a grainy film photo that in West’s eyes holds the record’s emotional DNA: a serene vista of tall green trees that hide the roaring A12 road beneath this studio. “I just think it’s quite evocative because even though it was an alarming place, it also looks really comforting at the same time,” he muses.

This dichotomy flourishes in that sweet spot between knotty ambient and widescreen electronica, where environmental tones and electro-acoustic textures converge to create a living document of sound. On Landscape from Memory, sonic touches hint at something intimate and familiar: cracking ice, the buzzing of a fridge, the distant hum of the motorway. Investing more time with the acoustic guitar in the initial stages helped West convey this homespun quality. For instance, on ‘In Reverse’, gossamer melodies are layered to create “a tapestry of guitar parts” while ‘Gaivotas’, which was born out of a residency at Lisbon’s synth hotspot Patch Point last February, contrasts “extremely digital synths” with a cheap acoustic guitar that snakes through dense, rhythmic terrain.

“A lot of things that go on in the music are like a guitarist's perspective of treating sounds,” he offers, explaining that much of the record involved “crudely recording” ideas into a laptop microphone. “I just like the honesty of it,” he says of the guitar, also pointing to the record’s additional array of “unusual recording techniques.” Among these, drums were placed on the sofa to create the muffled, deadened sensation on ‘Coda’, where a woozy shoegaze fog and angel sighs build into a jumpy, organic groove. Or ‘Tape Loop’, which “importantly, was recorded with a microphone. So not only does it slow down the music, but also the dimensions of the room the microphone picks up changes,” he explains.

Growing up, West would often mess around with the materials on his parents’ land in the small town of Syston outside of Leicester, hammering nails into wood and “sawing stuff,” which ignited a strong curiosity for making and materials from childhood. He soon found his way into music, starting on the guitar before teaching himself digital production and going on to study music technology at Leicester’s De Montfort University. He later became the first signee to the nascent London label Erased Tapes in 2007, establishing the label's shorthand for exploratory post-minimalism. IO, his debut album as Rival Consoles, came out in 2009, while his output has since evolved across nearly two decades of activity, from the critically acclaimed 2018 offering Persona to Landscape from Memory’s 2022 predecessor, Now Is.

As a multidisciplinary artist he has always been passionate about imagery and how it relates to and inspires music. His 2020 record Articulation was informed by drawings he made in his sketchbook. He has also been experimenting in various motion media, from programming particle animations in Max MSP to filming and editing daily video clips, and manipulating imagery in Touchdesigner or Blender, which would shape the visual counterpart in his live A/V shows since 2015.

As Rival Consoles, West’s calling card is his ability to channel hope, pain, sadness, and euphoria in one fell swoop, twisting the key in the lock of his internal world and telling stories without words. Crucially, Landscape from Memory is as much about zooming in on the details as it is about seeing past the horizon. Like a saturated photograph or an abstract painting daubed with bright splotches, Landscape from Memory is a riot of colour, an album blazing with a sound-shaper’s renewed love for his craft.

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In the early 1980s, a particular alchemy between new musical technologies and significant social, cultural, and political transformations in Ghana gave rise to a new style of highlife. Drum machines and synthesisers appeared alongside lilting guitar lines and punchy horns, and the emerging Ghanaian diaspora began incorporating US disco and boogie, R&B, European new wave, and Caribbean zouk and soca into their music.

This style soundtracked the birth of a new, proud Ghanaian identity and captured the idiosyncrasies of a rapidly changing postcolonial society, marked by increased migration and wider access to global sounds and modern technology.

More than 20 years after the release of the heavy funk and Afrobeat-focused Ghana Soundz compilations, and following the success of 2009’s Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-1981, Soundway is now shining the spotlight on the multifaceted, diasporic sounds of the ‘80s on new compilation Ghana Special - Volume 2, a collection of 18 burger highlife, electronic afrobeat, and reggae tracks.

Though Ghanaian to its very core, burger highlife emerged mostly outside of Ghana and just as the sun was setting on the country’s musical golden age. In the 1960s and 1970s cities such as Accra, Tema, Takoradi, and Cape Coast were home to thriving music scenes, and the loud horn sections of the big highlife bands, or the simpler, socially conscious palm wine music ruled the dance halls, locals drinkeries, and airwaves.

Back then music represented a powerful force, and an artist’s endorsement or dissent could make or break a politician. Perhaps to curb this power, the incoming military regime-imposed curfews and substantial import taxes on musical instruments in the early 1980s. These measures, coupled with a profound economic downturn and shifting musical preferences that saw DJs replacing large live bands, served as the final blow to Ghana's once-thriving music scene.

Musicians left Ghana in droves, scattering across West Africa, Europe, and North America. Thanks in part to its more permissive migration policies Germany became the heart of this scene, and the movement in fact takes its name from “Bürger”, the German for “citizen”. Less confined by genres than back in Ghana, artists in the diaspora were quick to engage with the different styles, working disco, boogie, and funk into their highlife melodies. Access to state-of-the-art studios and modern musical technologies also gave birth to all sorts of mutations: burger highlife in fact is less defined by one particular sound, than by the experimental approach and global outlook of its artists.

Tracks such as Ernest Honny’s experimental cut “New Dance” are an example of just how far artists strayed from original highlife arrangements. Honny, who started his career as a keyboard player with Dr K Gyasi’s band The Noble Kings, had moved to Benin in the 1980s, where he experimented with synthesisers and drum machines at one of Cotonou’s top studios. Similarly, Nan Mayen’s “Mumude” is a slick, 80’s pop track which was recorded in Germany, with only a slight echo of highlife in its opening Fanti lyrics.
This generation of artists found inspiration in sounds that transcended geographical boundaries: singer and guitarist Nana Budjei, who was originally from central Ghana but had moved to the UK in the 1980s, says that his radiant, sun-drenched 1988 track “Asobrachie” is “influenced by reggae maestros Bob Marley and Alpha Blondy, and traditional Akan folklore music”; on “Jigi Jigi”, the Kumasi-born, Sweden transplant Delips Apo draws on soca, latin, and zouk influences.

Throughout the 1980s Ghanaian artists kept producing increasingly innovative and experimental hybrids, winning over new audiences abroad. Though back in Ghana the new sound was initially met with disapproval by purists, it slowly became a symbol of a new, worldly and modern Ghanaian identity. The creativity and open mindedness that characterised burger highlife have gone on to shape the evolution of Ghanaian music since, giving artists the freedom to explore new global sounds while preserving a proudly Ghanaian soul. Ghana Special - Volume 2 stands as a vibrant tribute to the lasting legacy of this groundbreaking musical era.

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