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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Djrum is a perennially acclaimed underground artist, since his first release in 2010 who’s quietly built a list of fans that reads like a who’s who of contemporary dance music. As an artist, Djrum has formed a reputation for his unique fusion of a range of genres ranging from jazz, hip hop and dubstep to ambient and techno. His music swells with oceanic bass laded beats, cavernous atmospherics and deeply emotive melodies. An accomplished DJ his compositional approach feels like a natural collage of his influences which has seen him release for the likes of the Zenker Brothers Ilian Tape imprint as well as the influential 2nd Drop label, plus remixes for Ninja Tune and Domino. Felix now steps up to the plate at R&S with one of his most visionary releases to date. Deeply meditative melodies twist and turn through stuttering rhythms and pulsing low bass, hypnotic pads and woozy atmospherics. Manuel’s music somehow manages to retains the urgency and dynamic pressure of the dance floor with the intimacy and elegant detailing of the best headphone music. A natural fit for R&S, there is a full length Djrum album in the pipeline in 2018 - looks like it’s going to be an exciting year ahead.

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Tracklisting
A1 Wagon Christ - Planet Roll
A2 Wagon Christ - Snatch
A3 Wagon Christ - Get It?
A4 Wagon Christ - Boy Zero
B1 Wagon Christ - Bitch (Original Ruler)
B2 Wagon Christ - I'm Sorry
B3 Wagon Christ - Can't Stop (Don't Stop)
B4 Wagon Christ - Supagroovy
C1 Wagon Christ - THIS
C2 Wagon Christ - Boom Bip
C3 Wagon Christ - Acid
C4 Wagon Christ - Housin'
D1 Wagon Christ - Sidney Groovey
D2 Wagon Christ - Unsure
D3 Wagon Christ - Style
D4 Wagon Christ - Wake Up

Sales Note
Welcome aboard captain, long-serving funkadelic maestro Luke Vibert returns to De:tuned with his first new Wagon Christ album in 5 years entitled 'Planet Roll'. Genre-bending as ever, this 16 track collection of electronic lushness sees Luke creating his own innovative take on a multi-diverse sonic world interspersed with rare breakbeats and groovy melodies. Expertly executed by a true pioneer of electronic music. Lay back and see you in an hour!

Animation Director and Illustrator Celyn Brazier created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

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Mr Bongo proudly presents, ‘AFIM’, the second solo album by one of Brazil’s most exciting new talents, Zé Ibarra. You may be familiar with the hypnotic, entrancing tones of Ibarra’s vocals through his work with the Latin Grammy award-winning, four-piece, Bala Desejo and the band Dônica. He has also toured with the musical titan, Milton Nascimento, performing guitar and vocals, which is quite the honour and a testament to Ibarra's craft. As a solo artist, he has performed headline solo shows in Japan, Portugal and the US, as well as recently completing a support tour with the great, Seu Jorge.

‘AFIM’ is comprised of eight tracks, featuring Zé’s own compositions as well as cover versions of tracks by contemporaries and friends, Sophia Chablau, Tom Veloso, and Dora Morelenbaum. It combines elements of MPB, jazz, pop and progressive rock in a bold, authoritative style. The album represents the intersection between different facets of the artist, from the stripped-down, intimate, guitar singer-songwriter, to dense arrangements with sweeping strings sections. Writing this album allowed Ibarra "to explore sides of myself that had not yet been organized in an album: a certain darkness, a more cinematic musicality, a desire for new soundscapes.

The album features the single, 'Transe', a song with an instantly comforting tone reminiscent of classic Brazilian songs of the past (think Caetano Veloso). It is built on a rhythmic guitar that supports dynamic sound layers, opening space for Ibarra's intense interpretation. Cinematic atmospheres that lend an air of mystery come courtesy of string arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum.

His unique cover version of Sophia Chablau's 'Segredo' is equally compelling, taking Sophia's punky-indie original in a different direction and making it feel like his own. 'Essa Confusão', a song celebrating the intensity of love and co-written by Dora Morelenbaum, is steered into epic, 70's AOR, singer-songwriter territory with wind arrangements by Ibarra, Jorge Continentino and strings by Jaques Morelenbaum.

The album is the result of the collaboration of experienced musicians and long-time partners of Ibarra. Fellow Bala Desejo and Dônica member Lucas Nunes co-produced the album. The core band featured on the record consists of Lucas Nunes on organs, Alberto Continentino on bass, Daniel Conceição and Thomas Harres on drums and percussion, Rodrigo Pacato on additional percussion, Chico Lira on Fender Rhodes and Guilherme Lírio on guitar.

The overall feel of the record is archetypically quintessential without slipping into retro mode. It is a stunning album from one of the finest musicians of his generation. A true star of Brazil’s blooming contemporary scene.

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Discotchari is delighted to release a first-of-its-kind various artists compilation: Tehrangeles Vice (Iranian Diaspora Pop 1983–1993), fully licensed from Taraneh Enterprises. The album is a groundbreaking exposé of the vibrant subcultural hub of Tehrangeles (portmanteau of Tehran + Los Angeles), and the action–packed, true story of the Iranian diaspora music industry. Featuring 12 tracks remastered by award–winning Osiris Studio, lyrics and translations to all featured songs, original cassette covers, a 20+ page album note booklet by Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi and more! Sprawling from Westwood to Glendale across the San Fernando Valley, the Tehrangeles scene was cultivated by the same producers and artists who industrialized the “golden age” of entertainment in pre–revolution Iran and fled from the 1979 Islamic Revolution along with millions of Iranian citizens. Through music and visual media, Iranian producers and artists working out of Tehrangeles have engaged in what the Iranian government calls a “cultural attack” against the Islamic Republic for over 40 years.

The album title Tehrangeles Vice underscores the illicit nature and daring circumstances from which Tehrangeles pop music was born and compares its legacy within Persian media to one of the most significant crime–drama TV shows of all time. In the same manner that Miami Vice and its aesthetics had a dynamic impact on sonic, visual and cultural trends in the United States and around the world, Tehrangeles media was a shock to the systems of Islamic Republic ideology and Iranian expatriate communities. Listening to these songs in hindsight, the contribution of Tehrangeles can be better understood as a triumphant effort to preserve Iranian identity by realizing it in conjunction with prevailing music genres of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and to rebel against the oppressive regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran through the most seductive of means: dance music.


A1 - Shahrokh - Man Va Tou ("Me and You")
A2 - Shahram Shabpareh, Shohreh Solati - Ghesmat ("Fate")
A3 - Farzin - Eshgheh Man ("My Love")
B1 - Aldoush - Vay Az In Del ("Woe To This Heart")
B2 - Fataneh - Mola Mamad Jan ("Mola Mamad Jan")
B3 - Ebi - Kolbeh Man ("My Cottage")
C1 - Sattar - Khaak ("[Home] Land")
C2 - Susan Roshan - Nazanin ("Sweetheart")
C3 - Delaram - Gharibeh ("Stranger")
D1 - Black Cats - Rhythm of Love
D2 - Leila Forouhar - Hamsafar ("Fellow Traveler")
D3 - Hassan Shojaee - Nazi Joon ("Dear Sweetheart")

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