Following Andy Butler’s Hercules & Love Affair return, closing out 2025 with a new tour and the acclaimed four-track Someone Else Is Calling EP (Pitchfork, RA, Stereogum), he’s back again, now with a set of remixes that include deep house originator Larry Heard (aka Mr. Fingers), alongside underground heroes Ciel, Luke Solomon & CPEN, and Mystery Affair. Someone Else Is Calling Remixes will be unveiled on April 24 with the release of “Crossed Lines (Mr. Fingers Acid Mix), ahead of the full package on May 1. “Larry Heard was a direct inspiration for the original EP,” says Butler. “So having him on this remix package particularly moved my heart.” This is not the first time one of house music’s most important pioneers has remixed Butler’s work. The late great Frankie Knuckles famously put his rendition on Butler’s breakout single “Blind” in 2008. “Like when I first heard Frankie Knuckles’ remix, and thought how he truly listened to and felt the music, I had that same experience with Larry’s. I can’t express how grateful I am to have him participate.” Andy Butler is a pivotal figure in modern queer dance culture. His work as Hercules & Love Affair has shaped club culture since the iconic 2008 track “Blind” with ANOHNI — a landmark moment that bridged underground house, pop, and queer expression.

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The artwork for this record is incorrect and currently states that Journey of the Dragons is included on the release.

The correct tracklisting is:

A1 Hi-Tech Jazz (The Science)
A2 Hi-Tech Jazz (The Elements)
B1 Astral Apache
B2 Star Sailing

This genre-causing classic contains one of UR’s most influential tracks ever recorded, Hi Tech Jazz, for which a whole new situation of electronic music was created. The conditions that spawned jazz and the
conditions that fueled Detroit techno are what really came together on this EP. To be excluded, ignored or worse not allowed usually end in a “FUCK YOU’ The inspiration for this record came from those who had the talent,had the drive, had the chops but were ignored back in the late 60’s, 70’s & 80’s because they didnt fit into what major record companies of their day were looking for! So finally they just “Did it
themselves! We are talking Wendell Harrison & The Tribe, Marcus Belgraves and Mad Mikes jazz mentor Robert “Bobby” Barnes and an even later inspiration Larry “Mr. Fingers” Heard. No better way to upset
and dethrone major record companies than to…….. start a movement that said “fuck you” to the commericial “Smooth Jazz” that was sucking innovation, experimentalism and the soul right out of Jazz and making it a household easy to digest pre-packaged PRODUCT!! This is the track that has influenced other hi-tech jazz groups and artists such as Timeline, Boulevard des Airs, Innerzone Orchestra, Jazzanova, Spiral Deluxe, Los Hermanos, Ian O’ Brian and many others. Listen to the beginning of a movement UR-025.

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Space Afrika, das in Manchester und Berlin ansässige Duo aus Joshua Tarelle Reid und Joshua Inyang, schafft rohe, detailreiche und eindringliche Musik mit Anklängen an Ambient, Trip-Hop, Techno und moderne Klassik, wobei es aus den Konturen seiner Stadt weitläufige urbane Dub-Landschaften entwirft. ,Quiet Storm" erweitert ihren Klang und ihre Bandbreite zu einer weitläufigen, kollaborativen Vision, die mit tiefer Geduld und Absicht geformt wurde und ihre eigene Coming-of-Age-Geschichte in eine bewegende Suite kathartischer Abstraktion einbettet. Die Songs spielen auf Spiritualität und die conditio humana an, auf die Spannung zwischen Kühnheit und Sanftheit, Ehrgeiz und hartnäckigen inneren Dämonen. ,Quiet Storm" ist eine Antwort auf den Werdegang des Duos seit der Veröffentlichung von ,Honest Labour" im Jahr 2021. ,Wir haben uns selbst und unsere eigenen Vorstellungen von Identität herausgefordert, insbesondere in Bezug auf Klasse und Diaspora, und wie dies in verschiedenen Musikgenres dargestellt wird. Wir wollten die Charakteristika unseres Projekts durch die Menschen zeigen, mit denen wir zusammenarbeiten wollten", sagt Reid. Inyang merkt an: ,Bei der Entstehung dieses Albums haben wir keine Kompromisse gemacht. Die Idee begann als eine Hommage an die Kunst der Schwarzen. Unsere Kooperationen waren sehr bewusst gewählt, als wir die Grundpfeiler der Geschichte entdeckten." Von der multidisziplinären Natur des Projekts zeugt die Beteiligung des gefeierten Künstlers Glenn Ligon, dessen Werk sich mit schwarzer Identität und Queerness befasst. Ligon, der zu Beginn der Aufnahmen eine zentrale Inspirationsquelle darstellte, stellte sein Werk ,Figure #30" (2009) für das Cover-Artwork zur Verfügung und erklärte sich nach Abschluss der Aufnahmen bereit, dem Projekt seinen Namen zu geben - eine beispiellose Geste dieses wegweisenden Künstlers. Beim Anhören der endgültigen Fassung dachte Ligon an ,Quiet Storm", das Radioformat der 1970er Jahre, das für seine sanfte Late-Night-Programmgestaltung mit Themen rund um Leben und Liebe bekannt war. ,Quiet Storm" führt den Hörer durch verschiedene Szenen, Zwischenspiele und Handlungsbögen, geprägt von dem Gefühl, dass seine Bewegung fließend und seine Figuren flüchtig sind. Monologe vor dem Spiegel setzen sich mit dem Existentiellen und dem Unmittelbaren auseinander: Überleben, Autonomie, Sinn. Das Album beginnt mit dem explosiven, von Streichern begleiteten ,Vanity", bei dem die Grammy-Preisträgerin Axelle Fanyo zu hören ist. Zunächst auf die Spalten eines stillen Raumes fixiert, entfaltet sich ,Vanity" unter Fanyos ausdrucksstarkem Sopran und durchläuft ein breites emotionales Spektrum von erhabener Kontemplation bis hin zu ergreifendem, herzzerreißendem Schmerz. Auf dem gesamten Album werden gesprochene und gesungene Worte sparsam eingesetzt, um eine kraftvolle Wirkung zu erzielen. Die Schönheit und Katharsis von ,MLN" ist ein kollektiver, langsamer Marsch, bei dem der britisch-nigerianische Künstler Tony Njoku mitwirkt, begleitet von Gabriel Evans an Gitarre und Lead-Bass, PIKE aus London am Schlagzeug und GB aus Kopenhagen an Keyboards und Streichern. Der letzte Satz verleiht ,Quiet Storm" seinen krönenden Höhepunkt. ,If This Is Hell" ist in einem einzigen Take als Bewusstseinsstrom des New Yorkers Deuén aufgenommen, dessen nachvollziehbare Spirale geistiger Aktivität von jazzigen, frenetischen Percussion-Klängen begleitet wird. Das Druckventil öffnet sich, als die phasenverschobenen Drums und die scharf beobachtenden, dialogartigen Phrasen abrupt nach der Zeile ,I wonder if that's what heaven's like?" abbrechen. Wir bleiben in der Behaglichkeit des Album-Closers ,Regards" zurück. Regentropfen treffen auf Orgel, Drone, Streicher und Keyboards, während das Nachladen von Waffen dem ruhigen Summen gegenübergestellt wird. Schwer und doch hoffnungsvoll erinnern Joshua Tarelle Reid und Joshua Inyang an ihre bisherige Reise. Als passend geheimnisvolles und mitreißendes Outro für ihr offenes Opus ist ,Quiet Storm" ein Meilenstein: selbst produziert, selbst finanziert und aus purer Tatkraft und Überzeugung entstanden. Durch verzerrte Zeit und schummrigen Dunst ist Space Afrika zweifellos angekommen

Tracklist:
1.1VANITY FT. AXELLE FANYO
1.2CRYING NEVER HAD A VOICE
1.3FROM THE HEART OF KNOWING FT. ALTO ARIA
1.4BALLAD FOR A 'G' FT. RXKNEPHEW, KLEIN
1.5BLACK AND GOLD
1.6H00D AMBIENT
1.7VALIDATION FT. ANY
1.81,2
1.9MLN FT. TONY NJOKU
1.10WE LIVE. JOY
1.11PRETTY GOSPEL FT. KIALA OGAWA
1.12IF THIS IS HELL FT. DEUÉN
1.13REGARDS

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Few artists have arrived on the electronic scene quite like KinAhau. First entering the spotlight through a chance encounter that led to his breakout collaboration with Solid Grooves founder Michael Bibi, the exciting DJ/producer quickly found himself moving through some of the world's most respected clubs and festivals. Yet while early attention centred on an unlikely origin story, the years since have revealed a more nuanced artistic voice, one increasingly focused on reflection rather than reaction, and expression rather than expectation. That perspective sits at the heart of his return to Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels imprint as he lands on the label with his latest EP, ‘Cicek’. Opening title track ‘Cicek’, created alongside Mahmut Orhan, unfolds through emotive melodies, organic textures, and a sense of quiet tension that feels deliberately removed from conventional club formulas. It's a record that prioritises atmosphere and feeling over immediacy, setting the tone for the wider release. Across the EP, that idea takes different forms, shapes and directions. ‘Plane Jane leans’ is a stripped-back, hazy journey through vibrant keys and woozy textures, while ‘Danza De La Pau’ flips the script and tunnels into trippy, ping-pong synths, cascading tones and off -kilter pockets of sound. Together, the three tracks feel less like individual records and more like snapshots from a broader creative conversation, one shaped by a growing distance from formula and a desire to explore something more personal and unique.

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The ultimate Chicago house & disco collector's gem returns 7 years after completely selling out and vanishing from shelves. D&E RECORDINGS resurrects its legendary long out-of-print debut release with the CHI- GROOVES EP. Don't miss out on this 5 track EP.

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Finnish producer DJ Dats returns with the four-track EP “Phuture 3030” on his own label, Allowance Trax.

The title track is built on solid 808 rhythms, a sliding 303 bassline and futuristic synth textures, while “Test Drive” is driven by a heavyweight Moog bassline and shuffling house drums.

Detroit’s Nels the Operator reworks “Phuture 3030” with his modular synth setup, giving the track a rawer, more live feel and a richly layered sound. London’s Moroka remixes “Test Drive” in his signature style, blending house grooves with jazz fusion influences.

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Fred Peterkin releases a lot of music but rarely hands his work over to other artists to remix. This EP, which sees a trio of artists deliver their interpretation of the Berlin-based New Yorker's strings-and-piano-drenched 2023 deep house number 'Someone', is therefore an interesting development. He kicks things off with his own smooth, bass-heavy 2026 'Interpretation', an even deeper and more sensual take that blends dancefloor weight with light-touch jazziness, before Juliet Mendoza takes over with a more locked-in interpretation smothered in warming Rhodes motifs and snippets of soulful, eyes-closed vocal. Dave Aju's take is more weighty, psychedelic and propulsive, while Korea Town's 'Acid' interpretation is darker, faster, tougher and altogether more thickset - the kind of revision tailor-made for peak-time moments in dark basement clubs.

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Of Course sneaked into both Ivan Smagghe and Nic Arizona’s sets after it was encountered on Valerj’s semi-lost album (in the mountains of Corsica). It proposed a straight (hypnotic) answer to the eternal question: what is house music? A track reminiscent of the hazy days of Derrick Carter’s first European gigs, the tripped-out funk of D.I.Y., or Brett the E Texan. It spoke to them.
As a true believer in those simpler times, Roman Flügel delivers a remix, staying true to the roots of the original but elevating it to impossibly higher skies. Both Say Sorry and Midnight Pulse are more of the same: house music for those who may, at times, lost faith in it.

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3 Sticks is a new exploration of the circular brought to life by Howie B and Hiraki Sawa. Recorded live at Konk Studios, London.

Beginning with an organic knock on wood, the project is designed as multi layered audio-visual with the push and pull of analogue visuals and phrasing with digital flourishes. 3 Sticks has moments of droning discomfort which orbit undeniable head shaking rhythm. We travel through three distinct phases of sound: from the initial building euphoric funk through a discordant and thoughtful reprieve, finishing with a curious, questioning dystopian beat.
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"‘The self is zero and infinite at the same time’ – *D.T. Suzuki’s concept serves as the foundation for creating a performance stage that integrates live music and visuals by Howie B. and Hiraki Sawa. This performance delves into the dual nature of the self through a dialogue between live music and visual art, offering a flowing and immersive stage experience.

‘The self is both the point at the center of the circle and all other points. It is a point and a circle at the same time,’ says D.T. Suzuki, likening it to a paradox. To explain it properly, the self is always a fluid
phenomenon: it is zero when viewed statically, but infinite and changeable when viewed dynamically. This
stage will visualize the dialogue between live music by Howie B. and images by Hiraki Sawa in the style of a riddle-like ‘Zen Mondou.’

This stage represents a unique collaboration where the two artists attempt to hybridize the Western view of things—with a constant awareness of their position within the coordinate space of up, down, left, and right, and the perception of relationships through active and passive interactions—and the Eastern view of things, which strives to understand the world through the principle of “you being me, and I being you.”

Prior to the performance, Sawa and Howie began their collaboration by exchanging music and visuals, an
initiative that is part of the ongoing ‘Zen Mondou’ project. This collaborative process lays the groundwork
for a performance that seamlessly blends their contrasting approaches, utilizing live visual performances
and lighting to enhance the fluidity and immersion of the stage experience. This collaboration offers a
unique and enriched artistic experience that challenges and expands the audience’s perception of self and
existence.

When D.T. was dying of severe pain caused by ileus in his old age, his disciple asked him, “Would you like
something, Sensei?” He just replied, “No, nothing. Thank you.” Just like his words of resignation, we look
forward to seeing his view of the world, “Just enough,” at Enfold stage.

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