From Robsoul and Tsuba to Is It Balearic? and Futureboogie, Craig Bratley can be many things depending on who's releasing his music. He launches the Automatism label in a flurry of cosmic disco finery with "Ursa Minor", a synth-rich escapade that could make Cerrone feel a little giddy on its course to the stars. "Exotic Matter" slows things right down and ramps up the rock drums to create a noirish soundtrack vibe. "Exquisite Corpse (Zero Gravity Mix)" changes tact once more with some plaintive piano tinkering over subtle arpeggios, and "Running To Paradise" slides down into a smooth Balearic groove that rounds out this wonderfully diverse EP. More

Stalwart of the scene, Craig Bratley, serves up big Italo flavours all over the “99.9% EP”, ably backed with a remix from Mr. Andrew Weatherall. With previous releases on Neil Diablo’s To Rack & Ruin, Tsuba, Is It Balearic? and Robsoul Recordings, Bratley’s Futureboogie debut opens with the searing synths and chugging arped bass of “99.9%”. Wide-eyed melodies and punchy drums demand a mirror ball moment to this fabulous cut. Family favourite, Andrew Weatherall, takes the chugging tempo to new depths, remolding “99.9%” into a tense, reverb soaked, dubbed out sci-fi encounter. Further explorations into space disco are to be found on “Italo Love” with luscious waves of thick analogue sound and planetary FX, whilst on “Take Me To Bedford Or Lose Me Forever”, distinct Asian influences are at play, as Bratley channels his inner Vangelis for a mesmerizing and cinematic piece. More

Following the Ewan Pearson RSD mixes we present further high quality remixes of Craig Bratley's debut album from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold and Midnight Special. Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold remix 'Computer Controlled', one of the stand out tracks from the album. The Velvet Season duo of Joel Martin and Gerry Mooney have some serious musical pedigree between them, with Joel also recording as Quiet Village alongside Radioslave and Gerry previously working with DJ Harvey on his infamous Black Cock releases. Their three 12" releases to date on their own Lucky Hole label all sold out instantly resulting in the inevitable Discogs frenzy. The remix of 'Computer Controlled' is a timeless piece of melancholic house with a Chi Town bassline topped off with Trumpet, Keys and the mesmerising melody from the original. An undoubted future classic! On the flip the Midnight Special rework 'Beat On The Drum'. Midnight Special have released two Vinyl Only 12" to date and are made up of Ex-Peace Division man Justin Drake and Tsuba boss Kevin Griffiths. The resulting mix is groove heavy underground house made with the panache & depth you would expect from the veterans of the UK house scene. More

Stalwart label Tsuba continues it's journey into eclectic musical territory with its next full-length project, 'Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride', the outstanding debut LP by English dark and dirty disco champion Craig Bratley. For a couple of years now Craig Bratley has been considered as the northern branch of the so-called Scrutton Street axis, which sees producers like Andrew Weatherall, Timothy J Fairplay and Scott Fraser all conjure up apoco-disco sounds in their celebrated London studio. Bratley himself also runs Magic Feet, an assured label that deals in plenty of chugging electronic sounds and Craig has also released on labels like Weatherall's well-regarded Bird Scarer, Is It Balearic? Recordings, Robsoul and Instruments of Rapture. The ten track album finds Bratley exploring his fine collection of analogue machines and dark wave disco visions, with beatless ambient tracks, twinkly drug chug and tobacco stained grooves all sitting next to each other in perfect harmony. DJ Support From Ewan Pearson, Erol Alkan, Justin Robertson, Damian Lazarus, Severino (Horse Meat Disco), Matt Walsh, Jacques Renault, Headman, Mugwump, Pete Herbert, Brett Johnson, Nathan Detroit

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Marseille's finest DJ Steef steps up to the plate for the next Foto 12 inch, supplying 3 hefty house tracks of varying tempo's and moods. Main jam 'Shaking' kicks off proceedings with a chopped-up break and kicking groove before a piano-laden mid-section sends the temperature rising. Next up Freeters hits heavy on the pitch-down vibe with some wonky electronics underpinned by a solid 4/4 low end. Over on the flip big bossman The Revenge hits back with a trademark stripped-out mix of Shaking which is heavy on the machine funk. Rounding things off Mojica Tribe is an altogether deeper number with smooth pads and an ethereal atmosphere.
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Foto continues with it's 2014 release schedule with 3 tracks from label boss OOFT! Dub 4 Daze gets the delay units set to looong to create a trippy house number, whilst on the flip Enter The Dragon is a more direct jam targeted at the floor with plenty of stabs and hihats. Rounding things off Father Father pitches things down for the erection section.
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For its 2nd 4 track V/A EP Foto welcomes more new artists to the roster in the form of Andy Hart & Max Graef (AU), MermaidS (UK), and Riff Clichard (Outer Space). Label boss OOFT! also contributes a track on the A-Side, with the wallowing “Jareth’s Revenge” blending strings, samples, bass and more into a 110bpm roller. Next up the Aussie dudes Andy Hart & Max Graef craft a funking slow house jam in the shape of “Dem Young Jabronis”, all warm chords and bumping beats. Over on the flip MermaidS show why they’re some serious contenders for a big breakthrough this year – “Run With The Night” shifts through the gears for 5 minutes before breaking into downright euphoric territory. Rounding things off the mysterious Riff Clichard takes some time out from polishing his Intergalactic Jensen Interceptor to chop up some 80s beats to give us “Through With Love”

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For Foto’s 8th release OOFT! supplies 3 tracks of deep and meaningful house music. The A side “Arbitrary” stakes out its intentions early with a solid groove and dubbed out stabs. A little vocal in the main breakdown increases the tension before it all kicks back in with a reassuring thud. On the flip “Galaxy High” is equally deep but opts for some Juno chords and soaring strings to bring it life. Finally on “LGB” some 80s soul samples are worked in to a slightly tougher electronic jam.


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Prodigal sons the Deep Space Orchestra return to Foto with the mighty ?Blindsided? track. Starting off with a simple looping refrain and some classic house drums Blindsided develops into big Detroit territory with de-tuned toms and the trademark DSO layered synth action for an atmospheric ride. Definitely one for getting the dancefloor in gear. Over on the flip the two remixes from Medlar (Wolf Music) and another Foto regular Andy Ash are equally as good. Medlar opts for shuffling drums and a dose of the funk whilst Andy turns in a classy bumping electronic workout. Our kind of house music for 2012. More

Foto Recordings is proud to present its 5th release, a 2-track EP from OOFT! with fully printed 12” artwork courtesy of Computer Juice (FRA). The title track Memories is an emotional deep house workout which nods towards Detroit territory with its classic rides and hihats, whilst the flip-side track Billy opts for a pitch-down groove with some heavily chopped samples to make up its looping refrain.

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