Following her contribution to this Spring’s Gudu & Friends Vol. 1 compilation, Lady Blacktronika steps out with a full EP for Peggy Gou’s Gudu label. Whether operating as Lady Blacktronika or her Femanyst alias, Akua Grant has built a deserved reputation as one of house and techno’s most daring and unique artists - one that dates back 25 years now, when she first debuted as a vocalist. “House and techno” can be a cliched catch-all term, but in Grant’s case, she really has explored the extremes of both sides. Her early Lady Blacktronika work, when she earned the nickname The First Lady of Beatdown, saw her produce and narrate a style of deep house that was both sensitive and transgressive, while as Femanyst, she explores some of techno’s darkest corners, all distorted kicks and serrated edges. Her EP for Gudu kicks off with some serious intent: ‘Baby I Got It’ chops its vocals rough and raw, pairing them with marching drums and the sort of idiosyncratic synth-work that feels like a Blacktronika signature at this point. ‘Sing the Blues’ and ‘Hold My Hand’ take things smoother, but without ever deferring to type — as ever with Grant’s music, she works with such sleight of hand that it’s easy to skip back three minutes previous and wonder how the hell we got here. Her tracks are just that hypnotic and hallucinatory. Closing the EP, Octo Octa provides a remix of ‘Hold My Hand’ that extends things to a full 12 minutes (note: slightly shorter on the vinyl due to time constraints), taking us out with crushed percs and held pads over some undeniable drum work. This EP marks the final release of Gudu’s busiest year to date, with music on the label in 2023 coming from Special Request, Matisa, Mogwaa, Hiver, Matrefakt, DMX Krew, Dukwa, Brain de Palma, Lady Blacktronika, Salamanda and Closet Yi. More

Meda Fury is excited to welcome back San Jose native and Berlin resident Lady Blacktronika with a double-pack of DJ tools and dance floor weapons.
She’s been keeping busy since her last EP for Meda Fury - releasing on labels such as Discwoman, Bass Culture, Skylax and Paula Temple’s techno imprint Noise Manifesto.
She also made important festival appearances this year at Nuits Sonores and Dimensions.
Wax Cylinder Only’ serves as a multi purpose release for Lady B. Part DJ tool doublepack, deep cuts compilation and bonus material collection.
Disc 1 contains four unreleased dancefloor weapons for DJ’s, showcasing the tougher end of her signature ‘deep and hard’ sound.
From opener ‘Perception’s pumping Italo synths and vintage sci-fi effects, to ‘Body Move’s classic US house riffs and deep club bounce.
Over on the flip ‘Love Room’ is a tracky late night low end tech-house tool, while ‘How I Learned’ finishes with a combination of motorik percussion, undulating bass and bleeps with soulful intonations.
For Disc 2 we’ve handpicked four of her previously released digital only tracks for a vinyl-only first time on wax reissue.
From labels such as Your Only Friend, Little Angel and her own Sound Black.
The twisted abstract warp of ‘Pursuit Of Trackiness’, and impossibly heavy funk strut of ‘Children Of The Ghetto’, also the layered R&B samples versus percussion tool of ‘Mummy Bells’, and finishing with the epic ambient horizon of ‘Never Everything (Beatdownbient Mix)’.
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Lady Blacktronika shows two totally different sides to her character with her return to Bass Culture via a potent EP full of deliciously dark, bass-heavy productions placed side by side with more soulful explorations of the house sound. Following the ‘All In Vain’ EP, which landed earlier this year, Lady Blacktronika comes correct once again with a collection of four of the finest quality cuts. Our introduction to the EP is a thorough dip in the deep end of tech house, with the marauding ‘It Rains’. Full of darkness, the venomous track stomps along with a powerful, darkside bassline and razor-sharp percussion. High-pitched keys add to the malevolent flavour of this raw cut. After that, we get a more measured, yet mysterious and unsettling slice of minimal funk. ‘No Good’ is a hypnotic trip inside Lady Blacktronika’s murky world with snarling synth lines, clever percussion, eerie FX and a naughty little b-line. On the flip we have retro-inspired ‘Call My Name’, with a very old school feel as the 808 gets a proper workout in tandem with a familiar female spoken-word vocal layered over the top. This is bound to send the dance floor into uproar with its killer vocal sample. Finally ‘Set Out Your Luv’ gives the EP a heady ending; light airy pads are placed alongside a grooving bassline, soulful vocals, diamond-cut beats and squelchy effects to create a lush, dreamy soundscape which will get those hips moving…. More

SKYLAX 136 arrives in the form of a killer EP from none other than Lady Blacktronika. Most will know her from her own imprint, Sound Black Recordings, where she has served up some of the best deep house and slo-mo beatdown to come from the US since the label’s inception in 2010. Such a stellar output has led many to refer to her as the ‘First Lady’ of both the genres she frequents, and with this new offering of pure-grade deep house, she shows no sign of letting go of that title. Right Direction’ begins with a stuttering piano stab pattern that could mislead people into thinking they are in for a seven minute long throwback to yesteryear. However, before the thought begins to linger, Lady Blacktronika introduces her signature stamp of deepness and soul with chilling pad sounds and vocal slices. The mood is carried forward into ‘Deee With It (How Do You Say)’, where layers upon layers of percussion give it that extra bite to ride above a bassline that you will be dying to hear on a club system, all whilst sacrificing none of the inherent deep nature of the track. Flipping over to the B side, ‘Cheat & Lie’ is one of those tracks which can suit any time of the day (or night). The moody vibe it evokes is a product of each element working together harmoniously in the mix; the wide kick drum, swirling chords and soulful vocal cuts show that Lady B knows her way around the studio. The EP closes with ‘Fantasize Me’, another solid piece which rounds off the release perfectly. Here, Lady B proves that less is more by keeping out any ancillary elements so that the main features of the track can flourish on their own

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Lady Blacktronika proudly presents the debut release on her own personal Deep House imprint Sound Black Recordings. She is about to set it off. Side A is the title track Black Girl 2 ways, slo n' moody then deep and fast. Sure classics. The B side is a slo buring, psychadelic beatdown track created in Ms. Tronika's signature style, its a trip."

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Sound Black Recordings is proud to present a 12" from Hakim Murphy called Darkness EP. This three track experience dives deep into the Chicago ethos, specifically made for underground jocks who like to bang jack tracks. Shouts to all the jacks who like to jack in the dark.

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Sound Black comes back hard and heavy for it's #2 release, the much anticipated Gettin' Heavy Maxi-Single. A long time in the making this project was a labor of love and patience SB002 is sure to satisfy the most die hard of deep house connoisseurs. Side A brings us the original track released as a limited promo in '10 and the dopest jackin' re-edit from Chicago's Jordan Fields. Side B has sizzling hot remixes from two relative new comers who have the touch for sure, New York's Ms. Dakini9 taking us to the dark side of deep house & UK future sensation Nick Turner reconfigures Gettin' Heavy for the dance floor, a deep house pumping sensation. You will live for this record like we do More

Lady Blacktronika proudly presents the debut release on her own personal Deep House imprint Sound Black Recordings. She is about to set it off. Side A is the title track Black Girl 2 ways, slo n' moody then deep and fast. Sure classics. The B side is a slo buring, psychadelic beatdown track created in Ms. Tronika's signature style, its a trip."

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