‘Isthmus’ is Ross Tones’s 5th album for Houndstooth in 10 years. It only seems fitting for it to return to the eclecticism of 2014’s ‘Mosaic’. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger bodies. The two islands contrast in time, topography, chaos and character. One sears. The other, buried by blizzards. A land bridge fights the tide; offering harbour. Connecting the estranged. Giving battle to the noise. It is uncertain who won. More

Off the back of his killer album release, LOMA, Throwing Snow returns to Houndstooth for a fiery, politically charged EP; The Death of Pragmatism. As tension continues to rise in the UK around the Brexit debate, Throwing Snow channels the aggression into a 4-track release - showcasing some of his most intense work to date. To be released on the 1st November, the day after Brexit is executed, the EP opens with a percussive-driven record ‘Nought To Gain’. The idea is built around Ross Tones (AKA Throwing Snow) looking into the dramatic system modifications at play that change landscapes as a whole and when ’the supposed benefits of that modification no longer apply as there is now a different structure in place - there is nought to gain and all to lose’. The second track, ‘The Righteous Mind’, is named after Jonathan Haidt’s book subtitled ‘Why Good People are separated by Politics and Religion’. ‘His approach explains the current schisms and could act as a mediator for angry voices’, Ross says, giving a better understanding of the single as it allows for a moment of reflection before leading into ‘Ideolog’ - an ominous soundscape circling back to Throwing Snow’s half time DnB influences. ‘When staring into the abyss, a great orator speaks of utopias and rose-tinted cocoons. Ideologues are intrinsically reductionist, degrading the complexity of every single issue. Meshed interrelations are ignored, in favour of quasi-religious furore. Basically, it’s a shit idea to follow them’. Rounding off with ‘The Death of Pragmatism’, a climatic syncopated record focused on glass-shattering beats and piercing synths, Ross cites the world of Gödel and unyielding ideologies which suffer from their complex consequences. ‘Assessing the foreseeable aftermath within a broader context is a map through the madness. Otherwise it’s the death of Pragmatism’.
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Sneaker Social Club is a new boutique label born from a love of music, vinyl, collecting things and, urm...Sneakers. “The whole theme is about me having fun, making and putting out records that are a little bit more interesting” says Jamie Russell, the man behind it (and also the man behind two of UK’s more interesting house and techno labels, Hypercolour and Glass Table). “As an avid collector of vinyl for well over 15 years, I felt that I wanted to contribute something that was more appealing than your average” explains Jamie. “For me, this first release from Ross is a continuation of the early 90's rave music I grew up listening to! so nostalgia will be the underlying theme of the label” he adds. In keeping with his art values, high quality A2 limited edition poster inserts will be included on this inaugural, genre defiant release from rising producer Ross Tones aka Throwing Snow. The UK talent and the man behind ‘A Future Without’ and newly minted ‘Left Blank’ writes music without prejudice or pretencion, as demonstrated by the two ranging techno/bass/house fusions he offers here. It’s no surprise that Ross has recently been asked to remix Eskmo for Ninja Tune, and The Count & Sinden for Domino, coming in Sept. He truly is one of the most exciting talents in the UK right now. A-side ‘Shadower‘ emerges from an atmosphere of punchy bass notes and harmonious tones only to be splattered with pinging cow bells and soft focus hang drum notes. Its mission is unclear at first, but when the bassline kicks in and all the elements come together at once, it’s a surging, melodically complex track imbued with a rising sense of euphoria that never becomes too over-powering: well balanced and deftly arranged, it sounds like little else out there. On the flip, ‘Sanctum’ is patient in its build up of a deep, Hot Flush styled atmosphere, before raw analogue stabs signify the arrival of the track’s main features – an off-kilter percussive line that restlessly chops and slices its way through the surging bottom end and a webbed network of FX and colourful melodic flashes which mean that, although the whole thing is dense and intense, it’s also beguiling and beautiful. Here proving himself to be both a fine manipulator of melodies and a true master of musicality, Throwing Snow also gets Sneaker Social Club off to a more than auspicious start. COMES IN A HIGH SPEC SLEEVE. EACH RELEASE WILL HAVE A POSTER INSIDE WHICH WILL BE DIFFERENT FOR EVERY RELEASE.

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Local Action’s seventh vinyl release is the official follow-up to T. Williams and Terri Walker’s 2010 anthem ‘Heartbeat’, and comprises three of T. Williams’ heaviest instrumental tracks to date. ‘Break Broke’ is the sound of Williams getting darker, with synths that glow like an overcooked power grid and one of the most ruff-neck drops you’ll hear anywhere this year. ‘Go In’ is for the DJs, a palette cleanser that's tailor-made to mix long and deep, but it’s ‘Analog Tour’ that’s arguably this record’s stand-out – opening with a two-and-a-half minute intro of acid ambience, electro claps and super-heavy 808 kicks, and climaxing as a full-on 303 hydra.
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?Such an intense, variegated, and singularly saccharin sound can only come from the mind of someone who's in love with life and music. It's what puppy love sounds like for our generation.? Following the Paul Woolford remix of T. Williams and Terri Walker?s ?Heartbeat? comes Local Action 006, the first 12" release by an amazing new artist from Manchester, UK, called Damu. After this, he?s got material penciled in for Blackdown?s Keysound label and more. The title track, a stand-out from Girl Unit?s XLR8R podcast last year, is one of the best tunes we've put out yet, full of colour with just the right amount of lushness to it. While a lot of UK dance music right now seems to use colourful synths in an unimaginative way, Damu?s drip, glow and fizz at every turn in the same way that Ill Blu or Funkystepz do. Listening to ?Mermaid??s like diving head-first into a lagoon. After that you've got three more killers: the iron assault of ?Beat of Zen? and the few-more-intense ?Sequinny?, plus a ?Beat of Zen? remix by Chicago juke titans DJ Rashad and DJ Earl. Early support comes from LV, Girl Unit, Sinden, Brodinski, Starkey and more. More

Following the shock success of T. Williams’ ‘Heartbeat’, voted #3 dance track of the year by US iTunes, Local Action returns for 2011 with the debut 12” by Contakt. Contakt hails from the Midwest, but now lives in New York, where he helps run the acclaimed TURRBOTAX® parties. The Sinden-championed ‘Not Forgotten’ is an ideal introduction to the balance he gets between Detroit techno and contemporary underground club music, with huge galloping drums and fiery synths, while the B-side is dedicated to a stunning remix by Rolando (Underground Resistance / Ostgut-Ton), and a real sleeper hit in the dark, stabbing ‘Rhodophyta’.
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