The always on-point and culturally significant Tuskegee Music is back with more essential music, this time from venerated American producer D’Marc Cantu. Over the course of a distinguished career, Cantu has contributed to everything from jackbeat to acid, house to techno on labels like Creme Organisation and Les Disques De La Mort. Always serving up raw-edged, uncompromising sounds, he does so again here on another standout EP. Opener ‘Beat The Move’ is an urgent, high tech piece of slick and supple acid house with 303 undulations, dark vocal loops and the sort of hammering drums that get the club locked right in. The sublime ‘In The Forest’ is a tripped out bit of restless electro with skittish hits and rueful pads that gets right to your heart. Last of all is the militant, marching ‘A Narrow Connection’ which closes things out with crisp kicks and scintillating sheet metal drums that straighten your back and get you stomping. These are utilitarian yet wonderfully unique club tracks from a real master of the
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In 2017, D'Marc Cantu released the critically-acclaimed "The Lodge" LP on Altered Moods, which was the first chapter in a two-part story. The second part is now incoming, in the form of a remix EP of one of the most popular cuts on the album, "S. E. G." The new record contains both the original track and three remixes created by both up-and-coming and legendary artists in the industry. It closes the story of D'Marc Cantu stepping completely out of his own comfort zone to visit the ultra deep side of house music Starting off on the front side is the original mix and an exquisitely atmospheric reshape by the one and only Larry Heard (aptly titled the "Atmospheric Mix"). He chops up the original and sprinkles it into a spicy stew of his most cherished chords and keys. On the flip, Altered Moods chief director Malcolm Moore puts his spin on the original with a rapid, charged-up number filled with bubbly leads, boxy drums, and jazzy keys. Finally, Chicago Skyway comes through with a really hot jack mix that starts out mellow before ramping up and bringing the whole EP as well as the story itself, full circle." More

After a quiet 2016 which saw the label release only a single EP, Altered Moods Recordings launches the first in a steady stream of releases for 2017 and beyond with its first double-pack since "Love...Lost and Found", the first vinyl record it released back in 2006. With "The Lodge", AMR has joined forces with techno and jakbeat wunderkind D'Marc Cantu, who has a long, storied history with labels such as M>O>S>, Creme Organization, and Nation, and with his mentor and friend Tadd Mullinix as their duo 2AMFM. On this double-12, he shows us and the world his more melodic, deeper side, while still maintaining a sense of urgency and a fingerhold on the jakbeat throughout. We have listened to this release for a long time and it never gets old to the ears. We are confident that this release will end up being a timeless classic in the coming years.
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Keeping up the urgent pace set by the Strength In Numbers collection, Thema now turns to a modern master of the JakBeat, D’Marc Cantu. Hailing from Ann Arbor on the fringes of Detroit, Cantu has worked for more than a decade developing a sound that carries the torch from the box jam originators of techno and house music. His first appearances were alongside the mighty Tadd Mullinix (better known as James T. Cotton) with their 2 AM/FM project, before bringing Traxx into the fold for the X2 venture. As a solo artist Cantu has shored up on labels as highly regarded as Crème Organization, M>O>S, Nation and Desire, bringing a rich, full-bodied sound laden with powerful synth hooks, crafty drum programming and a live, jammed-out delivery that overflows with imagination. Given his adventurous tendencies and punchy Midwestern finish, Cantu is a perfect fit on Thema and the six tracks that make up this record show a great deal of the diversity the man is capable of, from dancefloor burners to atmospheric introspections More

Typically bold and 'playable' gear from this Ann Arbor based machine head. Heavy on the jak, this one. More

With this release, Anne Arbor's jakbeat man delivers 6 minutes of electronic mania; a piece of repetitious, dance-inducing machine funk with a hook that hits you like a punch in the face with a velvet glove, brooding pads, and a top line like steel drums on acid. D'Marc Cantu twists the sound of Detoit techno and Chicago house with his own visceral production style and makes it his own. "Sonically I'm reminded of old home videos, a lower quality presentation of a memory. Decay has that quality to it that reminds of a time gone but stills feels familiar and comforting" DMC "Rival was the first experiment of my first alias, Rival. It was recorded in with a Volca drum machine the first day I got it, no effects and no edits, as is the basis of the alias, unedited analog sessions. One take" More

The release was a follow up of sorts to my remix of Ricardo Tobar’s « If I love you ». Having spoke to Jerome Mestre of Desire a few times since the remix, he and I decided that it would be great to follow it up with a dance focused release.
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The explosive initiation of One Electronica's "1210" series comes from Ann Harbours D'Marc Cantu. The series will consist of one twelve inch and one ten inch vinyl. No mp3's as per with One Electronica and its main aims are to give the artist freedom to do what ever he or she wishes! The extensive palate of sounds available on this pack range from slower ambience influenced grooves, outright "jak", industrial grit pursuing to intense, pace-ridden, electronic mayhem; as heard in "Microdots". More

Michigan resident D'Marc Cantu serves up his next album on the ever-excellent MOS Recordings on June 11th 2012. Though essentially a house and techno producer, American Cantu often goes further than most, calling on a world of influences to ensure his jacking productions are as far away from standard as possible, yet still do damage on the right dancefloors as have previous EPs on this label, Nation and Crème Organization. His latest offering, A New World, aims to capture, detail and relay many different stories from within the re-born city of Detroit. Across the course of eight tracks, many different moods and styles are explored from dark and abstract to more synth lead and serene. There are plenty of squelchy acid lines and frantic percussive workouts, but so too are there pockets of slower, deeper, dubbier introspection that speak of mystery and intrigue as does the city of Detroit itself. Says D’Marc of the album.. "Detroit, MI has a rich history and is filled with amazing people and I wanted to capture what I feel every time I go there. With every song there’s an evolution that leads you to a new yet familiar place. These songs all have a story and each revolves around the concept of growth, community and rebuilding. "Spirit Form", "The First Planet" and "Genetic Script" all drive the idea of rebirth, utilizing dreamy pads and primal rhythms as they dig at the soul, while "Good"'s levity reaches at the heart of what I love about living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It continues to inspire me, with its many amazing artists and diversity." Despite all these conceptual ideals, the album will not disappoint existing fans, as so too does the album deal in the sort of thing that people have come to expect of this considered producer. Tracks like "Green Bike Seat" and "Mobile Communication" aim to encapsulate the honesty and decaying beauty of urban life, never allowing you to forget the reality of life in a sprawling metropolis. A true journey of investigation, realisation and re-discovery, A New World is far more than just another house album, but instead demands and rewards the close attention of anyone listening. More

The world just got a little bit warmer again with this upcoming debut album of D'Marc Cantu. After several releases on Creme JAK, M>O>S>, Nation as well as collaborations as 2AMFM and Saturn V there finally is a full length showcase of this Chicago native's extraordinary talents. Limited edition 2LP of 300 copies in handnumbered/stickered sleeves with poster.

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After the 2AM/FM release, next up in the 10'' series on MOS_deep is a solo-project of D'Marc Cantu. D' Marc delivers two surprisingly melodic, sexy and hypnotizing housetracks. "Set Free" opens with a hard-hitting flanged bass-sound and a devastating kick and slowly evolves into a dreamy and atmospheric track full of mystery. "Tonight" is a hypnotic and haunting latenight-dancefloor track, combining long stretched melodic stabs, an ultra-deep bassline and D' Marc's whispering vocals taking you down deep in the uncanny and eery underworld of his soul.

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Repress!

Much has been said about Nami Shimada's JPop Bubblegum Deep House anthem. Produced by Soichi Terada in 1989, Larry Levan used to bang it in he Paradise Garage, ressurected by Creme in 2004, over a decade before the hype. What more credentials do you need? Here's all the versions that matter, including a beautiful and haunting Legowelt remix that's rated amongst his best work (by experts that is). More

Limited reissue of the classic Exaltics 2011 release on Creme Eclipse aka The Living Planet. Housed in a full sleeve with fantastic previously unreleased artwork by Godspill. Dont miss this masterclass in brooding and dark electronix tech-fi. It may sound scary at first but lucky for you it all ends in a crop circle rave! More

Part 1 of a retrospective of sorts, compiled from dozens of unreleased tracks from literally two decades of producing, these gems were collecting dust in the vaults of Ekman. Evocative and eerie electro from the Dutch master. We think we can let the music speak for itself in this case, as it's unique and instantly recognizable. More

Part two of our retrospective takes our journey deeper into the woods with his unique brooding electro, vivid sparkling soundscapes and minimum for the maximum dirty brown The Hague Acid (TM). Whatever, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it... gorgeous and essential. More

For the first time ever on vinyl, Iv/An's spectacular debut album Self and Selfish. Toiling away for years in relative obscurity, this Ex-Yu cult vocalist has a slew of highly sought after releases on his own boutique label as well as Austrian Tonn Recordings and more recently Fettkakao. Blending New Romanticism with a stern style of Cold Wave - he sings and produces every song himself - Iv/An has been a staple of the Balkan and Austro-Hungarian live scene for close to a decade now. Recently he started to make waves internationally with a stellar live set for Intergalactic FM, where his sleeper hit "Loopholes" turned more than a few heads. He featured prominently in Henry Rollins' 2022 end of year radio show and is constantly performing and honing his vocal craft. Strictly limited to 400 copies on White Vinyl in exclusive sleeve design, so whatcha waitin for? More

Repress!
New album by the irrepressible Dutchman... The '2080' part of the album title is taken from the Roland JV2080, a legendary digital synthesizer from the nineties that was used a lot in the making of the album. Bought second-hand in Tokyo for a couple of hundred dollars, it lends the record a very dewy eyed soul, whilst the 'Crystal' part of the title stands for the self-made 'DIY germanium crystal compressor' Legowelt used throughout the writing process. The album itself features ten new tracks of pure Legowelt music mainly recorded in De Hague in the past year, but also on the road during tours of LA, the Californian desert, Tokyo (which spawned 'Crystal Cult 2080') and Tejada Gran Canaria (where 'The Future of Myself' was written.) Where his last album The Paranormal Soul was an organic trip into misty forests, this one seems more concerned with medieval spirits; it's deeper, darker and the whole thing is tied together by a more coherent sense of ancient alchemy. Gi ven the use of a DIY germanium crystal compressor during production, it's no wonder everything feels warm, fuzzy and mystic in a way that draws your attention in like that fabled philosopher's stone... glare too long and you might just turn to stone. Right from the opening track the mood is so encapsulating you are drawn right into Danny Wolfers' mysterious electronic world. From there various different tempos are explored and plenty of famed synthesiser work comes to the fore, wrapping grooves in trippy themes, impish spirits and plenty of organic lushness.
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A spectacular debut by this mystery production team by way of London and Berlin. Deep EBM influenced Electro from beyond the rim with a dash of acidic retro futurism. More

Remastered re-issue of this all-time classic alien-funk electro by Aux 88! More

Bristol based Rhythmic Theory, known for working the dark and mysterious edges of bass heavy techno and drum & bass, returns to Creme Organization. After his first work for the label in 2017 he now brings a fulsome nine track mini-LP 'Mechanised Dreaming', exploring the dark corners of ambient and synth based intrigue. Previous releases landed on his self-titled imprint and labels like Idle Hands, BRSTL and Blackest Ever Black offshoot A41. Atmospheric sound design is at the fore here, with cinematic soundscapes crafted from broad synth smears and plenty of subtle little motifs. The music paints pictures of a metropolis during the dead of night, or a former industrial factory reduced to a hall of echoes and shadows. There is subtle tension built from sustained chords and plenty of suggestion of weird lifeforms in the icy ticks and scuttling footsteps of thew a-side. Side b is less dark and dank, with slightly brighter synths and wider horizons all explored. This is a truly immersive and emotive listen that always keeps you absorbed. More

Chicago house and Detroit techno devotee Simoncino is a master of authentic analogue wizardry. The HotMix Records boss joins the dots between the past and the future with his deep and dreamlike tracks and put out an album on Creme Organization back in 2015, and has remained hugely prolific ever the years. Here he explores a full range of sounds, starting with the slow and mysterious deep house of Housetime, which has beautiful synth patterns unfolding throughout. Two mixes of It Up explore ambient with a pained vocal loop and rubbery bass, and a loose and cosmic dub house cut that Larry Heard would love. On the flip, the roomy Tribu has dreamy Italo bird calls and glistening synths paired with punchy rubber kicks that set your mind wandering and Una Notte Con Michelle is expansive deep house with drums that march, tinkling bells and a squelchy bassline that is perfect for the intimate back rooms. Digi bonus Timezones rounds things out with smoky and atmospheric deep house that is filled with deft little details that occupy your mind as much as your feet. More

Dona is back with another EP of emo-jakkin Mediterranean style dark-side. He walks the fine line between hope and hate on this one, mood-swinging his way through various shades of azure and off white. More

Next up on Creme Organizaiton is Lake Haze. The Hague based Portuguese artist is a regular on this label having put out four EPs in the last two years. He's also linked with Unknown to the Unknown and Shall Not Fade so is an esteemed talent with a blistering sound that fuses futuristic techno and electro into storytelling dancefloor dynamite. Space Reservoirs kicks off this EP with slow but heavy drum work, acid twitches and spooky cosmic echoes. The Observer picks up the pace with quick and slick kicks from the streets of Detroit overlaid with ripping electro basslines and deep space atmospherics. Unexplored Oceanic Territory is expansive electro with busted drums and echoing pads that add real scale before more acid finishes things off with real rawness. Prototype is dark and heavy, with another searing baseline and crisp metallic hits, then Into The Unknown is a blissed out electro roller with dreamy pads and twinkling keys melting into the cosmos. It closes out another essential EP from this timeless producer. More

Creme Organization's latest missive comes from Fabio Monesi, an Italian with a gritty house sound that is aimed squarely at the club. He's served up punchy beats on labels like Russian Torrent versions as well as his own Wilson Records before now and has a simple but effective sound. 'Riot' kicks us off with rock slid kicks and lithe synth stabs fleshing out the macho groove. Clever vocal samples bring some steaminess and ensure this one will do plenty of damage on the floor. 'Last Friday' is a raw and lo-fi affair with rattling, sharp edged hits and hissing synths all softened with jazzy chords. House drums and rolling bass prop it up in groovy fashion, then 'Reduction' is a frazzled brew of spiting hits, jerking machine grooves and busted frequencies that is as raw and tough as you like. Last of all, the excellent 'Ozyork' rounds us out with punchy drum programming, intoxicating and off kilter chords and brain frying sonic imperfections that are perfectly imperfect. Add in a deep acid line and you have a surefire house bomb with real meat in its bones. More

Creme Organization welcome a new producer to the ranks for their next EP: that man is Rhythmic Theory, a mysterious artist from Bristol who has years of experience of DJing, producing and running labels behind him. Most recently he has been in charge of his own eponymous label, and has close involvement with the BRSTL imprint as well as releasing on Idle Hands and Happy Skull. Across four track he shows a number of different sides, all of which are fascinating and inventive. Pessimists' opener Empty House (RT's Choppage Mix) is a sparse and broody track with, at first, only the occasional kick drum beneath sooty synth smears. Its from a post-human world and eventually turns into a lurching, off beat track that rises form the ashes of jungle and dubstep with real menace. Outlawed From Reality is another slow and purposeful track that is eerie and cinematic: the off beat drums and spooky atmospheres are full of intrigue and suck you right in, then Cyclic Motion continues to bring a paranoid and unsettled feel to the EP with its layering of elastic drums, naught sine waves and scattered drum hits. Last of all, Rachael's Theme mixes up passages of blissful cosmic ambient with loose, rumbling drums and a general vibe that feels something akin to passing from this life to the next.
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After an EP on Creme Organization off-shoot Jericho One as DJ Plant Texture, Dona Basile now assumes his Dona alias for a new EP on the main label. Entitled The V.G.P Sessions, it features four new cuts from the Italian. Up first is a live cut version of 'Energia', a bristling electro track with globular bass and coarse hits. Turbulent but full of synth based serenity, it is a fine start. 'Cigarettes' is rugged and broken, with glossy IDM synths and corrugated drums all loosely arranged into something prickly and unsettling. 'The Deads At Twelve' then gets even more fucked up, with rusty synths and blown out drums making for a dystopian house groove that will likely soundtrack the apocalypse. Last but not least, 'Nr. 13' mixes up Detroit synths, wild acid, heavenly chords and chopped up, buried deep vocal samples into something that will fire every synapse in your body. This is outlier stuff from Dona that sounds like little else. More

Next up Creme Organization is a return by regular artist Lake Haze. Following his Natural Insight EP earlier in the year comes Intergalactic Communicationz, four more fresh tracks of acid, techno and electro that is brilliantly evocative. The Portuguese artist known as Goncalo Salgado also please son labels like Unknown to the Unknown and is a real hardware master. At The Gates ov Futron is a turbulent lack track with zipping acid and a cacophony of percussion that is visceral as well as cinematic. Drexciyan Aquarium is, as the name suggest, an aqueous electro track that slithers and slides through an expansive underwater world. Poseidon's Dream then offers a more rugged electro groove that is backed by heavenly pads and a real sense of loss in the synths. Last of all, Intergalactic Communication closes out this far travelling and intergalactic EP with a sci-fi deep house track that is filled with light, 909s and a sense that the end of the world is coming.
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The next chapter in the Creme Organization Ecplise series comes from Cosmic Garden with three original tracks and one remix from Orgue Electronique. Little is known about Cosmic Garden other than he is from Southern Italy and has had two EPs out in 2016, one on HotMix and one on Cosmic Rhythm. He heads out the blocks here with 'Reptilian Treant', six minutes of lo-fi deep house that is roomy and atmospheric. Lazy synths bring soul and a gentle chatter of claps and hits helps drive it along. 'Rare Centaur' is also way below the surface but is darker and more celestial, with turbulent bass, frantic claps and angelic chords glowing like a white light at the end of a tunnel. Dutch house and electro don Orgue Electronique then remixes 'Reptilian Treant' into something that is slick and serene, with metallic lines dancing above rubbery drums as big piano chords boucle up top. It is joyous and colourful and truly majestic before final track 'Apocalyptic Moose' takes us back down into a mournful house vibe that echoes Chicago with its roughhewn analogue textures and lovestruck chords. More

The last few years have seen Belgian artist Innershades turn out plenty of rugged house on labels like Creme Organization and Pinkman, and now returns to the former with a four track EP on Dutch label Creme. The prolific producer shows he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve across all four cuts and stitches in acid, jack and Chicago styles with his own sense of charm. The Kings comes hard and fast out of the blocks with big hits, wild synths and raved-up vibes that will have you punching the air. Knowledge is another banger with powerful kicks and globular bassline run through with more ravey sirens, but this time is a little more haunted. Crossing Paths is all about a simple but effective bassline that bounces along and takes you with it in ways similar to an Omar S joint, then Wait is the most stripped back and mysterious of the lot with cosmic melodies panning about in a spacious and airy deep house groove. Utterly timeless from start to finish, this is another massively effective offering from Innershades. More