“Today is a good day... Rework’s ‘You’re So Just Just’ formerly released on Playhouse is making an exclusive return on Leftroom for Record Store Day. One of my favourite records of all time and a firm fabric anthem, I had to ask Paranoid London’s Johnny AUX for a remix and also gave it a go myself with one of my EC1 Mixes. There is a limited vinyl run on this so grab it while they are still on the shelves!!!” - Matt Tolfrey - April 2018 More

BARCODE 5060376931754 Release 26.5.2014
Tracklist 1.Ask You 2. Rise And Fall 3. Flowers And Girlfriends 4. Perfect Gun 5. You Play 6. Bouncing Baby 7. Can You Trust Me 8. I Cannot Say 9. When You're Close To Someone 10. The Two Sides 11. Dreaming Is Fun
Visionquest welcome talented production trio Rework onto the label with 'You Play', an album of eleven crisp and wonderfully rich tracks combining elegant rhythms with snappy vocals that blurs the distinction between the underground elite and modern popular culture.
Rework are two German boys and a girl from a punk band background. Their 'You Play' album has a rock n roll attitude to the dancefloor, spiced up with French and English lyrics about the ramblings of that crazy little thing called love. Following critically acclaimed work on the much esteemed Playhouse imprint, their third album signifies a change in intensity for Rework's AngloFrench funk antics, adding a dash of dancefloor melancholy. Rework understand how music works for the dancefloor with key tracks such as 'Flowers and Girlfriends' and title track 'You Play' cut for serious music heads, while the futuristic melodies of Rework's 'Perfect Gun' have a newwave feel reaching into sublime pop territory.
BACKGROUND:
Daniel Varga and Michael Kuebler formed Rework in the year 2000. Five years later Sascha Hedgehog, front girl of the French beatpunk band Les Quitriche joined the group. They earned their dance music stripes with a series of strong releases, most notably on Frankfurtbased techno institution Playhouse. More recently their accolades include releases on Magda's Items & Things and the Parisian label Meant records, and they are currently collaborating with Jennifer Cardini, Seth Troxler (with a release penned for his new label this Spring also) and many others. Aside from producing their own music, Rework have done remixes for the likes of Alter Ego, Chloe, Magda, Losoul and Trentemoller and have launched their own record label Loveyeah early in 2014. Interested in all elements of creativity, REWORK have also collaborated in a fashion film trilogy, "The Copenhagen Experience" by Mads Nørgaard with a cover of the Danish punkhymn "Copenhagen", remixed by Trentemoller. The film features super model Freja Beha Erichsen and Rework live at the Copenhagen fashion week. The Visionquest imprint was launched in 2011 by the freshest wave of new producers to emerge from Detroit in a decade, Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Shaun Reeves and Lee Curtiss. Reflecting their diverse outlook, and free from the constraints of genre specifics, the record label is a home for friends, newcomers and established artists alike and one of the most talked about imprints of recent times. Visionquest has delivered exciting early music from Benoit & Sergio, Maceo Plex, Tale Of Us, Guy Gerber as well as albums from the undiscovered talents of Footprintz, Dinky, Wareika and Crosson & Merveille, proving the four have never been scared to take exciting chances with their A&R choices. Events in WMC Miami, fabric in London and DC10 in Ibiza plus their daring Visionquest Thirteen series illustrate their desire to step outside the norm and be adventurous in every factor of their activities.
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Continuing along their musical path to bring us the most illustrious and innovative electronic music, Visionquest welcome talented production trio Rework onto the label with ‘Touch’. Four wonderfully distinct and driving cuts combining icy minimal structures with catchy female vocals, Anglo-French funk antics and a dash of dancefloor melancholy. Daniel Varga and Michael Kuebler formed Rework in the year 2000 releasing their first EP ‘Anyway I Know You’ on Playhouse Records. In 2005, Sascha Hedgehog, front girl of the French beat-punk band Les Quitriche joined the group. They earned their dance music stripes with a series of strong releases, most notably on Frankfurt-based techno institution Playhouse and more recently on Items & Things and Meant Records. Aside from producing their own music, Rework have done remixes for the likes of Alter Ego, Chloe, Magda, Losoul and Trentemoller. This year they are also launching their own record label Loveyeah.
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After a series of collaborations, Marc Houle presents his first solo EP on Items & Things since 2012 - "Fusion Pop", a four track EP with two original cuts and two remixes: one from Magda, the other from label artist NYMA. True to Items & Things form, "Fusion Pop" acts as an amalgamation of warped sound - haunting synth lines, jagged bass-lines, eerie vocals and bouncing leads feed the sonic landscape for the 115BPM title track. On the flip, the acid-infused overtones of "Hello Friend" paint an equally eerie scene. As the distorted repetitions of the male vocal mantra drift off into the ether, steady hats hold the reverberating groove: part Carpenter soundtrack, part twisted after-party anthem. Magda turns the focus of the A-side towards the club, her "Lost in Mezcal Mix" upping the tempo and thickening the groove whilst maintaining the experimentation of the original: an ode to the extremities of the inebriation from which the mix derives its title. NYMA’s "Confusion Mix" fuses elements from both of the originals into his own interpretation, rounding off proceedings with an ode to the two slices of dance floor eccentricity that precede it. More

Returning to Items & Things with his first solo EP for the label since October 2011's "VoodooVoodoo", label head Troy Pierce presents "Softcore", a four track EP featuring two original productions alongside remixes of title track "Softcore" from Bristol-based producer Dubspeeka and French DJ/producer Chloé. A pioneer of the darker side of electronic experimentation, Troy's A-side "Softcore" is anything but: a haunting, chugging peak-time production with a music DNA consisting of twisted strands of EBM, techno, and industrial, with a hint of dub thrown in for good measure. B-side "The Dangers With Strangers" is an equally powerful effort, its depraved machine funk and distorted tales of strangers provide a visceral exploration into the depths of hedonism. Having debuted with a release on Oliver Huntemann's Ideal Audio label, elusive Bristol producer Dubspeeka (perhaps more famously known as one part of British group Kosheen) delivers a stripped down yet driven interpretation of Troy's original, reinforcing the reasons why his productions have been exciting a number of the techno elite over the past year. Chloé - a recent addition to the Items & Things Booking Agency - needs little introduction. Typically poised between genres and aesthetics, the Kill The DJ founder and ex-Pulp resident rounds off proceedings with a remix that is as atmospheric as it is club-suitable, a reflection of her unique eclecticism that couldn't be more at home than with Items & Things. More

Limited 12" in colored vinyl! A collaboration between Items & Things label boss Marc Houle and Grenoble born techno/electro legend Miss Kittin, IT022 sees the release of "Where is Kittin?": a four track EP featuring two original tracks, as well as remixes from Dubfire, John Foxx & The Maths, and with two further edits from Miss Kittin herself. More

Danny Benedettini returns to Items & Things following his much-lauded "Tell Me Quietly" EP, appearing here with his second solo effort for the label, "Sweet Lies". A child of punk and cult horror film iconography, the Italian born Benedettini continues to hone his unique take on disco-charred techno experimentation, as demonstrated on both "Tell Me Quietly", and through his two contributions to Items & Things' 2012 compilation, "Variables". In true Items & Things fashion, the four tracks on Sweet Lies could easily be have been transported directly from late 70s Italy or early 90s Detroit. Their evocative themes explore the contrasting worlds in which both Goblin and James Stinson loiter. From the broken arpeggiated electro jerks of "Where Have You Been?" through the acid-infected lo-fi echoes of "Rocker" and brisk bassline waves that cut through the mix on "Moi Moi", the haunting melodies of "Sweet Lies" promise to linger in the minds of listeners long after the end of the club experience. Like the three cuts that precede it, "Old Buttons" both besets and controls, its infectious sub-bass diving deep into the fissures of human control. More

Click Box were some of the first to define the early sound of Items & Things with their "Espaço E Tempo" EP back in 2008. Then came a celebrated string of EPs for Minus that escaped the clutches of conventional techno with an inventive, cavernous sound signature. After a two year hiatus in their hometown, São Paulo, Brazil, spent in focus for their audio production company Some Toys Audio Boutique and recently at the controls for electronic rock band Inky, Click Box have returned in 2012 for a new phase of cutting edge machine music. Click Box marked their return in March of this year with Clock Active EP for Brazilian label Noise Music, with the track "Day After Day" receiving chart recognition from the likes of Depeche Mode legend Martin Gore. A remix for Andy Martin followed, as did the summer hit "One", released in July with Items & Things’ compilation Variables, becoming a standout staple of Magda's sets for the entire season. With their current Body Fall EP for Minus and a forthcoming remix for Gabriel Ferreira’s new label Unique Community in the pipeline, Click Box are proving to be as much in demand now as ever. More

Items & Things came out of the woodwork last April when Madato debuted his first album on the label, Speak Of The She Devil, live in Watergate during the eve of Berlin's wildest May Day mayhem. Nearly one year later, the label's youngest artist is back for good with a four-track vinyl (plus two bonus digital tracks) release on Items & Things, making it the fourteenth to boot. Portraits is the name of the new EP inspired by a book written by Italian novelist, Alessandro Baricco. All tracks are recorded with external so urces and self-produced sounds using korg synths, pieces of a drum kit, a guitar and a modular rack to create an organic listening experience. More

The thirteenth release on Berlin based label Items and Things, steered by former Minus affiliates Magda, Marc Houle and Troy Pierce, packs twice the punch on this "Various Items" release featuring Darabi and Tim Paris. Philippe Hallais and Dang Khoa Chau teamed up in 2009 to become Darabi - a spunky duo breathing new life into warehouses and clubs with their bouncy gangster disco attitude and energetic sets. Darabi have been dubbed as the Soul Clap of the French underground by fans and artists alike. The A-side is dominated by their latest title, "Player", a modern echo of Jamie Principle's Chicagoan R&B. It's an animated piece lead by fresh and sassy lyrics over suspenseful atmospherics. The dub version shaves off the bulk of the lyrics, leaving a subtle hint of vocals trailing behind. The flip-side solely belongs to Tim Paris - the heart and soul behind label, Marketing Music, whose key philosophy on the art of music is keeping it multifaceted and expressive. His polygamous relationship to electronic music allows him to explore and be inspired by anything and everything, ranging from pop to contemporary. Paris' first number unravels around the seductively malicious vocals of Sex Judas. The track's wide vocal range alongside the colorful and robotic beats gives "Too Close" a flamboyant flair as lyrics like "all that you want is to have me" draw out a spine-crawling body spasm. A more serious instrumental version is the second track as the quirky vocals are strategically pulled out like a cloth from a dinner table. More

For his new EP, "Undercover", Items & Things co-founder Marc Houle jumps in his time machine and heads back in time. Destination Chicago, 1987, and a face to face with Master C&J exploring the mysterious power of plunging basslines and moody synths. On remix duties Berlin based Miro Pajic sneaks in charting a decidedly bleepier course while Bruno Pronsato delivers his signature 'romantic techno' sound. More