Riding a wave of critical praise and positive feedback for his most recent Emperor Machine album, the fabulous Island Boogie, Andrew Meecham returns with a typically wild and dancefloor-focused set of dubs, ‘versions’ and remixes.

According to Meecham, Island Boogie is his most personal set to date – a full-length excursion that not only delivers perfectly formed expressions of his dub-tinged, off-kilter synth-boogie sound, but also tracks that draw deeply on his earliest influences and long-held musical expressions.

It’s fitting, then, that this remix EP begins with his own sparse, stripped-back ‘version’ rework of ‘S-S-S-Single Bed’, a fine cover of the mid-80s Fox single featuring the vocals of Michelle Bee. Meecham’s dub-wise revision is a skeletal and driving affair, with snippets of echoing guitar, colourful synths and Bee’s distinctive vocalisations rising above a weighty dub disco bassline and rock-solid percussion.

It's followed by two revisions of album favourite ‘Wanna Pop With You’ from A Love From Outer Space main man Sean Johnston under his now familiar Hardway Brothers alias. Combining his own love of raw, analogue-sounding electronics and trippy dancefloor psychedelia with select elements of Meecham’s original – percussion, synth sounds, crisp guitar licks and elements of Severine Mouletin’s lead vocals, Johnston’s main ‘remix’ is a weighty, mid-tempo treat. Arguably even better is his accompanying dub, which is more groove-and-effects focused and makes more of Beecham’s superb original bassline. It’s heavy, spaced-out and undeniably intoxicating.

To round off the package, long-time friend of the label (and sometime contributor) Rose Robinson dons her Tigerbalm pseudonym and gets to work on ‘La Cassette’. Brilliantly cutting up Severine Mouletin’s vocals, she delivers a driving slab of spaced-out, synth-heavy dub disco that adds more weight and energy to Meecham’s original. It’s a fittingly on-point way to close out a superb selection of club-ready revisions.
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March sees studio wizard & cult UK live artist The Emperor Machine serve up his latest thrilling full length, Music Not Safari. Opener '?C.C.?' is a colourful synth opus, with skyward chords and disco beats all getting you up on your toes. The shimmering synths continue on '?What You Need?', which has hip swinging claps and perfectly squelchy boogie bass that goes back to the future. Recent single, '?House Des Lowe?' is full of trickery, reverb, and peerless sound designs, with its rubbery bass and elastic grooves all lit up by darting chords and dancing percussive patterns. The Emperor Machine's tracks are never less than luxurious and ebullient and that's the case again on 'Moscow Not Safari,' a cosmic adventure filled with lithe synth work and sonic definition of the highest order. After more rumbling drums and rugged bass that are designed to ignite disco lovers from all eras on 'Stiff Poly' comes the latest single. '?Danse Blanc?' is an electrifying track that speeds up as it unfolds, with a knotted baseline and organic, wooden percussion all tumbling freely beneath celestial synths and keys. Like all recent singles, when this one gets its standalone release it will be in three forms;?‘Extended’, ‘Version 54’ and ‘Warehouse mix’. ?Former singles '?Function?' and '?Two Voice?' then keep the good times alive with the prickly and upbeat disco charm of '?You Two?' sandwiched in between. A1. C.C. A2. What You Need . B1. House Des Lowe B2. Moscow Not Safari . C1. Stiff Poly . C2. Danse Blanc . D1. Function D2. You Two , D3. Two Voice More

Andy Meecham returns once more under his Emperor Machine guise with a freshly delivered 4 track vinyl Ep of experimental peak time & back room jams on his brand new label Vertical Tones. Side A1, We play Perfect & A2 Dry Down the Middle sees a return to the vintage analog sonics & dusty warped House sound of Emperor Machine made with love on the MPC. Side B1, Back to the electronics and Modulars with Got to warm ride a mid 80s style re-edit of the original unreleased 15 min track B2 Leggwork an electronic disco funk cut thats sees Andy with his multi-instrumentalist head on locked in a solo jam session full of original Llama Farm flavour. More

The 2 Bears debut album Be Strong has been a revelation. The hirsute duo made up of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip & Raf Rundell aka the Raf Daddy have made a record that has touched people from many a different musical and cultural background. Their roots of course, lay in House music and it's that genre that essentially defines The 2 Bears. So it only felt right that they released a 12" with exquisite remixes of one of The 2 Bears original musical outputs, Be Strong! The 2 Bears are big fans of the Basement Jaxx. Their parties, productions and attitude towards dance music have been one of the biggest influences to Raf & Joe over the years. Simon Ratcliffe's two outstanding and very different mixes exhibit clearly why the Basement Jaxx are one of the most important and relevant UK dance acts. Eats Everything on the other hand, has recently become one of the hottest names in House music. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold, with Entrance Song being one of 2011 biggest club records, alongside Bear Hug of course! Two remixes Eats delivered around The 2 Bears second EP Curious Nature finally see the light of day, exclusively on this 12". Idiotproof team up with him for the "Banger" mix and he goes at it alone on "Curious Nature".

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The 2 Bears debut album Be Strong has been a revelation. The hirsute duo made up of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip & Raf Rundell aka the Raf Daddy have made a record that has touched people from many a different musical and cultural background. Their roots, of course lay in House music and it's that genre that essentially defines The 2 Bears. So, brace yourself for four tantalizing mixes of one of The 2 Bears' finest house cuts Take A Look Around. The 2 Bears Vs House Of House opens the 12". Raf & Joe teamed up with Liv & Saheer to produce one of the tightest reworks the bears have seen. Fellow House moguls The Wild Geese supply a techy, psychedelic rehash accompanied by a more dancefloor centric dub! Last, but certainly not least Caze Nove supply a straight up, four to the floor house remix. The 2 Bears have a busy summer ahead, filled with festivals, Ibiza dates and UK shows. Joe, being the busiest man in pop music will also be touring with Hot Chip and promoting the bands fifth album, which will be released in the summer. 2012, the year of the bear! More

Jack Fell Down are a slight adjustment to the generic format presented by producers and DJ's who; through conformity and expectance stand without exception in the fog of music's "popularity led culture". Opting instead to work in obscurity and anonymity Jack Fell Down have signed a deal with one of the worlds longest standing and respected Dance labels, Southern Fried Records along side some of the industries biggest artist. Jack Fell Down's Debut release is a limited edition 12" extended player and will be in shops April 2012, this will be followed up with remixes for The 2 Bears and a second EP with Southern Fried. Jack Fell Down have an exclusive track on the upcoming Jaymo & Andy George compilation and have confirmed radio shows and blog podcasts with platforms such as Ibiza's Sarah Main's syndicated radio show. Jack Fell Down's approach to a performance is purist, exchanging the Mac Book Pro for the 1210's and the digital effects unit for technique, they are content to share the love at a dirty bog stomp or a world class club
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Phra & Bot aka Crookers follow up their ground breaking Dr.Gonzo Bust’em Up EP with yet more out of this world Gonzo madness! The Gonzo Anthem EP is another three track excursion to planet Gonzo where Italian duo Crookers seem to be spending most of their time these days. Dr.Gonzo’s Anthem is a melodic wonderment, that sounds like the soundtrack to an unreleased 80’s sci fi flick, just when your thinking what a lovely tune, it turns psychotic! Dushi is a deeper, more psychedelic number that sends you off on a trip through the galaxy passing through Mars and Uranus en route. And last but certainly not least is Carcola, a three way Italian job that see Crookers team up with His Majesty Andre and Lazy Ants. This futuristic dancehall-rave smash has an under-riding sub that rolls until the cows come home. Crookers came storming back in to our lives with their Gonzo project earlier this year. Their brilliant Bust’em Up had huge support at club and Radio. Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw (Record of the Week), Edith Bowman, Sinden, Annie Nightingale, Greg James, Huw Stephens, Rob Da Bank, Jaymo & Andy George, Andi Durrant, Eddy Temple-Morris etc… all showing the Gonzo love. rookers aka Francesco Barbaglia and Andrea Fratangelo first took the dance world by storm with Knobbers back in 2008. The Mad Kidz EP soon followed and then came their game changing Kid Cudi, Day N Nite Remix. They’ve since gone on to remix Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Armand Van Helden and The Chemical Brothers, whilst also seeing the release of their genre-bending Tons Of Friends album. Crookers are a force to be reckoned with, this new Dr.Gonzo (a nod to Hunter S Thompson’s work) project is testament to both their skills in the both the booth and in the studio. Watch out for the third Gonzo EP and album coming soon! More