Sidetracking - Part 1: Prologue' is the first vinyl taste of Jona's de- but album project for Alex Niggemann's forward-thinking AEON la-bel. The musical puzzle will be completed in February 2016 with the release of a second vinyl instalment, featuring 6 more original tracks, and the full 10-track album on CD format. Created over the course of two highly creative years, the concept for 'Sidetracking' was for Jona to invite some of his musician and producer friends to collaborate with him in the studio and compli- ment his album's solo productions. This impressive coming together (to be fully revealed over the coming months) features Varoslav (Rue de Plaisance, Paris), Usio (Studio Barnhus), David K (Cocoon), Bo- livian percussionist Daniel Aguilar, Italian pianist Giovanni Verga, and Edinburgh-based producer The Reverse Engineer. Driven by his desire to explore new sound perspectives and ideas, Jona has carefully forged his career path by consistently creating exciting and forward-thinking music. His previous label outings: 'Traffic' on 'Lost Tapes Volume 1' (AEON010) and 'Gemini EP' (AE- ON016) have seen him fine-tune his own unique sound. By incor- porating a wide range of styles into his tracks, Jona strives to break down unnecessary boundaries and explores new ideas and ways to ignite that hallowed dancefloor flame. It is therefore no wonder that his collaborative creations for 'Sidetracking' have yielded such stimulating aural delights. Fittingly, the album prologue opens with a track whose style is heav- ily influenced by the jazz music that Jona was so in love with dur- ing his formative years. Calling on the somewhat mysterious Usio (whose 'Kuwa Huru' LP on Studio Barnhus should be checked by everyone) to join him in a studio jam, has resulted in 'The Chase', an utterly compelling afro-beat influenced percussive groove, topped with swirling funk-fuelled stabs and strings, mesmerising chiming piano, and a large helping of pure, hip-swinging goodness. Taking 'The Chase' on an entirely different and yet perfectly com- plimentary twisted trip, AEON family members Simone Sinatti and Marco Paladin (aka Speaking Minds) conjure up a futuristic technoid disco demon that is all about throbbing energy, sweat, darkness and hissing smoke machines – perfect ingredients for an unforget- table strobelight serenade. Changing the mood entirely and cutting the tempo to a dublicious skank, 'Transmission Breakdown' sees Jona's experimental creative juices in full flow, as he teams up with Edinburgh-based digital com- poser and sound artist Dave House (aka The Reverse Engineer) for a delightfully hazy downtempo jam. Both as an artist and a DJ, Manchester's Marcus Intalex has been at the forefront of soulful, musical drum & bass for what seems like forever. A passion for techno has always run deeply through his music and under his Trevino moniker he is also a powerful creative force (check his recent 'Front' album to get the full picture). Here, he takes 'Transmission Breakdown' on a magical excursion, filled with subtle, hypnotic, evolving energy, anchored with an irresistible pul- sating bassline throb - a perfectly synergetic interpretation to round off Jona's 'Sidetracking' album prologue in style. More

AEON009 is expertly crafted by AEON label boss and veritable wunderkind of the multi-faceted anologue electronic, German DJ and producer Alex Niggemann. As a firm believer that a collection of music should unravel and develop like the plot of a good book, this EP is an apt offering from the German maestro, who has recently seen (and is still seeing) underground chart success with his release 'Materium' on Poker Flat, as the likes of Sven Vath, Tale of Us and Mano le Tough continue to drop it to revering masses across the globe. Following successful releases on Poker Flat, Compost Black Label and Last Night On Earth to name a few, 'Abaton' carries on his chameleonic success. The title track highlights Niggemann's affinity with texture and genre- defying sound, as he mixes ethereal chords with stark ashen synths for a truly goose bump-inducing musical experience. First on remix duty is the outfit Quantum Entanglement, comprised of Lee Jones and Fink, who provide a somewhat mellow interpretation, leading into a satisfying deeper progression. Irish producer Chymera evokes an eery landscape with his rework of the track, with the tentative sound of synths juxtaposed with murkier sonic trails and a tiptoeing bassline. Niggemann rounds off the EP with 'Tripping Minds' - a maze of rhythmic curlicues that dance around melancholic pads and descend over a bassline that truly packs a punch, causing the listener to yearn for a dancefloor, or reminisce on a past moment of musical clarity that can only come from the most prolific of music. This collection of intelligent, almost lugubrious sonic expression is a fitting display of how far Alex Niggemann, and indeed his AEON label have come; catapulting you into a darker, more aggressive and impressive world of musical capability More