Part-time tram driver and full-time disco disciple, Helsinki's Jaakko Eino Kalevi catalyzses street smart funk into heat stroke for Yin Yang Theatre, his new EP on Beats In Space Records. The title of Yin Yang Theatre came to Kalevi as an epiphany while dining in Washington Heights on a stateside holiday. "I was feeling bad about something and I thought that speaking out would be the solution. Almost immediately, I realized that confrontation is not the solution for every situation. The right balance is a combination of both: confrontation and patience. Yin Yang Theatre as a metaphor of life" While Jaakko's enlightened metaphor guides the six songs of Yin Yang Theatre, it does not sequester their inspiration to separate sides of the platter. Instead, the inspiration bakes a perfect pie using the tracks' irreverent and irresistibly bohemian ingredients. Following the metaphor manifestation of 'Speak Out', Ying Yang Theatre's second act is 'Pass the Cat', a step-by-step instruction manual for a midnight hour game made up on a late night during another one of Kalevi's many NYC visits (think Hot Potato gone feline). Before intermission, 'Sensaatio', a love song sung in Jaakko's native tongue, invokes the heel tripping effect of love at first sight. The undulating analog ode to Greece of 'Tecno Souvlaki' and 'Let the Energy Be Your Teacher (Part 1)' explore even softer rocking inflections of Jaakko's work at the top of side B before 'XO-Tic Grlz', a percussive deconstruction of 'Pass the Cat', quickens the EP from an introspective to extroverted finale. Each 12" on Beats in Space Records features original artwork in considerate and serial form. Hiroaki Koshiba, a frequent collaborator who paints during Jaakko's live performances, composed Yin Yang Theatre's artwork in similar practice. The 12" packaging constructed by Will Work For Good features a removable vinyl BIS logo cling. More

Osaka based label Chillmountain's retrospective continues with Enjoy Your Self 3, as their deep, dubby and psychedelic electronic productions are examined and presented again on Especial's spin off label, Specials.

Star of both Chillmountain and now Especial (EES038 / EES042), Akio Nagase introduces possibly the stand-out track from the whole series with his Dub Techno meets Kalimba, Mbira Dub. A Basic Channel deep groove is twisted and mixed with pure Zimbabwe idiophone rhythm, the live Mbira bringing melody against bongos and cheeky repetitive vox for the ultimate dub house shuffle.

Label stars Akira Arasawa and Ground come together for a special one-off discoid beatdown. Acid bass, Fourth World samples, trippy fx and whistles'n' chants all lead to a psychedelic pot of chugging discoid heaven.

Akira Arasawa then goes solo with Dolphin, a driving club cut of wide and deep "proporpoises". His move from shamanic Psy-Trance to slower beats complete, creating a space inbetween of dub beats. A head down, basement joy.

Things slow to a Dancing Pikapika, as 'Tokyo to Berlin' based DJ, vocalist and producer Saeko Killy closes EP3. With a recent appearance on the ever-essential Sameheads club's compilation series and music upcoming with Sofa elsewhere (Emotional Response / Music From Memory), her closer is a leftfield, new wave turn of groovy, catchy, pop and acid bubbles. More

Especial Specials completes its series of releases with Osaka's
Chillmountain Recordings, again including label head Ground and friends to present a showcase of their music from 110 bpm Beatdown stomps to an uplifting collaboration with edit supremo Mori Ra, rising star Akira Arasawa to two perfect closing Balearic sunset jams.

Starting with Ground's Kaukiji. Inspired by local folklore of his hometown, this is an exemplary take on the quirky looped, locked acid house meets psychedelic live grooves their productions and DJ sets are known for. A wonky, wobbly, perky mix of house and tribal techno.

Following is a quirky detour with Ground teaming up with Japan's own edit whiz extraordinaire Mori Ra in a grooving, growing, whirl of floating kalimba, timbales, carnival whistles, rainforest squawks and shrieks, aptly titled Mountain Disco

Akira Arasawa returns for the finale with a twist, eschewing the dancefloor bombs this series has presented from a rising star for some a tantric, dubbed-out Balearic sonics.

Hutte Sound System then return. A project born in Osaka a decade ago, Ground first developing a studio craft with producer Absolute Time, naming the results after the location it was made - Hutte. Hutte Life In Future ios the results, a slice of slo-mo motorik that finds an anthemic funk.

Enjoy Your Self closes. Originally, released, as with all the music present in the series via Chillmountain's Bandcamp, on vinyl it is chopped from a long form ambient digi-swirl to be presented as a cheeky closing edit, a goodbye and arigato !! More

Especial Specials and Chillmountain Recordings present the 2nd EP in the Enjoy Your Self EP, diving deeper into the Osaka based labels music to showcase their roster in detail.

The EP starts with label head, Ground's mesmerising Beatdown meets Trance inducing Utau Narukoyuri. A slow burning, late night trip out for deep parties or 'afters'.

Next, Especial 'favourite' Akio Nagase appears for the first time in the series with the heavy, tribal percussives of Arauma (Kobato Dub). The original link between the Chillmountain and Especial, Akio's name is on the rise and here the heavyweight dub basslines and ethereal, new age flute is perfect for late night dark room, psychedelic adventures.

The label's collaborative approach shines as Equador duo Josefina Gandara and Juan Diego Illescas are welcomed. Members of electronic cumbia project, Categal, his backgrounds in film and sound composition, sound design and visual media, highlights Illescas' mastery of the conscious sounds of the pueblos, working with Ground's dub minimalism, all elevated with the awe and lanquitidy of Gandara's natural vocals.

To end Akira Arasawa returns, here with Kun and Franky-Ch, and a meandering Balearic journey of hazy beats, guitar, Hoomii (Mongolian) throat singing, found sound, bird song and folkloric strings, beautifully together for the perfect come down. More

Especial Specials returns after a 4-year hiatus with another series of releases bringing previously digital only tracks to vinyl, this time teaming up with Osaka based Chillmountain Recordings.

Compiled with DJ, Producer and label head, Ground, the 4 EP series presents a best of / cross section of the releases to date, highlighting their leftfield, psychedelic, ambient, trippy-pop, cosmic cumbia and dance floor electronics.

Featuring a mix of known producers like Akio Nagase (Especial), Mori Ra (Macadam Mambo / Hivern Discs) and Ground (ESP Institute), with the soon in-demand Akira Arasawa, as well as the new wave pop of Killy, the Balearic anthems of Hutte Sound System and more, Enjoy Your Self is just that, an uplifting view of a label forging its own path.

EP1 starts with possibly the most dance-friendly track of the whole series, Arasawa showing his Trance background with a driving psychedelic meets discoid bang. O.R. follows with laidback breaks of the aptly titled Hammock Beats, before label head Ground teams up with Synth Sisters (EM Records) member MAYUKo for a 100bpm mid-tempo bongo-laden, trippy-chugger that is highly representative of the Chillmountain sound. To finish the first EP, Hutte Sound System (aka Absolute Time and Ground) present a perfect downtempo, Balearic closing that encapsulates a snapshot of the label. More

Emotional Especial comes together with Future Nuggets for a "Special" one-off collaboration. Reinterpreting the music of Steaua de Mare are four remixes from rising (Eastern) stars Khidja and Mehmet Aslan. The first in a short series of Especial "Specials" - where new artists are brought together for unique releases - we start by teaming up with Future Nuggets to present again the sonic offshoot in the unique band, Steaua de Mare. Returning in remix form, songs from their self-titled album, as well as extra additions, are specially reworked. First Khidja take album track Babadag to new psychedelic depths, adding multiple layers of guitar and synths, all inexhaustibly dubbed and re-dubbed until a whole new track emerges for the more discerning minds. Next Mehmet Aslan is focused on the dance-floor, carefully reconstructing new track Shop into a club orientated groove, aiming straight at the feet with inevitable results. On the flip, Mehmet then reworks album highlight, Doamne ce greseala am, amassing tension in careful, subtle ways, crafting a version that is a proper meeting of hearts and minds. To finish, Khidja return to remix the previously unreleased 1 Septembrie. Going to great lengths in managing a myriad of details, with balearic, kraut, pseudo-disco and exotica reverberations all pulsating, here then are on point examples of remix manipulation. A perfect way to start this series and showcase these wonderful artists. More