Baked Goods Distribution

13th September 2010 Releases

2010-09-10T12:42:00.008+01:00

RAIME
Raime EP:
A1. Retread
A2. This Foundry
B1. We Must Hunt Under The Wreckage Of Many Systems
Blackest Ever Black 12" EP
(BLACKEST 001)
Raime - This Foundry [mastered] by Blackest Ever Black
Raime - We Must Hunt Under The Wreckage Of Many Systems [mastered] by Blackest Ever Black

Blackest Ever Black is a new London-based label that seeks to re-establish electronic music as a poetic, provocative and emotionally inquisitive force. Music by artists, not engineers. Its first release is a self-titled EP by Raime, a British duo who draw explicit inspiration from the marginal mavericks of early European goth, industrial and synth wave - artists largely omitted from the current master narrative of post-punk history, and who strove to make music at once cerebral and visceral, futuristic and atavistic. Well-versed in the language of club music, but rejecting its typically rigid sequencing and arrangements, Raime use technology pensively - to convey a sense of crisis, collapse and longing. Transporting and disorienting though their work might be, it's narratively taut and has no truck whatsoever with the "cosmic"; it's too aggressive and engaged to be called psychedelic.

'Retread' floats spectral plainchant across a ruthlessly pared-down, reverb-heavy drum pattern and sub-bass summoned from the deepest crypt, before unfolding into a gripping coda of suffocated woodwind, disembodied howls and billowing, baleful sheets of melody. 'This Foundry' threatens groove but never quite yields to it, its hypnotic, low-slung rhythm and eerily decaying bass sound disrupted by strafing synths and a swell of vocal textures alternately celestial and guttural. BLACKEST002, due out in November, will feature a remix of this track by Regis (Sandwell District / Downwards).

A huge, martial drum tattoo dominates 'We Must Hunt Under The Wreckage Of Many Systems', the yawning space between hits striped with drones that conjure hostile pre- and post-human landscapes. The track's dark, ritualistic momentum will make sense to fans of dubstep and jungle, but the dread it evokes is singular and oblique.

BLACKEST001 is a trio of bold, original essays in unease, and a welcome sign that the post-techno avant-garde is alive, angry and untethered to the dancefloor, academy or gallery space. Music for hard times.

MURMUR
Fume EP:
A1. Tangle
A2. Fumes
B1. Fumes (PCB 3000 Mix)
meanwhile. 12"
(MEAN 019)

Murmur return with a brace of killers, their first new material since MEAN 011's split release with Bovill back in 2008. Over the course of the half dozen years since beginning their Meanwhile imprint, Murmur's output has been so sparing, evanescent, and epitomising the label's low-key approach to steppers house music and horizontal techno with an implicit electronic beatdown sound, that acknowledges their pitched down sound, so heavily influenced by their early South African adventures and exploits.

'Tangle' is a case in point, effortlessly, deployed house music for bubblers, one for those who know and understand how to build a true dance music session from the ground up. Murmur give the machines a thorough going over on the title cut 'Fume', ever so restrained and beatless it has been offered up to the Pendle Coven Breakers (PCB) to work some on the bass and drum undercarriage.

Miles Whittaker and Gary Howell come through in fine style with a beautiful, controlled and yet understated rub of 'Fumes'. True steppers rollidge for warm up session teasing and tickling bigger systems: leaving still ample room for low-end exploration and with a most supreme build to it. that is just perfectly weighted.

MARKUS FJELLSTROM
Schattenspieler
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 013)
Marcus Fjellström - Schattenspieler by miasmah

Swedish composer and multimedia artist Marcus Fjellström's debut Miasmah release follows two critically acclaimed full length albums on Lampse (2006's 'Gebrauchsmusik' and 2005's 'Exercises In Estrangement'). In addition Marcus has had several commissioned works requested, leading to him working with, among others, the Swedish Royal Ballet, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, numerous ensembles, soloists and filmmakers including 'Salad Fingers' creator David Firth. Currently based in Berlin, Fjellström's compositions often combine aspects of modern classical composition and arrangement and more avant forms of music, be that acoustic or electronic.

'Schattenspieler' (which translates as 'Shadowplayer') takes the form of eleven compositions which explore ambience and melody, texture and silence. Haunting synth and orchestral instrument-based audio constructions, flowing from one moment to the next - the fleeting ghosts of Fjellström's melodies rise, only to be buried under a claustrophobic clutter of percussion and creaking background noise. These pieces do indeed feel like you're listening to something more implied than obviously stated, as if Fjellström wants only to expose us to the shadow of the music - the implication being perhaps a more terrifying experience than to be confronted outright…listen to 'Schattenspieler' and you may find your mind starts to play tricks on you…

The undeniably Angelo Badalamenti-esque descending synth strings of opening track 'The Disjointed', lay the foundations for Fjellström's 'Schattenspieler' album; music resting somewhere between the unsettling horror soundtracks of Jerry Goldsmith, the elevating melodies of Cliff Martinez, and the subtle audio constructions of Miasmah label mates Kreng and Jacaszek. Marcus' wide ranging abilities in composition and his willingness to let go of accepted form and function makes 'Schattenspieler' a perfect choice of release for the Miasmah label. The suspense laden 'Antichrist Architechture Management', with its harrowing and tense undertones, weaving synth lines and a wash of static hiss and flicker, is a particular standout track. Despite it's a strangely oppressive sound, shafts of light grace 'Schattenspieler'; pieces such as 'Untitled 090616' find gorgeous melodies are boxed in by unsettling arrangements and sparse background ambience. There is a coldness to many of these compositions - not without emotion, but somehow remorseless. 'Schattenspieler' is, for the main part, a defiantly bleak journey.

'Schattenspieler' also includes a four part suite 'House Without A Door' (tracks six to nine), which was originally commissioned for the Bernd Behr film of the same name. Album closer 'Uncanny Valleys', reflective in some ways of the opening track, is a haze of descending synth and organ tones. The imperfections in these often scratchy recordings makes for an alluring, almost drug- induced state of mind where all that is real is unreal. Doom-not-doom? Well, not perhaps so easy to label…it's safe to say though, as a well grounded modern composer, Fjellström's created something of a suitably appropriate monster in 'Schattenspieler'.

PINCH
A. The Boxer
AA. The Boxer (DARQWAN Remix)
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 040)

Pinch "The Boxer" Tectonic TEC040 by Multiverse

Pinch is back with a heavy hitting, dancefloor punishing beast of a track - 'The Boxer'. Ethereal sounds emerge from another dimension as a filtered conga pattern charges up, leading us to the punchline... POW! It's a full fist in the jaw. Flip for darkside garage legend Darqwan's version as he mangles the original into something that sounds like metal being torn apart by big machines.

THE RAAH PROJECT
Trick Of The Light - CESSA Remixes:
A. Trick Of The Midnight Mix
B. Trick Of The Late Night Mix
white label 12"
(CR 1201)
Trick of the midnight (RAaH Project - Cessa Remix) by cessa
Trick of the Late night (RAaH Project - Cessa Remix) by cessa

Already gaining heavy plays from sceneleaders Floating Points, SBTRKT and with rinseage everywhere from Ronnie Scotts to Fabric, these are two white label only secret weapons - versions straight from the epicentre of the London scene. Utilising a trace element of the Rah Project's stunning 'Trick of the Light' vocal and building two entirely new tracks around them - the producer in question somehow manages to traverse flexier funkier movements, weighted bollywood style string swells, with more gorgeous teched up and dubbed down beat feelings - killer twelve, not with us for long, be quick!

SIMON/OFF
A. Forever
AA1. No Pills
AA2. On Arrete Tout
Immerse 12"
(IME 021)
ime021 by immerserecords

Jazz and Latin-spiked dubstep experiments from Austrian producer, Simon/Off. He's previously released on Haunted Audio and Surface Tension before dropping the propulsive A-side 'Forever' with warm jazz chords and a forward 4/4 momentum. On the flip 'No Pills' goes on a Latin-inspired broken house jaunt and 'On Arrête Tout' rounds out a breaks-inspired dubstep groove. For fans of Hessle Audio, 4 Hero and the Mindset crew.

6th September 2010 Releases

2010-09-03T14:08:00.008+01:00

PINCH & PAVEL AMBIONT
A. Jelly Bean
AA. Poison/Remedy
P&P 12"
P&P100
poison / remedy (pinch & pavel ambiont) by pavel ambiont

ARKHONIA
Trails / Traces
White Box CD
(WHITEBOX 006)
WHITEBOX006 - Arkhonia 'FyldeFF' by whitebox

This is a collection of drone based, slow moving progressions, all realized without the use of any live instrumentation, or any trained musical ear. Small fragments of sound have been stretched, edited, filtered, reduced and manipulated to create an often barren and solitary sonic landscape. The source materials have been either expanded from a limited input (a couple of Fender Rhodes notes into tracks 2, 3 & 4), broken down and transformed into something entirely distinct from its origin (a few picked acoustic guitar chords on FyldeFF), or transmuted into a bold and dark shadow of its former self (a snippet of a live recording of a Liondialer pub gig into GDLadyburn) – all collated into one seamless sequence.

Arkhonia’s music is indeed a peculiar animal. And it’s a deep, deep listening experience which plunges the listener further into states of subconscious unrest – time slows down or stops, as the listener slowly slips into a narcoleptic state through the slow decline into computer noise (BCTrails/CDTraces), or sound events which unfold with no discernable pattern or meaning (Events/Non-Events). But rather than offering a monotonous serial drone, these tracks create an overall landscape, alternately dank and warm to the point of humidity, and cold, stark and sparse, all eventually dissipating into nothingness as the album closes, reprising the pulses and washes of its opening.

These tracks have been very consciously constructed, with edits and segments extracted from outputted ‘drift studies’ (with a knowing nod to both LaMonte Young and Brian Eno) that often run for an hour or so, and then dissected for key musical components. These explorations focus on ideas of musical ‘events and non-events’; subdued harmonic monotones and stasis contrasting with huge dynamic surges of processed tones - insistent, at times bordering on the subsonic, and tonally identifiable as Arkhonia’s distinctly digital sound signature.

30th August 2010 Releases

2010-09-03T13:32:00.008+01:00

OCTOBER & EWAN PEARSON
That Placid Track:
A. Original Mix
B. Ewan Pearson's Mr Meek Goes To Offenbach Remix
Caravan 12"
(CVAN 014)
October "That Placid Track" + Ewan Pearson remix OUT NOW by Multiverse

OK people – it’s our pleasure to present to you a brand new track from label boss October aka Julian Smith.

"That Placid Track" has been in the hands of some lucky individuals for some time now, making its way across dancefloors from Berlin to New York, Bristol to Tokyo.
Dark disco references are heavy throughout with a great use of strings licks, a slo-motion vocal sample and a classic cowbell keeping everything nicely in check. As with most of October's productions though he still has one foot firmly inside "Berghain"
rendering this essentially disco track into something with more of a late night,
broody edge.

On remix duties is the legend that is Ewan Pearson who really needs no introduction. Suffice it to say that we are honoured to have such an esteemed producer on board for this release whose previous remixes include those for the likes of Depeche Mode, The Rapture, Goldfrapp, and The Chemical Brothers. We also thank him heartedly for taking time out from an unbelievably busy schedule producing albums for Tracey Thorn & Delphic to put him name to this October original AND pulling in the skills of his man Sasse Lindblad to assist with the mix.

FABIO ORSI
Random Shades Of Day
Privileged To Fail 3CD
(FAIL 012)

Fabio Orsi has been winning the hearts of many listeners over the past few years with both his solo and collaboration releases. It's not often I find a new artist that interests me, and since my first listen to 'before long, before anyone, the stars will be walls in my mind' I've been hooked.

This set includes two CDs of previously unreleased and out-of-print material spanning Fabio Orsi's career. Drones, keyboard, guitar, distant vocals and field recordings can be found over the first two discs. Included are Fabio Orsi's first EP (I'm Here), 1000 Days Red, Faded on the Blowing of Winter, six previously unreleased tracks and more.

CD3 is a brand new full length record entitled 'Random Shades of Day'. This new full length continues on from 'Wild Light of the Moon' with beautiful drones and relaxing ambience. This is easily some of my favourite work that Fabio has ever done, and Part III is also some of his darkest.

Easily the finest release to date.

LATE
A. Losing You
AA. Under These Conditions
Immerse 12"
(IME 019PT1)
Late - Losing You by immerserecords
Late - Under These Conditions by immerserecords

23rd August 2010 Releases

2010-08-20T16:39:00.006+01:00

HYETAL
A. Phoenix
AA. Like Silver
Orca 12"
(ORCA 002)
Hyetal - Phoenix - 002 by william orca
Hyetal - Like Silver - 002 by william orca

Following the success and great reception for its XI and Headhunter debut release, Orca Recordings is back to deliver its highly anticipated second instalment; this time from Bristol-based producer, Hyetal.

Whilst many of his peers cite influences from early garage and jungle, Hyetal’s musical backgrounds stem from a different collection of genres. After playing bass for several bands in his youth, Hyetal’s love of hiphop producers like J Dilla and DJ Premier, led him to purchase an MPC 2000 so he could try his hand at emulating their beats in the same way. This unusual path has led Hyetal to create a completely unique sound, which when paired with elements of UK bass music, giving a welcomed dose of originality to the scene.

In an unbelievable year, Hyetal has seen releases on seminal labels such as Punch Drunk Records, Soul Motive and Planet Mu. Now, we’re proud to announce that the tracks to be released on Orca Recordings are ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Like Silver’. ‘Phoenix’ is arguably Hyetal’s boldest attempt at production so far, drawing heavy influence from 80’s classics from Prince and even Phil Collins. Hyetal’s trademark synth work is apparent from the start, with several different tones and leads switching up the vibe throughout the track. On the drop, the combination of the classic snare soaked in reverb and the irresistible chord progression, ‘Phoenix’ is set to drop as a large summer anthem for 2010.

On the flip, ‘Like Silver’ carries a much more relaxed vibe. With a multitude of layers of intricate synth work combined with a blend of organic, rolling percussion, ‘Like Silver’ is a perfect tune for the headphones or the DJs who like to take it a little bit deeper.

Strong DJ support has come from across the board, and includes: Mary Anne Hobbs, Untold, Jackmaster, Ben UFO, Appleblim, Ramadanman, Peverelist amongst many more...

LIKHAN
A. Boston
AA. Boxin'
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 016)
Out now: LIKHAN' - Boston (7EVEN16) by 7evenrecordings
Out now: LIKHAN' - Boxin (7EVEN16) by 7evenrecordings

LIKHAN’ is the author of three sold out twelves on 7even Recordings, including the first release on the label ‘Terre / Uwill’ and recent classics such as ‘Qumran’ and ‘Redlight’. Al last he's back on wax in 2010 with ‘Boxin’ and ‘Boston’, offering us two of his best Dub House / Dubbage cuts for all the onethirty crew.

Pioneer of bass music in France for almost 10 years now, his productions have always ignored borders and have been recognized for their melodic quality and musicality. Notably supported by Mala Digital Mystikz on his Dubstep productions, this true underground artist is constantly innovating in the studio.

Blending House and Garage flavours to massive basslines and Dub skanks, delays and echoes, ‘Boxin’ and ‘Boston’ are unique tracks, and as usual with LIKHAN’, impossible to label.

The London players have already adopted them for their turntables: T.Williams and Don Morris from Deep Teknologi, DJ IC and Slackk are currently rinsing ‘Boxin’ and ‘Boston’ at their shows and on Rinse FM. LIKHAN is definitely back!

16th August 2010 Release

2010-08-20T16:31:00.003+01:00

CLOAK & DAGGER
A. Crimewaves
AA. In The Cut
Immerse 12"
(IME 020)
Cloak & Dagger - Crimewaves by immerserecords
Cloak & Dagger - In the Cut by immerserecords

Immerse Records spread their wings and hook up with Tokyo based Cloak & Dagger for this stunning debut release. Bristol based Immerse Records are truly on fire at the moment dropping release after release of quality music that draws on the best of dubstep, garage, techno, electronic music and beyond to create a unique and eclectic output that defies simple genre classifications. The recent incredible single from Late is now followed up with a release from a brand new artist, Cloak & Dagger.

Cloak & Dagger is the work of one Evan Gach, a resident of Japan's capital city, Tokyo, Beyond this little is known about this new production talent but one thing is clear, he has an ear for great music as this inaugural release clearly demonstrates.

The title of the A side cut 'Crimewaves' may invoke visions of a dystopian urban landscape but in reality the music contained within its frequency bound walls is set to transport you to a jazz drenched utopia. Warm Rhodes piano lines and retro keys lay the groundwork for some funk fueled breaks and energetic percussion giving this record a depth of character that is hugely appealing. This is a perfect fusion of new & old, melodic & electronic, light and dark & light again; wonderful stuff and totally timeless. The flipside 'In the Cut' is a broodier affair, setting the scene with subtle understated drums which are bedrock for some intense sub bass action. Tech inspired pads and delayed stabs intertwine with the spacious percussion creating an ethereal and floating vibe that is constantly unpinned by the floorshaking bottom end! Dark and beautiful. Immerse is a celebration of great music and this is another piece in ever impressive story…

9th August 2010 Releases

2010-08-09T16:20:00.006+01:00

FABULOUS DIAMONDS
Fabulous Diamonds II
Chapter Music CD
(CH 077)

"Melbourne, Australia's Fabulous Diamonds specialize not so much in songs but in pools of unease. " Pitchfork

Melbourne duo Fabulous Diamonds are an odd pair. They make overtly hypnotic music, full of lulling, sensual repetition, but there’s also an edge of irritation, an undercurrent of friction that cuts through the drone and propels the songs forward.

Second album Fabulous Diamonds II by Fabulous Diamonds begins with drummer/vocalist Nisa Venerosa yelling at keyboardist Jarrod Zlatic as he counts in the first track, but they still start together in perfect unison. It’s this combination of tension and intuitive understanding that makes Fabulous Diamonds so special.

They have been playing and arguing together for more than five years now, and their musical bond has grown deeper and more expansive since their 2008 self-titled debut. That album made it into revered UK mag The Wire’s top albums of the year, and got glowing reviews from the likes of Pitchfork and The Fader.

But this new record is still a remarkable development. Of its five untitled tracks, two extend well past the ten minute mark, sustaining a kind of grumpy intensity that never lags. The album was recorded with budding producer Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and was mastered by Qua’s Cornel Wilczek. Like their first album, it will be released on vinyl by venerable US label Siltbreeze, home to releases by the likes of Pink Reason, Times New Viking and Psychedelic Horseshit.

Fabulous Diamonds toured the US in 2008 with the latter two bands, playing 26 dates in one month. In 2009 they were invited to perform at Belgium’s Kraak Festival alongside Wavves, Kurt Vile and others. They also played in the UK, Holland, France, Switzerland Portugal and Sweden on their 2009 European tour. In Australia the band have played with Deerhunter, the Horrors, Akron Family, Beach House and many more.

MACHINEFABRIEK
Duotoon
Machinefabriek CD EP
(MF 012)

Duotoon by Machinefabriek

"A new self released fan disc. A 19 minute track made purely with computer generated sine waves, layered and edited to form a strangely immersive drone piece. So, no dusty vinyl crackles, textural field recordings or grainy guitars here... just pure tones."

5" CD with a transparent outer ring housed in picture sleeve slipcase and another ultra limited edition - more engrossing sonic adventures from the man Zuydervelt.

TULLY
Live at Sydney Town Hall, 1969-70
Chapter Music CD
(CH 076)

Chapter Music presents two rare live recordings from quintessential Sydney prog group Tully, including their 1970 performance of Australia’s first ever rock opera. These recordings capture the band in their first incarnation, before they joined forces with members of revered folk-psych band Extradition to explore more contemplative territory.

Formed in late 1968, Tully the First were wild, expansive and unpredictable, their live shows now the stuff of legend. Terry Wilson (vocals), Richard Lockwood (reeds), Michael Carlos (organ), John Blake (bass) and Robert Taylor (drums) employed extended improvisation, spacious dynamics and an intuitive intensity, so impressing Australian jazz icon John Sangster that he called them “the best band in the world at the time.”

In mid 69, Tully became the house band for love-rock musical Hair, recording the original cast album later that year. They also starred in a six part live-in-studio series Fusions. which premiered on ABC TV in August 1969. Sights & Sounds Of 69, from a May show of the same name, is the only live Tully recording to have survived the intervening four decades, and documents a typically far-ranging, mind-expanding performance. Ken Firth (later of the Ferrets) replaced John Blake on bass in December 1969.Perhaps Australia’s greatest living composer, Peter Sculthorpe wrote Love 200 specifically with Tully and vocalist Jeannie Lewis in mind. The work, commemorating Captain Cook’s expedition to map the Transit of Venus in 1769, was dismissed by the stuffy classcial establishment at the time, but Sculthorpe now calls it simply “one of my best works.” Heard here for the first time since the early 70s, Love 200 is an astounding piece, both elegant and jarring, serene and chaotic.

After Tully’s 1970 self-titled debut, Wilson and Taylor left the band, which then assimilated Extradition’s Shayna Stewart and Colin Campbell before releasing two more albums, Sea Of Joy (1971) and Loving Is Hard (1972), both markedly different from their fiery and often thunderous early form. Sadly, all three of Tully’s studio albums are still to be officially reissued. Until then, Live at Sydney Town Hall, 1969-70 is a fascinating insight into the early work of one of Australia’s most heralded, but least heard bands.

DANNY & THE PARKINS SISTERS
Danny & the Parkins Sisters
Chapter Music CD
(CH 068)

“Danny & the Parkins Sisters were a truly singular blend of irritating, grating, interesting and meaningful.” - Bruno DeSmartass, Flipper

Chapter Music is proud to resurrect from undeserved obscurity the scratchy beatnik art-punk stylings of early 80s San Francisco trio Danny & the Parkins Sisters. Surrounded by the classic SF punk sounds of the Dead Kennedys, Pink Section, Flipper and the like, Danny & the Parkins Sisters opted instead to head in a very different direction.

Bratty Arizona transplant Danny Vinik and chic, alluring sisters Debra and Beverly Parkins strummed on detuned guitars, banged on whatever was close at hand, and declaimed hilarious, incisive lyrics that dissected the scenes and tribes around them in visceral, ungentrified early 80s San Francisco. Their high-performance shows played out in legendary venues such as the Sound Of Music and Club Generic.

In 1982, the band released a 8 song mini album on the Modern Masters label, run by Richard Kelly of the cabaret collective Club Foot Orchestra. It included the all-time
shoulda-beena classic, War Is On Your Doorstep, a pounding tribal punk chant that sums up all the paranoia and posturing of the post-punk era.

By 1983 the band were over, with Danny heading to South America and the Parkins sisters to New York, but their brief SF moment shone with a peculiar, musically naive but still knowing charm. Fans of angular post-punk luminaries like the Bush Tetras, the Raincoats or Y Pants will love this CD, which comes filled with bonus demo, live and rehearsal recordings.

2nd August 2010 Releases

2010-08-09T16:01:00.006+01:00

DUBKASM
Dubkasm Remixed Part 2:
A. Respek Ispek (Appleblim & Gatekeeper Remix)
B1. Transformi (Hyetal Remix)
B2. Moses (Forsaken Remix)
Sufferah's Choice 12"
(DUBK 014)

DUBKASM Remixed - Part 2 (Sufferah's Choice 12", DUBK 014) by bakedgoods

Part 2 of 5 in the Dubkasm remix saga!

FABRICE LIG
Genesis Of A Deep Sound
Fine Art Recordings CD/LP
(FA 019CD/LP)
Fabrice Lig - Genesis Of A Deep Sound by nitzanfineart

Excellent techno album by Fabrice Lig, known for his great releases on Fcom and several other labels and upcoming releases on R&S. 180 gr heavy weight – exclusive spoken track by Fabrice and 2 unique locked grooves on each side. Photography on both the vinyl and the CD comes from published photographer Andrew Moore and his book Detroit Disassembled. This is the limited vinyl version of his full length cd on Fine Art, and with this album he is straight back in the spotlights! Traditional Detroit influenced techno plus some downbeat funk. Comes with a bonus free download code of an additional track from the album.

26th July 2010 Releases

2010-07-23T12:53:00.009+01:00

DUBKASM FEAT. RAS ADDIS
Dubkasm Remixed Part 1:
A. Hail Jah (Jakes Remix)
B. City Walls (Gemmy Remix)
Sufferah's Choice 12"
(DUBK 013)
DUBKASM Remixed - Part 1 (Sufferah's Choice 12", DUBK 013) by bakedgoods

Jakes steps up with Gemmy, back to back in this lively first twelve inch pressing, first in a series of five incoming in the Dubkasm Remixed series. Both sides have been receiving maximum rinseage, the Jakes mix providing a notable transition moment in Headhunter's recent juke to dubstep DJ excursions.

JS (J.S.ZEITER)
A. JS04
AA. JS04R2
MCMLXV 12"
(JS 04)
Strictly limited, 200 copies only, translucent grey vinyl with smokey marbling

JS-04A - JS-04 (excerpt) by MCMLXV
JS-04B - JS-04R2 (excerpt) by MCMLXV

Ten years since JS-03, but little over eight weeks have passed since the last sighting of James Zeiter on the excellent Styrax Leaves imprint. His 'Reworks' twelve for them offered a reduced anticipation of this twelve, a flavoured vapour trail of this fine double header. Killer techno.

5th July 2010 Releases

2010-07-02T13:13:00.007+01:00

VARIOUS /
MULTIVERSE MUSIC
Dark Matter : Multiverse 2004 - 2009
Tectonic 2CD
(TECMVCD 50001)

Dark Matter :: Multiverse 2004-2009 [selected tracks from 2 x CD Compilation] by Multiverse

CD1 :

1. Vex'd 'Lion' (Subtext)
2. Circuit Breaker 'Phonque' (October's Nosebleed Remix) (Vertical Sound)
3. Moving Ninja 'Witchdokta' (Vertical Sound)
4. Pinch & P. Dutty 'War Dub' (Tectonic)
5. S.N.O. 'Disturbance' (Earwax)
6. Skream 'Bahl FWD' (Tectonic)
7. Joker 'Stuck In The System' (Earwax)
8. The Body Snatchers 'Big Ass, Mini Skirt' (Vertical Sound)
9. 2562 'Techno Dread' (Tectonic)
10. Joker & Ginz 'Purple City' (Kapsize)
11. Pinch ft Yolanda 'Get Up' (RSD Mix) (Tectonic)
12. Baobinga & I.D. 'Tongue Riddim' (Build)

CD2 :

1. Vex'd 'Pop Pop' (Subtext)
2. Loefah & Skream '28g' (Tectonic)
3. Cyrus 'Indian Stomp' (Tectonic)
4. Pinch 'Qawwali' (renamed 'Brighter Day' for Tectonic)
5. Loefah 'System' (Tectonic)
6. Moving Ninja 'Uranium' (Tectonic)
7. October 'Three Drops' (Caravan)
8. Joker 'Psychedelic Runway' (Kapsize)
9. October 'Euro Dance Hit' (Caravan)
10. emptyset 'Gate 4' (Caravan)
11. 2562 'Unbalance' (Tectonic)
12. emptyset 'Demian' (CD Exclusive)

Since its formation in 2004, Bristol based Multiverse has been one of the key creative studios for developing the city's flourishing culture of forward thinking electronic music. Based around their recording studio in the heart of the city, the collective has consistently nurtured and supported electronic artists, both nationally and internationally, in the process creating a series of seminal releases that have helped shape today's current musical landscape. Through their network of labels which includes Tectonic, Kapsize, Earwax, Caravan and Build the work of the studio has focussed on exploring the uncharted spaces between genres, bridging together today's cutting edge sonic possibilities with electronic music's rich and diverse musical history. This intention has been accomplished with a strictly artist led approach and a commitment to supporting the work of new and innovative musicians and composers. The fruits of this creative labour are reflected here in this celebratory compilation.

This double CD release offers a selection of highlights from the studio's recent history. Leading the charge are both Lion and Pop Pop by Vex'd, records that formed the first bridge between classic British industrial music and Dubstep, a fusion now championed by the likes of Surgeon, Distance and Milanese. This appears alongside Joker and Ginz's Purple City the track that spearheaded the emergence of the Purple Wow phenomenon. Also present is Pinch's Qawwali one of the key tracks that broke Dubstep to a global audience via Mary Anne Hobb's Dubstep Warz compilation. As expected Pinch's influence within Multiverse extends across the compilation through his collaboration with P-Dutty on War Dub featured in the movie Children of Men, and Get Up with Massive Attack vocalist Yolanda Quartey and Bristol legend Rob Smith. Equally the more avant-garde work of the studio is represented through Moving Ninja, an artist who pioneered the blurring of boundaries between dubstep and sound design and Emptyset whose eponymous debut album fused the streamlined European minimalism of Mika Vainio and Raster Noton with Bristol's unique bass heavy production style. This ground breaking selection of tracks sit alongside contributions by Techno-Dubstep pioneer 2562, half-step progenitor Loefah, Skream and Caravan label boss October. In the process Dark Matter creates a landmark archive of the work of one of the worlds most innovative creative networks of electronic producers.

At the centre of this community is Bristol's thriving music scene in which Multiverse forms a key social hub, and the studio has operated with a family ethos that has placed creativity and artistic co-operation at the heart of their activity. Their collective approach places dialogue and collaboration as a vital and indispensable element within the musical process, an ethos that is entrenched within the city's creative history, and their focus as ever remains in working with a diverse range of artists to craft a unique an inimitable sound that speaks to a global audience. As a result Dark Matter emerges both as a celebration of all that has been achieved and forms a decisive manifesto for an unwritten future. An elemental space where electronic music collides with new digital processes and avant-garde composition, a place where sound becomes the raw sculptural mass of the sonic languages of tomorrow.

GROUP NIOB
A. Vector
AA. Amber
Phlox 12"
(PHLOX 002)

Group Niob 12", in stores 28th june 2010 by Phlox

Our pioneers on the intriguing Austrian dubs frontier, return with this their second outing on wax - Group Niob, the collaborative work of both label heads Gerhard Potuznik and Martin Sovinz. 'Vector' continues further with exploratory mining into the oneforty bpm dubbed into technoid seam - its low end is devious and drills itself clean inside the synapses, mirages of dub cascading either side.

'Amber' works the deep small hours in the club most effectively - shunting and writhing within a dub organism which appears to throw its immaculate shapes to the four corners - heavy and grooving, ideal for smoke-machined basements and strobed warehouse interactions. Fans of everything from Scuba, Mike Dehnert, Wax series and Seldom Felt to technological Iration movements should check without delay

28th June 2010 Releases

2010-07-02T12:25:00.014+01:00

GERARDO FRISINA
Join The Dance
Schema 2LP
(SC 452)

preview album here

After the great success gained with his last productions and the numerous DJ sets around Europe, the DJ and producer Gerardo Frisina presents his new album titled 'Join The Dance'

GERARDO FRISINA feat. NORMA WINSTONE
A. Will You Walk A Little Faster? (Faster Club Version)
B. Joy Shout (Club Dub)
Schema 12" (SCEP 453)

preview single here

The single 'Will You Walk A Little Faster' featuring Norma Winstone has been previewed on Gilles Peterson Worldwide (BBC Radio 1)

From the title of this album and the up-tempo productions proposed, one might immediately assume that this is a release aimed at the dance floor. This however, is not strictly an invitation to dance, rather a proposal to come together and celebrate the instinctive movement that is inspired by listening, and responding to music. Simply put, this is a jazz album, but still containing the strong Afro-Cuban influences that are distinctive to all of Gerardo productions, here largely expressed in Joy Shout and Titoro. With this album, he has also experimented with new sounds and influences, such as the Asian-inspired track Mille e una Notte. Gerardo has also made two songs in 3/4 time, Waltz for Emily, and Another Waltz. 'Join The Dance' is a good work of modern Latin music, arranged by Gerardo Frisina in collaboration with Luca Mannutza. Twelve pieces, nine of which are unreleased and three are covers. Two of the three re-interpretations are the only songs featuring in the album: Will You Walk a Little Faster is a new version of the beautiful 1971 Neil Ardley track, featured in the album 'A Symphony of Amaranths' and here interpreted again by the original singer, the British Jazz legend Norma Winstone. 'I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ ' instead is sung by Francesca Sortino, well-known Italian singer whom collaborated with several national and international jazz artists (Enrico Pieranunzi, Paolo Fresu, Stefano Di Battista, Eddie Henderson, Pierre Michelot, Eliot Zigmund). It is also a cover of a jazz tune taken from the 1959 film "Anatomy of a Murder" and written by Duke Ellington and Peggy Lee. The third and last cover of the album is 'Titoro', written by Billy Taylor and originally recorded in trio in 1957. Gerardo here offers a rework with a delectable Afro-Cuban taste. Thanks to the big international promotion of the single 'Will you Walk a Little Faster?', previewed by Gilles Peterson on Worldwide programme (BBC Radio 1), 'Join the Dance' will bring back on the European club scene one of the most valued Latin jazz producers.

21st June 2010 Releases

2010-06-23T16:16:00.012+01:00

LHF EP1 : Enter In Silence
A1. DOUBLE HELIX - Deep Life
A2. LOW DENSITY MATTER - Blue Steel
B1. AMEN RA + DOUBLE HELIX - Steelz
B2. AMEN RA FEAT. DOUBLE HELIX - Broken Glass
Keysound 12"EP (LDN 018)

"...strange forces coalescing, mutterings of hoards of dubplates being assembled, psychotropic riddims ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Together LHF have got this sound like Sun Ra's hijacked Rinse FM and is using it to communicate with the heavens. Buried inside one corner of the LHF collective is a junglist fighting his way out: these guys have got drumz. Then there's another part of them that is lost in LA, their wonky beats falling off of the grid. Other members of the collective remind me of Horsepower's ability to transport you to lands far, far away: to Bollywood films or damp Brazilian riverbanks. I'm just lost in their sound right now..." Blackdown

A. JAKES - Times End
AA. DARQWAN - Jahwan
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 039)

Two big names share one plate for Tectonic as dark garage / 2-Step legend Oris Jay, appearing here as Darqwan, goes face to face with Bristol don and HENCH head-honcho Jakes. Both tracks roll out cold and hard with a no-compromise attitude and all the quality levels you've come to expect from the usual Tectonic output.

14th June 2010 Releases

2010-06-14T13:01:00.006+01:00

CASSEGRAIN featuring BENGA
Cotton / Olbia :
A1. Cotton
B1. Cotton (Perc Remix)
B2. Olbia
Mikrowave 12"
(MWAVE013)

Cassegrain - Cotton 12" (Mikrowave MWAVE 013) by bakedgoods

A bomb twelve inch originating via a chance meeting of musical minds, at the auspicious Red Bull music academy, when it was hosted in Barcelona autumn 2008. Picture the scene: HUSEYIN EVIRGEN, opera composer and production partner in Cassegrain with ALEX TSIRIDIS, greek overlord for bacchanalian warehouse revels and notably BENGA ADEJUMO - dubstep pioneer with future perspectives, contributing a rare vocal appearance...The result - some scratty basement sleaze, on point production unfurling its colours gradually through an epic single side, future rollage - absolute deadly wares. Techno don PERC (Perc Trax/ CLR/ Ovum) switches the beats into a subs heavy stepper style, delivering a strategic bass refix of Cotton for the AA1, which tries the vital elements of the top side through new focal points and adds more overt dubwise swells. 'Olbia' continues the carnage some more for a Berghain primed dark destroyer, Cyrus indebted riffs over a smart big room low end undercarriage. Killer package.

ANONYMOUS
A. Oops
B. Untitled
Caravan limited 12",
hand-stamped labels
(CVAN013)
Oops :: Caravan Recordings OUT NOW by Multiverse

7th June 2010 Releases

2010-06-14T12:04:00.008+01:00

JOAAN
A. Splendor In The Grass
B. 115 State
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 015)

Gracious to the last, 7even offer a well-deserved opening to Joann, a talented newcomer from Nantes, ironically label head Greg Gouty's home town. A more than worthy addition to the 7even family, currently flying high off the back of the F album 'Energy distortion'. 'Splendor in the grass' manages to build sheer beatdown vibes for gathering summer evenings, over a cannily deployed half-speed drum and bass simply tailor made for dBridge fans. Gently add a skweezed synth at 1:30 and some emotive strings before some covert riffage turns this into a full-on main room joint, future vibes wild out! '115 State' picks it up on a revived electro tip, slightly cagier with dubbed-out delayed figures across a smart detroit transphixion - big shit!

7EVEN Represses - F Energy Distortion Parts 1-3 back in stock!

F
Energy Distortion Part 1:
A. Energy Distortion
B. Energy Distortion (Untold RMX)
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 012)

F
Energy Distortion Part 2:
A. Chillin' B1. On The Corner
B2. Spacewalker
C. Perspectives
D. Funk Injection (Vinyl Edition Exclusive Track)
7EVEN 2x12" (7EVEN 013)

F
Energy Distortion Part 3:
A. 0907
B1. Poka B2. Forever
C. See The Light
D. Confined System (Vinyl Exclusive track)
7EVEN 2x12" (7EVEN 014)

May 31st 2010 Releases

2010-06-04T10:58:00.011+01:00

ELEVEN TIGERS
Clouds Are Mountains
Soul Motive CD
(SMR 008CD)

Eleven Tigers steps up with a beautiful and entirely lush record for the first album to be released by the deeply impressive Soul Motive label. The Lithuanian ex-patriot is going to be blowing some minds this year, with this album and its forthcoming show- piece single 'Stableface'. His sound has a sense of being wonderfully organic, while retaining a dark electronic aesthetic. Not only an album, but presented as a continuous live set, Eleven Tigers is a master of the live show, no one set is ever the same,with beats and melodies constantly evolving from a sheer joy in experimentation. The album truely reflects this as it takes you on a journey of epic proportions, careering from one musical world into another. Moving from ambient ethereal pads, dark electronic drum sequences while folky vocals, delayed pyschedelic guitar licks and detroit chords all melt in and out of the mix. All the while giving you a natural feel and human element in Eleven Tigers electronic world. Clouds are Mountains may predominantly occupy the especially fertile140bpm terrain, but make no mistake, it is by no means your typical dubstep record: influences are drawn from most areas of bass music, be it garage, techno or whatver you call it - to form a highly impressive piece of work that fully immerses you from start to finish.

PLANAS
A. Look Into My Eyes
AA. Roots Music
Immerse 12"
(IME 018)

Incoming release from Bristol's Immerse label sees Rankin Records label boss Planas deliver two stunning new tracks of jazzy and dark edged dubstep. Immerse continue their foray into the realms of all things quality with the enlistment of Toby Davies AKA Planas for this new 2 track single. Davies is the man behind the much respected UK dubstep label Ranking Records, an imprint that has been releasing consistently outstanding records for the last 3 years, most of which have featured him either as a solo artist or in collaboration. First of the two cuts here comes in the shape of 'Look into my Eyes', a jazzy, summery slice of broken beat brilliance. Melodic Rhodes parts and ethereal female vocals float over an undercarriage of rich rollin' bass and cut up drums with the whole thing held together by pads and subtle toplines that are reminiscent of classic Good Looking recordings. This is superb sun drenched music - light, musical and highly engaging. The flipside track is entitled 'Roots Music' and is a darker, brooding affair with razor tight percussion and earth shaking bass. Once again the record is given a melodic vibe with dubbed out piano stabs, effected blues harp riffs and tight arpegiated synth lines used to lift this recording into the realms of the sublime, pure class. After an incredible 2009, Immerse are definitely a label to watch this year, with an open music policy incorporating the best in UK electronica, dubstep and techno and with the addition of Planas to the roster it seems things just keep getting better.

UNKNOWN ARTIST
A. Blackout
B1. S.O.S.
B2. Boogie Kitchen
Blackout 12"
(BLACKOUT 001)
BLACKOUT001 12" by bakedgoods

'Broken beats, bass killers - stealthy limited edition three tracker by an un-named producer, big with the likes of Mala, Peverelist, 2562, Martyn, Untold, Brackles, Oneman, Ben Ufo'

JACKAL YOUTH
A. Let Me Be
B1. Bruk
B2. Broken
Reduction 12"
(RDCTN 005)

Reduction ramps it up another notch with some crisp pressure - minimal militant music from newcomer Jackal Youth. 'Let Me Be' opens with a simple collage of broken house drums and brassy stabs, vocal micro-samples hinting at the yearning vox to come, Add in a Popcorn-esque riff, tick-tocked percussion and punchy sub hits and you have a cheeky catchy little anthem. 'Bruk' on the flip continues ina similar vein - cut up Funky riddims and sliced female vocals wind together into a bumping garage cut that builds all the way - adding layers of synths and percussion as the pressure mounts. 'Broken' rounds off the EP with a more complex piece, the conga-soaked house riddim overrun by offbeat detuned chords and a topline which sees the main motif develop and gather pace, adding new colours witha bittersweet flavour.

May 24th 2010 Releases

2010-05-21T15:31:00.014+01:00

NAT BIRCHALL
Guiding Spirit
Gondwana CD
(GONCD 004)

"One of the best musicians in the UK, no question about that" - Gilles Peterson

Saxophonist Nat Birchall has always been something of an enigma, a sublimely soulful saxophonist hidden from view in the Northern hills. His debut album Sixth Sense (1998) first announced him to the jazz world as an urgent tenor saxophonist with a feel for pulsing modal hard-bop. But it was his cult hit and now highly sought after soulful slice of spiritual jazz Akhenaten (released on trumpeter Matthew Halsall's label, Gondwana Records, in 2009) that suggested that the spirit of Coltrane was alive and well in Northern England. Acclaimed by the critics (MOJO for one hailing its 'spacial sunship beauty' and 'lyrical heat haze hypnotism') Akhenaten together with Halsall's own releases 'Sending My Love' and 'Colour Yes' helped create the unique sound that the Independent On Sunday described as 'rain soaked spiritual jazz from Manchester".

Growing up in a Northern Village, Birchall was hardly exposed to jazz but through some friends fell in love with roots reggae and dub in the early '70s and it was the legendary Jamaican jazz-influenced saxophonists, Cedric Brooks, Tommy McCook, that inspired him take up the saxophone and through them that he discovered the music of John Coltrane. Lessons with an enigmatic local player, Harold Salisbury, followed as well as playing with various bands including Akay Temiz's Zaman. Birchall led a hip-hop influenced jazz band Corner Crew in the early '90s and started to make a name for himself on the local scene but felt unsatisfied with the music and despite some encouragement from the legendary record producer Tony Hall (Dizzy Reece, Tubby Hayes etc) Birchall resisted the call of the London scene and continued to search for the music he felt inside. Meeting trumpeter Matthew Halsall and a group of like minded players (including pianist Adam Fairhall, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes) gathered around Matt & Phreds in Manchester proved an inspiration 'Suddenly I felt something special in the music. My music is very simple, harmonically and melodically, so you have to play with as much conviction and soul as possible because there's nothing to hide behind, just the truth of how you feel the music." And it is this soulful elegance that illuminates both Akhenaten and Birchall's more expansive follow-up Guiding Spirit.

Guiding Spirit opens with Open Up The Gates invoking the idea of huge ancient gates being opened to allow the procession through but with a subtext of acceptance and recognition. Keep the Light Shining is a sunny tune, infused with the optimism of a new day, while Higher Regions has something of a McCoy Tyner vibe and features harpist Rachel Gladwin on kora. Going To The Mountain is inspired by a simple phrase that Birchall heard Pharoah Sanders play and has an eastern feel "I've always been in awe of how some musicians can play the simplest things yet invest them with so much meaning, I try to achieve the same quality when I play, and in working with this phrase I ended up with this melody". The uptempo Becoming is named for something Duke Ellington once said, that he liked to have his music always "in a state of becoming" (which Birchall feels as something like a flower opening as you look at it rather than just seeing the flower already opened) and is enhanced by Fairhall's luminous solo. Finally the rubato Guiding Spirit hints at the hidden forces or unconscious decisions (those gut feelings) that for Birchall drive both life and his own deeply felt music.

XI
A. The Ghost
AA. The Ghost (Headhunter Remix)
Orca 12"
(ORCA 001)

Orca Recordings was created to deliver music built for the dance-floor that retains its integrity by pushing its creative and production standards to a new level. Operating out of North London, Orca is set to represent forward-thinking artists who are influenced by, but not restricted to, the many strands of UK bass music. Created by one of the promoters of the seminal ‘Seasonfive’ event in Bristol, Orca has also been formed to document the style and variety of music made at such an exciting and innovative time for electronic music where so many genres are being blended together.

The first release comes from X.I, one of the most exciting producers in bass music today. The track, named ‘The Ghost’ captures the exact sentiment and ethos of Orca. Right from the start XI creates an instant vibe with a short and energetic intro before the simple yet highly effective drum pattern and tough sub work out release this track's potential. Frequent changes in synth lines and detailed edits are brought together by a captivating vocal sample, sure to be remembered by the heads once they’ve left the club. On the flip, Headhunter still searing hot from his Addison's Groove outing on Swamp81, demonstrates exactly why he is one of the most sought after producers, as he puts his unique touch onto his remix of ‘The Ghost’. Headhunter’s trademark razor sharp drums and production expertise help draw attention to the amount of space he has created in this track, creating an unequalled sense of paranoia, making it perfect for both the club and headphone listening. The delayed synth chords, snarling mid range and the volatile movement of the pad combine with the power of the sub to give a meditational, eyes down vibe, now an uncommon commodity in UK bass music.

NAPHTA
A. Jungle Republic (Ricky Force Relick)
AA. Jungle Republic (Ramamdanman Refix)
Ruff Revival 12"
(RR 003)

The double-barrelled intensity continues with two very different remixes of Naphta's deep stepper, 'Jungle Republic'. Hotly-tipped Dublin-based producer RickyForce twists the original into an artfully hyperactive remix brimming with vibes, touching down somewhere between vintage Foul Play and Krome & Time.

Meanwhile Hessle Audio don and all round man of the moment Ramadanman destroys the flip side with a radically different interpretation, referencing bleep and bass artists like Unique 3 and Ital Rockers to create an idiosyncratic dubstep version that looks to the past, while forging ahead into the future...

CONFORCE
Black Strobe EP:
A. Black Stroke (Original Mix)
B1. Black Stroke (Kink & Neville Watson Remix)
B2. Pretty (Far From Here)
Modelisme 12"
(MODELISME 024)

After his glorious 'Machine Conspiracy' set for Meanwhile and his splendid prior "CCCP EP" on Modelisme, which was charted & supported by names such as Steve Bug, Djulz, Ewan Pearson, François K, Brendon Moeller, Kirk Degiorgio, Mike Dehnert, Giorgio Gigli... Conforce strikes back on Modelisme with another great release titled "Black Stroke ep". The original is an hymnic detroitish tune, the swinging groove and the right strings, highly sensitive materials. Guests on this ep, the excellent Kink & Neville Watson worked out an old school acid house remix within a typical chicago vein - they know what to do. To round things off "Pretty far from here" is a superb old school house track, subtle deep funky sounds on raw beats with a sensual mood. A must have. Modelisme again, Conforce - well nigh essential.

ANTONZAP
Social Background:
A. Can't Tell You
B. Social Background
Ethereal Sound 10"
(ES 002)

Deep Explorer, Underground Quality, Uzuri, Quintessentials, Kontra Musik, Millions of Moments, the list of this Russian producer's releases reads like a who's who of some of today's finest, most forwards thinking house imprints. Here he returns to Ethereal Sound in fine style by way of a follow up to his take on 'I Get No Kick From Champagne' - dopest quality house jams united with poise and that certain feeling.

JEREMIAH FT. VUSA MKHAYA
Khawuleza:
A1. (DJ Aly Meghji Vocal Mix)
A2. (DJ Aly Meghji Instrumental Mix)
B. (Oracy's Phantom Sound Mix)
Balance Alliance Special Edition clear vinyl 12"
(BASE001)

Immerse Join Baked Goods

2010-05-14T12:48:00.016+01:00

Baked Goods are proud to announce the addition of the Immerse Records catalogue to our distributed labels - titles currently available:

TRG
Time Is Now / They Know
12"
(IME 007)

KUMA / KONTEXT
Refix EP
12"
(IME 010PT1)

TRG / KONTEXT
They Know / Plumes (Relocate Remix)
12"
(IME 010PT2)

KONTEXT
Convex Curved Mirror / Hometown Swamp
12"
(IME 011)

GATEKEEPER / APPLEBLIM
Hades / Tomb VIP
12"
(IME 012)

OCTOBER
Elephants / Medium
12"
(IME 013)

SIGHA & SPHERIX
Separation / Lesser People
12"
(IME 014)

XI
000 / Slippin
12"
(IME 015)

KONTEXT
Dissociate
3LP
(IME 016)

ASUSU / FURESSHU
A. Togetherness
AA. Horizons (Asusu Remix)
12"
(IME 017)

May 17th 2010 Releases

2010-05-14T11:47:00.006+01:00

DUBKASM
Transform I - Remixed
Sufferah's Choice CD
(DUBK012CD)

1. From the Foundation (feat. Dub Judah) (Pinch remix)
2. City Walls (feat. Ras Addis) (Gemmy remix)
3. More Jah Songs (feat. Tena Stelin) (RSD remix)
4. Moses (feat. Ras B) (Forsaken remix)
5. Strictly Ital (feat. Ras Addis) (Peverelist remix)
6. Respek I-spek / Touch I Heart (feat.Levi Roots & Afrikan Simba) (Appleblim & Gatekeeper remix)
7. Nyah Keith (Guido remix)
8. Transformai (feat. Ras Bernardo & Jeru Banta) (Hyetal remix)
9. Hail Jah (feat. Ras Addis) (Jakes remix)
10. Foundational Dub (feat. Dub Judah) (Headhunter remix)
11. 'Transform I' Trailer (Video)

Bristolian roots reggae outfit Dubkasm have rounded together ten of the city's A-list dubstep producers to contribute to their Transform I - Remixed album. Quite aside from being a compulsively listenable and frequently brilliant reconstruction of Dubkasm’s Transform I album, this upcoming remix project acts as a tidy summary of – and an excellent introduction to – some of the Bristol dubstep community’s best-known practitioners. The rootsy feel of the source material is faithfully adhered to throughout, lending coherence despite the oft-idiosyncratic nature of each version. So Peverelist’s take on ‘Strictly Ital’ is equally indebted to jungle and techno, both Gemmy and Guido’s tracks drown samples of the original instrumentation in synthetic melody and Forsaken turns ‘Moses’ into a characteristically bizarre Latinised stomp. Best of all has to be Gatekeeper & Appleblim’s bewitching turn on ‘Respect I-Spek’, splicing the original into a mini-epic that’s equal parts devotional ritualism and club propulsion.

GEIOM / HEADHUNTER & INVISIBLE
Luna / Luv_Dup
Soul Motive 12"
(SMR 006)

"...already big with Mary Anne, MistaJam and Skream, Headhunter, Geiom and co on a highly addictive funky flex"

LV feat JOSH IDEHEN
38 EP
A1. Lost A2. Early Mob A3. Your Coat
B1. Walk It B2. Face of God
Keysound 12"EP
(LDN 017)

Keysound Recordings are proud to present the "38 EP" from the bass-heavy production trio, LV. All five tracks from the Hyperdub recording artists feature the ramblings and reflections of grime-inspired spoken wordsmith, Josh Idehen. It finds him sitting in the seat of five different passengers on east London's 38 bus as it winds from Clapton, imagining different people's worlds, as they journey via Hackney Central into the dark heart of the city. "It's obvious you don't get on with this metropolis, The big smoke's a big joke and you're the butt of it. Not like before when you were sure you'd fall in love with it eventually? Pity cos the city don't like optimists…"

The EP comprises exclusive tracks "Lost," "Early Mob," "Your Coat," and "Walk It" before ending in "Face of Go," where we find LV's sound stripped back to its dark exoskeleton, as far as Kode9's beatless dread-bass "Sine of the Dub." The 38 is both a celebrated and maligned London bus route and was name-checked by Wiley in freestyles ("38 bus/you don't want to see my .38 buss"). The route was one of the last to be served by the classic hop-on-the-back Routemasters. It was then served using the "bendy" busses, which were infamous for their ability to let fair dodgers nip on in the middle. They were finally phased out the weekend before the photos for this 12" were taken in Clapton, east London.

May 10th 2010 Release

2010-05-07T14:54:00.007+01:00

ANTONI MAIOVVI
The Thorns of Love
Caravan 2LP (CVAN012)

A. This Is The Beast
B. The Sigh From The Sky Was A Lie Without Doubt
C. Class Dagger
D. Horsehead Blue

Antoni Maiovvi's "The Thorns Of Love" is a Liebes-Arie to a broken heart. An embrace of Italian drama and euphoric fear. His music exists somewhere between Patrick Cowley's Hi-NRG epics, Arthur Russell's melancholic beauty and John Carpenter's traumatizing soundtracks. Antoni Maiovvi is the name by which Anton Maiof unleashes his bastard offspring of disco and psychotronic horror and here with "The Thorns of Love" he has produced a deeply personal symphony to a lover lost and the sanctifying power of the dancefloor. Following the release of the highly acclaimed eponymously titled album from emptyset, Caravan Recordings steps into the ravine of heartache to shine a light on Bristol's underground disco hero Antoni Maiovvi.

Antoni Maiovvi is a nefarious creature of the night, a figure of twilight opulence and the love child of Evelyn Thomas and Lucio Fulci conceived in the lurid backrooms of the Boccaccio Club. The sweatbox is in his DNA, throbbing analogue circuitry courses through his flesh like rivers of blood and where his heart once lived there is now only yearning for the alchemical marriage of sex, death and technology. From Naples to Frankfurt he has stalked the dancefloors of Europe planning this moment and at last in this compendium of unbridled fist-clenchers his time has come. Now he will stop at nothing to bring his arpeggiated talisman down onto the souls of men, squeezing out that last breath of humanity in a pulsing Dantean dance-macabre.

"The Thorns of Love" (Antoni's 3rd album) takes a unique muscular and cerebral approach to electronic dance music bringing together the Italo love explosion, spine-tingling Euro-horror and the melancholic proto-techno musings of early Model 500 and ShareVari. Maiovvi takes the helm of this noir-tinged Trojan horse carving out a dancefloor machine with commanding synth-work, operatic drums and mind-bending atmospherics. As the album climaxes and the smoke pours across a crowded room he steps out from the shadows and delivers his final eulogy to 20th Century hedonism, preaching with the unhinged vocals of a coked up Bryan Ferry. Love may be the drug but for Maiovvi death can be the only future.

May 4th 2010 Releases

2010-04-28T16:59:00.008+01:00

RICHARD A. INGRAM
Consolamentum
White Box Recordings CD
(WHITEBOX 005)

WHITEBOX005 - Richard A Ingram 'The Melioramentum' by whitebox

- 'Consolamentum is a mature, cohesive and powerful work a world away from Ingram’s day job' (Mapsadaisical)

- 'a fascinating piece of experimental work, which, despite its minimal settings, is rich in textures. He is here very much in control of his music and of the moods he manipulates, and convincingly assembles them to carry his narrative from one end of the record to the other' (The Milk Factory)

Richard A Ingram's 'Consolamentum' is a bold body of work and a fearless statement of intent. As guitarist in Manchester-based rock outfit Oceansize, little in Richard's day job suggests either the genesis or the source of this album. This music comes from somewhere else entirely, some undefined centre; organic and ever expanding, fiercely powerful compositions, tonal explorations and melodies, with Richard himself as its source, rather than any vague sum of 'influences'.

Following a self-released CD-R EP, 'Consolamentum' is Richard's debut solo album. From its opening moments the ambition of Ingram's work is immediately apparent; where did this come from? Words really cannot do this music justice, if only because the assuredness of the music speaks for itself. Using electric and nylon string guitars, piano, a variety of tape recorders and assorted electrical equipment, 'Consolamentum' casts an oppressive shadow over a distant and very dark horizon, a vision of bleak futurism.

While Richard admits to taking inspiration for the track titles from the history of the Cathars, he is adamant that 'this is not a fucking religious concept album'. There is an unstated narrative in the album's six track titles, but it is the sequence and flow of the music which creates its own narrative. 'Consolamentum' is not 'a score for a film not yet written', nor is it ambient 'drift' designed to soundtrack some nebulous void between waking and sleeping - current and lazy 'ambient music' tropes are inapplicable to this (and any) music so demanding of attention. 'Consolamentum' could be classed as some form of 'acoustic doom', perhaps some form of drone based music, but it is none of these things; it exists entirely in a realm of its own.

Despite its title, the opening track 'Kll Thm ll…' presents a cautiously optimistic entry point, and is something of an overture for what follows: melody emerges from a backdrop of machine hum, where curious tonal phases suggest something unfamiliar yet exultant. Then comes the statement of 'de Montfort', its sustained, opening (treated) piano chord planted with determined finality. Creeping piano segments and washes of static tape hiss create a tension that builds and builds, until it finally resolves back to its opening piano chord, bringing everything full circle. The beauty is in the simplicity of the parts - Ingram's expressive playing and economical approach to the pieces, at times lo-fi, at times presented like field recordings, is the key to these stunning and peculiar arrangements. Take for example, the lurching, emptiness of title track 'Consolamentum', its drunken, hazy detuned guitar phrases, low and sustained, submerged under an ever present silence…the result is deeply unsettling. Melancholic throughout, Ingram's music does not let up. 'Beziers' exacerbates the tension further, and, as the longest track, acts as a kind of centrepiece, embodying all of the above while never losing sight of where the track is heading. 'The Melioramentum' and then '…Gd Wll Rcgnz Hs wn' feel like mournful recapitulations of the four tracks so far, but there is little consolation offered, as the album comes to a close with the sound of all the machines slowly being switched off, until there is just hiss, and then it ends.

'Consolamentum' is the work of an assured artist; it is as at times as stark as the grim Manchester skyline of the cover picture, and probably won't entertain any listener seeking a bedtime ambient soundtrack. However there is still an undeniably euphoric core to 'Consolamentum', but one which feels more closely related to that point at which pain is surpassed and becomes pleasure - like something pushed beyond its point of maximum tolerance, way beyond the threshold, transforming negatives into positivity.

ASUSU / FURESSHU
A. Togetherness
AA. Horizons (Asusu Remix)
Immerse 12"
(IME 017)

Bristol's Immerse label is on something of a roll at the moment and whilst still basking in the glory of the incredible debut LP from Russian wunderkind Kontext, they set force with the imprint's debut single from Asusu. Asusu christened Craig Stennett hails from Gloucestershire in the west of England where he has been developing his own twisted take on infused sounds of dub and techno.

The A side of this single comes in the shape of 'Togetherness' a brand new recording from Asusu that tears down the walls between techno, garage, house and dub. Broken garage inspired drums and intense deep bass notes provide the undercarriage for a heady mix of rich synth lines and warm washes of ethereal pads. 'Togetherness' is an instantly engaging and highly inventive piece of electronic music that immediately marks Asusu out as a production talent to watch.

The flipside is an Asusu remix of Furesshu's recent release for Project Squared, entitled 'Horizons'. Here Asusu manages to beautifully gel an upbeat rhythm section with a deeply entrancing soundscape of off kilter Detroit inspired sythns. This is heads down hypnotic techno of the highest quality and goes to show the breadth of ability that this young producer has to hand. 'Horizons' (Asusu's Strip Lit Mix) is a surefire late night winner and is certain to find it's place at the core of many twisted early morning sets in the months to come.

Immerse continue their blatant disregard for genre pigeonholing and acutely passionate dedication to quality electronic music at every step, this single is yet another marker in the ongoing history of a great British label.

FUNK ETHICS
A. Razor Boy
B. Broken Soul Music
Reduction 12"
(RDCTN 004)

Long-anticipated return of the excellent Reduction label out of Bristol town. Funk Ethics are welcomed after a very well received debut tune on the Destructive/Pitch Black compilation series 'Our Sound' . 'Razor Boy' treads a knife edge most delightfully, mighty sized subs add significant low-end weight to a mighty original riddim, its plucked motif is particularly redolent of some of the recent developments from the likes of Kowton, XXXY, Indigo - you perhaps begin to get the picture....but this is deepest soulful electronic club music. 'Broken soul music' - well, the clues rest in the title - stone killer low end boogie music. Another highly imaginative flex from the Reduction camp, as it gathers some serious momentum - watch out!

26th April 2010 Releases

2010-04-28T16:30:00.007+01:00

DEAD FADER
Corrupt My Examiner
3By3 CD
(3BY3 005)

- 'It's playful but sick. Like a puppy with extremely sharp teeth' (Justin K Broadrick AKA Jesu / Godflesh)

- 'Heavy like Cloaks but a little more groovin at the same time. Metalstep.' (Kid Kameleon)

Rollin', batterin', FUBAR-steppin', maxed-out, funky-ass bastards. That's who Dead Fader are. If the sound destroyin' processes of Cloaks aren't enough of that type o' violent (adopt Clay Davis tone) 'shiieeeett' for your sick head, 3BY3 come correct again, and drop this unrelenting abomination of a record. On first impression it's hardly a production sound you'd associate with the backdrop of Dead Fader's home base, Brighton. This sounds more like it was born out of some grim industrial slum on lockdown, all pent up anger and a serious need to party hard; 2-step garage from a Hair Police state.

Dead Fader's hybrid of distorto-death grooves, limited-to-hell wonky-not-wonky productions, sound like Distance playing though Slayer's back line…bit-crushed by inhuman hands, 2-step gets rammed face first through analog chains, that speakers (and ears) simply weren't designed to handle. Like Sunn O))) say, 'Maximum volume yields maximum results' - apply this to Dead Fader and you're likely to have your neighbours ASBOing your righteous ass all the way to the seaside. Pretty it ain't! But grooves??? 'Shiieeeett…'.

It's not all sour-faced noise ethics either. There's enough playfulness in the low-end and cheeky industro-funk mischief going on throughout 'Corrupt My Examiner' to keep it from becoming 'metal kids discover 2-Pac and create Franken-Durst', if you know what I mean. Oh yeah, check out the rewind on 'No Thief' (2:50) for a serious bit of DJ tackle! We can't wait to hear that one destroy the floor…yeah, we'll '…see you in the club…' you chump. An unrelenting sound, (over)loaded with hooks, 'Corrupt My Examiner' is an example of new forms emerging in heavy beat driven music. The identifiable stems of Dead Fader's influences are pretty evident whilst at the same time totally obliterated by their fresh approach. It's a balance of production, chops and attitude that define the style.

Dead Fader are that band you leave your kid alone with the CD for five minutes with, to discover the child has put the CD on, and for some reason decided to set fire to their bedroom. Dead Fader will likely make you break things you were previously quite protective of. Go home and burn that laughable bunch of Skinny Puppy you have on tape that your friend who still wears that SS style jacket he's had since you decided he wasn't really your friend but a bit of a dick who likes people to think he's kinda weird but in fact is an ACTUAL dick, copied for you - you should have killed that shit back in the day. And you know it. Too late for that now - it was NEVER good enough.

ANTONI MAIOVVI
The Thorns of Love
Caravan CD
(CVANCD003)

Antoni Maiovvi's "The Thorns Of Love" is a Liebes-Arie to a broken heart. An embrace of Italian drama and euphoric fear. His music exists somewhere between Patrick Cowley's Hi-NRG epics, Arthur Russell's melancholic beauty and John Carpenter's traumatizing soundtracks. Antoni Maiovvi is the name by which Anton Maiof unleashes his bastard offspring of disco and psychotronic horror and here with "The Thorns of Love" he has produced a deeply personal symphony to a lover lost and the sanctifying power of the dancefloor. Following the release of the highly acclaimed eponymously titled album from emptyset, Caravan Recordings steps into the ravine of heartache to shine a light on Bristol's underground disco hero Antoni Maiovvi.

Antoni Maiovvi is a nefarious creature of the night, a figure of twilight opulence and the love child of Evelyn Thomas and Lucio Fulci conceived in the lurid backrooms of the Boccaccio Club. The sweatbox is in his DNA, throbbing analogue circuitry courses through his flesh like rivers of blood and where his heart once lived there is now only yearning for the alchemical marriage of sex, death and technology. From Naples to Frankfurt he has stalked the dancefloors of Europe planning this moment and at last in this compendium of unbridled fist-clenchers his time has come. Now he will stop at nothing to bring his arpeggiated talisman down onto the souls of men, squeezing out that last breath of humanity in a pulsing Dantean dance-macabre.

"The Thorns of Love" (Antoni's 3rd album) takes a unique muscular and cerebral approach to electronic dance music bringing together the Italo love explosion, spine-tingling Euro-horror and the melancholic proto-techno musings of early Model 500 and ShareVari. Maiovvi takes the helm of this noir-tinged Trojan horse carving out a dancefloor machine with commanding synth-work, operatic drums and mind-bending atmospherics. As the album climaxes and the smoke pours across a crowded room he steps out from the shadows and delivers his final eulogy to 20th Century hedonism, preaching with the unhinged vocals of a coked up Bryan Ferry. Love may be the drug but for Maiovvi death can be the only future.

ALEX SMOKE
Lux
Hum+Haw CD
(HAHCD 001)

Alex Smoke returns with the release of 'Lux', his eagerly anticipated third album on his own Hum+Haw imprint. It has been almost four years since the release of 'Paradolia' and in this time Alex has expanded his studio to incorporate more hardware to fully push the parameters of his sound.'Lux' is the result of his hard work and delves into more abstract and experimental territory whilst retaining the melancholic musicality and cohesion of its predecessors. The development of his own Hum+Haw label has been pivotal in giving him the freedom and opportunity to realise his creative vision and to solidify his reputation as a true electronic music innovator.

Since 'Paradolia' his approach to production has changed significantly and on 'Lux' he has devised his own techniques and programs for sound creation. Upon listening to 'Lux' this progression is evident and he has crafted a consuming and haunting album that weaves modern classical harmonies with angular technoid rhythms and intricate electronic abstractions. Alex continues to be active in classical production realm and recently composed the entirely orchestral piece 'Akesis' for the renowned Scottish Ensemble. He is currently working on a new project with them at the moment. The melancholic Smoke sound prevails throughout 'Lux' and deep techno variants nestle alongside evocative electronica. Alex formulates a dense and original atmospheric piece that invades your soul and melts your mind.

The tracks range from the introspective beauty of 'Nothing Changes', 'Physic' and 'Filla' to growling floor fillers such as 'Blingkered' and the mighty orchestral 'Paracelsus'. The defining title track 'Lux+' is a next level Alex Smoke production in which he twists and warps his own vocals beyond recognition. The result is an alien scrambled lullaby that has been drowned in a miscreated voodoo pit of symphonic gloom. With 'Lux', Alex Smoke has achieved his most accomplished and forward thinking work to date.

19th April 2010 Releases

2010-04-28T16:23:00.004+01:00

PURSUIT GROOVES
Fox Trot Mannerisms
Tectonic MLP/CD
(TEC038/TECCD008)

1. Pressure 2. Start Somethin
3. Mr Softee 4. Shabaps
5. Whisper 6. Tweezers
7. Cosy* (*CD exclusive)

Sassy, soulful, funky - original and deep, but above all bumping music that will stand up proud aside the classics of Erykah Badu, Madlib, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Jay Dilla, Sa Ra, even Nick Martinelli's eighties' production. Expect to see Pursuit Grooves more than hold her own amongst a too hot to handle select group of likeminded musics in 2010: dig the new breed of auteurs for hot buttered beats - Fly Lo, Kyle Hall, Ras G, Actress, Cooly G, Shuanise, Nosaj Thing, Illum Sphere….

'Pressure' drops like a lost Badu & Madlib collaboration, Miss Smith's vocal here is even a little reminiscent of Erykah's considerable stylings and watch out girlfriend, she flows with the best in a style somewhat similar to Bahamadia.'Start Somethin' rocks the downtempo beatdown harder than most, and is the most electronic feeling cut on this album - vicious fuzz basslines, filthy claps, oiled snares and block-rocking cut-up beats. Drop this in a dj set and watch all crew get busy. If you had to pick a single highlight then 'Shabaps' might well be it. A heavyweight hip hop roller, all luscious bass frequencies and cosmic synth drifts, that keeps an upful tempo for maximum bugging fully on lockdown. 'Whisper' dubs it heavy like a feather, all bubbling Mantronik style 808 beats with melting jazz piano drops and sweetly mysterious, softly spoken vocal. 'Tweezers' adds a 2-step electro flex to an LA / Detroit hip hop feel - mind blowing stuff on headphones, only still built for the biggest systems. 'Mister Softee' is perhaps the most traditional sounding hiphop cut - turn out the lights because the delivery here is world class '010, we reach the outro refreshed by a cooling breeze on a mad hot summer day.

Altogether it makes the best soundtrack to midnight inner-city motoring and yet will work brilliantly at beats driven club situations with its effortless production science to the fore. Unexpected and yet somehow perfectly at home on Tectonic. Props to Pinch for his consummate A&R skill sets, though no doubts this would also bless labels such as Motown, Stones Throw, Hyperdub or even Rush Hour's Beat Dimensions series, where Ms Grooves debuted. In these times of overhyped one-trick, nu-jacks it's a rare blessing indeed to discover such an accomplished and original artist with a vision and flow to ignite flames for all the true school heads and still bring new ears to this stylish music.

12th April 2010 Releases

2010-04-28T13:50:00.009+01:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Mindtours 06 Limited Edition:
A1: LEIF 'Contentment'
A2: LEIF 'Greenfutures'
B1: STEEVIO - 'Ty (pure sinewave)'
B2: TOM ELLIS - 'Dancing Drum'
Mindtours 12"
(MT 006LE) SOLD OUT!

Deepest techniqual house music on this cult classic from the Mindtours collective, the minds behind the summer's excellent Free Rotation festival. Lief, Steevio and Tom Ellis all deliver the goods on this release. Lief 's two cuts push percussive house sounds with deep chords and plenty of groove, sounding like prototype uk funky manouevres from their original release way back in 2003. Steevio and Tom Ellis both deliver a track each on the flip delivering more deep driving percussive house grooves, for fans of early Cadenza music, Roska, Perlon and Drumpoet Community

DA DYSFUNKSHUNAL FAMILEE
Civilized Savages:
A1 Savage Life
A2 Far From The Average
A3 In The House
B1 Ill Rhyme Skillz
B2 Set It Off
B3 Keep Me High
Chopped Herring MLP (CHBU5H 01)

"Pro Celebrity Golf by 2004 was spending half his time in London and the other half in NYC digging for wax to sell on Ebay. He'd been hittin up some NICE collections in the rotten apple, one belonging to Rawkus owner Jarret Meyer, one to D&D studios, but in the summer of 2009 he was introduced to Evil Dee and Mr Walt of Da Beatminerz through Bronx digger and MC/Producer Nobs. Golf cut a deal with Da Beatminerz on their record collection.

"He was also introduced to Crazy Dj Bazarro, producer of little known Brooklyn Hip Hop crew Da Dysfunkshunal Familee. DDF had released two records in 1994 and one in 1997 and had guested on the Fondle'em Fossils album on Def Jux records. Apart from those releases and some elusive demo tapes from the late 80s there was little of their music commercially available.

"Golf was given free reign to choose from both previously released material and unreleased cuts. He chose 3 tracks from the incredibly rare early EPs as well as 3 other unreleased tracks from the shelved 1994 Da Dysfunkshunal Familee LP. The limited vinyl release was sold through underground Hip Hop forums as a preorder-style release. Also check part 2 in the Bushwick series incoming, as Chopped Herring Records release another Da Dysfunkshunal EP of unreleased material from 1996 entitled 'Mixed Emotions '96 Demo EP'.

"Da Dysfunkshunal Familee's significance in the New York scene should not be underestimated. They had been making Hip Hop since the late 80s and ran parallel (and often in competition) to Da Beatminerz' produced projects such as Black Moon and Smif n Wessun. While Black Moon were recording for Nervous Records, Da Dysfunkshunal Familee were dropping wax independently on Crazy Dj Bazarro's own label using their connections in the NYC music industry to get their voices heard. It is only now that they are getting props they were due 20 years ago. Read Crazy Dj Bazarro's own breakdown of the tracks released on the Civilized Savages '94 EP below for an insight into the workings of Hip Hop's lost heroes."

Words from Crazy DJ Bazarro producer of Da Dysfunkshunal Familee:

“You guys have me being very grateful and excited that you love a sound I made up in a cold basement with no real equipment..It almost bringing tears to my eyes because of the memories I had recording these songs. You guys have kept the music alive and resurrected me as a producer to try to keep that same sound alive..90's style...I appreciate all the support and compliments...All I can say is Wow!!"

5th April 2010 Releases

2010-04-09T12:44:00.011+01:00

FNS
FNS
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 012)
Miasmah limited edition LP
(MIALP 012)

The latest addition to the Miasmah roster is Oslo based musician FNS aka Fredrik Ness Sevendal. A veteran of the Oslo experimental scene, Sevendal has been associated with several bands over the years: DEL, Slowburn and Kobi. Additionally his previous work has involved collaborations with Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), Mitsuru Tabata (Zeni Geva, Marble Sheep), Mark Francombe (ex-Cranes guitarist), and Bill Wood (1/3 Octave Band). For his Miasmah debut, FNS treats us to a spectacular excursion into the world of psych-folk instrumentals, with a collection of semi-improvised multi-layered pieces, primarily for acoustic and electric guitar and voice. These lo-fi home recordings capture a sense of astral travel, though explorations into drone, raga-styled melodies and layers of guitar feedback. The immediate allure of FNS’s spectral sound is in the understated nature of the performances – it recalls the magnetic interplay between Tom & Christina Carter’s work in Charalambides, the playful free noise of Sunburned Hand Of The Man, the ethereal blues of Loren Connors, and a variety of subtle but undeniable influences from the 70’s progressive UK folk scene. FNS’s sound is a sorrowful sound – a death-fuzz, a hazy wailing wall of cavernous guitars, doom-freakout and swirling psychedelia, melded into one then drowned in echo and haze. FNS fires forth cosmic transmissions for the mind and spirit…the result, is nothing short of an aural treat. Miasmah was set up by Erik K. Skodvin of Deaf Center and Svarte Greiner in 2006 and have to date released albums by artists including Greg Haines, Jasper TX, Simon Scott, Elegi, Kreng, and Rafael Anton Irisarri, Encre, Gultskra Artikler, and Jacaszek.

DUBKASM
Transformed In Dub
Sufferah's Choice CD
(DUBK 011CD)
Sufferah's Choice LP
(DUBK 011LP)

"With the success of last year's Transform I by Dubkasm, the arrival of the versioned album was highly anticipated and it does not disappoint. Building the tracks in Brazil producer Digistep draws from the deep well of his local roots, layering elements of samba, batucada whilst back in Bristol, UK DJ Stryda pulls in rootical heavy weights such as Dub Judah and Tena Stelin to imbue the tracks with some righteous authenticity to produce one of the finest of the finest home-grown dub albums for many a year; and it's an album that stands repeated listens through the whole set as against cherry-picking the killer tracks, but There's A Dub is beautifully constructed in an early 1980s style with judicious use of Syndrum, plangent plucked guitar and lovely loping rhythm whilst the final track This Man Was Born There is an unadorned Dub Judah vocal except for sounds of the weather and forest with nyahbinghi drums."
(Steve Barker, The Wire Magazine)

22nd March 2010 Releases

2010-04-06T16:00:00.009+01:00

PETER VAN HOESEN
Entropic City
Time To Express CD
(T2X 011)

'...amongst techno's most compelling stories to date'
(Resident Advisor)

'As with Pan Sonic, and particularly Mika Vanio’s work on Sahko, Entropic City seems to connect with some older, pre-technological view of electricity – as a primal, unfathomable force, something fierce and untameable. Van Hoesen’s tracks crackle and spark together, as if they’ve been pulled beyond human control'
(FACT Magazine)

Since his 2006 techno debut 'Increments' Peter Van Hoesen has been finetuning his intriguing interpretation of electronic dance music. His former experimental disguises Object, RM and Bent Object all saw albums released between 2001 and 2005. After a remarkable run of 12'' singles in 2009, Peter now presents Entropic City, his first full-length techno album. Entropic City is released on his own Time To Express imprint as a ten-track CD and digital album. It follows the release of ''Entropic Minus Six'' which contains four of the album's tracks on 12'' vinyl. instead of indulging in a nostalgia for classic sounds and patterns, Peter has set out to create his own template. He brings forward his love for solid, sweaty techno, while at the same time opening up towards a slower, stretched-out sense of composition. As a result this album sums up nicely what techno in 2010 could be and should be about: distinctly forward-looking and simultaneously aware of past achievements.

JENNIFER WALSHE
Nature Data
Interval CD
(IL 05)

'Without a doubt, hers is the most original compositional voice to emerge in Ireland in the last 20 years'
(Michael Dervan, the Irish Times)

Voice – Breath – Signifier; Walshe’s debut release on Interval Recordings signifies the temporary hidden space, the interval, just about to be revealed. ‘Nature Data’, the album’s title, captures Walshe’s unique voice in the field of sonic arts and performance; as a becoming-animal, becoming-nature, her voice, breaths and all occurrences in between, audible and not, signifies that data, as nature, as presence.

Artist Biog:
Jennifer Walshe was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1974. She studied composition with John Maxwell Geddes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Kevin Volans in Dublin and graduated from Northwestern University, Chicago, with a doctoral degree in composition in June 2002. Jennifer’s work has been performed throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada by ensembles such as Alter Ego, ensemble récherche, Ensemble Resonanz, Apartment House, ensemble Intégrales, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Schlagquartett Köln, Crash Ensemble, Musica Nova Ensemble and many others. In addition to her activities as a composer, Jennifer frequently performs as a vocalist, specializing in extended techniques. Many of her recent compositions were commissioned for her voice in conjunction with other instruments, and her works have been performed by her and others at numerous worldwide festivals.

15th March 2010 Releases

2010-03-12T11:26:00.020Z

F Energy Distortion
7EVEN CD (7EVENCD 01)
1. Intro 2. Shift* 3. Poka 4. Energy Distortion 5. Another Place* 6. 0907 7. See The Light 8. Forever 9. Hologram* 10. On The Corner
11. Chillin' 12. Spacewalker 13. Perspectives (*CD-only tracks)

F Energy Distortion Part 3:
A. 0907 B1. Poka B2. Forever
C. See The Light D. Confined System (Vinyl Exclusive track)
7EVEN 2x12" (7EVEN 014)

7even Recordings is proud to present the stunning debut album from French beat master F: ‘Energy Distortion’. Florent Aupetit discovered Drum'n'Bass as a teenager, an early enthusiasm which pushed him straight out to buy records and a pair of decks. Slowly after he set foot on the production path, and began producing Drum'n'Bass tracks on fruity loops. He began to develop a passion and deepen an interest in the emergent style of UK underground music called Dubstep, and eventually started producing Dubstep tracks as recently as 2008. His growing love for Techno, and other minimal forms of Dub led him to combine elements of both musics with Dubstep, with stunning results. French dubstep pioneer and 7even Recordings label head Greg Gouty was immediately captivated by the impeccable levels of production and fresh beats streaming from this talented newcomer.

Traversing different worlds, atmospheres and vibes, including classic unreleased tracks (0907, Poka, On The Corner, Confined System and Hologram) and brand new, unheard material (See The Light, Chillin’, Perspectives and Funk Injection), beautifully cut and loudly mastered by Shawn Joseph and Jacko Adams at Optimum Studios in Bristol, the team resposible for 2009 albums by Martyn and 2562. Packed in a crisp, ultra-fresh cover by Parisian designer David Lollia aka Synaptic, ‘Energy Distortion’ by F is a great album of Electronic Music, a fine listen or spin in multiple formats.

The CD and Vinyl Editions each contain exclusive tracks for the fans. The Vinyl Edition consists of the sampler 12” and two beautiful double 12”s. Heavy weapons for the dancefloor, and a great album for music lovers!

SKREAM
A. Sweetz (2005 Flex)
AA. Angry World
Keysound 12"
(LDN 016)

Great anticipation has been building since news filtered out about this new Keysound plate. Two lost classics from Skream are contained, 'Sweetz (2005 Flex)', which as the title suggests is a beat dating back to 2005, really melodic and showing a significant Detroit influence. On the flip is 'Angry World', which is cinematic and swung in a manner most reminiscent of foundation dubstep pioneers Horsepower Productions. Both tunes hark back to a formative early era of dubstep, the times perhaps most associated with Brixton club 3rd Base : an era that we think Dusk and Blackdown will never stop loving. The artwork features, at Skream's own request, a capture of the renowned Big Apple store, epicentre of the dubstep scene.

OCTOBER
Muscle Memory EP:
A. Flat Top Muscle
AA. Memory Man
Caravan 12"
(CVAN011)

Laying low in the cut after the much lauded 'Recession Vol.1' mix album and his wrily-titled futuristic crossover 'Euro Dance Hit', Caravan label head honcho Julian Smith aka October returns from deep studio retreat with possibly his best, certainly most forward thinking dance floor record to date. As always October takes a big slice of his inspiration from the Detroit techno sound of the 80's and early 90's which is clearly evident on the second cut on this plate in particular. However you simply cannot ignore his perhaps more euro-centric dub tendencies and broken-beat rhythm principles that always inform his overall composition and production ethos.

'Flat Top Muscle' is designed for tomorrow's dance floors as well as those murkiest darkest dub corners. Full of analogue synths, vintage guitar pedals, a funk-pulsed Moog bassline and vintage drum module programming, this track is laced with October's distinct signature. Militant in its delivery, this is a killer cut - set to make a big impression on the start of 2010.

'Memory Man' is definitely the deeper track of the two, warming up the midrange with Detroit-style techno pads and delayed synth lines. Smith again provides that distinct crossover sound injecting some serious broken half-steps as well as his usual meticulous beat and bass programming. This is straight up heavy business to say the least and has already gained support across the globe from the likes of Ewan Pearson, Scuba, Skudge, Sigha, Ripperton, Kevin Gorman amongst others.

8th March 2010 Release

2010-03-08T16:59:00.008Z

CLANG SAYNE
Winterlands
Clang Sayne CD
(CSCD 001)

We receive many unsolicited distribution submissions at Baked Goods, and Winterlands by Clang Sayne turned up late last year in our postbag with no fanfare or self-aggrandisement – which is a great shame, because this is an album that really needs to be heard. Imagine Tim Buckley’s Starsailor and Lorca band with Julie Tippetts channeling Tim’s drama and languor; imagine Beth Gibbons backed by Comus featuring Blixa Bargeld on guitar; imagine Sandy Denny at her most fervent joining the sessions for Mark Hollis’ solo record…Winterlands sounds like all of the above and none of the above, an extraordinarily idiosyncratic conception in its own right, and as oblivious to the restrictions of genre as all of the artists mentioned.

Clang Sayne are songwriter and founder Laura Hyland (voice and acoustic guitar), James O Sullivan (electric guitar ‘and objects’), Peter Marsh (plucked and bowed double bass) and Matt Fisher (percussion), and Winterlands was recorded live in single takes over 3 days of recordings, without edits or overdubs. The band have all played in jazz and improv in the past: Laura began singing in Dublin in the late 90s before moving to London, O Sullivan is guitarist with sound improvisation group TETRAS, Peter Marsh has played everything from industrial avant rock to Breton folk music, and Matt Fisher recently performed with the Steve Waterman Quartet. The lyrics are either Laura’s own or settings of literary texts as varied as Anais Nin, Dorothy Parker, William Stafford, and an anonymous 8th century Japanese poet. But this seemingly ‘serious’ background gives no hint of the sheer joy in playing these four musicians enjoy – there is an organic wholeness throughout that belies their basis in improv, every note demonstrating a confidence and a control that is deeply self-assured, while never either dry or ‘difficult’. Each song occupies its own very self-assured world, and each track is essential to the overall pacing of the record as a whole. These are definitely songs, despite their literary basis, and any knowledge of the latter is not necessary to respond to Winterlands on a purely visceral level.

Winterlands was initially released quietly last year, and ‘A Death And A Vision’ featured on the Wire Magazine’s October 2009 Wire Tapper CD; Baked Goods are proud to be able to present this album to the larger audience it surely deserves. This is an album that could have been recorded at any point between 1969 and the present day, music that transcends the background of its contributors or any expectation a listener might bring. What can seem formless can suddenly coalesce into a riff, a rhythm or a melody, and then head off into other planes of there, while still retaining an understated or unstated wholeness; Laura’s voice can whisper, soar, hiss or click, but never deviates from the discipline and the focus that Clang Sayne demonstrate throughout. This is simply wonderful and exciting music, constantly surprising, and ultimately an affirmation of the indefinable power of pure music and musicianship to take the listener to a whole other place.

UK live dates (more TBC) :

11 March
Jambouree Bar, Cable Street Studios, Limehouse, London, E1W
18 March
Biddles Bros Bar, Lower Clapton Road, London E5 0QR (free entry)
29 April
The Luna Lounge, Church Lane, Leytonstone London E11 1HG
12 June
Resonance FM present Clang Sayne Live Studio Session, Hello Goodbye 104.4fm
17 June
Acoustic Suicide, The Gladstone, Lant St, London (free entry)

1st March 2010 Releases

2010-02-26T15:55:00.010Z

CONFORCE
Machine Conspiracy
meanwhile. 2LP/CD
(MEAN 020/MEAN 020CD)

"Simply stunning”
Laurent Garnier

"He's a rising star"
Resident Advisor

An inspired special project for the Meanwhile imprint for their second ever album release, evidence of insightful A&R chops in fine shape, and make no mistake about it 2010 is the year for their shot at the title. The electronic depth of classic techno and house music here brings to mind Morgan Geist's comment that “Techno is black music. It’s as black as jazz.”

Opening with an insolent, precise, tightly-wound bass and hats configuration, there's immediate affinity with Carl Craig's myriad shades of impeccable funk, A kinship is established between windy cities, gloom, lakeside living - a central if slightly murked connection. A primordial roving bassline wades through the cooled out density of 'Sonar Conversation', a body-speed electro-funked tussle follows on 'Robotic Arm Wrestle' : poised, oiled and housed with the swanked machine operative's last moments, chunnering his own bars to 'I can't stop this feeling' gently away to himself.

'Love Hate' already slayed us on twelve inch [MEAN018] and improves on every listen, mercy for its inclusion on this disc. 'First impression' typifies this album's marriage of fractured emotion with a heart of soulful belief - the pulsing but still functional human wreckage and embers that remain after the machines have moved on, if you like. 'Subtraction' doffs its cap to manchester's own emergent noughties sound: fat-sub-bassed, minimally-conjured, slightly-squeezed, acid-hi, tech-business. Superior stuff that wears it well on a drive at dawn through Babylon. 'Intimidation' certainly lives up to its title, a sullen sense of clammy fear and whispered malevolence emanates, while the tune builds up a significant dancefloor momentum, deadly funky even within its coldly insistent patterns.

'Machine Conspiracy' warms us back to life with a thrumming Channel from a Basic surge and a rimshot to die for - one of those stripped dub destroyers you can return to in any mood for guidance - righteous music. 'Rare Education' jams on it like Magic Juan lording it at a mint bar hosted by Lil Louis, sheer classic vibes. 'Stop Hold' ushers us into a humid technological tropics where a brief history of the after-future is busy melting down all connections.

CD Tracklist:
1. Lord Of The Highway 2. Sonar Conversation
3. Robotic Arm Wrestle 4. Love Hate
5. First Impression 6. Subtraction
7. Intimidation 8. Machine Conspiracy
9. Rare Education 10. Stop Hold

2LP Tracklist:
A1. Sonar Conversation B1. First Impression
B2. Subtraction C1. Intimidation
C2. Machine Conspiracy D1. Rare Education

Also available:

CONFORCE
Love and Hate EP:
A1. Love Hate
B1. The Land Of The Highway
B2. Stop Hold
meanwhile. 12"
(MEAN 018)

Svarte Greiner/Miasmah UK Gig Dates in March

2010-02-25T11:41:00.010Z

Svarte Greiner (Erik Skodvin, ex-Deaf Center, & Miasmah label head) will be playing a few UK dates next month:

Tues 9th March 2010
CB2, Cambridge

Thurs 11th March 2010
Hole in t’Wall, Hebden Bridge, W Yorkshire
(with Ithaca Trio, Jednota & Relmic Statute, free entry)

Fri 12th March 2010
The Kings Arms, Salford, Manchester
(with supports TBA, £6 on the door)

Sun 14th Mar 2010
Cafe Oto Dalston, London
(with Simon Scott, William Fowler Collins plus Home Normal DJs, tickets available here)

8th, 15th & 22nd February 2010 Releases

2010-02-18T15:13:00.014Z

JACK SPARROW
A. Terminal
AA.Torment
Tectonic 12"
(TEC037)

'Jack Sparrow returns for Pinch's Tectonic, on mighty form and currently unassailable. 2010 sees the label delivering in company of the highest grade. Carefully unpacking some considerable new studio scientifics, after last summer's wonderful debut for the label 'The Chase / The Fullest' (TEC030). 'Terminal' is utter killer materials - your genuine anthem material we suspect.

'The intro suggests Shackleton on the desk with Bryn Jones on hand drums, soon its apparent they're boasting Iration Steppas system and suddenly the War of the Roses goes sonic and plays back in unity. Proper sound system wares, musically let's say Trans-Pennine via North Africa, mixed down in a Bristol blues bunker. Further layers of bashy percussion build to a head while honed to the bone fully funked heatwave bass lays waste - then the muttered spoken words "I know some things that you don't know..." ushers us out of the drop top drawer boogie music for all bashments and funk parlours. Incredibly exciting and pretty much addictive record.

'Where the a side bears a new school flex with some future proofed funkstep manoeuvres, 'Tormented' arrives fully basted - glacial movements, a rockstone bass lays waste as gradual tension and eventual dementia build. True dubstep. Both tracks are evidence of a talented producer really coming of age production wise, they speak volumes for Sparrow, the label's careful mentoring and for the sheer fertility, interest and excitement around this music at this time. '

F
Energy Distortion Part 2:
A. Chillin' B1. On The Corner
B2. Spacewalker
C. Perspectives
D. Funk Injection (Vinyl Edition Exclusive Track)
7EVEN 2x12" (7EVEN 013)

'After the instant sell out of Energy Distortion Part 1, don't delay on this extra loud Part 2. Housed in a glorious sleeve. the F sound has rapidly gained prime staus in the most exclusive sets....and the vinyl only exclusive 'Funk Injection' simply kills it.'

DEAD FADER
A. Autumn Rot
B. No Thief
3BY3 12"
(3BY3004)

'We couldn’t quite believe it when we first heard Dead Fader, how apt they are for the 3by3 label. This debut 12” was first aired in the Baked office late last year, and given it follows the mighty sonic dirge that is Cloaks, it just goes to prove that 3by3 really are cultivating an identity and sound all their own. Beats heavy as hell, abrasive high-end sonics and fully-wonked bass rhythms are mangled into two phat-ass productions with the most seismic grooves imaginable. You could throw ‘Autumn Rot’ into the mix just to ramp up the darkness, watch as it sinks its teeth into your arm and refuses to let go. As for the flip…well…all we’re saying is ‘No Thief’ 2:50 – if that’s not the sickest drop and reload we’ve heard in ages we’ll come round and smash up your house…all while blasting this Dead Fader 12”. Both tracks are drawn from the forthcoming, ear-bashing full length ‘Corrupt My Examiner’, and both tracks have been given an exclusive Transition mastering and cutting treatment, especially for this plate. Dead Fader are so maxed out, it’s hard to find an engineer who can deal with reproducing this blend of obliterated dancehall-noise and chainsaw-step for wax. For fans of The Bug, Surgeon and 16Bit - you gots to beware!'

Soul Motive label onboard for 2010

2010-02-10T16:15:00.003Z

Baked Goods Distribution are extremely proud to welcome Soul Motive to the roster of labels we will be working with in 2010.

Go here to hear a new 30 minute mix from Forsaken, showcasing forthcoming Soul Motive releases.

1st February 2010 Releases

2010-02-09T16:34:00.011Z

UNKNOWN ARTIST
Impairment / Reagent
1XA 12"
(1XA 002)

'Mastered by Rashad at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Track and mastering info etched in run-out groove. Hand stamped new '1xa'. Housed in black paper disco sleeve with poly-lining, individually sealed with blue perforated banner vinyl. Limited edition.'

JANEK SCHAEFER
Alone At Last
Sirr CD
(SIRR 031)

'Alone At Last is a studio album, written over the first decade of Janek's career as a composer, sound artist, and musician. Each of the eight tracks is a response to an invitation to write a piece of music for either a compilation or installation. The original sound sources are produced using location recordings and manipulated vinyl, which are then processed through a combination of foot pedals & mixing desk, and then assembled on screen. Anamnesis refers to the ability of sound to trigger mental images in our mind's eye. Each new series of images is specific to each of us - and they are all uniquely generated and framed in turn by these supremely evocative compositions. The CD arrives housed in an elegant 100% black jewelcase with an 8 page black & white booklet of Janek's photography.'

MARC BEHRENS
Sleppet
Cronica CD
(CRON 046-2009)

'Sleppet originated from a sound art project in 2007, when six renowned artists — Natasha Barrett, Bjarne Kvinnsland, Steve Roden, Chris Watson, Jana Winderen and Marc Behrens — recorded sounds on a 10-day trip through the Norwegian Westlandet region and used the nature experience for a couple of sound installations and music pieces. Composed and produced by Marc Behrens in 2007-2008 in Bergen, Oslo and Frankfurt am Main. Basic material recorded in Gloppen, Bergen, on Utvær island, at Brenndalsbreen glacier and close to Røsskleivvatnet lake, Norway.'

25th January 2010 Releases

2010-01-22T16:20:00.008Z

CONFORCE
Love and Hate EP:
A1. Love Hate
B1. The Land Of The Highway
B2. Stop Hold
meanwhile. 12"
(MEAN 018)

'After four singles for some of Europe's A-list techno labels, Meanwhile welcome this inspired 22 year old Dutchman - Leeuwarden-based Boris Bunnik. As Conforce, he prefaces a stunning double album incoming soon, one of profound electronic depth representing classic techno's next wave with this melodic, stunning and need we say highly limited three tracker. The album is named 'Machine Conspiracy', ready compiled and set for release in February 2010, and shows the rude good health of the rising Friesland province sound, especially when set next to contemporaries like Delta Funktionen, Damian Keane and Mohlao. If you can't stand the deepness, get the hell out of the way.

'Conforce arrives then with rolling form and great anticipation after dropping a couple of killer limited twelve inch vinyls, 'Our Concern' and 'Junction' for the excellent Rush Hour : big spins for Derrick May, Josh Wink, Rolando, Laurent Garnier, Reggie Dokes, and many more ensued. Lately, heavyweight output has continued across an ep each for Modelisme 'CCCP' and 'Cruising' for Curle - both again very well received. 'Cruising' itself charted at No. 2 in Philip Sherburne's Best of 2009 Critical Beats end of year round up for The Wire magazine. Word's out on Conforce, that he is melodic and thoroughly excellent.

'Love Hate' for us pretty well defines what's best in futuristik Motor City techno-soul- house music - the sheer drama of this track as it ripples and swells all shapes it for those who care: dense and modern, pressed deep in a new era for the physical medium. Generations of fans from Model 500 and Shakir right the way through should be involved, and note: Heady stuff that comes highly recommended!'

F
Energy Distortion Part 1:
A. Energy Distortion
B. Energy Distortion (Untold RMX)
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 012)

'January 2010 sees the release of this 12" sampler, including the eponymous track 'Energy Distortion', backed by an incredible remix by the man on fire right now, Untold. F gives a taste of his forthcoming LP, and what a tune!!! With 'Energy Distortion', F takes his own level higher. Supported by SKREAM ('This one’s sexy! BIG!!!'), JOE NICE ('Fire in the hole!!! Tunes are heavyweight!'), PINCH, HEADHUNTER, MARY ANNE HOBBS, SCUBA, UNTOLD, 2562 and the 7EVEN Gang, this sampler is only one track of the 15 forthcoming on the 'Energy Distortion' album! '

18th January 2010 Releases

2010-01-21T15:07:00.006Z

SULLY
A. The Loot (Sully RMX)
AA. In Some Pattern
Keysound 12"
(LDN 015)

'Massive new twelve from Sully - big one for all the all night bubblers crew! Another impeccable selection from the Keysound camp, Sully's tracks here set a high standard indeed for the new decade. Following an acclaimed twelve late in 2009 for Frijsfo Beats. that was defined by a genuine sense of jittery urban tension - these tracks are fuller, more composed and even better produced, whilst retaining a taut flex for the dancefloor massive. Sully's version of J-Treole joins the dots between El-B and Herbie Hancock, splintered vocal fragments pay due respect to UKG originators, luxurious keys cause reminiscence of some classic MJ Cole remixes, the low end is one for all pirates, killer. 'In Some Pattern' offers some premium future rollage: harder edged rydim cracks usher in rude hypercoloured synth splashes - all displayed upon a bassline with fearsome dancefloor potential. As with the now universal Hyph Mango from 2009, the simplicity of the elements used really defines the tune and helps guarantee surefire wreckage on the floor - especially when the drop hits with an infectious break - stealth attack ! Big tune for followers of Untold, 2562, Pearson Sound, Synkro etc.'

IDO GOVRIN
Moraine
Interval CD
(IL 04)

'Moraine by Ido Govrin is composed of exquisite sound qualities consisting of restrained gestures of simultaneous assembling and disassembling processes, slow though diligent creation holds a promise for total collapse, destruction, and as such, fills the listener with sweet sadness and longing. The album's name, 'Moraine', indicates the working process but not just that. Moraine is a geological phenomenon created when the bedrock underneath is scoured and crushed by the movement and extreme pressure of a glacier eventually to the size of dust grains. It is being transported beneath the glacier's infrastructure as a thick stratum of solid substance and creates various forms throughout the plateau. In 'Moraine', Ido Govrin investigates the micro level of sound process where vast amount of sound partials are being generated and manipulated; blocs of sonic substance creates morphed sound strata. Continuous forms and entities of sound collide into each other, crushed and woven into one another; the acoustic gale seems to briefly appear as a spatial object, dwelling in space. Promptly afterwards, the stratification and deterritorialization continues simultaneously. The six electro-acoustic pieces exhibited in 'Moraine' were partly created by the analysis-re-synthesis process of acoustic instruments (Cello and Violin) and partly by a pure computer generated process of sound.'

11th January 2010 Releases

2010-01-19T15:25:00.013Z

CHRIS ROBISON
Chris Robison and His
Many Hand Band
Chapter Music CD
(CH 067)

'Chris Robison And His Many Hand Band, released privately in 1973 and reissued now on CD for the first time, was one of the world's first records by an openly gay songwriter. Coming just a few years after the Stonewall Riots of 1969, Many Hand Band is a dazzling feat of musical daring. But Chris Robison is not just a pioneering gay musician, he has been an all-pervasive presence in New York rock from the late-'60s onwards, having played with everyone from Elephant's Memory and Steam to Kiss, the New York Dolls, John Phillips and Bob Dylan. Not only that, Many Hand Band is a totally freewheeling and unique album, coalescing all the sensory overload of downtown New York City life in the early-'70s. It touches on folk, psychedelic rock, Latin funk and more, all filtered through Robison's sly and cheeky personality. There is no "woe is me" self-pity here, just an uplifting sense of fun and natural self-expression.

'Recorded almost totally by Chris himself late at night in a cut-rate studio, Many Hand Band is one of the few remaining undiscovered classics from the period, gay or otherwise. It's difficult to appreciate now, more than 35 years later, how daring and how groundbreaking songs like "Looking For A Boy Tonight" and "Italian Boy" were upon their release. In the album's comprehensive liner notes, filled with rare photos and a frank interview with Chris, he talks of RCA records turning him down because they didn't want another "faggot" on their roster (aside from Lou Reed and David Bowie).

'Meanwhile, he became a poster boy for the burgeoning gay lib movement, playing Washington Square Park with Bette Midler in front of thousands in 1973. Chris would go on to play with pre-Kiss group Wicked Lester, as well as join the New York Dolls for their Japanese tour of 1975. His later band Stumblebunny toured Europe supporting the Hollies and wrote their later hit "Stormy Waters." Bonus tracks come from a rare single released in 1974 on Buddah Records, featuring the all-time shoulda-beena classic "I'm Gonna Stay With My Baby Tonight," subsequently covered by Ronnie Spector and George McCrae. It's a wild and fascinating story, but Many Hand Band contains the seeds of it all -- all the hedonism, passion and beauty of Chris Robison's life condensed into one incredible record.'

ORIGAMI PRODUCTIONS
Laidbook 03: The Cosmic Issue
Origami CD/10x Art Cards
(OPCA 1004)

New instalment in this excellent monthly series from Japan:

4th January 2010 Releases

2010-01-08T11:35:00.016Z

DISTANCE
A: Distance 'Clockwork'
AA: Pinch ft Rudey Lee
'One Blood, One Source'
(Distance Remix)
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 033)

'Tectonic is very pleased to present a particularly heavyweight slate from one of the masters of bass, the legendary DJ Distance. As a foundational pioneer to dubstep with many system rattling classics under his belt - either on his own faultless imprint Chestplate, on his albums for Planet Mu, or even his early Hotflush releases - Distance always makes an impression by means of impeccable production skills, earthquake subs and a refined thirst for darkside power chords! Following on from his last outing on Tectonic in 2006 as part of Tectonic Plates Vol 1, with 'Temptation', Greg Sanders delivers the excellent 'Clockwork' and the now anthemic 'One Blood, One Source' (Distance Remix).

'A: 'Clockwork' : Leading in with a fairly minimal 16 bar intro, 'Clockwork' tears through at the drop - unleashing a barrage of heavily weighted brutal bass, carefully ordered but chaotic drum programing which is simultaneously disorientating and driving - it's as if you are being sucked into miniature time holes in between the crack of the regulated snare pattern. As the track builds it shines full of the characteristics that make Distance stand out as a producer - each layer is carefully put together and meticulously treated resulting in a rhythm that fits the Tectonic style - unique, heavy, rolling, infallible and reserved for after hours, when the lights are down low. Pedigree.

'AA: Pinch ft Rudey Lee 'One Blood, One Source' (Distance Remix) : Take a Bristol dubstep classic and give it to an original South London dubstep master to relick the parts - and what you end up with is a bone fide anthem. Distance reworks 'One Blood, One Source' featuring the legendary Rudey Lee (Smith & Mighty), originally taken from Pinch's 2007 'Underwater Dancehall' LP as part of a remix swap (Pinch takes on the mighty 'V' for Chest Plates in return, also due out soon). The maths are simple here and it all correctly adds up to be a huge tune - not to be missed.'

DUBKASM FEATURING RAS ADDIS
A1: City Walls featuring RAS ADDIS
A2: Shofar Dub
B1: Hail Jah featuring RAS ADDIS
B2: Four Hands To The Board
(DIGISTEP & DJ STRYDA
Dubplate Mix)
Sufferah's Choice 12" (DUBK 10)

'Special request !! The people's choice has decreed that Ras Addis' City Walls become the next vinyl single from the acclaimed Dubkasm double album set 'Transform I' that blessed summer 2009 with its innovative incorporation of Brazilian sounds and deepest UK roots. So step up -this twelve is a generous package of City Walls cut nice and deep, horns sounding mellifluous and inflected with dread, and it is this impending mood the Shofar dub develops - allowing the militant rhythm to dominate centre stage - sound system ready and ultimately deadly. Backing it up is the equal devotional anthem Hail Jah with another exclusive dubplate special dug deep from the Dubkasm crew's killer selection - version like rain. Already huge favourites with the champion Iration Steppas sound system and big on plate with venerable systems such as Jah Shaka and Aba Shanti I - this is a big one for the steppers crew of all persuasions - please make sure to get on this early.

'Heralding a big 2010 looking ahead for the Dubkasm crew, watch out for the full length 'Transformed In Dub' versions package - already in the can and primed to drop very soon. Afterwards and almost too exciting too exciting to speak of - a further series of very special versions is slated for release through the summer of 2010 from straight out of the heart of Bristol's ascendant dubstep community. Names such as Pinch, Gemmy, RSD, Forsaken, Peverelist, Joker & Ginz, Gatekeeper & Appleblim, Guido, Hyetal, Jakes and Headhunter will all represent.'

ECHO_TM FT ECHO RANKS / BIODUB
A: Skylarking
B: Skylarking (Biodub's Poor Man Version)
Kanu Kanu 12"
limited edition
300 copies on blue vinyl
(KANU 001)

'Killer dubs - the debut single released by Kanu Kanu. The aim of this new vinyl imprint is to promote interesting and original artists from the Bass world - showing an emphasis apparent on all strands from reggae to dub-techno, minimal dubstep swung back right out to future garage. It's all run from Cairo, Egypt with overall conception and production by Polish producer Hatti Vatti - last sighted in 2009 on Indigo and Synkro's Manchester based Mindset Recordings, with his awesome 'Different Music'.

'The material for the single was created by musicians from three countries: Echo_TM from Poland, Echo Ranks from Great Britain and Biodub from Germany. Echo TM's production and Biodub's epic skanked poor man version both hug the sensual throbbed vibe of Rhythm&Sound at their highest grade.'

14th December 2009 Releases

2009-12-11T14:47:00.007Z

JOKER
A. City Hopper
AA. Output 1-2
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 036)

'It's been an incredible year for the 20 year old Bristolian, responsible for igniting a worldwide passion in what's become known as the 'Purple Wow' mutation of dubstep. If you've yet to hear Joker's unique take on things - his melodic synth-funk lines, grimey basslines and all round sense of fun-injected-back-into-music... Then get out from under your stone and check it out!

With releases on his own Kapsize imprint earlier this year - tracks like 'Do It' and 'Purple City' (w/ Ginz), Joker has sent shock waves from the underground that has rippled from Skream or Kode 9's record box to the likes of Scratch Perverts, Zane Lowe - to major label record companies even, hounding for Joker remixes... Just over the last 6 months he's handed in killer remixes for Simian Mobile Disco, Basement Jaxx, Sean Paul and many more - he's taken Sonar by storm single handedly and is now booked up with gigs every weekend until 2017. Well maybe not quite on the last bit, but it fits with the momentum building here.

In an inspired follow up to 'Untitled_rsn' released by Tectonic earlier this year as part three of the Tectonic Plates Volume 2 vinyl series (backed with Flying Lotus's 'Glendale Galleria'), Tectonic is very proud to welcome his return to the label, rounding off a heavy year of releases in fine style with 2 excellent cuts. 'City Hopper' once again shows us Joker's unequalled ability to make party flavoured melodies that keep well away from the Stinking Bishop territory of some of his jump-up peers. It'll make you want to dance but you won't feel guilty the morning after. Match his luminous, catchy melodies with bass weight grimey b-lines and his Timbaland quality crunked production skills - you really have here, a heavy piece of kit to smash up any dancefloor. Flip too for 'Output 1-2' - a personal favourite with label boss Pinch as Joker goes for a more stripped down affair that steams ahead with mangled synth production lines that will bend your brain to snapping point!'

PCB
The Deft EP :
a1: Delay Offset
a2: Wallflower
b1: Jewel In The Crown
Meanwhile 12"
(MEAN 016)

'The culmination of a stellar year for Miles Whittaker. Now a happy father and central catalytic figure in a pivotal crew out of frontline Burnley, Lancashire. Beginning the year with a long awaited Pendle Coven debut album in collaboration with Gary Howell, continuing still at album level on Demdike Stare's 'Symbiosis' in congress with local disco don DJ and all round record hound Sean Canty. Miles has been shredding music this year - check last month's smouldering remix for Kevin Gorman on Mikrowave, 'One Cycle' for Modern Love + various Hate and Daphne twelves - more besides we don't even suspect yet - ferocious live and DJ sets across many different styles - all somehow still indisputably Miles.

For this artist debut on Meanwhile Pendle Coven Breakers have made a three tracker shaking off any opaque guises - revelling in a deep intimacy with the music of early Prescription or original Harmony Park vibrations. Long term mutual admiration and artistic relations with pioneers such as Anthony Shake Shakir, Mike Huckaby, David Moufang / Move D and contemporaries DJ Woody, Andy Stott, Claro Intelecto have all bounced off and resonated with this guy's boundless invention and spirit of generosity. PCB we salute you - respect always.'

7th December 2009 Releases

2009-12-10T16:49:00.032Z

PINCH
Get Up :
A1. Original Vocal Mix
A2. Guido Mix
AA1. RSD Mix
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 035)

PETER BRODERICK
& MACHINEFABRIEK
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Fang Bomb CD
(FB 012)

PETER BRODERICK
& MACHINEFABRIEK
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Limited White Vinyl LP
(FB 012LP)

'This beautiful collaboration features two of the most prolific talents from the current experimental scene, both with reputations of leviathan proportions. For this release, Machinefabriek, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Peter Broderick, based in Berlin, Germany (although constantly on the road) set out to push each others limits, and to explore new areas within their own creativity.

'The resulting album is a delicately crafted one, with Machinefabriek and Broderick virtuosically combining instrumental compositions, drone, and heartfelt soundscapes with song structures and vocals. Or as Peter Broderick himself put it: "We tried a lot of different things on this album, pushing ourselves to explore new areas... And for me the result is the collection of music I feel most proud of so far."'

ORIGAMI PRODUCTIONS
Laidbook 02: Transit
Origami CD/10x Art Cards
(OPCA 1003)

OLD TIME RADIO
Sketches For Another Christmas Songbook
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0907)

'Old Time Radio is a polish band, formed in Gdansk in 2001, their line-up is Tomasz Garstkowiak (vocals, guitars), Magda Szkudlarek (vocals, synthesizers) and Piotr Salewski (bass guitar). Combining lo-fi songwriting with discrete electronica Old Time Radio released their critically acclaimed debut album in 2004 on Sissy Records (an independent division of BMG Poland). Follow-ups came in the shape of "Downtown" on Kafe Delfin in 2006 which contained a number of electro-pop tunes with the sounds of analogue synthesisers and drum machines and "Just Because We Were Wrong" on Gusstaff Records in 2008 - a set of beautifully crafted songs with a touch of folk, avant-pop and bossa nova. The latest "Sketches For Another Christmas Songbook" is a collection of eleven Christmas songs written by the band. It's their most intimate and quiet record so far. Based on the sounds of acoustic guitars and piano, full of vocal harmonies and catchy tunes. Sometimes sentimental and melancholic, sometimes humorous and ironic "Sketches…" sounds unlike any other Christmas album, but ultimately it's more filled with Christmas spirit than the whole wall of holiday hits. The single "Christmas With You" features guest vocals from a singer-songwriter Julia Marcell.'

PAUL BARAN
Panoptic
Fang Bomb CD (FB 013CD)

'Partially inspired by the writings of the theorist Jeremy Bentham and the concept of globalization, and assisted by Werner Dafeldecker, Ekkehard Ehlers, Keith Rowe, Andrea Belfi and a list of other fine collaborators, Paul Baran has created "Panoptic" - an attempt to soundtrack the lives of creative people affected by such concepts as underclass, surveillance and the dangers of mass consensus. Baran intends "Panoptic" to be a collection of electro-acoustic atmospheres that underscore these concepts, without resorting to blind polemic. And as for the sound of it all - think electro-acoustic, minimalist, idea based, experimental fusion, conceptual improvisation with contemporary song structures.

'Born in 1975, Paul Baran is a composer, electro-acoustic sound designer and improviser based in Glasgow, Scotland. Baran will undertake an artistic residency at the prestigeous STEIM facility in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2009.'

LAWRENCE ENGLISH
It's Up To Us To Live
Sirr CD
(SIRR 0032)

'It's Up To Us To Live has seen a prolonged birth. It's commencement in 2004 began around the same moments as the final touches were being put to the album Happiness Will Befall (issued originally by Cronica). In some ways these two records pair one another - they form a spiraling coil of echo location and feedback. Whereas 'Happiness...' might be considered a lush and evocatively melodic affair, It's Up To Us To Live is profoundly more dense and compressed, only offering the occasionally moment to surface for air. Much of this LPs sound textures emanate from distant calls of guitar, sharply cracked electronics, alien field recordings and a variety of other less identifiable sources. The cover art by renowned Australian photographer Marian Drew, from her 'Still Lives' series is a telling indication of exactly where this album draws breath. Following time spent in Tasmania and other locations within Australia where human habitation often breeds a bleak graveyard for native inhabitants along many highways (and also via increasingly intrusive housing projects), as well as the concerning demise of the Baiji (amongst so many others), It's Up To Us To Live is a distorted sonic distress beacon. It suggests a possible mapping of the increasingly cluttered sound spaces that find themselves associated with human habitation and expansion.'

THE BEAUTIFUL SCHIZOPHONIC
Erotikon
Cronica CD
(CRONICA 044)

30th November 2009 Releases

2009-12-10T15:40:00.010Z

HELIXIR
A: Convultions
B: Let Me Drive Now
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 011)

'Second release on the bounce by HELIXIR on 7even Recordings after his last digital dubby experience ‘XP Dub / Peace Dub’ in June! Recognized as one of the most versatile of the new breed of French electronic music producers, the man from Strasbourg is back this time with two bass-heavy productions in his own percussive style. ‘CONVULTIONS’ is a real dancefloor weapon, the robotic riddim subtly brings a deep sub-bass becoming more and more insistent, the beats never stop evolving along the journey, the breaks hit your senses, pure badness from this ultra precise producer! ‘LET ME DRIVE NOW’ brings you to a beautifully produced track through magical percussion, galactic synths and smoky atmospheres, somewhat akin to 2562's latest directions . A beautiful piece of music, tightly produced by HELIXIR, who shows again his mastery of the studio and modern bass music.'

CRAYON FIELDS
All The Pleasures Of The World
Chapter Music CD
(CH 066)

'This is the long-awaited second album by Melbourne's minor-key pop magicians, The Crayon Fields. In 2006, their airy, chiming debut Animal Bells (CH 056CD) was one of the year's most acclaimed releases, earning a 7.8 review on Pitchfork and voted #2 in Australia's Mess+Noise end-of-year critics poll (#4 in the general readers poll). They released a sneak preview of the new album in the form of a limited edition vinyl single, featuring the majestic pop ballad "Mirror Ball," which sold out immediately. "All The Pleasures Of The World" was also released as a single, earning another Pitchfork rave and "Single Of The Week" in magazines around Australia. The album is delirious, UK rainy-day melancholy psychedelic indie, with some Blue Oyster Cult, Stone Roses, Belle and Sebastian and Zombies thrown in for good measure, with its loping bass lines, swooning strings and eerie, hypnotic harmonies. Basic tracks were recorded at Head Gap studios in Melbourne with Neil Thomason (The Slits, My Disco, Ned Collette), and the album was then finished at home. Mixing and mastering was done with Lachlan Carrick (The Necks, Gotye, Architecture In Helsinki) at Moose Mastering. The album is a beyond-stunning development on Animal Bells, both poised and precocious. There's a newfound confidence and lyrical openness from vocalist Geoff O'Connor, and some of the most luscious backing ever heard on an Australian pop record from bassist Brett Hudson, guitarist Chris Hung and drummer Neil Erenstrom. Strings come courtesy of rising pop star Jessica Venables, aka Jessica Says, on cello, and her brother Nick on viola and violin. Crayon Fields have toured basically everywhere and have become a favored support band of choice in Australia, playing with the likes of Cornelius, Stereolab, Built To Spill, New Pornographers, Deerhoof, Mount Eerie, Electrelane, Unicorns and many more.'

THE RAAH PROJECT
Score
Summer Dawn CD
(SD 001CD)

"There was a project out of Melbourne called the RAah Project. They gave me a CD, I checked it out on the way home, I couldn't believe how good it was - it was definitely up there and beyond. It was a bit of Matthew Herbert, a little bit of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, but with its own melodic Australian vibe going on" (Gilles Peterson, The Independent)

"It's the best sounding recording I have heard this year. Everything about it screams quality" (Rob, Faze Action)

"A brilliant LP that will definitely be in my top five at the end of the year" (Kevin Beadle, Solar Radio)

'Spawned from an idea by Ryan Ritchie and Tamil Rogeon of True Live, The RAah Project stands out immediately as the most credible alternative to the European sound of Cinematic Orchestra , Matthew Herbert's Big Band or the eccentric dub of Fat Freddy's Drop. RAah take a whole new shot at the established ideas of electronic hip hop, pop, contemporary, dance and soul music. It is an original contemporary music project embracing both traditional and new principles of jazz improvisation and arrangement, 20th century composition, song, verse and flow.

'Ritchie and Rogeon share a love of diverse musical formats and gain equal enjoyment. From pounding modern electronic beats and traditional orchestral music, the two work and tour as part of the critically acclaimed ensemble, True Live, as well as on various individual projects as producers, arrangers and performers. 'Score' was created with a 17 piece string section, a full big band - the Australian Show Band - and a selection of jazz/funk players from Melbourne's multi-faceted vibrant music scenes. The thirteen tracks combine big band vocals and orchestration, soaring cinematic string arrangements, hip hop beats, soul motifs and simple yet entirely catching pop melodies with surprising and absorbing results.'

MOSS PROJECT
Vision
Apsara CD
(APSARA 001)

"Vision is a fascinating and hypnotically satisfying album which demands repeated plays" (All About Jazz)

"There's a freshness, a spaciousness to this band and Freed's essentially lyrical writing, that is very attractive" (Jazzwise)

"Offering something easily understandable to the untrained ear, while never diluting the genuine love of jazz at the music's heart" (Chris Long, BBC)

"A record of endless fascination and immediate accessibility" (Al Brownlee, M.E.N.)

"Freed's phrasing and melodies are at times just achingly beautiful. This is a truly accomplished musician but his skills as a composer are really exceptional" (The Sound of Now)

'Fresh as you like, Manchester jazz sextet The Moss Project explore the more contemporary end of progressive jazz rock, with fiery electric guitar and saxophone led improvisation and compositions. The Moss Project play contemporary jazz but not quite like any jazz you might have heard before. The sextet's debut album 'Vision', is an intense and emotional musical experience. 'Vision' will appeal to listeners from all backgrounds, from diehard jazz fans through to those who have perhaps never even seen or experienced live jazz before.

The music on 'Vision' is testament to bandleader Moss Freed's inspirational and eclectic range of influences. Within the space of a single tune, it's as likely to combine heavy grooves and folk melodies, with group improvisation, classical arrangements and complex counterpoint. The end result is as much The Bad Plus as Stravinsky, in equal measures Pat Metheny, Massive Attack, Bach or Radiohead, all moulded into the Sextet's personal and highly singular version of progressive jazz. Alongside the compositions, the beauty of the group lies in the ability of its musicians to blend their individual styles into a single cohesive entity throughout large sections of free playing, whilst still retaining a precious core of approachability.

After studying composition and performance at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, under Jon Damian - the teacher of Bill Frisell, Moss formed the group to provide a platform for new, progressive and exciting music. Based in Manchester, the sextet features some of the city's top players, each bringing their own distinctive flavour and backgrounds into the mix. With a line-up of guitar, violin, saxophones, drums, bass and keyboards, the Moss Project proves to be essential listening for anyone into innovative new jazz. The Moss Project have already completed a series of very successful dates in Germany and the UK.'

23rd November 2009 Releases

2009-11-20T14:05:00.016Z

DUSK + BLACKDOWN
v GRIEVOUS ANGEL
Margins Music : Redux
Keysound CD
(LDN 014)

"The album is part remix LP, part DJ set part dub rework. In late 2007 and early 08 we became enthralled by Grievous Angel’s Ableton mixes that blurred the lines between DJing and remixing. We offered him the parts to every track on “Margins Music” and told him to mutate its DNA." Martin Clark (Blackdown)

"For me Blackdown and Dusk were always crucial dubstep artists. They deliver tunes that simultaneously hit you in the chest, the feet and the head and I listened to Margins Music for months; I loved the way that it was smart, supple music that had real depth, but which would also go off in a club. It fused dubstep with many of London's newly-indigenous musics, without being mere cultural tourism, venturing into London's marginal communities and working with other artists. Including, of course, rebuilding the bridge between dubstep and grime - and not just with any old MC, but with the most vital figures on the scene. And then I got the call. They wanted me to remix the entire album. They were fans of the Dubstep Sufferah series of mixes, where I re-edited and dubbed-up all different kinds of dubstep tunes with extra FX and vocals. The Sufferah series was popular because it provided a widescreen listening experience that most standard DJ mixes didn't offer. Plus, my first album, Belief is the Enemy, was a double CD, with a mix CD called 'Believe in Dub' that was more popular than the main album. I love rough, fast, live DJ mixing, but I wanted to do something different, with a lot of depth and replay value. I was influenced by albums that gave you a whole sonic world to get lost in, such as the classic dub albums of the 70s, like [Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson's) African Dub Chapter Three , the cut and paste techniques of Coldcut's Journeys By DJ CD, Bill Laswell's dub remixes of Miles Davis on the Panthalassa album and the symphonic, endless soul of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. I see Margins Music as a travelogue through London's postcodes and timezones and I wanted to bring out the mythical, narrative element of the songs. Blackdown and Dusk captured London's genius loci almost perfectly; my job was to amplify and concentrate it. London is a universal city, both concrete and symbolic, whose accretions of psycho-geography constrain and liberate the multiple diaspora that comprise its population. I grew up in London and happily exiled myself, but it is impossible to ever truly leave; London is a state of mind and an addictive stimulant. As Trim quotes so eloquently, "it's a London ting". I hope that you are as transported by the Dusk and Blackdown's vision of London as I was." Paul Meme (Grievous Angel)

PINCH Get Up
1. Original Vocal Mix
2. RSD Mix
3. Guido Mix
4. Jack Sparrow Mix
5. L.V. Mix
6. Original Full Length Instrumental Version
Tectonic CD EP (TECCD 007EP)

'Pinch does the right thing, as 2009 reaches a resounding conclusion for Tectonic. Ever since 'Underwater Dancehall' appeared, we have been inundated with requests for the Yolanda vocal version of "Get Up" to come out on wax. This year has seen dubstep endlessly reinvent and reflect ten years and more of UK bass culture - the anthemic quality of the original still stands more relevant than ever. Never one to do things by halves, Pinch has used the interim period wisely, securing the remix services of the finest producers out there. 'RSD has had a fantastic 2009 - rocking shores stateside to Japan and at long last receiving due acclaim for his central role in shaping the Bristol sound. With his latest album for Peverelist's excellent Punch Drunk still fresh in the racks - Rob Smith delivers a production master class, which has already been ruining audiences on dubplate - 2562 for one has been closing every set with this surefire killer. Also originating from pastures Punch Drunk, Guido has been readily grouped with Joker and Gemmy as one of the Purple wow new breed, here he brings an astonishing version and shows himself to be his own man - by turns luxuriant and yet pared back to its limber essentials - incorporating deep synth-funk and garage styles whilst still revealing a sizeable low-end all underpinning a show stopping arrangement of futuristic soul. Jack Sparrow warms up with an early taste of the recent production form which has prompted Pinch to request a full Tectonic album from him in 2010 - fabulous-low slung killer vibes, a subtle and deeply meditative, thoughtful version primed for deeper dancefloors with a huge deep funk coda to explore on the boards. Hyperdub / 2nd Drop / Hemlock / Ramp operative L.V. brings the soulful vibes to an apex - his easy moving, open form disco mix is reminiscent of classic Sly & Robbie Compass Point sides with Grace Jones - in a word, timeless. An indisputable classic tune in optimum versions - treasure them and play loud!!'

UNKNOWN
A. The Dawn
AA. Dawn Dub
Seth 12"
(SETH 01)

'Wonderful steppers versions from a shy and unnamed producer. We suspect, going on the considerable production chops on display here, that this is the moonlight work of a rather well known producer. Maximum rollidge with a sustained bass surge to warm up the biggest speaker sets, make no mistake this is a roving percussive beauty, blessed with discrete angelic vocals, flip for a precision dub of considerable restraint and singular power - fiercely limited so do not hang around!'

ORIGAMI PRODUCTIONS
Laidbook 01: Beginning
Origami CD/10x Art Cards
(OPCA 1002)

16th November 2009 Releases

2009-11-13T15:04:00.007Z

RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI
Daydreaming
Miasmah LP (MIALP004)

Limited edition coloured vinyl edition

'Championed by the likes of David Sylvian and Thom Yorke, 'Daydreaming' is the stunning debut album from Seattle's Rafael Anton Irisarri. Originally released in 2007 on Erik Skodvin's Miasmah label, to great critical acclaim, 'Daydreaming' is a collection of piano led instrumental compositions of astonishing beauty. 'Daydreaming' sounds like a record written for piano, but it also incorporates an array of modern sound sources in its production. As the drifting synthesizers lap around the feet of a majestic piano part in the album's opening track 'Waking Expectations ' it is startlingly clear that there is more to Irisarri than mere stereotyping. This is a carefully constructed soundtrack to your most intriguing dreams, the dreams you might remember for a split second upon waking, only to have images creep up on you some time later. Those of you left spellbound by Deaf Center's haunting and beautiful 'Pale Ravine' album will be pleased to know that 'Daydreaming' continues in the tradition of murky, theatrical and deeply imaginative music. Lines of comparison can be drawn between Irisarri's compositional approach and the work of artists as varied as Machinefabriek, Peter Broderick and Mogwai. For more recent fans discovering the Miasmah label, which boasts a roster of incredible acts including Jacaszek, Kreng, Greg Haines, Jasper TX and Elegi, 'Daydreaming' offers another chance to discover a highlight release from the label's earlier days. Irisarri has just returned from a seven week tour of Europe under the guise of his other project 'The Sight Below', touring and performing with Simon Scott (who's debut album 'Navigare' due October, Irisarri guests on), Svarte Griener, and more. '

KEVIN GORMAN
A1 Cyclic (Peter Van Hoesen Remix)
A2 Shakey Stripped
B1 Nearly (MLZ Remix)
B2 Shakey Metallic Beats
Mikrowave 12" (MWAVE 12)

'Mikrowave returns with a new release for the groovers, DJs and vinyl purists. 2009 has seen fellow Mancunian Kevin Gorman mainly concerned with his innovative Elements series of DJ and production tools. And so it seems fitting to end the year in this way - simply putting out a splendid record. It enlists two of the world's hottest, most forward-thinking and respected electronic music producers around right now, Peter Van Hoesen and MLZ, who should really need no further introduction or recommendation - essential twelve - fierce limited to 300 copies for the world.'

9th November 2009 Releases

2009-11-13T14:30:00.007Z

KATH BLOOM & LOREN CONNORS
Restless Faithful Desperate/Moonlight
Chapter Music 2CD
(CH 065)

'Restless Faithful Desperate / Moonlight is the second of Chapter Music's double disc reissues by extraordinary early-'80s folk duo Kath Bloom and Loren Connors. Meeting in 1976 in their hometown of New Haven, CT, Kath Bloom and Loren Connors formed a creative partnership that has haunted psych-folk fans ever since, releasing six albums of fragile, avant-garde folk-blues in miniscule quantities, all of which now change hands for huge sums. At first, Kath would act out monologues while Loren played his free-form guitar, extrapolated from Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues, but gradually he and Kath's performances became more song-based. Kath began
practicing guitar among the headstones of New Haven's Grove Street cemetery, while Loren's idiosyncratic style had been developing since the 1960s. After self-releasing two limited edition live albums, the duo recorded Sing The Children Over for tiny Boston label Ambiguous Records in 1982, and then in 1983, self-released fourth album Sand In My Shoe. Early on, their albums mixed traditional folk and blues songs with a handful of Kath's vulnerable, moving originals. But by the later albums, the songs were all Kath's -- her fragile voice and subdued finger-picked guitar set against Loren's abstract playing: skittering, sometimes atonal but always intuitively supportive.

Together the duo created a sound almost impossibly emotional and haunting, unlike anything created before or since. Their last two albums Restless Faithful Desperate and Moonlight both emerged in 1984, in editions of 200-300 copies on Loren's St. Joan label. As her creativity accelerated, so Kath's songs became looser, more intuitive, with a darkening of tone and an eventual abandonment of intent to shape the music. The songs were still there, however -- Restless... contains one of her most gorgeous compositions, "Look At Me," while Moonlight includes an early version of Kath's signature tune "Come Here." After a quarter of a century, Kath Bloom and Loren Connors' incredible recordings are finally available again. The reissue includes extensive liner notes, original photos and artwork, and six bonus tracks taken from a rare 1982 compilation and an unreleased 1984 live session.'

GDX/AURA ANTHROPICA
Want You/Drummondii
Phlox 12"
(PHLOX 001)

'Austria and in particular Vienna finds itself the focus for new and creative sounds - Phlox is a fascinating imprint promising dubstep, plentiful low-end and an intoxicating blend we can only describe as neuro-garage. A new label, a new identity - and a refreshing music policy - simply that they don't actually have a music policy. Aura Anthropica is a new dubwise guise for Hans Platzgumer, sometimes known as Spezial Material's H.P.Stonji and now flourishing within the terrain of heavy low-end sounds - the bass weight and palette of 'Drummondii' prove enticing and forbidding. It's a dark and brooding bass monster - almost a scene score with synth colour touches and some edgy paint to add to the tension and the hostility. Mysterious, mystifying and very heavy, the tune is deliberately deliciously slow and deep as...GDX is Gerhard Potuznik aka GD Luxxe, an undercover exponent of the true European underground for many years, you only need to check his classic Cheap productions for ample evidence of his considerable talents. He takes control for a bubbling freestyle-friendly 2-stepper 'Want You', incorporating some tasty '99 style UKG moves - trimmed back with precision production skills and ample bouyant boogie. Shoes only admitted: no tracksuits, no trainers. Very neat indeed.'

BOY WONDER
Almighty Warrior
Project Funk 12"
(PFR 001)

'Back in the late 80s Kevin 'Boy Wonder' Harper helped launch a whole new sound and a whole new scene in UK dance music with his involvement in the original Nightmares On Wax line-up. On this new 12" it's like he's been holed-up in a studio since the release of classic 'Bleep' techno tune "Dextrous" (the second ever release on Sheffield's Warp imprint), emerging to absorb a few influences from dubstep and the like along the way. With Warp celebrating their 20th birthday, and all things 'rave' having a major impact on the dancefloor right now, this EP has arrived at just the right time - check it out!'

HUGO RACE
Between Hemispheres
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0905CD)

'Setting aside Hugo's past with the Melbourne post-punk scene and the Bad Seeds in the eighties, and his solo work in the nineties with the True Spirit collective, over the last decade he has continued to release a steady stream of his songs internationally as well as releasing collaborative projects such as Dirtmusic, Sepiatone, Merola Matrix and Transfargo to an expanding global audience.

Taking its cue from the instrumental electronica of We Create Tomorrow (Reprise), the closing track of 2007's '53rd State' album, comes the new Hugo Race release 'Between Hemispheres'. This instrumental album contains no human voices - instead, raw acoustic instruments are pitted against sculpted analogue sounds in a vast organic space both dramatic and meditative, brutal yet beautiful. Here the delta blues remains - but distantly, like background radiation.

Recorded in Africa, Europe and Australia, Between Hemispheres carries references to Hugo's work with Transfargo (the instrumental 'Mil Transit' album from 2004), and the experimentalism of the True Spirit's 'Wet Dream' and 'Ambuscado'. Using the African string instruments ngoni and kora against a stark background of analogue synth, digital pulses, deep space radio signals and widescreen guitar, Race composes a dreamlike experience that echoes his own songwriting.

A trip into the glacial interstices between quantum and digital, these inter- dimensional meditations traverse the synapses between left and right sides of the brain, between thought and expression, between two oscillating magnetic poles - between hemispheres.'

10

2009-11-11T11:35:00.004Z

Ten years ago today Baked Goods Distribution dispatched its first order. Watch out for a large number of different tenth birthday celebrations we have planned for the course of the next twelve months - we're incredibly excited, to say the least. It's been an interesting decade, both for Baked and for music in general, and despite all the apocalyptic predictions for the imminent collapse of the 'music industry' and the death of physical formats, we're still here and still selling great music that we like. Ten years on, that continues to be a huge privilege. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all the customers, shops, distributors, cutting engineers, manufacturers, agents, promoters, DJs, labels and artists, - in fact a list so lengthy, it might take the next ten years to compile.

November 2nd 2009 Releases

2009-11-10T12:11:00.021Z

NAPHTA
Fully Loaded / Soundclash 1 (Ghost Relick VIP)
Ruff Revival 12"
(RR 002)

'Naphta's 'Fully Loaded' side restores muscular memories of Jet Star B-sides, Shut Up and Dance , Production House, Ibiza ...Spin Inn, blues... Potential BadBoy, Genaside II, G Double E and so many more spring to mind during this simply irresistible rinseing. Jungle was indeed so much more than we've all been told. Building on the fantastic reactions thus far on his 'Long Time Burning' full length CD album, and next to the heavily delayed, but eagerly awaited Keysound rerub from Grievous Angel himself (out soon we promise, hold tight) Naphta looks well placed to triumph under the disarming righteous cause of jump up jungle. How can you say no?'

GRIEVOUS ANGEL

NAPHTA

Soundclash (GRIEVOUS ANGEL

VIP Mix

)/
GRIEVOUS ANGEL Harpy
Keysound 12"
(LDN 011)

"Absolutely love it!" Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 1
"Mosh pits materialise when I play this!" Jamie VEX'D

MACHINEFABRIEK
Loops For Voerman
Machinefabriek CD EP
(MF 003)

'Loops For Voerman is a dark, impressionistic composition, just over fifteen minutes in length, its bowed metal, atonal strings and cold harmonic overtones continually realigning, bringing to life the imposing nature of Voerman's sculpture. The silence within the piece, between the scraping and sustained resonance of the sounds, evokes an unsettling presence, a claustrophobic feeling of imposing, collapsing structures, abandoned and lost. Machinefabriek's contribution to the installation, presented here as a stand alone piece, is a master class in sound sculpture, and an essential addition to the ever expanding back catalogue of Rutger Zyudervelt. '

DEAN MCPHEE
Brown Bear
Hood Faire 12" EP
(HDFR 002V)

"A really beautiful sound" - The Wire Magazine
"He's an absolutely extraordinary player who builds up these soundscapes. It's amazingly clever, I don't know how he does it with two hands to be honest" - Tom Ravenscroft, NME
"It's a beguiling and soothing listen" - Diskant

'From the opening bars of first track 'Sky Burial' Dean Mcphee's expressive solo electric guitar playing is a joy to behold. A guitarist from West Yorkshire, McPhee performs using only guitar and effects, and the three compositions which make up 'Brown Bear' were recorded live with no edits or overdubs. 'Brown Bear' is a masterful excursion into solo performance, incorporating folk picking styles, subtle shifts of background ambience and sorrowful melodies, all seemingly executed with ease. At times the compositions are reminiscent of Richard Thompson's emotive and melancholic playing, with shades of the Australian trio The Hungry Ghosts' ear for a beautifully sparse melody, in other places brushing up against the more minimal spectral pieces of Loren Connors. 'Brown Bear' has a rich, warm tonal quality, and McPhee's expansive playing style clearly requires no additional accompaniment to colour the tracks. Using slow delays and open tunings Dean creates textural plains over which his melodies soar. Clocking in at just over twenty one minutes, 'Brown Bear' is an astonishingly beautiful EP from a natural player.'

EMITER
Microsillon
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0906)

'Emiter is a solo project by Marcin Dymiter (electronics, guitar, generator, loops, tape) who previously played in such bands as : Ewa Braun, Mapa, Mordy. He has collaborated with musicians engaged with jazz, electronics and avant- garde music: Rob Mazurek, Paul Wirkus, Rosa Arruti, Le Quan Ninh, John Butcher, Axel Dorner, Andrew Sharpley, Mikolaj Trzaska, the poet Marcin Swietlicki, Raphael Roginski, Marek Choloniewski, Tomasz Choloniewski, Dagna Sadkowska, Michal Górczynski and as a band voice_electronic duo, Linie Pólnocne. He cooperated and composed for off's theaters, he plays on live to silent films and cooperates with visual artists. Marcin Dymiter is also a musical producent. He played in many countries in Europe. As Emiter he has released ten CDs. He experiments with sound design - unlocking tones and transformations which accompany our life and searches for inspiration in the world around us. He believes that music is everywhere. Composing it is a never ending process. "Microsillon" is Marcin's first album on Gusstaff Records. Field-recordings, acoustic sounds, electronica, guitar and improvisations are the most important features of this record. It was recorded in many places in Gdansk, sometimes in public rooms of historic importance. In these recordings excellent polish musicians participated : Tomasz Choloniewski (percussion), Wojciech Jachna (trumpet), Tomasz Gadomski (hang).'

October 26th 2009 Releases

2009-11-03T14:56:00.007Z

DANNY SAUL
Harsh, Final.
White Box CD
(WHITEBOX 004CD)

“Yesterday I was standing in the rain waiting for the bus, listening to that first song in my headphones, and I just lost it. My eyes completely filled with water, and my body just froze. Then later on in the evening I was on my way home on the bus, listening to the album again, and I missed my bus stop...it is deeply affecting music…I remember that day… It was intense and amazing.” - Peter Broderick

“I´ve been listening to it constantly since I got it, brilliant in every aspect...it's been a long time since I heard something this beautiful. It feels so complete as an album” - Jasper TX

“Really really beautiful … dark and moving” - Machinefabriek

MATTHEW HALSALL
Colour Yes
Gondwana CD
(GONDCD 003)

'Last year Matthew Halsall's debut album 'Sending My Love' planted him firmly on the UK jazz map, with a release which earned him praise across the board. Solid airplay from Radio 1's Gilles Peterson (the album figured in his top 40 albums of 2008), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM) amongst others, culminated in a Maida Vale session for 6 Music. Halsall's expressive playing style and compositions, rooted deep in the spiritual jazz tradition, combined with subtle arrangements and respectful production, led to the release becoming something far greater than just the sum of its parts - more than simply a debut from a skilled, young player - 'Sending My Love' offered a welcome return to form for UK jazz - it even grabbed the attention of Nitin Sawhney, and led to the pair collaborating in a week long session.

As a trumpeter, composer, DJ and label head for Gondwana, both Matthew and the label continue to go from strength to strength - June saw Gondwana release Manchester saxophonist Nat Birchall's 'Akhenaten' album, which also featured Matthew's playing, and was hailed by critics as "Truly transcendental" (Mojo, Disc Of The Day), "A quite remarkable album" (Jazz UK), "Beautifully stately performance" (The Wire), "Outstanding and most enthralling" (Jazzwise Magazine), among many others. Following the success of both the label's releases so far, Matthew has secured prized gigs at Ronnie Scotts and the Jazz Cafe in London with the likes of Quantic, Gilles Peterson and Nostalgia 77.

A committed performer and restless musician, Halsall now returns with his second full length album 'Colour Yes' delivering six brand new compositions. This time around Matthew recruited the talents of Nat Birchall (sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), Gaz Hughes (drums), Marek Dorcik (drums) and Rachael Gladwin (harp) - the groups impeccable performances under Halsall's direction, deliver yet another consistent and often brilliant release, authentic in every which way. The effortless swing of title track and album opener 'Colour Yes', really defines what it is about Halsall's vision of jazz that gives him the upper hand; this is timeless music, it owes nothing to the past - sure, there are comparison points, but all lead to music which is indeed, already classic. An undeniable clarity is present throughout, themes are balanced and already sounding fully road-tested.

'Together' is a transcendental modal ballad which fuels the spirit of Stan Tracey's 'Starless and Bible Black' and Neil Ardley's 'Shades Of Blue' as performed by Don Rendell and Ian Carr's Quintet. Utterly beautiful. 'Mudita' is the jazz dance feature that will be a hit with the Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp crowd; the spacial rhythm section play like Bill Evan's classic trios, where the space between the notes almost mean as much as the notes themselves. This not only shows a great respect for the past masters of modal exploration but makes a bold step forward to re-establish 'British jazz' as a vital music as much in 2009 as it was in the mid 1960's. The addition of Rachael Gladwin's harp brings a sense of liquidity to the band, take it as read that Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane are honoured forebears. By the close of this fine second Matthew Halsall album, the authoritative drive of this band truly seems to have transmitted to a whole new astral plane.'

EMPTYSET
(emptyset)
Caravan CD CVANCD 002
Caravan 2LP (CVAN 010)

'An empty set is an empty box or an empty bag. It's not the same as nothingness. Aesthetically it implies structure without content; absolute potential without manifestation. This works as a template for listening to the record: it sounds like dance music with the guts ripped out; the vengeful ghost of a techno future generated entirely from noise and sine waves. There are no melodic lines on which to hitch a free ride; your attention is required at all times to safeguard against total disorientation. emptyset is a Brutalist structure, a foreign universe born out of a void, becoming sentient and condemned to await demolition. You need not have studied Jung or harbour any particular psycho-geographical leanings to recognize that a drawn out process of smashing a city's urban heart to pieces might influence its art. With the extensive reconstruction of its city centre, at one point the biggest building site in Europe, Bristol has been a site of dereliction and mass demolition for the last decade. This upheaval, which has seen tonnes of girders, beams and aggregates destroyed, is just another episode in the city's tradition of lo-frequency exploration. Bristol's ley-lines are as much aural and temporal as they are geographical, running backwards through history. Mass Slavery, Bass culture, Tape hiss in the Lo-Fi Bedsit tradition, Georgian splendour bombed to human smithereens in WWII; All these dehumanized visions subsequently informed everything from the building of an extensive network of underground slave tunnels to the creation of tower block living rooms; lo-frequencies shook the earth and noise filled the air. Bass is the tool, the machine head used to explore cracks, find spaces, open them up and fill them with noise. This is not an analogy; this is happening right now, all over the city. For the wayward musical explorer, living in contemporary Bristol is akin to being lost in a room full of maps, or on a construction site with an incredibly beautiful though constantly shifting view.

As a direct consequence, Bristol is the only city that could produce this album. With its dialogues in play between techno, dubstep, drone and avant-garde electronics, the environment of grassroots cultural cooperation serves to destabilize the boundaries between the grammars of individual genres. Recorded at Multiverse, birthplace of the labels Tectonic, Kapsize and (of course) Caravan, and home to artists such as Joker, Pinch, Vex'd, 2562 and Caravan label boss October, emptyset has emerged from a rich lineage of forward thinking experimental music.

Artist Information : 'emptyset' is a Bristol based production duo exploring techno music's broad influences and compiling them to a studio template focused on tight production and detailed sound design. Inspired by the city's culture of bass lead production the sound has been described as techno meets dubstep folded back onto techno again, a description which is perhaps the most insightful to date. The project owes credit to the classic releases of M-Plant, Sähkö and Chain Reaction as well as more recent producers such as Alva Noto, Deathprod and Burial. 'emptyset' acts as a research project connecting the ideas of a modern dancefloor with experimental approaches to music and its design.'

October 19th 2009 Releases

2009-11-03T13:57:00.016Z

2562
Unbalance
Tectonic CD (TECCD 006)
Tectonic 3LP (TEC 034)

'2562 follows up his groundbreaking debut album 'Aerial', and pushes both his creative talents, and the boundaries of dubstep, to another level entirely. 'Unbalance' is an exceptional body of electronic music, and fully demonstrates 2562's adept ability to move through engaging soundscapes with both pin-point precision drum programming and innovative sample regeneration. 2562, real name Dave Huismans, is named after the postcode in The Hague, Netherlands where he lives, a city detached from the main epicentres of dubstep, and thus brings both cultural distance and a uniquely diverse sound to the project. During the course of a brief but faultless discography, he's dropped four killer twelve inches for Tectonic, as well as 'Aerial' - one of the defining albums of 2008 - not to mention a similar number of singles under his A Made Up Sound guise, and, in the process, has blown wide open a number of scenes, allowing a welcome and long overdue cross pollination within DJ set lists.

'Unbalance' sees 2562's vision of dubstep moving forward into previously unexplored areas. Warmer than its predecessor, innovation and experimentation is still as evident as ever, as the influence of Theo Parrish and Flying Lotus meet with the deep end of Bristol bass music. With productions drawing inspiration from garage, dubstep, house, techno and broken beats - affiliations and collaborations have proliferated - killer remixes and one-offs have cemented the Dutchman firmly in the 'A' list of contemporary production talent. 'Unbalance' is impeccably built, and accessibly disposed: sheer dancefloor carnage is guaranteed. Tectonic label boss Pinch says: "I've worked closely with 2562 over the last few years and I can honestly say that 'Unbalance' is an incredible album - it's one of the most exciting releases that Tectonic has seen to date - it vastly exceeds the already high standard he set himself with 'Aerial'." With this new LP for Tectonic, 2562 breaks new ground - in moving away from the dub-techno associations of his earlier works, he creates a whole new world.

It's with some major excitement then that we present his second full length album: 'Unbalance' on Tectonic - right on time for an end of year carve up. Where 2009 was ushered in by fellow lowland compatriot and close friend Martyn smashing it with 'Great Lengths', Huismans, in true competitive spirit, delivers a dancehall crasher of an album, to round out a year of even more pronounced genre exchanges and hybrid sounds. From the outset, 'Intro' and 'Flashback' let fly some of the face cards in Huismans' deck - the ample swell of swung garage informed by a new school sensibility, all grounded by that trademark giant bass presence. 'Lost' reprises a familiar broken refrain in refixed mode, landing with a delightful low-end almost junglist descent and a huge mid range melodic sustain, absolutely killer stuff. With 'Like A Dream' the album is really motoring by now - squashed Mr Fingers style acid machinations inside a wildout bass and drums swing, if anything typifying the sheer sense of progression and development this music brings with it. In many ways this is an album for playing out, but also about playing out - each tune seeming to recombine on second and third listens, just as the DJ's selection is never the same twice, even when playing the same records. Tear up the form book - the diversity and breathtaking momentum of this fine album moves fleet of foot - like Usain Bolt over Berlin - inspirational.'

KOWTON
Stasis (Gmix) / Countryman
Keysound 12"
(LDN 013)

'Big tings from Joe Kowton, sometimes known as Narcossist ....this new Keysound plate epitomises the sheer vibrant energy emanating from this label right now, as funKeysounds have materialised - insurgent and resurgent moments, Blackdown has been on the case since day. 'Stasis' and 'Countryman'. both Transition specials, land at a level which is guaranteed many many spins. Hype twelve for the autumn, believe - and with all due deference to dons El-B / Gurley / Edwards - this is big beeline dub garage made for party - call it whatyalike, big with Ben UFO, Oneman, Brackles and Shortstuff .. Running on a deep 33 cut, throwing a dummy punch of motive dubbed keys, nearly in stasis like the title, topped with a crackling vocal but what an abandoned freeing swing and full funked bounce there is to this tune as it lands - massive - i for one personally can't wait to hear mixes into related stuff : Hyph Mango, Hyperdubs - the low end simply ((( k-i-l-l-e-r ))) mids are crisped and ripped, like the wires of the machine itself are frying under the sheer heat running off this deepest tune, the vocal stabs luxuriant and urgent simultaneously, a chorded dub basement vibe stays very much in the shade, all melded to the full frequency range garage subs - the bass unlocked on this plate is out of control and will take centre stage at peak times.

'Countryman' is a dedicated relative - revolving around a central trodding steppers motif, the groove intensifies with the dread vocal as centrepoint, its fabric is assailed by more crispy bits, the dub builds and the full sub pressure reveals itself, a chesty rattler with ghostly vocals delaying into the mix, a soundbwoy classic for a lost and distant future - fantastic. Narcossist productions have been showing up on radars of scenesters for the past two or three years even, a shelf of unreleased bare dubs, raw and exciting - even his fine-tuned prior 'Sunblind' twelve for Indigo's Mindset, for all its guttural metallic garage skank gave scarce hints at this two sided monster. '

OYARRSS versus CLOAKS
A La Holeage
Abractions 12"
(ABSTRACTIONS 001)

'The excellent Creative Space label from Greece takes an away day for this extra-special release on their Abstractions imprint. Oyaarss are as broadly agreeable as their name may suggest, hailing from Latvia, and found their original of 'A la Holeage' becoming a firm unreleased favourite of Mary Ann Hobbs, and rapidly becoming notorious amongst noise and experimental fans, not to mention the more sonically adventurous dubsteppers. Cloaks take the opportunity to put down their most sonically extreme material to date, as downright nasty certainly as anything yet emitted from their studios. A matching of like minds offers stunning and yet differing results - where Oyaarss occupy an obliterated post-hardcore landscape, Cloaks almost allow you to experience the very elapsing moments of obliteration.'

SIMON SCOTT
Navigare
Miasmah LP
(MIALP 011)
features vinyl-only track 'Dissolving Memories'
(CD features CD-only track 'The Night And The Artificial Light')

LIQUID WICKED ft JOSEPH COTTON / TWISTED
The Governor / The Superpowers
Scrub-A-Dub 12"
(SCRUB 004)

October 31st 2009 : Halloween Greetings From Baked Goods

2009-10-30T16:33:00.007Z

A contribution from The Sheabot, one of our younger Baked Goods staff members - Happy Halloween!

(normal weekly updates plus catchup resumes 3rd November)

October 5th & 12th 2009 Releases

2009-10-09T12:36:00.011+01:00

SIMON SCOTT
Navigare
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 011)

'Simon Scott has a notable musical past: in the early 90's he was the drummer for the renowned shoegaze band Slowdive, whose acclaimed 'Souvlaki' album is still considered by many to be one of a handful of landmark releases from that scene. Upon leaving Slowdive he formed the experimental, and more electronic-based group Televise. He also set up his own label, Kesh Recordings, and has so far released titles by the likes of Hannu, Sebastian Roux, Aus and Mark Templeton. More recently Scott has been involved in several diverse projects, including his work as a member of Seavault (with Antony Ryan from Isan), and collaborations with Machinefabriek, Jasper TX and Emmanuele Errante, offering live guitar treatments, providing remix work and in turn being remixed himself. Regular appearances alongside Rafael Anton Irisarri as the live incarnation of The Sight Below (Ghostly International), have seen the duo enthralling audiences with their submerged post-Chain Reaction guitar/techno ambience. With 'Navigare', his debut solo release for Miasmah, there are shades of Scott's previous output and musical interests, but as a whole the album marks a bold new direction, taking his music into new uncharted territory.

What really devastates here is Scott's ability to merge ambient passages with such memorable melodic cycles, taking at times the simplest of ideas and building on them, generating murky hooks and submerged 'riffs' - melodies are initially buried beneath a haze of sound, and then over time are lifted to the forefront. Scott explores textures using a variety of instruments including sitar, violin, cello, and flute, merging them with excerpts of field recordings; it all sounds so effortless. The looping rhythms and slow guitars rise and grow, at times approaching something oppressive; select pieces such as 'Flood Inn' house an underlying weight, comparable to Justin K. Broderick's Jesu and Final projects. Perhaps the hazy drums, bass and guitar drift of 'The ACC' presents the most recognizable of stylistic qualities from Scott's back catalogue; a groove that recalls the 'Souvlaki' era sound in all its glory, reimagined in a new, darker and more expansive form.

Simon Scott's 'Navigare' marks a new chapter in the development of Erik Skodvin's impeccable imprint; a sound at once in keeping with the label's identity, but equally something of a shift in style and approach. Its harrowing beauty opens up the possibilities of new sonic landscapes created by Scott, in what seems to be a deeply personal instrumental journey. '

MIDAIRCONDO
Curtain Call
Twin Seed CD/LP
(TWINS 001CD/001LP)

'The Swedish duo Midaircondo return with Curtain Call, the follow-up to their celebrated debut album 'Shopping For Images', which received overwhelming reactions from both critics and audiences worldwide. Curtain Call is an exceptional pop record - and make no mistake, this is a pop record; a heady mix of unexpected arrangements, acoustic and electronic sound sources, experimental music fused with the pair's undeniable pop sensibilities, makes for an album which draws the listener in instantly.

Reborn as a duo, Midaircondo's wonderful, original improvisation skills and innovative compositions have been developed into a new and more solemn sound. Classical instruments and delicate deliveries of poetic lyrics marry in Midaircondo's electronic world. Quirky field recordings from the band's travels around the world create backdrops of sounds that invite you to enter Midaircondo's unique musical sphere.

From the shimmering opening moments of its title track, Curtain Call has such a peculiar pull, familiar in the most unique of ways. It's hard to categorize these songs - equal measures of dark and light haunt the listener throughout. Delicate passages of recognizable instruments are suddenly thrown into unexpected territories, often revealing the duo at their most catchy. Within these songs are qualities seldom heard in much modern music; music which doesn't comfortably fit into one single category. Midaircondo's marrying of songs with evocative arrangements, plus their ability to gel the compositional and the improvisational, result in an album of incredibly forward thinking music - challenging but accessible to all.

A guest appearance from The Soundtrack Of Our Lives' frontman Ebbot Lundberg, sharing vocal duties on 'Silk, Silver And Stone' is something of a standout track; as lush in production as Blonde Redhead's Misery Is A Butterfly album, this is a dark, layered song cycle, its hazy descending vocal layers and strings combine with an arrangement reminiscent of Bjork's 'All Is Full Of Love', making for a beautifully uplifting and melancholic refrain. At times the electro allure of Bat For Lashes comes to mind; hook-laden throughout, Midaircondo's dark vision of electronic pop makes Curtain Call an album to return to time and time again.

Curtain Call is the first release on Midaircondo's own label Twin Seed Recordings. The album was produced by Midaircondo, mixed: Christoffer Berg, mastered: Andreas Tilliander, additional mixing: Paul Bothén and Johan Forsman.'

NILS FRAHM
Wintermusik [Second Edition]
Sonicpieces CD
(SONICPIECES 004)

'Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early approach to music. During the younger years of his life he was taught piano by Nahum Brodski, and through this he began to immerse himself in the stylings of the classical pianists before him as well as the ECM-influenced modern composition. Nils is an accomplished pianist, composer and studio engineer – these qualities are entirely apparent on 'Wintermusik'.

The three instrumentals which make up 'Wintermusik' are piano led pieces, coloured with occasional celeste and reed organ parts. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of what appears on the surface to be an entirely pre-planned, composed and realized body of work, comes with the discovery that these pieces were in fact improvised. Frahm's fragile, haunting motifs rise and develop in ways reminiscent at times of the piano compositions of Rachel Grimes, in particular the stripped down Rachel's score for 'Music For Egon Schiele'. Wintermusik's equal measures of sorrowful refrains and uplifting passages, combined with an awesome production, make for an album that you'll want to return to again and again.

Peter Broderick requested Nils to record an album of solo piano recently – the result was 'The Bells', which was recently released on Kning disk, as part of a series of solo piano releases being curated by Broderick. These two friends share a common affinity in that they both possess an absolute mastery of melody, composition and performance, able to deliver with devastating effect.

For a musician this early in his career, Frahm displays an incredibly developed sense of control and restraint in his work. As the praise continues to grow for 'The Bells', we are please to be able to offer a very limited number of copies of its predecessor 'Wintermusik', an equally incredible album, and one which will likely be much sought after in years to come.'

WOODY ALIEN
Microgod
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0904CD)

'Woody Alien is a storm, Woody Alien is the essence of noise and rock'n'roll, Woody Alien is a band, Woody Alien is a duo: Marcin Piekoszewski, who's rocking the bass and vocals and Daniel Szwed, who's constantly going wild with the drums. The band was established roughly 10 years ago and has released two albums: "Piss and Shit and a Diamond of Perception" on the Every Color label and "Pee and Poo in My Favorite Loo" for Gustaff Rec. Since the release of the last album, Woody Alien has played nearly a hundred shows across Poland and Europe, supporting such bands as Lightning Bolt, Today is the Day, or Jucifer. They have also been very busy creating new material, which is now forming their newest release, called "Microgod". "Microgod" presents some more melodious songs for us, but with an edge to it. The songs are dynamic, but still manage to encompass the dirty, noisy sound of the band. Crazy drum sections are accompanied by massive, droning bass, with the addition of suggestive lyrics. In simple words: Woody Alien is a full-sized noise band compressed to two and landing with a sizeable punch.'

September 21st 2009 Releases

2009-09-24T15:06:00.016+01:00

KRYPTIC MINDS /
PINCH & MOVING NINJA
768 /
False Flag (Kryptic Minds Remix)
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 032)

represses :

2562
Aerial
Tectonic 2LP
(TEC 021)

BLACKDOWN ft DURRTY GOODZ
Concrete Streets / ZOMBY Remix
Keysound 12"
(LDN 012)

non-exclusive :

MUNGO'S HI FI / ITCHY ROBOT
Fire Pon A Dubplate / Playback
Scrub-A-Dub 12"
(SCRUB 003)

September 14th 2009 Releases

2009-09-15T14:26:00.010+01:00

ROSSI B & LUCA
Don't Cry Soundbwoy
A1 : Original
A2 : I.D. Remix
AA1 : 501 Remix
Heavy 12"
(HEAVY 011)

VARIOUS
Willkommen Collective Volume 1 Sampler
Willkommen CD
(WILLKOMMEN 004)

featuring : Moonshine Moonshine, Laish Quartet, Sons Of Noel And Adrian, Shoreline, Kristin Mclement, Hamilton Yarns, The Miserable Rich, Redwood Red, Christian Silva, Atlas Crease, Kopek, Rowan Coupland, The Leisure Society and The Climbers

September 7th 2009 Releases

2009-09-02T12:20:00.035+01:00

AKATOMBO
Unconfirmed Reports
Hand Held Recordings
CD+DVD-R
(HHR 001)

"Excellent" - Simon Reynolds, Blissblog

"…an awesome carousel of cascading beats…a massive album" - Flux Magazine

"Unconfirmed Reports is especially appealing for Kirk's refusal to settle into a genre. It traverses myriad stylistic spaces, from ambient to post-rock, with hip hop, dubstep, funk and industrial inflections, but the result is much more than the sum of its parts. Much like the city, Kirk's object of abject fascination, this music is always in transition, shifting kaleidoscopically. Above all, it's a memorable exercise in uneasy listening, capturing the unmistakable ambience of urban disquiet." www.blurt-online.com

"edgy, crackling, downbeat album….excellent blend of styles. This is great stuff, plotting an original path through difficult territory, emerging unscathed" - The Point

"…. this is a hell of an addictive listen and is easily the best album I've heard from a new artist this year" - Brainwashed.com (USA)

'Dark, brooding, occasionally menacing, yet deeply seductive; the second full-length release from AKATOMBO, 'Unconfirmed Reports', is an in-depth, electronic-based audio/visual travelogue of late autumn through to early spring, as seen through the warts-and-all tinted-spectacles of Hiroshima-based artist & ex-pat Scotsman, Paul Thomsen Kirk. 'Unconfirmed Reports', carries on the recurrent, underlying themes of urban alienation & social exclusion first presented on the critically acclaimed debut Akatombo release, 'Trace Elements', which was released on Colin (Wire) Newman`s Swim label. From skimming the surface, to trawling the dank underbelly; the daily minutiae of life in a large Japanese city is duly presented in all its garish hues and faded glories. Accessing all areas, and dispelling numerous urban myths along the way, 'Unconfirmed Reports', allows you, the willfully willing participant, the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself completely in a thoroughly enticing, 360-degree, technicolour, sonic adventure. The new album is housed in a special over-sized, elaborately printed envelope containing; two large photographic prints, two random newspaper cuttings (each copy has different cuttings), the cd, & also a bonus 3 track dvd-r of promo videos; two of the videos have been shown at over 20 film festivals in 12 different countries, (incl. U.S., Canada, France, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Greece, UK, Spain & Japan), in the past 2 years to great critical acclaim. Each album is hand-numbered.'

Mary Anne Hobbs featured a 15 minute mix by Paul T. Kirk aka Akatombo on her BBC Radio 1 show on the 19th August, listen to the mix here:

Akatombo-MAHobbsmix by bakedgoods

CYRUS
A. Space Cadet
AA. Junk Yard
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 031)

'Dubstep has definitely moved much further into the lime light since Random Trio's Cyrus released his stone cold debut LP for Tectonic in 2007, appropriately titled 'From The Shadows'. The hypnotic beats, pounding subs and delicate atomospherics meld together resulting in a trademark style that is simultaneously powerful and subtle. One of the LP tracks 'Indian Stomp' even made it to the silver screen, featuring in both the film and the official soundtrack for blockbuster 'Children Of Men' (Universal Pictures) which depicts a dark dystopian future in the UK. Returning now for the first time since 2007 Cyrus drops a heavily weighted plate on Tectonic with two minimal stepper riddims 'Space Cadet' and 'Junk Yard'. 'Space Cadet' takes the stripped down minimal approach to an extreme. Once the mechanical other worldly atmospherics and fizzing hi hats drift away the beat comes rolling in - rock solid and uncomprimising. Kick, hat, snare - and, of course - stomach shaking ankle flapping subs that lay low down and heavy (you might not even hear them if your system doesn't carry the weight...) to provide a sound system riddim that will rattle your rib cage. This is not home listening music, this is earth shaking, bowel moving music to play loud through a speaker stack. Drop it and watch the pavement shake around you! 'Junk Yard' continues the theme of Cyrus's highly developed, precision drum and sub production skills along with an attention to detail that ensures not a single hair or hi-hat dare be out of place. Minimalism only works when you pay close attention to detail and once again - everything here is perfectly executed as he continues the intergalactic theme set by 'Space Cadet'. If this track does represent a junk yard of sorts then it plays soundtrack to Skywalker, Solo and Leia fleeing the Death Star via the cosmic garbage shoot - the relentless double time bassline providing urgency to escape while strange atompspheric stabs emerge like the alien beasts lurking just beneath the surface. Top quality bass weight.'

BLACKDOWN ft DURRTY GOODZ
Concrete Streets / ZOMBY Remix
Keysound 12"
(LDN 012)

'Next up is Zomby's remix of my Concrete Streets, with the Durrty Goodz vocal and the unreleased instrumental on the flip. You can hear them all in the YouTube video above.
The art, shot by Keysound friend Simon is the place in Waltham Forest E11 where Goodz got his hair cut as a kid. Don't forget Goodz merks this track in the Dusk and Blackdown album promo video for Margins Music too' :

HYETAL
Pixel Rainbow Sequence / PEVERELIST Remix
Reduction 12"
(RDCTN 003)

"Bristol's Hyetal brings retro, chiptune-inspired aesthetics to dubstep's beat structures on 'Pixel Rainbow Sequence', which seem to hover in place over a spring-load step-slide rhythm. They render everything a brittle staccato, taking advantage of the bright attack of sounds that might otherwise seem paltry if they stuck around too long. Aside from the hometown connection, Peverelist makes a fitting choice of remixer, given his own pointed approach on so many records. He takes an insistent one-note arpeggio from the original and folds everything else around it, weaving a weird, polyrhythmic basketry out of spindly wires and percussive hits the texture of broken straw. A strange martial motif tries to establish its presence but never quite establishes control as, again and again, it's sucked into the thicket of splintering beats and sime warble. Most radical of all is the total absence of a perceptible downbeat - it's as though Peverelist has taken dubstep's rhythmic blueprint and, with one deft fold, turned the whole structure on its ear. "
Philip Sherburne - Critical Beats, The Wire

August 31st 2009 Releases

2009-08-28T12:09:00.010+01:00

NEW RELEASE :

VARIOUS
Nothing Works As Planned
Interval 2CD
(IL 02)

'This double CD presents diverse approaches to the phrase ‘nothing works as planned' by nine composers and sound artists. Each and every one of them captures a singular moment which was compiled together to create an esthetic sonic statement of reason and beauty. 'Nothing Works As Planned' is comprised of live recordings of concerts in Tel Aviv and New York. The double CD is a documentation of a series, entitled “Nothing Works as planned”, which held at the above mentioned cities and was premiered at the Tel Aviv Biennale of New Music hosted by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The premier took place in a large suite of galleries that was between exhibitions and therefore void of art work. The high ceilings, long reverberation and departure from conventional concert seating made for a cathedral-like setting and proved to be an ideal site for the concert of works featuring electronics, small ensembles and large video projections. The series continued with a concert at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York. IPR is located in a circular tower that was once a silo situated on the Gowanus Canal . Again, the unconventional setting and the unique acoustical space made an ideal venue for the performance of experimental music.'

REPRESS :

RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI
Daydreaming
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 004)

'Championed by the likes of David Sylvian and Thom Yorke, 'Daydreaming' is the stunning debut album from Seattle's Rafael Anton Irisarri. Originally released in 2007 on Erik Skodvin's Miasmah label, to great critical acclaim, 'Daydreaming' is a collection of piano led instrumental compositions of astonishing beauty. 'Daydreaming' sounds like a record written for piano, but it also incorporates an array of modern sound sources in its production. As the drifting synthesizers lap around the feet of a majestic piano part in the album's opening track 'Waking Expectations ' it is startlingly clear that there is more to Irisarri than mere stereotyping. This is a carefully constructed soundtrack to your most intriguing dreams, the dreams you might remember for a split second upon waking, only to have images creep up on you some time later.

Those of you left spellbound by Deaf Center's haunting and beautiful 'Pale Ravine' album will be pleased to know that 'Daydreaming' continues in the tradition of murky, theatrical and deeply imaginative music. Lines of comparison can be drawn between Irisarri's compositional approach and the work of artists as varied as Machinefabriek, Peter Broderick and Mogwai. For more recent fans discovering the Miasmah label, which boasts a roster of incredible acts including Jacaszek, Kreng, Greg Haines, Jasper TX and Elegi, 'Daydreaming' offers another chance to discover a highlight release from the label's earlier days.

Irisarri has just returned from a seven week tour of Europe under the guise of his other project 'The Sight Below', touring and performing with Simon Scott (who's debut album 'Navigare' due October, Irisarri guests on), Svarte Griener, and more. '

August 24th 2009 Releases

2009-08-25T14:43:00.014+01:00

NEW RELEASE :

DUBKASM
Transform I
Sufferah's Choice CD
(DUBKCDLP 01)
Sufferah's Choice 2LP
(DUBKLP 01)

'Bristol meets Brazil: 'Transform I’ is the result of many years of work carried out between these two musical hubs. A heavy, authentic blend of roots and dub reggae, Dubkasm’s sound varies from militant digital steppas to acoustic vocal tracks, with Brazilian rhythms and samba instrumentation occasionally woven into the mix. Atmospherics and percussion recorded in Brazil reflect the journey of producer Digistep tracing his Brazilian roots, as instruments such as berimbau, zabumba, cavaquinho and cuica are called into play, while his Bristolian counterpart DJ Stryda captures some of the finest vocalists from the UK’s reggae and dub scene and promotes the material worldwide. The album’s conscious Rasta messages are conveyed over lovingly-crafted roots rhythms. Amidst the more traditional dub styles, nyahbinghi drumming bonds with samba, capoeira percussion rides one-drop rhythms, and the first album to mix UK dub with Brazilian influences is born.

'Dubkasm is a UK and Brazil-based roots reggae/dub outfit from Bristol, England. Formed by producer Digistep and DJ Stryda in 1994 during the emergence period of the UK 'digital dub' sound, their debut release in 1996 was 'Chemical Reaction Dub'. Since then they have released nine records on their own Sufferah's Choice Recordings label (named after DJ Stryda's well-established Bristol radio show) and received consistent radio and soundsystem play, most notably by the legendary Jah Shaka. Dubkasm have collaborated with UK producers including Aba Shanti-I and Iration Steppas, and artists such as Dub Judah and Levi Roots. A dub version of Transform I is currently in the pipeline, along with a bristol dubstep remix album to follow, featuring pioneers of the scene including Pinch, Peverelist and RSD. Meanwhile, their live shows, fronted by veteran micman Afrikan Simba combine exclusive dubplates, live saxophone and improvised sound effects - guaranteed to move any crowd.'

"Like many innovations heard for the first time, you wonder why this has not been done before. The Brazilian percussion of zabumba, cavaquinho and cuica fold neatly into nyabinghi-style drumming on the old school rasta chant of 'Brazilian Moses', and peps up the steppers of 'Sangue Brasileiro'. These functions are used sparingly on a debut that turns out more orthodox than first expected, but that orthodoxy is a strength, as DJ Stryda and Digistep's production ranges across the stylistic spectrum of roots reggae. Basic tracks were laid at the Dubkasm Studio in Brazil, with overdubs at studios in London, Nottingham, Bristol, Norway and the Digitaldubs Studio in Rio de Janeiro catering for a large cast of vocalists including Dub Judah, Tena Stelin, Levi Roots and Afrikan Simba. Transform I's well-crafted arrangements utilise horn section, flute and melodica in equal measures - just go to the instrumental 'Nyah Keith' (not the Burning Spear tune) for an example of modern roots reggae at its finest. As an object, the double vinyl with gatefold sleeve, featuring a beautiful piece of naïve art from Ras Ropert, is irresistible."
- Steve Barker / The Wire review (August 2009)

August 17th 2009 Releases

2009-08-20T16:38:00.013+01:00

exclusive releases :

NAPHTA
Long Time Burning
Ruff Revival CD
(RR 001)

JILT VAN MOORST
Sublimination EP
Caravan 12"
(CVAN 009)

UNKNOWN ARTIST
Mandragora 1 & 2
1XA 12"
(no cat no)

non-exclusive releases :

MUNGO'S HI FI
feat MC ISHU, SOOM T, JUNIOR DREAD
Under Arrest EP I
Scotch Bonnet 12"
(SCOB 016)

MUNGO'S HI FI
feat RANKING JOE, BLACK CHAMPAGNE, LYRICSON
Dub / Under Arrest EP II
Scotch Bonnet 12"
(SCOB 017)

MUNGO'S HI FI
feat TIPPA IRIE / OMAR PERRY
Riddim / Ruff Mi Tuff EP I
Scotch Bonnet 12"
(SCOB 018)

MUNGO'S HI FI
feat DADDY FREDDY / SISTER CAROL / BONGO CHILLI
Ruff Mi Tuff EP II
Scotch Bonnet 12"
(SCOB 019)

last box :

WEDGE / GATEKEEPER
Remix / Overfiend
Reduction 12"
(RDCTN 001)

Murmur Standard Mix for Aug 2009

2009-08-07T14:59:00.022+01:00

A streamed dub techno mix (via Soundcloud) for August 2009 by Murmur (c/o meanwhile.):

Murmur - Standard Mix August 2009 by bakedgoods

Meanwhile catalogue currently available:

MURMUR
Section EP
12" (MEAN 005)

MURMUR
Undertone
CD (MEAN 009CD)

QUANTEC
Distant Space Part 1
12" (MEAN 010)

BOVILL / MURMUR
Low Pressure / Magnetic
12" (MEAN 011)

QUANTEC
Distant Space Part 2
12" (MEAN 012)

BVDUB
A Moment's Peace / Xiayu
12" (MEAN 013)

QUANTEC
Distant Space Part 3
12" (MEAN 014)

MOHLAO
Ambrose / Individual
12" (MEAN 015)

BOVILL
Transfesa EP
12" (MEAN 017)

(MEAN 001-004, 006-008, 009LP are sold out)

Nat Birchall - On The Wire 25th July 2009

2009-08-06T11:03:00.013+01:00

Nat Birchall accompanied Baked's Howie B Good to another of BBC Radio Lancashire's excellent On The Wire shows, (the OTW blog has a few pics of Nat's selections, substantially clearer than the amateur snaps that accompanied the chat with Nat a few weeks ago!).

Audio is here, playlist as follows:

Cyril X. Diaz and His Orchestra - Tabu - Downbeat
The Sons Of Negus - Zion We Want To Go - Zion Disc
Count Ossie Mystic Revelation - Bongo Man - Ashanti
Burning Spear - Door Peeper - Bamboo
Cedric 'Im' Brooks and Count Ossie - Right On Rasta - Coxsone
Prince Buster All Stars - Satta A Mas A Gana - Prince Buster
Tommy McCook and Baba Brooks - Dreadnaught - Black Swan
Skatalites - Timothy - Coxsone
Paragons - Play Girl - Supreme
Wailers - Fire Fire - Wail 'M Soul
Tommy McCook - Sidewalk Doctor - Supreme Ruler of Sound
Ebony Sisters - Let Me Tell You Boy - Moodisc
Jah Walton/King Tubby's/Mudie's All Stars - Stay A Yard and Praise God - Moodisc
Augustus Pablo - Islington Rock - Rockers
John Holt - The Clock - Bunny Lee's
Cornell Campbell - Jah Jah Me Horn Yah - Gay Feet
Cornell Campbell - Let The Music Keep On Playing - GG's
Chosen Few - Do Your Thing - Songbird
Leroy Willacy - Far Beyond The Blue - Negusa Nagast
Fabine - Prophecy - Tribes Man
Hugh Mundell as Papa Levi / Junior Reid - Run Come In A Dance - Muni Music
Rockers International Band - Wailer Border Rock - Muni Music
Linval Thompson - Mr Boss Man - Strong Like Sampson
Trevor Ranking and Barnabas - Stop Push Me Around - Strong Like Sampson
Dubkasm - City Walls (ft Ras Addis) - Sufferah's Choice
Nat Birchall - Nica's Dance - Gondwana
Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors - Tropic Island - Coxsone
Judah Eskender Tafari - Always Trying Pt 1 - Studio 1
Eddie Constantine - Tenement Yard - Studio 1
Eddie Constantine - Tenement Yard Dub - Studio 1

August 3rd 2009 Releases

2009-08-05T16:21:00.014+01:00

JACK SPARROW
The Chase / The Fullest (ft. Biggins)
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 030)

ELEMENTAL
925 /Arise
Reduction 12"
(RDCTN 002)

July 20th & 27th 2009 Releases

2009-08-05T16:11:00.033+01:00

new releases:

SANTOS RESIAK
A1: La Atencion (Original Mix)
A2: Even Better (Original Mix)
B: La Atencion (Burnski Doors Of Perception Remix)
Immigrant 12" (IMM 041)

PAUL WIRKUS & MAPSTATION
Forest Full Of Drums
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0903 / STAUBGOLD 85)

TO ROCOCO ROT
Taken From Vinyl
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0603 / STAUBGOLD 73)

repress:

OCTOBER
Recession Sampler
Caravan 12"
(CVAN 008)

July 6th & 13th 2009 Releases

2009-07-16T12:59:00.020+01:00

MEM1
+1 (feat. Jan Jelinek, Frank Bretschneider, Steve Roden +++) Interval CD
(IL 03)

HELIXIR
XP Dub / Peace Dub
7even 12"
(7EVEN10)

CLUEKID
Original Tearout / Shatner Chop
Subsonik 12"
(SUBZ 006)

BUBBLEZ
Loser / Move Down Low
Devotional Dubs 12"
(ERZULIE 2)

CLOAKS
Junk / R.F.I.D.
3by3 12"
(3BY3 003)

CRISSY CRISS / TWISTED / THE FAUN
Up & Down /
Dirt Cluster /
Original Fever
Heavy 12"
(HEAVY 10)

repress:

PINCH
Midnight Oil / Joyride
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 024)

June 29th 2009 Releases

2009-07-16T12:46:00.009+01:00

new releases:

CLOAKS
Versus Grain
3by3 CD
(3BY3 002CD)

2562
Love In Outer Space / Third Wave
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 029)

BOVILL
Transfesa EP
Meanwhile 12"
(MEAN 017)

TOMUTONTTU
Tomutonttu
Fonal CD
(FR-66)

TOMUTONTTU
Tomutonto
Fonal CD
(FR-67)

represses:

ELEGI
Sistereis
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 005)

ONRA
Chinoiseries
Bo'Bun CD
(BBR 111)

WILEY/ESKIBOY
Best of Tunnel Vision
Tunnelvision 2CD
(TUNNELVISION 001CD)

PINCH
Underwater Dancehall
Tectonic 2CD
(TECCD 003)

Nat Birchall is Mojo's Disc Of The Day (Thursday 16 July 2009)

2009-07-16T10:46:00.009+01:00

Nat Birchall's wonderful Akhenaten album on Gondwana is today's Mojo Disc Of The Day, 'an album so exceptional it fell down the cracks of the MOJO Filter':

Resisting the neat sub-categories devised by P.R.s, music journalists and fans is surely the goal of any right-thinking recording artist, yet sometimes it means that, despite the undoubted excellence of the music, you slip through the net designed specifically to get you noticed. So when a young hip Manchester indie label releases an album of expansive spiritual jazz from a flat-cap wearing, middle-aged saxophonist influenced by dub acoustics, Bob Dylan, Roland Alphonso and John Coltrane, and it's P.R.'d by a company best known for its work for dubstep/techno pioneer label Tectonic, is it any wonder that the spatial sunship beauty of Nat Birchall's Akhenaten might have so far passed some people by? Although Birchall has been a much sought-after musician on the jazz circuit for the past thirty years, a name in the hipster fleet of Gilles Peterson faithful, Akhenaten is only his second release, following a 1999 sextet debut with the Sixth Sense. This is clearly an artist who takes his time, and the mood of Akhenaten is fittingly expansive and dreamy. Album opener Nica's Dance taps into the languid, post Coltrane cosmic drift of Charles Lloyd and Pharoah Sanders, an Eastern peregrination that moves from balmy calm to reedy skreigh, suggesting a desert dream state buffeted by sirocco winds. Track two, A Prayer For..., continues the back-to-Africa mood, with Birchall's sax following Adam Fairhall's soft, rolling piano like Ricky Ford tracking Dollar Brand while on the title track (named after the Henotheistic 18th Dynasty Pharaoh) Birchall is joined by Mancunian trumpet whiz labelmate Matthew Halsall for ten minutes of lyrical heat haze hypnotism. This is a jazz that manages to be deep, intelligent and complex without ever once hitting you over the head with the difficult stick. If we manage to win back one more balmy summer's evening before the cold autumn comes then this is the record you should be expanding the collective consciousness of the neighbours with. Truly transcendental. (Andrew Male)

June 22nd 2009 Releases

2009-06-19T15:40:00.032+01:00

NAT BIRCHALL
Akhenaten
Gondwana CD
(GONDCD 002)

''Listened to attentively...Akhenaten is a beautifully stately performance, all in medium-to-slow tempos, from the gentle 3/4 of of 'Nica's Dance' to the closing 'Many Blessings'. Matthew Halsall adds trumpet on the title track, which may allude to the ancient 'Hymn To The Sun' or its modern descendant, 'Psalm 104' - a beautiful piece whatever the provenance'' - Brian Morton / The Wire

'Akhenaten, meaning effective spirit of Aten, was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who attempted to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. Over the four compositions that make up 'Akhenaten', Birchall's mastery of the saxophone flows throughout. The familiar jazz line up of double bass, piano and drums perfectly complement his lead, and combined they exude irresistible brilliance and a knowledge of the music's roots. 'Akhenaten' is a spiritual journey that draws from aspects of the work of John and Alice Coltrane - his playing throughout evokes the reverent hush of Sanders' 'Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord', but all channeled through Nat's absolute focus - the expression is natural, the performances effortless.'

KRENG
L’Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 010)

'On initial listening 'L'Autopsie Phenomenale De Dieu', immediately presents itself as a fully realised body of work, with focus, flow and continuity. It may therefore come as a surprise to discover that the album mainly comprises recordings created for a variety of separate theatre productions, and even more of a surprise to learn that the compositions found here are sample based constructions. The pieces incorporate sounds and material from a variety of sources; free-jazz, new electronic generated sounds, classical modernism and vintage geographical recordings. The subtleties of the techniques Kreng has employed in the creation of theses pieces is simply stunning. '

ES
Kesämaan Lapset
Fonal CD/LP
(FR-64/64LP)

"[Sänpäkkilä's] knitting together of the sacred and the homespun, the majestic and the naive, yielding a distinctive take on memory tripping." - Nick Richardson / The Wire

'Sami Sänpäkkilä's fifth release under the Es moniker pays homage to one of his favourite albums, Pekka Streng's 'Kesämaa' (Summerland). 'Kesämaan lapset' (meaning 'The Children Of The Summerland') is something of a 'childhood photo album' for Sami, filled with summery, warm memories of home. Recorded over a three year period both abroad and at home in Finland, these spectral-pop soundscapes, created employing a variety of analogue synthesizers and flea-market toy casios, are brimming with warm, gentle tones, and slowly shifting textures. A variety of additional instrumentation adds even more colour to the pieces, which are part instrumental and part song. 'Kesämaan lapset' sees something of a shift from the previous Es album 'Sateenkaarisuudelma'; a little more understated, and perhaps a little lighter – an astonishing work of cosmic pop.'

KIILA
Tuota Tuota
Fonal CD/LP
(FR-65/65LP)

"Tuota tuota is a delight, a fresh collection of uplifting neo-psychedelic romps invested with a decidedly romantic edge... [...] Kiila's latest is another feather in Fonal's already impressively plumed cap." - Joseph Stannard / The Wire

'Tuota Tuota' is the third full-length album by Kiila, whose eight strong core line up deliver a killer collection of psych-folk delights; beautifully refined arrangements and memorable songs develop into full blown cosmic freak outs, surely making 'Tuota Tuota' an instant hit for fans of artists such as Espers and Akron/Family. A combination of gentle campfire folk and explosive, fuzzed-out jams, bring the songs to a whole new level in contemporary psychedelia. There's enough here to satisfy the Fairport and Sun Ra audiences alike. Quite spectacular.'