summary 
Tuesday, 22 May
Body High captains and all-round party-starters LOL Boys follow-up that ace Hot City collabo with a killer 23-track mix CD for spiritual brethren UTTU. With the exception of DJ Haus' 'ardcore infection 'Can't You See', Capracara's 'House Of Dolls' and a couple others, it's pretty much a perfect cross-section of their tightly knit US niche, crammed with tracks from DJ Soulja-Man, Todd Edwards, Nadus, Massacooramaan, DJ Funeral, Dubbel Dutch, DJ Dodger Stadium and, of course, theyselves. Starting out with Todd Edwards recent redo of Musical Youth, you know this is going to be stacks of fun and… Read more
KELAN PHILIP COHRAN & THE HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE
Kelan Philip Cohran & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Honest Jon's Records
CD // £10.49
Cat. Number: HJRCD65
Review to follow shortly…
HERMANN NITSCH
PLANAM
2cd + Book // £29.99
HOME LISTENING / MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT
Cat. Number: PLANA-N 4AKT.062
Review to follow shortly…
Review to follow shortly…
Monday, 21 May
Review to follow shortly…
Pantha Du Prince and his pal, Stephan Abry ease off with this mondo-chilled new collaboration as Ursprung. The pair have previously collaborated: Abry - a former member of German experimental group Workshop - contributed "sound sources played on prepared instruments" to Herr Du Prince's 'Black Noise' album, but it's the first time they've been credited side-by-side. Their title translates to "origin" in English and rings true with their stripped down approach to arrangement and playing. At a guess, Abry is responsible for the lushly languid guitar lines which percolate through the sonorous bass pulse… Read more
'Produkte Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft' is the milestone debut album from the complete early DAF lineup of Gabi Delgado-López, Robert Görl, Kurt Dahlke, Michael Kemner and Wolfgang Spelmens. 33 years since it was first released, former band member, Kurt 'Pyrolator' Dahlke presents this reissue on Bureau B, replete with all 22 spiky post-punk-tures. It's easy to hear the roots of their later - and better known - work in its jabbing rhythms and often noisy dissonance, but this is also a far stranger beast than anything else they're known for and should be taken as the primordial soup from which the industrial men-maschines, Görl and Delgado-López were born.
Captured Tracks' Shoegaze archive reissue programme reaches the much anticipated collection of American shoegaze from Arizona's Half String. 'Maps For Sleep' chronicles the musical history of Brandon Capps (guitar & vocals), Kimber Lanning (drums), and Tim Patterson (bass) between the signing of their first demo, the 'Eclipse' EP in fall 1991, through to their 1994 singles 'Oval' and 'Tripped Up Breathing' (all included here), beside a clutch of studio outtakes, demos and live recordings sourced from the archive (shoebox) of Brandon Capps. It's an earnest and honest reappraisal of … Read more
**Pulsing Dream-Pop with glossolalic lyrics and a shimmering electronic spirit for fans of M83, New Order** "Jesse Ruins is a Tokyo-based unit, which formed in the spring of 2010 by Nobuyuki Sakuma, as a solo project. In December 2011, Nah joined the band and they shortly thereafter signed to Captured Tracks. Dream Analysis is their second release on the label. The six song EP conjures a romantic and atmospheric haze, a little bit of the past, mostly a glimpse of the future. Already generating lots of buzz, the complete EP fills in all the missing pieces."
Outstanding debut album of introvert avant-pop from the very promising Mac Demarco. A comparison with Ariel Pink is definitely due; these are sharply crafted, deeply learned and instinctive pop/rock 'n roll songs with a wide appeal but also a slyer undercurrent of twisted, disquieting wrongness. Hear for yourself, we think you'll agree. "Marc Demarco, formerly Makeout Videotape, is the anti-thesis to your stereotypical singer-songwriter. Disregarding the seriously somber moments, he replaces them with whimsical and youthful spontaneity, whilst retaining the endearing and subtle com… Read more
Review to follow shortly…
Review to follow shortly…
Review to follow shortly…
Review to follow shortly…
Thursday, 17 May
Recommended release
Laurel Halo's 'Quarantine' is one of the most compelling debut albums we've heard this year. Ever since she revealed the hyper-fused kinetics of 2010's 'King Felix' EP, there's been a certain weight of expectation on this unique artist, which has evidently been fulfilled with the likes of her technofied 'Hour Logic' and 'Spring' EPs, plus the criminally overlooked ambient holo-spaces of the 'Antenna' cassette for NNA Tapes. Yet, if you still haven't been convinced of her skills, a newly established connection with the esteemed Hyperdub and the utter brilliance of this album - from the sounds to the artwork - should be ringing your bel… Read more
Album of the Week
**Limited edition of 500** 'Kippschwingungen' finds Frank Bretschneider returning to a rare and obscure bit of East German electronic equipment with compelling results. In 2007 Frank was invited to compose music for the Subharcord, a unique electronic instrument developed in the 1960's for the creation of "special effects" at the RFZ, the technical centre for radio and television of the East German postal service. Of the eight machines originally made only three survive to this day in Vienna, Trondheim and Berlin, which could be considered as the Soviet counterparts to the Mixturtrautonium made famous by Oskar Sala. Give… Read more
COOLY G / VARIOUS
Cooly G Presents: Dub Organizer - The Intro Vol. 1
Dub Organizer
CD // £9.99
Cat. Number: DBOR004
Recommended release
Cooly G presents a strong showcase of her Dub Organizer label, hitting hard right from the off with Fingaprint's dark, dancehall-derived Funky stepper 'New Dawn', before Mista P turns out something closer to European electro-house (!) in 'Airsteppin''. Royce Rolls' combo of choppy soca drums and video game rave synths on 'Avalon' works a treat, Arethis channels El-B's Ghost classics on tough garage mover 'Marteek', and other highlights include Sami Sanchez's hectic refix of Hard House Banton's mighty 'Sirens'. Cooly's own contribution, 'Telepathy', bodes well for her upcoming album, with its sophisticated, tranced-out synth patterns, confidently broken riddim and immaculate dub touches.
Recommended release
Last we heard of Deutch bass-head and best bud of Mr. Apparat Phon.O, he was crafting fluorescent Euro-rap with ex-Funkstoerung bloke Chris De Luca, but forget all that - he's on 50 Weapons now and has a brand new MO. 'Black Boulder' is Phon.O's take on the UK funky/2-step sound and who better to re-engineer that sprawling niche than someone with his production smarts? From the very beginning it's clear we're listening to something that has been sharpened by a diamond tipped blade - sure there are references to Burial, 2562 and Martyn (to name just a handful), but Phon.O's crisp, clean production elevates 'Black Boulder' into places man… Read more
Recommended release
**Limited edition of 500** 'Built Through' is a visceral, engrossing exploration of "acoustic architecture" schemed by prolific sound artist, collaborator, and Line Records boss, Richard Chartier (US), and sound artist/composer Robert Curgenven (AU/UK). As inferred by the title, 'Built Through' is focussed upon the aesthetics of space and features four pieces stemming from original source material (field recordings, older compositions) which was reprocessed/reworked by the two artists in order to further investigate theirs and our perceptions of the material's internal and extrenal spatial properties. Using se… Read more
DIGITAL SOUNDBOY SOUNDSYSTEM
FABRICLIVE 63: Digital Soundboy Soundsystem
Fabric
CD // £9.99
Cat. Number: FABRIC126
Recommended release
The rise of Digital Soundboy has been unstoppable, and it's no less than their due - what other label or collective so successfully connects the disparate dots that make up the UK hardcore continuum? The Shy FX-led DS Soundsystem's Fabriclive 63 comp confirms why they're so in demand on the club and festival circuit, with 49 frenetically mixed tracks spanning grimy garage (Artwork's immortal 'Red'), raucous 'ardkore jungle (North Base), bashy UKF (Roska, Dark Sky), dubstep (Skream) skunked-out reggae and dancehall (Rodigan, Gyptian) and of course no shortage of heavy drum 'n bass steppe… Read more
MARCELLUS PITTMAN / RICK WILHITE / VARIOUS
In The Dark: The Soul Of Detroit
Still Music
CD // £13.99
Cat. Number: STILLMCD005
Recommended release
Killer doublepack with exclusive, unreleased tracks by Marcellus Pittman, Rick Wilhite, Delano Smith, Mike Huckaby, Keith Worthy, Malik Alston and others, a small example of how much music and cultural activity thrives in Detroit. All of the artists involved in this project are creators and perpetuators of the musical heritage of the motor city. Deep House wares for all Detroit heads.
Recommended release
By all rights, the name of Iñigo Ugarteburu should be far better known than it is right now. His debut record, an exquisite labour of love some six years in the making should correct that matter. 'Back & Forth' is a sumptuous, heartfelt and beautifully affective piece of work entirely composed and produced by the virtuosic Spanish ex-pat with the aid of "fifteen musicians, three sound engineers, two illustrators, a graphic designer and dozens of friends." Drawing from a rich well of Spanish folk influence and accented with a fresh, sparingly minimal aesthetic, Iñigo uses a broad palette of guitar, horns and woodwind, ukulele, har… Read more
Recommended release
One year since their 'Weathering' album landed to much acclaim from fans and the press, Epic 45 have invited The Remote Viewer, The Gentlemen Losers, Fieldhead, Jasper TX, E.L. Heath and Sarah Kemp to "weather" said album with lovely results. It opens with an exclusive new track called 'Leaving Traces' from the Staffordshire duo, before The Remote Viewer tickle their crackle box into action on a tenderly scuffed rework of 'The Village Is Asleep'. Meanwhile, their sometime collaborator and producer Charles Vaughan stirs 'People Say This Place Is Slowly Dying' as a diffuse piece of nippy pop-ambience and Fieldhead dissolves 'Leaving Traces' i… Read more
Recommended release
The original studio albums have been painstakingly re-mastered by Kevin Shields at Metropolis Studios in London and Loveless comes as a 2-disc set featuring a previous re-mastering from original analogue tapes, completed by Kevin Shields but never released.
KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS
In Love With Dusk / Our Own Dream
PLANCHA / ART UNION
CD // £13.99
Cat. Number: ARTPL027CD
*Two long sold out EP's and a rare 7" brought on to one CD for the first time* Priming the scene for their first full American tour, Tokyo's Plancha Records collude with Forest Family to premier KSIA's 'In Love With Dusk' and 'Our Own Dream' EPs on CD, backed with their Transparent 7" 'Hauntin' Me' and an exclusive new cut. The two EPs are now long sold out on vinyl and fetching a handsome sum 2nd hand, thanks to their sought-after and radio-friendly blending of '80s yacht pop, Balearic disco sway and chill wave suss. New bit 'A Tear In My I' is a perfect distillation of their sound; languid, dreamy and druggily skewed for your pleasure.
Recommended release
**Hand-numbered limited edition of 65 housed in sealed recycled envelope** Dozens kick off Under The Spire's limited edition 3" CD series with a nineteen minute electronic storm called 'Curving Quest'. Coming from Montreal's Francesco De Gallo of Hobo Cubes fame and Ryan Connolly aka Sundrips you might know what to expect, but that's not to say this is a predictable listen. Within minutes of entry we're submitted to a barrage of superheated electromagnetic radiation and soon enough left delirious and dehydrated in roiling ambience reminding of Leyland Kirby before our minds are extruded through interdimensional wormholes and reconstitut… Read more
Recommended release
**Hand-numbered limited edition of 85 housed in sealed envelopes** 3rd instalment of Under The Spire's 3" CD series is an eighteen minute astral projection by Greek synth explorer, Panos Alexiadis aka Lunar Miasma. Vangelis-style syn-Brass blooms like a slow-motion ecstasy rush, spiralling into the cosmos with wide-eyed galactic ambition and celestial spirit.
Recommended release
**Hand-numbered edition of 65 copies housed in sealed envelopes** 2nd in Under The Spire's limited 3" CD series comes from an improvisational electronic trio by way of Portland, Oregon. Deploying real-time synthesis as well as analog synth, drums and percussions, 'The Work' EP explores three intrepid zones of brooding drone and subaquatic pulses with a cinematic bent recalling the work of early electronic pioneers such as Suzanne Ciani and modern day revisionists like Panabrite.
