summary 
Thursday, 24 May
SND / DOPPLEREFFEKT / ELEH
Festival Elecronica En Abril: 2003-2012
La Casa Encendida
Deluxe 2LP Box Set // £19.99
Cat. Number: LACASABOX
Album of the Week
**Beautifully packaged boxed/double LP pressing including exclusive, previously unreleased material from Eleh, Thomas Koner, SND, Dopplereffekt, Farben, Matmos, NSI, Maja Ratke and much more. Comes pressed on two gorgeous semi-opaque/white LP's housed in a special printed canvas box with cross-woven fibres creating different colourways depending on the angle of view** Madrid's Festival Electrónica en Abril celebrates ten years of commitment to modern electronic music with a collection of ten exclusive tracks from Eleh, SND, nsi., Dopplereffekt, Thomas Köner, Matmos, Farben, Radian, Maja Ratje, … Read more
Album of the Week
**Gorgeously printed edition of 550 copies with silk-screen jackets** Beautiful split side featuring a new, 20 minute Eleh piece 'Empty Summer Endless', and the filigree subtlety of Duane Pitre's 'Feel Free Installation'. Trying to describe an Eleh track often inevitably leads to us saying the same thing, so we'll simply say it's another immense, immersive excursion into the near-subsonic abyss. Duane Pitre's side meanwhile, is best described by the label (if you ask us; it's lovely): "Feel Free is a new composition by Duane Pitre that currently has three possible manifestations: solo performance , group performance, and sound insta… Read more
Album of the Week
*Six tracks of KILLER body-working rhythmic dynamism and uniquely contoured edits from the mighty Pomassl* Franz Pomassl presents new, original material and tracks from his 2007 CD 'Spare Parts' on vinyl for the first time. The Austrian electronic innovator and craftsman has near-peerless, incredibly diverse credentials - from releases on Raster Noton and Sex Tags Mania to collaborating with Kodwo Eshun - and it's this duality of hi-end conceptual electronica and more base, grooving instincts which lie at the core of his music. Released through his long-running Laton imprint, 'Surplus Ships' breaks down as six tracks of body-working … Read more
Album of the Week
*Following that KILLER debut back in 2010, this amazing project featuring members of Astral Social Club and High Wolf return for another dose of heavy, squashed and bass-heavy Techno malfunctions* Neil Campbell (Astral Social Club, Vibracathedral Orchestra) reunites with High Wolf for a 2nd LP of amazing spiralling cosmic loop orchestration and Techno f*ck-ups. Lest we forget, their first, eponymous vinyl was a highlight of 2010's psych scenery, sounding like little else before or since. For Weird Forest, their 'Hespherides' adopts a more gradual, unfolding approach than its predecessor's motorik onslaught, preferring to wade thr… Read more
THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS
Keep It Low (Andy Stott / Patten / JD Twitch Remixes)
Warp
12" // £7.99
Cat. Number: WAP335
Single of the Week
*Includes a KILLER remix from Andy Stott, plus essential reworks from Patten and JD Twitch* The new single from Warp pop outfit Hundred In The Hands exceeds our expectations, thanks largely to what is honestly some of the heaviest sub-bass we've heard all year; wistful vocals, airy synth lines and ringing guitar complete the picture. The real draw is the remixes: Andy Stott breaks down and reconstructs the track according to the precise, airtight aesthetic of his landmark Passed Me By and We Stay Together LPs, using the original's vocal judiciously for a surprisingly anthemic climax.… Read more
Recommended release
It's no secret how much we like Spectrum Spools over here, and this sort of release is really what separates them from many other labels of their ilk right now. Drainolith's 'Fighting!' is probably the most disarmingly confusing record to emerge from the Spools camp to date, and in that maybe the most rewarding. Sure on the first listen it might sound like three dudes jamming independently of one another, but as you let the layers blend together - the syrupy synthesizer tones, the Royal Trux-devoted blues guitar twangs and the hauntingly deadpan vocals, it starts to make perfect sense. Fans of Shadow Ring probably won't need this kinda… Read more
Recommended release
The Glaswegian producer behind last year's Joy Orb and Gilles P-tipped singles serves a classy mini-LP of pan-global riddims for Huntleys & Palmers. Informed by Kodwo Eshun's concept of Afro-futurism and an innate feel for plush, plump groove construction, the eight tracks of 'Future Rhythm Machine' hybridise UK Bass and Afro-Latin Highlife sensibilities with a seductive, succinct ability like few others. He's joined by Chilean vocalist Mamacita on a swaying moire of bleeps and hip-greased shuffle for opener 'Haven't Got Any Body' and the crafty balance of moody bass descent and Cumbia twang on 'La Samaria', while SA ex-pa… Read more
Recommended release
**Limited edition of 300 copies including large insert with liner notes** French avant-garde ensemble, Gol, expand their 'Gollaboration' series in this meeting with minimalist pioneer Charlemagne Palestine. Documenting an improvised performance at the la nuit des nouveaux arts sacrés festival, june 20th 2008, 'Pandamoniahbleeummm!!!!' finds Palestine manning the world famous organ of St. Eustace church in Paris supplemented by the Gol quartet (Frédéric Rebotier, Jean-Marcel Busson, Ravi Shardja, and Samon Takahashi) doing electronics, bass, guitar, and flutes in some kind of pagan ritual. Palestine dominates p… Read more
With a reputation inversely proportionate to his output - the super-limited 'Dandelion' 10" and 'Fever' single - the bloke f.k.a. Christian AIDS drops his most substantial release to date for Ramp. Essentially Bass music for Pop and indie fans who don't really "do" dancing, the 'Arem' EP calibrates disparate elements of Trance, Noise-Pop, and ecstatic Indie with lo-fi drum programming glancing towards Araabmuzik's triplet Hip Hop rhythms and Zomby's brittle 2-step patterns. Fans of D/R/U/G/S or Wu Lyf should probably check it out.
Thursday, 17 May
CEDRIC STEVENS / LEYLAND KIRBY / MOTION SICKNESS OF TIME TRAVEL / FENNESZ
The Syncopated Elevators Legacy
Discrepant
2LP // £14.99
Cat. Number: CREP003
**Limited edition of 500 on 180g vinyl housed in double gatefold jacket featuring exclusive work from Fennesz, Leyland Kirby, Motion Sickness of Time Travel, Sylvain Chauveau and more** Discrepant Records collect nine highlights of Cédric Stevens' oeuvre 1997-2005, backed with new and exclusive revisions by Leyland Kirby, Burning Star Core, Fennesz, Motion Sickness Of Time Travel, Sylvain Chaveau and My Cat Is An Alien. Whilst he's best recognised to raving throngs as Acid Kirk, Cédric Stevens most intriguing music wa… Read more
**Debut release from a new imprint -The Death Of Rave - curated by us and featuring a seminal piece of sound art by 2008 Turner prize-winning artist Mark Leckey. Limited edition of 500 copies only cut at D&M Berlin, no repress** The video installation Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999) is one of the best known and loved works by London-based artist and Northern English emigre, Mark Leckey. A phantasmic and transcendent collage of meticulously sourced and rearranged footage and sound samples spanning three decades of British subculture - from Northern Soul thru '80s Casuals and pre… Read more
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 t… Read more
CLOAKS
Versions Grains LP Sampler (Ancient Methods / JK Flesh Remixes)
3BY3
12" // £8.99
Cat. Number: 3BY3007
**Hand-stamped white label, limited edition of 400** Four effluvial techno and industrial bass weight remakes of tracks from Cloaks' debut LP by Ancient Methods, Justin Broadrick, Oyaarss, and Legion Of Two. 'Versus Grain' was one of the darkest transmissions we caught in 2009, whose rotten and rusted fruits provide brilliantly raw material for the remixes. It's worth the cost of entry alone for Ancient Methods' nine-minute viking ruffige remix of 'R.F.I.D', the kind of northern European tribal funk workout that makes folk dance like they mean it. On… Read more
**Limited edition of 200 copies** Under The Spire have been on a killer run recently, and follow up aces from Myrmyr, Steven Hess & Christopher McFall, and Concessionaires with the detailed synth visions of Ben Billington aka Quicksails. Originally issued as a tape on Deception Island (the label belonging to Chris Madaj aka Bee mask), on 'Silver Balloons in Clusters' Billington arranges densely layered yet spacious synths with his rolling, dramatic live percussion, finding plenty of pace for the two to co-exist in a vividly simulated sci-fi hyperspace spilling over with crystal… Read more
**Includes MP3 download voucher redeemable from the label** "The New York and Miami based duo of Roberto Carlos Lange and Matt Crum deliver this album of twelve energetic instrumental pieces. These two sound artists have been on the radar for a long time, as members of beloved projects such as Savath&Savalas (Warp, with Prefuse 73's Guillermo Scott Herren), Comic Wow (Asthmatic Kitty, with Tortoise's John McEntire) or Roberto's solo project Helado Negro. ROM's first appearance marked their self-titled debut on the Japanese WIMM imprint in 2005. Despite having been recorded over a span of three years… Read more
Thursday, 03 May
**Hand-numbered edition of 200 cut to vinyl at SST. Minimal yet diverse range of electronic composition in eight parts. Reminiscent at times of Giuseppe Ielasi and Nicola Ratti's work in Bellows or various Machinefabriek releases** "Nathan McLaughlin lives and works in an intentional community in rural Minnesota, via years spent living in Maryland & Pennsylvania. For some time the focus has been on creating music with the reel to reel tape machine.... the primary goal being to create beautiful sound revolving around and directly influenced by the intensity of domestic … Read more
BJORK / DEATH GRIPS
Biophilia Remixes: Part Two (Death Grips Mixes)
One Little Indian
12" // £6.49
Cat. Number: 1136TP12H
**Now available on vinyl** Exhilarating Hip Hop non-conformists Death Grips weigh in with two jagged remixes of 'Biophilia' cuts. Ms. Gudmundsdótir is placed in front and above of tightly wound drums and scattershot edits on the remix of 'Sacrifice', keeping a stable poise whiel everything buckles beneath. On their remix of 'Thunderbolt' she's lashed within a lattice of hyperkinetic electro convolutions, oscillating between Autechre-ian complexity and slow-motion lurch with chaotic unpredictability.
**Deluxe and limited vinyl edition housed in tri-gatefold jacket** One for "those collectors out there", MoS present an unmixed selection of cuts from Andrew Weatherall's 'Masterpiece' mix and compilation influenced by his Love From Outer Space clubnights. The venerable Mr. Weatherall require no introduction if you're over the age of 25 and have even a passing interest in club music. For everyone else he's the guy who behind Primal Scream's definitive '90s LP 'Screamadelica' and one of the most respected wax collectors int he world. For his 'Masterpiece' he draws for no less tha… Read more
GEOFF BARROW & BEN SALISBURY
'Drokk' Music Inspired By Mega-City One
INVADA
LP // £15.99
Cat. Number: INV105LP
Portishead's Geoff Barrow and soundtrack composer Ben Salisbury pay homage to Judge Dredd's fictional Mega-City One conurbation with 'Drokk'. Both avid, avowed fans of the comic book series, Barrow and Salisbury have realised a bleak fantasy soundtrack at once recalling classic John Carpenter themes, Tangerine Dream scores, the Black Rain cues to 'Jonny Mnemonic' and 'Neuromancer', and even their fellow Bristolian, Hyetal's 'Broadcast' album. As you might assume, with their credentials counting er, Portishead, and soundtracks to David Attenborough's 'Life Of Mammals' and 'Life In Cold Blood', the production is assuredly top notch, and brought to life in vivid detail.
Monday, 30 April
Keith Rankin's Giant Claw makes a vinyl debut with his quirksome and spirited synth musique for Wool Recordings after a healthy handful of tapes for his Orange Milk label and other labels including Digitalis Limited. Currently operating out of Brooklyn, NYC, he possesses a uniquely synthesized accent and real talent for theatrical narration that's already had the likes of XXJFG and Avant Garde blogging his virtues. The spirit of Krautrock is core to his oeuvre, but it;s the way he bends it to his own will which makes 'Haunted Planet' so endearing. The titular two-part A-side plays through a… Read more
Thursday, 26 April
NNA Tapes proudly yield a split side between world-renowned electronic music composer Keith Fullerton Whitman and multi-instrumentalist composer Eli Keszler. Both artists approach the record from unique yet complementary angles. New York City's Keszler has amassed a vital and critically acclaimed arsenal of experimental, diffuse and highly disciplined work both solo, and as part of Red Horse with Steve Pyne over the last half decade. Here, he proves to be just as equally adept with frenzied, almost impossibly-detailed percussive workouts as he is with inquisitive noise sculp… Read more
**NNA Tapes veer into impeccably skewed Pop** "After self-releasing four previous full-length albums, it's finally time for the long-overdue debut vinyl offering from Burlington, VT songwriter and producer Ryan Power. "I Don't Want To Die" is a collection of constantly shifting, well-constructed and unique pop songs, teeming with existentialism and groove. Content-wise, this is perhaps not your average pop record. Ryan's candidly personal lyrics meditate on the fear of death, hypochondria, soul discrepancies, depression, and the lustful mind, while still remaining remarkably emotional,… Read more
Kwes drops his anticipated debut EP on Warp, and it's a strongly written and performed, well-rounded affair, boding well for an impending assault on pop world. The BoC synth wobble of opener 'Klee' is really nice, and it sets the scene well for EP centrepiece 'Bashful', which finds Kwes singing ruefully (think Damon Albarn via Hot Chip's Alexis) to his beloved over a padded post-rock stomp. 'Honey' ploughs similar terrain, navigating the radio-friendly and the sonically interesting with aplomb; spaced-out closer 'Igoyh' sounds like the more interesting passages of Klaxons' first album. Recommended for … Read more
**Includes digital download code redeemable from the label** "Minneapolis continues its golden run of producing quality talent with the first project to arrive out the Gayngs collective, the super slick electronic pop-soul outfit Poliça. Fronted by ice cool vocalist Channy Leanagh (who sang with Gayngs), produced by Ryan Olson and featuring Mike Noyce from Bon Iver, it's a who's who of the current Twin Cities scene. The album features 11 auto-tuned songs that re-shape the intersection of pop and digitised R&B. And for all Poliça's synthetic manipulation, Channy's soft vocals and Ryan's ele… Read more
Thursday, 19 April
**Limited edition of 100 hand-numbered copies housed in die-cut jacket with tessellating artwork insert** A fantastically primordial soup of dismantled and unstable rhythmic electronics and fractal synth patterns by the tightly intuitive duo, Francesco Petricca and Manuel Cascone, aka Nastro. The title of '300 mq' alludes to the size of their recording space in Rome which they were contractually obligated to tear down "with their bare hands" (remember, this was the time of the great Italian glove shortage of 2011) after finishing the album, which cutely dovetails with their collapsed and decimated appro… Read more
TYCHO
Dive (Memoryhouse / Keep Shelly In Athens Mixes)
Ghostly International
12" // £11.99
Cat. Number: GI-150
Evocative indie-tronica/Shoegaze complemented with Memoryhouse and Keep Shelley In Athens remixes. Halcyon dazed nostalgia is key to Scott Hansen's sound and 'Dive' is brimming with it, from the breathy vocal and synth harmonics to the soaring guitar work. Memoryhouse meanwhile transform it into a crushed and dreamily downbeat episode hinting a dubstep, while Keep Shelley In Athens's is all about fluttering micro-rhythmic detail and cottony atmospheric synth romance.
**Includes digital download code redeemable from the label** "Sven Kacirek, the much praised multi- instrumentalist from Hamburg, releases his third album with Pingipung. Almost every single instrument on "Scarlet Pitch Dreams" has been played, recorded and produced by Sven Kacirek himself. Within these dreamy scéances of percussive virtuosity, Sven Kacirek has effortlessly found his original sound from the first whirring of the prepared grand in the opener to the massively rolling drumset crescendo in the last track. Jazzbrush patterns define Sven Kacirek's sonic identity. They cr… Read more
Thursday, 12 April
M=Minimal has the honour of posthumously releasing the final work completed by seminal synthesist, pupil of Joseph Beuys and founder of Kluster and Tangerine Dream; Conrad Schnitzler. Finished four days before his death in late summer 2011, 'Endtime' defines a seamless 36-track, 70-minute moire of pulses, blips, arcing tones and fluid synthlines characteristically devoid of simplistic melodic resolutions. Like the rest of his massive body of work, he imposes a stoically functional yet poetic form of grammar upon the cold abstraction of his machine's vocabulary to convey its most hone… Read more
**Lathe-cut clear square flexi disc with screenprinted insert housed in die-cut holographic cover** Limited edition one-shot ace from No Fun's Carlos Giffoni for the very promising Key Lime High label from Italy. 'Little Mornings' follows in a similar vein to Software's 'Evidence' 12", starting out with a ditty sung in Spanish before flipping breaking into a stream of mind-bending modular electronics. Very cool stuff + killer packaging = tip!
Darkwave cyberpunk intrigue from synth-wrangler Dylan Ettinger. Moving on from his kosmiche issues, Dylan deploys his own vocals to authentically grubby, DIY effect on seven leathered-up and shark-eyed experimental Wave songs. Docking in with the Neuromancer-referencing 'Wintermute' he draws us deep into his narrative with the phet-affected dissonance and rusted machine beats of 'Disparager', through to the panoramic cue 'Maude', stalking the depths of the sprawl searching for the cheapest gynoid fun on '18' before crooning the narcotic misery of 'Blue and Blue', leaving the future open to great possibilities with this awesome augmentation of his sound. TIP!
