New Releases
Tornado Wallace ”Midnight Mania” (Optimo Music)
Optimo Music release Midnight Mania, a five-track mini album from Australia’s Tornado Wallace. Now based in Berlin Tornado Wallace has crafted an organic, psychedelic, percussive master work. The title track will be released as a digital single in advance of the album on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce. Tornado Wallace would like to add a few words about the record: “The music is inspired by earth, both the planet itself as the small insignificant celestial being in the great cosmic story, and earth — the dirt itself — the womb and the tomb of life’s mysteries and wild manifestations.”
Tito “Quetzalcoatl” (Glossy Mistakes)
Glossy Mistakes present a reissue of Tito’s Quetzalcóatl, originally released in 1977. Proto-electronics psychedelic Mexican holy grail. Inspired by Vangelis, Tomita, or Kraftwerk, this unknown rarity gets a second life sounding fresh and pioneering today, Tito was born in 1946 in Ciudad de México, the son of two Spaniards. Since he was a youngster, he had felt the passion for music and instruments. In the meantime, he started a career as architect. Since his early years, he joined various teen rock bands, where he played bass and guitar. Slowly but surely, his interest in synthesizers started to grow. And the rest is history. Tito defines himself as an “electronic sounds fanatic”. Quetzalcóatl is a truly authentic cornerstone in those terms: an inspired and eclectic artist gives shape to a unique sound through legendary synthesizers such as the MiniMoog or the Arp Odyssey. His passion was so embedded that he even built his own guitars and equalizers; some of which appear on this LP. Quetzalcóatl, his debut solo album, was originally recorded in 1977 (now remastered) in his bedroom using a four-channel Sony recorder in a truly DIY way. This album could be considered as a rarity. But if you listen hard enough, you find a pioneering treasure. Somehow, Quetzalcoátl anticipated the sounds of future decades with simple but inspired compositions. It is a mythological trip to the Pre-Hispanic México. This album is an allegory of the Aztec world. Quetzalcoátl is the most important God for Mesoamerican cultures: it represents the inherent human dualism between the body (represented by the snake) and soul (the feathers). In the song “Profecía”, Quetzalcoátl emerges, announcing the end of the world at the hand Spanish colonialism. Remastered in Amsterdam by Wouter Brandenburg. Comes with insert; edition of 600.
Mulatu Astatke + Black Jesus Experience ”To Know Without Knowing” (Agogo)
To Know Without Knowing, Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience’s album, is their second together. A grooving transcontinental gem, recorded in Melbourne, Australia, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Filled with the warmth of the mentorship and friendship of their creative partnership honed over a decade of performing together in Africa, Australia, and UK/Europe. Mulatu Astatke is the father of Ethio-jazz and one of Africa’s most influential and enduring musical figures. Black Jesus Experience is a community of artists, centered around a twelve-piece global-funk-machine born of Australia’s vibrant multiculturalism. Mulatu and Black Jesus Experience met in Addis Ababa in 2009, embarking on both a musical relationship and a friendship that has led Mulatu Astake to describe Black Jesus Experience as, “My favorite backing band” and, “…they’re family.” Mulatu’s great contribution to music has been to combine Jazz and funk grooves with Ethiopia’s distinctive pentatonic scales. His musical genius is the sensuality and sophistication with which Mulatu contrasts these minimalist scales with richly chromatic harmony. But Mulatu’s equally great contribution has been to share both his enduringly unique modernity and Ethiopia’s timelessly spiritual music with the world. Black Jesus Experience treasure the special relationship of generosity, mentorship and collaboration they have been privileged to share with this master musician. To Know Without Knowing is the product of this gift.
Various Artists “Spiritual Jazz 11: SteepleChase” (Jazzman)
Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; features two vinyl-only tracks from Jackie McLean & The Cosmic Brotherhood and Michael Carvin; includes download card. Subtitled: Esoteric, modal and progressive jazz from the SteepleChase label, 1974-84. Founded in 1972, SteepleChase Records is one of the most significant and prolific European jazz record labels. With a catalog running to well over 200 titles, the Copenhagen-based imprint has recorded and released music from some of the greatest names in jazz, including Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, Jackie McLean, Horace Parlan, Chet Baker, and Stan Getz. Starting out by recording visiting Americans when they performed at the legendary Café Montmartre, founder Nils Winther was encouraged to start the label by none other than the great Jackie McLean, who was the first artist to release a record on the new imprint. From there, Steeplechase rapidly grew into one of the foremost labels to document European jazz with all its distinctive originality and style. With a particular emphasis on recording front rank American artists who had chosen the expatriate life in Europe, Steeplechase was first in line to document the sounds of the greats as they developed in exile. Features extensive liner notes including a history of the label as well as notes on each of the individual tracks. Photos from the recording sessions and cover art from each of the LPs from which Jazzman Records’ selection has been taken is also included. With in-demand tracks from the likes of Billy Gault, Johnny Dyani, and Khan Jamal, and the unearthing of deep cuts from greats like Jackie McLean and Mary Lou Williams, Jazzman Records’ Spiritual Jazz Vol. 11: Steeplechase pays tribute to one of Europe’s most important jazz labels and furthers our exploration into the infinite realms of spiritual jazz. Also features Sam Jones, Rene McLean, Jim McNeely, Michael Carvin, and Ken McIntyre.
Ian Willson ”Straight From The Heart” (Be With)
Be With Records work with Ian Willson to reissue his self-released, West Coast classic Straight From The Heart, privately pressed and originally released in 1985. This is the only album Ian ever put out. A magical blend of AOR/sophisticated funk/synth-boogie/spiritual jazz and modern soul, it’s a spellbinding record of many colors. You might already know Straight From The Heart for the dubby-disco paranoid-Balearic anthem “Four In The Morning”, and it’s easy to assume this is probably just another one of those one-track LPs. But this is an impressively slick record from start to finish. Album opener “Think About It” is all sorts of right. It’s emotional. It’s tops-off. It’s funk in its purest form. And take the proto-modern-funk of the title track (half Dâm-Funk/half Dâd-Funk). The shimmering, spiritual bossa-jazz of “If I Were You” serves as the album’s soaring centerpiece. A gorgeous suite of cosmic vibes to get Gilles frothing, it sounds like nothing else on the record which makes sense given that it was recorded a couple of years earlier, and is the only track on the LP that wasn’t recorded in Ian’s own studio. Side B opens with the propulsive ode to love that is “Two Is Better Than One”. Wonderfully sparse when it needs to be, it’s also richly percussive and that special kind of California-warm. Frenetic, speaker smashing synth and horn workout “Funk Invasion” dares you not to dance and “A Game Called Love” is heavily indebted to Prince with its lush, deep funk stylings. The sweeping sax-drenched instrumental “Song For Katelyn” is head-nod, beat-heavy AOR for that melancholic magic hour. It all adds up to the ultimate BBQ record. Almost all of Straight From The Heart was recorded over a few months between 1983 and 1984 on Ian’s brand new Otari 8 track in the Oakland, California studio he built just the year before. Only “If I Were You” was recorded elsewhere, at Bay Sound in 1982. Ian produced the album himself and played all of the instruments, except for the guitar of his longtime friend, Peter Fujii. Tower Of Power, Average White Band, Earth Wind & Fire, and Stevie Wonder was the list of influences Ian gave when asked. Why did he put the record out himself? Simple, he had no idea how to go about getting a record deal. The original tapes have long since been lost. This reissue was remastered from Ian’s one-and-only pristine copy.
Anton Kubikov “Rhythm + Chords” (Pro-Tez)
Anton Kubikov is back to his own imprint Pro-Tez with the dubbed-out Rhythm & Chords EP. It consists of four, ultra-deep compositions — dubby and at the same time dance-oriented tracks that will be equally enjoyable on the couch or on the dancefloor. It’s a vinyl-only release on 180 gram vinyl. Highly recommended for the fans of deep dub techno/house vibes.
Between Sleeps ”Fantasia” (Another Moon)
Between Sleeps is a French producer based in Paris, passionate about sound design and synthesizers. His stage name and musical world evoke the state of semi-consciousness, when neither awake nor asleep. With dreamy pads and strong rhythms, his music mixes electronica, house, and techno. Boards Of Canada, Lone, or The Field are among his main influences. All the tracks included on Fantasia have been composed with the same hardware set-up: a sampler, an FM synthesizer and a subtractive analog synthesizer. Every track has been recorded in one stereo take.
David Behrman “She’s More Wild…” (Black Truffle)
Black Truffle announce the release of She’s More Wild…, a collaborative project by David Behrman, Paul DeMarinis, Fern Friedman, Terri Hanlon, and Anne Klingensmith recorded at Mills College in 1981. Previously known only to cognoscenti through an obscure self-released three-track 7″, this is the first publication of the complete album, an outrageous confection that mixes art-song and theatrical monolog with live electronics. Starting life as a performance art piece described by the artists as “Western Performance Noir”, the record centers on a series of texts written by Friedman and Hanlon in which female narrators comically embody a series of iconic roles (The Recording Artist, The Former Movie Star, and The Rancher). Other lyrical themes include recurring references to the notorious cannibal pioneers, the Donner Party, an ironic take on Japanophilia, and the luscious “Archetypal Unitized Seminar”, a satirical poke at self-help culture, whose lyrics are rendered in Indian raga style to the accompaniment of electronic glissandi and toy noisemakers. Delivered by Friedman, Hanlon, Klingensmith, and special guest Maggi Payne in forms ranging from spoken monolog to country and western waltz, the texts are accompanied by instrumental and electronic contributions by Behrman and DeMarinis. Musically, She’s More Wild… is truly unique, demonstrating these two pioneers of live-electronic performance adapting their signature processes to something approaching a “pop” format: you hear the gliding, frequency-sensitive electronics familiar from Behrman’s classic On the Other Ocean and the mutant hacked Speak n’ Spell heard on DeMarinis’ Songs Without Throats (BT 041LP, 2019) propelled by drum machines and twisted into song forms. Perhaps comparable only to the David Rosenboom and Jacqueline Humbert’s contemporaneous Daytime Viewing in its interweaving of performance art tactics, high-tech electronics and pop sensibilities, She’s More Wild… is an essential document, both immediately gratifying and ultimately thought provoking. Gatefold sleeve with various texts and archival images; sleeve design by Lasse Marhaug. Mastered and cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplate & Mastering, Berlin.
Skymark ”Primeiras Impressões”(Mule Musiq)
Mule Musiq present a reissue of Skymark’s Primeiras Impressões, originally released in 2013. It is really rare that Mule Musiq does not offer new music for fresh imaginations. In the label’s 15-year history, there only been a few reissues in the widely ramified discography: Lydia Lynch in 2006, Hans-Joachim Roedelius in 2013, Fumio Itabashi in 2018, and now with Skymark with his jazz album Primeiras Impressões. The Italian producer, composer, record collector, and Modern Sun Records label co-runner, that lists to the name Marc Friedli when he hands his tax report to the government, is no stranger to fans of modern Brazil, disco, fusion, house, Latin, jazz, funk, soul, and all other organically swinging music that grooves deep. Since 2007, he has released a string of albums and EPs on his own label as well as on imprints like Neroli, Mukatsuku Records, or Rush Hour, showing his impressive electric piano keyboard skills and unique style with an array of vintage synthesizers like ARP, Prophet, Moog, Roland, or Korg. On his privately pressed and strictly limited album, Primeiras Impressões, he delivered nine, gently jazzy tunes that process his experiences in the heat of Rio De Janeiro. They are intensely spiritual, they avoid ornamentation, and they bow before jazz history with a gentle respect, while adding an elegantly explorative and thrillingly uplifting freshness to the genre with deep discreet minimal funk and light-as-a-feather piano-melodies, as if the keyboard were a saxophone.
Evan Caminiti ”Varispeed Hydra” (Dust Editions)
Los Angeles based artist Evan Caminiti returns with the follow up to 2017’s Toxic City Music. Living in the wrong timeline, dreaming of possible utopias; Varispeed Hydra beams in like a collection of broken transmissions, terrestrial sounds melting into the abstract and rising again as vaporous specters. Three years in the making, Hydra was recorded utilizing a variety of electroacoustic processes and honed in live performances ranging from the sound art setting of NYC’s Issue Project Room to the future-club environment of DOMMUNE in Tokyo. While thematically following Toxic City Music, it moves past that album’s emphasis on superfund sites and the proverbial rat race to turn an ear towards more rural environs. With a focus on some of the sounds we stand to lose if we continue on our current trajectory of ecological destruction, birds, insects, and water are most often found among the glowing synthesizers and warped electric guitar that comprise the album’s melodic and rhythmic core. Connecting a thread between musique concrete and dub, these sounds are atomized and diffused before being woven together with a sense of urgency, a colorful and restless haze. Phasing percussion and blurred melodies are wrapped in a fog as they tumble and glitch, occupying a space where ominous rumblings and bucolic bliss blur together. An offering of cautious optimism in the age of anxiety. Artwork by Michael Vallera and Zane Morris. Written and produced by Evan Caminiti, featuring electronics by Lisa McGee. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studios; Vinyl cut at Dubplates and Mastering Berlin. Includes download code; edition of 300.
Dozer “In The Tail Of A Comet” (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Heavy Psych Sounds reissue the first three albums of the Swedish legendary band Dozer: 2000’s In The Tail Of A Comet, 2001’s Madre De Dios, and 2003’s Call It Conspiracy. Three masterpieces of the European stoner scene. These three records elevated the scene to a higher level and gave Dozer the scepter of the Scandinavian stoner movement. In the post-Kyuss era, Dozer, along with bands like Los Natas and Acid King, brought a flurry of pure, desert-style monolithic riffs and tons of fuzz guitars. The songwriting on all these three albums was what really distinguished Dozer from the other bands of the early 2000s. The band had a very big influence on the European stoner bands and it can definitively be said that Dozer are one of the European stoner godfathers. Dozer’s last album was Beyond Colossal in 2008, and it’s unknown if they will ever return back with a new release.
As with hundreds of other young Swedish bands, Dozer was the obvious answer to the boredom of a small town youth in a land where the sun seldom visits. After forming in 1995, Dozer emerged in 1998 with their debut 7″ which was awarded “Single of the Week” in Kerrang! magazine. Dozer quickly progressed beyond their early influences and created a style of their own incorporating modern elements into their classic heavy rock sound. A sound that always has been intensely heavy but yet also strongly song and melody driven by the distinctive vocals of singer Fredrik Nordin. Dozer has carefully cultivated a following like none other and a reputation second to none due mostly assuredly to their constant touring and explosive live shows. These simple Swedes have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of stoner rock, often placed upon the same pedestal as the fathers of the movement: Kyuss and Monster Magnet. With the release of their fifth full length album Beyond Colossal, these sons of Sweden seemed poised to teach the Underground a lesson or two about what Rock and Roll is all about. After a hiatus the band came back again with some live shows over the last years.
Dozer “Madre De Dios” (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Heavy Psych Sounds reissue the first three albums of the Swedish legendary band Dozer: 2000’s In The Tail Of A Comet, 2001’s Madre De Dios, and 2003’s Call It Conspiracy. Three masterpieces of the European stoner scene. These three records elevated the scene to a higher level and gave Dozer the scepter of the Scandinavian stoner movement. In the post-Kyuss era, Dozer, along with bands like Los Natas and Acid King, brought a flurry of pure, desert-style monolithic riffs and tons of fuzz guitars. The songwriting on all these three albums was what really distinguished Dozer from the other bands of the early 2000s. The band had a very big influence on the European stoner bands and it can definitively be said that Dozer are one of the European stoner godfathers. Dozer’s last album was Beyond Colossal in 2008, and it’s unknown if they will ever return back with a new release. But in the meantime enjoy this special “threesome”…
As with hundreds of other young Swedish bands, Dozer was the obvious answer to the boredom of a small town youth in a land where the sun seldom visits. After forming in 1995, Dozer emerged in 1998 with their debut 7″ which was awarded “Single of the Week” in Kerrang! magazine. Dozer quickly progressed beyond their early influences and created a style of their own incorporating modern elements into their classic heavy rock sound. A sound that always has been intensely heavy but yet also strongly song and melody driven by the distinctive vocals of singer Fredrik Nordin. Dozer has carefully cultivated a following like none other and a reputation second to none due mostly assuredly to their constant touring and explosive live shows. These simple Swedes have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of stoner rock, often placed upon the same pedestal as the fathers of the movement: Kyuss and Monster Magnet. With the release of their fifth full length album Beyond Colossal, these sons of Sweden seemed poised to teach the Underground a lesson or two about what Rock and Roll is all about. After a hiatus the band came back again with some live shows over the last years.
Dozer “Call It Conspiracy” (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Double LP version. Heavy Psych Sounds reissue the first three albums of the Swedish legendary band Dozer: 2000’s In The Tail Of A Comet, 2001’s Madre De Dios, and 2003’s Call It Conspiracy. Three masterpieces of the European stoner scene. These three records elevated the scene to a higher level and gave Dozer the scepter of the Scandinavian stoner movement. In the post-Kyuss era, Dozer, along with bands like Los Natas and Acid King, brought a flurry of pure, desert-style monolithic riffs and tons of fuzz guitars. The songwriting on all these three albums was what really distinguished Dozer from the other bands of the early 2000s. The band had a very big influence on the European stoner bands and it can definitively be said that Dozer are one of the European stoner godfathers. Dozer’s last album was Beyond Colossal in 2008, and it’s unknown if they will ever return back with a new release. But in the meantime enjoy this special “threesome”… Double-LP versions available on standard black vinyl and green vinyl; include one bonus track.
As with hundreds of other young Swedish bands, Dozer was the obvious answer to the boredom of a small town youth in a land where the sun seldom visits. After forming in 1995, Dozer emerged in 1998 with their debut 7″ which was awarded “Single of the Week” in Kerrang! magazine. Dozer quickly progressed beyond their early influences and created a style of their own incorporating modern elements into their classic heavy rock sound. A sound that always has been intensely heavy but yet also strongly song and melody driven by the distinctive vocals of singer Fredrik Nordin. Dozer has carefully cultivated a following like none other and a reputation second to none due mostly assuredly to their constant touring and explosive live shows. These simple Swedes have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of stoner rock, often placed upon the same pedestal as the fathers of the movement: Kyuss and Monster Magnet. With the release of their fifth full length album Beyond Colossal, these sons of Sweden seemed poised to teach the Underground a lesson or two about what Rock and Roll is all about. After a hiatus the band came back again with some live shows over the last years.
Eiji Nakayama ”Aya’s Samba” (Studio Mule)
2020 repress. Johnny’s Disk record is an independent jazz label, run by the owner of jazz cafe Kaiunbashi No Johnny located in Rikuzentakata City in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The legendary label released a string of albums of high-quality, but down-to-earth music, spanning from modern jazz, avant-garde jazz to left-field pop. Albums such as Farewell My Johnny / Left Alone (1980) and Aya’s Samba (1978) have reached cult status among fans as some of the best works to come out of the Japanese jazz scene. The Japanese jazz classic, Aya’s Samba, was a debut effort by bassist Eiji Nakayama, who played as part of Elvin Jones’ Jazz Machine and toured with Don Friedman. This album is an important release in the Johnny’s Disk catalog, not only because it is the first ever release, but also because the owner hearing the band play was the reason why the label came to be. Aya’s Samba is a mellow jazz samba in minor key that’s considered a Japanese jazz classic. Slow ballad “Yellow Living” is drenched in melancholy with emotive keys and sax notes.
The Nightstalker “Tragedies of a High-Tech World” (Childhood Intelligence)
Mysterious duo Nightstalker returns after an 19 year hiatus with ‘Tragedies Of A High Tech World’. Ten tracks spread out over 2 heavyweight vinyl slabs, containing dark hues of acid, dreamy atmospheres, and Drexciyan influenced chord progressions of the highest order. A musical journey awaits here, traveling from themes of social programming, and controlled society on Earth to mystical High Tech planets in deep outer space and back. An essential release for all admirers of pure analogue and imaginative Electro and Techno.
Leif “Loom Dream” (Whities)
Made up of six tracks but presented as two 17-minute pieces, the record meanders through warm chordscapes, glistening synths and loose live percussion, weaved together with field recordings and ambience.
Various Artists “Napoli Segreta Vol.2” (NG)
After Nu Guinea’s LP, Nuova Napoli, and Napoli Segreta first compilation, NG RECORDS follows up with an exploration into the unknown groovy side of Naples by releasing Napoli Segreta Vol.2.
Famiglia Discocristiana, DNApoli and Nu Guinea team up again selecting more tracks from their archives, for a new compilation containing 9 mysterious Neapolitan tracks, found in the most hidden corners of remote flea markets around the Vesuvius.
But forget classical Neapolitan songs, “‘O Sole Mio” or “Luna Rossa”… Forget about what you expect to find once you land in town… oh and also forget about Google maps. Take a dodgy local guide, keep your eyes open, and follow it to enter the secret downtown, the underground, the routes that no satellite can detect, but beware there is no easy way out.
Napoli Segreta Vol.2 is a musical journey into the sonic landscapes of Naples that you have never heard of before. A variety of genres merging soul, disco, funk, blues, new wave, afro-beat and boogie, including lyrics in Neapolitan urban slang, instrumental tracks with progressive flavour, and also some unexpected covers!
Medline “Solstice” (My Bags)
When we first heard Medline doing cover versions of tracks from the La Plante Sauvage OST, we were blown away. We said something cheeky like: -this thing needs to be on vinyl.- Well wish it and will it enough and it will happen. Solstice is here, and it s a record chock full of covers of legendary original soundtrack, library and jazz funk music. Many of these records are tough or impossible to find, and Medline s concept of interpreting these killer cuts and getting them all together on one record is a rare find itself. This is definitely a record that you can go back to again and again. High quality, brilliant interpretations of these songs, most of which were sampled many times before, is not just a digger s delight, but something that needs to be in a collection. Every track was performed by Medline. He translated the compositions his way, into his world, and the end product is something we will be talking about for years
Derek Carr “Pursuit Part 1” (Pariter)
An absolute future classic album of the incredible Derek Carr on Sushitech’s sub label – Pariter.
A long journey of 15 tracks that starts with some deep and dubby chords, acidic grooves and ends up with lush string based ambients.
For the fans of Convextion, Schatrax and of course Derek himself! Huge release!
Derek Carr “Pursuit Part 2 (Pariter)
An absolute future classic album of the incredible Derek Carr on Sushitech’s sub label – Pariter.
A long journey of 15 tracks that starts with some deep and dubby chords, acidic grooves and ends up with lush string based ambients.
For the fans of Convextion, Schatrax and of course Derek himself! Huge release!
Doctor Fluorescent “Doctor Fluorescent” (Crammed)
Doctor Fluorescent’s debut album opens a door to a world of seductive, fresh electronic pop music, where things aren’t always what they seem: sophisticated musical clockworks often lie under the dreamy surface.
Although he is primarily a scientist and explorer, Doctor Fluorescent also plays musical instruments and uses electronic gadgets to express his ideas to the world. He is assisted by musicians Scott Gilmore and Eddie Ruscha, who sit back and merely facilitate what the doctor commands. Plug in a patch cable here, turn a dial there… whatever it takes to get the proper result recorded and keep the good doctor happy.
Back when Scott and Eddie began to create this music with Doctor Fluorescent, they utilized all manner of electronic and acoustic devices with no worries or concerns regarding their discoveries. They allowed the explorations to lead themselves where they may. Their experiments began to solidify into songs, and shortly after, stories began to take shape and the Doctor’s voice emerged (to be perfectly honest, the Doctor was born out of Scott and Eddie’s minds, but soon turned into an actual human being in every sense)
The music of Doctor Fluorescent almost reminds one of a private press electronic voyage album discovered in a stack of records next to Supersempft, Roger Powell and Wally Badarou. The album explores a wide range of sound, it’s experimental in many ways, yet each track still retains the semblance of a song. Each song is its own journey, often ending in a completely new place from where it began.
Scott and Eddie have already made many records themselves using old synthesizers and drum machines, making them the perfect helpers to bring Doctor Fluorescent’s musical visions to life.
D.K. “Live at the Edge” (12th Isle)
Nostalgia-tinged 90s electronica and second room IDM from the legend that is D.K.
ISLE008.5 shows Parisian artist D.K.’s concern for the nostalgia-tinged 90s electronica and second room IDM that inform not just his compositional practice but also our own tastes here at the label. Recorded live at the intimate South Korean venue The Edge, this limited 12″ births fleeting moments in a late night music bar into physical form. Propulsive rhythmic tension, heavy doses of reverb and glassy, cavernous sound design across six movements.
Pellegrino “Periplo” (Early Sounds)
On his debut mini-album, Pellegrino goes for a periplus around mediterranean savors, dispensing a multi-flavored cocktail of fast-moving disco groovers, spacey jazz-fusion experiments and sun-bleached funky melters
Multicast Dynamics “Ancient Circuits” (Astral Industries)
Multicast Dynamics returns with a sixth studio album that marks something of a new chapter. Ancient Circuits is an advancement from previous works on Denovali and one that stands the project aside as a powerful electronic act that tells stories while also serving up heavy hitting soundscapes that are persuasive, unexpected and disturbing. Each of the four 25-minute pieces of Ancient Circuits are clearly demarcated yet sequential sci-fi stories that introduce new characters and are drawn out of long and complex studio experiments. They are collages of sound that glimmer, disturb, shine, dive deep and explore new realms and make for ambient so arresting that it pulls you deep inside. Once again here, Multicast Dynamics draws together cinematic sound design and conceptual intergalactic fiction to come up with a work that is a multi-sensory exploration that puts you as the central character in an expressive musical world
The Chi Factory “Travel In Peace” (Astral Industries)
J.Derwort (15/07/1952 – 11/02/2019) left all his flutes, old guitars, strange percussion and some weird found objects at the Chi Factory studio. Hanyo van Oosterom went back to Patmos in April 2019 to visit all the magic places where Chi once started. He recorded the basics for ‘Travel in Peace’. Playing and recording these handmade bamboo flutes without the master himself being there was a lonely and emotional journey. But along the way the magic connection returned and the last Chi Factory album was born. On ‘Santa Fe’ and ‘Last Breath’ samples were used of J.Derwort during his last weeks in Santa Fe, Spain. The Chi circle is now closed. Chi Factory will move on as ‘Sons of Chi’. A new platform for different collabs and new adventures in sound. The legacy will live on, so will we.
Hanyo: As J.Derwort explained by a dream he is now in a wonderful place far away and still so close. The dream came during the recordings when I asked him how he is and where he is. I saw beautiful and ever changing constructions of plants. Nothing else. No words and just a simple explanation: everything is created and connected by intuitive vegetable intelligence. The opening piece ‘Bless You’ is the last track I recorded, it reflects the memory of my dream the most. I almost decided to start all over again, but I did not. Hope you like the last Chi Factory album, thx for all your support, also to my good friend and soul brother J.Derwort this meant a lot. One love!