Castles In Space

Capracara - Panic Beats 10"

2012-01-22T13:01:00.004Z

I bought this one for the Diskjokke remix, but both versions are pretty good. A nice building groover with great drums in the sultry nu-disco/house stylee.

Capracara (aka Jonathan Burnip) is out of London and this was a vinyl only release.

It's also got a couple of locked grooves on the vinyl which are presumably on there for sampling purposes. I've done a short rip of each of them in the spirit of completeness.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Njaal - Me And Hugh 12"

2012-01-19T23:47:00.004Z

Seeking out further Scandanavian delights, I happened upon this monster. I know next to nothing about Njaal, but fans of the breakdown and the arpeggio will NOT be disappointed by this fucker.

The original mix is the one to enjoy, but there's also a great remix by Skatebård, which I'm hoping is Norwegian for "Skateboard". Let's say it is and move on.

There's also a minimalistic remix by Terje Bakke which somehow seems to suck all the joy out of the track. Steer clear of that one and you'll be fine and dandy like Amos and Andy.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Thank You

2012-01-15T10:54:00.003Z

Thanks to all who have left comments over the last few days. It seems the general opinion is that things are just fine as they are. That being the the case, I'll keep on keeping on and continue to use this site as the main blogging platform. I'll probably use the Wordpress site for the occasional track/mix and maybe even a few more FLAC things.

Check both.

Special mention to Uncle Dave who is recovering from knee surgery. I was going to ask him if he wanted to dance as well. Get well soon, Uncle Dave.

NM

The Orb - Blue Room FLAC

2012-01-08T16:02:00.005Z

As an experiment, I've uploaded a FLAC copy of The Orb's "Blue Room" over at Spinster's Rock.

I keep threatening to move this blog over to the Wordpress site, but it doesn't seem to be sparking much enthusiasm from you people.

Do me a favour and let me know:

1. Should I move the blog over to the Wordpress site?
2. Is there any appetite for more FLAC stuff?

Ta, Chuck.

Blue Room FLAC at Spinster's Rock.

Two Mixes

2012-01-08T12:28:00.004Z

100% Silk Mix mixed by Sir Stephen.

Download.

The Dub Vault featuring the Blood And Fire Allstars. Mixed by Pendle Coven and Dom Blood And Fire.

Download.

Steve Moore - Horror Business

2012-01-07T18:21:00.007Z

Heads up, arpeggio fans!

CiS favourite, Steve Moore has a new mini album up on Bandcamp. The soundtrack (apparently) to a documentary about independent horror movie producers/directors, this is a short, but wonderful piece of work. 11 tracks of Italio horrorcore served on a lush bed of analogue swirls with a neo-prog jus. Get on board.

It's five bucks for goodness sake. Bargainmoungous.

Horror Business.

If you remain unconvinced, hear more Steve here.

Ekoplekz/Drvg Cvltvre - snug life 7"

2012-01-07T18:10:00.004Z

Weirdly, I had this one lined up to post, just as a request came in from friend of the blog m.m asking if I had a copy. Ker-ching!

*Strictly limited copies - just 100 of these have been made* Promising new imprint Snug Life finally kick-start their run of limited releases with a two-track 45 of blasted post-industrial beat-offs by Ekoplekz and Drvg Cvltvre. The label are proposing a series of 7", CD and DVD releases from the likes of Leyland Kirby, Cosmic Dennis Greenridge and Vindicatrix and more in coming months, and if this one is anything to go by, the quality of tunes and curation should be impressive. First up, with 'Like Cattle You Run' Drvg Cvltvre (fka Ra-X) hits a sodden rut of effluent electronics on sounding like KPLR-meets-Madteo deep under the influence of some untested Dutch pharmaceuticals. Flipside Ekoplekz's 'So Allein Replekz' inversion is far more destroyed, extruding your third ear thru flanging, echoic chamber dub noise sounding somewhere between Kevin Drumm and something off Laurel Halo's 'Antenna' tape.

Apparently this is still available from here. I'm amazed that these are hanging around, as I thought that this would fly out. Perhaps it's just a littte bit TOO obscure?

Ekoplekz had an amazing year last year, releasing a slew of brilliantly fractured dubwise electronica with a post-industrial twist accross a bewildering array of labels and formats. I recommend that you get hold of anything - it's all fantastic. Follow his adventures in sound here.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Julian Cope - East Easy Rider & Head Remixes: 2x12"

2012-01-07T12:42:00.006Z

The boxes are looking a bit bashed up, alas, but the vinyl is sounding in remarkably good nick.

We have here the remaining Cope "baggy" remixes by Hugo Nicholson as lifted from the "Peggy Suicide" album. These are also available digitally on the Dancing Heads CD and latterly on the monstrous balls up that was the Peggy Suicide Deluxe Edition which appeared a few years ago. Following on from the "Jehovahkill" Deluxe Edition, which is widely regarded as featuring the worst remastering job EVER and which renders it pretty much unlistenable; Island Records should hang their collective heads in shame. What a way to treat two of the finest UK rock albums ever released.

Anyway, following a recent request for these tracks, I thought I'd dig out the original vinyl editions and include the full vinyl porn artwork.

After all these years, I still love this stuff. Cope was untouchable around this time and although I'm mightily glad he's still around, ploughing his own furrow and releasing interesting music, it seems unlikely that he's ever going to do anything which touches the sparkly genius of this this stuff again. That last Head Heritage album comprising two bikers grunting and shouting in prehistoric chambers is possibly the worst record I've ever heard. I still bought it though...

My favourite track among this lot is the wonderful groove which is "Ravebury Stones". The soundtrack to many a comedown.

Vinyl rips at 320 Kbps.

Download.

White Savage Dance

2012-01-02T18:09:00.005Z

Utterly fantastic early works from Karl O'Connor, better known these days as Regis.

I've been playing this to death over the last few weeks and am loving the early industrial vibe a la Cabaret Voltaire/Robert Rental/DAF etc etc.

Still available here, so this one will only be up for a few days.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Link Expired.

The Grid - Floatation (Prins Thomas Miks) 10"

2012-01-02T17:59:00.002Z

The Grid's signature track gets a typically lovely and sensitive treatment from the genius that is Prins Thomas. This appeared just before Christmas on a one sided 10" single and has been getting serious punishment over the holiday period.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Julian Cope - Love L.U.V. 12"

2012-01-02T11:30:00.004Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all had a good time. My New Year's Eve was eventful. I didn't/couldn't get out of bed until 15:45 on New Year's day due to an appalling hangover. The consequence of mixing wine, champagne, moscow mules and port. Just imagine the state of my poor shrunken brain-sac after THAT assault.

As I stumbled through the remaining part of the day this remix of Cope's "Beautiful Love" kept echoing around my broken head - a fractured memory of the previous evening's soundtrack. I have a vague recollection of standing on a chair, throwing shapes and grinning like a fool to the huge embarrassment of my daughter. This killer tune has become a party staple round these parts, as it's a guaranteed living room floor filler for those of a certain age. Us fortysomethings just can't resist that baggy beat. It stirs something within our hive conciousness and black-holes us back to shared memories of clubbing and drugging days now passed.

Back to work tomorrow. *sigh*

Fresh rip from vintage pink vinyl.
320 Kbps.
All artwork included.

Download.

Various - To The Shores Of Lake Placid

2011-12-04T01:09:00.003Z

Ah, the infamous "To The Shores Of Lake Placid" LP. Catalogue Number Zoo 4.

Wikipedia.

1. Big In Japan - Society For Cutting Up Men
2. Those Naughty Lumps - Iggy Pop's Jacket
3. The Teardrop Explodes - When I Dream
4. Echo And The Bunnymen - Pictures On My Wall
5. Echo And The Bunnymen - Read It In Books
6. Lori And The Chameleons - Lonely Spy
7. The Turqoise Swimming Pools - The Winds
8. Whopper - Kwalo Klobinsky's Lullaby
9. Dalek (I Love You) - A Suicide
10. The Turquoise Swimming Pools - Burst Balloons
11. The Teardrop Explodes - Camera, Camera
12. Big In Japan - Suicide A Go Go
13. Echo And The Bunnymen - Villiers Terrace
14. The Teardrop Explodes - Take A Chance

Features full artwork with added Julian Cope autographs.

Vinyl rip from original LP at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Limited Edition.

2011-12-03T14:51:00.004Z

This LP is a recent release collecting a load of UK DIY stuff both old and new. It's not always brilliant, but it filled me with a warm glow of nostalgia that this stuff was still getting released. It's pretty authentic too; foldover card cover in a poly bag, hand stamped label and typewritten insert. Brilliant.

It's typically bonkers stuff. There's a mix of lo-fi and very lo-fi, but crucially it all blends together into a fairly seamless whole. There's even a spoken word track!

This is a limited edition of 250 and more info (but not much more) is available from the Savoury Days Blog . Go and give them support - there looks to be a few cool things there.

Again, as this is still available, it's only going to be up on here for a few days.

Link Expired.

Limited Edition.

2011-12-03T14:02:00.004Z

A Krautrock drone-out future classic.

You need this one in your life. Come back and tell me if I'm wrong.

Brand new and up for two days only.

Link Expired.

Slow Oscillations

2011-12-03T12:24:00.007Z

Thanks to all for your suggestions. As I'm sticking with Mediafire for now using Chrome for a browser. Issues seem to be definitely relating to a break between Firefox and the redesigned Mediafire upgrade. Onwards.

I've got a few things to post which are new and still available, so I'm only keeping them up for a few days.

First up is this great little single from Steve Moore's Zombi. I've posted some of this stuff up on here before. It's driving synth/prog/italio stuff which always puts a huge smile on my jaded old face. "Slow Oscillations" is one of the better tracks from Zombi's last album "Escape Velocity"). The real joy here though it there is a slightly rougher, but longer demo version on the flip side.

This single is a limited release of 500 copies, which I got from here. There can't be many of these left by now, and it's a lovely package as always from the Static Caravan guys.

Link Expired.

Mind The Gap

2011-11-30T00:29:00.003Z

Apologies for the lack of activity here. I'm having horrible trouble with Mediafire which since it's "brilliant" refresh doesn't seem to work with Firefox. Or it might be issues with OSX Lion, which is equally "brilliant".

Can anyone recommend another pain free file hosting site?

In the meantime, you could always have a look at my series of photos of 100 Londoners over at Spinster's Rock. At some point early next year, I'm probably going to move this site over there, so, you know, get used to it now, why not?

In other news, I've just taken delivery of the 2010 remastered edition of Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge". It's jaw-droppingly good.

I hope you're all doing OK and gearing up for the festive season. I'm already getting stuck into the mulled wine and have completed the vast majority of my Christmas shopping.

Stay warm and beautiful.

NM

The FLK - We Know Where The Time Goes

2011-11-19T10:37:00.006Z

This release appeared a few months ago. You know the drill by now:

Released anonymously? Check.
Rumoured to be be The KLF? Check.
Chock full of recognisable KLF tropes? Check.
Sparking internet arguments about the veracity? Check.

In the end, it doesn't really matter does it. It obviously has nothing to do with Drummond/Cauty, but it IS a great record. A kind of sample collage built around folk samples both obscure and renowned.

I'm just happy that this wonderful band still continue to inspire and inform music so long after their retirement.

Go to The FLK site for videos and social stuff.

There's also some left here if you want to get your own copy.

The FLK Burn Liege & Lief from thyme lord on Vimeo.

Download

The Bombay Royale - Sote Sote Adhi Raat 7"

2011-10-27T12:56:00.003+01:00

You're going to like this one.

The Bombay Royale are a Melbourne band dedicated to honouring and reviving the funky, bizarre and mysterious music of vintage Indian cinema. Dusting off near-unheard relics, smashing out Bollywood classics and putting down surfadelic Hindi originals is all in a day’s work. This band brings the sound of the Golden Age of Bollywood back to the future, where it belongs.

The A side is absolutely killer - those synths totally blowing my mind... More please.

The Bombay Royale

Hope Street Recordings

Vinyl rip at 320 from 7" Single.

Download.

Black - Wonderful Life 7"

2011-10-26T16:41:00.006+01:00

I've always loved this track.

Colin Vearncombe is much underrated as far as I'm concerned.

This reminds me of attending a house party at an impossibly glamorous friend of a friend who lived in Stoke Newington. Before I moved down to London, I made a brace of exploratory visits, each one convincing me more and more that I had be down there. The land of a gig every night and women and women and women. I'd already bought this record on a trip to see a friend who was doing media studies at Liverpool Poly. I thought this was incredible. "What? You get to study films, and newspapers? And then get a degree?"

On one of my initial visits to London, I attended a Smash Hits party with David Hepworth and Mark Ellen in attendance. There was a "smokers" room I seem to recall, but I was far too young, wide eyed and innocent to participate. I just got pissed on cider and tried to cop off with the girl from Cherry Red records. She was having none of it, unfortunately. I later found out she was going out with Louis Philippe, so I couldn't really compare with that could I?

I'm rambling. Back at the Stoke Newington party, I arrived after a visit to the Virgin Megastore and HMV on Oxford Street. I couldn't fucking believe that there were record shops which stocked EVERYTHING. I bought "Wonderful Life" again on the 12" reissue, as this initial release on Ugly Man Records had pretty much bombed.

Always clued up musically, I felt ahead of the game as I played the twelve to the assembled throng. The gays and women loved it. The men, less so.

I had already fallen in love with London and it was a matter of mere weeks before I boarded the train South to seek out a flat in Battersea, renting a room from a mad woman who played percussion: both in an orchestra and on her CD player. Many's the time I arrived home to the sound of an African drum ensemble.

I have a picture somewhere of me at that party which I should dig out for you. I think you'd like it.

Vinyl rip from the original single release at 320 Kbps. A bit of surface noise, but still worth it.

Wonderful Life.

EDIT: Brilliant update from friend of the blog, Bicksvilla.

"Back in the dim distant student days I used to "borrow" a students Union minibus under the guise of official ENTS Ctte business and earn a bit of extra cash doing bits and pieces for various Liverpool bands. I used to drive Black about and one cold autumn day I was booked by Black's manager at the time (Mike Gaunt) to take the band up to Blackpool for the filming of the Saturday morning kid's TV show on ITV called "It's Wicked" (which was presented by Jake Abrahams - another Scouser who ran a pub round the corner from where I lived at the time), We had to go up on the Friday night as filming was early Saturday morning. We stayed in the Norbreck Castle hotel and I was booked in under the pseudonym Tom Bassey (under which name I got junk mail from said hotel for years!) - the reason for the name was Mike couldn't remember my real name but knew it was something Welsh. Anyway filming was over and we were to head straight back to Liverpool, unfortunately the weather was now awful, gale force winds and driving rain but I had to get back to Liverpool in a hurry, I think we had a gig at the uni that we needed the van for, so I drove back to Liverpool in terrible conditions and most probably way over the speed limit. Colin Vearncombe was lying down in the back of the minibus with a coat over his head, not being able to cope with the speed I was driving in the condidtions. He let it be known that I was never to drive them anywhere ever again. Bit of a big girl's blouse was Colin..."

My favourite bit of detail from that is the name of the TV show, which appears to have been a BBC affair rather than an ITV prog...

DJ Shadow - Preemptive Strike

2011-10-26T16:35:00.002+01:00

A gathering of early Shadow tracks, which is worth the price admission for "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Parts 1-4)".

I haven't heard the new album yet. I've resisted so far as I bought the last one and thought it was shit. Any reviews from the Castles Massive?

Download.

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - West

2011-10-23T17:06:00.004+01:00

They saved the best till last. "West" is my favourite BTWS album. Again presented here in a brand new rip with full vinyl porn artwork.

As it's been a good few years, I'm assuming that alas, there will be no more from Team BTWS. Richard continues to make great music in a similar vein as The Time And Space Machine, while Erol Alkan is all across the current club scene. Check out his website for more details.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - George

2011-10-23T14:24:00.005+01:00

The third album is better than the last, and has the brilliant "Electric Bananas" as the centrepiece.

Red splatter vinyl.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - Spring

2011-10-23T14:13:00.005+01:00

The second transmission from planet BTWS is great, while perhaps not quite achieving the same levels of trance-en-mentalness as the first album.

Highlights include the psyche-out money shot of "Words" and the horrible hippy tweefest of the John Peel sampling "The Perfumed Garden".

Clear/blue splatter vinyl.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - Birth

2011-10-23T11:06:00.004+01:00

I've had a request to repost a couple of things by BTWS from a friend of the blog, Marc.

As this stuff is utterly wonderful and has always proved quite popular with "the heads", I thought it might be time for a refresh of their entire oeuvre. So, you know, why the fuck not?

Kicking off with their awesome début, pressed on baby pink vinyl, we have the mighty "Birth".

Setting out their stall for the psychedelic/dance crossover like nobody else before or since, Erol and Richard deliver a MASSIVE hotch-potch of lost psyche gems infused with a thoroughly moderne dancefloor sensibility.

This one is quite difficult to find now, so spark up a jazz cigarette and get on down, pop pickers.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Yachts - Look Back In Love (Not In Anger) 7"

2011-10-23T10:34:00.004+01:00

Right. I've got a lot to get through today, so get out of my way. I'm kicking off with this brilliant third single from the wonderful post punkers, Yachts. I wonder what Wikipedia has to say about them?

The group was formed by art students in Liverpool in April 1977 out of an earlier band, known variously as 'Albert Dock' or 'Albert and the Cod Warriors', who had supported the Sex Pistols on one of their infamous early gigs the previous year.

The band originally consisted of Bob Bellis (drums, vocals); John (J.J.) Campbell (vocals); Martin Dempsey (bass guitar, vocals) (later replaced by first Ray "Chopper" Cooper, then Mick Shiner and finally Glyn Havard); Henry Priestman (born Henry Christian Priestman, 21 July 1955, Hull, and brought up in Liverpool) (vocals, keyboards); and Martin Watson (guitar, vocals).

They played their first show (as ‘Yachts’) at Eric's nightclub in Liverpool, supporting Elvis Costello. This led to a recording contract with Stiff Records, where they released one single, the witty and self-referential "Suffice To Say", written by Priestman and Campbell and produced by Will Birch. They also released a novelty single, "Do The Chud", as the Chuddy Nuddies.

With label mates Costello and Nick Lowe, they then joined the newly formed Radar label. On 9 October 1978, a few weeks after releasing "Look Back in Love (Not Anger)", their first single on Radar, the band recorded the first of two sessions at Maida Vale 4 studio, for John Peel at BBC Radio 1. The tracklisting was "Hits", "Yachting Types", "Look Back In Love", and "Then And Now". (The band’s second session was recorded in June 1979).

The band recorded their debut LP in New York with producer Richard Gottehrer. One reviewer raved that “[the Yachts have] got this cool cheesy (sic) keyboard sound with a nice chunky guitar underneath and in addition to being catchy tunes, their songs have hysterically funny lyrics, like "Yachting Type", where the guy's girl runs off with a yachtsman, or "Mantovani's Hits", which hypothesizes a rock and roll world where Elvis records hadn't been hits but Mantovani's had, or "Box 202", where the guy's girl is killed in an airplane crash so he puts out a classified ad to look for a replacement. The others deal with romance in equally oddball ways, but always rocking and always catchy as hell”.

They toured in the U.S. and Europe with Joe Jackson and The Who, and released a second album with producer Martin Rushent. Both albums were released by Polydor in the U.S.

Campbell left the group in 1978, and Dempsey departed in 1980. Dempsey became a member of Pink Military; and Campbell helped to found It's Immaterial. Yachts finally split up in 1981. Priestman, who for a time was a member of both Yachts and Bette Bright & the Illuminations, then went on to join It's Immaterial, Wah! and, most notably, The Christians, more recently working as a producer with Mark Owen and Melanie C.

Beautiful blue vinyl too.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Nest - Body Pilot 10"

2011-10-09T12:26:00.002+01:00

Nest are amazing.

Their last album proper, "Retold" was probably my favourite album of 2010. Beautiful, suspended ambient music, but with a true heart of musicality underpinning the floating. The drift of events.

Rain and piano. A throb in your head and a rattle of the windows. Swelling strings ebb and flow. The moon shines brighter for an hour then fades away. You think about your partners; your family; the world. You think about your place in the world. Where you have been and where you are going.

A collaborative project featuring Serein label owner Huw Roberts, based in UK, and Otto A. Totland, one half of the Norwegian Deaf Center. There had to be a Scandinavian in there. The snow, the gales you can feel but can't hear. The isolation.

This recently released 10" fills me with a deep joy. It makes me think that there might be another album on the way. Get the first album here. Let it live with you for a while. I promise you you will return to it, time and again.

As this is a recent release and is still available, this link will only be live for a few days.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Dennis Brown - Equal Rights 12"

2011-10-04T13:37:00.003+01:00

Classic old school reggae from much missed Dennis Brown.

This has one of those lovely clip clop beats that runs through the track like a chilled out horse. Dennis's voice is super sweet and the version on the flipside stirs in a bit additional grooviness.

How could you say "no"?

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill: Heavy Disco Edit.

2011-09-29T09:31:00.005+01:00

Reworking of classic Kate Bush track "Running Up That Hill" to bring the disco to the fore. Apparently this has been hanging around for a few years, but has just been repressed in this more sparkly, cleaned up version.

The flipside is a much less interesting funk thing, which isn't really doing it for me, but the wonder of the A side more than makes up for it.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download

Massive (Attack) - Safe From Harm 12"

2011-09-29T09:14:00.003+01:00

From good old Wikipedia:

"Safe from Harm" is the third single from Blue Lines, the 1991 debut from Massive Attack. The bass, guitar, and drums are sampled from the song "Stratus" by Billy Cobham, from his album Spectrum. Additional drums are sampled from "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic. Other samples come from Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. The vocals are sung by Shara Nelson.

The opening track on the wonderful "Blue Lines", this 12"has the extended version on the A side, with the 7' edit and album versions bringing up the rear.

These early Massive Attack singles have lost little of their power to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download

HivernEd 1. 10"

2011-09-24T09:12:00.003+01:00

*Silk-screened sleeve. Limited edition of 300 copies* Weird but ace boogie and minimal wave edits from John Talabot and Marc Piñol on Hivern Disc's LTD edition series. They've really dig deep for this one, setting their sights on some truly obscure and pretty much unknown material. Uptown, John Talabot rejigs some kinda cosmic Boogie number called 'Party Girl' with a deadly B-line and a strange falsetto that you won't forget in a hurry, and neither will the dancefloor! Downtown, Marc Piñot takes on the darker, jacking Wave cut 'Wheels', a perfect fusion of stern EBM rhythms, psychotomimetic bleeps and the coolest vocal - sounds something like a leathered-up dominatrix playing casio keys and singing pitch shifted vocals in the private backroom of an Antwerp sex dungeon. Oh, this hits the spot dead on.

Or:

HivernEd, a new series of releases focused on edits of obscure tracks. Songs that we love and that for one reason or other have remained rarely known over the years. Now we want to bring back to life and make them available for the world once again. To unveil the series we have chosen two rather different edits but that equally amaze us.

In one side JT's “Party Girl”, a cosmic boogie burner that revamps a lost NYC underground classic. Mixing parts of the vocal and instrumental version's, JT delivers a dancefloor whirler that should easily find it's way into the “secret weapon compartment” of all the disco-DJ's bags.

The other side is taken by Marc Piñol's incredible “Wheels” edit, a murky and kind of esoteric track that combines odd atmosphere's, down-pitched vocals and a synth- wavey feel to mind-boggling effects. The resulting track sounds like an impos- sible crossing between Hype Williams and some forgotten cold-wave act. The release comes in a 300 copies edition 10” vinyl wrapped in a special silk- screened sleeve designed by Arnau Pi. No digital and no repress with this one.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Miracle - The Visitors EP. 2x12"

2011-09-18T14:49:00.004+01:00

Brilliant double 12" remix EP from Steve Moore's latest project.

Fans of mid period Depeche Mode should be all over this. It really is very, very good. This will only be up for a few days.

The EP features a lofty and inspiring selection of names including techno legend The Field with a blissful 10-minute ambient epic, the visionary electronic auteur Fennesz with a slinky, fluttering gem, post-dubstep dame Ikonika with a driving dancefloor frenzy, hotly-tipped San Fran acid-freestyle guru Adeptus with a "slow'n'sensual hip hop mix", and now exclusively only to the vinyl release, a throbbing house remix from cult Norwegian avant-metal titans Ulver, of whom Daniel of course shares ranks. All this as well as the original version and an exclusive inclusion of the airwave scorching radio mix make this an unmissable celebration of a genuine modern synth-pop anthem. Although some of these mixes have surfaced in digital form via sites like Fader, XLR8R, Discobelle and Pitchfork, this will be the only chance to own them in physical form, limited to a strict collectors edition of 500 copies...

If you're new to Miracle's world, here's a recap of their story so far: Steve lives in NYC. Daniel lives in London. It's an ethereal relationship that has now become very real. Between its two halves Miracle share an illustrious resume of legendary bands within the drone, prog and doom spheres, including Sunn0))), Guapo, Ulver and Aethenor (Daniel), and Zombi, Titan and Lovelock (Steve).

But Miracle is more than the sum of its parts. As darkly psychedelic as one might anticipate but closer, by a long way, to pure pop music than the two have ever encountered before. It was never discussed. it just happened. The music of Miracle is an apparition, a leap of faith, an inexplicable birth.

As O'Sullivan whispers in 'The Visitor', "You can't see them because your eyes are adjusting". Dreamy vocal arrangements melt into a myriad of harmony over a driving, tranced-out ascension of arpeggiating synths. Heavy, woozy beats and detailed programming bind their two worlds. It's all brought into even more sparkling dimensions on their debut EP 'Fluid Window' with the addition of Dave Cooley, the master-board-wizard behind the likes of J Dilla and Flying Lotus. Whilst refusing to be timestamped, there is a perpetual forward movement to Miracle recalling elements of minimal techno and 70s kosmische, although O'Sullivan's distinctive croon leans into lush 80s pop territory.

Machine music has never sounded so human.

Vinyl Rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

EDIT: I missed the first track from the archive. Get it here.

Julian Cope - Live Japan '91

2011-09-18T12:35:00.004+01:00

One of the rarer albums in Julian's long and sprawling discography, this excellent live album catches the great man in fine form. His backing band were great around this time and I saw him several times in '91.

From Head Heritage:

Following hot on the heels of The Teardrop Explodes' ZOOLOGY comes Julian Cope's own LIVE JAPAN '91, a sonically superb disc which consolidates Head Heritage's decision to undermine the current slew of mediocre bootleg recordings available, with handsomely packaged alternative releases. This new record is a particularly hot performance from the summer '91 shows, and features Donald Ross Skinner and Rooster Cosby at their best. Head Heritage is currently the sole distributor of this Revell Records release (and will continue to be if everything goes to plan), so check out this concert album by an artist who has all-too-infrequently been caught live on record.

1. Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line
2. You Think It's Love
3. East Easy Rider
4. Pristeen / Double Vegetation
5. Promised Land
6. Leperskin
7. Yeah Yeah Yeah
8. Bill Drummond Said
9. Beautiful Love
10. Sleeping Gas
11. Sunspots
12. Out Of My Mind On Dope & Speed
13. World Shut Your Mouth

Long deleted and out of print.

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Orbital - III E.P.

2011-09-18T10:31:00.002+01:00

Classic early Orbital EP, ehich feaures the first sighting of "Satan" as well as "L.C.1" and the perhaps their defining moment, "Belfast". This version is the 1995 reissue of the "III" EP on FFRR from 1990. This version features a longer edit of "Satan".

Download.

Massive (Attack) - Unfinished Sympathy: Nellee Hooper Remixes 12"

2011-09-17T12:11:00.002+01:00

Drew will be furious, but here are the Nellee Hooper remixes of "Unfinished Sympathy" for those that want 'em. I think as an original member of the Wild Bunch, his remixes add something a bit special, although it is difficult to argue with the point that the original mix is pretty much perfect.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Source - You Got The Love (Eren's Bootleg Mix) 12"

2011-09-13T21:52:00.002+01:00

I try and steer away from throwing up anything too obvious on here most of the time. However, I also try and share some of the stuff which occupies my time and keeps me entertained. Those of you who have been around for a while will know that this might include anything from neo-classical drone to the most cheesy pop music. I'm quite proud of that fact.

So, again, I'm pretty sure that most of you will be familiar with this one. Perhaps not in this original Eren's Bootleg Mix form though? This house classic has been remixed and reissued so many times, but nothing has ever come close to the pure genius employed here. I'm not even going to talk about the massive, honking ballache that was the Florence And The Machine cover - the latest in a long line of versions for this song.

I guess we could call this original version one of the first mash-ups, a genre which got way out of hand, but one which I still have a massive fondness for (there you go - I'm being cheesy again). Layering a Frankie Knuckles/Jamie Principal early house track over an unreleased Candi Staton vocal track, but crucially, adding more to mix including the wonderful synth solo, this still works for me on every level. And just listen to that bass pattern.

Full details are here.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Kraftwerk - Robotronik 12"

2011-09-13T21:30:00.003+01:00

I'm painfully short of time, but I'm going to try to get a few things up here tonight. I'm starting off with a few classics, the first of which surely needs no introduction.

This is the remixed version of "The Robots" which as far as I can tell is lifted directly from "The Mix" album. This lovely UK 12" dates from 1991 and in addition to the extended remix, features a single and original album mix. Nothing that you haven't heard before, I'm guessing, but still nice to be reminded of how great they were.

I know music nerds do this one-upmanship thing all the time, but this is a true story. I must have been about thirteen and was obsessed by Kraftwerk. I got my older brother to paint the constructivist Kraftwerk logo from the sleeve of "The Man Machine" onto the flap of my canvas school bag. I took so much shit from my peers; "Who the fuck are Kraftwerk, you queer?" Amazingly, however, I was soon ushered into the cooler realms of the the fifth and sixth formers, who were also into the weirder krauty sounds. Although having said that, I seem to remember that Yes and Led Zep got played out in the sixth form common room much more than Can or Neu! Bowie, Lou and Iggy were big too.

There is one fifth form friend who was obviously older than me with whom I am very much still in touch, despite the fact that he now lives in Denmark with his beautiful Dansk wife. The bastard.

Speaking of which, I'm afraid the the magnetic power of attraction that existed between the heads in those distant pre-internet day alas did work it's magic on any girls.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Trust Me

2011-09-04T04:47:00.006+01:00

You're going to have to trust me on this one, but the folks who hang around here and like the stuff I like will get a proper buzz out of this one. It's a truly great record.

And there's a fantastic Time & Space Machine remix. Bonus.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Link Expired.

Massive (Attack) - Unfinished Sympathy 12"

2011-09-03T13:42:00.003+01:00

I have had the most difficult week at work that you could imagine. I am not a unreasonable man, but some self important twat hung up on me yesterday because I had asked him to follow the appropriate process. I was fucking livid. The boss has been off on holiday and under-resourced and over-committed, I battle on. Seriously, these fuckers would not last five minutes out in the real world.

Deep breath.

Nolan needs some Nolan time today, so why not kick back with this utter classic, which surely needs no introduction. The Oakenfold remix is pretty good, but fear not, this EP contains the original and a surprisingly great instrumental version. Real hairs-on-the-neck stuff.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Sympathy.

Art Of Noise - Moments in Love 12"

2011-08-29T10:56:00.004+01:00

It's hard to keep track of the early ZTT releases as they were routinely released in several different mixes and versions. However, I think that this version of the mighty "Moments In Love" is the second edition, dating from 1985.

This version contains "Moments In Love (Beaten)" on the A side and the even more lush "Love Beat" on the second side, in addition to what seems to be an original mix of "Moments In Love".

Always one of my favourite AON tracks, this still seems to be as out of time as it ever was. I've got the first version somewhere, so will try to dig it out at some point. I might post a few other choice AON twelves if this one goes down well.

Also look out for the imminent re-release of the debut album which has been remastered and expanded.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Split Album

2011-08-14T14:04:00.004+01:00

A pretty limited (edn of 600) split between Bitchin Bajas (CAVE's Cooper Crain) and Faceplant (Peaking Lights' Aaron Coyes). The sleeve has a big picture of a massive bud of skunk on each side.

We've got two long tracks from each artist here. The Bitchin Bajas side is a totally soothing affair, with layers of synth drones and arpeggios creating a shimmering voyage into the cosmic ether. The pacing of his work is beautifully gauged and his side is therapeutic stuff.

Flip it and things get a little darker, much more on the glacial trance/techno side of things. In the first track, 'Ride the Ether', there's a repetitive bass hook and a really minimal drum line over which some squelchy, echoey synths carve out swathes of tone alongside a crisper top end synth melody. The second track, 'Dickie Domecon', has a total monged out electro vibe like Herbie Hancock on downers, with dubby swooshes and a repetitive melody. Rhythmically this is the more interesting of the two Faceplant offerings but its thermostat is still set firmly in 'chill' territory.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Link Expired.

The Beloved - Your Love Takes Me Higher 12" & Hello 12"

2011-08-14T11:49:00.008+01:00

The second and third 12" EPs from the Beloved are a pair of total classics, featuring an array of excellent remixes covering all of the pop and early house bases. I think these stand up really well and still sound very fresh. "Hello" in particular is one of my favourites, with its cheeky but cool lyric.

Go here for a bio and as indicated on the previous post, a whole load of rare downloads.

Vinyl rips at 320 Kbps.

Your Love Takes Me Higher

Hello

Cola Boy - 7 Ways To Love 12"

2011-08-14T11:40:00.005+01:00

I've posted the 7" of this before, but here's the 12" in all it's glory.

7 Ways To Love was written by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of St Etienne, who hoped the track would be their first step in building a Stock, Aitken & Waterman / Brill Building / Hit Factory style songwriting empire.

Cola Boy was a duo, consisting of Janey Lee Grace and Andrew Midgley. Andrew had worked with Bob and Pete on studio material in their pre-St Etienne days in the late 1980s. Janey had been a backing singer for numerous pop acts, including Wham and Pasty Kensit’s Eighth Wonder, and was a radio broadcaster on LBC.

Sarah Cracknell sang the vocals on the original white label version of 7 Ways. After that initial batch sold out, it was re-recorded with vocals by Sarah’s friend Janey Lee Grace, as Sarah was under contract to another label and was not permitted to sing on non-St Etienne releases.

Janey’s version of 7 Ways is the one that was subsequently picked up and released by Arista Records, but in the meantime the original Sarah version was heavily bootlegged, costing Arista many thousands of sales. A further Cola Boy connection with Sarah was that the duo were managed by Sarah’s mother, who had previously worked with and managed a number of acts, including Wee Papa Girl Rappers.

There was a second Cola Boy single, He Is Cola, which was spectacularly unsuccessful. That fulfilled the two-single deal with Arista, and the contract was not renewed.

With other labels interested in picking them up, Janey was keen to continue working on new Cola Boy material, but Andrew had by then started work on a new project, Blinder, and was writing darker, non-pop dance material.

Cola Boy fell apart in late 1991/early 1992, and Andrew moved North. Blinder enjoyed some limited cult success on the northern England and Scottish rave circuit, before dissolving towards the end of 1993. Andrew subsequently moved into journalism and composing music for television.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Tomas - Mind Song 12"

2011-08-13T13:08:00.004+01:00

More early Warp goodness hewn from the vinyl mountain.

This is WAP 10 and hails from Leeds, I do believe. Tomas was one Thomas Sylvanus Stewart, who never released anything else, other than a track on a compilation which precedes this release.

All of those early trademarks of the UK house scene are here in spades on this record; it's classic Warpery. My favourite track is the AA side tune, "Architecture". Six minutes of thudding kick drum and squelch bass with a weird, distorted vocal sample. Brilliant.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Clint Mansell - Moon

2011-08-13T12:06:00.005+01:00

Clint Mansell's partnership with Darren Aronofsky has produced some of the finest film music of recent years. He pulls it out of the bag again here for Duncan Jones's wonderful, elegiac sci-fi film, "Moon".

This is a work of quiet power which reminds me (in places) of the quiter moments of the 2001 soundtrack. The recurring theme is lovely and gets thrown into different shapes as the soundtrack progresses.

In common with the film, the beauty of the artwork is something to behold, and although due to the fairly low-key nature of the music vinyl might not be the best medium for the music, the package more than makes up for it. Try and grab one if you can.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Link Expired.

Saroos - Yukoma (Populous Remix) 7"

2011-08-13T11:06:00.003+01:00

A piano moves us towards weirdly thick, slowed down house grooves. A chunky kick drum pushes its way through stuttering clouds of unusual instrumentation and synthesized drones, giving a weird after-hours neon resonance. Flip over to ‘Outrigger’ though and we’re reframing twisted folk into something dusty and yet crunchy.

A terrific single.

Download.

Live '72

2011-08-12T23:44:00.004+01:00

This appears to have sold out, so I'll hang it up here for a few days as a mark of respect for the recently departed Conrad Schnitzler.

This double album (pressed on white vinyl) is a slightly noisy pressing, with a warpy disposition and off-centre labels, but the music contained within those caucasian grooves is the stuff of joy. Recorded in '72, but out of time - this could have been cooked up yesterday.

Lovely Con obituary here.

And go to the Further Records site for more goodies. The Ekoplekz album is a fucking killer.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Remix 12"

2011-08-06T16:22:00.003+01:00

Just out of the traps. Won't be here for long.

Vinyl rip at 320Kbps

Link Expired.

The Beloved - The Sun Rising 12"

2011-08-06T15:23:00.004+01:00

A true Balearic classic which strangely turned up on as many ambient compilations as it it did banging trance compilations.

It's a beautiful song, which uses the same sample that Orbital used in their equally brilliant track, "Belfast" ("O Euchari" sung by Emily Van Evera).

Presented here is the original UK 12" release which features a brace of excellent remixes.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download

EDIT: Also have a look here. Many thanks to Dan for the heads up.

Orbital - Chime: The Remixes 12"

2011-07-31T13:41:00.003+01:00

Decent remix 12" of the first Orbital single. Rarely heard these days. At least in Bedfordshire.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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PWEI - Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina 12"

2011-07-03T15:13:00.005+01:00

I Can't believe I haven't posted this one before, as It's one of my favourite ever records. A masterful example of those early, heady days of the "indie/dance crossover", Pop Will Eat Itself should get a hell of a lot more respect for the role they played in breaking down the barriers between the opposing poles of pale indie and shaking your honky arse.

This is a SUCH a great record. The back story being that the band were trying to start a campaign to get Italian porn princess (and future wife of Jeff Koons, as immortalised in some of his unbelievably arch works), to get a role in the opening ceremony of the Italia '90 World Cup finals. The record came with a postcard which you had to fill in and send to FIFA, which I dutifully did. These days, there would be a faceboook page, no doubt.

PWEI's Clint Mansell is now a successful Hollywood composer, most notably working with Darren Aronofsky. Some of those soundtracks are available in beautiful limited vinyl editions, which I recommend that you buy if you can find them - not only are they terrific musically, they are such lovely artefacts into the bargain.

Anyway, this is a brilliant record. Enjoy.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Annette - Dream 17 12"

2011-07-03T11:06:00.006+01:00

There are a couple of remixes here, which as far as I know, have only ever been available on this brilliant, rare 12"

The lead "Dream 17" track is taken from the "North" album I posted yesterday, but the flipside tracks "Nightmare On Dream Street" and "Dream Slumber" are where things really start to take off. These sound incredibly accomplished given the fact that we were back at the dawn of the UK acid sound.

Let me know what you think, trainspotters.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Grid - A Beat Called Love 12"

2011-07-03T00:28:00.003+01:00

The follow up to the Floatation 12" I posted a few days ago, this is another great single from The Grid (which immediately followed the Floatation 12").

The 12" is just OK, but the 7" mix on the flip is great. What seals the deal, however, is the "Progressive" mix of Floatation which comes as the second track on the B side.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Acid Angels - Speed Speed Ecstasy 12"

2011-07-02T21:28:00.003+01:00

I might be mis-remembering this, but I'm pretty sure that it was Douglas Hart, ex of the Jesus And Mary Chain who was the prime mover behind Acid Angels. It certainly has some of those dirty rock influences that Primal Scream ran with later in their Magpie-like career.

Whatever, this is another very early UK acid contender, which still sounds great 23 years after the fact. 23 years! Jesus!

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Pac Man - Power Pill 12"

2011-07-02T20:26:00.007+01:00

And already, I'm going off piste with this one, as strictly speaking, it's more of a breakbeat thing than an acid thing. It's still great, though and is the acceptable face of all those stoopid acid novelty records which were unleashed at the turn of the nineties as sampling technology developed further.

Anyway, for those who don't know, this is Richard D. James AKA The Aphex Twin in one of his many guises. It's early stuff for sure and definitely a bit gimmicky, but as you would expect from RDJ, it's executed very well. The lead track in particular is sounding pretty good to me this evening.

EDIT: New Link Added.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Adonis - Acid Poke 12"

2011-07-02T19:36:00.003+01:00

Excellent early acid track from the Chicago pioneer, Adonis. The instrumental on the flipside probably just cuts it over the vocal version on the A side.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Stateley Homes Of England

2011-07-02T18:01:00.003+01:00

A quick plug for my my friend, Billy Milk and his band, The Stately Homes Of England.

They have recently released a lovely new EP which features a star turn from the legendary underground cartoonist, Hunt Emerson. The EP is available in every format that you could wish for, including some very special limited editions featuring unique artwork from Hunt.

It's a lovely, folk tinged thing which should go down a treat for a bit of communal singing around the campfire at the festival of your choice over the coming season.

Sorry, Billy. I should have done this weeks ago.

Go here for full details and ordering information.

North: The Sound Of The Dance Underground

2011-07-02T17:35:00.003+01:00

From the sleevenotes:

"It was summer 1986 and clubs in London are rocking to the sounds of East Coast hip hop and Washington Go Go. Meanwhile, dancefloors ´North of Watford´ (especially in Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester) are crammed with people jacking to a new sound from Chicago called "house", and for two years a north/south divide of a different kind was established.

Summer 1988 reads very differently with whole nation rapidly becoming one jacking zone. Clubs are now overflowing with people trance dancing to a form of music that they once ignored. DJ's who once dismissed house music as hi-energy are now exclusively playing house and a whole new culture is born.

But what of the North? The jacking continues more fervently than ever, the smileys and ecstasy are evident but its not just acid that's being played but all forms of house. And at the centre of it all is Manchester's Haçienda. For almost three years Friday's Nude night has been packed, and this album is a direct result of this Friday madness.

Nude night DJ Mike Pickering is one of three musicians who make T-Coy who have produced some of the tracks on this album as well as contributing two (including their classic and demand début "Carino"). The tracks on this album are honest. The people who made these records are not bandwagon jumping. Sheer enthusiasm for house and weekly visits to the clubs of the north have inspired them to make these records.

From the awesome and hypnotic ´Voodoo Ray´ by "A Guy Called Gerald" to the manic glory of Frequency 9's ´Get On One´, many styles of house are covered here. Witness the sheer delight of ´Dream 17´ by Annette and the tongue in cheek ´Mega Trip´ by "Masters Of Acid". Every track is as diverse as the people who made them. These people have helped establish the northern clubs as the home of house. The northern house continues to grow and be influenced by a number of diverse styles. Like hip hop, the genre is here to stay and will develop. Trends come and go and soon fashion will be dictating a new soundtrack for some clubgoers, but in the North the house scene now resembles the Northern Soul scene in terms of it's dedication and fanaticism. Almost three years ago the North adopted house and "North" sees it coming of age. As long as house music packs the dancefloors with sweaty bodies then the story of "North" will continue....this one will run and run....

Graeme Park (Nottingham)"

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Ecstasy Club - Jesus Loves The Acid 12'

2011-07-02T16:02:00.003+01:00

Fairly full-on acid from the early days of the second summer of love. This is a great record and although it features a few of the things which fairly quickly became the trademark (clichéd) sounds of the acid house movement, this one was one of the innovators.

The flipside "Acid Chant" is an insane psychedelic head-fuck monster. It's almost as if these people were taking drugs.

Both sides of this have a lock groove spin out, which I've left running for a wee while, just to give you a flavour. I remember one night listening to the looped lock groove for far, far too long. I was, in the immortal words of Moggieboy, "in the zone".

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Acid House Saturday

2011-07-02T14:55:00.002+01:00

I've been listening to a shitload of early acid house this week. I'm gonna try and throw as much drug-fuelled nonsense as I can up her over the next few hours.

Strap yourselves in and take all of your drugs now.

Acid House Saturday is GO!

Into The Night - Joy Division Vs Cabaret Voltaire

2011-06-30T23:03:00.005+01:00

Not really, but that's what this brand new, beautifully packaged, clear vinyl 10" puts me in mind of. What heady times we are living through. It's all up for grabs isn't it?

You'll like this one, I promise. As I say, it's new, so will only be up till the weekend.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Grid - Floatation 12"

2011-06-28T23:25:00.004+01:00

The Grid were a duo comprising Dave Ball, ex of Soft Cell and Richard Norris, who later went on to make some brilliant records with Erol Alkan as Beyond The Wizards Sleeve and subsequently as the sole member of The Time And Space Machine.

"Floatation" was The Grid's first single proper, released after a pair of hard to find DJ promo releases. Although they went on to much greater success commercially, I'm not sure the act ever did better than this single artistically.

Andrew Weatherall has a big hand in this as well, and I'm guessing he's the one responsible for the Stone Roses sample at the end of the Sonic Swing Mix.

Dave Ball continues to work, currently recording as part of the promising Celine And Nite Wreckage.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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m=minimal

2011-06-25T23:32:00.007+01:00

After the releases “in g”, “urlaub” and the Conrad Schnitzler / borngräber & strüver cooperation “Con-Struct” which will be released in August this year, Christian Borngräber – one half of “borngräber & strüver” is working on a solo project which is going to be released early 2012.

For this ambitious project he needs the help from as many contributors as possible. The plan is to create a virtual piano instrument out of as many different pianos as possible. From each real instrument he will use only one note, so the most simple instrument would be formed by 88 different piano notes. But one-note.org goes further as there will be hopefully about 20 to 30 (or more) soundfiles for each key of the piano.

On the website www.one-note.org you can read details about how to contribute. Infos about how this project evolves will be posted soon on www.m-minimal.com.

http://soundcloud.com/artshock-studios/sets/kreuzberg-kreuzberg/s-DDI1f

Yazoo - Situation Remix 12"

2011-06-25T20:01:00.003+01:00

This remix 12" tries to boost a little house boom currency into the already long established dance moves of the Yazoo classic, "Situation". While not entirely successful, there is much to love here as a period piece as much as anything. And as it is a Mute Records release, it proves yet again that I can never resist the lure of this wonderful label.

Essentially a housey re-tooling of the stripped down electropop genius of the original, I think that these remixes take away as much as they add, although I do remember being blown away by them back in 1990, so maybe it's just that time hasn't been that kind to them. I also feel slightly precious about those original Yazoo tracks, as they stand up today like VERY little else from that period.

However, the surprising winner of this particular cage fight, especially given the stellar pedigree of the "Situation" remixers (Youth and Kevorkian), is the Paul Dakeyne reboot of the lesser track, "State Farm". This is still sounding great to my ears and "State Farm" was never one of my favourite Yazoo tracks.

Whatever. For all of it's faults, this is a nice piece of archaeology and tremendous fun. And there's no doubting the enduring power of Alison's vocals, in whatever context they may appear.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Tuff Little Unit - Join The Future 12"

2011-06-25T10:17:00.002+01:00

One of the best early Warpers for my money.

Catalogue number WAP12 and issued in 1991. TWENTY YEARS AGO!

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Tricky Disco - Tricky Disco 12"

2011-06-12T17:37:00.003+01:00

Tricky Disco has the catalogue number WAP 07. I'm pretty sure the flipside was the first time I'd heard that monk sample a la Enigma. The B side is the better cut for me.

One more to go...

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Nightmares On Wax - Dextrous 12"

2011-06-12T16:19:00.003+01:00

This one is much more like it. From the nascent Nightmares On Wax, a double whammy of electro coolness delivered in two short transmissions. I played this fucker to death back in the day.

Vinyl rip at 320 kbps.

Download.

The Step - Yeah You 12"

2011-06-12T14:54:00.003+01:00

A strange one, this. Not really carrying the typical Warp sound or vibe and certainly not one of my favourites. The flipside track, "Bulldog" is a bit more like it, but generally, this one hasn't stood the test of time too well. According to Discogs, this was the their first and only release.

Vinyl rip at 320kbs.

Download.

LFO - We Are Back 12"

2011-06-12T12:32:00.003+01:00

This superb 12", catalogue number WAP 14, is so, so good.

LFO polish their best turbocharged Robo-Kraftwerk moves to the delight of inner space explorers everywhere. This is an amazing track and a true highlight of the early Warp releases.

The more spangly flipside "Nurture" is just lovely. Bouncy and rattly techno which still sounds pretty fresh to me.

Attention! Atention! Acid Dads in the area!

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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LFO - What Is House EP

2011-06-12T12:04:00.001+01:00

Here's the "Unlimited Edition" of the brilliant "What Is House?" EP from LFO. Two tracks the same, two tracks different. Worth having for the looy "Mashed Potato" alone.

More LFO and mpore early Warp to come later today.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

Updates Coming...

2011-06-12T12:02:00.003+01:00

I'm going to get as much stuff as I can posted today. Stay tuned for more Warped goodness...

It's Immaterial - White Man's Hut 12"

2011-06-09T21:01:00.005+01:00

You know when I said "imminent"...?

Once again, apologies for the delay in posting. I'm going to try to get a few things up here tonight - starting with this wonderful single from the early It's Immaterial canon.

This is really all about the A side as the flipside songs are a bit weak. But have a listen to White Man's Hut. Especially at 0:35 where the backing chorus comes in. It's a thing of joy and beauty.

Vinyl rip at 320 kbps.

Download.

Updates Imminent

2011-06-05T16:41:00.003+01:00

Bonjour! I've just got back from La Belle France, hence the lack of blog action. Updates coming as soon as unpacking has been completed and the mountain of washing has been conquered.

LFO - Limited Edition What Is House EP

2011-05-23T17:31:00.003+01:00

From 1991, this 4-track 12" EP, catalogue number WAP 17LTD was pressed in a limited edition of 2000 clear vinyl copies.

Mine is No 1346. And it's amazing.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Kid Unknown - Nightmare 12"

2011-05-22T18:30:00.004+01:00

For no reason at all, I pulled out a stack of early Warp 12" singles this afternoon. I've been away with the boys for a few days in Tallinn, so it wasn't like I needed any further excitement, but sometimes it's good to pull out something old to spark up the old nostalgia glands. Anyway, while I would never describe this as sounding fresh, it pretty much still did it for me and was a total memory bomb in terms of making me recall the nights out, the fun, the mess, the sheer exhilarating joy of it all.

From Discogs:
"Paul Fitzpatrick was a regular DJ at the legendary Hacienda nightclub in Manchester. He had two singles released on Warp in 1992 before going on to record under the name Nipper and to co-found the LCD Records label. [He was] one of the originators of the Manchester house music scene in the early 90's [...].

I'll be doing a bit more of this stuff over the next few days, I think. Does anyone remember the NORTH album, which dips back even a few years further and was my first real exposure to this stuff? Incoming.

Vinyl rip from Wap 20 at 320 Kbps.

Nightmare.

Freeez - I.O.U. 7" Pack.

2011-05-15T17:43:00.004+01:00

This brilliant single was one of my first proper exposures to Arthur Baker and John Robie. After being a dedicated post punker, the likes of Cabaret Voltaire and New Order picking up on this stuff was massively exciting and pointed a whole new direction for the way that music was going to evolve.

I always felt that this brilliant little record never got the recognition it deserved from the cognoscenti, but it still stands up remarkably well. I can see them now on TOTP - British funkers having gotten ruffed up by the NY elite. Brilliant.

I also include the 1987 remix, which, while not being an abomination, doesn't add much to the glorious original.

Whatever happened to Freeez?

Vinyl rips at 320 Kbps.

Download

Radio Heart 12"

2011-05-15T14:13:00.003+01:00

Do you want to hear a huge-big-massive eighties tune with superfat syth riffing and girl backing vocals underpinning a guest turn from the Numanoid? Do you want an instrumental version? Do you want an extra track called "Mistasax Version Two" which has one of those extended sax solos over a bed of brooding synths and sounds like the incidental music from a dour British detective show?

I think I can help.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps

I lose myself in the night.

Pastoral Symphony

2011-05-14T11:23:00.004+01:00

This is one of two special Record Store Day 2011 releases that I was desperate to get my hands on. (Don't worry, viewers, I got the other one as well.)

Limited edition 12“, edition of 500, no repress. With remixes by Studio, Etienne Jaumet and Mauve Deep
SIDE A.
1. Pastoral Symphony I. Dominoes II. Infinity Room (Original Version by ARP)
2. The Past (Version by STUDIO)

SIDE B.
3. PS (Version by MAUVE DEEP)
4. La Symphonie Pastorale (Version by ETIENNE JAUMET)

On the heels of his critically–acclaimed album The Soft Wave, ARP (born Alexis Georgopoulos) releases the single Pastoral Symphony.

Remixers include Sweden’s finest Balearic STUDIO, the visual artist Keegan McHargue’s first release as MAUVE DEEP and Carl Craig–chum ETIENNE JAUMET.

Side A features the original. As the title implies – the full title is Pastoral Symphony I. Dominoes II. Infinity Room – this 8+ minute epic comes in two parts. Part I. Dominoes unfolds in a hazy blown out sheen, a rippling bass cycle underpinning a gloriously distorted synth melody. The mood is romantic and yearning. Things peak in a tumble of trembled Minimoog tunnel before a soft come down that fades into the second section. Part II. Infinity Room is name in homage to those minimalist rooms built by Yayoi Kusama and Lucas Samaras in which everything in said room is multiplied infinitely in a boxed cascade of mirrors. As such it builds and builds towards some infinite reach.

STUDIO’s remix is a taut electro–funk workout. Like their original material, there are nods to The Cure, Balaeric and even soundtrack music.

MAUVE DEEP reclaims the original’s cosmic intentions. On a cloud of minutely repeated patterns, nearly unaugmented tracks move sideways, like so many shifting tectonics.
Somewhere between Terry Riley, Oval and the stratosphere, this mix finds is celestial harmony. And it’s fully blissed.

ETIENNE JAUMET, whose recent Night Music (Domino) was mixed by Carl Craig, returns the favor with a mix that finds that perfect middle point between Craig’s moody minimal techno and Psychic TV’s early nods toward Detroit.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Sundays - Static And Silence

2011-05-08T10:34:00.003+01:00

I love the way that certain records drift in and out of your life. I hadn't heard this album in years and I'm not even sure I played it that much when I bought it back in 1997. My tastes were probably somewhere else when this was released. And there was always the gigantic shadow cast by their exquisite début.

This is their third and final album. After this one, David Gavurin and Harrriet Wheeler essentially retired from music to raise their children. What a fine and noble thing to do. Our loss, however. Although, they built a home studio, so I bet there's shitloads in the can which we will never get to hear.

This album is as lovely, un-showy and solid as everything else in their small, perfectly formed back catalogue. I never get tired of her wonderful voice and his guitar work is just fucking lovely. Full of brilliant songs which reveal themselves over time and featuring the most tasteful and understated backing that any band ever managed to get down on tape. This is basically perfect. I've been playing it to death over the last few weeks; in the car, at home, on the iPhone - everywhere.

Like friends, partners, colleagues and comrades, music drifts in and out of your life. Bands come and go. Albums fade and become unloved; irrelevant.

This one is a keeper.

Download

Paul McCartney - Balearic Rarities 12"

2011-05-08T09:35:00.005+01:00

A weird and wonderful collection of eccentric electronic gems and unreleased rarities from Macca in celebration of his recent engagement announcement.

Created in the late 70s while McCartney was messing about with his new electronic instruments, these early experiments have more than stood the test of time and despite being little known amongst McCartney’s mainstream fans, many have gained a cult following on the cosmic and Balearic scenes.

This recent (presumably unofficial) 12" includes the quirky and totally brilliant "Check My Machine", a superbly repetitive electronic ditty which legend has it is literally just that - McCartney switching on his machine for the first time and checking it by making this track!

Another big track is the crazy frantic proto-techno of "Temporary Secretary", Paul’s only single release never to chart when released. Also included is the fantastic cosmic roller "Blue Sway" plus great unreleased extended versions of amazing tracks such as the sparse and evocative oriental soundscape of "Frozen Jap", "Front Parlour" with its raw tech-pop, and the beautifully delicate and melancholic Balearic gem "Sunshine Sometime".

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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PInk Skull - Drugs Will Keep Us Together 12"

2011-04-30T12:22:00.002+01:00

"Drugs Will Keep Us Together" is a guaranteed killer, with Philadelphia's Pink Skull offering up this funky off-kilter tech-house banger. Alongside the original version on the A side, there is a monged out electrohouse dub mix from NYC's 33Hz. The flip is owned by a brilliant Trevor Loveys extended mix.

It's a very musical and melodic trip with disco guitars, a supersaw synth, stuttering basslines, a tweaky broken beat and a twitching, throbbing vibe which works brilliantly.

Huh! Get on Up!

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download

Various Artists Sampler

2011-04-24T14:47:00.003+01:00

Wonderful sampler CD featuring tracks taken from the vinyl only Disposable Music Library Subscription Discs series from the ever-brilliant Finders Keepers Records founded and run by Andy Votel. The Subscription disc series was a set of five highly limited vinyl pressings featuring library music both new and old. It's a beautiful set with distinctive artwork and high production values. I think a few of them might still be available.

There's a divers range of styles on this sampler disc, but it hangs together really well as an album in it's own right.

The Finders Keepers website is a joy and they issue/reissue lost treasures at a spectacular rate both on vinyl and CD.

Download

Extension 10"

2011-04-24T12:55:00.004+01:00

Discodeine are a parisian duo comprised of Pilooski (Dirty Sound system) and Pentile.

"Synchronize" is a perfect disco-pop song featuring Jarvis Cocker, who provided the lyrics and a perfect vocal performance that turns this song into an instant classic. This was a limited edition of 500 copies pressed up on blue vinyl.

Pilooski mailed me a few years ago after I'd posted the highly limited DIRTY SOUNDSYSTEM CD's up on here. He said I was "not cool" for posting the albums, which I though was a bit fucking rich as the albums are re-edits of other people's material. You'd better grab this quick in case he gets back in touch.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

Download.

The Discodeine album is great btw.

Full Pupp Presents The Greatest Tits Vol 1.

2011-04-22T10:39:00.003+01:00

Prins Thomas' "Full Pupp" label's first CD release was this excellent double disck pakage dating from 2008. Tha album is a compilation of tracks released to that point by the label and includes all the greats from the Nordic scene including Todd Terje, Mental Overdrive, Diskjokke and a whole host of less widely known (and for that matter, less pronuncable) talents.

On the first disc, the album is ably mixed by the Prins Thomas himself. The second disc contains a selection of unmixed material.

That's the soundtrack for your Easter disco sorted out, then.

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Sub Loam - 2

2011-04-22T09:36:00.005+01:00

Released early last year in a hand-stamped, hand-numbered limited edition of 110 copies, Sub Loam (aka Thomas Shrubsole) offers up two long pieces of what he terms "landscape meditation and exploratory ambience".

The 15-minute opening first track plunges your ears into a hauntological realm populated by suggestive sound cues and vintage sonic constructions to trick the memory. Throughout there's a continuous stream of tape hiss, with warbling, organ-like tones and plenty of booming, shadowy bass echoing around the stereo field in such a way as to present the illusion that there's something creepy and peculiar going on directly behind you, or just out of your field of vision.

Following on from this, 'Grass And Soil, Rutted Track, A Mound Of Earth' proves even better, presenting a disfigured environmental soundscape that seems as if it's been committed to tape using the world's most unreliable and decrepit dictaphone. Fluctuations and rumbles in the consistency of the recordings add plenty of character, although the muddy, waterlogged sonorities still manage to come through, becoming less and less stable as we draw towards the end - something which results in overloaded, distorted noise and almost raygun-like pulsations.

A darkly analogue ambient release which gives us a glimpse into a compellingly mulchy and nocturnal universe.

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Seefeel - Quique Redux Edition

2011-04-17T10:52:00.004+01:00

Too Pure finally brought this album back into print after far too long with this double-disc "Redux Edition", and listening now, you'll hear the beginnings of a still-thriving genre that remains slippery and unnamed, purely electronic music with a strange, tangy rock aftertaste.

It's just the barest tinkling of percussion, a rising and falling bass line to provide a barely audible pulse guiding the track, and the laziest melody Kevin Shields or Robin Guthrie never wrote. Not afraid to name a song "Spangle", that most overused of adjectives when it comes to post-Cocteau Twins' guitar atmospherics, Seefeel's canvas on Quique was the azure 8-bit horizon of a computer game where the band blew pixilated clouds that spritzed digital mist and crafted minimal hooks from just hypnotic smears of faraway feedback and Sarah Peacock's nape-of-your-neck intimate whispers.

Needless to say, if Seefeel's pace gets to, say, mid-tempo, the band's pretty damn worked up. The songs stretch out like groggy limbs after a mid-day nap, and the band is often at its best when it's at its most languid, as on the impossibly sensual and nearly static "Filter Dub".

In the band's attempt escape rock's orbit, the second disc of nine unreleased tracks and rare cuts melts any remaining physicality away until all that's left is, as the band titles the last track, a "Silent Pool", even removing most of the "techno" from "ambient techno." The "avant garde" mix of "Charlotte's Mouth" mutes the original's percussion until it's the spectral, washed-out blur of an underdeveloped Polaroid, and the eerie "My Super 20" blows barren winds as cold the bleakest tracks on AFX's Selected Ambient Works II or the arctic static of Thomas Koner.

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The Rock Steady Crew - (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew 7"

2011-04-14T23:16:00.004+01:00

From the dawn of hip hop culture, this fantastic single rings out down the years. Co-written and produced by the indomitable Stephen Hague. There's an album as well, which I have somewhere. This seemed very, very new and exciting on it's release in 1983.

The instrumental version on the flip might just edge it, but the vocal version is a solid gold classic. Make a break, make a move.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps

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E.M.A.K. - Tanz In Den Himmel 12"

2011-04-14T00:07:00.006+01:00

Guys and Gals, apologies for lack of posts over the last few weeks. My employers and family keep asking me to, like, do stuff. The bunch of leeching, grabbing, annoying bastards. I'll try and rectify the dearth of tunage over the coming few days.

Let's kick off with this recent and highly limited 12" from the wonderful E.M.A.K. (Electronische Musik Aus Koln) collective as recently compiled on the ever brilliant Soul Jazz album, "A Synthetic History Of E.M.A.K. 1982-88".

The tracks on this 12" weren't featured on the album, however.

Very brief but very wonderful. The lead track "Tanz In Den Himmel" is especially brilliant.

Only up for a few days.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Hardcore Synth Abuse - Part Two

2011-04-02T13:35:00.003+01:00

Those of you who enjoyed this should also find something to get excited about for Zombi's "Spirit Animal". The linking factor is Steve Moore, although in the Zombi incarnation, this music is much closer to authentic, actual prog rock. It's done with élan and care and somehow, againt a lot of the odds (if not all of them) it somehow works.

Thought that the synthesizer-happy instrumental duo Zombi couldn't possibly get more celestial than their Goblin-esque last album, Surface to Air (2006)? Wrong again boyo -- it's a good thing I never take your advice anyway. On the five-track Spirit Animal, the Pittsburgh twosome continues to rescue the sounds of 70s keyboard prog from the viscous grip of cheese, concentrating this time around on warmer textures and ever more cosmic soundscapes. Is there an element of the tongue in cheek? Put it this way: The cover of Spirit Animal features an elephant bounding through the cosmos.

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α60 – Exit Ramp Remixes

2011-03-27T12:44:00.004+01:00

I got sent a link to these, which are absolutely brilliant. Not available until early April, but on this evidence, worth waiting for.

"Cults of Brasilia follow up last year’s debut release with fresh remixes of α60’s Exit Ramp by Subway (Sunday Best, Soul Jazz Records) and Antoni Maiovvi (Fright Records, Slime Records, Caravan, The Cold Hand).

Soul Jazz favourites Subway deliver a driving, hypnotic mix of techno and cosmic disco influences, perfect for a night drive through a Ballardian cityscape. Meanwhile Italo-futurist Antoni Maiovvi twists Exit Ramp into a relentlessly dramatic soundtrack for an unmade futurist Giallo movie. These remixes are backed up by α60’s arpeggiator-heavy original Italo-Electro mix and new track The Sender which pushes the α60 sound into new, deep minimal territory.

This is essential music for lovers of italo influenced, synth-heavy electronic music, 80s sci-fi horror soundtracks, and fans of Gatekeeper, Ash-Ra Tempel or Goblin.

‘Exit Ramp Remixes’ will be available from all the top digital retailers from April 2010."

Cults Of Brasilia

Demdike Stare - Osmosis

2011-03-26T17:12:00.005Z

Demdike Stare have lit up the spooky electronica space over the last year or so like nobody I can remember. A slew of great, atmospheric albums have continued to be on heavy rotation here at Micron Towers since they appeared. Beautifully packaged and with an obvious attention to detail from folks who know their way around making haunting, affecting music.

Although ostensibly featuring other material, this mix CD is broadly the same as one of their own records, as they heavily utilise vinyl records unearthed from the four corners of the earth and weave them into their dark northern excursions for their headfuck dub sound.

It's pretty unclassifiable, but anyone interested in the bleaker corners of electronic dub music should get a kick out of this.

Osmosis indeed.

Get more here.

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Black Label, Black Sleeve

2011-03-26T16:30:00.003Z

My rip from vinyl at 320 Kbps
No artwork

First post to be ripped and recorded using new turntable, so any feedback about rip quality or problems most welcome.

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It's Immaterial - Life's Hard And Then You Die

2011-03-22T17:38:00.005Z

A terrific piece of work which seems to exist in and of itself. The primary example in a field of one. Who else ever sounded like this? Massively individual and self contained, this record is one of my favourite albums. Some might find it a difficult first listen, But as with all great works, it reveals itself over time as the nuances unravel layer after layer. Just two men and a Yamaha DX7.

It's daft to try and pinpoint the highlights, as it works completely as a whole. You will probably already know "Driving Away From Home", but that's just one of the many stand-outs. I love "Space" and "Rope" but the extended version of "Ed's Funky Diner" (included here as a bonus track) is just sublime. Lyrically ingenious and musically complex, perhaps deceptively so, this just works on every level.

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The Music Library

2011-03-22T09:26:00.006Z

The Music Library is an absolutely fantastic book featuring the artwork from 300+ library music albums. Compiled by Jonny Trunk, who really, really knows about this stuff. This is a truly beautiful artefact.

I haven't gone to the trouble of trying to capture the images in the book, as this is a delight which really needs to be experienced via the medium of holding it in your hands and looking at it. You know what I mean.

The good news is that this comes with CD of library music expertly selected by Trunk, which achieves the dual purpose of being both a solid introduction and yet highly desirable collection of the genre in it's own right.

Limited copies still available here. It's worth it, I promise.

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Prins Thomas Live At Robert Johnson

2011-03-18T13:46:00.006Z

Cracking live set from the king of the Diskomiks which was released on a tiny run CD issue.

Robert Johnson is a Deutsch clubnite apparently, although information on the CD is minimal. It may even be unofficial. Don't ask me. I scored my copy from Discogs, from where you can check out the tracklist here. What the Discogs page doesn't convey is the uber grooviness, expert track selection and mix.

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Peter Tosh - Peace Treaty 10"

2011-03-12T21:27:00.005Z

Recently discovered 10" single from roots heavyweight and Marley cohort, Peter Tosh. I don't know much about this, but I know quality when I hear it. The flipside tackles "Johnny B. Goode" with aplomb and verve.

Vinyl rip from 10" single. It's a beautiful thing.

"When they signed that peace treaty, I told them it would not worky-worky". Come on. It's genius isn't it. You could always rely on this proper reggae to have a political viewpoint. I, for one, never get tired of this stuff.

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Tropic Of Cancer - Be Brave 10"

2011-03-11T12:51:00.006Z

Oooh, look out! We've got a live one.

This thing of beauty is next-level Eighties throwback industrialism. And for the sake of into-the-red authenticity it features a Richard H. Kirk remix on the flip which dulls it all down to maximum effect. Watch out for that drum box at 2:55. This could easily be a vintage Cabs track. Yes, you heard me correctly, Doctor.

Meanwhile over on the main attraction A Side, we have obscure(d) distorto vocals and a thudding rhythm which will invoke the ghosts of Clan Of Xymox and Cabaret Voltaire (again) for you. This is seriously great stuff.

Highest recommendation for this baby.

This is the duo of John Mendez (Silent Servant) and Camella Lobo and previous to this they did a corking 10" called 'The Dull Age' which I've caned a fair bit so when this dropped I was twitching with excitement. It totally hits the spot too with a delicious post-industrial/new-wave/goth darkness emanating from the grooves. The barely decipherable vocals add an extra dimension of mystery to proceedings and the drum machines drive it along at a sweet sluggish pace backed up by a classy bassline from Lobo, with both members providing shards of crystal electronics. Searching the recesses of my frazzled brain for an old skool comparison, Brian throws in a more contemporary reference with his "slower Soft Moon" suggestion. A beautiful track indeed and given a good splicing on the flip by Sheffield's finest, Richard H Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire!!!!!!) working the groove into a more linear track with emphasis on repetition and a low, throbbing, droney bottom end. Slowly building, it's a masterclass in hypnotic electronics. Limited clear numbered vinyl and probably wont hang around for too long. Love it.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Human League - Into The Night

2011-03-08T10:58:00.004Z

New track from upcoming Human League album, "Credo". Phil sounds in fine voice...

Into The Night

Thomas Fehlman - Gute Luft: Original Soundtrack From The 24H BERLIN TV Documentary

2011-03-07T15:55:00.005Z

Wonderfully pretty soundtrack wares from long serving soldier, Thomas Fehlman. Fehlman has been involved in some of my favourite records like, ever (The Orb's peak period), and this one follows in the tradition of his wonderfully detailled, yet bouncy techno sound, which situates itself on the borders of home listening and going out noise.

Thomas Fehlmann's sixth solo album, his first in three years, also doubles as an OST to the historical '24H Berlin' documentary. Fehlmann is a fitting character to provide musical accompaniment to the project, whose remit was to document a whole day in the life of Berlin, in real time. All 24hours of the film were screened back in september 2008, but since then he saw fit to revisit the tracks and edit them as a standalone album, commenting that "There are also more subtle connections that should give an overall feel to the score. I also brought in elements of tunes from my previous albums in recognition of the fact that I often feel that there would be so many more ways to explore and experiment with certain ideas than just on a single track". In true Fehlmann style this sound is laden with beautifully fluffy electronics at the edges while driven by a mature and refined rhythm motor of classic Detroit/Berlin engineering. He circulates warm and luxurious melodies through this arrangement, encapsulating the spirit of the last 25 years of Berlin history in streamlined, efficient and positive movements, finding that sweet spot between tempered euphoria and wistful melancholy. Fans of the classic Kompakt pop-ambient sound or those looking for a soundtrack to their next weekend sojourn in the city should make some time for this.

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Linkwood - System

2011-03-07T15:01:00.003Z

Awesome Scottish house music album from last year, which has now sold out as far as I can tell. This uses all of the classic tricks yet adds a beautifully individual twist. Anyone in the market for a bit of Detroit inspired moderne will find much to love here. Neu disco heads should also get involved as there are a couple of bangers which will put a huge smile on your face. It's all about the keys on this one. Incredible.

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Gary Numan - Berserker 12"

2011-03-05T00:31:00.006Z

A progression from the Ultravox/Kraftwerk/Bowie early albums. This is sounding awesome. I think this was the last thing of his I bought following the Thatcher revelations. Poor fucker. A PR would never let that happen these days.

Anyway, at this remove, I think we treated him rather shabbily. This stands up.

Vinyl rip at 320Kbps

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