Transept
TRSPT001
Dronehenge

Debut LP from UK prog-drone trio is heady mix of beautiful yet dour space rock that recalls PINK FLOYD & TANGERINE DREAM with soundtrack-like bliss. Melodic but with grit and bite, it's for fans of FLYING SAUCER ATTACK, EXPO 70 & DEMDIKE STARE. 4 stars in MOJO! One-time pressing!

Purchase Transept - TRSPT001 here


Joy O
WADE IN
Hotflush

Since his debut anthem "HYPH MNGO" was dropped in 2009, JOY ORBISON (now JOY O) has been making waves globally. Taking a more straightforward, classic house approach, "WADE IN" has rolling, acidic basslines and "JELS" is full of uplifting melodies.

Purchase Joy O - Wade In here



Lawrence
Sorry Sun
Smallville

With his first release on his co-owned Smallville label, Lawrence, aka Peter M. Kersten, celebrates another tribute to more than 20 years of house music. Beyond his club influences, Kersten was mainly driven by slow Detroit jazz from the early '70s and classical minimal music which colors the palette of this EP. With "Sorry Sun," Lawrence invites us on another adventure into the miracle of a cozy dancefloor, letting only the music shine and the people close their eyes and smile.

Resurrection is the follow up to the reissue of Virgo 4's S/T album, which was released by Rush Hour in 2010. This album is a collection of unreleased tracks that were produced over a 6 year period between 1984 and 1990 in various home studios around Chicago.

Resurrection really shows the the rich, diverse and unique quality of Virgo 4, which leaves you wondering what impact they would have made on the (Chicago) house scene if their music had been released back in the day.

Merl Sanders took some time out to discuss the Resurrection of the Virgo 4 project. Our conversation follows below.

Purchase Virgo 4 Resurrection here

How did you guys meet?

We met in grammar school, about 4th grade or so. It was known that I played drums and a couple other guys played guitar or bass, and Eric and I along with two other friends started playing together. My parents had moved into an apartment building back then from our house and the building had a large basement laundry area. So we used to go down there to practice and the landlord would always come eventually and kick us out for bein' too loud! At that time I didn't even actually have a drum set; the only time I played a real set was in Church! I think I was probably the first bucket boy (kids who drum on plastic buckets to make money on the streets). At 9 or 10 or somethin' I began coming up with ways to make my mom's tupperware sound like a Tama set I was dreaming to have! You know how stereos back then had those big plastic domes as covers for them? Well, that was my kick drum! Sounded pretty good!

(Photo @ Right -  Katherine Nguyen)

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Kai Alce/Theo Parrish/Loosefingers
Assorted Elements EP
NDATL Muzik

We don't need to tell you how massive this will be. Theo Parrish, Kai Alce, and Larry Heard, under his Loosefingers guise, all on the one EP. Limited as always -- and you'd think at this price, you'd get more than a paper sleeve....but the tracks are great and not available for download!

Purchase Assorted Elements EP here




West Norwood Cassette Library
Blonde On Blonde 12”
Teal Recordings

Following the critically acclaimed debut-release of Bob Bhamra's West Norwood Cassette Library alias, Teal Recordings presents Blonde On Blonde as its seminal release. This one is surely meant for the dance floor: an addictive bassline and a stomping house beat executed as if it were a hidden gem dug out in a New York pawnshop. The ubiquitous Ramadanman hits the flipside under his Pearson Sound moniker, with a rehash of 'Blonde On Blonde;' with subtle references to the original version David Kennedy takes the remix to quite different, but equally interesting, places. Lush early morning vibes! A must have! Support from Untold, 2562, Ben Ufo, Shortstuff, Mosca, Pariah." 

Harvey presents Locussolus
I Want It 12”
International Feel

Harvey is back with the third and final installment of his Locussolus adventure before his album release. "I Want It" tells the story of midsummer heat that builds into a cacophony of phuture discostep tension and shuddering, dubbed-out synths. "Next To You" finds the Disco Administrator in a slinky mood, with Harvey's crooning bedside manner competing with sultry female vocals. This is liquid funk/nocturnal vibes for lovers, Harvey-style.

Purchase - I Want It here:



Moritz Von Oswald
Horizontal Structures 2LP
Honest Jon’s

Gatefold 2LP version. This is the third album by The Moritz von Oswald Trio, comprised of members Moritz von Oswald (Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound), Max Loderbauer (NSI, Sun Electric), and Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay, Luomo). This time, the album is enriched and expanded by guitar contributions from Paul St. Hilaire (also known as Tikiman), and double bass courtesy of Marc Muellbauer (via ECM). Horizontal Structures is palpably a more open, more expressive album than the previous studio recording, Vertical Ascent. There is more contrast, more light and shade. St. Hilaire and Muellbauer add fresh drama and swing to the intimate tonal and rhythmic interactions of the core grouping. The coherence of the five-piece is remarkable, the boundary between acoustic and electronic undone. The group's evolution is firmly signaled in the opener, "Structure 1." There's a lush, romantic quality to the playing and arrangement that has not been heard before: the guitar licks have a bluesy lilt, the bass imparts melody as well as physical presence, the synth sequences are more painterly, looser somehow, and Ripatti's percussion roams feelingly. "Structure 2" is like '70s spy-flick jazz or groove-heavy Krautrock stripped to its barest essence, Loderbauer and von Oswald's electronics glistening in a sticky cobweb of reverb and delay. The languidly stepping "Structure 3" faintly recalls von Oswald's work with Mark Ernestus as Rhythm & Sound, with St. Hilaire's chords hanging thick above bone-dry drum machine drift. Lastly, "Structure 4," the track structurally closest to techno, is pervaded by a sense of mischief, with Muellbauer's strings -- plucked, bowed, scraped -- coming to the fore. For all its complexity, this is also a very playful album, and the Trio's increased confidence and empathy as improvisers allows them to indulge flights of percussive fancy, sudden about-turns, and vectors into the unknown. Horizontal Structures sounds, above all else, free.

RAINBOW ARABIA
Boys And Diamonds LP+CD
Kompakt

This is the debut full-length album by Rainbow Arabia. Averse to any easy classification, Rainbow Arabia's continent-trekking, kaleidoscope pop is rooted in no particular time or place, employing modern technological processes to an array of musical cultures and eras. The Los Angeles duo began with the purchase of a Lebanese Casio that played microtonal scales and Eastern beats, with which they quickly recorded their propulsive first EP, The Basta, synthesizing bossa nova and industrial post-punk with heavy Middle Eastern vibes. Digging deeper for inspiration from the worldly found sounds of Sublime Frequencies compilations, their follow-up EP, Kabukimono, expanded the color palette of their "fourth world" pop with dark, Arabic disco-dancehall jams sitting alongside sunnier moments with Caribbean and African flourishes. Rather than restricting themselves to the expanse and musical artifacts of Earth alone, Danny and Tiffany Preston recalibrate their focus, aiming their sights upwards into outer space. Nearly a year in the making, Boys And Diamonds is a stunning journey that not only marries East with West but also the past with the future. Immediately, you can hear some familiar elements found in their previous releases: Danny's asymmetrical tribal beats and lysergic pads, Tiffany's labyrinthine fretwork and tick-tock vocal swagger. But you'll also notice: the hooks are stickier and more confident, the rhythms are sturdier, and the production is lusher, even astral, giving the songs more space to breathe. Boys And Diamonds is unmistakably a pop album but also one that comfortably fits in with Kompakt's long-standing lineage of genre-refracting releases. You will be hard-pressed to find another record that cohesively brings to mind Siouxsie rubbing elbows with Shabba Ranks, Giorgio Moroder sipping daiquiris in Bali, Desmond Dekker envisioned through skittering footwork, Tom Tom Club sitting in with Congotronics, even early Madonna produced by Chris and Cosey. Unlikely as all of that sounds, Rainbow Arabia makes it sound easy. Drummer/producer extraordinaire Butchy Fuego (Pit Er Pat, Boredoms, MIA) contributes arrangements and beats in places, and Icy Demons' Dylan Ryan plays on the percussion-heavy island shuffle "Nothin Gonna Be Undone." The album was mixed at the wonderful Hobby Shop studios in L.A. by Mudrock, who also adds some final production touches on the record.