Severnaya – Polar Skies LP [FAUXPAS024]

Boris Bunnik is no stranger in the world of electronic music. Fauxpas Musik welcomes him for a new project called Severnaya. Originally hailing from the Island of Terschelling. the most Northern and remote part of the Netherlands he now made a piece of music dedicated to this special place. Severnaya means north in Russian and refers to the bright frozen landscapes of the northern archipels. Boris often plays with the influences and elements of ambient in his music. If we have to believe the man himself. Polar Skies is his most personal sound trajectory to come from his mind. Drum programming is scarce and what remains is a lush and profound listening experience floating on scapes and melodies. Things sound spacious and life is at ease in these melancholic compositions. Crispy crackling percussions and icey pads place you in the midst of a resonant arctic landscape. The tracks were composed over a couple of years (2015-2017) in a more contemplative mindset.

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Severnaya – Polar Skies LP [FAUXPAS024]

Nick Anthony Simoncino – Mystic Adventures [VIBR012]

Having previously appeared on Vibraphone with the Isole Del Tramonto 12″ back in 2016, Nick Anthony Simoncino returns to the perennial Italian deep house label with a full album, his fourth following previous turns on Thug, Mathematic and Creme Organization. As you would expect, Mystic Adventures is a masterclass of classic drum machines and synthesisers, loaded with the passion and mystery that Simoncino has always managed to imbue his music with. The highlights are too many to list – if you’re familiar with his other work, then Simoncino has everything you need on this LP. If you’re not already wise, these nine new tracks are a wonderful introduction.

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Nick Anthony Simoncino – Mystic Adventures [VIBR012]

J. Tijn – The Deluge EP [PALMS011]

J. Tijn embarks on the eleventh expedition into the exotic lands of palm trees and blue skies with the dark and gritty ‘The Deluge’ EP. Expedition eleven features four jams packed of heavy drum rhythms, moody synth lines and ambient soundscapes.

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J. Tijn – The Deluge EP [PALMS011]

Franz Falckenhaus – Tupolev System LP [GDLP008]

Danny Wolfers AKA Legowelt AKA the maestro Franz Falckenhaus presents the next Giallo Disco. The obscure, previously CDR only side project Franz Falckenhaus has stood out for many of us as one of Mr Wolfer’s most accomplished works. Full on VHS grained Cold War paranoia. Like if Fulci directed a Bond movie starring Udo Keir and Edwige Fenech. Shades of Fabio Frizzi, Minimal Synth and Aphex Twin, all combine for this cinematic masterpiece. Culled from the three CDs originally released on Strange Life Records, it is with immense pride that we provide this collection for the first time on vinyl, lovingly remastered with exceptional new art by the one and only Eric A. Lee.

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Franz Falckenhaus – Tupolev System LP [GDLP008]

Dormir – In Pursuit [BRXPR001]

Burning Rose and Pelvis Records meet in the middle to dish up Dormir, a two piece machine from Melbourne, Australia featuring Morgan Wright (formerly of Melbourne hardcore act Imprisoned) and Harry Maslen (formerly of Postblue). Two tracks of blacked out vocal electronics originally released on cassette are now brought to the floor with remixes by Leo James (Canyons, Berceuse Heroique) and Cop Envy (Opal Tapes, Templar Sound).

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Dormir – In Pursuit [BRXPR001]

VA – The Midnight Manual [MNSX5Y]

5 years since Midnight Shift’s first release in 2012, the label assembles a collective of artists, most of them are in advance of their full EPs releasing later. Representing the sounds of the label is this manual of secret moves, up in the sleeves. The mystic motley crew also comprises the alternate sides of familiar faces — Amato (The Hacker), Terry Lamborgini (Marco Bernardi), INNYSTER (Seixlack), Hodge in a new formation with Gramrcy, and an electro moniker from an undisclosed artist: Thermocline. From abstract acrobatics to the abrasive and the ultimate gob smack to the floor — The Midnight Manual.

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VA – The Midnight Manual [MNSX5Y]

Hieroglyphic Being – The Red Notes [SJRLP394]

For the first time since 2016, Jamal Moss has pitched up on Soul Jazz with a typically eccentric and mind-altering full-length excursion. As you’d expect, The Red Room is another triumph – an inspirational collection of otherworldly and melodious cuts that effortlessly combine elements from Moss’s many major inspirations. One minute, you’re wigging out to his jacking, piano-heavy fusion of gospel house and synth-jazz (“The Seduction Syndrome”), the next he’s laying down a chunk of deep space ambient with Terry Riley synthesizer cycles (“Awake and Energize”).

vinyl / CD

Hieroglyphic Being – The Red Notes [SJRLP394]

Black Meteoric Star – No More White Presidents [MOM011]

Gavin Rayna Russom palms out a loose and wiry jag for Barcelona’s Modern Obscure Music, leaning heavily on a knackered acid bent (and seemingly many of the buttons in her keyboard at once) for the soundtrack to a self-made film about transition in a broader context of capitalism and death.

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Black Meteoric Star – No More White Presidents [MOM011]

Jayson Wynters – Industrial Espionage [DBA037]

Jayson Wynters returns to Don’t Be Afraid with four more strident constructions. Rooted in classic machine funk and loop craft we take off with the gradually pummelling percussive hypnotiser “Beta” and crash land to the soothing synthesis and deep acid textures of “The Kansei Method”. In between we’re treated to the soft-but-stern swoons of the white knuckle “One Hundred N Forty” and bashed senseless by the warehouse crumbling jacker “Into The Void”.

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Jayson Wynters – Industrial Espionage [DBA037]

Amazon Club – Save Our Paradise [VG005]

The Amazon Club is back on Voodoo Gold Records with a 10 track release. Loaded with their signature, hazy tropical funk and disco rhythms, this follow-up from their last years debut will take you back on a trip to the sultry hideout of our worlds greatest paradise.

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Amazon Club – Save Our Paradise [VG005]

Kenneth Scott – Straylight EP [ATR001]

Another kicks off 2018 with its first release, coming from Kenneth Scott who delivers a 3 tracks EP with a deep electro and deep house feel. Straylight feat Dave Aju has been remixed brilliantly by the one and only Kai Alce. Analog warm textures and efficient grooves all along this ethereal masterpiece.

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Kenneth Scott – Straylight EP [ATR001]

Funken Wavetropi – Feel Me EP [PS002]

Funken Wavetropi busted onto the scene last year with his debut release on his then brand new imprint, Perfect Straight. This is his second release featuring some funky and bouncy bassline house. The EP inclused a Ben Houghton remix.

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Funken Wavetropi – Feel Me EP [PS002]

Plant43 – Edge Of The Wood [EUDEMONIA001]

Edge of the Wood is the first release on new label Eudemonia. Emile Facey lives in Penge, South East London. ‘When writing this music I became very interested in the history of the area I live in, imagining what it had been like when the ancient Great North Wood was still standing and the now busy urban area was a tiny hamlet sitting at the edge of a vast forest. I read that Penge was first recorded under the name Penceat in an Anglo-Saxon deed dating from 957 and that many historians believe the name of the town is derived from the Celtic word Penceat, which means “edge of wood”. The Porcupine Meadow and a toll gate were important landmarks in the area.’

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Plant43 – Edge Of The Wood [EUDEMONIA001]

Sorry Bamba Du Mali – Sorry Bamba Du Mali [SON8203]

One of the most pivotal figures in the history of Malian music is Sorry Bamba. His work spans five decades and his music bridges the gap between Mali’s cultural traditions and new the music which arose from the musical cross overs which occurred in Mali’s post-Colonial period. Bamba was born in 1938 in Mopti. This is dissected by both the Niger and Bani rivers and known for its rich cultural diversity. Bamba’s father was a distinguished veteran of Emperor Samory Toure’s military and a nobleman in Malian society; however, this meant young Sorry was forbidden to make music, as under the nation’s caste system, music was an art form reserved for the Griots. At the age of 10, Sorry’s parents died and in traumatic times that followed the young teen found solace in music. He first taught himself to play am African six-holed flute. As he progressed he began to absorbed the rich tapestry of music of his surroundings; traditional Malian music, highlife from Ghana, local accordion master Toumani Toure, European singers and musicians. In 1957 Sorry formed his first band, Group Goumbe, named after a popular Ivory Coast dance style. In 1960 Mali gained independence from France, Bamba and his group benefited from a new openness toward local music on the state-run radio network Radio Mali. Sorry then went on to form two award-winning, further collectives Bani Jazz and later the Kanaga Orchestra. They fused Latin jazz, Western R&B, Psychedelic and funk, and traditional Malian styles made them a favourite in Mali and beyond.

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Sorry Bamba Du Mali – Sorry Bamba Du Mali [SON8203]

Mukatsuku presents Kirk Degiorgio / As One / Butti 49 – Jazz Classics Volume 4 [MUKAT056]

In the late 1990’s label manager Nik Weston was working for Island Records and in particular the label imprint Island Blue set up by Ross Allen. It was here that he first heard the timeless jazz version masterpiece of Amalia from Kirk Degiorgio’s As One. The track featured on a promo CD but never made it to a commercial release for Island Blue and was later featured on the full length album release for San Francisco label Ubiquity Records a few years later in 2001. ‘Amalia’ is a sultry jazz classic featuring gorgeous keys from Jamie Odell aka Jimpster. As relevant today as it ever was when initially made and here presented as a single in it’s own right for the very first time. On the flipside another track that never made it to single in this version was the unique jazzual ‘Spiritual Rotations’ by Butti 49 from Norway. Nik had later worked with Butti 49 whilst working for Exceptional Records for the Habit album in 2004 but ‘Spiritual Rotations’ itself initially featured as an exclusively album only track for Future Sounds Of Jazz Volume 8 in 2001 for German label Compost.

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Mukatsuku presents Kirk Degiorgio / As One / Butti 49 – Jazz Classics Volume 4 [MUKAT056]