Brokntoys presents “Cold Light, Low Tide” a free digital compilation of tracks from affiliated artists, featuring Black Propaganda, Obergman, K100 Signal, Trance Remix, Annechoic, Non Punire and XY0815.
compilation
VA – L’Embrasse: Amsterdam Arcane Tape Recordings 1987 [E-M03]
L’Embrasse is a compilation originally released in 1987, less than 50 copies were distributed at the time through local shops and it is a portrayal of a unique and very little known scene, generated in the deep underground milieu of Amsterdam. None of the tracks presented on this album has ever been re-released after the ultra-limited original edition on cassette format appeared. At the time, a dozen different acts were featured: Menko (S.M. Nurse founder), Robbie Horsfall, Peter Van Garderen (Nine Circles founder), Der Rudi, Antonia (Tonny Timmermans), No Honey From These, Incredible Coöp (S.M. Nurse members), Tranquil Eyes, Beatnik Love Affair, Cheiron, Spin & Kokkie and The Male Ego.
VA – Africa Airways Six (Mile High Funk 1974 – 1981) [ASVN060]
This is the sixth journey with the Africa Airways. The flight opens with the punchy horns, afro rhythms & groovy bass of Eko Roosevelt’s “Ndolo Embe Mulema”. Keeping the tempo high we usher in fellow Cameroonians JM Tim & Foty for another punch of brass with the funky “More And More (Ye-Male)”. We stay in Cameroon with Ngalle Jojo, here he lays down another funktastic bass heavy stomper with “Ngigna Loko”. Jude Bondeze hails from Bangui, Central African Republic and is probably best known for his more traditional Tene Sango album. Next up, Nigerian Vicky Edimo gets his thumb out and lays down some glorious slabs of deep funk… along with a rather splendid bass solo! JK Mandengue played bass off & on for the British Afrobeat band “Osibisa”, playing on the uber funky “Super Fly TNT” Motion Picture Soundtrack album.. Certainly putting him on a path to the Wahahwah’tastic “Kosa Mba” taken from his 1979 self-titled album. Slow percussive classic raw street funk from Nigeria’s Akwassa, who’s line up is the same as “Heads Funk Band”, are up next. Another outing for Vicky Edimo on this 1978 beauty from Mike Kounou. Also on guitar duties for Mike Kounou is Francois Amadou Corea, who’s funky chops can be heard on “Ngigna Loko” & “Njonjo Mukambe”. Hi-Octane funk from Airto Fogo, percussion, rhodes & horns aplenty on this 1974 instrumental cut “Black Soul”. As we prepare to start our decent Francois Misse Ngoh drops in some filth with this 1980 bass face monster “Njonjo Mukambe”… head nodding isn’t essential, but it’s best to brace yourself for impact.
VA – CAREBOT$ (raising money for the NHS and Médecins Sans Frontières)
“The international electro and techno producer community has come together to raise money for two charities doing vital health work during the Covid-19 crisis – NHS Charities Together and Médecins Sans Frontières. The project began in April this year. The resulting release is an essential compendium of techno and electro featuring some of the most respected creators working in the genre including The Hacker, Radioactive Man, Anthony Rother, Delta Funktionen, John Selway, Carl Finlow, Kronos Device, and more than 120 more!”
VA – Electronic Emergencies selected by I-Robots
Early 2020, while the Covid-19 crisis was taking over the world, I-Robots was introduced to Electronic Emergencies. Calling it a magical parallel world, I-Robots immediately fell in love with the retro electro and disco noir feel of the label from Rotterdam. It was a nice surprise to discover that the guys of Electronic Emergencies have been fans of I-Robots since the early days. I-Robots and Electronic Emergencies have found each other in their eclectic taste in electronic music. While their friendship evolved, they started discussing ideas on how to collaborate. As a first step in this collaboration, I-Robots has curated this digital compilation of 14 of his favourite Electronic Emergencies tracks. These reflect the deep melodic eighties atmosphere of the label and the elaborate and sophisticated taste of I-Robots.
VA – Suburban 2 – Benefit for Milan [FU.ME012]
“Suburban Tales 1 was born as a VA dedicated to push local talents: it was our intimate dedication to Milan, the city which raised us, made us know each other, forged our sound. Before this worldwide emergency we were already planning the sequel, but this peculiar situation drove us to extend it both to Italian and international friends and affiliates. A powerful project was born to finance the “Fondo San Giuseppe”, a fund instituted by Comune di Milano, to support the people who lost their job during this struggle which sees Milan as one of the cities that had been hit most by the virus. We will devolve the entire revenue to this association.”
VA – Phormix – Mass Disorder [FREE DOWNLOAD]
Free download compilation from Athenian outfit Phormix; including tracks by Anatolian Weapons, Baz Reznik, Celldod, DJ Loser, Fragedis, Morah, Outermost, Penelope’s Fiance, Unhuman and many more.
Luke Slater – Berghain Fünfzehn [OSTGUT127]
Berghain Fünfzehn sees Luke Slater creating new compositions from the Ostgut Ton back catalogue, chopping, looping tweaking and deploying sounds into a mix that is both a playful retrospective of the label and future-facing vision for mixing and dance music. On April 17, seven exclusive tracks from the Berghain Fünfzehn DJ mix will be released on two 12”s and for streaming/digital download. De- and reconstructing the Ostgut Ton discography, Slater’s vision encompasses not only sampling but live electronics and improvisation, resulting in a broad spectrum of heady and liminal dance music: from ultra stripped-back mindfuck techno, vocals and blasts of distortion to breakbeat excursions, minimalistic acid, and rave polyrhythms. In other words: the arc of the label through Slater’s singular hallucinatory prism.
VA – Artificial Dancers: Waves of Synth [RHMC005]
Birthed at the turn of the ‘80s, synth and wave music has remained a constant force over the last four decades, with a recent spike in interest in the sound offering further proof of its’ timeless, out-of-this-world quality. It’s against this backdrop that Dutch DJ Interstellar Funk presents his celebration of the style, “Artificial Dancers – Waves of Synth”. A bumper compilation bristling with obscure and hard-to-find gems, the set sees the Artificial Dance label founder joining the dots between synthesizer and drum machine-driven tracks in a variety of subtly different styles. It’s the result of hundreds of hours spent digging through dusty old records, tapes, and the Bandcamp accounts of DIY musicians who have been active since the sound’s first boom in the early 1980s. The 11-track set draws on tracks made and released at different times over the last 40 years, with the earliest cut committed to tape in 1978 and the most recent in 2018. While the tracks date from the ‘80s, ‘90s, noughties and 2010s, the showcased cuts are united by a primitive but futuristic quality that makes dating them difficult. In many cases, it’s hard to tell which tracks were made in the early 1980s and which were conjured up in 21st century studios.
VA – Aid EP [MTRONAID1]
If you’re currently lucky to be in a position to spare some funds, please consider making a charitable donation in your community to help fight the Covid-19 outbreak. Should you still have any additional good fortune left, we have put together an Aid EP, to help support the artists on our label, currently under financial pressure due to the massive amount of event and DJ gig cancellations – and to keep the lights on in our collective, which is heavily dependent on income from event production.
The Aid EP additionally enables us to provide a bit of work for our mastering engineer, also a DJ and producer, financially impacted by event cancellations. All sales will be split 50/50 between the artists and ourselves, after mastering costs have been recouped.
Stay healthy out there – and if you have the means, we encourage you to find ways to reach out and support those affected in your local communities.
VA – WorldWideWindow [ENISSLAB]
In light of the current Covid-19 Pandemic Studio Enisslab headed up by Italian DJ / Producer and Live Act Neel has announced the release of a very special 56 track charity compilation project, fundraising for The Red Cross, who are working extremely hard alongside health services internationally that are feeling the effects of the corona-virus outbreak the most right now. The compilation is available for a limited time via Bandcamp and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The Red Cross to help the world’s most affected countries in the Covid-19 pandemic.
This special release features over 6 hours of previously unreleased and unheard material, where an all star cast of artists were encouraged to share music that reflects this time we are living in.
Neel, who is one half of live duo Voices From The Lake, and LF58 speaks out on behalf of the initiative, organised in collaboration with improvised live project Circle Of Live, and visual art collective Sbagliato. He explains:
“In this situation we all need to look after each other and this project is a start. I wanted to reach as many people as possible to spread this message, so I started to share the idea personally with lots of artists and the response was amazing. I wanted them to take their time with whichever tools they had available at home to produce some music that reflects this time we are living in, a contribution for this special project and to portray a special message.”
The project’s cover art image brought to you by visual art collective Sbagliato shows pictures of windows of houses and studios taken by the artists themselves: 56 musicians, 56 windows, 56 tracks shape a new place of sharing.
VA – 20 Years Crème Organization [FREE DOWNLOAD]
“Here’s a free compilation to celebrate our 20th birthday, which fittingly falls right in the middle of the biggest crises the world has faced this century. This is not a retrospective, in times like these it important to look to the future. It features exclusive tracks by label mainstays and some up and coming artists from the West Coast and beyond. Up to you to figure out which is which.”
VA – Fuga [TOKEN93]
Fuga presents a focused and refined showcase of the Token sound in 2020. The compilation highlights the label’s dedication to the classic tenets of the Techno genre, but at the same time draws attention to its role as a conduit for new talent to receive the exposure it deserves without artistic compromise. Including Nastia Reigel, Dold, Mark Broom, Border One, Stefan Vincent, Ribe, PTTRN, Linkan Ray.
VA – Vol. 1
The Amsterdam based booking agency, Voyage Select, is launching it’s label. The first release is a digital compilation released on bandcamp and includes 14 tracks by artists from the agency’s rooster. Cover photo by Interstellar Funk, graphic design by Dazion. 100% of the profit will be divided equally among the artists.
VA – LSD 029 [LSD029]
VA – Air Texture Vol.7 [AIR007LP]
Since launching in 2011, James Healy’s Air Texture label and compilation series has become something of an institution within the ambient scene. As with its predecessors, the seventh volume in the series has been jointly compiled by two artists with an existing musical relationship, in this case Rrose and Silent Servant. Their selections are on point, drowsily drifting between academic ambient compositions (see Rrose and James Fei’s “For Bass Clarinet 8.97 (Rrose Version)”, uncomfortable electronic explorations (Ron Morelli, Anthony Child), modular movements (Not Waving), jazz-flecked deep space soundscapes (Luke Slater), horror-influenced throb-jobs (Phase Fatale, June & An-i) and 1990s style ambient electronica (Octa Octa, Function).
VA – Auricular Discipline II [BOUND003]
New York’s Bound presents the second compilation, Auricular Discipline II. All proceeds from the album go towards the Sex Workers Project, which provides resources and legal aid to sex workers. “We believe sex work is inherently intersectional, at the core of human rights, as well as one of the most limited, overlooked and vulnerable communities,” promoter and label Bound says in a statement. The compilation features new tracks from the likes of Black Meteoric Star, Dax J, Gavilán Rayna Russom, P.E.A.R.L., Terence Fixmer, Bound resident Katie Rex and more.
VA – FAKE1-THE ABSENCE [FAKE#1]
The first release on FAKE imprint is a nice VA compilation of 10 wave, electronix and ambient tracks.
VA – Uzelli Elektro Saz [13242/13243]
Uzelli Kaset was established in 1971 by Muammer and Yavuz Uzelli in Frankfurt, Germany. Their music resonated not only with the longing that Gastarbeiter (guest workers) felt for the homelands and families they had left behind and the melancholy brought by their difficult living and working conditions in Germany, but also with the joy that welled up at village weddings on their days off, and the long car or train journeys home. Reaching the remotest corners of Germany as well as Turkey, Uzelli Kaset was soon more than just a music company; it became a companion to Turkish workers living far from home.
VA – Techniques. A Techno-Pop Selection From The USA: 1982-1990 [MEC051]
An exquisite and meticulous selection of underground “techno-pop” bands that emerged during the 80’s in the United States. Each one of these acts is considered a cult, although several even only edited an EP or one single, a demo tape or just appeared on compilations. A total of sixteen songs from eight bands. Some classic hits together with rare or even unreleased tracks. A compilation that will help many to discover a slightly explored side of alternative electronic pop music from America.
