LMDSW001
Nocturnal Sunshine (AKA Maya Jane Coles)
a) Can’t Hide The Way I Feel
b) Broke

Finally repressed due to high demand on Ltd 12″ Vinyl.

Resident Advisor review:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=8359

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nocturnal-Sunshine/242962040417
http://www.lickmydeck.com/

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For those of you who don’t know, Radioactive Man is Keith Tenniswood, a producer, musician and DJ known mainly for his partnership with Andrew Weatherall in The Two Lone Swordsman who released a string of albums on the infamous Warp Records one of which ‘Tiny Reminders’ now holds ‘seminal album’ status. As well as TLS Keith has worked with an array of acts including David Holmes, Beth Orton, The Aloof, Red Snapper, Primal Scream, Jon Carter and Barry Ashworth.

With 3 albums already under his belt and a string of singles we are overjoyed to bring you the first part of 2 fresh EPs that will devastate the dance-floor and place Radioactive Man firmly at the forefront of the UK scene!

Look out for EP 2 due to hit end of February as well as a full length album to be released in March. The future is defiantly bright for this pairing, in-fact positively Radioactive!!!

Over the last 12 years you’ll see the calibre of acts WANG has worked with, now the label is due to showcase some really interesting and exciting sounds….Importantly though WANG Tax will be staying true to their underground roots as ALL output will be released on VINYL as well as digitally.. We hope you enjoy listening to music as much as we have had finding it!

WANGTRAX002
Radioactive Man
Engine EP
01. Flying F**k
02. 20,000 Whats?
03. Knows Up Mr Brown
04. We Make Techno Party

Ltd Vinyl release out 6th February 2012
Digital release out 13th February 2012

WANG / WANG Trax Radio Show Monthly on www.strongroom.fm

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Label: Liberation Technologies
Artist: King Felix
Title: EP 1 – Spring
Date: 19th March 2012
Format: 12″ / Digital

Liberation Technologies is…
liberationtechnologi.es

distributed worldwide by
STHoldings www.stholdings.co.uk

Press Worldwide by Melissa Taylor | Tailored Communication
www.tailored-communication.com

Mute is proud to announce the launch of a brand new label, Liberation Technologies. Following on from Mute’s long tradition of working with innovative artists, Liberation Technologies plans to extend that freedom and vision. Within this remit the label will work with highly distinctive and pioneering electronic musicians, some established, some new.

Citing reference from Mute’s original and continuing statement of intent, the label exists to give space to and encourage artists to experiment and challenge themselves, anonymously if they choose.

Liberation Technologies is headed by A & R man Patrick O’Neill, whose list of associates previous to joining Mute include Actress, T++, Moritz Von Oswald, Joy Orbison, Darkstar and Zomby. As important as the music itself, will be statement design, a commitment to vinyl product and inventive methods of releasing each work. There are also plans to branch out into live happenings in 2012.

The first release on the new label will be the ‘Spring EP’ by King Felix, a producer from Ann Arbor, Michigan who lives in Brooklyn and has also released music as Laurel Halo. ‘Spring EP’ is released on download and vinyl on 19 March 2012.

Says Daniel Miller, “Electronic music is part of Mute’s DNA and history, and this label is the latest expression of that.”

EDITORS NOTES:
Mute was founded by Daniel Miller in 1978, and since then has signed and developed some of the world’s most influential recording artists – including Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Yazoo, Goldfrapp and Erasure – and become home to a crop of emerging talent and recent signings including Apparat and S.C.U.M.

Whilst maintaining a firmly eclectic roster, from the earliest days of The Normal, Fad Gadget and DAF through to the techno era with artists such as Plastikman / Richie Hawtin and Speedy J, and to the present day with hybrid electronic artists such as Yeasayer and Liars.
Mute also looks after a catalogue of seminal artists such as Can and Cabaret Voltaire.

http://mute.com/

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Earlier this year Scuba released his ‘Adrenalin’ EP, picking up radio plays from Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Rob Da Bank as well as Mistajam, illustrating how his sound has mutated into previously unexplored areas. Alongside ‘Adrenalin, Scuba also released his addition to K7!’s DJ Kicks series which has made notable appearances on several “Best of 2011″ lists.

On the 27th February, Scuba will release his third album through Hotflush. Entitled ‘Personality’ and featuring 11 brand new tracks, it takes in a wealth of genres across contemporary dance music, proving once again Scuba’s place at the cutting edge of the electronic music scene. Preceding his LP will be ‘The Hope’; pushing on from the tense atmospherics of previous Scuba material, the single fizzes with claustrophobic bass pressure and menacing narration. Backed by an exclusive non-album cut ‘Flash Addict’, ‘The Hope’ will proceed the album on the 6th February.

Paul Rose aka Scuba

Originally from London, Scuba relocated to Berlin in 2007, and released his debut album, ‘A Mutual Antipathy‘ in 2008. The stylistic synergy of the album cemented his position as one of the most forward-thinking producers to emerge from the London bass scene. In the same year, Scuba founded the massively successful SUB:STANCE night at the legendary Berlin club Berghain. SUB:STANCE has since launched in New York with a look to expanding further in 2012.

Scuba’s second album, ‘Triangulation’, was released on Hotflush in early 2010, joining the likes of Mount Kimbie, Sepalcure, Joy Orbison, Untold, Sigha and George Fitzgerald on its enviable roster.  With ‘Personality’ due for imminent release and plans for a live show in the works, Paul Rose’s constantly developing world seems set to keep on turning in 2012.

Artist: Scuba
Title: Personality
Label: Hotflush Recordings
Release date: 27th February 2012
Format: CD / LP / Digital
CD Barcode: 5055317221681

CD Tracklist:
01. Ignition Key
02. Underbelly
03. The Hope
04. Dsy Chn
05. July
06. Action
07.Cognitive Dissonance
08. Gekko
09. NE1BUTU
10. Tulips
11. If U Want

Vinyl & Download format & tracklist TBC

http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/
http://soundcloud.com/hotflush
http://www.facebook.com/HotflushUK

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And better he has become. New Epoch, Goth-Trad’s debut album for the DEEP MEDi Musik imprint due out in February 2012, is the result of over a decade of pushing forward from the man Kode9 calls “a one-man army mutating the UK hardcore continuum in Japan.” Takeaki Maruyama aka Goth-Trad is a spearhead among producers worldwide who have taken the sounds of the UK underground and mutated them into new forms – or, in this case, into New Epoch. However, for Maruyama-san it’s never been about trying to replicate the UK sound as he acknowledged in a 2008 interview, “Looking at good Dubstep producers, I don’t think they are trying to make Dubstep. They are already looking beyond this, and trying to make something new. They are thinking on another level. That’s the fun part!” And fun is something he knows all about.

Emerging from a vibrant underground Japanese electronic scene, Maruyama-san has developed into one of the most outstanding artists of his generation. His unique “fun” style involves freely playing samplers, keyboards and even self-made instruments – this approach brought him the nickname “the Sound Originator.” His sound comprises a broad palette of influences from Abstract Electronica to Noise, from Dub and Reggae to Jungle, from Rave and Grime to Punk, and almost every form of music somehow is absorbed into his black hole-like approach, emerging from a trans-warp conduit on the other side as something uniquely Goth- Trad. Maruyama-san has simply always been experimenting and developing his own sound palette. This truly unique, abstract approach has earned him a place at the forefront of dance music in Tokyo – quite a feat in of itself since Tokyo has one of the most complex and engaging scenes for electronic music in the world. With a strong back catalogue of albums and touring beneath his belt the buzz for his music has slowly spread further and further around the world, New Epoch is certain to bring the bass mutations of this Tokyoite even further.

Maruyama-san first started producing music in 1998 and by 2001, he was ready for a breakthrough. It came when he formed the band Rebel Familia with the much-respected Dub Reggae bass player Takeshi ‘Heavy’ Akimoto of Dry & Heavy, a legendary Japanese act. By 2003, he had released his first solo album Goth Trad 1, which led to his debut European tour the same year and an opening slot for respected indie rock act The Mars Volta the following year. Maruyama-san says of this period, “Before Dubstep I was making experimental beats or almost kind of ambient.” His second album The Inverted Perspective in 2005 shifted the focus to the live improvisational style that he continues to develop and refine to this day. Looking back, he describes the record as “almost a noise experiment.” This was swiftly followed by a third album Mad Ravers Dance Floor, which was his first move towards the kind of dance music he makes today. He recalled what inspired him at the moment in an interview with Knowledge magazine – “When I found Grime music I heard Morgue by Wiley. It’s very deep and like down-tempo Hip-Hop but has more bass. Maybe we could call that Dubstep but back then it was called Grime. The first image was ‘deep’. The music totally fit some vision in my head. I felt something from that music.”
Mad Ravers Dance Floor opened European ears to his sound even more – especially when the Grime-inspired single Back to Chill was picked up by UK label Skud beats, catching the attention of the expanding bass music scene in the UK. By the end of 2006 Goth-Trad also started own night in Japan named after the single and he embarked on his fourth European tour that provided a pivotal breakthrough moment in his career thanks to a timely meeting at the London club FWD>> with Dubstep pioneer Mala from Digital Mystikz.

Mala signed the single Cut End / Flags to his own DEEP MEDi Musik imprint and subsequently those cuts garnered noise from a strong core of supporters including artists like The Bug, Kode 9, Coki, Skream and Mary Ann Hobbs. A new era had started for Maruyama-san: after four European tours, three solo albums and countless other work he was embraced by the growing bass music scene as a force to be reckoned with.

In due course this led to continued engagements for his music. By 2007 he played the legendary DMZ event for the first time and was the opening DJ for Skream, Kode9 and The Bug on Japanese dates. Not one to stop moving, he also continued his work with the band Rebel Familia, releasing an album that featured collaborations with Punky Reggae legend Arie Up and reggae godfather Max Romeo. This project tethered him to dub more and his love of deeper dub-based sounds remains a constant in his music to this day. His relationship with Romeo also continued with the Lee Perry-associated singer making an appearance on the club smasher single Babylon Fall released this past September on DEEP MEDi Musik and also featured on New Epoch. Romeo’s mystic voice lends itself well to the spirit-laden music of Goth-Trad. Unlike the Shinto mountain and forest spirits of old though Maruyama-san’s music is firmly routed around the spirits of his city. His is the music of dark alleyways in Shinjinku on a cold wet night, the soundtrack to the underbelly of a sprawling modern metropolis on the edge, a noir Tokyo first seen in the post-war films of Japanese New Wave directors in the early 60s and the films of the Art Theatre Guild. It is Western-influenced yet uniquely Japanese.

In the Art Theatre Guild film Eros Massacre we see the story of a Japanese anarchist revealed as sword fights take place on a Tokyo highway shot in beautiful captivating widescreen black and white. It’s this kind of contradiction that we hear in Goth-Trad – sounds we think we know mutated into new shapes and forms. The sound of Goth-Trad cuts through the humdrum of copycats. 2007 ended for Goth-Trad with more European dates across eight countries, this time with both live and DJ performances. The following year he continued to build his reputation with three releases – Far East Assassin for Skud Beats, Genesis for Soul Jazz Records and Law for DEEP MEDi Musik, the imprint that was quickly becoming Goth-Trad’s home. In 2009 he became an in- demand remixer with remixes for both Skream and Distance. Two more heavyweight singles for DEEP MEDi Musik Dark Path and Sunbeam also followed. After that came same lab time leading up to his most assured sounding album to date.

New Epoch is by far and away Goth-Trad’s most complete piece of work to date, showcasing what he is has learnt in his years of producing, touring, playing live and remixing. The album features eleven superbly and delicately crafted tracks. From the opener Man In the Maze full of beautifully dark, emotional strings and pulsating, mesmerizing groove to the intense synthesizer stabs and pure dance-floor mayhem of the Mirage – one of the strongest tracks that has been firing in heavy rotations from Mala and Kode9 – to the title track New Epoch which defines a producer digging through different styles, experiences and cultures to find himself now one of the most unique artists within the scene and beyond. We’ll leave the final words to Goth-Trad himself (as told in September to Low End Theory),
“To be honest with you I’m not listening to Dubstep that much, the whole reason I got into making Dubstep is because it’s free. You can do anything with it. Take it all sorts of directions…. I’m always looking for more directions and styles within my work, but I’m not really thinking I’m doing Dubstep. I’m just doing my sound. I’ve been doing this style of music for almost ten years and I just say all this music is bass music. I’m putting a lot of variety into the new album. Some tunes are very techie, some tunes are much more experimental, a bit glitchy. There may be some more banging stuff. I’ve lots of ideas to keep moving with.”
New Epoch indeed! Onward marches the one-man army known as Goth-Trad.

MEDICD007
Goth-Trad
New Epoch
Release date: 6th February 2012
Barcode: 5055317219596

01. Man In The Maze *
02. Departure *
03. Cosmos
04. Airbreaker
05. Walking Together *
06. Strangers *
07. Babylon Fall (Ft. Max Romeo)
08. Anti Grid *
09. Seeker *
10. Mirage *
11. New Epoch *

* Tracks feature on the MEDILP007 vinyl version of the album which also comes complete with the CD version too.

MEDI053
Goth-Trad
LP Sampler
Release date: 30th January 2012
Barcode: 5055317221353
a) Airbreaker
aa) Cosmos

Goth-Trad – Airbreaker / Cosmos [MEDI053] DEEP MEDi Musik by stholdings

http://deepmedi.com/
http://www.facebook.com/deepmedi

Interview with Goth-Trad on Resident Advisor:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1510

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Ghosts is released on Robert Henke’s own label Imbalance Computer Music on CD, double vinyl in gatefold packaging and download. The vinyl version includes on bonus CD with all tracks in digital format. CD version comes in luxury digipack.

The title of this album, Ghosts, came to my mind at a quite early stage. I liked it due of the large field of associations it provokes. I started taking notes about topics connected to the term, read about mythologies and collected ideas. I also often write fragmentary texts, short cinematic scenes that I come up with when my head is idling and I have time to kill. One of these texts is included in the artwork of the CD and the vinyl edition and it is an essential part of the Ghosts album, it serves as a window to a bigger drama, and the music offers another view. The text also links the Ghosts album to the Silence album from 2009. Both stories are related, I just don’t know yet how.

Independently of the aim to create a new album I constantly try out things in the studio, and some day in December 2010 a structure started to emerge that had a dark and evil quality. I knew this would become a core part of a future album and I gave that sketch the working title ‘Ghosts’. Finding new material with similar color turned out to be more difficult than I did anticipate so I changed my strategy and worked on sounds and shapes of very different vibe; whimsical little sonic creatures, potentially mean or helpful spirits that have their very own life. I recorded and transformed sounds from objects I found in my flat; glasses, paper, thin plastic sheets, stones, pebbles in a salad bowl and so on. I believe I became a pretty good foley artist by doing so. The track ‘Taku’ mainly consists of recordings I made with two empty glasses clicking at each other, and ‘Unstable Matter’ is an exercise in applying complex transformations to all kinds of recordings: a bunch of vintage cymbals, my own voice, metal plates, singing bowls, bells, and a rusty hi-hat.

During the entire year 2011 I composed a lot of sketches, mainly rhythmical tracks, but most of them I had to discarded at some point. Either I did not like specific elements in them or they did not fit in my theme of a world of ghosts. Very often I assigned the same title to numerous different tracks in that process, since I did like the title and the message it potentially could convey but not the music assigned to it. ‘Foreign Object’ is the most extreme case here; a track with that name got completely discarded on the evening prior to the final CD mastering process and replaced by a new composition created in a rush at that very night: During the creation process of the album I spent a lot of time trying out different orders of tracks, order is important to me, I aim to create a work of art that works as one large structure, not just an arbitrary collection of songs. Even whilst, or maybe even because this is not the way most music is consumed in the age of random mp3 collections.

I always felt that my Ghosts album needs to end with the track ‘Ghosts’ and every other decision had to be a consequence of this paradigm. I wanted the album to end with a dark and sad message: get out of my head. you do not exist anymore. However, when playing back the final edits in Basel prior to the mastering, my friend and host Daniel Teige insisted that ‘Ghosts’ has to be the first track and just grabbed my computer to completely rearrange the album. Blame him on the final order of tracks on this CD. After his intervention everything seemed to make much more sense, the transitions between the emotional states of each track provided new pleasurable surprises – apart from the very end of the album, which just did not work at all anymore. I decided that there are only two possible ways out; either entirely discarding the last track and ending with ‘Aligning the Daemon’ or coming up with something new in three hours, with nothing but my laptop on a chair, and two cheap hi-fi speakers. The ghosts and spirits of that night liked the idea, and when they told me to record a Macintosh system voice and showed me how to transform these recordings in a parody of a medieval chant full of devilish minor thirds I knew it would turn out to be great.

The album was composed, edited and recorded entirely in Ableton Live and the synthetic sounds are the results of tweaking the Operator, Simpler, Sampler and Live’s audio effects, my Max4Live synthesizer ‘Granulator’, a bit of convolution reverb and a lot of Live’s own reverb. An important role in the sound design also played the creative usage of Live’s various time stretch algorithms. The ‘Tension’ synthesizer’s physical model of a violin string bombarded with rapid parameter changes sent from a Max patch is responsible for the odd sounds on ‘Phenomenon’. Other important contributions to my sonic universe come from my collection of vintage hardware synthesizers: Resonant timbres of a Sequential Circuits Prophet VS on ‘Afterglow’, bell-like sounds of a NED Synclavier II on ‘Foreign Object’, various timbres from a Yamaha DX-27 piped through an Alesis Quadraverb and a Lexicon PCM-80 reverb, pads from a Oberheim Xpander and more I forgot about. Very essential for my creative process and for the incredible fun whilst working on this album are my newly acquired Strauss SE NF-3 studio monitors. One of my best purchases ever. The entire album was recorded in 96kHz and only the final master files were down-sampled to 44.1k for the CD / mp3 releases.

‘Ghosts’ has been mastered in December 2011 at Idee und Klang in Basel by Daniel Dettwieler. Playing back the individual songs directly from my original sessions in Live at his room equipped with Strauss SE MF-2 speakers and state of the art DA converters allowed me to control the spatial placement and final corrections of timbres in each track in more detail than I ever dreamed of.
During the creation of Ghosts several friends provided essential support, critical comments and inspiration: Justine Lera, Torsten Pröfrock, Susanne Kirchmayr, Gerhard Behles, Vance Galloway, Harry Ed Roland, Stefan Brunner, Matt Jackson, Johannes Kiersch, Tarik Barri, Daniel Teige, Daniel Dettwieler.

Recorded bit by bit at the Foggy Playground Berlin.

Artist: Monolake
Title: Ghosts
Label: Imbalance Computer Music
Cat no: ML026  
Barcode: 827670012023 
Format: CD
Release Date: Feb 27th 2012
CD track list
01 Ghosts 5:05
02 Toku 5:42
03 Afterglow 5:14
04 Hitting the Surface 7:42
05 Discontinuity 4:49
06 The Existence of Time 5:09
07 Phenomenon 5:59
08 Unstable Matter 5:42
09 Lilith 5:07
10 Aligning the Daemon 4:51
11 Foreign Object 5:19

Total running time: 60:43

Please note: The vinyl version includes a bonus CD with all tracks in digital format

Monolake Ghosts album preview by monolake

http://www.monolake.de/

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Chris Parkinson

01. Instra:mental – Voyeur [DISF011]

02. Fierce & Vicious Circle – Section VIP [QRNPLATE001]
Fierce / Vicious Circle ‘Section VIP’ / ‘Feedback’ [PLATE001] by stholdings

03. Cotti Ft. Badness – Teen Wolf [STN002]
Cotti Ft. Badness ‘Teen Wolf’ / Cotti & Coki ‘Jugger Nog’ [STN002] by stholdings

—————————————————–

Andrew Parkinson

01. XXXY – You Gotta Do You [ORCA004]
xxxy – You Gotta Do You – 004 by orca.recordings

02. Blawan – Potchla Vee [HESCD001]
Blawan ‘Potchla Vee’ (Hessle Audio) by punchdrunkmusicdotcom

03. Blu Mar Ten – Made In London [BMTCD002]
Blu Mar Ten – Made in London by Blu Mar Ten

—————————————————–

Chris Marlow

01. Blawan – What You Do With What You Have [RS1108]
Blawan – What You Do With What You Have by i-D online

02. Drums Of Death – Cold Lazarus [CIV024]
Cold Lazarus Club by Drums Of Death

03. Drums Of Death – Tear The Box Apart [CIV032]

—————————————————–

Jonathan Wilson

01. Teeth – Shawty [502003]
502:003 Teeth – Shawty/Shawty [FaltyDL Remix] by 502 Records

02. T-Polar – Apollo [SAIGON006]
T-Polar – Apollo EP [SAIGON006] by Saigon Recordings

03. Funk Ethics – Give (Von D Remix) [BOKA037]
Funk Ethics & Lucid Directions – Give (Von D Remix) [Clip] by BOKA

—————————————————–

Dan Phillips

01. Pessimist & Arma – Cobalt [ALIGN001]
ALIGN001 AA Pessimist & Arma – Cobalt Clip – OUT NOW! by Alignment Records

02. Skeptical – Blue Eyes [RECIPE024]
SKEPTICAL ‘BLUE EYES’ RECIPE024a by Ingredients:

03. Joe Goddard – Gabriel EP [GREC022D]
Joe Goddard Gabriel EP (Vinyl Format) Greco-Roman [GREC022V] by stholdings

—————————————————–

Mat Harwood

01. Skeptical – Blue Eyes [RECIPE024]
SKEPTICAL ‘BLUE EYES’ RECIPE024a by Ingredients:

02. Conqueror – Highest Order [LOB003]
New York Transit Authority ‘Off The Traxx’ / Conqueror ‘Highest Order’ Lobster Boy [LOB003] by stholdings

03. Pangaea – Won’t Hurt [HES017]
Won’t Hurt by pangaea

—————————————————–

Janet Eden

01. Calibre – Notting Hill – Signature [SIGCD007]
Calibre – Condition [SIGLP007] by Surus

02. Calibre – Piano Bizness – Critical Music [CRIT059]
Calibre- Piano Bizness – CRIT059 by Critical Music

03. Von D Ft. Phephe – You’re The One – Boka Records [BOKACD001]
Von D Ft. Phephe – You’re The One by BOKA

—————————————————–

Trevor Foyle

01. Blu Mar Ten Ft. Kirsty Hawkshaw – Whisper [BMTCD002]
Blu Mar Ten – Whisper (feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw) by Blu Mar Ten

02. Klute – Shy Piece [SUICIDECD010]

03. Skeptikal – Blue Eyes [RECIPE024]
SKEPTICAL ‘BLUE EYES’ RECIPE024a by Ingredients:

—————————————————–

Paul Clark

01. Krakota – Be Myself [RECIPE018]
Krakota – Be Myself (edit) – Recipe book volume one LP (May 2011) by Ingredients:

02. Skeptical – Refraction [RECIPE021]
Skeptical – Refraction (edit) – Recipe book volume one LP May 2011 by Ingredients:

03. Break – Freak [SUICIDE061]
Break – Freak – suicide061 / suicidecd010 – OUT NOW! by Commercial Suicide

—————————————————–

Ben Craven

01. Joe Goddard – Gabriel [GREC022D]
Joe Goddard Gabriel EP (Vinyl Format) Greco-Roman [GREC022V] by stholdings

02. Marlow – Love Kills Slowly [NCOMP003]
Marlow ‘Love Kills Slowly’ No Comply Recordings (NCOMP003) by stholdings

03. Pangaea – Hex [HEK013]
HEK 013 A Pangaea – Hex by Hemlockrecordings

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RA Poll: Top 50 tracks of 2011

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1422

46. Maurice Donovan - Babeh [SSSSS]
The man formerly known as Ramadan cuts up a classic into something resembling house.

SSSSS02 A – Maurice Donovan – Babeh by Hemlockrecordings

22. Peverelist - Dance Til the Police Come [Hessle Audio]
Jungle-inspired-swinging post-dubstep—or in other words, a Bristol-based genius at the top of his game.

Peverelist ‘Dance til the Police Come’ by Peverelist

19. Scuba - Adrenalin [Hotflush]
A lot of 2011′s big tracks inspired as much bickering as they did dancefloor mayhem, and Scuba’s only single under his usual moniker was no different. Following in his new, looser, and housier direction, “Adrenalin” is eight minutes of rigid repetition, incessantly catchy basslines and a strobing vocal sample. But the song’s lopsided progression is the important part, because three minutes in it melts away into one of the year’s most decadent breakdowns, several minutes of building synth washes and whooshes that unashamedly ascend to the highest of the gurning trance heavens. The song’s title might imply a certain energy, but we all know there’s a different chemical driving this one.

Scuba ‘Adrenalin’ Hotflush Recordings [HF030] by stholdings

17. Pangaea - Hex [Hemlock]
Pangaea’s “Hex” was perfectly fine for the first 86 seconds. Pretty swell even. A bit of rhythmic trickery, a nice organic bed for it all to sit on. Then there was this: “Buh buh buh buh buh buh buh buh buh kut buh buh buh buh buh buh buh buh buh kut be booooooooooooy be boooooOOOOOOOoy.” It was at that moment that “Hex” became one of the most exciting songs we’d heard all year. That Kevin McAuley had further tricks up his sleeve later on is icing on the cake of course, but it’s also why we kept coming back to it throughout the year.

HEK 013 A Pangaea – Hex by Hemlockrecordings

10. Unknown Artist - Sicko Cell [Swamp 81]
Be honest: When you finally heard “Sicko Cell” in full, you were a little bit underwhelmed. (If you even bothered to track it down at all.) There’s not much to say about the rhythm. There’s hardly a drop. Even the melody—if you can call the atmospheres a full-fledged melody—don’t inspire much poetry. There is a vocal, though. Perhaps you remember? It’s the one about cocaine powder. The one that drove you mad in a club this year trying to figure out where it was from. The one that Loefah, Oneman and others couldn’t stop playing. The one that landed this tune in our top 10 tracks of the year.

? – Sicko Cell / Knock Knock [SWAMP014] Swamp81 by Surus

01. Blawan - Getting Me Down [White Label]
The whole story behind “Getting Me Down” is a bit corny really. I went out on New Years Eve—like everyone else does, and I did the whole thing, had a good time, left quite early and came back home and kind of just sat at my computer all night/morning. I had these disco loops I had been working on that I wasn’t really doing much with, and I started messing around with the a cappella and then something just clicked. I did it in about four hours and kind of forgot about it.
This one dropped off the radar for me a little bit, because I actually thought it was one of the weirder things I had written. I never really grasped the catchy vocal properly until I put it into context. A few guys said, “Yeah, I really like that tune,” but nothing more than anything else I sent before. The first person to get anything from me is usually Ben UFO. Ben gave it the first play on Rinse FM, and somebody then ripped it from the radio stream and uploaded it to YouTube—something that seems happen all the time now. That played an integral part of getting the tune in people’s heads really.
I’d been playing the tune out a lot, and it had got an OK reaction. I mean, I had always thought of it as filler for a set anyway. But once the YouTube clip was up, a lot of people in clubs knew what it was, even though it was only three or so weeks after I had finished making it. It’s really strange how things move so fast.

Blawan ‘Getting Me Down’ (White label) by punchdrunkmusicdotcom

RA Poll: Top 20 albums of 2011

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1423

19. Instra:mental - Resolution 653 [NonPlus+]
The problem with Instra:mental? They release too much good music. “Problem” is the wrong word, but such has been the standard of Alex Green and Damon Kirkham’s output these past couple of years it’s become tough to ruminate on each new offering in isolation, fully appreciating the true extent of its merits. They’ve spoilt us, basically—and none more so than on their debut album, Resolution 653. Barely pausing for a fag break across its 13 tracks, the pair coaxed jaw-clenching amounts of warmth and grit out of their machines, coming off like the natural heirs to Drexciya’s electro throne.

Instra:mental ‘Resolution 653′ Album audio clips Nonplus Records by stholdings

RA Poll: Top 20 compilations of 2011

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1424

20. Various Artists - Mosaic Vol. 1 [Exit]
A lot of the tunes on Mosaic were earmarked as singles for Exit. But it became really clear that I wasn’t going to have the schedule to get everything out, so a compilation seemed like a good idea. In the same way as the [Autonomic] podcast, putting this music together served as a platform for people to get their heads around it. If the tracks are all in dribs and drabs it sort of goes unnoticed. I think compilations and the podcast kind of helped identify this group of artists producing this music. I suppose that’s where the title Autonomic came from. It’s funny that it became a genre name sort of, because that was never the intent.
- dBridge

Mosaic Vol 1 CD by Exit Records UK

14. Various Artists - Back & 4th [Hotflush]
I wasn’t directly involved in the process of choosing tracks for Back & 4th, but the goal was to present a gradual evolution of the label’s sound over the last few years. It was also an opportunity to bring in a few newcomers who provided a clear manifestation of that same evolution, with Roska, Boddika, dBridge, and FaltyDL adding their own flavors to the mix. I was also glad that Scuba picked up my own track, “Axis.” It’s the first one I made that I was really satisfied with. My favorite track on the compilation, though, was Boxcutter’s “LOADtime.” He’s always been really inspiring to me, as a veteran producer whose talent and skill really set him apart. – Incyde, Label Manager

BACK AND 4TH – Disc 1 by Hotflush

10. Various Artists - 116 & Rising  [Hessle Audio]
We had the idea for the compilation at the end of 2010 and started putting the wheels in motion soon after that. We approached some people we hadn’t worked with before as well as asking those we had if they were interested in the concept too. Luckily for us, everybody was. In terms of the name, the three of us were on the train coming back from our distributors after talking about the project, thinking of titles. I’d been re-listening to Experience by the Prodigy a week or two earlier and one of the tracks on there is called “Everybody in the Place (155 & Rising).” So 116 & Rising (referring to the BPM of the slowest track in the comp) is a bit of a joke, but at the same time summarises the project and a lot of what we’re about nicely.
- Pangaea

James Blake – Give A Man A Rod (Second Version) by BOILER ROOM

RA Poll: Top 20 labels of 2011

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1421

20. NonPlus+
Nonplus+ heads Alex Green and Damon Kirkham simply claim to release what they like—no matter the genre. That’s what everyone says…until the distributor steps in. Luckily for us, Green and Kirkham didn’t get the memo, and spent the year reaffirming their pan-genre approach by putting Actress’ blurry electronica next to Lowtec’s tired house, and Boddika’s breezin’ electro up against the Neil Landstrumm and JD Twitch collab Salsa Apocalypso. Add Instra:mental’s own brutal and beautiful Resolution 653 to the mix, and you have yourself a wonderful and confusing year

19. Idle Hands
Saunter down Stokes Croft in Bristol with some cash in your pocket and you’ll likely end up trawling the racks of Idle Hands. The label of the same name was started up in 2009 while Chris Farrell was still employed a bit further up the street by the erstwhile Rooted Records. Much like the stock in both these stores, the label hasn’t been wedded to any one genre. In 2011 that’s meant an impeccable string of singles from artists like AnD, Kowton, Kevin McPhee, Szare and Outboxx which have run the gamut between charcoal techno and jazzy house.

05. Hotflush
With a hefty label compilation occupying the first quarter of the year and a busy 2010 behind him, it could have been a year of consolidation for Scuba’s Hotflush. Instead, the imprint pushed forward with new talents George FitzGerald, Braille) and old Paul Woolford & Psycatron). Looking over the names that released on Hotflush in retrospect, and things seem obvious. (Err… of course Sepalcure and Sigha go together!) But it speaks to the platform that Scuba has created that artists from house, techno and bass music even think to send him tracks—and that he finds a way to work all of them into his DJ sets.

Pitchfork The Top 100 Tracks of 2011

http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/

94. Sepalcure “Pencil Pimp” [Hotflush]
As Sepalcure, Travis Stewart and Praveen Sharma slid in right before the whistle to remind us that electronic music devices can do more than evocatively sputter and fritz. “Pencil Pimp” whirls on a machine-lathed spindle of Chicago footwork, capturing a feeling of curtailed tension and lurking danger with its soulful vocal clips and warm synth pads. There are no gestures of rebellion or subversion, only an argument for well-made music at a time when it might seem besieged. “Pencil Pimp” demonstrates why we feel so comfortable breaking the mold: We know someone will come along who feels passionate enough to cast it again, tempered even stronger. –Brian Howe

Sepalcure – Pencil Pimp / I’m Alright (album single) by Hotflush

86. Blawan “Getting Me Down” [self-released]
Blawan first drew attention with tracks that wielded wild drums like a toddler banging on household objects, but his most powerful moment this year came when he reined in those tendencies for a straightforward house thumper.  A lot of the impact in “Getting Me Down” comes fromthat Brandy vocal, squeezed and wedged into a galloping beat that recontextualizes the R&B slow-jam original as a sugary, hyped-up rush that’s dangerously contagious. Released discreetly after months of dubplate domination, the track’s landing was titanic: it was impossible to walk around record stores in London in May without hearing it blaring from speakers, or go to a club night without it being rinsed at least once. For the first half of the year, “Getting Me Down” was an event, and listening back to it at year’s end, it’s easy to see why. So few tracks combined candyfloss rave, UK garage hysteria, and dubby dread (check the growling basslines) into something that sounded so universal yet so subversive, helping to kick off a new impulse in the bass music world that was all about house. –Andrew Ryce

Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 2011

http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8727-the-top-50-albums-of-2011/?utm_source=related

47. Sepalcure ‘Sepalcure’ [Hotflush]
In an interview with The Guardian last month, Hotflush boss Scuba named “Outside”, the closing song from bass music duo Sepalcure’s self-titled debut LP, as the song he would want to open his next DJ set with. It’s a strange choice for a set opener– “Outside” is beatless, essentially four minutes of drone and clipped voices– but then again, not much about Sepalcure makes sense in the constant forward-thinking climate of bass music circa 2011. As an album, it doesn’t really do anything new, and a few of the signifiers that Travis Stewart and Praveen Sharma plunder onSepalcure were, to some, reaching their expiration dates– specifically, the use of pitched vocals that Stewart liberally splayed on his album this year as Machinedrum, Room(s). Part of what makes Sepalcure such a deeply enjoyable listen is how familiar it all is, pogoing between juke-derived textures, IDM’s click-clack machinery, misty pastoral ambience, and house music’s 4/4 insistence while weaving a web of shivering romance that still manages to move bodies. Above all else, Sepalcure offers a necessary reminder that, yeah, change is good, but elegant, refined perfection also has its place. –Larry Fitzmaurice

Sepalcure – Sepalcure LP *Album Preview* [HFLP006] Hotflush Recordings by Surus

Fact Magazine 50 best: tracks of 2011

http://www.factmag.com/2011/12/05/50-best-tracks-of-2011-50-41/

47: PAUL WOOLFORD & PSYCATRON ‘STOLEN’ (HOTFLUSH)
Almost five years on from ‘Erotic Discourse’, someone, somewhere did 2011 a massive favour and relit the fire under Paul Woolford’s arse, prompting the Leeds veteran to roll back the years and deliver some of his all-time best material. ‘Razor Blade’ and his remix of T. Williams and Terri Walker’s ‘Heartbeat’ were sublime, but this colossal collaboration with Psycatron on Hotflush simply took the biscuit.

Paul Woolford and Psycatron – Stolen [HFT018] by Hotflush

40: OLD APPARATUS SIDE A PART 1 (DEEP MEDI)
Old Apparatus’s mysterious debut – 20 minutes of music spread across two untitled sides of vinyl – is something we recommend enjoying as a whole, but there’s no doubt that the first distinct movement of the A-side packs the fiercest punch. It sounds like UK garage gone industrial, its perfectly swung rhythm riven by distortion and an overloaded darkside bassline. The end, it suggests, is very much nigh.

39: TEETH ‘SHAWTY’ (502 RECORDINGS)
Smoked-out drum machine pop from Helsinki’s TEETH that suited 502′s darkroom aesthetic (see also: Jay Weed, Fis-T) to a tee.

Oneman’s 502 Label: Teeth – Shawty/Shawty [FaltyDL Remix] 502003 by stholdings

24: KAHN ‘LIKE WE USED TO’ (PUNCH DRUNK)
Kahn’s beautifully crafted debut single bowled us over, with its vocals chopped into the syllables of pure energy and longing – “feminine pressure” writ large – and strapped to the most lithe and undeniable dubstep rhythm we heard all year.

Kahn ‘Like We Used To’ (Punch Drunk Records) by Punch Drunk Records

20: BLAWAN ‘GETTING ME DOWN’ (WHITE LABEL)
This year, Blawan expanded on the promise of his 2010 debut single ‘Fram’ to become one of the UK’s most in-demand, and refreshingly, heaviest producers, proving that you can still go hard in the paint without resorting to dubstep or electro-house cliches. He showed off his lighter touch, however, on this vinyl only edit of Brandy’s ‘Wanna Be Down’; it’s still his finest track to date.

17: PANGAEA ‘WON’T HURT’ (HESSLE AUDIO)
Pretty much everything Pangaea touches turns to gold, but nothing gleamed so bright in 2011 as ‘Won’t Hurt’ – a rude-as-all-fuck but masterfully honed onslaught of scything synths, choppy drums and outrageous sub-bass.

Won’t Hurt by pangaea

13: UNKNOWN ARTIST ‘SICKO CELL’ (SWAMP81)
I’m the information… co-caine powder. Say no more.

07: ROCKWELL ‘ARIA’ (CRITICAL AUDIO)
The most atmospheric, emotive and dynamic drum’n’bass track of the year, and an instant classic – wrought out of fierce, fanatically detailed drum programming, ghost-traces of This Mortal Coil’s ‘Song To The Siren’ and impeccably timed, gut-skewering bass stabs.

Fact Magazine 50 best: albums of 2011

http://www.factmag.com/2011/11/30/50-best-albums-of-2011-50-41/

42: 2562 FEVER (WHEN IN DOUBT)
Fever is a concept album with a very simple but rigorous set of rules – every nuance and texture is half-inched from disco records produced from the mid 70’s to the early 80’s, with producer Dave Huismans’ own birth year of 1979 acting as a temporal pivot. The results don’t sound like disco at all – beyond a certain joyous, celebratory quality – but rather a new kind of dance music; dynamic, shapeshifting and irrepressible.

2562 – Fever (doubt001cd/lp) [April 2011] by 2562 / A Made Up Sound

XLR8R’s Best of 2011: Labels

http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2011/12/xlr8rs-best-2011-labels

5. Hotflush
If you’re wondering why we think Hotflush is one of the best labels of the year, then you are not reading XLR8R enough. Let’s start with the obvious reasons: Sepalcure’s debut full-length topped Hotflush’s year off with a stunning display of dense post-dubstep, George FitzGerald dropped two more solid singles of R&B-infused garage, and label head Paul Rose (a.k.a. Scuba) unleashed one of 2011′s biggest tunes, “Adrenalin.” Meanwhile, Praveen Sharma of Sepalcure dropped four tracks of luscious, rolling garage with his A Meaning EP as Braille and Lando Kal stepped outside his usual role as the taller half of Lazer Sword long enough to deliver two of his most impressive solo cuts to date, “Further” and “Time Out.” Big, soulful tunes, consistently top-notch output, and a proven ability to not only shift within the ever-moving bass-music scene, but, more importantly, the power to influence it, made Hotflush a force yet again in 2011. Glenn Jackson

4. SWAMP81
Second acts can be hard to come by in electronic music, particularly in the lightning-quick environs of London’s hardcore continuum, but DMZ co-founder Loefah doesn’t seem to be having much of a problem with it. Since founding the SWAMP81 imprint in 2009, he’s quickly assembled a roster that functions as a sort of all-star team for upfront, low-end-heavy sounds. After serving up massive tunes like Addison Groove’s “Footcrab” and Ramadanman’s “Work Them” in 2010, the vinyl-only label stepped it up even further in 2011, dropping releases from FaltyDL, Zed Bias (both solo and as one-half of the Funkbias collaboration with Funk Butcher), and another single from Addison Groove. SWAMP81 was also home to records from Boddika—establishing him as a solo artist and one of the year’s biggest producers. Perhaps most notably, the label (eventually) released “Sicko Cell,” one of 2011′s most anticipated tunes. (The song may not have quite lived up to the hype, but it did snag the #13 slot on our countdown of the year’s best tracks.) Even as folks begin to wonder about the state of so-called bass music and attempt to figure out exactly where it’s heading, there appears to be no shortage of quality music coming from the SWAMP81 camp. Shawn Reynaldo

XLR8R’s Best of 2011: Tracks

http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2011/12/xlr8rs-best-2011-tracks-part-one
http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2011/12/xlr8rs-best-2011-tracks-part-2

47. Boddika
 “2727″
 (SWAMP81)
Even in a year when Instra:mental, the duo he’s been a part of for more than a decade, released a widely acclaimed and sonically adventurous new album, the ascent of Boddika as a solo artist could not be stopped. Tracks like “2727″—with its thunderous drums, acid lines, and unapologetically raw aesthetic—are the reason why. Shawn Reynaldo

2727 by Boddika

46. French Fries 
”Champagne” 
(ClekClekBoom)
Legend has it that Claude VonStroke wanted to sign “Champagne” to his Dirtybird label, but young French producer French Fries politely declined and kept the tune for his own ClekClekBoom imprint. True or not, it’s quite the story, not that this tune, which uses white space as effectively as it employs snappy drums and eerie synths, needed much help finding its way into DJs’ playlists. Shawn Reynaldo

French Fries – Champagne / Hugz ft. Bambounou [CCB001] – Out Now! (12″ Ltd Ed Vinyl) by ClekClekBoom

44. Sepalcure 
”Pencil Pimp” 
(Hotflush)
Sepalcure seems to compose bass music on the most loose, yet subtle terms, and the pair’s unique perspective on the genre has continued to yield stellar results. Somehow both tribal and smooth in the same breath, “Pencil Pimp” immediately stood out during the course of the duo’s debut LP, mostly due to the sheer weight infused into its post-happy sound—think Mount Kimbie with slightly bigger balls (and maybe some more drugs in the mix). Glenn Jackson

43. Blawan 
”Getting Me Down”
Sampling generously from Brandy’s “I Wanna Be Down” is kind of a no-brainer (whether or not you’re willing to admit it, we all loved that song), but Blawan did much more than simply edit Brandy’s half-forgotten hit—he propelled it into the club of some distant planet with monstrous percussion and whatever the hell that reverse low-end sound is. Wherever it comes from, it’s strange, unnerving, and just about perfect. Glenn Jackson

26. Instra:Mental
 “When I Dip”
 (NonPlus)
2011 found veteran UK duo Instra:mental completing a very large left turn, essentially abandoning drum & bass for old-school electro, heavy low-end, and lots of 808 drum sounds. Ahead of the acclaimed Resolution 653, the pair dropped “When I Dip,” an undeniable tune that also folds some Southern-style booty bass into the outfit’s new sonic formula. It proved to be quite the effective opening salvo, both for Instra:mental’s re-emergence and Boddika’s big year as a solo artist. Shawn Reynaldo

Instra:mental Resolution 653 LP Sampler ‘Thomp’ / ‘When I Dip’ [NONPLUS013] by stholdings

24. Julio Bashmore
 “Ribble to Amazon” 
(3024)
There’s a line somewhere between soulful, UK-style house and anthemic, almost cheesy, bangers that can be dangerous. However, when walked just right, that line is perfect for the dancefloor. Julio Bashmore knows exactly how to walk it, and “Ribble to Amazon” is one of his finest journeys on that limb—the pads are warm, the vocals are just right, and those breakdowns are too good to be true. Glenn Jackson

JULIO BASHMORE RIBBLE TO AMAZON (3024-011B) by 3024world

18. Teeth 
”Shawty”
 (502)
Like many selections on Oneman’s 502 imprint, there’s not a whole lot to “Shawty.” Listening to the song, it quickly becomes apparent just how much space there is in the production, a factor that’s just as important as any of the actual sonic elements being put to use. That said, each of those elements is just about perfect. Utilizing low-slung drum beats, haunting synth melodies, and a sultry vocal sample, Finnish producer Teeth not only put himself on the bass-music map, he also created one of the year’s most memorable tunes. Shawn Reynaldo

13. Unknown 
”Sicko Cell”
 (SWAMP81)
It’s amazing that when “Sicko Cell”—undoubtedly the most hyped tune of the year—was finally released in late July, the world was essentially already over it. In a world where anticipation grows exponentially online and DJs are mastering YouTube rips in order to play the latest tune, especially one created “anonymously” (it’s an open secret that Joy Orbison produced the track) and only passed along to a select few, “Sicko Cell” simply ran out of steam. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a monster of a club track. With a stripped-down aesthetic and eerie vibe, the song is rather similar to Teeth’s “Shawty,” but the twisted, Burial-esque vocal samples put “Sicko Cell” over the top. Shawn Reynaldo

3. Scuba
 “Adrenalin”
 (Hotflush)
Scuba made a trance song. (Polite company might refer to it as progressive house, but we’re going to call a spade a spade.) On the heels of “Loss,” which he released earlier in the earlier under his SCB moniker (and already nabbed #41 on this list), it was apparent that Paul Rose was interested in exploring new sound palettes, but something this, well, epic was not really expected. While the notion of one of the most influential and boundary-pushing dubstep producers of the past decade making a tune that Sasha would play (yes, that happened) sounds like some kind of nightmare on the surface, it doesn’t change the fact that “Adrenalin” is not only an excellent track, but also a production that completely resets exactly what it is that Scuba is all about. Containing one grandiose and ethereal breakdown—not to mention a series of smaller ups and downs along the way—”Adrenalin” certainly plays to the dancefloor, particularly dancers looking to lose their shit once the beat comes back in and the song’s chunky bassline takes hold. The synths are washy and warm, the sounds employed are impeccably clean, and yes, the track is absolutely, undeniably a bit cheesy. It’s also eight of the most enjoyable minutes of music we heard all year (more or less on repeat, to be honest), and we can’t wait to hear what Scuba comes up with next. Shawn Reynaldo

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Friday 23rd December 2011  -  Close at 1:00pm


Tuesday 3rd January 2012  -  Open at 10:00am

Last Orders:  3:00pm Wednesday 21st December.

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Having released the anonymous and enormous F**k Yonkers bootleg earlier this year, the Amsterdam based Audio Culture Label is poised to unleash their first official release, a piece of music which is the result of the collaborative efforts of Dutch wunderkid Presk and Amsterdam’s premier tastemaker Cinnaman.

In part, Pieter ‘Presk’ Willems’ support is responsible for the label’s inception. In a short space of time Presk has built up a solid and impressively distinct sounding catalogue of work released on respected imprints such as Ramp sister label Fourth Wave and Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen.

Making a name for himself with nothing more than his hands and impeccable taste, Yuri ‘Cinnaman’ Boselie has become somewhat of a musical institution in Amsterdam. He’s the man behind the ground breaking Colors nights and is responsible for the equally forward thinking Beat Dimensions compilations.

The B-side features two expertly remixed and uniquely different takes on the original, courtesy of non other than Instra:mental’s Jon Convex and Ten Thousand Yen head honcho Doc Daneeka.

ACLBL001
Presk & Cinnaman
A1) Sweat
B1) Sweat (Jon Convex Remix)
B2) Sweat (Doc Daneeka Remix)

Released on 19th December 2011 on limited white vinyl and digital.

PRESK & CINNAMAN – SWEAT (ACLBL001 out 19th December 2011) by Audio Culture

www.audio-culture.com
www.facebook.com/audioculture

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