Electronic & Dance Preorder 386 Items

Pushing the boundaries of intelligent dance music higher into experimental-adjacent analogue territories, where abstract serenity and complex analogue developments entangle in an organic symbiosis of sorts, Noordens newest puzzle in sound comes courtesy of two label habitues, Orion Moustache and Panta Rex. Staying true to their genre-unbound DNA and innovative vision, both artists each contribute a trio of oblique sound equations, conjuring up both identifiable rhythmic patterns and off-piste downtempo digressions to shape a grammar truly their own - not quite your usual function-oriented DJ tool, but not floor-opposed either. Hybrid and agile, this co-op between Orion Moustache and Panta Rex oozes inspirational spaciousness and ascetic sophistication thru and thru.

Cassimm debuts on Rekids with the jackin’ ‘House of Moves’ EP

The Italian-born, London-based Cassimm lands on Radio Slave’s Rekids for the first time with the ‘House of Moves’ EP. It kicks off with ‘Body And Soul’, a hands-in-the-air affair backed by a slick, Jackin’ Tech House groove and earworm vocal. It’s a surefire recipe to tease the crowd into a dancefloor moment before Cassimm’s ‘I Hear You’ comes in with plenty of soul on the B-side. Dubby House chords form the base above swinging organic percussion, with another classic vocal working the nostalgia on top. Closing out the EP is the infectious ‘What Ya Looking At’, featuring stripped-back rhythm and big drops set to make for an even bigger crowd reaction.

Signing to Rekids off the back of many Radio Slave-supported edits, Cassimm debuts on the label after the chart-topping ‘Say Yeah’ and ‘Love Desire, with supporters like Honey Dijon and Rekids affiliate Nic Fanciulli. Cassim’s ‘House of Moves’ EP on Rekids will be released this May and once again shows his ability to deliver big, memorable house cuts.

The first-ever reissue of this in-demand 94 jungle scorcher from DJ Fokus.

Having broken out with two 12”s on Monroe Production’s Blueprint Records, DJ Fokus quickly followed up at the Monroe Studios, under the watchful eye of legendary engineer Pete Parsons (Voyager), with two self-funded 12”s on his Suicide imprint before putting pen to paper with Lucky Spin Recordings. Now regularly demanding three figure sums both releases have achieved cult status amongst jungliests both young and old.

Available for the first time since its initial 1994 pressing, this black wax reissue of the first Suicide release was mastered from the original DAT sourced from Pete's personal archive (which includes the name of the previously presumed untitled b-side) and the lacquer cut by Beau Thomas (Babylon Timewarp/Intense). Expect the second release Watch Out/Media soon...

Fundamental Frequencies is a back room record label (headed by Doug Shipton of archival label Finders Keepers Records), dedicated to unearthing lesser-spotted, sought-after and unreleased choice cuts of jungle, acid, ambient, techno, hardcore, breakbeat (and the galaxy of genres scattered in-between) that helped shape and in some cases bridge the scenes.

Two years after his acclaimed ‘Darkos LP’, Jonquera is back to Charlieu’s surrounding vales for his second album on Bamboo Shows.

Through ‘La Croix des Cros’, the French Musician delivers a loner-folk eclogue about the fantasized inner demons of a country dweller. Just like clay, audio recordings here are a malleable substance, slowly reworked over a year, following a sinuous production process where all mishaps are welcomed as breaches to step into.

Far from the spaghetti western myth of the reckless bounty hunter, riding his faithful horse in the great outdoors to spill blood; this 14-track album is the grieving lament of a wistful cowboy, longing for a simple patch of peace where one’s free to cultivate the earth and noodle on the guitar.

Heldon’s cosmic space-rock, Badalamenti’s Twin-Peaksesque foggy jazz or Morricone’s glorious soundtracks, so many references to portray another fertile imprint by Jonquera, available from February 13, 2023 on a 12” vinyl.

After a devastating opening salvo of 19 modernist rave mutations on a double tape pack for Sneaker Social Club, Minder lands on Hypercolour with another 19 cybernetic fever dreams still reeling from the open season NRG of hardcore.

If you need to understand where Minder wants to take you, strap in for the labyrinth narrative of ‘Knotted’, a smudged, 15-minute breakbeat suite barrelling through lurid dystopian street scenes with only a blown-out bass sprite as a guide. Throughout Sanctuary, bass is the constant when all else is chaos. It comes in thick, warped Reese tones on ‘Simulated Hunt’, gets twisted out through angry filters on ‘Popcorn Lover’, comes on wobbly in true 2-step style underneath grimey garage anti-anthem ‘Ard’.

There’s a lot to take in across the spread of Sanctuary. It’s the sound of every rave genre slowly digested over 30-plus years, until the lactic acid metabolises every snare rush, every searing lead line, every chipmunk vocal lick, and everything gets mashed up and spat back out into a gnarly signal chain at the flash point of inspiration. The time taken is key – this is the sound of a life in front of the speaker stack manifesting in something too wild and weird to be derivative. You’ll hear snatches of familiarity thrown into unfamiliar contexts, but for all the detectable lineage, Minder’s sound is unsettling in its originality.

Dislodged ragga jungle techno, muffled hardcore nightmares, hard n’ haggard acid trance, junked up jump up – you could write an essay on the sounds you can spot and the way they’ve been twisted. Aside from the omnipresent low-end, it’s the unflinching honesty of Korron’s repeat appearances on the mic throughout which bring Minder’s disturbing patchwork into focus. For all the futurism attached to these sounds, it’s also caked in a very human filth which can only come from this earth. The roots run deep, and the fruit is rotten, and isn’t that how it should be?

It has been over 2 years since Kellon (Spillway) ceased trading. He makes his return as Viewfinder, with a new label and a new approach. ‘The Second Phase’ is the first release on Rescan Records – it features 4 club-ready tunes, littered with analogue synths.

Originally released in France in 1998, Vibractance is one of the most unique and haunting titles in Merzbow’s vast catalog. It’s unique drone, noise, almost ambient like qualities makes this a great starting point for adventurer ears but also an essential album for the initiated. A true journey into the unknown where pulsating sonar waves swim between a sea of eerie beauty and tangible dreams. Celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, Aurora Central Records proudly presents its first ever vinyl and cassette release.

Eclair Fifi is back with the first new release on her River Rapid label in 2 years. Rapid Remixes brings together two of her favourite producers - Montreal legend and fellow LuckyMe alumni Jacques Greene and rising NYC star AceMo - to reimagine 2 key tracks from the labels previous releases - DC Salas and Santiago Salazar. These have been secret weapons amongst select djs for a while.

The second release from Flash Lair and from Melbourne producer Oozy Zoo, Crucial Spheres covers breakbeat electro metres, deep techno grooves, and slick acid licks.

“There is a German satellite falling to earth!” a woman’s voice urgently announces. “She says, what if it hits me? Welcome to anxiety group.” A dense cloud on the horizon heralds a fresh onslaught from that infamous swarm of free jazz killer bees, a new project from self-described “conceptual kleptomaniac post digital free jazz outfit” Drone Operatør. Riding hard along the line between experimental electronics, blockbuster sound design and the loosest jazz improvisation, this rogue’s gallery of players, headed up by art world provocateurs Paul Barsch and Tilman Horning, take the fevered pulse of the relentlessly flattened now and note down four key observations which presented together make up Welcøme TO Anxiety Group. Coaxing lively theatricality from a continually provoked altercation between acoustic instrumentation and synthetic sound, each of the project’s four tracks provides a new perspective on what it means to improvise through technological mediation. “Here we are now,” write Drone Operatør. “22 after 2k. mp4 flex to 32bit float. The sax - the heart. The quadcopter - the brain. Duo d'Allemagne not wasting a life time learning jazz standards.” To open proceedings, our faithful operatør whips up exquisite dissonance with ‘Bot Møther’, smashing together squalls of saxophone and ripples of percussion with the sounds of sci-fi artillery, like an amphetamine-fuelled, midnight jam hammered out oblivious to an ongoing alien invasion. Slowing to a furtive creep for ‘German Satellite’, picking out keenly felt anxiety in suggestive plucks, stuttering clacks and strained wails, their cosmic warning signalling a neurotic climax before settling back into a post-coital skitter, flourishes of keys, both digital and analogue, harmonising with Drone Operatør’s weary welcome to the group. Eschewing the electronic completely for the cacophonous gallop of ‘Røhrstøck’, we’re invited to hold on for dear life during a mad scramble towards the ‘The Vessel,’ a staggering sequence of tumbling synthetic chimes, embellished with peals of ornate sax that flare up and out to illuminate the track’s irregularity, alternately submerged and retrieved through a subtle manipulation of filters. It’s a session that has to be heard to be believed, crammed with as much difficulty and as much revelation as any good therapy should. As Drone Operatør describe: “From iconic spamming to intellectual nonsense. Always never predictable, never not cheesy. Battery life cycles full of joy. You say you like free jazz. We don’t believe you.” Welcøme to Anxiety Group will be released on July 29th, 2021 by Participant, on limited edition clear red vinyl, and digital download via the Participant Bandcamp. The release will be accompanied by a series of films by Drone Operatør, featuring editing, FX, and CGI by digital artist Darío Alva. Text by: Henry Bruce Jones Participant is a record label and creative studio run by filmmaker William Markarian-Martin and conceptual artist Richie Culver

The idea for a remix LP came about following the incredibly positive reception that greeted “The Flow Across Borders” upon its release in May last year. After the services of The Orb and Richard Norris were secured by the label, Frazer and Ali asked some of their favourite artists on Castles in Space to contribute remixes for the project, which subsequently grew into a wonderful overview of both the scope and diversity of the band’s output and the skill and sensitivity of the remixers. Frazer Brown: “As the tracks started to come in, we realised that this collection was going to be something very special. The Orb remix is classic Orb, Richard Norris’ contribution is pure bliss, and the fact that this is the first official remix that Concretism has ever done is especially thrilling. Every track is astounding…”

Ali O’May and Frazer Brown met in early 2018 while performing with their respective bands at an Electronic Music Open Mic (emom) gig in Edinburgh. With obvious common interests, further discussions lead a few months later to Ali passing Frazer a USB drive filled with stems recorded directly from Ali’s vast modular system. Across August and September 2019, Frazer used about a dozen of those stems as the foundation for a set of tracks, building them into fully realised pieces across a range of styles from techno, lo-fi, breaks, acid house and ambient. And thus was born the Dohnavúr method - Ali coaxing the raw materials from his modular set up and Frazer working them up instinctively with his encyclopaedic knowledge of electronic music into tracks for which the feel, genre and direction is inspired by Ali’s foundational building blocks. Sleeve artwork is once again handled by Mark Hall.