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Japanese composer Hiroko Matsuzaki began her classic music career as a flutist, and from 1985 to 1987 she worked as a studio musician as a flute/synthesiser player based in London, gaining an excellent reputation abroad without passing through the Japanese music scene. Simon Jeffs of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra heard this work and decided to participate in German electronic musician Rhodelius' Pink, Blue and Amber. This is the first time reissuing the lost work she produced only 100 copies before she left for the UK in 1985 , entitled Mother-Of-Pearl Box. This world-standard masterpiece was born in Japan during the rise of ambient music in the late 1980s, when house and techno were expanding globally with the rise of house and techno.

Following his debut EP tttwoface from the Belgian label Urban Waves in 2022 and 1st full album from P-vine in 2023, Tokyo based electronic musician Yanaco has released his 2nd full album! He has defined their sound, focusing their wide range of influences into what is no doubt one of the finest ambient albums to come out of Japan in recent years.

Samples, programmed electronics, and synth pads are layered with care and precision to create an ineffable serenity that calls to mind the works of both Hiroshi Yoshimura and Aphex Twin, while still being distinctly Yanaco. The album vividly expresses the theme of life from 'Leaving' to 'Arriving' through expressive songs, and is a complete album in itself, not to mention the quality of each song.

The Stanley Parable may be satire, but its artistry is sincere. Developer Crows Crows Crows understood that on a fundamental level, in order for its scathing deconstruction of interactive storytelling to really hit, The Stanley Parable had to feel like a polished, impressive piece of narrative fiction, in and of itself. That polish is present everywhere in the game, from its stark, corporate-approved visuals to its superb voice acting, to its extraordinary soundtrack.

The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra, Yiannis Ioannides, Christiaan Bakker, and Tom Schley all contributed pieces to this indelible score. The resulting product is an eclectic mix of whimsical orchestral tunes, surprisingly tense ambient sounds, and heroically inspiring themes, sure to stir something deep within your formerly settled soul. Parody, tribute, and unexpectedly original moments of brilliance are present across the tracklist here in equal measure, each working towards the same cohesive final score.

Now, we at iam8bit are here to bring that very same score to you, presented on wax, with all of the care and consideration it deserves. Introducing The Stanley Parable 2xLP, a collection of the very best songs from the hallmark indie title, spread across two discs and pressed on 100% recycled black wax.

Lovely designers, Dominik Johann and William Pugh, crafted the cover art, which, much like the game itself (and indeed the soundtrack, too) is understated and brilliant — a loving tribute to Stanley’s possibly-traitorous sole companion, The Reassurance Bucket. It makes a mighty fine companion to your very own commemorative The Stanley Parable Collectible Bucket, if we do say so ourselves. And what’s more, that art is printed on recycled, eco-friendly packaging.

Now’s your chance to take home a piece of indie game history. Don’t miss out!

20% of net proceeds from your Stanley Parable purchase will be donated to the non-profit charity 350.org to fight climate change.

Secrets Of Sound sold out their first release in quick fashion and now they return with a second instalment in the Exotic Origins series, designed to take you a million light years away from your current reality and deep into the far depths of space with eight superbly cosmic explorations of ambient and downtempo magic. Italians Do It Better man Johnny Jewel kicks off with some sultry sax-laced sounds, David Lynch's musical partner Dean Hurley crushes on shimmering pads and Pye Corner Audio bring a little intergalactic tension. Elsewhere there are sugary synths from Legowelt, suspensory pads from TM Solver and plenty more to help you escape to another dimension. Add to that the fact it arrives on a random variety of different vinyl colours and comes with a download code, and you've got rather a nice package.

*** LP with CD in cardboard sleeve & 8 page CD booklet incl. liner notes by Steve Barker & DL Code ***

Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.

The nearest comparisons to his new album Transit Tribe can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.

Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!
Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.
So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.
Liner notes by Steve Barker
(DJ, Radio Presenter - On the Wire, BBC 1984 – 2023, now Slack City Radio & reggae/dub columnist and contributor to The Wire)

Credits:

Mamadou Diabate: vocals (3) & talking drum (3)
Osman Murat Ertel: electric saz (6, 7) & guitar (7)
Reinhilde Gamper: zither & bass-zither (9)
Susanna Gartmayer: contra-alto clarinet (8)
Diggory Kenrick: flute (2)
Didi Kern: drums (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8), percussion (3, 6)
Hamidou Koita: vocals (3), djembe (3)
Lukas Lauermann: cello (1)
Martin Mallaun: zither (9)
Wolfgang Pfistermüller: trombone (1)
Flip Philipp: c-marimba (1, 9), percussion (6)
Roger Robinson: vocals (4)
Ulrich Troyer: analog synthesizers (1-9), analog drum-machines (1-9), e-bass (1, 5, 7), sampler (1-9), prepared zither (1), field recordings (3, 6, 8), dub effects (1-9)
Kwame Yeboah: rhodes (5), vox (5), farfisa (5)

Written & arranged by Ulrich Troyer except 2 written by Diggory Kenrick & Ulrich Troyer / 3 written by Mamadou Diabate, Hamidou Koita & Ulrich Troyer / 4 written by Roger Robinson & Ulrich Troyer / 5 written by Kwame Yeboah & Ulrich Troyer / 6 & 7 written by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Recorded by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna - except: electro saz on track 6, 7 & guitar on track 7 recorded by Osman Murat Ertel at Saniki Studio, Istanbul / flute on track 2 recorded by Diggory Kenrick at Holloway Studio, London / vocals on track 4 recorded by Roger Robinson at Dog Heart City Studios / c-marimba recorded by Ulrich Troyer at Konzerthaus, Vienna / rhodes, vox & farfisa on track 5 recorded by Kwame Yeboah at Kwashibu Music Studio, Accra

Mixed by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna
Produced by Ulrich Troyer & Osman Murat Ertel / kindly supervised by Diggory Kenrick
Cover Artwork: Ink drawings & design by Ulrich Troyer / kindly supervised by Eva Kelety
Mastering & Laquer-Cut: Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin

"latzfonser Kreuz / Feltuner Hütte scheduled for release on September 20th 2024 is the third single to be lifted from Ulrich Troyer's Transit Tribe due later this year.
Mamadou Diabate, originally from Burkina-Faso and now resident in Vienna, who is also a world-famous virtuoso balaphon player, collaborates on "Latzfonser Kreuz" with fellow countryman Hamidou Koita to produce a remarkable percussion track, both singing and employing talking drum and djembe to come up with a sound that can only be described as dubbed-out Nyahbinghi-style electro-beats! The track references the little church at Latzfonser Kreuz, which is the highest pilgrimage spot in South Tyrol, one of the highest in Europe; every year in June, the Black Lord, a black carved Gothic wooden cross, is brought from the village church in Latzfons to thepilgrimage church, where it remains throughout the summer.
On the flip for "Feltuner Hütte" Ulrich Troyer is joined by co-producer Osman Murat Ertel, founding member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula from Istanbul, who has worked internationally for many years collaborating with the likes of Jaki Liebezeit, Fred Frith and Mad Professor. But here Murat takes us on a dub psych-out trip with his favoured electric saz, with wha wha FX, delay and echo, like Link Wray meeting King Tubby on the old streets of Istanbul."
Steve Barker (DJ, Radio Presenter - On the Wire, BBC 1984 – 2023, now Slack City Radio & reggae/dub columnist and contributor to The Wire)

Credits:
Mamadou Diabate: vocals (A) & talking drum (A)
Osman Murat Ertel: electric saz (B)
Hamidou Koita: vocals (A), djembe (A)
Didi Kern: percussion (A), drums (B)
Flip Philipp: percussion (B)
Ulrich Troyer: analog synthesizers & drum-machines, sampler, field recordings, dub effects (a+b)

A written by Mamadou Diabate, Hamidou Koita & Ulrich Troyer
B written by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Recorded by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna - except electro saz on track B recorded by Osman Murat Ertel at Saniki Studio, Istanbul
Mixed & arranged by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna
Produced by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer
Mastering & Lacquer Cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin
Cover Drawing by Ulrich Troyer

Special thanks to Steve Barker, Mamadou Diabate, Osman Murat Ertel, Diggory Kenrick, Eva Kelety, Didi Kern, Hamidou Koita and Flip Philipp

Kindly supported by the City of Vienna (ma7 - Kultur), Federal Ministry Republic of Austria (Arts, Culture, Civil Service & Sport), Ske-fonds (at) & Amt für Kultur, Bozen (IT

Berlin-based artist Pavel Milyakov collaborates with Yana Pavlova, Martyna Basta, Richie Culver and Torus on Enthropic Vision, an album-length collection of tracks spanning diverse genres. The A-side starts with the melancholic ambience of 'Moon Chant', featuring the ethereal vocals of Krakow experimental music scene veteran Martyna Basta, before 'Tesco' brings bleak trancey loops blended with British contemporary artist Richie Culver's spoken word poetry. 'Eternal Break', with Netherlands-based artist Torus, is all low subs, ecstatic pads and abrasive breaks, then the B-side kicks in with a punchy 170bpm gabba anthem and continues with another tune featuring Richie Culver's spoken word fused with breaks. The album closes with the grim beauty of 'The Thrill', recorded in collaboration with Ukrainian singer Yana Pavlova and transports more wised up listeners back to the hypnagogic universe of the duo's 2021 Blue LP.

Kindred spirits Passepartout Duo and Inoyama Land embody the essence of play - charting a new chapter and reinvigorating the environmental music and electronic landscape.

Passepartout Duo is formed of Nicoletta Favari (IT) and Christopher Salvito (IT/US), who since 2015 have been on a continuous journey travelling the world's corners, engaged in a creative process they term "slow music". Having been guests of many notable artist residencies and with live performances in cultural spaces and institutions, their evocative music escapes categorisation. With no fixed abode their musical pilgrimage brought them to Japan first in 2019, which prompted a deep connection to Kanky? Ongaku 'environmental music', a genre in which Inoyama Land is often associated with, soundtracking the duo's first immersive experience. In 2023 the duo revisited Japan and set out to reconnect in particular with the music of Inoyama Land, performed by Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita. The highly revered album 'Danzindan-Pojidon' (1983) produced by Haruomi Hosono amongst other well publicized and acclaimed reissues (Light in The Attic Records' Grammy-nominated compilation 'Kanky? Ongaku'), produced a global resurgence and admiration of the environmental music movement. Nicoletta took the lead to seek out Inoyama Land and in making contact successfully their intrigue and eagerness to meet was warmly reciprocated, and the group scheduled to meet in the form of a spontaneous improvisation session. "We're deeply concerned with what it means to be a duo, and what it means for people to connect through music."

Radio Yugawara is a unique one-off transmission from a specific place and point in time, unlikely to ever occur again. The respective duo's approach can really be described as "tuning in", a tuning into each other, to themselves, and to the surrounding nature of Yugawara. Like waves that travel off-world, sounds travel through the universe and can be lost forever if we don't seek them out. In finding a harmonic affinity within their instruments and a spiritual kinship in their interwoven performance, Radio Yugawara at its core is an interpretation of feeling, of close human interaction and the true essence of discovery.

"The album is both a transmission from a location, but also a tuning into the surroundings and to each other. Music in this kind of ephemeral moment is much less about active creation and more about discovering something which is already there in the air."

An album about friendship, belonging, faith and understanding, themes which are palpable in the music, which is gentle and uplifting, healing and rousing. Efterklang has become an open community with three permanent members: Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen and Rasmus Stolberg. On this album the core trio re-connected with their old friend and founding Efterklang member Rune Mølgaard who left the band in 2007 to join the mormon church, and ultimately withdrew from the church in 2022. His profound spiritual journey significantly influences the album's content and tone, on which he has co-written seven of the nine songs. 'Things We Have In Common' coincides with the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album, and presents 2 decades of collaboration, exploration, evolution and reconnection. The album features contributions from a variety of international musicians. Zach Condon of Beirut, Finnish drummer Tatu Rönkkö, Venezuelan guitarist Hector Tosta and Guatemalan cellist and singer Mabe Fratti all became key collaborators. Italian award-winning mixer Francesco Donadello and South Denmark Girls’ Choir both left their indelible mark on the record, as their did with the band’s 2012 album ‘Piramida’.

Fourth volume of Library Music miniatures by Daniel O’Sullivan (Ulver, Æthenor, This is Not This Heat, etc) for VHF, this time commissioned by the legendary German Music Library, Sonoton. Another sampling of O’Sullivan’s versatility and brilliance as a composer, performer, and sound designer, the focus on The Pastoral Machine is more “electronic” compared to the three previous albums O’Sullivan recorded for KPM (also issued on LP by Vhf), with simpler arrangements and a focus on gentle and emotive synthesised soundworlds. Even without as many full ensemble arrangements, there’s still a wealth of diversity—“Empathogen” opens the record with latticed arpeggiating sequences recalling Japanese “environmental music” or Persian Surgery-era Terry Riley, “Fruit Of Stream Entry” burbles with gentle ripples evoking the album’s title, while “The Silversmith Of Space” mines a simple chord sequence evoking Eno’s ’70s classic short instrumentals. “Superstrings” is a series of hypnotic overlapping guitar patterns, like a lost Ash Ra or Achim Reichel track. The brief “Star Lore” is a heavy highlight with deep bass washes and grainy, tape-laminated melodies, followed immediately by Rose Keeler Schaffeler’s vocal feature on “The Oscillating Love” recalling futurist new-age pop in the vein of Enya or Virginia Astley. Housed in a jacket and heavy euro-style inner featuring collages by O’Sullivan, soon to be the subject of an art book published by Timeless Editions in mid-2024.