Secret Teachings Vinyl, CD & Tape 6 Items

Serendipity seems to play a large part in Crosstown Rebels’ new label Secret Teachings. The first release on the label, Music Inspired By The Film Beijing Spring, came about after producer, DJ, and label founder Damian Lazarus met director Andy Cohen in a nightclub in Geneva. The story of how Lazarus met Miraclis is even more extraordinary – a chance midnight encounter in Pucón, Chile, at a woodland campfire after Damian was locked out of his hotel room. This meeting of minds was the start of a remarkable friendship. Miraclis invited the DJ to stay at his house and break bread with his family, and the two kept in touch, exchanging music and ideas.

Opening the proceedings is the heavy, emotive single Trapped. It’s joined by some very special interpretations from Audion aka Matthew Dear. Matthew picks up the mandate with aplomb, exposing Miraclis to the dancefloor, synapse frying, and tweaking Max’s vocal in the process. These are proper remixes. A short film and album follow on Secret Teachings in July.

Miraclis earned his stripes as a DJ under the name Max Clementi in his native Chile as well as Spain after a stint at the Barcelona SAE Institute. Playing and writing music since his parents gave him his first guitar at age twelve, he found himself inspired by synth wave, electronic pop, trip hop, and psychedelic rock of the ‘80s and ‘90s, drenching himself in music by the likes of Massive Attack, Tricky, Depeche Mode, and Nine Inch Nails. However, it wasn’t until he had to move back to Pucón to take care of his father during the pandemic that he began working on what would become Origin of Truth in earnest.

‘Beijing Spring’ is a documentary film that is written, produced and directed by Andy Cohen and co-directed by Gaylen Ross. Damian Lazarus has produced a new soundtrack for this acclaimed documentary – an exclusive presentation of music taken from, and inspired by the critically acclaimed film. This soundtrack album is also the first release on the new Secret Teachings record label.

Focusing on a group of artists called the Stars (founded by Ma Desheng and Huang Rui, and including Ai Weiwei and others), this documentary film chronicles the struggle for free speech and free artistic expression, in the People’s Republic of China during a brief period of political reform during the late 1970s, known as the Beijing Spring.

After the police forcefully shut down the Stars’ confrontational art show hung on a park fence, and arrest activist Wei Jingsheng for posting an essay on the 'Democracy Wall' critical of the Party, thousands of citizens take to the streets near Tiananmen Square, marching in protest and demanding the right to free speech – the first such demonstration since the Communists seized power.

The authorities, provoked by the demonstrations and threatened by the foreign media attention, close down 'Democracy Wall' and force most of the Stars group into exile. Recording it all is a daring young filmmaker named Chi Xiaoning. Hidden for decades, footage from these brave acts of rebellion are now featured in AC Films’ ‘Beijing Spring’ for the first time.

Damian Lazarus first met Andy Cohen in a nightclub in Geneva. This chance meeting led to a commission to embellish the existing more traditional soundtrack with a modern take, something more experimental. Within two days of the meeting, Damian was recording musicians playing ancient Chinese musical instruments in a recording studio in Bali. Each musician experimenting around the same tonal scale, while Damian’s friend Millane contributed vocals. After these intense recording sessions, it was back to Damian’s studio in Italy to edit, compile and complete, before the whole album was mixed by the Grammy nominated Bruno Ellingham. The result is a dense, fascinating album and a worthy partner release to this relevant and pertinent documentary film.

This soundtrack also serves as the first release on the new Crosstown Rebels sister label Secret Teachings. Secret Teachings explores music from the outer reaches, often far from the clamour of the dancefloor. Under the Crosstown Rebels label umbrella, Secret Teachings also shares the same mission. It will endeavour to discover and nurture new talent, and champion the obscure and exciting, from around the world. Collaborations with visuals artists will also be at its core. The artwork for ‘(Music Inspired by The Film) Beijing Spring’ has been created by the great Ma Desheng himself.

Malian and French pair Siraba unveil their much-anticipated self-titled debut LP on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings label, a 10-track odyssey fusing Mali’s rich musical traditions with cutting-edge electronic music.

Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of the French electronic band dOP, have won plenty of plaudits for the early singles taken from their debut album as duo Siraba. Those singles, spanning across the summer months, have found the pair bring the traditional sound of the Wassoulou - a river valley of West Africa - to the electronic world after 20 years of friendship. The music comes with an important underlying message of love and respect and results in spellbinding tracks that move heart, body and soul, finding a perfect home on Secret Teachings - a left-of-centre alternative label to Lazarus’ celebrated and often more club- focused Crosstown Rebels. With the arrival of the full album, the pair exhibit and showcase the emotional breadth and depth of their music, with detailed explorations of organic textures and native sounds merged with future-focused ideas and concepts.

The title track opens with an atmospheric mix of spoken words and spine-tingling chords that bring rich Afro flavours, while ‘Dounoiia’ is a languid groove made from hand drums and pixelated synth leads that cast a fine spell. The slow-blooming ‘Bani’ brings rich Malian blues and melancholic horns, while ‘Komafly’ is a rich mix of acoustic strings and broken beats that transports you to a hot and dusty landscape. A vital component of the sounds of the Wassoulou, the indigenous stringed instrument the Ngoni features again on the rousing ‘Nanse’ as spiritual vocals sung in Bambara rouse the soul.

‘Djandjo’ is another rich infusion of Malian culture with simmering electronics to make for something both ancient sounding yet futuristic, and the hypnotic ‘Ngana Fôlly’ with its rich bass is a song ‘dedicated to those who fight for the well-being of their families, for unity... a song for the people who also fight a great disease, between life and death’. The sublime ‘Toro’ is a wavy groove perfect for sundown - a deep and inviting sound rich in soulful vocals and dreamy melodies, while ‘Tolonawoulile’ is driven by the intense strumming of the Ngoni with busy hand claps and hurried drums and last of all ‘Fo Te Mokobana’ sinks into a heart-warming slow groove with sweeping strings and Malian percussion all overlaid with impassioned vocals.

A rich listening experience, Siraba’s debut album is an immersive journey and absorbing dive into the minds of two artists breaking new grounds while spotlighting native traditions and musical techniques spanning hundreds of years.

Malian and French pairing Siraba return to Secret Teachings with a third superb single, ‘Nase’, from their forthcoming debut album, accompanied by US talent Joeski on remix duties.

Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of the French electronic band dOP, use their Siraba project to bring the traditional sound of the Wassoulou - a river valley of West Africa - to the electronic world. They have been friends for 20 years and look to fuse Mali’s rich musical traditions with cutting-edge electronic music, always with an underlying message of love and respect for all. Their stunning work has found a perfect home on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings imprint, a left-of-centre and experimental alternative to his club-focussed Crosstown Rebels, and the pair return in excellent fashion once again to drop the penultimate single ahead of their debut album release.

Joining the package is US house legend Joeski, whose roots in the scene date back to the early 90s. A founding member of The Chocolate Factory DJ collective, he has been a vital part of the scene ever since with releases on Crosstown Rebels, Relief and an array of other heavyweight labels. His sympathetic remix elongates the groove into immersive, deep house sounds richly layered with elegant synths and soul-rousing chords that are delicate yet impactful.

Malian and French duo Siraba drop the second single from their debut album on Secret Teachings, ‘Kômo Fôlly’, backed by a rare remix from electronic music icon St Germain.

A new alias from Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of French electronic band dOP, Siraba is a unique and expansive project set to merge ancestral music passed down by Malian hunters with electronic-leaning spheres with nods towards the future. Recently debuting on the label with their debut single ‘Ngana Fôlly’, the first single from their forthcoming album set to arrive in September this year, the pairing return to Damian Lazarus’ alternative imprint Secret Teachings for their follow-up single, ‘Kômo Fôlly’ - once again unveiling a tapestry of traditional and modern soundscapes as they deliver a tribute to Boubacar’s father, Sibiri Samake.

With Boubacar returning to the Ngoni and uncovering further lyrics and words in Bamabra, ‘Kômo Fôlly’ builds from traditional Malian tones into an expansive trip through shimmering synths and crisp, organic percussion. It’s a spellbinding and captivating trip into the minds of typically contrasting worlds while uniting the two effortlessly to provide and produce a slice of electronic excellence. A true pioneer of the electronic realm, Ludovic Navarre, known to many under his legendary St Germain alias, is an artist who needs little introduction, having been responsible for some of house and techno’s most iconic productions across a 30-year career on labels such as F Communications and Blue Note. Turning his hand to the track and providing an extremely rare remix, the renowned talent brings his typically vibrant sound palette to the fore as he harnesses the original’s vocals and weaves excellently worked drums, subtle snaking grooves and resonant chords effortlessly for typically classy interpretation while rubber-stamping the fascinating and exciting project in the process.

Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings imprint welcomes a unique project from Malian and French pairing Siraba, unveiling their debut single ‘Ngana Fôlly’ alongside remixes from Philou Louzolo and Peaking Lights. Meaning ‘The Great Path’ in Bambara, Siraba - the duo consisting of Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of French electronic band dOP - are on a path of bringing the traditional sound of the Wassoulou to the world. They met in 2003 when Damien visited Mali to work with local artists and met Boubacar’s father - the legendary Sibiri Samake. Working together on multiple occasions, the two promised to work with one another and Boubacar on a project one day, and 17 years later, the two connected to begin to develop their unique sound and showcase their shared universe.

Inspired by the music of the master hunters from across Mali, the ‘Dozo’, the project transmits values based on justice and righteousness, love and respect for others, moral and spiritual rectitude and protection for everyone. Debuting on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings imprint, an outlet for the Crosstown Rebels boss to delve deeper into musical realms outside of the norm and away from the dance floor, the pair will release their debut album in September, with a series of live performances set to be announced. Their first single arrives in early June with ‘Ngana Fôlly’

A spiritual and hypnotic production rooted within Dozo musical tradition, featuring Boubacar playing the Ngoni while singing in Bambara, ‘Ngana Fôlly’ is a resonant and rich production combining organic textures with warping synths, rich bass and sweeping electronics, capturing the magical essence of Mali across a fascinating journey. Providing the first remix on the package, Dutch DJ/producer and DJ Mag ‘Artist To Watch for 2023’ Philou Louzolo harnesses Boubacar’s vocal and places it at the heart of his soaring remix as stripped-back percussion and a commanding low-ends guide sweeping synths, before handing over to San Francisco husband-and-wife pairing and Dekmantel signees Peaking Lights who tip things down a bright and blissful rabbit hole of soundscapes as vibrant guitar riffs and twisting leads work amongst off-kilter melodies and acid flecked tones for an eight-minute trip.