2023 REPRESS ! More

If anyone deserves to have the name Don, it’s Don Carlos. Responsible for one of the most influential and genre-defining deep house tracks of all time the Italian legend more than lives up to his name being a true master of his craft. In 1991 his debut release Alone was presented to the world via Calypso Records and quickly gained classic status, blissing out dancefloors worldwide with it’s euphoric piano stabs, sun-drenched strings and laidback groove. Establishing the blueprint for what would become known as ‘Italian dream-house’ Don Carlos would follow up a year later with another masterpiece in the form of a mini LP entitled Mediterraneo which took influence from the Chicago master Larry Heard but added a European ‘Balearic’ perspective which would pave the way for a wave of warm, emotive late night house tracks emanating from Bel Paese. Don Carlos releases have been fairly sporadic since his seminal early 90’s output so Freerange is very happy to bring you brand new material in the form of the I’m Steel Here EP. Across the three original tracks we get to hear him revisit the vibe from those early years whilst bringing things bang up to date for todays DJ’s and dance floors. The title track marries a driving Italo synth bassline with trademark Carlos strings and piano to form an uplifting club track which will lift the spirits of all who hear it. Azimuth comes next cutting up and filtering a piano hook calling the mighty Trackheadz to mind, a gated vocal sample adding a distinctly 90’s hook for a nostalgic slice of regal house. Closing out this gem of an EP we have In The Sky which loops up a classic feel good disco riff for a mid tempo house jam which bumps along nicely and will create the perfect mood in any warm up set worth its salt. More

Originally released in 1994 on Calypso Records / Irma Records in a triple vinyl promo white label version, Don Carlos's album Aqua is the
second album by the Varese-based DJ producer, already then known for his first two singles Alone and Mediterraneo, then both included in
his first album entitled Mediterraneo and released only in Compact Disc format in 1992 for the American market printed and distributed by
IRMA U.S.A., the American subsidiary of IRMA Records Italy.
The same fate will also have the Compact Disc format of the Aqua album, again printed only on the American market.
But the triple vinyl, printed in a limited edition of 500 copies in a white generic envelope, was never reissued and has become a rare record
over the years.
After almost thirty years, after countless requests for reissues, especially in the last few years in which the name and music of Don Carlos
has made a comeback, Irma Records has decided to reissue the vinyl in exactly the same original triple version.
DJ Don Carlos (born Carlo Troja) with his productions in the 90s has become one of the cult producers for DJs around the world.
His track Alone released in 1991 for Calypso was and still is one of the classics of House Music, played by all the major American and British
DJs.
At the time of its publication it was considered an underground song and therefore did not sell very much, but over the years its myth has grown
thanks to its subsequent productions as for example his second single, the EP entitled Mediterraneo, title which it will then inspired his first CD
album printed in the USA with the same title.
Several other singles followed, another album, always printed only in the USA, entitled Aqua, from which a triple promo vinyl was extracted which
today is one of the artist's most requested rarities.
In Italy his third album was released in 2002 entitled The Music In My Mind where Kim Mazelle, Michelle Weeks, Taka Boom and Kevin Bryant
were present as vocal guests. In 2009 a collection of the first two albums released in the USA titled Mediterraneo-Club Favourite Collection '90-
98 and in 2010 his fourth album entitled The Cool Deep which reproduced the sounds closest to his first productions.
Also active as a remixer for Italian and international labels, one of his most important works is the remix of Byron Stingily of the song You Make
Me Feel of which he made a worldwide hit. As a producer he also used other pseudonyms such as Montego Bay, Aquanuts, Sotterranea and
Love 2 Love Orchestra. He has played and plays in different countries such as London, New York, Miami and at various festivals, such as the
Robot and the Stickermule Festival in an evening with Apparat, Derrick May, DJ Koze, Lil 'Louis, Young Marco and Ellen Allien, LTJ Xperience More

Among those who have written the history of the Italian House is certainly Carlo Troja, aka Don Carlos. In 1991 Irma Records released her first single Alone which immediately became a cult record for DJs across the Channel and especially American DJs. Its particular soft and ambient sounds defined a genre that was then called Paradise House. And it is precisely from this genre and from this Dj that Irma Records began the celebrations of its thirtieth anniversary a few years ago by proposing a selection of its catalog chosen by Don Carlos, trying to dig among some of the pearls of the genre but above all among some songs that featured in his evenings but were less popular at the time of their release. This compilation had a great response and it was decided to make a volume 2, always selected by Don Carlos. Also this compilation, like the first one, consists of two compact discs and a vinyl version this time with a selection of only 8 of the 20 tracks contained in the CD and Digital version. All the tracks on the double vinyl have been re-edited by Don Carlos for the occasion. The double cd is in a limited numbered edition. Among the artists and producers included are: Don Carlos, Lust Unlimited, Subsonic Posse, T.M.V. (Marco Trani, Moz-Art and Maurizio Verbeni), The Sweatbox Orchestra, Aritmya, Deep Aural Penetration, Be Noir, Love Nation, More Heavy Soul, Outdance, F.I.T.Z. and many others
More

After blessing a special intimate Utopia Records dance in a North London loft with his iconic romantic and deep Italian House sound, pioneer Carlo Troja aka Don Carlos returned to Milan and sent the music to launch Alex Bradley's new 'Utopia Club Tracks' dance music sub-label.

Title track Tuono or 'Thunder' sees Mr Carlos bringing the original Mediterranean and Latin dance sound onto a modern page. The inspiration is clear, the trademark percussion of Vincent Montana forged with the spaghetti baselines of legendary film-score writer Piero Umiliani together with Carlos's trademark paradise house sound that lets you imagine the 3 in harmony, in a studio together.

Working from the blueprint of early house releases of a single track with multiples mixes, the A2 sees mythic underground London DJ and label boss Bradley team up with legendary UK house producer Neil Tolliday and guitarist Ollie Marks for a Utopia Sound Project mix entitled 'Tears of Petrichore'.
More than just an edit, a whole new Balearic house take is formed using just the pads and chords from the original with new bass, percussions and Marks' Pink Floyd-esque guitar warbles on top for a blissed out journey into romance.
The 12" is rounded off by a Tribal fix by Carlos himself, big room moves that draw you in and keeps you there...dreaming of better days...
Finally, the re-rub strips it back and locks the groove.

Salute Don Carlos. More

For the fifth instance in their reissue series, Echovolt Records brings us four lush house gems by one of the most influential Italian producers...Carlo Troja aka Don Carlos. Don Carlos started as a dj in the late '70s and debuted as a producer towards the end of the 80's with the cult single 'Alone', which pretty soon became one of the anthems of the international Deep House scene. "Inspiration EP" focuses on some of his finest productions from the mid '90s that were only available on his rare "Aqua" vinyl promo EP. This releases makes an effort to capture Don Carlos' unique approach on classic House with lot of Afro-american jazz sounds and ambient influences, that created a timeless deep jazzy house with a strong Mediterranean twist on it! More

Italian producer Kikko Esse is a talented artist from southern Italy who has been showcasing his skills in producing quality deep house since 2009. Previously prolific, releasing many well-received tracks with respected labels in the underground scene, Kikko Esse makes his debut on the Italian Groovin' Recordings with an EP that sets the bar high. Soul Departure EP is arguably one of his best works to date, where deep house meets intricate melodies and live instrumentation, creating a profound journey into electronic music. More

RSD Release!

Edoardo Florio Di Grazia is a singer-songwriter from the Amalfi Coast, born in Florence and living in Paris. After moving to Paris he began collaborating with the French producer Bruno Hovart "Patchworks", here working under his "Voilaaa" alias. Together, they created "Indossare Il Mare", a hymn to the return to one's origins, characterized by a fresh and Mediterranean sound. After the digital release in France only, Groovin Recordings will release a special vinyl edition for Record Store Day 2024, also including a remix by Giacomo Lecchi D'Alessandro. More

Love Letters is the debut album of urban singer-songwriter Raffaella Zago. The first album of the Paduan-born, Milan-based artist contains ten tracks influenced by soul, jazz, funk and hip hop that deal repeatedly with the theme of love. In 2023, Raffaella Zago quickly attracted attention with her first official song, a nu-soul reinterpretation of "Money Trees", a song by the most praised rapper of the last decade, Kendrick Lamar, for which she composed a new melody. The other pieces of "Love Letters", in which she addresses people who have been or are part of her life, reaffirm her vocal, writing and composing skills. More

Repress!

Groovin Recordings is proud to repress another masterpiece of the BLAZE duo, Kevin Hedge and Josh Milan, here under the BLACK RASCALS alias. In 1993 they released only few singles that still represent a landmark in the early 90's deep-house scene. “Keeping my Mind” will be out in late January with the same tracklisting of the original release, just like “So in Love”, that is going to be repressed in February. More

With his first record project, Tiziano Codoro, at his debut as a leader and composer, presents himself decisively not granted. “Impermanenze” transcends borders and undertakes a mesmerizing sonic journey. This electronic-jazz live pushes the boundaries of musical innovation by immersing audiences in the rich tapestry of hypnotic melodies, sophisticated improvisations and pulsating rhythms. The musicians involved seamlessly blend elements of acoustic jazz with mesmerizing electronic textures, creating a harmonious fusion of tradition and experimentation. Impermanenze encapsulates the spirit of Northern European jazz by channeling its characteristic introspection, artistic freedom and sonic beauty. More

Official reissue of this techno classic by Desert Storm, one of the most important records from the early Soma catalogue, now repressed 30 years after the original release. Also including Psycho Drums remix. More

2024 White Vinyl Repress More

Official Reissue More

TBT3 by french dj/producer Rocco Rodamaal finally gets a vinyl release including all the remixes! More

2023 OFFICIAL REISSUE More

FIRST OFFICIAL REPRESS SINCE 2001 ORIGINAL RELEASE More

“Maledetta Quella Notte” is the first EP by Il Mago del Gelato, a new band from Milan (IT) with a strong Mediterranean imprint.

This first release runs through funk, afrobeat and jazz, where all the different souls that make up the project converge and blend in a perfect balance. The EP ranges between more energetic moments, strongly characterized by Afro-beat and Funk influences to introspective atmospheres, where the reminiscence of a warm, sensual jazz rings out loud.
All held together by a full sound, the unique and recognizable mark of the Il Mago del Gelato: vocoder, percussion, 80's synthesizers, roots guitars and a rhythmic section of drum and bass which drags you in a wild and sweaty dance.

Before being a record product, Maledetta Quella Notte is a project human, in which the concept of union, exchange, positive vibes is summarized in six tracks with taste of your favorite ice cream. More

Repress!

SHAFTY was a house music project made in Italy by Andrea Gemolotto and Ralf. They both can be considered two pioneers of the early italo house scene, Gemolotto already made a big hit in 1989, “Sueno Latino”, and he also won the italian DMC Championship as Cutmaster-G. Antonio Ferrari, aka Dj Ralf, has been a nightclubbing icon for almost 30 years. Since 1987 he has remained a key element of the Italian house music scene, taking his signature style to clubs all over Europe and the world. “Deep Inside (Of You)” was the first release on Heartbeat catalogue (1991), and it's now officially repressed by Groovin Recordings (all tracks have also been remastered)

More

Repress!

Rewind to 1992: Italian DMC champ Andrea Gemolotto and Alfredo conspirator Leo Marras collide for the first of three rare and seminal deep house exercises that have matured perfectly. The Mr Fingers-at-Bora-Bora trumpet-in-space sensuality of "Lose Control", the wide warm struts of the In Dub We Trust mix, spacious dubby reflections of "Night Clerk", the measured strikes and layered humanised stutters of "Nocturne Seduction"... If you think these remastered sound blow minds today, consider how they blew heads clean off 24 years ago. Historical. More

Two talents with careers spanning varying eras, yet artists positioned at the heart of Italy’s current house landscape, Alex Neri and Mennie are adding to their rich solo discographies with a series of selected works in partnership with one another. Tuscany’s Neri, co-owner of the iconic nightlife institution Tenax and label boss at Wildflower Records, stands as one of the legendary Italian names from the past 30 years, holding residencies at the likes of Pikes in Ibiza while releasing a long list of classic records since the early 90s under numerous aliases, including Kamasutra alongside Marco Baroni. A familiar name to FUSE fans, having released material via sister imprints LOCUS and INFUSE, Mennie has seen his career flourish of late, regularly touring Europe’s key venues while also holding a residency at the legendary Tenax. Here, the two build on their recent joint studio projects with a debut on FUSE for the third edition of the label’s collaborative X Series, unveiling a quartet of impactful house cuts in heavy rotation for label head honcho Siragusa.

Taking a deep dive amongst swirling synths and cosmic interludes, ‘Reality’ opens proceedings with a trippy and punchy lead cut as the duo introduce slick groove-laden drum arrangements to get things moving, while ‘Find Me’ keeps the pressure on with bumping low-ends, shuffling hats and a menacing yet captivating bass groove sure to keep dancers moving in lockstep. On the b-side, ‘Rockets’ brings luminous melodies amongst breaks-influenced percussion for a playful and dynamic production, before ‘Watch Me’ rounds things out with another all-action affair as acid-dipped and kinetically charged closer made for big moments. More

Tracklisting
A1 Munir Nadir - Rhythmystic
A2 Munir Nadir - Bass Jam
B1 Munir Nadir - Urban Whispers
B2 Munir Nadir - Binary Technologies More

Tracklist:
1.Flimsier
2.Pink Shell
3.Seaforth
4.That Is My Life, That Is Yours
5.Tortoise Of Independency
6.Empty Stomach Space Cadet
7.Flimsy
8.Hamburgerphobia
9.From The Swamp
10.King Krule feat. Raveena & Raveena - Seagirl
11.Our Vacuum
12.Space Heavy
13.When Vanishing
14.If Only It Was Warmth
15.Wednesday Overcast


Written from 2020 to 2022, between London and Liverpool, Space Heavy took shape over the course of commutes between the two cities where Archy Marshall was splitting his time. Befitting an album quite literally written on the commute between the two places he called home, Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” - the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Once written by Archy, the music was developed by frequent collaborator and producer Dilip Harris and long-time band mates Ignacio Salvadores (Saxophonist), George Bass (Drummer), James Wilson (Bass Guitarist) and Jack Towell (Guitarist).

The result is a 15-track full-length by the musical polymath that inhabits the deepest reaches of the subterranean sonic world that Archy has constructed over the course of his career as King Krule. In it you hear a generational artist stepping into the height of their artistic powers – the auteurism apparent on his debut 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, the shapeshifting sonic palette of The OOZ, the primality of Man Alive! and the raw vulnerability expressed on You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down all coalesce into a wizened, dynamic body of work that reveals new elements with each listen. In line with Archy’s interest in the space between, it is an album wherein the negative space demands the same attention as the positive space. If one is willing to wade into the mire the reward is rich. More

Bosconi Records Takes You Back to the Berlin 2000s with a Vinyl Gem.

Bosconi Records is thrilled to announce a distinctive vinyl release that harks back to berlin 2000’s good old days
The featured track of this release unveils Console’s , known and active as Acid Pauli, reinterpretation of a track that gained fabio’s attention during his stay in Berlin in 2000. Fabio Della Torre, the owner and A&R of Bosconi Records, stumbled upon this hidden gem during his year in Berlin as many djs in the city were spinning it. Finally his quest to uncover the origins of this track led him to a CD release on the label of Angelika Köhlermann. The track in question is Console’s reimagining of “Let’s Rock Baby” a composition by the independent musician and video artist Anne Laplantine, who adopted the Japanese-sounding alias Michiko Kusaki. This version was originally released alongside a series of remixes by artists such as Dmx krew, Felix Kubin, and Adult, all featured on Angelika Köhlermann’s label.

Today, Bosconi Records is thrilled to bring this iconic track to light again on vinyl, accompanied by fresh interpretations. It’s important to note that these reinterpretations breathe life into Console’s work, not Laplantine’s original track, making Console’s version the centerpiece of this release. We have a banger version from German electro luminary The Exaltics which his typilcal electro techno trademark sound. The Exaltics had just released his new album on Clone and has been featured by Helena hauff in her Fabric Mix compilation. Italian producers Voodoos & Taboos, known for their homonymous label and with an recent “banger” on Bordello a Parigi with an electro playful version. The vibrant Queen of Coins have breathed new life into Console’s track, delivering a fresh new-beat acid ebm burner, giving the track a new and personal perspective.

This project mirrors Bosconi Records’ commitment to exploring diverse dimensions of electronic music and featuring compelling compositions. The release looks to resonate with DJs and electronic music enthusiasts, offering a contemporary perspective on a timeless track. More

“‘A La Sala,’ I used to scream it around my house when I was a little girl, to get everybody in the living room; to get my family together. That’s kind of what recording the new album felt like. Emotionally there was a desire to get back to square-one between the three of us, to where we came from–in sonics and in feeling. Let’s get back there.” - Laura Lee Ochoa

The title makes it clear. A La Sala (“To the Room” in Spanish), the fourth studio album by Khruangbin, is an exercise in returning in order to go further, and do so on your own terms. It extends the air of mystery and sanctity that’s key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark “Marko” Speer approach music. Yet if 2020’s Mordechai, the last studio album Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record whose ensuing post-lockdown tour enhanced the band’s musical reputation far and wide, A La Sala is the measured morning after. It’s a gorgeously airy album made only in the company of the group’s longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It is a porthole onto the bounties powering Khruangbin’s vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. A La Sala scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind.

It is also a response to the unique moment Khruangbin finds itself in now: following a decade spent cultivating extraordinary music paths, beginning a year when they'll perform for more people, in more iconic spaces, staging a live show that pushes a creative envelope peculiar to them alone. (Look for the band at major festivals and venues near you.) 2024 feels like both marker and pivot, cementing Khruangbin’s stature as a commercially and critically successful group that continues to be guided by creative possibilities.

Such crossroads are familiar for iconic artists throughout the rock era — your Dylans, Stevies and Bowies, up thru turn-of-the-century Radiohead, all have navigated these straits. On A La Sala, Khruangbin also pulls exploration inward, spurning the din of the crowd’s expectations, mapping a personal direction home. The trio’s collective musical DNA and the years spent constructing it in Houston’s local-meets-global cultural stew ensure the band carries on sounding like no one but itself. A La Sala may in fact be Khruangbin’s purest distillation. A cascade of crisp melodies still emanates from Marko’s reverb-heavy electric, dancing gently around Laura Lee’s minimalist almost-dub bass triangles, while DJ’s drums serve as the tightened-up pocket and unwavering dance-floor on which all this movement takes place.

Where prior album-by-album growth seemed to point the narratives towards music’s polyglot edges, such inquiries now sound like known intimacies. What once seemed like sonic invocations — spaghetti-western film scores, found-sounds, dancing moments more living room than rooftop disco — are ingrained characteristics. This is who they are! And there’s a freshness to the instrumental interactivity on A La Sala that’s less concerned with getting further out than going deeper in. That depth is not about therapeutic self-reflection, but a profound desire to celebrate the world’s external wonders.
A La Sala invites intimate intercontinental partying. The first single is, after all, called “A Love International.” “Pon Pón” holds the band’s table at the West African discotheque; yet the joy now moves to the corner left of the dancefloor, where the back-and-forth between Laura Lee’s bass, DJ’s hi-hat, and Marko’s tuneful rhythm scratches, is a marvel of knowing head-nods. There’s “Hold Me Up (Thank You),” a familial sweetness in its spare lyrics, feeding off the rhythm section’s sturdy funk shuffle, and a chorus on which Marko’s guitar evokes both sides of the Atlantic in confident unshowy rhythms. They’re on “Todavía Viva” too, next to DJ’s noir-soul rim-shots, synth strings and a pregnant pause that is Laura Lee’s favorite moment on the album, the mood kin to the band’s glorious live interpretations of G-funk fantasias. And the rocked-up miniature, “Juegos y Nubes,” demonstrates Khruangbin’s Houston-born superpower to culture-mix, a dancing mood less concerned with worldly glamor than communal grooving.

“I read something long ago, attributed to Miles Davis. He said, ‘When they play fast, you play slow. When they play slow, you play fast.’ And it's definitely how I've approached looking at music: Don't follow the trends. And if the trend is this, then do something else.” - Marko

From the get-go, Khruangbin’s journey has been emphatically its own: a sound and visual representation with few precedents, ignoring pop expectations, relying only on internal inspirations, and a multitude of visions. It’s a mindset of penetrating the self, connecting to the surrounding world, modeling your own life experiences. This ethos is threaded throughout A La Sala, audible in the album’s form and function. (It’s even visible in the vinyl version’s physical package, which will be released as a set of seven distinctive covers and color-sets — more on which in a sec.)

The building blocks for the album’s 12 songs were jigsaw pieces found in Khruangbin’s creative past. Having stockpiled ideas originally set down as off-the-cuff recordings (voice-memos made at sound-checks, on long voyages, as absentminded epiphanies), they began fitting those pieces together in the studio. Which parts were apt? Which could be massaged and stretched out? Which inspired new sections or rhythms or musical interactions? Once more, Khruangbin’s familial DNA kicked in. Layer-by-layer, the intimate work, rework and re-rework bore new fruit. They also brought back a strategy once foundational to their records: seeding an album with field recordings.

Some results fold directly into A La Sala’s down-home feel. “Three From Two” and “May Ninth” are wistful mid-tempo numbers, with guitar melodies that reside somewhere between Bakersfield and by-the-riverside, cues that, for all its borderless inclusivity, another core Khruangbin value is being steeped in American roots. And in the landscape that music comes from. Like all albums prior to Mordechai, Marko made sure environmental sounds — natural and man-made — appeared as textures. (At times philosophically: the group recorded while cricket chirps played in their headphones, presumably for terroir.) It’s how A La Sala achieves such interconnected set-and-setting-ness.

Other results are more metaphorical, especially in Khruangbin’s flirtation with ambient spaces. The dramatically beatless “Farolim de Felgueiras” and “Caja de la Sala” both feature only Marko’s unmistakable guitar dueting with Laura Lee’s Moog, lightly layered with sounds of shoes on stone steps, and cicadas in an open field. The closing “Les Petits Gris” more fully reduces and fleshes out the ambiance, with a piano and a simple single-note bass pattern, Marko’s plaintive spare guitar echoing the melody of a ballerina-turning music box. It feels an apt way of ending — as a passing of this particular moment, preparation for the next one, soon-come.

Even the seven different covers that adorn A La Sala’s various vinyl editions offer a throughline from the music into Khruangbin’s current frame. Designed by the band using Marko’s multitude of travelog photos, they are windows from the band’s living room onto a set of daydreams, scenes of impossible skies, external glances illuminating what is going on inside. These are also directly related to David Black’s images of DJ, Laura Lee and Marko which accompany A La Sala, and to Khruangbin’s live staging reinvention. It’s all about looking out and looking back, in order to better look ahead.

“All the little moments you capture. You don't see how impactful they are until you hear what eventually comes of them. A lot of those scraps end up being the thing — and you don't realize it until it's ‘The Thing.’” - DJ
credits
releases April 5, 2024

Produced by Mark Speer & Steve Christensen
Written, Arranged & Performed by Khruangbin
Art Direction: Tiny Frees
Mixing: Steve Christensen
Mastering: Chris Longwood More

Tropical Solution Green Vinyl Best listened to from inside the womb, Duster's 1998's debut Stratosphere simultaneously capped off and reinvented the slow core's first wave. A four track dreamscape that will wake the neighbors and then lull them back to sleep. Hazy, arpeggiated guitars layer over a deliberate drummer with no real place to be, as semi-inaudible vocals warn of millennial malaise and subtly encourage the listener to "rock out, rock out, rock out, rock out." "Music for dark spaces and closed eyelids, deeply psychedelic but without sprawl, ambient music with a serrated edge of punk."_The Ringer "Warm, fuzzed-out sounds that hit home like a tight, melancholic embrace from your favorite person."_Vice
Tracklist
1.1MOON AGE
1.2HEADING FOR THE DOOR
1.3GOLD DUST
1.4TOPICAL SOLUTION
1.5DOCKING THE POD
1.6THE LANDING
1.7CONSTELLATIONS
1.8THE QUEEN OF HEARTS
1.9TWO WAY RADIO
1.10INSIDE OUT
1.11STRATOSPHERE
1.12REED TO HILLSBOROUGH
1.13SHADOWS OF PLANES
1.14EARTH MOON TRANSIT
1.15THE TWINS / ROMANTICA
1.16SIDERIA More

Strictly Limited Clear Vinyl Edition!

Tracklist:
1.Flimsier
2.Pink Shell
3.Seaforth
4.That Is My Life, That Is Yours
5.Tortoise Of Independency
6.Empty Stomach Space Cadet
7.Flimsy
8.Hamburgerphobia
9.From The Swamp
10.King Krule feat. Raveena & Raveena - Seagirl
11.Our Vacuum
12.Space Heavy
13.When Vanishing
14.If Only It Was Warmth
15.Wednesday Overcast


Written from 2020 to 2022, between London and Liverpool, Space Heavy took shape over the course of commutes between the two cities where Archy Marshall was splitting his time. Befitting an album quite literally written on the commute between the two places he called home, Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” - the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Once written by Archy, the music was developed by frequent collaborator and producer Dilip Harris and long-time band mates Ignacio Salvadores (Saxophonist), George Bass (Drummer), James Wilson (Bass Guitarist) and Jack Towell (Guitarist).

The result is a 15-track full-length by the musical polymath that inhabits the deepest reaches of the subterranean sonic world that Archy has constructed over the course of his career as King Krule. In it you hear a generational artist stepping into the height of their artistic powers – the auteurism apparent on his debut 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, the shapeshifting sonic palette of The OOZ, the primality of Man Alive! and the raw vulnerability expressed on You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down all coalesce into a wizened, dynamic body of work that reveals new elements with each listen. In line with Archy’s interest in the space between, it is an album wherein the negative space demands the same attention as the positive space. If one is willing to wade into the mire the reward is rich. More

You could think of the collection of tracks here as a library record of sorts, and each track inhabits its own universe. Tropical fits various moods and situations, and it could soundtrack any number of activities at home or on a dancefloor - whether real, imaginary, or hallucinated. Strangely enough, it sounds like it could have been constructed from obscure Italian library breaks, when instead every instrument has been played and panned, several times over, across magnetic tape.

The genesis of many of these tracks began when CV Vision moved to Berlin in 2014. His flat had a small chamber where he could fit a drum set, so he treated the walls with foam, and in true DIY style, dived headfirst into recording these tracks. It was the natural next step on an audio adventure that first began when CV Vision picked up the guitar in his teens, and a couple years later started recording with friends in his home town of Bayreuth. Fast forward ten years and here is his debut - a culmination of practising chops and learning instruments, mastering recording techniques and fine-tuning the CV Vision sound.

It’s a sound that condenses elements of acid rock, psych soul, library funk and new wave oddities into a movie soundtrack for your mind. It’s a journey from ‘60s west coast LSD-drenched excursions to ‘80s synth and post-punk mutations. Tropical is a plunge into another time, another music you can simply swim around in and explore.

Side A opens up with Tropical Tune In , which rides in on a clave and a warm wind, blowing a distinctly herbal aroma and recalling exotica dons like Les Baxter and Martin Denny. Following on with the aural equivalent of a sea breeze through your mind, Spaziergang am Meer blows away the cobwebs and conjures some nice library moments like Stringtronics or F eelings . Next, Ba_c_k(Lava) bounces out of a cold wave post-punk melting pot and crashes through the speakers like a blazed Zebedee, with some sweet eastern synths for added flavour, before the rolling bass licks of Der Böse Schamane take us into another dimension, landing somewhere between a psych rock freak out and a Black Ark dub session. Mr Maze channels the arpeggiators of synth outsiders like Mort Garson and Bruce Haack, creating a glorious interlock of robotic electronics and freakbeat vocals. The side comes to a close with the guitars of Der Strand (außer Rand und Band) letting loose like syrupy springs, and setting a languid mood like the bedroom scene in Bedazzled (1967 version).

Side B kicks off with Parallel Universum, which comes through like a woozy krautrock workout, all ducking synths with big chord shifts to create an epic deranged beehive of a soundtrack. Im Land der Ameisen evokes the spirit if not the sound of White Rabbit, when logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, before waking up and wandering through the side alleys of Marrakech with the West Coast Pop Art Ensemble and the Electric Prunes, as Ritual (No. 4) blares out the speakers of passing tuk tuks. Ein Wasserfall plumbs the deep synth depths, like Raymond Scott in scuba gear, modular rack strapped to his back delivering oxygen as he swims between connector cables and seaweed forests through a watery underworld. Banana King sounds like a lost soundtrack to Donkey Kong or Mario Cart, if the cart radio was tuned into a synth documentary hosted by James Pants, while Das Kloster am Berg takes the baton from Brenda Ray and her Naffi cohorts, all dubbed-out niceness and post punk swagger. The LP closes out with Tropical Drop Out, a dreamscape rather than a wake up call, coaxing you deeper into the trek across the desert of your mind.

And that’s Tropical in its essence: capsules from another time, snapshots of another sound, messages from another mind - all in the service of inducing the visions in your head.

written by Max Cole More

2023 repress

Tracklisting:
A1 Munir Nadir - Dream Team
A2 Munir Nadir - Roast-Beat
B1 Munir Nadir - It's time to kick Ass
B2 Munir Nadir - Just for
B3 Munir Nadir - Breaking point

Sales Note
For the fourth release, straight from the frying pan lands 'Roast Beat' by Munir Nadir, first and longtime resident DJ of the Turin clubbing project, on Outcast Planet with his ep.

His tracks range from house to techno with trancy and happy sounds that usually characterize his DJ sets.

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