Electronic

Following up their single “Plastic People” with lyrics by poet/novelist Aldo Nove, RADAR present a full album, 34 years after their eponymous debut LP on WEA (which is still a cult among electronic music fans, even outside Italy).Resurfacing from the analog days of 1982 to the digital hysteria of 2016, the Italian electropop project has been relaunched by Nicola Salerno (Neu Abdominaux Dangereux, Art Erios) with Joyello Triolo (also known for his solo work as Joyello and as part of the band Peluqueria Hernandez) and Gaetano Lonardi contributing vocals.“re-pop” is pop music revisited by RADAR‘s sensibility, as an original mélange of electronica, pop songs and surreal lyrics – and all without the need of a single sampled sound

“Alice in indieland” NME “magnificent: a rocket-powered fantasy alliance between Kate Bush and Neu!” THE GUARDIAN “Scattergood’s has an innate talent for glorious melody and humane lyrics” THE 405 “ Cacophonies of Prettiness” **** THE INDEPENDENT

Planet Funk are back on track and they hit the new decade with “20:20”, a concept album that celebrates their 20 years of career. The album, with the emblematic title 20:20, contains the greatest hits of the Italian group and an unedited version of “Non Stop”, all remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London. A collection that traces the history of the band and projects it with a new energy towards the forthcoming publication of the new and highly anticipated album of unreleased tracks. A real treat for all Planet Fans!

On June 26th (June 19th on Bandcamp!), Rob Ellis AKA Pinch will release his first solo album in 13 years, via his own label, Tectonic. ‘Reality Tunnels’ is a concept that was originally introduced by Robert Anton Wilson in his 1983 book ‘Prometheus Rising’. In essence, the concept of a reality tunnel relates to an idea on how we create our own perspective – the subjective filter that we each apply to the world around us; the things we perceive and what our consciousness deems worthy of attention, IE what we see and hear is entirely relative to what we do not. 
 At points angular and uncompromising with levels in the red, frequencies pushed out and EQ curves stretched into strange new shapes, Pinch mixes both low and hi fi on this boldly distinct sonic statement. It sees him flexing years of production skills – but unconventionally so – knowing well that safe predictability and rounded polish don’t get the most interesting results. Dark trip hop Bristolia segues into blistering jungle on album opener ‘Entangled Particles’, before planet-hopping onto the spiky insidious grimestep of ‘All Man Got’, featuring the rugged rasp of OG warhorse Trim.

Laurence Pike continues in a rich creative vein with the release of Prophecy, his third solo album in as many years. Inspired to write and record in response to the devastating wild fires in his native Australia, the percussionist, composer and producer has created a work for our times. Adopting the working formula of 'one take' studio performances for drum kit and sampler; channelling the moment through Pike's singular, organic use of electronics, and intuitively constructed arrangements. There is an instinctive and emotional resonance here, driven by his reaction to the climate emergency.

digipak

Digipak

Mika Vainio about Tetra album: "This is how it sounds when bacteria sours milk to acid".

Berlin-based Swedish saxophonist Otis Sandsjö returns with the eagerly-awaited sequel to "Y-OTIS". On "Y-OTIS 2", released by Helsinki's We Jazz Records on July 24, Sandsjö and his close associate, bassist/producer Petter Eldh (of Koma Saxo), deepen their vision of genre-bending, forward-looking "liquid jazz" of tomorrow. The core group also includes Dan Nicholls on keys and Tilo Weber on drums, and also featured on the album are Swedish jazz greats Jonas Kullhammar (of Koma Saxo) and Per "Texas" Johansson, cellist Lucy Railton and trumpeter Ruhi-Deniz Erdogan. Diving deeper into "Y-OTIS 2", you'll find details and ideas galore. The album is an inviting and inspiring audio mosaic, which links back into the previous Sandsjö/Eldh collaborations, namely "Y-OTIS" and "Koma Saxo". The result is a balanced album which quenches your thirst while making you more thirsty in the process. In other words, the many micro moods and sonic levels herein invite repeated listening, while the underlying rhythmic approach is informed as much by hip hop and electronica as by jazz, making the music approachable in a very natural way. It seems unnecessary to pull the album apart by name-checking individual tracks but just for the sake of easy introduction, the single cuts "tremendoce", "ity bity" and "abysmal" offer one idea of signposts along which to navigate. "tremendoce" brings in Swedish jazz great Jonas Kullhammar (of Koma Saxo) and Per "Texas" Johansson, introducing an infectious flute loop integrating into the Y-OTIS sound, making it organic to the bone. "ity bity" could be built on a new wave synth sample (but it's not) and "abysmal" brings more serene, even ambient-sounding sonic pathways onto the map. It all belongs together, and makes for a sound that is instantly recognisable and constantly fresh. This is "Mauerpark liquid jazz" for the new decade. "Y-OTIS 2" will be released by We Jazz Records on vinyl, CD and digitally. The vinyl comes in two versions: standard black edition in a heavy-duty tip-on sleeve and a special "PSYCORE edition" on glow in the dark green vinyl in a heavy-duty tip-on sleeve. The CD comes in a cardboard digisleeve

It took a shade under thirty months for Pure Progressive to rock past its one-hundredth release. That was time enough for the label to bring music from near enough every prog operator of note through its doors and onto floors. Penner, Barone, O’Glue, Saint-Jules, Schossow, Driftmoon, label honch Solarstone (naturally) - you name ‘em, they’ve all received their P.P. pin. If there was any surprise to be had it was that Pure Progressive’s resisted a full-blown compilation until now. Time is time though and July 2020 sees Solarstone’s progressive progeny emphatically score that notch. At the wheelhouse of its mix/disc-deuce is none other than that flying Fin, Orkidea - a genre prognosticator himself who’s recorded for the label many a time. Notably perhaps it was ‘One Man’s Dream’ - their hundredth release, as well as his longstanding Solar-association - that saw him earmarked to mix-helm ‘PP Vol. 1’. Either way he’s seized both opportunity and reins to deliver a stupendously mixed first edition - and one that brings the best of his and the label’s artistic cohort to your ears. Amongst them - well an embarrassment of progressive riches abounds. Genre forefathers like Way Out West rub shoulders with scene-starters like Oakenfold, whilst a host of respected outfits from its dawn - Deepsky, Sunscreem, Desert, Slusnik Luna, Pink Bomb and others - see their works remix-reimagined. Orkidea’s split his edition clean down the middle, dividing it into “Artist” and “DJ” mixes. The former of which offers a major spyglass into what his album follow-up to 2015’s ‘Harmonia’ beholds. In-mixed-form it features no less than 12 tracks, including premieres for new cuts like ‘Rebel Time’ and his Sunscreem team-up ‘Perfect Motion’, as well as the just-out-there ‘That Feeling’. The latter meanwhile comes flush with many an edge-cutter from 2020’s prog class. Yotto, Grum, Paul Thomas, gardenstate, Forerunners, Allende and a horde of others pack out the second disc’s tracklist. Collectively ‘Pure Progressive Vol. 1’ serves the clearest possible vision of what’s-currently-what in the world of prog.

Débuts’ is France-via-Brussels duo, Nikitch & Kuna Maze’s aka Nicolas Morant & Edouard Gilbert first full length album. Building on their collaborative EP “Mush”, ‘Débuts’ continues to explore the melting point between jazz and club culture, interspersed with the signature sounds of broken beat, Chicago footwork, UK garage, Detroit house, and underpinned by their road-tested new live format. ‘Débuts’ see’s the band push their musical and creative development even further, a result of touring extensively around Europe with a live drummer, from high-brow jazz festivals to sweaty basement clubs. “We would be lying if we said our gig experience didn’t influence us on this record” Edouard explains. “We discovered new aspects to songs such as “Bruk” and managed to push forward the energy side of the music from the rawness of the live shows. This energy empowered to produce and compose new material in the same vein”.

Nick Kamen was without doubt, one of the most famous faces of the ‘80s, both as a model, and a pop star. After scoring his first top 5 hit, ‘Each Time You Break My Heart’, Nick went on to have major success across Europe with 4 albums and several number one singles. Now, for the first time, we’re delighted to present a collection of his entire recorded output during the ‘80s and ‘90s on a 6 CD set

Dancers can always be sure of one thing with Chen Moscovici–a.k.a Moscoman–a certain unpredictability and energy will always define the music he serves up. As well as having a background in indie and rock, he plays house, acid, techno, dark disco, synth, all from a more alternative angle. For that reason, he is a regular at wide-ranging but iconic places like Space in Miami, Berghain’s Panorama Bar, Glastonbury and Pacha Ibiza.2020 will see the release of Moscoman’s long awaited second LP. Time Slips Away will be released on June 19th on Moshi Moshi. Moscoman gave us a taste of the album when he shared the track “Back And Again” earlier this month, and to celebrate the announcement the Berlin-based producer shares brand new single “What Do We Care” featuring Tom Sanders (Teleman)

It feels like an almost indecent amount of time since Mark Sherry served us a Prism collection… On second thoughts, there’s no “almost” about it – it is! To be fair to Captain Outburst though he’s spent the interim DJing, A&Ring, label running, producing, remixing and mastering his way around the known dance universe. Cast an eye over its third volume (dropping July 24) though and you’ll get a sense of recompense for ‘Prism’s absence.‘3’ by name, three by its nature, for this edition Mark’s expanded his mix-comp to a third disc, meaning (no calculators needed!) it’s got two co-mixers attached. Scene legend Scot Project (not Scottish) and David Forbes (like Mr. Sherry, 100% Scot!) have jumped aboard, bringing heaps of the fiery stuff along-with. Collectively the trio deliver an awe/ear inspiring 60+ tracks to a release that’s less a music compilation, more a force of sonic nature!In various forms, incarnations & guises, the productions of Corsten, Picotto, O’Callaghan, Durand, Genix, Sneijder, Vini Vici, Shapov, NERVO, Three Drives, Lostly, Shugz and manifold others run riot. As is its established, the third ‘Prism’ reserves plenty of track-space to newer creators and recently-arriving talent too, with young heel-snappers like Richard Tanselli, Systembreaker, Jardin and others work passing through this ‘Prism’. The mixes are naturally triple stacked with a mass of its protagonists’ own and pooled aliases like Gentech and Thick As Thieves. Premieres, exclusives, new collabs and first-hears abound, as Prism’s force multiplying Pt.3 turns hard into a science!Mark’s mix commences in the calm, some might even say graceful waters of… Nah, just kidding - it starts exactly as it continues - with the insanely powerful teeth-rattling tranceterrordome that is his KETNO collab, ‘Space Monkey’. From there comes a track-triple from Thick As Thieves (Sherry & Forbes), before he releases Will Rees’ ‘Candy Jack’, ’Perseverance’ from Richard Durand and his remake on Pulp Victim’s ‘The World’ out into the wild. Richard Tanselli’s max-out of Picotto’s ‘Like This Like That’ and BIG CMV’s Ariel/‘A9’ renovation set it on course for the big finish. All of which allows Joint Operations Centre’s (John O’Callaghan) ‘Meraxes’ and ‘Change Your Heart’ from Sherry/Scot Project paring Gentech to mop up the stragglers!Conversely, Scot Project’s disc does start in the beatific - specifically with Genix’s padparadising ‘Rave’ and his Golden Girls’ ‘Kinetic’ rework. From there though - and with all the subtlety of a meat tenderizer - Scot Project engages the ‘crank’ lever and opens the throttle. Fuelled by some of his own musical moonshine, he locks his mix into a ferocious groove. In their original forms ‘M [Metropolis]’ & ‘H [Hypnotize]’ surface, swiftly followed by rewires of ‘FM [Feeling Me]’ and ‘S [Outer Space]’. The German legend then barrel rolls into a hot-run of other artists’ gear, with Adrenaline Dept, Renegade System, Zatox, Vini Vici vs Shapov vs NERVO all contributing to its heads-down charge. ‘Prism 3’s less-than-holy trinity is completed by David Forbes, who commences his mix with the toughest, taughtest, techiest retell of ‘Greece 2000’ you’re ever gonna hear. Its techno themes continue with David’s own Sebrof & DMCK ‘Phenomenon’, before Thick As Thieves check back in for some ‘Brain Control’. From there Mr. Forbes gets on a big solo roll, sending in quick succession ‘The Music’, ‘Hold Me’ and ‘Evolution Of Dance Music’ down the cables. ‘La Bomba’ from Shugz eyes the mix apex, while its accent continues with Sneijder’s ‘Chuck Norris’, summiting with Forbes’ own ‘TimeWarp’.Cake on top of a cake, burger on top of pizza - when it comes to hard trance, this is what indulgence looks like!

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The early 80s were prolific for Hideki Matsutake. As the go-to keyboard programmer for the Tokyo music scene, he worked on Akiko Yano's Gohan Ga Dekitayo, YMO's BGM, Ryuichi Sakamoto's B-2 Unit, Mkwaju Ensemble's Mkwaju and found time to record two Logic System albums in 1981. While the first album, Logic had a harder techno feel, the second one Venus was different affair. Recorded in Los Angeles at the new state of the art Yamaha Studio, it was loosely themed on the Greek goddess Venus and had a funkier more organic sound. For the album Matsutake had asked a handful of American musicians to provide songs he would then add his synth magic touch to. Michael Boddicker, Don Grusin, Nathan East and Roger Powell duly complied and also played on the album.The updated sound was achieved by switching from the Moog III to the E-mu modular System (which Matsutake brought over to LA) and other synths like the Prophet 5, the Roland MC-8 and TR 808 and the Yamaha GS-1, a forerunner of the DX7.The result is an amazing futuristic mix of electronic music and early 80s funk, announcing many genres to come, from techno and house to French electro and Vaporwave. From the breezy ambient synth of I Love You to the city pop edge of Be Yourself (originally written by Nathan East for Debra Laws) and the vocoder-led Daft Punk-ish Take A Chance, Venus is a fascinating album that both pushes the boundaries of electronic music and is yet strangely accessible and beautiful.The other key elements of Venus is the artwork designed by Japanese legendary illustrator Pater Sato. Sato had started in Japan in the early 70s doing many album covers for Japanese artists including Tatsuro Yamashita's cult Spacy LP before moving to New York in 1979 to pursue a career in fashion and advertising. His airbrush style became hugely influential over the years and in 2018, Stella McCartney dedicated a whole Men’s collection based on his Venus. Star make up artist Pat McGrath also regularly posts his artwork to her 3 million fans on her instagram.The original album came with a beautiful 8-panel insert illustrated by Sato which Wewantsounds has reproduced on this deluxe reissue also featuring remastered sound, OBI strip and a second insert featuring credits and line up plus liner notes by Hashim Bharoocha. The notes feature an exclusive interview with Hideki Matsutake reminiscing about the making of this visionary album which Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue.

LA BREICHE (“the witch”) features YAN AREXIS (Stille Volk / Sus Scrofa / Common Eider, King Eider / Coume Ouarnède), and PATRICK LAFFORGUE (Stille Volk / Sus Scrofa / Hantaoma). The two musicians are also the creators of the cult festival Lhomme Sauvage, held in Midi-Pyrenees each year. After their 2017 debut “Le Mal des Ardents” (Cold Spring), “Le Rite” opens a new door, with post-folk sounds close to post-rock, influenced by ancient music, with folk used in a modernist way. Dark, ambient and yet mystical… deep with grandiose landscapes. The sound of La Breiche is situated at the crossroads of early music and dark ambient; ambient music, industrial music with a strong ritual dimension. Their electro-acoustic is music based on old instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, mixed with analogue synths, field recordings, and ritual objects, taking a mystified look at nature, archaic societies, rites, beliefs and lores, animism.

“Listen as if you were being told a secret” - Federico FelliniA companion piece to 2018’s Listening To Pictures, this second volume in the pentimento series presents eight new tracks by the music visionary, continuing his lifelong exploration of the possibilities of recombination and musical gene-splicing. Pentimento is defined as the “reappearance in a painting of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over” and this is evident in the innovative production style that ‘paints with sound’ using overlapping nuances to create an undefinable and intoxicating new palette.In classic Hassell fashion, the title can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, but perhaps the most pertinent at the moment is the human instinct to sing and play through a rain of difficulties. A future blues of indeterminate and ever-shifting shape. The album is buffered by two 8-minute plus epics at the beginning and the end - the hypnotic “Fearless” with it’s metronomic, almost Can-like rhythm, and blurry, noir-ish texture of sound emerging like car headlights from the fog; mirrored at the end of the record by the beautiful sci-fi lullaby of “Timeless”, a track with a gaseous, billowing quality as electronic clicks and bubbles float over a landscape of shimmering, glacially paced complexity. The bridge between those two worlds is no less compelling, from the frantic, spidery IDM sketch of “Reykjavik” to the collapsed-time ballad of “Unknown Wish”. Whilst containing seeds of classic ‘fourth world’ fusion, this record finds the artist still questing to create new forms and mutations of music, a thrilling window into what music could sound like in a world to come.

Japan, Live in Japan! This set was recorded at The Budokan, Tokyo in December 1982 and was their fifth from last show on that tour. The band had become friends with Yellow Magic Orchestra who joined them on some of the performances here – “Bamboo Music” is a duet featuring Akiko Yano, and “Taking Islands In Africa” features Yukihiro Takahashi. Ryuichi Sakamoto also plays on those tracks.

RY X and Frank Wiedemann reunite as Howling to present ‘Colure’ the sophomore full-length record from their joint musical enterprise released via Counter Records on 24th July. RY X, solo alternative artist and member of The Acid, and Frank, one half of Âme, bring fans a bigger, sharper follow-up to their debut, ‘Sacred Ground.’ On ‘Colure’, the Berlin-based Wiedemann and Los Angeles-based RY X conjure transcendent creations out of their contrasting musical backgrounds and environments. The album is assuredly dualistic: electronic and acoustic sounds sit comfortably side-by-side, and big melodic hooks are laced into hypnotic club productions.