Exploring late-night, after-hours meditations on sound; ‘Everything Above The Sky (Astral Travelling with Luke Una)’ is a new compilation by the titular DJ, promoter and enigmatic cultural curator. Off the back of the E Soul Cultura phenomena, this compilation comes at a timely point in Luke’s rich career as he soars the heights of playing all over the world. Avoiding any chance of his sound being pigeonholed, Luke has put together a tracklist of songs and music that have a transcendental feel, after coming off the grid, going back to source, outside the city walls .

Music has long been believed to aid out of body experiences and many of us have searched long and hard for a combination of those elusive ingredients that might alleviate some of the monotony of everyday life, our daily routines and obligations, and those things that seem to block us from the spirit of the universe. In this collection, Luke selects music with all the right ingredients in just the right quantities, allowing the listener to engage in an esoteric journey of enlightenment through sound. Being a prolific collector of music, Luke initially delivered enough tracks to compile several compilations, making the licensing process the biggest effort to date for the label. The music moves softly and slowly, never becoming too intrusive, exemplifying the wonderful elevating properties of simple songs played from the heart.

Luke’s Everything Above The Sky manifesto reads, “Astral Travelling in the meadowlands with acid folk, spiritual jazz, around midnight hocus pocus, cosmic psychedelic soul, magical spellbound whirling swirling love songs, Brazilian ballads of light into machine soul gospel utopia dreaming, Balearic bossa, Outer Space ancient African drum, the breath of trees, escaping the big bad modern world, gathering round winter fires, walking amongst the bracken in Padley Gorge in late summer twilight, overlooking the Hope Valley, escaping ego, detaching and finally letting go amongst the stars with the slowly floating people. It’s beautiful beyond. Everything above the Sky”.

Beginning his career as an original Sheffield house young blood in the mid 1980s, Luke’s move to Manchester and partnership with Justin Crawford saw the birth of Electric Chair, a cornerstone cult night in the UK underground club scene. Then came Electric Elephant, a Croatian festival paying homage to their wild eclecticism from Balearic to Brazilian to É Soul, house, disco and techno. Luke’s much loved, long-running Homoelectric night and more recently Homobloc sell out festival for 10,000 souls has been at the forefront of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. Luke’s Friday evening show on Worldwide FM captured imaginations and became a cult four-hour must-listen monthly journey for fans all over the world. Today, Luke remains, as ever, at the forefront of a changing milieu, pairing the momentous legacy of Manchester’s 80s and 90s scene with the delivery of what today’s club communities need to get down. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Having fallen down the cracks of the sofa, providing the soundtrack to the late night disenfranchised across two incredible compilations; our trusted socio-spirit-guide takes some time out for meditation and ascension, moving from "INSIDE" to, generally, a more "outdoorsy" state of being on 'Everything Above The Sky'. Designed, at least in part, to aid astral travelling; a selection to escape the mundanities and indeed the troubles of our present times. Luke’s shamanic skills as a night club technician transfer equally well to a more horizontal mode of listening; take off your shoes, feel the soil underneath your feet, lie down in the daisies, look up to the skies - they’re full wonderment!
As usual there's some true curios (not least the ‘bongo mix’ of "Pacific State" (!!)), and some magical moments of spiritual jazz and cosmic soul; but it’s in the slowly unwinding majesty of acid folk that the compilation really finds it footing – relishing the expansiveness and novelty of nature – as much an inspiration for our curator as any debauched nights spent sweating and dancing to repetitive machine music.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
SIDE A:
1. John Martyn - Small Hours
2. Stephen Whynott – A Better Way
3. April Fulladosa - Sunlit Horizon
SIDE B:
1. Sylvain Kassap - Plancoët
2. Manu Dibango - Night In Zeralda
3. Henri Texier - Hocoka Time
4. Nivaldo Orneleas - O Que Ha
5. 808 State – Pacific State (Massey’s Conga Mix)
SIDE C:
1. Magma - Eliphas Levi
2. Homelife - Stranger
3. Michael Gregory Jackson - Unspoken Magic
SIDE D:
1. Dora Morelenboum - Avermelhar
2. Simone - Tudo Que Você Podia Ser
3. Experience Unlimited – People
4. Otis G. Johnson - I Got It
5. Mel & Tim - Keep The Faith

CD Tracklisting:
Disc 1
1. John Martyn - Small Hours
2. Stephen Whynott – A Better Way
3. April Fulladosa - Sunlit Horizon
4. Sylvain Kassap - Plancoët
5. Manu Dibango - Night In Zeralda
6. Henri Texier - Hocoka
7. Nivaldo Orneleas - O Que Ha
8. 808 State – Pacific State (Masseys Conga Mix)
9. Magma - Eliphas Levi
10. Homelife - Strangers
Disc 2
1. Michael Gregory Jackson - Unspoken Magic
2. Dora Morelenbaum – Avermelhar
3. Simone - Tudo Que Você Podia Ser
4. Experience Unlimited – People
5. Otis G. Johnson - I Got It
6. Mel & Tim - Keep The Faith
7. Anita Strandell - Elektriska Du (Bonus Track)
8. Camarón - Romance Del Amargo (Bonus Track)
9. Michael Gregory Jackson - Unspoken Magic (Solo) (Bonus Track)
10. Luke Una Spoken Word Manifesto (Bonus Spoken Word Track)

Portugal's multi-talented, genre-hopping Star Creature, AVOP is back on the label for another round of musical musings.

As usual, he forays into soulful, retro-tinged boogie, house and US garage stylings; setting swing to maximum and deploying a trusted array of synths and drum boxes to conjure up his paradisical leanings. Four vocal tracks with three corresponding instrumentals (excluding "Ear Dreaming") with "Desires" and "Show Me" treading more housey vibes than the boogie flavours present on "Ear Dreaming" and "Purple". It's rich and thick like honey, drizzled in soul and unequivicolly moving. He's lost none of the splendor and transportive bliss that's been a constant throughout his catalogue. Top drawer stuff for lovers of innocent and pure dance music. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Nice old school flavoured selection of house and boogie from the delectable A Vision Of Panorama. It ain't reinventing the wheel but it is keeping us bouncing and grooving well into the night time!

TRACK LISTING

Desires (feat Sykes) 
Show Me (feat Stacie G)
Ear Dreamin' 
Purple 
Desires (Insturmental) 
Show Me (Insturmental)
Purple (Insturmental) 

Originally released in 2023 via a humble run of 100 cassette tapes, c-thruʼs debut album “The Otherworld” is now available on black vinyl with a full colour jacket designed by Vancouver based illustrator Tylor Macmillan.

C-thru - The Otherworld is a collection of introspective cosmic-leaning dance music that gives a healthy nod to the golden era of trance, ambient, and downtempo from Austin, Texas-based producer Jesse Edwards. Inactive for several years, these 10 tracks mark a new chapter for Jesse Edwards. Previous works include his well-received psychedelic project, Red Morning Chorus, that included Boards of Canada amongst its fans. Edwards began his musical journey in the late 90s playing shoegaze and experimental music with Jessica Bailiff (Kranky). The pair collaborated on several albums together, including works with Flying Saucer Attack, His Name is Alive, and Odd Nosdam (Anticon).

Essential listening for anyone enamoured with the golden era of futuristic audio.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Expansive, wide-eyed free party electronica that should bring to mind rose-tinted memories of The KLF, motorway service stations, early AFX, Cornish acid, ecstasy comedowns and dewy early morning sunrises.

TRACK LISTING

A1.Awake (In A Dream)
A2.Geodesic Visions
A3.Time Being
A4.Slow Dive Thru The 7th Plane
B1. The Otherworld
B2. Therianthropes In A Floating Pyramid
B3.Glimpses Of Concentric Realities
B4.Vivid Voyage 

Very Limited. Gatefold sleeve (single LP)

Naturestrip Naarm (Melbourne) write:

"The debut 2023 disc of narcotised, tranced-out dub from Naarm collective Dregs resurfaces on venerable UK imprint Purely Physical Teeny Tapes, its dense textures and abyssal groove splayed across two sides of wax for wider appreciation among those with an ear for corporeal sludge and blurred sound-system sonics.

Centred around the core trio of Sina (vox/synth), Drop Dylan (vox/guitar) & Ossian (production/electronics), this particular session of endless-nite trip-hop finds the group bringing Rip Van Hippy (percussion) into the fold, the revered trance figurehead whose tendrils have reached into the works of far-flung sonic explorers such as Boredoms, Ollie Olsen & Osamu Kitajima. The affinities between the pairing are at once sonically obvious & ripe with potential, both parties sharing an ability to convolve diffuse strands of sound (slow-motion dnb, blasted dub, the luxuriant languor that arises at the meeting point between trip-hop & post-rock) into a jet-black molasses of infinite groove, drowned melodics, and dense hallucination.

This self-titled debut is best described as a sensual ooze, smeared & smudged textures riding heavyweight bass pressure & trudging rhythms that dissolve into one another, strung-out siren songs from the gutters of the night. Not a music for the club so much as one born of it, the LP plays out in deeply carnal styles: vox swimming in layers of murk writhing among shadow, the faint murmur of a guitar etching out the suggestion of a melody only to be devoured by un-bottled pressure, endless tremors rattling through a hall of mirrors.

A sound to be felt equally in the most heart-melted zones as well as firmly in the cavity of your sternum, in states altered or otherwise; delicate & ethereal, evanescently grimy, and deeply, deeply addictive."

Dregs are Sina, Drop Dylan, Ossian and Rip Van Hippy
Mixed by Kalju Tonuma
Mastered by Simon Polinski
Artwork and design by Richelle
Vinyl cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M
Originally released digitally and on CD by Mud Records, October 4 2023

TRACK LISTING

Sofj
Swampy
Keyed
Guilt Garden
Uneasy
Underwater Dub

The flag bearer for dancefloor-orientated electronic music has come up with something rather special for, what I think, is his twelfth proper studio album to date. Reaching, through his ever-forward-glancing soundscapes, to even deeper levels of intimacy, intricity, abstraction & intrigue. Four Tet continues to usher in the Now; way before you even knew it existed.

Utilizing a beguiling and enchanting array of patches, synths, DSP units and the latest computer technology to yield a decidedly humanoid (read: cybernetic) approach to modern commentary and body movement through sound; our trusty technician has once again proven why he's the go-to tastemaker across the dance music global village, whatever particular camp you chose to shake your boots in.

Housed in a fractal-psychedelic sleeve which upon first inspection reveals very little, as the first utterances begin to emanate off the record it's clear Hebden is painting a multidimensional canvas of our current world. Musically and visually it resonates with current moods and emotions, especially as technology continues influence and interact with our daily lives.

After a crystalline and atmospheric opening track, "Baby" rushes through our senses at 5G; a track so quintessentially Four Tet yet unfathomably beautiful you'll curse the producer for not gifting it to us sooner. "Teenage Birdsong", a previously released single relishes in its languid, BOC-esque downbeat electronica while "Romantics" closes off the opening side with a warped but elegant moment of transcendence.

"Love Salad" smothers us delicate rhythmic glitches and morphed pianos, "Insect Near Piha Beach" deploys the mangled electro-acoustic palettes that garnered much of Hebden's early works while "ISTM"'s gentile flurries and ASDR-enveloped stimulation propels us off into dreamlike fantasy worlds unknown to our consciousness.

Side C is a somewhat nocturnal and tranquil affair, with obvious stargazing references contrasted with the whispering fairylike lullabies beamed down from the heavens.

After treating us to such a glorious three sides, Four Tet then leaves jaws floor bound by gifting to us an entire side of locked grooves straight from the stems of the album!!! - Honestly, this is some real treasure folks, ready to mined by Ableton heads, mixed and juggled by 3-deck wizards and used as DJ tools across other tracks; it's an unfathomably classy and fortunate touch that closes off one of the producer's most essential albums to date. 10 / fu**ing 10. Essential.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: All of the whimsy and unmistakable glee that comes from Four Tet's music is here on ‘Sixteen Oceans’. We get the blipping off-kilter synth stabs and dusty nu-rave percussion of ‘Rounds’ or ‘Ringer’, brought together with a smattering of vocal samples (Ellie Goulding on “Baby” is a particular highlight) and the organic, swung congas of the more recent output. “Teenage Birdsong” was an excellent choice for a single, as not only is it the most Four-Tetty cut on the album, but leaves it as a nice surprise for those fans of 2015's 'Morning / Evening' when “Insect Near Piha Beach” emerges as an unsung pick of the crop. As if that wasn't enough, side D of the vinyl pressing has a number of beautiful locked loops, these vignettes beautiful mini-songs in their own right. Never one short of surprises, Hebden once again blows it out of the water.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting:
A1 School
A2 Baby
A3 Harpsichord
A4 Teenage Birdsong
A5 Romantics
B1 Love Salad
B2 Insect Near Piha Beach
B3 Hi Hello
B4 ISTM
B5 Something In The Sadness
C1 1993 Band Practice
C2 Green
C3 Bubbles At Overlook 25th March 2019
C4 4T Recordings,
C5 This Is For You
C6 Mama Teaches Sanskrit

CD Stocklisting:
01 School
02 Baby
03 Harpsichord
04 Teenage Birdsong
05 Romantics
06 Love Salad
07 Insect Near Piha Beach
08 Hi Hello
09 ISTM
10 Something In The Sadness
11 1993 Band Practice
12 Green
13 Bubbles At Overlook 25th March 2019
14 4T Recordings
15 This Is For You
16 Mama Teaches Sanskrit

Start of a new series of official reworks of The Warmer Music catalogue, a very special collaboration of Too Slow To Disco with the major label, that we worked on for a long time. We are more than thrilled to start our Warner Music collaboration with official DocotrSoul reworks for one of the most prolific musicians of the Californian Westcoast/Jazz/AOR/Yacht scene, the one and only Michael Franks, who approved personally the new version. Over the languorous course of 33 years and 16 albums, Michael Franks has mesmerized an international legion of fans with his one-of-a-kind artistry. Seamlessly weaving lyrics of stunning sensuality, wit, reflection and literary eloquence over music that tastefully utilizes top shelf shadings of jazz, soul, pop, chamber and music from around the globe. His music was covered by countless international stars, like The Carpenters, Shirley Bassey, Ringo Star, Natalie Cole, a.m.m. . His music lives on and is loved by so many modern Balearic/Soft Disco musicians/producers from today.

Parisian producer DoctorSoul is a longtime TSTD collaborateur. These reworks of his have been floating around the internet for some time, we are so proud to finally give them an official release! The D.J. / Remix & Music producer / Sound Designer has collaborated with many artists and bands from diverse genres even in Jazz, bringing production remixes for the likes of legendary Tania Maria, Jeff Cascaro, Mandoo &Interview to name just a few! His own musical releases are deeply rooted in disco and funk territory with a modern sonic production touch that can grab attention from the younger generation, as well as from the elder who like to be reminded of the 80’s dance floor culture.

Since 2018 he has been hosting a monthly show on RapTz Radio and on the late night dream.com while doing Dj sets for The House Theory Radio Show, The Midnight Riot Radio, and Disko Knights. DoctorSoul´s tracks are released on the London based MIDNIGHT RIOT record label, the Berlin based TOO SLOW TO DISCO record label and have reached many times the top places in worldwide Disco charts. They are played by numerous very famous known DJs around the world such as: DJ Supermarkt, Ashley Beedle, Lenny Fontana,Mannix Kling, The House Theory Team, DJ White, Tony Griffin, Disko Knight, Humberto Galvàn, Crème De Coco, Jack Tennis, Ursula 1000, Yam Who?, ChuggingEdits, Limpodisco, Ruff Diamond, Disco Daze, Lego Edit, or Rob Hardt from The Cool Million team…

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Recently championed by Giles Peterson, and fervently collected by our own Pasta Paul, the TSTD series continues to provide the goods for hammock swinging, ocean dipping, sand dancers the world over.

TRACK LISTING

Side A: Chain Reaction (DoctorSoul's "You Can't Fake It" - Extended Intro Re-Therapy) 
Side B1: When Sly Calls (DoctorSoul "Don't Touch That Phone" - Extended Re-Therapy) 
Side B2: When Sly Calls (DoctorSoul "Don't Touch That Phone" - Radio Re-Therapy) 

WRWTFWW Records is wonderfully proud to announce the long anticipated official reissue of "Chrysalide" (1978), the sole album from French multi-instrumentalist and enigmatic genius Michel Moulinié. The krautrock / ambient / minimalism paragon is available as a limited edition LP with one never-heard bonus track. It is sourced from the original reels and housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve.

Originally released in 1978 on Ange and Jean-Claude Pognant's mythical prog rock label Crypto, "Chrysalide" is a fusion of minimalist meditations, cosmic soundscapes, and ambient; with a human warmth, carried by a profoundly beautiful and unique use of twelve-string guitar, bass and violin.

Ideal for an introspective listening experience, the hypnotic kosmische musik of Michel Moulinié belongs to the same psychedelic family as Manuel Göttsching’s "Inventions For Electric Guitar", Mike Oldfield’s "Tubular Bells", early Tangerine Dream, and Steve Hillage’s innovative guitar mastery.

WRWTFWW regulars might also be reminded of the label’s seminal French release, Dominique Guiot's "L'Univers de la Mer", which makes a great spiritual pairing with "Chrysalide".

Escape into the vast universe inside yourself :

For fans of prog rock, krautrock, ambient, minimalism, experimental, introspective hypno-acoustic mystical meditative music, "L’Universe de la Mer" by Dominique Guiot, Steve Hillage, Manuel Göttsching, Terry Riley, the cosmos and its soundtrack, the cosmos that exists in one’s self.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Le Ballet Des Mouches
A2. Les Cordes De La Mer
A3. Lente Course
B1. Le Philtre D'Echordus
B2. L'Echo De L'Acier
B3. Bonus

Open Space is proud to present our first ever full-length LP by LA’s newest 3-man band, Puli. Some words from our dear friend Matt McDermott below:

In recent years, a cadre of musicians from the east side of Los Angeles have reestablished the city of angels as the first city of Balearica. Alex Ho’s “Move Through It” followed in the lumbering footsteps of Project Sandro’s “Blazer.” Now, there’s a new landmark for the floating west coast sound. Swirling, the first album from LA supergroup Puli.

If you’ve got your ear to the ground you know the names involved here. Drummer and producer Damon Palermo’s pedigree stretches back a good 15 years or so, starting off with dub punks Mi Ami. Phil Cho is one of the busiest DJs, musicians and advocates for the deep stuff in LA, throwing legendary hillside parties under the Third Place banner. John Jones, the preternaturally talented guitarist and electronic tinkerer, records as AV Moves, is a key member of the Suzanne Kraft and Baba Stiltz live configurations and plays in The Trilogy Tapes-affiliated act Geo Rip.

But this listing of personnel and credentials puts too fine a point on it. Puli are three close friends who go to parties, DJ and get tacos together, repairing to their Chinatown studio a few times a week and coming out with remarkably textured, idiosyncratic downtempo jams. Building off the solid foundation of their 7-inch of heavyweight dubs for Melbourne’s Constant Delay, Swirling is an exploration of new horizons in chill out.

“Ramona” acts a statement of purpose—with halftime/double-time dub-tinged rhythms, hazy yet bright synth motifs and atmospheric guitar from Jones, not terribly far from the expansive approach of Japanese dub aesthetes Pecker. “Cloudy,” meanwhile, is a sort of deconstructed and bittersweet Balearic pop featuring Cho’s ethereal vocals. “Bongo Springs” is steppers’ house not far from close LA peer Benedek or the Mood Hut crew up north.

But what truly sets this record apart is the space and layers in the production - while it’s nominally an electronic record, Puli is a band that has slowly crafted these songs in the rehearsal space. “Havana Jam” cruises along a sliding roundwound bass guitar take with dubby chords and textural guitars. Palermo’s hand drums and live percussion enmesh perfectly with icy pads on “Leech Seed Dub.” Cho is back on the mic for the gorgeous closer, “C.S.B.”, underpinned by breakbeat and trunk-rattling sub bass. Puli doesn’t sound like anyone else, and is ultimately reflective of the city itself. Listening to Swirling feels like navigating a warren of side streets in the eternal sunshine. Take the drive and dive.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Blissed-out downbeat and optimistic leanings. Finding favour with fans of Jack J, Mood Hut and the Vancouver Riviera, Andras Fox, Benedek et al.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Ramona
A2. Havana Jam
A3. Cloudy
A4. Leech Seed Dub
B1. Bongo Springs
B2. Swirling
B3. Captain & Steve
B4. C.S.B

"NoLand" sounds like a story already experienced. A series of lyrical landscapes infused with deviant pop sonorities.
On their second album for Knekelhuis, Reymour gives us the keys to three years of life's passages through mist and clearings, delving deep into their innermost selves and emotions. By merging new inspirations with new encounters, they weave and unravel their tale.

Seamlessly blending gloom and optimism, naivety and sophistication, a punkish aesthetic with pop sensibilities. A glorious contradiction that's addictive as hell. Fans of Not Not Fun, Robedoor, LA Vampires, The Slits and such like will finds lots to enjoy here... 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Intro
A2. He’s Changing
A3. On A Pulse
A4. Dix Mois
A5. Hors-série
A6. Documentary
A7. Sans éveil
B1. Interlude
B2. A L’éternelle
B3. L’odeur Du Tabac Froid
B4. 2 Dreams In A Night
B5. Partir Sans Dormir
B6. Sleepy Time
B7. La Scène

Love International and Test Pressing commemorate yet another cracking festival with the latest instalment in their collaborative compilation series for their LIXTP label. For The Sound Of Love International #006 they’ve chosen Jay Donaldson aka Palms Trax as their selector. He’s a regular at Love International.

The Berlin-based DJ, known for his eclectic sets and long-running NTS show "Cooking With Palms Trax," delivers a diverse selection of tracks gathered from his global journeys.

The album opens with Linda Waterfall’s Clarity. A fabulous flight of late 1970s spiritual jazz-influenced folk from the late Seattle-based singer / songwriter, who released her debut on Windham Hill.

Sebastian’s Follow My Heart is a soulful soft rocker, a sax-y seduction theme.

On Did It Have To Be Me, glorious gospel choir-like backing lifts Frank E. Jeffries Jr.’s cool croon, and the spirits of anyone lucky enough to be listening.

Two tracks travel from `90s South Africa. El Pedro’s La Luna is a pumping piece of S.A. bubblegum. Novidade’s Masingita features great guitar picking and warm, welcoming group vocals.

Dieta Berliner & Jean Baptiste’s Paula & Kaspar transports us back to Berlin and forwards to 2012. A B-side secret weapon from Dieta’s short-lived Pakalolo City Records.

Culled from a cult Canadian 45 Angelo Mallia’s Hideaway is cute, catchy tumbling TR-808- driven synth-pop.

A piece of plugged-in Belgian `80s prog-rock, Zardoz’s brilliant Brasilia Drums pits its titular percussion against big cosmic synths, and segues into a new age-y journey.

Danish keyboard virtuoso Gert Thrue shows off his chops on I Play The Body Electronic. Feeding everything through psychedelic phasing effects, and overdubbing some fab Fender Rhodes

In Trance 95 might be one of the better known acts here, since the Athens-based duo’s work has been collected on Veronica Vasicka’s Minimal Wave, and in the 2010s they also supported Depeche Mode. Their 1991 single, Warm Nights Driving On Wet Streets, is chunky chill out room gear.

Frenchman Alain Salvati is behind Flayer’s Wanna Get Back Your Love, which first appeared in 1983, oddly on an Italian 12. Rediscovered at the turn of the millennium it’s become a bona fide modern Balearic anthem.

The closing cut, Jeancky’s Variations Sur Protestation, kind of brings the album, musically, full circle. Returning to the late `70s with campfire congas, bongos, and gentle acoustic strumming.

The majority of the tracks included were self-released / privately pressed and in many cases the often mysterious artists’ only recorded outings. So, in putting this together Palms Trax has unearthed hidden gems, creating a magical, floor-filling journey through music.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Linda Waterfall - Clarity
A2. Sebastian - Follow My Heart
A3. Frank E Jeffries Jr - Did It Have To Be Me
B1. El Pedro - La Luna
B2. Novidade - Masingita
B3. Dieta Berliner Feat. Jean Baptiste - Paula & Kaspar (Club Mix)
C1. Angelo Mallia - Hideaway
C2. Zardoz - Brasilia Drums
C3. Gert Thrue - I Play The Body Electronic
D1. In Trance 95 - Warm Nights Driving On Wet Streets
D2. Flayer - Wanna Get Back Your Love
D3. Jeancky - Variations Sur Protestation

The Voice of Love is a collection of British sophisti-pop and jazz-funk from the 1980s - ten songs ranging from unreleased demos to scarcely pressed 12”s attempt to define the scope of the British underground scene during that era.

The music presented on this release juxtaposes polished aesthetics with a punk ethos; while some bands sported sophisticated looks reminiscent of travel destinations and designer fashion, they also embraced gritty influences from iconic British acts like The Clash, Sex Pistols, and early Factory Records acts. This dynamic interplay between refinement and rebellion lies at the heart of the compilation. Artists like Jakatti, Berlin-Randazzo Band, and Xpertz offer a raw energy akin to Colourbox, Maximum Joy, and A Certain Ratio. Meanwhile, Inheritance, World Series, and Ocean evoke the sound of 52nd Street (Inheritance members went on to form that group) and Freeez (including After Eight’s notable "Southern Freeez" cover). The Goodbye Look and Sonjah & Ian introduce a smoother jazz-pop vibe, drawing inspiration from Sade and the sun-kissed allure of Ibiza.

Curated in collaboration with Michael Patricola, a pioneer in uncovering rare private pressings and obscure recordings, this project is a labor of love. This selection of long-elusive discoveries is a tender ode to the rainy melancholy of English adolescence.

TRACK LISTING

Sonjah Ian - Nothing In Your Pocket
The Goodbye Look - Half The Fun Of The Crime
Ocean - In Out Of Love
Inheritance - I Still Love You
World Series - Take My Love
Jakatti - Time Out
Berlin-randazzo Band - Shine On
Jakatti - The Voice
Xpertz - Lovers In London
After Eight - Southern Freeze