For Music For Dreams’ collector’s series, the Danish label aim to bring us something a little different, something a little out there. After eclectic contributions from Jan Schulte, Moonboots and most recently Basso, they now lend the slot to Belgian sonic globetrotter DJ soFa. As always, he’s been granted supreme curatorial sovereignty, and the man held them to that one. For "Elsewhere Jr I", soFa takes us on a trip to the alluring and magical reality of childhood - and a trip, it is. The double LP features both new and old compositions from a wide range of countries, all centered around the youngest citizens of planet earth. The compilation has been 2.5 years in the making, with soFa collecting obscure pieces from all over the world and inspiring young collaborators to produce new tracks mostly by means of analogue synthesizers and vintage drum machines. The result is a thematically and sonically homogenous collage of cosmic children’s music.

soFa starts us off with Milo Kolarov’s exercise in sonic imagery ‘Analogue Beam’, a story about animal characters, presented to us as distinct motifs of bleeps and blitzes. Next up is the surreal jigsaw puzzle dub ‘Totti und Pippo’ by Jah Limonardi Und Die KleineGräfinDubski. Here, we come bouncing on giant, iridescent mushrooms, lulled deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole by incantations of a child’s voice. Throughout, the record is full of these synaesthetic properties, immersing the listener in creative ways, nudging you down hidden experiential pathways. On the surface, soFa’s selections are pleasantly engaging, often blooming with charming grooves and whimsical melody. But then occasionally something else creeps into picture, some alien trace imbuing the unassuming tunes with a spectral strangeness. Take for example ‘Der KleineRoboter’ by VolkersMusikspiele. Here we’ve got a classroom of children performing a cheerful verse about being little robots, suspended beneath the droning of an icy locomotive synth. Two layers, subverting and transmuting each other.

On the B- and C-side, our host for the hour spins us into a 16-bit midi mania straight outta the 90’s Nintendo-sphere. PallaTemplouf’s ‘Ping enKeun’ evokes the ominous mood of unknown threats lurking behind every corner, while Jan Turkenburg’s ‘In Hyperspace’ takes us through uncharted galaxies searching for lost space-treasures. On the final side, we’ve gone through the chocolate factory and come out the other side a bit less dazed and a bit more habituated to the weirdness of it all. PM Production’s ‘Pêle-Mêle’ twists a non-sense nursery rhyme mantra around a trudging bassline, while Thomas Natschinksi’s ‘Robotertanz’ returns to the robot-theme in a 70’s-inspired, hypnagogic space-funk-ballad. One of the few songs on the compilation that actually sounds like something out of the vast rock-pop continuum we’re familiar with.

Elsewhere Jr I is a record that simultaneously infuses your reality with harlequin mystique and reminds you of what goes lost in the integration into the adult society. It’s both hyperreal and magical, with important lessons for young and old alike in an increasingly disenchanted world. Definitely something you haven’t heard before. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: MFD hand the controls over to DJ soFa for the latest instalment of their Collectors Series, and the Elsewhere man continues his search for strange synthwave and cosmic pop, but refines his focus on children's songs. Any chump out there writing this off as twee needs to check their attitude and the clips - might I suggest you start with the masterful "Robotertanz".

Exploring the balances between pop song writing structures, 80s bedroom electronics and dirge-y gloom rock, Paris based Dissemblance presents her debut LP "Over the Sand" for Mannequin Records.

Over the ten tracks Dissemblance treads the fringes of a blurred dream world, using her bass guitar, voice, and drum machine as the backbone to create haunting yet soothing pop atmospheres in her songs.
The opener "Transfuge" maintains a focus on the bass guitar, while a sparse rhythm box and monotone vocal fuel unbreakable tension. "Rescue" continues centered around the bass playing, this time with more almost upbeat surf rock pop sensibility driving the track. The closer "A Ride" takes shape with Boss DR-55 clicks, solem, floating vocals and a subtle bassline reminding us of some of Lifetones finer moments.
A welcome new addition to the Mannequin catalog, "Over the Sand" will appeal to fans of gloom tinged electronic pop and even to optimistic goths around the globe.

All songs written and produced by Mathilde Mallen in Paris, France. Mixed by Silent Servant in Los Angeles, California, 2019.

In case you haven't noticed, your Piccadilly pals have been all over the Employee sound of late, regularly repping the narcotic machine experiments and next gen sound design of the Berlin duo. Here they join the recently reignited tradition of European's making digidub with five echo-drenched reflections on nine-to-five dilemmas plus a dizzy remix from OK Spirit co-founder DJ Neewt. Trading in sub tickling basslines, synth melodica and plenty o' tape hiss, the duo manipulate the genre conventions with twisted sequences and sick frequency adjustments while keeping the riddim at the forefront. Any house/electro DJs out there should check the percolating vibe of DJ Neewt's Psychic South Mix, which practically drips solder onto the turntable.

Neka Neka' (on General Purpose) is the first solo release by multi-disciplinary artist, Ex Ponto (Ivan Mašic). Coming of age during the mid-90s Melbourne rave scene, Ivan was infected with music by the legendary Kate Bathgate on 3RRR community radio.
Hearing music by the likes of Oliver Lieb, Will E Tell, HMC & and other producers of the time, an infection quickly turned into a music obsession that lives on today.

In the following years Ivan would go on to manage one of Melbourne's longest running record stores (Dixons Records) and in 2005 built a recording studio, aptly named The Womb. From 2005-15, he produced and played on over 20 albums for improvisation collective, Council of Elders and experimental, no-wave band, Wunderlust.
'Neka Neka' is a nod to ex-Yugoslavian experimentalists of the 80s (Rex Ilusivii, Kozmetika, Miha Kralj etc) and the thriving, late-night hedonism of Belgrade's Club 20/44.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Excellent experimental electronics and wave here from lesser known Melbourne musical mainstay Ex Ponto. Amid the buzzing textures and immersive compositions, the humid "Straight To The Tropics" and Bush-of-Ghosts styled "Stuck In Oberon" sparkle particularly.

Plunge Remix is a new compilation of remixed Fever Ray songs. Fever Ray is the solo project of the Knife’s Karin Dreijer and ‘Plunge’ was the first release in eight years since her celebrated self-titled debut in 2009. Remixers were chosen with the goal of creating music for Fever Ray to dance to. Released over a period of almost two years, the tracks will now sit together for the first time. The A-side opens with the full throttle electro-house of Tami T's remix of "Mustn't Hurry", before Bunny Michael incorporates future proofed R&B and footwork into a fresh mix of "IDK About You", a perfect companion to the psychedelic freakout Faka cooks up on the A3. On the B-side, Karin's bro and Knife companion Olof Dreijer gets slinky with a wonderful organic techno mix of "Wanna Sip", fellow art-synther Glasser conjures an epic space-synth translation of "Falling" while Sissel Wincent merges trance and techno in a huge floor melter to close the side. The intensity continues on the C1 as r&S affiliate Paula Temple slams a Berghain sized wrecking ball through "This Country", before a stepping UK bass styled mix from Aasthma offers a bit of rhythmic variation. Lisbon's usually breakneck DJ Marfox sticks to a relatively stately 130 with a bleeping twist on "Plunge" which manages to sound like a lost UR set from a Portuguese slum, while personal favourite Tzusing closes the package out with a chugging industrial incarnation of "Mustn't Hurry" tailor made for our current dystopia.

Direct from the Midwest, ace imprint Clear present us with four tenacious hardware workouts from Juzer. For the uninitiated, Juzer is the joint project of two artists central to the underground music scene in Chicago, Beau Wanzer and Dan Jugle. The work of both straddles the fault-lines between, noise, techno, industrial, EBM, and the more frenzied shades of house. 
In theory the 12” starts slowly, with the 100 bpm rattle of "Old Reliable", although it’s fitful energy is anything but, while the following track "September" coils itself into a tightly wound circuit freak-out. "Busy Bees" and "We Work Hard We Play Hard" are the buildup and climax of the record’s machine driven anxiety, fit for a chase scene in a post apocalyptic megacity thriller.

Mutant industrial acid house from one member of the UK Mutoid Waste Company art and performers collective. The Mutate tracks where created in 1990 when Steffe Lewry, vocalist composer and producer from the UK, active since the mid 1970 (Gong, Planet Gong, Here & Now), was living with members of the Mutoid Waste Company - the legendary performance arts group founded in West London in the early 80s.

Influenced by the movie Mad Max and the popular Judge Dredd comics, they specialised in organising illegal parties in London throughout the 1980s, driven at first by eclectic assortments of fringe music such as psychedelic rock and dub reggae, but then embracing the burgeoning acid house music movement by the late 1980s. They were famously described as "part street theatre, part art show and part traveling circus" in the 1986 LWT documentary South of Watford presented by Hugh Laurie.
The group became famous for building giant welded sculptures from waste materials and for customising broken down cars, as well as making large scale murals in the disused buildings where they held their parties. 
In 1989, after a number of police raids on their warehouse in King's Cross, they left the country and travelled to Germany where they became notorious for building giant sculptures out of old machinery and car parts, one of which was 'Käferman', a giant human figure with a Volkswagen Beetle for its chest, offering a Bird Of Peace sculpture that overlooked the Berlin Wall towards East Berlin and the regime of East Germany. They had a collection of scrap military vehicles, including a Russian MiG 21 fighter aircraft which 'followed' them around wherever they went, and a painted tank known as "the Pink Panzer".
The 3 tracks where included in a video compilation of Mutoid art, “How The Mutoids Brought Down The Berlin Wall”, edited by film maker Jonathan Barnett. To make these tracks Steffe used a 4 track teac reel to reel, a Korg DDD1 drum machine and Fender stratocaster guitar.

More PRR! PRR! affiliated madness for the rave gremlins and warehouse dwellers. New music by Samuelspaniel with vocals and additional production on "Shoganaï" by Golin who you may or may not associate with DJ Dave Goblin, who incidentally, has designed the sleeve us his real name, David Coquelin. Struggling to keep up? So are we, if we're honest. But what matter here is that these cats are single-handedly creating some of the most maverick and uncompromising dance music in the world right now. Rightly getting hammered across the NTS network by in-the-know DJs, and strangely, even garnering some press from the Guardian newspaper!

The sound? New reinterpretations of rave tropes utilizing classic breakbeats and advanced synthesis to create a mutant form of hardcore breakbeat that looks as much to PC Music, Sophie and Mr Oizo as it does to bassline, Swamp81 and Kode9... sound intriguing, it is. Get your head around this shit as it's destined for repeat plays throughout the next ten years. 2019? Fuck that's soooo last decade.

Stating their influences range from Prince, The Weeknd, Janet Jackson to Frank Ocean, Secret Rendezvous call their sound 'Indie R&B' and their latest track - 'Back In The Day' is a sentimental slow jam that showcases flashes of these elements set against bedroom and lofi styles.

Lyrically Morsch reminisces over the 90's, conjuring up imagery of baggy clothes, listening to Tupac on the basketball court, and going cruising with a bottle of Bacardi at night. Her silky delivery and sing-along chorus is perfectly suited for the 808-led backdrop from Lauw.

Throbbing Gristle announce the next phase of their reissues series with the release of ‘Part Two: The Endless Not’ / ‘TG Now’ and ‘A Souvenir Of Camber Sands’. In 2004 Chris Carter, Peter Christopherson, Genesis P- Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti reformed - 23 years after their mission was originally terminated - and between 2004 and 2007 the band released 14 new studio tracks and a live album of their appearance at ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas in Camber Sands.

‘A Souvenir Of Camber Sands’ is a live document of Throbbing Gristle’s performance at Jake and Dinos Chapman’s All Tomorrow's Parties Nightmare Before Christmas at Camber Sands in December 2004. Throbbing Gristle are renowned for their documentation of live performances - ‘TG24’ (which was reissued in 2002) and ‘TG+’ (released in 2004) collated their live recordings up until the band disbanded. This release reactivated the band’s live performance documentations that include ‘Thirty Second Annual Report’ (from La Villette, Paris) and the ‘Desertshore Installation’ (from the ICA, London).

FORMAT INFORMATION

2xColoured LP Info: Clear vinyl + poster in gatefold sleeve, limited to 2000 copies worldwide.

2xColoured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

Previously released in 2007, their first full studio album for 25 years, the 12 years that have since past have not diluted it's impact and it stands holding the bands legacy intact and is now part of their classic catalogue. The album has not been available on vinyl for nearly 10 years.

FORMAT INFORMATION

3xLP Box Set Info: Clear vinyl + poster + stickers, limited to 2000 copies worldwide.

Ok finally after months and months of broken promises, Full Beam! - For Gees Only volume 2 is upon us. Get ready for 8 absolute nuggets from the deepest caverns of boogiedom. Pharaoh B and his Pyramid Suite crew have overloaded the hydrofoil for this one. You know the rules: Vinyl only no digi ever and no repress ever. 300 for the universe so buy or cry. ONE PER GEE (discogs sharks i'm talking to you - don't even think about getting ya mam to order another copy on your behalf we will find you out). ALL HITTERS NO SHITTERS. Strictly not for choppers. This is serious gear peops - guaranteed to blow nappers clean off. No sound clips either - you're gonna have to trust us - your bravery will be rewarded. Mega rare tackle - get your orders in before it's too late.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Market leaders in boogie & street soul return with more sounds made famous on their acclaimed NTS show and played at their rousing MCR parties. As Pharaoh Brunson himself says - 'all hitters no shitters!'. Worth it for that £500 "Money Talks" track alone.. DO NOT SLEEP!