Vedit No.5, serious vibes for the loosest dancers. 

Reissue of a 1991 demo CD released by Clarence Séti. Multi-genre digital synth compositions possibly intended for a soundtrack. Some romper-jazz, funk, freeform minimalism, and whatever else you want to call it. Landing in a glorious sonic paradise previously visited by Art Of Noise, Repetentes 2008, Moon B, Laraaji and James Ferraro. A syncopated, new-age-funk masterpiece rich with exotica nuances and new world optimism. Check!

All's well in the world of the Terje. Album sales are booming, the beard's coming along nicely and people have even learned how to pronounce his name. Thankfully, he's not been frittering his hard earned cash away on silly synths and studio equipment, instead making a wise automotive investment with a few extra cylinders for the trusty Delorean. We catch up with Todd in the middle of a driving holiday in the scenic mountains of Italy. Shades on, beard trailing in the wind, Todd's opened her up and let the engine purr in metronomic beauty. Luxuriate in the rumble of the sequenced bassline, the snap, crackle and pop of percussion and those expansive melodies. Moving through the gears like a young Senna, Terje takes us on an exhilarating jouney into the night. All that speed, euphoria and effort is bound to make a man sweat, and "Oh Joy" carries the faint whiff of More-odour in it's wide eyed disco bounce. Zero gravity sequences, phasing white noise and super melodic synth-lines fill our ears as Todd fires up the flux capacitor and sends us hurtling into the future. Prepare for the ride of your life.

After excellent work from Berlin's Cocktail D'amore, whose reissue of "Musica Para El Fin De Los Cantos" caused a stir in 2017, London's Utopia Records launch their reissue division with the very first vinyl release of Iury Lech's debut "Otra Rumorosa Superficie". This cassette only release from 1989 is a minimal masterpiece practically unheard until now. Arguably a more complete album than '...De Los Cantos', (though possibly never hitting the heights "Barreras") originally composed for two short films 'Final Sin Pausas' and 'Bocetos Para Un Sueno' as a full score, the arrangement is a beautiful listening experience spanning through ambient, meditational and cinematic minimalism of real depth, romanticism and sincerity.

Iury Lech is a Ukrainian born multidisciplinary artist, whose main focus now is as the curator of 'Madatac' a festival based in Madrid focused on new media art, video art and audio visual technologies which has featured the work of Brian Eno amongst many others.
During the late 1970s and 80s he rose as a pioneer within a moment focused on electronically generated audio and visual media. Drawing on the ground gained by Minimalist pioneers like Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass - built from repetitive rhythm and sheets of rippling resonance, drone, and ambience, Lech's work of the period is so striking and beautiful, that it seems shockingly unjust that it was overlooked until now.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Utopia take a step into the reissue market with a first time on vinyl for Iury Lech's ace debut album "Otra Ruorosa Superficie". Released on cassette in the golden age of Spanish ambient / new age, this remastered vinyl version is essential for fans of Reich, Eno or Katsoulis.

Classic 1979 officially reissued for your listening pleasure has just arrived in our lovely shop.

‘Elevate Our Minds’ became a huge rare groove record in the mid to late ‘80s. It is supremely arranged, blending a bossa nova beat and trumpet thrills with Linda’s distinctly New York authenticity that comes through in the vocals. Like a trip to the blissful beaches of Rio whilst bringing a touch of the New York disco glam along for the ride. Exotic yet familiar, all in the same breath.

On the flip, ‘City Living’, a straight up New York disco killer - oozing with funk, dripping in brass blasts, off beat hats and spruced up synths, it’s a primetime ode to the hustle and bustle of the city. Williams’ glorious tones, assisted by a majestic troupe of backing singers, glisten alongside the classy drumming and polished bass badness that lays behind it.

A solid 7" that should become a staple on every record box out there.

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: Essential 7" for those who like bossa nova and/or disco. It is not cheesy, it is a classic and we already have the A side on repeat!

Our favourite bothy botherers Mac-Talla Nan Creag (comprised of Hoch Ma Toch, Other Lands and Lord Of The Isles) return to Firecracker Recordings, channeling ancient rites, the mysteries of the Scottish landscape and its elements through technologies both old and new for your listening pleasure.

This time round the archaeological work of Forestry Commission Scotland at Dun Deardail in Glen Nevis, and the links between that site and the ancient Celtic myth ‘The Sorrow Of Derdriu’ provided fertile ground for new exploration and response. Accompanying the music once again will be a lush booklet containing some of the stunning imagery that results from the work FCS have done there, all packaged and silk-screened with the usual finesse we've come to expect from Firecracker Recordings and their chief visionary House Of Traps, in conjunction with 12th Isle's Al White.

Captured in part in a high vaulted medieval church, then in home studios, bouncing ideas back and forth over the internet, MTNC have once again drawn on field recordings, traditional instrumentation, analogue electronics and the simple power of the human voice to create a shimmering and expansive song cycle.

Whereas the first album was borne out of an intense period of field trips and whisky fuelled jam sessions in brochs and had a loose approach overall, the second is perhaps more focused in its themes relating to the ancient tale - love, war, beauty and tragedy all intertwined - and they arguably go deeper this time, conjuring up something of the Fourth World feel, by way of the Firth Of Forth.

With additional contributions from Professor John Kenny - whose primal Zummoesque playing on a range of horns including a giant conch shell and a replica of the ancient Deskford carynx underpins several tracks on the album - and Eva Sutherland (daughter of Other Lands) who provides a reading from the myth at the very beginning, this is an album that not only carries the heaviness of history but also looks to the light of the future.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: It's another triumph from Firecracker HQ, a truly magical addition to Scottish future folklore from this all-star production trio and one of the most important albums you'll hear in the bleakest deep winter. Fully endorsed by us all here at Piccadilly Records - do not miss this!

FORMAT INFORMATION

2xLtd LP Info: 2xLP + Full colour, 16 page 12” insert. Silkscreened artwork by Al White & House Of Traps.

Ltd CD Info: CD + Full colour, 16 page insert.Silkscreened artwork by Al White & House Of Traps.

Genom Grundet is the new release by Swedish analogue explorer Ekolali on new imprint Patience. A pulsing, entrancing study in sustain and release that washes over in ecstatic waves throughout its 35 minute duration, "Genom Grundet" is a shimmering summation of Ekolali’s approach and an auspicious blueprint for the virgin NYC-based label.
Recorded on a modest setup at his almost-off-grid compound in rural Möljeryd, Sweden, "Genom Grundent" (Through The Shallows) gently bubbles with a sampled stream, baked tape delay, droning broken organ and pitch-shifted rhythm, blooming with vocoder chants and klassic kosmische guitar as the track unfolds. Repetitive to the point of rapture, Genom Grundet reveals it’s wonders over subsequent meditations.
Mattias Lagerkvist has previously issued similarly potent musical balms as Ekolali via Bakk and Not Not Fun.
Patience is a new outlet for artists to explore ideas further and longer than they otherwise might imagine. Inspired by the music we like to listen to – with E2-E4 representing the format’s high tide mark – each release will be one artist’s deep dive down one inspirational wormhole - or two different interpretations thereof - spread across two sides of vinyl. Throw it on, lock in, bliss out.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: After taking us far fucking out with a recent split release on the BakkPlafond series, Ekolali slips his moorings and floats down the spiritual stream here with a totally fried bit of kosmische ambience. One for the mushroom crew.

There are some people out there who can't help but make you feel inadequate - fantastic, charismatic bastards whose boundless energy, brilliant talent and superior skill suggests they're actually just more evolved than the rest of us. So it is with Leon x Leon, a Parisian doctor, digger, DJ and producer, who climbs mountains, makes your earth move and grooves you greatly whenever he's up in the spot. And when he isn't ripping it up on a rooftop DJ set, saving lives or tackling a multi-pitch ascent without breaking a sweat, Leon x Leon can be found in his home studio, fusing italo, house and boogie into neon tinged heaters for the likes of Red Laser Disco or Good Plus, the label he founded with his friends at Les Yeux Orange. 
Now two years on from his last EP, our hero finds himself on Cracki, coming in hot and heavy with a five track frenzy of mature and diverse dancers for party people everywhere. The titular "Rokanbo" rocks your socks and sandals right off, bouncing out the A1 with an infectious fusion of acid, house and zouk. An intoxicating tropical tipple, "Rokanbo" delivers a string of bright and buoyant synth riffs, subtle percussion and a KILLER bassline, before blasting into the stratosphere via a bubbling 303 and massive synth brass solo - pure Rubicon tackle. Next up, "Formant Sweep" treats us to a squiggling bass line and spiralling synthlines, picking up a couple of classy keys on the way to mid 80s New York. If you're a fan of FK, Boyd Jarvis and Timmy Regisford, this proto-house peach will have you reaching for your Prelude jams. "Jungle Juice" transplants the party from Zanzibar to...well...Zanzibar, simmering sultry melodies, warm pads and a discoid bassline into a true techno-tropical jam, while "Red Footpath" and "Horizon" get deep, deep, deeper into this thing, balancing tougher NJ house percussion with atmospheric pads, tacky bass with trilling flute, Mediterranean optimism with New York grit.
Exotic, evocative and utterly irresistible, this is the Frenchman's finest work to date. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: KP tip - double dose with a can of Rubicon for the ultimate party power up.

Patrick says: Beat the seasonal blues from the comfort of your own turntable with Parisian producer Leon x Leon. Ignore the EasyJet offers clogging up your inbox and invest in something way groovier. Acid zouk? Island disco? Proto House? If you're after a breath of fresh air and a blast of high end floor fuel, this is for you.

Following the releases of the vinyl compilation "Spring Break" and the maxi 12” compilation "Bardo for Pablo", Stroom conclude their Pablo's Eye trilogy with the typically diverse and utterly devastating "Dark Matter". "More than anything, Pablo’s Eye is a temporary atmosphere, like a taste or a dream…", well so say the sales notes, and if that's true, opener "Worship & Passion" is a Michelin starred appetizer, served at a restaraunt in purgatory. Celestial pads and poetic vocals seduce you with their heavenly charm, but that still doesn't shift the stainless steel anxiety that this could go the other way. "More Hestiant Than Before" seizes on this moment of uncertainty, applying the classic ambient combo of tremulous drone and stately strings but with an intensity far removed from your typical day spa. I'm a sucker for rhythm, and the rolling toms, propulsive bassline and ruthless breakbeat of "Different Observers" more than tickles my pickle, upping the energy before the moody and mystical ambience of "She Would Stand Alone" provides the party fear. Help arrives via the dramatic "He Closed His Eyes", an uplifting and esoteric composition adorned in hang drums and metallic textures, which strolls effortlessly into the paradisiac "When You Were Asleep", a triumphant combination of healing frequencies.
On the flipside, "L.A. Desert" takes a diversion into the ethno-ambient terrain of Laurie Anderson's "Mister Hearbreak", before the rainsoaked "She Told Him The News" harnesses the noir of Blade Runner. "Tamil Nadu" is trip hop in henna, while "A Pagan Use" exploits your inherent vertigo to pull you into its tower of song. Sparse studio dubbing and cinematic tones show us out on "Out Of The Corner Of Her Eye" and "Loisada Dub", bringing this most excellent and esoteric trilogy to an end.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Stroom bring their Pablo's Eye trilogy to a triumphant close this week with the deep musica of "Dark Matter". Whether exploring straight up ambience, cinematic interlude or propulsive trip hop, Axel Libeert's outfit always maintain their signature sound. Pro-Tip - save a fortune on therapy and listen to "When You Were Asleep" once a day.

Using an old door, 17 strings, chopsticks and combining them with phasers, echo units and amplification, the new device was to become his signature sound, mixing Irish folk influences with Asian and North African sounds in a mesmerising and soulful new way that brought him to the attention of the leading improvisers of his day - Alice Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Don Cherry and more.
A logical follow up to AllChival’s recent reissue of Stano's debut LP, Michael O’Shea’s self titled LP was originally released on Wire's Dome Imprint in 1982. The background to the album is as interesting and inspiring as the artist who created it - born in Northern Ireland but raised in the Republic, O’Shea was keen to travel and escape the troubles of his home. Wandering throughout Europe and the Middle East, O’Shea found himself living and working as a relief aid in Bangladesh in the mid Seventies where he learned to play sitar while recovering from a bout of hepatitis. A later period spent busking in France accompanied on zelochord by Algerian musician Kris Hosylan Harp led to O’Shea’s idea of combining both instruments as a homebuilt instrument - Mo Chara [Irish for "My Friend"].

He later described the process on the back of the LP himself saying:

"Having sold my sitar in Germany and being desperate for money to travel to Turkey, I conceived of the idea of combining both sitar and zelochord. The first Mo Cara was born, taken from the middle of a door, which was rescued from a skip in Munchen"

A combination of dulcimer, zelochord and sitar, O Shea would play it with a pair of chopsticks, striking the strings softly using Irish folk rhythms mixed with the rich, nostalgic sounds of of the many Asian artists he’d encountered on his travels. It was a pan cultural sound standing at an unusual crossroads of folk, traditional, rock, progressive, jazz, electronic and post-punk worlds without hesitation. 
Perfecting the instrument on the streets, there were further spells spent busking in the underground stations and cafes of London's West End and Covent Garden during the heady days of the 1970s when they were full of eccentric street entertainers, jazz improvisers and musical pioneers. His work with Rick Wakeman never saw the light of day but O’Shea’s contact with the world of post-punk London ensured his name would live on. Introduced to Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis via cartoonist Tom Johnston, O’Shea eventually acquiesced to an open invite to record at their studio. Turning up unannounced in the summer of 1981 the LP was recorded in a day in the legendary Blackwing Studios and released on Dome the year after.

The first side features the fifteen minute masterpiece "No Journeys End" with the B side featuring more input from Wire in processing the Mo Chara sound.
Lewis himself said years later of the forgotten masterpiece: “I always said it was the best job we ever did.”
After an aborted LP with The The's Matt Johnson the following year, O’Shea quietly disappeared from the formal recording world and his brief but unique contribution to the music world came to a sad end in 1991 when O’Shea was struck by a post van and died a few days later in hospital in London.
This repress on All City’s AllChival imprint has been remastered and reissued with the approval of both Dome and his surviving siblings.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Mind expanding tackle here from All City's Allchival wing, who raid the archives of Wire's Dome imprint to reissue Michael O'Shea's self titled masterwork. Operating in the street musician tradition of Laraaji, Space Lady and Moondog, incorporating the DIY experimentalism of post punk and exploring the avant-garde and esoteric end of the folk and jazz worlds, this LP will beguile, bemuse and bewitch you in equal measure.

Norwegian artist Tarjei Nygård first touched upon the ESP Institute spectrum in 2016 with a limited-edition red flexidisc of "Bleusa", which accompanied issue 21 of New York City’s acclaimed Love Injection fanzine. Since then, his poetic offerings have been a staple, for their ability to effectively dictate mood is second to none. Concentrating on the timeless aspects of melody and rhythm, Nygård's approach may sound obvious on paper, it's this deliberate approach to songwriting that brings his productions to life and gives them a unique sparkle.

"Bleusa" is dripping with fantasy and adventure with island pads, golden bent notes, even a cameo bird-call from the infamous acid house loon, yet Tarjei exhibits a mature level of restraint, a highly sophisticated grasp of emotion thats perfect for after hours luxury. "Forus Echo" furthers this notion but expands into full-blown ripples of ecstasy, coasting over soft-thumping percussion that mimics the human heart while smothering the listener with concentric waves of synth feedback. On Side B, Tarjei shifts to a strong rhythm dynamic, the demented "Lost In Lindos" is an aquatic breakbeat thats both deep and buoyant, a malleable tool that works at any BPM - not specifying particular references but skirting the ballpark of early turntablism. "Øylie" closes the EP with a familiar ESP prescription; we lie on our backs, finger-painting in the opium smoke above, feeling the warm embrace of collective consciousness while telepathically harmonizing plans for our utopian future.

Conceived in Bali as a club event to allow Phil Cooper and Indonesian DJ, Dea Barandana a chance to flex their rave potential and dig out those obscure, heavy dance floor cuts, Through Gods Own Eyes has been hosting sporadic parties for the last 3 years, with no specific musical boundaries - it is about the late night, early morning dance floor experiences, heads down and lost in music!
A label was also planned, but when that would happen was always unclear, however a chance meeting in Croatia at Love International Festival 2018 between Phil and Carlo Bragagnini AKA La Mano has led to the inaugural release, TGOE001 La Mano 'Tana del Lupo' EP.
The A-side brings us "Sirena", inspired by the classic Italo stable, a deep and driving intro that builds with a rolling, solid bass line, shimmering effects, gun fire handclaps and siren sounds before the piano line eases in to take it to a euphoric crescendo of soaring synths for maximum hands in the air vibes...
To add weight to the release, remixer options were discussed and both agreed on Man Power, whose rework takes the track to a very different place, adding a solid breakbeat to it, dirtying up the piano and extending the mix to 9+ minutes, this is HEAVY for the floor...
On the B-side "La Mano" is the ying to the yang of "Sirena", a much more progressive track, subtle in the arpeggio build up and layered to create a big sound culminating in a swirling series of dreamy chords and synth lines.
The "Ambiente" mix takes away the kick and percussion to allow the full dream like state to take effect, one for sunrises and sunsets across the globe...