Arriving on Crosstown Rebels is ‘Portrait of the Obscure’, the stunning new album from Oceanvs Orientalis. Following three superb singles on the label across the past four months, the nine-track LP offers a comprehensive exploration of the Instanbul-based talent’s rich, globally-infused and captivating sound.

Safak Oz Kutle, known as Oceanvs Orientalis, is a producer and live performer based in Istanbul. His musical style intricately weaves together diverse sonic tapestries of wide-spanning genres and cultures, and through his creative fusion of these influences, he crafts an immersive world that takes you far away from the usual club music references.

The nine-track LP project features a showcase of solo and collaborative material alongside close friends such as Tooker, Idil Mese and Tilahun Gessesse, delivering a journey into the creative mind of one of
the scene’s most intriguing talents.

The bold and riveting project kicks off with the captivating synthscapes, fluttering strings and plucked bass of the gorgeous ‘Pulse Antique’, before ‘Ministry Of Midnight’ cuts loose on more jumbled rhythms and intricate organic lines warmed with wordless vocals. Next up are two of the lead
singles - the tense and intricate house sonics of ‘Neutrality’ and the haunting atmospheres and ethereal synth lines of ‘IL Lupo’ featuring Tooker, while ‘Conritmo’ continues to bring exotic new string sounds, leftfield melodies and warped bass to this most vibrant exploration of candle-lit house sounds. ‘Soul of Calypso’ blisses out on far-sighted cosmic chords with sonorous bells and late-night spoken word musings that add all-new character to the innovative grooves. Then comes the laid-back, jazz-infused house of ‘Heart Pieces’ feat. Idil Mese, a deep and jazzy jungle shuffler in ‘Mercury’ and the playful horns and lumpy, dub-wise swagger of ‘Lanchi Biye’.

An album project encompassing its title perfectly, ‘Portrait of the Obscure’ is just that - a magnificent snapshot of the unique musical mind of Oceanvs Orientalis.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Pulse Antique 
A2. Ministry Of Midnight 
B1. Neutrality 
B2. Il Lupo Ft. Tooker 
C1. Contrimo 
C2. Soul Of Calypso 
D1. Heart Pieces Ft. Idil Mese 
D2. Mercury 
D3. Lanchi Biye Ft. Tilahun Gessesse 

Tibi Dabo returns with ‘Overture’, from his forthcoming Crosstown Rebels album, with remixes from Map.ache and Aline Umber.

A label favourite having dropped his ‘Isla’ EP on Crosstown Rebels back in 2022, ahead of his much-anticipated debut LP comes this third superb taster from it. The superb ‘Overture’ is an eight-minute gem with super smooth percussion and elastic grooves, with wispy sci-fi chords and gentle synth modulations. It’s full of future feels and catchy drum funk that is sophisticated and smartly detailed with chopped-up vocal fragments.

First to remix is Leipzig’s Map.ache, co-founder of Kann Records and member of the Giegling family. His take builds with fatter drums that are just as infectious, while rippling synth loops weave in and out as flashy basslines cut loose and balmy pads add extra cosmic absence to a hypnotic mix of the heady and the physical.

Aline Umber, a collaborative live project from French composers, producers and DJs Aline Brooklyn and Aman Umber, are second to remix. They run the Airfunk label and are no stranger to playing cult spots like Rex Club in Paris. Their ‘23% Eventide’ mix is a blissed-out and synth-laced trip with subtle, smeared chords and starry-eyed keys that have you gazing off into the distance as you get lost in the warm drums.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Techy excellence from this Barcelona-born upstart, otherwise known as DJ Max Guardans. Deeply grooving, with beautifully weighted bass; a proper deep house sound system rumbler. Full marks from me!

TRACK LISTING

A. Overture
B1. Overture (Map.ache Remix)
B2. Overture (Aline Umber '23% Eventide Mix') 

Electronic duo Pale Blue returns to Crosstown Rebels with their long-awaited sophomore album ‘Maria’, revealing a spellbinding eight-track trip across electronic spheres.

After forming their critically acclaimed Pale Blue project with their debut album ‘The Past We Leave Behind’ in 2015, Mike Simonetti (Italians Do It Better) and Elizabeth Wight (Silver Hands) have only furthered intrigue and interest in the years since, uniting for a series of expansive EPs on Simonetti’s own 2MR imprint exploring dancefloor-focused acid through to gripping electronica. Having already offered a first look and preview into their long-awaited album return via three singles on the label, with remixes provided by DJ Tennis, Kölsch, Fort Romeau and Perel, mid-May sees Simonetti, and Wight finally reveal their sophomore album ‘Maria’ on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels - offering a uniquely raw yet seamlessly polished trip into their idiosyncratic world.

“‘Maria’ is an album of love songs - the good, the bad, and the ugly… The album is written entirely in Elizabeth’s voice. These are all her words - her thoughts, based on her personal experience. When writing this record I took inspiration from classic rock LP sequencing, and tried to dial in on a coherent concept, a natural flow. Although these are clearly techno tracks, one would argue they have more in common with rock music than dance music. I wanted to try make something a little different, verse/chorus/verse tracks but still heavy enough for the club, full of melody and emotion… poppy but not THAT kind of poppy. Pale Blue has been known to take on political subject matter in the past, but the politics of love is something we can all relate to.” - Mike Simonetti.

Opening with the slow-blooming and beautifully crafted dreamlike melodies of the aptly titled ‘Spells’, the eight-track long-player navigates and traverses the broader realms of electronica through to lighter pop-influenced touches and sonics for an absorbing and compelling dive. ‘Dive’, the first single from the project, provides a hazy but resonant web of polyrhythms and textures guided by Wight’s captivating vocals, while ‘Laura’ reaches for sparkling leads synths amongst sweeping tones and moments of bliss. Offering up change to the aesthetic ‘Ice Is Falling’ is a stripped-back and haunting production as Wight’s vocals carry eerie tones and pockets of space for a hair-raising effort.

The second half of the project welcomes second and third singles ‘No Words’ and ‘Together Alone’, with the playful tones of the former complementing the wistful and floaty soundscapes of the latter for two tracks to keep listeners in a trance. Closing out the package, ‘The New Year’ is a delightfully worked pop-leaning gem built on electronic foundations with a slinking acid-tinged bassline snaking through the mix, before shaping things up with the anthemic and rosy glow of final track ‘The Last Song’.

Further emphasising Simonetti and Wight’s innate connection and bond when creating and crafting music, ‘Maria’ is an exemplary display of the two at their best across a collection of eight productions straddling the electronic-pop border with poise and aplomb.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Spells 
A2. Dive 
B1. Laura 
B2. Ice Is Falling 
C1. No Words 
C2. The New Year
D1. Together Alone 
D2. The Last Song 

After the phenomenal Acid Pauli 'Get Lost V' album, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has mixed the next in the DJ mix series, 'Get Lost VI'. TEED delivers a fantastic sonic collage over a double CD, including a new exclusive track by TEED and Eats Everything. Programed over two CDs (or unmixed double vinyl) the first CD features the more eclectic side of Orlando’s DJ style whilst CD2 is more club orientated DJ mix.

The album is full of rare and illusive sonic nuggets that have been lovingly compiled here by TEED including Richard H. Kirk, Kenny Glasgow and Kevin Harrison all on vinyl for the first time ever! A great compilation including the esoteric gems ‘Honey Drips’ by fLako, ground-breaking early 80s German electronica from Deutsche Wertarbeit, seminal British bleep from LFO, Japan exoticism from Asa Chang and Junray floor-filling barnstormers from Italy’s Visnadi and Detroit’s DJ Bone, along with the piano anthems from Future Four and Separate Minds. Quite simply an essential package!

TRACK LISTING

CD1:
1. Flako – Honey Drips
2. Keith Harrison – All Night Long
3. Valentina – Wolves (Roman Flugel Remix)
4. Alex Bowman - Kilnsman
5. Jorge Velez - Floo
6. Christophe – Comeback (Casino Times Remix)
7. Matthias Zimmerman - Vicente
8. Dave Aju - Anyway
9. Millennium - ICU
10. Kenny Glasgow Dance 2 Da House
11. Traumprinz - Eachstep
12. Pitto – Mono Desire
13. Gold Panda – Burnt Out Car In A Forest
14. LFO – Track 4
15. Albinos - Bakatribe
16. Asa-Chang & Junray- Hana

CD2
1. Deutsche Wertarbeit – Auf Engelsfluegeln
2. Underground Resistance – Base Alpha 808
3. Richard H. Kirk – I Want More
4. Visnadi – Hunt’s Up
5. Trus’me – It’s Slow
6. Breach & Dark Sky – The Click
7. Eats Everything & TEED – Lion, The Lion
8. Tiga – Plush (Ame Remix)
9. DJ Bone – Thursday Night
10. Future Four – Into Orbit
11. Jamie Jones – Tonight In Tokyo (Breach Remix)
12. Subb-an & Tom Trago Ft. Seth Troxler - Time
13. Bernard Badie – Time Reveals
14. Hayden Andre Project – Tribal Life
15. Mathew Jonson – Automaton
16. Separate Minds – Troubled World

LP Tracklisting:


A1. Flako - Honey Drips
A2. Kevin Harrison - All Night Long
B1. Jorge Velez - Floo
B2. Kenny Glasgow - Dance 2 Da House
C1. LFO - Track Four
C2. Asa Chang & Junray - Hana
D1. Deutsche Wertarbeit - Auf Engelsflugeln
D2. Richard H Kirk - I Want More
E1. Visnadi - Hunt's Up
E2. DJ Bone - Thursday Night
F1. Future Four - Into Orbit
F2. Seperate Minds - Troubled World