Browse by Label: SPECTRAL SOUND

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	EP1
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 006EP

After taking a brief stint from Ghostly International/Spectral Sound to release material on Berlin's highly touted Perlon label (Jabberjaw) and Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 imprint (False), Matthew Dear returns with two sister EPs in the mode of sonic reveler. EP1 focuses on Dear's evolving flair for dancefloor compositions, molding his spare techno into a free-form collection of housey gems. Tracks like "Laguna Madre" threaten disco with filters and quirky bass, while still maintaining a flair for the obscure.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	EP2
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 007EP

EP2 finds Matthew taking his sound into a dimly-lit back alley and beating the stuffing out of it. Matthew returns from the dark, wielding 5 more dark strains of dancefloor havoc. This is deep, pulp techno; messy, steamed minimalism. The picture sleeves for EP1 and EP2 feature blinding white images of Dear in absent face, staring back from the black, straying from the normal Spectral stock image. These 2 EPs are pushing the doors of his obsession further.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	Leave Luck To Heaven
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 011CD

Matthew Dear (aka False and Jabberjaw) has made remarkable steps towards becoming one of America's best new techno artists in the past few years. Between his stunning live performances and evolved DJ sets, Matthew has perked the ears of the industry's best. His debut album under his birth name, Leave Luck To Heaven is an album which bucks the trend of the techno album as a fixed structure. Not a collection of 12" material or remixes, this is a tried and true artist album in every sense. With sleek, minimal techno lines, a pop sensibility and an ambient soul, Leave Luck To Heaven glides effortlessly from track to track, with enough charisma to open closed minds. Matthew's vocals, which appear in fragments on nearly every song, but as a complete, and almost pop-device on songs like "But For You," "It's Over Now," and the infectious first single, "Dog Days" shows a warmth and personality that transcends any pre-existing genre affiliations. Matthew's debut LP is one of the finest moments from the Ghostly/Spectral catalog to date. A stunning symbol of techno's immediate future.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	Anger Management/Future Never Again
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 013EP

Coming off his insanely popular album, Leave Luck to Heaven, Matthew Dear comes back to show his prowess as a devastating club producer. These two tracks (both not included on his album) are classic Dear burners. "Anger Management" is one of the biggest and baddest tracks ever to be released on Spectral/Ghostly. With a fierce bassline chug and seasick breakdown, the track has been championed by DJs like Ricardo Villalobos.

Artist:	JAMES T. COTTON
Title:	The Dancing Box
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 018CD

Tadd Mullinix, also known as Dabrye and SK-1 (of Soundmurderer and SK-1 on Rewind! Records), makes his first full statement under the James T. Cotton alias. Psychedelic in every sense of the word, The Dancing Box pays respects to classic Chicago acid and leftfield Detroit techno, but does so with its own force and verve. Mullinix has created a sonic maelstrom, at once vibrant and eerily troubling. The album is impressive as a listening experience top to bottom, the eerie sensation of slowly deepening grooves. The tracklisting varies in both feeling and style, from the ominous "Distant Trip," which feels like a late night drive on a deserted highway, to the blinding synths of the closing title track. The Dancing Box is a manic journey into the mind of a master musician.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	Backstroke
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 021CD

Matthew Dear returns with the mini-LP Backstroke, on which he expands his stylistic boundaries and solidifies his place as not only a master of micro-house, but also as a major force in experimental pop. On the Anger Management 12", Dear backed away from the mic, but Backstroke features vocals more prominently than ever. Dear infuses the music with stunning accessibility and depth, while more familiar elements of his otherworldly style are kneaded into a perfect mix. Also at the forefront are stronger inclinations for tunefulness and the avant-garde, as dark cacophonies of swirling, disembodied voices often give way to gorgeous melodies that carry the record along seamlessly.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Spectral Sound Vol. 1
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	2CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	SPC 025CD

CD1 contains exclusive and classic tracks appearing on compact disc for the first time; CD2 is a 33-track mix of the label's catalog by Matthew Dear's DJ partner Ryan Elliott. As Ghostly International's output became more cerebral, its complementary dancefloor-based label Spectral Sound has become its own entity, a fact well reflected by the sheer breadth and quality of the tracks collected for Spectral Sound Vol. 1. The 13 tracks on CD1 cover the whole of the label's existence, from progenitors like Osborne to newcomers such as Peter Grummich, with all the tracks appearing on CD for the first time. Spectral began as an outlet for DJ singles and EPs from then-unknowns like Matthew Dear, and over the years the catalog has grown to include 21 such releases, plus three highly-lauded albums. Dear's hit "Dog Days" appears here along with the previously-unreleased "Juice," a shimmering, staccato take on the sound he explored on the phenomenal Leave Luck To Heaven album. James T. Cotton's "T-Y-O-C Painkillers" offers a jacking beat and ominous build-up drenched in his signature analog sound. Other recent tracks from Geoff White and The Vanisher (aka Håkan Lidbo) are included, plus remix work from Reinhard Voigt and Isolée, making for an utterly essential collection of sleek tech-house, gorgeous minimal techno and outright jams. Also available is a 2LP version containing all the exclusives plus the vinyl-only Jeff Samuel track "Factoid."

Artist:	VA
Title:	State of the Union 2 EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 028EP

The second installment in the State Of The Union series offers a look at the current shape of underground techno in Montréal. Mainstay Deadbeat delivers a more upbeat and straightforward variation on his trademark dubscape sound with "Sleazy Skankin," while Mike Shannon builds "Blind Love" around a bubbling chord structure and jacking, clattering rhythm. The Mole bases "Date" on a swinging, scratching beat, carefully morphing it with the greatest of subtlety for a lush piece of minimalism.

Artist:	ANEURYSM, BRIAN
Title:	Das Element Des Menschen w/James T. Cotton Version
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 031EP

Austrian-born Texas resident Brian Aneurysm (aka Bernhard Pucher) has had nearly ten years' experience as a DJ, and his productions have appeared on labels such as Poker Flat, Sub-static and his own Iron Box imprint. "Das Element Des Menschen" is a churning mammoth of grimy devastation. Industrial influences permeate "Pucher," making for a surefire dancefloor destroyer. Includes a remix from acid techno producer James T. Cotton.

Artist:	GRUMMICH, PETER
Title:	The Roll
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 032EP

Peter Grummich follows his massive Spectral debut Searoom with The Roll, this time bringing a more prevalent sense of melody to his Berlin-influenced rhythms. "The Roll Pt. 1" carefully develops around a scissor-snipping beat and humming, boisterous synth line, slowly adding melodic flourishes and complex percussion arrangements that would be well at home in any European club. "The Roll Pt. 2" stomps and grits its teeth with variations on an infectious, buzzing synth theme.

Artist:	AUDION
Title:	Suckfish
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 033CD

Amidst the maelstrom of aliases adopted by Detroit's prodigious and prolific Matthew Dear, Audion is undoubtedly the grittiest -- a dark representation of Dear's id and a brain undone. The singles Kisses, The Pong, and Just Fucking have earned immense praise for their serrated approach to heavy 4/4 techno, bringing untamed synths and raucous beats into a devastating mélange. All three songs appear on the Suckfish full-length alongside eight other dancefloor burners that also work on the listening/psychedelic level, making for one of Dear's strongest and most distinctive releases to date. Alternately demonic and playful, much of Suckfish rides a wave of raw sexual energy, as on "Titty Fuck," which builds on a persistent pinprick melody, grimy oscillations and a massive, clacking beat. Elsewhere, the mumbling cinematics of "Weild" rise towards the domineering machinist blasts of "Taut," playing out like a high-strung psychological drama. With Suckfish, Matthew Dear frees the psychic energy from its social underpinnings and allows a new voice to prevail, permitting the music of his birth name to reach further into the electronic pop realms he carved out on 2003's widely-acclaimed Leave Luck To Heaven. By integrating the vital spirit of Detroit techno with a tangible sense of tension and release, Suckfish forges an indelible new path for heavy machine music.

Artist:	BODYCODE
Title:	The Conservation of Electric Charge
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 037CD

This is the first album from Lisbon, Portugal-based Alan Abrahams under the alias Bodycode. Abrahams has earned a lot of attention -- his releases as Portable have garnered near-universal acclaim for their deft fusion of tribal rhythms and a modern micro-house sensibility. As Bodycode, he focuses on the more dancefloor-oriented aspects of his style, yielding a gorgeous album born from the belief that the psyche can be unlocked via the body. Bodycode also came from necessity -- while on tour playing club dates, Abrahams was compelled to seek the most engaging sound for that environment. Remarkably adept at its task, Bodycode's mesmerizing percussive arrangements and subtle melodic flourishes create an immediately engaging sound that lingers in the mind long after the club has closed.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Death Is Nothing To Fear 1
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 040EP

2007 release. Spectral's first installment in the Death Is Nothing To Fear series mixes the established with the new and embraces the label's diverse, consistent output. Audion's "I Gave You Away" is a blistering 12 minutes of sprightly bass kicks and bubbly keypad melodies. On the flip, Sweden's Pär Grindvik steps up the pace with the playful "Casio," and Portugal's Bodycode weighs in with spooky keyboards and disembodied vocal samples on "Exciting Ride."

Artist:	GRINDVIK, PAR
Title:	Continuate
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 048EP

Pär Grindvik brings out his first release on Spectral, Continuate, a 12" treat in the tradition of great Nordic artistry. "Continue In My Words" may start off simple, but it's laced with a tantric-build, pushing subconsciously to the edge where kamikaze lemmings blend mid-air into an exasperated steam machine. Marcel Dettman and Ben Klock lay down a brutal remix that blasts and splits up, only to be reshaped into gestures that could replace the notion of melody altogether. Limited stock.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Death Is Nothing To Fear 3
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 049EP

The third installment of Spectral Sound's compilation series, focused on bringing forward new voices in the world of techno. Brought together by an equally brash and nuanced take on tonal manipulation, the four artists presented here -- Sami Koivikko, Seth Troxler, Kate Simko and 2AM/FM (James T. Cotton and D'Marc Cantu) -- contribute a vast understanding of the compilation's theme. What unfolds is a tough and modern ride through international techno and house.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Spectral Remixed
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 051EP

Spectral Remixed cherry picks Spectral Sound's best recent cuts, giving them a spit 'n polish, courtesy of a few of their favorite artists. Audion's minimal "Fred's Bells" gets a late-night rubdown by Onur Özer, filled with phantasmagorical vocals, libidinous bongos and handclaps. Barem mixes "She Said" by Kate Simko, sinking her synths deep into the pulsating depths of a bass bin. Finally, Daso receives a tune-up from Lucio Aquilina; who drives Daso's streamlined sports car along a careening railroad track.

Artist:	JAMES T. COTTON
Title:	Like No One
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	2LP
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	SPC 052LP

LP-only release. This is the second full-length release for Michigan's James T. Cotton (aka Tadd Mullinix, also known as Dabrye, JTC and SK-1) on the Spectral Sound label. James T. Cotton has been an integral part of the Spectral family since its origins, and after a string of successful releases on the Creme, Nation and UDEK labels, he returns with a confident new album that takes his dark techno paranoia into new realms. 2004's The Dancing Box LP was a powerful look into the mind of this creative producer -- tracks like "Press Your Body" and "The Drain" suggested a dystopian landscape, marrying Belgian new beat and acid into a classic melange. As part of a new wave of producers exploring the jackbeat sound, Cotton provides a re-understanding of classic house and techno rhythms, which steers clear of retro cheekiness. For Like No One, Cotton has paired up with scene luminary Traxx (as Saturn V), for the bouncing "Come Into My Life" and with his 2AM/FM counterpart, D'Marc Cantu, for the ecstatic "Sensational Rhythm." Cotton's solo ventures like "The Boxx" and "Got To Let You Know" are proof that Like No One plays like a document of the dance music moment, where genre falls away, and true energy and prowess thrive.

Artist:	OSBORNE
Title:	Ruling EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 053EP

Osborne is a Lego-sculpting, electron microscope-owning, Japanese speaking über-producer. He is, in fact, house music's MacGyver. Todd has been championed across the board by Gilles Peterson to Aphex Twin, from UR's Mad Mike to Warp's Flying Lotus. This 12" was written on his own music software on a hand-built computer, and is a testament to a life of walking the walk. Pure dancefloor-ready house that provides a taste of much more to come from this up-and-comer.

Artist:	OSBORNE
Title:	Osborne
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 054CD

Osborne is Todd Osborn, and this is his debut full-length release for the Spectral Sound label. Osborne is a celebration of all that is good in American house and techno music: past, present and future. This Lego-sculpting, electron microscope-owning, Japanese speaking über-producer puts the joy of life and the art of making into his music. Todd fixes and flies planes, has fabricated a video game kiosk out of hospital equipment, and is finishing his hovercraft as we write this. We could call him house music's MacGyver. Like a personal sketchbook of Todd's musical history, the album evokes the sensation of an electronic yesteryear, where dance music production was treated with a wide-eyed sense of discovery. The tracks "Ruling," "Outta Sight" and "Afrika" are strutting dance epics, but the album also shows a side of Todd that is geared more for the homefront too. Todd has been championed across the board from Gilles Peterson to Aphex Twin (he records as Soundmurderer for his Rephlex label), from UR's Mad Mike to Warp's Flying Lotus. This album, written on his own music software on a hand-built computer, is testament to a life of walking the walk.

Artist:	SIMKO, KATE
Title:	She Said EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 057EP

Kate Simko's first release with Spectral Sound is like the soundtrack to a techno-action movie. The shuddering bass line of the title track bounces off walls while slinky percussion keeps the tension in check. The synth swells. The alarm has been rung. Ryan Elliott chills the mood, creating a late-night version that keeps the original's insistence while augmenting its depth. "Soltera" sees our heroine escape, and housier textures prevail. An airy groove produces melody shrapnel, but all emerge victorious.

Artist:	DASO & PAWAS
Title:	Det
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 058EP

Slowly moving and turning, "Det" is the sonic equivalent to watching the ocean: great changes are constantly occurring. The title track is a subtle classic, marrying the most elegant points of house and techno into a sublime whole. Schatrax's remix adds a modernized house sound to the original, like a depth charge of bass to the ocean floor, where iridescent creatures emerge from the shadows. The propulsive "Brazil To Detroit" is an imaginary pathway through both grit and beauty.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Death Is Nothing To Fear 4
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 059EP

The Death Is Nothing To Fear train keeps rolling with four new cuts, from both Spectral mainstays and a few surprises. Alexi Delano delivers an amazing cut with Francisco Allendes -- a menacing affair, perfect to set the room ablaze. Kill (aka Kill Memory Crash) presents a pounding grinder of a tune with "France," bridging the gap between electro and techno. TNT deliver a brisk groove, and Daso's track is like the dusk, a slow ride into the sunset, moody and majestic.

Artist:	AUDION
Title:	Billy Says Go
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 060EP

Audion spawns Billy Says Go -- the title track of which is absolutely contagious. A track of considerable depth and suspense, its rotating beats are trademark Audion with an eerie choir that is like the angel of death perched at your bedroom window. "Snap Into It" lets logic go on auto-pilot with its assertive hypnosis. "Against All Odds" creeps up like a shadowed stranger. Before you reach your front door, it's all buzzsaw ripping through bone and sinew. Devastating.

Artist:	2 AM/FM
Title:	Electronic Justice
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 062EP

James T. Cotton and D'Marc Cantu saw off another thick slab of classic Chicago acid. "1MG" is a relentless Teutonic grind, tightly constructed yet engraved with subversive tweaks. "Werkin House" and "Static Vision" follow with the brooding squelch of a 303. And if these take us deep inside the darkest warehouse, then the title-track reveals the inner depths of the artists themselves. "Electronic Justice" is a rolling vocal creeper whose laser-beam pulses ebb and flow around a synthesized mantra. Limited stock.

Artist:	BROKER/DEALER
Title:	Soft Sell
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 063EP

Broker/Dealer's second release for Spectral sells itself softly -- at first. The title track's reverberated hisses and whispers oscillate in and out of the depths, echoing the metallic vibrato of copper under water. Then, the handclaps drop in, the subtle bass takes hold, and "Soft Sell" unfolds into a sophisticated scene-stealer. Thomas Fehlmann's re-rub sands down the track's edges, revealing an insistent stomper beneath undulating synth waves. "Save It For Later" focuses a prismatic lens on some deep minimal funk.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	Dog Days: The Robsoul Remixes
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 064EP

The Robsoul Remixes is a cross-continental project that mines the connections between Matthew Dear's precision techno-pop and the French label's expansive funk. DJ Sneak engineers "Dog Days" into an ebullient house romper. Robsoul boss Phil Weeks revives the unforgettable disco string sweeps of the original and stretches them tight against a crackling, frog-hiccup loop. Finally, Chris Carrier presents an upbeat, verdant minimal track, building micro-clips of bongo strikes and hi-hat hisses around seductive fades and vocal stutters.

Artist:	LAWRENCE
Title:	Divided
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 065EP

On the Divided 12", Peter Kersten (aka Lawrence) offers up three gorgeous shades of dance music. "Divided" is a classic -- a congas-and-trashcans gallop through melancholy fields of synthesizer. On "Forever Anna" the main theme goes through a series of rhythmic episodes, from its initial ecstatic pop 'n thwock to a spacey, half-time chug, to an ambient fake-out and back to rhythm. Finally, "Blow Up" pairs a horizon-scanning beat to some soul-stirring chord changes, melting and taking shape again.

Artist:	OSBORNE
Title:	Hovercrafting EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 068EP

One of Ghostly International's compilation standout tracks "Wait A Minute" by Osborne is back by popular demand. The extended mix has an irresistible Rhodes-based hook and ubiquitous talkbox which noodles into Arto Mwambe's remix, which squishes the track's exuberance into an understated slice of handclap-house. On "Fire," Osborne spins scratchy lite-funk guitars and violins into an elegantly-arranged disco number. "The Count" closes things out with fat 'n dirty techno tones that are decidedly of-the-moment.

Artist:	BODYCODE
Title:	What Did You Say (feat. Lerato)
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 071EP

Alan Abraham aka Bodycode presents a cut featuring the thick female voice of Lerato, which gradually mutates and floats off into space, revealing tight, jacking rhythms and romantic dancefloor universalism. An exclusive dub version of the Immune album cut, "Imitation Lover" deepens the scope with an ever-ascending organ line and a swarm of microscopic percussion pin-pricks. Baby Ford remixes the title track down to a crawl and beefs up the bass, so it feels like walking underwater.

Artist:	BODYCODE
Title:	Immune
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 072CD

This is the second full length release by Alan Abrahams as Bodycode for Spectral Sound. Differing from his output as Portable, these tracks have itchy feet and busy brains, chugging along at a brisk clip while cramming in enough rhythmic detail to make one's head spin. Alan grew up in post-Apartheid South Africa, where polyrhythmic percussion first entered his bloodstream; he then lived in Portugal for years, sweating it out in Lisbon's club scene while absorbing the sounds of electronic dance music and releasing tracks via numerous aliases. Three years after releasing 2006's The Conservation of Electric Charge (SPC 037CD/LP) on Spectral Sound, the man known as Bodycode moved from Lisbon to Berlin. Now, Teutonic house music's taut, jacking rhythms form the core of Immune. The album opens with the super-sub-bass pulse and cool atmospherics of "Meaning And Memory," a track which already sounds worlds away from Conservation's tech-y clicks 'n cuts. Following that track's sleek efficiency is "Hyperlight," a galloping, end-over-end beat chasing endlessly after an elusive vocal sample that always seems one step ahead of the kick drum. Vocal samples humanize Immune's technological edge, providing heavy-lidded narration on lead single "What Did You Say" and lending the click-clacking "Imitation Lover" an old-school diva charm. Immune's closing moments are some of its loveliest, as the title track dresses up its drum-machine beat in chillingly distant piano chords and some low-slung gospel harmonies. Fittingly, Bodycode's biggest musical step forward features a chorus of baritones aptly warbling, "Nothing in this world is immune from change."

Artist:	SIMKO, KATE
Title:	Take You There
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 073EP

The Take You There EP is full of immaculately-arranged dance music. The title track rides a stark, three-beat kick hook with jaunty tambourines, tingly synth-swells, disco claps, and Brenda D's breathy, reverbed vocals. "Down Beat" takes its title to heart, draping a deep, jazzy rhythm in melancholy keyboard pads. Bruno Pronsato's remix sucks out much of the song's low-end, to fascinating effect. Lastly, "Margie's Groove" is already a favorite of DJs including Guy Gerber, Jamie Jones, Shonky and Dyed Soundorom.

Artist:	TROXLER, SETH
Title:	Panic, Stop. Repeat!
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 075EP

Seth Troxler's Panic, Stop. Repeat! EP brings together all facets of the young Berlin-via-Detroit producer's notoriously brilliant/bizarre persona, offering sweaty, ecstatic dance music with a dirty mind and a heart of gold. As a leathery kick drum and a wickedly simple two-note bassline keep the pace, the title track rolls along like a freight train with a loose screw. Troxler melds minds with Matthew Dear on the collaborative "Hurt," a sexy beast of a track featuring Dear's terrifyingly deep spoken-word musings. Rounding out the EP is Paco Osuna's exhilarating remix.

Artist:	AUDION
Title:	It's Full Of Blinding Light
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 077EP

Audion (Matthew Dear) releases some sneak-peak tracks that are deeper and darker than ever before, while maintaining an irresistible, lose-your-mind edge. The title track is a polyrhythmic mishmash of clicks, clacks, and distant children's voices until a fleet of synthesizers produces waves of electronic noise. "Jukebox Hero" features soulful 808 claps while a pack of unruly computers lose their shit in the background. "On My Way To The Center" is menacing, honing its beef-slap kickdrum into a deadly weapon.

Artist:	JABBERJAW
Title:	The Garden Of Eden
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 078EP

Matthew Dear's second release as Jabberjaw (and his first for Spectral Sound) displays minimal textures and unique primal repetition. The first track starts with a gently-scuffed kick drum accompanied by some odd sounds, from a glass harmonica to a monster with the hiccups. "The Connie Shake" is a shaggy take on soul, featuring some jazzy keys and a police siren. "Safety Flirt" drips squelches and snare into the spaces within a slinky micro-beat -- a hissing serpent of a track.

Artist:	CURTISS, LEE
Title:	The Black Door EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 079EP

Detroit's Lee Curtiss presents The Black Door EP. "Black Door Beauty" starts with a touch of Chicago futurism, spinning congas, staccato vocal samples, and a swift dusting of hi-hats into a house anthem with psychedelic undertones. Dyed Soundorom's remix minimizes the sub-bass thump and plays up the track's oddball trappings with creaking hinges, neurotic synthesizers, and a chorus of tittering laughter. "Smoking Mirrors" features clouds of melting organ tones and busy polyrhythms as a sturdy bass-line cuts through the haze.

Artist:	AUDION
Title:	Push/I Am The Car
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 083X-EP

Presenting a limited white label release by Audion (Matthew Dear). While many of Audion's previous singles showcase an obsession with restraint, "Push" runs in the opposite direction, with chugging rhythms, buoyant blips of keyboard, room-swallowing low-end, and waves of ecstatic climax. "I Am The Car" features reverb-submerged bass, microscopic electronic rhumba, and tendrils of dubby, spider-fingered melody. But its slow development is a long con, as Dear's pitch-black production grows more sinister and sexy with each passing minute.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Document Pt. 1
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 086EP

Document Pt. 1 is the first in a series of 12"s highlighting the established and new breed of talented artists from the Spectral Sound roster. This 12" is all about funky grooves built inside high-quality production. Martinez's remix of Seth Troxler features a rumbling bass sound, staying true to the original. Ryan Crosson presents something a little more funky than past efforts, and Lee Curtiss brings a sensual, slim groove that feels like a smooth ride down Detroit city streets.

Artist:	MIZRAHI, GADI
Title:	I Can Never Get Enough EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 087EP

This is one-half of NYC's infamous Wolf+Lamb duo Gadi Mizrahi's first EP. The title track features a languorous, supple pulse, with a surprising degree of musicality and complexity. The nominal disco of "She Don't" doesn't just reward frequent listens, it demands it. "Oh Love" turns up the heat with a brisk, fluid funk, with a fantastically WTF vocal drop. "She Don't" is remixed by Lowtec, who teases out the suppressed tension of the original into sprawling, minimal house horizons.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Document
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 088CD

When Ghostly International spawned the Spectral Sound imprint nearly a decade ago, Sam Valenti and Matthew Dear conceived the label as the dark, dancefloor-oriented alter-ego of Ghostly's eclectic, album-based sound -- a home for, as Matthew Dear calls it, body music for the mind. Now run by Spectral producer/DJ Ryan Elliott alongside co-founder Dear, the label has solidified its image as Ghostly's leaner, meaner brother. Which brings us to the Elliott-curated Document compilation: it's a calling card, the Detroit-bred Berliner explains, a battle flag carried into a new decade. Document, in other words, is the ultimate Spectral Sound manifesto, mingling Spectral's old guard (Audion, Hieroglyphic Being, James T. Cotton) with new blood (Kate Simko, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss) and a few artists who straddle both worlds (Lawrence, Bodycode with Lerato). An overall aesthetic is hard to describe, but the Spectral vision lurks in the music's details: the way the bass-line ricochets between the crackling snares of Lawrence's "Divided" (Kassem Mosse Remix) like a pinball; the skyline-spanning groove of Ryan Crosson's "Don't Look Further"; and the thoughtful organ that hums below the record-closing "She Only Looks At You" by newcomer Gadi Mizrahi. Document captures Spectral Sound circa 2010, at a peak in the label's almost decade-long evolution. And although Spectral Sound's sonic footprint is forever in flux, its mission has been the same since day one: to provide uncompromising, forward-thinking, dancefloor-oriented music that's relevant and cutting-edge on a global scale that also reflects their Midwestern roots. As a compilation of all things Spectral, Document does just that. Other artists include Mike Parker and Martinez.

Artist:	BIRDS & SOULS
Title:	Birds & Souls
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 091EP

Spectral Sound presents the debut from Birds & Souls. "Birds & Souls" is an exuberant track, charting a journey from giddy, congas-and-claves house to synth-drenched space disco to ecstatic arpeggiated bliss and back again. The "Birds & Souls (Birds & Beats Version)" indulges the track's cosmic side, emphasizing repetition, atmosphere, and chanting backing vocals; while "Birds & Souls (Runaway's Mountain & Ground Remix)" sees the Brooklyn-based DJ/producers and DFA alumni drag "Birds & Souls" into the dank, half-lit gloom of a sweaty basement party.

Artist:	JAMES T. COTTON
Title:	On Time
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 093EP

Tadd Mullinix aka James T. Cotton storms back with On Time. "On Time" features tight jacks and bouncing bass before a male voice begins an endless mantra for more than eight minutes. "Octopus" mines Drexciya territory with gritty analog synths and washes of static. "On Time (Rick Wade's Grimetime Remix)" is a nocturnal house reinvention of the original. "Jak Your Own Stars" builds slowly with rubberband bass, cowbells, and a bleepy melody till some nasty drums toy with the funk.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Document Pt. 3
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 097EP

The final installment of Spectral Sound's Document 12" series offers four cuts from their Ryan Elliott-curated label comp. Kassem Mosse's remix of Lawrence's "Divided" is a tight slow-burner, fitting its ricky-ticky hi-hats and sharp-edged snares together like cogs in a Swiss watch. Heiroglyphic Being's "Got No Place to Go" traffics in humid ambience and smoggy gestures, Gadi Mizrahi's "She Only Looks At You" hints at Krautrock and tech-house, and Kate Simko's "Zhivago" plays ping-pong with a bucket of electronic toms.

Artist:	BENOIT & SERGIO
Title:	Midnight People
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 098EP

Benoit & Sergio construct dusky, romantic spaces in which dance and pop music conspire in hushed tones. Midnight People, the Washington, DC duo's first single on Spectral Sound, is a noir anthem for heartbroken hedonists, a tech-house ode to furtive glances and bad decisions. Handclaps and pianos, melodramatic synthesizers and wafer-thin vocal samples push the beat along, but it's the tracks' air of desperation and psychedelic dread that makes Midnight People such a reality-defying listen. Includes two careening techno remixes by Technasia.

Artist:	MARK E
Title:	Stone Breaker
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SPC 103CD

This is the debut album by prolific UK music producer Mark E. The album format doesn't lend itself to four-on-the-floor electronic dance music. There's no recreation of the seamless, intoxicating thrill one finds in a night out dancing, and less savvy folk might find the idea of listening to an hour's worth of repetitive, 7-minute+, machine music to be, frankly, boring. But they probably haven't listened to Mark E's Stone Breaker, which is riveting in its primal simplicity. From the opening, gut-punching kick drums of "Archway" through the ecstatic triplets of closer "The Day," Stone Breaker means business. It's a record of pace and determination, full of classic house touchstones and steady, almost militant tempos, a reminder that electronic dance music is supposed to be forceful, if not altogether mean. Not once does it break its step or err from its course -- it owns you, your body, and your mind from beginning to end. Of course, it wasn't supposed to be an album. When Wolverhampton-reared, Birmingham-based Mark found himself with some free time in mid-2010, he hit a stride in his productions, and an assortment of tracks that could have easily wound up on various 12"s started to pile up. Almost by accident, Stone Breaker came into existence, full of confident, darkroom house that owes as much to Chicago as it does to the cosmos. Percussion-wise, there's not much diversity here, but that's really the point: bombarding your inner cranium with hypnotic, earthquaking acid loops, their hi-hats and snares sounding more like weaponry than musical instruments. But, there's also plenty of warmth -- buoyant, spine-tickling jazz chords, floaty, staring-at-the sun disco dances and static-y, soul-drenched curveballs, all of which elevate Stone Breaker from a great set of DJ tracks to a great set of tracks for anyone, anywhere.

Artist:	MARK E
Title:	The Day
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 105EP

Pitching things down to a basement lounge floor crawl, the Midlands DJ/producer Mark E wraps his always-chugging kicks and snares in serpentine synth-bass, jazzy, tripleted hi-hats, and moaning, wordless soul vocals. "Special FX" will have sample hounds -- particularly those with a thing for classic electro-pop -- salivating. Prins Thomas shows up on the flip for an 11-minute revamp of "The Day," ending up with something that could have emanated from a Camaro at some point in the early '70s.

Artist:	ELLIOTT, RYAN
Title:	Kicking Up
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 106EP

Ryan Elliott charges out of the gates with his first Spectral production, Kicking Up. Deep bass and snares hurtle ever forward, assisted by occasional, faint sonic flourishes and a bevy of throwback vocal loops, but is otherwise devoid of sustained melody. The "STABLO No. Remix" dials back the tech and pushes its house to the fore. Shakers, claps, echo and a whole lot of lateral motion imbues Elliott's take-no-prisoners original with a surprising conviviality.

Artist:	MARK E
Title:	Oranges
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 107EP

The magic of classic house music has always been in the way it finds a soul in the machine, the warm organic sounds from cold circuitry. And tracks don't come much warmer or more organic than "Oranges," a glorious eight-minute slow-burner that's the second single from Mark E's 2011 release Stone Breaker (SPC 103CD/LP). The "Space Dub" version on the flipside is a Lindstrøm-esque reworking that transports the track through space on a wash of lambent fuzz-toned synths.

Artist:	SUBB-AN
Title:	Take You Back
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 108EP

Subb-An blesses Spectral Sound with another breathtaking tech-house monster. "Take You Back" features an uptempo, swinging bassline that is soon met with claps, utterances from Beckford the vocalist, metallic synth washes, snares and echo effects. The flip side finds Spectral stalwart Ryan Elliott's remix subverting the sweat and sex of the original by uncoiling "Take You Back" into minimal techno territory. Beats rush by as Beckford's once-soulful vocals are spliced and backtracked into mesmerizing, abstract tone poems.

Artist:	DEAR, MATTHEW
Title:	Fighting is Futile Remixes
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 111EP

Matthew Dear breaks out a roll-call of remixers for Fighting is Futile, the third single off his album Beams. The single comes accompanied by four remixes, each holding a mirror to the original and refracting it into a surfeit of fascinating new forms. Seth Troxler's mix builds into a strange, dream-like journey. KiNK places the highlight firmly on the track's bottom-end, Benoit & Sergio launch the track into a spaced-out interzone of echo-laden vocals and synths and the Laid Back remix drops the tempo.

Artist:	FORT ROMEAU
Title:	SW9
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 112EP

London-based producer Mike Norris aka Fort Romeau makes his Spectral Sound debut. It's a warm and affectionate take on the sound of Chicago house, mixing thick analog pad sounds with a 4/4 kick that's insistent without ever being overpowering, skittering hi-hats and a beautifully uplifting vocal sample. It comes backed with "Love (Dub)," which dials down the drums and steeps the track in rich analog sounds; and a remix courtesy of Jens Kuhn aka Lowtec, who cuts the bass and accentuates the track's lo-fi aspects.

Previous Page Index of Labels Next Page

Artist:	GRAHAM, KENNETH
Title:	Carrier Wave
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 002EP

Artist:	VA
Title:	State Of The Union EP
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 005EP

Artist:	OSBORNE/ISOLEE
Title:	Daylight
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 008EP

Artist:	HIEROGLYPHIC BEING
Title:	Machines For Lovers
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 012EP

Artist:	WHITE, GEOFF
Title:	Ince
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 019EP

Artist:	VANISHER, THE
Title:	The Tic-Tac Tactic
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 022EP

Artist:	KOIVIKKO, SAMI
Title:	Pääjääsä
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 041EP

Artist:	VA
Title:	Document Pt. 2
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SPC 092EP

Artist:	BREITBARTH/BODYCODE, RENE
Title:	Spectral Sound Presents No. 1
Label:	SPECTRAL SOUND
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SSP 001EP