New Releases for May 2008

Index of New Releases for May 2008

FAMILY VINEYARD

Artist:	LICHT & AKI ONDA, ALAN
Title:	Everydays
Label:	FAMILY VINEYARD
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	FV 058CD

"Debut collaboration of New York artists and long-time duo partners Alan Licht & Aki Onda, whose combined history connects artists straddling the pop and experimental worlds, including Fennesz, Loren Connors, Takemura Nobukazu, Lee Ranaldo, and Toriko Nujiko. In the past decade their montage-inspired solo work -- Licht's permutational guitar and tape pieces on Rabbi Sky and A New York Minute, Onda's field recording recontextualizations on Bon Voyage! and Ancient & Modern -- has co-existed with their experimental sound/visual projects Text of Light (Licht) and Cinemage (Onda). Everydays is five grandly formed soundscapes that mix Onda's poetic/textural cassette sounds and the rhythmic/lyrical pull of Licht's guitar. Morphing from recognizable structures to dissonant hammered chunks and rapid cut-ups, the album perfectly weaves their signature applications of sound diaries, minimalism, grainy fidelity, looping and free blues into a dynamic and ambitious statement."

FEAR OF FLYING (UK)

Artist:	LEIF
Title:	A Place For Everything and Everything In Its Place
Label:	FEAR OF FLYING (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FOF 008EP

"Welsh wunderkid Leif returns to Fear of Flying after his much played Commonplace EP from last year with another beautifully paced EP of super sweet minimal house music. 'Squally Showers' kicks proceedings off with solid house kicks before dropping into a beautiful, melancholy melody which gives the track its main hook. Dutch good 'uns Polder kindly give 'Squally Showers' a bit of a tech-house dust down, giving it more drive and keeping the groove more constant to ratchet to up to PEAK TIME level. We think you'll be hearing this quite a bit. Flip the script for 'OHNH,' a track Steve Bug says is 'right up my road.' We're talking fine minimal house beats, we're talking warm grooves, we're talking -- well, enough talking, just listen. And finally 'Everywhere I Go I Meet Myself' -- smooth deep beats, wrapped b-lines and some Gregorian chanting -- what else could you need? We may be biased, but we reckon this is Leif's best yet -- suck it and see."

FIRECRACKER RECORDINGS (SCOTLAND)

Artist:	LINKWOOD FAMILY
Title:	Miles Away
Label:	FIRECRACKER RECORDINGS (SCOTLAND)
Format:	10"
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	FIREC 001EP

"Finally a re-issue of the legendary 1st Firecracker EP on 10" format. Nearly 3 years since its first exclusive appearance in London's Vinyl Junkies, this elusive record (only 500 were pressed) has picked up a huge cult following including Derrick May, Moodymann, Theo Parrish, DJ Spinna, Danny Krivit, Osunlade, Mike Clark, Mike Grant, Carl Craig, Ron Trent, Stacey Pullen, JazzySport djs, Joe Claussell, Jazzanova, Shelter DJs and many more. In recent months, it has been seen on eBay and Discogs for over $60.00! A true collector's piece! The record holds 3 killer Detroit influenced soul grooves, once again, these tracks come lovingly packaged (using only lithographic printing processes) with this official re-issue being pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl. Strictly limited."

FORTUNE8 (UK)

Artist:	SOULTEK
Title:	Clouds Overhead
Label:	FORTUNE8 (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	888 009EP

Steve Hitchell is one-half of Deepchord's Echospace project, the man behind the Echospace imprint, and noted producer in his own right under the Soultek moniker. Clouds Overhead finds a more sugar-coated equilibrium between the dense constructions of Echospace and the welcoming melodic structures of classic electronic music from the mid-to-late 1990s. Hitchell makes the kind of instrumental music that tugs at the heartstrings without ever resorting to sappy ingredients. Weighty dancefloor material and gorgeous stuff -- strictly limited copies!

Artist:	SOULTEK
Title:	Dreaming Under A Starlit Sky
Label:	FORTUNE8 (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	888 010EP

Steve Hitchell returns with a second 12" for Fortune8. His love of Detroit techno is apparent on the shimmering title track, a vintage Motor City session in 4/4 that brings to mind classic Carl Craig or even Stasis. "Elektrikcity" has a more Chicago house vibe to it, though Hitchell's signature pads also make a swift appearance. "Forever Feeling" is another Detroit standard, the synth progressions acting as melody and bass line -- the kind of musical conceit we just adore.

Artist:	CV313
Title:	Affiniti
Label:	FORTUNE8 (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	888 013EP

Rumors abound about CV313, their connection to the Echospace camp adding much fuel to the fire about just who it might be behind the controls. Following on from their Dimensional Space 12", Affiniti is a more progressive beast, with "Galaxy 313" situating itself between Convextion's low-end reductions, Rod Modell's stretched chords and Carl Finlow's electroid variations. "Oceans" delivers a beatless coda that's like Echospace's The Coldest Season, while "Affiniti" is a more direct dancefloor missive, with one-note bass hits and synthetic effects.

FRANKIE RECORDS (FRANCE)

Artist:	CAPRIATI, JOSEPH
Title:	Farlocco EP
Label:	FRANKIE RECORDS (FRANCE)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FRANKIE 032EP

"Here we go with the awaited Farlocco EP by Joseph Capriati, who delivers here 4 funky tech-house tracks with powerful and exciting beats in a pure Joseph style quickly recognizable. On A1. 'Farlocco combines deep synth and exciting rhythmics. A2. 'Highest Tower' with incisive drums and mental subtle melodies. On the flip, B1. 'Para Scaramantia' combines cut voices and heady bleepy sounds. And finally B2. 'Cyprinus Carpio' in a more melancholic atmosphere composed by a few melodics, high bells and lil acid bleeps."

FREAK N' CHIC (FRANCE)

Artist:	SHONKY
Title:	Time Zero
Label:	FREAK N' CHIC (FRANCE)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	FNC 002CD

This is the debut full-length release from Shonky (Olivier Ducreux). Honing his taste within the Parisian dance scene via Dan Ghenacia's infamous Sunday "Kwality" Batofar parties, and 12"s on labels such as Mobilee, Resopal Red and Sub Static, Shonky now lives and DJs in Berlin. As Shonky himself describes, "Time Zero is kind of techno/hypno, with many roots coming from Detroit techno and San Francisco psychedelic house; always super hypnotic. Ultimately, I did what I do the best: danceable tracks." The title track opens Shonky's space-travel with spiraling effects and a repeat-repeat vocal that heightens the psychedelic vibe. The airy chimes of "Nebula" evoke the questing spirit of Detroit and bring in a breath of Kraftwerk a la Tour De France. "Ringside With Dione" slows down the beat to push up the intensity; turning out late night music with dubby, shooting stabs that turn your mind inside out. The obvious titular nod to acid house classic "Voodoo Ray" is reflected in the warm, burnished tribal-tech of "Cosmic Ray." He returns to psychedelic techno with stand-out cut "Galactica," a tune whose dense atmospherics, backdrop of wolf-like wails and clever use of a female vocal would make the Belleville Three proud. Beckoning you ever further into the cosmos, "Ellipse" matches horn licks to gently rattling percussion as the main melody seems to come floating in from outer space; its shimmering, progressive synths peaking and peaking. "Ondulation" hypnotizes with shimmering waves of acid and gleaming synth lines. There is more classic, intricate Detroit styling up his sleeve on "Odyssey," a clean cut tune rippling with sharp metallic synths and an eerie radio-signals-from-space motif, which tempts you to follow the sound into another dimension. Sexy, dubby, hip-jackin' musical movements rule the intro on "Magma," moving into a deeper, more atmospheric space. Finally, the track "Minor Planets" embraces pure techno with its lush washing synths and crystalline beats. This is not a first class debut. It's a first class album, full stop.

Artist:	COLLINS, ANTHONY
Title:	Rabouine House EP
Label:	FREAK N' CHIC (FRANCE)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	FNC 028EP

DJ/producer Anthony Collins is a rising star on the French house and techno scene with his mix of deep house, house, minimal and deep tech. "Rabouine House" is heavy on the percussion and bass, with a Spanish guitar interlude and Italian/Turkish chanting vocals throughout. Pure rhythm and groove. Mikael Stav�strand's mix takes it slower and darker, working dubbed-out percussion and in-and-out vocal clips for a slightly horizontal effect.

FREEDOM TO SPEND

Artist:	BULBS
Title:	Light Ships
Label:	FREEDOM TO SPEND
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	FTS 001CD

"As a member of Axolotl, as a filmmaker, or on his own, as ball lightning, he's delivered the goods. William Sabiston formed Bulbs with Jon Almaraz in 2005, shortly after his leaving Axolotl and shortly following Jon's move from Bakersfield to San Fran. Jon was a younger, ambitious guitarist just hitting the big city. Apparently the pairing was destiny, William's beating-around-the-bush electronic drum styles mesh perfectly with Jon's ultra-processed minute guitar jabs. Bulbs hovered around the SF underground for a few years, only occasionally releasing hints at what they were capable of. I received a cassette, Anela Of Tailoo Too, which left me feeling like I had been punched in the gut. The music was light years away from anything else in the underground scenes they were occupying. Light Ships finds Bulbs at their most psychedelic and pointillistic. They occupy an odd space between the gloss of Kompakt Records' minimalism, the glue huff ambiguity of a band like Mouthus, and the stuttering clicks and confusion of a Han Bennik/Derek Bailey duo. There's a lot of movement from more acoustic to more electronic sounds, from more straight rhythmic patterns to totally elliptical percussive gurgling, from understanding what's going on to not having any sort of idea who is doing what to whom. Despite all these shifts and potential contradictions, the music manages to be entirely cohesive and the record is surprisingly easy on the ears. Everything here has its place."

FULL PUPP (NORWAY)

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Artist:	DEMIAN
Title:	Demian
Label:	FALLOUT (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FO 2094CD

Artist:	MENTAL OVERDRIVE
Title:	The Rage
Label:	FULL PUPP (NORWAY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FP 014EP