Soophaluv

Claremont 56 sub label Sixty Five recently signed two new JAZ edits, the resulting 12" has just gone up on Piccadilly's pre order list. Sixty Five's neat catalogue is almost all JAZ, they're great records which get regular outings here at a.n.o.e. hq, and this new double sider will make an excellent addition. Both sides of this 12" are superb, super superb; these magic JAZed up crate finds sport delightful Euro babe vocals and antique underground Disco vibes, for the minute they're my most favourite JAZ edits ever. The Episcopal minister delivers sweet 'n heavenly Disco goodness again! Essential!!!!

SoopahLuv (JAZ edit) by J.A.Z.

Everybody More (JAZ edit) by J.A.Z.

polish edits 2

Back in December of last year, The Very Polish Cut Out's unleashed their first ep of 'Polish Edit's' onto the www, I dug them very much, for both their diggers value and the keen production these guys brought to the finished tracks. Since then of course, they've visited these pages and given us a very fine Press Play mix (absolutely essential if you haven't downloaded it yet). Anyway for their second free ep, Polish guy Mental reworks a couple of obscure crate finds and they're bloody marvelous too. I'm especially loving the Aya RL rejig, it's sounds like an old Lovefingers find to me for some reason. check and download em!

Polish Edits EP # 2 by Mental by The Very Polish Cut-Outs

press play #48 - All Out War

Over the years I don't think i've said too much about Disco label All Out War, it's a bit strange since I'm an all out fan and own at least a couple of their releases on wax. Richard Hardcastle's AOW is a particular thing, strong on personality and quality. What u get are edits which, as Rich puts it, 'attempt to make the track better without ripping it's heart out', plus there is a diggers outlook to what actually gets the chop. If you don't already know, Richard has been contributing to the Disco revival since more or less the start; you may know his releases as Solid State on labels like Toko and Guidance Recordings or Primitive or Cookhouse. Plus there was the Product Of Society edits and releases back in 2005 and 6, a project which began as a sideline to their pioneering Sheffield nite out and transformed over a little time into All Out War. It's a small but potent catalogue thus far, with superb edits from Solid himself, Al Kent and Greg Wilson and of course there are a number of releases already lined up for the future, including original material and remixes. Hardcastle's All Out War, with it's distinctive graphic design, it's A grade tunes and it's anti 'dumbing down' agenda is a definite force on the underground and since for me the mark of great records is how long you'll be playing them for, All Out War is a catalogue to own and play.

Press Play #48 is, I'm delighted to say, 'the 'story so far' mix that brings together the complete All Out War releases (and a couple of unreleased edits) for the very first time.' As is almost always the case, it's truly a big deal for me to be able to hand this mix over to you, it's a classic for sure. If you want to hear more of their influences and current hot tracks you should catch All Out War Radio, a monthly show on myhouseyourhouse and there is their soundcloud page to check out too. Huge thanks go out to Richard for this...

Press Play #48 - All Out War - Wake Up And Smell The Napalm

All Out War Discography:
AOW01 Solid State ‘Prisoners of Wax Volume 1’
AOW02 Greg Wilson ‘Music Is Better Edits’
AOW03 Al Kent ‘Million Dollar Disco Edits’
AOW04 Solid State ‘Dry Ice’

Track list:
All Out War Intro
Spanish Heartbeat (AOW04)
If You Love Me (AOW01/04)
Oxygen (Unreleased)
Down The Mainline (AOW02)
Delirious (AOW03)
Shortwave Radiation (AOW01)
Eddie’s Out (AOW04)
The Magnificent (AOW02)
America (AOW01)
Brock Party (AOW03)
Philly Live (AOW04)
Gonna Dub (Unreleased)
 

welcome stranger

Solei'd Music Group's first 12" 'Sale Away' by Hidden Fees is a fantastic record. It's a no digital, vinyl only release for starters, a great trend with a few select and current labels who clearly care a lot about their music, it's a very loveable trait! But then on playing the record it really is immediately apparent that this is something special. The original by Hidden Fees is a midtempo, NY, Disco not Disco, slice of rocking magic which features the voice of Shannon Funchess and is perfect for those edgier Indie sets. On the flip you'll find real dance floor gold with Welcome Stranger's 'Early Voyage Dub', a stuttering, pulsating monster of a jam. There have been a few tracks so far this year which push things to a new level for me, Claremont and Tiago's 'Birds' remix for one, and though it's not the same sort of thing, Welcome Stranger's Dub is another. It's a total transformation of the original and yet it retains it's NY flavour, albeit of a housier kind. As the sound clips below are quiet short, you'll not get the full impact of the mega dub and it's massive breakdown, I suggest you take my word for it and order the record, which you can do here, you wont regret it...both sides now!

Hidden Fees - Sale Away (Featuring Shannon Funchess) Sample by Solei'd Music Group

Hidden Fees - Sale Away (Welcome Strangers Early Voyage Dub) Sample by Solei'd Music Group

pay the price

For whatever reason, probably a limited number of pressings, Stevo's 'Pay the Price/Party Night' 12" on TK Disco is pretty hard to find. It's especially strange from a label like TK who's releases were always pretty well covered. It's doubly strange because the record is lovely, better even than some of their bigger records. Both sides are great too. Check it. The big news of the day is I have received dynamite Press Play mixes from both Steve Kotey and Albion, so expect those to follow the next installment from All Out War, which will be up in days.... good times, the price has been payed!

Stevo - Pay The Price

wildwood

Cutloose is a top night in Manchester, they've had some amazing guests over the years including Mark Seven, The Idjut Boys and Brennan Green and this friday night they'll be featuring supreme crate digger and Theo Parrish favourite, Sadar Bahar. Ouch! What i wouldn't give to be there... Check out the Cutloose website for info on the gig and a bunch of very fine mixes from some of their guests, I cant recommend it more highly. As a special treat, and I mean really special, Paul Jenks who run's the night and who is clearly a consummate digger himself, has given a.n.o.e. a sublime, drifty, after hours, head nodding, deep digging, journey into exactly the sorts of sounds we love here at earth's headquarters. Jenks' mix 'Wildwood' is already one of my favourite of the year so far and I'm hoping we can convince him to give us a track listing. Thanks so much for dropping in Paul, everyone else download the mix now for instant sweet release...

Paul Jenks - Wildwood

tobor experiment disco experience

Ok moving on... It's crazy out there right now, there are so many releases hitting the shelves on any given day, it really is easy to gloss over things that might easily, if given the chance, change your life. With the little time I've had over the last year or so, I've failed to punt Bear Funk's killer Kotey Extra Band album, their excellent Hibernation Volume 2 compilation and I've not even so much as mentioned their recent Peter Visti or Ilija Rudman goodies. So I thought it best not to let their latest Tobor Experiment Disco Experience album release go by without at least a glance. The thing is, like so many of the labels projects, this record is so damned fine, it deserves more than just a glance, it deserves a f*cking monument.

Giorgio Sancristiforo is a multitude of things; a synth and software designer based in Milan, he's a Sound artist and he is also Tobor Experiment Disco Experience. Bear Funk released an ep by Giorgio back in the last half of 2008, a highly original and accomplished Euro Disco record which I still play regularly and now of course there is a whole long player of the man's unique sound. Giorgio's own website describes one of the tracks on his lp as sounding like a long lost meeting between Air and Daft Punk, it's a fitting description of most of his work here, but only if Air had been drinking Absinth for a month and Daft Punk were from Italy. It's better than that, Giorgio imports an off kilter Pop into a very Space Disco mix and surprisingly for a hardware head, he plays guitar and bass and does all the vocals. This is a proper album album. I keep saying this about Bear Funk artists, but they do seem to make artist records, the sort of records which could sit comfortably alongside the best records by say Bowie or Steve Harley.  Speaking of Bowie, Tobor's cover of 'Station To Station' is another of the album's highlights.

Sancristiforo's debut long player is a beauty and I decided even though I may never receive another record from Bear Funk as a result, that I would hand over a low res of one of the LP's tracks just to help lure you in. On 'Shivers' you'll find Giorgio mainlining Moroder, Roxy Music and Bowie in equal measures, the result is genius. It's like we've known each other for years...

Tobor Experiment Disco Experience - Shivers

see you november

I found Miroslav Vitous 1976 album 'Majesty Music' in my collection, I must have gotten it from my mom who is a big Weather Report fan. The album is full of that lush vintage sound that I love, though many of the tracks are way too noodley for me. That said there are passages which positively ache with beauty and there are at least two future classics diggers items on it. I know that Miroslav's 'New York City' (not from this album) is a David Mancuso favourite and features in his Loft 100 list in Bill Brewster's 'Last Night A Dj Saved My Life'. 'See You November' from 'Majesty Music' is a wonderful spacey outing with exactly the kind of drums Mancuso favoured at his club, if a little mellow. I have new Press Play mixes for you and a bunch of great tracks which I'll get to as soon as I have this wall of deadlines behind me.. see you in a minute..

Miroslav Vitous - See You November

Back in a minute - 20 deadlines going down at once. i've lots of goodies incoming...

moonsong

From their 1973 album 'Life Is Round', Jazz outfit Compost's 'Moonsong' is an incredible, lush, island style beauty. I'm not sure about you but the opening bass line sounded so familiar when I first heard this gem, has someone used it elsewhere? Whether that is the case or not, 'Moonsong' is laid back heaven!

Compost - Moonsong

feel my tears.

As you're probably already aware, a.n.o.e. loves Danny Red Rack'em, in fact we've been practically stalking the man since his first release on Tirk back in 2008. Since then Danny's had an amazing run, developing his particular brand of Machine Soul over a number of releases, culminating in the creation of his own label Bergerac. 'Feel My Tears' is the label's second 12" release and typically it contains three very fine, original work outs from Rack'em, it's also just in at the stores. Check the clips below, my personal favourite has to be the second track 'Courting', it's classic Detroit influenced Rack'em superbness. I asked Mr Berman how his recent move to Berlin has been and also what it's like making music for his own label. Here's what he had to say...

Making tracks for my own label.

I started my own label Bergerac for a number of reasons. One was that I didn't really know which labels to approach with the types of music that I was making. It seemed easier to just put them out myself rather than run the a+r gauntlet. I also wanted to get more involved in the marketing and image of my music so I have really enjoyed working with Silke Eiselt and Alex Traska on the artwork and design. Silke is illustrating every house or building of significance in my life chronologically for each release so we're currently waiting for someone to take a pic of my first ever flat in Edinburgh for the B side of the third release. The current release is my the house I grew up in and my primary school.

Another reason is that I wanted to retreat from the industry a bit as it all seems totally hype driven these days and although I know that this is nothing new, ironically the easiest way to escape all that bullshit was to do my own label and create my own enclave.

Also I am getting sent so much good unreleased music for my radio show. So watch this space as I am hoping to start a label soon focusing on the great new production talents that are sending me stuff to play. Loads of great stuff out there is being ignored and I get sent a load of shit promos every week so I think there's a message in there somewhere..

Move to Berlin

Moving to Berlin is the best thing that's happened to me in years. I am in a brand new place with brand new people, making my way in life again. I met my oldest friends in Berlin last November so as you can imagine the social side of things has been really fresh and exciting, I have met so many cool people and been made to feel so welcome. I am loving the newness of whole situation. I have actually hardly been here since I moved due to touring so I am still totally learning about the city. Just working out the public and checking the architecture has been inspiring for me.

It felt like the end of an era in the UK really. I had to push myself on to a better place. I was completely bored, demotivated and miserable in Nottingham and I didn't want to move to London. I think drastic situations need drastic solutions. And it's been totally the right move. I am back. I count myself as very lucky that I was able to take control of my life and make the changes necessary to keep moving as an artist.

Drop in on Danny's Redportage Vimeo channel to get a more in depth look at his world, it's definitely worth checking out and get this record!

Red Rack'em - Feel My Tears EP Clips - BERG002 by Red Rack'em