Netherlands

An All Star team for edits of Jovonn classics! Ian Pooley, DJ Deep and Mike Huckaby revisit 3 of Goldtone Records finest for Clone Royal Oak.

The Young Marco-helmed label is serving up a limited edition sampler boasting two seriously sought-after cuts. Neither appeared on any of the previous “Welcome To Paradise” compilations !On side A you’ll find “Ray-Rracing Sauna” by Franco F, AKA Interactive Test label co-founder Franco Faisini. The track – a typically tactile, melodious and huggable affair rich in bounding Italo-house drums, life-affirming piano solos and evocative ambient chords – was initially tucked away on the B-side of the producer’s sole solo 12”, 1991’s “Simulation Lab”. Here, it is deservedly placed centre stage for the very first time.Over on the flip, there’s a chance to savour the alternate “Ambient Mix” of Marika Lenny’s in-demand 1990 Italo-house anthem “Beat Summer”. Typical of many Italian “Ambient House” tracks of the period – think driving drums wrapped in breezy, celebratory and sun-kissed instrumentation more often found in period “chill-out” records – it’s a gloriously rushing fusion of rolling organ riffs, Nu Groove style synth solos and chords capable of awakening even the stoniest of hearts.

Music From Memory’s latest release sees the reissue of G.B. Beckers' 'Walkman' album from 1982.A painter and musician from Aachen, Germany, Günther Beckers created his third album ’Walkman' to coincide with an exhibition of his latest body of artwork in 1982. Released on his very own 'Milky Music' label with a run of just 500 copies and original pieces of artwork included with some copies, most copies of the album however remained amongst art collectors and with the painter himself. Rediscovered a few years ago through a friend of Music From Memory in the archives of a local radio station where all but one of the stations copies had been destroyed, it has been an album the label have been in love with since the first listen.Touring as a guitarist with ECM affiliated Jazz musicians such as Alex De Grassi, William Ackerman, Ralph Towner & Larry Coryell to name but a few, Günther Beckers also would record on a number of releases of Klaus Schulze’s cult electronic music label ‘Innovative Communication’.Always exploring new ideas and the possibilities of technology within his music, Günther would record the ‘Walkman’ album utilising the ‘Kunstkopf’ technique of sound recording. Kunstkopf or ‘Dummy Head’ recording is a 3D audio recording technology that enables listeners to define each source of sound as if they were in the original recording situation itself. Using two microphones which are usually mounted in the ears of a mannequin (giving it the ‘Dummy Head’ name in English) the technique exploits certain basic principles of human spatial hearing.Listeners to ‘Kunstkopf’ recordings are in fact encouraged to listen to such recordings on headphones, as the 3D perception is often greatly diminished on speakers. With the title ‘Walkman’ G.B. Beckers was very much hoping the album would be enjoyed on headphones, even portably through a Walkman. Minimalist variations around an acoustic guitar, guitar synth, rhythm box and with wordless female vocals, G.B. Beckers' 'Walkman' drifts in and out of moods; it is a unique and at times hauntingly beautiful album, which the Kunstkopf recording technique further adds to the albums at times often otherworldly feeling.

Originally pressed on a now very hard to find 7", this gem crosses over the dub with disco with the rock and the wave. More Talking Dreads than Heads. Dug out for MFM by Satoshi Yamamura. Comes with original Dub mix and new remixes.

Music From Memory return with a further six tracks from Dutch musician Richenel. Continuing with recordings taken from his debut album 'La Diferencia’, originally released in 1982 on the cult Amsterdam cassette only label Fetisj, the tracks on Music From Memory’s second EP ‘Perfect Stranger’ includes alternate takes drawn from Richenel’s personal copy of the album alongside a further composition which didn’t make it onto the original Fetisj cassette.Studying set and costume design whilst making a name for himself as a singer and performer in Amsterdam’s underground clubs, Richenel played with several disco acts and cultivated an extravagant cross-gender stage persona before connecting with members of the local label. Hooking up through their time together at the Rietveld art academy in Amsterdam, Fetisj was an experimental multi media collective which revolved around a loose mix of various young artists and musicians. Having developed a house band with artists going by a number of different pseudonyms the label set up their own small makeshift studio and would produce and sell the cassettes through their distribution network and at events across the city. Recorded amongst the turmoiled punk and squatter scene of Amsterdam against a backdrop of drugs and social unrest, the ‘La Diferencia’ sessions reflect a unique mix of punk aesthetics with a synthesized bedroom funkiness.A somewhat illustrious figure in Dutch pop history with his flamboyant appearance as well as having one of the more exceptional male voices to come out of the country, Richenel would go on to record a number of successful albums and hit singles in the Netherlands and beyond. This largely unknown album on Fetisj however, seems to embody the spirit of another time; a particularly unique and richly creative moment in Amsterdam’s musical and cultural history and one that is deserving of a much wider audience.‘Perfect Stranger’ is co-compiled by Orpheu De Jong

The subject of Music From Memory’s latest compilation focuses on Suso Saiz’s output as part of the group Orquesta De Las Nubes, formed by Suso Saiz and percussionist Pedro Estevan when the two met whilst studying a course on ‘Techniques of Contemporary Composition’ in Madrid.Following on from a retrospective compilation of solo work and an album of recent work in 2016, Music From Memory continue to explore the work of Spanish ambient and experimental pioneer Suso Saiz.Sharing a curiosity for American minimalist and Non-Western music, the pair began to share music through many listening sessions, during which the idea slowly evolved to try and make music together. Pedro’s partner at the time, soprano singer María Villa, would later join the two on vocals. With Suso’s sparse use of guitar loops, synthesizers, and drum computers in combination with the hypnotic percussion of Pedro Estevan and the wordless drifting vocals of María Villa, Orquesta De La Nubes would evolve as a group with a truly unique musical language; an ethereal and almost otherworldly musical realm.Developing at first as a live act, through a number of performances in Madrid and beyond, Orquesta De Las Nubes was very much connected with, and inspired by, the avant-garde arts scene in Madrid at the time. Throughout their shows, a close circle of friends, including a number of painters, sculptors and designers, would collaborate with the trio to create unique imagery and elaborate stage sets for the group’s performances.Yet, despite the growing fascination surrounding Orquesta De Las Nubes’ live performances, the trio would however find it extremely difficult to find a label willing to release their music on record. The group’s then manager Silvia Lovosevic therefore decided to set up her own label ‘Linterna Música’ in order to make the work available. The group would release three albums between 1983-1987, two on the Linterna Musica label as well as an album and CD compilation of live tracks on the cult Spanish label ‘Grabacionnes Accidentales’.Between this period the trio would also team up with American percussionist Glen Velez to record as the group ‘Musica Esporadica’; a one-off project in which they recorded a single album of the same name in 1985. ‘Musica Esporadica’ will be released on Music From Memory in 2019.