MINT

The next set of the Japanese musical tales on Hhatri's imprint comes from Takecha (aka Takeshi Fukushima), a producer who has played a part in creating some of the seminal pieces of house music that have originated from Japan. His music is characterised by the perfect marriage of experimentation and emotional content. For those that know, Takecha's first EP 'Kind of Deep' released on his own imprint, GWM records, in 1995 is a secret gem among Japanese House music collectors. Only 100 copies were ever available and it is a subtle reminder of what and how Deep House should sound like. Takecha provides no less in A Tale of Shiga; four gorgeous tracks that provide some insight into his own creative, albeit humble genius in his approach to producing music. Fresh off the press are three previously unreleased tracks with the addition of ""Freak Out"" released in 1998.

Dan Shake has been making a sterling name for himself as a DJ with many strings to his bow, and now he's launching an exciting new label with a focus on edits that reach into his bag of tricks and provide some genuinely intriguing alternatives to the usual rehashed disco fodder. On this first 12" there's a distinctly Latin theme, not least on "Celebration Suite" which launches into a bona fide party classic after a hailstorm of drumming and carnival whistles. "La Vem Salguiero" is equally boisterous, but there's also "Rico Suave Bossa Nova" to cool things down for those more loungey moments.

The Street Edits label has been playing it cool and deadly since 2013, and now hits its tenth release with two crucial jams for the heads-down party heads. JTT, a shadowy figure with links to the Bristol scene, gets deep in the chop-up on "Know 2 Much", eschewing any obvious vocal licks in favour of the heavy, rolling funk of his source material. Boogie Cafe takes a different approach with "Dynamite", letting the core of the track shine through in all its bright, brassy glory. When he does go in for the cuts and FX on the breakdowns, it's oh-so sweet though. This is how edits should be done.

The Marcel Vogel-fronted label Intimate Friends has already done sterling work releasing deep house from the likes of Roman Rauch and Reginald Omas Mamode IV, and now it's Simba's turn to step up and strut his stuff. The Goodbye Miss Misanthropy EP is loaded with curveball house music of the highest order, with "Remind Me Of Dancing" particularly standing out thanks to Jyroscope's inspiring vocal turn. There's some off-kilter jazz moods tumbling out of "ITB Jam", while a fractured soul vibe gives "Love Letter" its power. "Last Time" is a honey-coated closer that rides on the laziest of grooves with some added sample power from a titan of RnB.

The Difusion crew turned some heads last year with the low-key release of their first grip of cult edits, and now they're back with a second installment that keeps the source material obscure, the treatment respectful and the vibes pure and positive. "Someday" is a killer simmering slice of disco funk, while "On The Scene" slows things down and turns up the 70s bombast with Philly strings and brass blasts aplenty. "Freaksta" takes things in a more cosmic direction, while "Right Now" aims right for Studio 54 indebted flamboyance, all stirring diva vocals and bold production to get everyone freaking the right way.

Recorded in Barcelona between 1989 & 1990. Thanks to Nhat-Vu Dang.Special thanks to Hyades Arts Records. All texts on insert and sleeve taken from the "Mudos como piece" collection of poems by Iury Lech.Iury Lech is a transdisciplinary artist of Ukrainian origin part of the few pioneers in the Spanish electronic and digital audio-visual scene that began to develop during the 80's.His open and unclassifiable style made of eerie sonic atmospheres, arrhythmic structures and dense textures create hypnotic ambiance and a new way to conceive experimentalism.Wrongly described as New Age music at that time, "Musica para el fin de los cantos" is a stunning and deeply emotive ambient work, that stares down at the eternal enigma, giving a glimpse of Iury Lech's classical music of the future. Iury recorded this blissful masterpiece in his Barcelona's studio in 1989. It was then published in 1990 by the unique Spanish label Hyades Arts.It's 2017 and it's time to unearth this magical piece of vibrating chords to please your sensitive yet hungry ears. Sit back and enjoy the meditative state.

Albuquerque party crew Plastik People just can't get enough of that sweet, sweet garage house sound, and Industry Standard sure know how to lay down such honestly passionate jams in the spirit of messers Chandler et al. "Justify" is a nimble feel-good stepper with gorgeous Rhodes keys and plenty of Todd Edwards style vocal chops. "Shine Bright In The Night" is a tougher offering once the drums get rolling, but there's still space in the mix for more of that spiritually nourishing soul food. Tuff Vibes gets busy with a remix that revels in jazzy vibraphone keys for an altogether different but no less funky flavour of party track.

180 gram Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve reissue of the classic 1969 album featuring Motorhead's Lemmy. Packaged with their previously unreleased 7" single 'Horse/Back Door Man' as listed in Record Collector, Plus a free Download Code.Sam Gopal took up the tabla in Malaysia at the age of 7, before coming to study music in Britain in 1962. By the mid 1960’s, Indian music was exerting a huge influence on Western rock, most notably on the Beatles (with Indian influences all over ‘Revolver’ and ‘Sergeant Pepper’), but also on the Rolling Stones (exemplified by Brian Jones playing sitar on ‘Paint It, Black’) and the Moody Blues, for whom Justin Hayward played tabla and sitar on the ‘In Search Of The Lost Chord’ album.The time was right for a genuine exponent of Indian music to come to the fore. Sam Gopal put together his first group, ‘Sam Gopal’s Dream’ in 1966. They quickly became a feature of the psychedelic scene, playing at the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream at Alexandra Palace in 1967 and sharing stages with such giants as Pink Floyd, the Move and Jimi Hendrix. Indeed, Jimi jammed with them during a gig at the Speakeasy in January 1968. However, whilst successful live, the band went unrecorded, and disbanded shortly after, only to be reconstituted under the ‘Sam Gopal’ moniker, Sam being joined by Roger D’Elia on guitar, Phil Duke on bass and most famously, ex Jimi Hendrix roadie Ian ‘Lemmy’ Willis on vocals and guitar. Signed to the short-lived Stable label, songs for an album were quickly written, most of them by Lemmy, and the album was released in March 1969, beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve.Something of a classic of psychedelic acid rock, complete with fuzzed guitars, but rooted by its Eastern percussion, the album included one cover, a rocked up version of Donovan’s ‘Season Of The Witch’, whilst a projected single release included a version of Willie Dixon’s ‘Back Door Man’, which managed to be even heavier than the interpretation by the Doors on their first album, released two years earlier.‘You’re Alone Now’, one of the Lemmy-written songs on the album, became quietly influential, acting not only as a forerunner of Hawkwind’s seminal ‘The Watcher’, but having an intro that brings to mind Black Sabbath’s 1970 smash ‘Paranoid’.The album ends with undoubtedly the gentlest song of Lemmy’s career, the rather lovely ‘Yesterlove’, which has Lemmy’s vocal floating gently over a backing of tabla and acoustic guitar.Sadly, despite apparently having all the ingredients in place for success, this incarnation of ‘Sam Gopal’ proved to be no longer-lived than ‘Sam Gopal’s Dream’, and broke up not long after the release of this album