Various - ΣCLIPSE (Project: Mooncircle) [Download]

Project: Mooncircle is a label I am having a new and exciting love affair with. In much a similar vein to Innovative Leisure, the imprint releases experimental, super-atmospheric electronica, each release playing like a futuristic film score.

Berlin-based clothing brand Ucon have teamed-up with the PM team on the latest teaser video for their Spring Summer collection. For me, this is what the label’s output is all about – it screams ‘soundtrack’. It’s music that’s written to be felt, to be experienced, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the label’s video channels from now on.


Ucon | SS '13 Collection from Ucon GmbH on Vimeo.

On this free release, Project: Mooncircle continue us on this journey, with the ‘ΣCLIPSE’ compilation bringing together unreleased material from some of the label’s most cutting-edge artists, including Robot Koch, Submerse, Rain Dog, Sieren, Daisuke Tanabe, Lomovolokno, KRTS, and Daixie.

Hedonistic, and moody, soulful and hypnotic, this mini-album really does have it all. Essential.

‘ΣCLIPSE’ is available for free download from here now. Keep an eye out for more from this super exciting stable at projectmooncircle.com.

Various - Based On Misunderstandings Vol. 1 (Sonar Kollektiv)

Throughout my 14 years of music fanaticism and frantic record collecting, no label has shaped my eclectricity more than Sonar Kollektiv. Like an old friend, it carried me through as I made that difficult and somewhat uncomfortable journey from my 4/4 comfort zone into the realms of more soulful broken rhythm and future beats. The ‘Based On Misunderstandings’ series was a turning point for me, coming at a time when I was becoming jaded by wave upon wave of non-specific deep house, looking for something fresh and exciting.

At the time I was playing at venues like Ministry and the Horse & Groom, playing pretty much any track I could find championed by the likes of Innervisionaries Dixon and Âme. That sound just seemed to have an edge in its ability to frame memories in my mind, a quality that insisted repeated listens, something that I’d not been able to find since that most delicate of transitions from vinyl to pure digital DJing. Maybe it was my age, but everything sounded, well, samey. As such, I’m hugely excited to hear that label stalwart and Jazzanova soul-pusher Alex Barck will be releasing a new compilation to celebrate what has become a hugely successful sub-label for Sonar.

The album is a fascinating compendium of future house, spanning everything from chillwave through nu disco to the deep, dubby, quality cuts SK has become so famed for. Personal faves are the first and last tracks from the album – a somewhat choppy, sample-happy nu soul cut on Vect’s ‘Soulful’ and a crunchy, lo-fi jazz rip on Phil Gerus' 'Votre Voix, Vos Mains, Vos Lèvres'.

Across a spectrum of sounds, be it razor-sharp square leads, funky samples or warm, moody atmospherics, this album has it all. Expect everything you’d expect of Sonar Kollektiv, and expect nothing at all. As the press release says, ‘almost none of the tunes here have anything in common. Just the fact that they all please Alex Barck’s ears’. If you’re lucky enough to have ever heard anything by Jazzanova, you already know you need this. Go buy!

'Based On Misunderstandings Vol. 1' is out on 29th April via Sonar Kollektiv when you can purchase the digital release here. | sonarkollektiv.com