Collection: New Releases

Japan will always be a source of great wonderment to us over the rest, as well as being a hugely inspirational land when it comes to all manner of cultures. Take electronic music, and specifically house and techno, which have always had their own distinctive take on the genre and that is now tapped into as Alex From Tokyo Presents Japan Vibrations Vol. 1, a tasteful compilation that transports you to the Far East and some of its finest moments from the 80s and 90s. Each tune comes from a trailblazer of the time and elements of ambient, downtempo, dub, world beats, deep house, new jazz and techno are all fused together into a faultless and tasteful collection.

There's no shortage of gems in Larry Heard's authoritative deep house legacy worthy of a fresh airing, and his Alleviated label embarks on a reissue campaign to bring some perennial classics back in arms reach. Heading to the turn of the millennium, this particular 12" pulls together a couple of tunes from different releases. 'Another Night' originally landed on the 2001 album Love's Arrival, and it sounds utterly timeless as it tenderly bumps out in a configuration of hazy chords and infectious groove, capped off by Shelby Johnson's smouldering vocal. 'Time Machine' came out the same year as a B side to the single release of 'Direct Drive', and it shows Heard's mellow tones set to a tougher beat when you want to bring a little bite to deeper-than-deep scenarios.

The American Midwest is of course the homeland of the house and techno scene that has since gone global, and now its two main cities of Chicago and Detroit are represented on this Midwest Rhythms Vol.1 from Windy City mainstay Mark Grusane partners up with 313 area man Eric Schwab. As such we're presented with five irresistible cuts that tick all the right boxes - dusty analogue production, fresh grooves and great synths and vocal samples that are sure to blow up any party but never resort to tired old tropes. There are slower and more mysterious cuts like 'Hot Pursuit' and tripped-out late-night jams like 'Dusk Drive' and plenty in between.

** Repress of the reIssue ** Ooh if there's ever a deep house history lesson wrapped up in a 12" then it's this reissued Stomp The Beat EP from Gherkin Jerks aka the master Larry Heard. The Gherkin Jerks project originally surfaced back in 1988 with this 12" on the Chicago based Gherkin Records label, released anonymously at the request of Heard himself who viewed the Gherkin Jerks material as a creative experiment. Later revealed as the work of Larry Heard, original copies of Stomp The Beat rack up a pretty penny on Discogs so it's good work all round that the producer's Alleviated Records label has teamed up with Clone to release a digitally enhanced version. From the mind bending stereo panning of opening track "Don't Dis The Beat" it's easy to see why the Gherkin Jerks material has been so widely praised - Jamal Moss is a big fan - whilst the general off-key melodics and tough 909 arrangements of what follows still sound futuristic some 15 years on.

Those Sound Metaphors guys are always digging out archival material from hidden corners of dance music history, and they've done it once again with this incredible holy grail for any devotees of the Balearic sound. Leo Mas attained legendary status DJing at Amnesia in Ibiza in the 80s alongside Alfredo, and in the early 90s he was exploring production with a variety of collaborators. Having entered the studio with Italian musician Sergio Portaluri in 1993, Mas sat on the resulting DATs for 30 years until they finally got unearthed as the heads-down, rolling breakbeat house stunners they are. Just to give things a modern twist for those who require it, there's also a remix on this 12' from Apiento.

Kalita are proud to present the first ever reissue of Papa Yankson's highly sought-after 1989 disco-infused highlife masterpiece 'Party Time'! Showcasing the late Ghanaian superstar at his very best, 'Party Time' encapsulates the blending of deep, rhythmic West African highlife with synthesizers and electronic styles that had exploded during the decade. Now, thirty-five years after initial release and with original copies having reached grail status on the second-hand collector's scene, Kalita brings this phenomenal record back to life, with extensive liner notes detailing Papa Yankson's musical career.

'Maledetta Quella Notte' is the first EP by Il Mago del Gelato, a new band from Milan (IT) with a strong Mediterranean imprint. This first album of theirs runs through funk, afrobeat and jazz; all the divergent strands make up the project, later convergent and blending in a nigh-perfect balance. Warm, watery, jazz-futuristic and easy on the ears, it's all held together by the uniquely Milanese fusion of vocoder, percussion, 80s synths, and roots guitars.