VKMP3

…is that you couldn’t make such beautiful videos with mp3s!

Who would not love to wander around with a heart-shaped record around the neck like Mayer Hawthorne?

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Vinyl Lovers from Jack Somerville on Vimeo.

Short documentary looking at the future of vinyl, and the individuals who share a passion for it … Directed/shot/edited by Andrew Norton & Jack Somerville

Vinyl Lovers from Jack Somerville on Vimeo.

‘One of the rare record companies that never follows trends, but only it’s true dedication to beautiful music. Delsin is timeless.’
Laurent Garnier

May 2009 will see the release of the long awaited Delsin 2.0 Compilation. Label boss, Peel Seamus, has selected the label’s highlights from the last three years and put them into this journey through the best of deep techno (lasting over 2 hours). For over 10 years Delsin has been fulfilling its mission to release music that stands out above the rest. The Delsin roster contains only authentic artists, each their own profiled character and sound.

Two Remix EPs are out to accompany the compilation featuring remixes by Redshape, Quince, Shed and Steve Rachmad. Very limited vinyl editions of both are available through the just opened Delsin Webshop!

To celebrate these releases (and above all, the existence of good music!) the true ambassadors of this soulful electronic music will take to the road and rock the world in various line ups! The first Delsin 2.0 parties will be Saturday May 16th Trouw Amsterdam, and Friday May 22nd Panoramabar Berlin. Read more

If spiritual techno has a mother, then few would argue she’s known as Red Planet. Lush synths and warm emotional chords, mixed with crisp percussive beats, all go together to create the labels unique sound. On listening to this compilation of 12” releases, the philosophy behind the label begins to make sense, there’s more here than just beautiful music, it’s got ideas, feelings and messages . . . To some it just sounds great, while others may be looking, and finding something more . . . whatever . . . it’s up to the listener to take as much or as little as they please. Read more

After five years as London’s foremost retailer of dance and electronic music, Phonica is launching its eponymous record label with an original production from its very own Hector alongside long-time friend and collaborator Ben Bryant, backed with a remix from Appleblim & Al Tourettes.

The aptly named “Tension” is a masterclass in suspense and hypnosis; a sleek, brooding techno cut which doesn’t so much attack the danceflooor as enfold it. It simply builds and builds, scooping the listener up on a wave of dubbed-out chords and intertwined synth melodies, under and over-scored with taut drum edits, a rolling bassline and strings which hang like mountain mist. Read more

After a decade hidden away, B12 have returned.

B12 Records was founded in 1990 by Mike Golding and Steve Rutter as a vehicle for themselves and other like minded individuals to release electronic music for listening and dancing. Many thought the duo hailed from Detroit, as their sound fused many of the elements of techno coming from the Motor City, alongside labels such as Transmat and Plus 8. Every record was hand-engraved in the run out grooves, with cryptic clues and messages, recurring themes of futurism and science fiction.

Releasing under a series of monikers, such as Redcell, Cmetric, and Musicology, their connections with Kirk DeGeorgio’s A.R.T. Records are well documented, each artist featuring on the others label, and even a pair of split 12”s with a label taking each side of the vinyl. The pair were also snapped up by Warp Records, featuring on the seminal Artificial Intelligence series and releasing two albums and an EP on Warp under the umbrella name ‘B12’

Then in 1996, with test pressings of B1215 in their hands, they disappeared without warning or reason. B1215 never made it to release. Read more

Peel Seamus started the label in 1996. In the past responsible for introduction of artists as CiM, Aardvarck, Newworldaquarium, D5, Yotoko and Dynarec, Delsin Records is one our favrite label in its genre. Taking Techno music to the next level Delsin Records have released albums by Optic Nerve, Future Beat Alliance and $tinkworx. Around for ten years, covering all genres, Delsin artists are always ready to shake the world. New talents as Redshape and Quince and known artists as D5, Vince Watson and Newworldaquarium, they all will deliver! Read more

The Amsterdam based imprint 100% Pure was founded in 1992 by Sandy Hunter and Dylan Hermelijn (2000 and One, Edge of Motion). Amsterdam based imprint 100% Pure was founded in 1992 by Sandy Hunter and Dylan Hermelijn (2000 and One, Edge of Motion).

The label is home of the early works of Steve Rachmad, Jerome, Stefan Robbers & Orlando Voorn. It was setup to give home to the deeper melodic techno. Consciousnessly they didn’t do any promotion, to keep the label Underground. It worked, because the label sold itself. Around 1995 the label was at his peak of popularity, both national and international. The track Asphyx was the first major clubhit around the world for 100% Pure, played by dj’s like Darren Emerson & Sven Vath. In 1997 “loop techno” was very popular. This was the beginning of the end for the first era of 100% pure. The techno was getting harder and more abstract with less room for the warm sound 100% pure stood for. They released one loop based ep by Steve Rachmad, but the damage was already done. Their distributor Mox Music went bankrupt, which left the label with big debts. This led to what seemed to be the end of 100% pure and in 1998 Dylan & Sandy pulled the plug out of the label.

Dylan decided to start working in the IT-business to pay of his debts. He was so sick and tired of his defunct label that he didn’t enter his studio for 6 years. He thought he would never make music again but his heart kept beating for the passion of producing. Obviously, Dylan thought he was finished with house music, but house music wasn’t finished with him. Read more

I just created a new categorie: “Featured labels” and we’ll use it to feature labels we like and to share our passion for music and its industry.

The first episode of this serie is Headspace Recordings, founded in 1996 in Cardiff by Tom Churchill and Raeph Powell. It has been described in DJ Magazine as ‘one of the world’s finest deep techno outlets’. Past releases have featured tracks and mixes from artists such as CiM, aubrey, funk d’void, morgan geist, hanna, dennis desantis and tom churchill and have been supported by djs such as laurent garnier, andrew weatherall, john tejada, daniel bell, dan curtin, chris duckenfield and tyler stadius. Read more