AUNTIE FLO / AKIMBO – Bells In The DMZ

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AUNTIE FLO/AKIMBO - Bells In The DMZ

Auntie Flo is back on Highlife with his ‘Bells In The DMZ Ep’ dropping on 10th December. This award-winning sound artist regularly features on WWFM, and has lapped the globe performing live and Djing, while gathering field recordings and a myriad of diverse sounds. We ask the Glasgow DJ and producer a few questions ahead of his new release.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey, I’m Brian d’Souza also known as Auntie Flo. I refer to myself as Glas-Goan, born in Glasgow with a Goan/Kenyan mother and Scottish Father. I now live in London and do a variety of things across music.

How long have you been making music?

Since about 2001, so 20 years! I started with a cracked copy of Reason which me and some mates at uni had great fun playing around with.

What made you call yourself Auntie Flo?

Two reasons – Auntie Flo is an actual relative of mine, who lived in Goa but sadly passed away a few months ago. My Mum always used to compare me to her when I was growing up. And secondly because I’m heavily influenced by Mihaly Czitzentmihaly’s ‘Theory of Flow’ – the state of optimal experience one gets when they can completely lose their normal, waking, conscious brain – A state I strive to get into when performing.

You’re from Glasgow but your music represents the world. What is the root of this global vision?

A lot of people may think it’s due to my mixed heritage, my mum being born in East Africa and coming from Goa in India. I think subconsciously that may have had an indirect effect on my general approach to life – I’m a globalist, I believe in the power of human connections, I believe we have far more in common than things that drive us apart. I also truly believe in music being a universal language, one that transcends language, cultural, identity barriers and brings us closer together.

You have a regular show on Worldwide FM, how do you source your new music?

My current show is Ambient Flo, which is a highlights show of the music I select on www.ambientflo.com – the radio station I set up during lockdown. It’s been an amazing project to get off the ground, and has really resonated with so many people around the world who want to listen to beautiful music, reduce stress and escape from all the madness. We’ve built a wonderful community of musicians who submit amazing music every month so part of my selection on Worldwide is from their submissions. We also work with a monthly guest curator, and the second half of the show is dedicated to them. We’ve had exclusive mixes from Richard Norris, Patricia Wolf, and curated selections from the likes of James Holden, Gigi Masin and KMRU.

During the lockdown you started a new wellness radio station. Tell us a little about that?

Ambient Flo is a result of my interest in music and health. I studied psychology and very interested in the psychology of music before lockdown I trained in Sound Therapy. Ambient Flo combines curation of music in a therapeutic sense with the benefits of listening to nature with a channel dedicated to birdsong that can be mixed over the music. The station is totally funded through our community, who pay £3 per month via our Patreon (http://patreon.com/ambientflo )  account. We’ve introduced an Artist Profit Share model that helps allocate at least 1/3 of our income to the artists whose music we play. We just celebrated our 1st birthday with a commemorative ‘Zine, which is free to all subscribers and features curator interviews and other artists on music, health and well-being.

What is your relationship with Highlife?

Highlife started life as a party in Glasgow where our mission was to platform music from outside the normal canon of US/UK dance music. It started in 2010 and has hosted the likes of Rebolledo, Charanjit Singh, Shagaan Electro, Zozo and other acts from all over the world. The Highlife label started around 2014 to give us an outlet to release music we would play in the club and from friends who we met along the way.

Bells in the DMZ – is there a story to the title? Tell us a little about the tracks?

I toured Japan and South Korea in 2018/2019 and went on a tour to the DMZ – the demilitarised zone which divides the North and the South. It’s absolutely fascinating on so many levels! There is a tree that sits in the middle of the main area which has lots of little bells on it. I took a recording of them blowing in the wind and used that as my main sample on the track ‘Peace Bells’, so the name for the EP derives from that.

What was the last piece of music that you bought? If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?

Today I bought a copy of The Ultimate Warlord by The Immortals which is one of the greatest Italo Disco tracks of all time. I’ve had many a fun night punching the air dancing to it. My friend let me borrow his copy ages ago and I played it so much that I ruined it. So, I decided to buy him a new copy to replace it.. If you want to get to know my tastes, you could listen to that and then put on Ambient Flo – that contrast pretty much defines how wide my tastes are!

Is there a record in time that you wish you had made?

Anything by Tim Hecker

What do you want for Christmas?

To see my mum and family as we couldn’t last year, and she’s been through a lot..

Auntie Flo releases ‘Bells In The DMC’ on Highlife on 10th December.

Buy / Listen here – AUNTIE FLO/AKIMBO – Bells In The DMZ Vinyl at Juno Records.

ITALO FUNK VOLUME 2

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Following the success of the first volume in 2019, Italo Funk curators, Eli Soul Clap and Lele Sacchi have been hard at work compiling the much anticipated second volume dedicated to Italian cultural icon, Claudio Coccoluto who we sadly lost earlier this year. It’s a cracking collection, and we got to chat to one of the acts who feature on the album: the Rollover DJs who’s track ‘Buonasera‘ is a classic sampler of their Puglia sound.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

We are Rocco & Tiberio and together we are Rollover DJ’s, founders of the eponymous party and the Balearic centric label Anything Goes.

Tell us where you are based?

We’ve been based in Milan for the last 14 years, but we grew up in Puglia by the Mediterranean Sea.

How long have you been making music?

It’s now about 5 years. We started making our own music in 2016. The First original track was ‘Tango Ipnotico’ on Jolly Jams.

How would you describe your sound?

A little bit of Funk, mixed with Dark Disco and Slow Techno. And now, Shake it!

You have had a regular club night for some time. Tell us a little about that?

It’s from 2012 that we are doing the Rollover Weekly party every f****** Friday. Weekly contact with our audience is something really special. The crowd know what to expect every time from you. It creates a very strong connection between everyone, it’s very intimate. The true concept of Club Culture starts right from here, from this type of relationship. The weekly party allows us to cultivate this essential vibe and also to make our “DJ guests” feel at home.

The Italo Funk Vol. 2 album is dedicated to Claudio Coccoluto who has now sadly passed. Tell us a little about him..

He was a fantastic human being. After two minutes of conversation with him, you immediately understood everything. Humility, dedication, culture. He was able to recognize the beauty in people with great ease and opened up completely once he understood that he could trust them. A Master of life. He did a lot for global recognition of our scene. He is undoubtedly the Italian DJ par excellence!

The Italo Funk album is collection of original tracks from all Italian crew showcasing the talent in the form of the Italo Funk sound. Talk us through your track ‘Buonasera’.

This song came up while we were jamming in the studio listening to a lot of Jazz and Harvey Sutherland’s productions. Then we kept it in a drawer waiting for the right moment to publish it. When Eli asked us if we had any tracks for the new volume of Italo Funk we thought that “Buonasera” sounds perfectly Italo Funk!

What was the last piece of music that you bought?

The new Damon Albarn album. It warms your soul and it’s kind of Balearic.

If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?

Hot Chocolate – Man To Man

Is there a record in time that you wish you had made?

The Rapture – Echoes

What’s coming next for Rollover DJs?

Lots of cool releases coming out on Rollover Milano Records that we can’t wait to share with the World

What do you want for Christmas?

Italo Funk Vol.2 under our Christmas Tree! What we don’t want for sure is for our work to be cancelled again by the pandemic.

ITALO FUNK VOLUME 2. / SOUL CLAP RECORDS / RELEASED 10TH DECEMBER – Pre order now available via Bandcamp, Phonica and all main digital services

Active Ingredients – Blow the House Down EP

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Ramrock Red Records are incredibly proud to present the fabulous new release ‘Blow the House Down’ by Active Ingredients a.k.a the prodigious Antipodean beatsmith, Inkswel and his partner in rhymes, the formidable Atlanta emcee, Stan Smith. Their new 7 track EP gets the party started from the get-go. The original version has Stan bouncing his flow over the beats, giving the track Sugarhill vibes mixed in with that classic NY hip hop sound from back in the day with a sprinkling of Atlanta Funk and an incessant rhythm. The North Street West Crew’s production nods towards a Philadelphia groove, with a smattering of inspiration from Pete Rock, Cold Crush Brothers and the Jungle Brothers as well as your very own label mistress Jo, aka Lady Kaos, elbowing her way onto backing vocals.

Ahead of the EP we ask them a few questions..

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Inkswel aka Jules Habib – one half of Active Ingredients with the mighty Stan Smith  

Where are you from, where are you now?

Adelaide Australia… back there now due to COVID but have spent the last ten years living in Melbourne, Amsterdam, Gold Coast, Berlin, London and beyond. 

What are you up to today?

Working on a guest DJ mix and finishing the final mixes for my new album coming next year and the debut album from Neo Soul vocalist Erin Buku. 

Talk us through your new release a little.

Me and Stan initially linked in 2019 via our mutual friend Daz-I-kue, of Bugz in the Attic, and we formed like Voltron as Active Ingredients. Our first EP was on French label, Cosmocities and we have since worked on a lot of music together. This jam came about around the same time as the initial one, but we sat on it until we found the right home for it with Jo Wallace’s Ramrock Records!

Is there a process of production that you follow when making a new track?

I usually pick a stack of records to listen to. I start with inspiration, and this usually connects me to the Universe’s vibrations. The process from there is something divine and beyond this ether. I just let it flow.  

Who would you love to see playing this music?

Anyone who listens for the love ..

Where is the best place to listen to it?

Digital services … and Bandcamp  

What was the last piece of music that you bought?

Re issue of ‘Madvillain’ (RIP DOOM) from my friends store, Cold Krush Records, and Hiatus Kaiyote ‘Get Sun’ single on Brainfeeder Records. 

If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?  

Platinum Pied Pipers – Triple P Wajeed is an absolute don! Or DJ SPINNA – intergalactic soul.

What advice would you give to other producers in the studio?

Know your approach inside out – what you use is irrelevant. Your intention and vibration is what matters.  

What have you got the pipeline?

New album start of 2022, lots of remixes and production for other vocalists and rappers.. And loads more!

Inkswel is an eclectic DJ, producer and tastemaker with a long and extensive history of blending the boundaries of genre with a strong B-Boy foundation and forever evolving outlook. He has recently launched his own label, Inner Tribe Records, released his second album on Atjazz Records as well as a boogie EP for Kraak and Smaak’s label, Boogie Angst. Plus, there are several forthcoming Active Ingredients projects in his collaborative musical pipeline.

Stan “Steam” Smith has earnt an international reputation as a versatile emcee, having worked with the likes of Daz-I-Kue, Soulparlor and Rahgroove on their Tokyo Dawn Records release “Get Up Movement” and recently showcased his superb mike techniques on Japanese beat maker MFP’s “Busy Work” and he is constantly in the studio.

Releases November 26, 2021 – Bandcamp here or via player above…

Paradise, Forever EP – Uzu Moon

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UZU MOON | NEAREST FARAWAY PLACE INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Uzu Moon and I’m a Dutch/Japanese American composer and DJ.

Where are you from, where are you now?

I was born and raised in a small village in the South of The Netherlands, but currently based in Amsterdam.

What are you up to today?

I just woke up and it’s still early in the morning. Just finished my morning routine. It’s still dark outside but the city is slowly waking up. I’ll be in the studio later today, but first I’m finishing up some work on my laptop.

Talk us through your new release a little…

‘Paradise, Forever’ is my first label EP as Uzu Moon, releasing on Fluid Funk. It features three tracks that take influence from (acid) house, jazz, electronica, Japanese ambient and hip-hop/R&B. There’s also a very groovy samba-influenced remix by Cody Currie.

Is there a process of production that you follow when making a new track?

There isn’t really a set process that I follow when I’m creating music, it is always very intuitive and fluid. I’m always working on multiple tracks and projects at a time, which keeps me from getting a creative block. Whenever I start a new project, I’ll usually begin with going through my database of demo’s and see if anything in there sparks my interest. Sometimes I’ll take a tiny element from a random demo and create a new track from it, or sometimes I’ll just start completely anew. In the end it really depends on whatever ignites my creativity and gets the juices flowing.

Who would you love to see playing this music?

I’d probably die overjoyed if someone like Madlib or Four Tet would play this. Then again, I’m just happy to have anyone play it who really resonates with the music.

Where is the best place to listen to it?

Driving down a neon-lit street in the dead of night during summer.

What was the last piece of music that you bought?

Promises by Floating Points & Pharaoh Sanders on vinyl. Such a beauty.

If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?

This is a really tough question, because I’m into a lot of very opposing styles of music. I’d say perhaps Toro y Moi’s Anything In Return because it effortlessly blends elements of dance, jazz, R&B & hip-hop.

What advice would you give to other producers in the studio?

Forget the rules and try to rely on your intuition as much as possible.

What have you got the pipeline?

I’m currently working on a short film for Uzu Moon, which I co-wrote. It will feature some new music, a bit more cinematic. I’m also working on a new EP and writing the score for a documentary. There will be a lot of new music in 2022.

Socials:

Website: uzumoon.com

IG: instagram.com/uzu.moon

FB: facebook.com/uzumoon

SC: soundcloud.com/uzumoon

Debuting on Fluid Funk with a lush and lax voyage dreamy coastal scapes, Dutch artist with Japanese / American heritage Uzu Moon dishes out feel-good, Cali-funk-informed vibes by the dozen over the course of four delectably smooth tracks, infused with elements of LA beat, soulful house and post-balearic elevation – including a rework from Cody Currie. 

A bespoke late-summer joint to bump out loud in your open-top, “Asa” gets the ball rolling slo-mo style, brittle piano stabs chiming alongside mangled rap samples, playful acid spurts and a languid jazzy shuffle to drive it all. Funky synth hooks blazing, “Sunder, Love” lets off washed-out RnB vibrations over beds of 303-emulating squelch, topped off with a guitar solo a la Santana like you’re chilling out in Venice Beach. 

“When I Get Home, I’ll Know It’s Over” then heads for the opposite side of the Pacific with its koto-esque resonances, soft tapping drums and rugged acid loops weaving a melancholia-laced, loungey narrative for the dance floor and not. “Sunder, Love” as reshaped by Shall Not Fade affiliate Cody Currie revs things up two notches further, turning the original into a doped-up chugger, primed for sustained hustlin’ n bustlin’ in the ballroom with its convulsive congas and vaporous melody fluttering like a groovy butterfly.

Released November 25, 2021 – Buy / Listen via Bandcamp and other digital services here…

Chris Coco – CaliforniAmbient

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Beautiful new release from Chris Coco today – ‘CaliforniAmbient‘ is a dreamy beatless remix of ‘California White Sage‘ from his superb recent album ‘Jamu‘ out with a suitably transcendent video. Chris says it’s ‘a breathy ambient piece perfect for contemplation, meditation or yoga’ – we say; leave it on repeat and prepare for an out of body experience, sublime…

Released November 17, 2021 – via Bandcamp – here or via player above.

GROUND PLANE AERIAL – CHAMPAGNE TEST EP

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Copenhagen-based musical adventurer Ground Plane Aerial returns with the latest instalment under his recently birthed moniker – Returning with the second outing on his freshly birthed label Theorama Records.

The Champagne Test EP is a solid testimony to the dawn of a reinvigorated dance scene in his homestead

Ground Plane Aerial is the latest incarnation of the mysterious man behind the highly regarded Paxton Fettel project. With countless releases under his belt on much respected labels – including Delusions Of Grandeur, Kolour LTD, Apersonal, and regular home Greta Cottage Workshop – the new nom de plume is an exciting new vessel from where he intends to advance his odyssey into house-inspired jazz-funk futurism. Fresh from inspired releases and remixes on Apparel Music and Tensnake’s True Romance.

Swirling acidlines and funky bass guitar dominates the airspace as the 909 ensures a solid foundation to an enigmatic “champagne sparkle” space trip. 

Delicate swirls of silver clouds orbit a core of funk-laden motifs on the dreamy yet driving force which is “Later Bloomer”- Warm as an Egyptian summer night.

RELEASED: 24TH OCTOBER – Listen & Buy via Juno here…

ATTRAKTORS – Ron Basejam Remixes

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Crazy P Maestro tweaks industrial trio on Higher Love!

Attraktors are a power trio, currently residing in Nottingham. Bass player John Thompson is a veteran of the 2-Tone ska revival, having done stints with both Bad Manners and The Selector. He also spent time in Davy Henderson’s wonderful avant / art pop outfit, The Nectarine No. 9. James Flower was a founding member of post-rockers, Six By Seven, where he supplied saxophone and keys. Antony Hodgkinson previously beat the skins for Derby “alternatives”, Bivouac, and collaborated with Julian Cope. Their debut, self-titled LP was released to some acclaim in the press, on Ali Renault`s Vivod label, last summer. The set referencing influences such as Depeche Mode, Eno, Harmonia, Human League, and Kraftwerk. Ron Basejam, from live-wire festival favourites, Crazy P, has now remixed two choice cuts for Brighton`s Higher Love Recordings. 

Heavy Water rushes in on a siren-like synthetic fanfare, while dramatic, rattling percussion promises some kind of imminent lift-off. Mr. Basejam doesn’t disappoint, delivering a dynamite, deep, bottom-heavy chug, tested by depth-charge sonar blips. A menacing LFO arpeggio propelling the piece out onto the peak-time dancefloor. Its snarl softened slightly as Ron launches that fanfare once more. Moody, magnificent, body-moving, it drops down to a conga break, and then hits you with some real horns, before bringing that bolshy bastard of a beat back. 

Maximum Minimum initially subdues, suckers, listeners with a more serene start – one of cinematic synths, and kosmische squiggles. Counterpointing this gurgling gear with theremin sighs and epic keyboard arcs. Suddenly this is all then set running, racing, to a riot of rumbling motorik funk. Chunkily bass-ed, its punk edges are eventually buffed by pretty prog harmonies, as the track evolves into an opulent, vocoder-ed, expanse. A piano rolling and rolling, as that robotic voice readies you for ignition on this righteous cosmic rocket.

This 10″ single comes with a free digital download of the Attraktors debut album. Just tag in the label @higherloverec into a picture or video of your purchased copy on instagram, facebook or twitter for a download code.

OUT NOW – Listen / Buy via Juno here.

Ron Basejam in the Studio

Ya Bosmang – Freak Seven

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Northern Life Records are proud, and a little dizzy with excitement, to present Freak Seven’s debut long player ‘Ya Bosmang’.

After taking a hiatus for ten years, Freak Seven recorded and mixed this album in Manchester during 2019-2020. The album is a ten tracker running at a little over fifty minutes with its musical roots treading dark dubby waters, Manchester warehouses and Detroit Electronica

The album starts with ‘This Ain’t Hip Hop’ a mid tempo electro groove with a choppy sequenced dissonant synth bassline, TR808 drums and a string line at the end which is a head nod to New Religion and Al Nafyysh.

Ya Bosmang is the title track that starts off with a chin stroking chord progression and then steers into more visceral Beltalowda territory.

This Hurting In Me features the vocals of the wonderfully talented Victoria Unthank (no not those Unthanks but maybe a distant cousin?). A dark dragging bassline with minimal drums and a haunting vocal.

The album closes with ‘Drop It’ a tune that would fit quite easily in West London or a UR party somewhere in Detroit.

released October 1, 2021 – buy via Bandcamp link above…

The City – Session Victim & Erobique with Jamie Lloyd

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Session Victim and Erobique join forces once again for a beautiful cover version of Mark Almond‘s “The City” starring Jamie Lloyd’s enticing vocals and featuring Linnart Ebel on rhythm guitar.

Ever since Hauke Freer stumbled over Mark Almond‘s final studio album Other People’s Rooms at Montreal record store Death Of Vinyl a few years ago, the pair would regularly finish DJ nights with this 1978 recording of their hit single “The City” – and since then, the idea of recording their own rendition had been tossed around frequently. Carsten “Erobique” Meyer was not the first but really the duo’s only choice to see this through and well, just listen to the impeccable Rhodes/Clavinet combination he came up with.

However, it is Sydney’s Jamie Lloyd who steals the show and takes the song into his realm, putting his very own stamp and character on this certified classic. Long time collaborator Linnart Ebel completes the band with his ever subtle rhythm guitar. The two, three, four, five man house, not house band branches out for all the right reasons and this is the result.

Released September 24, 2021 listen / buy via Bandcamp here or via player below…

September On The Island (Dub Version) – Chris Coco & George Solar

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Everybody’s favourite month of every Ibiza season has long deserved an adequate ode, and here it is in full dub version! Most of the tourists are gone, the beaches are empty, the water as clear as the skies and the sun sets in an even more magnificent way. Maybe that’s why there’s a certain amount of sweet, almost tropical melancholy in the air while she does. And chances are it sounds a little something like this… down on that beach. Do you remember? Never a cloudy day!