Jose Pouj
Stealth Fragments EP

‘Twoism’ retains a cult status elevated above even Boards of Canada’s sought after albums and the pressing to vinyl of this early EP as part of the duo’s series of repressings from Warp seems long overdue. From the opening distant chiming synths of ‘Sixtyniner’, which settle within faded hip-hop beats, this is music that exerts a rare and magical power through sounds that suggest and entice.‘Melissa Juice’ displays a sense of depth one would have thought impossible to achieve with the naïve sounds employed, as two Tomorrow’s World synths delicately wrap around one another and a degraded shuffle pins down this ambiguous and understated texture. The title track allows the percussion to dominate more, with slowly undulating synth pitches inducing a sea-sick melancholy, while in ‘See Ya Later’ melodic elements appear to be continually receding into the distance with synths so saturated by tape decay that they sound like memories of orchestral brass. It’s tough to pick highlights from such a commanding set of tracks, but, if pushed, one might turn towards the destroyed breakbeat stutters of ‘Basefree’ or closer ‘1986 Summer Fires’, which must rank as one of Boards’ most powerful ambient cuts, where a plaintive synth chorale appears to decay on itself as tape distortions subtly accumulate.

Debut solo album from Chicago-based producer The Twilite Tone, aka Anthony Khan.The Clearing showcases a sound that Tone describes as “trans-genre” — a mixture of house, electronic funk, and instrumental hip-hop that continues Stones Throw’s beat-maker legacy — informed by the musical history and spirit of his home town.Tone grew up in a musical household: his parents shared a passion for dance, and his uncle is legendary bassist Hassan Khan. But, he explains, it was “the evolution of the Chicago dance music scene, as well as the evolution of underground hip-hop here, that pushed me to seek, find and ultimately create the perfect beats, rhymes, style and life around who I am authentically,” he says. Though Chicago is “often segregated geographically and mentally, it still finds a way to be harmonious, making it a special place to be.”Tone first linked up with Common in the ‘80s, as DJ for him and No I.D. and co-produced much of Common’s debut album Can I Borrow A Dollar. He went on to contribute production to several major records, including Gorillaz’s Humanz, the hit single “Mercy” from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music: Cruel Summer, and John Legend’s Love in the Future, for which he received three Grammy Award nominations.Peanut Butter Wolf and Tone initially crossed paths in the early 2000s at a club in Chicago, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that they were reconnected in L.A. by legendary Chicago DJ Dave Mata. As soon as Wolf heard Tone’s solo album, he knew he wanted to release it. For Tone’s part, he wanted to “clear and cleanse all the collected debris of the past, whether deemed ‘good’ or ‘bad’, to allow people to see, hear, and begin to know me.”As is the case with many classic instrumental records, the Akai MPC is the star of the show on The Clearing. The only other gear Tone used was a Korg Triton Workstation and what he calls “a secret Moog-like Module”. With this simple setup, he created music layered with personal meaning. Sci-fi motifs threaded throughout symbolise the workings of the mind, and each track is intended to portray a different stage in Tone’s life, from the romance of ‘Baby Steps’ to the speech by Dr. Khalid Muhammad sampled on ‘Do It Properly’.With his solo debut, Tone wants to show the world the real Anthony Khan. He says: “The Clearing is a space and place of being free. We need to clear the debris from the desk and see the mahogany wood, so we can do the work.  I don’t just want to talk, I want to do the work.”

Kano's 1981 album "New York Cake", including the hits "Can't Hold Back (Your Loving) and "Baby Not Tonight" finally remastered and pressed on limited edition transparent blue vinyl!

Under the Beard In Dust alias, Leonid Lipelis has produced some of the most inspired re-edits released over the last decade, often turning chunks of long-forgotten Eastern European disco, boogie, synth-pop and AOR into quirky dancefloor gems. He's at it again here, launching the Crudo Rircordi imprint via a trio of eccentric, mid-80s treats. With its driving, kick-drum driven beat, addictive bassline, foreboding synthesizer motifs and Mediterranean guitars, 'Senor Paraiso' is a Balearic proto-house gem, while 'Kirkovmoroder' is a cheery chunk of AOR synth-pop turned into a tongue-in-cheek dancefloor treat. 'Coconut Paradise', meanwhile, is an Italo-disco style slab of peak-time campness straight from the top shelf.