The room swelled with sweaty bodies, the pulse of the music working each dancer into a frenzy. There was just enough space to move freely, a stark contrast to the empty space that had welcomed people just hours before. The night had only just begun and here time was known to stand still; there was no knowing whether morning had broke or night had fallen again. But that knowledge carried little weight — while it was out of sight, it remained out of mind.

Through events in their home of Brighton, and more recently in the capital, Accidental Meetings have proved themselves as expert curators of the dance. Around a year ago they added a label to their activities, launching with a family and friends compilation and since releasing a handful of live tapes and two solo EPs. Now they mark the end of another year with their second comp, bringing together a selection of old and new friends, with some hints at upcoming releases on the imprint.

Across the 19 tracks they welcome Eiger Drums Propaganda, LUXE, Troy Gunner, Simkin and London-based duo Kiara Scuro, who deliver an acid-tinged progressive trance cut which marks their first ever production. All profits from the release will be donated to Mind, one of Britain's leading mental health charities.

PREMIERE: Kiara Scuro - Trance Would Be A Fine Thing [Accidental Meetings]

Out now on Rekids: lnk.to/REKIDS193

Following two stand-out EPs on the techno-focussed Rekids Special Projects throughout 2021, the Venezuelan-born, Bogota-based Confidential Recipe readies his debut appearance on parent-label Rekids. With three killer originals, including a collaboration with Manao and accompanied by a remix from Gene Richards Jr, the EP solidifies Confidential Recipe’s growing vitality in the South American techno scene and beyond.

‘Dance’ leads the ‘The Bridge EP’, with commanding vocals, organ licks and knocking drums preceding a dramatic tempo change in the breakdown. Fresh off the back of releases Truncate’s WRKTRX, Gene Richards Jr flips ‘Dance’ into a funk-laden techno pumper, with the vocals sliced and manipulated around fresh dub techno inspired chords.

On the flip, ‘Come (Dub Mix)’ kicks off the B side, marrying shimmering pads, razor-sharp kicks, and trance-inducing low end for a deep and rolling cut. Rounding out the EP is ‘Come (Breaks Mix)’ produced in collaboration with Berlin-based Manao, and sees the duo add dense breakbeats, rave stabs, and heaving sub hits over elements of the original for a rowdy affair.

Confidential Recipe, Gene Richards Jr, & Manao

Come

Confidential Recipe & Manao - Come (Breaks Mix)

Do You Wanna Dance

Do You Wanna Rave

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* Read more: https://boltingbits.com/secret-witness-have-you-ever-club-mix-bienvenue-recordings
* Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZE0z-uBj95c
* Pre-order: https://bienvenuerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/have-you-ever

Secret Witness is the meeting of four musical minds out of Montreal. Here they deliver their second release entitled ‘Have You Ever’, two ways. Featuring the hypnotising vocal delivery of Laroie, her RnB lean resting delicately atop of the deep and sensual mid-tempo beats in the ‘Main Mix’, while the ‘Club Mix’ really takes it down to the dirty basement for a more serious heads down groove. Out on Bienvenue, the label headed up by Gene Tellem (WOLF Music) who is one part of the awesome foursome, alongside seasoned producer Gabriel Rei, singer songwriter Laroie, and dynamic drummer and percussionist Pascal Deaudelin. Quietly carving out a niche in deep and subtle, perfectly polished, thought provoking house music, Secret Witness are well worth keeping eyes and ears on.

Have You Ever

PREMIERE: Secret Witness - Have You Ever (Club Mix)

Big Beat Manifesto Catalogue Nr. 1

Bass in Space

Alunae-Elowen [Dark Nature Concept]

SALAM OUT NOW 🌑 ✰★✰ https://song.link/jtfnknf2tbd7c

STREAM

d3bAU4 - SALAM

Hotflush are proud to welcome an exciting new talent to the roster. Her name is Or:la and she arrives at her debut 12” already boasting a formidable reputation as a DJ and promoter in the UK - her long-standing Meine Nacht party is Merseyside’s finest and her appearances on WHP line-ups are turning heads. The 12” in question is ‘UK Lonely’ - a four track EP that flaunts enviable range and seems to contradict the producer’s youthful years. In it she covers a broad spectrum of past and contemporary influences spanning garage, Afrobeat, breaks and dubstep.

The A-side is punchy yet elegant: vocal cut-ups drift through off-beat percussions in title track ’UK Lonely’, while riddims and melodies weave in and out of each other on an exotic ‘Limbosoup’. The B-side is more contemplative: ‘X & O’ recalls the wistful vocals and layers them over aughties breakbeats before ’Jaipur’ rounds off this opening salvo in delicate and playful fashion, hinting at things to come.

Tracklisting:

A1. UK Lonely 
A2. Limbosoup 
B1. X & O
B2. Jaipur

UK Lonely

Buy on Beatport

Or:la - UK Lonely [OUT NOW]

Christian Nielsen teams up with label boss Skream.  Released on Of Unsound Mind they bring you the infectious  Sleep Walking taken from the Vixen EP.

@skreamizm
@christiannielsenmusic

PREMIERE : Sleep Walking - Skream and Christian Nielsen [Of Unsound Mind]

Today sees one of London’s most exciting new talents, ABSOLUTE. (aka Anthony McGinley) announce his debut mixtape Wonderland, due for release on May 7th via Skint Records/BMG. Alongside the announcement, tickets for ABSOLUTE.’s headline show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on Saturday 19th June are on sale now. 
 
Buy tickets for Islington Assembly Hall here: https://skint.lnk.to/AbsoluteLivePR  
 
Wonderland is a whirlwind ride through dance music as heard through ABSOLUTE.’s ears: emotive house, hard-edged techno, divine disco, and euphoric rave bring the party, while more cerebral downtempo and textural ambient tracks wind things down. It’s party music for a time without parties, all shot through with McGinley’s message of hope and equality for all.  
 
Speaking on the Mixtape, ABSOLUTE. explains: “Writing this album brought me back to life, I was writing music that helped me feel certain ways, freedom and connectedness to something I and many others were missing, longing hard to be around people, or needing a dose of raw euphoric rave energy which gave some release at the sheer desperation to dance and feel joy. Even if just for a short time, to feel transported to 90’s UK raves or New York’s underground gave me some life, and I hope it does for you too. Welcome to Wonderland…” 
 
The mixtape album came to fruition as a result of the recent lockdown where ABSOLUTE., and the rest of the world, was forced to a standstill. Anthony was determined to turn his frustration into art and participated in a creative workshop that helped open his mind to new ideas, taking his music in exciting directions. The title of the mixtape takes its name from Wonderland Arena, a now obsolete rave space in East London that played host to live performances from the likes of Frankie Knuckles, The Prodigy, and Carl Cox during the halcyon days of acid house and early rave, and that is now converted into apartments where Anthony currently lives and works. 
 
ABSOLUTE. Is a project that has steadily gained momentum over the last couple of years, deftly choosing the right path for long term success rather than quick gains. Coming from the vibrant LGBTQ+ club and rave space where he promoted influential events in London, Anthony wanted to make sure foundations were solid before making the break into the live arena with this incredible body of work. He’s DJed at a wide array of parties and festivals from Glastonbury and Creamfields to Fabric and Razzmatazz but performing live has always been the goal. As lockdown came into effect he was packing his equipment to go on the road supporting dance legends 808 State on a 10 date UK tour.  
 
Despite a total shutdown of the live sector during the pandemic, Anthony still managed to perform his debut live set for Radio 1’s virtual Ibiza weekend during the summer and has just announced a headline live show at Islington’s assembly for March next year in partnership with underground gatekeepers Percolate. 
 
Alongside his musical accomplishments, Anthony is a passionate activist for human rights and has a longstanding track record of work supporting issues including climate, race, and LGBTQ+ justice. After attending the first Extinction Rebellion action in London, McGinley wrote “Rave Against the Machine”, a track that sampled a speech by Greta Thunberg which resulted in XR later inviting him to programme the music line-up of their International Rebellion at Trafalgar Square, while at Glastonbury, he played at Greenpeace’s Rave Tree.

Fauna

Management: terry@turbomgmt.co.uk
Bookings: laetitia@decked-out.co.uk

With hardcore support from Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Gerd Janson, Tiga and The Blessed Madonna, who correctly noted that he has “the hardest working hair in show business,” ABSOLUTE. has raised himself above the rabble of contemporary dance music with stone-cold hits “Follow ur <3’,”Ride”, “Don’t Ya Want it’, “Papi’s Pumping Piano” and an official remix of Kylie’s anthem-of-the-decade ‘Padam Padam’ that will ensure free Fuji water in his green room for the rest of his life. As the London-based DJ/producer is a virtual lock to earn the kind of clout that will allow him to scrub the internet of all biographical detail, it seems wise to revisit his early days and career-to-date while we still can. 

As a child, ABSOLUTE. was enthralled by dance music, to the extent that he took the money his father had given him to buy clothes and spent it on a single turntable. While initially furious, once his dad heard the music, he calmed down and said, “Son, that is a low-slung floor-filler, and I have no choice but to respect it.” Later, ABSOLUTE. honed his DJing skills by using the lone deck to beat-match to Pete Tong’s BBC Radio show, a fact that will take on eerie significance if you read this bio backwards. 

A teenage ABSOLUTE. found his chosen family among club kids and drag queens in East London queer spaces, eventually going on to promote and curate spaces like these himself. "For whatever reason, the people in the queer scene hadn’t found liberation in pub trivia nights held at Wetherspoons breeding pits," he says. “So they had to create their own world instead. At this point, my politics are actually less progressive than the British Airways twitter account, so things seem to be moving in the right direction."

These experiences led to ABSOLUTE. to notice that queer spaces are largely dependent on the viability of human existence. As such, his nascent activist streak led him to sample climate icon Greta Thunberg on the track “Rave Against the Machine”, despite the fact that the 40-and-over conservatives who regularly challenge Thunberg to debate and/or wrestle on social media make up a huge part of the acid house market. The track led to a collaboration with the Extinction Rebellion collective, for whom ABSOLUTE. curated the “Rave Against the Machine” queer stage at the activists’ event in London. Unfortunately, the stage was promptly shut down by police. While many of the cops had no opinion on the political message, they were reportedly pissed that the event was overshadowing an after-hours the local station had been promoting.

To the extent that there is a habitable future for anyone at all, ABSOLUTE.’s is looking bright. With official remixes for icons Fever Ray and Tony De Vit, and a mass of original music including EPs on Shall Not Fade, DJ Haus’ Hot Haus, New York Queer stalwart Chrissy’s new label Maximum Airtime, a Radio 1 Essential Mix live from Glastonbury and named 6Music ‘Mix of the Year’ by The Blessed Madonna and a recently completed fourth U.S. tour. “Whether my music helps inspire the advance of cold fusion technology or I end up DJing the Emerging Artists Stage of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I’m going to keep bringing the same BIG NEON ENERGY intensity to everything I do. 

So the next time someone tells you there’s no absolutes, give them a knowing grin and say, 'There’s just one, honey. Just one.’"