APRIL 2020: Listen to the new EP at https://smarturl.it/undercurrents.ep

Sheffield (UK) based downtempo electronica composers, producers and DJs, specialists in creating and performing live soundtracks to cult films, and purveyors of heartwarming ambient electronica with a hint of soul.

Het.ero.dox

Heterodox Records is a publisher and advocate of electronic music that has it's own color and theme. We look for artists that push the boundaries of their own concepts of art and offer the listener something different. Our goal is to promote, encourage, and display music and art of an abstract and personal nature.





The chief perpetrator of the International Observer experience is keyboardist, songwriter and producer Tom Bailey.

Following the extraordinary success of his post-punk synth-pop group The Thompson Twins, production and writing work for the likes of Deborah Harry, and the ambient techno of his Babble project, Tom Bailey was lured to the exotic climes of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

New Zealand culture has a long history of appreciation for reggae and dub, along with more recent blends like hip hop. this, along with NZ's balmy climes, created the perfect inspiration for Tom's exploration of the dub artform he had deeply loved since the seething post-punk infatuation of the music in the late 70s. Together with sparring partner Rakai, Tom initiated International Observer, a sound system that has quietly infiltrated various Auckland events over the past five years, creating a legendary reputation for marathon five-hour sets of exquisitely-crafted slo-mo dubscapes.

Early in 2002, having amassed enough material for a boxed set, Tom set about pruning the oevre down to an ideal International Observer primer, called 'Seen'. While he attempted to keep the wraps on this absurdly tasty release, it was somewhat inevitable that previews were sneaked out of seclusion, resulting in extensive radio play worldwide and eager members of the press corps frothing at the mouth for IO morsels. It's been called the lushest, deepest, most caringly crafted dub-a-tronic exploration ever released, a cunning experiment in melodic instrumental dub that, without losing its edge, makes for the most gorgeously seductive meditative listening experience. It was released in NZ by Beautiful Music, and the rest of the world by Different Drummer.

This release was followed in 2005 by "All Played Out", a selection of live and sound system favourites that for one reason or another did not make it onto "Seen". Released only in New Zealand and Australia on the cult Auckland label, Round Trip Mars, helmed by the inimitable Stinky Jim, it followed its predecessor into the hands, boxes and players of discerning dubheads.

Some of the tracks from “All Played Out” finally made it out worldwide in 2007 on the “Heard” album through Dubmission Records. Critically acclaimed by the press, it also featured newer tracks and classics such as “The International”.

His third album, “Felt”, came out in September 2009.

Since then his attention has been diverted to his other projects: the Holiwater Band, the Bailey-Salgado Project and his revived pop career as ‘The Thompson Twins’s Tom Bailey’.

Thankfully dub has lured him back into the studio once more, and fresh cuts are promised for 2017.

Dubmission Records have blazed a trail of warped woofers since the mid 90’s, when they launched with a trio of bass heavy dubwise compilations. 

In 1996, they kicked off with the Mashing Up Creation album, which featured tracks by Doof, Adelphi and http://soundcloud.com/andyguthrie amongst others. It was reviewed favourably by The Sunday Times, DJ and Sleaze Nation – the latter describing it as “carrying on where original dub hijackers The Orb left off!” It was swiftly followed by Dubbed On Planet Skunk, with stand out tracks from http://soundcloud.com/zion-train, Quirk and Alpha & Omega. The third instalment took 2 years to put together – More Bass Than Space was a double album which represented every spectrum of the modern dub scene, with tunes from artists as diverse as Hallucinogen, http://soundcloud.com/woob, http://soundcloud.com/solarquest, Singers&Players and Tribal Drift. It sold well all over the world, and led to tours of Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and USA.

From 2001-5, the Dubmission crew concentrated more on artist management and event promotion than releasing records. However after hearing Ape to Angel by http://soundcloud.com/pitchblacknz, they decided to bring Dubmission out of “retirement”, as it represented everything and more that the label had tried to achieve.  

Since then the label has gone from strength to strength, with several more releases from http://soundcloud.com/pitchblacknz (Frequencies Fall, Rude Mechanicals, Rhythm, Sound & Movement plus their first two albums, Futureproof and Electronomicon), as well as Seen, Heard and Felt by http://soundcloud.com/international-observer, Make Animals Happy by http://soundcloud.com/warptechnique, Third Ear Audio’s Third Ear Audio and Paddy Free’s Karekare. The crew has also found time to compile two smoky collections for the Japanese label, Wakyo: On A Dubmission Volumes One and Two.

In 2010, to celebrate 15 years of business, they released 15 titles, including new EPs by http://soundcloud.com/pitchblacknz, http://soundcloud.com/warptechnique, Doof and Green Monitor, plus re-issued classic but deleted albums by Bluey, Stress Assassin and Bill&Ben, as well as playing 15 shows around the world and uploading 15 DJ mixes of Dubmission music to download.

The last few years have seen EPs released by http://soundcloud.com/akashaexperience, http://soundcloud.com/quanta-uk and http://soundcloud.com/erssound., two albums and an EP by http://soundcloud.com/deepfrieddub, a collection of http://soundcloud.com/pitchblacknz remixes of other artists and a new compilation series, The Next Mission, designed to showcase up and coming talent.  

All Dubmission releases are available from http://dubmission.bandcamp.com

Enquiries to dub dubmissionrecords com

Rob the Universe is 13.8 billion year old probability field of energy. It's currently playing a game where it pretends to forget that it's everything by trapping pieces of itself inside of forgetting machines. This particular forgetting machine is a psychedelic science fiction hip hop artist based out of Portland, Oregon.

Pitch Black are Michael Hodgson and Paddy Free. Having pumped their way through New Zealand’s electronic music scene since their inaugural performance at the annual Gathering New Year's eve festival in 1996, they have spent the subsequent years rousing dance floor punters, generating rave reviews, winning awards and gaining thousands of fans across the world. 

Hard to box into a single audio 'genre', Pitch Black is a combination of musical journeys. Their sound is distinctive; ranging from organic ambient beginnings and layered soundscapes to skanking keyboards, cutting acid riffs and thumping rhythmic grooves, with dub being the glue that holds their sound together. One critic has described them as like "Orbital meets King Tubby, or Rhythm and Sound in Technicolor". 

It is their live show that really makes Pitch Black stand out from the rest of the crowd, both sonically and visually. Their tracks take on an added dynamism and their performances reveal the dialectic behind the band - Paddy wants to do it for the crowd, Michael wants to do it to the crowd. Visually they are in another dimension thanks to Michael's cutting edge visuals.

They have toured the world relentlessly, playing everywhere from Amsterdam to Zagreb and the streets of Las Vegas to the Australian outback, supporting acts such as Coldcut, Skream, Easy Dub All Stars and System 7 along the way.

NZ Bookings: h (at) strikeagency.co.nz
RoW Bookings: info (at) dubmissionrecords.com

Electrorganic Project is following