Ahead of the release of his hotly anticipated ninth album as the Emperor Machine, Island Boogie, Andrew Meecham releases a club-focused 12” featuring some dancefloor dubs and reworks of key LP cuts.

Island Boogie arrives four years after Meecham’s previous full-length, Music Not Safari, and sees the veteran producer deliver his most ‘personal’ set yet – a collection of kaleidoscopic, cosmic-leaning, dub disco-influenced neo-boogie excursions inspired by his love of the custom-built soundsystem at Rotation Garden Party, an annual micro-festival founded by a group of friends including his former Chicken Lips production partner Dean Meredith.

It's fitting, then, that the EP begins with a superb interpretation of ‘'Dévoilez-Vous’ by T-Kutt, AKA Meredith and long-term studio partner Ben Shenton. The pair’s ‘AM FM Club Mix’ sits somewhere between classic Prelude-style electrofunk, NYC proto-house and early British interpretations of American house music. Séverine Mouletin’s chopped-up improvised vocals weave in and out of sun-bright keyboard riffs, colourful synthesiser motifs, heady synth-strings, D-Train style synth-bass and delay-laden machine drums. It’s a superb re-imagination of one of the album’s most stellar moments.

The EP’s other headline-grabbing remix comes courtesy of Leng co-founder Paul Murphy AKA Mudd. He reworks title track ‘Island Boogie’, teasing out the spacey synths and languid jazz-funk grooves of Meecham’s original mix and dialling them up to the max. The resultant revision sparkles with crunchy clavinet licks, mazy synth and electric piano solos, and spacey chords rising above a mid-tempo dancefloor groove.

To complete a strong package, Meecham adds two dubs in his distinctively stripped-back, tape echo-heavy style. He first takes on EP title track ‘Dévoilez-Vous’, wrapping vintage drum machine hits in oodles of space echo and dub delay while devoting more time and space to the killer bassline, Rupert Brown’s infectious hand percussion, and Mouletin’s vocalisations. 

To round off the EP, he dubs out album epic ‘La Cassette’, another collaboration with Mouletin that also features additional percussion by Brown. Like the original synth-powered dancefloor dubs of the early-to-mid-80s that have long been an inspiration, Meecham’s ‘La Cassette’ dub features key musical elements – many drenched in trippy effects – popping in and out of the mix, while his sturdy drums and memorable bassline spar with Brown’s percussion below.

PRE-ORDER

Emperor Machine - Dévoilez-Vous (incl Mudd & T Kutt Remixes)

Whisper it quietly, but Andrew Meecham’s ninth album as The Emperor Machine, Island Boogie, may well be the long-serving producer’s strongest set to date. Of course, all his albums ripple with vintage synth sounds, colourful lead lines, dub-flecked electronic disco and lashings of cosmic intent, but this one just feels a little more special.

Island Boogie is certainly special. Meecham’s “most personal” full-length to date was inspired by his experiences at the Rotation Garden Party – a beloved micro-festival promoted by a group of friends (including sometime Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips partner Dean Meredith), renowned for the quality of its custom-built Klipschorn soundsystem. “The album’s title sums up the vibe that you get from Rotation,” he explains. “It may be held in a landlocked venue but it gives a wonderful sense of isolation – it is an audiophile paradise.”

Meecham road-tested rough versions of the album’s eight tracks at Rotation 2023, with the feedback and dancefloor reaction guiding the sound and arrangement of the final mixes. Fittingly, Meecham will return to the event to showcase the album at Rotation 2024 this July. Given the inspiration he’s drawn from previous editions of the festival, that will be a very special occasion.

Musically, Island Boogie offers the most fully functioning and expertly constructed expression of The Emperor Machine sound yet, a style Meecham describes as “electronic cosmic disco-boogie”. It’s a sound that takes cues from early ‘80s NYC punk-funk and dub disco, vintage electro, proto-house and left-of-centre synth-boogie, but one that’s instantly recognisable to those who have followed Meecham’s career over the last three decades.

Island Boogie also sees Meecham continue his blossoming working relationship with Séverine Mouletin, whose stylish and distinctive vocals previously graced his popular ‘Dance Par Amour’ and ‘Your Own Style’ singles. Here Mouletin features on four tracks: the acid-flecked retro-futurist wave-boogie of ‘La Cassette’ (featuring additional percussion by Rupert Brown); the infectious, bleep-sporting headiness of recent single ‘Dévoilez-Vous’; and the squelchy analogue synth-funk of ‘Wanna Pop With You’ and ‘Vas-y-Le Chat’.

Meecham also finds space for a cover of Fox’s 1976 pop-rock classic ‘S-s-s-single Bed’, one of the Stafford-based artist’s all-time favourites. His version, featuring lead vocals by Michelle Bee and guitar from Dave Atherton, re-imagines the track as a subtly Chic-influenced slab of infectious electro-pop rich in kaleidoscopic synth sounds, sing-along choruses and shuffling drums.

The instrumental foundations of the classic Emperor Machine sound come to the fore on the album’s three other cuts. There’s the jazz-funk-flecked warmth of the LP-opening title track; the sparse squelches, bleeps, TB-303 style bass and brightly coloured electronics of ‘Walk The Dog’; and the exotic, slow-motion cosmic electronica of ‘Cha Murrah Etem’, a warm but poignant affair dedicated to his late father. Heady and intoxicating, with hints of Balearica and digital reggae, it offers a fittingly beautiful and tactile conclusion to Meecham’s most expressive and accessible album yet.

LENG SHOP

Emperor Machine - Island Boogie LP

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/

Island Boogie- Dub
La Cassette - Dub
Dévoilez-Vous - Dub
Walk The Dog - Dub
S-S-S Single Bed - Version
Wanna Pop With You - Dub
Vas-y Le Chat - Dub
La Cassette - Dub Instrumental
Dévoilez-Vous - Dub Instrumental
S-S-S Single Bed - Version Instrumental
Wanna Pop With You - Dub Instrumental
Vas-y Le Chat - Dub Instrumental
La Cassette - Instrumental
Dévoilez-Vous - Instrumental
S-S-S Single Bed - Instrumental
Wanna Pop With You - Instrumental
Vas-y Le Chat - Instrumental

The Emperor Machine - Island Dubs

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/music

Riding a wave of critical praise and positive feedback for his most recent Emperor Machine album, the fabulous Island Boogie, Andrew Meecham returns with a typically wild and dancefloor-focused set of dubs, ‘versions’ and remixes.

According to Meecham, Island Boogie is his most personal set to date – a full-length excursion that not only delivers perfectly formed expressions of his dub-tinged, off-kilter synth-boogie sound, but also tracks that draw deeply on his earliest influences and long-held musical expressions.

It’s fitting, then, that this remix EP begins with his own sparse, stripped-back ‘version’ rework of ‘S-S-S-Single Bed’, a fine cover of the mid-80s Fox single featuring the vocals of Michelle Bee. Meecham’s dub-wise revision is a skeletal and driving affair, with snippets of echoing guitar, colourful synths and Bee’s distinctive vocalisations rising above a weighty dub disco bassline and rock-solid percussion.

It's followed by two revisions of album favourite ‘Wanna Pop With You’ from A Love From Outer Space main man Sean Johnston under his now familiar Hardway Brothers alias. Combining his own love of raw, analogue-sounding electronics and trippy dancefloor psychedelia with select elements of Meecham’s original – percussion, synth sounds, crisp guitar licks and elements of Séverine Mouletin’s lead vocals, Johnston’s main ‘remix’ is a weighty, mid-tempo treat. Arguably even better is his accompanying dub, which is more groove-and-effects focused and makes more of Meecham’s superb original bassline. It’s heavy, spaced-out and undeniably intoxicating.

To round off the package, long-time friend of the label (and sometime contributor) Rose Robinson dons her Tigerbalm pseudonym and gets to work on ‘La Cassette’. Brilliantly cutting up Séverine Mouletin’s vocals, she delivers a driving slab of spaced-out, synth-heavy dub disco that adds more weight and energy to Meecham’s original. It’s a fittingly on-point way to close out a superb selection of club-ready revisions.

The Emperor Machine - Remixes (Hardway Bros & Tigerbalm)

Leng’s San Francisco connection has long been strong, with the 40 Thieves collective – and their friend Cole Odin – providing some of the label’s most memorable releases of the last decade.

That Bay Area connection comes to the fore once more on the imprint’s latest release, which sees Odin join forces with fellow San Francisco resident Marshall Watson, a long-serving producer, engineer and live performer known globally for his Balearic-minded productions.

‘Voyager’, the pair’s second collaborative single, is a genuine meeting of minds. It combines Odin’s love of low-slung dub disco, dancefloor psychedelia and low-tempo cosmic house with Watson’s picturesque Balearic synths, sparkling piano riffs and immersive sound design. It’s this blend that dominates on the EP-opening Original Mix, an infectious workout that gets progressively more blissed-out and saucer-eyed as it progresses. Listen carefully and you’ll hear some suitably psychedelic guitar solos nestling amongst the heady washes of sound, sun-bright piano riffs and weighty bass.

Those languid, stretched-out guitar parts naturally take a more prominent role on the Extended Guitar Mix. On this alternative take, the pair deliver a lightly tweaked take on the original groove, stretching it out while overlaying eyes-closed guitar solos, pots-and-pans percussion and a more DJ-friendly outro. It’s effectively an extended club mix – the club in question being a Bay Area basement at 5am.

To round off the EP, Odin and Watson dust off their dancing shoes and pay tribute to San Francisco great Patrick Cowley. On the appropriately titled Cosmic Rave Mix, the pair swap their bass guitar for a pulsating sequenced bassline, trance-inducing synth sounds, and locked-in electronic loops designed to take you to a higher state of consciousness. By the time the track’s familiar piano refrain drops midway through, you’ll be reaching for the lasers in no time at all.

Marshall Watson & Cole Odin - Voyager

Since slipping out on Leng last year, Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy’s first collaboration with singer/songwriter David Harks, ‘Susta’, has become a much-played modern Balearic classic, with DJs and listeners alike responding to the track’s attractive blend of sun-kissed nu-disco instrumentation, warming melodies and deliciously evocative lead vocals from Jaanika Leino AKA JaneLy.

Now the track returns for 2021 in the shape of two superb new remixes from Chicagoan deep house legend Ron Trent, who four years ago delivered similarly ear-catching revisions of Mudd and Pollard’s ‘Far Away’ as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for Murphy’s Claremont 56 label.

As you’d expect given Trent’s impeccable track record over the last three decades, both revisions are stunning. He begins by eking every last ounce of soul from Leino’s brilliant vocal on a remix that’s warming, deep and luscious. Combining elements of Murphy and Harks’ colourful, synth-heavy original mix – including the lusciously tactile bassline and boogie-style synth flourishes – with his own yearning chords, hand percussion sounds and a shuffling, samba-tinged house beat, Trent re-imagines ‘Susta’ as a future vocal deep house classic. Melodious, musically intricate, infectious and summery, it’s a remix for the ages.

It comes accompanied by a Dub Mix that successfully shows off the intricacy of Trent’s production and additional instrumentation while keeping both eyes firmly on the dancefloor. Beginning with effects-laden synth sounds reminiscent of the mid-‘80s proto-house classics by Paul Simpson, Winston Jones and Boyd Jarvis, the mix sees Trent skilfully add selected snippets of Leino’s lead vocal to a backing track rich in delay-laden synthesizer sounds, reverb-rich chords, echoing percussion hits and chords so warming they feel like a late-night, loved-up bear hug for your ears. Like the A-side vocal version, Trent’s dub is breath-taking and spine-tingling in equal measure.

Harks & Mudd - Susta (Ron Trent Dub)

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-feel-you-incl-mudd-remixes

Since emerging on Golf Channel Recordings a decade ago, Payfone has built up a strong catalogue of singles that effortlessly blur the boundaries between slow-motion electronic disco, seductive songs and sun-splashed Balearic beats. While the project has appeared on a number of different labels, some of the best material – including the superb ‘Last Night In Sant Celoni’ and atmospheric ‘Sofian’ – has appeared on Leng.
 
‘I Feel You’, Payfone’s first outing on the long-serving label for two years, is another high-class mid-tempo offering tailor-made for loved-up dancefloors and intoxicated, sofa-bound listening sessions. Produced by Phil Passera and Jimmy Day in collaboration with Dominican Republic-born lyricist and vocalist Kyd Nereida, who also appears on the cover artwork, the song is a typically atmospheric, mid-tempo treat marked out by immersive chords, squelchy synth-bass, eyes-closed jazz guitar motifs (courtesy of guests J Felix and Royce Wood Jr.) and smoky sax (provided by Jordi Blanch). Add some bonus percussion hits and Nereida’s sassy lead vocal, and you have another superb, stirring and spine-tingling treat.
 
The accompanying remixes come from label co-founder Paul Murphy under his now familiar Mudd alias, marking the first time that he’s provided reworks for the imprint since 2015. His vocal and instrumental wrap Passera and Day’s original mix in layers of tactile, evocative musical goodness for a heady and intoxicating atmospheric excursion. 
 
Opting for a warming, soul-enriching vibe, Murphy adds slowly shifting synth sounds, flanged guitars, sun-soaked chords, simmering synth-strings and spacey electronics. By the time guest keyboardist Michele Chiavarini’s solos make their way into the sound space to – taking things up a notch emotionally in the process – you’ll be lost in Murphy and Payfone’s loved-up aural world. As remixes go, they’re as stunning as Payfone’s superb original mix.

I Feel You (incl. Mudd Remixes)

Payfone & Kyd Nereida - I Feel You (Original Mix)

LENG SHOP - https://lexathens.bandcamp.com/album/remixes-faze-action-ruf-dug

Alex Andrikopolous AKA Lex (Athens) released his brilliant debut album Waving in 2022 on Leng and he now returns with an EP combining fine remixes of tracks from Waving alongside two new previously unheard cuts.

The remixes are undeniably special. Fittingly, the EP begins with the first of these, a sensationally sun-soaked revision of one of Andrikopolous’s most Balearic moments – previous single ‘Punta Allen’ – by former Nuphonic fusionists and FAR label founders Faze Action. The Lee brothers’ take is one of those sunset-friendly workouts that wraps glistening guitar licks, steel pan style motifs, Lex’s gorgeous lead lines, hazy electric piano solos and life-affirming keyboard riffs around rolling nu-disco beats and a new rubbery bassline courtesy of Robin Lee himself. It has the feel of a pool-side anthem in the making.

Just as potent is the typically quirky and hard-to-pigeonhole revision of ‘Prezend’ by Manchester maverick Ruf Dug. Here he offers up a genuinely revolutionary rework, re-imaging the track as a sparse-but-colourful fusion of vintage acid house bass, saucer-eyed piano riffs, dubbed-out synth sounds, jacking lo-fi drum machine beats and squelchy TB-303 tweaks. While fresh and undeniably contemporary, the remix has an alluringly nostalgic, retro-futurist vibe. 

Clustered around these two top-notch revisions is a pair of previously unreleased Lex originals. He joins forces with regular collaborator Locke once more on ‘Libre De Amor’, an infectious chunk of, low-slung dub disco marked out by weighty bass, jammed-out electric piano motifs, spacey pads, intergalactic effects and mazy synth solos. Dotted with additional percussion hits and echoing female vocal snippets, it’s one of the pair’s most potent dancefloor workouts of recent times.

To round off a rock-solid EP, the Athens-based veteran blurs the boundaries between stripped-back, late-80s house nostalgia and nu-disco. ‘Super Awake’ boasts cowbell-sporting Chicago house beats and acid house inspired bass, on to which he’s layered all manner of colourful synth sounds, jangly piano stabs and spacey electronics. Throw in some typically immersive chords and progressively more psychedelic TB-303 motifs, and you have a genuinely triumphant conclusion to a formidably floor-focused EP.

Lex (Athens) & Locke - Libre De Amor

Emperor Machine - La Cassette (Dub Instrumental)

Emperor Machine - Island Boogie (Mudd Remix)

Emperor Machine - Dévoilez-Vous (Dub)

Emperor Machine - Dévoilez-Vous (T Kutt’s AM-FM Club Mix)

Available to pre-order on 12" vinyl from - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bonnie-klein-singularity-ergosphere

Ships from 12th January...

Greek duo Bonnie & Klein aka George & Thanasis have been slowly making a name for themselves through a string of well crafted releases on labels Music For Dreams, Timewarp and Uber. This laid back style hasn’t gone unnoticed by Ibizan legend Jose Padilla who put their recent track ‘Carina’ on his latest compilation.

B&K are not only producers of the chillout sound as their debut for Leng testifies. ‘Singularity’ hits hard from the off with driving beats and bass under haunting keys and building percussion. A late night dancefloor classic in the making.

‘Ergosphere’ sees them flip back to their laid back roots with a more classic chillout sound...

Leng Shop

Bonnie & Klein - Singularity

Emperor Machine - Dévoilez - Vous (T Kutt's Version Rotation)

Island Boogie

Emperor Machine - S-S-S-Single Bed feat. Michelle Bee

Emperor Machine - Walk The Dog

Emperor Machine - Dévoilez-Vous feat. Séverine Mouletin

Emperor Machine - La Cassette feat. Séverine Mouletin

Emperor Machine - Island Boogie

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/

The Emperor Machine - S-S-S Single Bed (Version)

The Emperor Machine - Walk The Dog (Dub)

The Emperor Machine - Dévoilez-Vous (Dub)

The Emperor Machine - La Cassette (Dub)

The Emperor Machine - Island Boogie (Dub)

The Emperor Machine - La Cassette (Tigerbalm Remix)

The Emperor Machine - Wanna Pop With You (Hardway Bros Dub)

The Emperor Machine - Wanna Pop With You (Hardway Bros Remix)

Marshall Watson & Cole Odin - Voyager (Cosmic Rave Mix)

Marshall Watson & Cole Odin - Voyager (Extended Guitar Mix)

Marshall Watson & Cole Odin Voyager (Original Mix)

This edit of Yves Simon ‘Au Pays Des Merveilles De Juliet’ first appeared as a free download for a super limited time via the Psychemagik soundcloud page. Blink and you missed it. 

Now, after a long wait and many licensing delays the edit sees an official release on vinyl via Leng Records. Played by many, the edit takes all the elements of Yves Simon’s original, stretching it out from two minutes to over seven making it an instant classic. 

The 12” comes one sided with an acid etched B-side and a plain sleeve.

Yves Simon - Au Pays Des Merveilles De Juliet (Psychemagik Tour De Force Remix)

Cantoma - Gambarra (Lexx Remix)

Not much is known about this mysterious artist from Istanbul other than the music he produces draws heavily on the heritage of his home city and its melting pot of east meeting west. 

‘Luna’ is a deep, multi layered late night dancefloor instrumental with exotic eastern flavours while ‘Araf’ features haunting female vocals and guitar workout over a deep baseline and crunching beats with a clear electronica soundscape. Fantastic for the late night floor.


Ali Kuru - Araf

Not much is known about this mysterious artist from Istanbul other than the music he produces draws heavily on the heritage of his home city and its melting pot of east meeting west.

‘Luna’ is a deep, multi layered late night dancefloor instrumental with exotic eastern flavours while ‘Araf’ features haunting female vocals and guitar workout over a deep baseline and crunching beats with a clear electronica soundscape. Fantastic for the late night floor.


Ali Kuru - Luna

Vinyl/Digital - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/zero-gravity-ep

If you’re setting out on an epic voyage to the electronic disco universe, it pays to recruit an experienced pilot. When it comes to intergalactic musical fusion, few are quite as experienced as cosmic disco pioneer and noted dancefloor explorer Daniele Baldelli.

Produced alongside friend and regular studio partner Dario Piana, Zero Gravity cannily updates Baldelli’s early ‘80s cosmic disco blueprint for the 21st century. We think that the EP contains some of his strongest music to date, with each of the three cuts offering subtle nods to the Italian maestro’s original Cosmic Club ethos. 

A-side “Infinity Machine” expertly combines many of Baldelli’s greatest musical inspirations into one mind-bending late night workout. Underpinned by a druggy, arpeggio style bassline, the track rises and falls through waves of funk-rock guitars, crunchy Clavinet lines and intertwined synthesizer solos. Throw in jammed-out electric pianos, and you have a near perfect fusion of cosmic disco and blazed funk-rock.

The producer’s long-held love of African rhythms surfaces on “If You Drive”, where bold acid bass, ricocheting percussion hits and weightless chords combine beautifully with starry melody lines and vintage analogue synthesizer motifs. It’s Afro-cosmic for the nu-disco generation.

A fine EP is completed by “Air Lock”, in which Baldelli and Piana pepper a rubbery, electrofunk-influenced groove with cascading synthesizer melodies, swirling pads and a swathe of fuzzy, eyes-closed guitar solos. It’s bold and assertive, but also as otherworldly and stratospheric as you’d expect from a pioneer at the peak of his powers.

Daniele Baldelli & Dario Piana - Infinity Machine

Vinyl/Digital - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mr-mystery-ep

Fellow earthlings, cast your gaze skywards. If you’re quick, you might see Earthboogie’s intergalactic cruise ship coming in to land.

While they’ve been DJing around London and beyond with their custom built Quod sound system for some time, the Mr Mystery EP marks their debut appearance on Leng Records. It’s the first time the fruits of their studio labours, recorded in the space they call The Control Room, have made it onto vinyl.

Izaak Gray and Nicola Robinson’s musical vision is delightfully hard to pigeonhole, but is arguably best summed up by their self proclaimed dedication to all things “intergalactic, cosmic, tribal and terrestrial”. Some may draw clear parallels with the Afro-cosmic work of Italian pioneers Daniele Baldelli and Beppe Loda, where rock guitars, disco riffs, vintage synthesizers and heavy African drum rhythms are all thrown into the musical melting pot. 

On the A-side, you’ll find “Mr Mystery”, a bongo-laden chunk of hypnotic, low-slung voodoo disco full of haunting flute lines, flanged funk guitars, heavy drum machine kicks, impassioned yelps, cascading chords and crunchy clavinet lines. It’s an intoxicating, early morning trip that achieves a near perfect balance between thrusting danceflooor heaviness and head-in-the-clouds daydreaming. 

Things get even steamier on the flip, where the intergalactic, Afro-disco hustle of “Route Ten To Interzone” ushers aboard Earthboogie’s star-bound cruiser. Built around an irrepressible groove – think restless electronic bass, hard-wired disco-funk guitars and layered tribal drums – the track surges forward on a wave of chanted vocals, spacey synth solos and irrepressible disco flourishes.

“The E.B Theme”, a kind of aural call to arms, completes a fine first foray into music production. A little looser, hazier and deeper than the rest of the EP, the tracks is propelled forwards on waves of dreamy chords, lilting trumpet motifs, spacey electronics, tumbling disco guitars and a bassline that recalls the early days of Chicago deep house. It’s a wonderful end to a notably impressive debut 12”.

Earthboogie - Mr Mystery

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/5-2-9-the-fox-with-the-dog

Leng Records is kicking off its 2019 release program by offering a debut to a previously unheralded producer from Russia’s fast growing nu-disco underground. Given the quality of the two original tracks on show on his first Leng outing, something tells us that we’re going to be hearing much more from Moscow-based Takovoi in the months and years ahead.

On the A-side you’ll find “5-2-9”, an effortlessly dreamy and Balearic affair that ebbs, flows and slowly unfurls over six spellbinding minutes. The track is built around a chunky, acid style bassline and loose, delay-laden drum machine beats. Yet it’s the drifting and dubbed-out musical elements that cluster around the groove – leisurely keys, yearning trumpet solos and kaleidoscopic, arpeggio style synthesizer melodies – that make “5-2-9” such a magical piece of music. Think of it as a statement of intent.

Takovoi’s love of TB-303 style acid lines and mind-altering electronics comes to the fore on “The Fox With The Dog” which sees the up-and-coming producer give his take on the timeless electro sound. It’s as spacey and atmospheric as you’d expect, with exotic electronic refrains and glacial synthesizer lines dancing across the sound-space. The groove – a combination of punchy drum machine hits, heavy acid-style sub-bass, occasional bursts of hand percussion and breakbeats – is pleasingly heavy, too, making this particular electro excursion a bona fide dancefloor delight.

Takovoi - The Fox With The Dog

Vinyl - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/last-night-in-sant-celoni-incl-in-flagranti-remix

With summer finally making its presence felt, Payfone makes its Leng Records debut with a simmering, sunset-ready sizzler that oozes drowsy heat from start to finish. It’s a slow-burn dancefloor beauty all right, but we expect nothing less from Anglo Italian Phil Passera and his growing band of musical collaborators.

Since making their debut with the brilliant “International Smark” back in 2013, Payfone has delivered a swathe of superb singles which cannily combine elements of boogie, disco, NYC proto-house, acid house and Balearica in uniquely alluring ways. Passera has a reputation for using no samples in his creations, instead favouring live instrumentation, classic electronic hardware and ear-catching vocals.
 
Since we last heard from Payfone, Passera has moved his studio from his East London warehouse to a wooden shack in Sant Celoni, a sleepy Catalonian town near Barcelona nestled in the foothills of the Montseny and Montnegre mountain ranges. The inspiration of his new surroundings is clear on this warm, groovy and undeniably picturesque composition.

“Last Night In San Celoni” is a  love letter from two girls meeting and falling in love amidst the tumbling streets and dramatic views of this little-known town just a few miles up the Mediterranean coast from Barcelona.

Featuring the innocent, under stated singing of Los Angeles’ based Jaz James and the seductive Spanish speech of Beunos Aries-based Lumdilla Rodriguez, the duo narrates a romantic, bilingual love story that will melt your heart. Incidentally, it could well be the first (partly) English-language song dedicated to Sant Celoni, but don’t quote us on that.
 
Musically, Payfone is in fine form on “Last Night in San Celoni” where Phil Passera offers up a warm and humid chunk of soft-touch dancefloor bliss underpinned by a combination of vintage analogue drum machine, 1980s style slap bass, rich electric piano motifs, and casually brilliant jazz guitar flourishes provided by regular Payfone guitarist Royce Wood Junior.
 
This result of years of collaborative work  (this song began as a keyboard riff written in a New York studio in the heatwave of 2014), the track’s sumptuous groove seems to gently tug at the senses like the lapping waves on a Baleric Mediterranean beach at Sunset.

The original mix comes accompanied by a more up-beat interpretation by Swiss stalwarts In Flagranti. Opting to fatten the groove whilst dubbing out many of the assembled musical elements, the experienced duo brilliantly wraps lo-fi synthesizer lead lines and 1980s package holiday pop flourishes around a chugging, low-slung groove that will have even the laziest dancers skipping towards the dancefloor.

Payfone - Last Night In Sant Celoni (Radio Edit)

'The Rong classic, Mudd - 54B gets the Ray Mang treatment with the whopping 9 minute mix on the A side joined by the 'Acid Reflux' mix and the 'Bonus Beats' on the B side. 

Mang takes all the original parts and toughens it up for the dancefloor adding a twisted acid mix on the B side.

Mudd - 54b (Ray Mang Version)

For those of a horizontal nature, Phil Mison needs little introduction. Over the last two decades, the DJ, producer and songwriter has become one of the most celebrated names on the Balearic chill-out scene. Here, he presents his second solo album under the Cantoma moniker "Out Of Town". This, his first release for the Leng label, picks up where that acclaimed debut left off. As you'd expect from a man who has devoted his life to showcasing the finest down-tempo music from around the world, "Out Of Town" fuses a wide variety of sounds and styles. The result is a beautiful, otherworldly album that moves effortlessly between blissful flamenco, shimmering, slo-mo nu disco, dubbed-out tango and haunting, ethereal soundscapes. 

As it unfolds, "Out Of Town" continues to surprise and delight in equal measure. There are emotion-rich songs ("Suomi", the confident and hooky "Under The Stars" and the more obviously Balearic "Only People"), blissful soundscapes ("Out Of Town", "Trees Of Highwood") and future chill-out anthems ("Paloma"). Throughout, Mison maintains an air of sun-flecked beauty and, as the myth and majesty envelops you, it's hard not to dream of starry, cloudless Ibizan nights and sweltering, peaceful afternoons by the pool. With "Out Of Town", Phil Mison has arguably produced his strongest music to date. Grab a copy and dive in.

Cantoma - Maja

SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/susta-w-emperor-machine-remix

It would be fair to say that Leng co-founder Paul “Mudd” Murphy is a born collaborator. Since first donning the Mudd alias at the dawn of the century, Murphy has released numerous collaborative albums and singles with regular collaborators Ben Smith (as Smith & Mudd) and Kevin Pollard (Mudd & Pollard), as well as playing a key role in “super-groups” Paqua and Bison.

“Susta”, which marks his first single on Leng since 2009, sees Murphy add some new names to his growing list of collaborators. It was made in cahoots with singer/songwriter David Harks, a regular Satin Jackets collaborator who also appeared on Jack Cutter’s superb “Serpent Strut” cut on Murphy’s Claremont 56 label.

“Susta” is a bubbly, evocative and ear-pleasing chunk of mid-tempo nu-disco pop featuring lead vocals from Jaanika Leino AKA JaneLy – a former X-Factor Finland contestant whose sultry and evocative voice simply soars above Murphy and Harks’ sparkling, life-affirming instrumentation. Rich in twinkling synth solos, rich Clavinet lines, chugging arpeggio lines and eyes-closed piano, “Susta” is a strong song that will squat inside your head and stay there for days. Our advice is to welcome it in – it’s as joyous and life-affirming a track as Leng has ever released.

It’s accompanied by a predictably strong remix by British electronic music veteran Andrew Meecham (Bizarre Inc, Chicken Lips etc.), who dons the now familiar Emperor Machine alias to deliver a dub for the ages. Combining his own analogue and modular electronics with snippets of Leino’s vocal and some of the warmest instrumentation from Murphy and Harks’ original mix (think Clavinet and Rhodes for starters), Meecham offers up an epic slice of electronic dub disco that bubbles away for ten mesmerizing minutes. It’s a superb interpretation of a high quality cut. The digital download edition features a full Vocal remix and Instrumental take on Meecham’s Dub mix that’s every bit as off-kilter and alluring.

Harks & Mudd - Susta (Emperor Machine Lovers Dub)

VINYL - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sofian-incl-loyal-remix

Having lit up sunsets and sunrises the world over with their first outing on Leng, the deliciously Balearic ‘Last Night in Sant Celoni’, Payfone has opted for a more sensual and seductive sound on their triumphant follow-up.
 
Phil Passera and Jimmy Day are in fine form on ‘Sofian’, a deep, chugging and intoxicating affair topped off by a sleazy and breathy, half-sung and half-spoken vocal from Barbara Alcindor, previously of hugely successful European chart-toppers French Affair.
 
As with previous Payfone productions, no samples were used in the creation of the track. Instead, Passera and Day focus the action around hypnotic, slow-motion machine drums and a brilliant analogue synthesizer bassline that will quickly worm its way into your subconscious. 
 
On top of this the pair has layered up warming chords, languid boogie-style guitar riffs, colourful synthesizer lines, hand percussion and mazy Wurlitzer electric piano solos played by guest musician Phil Marten. It’s an undeniably alluring combination of musical elements that offers a clever counterpoint to the barely hidden melancholia within the track’s surprising lyrics.
 
Jimmy Day delivers the flipside ‘Loyal Mix’, a slightly brighter and more vivid interpretation that gives extra weight to the track’s razor-sharp guitar riffs and kaleidoscopic synth sounds. The result is a weighty, synth-powered dub disco workout that makes a fine accompaniment to one of Payfone’s most dramatic and addictive songs to date.

Payfone - Sofian

SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/silken-moon-feat-nina-miranda-demi-riqui-simo-remix

The original of ‘Silken Moon’, released in 2018, combined musical elements from a myriad of styles – most notably Afro-disco, samba and mid-tempo Chicago house. The creation was a hybrid of bouncy organ riffs, undulating acid lines, clipped Afro-funk guitars, tons of tropical percussion and the chanted, carnival-friendly vocalizations of guest singer Nina Miranda.

Fresh from remixes for Razor N Tape last year and Ninja Tune this year, Demi Riquísimo has been given the controls to ‘Silken Moon’ turning in his own beefed up acid flecked version that uses all the original elements stretching the original to a nine minute epic.

Silken Moon Feat. Nina Miranda (Demi Riquísimo Remix)

Earthboogie - Silken Moon Feat. Nina Miranda (Demi Riquísimo Remix)

Mid-tempo dancefloor specialists... plus everything else.

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