I will always remember those moments at the Nomads festival when Red Greg would close down the Lumberjacks in Hell stage and time stood oddly still, the sunset behind the trees and a warm breeze driving through the crowd. After several hours of dancing, everybody on the dancefloor was familar with each other, the first five rows or so anyway. I remember Rahaan, Mendel, Dieuwer, Robbert, Sam and Bram of course, Kim, Chiara... and Ben! 
The thought ringing through my head, this is as good as it gets. No matter where else you chose to travel to, this is the perfect moment and nothing could make it better. 
All of these Nomads days and nights merge into each other, not least because we had Darren celebrate with us somewhere around 2-4 times. One year it was Sylvester's - Over & Over at ten to eleven, the second last song of the day, that captured on video, encapsuled every emotion that needed to be captured.
I am not able to recall all of the music from those sessions. I remember his legendary blends that have lead you into the next epic groover long before you even realized it's a new tune. Never missing a beat and forever leaving you with a smile and a "damn" on your lips. 
Where did that coming from and how much higher can we go?

Red Greg, take us back to those beautiful moments of freedom and joy.

Lumberjacks Tapes 013: Red Greg

Dès ses premiers pas en discothèque, il comprit que la danse serait son moteur.
Toujours en recherche de la perle rare, il a su accumuler au cours des années une sélection variée exigeante. C’est en creusant les bacs des disquaires qu’il déniche ses sonorités soulfull, allant de la house au jazz, tout ce qui groove.

Lumberjacks Tapes 032: Theo Terev

Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy is a highly respected and experienced musical selector and curator, founder of the album listening event and content hub Classic Album Sundays and an authority on music, sound and the vinyl renaissance.

She was mentored by David Mancuso at his seminal Loft parties in New York City. Together they co-produced the compilation series David Mancuso Presents The Loft and worked together on David’s record label The Loft Audiophile Library of Music. In 2000, David told Time Out New York City “ She is very devoted and very pure about the music. She’s one of the only people I would trust, both with the music and with the equipment, to fill in for me.” She is one of the musical hosts at The Loft, the co-founder of the Lucky Cloud Loft parties in London and DJs internationally on the world’s best sound systems and dance floors.

Classic Album Sundays tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture and in some cases, our lives. Colleen founded Classic Album Sundays as a stance against the increasing devaluation of music and sound. What began as a passion project is now the world’s most popular album listening event with satellites in four continents and the website and social media channels host content on classic albums and artists such as interviews, videos, playlists and more.  BBC Breakfast Television remarked, “Classic Album Sundays treat our best-loved records like great symphonies.”

She has been a radio host and DJ since the age of fourteen and today hosts Balearic Breakfast, Cosmodelica and Classic Album Sundays Worldwide on Worldwide FM. She also wrote, co-produced and hosted the Classic Album Sundays series ‘This Women’s Work’ for PRX, ‘Sounds of a City’ series on BBC 6 Music and ‘Turntable Tales’ on BBC Radio 4.

She has put together her own compilations including New York Afterhours ‘A Later Shade of Deep’ for Nervous Records and The Disco-Tech of DJ Cosmo’ for Yellow Recordings. Her latest compilation, ‘Balearic Breakfast Volume 1’ is coming out on Heavenly Recordings on the 10th of June and can be pre-ordered here.

As a producer Colleen has remixed Roisin Murphy, Mildlife, Hard Feelings, A Certain Ratio, Secret Night Gang, The Rapture, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Beardyman, Candi Staton, Two Bears, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Cantoma, Horace Andy, Chaka Khan & more under her Cosmodelica moniker and as DarkStarr Diskotek with Ashley Beedle. Along with former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, she recorded and produced as Wild Rumpus.

Lumberjacks Tapes 033: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy

Robert was our friend, and we miss him. It's difficult to put into words just what he meant to us. He was a mentor, an inspiration. Canada’s, and more specifically Montreal’s, disco deity. We won’t burrow into his biography, as it is extensive, and footnotes would simply not do him justice. Check out the Red Bull Music Academy video interview if you want to start to journey into who he was for yourself. We made this mix just a few days after he died. It is a cathartic, vastly imperfect, and quick expedition into his music. It merely scratches the surface of who he was, musically.

We connected through a party we were playing for Pride Toronto, after we suggested that he replace the divine Nicky Siano on the bill, as Nicky had to back out at the last minute. After that party, we played together a handful of times, both in his native Montreal and in Toronto, but we really became close through afternoons spent in his home studio, sharing songs. He was more passionate about music than anyone we’d ever met. He was in his seventies, some forty years our senior, but was a big kid really, and when we were together we were contemporaries. We loved taking him out to dinner, which happened about once a month, and hearing stories of his Limelight disco days, or of his experience making house music in the nineties. Or speaking to what it was like to be a seventy-odd something still making music and djing parties. He was always working on something. Always. We were so proud to help get a few of his edits out to the world, through connections with GAMM, Basic Fingers, and Whiskey Disco. He had so much music to share, and was constantly clamouring for us to send him edits for his radio shows, a request we complied to, often and happily. 

When the world stopped with Covid, we were no longer able to make it to Montreal. We’d chat over the internet, or do video calls, but, in hindsight, we could and should have stayed better connected. When the news of his passing broke, over a stranger's shared Facebook post of all places, we were breathless and in disbelief. We called his phone, over and over again, putting our faith in the unreliability of social media, but he didn’t answer. Shortly after, a text came from his phone, from a friend of his, confirming the news. The hardest part was knowing that those dinners were over. No more advice and no more shared wisdom. The promise of another party to play together was to be left unfulfilled. We just hope that he knew how much we loved him and how important he was to us.

Dylan & John aka the Patchouli Brothers

Lumberjacks Tape 044: Ode to Robert Ouimet by The Patchouli Brothers

No matter what sounds you profess to be your music of choice, chances are, that at some point over the last five years, you will have got your rocks off to Matt Edwards.
As Matthew E he fashions club-based, dancefloor slayers. Under that aegis he’s updated the classic Chi-town, jackin’ sound beloved of house aficionados and layered it with fractured funk, belligerent, oddball beats and mechanical soul.

If Matthew E is all about the Saturday Night Fever, then, by contrast, Rekid is the slower, more deliberate, rhythmical funk of the mid-week mayhem. Its well-intentioned muscular intensity making it perfect soulful sustenance.

Quiet Village is something else all together. A collaboration with long-time musical sparring partner Joel Martin (a vinyl freak, like Mr Edwards, who works in esteemed auction house Christie’s pop department), it’s sample-based music which veers from drawn out disco-not-disco delirium to evocative, under-stated soundscapes.

Sea Devils - you keeping up at the back? – is undeniable electronic pop brilliance. Working with Tom from Cagedbaby, it’s the least niche of Matt’s projects and thanks to Sea Devils alluring pop dance grooves they’ll no doubt be shagging the upper reaches of the hit parade sometime soon.

Last, but by no means least etc, etc, etc, is Radio Slave. Perhaps Matt’s most instantly recognisable nom de guerre, thanks in part to his inspirational melding of Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head to New Order’s Blue Monday, this is Matt’s DJ moniker and the guise under which he completes his incendiary remixes and re-edits.

However, before such sonic schizophrenia gets you calling for the men in white coats, just feel the quality and consider Matt’s legacy. Fired by the first wave of acid house, Matt gained his musical spurs by partying to dance music that was just that: music you danced to, irrespective of tribal factions.

This was the raison d’être he acknowledged when he took to the decks, first at London’s legendary Milk Bar in 1992, then onto the, then, recently opened Ministry Of Sound and then to parties across the country, most notably in Wales – where he was a regular at free parties – and in Brighton, his home since 1998.

His love of re-edits, dance music’s oft-forgotten backbone, led Matt into the studio himself. His own re-edits and remixes, such as the aforementioned epoch-defining re-imagining for Ms Minogue, soon gave way to his own productions and since the floodgates opened there’s been no stopping the man known as, erm, Matthew E, Quiet Village, Sea Devils, Rekid and Radio Slave.

He’s released records for Skint, Soul Jazz, Classic, Whatever We Want, and he’s worked with fellow travellers, Belgium’s The Glimmers. If Matt comes up with another two projects he’ll have enough alter egos for every day of the week.

Psychologists would probably have a field day with him; mercifully, we don’t have to worry about any crisis of identity, we just get to keep on dancing.

Lumberjacks Tapes 059: Radio Slave

From an 8-year-old asking for a drum machine and Atari 500 to a globally respected artist, Melon’s path was always music. A true DJ’s DJ, he’s held residencies and played at iconic venues like Trouw, Fabric, Panorama Bar, Robert Johnson, and Heideglühen, driven purely by his skill behind the decks.  

Known for his deep record collection and signature groove, Melon blends house music’s many shades with seamless mastery. Dubbed “The Don” or the "Larry Levan of Amsterdam", he’s released on top labels like Innervisions, Rekids, and Rush Hour, alongside his own imprints Ratio?music and Raw Meat. His music earns playtime from legends like Ricardo Villalobos, Doc Martin, and Seth Troxler, proving his timeless influence on the scene.

Lumberjacks Tapes 067: MELON

Kraak & Smaak (Dutch: [ˌkraːk ɛn ˈsmaːk]) is a musical production trio from the town of Leiden, Netherlands, consisting of Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug. The three began recording in 2003. Their first album, titled Boogie Angst, was released in the UK 2006, and they began performing at music festivals and at clubs in the US and UK. Their songs were played on the radio and were used in television shows. Their second album, released in 2008, was titled Plastic People. They won an EBBA. Their third album, Electric Hustle, was released in 2011.

From Marcel:

I remember a whole bunch of early Kraak & Smaak 12"s, Squeeze Me with Ben Westbeech, Funk Ass Rotator and then the iconic Henrik Schwarz remix of No Sun In The Sky that would also massively stick it's head out on the K7 Henrik Schwarz Live! compilation album. A really cool moment in time. 

Later Wim Plug invited LYMA and myself to release two 12" on their label Boogie Angst , namely Games Change and No Time and the collaboration helped solidifying LYMA and my relationship and was a great experience altogether.

Happy to welcome these legendary artists to the series.


Lumberjacks Tapes 068: Kraak & Smaak

Stefan Ringer !!! Remix of Just Because by Marcel Vogel and Tim Jules ft Javonntte. DIGITAL out now, vinyl expected May 16th with Remixes by LYMA, Floyd Vader, Stefan Ringer and Original Mix. Pre-order here :

https://lumberjacksinhell.lnk.to/JustBecause-Remixes


Marcel Vogel & Tim Jules ft Javonntte - Just Because (Stefan Ringer Remix)  (LiH 48)

With a deep well of crate-digging knowledge and an eclectic ear, Sappho brings an unmatched energy to the dance floor. True to their namesake, they are a poet behind the decks—curating transformative, liberating sets that traverse everything from obscure ’70s disco gems to contemporary house anthems, minimal techno, and infectious dance-pop bops.

Throughout their career, Sappho has been a steadfast force for inclusivity in the often male-dominated world of dance music. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, they’ve consistently used their platform to spotlight issues like gender inequality and discrimination within the music industry—while building spaces where everyone feels free to move and belong.

Lumberjacks Tapes 069: DJ SAPPHO (Koritsi Komma Records / PORTLAND)

Shout out to my distribution @k7.music

If you have a record store you can order the 12” here:

@rhd_rushhourdistribution - BNL & Export
@republicofmusic - UK
@forcedexposure2 - US
@indigodistr - DE
Popstock - ES
Southbound - NZ
@bigwaxdistribution - FR
Audioglobe - IT
@diskunion - JP
No Paper - PL
Border - SE
@mgmdistribution - AU
Symbiose - PT


Marcel Vogel & Tim Jules ft Javonntte - Just Because (Floyd Vader Remix)

Celebrating the beauty and joy of collaboration, the trio of Adam Stivala aka Jerk Boy from Sydney, Marcel Vogel residing in Amsterdam and and singer Sophie Baudry aka Million Miles virtually came together to create a simple uplifting tune carried by Million Miles powerful vocal delivery. Vocal Disco House at it's finest.

Jerkboy & Marcel Vogel Ft Million Miles - Real Love (Original  mix) (OUT NOW)

DJ Zaffa is a Venice-based DJ and selector with over two decades of experience in the underground music scene. Starting out at just 15, he was raised on a steady diet of funk, soul, and disco — thanks to a family immersed in nightlife and crate-digging culture. His sets reflect that upbringing: eclectic, groove-driven, and rooted in a deep appreciation for music across decades. Zaffa weaves together jazz-funk, boogie, ‘80s synth sounds, early house, and contemporary shades of techno and electronica, building sets that feel both nostalgic and forward-thinking. A skilled digger and thoughtful curator, he approaches DJing as a storytelling craft — prioritizing flow, energy, and mood over flashy transitions or obvious hits.

Beyond clubs, Zaffa is active in radio and podcast culture, notably through his series “Laguna Waves,” which explores underground and alternative sounds with guests like Robert Babicz. He has performed across Italy and played internationally with gigs in cities like London, Paris, or Zurich, steadily building a reputation for authenticity and musical depth. His selections have also been featured on platforms such as My Analog Journal (UK) or Sacré Radio (France).

Lumberjacks Tapes 070: Zaffa

Celebrating the beauty and joy of collaboration, the trio of Adam Stivala aka Jerk Boy from Sydney, Marcel Vogel residing in Amsterdam and and singer Sophie Baudry aka Million Miles virtually came together to create a simple uplifting tune carried by Million Miles powerful vocal delivery. Vocal Disco House at it's fine

LiH 49 Jerk Boy, Marcel Vogel ft Million Miles - Real Love (OLIVER NIGHT BRUKWISE REMIX)

Finn Johannsen is a Berlin-based DJ, writer, and impresario at Berlin club Paloma, renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of music and deep, eclectic selections that span disco, house, techno, reggae, and beyond. Active since the late 1980s, Johannsen has built a reputation for narrative-driven DJ sets that seamlessly connect musical histories, often highlighting overlooked gems and rare cuts. Beyond the decks, he is a respected music journalist and interviewer, contributing insightful commentary on dance music culture and its social contexts. His work, both as a selector and a writer, reflects a lifelong commitment to preserving and expanding the dialogue around underground music.

Lumberjacks Tapes 071: Finn Johannsen

https://www.instagram.com/sonido.ines/

Inés is a Chicago based DJ, record collector, party organizer, and visual artist. Her interest in dance music was focused during her time working at the renowned underground party Durty Truth, and later through her own party, Work Ethic. She credits mentors Darryn Jones and Mark Grusane (among others) with forming her taste in the more obscure corners of disco and soul, as well as helping her form a relationship with music based in honesty, courage, and trust in the higher power of sound.
Work Ethic remains her labor of love: month after month, Inés and a team of Chicago's best push to keep putting on one of Chicago's most beloved independent parties. The party's notable guests always share one trait: They work hard.


marcel.vogel's profile picture


Lumberjacks Tapes 072: Ines (Work Ethic // Chicago)

On the DJ block since 1992 – albeit a very small block in the first 10 years – if you are an amateur of that big play we call nightlife, chances are you either danced, got drunk or got annoyed while Red D was playing some records.
A general nightlife instigator since 1991 is how Red D likes to describe himself. Always on the move, always looking for that next record and always ready to rock any party. At the heart of Red D’s continued zest for life and music lies a wealth of inspiration: from the people and sounds of his favourite city Detroit to his upbringing in the legendary Belgian club scene of the 90’s, from digging and discovering vinyl old and new to teaching his DJ classes in Belgian art school.

Red D firmly believes that the knowledge from the past feeds the future. Testament to that are his labels We Play House Recordings, Red Basics and Club Belgique on which he releases music he likes, period. Taking in more and more studio time of his own in recent years his discography is growing ever stronger, with the same renegade trendless approach he applies to his DJ’ing.

One allnighter after another, solo, as one half of FCL or next to revered tastemakers and talents like Lefto, Lady Linn, San Soda, Kerri Chandler, etc, from clubs to festivals, in Belgium and abroad: Red D delivers passion, lust and a profound knowledge of music and the dancefloor in every beat he drops. To quote his friend and legend Kerri Chandler: Red D always plays the right record at the right time.

Lumberjacks Tapes 073: Red D ( We Play House // Belgium )

It's a celebration bitches!!! Five years and not one grey hair!!!
2 x 12" will be released October 19th.... featuring Dan Shake, Borrowed Identity, Giovanni Damico, Hoshina Anniversary, Tim Jules, Boogie Nite, Marcel Vogel and FYI Chris! Let's go!

Pre-order here

b1. Borrowed Identity - Queens Bridge (LiH 016)

6 years in is probably a good time to look back and count our blessings. Some of the highlights from our catalogue but we also licensed some favourites that are currently hard to get on vinyl such as Pirahnahead's Inner Turmoil and Stacy Kidd's Body Jerkin. This is the ultimate Swiss Knife of soulful disco inspired dance music.
Hope you ll enjoy this set of gems. May it never leave your record back!
This is for the dance floor!

Marcel

Pre-Order Here!!!

LiH 018 C2 Stacy Kidd Feat Peven Everett - Body Jerkin

Man of many labels Marcel Vogel turns out some of his most impressive material on Intimate Friends, bringing other talents into the fold to share in his vision of soul, funk, disco and house how it should be done. Having released the Human Beings album last year, Vogel invites a stellar cast to come and remix several tracks with predictably fantastic results. NY*AK enlists the honey-coated Rhodes skills of Mark Hand on their version of "Human Being", and it's an absolute joy to listen to. Meanwhile SoulPhiction gets into an equally heart-warming groove when he tackles "Always Isn't Only". Soul Clap meanwhile bring a little more party functionality to "Moonchild" before Simba offers up a very different, low-slung and laid back version.


Marcel Vogel - Moonchild Remixes
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/marcel-vogel-moonchild-remixes-ny-ak-feat/631295-01/

Marcel Vogel - Being Human EP
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/marcel-vogel-human-beings/615602-01/

Traxsource

b1 Marcel Vogel feat Khadija - Moonchild (Soul Clap Remix)

a1 Marcel Vogel feat Khadija - Human Being (NY_AK Remix feat Mark Hand)

LiH 021 to be released March 13th 2017
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/karizma-marcel-vogel-the-deadpool-ep/626606-01/ 

When talking about the roots of House music it’s impossible to ignore the importance of US cities like Detroit, New York and Chicago, but these are not the only US cities to have spawned pioneering producers and DJs linked to the genre. Baltimore was the home of the Basement Boys who released a number of seminal records in the early days of House music. Chris Clayton was a valued member of the Basement Boys who since leaving the group has continued to carve out a career under his solo alias of Karizma and KaytroniK. Chris is now best known to many as Karizma, a veteran DJ with 25 years of experience behind the decks and whose technical ability is second to none. Not only as a member of Pete Tong’s hallowed Radio 1 Hall Of Fame, he’s also a popular Boiler Room guest who regularly flies the globe as a headline DJ. Also a producer with a varied sound that reflects his eclectic range of influences, Karizma’s music has appeared on many of the world best labels ranging from Hyperdub to Defected. Karizma’s next release due to hit stores on the 20th of February, is forthcoming on Marcel Vogel’s label Lumberjacks in Hell, and is a split EP with the label boss himself.

Release 13.03.2017 BUY

B2 - Marcel Vogel - I Got Jesus (Karizma Stomp Dub)

B1 - Marcel Vogel feat Tim Jules - I Got Jesus

Those Moments

Marcel Vogel feat Tim Jules - Those Moments (LiH 27)

THIS IS JUST PURE FUN !!! THE 12" DROPS TODAY !!!

Support by Moxie , Jacques Renault, Alkalino, Kristian Bayerle (AME), Lay-Far, Bill Brewster ,Karizma, Luke Solomon, Till von Sein, Leo Zero, Munk,  Terrence Parker,  ....

A1 Koenig Saatgut - The Spirit

Andy Compton & Shamrock team up with singer Asali for some sunlight drenched boogie sounds recorded in South Africa.

B2 Andy Compton & Shamrock - Roga Mziki (LiH 32)

A1 Andy Compton & Shamrock  - Bunny Chow (LiH 32)

BILL BREWSTER
I've just sat and listened to the entire EP all the way through. I never do that. Usually listen for a few minutes, react and then listen properly later. This is such a triumph. Man, LOVE The Sound Of Revolution! Great vibe to it, really swings and it's got that Italo-y vocal which tops it off perfectly. My Music is lovely, too, and Italians In A Line reminds me a lot of Joey Negro's remix of Extortion's How Do You See Me Now and then finally the Bill Wyman-sampling La Samba is fun, too and a great use of that quirky intro. What a way to kick off the year. Early contender for Furtive 50 in 2019. Killer.


COSMO MURPHY
Thanks for this. I think its great and love the fact it was all produced and performed by Giovanni! So great in this time of derivative re-edits and reworks. Grazie mille Giovanni! I definitely need WAVs for this. I have my show on Friday so if you could send them today, that would be wonderful. Right now I’m still not sure which one I will play as its such a strong EP.
 
FOUK
What a massive EP! Mad respect, very well produced! Full support.
 
ROBIN LEE / FAZE ACTION
The Italians seem to have a knack for the old school sounds these days. And very grateful we are too. With the chrome covered never ending, drip feed of digital only fodder, this makes a very welcome and refreshing change.
 
CONRAD/ IDJUT BOYS
this is a fab record, i can't tell you which i like the most they are all so great, what a talent.  I will be on the lookout for whatever he does. Truly wonderful, could have been made in the 1980's or 2 years from now,
will give the good folk of Australia a treat with this, thanks





Italian producer Giovanni Damico (otherwise known as G-Machine or Ron Juan) has been busting out funkified gems for more than 10 years now, and his mighty back catalogue includes plenty of turns on Lumberjacks In Hell. He returns to the label with four crisp and refined slices of boogie business that span a range of tempos to give you plenty of party tackle for any situation. "The Sound Of Revolution" is a natural choice for the A1, dripping with cosmic synth flexes and an irresistible groove, while the snappily titled "Italians In A Line" brings a sweet strain of upfront robo-disco to the table.

BUY HERE!!

B1 Giovanni Damico - Italians In A Line Snippett

The latest transmission from the Lumberjacks stable taps up London-based producer Alan Dixon, who tackles a soul-stirring gospel belter from Frank Booker on the A side. Whatever your spiritual persuasion, "Rise & Shine" can't help but inject a little joy into your life. On the flip, Dixon turns the piano house power up to 11 with the life-affirming thrust of "Whatcha Gonna Do", featuring Maleke O'Ney on vocal duties. Completing the set, Lumberjacks head honcho Marcel Vogel drops in a remix that twists the original into a loose and limber jazz-funk-house odyssey of epic proportions.

LiH 36 Alan Dixon  - Rise And Shine Remix Feat Frank Hooker  OUT NOW !!

Lumberjacks In Hell welcome Croatian producer Andrej Laseech to the table following his promising early outings on Be Yourself and Sound Exhibitions. On this release, Laseech has reached out to the mighty, eternally prolific Javonntte for a little vocal magic, resulting in the utterly sexy deep house burner "More Than Friends". It's a track that Marcel Vogel & Tim Jules clearly dig, judging by the light touch they applied to their own remix of the track. "Take You Away" on the flip is another sweet and sultry warm-up or backroom jam that gets lifted even higher by Javonntte's stellar vocals.

A2  - Laseech ft Javonntte - More Than Friends (Marcel Vogel & Tim Jules Remix)

A1  - Laseech ft Javonntte - More Than Friends

Release date end of July.

Pre-Order at http://www.juno.co.uk/products/497414-01.htm

Rahaan Edit -  Make Me Hot (Promo-Snippet low res)

Lumberjacks in Hell has been founded in 2010. Intimate Friends followed in 2013. For some people the difference or the need for distinction between these two is quite evident but to give you an idea. Lumberjacks is always 100% for the dance floor, inspired by the music from Chicago and Detroit which is not only reflected in the Artists we release. Intimate Friends is a headier affair. Soul, Hip Hop and House are all fair game. If you check the releases next to each other both labels have a distinct sound. And maybe a certain BPM range. This isn't saying that some of the music couldn't have appeared on either label but somehow it all makes sense to me. Thanks for supporting the music and artists we are releasing and don't hesitate to get in touch! We love to hear from you,

Marcel Vogel, Amsterdam 2017 


Booking requests for Marcel Vogel or Lumberjacks in Hell // Intimate Friends showcases:
ali@warmagency.com

Thanks.

Lumberjacks in Hell

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