German-born, Amsterdam based don Retromigration (AKA Malik Kassim) steps into the big leagues, letting loose his debut album on WOLF Music. ‘Straight Foxin’ contains fourteen expertly executed tracks, ranging from hazy beats and jazz-tinged broken rhythms to club-ready groovers, deep excursions, soulful footwork and even some jungle energy. An LP that has long been in the works (and for good reason), it’s packed with a flavour for every occasion. You just know a long player from this player is going to cover all bases.

Over the past few years, Retromigration has built up a loyal following and gained solid support from tastemakers within the electronic music press and radio landscape. For example, BBC Radio 1, NTS Radio, Worldwide FM, Mixmag, DJ Mag, Phonica, Ransom Note, 5 Magazine, Bolting Bits, SlothBoogie all giving his music their seal of approval. With representation from one of the scene’s most credible DJ agencies, Sounds Familiar, Retromigration has also got a busy international DJing schedule and will be touring to support the album release. With an impressive run of releases via Handy, Healthy Scratch, wewillalwaysbealovesong and WOLF in a relatively short space – Retromigration has established himself as hot property and it’s clear to see why. A distinctive style and energy permeate his tracks with a breadth of influences on offer, from hip hop, to jazz, soul to funk.
 
His debut LP, ‘Straight Foxin’, is a carefully curated and crafted journey showcasing the creative explosions firing off in his brain. Joining the dots between genres, taking elements from here, ideas from there – twisting and turning yet never out of place. Take the opening three tracks, all of which are tied together by a deep fondness for jazz, served up in different styles. ‘Kunta’ kicks off proceedings with a hazy and low-slung blend, ‘Formant’ leaning into the realms of broken beat and DnB and ‘Be Someone’ cruises in with the off-kilter house.

Elsewhere, there’s prime examples of Retromigration’s signature sample-laden house with deeper cuts like ‘Mada’ and ‘Bouncer’, sitting side by side with more soulful explorations such as ‘New Cribs’ and ‘ITWT’. As we delve deeper into the record another course of Retromigration’s expansive taste is served up, with four high-energy hits. The bouncing footwork flavours of ‘Kush Love’ ft. Passion Deez and ethereal excursion ‘What If’ lead into a captivating nod to the heydays of jungle and DnB on ‘Mild Fever’ and ‘Bad Knees’ respectively. Straight Foxin, mad flexin – Retromigration has laid down the law with this LP, a debut album done right.

Retromigration - Bad Knees Ft. Nephews

File Under Balearic Gabba EP is the first in a new series of serious DJ tools that will encompass remixes, edits, originals and licenses, all with artwork that is a twist on the original Balearic Gabba logo by PlanetLuke.
Up first is a new selection of music from core Hell Yeah artists that is unruly, impossible to define, and sure to twist dance floors inside out.

First up is Daniel Klein better known as SIRS, a Berlin-based mainstay with releases on the likes of Live At Robert Johnson.  His cut of  Caramel 3000's 'Super Rapido' is a dubbed-out blend of kosmiche chug and tropical percussion. Tumbling synth sequences bring extra colour as the groove builds over nine irresistible minutes. 

Then comes Japanese downtempo master Calm with his Mellow Mellow Acid Dub of Sergio Messina & The Four Twenties's 'Sometimes Remember' which is a nostalgic acid daydream and the perfect sunset soundtrack. Melancholic moods and lazy drums sink you in deep as the gentle acoustic guitars keep you afloat.  

Label regular and Internasjonal and International Feel associate Feel Fly then comes through with an Estatico Danzante Remix of Pedro Bertho's 'Tornei' feat Mariana Gehring and takes us to the stars on twinkling keys, dusty breakbeats and steamy, worldly vocals that glow as warm as a setting sun. 

Last of all is New York maestro and Loose Control Band member DJ Spun with his It's Rong Remix of My Friend Dario's 'Acid Mosquito in a Summer Night'. It finds him serving up a nine-minute excursion into jungle humidity with tribal percussion and jumbled bongos all run through with a spooky and primeval lead synth over lurching drum breaks.

The File Under Balearic Gabba EP brings a whole new dimension to wonky dance floor workouts.

Support by Sean Johnston (ALFOS), Chris Duckenfield, Fabrizio Mammarella, Talking Drums, Alexis Le Tan, Max Essa, Kristian (Ame), Tangram DJs.

vinyl / download

Sergio Messina & The Four Twenties - Sometimes Remember (Calm's Mellow Mellow Acid Dub)

B2 Hotspring - Glanzstrasse 6

Mr Bongo proudly presents the debut album from Tasmania-born, Melbourne-based, Finn Rees. Gliding across a swirling palette of saturated hues, Dawn Is A Melody feels vintage yet vibrant, new but familiar at the same time. A spiritual, deep and textured jazz record, tipping its hat to greats from the past, capturing memories and reformulating them into new ideas with the help of some of Melbourne’s finest talent.

Expert keys player for the likes of 30/70 and Elle Shimada, alongside one-half of Close Counters, this debut LP was Finn’s conscious departure from the realm of groove-based jazz. Instead, Dawn Is A Melody places the piano and arrangements centre stage, giving Finn and his fellow Melbourne crew freedom to explore the spaces in between, new emotions and alternate soundscapes.

In Finn’s own words: “My intention with Dawn Is A Melody was to create a world; a microcosm of colour. Something rich and beautiful that allowed the melodies and compositions to reach their full potential. It was driven by hope, curiosity and the search for beauty and reassurance in this ever-changing world. The emotion behind the music is really about the journey of life, growing up and changing, as well as my relationship with Tasmania’s natural landscapes where I grew up, a part of the world that is incredibly unique and beautiful.”

The album arcs between opening, middle and end. Beginning with the optimism of ‘Looking Up’ and ‘Lagoon’, the former a celestial, string and harp marbled slice of positivity, the latter a spiritual journey of exuberance and hope, Finn’s fingers dancing across the ‘70s Yamaha grand piano. From there the songs blossom outwards with the cinematic soulful journey of ‘It’s Behind Me Now’ and Brazilian-inspired ‘Expansion’, as the divine ‘Crossing’ signals a transition to a new realm. The energy is transformed from the rich cosmic textures to a more intimate and personal feeling with ‘Ablaze’, ‘Between Spaces’ and ‘As It Passes’ which blissfully fades down to simply piano and strings to close out the record.

Recorded at Rolling Stock in Collingwood, Melbourne, Henry Jenkins was drafted in as recording and mix engineer, his minimal vintage mic setups giving a live aesthetic and warmth to the arrangements. Lucky Pereira and Blakely McLean Davies form the rock-solid rhythm section, with a hand-picked line-up of other Melbourne talent on display, including Cheryl Durongpitikul on tenor sax, Siwei Wong on harp, Audrey Powne on trumpet and Allysha Joy on vocals to name only a few.

Plotting a course from Alice Coltrane, through Herbie Hancock, to Arthur Verocai, this is a debut nourished by the past but firmly made in the present. A record unable to be age-stamped, casting ambiguity as to when, what era and by whom it has been crafted. Like a vintage lens capturing a current scene, Dawn Is A Melody is warm and familiar yet focused on the here now.

Finn Rees - Crossing

Jeff Higgins returns for another Sweet Nothings show, journeying through smooth and jazzy disco, neo-soul and boogie selects. Listen back to hear exclusive music from Maurice Fulton and musclecars coming soon on BBE Music.

Sweet Nothings w/ Jeff Higgins - June 2024

Sholto - For The Love Of Stripes
Air - Les Professionals
Air - All I Need
K15 - Attachments
Nuyorican Soul feat. Jocelyn Brown - I Am The Black Gold of The Sun (MAW Remix feat. Q.Tip)
Summer Pearl - Not My Child
Herbert Laws - Family
One Way & Al Hudson - Don’t Stop
Qendresa - Don’t Stop
Qendresa & Jamma Dee - Undercover Lover
Derrick Cross - Never Too Much
JINGLE
Ruby Wood - My Favourite Song (Frechboe & MGM The Grand Mix)
Magnetic Machines - People
Born 74 & Onj - Tape Your Beat
Earth Wind & Fire - Africana Reprise (Shall I Bruk It Mix)
Inner Life - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

RADIO.D59B / +33JOY #13 w/ Neil Bopperson

To celebrate 10 years of one of London’s most loved underground club nights, Tangent, Mr Bongo are thrilled to launch this new compilation series. Crafted by its two residents, John Gómez and Nick the Record, it aims to transmit a taste of Tangent’s spirit. A party rooted in inclusivity and open-mindedness, whose name captures the spontaneous switches in musical direction that are a defining element of their nights. For the compilation, the pair have cherry-picked a selection of their prized, rare and dancefloor-ready tracks from around the globe, that have soundtracked the past decade of parties.

Friends for close to 20 years, music lovers, record obsessives and internationally renowned DJs in their own right, John and Nick have two lifetimes worth of musical knowledge to draw from. John a long-standing NTS Radio resident and compiler for Music From Memory. Nick one of the UK’s go-to record dealers, resident DJ since the ‘90s at one of Japan’s pioneering parties, Life Force, and co-captain / co-edit-expert of Record Mission with Dan Tyler (Idjut Boys).

In 2014, the pair decided to bring some of Life Force’s grassroots principles to the UK, whilst channelling underground clubbing institution Plastic People’s meticulous attitude to sound. Tangent grew from being a small gathering of friends, to an established fixture in London’s nightlife, whilst always maintaining a strict no guest DJ policy. “As London’s clubs have become increasingly reliant on international guests, we wanted to emphasize the importance of a club night growing through its residents”, John and Nick reflect. With 10 years of the duo at the helm, an intimate connection between DJ and dancefloor has been built, allowing for freedom of expression on both sides of the decks.

Tangent reaches around the globe and across different eras to make connections that stimulate emotional reverberations in the unfamiliar. Where the blissfully Balearic ‘Laberinto’ by Miguel Perikás, goes hand-in-hand with the Cameroonian hip-house of King B.’s ‘Love is Crazy’. The thundering ‘Amek Amek’ by L'Innovateur Djoe Ahmed et le Zoukabyle, rubs shoulders with the soulful Caribbean-influenced touch of Champagn’s ‘Bel Ti Négress’. And Pellegrin El Kady’s afro-cosmic ‘Seiva de Carnaval’, crosses paths with Kajou’s Kompa disco anthem ‘Tet Chajé’.

Tangent’s longevity is in part down to it having always embraced contemporary sounds. The sub-rattling bass of Srirajah Sound System’s stunning Molam dub stepper ‘Si Phan Don Lovers Rock’ and the slow, woozy mantra of leftfield dancehall explorer Androo’s ‘Lyriso’, are two shining examples.

This compilation represents an ongoing dialogue between past and present, transporting listeners to the heart of a pure musical experience, where open minds and open hearts are eager to follow the tangent.

Land Shark - Tie Me Up (The Nas - T Version Instrumental)

Conjunto Baluartes - Nira Gongo

Unknown album

Josh Sithole - Inkomozami

Kyle Hall - Create Your Own Existence

This ambitious instrumental collection traces the complex emotional landscape of a woman navigating the labyrinth of desire, love, and self-discovery across multiple relationships and encounters. Through 60 interconnected pieces, the album weaves a non-linear narrative where past and present intertwine, memories overlap with reality, and different loves echo through time.

Fading Polaroids

Record label. Record shop. Film label. Since 1989.