Raphael Saadiq • Skyy, Can You Feel Me (Yam Who? Spiritual Rework)

Agent K - Feed The Cat

@escola_records returns with its third release, featuring Barcelona’s deep house mainstay Pau Roca and his latest 12” "Your Energy".

Featuring Laura Elle on vocals, Your Energy is a vibey deep house cut, built for peaktime on eclectic dancefloors.

Adding to the release,  Barcelona’s own @Karmasound and Less J collaborate on a seductive remix that channels the bruk beat sounds of West London.

Pre-order

Exclusive Premiere: Pau Roca "Your Energy" Ft. Laura Elle (Karmasound & Less J Remix)

Amsterdam natives Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales, aka Dam Swindle, unveil their third long-player with the release of a new track, the first to be shared from the upcoming album, ‘Open’ - out on 30 May 2025 via Heist Recordings.

The new album sees the acclaimed duo dive far beyond the deep sonic waters they’re most known for, exploring lower tempos, synthwave, hip-house, and ambient across fourteen tracks. With a gestation period that traces back several years, ‘Open’ is their most intimate and personal body of work thus far, birthed during a time of self-reflection away from touring and personal transformation as individuals.

“We felt the need to tell a very personal story through our music as a translation of our personal development in the past years. We also wanted to make music without a specific goal in mind; We simply wanted to create. By taking away the grid of dance music and any expectations of what a Dam Swindle song should sound like, the creativity started to flow naturally with songs in many different styles and tempos. The result is an album that feels refreshing and uplifting and still very much true to the heart and soul of our sound.” - Dam Swindle, January 2025.

While the trademark Dam Swindle four-to-the-floor beats are still ever-present on tracks like ‘The Present Is Always Perfect’, ‘I Need You’, and ‘Is This Love?’, it’s the gentle waves of synths on opener ‘Home’, the contemplative piano chords of ‘Bloom’ featuring Joep Beving, and the lo-fi ambience of ‘It’s Okay, I Can Wait’ that showcase a melancholic, ethereal sensibility previously uncharted by the duo. Collaborations with vocalists such as NYC’s Haile Supreme on ‘Not Enough’ and Neo-soul singer Faye Meana on ‘Girl’ expertly find room in between the dancefloor and home listening sessions, and a clear standout on the LP is the title cut where message-heavy rapped vocals from UK artist Samson ebb and flow amongst iridescent grooves.

Under the helm of Maarten and Lars’ adept A&R, their Heist imprint has become a beloved home for house heads of both schools old and new, platforming some of dance music’s biggest names from Cinthie to DJ Sneak as well as the musical dawnings of artists such as Kassian and Makèz. The Dam Swindle alias has achieved house music royalty-like status across a storied 15-year career that includes two critically lauded full-lengths, collaborations with the likes of Tom Misch and Kerri Chandler, and a globetrotting touring schedule. This album stands as their most profoundly personal work of art to date, and they can’t wait to share it with you.


Open

Buy here!

Some day feat. Ric Wilson

Fifth episode of Mellow Madness on @lyl_radio b2b @aurelio-lostgrooves,
recorded at Lyl Radio's Lyon studio in May 2016.

From the archives - Mellow Madness w/ Clémentine & Aurelio LostGrooves 13.05.16

Chip Wickham's Soul Jazz outfit Blue Mode with a glorious new take on the Gene Ammons Soul Jazz Classic as popularised by 70's Latin Rock Combo Santana. Coming soon on Jazz Room Records.

JUNGLE STRUT

Putting a fresh spin on two tracks from New Regency Orchestra’s standout debut album, Momoko Gill and Samtheman, step up to the plate on remix duties. Two exciting and innovative names rising out of London’s next generation of artists they’ve reimagined NRO’s Afro-Cuban jazz vibrancy in their own personal and distinctive way. Blurring the lines between remix and new production, Momoko turns ‘Para Los Papines’ into a meditative, transportive, percussive cut laced with her ethereal vocals, as Sam flips ‘Sambaroco’ into an Afro house styled groover with Caique and P Wavey on the mic.

London-based drummer/producer/songwriter and vocalist, Momoko Gill, provides the first of the remixes. With an explorative ear and a rejection for imitation, her unique style has seen her collaborating with artists including Matthew Herbert, Coby Sey, Tirzah and Alabaster DePlume. Nourished by elements of NRO’s take on David Amram’s ‘Para Los Papines’, Momoko’s clever sampling of the bass, percussion and horns melds this track into a new dimension. Drawing from a Buddhist myth, her lyrics and intimate voice provide a celestial, mythological touch to the remix.

Talking on the remix Momoko says: “I wanted to make something that feels more like a recontextualization of the original and a continuation of the conversation. Unlike the original which sounds looser and starts with the more jazzy orchestration, NRO’s version kicks straight into the vamp and has a more linear structure, where the orchestrated bits serve as a release of tension as well as a destination. I enhanced that by making a new line through sampling the double bass which, in retrospect, sounds almost like a line you’d hear in grime and used vocal sampling to drive the groove.”

Next up, Samtheman, co-founder of the label/collective Brighter Days Family, takes on ‘Sambaroco’. Sam’s genre-bending productions are both inspired by, and experimenting with, sounds from around the globe. Reworking the groove into an Afro house rhythm, Sam invites two emerging young artists with ties to Brighter Days Family, Caique and P Wavey, to take to the mic and add a new, vocal-led flavour to the remix. 

Sam mentions, “Together in the studio, we listened to the original version by Tito Puente, Caique came up with a phrase inspired by the name of the tune. “Ela me faz samba roco, Ela me faz samba loco…” Then the rest of the vocal parts started flowing. Continuing to use the name of the original for inspiration, P Wavey begins his verse with, “Sambaroco-ni, now everybody just follow me…” In my mind, the original is a salsa song that is about carnival, or a salsa interpretation of carnival, in particular Brazilian carnival hence the title of the song.”

More than just reworks, these tracks are conversations, between continents, cultures, and genres, through the forward-thinking lens of two of London’s rising stars.


New Regency Orchestra - Sambaroco (Samtheman Dub Mix Ft. Caique & P Wavey)

Afro Dope (Ddha Qabra Quantic Rework) - Minimalist Re-born

FREE DOWNLOAD

DevilBaby, Beli - Escondes (JUAN GZ & Gerez Remix) (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Rhythmic,Fragmented Deep House.house music track.

पाशःpashah

Brand new year, brand new imprint. CoOp Presents is an all-new record label, founded by IG Culture and Alex Phountzi, set to focus on the depth and wealth of talent that exists within the London Bruk movement and beyond, a project which they consider to be a continuation in the same spirit of the legendary CoOp movement. Their second release features tracks from EVM128, Cengiz, James Rudie, Entek, Miraa May, and Danvers (@ddanvers) who comes in with 'My Nina' - a deep vibesy breakbeat opener that chops away, flipping its groove several times through the track.

Preorder: http://bit.ly/2EXZXRV

Selectors Assemble Volume Two

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Exclusive Premiere: Danvers "My Nina" (CoOp Presents: Selectors Assemble)

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

New Regency Orchestra - Sambaroco (Samtheman Dub Mix Ft. Caique & P Wavey)

Mr Bongo