Bandcamp - https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/acid-straps-ep

1 What’s Worse - 4.21
2 I Don’t Get It - 5.44
3 Lubie - 6.18
4 Crystal Mist - 9.27

Strapontin and Zillas On Acid have both previously had a release on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce.

After becoming aware of Philadelphia’s Zillas, Belgium’s Strapontin got in touch with them and suggested a collaboration. Strapontin says “I got totally attracted by that psychedelic rave vibe and asked to work together and see where our virtual meeting could lead us. Distant work was very simple, fluid and fun.”

Strapontin describes this release as “uninhibited, positively messy and pure rave fun”.

Zillas On Acid say “these tracks are the opposite of subtle, the sonic equivalent of a VCR biting your hand.”

They are both right.
Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on March 12th

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 035 - Strapontin & Zillas on Acid - Acid Straps EP

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/high-strangeness-ep

Optimo Music’s connection with South America continues to mushroom with this 4 track EP from Hermetics.

Santiago Niño a.k.a HERMETICS is an accomplished eclectic & conceptual electronic musician originally from Bogota, Colombia but now based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has a deep discography of releases across a range of genres. He plans to keep experimenting and exploring new sounds and unique percussive atmospheres. 

We asked Santiago to tell us a bit about The High Strangeness, and he goes deep......

The High Strangeness EP tells a story of the diversity of images, textures and atmospheres that I want to explore with this project, and it is also a tribute to many concepts and topics that interest me.

"High Strangeness" transmits a psychedelic drama, an astral journey through unknown dimensions, a leap into the cosmic, into the extrasensory universe and the dreamlike nature of reality. When I listen to this track I can't help but imagine Terence Mckenna telling his amazing experiences with Psilocybin and DMT. In part, this track is a tribute to the psychedelic counter-culture and its enigmas, Its high strangeness.

"Cobra Negra" is a state that connects me with the archetype of the warrior and his confrontation with his own shadow. There is an internal battle against the forces of nature and its' violent and mysterious fauna. This track takes place in an imaginary jungle where the warrior faces all the beasts, snakes and insects of his psyche.
 
The sound of "Coherence" places me in a pre-dynastic Egypt of high magic. It immerses me in its esoteric mysteries and its advanced spiritual technology. It evokes in me images of strange rites and ceremonies that were in direct communion with the stars and other planes of existence. Egyptian wisdom and enigmas never cease to amaze me, and this track is a tribute to my fascination with this civilisation, which seems to come from other worlds.

"Bon" is a track, that like "Coherence', is a tribute to a tradition, to an ancient shamanic culture, in this case, a tribute to the pre-Buddhist Tibetan 'Bon' tradition. The darkness, the hypnotism and the magnetism of its' mantras are what I wanted to capture in this track, an atmosphere that makes one travel to the strangest abysses of the magical and esoteric practices of an old pagan east.


Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on May 21st

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 036 - Hermetics - High Strangeness EP

Optimo Music Archiv is a new offshoot label by JD Twitch exploring and revisiting favourite and often forgotten releases from the past.

First up - Force Dimension.

Released in full picture sleeve on marbled vinyl. Sleeve design by Andrew Beltran.

This was Belgium. 1989. First wave EBM duo, but also so much more.
This first release takes 5 Force Dimension favourites and reconfigures them as an extended EP / mini album.

The songs are untouched but have been power remastered for 21st Century ears.

“Tension” comes in two versions, one from each version of their debut album. Oddly they put out an original version (Blue), they decided they didn’t like it and re-recorded it. Both versions of Tension rule.
200 FA is an end of the night anthem. A perfect piece of E Music that crossed over into the early 90s Rave era and still much sought after to this day.

Aqua 2000 and All Systems Out are two Belgian bombs that still slay dancefloors today.

Vinyl and digital released July 9th 2021. Distro by Kompakt

OM Archiv 01 - Force Dimension - Feel The Tension (mini album)

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/average-moving-sound-ep

1 Bay Area
2 Papaya Vieja
3 Ricardo
4 Erdy Mesja

Theus Mago is back with his second OMDD EP. He says “This is an EP inspired by weird, obscure movies and modular synths. It was done in a couple of jamming sessions, when uncertainty about the future was at its peak. It still is, so I guess the ethos behind it remains pretty relevant.”

Artwork by Tom Joyes. Mastered by James Savage

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on September 24th.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 037 - Theus Mago - Average Moving Sound EP

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/making-excuses-for-you-ep

1 Amsterdam
2 Back
3 Ingredients

When I was doing the club Pure in Edinburgh in the 1990s, the other big night in the same venue was Tribal Funktion whose main (and fab) DJ was George T. We stayed in touch over the years. A few years ago I did a remix for him and now I'm delighted to be releasing some of his music, made along with Quinn who I also know from playing numerous gigs on the same bill as his wonderful act, Paranoid London. The stars truly aligned on this one. I'll let George tell you a bit more....


"Quinn & I first met in London around 97/98, raving both sides of the river, releasing the occasional banger and generally larking about. By the time his Different Gear Police bootleg with Gino Scaletti became a huge hit we lost touch, became parents, moved on. 

15 years later (it’s 2015) and realising that the guy in Paranoid London looked suspiciously like Quinn, we met up. First for beer and stories then for bass and echo. It wasn’t long before we started trying things out in the studio. Creating drones with guitar pedals, imaginary soundtracks with noisy old Bontempi organs. Things began to have a particular sonic shape, but we had other fish to fry. Quinn always had countless projects on and I was immersed in Greco-Roman’s Jeanga and George, so we were often busy, only meeting up in fits and starts every couple of months.

By 2019 though, without realising or intending anything in particular, we had quite a body of work. What to do? Knowing Keith from Pure in Edinburgh back in the day it almost seemed a no brainier. We love Optimo. Let’s send it to Keith.

We did, and then lockdown numero uno began. We’re now halfway through 2021 and very happy to finally share three pieces of music with you. An introduction if you will to the upside down, not quite this or that world of Quinn and I. We hope you love it too”.

Artwork by Andrew Beltran. Mastered by James Savage

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on October 15th.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 038 - George T and Johnny Aux - Making Excuses For You EP

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/my-reflections-ep

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH8amJ8XSLY

1 All Things Must Pass 
2 Fake Phonecall
3 All Things Must Pass (Altered Natives remix)

Formed in Glasgow 2019 out of a mutual love of Acid House. The band is made up of Djs Nick Stewart, Matt McCue and blues singer Chris Wilson.

The band formed when Nick asked Matt to play a live set at a club and Matt said the only way he would do it was if they formed a band. 6 weeks later they played live (slightly terrified) with the do it yourself Punk attitude.
 
 
 ALL THINGS MUST PASS

The song was written about my ex-girlfriend. My soulmate and twin flame. We are still in love with each other but can't be together however much we want to be. 

It's about the pain of being separated from someone you are completely in love with. Hoping that the pain of separation will pass someday.
It's melancholic and euphoric. Using just a Roland CR - 68 drum machine, 2 synths and a 303. The acid line coming in at the end signifies 'hope' the feelings of loss will pass and get better.

FAKE PHONECALL

Fake Phonecall is about abandoning the use of modern devices for genuine human interactions on the dance floor.

It says goodbye to the selfie and social media ; asking human beings to reconnect in the moment through acid house music.

More cowbell than is probably needed and answer machine messages in French and Spanish recorded into mobile phones and sent to us. 
No samples used in the track.
 
ALL THINGS MUST PASS (ALTERED NATIVES REMIX)

Thunderous D&B remix from the always on form Danny Altered Natives.

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on December 10th 2021.

OMDD 39 - Acid Ultras - My Reflections EP (inc Altered Natives Rmx)

Ewan McVicar
‘Movin’ On Over’ EP + IKONIKA Remix


Ewan McVicar ‘Movin’ On Over’ EP

1 Movin' On Over
2 Slowing Up The Freak
3 Slowing Up The Freak (Ikonika remix)
4 Which Way To Go?

Released 11 February 


Producer of the moment, Ewan McVicar, follows his huge ’Tell Me Something Good’, voted Best Track of 2021 by BBC Radio 1 Dance Awards and DJ Mag’s Best of British Awards, with the ‘Movin’ On Over’ EP, backed by an IKONIKA Remix, released on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on 11 February. 

With the ‘Movin’ On Over’ EP, Ayr-born Ewan McVicar showcases his love of the underground house music scene, the older Optimo Trax releases he fell in love with, and the legendary parties at Glasgow’s iconic Sub Club, which inspired him to pursue a career making and playing music. 

The title track ‘Movin’ On Over’ encapsulates the essence of those classic Optimo Trax dancefloor cuts and presents Ewan McVicar's interpretation of the infamous Optimo parties at Glasgow’s Sub Club. The sound references Ron Hardy in Chicago’s Muzic Box with the thumping, hard cutting bass line and acid influences which makes Ewan McVicar "envisage major head bopping”! 

The hypnotic ‘Slowing Up The Freak’ is also made for sweat-soaked dance-floors. Ewan McVicar wanted to take the dancer to another, twisted place. The distorted noises and instruments used were designed “to f*ck with people on the dancefloor and slow up the freaks.” As Ewan McVicar adds, “we are all our own freak at the end of the day.” ‘Slowing Up The Freak’ is backed by a remix from IKONIKA which emphasises the trippy, freak out elements of the original. 

The shimmering ‘Which Way To Go?’ rounds off the EP perfectly. Ideal for the after-party, the track was devised late at night and features Sega computer samples and acid house basslines, to create a euphoric and spellbinding finale. 

Ewan McVicar has released on Shall Not Fade, Unknown To The Unknown, Nervous, & Trick; supported by Laurent Garnier, Roman Flügel, Paul Woolford, Melé,  Nightwave, DJ Deeon, Skream etc.

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on February 11th 2021.


soundcloud.com/ewanmcvicar
instagram.com/ewanmcvicar_
facebook.com/ewanmcvicarmusic/
twitter.com/ewanmcvicar_

OMDD 40 - Ewan McVicar - Movin' On Over EP (inc Ikonika remix)

https://saradziri.bandcamp.com/album/fille-de-racaille-pre-release-single

Acclaimed Belgian-Tunisian Producer Sara Dziri presents the powerful single ‘Fille De Racaille’ released on Optimo Music on 4 February - an exciting taster for her forthcoming debut album, the highly personal ‘Close To Home’ with is released in March.

Sara Dziri Social Media
soundcloud.com/saradzirimusic
instagram.com/sara__dziri
facebook.com/saradzirimusic
twitter.com/DJDziri


Out on Optimo Music Digital on February 11th 2021.

OM 49_D Sara Dziri - Fille De Racaille (digital single)

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/kill-the-bill-my-spirit-is-not-for-kettling-ep

Joshua Idehen, Sons Of Kemet collaborator, and fresh from a release working with Daedelus joins forces with former alt-J Musician Gwil Sainsbury aka LOOR.

LOOR and I met on instagram. I was falling back into trance heavily so it felt so I really got into his Waters Album, and this was before I found out what he’d been doing prior. We talked about collaborating on a track, but then we ended up ranting hard about The State Of Things - it was clear we were on the same wavelength, politically,  Angry An  Feeling Numb At The Same Time. When he sent over the beats for me to choose one, I had a listen through and I knew I was gonna ask to do an EP with him. We settled very quickly on the four themes of the project: Politics, Hope, Despair, Rage

The last track I wrote was Kill The Bill.  It’d taken a few tries to nail the verse at first; I knew I wanted a punchy opener, something that set the tone and captured the emotion. I follow James O’Brien on twitter, and for a while he started the day with the line “what fresh hell is this”. And I was like, yeah, that’s it; incredulousness. 


What fresh hell
The sun fell
like a baton on the back of London town
sirens blaring

ANYWAY

Things are bad, 
the phone-lines are dead
the road is dark
 and the wolf is a cop
The devil don't rest
Is it even a protest
If your oppressor said yes
the rot is settling IN
But understand this is the Tea, 
fake lords and gentlemen
My spirit is not for kettling


Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on March 4th 2021.

OMDD 41 - Joshua Idehen & LOOR - Kill The Bill (My Spirit is Not For Kettling) EP

A1)Cold Feet
A2)Agent Kink

B1)Fragments of a Marching Stone
B2)Lazy Soldier
B3)All Diving Lucid Blue

Rudolf Abramov hit all Optimo Music’s buttons at once. Drums, energy, songs, instrumentals, super production, Post Punk echoing, dance floor destroying, home listening friendly, and completely unique.

Who are they and what are they about? Read on…

Rudolf Abramov is a duo based in Berlin. They seem to open a door to unexpected musical encounters. It’s an almost impossible task to sum up their sound in a comprehensible way, but in their own words their music is ‘a response to a seemingly endless conflict about disgust, acceptance and love.’ Since the duo likes to invite other musicians and fellow humans to add to their pieces, this often creates another layer to their unexpected musical encounters.

“Losing Perspective” is the result of a journey that began with a week-long recording session outside the city. Back in Berlin the skeletons of the track gradually grew in flesh, experience and emotion, describing this time in a vibrant and ever-changing city; a city where the faded colours sometimes seem more appealing than the unifying glow of the new.

In order to preserve for ourselves the conflicting colours in their fantastic disharmony, we have therefore watched the pieces change rather than moving them in a particular direction. The result is a number of tracks with different facets that derive from different moods and voices, indulging in diversity.

At the end of this process, we look back at this colourful collage and connect our own very personal history with it and both resolve in harmony. When asking the cat from our studio’s courtyard for example, she said that “Losing Perspective” was about stray tomcats who have lost their old home port to a newfangled establishment wandering randomly through the days in search of songbirds, distraction and rest. And we feel like she kinda has a point there.

Vinyl and digital released April 4th 2022. Distro by Kompakt

OM 48 Rudolf Abramov - Losing Perspective 12" Vinyl (sampler)

1) UIUAWIO
2) Psychedelectricity

Man Power returns to Optimo Music with this splendid dance floor tested 2 tracker. He says -

“UIUAWIO is me killing time by covering Odyssey and singing into my laptop in a budget hotel in Mexico while my wife met with her lawyers next door. I think most of the best stuff people make comes in those loose moments that take place between doing everything else properly. Psychedelectricity is me writing lyrics for a fictitious song title that I read in a comic book story by Grant Morrison almost 30 years ago."

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on March 18th 2021.

OMDD 42 Man Power - UIUAWIO / Psychedelectricity

Description c/o Boomkat -

Landing shades away from styles explored by France’s Acid Arab ensemble, Dziri’s take unpackages it along further lines into more brooding coldwave trance and new beat electro, resulting in some uniquely absorbing avenues of exploration.

Cinematic in scope, yet anchored to proper club rhythms, the eight tracks see Dziri draw on her heritage and her current position at the locus of Belgian dance music. ‘Ali Lam’ opens with night-vision pads and hints of the Arabic percussion that come into play in the full body proper, sweeping from the mid-tempo flow of chewy 303s and microtonal drones in ‘Horizons’ to the furtive spy theme acid of ‘Fille de Racaille’ , with the widescreen design of ‘State Of Existence’ recalling the coldwave feel of earlier Marie Davidson, and ‘The Nowness’ tucks it to the darkside of slow Belgian new beat, saving a real highpoint for the lustrous finale of ‘Ka Ya Makan’.

Out on Optimo Music as a digital release on March 25th 2021.

OM 49D Sara Dziri - Close To Home (album sampler)

A1 Holes In My CV
A2 Time
A3 Snowglobe

B1 NRGY
B2 Module
B3 N.O.D.

INIT is Benedikt Frey & Nadia D’Alò. We are delighted to present their long delayed vinyl and digital album, NRGY.

Born out of various art performances and installations, INIT states a logical outcome of Berlin based duo Nadia D'Alò and Benedikt Frey. With heavy use of analogue synthesis and drum-machines, INIT rethinks its genre's sonic approach, unfolding a unique and organic, yet alienating sound, somewhere in the mysterious midst of Acid, Techno, Ambient and Kraut-Rock. 

This is INIT's third album, following two releases on Hivern Discs, and performances at clubs such as Berghain, Robert Johnson and Pudel Club.

INIT say - 

Module, NRGY, and Time were reverse extracted out of our live set and re-recorded and re-arranged after we realised how well they work in clubs. It is the first time we worked this way as we tend not to play our compositions live, like we produced them. Mostly we just extract loops out of our production to mess around with in a loose live project. 

Snowglobe, Holes In My CV and N.O.D. were more built up from a studio jam plus a bulletproof-ish arrangement afterwards. 

Tried and tested on dance floors this is a surefire hit album on the dancefloor, and at home. NRGY!

Released on vinyl (and digital) on 27/05/2022. Distributed by Kompakt.

OM LP 22 - INIT - NRGY album sampler (vinyl / digital)

A1. Tesco Bombers – Break The Ice At Parties
A2. Sara Goes Pop – Sexy Terrorist
A3. People In Control – When It’s War
A4. Nancy Sesay & The Melodaires – C’est Fab

B1. The Distributors – TV Me
B2. Dorothy – Softness
B3. Thomas Leer – Private Plane
B4. Visitors – Electric Heat

C1. The Murphy Federation – Fed Up Skank
C2. The Distributors – Never Never
C3. The Cro-tones – Tea Machine Dub
C4. Fatal Microbes – Violence Grows

D1. The Spunky Onions – How I Lost My Virginity
D2. The Fakes – Look Out
D3. The 012 – Meltdown Situation
D4. The Prats – Disco Pope

This is a compilation of 16 UK 7" singles recorded between 1978 and 1982, compiled by JD Twitch, that showcases the DIY spirit of those times. 

"If Punk was the nuclear detonation, the fallout that came after was where a lot of the most interesting music of that era was made. People who would never have thought to release a record before realised it was something they could do, and the end result was a DIY explosion. I've always loved music that doesn't try to fit in a particular genre, that is anti-canonical and doesn't care what else is going on in music at that time, that takes risks and is full of imagination and ideas that may or may not make any logical sense but that resulted in something unique, that ignores conventions about how a record SHOULD be produced and that was created simply because its creators felt the urge to express themselves and share the results with some other people. This compilation compiles 16 tracks that fulfil all those criteria. None of them had any success, most are (unjustly) obscure but every one of them has inspired me and would be in my ultimate 7" singles box." – JD Twitch.

This release has been a real labour of love involving tracing long-lost artists to far-flung corners of the globe, persuading them that the modern world needs to hear the music they made several decades ago, tracking down lost masters, lovingly restoring 7"s in the case of those where the masters were lost and then conceiving an elaborate package with detailed sleeve notes to house the double album package.

*NOTE - Due to legal problems with the original title a new version of the sleeve has had to be designed and manufactured. We still hope to make the original packaging available in a modified form but in the meantime this will be released in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves containing all the info and notes from the original.

The original 2 x LP vinyl edition was to come in a super deluxe package combining a double-sided black and white four x 12" panel sleeve, hand-folded into an LP sleeve with a colour insert containing colour photos of all the sleeves all inserted in a bespoke pvc wallet. The four x 12" panel sleeve contains sleeve notes and detailed overviews of each individual track by JD Twitch, and an introduction by New York's DIY expert Dan Selzer. Due to the huge amount of work involved putting the sleeve together, it would only ever exist in an edition of 500 copies. 

Release date October 30th 2015. Distribution by Kompakt.

Digital version contains 13 tracks.

Various - [Cease & Desist] DIY! (Cult classics from the Post-Punk era 1978 - 82)

Optimo Music is delighted to present our 2nd Peter Zummo release, this time featuring all new music. This release is a mini album containing 30 minutes of music cut at 45rpm. It is a suite of songs based around this amazing track, "The Tape Is Chill".

Some words from Mr. Zummo - 

In this project for Optimo, the listener can hear that my musical food
pyramid has musicians at top, or maybe they are at the bottom. In any
case, they are important. That is why, from track to track, I selected
segments in which one player or another is featured in the take. Some
may think that we musicians do multiple takes to get the perfect
performance, but I like to find the special interactions lurking in
each excursion. Different players came forward in each of the takes,
which were recorded in the studios Seaside Lounge and Headroom, in
Brooklyn, and live in performances at Cube Cinema, in Bristol, U.K.,
as well as in Long Island City and on Staten Island, New York.

In order to escape the tyranny of the lyric, I am exploring in this
release the possibilities of nonsensical and non-emotional lyrics.
These kinds of lyrics bring the singing voices into the mix without an
overweening message. The tracks include open-form compositions in
which the duration was not specified.

Eight track mini album (and digital release) released on September 9th 2016. Distributed by Kompakt.


Peter Zummo - The Tape Is Chill (from the "Dress Code (Don't Look At My Car)" Mini Album)

Robotiko Rejekto - “Rejekto”

A1) Rejekto (Perfekto mix)

AA1) Rejekto (U.S. Dub)
AA2) Rejekto (Frenchbloke cover version)

Optimo Trax 30 celebrates a double 30 year anniversary; the original release date of “Rejekto” and 30 years since Twitch started dj’ing. In 1987, Twitch, who wasn’t known as Twitch yet, picked up a copy of “Rejekto” at Glasgow’s then numero uno import shop, 23rd Precinct. He was smitten.

Shortly after that he got his first ever dj gig and played “Rejekto” in his first ever dj set. Nobody danced to it. He kept playing it and still nobody danced to it. Eventually he gave up playing it, but never stopped loving it. 

A few years ago he felt the time was right to try playing it again and this time people danced to it. In fact, people loved it and would ask about it and shriek in delight when they heard it. There is often a lot of false nostalgia talked about in dance music and how it “was better back in the day?”. Well, in some ways it was but in many it wasn’t and 30 years later it feels as if perhaps ears are more open, or perhaps “Rejekto” was just ahead of its time?

From Germany, written and produced by Ra-Hen and Talla 2XLC, Robotiko Rejecto’s “Rejekto” was the inaugural release on the Techno Drome International label. With a powerful and seductive vocal sung in Romanian it has latterly been categorised as EBM / Techno but at the time didn’t really fit into any convenient genre. Twitch called it Electrobeat.

To celebrate this 30th release on Optimo Trax, the 12” comes in a  special sleeve designed by Katie Shambles and Andrew Beltran. As well as featuring the original classic “Perfekto” and “U.S. Dub” versions this reissue features a slo-mo cover version by long-time Twitch friend and ally, the mysterious Frenchbloke who was the only other person he knew back then who also loved this wonderful record. Robotiko!

Two track 12" (and digital) released on July 21st 2017. Distributed by Kompakt and Rub A Dub.

Optimo Trax 30 - Robotiko Rejekto - Rejekto! 12" (sampler)

A1. Préambule 
A2. Cordée
A3. Jeu de glissades 
A4. Construire un igloo 

B1. Ivres de fatigue 
B2. Réveil bizarre 
B3. Bataille 
B4. Tableau final 

First 300 copies come in blue-white-marbled vinyl.

Pre-order link - https://www.kompakt.fm/releases/obakodomo

Optimo Music is delighted to release a first album by Fantastic Twins (formerly known as The Twins). We’ll let them tell you the story behind this inspired and beguiling record - 

Obakodomo (Au Balcon Du Monde) is a soundtrack I created for a piece of contemporary dance, performed by two dancers for a young audience from the age of 4. It is the story of an imaginary journey in Antartica where two explorers go on an adventure. They encounter a colony of penguins and will progressively learn to understand their habits and respect their environment. Essentially, Au Balcon Du Monde is a metaphor of how to exist next to each other, how to share a territory, how to learn to live together and share resources. 

The scenography and stage accessories were designed in a minimalistic and non-obvious form to leave all the space for imagination. The penguins were made of translucent material to provide light effects and were programmed to move in a swaying motion, allowing interaction with the dancers and the music. LED system could be wireless piloted. 

With the soundtrack, I wanted to create an atmosphere that would immediately transport the children into this terra nova - a poetical space, like a cold sphere, where the strange meets the frightening and the playful. Translating the immense vs the small, the far-off vs the near, the collective vs the individual, the strange vs the familiar or the cold vs the heat. My intention was to follow the thread of the story in a narrative, yet non-caricatural way. Music for children doesn’t have to be “childish”. Children love to be scared or even just challenged. They love to love and react instantly to what they hear through their emotions. Ultimately, the soundtrack aims to provide different levels of “reading” so that it becomes something more universal. So we, adults, just have to accept the invitation.

Footage from the original dance play “Au Balcon Du Monde” by Les Ballets Contemporains de Saint Etienne, performed in 2015 and for which Fantastic Twins created the soundtrack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Mr38Upj18

Vinyl Album (and digital) released on October 20th 2017. Distributed by Kompakt.

OM 12 LP - Fantastic Twins - Obakodomo (sampler)

“I'm the type of person who almost never never falls out of love with music I have loved in the past. I first came across Psyche in 1986 and was an instant fan. In 1987 my best friend persuaded me to audition for the warm up dj job at a club we used to attend in Edinburgh. I had never DJed in my life at this point but the prospect of getting to play my favourite records very loud was extremely enticing to me, so i was persuaded. It turned out the guys who ran the club adored Psyche's ‘Prisoner to Desire’, which i played during my audition, so I got the job pretty much on the back of playing that and it went on to become one of my signature songs at that club. Maybe if i hadn't played it I would never have got the bug for djing and my life would have gone down a completely different path? I never stopped listening to Psyche but in recent years I started playing some of their records in my sets again.  

‘Goodbye Horses’ by Q Lazzarus was one of the most popular songs and became an anthem at our weekly Optimo nights in Glasgow. It was only in the last year that I heard Psyche's version and fell head over heels for it. The idea started formulating to approach Psyche about putting it on a 12", and when I finally did, we struck up an instant rapport which resulted in me choosing four of my favourite tracks from their repertoire to comprise an EP I'm immensely proud to be releasing.”

- JD Twitch

*** Please note: This is only a radio edit of the full version that will be released. ***

Psyche - Goodbye Horses (Radio Edit)

A1) End Of Times Golden Dub 
B1) End Of Times Silver Dub 
B2) End Of Times Drone-Apella 

Optimo Music don’t generally do limited edition releases but when The Golden Filter did these extra mixes of “End Of Times”,  the A1 track off their recent EP we thought they were too good to remain in the digital domain so have pressed up a small run of 12” singles aimed specifically at DJs.

The original single version is a future synth classic. These new dub versions take it to the dancefloor and have been tried and tested around the world over the last few months. They are considerably extended, dubbed out and add extra dynamics & ecstatic synth power with hints of the original vocal. There is a slo mo version at 103 bpm and a faster version at 118bpm which means the track should work any time from warm up to peak set. There is also a Drone-Apella version included too.

Released on vinyl (and digital) on January 12th 2018. Distributed by Kompakt.

Optimo Music TGF LTD 001 - The Golden Filter - Dub of Times 12" EP (sampler)

Den Haan are the dynamic Glasgow duo of spacial electronical disco grooves. Matt (Crème de Menthe – Disko B) and Gardi seemed to have met in some Italian discotechque circa 1979 if their sound is anything to be believed. However, they are far from a retro pastiche. They ooze camp funk, glitter and glamour – you only need to see them perform live to see what we mean. One would expect to see Giorgio himself make a guest appearance on the stage.

Den Haan - Release The Beast

Barbatuques - Baianá (Brasingles vol.2) 12"

A1 Baianá
B1 Baianá (Wolf Müller's Drum Drop)

The fourth release of Selva Discos is one that has been bursting audiences into flames for a good while. Barbatuques, a well-known Brazilian group of body percussionists, adapted "Baianá" back in 2005 (first released on the "O Seguinte É Esse" album) and since then it became a staple of their concerts, getting crazy reactions from the children to the elder, being featured on soundtracks and sampled by trap duo Tropkillaz. The original is a modern folk song from Bahia composed by Maria do Carmo Barbosa, but it was the mouth harp sound and the stomping beat on the Barbatuques' arrangement that imprinted its trademark sound - like the first lightning strikes before the storm.

A couple of years ago, Jan Schulte, the german producer known for his taste for tropical drums (and also for using a few different aliases), heard the song and decided to add an extra punch to it for his DJ sets: more drums, taken from a library record of "drumdrops" (hence the title). In his appearance at 2017's Dekmantel Boiler Room stage as Bufiman, he dropped it to the crowd's awe, and it's been like that wherever its played - believe it, it's been tested all around.

So now for the first time "Baianá" is issued on vinyl. It marks the second volume of the BRASINGLES series, a new series on Selva Discos dedicated to releasing loud 12" singles with the original song on the A side and a rework on the B side, to please both the DJ and the listener.

Released on vinyl (and digital) on June 29th 2018. Distributed by Kompakt.

Optimo Music / Selva Discos - OMSD 004 - Barbatuques - Baianá 12" (sampler)

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/works-1-ep

Tamburi Neri. Sweet stories cloudy landscapes. A project based on stories created by the lucid madness of Andrea Barbieri and the dark and dreamy musical composition of Claudio Brioschi. Their music conveys a long vortex of exciting poetry.

1) Pechino
2) Oom
3).Pelle Rossa
4)Animali
5) Black Drums

Total freshness from one half of Boot & Tax plus friend. 

Tamburi Neri. Sweet stories cloudy landscapes. A project based on stories created by the lucid madness of Andrea Barbieri and the dark and dreamy musical composition of Claudio Brioschi. Their music conveys a long vortex of exciting poetry.


Available from all good digital outlets from February 8th 2019.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 005 - Tamburi Neri - Works #1 EP

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/siri-will-rise-ep

Theus Mago -  Siri Will Rise EP

We are delighted to present our first release from Mexico with Duro records boss Theus Mago and three tracks of butt-quaking electro. Dancefloor and Danceforce certified!

1 Bum Bum Bum
2 Monte Domani
3 Siri Will Rise

Available from all good digital outlets from May 4th 2019.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 009 - Theus Mago -  Siri Will Rise EP

MR TC - Zeug 12" EP

A1) Batucada
A2)Mind ii

AA1) Salz
AA2) Bad Habits feat. Credit 00

*There is also a digital only 5th track 'Zeuglodon'

Thomas Lea Clarke returns to the wider Optimo Music family with his third offering for us and his first on Against Fascism Trax. This collection of five tracks (4 on the vinyl release + 1 digital exclusive) were recorded over the past couple of years in Clarke's home studio and see him diving deeper into the psychedelic dance explorations that you heard on 'Soundtrack For Strangers' and 'Surf & Destroy'.

All label profits will be donated to Hope Not Hate (www.hopenothate.org.uk) which campaigns to counter racism and fascism.

Released on vinyl (and digital) on May 24th 2019. Distributed by Kompakt.

AF Trax 005 - MR TC - Zeug 12" EP (sampler)

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/organza-honey-comb-ep

Matisa - Organza

1) Organza
2) Honey Comb

Debut release from Italy’s Matisa. Matisa is a sophisticated & stylish dj and producer from Italy. Rome-born, Florence-based, she is able to create musical pathways which incorporate multiple sub-genres; House, Disco, Electro with some incursion to Modern disco and Experimental vibrations, always with vinyl (due to her large collection).

She collaborates with various crews on the international scene such as Red Light Radio Amsterdam and “Dance With Pride” parties. She runs “The Naked Dance”, which is the gay night created by her and inspired by the old LGBT club culture.

Available from all good digital outlets from May 24th 2019.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 010 - Matisa - Organza / Honey Comb

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/fall-rise-ep

Phil Kieran & Douglas McCarthy - Fall Rise

1 Fall Rise (Original) - 6.54
2 Fall Rise (Eastern Mix) - 6.54
3 Fall Rise (Druggs mix) - 6.54


In 2004 I was asked to remix Nitzer Ebb’s “Murderous”. I always had an interest in the music labeled as “EBM” including bands like Front 242 and it even had a strong influence on the band that was then started by myself called “Alloy Mental”. It’s always been a simple connection between punk and techno. 

I had long wanted to work with Douglas (J McCarthy) again but we had never actually met each other or spoken before, so it wasn’t until last summer I saw a news story saying that Nitzer Ebb were touring again and it just sparked the thought that I really should try contacting him again. I sent a message and then forgot about it. A few months later I got a message back from him and within a couple of days flights were booked to Belfast and he was coming to spend a few days here writing music with me. We got on extremely well and had an amazing few days talking, drinking and occasionally making music. 

The results are here in this EP. I wanted to capture a take on something punk that is just drums bass and a vocal, while slightly reminiscent of 80’s bands like DAF or Cabaret Voltaire, using a power beat from the famous Linn drum machine so it feels like a kind of stiff disco beat and just stripping everything else away to leave it bare and raw for the dance floor.

Available from all good digital outlets from June 14th 2019.

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 011 - Phil Kieran & Douglas McCarthy - Fall Rise EP

Golden Teacher started life as a studio collaboration between Glasgow's noise punk trio, Ultimate Thrush and Glasgow's all analogue house duo, Silk Cut. The results of their collaboration turned the ears of all who heard them, not least Twitch who after one listen asked if he could release the project on Optimo Music label.

Recorded live, direct to tape at Glasgow's legendary Green Door studios with minimal overdubbing and editing, the tracks feature various associates of the band contributing vocals and additional percussion. It's a little hard to describe Golden Teacher's sound (always a good thing in our book) but imagine Arthur Russell's Dinosaur L jamming with Bobby O, K Alexi Shelby, Liaisions Dangereuses, Imagination, some voodoo drummers and Sly & Robbie. It is in our opinion one of the most original and wildest records to come out of anywhere in 2012. We like to call it hypno-psych voodoo groove.

The resulting 5 track 12" EP comes in a beautiful hand screen printed sleeve constructed by the band and will be released in this format as a limited edition of 250 copies. Any further pressings will be in a generic Optimo Music sleeve.

Golden Teacher made their live debut at an Optimo night in Glasgow in early October. In future they will be playing select live shows at times and places of their choosing. If you are looking for slick, smooth, generic computer made music, this release probably isn't for you, Sugar.

Golden Teacher - Dante And Pilgrim

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/in-heaven-we-are-pre-release-single

New Zealand’s brightest new star, Vanessa Worm returns to Optimo Music with the first single from her upcoming album, “Vanessa 77”, which was due out in May but has been postponed until later in the year due to current uncertainties over vinyl releases.

This track is FIRE and had been road tested to phenomenal response. Vanessa 100% has her own thing going on and has been tearing up the Australian and New Zealand club and festival circuit with her incendiary live performances.

We asked her for some words about this song, which feel particularly relevant to our current predicament - 

"To me, In Heaven We Are is almost a kind of Mantra. I speak to myself and therefore to you, to the collective & to the Earth. Asking us to see heaven, to feel heaven, to ask you what your version of Heaven on Earth is, and to encourage us to live that, breathe that and be that. In order to bring light, new creation and love to this earth, ultimately to aid in the Healing of the Earth and the people within it."

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce April 10th 2020

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 025 - Vanessa Worm - In Heaven We Are

https://nivast.bandcamp.com/album/beau-chien-ep

1 Niv Ast & Adrien Albou - Beau Chien
2 Niv Ast & Adrien Albou - Beau Chien (Zillas On Acid remix)

The story begins with Adrien's cat 'Ninja' which is a dog in disguise; this ‘Beau Chien’ is our main character.

When Niv & Adrien went to the studio together, August 19 in Tel Aviv, they were inspired by their idol and wanted to share his story.

With "Beau Chien" EP they give their inputs for psychedelic rockNroll and electronic driving with a 80’s synth and hypnotic voice.

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce April 24th 2020

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 026 - Niv Ast & Adrien Albou - Beau Chien EP

Bandcamp link - https://inigovontier.bandcamp.com/album/dune-dune-ep


After a 6 month hiatus Optimo Music is back. There are vinyl releases in the works but there will be a wait for those due to pressing plant backlogs. In the meantime, Digital Danceforce returns with a series of releases over the next few months designed to suit your home raving requirements. First up, from Mexico is Iñigo Vontier. His "Dune Dune" EP comes from Iñigo's works in his studio with his synths and drum machines. He says "The idea was to create some tracks without so much production but fulled with analog beats and and raw takes. An EP that hits you in the face because of the savage feeling on it”.

Out on Optimo Music Digital Danceforce on January 29th

Optimo Music Digital Danceforce 033 - Iñigo Vontier - Dune Dune EP

Love is the message. 

Optimo Music is the musical outlet of Optimo the club and is run by JD Twitch. Assistance is provided by Jill Mingo and Andrew Beltran.

Based in Glasgow, we are here to support and expose the music we discover that lights up our lives and excites our ears, be that local or those shaking things up far from our fair city. There is no genre, no dogma, just music we love and want to share.

We are NOT currently looking for any demo submissions.

Distribution by Kompakt.

Contact -  jd_twitch@mac.com

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