Hailing from Tokyo, Prettybwoy stands as an emblematic figure within Japan’s burgeoning experimental bass music scene. Following the success of his 2021 album released on the esteemed Chinese label SVBKVLT, Prettybwoy makes a triumphant return to POLAAR with a fresh EP featuring two original tracks and a pair of electrifying remixes.

The EP commences with “Purify,” a track characterized by its striking contrasts. Seamlessly fusing raw, overdriven kicks and beat structures with delicate kalimbas, the piece is enveloped by an array of otherworldly robotic sounds and textures. As Nobuto, the artist behind Prettybwoy, explains, “I think that when we purify something, clean and dirt are melting in the same result.” The track skillfully builds tension, maintaining a radiant and luminous aura throughout.

With “Upward Current,” Prettybwoy pays homage to his UK Garage roots, crafting a track that transcends mere imitation. Infusing irresistible melodies and stabs with an organic groove, “Upward Current” emerges as a deconstructed banger, echoing the innovative styles of contemporary trailblazers like Lee Gamble and Errorsmith.

London-based sound artist and producer Delay Grounds steps in to reimagine “Purify,” amplifying its sweeter notes while preserving the grit and energy of the original composition. The result is a captivating contrast that invigorates the track.

Concluding the EP with flair, rRoxymore accelerates “Upward Current” into the realm of Footwork and early drum ‘n’ bass influences. The remix starts with an uplifting, exuberant atmosphere before plunging listeners into a more introspective and disquieting mood, showcasing rRoxymore’s ability to artfully manipulate sonic landscapes.

Artist: Prettybwoy
Title: Upward Current
Label: POLAAR
Cat No: POLAAR023
Artwork: Kara Garnier - www.instagram.com/kara_chnikov/
Mastering: Cédric Ifa
Format: digital

Bandcamp

Prettybwoy - Upward Current

« Morphers » is a rattling 3 tunes split that was forged between French producer Flore and San Francisco’s Only Now. The release represents the unwritten language shared between both friends over the past 7 years, with their affinity for propulsive percussion workouts and livewire bass music. After releasing on the POLAAR label for years, Only Now and Flore finally met in person for a collab long awaited.

“Collaborating with someone on the production side is not something I’m used to “- says Flore. “It is like a non-verbal communication and its interplay of perspectives. But I think that Kush and I share a same sonic language and this new experience pushed us to embrace the unpredictability and subjectivity inherent in this new creative process.”

The story began in Paris when Flore invited Only Now to come play at her POLAAR night at la Station. A couple of days later they met again at Tim Karbon’s studio, and sketched out ideas. It shaped into a tune made by their 4 hands (« Morphers ») and « Cut & Run », a tune revisited in 2 versions, with their own slant, but trying to keep an even balance between each producer.

Flore x Only Now - Morphers

As we mark the milestone of POLAAR's 10th anniversary, we are thrilled to introduce you a brand new compilation that redefines our sonic territories and encapsulates the essence of our exploration in sound.

Driven by the desire of independence and their common passion for bass-fueled rhythms and experimental sounds, Flore and her mate Marc Weistroff decided to launch their label POLAAR ten years ago, with the ambition of shaping a unique Bass Music signature, as far as possible from any identification to the originating UK club scene. Since then, the Lyon-based imprint has been at the forefront of a musical revolution, championing diverse artists from all over the globe and pushing the limits of genre conventions through numerous events, live shows, radio appearances and releases.

All this efforts are embodied within the french word « Territoires », that is entitling each one of the label’s compilations until now and which can be defined as it follows : an expanse of land, more or less clearly delimited, which generally presents a certain unity, a particular character.

Territoires Vol.3 is a collective effort with which we have asked our label core members and a few invited artists to work on a remix of a tune taken from the POLAAR’s back catalog. It is a way to pay tribute to various releases we think are still fresh and relevant, and thus create bridges between our past and present as a sonic community and ever evolving label. A way to showcase the depth and diversity of our musical vision, without rut of styles or BPM.


Mastering: Cédric Ifa

Territoires Vol3 feat remixes of Nahash, Flore, Prettybwoy, SNKLS, Only Now & Tim Karbon

POLAAR proudly unveils SNKLS second ep on the label, ESSENCE.
Collaborator since the label's inception, SNKLS carves a new path in the realms of footwork & crafts tracks where fragmented percussion intertwines with IDM and dub influences, drawing inspiration from the techniques of concrete music. His style is marked by a minimalist approach, where each element is manipulated and transformed to its extreme, adding an introspective dimension to his compositions.

Across the four tracks that make up the ESSENCE EP, SNKLS takes his approach to a new level, with a title that feels entirely fitting. Delving deeply into each track's soul, he uncovers the essential qualities that make each tune unique, revealing the core truth and spirit at the heart of his artistic approach.

ESSENCE I and V blend glitchy bleep signatures with his footwork references. SNKLS opts for a raw and radical sonic approach, where noise-like textures and syncopated grooves morph organically, skirting the edge of rhythmic chaos, creating a tension that keeps the listener on edge. In ESSENCE III and VII, he explores resonant gong textures and repetitive motifs from minimalist music, subtly evoking traditional Eastern music.

Building directly on the foundation laid by his previous EP, Half Horn, SNKLS skillfully plays with our mental space, transforming this listening experience into an immersive and obsessive journey that is undeniably modern.

Download

SNKLS - ESSENCE

POLAARIZED is a 6-track LP where the label’s core artists collaborate with some of the most daring and influential creatives shaping today’s music. Polarization—a scientific phenomenon that aligns forces in a shared direction—becomes a metaphor for the collective power of collaboration, where contrasting voices converge into something greater.

POLAARIZED reimagines the club as more than just a dancefloor—it’s a space for radical expression, a meeting point where boundaries blur, and communities thrive. This release is a sonic manifesto for those who live at the edge of the underground, where music becomes a force of connection and change.

To celebrate POLAARIZED, we’ve created a limited-edition sticker pack inspired by iconic Panini collections. Each pack includes 12 unique designs inspired by the concept of light polarization. Limited to 100 copies, these packs come with the digital album.

POLAARIZED

Fluidity

Fluid Til I Die

After releasing the very tense and politically charged Flowers Of The Revolution album on SVBKVLT, Nahash returns home to France for an EP on POLAAR.

Tides talk about ebb and flow. It is also a symbol for what is taken. When the tide is high on the shore of Western Europe it is low in Haiti. When nations are impoverished in western Africa, wealth is created on the east coast of the USA. Tides continues with Nahash's brand of anti-imperialist electronic destruction, taking tempos faster as we come closer to extinction-level events.

The sounds of this EP works in contrast between heavy drum sound and airy pads and synths sounds mashing together into a sort of mutant Jungle music built from recycled drum loops and 2nd hand Trance CD samplers.

Nahash is joined on two tracks by a prominent French player of the 160-game, SNKLS, who blends his supple modular textures and abstract vision into the nostalgic rave atmosphere of the EP.

Mastering Cedric Ifa
Artwork by Zeynep Aǧcabay & Luke Griffiths

releases February 22, 2022

Tides

Nahash - Gambia Fish Farm

After the widely acclaimed "Rituals" album released in April 2020, Flore is now back to the cherished area of banger engineering with a four packer of original compositions to be unleashed this spring 2022 on her own POLAAR imprint.
The project’s title itself shows clearly what her program is all about : "Legacy & Broken Pieces" has to be seen as a cruise into the anterior future rather than a trip down memory lane. Following this mantra, it’s more than clear that her music does not constitute a tribute to any previous club music history, but has to be seen as a true proposition of sonic innovation and moving paradigms.

"I'm tired of the nostalgia that can be found in electronic music nowadays. After two years of global pandemic struggle and sanitary crisis and now a war happening in Europe, the world will never be the same. Then why should music has to be so ?" says Flore.

Thus, she offers to rework this legacy with her very own vision of sound wizardry, providing a wide range of sonic textures to fulfill this forward goal of breaking patterns within the electronic continuum. Yet another proof of Flore’s skills for always trying to innovate and never repeat herself.

“Disruption” echoes an aerial jungle of the former century while “Fiery Principle” rides Jamaican waves of bass soon dynamited by minced voice samples evoking a soul goddess from the 90’s. The upbeat intro of “The Switcher” leads us towards a choir of drums navigating various black rooted rhythm traditions, but tripping into a very refined and spatial production effort. The records ends with “Primary Mineral”. Its rough and matte sound seems to drill into a wall of fragmented beats racing towards an elusive end, suggesting another musical adventures to be revisited soon… 

releases May 10, 2022

Mastering: Cedric Ifa Oleon
Artwork: Anne-Laure B
Design: Richard @ Arte Diem

Digital & Vinyl

Flore - Primary Mineral

Flore - The Switcher

Flore - The Fiery Principle

Flore - Disruption

Hailing from Tokyo, Prettybwoy stands as an emblematic figure within Japan’s burgeoning experimental bass music scene. Following the success of his 2021 album released on the esteemed Chinese label SVBKVLT, Prettybwoy makes a triumphant return to POLAAR with a fresh EP featuring two original tracks and a pair of electrifying remixes.

The EP commences with “Purify,” a track characterized by its striking contrasts. Seamlessly fusing raw, overdriven kicks and beat structures with delicate kalimbas, the piece is enveloped by an array of otherworldly robotic sounds and textures. As Nobuto, the artist behind Prettybwoy, explains, “I think that when we purify something, clean and dirt are melting in the same result.” The track skillfully builds tension, maintaining a radiant and luminous aura throughout.

Purify

Hailing from Tokyo, Prettybwoy stands as an emblematic figure within Japan’s burgeoning experimental bass music scene. Following the success of his 2021 album released on the esteemed Chinese label SVBKVLT, Prettybwoy makes a triumphant return to POLAAR with a fresh EP featuring two original tracks and a pair of electrifying remixes. 

London-based sound artist and producer Delay Grounds steps in to reimagine “Purify,” amplifying its sweeter notes while preserving the grit and energy of the original composition. The result is a captivating contrast that invigorates the track.

Purify - Delay Grounds Purified remix

@dj-prettybwoy
@rroxymore
@polaarsounds

Hailing from Tokyo, Prettybwoy stands as an emblematic figure within Japan’s burgeoning experimental bass music scene. Following the success of his 2021 album released on the esteemed Chinese label SVBKVLT, Prettybwoy makes a triumphant return to POLAAR with a fresh EP featuring two original tracks and a pair of electrifying remixes.

rRoxymore accelerates “Upward Current” into the realm of Footwork and early drum ‘n’ bass influences. The remix starts with an uplifting, exuberant atmosphere before plunging listeners into a more introspective and disquieting mood, showcasing rRoxymore’s ability to artfully manipulate sonic landscapes.

Upward Current

pi pi pi premiere: Prettybwoy - Upward Current (rRoxymore rRemix)

Tokyo’s @dj-prettybwoy returns with Flore’s @polaarsounds with two continuum-contorting club dazzlers

More info: https://djmag.com/listen/premiere-prettybwoy-upward-current

Premiere: Prettybwoy ‘Upward Current’

Flore x Only Now - Cut And Run (Only Now version)

« Morphers » is a rattling 3 tunes split that was forged between French producer Flore and San Francisco’s Only Now. The release represents the unwritten language shared between both friends over the past 7 years, with their affinity for propulsive percussion workouts and livewire bass music. After releasing on the POLAAR label for years, Only Now and Flore finally met in person for a collab long awaited.

Artwork by Ricky Mocky // Mastering by Cedric IFA  

Flore
https://floremusic.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.instagram.com/floremusic/

Only Now
https://onlynow.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kusharora/

'Morphers' is a rattling 3 tunes split that was forged between French producer Flore and San Francisco’s Only Now. The release represents the unwritten language shared between both friends over the past 7 years, with their affinity for propulsive percussion workouts and livewire bass music. After releasing on the POLAAR label for years, Only Now and Flore finally met in person for a collab long awaited.

“Collaborating with someone on the production side is not something I’m used to “- says Flore. “It is like a non-verbal communication and its interplay of perspectives. But I think that Kush and I share a same sonic language and this new experience pushed us to embrace the unpredictability and subjectivity inherent in this new creative process.”

The story began in Paris when Flore invited Only Now to come play at her POLAAR night at la Station. A couple of days later they met again at Tim Karbon’s studio, and sketched out ideas. It shaped into a tune made by their 4 hands (« Morphers ») and « Cut & Run », a tune revisited in 2 versions, with their own slant, but trying to keep an even balance between each producer.

Flore’s take on « Cut & Run » encapsulates the essence of big sound system influence. Dub-infused rhythms morph seamlessly into widescreen sound design elements, creating a unique dialect that invites you to decipher its ethereal symbols.

https://soundcloud.com/flore
https://www.instagram.com/FloreMusic/

Premiere: Flore - Cut and Run (Flore version)

As we mark the milestone of POLAAR's 10th anniversary, we are thrilled to introduce a brand new compilation that defines our sonic territories and encapsulates the essence of our exploration in sound.
Driven by the desire of independance and passion for bass-driven rhythms and experimental sounds, Flore and his mate Marc decided to start POLAAR 10 years ago, with the ambition of shaping their unique Bass music sound, far from the code initiated by the UK club scene. Since then, we've been at the forefront of a musical revolution, championing diverse artists from all over the globe and pushing the limits of genre conventions.
Territoire / definition : Expanse of land, more or less clearly delimited, which generally presents a certain unity, a particular character.
Territoires Vol3 is a compilation in which we ask to our artists to remix a tune taken from our back catalog. It is a way to pay homage to this still relevant past releases and create a bridge between our past and present. A way to showcase the depth and diversity of our own vision, without rut of styles or BPM.

Mastering: Cedric Ifa

5 Flore  Disruption (Nahash Remix)

4 Only Now X Flore Morphers (Prettybwoy Remix)

4 Esther Violine (Only Now Remix)

As we mark the milestone of POLAAR's 10th anniversary, we are thrilled to introduce a brand new compilation that defines our sonic territories and encapsulates the essence of our exploration in sound.
Driven by the desire of independance and passion for bass-driven rhythms and experimental sounds, Flore and his mate Marc decided to start POLAAR 10 years ago, with the ambition of shaping their unique Bass music sound, far from the code initiated by the UK club scene. Since then, we've been at the forefront of a musical revolution, championing diverse artists from all over the globe and pushing the limits of genre conventions.
Territoire / definition : Expanse of land, more or less clearly delimited, which generally presents a certain unity, a particular character.
Territoires Vol3 is a compilation in which we ask to our artists to remix a tune taken from our back catalog. It is a way to pay homage to this still relevant past releases and create a bridge between our past and present. A way to showcase the depth and diversity of our own vision, without rut of styles or BPM.

Artwork: Damat
Mastering: Cedric Ifa

2 Prettybwoy Purify (SNKLS Remix)

1 Nahash & SNKLS Amon Tobin (Tim Karbon Remix)

"As we mark the milestone of POLAAR's 10th anniversary, we are thrilled to introduce you a brand new compilation that redefines our sonic territories and encapsulates the essence of our exploration in sound.

Driven by the desire of independence and their common passion for bass-fueled rhythms and experimental sounds, Flore and her mate Marc Weistroff decided to launch their label POLAAR ten years ago, with the ambition of shaping a unique Bass Music signature, as far as possible from any identification to the originating UK club scene. Since then, the Lyon-based imprint has been at the forefront of a musical revolution, championing diverse artists from all over the globe and pushing the limits of genre conventions through numerous events, live shows, radio appearances and releases.

All this efforts are embodied within the french word «Territoires », that is entitling each one of the label’s compilations until now and which can be defined as it follows : an expanse of land, more or less clearly delimited, which generally presents a certain unity, a particular character.

Territoires Vol.3 is a collective effort with which we have asked our label core members and a few invited artists to work on a remix of a tune taken from the POLAAR’s back catalog. It is a way to pay tribute to various releases we think are still fresh and relevant, and thus create bridges between our past and present as a sonic community and ever evolving label. A way to showcase the depth and diversity of our musical vision, without rut of styles or BPM."

#electronic #premiere #electronicmusic #newmusic #hypnoticgroove  #snkls #flore #polaar 

SNKLS
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/snakeleserpent
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snkls.00/

Flore
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/flore
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloreMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floremusic/

POLAAR
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/polaarsounds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PolaarSounds
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polaarsounds

Territoires Vol. 3

PREMIERE: SNKLS - I Don't Give An Acid (Flore remix) (POLAAR)

POLAAR is excited to announce the upcoming release of SNKLS, an artist who is redefining the boundaries of footwork and IDM. A collaborator since the label's inception, SNKLS crafts tracks where fragmented percussion intertwines with IDM and dub influences, drawing inspiration from the techniques of concrete music. His style is marked by a minimalist approach, where each element is pushed to its extreme, adding an introspective dimension to his compositions.

With « ELEMENTS », his new four-track EP, SNKLS makes his most powerful statement. Each piece plunges into a realm of bleep and dub techno, while others explore gong sounds and repetitive motifs, subtly evoking traditional Eastern music and minimalism. Building directly on the foundation laid by his previous EP, **Half Horn**, SNKLS skillfully plays with our mental space, transforming this listening experience into an immersive and obsessive journey that is undeniably modern.

SNKLS_ESSENCE I

SNKLS_ESSENCE III

SNKLS_ESSENCE V

Send request : info.seeksicksound@gmail.com or join our discord : discord.com/invite/suVpRBStmu www.instagram.com/seeksicksound/

SNKLS - ESSENCE, 2024 
Buy: https://snkls.bandcamp.com/album/essence

"POLAAR proudly unveils SNKLS second ep on the label, ESSENCE.
Collaborator since the label's inception, SNKLS carves a new path in the realms of footwork & crafts tracks where fragmented percussion intertwines with IDM and dub influences, drawing inspiration from the techniques of concrete music. His style is marked by a minimalist approach, where each element is manipulated and transformed to its extreme, adding an introspective dimension to his compositions."

@snakeleserpent
@polaarsounds

ESSENCE

[Premiere] SNKLS - ESSENCE VII (out on POLAAR)

Toumba x Only Now - Dejection

K8 x Prettybwoy - Katabolic

Abadir x Nahash - Stoned Roses

Liliane Chlela x SNKLS - Trial

Azu Tiwaline x Tim Karbon - Gloom Valley

Animistic Beliefs x Flore - Mercurated Rivers

Get it here

Tim Karbon - One Wound Many Blades

SNKLS - Isandula (vip remix)

RITUALS

Flore - Coded Language

Nobody expected Flore to come back 10 years after her first album with a second LP as mature, rich and polymorphic as RITUALS.

Following the footsteps of its first audio-visual live show and the 3 previous (highly noted) eps released on her own imprint POLAAR between 2015 and 2019, RITUALS is a deep, immersive album with a powerful imaginary, which could easily dress up any post-dystopian movie.

With a massive wave of supports from high profiles DJs such as Clouds, Noisia, Lena Willikens, Deena Abdelwahed, and the support of top magazines such as Mixmag (UK, FR, JP), Tsugi, The Vinyl Factory or Trax, it will be pressed into vinyl, after a pretty successful KissKissBankBank campain that reached 256% in a month.

With such enthousiasm, it seemed obvious that the remixes should be entrusted to artists at the forefront of electronic music scene.

First, bristolian producer Hodge, known for his versatility in writing club bangers, adds his propulsive, frenetic 4x4 groove, highlighting the track’s sense of stress and cold violence.

British producer Walton, adds his Warpian, chiseled analog grime patina to the track, lending it a slightly spooky and futuristic vibe.

Egyptian newcomer 3Phaz preserves Coded Language’s foundation, adding an organic & frenetic touch that pushes the track in other horizon.
credits
releases June 16, 2020

Artwork by Dorian Migal

Flore - Coded Language (Hodge remix)

Pantome

Esther - Carbon

Rituals, Flore's second album, is now remixed by women at the forefront of the electronic music scene. With this release, Flore continues to weave musical links between the U.K. (the global H.Q. of Bass Music), France, and North Africa. Putting her work in the hands of LCY, Deena Abdelwahed, and Azu Tiwaline results in a warm, organic, rich, intense, and ultimately remarkable E.P., inviting the listener to travel in both space and time.

In her remix of "A Thousand Years" Deena Abdelwahed creates a symbiotic relationship between Darbukas, Amen Breaks, and bass sounds coming straight from the golden era of Drum'n'Bass. The melodic thread spanning the entire track reminds the listener of their core values in an age of never-ending hyper adaptation to change.

RITUALS Remixes Part2

Flore "A Thousand Years(Deena Abdelwahed Remix)"

Obsessed with raw drums and cinematic atmospheres.

Drawing lines between rave, urban and techno music. 

Focusing more on an identifiable sonic aesthetic rather than aiming for a particular genre or demographic choice. 

Dedicated to pushing hard, abusive music from the shadows.

PolaarSounds

Pinned to spotlight

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