Delay Grounds

Rising up from the murky depths with a bassweight pressure that proves dubstep isn’t dead, Alan Johnson manifest in the form of four mutant species on Sneaker Social Club.

Tom Neilan and Gareth Kirby have been knocking around for a hot minute, slipping out some crisp steppy variations on the on-point Mindset label circa 2012, while as Alan Johnson they first joined forces for a 12” on Blank Mind the year after. Their appearances have been scattered since, but the work in the lab has continued apace, as was keenly demonstrated on a four-track drop for the Art-E-Fax label in 2020 – something of a sleeper hit for those with their ear in the bassbins.

On their first step out for Sneaker, Neilan and Kirby make a bold opening statement with ‘Stillness’. Reaching for an eternal poem by Count Ossie as a guiding voice, we’re thrown into a hall of mirrors where the dead space is as potent as the looming bass. Picking their stripped down sound kit wisely, Alan Johnson craft a minimal sound wrecker of seismic magnitude. Get this on a rig and all your questions will be answered.

Elsewhere, we’re treated to the seasick synth shanty ‘Compactor’, a dance stopper with audacity hardwired into its composition. The swerves come thick and fast, but executed with an understated poise. Over on the B, ‘Pleasure Principle’ hits with a freakish impact, all bruising pressure cross-contaminated with analogue mangling. ‘Duppy Sea’ completes the set with another surprise swerve towards a Johnson twist on dubwise abstraction. At this point it’s clear the pair have a sound – gritty, roughed up but still crystal clear in its execution, and they can turn it to a lot of different disciplines. Here’s four such demonstrations of their devilish intent – now where can we find more?

Alan Johnson - Pleasure Principle

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.

Bandcamp

Purify - Delay Grounds Purified remix

Our sixth VA compilation continues in the collective spirit at the heart of Pressure Dome; here taking its fullest form. The first of its kind in the label catalogue, ‘Two [Is Greater Than] One’ sees a selection of PD regulars and friends of the label put their heads together across eight atmospheric tracks, equally as suited to the club as to solo listening. 

Those who have followed the label for a while will be no stranger to the comp’s first collaborator. Human Resources teams up with London dub techno specialist, Keplrr, on ‘Spring’: a mood-led composition where the impact is contained in atmosphere. Fragmented drum breaks are engulfed by airy synth pads and punctuated by a dancehall-indebted rhythm that marches at 90BPM. ‘Yuppel’ welcomes Noods Radio mainstay Sid Quirk aka Keppel into the mix. He is joined by label boss, Yushh, on a ruminative percussive tool, guided by cavernous drums that fabricate a vivid, immersive environment. With the guidance of Brighton’s Caldera, the journey continues with Süss Choc. The reverb-laden synth plucks on ‘evoke water droplets, and hallucinatory details echo around them to create the illusion of being in a mountainous cove.

Delay Grounds – an audiophile in the truest sense of the word – is next to take the baton. Together, he and Yushh take it up a notch on ‘Telomere’ – a full-bodied club-ready track packed with glitchy chords and giddy drums. A gnarly, Pariah-esque breakdown segues into the track’s second wind where pitched-up vocal chops accelerate it to the compilation’s energetic climax. With the help of London drum specialist, Syz, ‘Fuzbidun’ keeps our feet firmly on the dancefloor. Breakbeats are chopped and rearranged, flitting between double and half time whilst a distorted mid-bass roughens things round the edges, prepping the ground for the compilation’s move to a more inorganic feel.

Bristol don, Forever, joins Yushh next on ‘Passing Notes’ – a groove-driven club track where skittish percussion ricochets from side to side, so palpable it tempts the touch. ‘Crash Bash Party At BUFOs’ is no different. The link-up between Delay Grounds and dance music’s stalwart of musique concrète, Wordcolour, is completely idiosyncratic to both artists: the perfect combination of found-sound percussion and skillfully rehashed vocal samples. It’s up to two PD mainstays – Roy Mills and Human Resources – to close proceedings. A chugging rhythm bubbles under the surface of ‘Sycophantasy’, sending us on a dubbed-out trip before picking the pace back up again.

Copy – Annie Parker
Artwork – Jesse Webb
Mastering – Matthew Bentley

Telomere

Delay Grounds X Yushh - Telomere (PDCOLLAB001)

Pour tous les fadas du ptit dej !
Voici une compilation qui réunit tous les artistes ayant contribué aux précédents opus de la série aux tempos ralentis "Délices du Midi".
Au menu Dancehall, Dembow, Slow Baile, Slow Jungle, Slow Grime, Rap & Dubbed tracks.

Pour l'occasion, une cassette est disponible en édition limitée de 50 quantités. Livrée avec son couteau tartineur et ses stickers.

TRACKLIST :
A1. Tom Manzarek - Higher
A2. Sevenbeatz - Backyard
A3. Pura Pura - Shika
A4. Kaval - Knife Thrower
A5. Stacktrace - Meek A Chooce
A6. Qant - A Certain Sense Of Urgency
B1. H2O - Bad Transmission
B2. Gipsyan - Sad Dancer
B3. Knurx - Inward
B4. Jumboclat - Ouais
B5. Le Frit - Bateque

RELEASE DATE : 16.06.2023
LABEL : DÉLICES DU MIDI
REF : DDMFADA001
CAT : DIGITAL & K7
BANDCAMP ONLY
MASTERING : QANT

Pre-order

Délices du Midi - Fada Acamp Vol.1 (Clips)

Henry Greenleaf & Delay Grounds - Calpohol

For their ninth release, Redstone Press welcomes Tano to the roster, accompanied by remixes from Toumba & Delay Grounds. Having all embarked on making music around the same time and connecting through sharing said music, it felt only fitting to bring them together for this release.

Delay Grounds' remix of "Blend of Poetry" closes out the EP, taking it to new stratospheric heights. Elemental staccato synths hover above expertly balanced drums and bass, reaching a fever pitch of ecstatic euphoria. Through the subtle introduction of airy percussion, the track culminates in a classic, tranced-out breakdown adorned with bright luminescent horns and pulsating sub-bass.

Release Date: September 1st 2023

https://soundcloud.com/redstone-press
https://redstonepress.bandcamp.com/album/10-11

Premiere: Tano - Blend Of Poetry (Delay Grounds Remix) [RED009]

This was a world in which money reigned supreme. One might be able to exchange and buy to the hearts content – for what else was there but for the very status of fancy goods and material things? This was planet market – a world in which life came second to the idea of purchase.

The clouds were thick and moody overhead, reminiscent of the sentiment and world which existed down below. Sellers shouted, hustlers moved fast and those out for a quick steal had to be speedy in the midst of the chaos. There were no rules on planet market – it was simply a battle to the top by any means necessary.

What was the price?

NIQH takes us on a futuristic trip. This latest record on Plasma Sources draws upon influence from science fiction and features a style of world building and ambient construction which is intriguing and highly listenable.

Familiar Rift

PREMIERE: NIQH - Planet Market [Plasma Sources]

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

Brootworth - Chaos (GTEP003)
Ghosttown, 2023
Buy: https://ghosttownsoundmuc.bandcamp.com/album/gtep03

@brootworth
@ghsttwn

[Premiere] Brootworth - Chaos (out on Ghosttown)

Pre-order: https://bit.ly/3Tf7gdv

Having rapidly established themselves as prominent curators of tripped-out techno and progressive house, both on-air and through gender-inclusive parties dotted around Bristol —@organics-organics take the label leap, with a newly-minted EP from @delay-grounds. 

Full of unusual textures and grooves and conceptually underpinned by ideas,'Sun Blind, Running On Wet Sand' is a confident statement from the young producer, tapped into a new wave of queer artists taking dance music to higher euphoric levels.

Sun Bind, Running on Wet Sand

More exclusive music

Premiere: Delay Grounds 'Sun Blind, Running On Wet Sand'

@discjockey-gerard

BC: https://sketchylinesrecords.bandcamp.com/album/blink-e-p-skl007

DJ Gerard - Flashes

you know what's next

✸ SWINE PREMIERE ✸ We present you a new track by @mmmitai via Buenos Aires-based label and collective @machetecore

∎ Mitai - Argentina-based sound designer, cellist, and DJ, questions space, experience, and memory in their latest album, "Xtent", available this Friday via @machetecore. With a base of surrealist string soundscapes, "Xtent" explores the passing of time and relationship to tactile spatial sensation, weaving together found sounds, gritty noise, and sonic storytelling.

∎ Artwork by Argentinian visual artist Gregorio Nash: https://www.instagram.com/gregorionash/

[Swine Premiere] Mitai - Fliing (Machete)

Experimental music in an undefined aggressive trance style with only 4 audio channels.

Mariana's web

Bookings / Demos: bugs.groove.dance@gmail.com

Founder & Resident DJ of club night OST.

Part of the Leeds and Bristol-based NWB collective.

Founder of Techno.logy which is an underground mix series with an emphasis on techno in all its forms.

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.

Purify - Delay Grounds Purified remix

PolaarSounds

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