Scissor and Thread's Essential Tracks

Kingdoms Essentials

Scissor & Threads Essential Remixes

The Scissor and Thread's „Classics of the week“ playlist captures the label's lasting legacy, offering key moments and unforgettable tracks. Each track in this playlist carries the label’s unmistakable imprint: subtle, immersive, and built to last. From deep, meditative grooves to warm and welcoming sounds, these records continue to resonate beyond their release. A carefully handpicked collection of past catalogues, all in one place.

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vinyls & more

Scissor and Thread presents: "Classic of the week"

fka boursin is a DJ and producer out of Bristol, UK. 
Previously known as DJ Boursin, he is recognized for his deep, ambient-infused house music that explores political dimensions of clubs and identity politics.

Welcomed into the Scissor & Thread fold, fka boursin shares two cuts of deep and introspective electronic music. 

The original Listless Intertext is a hazy trip through ambient soundscapes, shuffling rhythms and half-caught conversations, drifting across a 12 minute run time that slowly evolves and shifts with time.  

"Listless Intertext is a track centred around the "failed" employment of cheap vocoder software that attempted to process explicit words and phrases across 11 minutes." says fka boursin. "Instead, the vocoder output made any words indecipherable and I was left with thematic vagueness. The final text of the track is simply a submission to its own limitations with some french thrown in."

When label bosses Frank & Tony step up for their Housebeat Dub, they keep the essential mood but introduce a thick, fat groove that works just as well in conveying the mood. 

"Our remix is a strictly dancefloor approach," says Frank, "an extended psychedelic beat rework perfect for late night, early morning vibes".

More: linktr.ee/scissorandthread

Listless Intertext

S&T Podcast 11 | Frank & Tony Live at Treehouse Miami 02 AUG 2013

Following  in  the  wake  of  "Leland"  (2012),  the  critically  acclaimed  full  length  debut  by  label  founder  Francis Harris,  Scissor  and  Thread  is  proud  to  announce  the  November  18th  vinyl  release  of  "You  Can  Always Leave,"  Harris'  first  material  under  his  own  name  since,  and  the  first  hint  of  his  anticipated  sophomore  LP , "Minutes  of  Sleep,"  due  February  2014.  The  new  single  portends  the  mood  of  the  ensuing  album,  a  further foray  into  Harris'  signature  blend  of  house,  modern  classical,  shoe-­gaze  and  noise  which  is  the  artists  most ambitious  and  accomplished  work  to  date.  As  the  sole  dance  floor  moment  on  the  LP,  "You  Can  Always Leave"  picks  up  where  Harris'  cult  hit  "Lostfound"  left  off,  with  vocals  once  again  from  Danish  vocalist  Gry Bagøien  and  the  heartbreakingly  august  trumpet  of  No  Regular  Play's  Greg  Paulus.  The  remarkable  Terre Thaemlitz  delivers  an  epic  12  minute  remix  on  the  flip  under  his  DJ  Sprinkles  guise  which  is  sure  to  make this  12inch  a  sought  after  piece  for  house  music's  analog  enthusiasts.

Buy Vinyl

Francis Harris "You Can Always Leave (Curtains)" DJ Sprinkles Remix

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The next release from the re-activated Frank & Tony drops on Scissor and Thread. Following on from Dream Vibration - which broke a five year hiatus from the much-lauded production pair of Francis Harris and Anthony Collins - Eastern Meantimes brings us a sublime set of tracks and remixes. 

The original features New York artist Eliana Glass, whose sultry vocals ride above a deep, atmospheric groove and lush pads and washes. 

The track is also presented here with two stellar remixes from Timmy Regsiford, the New York legend who has been defining the sound of house in the city for nearly 40 years. 

Here his vocal and instrumental remixes are smooth, deep and infectious, sure to light up discerning dance- floors the world over. 
Frank & Tony’s Absence is the other original track here, a thick, pulsing bass-driven roller punctuated with sharp snares and the pair’s trademark ethereal pads. 

There’s also a digi exclusive where Regisford teams up with DSOL for a ‘retouch’ of Eastern Melodies - giving the track another flavor, rich in additional percussion and a slightly heavier groove.

Eastern Meantimes Feat. Eliana Glass (Timmy Regisford Remix Instrumental)

Frank & Tony - Eastern Meantimes Feat. Eliana Glass (Timmy Regisford Remix Instrumental)

Eastern Meantimes feat. Eliana Glass (Timmy Regisford Remix)

Frank & Tony - Eastern Meantimes feat. Eliana Glass (Timmy Regisford Remix)

Firefly

black light smoke - Firefly

black light smoke "Screws In My Head"

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Following the success of their EPs released last year on Scissor and Thread, Frank & Tony return with another outing of deeper than deep house with a three track EP including an expansive collaborative exploration with Comatonse recording artist Will Long. 

The title track, Understanding takes a nod to 90s Chicago deep house with a slow rolling groove set against plush pads and euphoric stabs sure to send dancefloors swirling in the earliest of nights and mornings alike. 

We Begin, a dreamy trip of emotive soundscapes, kicks things up a notch with jazzy undertones but a drive meant for peak times as it unfolds in moods and grooves for ages. 

The EP then culminates with a vast rework of the same track in collaboration with Comatonse artist and DJ Sprinkles collaborator, Will Long, pushing the EP to psychedelic lengths as the essence of what we call a house groove reaches new idiosyncratic heights.  Essential.

We Begin (Frank & Tony And Will Long Wide Open Edit)

Frank & Tony - We Begin (Frank & Tony And Will Long Wide Open Edit)

You Go Girl

Frank & Tony "Bring the Sun" feat. Gry Bagoien [clip]

The second EP by black light smoke on the new NYC label Scissor and Thread.

Scissor and Thread presents Tailored Cuts

black light smoke - Lovework

Created in the isolation of the British countryside, Desert Sound Colony is inspired by faintly remembered sounds and almost forgotten memories. The thread running through the melodic, visceral tracks touch on a sense of melancholy present within us all.
Occupying a space somewhere between ‘60s Psychedelia and the pulsating sounds of future-clubs, Desert Sound Colony is both infectious and ethereal, shrouding the listener in a gentle, rhythmical canopy.

The Way I Began

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Will Long is an American artist. He curates and manages the label Two Acorns, as well as producing music since 2005, in various forms under his own name for Terre Thaemiltz's Comatonse Recordings, and as Celer for his own label and many others. 

Here he joins the perfectly aligned Scissor and Thread label of Francis Harris and Anthony Collins for the Too Much EP. 

"Too Much" is a deep cut from the same grooves as the Long Trax series," says Will Long, "a further entry for the downtrodden, the overwhelmed, and those that think change has come. A midnight meditation of intentional simplicity, strained, and on that night train."

The title track is lush, loose deep jam that combines wistful, warm pads with an insistent groove and choice samples.  

Francis Harris steps up to provide one of his signature reforms, adding a little more percussion and drive to the track, while DJ Aakmael (Greg Stewart) offers up another version that takes the track somehow even deeper, adding some additional instrumentation and raw sounds.

Too Much (DJ Akmael Remix)

Will Long - Too Much (DJ Aakmael R/)

Too Much (Francis Harris Reform)

Will Long - Too Much (Francis Harris Reform)

After six inimitable EPs ranging from blissful pop to slow burning house, Frank&Tony, aka Francis Harris and Anthony Collins, the creative force behind the boutique label Scissor and Thread, break new ground once again with their debut full length, "You Go Girl.” Reflecting the spellbinding vibe of their monthly "Punch Drunk Love" residency in The Panther Room at Brooklyn’s Output, “You Go Girl,” marks the duo's turn from their pop-driven work with proteges Bob Moses towards a grittier, analogue, club-centric approach. The result is an enduring slice of true dance floor magic that nods to Basic Channel, Detroit and New York house while rolling along effortlessly for nearly an hour. Highlights include "Bring the Sun," an achingly elegant ode to lost love sung by frequent label contributor Gry Bagøien, as well as the catchy house roller “Resistance,” which features Jason Poranski of Beirut. The November 17th digital release of the album is to be preceded by a three part vinyl version, (the individually titled “You,” “Go,” and “Girl,” EPs are due October 20th, November 3rd and November 17th, respectively,) with an alternate track list heavy on DJ-friendly dubs and exclusives including the sprawling thirteen minute, “Companion,” a collaboration with DJ Sprinkles that has the indescribable feel of an instant classic.

Scissor and Thread - Frank & Tony - Only By Moving

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Frank and Tony’s long history together has produced many seminal moments, and the release of the Ethos album this year on their own Scissor & Thread imprint marked yet another high point. 

The album saw the friends and long term collaborators produce a body of work that was both joyous, thoughtful and politically charged. Adding to that is this five track remix EP which enlists artists of a distinct pedigree to reimagine some of the tracks, and to stunning effect. 

First up is Cecile featuring Eliana Glass, the pianist and singer who graces a pair of tracks on the album and this EP. Charles Webster is responsible for the flip - a typically moody and atmospheric vibe brings out new layers in the original. 

Eliana Glass also features on Timmy Regisford’s remix of Olympia, which exhibits some of the New York legends greatest attributes - a hypnotic, uplifting masterclass ensues. Regisford’s instrumental version of Olympia is also shared here. 
Elsewhere C.K brings the heat with a rework of By The End They Will, creating a bumping, raw cut. 

The same track is flipped by Octo Octa, who takes the vibe fathoms deep and produces an idiosyncratic ravey version while honouring the spirit of the original.

Ethos Remixes

By The End They Will (Octo Octa's Dazed These Days Dub)

Frank & Tony - By The End They Will (Octo Octa's Dazed These Days Dub)

Alex Albrecht returns with Aurora - a pristine followup to his Blue Caves transmission via Scissor and Thread in 2018. 

The Melbourne based composer and sound designer Albrecht has leans into his predilection for woozy, affecting melodies intertwined with skittering drums and snaking grooves, and Aurora brings that to the fore with six tracks of shimmering beauty. 

Spring Orchard opens the record, effortlessly merging deeply buried keys with washes of dreamlike synths, and dubby effects. 
Wildflower Walk is a melancholic affair, underpinned with a restless groove. 
The title track Aurora treads a similar path, but with a more driving approach, while an interplay between piano, guitar, and synths drenched in reverb offer a warm, enveloping atmosphere. 


Aurora is also shared here as a remix by Roza Terenzi, who entirely reworks the track with her signature club ready grooves . 

Kennett River exhibits a kind of smudged, cinematic hip hop feel, while closing track Morning Piazza showcases Albrecht’s sense of drama and pacing, producing a sublime ending to this deeply affecting collection.

Aurora

Alex Albrecht - Aurora

https://soundcloud.com/soelaela
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Soela releases the first single from her upcoming album Dark Portrait on Scissor & Thread - Even If I Ask You Stay. 

Russian born Berlin based Elina Shorokhova has made a transition from pianist and vocalist into electronic music, balancing her ear for melody and musicality.

With this single, we get to see a very vulnerable side of Soela; "Even If I Ask You To Stay has several meanings for me. The most direct one is about an abusive relationship where you're already openly asking the person to leave, but are so attached that you want them to stay. The second meaning is with my struggle with depression. My experience is that it takes a lot of inner strength to heal from depression, and sometimes you're still powerless against the disease. So it stays with you again and again”.
 
The track itself merges a skittering rhythm, gorgeously melancholic piano and string sections with Soela's vocals that cut deep - resulting in a beautifully realized and powerful composition

Even If I Ask You To Stay

Soela - Even If I Ask You To Stay

Artist: @soelaela
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Soela is the DJ and production alias of Elina Shorokhova, a Russia-born Berlin-based experienced pianist and vocalist who has made a hugely impactful transition into electronic music.

Having released material on such labels as Kompakt, Dial, Shall Not Fade, Lost Palms, E-Beamz, Red Ember Records, Sushitech, and others, Soela joins the ranks of Scissor & Thread for this exquisite album - Dark Portrait. 

The album opens in a typically understated manner with Unsuitable - a melancholic trip-hop adjacent track that sets the tone for the next 8 pieces. As Soela explains, “I was dealing with some very complex feelings, so I came up with this album, which helped me not to despair, to work on myself, to grow internally, and to start listening to myself. It helped me to keep sane when my country invaded Ukraine with a full scale war. It absolutely broke my heart, and music was one of my main salvations.” 

This complex mix of emotions plays out across the album with tracks that utilize her beautiful musicality (Through the Windows feat. Francis Harris and Philipp Priebe, Drowning feat. Module One) and ear for details with skittering beats, ambient soundscapes (Spirits, Lost In The Fog) and lose-yourself dancefloor moments such as the collaboration with Lawrence on February Is Not Going To Be Forever. The title track Dark Portrait combines dubby elements with affecting pads and melodic touches, while the lead single Even If I Ask You Stay delves into multiple feelings around escaping toxic situations, and battling depression. It features a powerful vocal from Soela supported by a deeply affecting arrangement. The closing track The Darkest Hour Before Sunrise brings a sense of hope and light, balancing subdued keys and strings with ethereal tones and atmospheres

Dark Portrait

Soela - Unsuitable

Vinyl only DJ Mix by Frank & Tony
Recorded live at Public Records, NY, new years eve 2024

01. Bushwacka! – Strictly Nu
02. Paris Underground Tram – Sexy Thing
03. ID
04. Vince Watson – Into the Deep
05. James Zeiter – Js-01
06. Partners in Time – Tonight (Boneshaker Mix)
07. Toka Project – 7:38
08. Roman IV – Green Tea
09. ID
10. Bellringers, Mark Ambrose & Alexander Purkart – Sunrising
11. Wyatt Earp – Beachcomber
12. Omni A.M. – Can We Get (live)
13. ID
14. Appleheadz – Hold Your Turtles
15. Yann Fontaine – Open Your Eyes (New Punk Theory Remix)

S & T podcast | 23 mixed by Frank & Tony

Stream/Vinyl: www.linktr.ee/scissorandthread

DaRand Land, who hails from the post industrial confines of Buffalo, NY was one of the leading figures of Deep4Life, a cult label known for submersible oriented, yet dancefloor-friendly productions. With ambient synth-driven tones and heavy funk basslines being at the center of his sound, DaRand Land’s music often evokes an introspective quality, without losing its groove fundamental.

Following on from a number of releases on Pulp, Downbeat, Urban Imagery and the “Discover You” EP on Scissor & Thread, here is Nature Of Reality, the single taken from DaRand Land’s second album Wander Being, released on Scissor & Thread in late November 2024. 





“In particular, the single, The Nature of Reality”, says DaRand, “was written to convey a sense of what it feels like to be in a state of suspended animation. There is a natural tension introduced via the organic, swirling pad progression juxtaposed against endless vocal echoes and the low-end groove of the bassline. Thematically, I wanted to carry this forward through the entirety of the album.”

The Nature Of Reality

Stream/Vinyl

DaRand Land - The Nature Of Reality

Black Light Smoke’s Lovework EP, released on Scissor & Thread in 2012, channels raw emotion through dusted grooves and analog grit. Jordan Lieb fuses lo-fi house with post punk attitude, letting tape hiss, saturated drums, and fractured rhythms guide the way. From the warped pulse of the title track to the dark energy of “Nasty Dirty Freaky Love,” each cut feels unpolished in the best way. It’s music with scars, intimate, distorted, and unforgettable.

Lovework (DJ T. Rемiх)

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black light smoke - Lovework (DJ T. Rемiх)

Marking the inaugural release on their Scissor & Thread imprint, Frank & Tony's Presents... 001 introduces their signature sound aesthetic. The EP features "Worked," a collaboration with Bob Moses, and "Rings," featuring Corbu. Remixes by Kai Alce and Steve Bug, along with Frank & Tony's own Drumverse Dub, enrich the collection, offering a blend of soulful grooves and atmospheric textures that set the tone for the label's future endeavors.

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Frank & Tony presents... 001

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Worked w/ Bob Moses (Original)

Worked w/ Bob Moses (Drumverse Dub)

Worked w/ Bob Moses (Steve Bug Rемiх)

No Cliché / Poppa’s Bag shows two sides of the Scissor & Thread aesthetic in its early days. Lightbluemover’s No Cliché stays spacious and controlled, leaning into tension and minimalism. On the flip, Black Light Smoke’s Poppa’s Bagis looser and rougher around the edges, built from dusty samples and a beat that sounds intentionally unstable.

Released in 2012 this EP still stands out as a snapshot of the label’s rawer beginnings.

No Cliché / Poppa's Bag

Poppas Bag (Original)

No Cliché w/ Jason Poranski (Original)

No Cliché w/ Jason Poranski (Anthony Coll)

Poppas Bag (black light smoke Sunset мiх)

fka boursin is a DJ and producer out of Bristol, UK. 
Previously known as DJ Boursin, he is recognized for his deep, ambient-infused house music that explores political dimensions of clubs and identity politics.

Welcomed into the Scissor & Thread fold, fka boursin shares two cuts of deep and introspective electronic music. 

The original Listless Intertext is a hazy trip through ambient soundscapes, shuffling rhythms and half-caught conversations, drifting across a 12 minute run time that slowly evolves and shifts with time.  

"Listless Intertext is a track centred around the "failed" employment of cheap vocoder software that attempted to process explicit words and phrases across 11 minutes." says fka boursin. "Instead, the vocoder output made any words indecipherable and I was left with thematic vagueness. The final text of the track is simply a submission to its own limitations with some french thrown in."

When label bosses Frank & Tony step up for their Housebeat Dub, they keep the essential mood but introduce a thick, fat groove that works just as well in conveying the mood. 

"Our remix is a strictly dancefloor approach," says Frank, "an extended psychedelic beat rework perfect for late night, early morning vibes".


Listless Intertext (Frank & Tony's Housebeat Dub)

Released in March 2012, “Leland Remixes Volume 1” brought two of Francis Harris album tracks back into focus. Kate Simko takes “Living Lips” into new depths, rich with detail, while Bruno Pronsato turns “Close Air” into an unfolding drift. Together they show why Scissor & Thread’s early catalog still feels timeless.

Leland Remixes Vol. 1

stream/buy

Close Air (Bruno Pronsato Rемiх)

Living Lips (Kate Simko Rемiх)

Leland kept finding new life. This second set of remixes moves the album into new directions. Matthew Herbert takes “Lostfound” apart and rebuilds it twice over, Black Light Smoke lights a fire under it with restless sounds and Steve Bug changing it into a deep tune. 

Leland Remixes Vol. 2

Pensum (Steve Bug Rемiх)

Lostfound (black light smoke Live Rемiх)

Lostfound (Matthew Herberts Let Yourself Go мiх)

Lostfound (Matthew Herberts Let Yourself Go Dub)

The first single, lostfound, from leland, the forthcoming debut LP by Francis Harris is available now on limited edition vinyl from NYC label Scissor and Thread. leland is a highly personal work for Harris who composed the album as a requiem for his father, for whom it is titled. This first peek at the project features the album version of lostfound, a contemplative, atmospheric pop song cast in a deep house framework. Norwegian singer Gry turns in an outstanding vocal performance that cuts straight to the emotional core of the material while subtle improvisational trumpet accents by Greg Paulus of No Regular Play propel the narrative.

Francis Harris "lostfound"

A stellar remix here by legendary electronic music composer Matthew Herbert, his first floor-focused House release in quite a few years. Returning to the form that first propelled him to stardom in the ’90s, Herbert’s Let Yourself Go Mix maintains the subtle beauty of the original while upping the ante for the dance floor. He rearranges Gry’s vocal, working a hook around a playful sprinkling of his signature sample edits before unloading entirely with a heavy organ groove that takes the tune into sublime territory. Vintage Herbert.

lostfound (Matthew Herbert's Let Yourself Go Mix)

On Scissor and Thread’s fourth release of 2016, newcomer Villete takes a turn in the spotlight on their deep house stunner, ‘Girl Next Door’. The A-side opens with the swelling pads and earnest hi-hat of “Dreams”. A distant voice declares “everyone is devoted to their emotion, it’s me and my imagination” before a springy bass line drops in, ushering in the mantra “never be afraid to dream”. A brassy synth further envelops the listener into the track’s warm embrace as layers of percussion skitter in and out of focus. “September” takes a turn for the cerebral with its’ skipping hi-hats and airy pads. A springy bass line is accompanied by celestial synths that envelop the senses, making this psychedelic cut primed for after hours devastation. Villete goes even more cerebral on their introspective title cut, dialing back on the BPM, but keeping the energy high. A hushed bass and thudding kick take the backseat, allowing the hypnotizing, submerged pads and swirling, reverbed synths to take center stage, transporting dancers into eye-closed euphoria. The EP closes with the murky drum tones of “Rillia”. Droning pads, delicate claps, and a shy, skittering shaker keep things bubbling and light above the track’s thicker than molasses kicks. Deep house maestro Darand Land takes his turn on the aforementioned track, lifting it out of the murk and straight up to the heavens and drenching it in his sun-kissed, euphoric style.

Girl Next Door

September

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Francis Harris is a founding member of the Scissor & Thread label - a Brooklyn-based imprint established 2011 as an outlet for deeper, more personal sounds, as well as music from a range of associated artists including black light smoke, Bob Moses, Frank & Tony, DJ Aakmael, Desert Sound Colony and Aris Kindt, to name a few.

Harris’ own output has gone from tightly wound tech house cuts as Adultnapper in the early days, sublime deep house
as Frank & Tony, intricate and expressive musical journeys as evident in his two solo-albums 'Leland' and 'Minutes Of Sleep', and ambient shoegaze with two Aris Kindt albums, co-produced with Gabe Hedrick. Most recently Harris branched out with a new label - Kingdoms - a home for his love of a more adventurous sound.

Now we are proud to present his new solo single, the frst since the release of 'Minutes of Sleep', 'Minor Forms' which includes two remarkable remixes by Valentino Mora.

'More We Cannot Do' is a perfect example of Harris‘ feel for depth and dynamics - a track that feels submerged in a warm amniotic fluid cocooning the listener in a thick subby bassline, providing much of the groove, with skittering percussion on top and intricate fragments of melody throughout leading to a wonderful moment with live vibraphone provided by New York player Will Shore.

'Minor Forms', the EP’s title track is cut from similar cloth - emerging from a subtly distant place to inhabit a melancholic, beautifully evocative space - somewhere between ambient, jazz and the dancefloor. Joining Harris is Greg Paulus on Trumpet, a long time friend and collaborator adding his signature touch to an already moving piece.

Valentino Mora offers up two exquisite reworks of 'Minor Forms' to complete the EP. Mora, the Berlin based Uruguayan producer, brings his own layer of depth to Harris‘ originals - the Underwater Rephrase version adds a propulsive kick and manages to shimmer and shake in subtle unexpected ways providing a purely late night dancefloor take on the original.

The Cosmic Trans Rephrase is somehow even deeper - a bubbling bass pulse anchors the track while pads drift in and out, adding to the blissful, meditative whole.

sat034
23 Feb 2018

Tracklisting:
A1. More We Cannot Do
A2. Minor Forms
B1. Minor Forms (Valentino Mora Underwater Rephase) 
B2. Minor Forms (Valentino Mora Cosmic Trans Rephase)

Minor Forms

Francis Harris - Minor Forms (Valentino Mora Underwater Rephase)

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"The record embodies my story of duality within the context of identity, insomuch as the idea that every person has a deeper layer we don't show on the surface."

We all know that words are not often able to articulate the deepest feelings buried somewhere in our minds. Sophia Saze the DJ and producer from Tbilisi, Georgia has a lot of those emotions about which she composed a sonic book as her debut album on Kingdoms. 'Self Part 1' is the first segment of the album.

Living in Brooklyn, New York, she chose a home to settle after a lot of moving around. As her parents were political refugees, her life has always been riddled by new places of living, which made it hard for her to define her own identity. Musically, those struggles are manifested in the various musical influences that shaped her special style and thus Self Part 1. Coming from a classical musical education, she soon got entangled with electronic dance music where she rapidly made it up to a thoroughly self-assured name on the scene. Just 1,5 years ago she released her kickstarting EP Solace on Dusk & Haze, her own label she established at he same instant. With remixes by Umwelt and Benjamin Demage the EP thrilled the international dance music press around Groove-Magazin, Dj Mag and Mix Mag, along airplay on BBC Radio 1 and NTS Radio. Also her track 'Fall' appearing on Get Physical's Words Don't Come Easy Compilation left some serious impressions.

Renouncing from this rather dancefloor orientated matters, she now managed to create an Ambient-kind of album, yet defying any categorization. For 'Self Part 1' she paused: took a deep breath and looked inside her mind and soul. Then she transferred the bundled emotions into these fourteen tracks, mainly within a sleepless 48-hours studio session. Processing raw field recordings and samples that relate to her childhood, such as from soviet cartoons and VHS recordings from her family make a well seasoned and personal storytelling. The tracks itself are short but on point, considering the whole piece as a concept album that needs to be listened at once all the more, or as Saze points it out:
"I feel that the element of patience is somewhat of a lost commodity in our generation, I wanted to reiterate the idea that if you don't have the willingness to sit through the whole thing, then you're not really stepping into listening to it with the right mindset to begin with."
The sounds in 'Self Part 1' paint pictures of underwater worlds with a density of noises and soundscapes that consist of all manners of samples and distinct crackles from her machines. Nothing is still, liquid like raindrops falling from cloudy skies the tracks cover the listeners souls. Slight edges of beats are sometimes shimmering through, then going under again in thoughtful and melancholic layers, strictly held in minor. The feel meanders between ice cold harmonies and touchingly warm sound-design.

kds009, June 16th, 2019, Cassette & Digital

A1. Sophia Saze: Salome (სალომე)
A2. Sophia Saze: Bare
A3. Sophia Saze: Tsminda (წმინდა)
A4. Sophia Saze: Punches
A5. Sophia Saze: Howl
B1. Sophia Saze: Flower
B2. Sophia Saze: Orbits
B3. Sophia Saze: Volk (волк)
B4. Sophia Saze: De Dios
B5. Sophia Saze: Torn
B6. Sophia Saze: Safe
B7. Sophia Saze: Kera (კერა)
B8. Sophia Saze: Mirror Mirror
B9. Sophia Saze: Aliens

Sophia Saze - Tsminda (წმინდა)

@sophiasaze
www.facebook.com/sophiasaze
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Fleeing her Soviet ruled home of Tbisili at a young age with her parents, Saze grew up as a nomad living in Russia, France, Canada and the USA before finally settling down and pursuing a career in NYC. A classically trained musician and dancer, before long the Georgian turned her back on corporate life to pour her heart and soul into the arts. Becoming a diligent and versatile electronic music producer, DJ and live act, Sophia Saze is as comfortable sculpting intricate and atmospheric productions in the studio as she is decimating dancefloors with robust Techno and frenetic Breaks. 

Reflecting on her turbulent life and how it’s formed her own identity, Saze composed her aptly titled debut album, ‘Self’. Released on cassette in two instalments, ‘Part I’ dropped in June and was critically acclaimed with support from the likes of BBC 6MUSIC’s Tom Ravenscroft, Mixmag, DJ Mag, XLR8R, Resident Advisor, Future Music, Attack Magazine, TRAX, Tsugi, Ransom Note and Groove Magazine, with the latter drawing a
parallel between hers and Burial’s music.

Completing the journey, ‘Part II’ meanders through genres like Ambient, Hip Hop and Breaks, and features very personal insights including handpicked samples from Soviet television shows and VHS cassette recordings from her childhood.
Hidden allusions of her classical music education bring up distant memories and melt together the organic but thoroughly electronic ambience. Crackles, hushes and hisses are elaborated so well that the record virtually gushes over the ears like mountain torrents. It appears peaceful and quiet, then rousing and it is sparked with bewildering sounds. It lets scattered beats arise from the thicket and drown again in streams of noise. But in the end, especially the haunting seriousness of the album is compelling.
As a concept album, ‘Self’ consists of short and precise tracks mixed together, signifying a proper way to redefine a musical work in the modern age.

Mixed by commended Kingdoms label head Francis Harris, Sophia Saze’s detailed sound-design is brought to the front for an illuminating listening experience.

Sophia Saze - Mtvare (მთვარე)

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Francis Harris’ Brooklyn-based label continues to release adventurous new music, blurring the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition, ambient, and electronic music. Next up on the label is Lights Fluorescent - The Oldest Sons Of The Oldest Sons. 
Made up of Dave Harrington (Darkside) and Benjamin Jay (Benoit & Sergio), "The Oldest Sons Of The Oldest Sons" blends lopsided guitar loops and synth washes amid acres of reverb, while its vocals ascend toward violet altitudes. 
The single is also the title track to their upcoming debut album on Kingdoms.

The Oldest Sons Of The Oldest Sons

Lights Fluorescent - The Oldest Sons Of The Oldest Sons

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Made up of Dave Harrington of Darkside/Dave Harrington Group and Benjamin Jay of NDF/Benoit & Sergio, Lights Fluorescent is, as the two describe it, an ‘experiment in the spaces between song and texture, idea and reference, past and present.’ On their debut album, The Oldest Sons Of The Oldest Sons, the duo develops an atmospheric, slant-pop sensibility that lists toward the experimental tendencies of improvisational and ambient music.  


The result is a set of songs meant to be lived with. Entirely percussion-less, recordings drift on a tenderness of guitar, revenant feedback and vocals of autumnal intimation. Space Metal and July 9th process layers of bespoke noise and washed out chords to tarry with integral depth, light, and shadow, while Hotels distills country-western longing into its nth dimensional essence always unrequited. 

From within these sonic panoramas, vocals emerge more as watercolor traces than coarse etchings. They aim to capture evocative, lyrical intensities, eschewing the solace of the literal. As such, the album favors 'the gestural, the implicit, and the miniature over the more adolescent urges of grand narratives and epic.’ These preferences map onto the album in all of its moves. J Girls reveals a hint of story buried, like its context, deep in whorls of feedback. Fleeting images of monuments, cathedrals, or epitaphs on tracks like Palace Walls or Small Sacrifices speak to a sense of memory and community paradoxically ungrounded by the material instantiations meant to keep things in place.

Lights Fluorescent - Our Earlier Years

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A key player in the New York scene and boss of her own Dusk & Haze label, it was Francis Harris' Kingdoms that initially released Sophie Saze's standout two-part album, and that is where this forward looking package of highly original remixes lands. 
First up is German artist Roman Flügel, who’s responsible for a myriad of musical aliases and just as many different sounds. Here he is in experimental electronic mode and reworks 'Cure' into an elongated groove with twisted synth lines layering up over the shimmer, shadowy beats. It's a ghoulish track with a creepy atmosphere. 
Swede Anthony Linell makes tripped out, heady techno on Northern Electronics, always with a stylish aesthetic. That continues here as he reimagines 'Aliens' as an absorbing cosmic soundtrack. Supple, rubbery drums bubble down low while broad pads and astral motifs colour the airways above and sink you into a state of trance. 
New York beat maker and Blueberry Records boss FaltyDL then steps up with a remix of 'Self'. It is a typically off-kilter groove that seems to float on post-jungle drums while distant synth details make for a dreamy atmosphere. 
Closing out this killer package is Saze's original track 'Dreams', an intense techno cut where coarse textures peel off the industrial clatter of the drums.

Sophia Saze - Aliens (Anthony Linell Remix)

Scissor & Thread is cut from a different cloth than your average dance imprint.

Scissor and Thread

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