Scissor and Thread Essentials

Connections w/ Andrew Thomson (12/3/23)

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The Beat Direct is the second single taken from Black Light Smoke's first full length debut album: Ghosts to be released in June 2023 on Scissor And Thread.

"The Beat Direct exploded naturally upon first he- aring the sample that became the opening loop.", says Jordan Lieb, the producer behind Black Light Smoke. 

"From time to time a track writes itself: I immediately hear the vibe, chords, percussion and bass in one moment. I knew the album needed some more energy so I wanted this one to really build. The 727 percussion sounds are a bit of a through-line for the whole album, so I made sure to feature the congas and bells pretty loud in the mix."

The Beat Direct

Black Light Smoke - The Beat Direct

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Black Light Smoke returns to revered New York label Scissor and Thread with Ghosts, a sophomore LP that sees the Chicago native revisiting his youth through exploring the origins of house music, while touching on themes of closure, creativity and identity. This LP is something of an anticipated homecoming as he debuted on the label over a decade ago with his gritty, analog sound, and he’d become a regular fixture throughout Scissor and Thread’s earlier years before pursuing other projects.

Rochester-based Black Light Smoke is the moniker of Jordan Lieb. Moving to New York in 2001 for close to two decades, as a multidisciplined musician his career has taken flight in many forms. Writing music for TV and film for over 20 years, recognition for his work came early with Emmy nominations and an Emmy win. Recent projects include Ana Lily Amirpour’s movie The Bad Batch, starring Keanu Reeves, Suki Waterhouse and Jason Mamoa, and biographical sports mo- ckumentary I, Tonya with Margot Robbie. Aside from working full-time in TV and film, his passion projects under Black Light Smoke include releases via Brooklyn labels Scissor and Thread and Cut Mistake Music, as well as from his own imprint Death Decay Magic which since its 2020 launch has found fans in Bloody Mary, The Hacker, DJ Hell, Green Velvet and Posthuman for its explorations through dark wave, post punk and dark techno.

Spanning ‘90s house, soulful beats and dusty grooves, Ghosts speaks to Jor- dan’s clashes with the intrusive shadows and demons of his past. Written across a two-year stretch, it was a fraught period which heavily impacted his creative life. “Producing this LP took so much more time than I’m used to,” he explains. “I’m invited back to Scissor and Thread but I didn’t know how I’d fit back into the label after years away. I’d then ask myself what am I doing producing house music - I’m now family-focussed and not out clubbing any more, so what am I dra- wing on. I didn’t realise that there’d be two years of soul searching, and that I’d come up against a bit of an identity crisis in trying to find my artistic voice again. I realised that I didn’t have to reinvent, but simply had to make something that came from my heart. I needed to push through a lot for the new ideas to come.”

Once Jordan honed in on his reverence for the origins of house music, from the founders to the creators behind its “second wave”, he felt a shift forward in mo- tivation and productivity. Born and raised in Chicago, he was an impressionable teen during the mid ‘90s, with illegal warehouse raves being his access point. That era left its mark and influenced his need to later immerse himself in club culture which he’d do in New York.

“I found myself in that world. I found my purpose and identity in New York’s scene and did it all with brilliant people. House music was the soundtrack to this trans- formative decade in my life. It was everything through my twenties and thirties. There were the iconic clubs like Cielo and Output, but also the golden era of after parties, connecting and crate digging with mates - there’s nothing as beautiful as that. This LP kinda closes that chapter of my life while creating music that I feel stays true to my roots.”

All of his personal proceeds from the LP will go to The Little Bit Foundation, a non-profit committed to improving access to education for students living in poverty across St. Louis, Missouri. “We start with our children when working towards generational progress. I’m now a father to young children so this hits home. I went with The Little Bit Foundation because of their broad and holistic approach which focuses on health and nutrition, academic equity, family support, and college readiness.”

Nighttime Honey

Black Light Smoke - Nighttime Honey

Love Triangle

Black Light Smoke - Love Triangle

Anthem (House Is Black)

Black Light Smoke - 727 Anthem (House Is Black)

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Felix Dickinson - 06.06.2023

NOODS RADIO - 26/10/23

THEE SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA - BROKEN CHORDS CAN SING
JUSTINE FOREVER - KLAUS
PUMA & THE DOLPHIN - NUDE GUM
ZAM RAM - MY DESIRE
MEDIO MUANTE - ANOTHER LAND
BORIS ACKET & KAAP - TOOL (WT MIX)
CHEZ DE MILO - SISTER DEX (ORBURY COMMON REMIX)
ELGATO - ZONE
FANTASTIC TWINS - LAND OF PLEASURE HI FI
UNKNOWN - 10AM VIBECENTRAL (AMOR FATI EDIT)
FRANZ SCALA - FOR ME
SHAKKATAM - RUN

Magic Carpet Ride 25

Winter's Door

Artist: nthng
Title: There Is A Place For Me
Track Title: There Is A Place For Me
Label: Transatlantic
Cat #: TAR019
Release date: 17.11.2023
Format: vinyl, digital

@nthngnthng
@transatlanticrecords

Written & Produced by nthng
Designed by Maciej Przężak (MJWP3.com)
Mastered & Cut at Scape by Isabel and Stefan
Pressed at RAND Muzik
Distributed by Inch By Inch
Published on Transatlantic

grab your 12"

Premiere | nthng - There Is A Place For Me (TAR019)

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

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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
Stream/Buy: www.linktr.ee/scissorandthread

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

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

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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. DaRand’s works, which span decades on deep house labels such as Downbeat, Confluence and Pulp have been described as “uncompromising” and has afforded him a passionate following of listeners who seek a more emotive, thought-provoking brand of underground music.

Teaming up once again with Scissors and Thread - the perfect fit for his sound - DaRand Land drops an album full of crafty, trippy house for the heads. Wander Being contains 10 tracks on the double vinyl release with a pair of additional tracks for the digital release. The vibe is deep and sleek, with a rough, bumping edge. The title track sets the tone, a smattering of percussion accompanying a thick, round kick drum and Rhodes chords, giving off a classic Detroit feel. Tracks like Turn to The Music ramp up the energy somewhat, but overall the tracks sit in the sweet spot between dancefloor burners and soulful, jazzy, deep cuts. 

Noticeable is the space given to each element across the tracks - the hi-hats sparkle, the snare snaps, and the basslines roll and rumble. Add to this the magic melodic flourishes provided by the pads and synths, reminiscent of the late Mike Huckaby in places, made this whole album a thoughtful, joyful experience.

„The genesis for the Wander Being LP”, says DaRand “was a desire to return to the essence of some of my original Deep4Life productions. How was this accomplished? Principally, through the exclusive use of hardware components, minimalist arrangement, and a minds-eye approach to source the musical elements. In particular, the single, The Nature of Reality 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.

Wander Being

Jazz Intend

DaRand Land - Jazz Intend

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Black Light Smoke - The Beat Direct

Scissor and Thread

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