Longtime friends and musical collaborators Max Essa and Eddie C just joined the RNT fold, with their new 4-tracker of melancholic and exquisitely produced chilled out disco.

Begun as a lockdown project, the 'We Live In The Hills' EP explores a vast palette of sonic soundscapes, from the shimmering guitars and acid lines of Melon Stepping, to the insistent rolling bass and whimsical synths of Save Me, the deep funk of the EP’s title track, and the late nite driving soundtrack stylings of Sixth Bridge. This EP tells a hopeful story of emerging from isolation and doubt, like a lovely musical sunrise after a long dark night.

To celebrate the release, Max Essa hopped on his decks in Tokyo to make his RNT Podcast debut! He shifts through many of the tones that inspired 'We Live In The Hills', as well as material from the EP itself, while harnessing records from friends & family around the globe for 90 minutes of bliss.

TRACKLIST 
1. Milton Jackson - Miami Voice
2. Max Essa & Eddie C - Melon Steppin’
3. Wrekin’ Havoc - Camino
4. The Emperor Machine - Your Own Style (Extended Vocal Mix)
5. Tulioxi - First Arrival (Original Mix)
6. Elia y Elizabeth - Alegria (Yuksek Mix)
7. Kraak & Smaak and Turbotito - My All
8. Reuben Vaughn Smith - Help Me Ride
9. Gratts - Jour De Fete (Versione Instrumentale)
10. Max Essa & Eddie C - Save Me
11. Manakinz - Wee Hummer
12. Rollover DJs - Change My Mind
13. David Holmes & Raven Violet - Yeah X 3 (Xpress-2 Dub Mix)
14. Ainz & Ellian - Genova Nights
15. Alma Negra - Zouk Combat (Bosq Remix)
16. Bottin feat. Lucia Dalla - Lunedì Cinema (Drive In Mix by Leo Mas & Fabrice)
17. Cheap Edits - To Soma
18. Max Essa & Eddie C - Sixth Bridge

--

www.razor-n-tape.com​
www.razor-n-tape.bandcamp.com

Stream & Buy the EP

Razor-N-Tape Podcast - Episode 73 : Max Essa

Special Extended Residents Mix

Kim Yafa - Once Bitten (Nick the Record & Dan Tyler Edit)
Fat White Family - Bullet Of Dignity (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation) 
Aili - Nandakke
Q - The Voice of Q
Max Essa & Eddie C - Save Me
Daphne Guinness - Volcano (Hercules & Love Affair Dub)
Radio Slave - The Lunatics (A Clinic Full Of Cynics Dub)
B.Visible - Ella (Jakobin & Domino Remix)
Henrik Villard - Going Down
Rafa Santos - Where Is The Clubbing? (Franck Roger remix)
Franc Spangler - Forever and A Day
Omah Lay - Holy Ghost (Martin Solveig Remix) 
Aroop Roy - Mama Mwana 
Fouk - Mirage
Tom Trago - Hotballs FM
East Coast Love Affair - Love of Mind
Nitestar - Body Groove
Lis Sarroca - Stroopwafel 
CC:DISCO! & Jennifer Loveless - Magic (Is In The Tempo) (BASHKKA’s Basic Instinct Mix)
Bella Boo - Feel It
Erol Alkan - A Hold On Love (trip-mix)
Kira Blush - Looking for Lost Cats
Beanfield - The Season (Swag’s Vocal Mix)

Subcity Radio - Listen Again

Episode 222: Easter Sunday Special

Side B from the latest release on Jansen Jardin available on limited edition 7" vinyl.

Der Kaputte Bananenwagen

Max Essa & David Harks - The Clean Trip
BUY LINK: https://hypeddit.com/q4a7dm
Label:  Paper Recordings (https://soundcloud.com/paperecordings)
https://www.instagram.com/paperecordings/
> Max Essa (https://soundcloud.com/max-essa)
https://www.instagram.com/maxessa/
> David Harks (https://soundcloud.com/davidharks)
https://www.instagram.com/david_harks/

Davis Harks and Max Essa return for 4 tracks of impeccably produced dreamy pop, balearic wanderings and hypnotic chug.

Magic Eyes kicks things off with a track that hints at the sunset of acid house with chugging rave keys, back-in-the-day bass synth and a whole heap of soulful melancholia. It's a deep, slow groover with strangely hypnotic, repetitive vocal murmurings that soar.

Plastic Bones has baggy poetry that flows along to a positive mantra shining bright; 'come let it go, take the first step to lighten the load, you're one of a kind'. Joyfully strange and lovely, there's a Beta Band mood to go with dreams of the Mediterranean.

Finally, Blind Horizons is a pure extended odyssey of lilting polished pop. David wrote the song with the idea of taking a listener through a journey aboard a Cosmic Starlight Cutter. An epic and vast voyage, the sentiment is a reminder to keep searching. With a more classic song feel, it is driven by classic piano chords and cycles, drum machines, and layered synths.
crédits

BUY LINK

PREMIERE : Max Essa & David Harks - Magic Eyes

https://soundcloud.com/max-essa
https://soundcloud.com/nathan-dawidowicz
https://soundcloud.com/coyotesounds
🛒 https://www.juno.co.uk/products/max-essa-when-im-homeward-bound-feat-nathan-vinyl/1033800-01/
🔊 https://youtu.be/yzzRoqeynhs

Max Essa returns to Is It Balearic? for his 9th release on the label. ‘When I'm Homeward Bound' brings us that classic Essa sound with a hint of Tears For Fears for good measure! The pads are delightfully gooey and subtly uplifting over gently percussive and stuttering beats and the whole thing is rich in lazy poolside energy. Nathan Dawidowicz remixes the original into a hypnotic, percolating piece of deep and tribal disco, while Secret Soul Society brings out the early evening house grooves ready for those sunset sessions. The record finishes with the closing cut, 'Chasing Horses’,  a super sweet late night groove with heartfelt chords and instrumentation.

Tracklist: 

A1. When I’m Homeward Bound
A2. When I’m Homeward Bound (Nathan Dawidowicz remix)

B1. When I’m Homeward Bound"" (Secret Soul Society remix)
B2. Chasing Horses

PREMIERE: Max Essa - When I’m Homeward Bound (Nathan Dawidowicz Remix) [Is It Balearic? Recordings]

some balearic disco synthesis for whatever :D 

Tr_pi_o In_er_ale

3 Hours @ Sisyphos Wintergarten May 2025

Sun soaked and simmering. Just in time for summer. With a heavy nod to 80's synth, my newest mix. Ready for the pool or a splash off of daddy's yacht. And when that time comes and push come to shove will you be my DESIGNATED DIVER?

DESIGNATED DIVER

Aquí mi mixtape para este loco verano del 2025, creo que necesitamos relajarnos un chingo y qué mejor que con una fina selección de potentes tracks con una mezcla perfectamente rebajada para relajar la raja, disfruten!! :))

TRACKLIST: www.instagram.com/maicols

Fuk-Da-Summer! 2025

London-born and Tokyo-based, Max Essa has spent over two decades crafting lush, melodic soundscapes that blur the lines between balearic, cosmic disco, and ambient pop. Emerging in the '90s on Warp and Paper Recordings, he found his true artistic stride after relocating to Japan in 2008. Since then, Essa has become a central figure in Tokyo’s underground scene, curating events like Zim Zam Zu! at Bar Bonobo and releasing music on labels such as Music For Dreams, Hell Yeah!, and Is It Balearic?

Essa’s style is warm, escapist, and deeply cinematic-often inspired by specific places: Okinawan beaches, Mediterranean ferries, or late-night Tokyo rooftops. His releases, like Lanterns, When I'm Homeward Bound, and The Clean Trip (with David Harks), radiate nostalgia and serenity, wrapped in silky synths and timeless grooves.

Beyond producing, Essa curates, mentors, and connects cultures-compiling Japanese ambient gems on Oto No Wa, together with Ken Hidaka and Dr Rob, and spotlighting local artists through interviews and collaborations. Whether on record or behind the decks, Max Essa invites listeners into a world where emotion, space, and memory guide the rhythm.

More at https://soundcloud.com/max-essa

Max Essa - SOULMEEX DECKS 162

DJ/Artist L.A.

Next Sebastiane September 12th at Akbar

Past play things:
Horse Meat Disco London
Deep South Atlanta
Sheila NYC
The Carry Nation NYC
[sic] CDMX
Ostbahnhof LA
The Basement LA
Lights Down Low LA
Bearmania Provincetown
DAD SF
Folsom Street Fair
Honcho Campout
Jellyfish Pittsburgh
Hot Mass Pittsburgh
Flower Factory D.C.
Gorg-O-Mish Vancouver
Bearly Athens
Massive Seattle
Southern Decadence New Orleans
NYX Amsterdam
Opening DJ for Róisín Murphy

Resident at Hot Dog Sundays LA
Founder of Party Suspiria and Sebastiane.

Booking info: sindrigalvan@gmail.com

say hello: k.olias@gmx.de

Krazy Nutella Beatz @

02/02/24 @ Süss War Gestern (Berlin)

10/02/24 @ Bar Bautrockner (Berlin)

23/02/24 @ Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin)

05/04/24 @ Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin)

18/05/24 @ Sisyphos (Berlin)

24/05/24 @ La Cantine d`Augusta Birthday (Berlin)

21/06/24 @ La Cantine d`Augusta (Berlin)

28/06/24 @ Süss War Gestern (Berlin)

10/08/24 @ Gestrandet (Berlin)

24/08/24 @ Süss War Gestern (Berlin)

07/09/24 @ Sisyphos (Berlin)

08/11/24 @ KitKat Club (Berlin)

13/12/24 @ Süss War Gestern (Berlin)

10/01/25 @ Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir

16/05/25 @ Wilder als Erwartet with MO/NA

23/05/25 @ Sisyphos

13/06/25 @ Gestrandet w/ Jazzman

21/06/25 @ La Cantine d`Augusta

01/08/25 @ Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir

30/08/25 @ Cafe at Marla w/ SOBERLIN Crew

Record label & radio show celebrating House music and the wider Electronic genre.
Broadcasting every fortnight on Glasgow's iconic Subcity Radio since 2012.

Contact : info (at) lava-lava.co.uk

Max Essa has been active as a producer and DJ since the early 90s, initially releasing music on labels including Warp Records and Paper Recordings and DJing alongside the infamous D.i.Y Sound System.

His later work, for labels like Is It Balearic? Recordings, went on to be play-listed by legends such as Andrew Weatherall and David Mancuso, gaining him a devoted following and DJ bookings around the world. 

Albums for the Japanese major label, Victor Entertainment ('Vacations Never Taken' 2015) and Music For Dreams ('Lanterns' 2018), plus EPs for labels including Hell Yeah! Recordings and Razor N Tape (with Eddie C), and a constant stream of remixes for labels like Compost, Ubiquity, Faze Action and Leng have shown him to be a prolific and deeply imaginative producer.

Since 2008 he has been based in Japan where he plays regularly at clubs and events around the country, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
From 2010 - 2023 he was a resident DJ at the Lone Star parties, and later the Zim Zam Zu! events at the legendary, Bar Bonobo and for over a decade has been a resident at the ever popular, Aoyama Tunnel in Tokyo.

Dj Booking & Inquiries : lesyeuxorange@gmail.com

Next ==> 13/09@ La  Rotonde Stalingrad, Paris
               26/09@ Burger Disco Club, Athens 
               27/09@ Rokfor, Patras
               18/10@ Boom Boom Villette
               31/10@ La Rotonde Stalingrad
               13/12@ La Rotonde Stalingrad


Past Gigs : 
Paris => Cabaret Sauvage, Trabendo, Rex Club, Badaboum, La Java, Mazette, La Machine du Moulin Rouge, La Prairie Du Canal, Petit Bain, Nexus, La Madrague Festival, Palais de Tokyo, La Rotonde Stalingrad, Silencio, ZigZag, La Clairiere, Wanderlust, Nuits Fauves, Double Vie, Pamela, Virage,  Le Monseigneur etc...

France => Calvi On The Rocks, Cabourg Mon Amour, We Love Green, Sarcus Festival, Tres cool Festival-Deauville, Highfive Festival-Annecy, Briques Rouges Festival-Lille, Bains Numeriques Festival-Enghien, Macadam Nantes x2, Lieu Unique Nantes, Le Sucre Lyon x3, Le Terminal Lyon, Le Petit Salon Lyon, Iboat Bordeaux x3, Chapiteau Marseille, 1988 Live Club Rennes, Gare Saint Sauveur Lille x2, Ostra Nancy, Grenoble Campus, La Bobine Grenoble, Angers, Nuit Blanche Saint Denis etcetc...

Europe => London x4 , Manchester x3, Leeds x2, Edinburgh, Berlin x3, Hamburg, Freiburg, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Stockholm x2, Copenhagen, Geneve x4, Lausanne, Neuchatel, Zurich x4, Bern, Lucern, Madrid x2, Ronda, Barcelona x3, Porto, Prague, Skopje, Milan, Rome, Liege, Istanbul, Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest x2, Vilnius x2, Palanga, Belgrade, Zagreb, Warsaw, Saint Petersburg, Moscow etc...
RoTW ==> Mexico City x2, Guadalajara, Leon, Merida, San Miguel De Allende, Queretaro etc...

WhyPeopleWar Fundraiser for Ukraine: https://whypeopledance.bandcamp.com/

The Why people dance question was asked for the first time in Lithuania back in 2013 but it gained a worldwide echo in its 8 years of existence. Run by @pauliuskamblevicius with the help of @experimentsserial and a network of collaborators, the online electronic music platform and label keeps its heart open for new friends and treasure finds but its filter tight and deep underground. Tune into WPD channels on Soundcloud, YouTube and Bandcamp.

Cut in Brooklyn // Good for Dance!

Contact:
Tapey [a] Razor-N-Tape [dot] com

Demos: demos [at] Razor-N-Tape [dot] com

MAICOLS is a crazy DJ, music curator and promoter of local artists from Mexico City.

THE MAICOLIZER | AKA | MKLZR | DJ CHINGÓN!
#BeatsSuperGuapos #MKLZR

New tracks tagged #Max Essa