https://soundcloud.com/twitch
https://soundcloud.com/optimo-music
Artwork: https://soundcloud.com/greta-motif
🔊 https://youtu.be/POMQe3EZzwQ

JD Twitch began his journey into music and djing in 1987, just in time for the arrival of Acid House and Rave. He started two legendary Scottish clubs - Pure and Optimo, the latter a duo with Jonnie Wilkes which recently celebrated 25 years of global touring, outrageous parties, and communitarian activism. He produces, remixes, promotes, presents radio shows, music supervises for films and runs the hard to pigeonhole Optimo Music label.

Play on YouTube

LAYER #335 | JD Twitch (Optimo Music)

Manchester producer and WH Lung mastermind, Tom Sharkett unveils his second release, "It's Not That Deep," on Optimo Music on August 25th, 2023. His previous "Futuro EP," was a banger and this one is too. Sharkett draws inspiration from the otherworldly, psychedelic moments that transport the dancefloor into an altered reality.


We're premiering the flip side of his new EP "It's 5am Somewhere"... he's not lying.

It's Not That Deep

PREMIERE: Tom Sharkett - It's 5am Somehwere [Optimo Music]

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/im-home-im-ok

1 I'm Home, I'm OK
2 Leaving Diego
3 Steikesexual
4  I'm Home, I'm OK (DJ Fett Burger's Not at Home Tonite Mix) - Bandcamp only bonus.

I’m home, I’m Ok!

If you in one way or another fall outside of the CIS male gender category, or know someone who does, chances are that you are familiar with the four short words that comprise the title of Charlotte Bendiks` newest record. “I`m home, I`m okay” is an all too familiar sentence for those of us who are on the losing end of societal structures that make violence the form of power, and that have had to develop safety systems to create a modicum of counterbalance. “I`m home, I`m okay” are the four short words that indicate that you or a loved one have arrived safely, to safety, or quite simply: Home. These four short words compile much of Bendiks` oeuvre and all three tracks on the record released on Glasgow based Optimo Music in 2023, deals with questions concerning belonging, becoming, and embodiment. For Bendiks, the question of arriving home safely is not only about the act of stepping over the threshold of the home, but also an issue of the body that takes you there. She often refers to her music as body-music, something that is obvious in the heavy rhythms she produces that rarely leaves a dance floor empty. However, body-music can also be understood as music that comes from the body, both intellectually and physically. As music that develops through a process of being a body in the world, of accepting one`s body, loving it and feeling safe in it - and in the world. The latter is perhaps the most difficult, and an issue Bendiks explores to the fullest. Understood this way, Bendiks` music operates on the threshold of embodiment and polemics. The tracks take you from pure bodily experience to strong social critique in a heartbeat, without losing any of their danceability. If you let your body follow the rhythms of the record`s final track “Steikesexual”, for instance, it is impossible not to be reminded of one of feminist critique`s most central tropes, namely that the personal is [always] political. Steikesexual is a hybrid word composed of a Northern-Norwegian slang word that is used to emphasize admiration or idolisation, and the English word for being sexual. In short, steikesexual is both an adjective and a verb. It is something a body can be and do. The track therefore carries with it this hybridity which on the one hand emphasizes sexual power and bodily agency, and on the other highlights otherness and being an outsider. The point that Bendiks is making is that the process of becoming in one ́s body is always both. By letting your body move to and be moved by music, the body always partakes in structures that reach beyond the dancefloor. This is explored further in the track “Leaving Diego”, where Bendiks also play on words. Diego could be a person (a body), but it is also a play on the words “the” and ego”. It is as if Bendiks here points to a body in transit. A body that is moving from one place or state, to another. In a sense, “Leaving Diego” is both an antithesis to and prolongation of arriving home to safety, it is about leaving one's comfort zone, the familiar, in order to become a body that is steikesexual. Bendiksen often talks about home-work when she talks about her work. For her, home-work, like body-music, points to the mental and physical labor that bodies perform when going through transformative moments. It is about being aware and delving into the complexities of the moment. It is about paying attention to all the components that make up a body in space, whether it being societal, cultural or biological ones. Understood this way the record “I`m home, I`m okay” operates between the body and society, and new bodies, new stories and new categories continue to arrive.

releases September 8th, 2023

OMDD 52 - Charlotte Bendiks - I'm Home, I'm OK EP

https://facetstrax.bandcamp.com/album/breakable

Working with old friends is always a joyous thing so Optimo Music is delighted to be releasing the new EP from our old friend Facets. Boris has been coming to our New York gigs for as long as I can remember and always brings a great energy. That energy flows over into his music. EBM has become a much abused term in recent times but here are some tracks exploring that EBM DNA where the creator 100% knows that history and what they are doing. Taking that knowledge and bringing that sound right up to date. We asked Boris for some notes on the tracks.

He said -

All three tracks spread across different genres I like and each has its own unique type of energy. 

“Noć,” which includes haunting Serbian vocals from Marija Kovacevic and lyrics by Jesus Martinez, has an arpeggiated sequence along with a new wave-esque bassline. 

“Breakable” is a driving synth track that used lots of modulation accompanied by a 12-bit drum machine. 

Finally, “Reveal Yourself” is an EBM track on which I incorporated my own vocals for the first time, as well as lyrics that came from a vivid dream I had.

Released digitally 10/11/23

Breakable

OMDD 53 - Facets - Breakable EP

Working with old friends is always a joyous thing so Optimo Music is delighted to be releasing the new EP from our old friend Facets. Boris has been coming to our New York gigs for as long as I can remember and always brings a great energy. That energy flows over into his music. EBM has become a much abused term in recent times but here are some tracks exploring that EBM DNA where the creator 100% knows that history and what they are doing. Taking that knowledge and bringing that sound right up to date. We asked Boris for some notes on the tracks.
He said -
All three tracks spread across different genres I like and each has its own unique type of energy. “Noć,” which includes haunting Serbian vocals from Marija Kovacević and lyrics by Jesus Martinez, has an arpeggiated sequence along with a new wave-esque bassline. “Breakable” is a driving synth track that used lots of modulation accompanied by a 12-bit drum machine. Finally, “Reveal Yourself” is an EBM track on which I incorporated my own vocals for the first time, as well as lyrics that came from a vivid dream I had.

Breakable is out on November 10th.

Facets
Soundcloud: @facets-music
Facebook: www.facebook.com/facets.muzik
Instagram: www.instagram.com/facets_music/

Optimo Music
Soundcloud: @optimo-music
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OptimoMusicGlasgow/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/optimomusic/

Facets - Reveal Yourself (Optimo Music)

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/helios 

Artwork: Ventral Is Golden
Mastering: Matias Parisi
Hermetics Bancamp: https://hermetics.bandcamp.com/
Lux & Hermetics Bandcamp: https://luxhermetics.bandcamp.com/
Hermetics IG: https://www.instagram.com/hermeticsmusic/
Lux IG: https://instagram.com/_ll_uu_xx_?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Lux & Hermetics is a musical project from Buenos Aires composed of the producers and musicians Lucas Chaumont, also known as Lux, and Santiago Nino, also known as Hermetics. This EP was produced during the Argentine winter of 2023, with nothing more than a laptop, a guitar and an extensive work of sampling, sound curation, and sound design, giving this work a rather unique cinematic and nostalgic personality. This four-chapter work tells a journey that goes from innocence, through solitude and emptiness, to the serenity of a timeless existence.

‘Helios’ is a sonic quest that seeks to unify opposites and inject wonder, mystery, and a sense of the sacred into ordinary life and the complex simplicity that surrounds us. Its atmosphere represents a celebration that does not rely on something already defined but is enriched by the diversity of its sound, by the multitude of worlds it wishes to manifest, thus creating a wild desire for freedom and exploration.

Released digitally on December 1st.

Earth

OMDD 54 Lux  & Hermetics - Helios EP

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/expansion-ep

1) Expansion
2) Slinky
3) The Golden Ratio (with Fossil Archive) 

The debut solo release from Glasgow based Stevie Cox. We asked her to tell us about it - 

I have a love hate relationship with producing music and these three tracks all fell into the love pile. I scrap any ideas if I get stuck and it isn't flowing even if i'm halfway through them, but these three all came out super naturally and easily. I made Slinky and Expansion in one sitting each after a really good Subculture night (at Glasgow’s Sub Club) when I was feeling inspired and very present. I played a lot of acid that night and when I sat down to write, the tracks ended up being acid too. Although everything I write seems to feature acid. It's my favourite noise in the world, I love the squelch of it and it just makes a dancefloor pop off when played right. Expansion works perfectly as a transition tune from the warm up into peak time, my favourite time to play. Slinky is a bass heavy, heads-down wobbly number and both these tracks were inspired by endless b2bs with Domenic Cappello at the Sub Club. The Golden Ratio is a wee dnb collaboration with my really good friend Fossil Archive. I've taken Robert's approach of going with the flow when writing music and now don't touch a tracks structure after I've completed it. His encouragement to carry on producing is one of the reasons why this EP exists, so I'm endlessly grateful to him and it means a lot to have him on my debut solo EP. Having seen other DJs play all three tracks out now has been really special and the reactions they got from the dance floor will stay with me forever. I hope you like them too :)

Dedicated to the loving memory of Alexander Theodossiadis.

Released digitally February 2nd 2024.

Expansion

OMDD 55 - Stevie Cox - Expansion EP

This had never been part of the plan – not like this, not at such scale. The night was dark and cold all around them as they wandered through the forest in search of a way out. Who knew the woods went so deep and beyond what they might ever had imagined? Such expansion was unprecedented, dense thick greenery everywhere which swallowed the light.

Soon the night would come, heaven forbid they were still wandering, looking for a way out.

In the distance they could hear the noise of the city, yet they were on the outskirts, lost in the trees.

Stevie Cox is set to release a new EP via Optimo’s digital label, the Glasgow based Sub Club resident has become highly regarded in the booth and now turns focus towards the studio with a killer EP based on progressive, cosmic sounds destined to uplift on the dancefloor.

PREMIERE: Stevie Cox - Expansion [Optimo Music]

For more info visit: https://tinyurl.com/4wbs6veu

Follow https://soundcloud.com/inigovontier

Mix info

EG AFTER.135 Iñigo Vontier

Tracks used:
Theus Mago & Curses - Dafne (Optimo Music)
Darco - Qatar (Diynamic Music)

PREMIERE: You Have Not Heard This One Before

JOY RIDE 063

You Don't See Me Now (Macbeth's Unheard Bootleg Mix)

Episode EP.67 (24.6.24)
On Kiss fm
Hosted by @traxion1

XPRESS-IONS Radio w/Traxion. EP.67 (24.6.24)

Without the influence of dub, there’s no house and techno as we know it. The history of dance, especially underground dance music, is in many ways a history of dub. And the UK, thanks to its unique cultural mix and pioneering sound system culture, has played a massive role in the spread of these sounds.  

Joy Ride 84 is a tribute to dub's enduring and frequently surprising influence on everything from four to the floor techno and house to disco, post-punk, breakbeat and leftfield pop. 

It’s the old school meets the new, sometimes the very new, or tracks that are 30 years old but are only being heard for the first time today. It is perhaps the most ambitious mix I’ve attempted to date. 

Deep love and respect to all the incredible artists and the champions of this music for making all this possible.

Featuring tracks by Trans-4m, Octo Octa, Mike Dunn, Manakinz, Josh Micky, Future Sound Of London, Bicep, and more... Track IDs on request.

JOY RIDE 84 on TNT Global Radio

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/anarcho-disco-volume-1

Optimo Music excitedly unleashes Japan’s GǼG and their Anarcho Disco volumes 1 & 2 into the world. We thought we were done with 12” single release, at least for now, but then these tracks showed up and it was instantly obviously ESSENTIAL that they get pressed up on big fat twelve inch singles. Every single track here has been tried and tested and caused delirious delight on the dancefloor over the last year. Now it is time to share them with YOU! Truly Anarchic, Psychedelic dance music for the open-minded and genre-free crews.

GǼG say -


DISKO KLUBB boss MONKEY TIMERS, who leads Tokyo's underground disco scene, and KEITA SANO, who has been gaining attention for his releases on labels around the world, have started the project "GǼG”.

Using a variety of sampling and unique FX, our music has created a unique GǼG sound that is psychedelic and anarchic. 

This subversive sound is sure to be the key to shaking the dance floor.

Volume 1, 12" and digital released 23/08/24. Volume 2, 20/09/24.

Distribution via Kompakt.

Merpa

OM 59 - GǼG - Anarcho Disco Volume 1 EP (sampler) 12" vinyl and digital released 23/08

I don't normally post track listings, but I'm making an exception for this one.  

Pete Seeger - Ode To Joy
The Sabres of Paradise - Chapel Street Market at 9am
The Break Boys - My House Is Your House
Tom Sharkett - It's 5am Somewhere
Lord Of The Isles (feat. Ellen Renton) - Inheritance
Tom Sharkett - It's 5am Somewhere
Pete Seeger - Everyone In All The World

JOY RIDE 101

JOY RIDE 107

Off the back of a weekend at Panorama Bar, a freewheeling mix of Detroit techno, deep and classic house, underground disco, Italo, Bassline and breaks. Featuring tracks from Optimo Music, Tiga & Hudson Mohawke, Manakinz, Robert Hood, Kevin Saunderson, L-VIS 1990, Carl Craig, Logic1000 and many more.

Robert Hood - The Pace - Wandering Endlessly 
Ploy - When In Room
Johnny Fiasco - Taurus
L-Vis 1990 & Eklipse - Bass
Rhythm II Rhythm - A Touch Of Jazz (Lifestyles Of The Rich mix)
Josh Micky - Imaginarium
Al Wootton - Vitus
Baltra - O'Neal
Cormac - Leather and Lasers
COL LAWTON & SEN-SEI - Hulla Girl
Inner City - Back Together Again (Reese Phuture Dub Trip)
Marst - Panorama (Extended Mix)
Logic1000 & Rochelle Jordan - Promises (feat. Rochelle Jordan) 
Manakinz - Blootaboyz
Roman Flügel - Parade d'amour
Pet Shop Boys - I'm Not Scared
Q - The Voice Of Q (Original 12 Mix)
Project Sandro - Friday Night Action
Oby Onyioha - Enjoy Your Life
69 - Desire_(Original Mix)
Terence - Like A Circle
Tiga & Hudson Mohawke - VSOD
Dynamix II - Just give the D.J. a break (12 Club Version)
Noo - Just Can't Give It Up
Terrence Parker - Secret Fantasy (TP Plastic Soul Remix)
Freeez  - I O U
Lowheads  - Tsubasa
Move D - The Garden
Phase II - Reachin' (Original Brotherhood Mix)
Romanthony - Let Me Show You Love

JOY RIDE 118

A lot of personal tracks on this one, including my favourite Ewan McColl song (Sweet Thames Flow Softly) sublimely performed by Rufus and Martha Wainwright ❤️, and an exclusive first play of the latest work from my friend THEO (ECLA, Athens Of The North, Ibiza). Also a couple of supremely brilliant house tracks from my old mentor and Sub Club resident Harri (Manakinz). Much love and respect to all the artists, dancers, promoters and supporters out there making it happen. We need each other more than ever just now. X    

Here's the track listing. 

BOOF - Breakfast In Collingwood
Rufus Wainwright & Martha Wainwright - Sweet Thames Flow Softly
MYD - Together We Stand
The KDMS - Never Stop Believing
Bark Bark Disco - All this Love
ddwy - Hair Spiders
Michael Mayer - Vagus
Joe Davies - Movement In The Breach
Alex Kassian - Strings of Eden
SABRES OF PARADISE, The - Jacob Street 7am
Theus Mago & Curses - Testaroj
Victor Romeo feat. Leetrece Brow - Love Will Find A Way"
Robin S - Show Me Love (Extended)
Fusik - Fusik for The Bboys
FRANCOIS K - Edge Of Time (Tee's Freeze mix)
TSHA - Sister
Kraak & Smaak - Same Blood (feat. The Palms) - Tensnake Extended Remix Instrumental
Manakinz  - Snakehips
Axel Boman - Moon Dancer 
Tomorrows Forecast - Gonna Make You Mine (Thunder Storm Mix)
Hector Couto - Changes 
Blue Mondays - NERD TECHNIQUE
Naum Gabo - Wet Job
Cesar Caballero - Funketeao (Omid 16B Remix)
Transitive Elements - Octivation (Zone Dub - Remastered)
Fede Lng - Song At Night (Original Mix)"
BOOF - Save The Bee 
Manakinz - Partizan
Index 968 - Secret Fantasy (TP Unreleased Mix)
Chez Damier - I Never Knew Love (MK Club Mix)
Gregi - Night Runner
Tracer - Love Fantasy (Dirty Channels Edit)
BOOF - I Want C & B To Fix My Car
Kassian - Metro
Fede Lng - Acid Raindrops (Original Mix)
Theo ECLA - Joy
Dantiez - Carpe Diem
Deetron - Dr. Melonball
David Jackson - Oohhyyee
Intercity - Groovin Without A Doubt

JOY RIDE 122

DJ, producer, writer and founder of The Night Trains. One half of Frolic+Detour. Former Sub Club promoter. Optimo kid.
 
Screw your courage to the sticking-place.

DJ, writer and co-founder of The Night Trains.

Optimo kid. Former Sub Club promoter.

One half of Frolic+Detour.

Screw your courage to the sticking-place.

Bookings: emma@thenighttrains.com

EG: Where Music Matters

Visit us at www.electronicgroove.com

Premiere Request > https://bit.ly/2P2PTYU

Founded with a mission to push the electronic music scene forward and away from traditional standards, EG holds the modern mold of dance music culture up to the fire to spark insight and discussion across the board. We are an amplifier and platform for new music, news, interviews, and special features in a credible, objective, and compelling approach.

For over 15 years, EG has been at the forefront, supporting artists, labels, brands, and festivals in a dedicated and bespoke manner, understanding and caring for the artistic product. We've always valued those who take the time to create and have been there at every step of the road.

EG’s constant growth has seen the brand expand into the Spanish-speaking territory with the launch of Electronic Groove en Español, a full online media platform that focuses on bolstering the region’s cultural development. With established headquarters in Miami and supporting offices across the globe, we strive to deliver quality content to our worldwide audience.

Creator/Curator @traxion1

XPRESS-IONS radio, hosted by Traxion every week on Kissfm Australia, takes listeners on a journey through a diverse array of genres including nu wave, post punk, indie dance, electro clash, and disco, while also sharing insights about labels, artists, and more. Featuring both local talent and international guest mixes and interviews, XPRESS-IONS is a platform that celebrates music from all corners of the globe. Additionally, XPRESS as a brand is committed to making a positive impact through charity-based events and a dedicated edit series on Bandcamp, where every donation from the tracks goes directly to the corresponding charity. With over 20 current edits from respected artists worldwide, XPRESS-IONS not only entertains but also gives back to the community in a meaningful way.

All purchases/donations from each track which will be available on Bandcamp, will also go towards the charity of the artists choice. Aiming to raise as much money as possible for many different and amazing charities!

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.

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.

Optimo Music / Dischi Autunno / Ombra Int'l / Skylax Records / Soil Records / Calypso / Death on Wax / Khoinix / Electric Shapes  

Samo Records / Samo Nights: @samorecords

contact / booking / promos: facetsmusic@gmail.com

Facets comes to New York by way of London and Belgrade, with a passion for all things Dark Synth, EBM, new beat, proto-house, electro, acid, techno, italo, balearic, and beyond.

Releases on Optimo Music, Dischi Autunno, Ombra International, Soil Records, Skylax, Khoinix, and Electric Shapes. More original music out soon on Pinkman, and more. 

Over the years, Facets has been releasing edits on his personal channel and other outlets such as Calypso's 12" edits Correcciones series, Amor Fati, Hard Fist, whypeopledance,  Italo Moderni, Deep House Amsterdam, and more.

Facets has been billed with some of the scene's top talent, such as Ivan Smagghe, John Talabot, Ellen Allien, Vladimir Ivkovic, Moritz von Oswald, Adam X, Solar, Interstellar Funk, Kim Ann Foxman, Curses, Phase Fatale, Lindstrom, Lena Willikens, Moscoman, Lee Douglas, Khidja, Charlotte de Witte, and lots more, in top underground venues in the US, Mexico, and Europe.

Facets is the founder of Samo Records and Samo Nights, the club night associated with the label. Over the years, he has booked the likes of Black Merlin, Manfredas, Joakim, Hugo Capablanca, Andi, Sacha Mambo, Willie Burns, Wrecked, DatKat (Analog Soul), MR TC, In Flagranti, DJ Overdose, Cosmo Vitelli, Bustie, Patrick Russell, Sharif Laffrey, Heap, Naduve, and more.

Samo Records is a label exploring the darker, moodier side of electronic music. Some of the artists featured on the label so far include: Anatolian Weapons, Local Suicide, Skelesys, Intergalactic Gary, Mijo, Neud Photo, Antoni Maiovvi, Zombies in Miami, Fabrizio Mammarella, Balam, and Pixelife, to name a few. He hosts a show at The Lot Radio, which has included artists featured at the label-related parties and/or on previous releases. 

Facets is one-third of Italomatic, Brooklyn's premier italo-disco, new wave, freestyle, and synth party, along with Andi (Synthicide) and Rok One.

New tracks tagged #optimo music