Artist: Glenn Astro
Title: THROWBACK
Cat.No. TARTALB005
Release date vinyl: May 2015
Release date digi: June 2015
Tartelet Records © 2015
DISTRIBUTED BY !K7

:: THROWBACK 2xLP :: Glenn Astro :: Tartelet Records 2015

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* Pre-order: https://tarteletrecords.bandcamp.com/album/medusozoa-vol-ii

Downtempo, ambient and meditative, 'Medusozoa Vol II' is a compilation of tracks made for deep listening, reflection and procrastination. Spotlighting previously unreleased songs and fresh new finds, the album takes listeners on a journey through moods across genres, giving flight to the imagination

With a busy year coming to an end, Tartelet Records is taking a step back to pause and reflect. Releasing November 30th, “Medusozoa Vol II is a compilation of 20 introspective, ambient and downtempo tracks from across the planet – all carefully selected for their healing qualities,” explains Tartelet label head, Emil Margetli Nyholm.

Alongside previously unreleased material by Space Ghost, Zopelar, Glenn Astro, Max Graef and Uffe, the album also features recent signings the likes of ABUNAI, Athletic Whippet, Brynjolfur, Doc Sleep and Sans Merit (a new project by Francis Inferno Orchestra), plus a few classics from the back catalogue courtesy of Henry Wu & Tito Wun, among others.

Whether taking listeners back to a time in the past, to a daydream in the future, or fully immersing them into the present, all tracks were selected for their restorative and relaxing qualities, giving listeners a reason to find comfort in today’s climate of uncertainty.

PREMIERE: Space Ghost, Nelson of the East - Emotional Healer (Nelson of the East's Forever Dub)

Taking his cue from seminal mix albums of days gone by, Glenn Astro is back with a compilation of original productions from a cast of fictional artists on Nothing Is Real, releasing May 4. 

Across 13 tracks, the Tartelet mainstay celebrates the thrill of discovery which came as standard listening to new entries in series’ like X-Mix and DJ Kicks, moving between head-nodding downtempo, ambient techno, broken beat and all manner of chill-out room delights. You might be left wishing artists such as DJ 1999, Mental Trance and Eye Soul8r had actual discographies to go and explore, but as Astro himself is keen to point out, “nothing is real.” 

Astro has never been shy to embrace classic tropes and tones in his past albums for Tartelet, Apollo and Ninja Tune, but he’s drawing on a different set of influences for this album and embracing the flexibility afforded by using imagined aliases for varied production styles. 

“I had the idea to do a mixtape, preferably with unknown dance tracks that also reflect that whole 90s/early 00s vibe,” Astro explains. “Instead of digging for some records that haven’t been sourced yet or trying to find those ‘forgotten’ treasures, I made the tracks myself. That way I had full control over BPMs, feel and the whole arrangement of tracks. I thought of a few alter egos and started producing the tracks in the order that I intended to play them in a mix. In the end a whole compilation of tracks emerged.” 

While the concept might suggest you’re going to hear a lot of over-familiar sounds, don’t be fooled. Astro is inspired and inquisitive, channeling the experimental spirit of the 90s and early 00s when electronic music was still continually being redefined in all kinds of micro-scenes. In many cases, Astro’s productions slip into the cracks between genres rather than specifically mimicking a style. 

In the run up to its release on May 4, the album will be framed by four key single releases which embody the omnivorous attitude Astro brings to the album. As Crystalline Reality, he explores classic breakbeat in detail, fusing it with starry eyed ambient techno synthesis in an unlikely but wholly convincing combination. Eye Soul8r’s ‘Autumn Subs’ injects ambient synth work in a Fax Records style with a rolling drum funk calling back to the trip hop era. ‘Steppers Worldwide, Unite!’ by The Foundation lands somewhere between pitched down breakbeat hardcore and dubstep, echoing the seldom-mentioned breakstep sound but injecting it with a subtle touch of dub techno. Brain Liquor’s ‘Jaque?’ revels in beatless, Detroit-informed machine funk, laces in some wriggling 303 squelch and gives everything a generous dubbing, but hold tight for the plot twist. 

Even if the reference points are detectable, the end result is a curious blend as indebted to ambiguity as the overall concept of the compilation. Like the spine-tingling sensation of hitting play and awaiting the waves of unknown sonics on one of those seminal mixes, you never know exactly what you’re going to get as you take the trip through Nothing Is Real. 

“In terms of dance music, the 90s and early 2000s are pretty much the blueprint for everything that I’ve later on made myself,” Astro admits. “At the same time, I don’t want to be overly nostalgic about it. We often look at those times, specifically the Y2K years, as being a lot simpler, realer, more honest, which in some cases might even be true. Simultaneously, it's insanely naive. Everything plastic isn’t necessarily futuristic, you know?” 

Nothing is Real drops May 4th on vinyl and digital. 

All tracks written and produced by Glenn Astro

Nothing Is Real V.A. - DJ MIX - Mixed by Glenn Astro

In striking daubs of bled-out colour and finely sculpted layers of instrumentation, Lord of the Magi arrives on Tartelet Archives with an album of ambient reflections.

Copenhagen-based Theo Nicola Anker has different sides to his musical output. But on Soul Exchange, he shakes off stylistic concerns to focus on a purer emotional expression. It’s an instinctive paean to the pastoral life he grew up with, sent with love from his city-centre apartment. His chosen tools – guitars, pedals, synths – are the medium of the message.

“I appreciate music with personality, character, and charisma,” Anker says, “so I always strive to create tracks that tell a story and evoke a specific atmosphere. No single idea for a track is solely melodic, rhythmic, compositional, or focused on mix techniques. It's always about the bigger picture, the overall vibe.”

Earlier works under the name Paxton Fettel appeared on labels like Great Cottage Workshop, where you could spy his affinity for jazzy musicianship and atmospheric pools of ambient production. On Soul Exchange, the dominant swathes of soft-attack and slow-release chords can be intercepted by pointed flurries of guitar, or even the sparse hiccup of a kick-shaped percussive pulse. From piece to piece, a different story is told – the result of Anker’s investigations into beatless production, manifested as a cohesive body of work.

On Soul Exchange, the overarching mood is an inviting, becalming one, but there’s plenty of space for melancholy and even a little friction. That’s apparent in the natural synergy of the organic and electronic elements as much as the emotional content, rounding out as a wholesome, holistic listening experience.

“The album is a reflection and projection of emotions, thoughts, and feelings experienced during a challenging time,” Anker explains. “It embodies the process of going through difficulties and coming out on the other side, embracing change.”

The exquisite detail of the album comes through in abundance on the lead single ‘Él Es Deê’, which teases its psychedelic leanings in shifting sands of oscillating pads in the middle distance, and a panoply of pointed melodic figures dancing up front. It’s vivid and teeming with energy even as it intones a pervasive calm.

Limited to 150 copies and only available in select shops, the LP comes in a specially designed sleeve that folds out into an A1-size poster designed by a Hamburg-based design agency Bareis-Nicolaus. Out October 13 on LP and digital.

Soul Exchange

:: Lord of the Magi - Soul Exchange (snippets) - Tartelet Records 2023 ::

Taken from Lord of the Magi's Soul Exchange LP on Tartelet Records, out October 13.

Pre-order: https://tarteletrecords.bandcamp.com/album/soul-exchange
More: www.orbmag.com/music

@tartelet-records

Listen more

Premiere: Lord of the Magi - Soul Exchange

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* Pre-order: https://tartelet.lnk.to/MedusozoaVol3

In a now annual tradition, Tartelet leans into the introspective mood of the winter months with itsthird compilation of downtempo and ambient titles. The artists involved on this 24-track collection include recent frontliners as well as long-standing extended family and breakthrough talents.

Medusozoa Vol III offers a perfect opportunity to dig into the dimensions of the label not defined by a dancefloor beat. Here, low-slung hip-hop and RnB can sit alongside beatless reveries, head-nodding dub meditations, and nimble, meandering jazz funk alike. If there was ever a question whether the label promotes a broad church of music, here it is in abundance.

The trip begins with long-time Tartelet alumni Max Graef, who makes two appearances on Medusozoa Vol III in his now signature woozy style interspersed with artful sampling. Doc Sleep follows up on her debut solo with a gorgeous foray into submerged, dubby shimmers, and Oakland-based psych-soul star ABUNAI links back up with kissingpractice for another dose of heart-on-sleeve song craft.

Copenhagen-based artist Lord of the Magi takes us on a mesmerising ride of ‘60s psychedelia, perfectly extending his sound nurtured on the Soul Exchange record. And Later Version, a collaboration from Oakland duo DJML and Jerod S. Rivera, sink into an analogue bubble bath of electronic and acoustic sonics. Athlete Whippet’s accomplished, soul-informed sound slips in perfectly, adding a warm, laid back
funk to the mix.

While label mainstay Nelson of the East drops a surprise hit sure to get a mass of bodies moving, Space Ghost returns for another blissfully beatless excursion that’s all killer, no filler. Tartelet wizard Glenn Astro also continues to shape out his distinctive path through modern beat constructions and edgy synth snaps.

Fresh label debuts include Mr. Beatnick, who lays down a sumptuous slice of cosmic downtempo boogie, while London-based producer DrumTalk brings his signature deft drum programming mood. Ciel also makes a first appearance on the label with her signature backroom dreamscapes and shimmering, tripped-
out style.

With its rich tapestry of mellow sounds to melt into, Medusozoa Vol III offers both a soothing backdrop and something mentally nourishing to fix your mind’s ear on.

Medusozoa Vol III

PREMIERE: Nelson of the East - Lost in Dubnation

Zopelar returns to Tartelet with Ritmo Freak, an electric eight-track album from the beating heart of the Brazilian underground, out May 10.

In a flurry of madcap sampling pitched towards the heat of the night, Pedro Zopelar builds on the premise of his 2022 electro-funk love letter Charme, shifting his approach towards a particular 90s flair and a method with a specific end result.

Ritmo Freak took root in studio experiments for a momentous — and rare — live set at São Paulo festival Não Existe in 2023, where Zopelar was caught up in one of those right-place, right-time moments we carry with us through life. As he explains himself:

“This album is dedicated to freaky club culture. While I was playing at the festival there was a crazy tropical storm outside and the room was packed with the freakiest crowd. I've tried hard to immortalize that feeling on this record."

With the intended energy in mind, Zopelar focused on a particular mode of production centred around 12-bit sampling from his ample record collection.

Considering his background as a trained pianist, here his musical instincts are forced to work within the limitations of short, snappy cuts from dusty 12”s. The lo-fi sound sources and the resourceful ways Zopelar works them gives the record an unmistakable old-skool flavour which he applies to forthright house, techno and electro funk rhythms, always taking care to draw out the soul of the music.

The stylistic touchstones flow past thick and fast on Ritmo Freak. From the amped up fierceness of the title track with its gaudy, cut n’ paste, vintage techno flavour to the effervescent electro funk of ‘Gabriellinha’s Boogie’ on to the surreal Balearic inversion of ‘Distraction’, this is a high-velocity, endlessly charming record bursting with the musicality Zopelar has made his name on.

As the driving force behind many warehouse parties in São Paulo, Zopelar has been immersed in club culture for a long time, and his distinctive catalogue of jazz, funk, acid and techno has graced highly respected labels like Apron, Selva Discos and Mother Tongue. Throughout, he’s displayed an affinity for the tangled roots of the groove with an open-eared, big-hearted sound. That’s what comes through on Ritmo Freak — a record as infectious as it is well- informed.

#electronicmusic #premiere #hypnoticgroove #newmusic #nowplaying #zopelar #tarteletrecords



Zopelar
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pzopelar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zopelar
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zopelar

Tartelet Records
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tartelet-records
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarteletrecords
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartelet_records/

TARTALB023

PREMIERE: Zopelar - Ritmo Freak (ft. Gabto) (Tartelet Records)

Zopelar returns to Tartelet with Ritmo Freak, an electric eight-track album from the beating heart of the Brazilian underground, out May 10.

In a flurry of madcap sampling pitched towards the heat of the night, Pedro Zopelar builds on the premise of his 2022 electro-funk love letter Charme, shifting his approach towards a particular 90s flair and a method with a specific end result.

Ritmo Freak took root in studio experiments for a momentous — and rare — live set at São Paulo festival Não Existe in 2023, where Zopelar was caught up in one of those right-place, right-time moments we carry with us through life. As he explains himself:

“This album is dedicated to freaky club culture. While I was playing at the festival there was a crazy tropical storm outside and the room was packed with the freakiest crowd. I've tried hard to immortalize that feeling on this record."
With the intended energy in mind, Zopelar focused on a particular mode of production centred around 12-bit sampling from his ample record collection.

Considering his background as a trained pianist, here his musical instincts are forced to work within the limitations of short, snappy cuts from dusty 12”s. The lo-fi sound sources and the resourceful ways Zopelar works them gives the record an unmistakable old-skool flavour which he applies to forthright house, techno and electro funk rhythms, always taking care to draw out the soul of the music.

The stylistic touchstones flow past thick and fast on Ritmo Freak. From the amped up fierceness of the title track with its gaudy, cut n’ paste, vintage techno flavour to the effervescent electro funk of ‘Gabriellinha’s Boogie’ on to the surreal Balearic inversion of ‘Distraction’, this is a high-velocity, endlessly charming record bursting with the musicality Zopelar has made his name on.

As the driving force behind many warehouse parties in São Paulo, Zopelar has been immersed in club culture for a long time, and his distinctive catalogue of jazz, funk, acid and techno has graced highly respected labels like Apron, Selva Discos and Mother Tongue. Throughout, he’s displayed an affinity for the tangled roots of the groove with an open-eared, big-hearted sound. That’s what comes through on Ritmo Freak — a record as infectious as it is well- informed.

https://pzopelar.bandcamp.com/album/ritmo-freak

https://soundcloud.com/pzopelar
https://soundcloud.com/tartelet-records

PREMIERE: Zopelar - Beat Me [Tartelet Records]

https://maxgraef.bandcamp.com/album/natural-element

Sports (Is good for you) - New Album out in June

This month’s Carhartt WIP Radio show features @tartelet-records, a Copenhagen-based label founded in 2007 and run by Emil Nyholm. From house and trance to soul, funk and dub, the label is known for its varied releases, uncovering new talent like Brandt Brauer Frick, Uffe, or Doc Sleep.

For this episode, Nyholm prepared a mix featuring new releases from the likes of Zopelar, Max Graef, and Glenn Astro, as well as tracks from the archive by ABUNAI, Sopace Ghost, and Urulu. As ever, we caught up with this month’s host to learn more about Tartelet's history, relations with artists, and what the  future brings. Read the interview via via www.carhartt-wip.com/journal/music.

tracklist:
1. Max Graef - Sound Bites (Relax) 
2. ABUNAI & Kissingpractice - Samflower (kissingpractice remix)  
3. Sans Merit - Sickbag 
4. Glenn Astro - Spiral 
5. Employee - Jel
6. Space Ghost - Emoiotnal Healer (Nelson of the East’s Forever Dub) 
7. Max Graef - Lake Serenade
8. Mr Beatnick - Hawk Island 
9. Zopelar - Gabriellinha’s Boogie 
10. Nelson of the East - Serena (Aqua Mix)  
11. Nelson of the East - Signals 
12. Alien DJ - Beach Balls
13. Urulu - DRM
14. Glenn Astro - Naturals (Unsweetened Mix) 
15. Max Graef - Natural Element 
16. ABUNAI ft. Glenn Astro - falling backwards 
17. Doc Sleep - Channel Tèlesphore 
18. Doc Sleep - Under High Branches

https://www.carhartt-wip.com/en/journal/en/music/radio/2024/05/label-feature-tartelet-records

Carhartt WIP Radio May 2024: Tartelet Records

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* Listen on Youtube: https://youtu.be/eVBzaRKLOOA
* Pre-order: https://tartelet.lnk.to/ritmofreak

Zopelar returns to Tartelet with Ritmo Freak, an electric eight-track album from the beating heart of the Brazilian underground, out May 10.

In a flurry of madcap sampling pitched towards the heat of the night, Pedro Zopelar builds on the premise of his 2022 electro-funk love letter Charme, shifting his approach towards a particular 90s flair and a method with a specific end result.

Ritmo Freak took root in studio experiments for a momentous — and rare — live set at São Paulo festival Não Existe in 2023, where Zopelar was caught up in one of those right-place, right-time moments we carry with us through life. As he explains himself:

“This album is dedicated to freaky club culture. While I was playing at the festival there was a crazy tropical storm outside and the room was packed with the freakiest crowd. I've tried hard to immortalize that feeling on this record."
With the intended energy in mind, Zopelar focused on a particular mode of production centred around 12-bit sampling from his ample record collection.

Considering his background as a trained pianist, here his musical instincts are forced to work within the limitations of short, snappy cuts from dusty 12”s. The lo-fi sound sources and the resourceful ways Zopelar works them gives the record an unmistakable old-skool flavour which he applies to forthright house, techno and electro funk rhythms, always taking care to draw out the soul of the music.

The stylistic touchstones flow past thick and fast on Ritmo Freak. From the amped up fierceness of the title track with its gaudy, cut n’ paste, vintage techno flavour to the effervescent electro funk of ‘Gabriellinha’s Boogie’ on to the surreal Balearic inversion of ‘Distraction’, this is a high-velocity, endlessly charming record bursting with the musicality Zopelar has made his name on.

As the driving force behind many warehouse parties in São Paulo, Zopelar has been immersed in club culture for a long time, and his distinctive catalogue of jazz, funk, acid and techno has graced highly respected labels like Apron, Selva Discos and Mother Tongue. Throughout, he’s displayed an affinity for the tangled roots of the groove with an open-eared, big-hearted sound. That’s what comes through on Ritmo Freak — a record as infectious as it is well- informed.

PREMIERE: Zopelar - Safe In The Dark

Artist: Glenn Astro
Title: THROWBACK
Cat.No. TARTALB005
Release date vinyl: May 2015
Release date digi: June 2015
Tartelet Records © 2015
DISTRIBUTED BY !K7

Essen's own Glenn Astro has called his first album Throwback, and the name is at once a perfect fit and not nearly the extent of the story. On the one hand, Astro has filled the double-LP with a wealth of old-school gestures and textures—the warm whoosh of analog synths, the rattle of Rhodes tines and the sizzle of jazzy drums, all held together by the comforting glue of tape hiss and vinyl crackle. If you're used to the clean sonic lines and stylistic streamlining of so much contemporary house music, then Throwback is sure to feel less like a record you just pulled out of plastic wrap than a well-seasoned one salvaged from a flea market or unfinished basement.

And yet like so many Tartelet releases—particularly the label's last two full-lengths, Max Graef's Rivers of the Red Planet and Uffe's Radio Days—it feels fresh and keenly contemporary no matter how vintage the fabric. Rather than throw back to any one moment, he's given us a collage of styles that's quite literally timeless. Astro makes brilliant work of his influences, drawing on hip-hop, house, funk and soul in such equal measure that it's hard to argue that one impulse dominates the other. The sound certainly flirts with the dance floor, with Astro applying high-pressure deep house pads on the title cut, gliding on shimmering keys for "One For Viktor," and taking us on a vibraphone-fueled workout with "Kilometer Disco," one of a pair of cuts featuring Max Graef. But Astro obviously relishes the time he spends on the sidelines absorbing the atmosphere, or at home head-nodding to the dustiest corners of his record collection. For every house beat you hear, you'll also dip into juicy, 90’s-style beat science, toasty ambience and buttery chord progressions. Expertly paced but never hustling you along, Throwback begs to be heard as a whole but explored at your own easy pace—a record for hazy mornings-after, vibey nights in and endless summer afternoons.


8. To The Beat Interloot

Tartelet Records

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