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grab 1 n sit back

vibes

Babe Roots are a relatively young duo from Turin, Italy, making a unique brand of atmospheric, techno-infused dubwise.  On our radar since their splendid debut 7” on Rohs! Records in early 2016, we are very pleased to invite them into the ZamZam fold with two mesmerizing and contrasting tunes.  

“Be Still” is a deeply meditative yet driving dub techno trek in classic fashion, featuring rastaman Kojo Neatness intoning on righteous living, working the land, guarding the tongue, and avoiding Babylonian schemes and traps laid by the wicked.  Maternal bass and shimmering reverbs envelop a heartbeat rhythm of kick, shaker and distant snares for a timeless vibe that shows mastery of the idiom while updating it for contemporary sound systems.  

“Rawness” is an extraordinarily deep 140 journey that opens with rich pads and swirling atmospherics, creating a psychoactive ambience that builds into a steady kick.  The full riddim hits and plunges us even deeper with restrained, syncopated drums and percussion.  Churning bass powers us through the dense, hallucinatory fog as tendrils of electricity probe and zap, and serrated snares cut through the tape haze and studio clouds in the last third.  Carving out a gorgeous edge between deep dubstep and dub techno, “Rawness” hits all the marks and will find a home in a huge range of sets.

Mastered by Sam Precise.  Design & screen print by Polygon Press.  Limited to 600 copies for the world.  No digital, no repress.  Contact zamzamsounds@gmail.com for subscriptions, wholesale, or other info.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay in the loop!

Babe Roots "Be Still" feat Kojo Neatness b/w "Rawness" ZamZam 59 7" vinyl rip blend

u w u

tracks: TAYHANA - Lechuga Zafiro
mix & master: Lechuga Zafiro
Artwork: Jusomor

Condenada

free download via bandcamp https://goro108.bandcamp.com/track/azis-ft-ustata-tochno-sega-goro-bhangra-edit

Azis Ft. Ustata - Tochno Sega (Goro's Bhangra Edit)

뭘 (Instrumental)

極悪坊主 (Gokuaku Bozu)

Mathis Ruffing knows no end to floor banging deliverances, with this number touching just the right amount of heart strings

https://soundcloud.com/mruffing

Mathis Ruffing - Daichi Goob

The Beloved - The Sun Rising (K Lost Acid Dub) [KLAD01]

A new philosophy as time enters a radical history of our evolution. Being and nothingness in one, creatures of habit, the angels of nature, we can herald a new humanity.

DJN4 enters in homage. Optimus Yarnspinner. Edification through music bends, but does not break the untameable lost voices. This dissolution of ego, where culture exemplifies the principle of innovation through excess, the nocturnal brain sees only what it seeks.

The order of time is more than a conspiracy of the people, this enforced interlude does not mean culture’s end. Our culture, music’s culture, acts as a genome, a graffiti of society.

The psy, the rave, the sounds, the species, the food of the gods. Alpha Juno, Cyclon 303, mutable instruments and ideas collated, N4’s modern mysticism to harness the Earth as a being of sound. This occult features an anarchism, offering us a collective immortality, allowing us, showing us, how to be more humane.

Across eight tracks, our DJ weaves a journey to the inner and outer digi sphere, a two-year search, in to steppas, out of dub, evoking legitimate synthesis and sensibility. Look beyond Zamonia. The lost Chord. An alien dreamtime. Tales of Z.

https://soundcloud.com/djnormal4
https://soundcloud.com/emotional-response

Pre-order

PRÉMIÈRE: DJN4 - The Orm [Emotional Response]

Yozy - Angels Rage

There is definitely something "afro" inspired about this latest EP from Puma & The Dolphin, certainly in comparison to pretty much everything else the mysterious Bulgarian project have produced, including a great EP for Canadian imprint Chambre Noire and some stellar inclusions on every one of Dj soFa's highly respected "Elsewhere" compilations.

The story goes that while immersed in domestic life during lockdown in Sofia the music evolved to take in what was happening at home and saw the inclusion of toy instruments, drum playing, the voices of children playing and even the family parrots whistling and squawking in the background. These random ambient insertions when seen in the context of the hypnotic and percussive rhythms and timbres are oddly reminiscent of the late, great Francis Bebey who, although culturally and physically a million miles removed, was also known for recording much of his work at home and who also featured the voices of his children playing.

In fact, it is as much the music's playfulness and simplicity that give the pieces their distinctive character, at times echoing the repetition and mesmerism of Raymond Scott's "Soothing Sounds For Baby" series. Yet, childrens' music this is not. There is a mysticism and depth on one hand and a willingness to experiment on the other that echoes the pioneering experimentalist K. Leimer's early Eno-inspired tape outings (check "Supermarket" for example).

I asked Puma & The Dolphin's Nikko Names if he could share the story behind how these six tracks came together. He had this to say:

"This collection of pieces were created during a monotone period of my life which I have overlaid with colour: a time in which I surrender to the beauty of home life - watching my kids play, feeding the birds - entwining these sounds of my surroundings amongst the rhythmic layers of these pieces. Playing the drums to remind us of the next circle dance for four. There is something mystic to travel only in your head; a shamanic trip inside the body with no concepts and answers."

PRÉMIÈRE: Puma & The Dolphin - Number [Invisible, Inc.]

Artist: Puma & The Dolphin
Track: Supermarket
Label: Invisible, Inc.
Format: 12" Vinyl, Digital
Release date: 06/10/20
Purchase: https://invisible-inc.bandcamp.com/album/indoor-routine

Autumn. In autumn, sadness and yellow leafs, slush and mud. Supermarket. Chips and Cola, 10 different  types of deodorants in the supermarket. No DJ mixes or good alcohol help to fight boredorm. Store shelves. On the layouts - fresh meat, meat - is a source of protein. The Cashier looks like an angry dog ​​at the checkout, The security looks like a stupid bull. That is supermarket. But there is light and people. A life. People shun each other with false politeness, yielding to each other with fear of getting infected, do not look each other in the eyes as if they are afraid that their rotten inner world will become visible.
There is definitely something "afro" inspired about this latest EP from Puma & The Dolphin, certainly in comparison to pretty much everything else the mysterious Bulgarian project have produced, including a great EP for Canadian imprint Chambre Noire and some stellar inclusions on every one of Dj soFa's highly respected "Elsewhere" compilations.
The story goes that while immersed in domestic life during lockdown in Sofia the music evolved to take in what was happening at home and saw the inclusion of toy instruments, drum playing, the voices of children playing and even the family parrots whistling and squawking in the background. These random ambient insertions when seen in the context of the hypnotic and percussive rhythms and timbres are oddly reminiscent of the late, great Francis Bebey who, although culturally and physically a million miles removed, was also known for recording much of his work at home and who also featured the voices of his children playing.
In fact, it is as much the music's playfulness and simplicity that give the pieces their distinctive character, at times echoing the repetition and mesmerism of Raymond Scott's "Soothing Sounds For Baby" series. Yet, childrens' music this is not. There is a mysticism and depth on one hand and a willingness to experiment on the other that echoes the pioneering experimentalist K. Leimer's early Eno-inspired tape outings.
"This collection of pieces were created during a monotone period of my life which I have overlaid with colour: a time in which I surrender to the beauty of home life - watching my kids play, feeding the birds - entwining these sounds of my surroundings amongst the rhythmic layers of these pieces. Playing the drums to remind us of the next circle dance for four. There is something mystic to travel only in your head; a shamanic trip inside the body with no concepts and answers." - Puma & The Dolphin

https://soundcloud.com/puma-and-the-dolphin
https://soundcloud.com/invisible-inc

YouTube

PREMIERE #1261 | Puma & The Dolphin - Supermarket [Invisible, Inc.] 2020

There was a buzz in the chamber, the sound of electronics rumbled and reverberated in the tunnel beneath the great city of old. This was where the wheels went round, keeping the whole thing in motion. A city travelling underground accompanied by the sweet hum of chaos and fuzz. Some glanced at telephones, others read newspapers - they were all blissfully unaware of the complex engineering and the intricacies of the machine upon which they travelled. Perhaps it was best that way. 

Club In Theory is a record label which is shaping up very promisingly indeed, we were pleased with their first but now the second release on the imprint is here we have high hopes for something special. This EP comes from Aheloy! and features some playful electronics and delicate programming.

THEORY 002

PREMIERE: Aheloy! - Y-Shape [Club In Theory]

Preorder via Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/35Xs3Is 
One Eye Witness: https://bit.ly/3n3FqxR
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Lawrence-Le-Doux-OYSTERBALLADS1/release/16159405

Made of recycled wax and cardboard.
Ltd to 150 copies. 

In parallel to its club-friendly endeavours, Kalahari Oyster Cult is proud to announce the launch of a new series called Oyster Ballads. As its name suggests, Oyster Ballads will focus on the quieter spectrum of electro-powered semantics, from meditative ambient ballads to escapist downtempo jams. 

Made of recycled vinyl and cardboard, each Oyster Ballads comes out folded in a unique artwork, depicting a singular form of a hybridised mineral named 'plastiglomerate' - literally, an amalgam of plastic waste gathered by the involved musician and fused together by Japanese eco-artist Sae Honda to form a singular piece of art that doesn't just question notions as waste and upcycling, but aims to more largely invite to reconsider the position of art as a vector for change.

Taking the helm of the series first number, Vlek affiliate and chief experimentalist Lawrence Le Doux punches in with a four-track delight of organic textures and laid-back tempi, taking us for a riveting journey across a zen garden of chimey harmonics and breezy synth oscillations. Blending in wistful Spanish guitar riffs, oblique drum programming and aqueous bass stabs, the slow-moving opener 'Petal' entices us in a realm of vaporous beauty before vegetal riddim 'Anther' has us zoning out into further uncluttered, sub-aquatic dubby domains.

Flip over and 'Stem' will shut your brain off the world's sad reality to a magic formula of sun-dazed organic house, painted lush with textured synth folds, altered vox sampling and jacuzzi-warm, neo-Caribbean flavours - sure to beam your mind up to some idyllic Pacific coast inlet, safe from the big cities' soul-eating daily hassle. Rounding off the package in the most endearing manner, 'Filament' pulls out the slick vibraphone vibes and ticks all the boxes of your go-to tropical house healer, perfect for these moments when the sun rises above the cerulean skyline and your holiday-numb booty requires a bit of stretchin'n'flexin as you sip on your coconut cocktail, feet firmly anchored in the white sand and the eyes sinking in the deep blue vastness.

Lawrence Le Doux - OYSTERBALLADS1 (Snippets)

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.

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