Last autumn Leng Records welcomed a new name to the roster, Greek DJ/producer Lex, via some warming and colourful tracks on the label’s 10th Anniversary LP and sampler EP. Now the Athenian has returned with his first full release for Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell’s popular imprint.

Real name Alex Andrikopoulos, Lex first rose to prominence in his home city of Athens when he ran the Radical Soundz record shop during the first decade of the millennium. More recently his reputation has spread worldwide thanks to his association with Leng, a recent 12” on B2 Recordings and DJ sets that frequently join the dots between disco, house and techno.

His first full EP for Leng is arguably his most musically expansive collection of tracks to date, with a swathe of guest players – keyboardist Artis Boriss and drummer/percussionist Harold Perez most prominently – swinging by to help bring Lex’s vivid musical visions to life.

For proof, check out lead cut ‘Punta Allen’, an eight-minute chunk of organic dancefloor goodness in which Lex and his musical associates layer steel pan style melodies, spacey synthesizer flourishes, eyes-closed electric piano solos, warming chords and jangling guitars atop a heady bass guitar line, unfussy drums and sweaty pots-and-pans percussion. The track’s effortless evolution, which slowly unfurls before rising towards a gorgeous and joyous conclusion, is testament to the Greek producer’s dancefloor instincts.

You’ll find more low-slung, dub disco-influenced bass on the exotic ‘The Jamail Pass’, where mazy and feverish organ solos and rolling hand percussion provide a platform for Paqua member Alex Searle’s Nile Rodgers style guitar sounds. The track’s inherent funk – emphasized by occasional bass guitar solos and fills, as well as some tumbling synth sounds – is apparent throughout the track, something that only adds to its smile-inducing allure.

Closing out a very impressive first EP on Leng is ‘Angels of Rhythm’, a hazier, faster and more intergalactic excursion that cannily combines the low-slung bass of dub disco with the intoxicating vibes and warming dreaminess of deep house. The track’s intoxicating late-night feel is partly due to an undecidedly cosmic spoken word vocal from sassy singer Harrier Summer, though Artis Boriss’ pitch-bend-sporting synth solos and fizzing electronic noises certainly help. Driving but also deep and groovy, ‘Angels of Rhythm’ offers a memorable conclusion to a very impressive EP.

Punta Allen EP

LENG SHOP

Lex (Athens) - The Jamail Pass

Germany’s Tilman inaugurates his new imprint Pleasant Systems this June with the ‘Adventures’ EP, featuring collaborations with Will Buck and Rhode & Brown. Mainz, Germany based producer and DJ Tilman has been dropping his twist on contemporary house over the past decade on labels such as Shall Not Fade, Life Is For Living and Quality Vibes as well as his own Fine imprint, run in collaboration with
Johannes Albert. Here though, Tilman marks a new beginning with the launch of Pleasant Systems, a new imprint designed to shine a light on vintage inspired house sounds from both himself and friends.
Up first is ‘What’s Mine Is Mine’, a collaboration with Brooklyn’s Will Buck which lays down an amalgamation of airy synth pads, choppy bass stabs, bright piano lines and enchanting flute like melodies atop a swinging drum groove. ‘Strawberry Fields’ follows, stripping things back to shuffled percussion, billowing ethereal textures and wandering sub bass tones while fluttering brass tones and resonant leads ebb and flow within.
‘Velvet Park’ opens the flip side, this time joining forces with Rhode & Brown, embracing a classic sound with raw crunchy drums, delayed piano chords, bumpy bass stabs, cinematic strings and brass hooks throughout. ‘Lovin'’ then rounds out the release, dropping the tempo, featuring the voice of Tilman himself and laying focus on off-kilter organic percussion, twinkling resonant tones, eighties tinged synth chords and g funk moog style bass to perfectly conclude Pleasant System’s debut...

Tilman ft. Will Buck, Rhode & Brown - Adventures EP

PREMIERE : Tilman - Velvet Park feat. Rhode & Brown

Espalhados entre Berlim e Londres, o duo Athlete Whippet é conhecido por fusionar distintas influências musicais em faixas contemporâneas que tem rodado o globo, e feito deles parte integrante das cenas de suas cidades.
Seus lançamentos, majoritariamente produzidos no studio coletivo Londrino Squareglass, acharam uma casa em labels como Toy Tonics, Rhythm Section e Kistuné Musique. Além de produzirem noites intimistas no sul de Londres, com convidados como Seb Wildblood, Hidden Spheres, Jitwam, Glenn Astro, Will Saul, e Asquith, tiveram recentemente radio shows ativos em programas como Balamii, Rinse FM, HÖR e Worldwide FM.

Neste episódio, a fusão de sons e referências do duo fica clara: navegam por sons mais dubby, electronica, electro, edits e house futurista.
--

Renowned for cleverly fusing different musical influences into timeless contemporary jams, Athlete Whippet are a duo spread across Berlin and London and have become an integral part of both cities’ scenes in recent years with releases and remixes for the likes of Toy Tonics, Rhythm Section and Kitsuné Musique. Taking a communal approach to music making, they co-run artist collective and record label Squareglass - a proudly established home for new artists coming out of South London. They've also been hosting intimate nights with DJs from far across the electronic music ecosystem in London and Berlin since 2019. Guest sets from the likes of Seb Wildblood, Hidden Spheres, Jitwam, Glenn Astro, Aus Music head Will Saul, Lobster Theremin founder Asquith and some of London's brightest new talents have made for some unmissable parties in London's cosiest venues. The duo's releases have also come with reworks from Ross  from Friends, Baltra and Max Graef. Supporters incl. Pete Tong, Annie Mac (BBC 1), Tom Ravenscroft, Jamz Supernova (BBC 6), Mixmag, DJ Mag. Following a lockdown season with shows on Balamii, Rinse FM, HÖR and Worldwide FM (with guests incl. Nicola Cruz, Lefto, Nightwave), the duo have ended 2021 with European tour dates alongside Session Victim, Dan Shake, Paula Tape, Esa Williams and COEO. Their latest EP 'Nogueira' has seen strong support across DSPs, landing them on the cover of Spotify's 'Fresh Finds Dance' playlist.

Athlete Whippet - Alter Disco Podcast 148

~ Ricky Razu [Belgium] ~

Ricky Razu is one of those fast-rising talents who have been contributing to growing the Belgian house music scene over the last decade. When he’s not busy running his vintage furniture shop, you can very likely find him cook upbeat and sun-soaked house in his studio. At the beginning, he reckoned being more into downtempo and jazzy sounds but always having a huge love for house and club music, which drove him to put his music out there with premieres on well-known house Youtube channels like Slav, Houseum or OOUkfunkyOO. Heavily inspired by soul, jazz, funk and disco music, Ricky’s swing is quite unique with an accurate and tasty fusion between yesterday’s golden era classics and today’s club bangers. In short, expect splendid organs and piano chords enriched with powerful vocals. Besides, being a cornerstone of Singaporean crew Darker Than Wax enabled him to build a solid international presence behind with gigs in Europe, the US and Asia. His releases on Houseum, 13th Hour Records, or Happiness Therapy have quickly garnered early support from the likes of Jeremy Underground, Bellaire or Subjoi.

The mix will undoubtedly take you through and on a true house music journey, with lots of 90's and deeper unknown tunes to dig from Val-Air, Larry Tee or Drums in Progress. Be ready to navigate through deep vibes and club material.

Ricky Razu’s latest crush: Apple Blue - I Wantcha Love [Turn Tool Experience]

Our team’s recommendations: Never Left [Tartine Records], Reaching Out [13th Hour Records], Without U [Houseum Records]

s. // @rickyrazu
i. // www.instagram.com/rickyrazu
f. // www.facebook.com/rickyrazu

054 ~ plastic/vibes x Ricky Razu 🇧🇪

Hi Quality Records proudly presents a project more than 20 years in the making. More Amour are Dance Music DJ, Artwork and Jazz Keyboard Genius Jon Solo.   Collaborators for over two decades, with over 60 years musical experience between them, it was only a matter of of time before they formed a duo.  With Artwork’s knowledge of working the worlds finest dance floors and Jon’s incredible keyboard skills that include playing keys with imagination on tour and recording with Nile Rogers, the pair are delighted to finally share the music they have spent the last 3 years creating.   With several releases lined up, and hybrid DJ/ live shows at their upcoming More Amour parties planned following debut performances at Art’s House, Glastonbury and Printworks, critics are already calling More Amour the most exciting dance music duo they have ever heard in their entire fucking lives.

"More Amour were delighted to be asked to do a mix for SlothBoogie. In this mix we see Arthur selecting some of More Amour’s own tracks and live editing others while Jon solo makes some magical loops and improvisation on the keys. We do hope you enjoy grooving to this as much as we did making it. Lots more love." - Jon & Art.

Full Tracklist

SlothBoogie Guestmix #388 - More Amour

Deep Side of the Day EP
Label - Sulaco
Released - 1st September 2023
Format - Very Ltd Vinyl
BUY FROM - https://sulaco-deep-house.bandcamp.com/album/deep-side-of-the-day-8-lathe-cut-single

James emerged as a prominent figure on the scene in 2009. His debut track, "She's Gone," (James-johnston – Shes-gone-45-edit-256) swiftly climbed to the top of Soundcloud's "Most Popular Deep House Tracks Of All Time" chart, catching the attention of Kolour Recordings' offshoot ‘Undertones.' The highly acclaimed 'Honesty EP' followed soon after.
James constantly delivered high quality grooves for subsequent releases on esteemed underground house labels like 4lux, Wilson, 124 Recordings, Brother's Vibe's Mixx Records, Snazzy Trax, Dikso, and Washerman's Deep Down Slam. He has also had the honour of remixing the legendary Robert Owens twice!
In 2016 James co-founded the ‘No Matter What' label alongside fellow house producer Alex Agore. The label's debut release became an instant hit, with James's track, ‘I Know It's Not Time' storming into the top 10 of the most charted tracks by other DJs on Resident Advisor. Their subsequent releases soared to the top of the Juno vinyl House Chart, cementing their reputation for excellence.

Support --
https://www.facebook.com/sulacorecords
https://www.instagram.com/sulaco.records/
https://www.youtube.com/@sulacorecords
https://sulaco-deep-house.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thehouseofjames

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VINYL

PREMIERE: JAMES JOHNSTON - NEON SUPERSAX [Sulaco]

We're back for a new season of exciting musical explorations through our podcast series courtesy of Radio FG, producing the 2nd episode of the series featuring a member of our roster in the person of Larry G. The DJ /producer delivers to us one hour of melting groovy vibes through the scope of soulful house music but also deep house and electronic warm vibes, paying a great tribute to black music thanks to a large selection of vinyl from its own collection.

Radio FG Residency - De La Groove invites Larry G

I loved making this track, It should seemingly fell together and seemed to work. The album artwork is of me when I was travelling around French Polynesia in 2005 - It is on a remote island next to Tahiti called Moorea. It was a lovely place, perfect for a Holiday!

LYRICS: 

'Swimming by the pool,
I float away to the sunset,
I'm nobody's fool,
I just haven't been found yet.

Sunny days,
Drifting away…

I'm in love with the sunshine today,
And if it stays like this I'm going go out and play,
It sures looks like it's all going my way,
And I'm going to enjoy my holiday.

Swimming by the pool,
I float away to the sunset,
I'm nobody's fool,
I just haven't been found yet.'

Check out the OFFICAL MUSIC VIDEO here: https://youtu.be/ybvoYiYOVE8?si=jg0SPkElygVBsCRl

Holiday

Buy on BEATPORT

Wez G - Holiday

Painting / Photo: Katharina Sophia Ludewig https://www.borderlinecuts.com/

Berlin Hypnotic House XXVIII - Backwards Head Club Mix

Speech Debt

AURA SAFARI - AURA SAFARI LP - CHURCH 017
2XLP + Digital
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/aura-safari/730697-01/

A1 - Aura Safari - Music For The Smoking Room

plastic/vibes saw the light of day as your 100% house-oriented - in every shape and form - inspirational podcast channel, which features fast-rising djs from all over the globe.

through high-quality guest mixes, we aim to showcase upcoming and game-changing house selectors we instantly had a crush on.

enquiries/love messages to theplasticvibes@gmail.com 
(we do not take mix submissions)

founded, curated & designed by @brother-in-crime