TWX-015

Tuff Wax Records’ 15th release hits the shelves on September 8th, courtesy of Adelaide’s Jon Santos, AKA Strict Face. ‘Marble Isles’ showcases some of the young Australian’s most promising and daring work yet, seemingly influenced in equal amounts by the thump of UK Grime, the exuberant, unabashed pop sheen of New Wave and the power & nuance of 80s Asian cinema soundtracks.

Opener ‘Slow Fields’ leads, sounding like the work of a dysfunctional string ensemble. ‘Arpeggius’, ‘In Evergreen’ and ‘New Moonlight’ are club-ready and perfectly executed - full to the brim of Neptunes-esque bounce, grimy shuffles and Santos’ remarkable ear for melody. Less devil mix and more OST epic, the smouldering 'Mountain Falls’ takes the EP to its striking conclusion with no discernible time signature or percussive drive. 

Artwork by Ross J Platt - www.twitter.com/rossjplatt

Strict Face - In Evergreen

"That tune was actually the last song I wrote for the EP! I'd had the original piano melodies sitting around on my hard drive for ages, but it wasn't really until I was on a flight to Melbourne last year that the whole tune came together. Someone told me that they couldn't really get down to this in the club, but I don't see why you couldn't crunch sums to it." - Strict Face 

Strict Face - New Moonlight

Tuff Wax gets that little bit more Tuff for 2015, inviting Aberdeen’s own T_A_M back for his home-team follow up to debut single 'Midgar/Roze'. Since its release way back in the Summer of 2013, producer Thomas Emslie has crafted, grafted and refined his art, impressing the likes of Plastician, DJ Haus and Mumdance enough for public shoutouts and too many Rinse.FM spins to recall. Enter TWX-017, ‘Damned If I Do’.

The EP’s eponymous lead launches straight into pounding breaks and organic percussion, and the mile-a-minute drums continue in ‘Don’t Force It’. ‘Northwood Sad Clown’s an underwater Werehouse jam peppered by cheeky samples and ‘Salaam’ might be the weirdest tune you find yourself whistling this year. A ‘Polymath Man Tuff Wax Bonus Dub’ bookends the whole affair with a analogue, tape-squashed dub of Emslie’s opener.

‘Damned If I Do’ is released on March 9th.

https://tuffwaxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/twx-017-damned-if-i-do

T_A_M - Northwood Sad Clown

The first of two releases from Lockah's excellent Tuff Wax label this week is from Aberdeen based T_A_M. His Damned If I Do EP, from which we've got the titular track, is 5 cuts of minimalist 4x4 bashers that have 5AM warehouse rave written all over them in a genre he's dubbed "Aberdeen truth." 

THUMP's NFTU

T_A_M - Damned If I Do

Tuff Wax gets that little bit more Tuff for 2015; inviting Aberdeen’s own T_A_M back for his home-team follow up to debut single 'Midgar/Roze'. Since its release way back in the Summer of 2013, producer Thomas Emslie has crafted, grafted and refined his art, impressing the likes of Plastician, DJ Haus and Mumdance enough for public shoutouts and too many Rinse FM spins to recall. Enter TWX-017, ‘Damned If I Do’. 

The EP’s eponymous lead launches straight into pounding breaks and organic percussion, and the mile-a-minute drums continue in ‘Don’t Force It’. ‘Northwood Sad Clown’s an underwater Werehouse jam peppered by cheeky samples and ‘Salaam’ might be the weirdest tune you find yourself whistling this year. A ‘Polymath Man Tuff Wax Bonus Dub’ bookends the whole affair with a analogue, tape-squashed dub of Emslie’s opener. 

‘Damned If I Do’ is released on March 9th.

https://tuffwaxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/twx-017-damned-if-i-do

T_A_M - Salaam

Chim Richalds / Power Cologne out May 2013 on Sabacan Records

Chim Richalds (forthcoming Sabacan Rec. JPN )

"The Truth" on B. Traits' BBC Radio1 Show 4/1/13

The Truth on BBC Radio1  4-1-13

Lockah - Young Neon Countach (Ghost Mutt Remix)

From the EP "Chim Richalds / Power Cologne" out May 6 on Sabacan Records Japan
www.sabacanrecords.com

Power Cologne

EyesPeeled

Independent record label run by @Lockah and @BonesandMoney. 

Founded in the tail end of 2009 in Aberdeen as a boutique label aiming to revive interest in high quality vinyl, catalogue emerging scenes in the UK and release niche, collectable low-run pressings.