R&S Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Given that it's called "Coloured" and appears on shocking pink vinyl, you'd expect Adam Longman Parker's debut album as Afriqua to be a decidedly vibrant and kaleidoscopic affair. It is, of course, with Longman Parker offering up tracks that mix tropical-sounding electronics, glassy-eyed synthesizer motifs, processed vocal sounds and evocative musical flourishes with jaunty, interesting rhythms that neatly sidestep conventional genre rules. It's a mixture that makes for hugely enjoyable listening, with highlights coming thick and fast. These include - though are by no means limited to - the densely layered dancefloor cheekiness of "Shout", the minimalist ambient bliss of "Noir", the hypnotic, intergalactic oddness of "Native Sun" and the bubbly club warmth of "Jumpteenth".

Review: In his career thus far Rob 'Airhead" McAndrews has been closely tied to celebrated school friend James Blake; the pair are regular collaborators, McAndrews plays guitar when Blake steps on stage and both are involved in the clubnight/label 1800-Dinosaur. Evidently a talented musician in his own right, the promise shown on some decidedly weird Brainmath material and more recent R&S releases is expanded here on For Years, the debut Airhead LP. The ten track set might finally see Airhead gain recognition without the need to mention Blake; there's certainly an accomplished approach here that focuses on willowy textures and slow builds and owes as much to post rock as it does post dubstep.

Review: Mikahl Anthony's debut full-length, Muse, offers a profound auditory journey reflecting his expansive influence across the alt-soul and hip-hop realms. Renowned for collaborations with Mick Jenkins, Chance The Rapper, and others, and as a core member of THEMpeople, Anthony presents a richly layered narrative through this album. Muse integrates self-directed visuals with its deeply personal and introspective content. The project explores themes of self-growth and reflection, blending various voices and experiences with Anthony's own lyrical depth. The title, representing 'Ms. Using Sensual Energy' and 'Making Use of Seclusion Every Day', hints at the album's dual focus on intimate self-discovery and isolation as a creative force. Tracks like 'La Flare' and 'MollyAmory' showcase a mix of ethereal melodies and gritty textures, while the closing piece employs reverb-drenched saxophone to evoke emotional complexity. The music, crafted with a cinematic sensibility, engages listeners in a dynamic exploration of personal and communal stories, making Muse a compelling reflection of Anthony's artistic vision and growth.

Review: Irish duo Lakker have been on something of an epic musical journey over the last decade, beginning life as an experimental noise and industrial outfit (delivering an overlooked debut album in that style back in 2007), before expanding their sound to take in a far wider range of sounds and influences via 12" singles for Blueprint, Candela Rising and R&S. Here, they deliver their sophomore set, Tundra, a collection of intoxicating, atmospheric electronic compositions that joins the dots between early Aphex Twin style IDM chaos, creeping electronica, dystopian ambience and Actress style machine jams. It's hardly the cheeriest record you'll hear this year, but it's certainly a very good one. It suggests that we'll be hearing a lot more from Lakker in years to come.

Review: On the basis of this latest Lone long player, Matthew Cutler seems to be mellowing with age. Having earned a belated breakthrough on the back of a number of rush-inducing, rainbow-coloured releases for R&S that saw him surging towards the dancefloor like a toddler high on cheap orange squash, the producer once again flips the script on Reality Testing. The hardcore and rave influences of recent years have largely been abandoned in favour of smooth, head-nodding hip-hop beats, stargazing chords, twinkling melodies and far-sighted atmospherics. It is, in many ways, a return to his roots. More importantly, it's also very good, delivering synth-laden warmth and hazy, laidback grooves by the barrow load.

Review: A new Lone album from Matt Cutler represents an about turn away from the more mellow tones found on 2014's Reality Testing back in favour for the rave tropes that characterised his output circa Pineapple Crush. The nine tracks on Levitate are rife with the energetic fervour of hardcore and jungle, blending peppy tempos and nimble drum licks with the trademark graceful melodies one would expect from a Lone record. You should be familiar with "Backtail Was Heavy," already been premiered via a phone line service and "Vapour Trail" which formally announced Levitate and the other seven cuts from Lone show Cutler is at the top of his game.

Review: On the basis of this latest Lone long player, Matthew Cutler seems to be mellowing with age. Having earned a belated breakthrough on the back of a number of rush-inducing, rainbow-coloured releases for R&S that saw him surging towards the dancefloor like a toddler high on cheap orange squash, the producer once again flips the script on Reality Testing. The hardcore and rave influences of recent years have largely been abandoned in favour of smooth, head-nodding hip-hop beats, stargazing chords, twinkling melodies and far-sighted atmospherics. It is, in many ways, a return to his roots. More importantly, it's also very good, delivering synth-laden warmth and hazy, laidback grooves by the barrow load.

Review: It's a disregard for pretention that makes Matt Cutler's music work so appealing, whether it be the exuberant 90s house approach on last album Emerald Fantasy Tracks or his earlier hip hop-tempo bump. Galaxy Garden starts off on a more esoteric tip with the tropical electronica of "New Colour", which captures the cheeriness of Plaid, or more recently Oriol on Planet Mu, in its sunshine chimes. By the time we get to "Lying In The Reeds" we're up to a house tempo that harks back to the softer side of early Detroit, playing with melody in a way that made Kenny Larkin stand out early on. It's when "Crystal Caverns 1991" starts up that we reach the most blatant distillation of old-skool; kicking off a breakstep beat with sweet but punchy 90s synths, the track cuts into a deadly rave motif without so much as a pause in the beat and it's like being back in, er, 1991. It would be easy to write off an album like this as derivative, but no-one can listen to the music itself and call it an imposter. Every track reeks of originality, whether it be the surprising track structures, the superbly detailed production, even the evocative imagery that the music conjures up. If you ever needed an album that felt like wide-eyed, innocent joy, this would be an excellent place to start.

Review: Much was written about The Gamble, the debut album from the Nils Frahm-helmed experimental electronica trio, Nonkeen. While that set took almost 10 years to come to fruition, this follow-up appears a few short months after its' acclaimed predecessor. As you might expect, it explores similar musical territory, blending experimental elements (backwards loops, crackly textures, found sound etc.) with off-kilter jazz breaks, hazy Rhodes solos, trippy ambient interludes, occasional blasts of military percussion, and grandiose, post-Balearic mood-scapes. While hard to pin down stylistically, there's a hazy, freshly baked vibe throughout, with the trio's desire to blend live instrumentation and electronics being a particularly consistent presence.

Review: ** R&S REPRESS **Ever since his early releases on Kinnego and Royal Oak, Jack Hamill has been earmarked as a serious talent. Certainly, his work as Space Dimension Controller - in-tune with modern trends but seemingly beamed down from another planet - has rarely been anything less than inspired. This much awaited full-length album is similarly thrilling. Soaked through with his usual intergalactic sounds, heart-tugging melodies and warming chords, it's a much warmer and involving set than his previous work for R&S. Crucially, it also drifts off in disparate directions, offering a nod and a wink to Tangerine Dream, George Clinton, Model 500 and '80s soul along the way.

Review: This is the most emotional and honest album from Space Dimension Controller so far. It comes after a turbulent time in which he battled addiction with the help of his partner and follows in his signature style of sci-fi musical storytelling. This time though his synths are softer and more tender, with good natured robots popping up next to cosmic funk, future retro downbeat and gorgeous astral ambient. It's a true album in that it really takes you to another world, miles away from your own, and leaves you wishing you could stay there forever.

Review: Having first joined forces to DJ together under the Taloboman tag some years back, Axel Boman and John Talabot first got together in the studio for 2014's Sideral 12". Three years on, the experienced duo has finally recorded a debut album. It's naturally imaginative, eclectic and atmospheric in tone, effortlessly gliding between humid, Afro-influenced deepness ("Midnattsol"), dark and spacey dancefloor moods ("Samsa"), fuzzy epics ("Six Million Ways"), hushed tech-house ("The Ghosts Hood"), stretched-out wonkiness (the hypnotic "Dins El Lit"), and a variety of intriguing downtempo explorations. It's largely left-of-centre and mostly not focused on the club, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Certainly, it's a fine collection of music.

Review: It's been two years since Teengirl Fantasy won the world over with "Cheaters" and their debut album 7am, an album that referenced Mr Fingers as much as the generation of chillwave artists that preceded them. While that album undoubtedly felt top heavy at times, such was the nature of that single, Tracer feels like an altogether more balanced album, hitting the right note between their looser, experimental rhythmic tendencies and grandiose melodic nature, such as on the twisting, symphonic "End", and the new age sould of "EFX". Of course there are some certified club tracks there too - "Do It" is almost pure 90s Nu Groove, while "Timeline" is a forcefully acidic track swathed in deep, marshmallow pads - but they fit nicely with the album's whole - forward thinking electronic music that is an ideal fit for the R&S mission statement.

Review: For the uninitiated, Maarten van der Vleuten is one of the Dutch techno scene's longest serving artists. He's been active since the late 1980s, delivering techno and electro material under a dizzying array of aliases. This fine double-pack gathers together tracks from the Dutchman's short-lived Integrity project, specifically two 1992 EPs originally released by forgotten R&S offshoot Outrage Recordings. It's a fine collection, all told, boasting largely timeless techno tracks that tend towards the melodious and futurist (think classic Detroit techno fused with elements of British intelligent techno/IDM). Interestingly, it also includes a couple of early collaborations with fellow Dutch veteran Aardvarck (AKA Mike Kivits), who was then in the very early stages of his production career.

Review: Since their rebirth a few years ago, R&S have been at the forefront of a new wave of exciting dance music, instrumental in pushing names like James Blake, Blawan and Space Dimension Controller into the collective consciousness. This compilation sees them revive their long running In Order To Dance series, with a monster 2CD and 3LP pack; the first CD contains selected highlights from the last 18 months of R&S releases, with modern classics such as James Blake's "CMYK", Untold's "Stereo Freeze" and Space Dimension Controller's "Transatlantic Landing Bay" all receiving pride of place. But it's the unreleased tracks, spread across three 12"s that will excite most, with contributions from the whole roster spread across the wax. There are numerous highlights; the piano riff of Lone's "Cobra" is as deadly as that on any of his previous productions, The Chain's "Suffer For Your Art" evokes the Detroit masters of the original days of R&S and Pariah's "Left Unsaid" sees the young producer move away from the UK garage inspired Safehouses EP to explore dense, claustrophobic textures. In a word: essential.

Review: In Order To Dance 4.0 is along, long overdue follow up to the Belgian label's last legendary entry into this series many decades ago. In the years since, the prancing horse logo has become synonymous with cutting edge techno and electronic music from names as revered as Aphex Twin, Derrick May and Joey Beltram. This instalment shows that label founder Renaat Vandepapeliere's curation skills remain as sharp as ever, with a mix of new school names and enduring pioneers all contributing fresh sounds. Hyphen's 'Winter Sky' opens in lush melodic fashion, veteran Dino Lenny impresses with his 'Did This' and Dharma's 'Structured Chaos' is a more soulful moment of chord-led calm.

Review: Hatti Vatti's new album, Zeit, brings a diverse blend of organic electronic music. Drawing on a wide range of influences, it channels the essence of festival bands like the Ullulators and evokes the mellow, cosmic vibes of Hawkwind during Harvey Bainbridge's era. This Polish experimentalist, aka Piotr Kalinski, combines electronics, guitar and production to create an album for those who enjoy their dreams in tangerine hues. Zeit marks Hatti Vatti's first LP since 2017's Szum. For this album, Kalinski collaborated with notable Polish jazz musicians, inviting them to improvise with his compositions. Rafal Dutkiewicz (drums), Pawel Stachowiak (bass), and Piotr Checki (saxophone) contribute their talents, having worked with renowned acts like EABS, Skalpel, and Slawek Jaskulke. The resulting album is an eclectic mix that transcends genre boundaries, echoing Japanese ambient, krautrock, jazz, and dubby UK bass. Zeit stands out as a distinctive, dubby electronic space rock album, adding a unique flavour to the label's impressive catalogue.

Review: London three-piece Vondelpark have been slated for big things ever since the release of their debut EP, Sauna, in 2010. A few setbacks (including the loss of all of the recordings originally slated for their first album) and acclaimed singles later, they aim to fulfill their early promise with this re-recorded debut LP. Their sound - fluid, dreamy, other-worldly and occasionally Balearic - sits somewhere between E'd-up shoegaze, the atmospheric simplicity of James Blake, and the sort of saucer-eyed dream-pop that once used to be the preserve of Brian Wilson. Such effervescence makes for a warm and endearing album, full of emotion-rich songs, subtle soundscapes and wide-eyed grooves. They may not be the finished article just yet, but this is an impressive debut.

Review: With a sizable legacy on One-Handed Music behind him, Paul White moves over to R&S to deliver this sumptuous album of exotic experimental fare that draws on plentiful amounts of found sound, organic instrumentation and pop vocal abstraction to create a wondrous listening experience. Whether it's the seductive chimes of "Where You Gonna Go?" or the sultry blues thrum of "Honey Cats", there's a whole world of music fuelling this truly distinctive sound, and it's one that never gets dull or repetitive. With a comforting approach to song writing woven into the adventurous sonic processes, this is a masterful album that appeals on many different levels at once.