The four musicians that form Nelumbo construct songs that balance blues, jazz, folk and Rock. Former member of the dub/reggae band Nairobi, Jorge Estebenet, drives the songs from the rhythm guitar while the rest of the band contributes to the rich and harmonious sound that came to life in their debut album “40º” (Estamos Felices) Beautiful, mellow, adult…

MP3: DOWNLOAD

Psychic Powers returns after a couple of years of silence with a four song EP named “Islands” The duo formed by Nik Brinkman (Junica, Over The Atlantic) and Alejandro Cohen (Pharaohs, Languis) is a collaboration that was born out of similar musical interests and a desire to create pop songs that sounded like the music they love. After their 2011 full length release “infinity”, a number of EPs on labels such as Geographic North and RCRD LBL, and remixes by RAC, and James Figurine, Psychic Powers “Islands” EP presents the band with renewed energies and the sound they are known for.

On this new release, the trans-Pacfic collaboration between Wellington, New Zealand and Los Angeles, returns to productions that are influenced by their love of the late 80s and early 90s pop and dance music. Synthesizers, guitars and drum machines dominate the instrumentation of this collection of songs, and adds the collaboration with D.Herrera (Suzanne Kraft) who played saxophone on the opening track “Slow Driver”

While Nik and Ale both keep busy with other projects, Psychic Powers remains an outlet were they both find a space to write and create songs for the dance floor and the arena concerts of a bygone era. With this in mind the new songs are not only references to the past but an exploration into a territory that is still worth exploring.

The “Islands” EP is out now via Bandcamp for streaming and downloading.

Out of a thicket of dark, woozy beats and synths, a beautiful voice comes to you cutting through the fog – it’s White Blush singing on “Ether,” an entrancing track from her latest EP, Love Parks. White Blush is the pseudonym of LA based artist Carol Rhyu. Originally from Chicago, Carol began playing in synth bands when she was in film school at AFI in LA, culminating in her launching her White Blush project in early 2013 with a self-titled cassette on Rok Lok Records. We’ve been following her since then, and she only gets more mesmerizing!

Download: MP3

Formed under the dark shadowy sway of LA palm trees, Amoureux is a bewitching female-led avant-rock duo that begins as a euphonic love story between bassist Holiday J and drummer Nicole Turley. With their debut EP Never Young As Tonight, Nicole and Holiday J decided on an unconventional approach; writing all songs on the instruments closest to their hearts – bass and drums, that’s it, the results are songs that edge on tribal and raw sounding, with a minimal approach that strips things to their basics.

The Düsseldorf duo BAR, consisting of Stabil Elite musician Lucas Croon and Christina Irrgang, is elegant, stylish and smooth, perfect soundtrack for neon lit lofts in some industrial neighborhood. This is also dance music to enjoy by the coast, in a villa in some island. “Welcome to BAR” is recorded, produced and emotionally arranged on various synthesizers, the drums, with film soundtrack samples, vocal collages and instruments such as the pocket piano, which Croon and Irrgang became aware of in Los Angeles through their acquaintance with Diva Dompé. A passionate work that keeps it cool at all times.

Nightchilde‘s new release “2113- Original Soundtrack” is a call to the future through the lens of past experiences. Shoe gaze, italo-disco, and house are some of the references found in this release by one of dublab’s DJs and host of VSSL Radio. Entrance Through Club Exit is an example of his exploration and possibly his role as one of the makers of the dance scene in Los Angeles that keeps things so vibrant, an airy cinematic composition that opens up the doors looking at things from the backstage.

From Humboldt County, Ensemble Economique takes you to a dark place, infested with noise guitars and moods that are reminiscent of The Wolfgang Press and the likes. “Melt Into Nothing” is their new release and explains the complex emotions behind their sound which features contributions from Toronto artist DenMother and Parisian artist Sophia Hamadi.

Beats In Space Records can’t stop, won’t stop. This new EP by part-time tram drive and full-time Helsinki disco producer is another one that will move your feet. Jaakko Eino Kalevi‘s “Yin Yang Theatre” EP is out now on 12″

Here is another track from Mike Cooper. Last week we posted a track from the two album retrospective Paradise of Bachelors is releasing on this out-there pioneer folk/psych artist that paved the way for much of what was to come afterwards. “Places I Know/The Machine Gun Co. with Mike Cooper” and “Trout Steel” are gems from 1970/71 that took years to properly re-issue, but well worth their wait.

Puro Instinct performed live at dublab during the Spring 2014 Proton Drive. This set gets as dreamy as it can get, with full on pads that take you to a far away island off the coast of Spain. Last time I checked Puro Instinct seems to be almost finished with a new record, some are probably included in this performance, for sure one to never forget.

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Gut Nose is a producer coming out of the label Styles Upon Styles Records. Its dirty, static-filled dance tracks are a saturated escape of percussive textures. Somewhat dark, somewhat industrial, is hard to make up your mind when you’re listening to it, but you know the feeling is there.

Paradise of Bachelors is putting out the first ever official re-issue of the works of Mike Cooper. His folk songs mixed with experimental weirdo attitude towards production values set him on his own path, one that was followed by many, mostly in a such a quiet way that their footsteps may be considered the original ones, but really all started with Mike Cooper and this collections of recordings.

Beautiful ambient works by this synth orchestrator. This track is only an excerpt in comparison to the two hours in length of this entire release. Play it four times in a row and it’ll carry you through your entire work day… be present, but far away.

Sharing their vision over lengthy living room guitar sessions and evenings of cold wine in Fado taverns, Gunn and Cooper created Cantos de Lisboa, an album with variable vernacular shades and musical forms from Portugal’s antiquity. As always, RVNG Intl. keeps putting out some of the best sounds from around the world, and this is no exception.

This is the project of André Baum, its debut ep “Beyondré Is Born” is out now. A hybrid of many sounds and genres, just hard to pinpoint what it is that keeps playing in your head after the song ends. Could be a song by The The, but then is not at all like that.

In their six years of dormancy, Lansing Michigan’s Auburn Lull have patiently refined a distinguished and highly idiosyncratic vision of celestial minimalism that began with 1999’s landmark debut Alone I Admire. They now return with a release on one of our favorite labels, Geographic North, a 5 song cassette called Hiber, another classic, another reason to stay home and listen to this with the blinds shut.

This song is from Baths ‘Ocean Death’ EP, the companion piece to his critically acclaimed sophomore album ‘Obsidian’ out on Anticon. Soft vocals, and a rhythm that carries you to a softer place.

Driftmachine is a Berlin-based duo comprised of Andreas Gerth (Tied & Tickled Trio) and Florian Zimmer (Saroos), their album “Nocturnes” on Umor Rex, redefines the lines between insomnia and slumber, is the dancing flicker of a bedside lamp by eerie electronics that will carry through the dark night.

San Francisco’s weirdest alloy fusionists Bronze join the Not Not Fun roster with their latest slab of serpentine psychedelia. “World Arena” is a synth driven fusion of styles to listen in the shadows, while the world keeps going round.

A volume knob cranked all the way up – Volume X – the ideal amplification level for a Trans Am listening session. Trans Am’s tenth studio album is emblematic of the band’s remarkable ability to adopt bold stylistic and aesthetic shifts, from kosmische rock to futuristic speed metal to robo-balladry, to variants on classic rock that are so warped as to be rendered completely unrecognizable.

DUBLAB’s own Matthewdavid returns with a full length release on Brainfeeder. “In My World” re-invents Matthewdavid’s sound and marks the start of a new era. The album, for all of its masterful production techniques and intriguing lyrical twists, is held together by a unifying theme of love, the most powerful force in the universe.

On James Conduit‘s debut release Two Lines Thick, color and luminescence peak through the cracks, vibrating up through the murk in moments of sudden seduction. The dimly-lit synth line of “Peak Distractions” subtly pulses through, shrouded in a heap of electro-obsessed blips and throbbing low-end. The rest of the EP phases through variations on this hypnotic and queasy abstract techno, referencing Warp’s earliest acid-soaked experimenters to Kassem Mosse’s modern basement beat obsessives. Out now on Geographic North.

Ablebody is an LA band formed by members of Pains of Being Pure At Heart/ex-Depreciation Guild. This song is from their new 7″ release. DUBLAB friend and collaborator Cole M. Grief-Neill mixed it, the result is simply pop at its best.

Numero Group have done it again. This time they’ve gone after the hearts of the Southern Californian in everyone. Ned Doheny may not be a household name today but his influence certainly had it’s hand in your parents record collection – having played with the likes of Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and so on. We’re happy to share here with you Ned’s tongue-in-cheek classic ‘Get It Up For Love’ originally released on his sophomore album ‘Hard Candy’ and now remastered and featured on Numero’s 2xlp ‘Separate Oceans.’

If you’re in Los Angeles Friday, May 09, do not miss a rare concert from Ned himself at The Virgil.

This remix by Odd Nosdam of the Sequoia track by Saroos is ambient in its most intense state. A wall of sound that is unstoppable and keep advancing towards you. From the new record out on Alien Transistor.

A band by former members of the classic Sarah Records band Aberdeen. The Luxembourg Signal is a pop surprise. The melodies, guitars and voice take us to the days of zines, and flexi discs. Not all is nostalgia in their new 7″ on Shelflife, take it for a drive, sooner or later you’ll get there.

I left that world of dreams and entered one anew,” coos Anna Fox Rochinski, one-third of Boston trio Quilt, during “Tie Up the Tides.” Taken from Quilt’s new album Held In Splendor, the song actually follows that sentiment, as it shifts from one exquisite reverie to another.

Download: MP3

It was about time this gem by Will Samson finds its way on vinyl, including two new reworks by Austrian electronic/experimental duo & label mates, Ritornell, & ambient sonic explorer, Benoit Pioulard. Songs and electronics going hand in hand like brother and sister… a trace to a new path? Karaoke Kalk seems to understand this quite well.

Download: MP3

Living Tapes makes another stop in its downward spiral to a higher place. Lebanon Hanover‘s release “Tomb For Two” is a small door that is barely noticeable while going down the spiral staircase. You push it open and there it is, a perfectly preserved specimen, all the details tell its story, all the sounds tell its history.

Download: MP3

Jan Jelinek and Dennis Busch made this record that is not really a collaboration in the traditional way. In the summer of 2013 Farben (Jan Jelinek) remixed his way through the extensive oeuvre of the sample and collage artist James DIN A4 (Dennis Busch) and gathered ten of his favorite titles. The intricate process does seem to reflect, but at the end, this could almost be seen as a Jazz record… or a collage of many Jazz records.

Break out your chimes, shakers, jingles and sparklers because the time for celebration is close at hand. E S T A R A the new album from Teebs will be released on Brainfeeder April 8th. Here’s an early audio gift from the album to prepare your soul. “Holiday” features the voice of dublab favorite Jonti who joins with Teebs to float us onto the frothy shores of celestial bliss. Put this on repeat and wave the previously mentioned chimes, shakers, jingles and sparklers high in the air. Your action will be in good company because E S T A R A is a perfect companion to celebrate life.

Catch Teebs performing live at dublab’s Creative Cultivation Fundraiser Salon on April 3rd. More information and tickets at dublab.com/salon.

RVNG Intl. unearths unreleased portions of K. Leimer’s vast archives and highlights the work of a self-taught visionary whose use of generative compositions ferried his music to infinite resonance. This double vinyl release features material from the 1975-1983 period from this Seattle artist that somewhat forged a self contained music scene in itself. The sonic territories K. Leimer explores can be traced to and from the many places that existed before and after these compositions took place, however, there is something that makes them unique as they are a creation of an artist with his own voice.

The announcement of a new record release on Sahel Sounds is always a cause for celebration. Balani Show Super Hits: Electronic Street Parties from Mali is an especially celebratory collection of true party music from Mali. These are the sounds of hi-NRG dance bashes brought from rumbling Malian street corners straight to your ears. This is surefire shake shake shake that will spark and quake. Click play now, dance around your room, then read on to get the official scoop on the Balani Show scene from Sahel Sounds. Bless these music explorers doing the good work!

Balani Show Super Hits is a compilation of popular music played at street parties in Mali. Drawing from across the past decade of Balani Shows, from innovators to contemporary stars of the scene, these are some of the Malian compositions in heavy rotation.

Colloquially known as “Balani Show,” these street parties began in the late 90s in the capital city of Bamako. Unable to afford Balafon musicians, DJs brought large sound systems and cassettes of pre-recorded music – both traditional Balafon music, as well as Kuduro and Coupé Decalé. As cassettes were replaced with CDJs, DJs began to incorporate their own remixes. Today, “Balani Show” continues to evolve. The parties have spawned an entirely new genre of music known as “Balani Show” or “Ambience”, composed by bedroom djs, remixers, rappers, and dance groups, creating high energy dance music.

Balani Show typifies urban music. It’s formed in the city and founded on trans-global influences. It’s a modern music built on new technologies, a phenomena that thrives on piracy. But like the Balani Show parties, it too pays homage to an ancient tradition. It reveals a different narrative of the old vs new – and suggests that maybe the only way to preserve something is by reinventing it, by keeping it modern and relevant in a faster world. – Sahel Sounds

Archie Pelago joined forces with Grenier on this somewhat classical track, imagine a penguin walking into a cafe to listen to his favorite orchestra and finding out the now also use computers. The new record is good and dancey, a nice progression from their previous work.

Christopher Bissonnette has long been a staple of quiet listening at dublab. His 2008 record In Between Words has remained fixed in our playlists; its subtle complexity keeps us reaching for it again and again. His greatly anticipated new release Essays in Idleness strips itself of strategy. It is more a journey in tonality – a wonderful, transcendent listen that never loses intrigue in spite of its minimalism. The sort of record that delicately – and too quickly – flows in and out of your consciousness until the next artist in your playlist barges in with a world of noise. In a world of extremists, this record sits perfectly apart.

Essays in Idleness is out April 7th on Kranky

“Opening” couldn’t be a more appropriate title for this song by Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra. This is a “begin the day” type of song, even if you’ve been up all night. For the making of their new record, Live On Planet Earth, this 18-piece Orchestra didn’t even set foot in a studio, instead they recorded it live at Berlin-Neukölln’s Heimathafen. Lets hope some day they can all fly to Los Angeles for a live show.

Omid Walizadeh has woven a brilliant line of sonic fiber from his Southern California here and now to his homeland roots in Iran. His new Modern Persian Speech Sounds album is a layered collage of audio snippets from pre-revolutionary Iranian tapes and records molded into new, rhythmic forms for future ears.

The project is released on limited edition vinyl through B|ta’arof Records whose print magazine and website features, “Visual arts, critical essays, curated archives, & oral histories of Iran/Iranians across generational & geographic borders.” Modern Persian Speech Sounds seamlessly fits this mission and will set your ears aglow with renewed interest in the musical heritage of Iran. Check out Omid’s Facebook page and btaarof.com for more explorations of rich culture.

Lace Curtain is Mikey Young and David West, from Total Control, Rat Columns, Rank/Xerox, and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. This synthetic pop duo has a new EP on Mexican Summer, make sure you catch it and get immersed in pure synth and drum machine works.

While everyone is heading to the dance floor Not Not Fun throws us a curve ball and heads to the trip hop territory. Afterhours is simply intriguing to say the least. I hate to compare but this is something that falls between DJ Shadow and Massive Attack. Wonderful and experimental.

Like vengeance, VIDEOGRAVE takes you away to a place that will leave you devoid of emotion. This song is part of the ”Strange Menagerie” cassette that came out on Living Tapes. The sound of the band and the label could be one, as Living Tapes continues on building a catalog that is truly classic in style and quality.

Tiago Miranda‘s music seems to have many sides. From the most innovative and tasteful dance tracks and remixes to the true and beautiful forms of experimentation, one can’t help but think “how does he do it?” This untitled track from the upcoming “Emotional Poverty” release has not time or space in music history, as much as this could be from a BBC audio lab in the 60s, it also belongs to the future, and the sounds that haven’t been made yet. Hurry and get this limited edition right away.

Tiago – Track 6 promo video

The Numero Group continues its eternal search for those buried gems that need to be dug up and presented to the public, the latest find is the “Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles” compilation. Out of shrouded depths were summoned a horde of 16 bands whose sole release justified their entire rock & roll mythos. In this collection, medieval Bonham thunk and febrile Iommi guitar leads crowd out the bluesy Americana that foregrounded those bands, replacing hippie pastoralism with mythology, armored conflict, sorcery, and doom. These worried, warlike canticles occupy a minuscule niche in the American underground of self-released rock, but their appeal is more broad today than in any previous era.

Tinniens is the kaleidoscopic pairing of Landing‘s Aaron Snow and Daron Gardner working within a minimalist setup and a beachcomber psyche. Dub Guns, the group’s debut entry, boasts knack for precessing tightly-locked runs of concentric, mechanized loops while balancing a humanist, song -based approach. Limited to 100 copies on orange cassette, this is a new offering by Geographic North.

“Hang Around the Creases” is from “Go Big Shadow City” the fifth full-length from post-LA guitar ‘n drums ‘n buzz duo Alpine Decline, is an index, a cypher for the Beijing sound. Not “the Beijing sound” of their self-selected hometown contemporaries, whom they’re into but beyond — GBSC is the sound of Beijing itself, as heard from the outside. “Go Big Shadow City” was recorded in the underground parking garage studio of Beijing’s resident post-punk demigod, P.K.14’s Yang Haisong.

Melbourne based body-movers NO ZU follow up last year’s ‘Body Tape’ with the appropriately titled ‘Mind Tape.’ Greek Key has been an office favorite here at dublab and scratches that Mediterranean itch we all get.
Mind Tape is out on now on Aussie label Heavy Lows.

Melodion King is a rich and hypnotic taste of Nairobi‘s experimental and organic take on reggae. This collaborative effort with Mad Professor is from their album Angkur

In his latest album “La Conquista de lo Inútil”, Coiffeur ditches his acoustic guitars to unabashedly embrace synths and drum machines and create one of the best Argentine offerings of 2013. “Cuerno” is a dark and honest track that introduces us this new sound that brings Coiffeur closer to the dance floor, while still keeping him true to his songwriter’s essence.

The Cyclist came to our attention through the fruits of our very own Matthewdavid’s honorable music outreach efforts. His Leaving Records label releases the greatest of these sonic discoveries. The Cyclist’s album, Bones in Motion, came as a collaborative release between Leaving Records & Stones Throw. The Cyclist dubs his music “Tape Throb,” which perfectly describes his full bloom flutter and fuzzed up warmth. To introduce “Mackabee,” a white label jam on his Soundcloud account, The Cyclist writes, “Don’t know why, but I love sampling singers that I really don’t like, I like the challenge.” You’ll definitely recognize the singer in question, and regardless of whether you dig the original sample source, we’re sure you’ll find the flipped version beautiful.

As a bonus treat for your eyes and ears here’s another side of The Cyclist in his Buz Ludzha guise from the Love Repetitive Rhythmics EP on All City.

This track by Suicide’s Martin Rev is part of a compilation from 1999 called “45 Seconds Of” The compilation consisted of 99 tracks, 45 seconds each. The sheer number of tracks by so many artists made it an exceptional release, however the real experience of this compilation is the number of ideas and sounds that play back to back in a collage style, making it irrelevant where one ends and the other one begins. A true collaborative experience that included among others Silver Apples, Chicks on Speed, Dntel, and Daedelus, “45 Seconds Of” was just now made available again for the first time since its release by Simballrec.

Simballrec released an obscure jam session that happened some time in 1998/99 and turned shortly after into a sort of electronic collage that made an intriguing hybrid of a release. The recordings took place in Buenos Aires with Ale and Marcos from Languis, plus two high school friends, Ramon and Daniel, while they were recording their LP “Last Frequency Presets” Ill Due Machina is definitely a one time project, but one can’t wonder what could have happened if this collaboration would’ve develop further.