Leo Leal
Melodies From The Sky

This eleventh O.C.D. release showcases the results of a series of prolific sessions recorded live in Barcelona in 2022 at the Small Black Dots’ in-house studio between Alessandro Picone and Jordi Barasoain.

Papa Nugs joins the Space Dust cohort with the 5 tracker “ It Came From The West” transcending various styles and shades of sound. With a more tripped out take on a traditional jacking pallette, the title track kicks off proceedings with a propulsive drumbeat and rumbling bassline providing the perfect bedrock for the acidic squelches above. “Brooklyn Duck” continues the US-indebted styles adding an earworm vocal to the mix.On the flip a barrage of drums and glassy oscillations form “Be Anew” with the relentless programming carrying through “Knobbly Knees” taking us firmly into electro territory with robotic vocals and a mechanic drum pattern that shows no sign of waning . Closer “Groove Nxt” sees out the EP in energetic fashion with well tuned snares trading blows with crystalline synth work.

First split on ROOM record, a bipolar EP between Berg Jaar & Breekbaar. Raw packaging, no bullshit description... Let the music do the speaking.

Presence Unknown is a vinyl and digital label curated by longtime producer and DJ, Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Neil has been behind the decks and deeply involved in all aspects of club and underground sound system culture since the early Eighties. He has released his music on numerous underground labels and performed all over the world, from plush clubs to dirty warehouses. Worth a read are a couple of published articles by Neil regarding his experiences on the dance floor of underground clubs in London and New York in the Eighties. See links at the bottom of this page for these as well as a detailed biography and discography. There is also a link to a recent 40-minute interview with Distant Planet TV that explores his cultured rave history.The third release on Presence Unknown contains four slamming tunes, crafted with precision by Controlled Weirdness using a variety of analogue and digital machines in his South London studio. The A-side features some deep and bass heavy electro acid for the dance floor. "Ghosts of the Heygate" and "Running on Empty" feature rolling 808 boom with 303 groove. The flip side starts off with "Are you angry or are you boring?" a future-retro rave anthem with lately bass and killer mentasm stabs and has been destroying dance floors on dub during Controlled Weirdness’ DJ sets the past six months. The EP closes with, "Strange Desires", a slow, sleazy, slinky and salacious groove. Music from the margins. Presence Unknown.

Jochem Peteri comes drifting back into earshot with some new NWAQ tackle in tow. Beyond the plentiful reissues of his timeless earlier works, Peteri is just as productive in the here and now. Now he’s minting a new label with three pieces that embellish the NWAQ soundworld with a fresh slant. ‘Above II’ is a crystal clear beam of light strapped to a kick that trips over itself with grace and poise. It’s forthright and yet wholly untethered, a pre-echo for the anchorless expanse of ‘Above I’, which buries some heavy bass ruminations very far down in the mix. That leaves it to ‘Dume’ to come staggering out all bleary-eyed, caked in last night’s distortion and yet still exuding a cracked beauty that stands up to the first light of dawn. The artwork which adorns this record is by environment sculpting internet artist Jan-Robert Leegte. NWAQ has always stood for a kind of environmental immersion, and this new emission compounds that idea in three distinct, refreshing ways.

Atelier Baros, the 6th release from DisDat, is a 3 track EP by the Romanian master of texture, harmony and rhythm, Petre Inspirescu. The three tracks appearing on DisDat 006 / Ooze 000 each respectively offer singular experiences in atmospheric house, ambient and techno storytelling. “Foc,” “Si” and “Para” are tunes for the dance floor packed with layers of composition taking us back through time to our prehistoric heritage. The sounds of “Foc” and “Si” found on side A, in tune with the sophistication we’ve come to expect from the Dis Dat label, deliver an evocative soundscape where the relationship of humankind to the mastering of the elements––fire, earth, wind and water––can be felt.“Foc” (A1) a pulsating ethnoindustrial house track which spares no time in spreading its storied web, carries strong undertones of universal harmonics alongside the immediacy of bright splashing beats and upfront melodies. With “Foc” Inspirescu awakens the mythological figure of Hephaestus, the divine smith and patron of craftsmen, bequeathing the tradition of taming of such powerful elements such as fire and iron to humankind. Conjured here are the ancient ties binding human development with the essential elements that have become inseparable from our very lives, fire and iron, water and wind, all the while implicating the listener as the present day deity carrying the fruits of age-old discoveries and historicity.The storytelling power of A1 is followed with “Si” (A2) a playful and uplifting meditative groove on the power of the sublime, the awe inspired by the experience of the grandeur found in the universal soul of all things. The full bodied sound of “Si” aided by complex organic percussion work, flightlike harmonies and metallic grooves reinforce our industrial heritage while grabbing the listener for a journey through layers of dreamlike states and spatial reflection.The pulsating techno sound of side B brings together the elements found on “Foc” and “Si” into “Para” an unmistakably tight and danceable track; “Para” has also bloomed into the inauguration of the Ooze label, which will serve as DisDat and ReSolute’s outlet for the techno colored side of the musical spectrum. “Foc si para,” as the saying goes––it doesn’t take long to feel the flight of that raging fire connecting our age to how it all began.