NEWSLETTER: MARCH 2024
IA MIX 378 SAM GOKU // SELECTED WORKS // BOAKSI // SHA RU // HENRY GREENLEAF // LONDON CLUB NIGHT // ANTEPOP STORE MIX
IA MIX 378 SAM GOKU
INTERVIEW BY ASMI SHETTY
Amidst the haze of whatever I can recollect from a seriously lit night, the memory of my first-ever interaction with Sam Goku remains vivid. The night in question was nothing less of a movie scene, set in the off-beat, infamous club Fitzroy, a warmly lit smoked-out cocoon for fellow degenerates, nestled beneath the Jannowitzbrücke S-Bahn rails in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district.
It was September 2021, and a breakthrough party was taking over in the middle of the pandemic. The lines outside the club were as long as ever and required negative test results for entry. Inside the club, loaded up to 50% of its usual capacity, energy dialling ripe and intense, restricted clubbers were ready to exude much of the quarantine tension as the glorious morning sunlight seeped through the windows that overlooked the spree.
About an hour past midnight, Sam Goku was gearing up to reel in the revelling clubbers into one of the most exhilarating dances they were yet to live. Sharp, deep, buoyant cuts of bass and soul-igniting rhythms slice through the sound system as we all ride through a single tunnel, gun fingers in the air, kicking euphoric sentiments at an all-time high, stompers, troopers, get-on-ground movements, and life comes full circle, waiting to begin again.
This precise memory of Sam Goku is etched deep in my brain, with every other interaction that followed surpassing the precedent and an accumulation of them all now lives on fondly through this IA mix. Jump on the sonic bandwagon with the artist himself, as always instilling a playful extension of pleasure in the imagination. Dark ambience meets rays of spring yellow light in this mix, much like his many productions on Permanent Vacation Records, especially his unmissable series of Glistening Club Music.
SELECTED WORKS: FEBRUARY 2024
February has proven to deliver a multitude of high-quality releases from artists and record labels worldwide. To help sift through the noise, ‘Selected Works‘ singles out the very best.
INVERTED AUDIO IN-STORE: BOAKSI (PROJECT INDIGO)
Last Friday, Project Indigo label co-founder Boaksi performed an all vinyl DJ set at Inverted Audio Record Store in Peckham to celebrate the release of ‘Under The Pavilion‘ EP on Lola Haro’s record label Small Steps. A very big thank you to everyone that made it down, it was by far the busiest the store has ever been.
INVERTED AUDIO STORE MIX #8
MIXED BY DJ ANTEPOP
Inverted Audio founder DJ Antepop mixes the eighth edition of the Store Mix Series, a deeply experimental vinyl set spanning acid, ambient, electronica, leftfield, house, techno and IDM.
Broadcasted live and direct from Netil Radio on Monday 11th March, this mix features records exclusively on sale at Inverted Audio Record Store in Peckham. Refer to the track list to purchase.
CLUB NIGHT AT THE WAITING ROOM
FRIDAY 22 MARCH (10:30 PM - 03:30 AM)
To celebrate the release of his debut album last year on Smallville Records, Berlin-based producer Joe Davies graces London on Friday 22 March with an exclusive DJ set at The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington.
As the name goes, ‘Shields In Full Sunlight‘ is the sound of redemption for Winter-struck sore ears. A compilation of soulful, delightfully dainty loops of sloppy summer wrapped on a disc, Davies bubbles to the surface with a deeply sublime debut album.
For the occasion, Joe Davies is joined by three London-based selectors including Inverted Audio founder Antepop, Scissor and Thread deep house purveyor JVXTA and special guest Beeches. The Waiting Room is primed for a night of explicit selections from the dustiest and deepest of house.
NEWTYPE RHYTHMS: HENRY GREENLEAF
As we inch closer to the warmer months, we’re starting to kick things into motion for our sister mix series Newtype Rhythms – and wow, do we ever have a maddening guest waiting for listeners in this latest episode.
The inimitable sonic savant, a sound-design master and impresario of immersion – one of our personal favourite UK producers, Henry Greenleaf finally contributes to our series. If you’ve not heard of him personally, you’ve surely heard his cavernous production, as they are immensely powerful and prodigious in scope and stature.
Greenleaf’s released for labels such as ARTS, Par Avion, Redstone Press and Yuku – and evident in this guest mix for Newtype Rhythms, has a treasure trove of dubs at the ready for future releases. Let us not take more of your time, this is a must-listen episode – check his mix at 39 minutes in, with resident Sheepshead warming things up in the interim.
REVIEW // SHA RU: THEY ARE TEXTURAL
New York/Berlin-based powerhouse band Sha Ru club emotionally charged punk rebellion into their first big debut ‘They Are Textural’ EP for Monkeytown Records. A mosaic of ruptured, extraterrestrial sound, Sha Ru’s tight-knit productions with Ma Sha’s seductive, raw and intense vocals take a sonic odyssey through the labyrinth of self-discovery, bursting deep into the psyche.
Much like their addictive on-floor live performances that have blistered the floors of glory houses like Berlin’s Berghain, the EP isn’t restricted to categorisation, only liberations and freeing identity. Cemented in free thought and deft rhythmic architectures, displaying shades of post-punk and industrial influences, Sha Ru bring their most vulnerable conceptions to life.
NEWS // PEAK OIL LINE UP CASSETTE ALBUM FROM LOW END ACTIVIST
Following 2023’s ‘Gossip is the Devil’s Radio‘ EP, UK grime producer Low End Activist is set to debut on Los Angeles imprint Peak Oil with ‘Airdrop‘.
The collection spans 9 tracks of “skeletal hardcore, pointillist drum n bass, and deprivation chamber dub” which synthesizes Low End Activist’s love of 90’s rave, dubstep, and bass music. Less of a nostalgia sheened retrospective on the genre, ‘Airdrop’ distills their influences and pushes their sound into more complex terrain and emerges with a puzzling yet compelling album.
NEWS // FIELDS OF MIST RELEASES ‘BIOSPORE FARMERS’ ON ILIAN TAPE
Fields of Mist combines hip-hop adjacent beats with ambient atmospherics for a uniquely zoned in sonic aesthetic that can fit in alongside your favourite dub techno and chill-out instrumentals.
‘Biospore Farmers’ delivers seven tracks that effortlessly glide between styles, from the hotboxed haze opener “Sunrise On Moss Landing Platform 5” to the crunchy funk of “Cloud Minnows”. The first four tracks appear on the physical edition, while the entire seven track album is available digitally.
NEWS // ABOVE BELOW FESTIVAL BOLSTER 2024 LINEUP WITH BABE ROOTS, MOON PATROL, PAQUITA GORDON, VLADA
Following their first wave of artists announcement in January, Above Below reveal the complete lineup for the fourth edition of the UK-based electronic music festival.
Hosted within a secluded valley in the Chiltern Hills between 31st May – 3rd June, Above Below is spread across three stages (The Beacon, Stone Circle, The Coombe) and is surefire to appeal to the most discerning of listeners, shunning mainstream artists to showcase purveyors of the underground.
Second wave additions include Italian dub warriors Babe Roots, Terraforma resident Paquita Gordon, Berlin-based deejay Vlada, Australian talent Hannah D, Slush Records founder Lora Mipsum, Bleep43’s Dan Bean, New York-based duo Moon Patrol and Dutch ambient techno specialist Miùson.
STORE // APHEX TWIN – RICHARD D. JAMES ALBUM
Released in 1997 via Warp Records, 'Richard D. James Album' is the fourth studio album from electronic mastermind Richard D. James under the alias Aphex Twin.
Said to be composed by James on his Macintosh computer, it took longer to complete than his previous efforts. The album features faster breakbeats and intricate drum programming which draw influence from jungle and drum and bass, combined with lush string arrangements, unstable time signatures, and slow ambient melodies reminiscent of James' earlier work, as well as modulated vocals by James.
The album has a rich texture to it, the samples and drum work are sublime. Highlights include 'Fingerbib', 'Can Marth', 'To Cure A Weakling Child', 'Yellow Calx' and 'Girl/Boy Song'.
STORE // BOARDS OF CANADA – THE CAMPFIRE HEADPHASE
Released in 2005 via Warp Records and music70, 'The Campfire Headphase' marks Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin third album as Boards Of Canada and is quite possibly their most underrated long player.
The album features the addition of more organic musical elements, including heavily treated acoustic guitars and more conventional song structures. Highlights include 'Satellite Anthem Icarus', 'Dayvan Cowboy', '84 Pontiac Dream', 'Constants Are Changing' and 'Slow This Bird Down.
'The Campfire Headphase' has aged exceptionally well. Returning to it as a standalone piece in a wider body of music, without the shock of the change in sound, the melodies are great, the feeling of the production sublime and happy, and brings emotion forward without relying on the nostalgia factor.