Gas
Oktember

2022 re edition.Longtime activists ART TEACHERS bestow to the world their utterance of Funk Realistique! Native to the periphery of an industrial hotspot in Central Europe the outfit models the world to their own conception. Realfunk, in that respect, needs no outright referring to its origins. Form and expression are skipping genre dictates and thus create another niveau. This elegant EP, consisting of 4 tracks, may whet the appetite for more.

True to her mission to keep the possibilities open from release to release, Danielle’s Soft Raw label brings through the supple, cybernetic sound of Austen. The London-based producer’s debut EP is brimming with infectious energy and inventive swerves, providing plenty of heat for the more mutant-minded corners of the club.

Bruno De Angelis and Giovanna Gulinello unwittingly met in London in the late 70’s, after being introduced by a mutual friend. Both Bruno and Giovanna arrived with varying ambitions. Giovanna wanted to learn English or be a painter, while Bruno found work at the Royal Post Office, which he found testing. It wasn’t until Bruno rescued Giovanna from an awkward date that the pair became a couple. At the time, music was just something they did for fun. Bruno already had an acoustic guitar and G bought a bass. Those were the days when you could start a new band, whether you could play or not, and new independent labels were springing up. Rough Trade Records was literally around the corner. In 1981 the pair moved back to Italy and found an apartment in Rome. It’s here that they began to focus on their music and where they started ‘recording’ their tracks. First, they would record the rhythm, maybe add the Gigster (the name of their “cheap drum machine”), the bass, and then, as they made a copy of the first cassette onto a second cassette they would add guitar, more synth, or both at the same time. After that, it was not unusual to copy from the second cassette back into the first cassette adding even more “stuff”. As with many artists during the early 80’s, the Influenza Prods’ sound was the direct result of the accessibility of emerging electronic instruments and the recording equipment available to them. The duo was resourceful and inventive, acquiring new equipment as resources allowed. They recorded dialogue from British Soap Operas on their TV set, which were later added to their tracks, while further making use of their family’s cutlery sets, which were used to fill in certain percussion sections The duo’s homespun recordings found a web of admirers in the unofficial distribution of tape trading and mail-art scenes. Despite the DIY ethos and the fact that most tapes were handmade, the Influenza Prods managed to ‘release’ three tapes which comprised of the Greatest Tits (1983), Cheek-A-Bomba (1984) and Quasi Solo (1985). Bruno and Giovanna were sadly subjected to serious family problems, including the loss of loved ones in their lives and eventually parted ways, concluding the Influenza Prods. However, to this day they remain close friends who keep in touch regularly.

NAQI Vol.1 by Mansur Brown

It’s time to rave again! Welcome to Simon Lovejoy in the unreality world. Simon began professionally playing ‘rave’ and club venues and releasing records from 1989 ‘The Rave Age 'album is a supreme mix of techno, house and downtempo, includes unreleased tracks from his rave age.