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Fabio & Grooverider have been at the forefront of UK dance music for over 3 decades. This is the roots of their story told through music. The 2 London DJ's are part of the DNA of the global Jungle / D&B movement and they have remained relevant, cutting edge, authoritative and essential to this truly underground art-form since it's inception. RAGE could arguably be the ground zero of Jungle. The party was started at London's cavernous Heaven club by Fabio & Grooverider in 1988, at the height of Acid House fever that was making it's way up and down the motorways, slip-roads, fields and warehouses of the M25 and further beyond every weekend, troubling the nation, the police, your parents and the press as it went. RAGE was a different beast, it certainly channelled some of that Acid energy but pitted it against the new and exciting sounds emanating from Belgium, Amsterdam, Detroit, Sheffield, Essex and Hackney and in turn created a new style, a new sonic attitude and energy in the process. Rumbling bass-lines, narcotic synth rushes and roughly chopped and sped-up breakbeats all merged into a style that we now know as Jungle. Nothing like this had been heard before, this was a brand new style and it was coming out of London's West End and Fabio & Grooverider were the people firmly behind it.

Outro Tempo II: Electronic and Contemporary Music from Brazil, 1984-1996 is the second installment of Music From Memory’s Brazilian series, compiled again by John Gomez! This volume picks up where the first Outro Tempo left off, shedding light on a new wave of experimentalism that emerged in Brazil in the late 1980s and 1990s. The twenty tracks collected uncover another area of Brazilian music that looked to the future for inspiration. This time it drifts beyond the rainforest and into the pulsating heart of Brazil’s great cities, where it meets a generation of young artists eager to radically change the face of contemporary Brazilian music. In Outro Tempo II the avant garde and pop worlds meld in a haze of percussion and electronics. It presents another uncompromising and magnetic reinterpretation of the limits of Brazilian music.

The series kicked off two years ago as a way to highlight tracks that Harvey plays at his ongoing residency at Pikes Ibiza (which had its fifth year this summer). To celebrate and in loving memory of Tony Pike Harvey's has compiled his second collection of music inspired by and that represents the party. Across the board party classics abound from Marta Acuna's 'Dance Dance Dance' to early Ibiza standard 'I Just Can't Wait' from Mandy Smith to a recent standout from Phonica's top album of last year Nu Guinea's 'Nuova Napoli' !

Floating Points’ personal collection of global soul, ambient, jazz and folk treasures form the latest in the warmly revered Late Night Tales series. His music taste is notoriously (and thankfully!) tricky to define, ranging from ethereal classical at one end to coruscating techno at the other, united only in a firm belief in the transcendental power of music to move hearts, minds and feet. Similarly, his production career has ranged from early experiments in dance music with breakout records such as the ‘Shadows EP’ and collaborating with legendary Gnawa master Mahmoud Guinia to his expansive album ‘Elaenia’, critically acclaimed upon its release in 2015. This excursion into the depths of the evening reflects his broad tastes. The globally-travelled producer has collected untold treasures on his travels from dusty stores in Brazil to market stalls near his hometown. “I tried to find music that reflects the stillness of night. And because my musical interests lie all over the place, it’s quite difficult to distil that notion down to just a few songs. I was quite keen to have some electronic music in there but I also really wanted to have some soul music mixed in, so I had to try and find a pathway between all of this different music.” - Sam Shepherd (Floating Points) March 2019

Before Praga Khan & Chris Inger became New Beat royalty as Lords Of Acid, they collaborated on the incredible Shakti project with vocalist Jade 4 U. The 'Demonic Forces' album and 'Forbidden Dreams' 12" are highly sought after and revered amongst certain circles, combining western electronics with eastern melodies and inspirations. On 'Verboden Dromen' Stroom cherry-picks the best of the best, including 'Forbidden Dreams', 'The Awakening', 'Rainbows' and 'Demonic Forces'. In fact, there isn't a dud track on here with all 8 sounding as fresh as ever. A stunning collection.

After immersive and emotive contributions from Jan Schulte and Moonboots, Music For Dreams' collectors series returned in 2019 with this playful and profound selection from Growing Bin curator Basso. Basso is a 5th dan black belt in the ancient art of digging, a fearless selector and adroit editor who knows more about records than anyone you know. On its journey from blog to shop to label, the Growing Bin has become the perfect embodiment of its creator. Baso offers up a selection of rare cuts, Plattenrille discoveries, organic excursions and electric lullabies, all perfectly at home in the Growing Bin. Whether you're coping some rays, watering the plants or tackling the tax return, 'Proper Sunburn' will ensure you keep your cool and stay smiling.

In 2006, the musical landscape was very different; there was no streaming, “shazam" was a word used by magicians, social media, as we know it, was in its infancy and today’s constant digital feed of interruptions, notifications, refreshes and “likes” didn't yet exist. Those with a thirst for the overlooked regions of the record store had to quench themselves in the climes of the online world's music blogs, and while that digital community was surely expanding, NYC’s www.lovefingers.org was something different. Not a blog but a daily unfolding mix, it was a mysterious watering hole in the burgeoning digital desert. With 1 track per day, Andrew “Lovefingers” Hogge created a truly democratic and educated selection of music for our aural pleasure, and labelled them ‘Fingertracks' (numbered 001-999). This was before most things we now take for granted were common on our dancefloors, radio shows or live streams. Those ubiquitous Euro Pop dubs, unclassics that aficionados play at the wrong speed, or private gems that have since been reissued They very probably popped up on our collective radars via the medium of www.lovefingers.org first. Rightfully so, what started as a well-kept secret, became a go-to resource and mark of quality among enthusiasts, diggers, DJs, musicians and producers around the globe — the genre-bending mentality in turn re-coined the term “selector” — and inspired a generation the world over to delve further into record shelves. 'Fingertracks Vol : 1' is a snapshot of aural delights that were on offer to those of the leftfield persuasion, all who discovered the site and tuned-in for their daily shot of sonics proper — a lovingly selected handful of records that re-introduce the story of Andrew’s most influential and essential music resource. The track list is classic Lovefingers, an insight into the free-flowing nature of the daily Fingertracks, context-free but connected through creative threads and energies — lo-fi loner jams brush up alongside sleazed-out Italo powerhouses, Greek new age obscurities tussle against overlooked Hawkwind-related cuts — nuggets that may be more known to the heads now, but whose initial excavation can be accredited to Lovefingers’ site, and are essential to its story nonetheless. Rumor has it that this is merely the first volume in a series!!!

Ilan, an avid but little-known record collector best known for sharing the artwork of obscure and under-appreciated early-to-mid ’80s club cuts on his popular Instagram feed, has been digging for vibrant, kaleidoscopic records since his teens. Now, thanks to Spacetalk, he’s been given a chance to offer a glimpse into his neon-lit nocturnal musical world. The result is Night City Life, a killer collection of 1980s synthesizer songs inspired by Ilan’s admiration for the glow of London’s late night skyline. Over the course of 13 essential tunes, Ilan escorts us on a vibrant sprint through rare Italo-disco, steamy South African synth-boogie, fizzing American freestyle, oddball Austrian electrofunk and so much more.

Williams has taken his long standing love of seventies jazz fusion and mixed it up with the contemporary sound of the London underground to devastating effect. House, broken beat, grime, soul, funk, hip hop and jazz all permeate his work, which has seen him evolve from one-man producer Henry Wu to acclaimed live band Kamaal Williams, backed by talented drummers and bassists. The exceptional Yussef Kamaal album 'Black Focus' was one of the most talked about records of 2016. Vinyl pressings kept selling out, it received rave reviews, earned awards and led to spellbinding live shows all over Europe. The follow up, The Return, took his band global, all while picking up nominations for best independent album at the AIM Music Awards. Exclusives include a live take of 'Snitches Brew,' new Kamaal Williams tracks 'Shinjuku' and 'Strings ATL' , as well as 'Wivout U' from Henry Wu. Those vital highlights sit next to classic jams from Southern Freeze, a strong contingent of London innovators from K15 to Dego and Tenderlonius to Kaidi Tatham, with funk driven house from Peven Everett, raw stuff from Steve Julien, lush synth grooves from Lone and feel good grooves from Phil Asher all making this is an honest and uplifting collection that, when necessary, is happy to eschew blends, fades and mixing in favour of red hot selections and sequencing. Kamaal Williams DJ-Kicks is a fascinating insight into the record collection of a true musical alchemist.

An unprecedented overview of Japan’s vital minimal, ambient, avant-garde, and New Age music – what can collectively be described as kankyō ongaku, or environmental music. The collection features internationally acclaimed artists such as Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, as well as other pioneers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yoshio Ojima and Satoshi Ashikawa, who deserve a place alongside the indisputable giants of these genres. In the 1970s, the concepts of Brian Eno’s “ambient” and Erik Satie’s “furniture music” began to take hold in the minds of artists and musicians around Tokyo. Emerging fields like soundscape design and architectural acoustics opened up new ways in which sound and music could be consumed. For artists like Yoshimura, Ojima and Ashikawa, these ideas became the foundation for their musical works, which were heard not only on records and in live performances, but also within public and private spaces where they intermingled with the sounds and environments of everyday life. The bubble economy of 1980s Japan also had a hand in the advancement of kankyō ongaku. In an attempt to cultivate an image of sophisticated lifestyle, corporations with expendable income bankrolled various art and music initiatives, which opened up new and unorthodox ways in which artists could integrate their avant-garde musical forms into everyday life: in-store music for Muji, promo LP for a Sanyo AC unit, a Seiko watch advert, among others that can be heard in this collection. Kankyō Ongaku is expertly compiled by Spencer Doran (Visible Cloaks) who, with a series of revelatory mixtapes as well as his label Empire of Signs (Music For Nine Postcards), has been instrumental in shepherding interest in this music outside of Japan. Kankyō Ongaku helps to broaden our understanding of this quietly profound music, regardless of the environment in which it’s heard.

When Peggy Gou released her first records back in 2016, including those on Phonica White, she made a list of career goals. One of them was to become the first South Korean DJ to play Berlin’s techno institution Berghain, an objective she achieved only a few months later. Another item on that list was to record an instalment of !K7’s DJ-Kicks series. “It’s the premier class of DJ mixes,” she says. “Some of my favourite selectors have contributed to it.” Now Peggy Gou can tick that off her list too as she gives us an 18-track listening session that takes you straight into Peggy Gou’s living room where she plays you the formative tunes from her collection. No genre boundaries – she moves across disco, house, techno and electro. No tempo limits – the mix ranges from 90 to 150 BPM. And no age restriction – the earliest tunes on the mix are from 1983.

Sassy J, the Swiss DJ, is the very embodiment of passion and long-standing dedication to the craft of the DJing, but also to the community surrounding the music that she lives and breathes. For the past fourteen years Sassy J has run the Patchwork night in her native Bern and in London, with guests ranging from Theo Parrish and Little Dragon to Floating Points and MF Doom invited to share their respective musical visions. Her collaborative approach stands out in a DJ world that is too often weighted in favour of promoting the individual. This compilation centres on long-term bonds, articulated through Sassy J’s personal relationships with the contributing artists. Patchwork is made up almost entirely of new and unreleased songs that are exclusive to this collection, capturing a sound where forward thinking electronic music rubs elbows with cosmic jazz and deep percussion workouts from Brazil and beyond. There are irresistible calls to the dancefloor: 2000 Black’s UK boogie and the syncopated rhythms of WaH-chU-kU nod to the West London sound, whilst the early rave of Nu Era and Aardvarck’s sub-rattling techno channel the grittier edges of the club experience. We find machine music imbued with humanity in Larry Heard’s deep house classic “Survivor” and in Ron Trent’s WARM project, whose gentle breeze points to a different side of the legendary producer.

Compiled by Pete Gooding and Mark Barrot. Enchanting Ibizan institution La Torre continues its compilation series with Volumen Tres, an incredible fifteen track release that draws inspiration from the island's hedonistic history.

The Beautiful Swimmers are Ari Goldman and Andrew Field-Pickering (AKA Max D) and, thanks to this long player, here to take us on a gleeful joyride around their collective musical imagination. The Swimmers are full-bore record enthusiasts you see, but whereas you might associate this with squirrelly, exclusive and crabby sorts, they are inclusive, human and warm. It’s a wide-eyed ebullient romp and the joy of discovery is one to share. And to see them DJ IS a joy - they’re having at least as much fun as anyone else in the room, locked together tight, riding the same wave.

Beyond Space And Time is the new record label from Japanese music festival, Rainbow Disco Club and the first in their compilation series gives them the opportunity to reveal one of the best-kept secrets: What is in a DJ's record bag? First up is legendary Dj, Dj Nobu, who shows off his long-standing knowledge of techno and its roots from the last 30 years. Tracks here drift from Laurent Garnier’s Detroit techno and breakbeat track ‘Water Planet’, to the strong synth bassline and Belgian New Beat rhythms of Front 242’s ‘U-men’, finishing with Burial’s distorted, melancholic musings in ‘Archangel’.

The iconic album series Back to Mine returned to us in 2019 to mark it’s 20th anniversary wnd who else would you want to be providing the soundtrack than Nightmares on Wax who shares his personal collection of music for after hours grooving. Impeccably mixed and blended, as you’d expect from a DJ and collector of George’s pedigree, his selection includes a strong representation from his roots in the North: respected Manchester soul duo Children of Zeus, Hull’s Steve Cobby provides his own ‘Lefthanded Books’ featuring Crazy P’s Danielle Moore and also introduces his chuggy-disco project Chieftain and the recent Nightmares on Wax recent single ‘Look Up’. Moving internationally; there’s Greek producer Dim Zach who doffs a cap to Imagination on the synth-heavy ‘Innocence’, US-born/Colombian based Afro/Latin/disco/funk producer Bosq, Italy’s Massimo Vanoni with the slo-mo funk ‘Exciting Groove’, the deep and jazzy ‘Gotta Have It’ by Berlin’s SoulPhiction side project SBM and two tracks by New Zealander Ladi6. An excellent selection!

The history of “Jambú e Os Míticos Sons Da Amazônia” is the history of an entire city in its full glory. The city of Belém, in the Northern state of Para in Brazil, has long been a hotbed of culture and musical innovation. Enveloped by the mystical wonder of the Amazonian forest and overlooking the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, Belem consists of a diverse culture as vibrant and broad as the Amazon itself. Amerindians, Europeans, Africans - and the myriad combinations between these people - would mingle, and ingeniously pioneer musical genres such as Carimbó, Samba-De-Cacete, Siriá, Bois-Bumbás and bambiá . Another important aspect in understanding how the musical tradition spread in Belem, are the aparelhagem sonora: the sound system culture of Para. Beginning as simple gramophones connected to loudspeakers tied to light posts or trees, these sound systems livened up neighbourhood parties and family gatherings. The equipment evolved from amateur models into sophisticated versions, perfected over time through the wisdom of handymen. Today’s aparelhagens draw immense crowds, packing clubs with thousands of revelers in Belem’s peripheral neighbourhoods or inland towns in Para. The music and tales found in Jambu are stories of resilience, triumph against all odds, and, most importantly, of a city in the borders of the Amazon who has always known how to throw a damn good party, all brought to us by those good folks at Analog Africa!

Experimental producer Laurel Halo takes the reins of the DJ Kicks series. Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, she has been based in Berlin for a number of years and has released on labels such as Hyperdub, Honest Jon’s and Latency. As a DJ, meanwhile, she lays down more floor focussed mixes of techno, bass and worldly drum rhythms, and her live sets are similarly visceral and direct. Halo’s DJ-kicks packs a lot in to just 60 minutes. It kicks off with the her own ‘Public Art’, a tactile piano loop that sets the melodic tone of the mix in focus. Crunchy drums soon take over and begin what is a blistering ride through electro, trippy minimalism and textures that range from icy and dubby to steel plated and sharp from the likes of Red Axes, Parris and an exclusive from Rrose. Another exclusive, rough and ready cut from Machinewoman follows, before the mid section twists and turns on surging drum patterns, frantic industrial textures and spaced out gqom sounds from the likes of Griffit Vigo, Dario Zenker and Final Cut. This is a mix forever on the move: one minute its tightly coiled and kinetic, the next it’s loose and joyful before switching into more cerebral and insular passages that keep you intrigued. Here they all add up to something as thrilling and edgy as it is unpredictable and compelling.

The second edition listed here is representing both volumes of Dekmantel’s foray into the era-defining, trans-Atlantic, cult techno label that is Djax-Up-Beats, two stunnign doublepack re-issue of classic 90s cuts. Founded in Eindhoven at the turn of the 90s, Djax-Up-Beats quickly earned an international reputation for being a key source of Chicago house, acid techno, and floor-filling, heavy-hitting, straight up underground 12”s. It’s a sound that spawned the sonic aesthetics of today, and can be heard in the left field techno productions of the likes of Bjarki, Salon des Amateurs and other erstwhile analog junkies. Check out the first volume too!

The first Dj kicks release of 2019 was the ever evolving UK artist, Leon Vynehall. In a short space of time, Leon Vynehall has established himself as a DJ and producer with real craft. He brings a much wider than usual array of skills and influences to electronic music, and is always as likely to talk about minimalism, post-punk, or hip-hop as he is house and techno. It’s the same story with his DJs sets, and particularly this DJ-Kicks mix, which goes from 79-169bpm in fluid fashion. Always interesting and distinctly diverse both in genre and tempo, the mix stands up there with 4 stong compilations this year for Dj Kicks!