RRR004 – Joseph Malik – Love Bound EP

Back in October 2017, I was clearing out the spam trap on my PC when I found Joseph Malik’s ‘Diverse Part 2’ LP trapped deep within an IT abyss. The first track I opened was ‘Love Bound’ – 4 bars in and I was hooked; 8 bars in and I was in pieces. I rang Joseph, we discussed the inspiration for the track and on the strength of ‘Love Bound’, I signed the entire ‘Diverse Part 2’ album.It was then that I promised him that if I ever remixed the track, I would apply my 40 plus years of love and devotion to a genre known as ‘beat ballads’ and for those of you who aren’t deep soul aficionados, beat ballads reigned supreme in early 1960’s. Their walking paced rhythms were drenched in emotion featuring finely honed vocals from artists such as Roy Hamilton, Lou Johnson, Tommy Hunt and Freddie Scott. Their lyrics were marinated in a mixture of heartache, misery, broken promises, anguished teens sitting by phones that never rang, mascara’d teardrops running down cheeks - but above all, the pain of love gone bad. Side A showcases the original LP version mixed & produced by Joseph Malik and David Donnelly, who combine the elegance of Brian Wilson, De La Soul’s hip hop impudence and Prince Paul’s humour with Mr Malik’s raw delivery scouring your soul. Side B see Jo Wallace & Darren Morris take over the controls and their ‘North Street’ remix invokes the spirit of the Beach Boys, the genius of New York’s Brill Building outpourings, the Wrecking Crew sensibilities, the grandeur of Scott Walker and his brothers and a nod towards the musical giants, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Ragovoy and Teddy Randazzo. Joseph Malik distills all of the above into one tiny droplet of truly monumental 21st Century Soul that is, ladies and gentlemen, ‘Love Bound’ – trust me, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Twelve Caesars - Scenes from Wild Eyed Dreams LP

Artist: Twelve CaesarsTitle: Scenes from Wild Eyed DreamsRelease date: April 14th, 2023Label: Ramrock Red RecordsCatalogue No: RRRLP009Following on from their outstanding 2022 EP release, ‘Swan Fendered Mercury’, Twelve Caesars aka Andrew Pipe and Stephen Ennever unveil their debut Ramrock Red LP release, ‘Scenes from Wild Eyed Dreams’. The inspiration for the LP’s title, 'Scenes From Wild Eyed Dreams', is a lyric taken from a song on the album called 'Eleven Ways From Hell' - legend has it that there are 11 hidden portals on Earth through which one can enter the Underworld. The topics covered by the LP’s tracks take you on a bit of trek, moving from the US Civil Rights Movement through to Tiananmen Square and the Fall of the Berlin Wall via the war in Vietnam.The forthcoming single release, ‘California Sleaze’ drops on March 31st with remixes from the infamous No’West production team. Did someone say ‘Laurel Canyon’?

George T ft Joseph Malik Automatic Self on Hold - EP

Artist: George TTitle: Automatic Self On Hold ft. Joseph MalikLabel: F*CLRCat. No: FCLR020Release date: March 27th, 2023F*CLR Records are beyond happy to present you with the debut release from internationally renowned producer/remixer, George T and his collaboration with Scotland’s finest, Joseph Malik. George has never done anything by the book and with ‘Automatic Self On Hold’, he has taken Joseph’s vocals and added David Rosenthal’s exquisite trumpet playing and distilled them together to give you the very essence of classic Detroit Techno and Chicago House with 21st century house experimentation sensibilities, creating something incredibly fresh. Already receiving massive support from Ashley Beedle, the initial reaction from ‘those in the know’ has been outstanding. Emerging from the epic Scottish House and Techno scene of the 90s, George started his musical adventures as a DJ then promoter, bringing DJs from Chicago, New York, Toronto, Paris and London to Scotland to play at the legendary Tribal Funktion parties in Edinburgh. Aside from co-founding Edinburgh’s Underground Solushn record shop, he also started producing his own blend of Techno and House in the mid 90s which led to a string of releases with seminal labels such as NRK, Stickman, 2020 vision, Crosstown Rebels, Tirk and more recently Greco-Roman, Optimo and Output Recordings. After a move to London in 2000 the George T moniker began a long hiatus and nothing was heard until Joe Goddard released an EP of rediscovered gems on Greco-Roman in 2017. His various monikers from then and now include Plastic Avengers, George Demure and more recently as one half of Jeanga and George. He collaborates extensively and some of his most recent projects have featured globally acclaimed actor, Tam Dean Burn and Paranoid London’s Quinn Whalley. He continues to share his eclectic tastes on his monthly radio show “All Noise” on Edinburgh’s EHFM Radio.

Twelve Caesars – California Sleaze – Lyric video

Twelve Caesars - California Sleaze - Lyric VideoArtist: Twelve CaesarsTitle: California Sleaze EPRelease date: March 31st, 2023Label: Ramrock Red RecordsCatalogue No: RRR038Following on from their outstanding 2022 Ramrock Red EP release, ‘Swan Fendered Mercury’, Twelve Caesars aka Andrew Pipe and Stephen Ennever take you on a West Coast road trip with their wonderfully evocative ‘California Sleaze’. An homage to Robert F Kennedy, ‘California Sleaze’ takes its inspiration from Mahalia Jackson’s ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’ & Blind Willie Johnson ‘Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed’ and delivered with a Crosby, Stills and Nash-esque fusion of folk, rock, psychedelic and country music. Did someone say ‘Laurel Canyon’?The North Street West crew will be remixing the track for a May/June release. Until then, play loud and love the one you’re with. Peace.

Twelve Caesars - California Sleaze

Artist: Twelve CaesarsTitle: California Sleaze EPRelease date: March 31st, 2023Label: Ramrock Red RecordsCatalogue No: RRR038Following on from their outstanding 2022 Ramrock Red EP release, ‘Swan Fendered Mercury’, Twelve Caesars aka Andrew Pipe and Stephen Ennever take you on a West Coast road trip with their wonderfully evocative ‘California Sleaze’. An homage to Robert F Kennedy, ‘California Sleaze’ takes its inspiration from Mahalia Jackson’s ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’ & Blind Willie Johnson ‘Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed’ and delivered with a Crosby, Stills and Nash-esque fusion of folk, rock, psychedelic and country music. Did someone say ‘Laurel Canyon’?The North Street West crew will be remixing the track for a May/June release. Until then, play loud and love the one you’re with. Peace.

Glenn Davis – Special – EP

Glenn Davis returns to F*CLR for his 3rd EP on the label and all I can say is that this EP is an absolute killer. It’s been almost impossible to keep the lid on this house track of epic proportions for the last 12 months. Simple, effective and deadly, Ashley Beedle dropped the original on dubplate at one of the now legendary ‘Heavy Disco’ parties at the beginning of 2020 and the crowd lost their minds. Shazam went into meltdown and nobody could find the answer!Glenn’s original harks back to the halcyon days of classic New York house - think Masters at Work, think Kerri Chandler, think Tony Humphries, think ‘category is taking it to church’. This is what ballroom beats are all about – attitude, realness and taking no prisoners. It really is a thing of beauty and has already gone into the realms of ‘classic’ with all the heads who have had the dubplate. It is the distillation of everything good about true house music – it remains faithful to the early pioneers’ vision of what they hoped house music would become.Once again, the ‘North Street’ crew, Ashley Beedle, Darren Morris and Jo Wallace, flip the script on their ‘North Street West’ remix of ‘Special’ and inject a late 80’s toughness into the groove while bringing it bang up to date with chopped beats, nasty piano and a jacking tempo that ‘werks’ Glenn’s original track.

Strandtuch – Copa – EP

Hailing from Paris, the 23 year old Strandtuch started 5 years ago using Ableton Live, a couple of plug-ins plus an Akai MPK MINI, Strandtuch is now beginning to move into analog production - a few little synths here and a Roland MC 303 there. The results can be heard on his debut ‘COPA’ EP, which draws influences from Funk, Hip-Hop as well as Old & NuSkool House & Techno.The title track ‘COPA’ leads you into an EP that is full of surprises - subtle changes of direction starting with wonderfully dark and warm repetitive riffs that embed themselves into your psyche. Showing a great understanding of past musical eras, ‘Detroit 84’ with its simple but soulful vocal gives a nod towards the halcyon days of Detroit House and Techno with house legened, Ashley Beedle on remix duties for the vocal and beats versions. ‘Curlz’ ups the tempo and the result is a track with an incessant 4/4 beat with some jazzy riffs thrown in for good measure and closes Strandtuch’s EP in style.

Six&Belly – ‘Silly Me’ – EP

F*CLR, are proud to present Sarajevo based DJ/production outfit Six & Belly [Erol (Six) and Amar (Belly)] who emerged from post-war Bosnia and over the last 16 years, have helped re-build up their country’s dance scene as well as co-founding the now legendary Bosnian dance label, Re-Publika. Meeting in their teens, Erol and Amar share a deep passion and appreciation for electronic, techno and house - Amar, under the production name of Drzneday, has had more than 30 releases on various labels including the massive Euro hit ‘Electro Clap’. Erol has always been the house head and after years of persuasion, he has finally got Amar to apply his considerable production talents to a couple of tracks – ‘Silly Me’ and ‘No Longer’ which are debuting on and launching F*CLR. ‘Silly Me’ is a big room tune, a massive, uncompromising dancefloor bomb that is guaranteed to mess with your head! ‘No Longer’ is deliciously dark with ominously compelling vocals, pounding bass and a relentless 4/4 rhythm nailing it firmly to the bangers mast. Play loud and enjoy!

Azaxx – The Dalston Junction EP

F*CLR are hugely delighted to deliver four beautifully diverse tracks from Rennes based DJ, Azaxx on his ‘Dalston Junction’ EP . First up is ‘Funk Be Good To Me’, a lovely housed up groove with thundering bass riffs, a dusting of vibes, squishy melodies, cowbell and vibroslap – trust me, it’s good! With it’s nujazz sensibilities, drop downs and cheeky vocal stabs ‘Jazz Line’ is a surefire poolside winner wherever your summer happens to be. ‘Slowly Gonzales’ ticks all the spacey, tripped out downtempo boxes and will have heads nodding sagely…and finally, ‘Dalston Junction’ is a deep house number where Azaxx’s deftness of production allows this track’s ethereal nuances and lopping rhythms to breath. And now, a bit about the artist…..Azaxx started playing trip hop from labels like Mo’ Wax and Source in the early days, but quickly moved on to drum ‘n’ bass from key players such as Roni Size, Hype and Congo Natty. As he honed his own distinctive DJ style, Azaxx became more interested in the original samples behind the more liquid funk side of the sound, delving deeper into drum ‘n’ bass heritage. After crate digging his grandmother’s collection of old mambo, salsa and modern jazz, Azaxx took these flavours and a hint of production influences from the likes of DJ Cam, Funk MoFunk Mob and Motorbass and became an active member of the Big Beat scene in Rennes. In 2004, he hooked up with Freddy Fresh, who became an instant fan and released Azaxx’s debut 7” funky breaks head-nodder ‘Bahia’ on his well-regarded Howlin’ Records. ‘Bahia’ gained Azaxx a following across the Channel in the UK, most notably from the late, great John Peel who played the track on his legendary BBC Radio 1 show. In the same year, Azaxx released his debut album on French indie, Mobil-Home Recordings. By 2007, Azaxx’s killer track ‘Fiesta Tropical’ brought him to the attention of Tru Thoughts who released his full length album ‘The Exotic Delight Bay’ in 2009.Since then Azaxx has DJ’d as far afield as Brazil, and in a uniquely intriguing addition to his CV, he has produced records for esteemed Celtic harpist Alan Stivell, aka ‘the Father of traditional Celtic music’ from his native Brittany. DJs including Pathaan (BBC Asian Network) and Domu (BBC 1Xtra) have championed Azaxx’s work both as a solo artist and as part of Monster Sneaker Diesler & Azaxx. You can catch him in and around Europe on the decks serving up an eclectic cocktail of grooves joining the dots between Latin, jazz, rare groove, nujazz and broken beats.

Strandtuch – ‘Inside my spaceship’ – EP

French producer, Strandtuch returns after the success of his debut ‘COPA’ EP, released on F*CLR in 2016. ‘Inside My Spaceship’ sees the Parisian producer explore the deeper realms that 2016’s COPA EP hinted at. With elements of acid, the early 90’s Italian dream house that Young Marco has recently been exploring, alongside cosmic and jazz-fusion, ‘Inside My Spaceship’ is an impressive collection of tracks utilizing analog equipment and raw, unprocessed drum machines to give the release an organic feel throughout.The EP’s title track, ‘Inside My Spaceship’ delivers a menacingly insistent and rugged rhythm that meanders around brooding keyboards, hi-hats and crunching handclaps leading to a simple but devastatingly catchy hook. ‘Dreamland’ weaves a soul vocal around an incessant 4/4 beat before ethereal keys take the track to the next level and ‘Luv’ Beat’ has all the makings of a classic 6am mix. ‘Wired’ is a beautifully sparse piece that explores the similar future-boogie, lo-fi territories that artists like Harvey Sutherland and Max Graef have been venturing into recently as well.

Glenn Davis – ‘Body & Soul’ – EP

Glenn’s ‘Body & Soul’ EP is a deep soulful affair aimed firmly at the dance floor fusing his love of all things Chicago, Detroit & NYC. The title track ‘Body & Soul’ has its roots firmly in the Strictly Rhythm/Nu Groove groove – a lush, organ driven banger that is guaranteed to incite hands in the air mayhem. Ashley Beedle & the North Street crew put a different spin on ‘Body & Soul’ giving it a spaced out, Balearic feel while ‘I ain’t got nothing’ has got attitude and then some. The held string, melancholy chords and beautifully ethereal vocals take you to that tiny, dimly lit backstreet club in your mind - you’ve all been there – the one you never want to leave. The gasping interjections on ‘I feel it’ are underpinned by ominous synths while ‘Emotional Intelligence’ takes you in an even darker Detroit direction. The whole EP is beautifully crafted by Glenn and has already had major props from the likes of Terry Farley and Gilles Petereson. Glenn’s next release ‘Dublin’ will be out shortly on F*CLR Records.Irish producer/DJ, Glenn Davis’s earliest musical influences come from The Jam, James Brown, Motown and 80's New Wave and at 16, Glenn got the vinyl bug and when Mark Dixon opened Dublin’s Phuture Groove Records in the mid 90’s, he was able to indulge in his passion for deep house & techno. Labels like Balance, Prescription, U Star, MA, Ibadan, Planet E, Op Art, 100% Pure and Ferox all helped shape his later compositions.Glenn's first gig was playing for the D1 Records night in early 2000's - primarily a Detroit techno night featuring some of the upcoming DJs from the techno underground - UR, DJ Bone, Octave One Claude Young and Rub a Dub Records. In 2005, he got together with his mates and, inspired by trips to the legendary Southport Soul Weekender, they formed Groovement Soul running club nights with a deeper, soulful jazz house sound and bringing some of their favourite DJ’s to play in Dublin.Over the last 15 years, Glenn has had residencies in Dublin, played at the Oxygen & Electric Picnic festivals, represented at the 2013/14 Southport Weekenders and played alongside DJ’s including Recloose, Dr Bob Jones, Benji B, Kev Beadle, Moscow producer Lay Far and Thatmanmonkz. In October 2017, Manchester based Ele Records released an EP featuring Glenn’s ‘Holdin’ On’ track and ‘Planet Rock’ by the mighty Byron the Aquarius.

Mutenoise – ‘Midnight’ – EP

F*CLR are hugely excited and honoured to present Moscow producer/DJ Mutenoise aka Alexander Bannikov and his masterful ‘Midnight’ EP – available on digital and limited 12”, the vinyl has the bonus track, ‘Northern Lights’, which isn’t being digitally promo’d so you’ll have to buy the vinyl! But meanwhile, back to the EP – kicking off with Mutenoise’s original version of ‘Midnight’, rooted in the deep tradition of jazz dancers, has a toughness that crosses over and aligns itself to modern house with a warm, soulful vibe. On the remix tip, Ashley Beedle ramps up the drums with a nod towards the classic sound of 90’s New York and MAW releases and along with the ‘Stripped Back’ + ‘Mixers Delight’ edits, he adds an extra element of remix goodness for the heads. ‘Rules of Monopoly’ is proper late night tunage, perfect for those 5am sets, with its crisp handclaps + percussion, rising chords underpinned by an unwavering bassline – house music at it’s very best. And just to tease you – ‘Northern Lights’ (bonus vinyl only track) - another jazz soaked house track with beautiful chords, ephemeral vocal samples – echoes of downtown Moscow after dark….Originally from far flung Western Siberia, Mutenoise gravitated towards Moscow and became an intergral part of the vibrant Russian electronic dance scene rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lay Far and fellow F*CLR artist, Stan Serkin. Mutenoise has released on such labels as Raw Underground Records (UK), Vesna (UA), Underground Sources (TN), Smile for a While (DE).

Bon Voyage – ‘High Power’ – EP

Bon Voyage, the globally renowned Hip-House duo from LA, Brooklyn, London and Finglas drop their explosive ‘High Power’ EP with North Street R.A.V.E + Fun.kay remixes from Ashley Beedle + the crew.The ‘R.A.V.E’ vocals encourage you to ride the Nu Acid House wave with relentless, jackin’ piano from Darren Morris. Audio influences from Doug Lazy’s ‘Let It Roll’, the Chicago Trax and DJ International labels and a nod towards the classic Acid House sound of Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley are all part of the mix. Meanwhile, the tripped out ‘R.A.V.E’ Dub takes you to the outer limits of the M25 Orbital. Flipping the musical style back a decade from the 80’s to the 70’s, a monster slab of Philly goodness provides the bedrock for the ‘Fun.kay’ remixes with more Soul Train slickness than you can shake a stick at.Bon Voyage = Hip House + Arthouse + Acid House = Shamon Cassette, the Furious 5 love child and music and fashion powerhouse spilling rhymes, with Arveene, the super connected internationalist/DJ aficionado dropping bass lines and making beats, showcasing his exceptional production talents. With regular Radio 1, 1 XTRA, KISS FM and global airwave exposure, Bon Voyage are no strangers to dance playlists and DJ Charts with an abundance of glowing accolades from the likes of MistaJam, Annie Mac and Pete Tong.