for release number ten, happy skull have come full circle with the return of original label alumni adjowa. the uk based producer and musician has fired up his orchestra of rusty, defunct machines to deliver three highly melodic, unashamedly oddball disco jams.
inspired by low budget, private press boogie, italo and electro records, the tracks were recorded to tape in one take with no post-production and dubbed live on a crackly old desk.

after years sound tracking the dancehalls of bristol via their considered selections as djs, brotherly pair the kelly twins add label bosses to their cvs with the establishment of happy skull. the label kick offs in illustrious fashion with a collaborative release between two of bristols most interesting producers, kowton and hyetal. adopting the name systems of desire, the pair worked on a track together, before going off to produce their own individual versions entitled *control* and *consumption*, the results are exactly the intriguing cross between kowtons raw, crunchy, grime influenced techno and hyetal’s glistening synth work you would imagine.

90s idm

to kick-start 2018, happy skull serve up a rare ep from italy s d arcangelo brothers. the sibling duo have been active since the early 1990s, when they played a pivotal role in shaping the sound of roman techno alongside contemporaries lory d, leo anibaldi and their automatic sound unlimited production partner, max durante. in the two decades that have passed since, fabrizio and marco have consistently delivered off-kilter, futurist electronic masterpieces for the likes of nature, analogical force and, most famously, rephlex. the four tracks contained on this happy skull outing are not re-discovered archive cuts, but rather fresh slabs of mind-altering musical intoxication. the alternating bliss and acid-fired psychedelia of -saba tree-and the creeping late night paranoia of -pull seven- set the tone. the effervescent fun continues on the flip, where saucer-eyed chords and idm electronics combine on the rush-inducing -13th cider-. to finish things off fabrizio and marco treat us to -korty-, a mesmerizing, deep space slow jam full of backwards electronics and rumbling flashes of sub-bass.

regular studio sparring partners october and borai rekindle their ongoing partnership for hometown label happy skull, eschewing the conventions of club-ready house and techno in favour of two decidedly dark industrial interpretations.

cologne based acid maverick andreas gehm dons his elec pt1 guise for his debut 12inch on bristols happy skull. following a string of releases for acclaimed labels such as jamal mosss mathematics recordings, creme jak, chiwax, bunker and solar one, gehm is fast emerging as one of the most prolific and distinctive producers bubbling up from the european underground

happy skulls first release of 2015 comes from uk based artist creta kano, who first impressed with his 2013 debut on rotterdam’s pinkman records. he showcases his highly melodious and deeply textured sound across three tracks for the bristol imprint. *skyway motel* is an emotive, detroit inspired amalgamation of warm chords and rolling drum machine rhythms. the tracks romantic qualities are emphasised on *skyway 81*, a screwed, pitched-down version that re-casts the original as a serotonin fuelled slow jam. *false water* completes the package. a sprawling trip in to broken techno territory, reminiscent of 90s era rephlex.

having previously impressed with vivid blends of cosmic r&b, skewed space-pop, glistening post-ambient soundscapes and mangled, synth-laden grime, rising star throwing shade (aka producer nabihan iqbal) demonstrates her dancefloor side with a killer 12- on happy skull. -chancer- and -blanx- both retain iqbal s uniquely intergalactic aesthetic,whilst flitting between jacking, chicago-influenced house rhythms and jazzy, off-kilter dancefloor grooves. synths sparkle, while vocal snippets drift in and out of the mix. the 12- is completed by a riotous, predictably heavyweight remix from kowton, whose guttural techno grooves are peppered with cut-up samples of iqbal s distinctive, dreamy vocals.

for their fourth transmission, happy skull presents a trio of dystopian fantasies from analogue maverick marco bernardi. opener floating is a throbbing trip in to rattling techno territory complete with discordant chords and bubbling acid lines. broken boiler offers a trademark bernardi fusion of sweet, visceral melodies and raw machine drums. rounding things off is upside in , a fearlessly wonky voyage in to freaky techno-funk.

rhythmic theory makes his debut for happy skull with two of his darkest, otherworldly productions yet. >decadance of delay< is an unflinching sprint into techno-jack territory, all distorted machine rhythms, hallucinatory whispered vocals and hypnotic electronics.>endocrine creeatures< is a dystopian blast of 808 electro built around titanium-clad kicks, snappy snares and rippling acid lines

after launching with the excellent systems of desire collaboration between kowton and hyetal, happy skull expand their remit with the introduction of a new artist. describing himself as a *caped conductor of a rusty, disobedient mechanical orchestra*, little is known about london based producer adjowa but his two original productions here hint that he wont remain unknown for long. accompanying adjowas original heat is a remix from premier eglo artist funkineven!