hot on the heels of inre rydmen, the ep that the swedish multi-instrumentalist group tommy awards released via origin peoples in mid-june, come the remixes. drafting in a cohort of the very best, this impending release will see the likes of jonny nash, coyote and mystic jungle tribe jump on the remix duties, touching original productions with their unmistakable idiosyncrasies. bartosz kruczynski, the polish producer better known under his earth trax guise, is another name credited on the release, offering up a 15-minute epic as he reinterprets penultimate track, hans logan. also to see an appearance on this ep is the romanian eirwud mudwasser, offering up a rendition of the track ‘mike sierra foxtrot’ reworked in a similar esoteric expanse, albeit it quite a bit more lucid. oscillating electronics mesmerise and an arpeggiating synth melody gradually make way for marimbas. sweeping, elongated strums of guitar stretch out like the horizon and the dialogue between various melodic elements continues throughout as we bear witness to various transformations. irregardless of pacing, the meditative quality remaining consistent throughout each glorious edit.

sometimes you can tell from the first listen of a recording that its creator has a totalizing vision that transcends time and genre. you will experience this rare sensation when you play panoram’s “a doom with a view”. the italian producer has tapped into a vein of surrealist sonic collage that s at once allusive and elusive. the album parades baffling micro-movements past your ears like a secret history of misunderstood musical remnants heard on damaged media formats, 50 years after a catastrophic disaster. it exposes continuity and logic as specious myths, jettisoning these vestigial elements in order to make space for a higher form of aural alchemy.

brought to you by two of the sharpest selectors in the western us, origin peoples #6 simultaneously captures the essence of a period when dancefloors were not yet divided into a million sub-genres, when all that mattered was a groove that made you move. it also skillfully showcases the kind of refined beat mining we find today, when increased freedom of information makes even the most seasoned crate diggers bow down in amazement at the sheer weight of great music yet to be discovered.
across both sides, we find the combined talents of san diego based legends bernie “dj inform” fishman (side a) and mike “marsellus” wallace (side b), former roommates who first met while record hunting, eventually cementing a bond centered around the endless pursuit of quality sound. their respective collections are among some of the most respected worldwide, and the knowledge and flair on display in their dj sets is something to behold.
for those not yet fortunate enough to have caught fishman and/or marsellus out in the wild, you now have these recordings to enjoy - so turn those volume dials all the way up. a sure sign of the gifted dj is an ability to educate and entertain in equal measure, whether on the floor, in your crib, or on the street. to have two such selectors on a format that fits in the pocket is a treat that can’t be beat.

continuing an impassioned survey of nigerian boogie music kicked off earlier this year, the swedish record collector/illustrator leolyxxx extends his exploration of the african nation’s sonic riches on plastic inners ii. still making sense of the vast trove of vinyl amassed over 2017, leo boiled things down into another 80-plus-minute joyride of his favorite selections. staying both on theme (a showcase of nigerian music’s stylistic diversity and quality) and energy (uptempo euphoria-bringers, slow-motion highlife and mood-elevating r&b), this second installment maintains the unique, vibrant narrative established in his previously acclaimed plastic inners - volume 1.

mixtapes these days come a fraction of a penny a dozen and amid the inundation, a tiny ratio of these mixes truly deserves your precious time. the elusive british dj nommo hunzuu has pieced together one such essential collage for your ears with drinnen traum (translation: indoors dream). over an hour of painstaking aural weaving, nommo hunzuu lures you into his own distinctive aural universe that favors odd juxtapositions and immersive atmospheres laced with complementary film dialogue and gnomic declarations from culture icons like william s. burroughs and timothy leary.

welcome to ‘magic maze’ a guided meditation from oslo’s helene rickard. over two sides of a c60 cassette, the norwegian dj curates an immersive journey through imaginary landscapes and possible musics, marrying the organic and synthetic into a deep tissue massage of healing frequencies. showing infinite patience, the camp cosmic regular gradually oscillates between fourth world exotica and pastoral new age, at once opening our minds with the celestial splendour of crystalline chimes connecting us all with future primitive hymns. as we float along under helene’s benevolent gaze we encounter each of the elements, oceanic reverb, vaporous reeds, earthy drones and smouldering tones, each imparting its own ancient wisdom as we pass.
but enlightenment seldom comes without adversity and the mixtape’s most divine moments often appear in the wake of disorienting intensity. fortune favours the brave, and if you free your mind, open your heart and follow the twists and turns of the ‘magic maze’, your rewards with be both earthly and divine.

almost otherworldly in its vastness and serene beauty, many musicians have drawn from the well of inspiration that is arizona’s sonoran desert, but few are quite as accomplished or prolific as steve roach. an ambient pathfinder and electronic innovator, his back catalogue as vast as those breathtaking vistas – sonic renderings of arid landscapes littered with saguaro cacti are found in good company alongside didgeridoo-focused experiments and ethereal drifts that navigate the event horizon, between the brilliance of space and a black abyss.
reminiscent of philip glass’ minimalism and the kosmische stylings of tangerine dream, ‘skeleton keys’ seemed to fall somewhere between the two. conjuring expansive meditations amongst the impossible tangle of wires that dangle from his apparatus, roach opens portals from the grand canyon state into a cluster of newborn stars with intricate, intelligent sequencing and modular synthesis.
recorded between 2005 and 2015 from roach’s famed timeroom and timehouse studios, the album was fully realized through advancements in technology, specifically, synthesizers.com’s large format analog modular sequencer. organic, fluid and intuitively kneaded into his spooling soundscapes, it’s now to be committed to cassette for the first time, bridging the synaptic gap with a new ‘expanded’ version that elongates the original 74-minute duration.

there’s a good reason new age music has been soaring back to the forefront of the media’s cultural agenda and the population’s consciousness: this planet is a stressful ball of confusion at the best of times, and seeking refuge from reality’s shitstorm has become mandatory for us to regain a semblance of sanity. new age music is an effective coping mechanism in this regard. st. louis-based heavy breathing is one of america’s foremost proponents for the cause, proven here through his meditative “escalators in space” mixtape.

stepping in from the cold, martin sander dons his hypnobirds alias for the first time since wreaking desolation alongside fellow swedish experimentalist, varg. more recently, he and michel isorinne paid tribute to the stockholm-based studio, bandhagen airport, upping the emotional content for a deeply personal record. now flying solo, another poignantly-charged release arrives hot on its heels as sander makes up for lost time following close to three years spent dormant.

initial listens to inre rymden (swedish for inner space) reveal it to be a curious combination of slow-motion house music and salubrious new age funk. in this case, first impressions are accurate, and they should intrigue you enough to dive deeper into the paradisiacal vistas tommy awards paint here. the opening track prometheus introduces that feeling of sundown deliquescence that very few musicians can summon, as it locks into a laid-back groove that induces utmost serenity, buoyed by sublimely mellow guitar vibes that should make fans of manuel gšttsching s ashra and phil manzanera s solo output spring to attention. draget conjures the sort of exquisite elegance and preternatural chill last heard on roxy musics 1982 lp avalon but somehow its even more blissed out than that boudoir classic. and so it goes for most of inre rymden: among the six tracks, only rexy hints at tension, courtesy of a bass line that sounds like it should score a prisoners walk to the electric chair. but thats tempered by guitar sighs of radiant melancholy, not unlike those lofted by popol vuh s daniel fichelscher. even when inre rymden gets relatively uptempo, as on hans logan, it still glides like gilded, glazed, balearic house jams, urged on by subliminal bongos and dappled with pastel guitar shimmers far off on the horizon. music is love and love is our music, runs tommy awards slogan (a sentiment beautifully echoed by david crosby on his revered 1971 album if i could only remember my name), but one could also argue that it is medicine a balmy ear massage that spreads healing frissons to all areas of your body and mind. tommy awards continue their miraculous act as scandinavians channeling the tropics with stunning audio verisimilitude.

somewhere between a dadaistic mixtape, a surreal audio collage sourced from his record collection, and sporadic interjections from his own storehouse of outlandish and intriguing productions, this 79-minute journey reveals madteo’s freewheeling rigor in the studio.
confessions of a permanent alien opium beater is another crucial piece of a discography from one of music’s most fascinating enigmas, a celestial lysergic jukebox that conjures new pleasures and deeper mysteries with each listen.