a slice of international oddball rap from la baleine 3000, a group composed of belgian producer lawrence le doux, french dj afrojaws, and japanese mc illreme. the ep features seven cuts of soft, dreamy beats, vinyl fuzz, and delicate verses that speak to hip-hop’s universal appeal and ability to transcend boundaries. as illreme puts it on the nap , “the story is always over on the way. when does this story end?”
sleeve created on an analog typewriter in the vlek workshop by dimitri runkkari. hand-carved vinyl art by jeff ablezot.

the highly anticipated squeaky lobster ep has been worth every second of the wait. in terms of sample / synth selection, song structure and sound quality, no expense has been spared. hi-fi synthetic drums intertwine with lo-fi sampled kicks & snares whilst heavy stretched out synth bass lines are topped with bollywood-esque string samples, 80s guitar bridges & plenty of other orchestral mayhem. the lush, thick melodic layers mount up into a frequently spine-tingling whole whilst the rhythm section, although outside the box, does by no means neglect the headnod factor. the incredible feat here is that although no 8 bars are quite the same as the next, a sense of unity is preserved within each genre-defying track, making it the stuff of epic journeys. you may start your listening experience in front of your turntable, staring at the record spinning, but you will end up somewhere quite different, squeaky lobster has made sure of that. as man from phone number 770021 would say: >this is $50.000. good luck.<

belgian label vlek presents the new double lp from lyon based musician thibaut de raymond.

after his well acclaimed soundtrack lp on hivern discs, brussels based producer lawrence le doux is returning to homebase vlek for his next offering. and what a project it has become: le doux, heads first, dived deep into the belgian national history of electronic music, and came up with a sampler covering the various fields the belgians have explored over the last 30 years. from digi dub over simple drum computer house to one­man industrial cassettes: host has it all.

former half of the defunct pitch & hold duo under the banner of which he operated from 2006 to 2011, simon halsberghe steps up on brussels’ very own vlek with his debut solo ep as simon hold. first heard on vlek s 2016 mix for resident advisor as they were appointed label of the month by the high­ranking platform last autumn, maqam bruxelloise reflects the wide­angle beauty and compelling diversity of the belgian capital and its throbbing heart, a city at the confluence of cultures and languages. across a finely­layered interplay of synthetic modulations and intricate polyrhythms, hold lays out a riveting kaleidoscope of pattern­welded textures and prismatic synth motifs played and arranged accordingly to a contemporary interpretation of the traditional arabic maqam system of improvisation the track draws its title from. an ode to brussels all­embracing effervescence. translating as -soft drone- or -pleasant noise-, the gritty dhajij doux then welcomes you into a more disquieting, bipolar audio scenario that evokes the reality of living -in a sometimes difficult and hostile city-. a curiously matching negative of the opener, in this that it taps into the same generous and plural matrix universe as main source of inspiration, but eventually opens on a more nuanced outcome, here hold clearly shows a further abrasive facet of his work: harsh and vibrant, the track may be replete with a lead­heavy amalgam of sizzling bass and jagged drumwork thrown into the furnace, light and hope still manage threading their way through dark clouds and turbulence, slowly but surely turning this rough­hewn stone into a truly haunting gem.

yann leguay is a brussels-based french artist. his approach to sound design for installation, performance and film centers on the materiality of sound. both as visual artist, sound maker and reverse, he has participated in numerous exhibitions and festival in europe and beyond. he also composes sound tracks for artist s films and participates in choreographic projects (with ula sickle, studio kabako...).

brussels’ michael “weird dust” crabbé & ernesto “bear bones, lay low” gonzález play electronic music to dance and trip out to as tav exotic, using all kinds of machines except goddamn laptops.

on les horizons brussels aymeric de tapol delivers 7 tracks that explore his love of proto-techno pulses.

lawrence le doux returns to vlek with four tracks of playful, hauntologically minded electronica and techno

the new sagat is truly emotional: the drums are neat and the sounds are warm. tight groovy rhythms travelling within layers of the deepest dark dub without sounding evident or tried. familiar but new. precise funk made of techno frequencies. reverb and delays that bring butter to your ears: melting the earth onto your body. *melt* is a body: it has a rhythmic pattern and synths that pop up like a breathing living organism. *earth* is the landscape: you can visualize it. *organs* is your brain thinking about a better dance world and *body* is what is left to dance in the way old gescom vynils used to.

a beautiful release that ranges from blissful interstellar ambience to experimental noise & industrial rhythms.

lawrence la doux returns on vlek.

these six mossy drone compositions seem to reflect de tapols interest in climatic music.

a three-armed entity consisting of sagat,&apos, and walrus, bepotel build sonic landscapes. hazy or sparkling, their sound is a portal to digital emotions, their interpretations of widescreen sympathy, lukewarm spandex conviviality, of miscalculated disorder. with previous releases for meakusma, the brussels based label/artist-platform lamadameaveclechien, as well as their own eponymous imprint, kikkerkelik marks the trios first release for vlek.

recently featured in ben klocks fabric66 mix, sagat is making his way up in techno circles around the globe. this is his second effort, an extra-limited release on belgiums vlek records, with a gorgeously crafted screenprinted sleeve

a belgian breaks journey

ssaliva (aka cupp cave) has been very active lately with releases on vlek & ramp as cupp cave, the previous ssaliva out on vlek earlier this year, a rbma participation & lots of live gigs all over europe. this is ssalivas second ep on vlek. as its little brother it is a perfect display of how he mastered the magic of wows and flutters. 8 tracks of a vibe thats been dubbed by xlr8r as soaked in codeine and smoked to the gills. the sleeve was made on a full analog letterpress with an original artwork by dimitri runkkari (responsible for the critically acclaimed first ssalivas cover). bright pink vinyl, limited edition.

sagat delivers fresh & foggy techno. great hardwax styled techno which reminds to ancient methods

limited 7 inch release

ltd to 300 copies - 10 inch gold vinyl

cupp cave was once heralded as belgians best kept secret.Ê well, guess what?Ê the secrets out.Ê from the us to japan, his glitchy beats have stood out as some of the most innovative and rich amongst today s electronic hip hop producers.Ê but he doesnt stop at just making dope beats, he crafts universes, ocean deep and mountains high.Ê hes also proven his ability to wear as the weather and terrains demand while roaming through tese soni landscapes. as kingfisherg hes spen his time excavating golden sine waves from deep, lost caves. as sineshine, hes fished out a treasure trove of long-forgotten disco nuggets.Ê as cupp cave, he serves up busted-gaming-console-and-dusted-broken-beat concentrate, filtered through a tub of radioactive waste to devastating effects. he also forms one half of surfkill along with dynooo. this ep sees françois / cupp cave return to his one true love: making sloppy chicagoesque beats. just like all of vleks output, it comes in a hand-screenprinted, hand made, numbered cover.

this brussels-based crustacean s cosmic craft has to be heard to be believed. sounds spring to life from forgotten corners of your speakers, each one battling for your attention yet always emerging at the right time and the right place, painting its part of the picture. shards of broken breakbeat litter the sea-bed and form a solid back bone for this invertebrate s innovative use of samples, synths and instrumentation. leading you from one vast soundscape to the next, complete with unexpected plot twists in foreign waters, squeaky lobster s beats take you out of the aquarium and into the abyss. lapti (rus). this russian beatmaker scavenges most of his samples right off vhs or dictaphone tapes. melodies you ve never heard, together with familiar retro samples, create a nostalgic and cinematic mood. masterly produced hip hop instrumentals, a clear and fresh sound, new themes and original interpretations of old and good - this is the spin of lapti