This Banger form 2010 by croatia`s finest Ilija Rudman get a 7" re-issue treatment from personal records. A soulful prehouse
journey filled with 80's keyboards and a heavy bass! With the Instumental on the flip.

A1 - What Am I Gonna Do?
B1 - What Am I Gonna Do? Dub More

A1 - Just An Illusion – Ilija Rudman Night Institute Mix
B1 - Don’t Look Any Further – Ilija Rudman True Colours Mix
Ilija Rudman adds his outstanding touch to these two Classics - reworking and editing a pair of pearls on either side of a 7”. Favourites of many in their original form, ‘Classics – Versions EP’ sees Rudman strip down the arrangements paying special attention to the essence of the vibe.
A new lease of life injected into the grooves, just like those versions were done in the studio way back when - as special B-sides for special moments.
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Croatian producer Ilija Rudman returns to Classic with his funk-drenched ‘Lovers Change Minds’. Well-known for his distinctive analogue-disco sound, the record’s delivery on 12” vinyl comes as a perfect pairing. He remains reverent to his well-rounded retro style with heavily filtered soft vocals complimented by a deep 70s-centric bassline. Hot Toddy’s bass-focused mixes come laden with electric guitar riffs and synth flares for an even slicker groove on Ilija’s smoothly minimalist masterpiece. More

Ilija Rudman presents Andre Espeut 'Tears To Sound' featuring a Ron Trent Mix Over the last decade and a half, Ilija Rudman has been responsible for many high quality releases, delivering distinctly warm, sun-kissed, analogue-rich material on labels including Bearfunk, Instruments Of Rapture, Compost , 20/20 Vision, Electric Minds, Is It Balearic Recordings, Rong Music , Classic Music Company and of course, his own Red Music imprint.
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Tracklist:
a1. Ilija Rudman Higher Ground b1. Ilija Rudman feat. Boyd H. Jarvis Take Me There b2. Ilija Rudman feat. Boyd H. Jarvis 1470 Pacific Coast Ride
Short info:
Ilija Rudman is quite a unique character. A fact reinforced by listening to some of the records from his vast catalogue, taking a walk through his next level studio or simply talking to him. Preferably, all three at once, as it is often the case. Authenticity is the word that comes to mind when describing the work of this leading Croatian artist or while listening to the material we are proud to put out on 12th Burek release. The record features three cuts. “Higher Ground” is Rudman’s solo effort while the two on the flip are coproduced by Boyd H. Jarvis, an American producer credited to numerous 12” on classic labels such as Trax Records, King Street Sounds, Movin’ Records and Dance Tracks (to mention a selected few). Although releases made in a similar fashion tend to sound somewhat unfocused, the result here is exactly the opposite. What we have here is 20 minutes of some of the slickest house music you’ll find, sounding so coherent that dissecting it track by track seems pointless. This is a 12” that will feel equally at home in a club or blasting through the speakers of your convertible while driving on the California
coast in the summer. More

Ilija Rudman has a passion for disco, pure analogue disco at that with buckets of soul to boot. For over 10 years he's been producing bonafide dance music which has seen him team up with the likes of Mark E, Chaz Jankel, Steve Kotey, The Revenge and Greg Wilson amongst others with releases coming via Rong Music, Under the Shade, Bear Funk and Tirk labels. Here we see Ilija bring a 3 tracker to the table for the KAT imprint which brings somewhat of a change in direction for them as these are not re-edits or reworks but original tracks. ‘Just Remember' is a sultry Summer time Disco house melter which oozes all that's good about dance music... Fender rhodes, laid back guitar licks, strings and a groove that glides along effortlessly throughout but it's the ever so subtle dreamy soulful feel to this track that makes it really shine through. On the flip both tracks take on a slightly more uptempo House feel but the analogue sound continues... ‘Never Forget' really is all about the hooks...staccato guitar licks and a rhythm section that's more solid than your average breeze block. And 'Once and 4 all' ending things on a high with a breathy pad lead track that delivers on all fronts. Iliya's studio has taken 3 years to build and consists of 15 years of collecting studio gear all based around the MCI 542 D Series console from 1981. Fully restored, this is the hub to the whole operation which also has EMT compressors and limiters, 25+ synths including Moog, Prophet and Oberheim and a huge rack of drum machines and samplers. Ilija Rudman returns! More

Surprisingly, it's been some four years since Croat producer Ilija Rudman dropped his much-played debut album, The Reveal, on Bear Funk. Happily, True Colours - his first outing on Is It Balearic - sees him in fine form, joining the dots between kaleidoscopic synth-funk, rubbery dub-disco, spaced-out boogie and glassy-eyed downtempo jams. Rudman is an expert at capturing the sounds of bygone eras, usually through the use of vintage equipment, while delivering tracks that sound thoroughly fresh and original. It's this that makes True Colours such a fantastic set. Highlights are plentiful, from the close dance smoothness of "Bad Passion" and boogie dub vibes of "All The Time" (check the delay-laden hits and sweeping violins) to the jaunty electro-goes-Balearic brilliance of "Wild Guess".


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Croatian's finest purveyor of disco and boogie returns with a delish four track EP on Yam Who's ISM imprint. The four tracks have all the delicious trappings of Rudman; dramatic strings, ample helpings of cowbell and vintage synth stabs. The A-Side consists of the sleazy squelch of "Crazy With You" in both original and remixed by Yam Who form, with the latter, more uptempo version just shading it. The flipside consists of the sultry boogie bap of "Let This Dream Be Real", with the original bringing to mind a glacially paced version of Rockers Revenge classic "Walking on Sunshine", while the Disco Dirtbox tweak bumps and grinds in all the right places - totally primed for club play! More

180g Vinyl. Earthtones is the musical identity of Serge Bandura, an electronic artist, former jazz musician, meditation teacher and ritualist based in LA. Kevin Nathaniel channels sound as a universal healing force through traditional African instruments and is a former student of legendary master musicians such as Ephat Mujuru and Chief Bey K. Sending files back and forth during the pandemic, the two artists deepened a musical friendship and began a dialog between the Mbira Nyunga Nyunga, the Kalimba and analog synthesizers. Their music is offered in the spirit of peace + healing for all. ‘Of The Earth’ (Full Meditation) is 21 minutes long and the B side offers 25 minutes of music. More

The original environmental album from the Kyoto Connection available on Vinyl for the very first time. The album was composed, produced and recorded by Argentinian producer Facundo Arena over the course of one month in early 2018. A classically trained pianist and analogue hardware obsessive, for this project Facundo wanted to move out of his comfort zone and compose the album purely using plugins and sequencing software on his iPad, running the songs directly onto tape, in this case his trusted 1978 Akai GXC-70D tape recorder.

Why an iPad? Facundo explains “In the 1980’s Japanese ambient producers experimented with hardware sequencers and computer sequencers on the Atari ST. Today thanks to IOS apps like Samplr, Korg Gadget and Fugue Machine it’s possible to experiment like the old days with new ways of composing and recording. Each track was recorded live into the Akai, so there were many takes to get the right result with each take recorded on the same cassette (recorded and erased over and over again) which helped to achieve an ‘old tape saturation’ effect”.

The image for the album is taken from an original 1960’s Japanese postcard featuring the famous Arashishama Bridge. The album is pressed on heavyweight 180 Gram Vinyl with sleeve design by Bradley Pinkerton. More

180g vinyl pressing.

During the late 2010s, music lovers around the world began obsessively listening to increasingly esoteric albums on Youtube. More often than not, they’d leave the browser on autoplay. This was how Facundo Arena, the composer and producer behind The Kyoto Connection, discovered the technonaturalistic pleasures of Kankyo Ongaku (environmental music), a distinctly Japanese interpretation of European, British and American minimalist composition and ambient music. “It was a kind of algorithmic magic,” he says.

Upload by upload, the utopian music of Hiroshi Yoshimura and his 80s Japanese contemporaries transported Facundo back to his childhood. When he was five, his father placed him in karate lessons and began watching martial arts movies with him. From those early experiences, Facundo became fascinated Japanese history, tradition, and culture, particularly that of Kyoto - the cultural capital of Japan. Kankyo Ongaku reminded him of hearing the sounds of Japanese folkloric instruments as a young boy, and suddenly, the way the influence of Japan had manifested in his music made sense. “I had the sensation that for many years, I’d been doing something similar to the style,” he explains.

Inspired, Facundo used an iPad and an old Akai cassette deck to record Postcards, his homage to Japanese minimalism and Kankyo Ongaku. By this stage, he was twelve years deep with The Kyoto Connection, the musical project he launched in 2005 in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over that late 2000s and 2010s, Facundo, later on joined by collaborators Rodrigo Trado (drums), Jesica Rubino (violin) and Marian Benitez (vocals, now his wife), released numerous D.I.Y albums. Project by project, they followed the threads between 80s synth-pop, ambient, new age, house, techno and acoustic composition.

Postcards introduced The Kyoto Connection to listeners around the world and brought Facundo into our orbit. During Argentina’s covid lockdown, Facundo received a set of soundscapes recorded in Kyoto by the Japanese musician and sound designer Masafumi Komatsu. Over several insular months, he decorated them with synthesisers, samples and subtle rhythms, creating The Kyoto Connection’s next album, The Flower, The Bird and the Mountain to be released via Isle Of Jura offshoot Temples Of Jura.

Ostensibly made up of twelve distinct tracks, listening to The Flower, The Bird and the Mountain feels more akin to spending calm, meditative time in twelve specific environments. Although the foundations they rest on are recordings made in geographic locations around Kyoto, Facundo has yet to visit Japan. As a result, the landscapes he paints sit somewhere between fiction and fact, richly pictorial sonic imagination juxtaposed with echoes of reality. Regardless, as his bubbling melodies and glistening synthesisers glide against Masafumi Komatsu's recordings, Facundo guides us into a blissful zone of tranquillity well worth spending time within. More

Following last year’s ‘Monster Skies’ comes another 6 track mini-lp of original works from label head Jura Soundsystem. Once again the EP aims to bring together the melting pot of influences that also inspire the label, Dub, Ambient House, Leftfield Disco and Balearica. The EP was made with the Roland classics, the Juno 106, SH101, D-05, TR 707 & 727 and includes guitar and sax work to balance the electronic sound palette. Mastering By Matt Colton. More

n The Senses’ is a soundtrack concept album from Fernando Pulichino based around the premise of music for film. Melody, ambience and mood are central to these pieces influenced by the likes of Angelo Badalamenti, John Carpenter and Johnny Jewel. The result is timeless electronic music infused with bittersweet synth chords & melodies, beat less atmospherics, bubbling electronics and synthesizer minimalism. More

Temples Of Jura is a new offshoot catering for original artist material from a variety of genres. The first release is a split Dub 12” featuring Melbourne’s Len Leise and Adelaide’s Jura Soundsystem. As the title suggests Len’s track is a homage to the legendary Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood whilst Jura Soundsystem debut with a more Rootsy excursion across 3 mixes. More

Repress!

Best dig out a bona fide gem from the early days of Italian house music - a one-shot hit from the masterful minds of Alex Neri and Marco Baroni that originally surfaced in 1992 on Adriatic Club. This sunkissed classic has everything a deep house cut should - smooth piano, a splash of diva vocals, and feel-good vibes oozing from every pore. For our money the "Deep Jungle Mix" is the one - a smouldering swinger that will draw you in and keep you warm at night, but whichever twist on the '90s styles you prefer this record has got you covered. More

Pure UKG gold from ’98, as the masterful M.A.D Productions aka M.J. Cole and Darryl 'B' joined forces with the queen Carroll Thompson to produce the highly sought after underground cut ‘Too Late’. With originals selling for £90+ it’s about time a remastered, reissue hit the racks.

Providing a snapshot into the explosion of UKG across the country in the late ‘90s, a melting pot that bubbled up so many classics in its heyday, ‘Too Late’ is straight up, soulful UKG perfection. The ‘Deep Vocal Mix’ lays Thompson’s slick, sensuous vocals over a skippy bumper of a beat, subby bassline and sublime pads. Peaktime, warm-up or warm-down this is an unquestionable garage groover.

Take to the flip for the ‘Underground Dub’. The duo chop up the vocals in trademark style, turn the swing and skip of those hats up to the max, whilst wobbling and weaving soulful stabs to create a 4x4 heater that is guaranteed to have hands drawing for wheel-ups left, right and centre. More

Repress!

When The One ''O'' Ones originally released Radio Cosmo Disco back in 1977 it was confined to 7'', which is no place for such majestic cosmic groove exploration. Now Best Record are continuing their quest to repress every hidden gem of Italian dance music and beyond, and they're doing ''Radio Cosmo 101'' the right way. The full ''Disco Version'' of the track gets to stretch out on a full 12'' side, and does so in a dreamy haze of feel good funk. You can still hear the radio edit on the flip, and the original instrumental jam is included for those who want to drift away on those sumptuous tones of the backing track More

An ‘80s dance classic from the legend John Rocca, gets a fresh new take from Aussie edit king Late Nite Tuff Guy alongside a remastered reissue of Chicago house royalty Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk’s 1987 Hot House Piano Remix.

The main man behind jazz funk favourites, Freeez, John Rocca took to the studio in ’84 and whipped up an electro-fied steamer in the form of ‘I Want It To Be Real’. Tantalizing synthwork, beefed up basslines, gated snares and pure ‘80s vocals, it’s a melting pot of influences with a catchiness that caused a serious stir.

This special double header of remixes kicks off with a brand new mix from Late Nite Tuff Guy. He builds up the brilliance with masterful effect, keeping the vocal in the back pocket till the final frontier whilst adding in some buttery new synth magic and deft filtering to the mix.

On the flip, Chicago house don Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk’s 1987 remix homes in on those blissful piano and vocal stabs for a dubbed out ‘Hot House Piano Mix’. Spiritual keys laid down with passion that will be sure to get any dancefloor hot under the collar. More

Released on TRAX in the golden year of 1989 Chicago's Virgo aka friends Eric Lewis and Merwyn Sanders, along with peers such as Larry Heard and Frankie Knuckles, gently pushed House music towards a more musically sophisticated realm that hadn't been explored previously. Across 8 tracks Virgo took us on a deep exploration of sound that was both masterfully arranged and produced and in direct contrast to a lot of the rudimental and jacking drum tracks that were the flavour of the day. There are few debut albums in the electronic sphere that can claim the title of 'classic', but this is surely one of them. A defining turning point in dance music, the dawn of what would later be referred to as the 'deep house' movement and sound is all evident with the grooves of this legendary record. Often listed as one of the 'greatest LP's of all time', this self-titled odyssey remains an essential, must have record that never loses it's magic, flawless in every way and still trailblazing today. Every home should have one. Remastered in conjunction with TRAX, repressed from the finest audio sources available. Often imitated, never replicated! 100% legit. More

Alleviated Records is proud to present the Dovie Cote' EP as well as to present his first release with us. This collaboration has been years in the making & we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed working on it. Right off the heels of "The Storm" EP, this two- track EP delivers soulful, funk feels with some surprise additional flavors. "My Desire "takes you on a deep atmospheric journey of yearning and delight with a soulful bubbling bed of jazzy & tribal undertones alongside Dovies' warm floating vocals. "Change Lanes" offers a urban-soul-funk style in the tradition of groups like Slave, Cameo or The Ohio Players. We hope you enjoy these selections at the club and at home for a long time to come. Musically Yours... More

With the 12" vinyl reissue of Fascination made for Giancarlo Meo, the legendary producer of Easy Going, Vivien Vee, Capricorn, Amin-Peck, Steel Mind, Claudio Simonetti (aka Kasso) and many other artists, Best Record offers yet another excellent service for those who perhaps don't know they need it. Claudio Casalini 40 years ago was not only a record producer, but above all one of the most important DJ-clubs in Italy. He remembers well the cheering jet set audience in the elegant Roman lounges, with the dance floor packed with people vibrating to that fusion of disco, soul and funk sounds that characterized many Italo-Disco songs of those early Eighties. The three versions of "Out to Get You" contain all those sounds, but it is above all the version re-edited by the imaginative and passionate DJ Massimo Berardi that brings an important portion of musical restoration making it current, and therefore exciting and modern, absolutely suitable for dancing it again anywhere in the world. More

Repress!

Presenting a collection of deep spatial gems mined from the ever impressive TK Disco vaults for your playback listening pleasure!

The TK Disco music empire has blessed our ears and minds with an endless stream of music since it's late 1960's inception. Countless soul and funk sides were produced, cut and released by label founder Henry Stone and his associates, in turn changing the face of contemporary black music in the USA and across the world forever. It is true that the TK story originated on America's 'Space Coast', the modern frontier of lunar exploration and galactic travel, the home of NASA and countless missions beyond the stars nestled on the East Coast of the United States.

'Moon Ride' - The compilation you hold in your hands, is merely one strand of the incredible music that was beamed out of Hialeah, FL over the decades. The focus on this collection is the idea of the 'cosmic' from the Disco era. These are records that emit a spacey vibe, either from their lyrical content or equally from their sonic qualities, imbibing synths and electronics to create otherworldly grooves. These records were big hits on underground music scenes such as Daniele Baldelli's cosmic movement in the 70's and 80's in Lake Garda, they were vehicles of escapism and hedonism on the discerning dancefloors of NYC in the hands of progressive DJs like David Mancuso and Nicky Siano and they were also essential building blocks in the creation of House and Techno music in the Midwestern cities of Chicago and Detroit, inspiring legendary artists such as Mr Fingers and Jeff Mills and countless others. An essential collection of music for listening, dancing, loving and travelling!

TK Disco's influence is still felt today and this carefully curated selection of tracks showcases some absolute classics, overlooked nuggets and rarities from the label's huge output. Mastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK. More