Conch Records

Date

February 27 2013

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UPCOMING: Bonobo - The North Borders (NINJA TUNE)

Written By 1 - February 27 2013

Due out late March 2013 on CD, 2LP+MP3 & 7x10" Boxset, to pre-order please contact us at info@conch.co.nz

It's been almost three years since the release of Bonobo's masterful, mould-breaking Black Sands, an album that saw him touring a hypnotic live show across the world for well over a year.

Now, in 2013, he stands ready to take things up yet another notch. 

The North Borders is a long stride forward - both a natural evolution and a continuation of the electronic palette of Black Sands. Thematic, resonant, addictive and perfectly formed, it's a thrillingly coherent statement piece. 

Simon Green was born and grew up in rural Hampshire, escaping to Brighton aged eighteen. There he fell into the jazz/hip hop/funk/soul scene centred around Rob Luis and nights like phonic:hoop. An accomplished musician as a teenager, he began producing his own tracks, pushing at the template established in the sweaty little venues studding the Lanes.

Green’s first release came on Luis’ label, Tru Thoughts, when his track 'Terrapin' was included on the compilation 'When Shapes Join Together' in 1999. His debut album, 'Animal Magic' followed the next year, completely self-produced and largely self-played, too. Hailed as one of the “new downtempo pioneers”, Green found himself attracting the attention of other labels and eventually signed to Ninja Tune.

In 2003 he released his first album for the label, 'Dial ‘M’ For Monkey'. This was a time when Green was also focussing heavily on his DJing, playing banging dancefloor sets of hip hop, funk and drum & bass up and down the country and across Europe, a period which reached its apogee with the release of the mix album 'Solid Steel: It Came From The Sea'.

'Days To Come' followed in 2006, Green opting for a lusher, more live sound than on his earlier records. To tie in with this musical development, he put together and rehearsed a live band that could bring the music of his records to life. As a result he has moved from selling out the Luminaire to selling out Koko to selling out Kentish Town Forum and the Roundhouse and producing the live DVD to prove it. 'Days To Come' also scooped the Gilles Peterson listnerer’s poll for Album of The Year. At the award ceremonies he met the talented UK soul singer Andreya Triana. Not only did the friendship they struck up result in Andreya’s superb contributions to 'Black Sands' but Si has produced the whole of her solo debut, 'Lost Where I Belong'.

Over the last couple of years, Bonobo has become one of the premier artists on the Ninja Tune imprint and certainly one of the most listened to, with over 16 million plays recorded on LastFM. His combination of superb live shows and studio wizardry means that he is now perfectly placed to push on into a yet bigger league. With 'Black Sands', Bonobo has made the record to achieve it.

Date

February 27 2013

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GIG: LeFtO (BROWNSWOOD) @ Ponsonby Social Club This Thurs & Fri

Written By 1 - February 27 2013

LeFtO (BELGIUM) At Ponsonby Social Club, Thursday 28th Feb with Bobby Brazuka & TDK Friday 29th Feb with Junior & Dylan C FREE ENTRY Check his latest Mixcloud radio shows here for a taster of what to expect on Thursday & Friday night.

Latest LeFtO's Cloudcasts on Mixcloud

As one the most important tastemakers Europe has to offer, and affiliated with Brownswood Recordings, Blue Note, !K7 Records, Jazzy Sport in Japan and Do-Over parties, this bearded early riser is consistently a couple steps ahead of your average early adopter.

He doesn't wait for the next thing to land on his lap, he actively seeks it out, therefore just take a peek at his playlists on Belgium's foremost national radio station Studio Brussel which received compliments from Rough Trade Shops, Gilles Peterson and featured on MTV Hive. However, don't assume that he's only working futuristic angles - no sir. Firmly rooted in jazz and hip hop, he sharpened his digging sensibility working at the now legendary Music Mania record store in hometown Brussels.

His passion for jazz resulted in a remix album for Blue Note which was well received by the community. LeFtO is forever moving forwards but always got an ear in the past. Famed for his gloriously eclectic dj sets, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, south-american influences, bruk riddims and some wild african rhythms. He's not only a deejay and producer but also curates his own stage at the Dour Festival and his own nights in the Belgian city Gent in collaboration with local event organisation Democrazy.

World renowned, LeFtO regularly blesses sound systems from Tokyo to Seoul , Singapore to New York, Kazakhstan to Germany, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has been a resident deejay for Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festivals since 2008 around the world.

Camera under the arm, he is also one of the few deejays on this planet who can deejay somewhere and have a nice movie on the internet a couple hours later, with over 250 videos on Youtube and Vimeo, he's very creative with it. The travel resulted in a compilation on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings with partner in crime DJ Simbad. In 2012 he has put out two compilations, one for American brand 101Apparel and the other one for Universal Music. In 2013 more compilations and collaborations are in the pipeline.
 

Date

February 26 2013

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GIG: High Noon with Suff Daddy - Sat March 2nd

Written By 1 - February 26 2013

In celebration of what has been an amazing summer we're taking High Noon to a new level #Jusayin Presents: High Noon The Pool Party Edition!! Special guest Suff Daddy will turn it up in true summer fashion with a live beats set and dj set. Surround yourself in friends and get down!
High Noon: The Pool Party Edition
with Special Guest Suff Daddy
Sat March 2nd @ Pt Erin Pools
FREE Entry - Compulsory RSVP @ High Noon Event Page here
 
Local Support: WhoDat Nivin In The Crates W1se1 Marcel Marceau Ed G KutCorners Bro90 Funkommunity Sound System Recloose @Misformatua

Date

February 26 2013

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UPCOMING: Lapalux - Nostalchic 2LP (BRAIN FEEDER)

Written By 1 - February 26 2013

Due out March 2013, to pre-order please contact us at info@conch.co.nz

In a world in which upstart DiY talent is flooding the gates of electronic music, a few recent voices have been so strong as to be startling. Lapalux - AKA 25-year-old Stuart Howard - is certainly one such. As singular as a brilliant artist always should be, his instinctive understanding of the atmospheric power of texture grips the ear immediately on listening. 'Nostalchic' is his debut album, mission statement, and the climax of many years of studying his craft. The amalgam of words that make the title is aptly, and perhaps knowingly chosen. The album evokes nostalgia without ever sounding nostalgic, and Howard may have had his tongue in his chic when he added the second half of the title. The album is his most focused document to date, adding his beloved R&B and soul into elements of house and hip hop, all with the trademark Lapalux finish, infectious, lopsided swing and achingly deep texture. Lapalux was raised in rural Essex, midway between countryside and town, the classic, isolated hinterland that's produced many a distinctive British voice. There's a yearning sense to the record that it's tempting to relate to the young Howard's dreams about what his eventual escape into larger life might be. He certainly had a dream start when a shot-in-the-dark email to electronic hothouse Brainfeeder was immediately answered by label head Flying Lotus himself, who quickly moved on to sign him. To this day, Lapalux remains the only British artist on the Los Angeles based label. Having made fans out of Diplo and SBTRKT, remixed everyone from Lianne La Havas via Crystal Fighters to Bonobo, Tawiah, AlunaGeorge and Speech Debelle, as well as supporting FlyLo and playing the main stage at Sonar and in Japan with Clark, it's prime time for Lapalux's debut full length. Happily, it was well worth the wait. As declared by opener 'Tape Intro,' Lapalux is a keen experimenter with tape, looping and layering sounds via the warm-feeling format provides textures that are haunting, beautiful, fragile, and somehow familiar and alien all at once. These experiments are both purposeful and successful, and their result is dizzyingly good. Add to this his gift for treating a vocal, and the effect is profound. If many producers use the electronic staples – glitches, fragments and unfamiliar swing – few know how to use them with such intent as Lapalux. Howard adopts these devices only to enhance the emotional force of his music, never simply for their own sake. On single 'Without You,' (which features the brilliant Kerry Leatham,) the rainy-day, heartbreaking blues is made all the more powerful by the slowed-and-sped vocal. Sung straight, it wouldn't have had the sense of shattered, conflicting emotion that it does. This is electronic music at its finest: affecting and haunting in a way no other 'genre' can be. ‘Straight Over my Head’ illustrates Howard’s ability to write a brilliant song. From its tentative, melancholic start, a bassline opens up like a sudden, breathtaking vista, the song abruptly driving forward and taking the listener helplessly with it. On 'The Dead Sea,' a squall of jazz trumpets plays over urgent percussion, swirling bass and vocal-like textures to heady effect. ‘Nostalchic’ not only has all the hallmarks of a great album – a sense of cohesive purpose, its own themes, arcs and internal logic – it’s an album that could only have been made in electronic music. Howard understands the power and capabilities that are offered by his form, and he’s used them to the full.   Tracklist 1.IAMSYS (Tape Intro) 2.Guuurl 3.Kelly Brook 4.One Thing (ft. Jenna Andrews) 5.Flower 6.Swallowing Smoke 7.Without You (ft. Kerry Leatham) 8.Straight Over My Head 9.Dance (ft. Astrid Williamson) 10.The Dead Sea 11.Walking Words 12.O E A (ft. Kerry Leatham) (Tape Outro)

Date

February 26 2013

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DJ Nature - Return Of The Savage 2LP (GOLF CHANNEL)

Written By 1 - February 26 2013

Finally available at Conch on 2LP here

DJ NATURE aka MILO steps uponce again to the indispensable Golf Channel label, with his eagerly awaited debut artist album comprising all original material! A founding member of legendary Bristol sound-system collective The Wild Bunch (which spawned Massive Attack, Tricky and much more), Nature made NYC his home in the early 90's & went on to collaborate with the Major Force crew in Japan, before hooking up with GC boss Phil South, who thankfully persuaded him to don his production cap once again. There followed a series of acclaimed 12" releases through GC which developed a trademark sound, a sound he's fully realised on 'Return Of The Savage' Nature's unique take on modern black music is somewhere between the bass heavy sound system cuts on which he cut his teeth and the more nuanced vibe of peers like Theo Parrish Irresistible, low slung and beautifully structured yet raw club pieces make up this outstanding selection - a superbly packaged gatefold double LP (complete with download codes for individual tracks as well as the mixed version) and an exclusive mixed CD edition (which also includes download codes for the individual tracks, as well as three additional skits) Tracklisting & Soundclips: - Return Of The Savage - Tacky Stuff - 1970 - Real Talk - Sexual Tension - Scene 1 - Sexual Tension - Scene 2 - The Yearn - With Your Body - Savage Reprise

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