Sebastian Fraye - Vol. 2 (Cold Busted)

Californian beat-maker Sebastian Fraye continues his tribute to crate-digging and dusty vinyl discoveries with the finely crafted Volume 2. Released on Cold Busted, the album features 20 instrumentals constructed with samples, beats, and drops found in used bins of record shops and musty backrooms of thrift stores. The album cover — designed by Sebastian — is about this vinyl journey, featuring price stickers sourced from some of the albums in his collection.

The music is a celebration of digging culture — upbeat, nostalgic, and combining stylistic detours that transmit the thrill of discovering that magic beat. Highlights include the head-nod-worthy jazz-hip hop hybrid of “Art Imitates Life (Magic),” the feel-good sunshine bounce of “Special (Friends),” “Stereo (System)” evoking the classic era of the Mo Wax label, and the dreamy boom-bap of “Never the Same (Changes).” Sebastian Fraye’s Volume 2 shows how a vinyl-junkie’s dedication pays off. These beats are supreme.

Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister) - “Nice breaks!”
Kid Loco (Flor) – “Back at the Old School. Great!”
DJ Wash (Butter Music) – “That’s a classy release!”
Mr. Bristow (Subtek) – “Great selection, love these kinds of jams. Looking forward to cutting over some of these.”
Rusty (All Good Funk Alliance) – “Hypnotic and criptonic beats for your mind body and sizzzoul.”
Spike Deep (Rocka Fobic Music) – “Chilled downtempo, mood style. With a little bit of trip hop style. Lovely mood here.”
Floored Capri (Kane FM) – “Magic. Love this.”
Anatoly Ice (Funk and Beyond Radio Show) – “Jazzual beats with funky flavor.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) – “This moves along like a mustang smoking a spliff.”
Double-D (Funky Fresh Radio Show) – “Here we go … nice and funky!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Anthony Mansfield - Bricks - (Green Gorilla Lounge)

Green Gorilla Lounge fills out its origin story with the re-introduction of founding member Anthony Mansfield to the release schedule. Since 2001, Anthony has been a part of the infamous GGL club night in San Francisco with DJ M3, his eternal partner in crime. His return is marked by the glorious “Bricks,” a groovy acid chugger that solidifies the sound Anthony sculpted with his cult-favorite Hector Works imprint. Hypnotic mid-tempo rhythms, psychedelic voice snippets, meaty synths, and big drum fills round out this dark-as-night DJ treat.

This single includes a chunky remix from Om Records staple Shiny Objects, adding bright synth lines, sparse percussive dubbiness, and spacey echo effects. And then, if that weren’t enough, another Hector Works veteran, Nick Chacona (Moodmusic, 20:20 Vision) joins Anthony for a surprise appearance with the wild dance floor sound experiment of “Pidgeon.” Trippy in all the right places, “Pidgeon” further defines the 3 AM sound of the Green Gorilla Lounge — that magic moment when things get simultaneously messy and marvelous. Sleazy disco warriors, unite.

Flash Atkins (Paper Recordings) – “Bricks original is doing it for me.”
ALTZ (DFA / Altzmusica) – “Green Gorilla Lounge is a groovy good time.”
Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space) – “It’s a YES from me!”
Sleazy McQueen (Whiskey Disco) – “Lovin’ the vibes.”
Felix Dickinson (Cynic Music) – “Very nice, as one would expect from Anthony.”
Shahrokh Dini (Compost Black Label) – “I like the orginal groove. The remix is good too.”
DJ Sabo (Sol Selectas) – “Perfectly weird and trip disco. Reminds me of NYC in the 2000’s.”
Black Mighty Wax (Irma Records) – “Sooooo Groovy!”
Robot84 (Paper Recordings) – “Bricks is sounding dope. Love that raw sound to it.”
Ulysses (Neurotic Drum Band) – “I love Pidgeon with Nick Chacona. Tell him to give me my hair clippers back.”

Available Now From: Beatport, Traxource, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Kohib - So Good (Discomix) [Beatservice Records]

As a longtime member of the Tromsø electronic music scene, the multi-faceted Kohib has acted as a club organizer, DJ, and prolific producer. Since debuting on Beatservice’s Prima Norsk 3 compilation Kohib has released numerous singles and EPs as well as the album Make Fire and its remixed companion. In addition to club-focused tracks for Beatservice, Sprechen, Cibicaldi, and SpinSpin NYC, Kohib is also proficient in headier electronic styles. In that vein, his album track “Hear This” appeared on the Buddha Bar XIV compilation.

A highlight of 2012’s Solar Day EP was “So Good,” a fiery dance-floor stomper with Dagny on vocals — before she released her worldwide super-hit “Backbeat.” Kohib decided to test out a newly constructed studio set-up by revisiting “So Good” for one of his renowned Discomixes. It’s a shameless and irresistible dance version that’s twisted and funky, pulling in elements from disco, ‘80s synth pop, and modern house music sounds. Accompanying this stunner is a remix from Reggie Got Beats, the latest addition to the Beatservice roster. This ‘b-side’ mix complements Kohib’s version with extra funk and rhythm action, giving lucky DJs a tough choice for their sets. Might as well play both!

Vanilla Ace (Toolroom) – “Cool disco flava.”
DJ Sabo (Sol Selectas) – “The Reggie remix is funky.”
Mat.Joe (Mother Recordings) – “This is dope!”
Mr. V (Sole Channel Music) – “I Love this!”
K-Zan (Radio Galaxie FM) – “2 great versions. Full support!”
Cabaret Nocturne (MFR / Nein) – Italo Disco Power! I lke this revival.”
Belabouche (Midnight Riot) – “Reggie Got Beats Remix for me!”
SimonG (Volcano Radio) – “As the title says, so good … Nice, funky, and floor ready.”
Richard Hardcastle (Solid State) – “So good indeed! Reggie’s funkier take does it for me. Killer production and hooks on both.”
Bruce Tantum (XLR8R) – “Cute little tune. Digging both sides a LOT!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Es-K - ReCollection (Cold Busted)

Es-K (Essential Knowledge) was born in Holland, raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and currently lives in Burlington, Vermont. He made waves with his monthly Spontaneous Grooves releases, where a set of instrumental tracks are created in one sitting — 24 editions were released. Since then, Es-K has remained prolific with a plethora of self-released beat-constructions and albums for Cold Busted, including 2016’s acclaimed Passages. Es-K has a workman-like ethos of beat-making, with creative and top notch hip hop soundscapes constantly pouring out of his Vermont studio.

ReCollection, Es-K’s latest offering on Cold Busted, ups the ante with 24 evocative beat-based compositions representing a variety of moods and contexts. From the sparse, slightly ominous opener “Hydrgn” the listener knows this is a different kind of beats record. “Flrn,” for example, is deep and textural, owing influence to futuristic ambient as well as boom bap hip hop. There are also nostalgic, dream-like moments, such as the loping and exotic “Ptssm” and the mutant quiet storm funk of “Mngns.” The titles are indeed code for the elements, and the elements of Es-K’s production are just as varied. ReCollection is a chemistry course of smooth beat concoctions.

Azaxx (Tru Thoughts) – “Really good vibes. Like a meeting between Mo Wax, DJ Cam and Flying Lotus.”
Rory Hoy (Super Hi-Fi) – “Really lovely instrumental Hip-Hop beats here.”
Spike Deep (Rocka Fobic Music) – “Chilled trip hop mood with breaks. Loving it, will be using it.”
Mr. Bristow (Subtek) – “Some really nice dusty grooves here.”
Rusty – All Good Funk Alliance (Super Hi-Fi) – “Nice selection of beats. “TN” spoke to me the most.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) – “A magnificent selection of beats!”
Simon Harrison (Basic Soul Radio Show) – “Some heavy tracks here. Loving “Ptssm” & “Mngns”.
Andy Wilson (Ibiza Sonica FM) – “Nice nodders for late night listening. Smokers delights!”
David Bassin (Freefall – KUSF in Exile) – “Mesmerizing.”
MadameFLY (mmRadio) – “These musical fantasies swirl and flow, bumping gently in your consciousness, getting your attention. This collection rewards the vibe-conscious listener.”

Available Now From: Available Now From: Bandcamp, Juno Download, Spotify, And Apple Music.