Joe McBride AKA Synkro has built up a hugely impressive catalogue of releases over the last few years. Via albums and singles for Apollo, Exit Records and his own Synkro Music imprint, the Manchester based producer and sound architect has amassed a dazzling archive of elaborate, emotive and intellectual soundscapes drawing in influences across a spectrum of bass culture and electronica. On the ‘Information’ EP, it’s business as usual, as Synkro deploys four fresh and forward thinking tracks that slither across the genres with ease. From the frantic percussion and dubwise tones of title track ‘Information’ to the absorbing textures and crackling ambience of the beatless opener ‘Cycles’, the attention to detail and the depth of layered sonics across all four tracks afford the listener a truly mesmerising experience. The dusty and dark skank of ‘Signal’ is a real mood piece, whilst ‘Last Breath’ closes the EP drenched in sanguine sentiments. More

Following the release of Synkro AKA Joe McBride collection of his formative early works earlier this year, Apollo Recordings is proud to present a brand new EP that draws on the rich heritage of library music. Despite having come up during the dubstep era McBride’s music has always resisted easy classification - ‘Hand In Hand’ sees him shift his musical focus in a yet more cinematic direction. McBride explains : "The record was inspired and influenced by my love of electronic 80's UK library records like the Chappell AV series, Bruton, Soundstage & De Wolfe Music library. There’s a lot of synth work that carries on from my album using my trusted Juno-6 / SH101 / JX8P combo with the addition of drum samples via an old akai S2800 I purchased recently. Most sounds I've made from scratch on hardware based on sounds used in the library records I mentioned above along with a few cheeky samples." Synkro's signature expansive atmospherics are still very much present, but now they have been burnished by soaring synth pads and pulsing drum tracks that call to mind the haunted melancholy of John Carpenter or contemporary such as Legowelt or Andy Stott. Rhythmically ‘Hand In Hand’ sees McBride moving somewhat away from his usual off kilter programming inspired by 2-step and garage, embracing the steady pulse of 4:4 which turns out to be an effortless fit. More

Following Synkro AKA Joe McBride 2015’s stellar debut album ‘Changes’, Apollo Recordings is proud to present a collection of his formative early works. This 12” sampler follows the 17 track album which was released on CD and digital formats only. The A-side contains three tracks from the 2CD set and the B-side has three tracks from this period that are previously unreleased but that are in high demand amongst Synkro fans. More

Close your eyes and breathe deeply with this one, as Synkro returns for his third release on Apollo with four new productions of affecting, midnight electronica. Joe McBride's ear for inimitable melodies has always fit his intricate percussion patterns like a glove. On the Lost Here EP, however, the Synkro project has been elevated to a new level with subtle flourishes of pop structure and two standout vocal performances by Robert Manos. Lost Here ascends to the clouds, hovering on cavernous chords that wrap Manos' words in a cocoon of eyes-down emotion as scissoring rhythms flit underneath. Touching down again, In My Arms calls on circadian rhythms and oscillating layers of synthesizer to create a dreamlike environment, isolating Manos' song in an antechamber of space and sound. The B side slinks in with a playful bass riff on Nights of Pleasure, underpinning celestial waves of chimes, tones, and chords before Fading Lights suspends each element in zero-gravity as a pure, heat-treated distillation of the Synkro sound.
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Eight tracks from one of the world's leading up and coming producers.- Two 12" in a picture sleeve. Initially coming from a background in the musically raucous worlds of 2 Step and Garage, Synkro has, over time, developed a sound that is altogether more introspective, more emotive and more emotionally complex. Stepping up here with his second release on legendary Apollo Records, Synkro delivers eight tracks that - while retaining some of the stutter and swing of Garage, are far more rooted in the textural world of ambient music for which Apollo is famed
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**Clear Vinyl** Hot on the heels of his lovely 12" for MOM, Synkro serves three tracks of lush ambient Techno electronics for Styrax. 'Presence' suffuses the A-side with a blissed-out 4/4 roller buoyed by convective Reese bass and kissed by convective, effervescent atmospheres to sooth yer bonce. Flipside, the beatless 'Question' appears shades away from the 4th world cyber-jungle ambience of the recent Oneohtrix Point Never album, swooning to the sounds of simulated fauna and beautiful, widescreen synth pads. 'Memory' completes the set with with a tantalising 2-step reduction, all flickering, mercurial syncopation and plangent keys reminding of John Beltran. More

Synkro-A Man Of Taste. Synkro?s signature of this ep, slinkier double Garage motions, in a deep house vein with pitching R&B voices. Warm, housey keys and whipcracking rhythm syncopations with a lovely sense of restraint. A cracking good story. Does this suit your taste ? More

Romanian composer and DJ, Ada Kaleh, reveals a more intricate and textured side to his compositional dexterity, releasing a new album ‘Nodus Tollens’ on the legendary ambient label, Apollo Records. Composed and recorded between 2010 and 2020, ‘Nodus Tollens’ finds Ada Kaleh departing from the confines of minimal house and techno, and instead exploring the many facets of ambient electronica and minimalism. Drawing inspiration from minimalist artists such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, four expansive compositions are offered up, each one transcending the boundaries of dance music dogma, and focusing on natural free-form rhythms; meditative and healing frequencies intertwine with special textures, resulting in soothing psychedelia. Questioning the linear nature of time, each production guides the listener though whirling soundscapes, DMT realms and time loops, creating an aural safe space in which to explore. Propelled by a passion for 60’s & 70’s spiritual jazz, afro-beats and other psychedelic inducing textures, Ada Kaleh describes these musical endeavours as Quantum Techno. Across two slabs of 12” vinyl, and four distinct passages and states of time (Future, Past, Present and Entropy), ‘Nodus Tollens’ is a seamless listening experience that heralds the development of the composer’s musical journey, which has to date afforded magnetic releases for labels like Dialogue, Rawax, R&S Records and his very own Ada Kaleh Romania imprint. Sleeve artwork on thew album comes courtesy of the super talented artist Anca Popa, now based in Cape Town after a move from her native Romania. More

Apollo / R&S are delighted to welcome back The Primitive Painter, aka the duo of Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling Wuttke for a timely reissue of their 1994 lost classic self-titled album of sonorous IDM More

Apollo are delighted to welcome Steve Legget & Mark Hand to the fold with their lush new single ‘If You Cannot Try’ featuring the dulcet vocals of Greg Blackman. Originally released as an uplifting bumping house track on Ramrock Records Blackman sent the stems of the release to longtime collaborator Steve Legget for a rework. Legget tore the original to pieces, deconstructing it into a much more ambiguous form. ”I’ve never been a fan of a chorus in a song,” Legget muses. "I like songs that are not direct that leave room for your imagination - Mark and I ended up building a new song around the texture of the original.” Hand and Legget met in the early 90s at the Northern College of Art in Middlesbrough, and have collaborated at various times in the intervening years, through a shared love of Detroit techno, experimental electronic music, jazz and funk. Their creative process involves sending audio files back and forth - “The release was written in collaboration over the internet Greg in Colchester, Mark in Hartlepool, and me in St Albans." Hand added spaced out textures and riffs from his collection of vintage Fender Rhodes and classic synths - taking the track into sunny space funk realms that comes on like a lost release from joe Claussell’s Spiritual Life label or Basic Channel jamming with Herbie Hancock. Using their new version as the seed - Hand decided to try his own ’Teesside Techno’ version - "I wanted to give the track more of a 'machine funk' vibe with my rework” he explains. “I generally like to work by jamming with hardware - the bass line is generated by triggering the arp on my Juno 6..using triggers from a TR606 kick drum and hats replaced by a TR909.. the result being more of a jackin' electronic funk mutation!" This continuing game of musical pass the parcel has indeed born some juicy fruit - as Legget summarises "Our version started as a rework, but then Mark's is a rework of the rework, its all very meta!" More

Apollo Records present a masterpiece of ambience and beyond – ‘Calypso’ – the stunning new album by Venetian maestro Gigi Masin.
The LP is inspired by the mythical Greek island of Ogygia and its alleged real life counterpart Gavdos – also known unofficially as Calypso – a place of extreme beauty, which upon visiting had a profound effect on the musician. More

Apollo are delighted to welcome the return of Australia duo Albrecht La’Brooy AKA Sean La'Brooy and Alex Albrecht with their blissful new album 'Healesville' recorded in a mud-brick hut on a strawberry crop in the Melbourne countryside.
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Apollo welcome Metalheadz veterans Om Unit AKA Jim Coles and Kid Drama / Jon Convex AKA Damon Kirkham for a 4 track EP of blissed out autonomic dnb. the duo originally met on the DJ circuit, Coles had been a longtime fan of instra:mental, Kirkham's pioneering project with Alex Green AKA Boddika More

Apollo proudly presents the return of SW, joined by partner SVN for a sublime 6 track EP. SW's lush sound design and hypnotic arrangements of 2017’s ’The Album’ had hearts and minds swooning following it’s license from SUED to Apollo. It’s balmy glory won over Pitchfork ('deeply expressive debut album’ 8/10), Rolling Stone (best electronic albums 2017) and XLR8R (Best releases 2017) amongst many others. One year later, SW and SVN have gone into the studio, together; “to make some original music specifically for Apollo. The results are the 6 tracks on this EP,” they share in a typically taciturn statement. Taking inspiration from the iconic house and techno of the mid / late 90s - SW and SVN combine dreamy melodies and mesmeric grooves with unfussy, focussed minimalism, their beguiling, modern take on classic sounds and rhythms remains thrillingly unique and elusive. While SW and SVN are more comfortable out of the limelight, this 6 track EP for Apollo once again proves that they are rightly worthy of the hype that swirls around them.

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A software engineer at Ableton by day, Sieren’s love for UK influenced bass music and field recording and experimental soundscaping resulted in his Apollo debut ‘Static Polymorphism’ a masterly EP of spaced out street-rave soul. Now returning with the five track Ascension EP, Frick has tightened and toughened up his sound somewhat (see the caustic bass glower of ‘Slinger’), augmenting his starry eyed wonder with a firmer percussive underpinning and more driving tempos. However still present are his preternatural grasp of emotion and atmosphere that marked him out as one to watch - perfectly underscored by the heartbreaking beauty of the title track.Fellow Apollo cohort Synkro AKA Joe McBride was instrumental in the curation of Sieren’s debut Static Polymorphism EP on Apollo, hand picking the tracks, as well as road testing them in his DJ sets. This time McBride goes one further, collaborating with Frick on the track ‘Lost You’ to memorable effect - the beautiful pads and ghostly piano are a perfect synergy of their complimentary skill sets. This is richly textured and intricately programmed post-bass music that is sure to satisfy fans of Burial, dBridge, Akkord with its soulful sincerity and warmth. More

Apollo proudly welcomes the return of Gacha Bakradze (now recording under his full given name) to the fold with the ‘We Must Be Woods' EP, five stunning tracks which represent his finest work since his debut Apollo LP ‘Send Two Sunsets’ in 2015. This has already been a great 2017 for Bakradze, with stellar releases on Fort Romeau’s Cin Cin label and his own Transfigured Time imprint.
Georgia born Bakradze’s music is a cinematic combination of beguiling melodies, exotic instrumentation and oceanic drones. Crafted in the autumn of 2016 ‘We Must Be Woods' sees a maturation and deepening of his sound - deftly programmed rhythms on vintage drum machines, eastern percussion and breakbeats underpin aching synth pads and gooey sub bass. Bakradze explores a range of tempos and moods, playing and recording kalimba, guitar and piano, weaving them into a captivating aural narrative which manages to both soothe and stimulate the imagination.
Gacha’s ability to effortlessly fuse the the warm chords of Detroit techno and UK bass sounds with the dense atmospherics of shoe gaze, and the crumbling, analogue euphoria of krautrock is only growing with each release and should set expectations sky high for his forthcoming LP on Apollo later in 2017.= More

Apollo proudly presents the debut from Haramia Tapes, a new mysterious side project from renowned Hungarian electronic music producer Laurine Frost. More usually known for his refined techno sensibilities, Frost has packed 'Pfunk’ with deftly programmed rhythmic structures and infused it with low slung bass and jazzy textures that make for a sumptuous, enveloping listening experience, ideal for fans of Nonkeen, Jazzanova or Leftfield. Pfunk' contains seven unique beat sessions - smooth funk, crossed with unique broken rhythms, live drums, bass and found sounds - shot through with cinematic melancholy. From the elegiac piano of opener ‘I Am You’ to the twisted drunken breaks of ‘Pfunk’ to the cooled out percussion and spaced atmospheres of ‘Hail’, or the moody spy-movie atmospherics of Farewell Four - this is an album that traverses a variety of moods and textures, effortlessly fusing traditional instrumentation with modern electronics and a perfect addition to Apollo’s beguiling canon of mellowed out grooves. More

Lahun is a brand new signing to Apollo Records. He previously remixed Milch from Lakker on R&S Records. As well as being a skilful musician and producer he is also a handy DJ who joins the dots between Marvin Gaye, Innerzone Orchestra, Theo Parrish and Jay Dilla - all artists you can hear as influences on this debut EP. Slow Love featuring Sara Garvey opens the EP and signals the intent of Lahun to deliver timeless, soulful music of the highest order. Garvey’s beautiful vocals work perfectly on the dreamy, shuffling sunset beats. Lahun calls in another guest on Mystic Jam Hands with JD73 lending the mystic fingers on Rhodes and synths. Crisp drums and orchestral strings set the scene for another one the head nodders can get lost in. Siriusly and Nana Chan bump up the tempo and bring Lahun’s love of Detroit techno and broken beat to the surface. These are both heavy tracks that orbit the outer limits of the dance and could carry a 12” on their own.

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Following his EPs 'Remember' ("Music of deep intrigue, cloaked in an atmospheric fog" - Resident Advisor) and 'When The Watchman Saw The Light', Gacha returns to Apollo Records with another contemplative and composed record, his debut album 'Send Two Sunsets'. The album spans many moods and textures - the sparse pads of opening/closing tracks 'Abandoned City' and 'Blue Distance', soothing static of 'Waterfall' and guitar work. More

The Passage was one of the first releases released on Apollo in 1992 and the three tracks stand as some of Juan Atkins finest and most under rated music. Re-mastered by Matt Colton and available on limited edition clear vinyl and for the first time as a digital single.

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The first single to be released from the new Cloud Boat album ‘Model Of You’. Praise for their last album, 'Book Of Hours':

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