Please Keep Shimmering marks Tom VR’s fourth appearance on Seb Wildblood’s ‘All My Thoughts’. The end result of a long, turbulent creative process, it's an album about perseverance and finding inspiration in the face of monotony and self-doubt.

First emerging through the Leeds scene, Tom VR gained traction and attention as a producer through a rapid series of releases on AMT and his own label, Valby Rotary. His debut album Films was released in 2018, a rich and eclectic collage of house, electronica and field recordings. Since then, he has finely tuned a style to call his own - detailed and intricate but grounded by a feeling of warmth and propulsive forward motion - its a sound crystallised on the widely acclaimed ‘Fast Track To Bliss’ EP, which was released in 2021 on Midland’s INTERGRADED.

Work started on Please Keep Shimmering in the aftermath of Films in 2019. Relocating to London via Manchester, Tom juggled his creativity with a 9-5 in customer service. During 2020, over the course of months in isolated lockdown, anonymous abuse from customers on social media platforms skewed the perception of the outside world. ‘It permeates through the screen of your computer and into your life’ he explains ‘As you much as you try to disconnect afterwards, doing this every day while isolated in your home, can get strange. I started to lose confidence in what I was doing creatively and why I was doing it.’

Please Keep Shimmering soundtracks this moment of internal fracture, but also the experience of coming out on the other side, of reassembling the pieces. Weaving together fragments and textures with signature delicacy, the album moves from pulsing ambient on the aptly named ‘Colour Dance Behind the Eyelids’ to brooding downtempo on ‘Keep Shimmering’. Hidden between these moments of introspection are flashbacks to the dancefloor - the lean, broken beat and glittering melody of ‘Partner’, the echoes of jungle on ‘October’, and the rattling, hi tech two-step of ‘Blue Sky Unravel.’ Tom draws on these dancefloor memories to sketch a vision of the future. On the closer ‘Well Are You Hope?’ we get a cautious glimpse of the realisation that things might get better, that these moments are only temporary.

At its core, Please Keep Shimmering is driven by an infectious sense of hope. But it’s not mere escapism - this is the kind of optimism you have to fight for, in which you still hear the echoes of what came before. In the producer’s own words: ‘I sometimes envision my creativity like a flame shimmering. I was constantly worried about it fading out. This album is a sonic reminder to anyone that when you feel burned out and exhausted, searching for the spark deep in your chest can feel impossible, but you have to believe it still exists.’ More

Edinburgh’s Lionoil Industries welcomes masterful producer Tom VR into the pride. Following his highly acclaimed appearance on Midland’s Intergraded imprint, he presents a truly stunning emotional rollercoaster of dubby, tasteful techno and deep, melancholic house, set to enthrall on and off the dancefloor.
“Snare Dream” jubilantly launches the EP - cycling synth lines soar around decisive driving snares, balanced by a bubbly bass rhythm before climaxing with euphoric vocal stabs. “Norwood” ups the dub, notching down the energy to dig into the real meat of this record; an understated journey through dubbed out textures, evidencing Tom’s expert restraint and enticing you with the track’s infectious groove.
Flip the record for the title track “Packard Sawmill Echoes” - a melancholic club cut that will ensure tears on the dancefloor. No half measures here as the track continues to build beautifully over 7 minutes. Humbly presented, tasteful dub techno, and a real secret weapon for the DJs which rewards revisiting. The final track “I Don’t Know Where You Lead” begins a tuff dubby dancefloor cut turned unexpectedly melancholy orchestral number, with yearning strings fit to drop jaws in awe and a state of self-transcendence.
The Valby Rotary boss certainly knows how to work emotion into his tracks - this is tasteful tech-house at it’s very best. More

Leeds producer Tom VR is next up on Seb Wildblood's new imprint All My Thoughts. More

For Maya, this EP is a reflection on what it means to be home and the relationships which make it so, written over a two month period of some difficult transitions and changes. After struggling with some memories around what home meant to her in the past, some large personal life changes triggered and shaped how
she feels about home now, after having been away from the US and living in the UK for nearly a decade.

She explains that the music on this EP is also very much a love letter to her friends and family who share their stories with her, who make her time here worthwhile, and who ultimately make her feel at home.

Musically the record spans seven tracks each with their own style. Some up-tempo breaksy cuts along with more delicate down-tempo melancholic moments, all of which are influenced by her upbringing in the US and also the UK. She uses sounds that she was listening to back when living in the US and other things that make her think of home such as pool field recordings and piano-lead indie music, as well as 00s RnB samples, all united by soft pads and vocal samples. More

For their third release San Francisco based Indian duo Baalti bring the heat and delve into what they say is their most personally authentic release to date, disclosing the record reflects the various club sounds they’ve been enjoying and discovering over the past year.

The five track EP which they’ve titled ‘Better Together’, stays true to their signature sampling of nostalgic South Asian flavours derived from classic Indian, Pakistani, and Bangaldeshi music but on this occasion fused with a backdrop of breaks and euphoric club music which perfectly aligns with Seb Wildblood’s All My Thoughts imprint to which the EP will be released on. The duo have kept a consistent emotive element to the music throughout the EP combined with the leftfield dance- floor sounds they’ve been vouching for more recently.

About the release which will be their biggest yet, Baalti go on to explain: ‘With this record, we wanted to lean into clubbier energy that’s been inspiring, enriching and energizing us. We’re trying to connect where we come from to where we are right now, bringing sounds we grew up with to dance- floors and spaces we’re part of today. It’s our most sincere and complete expression yet, and we’ve tried to capture all of the feelings we had from a year of touring, living with our bffs, being in love, finding amazing communities through music, and getting more connected with each other as a duo.’ – Baalti More

Tel-Aviv based duo, ‘Project Runaway’, return with a new release on LDN/LA based ‘All My
Thoughts’.

The 4 track e.p opens with title track ‘Charly’, a mesmerizing hypnotic percussive bomb, with
voodoo-like vocal mantras and trance flavours throughout.

‘J&S’ is up next, a minimal sunset/sunrise house track full of raw layers of sensitive percussion and bouncing rhythm.

The B side opens with ‘Export City’, a psychedelic percussive trip into the city that never sleeps.

‘Tunnels’, brings us to a close with a mysterious flow of melodies alongside PR's signature percussion, equally suited to both festival stages and sweaty basements. More

Please Keep Shimmering marks Tom VR’s fourth appearance on Seb Wildblood’s ‘All My Thoughts’. The end result of a long, turbulent creative process, it's an album about perseverance and finding inspiration in the face of monotony and self-doubt.

First emerging through the Leeds scene, Tom VR gained traction and attention as a producer through a rapid series of releases on AMT and his own label, Valby Rotary. His debut album Films was released in 2018, a rich and eclectic collage of house, electronica and field recordings. Since then, he has finely tuned a style to call his own - detailed and intricate but grounded by a feeling of warmth and propulsive forward motion - its a sound crystallised on the widely acclaimed ‘Fast Track To Bliss’ EP, which was released in 2021 on Midland’s INTERGRADED.

Work started on Please Keep Shimmering in the aftermath of Films in 2019. Relocating to London via Manchester, Tom juggled his creativity with a 9-5 in customer service. During 2020, over the course of months in isolated lockdown, anonymous abuse from customers on social media platforms skewed the perception of the outside world. ‘It permeates through the screen of your computer and into your life’ he explains ‘As you much as you try to disconnect afterwards, doing this every day while isolated in your home, can get strange. I started to lose confidence in what I was doing creatively and why I was doing it.’

Please Keep Shimmering soundtracks this moment of internal fracture, but also the experience of coming out on the other side, of reassembling the pieces. Weaving together fragments and textures with signature delicacy, the album moves from pulsing ambient on the aptly named ‘Colour Dance Behind the Eyelids’ to brooding downtempo on ‘Keep Shimmering’. Hidden between these moments of introspection are flashbacks to the dancefloor - the lean, broken beat and glittering melody of ‘Partner’, the echoes of jungle on ‘October’, and the rattling, hi tech two-step of ‘Blue Sky Unravel.’ Tom draws on these dancefloor memories to sketch a vision of the future. On the closer ‘Well Are You Hope?’ we get a cautious glimpse of the realisation that things might get better, that these moments are only temporary.

At its core, Please Keep Shimmering is driven by an infectious sense of hope. But it’s not mere escapism - this is the kind of optimism you have to fight for, in which you still hear the echoes of what came before. In the producer’s own words: ‘I sometimes envision my creativity like a flame shimmering. I was constantly worried about it fading out. This album is a sonic reminder to anyone that when you feel burned out and exhausted, searching for the spark deep in your chest can feel impossible, but you have to believe it still exists.’ More

Label head of Vancouver's Heart to Heart 'Secret Lover' is up next up for All My Thoughts, along with a remix from Pacific Rhythm's Khotin.
More

Leeds producer Tom VR is next up on Seb Wildblood's new imprint All My Thoughts. More

In 1975, Joyce Moreno, who had just wrapped up a tour with legendary Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes, found herself in a studio with producer Sergio Bardotti in Rome, Italy. She had been taking a break from writing and she decided to pick up a selection of her favorite compositions from contemporary Brazilian writers who‘s songs were beacons of hope in times of an ongoing intense Military leadership in her home country. Unlike their previous albums, these recordings live from their reductiveness and intimacy. For a long time, Passarinho Urbano was considered a secret masterpiece and was highly sought after by record collectors, now Week–End Records is glad to be making it available internationally on vinyl for the first time ever. More

NYC dance music legend Joey Longo has been a part of the dance music soundscape for those in the know from way back when, his first records surfacing in 1989 under a variety of monikers and on a slew of labels out of NYC. Some (Cabaret, Loop d'Loop, Foot Stompin') were his own, others (Underworld, Maxi, Minimal) not, but the they always came bearing the credit 'produced by Pal Joey'. Joey hit the heights early on, as one of his earliest records, Dance (as Earth People), went big in dance music terms. If you were raving in the early '90s chances are you will be getting flashbacks from 'Dance', as it was played across a number of scenes. A deeper 'beats' mix features on this gem of an album, his first in over 10 years, along with a perfectly selected blend of classic cuts, new versions and remixes and unreleased wonders. Mastered to perfection, but keeping his raw New York style. More

Repress!

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history.

The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th. More

An Italian disco classic produced by one of Italy's top disco pop entrepreneurs – Constantino Paolini – featuring the voice of Vesuvian actress and TV personality Patrizia Pellegrino. “Musica Spaziale” is a fast paced synthy disco number adorned with signorina Pellegrino's silky smooth vocals, featuring lusty cosmic nuanced lyrics that arguably invite the listener to some form of astral bliss in the company of the blond starlet. A classic amongst collectors and specialists of the genre, made available to your record collections once again without having to sell any of your kidneys. In addition, also an extended edit, that patiently slows down the tempo but also extends this cosmic climax on the dancefloor in a manner respectful to the original masterpiece, allowing the dancers to savor every moment of this celestial voyage without all the rush of the 7" version . Flip it and things get propelled in direction to some other acidic orbits with DJ Asshole's tripped out downtempo 8' intervention. Restored, remastered and featuring original “coloring book” style artwork from its original release date. More

Great music is often about chance meetings and impromptu creative sessions and so it is that Hell Yeah proudly serves up Sensory Blending, a new collaborative album from Italian collective Aura Safari and Finnish musician Jimi Tenor. The nine-track record is a lush and luxurious fusion of jazz-funk styles.

This glorious record came about after Tenor was playing a Hell Yeah party at Tangram in Perugia. Aura Safari were local and, in some free time the day before the gig, everyone jumped in the studio together. They had never met before but soon found plenty of free-flowing common ground and the result of that one-off session is now served up on this vibrant new album that brims with musicality, indelible melodies and subtly uplifting vibrations.

Tenor has toured the world and previously collaborated with the likes of Japanese master Calm. He is a psychedelic space-jazz-funk king, skilled musician, composer and producer who, since the mid-nineties, has released more than 25 albums and 45 EPs. Aura Safari is made up of bass, synth, guitar and keys players Lorenzo Francioli, Ruggero Bonucci, Nicola Pitassio Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni and Nicholas Iammatteo, and they are label regulars who served up their sublime Island Dreams album here last year.

Says Jimi, who enjoyed his time in Perugia and adds that 'the studio session was 100% efficient. I showed up and we started to play. Almost all that was made was material that we could use for the album. I love to work fast. Quick brushstrokes. Finish! I was amazed at how intuitively the Aura Safari guys could come up with new parts for songs. I mentioned some feeling or approach and they seemed to find it just like that.'

'Bodily Synesthesia' is the seductive opener with steamy sax notes and gentle grooves that are topped by aloof vocal whispers. 'Lunar Wind' is another slow and steamy mix of jazzy keys and soulful vocal hooks, 'Bewitched By The Sea' is a more tropical and percussive number with majestic melodies and 'My Bluebell' picks up the pace with jazz-funk grooves and hustling chords. 'Last Waltz In Perugia' has freeform sax lines soaring over meticulous drums that ebb and flow and 'Gimlet' brings a playful, samba-tinged rhythm and sunny flute leads straight from South America. There's a laidback, carefree mood to 'It's Too Easy To Love You' while 'Your Magic Touch' is a dancey number that exudes melodic joy, and 'Indigo' closes in dramatic fashion with a conversational sax that sticks long in the memory.

Sensory Blending is a seamless fusion of collaborative minds from Aura Safari and Jimi Tenor and it could well be performed live at some special select shows later in the year. More

After huge demand, the instrumental mixes of NJOI’s unreleased tracks are now here in the shape of 'The Dubs', complimenting the duos recently unveiled 'Hidden Gems' vol 1 & 2 and their 'Collected' album. These iconic tracks became a huge part of NJOI’s original live set and the iconic mixed 'Live In Manchester' album over 30 years ago. After huge demand since their televised 1990 Brixton performance, they're finally available as fully extended individual recordings. More

Repress!
Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe, 1980-1991 is the second multiple artist compilation on Music From Memory and is compiled by record connoisseur Raphael Top-Secret and label man Jamie Tiller. The compilation brings together twenty one tracks from across the continent; exploring the more unusual and unexpected sides of Pop music produced during that period.Drawing material from cult experimental artists such as Steve Beresford, Brenda Ray and Bill Nelson alongside one-off independent musical projects rescued from the fringes, ’Uneven Paths’ focuses on a selection of tracks that go beyond the confines of mainstream pop music but which also transcend expectations of much of the ’experimental’ music of the time. This is music with one foot in the avant-garde and another foot firmly rooted within the sensibilities of Pop; where Jazz musicians detour into Synth-Pop, Punk bands break into Boogie jams, and student doctors jam out on odd melodies with synthesizers and drum machines during their night shifts. More

2024 Repress.

Originally released in 1979, strangely only in Portugal, yet produced by a French duo, Anselmi/Silvestre. “Music Love Song” is a 7 minute long European disco excursion with an unmistakably unique aesthetic, confidently breaking every rule in favour of a sound unheard of at the time. Employing unorthodox studio techniques that would have been unacceptable for most major labels this single only made it on a relatively small sublabel in Portugal for some mysterious reason. The result is a deeply cosmic/melancholic escapade with dreamy androgynous vocals and raging guitars at 130+ BPM - hard to forget. Officially re-issued, remastered and released with original artwork that is no less bold than the music. More

Fast-rising Dutch DJ/producer BELLA becomes the first new artist signing to Sally C’s Big Saldo’s Chunkers imprint, with the inspiring ‘Note to Self’ EP – her debut production.

Relationships are key for Sally C. Since the inception of Big Saldo’s Chunkers in 2020, she’s released three carefully chosen EPs, all from her own studio. When she met BELLA while playing a festival in Amsterdam during summer 2022, the click was instantaneous, with the pair going on to play an impromptu b2b that day. Vibing both musically and energetically, they kept in touch, with BELLA sending Sally her maiden productions ‘Note To Self’ and ‘Orchestra Spring’. Sally connected so deeply with the tracks that they’d form the backbone of her debut artist EP on Big Saldo’s Chunkers.

One listen to the final EP and it’s not hard to see why Sally wanted to emboss them as Chunkers. Three fresh originals taking in influence from ‘90s house, acid, electro and prog, all with a unique hard-to-pin-down energy that makes them hit with a special swing.

The title track – also the first production made for the EP - sees BELLA lay down a sonic blueprint – both for her own sound and the full body of work. “This set the vibe and guided me through the creative process. I was really trying to make something that felt my own, that was also unique and not something I’ve heard before,” she shares. ‘Note to Self’ is heavy on attitude and bounce, driven by banging old skool drums, a rapid-fire grime-style vocal and a duo of synth lines – one uplifting, the other mining a slick ‘80s sheen, and the results are memorable. An absolute tune that Sally’s delighted to add to the Chunker catalogue.

‘Orchestra Spring’ is the perky sequel, a wicked one-two punch of kaleidoscopic groovy house with lashings of attitude that loves to scribble outside the lines with lots of retro samples and trippy energy. ‘Odd Symphony’ completes the trio, a blazing late-night cut driven by a gurgling acid underbelly, gritty drums and warm chords, giving the EP a brilliant afterglow.

Olsvangèr – one of Sally’s favourite producers – steps up for remix duties of ‘Odd Symphony’, and delivers a dynamic re-rub that begins in upbeat house territory, before taking an interlude in perkier rave realms.

“I'm over the moon to be releasing this EP on Sally’s label. It’s really special to have someone who I look up to release my music. She has given me tremendous support and guidance over the last two years, always ready to chat or give me some advice. It was a big surprise and honour when she suggested releasing the tracks on her label. It feels like a perfect fit. It’s super sweet to share this journey with her.” – BELLA

"I’m so excited to welcome BELLA to the label for her debut EP. It was time to take this next step and open the Chunkers door to new artists. I couldn’t think of a better one than BELLA to debut her fresh Chunkers on the label. Three banging originals by an extremely talented artist which I’ve been playing ever since she sent me the tracks. Polished with an Olsvangèr remix, it’s a really strong four track EP." – SALLY C More