Emotional Response Vinyl & CDs

Review: Cherrystones returns with the second of the "Aged" EPs for Emotional Response. Time propels and so does sound, thus orbiting nuances and motion leads us here, to present whatever maybe or interpreted as. Since the acclaimed Aged Of Bronze EP a symbiotic progress of craft arrives in the aptly titled Aged Of Silver. Again each track is like a coded syntax, unlocking the puzzle to aid a listeners journey and experience, building blocks to a utopian scape in form without form notes and pictures living and residing in the dimensions.

Never pandering to trends, his art based on immediacy and the moment, no disposable sub genres that fade as fast as they emerge, transposing and emitting heard and unheard a way to communicate with himself and those that identify.

A capsule of touched emotions bearing gifts for those in the present and wishing to be present, a key with keys analogue for Silver Tongues and Brass monkeys living in the shadow of a Scorpian's Tail.

Review: Elektronik Body Girl is the musical alter-ego of Shelbatra Jashari featuring production assistance from Brussels's soFa. The Belgo-Albanian postpunk pair cooked up sounds that accompany an imagined dystopian industrial wasteland with tons of improv and lots of raw, jagged rhythm. Dealing with the "empowering feminine" and its representation were key to the vision of Jashari as well as abrasive textures and stark atmospheres. Her vocals touch on her roots in Belgium and Kosovo from an outsider's position and label associate Toulouse Low Trax cooks up a brilliant beatdown mix to seal the deal.

Review: Five years after its first release, Emotional Response is serving up this welcome reissue of Alexis Georgopoulos and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's classic Fragments of A Season. They came together after five years of superb releases and reached new highs here even though they aren't necessarily household names. It saw them turn in some wonderfully expressive compositions played out across all manner of organic instrumentation. The richness of the production and the highly developed ideas embedded within this gorgeous LP should resonate for a long time to come, not least because the pieces are all so easy on the ears.

Review: With such a collaboration heavy project in the "Yet Another Kito Jempere Album" announced it is no surprise that this following remixes pack comes laden with familiar friends'n'family, plus additional support.

Taking the ambient meets acappella paene Your Ghost In Me and creating one of his on-point dance floor dramas, Lipelis (Animals Dancing / LIES), utilising Hard Ton's classic 'US House' vocal delivery to create a perfect "big room" anthem.

Next up Born Free boss, Samo DJ (Public Possession / Trilogy Tapes) pumps A King Of Comets with Mood II Swing punch meets Ballistic Brothers riddim'n'culture for some hip-breaks-dancehall swing.

Cable Toy (Low Budget Family) presents the label favourite with his bouncing, yearning remix of album stand out, Time Traveller. Countered with a perfect touch of summer vibrations and melancholia this up and coming St Petersburg resident has to be watched.

Finally, Linja (Avidiya / Malka Tuti) offers a deep, shuffling version of Untitled Ritual. Arpeggios throb, percussion snaps, tempos shift, planets realign, vocals by Noteless call...wait believing, just we have seen it, God is waiting, nothing can bleeding.

Only friends. Only family. This is Kito's emotional response.

Review: The Schleissen series goes from strength to strength on Emotional Response, inviting another two esteemed luminaries in the field of ambience to indulge themselves on a long side of wax. Matthewdavid is a welcome addition to the series - the West Coast champion has been operating in all kinds of unusual realms for a long time - and he comes to this release with a new project entitled Mindflight. The resulting track "Sonos' loops and folds heavy washes of drone and feedback in a thoroughly stimulating bath of harmony. Firecracker affiliate HOLOVR meanwhile presents three different musings on the dynamics of vintage UK techno, all crooked beat formations and luscious synth strokes gazing into the future.

Review: Secret Circuit's Eddie Ruscha and Rub N Tug's Thomas Bullock joined forces as Laughing Light Of Plenty for an EP back in 2008, and followed it up with an album on Whatever We Want Records in 2010 which largely got lost in a warehouse stock malfunction. Now Emotional Response are doing the right thing and giving the record a second airing under the duo's alternative alias The Naturals, and it's not hard to see why they wanted to do the reissue. Loose and funky, but also deliriously psychedelic and indebted to the 1970s golden era of songwriting, this is a quintessential Emotional record if ever we heard one.

Review: Two revered dance music institutions come together here as Pye Corner Audio steps up to Emotional Response with his debut EP for the label. What's more, it is a two-parter with the second half also available now. This one from Martin Jenkins finds him making an homage to the acid house he has always loved with opener 'Stegan Acid' starting with slow grocers and foggy moods run through with subtle 303 modulations. 'Magnetic Acid Three' is another deep and stripped-back sound with rumbling drums and bass coloured with soft acid contours and 'Thermionic Acid' gurgles a little more as the icy hi-hats cut through a mutant deep techno swamp. 'Magnetic Acid One' is one final meditation on acidic house depths.

Review: Roy Of The Ravers may be best known for his lysergic rave pelters, but there's always been a hint of grandiose melancholy in his synth work that suggested there was more to the machine botherer than tear-out acid beats. Emotional Response worked with the artist in trawling through a vast archive of material recorded between 1997 and 2017, rescued from hard drives once thought lost, and now gathered as a compelling ambient release with the full fat hardware veneer of Roy's work to date, but coming from a more reflective angle. From cathedral-quaking drones to deeply submerged aquatic excursions, this album has plenty to draw you into the inner world of an acid hero.

Review: Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.

Review: Maverick UK producer Roy Of The Ravers is back with more seductive dancefloor material, blending melodic mastery with driving rhythms across the typically compelling White Line Sunrise III (Part 2). Sam Buckley never disappoints i whether or not he's using his cheeky Roy Of The Ravers moniker i regularly displaying a genuine gift for composing absorbing, off-kilter but emotive melodies. Opener 'Fenix Haus 6' wastes no time energising the dancers, with murky acid following deep bass over sparse machine drums. 'Exit Ren8' features the aforementioned blend of emotion and steel, with cascading synths harmonising over fizzing rhythms, as does the powerfully evocative, 80s-tinted excursion of 'Crista Theme'. Finally, the cinematic swells of the title track offer a hyper-immersive alternative to the main room, with stirring harmonics merging across a vast sonic landscape.

Review: Following his ambient explorations in the White Line Sunrise series, this EP shows a more familiar, direct and machine-driven acid funk side to Roy of the Ravres' sound. 'Primavera Anjo' opens with hypnotic techno, while 'Planet Earth' dives into squelching acid, blending past and future in one fluid motion. On the flip, 'G-Force' takes you deeper with dreamy chords and swirling arpeggios, building a perfect vortex. 'Glass Knife' closes with cinematic breaks and a deep, rumbling bass, capturing a timeless vibe. Recorded 25 years ago, the complex rhythms reveal Roy's blend of classical and jazz influences, pushing his sound into new ground while still capturing that rare ability to make music that's both experimental and deeply emotional.

Review: Emotional Response facilitate a new, prickly post-punk come dub fascinator by Shelter aka multi-instrumentalist Alan Briand. Helping redefine the term "digidub" to muted but compelling effect, this wry, checkered release themes each of its track titles after chessboard pieces, perhaps reflecting many of the power moves (rook castlings, last-minute pawn queenings) that have defined Briand's career so far: he's already demonstrated a dexterity in straddling several styles, from ambient, Balearic, improv and even acid Indian raga. All recorded live, this new, fuzz-packed release betrays an undying love for a particular dub sound: 'Kings, Knights & Rooks' fleshes hugely cosmic synth swells out of initially wan beginnings, whilst 'The Queen's Sacrifice' goes on to upend minimality entirely for maximal cavern-verb and 'Shutting Out Bishops' stars as the B-side's wackiest mumble-toasting; all tracks pay homage to a long, territorialising and power-hungry digidub tradition, with Prince Jammy, Alpha & Omega, Bush Chemist and Jonah Dan all namechecked as influences.

Review: Terra Utopia returns to Emotional Response with a second release, a collection of ten tracks blending ambient textures, atmospheric rhythms and fluid drum & bass. French producer Benoit B revives this project after the success of the first Terra Utopia recordings, delivering another thoughtful exploration of soundscapes. Initially conceived as a short-lived project, the first Terra Utopia was recorded in two weeks during a spring in Athens, capturing a deeply personal sonic aesthetic. This second offering reflects an evolution in style while retaining its essence. Tracks unfold like snapshots of expansive skies, tranquil seas and warm summer days, creating a narrative of serene moments and astral imaginings. The beats feel crisp and purposeful, and every cut is crafted for both personal immersion and DJ functionality. A highlight is the collaboration with singer dvdv on 'Shadows Of Memories', where her ethereal vocals float over dreamlike instrumentation, offering an evocative, hypnotic centerpiece. Terra Utopia continues to conjure vivid sonic imagery with its latest chapter.

Review: The output from cult label Emotional Response is always varied and always vital. This time out the focus turns to Useless Users, who offer up a standout nine-track debut here. The band features former Sarah Records alumni including members of Action Painting! and Secret Shine as well as featuring Even As We Speak. The music they make is pop but with bold adventure at its heart. There are dreamy elements, big bold chords and stunning vocal deliveries as well as a few twists and turns along the way. It's a real gem with nods to sixties psyche amongst others.

Review: You can never really pin down what the excellent Emotional Repose label does and that is exactly the sinking behind the title of its superb All Trades show on NTS. The sheer eclecticism of that show is now reflected in this new two-part compilation, also called All Trades, which offers up little morsels of what they do, something like a sonic tasting menu at a fancy restaurant. There is chugging electronic dub from Apiento & Tepper, industrial clatter from Black Bones, cosmic ambient breakbeat from Paperclip Minimiser and blissed out dub from Yamila & SoFa Elsewhere amongst many more highlights.

Review: Emotional Response returns with a second volume of its All Trades compilation which is named after its own NTS show. It is just as vast both in terms of style but also the eras it spans with a mix of dub, new wave, slow motion electronics and plenty in between. Tolouse Low Trax kicks off with the filthy dirty and seriously heavy dub glitch of 'Ossia' to provide an early highlight before the likes of Al Wootton get percussive and tribal with 'Altai' and HLM38 channels some African Head Charge on another devastating dub cut. Later on, London's Good Block brings a little more light and sunshine with their lovely 'Strong Relax.'

Review: Emotional Response has described soFa's fourth compilation for the label as "internationalism for the adventurous DJ", full of club music for the open-minded. It's basically an eclectic, esoteric musical travelogue that serves of intriguing, entertaining and admirable electronic music for those of a leftfield persuasion. There's much to enjoy, from the undulating melodies, off-kilter beats and mind-soothing chords of Infuso Giallo's 'Torus', and the moody techno-not-techno wave minimalism of Puma & The Dolphin ('Grass Drum'), to the analogue-heavy cold-wave dystopia of Houschyar ('Intercontinental'), the dark ambient techno of Lamusa II ('Artificial') and the tribal tinged electronic psychedelia of Bolva ('Rite II').