Yousef

Matom
Love Mistakes
Planet E

Conceived as an aural tribute to the ‘Hansa recording studios’ on KÃ¶thener StraÃŸe No. 38 in Berlin, this long player courtesy of Matt Edwards (aka Radio Slave) and Thomas Gandey (aka Cagedbaby) not only boasts purely live instrumentation but also the transcendent atmosphere of the music produced. Hansa was made famous by the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Tangerine Dream and Depeche Mode, amongst many significant others and is obviously a hard act to follow with the album taking its main inspiration from Bowie’s 1977 masterpiece Low. The result is a suitably stunning experience which blends a rich mixture of beats and percussion augmented by an intense musicality that is as far away from the mindless repetition of Tech House as you could imagine. Indeed, you could for example say that the piano played on Piano 2 Variation 4 has been spiritually guided. Or, try soaking up the haunting, ambience triggered by Hansa itself complete with taught electro drums, while the concluding title track ends on a wash of Fender RhodesÂ echoing your imagination to hear the excellence all over again…

release: September 15

H FOUNDATION
HEAR DIS SOUND (Remixes)
SIESTA RECORDS

Hipp-e and Halo’s distinctive release from just under ten years ago now gets revitalised via an excellent set of remixes transforming this gem directly into 2014. Beginning with Yousef’s great version that sets addictive organ notes against a fiery backdrop of hypnotic percussion and pulsating beats this is built for the repeat button. The Space Coast take is next combining sparkling synths and tough bass, followed by Sneak’s relentless attack on the senses. Franck Roger’s outstanding funky bassline driven remix then scores high, while DJ Buck adds a cool Disco flavour with a twist. Craig Richards then defies expectations by dropping the tempo into darker territory with a heavy dose of sound effects, leaving Adam Shelton to pick up the pace once again with another suitably punchy rendition that rocks the floor. All good.

https://soundcloud.com/siestarecords/sets/h-foundation-hear-dis-sound-1

Walter Ego
CTRL+ALT+DEL EP
2020 Vision

Surpassing the computer functionality of the title this strips it back to basics via a pumping House beat and accompanying bassline. Not quite so sure about the vocal line despite its obvious catchiness but then there is always a great Dub version to contend with. Or, the excellent PBR Streetgang Remix which transforms the vocal into filtered nirvana via an array of swirling synths and an ecstatic arrangement. Second track, The Project delves deeper again with a detuned vocal loop, as does the addictive The Pattern which is complimented by a first rate rhythm section.

release: September 11

https://soundcloud.com/thump/walter-ego-ctrlaltdel-pbr-streetgang-remix

Slow Hands
Everything (We Are)
Wolf + Lamb Records

What’s not to like about this. After all if breathy vocal deliveries and syncopated basslines backed up by punchy drumming are your thing then this is just right on the opening, â€˜Miss White’. While the title track has a restrained yet slightly epic feel to it care off a rousing chorus line backed-up by Dave Robertson’s vocals and atmospheric instrumentation. Who then re-appears as Cameo Culture for the remix by adding a funkier attitude to the proceedings. Finally, Second Fiddle again weaves the delicate vocals through a musical fabric that sounds playful and enjoyable.

release (digital): September 15

https://soundcloud.com/slowhands/sets/everything-we-are-ep-1

What inspired you to start Baker Street Recordings, and how would you describe running a label to someone else thinking of starting one?

It was the combination of wanting to release our own music and for me the business, A&R side. That part of the music industry was really interesting to me. Running a label is a labour of love, you have to love the music and throw yourself into the industry. Money is tight and you have to have a keen ear for the music. If you’re looking to start a label and be successful look to put all your spare cash into it and don’t over release, take your time, treat each EP with the attention it needs, the work only starts once its released.

Your new compilation celebrates the 5th Anniversary of the label in two parts. What process decided the tracks to go on each one?

It took a lot of debating and thinking about to choose which tracks would work well for the remix album.Â In the end we drafted a shortlist and let some of the producers decide.Â We are really happy with how the album has turned out, there have been a couple of tracks from the release that have become favorites and been played by quite a number of people, but they have all been really well received!

The tracks on part two are really a collection of our most popular.Â We have noticed that from starting the promo for this release it has kick started a second life into some of our bigger previous releases, such as the Timewriter remix of â€˜Insomniac Oasis’ and Yousef’s â€˜Don’t Touch Me’ mix.

You initially released music on vinyl before moving to digital and are now planning to release on vinyl once again. Why is that important to you?

One of the overriding factors is the lack of support that some download sites are giving to smaller labels.Â That combined with the thousands of releases that come out each week means your releases just get lost.Â Some download sites are getting things right for the underground market; Traxsource for example seems to understand the problem.Â The move to vinyl means that we can release in a less flooded marketplace.Â We are also looking at just selling all our release direct from our site, cutting out all the extra costs and getting the label back to that personal feel that people really like. Big Risk Though.

How would you describe your process of producing music? Any favorite piece of software or instrument?

Pro Tools is our production software of choice.Â We also run Ableton alongside this.Â What seems to work really well for us is to have the bones of the track laid out in Pro Tools, and any extra sounds and bits that need creating are done in Ableton, and then put into a network file so we can access it from any of the studio Macs.Â The process of having two people in the studio producing one track has really helped to fuel creativity.

The only VST that we stick to religiously is Spectrasonic’s Trillian for basses, there is no competition in my opinion especially for an analogue sound if you can’t afford the hardware.Â Hardware wise we mix down through an Allen & Heath Zed-R16 and TL Audio valve compressors.

The label has a very distinctive sound, how would you best describe it?

I’d like to just say House, but that’s means so many things nowadays, so Deep house with a influence of Jack from Chicago and Tech from Detroit.

Tell us about your forthcoming plans for Baker Street nights?

We have some pretty exciting plans for Baker Street nights.Â The general idea will be to have DJ’s and live musicians combining on stage.Â There are such a high number of nights around at the moment that we want to create an experience that stands out from the rest of these nights.Â This element of live music as well as DJ’s will help to make the nights more memorable, and when the event is fully branded up with Baker Street and everyone is wearing old school Sherlock tweed it should be a great atmosphere.Â Also if we ever get any nice weather again there are rumors of a barge party!!

What do you listen to when you’re not at Baker Street?

There is a new artist coming through called Rohit who creates the most stunning electronic music with an Indian influence, one to watch for the future. In the office we listen to everything from Elvis, The Beatles to Black Sabbath and everything in between.