We are so excited and happy to announce our new record WALLS will be released on April 26 in the US on Mom+Pop Music. Release dates for Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Canada will be announced shortly. Sit tight.

We recorded the album last summer in Vancouver with our friend Howard Redekopp. We wrote the songs before then…obviously. Some were written a while before, some a few weeks. Every song we decided to record became a tiny, helpless baby that we helped grow up/influence. I prefer not to see it as a parental thing but more as an older sibling. Some had terrible growing pains and at times looked like they were going to be ungrateful red-headed step children (both Damon and I are/were red heads and I am a step child). Others were low maintenance dream boats that fed themselves. I much preferred the later. Regardless, we have 12 new songs that we worked really hard on. On April 26th so you can hear them too.

A new record means a lot of new things. New songs, new artwork, new places to play, new merchandise and so on. The new art and merch is much more easy for me and Damon to judge because well…we didn’t do it! We got to work with some amazing artists this time around. We have some exciting pre-order packages available too including an An Horse pillowcase, a signed poster, an exclusive t-shirt, a cd and a lovely 180 gram vinyl. OHHHH! It’s just all too much. I need to have a lie down.

We have announced a handful of dates in the US and Germany and there are plenty more to come! We see all your tweets and facebook requests to play certain towns and countries. We will do our best so keep checking in.

Sail safe.

KC/DC.

The contents of the iBeats website will temporarily remain online while a self sustaining model is compiled.

“During our five year existence, we’ve made some great friends, some excellent contacts and have some unforgettable memories. Sadly the passion and free time that we once held as a team has disappeared and running the site as a hobby is no longer feasible. I’m truly gutted” -Vini

Beautifully packaged, with 60 meticulously selected chill-out cuts from some of the best chill-out artists of a generation, with Aeroplane, Chilly Gonzales, Zero 7, Electribe 101, Vangelis, Leftfield, Groove Armada, Nightmares On Wax, alongside some of the biggest names in dance, Orbital, Tensnake, Lindstrom, Underworld, Alan Braxe & Fred Falke, Fatboy Slim, Moby, William Orbit, and Goldie.

In true Cream style Cream Chilled Electronic distinguishes itself from the crowd, setting a new standard of quality in the musical chill-out field, combining lustrous beats and luxurious harmonies with specialist/hard to find chill-out mixes from major artists, including The Doors, Ian Brown, The XX, Empire Of The Sun, Massive Attack, Primal Scream, MGMT, and New Order.

“The 3CD album also features some of the most rarely compiled classics from Air, The Orb, DJ Shadow, Happy Mondays, Massive Attack, and the ultra sought-after Frankie Knuckles mix of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’”.

Cream Chilled draws on an eclectic group of legendary names that span dance, indie, pop and rock to suit all discerning palettes. A truly diverse mixture of modern, electronic & laidback sets that look sure to become a compilation classic.

The lead track from the EP is a little more stripped-back than our last few releases but again includes heavy classic house, techno, post punk, italo disco and UK garage influences whilst also bringing something new. We’ve also kept to the Evil Nine tradition of working with our favorite rappers, this time with our friend B Dolan (Strange Famous) who provides the main hook to ‘Auto’. On the imaginary B-side we’ve got a remix from the awesome Broke One whose music just keeps getting better and better. He turns our original into a big old rave-stabbed bangggaaahrrrr.

We’ve always loved the ‘Donk’ synth sound and have been trying to include it in a track for a while; finally we succeeded by squeezing it into the second track from the EP ‘Silent Runner’. This one comes off a little more UKG than the other and ends up sounding a bit like Reel 2 Real’s ‘I Like To Move It’ (but not really), we thought seeing as ‘Auto’ was more minimal we should do something with a big riff to go along side it and this has a big riff in it.

Lots of love, Pat and Tom.

ps. As a gift to our readers here is a link to to download the new For Lovers Mixtape – Part III ‘Love In A Cold Climate’. The tracklist is below.

This impressive package also showcases the remix talents of emerging UK talent – Scotty.A – his remix of Denis A’s ‘Heroin’ was the winning entry in the recent DAR remix competition on the excellent Dutch music site – www.laptoprockers.eu – so you can hear exactly why this outstanding young producer is definitely a talent to be watched closely during 2011. His extraordinary passion for music and dedication to his craft is certain to see his career soar in the coming months.

“I was hooked instantly when I first heard Heroin. At the time we just finished our remix contest with Eat Static, and Heroin was the perfect candidate for the next one. I was really happy Denis went along when we asked him. We got some really good mixes but the remix by Scotty.A is a clear winner, and deserves it to be included on DAR018.” – Peter Berger (Editor, Laptoprockers.eu)

Since its launch in 2006 www.laptoprockers.eu=""> is a website about electronic music – everything digital – and related subjects. Daily topics include exclusive interviews, album reviews and news about tech stuff such as iPhone apps. Laptoprockers organizes several remix contests per year and is a great source for anyone interested in making music.

It was in 1992 that Charlie May and production partner Duncan Forbes made their maiden voyage as Spooky. After meeting and becoming firm friends, they cut their first record for seminal progressive imprint Guerilla Records – ‘Don’t Panic’. It was to prove highly influential in the futuristic new movement in dance music – progressive house – that took the rhythms of acid, and married them to aquatic depths of Detroit techno with overlays of ambient music, to create a fresh new hybrid.

Heralded as figureheads of the progressive house scene, Spooky cemented this by creating their sky strafing and ambitious long-player ‘Gargantuan’.
One of the first dance albums of its kind, this pinnacle album would go on to spawn a million sound-a-likes, establishing the production wizardry of Charlie May, whose tweaking and pitch-perfect ear was set to have a huge influence, both in front of and behind the scenes for Sasha.

Scotty.A has emerged in the last year as an outstanding producer. His first few productions have seen him recognised by the Global Underground label as well as Russian dj/producer Denis A.

Scotty began dj’ing in 1999 and over the following years started to gain local recognition appearing on line-ups for various events in his hometown whilst developing his own distinctive sound which can be recognised in his dj sets and productions today. Originally driven by the strong trance released in the late 90’s Scotty’s sound has evolved to include elements of house, techno, electronica and progressive – Scotty himself is keen to avoid being pinned down to only one genre, describing his sound as a hypnotic amalgamation of many different elements which take the listener on a unique journey. Scotty’s enthusiasm for the music is apparent in his dj sets which has lead him to play at the world famous clubs Turnmills, Ministry of Sound and Pacha alongside names such as Dave Seaman, Danny Howells, Jimmy Van M and many others. You can currently catch Scotty and long-time dj collaborator Jumby playing regular sets at the legendary Electronic Sessions boat parties on the Thames in London.

Scotty first started to take a serious interest in producing his own tracks in Spring 2009, the quality of his work seemed to jump forward meteorically with each new track and in September 2009 his track “Underestimated” was announced as the unanimous winner of a Global Underground bedroom producer competition sponsored by Mixmag & BoxFresh Clothing. Scotty has since had a production signed to Miami based label Aquasounds. Most recently his remix of Denis A’s track “Heroin” won the www.laptoprockers.eu DAR remix competition, with Denis currently supporting some of Scotty’s other tracks in his live sets and podcasts.

As well as continuing to dj whenever possible Scotty is unrelenting in the studio, constantly working on new tracks, remixes and bootlegs for his dj sets and continually developing and defining his own sound. With interest from labels, producers, fellow dj’s and most importantly the crowds at his live gigs Scotty A is surely set to be an prominent figure in the future of electronic music.

Catalog: DAR018
12″ Vinyl Release: 20/12/10
Beatport Exclusive: 10/01/11
Full Digital Release: 07/02/11

The 2010 remaster of Melodies and Memory opens the release, the dreamy synths and solid drums allowing pads to build around them creating a unique ambience for the listener. A huge, slow-moving bass line allows the percussion to advance intricately, as the character flooded vocals fill the track. The track title seems so fitting, the track almost appearing as a memory in the mind of Martin’s fans.

Classic single Girl + Robot is also remastered for the EP, and overtakes the bliss of track 1 with a faster paced, exciting intro. The majestically modulated synths almost take us to another world as the track moves through each section with grace and confidence. The track moves yet further beyond our expectations and becomes like a modern day classical arrangement with the main melody completing a beautiful masterpiece.

Andreas Henneberg and Marquez Ill bring us back down to Earth by re-introducing us to the world of techno. Both remixes combine the ambient and dance aspects of Soma amazingly, keeping so many emotions flowing. The forward thinking sounds of Vector Lovers continue to astound and have been exploited in such an ultramodern way, keeping the release feeling fresh, whilst maintaining the labels ongoing originality and excellent quality.

That having been said, “Pink Trees” took a bit longer for me to appreciate. Its deeper, darker underbelly slowly churns beneath a likewise brooding tempo; as such, its eight-and-a-half minute duration is necessary for the full melody to realize itself. The synthesizers are the only part of the track that notably evolve into deeper and sexy techno; I imagine this singular quality makes the track a most essential addition to the earliest parts of any contemporary set. Grinding along at a modest rate with a likewise modest melody, “Pink Trees” appears to have been produced with the intention of precluding tracks that hit harder without sacrificing the musical integrity upon which Babicz has built his reputation.

“Percofonik,” the EP’s second track, is an astonishingly fresh tune with unrelenting bass and tantalizing brushes with tribal percussion. It deftly skims the opposing side of ‘German techno’ and comes as a true surprise on this release given the nature of the first track. Babicz’s second production makes use of the same type of gnarled and rousing bass that propels “Pink Trees” through its Herculean eight plus minutes of playtime; its density and wavelength, however, are substantially increased. This suggests to me that “Percofonik” may well fit more aptly amongst tracks with higher octane than contemplative techno tracks usually incorporate. In my mind, “Percofonik” is a fitting – if somewhat eclectic and funky – complement to its partner production, and whose constituent attributes promote its inclusion amongst styles ranging from deep house to tech house and beyond.

Perfect Stranger’s remix of “Otagu” eliminates the stylistic interplay that defines Nyquist’s original work, opting instead to possess one’s mind with moody and sometimes minimal techno. Various shakers, clappers and stabs align this type of techno with the CD wallets of DJs who seek lengthy and intricate builds utilizing the fewest possible constituent sounds. The result? Perfect Stranger produces a perfectly strange version of “Otagu” whose build-ups give more the impression of an opus than a simple techno track. Whether in the club or at home, this remix is a must-have for the techno purists out there. Blending rich musical landscapes with persuasive rhythm, Perfect Stranger’s remix creates a novel and simply unforgettable experience.

Prins Thomas’ remix represents a certain kind of musical fusion of deep house and disco that can only be reminiscent of colorful cocktails and South Floridian sunsets. Lasting nine minutes, the track reserves time to build intensity, recede, and build some more. Tasty morsels of savvy, afterhours funk swim between and throughout the softly padded beat. Prins Thomas creates patterns of aural undulations, of wave-like form, that provide a soothing electronic exodus for those in a quaint, carefree mood. Sit back, sip your drink and follow the sun as it sinks beneath the waterline.

The Round Table Knights remix “Floatation” with club-friendly atmospherics – but for all the keyboards’ inspirations, the final product sits firmly on the smoother side of house. Just as the music loses itself to distorted reverberation during the build, soothing lyrics coyly beg the listener to “Take my hand [and] come with me” – whereupon one cannot help but obey! The mist and tranquility of trance anchors itself one way on the well-weathered shores of bigger club hits, but it also forges into contemporary progressive; solid up-tempo hi-hat and stab combinations are overlain with the repetition of high register and even higher reaching piano chords. I became separated from the evolution of progressive trance for a few years, but I can say (with personal confidence) that this remix does justice to the delicate balance between both the groove and majesty of trance.

Last but (in this reviewer’s opinion) absolutely furthest from least is the ambitious housey-dubstepped brainchild of Slof Man. Teasing the listener into the track with atmospheric keys is the only point of comparison between this and any other rendition of “Floatation.” Slof Man turns this vintage tune into an atypical dance excursion. Its individuality is fortified by broken beats that glide into the melody and float briefly out of reach before pummeling the dancefloor with aggressive volleys of aural vertigo characteristic only of dubstep. The track simulates a wickedly fun and “techy” experience whose appearance alongside sexy hypno-breaks will come as an honest surprise to those seeking your average progressive tune. Slof Man’s remix is edgy, delivering both spook and groove without the inclusion of vocals. This remix traces one of the first substantial lines in the sand by marking the successful synthesis of progressive trance and dubstep along the endless beaches of electronic possibility. Sacrificing density for individuality, this track floats – soars, perhaps – above the rest.

- James Woodruff

Label: Electronic Petz
Cat: EP055
Style: Deep House, Tech House, Electronica
Release Date: 24/12/2010