News

Revered Spanish DJ/producer/Sincopat label boss AFFKT (real name: Marc Martinez Nadal) will release his third full-length album titled The Big Picture this summer via mobilee.

Ahead of the full-length’s release, AFFKT has dropped the album’s first single, “Let It Burn,” featuring Sutja Gutiérrez of The Fruhstucks.  The cut is also available with a remix by Santiago Garcia (listen below).

AFFKT describes the single as “a composition where I tried to create a balance of styles and stay halfway through Indie and Eletroclash, musical genres that influenced me a lot when I started making music in the mid/late 90s… It is a direct song which seeks simplicity and perfect forms. His lyrics fit perfectly fine with the album concept, they are somewhere between light and dark, but definitely optimistic.”

The Big Picture will be released digitally on July 30. Vinyl junkies will be able to get their hands on the LP on  August 13.

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New York-based independent music company Reservoir has acquired influential hip-hop and electronic record label Tommy Boy Music for $100 million. In addition to various business activities, Reservoir represents a multitude of recorded music through Chrysalis Records and Philly Groove Records and manages artists through its ventures with Blue Raincoat Music and Big Life Management.

According to Reservoir, the deal comprises 6,000+ masters including Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock.”

Tommy Boy’s impact on electronic music is huge. The label founded by Tom Silverman in 1918 (Disclosure: Silverman published Dance Music Report, a trade magazine I worked at back in the day. During my tenure, I never met or spoke with Silverman) released iconic albums by LFO, Coldcut and 808 State, as well as releases by Latin freestyle acts TKA, K7 and Information Society.

A representative for Reservoir has told Variety that the new label ownership will bring the De La Soul catalog to streaming platforms after a few false starts. “We have already reached out to De La Soul and will work together to bring the catalog and the music back to the fans.”

The groundbreaking New York rap trio has objected to their music being made available on streaming services because per a contract they signed as teens only 10 percent of the revenue generated from the music streams would go to them.

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A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to assist prolific experimental musician Claire Rousay after her home in San Antonio, Texas — where she wrote and recorded her recently released and widely acclaimed album, a softer focus — was burglarized earlier this week.

According to the campaign, thieves stole or destroyed “everything inside – her instruments, recording gear, clothes, furniture, photos, records, books. Gone, broken, or violated.”

The missive went on to estimate the value of the gear — guitars, drums, interfaces, microphones, and more — to be worth around $20,000.

“Claire is a full-time musician and needs to replace some of her gear to get back on her feet – with this GoFundMe, we are seeking to replace the bare minimum she needs to finish the commissions and work she has in the next two weeks. Any additional funds will be used to replace the other pieces of gear she lost.”

Earlier this month, Rousay announced the launch of Mended Dreams, a new imprint in partnership with American Dreams Records.

The venture is a vehicle for Rousay to release limited-edition solo and collaborative projects available only through premium subscriptions to Rousay’s Bandcamp or from American Dreams.

Image by Katherine Squier 

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German DJ/producer Michel Baumann, who recorded under the musical aliases Soulphiction and Jackmate and was also part of ManmadeScience, has passed away according to posts on social media. The cause of death is not known at this time.

Baumann, who was born in Stuttgart, was first inspired by hip-hop in the mid-’80s. He later became enamored with Chicago and Detroit house in the late ’90s. He went on to co-found Philpot Records with Tobias Ettle in 2000. The imprint’s moniker was inspired by Larry Levan’s real surname.

As a producer, Baumann released deep cuts tinged with elements of jazz and techier tracks on a host of labels including Perlon, Sonar Kollektiv., Playhouse, Poker Flat, Mosaic, Freude am Tanzen, Philpot and many more.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

R.I.P. to one of the best @SoulPhiction 💔🥲 pic.twitter.com/v44RPvVHwD

— JT Donaldson (@jtdonaldson) May 23, 2021

Terrible news – Michel Baumann aka Soulphiction / Jackmate has passed. Loved his work.

— Jon Dasilva (@jondasilva) May 24, 2021

One of the best

Every release was a moment

Somebody who understood the art & craft of it all in such a unique way…

💔 https://t.co/fjyjUzdGTN

— Paul Woolford (@PaulWoolford) May 23, 2021

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