Review: Balam's previous releases have tended towards the exotic and hallucinatory, cannily combining dirty electronics and tech-tinged beats with dense South American and African percussion and semi-tropical instrumentation. It's a sound that makes the sometime Hard First artist a perfect fit for the similarly minded Multi-Culti label. There's plenty to savour on Balam's first outing from the imprint, from the extra-percussive, shoom-powered chug of 'Tribus' and dark bass-propelled bounce of 'Yaka Jaus', to the Golden Teacher-meets-Maukovich Dance Band headiness of 'Reinos De Tambor' and the gently EBM-influenced electronic psychedelia of 'Revuelta'. Turn on, tune in, drop out!
Review: For the second volume in the label's occasional Calypso Cult series, Multi Culti has snapped up two tracks apiece from "warriors of chug" (as they put it) Inigo Vontier and Thomass Jackson. Jackson steps up first, peppering a stretched out groove with trippy effects and hallucinatory electronics on the deliciously wonky 'Big Plastic Room', before opting for a bass-heavy, new beat-goes-to-the-moon vibe on the pleasingly out-there 'Slow Train'. Vontier instinctively pitches up the tempo and reaches for some ritualistic percussion sounds (think marimba melodies, oddball hand percussion and more) on the sparse psychedelic disco throb of 'Jungle Tungle', before reverting to 98 BPM on the psyobilin-doused weirdo dub of 'Hipocampos'. A brilliantly wayward EP all told.
Review: There's a time for accessible podium belters, and there's a time for deeper jams that aren't afraid to take a left turn now and again. This five-tracker is one to reach for when you're firmly into the latter zone, as Multi Culti serve up a collection of eyes-down, late-night cuts that mine various global musics for inspiration: Sheila Chandra has been a stalwart of the British Asian music scene for 40 years, Sababa 5's 'Nasnusa' is a take on a classic Mizrahi song, while the title of 'Amakondera' references a style of Rwandan music that uses horn- and gourd-based wind instruments. An EP that will delight those whose tastes lean towards the exotic and the less familiar.
Review: Releases on Canada's Multi Culti have come from artists as diverse as Zongamin, Red Axes and Jagwar Ma, but generally speaking electronic music from the more experimental/leftfield side is their stock-in-trade, and such is the case on this five-track V/A. Clear cosmic/Italo disco influences have landed the EP on this page but there are hints too of everything from dub (see Hermetics & Hannah Lee's 'Lux Naturae') to Indian/Middle Eastern music (check out Ponty Mython's hypnotic 'Pinto La Meah'), while special mention must be made of Magic Pirate's closer - we're just gonna go right ahead and love any track called 'Make Me A Jazz Coffee' on principle!
Review: A four-tracker here that will suit those whose dancefloor tastes lean towards the exotic and eclectic side. Red Axes' 'Maztomeret' tops a Moog-y cosmic disco groove with a nursery-like "la la la la la" chorus, Zillas On Acid comes on like 70s Indian sitar funk given a Solomun remix, Tyu flirts with African and Arabic flavours on 'Kongaloka' and then finally there's the oddity that is Manfredas's 'Meshugas', a quirky slice of Balearica with a hint of The Clangers about it. Peaktime tackle for big, glitzy clubs this most definitely is not, but leftfield spinners would do well to check it out.
Review: Following the enigmatic release of an another Zongamin record, 'digital folk producer' Nicola Cruz returns to Thomas Von Party's Multi Culti label in remix form thanks to versions by Auntie Flo, John Talabot and Tunisia's Azu Tiwaline to Luis Maurette's Uji alias (and a Micro Dub by TVP himself). Plodding in some lighter dubstep vibes is John Talabot in his deep and steady mix of "Naeku" that Uji touches up aswell with some looped vocal chants, twinkling melodies and a slight of dub splayed across those dramatic piano chords. Next is TVP's bottom heavy, percussive and filtered remake, while Auntie Flo drops the tempos for something more rare groove in his mix of "Aima" that takes on a similar dub and vocal hook in Azu Tiwaline's version too.
Review: Still in the game outta Montreal Canada is TVP's Multi Culti label with a second collaborative release from Berlin duo Sascha Funke & Niklas Wandt! It follows up the project's Wismut EP from last year with three new and supersonic, primed cuts pumped up with new wave, cosmic and psychedelica-deutsche power! Take the "Blue Monday" atmospheres and Klaus Schultz-like instrumentation in "Kreidekreis" with its over the top crescendos and high voltage synths that balance out next to the stripped-back, future disco and spacey tribal effects of "Kometenschweif". With a heavier, grungy bassline given prominence in "Weg Vom Leder" allowing Niklas Wandt's sly vocals to take up center-stage, a similar recipe is followed in Whodammy's remix to "Kometenschweif". Adding some extra lo-fi effects and instrumental dub flavours to the record is Alexander Arpeggio and his post punk-y take of "Kreidekreis". New German New Wave, yeah!
Review: For this next selection we can see that the Multi Cult team have assembled a top draw line up to showcase some super experimental dub music, allowing the future of the genre to shine. We kick off with the haunted atmospheric layering and wavy melodic structures of Drugface's ' In The Clouds, followed by the incredible persuasive manoeuvres of Dreems' Digi-Dub-Dub-Dub mix of Espiritu, originally by Nicola Cruz. Next we take it Lo-Fi as Zongamin delivers a trippy bullet with 'Cosmic Serpent', a woodwind led exploration into syncopation and subs. Finally, we hear the Muli Cult remix of Golden Bugs 'Tamba', a vibrant bop consisting of glittering melodic blips and crunchy drum structures. Lovely work!
Review: Look up keywords 'deep water' and 'dreams' and you'll have some idea of where this record is going...or at least comes from. A dark place, maybe...but not the ominous sort; a kind where colour is splashed around by Dreems ambient swirls, chimes and arpeggios of tracks "Coaster's Retreat", to the more laced-out, cosmiq and psych-synths of "Moonlight In The Depths". In Deep Waters presents a next release for Dreems on Thomas Von Party's Multi Culti label following last year's Diamond Bay LP, and you can xpect swathes of new age, exotica and synth, with more acoustic ballads to be found in "The Bends". A good place to dream that's for sure.
Review: Safely curating from Montreal a line up of disco, electro and dancefloor tracks to rise from the ashes of the early 2010s, Thomas von Party, aka Tiga's brother, has curated a discography that includes the likes of Zongamin, Golden Bug, Jamie Paton to Sascha Funk and Red Axes. Hybridism presents a second record for Cruz in 2020 and this five-track drop sees the French-Ecuadorian drum up a dubby and jazz-tipped assortment of lo-fi, exotic percussion and space rhythms that remain slow-mo while maintaining their chuggings pulses. 5 stars.
Review: 2019 is shaping up to be a busy year for Golden Bug aka Antoine Harispuru. Following on from an EP on Ivan Smagge's Les Disques De La Mort, he now drops this idiosyncratic release. The title track features stop-start beats and heavy use of the echo chamber as an eccentric male rambles away in the background. "Tamba", featuring Viktoria Wehrmeister on vocals, resounds to strung out tribal drums, while on "Yama", Harispuru delivers an immersive, dubbed out sound scape. The label has chosen the remixers wisely, with Marc Pinol turning "Trigger" into a wigged out acid track, followed by Krikor's broken beat version of "Yama".
Review: Jamie Paton (Cage & Aviary) is back with more of his moody indie dance workouts, as previously heard on classy imprints such as [Emotional] Especial, Bahnsteig 23 and Roam Recordings. This new one is for the ever reliable Multi Culti camp, and features the lo-slung psychedelic punk-funk of "Squeeze The Prime Time", followed by the deep down and dirty acid house influence on the remix entitled "Squeeze The Dub Time". Elsewhere, the brooding disco-noir of "Syrens" receives a reduced and hypnotic rework by the label bosses - presumably Thomas Von Party or Dreems - that sits somewhere between acid house and lo-fi techno and was right up our our alley.
Review: More oddball exotica from the Berlin-based Multi Culti camp, this time courtesy of local veteran Sascha Funke (Endless Flight/Kompakt) who returns to the label to follow up 2016's In Relationen EP. Here on the Wismut EP he teams up with drummer/percussionist/singer/ Niklas Wandt, known for his involvement in projects with Wolf Mueller, Neuzeitliche Bodenbelaege and running the Smells party series at Sameheads. Featuring such folked-up and psyched-out journeys like "Die Saege" which is heavy on the dub aesthetics, the lo-slung kosmische disco of "Lobotomie" or the bouncy 8-bit Bollywood vibe of "Fur Die Paar Heller". Knowledge of the German language is helpful but not mandatory!
Review: Ghanaian musician Blay Ambolley (alongside Sammy Lartey and Ebo Taylor) envisioned a future for high-life music in the late '60s and early '70s and helped transform the genre fusing it with funk and jazz. He is also considered the first musician from the country to formally incorporate rap forms into local high-life rhythms - in turn creating the musical genre 'Simigwa'. Multi Culti is honoured to reissue the 1996 classic "Simi Rapp", plus a crafty edit by label head honchos Thomas Von Party & Dreems, plus two wicked remixes: a lo-slung punk-funk makeover by Israeli heroes Red Axes and a booming rendition by Brit Johnny Aux that incorporates classic house elements.
Review: Hamburger Andi Otto's Bow Wave LP from earlier this year gets the cult remix treatment here on Thomas Von Party's Berlin based imprint. Man of the moment Nicola Cruz gets some Ecuadorian folklorica vibes happening as always on "Bow Wave", "The Taste Of Bamboo" gets deep into the exotic, sitars tablas and all - courtesy of Sao Paulo's R Vincenzo's remix (Voodoohop Collective). But they save the best for last with "Six" (featuring the seductive vocal chants of one MD Pallavi) which receives two remixes: the first is a lo-slung psyched-out epic by Parisian Golden Bug, and then the Center Of The Universe remix - where the Norwegian delivers a truly meditative exercise in trance induction.
Review: Australian indie-house hero Dreems is back, with a track most likely named after his old stomping ground in Sydney - the affluent inner city suburb of Rose Bay and its amazing view of the iconic Sydney Harbour. After hooking up with Multi Culti boss Thomas Von Party a few years ago, he's since moved to the label's headquarters in Montreal and now of course the global epicenter of electronic music - Berlin. "Milk Beach" (original mix) is an eerie and hypnotic perspective of modern balerica, full of whirry synth textures, mesmerizing bell tones and slack beats. It then receives an energetic folktronica rendition by man of the moment Nicola Cruz. Speaking of remixes: Berlin legend and one half of Saschienne Sascha Funke delivers an impressive, acid inflected remix of "Coasters Retreat". Elsewhere there's the lo-slung tribal punk funk of "The Point Piper" (feat Luka - original mix) that was equally impressive.
Review: Having set out their stall via a fine first collaborative release on Bordello a Parigi a couple of months back, Mytron and Ofofo pitch up on Multi-Culti. As you'd expect from a label with such a strong track record of multi-cultural musical fusion, much of the EP defies easy categorization. Sure, you'll find a chunk of Italo-influenced electro ("Non-Binary Joys on the Venus Holodeck") and a couple of slabs of madcap disco-funk fusion ("Si Jambo" and "2Tac Onana"), but also a heavyweight slab of low-slung punk-funk/post disco ("Czary Mary"). Oh, and the skewed electro-funk-meets-intergalactic synth pop insanity of "Something for Your Mind", which also boasts some notably brain-melting vocoder action. More, please!
Review: Irishman Peter Power has become quite a well known figure in Berlin since moving there several years ago and has been one of the figures behind some of the city's now legendary haunts like Kleine Reise (RIP) and the successful Loftus Hall/Bertrams: which has had a great run thus far too. Now the man behind the Ufordia imprint returns with his second outing on Thomas Von Party's Multi Culti, which itself has also made the move to the German capital. Power delves deep into the exotic here, borrowing heavily from African music and getting very atmospheric and esoteric in the process. The life affirming raindance of "Adama Waro" (original mix) is certainly geared for some moments of truth on the dancefloor. Equally spiritual is the traditional percussion based journey of "Mori Baka" (original mix). There's some great remixes by label manager Dreems and Bucharest duo Khidja: the latter's contributions which shine the most, particularly on their balearica infused/Second Summer of Love sounding remix of "Dansakoni".
Review: Nicola Cruz polishes off a trippy tryptic of cult releases for Multi Culti with the Espiritu LP. As folklorica's chosen lord, Cruz has shepherded the masses from the church of high tempos and brought trance-formed revellers down to earth with his fusion of crisp electronics and organic, indigenous vibrations. "Espiritu de Proteccion" is a deeply esoteric tribal groove that's geared for some life affirming moments on the dancefloor. The "Multi Culti Flute-A-Pella" up next does exactly what it says on the tin hereon this quirky and psychedelic journey into the exotic.
Review: Aussie balearic house larrikin Dreems returns on Montreal's Multi Culti: a label that he's actually co-owner of. The Running Mate EP like its name may suggest does indeed feature a bunch of great collaborations that result in some fantastic jams. First up he teams up with label boss Thomas Von Party on the title track where acid house meets the native sound of Down Under via its droney didgeridoo solos. He also teams up with Lithuanian-Israeli nomad DJ OI on a couple of tracks; our favourite was the latin infused slo-mo house epic "Kamp Krusty". Jagma is rumoured to be another Aussie who collaborates on home turf on "Bilbio Bush Baby" a dusty deep house track with esoteric elements.
Review: More indie world music vibes courtesy of Thomas Von Party's esteemed Multi Culti imprint. The folklorica of Ecuadorian producer Nicola Cruz's Cantos de Vision EP gets a bunch of wicked remixes on this EP. Starting out with Simple Symmetry's dark, bumpy and grinding rendition of "Tzantza", Earthly Delight's Yor Kultura from the Netherlands deliver a lo-slung deep funk makeover of the track too. "Bruxo" gets a couple of remixes as well, but it was all about the aforementioned Von Party's deep tribal voodoo acid groove: which will take you deep into the spiritual home of the the rainforest.
Review: Hailing from Ecuador, Nicola Cruz is a mysterious producer whose fine work tends to appear on esteemed label Multi Culti. Here is back with more occultish offerings (to the gods), four in fact, all of which will have you feeling light headed and possibly even aroused. Spiritually of course. "Tzantza" opens as nocturnal shuffle in the jungle, kind of like an organic body music. Elsewhere "Bruzo" mixes off-kilter rhythms and cut ups tribal chants, "Danza De Vision" is a livelier affair that's adds pan pipes and electronic bleeps to the mix and "Rio Branco" is a linear fusion of minimal percussion.
Review: Thomas Von Party's always reliable Multi Culti label has brought us some killer releases of late by the likes of young guns Red Axes or Dreems, but calls upon Berlin legend Sascha Funke; he of BPitch Control and Saschienne fame who presents four servings of lo-slung balearic business on the On Relationen EP. Starting out with the woozy and drifting punk funk of the title track, which swims around hazily in trails of rich reverb, there's then the sinister heroin disco of "Back In The Corner" and is perfect for weirdo after-hours business. Ending proceedings in true style is the soaring and euphoric cosmic disco journey of "The Anchor" making this all in all a wonderful EP that's very much worthy of your attention.
Review: This time last year Tel Aviv indie dance duo Red Axes made a huge splash with their killer track "Waiting For A Surprise" and now it is time for some equally fun loving remixes. First up Matthew Dear aka Audion steps up to deliver a typically massive rework for the techno crowd, while fellow Israeli homeboy Moscoman follows up and injects some woozy psychedelic rock vibes into it. The man from Vilnius, Manfredas, appears in addition; the Multi Culti tour poster boy going for something on the lo-slung tip and label head honcho Thomas Von Party lends a hand for the boys to remix themselves, for a rather explosive punky/funky conclusion.
Review: Von Party is back on his Multi Culti imprint and, as always, this guy means business. But, unlike his previous techno releases for the likes of Turbo Recordings or Convex Industries, this time he's on a balearic tip. There's four mixes of "Cobra Rush" here, but it's the original mix by Von Party himself that gets our attention thanks to its slow-building waves of phased-out funk. The remixes aren't exactly without their merits either, though, with Rodion offering a warm, dubby house version. Peter Power reinterpreting the tune through a more tribalistic lens, and Sabo offers a more classic deep house sound to sooth the DJs.
Review: Thomas Von Party's always reliable Multi Culti imprint presents Moon Faze II featuring a selection of his label's current roster. Tel Aviv's favourite nu-disco/rock crossover act Red Axes are back and boy are we happy about that: they appear here with "Boosha Gdola" a sleazy and slow burning groove with a bleep bassline and soaring synths that create some serious dancefloor movement, guaranteed. Label favourite, Australia's Dreems also appears joining up with Peret Mako for a sleek acidified remix of Zsou's "Admiral Byrd". Label head honcho Von Party himself steps up to it on the exotic and esoteric slow-mo groove of "Cobra Kush" featuring Naduve. Finally DJ Ground offers up the dreamy and mesmerising "Dolmenzoo" with its hazy, African inspired journey that will appeal to Crosstown Rebels fans equally.
Review: If you're looking for anything termed under the umbrella of 'Balearic', then Canada's Multi Culti will deliver in fine style, and save you all the hassle of digging for lost B-sides from the 1980s and 1990s. It's a call to the Sun Gods this time with Sun Gaze II, a sublime collaborative EP from a bunch of new and exciting talent. Nicola Cruz opens the doors to heaven with the tribal-minded chugger that is "Pagano", followed by Moscoman's more house-leaning jingle on "Se Acabo". "Boom Boom Boom" by Sanga features Sheikh Djibouti on the vocals, offering a hazy wave of Hispanic rhyming, while "Shkarim Ba Afela" by 84PC is a tune that you could truly imagine being in a Cafe Del Mar mix by the likes of Jose Padilla - softly-spoken but nonetheless effective and sensual on the hips.
Review: Somehow, Montreal's Multi Culti imprint seems to have been a little overlooked amongst the recent hype regarding Canada's house scene. It's a little unfortunate, given that their slowly expanding catalogue is full of intriguing, left-of-centre gems. This split 12" is no different. It begins with a trippy, 13-minute collaboration between label regulars Von Party & Dreems, whose exotic, intoxicating "Wet Raga" expertly combines thrusting, stripped-back house rhythms, Middle Eastern mysticism and psychedelic electronics. Manfredas' "Glass Walk" sounds like a Arabic take on vintage Larry Heard material, while Zongamin's "New Tribe" offers the perfect balance between spaced-out analogue grooves and tropical sweetness
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