Cosmic JD
Laelaps EP

The Oyster Cult’s Naarm continent grows larger with the addition of Ebbs N Flow. The unholy alliance of Dashiell and Will Holden of Hybrid Man touching down with some precision-tooled tech house variants, and considering their only previous collab came on an Animalia compilation back in 2022, this has been long in the making.OYSTER56 marks the first full release from this lesser spotted project. The handiwork of two producers, both accomplished in their own right but transcending their respective styles for a 4-track dose of late nite propulsion. Seductively stripped-back and engineered for optimum impact.Flexing a deftness of touch, and a far cry from the smudged, dubby FX Holden tends to deploy under the Hybrid Man banner, these tracks set the duo’s stall out as purveyors of the nocturnal and club-ready. Sultry, sleek, and sumptuous like only the dankest cuts can sound.It’s fitting that a track with the title 'Deeper Dream' might feature on a release feeling like a transmission from the other side; a parallel dimension where the after-hours never end.

Next release is the label's debut by a long time friend of the crew and rising talent from Paraguay.Wil Do showcases a varied and refined style, with a strong influence of the 90's sound, where feeling and joy prevail.

The third in a series of self-released Liquid Earth Physical Records, “Three Dimensional Rocker” is a sonic cheese plate for the dedicated dancer. The 12” navigates through four robust club tunes, surely an expected outcome from the seasoned Californian producer. From Aside titles’ full throttle funkery to the equally nauseating floor fillers on the flip, LEP003 is one big kahuna.

Following a groundbreaking cassette-only release on electro label du jour Casa Voyager, Montreal-based producer Simial releases his first full vinyl EP on Gated.This is raw braindance unlike anything else from an exciting new talent you’ll be hearing more from in the future.Over six tracks, Simial takes us into unexplored and highly personal territory, with music that drops and kicks, stutters and starts in unexpected and melodic ways.Watch out for the little surprise vocal hidden in B3.

"I couldn't exactly explain why these tracks created under my Lips Vago guise remained unreleased for so long. I didn't mean to 'hide' them of course, I always considered them on a par with my experimental music that had more luck instead. Perhaps the real reason is that during the years when I was most active there was not much room, and consequently interest, for these kinds of sounds in my social circles, and these pieces never reached the 'right' ears. Then the years passed and I never really tried to 'push' them anyway... I am really glad that things are changing now."Mostly recorded in 1996, the four tracks on the "Fictional Selfs" EP exhibit an attention to melody that is skillfully declined in different ways. Whether it is the epic build-up and refrain of "The Mobility of Her Features" - a track which the author admit was "dedicated to a girl larger than life, in many ways..." - or the incredibly cheesy keyboard solos in "Filler 4" - inspired by no less than Mike Paradinas / Mu-Ziq's alias Jake Slazenger: "I've got my Alesis HR16 drum machine just because I knew it was on his kit list..." - Marutti clearly knows his stuff and the entertaining qualities of his music ooze from every note.Anyone curious to hear the original version of "Laughing Stock" will have to wait a little longer, but the Remix gracing the second side of the EP offers a thoroughly enjoyable version, in which multiple organ parts playfully chase each other over a forest of assorted percussion and synthetic laughter. The last track, "VST Atlas", the only one in this collection dating to 1999, expands the sound range by using various samples - "That was the very first track I recorded using Cubase VST, hence the title." - and opens a window on the more recent productions of the project.As already mentioned, Lips Vago's "Fictional Selfs EP" only manages to scratch the surface of the author's large archive of unpublished recordings, but judging from these four pieces the 'dark side' of Andrea Marutti looks so bright you would not believe it.