Unbelievably sad about the passing of Keith McIvor aka Optimo’s JD Twitch. I’ve spent the best part of a week trying to process the news, while reflecting on exactly what this gentle giant of a man meant to me over the thirty odd years that I got to know him a little.  He was an unending source of inspiration and, while we were by no means close, I still considered him a friend.

There’s a well-known saying among Glaswegian musicians: “we are all Optimo’s children.”  In Edinburgh, there’s a sizeable chunk of us who are Pure’s children and I’m definitely among them.  He had a fraternal or avuncular presence of sorts – someone I admired greatly and whose counsel or praise I would occasionally seek.  I’m clearly not alone here.

It’s quite hard to over-state the impact Pure had on a young mind like mine, after I stumbled down those stairs into the basement of The Venue for the first time, in September ‘93.  Suffice to say, I would not have chosen the path I did in life and I’m sure I wouldn’t still be in Edinburgh now, were it not for Keith, not to mention Andy (‘Brainstorm’) and the rest of their crew: Russ (‘Dribbler’ aka For Mankind), Rock, Ewan and ‘The Bill’ (whatever happened to The Bill?!). 

Photo: Kris Walker

Much like Optimo a few years later, Pure was a magical, occasionally ineffable experience. It changed the course of many more lives than just mine.  During my first two years in Edinburgh, I was there every Friday night almost without fail (and what consternation I would feel when I did miss a night – I studied abroad in my third year and the vibe had shifted by the time I returned).  At that time (‘93-95), it was always packed: sweat dripping off the walls, from the ceiling, smoke machine going full pelt for ten minutes before somebody hit the strobe, everyone getting lost in the music – total rapture; all of us worshiping at the altar of Twitch & Brainstorm (aka T&B, also the name of their slightly under-appreciated record label).  

Keith and Andy really eschewed any level of hero worship (to the extent of being suspicious of any media attention) but we did love them the most!  And this was in spite of (but perhaps also because of?) the extraordinary talent they were booking, and usually before anyone else.  Most of these people (see below for a list of those I can remember) were just as blown away by the utter madness that would ensue when they played,  returning to imbibe that sacred juice many times.  It was a baptism of fire for everyone, a musical education for me (and so many others).  

Keith’s fervent desire to stick two fingers up to the limitations imposed on music via genre strictures, the media etc was/is almost unmatched. That other great iconoclast of acid house, Andrew Weatherall – another irrepressible force and bon viveur of a figure whose loss has left an equally gaping hole – springs immediately to mind (plus a wee handful of others).  John Peel is the most obvious antecedent.  But Keith had such a singular vision.  He really did do it all in his own way. 

While I remember him always being quite a shy character to chat to at Pure, he developed a magnetic aura – call it his unique charisma – when he was on the decks.  He would pull off such inspired blends – and with such panache!  There’s a well-known story about him dropping Hawkwind in the middle of a raging techno set at Pure.  I remember one highly forgettable and trashy pop hit of the week getting a rinse mid-set, before being tossed unceremoniously out into the crowd.  There were many similar episodes, involving  (more respectful rotations for) the likes of Motörhead, Sabbath, Sinatra, even… plus no doubt many more long since forgotten. Anything was fair game really – all designed to put a smile on your face.  And Optimo grabbed Pure’s baton and took it to the next level: Twitch & Wilkes conquered the world.

Ok, it wouldn’t always work when he was really pushing the boat out with those blends at Optimo, but few DJs have ever been as willing to trip up while attempting to snatch victory from the jaws of failure.  Once this talent was more broadly recognised, he was transformed, albeit reluctantly, into a bona fide goth-techno-punk star (I mean, he would definitely laugh/cringe/tell me to shut up etc).  So, while all the international acclaim for Optimo clearly drew him more out of his shell, he never fell foul of the trappings of fame, remaining the same modest, passionate, kind-hearted soul throughout. No ego: just the music. 

The massive outpouring of affection online this week bears testament to all this and to the brilliant light which Keith shone, for so many of us to follow.  Whether via his trailblazing attitude, his unstinting passion for so much great, uncharted, or insufficiently celebrated music, his lust for life and/or his desire for a more equitable society via the numerous causes he espoused, he was a beacon.  

I first booked him to DJ at an ill-fated party for the wee ‘zine i was running at the time (‘underword’), in August ‘99.  I’d been through to the Sub Club one Sunday to check out a pre-fanfare edition of Optimo and was intrigued by the radically original playlist. He’d been telling me how it had been really kicking off since then but I’d not been able to witness this first hand (primarily due to a girlfriend who wanted nothing less from her Sunday night – suffice to say, she didn’t stick around too long…).  He was interested in my ‘zine (he had contributed a “Non-Dancefloor” Top Ten for it earlier that year).  I’d booked a hyped live electro duo called 7 Hurtz from London, to perform alongside a bunch of local pals and asked Twitch to close the night.  But I really had no idea what I was doing then so only a few dozen folk turned up and I got completely rinsed by the cost of it all.  Keith just turned to me at the end and nonchalantly said, “don’t worry, you can pay me when you make your fortune.”  

A few years later, during a period when I was spending a lot more time in Glasgow (many of my friends were living there at this time) and often at Optimo, either to catch one of the special guests – LCD Soundsystem’s UK live debut perhaps, Liquid Liquid and ESG’s first gigs out of retirement, German electronic auteur Isolée, an early show from any one of myriad buzzing local outfits etc etc – or just to lap up the duo’s DJing and witness the unique carnage Keith had somehow conjured up, yet again.  It was my birthday and I’d been pestering him for a spot on the guest-list (the Optimo guest-list was notoriously large, so generous-hearted were the pair and so expansive their list of deserving/blagging pals, obviously). But then I’d gone to the gym, without any phone signal.  I emerged to a flurry of messages from a very stressed-out Keith, apparently feeling unnecessarily harassed by a (now-unresponsive) me…. I was nonetheless later treated to a vocoder-heavy rendition of “Happy Birthday dear Andeeee” via ‘Roland’ (aka Twitch’s famous laptop IIRC?!) – one of many beloved Optimo traditions for regulars – and all to envious glances from my girlfriend, herself an ardent Optimo fan who had never been celebrated in this way… 

Years later, he was the first person I asked to do a remix for the label and he was invariably one of the first whom I would noise up with a promo for an upcoming release.  Such was his generosity of spirit and open mind, I knew he would consider each release on its own merits, regardless of style.  More-to-the-point, I thought he would be likely to just get what it was I was trying to do. 

Ironically, in spite of the enduring respect I had for everything that he did, either with Jonnie Wilkes via Optimo (Espacio) or via his Optimo Music label, it ended up being a full 24 years before I managed to book Twitch again…  In my defence, many others in Edinburgh did this often and they did a great job of it, too.  This time around, it was the label’s tenth anniversary, we had a great crowd and Exterior was playing live before Twitch closed the night. 

Now, I must have followed at least half a dozen Exterior sets at HM events over the years but I don’t think i’ve ever done his sound justice the way Keith did that night, so seamlessly mixing out of the back of Doug’s music that even I wasn’t 100% sure when the Exterior live set had finished and Keith had started DJing.

Keith went on as he had started, playing a bit of a blinder and finally, absolute gent that he was, he closed his set with one of my tunes.  Having released it a full six years earlier, Web of Intrigue really was the last thing I was expecting to hear that night.  But that was Twitch to the core…

We had a wee chat afterwards, while sharing some sake (shipped over courtesy of Kiji Suedo – thanks Kiji).  We exchanged a few war stories from the front lines of running record labels in the UK post-Covid and then I asked him if he thought OM leant him any kind of credibility….!  I’ll never forget the hilariously quizzical expression he gave me before replying.  I mean, what a ridiculous question to ask the guy behind Optimo but he could see that I meant it in earnest!  Nonetheless, what he said did surprise me a little: “I guess it’s a good hobby, really.  I mean, some people take up golf but i’m not interested in anything like that…”    

Photo: Andrew Cauley

RIP, Keith.  I’m sorry we never got the chance to catch up properly after that.  Scotland is hugely impoverished by your passing and I will miss you and your gently towering presence on our local scene more than I think I can say.  Thinking of all your loved ones.  X

A selection of Pure’s guests:

Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atikins, Carl Craig, Blake Baxter, Richie Hawtin, Plastikman, Laurent Garnier, Speedy J, Aphex Twin, B12, Orbital, Miss Djaxx, Lenny Dee, Acid Junkies, Psychik Warriors ov Gaia, Exquisite Corpse, Green Velvet, Mr C, Billy Nasty, Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes, State Of Flux, Ege Bam Yasi, Robert Armani, Steve Bicknell, Stephen Brown, Neil Landstrumm, Eddie Richards, Orlando Voorn, Chez Damier, Gemini, Cajmere, Suburban Knight, Jimi Tenor, Robert Owens, DJ Hell, Claude Young, Mixmaster Morris, DJ Rush, Jake Slazenger, Random XS, Pressure Of Speech, Funk d’Void…

“UFOs, metaphysics, climate change, technology/AI and the possibility of human extinction – all subjects that have preoccupied our minds and conversations for a long time. Becoming parents and then finding ourselves both dealing with respective break-ups during the pandemic brought all these topics to the forefront and compelled us to address them, albeit subtly and implicitly, in our music.”

Space Symphony

The opening theme to the album takes inspiration from early space missions. While these sought to give mankind further insight into our solar system, unexpected insights came when astronauts looked back at the earth from space: a deeper, more intuitive understanding of how the earth fits into, and interacts with, our solar system.

Looking down, they could also see the smear of pollution and deforestation endangering life and defacing our beautiful planet. This insight from looking at ourselves and our impact serves as a metaphor for humankind, not only as a whole, but as individuals.

The Perturbed Mind

Originally given the working title The Dying Cries Of 10,000 Seagulls, The Perturbed Mind embraces the dual themes of climate change alongside nature’s ability to transform mankind. In a perturbed state, the mind comes into conflict with the world that our consumerist culture has created.

Ethnobotanist, mystic and psychedelic plant enthusiast Terence McKenna (among many others) advocates reconnecting to ‘nature and spirit’ so that humanity can evolve beyond and transcend the mindset that has brought us to the brink of extinction.

Reality 2.0

Are we living in a simulation? This theme was explored by Plato in The Republic’s ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ chapter as well as being frequently (and more recently) found in the work of Philip K Dick. During Dick’s seminal 1977 ‘Metz Address’, the prolific and influential sci-fi/cyberpunk writer challenges the nature of reality.  Distorted electro beats, warped synths and eerie leads form the soundtrack as reality gets twisted.

Reboot

It is the 1960s. An LSD-fuelled counter-culture movement starts challenging the establishment. One such figure (and the fabricator of the Illuminati conspiracy theory) is Kerry Thornley, who “decided that the world was becoming too authoritarian, too tight, too closed, too controlled.” How does one “bring about enlightenment on a wholesale basis”? We have our own ideas, of course. Dancing is a good place to start and a great way to Reboot.

Magik

Magik is an ethereal and playful cosmic-dance, mini-journey. Earlier versions featured samples from an interview with Throbbing Gristle performance artist, musician and writer Cosey Fanni Tutti, where she discusses the occult and magick and how music is about discovering yourself and others, themes that resonated deeply with us and with the intention behind Magik. Cosey liked the track but was keen for her voice to be associated only with her own projects…

What Is In Space?

Sharing a mutual fascination for the subject matter, we wanted to explore themes of UFOs/extraterrestrial life, not to mention the impact of technology on the world. This track reflects on the wide-spread optimism surrounding the space missions and what they represented to the West during the Cold War. Contrast that to the secrecy and lack of information around the more recent sightings and leaked US navy footage, not to mention how we all communicate now… We stitched all these parts together, alongside audio from NASA, to create an 8-minute cinematic voyage into space exploration.

Space Raga

A beatless, ambient soundscape. Wandering keys float over a gently modulating bed of synth pads and ethereal sounds, reflecting the listless uncertainty of life during lockdown and tapping into a dream-like state, with echoes of the Far East.

Lost In Space

Somewhere in the distant future, an AI gains consciousness during a mission that goes wrong, going mad from boredom and loneliness as it becomes self aware….

Aftermath

It is the year 2121 and Aliens return to Earth to find a barren wasteland. Former mega-cities lie in ruins, surrounded by desert; others are submerged in water. Aftermath is a dark, dystopian vision of our future, drawing on themes first explored by British electronic dance music pioneers in the 70s/80s and expanded on by techno producers during the 90s.

RSVP

War, exploitation and climate destruction are the backdrop to RSVP, punctuated by Eddy Grant’s powerful message for the entire world to “come to the table,” in order to start healing the wounds we’ve inflicted on each other and the planet. The track’s fast pace reflects the urgency, while the multifaceted arrangement and seemingly disparate elements come together in symphony, imparting a sense of optimism.

Keep Livin’

During a period of great uncertainty, enforced isolation and loss, we once more found solace through music. This is summed up in the track’s closing statement and, overall, an optimistic tone – a message of hope. Keep Livin’ was recorded during our only real life session during Covid and was the genesis for the whole album.

Water

A news-cast on Hurricane Ian, backed by an eerie ambient soundtrack, set the scene for Water. The track quickly sails off with slow, booming 808 drums, and builds with infectious synths, riding ever-rising waves of pads. Glitchy fx serve as a metaphor for technological breakdown, while garbled vocals (spoken by our children) provide a chilling reminder of what’s at stake.

Pockets Of Light

1980 East Coast Arthouse movie My Dinner With Andre was the inspiration for Pockets of Light and encapsulates many of the themes explored on the album. Arguably the album’s darkest track delivers a five-minute spoken word tour de force over a driving analog groove and spine-chilling, discordant pads. While the first half is pessimistic and gloomy, the second presents a more optimistic outlook on humanity’s future, and what we must do to get there.

Dedicated to our children.

Leonidas & Hobbes

Quiescence (Grain Version) is the third single from the upcoming eighth album by Galun, titled Glagol.

“Quiescence came about by chance,” says Galunenko. “I recorded a house track using my old recordings, and a good sample was chosen that combined harmony and bass. I placed this piece in the middle of the house composition, before the climax, and then began to play with the slowdown of the whole track with granular processing. It turned out that this sample sounded like a separate composition.”

Five singles will be released (streaming only), at intervals, over summer (starting 23.6.23), with the full album released on limited edition cassette, lathe cuts and digital, 25.8.23.

Pre-order coming soon.

INTRO:

Now in its eleventh year and following hype for recent releases from Osaka’s Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album) and Edinburgh’s George T (Roll On, King’s Cross single), Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label burrows deeper into experimental ambient terrain with brand new signing Galun. With a discography over 15 years deep, Galun brings no shortage of his own props.

GALUN:

Galun is the solo project of Moscow musician, artist, and producer Sergei Galunenko (currently based in Tallinn), who has performed at numerous prestigious Russian events and collaborated on projects internationally in a career spanning more than 15 years, with a discography to match, turning his attention to myriad styles: IDM, funk, techno, juke, post rock, beatboxing, free improvisation, drone.

“In my project, Galun, I do not use musical instruments,” he explains. “All the sounds are produced with only the use of my voice through beatbox and special vocal skills. Some effects are used to produce electronic sounds.” [NB Lately, Sergei has also been experimenting with synthesiser sounds and this album contains two electronic tracks – see below].

Hot on the heels of the new Golos album (out imminently via Berlin’s One Instrument) plus a remix for US collaborator Alek Finn via Nevada’s Mystery Circles label, Galunenko’s eighth studio album, Glagol (or Glagolь / Глаголь in Russian) is an ambient collection, recorded between 2013 and 2022. The title is an old Russian word which translates as ‘Speak’.

“This album consists of tracks written in different periods, so it turned out to be diverse,” he says. “There are classic ambient tracks, as well as experimental ones in search of new possibilities for voice processing.”

GLAGOL:

Why “glagol”? “Since the music on this album is 90 percent processed voice, it’s a form of conversation for me,” he reveals, “where I talk about my thoughts and mood, so speak music, while using my voice, is an amazing way of expressing.”

This the second single from the upcoming eighth album by Galun, titled Glagol.

“Conceived as a classic ambient. I sang a few notes, composed chords from them, then transposed some of the notes up and down an octave, plus processing.”

Five singles will be released (streaming only), at intervals, over summer (starting 23.6.23), with the full album released on limited edition cassette, lathe cuts and digital, 25.8.23.

Pre-order coming soon.

INTRO:

Now in its eleventh year and following hype for recent releases from Osaka’s Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album) and Edinburgh’s George T (Roll On, King’s Cross single), Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label burrows deeper into experimental ambient terrain with brand new signing Galun. With a discography over 15 years deep, Galun brings no shortage of his own props.

GALUN:

Galun is the solo project of Moscow musician, artist, and producer Sergei Galunenko (currently based in Tallinn), who has performed at numerous prestigious Russian events and collaborated on projects internationally in a career spanning more than 15 years, with a discography to match, turning his attention to myriad styles: IDM, funk, techno, juke, post rock, beatboxing, free improvisation, drone.

“In my project, Galun, I do not use musical instruments,” he explains. “All the sounds are produced with only the use of my voice through beatbox and special vocal skills. Some effects are used to produce electronic sounds.” [NB Lately, Sergei has also been experimenting with synthesiser sounds and this album contains two electronic tracks – see below].

Hot on the heels of the new Golos album (out imminently via Berlin’s One Instrument) plus a remix for US collaborator Alek Finn via Nevada’s Mystery Circles label, Galunenko’s eighth studio album, Glagol (or Glagolь / Глаголь in Russian) is an ambient collection, recorded between 2013 and 2022. The title is an old Russian word which translates as ‘Speak’.

“This album consists of tracks written in different periods, so it turned out to be diverse,” he says. “There are classic ambient tracks, as well as experimental ones in search of new possibilities for voice processing.”

GLAGOL:

Why “glagol”? “Since the music on this album is 90 percent processed voice, it’s a form of conversation for me,” he reveals, “where I talk about my thoughts and mood, so speak music, while using my voice, is an amazing way of expressing.”
credits

This the first single from the upcoming eighth album by Galun, titled Glagol.

“One of the first tracks written after the Solitude album,” he explains. “. The idea was to make a rhythmic ambient track, like techno without drums.”

Five singles will be released (streaming only), at intervals, over summer, with the full album released on limited edition cassette, lathe cuts and digital, 25.8.23.

Pre-order coming soon…

INTRO:

Now in its eleventh year and following hype for recent releases from Osaka’s Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album) and Edinburgh’s George T (Roll On, King’s Cross single), Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label burrows deeper into experimental ambient terrain with brand new signing Galun. With a discography over 15 years deep, Galun brings no shortage of his own props.

GALUN:

Galun is the solo project of Moscow musician, artist, and producer Sergei Galunenko (currently based in Tallinn), who has performed at numerous prestigious Russian events and collaborated on projects internationally in a career spanning more than 15 years, with a discography to match, turning his attention to myriad styles: IDM, funk, techno, juke, post rock, beatboxing, free improvisation, drone.

“In my project, Galun, I do not use musical instruments,” he explains. “All the sounds are produced with only the use of my voice through beatbox and special vocal skills. Some effects are used to produce electronic sounds.” [NB Lately, Sergei has also been experimenting with synthesiser sounds and this album contains two electronic tracks – see below].

Hot on the heels of the new Golos album (out imminently via Berlin’s One Instrument) plus a remix for US collaborator Alek Finn via Nevada’s Mystery Circles label, Galunenko’s eighth studio album, Glagol (or Glagolь / Глаголь in Russian) is an ambient collection, recorded between 2013 and 2022. The title is an old Russian word which translates as ‘Speak’.

“This album consists of tracks written in different periods, so it turned out to be diverse,” he says. “There are classic ambient tracks, as well as experimental ones in search of new possibilities for voice processing.”

GLAGOL:

Why “glagol”? “Since the music on this album is 90 percent processed voice, it’s a form of conversation for me,” he reveals, “where I talk about my thoughts and mood, so speak music, while using my voice, is an amazing way of expressing.”

Osaka’s Kiji Suedo released his debut album, Riot, via HM in December, receiving a warm reception from some respected DJs plus hype from Mixmag Asia (Top 10 Albums of ’22), DJ Magazine, Beatport (Best New Hype Electronica Chart), the 15 Questions website in Berlin and Ban Ban Ton Ton in Tokyo…

For new EP ‘Hosek’, Kiji shifts his focus to the dance floor: jazzy, simmering grooves, hat doffed to the likes of Moodymann and Herbert, albeit with ambient experimentation intact…

DJ FEEDBACK:
‘Was just listening while cooking and it kept repeating from the beginning and I didn’t notice but when I did, the tracks already had me caught. ND BAUMECKER (Bergheim/Panorama Bar, Berlin, DE)
‘I really like Hosek I. Kiji Suedo is very original and not very obvious, good’ LEO MAS (Amnesia/Ibiza legend/Milan, IT)
‘This is really really nice. Totally my bag. Can I please grab the wavs so I can play tonight!’ RED RACK’EM (Bergerac, UK)
‘Could listen to the last one for a good hour :)’ JOHN HECKLE (Mathematics, Tabernacle, UK)
‘Really liking this, particularly IV and V’ CRAIG SMITH (6th Borough Project, UK)
‘Stellar. Will air on the ‘waves. All great but Hosek 4 on repeat for me’ GEORGE T (Greco Roman, Optimo, Output, UK)
‘With this cat you’ve got a proper diamond. These tracks kick some heavy ass. Superb.’ DRIBBLER (Pikes, Ibiza, SP)
‘Suedo’s EP is the best new music i’ve heard this year! So so good. Giving me early MCDE Raw Cuts vibes’ LUKE ANDERSON (Club Nacht, Pleasure, Hector’s House)
‘Killer EP! Sending love from late night Vancouver’ SOLO (CJSF Radio, 96.1FM, Vancouver, CA)
‘I absolutely love these tracks. The texture and vibe are making these very playable. Definitely give them some air time in my sets in person and on air.’ JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Clyde Built Radio, Glasgow)

RADIO:
‘This is another fantastic ep. Glorious tunes, some of which will grace the eccentric selection in the coming weeks’ PAT BENSBERG (Phonic FM, Exeter)

REVIEWS:

“Osaka producer Kiji Suedo can make all kinds of rhythms work, but here he turns his hand to the deepest of deep house. His ability with textures is up there with the very best: he manages to make absolutely everything sound as if it is covered in velvet—a trick that very few people other than Moodymann can pull off. But he can also work the Basic Channel magic of turning hiss and crackle into radiance. These six tracks are just kick drums, electric piano loops, a few abstract sounds—but each one glides along in such a way that you’ll want them to never, ever stop.” JOE MUGGS (Bandcamp Best Electronic, May ’23)

‘Hosek sees Kiji take a deep dive into hazy, jazz-flecked textures, with floor focused bump propelling the intricate, gently hallucinatory threads that he so neatly weaves across his imaginatively-carved compositions’ MIXMAG ASIA

‘In a blind test, I would bet on Detroit and unreleased material by the city’s established producers, for example from the “In The Dark” community. In fact, Kiji Suedo comes from Osaka, Japan, and (re)produces genuinely sounding Detroit beatdown on “All Sek EP”. The artist follows up his debut album “Riot”, which was also released on Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music in late 2022.

Imitation is not a sin, especially when it’s done skillfully. The EP features six deep house interpretations on the theme “Hosek”, which gets a smooth start with vocal murmurs and nocturnal rhythms that characterize the entire release. The second track is the closest encounter with Rick Wilhite and Marcellus Pittman, while the versions “IV” and “V” are ment for faster hip movement, before ambient jazz (“Hosek VI”) closes the play.

Right after Kiji Suedo’s EP, I played Moodymann on the car stereo and it amplified the feeling of having listened to the real thing by the Japanese artist.’ Terminal313.net terminal313.net/2023/02/kiji-suedo-hosek.html

‘Drawing distinct references to Detroit deep house stylings, Osaka’s Kiji Suedo blesses our ears with the fantastic Hosek (EP) off of Scottish imprint Hobbes Music. Featuring six numerical tracks, Suedo distinguishes himself with infectious rhythms and driving percussion, resulting in a calculated and suave groove that deserves multiple spins. Recommended cuts include Hosek I and Hosek V, and the EP should be on every house playlist! *Pick Of The Week*’ CJSF Radio, 96.1FM, Vancouver, CA

Following the debut album by Scottish artist Maastricht Research and Edinburgh legend George T’s new single (in October and November respectively), Kiji Suedo is the latest signing to HM and a new artist from Osaka, Japan. This will be his third release and first album, having put out a couple of EPs earlier this year via Canadian label Solar Phenomenon.

His music is reminiscent of Pole plus Theo Parrish and Detroit’s Beatdown scene. He plays with rhythm, odd samples and sounds in an unusual way, creating a novel sonic palette and dense, dark moods.

In his own words:
“These songs are the sound I’ve always wanted to express. It’s not for the dance floor, but it’s for listening, for excitement, and I think it’s a completely unique texture.”

FEEDBACK:
‘Thnx…V nice.’ CHARLES WEBSTER
‘I like the tune Searcher’ ANTAL (Rush Hour)
‘It does indeed sound like Theo Parrish doing dub techno’ ROBERT HARRIS (Ban Ban Ton Ton)
‘Sounds really nice. Definitely feeling the beatdown comparisons (plus glitch, obviously)’ NICK CRADDOCK (Gateway To Zen)
‘Thank you for sharing this release with me! Really diggin it’ INTERGALACTIC GARY
‘I found very interesting Searcher and Drifter, nice album’ LEO MAS
‘Interesting. His work gives the label different scope’ RYOTA OPP (Tokyo)
‘Digging Refuser – looking forward to playing on the rooftop in Camden Market later today’ BEN OSBORNE
‘These are quality but I’m going to need some more time to process them as they’re f*cking nuts’ DRIBBLER (Pikes, Ibiza // Paradise Lost, Red Light Radio, Pure)
“Love the album!” TOBIAS FISCHER (15 Questions Blog, Berlin)

RADIO:
STUART MACONIE played ‘Refuser’ (Freak Zone, BBC 6Music, 13.11.22)
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dy1y
GIOVANNI MARCO CIVITENGA (Skyapnea, Rome) played ‘Drifter’ on Skyapnea Show, NTS Radio
‘Great release!’ LORNA CLARKSON (Down Low Disco, 2Ser 107.3M, Sydney)
‘I will play this on my EHFM radio show’ SNIDE RHYTHMS

PRESS:
“Kiji Suedo makes house and techno indebted to Detroit producers Theo Parrish and Rick Wilhite but adds his own, somewhat skewed experimental edge, resulting in a singular sound… Suedo’s assiduous and subtle deconstructions of dance rhythms are a real delight for the ear.” DJ MAG (Jan ’23)

No. 3 in MIXMAG ASIA’s Top 10 Albums of 2022
mixmag.asia/feature/best-albums-2022

Beatport Best New Hype Electronica Chart (5.12.22)

‘Look into my Head’ – Fifteen Questions
15questions.net/interview/fifteen-questions-interview-kiji-suedo/page-1 (Interview by Tobias Fischer, Berlin, Dec ’22)

‘Kiji Suedo arrives with stunning debut album, ‘Riot’. The Osaka-based artist follows up on recent EPs with a gorgeously experimental long-player the album sees Suedo craft an immersive selection of tracks, with eight mesmerising grooves that veer through Detroit beatdown, glitchy electronica, dusty deep house and far beyond… Expansive, introspective and profoundly original, the music bubbles and broods with thick atmospherics. Evolving through dreamy textures into shadowy topography, the steadily morphing grooves have already won over an array of admirers in the discerning end of the electronic music spectrum…. Highlights from the collection include the murky topography and paranoid swells of ‘Searcher’, the scattered grooves and hypnotic waves of ‘Refuser’, and the pitch black soundscapes of ‘Guardian’. MIXMAG ASIA, 25.11.22: mixmag.asia/read/kiji-suedo-riot-new-releases

“Kiji Suedo’s full-length offering, Riot, out this Friday via Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music, finds the Osaka-based producer locating the sound that he’s been searching for. In his own words, something with “A completely unique texture.” Clearly rooted in a history of rigid 4 / 4s, Kiji’s music here takes those influences and tropes somewhere a little different. Try to imagine Detroit beatdown fed through dub techno’s filters, or if The Indelible MCs / Company Flow had turned their hand to house. Drums thud, funky, loose, and kinda outta sync. Their bumpy, broken groove a bit like a hypnotic Theo Parrish production, though more a muted crashing and colliding. An offbeat, but powerful pulse. Bulbous bass-lines emit a Basic Channel-esque boom, and teasing acid twists. Buried in the mix are fragments, suggestions, of familiar classics, but these details, snippets, are submerged, blurred, smudged into a warm, fuzzy, fog. Manoeuvring the murky depths, vocals are pitched-shifted, sleazy, subliminal. Syncopated swings are serrated. Snares are stuttered. Eq`d almost out of existence, Relief Records` raw Chicago jack is reduced a shuffling ghost by Kiji’s machines. Forget Funkadelic`s Cosmic Slop, this is a “cosmic sludge”, an amorphous, evolving, organic ooze. A dose of deep listening for the discerning, leftfield, dance-floor.” BAN BAN TON TON (30.11.22)

PREVIOUSLY
“Kiji Suedo is an exciting new talent from Japan. His sound palette of hisses and clonks is reminiscent of the late ‘90s/early ‘00s “clicks & cuts” movement, but he’s clearly focused on taking it somewhere new. His other EP this month, Yin, is murky, steady-stepping dub, and is well worth a spin. But Hughes II is where things get really interesting, with some spiky, outsider house bounce in the mix. Intriguing and promising.”
JOE MUGGS // BANDCAMP BEST ELECTRONIC

Hot on the heels of the Maastricht Research debut album, HM continues to mine a deeper seam with this delicious slice of dub-wise electronica and moody soul by Edinburgh legend George T (following in a similar vein to last year’s collaborative EP with Paranoid London’s Quinn Whalley on Optimo Music).

BIO
Emerging from the epic Scottish house and techno scene of the 90s, George started his musical adventures as a dj then promoter, bringing to Scotland DJs from Chicago, New York, Toronto, Paris and London to play at the legendary Tribal Funktion parties in Edinburgh.

Aside from co-founding Edinburgh’s Underground Solushn record shop, he also started producing his own blend of techno and house in the mid nineties. This led to a string of releases with seminal labels such as NRK, Stickman, 2020 Vision, Crosstown Rebels, Tirk and more recently Greco-Roman, Optimo and Output Recordings. After a move to London in 2000, the George T moniker began a long hiatus. Nothing was heard until Joe Goddard released an EP of rediscovered gems on Greco-Roman in 2017.

His various monikers from then and now include Plastic Avengers, George Demure and more recently as one half of Jeanga and George. He collaborates extensively, with some of his most recent projects featuring actor Tam Dean Burn, soul singer Joseph Malik and Paranoid London’s Quinn Whalley. He continues to share his eclectic tastes on his monthly radio show All Noise on Edinburgh’s EHFM Radio.

FEEDBACK
‘I LOVE THIS. Will play on next NTS show’ IVAN SMAGGHE
‘Great stuff! Melodica heaven!’ JD TWITCH (Optimo)
‘I’m into it’ THE MAGHREBAN
‘Good work, I will chart it’ VINCENT INC (Manuscript Records, Ukraine)
‘Yes. WAVs would be great. :)’ HARRI (Sub Club)
‘Yes. Pls send me WAvs or AIfs?’ MARK FARINA
‘This is amazing’ ARVEENE JUTHAN
‘Really good’ OLAF FURNISS (Wide Days)
‘Will play on EHFM’ SNIDE RHYTHMS
‘I am into this one for sure, I am a big fan of George’s work and this really works as a track, and then with a handy dub for playing out.
Great release, that I will be supporting out and about and on my Groove City Radio Show’ MASH // MARTYN HENDERSON
‘It’s hot!! Big up woah’ JONNY ROCK

RADIO
DON LETTS played it (BBC 6Music, Sun 6.11.22)
TOM RAVENSCROFT played ‘Dub On, King’s Cross’ (BBC 6Music, Fri 14.10.22)
PAT BENSBERG also played the dub, Mon 24.10 (Phonic FM, Exeter: phonicpat.blogspot.com)

PRESS
“His latest musical outing, Roll On, King’s Cross, is under the name George T and was recorded with a vintage melodica picked up on Ebay. Inspired by reggae legend Augustus Pablo, it combines the tones of his purchase with a sparse keyboard sound and a moody vocal, creating a piece of atmospheric brilliance.”
ARTIST OF THE WEEK – SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

“Here George turns his hand to some dynamite digi-dub. Sparse, and dark, the rhythm – somewhere between bogle and samba – accompanies a prose poem. George describing a train journey from the coast, through countryside, toward the smoke, in a manner that recalls Michael Smith and Joe Duggan. Jarv Is` Swanky Modes remixed by Dennis Bovell. A melodica adding memories of The Sabres Of Paradise, and Wilmot`s last skank. Percussion elegantly echoed, like whispers in its shadows. There`s a dub, a ruder rub, resembling stripped-back, hollowed-out house. Full of treated coiled spring sound effects, tambourine breakdowns, and boasting a big phased, fuzzy, buzzing bottom-end. While not due until November, both have been on loop at Ban Ban Ton Ton`s mountain HQ.”
BAN BAN TON TON (Sept ’22)

12″ pressing on heavyweight 180g vinyl & CMYK printed labels, contained in a plain white sleeve with 3mm spine (reverse board for natural finish), including full colour artwork plus titles* printed using a Risograph on 135gsm ‘Context Natural’ A3 paper and finally all packaged in a polyurethane bag.

*Titles printed on the ‘Obi flap’ – excess paper folded around the spine.

Limited Edition: 100

Maastricht Research is a brand new project from Scottish artist Jonathan Hunter producing ambient/drone style material.

Written and recorded over a number of years whilst living in Amsterdam, Glasgow and Dublin, the Maastricht Research vibe is about as horizontal as it gets and is the perfect soundtrack to long, lazy days and balmy eves in the park, by the pool, in the bath etc! There are zero beats. It’s proper ambient / drone music and could well have been beamed in from another dimension, planet or century altogether, including field recordings, atmospheric fx, lush and eerie pads, with the occasional snatch of a weird vocal and generally other-worldly sounds.

Jonathan was part of the quartet behind the much-loved Slabs Of The Tabernacle parties at Glasgow’s now-legendary La Cheetah club back in the late 00s/early 10s. He’s also one half of The Three Lives, whose debut EP, Mud & Flame, came out via Glasgow’s Full Dose last year [follow up dropping imminently].

The record owes a debt to the likes of Manuel Gottsching, Cluster, Susumu Yokota, Detroit Escalator Company, Astral Industries and Alessandro Cortini, among others…

FEEDBACK:
“Loving it. Beautiful stuff here – all tracks doing it for me” ROLANDO (UR)
“This is great! Will use it on Ambient Flo” AUNTIE FLO
“Really diggin the MaastrichtResearch release” INTERGALACTIC GARY
“Love this, thanks for sending” DOMENIC (Sub Club)
“This sounds fantastic!” NICK CRADDOCK (Gateway To Zen)
“Really liking the sound of the record. Dublin air tugging on his emotive side by the sounds :)” JOHN HECKLE
“Mesmerizing music, something we all need to listen to because of so much chaos and stress in the world…with this, just sit back and zone out for a bit and regain balance….” DAN CURTIN
“This is nice music, thank you for sharing it with me. A3 is the one for me, really nice vibe” ARIO (Astral Industries)
“More emotive and soulful ambience and drone from this red hot label. Maastricht Research have been reviving the Poolside revellers at Pikes morning sessions this summer” DRIBBLER (Pikes, Ibiza // Paradise Lost, Red Light Radio, Pure)
“Beautiful collection of tracks” JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Clyde Built Radio, Radio Magnetic, Glasgow)
“Really like it” ANDY PIRIE (Groove Line Records, Loud & Clear HiFi, Glasgow)
“Yes, will definitely play on my upcoming radio shows – thanks for sending!” SNIDE RHYTHMS (aka Colvin Cruickshank, EHFM)
“Loved it! Each track is too short!!” KENTARO TANIGUCHI
“I really liked it” FEENA (EHFM, Underground Solushn)

PRESS/BLOGS:
“This was very good. I dropped a mention of it here: hcdi.gs/Nov6th” HEADPHONE COMMUTE

RADIO:
Lumenwood Kin played by Hannah Peel on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Night Tracks – After Dark’, 11.1.23
60 min. Maastricht Research mix broadcast on MAKOSSA’s ‘Liquid Radio’ show, Saturday 20.11.22 (FM4, Vienna/Austria)
‘Played winter lanterns from this, rather wonderful, album on Monday (31st Oct). Beautiful stuff’ PAT BENSBERG (Phonic FM, Exeter: phonicpat.blogspot.com)

12″ pressing on translucent yellow vinyl in a shrink-wrapped, CMYK printed reverse board sleeve for an attractive matte finish, with CMYK printed labels.
 

FEATURING
Kota Motomura [Composer, Producer, Keyboards, Programming, Mix]
Mutsumi Takeuchi [Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax, Flute]
Akihiro Iwamoto [Guitar on To Be Free]
Akichi [Guitar on Flower]

Mastered by Keith ‘Radioactive Man’ Tenniswood (Curvepusher UK)

Three years after he released the incredible New Experience EP (picking up plaudits from Bill Brewster, Tim Sweeney, Laurent Garnier, Horse Meat Disco, Leo Mas & 6Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, among many more), Tokyo’s Kota Motomura returns to Hobbes Music for his debut LP, Pay It Forward.

This is the first vinyl release on Hobbes Music since the much-loved ‘Aranath’ EP by Leonidas & Hobbes last Spring. While the label maintains the level of quality control for which it has become recognised, the artist continues to subvert electronic and dance music norms in his iconoclastic way on this extraordinary record.

He’s a mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from ambient, exotica and jazz to disco, house and techno via post punk, new wave and funk. It’s highly original and all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as ‘Balearic’.

PAY IT FORWARD

Album opener Paradise is a certified jazz-funk JAM. Destined for dance floors worldwide, this one’s been dropping well with DJs, Motomura demonstrating his piano chops alongside Mutsumi Takeuchi’s sax.

Tropical pushes the boat in a more rhythmic direction, some pretty wild drum programming laced with more sounds of the, um, tropics, before mad vocal yelps suggest something yet more tribal.

To Be Free initially resembles early 90s progressive house (pulsing bassline, synth-driven melodies), before the arrival of some new wave guitar licks a la classic Talking Heads/David Byrne and ooh ooh vocal chants take it to another dimension altogether.

B-side opener Emotion features Takeuchi again (on flute this time) and more vocal chants before things take a dramatic turn, threatening to open up into a full fanfare before calming and then bursting into wild life again with the exhortation, “C’mon, everybody dancing!”

Rhythm flirts with an energy and pace more akin to a techno record: drums, drums, more drums plus a fair few yelps and chants – the kind of DJ tool that will send a simmering dance floor wild in the right hands.

Flower closes things in a more melancholy style, familiar to fans of ‘Aboy’ from the New Experience EP, with plaintive acoustic guitar (performed by Akichi), birdsong and big piano chords.

DJ FEEDBACK
‘Can i get a download for the Kota Motomura release? I love Rhythm btw’ EROL ALKAN
‘If you could send Kota Motomura, would be great. Will play’ NANCY NOISE
‘Fuck me, this is amazin’. Really up my street… so out there. Best thing I’ve heard on the label. It’s got disco influences, jazz, electronica. Well done man, love it’ YOGI HAUGHTON
‘Gave one of the tracks a spin on my show last week. Thanks for sending.’ BILL BREWSTER
‘I really like this album, Flower and Paradise are my favourite’ LEO MAS
‘I like Paradise’ AL KENT
‘Woo this is tasty. DEFO playing on my next radio show. The label’s A&R is getting better and better. HM has been putting out some dope stuff and this one seems really good quality’ RED RACK’EM
‘Paradise and Flower sounding good’ NICK THE RECORD
‘Tunes sound great!’ PHIL MISON
‘Going to include Paradise and Flower on my Sunday Ibiza global radio show PHAT PHIL COOPER (Nu Northern Soul)
‘Very nice album with influences from many different genres. I especially like To Be Free with nice synths and guitar cutting, and Flower, which is a chill vibe’ KZA (Mule Musiq, Endless Flight)
‘100% correct about the ALFOS potential of To Be Free!’ SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
‘Stunning, will fit perfectly with the vibe of my radio show’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams, DK; Playa Del Sol, Ibiza)
‘Stellar work, i’ll make a bet that Flowers is a Balaeric classic this summer’ DRIBBLER (Breakfast Club, Ibiza)
‘It’s cool in a nice smelling psycho sense, it was a very DEEP sound that I couldn’t produce. Congrats!’ ALTZ (Altzmusica)
‘Paradise is my jam, it’s deep, sunny and never boring. I’m interested to see how this will work on the dance floor. Overall a great album with solid composition and impressive use of live instruments!’ SOBRIETY (fka Chloé Juliette)
‘Very tidy selection’ ASTROJAZZ (Kelburn Garden Party, Wee Dub, Samedia Shebeen, Disco Makossa)
‘This is a lovely release. Follows on from New Experience in the best way possible. It’s got lots of vibes going on but holds together as a cohesive piece of work. Love it’ JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Glasgow)
‘To Be Free is a track i could imagine Andy Weatherall playing in one of his sets at A Love From Outer Space’ KIRSTIE PATON aka She-Bang Rave Unit (Threads Radio, Radio Magnetic)
‘LOVING THIS RELEASE! Paradise is one of the best tracks I’ve heard in a long time. Loving the jazzy vibes, particularly as its dancey rather than being one of those tracks that disappears up its own proverbial as some jazzy stuff is prone to. Lovely variety in the tracks and will definitely be rinsing a few of these, with Paradise being the pick of the bunch for me’ DAVID ELDERS
“Seriously, all the tracks were great. I really think Kota is a genius. Especially Rhythm, it’s the best in recent years. Paradise, Tropical, the last song Flower, everything was just great. Thank you for the wonderful tracks” SUNGA
“I’ve been playing Flower in Ibiza – beautiful track – and also liking Paradise and To Be Free a lot, played it in my radio shows on Sonica and Music For Dreams” ANDY WILSON

RADIO
“This album’s kinda bonkers” TOM RAVENSCROFT played Tropical on BBC 6MUSIC (Marc Riley Show, 19.05.22)
STUART MACONIE played Emotion on The Freak Zone, BBC 6Music (17.4.22).
ANDY WILSON & S/A/M have played tracks on IBIZA SONICA & MUSIC FOR DREAMS (see comments above)
BILL BREWSTER played Flower on DJ History podcast #641
‘Love this album. played Tropical from it on the show on Monday. excellent stuff. PAT BENSBERG (The Eccentric Selection, Phonic FM, Exeter – 6.4.22)
COLVIN CRUICKSHANK Played Flower on EH-FM (Snide Rhythms show, 7.4.22)

REVIEWS

‘The Balearic aesthetic tends to favour space and clean lines but Kota Motomura is having none of that. Lots of familiar elements are here: slow house/disco grooves, African samples, Eighties jazz-pop harmonics and so on. But Motomura is an agent of chaos – everything is wonky, wigged out, buzzing. Drums clash, samples sound lo-fi, the funk is bordering on crazed… yet it works. Charmingly cracked brilliance.’ JOE MUGGS, MU MAGAZINE

‘It’s an eclectic affair, but with its roots firmly in house music culture. Extending from pounding, percussive, crazed carnival loops, to beatless, blissed out, collages of acoustic guitar and birdsong. In between there are North African / Middle Eastern-flavoured moments – mixing ancient chants and woodwinds with buzzing, Moog lines – and trance-y, hypnotic, Italo / House hybrids. To Be Free is full of effervescent emissions and frantic clipped funky guitar. The playing, care of Akihiro Iwamoto, a ringer for Talking Heads / David Byrne`s Born Under Punches ace angular highlife approximations’ BAN BAN TON TON (read full review here)

‘A well-crafted, fun experiment in dance music genre hopping. It’s House and Techno music with a spirit of adventure that’s never idle and always up for taking the audience across a movable dance floor’ MONOLITH COCKTAIL (read full review here)