Music Is My Sanctuary

For three decades, Freiburg’s Root Down has occupied its own corner of European club culture, with Rainer Trüby and company connecting jazz, Brazilian music, broken beat, soulful house and deeper electronic sounds long before that kind of genre-crossing became commonplace.

ROOT DOWN 30, released through DAYBREAKERS Records, celebrates that history with contributions and remixes from Jimpster, Osunlade, Da Lata, Jazzanova, Crackazat and more.

Among the selections is Flashbaxx’s “Brooklyn Love Boat,” and we’re honored to premiere the track ahead of the compilation’s release. It’s a fitting addition to a collection built around the open-minded, soulful approach that has kept Root Down moving for thirty years.

Dennis Liber’s Astro Danza has been a few years in the making. Written out of his time living in Tulum, the EP channels the musical community he found there into a record that moves through Balearic disco, Latin rhythms, zouk and late-night house without settling too comfortably into any one of them.

Following two appearances on Razor-N-Tape’s Family Affair compilations, Astro Danza marks Liber’s first solo outing for the label.

We’re very happy to premiere the Extended Mix of “Astro Danza” ahead of the full EP, out October 2 on Razor-n-Tape.

French-Caribbean saxophonist Lucien Joly is celebrated with Selected Works, a new compilation from Symbole Records bringing together seven pieces from across his catalogue. Recorded between 1986 and 2015, the selection traces a musical language shaped by Caribbean rhythms, jazz and the freedom of improvisation.

We have the pleasure of premiering “Herbie,” a composition that captures Joly’s fluid approach particularly well.

Selected Works lands September 25th on Symbole Records, available on vinyl, CD and digital.

Medlar has spent well over a decade carving out his own corner of UK dance music, moving freely between deep house, disco, bruk beat and beyond. He’s also part of the extended Razor-N-Tape family, most recently appearing alongside Daisybelle with “Body Ache” on the label’s Family Affair Vol. 5.

That connection comes full circle on his new Celestial Bodies EP, with RNT co-founder JKriv stepping in to remix “Solar,” Medlar’s collaboration with South African vocalist mtsjungles. JKriv takes the loose, soulful character of the original somewhere decidedly more dancefloor-focused, pushing the track into Italo disco territory.

We have the pleasure of premiering the JKriv remix of “Solar,” taken from Celestial Bodies, out September 25th on Delusions of Grandeur.

Mooke da God returns with Blue Collar Labor, a new 10-track project produced entirely by Peruvian-born, New Jersey-raised producer raf91b. While the two have crossed paths musically on previous projects, this is their first full-length collaboration, built around a shared appreciation for the sample-driven character and stripped-back production of ’90s hip-hop. Across its concise 20-minute runtime, the record carries a reflective tone that mirrors the personal territory Mooke explores throughout.

Created in the same order in which we hear it, Blue Collar Labor traces a period of transition following Mooke’s move to Los Angeles, turning recent experiences and growing pains into a remarkably personal body of work.

MIMS has the pleasure of premiering “Power,” taken from the forthcoming album ahead of its August 28 release.

Danny Ward returns to Phat Phil Cooper’s NuNorthern Soul with Organic Matters, a six-track follow-up to last year’s Resolution Revolutions. Under his Balaphonic guise, Ward continues to explore the meeting points between Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, Balearic sounds, dub and deep house.

We have the pleasure of premiering “Balaventurers,” a collaboration with long-time musical ally Joe Botham aka Baleardelica.

Organic Matters is out August 14th on NuNorthern Soul.

Every summer deserves a soundtrack, and by now Coastin' has become part of the ritual. Spacewalker returns with the 13th installment in the series.

Strap in, let's take a ride.

Coastin' 12 > https://soundcloud.com/musicismysanctuary/coastin-12-by-spacewalker

London-based producer Romaal Kultan returns with a new 12" that, as we've come to expect, sidesteps easy categorization in favor of pure instinct and spontaneity.

We have the pleasure of premiering "Instinct" ahead of its release this Friday. Just 10 copies of the record will be available!

About the track in question, Romaal had this to say:

"Instinct" was made really quickly. I’ve always wanted to make tunes which make people say “what the fuck” but in practice it’s often very difficult. In this case though, I think something interesting did happen.

The tune is quite unique and surprising, it doesn't really belong to any category. The whole thing is based around a sample from Kay Suzuki and Leonidas which I rephrased into a kind of big room stab pattern."

Exclusive Premiere: Loopcinico "Curimbobata" (Forthcoming on BATB) by Music Is My Sanctuary

It’s the day before the seasons officially change, so it’s technically a late spring excursion of Balance with Spacewalker!

Featuring new music from Jex Opolis, The Illusions, Broken Keys, Crackazat & much, much more…

Balance 583 > https://on.soundcloud.com/iGU4FGkPZTga7i3Enm