Insistent vocal samples, Korg piano stabs and a weighty bassline give this shameless dance floor heavy hitter a Caribou meets Jamie XX feel, yet it’s also something one can listen to at home. A timeless and uplifting piece of electronic music - not just for the listener as for Joris, this track represents the happiness of discovering what the new direction of Feiertag will be! The joy of making dance music that satisfies “the search for simplicity”; that inhabits that space somewhere between major and minor; new and old; dark and light; pop and soul.

From the upcoming album 'Roots'. Out 20.10.

Pete Josef is an artist who uses his soulful eloquence not just to entertain, but to open up conversations about his own social consciousness. He has an inherent need to create, build, share and protect as well as educate himself about issues regarding our habitat, society, politics, race and gender. All of these have permeated into his musical output in recent years, but on the new single, entitled Carbon, Pete writes very personally, and for the first time, about the death of his brother and how it has made him think about a wider, environmental subject matter.

Carbon is a simple and poignant guitar and vocals song that, on the one hand, mourns the loss of his brother Mark, but on the other, celebrates the idea that we will all somehow end up being part of the carbon cycle “in a beautiful field of green”. Mark was buried on a hillside, overlooking a stunning valley in the South-West of England, and the idea of being part of the carbon cycle was something that he felt quite content about - the idea of returning back to the land after his death.

“Now you are carbon, in a beautiful field of green. Wake up in the morning, rise over the valley, in a place you call your own.”

Carbon is the third single to be taken from Pete Josef’s forthcoming third album, released in 2024 and recorded in his self-built and self-sustainable studio cabin in his garden. The exchange between studio and live has become a unifying force since the resurrection of his live quartet in 2022. This year will bring choice live shows, featuring the mercurial Eli Jitsuto from Bristol based outfit Snazzback on guitar and longtime collaborators Jihad Darwish on bass and Miguel Andrews on drums.

TTeo is the pseudonym of Matteo Capreoli - a half German, half Italian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer with a deep musical heritage. Fernando Antonio Capreoli, his father, left Salento in southern Italy for Germany in 1970, before forming disco-funk-rock outfit Lovexpress, made up of mainly Italian and Scandinavian musicians, playing drums in the band and touring Norway, Sweden and Denmark from 1974 to 1979.

TTeo himself signed to Sonar Kollektiv in 2020, releasing the Salento EP, named after the place of his father’s birth. More recently, though, he was serendipitously handed a batch of cassettes by his dad of some of Lovexpress’ live shows from the late 1970s. TTeo was deeply impressed by the quality of the music and got his father to digitise them immediately! These recordings form the basis of, and the inspiration for, his latest LP - Lovexpress77, and are the only known recordings of the band who never quite made it into the studio to lay down an album.

The second single to be taken from Lovexpress 77 is the

gospel flavoured Follow Me. TTeo dug deep into the original bands samples for this song, especially the vocal and drum parts. The Lovexpress band was led by Afro-American singer Joe Boston, who here sings with Leo, the bass player in the band. As an Italian playing and performing ostensibly what was American music, it’s often hard to decipher exactly what the lyrics are. This was very much the case here! The closest TTeo could get to it was the phrase “Follow Me”, doubling up with his own vocals on top and adding singer songwriter Kristine Bogan

into the mix, who supplemented the chorus beautifully.

On the drum parts, TTeo uses many of his father’s solos and plays over the top of them using the very same kit his father played on back in the 1970s! The result is an intense and quite magical combination that, when mixed with heavenly pianos, give the track a very spiritual and uplifting feel. By sampling, re-working and re-imagining the source material in this very unique way, TTeo is bringing his father’s original club sounds to a whole new audience.

Matteo is now back living in his family’s home town of Salento once again and sees this project as “closing a circle” both musically and personally. Although he may be opening a new one if rumours of getting the Lovexpress band back together and recording that missing studio album come to fruition! Only time will tell.

TTeo – Lovexpress77 out November 24th 2023.

German nu jazz stalwarts Micatone continue their comeback journey with Ping Pong, the follow up to the ethereal and emotionally charged coming-of-age piece, Where Do You Belong?

The core duo of the band, Boris Meinhold on guitar and synths and Lisa Bassenge on vocals, have been making music for the label for over two decades, with five studio albums and numerous singles to date.

Like many women, Lisa suffers from severe Premenstrual Syndrome, or PMS, but hers is particularly pronounced as it’s coupled with a form of ADHD. The song’s lyrics, and title, reflect on methods of coping with the symptoms that arise due to her “neurotransmitters playing ping pong” in her brain.

The song itself has something of a moody 60’s latin-jazz feel with obscure samples and subtle electronics doing just enough to counteract the retro ambience. The driving force throughout (aside from Lisa’s heartfelt vocal) is a guitar recorded through an old telephone receiver and the beats programmed by Stefan Leisering. The Jazzanova producer’s drum track remains somewhat understated though, and leaves ample room for Lisa’s vocal to shine, whilst also giving off something of a 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover touch.

TTeo is the pseudonym of Matteo Capreoli - a half German, half Italian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer with a deep musical heritage. Fernando Antonio Capreoli, his father, left Salento in southern Italy for Germany in 1970, before forming disco-funk-rock outfit Lovexpress, made up of mainly Italian and Scandinavian musicians, playing drums in the band and touring Norway, Sweden and Denmark from 1974 to 1979.

TTeo himself signed to Sonar Kollektiv in 2020, releasing the Salento EP, named after the place of his father’s birth. More recently, though, he was serendipitously handed a batch of cassettes by his dad of some of Lovexpress’ live shows from the late 1970s. TTeo was deeply impressed by the quality of the music and got his father to digitise them immediately! These recordings form the basis of, and the inspiration for, his latest LP - Lovexpress77, and are the only known recordings of the band who never quite made it into the studio to lay down an album.

The first single to be taken from Lovexpress77 is the haunting yet foot friendly 42H. Fittingly, it’s a song that goes right back to the roots of TTeo’s father’s influence. It’s inspired by his home town of Salento where “life is easy” and also by a friend who lives there telling him the story of spending 42 hours in bed with a woman and professing that “it was really love”!

The sounds on the single are deliberately warm and humid to evoke the literal and emotional temperature of his father’s birth place. Sizzling synths and piano combine with TTeo’s woozy yet balmy vocals to conjure up life in this southern Italian haven. Added to that are the drums, which have a special story of their own. The kit that TTeo plays on 42H, and on the Lovexpress 77 album as a whole, is none other than the same one that his father played on in the original recordings! This takes the paternal significance to another level and is a unique way to bring the impact of his father’s original club sounds to a whole new audience.

Matteo is now back living in his family’s home town of Salento once again and sees this project as “closing a circle” both musically and personally. Although he may be opening a new one if rumours of getting the Lovexpress band back together and recording that missing studio album come to fruition! Only time will tell.

TTeo – Lovexpress77 out November 24th 2023.

Joris Feiertag is a Dutch producer and live-act from Utrecht in the Netherlands who makes music that is a finely balanced combination of organic and synthesized elements, often using ingenious syncopated rhythms combined with instruments such as the harp and kalimba.

This autumn he will release Roots, his third album on revered German imprint Sonar Kollektiv. Having concentrated his attention on catchy hooks and a number of guest voices on his first, and deeper breakbeat workouts on his second, Joris felt it was time to deliver something that sat comfortably in a space somewhere between the two. The LP features a plethora of vocalists from across the globe including Rotterdam’s Robin Kester; Guinea born Falle Nioke; Tru Thoughts recording artist Rhi; young spoken word artist from London, Nego True; Afro-futuristic U.S. hip hop outfit OSHUN and Berlin based vocalist Noah Slee, who

features on the new single, Keep Your Head Up.

As a song about biding your time and waiting for your moment, it reflects perfectly the process Joris had to go through to be able to collaborate with Noah on the track. Having danced around the idea of working together for some time, the dream eventually came true when the pair met in the German capital. The result is a timeless piece of music that finely balances out Feiertag’s electronic sensibilities (here reminiscent of Maribou State) with Slee’s soulful aesthetic, whilst still retaining a pop feel. Minor key dark, brooding and emotional instrumentation combine with jazz tinged, sultry choir like vocals to great effect. It’s

a space that Feiertag inhabits when he’s at his best. Lovers of Gabriels and Daft Punk alike will definitely be fans of this one!

Feiertag – Roots out October 2023.

Lento is the new single from Alexander IV - pseudonym of the eclectic Dutch producer, multi-instrumentalist and illustrious tunesmith, Joris Feiertag. As a music maker largely known for his club friendly offerings, Joris uses the Macedonian monarch’s title to delve into the more downtempo side of his sonic output - taking in hip-hop, jazz, funk and soul influences along the way.

With the haunting reverberations of the hang drum at its core, Lento is a stirring, string laden smoker’s delight complete with wordless vocals, delicate keys and a sultry bassline that complements the easy drums and make this a perfect summertime after hours groover.

Alexander IV’s music fuses organic and electronic elements with ease, which isn’t surprising given the artist’s experience not only as a consummate dance music maker, but also as drummer of choice for Dutch superstars Kraak & Smaak. His music delivers something brand new yet retro; uncomplicated yet masterful.

Joris Feiertag is a Dutch producer and live-act from Utrecht in the Netherlands who makes music that is a finely b alanced combination of organic and synthesized elements, often using ingenious syncopated rhythms combined with instruments such as the harp and kalimba.

This autumn he will release Roots, his third album on revered German imprint Sonar Kollektiv. Having concentrated his attention on catchy hooks and a number of guest voices on his first, and deeper breakbeat workouts on his second, Joris felt it was time to deliver something that sat comfortably in a space somewhere between the two. The LP features a plethora of vocalists from across the globe including Berlin based Noah Slee; Rotterdam’s Robin Kester; Guinea born Falle Nioke; Tru Thoughts recording artist Rhi; young spoken word artist from London, Nego True, and Afro-futuristic U.S. hip hop outfit OSHUN, who feature on the new single, Law Of Attraction.

Feiertag first discovered OSHUN, who hail from Washing D.C., when the duo guested on Nightmares On Wax’s sublime track from 2021, Breathe In. Inspired both by NOW’s laid back beats and OSHUN’s gorgeously drowsy vocal delivery, Joris set out to make something that sat in the Feiertag universe whilst drawing sounds from the more soulful corner of the hip hop realm, with it’s chopped up piano samples. Niambi Sala and Thandiwe, the two members of OSHUN, were in exactly the same headspace and the result is a somehow simultaneously laid back and urgent delivery that talks of the joys and challenges of becoming a parent and being “born to live long & love the life that I’ve created.”

Pete Josef is an artist who uses his soulful eloquence not just to entertain, but to open up conversations about his own social consciousness. He has an inherent need to create, build, share and protect as well as educate himself about issues regarding the environment, society, politics, race and gender. All of these have permeated into his musical output in recent years, but on the new single, entitled Sunny Side Up, it’s the often not talked about topic of depression that comes to the fore.

Despite the bleak subject matter, it’s actually a song about the importance of having people around you to support you when you’re not feeling at your best. Pete admits to suffering from anxiety for much of his life, and cherishes having his family present when he feels unable to step up as a partner or parent; when he experiences that ‘hazy funk’ in the day-to-day. In many ways it’s a love song, or at least one of appreciation for the people who carry you through those moments in your life.

“Took a little while and it might take longer, god only knows.. But darling I try. I’m invested all ways. I just hit bumps in the road that I cannot evade.”

Like much of Pete’s new material, the song has a retro and somewhat South American feel. For the first time in a long while, Pete chose to perform all the instrumental parts on this track himself.

A 1960s Harmony Sovereign (the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ guitar!) provides the core, whilst minimal drums (recorded with one single mic in Pete’s Orchard Cabin) and Hofner vintage bass provide a groove reminiscent of stripped back 1970s Al Green productions. The result is something delicate and spontaneous – perfectly reflecting the shaky ground felt in the moment of conception. The track ebbs and flows between some surprising harmonic twists, later on bringing the Hammond organ to the fore and swelling to a dramatic climax, permeated by backing vocal arrangements and glimmering electric guitar.

Sunny Side Up is taken from Pete Josef’s forthcoming third album, to be released in 2024, recorded in his self-built and self-sustainable studio cabin in his garden. The exchange between studio and live has become a unifying force since the resurrection of his live quartet in 2022. This year will bring choice live shows, featuring the mercurial Eli Jitsuto from Bristol based outfit Snazzback on guitar and longtime collaborators Jihad Darwish on bass and Miguel Andrews on drums.

Joris Feiertag is a Dutch producer and live-act from Utrecht in the Netherlands who makes music that is a finely balanced combination of organic and synthesized elements, often using ingenious syncopated rhythms combined with instruments such as the harp and kalimba.

This autumn he will release Roots, his third album on revered German imprint Sonar Kollektiv. Having concentrated his attention on catchy hooks and a number of guest voices on his first, and deeper breakbeat workouts on his second, Joris felt it was time to deliver something that sat comfortably in a space somewhere between the two. The LP features a plethora of vocalists from across the globe including Afro-futuristic U.S. hip hop outfit OSHUN; Berlin based Noah Slee; Rotterdam’s Robin Kester; Guinea born Falle Nioke; Tru Thoughts recording artist Rhi, and young spoken word artist from London, Nego True, who features on the new single, Feel Me.

More than just a rapper, he’s a true poet as exemplified on this single. Feel Me is one of the most personal tracks on the album as Nego opens up on a close relationship in his unmistakable tones. Encouraged by Joris with his personal situation taking the next step, here Nego writes and raps about moving in with his partner and his ambitions to raise a family.

Once again, Joris creates new challenges for himself by working with artists outside of his immediate musical sphere. His seemingly endless search to shine a light on new and exciting talent, as well as his tireless work to discover the old and reinvent the new will surely see him break new ground and gain new followers for years to come.

New album 'Roots' out October 2023.