Emotional Response Vinilo y CD

Review: DJ Normal 4 has boiled his name down for this latest trip out on Emotional Response, which finds the German breakbeat evangelist getting into a specifically tranced-out mode which should sit right with many a new age raver. The 90s is plastered all over this release, which rolls low and heavy like a good trance record should, and there's an honesty about DJN4's particular approach which makes the tracks land perfectly. Conceptual consistency is also key, meaning the twitchier cuts like 'X Capsule' can sit comfortably alongside unabashed wig out fodder such as the psy-tinged 'Mind Expander XS'. If you love the early, moodier strains of trance, this record is essential.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, but otherwise in excellent condition***



DJ Normal 4 has boiled his name down for this latest trip out on Emotional Response, which finds the German breakbeat evangelist getting into a specifically tranced-out mode which should sit right with many a new age raver. The 90s is plastered all over this release, which rolls low and heavy like a good trance record should, and there's an honesty about DJN4's particular approach which makes the tracks land perfectly. Conceptual consistency is also key, meaning the twitchier cuts like 'X Capsule' can sit comfortably alongside unabashed wig out fodder such as the psy-tinged 'Mind Expander XS'. If you love the early, moodier strains of trance, this record is essential.

Review: Given that Emotional Response boss Stuart Leath has enjoyed a long working relationship with dub-loving psychedelic pop types Peaking Lights, it's little surprise to see band member Aaron Coyes bring his new solo project, Exotic Gardens, to the label. Predictably, this debut EP/mini-album is a joy from start to finish, with Coyes delivering a quintet of cuts that giddily mix and match elements of dub, post-punk pop, effects-laden guitar trickery, shoegaze adjacent soundscapes and spaced-out headiness. Highlights come thick and fast, with our current favourites including the shuffling joy of 'Tonight', the acid-flecked electronic psychedelia of 'Organise Your Movement' and the yearning, sun-soaked colour of 'Last of the Light'.

Review: Secret Circuit's Eddie Ruscha and Rub N Tug's Thomas Bullock joined forces as Laughing Light Of Plenty for an EP back in 2008, and followed it up with an album on Whatever We Want Records in 2010 which largely got lost in a warehouse stock malfunction. Now Emotional Response are doing the right thing and giving the record a second airing under the duo's alternative alias The Naturals, and it's not hard to see why they wanted to do the reissue. Loose and funky, but also deliriously psychedelic and indebted to the 1970s golden era of songwriting, this is a quintessential Emotional record if ever we heard one.

Review: Emotional Response, Meda Fury and R&S Records are delighted to come together to present Sad City's long waited debut LP. After critically acclaimed EPs for Underwater Peoples and Phonica Special Editions, this stunning long player has been in gesgastion for years but arrives with perfect alacrity.

Northern Irish born, Glasgow based musician Gary Caruth has steadily been buildling a successful ouvere of releases from his 2011 debut Gestures EP to appearing on Emotional Response's SchleiBen series last Spring.

Recorded as one listening experience, Shapes In Formation mixes a love of field recordings with deep ambient soundscapes atop incessant percussive loops. The melancholic sonics bely ethereal tones that transport to that place where music and the silent reality of the world merges.

Moving beyond his recent ambient explorations, side opener Rain points to something beyond, a swirling meld of vocal loops and rhythmic pulses that promise anew. More follows in Pace, Movements I to IV and Peoples + Plants, taking the sonic exploration onwards, creating compositions of symphonic beauty that challenge the listener to travel on distant, tribal syncopation.

All this comes together with the rolling drum of Steady Jam. A delicate balance of restrained percussion, hissing hats and the bliss of gospel Sundays create a tapestry that harks to Parrish's Sound Signature as much to Cluster and Eno. Finally, to end via Smoke, Water and Again, the album's journey is shaped as a truly unique form(ation).

Review: Emotional Response facilitate a new, prickly post-punk come dub fascinator by Shelter aka multi-instrumentalist Alan Briand. Helping redefine the term "digidub" to muted but compelling effect, this wry, checkered release themes each of its track titles after chessboard pieces, perhaps reflecting many of the power moves (rook castlings, last-minute pawn queenings) that have defined Briand's career so far: he's already demonstrated a dexterity in straddling several styles, from ambient, Balearic, improv and even acid Indian raga. All recorded live, this new, fuzz-packed release betrays an undying love for a particular dub sound: 'Kings, Knights & Rooks' fleshes hugely cosmic synth swells out of initially wan beginnings, whilst 'The Queen's Sacrifice' goes on to upend minimality entirely for maximal cavern-verb and 'Shutting Out Bishops' stars as the B-side's wackiest mumble-toasting; all tracks pay homage to a long, territorialising and power-hungry digidub tradition, with Prince Jammy, Alpha & Omega, Bush Chemist and Jonah Dan all namechecked as influences.

Review: Terra Utopia returns to Emotional Response with a second release, a collection of ten tracks blending ambient textures, atmospheric rhythms and fluid drum & bass. French producer Benoit B revives this project after the success of the first Terra Utopia recordings, delivering another thoughtful exploration of soundscapes. Initially conceived as a short-lived project, the first Terra Utopia was recorded in two weeks during a spring in Athens, capturing a deeply personal sonic aesthetic. This second offering reflects an evolution in style while retaining its essence. Tracks unfold like snapshots of expansive skies, tranquil seas and warm summer days, creating a narrative of serene moments and astral imaginings. The beats feel crisp and purposeful, and every cut is crafted for both personal immersion and DJ functionality. A highlight is the collaboration with singer dvdv on 'Shadows Of Memories', where her ethereal vocals float over dreamlike instrumentation, offering an evocative, hypnotic centerpiece. Terra Utopia continues to conjure vivid sonic imagery with its latest chapter.

Review: As its title, borrowed from a classic Slits song, might tell you this collection featuring punk made by women is the focus of this latest compilation by Emotional Rescue, charting many gems from the present day punk era, most of whom are nonetheless inspired by the first wave punk era of the late 1970s. There's both guitar punk and coldwavey post-punk accrued for this comp - as well as a few darkwave detours (Cindy's 'No Flags' is a highlight) and hardcore screamo stuff.

Review: You can never really pin down what the excellent Emotional Repose label does and that is exactly the sinking behind the title of its superb All Trades show on NTS. The sheer eclecticism of that show is now reflected in this new two-part compilation, also called All Trades, which offers up little morsels of what they do, something like a sonic tasting menu at a fancy restaurant. There is chugging electronic dub from Apiento & Tepper, industrial clatter from Black Bones, cosmic ambient breakbeat from Paperclip Minimiser and blissed out dub from Yamila & SoFa Elsewhere amongst many more highlights.

Review: Emotional Response returns with a second volume of its All Trades compilation which is named after its own NTS show. It is just as vast both in terms of style but also the eras it spans with a mix of dub, new wave, slow motion electronics and plenty in between. Tolouse Low Trax kicks off with the filthy dirty and seriously heavy dub glitch of 'Ossia' to provide an early highlight before the likes of Al Wootton get percussive and tribal with 'Altai' and HLM38 channels some African Head Charge on another devastating dub cut. Later on, London's Good Block brings a little more light and sunshine with their lovely 'Strong Relax.'