Smallfish Label Release - Cheju - Shifting Focus EP - FISH8CM-04

We here at Smallfish are lovers of Electronica. We make no bones about it and we don't particularly care whether it's trendy or not. We like it because it's good to listen to and it's just plain good for the soul.

Cheju is an artist that's been putting out great Electronica for some time now and as one half of the Boltfsih outfit he's responsible for releasing great electronic music by other artists on a regular basis. So it's *extremely* pleasing to be able to announce this fab 3" CD in our limited Smallfish series which sees Wil giving us 4 soothing, delightful and downright excellent purist Electronica tracks. Everything you'd want is here, be it melody, downbeat grooves, luscious strings and a lovely attention to detail.

From the very beginning you know you're in for a soothing ride with slightly classical sounding strings and a smashing beat. From there the tracks vary and flow beautifully with a vintage, warm and friendly sound that will appeal to fans of Cactus Island, Expanding and, of course, Boltfish. It's great to have Cheju on board and we're thrilled to be able to offer this great little EP to you.

Remember, though, that it's a strictly one-off edition of 100 copies and we'll never be re-pressing it! Buy with confidence!

Check it out here...

Smallfish Label Release - Monostation - Greyscale EP - FISH8CM-03

Monday 19th June spells the releases of our new limited edition 3" CD and we're thrilled to be able to announce that Monostation have provided us with a 3-tracker of exceptional quality.

Their Alchemy series has been growing in popularity with every release and Greyscale follows a similar path, sound-wise. Deep, ultra-refined and textural guitar ambience with a wonderfully dense sound and gentle electronic manipulation. Fans of Kranky's recent output as well as the work of Windy & Carl will find this to be a most engaging piece of work. Shimmering, shining and beautiful, Monostation's Greyscale is quite simply a gem.

Only 100 copies available and only £4.99. Get in there quick at http://www.smallfish.co.uk

Smallfish Label Release - Mikkel Meyer - N. EP - FISH8CM-02

Once again we're thrilled to be able to announce another Smallfish label release.

The second in the limited edition 3" CD series from Smallfish comes from Danish artist Mikkel Meyer and, boy, it's a goodie! Following the complex, ultra-deep tones of Soundhacker's EP last month, Mikkel turns his hand to a dubbier, more Berlin-centric EP. Fusing Jazz, Electronica and pure dub Techno, he imbues his tracks with static, hiss and funk to the point where this could quite easily be the new ~Scape label release.

Freaked out samples that are cut-up and looped to perfection meet incredibly detailed rhythmic structures to create a dense, funky vibe that will move you as well as engage you. Jan Jelinek, Pole and Andrew Pekkler are all valid reference points, yet Mikkel gives each and every track his own unique flavour, partly thanks to his own live double bass playing. Fourth track 'N4' is simply a beast with its heavy 4/4 beat, wonderfully deep bassline and layers of reverbed stabs and chords... stunning!

As per the last release this comes in an edition of 100 copies only... that's it... never to be pressed again, so get yourself in there and experience some pure Danish pleasure - you won't regret it!

Check it out at http://www.smallfish.co.uk

Smallfish Label Release - Soundhacker - #_One EP - FISH8CM-01

Smallfish is proud and excited to announce the official release of the first in a new series of limited edition 3" CDs on our very own label!

Coming in an edition of 100 copies we're positive that they are going to become a nicely collectable little set of EPs with stylish, minimalistic artwork that's very much in keeping with the identity of the shop.

First up, then, is a wonderfully deep and moody slice of crispy, crunchy Electronica from the superb duo of Soundhacker.

Their name may sound familiar to some of you and that's probably because you may have heard their quite simply stunning remix of Remote_'s 'Celestion' on Meanwhile Records. And you can certainly expect to be hearing a great deal more from them in the near future - another 3" CD for a certain label called Cactus Island, for example.

'#_One EP' is a dense, rhythmically complex beast with swathes of atmosphere and an attention to detail on the production that puts a lot of other artists to shame (myself included!). It's a classic slice of UK electronic music in one respect, but has such a sound of its own as well that it's hard to resist.

We're sure that if you're a fan of Electronica in any way, shape or form that you're going to simply adore this release and we'd urge you to snap it up as soon as possible because, once they're gone, they're gone for good.

We hope you enjoy this first release and look forward to bringing you a diverse range of superb music over the coming months.

Available from http://www.smallfish.co.uk at the very reasonable price of £4.99.

AFX - Chosen Lords - CD - Pre-order information

The relase date is rapidly approaching for what is undoubtedly going to be one of the albums of the year... AFX - Chosen Lords. It's due for release on Monday April 10th and we are now taking pre-orders with the following special deal:

Anyone who pre-orders a copy will get it for the mighty fine price of £9.99... surely something of a bargain!

Additionally, the first 20 people to pre-order themslves a copy will receive a copy of the Rephlex compilation 'Rephlexions' on CD COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE!

And if that wasn't enough anyone who pre-orders a copy will also be automatically entered into a draw to win themselves one of 2 copies of the LIMITED EDITION 100 COPIES ONLY SPECIAL VERSION of the CD (in the alternate packaging) instead of the normal version. Can't be bad, eh?

All pre-orders should be e-mailed to mike@smallfish.co.uk along with your name, address and telephone number so that we can contact you for payment details when it arrives in stock.

Remember... it's fastest fingers first!

Isan In-store show @ Smallfish - Thursday 16th March

Yes! This one's going to be a biggie!

The mighty Isan are coming to play an in-store show at Smallfish on Thursday 16th March at 7.30pm!

These guys will need no introduction at all, but suffice to say that they are still amongst the most highly respected UK Electronica artists around. A beautiful sound but with a real punch in the bottom end, they have consistently impressed over the years.

All we can say is that we're thrilled and we would urge anyone who plans to come down to be there ON TIME as it's very possibly going to be a busy one.

Bring a beer and some friends and once again enjoy some great free music here at Smallfish.

Smallfish Records - 329 Old Street - London - EC1V 9LE - Nearest Tube: Old Street

Smallfish hits Myspace!

Finally we caved in!

Everybody else seemed to be doing it so I figured we should join in the fun and games.

Why not drop on over to http://www.myspace.com/smallfish_records and add yourself to our friends list?

We'll be doing regular updates on events and happenings at the shop and, you never know, we might even post up some of the music being written by the Smallfish crew!

That'd be nice wouldn't it?

Hope to see you there!

Oto-graph - Sounds In Motion - Ryoondo-tea - CD

Ryoondo-tea is another one of those excellent Japanese labels that release delightfully melodic Electronica that's relatively hard to get hold of.

Their new release comes from Oto-graph and really is a little belter!

Melancholy, perky and very, very sweet it uses electronics and organic sounds to create a lush palette from which they've arranged some lovely tunes. Chopped-up samples and fresh rhythms feature along with a similar musical element to, for example, the work of Keiichi Sugimoto (aka Fonica). It has a less experimental sound, though, and there's a purity here that's very easy-going and very appealing.

As ever, if you're into electronic music in any way, this label is always worth checking out.

Available now for £11.99.

Mille Plateaux / Force Inc. Back Catalogue - IN STOCK

One of the most influential labels of modern times, Mille Plateaux was responsible for some seminal releases - just look at their back catalogue and you'll see what I mean.

Initially a collaboration between Air Liquide's Blue label and the already well established Force Inc. Music Works it was created to represent the more leftfield, Electronica-based side of the sounds they were creating.

Looking back at albums such as the 'Modulation & Transformation' series, the 'Clicks & Cuts' series and watershed releases from artists such as Alec Empire, Wolfgang Voigt (aka Gas), Steel, Oval, SND and many more, you get a sense of just how important their output really was.

Bearing that in mind I'm pleased to say that we've struck gold in the way of old and exciting bits from the back catalogue.

Included in this windfall are albums from the likes of Dan Abrams (aka Shuttle358), Shuttle358, Frank Bretschneider, SND, Geoff White, Mikael Stavostrand (aka Vita), Donnacha Costello, Sutekh, Twerk, Achim Wollscheid (on Ritornel), Stephan Mathieu, Sturm and many many more.

These releases are on Mille Plateaux, Force Inc., Force Lab and, of course, Ritornel and feature some truly wonderful music.

If you're into Electronica and fancy hearing some of the best music that came out in the last 10 years, do yourself a favour and check these out!

RF - Views Of Distant Towns - Plop - CD

Finally, the new Plop CD from RF is available and it's an absolute beauty. Feturing a host of live musicians and instruments it uses gentle electronic processing to form a melancholy and beautiful sound that's one part Post-Rock, another part Folk and yet another Electronica.

There are vocals as well and they form an interesting part of the album by seeming more like an instrument than anything else... breathy, sultry and full of atmosphere.

A superb album available for £12.99.

New Sahko releases coming next week

Sahko is one of those labels that has had such an influence on so many electronic artists and musicicans that it's impossible to not be excited about a new batch of releases... even if they are just re-issues!

Chances are, though, that a lot of you will have missed out on them first time around, so this is a perfect opportunity for you to reaquaint yourself with some of the most strikingly minimal sounds ever commited to vinyl or CD.

With represses of Rontgen, Kvantti and Tulkinta by Mika Vainio under his Null guise plus the Pansonic EP and even the wonderful Philus CD, you're guaranteed to be wowed by the undeniably unique nature of these records.

Expected sometime midweek you'll be advised to keep your eyes peeled!

Ryoondo-tea CDs - In stock

I'm pleased to announce that we finally have the new Ryoondo-tea releases from Japan in stock. Been waiting for them for some time and they've more than lived up to expectations.

Plot. and PsysEx deliver artist albums of the highest calibre and there's also a beautiful compilation featuring tracks from some of the recent releases plus a few new bits as well.

If you're unfamiliar with the label you can expect a serious amount of high-class Electronica which ranges from Plop / Spekk style organic minimalism to a more groove based, refined and reduced flava (notably on the PsysEx release).

Packaging is lush, sounds are crisp and mastered to perfection and generally if you're a fan of modern contemporary electronic music, this should definitely be a label that you check out with all haste.

Sublime.

Head on over to http://www.smallfish.co.uk to check them out.

Happy New Year from Smallfish

Happy New Year to you all and welcome to a brand new year in the life of Smallfish Records.

Expect lots of posts and lots of news about what's happening release wise and events in the store wise this year as we've got some great shows lined up and plenty of good things for you to listen to.

Peace to you all and may 2006 be a fabulous year for everyone.