Parris Mitchell
Butter Fly

Following up after the mental drop by Detroit’s Master of Repetition, Population One, we have a new signing hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun, helping us to set the standards for this new imprint—uncompromised techno funk! Japanese producer Imugem Orihasam has spent the past 3 years slowly evolving. His early work on Ilian Tape and Esperanza sounds like that of an already seasoned craftsman digesting Detroit bit by bit, with a focus on lush textures and swooning eerie melodies. This past year has seen a spike in activity for Imugem, with releases on Patrice Scott’s Sistrum Recordings, Berlin’s Nsyde, and Adam Marshall’s New Kanada—all showcasing a more focused and exuberant approach that has sharpened his reflective compositions. With GEM, Imugem steps away from the supple melodies and tranquil atmospheres for a trip deep into the power plant. Working far from his comfort zone, he has fired off five tracks of puristic, hypnotic techno. We don’t mean template-driven chunky white label Discogs bait either, but something fashioned out of raw sound that places the channeling of energy above composition and cleverness.

Part 1 of the Needs (not wants) retrospective, comes with an insert with a collage of archival photos and liner notes by Gerd Janson. Re-mastered by François Kevorkian.Sometimes, three words are enough to tell it all. Accordingly, the core story of Needs – the musical adventure of brothers Lars and Marek Bartkuhn and their partner Jan “Yannick” Elverfeld – can be understood from the inspiration behind this compilation’s title. Paying homage to the title of a lesser-known Marshall Jefferson and Ce Ce Rogers production for Strictly Rhythm, Needs (not wants) typifies their aesthetic, ethos, innovations and modus operandi.Materializing in this collection are some of the outfits’ best takes (from 1999 to 2006), moments of glory and predictive flashes of genius paint a beautiful picture of what can happen if devotion and imagination are paired with moxie and skill.