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viewing 1 To 21 of 21 items
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2LP
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CCS 130LP
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Alan Abrahams aka Portable returns to the label in fine form with his latest full-length LP, Augmented Dreams. The title refers to the use of everyday technological advancements to achieve what were once only dreams or visions of past generations, making this an explorative concept album that is equal parts not-too-distant science fiction, and about as topical as it gets. From the gorgeous opening string layers of "The Pull of Time" to the classy 4/4 grooves of "Begin Again" or lead single "Guiding Me", into the apropos and angular sci-fi broken beat feels of "Parallax" and "The Color of Static", fitting Detroit-influenced love taps like "Beacon" and "The Mycorrhizal Network", the politically-inspired "Are We Not Above It?" referencing the lingering effects of colonization featuring NiQ E from South Africa on vocals and L_cio from Brazil on flute, through to the futurist pop elegance of the dreamy duet recorded with Alexey Kochetkov "I Need You" and the conclusive titular track, it is clear that both the in-depth concept and immaculately-crafted musical content in Portable's inimitable style are balanced in significance and expressive effect. This also functions as a timely statement in itself, as today's iceberg-tip evolution of AI technology is currently impending over the arts and many of our existing realities. This ten-song album serves as an imaginative yet hyperrealist narrative on how humanity's fascination with and reliance on ever-advancing technology defines the times we find ourselves in, while the skillful sonic displays and present-era production techniques along with Abraham's knack for timeless emotive songwriting offer up this solid soundtrack for the ages.
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12"
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CCS 126EP
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The ever-prolific and established artist Alan Abrahams aka Portable makes a swift and very welcome return to Circus Company with the impressive lead single "Guiding Me", giving you an early taste of his forthcoming album, Augmented Dreams. Conceptually the direction of this new project refers to the use of technology to alter our dreams, inadvertently or not, as so much tech advancement becomes available and ingrained in our daily lives. The timely lead single here inspired by Abraham's South African ancestors the Khoi San people and the guidance they provide, appropriately exuding both futurist formed sonics and dream-like tenderness in content, led by his dulcet-toned vocals and delivered with the super solid production we've come to expect. Wonderful multi-purpose electronic music which will find itself right at home on late-night discerning dancefloors, or indeed guiding the listener through their respective travels, solo meditations or get-downs in headphones. Along with the excellent "Guiding Me" original mix, you are graced with a masterful remix by Hamburg's Lawrence of Smallville and Dial fame, who takes the track into an even more floor-focused realm with his patented rolling sub-bass lines which will guarantee plenty of summertime sound system finessing, as well as the EP-exclusive B2 track "Vigor" in which Portable goes even deeper in tone with classic styled vocal cut-ups and repurposed shards of tasty sound design added to keep the dancers endlessly entranced when and wherever they may be.
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12"
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CCS 122EP
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In the wake of Portable's acclaimed album My Sentient Shadow (CCS 120LP, 2022) comes a trio of remixes which expand on his unique slant on techno and synth-pop. Finding three artists who reflect his own experimental tendencies within dance music, Alan Abraham's original productions head into unexpected new places while retaining the physical, club-ready energy he manages to instill in his own creations. A true auteur within techno, DJ Qu brings a sense of poise and drama to "The Spacetime Curvature" as he patiently builds the track into a fierce peak time monster driven by snarling bass and his signature sizzling, shuffled percussion. Patrice Scott has a reliably smooth, immersive approach to deep Detroit house, and it lends itself beautifully to Abraham's melancholic vocal on "I Feel Stronger Now". Leaning in on the jazz dimension of his wide-ranging electronica, Call Super revels in the sweetness of "Ripple Effect" and places delicate piano playing upfront before slipping into a relaxed, sentimental kind of garage and eventually edging towards an uplifting, off-center strain of house music. Individual in their own right and yet naturally entwined with the emotional intention of the original versions, this is a set of remixes which pay full credit to the source material while offering something you won't expect, like a great remix should do. Color eco vinyl.
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2LP
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CCS 120LP
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Following hot on the heels of lead single and recent mind-body tantalizer "I Feel Stronger Now", Circus Company present Portable's latest full-length My Sentient Shadow. Filled to the brim with all of the inventiveness the sonic auteur has commanded you can expect from his sizable and consistent body of work on world-renown labels such as Perlon, ~scape, !K7, his own Süd Electronic and Khoikhoi imprints, and Circus Company, offering perhaps the most cohesive, emotive, and balanced of his highly-admirable catalog here to date. By using the analogy of a shadow that possesses its own consciousness, the theme of light and its distortion vs. balance with the inherent and necessary darkness that surrounds it is in clear vision. Immediately from the warmly bizarre vibes of opening cut "The Simulacrum", it's clear Portable is requesting clearance to other worlds of funk and ingenuity. The delightfully trippy, smoky, back-room of the Tattooine Cantina feel sets the stage just right to curb expectations and let the carefully constructed noise movements wash over you. Elsewhere amongst the generous set you'll find tracks like "Cages" and "Ripple Effect" continue in the direction of horizontally-maximized aural tapestries oozing with texture, while at the other end of the energy spectrum pieces such as "The Self-Assembling" and "We Exist" roll and bounce with all the sci-fi gyrations and slick synth layers hinting at a hypnotic halfway rendezvous point to his Bodycode moniker. And of course, no proper Portable outing would be complete without his own robust tenor vocal tone, which feels right at home front-and-center on the space travel anthem "The Spacetime Curvature" and used in more calculated micro-doses on "Analogue World", as well as the gorgeous "Foreign to You" whose meta-title features a rare guest starring vocalist NiQ.E, and brings to hearts some of Herbert's finer moments with dear friend Dani Siciliano, albeit done-up entirely in some distant yet alluring parallel dimension. The LP journey finishes with the frenetically-charged closer "Fractal Distortion" which will no doubt please many-a cosmic techno purist while making percussion masters from the afterlife such as Jaki Liebezeit and Tony Allen proud, and is quite possibly the closest thing to a danceable musical take on the current state of cognitive dissonance in the world that surrounds everything, offering you a one-way ticket out from the not-too-distant future. "We Exist" features Mandy Alexander. Includes download code.
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12"
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DIAL 075EP
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Since the early aughts, Alan Abrahams, aka Portable, has been producing records for labels like Perlon, Live At Robert Johnson, K7, and Süd Electronic. With a new band project RANGEr, the South Africa born Alan Abrahams is an artist in-between genres. A Life Without Notifications is now here, marking his first release for Dial records.
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12"
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K7 334-2EP
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Portable presents This Frozen Lake. "Odd bedfellows as they might seem, minimal's clinical precision and the trembling passion of vintage soul have been entwined throughout Alan Abrahams's career. As Portable, the South African producer has made intriguing connections between the two genres, with ballads sung in a drowsy, soulful baritone over repetitive electronic grooves." --Resident Advisor. Includes two mixes by Bodycode and Shackleton.
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12"
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K7 334-1EP
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Portable is Alan Abrahams, a South African born artist and producer. Always experimenting with rhythm and imbuing his music with a wide world of influences, Say It's Going To Change proves that once more. This 12" single sees Deetron and Bodycode (featuring Ursula Rucker) deliver remixes alongside exclusive track of "Balanese Nights".
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12"
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PLAYRJC 040EP
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Alan Abrahams, better known as Bodycode and Portable, returns with a fragile and romantic piece of house music, "I Reflect Thee," under the Portable alias. "I Reflect Thee" features all of his great signature moves, and is backed here with an a capella version for brave DJs and a serious "Flutramental."
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12"
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PLAYRJC 034EP
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"Mesdames et messieurs, Ramona is proud to welcome one of the most delicate flowers in the business back into her flock of loved ones. Alan Abrahams, better known as Bodycode and Portable, returns to Ramona's bosom with his new single, Surrender. Enjoy a five-minute trip to a very emotional place without leaving the dancefloor. Soft synths and a cozy drum rhythm make the perfect bed for the longing of Abrahams' deeply sensitive voice. Includes dub and a capella versions. Ramona has already given herself to the soft and warm sounds of Mr. Portable -- why wouldn't you? Bon voyage, Ramona"
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12"
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PERL 102EP
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New songs for eternity by Alan Abrahams aka Portable.
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12"
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PERL 093EP
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Portable reworked by Soul Capsule, Tofu Productions and Dimbiman. Plus a bonus mix of "Find Me" by Alan Abrahams himself.
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12"
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PLAYRJC 021EP
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The music of Portable is truly unique. Habitually, Perlon's in-house singer and also the man that is Bodycode, Alan Abrahams is capable of evoking the spirits of traditional deep house songs. A Process features all his great sound signature moves, comes with an a cappella for brave DJs and a serious Flutramental on top of it all for the faint of heart.
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CD
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PERL 088CD
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On the fifth album by Alan Abrahams aka Portable, he teams up with Efdemin, Johannes Schön and Süd Electronic label-mate Lakuti, to lead us Into Infinity. During the last 15 years, Alan has lived and composed in South Africa, England, Portugal and Germany. He has released records on Background, Context, Karat, Musik Krause, ~scape, Spectral, his very own Süd Electronics label and Yore.
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2LP
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PERL 088LP
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2LP version. On the fifth album by Alan Abrahams aka Portable, he teams up with Efdemin, Johannes Schön and Süd Electronic label-mate Lakuti, to lead us Into Infinity. During the last 15 years, Alan has lived and composed in South Africa, England, Portugal and Germany. He has released records on Background, Context, Karat, Musik Krause, ~scape, Spectral, his very own Süd Electronics label and Yore.
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12"
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PERL 083EP
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Alan Abrahams is Portable and this is his second 12" for Perlon. After spending some time in London and Berlin, Alan recently moved to Lisbon, where he continuously works on his very own definition of house. While A-side "Life Magically" is a stripped-down mental monster, the B-side offers the perfect love song entitled "Find Me." It's all about the soul.
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12"
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MKR 028EP
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Alan Abraham (aka Portable, Bodycode) belongs to the special world of electrical thump and sizzle. For his first release on Musik Krause, he presents two personable pieces. The first features big-mouthed beats held at gunpoint against a restrained, early '90s zeitgeist and today's production know-how. "The Shallow Final" is a nocturnal killer dusted with a flurry of deep, post-wave house. Ecstatic dancefloor control.
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12"
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PERL 070EP
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2022 repress, originally released in 2008. Alan Abrahams, that's the man behind Portable, born and raised in South Africa, where he started to produce music in the '90s. In 1997 he moved to London. After several releases on labels like Context or Background, he started his own imprint Süd Electronic around 2002. Another project named Bodycode was born and found a home at USA-based Spectral, the sister label of Ghostly. His first Portable album was released at the end of 2007 through Süd Electronic. Abrahams' first release for Perlon is this incredible deep 12" entitled Knowone Can Take Away. Two songs for eternity.
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CD
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SUD 011CD
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[deleted] Powers of Ten is Alan Abrahams' (aka Portable, Bodycode ) first full-length album on his very own Süd Electronic label, after well-received albums on Background Records and ~scape and a 2006 long-player as Bodycode on Ghostly International's affiliated label, Spectral Sound. Powers of Ten is the rich, expansive record that Abrahams has always wanted to make, as he further explores his African heritage and absorbs new influences from Portugal, his current country of residence. This is partly achieved through collaboration -- a thread that runs through the album. On "Arrabida," he works with classical Portuguese guitarist Mario MPEX, on "Shifting Sunlight" with Tor from the brilliant Portuguese guitar duo, Dead Combo, and he is also reunited with long-time collaborator Leo Fernandes, the London-based bass player, on "Kuiper Belt." Abrahams also tries his vocal capabilities on the album, a talent which was demonstrated impressively on the Take Action EP at the start of 2007, also on Süd Electronic. Powers of Ten perfectly illustrates the dualistic nature of Abrahams' work, which can sit comfortably in a home-listening context and also prove just as convincing on the dancefloor. The latter quality is especially evident on opener "Albatross" with its infectious vocal, on the Detroit-influenced Afro-joint "Locate," the more overtly techy "Offline Mondays" and the electrified "Trade Winds." There is a vast range of influences on this record, but surely one of Abrahams' greatest gifts is his ability to assimilate these influences, creating a coherent, never clichéd piece of modern electronic music, inimitably his own.
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2LP
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SCAPE 029LP
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CD
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SCAPE 029CD
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Version, Alan Abrahams' (aka Portable) second full-length album, is simultaneously archaic and totally futuristic, avidly exploring the fringes of techno and house. A resident of London via Capetown/South Africa, a superficial listen to Portable will reveal close parallels to the hyper-modern splinter-funk of the likes of Sutekh and his Context label where Portable also released his first record. On this release, futuristic elements that sound like miniscule spikeless particles strung together, pop up and then disappear within the tiniest fraction of a second, but are not relegated to the barrenness of micro-sampling techno. The archaic aspects of Portable's sound become most apparent in the unique sources Abrahams has unearthed for this release: reassembled field recording fragments of ancient African polyrhythms and syncopes. These snippets offer blurred glimpses of the jungle or a campfire, with the crackling taking on the character of ur-beats. Using modern audio software to digitally rework and filter these samples, they are given new shine, while preserving their old heritage -- their lore. The resulting sound is far from the "world music techno" some may have feared. Instead, Abrahams' Version represents a truly unfettered Afro-futuristic variant of techno that elegantly and serenely circumnavigates any prevalent beats, sub-scenes and trends. Abrahams allows syncopated bass drums, like dancehall rhythms, to mess with the static matrix of conventional 4/4 signatures while adding a polyrhythmic flow to the proceedings. Nevertheless, Version is also deep, soft, round and organic. Here "Portable" refers to Alan's home, often no more than the soft glow of a laptop in the twilight of a hotel room, somewhere in this world.
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CD
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BG 037CD
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[deleted] "Cycling by Portable is the album we always dreamed of doing as a record label. It combines so many things in one; raw and sexy very unique electronic music with a strong modern groove, based on the traditional rhythms of early Chicago house music. Most tracks are dancey, while perfect for listening as well, always staying interesting and diverse, yet always with Alan Abrahams(Portable) very personal handwriting."
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viewing 1 To 21 of 21 items
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