Wilson Tanner
Legends

Efficient Space honours the memory of producer and MC Ali Omar with Hashish Hits, a posthumous selection from the dub rebel’s self-released discography.One of ten children in working-class Liverpool, Omar drew deep influence from his father's Arabic heritage - a thread central to his identity and sample origins. After art school and a spell clubbing during Manchester's halcyon days, he relocated to Sydney, where he co-founded the blunted downbeat duo Atone with fellow British expatriate Andy Fitzgerald. As an MC, he infiltrated the city’s house, dub, jungle, and bass circuits, becoming a regular fixture at the Bentley Bar, where he commanded the mic with his versatile, rumbling baritone and charisma.Freakishly talented in the studio, Omar was a pioneer of the Akai sampler and Atari, deftly recording live sessions straight to DAT. Drawing on industry insights from his sister, Merseybeat firebrand Beryl Marsden - who supported The Beatles on their final UK tour and was signed to Decca and Columbia - the non-conformist sought to build a self-sufficient business model. Between 1998 and 2004, he independently issued four albums on CD through his Hashish Studios imprint, hustling copies directly to local record stores and live shows for instant returns, even hand-sewing screen-printed hessian sleeves for his final release.Uncompromising in his principles and refusing to suffer fools or charlatans, Omar relished the opportunity to collaborate with those who embodied the same spirit. Hashish Hits offers a snapshot of his inner sanctum - Fitzgerald on the opening track's billowing smoke stacks, the serpentine vocals of Gina Mitchell and the magic hands of mixer Louis Mitchell on 'On Release,' and Wicked Beat Sound System’s Kye on 'Poor Man Beggar Man Thief'. Meanwhile, 'Suicide Bomber' smoulders with the tension of a lost Muslimgauze relic, as the instructional 'Roll Up' and 'The Last Straw' spiral deeper into Omar’s signature production vortex - where space stretches in slow motion and walls reverberate with ricocheting delay.A true icon of Sydney’s underground scene, the larger-than-life Omar passed away on 23 June 2009 after a valiant battle with cancer. He is remembered for his assertive spirit, larrikin humour, wild anarchic personality, and enduring mantra: “Love and live your life”.

Pierre Bujeau is an expert at creating temporary escape zones - musical structures to evade the everyday. Sometimes he works collectively as part of the mysterious French groups Omertà and Tanz Mein Herz. But it’s when he’s on his own, performing as Megabasse, that he offers the most complete break from reality.His kit is simple: a few bottles of cheap lager, twin Fender amps, and his double-necked guitar. An instrument like this normally signals maximum rockist excess - think Jimmy Page, Geddy Lee, or that dude from the Eagles. In Pierre’s hands, it becomes more like a zither or a dulcimer, producing soft chiming patterns that build against themselves until the sound of the room, passed back and forth between his two amps, starts to blur everything, and we are away in another world. Wait, though - let down your yoga bun and don’t light the palo santo yet. The new space he creates has nothing to do with smug wellness. It’s a rough, do-it-yourself psychedelia, scuffed but hopeful. Not a perfect blank space to be your best self in, but instead a communal dreaming, an uncanny place where all are welcome.Until now, without catching him live, the Megabasse experience has been difficult to find: CD-Rs, short-run tapes, and one blink-and-you-missed-it LP. Thankfully, this record on Efficient Space, a... morecreditsreleased March 28, 2025Recorded in November 2023 with D'Incise at the Pacheco' Chapel,BrusselsTracks originally released on cassette via MascarponeDiscos, 2024Mixed by Guilhem LacrouxMastered by Mikey YoungOriginal woodcut by Valentin CaponyDesign by Steele Bonus

Sleep D’s latest offering, ‘Big Sky, Liquid Sun’ is a 4-track sonic odyssey from the sacred to the seismic, inspired by the duo's deepened connection to the natural world and their surroundings.The opener Green Thumbs introduces the EP with what feels like divine invocation, built on expansive string refrains and an enveloping vocal choir. They dialogue with a warm bassline, whose resonance is a sermon on the power of low-end evangelism. Patient and deliberate, the track weaves in high-end synth flutters and a trance-gated vocal that hide-and-seek before the kick arrives, solidifying its pull with surging breakbeat.Mountain Ash flips the tone, grounding itself in a steady, driving techno beat. An arpeggiated synth-line ripples through spatialised percussion, evoking ascent — each beat a step higher. Acheron Cauldron is the EP’s peak, with amplified energy erupting in volcanic climax. At top the sonic crater, the relentless and unruly kick dominates, while a pulsating bassline bifurcates — one part undulating and low, the other resonant and sharp. Foreground whispers add an eerie thrill, making the track a potent, analeptic weapon.To close the EP, Magma Flow slows into a trance-inducing finale. Repetitive synth-lines create a sense of dreamy and languid reflection, like watching molten lava slowly cascade. True to Big Sky, Liquid Sun, Magma Flow keeps melody at its core, closing with vocals and synths that linger in a hanging farewell. The journey is complete.

Efficient Space: ...Le Raccourci is a welcome introduction to the world of modern classical identity Sebastian Gandera. The impressionist landscapes of a sensitive soul self-reflecting, these miniature compositions alternate across a rudimentary set up of piano, field recorder, sampler and four track. Melancholic utterings hastily captured some 100km east of Paris.Classically trained by the same teacher as his parents, Gandera first began recording in the confines of his university dorm room, inspired by a C60 from friend and future collaborator Bernard Odot (A Gethsémani). Humbly existing without sparing a thought to music industry or career, Gandera’s personal effects surfaced via the European and US cassette networks from 1988 to 1994. Impressively accomplished for the DIY scene they orbited, these tapes were issued in scant quantities, rendering his pieces as private secrets shared and duplicated in small concentric circles. Aside from a sole, avowedly traumatic performance, the material was never shared in a live context.Selected by Sky Girl co-conspirer Julien Dechery, Le Raccourci culls 15 tracks from Gandera’s extensive cassette discography, discarded DAT recordings, and split CD with Lyon toy music project Klimperei. These sentiently charged compositions only hint at his larger catalogue, but act as a compelling cross section of the artist’s oeuvre. The identity is further detailed by archival images, Glen Goetze penned liner notes and original artwork from Perks and Mini’s Misha Hollenbach.While Gandera’s nostalgic melodies incidentally parallel with the piano key manoeuvres of Pascal Comelade, Robert Haigh and Dominique Lawalrée, Le Raccourci could only stem from the escapist desires of one Eric Morin.

Singing Dust: ...One of Australia’s most mysterious jazz long players, the eponymous creation of Queensland pianist Robert Welsh. Originally released in 1986, Singing Dust offers a dynamic collection of songs rich in expressive performance and compositional fluidity. Inspired by the sounds of Indian devotional song, the jazz piano styles of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, English folk music and Debussey’s tonal impressions, this is a work of true dedication and posterity that will appeal to many serious music lovers. Restored from original master tapes by Fresh Hold Releases & @efficientspace.Singing Dust - Singing DustRobert Welsh - Vocals, Vocal Harmonies, Bosendorfer, Grand Piano, Rhodes Electric Piano, Korg Synthesizer, Recorders, Percussion, Conga Drum and Xylophone.Raine Mormon - Vocals and Vocal Harmonies.Ewan McKenzie - Guitar.