Sleep D
Gummy Dreams

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 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”.

Despite productions appearing here and there since 2015, Yuzo Iwata has kept a relatively low output. Contributing tracks to compilations and releasing singles under aliases Fabio Lazaro and Almost East, Iwata is also affiliated with Junki Inoue’s recent SAISEI label, editing pioneering early Japanese techno from the likes of Suzukiski and COLOGNe for rerelease.After ‘Acid House’ appeared on the Butter Sessions Come Together 12” in 2020, the label now play host to Yuzo Iwata’s first ever full length. The 10 tracks span a wide variety of tempos and show a consistent approach to unusual sound design first evidenced in Iwata’s RA Mix of the Day for Clubberia (100% originals recorded circa 2017).Kaizu unfolds with dense environmental ambient textures before ‘Neverland’ takes us into broken dancehall rhythms and acid-tinged dub. ‘Funclub’ is reminiscent of Japanese video game soundtracks and 80s fusion whilst further into Side A the balearic energy continues to captivate, closing with the beautiful ‘Heroes Show Up Late’. This short piece is built around a looping vocal sample and shuffling drum work that all come together perfectly. There’s even a trace of Brazilian MPB influence at play with the vocal/synth interplay. It’s Iwata’s knack for percussion that is most evident across the album however, with Side B opening cut ‘Gamelion’ taking an Indonesian inspired approach to modern techno. It runs in a similar vein to Komodo Kolektif’s work and might be the dancefloor highlight of the whole LP. ‘Sundance’ follows with more Japanese motifs, recalling Haruomi Hosono’s F.O.E project. Another strong rhythmic workout suited to the floor. The environmental ambient textures return with the closing piece ‘Time 2 L’, strings, bird calls and droning synthesiser winding down the proceedings. Letting us know it’s time 2 leave?