The British star producers Xenomania (Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes) recently asked Naomi for a sample (they got it); Naomi's three year old fan favourite "Needle On The Record" is a constant seller in the US iTunes Store; their Myspace and Facebook pages are brimming with love letters from Russia, Mexico, Texas or Taiwan. In their native Germany they are still something of a best-kept secret, regardless of consistently euphoric press reviews, but this might well change with The Big Shapes, their new, fifth Album on Mole Listening Pearls. The abundance of ideas, the songwriting, the attitude – everything has grown bigger, louder and sharper in the Naomi universe. Bernd Lechler and Nico Tobias still show the odd fit of incurable melancholy, but this time any world weariness comes clad in choruses that make you want to shout "Holy Kylie!". The overall sound of the album reminds one of... well, nothing else, really. Massive backbeats carry scratchy guitar riffs, buzzing synths cut through gentle electric piano lines as the Berlin duo digs deep into the pop vocabulary of the past four decades. "Fujiyama“ is an electro blues with elegiac Melodica and a downright symphonic final, “Candy Floss“ is a lazily stomping contemporary funk pop monster, and what happens in “Hello Fever“ after a soaring cosmic intro could almost be labeled as prog rock. The thing is, Naomi never play it safe here. They seem to intentionally provoke the coolness police, casting away any tasteful cleverness of comparable indietronic acts and, smiling quietly, they lay it on thick. The Big Shapes draws on the forbidden side of the Eighties (the Phil Collins drums on “Morning Belle“), mischievously quotes heavy metal guitar lines (as for a few bars in “Dragon Tree“), and makes nods toward Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode as well as Chic and the psychedelic Beatles. The final track “I‘ll Be The Past“, possibly the most touching song of the album, is a humble, obviously autobiographically inspired meditation on mortality, almost a prayer. Reviewing their last album, Aquarium, Rolling Stone magazine described Naomi as “wondrous“. They still are. Just this time with a bang. Available formats: CD, mp3.

There could be no summer on Ibiza without a new summer soundtrack from Mole Listening Pearls. The artists from the label translated again their visions of relaxing, holidays, beaches beyond the sea into perfect music. Mole Listening Pearls has always been crossing the borders without losing its distinctive identity. Mole is unbound to defined styles and outer limits being pigeonholed at all. The established Mole artists like Naomi, Audio Lotion, nor elle, Alphawezen, The Lushlife Project and moodorama beyond new faces on the label like The Burhorn, Johannes Huppertz, Zagar and The Casino Royal create an acoustic mosaic which is constantly reassembled but always remains recognisable. A paradox: although there is no typical Mole sound, you can immediately feel and sense the sound of Mole. The resolution to this paradox is anchored in the label´s core ideas and the mission of the Mole artists. The mission of the artists can be found in their music with the music being their message. The core ideas of Mole include the determined willingness to foster its artists and to provide them with time and space to develop their message. Available format: mp3.

"Green, the colour of the trees stands for life, vitality and renewal. Sometimes when you look into people´s faces and consider the global situation, you will have the impression as if over thousands of years, all the green in humans has fadded. Some people look like dead trees, withourt leaves, no blossoms, no sap flows anymore. For the planet´s future I wolud like to see mankind dancing, full of joy and rotted in the earth again, so their sap rises and that luxuriant leaves and green can flourish." Philip Gubelmann is the guide and leader of sax o' conga, born 1978 in Zurich, learned at the age of 10 years, playing the saxophone along with his twin brother, and later flute. Musical experience he earned at the "Swiss Jazz School in Bern and played in various funk bands and jazz groups," lead-alto at "ETH Big Band", live acts with DJs, gospel choirs, studio musicians, etc. International, he performed with Big Bands (France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, China) and the band of DJ "Minus 8" (London, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Mastricht, Munich, Basel, Bern, Zurich, etc.), in which he also played the sax on the albums of DJ Minus 8 "Minuit" and "Eclectica". Currently Philipp plays e.g. with the singer Jillene Luce (USA), which could relase her own song on the latest "Cafe del Mar" CD. Finally, he is also saxophoneist in the "Swiss Army Big Band" directed by Pepe Lienhard. In addition to the performances is expanding his musical work on composing and producing music. "Green Groove" is Chill-Out and Jazz in one. Wonderful melodies and saxophone solos make this album a unique treat for the ears. "Life is a gift and wonderful!" Available formats: CD, mp3.

If Audio Lotion's new album were the soundtrack for a crime, then the latter would have been committed out of love and passion in self-defense: our hero was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, too often – well, "Bad Timing" – and he knows too much... Mr. Gamma is on the run, in a silver-grey Jaguar XKR, racing along the Côte d'Azur from Nice via Eze sur Mer towards Monaco. At the wheel there's a cross between Jason Bourne, 007, and Ethan Hunt, betrayed by friends and foes, hunted by his past. Escape, start anew somewhere, or face his pursuers and wipe them out? In a speedboat across the rough Mediterranean Sea to Algier. There, those dogs almost get him! Through the deadly Sahara into the orient. Waingro, an old contact in Beirut, provides him with the necessary gadgets. The chase continues with 140 BPM! Run, hide, or die! Such scenes are being conjured up before the mind's eye when hearing the album. But Audio Lotion add a good measure of irony to their play with the spy movie genre. The title "Bad Timing" and the visual design of the album showing the spy who didn’t "come in from the cold", but "tripped at the most unfortunate moment", already suggest that there’s not always an invincible hero à la James Bond behind the wheel, but sometimes a Maxwell Smart or an Inspector Clouseau. One is reminded of a likeable, but slightly awkward, protagonist who, at the decisive moment, lacks the necessary quantum of luck – and, well, timing. Every once in a while, the music picks up that theme, too, and produces a rhythmical hiccup, an odd melody or a not completely serious bit of movie dialogue. And although all this is served with the necessary touch of "amusement", deep inside, one never really doubts that the hero of the stories the album tells is the coolest guy in the business. Available formats: CD, mp3.

"Café International" was one of the most successful board games the late 80s. The guests of different nationalities must be placed at the tables of a café. Just playfully John Huppertz sees on his first album "Eternal Change" for Mole Listening Pearls Lounge, Downbeat and Chillout to place in various sound environments. On his second album "Café International" he swirls the table orders of genres from song to song confused voluptuous. So by this musical "get-together" it is like creating new friendships in a uncomplicated way. Unobtrusive friendly small talk, always create harmony in the search for new variations and interesting sound structures, the rhythmic and melodic always find the "the perfect moment". The songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Huppertz has published in the last few years a lot of tracks on several project names (including Area 42, Newton) and his tracks are present on many popular compilations. John Huppertz is a tireless composer and artist, whereby his harmony structures always seems more important than simple "factory preset sounds". Available format: mp3.

Minus 8 from Zurich instigated and compiled the new "Science Fiction Jazz", which is dedicated to upcoming music streams in the area of electronic, downbeat, listening and lounge. This compilation series is one of the most well-known compilations in this area. Science Fiction Jazz Volume Twelve is a quality product that is always with high-level international cast accents. Not only danceable, but also feasible. Just Science Fiction ... The Zurich based Robert Jan Meyer aka Minus 8, who compiled from the beginning the "Science Fiction Jazz Series" presents now the Volume Twelve on Mole Listening Pearls to continue the successful compilation series. Eclectic the CD focuses not on one style, but is dedicated to downbeat, the soulful and jazzy uptempo and even funk & soul. The Science Fiction Jazz Volume Twelve includes tracks by Laidback, Wax Tailor, Audio Lotion, Cool Million, Zagar and many more. Available formats: CD, mp3.

Jean F. Cochois - famous for his alter ego "The Timewriter" - releases his fourth electronic longplayer and created a unique niche suited in the wide field of the genre Ambient/Electronic for his selection. His former releases - remixes for Enigma or Ex-Kraftwerk producer Wolfgang Flür (Yamo) amongst others - stand for new devised cliches and love for the music that lives in the details. At the age of 16, he founded his first electronic band and experimented with home-made effect-processors. Some years later, as member of Brigade Werther, he jumped on the EBM train and and did freelance compositions for avantgarde theatre plays like "Subtonik“ and "Exploding Faust“ at "Freies Theater“ in Frankfurt. These mutimedia performances earned him enthused reviews. He also released five successful and critically acclaimed house albums on the label Plastic City under his pseudonym "The Timewriter". The new album "Gold In The Attic" includes 15 songs of an artist who walks his own ways with emotional denseness and expertly flair as regards sound and rhythm. These tracks came into being as demos, session recordings and finished tracks that have somehow been fallen into oblivion after being put on tape or CDR and stored in dusty drawers. It's a mixture of mainly electronic influence and also a bit of soul and jazz. While listening to the material again Jean F. Cochois and Mole Listening Pearls had the idea to bundle some of these within a long player. That's "Gold In The Attic". Available formats: CD, mp3.

Zagar are a headliner of the Hungarian electronic music scene. Their unique sound is based on electronic tunes, dub and rock elements flavoured by Eastern European soundtrack moods. The story of the band began in 2001 after the Shallow and Profound Tour, when three members of the "Yonderboi Quintet" (the live band around the Hungarian artist Yonderboi) started rehearsing separately from the Quintet. First, Balázs Zságer, Andor Kovács and DJ Bootsie performed as "Pulzus". The material they put together during the rehearsals and the earlier solo works of Balázs Zságer were synthesized and led to the creation of the characteristic sounds of the new band. In the summer of 2002 they played at different festivals in Hungary and abroad as well: this time under the new band name "Zagar". That year they also recorded their first album "Local Broadcast". The album received a warm welcome abroad by professionals and collectors alike. In Hungary, the album was selected for the chart of the 50 all time most important Hungarian records by the music magazine WAN2 beside albums from Yonderboi and Anima Sound System. As they are all experienced musicians, their main virtue is playing live. Today Zagar has five members: Balázs Zságer (producing, keyboards, vocals), Andor Kovács (guitar), Ákos Zságer Varga (bass), DJ Bootsie (scratches) und Tibor Lázár (drums). On top of this George Ligeti is frequently a featured vocalist. On their second album entitled "Cannot Walk Fly Instead", they mix cosmic electronic tunes with psychedelic prog-rock while sometimes using church choir elements and quotes from movies to merge the past and the future in a surrealistic way. For the song "Wings of Love" they invite on top six of the most popular independent female singers from Hungary (The Underground Divas). The concept of the album is a kind of exodus from the stereotypes of cosmopolitan urban living, delving into the mysteries and spiritual experiences of the 21st Century Man. They try to convey their imaginations with simple regular issues as solitude, desire for love, nostalgia or vanity. Available formats: 2CD, mp3; Albumtrailer: Cannot Walk Fly Instead; Interview with Balázs Zságer.

The Aachen-based duo Alphawezen are hard at work on their fourth album. In the meantime, though, to sweeten up the wait, they’ve come out with a painstakingly compiled double CD featuring a few rare renditions, remixes of songs by such illustrious producers as Nightmares On Wax and Dadamnphreaknoizphunk, and some previously unreleased mixes of their own. Those who don’t know Alphawezen yet should check out this latest release by the duo from Aachen and Düsseldorf. The Snow Glow double disc showcases the multilayered soundscapes traversed by producer Ernst Wawra and his congenial singer Asu Yalcindag. Featured collaborators range from the brutally minimalist Holz through the revolutionary Mediengruppe Telekommander to established house producer The Timewriter and downtempo legend Nightmares On Wax. Ernst Wawra, a German-artistic Melville Hall in his own right (involved in projects like Mittekill and Elektro Willi und Sohn), is a chameleon in the best sense of the word, metamorphosing and mixing up the tracks himself, contrasting experimental (“Frost”) with pop (“White Noise”). Some of the tracks belong in a synthesizer museum (the first tracks were written for a modern dance performance at the Expo 98 in Lisbon), others could easily serve as soundtracks for commercials. As a matter of fact, Alphawezen songs are often used in movies and TV productions. Not only have Alphawezen outlived the lounge hype, they will deftly and always a bit melancholically weave their way through the nonstop beer buzz of New Rave blissfulness. Available formats: 2CD, mp3.

Junichi Hoshino is one of the most revered producers working in Tokyo today. Under his alias, Tokyo Counterpoint, he has mixed disparate styles into one intoxicating musical brew. Originally producing and remixing tracks for some of Japan’s biggest J-Pop acts, he has stretched out into uncharted territory with Tokyo Counterpoint’s brilliant “Oval”. Working under the Tokyo Counterpoint alias since 2004, Junichi Hoshino’s blends breezy bossa nova bounce with ethereal jazz-tinged electronica, defying genres and transcending labels. From the opening notes of “To the Sky”, Junichi Hoshino takes the listener on a highflying aural journey to the stars and back. With majestic piano, bright summer beats and understatedly funky bass, “To the Sky” announces Hoshino’s stately vision of silky smooth grooves. One of the undeniable highlights of the song is the vocals of Japanese chanteuse WAWA. Her vocal range is as sprawling as Junichi Hoshino’s musical pallet, her voice capable of high-pitched cascades and lower register phrasing. Hailing from rural Akita in northern Japan, Hoshino brought his unique musical sense to the bright lights of Tokyo where he began working with established Japanese pop acts. But it is with Tokyo Counterpoint that Junichi Hoshino really shines. Espousing a production philosophy of “Make the art more pop and make the pop music more art”, “Oval” has achieved these goals on many levels. “Twist of Fate” is a perfect example of this synthesis. What might at first sound like pure pop, is imbued with multifaceted polyrhythms driving it along. To achieve this amalgamation, Junichi Hoshino had the vocalist listen to a 6/8 click track, while the percussionist listened to a 4/4 click track. Junichi Hoshino’s artistic inspirations are the “realities of everyday life”. He walks the same city streets every day. The streets stay the same. But then it rains. And after the rain, the street smells lightly differently. “That’s when I feel inspired”, he muses. “I’m trying to steal that moment. I want that one second of beauty to resonate in my songs”. These moments of beauty resonate abundantly on the Japanese release “Oval” and on the new international release “Oval +”, they are even more plentiful. The new version of the album, totally new produced and remixed in 2009, also features three stellar additional tracks. One of these new songs, the deliciously erotic “Swimming in Love” showcasing the new vocalist Kanata Okajima, is a neo-disco jam that has Junichi Hoshino venturing out into uncharted waters again. Available format: mp3.

The French percussionist and drummer Tony Match was influenced by the famous jazzmen and jazz labels. He created his own style from Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop and Jazzbreakbeats. He started his music lessons at 7 and at the age of 18 he received his College state music Diploma. Close to the Hip Hop & electronic culture, this multi-talent artist decided to dedicate his skills to the music production. Since 1998 he worked together with DJ and Producer Soul G, well known through his engagement with one of the best French Hip-Hop bands "La Rumeur". With him he released the longplayer “Pineapple Corner”, whereof they sold over 10.000 copies, and “Round Trip 2 Tokyo” on Mole Listening Pearls. Furthermore he worked with artists like Dynamax (USA), db Clifford (Canada), Beth Hirsch (USA), Mozez from Zero7 (UK), Sol (Spain/Argentina), Kaori Kaneko (Japan), Neelam (India) and some more. Tony Match produced and mixed more than 100 tracks on major companies & leading independent labels. Together with Soul G he did the new sounddesign for the website of Air France and worked for Pepsi and Peugeot, just to name a few. Since 2008 he is also working on his solo career. In 2008 he released the compilation "Tony Match's Lounge Sessions Vol 1" on the label kju. One year later, in autumn 2009, his first artist album "A Better Place" was released at Mole Listening Pearls. On this album he shows impressive the whole range of his work, in which mixed Lounge and Jazz elements, Hip-Hop and Disco, always accompanied with a flair of urban sound. The sound of "A Better Place" also demonstrate that he is an excellent songwriter and composer. The Tracks on the album are so many-sided that you can simply dance to the tracks or you can just listen to the music during a nice dinner. It's an ultimate "sound journey" around the globe and through time. The listener will found himself again in a club of the seventies in Brazil, at the beginning of last century in Vienna or in the trip-hop spheres of these days. Available format: mp3.

His first album “Tales of the Forgotten Melodies” drew comparisons to the likes of RJD2, Portishead and DJ Shadow, while his second “Hope & Sorrow” (80 000 sold worldwide) landed him a nomination at the prestigious Victoires de la Musiques, as well as the US Indie Awards. Wax Tailor is coming off a year which saw him tour relentlessly (over 200 concerts) and score the title track for the movie “Paris” by Cedric Klapisch as well as a few remixes (Nina Simone, ASA). He is now a well-established and respected producer. Written in both Paris and New York City, his third album “In the Mood for Life” is an organic landscape with orchestral accents. Taking its cues from Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop or 60’s Pop Music, this is one eagerly awaited 52 minute journey. Who else than this necromancer of forgotten melodies can assemble such a wide array of influences and make them coexist with such ease? On Wax Tailor album melancholic melodies reminiscent of The Cocteau Twins strike a delicate balance with a brand of Hip-Hop seldom seen since the days of Jurassic 5. Wax Tailor also masters the art of reinventing oneself, and although his signature sound is immediately identifiable, this new album establishes a true evolution both in terms of production and song writing. Sting instruments, which were once just extras, now assume a more prominent role (Dry Your Eyes, Go Without Me). Where genres once crossed path from one track to another, they now collide within a track (This Train, Fireflies). The resulting sound is denser, more organic as well (Leave It, I Own You…) and the song writing more finely chiseled. With the opening notes, the mood sets the stage. Wax Tailor is now a sound stager, the director of an aural movie whose urban roots meet the perfect casting. Throughout this album, he appropriates a multitude of references with a very personal touch. His music is beyond genres and defies categorization, it is a modern brand of Pop music, designed with a rigor and an expertise that betrays the love this artist puts into his craft. Available formats: CD, 2LP, mp3, mp3 (instrumental); Albumtrailer: In The Mood For Life; Movie: In The Mood For Life (Making of).

Inspired by the "Dolce Vita", the luxurious life at the casino, where women and men are surrounded by money, luxury and gambeling games, "Don´t Play With Me" is the second single from the album "Dolce Vita" by The Casino Royal. This song is again dominated by the battle between men and women, which we are concerned in since the beginning of mankind. The film aesthetics and the soundtracks of the 70s had strong influence on that single. In contrast to the popular music, "The Casino Royal" want to create a Nouvelle Vague, to create something new. Furthermore "The Casino Royal" turns against the drowsiness of a wrong Portuguese intellectual scene to be able to hear the maintained music properly. The song "Don't Play With Me" is a mixture of Fado, electronic beats and moods á la James Bond. The additional remixes by producers like Audio Lotion, nor elle and Volkan brings "Don't Play With Me" into a new range of variation without loosing the special own style. Available format: mp3.

A glorious chorus, which, once heard, you'll never get out of your ears again. A not less striking, powerful beat that sounds like a reminiscence of Phil Collins' most energetic moments. And the heart-rending story of a great love that cannot be. In short: a favorite song. "Morning Belle" is the new single by the Berlin electropop duo Naomi, as typically original as it is compellingly destined for the charts, a roaring harbringer of the album "The Big Shapes" coming out in July 2010. Naomi have been known for their flair for soft melodies, but this time songwriter and sound hacker Lechler and Tobias seem to have thrown all noble reservations overboard: like "Morning Belle“, the whole new album sounds wilder, flashier, tighter, it oscillates between being spartanic and opulent, black-and-white and color, fun and profundity, pop and prog – a goody bag and a great accomplishment. After four albums Naomi’s qualities are no longer a secret to the international scene: the British star producers Xenomania (Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes) recently asked the Berliners for a sample (and they got it), Naomi’s three year old track „Needle On The Record“ is a constant seller in the US iTunes store, and their Myspace and Facebook pages are full of declarations of love by fans from Russia to Mexico and from Texas to Taiwan. It is anyone’s guess why Naomi is still handled as an inside tip in Germany, despite the continued enthusiastic reviews by the SZ, FAZ, Intro, jetzt.de or Rolling Stone. "The Big Shapes“ could change that. And "Morning Belle“ is the first step. Available format: mp3.

The light emitting diode has a big future. Some years ago, tons of kilowatt hours were needed to illuminate a club or a concert hall with color lights. Today it's sufficient to use a small semiconductor device and a small amount of watt for a flood light or a mirror ball to shine. That's why Marcus Schmahl and Frank Rückert are "Friends Of LED". Marcus Schmahl and Frank Rückert, also known as "Rauschfaktor", have energized some of your speakers yet. With the album "Aquarium", released in 2001 on the label Elektrolux, they have already produced a milestone of the electronic music. "Light Emitting Idiot (Part 1) is the first of three EPs released on Mole Listening Pearls. Stylistically the sound of "Friends Of LED" ranges between smooth lounge, ballades and freaky club tracks, but with influences of jazz music and with several stylistic devices to expand the musical genres. Next to numerous solo projects, Marcus Schmahl (Guardner, Berkstroem, Broombeck, etc.) and Frank Rückert (üNN, Costa Sonido, The Atmosphere Experience, etc.) created an incredible current flow of electronic music with their electrical construction kit and semiconductor devices. Available formats: mp3 (Part 1), mp3 (Part 2), mp3 (Part 3).

Pete Rivera is the head behind studio collective Rivera Rotation and was born in the south of Germany. Growing up in Ulm he was infected by seventies soul and the sound the American Forces Network radio station AFN from his early teens. Since 1985 he is a DJ in his own right playing a variety of styles from latin to house. Being a full-time Hamburg resident since 1988 and managing director as well musical advisor of everything which happens in and around Lounge club, establishing the venue as one of the most successful and stylish hang-outs in Hamburg! The Rivera Rotation single "On The Beach", originally released on Lounge Records in 2001 and produced with Lucky Loop’s mastermind Jörn Erkau, entered the top 20 of the German Dance Charts (DCC). The follow-ups „Yes You Are ...“ and „Dedicado“. (conceived as a team with sound and studio wizard Elmar Schubert) established Rivera Rotation as a respected brand. Now, nine years later, the wonderful and timeless track "On The Beach" find his way to Mole Listening Pearls. On the ReRelease you can find 8 different mixes and remixes. Available format: mp3.

moodorama is known since their highly acclaimed downbeat album "Music For Collapsing People" released from the Stereo Deluxe label in 2000. Beside 4 full length albums they have done various remix jobs for artists like Czech, Marschmellows, Justin, Jimmy Cliff, Tower of Power and the French Télépopmusic. Due to their distinctive style and sound, several compilations have licensed moodorama among them Café del Mar, Brazilectro, The White Room, Hugo Boss Complete Cool, Asia Lounge, The Karma Collection, Chillen & Grillen, Ambient Lounge and the Erotic Lounge. Currenty they are sitting on their next album. During this, they just produced some new tracks and a new version from "Beatzekarte. After listening to this tracks and the new version, the band and the label decided to release this tracks now to give the fans something new between the last album and the next step which will happen soon... Available Format: mp3.

The project "The Burhorn" lives from the co-production with many different artists from Hamburg and Berlin. A lot of different artists contributed to the beautiful result of the first single as well: The brilliant voice comes from Jennifer while Yaa Kieck Akoto aka Y 'Akoto, the trumpets and keys are played by Thomas Burhorn, the bass clarinet by Sebastian Borkowski, the drums by Sönke Reich and the bass is contributed by Robin Engelhardt. There're also drumprogramming and guitar by Philip Guenther and the unmistakable Cuts by Gehad Ujeyl aka Mr. Beats. "The Burhorn" is an alien drumcomputeranimal with trumpet trunk (like from an elephant). Sometime in the distant future it will come to us to bring back our paradise on earth (so the legend says). Anyone who does not want to wait such a long time should at least listen to the new songs from "The Burhorn". "You Will Never Know" is inspired by Portishead, Massive Attack, and Ursula Rucker. The title is a co-production with the singer Y 'Akoto, a songstress from Hamburg known from various musical projects in Hamburg (Hot Air Balloon, Pilotfilm, Tom Hugo). The recordings were made in a cozy basement studio in the heart of St. Pauli in Hamburg. If you listen closely, even the pulse of urban neighborhood and port can be heard in the background. The track F'n'P was created in collaboration with Grunert, who has composed film music in addition to his solo albums already for the German TV series "Tatort" and some other films. In the past, Thomas Burhorn worked together with a lot of live musicians (eg Fettes Brot, Dennis Lisk, Kettcar) and already produced several music for various commercials. Available format: mp3.