SHUTEMDOWN / APPLAUSE by JOHN ROBINSON / SCIENZ OF LIFE

Staring the slow extinction of traditional record stores down both barrels, Australia's own Wax Museum Records makes a defiantly bold move by releasing their very first slab of vinyl; a 7" that links Melbourne-based producer Inkswel with New York underground legends Scienz Of Life. Check!Blunted headnodic beats are the order of the day, with Inkswel serving up two premium-grade joints of Dilla-esque hip-hop for your ears. Lil' Sci & ID4 Windz rhyme divine over heavy hand-clap percussion and exotic samples on 'Applause (Clap Your Hands)', then Lil' Sci takes the helm solo as John Robinson on the flip over slap-chopped abstract jazz flutes on 'Shut Em Down'. Fresh graphics from the Project Mooncircle crew make this a highly-collectable limited-edition release with only 500 being pressed. So while everyone else is jumping on the MP3 bandwagon, Melbourne's vinyl preservationists are preparing to hit you with a slew of hot new releases strictly on wax only. Even if you are rocking Serato these days, you're still gonna need this killer new 7" for your crate.