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Chad R. Matheny veröffentlicht seit 1998 exzentrische, textlich dichte Underground-Popmusik, oft unter dem Namen Emperor X. Nach seinem Studium der Physik, Philosophie und Musikkomposition legte Matheny eine Pause von der akademischen Arbeit ein und verbrachte einen Großteil der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte damit, die Welt mit Bussen und Hochgeschwindigkeitszügen zu durchqueren, um an Orten Musik zu machen, die von einem kleinen, aber vollbesetzten Konzertsaal in Portugal über eine leere Messehalle im Norden des Libanon bis hin zu buchstäblich unterirdischen Metal-Bars in der ganzen Ukraine reichten. Er tourt oft allein mit Gitarre und Synthesizer, teilt sich aber manchmal die Bühne mit Weggefährten wie Ratboys, The Hotelier, The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Foxing, AJJ, The Front Bottoms und Xiu Xiu. Er produzierte das neue Brian-Sella-Album ,Well I Mean", war Co-Produzent des Sub-Pop-Albums ,Bits" der Jangle-Punk-Legenden Oxford Collapse zusammen mit Eric Topalski von Don Caballero und Storm & Stress und komponierte Videoundermusik für gemeinnützige Organisationen wie Planned Parenthood und SEIU. In den Jahren 2011 und 2012 wurde Mathenys Ambient-Werk ,Keeling Curve" in einer Multimedia-Installation des Fotografen Joel Sternfeld verwendet, die im Rahmen einer Retrospektive im Museum Folkwang zu sehen war.

Were FEX the Wildest & Weirdest German New Wave Band in 1984?

Few cult mysteries in modern music have captured the internet's imagination quite like "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet." Eventually identified as "Subways of Your Mind" by the elusive German band FEX, the track became a viral sensation decades after its creation-and even made its way into a recent Hollywood blockbuster (Black Phone 2).

Now, two more lost FEX recordings have emerged from an old demo cassette: "Dead End" and "Sarah." And they're every bit as electrifying as the legend suggests.

On both songs, guitarist and main songwriter Ture Rückwardt joins forces on lead vocals with his former wife and musical partner Ilona Rückwardt, forming a vocal pairing that channels raw energy and eerie chemistry. What they deliver are two of the most urgent, adrenaline-fueled post-punk artifacts you're likely to hear this year-even if they were recorded more than forty years ago.

Opening with a sharp, melodic guitar solo, "Dead End" bursts forward with uptempo drive-catchy, fierce, and full of momentum. Apparently inspired by Orwell's 1984, its lyrics depict urban desolation-loneliness, homelessness, hopelessness-yet still shimmer with defiance in lines like, "Truth is amazing - hoping is like waiting."

The second track, "Sarah," dives even deeper into darkness. Mixing post-punk intensity with psychedelic textures, Rückwardt tells an imaginary story of a couple lost in drugs and spiraling through a bad trip, only to wake and realize that sobriety offers little comfort-the real world itself can be just as brutal and offers no easy escape.

Neither song makes the slightest concession to commercial trends. Instead, they feel utterly uncompromising-wild, strange, and defiantly timeless. In a world obsessed with polish and playlists, "Dead End" and "Sarah" sound like transmissions from a different planet.

Both tracks were originally recorded as demos in 1984 in the band's rehearsal room, with Hase engineering. The newly restored versions preserve the raw spirit of the original tapes while adding subtle layers to enhance their atmosphere without losing the authentic 1980s sound. FEX hint that the untouched demo versions might surface later, possibly on a second volume of their archival

Cut The With The Cake Knife was recorded by Rose McDowall in 1988/89 following the break up of her group Strawberry Switchblade. Produced with the aid of several musicians in several studios, the album features songs written for the fabled second Strawberry Switchblade album. More importantly perhaps it showcases the honest, direct and life-affirming songs of one of the greatest unsung songwriters of the modern pop era at a tumultuous time in her career.

Tibet opens the set and could be one of the best pop songs you've never heard. The innate sadness of the songs' content - the loss of a friendship, impending sorrow - is heightened to heart-melting level by McDowall's pop nous and melodic sensibility. Choruses and hooks are everywhere on Cake Knife, from the outsider take on stadium 80s pop in Wings Of Heaven to the spiraling, ecstatic So Vicious, a glorious anthem that highlights the human fragility in McDowall's vocal performance, an instrument that has never lost the naïve purity it first exemplified in Strawberry Switchblade's early 80s recordings. The centerpiece of the album, the title-track, is the greatest Switchblade pop chart hit that never was. Like the veiled melancholy of her former group's hits, Cut With The Cake Knife hints at a darkness beneath the gloss, a darkness that saw McDowall delve into more esoteric territory with her subsequent recordings and collaborations. Cut With The Cake Knife serves as the bridge between the pop music McDowall had been making with her friends Jill Bryson, Lawrence from Felt and Primal Scream to what became a more extreme, deep sound informed by neo-folk and post industrial music.

Rose McDowall's role in the canon has always been one of an outsider. Beginning in Glasgow's East End in the avant proto-noise group The Poems, achieving fame briefly in the 80s and then disappearing into counter-cultural folklore, the emphasis in the internet-age has been skewed towards her image and cultural significance. Unseen to many, her solo work, her groups Sorrow and Spell and her collaborations with a whole host of underground luminaries have still touched lives. As McDowall elucidates: 'They're real sad songs, about real life. I've had people come up to me to say I'd connected with them and helped them. I remember a gig in America when we made a whole room cry. It was bizarre. A couple at the front of the stage started crying and then these two boys beside and suddenly everyone was crying. And I thought, "that's power."

Night School's issue of Cut With The Cake Knife includes unpublished photographs, extensive sleeve notes from Rose McDowall and 2 bonus tracks culled from the bootleg 7' 'Don't Fear The Reaper.' First vinyl pressing is Clear w/ Black swirl; 500 only / has DL card and booklet, with a poster
CD has extensive booklet and is packaged in anO-Card.

PNØ is the duo project of experimental vocalist Agnes Hvizdalek and techno innovator Jakob Schneidewind on electronics. They combine minimalistic musical structures with organic improvisations, pure vocal sounds with drum machines, synthesizers and effects
that trigger and manipulate each other’s output. Their vision for the future of music makes them explore crossing points between experimental and electronic dance music. Their first album, «Zakeri», was released in 2015. Since then, they have performed, among others, at ORF Musikprotokoll, Wiener Festwochen, Jazzwerkstatt Wien, Ottosonics, and de/semble.
The album «Hypatia» will be released on June 26th by Palazzo Recordings.

Downtown Boys have pushed relentlessly forward as an artistic and political project since their founding. Singer Victoria Marie and guitarist/singer Joey La Neve DeFrancesco first met at union meetings while working together at a hotel in Providence, RI, writing many of the band's early songs about labor organizing and exploitative workplaces. The quintet is completed by Joe DeGeorge (sax/synth), Mary Jane Regalado (bass), and Joey Doubek (drums). Over years of touring, and three acclaimed albums, Downtown Boys have continued to grow as artists, musicians, and organizers. Now, the band has arrived with Public Luxury, an enthralling album that keeps politics front and center while summoning the band's most urgent and powerful sound to date. The definition of Public Luxury falls very much in line with that of the title of the second Downtown Boys LP, Full Communism. Straight up, Public Luxury means, "everything for everyone." It's the stubborn insistence that a better world is possible, while fully recognizing the horrors we witness daily, and the individual and collective responsibility to resist the nihilism and hopelessness we all feel. Sentiments like "everything for everyone," and "we will have it all" perfectly represent the cathartic, communal live experience this cadre of multi-instrumentalists create. These sentiments also encapsulate the inclusive, joyful sonic fusion that defines the album: anthemic punk and indie rock mix with Latin traditions, drum machines blend with acoustic drums, saxophones punctuate riffs, and layers of synths add flourishes from new-wave to industrial. The amount of ground covered on Public Luxury can't be overstated, and yet the album feels totally vital and cohesive. Public Luxury is a revisitation of the band's past for the sake of their future. It was co-produced by DeFrancesco with recording engineer and longtime Downtown Boys supporter Seth Manchester (Lambrini Girls, Lightning Bolt, Model/Actriz) at the Pawtucket, RI studio and arts space Machines With Magnets, not far from the band's first home of Providence, RI. Victoria Marie's grandmother-a monumental figure for the band throughout their existence-passed away in May of 2025, and her influence looms large over the album; the songs "No Me Jodas" and "Sirena" are crystallized representations of the love between a woman and her ancestor. Beyond the loss, rage and frustration of the present, Public Luxury points boldly towards a vibrant, open-hearted vision of both music and the world: "Our music is simply for anyone and everyone who believes in the new future we can make together," Victoria Marie declares. "A world that will be awkward, inconsistent, yet truly free when it comes to all that matters."

Sky Blue Opaque Vinyl. Eine Ambient-Symphonie aus ätherischem Verfall, die zum Klassiker des 21. Jahrhunderts avanciert ist. Aufgenommen zu Hause im Jahr 1992 mit einer 12-saitigen Gitarre, einem 4-Spur-Recorder, einem Loop-Pedal, unendlichem Hall und dem strukturierten Gurren der rätselhaften Sängerin Melissa Arpin Duimstra verwandelte Scott Cortez' Projekt ,loveliescrushing" postadoleszentes Tagträumen im Schlafzimmer in ein ruhiges, mondbeschienenes Gleiten auf einem endlosen Meer. Diese erweiterte und remasterte Doppelalbum-Edition enthält fünf weitere, von Verzerrung geprägte Reflexionen aus dem Archiv, zusammen mit Texten und einer Nachbildung einer Postkarte, in denen man sich unterwegs verlieren kann. Hier braucht man keine Augenspülstation - Blindheit ist beabsichtigt.

Eine Ambient-Symphonie aus ätherischem Verfall, die zum Klassiker des 21. Jahrhunderts avanciert ist. Aufgenommen zu Hause im Jahr 1992 mit einer 12-saitigen Gitarre, einem 4-Spur-Recorder, einem Loop-Pedal, unendlichem Hall und dem strukturierten Gurren der rätselhaften Sängerin Melissa Arpin Duimstra verwandelte Scott Cortez' Projekt ,loveliescrushing" postadoleszentes Tagträumen im Schlafzimmer in ein ruhiges, mondbeschienenes Gleiten auf einem endlosen Meer. Diese erweiterte und remasterte Doppelalbum-Edition enthält fünf weitere, von Verzerrung geprägte Reflexionen aus dem Archiv, zusammen mit Texten und einer Nachbildung einer Postkarte, in denen man sich unterwegs verlieren kann. Hier braucht man keine Augenspülstation - Blindheit ist beabsichtigt.

2026 Repress

Do you know what time it is It's debut o'clock. Emitting his first material for Pampa, it's &ME - craftsman of all things deep and sturdy, at the same time connoisseur of emotive touch and virtuoso of sure instincts, one of the scene's central characters for a good amount of years now and one of the main figures of Berlin's Keinemusik-crew. The man has been hitting the bulls eye of public perception several times in the past, meeting everything it takes to get a crowd going with an intent on the detail when it comes to his arrangements and sound. These new two cuts seem nothing less than the essence of his abilities.

There is "In Your Eyes", the name lending A side to this EP, showcasing a rather pensive mood. It's just a few bars for the compound of kickdrum, tuned hi-hat tambourine and shimmering background noise until the first chords of an improvised piano-piece are tenderly laid upon the beat. Add a synth-motive coming back and forth and you'll have the main ingredients to this - in every sense of the word - floor-moving tune. Accordingly, the arrangement won't aim for an all too obvious sensationalism and rather opts for a flowing and intertwining call and response of its elements, ultimately resulting in a staggering impact anyway.
In comparison, "As Above So Below" on the flipside is adding a fair amount of emphasis. It unfolds in a dry and dense sounding beat-architecture that's suspense-packed with shaker sounds and subtextual field recordings. Most certainly, a slip-proof ground for this tune's centre-piece, a scale-riding synthbass sparking an almost anthemic trigger for floor-ecstasy. While details like subtle reverberating tapping and sparkling ambient textures sound like recorded deep down in a dripstone cave, the overall energetic layout pushes relentlessly to the heights of peaktime-grandeur. There you have it: "As Above So Below" - this tune works on every level.

Im Februar 2026 erscheint zum zwanzigjährigen Jubiläum Hard to Love a Man" von Magnolia Electric Co. als erweiterte Edition und zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl. Diese Jubiläumsausgabe der ersten EP der Band enthält drei zusätzliche Tracks: remasterte Demos von 31 Seasons in the Minor Leagues" (zuvor unter dem Titel Tonight I'm So Down" bekannt) und Lonesome Valley", aufgenommen in den Echo Park Studios in Indiana während der Hard to Love a Man"-Sessions, sowie One Thin Dime", aufgenommen während der Black Ram"-Sessions in den Sound of Music Recording Studios in Richmond, Virginia. Working-Class-Rock" ist ein Begriff, der häufig zur Beschreibung von The Magnolia Electric Co. verwendet wurde. Kategorisch hatte sich die Band ihren Platz unter gleichgesinnten Ikonen wie Bob Seger, CCR, Tom Petty und Bruce Springsteen gesichert, doch es handelte sich nicht nur um eine ästhetische Beschreibung, sie untermauerten dies mit ihrer Arbeitsmoral. Im Jahr 2005 waren The Magnolia Electric Co. erstaunlicherweise acht Monate unterwegs. Diese Tatsache wurde den Bandmitgliedern selbst am deutlichsten bewusst, da sie so lange von ihrem Zuhause und ihren Liebsten getrennt waren. Daher die Bedeutung des Titeltracks. Wenn Jason Molina die Perspektive der Person einnimmt, die er zurückgelassen hat, und in Hard To Love A Man" singt: "It was hard to love a man like you / Goodbye was half the words you knew / While you were waiting for me not to call / I sent my love", dann wird die Einsamkeit und Schuld der Trennung schmerzlich deutlich. Jennie Benfords verletzliche Stimme, gepaart mit Jason Groths fließender Gitarre und Mike Kapinus' klagender Orgel, unterstreicht dieses Gefühl eindrucksvoll, unterlegt vom charakteristischen, präzisen und geschmackvollen Rhythmusfundament von Mark Rice und Pete Schreiner, während Nicole Evans eine neue, dynamische Stimme hinzufügt. Hard To Love A Man" und der Live-Favorit Werewolves Of London" wurden mit Steve Albini in seinen Electrical Audio Studios aufgenommen, die übrigen Tracks entstanden während eines kurzen fünftägigen Heimaufenthalts in Indiana bei Echo Park Studios mit Paul Mahern, dessen Engineering-Resume schon damals Projekte wie The Blake Babies, Lisa Germano und John Mellencamp umfasst. Während die Magnolien weiter wuchsen und erblühten, ließ Jason Molina die Insassen das Irrenhaus regieren.

2026 Repress

How better to solidify over a year of meteoric rise than with the release of a debut EP? dublon is both the phenomenon of the moment and one of the most promising prospects for a lasting career in the electronic scene. The Norwegian producer has teamed up with top-tier musicians (saxophonists, pianists) to blend organic craftsmanship with his incredible electronic touch. He has also collaborated with respected and renowned artists like Tour-Maubourg, TABLE, and the incredible American singer Deza to bring this project to life.



The result is Nectar, an EP that balances touching elegance with an insatiable urge to dance to its uplifting rhythms. dublon and his Jazz-House sound are set to keep us moving all year long.

DJ Homicide is a celebrated American DJ, musician, rapper, singer, record producer and radio personality. With a career that spans more than three decades, he has left a lasting mark, mostly as a key member of the multi-platinum band Sugar Ray, though he has also made some fine solo moves. And he backs that up here with a couple of full-fat jams on CA to get the new label underway in style. 'Pause Lion' starts things off with some raw, guttural vocals and low slung boom-bap drums that are direct and edgy and on the flip, 'Ghetto Scenario' rides a more smooth groove with some ragga vocals that call to mind the best of Sean Paul.

Two decades into his winding voyage through music, culture and creativity, Tom Trago has become part of the densely woven fabric of the Dutch electronic scene - a producer, DJ, label owner, collaborator, remixer, radio host and DJ's DJ who is renowned not only for his impressive productivity, but also the genuine depth and variety of his work. While it was Trago's distinctive DJ sets that once grabbed headlines - he famously held residencies at renowned Amsterdam institutions Trouw and De School, and for a decade spent much of his time jetting between some of the most renowned clubs in Europe - in recent years Tom has cut down on appearances. Today, he chooses to be far more selective about where (and when) he DJs or performs live, often working with a handful of cherished venues and festivals while ensuring that his travels are sustainable and inspiring. Instead of the grind of touring and hedonistic night-time activity, Trago has chosen to focus on music-making, alongside semi-regular forays into radio broadcasting (NTS, Radio Radio, BBC Radio and EchoBox). He now spends most of his days producing and remixing at his new SR-3 studio in Alkmaar and his seaside home-come-studio in Bergen aan Zee. As part of these lifestyle and career changes, Trago took time to look deeper, not only inside himself, but also for musical inspiration. Tom has always loved, and devoted time to, digging into a wide variety of production styles, using this inspiration to develop a trademark personal production style, but in recent years he has taken it even further. Fuelled by a desire to challenge himself, Tom consistently tries new things in the studio while channeling all he's learned during a career that has moved forwards at breakneck speed. Since making his debut in 2006, Trago has released six critically acclaimed albums (two of which, the eclectic, beat-focused, career-spanning, Patta-released archive dive, 18, and the dancefloor excursion, Trembala, appeared in 2022); extensively worked with Dutch electronic music institutions Rush Hour and Dekmantel; collaborated with countless friends and contemporaries (Charlie Soul Clap, Awanto 3, Maxi Mill, Steffi, San Proper, Seth Troxler, and BokBok included); remixed artists including New Order, Carl Craig, Cassius, Tiga and Erol Alkan, and championed a swathe of fellow Dutch producers via the Voyage Direct label he founded in 2009. In 2025 Tom returns to legendary Dutch label Magnetron Music, home to Fatima Yamaha, DMX Krew, Legowelt, Staygold and many other, to release his Magnus Opus; Ignorance.

Kordian Nieznanowski’s first vinyl release and Nottetempo’s first 2x12" album opens a new chapter for both artist and label. Across ten tracks, Thawed Psychedelic Rhizomes unfolds a dense yet fluid narrative, a sonic organism that spans from ambient soundscapes to a psychedelic reading of electronic dance music.
Rather than settling into one mood, the album flows through shifting forms and tonalities, woven into a sound that remains distinctly its own. Layers bloom and dissolve, echoing Kordian’s diverse background in experimental and acoustic music, while maintaining a sense of introspection and organic motion.

Contains tracks by Amon Tobin, Two Fingers, and Cujo previously only available to members of The Nomark Club, Nomark’s online subscription service.
NOMARK SELECTS Vol.1 includes the first new Cujo music since the Adventures in Foam album (1996)
A compilation of previously publicly unavailable tracks selected by the members of Nomark's online subscription service, The Nomark Club. The album features work from Amon, Two Fingers and sees the return of Cujo, Tobin's earliest alter ego.

Originally formed in the early 1990s, Tadpoles earned a reputation as a neo-psychedelic rock band known for their impressionistic textures and adventurous sound.
After a 25-year hiatus, the band has reunited, now working across Sacramento, New York City, and Basel. They collaborate remotely to create new music that expands into unexpected genres, including jazz, ambient, country noir, and ambient shoegazer rock, all while maintaining their core psychedelic essence.
In this new chapter, the Tadpoles have teamed up with legendary producer and mixer Sonic Boom, known for his work with Spacemen 3, Panda Bear, MGMT and Beach House, to sculpt their evolving sound. His influence helps weave those new layers of psychedelia, ambient, and even jazz into the band’s signature adventurous spirit.”
This release reflects the band’s evolution and continues their legacy of blending noise, melody, introspection, and a bit of sly humor.

2026 REPRESS

With a new alias, TM404, Andreas Tilliander has created enjoyable ambient dub simmering with life and details. The songs have all been recorded live, in real time in the studio. A unique way of operating within today's electronic music. - Everything is recorded in one take. Nothing is post arranged, says Andreas Tilliander, and adds that this might be his most ambitious album ever. The project's name is also a tribute to Roland, although of the more intricate kind. - When they made these machines in the eighties, they avoided the 404, since the sound for four, 'chi', is the same as the sound for death in Japanese. At that time it was therefore taboo and the 404 was never launched. Not until now, due to my album!

Woody Herman Shaw war ein US-amerikanischer Jazztrompeter, Flügelhornist, Kornettist, Komponist, Arrangeur, Bandleader und Pädagoge. Shaw gilt weithin als einer der bedeutendsten und einflussreichsten Jazztrompeter und Komponisten des 20. Jahrhunderts. Das ursprünglich 1976 bei Muse Records erschienene Album „Love Dance“ gilt als eine der spirituellsten und zukunftsweisendsten Aufnahmen von Woody Shaw. Diese audiophile Neuauflage stellt den vollen Klangreichtum des Albums wieder her und fängt Shaws schwebende Trompetenlinien und das dynamische Zusammenspiel des Ensembles mit beispielloser Klarheit ein. Shaw leitet eine hochkarätige Besetzung – darunter Billy Harper, Steve Turre, René McLean, Cecil McBee und Joe Bonner – durch fünf ausladende Titel, die Modal Jazz, spirituelle Themen und Post-Bop-Intensität miteinander verbinden. „Love Dance“ ist ein Meilenstein in Shaws Diskografie und ein Muss für jeden Musikliebhaber – jetzt präsentiert mit der Tiefe und Detailtreue, die es schon immer verdient hat.

Berlin scene figurehead Gilles Aiken, AKA Edward, coming through with a massive Kalahari debut (and it’s safe to say he understood the assignment).

Booting off on a massive remix tip as the veteran producer reinterprets Mike Parker & Aric Rist’s Trybet project, but trust him to allow for a moment of dancefloor introspection. It’s prime early morning gear in a rousing juxtaposition of beatific string harmony and tough-as-nails deepness. Triumphant ‘window shutters open in the club at 5 AM’-type shit.

The other two are quintessential Edward: impressionistic, widescreen odysseys across lysergic terrain, but groove-forward where it counts. A pair of head-spinning explorations intended for the dancefloor, flush with shadowy flex, insectoid detail and tripped-out flourishes while keeping it funked-out in the tradition of Detroit.

The ‘Deep Sea Villain EP’ plumbs the depths of smudged abstraction, and as we’ve come to expect from Edward, it’s big on hallucinatory detail. It all oozes the multi-layered surrealism that typifies his best work. Proper transcendent biz.

For the 10th edition of Cmdrpx, we're thrilled to welcome back Yu to the label for a second release. This time, he takes us on a darker, more intense journey a bold contrast to his previous, more colorful EP. Expect hypnotic rhythms, acid driven grooves, and floor shaking energy in every track a truly captivating package designed to ignite any dancefloor. Huge thanks to the amazing DJs already supporting this release. Get ready to experience it loud in clubs around the world. Turn it up and enjoy the ride!