FOR FANS OF... Durand Jones & The Indications, Pale Jay, Kelly Finnigan, Niel Frances, Bobby Oroza, Holly Walker. Colemine Records is proud to present a brand new 45 from Aaron Frazer featuring two tracks from his debut LP. The funky and drum heavy "Bad News" has a timely message at a time when people willfully ignore the warnings about everything from climate change to systematic racism. Frazer recorded the tune in Nashville and he brought together a bevy of talented musicians, including members of The Memphis Boys, who backed Dusty Springfield on "Son of a Preacher Man" and Aretha Franklin on "Natural Woman." On the flip, "Done Lyin'" shows Aaron's vulnerability throughout the song. Heavy and tough production from Dan Auerbach paired with Frazer smoothly singing his heart out is a match made in sweet soul heaven. Introducing, LP that this 45 comes from has been streamed 78.8 million times on Spotify alone. Aaron Frazer has 5.2 million monthly listeners and 70k followers on Spotify
DJ Support: Louie Vega, Dimitri From Paris, Danny Krivit, Michael Gray, Dr. Packer, Terry Hunter, Kevin Yost, Reel People, Mr V, Bobby & Steve, Derrick McKenzie and many others…
Micky More & Andy Tee’s Groove Culture looks back to go forward as it offers up a spiffing new 7 Inch of contemporary reworks of 2 classics Jazz Funk cuts. The A-Side features a special cover dj-friendly of Lonnie Liston Smith’s HIT Expansions. The B-Side Showcases a beautiful remake, sung by Angela Johnson, of 'Time' by Light Of The World
Limited to 300 copies only! A-side taken from soon to be released LP Quonk! B-side exclusive to this release! 'Things May Happen' is being released as a single. What inspired you to write that song? Slimy - The extraordinary lightness of being ... just the path and what's on it. Marty - This is Toad's one and it's a cracker. Johnny turned 70 last year, celebrating in style with a gig at London's 229 Venue. Some people have said it was the best Moped gig ever. How was it from your point of view? Slimy - I thought Johnny's birthday gig was a rip-roaring success _ I enjoyed it _ The next Moped gig will be the best Moped gig ever and the one after that ... Marty - It's not the best gig as far as how we performed. But as far as the turn out and the size of the crowd that came along to celebrate Johnny's Birthday it was the best vibe of all the gigs for certain for me. This year marks the 50th year of Johnny Moped. What have been the high (and low) points for the band in the last five decades? Slimy - The constitution of these thoroughbred punk rockers is testimony to getting up and rocking out _ Johnny is not stopping he's class. Marty - I've only been in the band since 2017 and before that was the driver and shit carrier and before that a fan and also the band are my mates. So not one low point for me at all. You'll be back out on the road this summer. Any message for fans who'll be coming to see you? Slimy - You better believe it! You enjoyed that you bums or I'll kill you! Tomcats! Marty - Be afraid. Be very afraid.
É Soul Cultura captain, originator of Manchester’s legendary Electric Chair and definitive people’s champion, Luke Una taps into a lifetime’s worth of musical discovery for the second volume in our Mr Bongo Edits series. A cosmic coming together that sees two of Luke’s secret weapons, re-edited and re-contextualised by the man himself to provide optimal dancefloor euphoria.
A stalwart of the underground for nearly 40 years, Luke has become an appointed leader of the late night disenfranchised, with an unquestionable ability to pick records that make minds tick. Not least through his two É Soul Cultura compilations released on Mr Bongo over the past two years.
A taste that traverses genres as much as it does emotions and decades, who better to give an insight into the tracks he has chosen to edit, than the man himself. “I've been an avid collector of afro-beat house, techno and underground black heart disco since before the basement soul days of Electric Chair 30 years ago. Both these bombs were very much holy grail finds, plucked from the last four decades of digging in random crates of dusty vinyl all over the world.”
First up, Thandi Zulu & The Young Five’s interpretation of Pure Energy’s early ‘80s disco power play – ‘Love Game’. With a distinctive South African synth bass and killer keys combo, Luke explains the original has this “bonkers alchemy of heavy machine soul, uptempo rawness and a majestic disco evangelism”, making it ripe for a re-edit.
On the B side, Lionel Pillay’s Jazz dancer ‘Plum’. “The original was a relentless 18-minute raw jam”, Luke states, “which despite its late ‘70s South African origin kinda reminded me of a 1986 Chicago piano House record”.
“These edits strip the tracks back and rebuild them, giving them more sonic weight with that looped up drum jacking militancy from the days of Chicago, combined with a boosted sense of transcendental, psychedelic, cosmic disco. They have always had such an explosive reaction on so many dancefloors including the heavier electronic club, so it felt only right to reshare them”.
A collection of music for the various films and theatre plays by Mirko Krsticevic, Croatian and Yugoslavian composer and musician active since 1970s. All and Nothing at All (Film and Theatre Music 1978 - 1988) focuses on his work for the underground and avantgarde cinema from the era: directors Ivan Martinac, Svemir Pavic, Lordan Zafranovic, Aleksandar F. Stasenko and Vanca Kljakovic are all part of the Split Cinema Club association; their work explores art, death, sexuality and eroticism. Pavic's portrait of surrealist painter Ljuba Popovic, made in the same year as its counterpart by Walerian Borowczyk, features scenes form Beaubourg Gallery in Paris and Udo Kier as a guest. Side B of the record is all about theatre: plays by Sam Shepard, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Jean Giraudoux were all produced in Sarajevo and Split in the 1980s, with the rare electronic takes by Mirko Krsticevic and his subtle minimalist soundings of the themes from the Cold War era. This unique and diverse compositions by founder of the rock band Metak and sound studio Tetrapak from Split, are document of the time that is, especially in the closing Chernobyl theme, relevant again. Composer, musician and musical arranger Mirko Krsticevic was born in 1948 in Sibenik. He graduated in music theory at the Pedagogical Academy in Split and then at the Music Academy in Sarajevo. He studied composition with Josip Magdic, Mladen Pozajic and Miroslav Spiler. He is the co-founder of the Tetrapak music studio in Split, where numerous performers and musicians have recorded (Animatori, D'Boys, Haustor, Oliver Mandic, Gibonni, Srdjan Marjanovic, Stil, Trotakt Projekt and others). The first group he founded was the rock group Che, which performed his own songs, in which he played bass guitar. It was founded in the summer of 1969. Together with Ranko Boban and Momcilo Popadic, he founded the Metak group in the spring of 1978 in Prigradica on Korcula. In the group, he is the author of songs and lyrics, and he also plays the bass guitar. "Da mi je biti morski pas" is the group's most successful single, which in 1980 became one of the most played songs on radio and television. Metak performed in Belgrade in front of 70,000 people, and the media declared them the best group along with Macedonian Leb i sol. In compositional work and arrangements for other pop and rock artists, Krsticevic had high commercial success with Tutti Frutti Balkan Band, Biljana Petrovic, Seid Memic Vajta, Pepel in kri, Osmi putnik, Oliver Dragojevic , Djordji Peruzovic, Henda and others. Parallel to his pop and rock career, Krsticevic composed stage and film music for 45 films, mostly collaborating with the circle of experimental and amateur directors of the Split Cinema Club (Kino klub Split) as well as the rest of the local underground scene. He is the author of stage music for 130 theatre plays, and also records his own compositions in the field of contemporary music. He wrote over 30 works for solo instruments, chamber and symphonic music. At the end of 2007, he founded the Split society for contemporary music and the contemporary music ensemble Splithesis. In 2015, he founded his own orchestra The Highway to Well Family, composed of fourteen musicians and three singers. In 2021, he founded Arthesis, an artistic organization for contemporary music and visual arts. He is the author of four operas: "Krvava svadba" (1997), "Halugica" (1999), "Atlantida - Legenda o Dan'zoru" (2018) i "Atlantida II - Lu'blis Kaoamos" (2020). He is the winner of numerous awards, lives and works in Split. Gatefold LP with extensive liner notes, Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) from original tapes, pressed at Record Industry. File under: Soundtrack, Stage, Electronica
Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market. Early house music in SA was no different.
When Ron ‘Robot’ Friedman, former bass player for local rockers Rabbitt, was winding down his label On Records in the early 90s, he reached out for new inspiration as the popularity of ‘bubblegum’ disco waned. For one of the label’s final releases he hired young DJ/producer Quentin Foster, obsessed with the new soulful house sound coming out of the US, to take the reins on a studio project dubbed Citi Express.
On Robot’s insistence it included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’ (from 1973’s Innervisions) as the title track. Foster set to work in his home studio, dubbed Tone Def, selecting and re-working other US and UK tracks — ‘It’s Too Late’ (originally released in 1989 by Kelli Sae), ‘Love is the Message’ (influenced by the 70s soul anthem and credited to Gamble & Huff but bearing a closer resemblance to Better Days’ 1990 release written by Steve Proctor), ‘People of The World’ (recorded by Sorell Johnson in the UK in 1990) and ‘Victim of Your Love’ (released in 1990 by Gary Vonqwest as ‘Victim of Love’) — adding some signature South African touches in the process that foreshadow the imminent rise of kwaito. One original composition was added for good measure, ‘Open Invitation’.
The result offers a glimpse into those early days of house, a uniquely South African take on a global sound that still resonates today — reissued for the first time on Afrosynth Records.
Effortlessly dismantling the barriers between R&B, soul, funk, disco and jazz sounds, MF Robots present long player ‘Break The Wall’, on BBE Music. Astonishing musicianship, pristine production and top-tier songwriting, ‘Break The Wall’ immediately calls to mind those iconic American rhythm sections of the 70s and 80s. The music is energising, uplifting and the potent result of a highly accomplished musical partnership maturing, growing and hitting their stride together in lock-step. Jan Kincaid and Dawn Joseph met as members of one of the UK’s most successful Acid Jazz bands, which influenced Mark Ronson, D’Angelo, Jamiroquai, Erykah Badu and The Roots to name a few. Founding the Brand New Heavies was an important chapter for Jan, but once he and vocalist and songwriting partner Dawn began working together, the chemistry was instant and irresistible. It was time to turn the page, and soon MF Robots was born. “When we made our first album, we didn’t have a band as such. We basically made a lot of the record at home and called on other musicians as and when we needed them. Our sound was developing organically, and when we finally released the record to great critical acclaim, it was time to get out on the road,” says Jan. “We put together a band of like-minded young musicians, playing intimate gigs and big festivals all over Europe and beyond, growing tight as a unit, so that when it came time to think about making this, our second album, we knew we had an extra level of musicianship full of personality that could realise our vision.” Inviting band members Alex Montaque (keys), Naz Adamson (bass), Mark Beaney (guitar), Jack Birchwood (trumpet), Ben Treacher (sax) to improvise and contribute their own ideas over song-sketches laid out by Jan and Dawn gives ‘Break The Wall’ a special sense of off-the-cuff brilliance. Even on the polished final product you can detect a collaborative, fluid and unhurried approach to production that’s all-too rare these days. There’s guest performances from bassist Gail Ann Dorsey (‘The Love It Takes’, ‘Make Me Happy’) and guitarist Cory Wong ('Shine', 'Make Me Happy'), the former a top-flight session player who’s collaborated with Lenny Kravitz and David Bowie among others, the latter a member of the incredible Vulfpeck collective and an accomplished solo artist in his own right.
One of the greatest soul voices working in the US today, Billy Valentine's latest release, first plotted out in the summer of 2020, sees the artist responding to the chaos of a global pandemic and the seismic impact of George Floyd's murder via legendary works from Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scot Heron and Pharaoh Sanders. In collaboration with acclaimed producer and songwriter, Bob Thiele Jr. (son of Flying Dutchman founder, Bob Thiele), Valentine's rich, velvety vocals breathe new life into these already-powerful tracks, bringing them into the contemporary political context with renewed urgency. Released on Acid Jazz in partnership with renowned US label Flying Dutchman, Valentine's latest output marks the first new music from the label since the '70s - a momentous return for a keystone tastemaker of the American jazz world.
11 track album by Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the cannon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music coined 'The San Francisco Sound.' By the mid-70ies, Patrick's synthesizer skills landed him a job composing and producing songs for disco superstar Sylvester such as 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)', 'Dance Disco Heat' and 'Stars.' This helped Patrick obtain more work as a remixer and producer. Of particular note was his 18-minute long remix of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love'. By 1981 Patrick released a string of dance 12inch singles, like 'Menergy' and 'Megatron Man', creating the soundtrack for a generation. Prior to his passing on November 12, 1982, he recorded two more Hi-NRG hits, 'Do You Wanna Funk' for Sylvester and 'Right On Target' for Paul Parker. In 1981 Patrick was contacted by John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. John had heard about Patrick's music from the legendary Sylvester and proposed he write music for his films. Patrick jumped on this offer and sent reels of his college compositions from the 70s to John in LA. Coletti then used a variable speed oscillator to adjust the pitch and speed of Patrick's songs in-sync with the film scene. 'School Daze' is a collection of Cowley's instrumental songs recorded between 1973 and 1981 found in the Fox Studio vaults. Influenced by Tomita, Wendy Carlos and Giorgio Moroder, Patrick forged an electronic sound from his collection of synthesizers, modified guitars and self-constructed equipment. The listener enters a world of dark forbidden vices, introspective and reflective of Patrick's time spent in the bathhouses of San Francisco. The songs on 'School Daze' range from sparse prototechno to high octane funk to somber post-punk to musique concrete, revealing the depth of Cowley's unique talent.
Copenhagen-via-Bulgaria producer Vixen readies her Lobster Theremin debut. Influenced by the high velocity techno sounds of the Danish capital, Vixen has been gathering momentum within her local circuit in addition to being a member of the renowned DIY collective Fast Forward, and here she delivers four cuts of big-room trance-techno.
‘Vibe Catcher’ is as ghostly as it is alien; a sonic trip through solar wastelands and otherworldly graveyards - unapologetic warehouse techno for the misfits of the underworld.
‘Maladaptive Daydreamer’ follows in a similar vein, the energy becoming a little more urgent as strobe lights flash overhead.
‘High Femme Fantasy’ is a homage to the progressive sound re-rise that has infiltrated so much of the contemporary dance music soundscape; a pulsating cut of atmospheric techno. Fun taken seriously.
Finalising the release is a remix from Danish contemporary royalty - Schacke burst onto the scene releasing on Courtesy’s Kulør label - an imprint dedicated to the sounds of the Danish underground - and an incredible release on Russian label Клуб, and the producers rendition of ‘Maladaptive Daydreamer’ is sure to be a late contender for many people’s track of the year lists.
We’re excited to be launching a new release series: “Melodies Record Club”, a string of DJ and artist curated mini compilations in loud 12” format.
The first instalment was put together by Four Tet, selecting two big peak-time Jazz tracks he used to spin regularly at Plastic People.
On one side, we’ve got all time jazz greats Jackie McLean and Michael Carvin’s De I Comahlee Ah, taken from their seminal album Antiquity recorded in Denmark back in 1975. A year and a half ago, we visited Steeplechase, the original label in the outskirts of Copenhagen. They informed us that at the time, the track was cut short as it didn’t fit on the full LP. They were kind enough to provide us with the tape of the full original recording, allowing us to release for the first time the full extended version capturing twelve and a half minutes of studio magic. Speaking with Michael back in November, he told us that every song on that album was recorded without any overdubs. They had taken their shoes off and organised the studio in such a way that they could move from instrument to instrument during the take (!!)
On the flip, we have Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath – MRA. Back in 70s London, the Brotherhood had brought together musicians who had sought refuge from South Africa’s apartheid regime and the best of a new generation of British jazz musicians. Music journalist Richard Williams, who had originally reviewed the band in the 1970s tell us: “They made music that appealed in equal measure to the head, the heart and the feet, taking the jazz legacy of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus and adding to it the fantastic dance rhythms and gorgeous harmonies of the townships and untethered collective improvisations of the new free music”.
Four Tet’s instalment is out early May in 12” format and digitally (stream & download), first press comes with a folded A2 insert with words from and about the artists. Graphic design by Studio ChoqueLeGoff, illustration and animation by Nevil Bernard and for the audiophiles out there, remastered and cut at half speed by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios!
The second instalment curated by Ben UFO is scheduled shortly, which will be followed over time by a string of releases including selections from Hunee, Mafalda, Floating Points, Anya & Julia from Javybz, Daphni, Josey Rebelle, Charlie Bones, Gilles Peterson… and more, stay tuned!
After several years of silence, Schema Records co-founder Luciano Cantone in collaboration with Gianluca Petrella and a new group of musicians, present The Invisible Session's second album "Echoes of Africa" on the newborn Space Echo label. This new chapter is borne out of afrobeat, Africa 70's records and Tony Allen's drumming; furthermore, other influences come into play, with melodiescentred on Eastern pentatonic scales, as well as funk, afrobeat, psychedelia, modal and Ethio jazz, plus forays into pop and cinematica. Ancestral melodies intersect and weave, encouraging escape and deeper feelings. Conceptually, "Echoes of Africa" deals with pacifism, human rights, anti-racism, nature and ecological themes. This is an album to be absorbed in its entirety – have a good listening!
Supported by Villalobos, Dorian Paic, Mattia Trani, DJ Tennis, Verrina & Ventura , Giorgia Angiuli, Carola Pisaturo, Julina Perez
There are people who place their soul at a border between two worlds that are completely different one from the other.
Giulio Paternò has always split his heart in two halves: one beating for Pink Floyd's, Dire Straits' and Deep Purple's rock; the other for an electronic sound influenced by the likes of John Talabot, Nicolas Jaar or David August.The final result by mixing these two different souls is all channeled into his project Swoosh, where house and techno meet the psychedelic sound from the '70s. So here is a captivating and a magnetic sound which is shaped exclusively by a live act with Ableton, a Gibson Les Paul and various controllers.Swoosh's peculiarity drew the attention of top national venues and festivals such as Tenax in Florence, Circolo degli Illuminati in Rome, or Amore and Spring Attitude Festivals.By Spring 2016 Swoosh will be releasing his first EP "Over and Above" with Autum Records, a label based in Rome and New York.Feedback:> DJ TENNIS: Great record, Swoosh is a producer to keep watching... / Gran disco, Swoosh è un producer da tenere sott'occhio...> VERRINA & VENTURA: Great, the slow one is fantastic! / Complimenti, traccia lenta fantastica!
> CAROLA PISATURO: Liked it so much. / Mi piace moltissimo.
> GIORGIA ANGIULI: I really enjoyed the whole EP, tracks are so stilish! / Mi piace molto l'EP, tracce super stilose!> JULIAN PEREZ: Good listening, a good listening. / Un ascolto piacevole > MATTIA TRANI:above mi piace moltissimo bell'atmosfera!
Wewantsounds it delighted to announce a deluxe reissue of Frank Foster's 'The Loud Minority' LP. Released on Bob Shad's Mainstream Records in 1972, it's a landmark album and one of the key political works of the 70s. Featuring an all-star cast of superb musicians including Elvin Jones, Stanley Clarke, Airto, Cecil Bridgewater and Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson, it is also Dee Dee Bridgewater's earliest full recordings. This special edition includes a 20-page booklet featuring amazing unseen session photos recently unearthed, an introduction by Judd and Mia Apatow (Shad's grandchildren), an essay by British journalist Kevin Le Gendre and an exclusive interview of Cecil and Dee Dee Bridgewater by Paul Bowler. The album's original artwork as been recreated with original photos and the audio newly remastered from the original tapes.
When he recorded "The Loud Minority" in 1972 for Bob Shad's Mainstream Records, Frank Foster had been a solid sax player for nearly twenty years, playing with the likes of Donald Byrd, Thelonious Monk and The Count Basie Orchestra. For this special session, he gathered a stellar line up of old fellow musicians like Elvin Jones and Harold Mabern and young turks including Stanley Clarke, 'Hannibal' Marvin Peterson, Cecil and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Cecil Bridgewater remembers: "Frank, his thing was, any group that he had he wanted to give young musicians a chance." As usual for Mainstream sessions, the studio was booked for two days and the record was cut live, supervised by Bob Shad's trusted men, arranger Ernie Wilkins and engineer Carmine Rubino.
What came out of these two days is now the stuff of legend, four long funky jams fuelled by two distinct line ups playing simultaneously augmented with a powerful 6-piece brass section led by Foster. The album kicks off with the anthemic "The Loud Minority" (sampled by United Future Organization and DJ Shadow) with its long brass introduction followed by Dee Dee Bridgewater fiery poem, a politically charged statement expressing the fight for civil rights, before the whole group comes together for a funky explosion clocking at 14 minutes. "That was a period where we were really into our African consciousness" reminisces Dee Dee in the interview.
The album continues with the funky uptempo "Requiem for Dusty" while "J.P.'s Thing" adopts a slightly more spiritual feel, with a beautiful Fender Rhodes solo and Foster's soprano sax improvisation. The album ends with "E.W. Beautiful People", a long dreamy improvisation climaxing with Dee Dee Bridgewater's poignant vocals.
The Loud Minority is a key militant jazz manifesto and one of the landmark jazz funk albums of the 20th Century. The album was recorded in two days but its legacy lives on and still resonates loudly in the BLM days. Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue this major works with newly remastered audio and a deluxe 20-page booklet full of breathtaking unseen session photos and insightful texts telling the whole story of this superb album.
You've never played a game like Blippo+ before, and you've never heard a video game soundtrack quite like Greatest Hits from Planet Blip.
Composed by Rob Kieswetter and Jona Bechtolt from the LA-based trio YACHT, the soundtrack collects 71 tracks from the cult classic video game Blippo+, reworked and sequenced into a continuous listen for this special release —a TV static-speckled gatefold double LP, out Oct. 16 via Hologram Opera, marking the soundtrack’s physical debut.
Taking the form of a cable TV simulator, Blippo+ captures the magical feeling of seizing a mysterious signal from outer space and discovering the television programming of an alien culture. Soundtracking the game’s pastiche of programs is Rob and Jona’s genre-spanning score—synth-heavy, eccentrically electronic, with a skewed sensibility that pays homage to cable access, library music, video art, and the late-night margins of the 80s and 90s underground.
TV obsessives will find plenty to love in Greatest Hits from Planet Blip: with surreal theme songs, jangly jingles, zippystings, catchy kitsch, period-accurate menu music and even pop hits from the alien airwaves, this propulsively playful soundtrack will have channel-flippers tingling with nostalgia.
“Planet Blip is an alien planet where art and music are the only currency and ‘consciousness particles’ form the basis of all media. To capture the spirit of this world, we drew inspiration
from all the music we felt best embodied this ethos and ran it through our own utopian blender,” say Bechtolt and Kieswetter.
Blippo+ is an award-winning, experimental, live-action video game created by YACHT and Telefantasy Studios, along with developers Noble Robot and Dustin Mierau, and published by Panic Games. It was released for Steam, Playdate and Nintendo Switch in 2025 to widespread
critical acclaim and has earned a devoted fandom. A Mac version followed earlier this year, and was nominated for an Apple Design Award.
"Simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic, otherworldly yet
welcoming, Blippo+ is an absolute artistic triumph.
" —Deven McClure, Screen Rant
"Blippo+’s presentation might ape old traditions, but the collective impact of its content is richer, deeper, and more entertaining than any mere remembrance.
" —Garrett Martin, Paste/Endless Mode
"In the increasingly reactionary and prescriptive landscape of video games, it is remarkable to encounter something so distinctive, so hopeful, so celebratory, so devoted to expanding the possibility space of art beyond a single medium." —Sam Bodrojan
Jason Dungan (aka Blue Lake) and Johan Carøe find beauty in the rhythms
and repetitions of domestic life for collaborative album, 'Routine' - out September 25
Copenhagen-based multi-instrumentalists Jason Dungan and Johan Carøe didn't set out to make an album. Instead, as the title 'Routine' suggests, they found their way there through a process of habitual making and listening, developing an intuitive musical language to reflect the dreamlike meanderings and creative play of life's quiet moments. 'Routine' blends pop orientated sounds, Avant-garde minimalism, folk and new age with the emotive depth of film-score.
Their meeting was not entirely coincidental. Previously in bands such as Squares and Triangles, Jason Dungan has since recorded multiple albums under the moniker Blue Lake, including the lauded 'Sun Arcs', pursuing his passion for self-built percussion and multi-string instruments. Johan Carøe meanwhile is a composer whose film soundtrack work has seen him collaborate with Angelo Badalamenti, Arp, and Sofie Birch, at whose Andersabo residency (curated by Dungan) the pair first met, resulting in the highly praised album 'Repair Techniques' written by Birch and Carøe.
'Routine' emerged organically over many years against the backdrop of great personal change. As Carøe said goodbye to his father and welcomed his first child, the pair sent each other fragments of melodies and patterns, working up responses when time allowed to assemble a sonic palette that combined acoustic instrumentation of zither, clarinet, cello, saxophone (among others) with the textures of tape, drum machine and Yamaha DX7 synth. Inspired by the vulnerability and DIY ethos of Arthur Russell's home recordings, the vision of labels like Disques de Crepescule, and the art pop, experimentation inherent to late '70s and early '80s recordings from NYC and Japan alike, Dungan and Carøe conjured new forms for their folk, leftfield pop and avant garde influences from the low-lit living rooms of Copenhagen and rural Sweden. "I'm very interested in the ways in which music and art emerge from our wider experiences as people, workers, parents and in the daydreaming activity of making music," Dungan explains of a process which allowed the duo's individual styles to drift apart and merge together seamlessly. "I think the process was definitely capturing moments in time, but over a long time," Carøe adds. "It was a bit like improvisation, but with time stretched."
The music floats with grace and humility, remaining sophisticated yet acutely introverted.
Whether on 'Clouds', where soft layers of zither and clarinet are moved along by a featherlight bass riff and the hypnotic clip-clop of the primitive groovebox, or the gentle grandeur of cello rising and falling through 'Routine 1', the album reveals itself over 10 instrumental tracks, evoking the ineffable calm that descends when the light changes and the world turns inwards. The act of time passing became a key creative ingredient to the evolution of the album, enriched with the exciting challenge to transform their passing rounds of home recordings via a slow release musical dialogue. Jason found creative moments in the twilight hours to lay down zither, melodica, acoustic guitar to name but few, while Johan utilising "line-in and headphones" would manipulate, stretch and pitch Jason's melodic pathways during newly born naptimes.
Carøe rhythmically plucks and slides the stringed cello instrument, leaving palpable foundations on 'Hymn' and 'Chords', in a treated, stylistic approach akin to Mabe Fratti, while 'Silence' draws to a close with a gospel touch. Dungan's harp-motion zither flourishes reveal more classical connotations on 'Reunion' with inspiration of Bedroom Community's Nico Muhly as organs rise with Moogs, culminating with a climatic choral outro from friend, mezzo-soprano Anna Caroline Olesen.
'Routine' then is their first collaboration, an album of deep and sincere reflection with inviting overtones that gesture with unrushed authenticity. A document of a new-found friendship that opens a window into the most personal of spaces, where the daily practices of music and life exist side-by-side to wondrous effect.
In Walter Benjamin’s seminal essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, he posits that the aura of art objects is destroyed by the ability to photographically reproduce them. When you had to make a pilgrimage to a work it remained elusive, charged, ever distant; but when you can easily see a reproduction, such aura dissipates. What Benjamin did not anticipate is that in the age of AI and the frictionless fount of digital content, we have imbued mechanical and analog means of media production with aura. Film cameras from the last 100 years are in high demand (the point and shoot Olympus Mju I featured in Wim Wenders film Perfect Days still sells for $200), vinyl sales continue to grow year by year, 35mm and 70mm film screenings have become aura-drenched events people travel across country for, and as to the world of vintage and analog synthesizers, when a friend asked for the price on the Yamaha CS-80 synth used on Toto’s “Africa”, the answer was a cool $60,000.
Despite the ability to simulate almost any synthesizer on a computer, the original physical units retain their mystique. Perhaps this lies in the physical process, many of these synths are temperamental and difficult to fully utilize, and the effort and ingenuity can be felt in ways that will always be absent from easy digital simulacra. Perhaps there is an aura in their imperfection, as Brian Eno wrote: “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided.” Some may call this nostalgia, but such sonic imperfections are the sounds of humans interacting with the physical world, and it is understandable to feel a pang of emotion and attachment in a time of exponential alienation.
Marche 22 was recorded over a week at the Museo Del Synth Marchigiano in Macerata, Italy. The museum is filled with rare and obscure synths (especially CRB, GEM & Elka) as well as salvaged materials from a nearby shuttered Farfisa organ factory, including MARS, an unfinished realtime audio processing application developed by IRIS - similar to the now well known MAX/MSP. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein play a suite of pieces that encompasses the last sixty years of synthesizer music—there are nods to Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, and Morton Subotnick. Dixon and Stein are like jazz masters playing the American songbook with their own riffs and quotations. What shines through in these varied works that are sometimes rhythmic, sometimes melancholic, and sometimes both, is a soul, a spirit, an emotion vibrating through the tones like the charge of coming rain or the thrum of a distant train on the tracks. - Neil Fauerso
Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7" single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low prole while making his heart felt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with. The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musician-ship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a HipHop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is an artist on his own terms. Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experi-ence behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderoya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape. However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to nd the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his inuences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine. "It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to put in a box. The album showcases both Martens' range and his ability to make a cohesive album. The lead single "Falling Away" starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On "Still Here" he professes his resilience through life's twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like "You" and "Our Love" mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens' lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. "Love & Flowers" finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that ts the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor or while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like "Muse" and "Chess" that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens' lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There's an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.
The Gates of Slumber’s debut album and EP reissued in August Svart Records continue to reissue the works of Indiana’s true doom metal legends The Gates of Slumber by bringing back their debut album The Awakening and early EP Like a Plague Upon the Land in late August 2026. The 2005 EP Like a Plague Upon the Land is a punchy release praised for its authenticity to the genre. Never before released on vinyl, this hard-hitting fan favorite is heavily rooted in 70s rock-influenced doom. Traditional, slow, and heavy in the vein of Reverend Bizarre and Saint Vitus. The Gates of Slumber was formed by Karl Simon in 1998. Various people were in and out of the group between 1998 and 2001, when the Blood Encrusted Deth Axe demo was recorded with Jamie Walters aka Dr. Phibes/Athenar (Boulder, Midnight) on drums and bass. In 2003 Jason McCash took over the bass duties and was a long-time member of the band until his untimely demise in 2014, after which Simon decided it was time to call it quits. That was until 2019 when the renowned metal festival Hell Over Hammaburg wanted to bring the band back on stage to perform at the festival’s 2020 edition. Simon reformed the band with its original member Chuck Brown on drums and Steve Janiak on bass and got back to work, which resulted in the new self-titled album released in 2024 on Svart Records.
The Gates of Slumber’s debut album and EP reissued in August Svart Records continue to reissue the works of Indiana’s true doom metal legends The Gates of Slumber by bringing back their debut album The Awakening and early EP Like a Plague Upon the Land in late August 2026. The 2005 EP Like a Plague Upon the Land is a punchy release praised for its authenticity to the genre. Never before released on vinyl, this hard-hitting fan favorite is heavily rooted in 70s rock-influenced doom. Traditional, slow, and heavy in the vein of Reverend Bizarre and Saint Vitus. The Gates of Slumber was formed by Karl Simon in 1998. Various people were in and out of the group between 1998 and 2001, when the Blood Encrusted Deth Axe demo was recorded with Jamie Walters aka Dr. Phibes/Athenar (Boulder, Midnight) on drums and bass. In 2003 Jason McCash took over the bass duties and was a long-time member of the band until his untimely demise in 2014, after which Simon decided it was time to call it quits. That was until 2019 when the renowned metal festival Hell Over Hammaburg wanted to bring the band back on stage to perform at the festival’s 2020 edition. Simon reformed the band with its original member Chuck Brown on drums and Steve Janiak on bass and got back to work, which resulted in the new self-titled album released in 2024 on Svart Records.
Das 1981 erstmals erschienene Album „Give the People What They Want“ setzte den Erfolg der Kinks
aus den frühen 80er-Jahren mit ihrem direkten, gitarrenlastigen Sound und pointierten, zeitgenössischen
Themen fort. Als eines ihrer erfolgreichsten Alben in den USA enthält es herausragende Titel wie „Destroyer“, „Better Things“ und „Around the Dial“. Diese Edition von 2026 wurde von den Originalquellen
neu gemastert und bietet verbesserte Klarheit, Definition und Ausgewogenheit, wobei der Charakter und
die Energie der Originalmixe erhalten blieben.
Das 1979 erstmals veröffentlichte Album „Low Budget“ markierte mit seinem härteren, stadiontauglichen
Sound einen Wendepunkt in der späten Karriere der Kinks. Es avancierte zu einem der stärksten US-Alben
der Band und gilt bis heute als eines der prägendsten Alben ihrer späten 70er-Jahre.
Diese Edition von 2026 wurde von den Originalquellen neu gemastert und bietet verbesserte Klarheit, Ausgewogenheit und Dynamik, ohne den Charakter des Originalmixes zu beeinträchtigen. Titel wie „(Wish I
Could Fly Like) Superman“, „Catch Me Now I’m Falling“ und der Titelsong profitieren von einer detaillierteren und fokussierteren Wiedergabe.
Das 1981 erstmals erschienene Album „Give the People What They Want“ setzte den Erfolg der Kinks
aus den frühen 80er-Jahren mit ihrem direkten, gitarrenlastigen Sound und pointierten, zeitgenössischen
Themen fort. Als eines ihrer erfolgreichsten Alben in den USA enthält es herausragende Titel wie „Destroyer“, „Better Things“ und „Around the Dial“. Diese Edition von 2026 wurde von den Originalquellen
neu gemastert und bietet verbesserte Klarheit, Definition und Ausgewogenheit, wobei der Charakter und
die Energie der Originalmixe erhalten blieben.
Das 1979 erstmals veröffentlichte Album „Low Budget“ markierte mit seinem härteren, stadiontauglichen
Sound einen Wendepunkt in der späten Karriere der Kinks. Es avancierte zu einem der stärksten US-Alben
der Band und gilt bis heute als eines der prägendsten Alben ihrer späten 70er-Jahre.
Diese Edition von 2026 wurde von den Originalquellen neu gemastert und bietet verbesserte Klarheit, Ausgewogenheit und Dynamik, ohne den Charakter des Originalmixes zu beeinträchtigen. Titel wie „(Wish I
Could Fly Like) Superman“, „Catch Me Now I’m Falling“ und der Titelsong profitieren von einer detaillierteren und fokussierteren Wiedergabe.
Superhero? Supervillain? Super WHAT? CZARFACE & MF DOOM's newest team-up record Super What? is, much like the Avengers' arch-enemy Thanos...inevitable (and all-powerful!).
The icon MF DOOM unleashes his wizardry and wordplay throughout the record, while CZARFACE (bolstered by the legendary Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and Esoteric) slash through each of the Czar-Keys' produced tracks as the team raises the bar on their previous LP, Czarface meets Metalface (2018). Featuring golden-age superhero DMC (of RUN-DMC) and Hieroglyphics' leader Del The Funky Homosapien, with art by longtime CZARFACE co-creator Lamour Supreme, this album will bring all
the thrills of a cosmic summer blockbuster.
Recorded and slated for an early 2020 release, and paused while COVID raged, this collaboration of masked men is finally finding its way to you on all formats.
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Boy George's single "Generations of Love" has become a dance anthem. The single has been digitally released 12 times, with over 70 remixes. Mixes were created by Paul Oakenfold, Ramp, Phunk Investigation, Scream, De-Phazz, and The Scumfrog. So, like it or not, it's sure to be a hit whenever it's played on dance floors around the world.
Described as exuding joie de vivre (joy of life) and full of joy.
Suitable for clubs and house music: Praised for its laid-back, house-inspired grooves, perfect for clubs and living rooms.
One editor called it "full, smooth, and richly satisfying."
Considered a potential club hit, with critics urging people to buy it.
Smash Hits called it a "glossy, understated dance track."
Ultimately, reviews describe it as a feel-good dance track that successfully blends Boy George's iconic vocals with JL & Afterman's disco-house production, creating a joyful and very catchy remix.
This vinyl also includes The Scumfrog's fabulous version.
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The latest release in the series exploring the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson is the most extensive yet. Space: 1999 ran for two series from 1976 to 1977 and depicted the occupants of Moonbase Alpha and their struggle for survival when, after the explosion of a nuclear waste dump, the Moon is hurtled into space.
The series was the most expensive produced for British television at that time and the most musically diverse of all the shows made by Anderson for ITC. Gerry Anderson’s long-time musical partner in all the previous adventures was Barry Gray and Space: 1999 proved to be the last of their collaborations.
Uncut Magazine referred to Series 1 music as “Pink Floyd without the mythology”. The first recording session for Space: 1999 took place on December 11th 1973 with a 52-piece orchestra performing the opening and closing title music. For the series’ incidental music between 32 and 38 instruments were utilised at any one session, all conducted by Barry Gray. The selections from Year 1 show Gray’s skills in creating a memorable opening theme as well as dramatically evocative cues highlighting the plight of the Alphans as they became known. The Year 1 album also showcases a selection of library cues which featured throughout the series.
Barry Gray was a classically trained composer and a versatile musician and was amongst the first composers to use electronic instruments in music for television. Best known for creating the music for most of the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson television series in the 1960's and 70's (Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space:1999), Barry Gray’s complete musical opus is still not commercially available in its entirety. Fanderson, dedicated to the productions of Gerry Anderson, has gained access to all Barry Gray's original studio tapes and have undertaken a major re-issue project. Together with Fanderson, Silva Screen Records is championing Barry Gray’s incredible musical opus and is releasing the material in a series of physical and digital albums and vinyl records.
Strut Records proudly presents a new reissue of the original Afrobeat classic Low Profile (Not For The Blacks), recorded and composed by Afrika 70 saxophonist and bandleader Lekan Animashaun and produced by Fela Kuti. After years touring the world as Fela’s baritone saxophonist, Animashaun stepped forward to lead the legendary Egypt 80 band following Tony Allen’s departure, remaining the group’s musical director until Fela’s death in 1997. He continued on subsequent tours with Seun Kuti until 2016. Lekan began recording his only solo project, Low Profile, in 1977. The album was composed and recorded across sessions at home in Nigeria and on tour with Fela, who both produced the recordings and added keyboards to the album’s title track. ‘Low Profile (Not For The Blacks)’ referenced a government campaign during the country’s 1970s oil boom: “It was inspired by a speech by Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s military Head of State, when he urged black people to keep a low profile about their wealth and not to behave in a vulgar, arrogant way,” explains Lekan. “I argued that low profile is not just for the blacks, as everyone is human, regardless of race.” On the flip side, the simmering Afrobeat anthem ‘Se Rere’ (which translates as ‘Do Right’) delivers Animashaun’s message of living with integrity: do right, and you will reap what you sow.
The song later became the band’s opening number during Fela’s live performances both in Nigeria and internationally throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Despite recording beginning almost two decades earlier, Low Profile did not receive an official release until 1995, when it finally surfaced on Fela’s Kalakuta label. One of only a handful of albums led by core members of Kuti’s band, Low Profile captures a pivotal moment in Afrobeat history. Over time, the original has become a rare and highly sought-after record, and this new reissue places the spotlight back on a modest but influential Nigerian legend. Strut’s reissue features the complete original artwork, is fully remastered by The Carvery, and includes brand new liner notes by Lekan Animashaun himself.
Nobody knew. Not the crowd packed into Circolo Kessel that Sunday evening, not even the six musicians on stage. When Giardini di Mirò played on March 19, 2023, it was supposed to be just another homecoming show in Cavriago, the kind of night where you play for the people who’ve known you longest. Some were missing from the audience, though: “Our closest friends stayed home to watch the football match tonight,” Jukka quipped from the stage. “But that’s fine, we’ll deal with them tomorrow.” In hindsight, even Juventus fans who celebrated their 1–0 victory over Inter made the wrong choice.
Seventy minutes in, all the instruments converged into a one-chord riff, driven by the drums and punctuated by screaming guitars. A repetitive rhythm that paired brutal volume with hypnotic precision. Even those at the back of the room felt it: that trance-like state where sound becomes physical. Then the wall of sound collapsed. Guitar feedback lingered in the air for a few seconds before fading into nothing.
This was the last sound Giardini di Mirò made. They haven’t played since, and there are no plans to do so again. But in that moment, nobody knew.
The closing song that night was also the opener of their debut full-length, recorded more than two decades earlier. Its title, A New Start, carries an unintended irony the band would likely appreciate. It is also oddly fitting that their final show took place in the same building where they began. Circolo Kessel, previously known as Calamita, served as the band’s rehearsal space for many years. Yet since their rise to becoming one of Europe’s defining post-rock acts, they had never performed a concert there.
In a fortunate coincidence, Markus Mathis – a longtime fan who had recorded several of their shows before – also captured this final concert using two room microphones and a feed from the mixing desk.
Quasi Casa is the complete, unfiltered document of that night: an “official bootleg” spanning over 70 minutes of purely instrumental music, drawing on material from across their entire career, from the earliest releases to Del Tutto Illusorio. It captures, with striking clarity, the intensity that defined the band’s live performances.
Rather than simply uploading the recording and calling it a day, the band chose to assemble a physical release as a parting gift to their fans. The double LP includes a 16-page booklet with extensive liner notes and visual material.
Furniture is British new wave band active between 1979 and 1991, but were far more eclectic than you'd think, incorporating jazz, blues and post-punk sounds as well. They are noted both for their poetic storytelling and high-quality productions as for the numerous setbacks they experienced. These setbacks ultimately prevented them from making their big break, making them a big what-if of the burgeoning English new wave scene.
Although active since the late 70s, their 1986 debut album The Wrong People gave them their commercial breakthrough. It was supported by the single Brilliant Mind which eventually reached #21 on the UK Singles Chart and remains their only entry on it. They followed it up with a re-recording of their 1984 single Love Your Shoes. Although a radio hit, it ultimately failed to chart as not enough copies were pressed to match demand.
The album ultimately suffered from the same fate which means there are not a lot of copies floating around. In recent years it became a cult classic so we thought it would be fitting to reissue it on vinyl for the first time since its initial release in 1986.
The Wrong People is available as a 40th anniversary edition on orange vinyl, and includes an insert with lyrics.
Even in these most turbulent of times, dub musician and fatigued onlooker Elijah Minnelli remains an inexplicable stalwart on the lower rungs of the Breadminster County Council.
His latest record ‘Clams As A Main Meal’ continues his astute siphoning of council funds, this time with help from the Breadminster Board of Abstinence. As a further mark of respect, the original head of the Board, Dr. K'houldoux, graces the cover art in his infamous ‘Looming Moon of Desire’ guise.*
As fine a backdrop as any for Minneli’s off-brand dub experiments, and ‘Clams...’ is the truest representation of his varied wheelhouse yet...
We find vocal appearances from dub goliath Dennis Bovell and Welsh-language singer Carwyn Ellis. A pair of tracks which build on 2024’s acclaimed ‘Perpetual Musket’, a collection of folk songs reworked alongside reggae vocalists, released by FatCat Records. It garnered glowing reviews, with nods from The Guardian and The Quietus concluding with prominent appearances on their respective yearly round-up lists.
Elsewhere, the album finds Minnelli in a more experimental mode, all wheezing contraptions and cockeyed bass, creaking with the weight of creation, a satisfying tactility laid seam-side up.
As well as ‘Perpetual Musket’, the new album follows years of sold out 7" singles, handmade and self-released. Online, the tracks have amassed global streams numbering in the millions. His tracks have found play across an eclectic range of radio mixes and dance floors, most notably the likes of Andrew Weatherall, Batu, Optimo and Zakia Sewell (BBC6Music).
It is perhaps worth mentioning that this everbuilding interest in his work is at great odds with the growing suspicions amongst his fellow townsfolk, who see his Breadminster County Council Music Initiative as nothing more than an empty cash-grab.
Further Reading on the Breadminster Board of Abstinence
In the late 70s, Breadminster was awash with the last vestiges of the hippy era. Though the flared silhouette of the lower leg remained, the utopian ideals that had once flowed merrily around the youth's shaded ankles had begun to wane. LSD and free love had led to a sharp spike in population and a generation of children raised by air-headed psychonauts unprepared for the bleary-eyed strictures of parenthood.
Aware of the crisis, the County Council entrusted Dr. Paulinque K'houldoux to spearhead a pushback, and it was his pro-abstinence movement - a mixture of education initiatives and radical renutrition campaigns - that came to impact Breadminster's census deep into the new millennium.
Being a pseudo-archipelago Breadminster has fundamentally limited resources, however deep-seated ties to distant coastal villages meant that oysters were a regular part of the local diet. K'houldoux pinpointed this as a factor in the town's overpopulation, and believed that simply replacing these with clams (a “lesser mollusk”) would help lower the erotic urges of the people. It was his “anti-aphrodesia” movement that first championed the idea of “Clams As A Main Meal,” and the slogan “Consider Abstinence” carried the message yet further.
The Breadminster Board of Abstinence soon became involved in all cultural happenings in the area, with K'houldoux MCing at prominent festivals and performances, sometimes dressed as the “Looming Moon of Desire” - an idea of his relating to the tide, seafood, menstrual cycles, and his privately held celestial predilections.
It was in 1981 that it was revealed Dr. K'houldoux had never fully qualified as a doctor and was seeking exile in Breadminster due to a series of botched bracelet heists in which he had previously been involved. K'houldoux was subsequently extradited to Basingstoke, where he served 3 of a 12-year sentence, owing to the lunar-oriented prisoner health campaigns he helped implement.
It has been a strange twist of bureaucratic fate that the Breadminster Board of Abstinence has never stopped receiving public funding, despite its lack of clear utility. And while its roots are tied to a rose-tinted past, the Board continues to sponsor cultural events and projects to this day.
An extract from: Eugeniq Schooner's article in Sydney Parishioner: “Clams, Breadminster and Countercultural Abstinence Trends” (2008)
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For well over a decade, MONOLORD have caused mass riff hypnosis with longform epics steeped in repetition, volume, and heaviness. One of heavy music’s most consistent and beloved bands, MONOLORD are gearing up for their next chapter with a new album titled Neverending. In looking for a new take on the genre, MONOLORD approached the legendary producer Sylvia Massy, known for her work with Tool, System of a Down, and Johnny Cash, among many more. The payoff from this new process is undeniable. Neverending feels like the culmination of 13 years of heavy, molten music, with a keen eye towards creating a sharper album. “The recording of this album is an example of the spirit of MONOLORD’s camaraderie,” says bassist Mika Häkki. “We’ve looked back and seen for the first time how much we have done as a band collectively, and realized what an intense 13 years it has been.” "The lyrics on this album are more personal than before because I went through some major life changes in the last couple of years,” guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger says. “I usually write about religion and how people are superstitious, but this record is more about relationships between people. But it’s not all about me. Sometimes I’m writing from another person’s perspective.” Neverending’s lead single “You Bastard” offers listeners a sharp contrast: A propulsive groove offset by lyrics about suicide. There’s two sides to suicide,” Jäger points out. “There’s the person who commits suicide and the people who gets left behind...The choruses represent the person left behind, and that person is calling the other a bastard—but it’s not pointing fingers or saying, ‘You suck.’ It’s more like, ‘You left me here with all the bullshit.’ It’s an understanding that life is not easy." Though it might not be immediately obvious, album opener “Iodine” was inspired by 70's rock epics like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter." Elsewhere, album closer “It’s Neverending” is the first MONOLORD song that Jäger doesn’t sing on. Instead, the death-metal style vocals are performed by former Entombed bassist Jörgen Sandström, (also of Grave, Domedagen and Firespawn.) 13 years on, MONOLORD’s path takes a new turn, and Neverending becomes the band’s most befitting album title. “It's been a wild ride and still is,” says drummer Esben Willems. “I've spent a quarter of my life in this band. Looking back, I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished along the way, and in many ways, this album feels like the essence of everything we've done so far. My mindset is the same it's always been, to be the absolute best the three of us can be.”
Rising from the wreckage of a war torn planet, Czarface joins forces with MF DOOM in the epic Czarface Meets Metal Face! Blending DOOM's trademark abstractions and CZARFACE's in-your-face lyrical attack, this album is ripe with cartoon violence, societal observations and pop culture musings. Over banging beats provided by The Czar-Keys, the armored team give you the witty unpredictable treats any hip-hop fan can sink their fangs into. Expect beats, rhymes, and metal as Czarface controlled by WU-TANG CLAN powerhouse Inspectah Deck and 7L & Esoteric team up with everyone's favorite villain, MF DOOM. With track titles like "Nautical Depth","Meddle With Metal", "Astral Traveling" to "Madness of Badness" this album packs a punch with 16 brand new tracks. Add that with features from Open Mike Eagle and Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz, we promise you mind-bending metaphors and brain-melting beats as this powerful pairing sounds off in March 2018! Long time rumored full length collaboration album from Czarface and MF DOOM, fan favorite "Ka-Bang" from Czarface's 2015 sophomore LP Every Hero Needs A Villain had fans begging for more. Cover Art by clothing brand Mishka's head designer Lamour Supreme. Album features Vinnie Paz of the legendary Jedi Mind Tricks, and Open Mike Eagle, who's most recent album "Brick Body Kids Still Daydream" was on Rolling Stone & Pitchforks top 50 albums of 2017 list. The albums lead video "Meddle With Metal" done by Animation Firm TFU Studios who have worked with MF DOOM prior on the "All Caps" video as well as with Mayer Hawthorne, Biz Markie, Cut Chemist and more!
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Sixteen killer 70s reggae funk and soul cuts from the likes of John Holt, Lee Perry, Cornel Campbell, The Cimarons, The Chosen Few and more featuring superb reggae takes on songs by artists including The Jackson 5, William DeVaughn, Diana Ross and The Supremes, War, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, The Stylistics and others!
Well-documented is the influence of American black music on Jamaican styles of the 1960s – from the birth of ska music, when The Skatalites ska-ified the jump-up southern USA rhythm and blues music of Rosco Gordon, Louis Jordan and Fats Domino, through to the creation of rocksteady when Jamaican artists like The Techniques, The Paragons, Alton Ellis and The Melodians turned to the slower rhythms and soulful harmonies of groups such as The Impressions and The Drifters for inspiration.
Less-well established is that in the 1970s Jamaicans didn’t (shock!) stop listening to American black music styles, with many 70s reggae artists as invested in soul, funk and the proto-disco sounds of Philadelphia, as was the case with rhythm and blues in the previous decade. In the 1970s, while Jamaica promoted its own roots reggae styles around the world, powerhouse USA soul labels such as Motown, Philadelphia International and Stax Records were at the same time all popular on the island.
This interaction between American and Jamaican music was not limited to Jamaica. In Britain, first-generation Caribbean-émigré children in the 1960s and early 70s grew up with an equal love of both soul and reggae, which manifested itself in the home-grown arrival of lovers rock in the mid-1970s.
Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Reggae Island Soul’ tells this story of how soul and funk-infused reggae in the 1970s united the sounds of Jamaica, USA and the UK into a highly addictive cultural hybrid of styles.
Strut proudly presents the first-ever reissue of a landmark 1974 Ghanaian highlife classic Sikyi Highlife by Dr K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings, originally released on Essiebons.
A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse.
The vocal arrangements echo the traditional Akan modal style, grounding the music firmly in Ghana’s cultural heritage. Yet Sikyi Highlife is equally forward-thinking. As electric guitars became standard in highlife during the 1960s, the 1970s ushered in further experimentation. The Noble Kings broke new ground as the first highlife guitar band to incorporate keyboards and a full horn section into their sound, expanding the genre’s sonic possibilities while retaining its rootsy spirit.
Gyasi’s approach was part of a broader indigenisation movement among Ghana’s electric highlife bands in the post-independence era. Inspired by the nation’s ‘African Personality’ ethos and reinforced by Afrocentric messages arriving from American soul and funk, artists began reclaiming traditional forms within modern arrangements. Contemporaries included Koo Nimo, who revived the older palmwine style, and drummer Nii Ashitey, whose Wulomei band pioneered a folklorised Ga highlife sound from 1973.
Like many musicians of his generation, Gyasi was a passionate supporter of Ghana’s independence movement. In 1963, he travelled as a musical ambassador alongside Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, performing across North Africa and the USSR and carrying Ghanaian culture onto the world stage.
The Noble Kings’ mid-’70s line-up featured some of the country’s finest musicians, including guitarist Eric Agyeman (who led the band at the time), Thomas Frimpong on drums and vocals, Ernest Honny on organ, and bassist Ralph Karikari - who was renowned for his innovative technique of translating the rhythms and tonal language of the traditional talking drum onto electric bass.
Upon its original release, Sikyi Highlife became one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s for Essiebons, earning Gyasi the affectionate honorary title of “Dr” from his devoted fans. Today, the album remains an evergreen classic, still cherished across Ghana and beyond.
The Bay Area’s electro-pop underground gets a neon-lit revival with a limited repress of The Limousines’ cult-classic 2010 debut album, Get Sharp, on frosted pink vinyl.
The album features the single “Internet Killed the Video Star,” a blog-era anthem with an instantly recognizable synth line and a self-aware chorus that captured the anxieties and possibilities of the digital age. Heavy rotation at alternative radio juggernaut Live 105 helped transform the song into a regional hit and an indie-dance mainstay.
“Very Busy People” is a high-energy critique of hyper-productivity and modern ambition, personifying a band that synthesized sharp songwriting, glossy synth hooks, and cultural commentary. Together, these elements mark a moment when Bay Area forces aligned to launch a record that continues to resonate.
WRWTFWW Records releases THE GENTLE PEOPLE - The Peel Sessions, available on vinyl for the first time ever, in conjunction with the worldwide expanded reissue of the group's Soundtracks for Living. Lounge/Chill Out music reborn !
This is an exclusive 4-song EP recorded in 1997 on BBC's Peel Sessions, as The Gentle People were doing the rounds for the release of their legendary debut album. These live versions have never seen the light of day before - a must have for all the gentle fans !
When The Gentle People first glided into the mid-90s on clouds of strings, sugar and sine waves, they sounded like visitors from another, more glamorous planet. Signed to Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge's cult label Rephlex, this multinational "E-Z-Core" lounge unit took the aesthetics of 50s/60s easy listening and exotica and gently smuggled them into 1990s club culture.
Imagine KLF's Chill Out or Space growing up on French 60/70s pop, bossa nova, soundtracks, vocal harmony groups, library music and easy listening then slipping out for a late-night date with dub, ambient techno and bubble-bath pop. That's The Gentle People : music that can score cocktail hour, 4am taxi rides, and daydreams in headphones with the same effortless grace.
The Gentle People weren't just a curiosity on a weird label; they became unlikely icons of a whole loungecore moment, gracing TV, compilations and magazine spreads, and proving that tenderness could be as futuristic as any drum machine.
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Rock legend John Corabi—renowned for his work with Mötley Crüe, The Scream, Union, ESP, and The Dead Daisies—steps into the spotlight with “New Day” his first full-length solo album of original material. Recorded in Nashville during the summer of 2025 and produced by multi-platinum songwriter and producer Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Buckcherry), the album fuses classic ’70s rock, soul, and blues influences into a sound that is both timeless and deeply personal. The record features the previously released singles “Così Bella (So Beautiful)” (2021) and “Your Own Worst Enemy” (2022), now fully integrated into a rich collection of tracks that showcase Corabi’s commanding vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and masterful songwriting.
Throughout the album, Corabi is joined by Marti Frederiksen, who adds backing vocals, guitars, piano, and percussion; Evan Frederiksen, providing drums, bass, B3 organ, electric guitar, mandolin, and programming; Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses) on lead guitar; and Paul Taylor (Winger, Steve Perry) contributing piano, organ, and clavinet. Together, they create an organic, instrument-driven sound built on real performances, melodic interplay, and soulful energy. A trip down to memory lane mostly with a nostalgic mood offering intimate everything that is in between acoustic moments to richly layered arrangements rockers: “New Day” is a journey through the heart of rock, infused with soul and blues sensibilities, and inspired by the melodic grandeur of early Boston and Queen. With a European tour planned for February/March 2026 and additional shows through late spring and summer, Corabi is poised to bring this music directly to fans, delivering both powerful live energy and emotional resonance. More than just a solo debut, “New Day” is John Corabi’s personal testament to rock’s enduring spirit—an exploration of melody, soul, and authenticity, played with passion and conviction at every turn.
Reissue of the legendary Deep House album While You Wait by Nottingham group, Schmoov! celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the release. Available for the first time since its initial release in 2001 & highly sought after on the second-hand market, with the only copies available selling for £70+. Presented here on special purple vinyl, giving a new generation of vinyl collectors an opportunity to own a piece of UK Deep House history.
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