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Efficient Space continues to bind its mind with Altered States Tapes, offering another service to How So?, Th Blisks' 2022 debut in home-cooked experimentation. A blurring of three vastly different heads into a single disjointed, but fluid organism, How So? finds Yuta Matsumura (The Lewers, Keanu Nelson), Amelia Besseny (Troth, Impatiens) and Cooper Bowman (Troth, CD3) working with vocals, melodica, deeply pulled samples, guitar, drum machine, synths and resourceful percussion. An Elixa-blueprint of sideways ambient rituals, fog-thick melodica dub and paranoid trip hop by way of Sydney's pioneering industrial collagists, the LP recirculates beyond its original 150-copy confines for those who missed its first apparition.

Continuing the percussive-driven and emotive themes from his previous EPs, CAIN reaches beyond the boundaries of experimental electronic and Celtic music from the Scottish Highlands. "Lineage" is the result of a life-long goal to combine his passion and experience in these respective worlds. The album includes Brighde Chaimbeul on Scottish small pipes, James Mackenzie on flute and vocals by Katie Mackenzie.

The common thread that connects his discography is the intense rhythmic and melodic elements that convey his love of ‘infectious rhythm, ethereal beauty, or an otherworldly strangeness’. His productions have garnered support from DJs like Ben UFO, Gilles Peterson, Peggy Gou, Hunee, Haai, Erol Alkan, Ame, Oneman, and Midland, amongst others. Balancing rhythmic precision with profound harmonic depth, CAIN weaves evocative builders that ignite dancefloors at peak time and reveal intricate sonic tapestries in the intimate confines of headphones.

CAIN's musical background is rooted in traditional Scottish bagpipe music, which evolved through his competitive performances on an international level. His experience and knowledge enhanced CAIN’s understanding of how regional folk music reflects specific environments and cultures. Through the competition circuit he met Brìghde Chaimbeul, out on the scenic games fields of Uist, Glenfinnan and many others. He also competed against James Mackenzie, an amazing piper and flautist. James is a former member of the band Breabach. His wife, Katie Mackenzie is a superb Gaelic singer.

The recordings with James and Katie were done on the island of Bernera, off the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and recordings with Brìghde were made in Edinburgh.

Mastered by Sam at Precise, Design by Alexander Horne, Pressed and printed at Record Industry

As Planka Records continues its relentless pursuit of sonic exploration, delving deeper into the shadows of the underground. PLNK004 showcases a seamless blend of fresh, boundary-pushing talent alongside solid contributions from familiar artists. Together, they craft a soundscape where hypnotic rhythms, ethereal textures, and bold experimentation merge to redefine what we know about the underground.

These tracks transcend the confines of time and place, speaking to the moments where the music wraps around you, drawing you closer into its enigmatic energy. Whether it’s the pulse of the club at midnight or a reflective session in solitude, PLNK004 is a testament to the transformative power of sound.

With this release, Planka reaffirms its commitment to nurturing innovation and pushing the scene forward, always evolving, always underground.

In the late 1980s, Disco was taking a backseat to the burgeoning psychedelic scene in San Francisco, marking a pivotal shift in musical culture. A dynamic transformation was underway as the younger generation sought a fresh auditory adventure, all while the devastating AIDS epidemic cast a somber pall over the city's nightlife. Amidst this evolving backdrop, a subtle yet distinct sonic movement quietly emerged within the confines of San Francisco’s vibrant club scene, often referred to as "The Beat." Although Hip-Hop, New Wave, Gothic, Punk, and the burgeoning Modern Rock genre held considerable sway, the pre-RAVE clubs in SF witnessed the fusion of these genres into a unique amalgam of sound that insiders dubbed “The Beat.” This musical tapestry encompassed everything from Hip-Hop and Freestyle to Industrial, New Wave, Boogie, Miami Bass, and Techno – the unifying thread being the distinctive vibe that characterised this eclectic mix.

As House, Techno, and Raving gradually gained prominence along the West Coast, a distinctive interpretation of these evolving sounds took root. Drawing inspiration from influential hubs like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Europe, and notably the UK, which saw a wave of talented young DJs migrate to California, San Francisco became the backdrop for its own version of the second Summer of Love. While the exact chronology might spark debate – some recalling '92, while others leaning towards '93 – what remains indisputable is the era spanning from 1990 to 1994, an unparalleled epoch of exuberant dancefloor revelry on the western shores.

In the face of limited backing from major labels or established independent dance music entities of the time, a grassroots movement of labels and producers emerged organically, ardently championing this distinct sound and catapulting it onto the global stage. This sonic identity was deeply influenced by “the Beat,” acting as a creative wellspring that informed the musical landscape. While the tracks compiled in these volumes might not encompass the entirety of this transformative musical epoch, they offer a vivid snapshot of the melodious tapestry that coloured San Francisco and the broader West Coast during that era. Each track featured stands as a 100% Sure Shot that was played heavily by DJ Spun back in those very heady days.

The second installment of this remarkable journey into the underground scene maintains the same profound level of depth and significance as its precursor. Showcasing tracks from Electroliners, High Lonesome Soundsystem, Single Cell Orchestra, DJ Emma, and Spun's own Central Fire project, all harmoniously enclosed within the captivating and arresting artwork by Villain Standard, this release stands shoulder to shoulder with its forerunner. Beyond a mere compilation, it's an indispensable extension of the narrative that has indelibly shaped the culture of underground American dance music within the region, embodying the era and the individuals involved. This is the authentic underground sound that reverberated across San Francisco and its surrounding environs, a truly distinctive and exceptional moment in time and space.

Pellegrino & Zodyaco, with their new single 'Malìa', continue the aesthetic and sonic journey of the project led by the Neapolitan producer, with a mixture of Neapolitan disco-funk and fusion steeped in Latin flavour that already explored the innermost corners of the soul with 'Quimere'. This new work captures the frenzy and vibrant character of Naples, with its rarefied atmospheres and infectious groove that evoke the beating heart of the city and take us on a journey through the wonder of life in search of the Mediterranean essence.

The 'Malìa' is enchanting, it’s that mysterious force that hides deep inside, transforming itself into a vortex of emotions through the fusion of involving rhythms and reflections on inner battles, on the importance of finding the 'light' to overcome conflicts and difficulties that hinder the ability to choose, a dreamlike mirage that opens a window on human vulnerability, a hymn to authenticity, to self-acceptance.

The celebration of dance in the Caribbean Escapade version is also an exhortation to escape from everyday life; it takes us into a sonic imagery that plays with the Neapolitan musical tradition and the freshness of Caribbean and Latin sounds. This summer single becomes an ode to the vital energy of dance music: there is no more time for hesitation, one must let oneself be carried away by the enthralling embrace of 'Malìa', like a call to awareness and the search for authenticity in life. Malìa becomes the guiding thread, the mystery that urges us to go beyond the confines of everyday life, to explore and celebrate the complexity of existence.

A1 - Continuum

Teaming up once again the original Spatial production duo open their latest EP serving up a thumping onslaught of amen goodness with Continuum, a track which takes the classic Demon's Theme break and carves it to bits unreservedly with a myriad of chops, cuts & edits. We are treated to some delicious filter work later in the track over a shimmering backdrop of synthwork, glazed with a bunch of micro melodies, bleeps and FX.

A2 - Depth Perception

Meticulously constructed vintage breakbeats immediately set a brisk tone with Depth Perception before a blissful early interlude reminds us to sit back and take a breath, before our breaks return - blanketed with an introspective layer of serene synths & keys which somehow combine perfectly, resulting in a tonal mosaic only ASC & Aural Imbalance can conjure up with their combined skillset.

AA1 - Distant Orbit

Nest up an unsettling, melancholic intro tenuously launches classic atmospheric breaks delivered with that crisp, old school brand new punch we have come to love from the distinctive style of drum n bass Spatial is showcasingand developing with each release. Powered with a lively bassline, it's easy to lose yourself in this piece as the track lives up to its title and sends the listener far beyond the confines of their speaker.

AA2 - Cold Front

An intriguing, inquisitive energy opens Cold Front with an assortment of breakbeats woven together exquisitely in a collage format, DJ-friendly yet mellow at once . The dialed-back airy backdrops showcase a glorious intricacy to the breaks, so detailed with umatched clarity - they almost possess an ASMR-like quality, offering new discoveries to the ear each time on repeated listens.

Following the release of a number of EPs on Swiss, German, British and Australian labels, Trinidad will release their debut album ‘Palm Trees & Thirty Degrees’ on October 16th 2020.

The album draws on the Swiss-based trio’s experience of sustaining the energy of festival and club shows, while also providing the perfect background to a relaxed summer evening with friends.


The project provides an opportunity for the trio to indulge in a range of musical influences, blending together a mix of synthesizers with the haunting tones of a church organ, the warmth of a string quartet and regality of an opera singer. The album grew organically, with inspiration taking hold beyond the confines of the studio: the bonus track recorded with a Jamaican reggae singer in the back of a VW bus in Greece. Soundscapes from Colombia to India were captured and embedded.

With "Palm Trees & Thirty Degrees" Trinidad guide listeners on a journey to a tropical paradise; to a wonderful, perhaps peculiar place of confidence, created and shaped by the mental theatre of the moment.

The soft kiss of a warm breeze hits you as you adjust to your new surroundings ("Desembarco"); leaving the static chatter of your thoughts behind in the "Lobby" (feat. MonoAbe) of your mind; you allow yourself to imagine what the evening holds in store (“Kopfkino”); But first, there’s a drink in the “Sunset Bar”, a refreshing cocktail "Luciola" that serves as a gateway for you to plunge into the night. A night of unlimited possibilities, the first instances a blur ("Sagrada"), as time starts to lose its meaning ("Tempus Fugit"); everything spins, everything is possible, everything is ("Elevate"). Suddenly, hours (or is it days?) have passed – it doesn’t matter; what matters is the first sign of dawn, the unmistakable warmth dissolving the darkness (“Alma”); the beat slows, and you feel the "Libération" of the new day; looking around you see the moments you’ve shared etched on the faces of your friends ("Fleeting" feat. Julia Portmann); It is not goodbye, it is only "Au Revoir".

The album was produced by Trinidad in their own studios in Bern and Zurich. It features collaborations with a number of artists: Cornelia Aeschbacher Firmin (Hang), MonoAbe (Mallets & Percussion), Jack Williams (text of "Fleeting"), Julia Portmann (vocals), Zenyth (vocals) and Michael Meier (electric bass). The songs were mixed by Marcel Schneider, mastered by Benjamin Fay. Raïssa Lara Lütolf was responsible for the graphic design.

The complete album - limited edition pressing on 180g crystal clear vinyl

Although both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had met and performed and recorded a number of singles together during 1940s for Decca, they wouldn't be heard on LP together until 1956 when producer Norman Granz paired the two for this first album session, Ella & Louis, which became an immediate hit. Two further sessions under Granz, followed, Ella & Louis Again, and Porgy & Bess. All three albumswere both critically acclaimed and commercial successes - appealing to audiences in and beyond the confines of jazz per se. Ella & Louis features the incredible Oscar Peterson Trio plus legendary drummer Buddy Rich. As one of the most iconic and fascinating jazz albums ever produced, its appeal and commercial sales haven't waned during the sixty-nine years since its first release. "Ella & Louis is one of the very, very few albums to have been issued in this era of the LP flood that is sure to endure for decades." - ***** Nat Hentoff, DownBeat

Amsterdam-based keyboardist, producer, arranger and DJ Soul Supreme reached out to NYC drummer Jay Mumford in 2021 to lay the down groove on his re-imagining of Q-Tip and J-Dilla's "Let's Ride". That paved the way for future collaborations: a cover of A Tribe Called Quest's "Award Tour (We Gettin' Down)" and two tunes on Soul Supreme's Poetic Justice LP. But when the pair began doing brief covers of their favorite funk, jazz and hip-hop tunes on Instagram just for fun, followers of both musicians - and often, the covered artists themselves - began to take note. Two of those 20+ covers were particularly well-received, and the duo decided to answer the peoples' call for a 7" release with the songs pushed to their full potential. Similar to "Award Tour" and "Let's Ride", a hip-hop classic and a fan favorite are pushed to their full potential here. This installment goes coast to coast and explores Digable Planets' "9th Wonder" (the "East" side) and People Under the Stairs' (PUTS) "Crown Ones" (the "West" side).

The iconic synth intro of "9th Wonder" makes way for Jay's thunderous ode to a slowed down Clyde Stubblefield groove. Sure to be a favorite with DJs, Jay eventually detours into a syncopated New Orleans funk break, before getting back to the groove for Soul Supreme's funky wah wah clavinet work. Throughout, the arrangement expands beyond both that of the original and all of its DNA. The addition of cascading horns (featuring a trumpet solo by Lourens van der Zwaag) and a second, more aggressive break from Jay bring it back full circle, completing a modern update of a classic that manages to pay homage to '70s jazz-funk, breakbeats and '90s hip-hop - all while staying both modern and raw.

Diehard PUTS fans will recognize Soul Supreme's catchy Rhodes line as soon as the needle drops, but Jay's heavy funk groove quickly separates it from the original and takes it from hip-hop cover to heavy funk tune. Soul Supreme's Rhodes solo pushes it far beyond the confines of instrumental funk as the groove intensifies, while his chops as an arranger are on full display: his horn parts - featuring van der Zwaag, trombonist Olav Schloorlemmer and Job Chajes' Contra-Alto Clarinet that channels The Headhunters - counter his synth melodies in a discussion that completes the record as a heavy slice of uncut jazz-funk.

For this fifth album, the musical frequencies emitted by Vaudou Game have spread beyond the confines of the city and country, crossed the Atlantic, and reached Colombia. Drawn like magnets, tropical waves traveled along the equator from Latin America to Togo, arriving at the doors of the OTODI studio. They, too, wanted to join in and take advantage of its legendary analog equipment. Welcomed by Peter Solo, they weren’t the only contributors to the band’s renowned hypnotic groove.

The sedans parked outside tell their own story. From Lomé’s bustling market, the Nana Benz of Togo arrived to weave the delicacy of their beguiling vocal harmonies into call-and-response exchanges with Peter Solo. Meanwhile, Lomé Vio, a youth group whose instruments were provided by Peter during turbulent times, lent the strength of their trio of voice, guitar, and accordion.

Still operating under the supreme authority of funk guided by the esoteric and mystical essence of the Vaudou scale, Vaudou Game brings together the hands of highlife and cumbia in perfect unison. With guitars, percussion, horns, and future-vintage keyboards setting hips in motion or creating the most intriguing atmosphere, Peter delivers his messages hidden behind his iconic, inextricable mask. Whether political, human, or environmental, these messages are always wrapped in thick layers of sarcasm and humor, cleverly disguised to serve the exclusive purpose of joyful, dance-driven trance.

With the subliminal mantra to repay Africa—its people, its land—Vaudou Game calls out: FINTOU!

Vril's sixth studio album arrives on Omnidisc, marking a standout release. Over the past five years, Vril has curated a collection of boundary-pushing studio experiments, resulting in a mesmerizing body of mind-bending electronic music. True to his reputation for storytelling through sound, 'Saturn Is A Supercomputer' transcends traditional boundaries, transforming energy into unfamiliar realms. This album invites listeners to open the black cube and step beyond the confines of the 3D world.

A Universe of Pop: Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night Features Meticulous Production, Includes the Hits “Big Love,” “Everywhere,” “Seven Wonders,” and “Little Lies”

Experience the 1987 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time:

Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Captures the Perfectionist Details

1/2" / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

The perfectionism involved in crafting Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night reached a level of intensity experienced by few artists before or since. Commercially and creatively, the painstaking efforts paid off. Recorded over the span of 18 months, the triple-platinum album spawned four hit singles and put Fleetwood Mac back at the center of mainstream conversation. Its demands also ultimately forced its primary architect, guitarist-singer Lindsey Buckingham, to leave the group shortly after its completion. Was it all worth it? A thousand times “yes.”

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Tango in the Night presents the 1987 record in audiophile sound for the first time. Everything co-producers Buckingham and Richard Dashut sought to instill in the music — the exacting tones, gauzy textures, plush atmospherics, shifted harmonics, unique pitches, pristine acoustics, biting rhythms — can now be heard with elevated accuracy, range, depth, and detail.

Made under challenging circumstances, Tango in the Night is as much a universe of sound as it is an album. This reissue conveys that sonic spectrum in exhaustive manners that go beyond prior editions by playing with a combination of transparency, imaging, openness, and dynamics that provides uncanny insight into the meticulously layered vocal and instrumental tracks. Equally important, it also amplifies your connection to the elaborate melodies, contagious hooks, and airy highs that account for the album’s ageless pop brilliance.

As for the wondrous array of percussive accents, synthesizer elements, interlaced guitars, and lush choruses — all seemingly occupying the exact right place amid the soundstages and taking on shapes and forms that lend them a living, breathing quality? If your audio system is up to the task, the realism, presence, and warmth of Mobile Fidelity’s collectible edition will have you considering Tango in the Night from a new perspective — one that puts its lavish, gorgeous creations on a par with those from Rumours and Tusk.

Unlike those records, Tango in the Night began from a more individualistic perspective in that it sprang from what originally was intended to become a Buckingham solo effort. Instead, it remains the final album credited to the peak Fleetwood Mac lineup involving Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie. Though the participation of all the members varies from track to track, the cohesive arrangements and alchemic production on Tango in the Night suggest a unity that remains on a par with the band’s other landmark works.

Largely constructed from laborious methods that involved recording at half speed to achieve the desired sonics and tonal nuances, piecing together verses and choruses to attain seamless synchronicity, and Buckingham using a Fairlight CMI synthesizer/workstation in visionary ways, the songs pair electronic and acoustic elements to radiant effect. Tango in the Night also possesses light dance structures that resulted in several tunes being recast as dance mixes on extended-play singles. Above all, however, this is music that appears to float and cast dreamy spells.

Surrender to the frisky interplay of the opening “Big Love,” big pop punctuated with Buckingham’s back-and-forth “oh-ah” sighs that ping the Top 5 smash with innocuous sensuality and toe-tapping momentum. Delight amid the shimmering lights of “Seven Wonders,” whose shades and shadows shift amid Nicks’ raspy vocals and a large group chorus. Wrap yourself in the warmth of the weightless “Everywhere,” a flawless slice of hummable pop that topped with Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks and towers as an ode to the love everyone desires. Stare into the mysterious landscape of the title track (and dig the synthesized harp) just before it explodes, briefly ceding to a terse riff and locked-in grooves.

Tango in the Night teems with delightful surprises and well-honed specifics, especially when Buckingham and Christine McVie team together. In addition to the aforementioned “Everywhere,” the singer born Christine Anne Perfect plays a major role on four more cuts — all highlights — from the breathy, head-over-heels emotionalism of “Mystified” to the sweet, sweeping escapism of “Little Lies,” a cover-up of romantic despair aided by Nicks’ irreplaceable background vocals.

“If I see you again/Will it be the same,” asks Buckingham on “When I See You Again,” finishing up a song a longing-sounding Nicks had started while voicing words that many likely knew would resonate far beyond the confines of the heartfelt song — a goodbye wearing a faint disguise. Though Fleetwood Mac would never again reach the heights maintained throughout Tango in the Night, and members would go their own way, the album towers as a paean to what’s possible in the fields of pop, rock, and studio wizardry.

Pile - the trio of Rick Maguire, Kris Kuss, and Alex Molini - found inspiration in the studio while working on their latest LP All Fiction, working tirelessly to record, experiment, manipulate, mutate, and layer the songs with lush orchestration, haunting synths, and abstract textures. Challenging the confines of the standard “rock band,” they took inspiration from artists like Portishead and Aphex Twin, reigniting their passion as they explored their sound in a new realm. The sessions resulted in a flutter of productivity and before the band knew it they had completed well over a dozen songs, stretching far beyond the confines of a single LP’s runtime. After much deliberation, songs were pulled from the record, never a “trimming of the fat” but more of a consideration of which songs were able to stand best on their own. These songs form the Hot Air Balloon EP. Released digitally on January 5th, 2024, and now in LP format for the first time, the EP captures the band experimenting in all directions, from the direct to the further abstract. Following the release of “Scaling Walls,” a song Paste Magazine called “a contemplative slow-burn,” the band introduce the EP with the quasi title track, “The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon,” a song that finds Pile in a more surrealist state, the meditative composition bristling with shuffling rhythms and brilliantly disorienting synths.

Oliver Coates' Throb, shiver, arrow of time is a portal into somatic chiaroscuro, aglow with the embers of imperfect memories and smudged with the plumes of internal echoes, which augment in vast, mercurial dimensions. For his third album on RVNG Intl., the British cellist, composer and producer offers a capsule of personal resonance and remembrance, assembled over the past six years. Throb, shiver, arrow of time traces the familiar metallic anatomy and viscous string modulations of his 2020 release skins n slime, while recentering his inner compulsions following a procession of lauded score writing projects, including the films Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022), The Stranger (Thomas M Wright, 2022) and Occupied City (Steve McQueen, 2023). While working on Aftersun, Wells asked Coates how music could signal that someone is going on a trawl through their memory_a question that has stayed with him ever since and fosters a heartbeat running through the record. Throb, shiver, arrow of time is "all about inaccurate transmissions from our memories, overlaid with emotions from other sources," says Coates. The release is imbued with the ache and glow of recollections mulched together, where the guttural dissonance of misremembering is shrouded by strange orbs of sentiment. At the record's inner core is "Shopping centre curfew," a swift yet cavernous track that emerged five years ago when two real world events, both occurring in South London during the pandemic lockdowns, became fused in a dream: the demolition of Elephant and Castle shopping center, and the discussion of a curfew as a real possibility for all men following a violent crime. A strange simultaneity occurred with this piece of music and Coates built the album out from there, a sense of temporal entropy refracting shimmers of lurking convulsions into lucid sonic topologies. The ten compositions of Throb, shiver, arrow of time find weightless melodies soaring across after-image gradients, magnified and compressed. Misted tones within "Please be normal" and "90" soften drone-soaked shudders of inner acoustics messing up. Vocal invocations appear from long-term collaborators Malibu and chrysanthemum bear, as well as drifting synth radiance from Faten Kanaan. Throb, shiver, arrow of time furthers Coates' reach in collapsing the digital into the analogue and vice versa, allowing serendipity to reorganize the material and push out against the confines of flatness. This sculptural approach to sound is deeply influenced by the intricate installations of artist Sarah Sze, whose permutations of visual matter with its own after-image form kaleidoscopic epitaphs for ephemera and emotion. Coates' thinking about Sze's work and processes flowed together with his own playing and editing techniques, superimposing the textural relief of a live take back into a composition, and allowing the sound to succumb to a dream of itself. As Coates expands, "The cello is a kind of melancholic instrument with a light ethereal spirit. When the sound is flattened into digital processes, with shifted frequencies and time stretching I'm trying to give it even more of those qualities. Sometimes I'm distancing myself from it, so it becomes a piece of discarded debris that has soul in it, a down-sampling. Or other times, it's trying to maximize the present tense in the act of playing, and collapse that vivid color into a burnished, photocopied kind of sound. So the music acts like weather, weathering the listener, or as flames licking at the sides of objects." As the record unfurls, the compositions swell in duration, until the granular glimmers of its finale "Make it happen" persist in almost violent delight. "There's a feeling of not wanting to let this album go, trying to defy the extinguishing sound at the end of the music, trying to push the colors beyond the confines of the structure, to defeat the silence." In the scramble to resist denouement, Coates suspends the arrow of time in its eternal flight, just for a moment, to reveal the solace of the dust settling in the afterglow. Oliver Coates' Throb, shiver, arrow of time will be released on vinyl, Japanese import CD, and digital editions on October 18, 2024. On behalf of Oliver and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit The Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland, an organization fostering opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the traditional music and culture of Scotland.

2024 repress

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history.

The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th.

In a heartfelt tribute to Mike Wells, who tragically passed away in 2022, Viasonde, with the blessing of the Wells family, embarks on a mission to reintroduce Gridlock to the world. The four main Gridlock albums will be reissued on vinyl for the first time, starting with "The Synthetic Form" double LP.
Available on June 7th, this limited edition release will be featured on clear vinyl with black and bone splatter alongside black vinyl. Additionally, 50% of the proceeds from LP sales will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, honoring Wells' memory. Both formats are extremely limited and Non-Returnable.
In the mid-90s, a resurgence in Electro-Industrial was firmly focused on dance-floors. At this pivotal time, two San Francisco metal scene defectors, Mike Wells and Mike Cadoo, connected through a mutual friend. Bonding over their shared appreciation for non-metal influences, Wells, armed with a sampler and a couple of synths, had crafted a few tracks. Cadoo swiftly added vocals to these compositions, and thus, Gridlock was born.
With relentless dedication, the duo embarked on sculpting a grittier, more ominous variant of electro-industrial. Steering clear of the upbeat rhythms typical of the genre, they opted for a dystopian, dirge-like pace. Drawing inspiration from iconic acts like Skinny Puppy, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Fields of the Nephilim, they pieced together the Sickness demo. Eager to share their creation, they distributed the demo to anyone who would lend an ear, including many users on the rec.music.industrial newsgroup. Despite numerous rejections from industrial music labels citing its lack of danceability, Pendragon Records saw potential and took a chance.

Thus commenced the earnest endeavor of crafting their debut album, "The Synthetic Form." Upon its release, it marked a pivotal moment in industrial music, ushering in a fusion of classic, experimental, and dystopian ambient elements. Pendragon Records tantalizingly teased the album as "Unleashing a World of Your Demons," offering a glimpse into its bleak exploration of themes like regret and personal turmoil.
Over the years, Gridlock evolved through three subsequent albums, progressively exploring diverse sonic territories beyond the confines of industrial music. However, their journey met an acrimonious end with the duo parting ways, leaving behind their albums as poignant relics, elusive on digital platforms and sought after by collectors at premium prices... until now.

Although both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had met and performed together previously, they wouldn't be heard on record together until January 18, 1946, when they waxed a single 78-rpm disc ("You Won't Be Satisfied) for Decca. They went on to record a few more singles together until in 1956 when producer Norman Granz paired the two together between 1956 and 1957 on three albums that were both critically acclaimed and commercial successes - appealing to audiences in and beyond the confines of jazz per se: Ella & Louis, its sequel Ella & Louis Again, and the selection of songs from George Gershwin's opera Porgy & Bess. While Porgy & Bess was recorded with a big band, the first two albums (featured in this release) were made in small group formats with the great Oscar Peterson Trio plus drummers Buddy Rich or Louie Bellson, resulting in some of the most fascinating jazz and popular music ever produced

Ondrej Zajac doesn't practice. Neither does he play his guitar with as little as a hint of striking technical prowess. Despite this, he makes music with the confidence of a master instrumentalist who doesn't let their chops get in the way. This is because Ondrej Zajac understands that the point of playing an instrument is to transcend it.

Such principles have been the source of pride for the idioms of experimental and free music, but these suffer from the chronic peddling of artistic narcissism. Ondrej Zajac works in the confines of these genres, but impressively avoids all their pitfalls. His music is almost pure content, as straight as a line, and so immediate and so fucking honest it leaves you wondering.

I Will Be Forgotten offers plenty of opportunities for such wondering, regardless of whether the composition is sixteen minutes or sixty seconds long. The structure of the whole thing, the appreciation of all properties of sound without indulgence in any of them, the playfulness and composure beyond it all, not even the beautiful sonic grain of the guitar itself, none of this does dwarf the most remarkable accomplishment of this record // its utter artistic integrity.

Recorded live at Divadlo 29 in Pardubice and co-produced and mixed by Václav Šafka, I Will Be Forgotten is the second solo release by Ondrej Zajac (Banausoi, Data Koroptev) and the 19th release by the sincere label Weltschmerzen.

The old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great
variety of morbid symptoms appear"
-Antonio Gramsci, Prison Notebooks.

Iskandr's latest offering "Spiritus Sylvestris" appears to be a radical
statement in both content and form Signifying a departure from the black metal roots of the project, the psychedelic folk doom of the new album builds upon the directions of where both "Vergezicht" and "Glas" were already moving towards.

"Spiritus Sylvestris" is cinematic in scope: majestic and threatening in its aura of sublime grandeur. The Latin title translates to "spirit of the wild" and also refers to the early modern alchemical name for carbon dioxide - when the spirit of the wilderness is released into the
aether through the burning of wood and charcoal. The songs tell impressionistic stories of natural elements personified; when powerful spirits that linger in the earth are stirred, those elemental forces will be forced to haunt our world.

In an era of irreversible damage to our planet and anthropogenic climate change, Iskandr aims to offer funeral dirges for the world that we have already lost.

"Spiritus Sylvestris" embraces a limitless approach to translate this vision into musical form. Employing musical elements from a broad array of genres; easily moving between the martial stomp of early Laibach and the ethereal melodics of Dead Can Dance.

Recorded and mixed by the legendary Pieter Kloos (The Devil's
Blood, Motorpsycho) at The Void Studio in Eindhoven, the new Iskandr record has broadened the scope and sound of the project beyond any confines, resulting in the most open soundscapes from Iskandr to date. The heavy baritone guitar riffs that form the backbone of the record provide a pitch-black canvas in which huge percussive rhythms and psychedelic layers of Hammond organ, Mellotron as well
as subtle acoustics move in and out of focus. If this world is at an end it deserves a requiem for that what is lost.

On For Annette, singer-songwriter ronja summons forth a certain unbridgeable void within our existence and the acceptance of the deafening silence that comes with it. Weaving the strands of her previous release something about us with multiple openings towards more abstract territory, this 5-track EP marks her debut under the forward-thinking Unguarded label, astutely situating her music well beyond the confines of the genre.

The opening track “Nothing Makes Me Feel” beckons the listener into a discreet moment amid the early light of dawn, commencing with an up-close acoustic guitar, soon to be graced by ronja’s hushed voice, softly whispering, as if to avoid waking someone near. “Just Once”, with its weeping waltz, is about losing one’s place in the world, about choosing the imaginary over the real. Behind the strummed chords hides a soft dither of sine tones that attempts to fill the gap that cannot be filled, only to transform into quavering distortion ever after. Where language may falter, ronja turns to choral-like instrumental pieces (“Light” & “Grass from Below”), characterized by her distinctive and multi-layered flute arrangements. The absence of words here allows for a sensible stage of introspection, a fleeting and diaphanous pause, forging a passage to a more hopeful outlook. Yet, these pieces are not isolated; hints of fluttering air and cavernous depths are subtly alluded to in the earlier, more song-based tracks. In just under 18 minutes running time, the theme of loss, or the anticipation of its arrival, lingers solemnly before transcending intermediate states in “Almost There”.

Admirers of the dreamgaze band Roomer, which made waves in and around the Berlin music scene this past year, might detect faint resemblances. Nonetheless, ronja—a pivotal presence in said band—unveils a distinct effort here, striking subdued but enticing tones, a foreshadowing of what is yet to come from this luminary artist. – Luka Aron

Hailing from the seaside communities surrounding Enoshima, a small island located 50 km southwest of Tokyo, Maya Ongaku is a ragtag collective of local musicians whose brand of earthy psychedelia transcends widely beyond the roots of their inner souls. The name derives not from any kind of ancient civilization, but rather a neologism defined as the imagined view outside one’s field of vision. The band—currently a trio of Tsutomu Sonoda, Ryota Takano, and Shoei Ikeda—finds sanctuary at the Ace General Store, a beachy vintage shop and salon-like space just hidden from sight from the bustling, touristy riverside Subana Street. Between discussions on music and art, curating the vinyl section and manning the register, and chatting up with locals young and old, the members find time to jam and record their spontaneous ideas in the studio tucked away in the back. It’s in this unlikely setting where Maya Ongaku finds its origins, the culmination of what Sonoda describes as 自然発生 (shizen hassei), meaning spontaneous generation, or the supposed production of living organisms from nonliving matter.

Approach to Anima, the group’s debut album released on Guruguru Brain, finds Maya Ongaku building a foundational groove while tapping into their innermost psyche. Sonoda’s malleable guitar and vocals, Takano’s sinuous bass lines, Ikeda’s floating woodwinds, and a sprinkling of delicate percussion—all coalesce into an aural experience that’s assertive yet abstract, calm but unsettling. The slow building, sax-laden “Approach” serves as an introduction to Maya Ongaku’s world, while the appropriately-named “Water Dream” floats its way toward the gentle finale of “Pillow Song.” It’s a concise distillation of their many interests and influences, from Neo-Dada and Fluxus, to where contemporary art intersects with the development of modern recording technology in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

As the title suggests, Approach to Anima is not intended to be a terminus; it’s merely the beginning of an exploration. The three childhood friends that comprise Maya Ongaku are always looking beyond the confines of the idyllic but rapidly gentrifying enclave of their beloved Enoshima. Feeding off of the energy that still radiates from the triumphant, decade-long journey of their label bosses’ band Kikagaku Moyo, who rose to global prominence from scrappy beginnings busking on the streets of Takadanobaba, they hope to go wherever inspiration takes them, to anywhere around the globe where their music can find a home.

Ultimately, Maya Ongaku’s uninhibited world-building will make it possible for us to see the unseen, expand the possibilities of the naked eye—all through the unbridled vibrancy of their music.

“Come, Sweet Death” alternates between brutality and winding single string melodies that brings you back to the golden age of Swedish Death Metal! They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. If there’s one thing that has remained stable despite living in 2023 is that we love Swedish Death Metal. The style has become a favorite of ours over the past 35 years. Something about the guitar tone just makes you want to devour any release that can be described as “Inspired by early Entombed and Dismember”. The good thing is that there’s an incredible wealth of bands that draw from that well. The bad thing is that said wealth leads to a lot of bands becoming indistinguishable due to how same they are. Thankfully, Imperishable’s “Come, Sweet Death” manages to stand out from the pack, in no small part due to breaking away from the genre’s usual trappings. And in a way this is no surprise since the band members were or are involved in Vampire, Portrait, Nominon and Dr. Living Dead! As you might have already gathered, the band draws a lot from the Stockholm scene, more specifically Dismember, that is undeniable. What’s really interesting though is that they draw from their later, and more melodic influenced era as much as from the early days. Imperishable, like their peers effortlessly blends the aggressive buzzsaw riffing with leads brimming with melody, which most modern bands in the style avoid in favor of pure aggression. Said blend can be seen throughout their debut album, though it can be felt more on the longer tracks, like “Teeth of the Hydra” and “Fangs”, where the band has more room to develop their ideas and mix grinding Death Metal with NWOBHM-inspired leads and riffs. In short: Imperishable has great songs, great melodies, well-arranged structures and still is brutal, just like the great old bands were. And the production is spot on for this release. It is good to hear a band experiment beyond the confines of the original old school Swedish Death Metal sound. “Come, Sweet Death” is an extremely promising release, and a small breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale scene. Imperishable’s love for the more melodic aspects of the style make them worth keeping an eye on now and in future.

After the pandemic hit, and the people of the world grew wary and
suspicious of one another, Iguana Death Cult, one of Europe's most
exciting rock exports, became more than just a band to its members--it became therapy - "I think for the first ten times we went to jam," says guitarist/vocalist Tobias Opschoor, speaking about the making of the new album Echo Palace, "we just drank wine and talked about it for hours--and then were like, 'OK, I have to go because I have to work tomorrow.

Taking place at frontman Jeroen Reek's apartment in Rotterdam, these
gatherings slowly shifted from talking about this surreal chapter of their lives--the days of quiet streets and cramped buildings--to making music about it.
Armed with the talents of Justin Boer on bass and Arjen van Opstal on drums, and tapping the keys work Jimmy de Kok for the first time on album, the band took their trademark melodic garage-rock style and expanded it to make it vibier and looser, with each member contributing ideas to develop the sound palette in full. When it came time to record the album, the band headed to PAF Studio in
Rotterdam, and subsequently it was mixed by Joo- Joo Ashworth (Sasami, Dummy) at Studio 22 in Los Angeles and mastered by Dave Cooley (Tame Impala, Yves Tumor).

The album is a big swing, stretching Iguana Death Cult beyond its garage rock origins and taking them to a new realm. The end result of Echo Palace is an appropriately worldly album from a group breaking past the confines of its home country.

"Dutch band Iguana Death Cult's rip- roaring melodies are built to jettison far beyond their homebase of Rotterdam." - FADER

"Frenetic, intense sonic assaults, they turn psych punk into astonishingly concise three-dimensional documents." - CLASH

ShitKid is the project of 24-year- old Åsa Söderqvist who made her debut last spring with a self-titled debut EP, which quickly propelled her into being one of the most talked about new acts in Sweden. The three-track ShitKid EP was released via the Stockholm based label PNKSLM Recordings in the spring of 2016 to great acclaim, reaching far beyond its lo-fi confines to find fans at the likes of The FADER, Pigeons & Planes and SPIN internationally, while her debut single "Oh Please Be A Cocky Cool Kid" appeared on national TV in Sweden the morning after it was released. An expanded version of the debut EP was released in the summer of 2016, which saw ShitKid playing several Swedish festivals before making her debut international appearances in the fall, alternating between playing to full houses in London and monthly shows in her new hometown Stockholm. Now ShitKid is ready to announce her long-awaited debut lp - titled "Fish" it's due for release on June 2 via PNKSLM Recordings on vinyl, cd and digitally. Recorded during the same sessions as "EP 2"it's another step on ShitKid's musical journey - offering up a sound that's clearer than the lo-fi murkiness of the debut EP but still very much the opposite to the slick pop dominating the musical landscape today. ShitKid will be doing select festival shows during the spring, leading up to a UK and EU tour around The Great Escape ahead of the album before spending the summer on the road with slots at ex Roskilde Festival announced already, with a lot more UK and EU dates TBA. Fish is written, recorded, performed and produced by Åsa Söderqvist and mixed by Simon Skeleton.

Dropping as the second standalone EP ahead of Len Faki’s highly anticipated debut album Fusion (due out later this year), this release provides a new outlook on the producer’s sounds, going far beyond the confines of techno that he previously has been known and lauded for.

Opening the record in bold yet sensible style, Gamma subtly transcends the dancefloor functionality by anchoring its driving momentum in a wistful and enigmatic melody; a regular of Berghain, Faki also occasionally plays the upstairs room - where the bumping house of his own It's Time (to Move Your Body) could well go down as the highlight of a long night, whizzing with of colourful synths and anthemic vocals. Yantra then is a reminder of the powerful, loopy and trippy techno, which Faki (amongst all the newfound sonic explorations) has still not lost his appetite and knack for. A genuine counterpart, Shri Yantra then picks up elements of its predecessor, reframed in an enveloping breakbeat journey through time and space.

Going past the constraints of his previous work, Faki’s signature style is still very much audible on this EP, while also showing how there are still endless possibilities to develop. Stay tuned for one more special EP (x35) before the final release of the Fusion double album!

The quintet set their sights beyond formulaic confines with their most introspective, uplifting, vital release to date - their first full-length in five years, 2023’s aptly titled The Awakening. The album shines as a massive and diverse offering mixing symphonic, melodic and power metal styles, yielding some of the heaviest tracks in KAMELOT’s history. KAMELOT is one of few bands in the symphonic genre to fully embrace the dark, but of course, there can be no light without it. Inspiring, engaging lyrical themes of determination, strength, overcoming personal battles and growth are abound on The Awakening, provoked by extreme societal shifts and the overwhelming realization that we have such a brief time to be true to ourselves and live life to its fullest. With crystal clear modern production helmed by the band and longtime producer Sascha Paeth, plus mastering by Jacob Hansen of Hansen Studios, KAMELOT’s score-like 13th studio album is accented by guest contributions - from genre star Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum), to renowned instrumentalists like violinist Florian Janoske and Grammy nominated, soundtrack-featured cellist Tina Guo. KAMELOT’s intense brand of ultramodern gothic and symphonic theatricality is amplified further and with more emotionality than ever on this inspiring, anticipated addition to the KAMELOT legacy.

With One Day, Fucked Up have delivered one of the most energizing and intricate albums of their career, a massive-sounding record that arrives in deceptively small confines. The Canadian hardcore legends have been known for their epic scale in the past, so it might be a surprise that Fucked Up’s sixth studio album is their shortest to date, written and recorded in the confines of one literal day (hence the title). Don’t mistake size for substance, though: The band’s sound has only gotten bigger, more hard-charging, with even denser thickets of melody. “I wanted to see what I could record in literally one day.” That singular idea came to mind for guitarist Mike Haliechuk in the closing months of 2019. Haliechuk got himself into a studio and proceeded to write and record the record’s ten tracks over three eight-hour sessions, reconnecting with the core the band’s songwriting essence in the process. Initially, Fucked Up vocalist Damian Abraham was also set to complete his vocals in similar fashion—that is, before the lockdowns of 2020 took place. As it turns out, the isolation yielded creative dividends, as Abraham returned to contributing lyrics as well for the first time since 2014’s Glass Boys. “It almost felt like it might be the last time I’d ever get to record vocals for anything,” Abraham says of the stakes he felt while putting his part to tape, before reflecting on how he approached the lyrical process: “What do I want to say to friends who aren’t here anymore? What do I want to say to myself?” Over swarms of tuneful noise that evoke Sonic Youth circa Daydream Nation, Abraham lets loose on gentrification in “Lords of Kensington,” which was inspired by an “incredible” Toronto neighborhood that was regularly subject to life-ruining police surveillance and structural violence. “The police chief during that era he just opened a cannabis store,” Abraham explains. “It’s so cynical and gross, what society has come to but by being in a band, we’re culpable in changing the neighborhood, too, since the punk spaces and cool happenings that pop up are part of gentrification. Are you building a culture? Or are you ruining something that’s already been there?” Then there’s the dusky burn of “Cicada,” a sonic cousin to Dose Your Dreams’ excellent standout “The One I Want Will Come for Me” that features Haliechuk taking lead-vocal duty. The song is dedicated to lost friends, and in his words, it’s about “what life is like after you lose people, and our responsibility to carry them forward into the future, using the things they taught us as a light. I like to imagine the sound of cicadas as a metaphor for our strange life in the subculture we all just live these weird little hidden lives under the dirt, and then once in a generation, one of us gets to bust out of the dirt and intone their song so loud that it can be heard all over.” One Day is an undeniable work of confidence from a band that continues to operate at the top of their game, making music that’s guaranteed to last a lifetime and beyond.

Meg Baird’s songs are rarely made up of tidy stories. In fact, for Meg, mystery itself is often the
medium. With ‘Furling’, Meg’s fourth album under her own name, she explores the breadth of
her musical fascinations and the environments around them - the edges of memory,
daydreams spanning years, loose ends, loss, divergent paths, and secret conversations under
stars. ‘Furling’ moves through these varied spaces with the slippery, misty cohesiveness of a
dream - guided by an ageless, stirring voice that remains singular and unmistakable.
Since co-founding the beguiling and beautiful Espers in the mid-aughts amid Philadelphia’s
fertile underground music community, Meg’s solo recordings have constituted just a fraction of
her work.
Her first solo LP, the disarmingly out-of-time ‘Dear Companion’ (2007), saw her carve a quiet,
sunlit space away from the flickering swirl of Espers. Since her last solo releases, ‘Seasons on
Earth’ (2011) and ‘Don’t Weigh Down the Light’ (2015), Meg has lent thunderous drumming,
lead vocal, and poetry to Heron Oblivion (Sub Pop) on an album that garnered praise from the
New York Times and made Mojo’s Top Ten Albums Of 2016 list. She collaborated with harpist
Mary Lattimore on the mesmerizingly hazy ‘Ghost Forests’ (2018). She’s played drums with
Philadelphia scuzz-punks Watery Love (In The Red, Richie Records) and explored her deep
familial folk roots in the Baird Sisters (Grapefruit Records). She also contributed her vocal
arrangements to albums from Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Will Oldham and Steve Gunn, and
toured with Angel Olson, Dinosaur Jr., Bill Callahan, Thurston Moore and Bert Jansch, among
others.
Yet ‘Furling’ is the album that most irreverently explores the span of her work and musical
touchstones. It showcases her natural tether to 1960s English folk traditions. But it also reveals
her deep love for soul balladry, the solitary musings of Flying Saucer Attack and Neil Young
shackled to his piano deep in the foggy pre-dawn, dubby Bristol atmospherics, the melancholy
memory collage of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’, and the delicious, Saturday night promise of
St. Etienne.
‘Furling’ was primarily recorded at Louder Studios by Tim Green (Bikini Kill, Nation of Ulysses,
Melvins, Wooden Shjips). Additional piano and vocal recording were captured at Panoramic
Studios in Stinson Beach, CA with Jason Quever (Papercuts). It was mastered in Brooklyn by
Heba Kadry, who mixed Bjork’s ‘Utopia’ and mastered albums for Slowdive, Cass McCombs
and Beach House.
For all its adornments, ‘Furling’ remains deeply intimate. The entire album was performed by
Meg and her long-time collaborator, partner, and Heron Oblivion bandmate Charlie Saufley.
While her prior solo work hinted at more expansive horizons, ‘Furling’ explores the idea of Meg
Baird as a band much more freely. Venturing beyond the musical confines of fingerstyle guitar,
she plays drums, mellotron, organs, synths, and vibraphone over her piano and guitar
foundations. Her distinctive, simultaneously elegiac and uplifting vocals, meanwhile, connect
surreal dream montages, graft sunshine sonics to swooning mediations on romantic solidarity
in trying times, and weave odes to the simple gestures of friendship - and the loss of family and
friends.
This rich sound world makes the songs a varied bunch: ‘Twelve Saints’ mates Pacific sunset
ambience and Pink Floyd pastoral to a meditation on mortality and escape. The infectious and
kinetic ‘Will You Follow Me Home’ contemplates hope and longing through the looking glass of
a Jimmy Miller-era-Stones strut. And in the closing piece, ‘Wreathing Days’, language
disintegrates over tone clusters that feel somewhere between falling and flying.
‘Wreathing Days’ also reveals much about Meg’s mastery of contrast - situating the dear and
delicate adjacent to chaos. And while it’s true that some songs on ‘Furling’ grapple with
humanity’s existential unknowns in stark terms, they primarily revel in the mysteries that hide in
nature and humanity at their most ordinary. ‘Furling’ lives in the notion that whole universes of
experience, enlightenment, elation and ecstasy can bloom in these corners.

'Razen is the collective consciousness of core members Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour, who since 2010 have realized themselves through virtuoistic and highly expressive improvisations with lesser-heard instruments. Experimenting with repetition of tones through controlled breathing and phrasing, Razen arrive at a synesthetic playground of auditory textures and colorful imagery.

The ensemble is carefully orchestrated for every occasion with the intent and desire to escape to environments unbeknownst to them, taking shelter in the fleeting ego-dissolving moments that arise, whether divine or disturbing. While the formula of instrumentation and like-minded peers may appear mundane on paper, it’s Brecht and Kim’s outlook and imagination beyond musical references that’s the immeasurable catalyst to their peculiar pursuits. Conversations about paintings, books, or films ultimately manifest themselves into live performances or album recordings - with the philosophy of embracing playfulness and exploration through the lens of a child’s eye.

Only six collaborators have been invited to their inner circle to date. This is mainly attributed to the rarity of finding spiritual counterparts that are seeking freedom outside the confines of written musical scores. Trading notes and rhythms for strokes and color, the band embodies emotive and meditative drones that demand a deep listening state. Joined by Will Guthrie and Paul Garriau, Razen venture into their vision of Arcadia through Regression, proudly presented by Marionette. On this album, Brecht Ameel turns to his trusty prepared harmonium and celesta, while Kim Delcour controls air and breath on various wind and reed instruments. Featuring Will Guthrie on tuned and melodic percussion (timpani, glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone), the recordings have a distinct flow and fluid movement when compared to some of Razen’s previous works where rhythm is taking a backseat. Hurdy-gurdy specialist, Paul Garriau, plays accompanying melodies and drones on Moon, Aether and Nebula.

The album's earthly elements deal with survival, timelessness, and simplicity; such as the life affirming rewards of finding refuge and the wonders of observing the interstellar. The unearthly elements pitch this narrative into the realm of mythology and superstition, in the hopes of trying to understand our primeval universe and thrive in the unknown. Regression also addresses Razen’s fascination with inhospitable places and how to adapt to the sorrows that come with this sort of brutalism. The resulting destination is a mind and time bending zone - one that can be reached by riding sound waves that transcend the past, future, and present.'

Unlearn is the long awaited fourth album of DJ and producer 2econd Class Citizen. It marks the artist's return back to the newly relaunched label Equinox Records. Their previous collaborations achieved high acclaim for their genre bending fusion of hip hop, electronica and folk music.

The new album is an exploration of an artist journeying beyond their conventional confines. It is a musical adventure peppered with vintage samples concerning the perception of reality and our struggles with conforming to a broken society.

Unlearn is the most musically accomplished work of 2econd Class Citizen to date. As one would expect the drum programming, scratching and production is on point. Several tracks feature soothingly melodic and energetic passages of jazz saxophone from Leroy Horns and electric guitar riffs provided by long term collaborator Paul Drury.

2econd Class Citizen, real name Aaron Thomason, resides in Brighton, UK. He is also a painter and visual artist fascinated with abstraction and the chaos of mixing colours. His musical approach on the new LP draws many parallels to this creative process. An original painting from the artist forms the albums striking cover.

Equinox Records is run by DJ Scientist in Germany. The Unlearn project marks the 51st release and provides the perfect launch vehicle for the dormant label to rise again. The vinyl release of Unlearn as well as the single Be Together signify the first stops in a release plan which will please fans of the label.

FEEDBACK:

"Woah! It's sounds rad! Really heavy and cinematic!"
Kid Koala

"A dark and deep dive into a world of dense and diced samples and moody muted melodies. Would sit well next to Shadow's freakier forays into fractured funk. Or Format's last psychy LP, for sure."
DJ Moneyshot of The Allergies

"I love it. The new treatments with the additional instruments sound great, especially the horns. Glad to see that Equinox is back in action. Dope cover art."
Dday One

"It sounds like 2econd Class Citizen has been at a mountaintop retreat studying and meditating and came back with some superpowers."
Buddy Peace

AOW is a new collaborative project from Dan Ghenacia and Tolga Fidan emerging from a new period of creativity and inspiration for the Lisbon-based artists.

Long time friends and fellow lynchpins of the European house and techno scene, Ghenacia and Fidan started working closely together through 2020 and 2021 while sharing studio space at Boa Lab. They found themselves at the heart of an artistic community of musicians, designers and engineers, which took shape around Ghenacia’s experiments with alpha wave generation, inspired by Bryon Gysin’s Dream Machine.

Ghenacia and engineer Anine Kirsten developed a modern update on Gysin’s 1950s design, which has been installed at exhibitions in London, Lisbon and Paris. At its heart, the project explores the natural hallucinatory effects of alpha wave projections on the eyelids, and the therapeutic benefits of the experience. Out of this spirit of psychedelically-charged experimentation, Ghenacia and Fidan have been working beyond the confines of their typical club-oriented material, creating ambient soundtracks to artist exhibitions in Boa and auditory backdrops to Alpha Wave Experience installations.

AOW bridges the gap between this new period of creativity and Ghenacia and Fidan’s life-long passion for electronic dance music. Compared to the strictures of house and techno they’re best known for, the three tracks on Hear the Light explore a more open, inquisitive sound with roots in UK electronica and West Coast psychedelic breaks (a seminal scene when Ghenacia was in the Bay Area in the 90s). Crucially though, it’s not a pointedly retro sound, but rather a result of rich streams of inspiration meeting and passing through crisp, modernist production techniques to offer something
genuinely fresh on the ears.

Working outside of their comfort zones and guided by creative philosophies springing from research, shared experience and community, Hear the Light marks a new step forward for Ghenacia and Fidan, with many more developments promised for the future.

The Paradigm-Shifting Fourth Studio Opus From The Norwegian Pioneers.
Presented On 2cd Deluxe Digipack Format & Including A Retrospective Look
At The Album Courtesy Of Writer Jeff Wagner.
‘Themes from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ is the fourth
studio album by Norwegian experimentalists Ulver.
Having been known for their more folklore-tinged black metal compositions on
early studio releases, in late 1997, mainman Kristoffer Rygg invited keyboardist, sound conceptualist, and composer Tore Ylwizaker into the collective, and
together they devised a plan for The Blake Album; an altogether far more adventurous endeavour than prior releases.
What resulted was a seamless integration of electronic & industrial music, with
elements of progressive metal & avantgarde rock, all fused with ambient passages, & following Blake’s plates as track indexes. A work of deep and personal
art, the album, while initially surprising to fans due to its complete shift in genre, has become a classic today, and a prime example of the boundary-pushing
evolution beyond the confines of genre expectations through the latter part of
the 90’s. Upon release, ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ received widespread
acclaim from critics within the rock, metal & alternative music press, being
awarded Album of the Month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and Rock Hard.
The album notably includes guest vocal appearances from Darkthrone’s Fenriz,
as well as Ihsahn & Samoth; most known for their work in Emperor.
This newly remastered edition of ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ is presented
on 2CD deluxe digipack format, including full lyrics/text, plus a new article from
writer and journalist Jeff Wagner on the background, nature & triumph of such
an ambitious release.

Maurice De Jong AKA Mories (Gnaw Their Tongues, Cloak of Altering, De Magia Veterum, Dodenbezweerder etc.), and Rene Aquarius (Cryptae, Dead Neanderthals, Imperial Cult, Plague Organ etc.) join forces in Coffin Lurker, a hideous experiment begotten unto a perverse delusion of ushering doom metal beyond extremes of heaviness and horror it has never before seen or fathomed. Overwhelming and abominable in its every aspect, on their hideous debut LP "Foul and Defiled" the dutch terror-doom duo set out on a mission of terrifying extremism to take doom metal to its most harrowing consequences, crossing every threshold of extreme known, to materialize a humongous slow moving nightmare of paralyzing and horrific doom metal horror that will flatten the listener and devour them inside a nauseating void. Emanating with a monstrous and oppressive aura of total death and decay, "Foul and Defiled" is a gargantuan sepulchral abomination of subterranean megaton doom rising from an underworld of ageless and unnameable death and suffering that sonically aims to re-evoke the hideous and death-obsessed immensity of other undreground extreme/experimental doom abominations like Moss and Grave Upheaval, while taking the heinous formula, if possible, even beyond its own already incomprehensible and remote confines of sanity.

John Winston Ono Lennon would have been 80 on October 9th 2020. In celebration of his life and the incredible pleasure his music has brought to millions in his lifetime, a new Best Of will be released. A multi-format collection, entitled GIMME SOME TRUTH., this set has been personally curated by the Lennon estate and mixes the biggest hits like the classic and timeless “Imagine” with campaigning songs such as “Give Peace A Chance” and the evergreen classics like “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” and is culled from all of his solo albums including the posthumous “Milk And Honey”.

John Lennon is simply one of the most recognised and respected musicians of the modern era. As one half of perhaps the most successful songwriting partnerships of all time he deserves his place in history. That this partnership was with Paul McCartney in The Beatles means that he is also one of the most successful recording artists in history. With every succeeding generation falling for their genius, their legend continues to grow and they dominate the pop landscape.

Their split in 1970 allowed each of the band members, by now literally some of the most famous people on the planet, to find their own voice as solo artists and to grow beyond the confines of the band. For John Lennon, this meant throwing himself headlong into life with his new wife, Yoko Ono and eventually a new life in New York City.

Being a solo artist meant that he could delve deep within himself and realise music that was both deeply personal and challenging and which sometimes required a commitment from the audience too. His songs during his solo career mixed accessible pop melodies with sometimes stark and heart-rending simplicity and all points inbetween. His lyrics ranged from deep introspection and self-analysis to subjects that were more concerned with politics (of self, of relationships, of the campaign for peace, of the place of mankind as well as global politics). After a first rush of creativity, he took a step back from the limelight to care for his son, Sean, at home in New York, but when he was ready he returned to recording with one of his most successful and impactful albums. Double Fantasy, preceded by the single (Just Like) Starting Over had been released the month before his life was tragically cut short on 8th December 1980. But this album joins the rest of his solo canon as testament to one of the truly great and truly iconoclastic musicians and personalities of the era.

“Bandiera Di Carta” represents the ongoing collaboration between instrument builder and composer Pierre Bastien and the
London based experimental duo Tomaga (Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen).
Bastien has been called a “mad musical scientist with a celebrity following” by The Guardian (UK) having collaborated with the
likes of filmmaker Pierrick Sorin, fashion designer Issey Miyake, singer and composer Robert Wyatt as well as Aphex Twin,
who released three of his albums on his label Rephlex.
Tomaga have made more than a dozen records since forming in 2014, pursuing a path of fearless experimentation and sonic
brinksmanship that has won them fans and plaudits from far and wide, including Thurston Moore, with whom they collaborated
on the CAN Project with Malcolm Mooney, Deb Goodge and others in 2017, as well as Wire, Silver Apples and Stereolab, with
whom they toured extensively in summer 2019.
The artistic collaboration between Pierre and Tomaga began with two commissions: from Fructose Festival in Dunkirk and the
revered underground festival Supersonic in Birmingham UK. Recording initially at a studio in the industrial port of Dunkirk, the
uneasy bond between borders and states seems to have been a theoretical motor to the collaborative sessions, as well as the
bleak landscape of the seaport frontier. This inspiration found further manifestation in the cover image for ‘Bandiera Di Carta’.
Resembling a white paper flag, it is, in fact, a photograph of Bastien’s paper and air sound machine installed on stage at
Teatro Carignano in Turin as part of the trio’s performance there. This charged, ambivalent image of a blank flag evokes the
transcendence of the national, a prescient visual motif that meditates on the contemporary uncertainty around notions of
national identity and borders but perhaps also a ‘carte blanche’ for the artists involved, in which they can deviate from the
confines of their usual practice into new and strange territories.
For each piece, Bastien’s unique sonic style: by turns his kinetic mechanoid motors, capriciously arrhythmic pipes, or the
peculiar susurrus of paper, creates a world in which Tomaga introduce their musical palette. Magaletti’s percussion anchors
these sometimes chaotic forces into beguiling syncopations, with Relleen’s synthesizer and organ work creating harmonic
counterpoints and interruptive provocations, to which Bastien responds with lyrical turns on prepared trumpet, rubber band, tin
foil and bass ocarina.
The results are curiously evocative of free jazz by the likes of Sun Ra or Art Ensemble of Chicago paired with the percussive
sound worlds of artists like Francis Bebey or Muslimgauze along with unique and sometimes bizarrely exotic tonal landscapes
of composers like Catherine Christer Hennix, Carl Stone, or Egisto Macchi. All three musicians seem to find space to bloom in
ways that are markedly different from their individual work and the resulting album is a strikingly original and powerfully bold
affirmation of what can happen when venturing beyond the normal in pursuit of the other.All tracks written & produced by Tomaga (Tom Relleen & Valentina Magaletti) & Pierre Bastien.
Mixed and mastered by Rashad Becker.

Next up in this ongoing split-ep series are two equally talented producers from different ends of the spectrum, both sharing their unique viewpoints on that special dreamspace of self-awareness and how the way there actually sounds like! Following his explosive Figure-EP just this recent summer, Juxta Position now reveals his more sublime side on these two technoid journeys. Keeping it raw and beautiful, the analogue lover lets his synths engage in dialogue, floating through murky realms and simply getting lost in the groove. A new face for Figure and definitely one to watch is Pablo Mateo. Taking a likewise subtle yet distinctly more grounded approach, his tunes unfold slowly and each tell their entirely own storyline. Tomo is an extraordinary specimen of how a track grows past its confines, into something genuinely touching and can eventually open up that space inside and what lies beyond!

Warehouse Find!

Scottish producer Austin Ato has been making waves the last couple of years having had well received releases on Futureboogie and Phonica White and this year looks to be his best yet! Remixes for Folamour on Classic, Balako on Greco Roman and an EP for Man Power's label Me Me Me will be dropping in the coming weeks, paving the way for his Delusions Of Grandeur debut double A side; Ella / Putting It In My Way.

On Ella we see Austin deliver some pure, unadulterated, house pleasure over eight minutes (although for us it feels like it could go on for days!). A filtering disco loop, synth melody, string stabs, all reinforced by punchy drums and that all important vocal chop. A simple recipe for a track when cooked up in the right way with love, passion and experience.

Flipping over to the AA, Putting It In My Way drops in somewhat bipolar fashion, a barrage of percussive beats and rolling snares building to a drop where Austin Ato skilfully switches the vibe completely, bringing in deep pads, rolling bassline and his own inimitable vocals. A totally unique track which harks back to the good old days when house music had a soulful and musical touch which connected instantly with the dance floor. This feels to us like a producer marking his arrival as an artist to watch closely for, and whose talent extends way beyond the confines of your standard four on the floor fodder.
Closing the release we have an Instrumental Version of Putting It In My Way which may well be your choice for the deeper moments, letting the groove push to the fore and the lush chords shine through the haze of dubby stabs and twisting synth line.

*The No Man Is An Island EP is a single cut from the debut album of the same name by Aalko, a new project by Kebko Music founder Akiko Kiyama. Renowned for her minimal techno track featured in Richie Hawtin's seminal DE9 Transitions album, the Japanese producer reveals her another side under this new alias. The project has already created a stir as Aalko has garnered support from Gilles Peterson on his BBC 6 Music radio show and premiered a live performance at MUTEK's Tokyo launch, where she drew the audience into an inspiring frenzy.

Aalko is a culmination of Kiyama's recent practices in a wider musical spectrum that go beyond the confines of her minimalistic techno characteristics. It conjures her distinctive soundscape where a variety of styles coexists: she demonstrates her knack for breaks, ambient and irregular time signatures, her acute ears for unadulterated tone and texture of sounds standing out in sharp relief.

Taking a floor-oriented side out of the No Man Is An Island cassette album, this single cut features three tracks that work wonders in a DJ context. "Body & Soul" is an erratic rhythm experiment jumping between several beat styles. "Mixture" offers Kiyama's unique interpretation on syncopated dynamics of breaks. Wrapping up the EP is 'B.I.C', a long-awaited exclusive track that ranked among Gilles Peterson's top 20 tracks of 2017. Its dubby functionality makes it a powerful tool that can work at various stages of the night.

These tracks give the nod to Kiyama's peculiar self full of sonic idiosyncrasies, showing no fear of breaking accepted conventions.