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Balearic believers rejoice! Japanese tropical-fusioneers Coastlines are back with the worldwide vinyl release of Coastlines 2. The follow-up to their classic debut, this is the sound of Coastlines's global influences. If the dedication to intricate sonic details is particularly Japanese, the overarching feel captures the sprawling grandeur of the international balearic community. As they put it, Coastlines 2 presents "a more precise and beautifully polished magic hour." If that isn't Balearic, we don't know what is.

Takumi Kaneko and Masanori Ikeda don’t radically alter their sumptuous template with this second LP; and we wouldn't want them to. Yet with a more focused flow from first track to last, both Coastlines and Be With feel this is an even stronger album than their first. One thing that hasn't changed is the use of instrumentals instead of words to express their themes; namely, "the emotional expression of being soaked."

Opener "Tenderly" is appropriately titled, a gentle Latin shuffle easing you back into the Coastlines sound. An organ-heavy synthy exotica that's in step with Lovelock's contemporaneous "Washington Park". Their über-horizontal take on Hawkshaw & Bennett's "Mile High Swinger" (from Synthesiser And Percussion, reissued by Be With!) evokes cocktails-by-the-pool as the sun slowly sets. The blunted deep jazz-funk swing of "Alicia" is a rearranged reimagining of the Gabor Szabo song from his classic Jazz Raga LP. This here sounds like an outtake from The Chronic.

As the sun goes down, "Combustione Lenta" soundtracks the relaxing slow burn of an idyllic bonfire on an isolated beach. Displaying a beautiful new side of Coastlines, we're treated to Moments In Love vibes and melancholic guitar arcs. The piano-laden early morning wonder of "Night Cruise" started life as a completely different song, but the duo found a particularly good loop from the initial sketch and reconstructed it into this sophisticated 80s instrumental soul groove. "Waves And Rays" is all undulating acid waves and lighthouse light. A chopped and screwed steel drum G-Funk with soaring synths and nods toward the squelchy machine soul of Mtume and Jam & Lewis. Yes, *that* good.

The bouncy futureboogie cosmic chug of "Sky Island" represents the beginning of the sunrise, casting images of 80s Japanese fusion and definitely one to play out early doors to get the crowd stepping. "Area Code 868" is the strutting staccato sound of Joe Sample waking up in the Caribbean to craft his piano funk drenched in sunshine. Accordingly, the tentative, naive melodies of "Sand Steps" represent that vivid feeling first thing in the morning, as you step on to the sandy beach in the sunshine and take a deep breath. The world is yours.

The emotional, organ-piano-steel drum-driven "Song For My Mother" is a slo-mo show of sincere gratitude to all the great mothers. "Yasmin's Theme" is Coastlines's Brazilian homage, recalling for them that early summer feeling. It's propelled laconically by the carnival beat of batucada`s big bass surdo drum and complimented by sweeps of warm keys and radiant vocal harmonies. Blissful beatless closer "Asafuji" conjures a scene from a wonderful morning spent with the people of Shizuoka, the symbolic mountain of Japan, Mt Fuji and its inhabitants. It sounds like Dâm-FunK jamming with Sabres Of Paradise.

Coastlines 2 was painstakingly crafted, across the pandemic, at Masanori's rented place in Tokyo and then brought back to his home studio and worked on slowly and repeatedly. With limited time to see each other, the duo became more united in their "consciousness with natural progress."

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios, this magnificent double LP has been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, just 500 copies of this double LP have been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

Familiar. Usually reserved for things we think we know. A face, a place, a feeling, a record perhaps. Until, of course, they aren’t quite the same anymore. Or maybe you aren’t.
Jennifer’s debut album lives somewhere around there.
It’s a record about time, which is already a fairly ambitious subject considering nobody seems to have figured that one out yet. More specifically, it’s about what
time does to a person. The old versions, the new versions, and all the ones in between that you only notice when something suddenly brings them back. Someone you
haven’t seen in years. A room you used to know. A certain way the light falls. That sort of thing.

There’s a bit of a doppelgänger situation going on, too. Finding something completely new and somehow recognising it. Meeting yourself again without immediately realising who you’re talking to.
Which can be nice. Or strange. Usually both. The songs on Familiar sit comfortably with that contradiction. Looking backwards without wanting to go back. Missing things without necessarily wanting them
returned. Realising that people who once occupied most of your waking hours can become people whose address you don’t know. Meanwhile, some tiny, seemingly irrelevant detail from fifteen years ago remains perfectly intact.
Memory has its own filing system. Not a particularly sensible one.
Jennifer wrote a series of poems alongside the album. In them, familiarity appears in melting snow, rough coastlines, a kitchen already warm in the morning, somebody’s hands fitting into yours. Elsewhere she wonders about someone she
once knew everything about and now knows nothing about. They could live around the corner. They could live on another continent. They could, technically, be dead. Probably not. But that’s time for you.
Maybe Familiar is less about remembering who you were than realising you never entirely stopped being them. Things get added. Things disappear. Things come back looking slightly different.
And somehow, you recognise them.

It’s not just since James Bond and the introduction of World Overshoot Day that we’ve known: The world isn’t enough. We need an Extrawelt! Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe have been tinkering with this celestial body for over two decades, and it seems to be slowly nearing completion. You certainly can’t accuse Extrawelt of lacking ideas. They are, so to speak, the legitimate descendants of the legendary planet designer Slartibartfast from Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. No doubt, the downright insanely creative bossa nova-techno bastard “Honey Hunter” will be mentioned in the same breath as Slartibartfast’s award-winning Norwegian coastlines by future civilizations. The other three tracks aren’t half bad either. Take our word for it.
Nicht erst seit James Bond und der Einführung des world overshoot days wissen wir: Die Welt ist nicht genug. Wir brauchen eine Extrawelt! Die Herren Arne Schaffhausen und Wayan Raabe werkeln seit über zwei Jahrzehnten an diesem Himmelskörper und er scheint so langsam bezugsfertig zu sein. Man kann Extrawelt nun wahrlich keine Ideenarmut vorwerfen. Sie sind quasi die legitimen Nachkommen des legendären Planetendesigners Slartibartfast aus Douglas Adam’s “Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis”. Der geradezu irrwitzig kreative Bossanovatechno-Bastard “Honey Hunter” wird von künftigen Zivilisationen in einem Atemzug mit Slartibartfast’s preisgekönten norwegischen Küstenlinien genannt werden. Auch die anderen drei Tracks sind nicht von schlechten Eltern. Glaubt’s und werdet selig.
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Tenuous Links welcomes Torino’s very own VIOLA to the label with his new ‘Wrinkles’ EP. As the label owner of Reflue Records, VIOLA first caught my attention with his debut full-length release, a body of work that showcased a deep, rugged sound and a clear technical prowess shaped by his surroundings rugged coastlines and industrial landscapes of Torino in northern Italy. After speaking with Cristiano for over a year, it felt like a natural progression to bring his music to Tenuous Links. “The music I write almost always functions as a visceral soundtrack to whatever environment surrounds and infects me while I'm creating. Deeply rooted in the architectural contrasts of the places I’ve inhabited.”

‘Wrinkles’ is VIOLA’s second full-length body of work, yet the years of graft and dedication behind it are immediately apparent. Across three original tracks and a remix from London’s Jay Duncan, the EP delivers pure grit and crunch, inhabiting large, cavernous atmospheres grounded by pummelling bass, dynamic drums and intricate rhythmic detail.

The title track ‘Wrinkles’ is an ode to club spaces and the scene that revolves around them. Its broken rhythm channels the dancefloors of Cristiano’s formative years, spent partying in abandoned bunkers and warehouses in and around Torino. VIOLA explains: “Crafting such a raw, gritty bassline felt like an absolute necessity during the writing process, retracing memories of long nights spent dancing in silence.” The track’s cavernous atmosphere mirrors those pitch-black, unlit spaces, drawing us deeper and deeper into the abyss, with only brief glimmers of light offering reprieve from its relentless, all-enveloping bassline.

‘Mon Tom’ draws heavily from VIOLA’s hometown and his complicated relationship with Torino ,a city where tranquillity and beauty sit alongside heavy industry. The calm of the coastline is violently interrupted by vast steelworks and plumes of black smoke, leaving an imposing industrial mark on both the landscape and its people. The track reflects these contrasts. Metallic yet fluid, it moves at a faster pace, built around a driving 4/4 rhythm designed to suspend the listener while skittering percussion creates an increasingly uneasy sense of movement. It’s a meeting point between the beauty and brutality of the environment that inspired it.

‘P Maggiore’ was written between 2019 and 2020 while VIOLA was living in Rome’s chaotic Porta Maggiore district. Surrounded day and night by the grinding noise of trains, screeching tram brakes and beaten metal, he translated those raw auditory memories directly into high-pressure sound design. Yet, in contrast to the intensity of his surroundings, VIOLA deliberately pulls back the tempo.

Rounding off the EP is a skeletal remix of ‘Wrinkles’ from London’s Jay Duncan. She strips the original back into a techy, rolling cut, retaining its atmosphere and darkness while introducing a lighter touch of minimal-esque sound design. The result is a subtly transformed take on the title track that provides a fitting conclusion to the EP.

‘Wrinkles’ EP is a record shaped by place, by architecture, industry, memory and the physical spaces that leave their mark on us. From Torino’s industrial coastline to the chaos of Rome and the darkness of abandoned club spaces, VIOLA turns his surroundings into sound. Coming to vinyl and digital October 16th of October.

DJ Support: Nick Warren, Andy Wilson, Bill Brewster, Max Essa, Simon Lee, Pete Herbert, Mark Broadbent, Be Lanuit, Coyote, Andy Pye, Andy Taylor, Steve KIW, Mike Bradbury, Pathaan, Steve Optix

NuNorthern Soul welcomes Lonely Deckchair, a deeply personal and nostalgic long-player shaped by memory, place and the passing of time. Rooted in a return to Aguadulce on Spain’s southern coast, the album reflects on childhood summers, family connections and the quiet beauty of life coming full circle.

Written as a dedication to the artist’s children, the record moves between reflective ambient passages, Balearic rhythms and gently propulsive grooves. Across the album, reversed guitar sequences, soft synthetic textures and field recordings create a dreamlike sense of revisiting the past—like flicking through faded photographs or Super 8 footage.

From the misty-eyed opener Rayman’s Kingdom through to the closing drift of Alhambra Space Station, the album captures moments of wonder, movement and stillness—sunlit coastlines, long drives, first experiences, and the emotional pull between leaving and returning.

Full sleeve notes from Robert Harris aka Dr Rob from BanBanTonTon

Five years after their radiant debut Ufo Bar, Italian cinematic funksters Banda Maje are back with Costa Sud to take us deeper into their land of ‘Salifornia’—a Southern province of sun-drenched coastlines and decaying buildings where dreams of exotic escapism sprout and bloom.

Once again, behind the eight tracks in the album—and behind the wheel of the fiery red Alfasud on the cover—is composer and keyboardist Peppe Maiellano. He has meticulously tailored each piece to his virtuoso partners in crime: a 'family' of exuberant musicians spread between Salerno and Naples, all bound by deep-rooted ties to the region and a shared belief in the grit of independent artistry.

The Costa Sud (South Coast) imagined by Banda Maje is a shimmering ribbon of sun-baked asphalt stretched between the sea and the ancient pine forests of the Gulf of Salerno. It is a land of enchanting but wounded places, where the grace of Ancient Greek civilization sits in a restless silence alongside the scars of rampant building and neglect. “But if truth is beauty and beauty is truth,” Maiellano explains, inverting Keats’s famous line, “with the right eyes, you can find beauty and poetry even under a layer of moral and material filth."

Conceived and recorded entirely in the South, the album nevertheless looks beyond the horizon. While Neapolitan funk and golden-age Italian soundtracks remain the double helix of the band's DNA, this album welcomes new influences from across the ocean, weaving Italy, Brazil, Africa, and contemporary sounds into its unique vision of the 'global South.'

Side A is an immersion into Salifornian territory and its myths: from the carefree instrumental disco-funk of the title track, which sublimates local contradictions into enveloping cinematic atmospheres, to the mellow groove of “Baia”—a fusion of Neapolitan funk, afrobeat, and disco that pays homage to Salerno’s famous beach, squeezed between millennia-old sea rocks and mountains of shipping containers. The band’s heartfelt sense of belonging shines in their fresh soul-disco version of “Mo…” (a 1981 cult classic by Neapolitan legend Peppino di Capri) featuring Maiellano’s own vocals, while the reimagining of Tonico 70's “Jet Lag” celebrates a fraternal partnership with the Salerno-based rapper/producer, charting a musical itinerary that unites Brazil, the States, and Salifornia through evocative grooves, sharp synths, and Gianfranco Campagnoli’s exquisite trumpet.

On Side B, the sound becomes even more eclectic with the samba-funk warmth of “Samba Maje”, where Mediterranean melodies and lush vocal harmonies marry jazz-funk arrangements and disco-inflected Brazilian rhythms. The next track, “Africana”, is dedicated to a legendary dolce vita nightclub on the Amalfi Coast (and its founder Luca Milano); here, a rhythmic mantra incorporating tribal African elements blends with synths that evoke RAI television themes of the late 70s. The journey concludes under the sign of the silver screen: the disco-funk elegance of “Black Glamour Girl” (from the early-80s road-trip comedy In viaggio con papà), a tribute to the compositional genius of Piero Piccioni, and “Lovebossa”—an easy-listening homage to the "Cine Bossa" atmospheres that characterized so many Italian soundtracks of the 60s and 70s, finally carrying the listener ‘ncopp’ ‘e nuvole (above the clouds—which is basically Salifornian for "somewhere over the rainbow").

Available on LP and Digital from 15 May 2026.

Soulful sounds from the South of Italy, coming courtesy of Soul Departure Recordings label head Kikko Esse. Four dynamic, emotive, and downright delectable house cuts that will have you dreaming of Italian coastlines and Campari’s. Produced to perfection, laced with feeling and driven by groove, it’s house that hits you in the heart.

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

The collaborative project of Lawrence English and Werner Dafeldecker has consistently been concerned with processes of transformation. This is all the more true for »Fathom Tides,« the duo’s second album for Hallow Ground following up on »Tropic of Capricorn« from 2023. Using field recordings collected from diverse coastal environments made by English and later treated extensively by Dafeldecker, the two sound artists explore cyclical changes in nature across these seven pieces. Through its abstracted soundscapes, »Fathom Tides« poses concrete questions: What impact do we have on the world we inhabit?

»Tropic of Capricorn« was based on material English had recorded around Australia to highlight the country’s colonial past. On »Fathom Tides,« water and tides provided a conceptual framework for the duo’s remote working process—notions of states of action and tidal dynamics becoming guiding principles in their work with the source material. English and Dafeldecker were led by the question how the morphing of solid forms into more liquid states might be captured and used as compositional guides for their respective preparations treatments and the addition of electronics to the source material.

While eroding coastlines, river systems, and glacial transformation served as inspiration, the seven pieces resulted out of the two sound artists paying close attention to seemingly minute details through which immediate and distant histories peek through often in the most unexpected and rewarding ways. Hence, »Fathom Tides« does not provide a macro view on the catastrophic changes humans have facilitated on Earth. It is its own sound world guided by both the pace of its subjects and a recognition that time is fluid—a reminder that our clocks are not those of the world around us.

Dive into the depths of the SUNKEN SCORES which is the new concept album by Japanese Rare Groove trio Nautilus from Toyko. What is called lost themes and jazzy seaquences from the cinematic coastlines ends in a journey through different eras of film and television music.
It's their fourth album release on Oonops Drops besides several limited 7inch releases. Like all other releases on the label, this LP is also pressed on recycled vinyl . There will be an extended Germany tour by Nautilus from 8th May to 4th June from the North Sea Coast to the mountains in the Allgäu. / Promo: feature in Jazzthing magazine at the end of May.

“Electronic / Funk Yacht Rock testament to the carefree teen spirit of the 80s”

In 1985, a young and ambitious Britt Cobble, fresh out of school, ventured to Florida to have his debut solo album Maiden Voyage mastered by none other than reggae legend Touter Harvey, known for his work with Bob Marley. The result is Spinnaker – Maiden Voyage, an Electronic / Funk Yacht Rock album infused with the carefree teen spirit of the 80s.

Anchored by its central motto, “Love the coast, it’s there for you,” the album captures the essence of youthful exploration and the allure of the open sea. With slick production and an undeniable air of nostalgia, Spinnaker invites listeners to escape into a world of sun-soaked coastlines and endless horizons. Britt elevates yacht rock to new heights, serving as both a testament to youthful ambition and a celebration of the era’s smooth, coastal vibes.

Roy of the ravers launches into party season in summer 2025, having acquired the aptly named Isle of Acid, located between the Cornish and Irish coastlines, but the evil Kikumoto, vowing to destroy the Roy 303 had tracked down Roy's Isle of Acid and set sail from ROLAND LABS HQ in Japan... can Roy complete the rave and get all the ravers to safety before kikumoto arrives...?!

Moments of Solace is the introspective new EP from London-based artist, musical director, and producer Amane, released via Música Macondo.
Across six beautifully crafted tracks, Amane distills elements of ambient electronica, IDM, and jazz, creating music that evokes a deeply emotional journey through sound.

From the outset, Moments of Solace is contemplative and hypnotic, weaving together the pulse of electronic percussion, the glow of nocturnal pads, and the calming resonance of synths. Echoes fade and return like tides — forming ecstatic waves of sound that invite the listener into a space of reflection and emotional release.

For Amane, this collection serves as a creative response to a world that feels increasingly chaotic and dark — offering listeners a sonic refuge. The EP channels the ambient excursions of Boards of Canada, the rhythmic urgency of a Floating Points club set, and the cinematic sweep of night drives along the Pacific Coast Highway or meditative rides on Japan’s Shinkansen.

Despite an intense touring schedule, Amane found the time to craft this personal and globally resonant work. Moments of Solace mirrors his life experience as a nonstop traveling artist — soundtracking late nights, contemplative moments, and euphoric dance floors alike.

- Amane combines ambient textures, IDM structures, jazz influences, and club sonics into a cohesive sound.
- Inspired by artists like Boards of Canada and Floating Points.
- Reflects a global journey: from London nightlife to Pacific coastlines to Tokyo train rides.
- Released via Música Macondo, a label known for global, genre-blending innovation.

Amane is an East London-based musician, producer, and musical director whose career spans an eclectic range of genres and high-profile collaborations.

He has served as Musical Director for Little Simz, Jorja Smith, Amaarae, Ego Ella May, and Maverick Sabre; performed alongside global stars such as Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Anne-Marie, Sigrid, Dermot Kennedy, King Krule, and Ata Kak; and was a key member of the acclaimed London ensemble Maisha, whose debut was released via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label as part of the landmark We Out Here compilation.

In his solo work, Amane channels his deep musicality into soundscapes that reflect on the state of the world, offering listeners spaces for reflection, calmness, and emotional connection.

In the fall of 2022, celebrated UK chill-out institution Seahawks landed in Los Angeles for the first time in their 15-year history, with plans to record a sweeping new age downtempo "exploration of visionary California."

Instead, they immediately fell ill with flu (Fowler collapsed next to a taco truck; 911 was called), and were bedridden for the better part of a week. Upon recovering, they resituated at the synthesizer sanctuary of Brian Foote (Peak Oil, Kranky, Leech), channeling their post-sickness psychedelia into one of the band's lushest and most elevated creations to date: Time Enough For Love. Inspired by the "groove and mood" of Harry Nilsson demos, as well as its wider 70's wavelength - Rhodes, Wurlitzer, wood paneling - Seahawks transposed their classic post-rave ambient exotica onto a warm and woozy Golden State palette. Buoyed by the liquid touch of English maestro Kenny Dickenson on keys, the results rank high among the duo's smoothest and most multi-sensory voyages. "Sail Across The Moon" delivers on its title, a simmering, phaser-smeared cruise through the beauty of the night. "Messengers" echoes the cosmic lounge of Air's Moon Safari, shuffling, weightless, and ethereal, while "Falling Deep" reaches for the stars, pure cascading bliss, the ecstatic moment writ large.

The album skews steadily more astral as it progresses, drifting towards jazzy, galactic outer reaches. "Like A Grain Of Sand" opens with a spoken sample by the celebrated late American poet Rachel Sherwood ("The children watch, breathless / with the birds / They feel an emanation / from this shuddering place"), before taking flight on a Balearic trip through island house, PM Dawn gold dust, upright bass meditation, and kaleidoscopic light. A remix of the title track by Chicago trio Purelink closes the record in a suitably subdued and skittery state of mind. Time Enough For Love radiates color, complexity, and positivity, infused by the "life enhancing" nature of the band's time in Los Angeles - sunsets, sound systems, and sativa, framed by coastlines and cloudbanks, the city's mystic sprawl glittering beneath purple dusk.

Housed together in a stunning 380gsm board slipcase with a matt laminate soft touch finish and a UV spot varnish on the beloved Be With logo, we proudly present the Be With 10 Years record and book package.

Record contains 10 exclusive never-before-on-vinyl tracks from 10 Be With family members. 310mm square softcover book printed on a 350gsm woodfree uncoated board. Book block printed on 120gsm Dadong Lucky Bird woodfree uncoated paper. 140gram vinyl with a 380gsm jacket. 1000 copies only for the world, no repress!

Colloboh (a portmanteau of Collins Oboh) is a Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based experimental producer and composer who has spent the past several years cultivating genre-spanning modular wizardry. A self-taught synthesist, Colloboh’s DIY recording diaries (still archived on Instagram) quickly amassed a dedicated online following, eventually catching the eye of Leaving Records founder, MatthewDavid, who wasted no time tapping the then-twenty-six-year-old to perform at the monthly Leaving showcase, Listen to Music Outside In The Daylight Under a Tree. In 2021, Colloboh permanently relocated to Los Angeles from Baltimore, dedicating himself to music full-time, and quickly becoming a fixture of the city’s vibrant experimental scene. Whereas Colloboh’s debut EP Entity Relation (released that same year) dove headlong into club beats, Saana Sahel, out May 5th 2023 on Leaving Records, showcases the breadth of the fledgeling composer’s ambitions. The EP’s title, Saana Sahel, refers to a land of Colloboh’s pure imagining—an untouched utopia spanning lush coastlines and sweeping deserts. Beginning with the stately “Acid Sunrise” (like a Phillip Glass rave comedown), the EP functions as an atlas of sorts, mapping the region’s varied environments and moods. And varied indeed—across these six tracks there lie ecstatic jazz freakouts, samba shuffles, guest vocals from (seemingly) the very Seraphim, and interpolations of Debussy and Gabriel Faure. The breadth of sounds conjured here is a testament not only to Colloboh’s eclectic roster of influences, but also the period of deep and challenging personal growth that immediately preceded the EP’s composition. The construction of Saana Sahel (both the imagined locale and the release) served as a spiritual lode star, a place to which Colloboh could retreat for energetic restoration. Ever-generous, Colloboh has charted these expeditions for us in song, and now we may all draw sustenance and inspiration from the wellsprings of this rich land.

Alaska Reid hails from a frontier city in Southwestern Montana whose population lingers around 8,000 residents, and while Reid now works in Los Angeles, she can’t give up her hometown. Her career began here, where she sang in basements, churches, and gyms before starting her first band, Alyeska. Soon talent, and her parents’ minivan, drove her to tour further west. Now, Reid splits her time between the coastlines and the mountainous West, splitting what time she can between the two and working in both cities. Due out summer 2023 via Luminelle, Disenchanter,is as much a collection ofstories as it is a collection of songs. Though Reid’s principle instrument is guitar, she worked on Disenchanter with A. G. Cook, whose synths and the duo’s combined array of pedals allowed Reid to explore her pop inclinations after she recorded each track live at home in both Montana and California. “I have my road dog arsenal from playing tons of live shows, so most of the songs have at least one guitar with my personal chain in homage to my live set up,” she says. “We’d then layer combinations of A. G.’s pedals onto the track, and the contrast between them mirrors our respective musical approaches.” THEMES: Friendship, Touring, Storytelling, Vulnerability GENRE: Indie / Indie Folk / Indie Rock

Vordergrundmusik’s Rittik Wystup returns with a slightly-so avant-garde collage of Piano and Beats. Little melodies awake spuriously, welcoming Spring; they interplay with sizzling cymbals and flamboyant drums. The usage of wind is the carrier throughout the record, just as coastlines bring a strong breeze of cool or warm air.

The overture "Rhythm of the Wind" opens a space of gusts and drafts which circle the EP’s leitmotif. Shifting keys only slightly, it’s a calm prelude to the following track.

"Drums in the Deep" tells the story of a drifting wanderer, voiced by Stepan Terteryan, at the shore of Armenia’s Lake Sevan. His poem can be heard throughout the track, mumbling away as he feels the ground beneath him shaken by roaming bears.

"Three Droplets in Space" presents falling water drops, lifted by a steady, sharp beat. As they approach a large pool, they increase in size and weight, becoming more round and abundant. A gnarly FM bass and frozen hi-hats make way for the passage through the thickening air, blitzing the little leitmotif here and there.

Staying in key, "I Exhale" whispers an ascending piano phrase into the air, which upon reaching for the sky reforms into an unwavering, repeated, slightly melancholic expression. A homage to a valley of bells and chimes, it bursts and blasts into tiny fractions before it evaporates.

Traditional drums and plucked strings progress through "Might y Mist". Before they lose themselves in a faraway landscape, feet stomp and heads bob. As they meld into a fog, carrying debris of the wanderer’s voice and his melody, they spread like a mist: over the water’s surface.

Finally, Timo Maas drops a hefty and punchy remix of "Drums in the Deep". He picks up on the poem and its inclinations but keeps the dancefloor in mind when shattering glassy bits over distorted fragments of the melody. A splendid pumpy finisher to a fairly eccentric EP.

The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. The core of the record is that the pressures we face do not always have to be heavy burdens, but can be reframed; the more pressure a person is under, the greater the possibility for release.

The album plays like a chronicle of pressures - the mind-numbing pursuit of a comfortable life, the eternal striving for more, the pressures of the city, the country, the times. The pressures of maintaining relationships, of battling illness, addiction, poor mental health, the vacuous life of our online selves. As we move through these chronicles though, the mood brightens. The musicality becomes more expansive as the lyrical horizon broadens and we glimpse coastlines, high streets, scrap yards, train stations in the rain; the entire album begins to let go. We encounter the contributions of artists who I love and admire, guest vocalists and instrumentalists, and so we defeat the sense of isolation felt in the opening track with a sense of deeply connected community. More Pressure, the penultimate song, is the essence of the whole album and the epiphany that leads to Grace, which is a prayer, a surrendering; ‘Please move me, please move through me, please unscrew me, please loosen me up.’ But once we get to the end of Grace, and the album, we loop back to the start – to ‘Kiss off the day with a mute mouth. Pass the commute like I can die faster than you.’ Because no matter how much a person grapples with, realises, deeply understands, about life and their place in it, we still wake up in the morning back to square one. Life isn’t solved the minute you figure something out about it. It’s a daily operation to increase your resilience, cultivate a deeper acceptance, let go of what’s chasing you and lean in to the pressures. It’s cyclical, as I believe all things are. And instead of trying to fight the cycles, this album asks us to surrender to them. To let go.

These general themes, of acceptance, resilience, surrender are also about where I’m at in my personal life, in my journey towards a greater acceptance of myself as an artist and as a human being. Being more honest with the world and my community about who I am and letting go of some heavy heavy shame, which is a glorious thing.

This album has a beautiful heart, there is so much love running through it and I can’t wait for people to experience it.

FEATURING REWORKINGS BY YANN TIERSEN, BILL RYDER-JONES, MALIBU, ELUVIUM and
PETER GREGSON.
140g black vinyl with lacquers cut by Alchemy, printed inner sleeve, limited to 500 copies.
Michael Price has announced a new album, The Hope of Better Weather - part reissue, part reworks - due out onThe Control Room on 15 October 2021.
The new album takes his 2012 EP, The Hope of Better Weather, originally recorded by Price alone in a room with a
piano improvising, and brings it fully to life with the addition of a series of reworkings by Yann Tiersen, Bill
Ryder-Jones, Malibu, Peter Gregson and Eluvium.
He explains, “I wasn't trying to control what anybody else was doing. Everybody that joined in with the project gives
their own little piece of freedom. I was really interested in what freedom we all give ourselves, as well as being
fascinated to see what a little germ of an idea can mean to somebody else.”
Listen to Yann Tiersen’s rework of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
Listen to the original version of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
The five pieces, alongside these new reworkings capture a stark beauty, tenderness and delicacy in their tone. But
they are also wind-like in their shifting, expansive and elemental essence - capturing an exploration of the natural
world. “Nearly 10 years ago when I recorded these improvisations, I felt like I was missing the natural world - things
like the weather, the beach at Scarborough and all those kinds of visceral things.”
When Price revisited the work in recent months - at a time when many of us found ourselves more aware of the
natural world - he reconnected with it in a way that looks to connect with his next artistic steps. “You start off with
listening to 10 year old piano recordings and then you go through the reinterpretations of people looking at that
material now through their own lens. The fixation with weather, coastlines and with people connected with nature, is
really strong all the way through this project. Coming out the other side of it, it's kind of like a Northern weather feeling
- coming out with your collar turned up with a hat on, a bit drizzly and shit outside, but with a kind of determination
that is the route forward.”
Most musicians, if they are lucky, will master one craft or field within their career. For Michael Price, he’s managed
three, with his music spanning across piano, orchestral and soundtrack work. The soundtrack work - for TV shows
such as Sherlock, Dracula, and Unforgotten, and films such as Eternal Beauty, Cheerful Weather and Just Jim - has
seen Price win an Emmy, as well as receive countless nominations (including a BAFTA nomination). His work as a
solo artist takes the form of beautiful improvised piano works, such as Diary (2017), or via lush, grand, hyper-detailed
orchestral work, as heard on critically acclaimed releases via Erased Tapes such as Entanglement (2015) and Tender
Symmetry (2018). His latest release, The Hope of Better Weather, is rooted in the piano world but also exists as a
bridge crossing into new terrain..
The process of putting together the release has been an emboldening and liberating one for Price, and he finds
himself feeling buoyant about the possibilities of what lies ahead – which includes a new solo orchestral album. “It is
super freeing and liberating,” he says. “There's these little green shoots of a freedom emerging.”

The first release on new Melbourne imprint Companion comes from Naarm (Melbourne) based producer Kae Kitzler, under the alias of KiTA. Following on from two impressive singles in 2020, the debut release from the Balinese-born producer is a welcome plunge into long-form listening.

Recorded over the spring and summer of 2020, months spent in lockdown in Kitzler's apartment in the south-eastern suburbs of Naarm, Lucent feels deeply introspective. The EP explores the contradictory influences of Kitzler's upbringing, weaving a gentle ensemble of organic textures with strands of crisp, pulsating percussion. The result is powerfully cinematic, evoking a sense of longing for vaster spaces - an ode to the meditative power of mountain and sea.

KiTA has crafted a release for contemplation and inward meditation, a sonic antidote after a year of social isolation. Reflecting on the process, he concludes "an image comes to mind, a sight common to those travelling at the crack of dawn on tropical coastlines. It is one of the sun rising above the deep blue horizon emitting a gradient of lucent red and gold across the sky." Lucent conjures these feelings of awe, wonder, and transitory periods of wholeness.

Following ‘Heirloomʼ, which came out on E. Sagglia and Death Kneelʼs now defunct Summer Isle label in 2018, ‘The Cormorantʼ is the latest album by Australian native Jason Campbell.

After taking exactly a year to complete, Campbell perceives the work on ‘The Cormorantʼ as “a document of small-town Australia, concerned with the natural environment and the rugged coastline that I call home.”

The sounds of his native Australian domain, located by the coastlines of New South Wales, are meticulously explored and dissected throughout the entire album, where ocean swells or conversations at the local food court are layered onto sequences of violin tremolos, detuned cymbals and delayed piano chords.

Throughout the albums run time, ‘The Cormorantʼ encompasses a destructive sonic realm of its own, and yet the pieces also manages to stands out individually; from the highly emotive opening ‘Emerge Againʼ, which features an accelerative volley of machine clatter and pitch shifted choruses, slowly merging into a bed of candid breaths and piano chords, to the deeply emotive, corrosive title track ‘The Cormorantʼ and the albums pre-culminating reprieve ‘A Fallen Eucalyptʼ, each piece showcases a unique, riveting sonic investigation of J. Campbellʼs coastal home.

In the end, ‘The Cormorantʼ is the culmination of a sincere, introspective and deeply invigorating journey, resulting in an album that is not merely about the examination of oneʼs topography, but about passion, existence and self- discovery.

Washed Out is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene. Over three enchanting, critically-lauded albums and an EP, his music has proved both transportive and visual, each release inviting listeners into immersive, self-contained universes. With Purple Noon, his fourth album, and his return to Sub Pop, he delivers the most accessible Washed Out creation to date. Life of Leisure, Washed Out's 2009 debut EP, set the bar for the Chillwave era, shimmering in a warm haze of off-the-cuff Polaroids and pre-IG filters. Within and Without, his 2011 full-length debut on Sub Pop, morphed into nocturnal, icy synth-pop and embraced provocative imagery. 2013's Paracosm was Greene's take on psychedelia, with a full live band and kaleidoscopic light show, and saw him playing to the largest audiences of his career. The sample-heavy Mister Mellow (2017, Stone's Throw) delivered a 360 audio/visual experience, with cut-n-paste and hand-drawn animation to match the hip-hop influences throughout the album. With each release, Greene has approached his evolving project with meticulous detail and a steadfast vision. For Purple Noon, Greene again wrote, recorded, and produced the entirety of the album, with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen (Paracosm, Within and Without). Production of the album followed a brief stint of writing for other artists (most notably Sudan Archives) which enabled Greene to explore genres like R&B and modern pop. These brighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of Purple Noon and mark a new chapter for Greene as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and center, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and there's a more comprehensive depth of dynamics. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins, and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics. Mediterranean coastlines inspired Purple Noon, and Greene pays tribute to the region's distinct island culture - all rugged elegance and old-world charm - and uses it as a backdrop to tell stories of passion, love, and loss (Purple Noon's title comes from the 1960 film directed by Rene Clement and based on the novel The Talented Mister Ripley by Patricia Highsmith). Much like romantic Hollywood epics, the melodrama throughout is strong: a serendipitous first meeting in "Too Late"; a passionate love affair in "Paralyzed"; disintegration of a relationship in "Time to Walk Away"; a reunion with a lost love in "Game of Chance." Purple Noon adds a layer of emotional intensity to the escapism of Washed Out's oeuvre, taking the music to dazzling new heights.

Washed Out is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene. Over three enchanting, critically-lauded albums and an EP, his music has proved both transportive and visual, each release inviting listeners into immersive, self-contained universes. With Purple Noon, his fourth album, and his return to Sub Pop, he delivers the most accessible Washed Out creation to date. Life of Leisure, Washed Out's 2009 debut EP, set the bar for the Chillwave era, shimmering in a warm haze of off-the-cuff Polaroids and pre-IG filters. Within and Without, his 2011 full-length debut on Sub Pop, morphed into nocturnal, icy synth-pop and embraced provocative imagery. 2013's Paracosm was Greene's take on psychedelia, with a full live band and kaleidoscopic light show, and saw him playing to the largest audiences of his career. The sample-heavy Mister Mellow (2017, Stone's Throw) delivered a 360 audio/visual experience, with cut-n-paste and hand-drawn animation to match the hip-hop influences throughout the album. With each release, Greene has approached his evolving project with meticulous detail and a steadfast vision. For Purple Noon, Greene again wrote, recorded, and produced the entirety of the album, with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen (Paracosm, Within and Without). Production of the album followed a brief stint of writing for other artists (most notably Sudan Archives) which enabled Greene to explore genres like R&B and modern pop. These brighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of Purple Noon and mark a new chapter for Greene as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and center, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and there's a more comprehensive depth of dynamics. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins, and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics. Mediterranean coastlines inspired Purple Noon, and Greene pays tribute to the region's distinct island culture - all rugged elegance and old-world charm - and uses it as a backdrop to tell stories of passion, love, and loss (Purple Noon's title comes from the 1960 film directed by Rene Clement and based on the novel The Talented Mister Ripley by Patricia Highsmith). Much like romantic Hollywood epics, the melodrama throughout is strong: a serendipitous first meeting in "Too Late"; a passionate love affair in "Paralyzed"; disintegration of a relationship in "Time to Walk Away"; a reunion with a lost love in "Game of Chance." Purple Noon adds a layer of emotional intensity to the escapism of Washed Out's oeuvre, taking the music to dazzling new heights.

Debut solo album from the psychedelic visionary and founder of the legendary Ozric Tentacles.

A visionary, a prodigal symphonist, one of the UK's leading influential musicians: Ed Wynne is undoubtedly a gifted instrumentalist. He is credited as one of the

linchpins of the UK festival scene's re-emergence along with his band Ozric Tentacles, who formed at Stonehenge Free Festival 1983 and became staples of the Glastonbury Festival, with their most recent performance at Glastonbury

in 2016 on the Glade stage. With an incredible flair for creating masterful tapestries of sound, and for having sold over a million records worldwide, Ed Wynne's debut solo album on

Kscope will be quick to take a hold on fans of psychedelic synth and rock music. 'Shimmer into Nature' was recorded and inspired by the different locations Ed Wynne travelled to over three years, from deep in the Colorado Mountains,

to the coastlines of Cornwall and South Devon, before being completed on Scotland's East Coast by the Firth of Forth. 'The idea is to transport the listener to a place where the everyday ups

and downs of the world dissipate, leaving the mind free to wander through a colourful, omnidirectional guitar and synth driven musical landscape for a while, landing eventually, hopefully freshly charged, with a smile and a calmer spirit.'

The music was written, programmed, mixed and performed by Ed, with mastering by Adam Goodlet at Re:Creation studios, with artwork designed by prolific English psychedelic illustrator John Hurford.

Following 2017's 'Path of Ruin', DJ Richard returns to Dial with his much-anticipated sophomore LP, 'Dies Iræ Xerox'. Undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and fully-formed electronic producers in recent memory, DJ Richard imprinted the sound of a bubbling US underground with his label, White Material, founded in 2012 alongside Young Male. His first solo LP for Dial, 2015's 'Grind', found DJ Richard delicately establishing a discipline between his East Coast noise heritage and a physical, emotive tradition of house music, mastered during an extended stay in Berlin. Now firmly settled once more in his hometown of Providence, 'Dies Iræ Xerox' is a personal and uncompromising journey that finds the Rhode Island native in reflective form, journeying without compromise into both his creative influences and personal psyche. In part adapting its title from the Latin hymn 'Dies irae', otherwise known as 'Day of Wrath', 'Dies Iræ Xerox' melds the physical and psychological aspects of DJ Richard's production ethos in sharper, more widescreen vision than before; the oceanic swells of ambience yet more powerful, and the rigid basslines sharper still. With the chaos of the Berlin club scene an increasingly distant memory, the album is enriched with a contemplative, even brittle tone, as informed by film soundtracks and literature as the pulse of city living. Still, this is new material from DJ Richard, a touring DJ as distinctive as any other to be found behind the decks at some of the world's finest clubs and festivals. On 'Dies Iræ Xerox', the artist finds the space to write 'the records I really want to play', and each suggests a template for genuine dancefloor transcendence, beginning with the electrifying 'Vanguard' . The sludgy yet sophisticated crawl of 'Tunnel Stalker' sets the tone for the menacing yet somehow melancholy EBM of 'In Broad Daylight', while the record draws to a breathless close with the affecting, drum machine lethargy of 'Gate of Roses'. Drawing little distinction between his more physically rousing material and searching soundscapes, 'Dies Iræ Xerox' instead finds a passage of catharsis throughout both. 'Dissolving World', the album's breathtaking centerpiece, is a choral feature hypnotically overwhelmed by walls of electronic feedback, forging a dramatic link between old ways and new. On the bold and near-beatless 'Ancestral Helm' and 'Final Mercy', DJ Richard seems to grant both music and raw emotion the ability to simply float in the air, brilliantly, poignantly unresolved. If 'Grind,' inspired by the weathered coastlines of Rhode Island, was a record concerning "the border between civilization and the ocean," then 'Dies Iræ Xerox' is an unapologetic follow-up concerning that between macabre obsessions and fear of death. Produced during a murky, transitional period, DJ Richard found himself particularly drawn to Medieval European art and mysticism, fascinated by depictions and philosophies of the antichrist and end-times. Greatly influencing the uncompromising, apocalyptic tone of the album, these investigations have created an engaging and personal vision of the 'Day of Wrath.'

Since the early 1990s, keyboard player Jessica Lauren has been a familiar part of London's alternative music scene. Jessica's keyboard skills have augmented the live performances and studio recordings of world renowned artists such as Jean Carne, Tom Browne, Dexter Wansel and James Mason, Japan's United Future Organisation, and UK soul diva Juliet Roberts.

Her previous Freestyle album 'Jessica Lauren Four' (2012) highlighted Jessica's minimalist approach, something rare and refreshing in the jazz world: she instills her compositions and playing with a refined sense of space which makes her music as much about what she doesn't play as what she does.

The albums' opener - Kofi Nomad is a deeply percussive afrocentric epic, featuring the beautiful baritone saxaphone of Tamar 'Collocutor' Osborn, one of the most in demand woodwind players working today, underpinned by a powerful foundation of percussion courtesy of Richard látúndé Baker, Phillip Harper and drummer Cosimo Keita Cadore.

Jessicas' amazing skill for writing simple, understated yet superbly memorable and catchy hooks remains undiminished. Highlights in this new collection are almost too numerous to mention, but Amalfi is a breezy bossa, which conjures up images of easy living days and sun dappled Mediterranean coastlines, whilst the angular and brooding Simba Jike has something of an Eddie Harris style deep, dark groove over which Jessica riffs and solos beautifully on grand piano - and Tamar once again blows freely, whilst 'level' Neville Malcolms' upright bass figure roots the entire thing in a solid, almost primeval sound.

The albums closing statement Argentina is a masterpiece of pathos and perfectly demonstrates Jessicas' approach which is almost akin to a minimalist architecture style of composing and playing, such is the strength of its atmosphere and subtlety.

Roland Tings is Melbourne's jack-track anomaly with a penchant for acid coastlines and nebulous rhythms. Still fresh off 12 releases for 100% SILK and Club Mod, the Melbourne producer dropped the stunning 'Who U Love' EP with us last spring, to critical acclaimand in anticipation for his debut whoch is finally here now. and what we are truly excited to present. Forged by Melbourne's forward-thinking nightlife institutions, Tings made his debut with the Milky Way EP on 100% SILK - the enigmatic dance imprint founded by Not Not Fun's Amanda Brown. Having laid the groundwork of a raw-satin aesthetic inspired by that of Larry Heard and Robert Hood, his sound was solidified on the Club Mod-released follow up Tomita's Basement, featuring remixes from Future Times' Maxmillion Dunbar and Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan. Functioning as club-ready oddities with neon finesse, his releases thrive as rhythmic visions pushing dancers into his very own modular oasis. Having toured across much of Australia and Europe, he's backed up headline club shows with appearances at MONA FOMA and The Meredith Music Festival as well as support slots for the likes of of Tim Sweeney and Juan Atkins for Modular's Sydney Festival showcase. Now riding with a tight community of Australian producers enjoying recognition around the world, Roland Tings' custom texture continues to fold into a vibrant late-night fabric accessed around the world and you will see this reflected by the goodness and versatility of the 8 tracks on this vinyl.