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‘Clyppan’ is an Old English verb meaning “to embrace” or “to clasp.” It also referred to an ancient ritual in which people gathered in a circle, singing together around a sacred shrine. It’s a fitting title for the latest release from Newcastle’s Smote – a visceral document of the band’s electrifying live set, captured within the walls of London’s Bear Bites Horse recording studio.
Following the release of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘A Grand Stream’, Smote embarked on an intensive tour schedule, refining their live performance along the way into something transcendental – a full-spectrum psychic voyage. Anyone who caught them at Supernormal, Supersonic, or this year’s Roadburn Festival can attest: Smote are an unforgettable sonic presence, a near religious experience.
Recognising the urgency and potency of the band’s current live form, Rocket Recordings encouraged Smote’s founder and sonic architect Dan Foggin to document their live set in the studio. It was a sound too powerful to be left undocumented – it was something that needed to be clasped for future generations.
On January 22, 2025 – the day before their thunderous performance at London’s ICA alongside labelmates Teeth Of The Sea – the four members of Smote entered Bear Bites Horse studio. With producer Wayne Adams at the controls, they laid down a live set brimming with raw, elemental power.
What emerged is ‘Clyppan’ – four drone-and-repetition driven incantations, distilled from the primal essence of Smote’s sound. These tracks channel something ancient and urgent, summoning spirits and revelations in their wake. It’s music as ritual, as invocation – pure aural sorcery.
So gather together. Form a circle. Join hands. And embrace the ecstatic, untamed energy of Smote in their most untethered and primal form.

The Just Joans' new album Romantic Visions of Scotland finds the Glasgow band in characteristically melancholic form, pairing shambling indie pop with sharp observations on romantic pratfalls and everyday dis-appointments, all delivered with sardonic Scottish wit, fronted by siblings David and Katie Pope, whose wry lyrics and heartfelt vocals remain at the heart of the band’s distinctive sound.
Originally inspired by a grandiose exhibition title spotted on Glasgow buses in 2019 for a show at the Nation-al Museum of Scotland called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland, the new album arrives six years later as a collection of semi-autobiographical snapshots from the Central Belt of Scotland. Whilst some of the details have been exaggerated for comic (or tragic) effect, the songs are based on personal experience of mundane failings, bitter regrets and missed opportunities that make up an unremarkable life.
Recurring themes of nostalgia for a bygone era and the fear of being left behind by lovers, friends and peers run throughout the album. Musically and lyrically, the band channels Village Green-era Kinks, with nods to The Television Personalities, The Smiths and Dolly Mixture.
In the past they have always recorded by themselves in a variety of bedrooms, living rooms – and the occasional toilet. For the first time they have abandoned their DIY recording practices to create what songwriter David Pope calls, “a corporate behemoth in an actual studio.” The album was recorded at Chem19 in Blan-tyre with Paul Savage, who is best known as a founding member of local legends The Delgados. He has also produced and recorded the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and Camera Obscura, and has captured a slightly more muscular version of the band while retaining their ramshackle charm.
The album artwork by vocalist and painter Katie Pope depicts Motherwell Train Station – an ordinary, boring place that speaks to the subject matter of the songs, but with a hint of potential escape. As David Pope ex-plains, “For me, the painting reminds me of the ending of Billy Liar in which Billy tries and fails to leave his hometown for the bright lights of London. Half the band also live in Motherwell, so it seemed appropriate.”
Funded by Creative Scotland, the recording allowed the band to bring in bass and cello arrangements, adding depth and a sheen of musical proficiency to their signature sound.
About The Just Joans - The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Early demos were collected together and released as a loose concept album, Last Tango in Motherwell, in 2006. Chris Elkin joined on guitar and was followed shortly after by David’s younger sister, Katie, on vocals and Fraser Ford on bass. Over the years they have released EPs and albums on WeePOP! and Fika Records and have gained a cult following as Scottish pop miserabilists.
The current line-up consists of Katie Pope (vocals), David Pope (vocals, guitar), Chris Elkin (lead guitar), Fraser Ford (bass), Arion Xenos (keyboards) and Jason Sweeney (drums).
Press Quotes:
“They fit snugly into the scratchy, low budget Scottish indie tradition of The Delgados and Arab Strap… There’s mischief in this miserabilism.” - Mojo 4*s
“Glasgow’s The Just Joans have documented the romantic pratfalls of a generation of indie kids with sardonic wit and a shambling musical style where Stephin Merrit lies down with The Vaselines.” - Uncut
“Funny and sad, it’s the kind of song that made Red House Painters, The Magnetic Fields and The Wedding Present’s early albums so easy to embrace; an unpretentious sharing of relatable gloom.” - Record Collector

Das legendäre Debütalbum der norwegischen Funkateers Xploding Plastix, "Amateur Girlfriends Go Proskirt Agents" (2001), erscheint als Deluxe-Doppelvinyl mit 6 zusätzlichen Bonustracks. Mit ihrer Mischung aus obskuren Jazz-Samples, coolen Beats, melodischem Feeling, einer unkonventionellen Herangehensweise und einer gehörigen Portion Humor schufen Xploding Plastix ihren ganz eigenen Stil. Eine Art älterer Amon Tobin trifft auf Scott Walker in einem verraucht-schmuddeligen Jazzclub. Dazu noch ein Faible für Film Noir, Balearic Beats, Lo-Fi, absolut abgefahrene Sounds – einfach genial! Der NME schrieb damals: "Währenddessen bieten die Norweger Xploding Plastix – zwei Verrückte mit vielen kleinen Boxen und einem schrecklichen Namen – auf dem Jam Festival eine ganz andere Art von Umbruch. Ihr Sound ist ein lauter, desorientierender Future-Jazz-Krach, eine Mischung aus DJ Foods verrückten Drums, Aphex Twins Taktarten und den stimmungsvollsten, cineastischen Passagen von The Herbaliser. Fantastisch!"

Composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Yoshiharu Takeda's long-awaited first album, released in 2018, is now available as a reissue LP with obi strip.
He plays various instruments himself, including piano, clarinet, pedal steel guitar, and percussion.
Fantastical, crystalline melodies constructed through masterful use of multi-tracking and programmed elements.
This richly textured work possesses an organic quality, unfolding dynamically through colorful arrangements while maintaining a mysteriously serene atmosphere.
Highly recommended not only for jazz and world music fans, but also for enthusiasts of ambient and new age music.

Reggae cover of Donald Fagen and Richard Marx's classic is now available on 7"!

"I.G.Y." is Joey Johnson's soulful rendition of Donald Fagen's swingy 1982 AOR classic 'The Nightfly,' which opened the album and became a milestone in AOR history. Right Here Waiting" is a reggae arrangement of Richard Marx's 1989 ballad that retains the weepy melody. The original song topped the charts in the U.S. and Europe when it was released, and Monica had a revival hit in 1999. It is considered the most played love song on Spotify in the UK.

"An Eternity Still" delves into the theme of closure, capturing the emotional journey of closing one chapter and beginning another. It evokes a stirring blend of nostalgia and the need to move forward, balancing bright memories with the desire for growth and new challenges.

For this project, Vanity Productions' Christian Stadsgaard teamed up with close collaborators Emma Acs and Malthe Fischer, who joined in the compositional process. While the album maintains Stadsgaard's signature melancholia, it also introduces a fresh sonic palette, incorporating vocals and guitar alongside the project's hallmark broken electronics and dark, evocative melodies.

The Album also features remixes by acclaimed artists Farzané and Ireen Amnes, further enriching the album's collaborative spirit and adding new dimensions to its haunting soundscapes.

To mark what would have been Mikis Theodorakis' 100th birthday in 2025, Intuition released a very special album: 'Lost Songs' - fourteen previously unpublished compositions by the world-renowned Greek composer, presented here for the first time in a remarkable solo piano version by German pianist Henning Schmiedt. A remarkable moment took place in 2009 at Mikis Theodorakis' studio in Athens: Henning Schmiedt personally played his piano arrangements of the 'Lost Songs' to Theodorakis himself. Some of the melodies sparked the composer's memory, while others did not - but he listened attentively, offered comments and gave guidance that directly influenced the final versions of the pieces.

As such, 'Lost Songs' can be considered a posthumous release with the composer's blessing. These pieces offer a glimpse into Theodorakis' expressive power and artistic maturity from a very young age - most of the 'Lost Songs' were written in the early 1940s and provide a compelling window into the formative years of one of the most important composers of the 20th century.

'Lost Songs' is available on 180g vinyl and digipak CD editions.

Neues Album des US-Gitarristen im Stile eines Stevie Ray Vaughan - ist auf der Ruf Records Blues Caravan-Tour im Januar 2026

».​.​.​ihm ist zu attestieren, dass ONE FOR THE RIDE mehr als ansprechend seine Liebe zum Geschichtenerzählen über sein Leben unterwegs einfängt, dass er die musikalischen Einflüsse, die ihn geprägt haben, mit einer eigenständigen Note zusammenbindet.​« (GoodTimes, Februar/März 2026)

“There's a clarity here that feels hard-won. Honing ideas first explored with his Organic Music series, Tiago Sousa unlocks the final puzzle pieces on Sustained Tones Vol 1. This music is enchanted, the way each layer moves in conjunction with the others: complex structures that feel less constructed than discovered, like stumbling upon ancient mechanisms still whirring beneath the earth. "Readily Reliance" opens as an effervescent sea, waves gilded in neon creating an enveloping sense of eternal motion. Bright organ timbres throw silhouettes and cast Sousa as the deft puppeteer keeping everything moving with an effortless precision. These evolving shapes suspend listeners somewhere between the physical and the cosmic, held in place by nothing but intention and sound.

Drones build rippling foundations in other places, using slower tempos to construct immersive, off-kilter sound worlds where minimalism becomes emotive, almost poignant. The fluctuating tones have a gossamer sheen, creating this interesting sonic dichotomy: a solid surface with fragile rotations beneath. It's music that commands attention; it is so much more than simply aural furniture. Sousa writes these beautiful sequences that are all interconnected, intricate sonic architecture that pulls us further into some kind of unknowable ether.

On the piano pieces, "Smooth Flow Into It" and "Swirling Mist and Thin Dust," Sousa shines sunlight through all the cracks. Washes of melody are effervescent, clouds clearing to reveal the day has not gone. Not yet. Positioned in the middle of Sustained Tones Vol 1, these pieces ground the album in something transcendent yet still earthen: moments of breath inside all that cosmic drift. Darkness finds its way through on "Restlessness," where Sousa smears sinuous electronics into a ghostly sonic mesh that seeps through the skin. It feels like a slow inhale, time suspended long enough to take note of where we are and how we feel before moving forward. Expressive, almost sparkling synth arrangements return to send us back into reality on closer "Becoming a Landscape." Its title hints at larger concepts at play throughout this album, where lines between our physical beings and the wider environment are blurred. The tones that echo throughout these six pieces mirror the echoes inside our bodies, from heartbeats and voices to something quieter, something much smaller and more elemental. By immersing us inside these mesmerising, beautiful soundscapes, Sousa immerses us within ourselves.’’

Brad Rose, 2025

With her new album, Spira (Sprout), Olof Arnalds has found her joy in writing songs rekindled. In many ways it harkens back to her debut: it is exclusively in Icelandic, the arrangements are markedly stripped back compared to her last two records, and it is mostly recorded in single takes in the control room of Sundlaugin, much like Vio og vio. Although a classically trained singer and violinist, Olof has been an active practitioner of popular music for thirty years, the watershed moment was the 2007 release of her debut solo album Vio og vio (Now and Again, wider international release in 2009), produced by Sigur Ros' Kjartan Sveinsson in the band's converted swimming-pool studio Sundlaugin. It seemed to appear fully formed out of the ether, and became a local classic almost overnight, winning accolades such as 'Best Alternative Album' at the Iceland Music Awards, named 'Record of the Year' by Iceland's principal daily newspaper and recognised as one of the decade's 100 best albums by eMusic. Spira is produced by Skuli Sverrisson, who also contributes bass and guitar. His mind-melting resume includes musical direction for Laurie Anderson, recordings with Blonde Redhead and work with artists such as David Sylvian, Jon Hassell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Frisell and Arto Lindsay. Davio por Jonsson contributes piano and guitar to the record-much as he did during Olof's busiest touring schedule nearly fifteen years ago when the two of them toured the world for months on end. There is hardly a jazz musician in Iceland he hasn't played with but lately he is perhaps best known for his close collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson, one of this century's most celebrated visual artists.

** Highly limited edition CLEAR VINYL VERSION**

Pt.1 of 2

Gigi Masin's sparkling sonic magic leads us to the light in “Implodendo in una accecante oscurità” (Imploding in a blinding darkness). The mirror reflects nothing but a faint, unfamiliar, mysteriously hostile face, but a glimmer survives, evoked by a painfully solemn romanticism that is salvific, glimmers of light bounce off broad synthetic volutes, a bewitching ambient, airy quiet, they spread, a few veins of darkness shine through, aesthetic beauty equates to clear spirituality, sax and female voices, the elegy that intertwines piano and vocal loops, that omnipresent melancholy, nostalgia, reassuring, which is openness to tomorrow. It is the moment of light, the powerful feeling that nothing is lost, that what awaits to be grasped is more than a remnant, perhaps an overcoming, light that “is not what it shows but what it reveals”, that light that becomes memory that does not need to illuminate to be perceived where it most needs to spread, where darkness has resided for too long

For our 13th release, we’re excited to welcome a duo that embodies the true Dutch underground spirit: Young Adults. They’ve been shaping their sound for years and have become a familiar force in their hometown scene of The Hague/Den Haag, especially at PIP. Get ready for four raw, edgy tech-house rollers tried, tested, and fully certified on dancefloors over the past year.

The time has come to unveil Lumbago’s 16th release. Written and produced by P.O. (with an additional track co-crafted with U-Died under their alias Flash FM) this EP crystallizes the long-standing artistic connection between the artists and the label. Their influence on Lumbago’s sonic evolution made this moment inevitable. Balancing light and shadow with striking finesse, P.O. delivers his signature emotional tension, while the duo’s collaboration upgrades the record with an intense, triumphant techno statement.

DJ Honesty returns on Syncrophone and drops tight techno / house cuts, flipped hard by Satoshi Tomiie on the remix. Pure underground heat, wired for the floor and the heads.

Say what you want, but Strahil Velchev has never been one to sit still — not on stage, not in the studio, and certainly not on Versions. Here, KiNK turns his own material inside out, upside down, and somehow still lands on his feet, grinning. His return to Running Back arrives as four slices of KiNK logic and mischief: A1. Comin, A2. Pump Version A, B1. Pump Version B, and B2. Pump Version C.

Nastia's imprint launches a new compilation series curated by selected music connoisseurs and crate diggers, with ANNÉ as the debut curator.

Each compilation features handpicked unreleased pieces including an exclusive track by the curator. The release pairs a curated double vinyl with a CD featuring the curator's own mix of the compilation.

For this first edition, ANNÉ has put together a balanced journey that opens with Gaetano Parisio's dynamic old-school energy and closes with The Advent's raw classic techno. Between these two legends, the selection flows seamlessly across the first 12".

The second record takes a more soulful direction, starting with Newa and closing with ANNÉ's own track - a natural way to wrap up the journey she's curated, serving both as a closing piece and the final statement of the compilation.

Mala, returns on DEEP MEDi MUSIK with "the pidgin rap don" Magugu with a release that has been circulating as a mystery dub in different spaces around the world, for at least a year: whether Mala himself at Houghton, Skream in Ibiza, Sir Spyro shelling down club spaces or Four Tet laying bass weight on 80,000 ravers at HARD Fest in Hollywood.

Stormzone were formed in Northern Ireland in 2004 as a heavy metal band. In 2007 They released “Caught in the Act” on the Escape Music label, and it was met with critical acclaim. They have since released another 3 albums on different labels, all of which have firmly put them on the map. In more recent years the band have taken a heavier direction and attracting fans of the NWOBHM genre. Stormzone have played at many festivals including Sweden rock, Firefest and Wacken open air to name but a few, as well as playing many shows. They have also played as support to many big names, such as Saxon, Y & T, Stryper, Tesla and White Lion. They have always had a loyal following which continues to grow. Their debut “Caught in the Act” featured artwork by the Rodney Matthews art studio, who have worked with album covers by YES, Bob Catley, Magnum and many others. The distinctive style of art is a firm favourite with many, and it is with great pleasure that we announce that “Immortal Beloved” shall also enjoy such outstanding artwork. This latest Stormzone chapter boasts 13 tracks of classic heavy metal, and it will be a much anticipated release to start the new year..

Soul Visions is an instrumental journey into the world of Deheb, who, after several years of continuous sound research, continues to draw inspiration from jazz, soul, funk, and progressive rock records, first discovered through his father and then through his fellow collectors and DJs, including his partner DJ Marrrtin from Funky Bijou.
The Breton artist is renowned in the beatmaking world for his collaborations in New York in the mid-2000s (Moka Only, Sean Price, Torae, Tye Phoenix, Apani B, etc.) and for his album “LEAF”, released in 2015 with Swiss producer Chief. He is best known for producing classic Funky Breaks in the global breakdance scene with Marrrtin under the name Funky Bijou, whose tracks have been played at the world's biggest breakdance events since 2011 (Battle Of The Year, Red Bull BC One, etc.). All their tracks have been listened to more than 30 million times on various platforms and social networks.
A prolific artist who draws much of his inspiration from funk and jazz, he is based in Nantes and has collaborated with groups from the French Neo Soul scene, such as J-Silk from Bordeaux, Jo Wedin from Sweden, and Keysuna from Nantes. Close to the dance scene, he has also collaborated with dancer and choreographer Mackenzy Bergile, which led him to join the CCNRB's choreographic project “Earthbound” by choreographers Saïdo Lehlouh and Johanna Faye in 2023.
Deheb has also been composing for documentary projects since his first collaboration with director Shyaka Kagamé in 2015 for “Bounty”. In 2024 and 2025, he worked on two critically acclaimed projects: “Boulevard du village noir”, produced by Radio Television Suisse, and “IMIHIGO, le pacte rwandais”.
This year, 2025, he brings us “Soul Visions”, a journey through the cinematic sound of the early 1970s to the soul funk and jazz funk of the late 1970s, a pivotal period in his own musical identity that contributed to the funk sound of his guitars and the texture of his synthesizers and electric pianos.
Soul Visions is first and foremost a tribute to the artists and composers, the geniuses of that era, such as the Mizell brothers in “Larry and Fonce”, the Bell brothers in “Ron and Don”, and giants of the genre such as Isaac Hayes, Yuji Ohno, Roy Ayers, and Clarence Reid. All these masters of the genre had their own distinctive sound and arrangements, which were easily recognizable and which are among Deheb's major inspirations.

Recorded with guitar, loops, and minimal effects - a decade after 'Knochen in meinem Körper' appeared on a Family Horror compilation, Alkohole returns with ttimesquare - a quiet closing of an open chapter. It's a step away from the label's recent, club-oriented catalogue, yet not an alien one.

Deep Techno, Techno, House, Detroit Techno
James Baker aka ReKaB passed away very recently and so unexpectedly. He had only submitted the music for his new EP for YORE less than two weeks before his sudden passing.

The original title was meant to be "Let the Machines Talk", but we decided to change it to "The Last Talk of the Machines."

It feels not only sad but also surreal to hear music that was created only shortly before, knowing James is no longer with us in embodied existence. This is the very last talk of his loved Machines.

R.I.P James aka ReKaB- Lost but not forgotten.

Strictly limited to 200 Copies worldwide (NO REPRESS).

" Spellbinding leftfield House trips / Tip."

Veteran DJ, producer and Kyiv's K41 booker Christoph Faust showcases the diversity of House music across four tracks. From tech house to clicky minimal, mysterious deep house, and classic Chicago style, "The Window Upstairs" has it all.
On the B-side, there's a surprise remix by Berghain regular and Room Trax co-founder BLANKA, adding a dubby tech housetwist.

Veteran DJ, producer and Kyiv's K41 booker Christoph Faust showcases the diversity of House music across four tracks. From tech house to clicky minimal, mysterious deep house, and classic Chicago style, "The Window Upstairs" has it all.
On the B-side, there's a surprise remix by Berghain regular and Room Trax co-founder BLANKA, adding a dubby tech housetwist.

Multi Talented Sheba Q debuts on Over/Shadow with 2 tracks that highlight her unique style and sound. Asterix has been doing the rounds for a while after being made with Nectax and Sovereign projects Margarets vocal skills with Outrage on the buttons.....and to top it all off we have a Dub one Remix!!!!