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"The new avant-garde isn't about creating something that doesn't yet exist, it's about abandoning and confusing rigid genres. I want to open up, in order to both abolish and reconstruct the musical past." — Noémi Büchi

Noémi Büchi's album 'Does It Still Matter' completes a series of releases whose titles - 'Matière', 'Matter', and 'Does It Still Matter' - place the physicality of music in the center of attention. Büchi's specific sound structures and aesthetic choices question the state of materiality in a world that is becoming more and more fluid and intangible.

From 'Matière' to 'Matter', Büchi subtly transferred from a focus on substance to questioning the enigmatic core of

being, passing from a noun to a verb, and from a single word to an inquiry. 'Does It Still Matter' weighs in on the importance of questioning. Her pieces juxtapose multi-layered analog synthesizer textures, crystal clear sounds and almost brutalistic noises, while they unfold in compositional structures akin to pop songs. Driven by an orchestra of myriad parts, her music creates transcendent intonations that resonate deeply with the listeners' bodies. A daring blend of complexity and accessibility are molded into captivating sound sculptures that challenge and intrigue listeners alike.

Deviating from conventional time divisions, 'Does It Still Matter' immerses listeners in a discordant succession of elements, and guides them towards an eternal present that erases the past with each new revelation, while maintaining it through recurring themes that serve as intimate memories. Büchi's electronic maximalism questions our linear perception of time, offering a glimpse into a world where the past, present, and future converge into a singular moment. Her avant-garde approach rejects predictability, inviting listeners to immerse themselves fully in the present. Everything starts anew at any given instant. Each musical idea exists for one precise moment, rendering the future unpredictable.

'Does It Still Matter' unfolds against a backdrop of collective disaster and biocidal urgency, challenging the very essence of time. Büchi explains: "The world appears to have gone mad. It's all but impossible to reflect on the meaning of avant-garde in music, considering the future in this sepulchral kind of stability of the human condition." Her compositions resonate like an infernal machine, questioning the instantaneous dissipation of everything. Finally, echoes and fragments of sounds remain, haunting memories like ghostly companions.

'Does It Still Matter' is an immersive experience that invites listeners to contemplate the impermanence of our world and the enduring power of sound.

Mit Gitarrist Steve Jansson (Daeva, Unrest), Sänger Brooks Wilson (Unrest), Schlagzeuger Enrique Sagarnaga (Daeva, The Silver), Gitarrist Frank Chin (Daeva), Bassist Matt Knox (Horrendous, The Silver) und Keyboarder Tanner Anderson (Obsequiae, Majesties) hat das in Philadelphia ansässige Sextett seine Zeit abseits des Rampenlichts genutzt, um ein noch größeres, mysteriöseres Crypt Sermon zu schaffen. The Stygian Rose ist eine Mischung aus Doom und Heavy Metal, welches allerdings beide Genres mühelos überwindet. Von der fulminanten Solosalve von "Glimmers in the Underworld" und dem beherrschenden Rhythmus von "Heavy is the Crown of Bone" bis hin zu den beschwörenden nahöstlichen Vibes von "Thunder (Perfect Mind)" und der komplizierten, meisterhaften Reise des 11-minütigen Titeltracks verkörpert The Stygian Rose die zunehmend wachsenden musikalischen und konzeptionellen Fähigkeiten der Band.

Crypt Sermon haben The Stygian Rose mit dem renommierten Produzenten Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Cirith Ungol) und dem Toningenieur Aidan Elias (Blood Incantation, Wayfarer) im Redwoods in Philadelphia aufgenommen. Obwohl Rizk für Out of the Garden (2015) und The Ruins of Fading Light (2019) verantwortlich zeichnete, hat das Team das genreübergreifende Werk der Band dieses Mal in einem neuen Licht eingefangen. Die Singles "Glimmers in the Underworld", "Heavy is the Crown of Bone" und "Thunder (Perfect Mind)" sind beängstigend effektiv in ihrer Neil Kernon-esken Produktion. Gleichzeitig werfen die tiefgründigen Albumtracks "Scrying Orb", "Down in the Hollow" und "The Stygian Rose" lange, mysteriöse Schatten. Rizk holte aus Crypt Sermon denselben Big-Stage-Sound, den die Produzenten Dave Jerden und Rick Rubin Alice In Chains bzw. Trouble entlockten.

Geschmückt mit einem fesselnden Artwork und einem bezaubernden (und doch düsteren) lyrischen Konzept von Wilson, ist dies Crypt Sermons Moment - tauch ein in The Stygian Rose und lass dich von seinem Reichtum verzaubern!

FFO: Candlemass, Khemmis, Visigoth, Eternal Champion, King Diamond, Solitude Aeternus

Mit Gitarrist Steve Jansson (Daeva, Unrest), Sänger Brooks Wilson (Unrest), Schlagzeuger Enrique Sagarnaga (Daeva, The Silver), Gitarrist Frank Chin (Daeva), Bassist Matt Knox (Horrendous, The Silver) und Keyboarder Tanner Anderson (Obsequiae, Majesties) hat das in Philadelphia ansässige Sextett seine Zeit abseits des Rampenlichts genutzt, um ein noch größeres, mysteriöseres Crypt Sermon zu schaffen. The Stygian Rose ist eine Mischung aus Doom und Heavy Metal, welches allerdings beide Genres mühelos überwindet. Von der fulminanten Solosalve von "Glimmers in the Underworld" und dem beherrschenden Rhythmus von "Heavy is the Crown of Bone" bis hin zu den beschwörenden nahöstlichen Vibes von "Thunder (Perfect Mind)" und der komplizierten, meisterhaften Reise des 11-minütigen Titeltracks verkörpert The Stygian Rose die zunehmend wachsenden musikalischen und konzeptionellen Fähigkeiten der Band.

Crypt Sermon haben The Stygian Rose mit dem renommierten Produzenten Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Cirith Ungol) und dem Toningenieur Aidan Elias (Blood Incantation, Wayfarer) im Redwoods in Philadelphia aufgenommen. Obwohl Rizk für Out of the Garden (2015) und The Ruins of Fading Light (2019) verantwortlich zeichnete, hat das Team das genreübergreifende Werk der Band dieses Mal in einem neuen Licht eingefangen. Die Singles "Glimmers in the Underworld", "Heavy is the Crown of Bone" und "Thunder (Perfect Mind)" sind beängstigend effektiv in ihrer Neil Kernon-esken Produktion. Gleichzeitig werfen die tiefgründigen Albumtracks "Scrying Orb", "Down in the Hollow" und "The Stygian Rose" lange, mysteriöse Schatten. Rizk holte aus Crypt Sermon denselben Big-Stage-Sound, den die Produzenten Dave Jerden und Rick Rubin Alice In Chains bzw. Trouble entlockten.

Geschmückt mit einem fesselnden Artwork und einem bezaubernden (und doch düsteren) lyrischen Konzept von Wilson, ist dies Crypt Sermons Moment - tauch ein in The Stygian Rose und lass dich von seinem Reichtum verzaubern!

FFO: Candlemass, Khemmis, Visigoth, Eternal Champion, King Diamond, Solitude Aeternus

A continuation of the extensive research project initiated last year between Sound Metaphors, Transmigration and surviving eye-witness/historian Ray Castle. An in depth analysis of the dancefloor landscape that developed in Goa during the 80s' and early 90's well before "Trance" became the unfortunate dirty word it is today. Before "trance" was even a genre, Goa was brewing a scene with unparalleled aesthetics, with a constant influx of dedicated collectors and DJs coming and going to this tropical underground dancefloor haven, filtering through vast amounts of emerging electronic music of the times and distilling only the finest of "Special Goa Music". Here is another compilation of our chosen most impactful tracks that would have been soundtrack to a very special and pure moment of freedom in dancefloor culture before the bastardisation of what we now know as "Goa Trance". A highly sought after selection of New Beat, Proto Techno, early Progressive/Trance, Industrial, EBM and House Music. Featuring photographs of the events presented in a double LP gatefold with poster and liner notes by Ray Castle himself. Re-mastered at Manmade mastering in Berlin. A generous body of research essential to any well rounded record collection.

Der Zauber der Nacht ist in der Musik seit jeher ein Thema, von den Nocturnes der Klassik über Late-NightJazz bis hin zu Max Richters Erfolgsprojekt “Sleep”. Auf ihrem neuen Album hat sich nun auch Sängerin und Songschreiberin Arooj Aftab, die für ihr Album “Vulture Prince” 2022 als erste pakistanischstämmige Künstlerin mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet wurde, dieses faszinierenden Themas angenommen.

Arooj versteht es Songs zu schreiben und mit sanfter, tiefer Stimme zu singen, die sich entspannt in die Gehörgänge schmiegen. Ihre Lieder sind einzigartig, weil sie in der Tradition ihres pakistanischen Musikerbes wurzeln, aber zugleich elektronisch-modern und auf subtile Weise grooven.

Mit “Night Reign” ist Arooj ihr betörendstes und vielfältigstes Werk gelungen. Unterstützung erhielt sie dabei von so unterschiedlichen kreativen Partnern wie Vijay Iyer, Maeve Gilchrist, Moor Mother, Joel Ross, Cautious Clay, Kaki King, James Francies und Chocolate Genius, Inc

A Haunted Tongue is the third album by Colossal Squid, the solo project of producer/virtuoso drummer Adam Betts (Goldie, Squarepusher, Melt Yourself Down, Jarvis Cocker). The first self-titled Colossal Squid album (2016) was intended by Betts as a way of exploring the process of creating music from purposefully limited tools (a drumkit and electronica) and finding a place where technology and live performance could happily meet. In comparison, the second album Swungert (2019) acted as a chance to see if the music written from that same process could be moulded (via collaboration and editing) into something more traditionally recognisable as a ‘song’. A Haunted Tongue moves things on one step further, letting the process and approach fade into the background, freeing Betts to balance a million inspirations (early 90s Warp, rave tapes, Nubian drumming, Indonesian gabba…) and filter them through an anything-goes punk aesthetic that results in a feeling of freedom that is both refreshing and rare. Betts has spoken of “a recurring dream of a stranger trying to get across an important message but not talking in any discernible language” that guided these recordings. This feels appropriate to the listener – the language of A Haunted Tongue isn’t straightforward or easily classified but yet the message is clearly understood and embraced by the listener at a primal level. That message is one of hope - channelling the shared euphoria of communal musical experience and searching for an uncynical and personal expression of positive energy that can move people and resonate with them. “A while back we had a chat with JR Moores, he was doing a Bandcamp piece on the label. We mentioned we wished we did more rave-related releases. Within seconds we had the Johnny Broke album in our inbox. Johnny Broke is actually Wayne Adams. Wayne messaged and told us about Adam Betts (AKA Colossal Squid). And here we are, dealing with someone who drums for Squarepusher and Goldie. Both Chris and I have the biggest love for 90s rave music. For me (Joe) I'm listening to an alternative world that I was old enough for but missed out on. I knew the music but didn't have the knowledge to drive around the M25 looking for the fields. It's a history I don't quite have but feel like I do. It's like the Beatles: known all my life but no idea why. It's cut into our DNA. It was our punk rock but we missed it. This Colossal Squid album, no matter how many times I listen to it, brings something new every time. And it makes me feel like I'm finally there” – Wrong Speed HQ

Mock Media, the new Canadian supergroup comprised of Garnet Aronyk (of Crack Cloud), Bennett Smith (of N0V3L), Austin Boylan (of Pottery) and Evan Aesen (of Painted Fruits), share their captivating debut album 'via Meat Machine Records (Crack Cloud, N0V3L, CLAMM)

Mock Media’s debut LP Mock Media II – out on Tin Angel records captures this firebrand four piece’s head-on plunge into enthralling existential contradictions: songs that explore the darkest corners of humanity, yet come out at the other end with the unwavering joy that marked their genesis. It’s an album of sneaky eclecticism: the high-wired punk rock stylings serve as Mock Media’s framework to clad their agog explorations into pop, electronic and world folk music.

Tilman offers up his new album ‘The Spirit Continues’ via his own Pleasant Systems this June, comprised of ten original compositions. Since 2008, the German producer Tilman has been honing his craft in House music through numerous EP’s on various respected labels and here we see him deliver his fourth long player. Taking in§uence from 80s NYC protogarage and Nu Groove’s era of deep house Tilman creates a collection of works which encapsulate the essence of his sound and history with House music over the past two decades, embracing a raw yet dreamy aesthetic throughout. Across the ten tracks Tilman employs sturdy, jacking rhythm sections, ethereal atmospherics, bumpy bass lines, shimmering chord sequences, infectious vocals and enchanting top lines culminating in somatic ecstasy.

Color Vinyl Repress

The world moves faster than ever these days, and even in the digital age, things can always be counted on to go in cycles. Despite all of the advances in computer recording technology, home studios, and electronic instruments, there is a flourishing interest in analog recording techniques and in recreating the mood and sound of vintage soul records. With one foot in the past but their eyes firmly set on the future, El Michels Affair are among the leaders of a resurgent funk & soul movement from New York City that’s sweeping both the music community and the charts.

Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of session musicians (including members of top-selling acts Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, the Budos Band, and Antibalas) that looked to blend some of the vibrant quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock--they called it 'Cinematic Soul.' This delicate balance was evident on their 2005 debut album Sounding Out the City, which earned critical acclaim and acted as the inaugural full-length release for Michels and Silverman’s burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team).

The buzz generated from the album and a series of moderately successful 7” vinyl singles from Truth & Soul led to an invitation by Toyota’s Scion division for El Michels Affair to accompany the rapper Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan for a promotional concert. As avid Wu-Tang fans, not only were the band leaders thrilled with the opportunity, but Michels found that the ‘Cinematic Soul’ sound was consistent with the moods of RZA’s gritty soundscapes on the classic Wu-Tang releases. The concert was such as success, El Michels Affair went oan to play several more concerts nationwide backing Raekwon and other members of the Clan, and the shows led to the recording of two smash 7” singles featuring instrumental reinterpretations of the Wu-Tang classiac songs “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring Da Ruckus.” The singles combined to sell an extraordinary amount of over 7,000 units worldwide, and their success led to a contract in 2007 with indie hip hop powerhouse Fat Beats Records to record an entire album of Wu-Tang Clan interpolations entitled Enter the 37th Chamber.

Since the contract was inked, a worldwide explosion of retro soul led by Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings has transformed the pop music landscape, and the Truth & Soul production duo have been in strong demand, recording with everyone from breakthrough Grammy-nominated artist Adele to punk rock innovator Iggy Pop. They’ve been commissioned for official remixes of Amy Winehouse and Dinah Washington (for the popular Verve Remixed series), and produced for Australian multi-platinum acts Jet and Gabriella Cilmi.

Despite the eclectic group of clients for the Truth & Soul production company, El Michels Affair continued to build an audience within the hip hop community. A track from Sounding out the City was sampled for Ghostface Killah’s 2007 track “Shakey Dog Lolita,” and a horn part written and performed by Michels (for Menahan Street Band) was famously lifted for Jay-Z’s smash single “Roc Boys.” Truth & Soul also worked in the studio on original productions with multi-platinum producer Just Blaze (T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” Jay-Z, Usher).

With their increasing presence behind the scenes in the industry, El Michels Affair looks to have their status as recording artists rise significantly in 2009. With the release of their finally-completed album Enter the 37th Chamber, they can finally step out of the shadows of the retro-soul trend and establish their status as one of the most exciting and versatile bands in modern recorded music.

To celebrate its 25th release of its regular series, long-standing Minimood unleashes a 2x12" monster assembling Tobias Oliver, Die Wilde Jagd, AU Cheek, Ray Okpara, Bluetrain, JS, and Anton Kubikov. The sleeve has been designed by Milano based sculptor Tillmann Lauterbach and every record also contains a limited art print of his as a mighty extra.

Respected Leipzig based multi-instrumentalist Panthera Krause arrives on KANN with New Age appeal! Delving into a more mysterious sound than the label is commonly known, the artist draws from the dark side of the pool, taking in Baltic choir inspirations, 80s cinema themes (Tarantino's favourite) and lyrical GDR rock for good measure. Produced in secrecy over the past 12 months, Krause gets in touch with his inner Stereolab by creating an enchanting new full length entirely on headphones. Drip fed to those close to him over the past year, he was convinced to share these audiobooks to a wider audience, now resulting to: Aside The Aeons. Adding almost only sounds from Korg M3R, Roland Aeorophon and a JX 03 synthesizer to the action - the record explores an unique musical universe and head trip for the astral plane.

The Slovenian label Cogo is back for another unmissable 4-tracker vinyl compilation with the heaviest hitters in the scene who represent the most artistically driven hypnotic techno to date. Jeroen Search, Border One, ORBE, and Tonske all lend a hand to provide an understated and deep vibe to this release full of music actively attempting to remove your mind to otherworldly places hitherto unknown.

Jeroen Search kicks off the release with ''Observer'' expertly drawing you in with a very simplified but polyrhythmic staccato synth and kick combination that slowly builds with modulating and swirling pads until it reaches a climax with a tightly regulated drum track and disorienting LFO sequenced synth patch.

Border One continues the theme of the release of minimalistic aesthetics with ''Contour'' featuring polyrhythmic ideas and evolving dissociative synths. The release culminates in a very simplified and restrained drum track that opens up the doors to a massive sonic environment where you're lost completely within the music, sitting somewhat awestruck by passing elements unfolding in front of your mind's eye.

Not to be outdone, ORBE takes a different tact with ''Wolheim'' by introducing the groove elements first and bringing in his deep understanding of setting the sonic stage with his signature atmospheres and scintillating synth hits. The track also echoes the thematic choices previously laid down by Border One and invites you into this strange alien world full of sonic curiosities and audio biology.
Tonske buttons up the release with ''Droid''. A track that has an overall sense of pulling the sonic environment toward you while you travel as a listener in your mind's eye. Outward synth blips are constantly coming from the outer periphery into view as if they are passing stars while traveling forward at a deliberate and determined pace.

Second physical record from KNOWN ARTIST brings forward the 4th EP from the french duo. Alex Kassian brings his sophisticated touch to warm “Get Up” into a chugging aerial soother. Aldonna honors “Say What ?” with high spirited energy from the depths of Me lbourne. The rest is the same business not business of signature rubber basses and chopped alarms!

As part of the series - Blockhead presents his new album, Luminous Rubble, where the artist dives deep into KPM’s iconic music and sound design library. Blockhead has released 15 albums over the past 15 years and is regarded as one of the modern masters of instrumental hip-hop. It’s a producer’s dream: Being given access to a vast library of material to construct something completely new and exciting out of all of it and when Blockhead’s at the controls, the results are a listener’s paradise, too. The New York City-based hip-hop production legend’s Luminous Rubble is the latest missive in a particularly busy period for the underground hip-hop veteran, who’s spent the last decades lending his considerable talents to work from artists like Armand Hammer, billy woods, Murs, and Open Mike Eagle; in 2021, he released the critically acclaimed collab LP Garbology with rap legend and longtime collaborator Aesop Rock, just last year he unleashed his twelfth solo album, The Aux. “For me, as a producer who uses samples, there’s nothing better than free rein. That was so exciting for me. Their vault is the one I’m most familiar with,” he says with a laugh. “Back when I used to go record shopping a lot, I would pretty much buy any KPM record on sight. They were always a huge find at record stores. So to be able to tap into these records with no limitations was really nice. Having no boundaries can be overwhelming when it comes to the creative process. Working with these samples forced me to find middle ground in cases where I’d typically just walk away and look elsewhere.” After hearing Luminous Rubble, you’ll be happy he stuck around.

Shall Not Fade welcome the legend Harrison BDP back to their Lost Palms sister label for his NINTH release with the Bristol label!

'Third Time Lucky' EP is four deep, dubby, spaced out, meditative jams perfect for those late night rave moments!

About 10 years ago I tried to contact Dutch artist and scientist Felix Hess, when he was still alive, but never got a reply. Years later, in 2022, I was talking to Frans de Waard, who told me he was administering the sound archive of the late Hess together with Mark Poysden. Together we started working on an album to celebrate his life and many accomplishments. It includes selections from all the highly collectible Frogs releases from the 80's and 90's, while the artwork is sourced from his Zenga collection, unifying his two greatest passions.

While in Australia conducting research for his PhD thesis on the aerodynamics and motion of returning boomerangs in 1975, Felix Hess heard frog choruses for the first time. The hills, close to Adelaide, generating amazing natural rhythms and waves of spatial sounds. He started traveling to the outback to record similar frog choruses, camping in quit places to enjoy these wonderful nightly concerts.

Mystified by how the waves and rhythms of frog choruses could emerge without a conductor or a score and by the physics of this method of communication, he started to research the phenomenon in 1982 by designing and building small electronic sound creatures that could respond to each other in a similar way. These creatures and his various other installations earned him international acclaim.

During the 1990s, Hess was invited to Japan many times to present his work and he became interested in Zen Buddhism. One summer evening in 2001 he visited a museum in Berlin and saw actual Zen art for the first time. Overwhelmed by the extraordinary power radiating from this and similar artworks he became addicted to Zenga and gradually built up one of the world's most representative collections of hanging Zen scrolls. A collection he named Kaeru-An (Frog Hut) to honor his original teachers, the frogs

Anything Goes Vol.7,' the latest vinyl release EP from Rollover Edit service is back. Delve into the Italian music scene of the '70s and early '80s with four meticulously edited gems. Grab it before it's too late.

Over the past decade Tuccillo has steadily honed his craft as a producer and is now widely known and beloved for his contemporary twist on raw groove driven House music which has found a home on the likes of Nu Groove, Kwench, Melodeum, Holic Trax his own Unblock label and of course Kaoz Theory where he returns here following 2023’s ‘The Waves’ EP.

Title-cut ‘Sundown’ leads the release on a deep house tip with a swinging drum groove, airy chord sequences, intricate filtered vocals and a funk-infused bass line. ‘Holding On’ then shifts gears into Chicago House territory via a bouncy bassline and dubbed out vocal chops, intertwined with a playful organ melody, tension building strings and skippy percussion.

‘Whatever’ then opens the b-side with a more stripped-back feel, laying focus on crisp, low-slung drums, hypnotic atmospherics, choppy dub stabs and an amalgamation of vocal murmurs. ‘Velvet City’ then concludes the EP, encapsulating the core aesthetic of deep house with wandering jazzy keys, ethereal pads, organic drums and rumbling subs all silkily ebbing and flowing amongst one another.