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WARNING: THIS IS FLATCORE AND HAS TO BE PLAYED LOUD !

Let's start by explaining what "FLATCORE" is; which is represented on this 3rd vinyl from this special serie on Flatlife Records: Flatcore is a cross between Hardcore, Progressive Trance, ACID and Hard Trance with a wink to the '90s. A concept from the mind of Jack Wax, who himself is incredibly fascinated and passionate about the more progressive hard trance movements of the '90s.

First track from Jack: "What The World Is Becoming To" is a serious question. AI, robots that do everything for you, wars, the internet; so much that has happening in the past 50 years, and where is it all becoming to?
Jack is supported on this release by "Dysistor"; this artist has also released music as DJ Hidden and Scorch and is also one half of "The Outside Agency." Then there's fresh talent on the B-side: TRIPHAZ from France. A fantastic, dark flatcore banger; he sent it as a demo, and Jack immediately jumped up and started screaming that he wanted it for this project.

So in total; a fantastic flatcore release, limited to 200 copies pressed on white vinyl. If you
like the harder stuff... check this one out.

DJ Support: Garnier, Opolopo, Worldwide FM, Marcia Carr, Bill Brewster, Timeout Moscow, Craig Smith, Delfonic, Tony Nwachukwu, Marcel Dettmann, DJ Rocca, Shuya Okino, Borrowed Identity, Titonton Duvante, Alex Attias, Rainer Truby, Sol Power All-Stars, Kyri R2, Robert Luis, Severino Panzetta, Lars Behrenroth, Kassian, Alkalino, Getdown Edits, Moodymanc, Gerd, Lea Lisa, Young Pulse, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Mark Grusane, Alex Barck….

International dance music heavyweight, producer and DJ Alexander Lay-Far returns with a powerful new chapter - Lay-Far Dance Orchestra (LFDO) - a fully-fledged live band project that reconnects him with his jazz-funk and fusion DNA while pushing dance music forward with unmistakable groove, musicianship and emotional weight. Formed in early 2024, LFDO is no nostalgia exercise. With Lay-Far at the helm as bassist, bandleader, composer, arranger and sound engineer, the orchestra has already been turning heads with explosive live performances, reinventing classic Lay-Far cuts, and now unveil their first album “Skybreak” with all new and original material written and produced by Lay-Far together with his bandmates and star guests, including Lipelis, Antoha MC and Seven Davis Jr. This work shows the departure from the predominantly electronic sound of Lay-Far's previous solo albums in favour of live instrumentation recorded to analogue tape and effortlessly bridging the gap between Jazz, Library Music, Disco-Funk, House, Broken Beat and Drum’n’Bass. “Skybreak” is dynamic, passionate, spiritual, cinematic, playful, heartfelt, life-affirming, dreamy and deeply romantic. Ultimately, there’s something profoundly romantic in recording and releasing such music in this day and age!


“Take Flight (Part 1)” is opening the album with style. It takes us on a beautifully orchestrated journey, blending the sensuality of Library Music with high-octane Jazz-Funk and raw b-boy breaks, propelled by breathtaking flute and Rhodes solos of Timur Nekrasov and Maxim Glonti. This aural symbiosis of “beauty and the beats” will become more and more prominent as the album unfolds.



It’s time for “Aquarius Love” created with the inimitable artist and vocalist Seven Davis Jr. (Secret Angels, Ninja Tune). In this composition cinematic soul and heavy jazz meet the restless energy of live drum & bass with deep and heartfelt vocals - timeless sound combined with a timeless message about love and life!



Next is “Head In The Clouds” - a theme for an imaginary rom-com, an ode to all the dreamers - sweet, light, naive and heartwarming. Space-Disco-Funk at its best!

“Where You From” is a fiery Soulful House number with heavy Afro-Latin influences recorded in collaboration with Lipelis. It’s full of Sun, joy and passion. Its irresistible rhythm is emphasised by funky octave bass, wah-wah guitar, catchy piano riffs, guitar solo by Lipelis and seemingly light conscious message delivered by Lay-Far and Maryag. Summer is here!

Now the album takes an unexpected twist in the form of “The Harp of Boom” which at first glance appears to be a classic-sounding Boom-Bap banger. Yes, It’s loud, raw, and gritty, yet it gradually evolves into something delicately-touching and deeply-soulful thanks to a memorable flute melody and lush string arrangement. Definitely recorded with tongue in cheek.


Next is “Feel The Moment” a remarkable collaboration with one of the most recognisable and distinctive Russian artists, singer, trumpeter and cultural icon Antoha MC. It’s a feel-good song, hopeful, life-affirming and bittersweet. A stylish excursion into Brit-Funk and Soviet Jazz-Fusion sound, drawing inspiration from the likes of Atmosfear, Light Of The World or Soviet Jazz bands like Allegro and Arsenal, but reimagining the influences through the modern West London broken beat lens.


The spectacular music journey continuous with “Take Flight (Part 2)” - it’s all about the deep infectious jazz-funk groove, heavy beats, rolling percussion and the glory of the soloing instruments - saxophone and flute by Timur Nekrasov, demonstrating the wide range of emotions from thoughtful and lyrical to restless and borderline vicious. One for freestyle dancing!

As the album draws to an end a vibrant musical triptych “Soul Constant” awaits, mixing together the deep and sensual mood of spiritual jazz with heavy syncopated drum’n’bass rhythms by Michail Fotchenkov, lush orchestration, expressive saxophone solos and the ending which can simply be described as “aural bliss”. It’s breath-taking!

A pleasant bonus is the exclusive version of “Where You From” by Lipelis himself, who is taking it into dub territories, further enhancing the rhythm section and enriching the song with his trademark playful synth flourishes and dreamy guitar solos for maximum effect (and appeal).

The album “Skybreak” by Lay-Far Dance Orchestra is the work of real artistry and craftsmanship with timeless sound that’s not only deeply-rooted but also forward-thinking.

Finland's GRAVETAKER are a duo of Lunatik and Atavistic Mouth. Taking inspiration from Soulside Journey-era Darkthrone and Katharsis among other things, the band drag death metal back to its ambitious and obscure roots with their first recording, Sheer Lunacy. With five tracks clocking over 35 minutes, each song has taken a form of its own, fully realized but effectively part of a greater (w)hole. From mesmerizing acoustic intros to divebombs casting their screams over blastbeats, crazed hysteria to somber fields and back again, all wrapped in a swirling-yet-mossy recording, Sheer Lunacy is hard to categorize in any specific subgenre popular to this age and day; GRAVETAKER would be violently antagonistic if they actually cared about the nowadays scene. A true testament to a schizophrenic approach to songwriting and wielding true Metal of Death, IRON BONEHEAD now makes this archaic tome available on vinyl for full analog possession.

She studied classical music on viola from the age of 3 through into college where she was on a path to be a performer in a large ensemble, but eventually left after feeling frustrated and limited in a world that did not provide much of an outlet for individual creativity. But the doors of perception really opened when she moved to British Columbia and was exposed to the raw beauty of the wilderness there.

She began recording at home using a basic audio setup along with a cello, viola, violin and double bass, and spent time making field recordings of natural sounds in BC. Her next idea was to actually move into nature to record, curious as to “how it would sound if I recorded outside entirely, with the natural reverb and sounds of the environment in the recording from the very beginning. The rustling of the leaves or a raven’s beating wings were as integral to the music as whatever I played.”

Fables is a mix of pieces that were recorded in the fall of 2024, in a small, remote cabin and outside, primarily using stringed instruments. The result is a series of stunning vignettes, meditations patiently unfurling like gentle waves, slowly advancing and retreating.4, in a small, remote cabin and outside, primarily using stringed instruments. The result is a series of stunning vignettes, meditations patiently unfurling like gentle waves, slowly advancing and retreating.

A joke that doesn’t make you laugh is just a sentence. Music that doesn’t make you dance and feel is just noise aimed in your direction. To make a circuit where energy flows freely, you must have feedback. Without feedback, connection is absent. As Limousine Dream enters the Age of Aquarius, we open up. Instead of trying to grow, we let it grow. Instead of building a pyramid, we see a constellation where we are all stars, and every star can equally stand out and fit in. We invite you to join us, just like we want to join you. This is where we begin our Life Spiral.

Manfredi Romano, founder and A&R of Life and Death Records, has been a pivotal figure in electronic music for over two decades. This year marks an important milestone as he is invited to curate the upcoming fabric presents mix for fabric Records, a release that highlights his instinctive storytelling and the distinct musical identity he has cultivated throughout his career.

Manfredi’s journey began in Italy around the turn of the millennium, tour-managing punk bands and organizing left-field music events before completing his studies in computer science at the University of Pisa. He went on to form DAZE, Italy’s first booking agency dedicated exclusively to electronic music, laying the groundwork for what would become a globally influential presence in the scene.
In 2010, he shifted focus to his own artistic project, DJ Tennis, which quickly gained international recognition for its emotive blend of house, techno, and disco. Renowned for creating intimate atmospheres in even the largest spaces, DJ Tennis has performed at leading clubs such as Circoloco Ibiza, Fabric London, and Panorama Bar Berlin, and at major festivals including Sonar, Timewarp, Primavera Sound, and Coachella. His 2022 residency at Phonox in London further showcased his ability to shape dancefloors with nuance and depth. Since 2017, he has also co-founded and curated Rakastella, the celebrated Art Basel Miami festival created in partnership with Life and Death and Innervisions.

As a producer, DJ Tennis draws from early relationships with post-rock pioneers such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, and Fugazi, channelling their influence into intricately layered electronic compositions. His work has appeared on respected labels including Kompakt, Rhythm Assault, Running Back, !K7, Cercle Records, Aus Music, and Circoloco Records, alongside frequent releases on Life and Death. His remix portfolio includes collaborations with Diplo, Boys Noize, Loco Dice, WhoMadeWho, and Acid Pauli, among many others. He has also previously contributed a DJ-Kicks mix, bringing his eclectic sensibilities to one of electronic music’s most beloved series.

After extended periods living in Miami, Berlin, and Barcelona, DJ Tennis now resides in Paris. Outside the studio and club environment, Manfredi is a passionate chef who has curated menus for charity events and collaborated with Beatport at ADE, Pioneer, and Resident Advisor. He is also an avid collector of bicycles, vintage action figures, and vinyl — his record collection now surpasses eleven thousand pieces.

With the forthcoming fabric presents DJ Tennis release, he offers a deeply personal, narrative-driven statement that reflects decades of crate-digging, boundary-pushing selections, and a lifelong devotion to sound. It marks a new chapter in his artistic evolution and stands as one of the year’s most anticipated entries in the iconic series.
The first single from DJ Tennis is a collaboration with long-time studio partner Ashee, and it immediately sets the tone for the mix: warm, seductive, rhythm-driven, and emotionally charged.

“I Wanna Know” is a sleek club track built around a pulsing groove and a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The low end is rounded and warm, giving the track a driving but understated momentum. Percussion is crisp and minimal, allowing the bassline and vocal elements to take center stage. The repeating, robotic earworm of a vocal hook, “I wanna know’ is the lynchpin to the track and will remain in your head long after the track has finished.

It’s the kind of record that warms up a room early in the night, sets the tone for a sunset beach set, or adds a lush, emotional peak during a more leftfield club moment.

Als Green-House beschäftigen sich die Musiker Olive Ardizoni und Michael Flanagan mit der menschlichen Natur und der natürlichen Welt durch eine freudige, dynamische Synthese. Frequenzen und Ausdrucksformen werden wie eine Tarnung übereinandergelegt, und ihr tiefgründiger, vielschichtiger kollaborativer Prozess beginnt mit einem der beiden Künstler: Ardizoni fühlt sich oft zur Melodie hingezogen, Flanagan zur Harmonie. Die Kraft liegt darin, wie ihre Ideen sich miteinander verflechten und eine Tiefe erreichen, die größer ist als die Summe ihrer Teile. Für ihre erste LP mit ihrem neuen Label Ghostly International entwickelt Green-House ihre lebendige Instrumentalmusik weiter und verfeinert sie mit unbekannten, genreübergreifenden Freiheiten und Bewegungen, einer aktiveren, perkussiven und emotionsgeladenen Energie, die durch fließende Klänge und weitläufige Aussichten gekennzeichnet ist. Hinterlands stimmt sich mit einer rebellischen, radikalen Aufrichtigkeit auf die Schönheit der Welt ein. Seit 2020 hat das Duo mit einer Reihe von gefeierten Veröffentlichungen über das einflussreiche Label Leaving Records aus Los Angeles seine Neugier für Umgebungen weiterverfolgt und nach organischen und fernen Räumen gesucht. Seit 2020 hat das Duo in einer Reihe von gefeierten Veröffentlichungen über das wegweisende Label Leaving Records aus Los Angeles seine Neugierde für Umgebungen ausgelebt und mit organischen und synthetischen Instrumenten, hochauflösendem Sounddesign und ,eigenwilligen Melodien, die mit der geduldigen und methodischen Hand eines Gärtners geschaffen wurden", wie Pitchfork schreibt, nach inneren und fernen Räumen gesucht. Green-House lässt sich nicht eindeutig in eine einzige Kategorie einordnen. Ardizoni und Flanagan stehen nicht im Einklang mit New-Age-Ideologien oder Spiritualität, und das Label ,Ambient" erscheint angesichts all dessen, was in ihren Songs vor sich geht, zunehmend eingeschränkt. Green-House lässt sich nicht eindeutig einer einzigen Kategorie zuordnen. Ardizoni und Flanagan stehen nicht im Einklang mit New-Age-Ideologien oder Spiritualität, und die Bezeichnung ,Ambient" erscheint zunehmend eingeschränkt angesichts all dessen, was in ihren Songs vor sich geht, die auf ihrem neuen Album eher in Richtung IDM oder sogar moderne Klassik tendieren. Was bleibt, ist ein offenes Gefühl des Staunens, ,die Idee, bestimmte Emotionen in der Musik zu legitimieren, die in der Kunst oft nicht ernst genommen werden, wie Glück und Freude", sagt Ardizoni, dessen eklektische Persönlichkeit auch ohne Texte zum Vorschein kommt.

Als Green-House beschäftigen sich die Musiker Olive Ardizoni und Michael Flanagan mit der menschlichen Natur und der natürlichen Welt durch eine freudige, dynamische Synthese. Frequenzen und Ausdrucksformen werden wie eine Tarnung übereinandergelegt, und ihr tiefgründiger, vielschichtiger kollaborativer Prozess beginnt mit einem der beiden Künstler: Ardizoni fühlt sich oft zur Melodie hingezogen, Flanagan zur Harmonie. Die Kraft liegt darin, wie ihre Ideen sich miteinander verflechten und eine Tiefe erreichen, die größer ist als die Summe ihrer Teile. Für ihre erste LP mit ihrem neuen Label Ghostly International entwickelt Green-House ihre lebendige Instrumentalmusik weiter und verfeinert sie mit unbekannten, genreübergreifenden Freiheiten und Bewegungen, einer aktiveren, perkussiven und emotionsgeladenen Energie, die durch fließende Klänge und weitläufige Aussichten gekennzeichnet ist. Hinterlands stimmt sich mit einer rebellischen, radikalen Aufrichtigkeit auf die Schönheit der Welt ein. Seit 2020 hat das Duo mit einer Reihe von gefeierten Veröffentlichungen über das einflussreiche Label Leaving Records aus Los Angeles seine Neugier für Umgebungen weiterverfolgt und nach organischen und fernen Räumen gesucht. Seit 2020 hat das Duo in einer Reihe von gefeierten Veröffentlichungen über das wegweisende Label Leaving Records aus Los Angeles seine Neugierde für Umgebungen ausgelebt und mit organischen und synthetischen Instrumenten, hochauflösendem Sounddesign und ,eigenwilligen Melodien, die mit der geduldigen und methodischen Hand eines Gärtners geschaffen wurden", wie Pitchfork schreibt, nach inneren und fernen Räumen gesucht. Green-House lässt sich nicht eindeutig in eine einzige Kategorie einordnen. Ardizoni und Flanagan stehen nicht im Einklang mit New-Age-Ideologien oder Spiritualität, und das Label ,Ambient" erscheint angesichts all dessen, was in ihren Songs vor sich geht, zunehmend eingeschränkt. Green-House lässt sich nicht eindeutig einer einzigen Kategorie zuordnen. Ardizoni und Flanagan stehen nicht im Einklang mit New-Age-Ideologien oder Spiritualität, und die Bezeichnung ,Ambient" erscheint zunehmend eingeschränkt angesichts all dessen, was in ihren Songs vor sich geht, die auf ihrem neuen Album eher in Richtung IDM oder sogar moderne Klassik tendieren. Was bleibt, ist ein offenes Gefühl des Staunens, ,die Idee, bestimmte Emotionen in der Musik zu legitimieren, die in der Kunst oft nicht ernst genommen werden, wie Glück und Freude", sagt Ardizoni, dessen eklektische Persönlichkeit auch ohne Texte zum Vorschein kommt.

Alice Kemp is a British artist working with noise, performance, fetish objects, installation and many other forms of media. Throughout her work, she articulates a broken and illogical syntax of the subconscious through trance states, dreams, and disturbances. She has performed extensively, occasionally as an associate to the Schimpfluch-Gruppe of Swiss extreme aktionists.

It is a rarified violence that the Kemp invokes on her 9 Dreams In Erotic Mourning. Something disfigured. Something fucked. Something left behind. The subject matter of her investigations are deliberately inscrutable as she grotesquely amplifies a moment of terror, or fear, of sadness through pockets of piano melodies broken by psychoacoustic noise, razor-cut silence, ghastly vocalizations, crushed acts of physical aggression, and buckets of high-pressure suspense. Cryptic and oblique by design Kemp's work reads perhaps as a seance gone awry, certainly as private ritual made public, and as a transfiguration of literary body horror turned into a sonic nightmare that runs parallel to the works of Rudolf Eb.Er, Puce Mary, Sewer Election, and Luc Ferrari.

9 Dreams In Erotic Mourning was originally published as part of the instantly out of print boxset, On Corrosion - a 10 cassette anthology from 2019 that was housed in a handcrafted wooden box and featuring full albums from Kleistwahr, Neutral, Pinkcourtesyphone, Alice Kemp, She Spread Sorrow, G*Park, Relay For Death, Francisco Meirino, Fossil Aerosol Mining Project, and Himukalt. The collection also stood as the 50th release for The Helen Scarsdale Agency.

London quartet The Leaf Library return with their bold new album After The Rain, Strange Seeds. A luminous collection of pastoral indiepop, drawing inspiration from suburban isolation, unreliable memories and the surreality of the weather. Their most immediate and melodic work to date, the richly evocative songs brim with chiming guitars, buzzing organs and warm, dulcet strings, evoking Yo La Tengo’s more contemplative moments, The Clientele’s autumnal jangle pop and early Stereolab’s motorik melodicism. The sound of the album is defined by mixer John McEntire, whose work with Stereolab and Yo La Tengo (as well as a member of Tortoise/The Sea And Cake) have been major inspirations to the band.
The album explores themes of memory and place, albeit through an abstract haze – returning again and again to specific moments frozen in time: midsummer bright hot days in the Chilterns (“Sun In My Room”), meteorology and the strange movement of the weather (“Colour Chant”), red kites circling over suburban motorways (“Some Circling”), and the uncanny feeling of dusk and nighttime creatures on “The Reader’s Lamp” (titled by celebrated film director Peter Strickland). The lyrics are vivid yet elliptical, strung with abstract ideas and imagery, conjuring a gently unsettling, though never unwelcoming atmosphere. Not quite trusting your own recollection of things, while marvelling at the oddness of the natural world, the album’s title a good summation of the mix of strangeness and hope contained within.

As on past albums the band - founded by singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton in the mid 2000s, and now completed by drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones - have involved their extended musical family, including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations) and keyboardist Irina Shtreis, both members of the Leaf Library live band. The album also sees the return of James Underwood’s Iskra Strings, a quartet that features on 4 tracks, with sumptuous arrangements by Daniel Fordham, as well as regular contributor Melinda Bronstein on vocals and Will Twynham (Dimorphodons) on harpsichord. They also welcomed Paddy Milner (on Hammond organ) and Scott McKeon (guitar) – both current members of Tom Jones’ band – for a startlingly delicate rolling crescendo to closing track “There Was Always A Golden Age”.
After The Rain, Strange Seeds is their 4th studio album. The result is The Leaf Library’s most accomplished and affecting work, John McEntire’s mix bringing a bold clarity to the band’s meticulous arrangements – closer to how they sound live than anything they’ve done before.

Igor Tamerlan is a stranger in his own land. Born in 1954 the Hague and spent most formative years in Paris, Igor suddenly had the urge to relocate to Bali in 1986. “I want to settle in Indonesia and marry a local girl,” he told his sister shortly before flying out.

His next journey would be as audacious as his time in the Fifth Republic. Born from a prominent Indonesian expatriate family in Paris with ties to Indonesia’s first prime minister Sutan Sjahrir, Igor earned a degree in architecture at Ecole nationale supe´rieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette.

He could have been a brilliant architect or a political scientist (he was accepted to Sciences Po), but his passion for music distracted him from his academic works. He was after all named after Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.

During his brief stint at Sciences Po, Igor spent most of times hanging out at recording studios and rub shoulders with the likes of singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michel Polnaref. He had a brief encounter with The Rolling Stones at the Cha^teau de Thoiry studio in the early 1970s.

But Igor’s musical education and his occidental eyes appeared to be ill-suited for Indonesia. His first record, titled Langkah Pertama (First Step) on the mainstream label Musica was met with a shrug and was a commercial dud. An experimental record blending the influence of Spanish motifs, Francophile production and a whiff of hip hop and ska was seen by critics as being too alien. His sarcasm-laden lyrics and his biting critique of excessive materialism among the upper tier of Indonesia’s nouveau riche in the album was met with confusion from the audience. He was just too far ahead of his time.

He left the label Musica – or may had been dropped – soon after Langkah Pertama and decided to go independent. He then relocated to Bali and set up a state-of-the-art recording studio in Sanur, across the street from Southeast Asia’s first boutique hotel where luminaries like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting, Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr stayed for their holiday.

From the studio, Igor recording everything from the sounds waterfalls, geckos, minibuses to motorized rickshaw and mix them with hip hop, jazz, electronica, dub and Balinese gamelan. A visionary, Igor was the first musician to use MIDI, which started to be available globally in the early 1980s.

On paper, songs like “Bali Vanilli” should not work, a mish mash of disparate elements mentioned above, sung in three languages, Balinese, English and Bahasa Indonesia while tackling the subject of overtourism. The song was also the first to introduce rap to an unsuspecting audience. But for some strange reason “Bali Vanilli” became a sensation and overnight Igor became household name. And in 1987, long before overtourism was an issue, Igor broached the subject to a national audience in Indonesia on the possible destruction of nature and culture from tourism.

Ever an iconoclast, Igor decided to step out of the limelight following the success of “Bali Vanilli” and in early 1990s he relocated to Indonesia’s cultural capital, Yogyakarta. Here, he worked on some more experimental music while juggling as music video director. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 64.

The 10 songs in this compilation, Bali Vanilli: Experimental Pop from Paradise Island (1987-1991), are some of Igor’s best works, music that would have gone into obscurity had it not been for the diligent work of film director Alfred Pasifico Ginting, who managed to track down some of the master tapes while researching on a documentary on the musician.

These recordings have never before been released outside of Indonesia. Igor would have been proud with this reissue project.

Lush Life is the Sonar Kollektiv debut EP by German singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Flo Naegeli.

Originally hailing from the Bavarian forests of southeastern Germany, Naegeli began his musical journey at the age of seven as a folk accordionist, later switching to electric guitar and developing a disciplined approach to songwriting and musicianship that led to formal music studies and a professional career. After moving to eastern Germany, he gradually stepped away from band projects to focus on solo work, embracing self-production tools to realise a sound that blends soulful songwriting with warm, organic instrumentation.

Written and largely recorded by Naegeli himself, Lush Life is a deeply personal yet accessible collection of songs reflecting on fatherhood, family relationships and friendship.

Mahjong Room is the second album Cameron Lew released under the artist name Ginger Root which explores his coming of age and discovery of his own signature sound; self coined as Aggressive Elevator Soul. Self Produced and Performed, this album marked the beginning of Ginger Roots' rise in popularity outside of his Huntington Beach hometown. Lew was still in film school at the time of recording and releasing Mahjong Room. His attention was equally focused on the music videos that were made for singles `Two Step', `Call it Home', `Jeanie', `Mahjong Room', and `Ohio'. Becoming a signature of Ginger Root releases, the video treatments of songs were humor-filled and directed and produced by Lew himself. Catching the attention of other touring indie acts Ginger Root spent most of the fall of 2018 on tour with artists Khrunagbin, Duran Jones & The Indications, The Marias, and Omar Apollo.

Born in Douarnenez, at the far edge of Brittany (France), Komodor has quickly established itself as one of the most vibrant names in the French rock landscape. Their high-energy rock, fueled by fuzz, sweat, and vocal harmonies woven in the spirit of MC5 and T. Rex, immediately drew attention: Rolling Stone, Rock & Folk, Libération and Rock Hard Germany all praised the fiery impact of their debut album Nasty Habits (which sold over 2,000 vinyl copies). Since then, the quintet has mostly lived on the road: a long European tour, followed by the larger-than-life saga of Komodrag & The Mounodor, carrying them to stages such as Hellfest, Les Vieilles Charrues, and the Francofolies de La Rochelle, among many others.

Their second album, Time & Space, reveals a band in full metamorphosis. Without abandoning the explosive force that defines them, Komodor widens its scope: volcanic riffs, more sinuous grooves, mist-laden harmonies, psychedelic flashes… The energy is still wild, but more inhabited, more liberated, almost ceremonial at times. The record opens with two telling bursts: Bliss & Joy, a libertarian charge with the feel of a manifesto, and Soul Tricker, a rock incantation where trance overtakes sheer electric assault. Two sides of the same coin, pulled taut between urgency and enchantment.

On stage, Komodor remains a true shockwave, forged across European festivals (Freak Valley, Motocultor, Fête du Bruit, and more) and now awaited at the legendary Desertfest London. Their music feels made for such spaces: a visceral, flesh-and-amp kind of rock, drawing from the seventies’ heritage to speak even more vividly to the present. A band moving forward at full volume, without nostalgia or calculation, carried by a simple conviction: as long as the amps are hot, rock can still burn.

In short: Komodor is the band of friends from Douarnenez bringing pencil-and-paper rock into the streaming age while preserving its analog soul (with the album mastered at the legendary Miraval Studios), the smell of warm tubes, the grain of vinyl. With this second album, they hit harder, truer, and more vividly than ever.
Time & Space stands as a “must-have French rock record”, a tangible piece worth cherishing in any collection.

Born in Douarnenez, at the far edge of Brittany (France), Komodor has quickly established itself as one of the most vibrant names in the French rock landscape. Their high-energy rock, fueled by fuzz, sweat, and vocal harmonies woven in the spirit of MC5 and T. Rex, immediately drew attention: Rolling Stone, Rock & Folk, Libération and Rock Hard Germany all praised the fiery impact of their debut album Nasty Habits (which sold over 2,000 vinyl copies). Since then, the quintet has mostly lived on the road: a long European tour, followed by the larger-than-life saga of Komodrag & The Mounodor, carrying them to stages such as Hellfest, Les Vieilles Charrues, and the Francofolies de La Rochelle, among many others.

Their second album, Time & Space, reveals a band in full metamorphosis. Without abandoning the explosive force that defines them, Komodor widens its scope: volcanic riffs, more sinuous grooves, mist-laden harmonies, psychedelic flashes… The energy is still wild, but more inhabited, more liberated, almost ceremonial at times. The record opens with two telling bursts: Bliss & Joy, a libertarian charge with the feel of a manifesto, and Soul Tricker, a rock incantation where trance overtakes sheer electric assault. Two sides of the same coin, pulled taut between urgency and enchantment.

On stage, Komodor remains a true shockwave, forged across European festivals (Freak Valley, Motocultor, Fête du Bruit, and more) and now awaited at the legendary Desertfest London. Their music feels made for such spaces: a visceral, flesh-and-amp kind of rock, drawing from the seventies’ heritage to speak even more vividly to the present. A band moving forward at full volume, without nostalgia or calculation, carried by a simple conviction: as long as the amps are hot, rock can still burn.

In short: Komodor is the band of friends from Douarnenez bringing pencil-and-paper rock into the streaming age while preserving its analog soul (with the album mastered at the legendary Miraval Studios), the smell of warm tubes, the grain of vinyl. With this second album, they hit harder, truer, and more vividly than ever.
Time & Space stands as a “must-have French rock record”, a tangible piece worth cherishing in any collection.

When Saracen released their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints & Fools’ back in 1981, the UK Rock scene certainly took notice. Their combination of Magnum-like melodies and Uriah Heep intensity and vocal stylings immediately endeared them to fans of the NWOBHM scene, and fans of classic British Rock in general.
All songs and lyrics were written by lead guitarist Rob Bendelow, who left prior to the release of their second album, ‘Change Of Heart’, in 1984. While this sophomore effort still contained a few Bendelow songs, the band had changed direction, moving away from the almost Pomp and NWOBHM of the debut for a more polished and Melodic Rock direction.
Unfortunately, this new direction didn’t resonate with the fans, and the band broke up not long after.
However, Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records had always been a massive Magnum and Saracen fan. Having already convinced Bob Catley to start a solo career in the late 90s, he also had very productive talks with Rob Bendelow. This great friendship resulted in the band reforming and the release of ‘Red Sky’ in 2003. Rob Bendelow and Saracen were back.
Later signing to Escape and releasing several more great albums, Rob Finally retired from the music scene a few years ago, but the band gamely soldiered on, keeping his songs and legacy alive for their many adoring fans.

In an instance of total cosmic kismet, that same Bruce Mee was also co-organiser of the inaugural ‘Tower of Fire’ UK festival, and in 2024 invited Saracen to play the event along with other well recognised names of the scene such as Nitrate, Remedy, Atack, White Skies and Gabrielle de Val. The event was multi-track recorded, and the results of the Saracen set were so good that it was decided to release a very first live album.

The title of the live album is taken from the name of their crushing opening song: ‘Crusader’. And in a further act of unbelievable karma, the magnificent album artwork and design are created by Sebastian Kozak, the very same creative artist responsible for the brilliant artwork on the band’s come-back album ‘Red Sky’ back in 2003.
All but one of the songs that day were from that incredible debut and those 5 songs, along with 3 others previously recorded live by the band, make up this totally amazing live album. For fans of Saracen and NWOBHM, this is a moment we never thought we’d ever see: a brilliant live Saracen album with vocalist Steve Bettney sounding as incredible as he did over 40 years ago.

Repress!

Legendary NYC house label Strictly Rhythm is celebrating a mammoth 3 decades of cutting edge, roof-raising house music. Truly a benchmark. Originally founded in 1989 by the dynamic pairing of music industry man Mark Finkelstein and A&R expert Gladys Pizarro, Strictly tapped directly into the fertile New York underground & after hours club scene, helping to launch and bolster the recording careers of dance music luminaries like Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Ultra Nate, Todd Terry, Wamdue Project, DJ Sneak, Louie Vega,
and many more ...

Strictly Rhythm is easily one of the most recognisable and respected dance music powerhouses of all time.
Across 3 limited double vinyl offerings, the Strictly catalogue has been expertly picked over to present you with a snapshot of some of the most earth shattering house music to emanate from the streets of New York City.

A who's who of producers and artists, all killer and no filler. End to end classics that help to tell the story of one of dance music's most well loved labels. Classic cuts and essentials from Armand Van Helden, Logic, Roger Sanchez (Underground Solution), Photon INC and more all feature on part 2 in their unedited, 12" mix glory.

Fully legit, remastered and selected with love courtesy of Strictly Rhythm and Above Board distribution for 2020 - Happy birthday Strictly Rhythm!

2026 Repress

Trickpony rightfully return with their sensual sophomore record, a six track tip of downtempo anthems elaborating on the sonic blueprint established through Pillow Talk (STEP11). Contemporary trip hop revivalists at the core; the trio specialise in new age pop collages, stripped, subbed and dubbed for your pleasure. With whispered secrets tangled over atmospheric decay and hooks that tug at heartstrings, the trickpony DNA is embedded deep in the musical discourse; “24/7 Heaven” elevates even the most devious to a divine higher place.

From top to tail slung breaks crash like waves, rolling and seeping into opulent synthesis which fills the room. Sometimes music can say a thousand words without a single lyric; Ripple and Trick Trick fixating on textural constructions, layers of harmonic delight working in unison with forward thinking percussion patterns. Angel and No/Direction delve deeper into a more sparse, stripped back landscape; delayed fragments with room to breathe between vocal stylings that will lodge themselves into your memory one word at a time.

Closing with a psychedelic exploration, Memphis Light derails structure formula and drum&bass starts to feel technicolour. With an understated maturity exuding from all angles, STEP17 offers an introspective assortment of illustrious songs ready to reach into your subconscious.

'Trying Times' is a record about being in love whilst battling the limits of the self against a backdrop of global uncertainty. James Blake explores the tension between intimacy and isolation, the pressure to curate and perform even as everything, inside and out, feels fragile and precarious. Themes of reflection, both literally and metaphorically, run through the record’s visual presentation, as Blake holds a mirror to the contradictions of modern connection - how we see ourselves, how we’re seen by others, and what gets lost in between. It’s about the disorienting loop of joy and dread: feeling safe in love, yet knowing the bubble could burst at any moment; struggling to stay present while global anxiety and private doubt pull you in different directions. A meditation on love, identity, and fragility in an age where the world feels balanced on a knife edge

13 Track Album is James' seventh studio album and first fully independent release Album features British rapper Dave, and singer-songwriter Monica Martin Marketing plan will support long term growth, audience building and connecting with super fans Strong Content Plan including Single / Focus Track Performance Videos Alternative album versions TBC inducing deluxe, piano version and more

This is another big moment for us, and if you have read the story on how the Psychology EP came to be, you will know that we spent a long time trying to track Dimension with the Fozbee & Cooz brothers.

This is my era of music, these are the tunes that I was raving to once I first got my driving license in 90/91. Its a style of music that has influenced pretty much my whole musical career. I find it fascinating that this music was basically by hip hop heads who only a year or two before would of discovered rave. A truly unique musical style and culture that could of only come out of the UK.

Check the soundfiles below and take yourself back to an illegal rave in a secret woodland in Wiltshire in 1991 where ravers, b-boys, hippies and new age travellers all partied together.

Die internationale Rocksensation The Hives, die beste Liveband der Welt und immer noch eure neue Lieblingsband, hat wieder einmal, schneller als erwartet, ein neues Werk geschaffen, wie man es noch nie gehört hat und wahrscheinlich auch nie wieder hören wird. Ihr siebtes Album 'The Hives Forever Forever The Hives' erscheint am 29. August auf dem ehrwürdigen Label Play It Again Sam. Ein neues Album voller Energie, Freude, Wut und Leben! Jeder einzelne Song eine Single, jede einzelne Single ein Hit, jeder Hit ein Volltreffer mitten ins Gesicht. Diese neue Meisterwerk entstand unter der Leitung des langjährigen Kollaborateurs Pelle Gunnerfeldt in Stockholm. Mike D von den legendären Beastie Boys ist als Gast vertreten und auch Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) stand mit Rat und Tat zur Seite.

The Hives, bestehend aus Howlin’ Pelle, Chris Dangerous, The Johan And Only, Nicholaus Arson und Vigilante Carlstroem, haben sich in über dreißig Jahren in die Annalen der Rockgeschichte eingeschrieben. Dank ihrer Erfolge füllten sie große Stadien und teilten die Bühne mit so monumentalen Acts wie AC/DC und den Rolling Stones. Die BBC bezeichnete sie als „Naturgewalt“, und der Rolling Stone kürte ihr Album 'Veni Vidi Vicious' zu einem der 100 besten Alben des Jahrzehnts. Mit Millionen verkaufter Alben, Platin-Auszeichnungen und zahlreichen Preisen - Grammys, MTV Awards, NME Awards - gelten sie als Titanen der Musikwelt. Oder wie Joe Strummer es gesagt hat: The Hives haben den Rock ’n’ Roll gerettet!

The Golden Age of southern soul lasted from about 1962 to 1975, when disco ripped the heart out of it. And although it may seem as though the blend of country, gospel and R & B that emerged from the great studios in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in that decade was entirely fresh and new, like any other genre classic, southern soul picked up musical cues and absorbed influences from a whole variety of sources: horn lines from Louisiana's swamp pop, lyrical themes from the blues, songs from country music, and of course so, so much from the black churches. Part of the 'History of Soul' series, this LP reveals the musical antecedents that gave southern soul its inspiration. The music here will tell you the real story - and it will knock your socks off too! Notes by John Ridley.

When Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018 we lost the Queen of Soul, acknowledged as the foremost female singer of her generation, someone who sold over 75 million records in her glittering career. The sadness that so many soul fans felt at that time was most acute knowing that we would never hear her beautiful voice on any new recordings. So it is with great pleasure that we present a live set from Aretha never before heard on a commercial CD. And it is with pride that we can say that the recordings, made in a TV studio in Cologne during her first European tour in 1968, are smack in the middle of soul’s Golden Age. The musical quality - the great artist at her peak – is so high that this issue can only enhance her reputation. This is prime Aretha Franklin – and soul music doesn’t get much better than this. Notes by John Ridley.

Danny Scott Lane is a New York-based musician, photographer and sound artist whose work drifts between jazz, ambient, and gentle funk. Originally an actor and singer before turning to photography, Lane brings a cinematic and emotional sensibility to his recordings - music that feels intimate, tactile, and quietly surreal. He has scored films and commercials, and his eclectic taste has taken him to DJ booths around the world.

Since his first tape release in 2019, Lane has released nine albums, five of them with WRWTFWW Records, each expanding his distinct blend of warmth, rhythm, and daydream. His tenth LP, House of Alice, welcomes back three-time collaborator David Lackner and introduces Michael Gagliardi, further deepening the reflective world Lane continues to build.

The album's title is derived from the Alice Austen House. Danny took an interest in the prolific 'street' photography of Alice where she often captured everyday life and intimate depictions of women's lives beautifully. Inspiring images that reflect in his own photography as well. We will continue to stand on the shoulders of giants.

Expect a gentle mix of electronic new age jazz and soft funk.

Danny Scott Lane is a New York-based musician, photographer and sound artist whose work drifts between jazz, ambient, and gentle funk. Originally an actor and singer before turning to photography, Lane brings a cinematic and emotional sensibility to his recordings - music that feels intimate, tactile, and quietly surreal. He has scored films and commercials, and his eclectic taste has taken him to DJ booths around the world.

Since his first tape release in 2019, Lane has released nine albums, five of them with WRWTFWW Records, each expanding his distinct blend of warmth, rhythm, and daydream. His tenth LP, House of Alice, welcomes back three-time collaborator David Lackner and introduces Michael Gagliardi, further deepening the reflective world Lane continues to build.

The album's title is derived from the Alice Austen House. Danny took an interest in the prolific 'street' photography of Alice where she often captured everyday life and intimate depictions of women's lives beautifully. Inspiring images that reflect in his own photography as well. We will continue to stand on the shoulders of giants.

Expect a gentle mix of electronic new age jazz and soft funk.

For more than three decades, Converge have delivered musical and emotional catharsis, putting purpose before perception and intent before interpretation. Whether it’s their 2001 landmark recording Jane Doe or their 2021 Bloodmoon: I collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, they have created some of the most compelling music, lyrics, and visual art of the 21st century. During that time, fewer bands have had a greater impact on the underground imagination. It seems unlikely that anyone who has been making music for this long would create one of their best works for their eleventh album, in their 35th year as a band. And yet: Love is Not Enough might be the apotheosis of Converge’s decades-long journey through the punk, hardcore and metal microcosm. What vocalist/lyricist Jacob Bannon, guitarist/producer Kurt Ballou, bassist/vocalist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller have created is a strident artistic statement on the turmoil of living that hones their collective strengths to a razor’s edge. There isn’t an ounce of fat. Every song moves with a power and purpose that eclipses their human origins, that speaks to the anger, pain, and frustration of the modern age.

Recorded spontaneously in a single afternoon, the album captures an unguarded musical conversation between two of the most compelling voices of their generation. Born in Brixton and now based in Harlem, Ruben Fox has emerged as a major presence on the international jazz scene, renowned for the depth of his sound, the emotional clarity of his ballad playing, and a voice rooted in tradition while speaking firmly in the present. His work follows collaborations with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Barry Harris, Roy Hargrove, Jon Batiste, and George Coleman, and builds on the critical acclaim of his 2021 debut Introducing Ruben Fox.

Micah Thomas is one of the most celebrated pianists of his generation, praised for a style that is both restlessly inventive and deeply grounded in the history of the music. A Jerome L. Greene Fellow and Juilliard alumnus, Thomas has worked extensively with Immanuel Wilkins, Joshua Redman, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Billy Drummond, and has been recognised by DownBeat, Jazz Magazine, and The New York City Jazz Record as a defining contemporary voice. Fox and Thomas first developed their musical relationship while studying at Juilliard, where they regularly played duo sets. In Two Minds was recorded on a whim at Chris Pattishall's apartment in Washington Heights, with no rehearsal, no edits, and no agenda beyond mutual respect, listening, and shared musical values. Over three hours, the pair simply showed up and played.

The result is an intimate, conversational record that foregrounds generosity, empathy, and deep musical listening. Sparse, direct, and emotionally rich, In Two Minds offers a rare document of two artists meeting in real time, balancing history, intellect, warmth, and spontaneity.

The beauty, confusion, complexity, and intensity of their youth - lived under the shadow and around the scars of conflict - are entangled in the industrial dance-punk hybrid encoded in the record's DNA, aptly entitled Crystalpunk. "This record is us waving a flag for that generation -- the ones who inherited confusion, resilience, and a fractured sense of self." They're waving that flag as intensely as possible too. For the uninitiated, Chalk mainlines the reaction between genres, eras, and cultures, commuting this collision into their sound. The Belfast group could comfortably power an underground warehouse party after-dark, incite a mid-day festival mosh-pit, or shake an arena on any given evening.

Their power has seamlessly translated to the stage with the group packing venues and delivering alternately sweaty and electrifying performances to a growing rabid fan base. As a group, they've sold out shows across the UK, EU and USA, notched festival performances such as Glastonbury, SXSW, BBK, Trans Musicals and more across 11 countries and were handpicked to tour alongside IDLES and Fontaines D.C.. Coming from dissimilar backgrounds and rallying together naturally, Ben and Ross first crossed paths in film school. As the story goes, Ben had noticed a framed poster of Dublin disruptors Gilla Band in one of Ross's Instagram photos and felt a kinship before ever actually speaking to him.

"Nobody else at our school was into experimental noise guitar bands, so that was all I needed to see," laughs Ben. Emerging in 2022, Chalk initially made waves with songs like "Them," "Velodrome," and "Static." Ultimately, they come-of-age and tell a story that resonates beyond borders. Not just a portrait of the band, but one of their home, a complicated place where the sacrifices made and risks taken by activists, artists, ravers and punks created the only environment that a band like Chalk could emerge from. Crystalpunk is not about choosing a side, it's about choosing the future.

2026 Repress

A further exercise in musical curation, Child Of Nature is our latest sonic confluence of self-released tracks from the loners, hippies and outsiders of the 70s and early 80s. A collection of privately pressed music, able to breathe and be created free from the constraints of heavy handed commercialism, yielding a pure vision of artistic expression. Child Of Nature features ten songs of brooding soft rock and psychedelic folk steeped in melancholia. Some ache for better times or past lovers, while others seek spiritual fulfilment or social progress.
A compilation to evoke the raw and unobstructed, to summon the occult, to fundamentally conjure a vivid portrait of our untamed natural environment. Recorded on the north coast of California, Luellen Reese’s ethereal “Silvery Waterfalls” drifts and swirls with electric guitar as her unearthly vocals transcend across a seven minute opus, fit for the golden age of labels like 4AD or Dedicated. “The flowers are dancing just for you …”, Reggie Russell croons over glistening Key Of Creek’s title track “Child Of Nature”, evoking a utopian world of natural harmony free from the present day realities of industrial decay.
Tap into your inner primal being, to embrace wholeheartedly, with frivolity and without reserve, your own child of nature.

"The Outfit release career defining new album, Preservers of the Pearl, asserting themselves as messengers of the new wave of underground rock and roll, pushing the movement forward alongside fellow trailblazers Mystery Lights, Sheer Mag, Shadow Show, Uni Boys + more.

Everything has been leading here. Daniel Romano shifts from his position as sole writer, opening the floor to Outfit stalwarts Ian Romano and Carson McHone, and welcoming into the fold longtime friend and legendary Canadian rock-n-roller, Tommy Major. The band is functioning as a true collective — multiple voices and perspectives — all serving one creative pulse. The result is both a new beginning and a homecoming, a complete and fearless statement.

Tracked to tape at their own Camera Varda studio, the album captures the band live in the room — breathing, musing, and believing. It’s the sound of human hands and hearts at work, in a shared moment of co-creation, preserved in real time in stunning hi-fi.

Here is music as communion — rock n roll as experience. Preservers of the Pearl rejects the flattening forces in modern times — what the band calls “the mono-agriculture of the mind.” In a “target culture”, condemned to homogeny and banality, The Outfit refuse polish and uniformity, embracing imperfection as truth, and promoting curiosity through creativity. At the center of it all is a deep spiritual current — what The Outfit calls Rock & Roll Magick: the belief that music is a sacred act, a force that can reconnect the individual to what is larger.

The Outfit are making music that is purposeful and profoundly urgent. Preservers of the Pearl is an invocation - it’s fearless in a time of great compromise, and resolute in an age of peripheral bullshit. Here is a band serving something greater than themselves."

"The Outfit release career defining new album, Preservers of the Pearl, asserting themselves as messengers of the new wave of underground rock and roll, pushing the movement forward alongside fellow trailblazers Mystery Lights, Sheer Mag, Shadow Show, Uni Boys + more.

Everything has been leading here. Daniel Romano shifts from his position as sole writer, opening the floor to Outfit stalwarts Ian Romano and Carson McHone, and welcoming into the fold longtime friend and legendary Canadian rock-n-roller, Tommy Major. The band is functioning as a true collective — multiple voices and perspectives — all serving one creative pulse. The result is both a new beginning and a homecoming, a complete and fearless statement.

Tracked to tape at their own Camera Varda studio, the album captures the band live in the room — breathing, musing, and believing. It’s the sound of human hands and hearts at work, in a shared moment of co-creation, preserved in real time in stunning hi-fi.

Here is music as communion — rock n roll as experience. Preservers of the Pearl rejects the flattening forces in modern times — what the band calls “the mono-agriculture of the mind.” In a “target culture”, condemned to homogeny and banality, The Outfit refuse polish and uniformity, embracing imperfection as truth, and promoting curiosity through creativity. At the center of it all is a deep spiritual current — what The Outfit calls Rock & Roll Magick: the belief that music is a sacred act, a force that can reconnect the individual to what is larger.

The Outfit are making music that is purposeful and profoundly urgent. Preservers of the Pearl is an invocation - it’s fearless in a time of great compromise, and resolute in an age of peripheral bullshit. Here is a band serving something greater than themselves."

MASKxSOUL is the new international project, featuring the baritone Alexander Korenkov (of Mariinsky Theatre, Theatre du Chatelet, and JFK Center fame, who performed with Vladimir Yurovsky, Valery Gergiev and Anton Batagov) and introducing the voice and music of Tatiana Selivanova (Vanilla Quartz), backed up by Jason Kohnen (The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, The Lovecraft Sextet, Mansur) and Dimitry El-Demerdashi (Mansur). One might say that MASKxSOUL blends dark-jazz, tsar punk, and Eastern folklore with the setting of the romantic landscapes inspired by the Russian classical tradition. MASKxSOUL presents a new vision of a perennial classic, namely, Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin, a romantic novel in verse that has served generations of artists across the globe as inspiration, with a debut single dedicated to Pushkin's 222nd anniversary on June 6th 2022. The complete eight track MASKxSOUL debut album "Onegin" is available now through Denovali.

After traveling through Mexico, Miami, the Bahamas, and New Orleans, Nishioka recorded his fourth album South American Journey in Los Angeles,
released in 1979. From this album, two of his most celebrated tracks—“GYPSY SONG”, a fan favorite with numerous cover versions, and “NEVER LAND”,
featuring the distinctive sound of steel pans and a Japanese reggae vibe are now being pressed on 7-inch vinyl for the first time in a limited edition!

The recording features members of the So What Review band, including Junshi Yamagishi (guitar) and Osamu Ishida (guitar), along with renowned steel pan
player Robert Greenidge, known for collaborations with Van Dyke Parks and Taj Mahal.
(FLATT THE LAIDBACK)

Kyozo Nishioka Profile
(Born May 7, 1948 – Died April 3, 1999)
Singer songwriter from the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture, affectionately nicknamed “Zo-san”.
After enrolling at Kinki University and moving to Osaka, Nishioka became a regular at the folk cafe Dylan in Namba, opened in August 1969 by Masaji Otsuka
and Yoko Ishimura. Dylan was a gathering spot for folk music enthusiasts from all over Japan.
Nishioka formed the folk group The Dylan with Masaji Otsuka and You Nagai, performing at folk camps and the Nakatsugawa Folk Jamboree. In 1971, Nishioka
left the group, and Otsuka and Nagai continued as The Dylan II. Nishioka wrote and composed the song “Puka Puka” under the pen name Zokyozo, which became
one of his signature works. The song was first released in July 1971 as the B-side of The Dylan II’s single “Otoko rashii tte Wakarukai” on URC Records.
Nishioka began his solo career, releasing his debut album “Dylan nite” in July 1972, produced by Kinji Yoshino on Bellwood Records, which included his own
version of “Puka Puka”. In September 1973, he appeared at the farewell concert of Happy End titled CITY – LAST TIME AROUND at Bunkyo Public Hall in Tokyo.
His 1974 album “Machiyuki Murayuki” was produced by Haruomi Hosono, and his 1975 album “Rokka My Baby” featured support from Shigeru Suzuki’s band
HUCKLE BACK. Nishioka recorded three albums under Hosono’s production, deepening their friendship.
Together with his wife and lyricist KURO, Nishioka wrote songs for artists such as Eikichi Yazawa. The couple traveled the world, recording overseas albums such
as “Nanbei Ryoko” (1977), “Yoh-Sollo” (1979), and “New York to Jamaica” (1981), incorporating reggae, calypso, and other global sounds. In the 1980s, he released
works under the duo name KYOZO & BUN with Yoshifumi Okajima, and in the 1990s returned to solo projects with albums like “START” (1993) and “Farewell
Song” (1997).
After KURO’s passing in 1997, Nishioka continued his musical activities until his own death in 1999 at the age of 50. His music transcended the boundaries of folk,
blending jazz and tropical elements to create a unique world view, leaving an indelible mark on Japanese music history.

Taupe’s latest album release, waxing | waning delivers jazz experimentalism, ‘skronk’, avant-rock, and electronics, by the Glasgow-based trio, due out via Minority Records. Across its seven tracks, waxing | waning captures Taupe’s approach – bold and boundary pushing – shaped by a fresh shift in the band’s dynamic and compositional approach.

Taupe’s waxing | waning, co-composed and realised by its players in a studio that was once an undertaker’s premises in Glasgow, is an absolutely affirmative album, an act of cultural defiance in desperate times.

Comprising Mike Parr-Burman (guitar, bass guitar, electronics), Jamie Stockbridge (alto and baritone saxophones) and Alex Palmer (drum kit, percussion), Taupe work up a storm of skronk, free jazz and harmolodic frenzy whose closest relations include Zu, Melt Banana and John Zorn. However, waxing | waning is from its opening, stuttering blasts, an exercise in seeking out and claiming new territory, finding unique and novel permutations in which jazz, rock, electronics interbreed at breakneck pace. Here is a group determined to say and do things they don’t get to say and do elsewhere in their musical lives.

‘Lemonade Tycoon’ hits the ground skronking. It’s cubistic jazz, cumulative in its impact, avoiding the white lines of the conventional freeway, bridling, bustling, coming at you from all angles – a three way conversation of astonishing rapidity, fast track, telepathic communication – everyone from James Chance to Albert Ayler coming at you at once, before morphing in to a spidery scrawl of electronics and furious percussion. ‘Anti-Bird-Spike BirdNest’s‘ title somehow sums up the sort of mental images evoked by the music – its sheer creative disobedience, as if being chased in vain, like a delivery rider evading capture by ICE agents -– shapeshifting, assuming different shades, sprouting metal quills and, in its midsection, seeming almost to swallow itself alive, before regurgitating itself in a sublime mess.

‘Interlude (Stride)’ is not exactly ambient, more a horizontal enmeshment of percussion, drones, reverberant noise, electronics, a sonic mulch. ‘allcapsallbold' reminds of early Aksak Maboul, in its playfulness, a haywire series of short phrases, subject to mechanical interference, a complex weave of irregular rhythms, increasingly eloquent sax phraseology and caustic guitars, which land heavier and heavier. ‘Pet Boss' is the new jazz equivalent of a highly evolved, mature conversation among brilliant equals, sharp, empathetic, complementary, rising to a collective, joyful noise. On the title track, electronics descend like a shower of bright particles, intensifying in their luminosity, whitening the skies, as sax and drums kick up a tempestuous, spontaneously sculpted noise that summons the ghosts of the great free jazz players, before a dark calm descends slowly. Finally, ‘Turn Push Kick’, a burgeoning chatterstorm of electronics, before the group kicks in, at angles to one another, led by abrasive guitars, reminiscent of Sunn O))) in their ritualistic concussion, riffing, digging deep amid squealing sax and piledriving percussion.

Luciano Cilio was born in Naples, Italy, in 1950. He studied music and architecture and, in the late '60s, collaborated with local artist Alan Sorrenti, American expat Shawn Phillips and various avant-garde theater groups. A virtuoso guitarist and self-taught composer, Cilio released only one LP before his untimely death at the age of 33.

Dialoghi Del Presente (1977) is a work like no other, one that sounds both ancient and ahead of its time. Produced by Renato Marengo, it features a series of muted tableaux for strings, woodwinds, guitar, chorus, piano and percussion. Cilio carves out a space where subtle, repetitive phrases yield – almost imperceptibly – to breathtaking silence.

As Jim O'Rourke writes, "These recordings sound as if they were to please no one but himself; they feel self-contained, introspective, and determined ... You can feel in the music a sort of necessity that can be rarely found, like in This Heat's debut or Nick Drake's Pink Moon."

While each subsequent "quadro" grows slightly more abstract, Cilio draws the listener into an expansive, pastoral soundscape. The closing piece, "Interludio," begins with a plaintive guitar, which is joined by haunting strings and woodwinds before concluding, poignantly, as the album began, with Cilio and his guitar, alone once more.

Superior Viaduct's edition reproduces the original sleeve design. Recommended for fans of Johann Johannsson, Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden, Arvo Part and Popol Vuh.

KALEIDOBOLT’s fifth album is pungent to the ears – KARAKUCHI out in March Karakuchi is one record you can judge by its cover. The first time Kaleidobolt’s faces have adorned an LP, they have been fused into a torpedoing biomechanical vehicle. Echoing The Birthday Party’s Junkyard or Motörhead’s Orgasmatron (…on acid?!), the illustration epitomises perfectly Kaleidobolt’s agenda of “hyperkinetic rock”. Their feverish, psych-prog sound is full of motion. It jerks around at different speeds, threatening to spin out of control and crash into flames at any given moment. What’s more, it isn’t taken too seriously. This is heavy and intricate music, yes. But as bassist and co-singer Marco Menestrina puts it, the Kaleidobolt attitude is “an ugly smirk more than an angry face with a fist.” On their fifth album since forming in 2014, the Helsinki-based outfit lean into their strengths as a formidable power trio. With their previous two records, 2019’s Bitter and 2022’s This One Simple Trick, they had thrown everything at their disposal into the recording with no expense spared on overdubs, effects and kitchen sinks. Produced again by Niko Lehdontie (Oranssi Pazuzu), Karakuchi comes from tightly rehearsed, live-in-the-studio takes. Kaleidobolt realise that greater sparsity can be a strength, and they’ve allowed their instruments extra space to breathe. It makes for their earthiest, purest and perhaps most authentic record to date. Karakuchi’s exuberant style emerges from the individual members’ contrasting listening habits. These span classic prog, Japanese city pop, noise rock, post-hardcore and historical podcasts. One record they can all agree is a masterpiece, the centre of the Venn diagram where all three members meet, is King Crimson’s Red. As for their new album’s title, that’s as suitable as the cover art. “Karakuchi” is the slogan of the Japanese beer brand Asahi Super Dry. Translated literally, this means “pungent to the mouth”. As drinkers of that product, Kaleidobolt acknowledge its parallels to their songs. “It’s very intense, right at the front, like at the first bite,” explains Menestrina. “And then it leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. The flavour doesn’t linger in your mouth, basically. It has a quick, hard finish. With a bit of a stretch, we thought that that could also be said of our music.” Karakuchi is Kaleidobolt at their hardest, fastest, tightest and super-driest. Pungent to the ears. -JR Moores, November 2025

KALEIDOBOLT’s fifth album is pungent to the ears – KARAKUCHI out in March Karakuchi is one record you can judge by its cover. The first time Kaleidobolt’s faces have adorned an LP, they have been fused into a torpedoing biomechanical vehicle. Echoing The Birthday Party’s Junkyard or Motörhead’s Orgasmatron (…on acid?!), the illustration epitomises perfectly Kaleidobolt’s agenda of “hyperkinetic rock”. Their feverish, psych-prog sound is full of motion. It jerks around at different speeds, threatening to spin out of control and crash into flames at any given moment. What’s more, it isn’t taken too seriously. This is heavy and intricate music, yes. But as bassist and co-singer Marco Menestrina puts it, the Kaleidobolt attitude is “an ugly smirk more than an angry face with a fist.” On their fifth album since forming in 2014, the Helsinki-based outfit lean into their strengths as a formidable power trio. With their previous two records, 2019’s Bitter and 2022’s This One Simple Trick, they had thrown everything at their disposal into the recording with no expense spared on overdubs, effects and kitchen sinks. Produced again by Niko Lehdontie (Oranssi Pazuzu), Karakuchi comes from tightly rehearsed, live-in-the-studio takes. Kaleidobolt realise that greater sparsity can be a strength, and they’ve allowed their instruments extra space to breathe. It makes for their earthiest, purest and perhaps most authentic record to date. Karakuchi’s exuberant style emerges from the individual members’ contrasting listening habits. These span classic prog, Japanese city pop, noise rock, post-hardcore and historical podcasts. One record they can all agree is a masterpiece, the centre of the Venn diagram where all three members meet, is King Crimson’s Red. As for their new album’s title, that’s as suitable as the cover art. “Karakuchi” is the slogan of the Japanese beer brand Asahi Super Dry. Translated literally, this means “pungent to the mouth”. As drinkers of that product, Kaleidobolt acknowledge its parallels to their songs. “It’s very intense, right at the front, like at the first bite,” explains Menestrina. “And then it leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. The flavour doesn’t linger in your mouth, basically. It has a quick, hard finish. With a bit of a stretch, we thought that that could also be said of our music.” Karakuchi is Kaleidobolt at their hardest, fastest, tightest and super-driest. Pungent to the ears. -JR Moores, November 2025

In the pantheon of classic free jazz, Noah Howard's The Black Ark looms large. Recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City in 1969 – just prior to the alto saxophonist's relocation to Europe – the album was eventually released in 1972.

The Black Ark exhibits not only the power and imagination of Howard's playing, but also his breadth as a composer and bandleader. Listeners expecting unrelenting blasts of "energy music" might be surprised to find a cohesion atypical of free jazz; amidst the wild, impassioned solos, Howard weaves in Latin rhythms and fat-bottomed grooves.

The first side, consisting of "Domiabra" and “Ole Negro,” sets the album's tone. Both tracks sound as if they could have appeared on some of Blue Note's proto-spiritual jazz, groove-heavy releases – evoking the likes of Lou Donaldson or Horace Silver – before ceding the floor to the horn players' anarchic firepower.

As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "Two players stand out. Bassist Norris Jones – who would soon consolidate his name into a one-word reversed amalgamation/permutation of the two, Sirone – is given ample room, largely unaccompanied; his corporal approach foreshadows later work with the Revolutionary Ensemble. But the secret weapon on The Black Ark is Arthur Doyle. Straight from basement rehearsal sessions with Milford Graves, whose ensemble he had joined and who remained a favorite of the drummer for decades, Doyle is a human flamethrower."

Trumpeter Earl Cross' guttural, vocal effects complement Doyle's take-no-prisoners approach, while the estimable combination of Muhammad Ali (Rashied's brother) on drums and Juma Sultan on congas adds an ever-shifting propulsion. The septet is rounded out by the enigmatic pianist Leslie Waldron, who anchors the group with imaginative accompaniment and occasional boppish flourishes.

Every bit worthy of its reputation as an "out-jazz" holy grail, The Black Ark only sounds better with age. It remains the ideal record to convert the remaining free-jazz skeptics.