Search:alchemy records

Besides being a leading session musician in Milan's jazz scene between the 60s and 90s, Italian pianist Oscar Rocchi created a number of exquisite library albums in the pop-jazz genre. These include among others "Erbe Selvatiche", "Pop-Paraphrenia" and "Woman's Colours" (the latter co-written with his friend Giancarlo Barigozzi) as well as "Alchemy in Jazz", which is now available in digital format for the first time ever.

Originally released on Ring, an imprint of Edizioni Minstrel, the album was recorded by a quintet featuring Rocchi on piano plus long-time collaborators Hugo Heredia (sax and flute), Sergio Fanni (trumpet), Gianni Cazzola (drums) and Furio Di Castri (double bass), and has since become a cult record in countries from the US to Japan, where it was released for the first time on CD in 2013.

With a palette ranging from frenzied post-bop echoes("Gold-Fast", "Nigredo") to sentimental nocturnal ballads ("Solution", "Rubedo") to cheerful modern-jazz vibes ("Mercury", "Silver-Bop", "Sulphur"), here Rocchi paints an elegantly syncopated musical fresco that, like the magical, alchemical process referred to in the title, transmutes the harsher aspects of jazz syntax into a graceful and more euphonic style that is approachable for jazz neophytes and yet enjoyable for seasoned jazz lovers.

The UKs finest purveyors of dancefloor dynamite, Disclosure return with their fourth album, ‘Alchemy’, their first album in three years. The super duo, consisting of brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, are one the world's most celebrated and well known electronic acts.

With a career spanning over a decade, they have collected Grammy, Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize nominations, repeatedly topped the UK charts, and soundtracked the lives of a generation. The album sees the duo produce the first Disclosure album with no features. A deeply personal album for Howard lyrically, ‘Alchemy’ also showcases Guy as a producer at the top of his game.

Nu Vision is the latest project of Duke Cooper, band leader and label boss of Nation, Kode and DirtyBlends. There are three humans who make up Nu Vision, and they all have their own stories and discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in Chicago or Berlin or someone’s loft, lives lived, friends made, sleep lost - fighting for theirart, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing a new paradigm. Time is both fleeting and heavy for us all, but it is not without receipts.

Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense - equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Drenched in nostalgia and futurism, The Seed is a singularity of sound + vision; as if heavily rotated by VJ Dave Kendall on MTV’s 120 Minutes but materialized via today’s technology.

The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icons Section 25, Liaisons Dangeruses and Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with their prior successes..- this package of The Seed is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A NU VISION.

The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icon band: Section 25 from the period of 1981-1984 with a more electronic-dance direction, process which culminated in the album ' From the Hip ' and remix single "Looking From A Hilltop", both released in 1984 as "Insecure Man is about being true to manhood with Robert Lane leading the charge with his vocabulary message of the current state of society.

Insecure Dub focuses on the period of 1981-1984 with an alternative electronic-dance direction process as an inspired blueprint from Nu Vision inspired from Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with his individual success.

Inspired from electrifying songs produced by Chrislo Haas (DAF) and Beate Bartel (Mania D. / Matador) reinforced by Krishna Goineau’s French and Spanish Speech-Attack-Lyrics Liaisons Dangereuses created a unique style anything other than a Berlin or Düsseldorf ‘thing’ – that was propelled to an international underground phenomenon of fame.

Nu VIsion was inspired to create a blueprint from the period of their productions of 1981-1982 with an electronic-dance direction paying homage with passionate craftsmanship utilizing what equipment was possible in the studio at the time of this recording featuring new members; Zoe Murphy & Fletch The Stranger on vocals and James Chazz on Saxaphone with a Ring Modulator.

Nu Vision is a modern salon for visionary leaders, fighting for their art, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing forwards towards a new paradigm. The band all have their own stories and extensive discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in places you might have attended but none of that matters. This is a new beginning. A group. A collective.A movement. Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense. Equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Their friends at DFA noted that the album “sounds like Depeche Mode scoring a Michael Mann montage: brooding,motorik, and shot through with black-and-blue beauty.” this idea is taken further in the first video from the album for track one / side one “Time” that launches the project publically along with the albums announcement. The palette of ‘The Seed’ is defined and refined in the best way. It’s an album that opens up many pathways. Brisker, freakier tracks like “Shadow In The Dark,” “R U Serious?” and “Humanity” run towards a softer finish with “Somedays” and the seven-minute, eyeliner-smearing closing ballad, “Lullaby Garden.” These are proper songs made with vintage machines, with a sound that carries obvious influences. ’ The Seed’ pulses forward as the body of the beast is turned inside out, wearing a beating heart on its sleeve, honoring those who left us too soon - DAF’s Gabi Delgado, Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy, Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher, and Sandwell District’s Juan Mendez. It’s important to note the emotional core of ‘The Seed’ album is the song ‘Synchronicity’ that is filled with both love and regret, the story of losing a friend without properly making amends. It is unquestionably heartbreaking, but is also delivered with a pang of hope, the feeling that with so many sunrises caught, so many additions and subtractions in life, a perspective has been gained. This is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A New Vision

Crash landing onto the scene in 2017 with his now legendary NTS broadcast of 2 hours of unheard music, the ultra-mysterious and enigmatic Michael J. Blood has gone on to release a series of sought after, lush and rugged future classics on his own imprints Blood Inc. and BodyTronixxx. Allegedly hailing from Manchester in the North of England, Blood’s sound is hard to pin down but instantly recognisable. Rooted in the twin foundations of modern dance music—Detroit and Chicago—while schooled in the sweaty basements of Manchester’s fêted club scene, his music feels both original and familiar, timeless yet unplaceable.

Weaving together a hypnotic narrative that feels both archival and futuristic, Cause & Effect Vol. 1 brings together some of Blood's rare and hard to find bangers from a variety of his early sold out projects. The collection mixes the pulse of Chicago with the grit and cosmic dreams of Detroit, while never losing sight of the North of England’s sophisticated late-night sleaze. Blood’s dance-floor eclecticism and raw, infectious mutant beats drive a soulful, jazz-louche energy into every track. The result is a collection of atmospheric grooves that weave together hypnotic rhythm and smoky texture, blurring house, techno, broken beat, and jazz-soaked electronics into a heady trip. Cause & Effect Vol. 1 maps out the restless evolution of Blood’s sound, a testament to his instinct for rhythm, atmosphere and dance-floor alchemy. House for the heart, techno for the mind, both built for the body. It’s in the Blood.

We are honoured and excited to share the fourth Dream Space EP with the world: Domenic Cappello - Celestial Wave.

For more than three decades, Domenic Cappello has been at the helm of Subculture - the innovative and vastly influential Saturday night at Glasgow’s Sub Club. A true master DJ with deep rooted influences from Detroit & Chicago, Dom has consistently pushed things forward over the years and remains at the cutting edge of modern dance music.

Throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s, he put out high-quality records under various monikers on labels such as Soma, 20:20 Vision & Seventh Sign. Fast forward to recent years and Domenic has been on nothing short of a hot streak - releasing music under his own name on Craigie Knowes, Clone Royal Oak and his outstanding ‘Basement Philosophy’ LP on Alien Communications.

He brings the heat once more for this record; blurring the lines of house, techno and electro to deliver four awe-inspiring cuts of electronic music.

‘The Secret Moon Party’ sets things off, nodding to a certain Highland gathering by some of Scotland’s finest purveyors of quality tunes. A warm, gritty bassline carries the track, evolving into a symphony of precise sound design that is in equal parts playful and euphoric.

Dom’s knowledge of the dancefloor shines through on ‘Acid & Love’. This early night floor filler is the alchemy of just about everything you want to hear when things are getting going. Pure warmth and bliss throughout, also holding its place played deep into the late hours.

‘We Loved Your Ears (in memory of Keith)’ is a heartfelt tribute to the one and only Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch of Optimo. Dom wrote this track as something he thought Keith would have loved, and for this one, we’ll let the music do the talking.

Keith was, and continues to be, an enormous inspiration for us and so many others. In his memory, all proceeds from the digital sales of ‘We Loved Your Ears’ and 25% of all vinyl sales will be donated to Beatson Cancer Charity and The Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.

Closing the EP is title track ‘Celestial Wave’, which does exactly what it says on the tin. A beautiful piece of music and fitting soundtrack for star gazing, moon dancing and dreaming.

Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Inner Space’ collection is a mixture of Cosmic electronic music and proto-New Age sounds. The album features a wide range of European, British and American auteur electronic artists, including Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Steven Halpern, Michael Garrison, Ose, Klaus Schønning, Bernard Xolotl and others.

Their cosmic, exploratory music sits somewhere between the worlds of personal, inner space and galactic outer space. All of the music featured here was recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, much of it released on small bespoke private-press record labels, often owned by the artists themselves.

The album also features rare tracks from a number of Library Music artists, all of whom used electronic music to explore a variety of common celestial or Gaian themes – cosmology, spirituality, science, mother earth, wellness, technology, consciousness, exploration, healing and harmony – in their work. These include pieces by Sauveur Mallia, Keith Mansfield and Sven Torstenson.

Here on this album you will find the Sun Ra’s of New Age, the Picassos of Library Music and the Burroughs of space-related electronic music. Away from contemporary music fashions, these unique and highly individual artists remained free in their music to explore new ideas of sound and technological experimentation – together with the larger concepts of time, space and matter – a freedom rarely granted, and one that we celebrate here.

Optmst has spent the last decade establishing himself as one of Belfast most distinctive underground producers with releases on Shall Not Fade, R&S records & Cloudcore. Rooted in club music but resistant to easy definition, his debut EP Flux moves through 140BPM pressure, postdubstep weight and garage-adjacent rhytms . Warm analog electronics meet infectious grooves, IDM detail and a melodic sensibility that pulls you back to the hook.

Ayô Dele — which means "joy comes to me" in Yoruba — is neither a slogan nor a promised miracle. It is a breath of fresh air. That of an album born in the interstices, where the word find their way between shadow and light, between the disorder of the worldand the impulse to be .
At the heart of the project, Julien Gervaix and Damien Tesson, multi-instrumentalist beatmakers, share a groove language that is both dense and airy, where every detail breathes and finds its place.
With background in Afrobeat, Dub, Funk, Soul, Roots Reggae, and Electronic Music, they treat the studio to be their playground. Their music is a hybrid groove that speaks to the body: round or bouncing basslines, brass oscillating between melodic warmth and funk energy, textured guitars, arpeggios, enveloping Rhodes, clavinet that slides, presses, and embraces. Everything comes together with precision and flexibility, in an inventive and warm composition. The meeting of their experiences and sensibilities gives rise to open, generous music, made for dancing and vibration.
With Ayô Dele , Ireke is embarking on a new chapter: the duo is refining its style,allowing the voices to breathe. The groove remains the driving force but opens up to intimacy. This intimacy is carried by two unique female voices: Nayel Hoxo, a Beninese-Nigerian singer/rapper, and Agnès Hélène, who has already made a name for herself on Tropikadelic with "Petit a Petit". They don't sing side-by-side; they coexist, respond to each other, and sometimes intersect. But each follows her own path: Nayel, with the power of her words in Yoruba, offers songs of elevation, healing, and resistance — a light born in the cracks Agnès explores these cracks themselves: what wavers within us, what reinvents itself in bonds, glances, and gestures.
For one track, Olivya (Dowdelin) joins this dialogue in Martinican Creole. Her sunny soul sketches the contours of gentle resistance and celebrates rediscovered light.
Ayô Dele embodies a quiet yet radical determination: to smooth nothing over, to let plurality, contradictory emotions, and mixed heritage live. An album that moves forward through vibrations, that speaks of emancipation without slogans, love without clichés, anger without uproar.
Two women, two inner worlds: a sensitive complicity, a shared breath. Music that seeks not effect, but echo, weaving a living soundscape between reinvented traditions and contemporary textures. An alchemy faithful to the spirit of Underdog Records, where music unites and brings people together. Ayô Dele : "joy comes to me." A lucid joy, crossed by shadows, patiently regained. Music that welcomes, releases, gives, and in doing so, makes us feel good.
In a saturated world, Ayô Dele chooses nuance: transmission without emphasis, joy without naivety. An album that vibrates more than it demonstrates, that connects more than it imposes, and which, in its quiet clarity, resonates with a deep desire to be fully alive.

Combo Efectivo was formed in November 2024 in Bogota in a studio in the Teusaquillo district, at the invitation of Jazztropicante. It brings together an all-star cast from Bogota's neotropical movement and three iconic brass players from the current French jazz scene.
The chemistry was immediate and the energy palpable: a sound that was both playful and demanding, exuding groove, rich material rooted in contemporary jazz structures, and breathing the spirit of brass bands and the splendor of popular expression from the Colombian Caribbean.
A two-track EP was produced from this unique studio session, recorded and mixed at Mambo Negro Records, with the expertise of Daniel Michel. Mastered in Paris at Loom, this first 45 rpm single was released in February 2026 with The Pusher, officially marking the birth of the Casa Maguey Records label, which promotes the catalog resulting from Jazztropicante's encounters.
On the French side, three musicians who are making their mark on their generation: Stéphane Montigny on trombone, Antoine Berjeaut on trumpet, and saxophonist Léon Phal, the spearhead of a new generation of jazzmen. The Colombians are a cocktail of musicians from the most exciting groups on the current scene: Karen Nerak on vocals, rap, gaita, and percussion, Ruben Aragon on keyboards, Pelango on bass, and Kike Narvaez on drums.
Combo Efectivo magnifies the alchemy between the finesse of European jazz and the power of Colombian rhythms. A tropical trance fueled by improvisation, where the contemporary jazz scene and neo-tropicality meet in a spirit of openness and exploration.

Lovski, alias Igor Sekulović, is redefining the Balkan musical landscape. A master guitarist and erstwhile “Projekt Rakjia” band member, he forges an uncanny blend of traditional folk melodies with dance, electronic and rock energy.
His debut solo album, Discoteka Jugoslavija—produced in collaboration with Napoli’s producer Raffaele “Whodamanny” Arcella—ventures through Italo-disco pulses, reggae grooves and psychedelic swirls, all anchored by the call-and-response warmth of Balkan traditional instruments. Each track feels like a borderless road trip: hypnotic rhythm sections give way to soaring guitar solos that nod to ancestral folk tunes, while propulsive synth arpeggios push listeners into tomorrow’s club.
Lovski’s signature lies in his seamless genre alchemy. He honors regional roots without succumbing to nostalgia, instead reframing folk elements as raw material for global dancefloors. As a performer, his live shows pulse with communal ecstasy—drawing dancing crowds around campfires of light, smoke and bass.
In a scene ripe for innovation, Lovski stands out as both torchbearer and trailblazer—proof that the Balkans still have surprises to offer, and that the old and new can coexist in brilliant harmony.

When SW. AKA, Stefan Wust, first established SUED in 2011, their compelling, cosmic and anonymous material struck a rare chord, emanating far beyond the freeform Berlin underground in which it was written. Unknowingly, Los Angelean Oliver Bristow had
established a parallel musical universe, founding the hyper-specific label Acid Test, inviting pioneering artists such as Donato Dozzy, Tin Man and Pepe Bradock to indulge in glorious interpretations of 303 control. Without compromise, these were records that quietly
reinvigorated electronic music.
Some years later, a new label, SWOB, unites Wust and Bristow in a very different landscape. And while it would be easy to transform the purity and integrity of this special alchemy into something like nostalgia, yearning for an alternative culture before
influencers and against algorithms, SWOB endeavours to find inspiration in arguably tougher truths.
“By the mid-90s, the techno scene had already reached a breaking point”, recalls Wust.
“Today, the scene is so highly professionalized that it barely resembles what was once called the "underground. But "underground" was never more than the simple reality that music circulated on cassettes among friends or that dubplates were played at illegal
parties... The consequence of today’s professionalization is the death of the original movement.”
Still, no one can kill an idea. Here, inspired by the “Outside Tekno” or “Outkast Techno” that emerged to subvert even back in the day, SWOB are proud to introduce the tekkNOthing trilogy, a new project from SW. beginning on cassette and culminating later
on vinyl. Some years in development, tekkNOthing first began to take shape during the 2020 global pandemic, when ‘the underground’ quickly began to mean something radically different once again.
“I noticed how everything was accelerating while simultaneously spinning in circles – existing in a kind of creative limbo on a global scale”, recalls Wust. “And that’s where true freedom lies: for artists – in any sense – to consciously engage with this necessity. In
other words, irrationality or nonsense can eventually generate meaning.” While hardly capitulating to the contemporary hammering of techno’s most recent developments, tekkNOthing’s first chapter quickly establishes a frenetic pace; tracks like ‘nuclearFALLoutX’ and ‘paslolESmess’ interlock and unfold at a tempo removed from that typically associated with SW. while ‘euroBSS’ and ‘viscousHEAT’ successfully experiment with a more guttural palette, veering far into a rejuvenating and previously uncharted leftfield.
A resolutely human endeavour, the music of SW. is nonetheless written and recorded in the looming shadow of AI, whose free-form adoption of pop culture, hip-hop and techno reminds Wust of “when photography emerged in the 19th century... painting was no
longer bound to naturalism. Similarly, music today is no longer bound to fixed standards – through AI, it can become truly free.”
If not in competition, than taking inspiration from this landscape of new opportunity, tekkNOthing diversifies further with eight unpredictable tracks across part II, taking in stuttering machine-funk on ‘crAMPDUNK’, a freeform organ jam via ‘sonicENdo’ and the
inexplicable piston-percussive, post-punk exotica heard on ‘poorTENOOR#a#01’ DJs with dual cassette decks skills might even find function in the more overtly floor-focused ‘DU ¨NEhowSE#1takeÄ’ or ‘lookLOOK’.
The times may have changed, but the promise remains simple; more music, more freedom.

Zongamin and Mytron reunite on Multi Culti with an album of collaborations. Exploring the depths of leftfield outer nationalism these two mainstays of our global family serve up a colorful array of mind-altering disco and interdimensional dub. Tribal motifs merge with field recordings while synthesized animals call out over exotic hand percussion. Jams on vintage synths meet 8-bit sampling bounced onto spring reverbs and digital delays from the 80s. Started mid-pandemic, this collaboration ignored the surrounding havoc and social distancing, instead focusing on Good Vibes TM and positivity with a genre-defying approach belying trans-continental origins. The result is a playful symbiosis that is Phatter than the sum of its elements. Mytron is Jacek Janiszewski, a pan-European multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ, born in Poland, raised in Holland and Germany, and now living in London for the best part of a decade, his releases, for labels including XXX, Codek, Bordello A Parigi, Multi Culti, Nein and Les Yeux Orange, herald a similar nomadic spirit. Zongamin, Susumu Mukai is a composer, producer, and illustrator based in London. He has released records on Multi Culti, Flesh Records, XL recordings, Ed Banger, ESP Institute, and AD93, and has remixed for Air, John Cale, Trevor Jackson, Sandro Perri, and others. He is a member of groups Vanishing Twin, V/Z, Holy Tongue, and Stalactite.

Buckle up, electronic aficionados! Queen of Coins is about to drop a six-track sonic odyssey that’s your one-way ticket to Electro, Italo-Disco, and Detroit Techno nirvana. This isn’t just an album, it’s a masterclass in psychedelic dancefloor alchemy, tailor-made for DJs who crave cutting-edge sounds while paying homage to the genre’s founding fathers.

From the slow-burning hypnosis of “Head Tension” to the heart-racing throb of “16K Cal,” this release is a BPM rollercoaster that echoes the spirits of legends like Legowelt, Drexciya, and Francisco. But make no mistake – Queen of Coins isn’t just rehashing the past, the Queen is propelling these influences into the future.

“Bring it to the top” is pure condensed energy, engineered to shake every powerful soundsystem while maintaining an emotional depth that’ll hit you right in the feels. Speaking of feelings, “Damaged Souls” is the track you didn’t know you needed – a poignant electronic love letter to all those “what if” moments that haunt our dreams.

But don’t think for a second that Queen of Coins is all melancholy. “Oreo Cake” swoops in with its irresistible bouncing bassline, serving up a fat slice of low-end theory that’ll give your mind, body, and soul the workout they’ve been craving. It’s a reminder that in the realm of Queen of Coins, the future is bright, and the beat goes on.

Remember the mantra, ravers: Queen of Coins is “Music to grow with Expanding your soul Thriving in Prosperity.”

This isn’t just an album release; it’s a coronation. Long live the Queen of the electronic underground!

Prepare to embark on an immersive sonic journey with Rites of Passage, the self titled debut album from the enigmatic duo Atiq and dreadmaul.

Released on vinyl and digital, this album delivers an overwhelming and hypnotic interpretation of the age-old concept of transformation and initiation.
With each track, the listener is invited to delve deep into an otherworldly soundscape where mysticism and archaic rituals blend seamlessly with the pulse of modern electronic music.

Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, Rites of Passage transports you to a pre civilization era, incorporating organic elements like bone flutes, haunting throat singing, and shamanic invocations.
These sounds are woven into the fabric of intricate electronic arrangements, creating a unique atmosphere that feels timeless yet contemporary a delicate balance between the ancient and the modern.

This concept album is not just a collection of tracks its an experience, a ceremonial rite that transcends the listener from one state of mind to another.
The vinyl format, with its warmth and physicality, only heightens the immersion, making it an essential addition for collectors and audiophiles alike.

Whether youre a fan of experimental music or simply seeking something transformative, Rites of Passage delivers an unforgettable journey through sound.
A ritual in itself, this album truly earns its name.
Dont miss your chance to own a piece of this alchemy Rites of Passage on vinyl is a musthave for those ready to enter a new sonic dimension.

A sonic portal to a parallel universe where neon-soaked dreamscapes transform the stark realities of a post-pandemic world. Music for a forgotten future, where echoes of the 80s cast long, enigmatic shadows through a rich tapestry of emotion that charts a journey from isolation and fear towards healing and hope. This is the journey of Season One and Season Two, the debut companion albums for the solo project of Italian composer Battaglia, both out this fall on Four Flies Records.

In 2020, as the world retreated onto itself due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Battaglia entered the recording studio. Driven by a desire for experimentation, she decided to focus on the classic synths that have made history to create a sonic and emotional alchemy that reimagines the 80s to resonate with our current experiences and sensibilities.

Drawing inspiration from the cinematic magic of iconic early-80s films, and especially the haunting soundtracks of Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter, she crafted a soundscape that goes beyond nostalgia to capture the spirit of a generation navigating uncertain times.

Season One and Season Two explore the complexities of a world grappling with lethal pandemics, climate catastrophes, and nuclear disasters through themes such as longing, fear, and hope, set against a scenario that blends elements of dystopian and post-apocalyptic science fiction and, at times, horror.

Season One delves deeper into the darker aspects of this new reality, evoking a sense of unease and uncertainty, occasionally interspersed with soothing flashes of light. In Season Two, while darkness still lingers, the sonic landscape is infused with a sense of optimism and determination, offering glimpses of a possible salvation.

With Battaglia's signature blend of dark wave, synth-pop, suspenseful electronica, and cinematic vibes, Season One and Season Two create a sonic world that is at once hauntingly familiar and utterly captivating -- the perfect soundtrack, one is tempted to say, for the countless sci-fi/horror-fantasy series that have been flooding streaming platforms in the last decade.

The covers of both albums were designed by Eric Adrian Lee, who conceived them as two sides of the same image, two versions of a world in crisis but whose ruins contain the potential for rebirth.

Battaglia's Season One and Season Two will be available on black vinyl LP starting from October 25th. Digital versions of both albums will also be released on the same date, featuring five bonus tracks (two on Season One and three on Season Two).

A sonic portal to a parallel universe where neon-soaked dreamscapes transform the stark realities of a post-pandemic world. Music for a forgotten future, where echoes of the 80s cast long, enigmatic shadows through a rich tapestry of emotion that charts a journey from isolation and fear towards healing and hope. This is the journey of Season One and Season Two, the debut companion albums for the solo project of Italian composer Battaglia, both out this fall on Four Flies Records.

In 2020, as the world retreated onto itself due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Battaglia entered the recording studio. Driven by a desire for experimentation, she decided to focus on the classic synths that have made history to create a sonic and emotional alchemy that reimagines the 80s to resonate with our current experiences and sensibilities.

Drawing inspiration from the cinematic magic of iconic early-80s films, and especially the haunting soundtracks of Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter, she crafted a soundscape that goes beyond nostalgia to capture the spirit of a generation navigating uncertain times.

Season One and Season Two explore the complexities of a world grappling with lethal pandemics, climate catastrophes, and nuclear disasters through themes such as longing, fear, and hope, set against a scenario that blends elements of dystopian and post-apocalyptic science fiction and, at times, horror.

Season One delves deeper into the darker aspects of this new reality, evoking a sense of unease and uncertainty, occasionally interspersed with soothing flashes of light. In Season Two, while darkness still lingers, the sonic landscape is infused with a sense of optimism and determination, offering glimpses of a possible salvation.

With Battaglia's signature blend of dark wave, synth-pop, suspenseful electronica, and cinematic vibes, Season One and Season Two create a sonic world that is at once hauntingly familiar and utterly captivating -- the perfect soundtrack, one is tempted to say, for the countless sci-fi/horror-fantasy series that have been flooding streaming platforms in the last decade.

The covers of both albums were designed by Eric Adrian Lee, who conceived them as two sides of the same image, two versions of a world in crisis but whose ruins contain the potential for rebirth.

Battaglia's Season One and Season Two will be available on black vinyl LP starting from October 25th. Digital versions of both albums will also be released on the same date, featuring five bonus tracks (two on Season One and three on Season Two).

“Artifact” by Novo Line makes a departure from his Atari ST fueled FM synth journeys, here reimagining the soundtrack of our collective memory. Born from a live performance at a listening festival in Berlin by the Camp Cosmic crew, this LP transforms universally recognized pop anthems, beckoning listeners into a kaleidoscopic realm of sound, where familiar melodies fracture and our brains attempt to reconstitute them.

Using era-consistent equipment – turntable, 12″ maxi singles, classic samplers, and iconic drum machines – Novo Line deconstructs and reassembles songs etched into our cultural DNA. From the soaring emotions of “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” to the disco beat of “Heart of Glass,” these are melodies that have scored countless lives, now reborn in startling new forms.

Recorded live to tape, ‘Artifact’ doesn’t just play; it unfolds like an auditory hallucination. It taps into the deep emotional reservoirs these songs have built over decades, twisting familiar refrains into new shapes. One festival goer recollected that it uncovered “the dark inner universe of Kenny G, suddenly splayed out into a whole new cosmos.”

As the needle traces its path, ‘Artifact’ peels back layers of shared musical experience. It’s an aural alchemy that transmutes the known into the profoundly strange, yet achingly familiar. Listeners may find themselves adrift in a sea of frequencies, where every warped note triggers a cascade of personal and collective memories.

Rooted in the “copyriot” tradition of 1980s punk and industrial scenes, “Artifact” challenges notions of authorship while celebrating the universal language of pop. It doesn’t merely suggest a trip – it becomes a journey through the very fabric of our shared musical consciousness.

Mastered by Rude66, cut by Helmet Erler, and pressed at Objects Manufacturing.

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

É Soul Cultura captain, originator of Manchester’s legendary Electric Chair and definitive people’s champion, Luke Una taps into a lifetime’s worth of musical discovery for the second volume in our Mr Bongo Edits series. A cosmic coming together that sees two of Luke’s secret weapons, re-edited and re-contextualised by the man himself to provide optimal dancefloor euphoria.

A stalwart of the underground for nearly 40 years, Luke has become an appointed leader of the late night disenfranchised, with an unquestionable ability to pick records that make minds tick. Not least through his two É Soul Cultura compilations released on Mr Bongo over the past two years.

A taste that traverses genres as much as it does emotions and decades, who better to give an insight into the tracks he has chosen to edit, than the man himself. “I've been an avid collector of afro-beat house, techno and underground black heart disco since before the basement soul days of Electric Chair 30 years ago. Both these bombs were very much holy grail finds, plucked from the last four decades of digging in random crates of dusty vinyl all over the world.”

First up, Thandi Zulu & The Young Five’s interpretation of Pure Energy’s early ‘80s disco power play – ‘Love Game’. With a distinctive South African synth bass and killer keys combo, Luke explains the original has this “bonkers alchemy of heavy machine soul, uptempo rawness and a majestic disco evangelism”, making it ripe for a re-edit.

On the B side, Lionel Pillay’s Jazz dancer ‘Plum’. “The original was a relentless 18-minute raw jam”, Luke states, “which despite its late ‘70s South African origin kinda reminded me of a 1986 Chicago piano House record”.

“These edits strip the tracks back and rebuild them, giving them more sonic weight with that looped up drum jacking militancy from the days of Chicago, combined with a boosted sense of transcendental, psychedelic, cosmic disco. They have always had such an explosive reaction on so many dancefloors including the heavier electronic club, so it felt only right to reshare them”.

Mysteries Of The World is the stunning final studio album from legendary Philly supergroup MFSB. Expertly co-written and produced with the mighty Dexter Wansel, it features the untouchable, sparkling masterpiece "Mysteries Of The World". The whole album is truly exquisite; a stylish, classy collection of pure Philly soul and orchestral jazz-funk.

MFSB, an acronym for Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, was formed by producers Gamble & Huff of Philadelphia International Records. The band's roots can be traced back to the house band at the legendary Sigma Sound Studios, where they played on numerous hit records by artists like The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Stylistics. Mysteries Of The World comprises slick jazz-funk grooves, mostly penned by Wansel, who produced a fair chunk of the album in a similar style to his space-funk records. MFSB's smooth sound is retained but it receives a fresh, elegant and jazzy upgrade. While this album is as mellow as the rest of the latter-period MFSB recordings, it never forgets the group's soul music underpinnings.

Swaggering, well-timed horn blasts, sweeping strings and a percolating, hard thumping slap-bassline combine to devastating effect on amazing opener "Manhattan Skyline". It's a sexy mid-tempo instrumental which sets us up nicely for what follows. Essays could be written analysing the perfection of title track. Arguably the finest jazz-funk instrumental ever made, it's absolutely magnificent. Featuring musicianship of the highest calibre, the band play with their trademark tight discipline, cooking up a syncopating rhythm with an array of exploratory keyboard riffs wrapped around a punchy bassline sent from heaven. It sounds like house music, it's that ahead of its time. The string intro is sumptuous, hypnotic and divine and that's all before the beat hits. The track fuses classical, jazz and funk into a musical journey that you never want to end. Absolutely flawless, it's a dramatic disco dancefloor killer.

Says Dexter Wansel himself: "You know, of all the songs I wrote/produced/arranged for MFSB, this is for me the most different. I think it's an experiment in rhythmic, soft sonic synth and live string and harp combinations. I composed it in an effort to blend a funky groove, along with synthesis, and orchestral sounds. There are 3 synthesizers: Oberheim 4 voice, Polymoog, and of course Arp 2600v. And, as I remember, I recorded the track with the rhythm section, string, harp and flute players first. Then I added synthesis."

The profound elegance remains in abundance on the slinky, harp-laced "Tell Me Why"; Carla Benson's beautiful voice truly shines on this sophisticated cut. The side closes out in dramatic style with the string-drenched "Metamorphosis". It's a staccato, Blaxploitation groove workout featuring wah-wah guitar, creeping basslines, rich horn solos and soulful vocals drifting in and out of the mix. The bouncy, irrepressible "Fortune Teller" opens the B side in the bass-heavy orchestral funk style before the beautiful "Old San Juan" glides in, a Balearic-adjacent track with intricate arrangements, building its mellow soul groove around an atypical flamenco guitar hook. Melancholy, guitar-led instrumental "Thank You Miss Scott" is a real highlight, with gorgeous flute, string and percussive elements whilst closer "In the Shadow" works an otherworldly synth line into its bossa nova groove.

An essential record for fans of Philly soul and groovy jazz-funk, Mysteries Of The World was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Ralston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The stunning artwork, the work of renowned illustrator Robert Giusti, was restored at Be With HQ to round out this beautiful reissue.

Long Beach legend Scotty Coats links the West Coast eclecticism of Stones Throw to the NYC cool of DFA and Rong to the Balearic gods of DJ Harvey et al. He personally introduced Be With to Ned Doheny 10 years ago and he was immortalised on Smith & Mudd's last LP. And he's the main man behind the mysteriously titled duo Todd Russell & The Dangerous Coats, alongside Erick "Todd" Coomes (Lettuce founder/bassist).

In very real danger of being lost forever, we unearthed two of their private recordings and present them as a double A-Side 12", adorned with S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G artwork, courtesy of Arizona artist Frank Gonzales.

"Playa Larga" is a melodic, mellow masterpiece and is quintessentially Balearic. It's stretched out, low slung, guitar-soaked drum-machine soul music. It's multi-layered and contains multitudes: it builds and builds and builds and mesmerises as it does so. On the flip, "1900 Ocean Avenue" is a super slo-mo, sunbaked drug-chug which is already blowing minds thanks to early leaks of this cosmic, psychedelic detonation.

On first listen back, Erick said to Scotty: “So wait, nothing really happens, I mean nothing bad happens but nothing really happens”. Apparently these tracks were a bit foreign for Erick, musically, because of the lack of structure in the songs.

One morning, years later, Erick called Scotty and excitedly declared: “dude, I get it now!”. He was listening to random music with a lady friend while watching the sunrise in his 1900 Ocean Ave apartment and "Playa Larga" came on randomly. He'd forgotten all about it and said he had to get up and see what song it was because "it was the perfect soundtrack for a psychedelic sunrise over the ocean."

And that's exactly how we came across it, circa 2018, randomly popping up on a playlist while we were busy doing other things. It stopped us in our tracks but, when trying to find any info on iTunes, we were out of luck. It was only years later that we worked out Scotty had sent it to us. Ever since, we've been working on getting this out to you all. It's finally time.

We've only 500 pressed for the world, with many of them spoken for by those lucky enough to be already ITK, so these are gonna fly: be warned!

Scotty is a world class raconteur so we'll hand over to him to explain how these songs came about and why they mean so much to him in the context of his wider raison d'être:

"These were made 13 years ago when I was a new dad and left my job at Ubiquity Records to provide security for my newborn son, Nolan Liam Chai Coats. I became miserable working a job outside of music for the first time in my life and I was laid off 4 months into it. I was left wondering how the fuck am I going to provide for my family?

I lived in Long Beach and Erick lived a few blocks away. I would walk to his house when Jen finally got Nolan to sleep so I could escape my panic, drink some beers (is it beerlearic?) and make some music. He lived overlooking the ocean with the Queen Mary on the horizon, so I guess mellow Long Beach nights unintentionally inspired the music. These songs were the first two songs we ever made and they embody the desperation and hope I really needed at that time. 12 years later, when Rob at Be With expressed an interest in releasing it, we had Erick's brother Tyler Tycoon Coomes play drums on it at Jazzcats Studio in LBC, with Jonny Bell.

Shortly after I was laid off, I discovered The Stepkids. I was blown away by "Shadows On Behalf" and sent it on to Gilles Peterson. He played it on Worldwide the next day. The Stepkids pulled me back into music and made me realize I wasn't prepared to do anything but be involved with music. After I heard their unreleased album, I knew there was something there so I sent it to my good friend Jamie Strong who was at Stones Throw at the time. Jamie passed it along to Peanut Butter Wolf and the band asked me to be their manager. I didn't think I was the right guy for the job but wanted to see them do well so I told them I would help shop their album. Jamie suggested I take his place at Stones Throw, just as he did when he left Ubiquity Records. I always joke that Jamie can call me Scotty Coat Tails because I had been riding his for years.

Wolf told him that "Scotty is a nice guy but has horrible taste in music", which was ironic because he was literally trying to sign the band that I brought him. The Stepkids signed with Stones Throw and found a real manager. 6 or so months later Jamie sent me a note saying "Stones Throw is hiring and you should apply lol". I told him I was going to send my resume and the subject of the email was to read I HAVE GREAT FUCKING TASTE IN MUSIC. I did just that and got a call the next day from their new GM asking me to come in for an interview. When I walked in I was in Wolf's office where I had been 6 months before, signing The Stepkids
deal. Wolf and Jason McGuire were asking me some questions and wanted to introduce me to Jeff Jank. Jank walked in and said "Isn't this the guy that Jamie wanted to bring on 6 months ago?" They confirmed and he threw his hands up and walked out saying "I've seen enough". I got the job. I worked there for 2 or 3 years until I left to join forces with Jamie Strong at his label and stayed there for almost 7 years."

Scotty wanted to use a painting by his good friend, Frank Gonzales, for the front cover image. Frank was incredibly generous in letting us use this one, and Scotty was completely honoured. We think you'll agree, it's pretty striking. Simon Francis carefully mastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this double A-side 12" sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure these previously unheard, recently discovered recordings finally get a chance to shine.

Symphony Orchestra is a new group from Maximilian Turnbull and Michael Rault. Both Rault and Turnbull are accomplished songwriters, performers and producers in their own right, with Turnbull leading The Badge Epoque Ensemble, playing with the group Darlene Shrugg, and once releasing records under the name Slim Twig and Rault having released several psychedelic rock & roll classics under his own name in the past decade. The pair have worked together in various capacities for many years, writing and recording together on U.S. Girls' In A Poem Unlimited, and contributing to each other's releases, but the debut LP from Symphony Orchestra (due out May 12th on Telephone Explosion) marks their first release as an official entity.

Needless to say, there is a potent creative chemistry between Rault and Turnbull and Radiant Music showcases the alchemy between their distinct skill sets. The album is an exercise in pure collaboration. After years spent focusing on solo projects and working as hired guns on other projects, the duo came together with no specific intentions other than to work free of boundaries and direction. Freeing themselves from the familiar pressures of deadlines and expectations, they found a sense of discovery through togetherness. Duties on this project were split between Rault acting primarily as a one-man rhythm section and lead vocalist with Turnbull bringing chord sketches and his trademark aphoristic lyrical musings to the table. Trading off roles on guitar and keys from song to song, the duo's deft approach to melody bleeds through their instrumental parts as much as it does through Rault's vocal melodies. The majority of this album was self-engineered over the course of three sessions in 2018, at Michael's Montreal studio. Dormant during the pandemic, Rault's move to Los Angeles and the birth of Turnbull's twin sons, work reignited in 2022. The latterly tracked instrumental 'Concerto' and ballad 'Unthink The Thinkable' provide a dynamic depth to the album perhaps attributable to this tumultuous pause. Mixing came courtesy of Steve Chahley & Tony Price (U.S. Girls, BÉE, Jane Inc, etc).

In all of their work, Rault and Turnbull have made a hallmark of elaborately precise production and arrangement, Radiant Music is no different, though its pared-back simplicity provides a streamlined directness. The pairing of Rault's soulful, elastic vocal with Turnbull's evocatively cerebral lyrics provides a thrilling sensation unlike anything else in their respective catalogs. With an explosive, groove-forward approach, kaleidoscopic walls of vocal harmony and technicolor displays of guitar work, these 31 minutes of music will most certainly stimulate the mind of any fan of classic pop rock and funk. The blown-out breakbeats, winsome woven vocal melodies and propulsive wah-wah guitars of the title track evoke memories of an after-school cartoon special that never really existed outside of a lysergic daydream. "Harp In The Wind" is a perfect moment of overcast melancholy complete with ribbons of weeping synthesizers and velcro-fuzz guitar that could rip a clean line through Kevlar. "Know Thyself" and the harmony-rich "Intersection" are standout tracks that find a kinship in Stereolab's space-age effervescence. "Concerto" is a slab of beaming, mischievous funk that nods to Billy Preston's extraterrestrial keyboard explorations.

Radiant Music, like the best pop music, is life-affirming, confectionary, and enticing. Symphony Orchestra have created an album that hits you right where you need it, anchoring heady, adventurous sonic ideas down to a solid foundation of masterful songcraft, virtuosic instrumental performances and undeniable groove. Not a bar, nor beat is wasted.

After the first EP released in 2019 with Mother Tongue label, the French band never stopped reinventing itself. Oscillating between future jazz, house, the alchemy found within the band proves to be quite unstoppable. Whether it’s live or in the studio, the Gin Tonic Orchestra reinvents, innovates and experiments constantly. The idea is to create a live experience that resembles a DJ set, strongly influenced by club culture and jazz. For the first album « Shyance », the collective starts with a cataclysmic intro that introduce « No I Can’t Be Free » which connects Stefania EP to the new album. The other tracks cross Fusion (Shyance), Hisaishi harmonies (Yubaba), DnB (Rage Jaune), Deep House (La Couenne Rance), Cosmic Disco (Crush) and Thrash R&B (Can U Plug My SM58 Tonight).

Nonclassical are proud to release Nneka Cummins’ Ivor Classical Award-winning finding gills (when they try to drown you), pairing the original orchestral work with its remix, finding gills realms and possibilities.

Originally commissioned and composed during Nneka’s time on nonclassical’s Artist in Residence programme and premiered by Sinfonia Smith Square in 2025, the work marks their first large-scale exploration of fixed electronics alongside chamber orchestra. Built entirely from its source material, the remix dissolves the perceived sacredness and permanence of orchestral music, stretching, warping and reassembling its fragments into a fluid electronic form.

Drawing on fragments of earlier compositions, Finding Gills embodies both destruction and creation, embracing the spirit of metamorphosis. Inviting the listener to sit in moments of dissonant discomfort and distress, an emerging sense of hope gradually reveals itself through radiant strings and spiralling melodies. Hinting at a sense of tiredness that is continually renewed, sparks of new life blossom within a shifting orchestral landscape where memory, experimentation and survival coexist.

The title alludes to the Afrofuturist mythology of Drexciya, imagined by Detroit duo James Stinson and Gerald Donald, in which the descendants of pregnant African women who were thrown overboard during the transatlantic slave trade adapted to breathe underwater, creating a new civilisation beneath the sea. Nneka draws on this subtle reference as they are inspired by the deep creative alchemy of transforming horror into vibrant and powerful myth.

Yes here we are 50 years on from year zero 1976 (where did that go!!!). To celebrate this and the fact we are all still here and talking about the importance of the Punk Rock movement i put together an album under the banner Punk Rock Daze. The title reflects it was all such a daze, as it ran by so fast and also as a reminder of an old Malcolm McLaren remark that came to mind. That when the band and management were discussing the look and name of the Sex Pistols forthcoming album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’. Malcolm remarked, lets sell it as you would sell washing powder, bright, simple and with fluorescence colours. Great idea so here is my homage to that thought.

So I hope you enjoy the gesture and here’s to another 50 years of Alchemy, Joyousness and
instruction (Anarchy, Chaos and Destruction).

Peace and Punk Mal-One

Presse: Eclipsed Interview, Jazzthing, Folker, OX, TAZ World Music, Bad Alchemy, Westzeit, Stadtrevue, Saarbrücker Zeitung, TIP Berlin, Zitty Konzert Tipp, Musikexpress, Choices, Journal Frankfurt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, FAZ, ...

Radio: WDR Cosmo, ByteFM Tour presentation, DLF Kultur Tonart Interview, BR 2 Nachtmix & Kulturwelt, DLF Corso, DLR Kultur Tonart, Radioeins Planet Fruit and other shows, BR 2 Zündfunk, NDR Info Nachtclub Radio Globo and Domingo, Radio Bremen Nordwestradio Sounds, SR 2 Voyages, NDR Kultur Neo, WDR 3 tba, HR 2 Hörbar, MDR Kultur, RBB kulturradio Musik der Kontinente, ByteFM, M94,5 Transglobal Express, Radio Querfunk Orsinos Lied, Oldenburg 1, Radio Dreyeckland, Freies Radio Stuttgart, Radio Darmstadt, tide Radio, Radio Corax, bermudafunk, Radio X, Radio Lora....


Türkischer Folk-Psych-Rock aus Amsterdam der brennt und funkt und treibt und unwiderstehlich außergewöhnlich ist. Wenn türkische Folk-Music Psych-Rock und Elektro-Pop trifft entstehen Altin Gün. Mit ihrem außergewöhnlichen Spagat zwischen scheinbar komplett unterschiedlichen Stilen gelingt dieser Band, die türkisch klingt, von deren sechs Mitglieder aber nur eines in der Türkei geboren wurde, etwas wirklich Außergewöhnliches. Als türkischen Psych Folk bezeichnen sich diese Niederländer selbst, und betonen, dass sie ihre Musik im Kern als Folk verstehen, freilich ein solcher, dem man die tiefe Liebe zur Musik der funkigen 60er und 70er anmerkt. Sehr groovig, elektrisch und voll explosiver psychedelischer Strukturen kommen die türkischen Stücke daher. Lieder, die zum Teil schon unzählige Male gehört und interpretiert wurden, die zur musikalischen Vergangenheit der Türkei gehören, ihr Erbe sind, aber völlig neu klingen. Bandgründer und Bassist von Altin Gün, Jasper Verhulst, betont, wie wichtig das identitätsstiftende Potential der Lieder ist, dass man diesem aber etwas Einzigartiges hinzufügen wollte, was die Hörer innehalten lässt. "Die Lieder stammen aus einer langen Tradition. Das ist Musik, die versucht, eine Stimme für Viele zu sein. (... Und dann) brauchen wir etwas, das die Leute dazu bringt zuzuhören, als wäre es das erste Mal." Der Sound von Altin Gün klingt gleichermaßen traditionell wie vollständig zeitgenössisch und zeigt auf fast schon märchenhafte Art und Weise, dass Musik ein kulturell durchlässiges, experimentelles Medium ist, in dem uns immer wieder wunderschöne Überraschungen begegnen. Mit "Gece", ihrem zweiten Album, hat sich die Band nun endgültig als unverzichtbarer Interpret des anatolischen Rock- und Folk-Erbes etabliert und ist eine absolut unverwechselbare Stimme in der aufstrebenden globalen Psych-Rock-Szene geworden.

Straight from Honolulu, Bombye is a newly found Hawaiian soul trio led by Nick Kurosawa, one of Hawaii’s most captivating voices. Known for his rich,
velvet tone and vintage-inspired phrasing, Nick and his band channel the essence of 1970s soul, funk, and R&B into a deeply organic soundscape that feels both nostalgic and new.
The EP features four tracks that showcase the band’s musicianship and emotional depth.
Mixing by Andrew Garma and mastering by Wax Alchemy deliver exceptional clarity and analog warmth, while Shiro Ishihara (SNEA) provides the minimalist yet evocative artwork
that perfectly complements the record’s soulful aesthetics. This limited-edition vinyl includes a bonus “Bombye” sticker exclusive to CONNECT RECORDS. Each copy is pressed with
care for collectors, DJs, and analog enthusiasts seeking authentic, heartfelt soul music with timeless groove and depth.

Don’t believe your ears - Pepper’s Ghost is the latest offering from NYC project Nuke Watch.

Whatever you think it is - it is not. By the same token it really can be whatever you want - electronica, jazz, improv, noise, new age, ambient - it’s none and all of these. Like the primitive visual illusion it’s named for - Pepper’s Ghost is a projection of a thing, it’s not the thing.

The Nuke Watch method - like that of Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos’ other primary project Beat Detectives - leans almost entirely on live improvisation, with some advanced studio alchemy in post. Where the Beat Detectives palette draws from club music tropes, Nuke Watch blends recognizable tones (hand drums, woodwinds, keys, fretless bass) with sounds of providence unknown, the line between organic and synthesized instrumentation unintelligibly smudged. What is real and what is projection? It’s hard to say. What do our ears tell us? This is where we arrive at Pepper’s Ghost.

Warped as the sounds may be, the playing belies a crew of deeply expressive, learned improvisers who have their craft honed. Their friendship and psychic connection enhances the ritualistic rhythms, mutant modular synthesis, nimble keyboard runs, absurdist sampling and unidentified skronk. They’re wonderfully complemented across several tracks on this set by Cole Pulice’s levitational, sublime saxophone.

As unhinged as this might all appear, once the mind and music meet on the same wavelength this is profoundly moving, energizing and uplifting Alive Music that recalibrates the sense of what music can be.

Nuke Watch is Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos, with an array of friendly guests. They’ve released records as Nuke Watch on The Trilogy Tapes, Commend and Moon Glyph. As Beat Detectives they’ve released records on Not Not Fun, 100% Silk and their own studio imprint NYPD Records.

Pepper's Ghost was written and produced by Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos. Additional instrumentation on these recordings by Cole Police, Leonard King, Eric Timothy Carlson, Chris Farstad and William Statler. It was mixed by Chris Hontos and mastered by Jack Callahan. Painting on the cover is “The Unity Of Being” (2020), by Ry Fyan. Design and layout by Aaron Anderson.

RIYL - Musical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks, downtempo, music of the spheres, good journey, Eddie Harris, Ketron, "world building", orange sunshine, suspension of disbelief.

Night Punch sind fünf Musiker aus Hamburg, die einen einzigartigen, apokalyptischen Sound zwischen Hardcore Punk, Dark Punk und kalten Synth-Elementen formen. Mit ihrem 2023 erschienenen Album "Where Sins Bloom (So Does Death)" lieferten sie eine gnadenlose, 32-minütige Klangattacke aus druckvollen Schlagzeug- und Bass-Teppichen, sägend verzerrten E-Gitarren, eisigen Synth-Flächen und wütenden Vocals, roh, kompromisslos und tief in einer düsteren Klangästhetik verankert. Seit ihrer Gründung hat sich um Night Punch, deren Identität stets in Masken zerfällt, eine treue Szene gebildet; sie veröffentlichen limitierte Tapes und Vinyls, spielen auf Festivals wie dem Get Lost! Fest und überzeugen mit intensiven, energiegeladenen Live-Shows, die den DIY-Ethos der Band unmittelbar spürbar machen. 2026 setzen sie diesen Weg mit dem Album "godisnowhere" fort: noch härter, direkter und aggressiver als der Vorgänger, ohne den eigenen Klangkern aufzugeben. Die Songs wirken dichter, kantiger und unerbittlicher, behalten aber die vertraute Mischung aus massiver Rhythmik, apokalyptischer Stimmung und nihilistischer Wucht bei. Eine weitere Eskalationsstufe im kompromisslosen Kosmos von Night Punch

If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.

But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.

Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.

Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound.

Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenkini Naare’ was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.

While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious.

Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s.

Astropolis Records — the label born from the legendary electronic French festival — celebrates a decade of electronic devotion with a generous and deeply emotional anniversary compilation - a bit late, but never short on flair.

This double vinyl gathers the many faces of the Astropolis galaxy: in-house artists, long-time companions of the festival, and rising voices from a perpetually vibrant French scene. Across 18 artists, listeners are invited on a sonic journey where rave legacy, electronic dreamscapes, and collective fervor intertwine — true to the DNA of a festival that’s never known boundaries.



The record opens with grace and wonder courtesy of Rone, whose electronic touch channels both the intimate and the infinite. Between electronica and downtempo, The Dolphin Ambassador bathes in luminous melancholy, offering a moment of calm before the storm. In the same contemplative vein, we’re proud to unveil one of the first productions from Célélé alongside Théo Muller: Drum and Drift, a subtle blend of dubby vibrations and sunlit textures.


Astropolis has always thrived on happy collisions — and this compilation is proof of it. The unlikely meeting between Mézigue and Swooh sends house spiraling into a g-tech vortex on Broken Roll To Venice, a playful burst of groove, hybrid energy, and cheeky mischief. The same spirit of alchemy fuels Belaria & Madben, whose Into The Void burns bright as a 90s rave-meets-EBM anthem wrapped in hypnotic trance. Zaatar & Trunkline bring raw intensity to Come Into The Light, a sweaty, visceral banger at the crossroads of techno, dark disco, and EBM.


French techno pillars Scan X & Electric Rescue deliver a masterclass in elegant machine soul on Lost In Time. When Manu Le Malin teams up with Kmyle, the result is as sharp as it is cinematic: Little Big Man pulses with dramatic tension, balancing raw emotion and restrained fury. Elsewhere, Oniris & Benjamin Rippert reconnect with the melodic techno spirit of the label’s early days on Sonate, guided by a craftsman’s sense of harmony.
For the machine lovers, Legowelt & Cuften resurrect the spirit of early electroclash on Liar, a carnal fusion of analog synths and DIY attitude. And for the diehard dancefloor devotees, KiNK finally releases a cult track from his live sets: Give Me, a breakbeat-meets-vintage-house stormer tailor-made for those late-night sweats.

This anniversary compilation reaffirms the label’s openness to new generations and hybrid sounds, while paying tribute to the techno roots that shaped its foundation. Like the festival itself, it embodies sincerity and collective energy — a small manifesto linking generations, aesthetics, and territories, celebrating roots without nostalgia and the future without bending to trends.

Cromby extends the Potency family for it's 7th release, welcoming in Trax Unit by way of the Gloria EP. The release is a break neck ride of techno and house alchemy, capturing the spirit of Berlin via LA. Perfectly encapsulating the sound of the imprint, the release marks an exciting new chapter in the Potency story, with a slew of releases planned that will move label head Cromby from producer to curator, growing the roster and developing the sonic identity of Potency into the future.

Reissue auf kristallklarem Glitzervinyl: "Cherish The Light Years", das zweite Cold CaveStudioalbum 2011 bei Matador Records erschienen, ist ein mutiger Sprung in düsteren
Stadion-Pop, auf dem Post-Punk-Intensität auf melodischer Noise, Industrial-Beats, ItaloDance-Euphorie und Momente purer Pop-Glückseligkeit trifft. Aufgenommen in den
Plantain Studios von Electric Lady und DFA in New York City, kanalisiert die LP das Drama
von Siouxsie and The Banshees, den Puls der frühen Depeche Mode und die emotionale
Schwere von Liebe, Reue, Triumph und Versagen. Mit Tracks wie "Confetti", "The Great Pan
Is Dead", "Underworld USA" und "Villains Of The Moon"brillierten Cold Cave in einem
Moment ohne offensichtliche Szene und schufen einen ganz eigenen Sound und Raum.

2025 Repress

FINALLY! The very first commercial release of two legendary remixes of Arthur Russell's "In The Light Of The Miracle". Both are widely regarded as transcendent masterpieces and very much befitting of the title “holy grails”.

These long-beloved mixes are the types you'd wish would last for eternity. With almost 30 minutes of music here, we very nearly get our desires granted. At last, these jaw-dropping mixes are widely available to every Arthur fan in the world. This is musical perfection.

The deep Loft classic "In The Light Of The Miracle" remained unreleased during Arthur's lifetime, finally discovered when Phillip Glass included the original version on Another Thought on Point Music in 1993. As Steve Knutson told us, when Another Thought was being put together, the plan was to release a companion album of remixes that was overseen by Steve D'Aquisto but the project only got as far as these two remixes of "In The Light Of The Miracle".

Some dodgy scans of some centre label designs suggest that Point Music might’ve been planning to release these on a 12" but it didn’t happen. The story goes that Gilles Peterson heard the remixes on a visit to the Point Music offices and wanted to release them on Talkin’ Loud. We’re not sure how many white label copies made it out into the wild, but again, these remixes didn’t make it to a proper release.

These remixes both extend and undeniably enhance the original, elevating it to new heights. The 13 minute remix on the A-side is by Danny Krivit & Tony Smith with editing duties performed by Tony Morgan. As ever with Arthur, the music is almost impossible to describe: is it Disco? Garage House? Avant Garde? None of these tags do full justice to its sheer majesty. You best just listen. Stretching out the original with some unbelievably great percussive elements, until we're in a deeply spiritual, otherworldly realm, it's just too beautiful for words. As many have claimed, it's the prototype for EVERYTHING.

The "Ponytail Club Mix (Part 1 & 2)", produced by Tony Morgan in the mid-90s, is in a more up-tempo style, with vocals higher in the mix, the BPM upped to 120 and the addition of a housey 4/4 kick drum. A 14 minute epic, you could say this is a more straight ahead "club-friendly" mix (but can things ever be that straightforward with Arthur?!) It also has some really interesting vocal parts not used in the other versions, including some vocals from guest poet Allen Ginsberg.

These remixes are part of the same original project that also produced the Another Thought album so it seems only right that they have a sleeve that matches. Thanks again to Janette Beckman for letting us use another of her photos of Arthur and the rest of the design follows what Margery Greenspan, Tina Lauffer and Michael Klotz did for Another Thought back in 1994.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" well and truly slaps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after treasure finds a home in many more collections, this and every year.

The Rhythm Makers's Soul On Your Side is flawless proto-disco funk. The Bronx-based band - that later went on to form heavyweight disco outfit GQ - originally released this treasure in 1976 and it's long been a hard to find record. It's also rare to find a record this hard. Captivating funk at its rawest, no doubt.

Storming out the gate with the rollicking Loft/Garage staple "Can You Feel It (Part 1)", the listener is immediately put on notice that this LP is just a little bit special. The title track, "Soul On Your Side", is a classic dancer and the basis of GQ's future hit "Disco Nights". But it's perhaps "Zone", a huge Baldelli track, that the record is best known for. Hypnotic psyched-out cosmic-disco / cosmic funk, it's an unrelenting groove that really thrusts the party into hyperdrive. With doses of scintillating Latin and pulsating African rhythms driving the pumping tune, atop an unstoppable bassline and imaginative, soul-slathered keyboard figures, it's basically a full-on funk assault. You might need a lie-down after this.

But there's no let-up on the B-Side, immediately grooving thanks to "Funk-N-You", a laidback glider that just rolls in the sleek style. Gorgeous harmony skills are displayed on "Street Dreamin'". Beautiful and gritty funk, by turns. "You're My Last Girl" is an airy ballad with two leads before the legendary "Monterey" enters the fray. A much-sampled instrumental and heavy disco-funk nugget, it contains an amazing B-Boy drum break making the whole LP worth the price of admission. "Can You Feel It (Part 2)" closes out this spectacular set.

The Rhythm Makers had been gigging around New York City since the late ’60s, having initially come together as Sabu and the Survivors, named after bassist Keith “Sabu” Crier. They eventually - for this album at least! - settled on The Rhythm Makers and cut one record for the small De-Lite subsidiary Vigor. The core lineup featured Crier, keyboardist Herb Lane, drummer Kenny Banks and rhythm guitarist Rahiem Leblanc.

Mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios with artwork restored at Be With HQ, this new edition should hopefully bring this album into the homes and record boxes of many more people.