Search:ali

Some things are just too good to be hidden from view. That's certainly the case with Things To Think About, the first album from Dutch electronic music legend Steve Rachmad's lesser-known Sterac Electronics project.
.
Rachmad first rose to prominence in the late 1990s, spearheading a surge in Dutch techno that was heavily inspired by the futurist intent and machine soul of Detroit. Since then, he has continued to successfully explore a wide range of dancefloor-centric electronic styles under a dizzying array of aliases.

It's a while, though, since the public has been treated to a heavy dose of Sterac Electronics material. He first established the alias at the turn of the millennium, primarily as an outlet for hardware-driven electro music shot through with funk and soul.

A handful of highly regarded 12' singles were released on Music Man and Interpersonal XP, before Rachmad began focusing on other projects. When inspiration struck, he returned to the project, jamming out tracks using a mighty collection of vintage synthesizers and drum machines.

Recently, Rachmad and Tom Trago decided to revisit the Sterac Electronics archive, discovering a killer collection of cuts created at different points over the course of the last 15 years.

Now 9 of those spellbinding hardware jams have been gathered together for the first time on Things To Think About, a warm, rich and evocative collection of electro-fuelled workouts that giddily pay tribute to the music of Rachmad's youth.

From the thrusting, synth-driven machine funk of Original Pattern' and mutant electrofunk revivalism of Game Changers', to the baggy West Coast boogie of Metratron' and intergalactic hustle of Archetype' (which sounds like Cybotron covering the 1988 version of The KLF's What Time Is Love'), Things To Think About is an lesson in the emotion-rich, mood enhancing possibilities of spontaneous hardware jams.

The highlights don't stop there, either. Check, for example, the crystalline synthesizer melodies, body popping drum hits and spacey chords of Tuning Into Frequencies' and the breezy humidity of opener Altruistic Endeavor'.

Like the rest of the tracks on the album, they feel timeless, as if they could have been made at any point during the last three decades. From Steve Rachmad, we wouldn't expect anything less.

Things To Think About will be released as a limited-edition double album, preceded by a 12' single featuring another previously unheard gem from the vaults.

Die ungarischen Groove-Metal-Ikonen EKTOMORF kehren mit HERETIC zurück! Ihr bisher persönlichstes, intensivstes und emotional erschütterndstes Album. Nach dem gefeierten VIVID BLACK und ihrer bisher größten Headliner-Tournee liefert Frontmann Zoltán „Zoli“ Farkas einen klanglichen Exorzismus, geprägt von einer persönlichen Tragödie: dem Verlust seiner Mutter und seines geliebten Hundes Wuffa. Produziert von seinem langjährigen Weggefährten Tue Madsen, ist HERETIC eine niederschmetternde Reminiszenz an die Outcast/Destroy-Ära der Band – nur düsterer, wütender und noch unerbittlicher!

"Heretic" steht nicht nur für einen musikalischen Wendepunkt. Es markiert auch die Rückkehr von Ektomorf zu Bleeding Nose Records. Nach vielen Jahren des Experimentierens, des Ausprobierens und Entwickelns ist die Band nun wieder da, wo sie hingehört.Ektomorf haben mit Heretic nicht nur ein weiteres Album geschaffen, sondern sich selbst neu erschaffen. Der Sound kehrt zurück zu den besten Zeiten von Outcast und Destroy, mit brachialen Drop-B- und Drop-A-Tunings, brutalen Riffs und dem unverwechselbaren, wuchtigen Groove.Doch gleichzeitig geht das Album noch einen Schritt weiter. Es ist wütender. Es ist dunkler. Es ist kompromissloser. Die Gitarrenwände sind massiver als je zuvor, verstärkt durch den gleichen Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, den Zolischon auf Outcast verwendet hat, nur diesmal mit einer modernen, brutaleren Klangdimension, die alles bisherige in den Schatten stellt. Doch es ist nicht nur der Sound, der Heretic so außergewöhnlich macht. Jeder Song auf dem Album erzählt eine Geschichte von Schmerz, Verlust und der Wut auf eine Welt, die alles zerstört, was einem wichtig ist.

Un Own is a freshly minted label founded by, we're told, familiar-but-unfamiliar figures and designed as a home for DJ- and collector-friendly edits and remixes. The debut release comes from seasoned remixer and beatmaker Shimmy Sonic. These jams have already been tested on discerning dancefloors and 'Coolage' kicks off with elastic, low slung grooves that draw from classic soul and hip-hop sensibilities. The vocal is a real doozy that soars high. On the flip, 'Our Time' gets deep into downtempo bliss with psyched out guitars rising out of the mix to set the tone for Un Own's mission of putting out respectful reworks built for selectors and serious listeners alike.

Shogun Audio is extremely proud to present GLXY's second album, 'Form, Focus'. Unequivocally the most refined body of work to date from the ever-evolving drum & bass duo, this LP showcases GLXY at their irresistible best.
A decade on from the release of their debut single 'Small Talk/Trinity', GLXY have cemented themselves as one of liquid drum and bass’ most respected and prolific acts. With twelve EPs, a debut album in 2020, and collaborations with the likes of Alix Perez, Halogenix, Lenzman, Unglued, and Catching Cairo under their belt, 'Form, Focus' represents the next definitive milestone in an already heavyweight catalogue.
From beginning to end, the record distils everything that makes GLXY so special. Abundant with luscious sound design, soulful vocal features, and an unmistakable sense of groove and musicality. Featuring Charli Brix, DRS, Duskee, Eljé, Jords, Salo, and Verbz, the tracks flow seamlessly between deep, introspective liquid cuts and vibrant, club-ready rollers, painting a full picture of their artistry while pushing their sound into fresh, exciting spaces.
More than just a continuation, 'Form, Focus' feels like a statement: a decade of honing their craft distilled into a singular vision. It’s an album that reaffirms GLXY’s position at the cutting edge of the genre, while at the same time carving out their own unmistakable lane within it.

In den 90ern hatte Jad Fair fünf Lieblingsbands und Songwriter: Daniel Johnston, The Pastels, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub und Yo La Tengo. Das ist echt eine coole Liste, aber das Besondere daran ist, dass Fair im Laufe von etwa zwölf Jahren mit allen in irgendeiner Form Musik gemacht hat. Jad Fair ist seit einem halben Jahrhundert produktiv, lange bevor das Internet ein simultanes und scheinbar ewiges Archiv von allem schaffen konnte, was jemand mit seinen Vorlieben gemacht hat. Er war an mindestens mehreren hundert Titeln beteiligt, von denen viele bei kleinen Labels erschienen, die es heute nicht mehr gibt, und die vergriffen sind. Tatsächlich ist eine dieser Kollaborationen, die Fair in den 90er Jahren gemacht hat - Strange But True mit Yo La Tengo - schwer zu finden, obwohl sie am 20. Oktober 1998 in den USA bei Matador Records erschienen ist. Jetzt wird das Album zum ersten Mal von Joyful Noise und Bar/None auf Vinyl neu aufgelegt. Als Fair Mitte der 90er Jahre mit Yo La Tengo auf einer Party spielte, waren sie alle Freunde, Fans und Kollaborateure, die gemeinsam an Platten gearbeitet oder diese veröffentlicht hatten. Als Fair vorschlug, gemeinsam ins Studio zu gehen, war das Trio sofort dabei. Das Ergebnis, ,Strange But True", ist so wunderbar, abwechslungsreich und wild wie eine riesige Wiese mit einheimischen Gräsern. Dieses Kollaborationsalbum zeigt die unglaubliche Bandbreite der Künstler und versetzt uns zurück in eine Zeit, in der Indie-Rock noch so seltsam und widerspenstig sein durfte, wie seine Schöpfer es wollten.

The duality of "man" is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your "true self" & what do they want? With their sixth studio album "Wish Defense" (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album "Negative Houses" was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band's more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik's original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group's guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band's dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio's long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on "Wish Defense" revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles", tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album's title track; "Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance". Case lays out the entire album's theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that "other" person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is "_don't let the bastards get you down, there's something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good". "Wish Defense"s artwork is also a subtle reference to "Negative Houses"' art, returning to that album's black & white starkness & minimalism. The album's checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album's lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; "Wish Defense" is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve's untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio's A room, off the tape, using Albini's notes about the session.

Panama meets Havana on this new 7" from Nino Augustine & AfroQbano on Future Rootz. Both artists are Atlanta and Chicago-based, respectively but they brilliantly channel their Afro-diasporic roots into a sound that's equal parts street heat and global groove. The record is anchored by rich Afro-Caribbean rhythm with slick modern production and the kind of cross-border energy that this label is now well known for. It's music for the dancefloor and the diaspora that merges soulful vibes with kinetic grooves that make you feel alive. A great snapshot of what Afrolatino futurism sounds like right now.

This record is a tribute to one of the greatest funk and soul singers of all time: James Brown, also known as “The Godfather of Soul.” Undoubtedly, he was a true icon of African-American music in the 1960s and 70s.

As the leader of bands like The Famous Flames and The J.B.’s, Brown was renowned for his electrifying energy on stage.

This song moves between soul and reggae, keeping the pulse of both genres alive. It features a heavy groove full of rhythmic and melodic arrangements, with strings as the main source of color and a vocal performance charged with power and charisma.

Finally, the lyrics have been adapted to better reflect our current reality, while preserving the spirit of homage and renewal.

Napi Hedz come from the Motor City and is a group made up of Reggie Dokes, Maurice Herd (aka Pirahnahead) and the late Mike's brother, Craig Huckaby. They dropped this EP on the peerless Sound Signature 20 years ago but amid a glut of reissues from Theo Parrish's label, it now resurfaces. Titular opener 'I See Heaven' has a Latin shuffle with woody percussion and time-keeping ticks under swirling vocal loops that are backed with muted horns. It's s sunny sound before 'The Bah' comes alive with a mirage of melodic harp shimmers and rooted, dusty drums with more affected vocal sounds adding the soul.

Emerging through waves of reverberation and haze, ‘Deep Star’ unfolds as a submerged odyssey through Coma World’s distinct terrain of leftfield dub and psychedelia. The duo of Maxwell Hallett (Betamax) and Pete Bennie craft a sound that moves between meditative underwater drift and sharp, rhythmic pressure.

Each piece develops like a current, where bass resonance and percussive detail create an undertow of motion that guides the record’s flow. Beneath the murk, subtle shifts in tone and momentum reveal the album’s depth: flickers of tension and release that mirror the shifting light below the surface.

‘Deep Star’ captures Coma World at a point of lucid refinement, translating improvisation into form without losing its raw edge. Immersive and alive with motion, it’s a record that invites listening as descent—sound as gravity, pulling you deeper the longer you stay.

Highlighted by Kathy's own exquisite compositions like 'Fly off with the Wind' and 'For Emile', it also includes her unique interpretations of songs by Jimmie Spheeris and Jackson Browne. This is the first official reissue - 180g vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Her superlative voice is supported by a team of heavyweight studio musicians, among them Jan Hammer, Warren Bernhardt, Tony Levin, Jerry Jemmott, Don Alias and Jeremy Steig. Remastered from the original analogue tapes, this edition includes two exceptional previously unreleased bonus tracks - 'For Emile' (demo version), and 'Hang On To A Dream'. Smith emerged from the same Orange County, Californian milieu as Tim Buckley and Jackson Browne. Championed by singer- songwriter- guitarist Richie Havens, Kathy recorded two hauntingly beautiful albums, 'Some Songs I've Saved' and 'Kathy Smith 2', for his Stormy Forest label, and then quietly disappeared from the scene. 'Kathy Smith 2', presented here, is the first authorised reissue of the LP

Nachdem sie sich bereits einen beispiellosen Ruf als Singer/Songwriterin und Toursängerin mit The Pogues erarbeitet hat, veröffentlicht Iona Zajac aus Glasgow ihr Debütalbum ""Bang"". Zajacs Stärke liegt in ihrer Fähigkeit, Licht und Dunkelheit mit verblüffender Leichtigkeit auszubalancieren. Während einige Songs sich mit Gewalt und Intimität auseinandersetzen, stehen an anderer Stelle Surrealismus und Humor im Mittelpunkt. Diese klangliche Gewandtheit, zugleich gefühlvoll und verspielt, stellt Zajac neben Gleichgesinnte wie PJ Harvey und Angel Olsen - Künstlerinnen, die sich nicht scheuen, das Intime mit dem Explosiven zu verbinden. Ihre beeindruckende Stimme führte sie auf Touren mit Mercury Rev, Arab Strap, Lankum, Cassandra Jenkins sowie 2025 mit Alison Moyet. Letztes Jahr trat sie mit den Pogues bei deren bahnbrechender Reunion in Dublin auf. ""Bang"" wurde in Edinburgh mit Produzent Dani Bennett-Spragg (black midi, English Teacher, IDLES, Sam Fender, Wunderhorse) aufgenommen und verbindet intime akustische Momente mit der Dynamik der gesamten Liveband.

Over two years in the making, and many more in the two musician’s shared dream, ‘Real Thing’ unites longtime collaborators Michael Collins (Drugdealer) and Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood). Recorded across continents, ‘Real Thing’ is a return, a refinement and a reminder of the deep connection that has bound these two titans of song over multiple collaborations. The journey of ‘Real Thing’ began when Collins, while on a European sojourn, crossed paths with Parisian producer Max Baby. As one does while in Paris, they found themselves in a studio owned by a member of the 1970s French prog rock band Magma. There, a chord progression long-gestating in Collins’ brain blossomed into a bonafide demo.

Collins recalls, “I realized immediately that it was the perfect thing to show Nat, who I had been wanting to collaborate with again for years.” The connection and musical camaraderie between Collins and Mering dates back to 2014 in Oakland, where a chance meeting and studio session marked the genesis of their enduring partnership. Collins reflects, “Since then, I’ve felt like she’s my musical family. I can’t really ask for more in terms of someone who inspired me to even get to this place in my songwriting.” On the B-side is ‘The News’, Drugdealer’s first collaboration with Robbie Chemical. What began as a simple harmony grew into a panoramic partnership, the musician’s voices effortlessly entwined, and a pop paragon envisioned. Inspired by generational conversations on chaos, change and connection, the track opens a new chapter - topical, personal and unmistakably Drugdealer. As Drugdealer, Michael Collins has crafted a career that blends introspective songwriting with a reverence for classic pop and R&B. A native of the East Coast, Collins’ musical adventure began with the experimental pop collages of Run DMT and Salvia Plath before evolving into the more melodic, refined songwriting heard in Drugdealer’s acclaimed albums ‘Raw Honey’ and ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’.  Natalie Mering, better known as Weyes Blood, has similarly forged a path of emotive, transcendental folk-pop that delves into themes of myth, love and existential longing.

Known for her ethereal voice and evocative lyrics, Mering’s latest works, ‘Titanic Rising’ and ‘And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow’, are nothing short of modern classics, though also feel like just the start of this artist’s undeniable ascent.  “For both artists, this is their first song since their respective 2022 albums, and what a way to come back. ‘Real Thing’ feels like uncovering a forgotten ’70s disco duet” - PASTE  “A lush and insistent folk-pop jam” - Stereogum  For fans of Mac Demarco, Kate Bollinger, Men I Trust, Toro y Moi, TOPS, Alice Phoebe Lou, Tame Impala, Thee Sacred Souls, Vacations, Allah-Las, Kurt Vile, Beach Fossils, Slow Pulp, Foxygen, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Hand Habits, Father John Misty, Oracle Sisters, Whitney, The Lemon Twigs, Mild High Club, Khruangbin, Angel Olsen.

2025-2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Happy Mondays, a milestone celebration of one of Britain's most iconic and era-defining bands.

To celebrate, London Records will launch a series of special anniversary releases, beginning with a fully remastered brand-new compilation: The Factory Singles. This definitive collection captures the band's ground-breaking output from 1985-1992, celebrating their pivotal role in shaping UK music culture. Classic remixes from Paul Oakenfold, Andrew Weatherall, Terry Farley and Jon Carter make up bonus tracks on the 2CD and 2LP.

The release will be available across multiple formats, appealing to collectors and fans alike.

Complementing the physical editions, a series of brand-new digital remixes will be unveiled from world-renowned artists Daniel Avery, Paul Oakenfold, Mella Dee, and Shadow Child and more, bridging the Mondays' legacy with today's electronic innovators, and a revisit from Paul Oakenfold.

This campaign marks the beginning of an extensive celebration of the Happy Mondays' 40-year legacy, bringing their iconic sound to both devoted fans and new generations

Cosmic Romance proudly presents "Amour Propre", the new album by Berlin-based multinational band Stella & The Longos and 5 release on the label.

Following the acclaimed 2022 release "Détends-Toi", the first electrifying collaboration between lead singer Stella Zekri and producer Ed Longo, "Amour Propre" crowns two years of relentless touring, growth, and evolution. On the road, the duo forged a powerful live ensemble of Berlin’s finest musicians. That synergy now explodes onto record, expanding Stella & The Longos’ sound into something more organic, daring, and deeply alive.

On "Amour Propre", Stella’s sultry, magnetic voice weaves through lush layers of live drums and percussion, funky guitar riffs, shimmering keyboards, intricate brass lines, and the unmistakable hi-fi production flair of Ed Longo. The rhythms oscillate in a melting pot of musical styles, where Afro-Caribbean influences overlap with vintage boogie beats and quelching synths flirt with smoky Parisian midnight moods. Stella’s voice remains the heart of it all, sensual, husky, and brimming with raw emotion. Her lyrics explore love, longing, and reflection, while also capturing moments of dancefloor euphoria and universal connection.
With The Longos as her powerhouse backing band, every track radiates the energy of a live performance: intimate, enchanting, and unforgettable.

Blue note / Schema / Far Out recordings artist shares a new compilation of golden age italian library music.

Following his acclaimed five-part Viagem compilation series celebrating Brazil's forgotten bossa nova and samba jazz, Far Out, Blue Note and Schema recording artist and international DJ Nicola Conte turns his curatorial attention homeward with Viaggio, an extraordinary exploration of Italy's library music renaissance 1970-79.

The 12-track compilation spotlights the remarkable creative explosion that occurred during the seventies: when some of the greatest yet most historically overlooked composers, including Amedeo Tommasi, Alessandro Alessandroni and Max Rocci, were composing and recording huge amounts of original music for film and television libraries.

Unlike commercial releases designed for mass consumption, library music was created specifically to accompany images on screen. This meant creative freedom for composers who imagined scenarios, feelings and worlds to soundtrack. Pressed in limited quantities, these recordings were distributed only to internal circles of music supervisors, journalists, and television professionals – making them virtually invisible to the general public for decades.

"This is a journey through a largely forgotten world," explains Conte. "While major jazz recording opportunities were scarce, an incredible network of small labels owned by publishing companies – often created by the composers themselves – began to flourish. This created an open space where musicians could express more experimental and free thinking sounds."

At the heart of Viaggio stands Amedeo Tommasi, the sophisticated jazz pianist who emerged in 1960 backing international stars like Chet Baker, Bobby Jaspar, and Jacques Pelzer. Tommasi was among Italy's earliest artists to introduce Black US modal jazz influences, and when traditional recording opportunities dwindled, he pivoted to soundtrack and library music, helping define a distinctly Italian sound that bridged experimental jazz with the emerging possibilities afforded by developments in synthesizer and recording technologies.

The compilation features rare gems from small label outputs, namely the Cenacolo and Rotary label catalogs. Tommasi's contemporaries include the great Alessandro Alessandroni and his vocalist wife Giulia De Mutiis (Kema), Stefano Torrosi (under the alias Farlocco - meaning fake/phony), and Belgian composer Joël Vandroogenbroeck. The recordings capture the technological evolution of the era as beguiling synthesis often combines with global influences spanning Brazilian rhythms, jazz-funk explorations, and Middle Eastern scales.

"You can hear both the haunting melodies and sun-kissed atmospheres so typical of Italian culture from that era," Conte observes. "Some of these albums could have been proper artist releases, while others were specifically designed for accompanying images on screen, yet all were crafted with exploratory creativity that still resonates powerfully today."

It was December 2015 when Simon Weiss delivered his first EP for Voyage Direct, an impressively intergalactic affair full of supersonic synthesizer arpeggio lines, Motor City influences and robotic drum machine hits. Two years on, the experienced Dutch producer returns to action for the first time since, in the process delivering another quartet of starry-eyed productions.
.
Through releases on Deepermotions, Rush Hour and Hometaping is Killing Music, Weiss has established a reputation for combining a deep understanding of dancefloor dynamics with a sci-fi inspired futurist aesthetic. Both of these complimentary traits are much in evidence on his second outing for Voyage Direct.

Weiss blasts off via Brain Fever', where raw, mind-altering arpeggio bass, fuzzy drum machine hits, spacey chords and alien electronics thrust our hero skywards. Think of it as techno for funk-fuelled, Italo-disco loving astronauts whose journey to the end of the universe is only just underway. This intergalactic funk blueprint is explored further on the deeper and more melodious You Want A Cigarette', where Weiss's vocoder vocals wrap themselves around mutant TB-303 lines, rush-inducing chords and clattering machine percussion.

On Space Ghetto (Booty)', our hero celebrates the discovery of previously unknown worlds in the only way he knows how. With kaleidoscopic, full-throttle electronic motifs and funk-fuelled synth-bass to the fore, Weiss offers his own unique take on electrofunk. Pleasingly fuzzy and tightly wrapped in the syncopated drum machine handclaps of ghetto-house, it's a typically far-sighted and attractive proposition.

With just two minutes to go until his spacecraft touches down on alien territory, Weiss rounds things off via the melancholic chord progressions and heartfelt vocoder vocals of Intro', a beat-free excursion just tailor made for dramatic set openings and spine-tingling mix endings. He may be stepping into unknown territory, but it won't be the last you'll hear from Simon Weiss.

Another side of Steve Rachmad. Preceeds and album of archive tracks that shows the far reaching talents of this master producer.. TIP!


Some things are just too good to be hidden from view. That's certainly the case with 'Things To Think About', the first album from Dutch electronic music legend Steve Rachmad's lesser-known Sterac Electronics project.

Rachmad first rose to prominence in the late 1990s, spearheading a surge in Dutch techno that was heavily inspired by the futurist intent and machine soul of Detroit. Since then, he has continued to successfully explore a wide range of dancefloor-centric electronic styles under a dizzying array of aliases.

It's a while, though, since the public has been treated to a heavy dose of Sterac Electronics
material. He first established the alias at the turn of the millennium, primarily as an outlet for hardware-driven electro music shot through with funk and soul.

A handful of highly regarded 12' singles were released on Music Man and Interpersonal XP, before Rachmad began focusing on other projects. When inspiration struck, he returned to the project, jamming out tracks using a mighty collection of vintage synthesizers and drum machines.

Recently, Rachmad and Tom Trago decided to revisit the Sterac Electronics archive, discovering a killer collection of cuts created at different points over the course of the last 15 years.

Now 9 of those spellbinding hardware jams have been gathered together for the first time on 'Things To Think About', a warm, rich and evocative collection of electro-fuelled workouts that giddily pay tribute to the music of Rachmad's youth.

'Things To Think About' will be released as a limited-edition double album, preceded by this 12' single featuring another previously unheard gem from the vaults.

Die Cut Sleeve with download. It’s a strange betweenworld, bookended by sleep and the jolt of being wide awake in a place where you wonder how you got there. You know the feeling… It seems familiar but the colours are, well, unreal. In a high-ceilinged room, a grand piano plays lush melodies as, meanwhile, somewhere, an Alice In Wonderland clock ticks, cellos are bowed, a swarm of something vibrates and the hallucinatory crowd around Rosemary’s Baby babble. An echoey electronic hum builds and falls like a 50s refrigerator passed through and effects board, things run backwards, staccato strings are plucked… and that’s not the half of it. “I’ve never been happy staying in one particular school of musical thought. The fun has been turning things on their heads, to try something you were not supposed to do.” We’re on an immersive and adventurous travelogue with the former member of the legendary Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger - this is a man who knows how to build tension, hold moods, illustrate contempt, lies, passion and pleasure; He can create fear, loathing and love - he’s been unlocking the nuances of such emotions in a hugely successful career as a TV and film soundtrack composer (Halt And Catch Fire, Underworld and the Golden Globe-nominated Sleeper Cell). ‘Exit Ghost’ is his long thought out opus, a moment caught in time, flicking through reference points, taking an ethereal excursion that permeates musical genres as it becomes awash with intricate sounds and cross-pollinating rhythms. Built originally from the warmth of his grand piano ‘Exit Ghost’ resonates with purity and power, from an eerie and evocative betweenworld, that’s at once expansive and rolling, then intoxicating and suffocating in equal measures; modern composition at its most uplifting; cerebral, celebratory, intense and beautiful. “The soul searching in connection with this record was extensive. Finding places of resonance, giving a colour to your memories. It was more challenging because it’s not somebody else’s narrative. Finding the core of your own story can be the most difficult task of all.” Created over the span of eight years and filled with literal and personal references, the album itself is a testament to the search - a quest filled with hints, particles and suggestions.

2025-2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Happy Mondays, a milestone celebration of one of Britain's most iconic and era-defining bands.

To celebrate, London Records will launch a series of special anniversary releases, beginning with a fully remastered brand-new compilation: The Factory Singles. This definitive collection captures the band's ground-breaking output from 1985-1992, celebrating their pivotal role in shaping UK music culture. Classic remixes from Paul Oakenfold, Andrew Weatherall, Terry Farley and Jon Carter make up bonus tracks on the 2CD and 2LP.

The release will be available across multiple formats, appealing to collectors and fans alike.

Complementing the physical editions, a series of brand-new digital remixes will be unveiled from world-renowned artists Daniel Avery, Paul Oakenfold, Mella Dee, and Shadow Child and more, bridging the Mondays' legacy with today's electronic innovators, and a revisit from Paul Oakenfold.

This campaign marks the beginning of an extensive celebration of the Happy Mondays' 40-year legacy, bringing their iconic sound to both devoted fans and new generations

GO:OD AM (10th Anniversary) 3LP vinyl by Mac Miller. Includes 3 bonus songs from the GO:OD AM sessions.

Originally released in 2015, the album, hailed by the likes of Billboard and Rolling Stone as the best of his career upon its release, marked Mac Miller's first for a major label and was regaled as "one of the most musically appealing hip-hop LPs of the year" by The New York Times. After surprising fans and critics alike with his second full length Watching Movies with the Sound Off, Mac returned with another adventurous album in GO:OD AM that marked the beginning of a rapid artistic evolution that unfolded across 2016's The Divine Feminine and 2018's Swimming.

Each 3LP package includes a special triple gatefold jacket printed on silver mirror board with die cut, two inner sleeves with photos printed on silver mirror board and a yellow bonus vinyl with a custom etching on the back.

Mellow Drunk led by Leigh Gregory on vocals and guitar with co-founding member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ricky Maymi and Stephen Scott Cavoretto (ex-Dora Flood). Mellow Drunk quickly established themselves as "purveyors of finely arranged melodic pop songs", as well as becoming favourites on the West Coast club circuit. Supergrass, Luna, trashcan sinatras, The Church, The Clientele, The Morning After Girls, LILYSand Gorky's Zygotic Mynci have all had the band open for them when they've passed through San Francisco.

US Black Friday 2025 Release. There are very few albums in the psych/punk/hard rock/private presses strata that garner the sort of universal awe and accolades that Fraction’s almighty Moonblood LP does, and even fewer records in the world that could be dubbed ‘Christian Rock’ incur such fierce devotion. Indeed some records just meteorically lift themselves out any genre tag with brilliance and sheer defiance--and Moonblood is surely one of them. Based in LA, Fraction was a ragged collection of working-class musicians--the line-up was ringleader Jim Beach--vocals; Don Swanson--lead guitar, Curt Swanson--drums, Victor Hemme--bass, and Robert Meinel--rhythm guitar. Beach himself describes those early days: “The guys met through various acquaintances that we had in LA. All of us had been in bands before, but were seeking something with more teeth. We had a small studio in an industrial complex in North Hollywood and started practicing sometimes as early as 4:30 AM. We all had day jobs, so we did what we could.”

Amazingly the recording sessions for the album were recorded similarly on the fly, as Beach further states: “The Moonblood recording took place at Whitney’s Studio in Glendale, CA, early in 1971. On a strict budget, these songs were recorded in less than three hours—all of them “one takes.” We played, all 5 of us, simultaneously-- there were no studio effects, no overdubbing or any additional sound effects added. Basically what you hear is considered ‘old school’ recording.”

This workmanlike description in no way prepares one for the pure tortured genius the session wrought. Particularly noteworthy is Beach’s vocals—as commonly stated, the spirit of Jim Morrison is conjured in his deep baritone, which gives way to unparalleled pained howls, at times bathed in delay which trails into the abyss. Fascinatingly enough, Beach cites the much punker Love as his fave LA band over the Doors, and also gives influence-nods to proto-everything rockers The Yardbirds and to Dylan, whose dark word tapestries surely inspired Beach’s lyrics (though lines from The Doors’ “L’America” pop up on the LP) Whatever the case, the man clearly has a vision, as even the stark sleeve concept is Beach’s own. Equally as integral to the Fraction sound is lead guitarist Don Swanson—his blown-out fuzz riffs set a template for what is now commonly known as “stoner rock” or “acid punk,” and his solos consist of jagged, wah-wah-ed shards of notes, with his amplifier clearly pushed to the limit.

Beach says: “Don’s guitar was always my driving force and he did everything he could to keep it over the top. You’d never know that (his sound) was coming from an old, broken down Esquire. Don kept it alive!” The other members contributions shouldn’t be underappreciated though-- drummer Curt Swanson keeps things at a constant simmer, and then boils over when the whole band launches into snarling glory. The band and LP as a whole equals something indescribably intense from start to finish—comparisons to the Detroit late 60s high-energy bands like The Stooges and MC5 abound, as well as the sort of late 60s damaged spirit lurking in biker clubs and disgruntled Vietnam vets. The song cycle on side 1 of the LP in particular cuts to the emotional core, with severely charged dark lyrics like “Extend your thumbs and burn the darkness out of her.” Which brings us to the Christian aspect--it often can confuse listeners. The Fraction/Beach world of religion is complex and perhaps a bit pagan/sinister than most---fire and brimstone, temptation, and the truth-seeker being burned by this hell on earth—or perhaps as Beach himself best put it: “Speaking for myself, as a believer, it’s been a progressive experience since my childhood.

I think we’re all basically driven to live more than religion.” The album was pressed in a run of but a few hundred to little attention in the day, but now inferior bootlegs flood the marketplace, and originals of Moonblood command thousands of dollars. So enjoy this all-inclusive reissue, which also features for the first time on vinyl, 3 lost tracks-- like the more acoustic-minded “prisms” and “dawning light,” as well as the proto-metal choogle of “Intercessor’s Blues.”

Soul diamonds featuring Millie Jackson, Gloria Ann Taylor, The New Establishment and Ruby Andrews

Paul Murphy’s Claremont 56 label welcomes a genuine legend of UK music to its roster – Chaz Jankel, the man whose dizzying musicality and love of soul, funk and disco did much to shape the sound of Ian Dury’s Blockheads band in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.

A virtuoso keyboardist with a deep love of Black American music, Jankel’s arrangements and compositional skills were key to the success of their records, the funkiest of which not only became crossover pop hits – see ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ and ‘Reasons To be Cheerful, Part 3’ in particular – but also saw heavy rotation in now iconic New York clubs including the Paradise Garage and Studio 54.

This continued during the formative years of his solo career, with ‘My Occupation’, ‘Questionnaire’ and ‘Glad To Know You’ (later famously re-edited and dubbed out for nu-disco dancefloors by Todd Terje) all becoming club hits. The great Quincy Jones also covered Jankel’s infectious single ‘Ai No Carrida’, while experimental, club-ready synth-jam ‘3,000,000 Synths’ was also influential during the early years of the electro movement.

For his Claremont 56 bow, Jankel has delivered an all-new workout recorded earlier this year, the simply titled ‘Rhumba Jam’. A typically warm, groovy and rolling affair, it features Jankel delivering infectious, stretched-out Rhodes electric piano solos over toasty bass, clipped guitar licks, warm bass, accordion-style synth motifs and a densely layered Rhumba rhythm. While relaxed and sun-soaked, it also has bags of Balearic dancefloor potential.

Murphy remixes under his now familiar Mudd alias, leaning into the track’s languid Balearic vibe while keeping a firm focus on the dancefloor. Beginning with an enticing mix of metronomic drums and jangly acoustic guitars, Murphy slowly layers up key elements of Jankel’s original – think rubbery bass, rhythmic handclaps, mazy synth sounds and those wonderful, stretched-out solos. It’s a version that pays due reverence to the quality of Jankel’s musicianship, production and arrangement while subtly extending it and reframing it for 21st century Balearic dancefloors.

**Includes double sided insert with liner notes and photos*

Al Mati was the pseudonym of eccentric Portuguese-born, Dutch-based artist Alberto Mesquita. The name translates to ‘Alberto Friend’, with ‘Al’ short for Alberto and ‘Mati’ meaning ‘friend’ in Surinamese.
Alberto’s story comes across like a mythical character from a European Kerouac novel, but instead of writing it down, he poured those adventures and characters into his record. The music and the comic-style artwork, drawn by his friend Bruno Scoriels, work as one, with Alberto himself becoming both the story and the character within it.

Raised under Salazar’s regime in Lisbon, where all men were conscripted to Africa, he refused, a pacifist. This put him at odds with his father, born in Angola and a prominent lawyer tied to the dictatorship. Unable to accept his son’s stance, the rift forced Alberto to flee Portugal as a deserter, leaving everything behind.

He sought a new life in Paris, where he met Bruno Scoriels. The pair busked to get by, and young and broke, set off on adventures across Europe. On one trip to Barcelona, they crossed the Pyrenees on foot through a five-kilometre train tunnel, not knowing if they would make it out alive. The train later featured on the cover of Some Shit, a nod to that hazardous journey and the strange turns of his life.

From there he moved to Belgium, where he met Jolanda, his future wife who also features on the album. They lived in The Netherlands, then back in Belgium where they married, before returning to Portugal under false pretences. The regime promised deserters immunity, but it proved untrue, and Alberto was forced to flee again — this time with a young family, using Bruno’s passport to escape to The Netherlands.

They settled in the Gliphoeve flats in Amsterdam’s Bijlmermeer, a vibrant immigrant community. This melting pot of cultures inspired Alberto musically. He started a studio in their flat where musicians from Suriname, Angola, the Antilles, Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal came and went, jamming, rehearsing, recording and forming bands including Albatros, Comoção and Mati Africa, performing internationally and at iconic Amsterdam venues like De Melkweg and Paradiso.

Being an immigrant was tough. Alberto was stateless for years, drifting across countries. Some songs voiced his frustration with the Portuguese regime, others were playful or simply love notes to his wife and kids. He passed away in the Netherlands in 2021, leaving Some Shit open to interpretation. But when you picture Europe in the 1970s — the politics, the upheaval, and his need to connect people across cultures — you can hear an artist shaped by contrast, who poured his experiences, feelings and love into music.

Experience a trance classic like never before with the limited edition purple vinyl of Gaia - "Tuvan". This collector's release features the original mix that captivated a generation, alongside powerful reimaginings by Gareth Emery, bringing his signature melodic uplift, and AVIRA, delivering a deep, modern twist. A must-have for vinyl lovers and dance music aficionados alike-only a select few will own this stunning homage to an iconic track.

Brian Kage turns up the heat with a full-strength solo outing of deep, dub-heavy grooves. "Dubz on 12" marks the twelfth release on his Michigander imprint, serving four heavyweight techno/house cuts engineered for the most discerning dance floors. Legendary producer Funk D’Void (Soma, Outpost) delivers an interstellar reimagining of Kage’s Learn to Surrender, pushing it into hypnotic, cosmic territory. Complementing the remix, Kage drops three signature dub-driven weapons—Reels for the Wheels, Oberdub, and the title track Dubz on 12. Versatile, heady, and floor-ready, this EP is a must-have for deep listeners and DJs alike—dope, durable, and guaranteed to move.

Oslo based house pushers ́badabing diskos ́ follow up their hyped first release with a four tracker covering a fine specter of modern house vibes. A solo jacking house trip from label honcho Vinny Villbass, followed up by mexican/norwegian percussive collaboration of Picotropico and Vinny give you a full summer club journey The secret alias Smalltownboy ejaculates an eminent homage to sweaty dance floor flirts, while house orchestra LAFT shows off club muscles with a minimal studio escapade.