Mit Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale, ebenfalls 1976 veröffentlicht, verdichten Heldon ihre musikalische Sprache zu einer dunkleren, konzentrierteren Form. Das Zusammenspiel von Synthesizer und Gitarre gewinnt hier an Schärfe und formt Strukturen, die zugleich zielgerichtet und fragil erscheinen, präzise und doch von unterschwelliger Unruhe durchzogen. Die Stücke entfalten sich unter spürbarer Spannung, bewegen sich zwischen Vorwärtsdrang und Auflösung, ohne je in festen Formen zu verharren. Zum 50-jährigen Jubiläum gibt es nun eine Sonderedition in orangefarbenem Vinyl, handnummeriert und limitiert. Ein eindringliches Dokument aus Heldons produktivster Phase.
Phonica welcomes Mattias El Mansouri, a Swedish-born DJ and producer of Moroccan/Chilean descent who has been behind some of our favourite releases over the past few years on labels such as Aniara and Nous'klaer.
On the 'Sense Data' 12", El Mansouri expands on his atmospheric House and Techno explorations with three deep yet dancefloor primed pieces that hold personal resonance for him.
El Mansouri, who holds a degree in Theoretical Philosophy, explains:
"'Sense Data' are the immediate elements of perception; what is directly given to the senses before any judgment or interpretation. In vision, these appear as colored, shaped patches; in other senses, as sounds, tastes, smells, or tactile qualities. For example, seeing a brown table with a white coaster involves sense data of a brown patch and a white roundish patch, from which one infers the presence of a table and coaster."
On the record's flip, we have the beautiful "Cielo Vacío' and 'Ouzo Hallon' dub version of 'Sense Data'. El Mansouri continues:
"Cielo Vacío translates to “empty sky” in Spanish. The track serves as a eulogy for my brother, who passed away in December 2023. I chose this title because it resonates with the sonic and emotional atmosphere of the piece. Its ambiguity is intentional, carrying both the weight of grief that lingers after losing someone you love, and a strange, fragile peace you extend toward the departed. It reflects the hope that, wherever they are, whether or not one believes in an afterlife, they have found rest.
Ouzo Hallon translates to Ouzo (the Greek liquor)+Hallon (Raspberry). It’s a long drink that my (Greek) ex came up with last summer, mixing ouzo, raspberry syrup/raspberry juice and ice. It became a thing in our little friend group, consisting of mostly Greeks, and every time we all hang out we would all just drink ouzo hallon until we couldn’t stand straight. I always wanted to name a track Ouzo Hallon, just for the fun of it, and what better way to get the chance than now!"
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Die 1991 in Mannheim gegründeten Crematory entwickelten sich über drei Jahrzehnte hinweg vom frühen Death Metal zu einer prägenden Größe des Gothic/Industrial Metal.
»English Hymns and Deutsche Hymnen« würdigt das Vermächtnis von Crematory, einer der beständigsten Gothic-Metal-Bands Deutschlands. Das CD-Digipack enthält drei Discs: »English Hymns« (ausgewählte englische Titel), »Deutsche Hymnen« (deutsches Repertoire) und »Engulfed in Darkness«, das erste Demo, das hier erstmals offiziell veröffentlicht wird. Sowohl die englische als auch die deutsche Disc enthalten zwei bisher unveröffentlichte Bonustracks.
Die 1991 in Mannheim gegründeten Crematory entwickelten sich über drei Jahrzehnte hinweg vom frühen Death Metal zu einer prägenden Größe des Gothic/Industrial Metal.
»English Hymns and Deutsche Hymnen« würdigt das Vermächtnis von Crematory, einer der beständigsten Gothic-Metal-Bands Deutschlands. Das CD-Digipack enthält drei Discs: »English Hymns« (ausgewählte englische Titel), »Deutsche Hymnen« (deutsches Repertoire) und »Engulfed in Darkness«, das erste Demo, das hier erstmals offiziell veröffentlicht wird. Sowohl die englische als auch die deutsche Disc enthalten zwei bisher unveröffentlichte Bonustracks.
Das zentrale Thema von »Come« ist Rausch. Das Album behandelt Phänomene, die in verschiedenen Rauschzuständen auftreten, und hinterfragt, was real ist und welchen Eindrücken man vertrauen kann. Gedanken, Gefühle und Empfindungen entstehen ungehemmt, mal schön, mal bedrohlich.
Die Songs erzählen Geschichten ohne klare Logik, fließen ineinander und laden den Hörer ein, die Reise anzutreten und eigene Eindrücke zu sammeln. Produziert wurde das Album bewusst in organischem, retro-orientiertem Analogsound im Wide Noise Studio, um den typischen Band-Sound fortzuführen. Schlagzeuger Andre Schaltenberg wechselt sich innerhalb der Songs mit Gründungsmitglied Christoph Hesse ab.
To those unfamiliar, G-Dragon is regarded by many as the Godfather of K-Pop. Rising to fame in the mid-00’s with his group, Big Bang, that later went on to become one of the world’s biggest selling boy groups. He quickly stood out with his unique and intricate songwriting as the leader of the group. A talented songwriter and trendsetter within the youth culture and fashion space, G-Dragon has received a bevy of awards, nominations for his music and fashion sense from the World Music Awards, to Hypebeast’s 100 list, to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, it’s apparent that G-Dragon has cemented his place in cultural relevance.
After serving his mandatory South Korean military service and a brief hiatus from music, the global superstar, G-Dragon has returned! He announced that he signed with indie-powerhouse, EMPIRE, and released his first comeback single on October 31, 2024 with POWER to immediate global fanfare and buzz, with the music video garnering over 44 MILLION views in a month and over 115 MILLION global streams. He soon followed that up with an electrifying performance at the 2024 MAMA Awards show in Osaka coupled with the release of his new single, Home Sweet Home which has garnered 100 MILLION global streams since release.
2025 will see the release of his first full length album since 2017 entitled Übermensch along with global tour dates. The album is expected to make a huge impact globally and further cement his place in music history!
AFTER DARK is the latest project from French producer Onra, conceived as the soundtrack to an imagined late-night film. Entirely self-produced, the album continues the sophisticated R&B and Modern Soul direction explored since his 2010 classic Long Distance and 2018's accomplished Nobody Has To Know, focusing on late 80's / early 90's inspirations.
Structured like a film unfolding between dusk and dawn, After Dark moves through themes of intimacy, urban solitude, distance, and quiet indulgence. Analog synthesizers, tight drum programming, understated basslines, and selective live saxophone textures shape a cohesive body of work that favors mood and narrative over excess. The sequencing reinforces its cinematic intent, opening and closing with intro and outro pieces that frame the record as a cohesive night-time narrative album.
Over 20 years since emerging in the mid-2000s from the beat scene, Onra has steadily evolved from sample-based Hip-Hop production toward polished, song-oriented projects rooted in contemporary R&B and Funk. With After Dark, he delivers one of his most focused and refined statements to date: a mature, immersive album built for late hours, and attentive listening.
Francis Ford Coppola’s coming-of-age drama The Outsiders (1983) adapted S.E. Hinton’s successful 1967 novel of the same name, using a young cast of rising stars (C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio and Diane Lane) many of whom came to be known as the Brat Pack, defining a genre of 80’s films. The plot focuses on the rivalry between two gangs of teenagers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one poor (Greasers), the other wealthier (Socs).
Coppola’s ambition was to achieve the widescreen scope ‘of a teen Gone with the Wind’, and he asked his father, Carmine Coppola, to score the soundtrack. The result is epic and romantic, a return to a golden age of Hollywood film composing which suits the stylised and epic cinematography, becoming darker as the characters fulfil their tragic destinies. Stevie Wonder co-wrote and performed the song that plays over the credits, ‘Stay Gold’, which is included on this release.
The inner sleeves feature extensive notes by Daniel Schweiger on the history of the film, the soundtrack and an insight into the Coppola father and son partnership.
Rashad and Confidence announce the vinyl reissue of their debut album “The Element Of Surprise”. Though originally released in 2011, the melange of soul samples, classic breaks and favoring of lyrical storytelling / conceptual joints could easily have been released in the 90’s.
The 2xLP vinyl edition includes the 2019’s single “Desires” as well as two never before heard tracks from the 2011 sessions entitled “Non Stop” and “Feel It.” All tracks on the 2026 vinyl version are remastered!
Rashad, a Brooklyn NY emcee who sports a nimble and rapid flow excels at making anthemic choruses interspersed with highly detailed bars. Examples of album topics include a vivid picture of the hood while making a cautionary tale of its pitfalls (“The City”), his personal emcee origin story (“Days Of My Youth”), and the results of low motivation (“Pass Me By”) among others.
Boston based producer Confidence has made a career of sample chopping and analog warm heaters. He also tends to favor the one emcee/one producer line-up of the golden years. This extends to his recent collaborative LP's on Below System Records including “Library Of Sound” with M-Dot and “Kool Moe Dese” with Big Dese.
The album's unique concept features answer songs by Skeeter Davis to male performed country hits of that era - Jim Reeves ' "He'll Have to Go" is answered by "He'll Have to Stay", Ray Peterson 's "Tell Laura I Love Her" is responded by "Tell Tommy I Miss Him" etc. The album also includes "The End of the World", her biggest hit, as a bonus track. This special reissue by Sepia is available in heavyweight black vinyl or magenta coloured marbled vinyl editions
The album's unique concept features answer songs by Skeeter Davis to male performed country hits of that era - Jim Reeves ' "He'll Have to Go" is answered by "He'll Have to Stay", Ray Peterson 's "Tell Laura I Love Her" is responded by "Tell Tommy I Miss Him" etc. The album also includes "The End of the World", her biggest hit, as a bonus track. This special reissue by Sepia is available in heavyweight black vinyl or magenta coloured marbled vinyl editions
Arriving at a defining point in his rapidly rising career, Webb delivers the next chapter with the momentum of a musician whose audience and reputation are expanding quickly. National television appearances on Later... with Jools Holland and the Jools' Annual Hootenanny introduced his explosive piano style to millions, while collaborations with RAYE and performances alongside Wynton Marsalis mark Joe Webb as one of the most compelling emerging voices in British jazz. At the centre of Neath Beat is Webb's distinctive piano language - the rhythmic drive of stride, the melodic instinct of Britpop, and the storytelling shaped by the music he absorbed growing up in South Wales. His trio playing carries the lineage of pianists such as Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington, channelled through the songwriting culture of bands like Oasis. The result is music that feels urgent, melodic and unmistakably personal - a pianist pushing forward with imagination, clarity and the confidence of an artist whose story is gaining real momentum.
Considered the most accomplished modern jazz harpist, Dorothy Ashby (1932-1986) established the harp as an improvising jazz instrument, beyond earlier use as a novelty or background orchestral instrument. She proved the harp could play bebop as adeptly as the instruments commonly associated with jazz. Presented here is one of her best albums, Dorothy Ashby Plays for Beautiful People (Prestige PR7639 - also issued as In a Minor Groove), a 1958 quartet session featuring venerable players Frank Wess, Herman Wright, and Roy Haynes.
Takin' Off was pianist Herbie Hancock's debut album as leader and one that produced his biggest hit 'Watermelon Man', which made it to the Top 100 on the pop charts. The tune would later become a jazz standard after being covered by Mongo Santamaria and many other notable musicians. Featuring a programme of all original compositions by Herbie Hancock , he's backed by an all- star ensemble featuring Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins.
On the new concept album Honest Work, ten songs tell stories from the adult lives of working people in the middle and lower classes. They work night shifts in hospitals, pump breast milk in storage rooms, wonder whether they should get a prescription for Ritalin, are summoned to the boss’s office for wearing the wrong clothes, or take a day off just to walk barefoot by a lake. Lyrically, Honest Work can best be described as “petty-bourgeois surrealism.” It’s an album about people trying – and often failing – to navigate systems that reduce them to anonymous data points, employees, and consumers. The album is full of desperate prayers: “Doctor, I think that I’ve got a disease” (Focus Disease), “Taking a day off… don’t even remember my own name” (Remind Me), “I serenade on company time” (Lean Dreams). In these lines, you can feel the dull ache of a generation whose emotional lives are filtered through corporate HR language and online shopping carts.
After his EP Mission, released in 2021 and awarded “Revelation of the Year” at the Victoires du Reggae, Jahnaton returns with an ambitious second album titled I’ll Go (J’irai), in collaboration with Evidence Music. On this new opus, the artist blends reggae and dub, airy melodies and rap-dancehall flows with Caribbean influences. A rich and inspired universe that invites the listener on a true inner journey, moving between emotions, spirituality and positive energy. Once again, Jahnaton surrounds himself with prestigious collaborations, featuring major figures of the French reggae scene such as Taïro, Big Red (Raggasonic), Uman and Tiwony. I’ll Go (J’irai) is shaping up to be a must-have project on the modern Francophone reggae scene.
Francais:
Après son EP Mission, sorti en 2021 et récompensé du titre de « Révélation de l’année » aux Victoires du Reggae, Jahnaton revient avec un deuxième album ambitieux intitulé J’irai, avec Evidence Music. Sur ce nouvel opus, l’artiste entremêle reggae et dub, mélodies planantes et flows rap-dancehall aux influences caribéennes. Un univers riche et inspiré, invitant l’auditeur à un véritable voyage intérieur, entre émotions, spiritualité et énergie positive. Jahnaton s’entoure une nouvelle fois de collaborations prestigieuses, avec la participation de figures majeures du reggae français telles que Taïro, Big Red (Raggasonic), Uman ou encore Tiwony. J’irai s’annonce comme un projet incontournable de la scène reggae francophone moderne.
When The Lights Gone is the new Album from Nostalgia 77. A set of simple songs in primary colours it explores Lamdin’s familiar themes of memory, time, truth and identity. After a hiatus of several years from releasing personal work Producer Benedic Lamdin has two albums set for release this year of which ‘When The Lights Gone’ is the first. When The Lights Gone renews Lamdin’s partnership with Berlin based singer Yosa. Her tracks with Nostalgia 77 are some of their most popular with 30 plus million streams. “It was great to reconnect with Yosa after years not working together. She was about to start a family in Berlin and it seemed like the perfect time to try and pick up - to catch something before that new phase began. “Becoming immersed in family life is such an all encompassing experience It’s sometimes dreamlike in its own way. I think this record has something of that - it is naive and childlike in certain ways itself.” This album is a private press release on Lamdin's new label but publishing a press support is provided by Tru Thoughts.
Bruiser Wolf’s razor-sharp wit meets Harry Fraud’s luxury street sound on Made By Dope, a collaboration that feels both raw and refined. Fraud laces the project with his signature hazy loops, velvet drums, and smoked-out soul, giving Bruiser the perfect canvas to deliver his off-kilter flows, animated storytelling, and punchline-heavy bars. The result is a record that balances Detroit energy with high-end production polish. Now available on vinyl, Made By Dope is pressed for collectors and connoisseurs alike, bringing the album’s textured sonics to life in full analog warmth. From the cinematic instrumentals to Bruiser’s unmistakable voice cutting through each groove, this physical edition captures the chemistry of two distinct styles meeting at their sharpest point. A must have for fans of the Wolf, and the Wave alike.
Future Islands feiern ihr 20-jähriges Bestehen mit From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth, einer besonderen Sammlung aus Raritäten, alternativen Versionen und Fanlieblingen, von denen viele erstmals digital verfügbar sind. Statt eines klassischen Best-of-Albums zeigt die Band damit ihre Entwicklung und künstlerische Tiefe jenseits ihrer bekanntesten Momente. Die 20 Songs spiegeln 20 Jahre Bandgeschichte wider - von frühen Auftritten in kleinen Clubs bis hin zu einer gefestigten, zeitlosen Klangidentität. Der Titel steht sinnbildlich für diesen Weg: vom Alltag ("Hole in the Floor") hin zur Verwirklichung von Träumen ("Fountain of Youth"). Musikalisch bleibt die Band ihrem Stil treu: treibende Basslinien, atmosphärische Synthesizer und der eindringliche Gesang von Samuel T. Herring sorgen für einen roten Faden. Themen wie Sehnsucht, Liebe, Vergänglichkeit und emotionale Erinnerung durchziehen das Album. Die Veröffentlichung ist keine nostalgische Rückschau, sondern eine bewusste Neupositionierung. Sie macht verborgene Facetten sichtbar und zeigt eine Band, die in ihrer Zurückhaltung, Reife und Beständigkeit überzeugt. Gleichzeitig wird deutlich, dass ihr Erfolg nicht nur auf Musik, sondern auch auf langjähriger Freundschaft und echter Verbundenheit beruht. So entsteht ein vielschichtiges Porträt, das die Geschichte von Future Islands vervollständigt und ihre besondere künstlerische Identität unterstreicht.
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A Chicago legend who paved way in the underground with his Mr. Peabody record shop, the one and only, Mr. Mark Grusane steps up to L.I.E.S. with his "Angry Birds" lp. On this six tracker Grusane locks in and demonstrates an important facet of the Chicago sound that is often overlooked with a nod to the infamous "Reactor" sound pioneered by DJ RUSH. A rare style mostly shunned by jocks (and producers) on the modern floor, this record is full of straight up circle pit rx-7 programmed madness, chaos of the highest order...This is for the ones who know, the ones who have been obsessed, and the ones who need to know...this record sets it all off. Full on referee whistle chippin, neck snappers for those who dare to step into the real jackin zone. Hi octane, full swerve, blowing through red lights all nite long!
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San Francisco style driving techno tinged with dark dubs and disco from two of the town’s most explosive producers.
Brick & Zero Idea represent the same city, blazing their own paths in San Francisco’s heady techno scene. Both manage their own labels / parties, Brick with Perfect Dark and Vitamin1000 a la Zero Idea respectively, but are no strangers in the studio together.
First up, two full-bodied techno timebombs from the duo: a mega sub’n’dubchord special alert on A1’s “West End” paired with a more refined, smoother, slippier companion on the A2 “No Room For Error”. Combined-strengths banger collabs for different moments and moods of a night.
Sticking with the theme, we see contrasting solo tracks on the flip side as well. Brick’s “Sigil” spotlights the producer’s laser focus for darker, hypnotic, full force synths in impeccable arrangement, while “Xhale” ends this release on an upliftingly funky bassline disco tip showcasing Zero Idea’s ease at blending techno sensibilities with French House techniques.
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We are back again for 2026 with more repress action - and this time we have Hellrazor 2 for you - an alias of DJ Sphinx. Released on a handstamped white label back in 1993, this EP contains 3 hardcore bangers plus a mad acid track too. A very collectable and rare EP.
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Review: It's Rough Trade's 50th birthday, and in honour of themselves, the renowned indie-stitution reaches for Cabaret Voltaire with a fresh triple LP variation on their final release on the label, 2x45 (1982) - here reimagined as 3x45, of course, to make room for the newly released extras. Then at a fork in the road, Chris Watson was still present for the first session, but gone by the second; and with two different drummers, the record's still a coherent one, as it moves perceptibly from the angular tape-and-noise experiments of their earlier discography toward a more motorik pulse. The third disc adds 'Seconds Too Late' and 'Control Addict', plus the John Robie remix of 'Yashar' (originally a Factory 12"), which hears said pulse become post-disco heartbeat. Collectors may be in for the chance of a valuable misrprint - first edition liner notes contained an erroneous discussion of The Clash's debut album, rather than anything related to the Cabs - though a revised run may have already corrected the issue by the time you cop it.
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DJ Support: Gilles Peterson and Lauren Laverne on 6Music, with club play from the likes of Axel Boman, Peter Kruder and Erol Alkan.
Photay drops epic acid breakbeat magic on ALWAYS COSMIC. The A-side features his remix of United Freedom Collective’s ‘Always Open’ (featuring the vocal talents of Falle Nioke) in both original and instrumental form. With early plays by Gilles Peterson & Lauren Laverne, the hype around this incredible track is building for good reason. There is an exceptional combination at play: slick, detailed, hifi dance production with powerful, prodigious talent on the drums – we call it ‘the PHOTAY advantage.’ The B-side brings expansive cosmic dub versions, the first track derived from the Always Open session, the second from Photay’s recent remix for Conclave & Toribio. Deep, emotional stuff that doesn’t lose track of fun-factor with sheer, un-fakeable excitement in the rhythm section!
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Originally released in 2013, the long-awaited second album from Lulu Rouge finally returns to vinyl in its first-ever limited repress — revived after years of growing demand.
The Song Is In The Drum captures the duo at their most fearless and immersive. Known for their deep melancholia and anti-traditional pop structures, Lulu Rouge blur the lines between dark dub, cinematic electronica, and left-field songwriting. Intense, soul-cutting vocal pieces unfold alongside towering instrumentals — brooding, beautiful, and unapologetically atmospheric.
The album features standout appearances from Danish indie pop visionary Asbjørn and Icelandic-born vocalist Fanney Osk, adding further depth to an already richly textured sonic landscape.
Across 11 meticulously crafted tracks, producers Torsten “Buda” Jacobsen and Thomas “T.O.M” Bertelsen shape a world that feels both intimate and vast. Every beat is deliberate, every space intentional. This is music that doesn’t simply play — it envelops.
Fifty-three minutes that grip you by the heart and refuse to let go.
Welcome to the brightest dark place you’ve ever been.
Look out for a much anticipated new album coming later this year from Lulu Rouge - making this re-issue a timely reminder of the power of their work.
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Music From Memory presents 'Spacious Heart', the debut solo album from Los Angeles-based musician Anthony Calonico. Known for his work as part of the trio Total Blue, Calonico steps forward here with a collection of songs and instrumentals that invite the listener into his lush, expansive yet intimate world.
Written and recorded gradually between 2020 and 2024, 'Spacious Heart' emerged through a slow and open process, allowing the music to develop without rigid expectations. The album’s sonic landscape sits in a somewhat similar zone to Total Blue, with warm keys, synthesizers and rich production creating spacious environments where melodies and textures unfold naturally. Drawing together influences that move fluidly between spiritual jazz, synthesizer-driven explorations and ambient textures, the record balances harmonic richness with a gentle sense of openness. Where it diverges from Total Blue is through the presence of Calonico’s voice, the emotional anchor of the record. Smooth, luminous and quietly expressive, his singing carries a sense of earnestness and vulnerability while remaining delicately restrained.
‘Spacious Heart’ unfolds as a gentle conversation between song and atmosphere, where vocal pieces drift in and out of focus, intimate and reflective. The surrounding instrumentals open up space for these emotions to breathe, settle and expand, creating a quiet, reflective world where feeling, texture and restraint move softly together.
Sleeve art and design by Michael Willis.
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“One of Berghain’s longest-serving residents, Luke Slater has been defining bleepy, polyrhythmic, industrial-strength techno as Planetary Assault Systems since the mid-nineties. P.A.S albums tend to come together in their own time:
“External signals and signs combine until the recipe feels right, both musically and from being ‘out there’,” Slater adds. “10 years since I released Arc Angel on Ostgut Ton, and it’s a fitting pleasure to combine live show ideas and studio work for the new album, served up with raw energy” That patience runs through his whole Ostgut catalogue; since Temporary Suspension brought its machine-tooled weight and alien feeling to the label in 2009, each P.A.S. release on Ostgut Ton has been its own quest for discovery, from The Messenger’s search for sounds not yet present in club music to Arc Angel’s focus on melody to the deep hypnosis of Plantae.
His new album, Planetary People has the deliberate imagination and depth of a record that took its time, shaped as much by live rooms and crowds as by the studio.
“Into The Night” creates a haunting, dystopic environment of corroded acid saturated in echo, absorbing from the first second. “Labyrinth” breaks into buoyant tribal percussion, modulated chirps trading off over propulsive drums. “Quadrant 10” is clean, delay-drenched techno, buzzing with noise splatters over saturated thuds. “Sermon Of The Light Tides” scrambles metallic bell sequences that distort and evolve throughout, reminiscent of a dial-up modem crossed with a game of Frogger, squelching between percussive bursts and stripped-back kicks. “Brave Cosmo” is tormentingly menacing, eerie synths panning around buried vocal fragments over frantic percussion. “Retina Burn” rolls on fierce, cement-mixer 909 cycles, rave stabs over a ride that locks you in, the whole track stuttering and repeating before stripping back to a bare echoing kick and building itself again. “Thunder Major” barrels on open hats and reverb-drenched claps ricocheting through twisting wreaths of delay, mesmeric and relentless. “Beton Brut” marches juggernaut percussion stamping through hall reverb so vast you can visualise the room, the darkest and most unrelenting track on the record. “No Ninja” crunches in metallic and immediate, a wiry plucked lead threading through glitch with the bass held low and deep, mixed so precisely you can see every layer stacked in your mind’s eye. “Ha Jam” is danceable techno with plenty of funk and a sophisticated looseness, a vocal laugh bouncing off clanging metal blocks and rave stabs. “Lynx” lowpasses its rave stabs and crystalline beeps, chirpy hats ticking, cold metal repeats, old school and mesmeric. “Generation Slip” closes everything out, ominous and churning, skittering percussion and electrical sparks rattling through steel, a freight train barrelling on into oblivion.
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While it builds directly on his work with the “Ultrascores,” it also marks a turning point: a more contemporary sound, broader songwriting, and more explicitly political and social themes make Funny How? his most accomplished album to date. It’s also his most accessible: inspired by American stand-up comedy, Funny How? sounds like a joyful mix of all the music that inspires the artist: soul, jazz, rap, musicals… Thus, throughout the album, major stand-up figures like Dave Chappelle, Marina Franklin, Dulcé Sloan, and Tiny Thickemz appear alongside emerging comedians filmed in more intimate comedy clubs, composing a moving portrait of the new American scene.
Drawing on archival footage and sequences shot for the project in New York and Chicago, and true to his principle of harmonizing reality, he reveals its hidden notes, replaying and developing them throughout a fascinating process. The result is a major work, a choral, political, and deeply musical narrative. In concert, the work unfolds majestically through a hybrid performance where music and images respond to and converse with one another.
The premiere of Funny How? on April 17 and 18, 2026, at the Cité de la Musique in Paris is already sold out. The album is scheduled for release on May 22, 2026.
Stern Records is proud to announce the first-time reissue of the self-perpetuating plunderphonic classic, Right Into The Sun by Pol Maló.
Originally released on CD-R in 1999 by Cha-Bashira Records Tokyo under the alias "Orange Head," this new 2xLP edition features fully remastered audio and new cover art by Pol. The release also includes a special riso print edition of the original artwork.
Recorded using 3-6 portable record players, plus one MD player on tracks 2 and 4. All records used were melted, warped or broken by briefly placing them on a gas heater. The records were randomly altered this way to allow the styluses to find and stay in their own loops themselves on the wavy record surfaces. No samplers or editing - live aleatoric playback recordings only.
Raw, cacophonous kinetic sound!
Pol's thoughts on the making of the album:
"Difficult to say what it was that made me interested in making music or actually audio art. In comparison, making visual art had always been there for me. But meeting several now generally known musicians as a student certainly left a very deep impact on me. While doing a DIY label and later kind of music store too, I became fascinated in accidental music, experimental sounds and all kinds of improvisations and bricolages. I think I wanted to try to make sound pieces from scratch, with the bare minimum and resulting in a way in found music. Rhythm and repetition seemed to go well with random audio coming from broken things. This way, I thought, I could create new meaning out of something existing by letting it come apart and back together again anew almost by itself. The album "Right into the Sun", I feel, can be listened to and read on various levels and I hope playback of it in all kinds of environments now will add to the original "spark" of it."
The vinyl version of this release compiles the tracks from their two earliest EPs originally released by Ankst whilst the 22 track CD features further unreleased & unheard bonus tracks from this early era.
Super Furry Animals also recently announced additional festival dates to follow their sold out Supacabra Tour dates including stops in Llangollen, Bristol, York, Glasgow and London (their first since late 2016. See full 2026 dates below.
Holding the world record for the longest ever EP title the first EP -Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space), was released in 1995, followed in the same year by Moog Droog, with both EPs making up the eight-song track listing of the vinyl version of Precreation Percolation.
Later that year, with a record deal on the table and future classics such as God! Show Me Magic and Hangin’ With Howard Marks already making up the SFA’s set list, the band’s path following “two years of chaos” (including a legendary 1993 debut ‘gig’ at Bangor University’s Banana Lounge, lasting all of five minutes due to technical and chemical misadventure) was set. In the album’s liner notes, singer, Gruff Rhys writes: “It would have been the best gig ever, had we not daisy chained so many synthesizers together, that it resulted in a terminal systems failure.”
By summer they’d joined Oasis, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain in the Creation Records family, leading to a huge London signing party that saw members of the band famously thrown out of.
The term of intriguing genre experimentation, spanning long-form electro, blissed out instrumentals and expansive prog-influenced rock, heard across much of Precreation Percolation was subsequently refined and channeled into their thrilling, 1996 debut album, Fuzzy Logic and their untamed live performances.
While consciously and frequently referring to the unheard, untold and unforeseen as a naturally nostalgia-resistant band, Super Furry Animals look ahead to reconvening with fans to celebrate their shared history as the Supercabra Tour gets underway.
(the vinyl comes with a copy of the CD in a slim card wallet)
More than a decade into one of contemporary folk’s most quietly extraordinary careers, Alela Diane returns with Who's Keeping Time? The Portland songwriter’s seventh full-length came as the consequence of intuition, coincidence, and community. “I came to the end of a season last year,” Alela shares. “My daughters had grown a bit. I no longer had babies waking me in the middle of the night. I could hear myself think again.” More and more, those thoughts circled music.
The ultimate spark for Alela’s return to her music community came in April of last year with the death of her close friend and mentor Michael Hurley — folk legend and indispensable presence in the Portland music scene. Tracked live in the attic of her 1892 Victorian home, Who’s Keeping Time? was produced by Sam Weber (Madison Cunningham, Anna Tivel) and brought to life with staples from the local music orbit, including members of the bands Lucius and Blind Pilot and fellow singer-songwriters Anna Tivel and AC Sapphire. Over the years, Alela's lustrous discography has gathered major critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music, The Guardian, and plenty more. UNCUT counted her work in their ambitious “50 best singer-songwriter albums” of all time roundup—a canon comprising John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Paul Simon—with Consequence echoing that significance, declaring, “Hers is a timeless sound, that of a wayfaring troubadour, which only seems to come a few times a generation.” The Portland songwriter’s seventh full-length album, ‘Who’s Keeping Time?’ will be available on LP, CD and Digitally.
At last, Tokyo’s RAW DISTRACTIONS release their debut LP after a couple of demos and four singles on Hardcore Survives and Pogo 77. RAW DISTRACTIONS have been raised onthe catalogue of Beat the System, Clay Records and Riot City. They play lean and hard hitting UK82 punk with some raging guitar work and a gutteral vocalist who spits and snarls but never forgetting the hook. It’s instant, raw and unhinged and would sit perfectly next to Charged GBH, One Way System and The Exploited but with that Japanese magic dust. This is raw punk but hard and melodic rather than overblown.
Tajemnica is a transgression—too gentle for dancing, too euphoric for standing still. Sparse, scarce, and subtle, the new album by Polish performance artist, musician, and poet Wojciech Kosma, aka spalarnia, eagerly explores modern dance genres, experimental production, and nostalgic electronics to surrender to what is truest—essential song forms, melodies, harmonic and rhythmic basics, the most resonant feelings.
Sung in spalarnia’s trademark soft, low, almost tactile voice, the eight hypnotic songs tell stories of closeness and love, and their favored companions—pain and heartbreak. In “Bliżej” he sings “I love not loving you / I want to be a part of you.” And in “Jedyna”—the album's single—he states: “You are the only one / there is no other me / only the one for whom you are the only one.”
Contrary to the meaning of its Polish title (Tajemnica translates to “secret”), the album that moves between ghostly ambient pop, languid R’n’B, and Eastern European folk doesn’t reveal anything outright—the music only points to where the secrets might lie. One can choose whether to hear them or not.
