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"A powder keg of bangers primed to shake the rat race to its core" - The Guardian Australia (Best of 2023) "Simultaneously chaotic and precise, no matter whether the palette is fierce rap, punk energy or slinking beats." - Rolling Stone Australia (Best of 2023) London/Melbourne rap duo Teether & Kuya Neil release their long-awaited debut album YEARN IV. YEARN IV captures the brooding and vivid world of two musical outsiders. Raised by the internet, the pair find their voice amid a sea of clashing cultural experiences and sonic histories, finding solace in the isolation of contemporary urban Australia. Recorded in Melbourne and completed in London, the album captures the duo's hyper local yet globally influenced rap sound at its core. Kuya Neil's drum heavy production collides with Teether's surreal and immersive storytelling, blending thrash metal and club music aesthetics with the echoes of the early internet. Lead single `ZOO' plays with the silent throes of cultural diversity over a paranoid trap instrumental, 'BLUSH' is a blissed out digital love letter wuth shimmering autotuned hooks and rave inspired breaks. `CHANEL' (featuring Indigenous Australian songwriter Alice Skye) is a guitar driven lament for Australia's myopic cultural landscape, fading out with "I'll never reach my full potential here". Teether & Kuya Neil released their first mixtape GLYPH via Chapter in 2021, receiving airplay from NTS, Dublab and Australian radio, plus writeups via Brooklyn Vegan and NME. Four tracks from `GLYPH' were featured in the iconic Australian Netflix series 'Heartbreak High' the following year. 2023 mixtape STRESSOR charted in the Australian Independent Top 10 and made it into end of year best of lists for The Guardian, Rolling Stone and NME Australia. The mixtape was nominated for Best Hip Hop Album at the 2024 Australian Independent Music Awards and named Album of the Week by 3RRR and fBI Radio. Teether & Kuya Neil have performed around Australia and New Zealand. They have played alongside international peers MC Yallah & Debmaster and They Hate Change as well as supported veteran alt-rap outfit Shabazz Palaces and Chicago Footwork pioneer RP Boo. As a solo artist, Teether has collaborated with New York rapper Billy Woods and toured with his outfit Armand Hammer in Australia in 2022. In 2024, he opened for the legendary Kim Gordon. Kuya Neil is an active producer in underground dance music, releasing tracks on UK labels Chinabot and Moveltraxx and has toured South East Asia as a DJ and promoter.

traverse is proud to announce the release of its first record - a compilation of six tracks from various artists, inspired by Pembroke King’s poem moving silhouettes, written for this occasion.

As the fourth volume of the compilation series “traversée”, moving silhouettes encourages artists to explore all corners of listening music and creative avenues that aren’t tied to any one convention.

Pembroke King’s poem sheds light on the mood of the compilation, and even though each artist brings its own interpretation of it, there is a beautiful harmony of it all - from Kate Miller’s atmospheric sounds to Teqmun’s drums-made-of-rain-drop-recordings or Ghjuliú’s nostalgic melodies, the listener travels around Pembroke’s words with each track.

As our first physical release, we feel honoured to collaborate with artists who have been involved in a way or another on traverse before such as Officium, Mika Oki and Alohn, but Kate Miller, Teqmun, and Ghjuliú, that we’ve been keeping close to our heart for a long time already.

Credits:
artwork: Gabriel Sauvageot
tracks produced and mixed by (in order of appearance): Alexis Tytelman, Tijmen Blokzijl, Alban Mercier and Yolek, Kate Miller, Ghjuliú, Mika Oki
mastered & cut: Marco Pellegrini at Analogcut
digital master: Umvral
distribution: Kuroneko

GEP are very excited to announce the release of ‘Dominion’, the longawaited new album from IQ.

Peter Nicholls: “Hot on the heels of ‘Resistance’ six years ago! Yes, it’s been
a long time coming (we couldn’t be accused of rushing these things!) but
we‘re confident this album is really strong and has been worth the wait. To
be releasing a new IQ album in our 44th year feels genuinely exciting”.

Mike Holmes: “We did actually write a lot more material for Dominion, but
this choice of songs (and the running order) feels like a cohesive album to
me. Even in this age of streaming individual songs I still approach a new
album with a ‘side one’ and ‘side two’ thing in my head and the selection and
placement of songs for Dominion just feels like a classic album should (I
know, I’m using ‘old people’ speak!).
The original intention was to have a second disc of other material but that
would have taken a lot longer to put together and we figured six years was
quite enough. It does mean that there’s already quite a bit of stuff ready for
the next one”.
With a 44-year history, IQ are widely regarded as one of the world’s most
highly respected progressive rock bands. 2025 sees the release of
‘Dominion’, IQ’s 13th studio album and one of which the band are justifiably
proud. The year will see them promoting the album by playing an
unprecedented number of live shows around the world, including UK,
Europe, Canada and the prestigious Cruise To The Edge in the USA.

Zoe Heselton is a British-born poet and musician based in Strasbourg, France. Alone with her Telecaster guitar, she channels her multiple and influences into flamenco-folk-blues fingerpicking techniques, carrying her voice into the strings as she spits out rhymes about change and desire. For this first album, she gathered her beloved and talented friendships around her to sing from places of tenderness and anger, balancing melodies with the band's arrangements and dissonance. Since her songs are stories, spells, poems and prayers, there additional personalities give a crafted power to regenerate from the limbs, surrounded by caretaking souls and generous love-spreading hearts. These musical gems are sea-shanties for sadness, litanies for survival, spoken word bangers for dancing our way through the darkness.

“Music is the weed that keeps popping out of the concrete in my life. It just seems to want to come out.” –Jeff Bridges

Extensive booklet including liner notes by Sam Sweet, new interviews with Jeff Bridges, and never-before-seen archival photos.

Featuring Burgess Meredith (Rocky, Batman), members of Oingo Boingo, and assorted characters from the West Los Angeles art and music underground
Culled from a single decaying cassette tape labeled “July 1978,” these recordings are a window into the secret musical life of the Dude. Even after becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Bridges spent all his free time jamming and recording with a trusted circle of musicians composed of childhood friends, artists, and assorted L.A. oddballs.

Imagine The Band playing at CBGB with The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Or Arthur Russell and the Talking Heads collaborating on a suite of mutant disco. Though Bridges and his friends were brought up around the movie industry, they decided to create their own private musical universe, where they could be as weird as they wanted.

Their music opens a portal to a hidden world of outlandish creativity and camaraderie in 1970s Los Angeles. It’s the missing piece of his musical evolution, revealed here for the first time in all its joyful abandon.

Manolis Pappas writes: "Coming from Thessaloniki, but currently residing in Athens, Savvas Metaxas presents "Feedback Poetics", a study in ambient, minimal electronics and feedback drone, revealing a work of compelling compositional clarity. "Feedback Poetics" was recorded during a long improvisational night, with most of the piece captured in a single take. Later, a few additional sounds were added. Recorded using the Lyra-8 synthesiser by Soma Electronics and the Lemondrop granular synthesiser, the album weaves intricate sonic patterns into a meticulously crafted soundscape. The idea behind this recording was to create a long, meditative piece, captured entirely through headphone monitoring. The title reflects the experience of listening to these sound frequencies dancing around the listener's head. Metaxas, known for his output on esteemed labels in recent years and co-founder of Dasa Tapes and Granny Records, offers a work that resonates with the intimacy of a private live performance, yet possesses a refined and considered structure befitting a carefully curated cassette documentation." – Manolis Pappas/Coherent States.

Ziúr lines up with The Tapeworm for an exclusive cassette-only release featuring Kenichi Iwasa, exploring the electroacoustic realms.

Invited to perform solo at Tarek Atoui's performance series at Kunsthaus Bregenz in October 2024, Ziúr decided to write a new piece for the occasion. This composition, 'Turn Liquid Into Dust', was then performed within the framework of Tarek Atoui's 'Waters' Witness' exhibition as an 8-channel spacial audio piece, transmitting sounds through the installation's structure – metal bars, stones, compost piles… Composed in London in autumn 2024, its principal source of sonic material is recordings of Atoui's instruments which Ziúr had recorded in his studio in Paris during the summer of 2024. In addition, she invited the Japanese woodwind player and virtuoso Kenichi Iwasa to join on all pieces, his contribution providing a binding element, tying the pieces together.

Opener 'A Cold Drip' consists solely of Iwasa's spectral squalls. The tense noir drone of 'Long Call' features a string instrument built by Atoui. For the airy yet dense title track, Ziúr recorded an organ named The Reed Box, with Iwasa floating atop its smoggy soundbed. Closer 'Chips 'n' Crumbles' echos and reverberates with the rattles of household items Ziúr found around her home.

Driven by a relentless appetite for boundless experimentation, Ziúr has been subverting expectations since she was a teenager, corkscrewing through hardcore, metal and punk before veering towards electronic music's turbulent fringes. She produces just like she DJs, gathering a wide variety of ingredients and figuring out the most intriguing, unexpected ways to simmer them into a coherent narrative that helps listeners synchronize the conflicting messages that surround them. Genre isn't a fixed point for Ziúr, but a colour in a vast palette that stretches across history and borders, helping illustrate music that's powerfully subversive. Her The Tapeworm edition follows acclaimed recordings for Planet Mu, PAN, Objects Limited and Hakuna Kulala.

Kenichi Iwasa is a London-based improviser and multidisciplinary artist from Japan, also known for his legendary Krautrock Karaoke night as well as collaborations with visual artists and musicians such as Beatrice Dillon, Maxwell Sterling and Linder Sterling. He currently performs with Naima Karlsson under the name Exotic Sin.

DESCRIPTION
Looming above Hastings on the South Coast of the UK, carved into East Hill, three black shapes are visible from a distance. Mysterious and ominous, they assume the aspect of the entrance to a church or a portal to dimensions unknown. Closer inspection however reveals them to be no more than mere follies carved and painted into the rock, as hoaxster John Coussens sought to convince visitors that an elaborate subterranean kingdom lurked within. Centuries later, this coastal town remains a place that serves as a magnet to the wyrd and the mischievous. And it’s here that the meeting of minds took place that led to 'Folly' - the second release for Rocket’s Black Hole series - an imprint focused on the unorthodox, otherworldly and esoteric. The journey that led to ‘Folly’ began in the dingy cellar of a wine bar in the town. Black Arches formed around a regular local experimental night in such environs aptly named Weird Shit, initially as a freeform musical outlet for author and musician Gareth E. Rees’ later incorporating Matt Frost from his garage rock troupe The Dirty Contacts, and frequent collaborator James Weaver, to form a vehicle for wild experimentation and psychic abandon. Given he was also a regular attendee, it was no surprise when Sexton Ming, arch maverick outsider artist and uncompromising iconoclast of over four decades standing, entered the picture. Soon after a perplexing but serendipitous chain of events took place, with demons conjured up via improvised sessions, poetic licence taken, dystopias chronicled, audio files gone awry, vocals overdubbed and laptops lost, Somehow amidst the sturm-und-drang ‘Folly’ was summoned in all its murky glory. As we embark on the second quarter of an uncertain century, just maybe this psychic travelogue is a dark prism to make sense of the chaos we confront. Whichever, it remains a spectacle as compelling as that by which Black Arches were named

Nothing is lost on Cash Langdon. It’s something you can hear in the observational lyrics of his last record, 2022’s Sinister Feeling; but on its follow-up, Dogs, you can also hear it in the camaraderie he cultivates playing live with his band Meadow Dust, a sonic energy that gives off the heat of his native Birmingham. The trio’s fuzzy take on heavy country rock has a worn-in no-fussiness that recalls Neil Young & Crazy
Horse – nothing overthought, nothing understated. And like Young, Langdon’s voice is simultaneously earnest and world-weary – but there’s a sense of humor, too, and a resignation to keeping on (“Dogs,” “Magic Again”). Recorded at Portside Studios (the former location of the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound) in just two days, engineer Brad Timko (Dan Sartain, St. Paul and The Broken Bones) captured Langdon and Meadow Dust at their fiercest yet. The title track “Dogs” and side B heater “Dead Dogs” both take inspiration from the wild dogs Langdon encountered in his neighborhood at the time of writing the record, where he wondered about the sick twist of fate that renders one dog a pet and another a threat. Across songs, he examines how oppressive cycles overlap, intersecting the personal and the societal at all times. The heavy yet melodic “Lilac Whiskey Noise” is the heartbeat of the record, written following an active shooter event that Langdon witnessed at work in 2016. It’s an indictment – not of the perpetrator – but of the systems of power that enable such an act. It’s a microcosm for all of the themes on the album, too: the ongoing violence of simply being awake to the world around you, and the resolve to stay awake anyway.
On the crunchy album-closer “Nothing’s Good Anymore,” Langdon sings about overhearing someone say just that – and you can tell he’s tempted to agree. He’s going to find what kernel of beauty he can. Dogs is a sonic map for finding that beauty in just about anything.

Dateline: April 10, 1970. Setting: The storied Fillmore West in San Francisco, CA. Context: Miles Davis, three days removed from his first session for Jack Johnson and, with newly recruited soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman in tow, opening shows for countercultural heroes the Grateful Dead on the latter’s home turf. Result: The initial rumblings of a thrilling era in which Davis and his cohorts would again upend jazz and popular conceptions of the genre with music steeped in groove, improvisation, and hang-on-for-your-life adventurousness. All captured on Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West.

Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM 2LP set helps bring what went down that spring evening in Bill Graham’s venue to your listening room with exceptional clarity, balance, and presence. Originally only released in Japan in 1973 and unavailable in the United States until the late ‘90s on compact disc, this marks the first time Black Beauty has been issued on domestic vinyl. The wait is worth it.

Benefitting from quiet surfaces and excellent definition, these LPs present the band’s livewire energy and torrential storm of notes with captivating dynamics, pacing, and fullness. At its core, this audiophile reissue takes you into the walls of sound erected by a band learning on-the-fly the sheer power, will, and breadth of the electric jazz Davis was orchestrating and realizing, on the spot, would reach rock audiences that until that point had only a faint awareness of his mad-scientist experimentation. The sense of release and reach conveyed by these carefully restored records make it clear the veteran bandleader was in the process of a permanent shift that he’d chase for the next five years.

Given Davis was only a few months away from releasing the pioneering double album Bitches Brew, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that much of the fare here adheres to similar explorative approaches. Turbulent rhythms, provocative trumpet passages, and rich, saturated tonal colors that seemingly splash against a blank canvas take precedence over any traditional attempts at organization and melody. Davis and Co. intentionally play everything on a line with the bandleader signaling changes with his horn via coded phrases. The group speaks a common language — with each member having gone to achieve iconic status for their career contributions and technical prowess.

In the company of Grossman, Chick Corea (piano), Dave Holland (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums), and Airto Moreira (percussion), Davis constructs themes around “Directions,” “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,” “It’s About That Time,” the title track to Bitches Brew, and more from his then most-recent studio works and the in-progress Jack Johnson. His farewell to the popular standards that for nearly two decades remained a part of his repertoire arrive via a brief dalliance with “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” a shortened albeit aggressive “Masqualero,” and the “Theme” finale of “Spanish Key.” Initially, Black Beauty lacked specific track listings due to Davis’ increasing frustration with listeners over-analyzing his music.

In retrospect, it’s difficult to blame anyone for wanting to view what’s on display here with the aural equivalent of a magnifying glass. Leaning in rock directions, yet maintaining an ear for spaciousness and solos, Black Beauty survives as a snapshot of a thrilling moment amid a transitory period in which evolution came fast and furious. Just two months later, Davis would add another instrumentalist to the lineup in the form of organist Keith Jarrett, and the perpetually restless visionary would blast off to a more atmospheric and arguably more chaotic universe.

Consider, then, this live document a bridge to that galaxy and a breathtaking example of the possibilities of jazz itself.

This re-issue of World Machine, Level 42's 1985 breakthrough album, is presented with scrupulous attention to the detail of the original UK first pressings and available in audiophile 180g pink vinyl in celebration of the album's 40th anniversary.

By 1985, Level 42 – bassist and vocalist Mark King, keyboard player/vocalist Mike Lindup, guitarist Boon Gould, drummer/lyricist Phil Gould and studio-only keyboard player Wally Badarou – were on the verge of breaking big - After a string of well-received albums, such as their pioneering jazz-funk 1981 debut or the Ken-Scott produced True Colours, the group decided, rather than work up material through jamming, to sit and write some songs for their forthcoming album.

Producing themselves, with assistance from engineer Julian Mendelsohn, this new approach meant that World Machine was the quantum commercial leap they craved. And most of that was due to the album's towering lead single, the pop-funk of "Something About You". With its expensive video seeing the group styled for the 80s, it set radio alight, becoming a Top 10 hit and charting around the world, importantly in the US. Following up with the tender ballad "Leaving Me Now" and then the bouncy funk of the album's title track as singles, the album's success was guaranteed; it reached No 3 in the UK charts and spent an amazing 72 weeks on the listings.

Verdure – Timeless Wave
With ’Timeless Wave’ Verdure releases an overwhelming acidic tidal force of a track.
A 9 min long epic multi layered surge across various territories and morphing along the way, starting out at 145 bpm and picking up velocity in the course, details whizzing by in unsuspected clarity.
Verdure is featured on his own full release on Violent Cases 031 VC031 .

Six Ou Sept & L Art Cène – Cap Nord
Darkness is moving over the surface of the watery deep at ’Cap Nord’. Acid lines cut thru the black liquid with sharp fins. Then a long break...is it the swan song of whales or the intercom of AI reapers? The end or a new beginning? When the Acid fades the Tekno kicks in. 150 bpm is the pace. Both long intro and bold beatless interlude create DJ options.

Too Old Boyz – Darkettony
Too Old Boyz are back in town and they are not in the mood for fooling around. It’s getting dark, better check your rear. The lights are flickering and you can’t get off this train. 40 tons rolling through Gotham at 145 bpm.
Too Old Boyz are Tommers and Introspective Views. Check out their ’Danger Is Sauce For Prayers‘ EP on Violent Cases 022. [VC022] and their Rodenwald - Tauchstation Remix on Endless Night 2 [ENNI2].

With another awe inspiring custom artwork by Darkam. Mastered by Pozek in Vienna.

Here comes the Tekno Section utlimate double pack with a selecta of New Skool abd Oldschool artists from Mem Pamal or Ixi to Ochoa Oby One and more....
A superb double EP with full vibes !

**Gangster Music Vol.3: The Most Gangster Music Trilogy of All Time Comes to a Triumphant Close**

Imagine curating a dream lineup of MCs and producers from every corner of the rap world—sounds impossible, right? Not for artist and illustrator Gangster Doodles, who has been bringing this vision to life for the past decade. Now, with “Gangster Music Vol.3”, the trilogy reaches its grand finale, and it’s bigger, bolder, and more unpredictable than ever before.

Gangster Doodles himself puts it best:
"It’s hard to believe that I’ve been actively working on this Gangster Music series for the past 10 years. The most gangster music trilogy of ALL TIME is almost complete!! And in my humble opinion Vol.3 is the most exciting out of the 3, both from a music standpoint (special shout-out to all my music heroes on Vol.3) and artistically speaking this is the most fun I’ve had in years”

Since launching Volume 1 in 2019 and following up with the second volume in 2022, Gangster Doodles has been shaping the Gangster Music series into a one-of-a-kind sonic universe—an unfiltered mix of underground titans, unsung legends, and rising stars. Volume 3 is the biggest installment yet, boasting a staggering 30 tracks that traverse the entire spectrum of rap and beat culture.

This time around, the lineup is as eclectic as ever. From legendary pioneers like Lee Perry and Tommy Wright III, to veteran producers such as Mr. Scruff and Peanut Butter Wolf, the album pays homage to hip-hop’s roots while pushing forward into fresh territory. The roster also includes established up-and-comers like Devin Morrison, Low Leaf, DJ Harrison, Quelle Chris, Homeboy Sandman, and Suzi Analogue, ensuring a mix of classic flavors and new-school innovation. The bubbling underground is well represented too, with artists like Raz Fresco, Atlanta’s 645AR, and Pro Era’s Chuck Strangers bringing their own distinct heat.

From pioneering SoundCloud rappers like Pouya to genre-bending composer John Carroll Kirby, from Birmingham’s Romderful to Chile’s RVYO, the album encapsulates a truly global soundscape, proving once again that Gangster Doodles’ ear for cutting-edge talent is second to none.

As always, the cover art is a vital piece of the puzzle. This time, Bootleg Garfield & Friends take center stage, bringing the same playful irreverence that has defined Gangster Doodles’ artwork for years. Fans are encouraged to engage, remix, and make the cover their own, staying true to the spirit of interactive creativity that has always fueled the series.

After years of meticulous curation, countless DMs, emails, and behind-the-scenes wrangling, Gangster Music Vol.3 is here to complete the trilogy in legendary fashion. Expect boundary-pushing beats, next-level lyricism, and a lineup that celebrates hip-hop in all its many forms.

“Thanks to everyone who’s actively supported and continues to tap-in. Believe & trust when I say I've got more dope stuff cookin’. STAY TUNED!! GANGSTER DOODLES 4EVER. 1LUV."

Gangster Music Vol.3 is out April 7th on All City. Stay tuned, stay tapped in, and get ready for the most gangster music experience yet.

The annual Bonkers Music compilation returns, delivering another round of high-energy bangers. This year, the release explores a slightly evolved musical style while staying true to its signature sound. Celebrating its sixth edition, “Year VI” will be available on 12” vinyl, accompanied by a few exciting surprises.

A1. Neskeh’s “106 Cabrel” revolves around a melodic yet hypnotically repetitive lead sequence, crafted to evoke a trance-like state on the dance floor and radiate positive energy. The foundation of big, punchy kicks and a robust bassline gives it a quintessential club vibe.

A percussive break in the middle shifts the mood entirely, paying homage to Goa rhythms and shamanic rituals, immersing listeners in a more primal atmosphere. The drop reignites the momentum, enhanced by the warm tones of the beloved Minilogue, adding an almost epic dimension to the journey.

A2. Berlin’s Mike Sacchetti and Madrid’s David Meyer unite on “Agria Pachanga,” a dance energy piece that pulses with percussive drive and a subtle touch of Latin identity.

Acid-inspired arrangements swirl around classic drum machine sounds. The syncopated rhythms and pumping basslines push the track towards an agitated club atmosphere, building this song into a bold declaration of fiesta.

A3. Two friends from Guadalajara, Mexico, Leonor & Ludviq, now living in different European cities, (Barcelona & Lyon) join forces to bring you Capybara Trance, This electrifying track combines dark, driving energy with intricately sequenced melodies, a hard-hitting chugging bassline, and the unique touch of capybara-inspired sounds. Anchored by a commanding kick drum that sets an unrelenting tempo.

B1. “Nebula” is a deep, atmospheric journey through cosmic sounds and pulsating rhythms. The track blends hypnotic melodies with dark synthetic textures, evoking a sense of drifting through endless galaxies. With a strong groove and intricate arrangements, it delivers energy that fits perfectly in both morning sets and more conceptual playlists. The collaboration between Radial Gaze, Ducati Flux, and Persona RS captures the spirit of exploration, creating a versatile track that can be the highlight of any set

B2. Intruso hailing from Bogota, now based in Barcelona brings “Somos Acido” this track draws inspiration from the early 2000’s House and Trance, capturing the nostalgia and emotional resonance of his first experiences with electronic music as a child. A driving Acid bassline injects dynamic energy, making it perfectly suited for the dance floor.

B3. Argentinian born, Australia based producer Poulper teams up with Mexican maestro Hugo Vallejo to kick off this intergalactic adventure. This track weaves together acid-laced elements and an infectious rhythm, layered with haunting post-dark vocals that narrate the fiery, cosmic tale of love burning in the vast expanse of space. A bold and immersive journey into the unknown, perfect for this stellar compilation.

“Growing up has always been a solitary journey, marked by forward-looking anticipation, anxiety, unripe potential, aspirations, and closures.”

London based Chinese composer and multi-instrumentalist Li Yilei returns to Métron Records with NONAGE, their second full length release following 2021’s OF. An introspective reflection on the journey through childhood, this new work brings together samples from old Chinese TV shows, mechanical children’s toys and an array of acoustic and electronic instruments - some of which were designed and built by Li themselves.

The Chinese title for "NONAGE" is "垂髫", which translates to “childhood” or “disheveled hair”, and refers to the carefree phase of life when children let their hair down, both figuratively and literally. For Li, nonage is a place that they always revisit - to learn about fear and fearlessness, love and despair, grief and glee, curiosity and mistakes.

“I remember pressing piano keys like touching flowers, reading scores like looking at paintings, writing like how I would talk to myself, greeting death like how I would greet life.”

Initially conceived as an archiving project, the record retraces and reimagines fractions of Li’s childhood memories through smell, location and colour, and brings to life the lingering feelings that remain into adulthood.

Compositions are built around a variety of unusual sources: damaged instruments such as a toy piano, a hand cranked music box, bird whistles, a broken accordion and anything else Li could find that evoked nascent recollections. Interspersed throughout are samples from Li’s childhood piano jams, moments of contemplative transmigration where previous incarnations of self and memory meet the present.

Repress!

Emotional Rescue and Utopia Originals join forces to release the pop, new wave, funk of Obscure Desire, a one-off project and EP from effervescent 80s Auckland, New Zealand that saw three friends come together to make a perfect piece of club pop history.

Revolving around the musical talent of Andrew Waldergrave, a trained pianist, music degree drop-out, who moved to the island’s cultural centre of Auckland and emersed himself in the arts and nightlife scene the city had to offer.

Working at Obscure Desire, a Fashion Boutique meets Salon, he became friends with Grant Mitchell and Giselle Trezevant, together forming not a band, but as they saw it, a project to make a record for their scene and beyond.

Coming from outside of the established band route of endless rehearsals, local gigs, growing a fan base and home recordings, they fell did not have the support network of indigenous New Zealand labels. As so often the case in unearthing these lost reissue gems, the artists took matters into their own hands, seeking to write, record and release themselves.

After meeting Trevor Reekie, head of the local Pagan Records label, he took on production duties. Collating the necessary musicians, the project grew from the one song to become a full EP, recording between a home 16 track studio and a full 24 track desk at Harlequin Studios.

Centred around the title song, it is a perfect pop moment. Waldergrave’s piano leads into an infectious groove of slap bass, gated drums, Reekie’s acoustic guitar and cut vocals, before Trezevant’s vocals propel the song to an 80s swing out vibrations. Coming in Extended, Harlequin and Instrumental (digital only) mixes, this was an overload of White Funk.

Here reduced to the best two versions, more room is given to let the other recordings breathe, first the gloriously anthemic instrumental Bullet. Intricate programming and production, lead into the pop sensibility of I Wonder, some kind of wonderful antipodean reimagining of Chris & Cosey finest pop moments, an optimistic paene that permeates the whole EP. Closing 4A, espouses the Jazz Funk, with Trezevant’s simple French lyrics telling of dreams of a lover’s image.

Released in 1986 with no local support from radio and TV, it became something of a “hit” record in New Zealand’s more discerning clubs, however the members soon moved to London and the project remained a one-off moment. Over time the EP has gained cult status to become globally desired that sees copies of the original 12” selling for $000s. Now at last available for a global reach, while remaining a personal, uplifting moment of time.

Der Soundtrack von Carlos Rafael Rivera erhielt 2024 zwei von insgesamt 10 prestigeträchtigen Emmy-Nominierungen, die Apples Miniserie "Lessons In Chemistry" (2023) einheimsen konnte, nämlich für "Outstanding Music Composition" und "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music". Rivera schrieb eine optimistische, subtile und vorsichtige Grundlage, die durch starke Leistungen der Besetzung getragen wird und eine ernsthafte, emotionale Reflexion des Kampfes der weiblichen Hauptfigur darstellt, in die Grenzen der gesellschaftlichen Erwartungen zu passen.

"Lessons in Chemistry" spielt in den frühen 1950er Jahren und handelt von Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), deren Traum, Wissenschaftlerin zu werden, in einer patriarchalischen Gesellschaft auf Eis gelegt wird. Als Elizabeth aus ihrem Labor gefeuert wird, nimmt sie einen Job als Moderatorin einer Kochshow im Fernsehen an und macht sich daran, einer Nation übersehener Hausfrauen – und den Männern, die plötzlich zuhören – viel mehr als nur Rezepte beizubringen.

2025 Repress

DJ Koze might be one of the world's best producers, but above all he's a DJ, and it's his DJ ear that governs. J
ust as in a great set, so with his releases: 'Seeing Aliens' came out of nowhere, a big buzzing beast of a track, to announce that Koze was back on the scene and prime everyone for the coming album, knock knock.
But now that Koze has your attention, it's time to remind everyone what's most important about club music, pull things back, take a turn to the left, and get deep into the groove.

Thus 'Pick Up': the second single from knock knock is 100% pure groove, doubly so in the extended 12' version.

In a sense it's incredibly familiar - it is essentially a filter disco record, very close to something you could imagine coming out of Paris around the turn of the millennium. But of course, this is Koze. Nothing is normal or familiar in his world, and he's taken this most foundational of clubland staples into new territory. Flipping amples of Gladys Knight & the Pips 'Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)' and Melba Moore's 'Pick Me Up, I'll Dance', it creates something completely airborne, shot through with emotions such as gods must feel: not quite explicable to the human mind but strong enough to knock you off your feet. In its way it's absolutely as powerful as 'Seeing Aliens', but it comes in like the proverbial iron fist in a glove of velvet.
The flip, a ten-minute new track, 'The Love Truck' is a big contrast again. If 'Pick Up' is giddy flight,
'The Love Truck' is woozy floating. Its sharp, clicking percussion recalls 2000s minimal techno, but this time absolutely nothing is generic. The long, intense, on-and-off bass tones, the flickers of birdsong, the pure voices slipping in backwards as if from the future... it's all like the most blissful dream, and culminates in a coda so subtle yet so beautiful it's like ever time you've ever seen the sun rise and thought 'I never want this to end', all the while understanding deep down that the fleeting nature of the pleasure is also what give it its power. But of course, being created with that consummate DJ's ear, it's also full of the thrill of wondering what Koze has in store next.

Pressed on Bio Mint Vinyl LP

Eluveitie, formed in 2002 by Chrigel Glanzmann, has consistently merged modern metal with Celtic musical traditions. Originating from the Swiss Alps and deeply rooted in Celtic history, mythology, and spirituality, the band has become a cornerstone of the modern metal scene.Their debut, "Vên" (2004), set the stage for a unique blend of melodic death metal and traditional folk. Subsequent albums like "Slania," "Everything Remains (As It Never Was)," "Helvetios," and "Origins" solidified their reputation. The acoustic albums "Evocation I – The Arcane Dominion" and "Evocation II – Pantheon" showcased their versatility.

In 2022, Eluveitie released the singles "Aidus" and "Exile of the Gods," marking a new chapter in their musical journey and thematical cycle pursuing the lyrical
concept opened by their last studio album "Ategnatos". These tracks were followed by the announcement of their upcoming album, "ÀNV," set for release in April 2025. The first single from this album, "Premonition," has just been unveiled, offering a glimpse into the band's evolving sound.

Over the years, Eluveitie has undergone lineup changes, including their latest addition with Lea-Sophie Fischer on violin in May 2024. Despite these changes, the band's essence and soul remains untouched. With nine studio albums, numerous tours all around the globe, and headline shows worldwide, Eluveitie continues to be a dynamic force in the metal genre.

As they approach the release of "ÀNV", Eluveitie remains committed to their roots while exploring new musical horizons. Coming as one of their most profound and earnest albums, "ÀNV" presents a result of more than 20 years of intense involvement with Celtic mythology and spirituality, translating deeply pagan knowledge for a modern generation.

Eluveitie's journey reflects a dedication to authenticity and innovation, ensuring their place as a defining presence in modern metal.

Taba voices a subtle yet surprising shift for the Japanese musician and producer Satomimagae. Observing and absorbing the fleeting scenes and sounds of life flowing outside of her home studio, Taba unfolds as a series of vignettes that document the personal and the universal. Satomi sings beyond herself in an orbit of souls and systems known and unknown, seen and unseen, in the present and in the strange flux of memory, leaving linear songwriting to rest for circuitous stories expanded and expansive in tone and texture. Following the logic of taba, a Japanese term for a bunch, bundle or grouping together of different things, the album is assembled as a loose collection of short stories. Shapeshifting into something like a poet-narrator, Satomi casts her writer's eye to the often perplexing shapes that form from quotidian events and exchanges defining our increasingly alienated age. Where Satomi's last full-length, 2021's Hanazono, bloomed from the lush soil of a private inner sphere, the bird's eye of Taba searches to place the artist_somewhere, somehow_within a wider, wilder world. Collaborations with other artists and musicians close to Satomi's universe further elevate the album's sweeping sonics. Synthesizer lines from Norio, who also helps define the album's visual identity through photo and video, enliven the tender ballad "Kodama." The bell-like Rhodes piano ringing in and around Satomi's guitar on "Dottsu" is played by Akhira Sano, who created the cover art for her 2021 Colloid EP. Yuya Shito's clarinet was the missing puzzle piece that completed "Spells," and it was also Yuya who mixed Taba with an ear for its organic textures and elegantly frayed edges, giving utterance to a distinctly different energy than Satomi's earlier expressions. The tonal and rhythmic play that lay the foundation of these songs also animates a colorful palette of melodic gestures, noisy resonances and pointed moments captured by Satomi's close-at-hand recorder. While Taba is still carried by the innate intimacy that has defined Satomi's music to date, these songs channel her newly spacious and inquisitive songwriting approach, unlocking unusual layers in the process. Some are subsumed in the speculative poetics of sound design, while others peer through the window of bedroom pop. Gathering imagistic reflections, tracing vast ideations and quietly lingering in humble moments, Taba connects vivid lines between the individual and the collective, the constructed and the cosmic, the articulated and the felt. Satomi's sonic tales gain an eloquent coherence by the simple fact of existing in conversation, humming a harmony of parts that buzzes with the tangled circuitry of a life in motion. Taba is the fifth album from Japanese musician, songwriter and dream traveler Satomimagae, following her 2021 album Hanazono and the 2023 reissue of her debut album Awa, both for RVNG Intl. On Taba, Satomimagae leaves linear songwriting to rest for circuitous stories expanded and expansive in tone and texture, unfolding as a series of vignettes that document both the personal and the universal. Some of the songs on Taba feature intimate moments captured on Satomi's hand recorder, poetic moments of sound design animated by tonal and rhythmic bedroom pop foundations. As with Hanazono, Taba's album artwork features a wooden block print by Satomi's sister, the artist Natsumi Magae.

Rodeo Boys is what happens when the Miller High Life gets legs and starts walking around on its own. A rippin’ 4-piece from Lansing, MI is for queers and steers alike. Rodeo Boys shows up at your town, rolls up their sleeves, and gets to work to deliver their blue collar alt sound straight to your ears. They have been ripping rock n’ roll gigs since they formed in 2019 and After releasing their 2023 Album “Home Movies” on Don Giovanni Records, they have been steadily grinding away touring the US. They bring the nostalgia, twang, and punk rock rage of growing up in a small town to a city near you! This is how the Midwest was won.

LA-based composer/producer/guitarist Dustin Wong returns to Hausu Mountain with Gloria, his third album on the label since 2018. Wong has established a multifaceted career over the last two decades that encompasses his solo work centered around guitar performance and live looping, roles as a guitarist in Baltimore-based bands Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine, and a wide catalog of collaborations with artists including Takako Minekawa, Good Willsmith, and Patrick Shiroishi. In composing his solo music, Wong has always transmuted his own life experiences into the thematic source material for emotionally resonant works rippling with fine-grain details and intricate looping architectures. With Gloria, the composer channels specific memories and pieces of his family history into a deeply personal narrative arc focused on his grandmother Gloria Violet Lee Wong, who passed away in January 2024, just shy of her 96th birthday. Using a road trip they took together down the west coast of America in 2023 as the direct inspiration for the individual scenes and flashes of imagery that form the album’s continuously unfolding structure, Wong presents Gloria as a memorial to her storied life and a celebration of the warmth and kindness that characterized their close relationship. A moment-to-moment travelogue that zooms out in its full scope to evoke a multi-generational memoir that spans decades and continents, Gloria gives Wong space to open his heart and uncover his roots — all while experimenting with new techniques in live performance and sound design that lead his music into territories that he has never before explored.

“Heart of Night,” a split EP co-released by Gar Hole Records (Fayetteville, AR) and Mashed Potato Records, offers two prime examples of modern alternative Americana music’s exciting trajectory: the Ozark-induced warbles and clever country stylings of Nick Shoulders, and the swampy pop songs and dreamy harmonies of The Lostines. This collaboration is an homage to the places and people we call home. It’s the ideal accompaniment to steamy slow dancing deep in a pitch black, heavy and humid Arkansas night, or for swinging someone around in a vibrant, neon lit New Orleans dive. It’s also the soundtrack for ruminating on the heart’s capacity for simultaneous strength and fragility, the connections between different modalities, homes, and loves.

For Heart of Night’s cover, intricate, hand-drawn artwork and lettering from tastemaker illustrator Taylor W. Rushing mirrors the duality of the flora and fauna of two terrains — the cypress swamps and the Ozark Mountains — from which this four-song collection springs.

'Gone Down Meadowland' is the much-anticipated debut album release from Norwich, UK psych outfit Floral Image, releasing 25th April 2025 on the renowned Fuzz Club. More than ever, the band wanted to produce a brand of East-Coast psychedelia that reflected the natural lusciousness and glorious solitude of the immediate world around them. Over 30 songs were conjured, considered and arranged before being whittled down to a final 10 that epitomise what they do best - ten tracks of vivid hue, harnessed live power, all laced together in fluid lyrical harmonies. Taking inspiration from band favourites Woods, KGLW, Stereolab, among many others, a string of at-home recording sessions commenced over a 6-week period across the summer of 2024. Side A is a sun-drenched journey through their whimsical Norfolk countryside, narrated with a surreal sense of lyricism which focuses on the undulating flow of the human psyche and the shape of relationships that can decide its fate. 'Burning 305' follows the mould of the band’s earlier creations with white-knuckled rhythms layered with dashing production and gritty guitars. 'The Score' summarises their love of Revolver-era Beatles and infuses it with a hint of 90's dance grooves. Side B is where the trip takes a heavier turn, the un-hinged night-time of the record. It is where the band best shows the force with which their live reputation has been built on. 'Tiergarten' - a motorik course through consciousness and 'Howling Dog Song' - all raucous, scuzzy-garage riffing. The album concludes with the 7-minute epic 'Sun For Hire'. Born out of a 30-minute live improvisation, it is the earliest written of all songs on GDM and a strong fan favorite for the audiences of the last 2 years. "A lot of themes are anti-establishment commentaries on the state of the modern world. It can feel isolating being bystanders of global concern in sleepy Norfolk, even though it’s easy to slip into a false comfort when you’re surrounded by vast space, natural beauty and friendly folks down the market. Gone Down Meadowland is that egoless escapist fantasy that still can't escape the world caving in on itself; Norfolk isolationism." Produced by the band themselves, mixed by Hugh Fothergill of Volleyball, and mastered by Joseph Carra at Crystal Mastering of KGLW fame, Gone Down Meadowland is Floral Image’s first full flourish. They take the record on the road across Europe and the UK throughout April & May 2025.

A1 - Planet Genesis

Chronicle makes his Spatial debut in style with Planet Genesis, opening with a beautifully crisp 2-step break over light atmospheric padwork, quickly accompanied by Hot Pants snares and dancing strings. Graceful hi-hats and insanely subtle vocal usage ebb and flow in the mix while soothing melodies enter and depart at will. The breakdown offers an intense change of tone before the breaks resume and continue the journey to a destination unknown.

A2 - Crystal Clear

Very much living up to its title, Crystal Clear sees Chronicle deliver a finely tuned assortment of beats with a remarkable clarity that truly shines in the "old school brand new" sensibilities of throwback atmospheric drum & bass. Snippets of various classic breaks can be heard in the mix with a superb attention to detail, taking you back with a style quite reminiscent of the golden era of late 90's Logical Progression.

B1 - Libra

Airy pads and a rousing yet subtle melody delicately introduce Libra, as Chronicle gradually builds towards a thrilling yet thoughtful amen workout set to blissful atmospherics. With a plethora of exquisite production techniques on show, the track showcases the versatility of Chronicle, offering something new to enjoy on each listen - the layers of detail are truly impressive.

B2 - Higher Limits

Echoing whirs and clicks dance playfully around light pads in the unique DJ-friendly intro to Higher Limits, a detailed, joyful track which celebrates a bygone era with sharp, expertly edited breaks and a smooth 808 bassline to die for. Micro melodies and long waves of delicious synths add texture and depth to the mix, resulting in the perfect closing track to a superbly varied and elegantly produced debut EP.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

For a project which made its debut in 2024 with next to no fanfare nor hype, rush2theUnknown managed to capture the attention and the imagination of a number of notable DJs across genres, tempos and timezones in their debut year. From legendary chillers Kruder & Dorfmeister picking up on the more Japanese VGM influenced side of their music, techno DJs like Courtesy, Anastassia Kristensen and Nastia drawn towards their more celestial-tinged breakbeat offerings and key support coming in from many trailblazers past and present of the genres that shaped the duo thirty years back. Support from artists and DJs around the world saw rush2theUnknown's music aired across Kool FM, Rinse FM, NTS, BBC Radio One, and thanks to impassioned support from punky-reggae icon Don Letts, multiple spins on the Rebel Dreads legendary BBC Radio 6 show.

With the foundation laid rush2theUnknown return to Diskotopia with the "Yugawara" EP.

Early support for the Yugawara EP has already seen responses from and tracks from the EP played by DJs like Machinedrum, DJ Flight, Addison Groove, dBridge, Gyrofield, Joakim, I:Cube, Courtesy, Cici, Sakura Tsuruta and more in clubs and on radio like NTS, Kool FM, Rinse FM and BBC Radio One, and BBC 6 Music.

Born from a journey out of Tokyo to the seaside town of Yugawara in the northeastern end of Izu Peninsula, the EP channels the energy, spirit and mathematically impossible coincidences that seem to come with each adventure the duo has in that part of Japan. Each morning the duo would leave their makeshift studio and wander across the hills of Yugawara. Be it a random encounter, a conversation or mental picture sparked by the visual scenery before them, new tracks came to life each day. As with their Diskotopia debut, each EP is a mix of the myriad influences the duo have accumulated since their teenage years living on outer ends of the Pacific Ocean.

From the technicolour aqua-jungle of "View From Fuua" which bursts with Logical Progression era Good Looking Records exo-planet optimism, through to the EPs closer, "Zuio-ji" a track that owes as much of a debt to the ancient Japanese court music of gagaku, as it does the 1960s soundtrack work of composer Toru Takemitsu and the jidaigeki infused breakbeat experiments of a mid 90s Rupert Parkes. Shades, tones and hues plucked from CD-ROM era "Visual Scenes" 80s CM Music and the techno-animism of synth-heavy anime soundtracks can be found on the EPs more VGM-leaning excursions "光のトンネル" and "夜明けの真鶴岬" whereas tracks like "Physical Reality" continue the question posed on their debut:What would a breakbeat tradition look and sound like, had it been forged a billion light years away?

It is with a certain sadness for his fans across mediums that Donald Glover has declared Bando Stone and the New World the last Childish Gambino album. The ostensible soundtrack to a feature-length movie of the same name, the hour-long project includes snippets of dialogue that hint at the film’s apocalyptic subject matter. The fact that the soundtrack is preceding the actual film is part of Glover’s strategy: He wants listeners to work to figure out what they’re listening to. “The soundtrack forces the audience to participate in a way that I don't feel like most things force you to participate,” he says. “It forces you to have an imagination. I already see people being like, 'This is very cinematic, this must be the part that... This feels like a credit sequence.' A lot of stuff feels flat because it's not asking you to participate. Art used to be you had to participate on some level and have some sort of thought process on it. You can't just be like, 'Oh, this is mid.'” Even without the benefit of the full visuals, these 17 tracks make for a satisfying swan song that synthesizes what came before with fresher ideas gleaned from the threshold of finality.

Samurai Music returns to the evocative sound world of Ancestral Voices for an album that splits the difference between cinematic sound design and deadly restraint at 170 BPM. Nemeton continues Liam Blackburn's exploration of ancient Celtic mysticism through snaking rhythms and snarling sound design, conjuring a high-definition sonic image of sacred groves and the druids practicing amongst them.

Blackburn's Ancestral Voices project tracks back to 2015, when he debuted on Samurai Horo with the Night Of Visions album. In stark contrast to his celebrated 140 work as Indigo, this project leaned on the inspiration of pagan spirituality to charge his vivid, advanced production style with a rich and mysterious atmosphere. While he's channelled this approach into a variety of tempos and styles, on his 2016 EP Old Earth Voodoo on Samurai Music he applied the concept to a drum & bass framework, which he returns to on Nemeton with rigorous focus.

Far from a straightforward collection of breakbeat tracks, Blackburn uses negative space and pointillist production to carve out an immersive, tense sound world around the 170 grid. He takes a widescreen approach to percussion, running from pin-prick synthesised one-shots to tumbling, organic drums you'd more readily associate with a Hans Zimmer score. Scene-building is the foremost mission across Nemeton, casting otherworldly forces in sweeps of low-end friction and dramatic melodic blooms amidst tangible real-world field recordings of flora and fauna.

Casting the mind back some 2000 years is an exercise in imagination as much as research, and Blackburn ably summons dark fantasy as he delves ever deeper into Welsh mythology with a studious zeal and avid fascination. It's that drive that makes Nemeton burst forth and take shape so powerfully, bristling with kinetic energy and a barely-concealed, strangely seductive menace that leaves a lasting impression long after the last snatch of bass has bared its teeth.

Rickets EP is the second 12” and tenth release from the label signed by the Valladolid artist Alf.

“The theme of this EP revolves around the hyperactivity that both the capitalist system and ourselves demand of us, thinking that this ultra-productivity will make us feel happy and fulfilled at some point, how we isolate ourselves in our small fortresses and see foreigners as viruses that must be eliminated or expelled.”

The 5 original tracks on this EP have been designed with few tracks but processed thoroughly to create a powerful atmosphere ready for the dance floor.



The technical side of this work is once again the work of Dan Böhler, who has mixed and mastered this album and has also given us a “house brand” remix of the title track of the EP. The visual work is by Marcos Abella.

Looking behind the obvious, forming an orchestra out of everyday surroundings.

Finding the essence in the trivial, clarity in the complex, poetry in simplicity. All of this is part of the goal, meaning and character of Oh No Noh, the project of Leipzig-based guitarist, robot programmer, magnetic tape crumpler and composer Markus Rom. All of this floats and shines through "As Late As Possible", the third Oh No Noh album, which will be released on April 4th, 2025.

The focus of this album, as the title "As Late As Possible" suggests, was patience. A creative lingering, the selfimposed principle of letting ideas mature, consciously leaving them lying and looking at them again in order to discover and refine new things. Always looking for new ways of producing musical sounds, Markus Rom has been blurring the boundaries between LoFi, Indietronica, Postrock, Kraut and Pop with his solo project for several years. His main instruments for this are electric guitar, MIDI robots, tapes and samples. For “As Late As Possible”, Rom expands his setup with a new sound sources (acoustic guitar, banjo, organ) and musical guests: Damian Dalla Torre (Squama) on bass clarinet and Andi Haberl (the Notwist, Sun) on drums.

“As Late As Possible” continues the signature of past releases and adds new facets. Rom's distinctive looping in and over each other is particularly evident in the tracks “Missing the Point”, “Orb” and “Almost Everywhere”. With "Loot", a straightforward and folk-pop piece finds its way onto the album and coexists with math-trained tracks like "Dog Years" or "Dot", which conjure up associations with Weilheim bands like COUCH. The tracks "Bliss of Disconnect" and "Fawn" were created in collaboration with the featured guests Liz Kosack and KMRU. The confidently unplanned is one of the principles around which Oh No Noh itself is also continuously evolving. Part of this development: the radio series "Oh No Noh Radioh", which has so far consisted of over 40 parts, for which Rom invites a guest in each episode to research music together along roughly defined concepts, ideas and inspirations. Together with technology composer Hainbach, free jazz artist Limpe Fuchs and sound artist Elsa M’Bala, for example, encounters were created whose patient search and find and whose controlled coincidences also characterize “As Late As Possible” – but here concentrated, concise, and with all the love of sound and experimentation always committed to the song. With this will to create a song-like narrative, to move, to develop, “As Late As Possible” remains suspended and searching. Its concentration seems light-footed, its happy accidents well-placed, the melancholic beauty of outdated technologies, forgotten musical toys and broken noise sources always forward-looking. Music like the one that comes about when someone programs an entire robot band, which then becomes just a friendly part of the whole.

The artwork for “As Late As Possible” was created by Leipzig comic artist Anna Haifisch. The album was mixed by Adam Lenox and mastered by Frida Claeson Johannsson.

4XLP. Hardcover slipcase box. Liner notes from Soichi Terada, Colour: translucent red, clear, blue, and yellow vinyl

It has been 25 years since the release of Saru Get You (サルゲッチュ), known stateside and in the UK as Ape Escape. Ape Escape marked a significant milestone for the PlayStation, as it was the first game to require use of the PlayStation's DualShock (analog) controller. In Ape Escape, the use of the analogue sticks goes beyond camera rotation and acts as an extension of Kakeru's (Spike's) own character, controlling his many gadgets like the stun club, time net, and sky flyer. It's a unique form of control that, really, didn't become popularized until the release of the Nintendo Wii. It feels like a distinctly Japanese design, the sort of off-the-wall design that is either embraced or rejected on a global scale. In Ape Escape's case, the mechanic caught on.

Ape Escape is fast, frantic, and—at times—downright frustrating. Pipo monkeys dash, taunt, and swim away from your advances. They ride water monsters, fly UFOs, and even shoot uzis! Whether it's Kakeru, his friends, or the monkeys themselves, the characters are always running across the levels. This mad dash is enhanced by the game's soundtrack, composed by legendary composer Soichi Terada. As he recalls, the director of the production said, "Spike and his friends always have the image of running." In response, Terada happily produced fast songs with an average speed of over 170bpm. The resulting gameplay and audio is a match made in heaven.

Ape Escape is the first game soundtrack Mr. Terada ever created. The producers of the game heard one of his singles, "Sumo Jungle," and thought his frenetic drum-and-bass (Jungle) would be perfect for the game. The marriage of Ape Escape's charming overworld and Soichi's upbeat compositions is nothing short
of sublime. Especially now, it is difficult to separate the mischievous Pipos and fast-paced action from Soichi Terada's silky smooth synthesizer and heart-pounding bass. Earlier this year (2024), Soichi Terada's Ape Escape work was celebrated by the six-track EP Apes in the Net, which includes music from Ape Escape 1 and 3 (Terada did not compose the series' second installment). The label, Rush Hour Music, has prestigiously championed almost all of Soichi Terada's music, especially his (specifically non-VGM) house, jungle, and drum and bass releases (Sounds from the Far East, Asakusa Light, and more).
Before Apes in the Net, Terada's Ape Escape music was only available on CD, released in Japan around 2010. This release featured reconstructed tracks created by Mr. Terada himself, identical to the music arrangements featured in the game. The biggest difference, of course, was that they were of higher fidelity than was originally available on the PS1 disk format. Completing all of the aforementioned releases is this box set, released by Far East Recording in partnership with Cartridge Thunder and officially licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment. This box set release includes four LPs, housed individually by a hardcover slipcase. This box set includes every song from Ape Escape 1, except those available on Apes in the Net. This box set release also includes one bonus song, previously unreleased anywhere else (including the game itself!).

The music on this box set was meticulously mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering. Using Mr. Terada's premastered source files, the music was completely and specifically mastered for vinyl. Rounding out the audio is absolutely stunning artwork created by Gobo3D. CT worked with Gobo to recreate some of Ape Escape's most iconic characters, referencing the original Japanese guidebook and other promotional materials. The result is visually delicious 300dpi artwork that takes you straight back to 1999. As uber-fans of the original PlayStation game, Cartridge Thunder and Far East Recording are proud to celebrate Soichi Terada's music and pay our respects to such a legendary PlayStation franchise—on the original hardware's 30th anniversary no less! It's with a happy heart, then, that Far East Recording and CT present to you Soichi Terada's Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks in a Box.

Please note: due to licensing exclusivity, this release does not include tracks previously released on Apes in the Net

For their second album 'The Foel Tower', Quade holed up in an old stone barn in the cradle of a Welsh mountain valley.
The valley was a stark and windswept backdrop with little daylight, as the band would huddle around crackling fires each evening. “There was very much a feeling of being on the complete fringes of society,” the band says. “The last vestiges of settlement before the unrelenting barren moors that loomed over us.”
It was an environment that would shape the band – a Bristol four piece made up of Barney Matthews, Leo Fini, Matt Griffiths and Tom Connolly – and the record they have made. It’s an album that is as dreamy as it is melancholic, and as quiet and tender as it is forceful and potent – gliding across genres like winds blowing over those wide-spanning Welsh hills – to arrive at something the band half-jokingly, yet somewhat accurately, describe as “doomer sad boy, ambient-dub, folk, experimental post-rock.”

Quade is a band but it’s also a very close-knit group that have been friends since childhood who use this musical vehicle for interpersonal explorations and connections. “We’ve individually experienced a lot of difficulty over the last several years and Quade has represented a space to shelter from these,” the band says. “This means we often communicate extensively with each other about the issues affecting us individually and collectively. These conversations and concerns are central to The Foel Tower.”

In many ways, the making of this record – or any Quade record – goes way deeper than the simple writing, construction and recording of music. It is a profoundly deep and meaningful experience. “A key theme of the album relates to why we connect with specific places in the way that we do,” the group says. “We often remove ourselves to isolated valleys, sheltered from some of the painful personal struggles that we have experienced as a band. These become spaces in which we collectively purge ourselves of some of these difficulties hoping to make Quade a physical and emotional place of solace. This album celebrates these places that we’ve been able to retreat to and recuperate.”

It is a deep, dense record that is stuffed with musical, cinematic and literary influences – from Ursula La Guin and Cormac MacCarthy through to RS Thomas and Yeats – but despite the heavy, introspective and anxious nature of some of the material, it is also a record that is remarkably deft, agile and considered.

Made with producer Jack Ogborne and mixer Larry ‘Bruce’ McCarthy, there is a pleasing duality to the final sound of the record. One that feels fragile and intimate but also powerful and forceful, as introspective as it is expansive, and a record that is as detailed and textured as it is wide open and spacious.

The album title also pays homage to the place that shaped it so greatly. Within this remote Welsh valley stands the Foel Tower, a stone structure filled with valves and cylinders that can raise and lower the level of the reservoir to draw off water. Which it can then send as far as 70 miles to Birmingham. However, in the late 1800s this land was occupied by local farmers and families in the hundreds until the British Government acquired the land, cleared the valleys, and promptly displaced them in order to begin serving the vastly expanding industrial English city. The band dug into the history and politics of this and wove it into the themes they were already thinking about, using what the Foel Tower stands for as something of a contemporary metaphor. “This tension was something that we wanted to explore without the haughty judgement of our more metropolitan lifestyles,” they say. “And to explore how this specifically relates to ourselves: how can we envisage a genuinely ecological future for ourselves – one that is accessible, affordable and in harmony with endangered rural practices.”

What makes The Foel Tower such an incredible record is that it feels born of a time, place and situation that only existed in that very moment. It’s a snapshot of those 10 days spent in rural Wales and all the feelings and anxieties the band were experiencing at that specific time, magically caught on tape. “The album very much feels tied to this valley for us and the conversations and experiences we shared there,” they say. “It brings up a great deal of poignancy for us, an emblem of some fleeting respite from the strains we all have to experience. But there’s also deep sadness knowing how transient these moments are – in fact, there’s just a great deal of sadness in this album. But it’s also a record that while personal, resigned, and emotionally burdened, is ultimately hopeful.”

The signal mutates. Following the first installment, Parallax Effect PT.2 finds Versalife shifting gears, distilling his unmistakable rhythmic instincts into something even more elastic and unpredictable. Smeared low-end and restless sequences coil around a framework of percussive movement, flickering between restraint and momentum. There's an underlying tension--one moment held in suspense, the next unfolding into fluid motion. The machine logic remains intact, but with an organic pulse running through it, shaping each track in real time. A fitting counterweight to PT.1, this second chapter bends the perspective once more, closing the series with a sense of motion still lingering in the air.

Blank Code is a Detroit, USA techno outfit that have released music by artists like Bas Mooy, Mike Parker, Brian Sanhaji, DJ Hyperactive, Drumcell, and many more.

The newest Blank Code release is Decoder with his 'Distant Beings' EP, a fellow American from Dallas who has gained many devoted supporters from having releases on Jeff Mills' Axis Records, Amotik Records, TWR72's Float, Edit Select Records, Molecular Recordings, and Science Cult, amongst others.

Beginning with "Missing Sector," a dystopian and airy soundscape of captivating rattlesnake hisses and muted tones of melody and suspense amidst a stuttering kick pattern.

"Strange Interaction" follows with an abstract approach overall, but using a solid, rhythmic beat as a pulsing constant. Static crackles create mesmerising textures and light tom drums are met with wandering waves of analogue whispers and skipping hats.

"Farther" introduces deep and looping modular frequencies that dance around in a sci-fi aesthetic. This sublimely hypnotic track has an ethereal quality of patience and draws influence from dubby and atmospheric styling.

Finishing with "Elevation," it instantly has an experimental vibe that seems mysterious and menacing. Cyclical mid tones create a sonic suction before phasing pulses add even more tension to this esoteric adventure.

Imagine having a song go viral for 17 years - without even knowing it. That's exactly what happened to the German 1980s band FEX. And this isn't just any song - it's The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet, a track that puzzled music detectives for decades before finally being identified in November 2024. Now, it has been officially released - twice.

The Story in Brief:
Sometime around 1984, a song was broadcasted on NDR Radio. The name of the song was Subways Of Your Mind - only found out 40 years later in November 2024. Back then, a listener recorded the NDR show on cassette, a common practice at the time. Decades later, the tape resurfaced, but while most songs from the recording were identified, one remained an enigma. On March 18, 2007, the track was uploaded to the internet in an attempt to uncover its origins. Due to its now-iconic opening lyric, it was tentatively titled Like The Wind. Over time, the mystery deepened, and the song was given a nickname: The Most Mysterious Song - or simply TMMS.

Starting in 2019, a dedicated Reddit group, TheMysteriousSong, now boasting over 63,000 members, took up the search. They meticulously documented every lead, hoping to solve the riddle of the song's origins. Then, in 2024, the breakthrough: Reddit user marjin1412 reached out to musician Michael Hädrich after discovering a reference to his band FEX in an old newspaper article. Hädrich, FEX's keyboardist, provided a recording from an old demo cassette which included an alternative version of the song. On November 4, 2024, the mystery was officially solved: FEX was the band, Subways Of Your Mind was the title.

What Happened Next:
Since then, FEX has released two singles - both featuring Subways Of Your Mind - through the Berlin-based independent label The Outer Edge. First, the demo cassette version was pressed onto vinyl, as the original NDR radio recording remained lost (see EDGE-028). The Remastered Demo Mix single instantly topped Bandcamp's global charts, holding the #1 spot for several days. By then, it was clear: this was more than just an internet curiosity. A real fanbase had formed. Enthusiastic comments on the sales page ranged from "best post-punk song to ever exist" to "FEX themselves (are) perhaps the most underrated musicians of all time."

But the story didn't end there. A higher-quality version of the NDR radio recording was rediscovered in late december, remastered, and now sent for a second vinyl pressing: the TMMS Version. This new vinyl 7" is backed with Talking Hands another great and unissued song that was found on the demo cassette.

Fame Comes with a Price
Suddenly, time isn't standing still for FEX. The band had to come to terms with the fact that they had become Lostwave super stars. A FEX fan club quickly formed on Reddit, fan-hosted FEX parties are popping up, and the internet is demanding more - an album, merchandise, live performances. But how does a band prepare for a comeback after a 40-year hiatus?

For now, FEX is carefully considering their next steps. Their demo cassette contains six songs - and a few other recordings have resurfaced which probably could be restored and compiled. But foremost, a brand new re-recording of Subways Of Your Mind is in progress.

One thing is certain: The Most Mysterious Song will continue its unstoppable journey around the world. Don't miss this (second) chance to own a piece of music history!

Mint Green Vinyl. Graham Jonson is drawn to the comforts of melody and noise. How the two conspire in tension, tonally and atonally, stirring up memory and mood. This quality animates the technicolor world of quickly, quickly, the psych-pop project that emanates from Kenton Sound, his basement studio in Portland, Oregon. "Everywhere your eye lands, there's another curio to marvel over," noted Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne when he visited Jonson's recording space for a Rising feature just after the release of his "strikingly original" 2021 debut LP, The Long and Short of It. Since then, Jonson formed a live band, released his Easy Listening EP in 2023, and navigated the up-and-downs of a young musician, the sustainability of tours and relationships. While shaped by personal bouts and fallouts, his highly-anticipated full-length follow-up finds Jonson making music that's universal, open-ended, and rewarding, like great songwriters can do. He set out to make a folk album but couldn't help coloring it in with noise; a confluence of lush instrumentation and unexpected sounds. Ambitious yet intimate, hi-fi yet homespun, the idiosyncratic songs on I Heard That Noise curve around the contours of everyday life with warmth, wit, and dissonance.

Almost Like You Could ignites its art punk fire with Lucy Alexander proclaiming, “Everyone wants something to talk about / But not a minute to spare, so be brief.” Not surprising from a song that’s 1:54 (‘Higher’), but the raw honesty in her lyrics ring far after the music ends. Alexander, along with bandmate Luke Cartledge, place the propulsive power of their beliefs at the core of their debut full-length album, and their guiding motivation towards social justice is as fierce as it is welcoming. “Living as part of the queer community, and being queer myself, leads me towards supporting every person’s truth,” Alexander says. Scrounge’s songs skip to a fast beat, electrifying the entire album with a sense of empowerment. Their approach is OG punk: they make music for their peers and themselves. Only now, with a world of connections possible, they’re able to open arms wide for a far-reaching embrace. Alexander’s rich vocals give their sound its central force, anchoring the songs with confessional lines (“If this is the pinnacle, then I need a miracle/ Cause everyone’s laughing at me,” “There’s not much left/ this corpse I have to keep/ Above board.”). They sing about economic inequality, political corruption, environmental destruction, and collective change. “We’re inspired by those around us, and we write about what we care about. Art has always existed for us as a means of catharsis, a way of expressing something we might not be able to otherwise, and we hope our music can be that for other people too,” says Alexander. “I think I’ve actually written a filthy banger,” she states while re-listening to “Buzz/Cut”, a grunge-honoring hammer of a song that takes a journey from disappointment, to self-realization, to release. Alexander and Cartledge’s gratification in making an album they’re proud of mirrors the empowerment conveyed in their lyrics. A follow-up to debut mini-album Sugar, Daddy (Fierce Panda, 2022), Almost Like You Could came together over 18 months, in between “teaching, touring, graduation, and a wedding”, as Lucy explains, for the band always has a handful of shows coming up. It’s a strange outcome for a duo who first bonded over their mutual love of SOPHIE. “She radicalized the structure of sound, and revealed herself through it,” Cartledge explains. “That was a massive inspiration when we started playing together, stripping everything away to open up new possibilities as artists and as people." Having already toured Europe and the States, Scrounge is preparing to be on the road throughout 2025. In a world where the idea of true community is ephemeral, Lucy and Luke seek to foster it everywhere they play. And their belief in change is ultimately buoyed by hope. “I know that it’s never been this good,” they sing.

Low Fuzz is proudly debuting with Avoiding Traps LOWFUZZ001, an album by Georgian musical auteur Rezo Glonti. Created using only Max/MSP and the Soviet-era LOMO MKE-100 microphone, this work marks a departure from Glonti’s traditional approach to sound. Filled with subtle yet unconventional ambient shifts , each track weaves tranquil textures, flavored with vocoder and vocal-driven sounds.
LOW FUZZ is an independent record label, musical platform and event series est. 2022 in Georgia, Tbilisi curated by ESI (Irakli Shonia).
LOW FUZZ is closely affiliated with Mutant Radio and Left Bank in Tbilisi.
The concept started as a collaborative show with Mutant Radio, and it's grown with Left Bank to host regular event series in the club setting. With the proper sound system to showdown and the ability to extend the playtime, LOW FUZZ lines up all sorts of genres and styles to host locals and artists around the globe from time to time

Kennedy Mann, indie singer-songwriter and lead singer of dream-pop band Highnoon, is a rising artist from the Philly DIY scene, in which she has become memorable for her poignant lyricism, tender vocals, and sharp melodic skill. Combining the analog sounds of dream pop, indie folk, and slowcore, Kennedy Mann's compositions strike you in the heart and linger like a bittersweet memory. Kennedy's journey as a songwriter began with the debut of Highnoon's first album Semi Sweet, a project consisting of self-written pop-rock tunes. As Kennedy continued to write, she quickly gathered a collection of demos that felt too intimate and singular for the traditional rock band format - a world of music she kept to herself like a secret. Kennedy finally launched her solo project in 2023 as a way to bring some of her most personal musical ideas to life. A prolific songwriter and creative force, she began performing her original acoustic demos on TikTok, quickly building a small devoted following around her vocals and songwriting. Through TikTok, Kennedy began to build her own music community, befriending fellow songwriters Kai Warrior, Tofusmell, and Leith Ross along the way. In recent months, Kennedy Mann embarked on the European leg of Leith Ross' first headline tour, allowing her the opportunity to bring her idiosyncratic talents to the world stage. In July of 2023, she released her debut solo single ?Crooked," a charming Kimya Dawson-inspired slowcore track that finds Kennedy pining over her partner's ?ugliest? and most undesirable traits.