quête:awa

Editing is a specialist game that is easy to play but difficult to master. King Most is more adept than many, as he shows with a third outing here on his own KM label. This one finds him spreading his wings a little, flying away from r&b and hip-hop and migrating towards more worldly grooves with Afro and Latin undercurrents. 'Tony Trinidad' brings swirling guitar echo and coconut percussion to a crispy slow jam, then 'Hermanos Cub' pumps up the funk with blazing horns and vocals. There's lush polyrhythmic looseness and string melodies to 'Zimbabwe Thorn' and earthy disco charm to 'Bebe Cameroon' with its seductive vocal leads. Cultured cuts.

The return of Jonne Lydén aka 53X is an exhilarating welcome for Emotional Especial with 4 more seismic analogue psychedelic jams that are becoming recognisably a unique and hypnotic statement.

Lydén’s studio time is distillation for personal contemplation and perfection just 3 releases in 5 years that are worth the wait. The heady demand for his debut ‘Synapse’ and the following ‘Zen ‘23’ on Especial (limited repress incoming!) show constant development a sound of widescreen technoscope where dub beats trance pyrotechnics and 303 mind-melt swirling in a cosmic matter.

His return takes this further his music heritage in Finland’s hardcore punk scene to finding the techno of Detroit and Berlin before submerging in synths and drum programming jamming recording and mixing these trip-out electronic journeys live.

This heavy 4/4 jack is apparent on opening Sanctuary. Like his recent outings ‘Radar’ found on the Especial 50th “sampler” release ‘Gracias Especial’ (EES050) and also ‘Simulaato’ hidden away on blink and you miss it cult label Avidya (AVI003) this is a pure undiluted bang. Straight forward heavy bass kicking charged with acid 303 and monotonic vocal insights the track is a flourishing temple a call of embrace.

The eponymous Cyan Haze showcases 53X’s cinematic finest panoramic audio and sound design creating expansive phonics. BPMs drop samples flourish around break drops and rolling bass – breathing looping shouting lifting.

Owls enlightens. Hardware rumbles cerebral a temporal universe awakening. The collage of found sound successive sequential all encased by hypnotic broken chords rolling bass and melancholic piano refrain. Meta worming braindance ecstatic tribal industrial gliding by Shiva into the night.

Dust closes apt its basement collage pounds Lydén to techno genesis. Proto-zeitgeist steppa dark room incantation pulling and expanding the fantasy to strange dreamscapes. Reincarnation and hope in 2026.

These days – on the new, ninth Fink album – Greenall is operating within a lineage of authentic, quietly revolutionary artists from England’s verdant southwestern toe. Artists like Michael Chapman. In 1970, the elusive acoustic guitar wizard released an album called Fully Qualified Survivor. The cult-classic served as a lodestar for Greenall – along with bandmates Tim Thornton and Guy Whittaker – as he began jigsawing together The City Is Coming to Erase it All, the follow-up to 2024’s Beauty In Your Wake. He even considered covering a song from it, but in the process, inadvertently stumbled into what became the album’s opener. ‘Wishing For Blue Sky’ circles a universal teenage ache: waiting for life to start. “No point dying of patience” goes the first lyric as crunching footsteps cue a resonant, open-tuned acoustic swaying into view. By 18, Greenall was fed up with waiting, so he left suburban Bristol and saw the world, sending postcards from the edge, waiting tables, squirreling away tips for the next flight. Thornton had similar experiences when the guitarist/drummer busked across Eur

This is nowstalgia more than nostalgia, though; there’s a parallel between these 18-year-olds and Fink’s autumn-aged family men. “You’re expected to be boring and settling down at this age,” Thornton says. “But we’ve still got this tremendous wanderlust. We want to go and discover, and also achieve things. It’s a nice life – home and family – but fuck, I can’t wait to get back out there.” City is a product of this hunger for discovery, and idolatry of the album as a form – like we had in 1974. City’s cover mirrors its interior, the first song is the greeting, the instrumental closer the conclusion. It’s a story. It’s a record for people who, like its creators, are curious. People who happily face a little cold for music, who light a crackling fire back home, who sit with these songs until they’re ready to chase after their own blue sky

These days – on the new, ninth Fink album – Greenall is operating within a lineage of authentic, quietly revolutionary artists from England’s verdant southwestern toe. Artists like Michael Chapman. In 1970, the elusive acoustic guitar wizard released an album called Fully Qualified Survivor. The cult-classic served as a lodestar for Greenall – along with bandmates Tim Thornton and Guy Whittaker – as he began jigsawing together The City Is Coming to Erase it All, the follow-up to 2024’s Beauty In Your Wake. He even considered covering a song from it, but in the process, inadvertently stumbled into what became the album’s opener. ‘Wishing For Blue Sky’ circles a universal teenage ache: waiting for life to start. “No point dying of patience” goes the first lyric as crunching footsteps cue a resonant, open-tuned acoustic swaying into view. By 18, Greenall was fed up with waiting, so he left suburban Bristol and saw the world, sending postcards from the edge, waiting tables, squirreling away tips for the next flight. Thornton had similar experiences when the guitarist/drummer busked across Eur

This is nowstalgia more than nostalgia, though; there’s a parallel between these 18-year-olds and Fink’s autumn-aged family men. “You’re expected to be boring and settling down at this age,” Thornton says. “But we’ve still got this tremendous wanderlust. We want to go and discover, and also achieve things. It’s a nice life – home and family – but fuck, I can’t wait to get back out there.” City is a product of this hunger for discovery, and idolatry of the album as a form – like we had in 1974. City’s cover mirrors its interior, the first song is the greeting, the instrumental closer the conclusion. It’s a story. It’s a record for people who, like its creators, are curious. People who happily face a little cold for music, who light a crackling fire back home, who sit with these songs until they’re ready to chase after their own blue sky

Baby T is a space away from her work as B.Traits in which Brianna Price can lean more into the junglist, drum ‘n’ bass and hardcore sounds which she loves so dearly. With BSHEE02, the second drop on Price’s own Banshee label, Baby T delivers a darkside masterclass of an EP. This record is a quartet of system blowers which doesn’t let up for a single second from start to finish.

Opener ‘Times Up’ is urgent from the off - the initial strains of this joint find sirens wailing in the monitors over a twitchy kick/drum/hats combo. From here on it’s distilled raver perfection, the drums taking us on a wild Wipeout-style ride as the subbiest of bass skulks at the bottom of the mix. Imagine a more technoid take on the classic breakbeat freerides of Skanna and you’re not far off the ‘Times Up’ sound.

A remix of ‘Times Up’ from man like Aloka leans with devilish glee into the murky underworld that lurks beneath Baby T’s original. Aloka’s version is extremely eerie in a manner which makes you think of the darkest corners of a DMZ party. When things really kick into gear, driven by an irresistible kick dembow, the effect is hypnotic - think the dubwise junglism of the UVB-76 cohort.

BSHEE02’s B-side kicks off with ‘Coercive Control’. This is a cut which delivers on its title in spades, putting the listener in a trance with an interplay of low-slung bass, whirligig synth tones and more of those perfectly executed broken beats. The acid starts to kick in around the minute mark, and it turns out to herald a total earworm of a lead melody.

There’s plenty of dimly-lit malevolence to BHSEE02 closer ‘Dense Dickwood’s grinding atmospherics and gurgling bass throbs. However, Baby T opting for a half-time drum break here gives the cut a vibe not dissimilar to the weightiest jams of classic Massive Attack - that is, until an absolutely remorseless switch-up occurs halfway through, delivering volley after volley of intense drum hits.

Baby T is a space away from her work as B.Traits in which Brianna Price can lean more into the junglist, drum ‘n’ bass and hardcore sounds which she loves so dearly. With BSHEE02, the second drop on Price’s own Banshee label, Baby T delivers a darkside masterclass of an EP. This record is a quartet of system blowers which doesn’t let up for a single second from start to finish.

Opener ‘Times Up’ is urgent from the off - the initial strains of this joint find sirens wailing in the monitors over a twitchy kick/drum/hats combo. From here on it’s distilled raver perfection, the drums taking us on a wild Wipeout-style ride as the subbiest of bass skulks at the bottom of the mix. Imagine a more technoid take on the classic breakbeat freerides of Skanna and you’re not far off the ‘Times Up’ sound.

A remix of ‘Times Up’ from man like Aloka leans with devilish glee into the murky underworld that lurks beneath Baby T’s original. Aloka’s version is extremely eerie in a manner which makes you think of the darkest corners of a DMZ party. When things really kick into gear, driven by an irresistible kick dembow, the effect is hypnotic - think the dubwise junglism of the UVB-76 cohort.

BSHEE02’s B-side kicks off with ‘Coercive Control’. This is a cut which delivers on its title in spades, putting the listener in a trance with an interplay of low-slung bass, whirligig synth tones and more of those perfectly executed broken beats. The acid starts to kick in around the minute mark, and it turns out to herald a total earworm of a lead melody.

There’s plenty of dimly-lit malevolence to BHSEE02 closer ‘Dense Dickwood’s grinding atmospherics and gurgling bass throbs. However, Baby T opting for a half-time drum break here gives the cut a vibe not dissimilar to the weightiest jams of classic Massive Attack - that is, until an absolutely remorseless switch-up occurs halfway through, delivering volley after volley of intense drum hits.

2026 Repress

UK techno style with in a french mood !
2 bloody parisians musicians and some NL remixers :)

2026 Repress

Life is like a mirror ball! The first one in a hopefully long-lived series of disco and pop influenced Super Sound Singles on Running Back, comes courtesy of the unmistakeable Gibson Brothers. Leaving their biggest wedding hits "Cuba" and "Que Sera Mi Vida" to the side, the philanthropic and smile-forcing "Ooh, What A Life" gets an extended edit service by Shan & Gerd Janson, who cut away some of the fat and make it fit for fun on contemporary dance-floors. The flip side sees them remixing and sandpapering "Heaven" into a disco-house interbred (filters and looping mandatory). To quote John Lyndon: "Disco sucks You never heard that from me."

Midway through Martin Luther King, Jr's historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King's close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century - Glorious Mahalia, a visionary tribute to Jackson's life by the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, uses that moment as a springboard to explore the depth of Jackson's musical craft and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement, including her relationship with Clarence Jones and Studs Terkel, other luminaries of the time

Frankfurt am Main -- Leipzig duo not even noticed deliver their long-awaited debut album space beyond noise - a 12-track journey balancing club functionality with immersive, long-form listening.

Shaped by years of touring and a shared ritual of visiting botanical gardens around the world, the album blends shapely grooves, field recordings and warm melodic textures into a cohesive, lived- in sound. Subtle environmental details run throughout, creating a natural flow between tracks.

Musically, it moves between electro-funk, breakbeat and hip-hop- inflected cuts, with downtempo and dubby excursions. Highlights include the driving “chrone,” the sundown groove of “diras,” the acid-tinged “plune,” and the hazy two-step moment “skum.”

Designed with warmer months in mind, space beyond noise captures the balance between dancefloor energy and home listening depth.

Michigan Band EJ & the Echoes: Rediscovering a Soul Legacy

The story of EJ & the Echoes represents a remarkable chapter in Michigan's music history and the early American soul scene. Its origins date back to the late 1950s, when Everett J. "EJ" Gronda was already active as a young musician. While studying at Central Michigan University in the early 1960s, he met the talented vocalist Manuel "Manny" Holcolm. Together with other musicians, they formed vocal groups that soon performed throughout the state and even recorded near Detroit's legendary Motown studios.

In 1963, Gronda founded EJ & the Echoes, a band that quickly gained popularity at dances, clubs, and weddings across Michigan. With Manny Holcolm as lead singer, the group developed a distinctive harmony-driven sound, blending influences ranging from the Beatles to James Brown. The band served as a house band in Traverse City, opened for national acts, and performed regularly at well-known Detroit venues.

Between 1964 and 1967, EJ & the Echoes released several singles on the Diamond Jim Records label. Although major commercial success eluded them at the time, their recordings later found international recognition. Today, their songs remain staples of the British Northern Soul scene.

After the band dissolved, the members pursued different paths. EJ Gronda became a schoolteacher but remained devoted to music throughout his life. In 2006, the musicians reunited for an emotional jam session. EJ Gronda passed away in 2022, followed by Manuel Holcolm in 2024. Their musical legacy endures-on this vinyl release, dance floors, and in the memory of a remarkable era.

Our sincere thanks go to author and blues historian Fred Reif. He wrote the accompanying text and provided all the pictures of the band printed in the gatefold cover. Without him, this project would not have been possible.

Der aus Sydney stammende Soul-Revival-Troubadour Don West – mit knapp 3 Mio. monatlichen Spotify-Hörern - veröffentlicht sein Debütalbum "Give Me All Your Love" parallel zu seinen ausverkauften Tourneen durch Europa, UK und seinem Heimatland Australien. Australiens einziger Spotify Radar Artist für 2025 wurde bereits für die Australian Independent Records Awards in der Kategorie "Beste Soul/R&B-Veröffentlichung" und für den APRA AMCOS Award in der Kategorie "Meistgespieltes Soul/RnB-Werk" nominiert und erreichte Platz 6 der australischen ARIA-Charts.

"Wenn Sie sich ein Gedankenexperiment gewünscht haben, das berauschend sinnliche Soulmusik aus der Blütezeit von Stax und Motown mit dem Charme eines angesagten Frauenschwarms verbindet, dann hat Don West die harte Arbeit für Sie erledigt; er ist die Antwort." – Onestowatch

Starting in 2021 the critically acclaimed Next Wave Acid Punx series has seen Luca Venezia, aka Curses, celebrate the music that has shaped both his life and career. Across the first two compilations Luca took us from theindustrial and post-punk sounds of the late 70s, through the emergence of EBM, new beat and freestyle in the 1980s and onto the music he both makes and plays himself in clubs today. Bringing the series to a close Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS sees the Berlin-based musician and DJ return full circle, this time exploring the sounds that first initiated him into Brooklyn's rave scene and the music that, in some way, continues to embody its eclectic spirit today.

Spread across three 2LPs and 3CDs Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS captures a moment whose influence can still be heard reverberating around clubland today. With the nascent rave scene obliterating boundaries, this was a moment where the darker, harder industrial electronic sounds of the mid 1980s were crashing headfirst into the ecstatic wave that was washing over clubland creating thrilling juxtapositions. Whether in the clubs and warehouses of New York, London, Frankfurt, Valencia and beyond, electronic music would never be the same again as countless new genres we take for granted today were born from the chaos and energy that had been unleashed.

Featuring 46 hard-to-find, new and exclusive tracks, Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS both documents that fertile period and shows how, despite rumours to the contrary, that early anarchic spirit can still be found today. From the Detroit Techno of Model 500 to Nitzer Ebb's EBM and the proto-Trance of Age of Love and onto brand new tracks from some of today's best producers such as Zaatar, Italo Deviance and Leona Jacewska, this compilation closes out a series that has to date revelled in exploring the darker corners of clubland in uplifting style.

This is Chapter 2.

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.

A blistering collection of non-stop Ska classic tunes featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure fire! This compilation features classic tracks from The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Delroy Wilson alongside super-rare tracks from the likes of Ken Boothe, The Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and many more. Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s musical empire was founded on Ska, the first explosive and most exciting music to come out of newly independent Jamaica. This album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records’ seminal Ska releases and features a who’s who of some of the most important artists in the history of reggae music.

Clear Coloured Vinyl incl. Booklet in silk screened pvc sleeve

Sound fragments unfold across Zurich, making loss, memory, and cultural change physically and acoustically perceptible. In The Rhythm of Design, Zurich-based fine arts duo Michael Meier & Christoph Franz explore urban displacement and its impact on the local music scene.

Focusing on six venues that have disappeared or are under threat, the artists collected materials on site—wood, metal, and other architectural elements—and, with the support of professional instrument builders, transformed them into six musical instruments. Six artists and groups connected to these spaces—namely Kalabrese, Tobibi Ferrari-Bienz, Rafal Skoczek, Lucien Badoux & Jeremy Sauter, Nicola Kazimir, and Dualism—each composed a piece for them, forming the basis for site-specific performances in September 2025. Rather than performing as an ensemble, the works—ranging from experimental funk and punk to kraut, noise, and drone—unfolded simultaneously in spatial fragments at the original locations. Only through movement and listening across the city did the composition emerge as a whole. ​​The work was realized in collaboration with the City of Zurich, Art in Public Space (KiöR).

Eight months after the original performances took place, the pieces are released via Switzerland-based publishing platform Präsens Editionen. The record—available as a limited-edition coloured vinyl with a special artwork, as a digital album, and for streaming—carries the fragmented sounds of Zurich into a new form of collective memory, extending the work beyond its original locations as a lasting document of urban transformation.


* Edition of 300 clear color vinyl
* Special artwork feat. silk-screen printed plastic sleeve and an extensive booklet, designed by award-winning graphic design studio A Language, Melina Wilson and Martin Stoecklin
* Published by Präsens Editionen

A1. – Itch & Scratch 5.32

Smoove puts the spotlight firmly on the larger-than-life vocals of Rufus Thomas, peeling things back to reveal hard-hitting breakbeat drums from the very first bar, anchored by a relentless, pounding bassline. Punchy brass stabs and rolling keys collide with dirty funk guitar riffs, all stretched out into an extended rework built for maximum floor impact.

A.2 Bouncy Lady 5.06

A classic jazz-funk break from 1975 gets a fresh twist as Smoove reworks the structure into a groovy, extended build-up. Vocal chants and handclaps take the lead, while the original sax solo is stripped away and replaced by a raw bass-and-guitar workout. The focus shifts squarely to the rhythm section, letting the drums ride all the way to the finish—ending with the studio engineer’s off-mic murmur on the tape: “beautiful.”

B1. – For The Love Of You 6.57


The Isley Brothers classic gets a loving reworking, with the groove locked in tight and the keyboards pushed front and centre letting the drums and bass drive home the groove. Those iconic falsetto vocals are spine-tingling, from start to finish.

B.2– I’m Trying 4.48

Lush, soulful strings and a deep-groove piano line glide over this drum-driven reinterpretation, opening up the raw, emotive vocal breakdowns of Carla Thomas and Pervis Staples. Originally scored by Isaac Hayes, this rework digs deep into the multitracks, uncovering previously unheard moments and giving them room to breathe.