Spatial stalwart and ambient master Aural Imbalance returns for a fresh slice of atmospheric heaven with Unknown Universe. A1 - Alien Lifeform A serene, distinctly atmospheric synth intro with light hats introduces Alien Lifeform, Aural Imbalance toying with filtered breaks and a deep bassline which ushers in trademark melodic pads and a thoughtfully constructed amen pattern. Rolling and intense, the track embodies Spatial’s love for the floor as well as the absorbed listener, nodding along to the laid-back rhythms on the 2am train home. A2 - Indigo Soothing, calming synths create an evocative introduction peppered lightly with cymbals and gentle intrigue, before the Circles break takes center stage with a delightfully constructed and crisply programmed pattern. A spirited breakdown with a subtle trance-like quality ensues before the breaks take over again, all set to a suitably earthy 808 bassline humming away below. AA1 - Empty Universe Deliciously clean and chunky Hot Pants breaks provide a DJ-friendly intro to Empty Universe, a blissful rolling track which sees Aural Imbalance fusing incredible 80’s synthwave vibes, rolling deep basslines and micro melodies with that timeless and evocative break - programmed to perfection - culminating in a stunningly atmospheric piece, fresh for the discerning listener - just as we like it at Spatial. A2 - Lunar Phase Kick back as Aural Imbalance closes the EP in fine form with a leisurely trip to the dark side of the moon. Lunar Phase opens with a short intro featuring sullen tones and light hats before a hypnotic break pattern takes over proceedings, and airy padwork circles above. A meandering melody builds throughout the piece and develops its final form during a luscious breakdown, and through the closing stages of this truly beautiful track. Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial/Red Mist)
Austrian musician, painter, and filmmaker Kimyan (formerly Kimyan Law) combines sound and visual design in an impressively direct way to create a comprehensive artistic experience. He takes an open, intuitive approach to his compositions, connecting the
resonances of traditional instruments and rhythmic patterns from Central, North, East, and Sub-Saharan Africa with sophisticated production techniques. Kimyan's current album,
“Coloria,” in which he explores the concept of timbre in a multifaceted way, marks the pinnacle of his artistic development to date.
For his Live -concerts, Kimyan relies on the organic element of playing, using instruments such as electronic drum pads and MIDI controllers.
This gives his pieces a spontaneous, physical presence on stage that goes far beyond mere reproduction and makes his performances a lively interplay between improvisation and structure. In conjunction with his self-designed artwork and videos, corresponding audiovisual worlds are created in which cultural influences and identities, moods and timbres shine together radiantly. Kimyan's works tell stories in many colours, yet always in one language: his own.
Since 2020, 12 Inch Lovers have been releasing new samplers every year, eagerly anticipated by collectors. These samplers have now become a staple and are easily added to vinyl collections across Europe. They offer timeless classics and rare tracks that are often hard to find elsewhere.
With Samplers 11 & 12, they surprise again with a mix of modern classics and tracks that have never been released on vinyl or are difficult to find. By adding unique and exclusive tracks, the 12 Inch Lovers samplers remain innovative and high-quality. They are a must-have for DJs, collectors, and fans of contemporary classics!
SAMPLER 12
A1) Borai & Denham Audio - Make Me (original release 2023)
Released in 2023 on the British label Room Two Records (catalogue R212001) on twelve inch vinyl, Make Me combines breakbeat, house and speed garage with high energy, featuring clear use of Amen breaks, rumbling sub bass and sharp rave sounds. At the heart of the track lies an instantly recognisable vocal hook from the mid eighties, a sample taken from Donna Allen - Serious (1986). The result feels like a long forgotten rave anthem from the nineties wrapped in a modern sound.
The original twelve inch pressing quickly became a highly sought after collector's item and received a limited pink vinyl repress in 2025. This track, first issued only on orange vinyl in 2023, was officially re released once all samples were cleared. It has every ingredient of a future classic, a true underground anthem for fans of modern UK rave and jungle energy.
A2) Smoke City - Mr. Gorgeous (and Miss Curvaceous) (Mood II Swing Vocal Mix) (original release 1997)
Originally released in 1997 on the album Flying Away by Smoke City. The Mood II Swing Remix, produced by New York house duo John Ciafone and Lem Springsteen (also the producers behind Ultra Naté - Free), takes the song straight to the dance floor with a smooth groove, soulful vocals and a deep, hypnotic flow.
The iconic line "Cool and calm, Mr Gorgeous..." remains untouched, while the remix enriches the original Latin and trip hop influences of the band with that distinctive late nineties house atmosphere. The result is a timeless club favourite, almost nine minutes of pure vibe (the Mood II Swing Vocal Mix runs 9minutes and 20 seconds), adored by DJs who like to bring a touch of soul to their house sets.
Released on Jive Records, the track received great praise. Music Week highlighted its "tight ay ay ay hook" and noted that the Mood II Swing and Hyperspace mixes made it a real standout. The original version reached number one in Italy in 1997, and the Mood II Swing Remix has since gained cult status in the Belgian club scene and beyond as the perfect marriage between soul and dance floor energy.
B1) Chris Raven - I Know You Love Me Too (Bruce Norris Remix) (original release 1997)
Christian Raabe, better known as Chris Raven, is a German producer who made his name in the late nineties progressive trance scene.
The Bruce Norris Remix of I Know You Love Me Too (Additive Records, catalogue 12AD 027) first appeared in late 1997 and was officially released in early 1998. The remix builds an euphoric atmosphere witha beautiful melody, dreamy pads and powerful drums, all typical of the progressive trance sound of that period.
The track gained extra attention when it appeared on Northern Exposure 3: Expeditions by Sasha and John Digweed in 1999. Many fans first discovered it there (especially the Van Bellen Remix version), helping to cement the cult status of I Know You Love Me Too within the progressive and trance community.
B2) Grooveyard - Mary Go Wild (original release 1996)
One of the most recognisable and iconic club tracks in Belgian and Dutch underground house history is without a doubt Mary Go Wild, released in 1996 on EC Records. The track quickly became the defining anthem of the rave scene in the Low Countries.
With a raw groove around 133 BPM, pumping four to the floor drums and the hypnotic vocal sample "Mary... go wild!", the record set dance floors ablaze in the nineties. Producer Jeroen Verheij, also known as Secret Cinema (from the classic Timeless Attitude), perfectly captured the raw energy of the European house movement of that era.
To this day Mary Go Wild stands as a symbol of pure rave power, a timeless anthem that, as one Discogs collector put it, "still works on any dance floor." Original twelve inch pressings on EC Records and later issues on Blanco Y Negro are highly sought after, and the track remains a staple in retro house and classic DJ sets.
C1) Dave Swayze - Last Flight To Paris (original release 2000)
Dave Swayze, best known for his classic Goldwave, has several hidden gems to his name, and Last Flight To Paris is certainly one of them. Released in November 2000 on the Belgian label Yeti Records, the track is a subtle blend of trance and progressive house. It is known for its emotional melody, dreamy build up and strong percussion, built on the foundation of progressive trance but with thewarmth and groove of house.
At the time, Last Flight To Paris was frequently played by progressive trance DJs and soon became a cult favourite among vinyl collectors within the genre. Original pressings on Yeti Records are now extremely rare and much sought after. The mix of emotion, euphoria and timeless club energy makes Last Flight To Paris a hidden treasure from the late trance era of 1999 and 2000.
C2) Joe Goddard - Music Is The Answer (Hot Since 82 Remix) (original release 2017)
This remix by Hot Since 82 (Daley Padley, from Barnsley in the north of England) for Music Is The Answer by Joe Goddard is partly based on the original classic Celeda - Music Is The Answer (in the Danny Tenaglia Remix). It was released in February 2017 as a digital exclusive through Domino Records.
Hot Since 82 reworked the original, a vocal house track by Hot Chip member Joe Goddard, into a deep, grooving house track with a warm rolling bass line. The soulful vocals of Joe Goddard (featuring SLO) take on a subtle melancholic tone in his remix, creating a modern house classic filled with emotion and drive.
The remix became a major club favourite in 2017 and 2018, supported by leading names in the tech house scene and heard at festivals around the world. Interestingly, this popular version had never been released on vinyl, which only increased its cult status among collectors. Music Is The Answer (Hot Since 82 Remix) remained a digital classic for years, until now, finally available in this long awaited vinyl edition.
D1) Just A Man - I'm Sorry (Original Club Mix) (original release early 2000s)
The French project Just A Man consists of brothers Hervé and Nicolas Subrechicot. Their track I'm Sorry is an emotionally charged house record that perfectly captures the early 2000s club atmosphere.
Released in 2003, the song combines soulful male vocals with a warm, rhythmic production that blends UK garage and classic club house influences. The Original Club Mix (6 minutes and 14 seconds) builds gradually towards a powerful, uplifting climax, carried by rich chords and an irresistible groove.
Although I'm Sorry stayed somewhat under the radar at the time, it is regarded by connoisseurs as a hidden gem, a perfect balance of melody and groove. The twelve inch vinyl release (on RKG / Motor Music, 2003) is now hard to find and highly prized among vinyl and house collectors, which only adds to its appeal.
I'm Sorry embodies the pure sound of early 2000s vocal house: sincere, funky and danceable, with that unmistakable UK garage touch, even more evident in the G Box Garage Club Remix on the same EP. An unfairly overlooked track that has always remained a true timeless classic since the very beginning of 12 Inch Lovers.
D2) Teddy Pendergrass -Life Is A Song Worth Singing (Jamie Jones Remix) (original release 2019)
In 2019 Jamie Jones breathed new life into the classic soul song by Teddy Pendergrass with a contemporary house rework. The remix was released in March 2019 as part of the digital EP Mixmag Presents: Teddy Pendergrass - The Remixes, issued in honour of the documentary If You Don't Know Me, a film about the rise of Teddy Pendergrass, the first African American male artist to achieve five consecutive platinum albums in the United States during the seventies.
Jamie Jones stayed true to the feel good essence of the 1978 original but wrapped it in a modern club sound, with pulsing synths, a warm rolling groove and a tight four to the floor beat providing the perfect base for Teddy's powerful and instantly recognisable voice.
The result is a captivating, soulful house track that effortlessly bridges past and present without losing the emotional power of Pendergrass's vocal delivery.
Despite its widespread popularity in the international club scene, where it became a favourite among DJs who love to blend soul with house, this remix never had a physical vinyl release. Until now, with its long awaited appearance on 12 Inch Lovers Sampler 12.
After a short break, Vibes and Grooves is back with Collab Grooves Part 2. Following the success of our initial collaborative venture, we continue our mission of uniting visionary producers under a single sonic umbrella. This time Jemaho, Shaka and DFRA come together for another deep collaboration.
With “Joudia’s Groove (Drifting Away – The DAT Version)” on the A side, we are delighted to have Jemaho on board. He delivers an outstanding, warm and soulful vocal house cut driven by a smooth, uplifting groove and rich musical depth. With its unique tape sound aesthetic, a true masterpiece. Certainly a future club classic.
The B side opens with „Sparkling Soul“ from label resident Shaka. A jazzy house affair that blends vibrant piano melodies, a hypnotic lead synth line, and a tight bassline. It radiates warmth, sophistication, and an ever-present sense of romance.
The second track comes from DFRA, the man from Buenos Aires, who is already well known on the label for his outstanding tracks from the latest Collab Grooves. With “New York Style”, DFRA delivers a deep house tune shaped by warmth, restraint, and a steady underground groove. Subtle textures and raw rhythms create a smooth, flowing atmosphere that feels natural and unforced.
Timeless in feel and refined in production, Collab Grooves Part 2 captures an effortless flow that speaks directly to both the heart and the dancefloor.
Jess Sah Bi is well-known as half of the legendary duo Jess Sah Bi & Peter One who brought homegrown Country-Americana to the West African masses with their smash debut Our Garden Needs Its Flowers in the mid-1980s. Touring stadiums and reaching listeners worldwide, their music has racked up millions of spins on YouTube and remains imprinted in the hearts of Ivorians of a certain age. ATFA reissued their album in 2018, garnering critical acclaim from publications including Pitchfork and Rolling Stone and reaching a new generation of listeners outside Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire). Sometime in the early 90s, Die Sahbi - or Jesse, as he known to friends-became gravely ill with an unknown ailment and almost died. He visited various doctors and all kinds of religious healers and nothing helped. One day he went down to an Evangelical Christian revival in his neighborhood. They prayed over him and he was delivered. He says, "Their prayers helped chase out whatever demons and unhealthy spirits were inside me. After that my illness went away. When I went to the United States a few months later on an exchange program I wanted to make music to thank God because I was saved." He recorded an album of music praising God in order to honor a promise he made to himself at the depths of his desperation in the hospital. The album Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas Jesus Christ Does Not Let Us Down came out in 1991 and sold around 3000 cassettes in Ivory Coast. The master tape was lost along the way so the recording has never been on digital platforms until now. Jesse didn't have much time to record while visiting South Carolina, hence the relatively short album, 6 songs including two reprises for filler. A local pastor connected him with a studio and some American musicians (Robert Fortner and Gary Davis) to help. They added acoustic guitar, percussion and keyboard accompaniment to Jesse's soaring French and Gouro vocals, harmonica and finger-picked acoustic. The resulting recording is deeply soothing and contemplative music that perfectly compliments the songs already embraced by millions. But he had to find the rest of the studio expenses-$600 total-which he secured drawing cartoons for UNICEF. Jesse is Ivory Coast's first political cartoonist, a vocation for which he was widely celebrated at the time. It also made him a few enemies which lead to him leaving the country permanently a few years later. Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas is Jess Sah Bi's first and only gospel album. Fortunately, fans responded with enthusiasm: widespread radio airplay and concerts followed, along with a growing solo profile in the country. The first big gospel artists in Ivory Coast were the duo Mathieu et Constance, who emerged in 1989. There was a bigger gospel music movement in English-speaking counties like Ghana and Nigeria (Christians make up roughly 40% of the population in Ivory Coast, slightly less than Muslims). Jesse didn't have any intention of working in Christian music but he realized, "You don't make music to make money-you want to send a message." In the years since Jesus-Christ's release, gospel music in Ivory Coast has grown to become a key part of music culture in the country. Spiritual music appears in community actives across the public and private spectrum from religious gatherings and parties to television broadcasts and music festivals. And, as it has evolved and indigenized locally, gospel music has picked up elements of traditional Ivorian music, reggae and soul. The album ultimately precipitated the demise of the duo, who were soon separated geographically as Peter One relocated to Nashville. He went on to become a nurse and release a successful solo album on Verve following the ATFA collaboration. Nowadays Jesse lives in the Bay Area and continues to record and perform music wherever and whenever he has the chance. He is publishing a new book of humorous cartoons in 2025 and his most recent album Never Give Up came out in 2020
"Dieses Jahr feiert "Dirty Old Hip Hop" sein 20-jähriges Jubiläum, und wir feiern mit einer Neuauflage dieses absoluten Klassikers. Das ursprünglich 2006 erschienene und für die Worldwide Awards nominierte Album ist eine meisterhafte Sammlung von Tracks von Marc Mac (4hero). Mit den Musikern Somatik und Luke Parkhouse sowie den Rappern Voice und Capital A hat Marc Hip-Hop-Breaks & Beats neu interpretiert und in Grooves eingebettet, die den gesampleten Original-Tunes Tribut zollen. Dieser postmoderne Ansatz hat ein Album mit zeitloser Musik hervorgebracht, das Epochen überdauert und gleichermaßen frisch wie vertraut klingt. Und es funktioniert einfach." - Bob Hill. Remastertes 180g Doppelvinyl.
KIZZY is the breakthrough EP from rising East London artist Bel Cobain, one of the most distinctive new voices emerging from the UK alternative R&B and soul landscape. Written across 18 months of late-night ideas, scattered sessions, and quiet breakthroughs, the project captures an artist in motion. Following a string of singles that introduced her raw lyricism, KIZZY marks a confident step forward with intimate, sharp, and melodically rich songs that sit in the space between endings and new beginnings.
Across these six tracks, Bel moves with striking emotional honesty through a rich palette that encompasses rock’s bite, jazz’s looseness, R&B warmth, hip hop rhythm, folk intimacy, and fractured breaks. She blends conversational storytelling with her distinct smoky vocals, reflecting on change, learning to let go, and finding light in the aftermath. The EP invites the listener to listen closely to the cracks, the softness, and the pulse of the beauty that still rises when a chapter turns.
Bel Cobain is fast becoming known for her ability to connect deeply with audiences, pairing classic songwriting instincts with a contemporary sonic edge. Early support has come from tastemaker radio and press, with momentum building across streaming platforms as listeners discover her unique perspective on vulnerability and self-awareness. Released as Brownswood Recordings celebrates its 20th year, KIZZY continues the label’s tradition of championing the most singular artists.
Marking a significant milestone in her career, this release is Bel Cobain's first-ever record. It is presented as a Collector's Edition Limited Edition 1xLP gatefold vinyl, pressed on Terracotta colored wax. With short-form video campaigns, targeted digital marketing, radio support, and a growing live presence, this release positions Bel Cobain as one of the UK’s most compelling new artists for 2026.
Over the past few years, Munich based polymath Lindsey Wang has risen to the forefront of the club scene under her Polygonia alias, creating a stream of spectacular releases where she tirelessly twists techno into a living, breathing ecosystem.
As she appears on Timedance for the first time, Polygonia sculpts a set of four immersive, pressure‐loaded club tracks where earthy psychedelia brushes up against precision‐engineered rhythm, inviting dancers into a zone that feels both ritualistic and sharply futuristic.
“Ceaseless Motion” draws on deep‐focus sound design, restless percussion and subtly warped harmonies, all threaded by a quietly hallucinatory sense of detail that really takes our breath away, and will surely bring the distinctive dancer to the very front of the bass bins.
Clairvoyant Dimensions is the first album by Mei Honeycomb, a new duo of Jordan Czamanski, renowned as a member of the acclaimed Juju & Jordash and the Magic Mountain High project, with solo work released as Jordan GCZ, and legendary saxophonist Jeff Hollie, known mostly for his work with Frank Zappa and Ike Willis. An explorative ambient album, Clairvoyant Dimensions is an exercise in distance and contemplation, and the exhilarating feeling of insight, however fleeting, like staring at the midnight flicker of an old VCR. Czamanski's music has a trademark tenderness and soft-spokenness, an ability to maximize minimalist musical elements and bring them to an open-ended conclusion. Jeff Hollie provides interpretative sax lines on all tracks, slipping into the scene like a shadow, silent and unexpected, touching upon emotional registers almost explicit, yet confounding.
As musical signifiers keep turning around themselves, they set up a mood of euphoria, one that suggests understanding. Never explicitly spaced-out, there is continuous reference to cosmoses both inward and far away. Ambient music in modern form. Jordan Czamanski uses his experience in producing off-the-charts club music to come up with five tracks that at times are standstills, and at times dwell in forward momentum. Jeff Hollie provides both comprehension and beautiful confusion. As grainy images switch into focus, Clairvoyant Dimensions is a beautiful and contemplative trip that suggests its own reality in delicate ways. One of the five tracks, the gorgeous live-recorded Painted Desert Pastel, features composer, performer, and researcher Ilya Ziblat Shay on double bass and electronics.
Screen-printed cover designed by Johan Kauth.
Mastering by Rashad Becker
The Spoiled is an Italian post-punk project led by Giovanni Santolla, blending electronic beats, distorted synths, and reverb-soaked guitars into a dark, romantic, and nostalgic sound.
In 2024, the project self-released the debut EP Time distributed by Manic Depression, followed in 2025 by the full-length Living Ghosts via Swiss Dark Nights—an album that firmly established The Spoiled within the contemporary post-punk scene. Following the album’s release, Giovanni collaborated with international acts including This Eternal Decay, Darkways, Corlyx, Chaos International, and Hinfort, while maintaining a dense touring schedule across Europe and sharing the stage with artists such as Traitrs, Hinfort, Darkways, and Ductape.
The new album When It Rains, set for release on Avant! Records on April 17, 2026, expands The Spoiled’s artistic vision with a focus on intense, romantic soundscapes that delve deeply into human intimacy and interpersonal relationships. Embracing a warmer and more personal sonic direction, the record blends elements of indie rock and electrogaze music that enrich and revitalize the dark, melancholic palette that has defined the project’s earlier works.
Still playing homage to the forefathers of the genre such as Clan of Xymox, The Sound and Pink Turns Blue, When It Rains opens the path of The Spoiled to new soundscapes, exploring broader emotional territories while preserving the atmospheric depth and introspective tone that have become its signature.
FFO: Twin Tribes, Clan of Xymox, She Past Away, Mareux, The Soft Moon, Pink Turns Blue.
Spinnin' Records, one of the most influential dance music labels, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Chapter 1 compilation featuring a selection of iconic hits that have shaped the global electronic music scene. Since its founding in 1999, Spinnin' has been a trendsetter in electronic dance music (EDM), nurturing superstar artists and groundbreaking tracks across house, future bass, big room, and deep house genres.
This edition of Spinnin' 25 Years...Chapter 1 double vinyl LP collection includes memorable tracks from legends like Martin Garrix with the chart-topping hit “Animals”, "Stumblin' In" by CYRIL, "Secrets" by Tiësto & KSHMR, "Tsunami" by DVBBS & Borgeous, “Bullit” by Watermat, “Toulouse” by Nicky Romero, "Show Me Love" by Sam Feldt and 23 more tracks showcasing the signature sound and major contributions to the label.
Spinnin' 25 Years...Chapter 1 is available as a limited edition on green vinyl. The iconic Spinnin' logo is printed with an uv spot varnish on the gatefold sleeve.
The origins of Body System date back around 35 years. Dissatisfied with previous experiences, the project was conceived as a meeting point between Sheffield and Detroit techno and German and Belgian body music. At the time, it never fully developed and remained largely an idea, with only a few sketches recorded on DAT. More than three decades later, that original concept has been revived. Following an invitation to contribute the track In Your Mind to the soundtrack of Electronic Body Movie, directed by Pietro Anton, the project was reopened and reworked, taking shape in the present while remaining rooted in its initial vision. These five tracks reflect an awareness of both past and contemporary electronic music, filtered through an undiminished experimental approach and a conscious refusal to adhere to stylistic conventions or predefined genres. Presented in ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid BLACK vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered and mastered for vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios (Germany).
Charlotte de Witte announces three brand new tracks in the form of her richly resonant EP ‘Amor’, out April 30th on her KNTXT imprint. The vinyl will include an additional Instrumental Mix of her track ‘O Movimento’.
The world's number one techno artist recently celebrated her 15th career anniversary with two monumental Flanders Expo 23k capacity performances, her long-awaited debut album (plus a new Deluxe Edition), and press support from Vogue, Grammy Museum, BBC 6 Music, DJ Mag (with cover), Mixmag, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Zane Lowe, Clash, Flood Magazine (cover).
‘Amor’ EP: each track features the breathy, full-toned vocals and Portuguese lyrics of CERES. The Brazilian singer, DJ & producer favours techno with tasty slices of UKG. Add to that, subtle motifs link the three tracks, giving the impression they form a suite. ‘This EP is inspired by my love for Portugal and Brazil, the countries, the people, the food, the culture. Made with lots of amor.’ - Charlotte de Witte
Title track ‘Amor’ (feat. CERES) delivers a galloping beat starred with spacey FX, as a hoover siren builds tension and CERES begins her rhyming chant. A sprinkle of acid becomes a sulphuric tidal wave. Next, ‘Sem Ar’ (feat. CERES): ‘Airless’; frantic rattling percussion overlays the fast beat to breakbeat-adjacent. CERES’ resonant voice is showcased in an acapella breakdown before her soulful voice becomes an acid robot’s, sharp and penetrating. Finally, ‘O Movimento’ (feat. CERES); ‘Movement/motion’, speeding beat with hi-hat backbeat duels with CERES’ voice, now sounding almost breathless, before acid filters in as the track builds.
Coming straight from the Cozmo comes RudyLane with a debut EP The Return Of The Synth. Landing the ship on new imprint Drag Vader comes a four tracker from the heavenly isles. Leading the arrival we have ' The Goat' a low hung brooding affair which then builds into haunting territories twisting into funk infused techno awakenings. ' 2 yrs L8' slips us onto at first a desolate plaine, trying to find a signal, with stripped vocal stabs swung groove, smokey juno bass into a hook that the Dark Synth would be proud of. ' Thirsty Pool' on the flip is a more minimal workout weaved within hypno vocals driving us forward into hopeful waters. 'Protests Digital' closes out the party blending worlds of emotive melodies and gnarly walking basslines through arpeggiated mid riffs dusted with dub kissed filterness. Landing firmly on the ground RudyLane is off to a strong start.
With Black Koyo, Mattias De Craene enters a sound world at once intimate and vast. Born from journeys in Morocco and Brussels, the project traces the rhythms, chants, and spirits of the Gnawa tradition, revealing a quiet resonance that echoes De Craene's own search for depth and presence. Guibri, qraqueb, call-and-response chants, saxophone, loops, and electronics come together in a trance-induced dialogue - ritualistic, elemental, and dreamlike - creating a space where listening becomes immersion, tradition meets imagination, and music unfolds as a shared act of reflection and wonder.
About Mattias De Craene
Mattias De Craene's artistic path is marked by rare coherence. As a central voice in Nordmann and MDC III, he developed a physical, rock-inflected jazz language driven by propulsion, volume, and trance-like collective energy. Over time, a period of personal rupture - burnout, tinnitus, depression - shifted his focus inward. The saxophone became a breathing, textural presence, and in his solo work, he weaves saxophone, electronics, loops, and minimal forms into a cinematic, hushed world where repetition, resonance, and silence slow perception. Rooted in ambient and introspection, his music prizes attention over impact, precision over excess - a quiet intensity recognized with a nomination as Musician for the Music Industry Awards (MIA's).
About Black Koyo
Black Koyo is a Brussels-based ensemble and one of the most compelling voices of the Gnawa tradition outside Morocco. Led by maalem Hicham Bilali, the group brings guibri, qrraqueb, and call-and-response chants to life with trance-like intensity and ritual precision. Their music is both rooted and contemporary, weaving earthbound rhythms and vocal invocations into ecstatic, immersive soundscapes, creating a space where ancestral resonance meets present-day imagination.
About Jan Bang
Jan Bang is a pioneering Norwegian producer and musician, celebrated for his mastery of live sampling and his ability to merge electronics with improvisation, rhythm, and texture in real time. He mixed the album and occasionally joins live performances, bringing his signature approach to sound as co-founder of the influential Punkt Festivaland collaborator with artists such as Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arve Henriksen, and ECM Records' roster. As a performer and sound architect, Bang creates immersive, trance-like sonic textures where silence and sound carry equal weight. Within Mattias De Craene ftBlack Koyo, his live sampling becomes an organic instrument, weaving saxophone, electronics, and Gnawa rhythms into hypnotic, physically charged soundscapes.
Line-up & credits
Mattias De Craene - sax, electronics | Hicham Bilali - guibri, vocals, qraqueb |Ismael Akhraz - vocals, qraqueb | Marwan Abantor - vocals, qraqueb
All tracks are original gnawa traditionals played by Black Koyo and arranged by Mattias De Craene.
Album produced & recorded by Mattias De Craene in Essaouira, Morocco and hometown Ghent, Belgium 2025.
Text by Hicham Bilali.
Mixed by Jan Bang at Punkt Studio
Mastered by Lieven Van Pee
Artwork by Marina Sviridova
Design by Benoit Van Geel
Manufactured and distributed by N.E.W.S.
Executive production by W.E.R.F. records
Supported by Flemish Government, Jazzlab, nona, HA Concerts, Aubergine artist Management,
KAAP, La Bestia (Wout Van Putten) & mdcmu.sic vzw.
2026 (c) W.E.R.F. records
Rarely-seen Delsin alumn Sentomea resurfaces on the M>O>S label with the Wonderment EP, brandishing a blissful quintet of tracks in his trademark style. Inspired by organic textures in sound and image, this release merges distinctive sound-design with raw improvisation and hardware-based live performance. A carefully selected set of tracks takes you along clunky Chicago house sounds, far away echoes from the NWAQ universe and lo-fi Detroit oriented journeys.
Four cuts of grimey, creepshow, noir tech and jackin Chicago House by Fugitive Artifact, NYC-via-Atlanta artist behind the Headcrack party. Not a rehash or revival, but still full of respect for the founders of jack (also John Carpenter!). At times on the A-side, these tracks are psychedelic…driving bass lines over syncopated claps and rimshots with building, atmospheric swells inviting you to tumble down the manhole into a world of insomniac crime bosses and bleary eyed pleasures. The B side opens with a more techno tempo, but keeps the swirling percussion cooking. The record ends with an ominous daybreaker. You can hear the arrival of a grey dawn. An invitation to join the freaks in the gutter. Will you heed the call and join the ranks?!
"After being praised as one of the best releases of 2025 by multiple platforms, the highly praised debut album from Obeka lands on vinyl via YUKU.
The rhythmic dynamics and emotive attitudes of A World No More captures the density of soundsystem culture in Obeka's ancestral roots. YUKU presents the Bermudians debut album capturing a Neo-Colonial dystopia, protest and Afro-Futurism hyperextended through decaying sonic structures of a dark past and its grievances which very much exist today.
Growing into adulthood within the walls of British and European Colonial systems meant the disconnection and lostness in a new country hid me from the world at a young age. Unlike London's vast and culturally engaging migrant communities, the industrial milling town of Stockport introduced a coldness towards people from other countries I experienced in my first year after relocating from Bermuda. I couldn't understand why. Whether cold words thrown towards me or actions upon other people who look like me, it has shown to be a dooming societal virus with no cure. The most comfort was found through what was familiar - drums and rhythmic spirituality of my homeland. It was a safe-haven, a place to empty the anger and confusion. It's been 15 years since relocating and as my sound evolved, it seems classism, racism, oppression and civil control of ethnic peoples has become worse - even now more legalised and normalised. Ogun (a powerful Yoruba deity associated with anger, justice and war) acts as the opening sequence of the record and its symbolism. Using distorted bass frequencies and dissected Regga-Dub immersed in live-sampled ghostly voices of the lost ones. This sonic exercising is also applied in Drillaman - a stampede of industrial framework and metallic instruments wielded over moody Dancehall MC'ing, magnifying two parallel worlds in cocooned evolution. The resurrection of Transatlantic African cultures and identity have never been silenced, rather carried elsewhere through trade routes of enslavement, which was pivotal when composing and completing the album upon returning home to the Caribbean for the first time ever. After reconnecting with my heritage my blurred vision of what's wrong in the world became so clear. Guidance in empty plains seek truth throughout the pain - A statement of finding oneself expressed on the poetic closing track A World No More.
On Fawohodie (A West African Adinkra symbol that represents independence, freedom, and emancipation stamped on the album cover) the motive and atmosphere begins to change. Afro-Caribbean idealism which refers to the philosophical concept that emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals and the importance of community, often contrasting with Western individualism, begins to take shape in a new universe. We can co-exist. The track framework uses machine-led software forming frequencies we have no control over, then manipulated through decomposing soundscapes, scattered hand-drums and human-made weapons of control - exposing the hidden disparity that's been carried over generations whilst balancing hopeful and musical foundations towards equality and peace. On Pressure and Kuduro! the writing direction attempts to wake people up. Not settling for a composed approach like in past projects, quite the opposite. A call for native sonic awareness, dismantled vocals of protests, eroded percussion using chains, gears and motorised harmonies sculpted in challenging abstract behaviors far outside my comfort zone. A direct abrasiveness and weight I want people to feel, whilst finding hope and solace through enchanting choirs and hypnotic basslines in complete synchrony.
"Purity in sound manifests when you least expect it. The smallest memory or feeling grows from a seed into a sonic language that you, and only you can interpret and release back into the world." "
A rare modern soul masterpiece finally returns, fully remastered and expanded with the 12” mixes for this Deluxe Edition. Originally released in 1982 and now fetching decent money among collectors, Amuzement Park fuses smooth vocals, slick musicianship, and a rich soulful sensibility. For RSD 2026, this reissue adds the extended mixes, making it the most complete version to date. Extended mixes, Remastered, Redesigned Sleeve, "Butter Popcorn" Yellow Vinyl.
After some time, we are back with a new release. This one moves slightly away from our usual sound to make room for a brand-new project by two outstanding artists. Please welcome to the crew the legendary San Proper together with the excellent Angelo D’Onorio. Joining forces under the name SANGELO DIPROPRIO, they deliver three vibrant house tracks designed with the dancefloor in mind. Fresh grooves, playful energy, and unmistakable personality make this EP a strong addition to the catalogue. A meeting of two distinctive styles that results in a dynamic and highly effective club release.
Ola Tunji is a young French quintet based in Brussels. Together, they explore the boundaries between spiritual jazz and free jazz, following in the footsteps of their great heroes John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Albert Ayler. At the forefront is the still only 24-year-old Ornella Noulet, whose saxophone playing can both rasp and soothe with the authority of a seasoned jazz veteran.
The band describes their music as collective meditations, in which they express love, compassion, joy, and serenity through improvisation. By making music together, they search for a deeper sense of humanity.
Their self-titled EP was initially released only digitally on Bandcamp, but it was immediately met with enthusiastic international acclaim, including praise from the American platform All About Jazz. Bandcamp itself also highlighted the release as a jazz standout. While awaiting their first full-length album, W.E.R.F. records is releasing this outstanding EP on vinyl for the first time.
Isella doesn’t flinch from the horror stitched into the fabric of the feminine experience. Citing writers like Plath Margaret Atwood, and Mona Awad as germinal influences on her lyricism, Isella plunges into the underbelly of expectations of good-girlhood, of valiant womanhood. In her songs she splays out the stakes of it all, plumbing the viscera, unearthing the blood, guts, dirt, and decay lurking beneath. By the time she hit fifteen, Isella’s taste had expanded and grown darker and more mature. Artists like Nine Inch Nails and Tom Waits became a conduit for the kind of raw intensity she’d always been drawn to, and gave her permission to push herself to new depths of expression. This is evidenced on her latest EP; That freedom that Reznor et al. endowed to the songwriter are evidenced on her latest EP; Something is a shell . Isella’s vocals swing from coolly detached to emotional detonation, often in the span of the same song. She brings listeners into a world colored by feminist hyper-realism, challenging listeners to re-define ideas of femininity, and safety; to see that things are not okay.
This 12" introduces Maajo Soundsystem, the electronic, dancefloor-focused sub-project of Maajo, presenting stripped-down, club-ready versions of their 2022 album 'Water of Life' that go beyond standard remixes through newly recorded balafons, percussion, and vocals from Senegalese artist Ismaila Sané and Mauritian vocalist/drummer Gilbert K. Sané began his career in the 1970s as a percussionist and African ballet dancer before relocating to Finland in 1999, later becoming the first emigrant to receive the country's Citizen of the Year award. While Maajo tours as a six-piece live band, Maajo Soundsystem offers a flexible electronic configuration that retains live vocals and percussion. The group has released multiple LPs and EPs on Queen Nanny and Permanent Vacation, scored the silent film Lost World, received remixes from Luke Vibert and Call Super, and toured internationally, with strong radio and press support from BBC Radio 6, Worldwide FM, KEXP, Resident Advisor, WFMU, and more.
Die Original Vinyl-LP von 1984 wurde in einer kleinen Auflage neu aufgelegt. Die Songs wurden von Barrington Levy im Channel One Studio eingesungen, mit den Roots Radics als Backing Band, um dann von Soldgie Hamiltion, Scientist und Sylvan Morris im Harry J und Channel One Studio abgemischt zu werden, als Produzent zeichnete Henry "Junjo" Lawes verantwortlich. Das Titelstück "Prison Oval Rock" war als Single bereits 1982 erfolgreich in Jamaika erschienen und ist hier neben dem Original auch in der Dubversion zu hören, und wurde später von Collie Buddz in "Hustle" (2001) und von Mr. Vegas' "Mus Come A Road" (2008) gesampled. Als weitere klassische Reggae Riddims wurden identifiziert "Skylarking" ( Song"Good Loving"), Pressure And Slide (Song "Please Jah Jah") und "Boops" (Song "Rip & Run Off").
The long awaited debut album from EDB is finally here. Like the title Japanese title Koeru suggests, the multi-instrumentalist producer surpassed his previous work and brought things to the next level.
From the futuristic ballad ‘True Love’ featuring UK soulstress Summer Pearl, to the electro tones of ‘Sculptured’ and broken beat abstractions of ‘Neurocloud’, to the cosmic uplifting tones of ‘Voices From Down Under’ featuring the legendary Nathan Haines, the record shows a perfect balance between light and darkness, sophistication and rawness, smooth and angular sounds.
The dancefloor moments are equally present here with Detroit’s Monica Blaire stepping in as a vocalist in ‘Automatic’, powerful instrumental deep house joints like ‘Phaze Shift’ and even a new updated version of his classic ‘This Can’t Be Life’ featuring Chicago’s very own Swaylo.
A cohesive, coherent and inspiring debut album from a true talent who will guide you step by step into his world.
,In the Grace Of Your Love" kam ursprünglich 2011 raus und war ein Neustart für The Rapture und eine willkommene Rückkehr zu DFA, dem Label, das ihnen zu ihrem sofort erfolgreichen Debüt ,Echoes" verholfen hatte. Der Schwung und Erfolg dieser Jahre führte zu einer Achterbahnfahrt mit einem großen Label, die sie wieder da landete, wo sie angefangen hatten - mit Narben, aber jetzt frei, die Grenzen der Erwartungen zu sprengen. Begleitet wurden sie dabei vom verstorbenen, großartigen Philippe Zdar, einer Hälfte des französischen Dance-Duos Cassius und Produzent von Künstlern wie Phoenix und den Beastie Boys. Zdars Begeisterung und technisches Können sind schon in den ersten 30 Sekunden des Albums zu hören: ,Sail Away" ist The Rapture in voller Pracht und Strahlkraft, ein fünfminütiger Ausatem mit Disco-Drums. Natürlich gibt es auch jede Menge Futter für die Dance-Kids - ,How Deep Is Your Love" rockt immer noch die Tanzflächen der New Yorker Bars, ,Miss You" ist ein unwiderstehlicher kleiner Streich in Moll -, aber insgesamt herrscht das Gefühl vor, dass man langsamer wird, Bilanz zieht und an den richtigen statt an den falschen Orten nach Sinn und Liebe sucht. Daher auch das Finale: ,It Takes Time To Be a Man", ein charmant ehrlicher, von Klavierklängen untermalter Song über Verantwortung übernehmen und anderen helfen. Er klingt wie nichts anderes im Repertoire von The Rapture und rundet es dennoch perfekt ab. Der Abspann läuft, die Zeit vergeht, Platten bedeuten immer noch alles.
“duo,” a collaboration between norwegian jazz heavyweight bugge wesseltoft and german house visionary henrik schwarz, is finally being reissued. it stands as one of the finest albums in the history of club music to so beautifully fuse jazz and electronic music. deep and experimental yet irresistibly melodic, this gem of a record possesses a captivating sensibility that draws in listeners of every kind. newly remastered by kuniyuki, this long-awaited reissue comes pressed on 180g vinyl. the refreshed artwork has been created by emerging japanese artist joji nakamura
happy 15th anniversary!
„Duo“, eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem norwegischen Jazz-Schwergewicht Bugge Wesseltoft und dem deutschen House-Visionär Henrik Schwarz, wird endlich neu aufgelegt. Es gilt als eines der besten Alben in der Geschichte der Clubmusik, das Jazz und elektronische Musik so wunderschön miteinander verbindet. Tiefgründig und experimentell, aber dennoch unwiderstehlich melodisch, besitzt dieses Juwel von einem Album eine fesselnde Sensibilität, die Zuhörer aller Art in ihren Bann zieht. Neu gemastert von Kuniyuki, erscheint diese lang erwartete Neuauflage auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl. Das überarbeitete Artwork stammt vom aufstrebenden japanischen Künstler Joji Nakamura.
Atjazz presents his long-awaited 27-track long player "Starbase 17" — an epic odyssey through song and sound, offering a rich tapestry of styles that draws listeners into a wondrous sonic realm where rhythm, harmony, and imagination intertwine.
Taking inspiration from his extensive body of work, Martin "Atjazz" Iveson fuses his signature deep musicality with cutting-edge production to reach new creative heights. This time, he brings an exceptional ensemble of world-renowned collaborators aboard his cosmic vessel, each adding their own distinct brilliance to the voyage
Together, this stellar lineup consisting of Fred Everything, Nathan Haines, Sio, Karizma, LyricL, Peacey, Pete Simpson, OVEOUS, Charles Webster, Kaidi Tatham, Clyde Beats, Natasha Watts, Omar, Max Beesley, Josh Milan, Rona Ray, Osunlade, and Clara Hill joins Atjazz on a journey through sound, space, and emotion — where each track is a world of its own, yet all are united by a shared creative vision and boundless imagination.
Fresh Hold Releases presents Helen Ripley-Marshall's mysterious Australian ambient electronic album "Green Chaos", reissued for the first time on vinyl LP. Originally released in 1988 on Sydney based private press label Freefall, "Green Chaos" marks the sole release from Ripley-Marshall.
In the late 80's Ripley-Marshall lived a Bohemian lifestyle in inner city Sydney; "surrounded by musicians, actors and artists, there was an amazing creative experimental vibe going on". While playing in new wave/art rock band "D Face" she began Green Chaos as a personal project to counteract the creative friction sometimes experienced within a group dynamic, heavily inspired by Arnold Frolows' "Ambience" radio show on Australia's Triple J and particularly the music of Tangerine Dream, Harold Budd and Brian Eno.
Initially a solitary endeavour, once she decided to record in a studio Green Chaos morphed into a somewhat collaborative, improvisational project with other musicians invited into the studio to improvise and add their own interpretations and ideas, additional layers and dimensions, resulting in a work that combines a clear influence from the electronic repetition of the Berlin school with a meandering, futuristic lyricism. Although influenced by the long form sonic journeys of artists like Tangerine Dream, Ripley-Marshall's background in art rock and new wave brings a more concise approach, each song a self-contained universe that says only what is necessary in the arrangement.
After completing a sound engineering course Ripley-Marshall recorded the album at Sydney's Exeter House Studio over several months alongside studio engineer Andrew Knight, met through a fellow member of D Face. Knight ran Freefall, a private press recording label releasing folk and bluegrass music, which had Green Chaos as its sole ambient release. Ripley-Marshall self distributed the album to local inner city record stores and dropped a copy to Triple J, where it became a regular staple of Arnold Frolows' show.
These days Ripley-Marshall has moved away from music and is predominantly focused on visual art. "Green Chaos" stands as the only released product of her musical years, both a personal window into the vibrant experimental art scene of late 1980s Sydney and a deep, timeless anomaly of Australian electronic music.
Here’s a brand new label from Test Pressing, going by the name Test Pressing Arts. TP Arts is a home for the more esoteric side of things — whether that’s a soul sound or solo piano. We’re excited to launch with this fantastic release from San Francisco’s Sulah Jordan. Originally a Bandcamp-only release, it was quickly jumped on by those in the know. It’s a beautiful EP you can simply put on and drift away to. I mean if it sounds your thing just press play. More soon…
The long-awaited reissue of Toba makes it clear, once and for all, to fans and industry insiders that disco music produced in Italy between the late 70s and early 80s had no chance of success. What was disparagingly called "spaghetti disco", considered a poor imitation of real American disco music, only good for Japanese cartoons. This was the main reason that prompted Italians to record their songs abroad, as Fratelli La Bionda with their pseudonym D.D.Sound in Munich. Luigi Figini, with "Supercool" and "Percussion Sundance" by Edo Martin and Pino Santapaga (the same as "Step By Step" by Koxo), claimed that Kash was a one-off Swedish disco project, a lie that came to light when an Italian test pressing from the previous year, made by GDB, was posted !!! Amin-Peck followed the trend of passing off their songs as foreign music on the intuition of their Roman producers. So ''Love Disgrace'' was released on 7'' by a label called Connection, which never really existed, created for the purpose by Giancarlo Meo, confident that this would bring success to the Bolognese duo who were already creating 'proto Italo-Disco tracks' with a new-wave trend. To make the whole operation seem real, the London agency Ellie Jay Ltd. was involved, contacting Andy Fernbach of Jacobs Studios Ltd. The vinyl was also produced in the UK, otherwise the deception would have been discovered, then imported to Italy by Best Record. Italo-Disco was officially born after this, in 1982, not before! Everything makes sense now ! Real events that actually happened and purely invented names and anecdotes. Just think, even the image of Tony Balch used for the cover of Toba was taken from Grand Theft's 1978 album "Have You Seen This Band?" and reproduced on the new redesigned cover, as were the heads of the other musicians. The idea of a real band called Toba had finally come to fruition and would lead to a second sensational success the following year. Now it all makes sense! Facts and anecdotes that really happened and names and circumstances that are purely fictional. Finally, everything adds up! Real things and invented names of musicians and collaborators. It's important to clarify what we've said above, but we haven't talked about "Make Your Mind Up" and "Don't Take It" and the two masterful remixes performed by Dave Mathmos. In short: with the original versions we'll make Italo-Disco purists happy, with the remix versions we'll please new younger followers with more modern sounds and versions more in line with today's tastes and trends.
Taeko Onuki will release an album “Peter and Friends” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her debut.
This album includes Taeko Onuki's concert “Peter and His Friends”, which was planned and held mainly with electronic sound songs from the 1980s
and 1990s, represented by “Peter Rabbit and Me” and “Carnaval” by Taeko Onuki.
Although many fans had been waiting for the electronic style concert, which had been held only a few times in the 80's, it was difficult to reproduce it
in Onuki's satisfactory form, and it had not been performed.
The epoch-making concert “Peter and Friends” was held in Tokyo and Osaka in 2023 and sold out every performance. The epoch-making concert
“Peter and Friends” has been held in Tokyo and Osaka, and all concerts were sold out. This long-awaited work is a live recording of the concert held at
EX Theater Roppongi in Tokyo on July 9, 2024.
Seminal New Jersey producers, Blaze are recognised as one of the greatest production outfits in House Music. Formed in 1984 and with over 100 releases to their name, undoubtedly one of the highlights of their rich and expansive discography is their 1997 LP, Basic Blaze. Containing some of their best work to date across eight tracks, it’s an essential listen for any house music fan. With the only copies available selling on the second market for £60+, now for the first time since the initial release, Defected & Slip N Slide present an exclusive reissue for RSD. Pressed on transparent yellow vinyl, housed in a replica artwork sleeve this is a much-needed reissue for all House Music fans!
Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album find the producer taking yet another sonic right turn. "These records were made in the same year with a very similar creative process. I moved almost completely away from sampling, experimented more than ever with ambient and techno elements and used the album format as a way to tell a story about moments in my life." Once I Was Young is a storytelling work that journeys through analogue synth-pop, modulated techno and raw, dusty drums with otherworldly melodies. Moments of beauty come through escapist, naturalistic ambient tracks and fusions of Kraftwerkian sequencing with more classical piano, while stark, clubready grooves keep things moving. Airplane contrasts similar shades of light and dark, synthetic and organic, rough and smooth. Glitchy, imperfect analogue sounds, knackered drum machine grooves and eerie synth phrasing evoke a post-human world with icy atmospheres. Elsewhere, warmth comes from bittersweet melodies and loose, funky drums that ooze retro-future charm.
Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album show a diff erent side to Escobar, one that embraces introspection and experimentation while exploring a whole other world of meaningful machine soul
"Morning Star" zeigt Kekht Aräkh auf dem Weg zu einer authentischeren, verfeinerten Version seiner selbst. Das Album wurde in Berlin und Stockholm aufgenommen und entstand in einer Phase intensiven persönlichen und künstlerischen Wachstums. Es verbindet aggressive Black-Metal-Passagen mit immersiven, strukturierten Klanglandschaften, die sowohl intim als auch weitläufig wirken. Seit seinen Anfängen in Mykolajiw, Ukraine, hat Dmitry (alias Crying Orc), der alleinige Kopf hinter dem Projekt, einen unverwechselbaren Weg innerhalb des Black Metal gesucht. Diese Vision entfaltete sich durch sein Debütalbum "Through the Branches to Eternity EP" (2018) und die Alben "Night & Love" (2018) und "Pale Swordsman" (2021), die eine charakteristische Spannung zwischen wildem, viszeralem Black Metal und zarten, introspektiven Balladen etablierten. Auf "Morning Star" erreicht diese Dynamik eine neue Tiefe. Das Album entstand in einer Phase künstlerischer Klarheit und erkundet eine rauere, persönlichere Gefühlspalette, geprägt von Stress, Angst und langen Phasen der Schreibblockade, was ihm eine seltene Unmittelbarkeit und Verletzlichkeit verleiht. Dmitry nahm fast alle Instrumente selbst auf, das Schlagzeug stammt von Jonathan (Spira Me, Vanskapth, Olycka). Bladee steuerte den Gesang bei und war Co-Autor der Texte zu "Eternal Martyr", eine unerwartete Zusammenarbeit, die eine intuitive Chemie offenbart. VS--55 und Varg2Ö fügen abstrakte Samples und subtile Texturdesigns hinzu, die "Morning Star" seine unverwechselbare Körnigkeit und analoge Wärme verleihen, während James Ginzburg (Emptyset, Osmium) sich um das finale Mastering kümmerte und die dynamische Tiefe und atmosphärische Fülle verstärkte. Mehrere Tracks greifen früheres Material mit neuen Perspektiven wieder auf. ,Wänderer" und ,Drömsang" wurden teilweise neu aufgenommen oder komplett neu interpretiert. Intensive, treibende Passagen kollidieren mit spärlichen, kontemplativen Zwischenspielen und erzeugen eine Landschaft, die sowohl viszeral als auch eindringlich ist. Themen wie Isolation und Wanderschaft tauchen in "Wänderer" auf, traumhafte Melancholie in ,Drömsang", existenzielle Kämpfe in "Angest" und Reflexionen über Zeit und Transformation in "Three winters away". Mit "Morning Star" verbindet Kekht Aräkh vergangene Erkundungen mit neuer kollaborativer Energie und produziert ein Album, das die Black-Metal-Tradition der 90er Jahre würdigt und gleichzeitig Lo-Fi-Wärme, melancholische Melodien, klangliche Experimente und emotionale Offenheit umfasst. Das Ergebnis ist ein zutiefst persönliches Statement - ein Album, das sowohl eine Ankunft als auch eine Fortsetzung seiner künstlerischen Reise darstellt.
In the spring of 1977, Millie Jackson was in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, laying down tracks for what became “Feelin’ Bitchy” with co-producer Brad Shapiro. Released in August 1977, the album reached #4 and #34 in America’s Billboard’s R&B and Hot 100, going gold with over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson’s cover of ‘If You’re Not Back In Love By Monday’ – already a hit for Merle Haggard in March 1977 – also reached #5 R&B and #43 in the Hot 100 in August. Although the album did not chart in the UK, “Feelin’ Bitchy” sold strongly to a dedicated fanbase who had voted her the #1 female singer in the Blues & Soul magazine annual poll. Jackson also performed much of the material on her sold-out UK dates in early 1978.
“Feelin’ Bitchy” was not only a commercial success, cementing Jackson’s no-nonsense reputation, but is now considered an all-time classic. Her rap on Benny Latimore’s ‘All The Way Lover’ stretched the original out like chewing gum to 10 minutes. “’Back In Love By Monday’ is a great song an’ that,” she told Black Echoes, “but it didn’t sell the album. ‘All The Way Lover’ sold the album.” Indeed it did, but other tracks like ‘A Little Taste Of Outside Love’ ‘Lovin’ Your Good Thing Away’, ‘Cheatin’ Is’ and ‘Feelin’ Like A Woman’ show that while Jackson’s tongue – front and centre on the LP cover – was always ready to hand out a lashing, it also helped her sing beautifully.
Ace are delighted to reissue “Feelin’ Bitchy’ on vinyl and Millie Jackson spoke to Ian Shirley about the recording of the album. This interview runs on an inner sleeve along with classic photographs of Jackson from this period.
Saithara were a leading traditional Lanna music group in the Chiang Mai area, led by Chansom Saithara who was named a National Artist in 1996.
Chansom's son, Thepthara Panyamana, fronted the related Saithara "Combo", who explored a range of international pop styles to craft their light-hearted parody tracks in the local "kam mueang" dialect. The lead single here, from 1985, makes use of a well-known German synth-pop song which had become a surprise smash a few years earlier, while the b-side snags a similarly notable power-pop tune from the USA.
Thepthara was also a songwriter and instructor for the child musical group Nok Lae, a Chiang Mai area youth band who became mainstream crossover stars nation-wide. Thepthara passed away in 2017, and Baa Records has teamed with his brother Komsan to license this re-issue in his memory.
Building a temple of sound from reduced elements, Decoder's Alchemy EP on T3R allows selected components to generate a strong and steady drive. Using a distinctly organic sound palette, the tone of the release is wordly, sometimes almost wooden with space taking the role of an active element. When melodies or chords appear, they introduce a subtle sense of melancholy, adding emotional weight without pulling the music away from its physicality. In its unfolding storyline, the EP suggests a broader narrative. While each piece explores a slightly different soundscaping approach, a consistent DNA runs through the release - reinforced by Sanskrit and Hindu references as an underlying conceptual thread. Percussion is handled with precision and imagination: Grooves shift, evolve, and reconfigure. Dark, driving sequences are softened by airy pads and atmospheric layers, creating a dual feeling of intensity and serenity. Filters and reverbs are applied with restraint, giving the music a sense of movement and breath. Alchemy showcases an emerging artistic voice driven by aspiration and exploration. Through confident craftsmanship, genuineness and self-reflection translate into a perfectly balanced, inspiring release. ? 2026 The Third Room Written and Produced by Gautham Gaug Mixdown and Mastering by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Daniel Bornmann & Lennard Makosch (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact
To mark the 25th anniversary of its release, Doubts and Convictions by Troublemakers is officially reissued, more than twenty years after its original release in 2001.
Never reissued until now, this emblematic French Touch album—originally signed in Chicago, USA—captures a moment when French electronic music opened up to jazz, soul and transatlantic grooves.
Cory Wong's eagerly awaited new studio album, Lost In The Wonder! The collection spotlights Wong's remarkable gifts as a producer, writer, arranger, band leader, and master of modern pop craftsmanship, while of course never losing sight of his trademark guitar virtuosity. Lost In The Wonder further affirms Wong's enduring love of musical collaboration, boasting a truly eclectic range of guest artists that includes Taylor Hanson, Devon Gilfillian, Stephen Day, Cody Fry, Yam Haus, Louis Cato, Ellis, Elysia Biro, Benny Sings, Theo Katzman, and Magic City Hippies.
This album brings together some of the finest music ever released on Black Jazz Records which in its short four-year history, between 1971 and 1975, released over 20 superlative albums which all successfully blending spiritual jazz, funk and soul jazz of the highest calibre. Similar to other independent jazz labels at the time, including Strata-East Records and Tribe Records, Black Jazz focussed on a number of key artists, most of whom first established their career during this period, and all of whom are featured here. Featuring The Awakening, Doug Carn, Walter Bishop, Chester Thompson, Kellee Patterson and more. Black Jazz Records was founded in Oakland, California, by pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory.
The label released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. Artists who recorded for Black Jazz Records included Cleveland Eaton (bassist for Ramsey Lewis), keyboardists Doug Carn and Chester Thompson, vocalist Kellee Patterson, saxophonist Rudolph Johnson, bassist Henry Franklin, and spiritual fusion group The Awakening. The label was distributed and financed by Ovation Records, based in Chicago. Schory founded Ovation in 1969, shortly after leaving RCA. Schory was a Grammy-nominated percussionist who was also known for his development of the stereo recording techniques including Dynagroove and RCA Victor’s Stereo Action. Schory also pioneered quadrophonic sound, and a number of Black Jazz Records were in quadrophonic and other formats such as ¼” tape and 8-track.
Black Jazz launched in 1971 with Gene Russell’s ‘New Direction’. Russell was the creative force behind the label, acting as producer, engineer and A&R and focussed on developing new solo artists. The most successful of these was Doug Carn, who released four albums featuring his wife, Jean Carn, as vocalist. She later changed her name to Jean Carne and became a successful soul singer signed to Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International empire.
(Long awaited 2026 repress, Black vinyl) While the original, 2013 version of Robert and Lyric Hood's bittersweet banger had already managed to leave tear stains on dancefloors across the globe, the 2014-released “Re-Plant” of 'Never Grow Old' has undeniably lived up to its name. As likely to be rolled out by Carl Cox as Ricardo Villalobos, 'Never Grow Old''s quickening synth stabs and piercing symbols wrap tenderly around a heart-wrenching vocal to make up a track that is both poignant and euphoric. It's the ultimate crying in the club track, the cheat code to getting crowds to embrace each other, and the track you'll probably want to ring your loved ones to tell them about, all wrapped into one.
We are excited to continue our work with Art P / Art Programming by finally offering the first full-length work from this Bremen-based electronic group. Originally released only on cassette in 1983, the self-titled album has now been fully restored and remastered, complete with bonus tracks and unreleased mixes unearthed from a rare demo.
The LP opens with "Wesen vom anderen Stern" ("Beings from Another Planet"), a downtempo, 808-driven electro synth wave track with German lyrics telling a story of aliens capturing earth, becoming the new "Herren" (lords), while humans are reduced to mere "objects." Art Programming founding member Jens-Markus Wegener notes that this track has always been a favorite during live performances, and it's easy to imagine how the futuristic sounds would have blown people away at the time.
Next is the electro/proto-techno title track "Art Programming," which we previously issued on a limited 12" in its full-length form. With its straightforward Roland 808 rhythms, catchy synth lines, and vocoder vocals, it's a classic example of German electro, and one of the earliest proto-techno tracks - long before Cybotron claimed the techno mantle. Its extensive break and electronic twist make it an early precursor to the genre. Wegener recalls that this track was created exclusively by him and Grotelüschen, with Grotelüschen contributing most of the melodic elements, while Wegener focused on drum machine programming and vocoder vocals.
On "That's Me," the album welcomes back singer Claudia Roebke. Although it's an electronic composition, Roebke adds a rock-infused, almost psychedelic vibe to the song. The lyrics, written by Wegener, depict a person obsessed with their appearance, using irony to critique societal beauty norms, questioning the obsession with perfection and attraction.
The album continues with a series of uptempo electro tracks: "Videoscreen," "La Gare," and "Genscher Pull 'N' Push." The first two feature slightly different mixes from an earlier demo that we personally prefered over the versions that were available on the final cassette release. "Videoscreen" expands on the theme of social isolation, with lyrics reflecting on a world obsessed with watching video all day - a topic that resonates strongly with today's culture of doom scrolling and social media addiction.
Next up, "Genscher Pull 'N' Push" is an incredible electro/wave/proto-techno track recorded in October 1982 with a political edge. Originally omitted from the album, it was only available on the demo cassette we mentioned earlier. The song takes aim at German politics, with lyrics that shout "bitte geh nach links / bitte geh nach rechts" ("please go to the left" and "please go to the right"), referencing the shifting political allegiances during the 1982 coalition change, when Genscher's party, the FDP, left the Helmut Schmidt cabinet to join the CDU/CSU opposition. The track was never released as the political topic had become outdated just a few months later.
The album closes with "Light and Fire," which originally served as the album's opening track. Its quirky, upbeat vibe now makes for a fitting outro.
The gear used on this album reads like a dream list for early 80s electronic music production: Roland Jupiter 4, TR 808, TB 303, System 100, SVC 350, Korg Mono/Poly, Moog Prodigy, FRICKE-Sequenzer, Roland CSQ-100 Sequenzer, Coron DS-8, MM 12/2, Sony TC 399, TEAC-244 Portastudio, Ibanez DM 1000, EH-Electric Mistress, EV-Micro. This unique lineup of equipment sets the album apart from NDW releases of the era, lending it a distinct sound with heavy proto-techno leanings and that straightforward electro vibe we all love.
The album is being released as a very limited edition of 300 copies on transparent red vinyl, complete with a full picture sleeve and lyrics inlay. This is yet another rediscovered and restored 80s gem on our label that you definitely don't want to miss!
Wendy Eisenberg hat die letzten zehn Jahre als feste Größe der Independent-Musikszene und als Künstlerin von inspirierender Vielseitigkeit verbracht. Als Singer-Songwriterin, Improvisatorin und virtuose Gitarristin sind die Koordinaten ihrer Kunst ständig im Wandel, von Art-Rock über Jazz bis hin zu mitreißender freier Improvisation und ausdrucksstarker Folk-Musik. Mit Höhepunkten wie dem 2020 erschienenen Album Auto" und dem 2024 Free-Jazz-Album Viewfinder" hat sie sich einen Namen als ambitionierte Künstlerin gemacht. Nachdem sie die letzten fünf Jahre damit verbracht hat, in verschiedenen Bands, Genres und kreativen Herausforderungen zu experimentieren, und nach einer Phase der Selbstkonfrontation, die sie mit einem persönlichen Exorzismus vergleicht, hat Eisenberg einen Meilenstein erreicht. Die poetischen und formal gewagten Folksongs von Wendy Eisenberg sind ihre bisher klarste Vision. Die Songs begannen 2020 Gestalt anzunehmen, als Eisenberg aus West-Massachusetts wegzog, wo sie nach ihrem Studium am New England Conservatory in Boston einige Jahre gelebt hatte, und nach Brooklyn zog. Aus Sehnsucht nach der ländlichen Atmosphäre ihres früheren Zuhauses fühlte sich Eisenberg zu den warmen Klängen von Country und Folk hingezogen. Die Songs sind echte Folk-Lieder", sagt Eisenberg über ihr Album. Bei der Produktion geht es weniger darum, zu sehen, was die Gitarre leisten kann, sondern vielmehr darum, die inhärente Fremdartigkeit der Sprachen zu akzeptieren, die sie seit anderthalb Jahrhunderten spricht." Auf Wendy Eisenberg schafft die Künstlerin ihr eigenes Paradigma mit einem eng verbundenen Kreis von langjährigen Freunden und Mitwirkenden, darunter Bassist Trevor Dunn, Schlagzeuger Ryan Sawyer und Co-Produzentin Mari Rubio (more eaze), die für Pedal Steel, Synthesizer und Streicharrangements zuständig war. Die Aufnahmen fanden oft in Eisenbergs Haus statt und verliehen jeder Note eine wunderschöne Ensemble-Textur. Endlich war ich von Menschen umgeben, die mich akzeptierten", sagt Eisenberg. Viele der Songs auf diesem Album sind in diesem neuen Gefühl entstanden. Ich wollte, dass es unglaublich beruhigend wirkt, da es einige massive Veränderungen im Selbstverständnis und Selbstwertgefühl beschreibt. Es geht um Erleichterung."
Incl. Remixes by Red Axes, Roman Flügel & Abe Duque
What does it mean to exist in sound?
It does not begin with a beat, but with a choice. With the moment when someone decides not merely to inhabit the space, but to shape it – and in doing so, makes themselves visible.
Roman Flügel stands as a constant in the background. Not as an authority, but as a collective consciousness. Since the 1990s, he has moved through club music like a seeker, never content with the first answer. House, techno, experimentation – these are not genres, but states of being. His remix thinks, hesitates, opens, strikes like a surging acid wave, warping reality and demanding true presence.
New York taught him that club music is never neutral. It is body, friction, attitude. Abe Duque’s remix carries a strangely enchanting relentlessness, a resistance to smoothness – as if the dancefloor were a place where freedom is not claimed, but fought for.
Red Axes do not enter this space; they conjure it. Their sound is raw, repetitive, circular, as if deliberately refusing linearity. House, dub, and acid elements become material for a movement that is more trance than structure. Their remix does not ask where it is going; it asks why one should ever stand still.
And then there is Tim Paris. Not at the center, but as a narrator. As someone who knows that the voice is an attitude. “That Boy” is not a pose, but a mirror, ironic, direct, vulnerable. Paris moves between new wave house and club, always aware that identity is never fixed, but formed in the moment.
This remix record is not a gathering of names. It is a situation, four perspectives on the same question:
What does it mean to exist in sound?
Yet sound alone does not tell the full story: like music, the visual is a space to be shaped, felt, and deciphered. The cover of Tim Paris feat. Foremost Poets – That Boy, created by Konstantin Fürchtegott Kipfmüller, a visual artist at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach under Heiner Blum, embodies this principle. Drawing inspiration from the urban environment, Kipfmüller transforms traces of decay, weather, and time into abstract narratives that, like the music of Tim Paris, Roman Flügel, Abe Duque and Red Axes, unfold meaning layer by layer. The result is no mere adornment, but a mirror of the sonic landscape: every line, every surface an echo of the question of what it means to exist – fully, in the moment, in sound.
‘Distracted’ is Thundercat’s fifth studio album, featuring contributions from an incredible cast of friends including A$AP Rocky, WILLOW, Tame Impala, Lil Yachty, Channel Tres, and a long awaited collaboration with the dearly departed Mac Miller. The record was primarily created in close collaboration with a new creative partner – the super-producer Greg Kurstin – plus Flying Lotus, Kenny Beats (Kenneth Blume) and The Lemon Twigs. In the six years since his GRAMMY-winning album ‘It Is What It Is’, Thundercat’s star has risen: playing stadiums worldwide with Red Hot Chilli Peppers with Flea naming Thundercat “the best bass player on the planet”; performing live with A$AP Rocky, Steve Lacy, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Silk Sonic, Erykah Badu, Spinal Tap, Yo Gabba Gabba; collaborating with Haim, Smino, Kaytranada, Kamasi Washington and Justice. He also branched out into acting with a role in Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. His warm, playful presence is never too far away, and life’s all the more enlivened by it.
In the last two years, Barry Can’t Swim has released two albums – When Will We Land? and Loner. The debut was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, winning 2024’s Best Dance Act on BBC Radio 1 and being nominated for Best Dance Act at the BRIT Awards in the same year. The latest album, 2025’s Loner, hit the top ten in the UK charts and was number one in the dance charts. This summer, Barry Can’t Swim cemented his position as one of the most singular new voices in electronic music with a gangbusting performance as a headliner at All Points East in London’s Victoria Park, building on his back-to-back performance with Bonobo at Coachella in 2024. Barry’s Late Night Tales mix brings together disparate styles and forms them into a coherent narrative. The powerful house tracks, like Lance DeSardi’s ‘Power of Suggestion’ and Daniel Avery’s remix of Factory Floor, intertwine with the abstract grooves of Freddie Da Stupid or Ronald Langestraat’s leftfield reading of Boz Scaggs’ ’70s smash ‘Lowdown’. There are exclusive tracks from Barry Can’t Swim himself (in the form of new single ‘Chala’ and an exclusive edit of Superpitcher’s ‘Yves’) and from friends and contemporaries, like Ninja Tune labelmate O’Flynn. Leaving aside the obvious quality of the mix, with its serpentine twists and dramatic turns, you can tell Josh is a fan of this series by bringing in his own personal poet, the brilliant Seamus, for the spoken word section right at the end. He’s a one-man Late Night Tales programmer.
J Dilla passed away 20 years ago. Metro himself paid tribute to the production master.
"Donutroit" is a meticulously crafted tribute to James Dewitt Yancey. Reinterpretations, reworks, and original compositions – a total of 24 tracks produced by Metro, who pays tribute to the legend with this album. Maciej returns with the album after a somewhat lengthy break, but he does it with a bang. This kind of hip-hop with soul elements has been unheard of in Polish music for a long time. This is the first Polish full-length tribute to Dilla. The guests are few, but they are impressive. Emade himself plays drums on two tracks, and Immortal Onion reworked one of James's iconic recordings.
Dawid ObyOby Frańczak is responsible for the full artwork.
The legendary Polish underground label JuNouMi Records is responsible for the pressing.
l 12: The Look Of Love (Medley No. 1) feat. Immortal Onion
[w] 23: The Look Of Love (Medley No. 2) [feat. Immortal Onion]
[l] B7: The Look Of Love (Medley No. 1) [feat. Immortal Onion]
[w] D4: The Look Of Love (Medley No. 2) [feat. Immortal Onion]
[l] B7 | The Look Of Love (Medley No 1) [feat. Immortal Onion]
[w] D4 | The Look Of Love (Medley No 2) [feat. Immortal Onion]
Four-time GRAMMY Award-nominated global superstar RAYE, is releasing her highly anticipated sophomore album THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. The album, set in 4 “seasons” with each side of the vinyl being a different season, takes listeners on a sonic journey that begins with darkness and ends with light.
“Music is medicine. I’ve always said that, and I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug or bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
RAYE recently kicked off her massive 51-date sold-out arena tour THIS TOUR MAY CONTAIN NEW MUSIC includes arena dates across Europe and the UK — including six sold-out nights at The O2 — before heading to North America with stops at iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall (April 15 and 16th) and the Greek Theatre (May 12 and 13th). Additionally, RAYE will be a special guest on Bruno Mars’ The Romantic Tour for 27 stadium shows across the US this summer.
The Vibracid network reaches its fourth phase — the moment of awakening.
What was once hidden beneath layers of programming now resurfaces: the total recall of collective memory.
Encrypted memories from multiple worlds are decoded through sequences of electro-bass, acid warfare, and cinematic techno tension.
Six sound engineers from the Galactic Confederation synchronize their signals to reassemble what was erased — transmitting across psychic fields, dancefloors, and forgotten neural corridors.
Calagad 13 opens the operation with Mad Flava, pure raw energy — the ignition spark that reactivates the buried code.
5ZYL follows with To Your Knees, a dark and heavy descent into pressure and distortion.
Saigg brings the direct, high-voltage electro of Procesos Continuos, channeling precision and drive.
On the B-side, Lups Digga delivers Just Dance, a floor-oriented electro-bass detonator built for propulsion.
Roi expands the field with Despoiled — cinematic, tense and electrified, balancing techno discipline with emotional depth.
Finally, Cliff Dalton closes with Snowbirds, an introspective and elegant comedown: the calm after total awakening.
Mastered and crafted with precision for a strictly limited edition of 150 copies on purple vinyl.
A foray into deep, organic, cinematic dance music. Subterranean bass, intercepted alien transmissions, and stripped down dance-beats meld with sheets of sounds that roll over the listener like waves lapping up on the shore. Shimmering, watery, brain hemisphere synchronization tones caress and melt stress away. Dance floor friendly tracks that work equally well in one s private listening space. Immersive music with a distinctive aquatic quality. Inspired by Detroit & Berlin s dance genres, but tempered by more ambience / atmosphere than one would expect from those genres. Music without harshness or rough edges. Fuzzy, out-of-focus, soft-sounds that slip in and out of the listener's consciousness. Uniquely melds current dance rhythms with lushness and spirituality. Synesthetic sounds that trigger sensory experiences in cognitive pathways other than hearing smells of perfumes, thoughts of colours, and altered perception of time and space. Psychoacoustic, cerebral, electronic listening music for those wanting a different experience than the current harsher, darker dance trends are offering. Responsibly made gentle music designed from the ground-up to have a positive effect on the nervous system and leave the listener invigorated and recharged. Chi-building sonic balm. Timeless, exotic dance tracks for a new school of electronic music enthusiasts who are searching for beautiful sounds, crafted with a higher purpose in mind.
Through his tracks, Jumo explores nostalgia and memory, from phili to memory, blending memories of youth and fleeting sensations. Tgthr encourages living the moment, while lula unfolds like a raw, cinematic road movie. The synthetic voices of sirens create a hypnotic theme, reflecting free souls suspended between a desire to escape and the fear of falling back. Euphoria tackles the madness of man's race to innovate and his indifference to the world, mixing mechanical urgency and emerging awareness. Each track plays with contrasts; melancholy and euphoria, darkness and light; combining synthesizers, persistent bass, and saturated textures. Together, they form a sonic journey where dancing becomes an act of memory and emotional survival.
Black Truffle is pleased to present Radis, the first recording by the Oslo-based trio of Andrea Giordano (voice and organetto), Kalle Moberg (accordion) and Jo David Meyer Lysne (guitar and snare drum). Now based in Norway, Giordano is a native of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region in the north-west of Italy and her exploration of the Piedmontese language provides the starting point and conceptual anchor of the trio improvisations heard on Radis, which make use of the words of 20th century Piedmontese poets Nino Costa, Bianca Dorato and Oreste Gallina. As the musicians explain, the project is an attempt to preserve the beauty and singularity of a language at risk of extinction.
Fittingly, the first sound we hear on the opening piece ‘Fiorìa’ is Giordano’s unaccompanied voice. She sings a poem from Oreste Gallina as a kind of floating cadenza, the accompanying silence sensitizing the listener to the pellucid quality of Giordano’s voice and the unique sound of the Piedmontese language. The voice dies away and into the silence swells a single tone, sounded by Moberg’s accordion and—special guest on this opening piece—the alto saxophone of Mario Gabola. Extended techniques and preparations create unexpected timbres from the acoustic instruments: Gabola’s saxophone is augmented with tin cans and springs and Moberg’s unorthodox techniques allow the accordion to generate wheezing, buzzing textures and patterns of microtonal beating. Giordano’s voice returns, picking up the thread of the languorous opening melody, coexisting for a while with the shifting drone before the piece takes an unexpected yet organic left-turn into a delicate saxophone solo of sorts.
Recorded in several locations across Italy and Norway over the course of three years, Radis documents an ensemble who have developed both a distinctive sound-world and a remarkably sensitive group dynamic. Moving from folkish duets between accordion and Giordano’s organetto (the small accordion used in Italian folk music) to episodes of metallic guitar scraping from Meyer Lysne, the music is both quietly contemplative and gently chaotic. Ensemble roles shift with disarming ease. If on ‘Profij dëspers’ Meyer Lysne’s prepared guitar adds a haywire noise element to a lyrical episode of organetto and accordion, the next piece, ‘D’antorn a lor’, is grounded in chiming guitar chords of stunning beauty; once Giordano’s joins, the result calls up the most spacious moments of Maria Monti’s Il Bestiario. Throughout the seven pieces, the trio explore countless possibilities of group interaction and the margin between conventional euphony and pure abstraction: at times the voice floats against silence or seems almost disconnected from the gentle clatter of the instruments (sometimes reminiscent of Nikiforas Rotas’ haunting settings of Cavafy), while at other points the instruments touch on conventional harmonic accompaniment. What is perhaps most striking of all is the way that voice and instruments relate to each other, the extended technique reframing the voice as a kind of abstract sound object, while the melodic beauty of Giordano’s voice lends a contemplative, almost melancholic air to the wheezing and scraping of accordion and guitar.
Captured in gorgeously intimate recordings, Jim O’Rourke’s careful and beautifully spacious mix highlights the wealth of textural detail in each element. Accompanied by notes, session photos and the text of the Piedmontese poems, Radis is a work of stunning beauty that demonstrates the vitality of exploratory music in Norway today.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 is a compilation bringing together the early 2000s works of Marco Passarani under his Analog Fingerprints alias, collecting key tracks originally released on Rome’s Plasmek and Pigna labels.
For Numbers, the story starts long before the label itself. In their formative years, digging in Glasgow’s Rubadub, Passarani’s records felt like dispatches from a future city. Releases on his own Nature Records and on labels such as Generator and Interr-Ference Communications were mind blowing: rooted in Detroit techno, Chicago house and electro, yet pushing somewhere new. Much like fellow travellers Autechre, who would remix him in 2001, Passarani’s music balanced machine funk with restless experimentation.
Information was scarce, and you would hear these records first on the dancefloor or at listening stations in shops like Rubadub. Print fanzines like Ear and early web outposts such as Forcefield offered only fragments. But there was a palpable axis forming between Detroit techno and a new European wave of record labels including Skam, Rephlex, Clone, Viewlexx and Nature itself. It was the sound that defined Saturday nights at Rubadub’s ‘69’ parties in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow.
Passarani’s records, in particular, were instrumental in bringing together the future Numbers co-founders. Richard had already booked him pre-Numbers; meanwhile Calum (Spencer) and Jack (Jackmaster), then 16/17 year olds working alternate Saturdays in Rubadub, were so enamoured with the Roman sound that they travelled to Rome for the Bitz Festival in 2003 to seek out Passarani and Lory D at their source.
The first Analog Fingerprints release landed as a 12” on Plasmek in 2001, following the fractured, IDM-leaning 6 Katun material. For Passarani, the project marked a recalibration. A DJ first and foremost, he had moved into production via early computer setups, from a Commodore Amiga through primitive PC audio, Cubase and Logic, later experimenting with Ableton. The IDM scene had offered a playground for trial and error, but there was always a tension between abstraction and the dancefloor. Analog Fingerprints became the bridge: still intelligent, but with more dance than distance. After years of broken beats and complex arrangements, he wanted directness without surrendering identity.
Working closely with Francesco de Bellis and Mario Pierro in the Pigneto district, the trio formed Pigna as a vehicle for reclaiming a more accessible dance sound, deliberately steering away from the minimal wave beginning to dominate Europe. Sessions were fast, instinctive, often stretching late into the night with friends dropping by. It was a studio as social space, production as collective energy.
“In that constant search for balance, Analog Fingerprints was my way of expressing something closer to the classic dance floor. The track 'Tribute' - a tribute to my favourite early Detroit techno track of all time, 'First Bass' by Separate Minds - came after I realised I had almost lost my connection with the dance floor. The simplest step was to take inspiration from early Chicago and Detroit and twist it in our Roman ‘Pigna’ way. My goal was to create more accessible dancefloor tracks by mixing my unconscious Italo roots with my teenage love for that early US sound, ensuring the result was as far as possible from the minimal sound that was starting to dominate everywhere.” - Marco Passarani
Technically, the Analog Fingerprints tracks span a transitional era: Roland TR-909, SH-101 and Alpha Juno hardware met early software experiments. A Novation Drumstation rack stood in for the unattainable TR-808, syncing with TB-303 and TR-606. Yet the true secret weapon was Jeskola Buzz, a tracker-style modular environment that allowed step-by-step parameter control and strange melodic constructions, later exported into the audio sequencer. Even the lead on ‘Tribute’ came from an early PPG Wave-style plugin. It was hybrid thinking at a moment when digital tools still felt unstable but full of possibility for technologists like Passarani.
Behind the music sat Finalfrontier, a loose Roman collective orbiting Nature and Plasmek. Distribution and production were intertwined; importing obscure records into Italy built connections with like-minded outsiders across Europe and the US. Expensive phone bills and fax machines forged an “electronix network” that linked Rome to Clone, Viewlexx, Skam, Rephlex, Rubadub and Detroit’s Underground Resistance. There was a shared sense of survival and resistance, of operating against commercial systems.
Passarani recalls “The first time I found a sheet of paper inside an Underground Resistance 12” with info about upcoming releases... and a huge picture of Spock on the back. Imagine that: you love the music, you love Star Trek, and there’s someone on the other side of the ocean sharing those same values and sounds. It was the perfect match. We even gave our original company the suffix ‘Finalfrontier’: that says it all.”
Feedback in that era arrived physically: distributor faxes, conversations with visiting DJs, the experience of playing abroad and meeting kids who had connected with the records. Glasgow became a key node in a scattered outlier network. Passarani personally brought the first two Nature releases to Fat Cat in London, playing them in-store. Shortly after, a fax arrived from Rubadub in Glasgow requesting copies.
“I still remember that phone buzz and the fax paper slowly sliding out, with someone I didn’t know saying they wanted 75 copies of Nature 001. Or like the time we got a fax from the Rephlex crew just saying, “Hello Nature Records, Keep up the good work.” That was how we knew the message was getting through. It was a fantastic feeling; just one piece of thermal fax paper as an analog notification - the mood for the entire week would change.” - Passarani
The connection to Glasgow has since stretched across generations. As Passarani reflects, links often fracture as scenes renew themselves, but in Glasgow something different happened. New and old mixed seamlessly. There was a visible trust in what came before, and a willingness to carry it forward rather than discard it. Observed from Rome, it was deeply encouraging.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 captures that moment of exchange: Rome to Glasgow, Detroit to Europe, experiment to dancefloor. It documents an artist recalibrating his sound and a network of scenes discovering one another in real time, connected by vinyl, faxes and shared intent.
No stranger to the game, Jay Tripwire returns bringing his usual caliber of stylish, late night tales.
2 extended no-nonsense cuts combine to form his ‘Jazz is Pain’ EP. Ethereal themes bleed through a body of meticulously programmed rhythms and beats that bubble and bleep in “Jazz is Pain”. With sprinklings of deep tones and jazz notes creeping in throughout, Jay delivers some otherworldly weaponry fit for the darkest hour.
“Jazz is Life” embodies the spirit of world music as he tells the story through twisted and tweaking lenses, as a plethora of drums, calls and crashes lead the way, punctuated by a tight rhythmic section that ticks away.
Our next release is a superb funky Latin double by Mr percussion Candido “Candido’s Funk” is great bass driven groove loaded with samples and latin horns, a perfect dancer for the dance floor. On the flip is “Soulwanco”, A very long awaited 7” delight uplifting percussive groove, more killer horns and bass lines, with a famous bongo sample at the start – a B-Boy / B-Girls delight. A MUST HAVE 45 for the collection
Berlin's Scheermann debuts on Mutual Rytm with deeply personal EP, 'Viciosa'.
Scheermann is at the heart of the Berlin underground as a DJ/producer, but also working behind the scenes at the Intakt Berlin vinyl pressing plant, where he first met Mutual Rytm founder SHDW. As a resident of the Lorem Ipsum party series, he delivers cultured and compelling grooves, and is also an active member of the Wesertekk collective - supporting and pushing club culture to the forefront in more rural areas. His music comes from a deeply personal place, never chasing hype or headlines, and is usually found at home on his own imprint, SAMMLER. This new EP marks his first appearance away from the label as he unveils a collection of records crafted over five years, with each track representing different moments in his life.
'Viciosa' kicks off with paranoid vocals panning about as swinging, warehouse-ready drums pound heavily below. The gritty synth craft adds plenty of texture as filters build the vibe. 'Placid Sin' is even more intense with unresolved synths tripping you in a loopy state while coarse percussion and cantering drums march on. 'Don't Care' is a rave-ready cut that injects your soul with urgent synth energy over more minimal and moody drums. 'Kano' brings a more elastic rhythm with dubby undercurrents and sleek sonar pulses infusing it with mystery, while 'Reika' is a nimble cut with icy hi hats and curious synth notes layering in late night suspense. First digital bonus 'Resoclap' is a heavyweight swinger with dark, groaning voices, before the second digital bonus 'Mizu' provides a speedy and supple workout for body and mind.
Scheermann 'Viciosa' lands on Mutual Rytm on 22nd August 2025.
Dublin meets Rotterdam.
Following the highly acclaimed Combination 2 EP featuring Pineal Navigation & Stanislav Tolkachev, Dublin-based label Awareness System returns with its boldest statement yet. Combination 3 EP unites the rising label head Pineal Navigation with Rotterdam’s prolific techno force Charlton for a powerful six-track split release. This third instalment in the Combination series delivers a deep dive into raw, machine-driven Techno and Electro, embodying the spirit and authenticity of the true underground. Each artist contributes three tracks, creating a dynamic and immersive listening experience designed for peak dance-floor impact.
Charlton opens the record with relentless grooves in “Whats The Answer” and “Relentless Pressure”, setting the tone with punchy Detroit tinged poly rhythmic driving energy. Pineal Navigation answers on Side B with “Forward Ever” and “Datafried”— two tracks of mechanical funk layered with cerebral textures that push the listener into a state of sonic bliss.
The journey continues as Charlton closes Side 1 with “Feeling Cloudy” an emotive track that blends his signature gritty, rhythmic percussion sound with dub-inflected techno elements. On Side 2, Pineal Navigation finishes the EP with “Purpose” exploring his electro influences through hypnotic synth lines and wandering vocal fragments that propels and image of a futuristic terrain.
Combination 3 EP stands as a testament to both artists’ commitment to crafting forward-thinking electronic music while honouring the underground ethos that defines Awareness System
Audience’ was a 14-track record that signalled a shift back to Hayes Bradley's dancefloor roots. It was a collision of breakbeats, trip-hop, and ambient textures that perfectly balanced nostalgia and forward-thinking sounds, and now it gets spun into all new worlds by some of the scene's most acclaimed contemporary stars.
Special Request, aka UK powerhouse Paul Woolford, has shaken up the scene with his thrilling mix of jungle, bass, techno, rave, and hardcore in recent years. The hugely prolific producer knows exactly how to blow up the club and does that here with two reworks of '& I Love U'. The Special Request Extended Mix is a meticulously crafted jungle workout, featuring precision drums, rising synth tension, and gorgeous melodies that dart throughout and will appear on the vinyl release only. The VIP version focuses more on celestial memories for a heavenly escape.
Next is Shanti Celeste, a house and garage favourite who crafts emotional, high-impact sounds on her own Peach Discs. Her remix of 'Play It As It Lay' is a bubbly, soft-focus, late-night sound with earworm synth motifs and rich bass that sinks you in deep for a nice, heady trip.
Piori is an alias of Canadian musician Francis Latreille, who has built a sprawling discography full of hyper-detailed techno steeped in science fiction and fantasy. He flips 'Awareness' into a zoned-out affair, with broken beats and cosmic synth waves over a bold bassline that shows, once again, why his productions are in such demand.
Last but not least is Kaifeng-born sound artist, DJ, and producer Yu Su, whose truly unique sound has made her a cult underground star. She flips 'Dear Treasure' into a slow motion and sleazy chugger with dark disco energy and raw live drums, shady vocal loops and otherworldly melodies that seep into your consciousness.
"Ed DMX has been part of Shipwrec since the label's inception. Under his DMX Krew moniker, this analogue wizard has released four Eps and one LP on the Nijmegen imprint. DMX Krew returns to Shipwrec for a brand new album, a collection that displays yet another side of this sculptor's sound. Brutal and cold, shadows are long and shades dark from the outset. Drum patterns twist in tempo and intent, from hard and punishing to gentle and fragile. Elements of breaks and industrial are also present in the percussion, this fragmenting allowing deep and soulful melodies to counter the battery. In fact, echoes of electronica permeate the harmonies across the LP such as deep and divergent "Interrupt." No single style is adhered to. Instead, the full palette of machine music is employed. From the squelchy Tudor electrofunk of "I Wonder Why" to the melancholic braindance of "Rephlections in Time", genre boundaries are given little credence. Instead, Ed DMX draws on his decades of experience to create sounds that are both familiar and completely one of a kind. The deep-sea dive of "Final Comedown" is juxtaposed with the ambling calypso of "Dinosaur Reaction", styles reimagined and reshaped to the creator's evolving purpose. Echoes of the halcyon days of Rephlex permeate the 2LP. The harshness and softness of the Cornwall imprint being present throughout, those more subtle tones coming to the fore in the delicate beauty of the "Phaser Level 2." A transcendent album and a certified future classic. To accompany this very special release, there will be a limited edition run with full cover art by Ruwedata. An artist very close to Shipwrec's heart, Ruwedata was responsible for the sleeve work on DMX Krew's Cosmic Awakening."
Aspecto Humano presents a new, eerie 12” —Murder is Meat— featuring four raw tracks by Orlok 101, a vampiric figure shrouded in mystery, shadows, and penumbra.
INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS is back with the third instalment of the ANTIKHRIST VISIONS saga. This release is particularly symbolic: it’s the ninth in the catalogue, marked by the infernal numerology that runs right through the whole series. It’s a descent into a sonic underworld, where noise becomes ritual and pleasure is just pure agony.
The artist tasked with opening this new chapter of the saga is the mighty Óscar Mulero, an essential figure on the national electronic scene and one of our biggest international ambassadors, whose career has left a deep mark on contemporary music. Here, with Faceless, he delves into dark, precise, and devastating electro territory; a spiritual machine that dictates the pulse of chaos.
Next up, we’ve got Pressurized Modulator with Reddrum: hard, crunchy, industrial electro, absolutely buzzing with electrical tension and twisted sonic matter.
Closing out the A-side is Jacko Volvone (aka Hoax Believers) with Quieren Cerrar Las Fábricas: a track that expertly blends electro, techno, and post-punk echoes, resulting in a tense, distorted, and combative sound, like a working-class echo shouting from the abyss.
Flipping over, the B-side opens with Hanging Nuts (made up of Waje Martín, Fake Robotik, and Ruben Montesco). They unleash a murky descent of filthy, distorted, primal electro, slashed through with guitars and raw, guttural vocals: a genuine chant from beyond the grave. The second cut marks the debut of Techselektah & Phil Fork with Champagne No Potable: a raging street anthem packed with fury, energy, and social criticism, where Spanish vocals emerge amidst EBM structures that have that ‘80s spirit, reinterpreted with today’s raw edge. And the big finish is down to HBK1 alongside Rigor Mortis, with Instinto Caníbal: a full-on explosion of electro-industrial and EBM that awakens the body’s most primitive urges.
Antikhrist Visions Vol. III is a sonic summoning from the lands of Hades: ritualistic matter, organic sound, and primal force. A testament to pleasure and torment—Tormento do Gostar—etched into the vinyl as if it were molten iron.
After the massive success of Vol 1 Boogie Down Edits are back with Vol 2 keeping the same winning formula with another group of Hip Hop legends ATCQ. re-inventing some of their best-loved hip-hop cuts as party-starting house jams. Wisely, they've chosen to retain many of the key musical ingredients of their source material, subtly shifting the grooves to aid slick mixing and peak-time joy.
Somewhere between revelation and delusion, Euphoria Bound maps a familiar trajectory: the irresistible pull towards dissolution, the gradual erasure of memory, the self rendered irretrievable. It moves between states of consciousness where such distinctions of enlightenment or self-deception are erased.
Across ten tracks, the album constructs a spectrum of sound that is both ambitious and Uncompromising. The approach here is more direct than recent releases, with textures that accumulate and disintegrate with renewed urgency.
London-based sonic champion Shy One releases her long-awaited second album Mali on Errol and Alex Rita"s Touching Bass. So-called after her given name, Mali is a confident, future-facing ode to Black British electronic music and diasporic lineage. Informed by the full spectrum of London sound that she was raised on - with a vital cast of Black British collaborators including George Riley, Steve Spacek, James Massiah and Private Joy.
Detroit powerhouse vocal trio Dames Brown make their long-awaited debut with ‘Take Me As I Am’, a bold, soulful celebration of the Motor City’s sound and a heartfelt tribute to their late mentor, Amp Fiddler.
Crafted at Amp’s legendary home studio, the album captures the essence of Detroit through rich instrumentation, gospel-infused harmonies, and unfiltered soul. Blending house, funk, techno, and 70s groove, Take Me As I Am embodies the city’s spirit; timeless, raw, and full of life.
Featuring collaborations with Detroit icons Andrés, Eddie Fowlkes, and Waajeed, standout tracks like ‘You’re The One For Me’, ‘Glory’, and ‘What Would You Do’ showcase the trio’s unmatched energy and vocal chemistry.
Across fourteen tracks, Athena Johnson, Teresa Marbury, and LaRae Starr channel the soul of Motown, the groove of Parliament Funkadelic, and the power of Aretha Franklin, uniting their influences into one authentic, uplifting sound.
With nearly a decade of releases on Defected and its sub-labels, including collaborations with Sophie Lloyd, The Vision, Floorplan, and Horse Meat Disco, Dames Brown continue to shine as one of Detroit’s most dynamic vocal collectives.
‘Take Me As I Am’ is more than an album… it’s a declaration of love, legacy, and Detroit soul.
since his first ep tips' on luciano's label cadenza in 2007 producer and dj petre inspirescu emerged into one of the key figures of the romanian electronic music scene.
so far he released music on labels such as vinyl club, lick my deck or amphia. together with his buddies rhadoo and raresh he also launched in 2007 the label (a:rpia:r) - a platform where he, his two friends and many producers from romania and abroad released detailed grooving house and techno, that stands out with delicate structures and one-of-a-kind grooves.
both of his more dance floor oriented solo albums intr-o seara organica...' and gradina onirica for (a:rpia:r) are enlarged with melodies, sounds and harmonies that go beyond the usual characteristics of a dance album.
furthermore his love for classic musicians like mily alexejewitsch balakirev, alexander porfiryevich borodin or or nicolai andrejewitsch rimsky-korsakow can be felt in the album padurea de aur (opus 2 in re major) and two more eps that he released under the alias pensemble on the romanian label yojik concon in order to unite classical spheres with analogue electronic music production.
in february 2013 he also released his highly acclaimed fabric mix cd that only features dance floor leaning music produced by himself. with talking waters' he published in late 2014 his first 12inch on mule musiq that is now followed by the full-length album vin ploile' which he produced without the intention to entertain with easy to hook up rhythms, melodies and harmonies.
even tough he established himself as a internationally playing house dj that regularly performs at all major clubs, festivals and other party destinations around the globe: as a musician petre inspirescu always tries to enter new territories to explore with a heartfelt human touch the infinite space of sound.
for his latest album the man that originally comes from the eastern romanian town braila stepped away from his former experiments of melting classical spheres with electronic music. instead the 36-years old man from bucharest only used some piano, string and wind instrument elements and analogue electronics to arrange a gracefully deep ocean of sound.
all slow grooving tracks spread the atmosphere of live improvised sessions that are edited, tweaked and mixed to perfection. in-the-moment moods of strange and unusual analogue synth sounds groove in a fluid quality with subliminal bass shapes, latinate percussions, jazz rhythms and acoustic melodies.
together they create a gaseous kinetic atmosphere full of tangible rhythm patterns, delicate chords and ghostly modular synth pads - all mixed subtle to create space for the tones between the tones.
you can call it a hypnotic after hour album for after hours that are dedicated to a deep listening experience. you can tag his arrangements as brilliantly textured and musically super-charged ambient, which goes beyond the usual definition of the genre.
all nine suspenseful compositions seduce with a deep melodic sensibility, harmonic adventures and an overall rhythmic ambiance of freshness and laidback enthusiasm. together they represent a challenging auditory experience that will resonate in your mind long after the music has finished.
Zum 40. Jubiläum des ersten Teils des stylischen Actionspiel-Klassikers DEVIL MAY CRY erscheint der Killer-Soundtrack des Capcom Sound Teams - bekannt für seine Musik zur Resident Evil-Serie - spezielle für 180g Vinyl gemastert. Der OST ist eine genreübergreifende Meisterklasse, die von Rock über Techno zu Ambient und weiteren Paletten wechselt. Erhältlich als 2LP-Format mit 34 Tracks auf transparent-rotem und ockerfarbenem Doppelvinyl, sowie als luxuriöses 4LP-Boxset mit den kompletten 73 Tracks auf schwarzem 4fach-Vinyl.
To enter the world of Sally Townes and Roberta Vandervort is to be swept away into a dimension of unique sound. Embellishments of smoldering jazz funk, seductive soft rock, breezy AOR, and misty folk, all paint a picture of the worlds which they inhabited; from the endless flat expanse of Dallas, the hot and humid bustle of a Bourbon Street night club, to the late night buzz of a Los Angeles studio session.
While Sally Townes and Roberta Vandervort never crossed paths in our reality, their supernatural union on this compilation feels like the meeting of old, yet familiar friends, set in a parallel dimension with lives intertwined. The songs feel like old friends, too — a comforting time capsule of the popular sounds of the era, yet offering something completely new. Bridged by the striking similarities in their musical confidence, vocal conviction, and boundless creativity, both women encapsulate an uncompromising passion for living, loving, and creating on their own terms.
After a decade away from new music, Jill Scott returns with To Whom This May Concern, a soul-stirring body of work rich with texture, rhythm, and emotional truth. Rooted in community, reflection, and sonic exploration, the album weaves melodies, horns, and rhythms into an immersive listening experience that invites audiences to feel deeply, reflect freely, and take exactly what they need.
Hate Love Trio made a low-key debut last year on this label with the slow, dreamy, dance-pop charms of 'Chan-O-Rama'. We have found out little more about the producer or producers behind it but here they or he or she returns with a full-length album of elegant and inventive downtempo and Balearic that starts off with those singles. Elsewhere, slow, mournful rhythms and melodies encourage inward reflection. 'Loosey Goosey' is a funky dancer for grown-ups, 'Billie Brownie' merges dub pacing with sunny guitar echo and 'Sunday I Don't Know' is a shimmering, jazz-flecked neo-classical warmer for intimate moments. An accomplished and adventurous album that is as good for the mind as it is body and soul.
The breakout underground star of the past year, the deservedly hyped Thought Leadership returns with another X ideas: the deck this time chooses the suit of Cups. This new collection is closer to the Post-Punk tonality of Pentacles, than the breezy Balearic Jazz of Swords. Gone are the brushed drum samples and airy synths and in their place are BIG guitars, 808 thumps and a decidedly more prominent use of bass as a melodic device.
As the suit of Cups reflects the emotional heart of the Tarot, presented within are a further X pieces, this time displaying the full range and fervour of Thought Leadership.
You know the drill by now. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.
Side A explores the emotional levels of consciousness; angst, joy, love, sorrow, relief, regret – they are all represented across the first seven tracks, and often within the same piece. XXI kicks us off with a huge tumbling D minor passage, layers and layers of guitar front and centre, whilst the drums pound away in the distance. Release is provided with a gorgeous G Dorian section, where we hear the bass take flight with a high melodic line.
We’re still in familiar Durutti Column meets Dif Juz territory here, but things switch up with XXII. This piece showcases a darker, more angular palette of guitars; think Alan Rankine (The Associates), or Deb Demure (Drab Majesty) in the unexpected harmonic shifts, knotty arpeggiated patterns and heavy, goth-adjacent modulation. A real love letter to 45+ years of darkly inclined guitar heritage.
XXIII enters the fray with tight, thumping 808s and Marr-esque guitar figures; and again, the bass providing heavy melodic counterpoint to the guitars. Enter chiming, lyrical lead phrasing, reminiscent of the eternal opening to "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Another accidental perfect pop moment from the Thought Leader. Whilst on the topic of Tears For Fears, XXIV comes swinging out of the gate with some serious Sophisti-chug; we’re reminded of "Shout" in the A section, before being beautifully juxtaposed in the B section with more Vini-eqsue patterns, reminiscent of his timeless classic, Another Setting.
XXV gives us welcome pause to take stock midway through the A side. No drums this time, but instead a heartbreaking conversation between two guitars; think Kevin McCormick and David Horridge’s masterful Light Patterns, or perhaps even the early solo-Bill Connors mid-70s cuts for ECM. The moment of quiet reflection passes, and is quickly shattered by the thudding march of XXVI – this piece comes across like The Associates playing "Wicked Game"; heavy, moody, and utterly compelling. XXVII ends our journey across Side A with more Marr-inspired playing; one for the heads and already featured on mixes, this one is real testament to the vision of Thought Leadership.
Side B again takes us on a trip through three long-form semi-improvised pieces. XXVIII is like those classic Jonny Nash, early Melody As Truth releases, slowly unfurling, additional details introduced deliberately piece by piece, this idea builds across 7+ minutes culminating in some utterly joyous ebow fireworks at the end – well Balearic.
XXIX again, like XXV before it, dispatches the drums with a focus purely on melody and mood. The piece feels like a lost Save Room Theme from the Resident Evil series, pure golden age Capcom Sound Team vibes. Unadulterated aural nostalgia for hours spent with a PS1 in haze of hash.
XXX completes this majestic voyage with another Modal exercise; this time the Thought Leader has opted for the Lydian Mode. Beautifully dreamy, undeniably Soundtrack-y, and arguably the most concise distillation so far of everything this project stands for; drum machines, guitars, pedals, one-take improvised solos – XXX has the lot, and is surely destined for greatness.
So, another X epic statements for guitar, homespun with the humblest of means, for all the dreamers out there. The first ever vinyl release of IV Of Cups has been carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francis to ensure it sounds better than ever after its initial tape release. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut at Abbey Road Studios whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry, in Holland. The original tape cover artwork, so crucial to Thought Leadership's striking visual aesthetic, has been rejigged for vinyl issue here at Be With.
