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"OneDa's story is so clearly mirrored in her music: a sprightly flow preaching a message of empowerment, enveloped in a dark, raucous soundscape…interlacing vibrant, punchy lyrics with that classic drum & bass sound has given OneDa a new lease of life." – DJ MAG

“OneDa is solidifying her position as one of the UK’s most thrilling hip-hop artists. With poignant lyrics and charisma that is off the charts, she dives deep into the complexities of life, love, and liberation.” – DIVA

Manchester rapper and poet OneDa is set to soar with the release of her debut album, 'Formula OneDa', on October 4th via Heavenly Recordings. Featuring the singles 'Major Pay' and 'Set It Off.'

On the ethos behind the album, OneDa says:

“In early 2023, while listening to my mixtape demos, the line ‘had to step away, get the levels up fast, Formula OneDa never come last' from my song ‘Off My Light’ stood out. We decided to name my album 'Formula Oneda'. Coincidentally, I discovered that the F1 Academy had just started, aligning perfectly with my album’s vision. For the first time in over 30 years, Formula 1 has created a platform to inspire and support young girls and women. Previously indifferent to Formula 1, I am now excited by the progress these women are making in the male-dominated racing circuit. While becoming a racing driver was never my goal, the F1 Academy metaphor fits my journey from a backmarker to a leader. This year, I plan to support these inspiring women as they drive with Pussy Power to take pole position in motorsports.”

Having supported Kneecap and Baxter Dury, and with standout performances at The Great Escape, OneDa is establishing herself as one of the UK’s most dynamic hip-hop artists. Her music transcends genres, blending hip-hop, drum and bass, afro-trap, and afrobeats, reflecting her Nigerian heritage and Manchester roots. Known for her dexterous wordplay and poetic verses, OneDa's voice is a unique force in the evolving drum and bass scene. Her boundless linguistic talent and poetic verses set her apart. Named by The Face as a key MC in the drum ‘n’ bass renaissance, OneDa is dedicated to empowering others.
Her live performance credits include headlining with Angélique Kidjo at Aviva Studios' launch in Manchester and leading performances at Manchester Pride 2023. She continues to gain acclaim from BBC Radio 6, DJ Mag, The Face, NTS, Wonderland, UKF, and The Line of Best Fit.

Beyond her music, OneDa is dedicated to community initiatives, leading hip-hop therapy for Manchester youth and championing projects like Herchester, which amplifies marginalized voices in music. Her vision extends beyond chart success; she aims to establish a hip-hop therapy school for all ages, showcasing music's potential for positive change. Her drive and authenticity inspire others to embrace their true selves.

Citing 'empowerment' as her greatest inspiration, OneDa channels her struggle with acceptance of her queerness into her music, promoting a message of self-love and freedom: “When you truly love yourself, that overpowers anyone else’s opinion.” Although she only began producing music two years ago, OneDa’s debut LP showcases her mastery across multiple genres. Collaborations with artists like Sam Binga, Songer, Devilman, and Mr. Scruff highlight her versatility. Her standout verse on Vibe Chemistry’s 'Ballin’', with over 35 million streams, further cemented her reputation. Her first fully produced track, 'Rude Girl Flex', earned her a spot on the BBC 6 Music playlist and an appearance at the BBC 6 Music Festival.

RARE & PREV. UNRELEASED PSYCH-FUNK AND GARAGE ROCK !!!

Say hello to Down & Wired Vol. 7 as Perfect Toy Records unleashes yet another instalment in its long-running compilation series! Once more, the label provides a delectable selection of obscure funk and soul-influenced psychedelic and garage rock tracks to delight even hardcore collectors of both genres.

And make no mistake, there is plenty to discover among these eleven tracks. At the funkiest end of things, Function's Free Style morphs from West Coast psychedelia to country funk to swamp rock and back again in its sub-three minute length, Dandy King provide psychedelic funky-soul and The Whiz Kids take a heavy dose of funkiness with them into psych-rock territory – sample fiends watch out for the fat twenty-second drum break towards the end of the latter! Purer psychedelia can be found in the offering from Third Stone while Würzburg band Prisma provide all-out epic psych-rock carnage. And if rock carnage is your thing, you'll be feeling the dirty garage rock onslaught of The Comin' Generation and a previously unreleased cut by Synod - soon to be a 45 single on Perfect Toy. That just leaves The General Store, The Soul Society, The Vestells and another unreleased cut from The Villagers (from whom the label will be dropping more unreleased material soon!), to close the circle by adding a heavy dose of garage soul.

A worthy successor to the previous volumes, Down & Wired Vol. 7 is once again accompanied by an insert containing detailed information and photos of the bands and a download code is also included with every vinyl LP.

Back in 1981 HAZE were a band consistently touring the south west of England, rocking shows from Torquay, Exeter and slightly further beyond, their release, recorded to campaign to save milk bottle tops for the local disabled school, did quite well.

On the record is a few classics, a cover of Johnny Cash, a cover of ABBA, a cover of… Azymuth? Yep, the trio from Rio made an impression on Tony Ridley as he took it to the band to include on their record.

For 43 years their version hasn’t even graced youtube, and with only 3 wants at the time of writing on discogs this version truly did get lost along the way. Now PANORAMA unearth this gem in their trademark 7inch format, from Rio to Torquay - HAZE knew how to jazz funk.

PANORAMA Records is a newly established label based in London, is dedicated to rediscovering and showcasing musical gems with a fresh approach. With early support from notable DJs such as Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge, Rainer Trueby, Mr Bongo DJs and Zag Erlat from My Analog Journal. Their unique take on Jazz and Funk from the further afield has shown they will become trailblazers in the reissue game for a long time.

The 180g vinyl is available in two colors: Classic Black and a Limited Burgundy Edition, with the outer cover hand-colored and numbered (100 copies) by Moo Latte himself.

Mellomaniac, the seventh full-length album by Moo Latte, is different. These 28 compositions, written and recorded in 2021/22, were initially created for Moo's personal use, serving as a life soundtrack during many weeks and months spent away from home while touring with the band. Most of the tracks were recorded in hotel rooms and even backstage areas, fully embracing the lo-fi mindset and philsophy. Comparing to his previous works, this one holds a special significance and it's the most personal of them all.

What's Mellomaniac? The wordplay combines "melomania"—defined as an excessive and abnormal attraction to music—with the "mello" vibe that reflects both Moo Latte's personality and the nature of the music itself. The album leans toward a mellow sound, designed more for an intimate, individual listening experience where each spin of the record leads to new discoveries.

Why is this album different? Each of these pieces was created without any predetermined goal, which is why the tracklist is so eclectic—much like Moo Latte's palette of inspirations. These influences stretch back to when he was just four years old, singing in front of others for the first time or listening to his sister practice the violin. These early memories and instincts are blended with more deliberate musical choices, refined over two decades of music education. Each song is dedicated to a person, place, or situation that shaped him both as a musician and as an individual, reflecting the journey he has been on so far.

After six previous albums rooted in beat-making culture, this is the first one that is 95% drumless and free from sampling of any kind. Although the stories in these songs are told without words, Moo Latte incorporates his voice alongside a wide array of instruments, using it more expressively than ever before. The album's sonic quality is both raw and lush. The grit comes from the way it was recorded, using gear and microphones that, while not top-tier, were simply what was available. Everything was mixed in Moo Latte's bedroom and mastered on analog tape, resulting in a personal, intimate, and dynamic listening experience.

The 180g vinyl is available in two colors: Classic Black and a Limited Burgundy Edition, with the outer cover hand-colored and numbered (100 copies) by Moo Latte himself.

Mellomaniac, the seventh full-length album by Moo Latte, is different. These 28 compositions, written and recorded in 2021/22, were initially created for Moo's personal use, serving as a life soundtrack during many weeks and months spent away from home while touring with the band. Most of the tracks were recorded in hotel rooms and even backstage areas, fully embracing the lo-fi mindset and philsophy. Comparing to his previous works, this one holds a special significance and it's the most personal of them all.

What's Mellomaniac? The wordplay combines "melomania"—defined as an excessive and abnormal attraction to music—with the "mello" vibe that reflects both Moo Latte's personality and the nature of the music itself. The album leans toward a mellow sound, designed more for an intimate, individual listening experience where each spin of the record leads to new discoveries.

Why is this album different? Each of these pieces was created without any predetermined goal, which is why the tracklist is so eclectic—much like Moo Latte's palette of inspirations. These influences stretch back to when he was just four years old, singing in front of others for the first time or listening to his sister practice the violin. These early memories and instincts are blended with more deliberate musical choices, refined over two decades of music education. Each song is dedicated to a person, place, or situation that shaped him both as a musician and as an individual, reflecting the journey he has been on so far.

After six previous albums rooted in beat-making culture, this is the first one that is 95% drumless and free from sampling of any kind. Although the stories in these songs are told without words, Moo Latte incorporates his voice alongside a wide array of instruments, using it more expressively than ever before. The album's sonic quality is both raw and lush. The grit comes from the way it was recorded, using gear and microphones that, while not top-tier, were simply what was available. Everything was mixed in Moo Latte's bedroom and mastered on analog tape, resulting in a personal, intimate, and dynamic listening experience.

For almost 10 years and with 3 albums on the clock, Voilaaa has established itself with a unique style, reviving African rhythms and atmospheres in the colors of Disco dancefloors and Funky arrangements, all often accompanied by lyrics and vocals tinged with humor and commitment.

As a result, the Afro-Tropical adventure launched by producer Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart today leaves behind a host of hits (“On te l’avait dit”, “Spies Are Watching Me”, “Ben Bene La”, …), as well as trips around the globe and as many gigs and festivals, but also and above all numerous and lasting collaborations with singers like Lass, Pat Kalla, Sir Jean, Ayuune Sule, Rama Traore, or Fouley Badiaga, the latter which also marks its great return on two tracks of the album.

With C'est tout, Voilaaa returns to us without revisiting this unstoppable recipe, while seasoning things with a more Latin and Caribbean inspiration, brought back in Bruno Hovart's suitcases after several stays in South America in recent years. Introduced last spring with the release of a first maxi single, this new opus once again delivers hit after hit.

As on the already famous “Faché” alongside Pat Kalla, which displays all the classic assets of Voilaaa’s sound: punchy Afrobeat horns, woozy chords and crunchy clavinet licks rising above a low-slung, hypnotic, dub disco-meets-Afro-boogie groove. The rest of the album is not to be outdone with a total of 14 wild tracks entirely composed by an unstoppable Bruno Hovart.

Two exceptions confirm the rule, a beautiful interpretation of the song "Love and Death" by Ebo Taylor, where Voilaaa's Afro skills perfectly melt with Angolan and Brazilian vapors, beamed by Joao Selva's lovely vocals; as well as a magical cover of “Too Young to Die”, transporting Jamiroquai to the crossroads of Africa and the Antilles, carried by the superb vocal performance of singer Olivya (Dowdelin) for a first collaboration.

Well, Voilaaa is back as its best, “that’s all” (C’est tout).

Italy's tastiest jazz-funk band is back to what they do best, sharing dreamy summer vibes with this new 2-tracker.
Cannelé is a smooth, sun-drenched tribute to this sweet product of the Bordeaux terroir, that doublebass player and former Saint-Émilion employee Fabio Bordignon knows so well. Beautiful string arrangements come to sublimate the track with a highly cinematic feel.

On the other side is the final studio version of QMQS (Quando mai, quando sempre), which is an old italian expression to qualify people that only appear rarely, and always at the same specific occasions. This uplifting disco tune first appeared in its demo and live versions on previous releases Gusto di Luce and Live at Bolle Nardini, and has finally been re-recorded in a clean and groovy dress to be pressed on this 7inch record.

No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.

Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.


With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.

“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”

A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.

By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.

Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.

Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.

Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.

On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.

The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).

The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.

Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.

Gil Tamazyan is the founder and president of Capsule Labs, a boutique pressing plant, record label and analogue mastering studio in Los Angeles. He has been making cultured sounds for twenty years and does everything from deep house to Italo disco while drawing on a wide range of influences from the words of jazz, funk and more.
-On “Morning Cleanser,” Gil Tamazyan beautifully crafts a deep house record with notes of jazz sprinkled throughout.
-Pressed on 180g black vinyl for the best listening experience.
Gil Tamazyan unveils "Morning Cleanser," a musical gem that masterfully blends house and jazz, showcasing his signature authenticity and groove. The EP begins with "Bumper Car Theater," where Gil's craftsmanship paints a spacious sonic landscape. A steady bassline anchors the track, while ethereal chords drift, inviting introspection and calm. As dawn breaks, the title track "Morning Cleanser" emerges with vibrant chords and infectious beats. The groovy bassline sets the rhythm, and spirited vocals infuse the track with energy, awakening the senses and stirring the soul.
Continuing the journey, "My Body" offers a sultry exploration of sound and sensation. Smooth keys intertwine with dreamy vocals, creating a warm and intimate ambiance. The rhythmic groove carries listeners away, transporting them to a realm of pure musical delight. Closing the EP, "News Cast" weaves a tapestry of rhythm and melody. Powerful kicks and a punchy bassline drive the track, while a sultry saxophone ties back to the opening track, adding a sense of allure. With "Morning Cleanser," Gil Tamazyan delivers a mature and grounded musical experience, inviting listeners to tune in and vibe out.

With a Yamaha organ and a dream, South African artist Pops Mohamed started his musical journey in the mid-1970s as the bandleader and composer of Black Disco, creating a hip melange of chill-out jazz with futuristic drum machine sounds and spiritual overtones. His cosmic organ transmissions were accompanied by two of the most sought-after session players on the South African scene, the sax and flute wizard Basil Coetzee, who had risen to fame in 1974 as one of the soloists on the hit "Mannenberg," and Sipho Gumede, the young bass prodigy who was already rubbing shoulders with the old guard at the outset of his career. Backed at first with polyphonic beats from Mohamed's electric organ and later taking on a drummer, Black Disco created a signature sound and a trilogy of innovative albums in a burst of studio creativity between 1975 and 1976.

This is the first full reissue of their 3rd album, from the original masters. Limited Edition

Tahiti 80, the cult French group, is back with a tenth album entitled Hello Hello.

Since their formation in Rouen in the 90s, Tahiti 80 have built a substantial discography, collaborating with artists such as Cornelius, Tore Johansson, Adam Schlesinger and Richard Swift. The indie pop quintet offers us today twelve irresistible and captivating songs on a solar tenth album. With its welcoming title, Hello Hello presents itself as a desire to merge the spontaneity of live performances with the chemistry of a band working in the studio. Xavier Boyer, lead singer and songwriter, explains: “We felt a slight frustration with our previous album, Here With You, released in 2022. The pandemic had forced us to record separately at home. When we realized our new demos were going in this live direction, we looked for the perfect place to capture that spirit."

It is at the Paraphernalia studio, located in the French countryside, that the members of Tahiti 80, including in addition to the singer, Pedro Resende, Médéric Gontier, Raphaël Léger and Hadrien Grange, perfected their musical interactions for ten days during the summer 2023. Integrated very early in the process, Stéphane Laporte, aka Domotic, brought his distinctive experimental touch to the arrangements and production. The vocals and additional synthesizers were then finalized between Paris, Rouen and Montpellier in the fall

The twelve songs that make up Hello Hello form a homogeneous suite, highlighting the creativity, diversity and maturity of a group which has just celebrated twenty-five years of career. Opening the album, “Every Little Thing” subtly mixes shoegaze guitars and synth pop. It’s also one of the rare Tahiti 80 tracks that keeps the same chords from start to finish. The singer confides: “It was an exercise in minimalism, with the constraint of finding varied vocal melodies revolving around the same chords. Singing the line ‘I Love Every Little Thing About Us’ made me realize that it could also be about us as a group.” The title song also plays the simplicity card with Boyer’s unique timbre, complemented by a drum machine passed through a tape echo and a catchy recorder theme – proof that years of practice of this instrument in French schools was not in vain!

The other distinctive trend is Brazilian: “Lose My Head”, “Soft Echo” or “Poison Flower” each display tropicalist attributes: swaying rhythms, rounded bass, soft guitars, all enhanced by a reverberated sound treatment. “From Caetano Veloso to Tim Bernardes, there is a unique way,” notes the vocalist, “of linking rhythm and melody that has always inspired us.”

However, the Tahiti 80 touch is not being put aside. “About Us”, sung by guitarist Médéric Gontier who can also be heard on “1+1” and “Anyway”, marks a return to the roots of indie pop. An impression confirmed by the hit “Vertigo” and its signature all in major sevenths supported by the elastic groove of bassist Pedro Resende. The song which sounds like a quick return trip between late 70s California and Tokyo City Pop, will find its place after “Crush!” and “Heartbeat” in the Rouennais’ songbook. Xavier Boyer concludes: “ if we manage to surprise ourselves, it will also work for the listener. but when you reach the tenth album, you must also manage to renew ourselves without denying ourselves what we did previously.”

With their innovative and unique approach to indie pop, their timeless melodies and their sophisticated productions, Tahiti 80 has never ceased to resonate with fans around the world. Their latest collection, Hello Hello, should easily consolidate their status as a singular group and esteemed personalities on the international music scene.

UK DJ & Radio support:Craig Charles, Gideon Coe, Lauren Laverne, Deb Grant, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Amy Lame, Chris Hawkins(BBC Radio 6 Music), Ex Friendly(Radio Alhara),Rita Ray & Max Reinhart, DJ Kobayashi (Soho Radio),Steve Barker(On the Wire),Debbie Golt(Resonance FM),EHFM, Celtic Music Radio, Poppyland Radio

BBC Jools Holland confirmed TV appearance (film 13th May, TX Sat 15th June)
BBC Radio 6 Music Playlist (2 x weeks B list, 1 x C list )
BBC Radio 6 Music Craig Charles interview (Broadcast 1st April)
BBC Radio 6 Musiclive session with Craig Charles (15th May)here
BBC Radio 3live session for Music Planethere
BBC World Service Session and ITW - here
BBC Africa(Africa Daily) Session and ITW -here

The Telegraph feature confirmed here
MOJO Rising feature published
MOJO album review confirmed
MOJO Playlist - Sharaf included here
Far Out Mag album review here
Songlines feature confirmed
Songlines Top of the World here
Songlines album review May 2024 (#197), on sale April 5.


Sahra Halgan, Somaliland's iconic singer, freedom fighter, and cultural activist, returns with third album Hiddo Dhawr, a culmination of enduring friendship and global exploration

Seamlessly blending age-old Somali traditions with abrasive guitar riffs, sun-drenched percussion, and vintage keys, the album offers a fresh take on the music of Somaliland, the independent but not internationally recognizedd state in the Horn of Africa

Inside a large, tent-like structure in downtown Hargeisa, Somaliland's tranquil capital city, the atmHiddo Dhawr, Somaliland's first music venue. Halganoured head scarfs, revealing elaborate hairdos and impeccable eyebrows, as they rise to their feet and start to dance. On the stage at the far end of the room a drummer and oud player up the tempo, while the singers pass the microphone to one another. The atmosphere is electric, and as the evening progresses, the joy in the room is palpable.

This is Hiddo Dhawr, Somaliland's first music venue. "I started it because I wanted to bring back our culture, so that people can be proud of it," says Sahra Halgan, cultural activist, musician, and founder of this lively Hargeisa cultural hub, which opened in 2013.

Hiddo Dhawr, which translates to "promote culture", is also the name of Halgan's new album, an electrifying blend of Somali melodies, distorted guitar riffs, thumping West African percussion, and Halgan's unique, warbling vocals. Halgan chose this name for the album to honour the women of Somaliland.

Two seminal 12" mixes of a pair of enormous tracks from Surface. Housed in the super-rare and - until now - French-only picture sleeve of the eternal "Falling In Love", we've backed that classic with Be With's favourite deconstructed mix of the swirling electronic soul / synth-driven slow jam "Happy". These sought-after versions have never been paired on the same record before. This fresh Be With edition ensures these legendary tracks now sound, looks and feel as sensational as they deserve to. You know what to do...

American post-disco/R&B trio Surface were a New Jersey vocal group made up of Bernard Jackson, David Townsend and David Conley. The majesty of boogie ballad "Falling In Love" was their first single, released in 1983 on Salsoul Records. The mellow magic of this track is loved the world over; it's a feel-good smooth boogie jam that's forever coveted. The slick, crystal clear beat, the legendary minimoog bassline, the melody, Karen Copeland's superb vocal, the great flute solo (referenced on the cover) all of it is literally perfect and beautifully encapsulates that mid 80s international club vibe. This here is the original Shep Pettibone mix in its entirety - it's the only one you really need.

Flip for the legendary "Love Mix" of 1987 hit single “Happy". You all know the original. At least, you *should* all know it. But the "Love Mix" is a deconstructed, boldly produced mix which is the one the heads have turned to for so long. Yet, in our opinion, its hypnotic groove has flown under the radar for too many years. This killer remix begins with Jackson's spine-tingling isolated vocal, cleverly subverting expectations by actually delivering the first words of the original's second verse "You must be Heaven sent...Sent into my life...And I compliment you baby...Baby" before a heavy 808 drum kicks hard with echoey handclaps. It's super sparse and a dubbed out slow-mo boogie banger like no other. The synth bass, atmospheric synth pads and synthesized flute glide in and out with effortless style and the whole thing is a wonder to behold.

It's a slow jam, for sure, but crafted in the straight up funk tradition, using the digital tools of the day and this sparser than sparse version almost sounds like a precursor to UK Street Soul. A unique combination of undeniable funk, electro beats and an earnest, youthful tenor; it should be slamming out of every jeep forevermore.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" well and truly slaps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after treasure finds a home in many more collections, this and every year. Simply flawless.

A punky romp with a beast of a chorus, JTQ here kicking up some dust with a tune that hails back to James' time in the Prisoners supporting The Ramones on a UK tour in 1986. James recalls 'The Ramones were one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, I watched their entire show, 3 hrs, every night on the tour and as a 21 yr old it made a huge effect on me. I've waited to being 60 yrs old to find a way to somehow act on that. Although I'd say JTQ have always had a punky Rock n Roll thing going on our live gigs.' This whole thing now feels completely new and fresh. a real discovery. Despite having always being there on some level.

Tig Notaro is an Emmy, Grammy and SAG Award-nominated comedian, actor, writer, director and podcast host originally from Mississippi, and named by Rolling Stone one of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. She appears in Season 3 of THE MORNING SHOW on Apple TV+ alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on Paramount Plus. Tig recently starred in the Netflix films YOUR PLACE OR MINE and WE HAVE A GHOST, as well as Zack Snyder's ARMY OF THE DEAD. Prior to that, she starred in the heartwarming Paramount film INSTANT FAMILY alongside Mark Wahlberg and Octavia Spencer. Tig wrote, produced and starred in the semi-autobiographical Amazon Prime Video series ONE MISSISSIPPI, also directing the premiere episode of Season 2. The show yielded critical acclaim and several award nominations, including WGA, GLAAD and The Critics Choice Awards. Tig's HBO standup special, DRAWN, made history as the first-ever fully animated stand-up special, and was nominated for a Hollywood Critics Association Award. She was previously nominated for an Emmy and a Grammy Award for her 2016 HBO special BOYISH GIRL INTERRUPTED, a GLAAD Award nomination for the Netflix Original Documentary TIG, and her memoir I'm Just a Person is a New York Times Bestseller. In 2013, Tig was also nominated for a Grammy for her sophomore release, LIVE, which was the #1 selling comedy album in the world that year. LIVE is a stand-up set delivered just days after Tig was diagnosed with invasive bilateral breast cancer, from which she is now in remission. Tig remains a favorite on talk shows, including "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon", public radio, and continues to tour internationally. Tig and her wife, Stephanie Allynne, co-directed the feature film, AM I OK?, starring Dakota Johnson and Sinoya Mizuno, which premiered at Sundance and premiered on HBO Max in June 2024. Tig also hosts HANDSOME, a critically acclaimed comedy podcast, alongside friends and co-hosts Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin. Her newest special, TIG NOTARO: HELLO AGAIN, premiered in March 2024 on Prime Video.

Worm Records is thrilled to present its debut release, featuring four tracks that blend danceable rhythms with melodic audible hints, from some of the scene's finest producers. The A Side kicks off with “Rockin”, a sonic deep-dive from Bristol-based producer Gallegos. Next up is “Festern” a track from Canadian native, The Mole with his deep trade-mark sound. The B Side switches the vibe with “Booster” a moody one from Wallace which feels like it lives in the same universe as Afefe Iku’s - “Mirror Dance”, but with the right amount stripped back. The final track on the EP is a stretched-out remix of Ruf Dug’s “Manctalo Beach”, a discofied journey by More Amour (Artwork & Jon Solo), described by Artwork at last year’s Pikes Halloween as Punk Electro.

All proceeds will support UK Food Banks through the LIVEFORLOVE campaign.

Big thanks to Prime for their incredible support on this project.

Designs by Jay Vaz & Daniel Lovrinov.

Unreleased themes from Kornelije Kovac for commissioned documentary short 'Raport iz Sarajeva', directed by Miodrag Zdravkovic in 1982. This music themes precede the official songs, idents and audio logos for the XIV Winter Olympic Games Sarajevo 1984 opening ceremony made by Kornelije Kovac in his Belgrade based studio from 1982 to 1984. Sourced from the original master tapes with full color artwork by Eric Adrian Lee. Includes insert with photographs from Kornelije Kovac private collection and liner notes by Zeljko Luketic. XIV Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo 1984 had immeasurable status in the history of Yugoslavia and is widely recognized by organizing committee to be the best in recent history of the Games. However, they were also the pop-culture melting pot of the times, with posters by Andy Warhol and famed local designers and the music by Kornelije Kovac, leading the selected best-of-the-best composers of the times. The recordings on this release share the same musical approach to melody and structure Kornelije Kovac (1942 - 2022) was using at the beginning and the mid of 1980s: while exploring the possibilities of synthesizer, fresh from his collaborations in London with famed composer Hans Zimmer, and almost a decade since he shared Eurovision Song Contest stage with ABBA in Brighton with his Korni Grupa, He also collaborated with Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) and Andy Pask (Landscape) among others. Kornelije Kovac always insisted on the freshness of the harmony layers combined with DJ friendly rhythm backing track. With the warm analogue feel that resonates in today's digital world this was chosen for a purpose to be an old-school 12'' maxi-single, as it was intended to be, cut loudly for the sakes of all lost and existing discotheques in Sarajevo and all over the world.

The fertility of the Cuban music scene in the 1970s was rich and blooming. FA-5’s self-titled album from 1976 is a perfect example of the energy and vitality emanating from the country’s musicians and marks the next release in Mr Bongo’s Cuban Classics series. A unique musical fusion that encompasses Latin rock, funk, soul, disco and Afro-Cuban rhythms to form a diverse and alluring album.

The exquisite, funk-fuelled opener, 'Muevete Con Las Fuerzas Del Corazon', is maybe the most-known song on the album. It is a super catchy cut powered by a dynamite bassline, joy-filled horn playing and splashes of drum breaks that will ignite any dancefloor.

The record surfs through genres as it progresses. 'Di Tu Que Haras Sin Mi’ and 'Paso Sin Mas' lean back with a West Latin rock / AOR flavour to their grooves. Elsewhere, the dreamy, cosmic, Balearic-tinged 'El Blue' and fuzzy funk-rock breaks of 'Pero Lo Cierto Es Que No Quise Mas' further show the breadth of styles at play on the LP. Another big highlight on the album is the Latin, disco-funk sounds of 'Casa De Ladrillo', which morphs into a cover version of the Commodores 'Brick House'. The result is a superb alternative take on a much-loved classic.

Released on the state-owned Areito Records, the album was directed by Nestor Caballero, who arranged the songs alongside Aneiro Taño and Osvaldo Caraballoso. The prolific Tony Taño produced the album with the recording courtesy of Tony Lopez who worked with Juan Pablo Torres, Los Reyes 73, Grupo Los Yoyi, Raúl Gómez and many other Cuban greats that we have featured in the Cuban Series.

A fabulous, under-the-radar classic, that will enrich any collection.

By it's very nature "Radio Chevére", the new album by Rio 18 and their host of guests cannot be categorized simply: at once both a Latin mixtape and a radio show, it's also an internationalist love letter, an offering to the goddess of Tropical Music and all that it encompasses. Ambitious, yes. Foolhardy, possibly. But sincere, committed and FUNKY? Definitely.

With the voice of guest DJ Coco Maria as our guide, "Radio Chévere" takes us on a journey through myriad musical styles and stories. Stopping off at Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, California, New York and countless other sonic destinations via Samba, Salsa, Funk, Cumbia, Joropo, Disco, Psychedelic and Electronic stylings, "Radio Chévere" is also a musical metaphor for migration - a journey from one continent, one life to another.

This album features songs in no less than four languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Welsh and English) and includes collaborations with Brazilian legends the +2's (Moreno Veloso, Kassin and Domenico Lancellotti) on the tender samba ballad, "Oh Minha Querida", transatlantic Yacht Rock gods Young Gun Silver Fox ("She's In LA"), "Sao Paulo's finest" Silvia Machete on the sweaty funk "Maybe Man" and Venezuelan Llanera and Joropo queen Luzmira Zerpa sings "Padre Tiempo", set to an incessant Afro-Venezuelan pulse. Why this torrent of eclectica now? Having recorded three albums in Welsh, predominantly inspired by Brazilian music, Rio 18 founder, Carwyn Ellis had a hard time following 2021's "Yn Rio": "We'd made a concept album with an orchestra. How do you follow that?" he says. "So I retreated to my laboratory, learned as much new music as I could, started learning Spanish too, and ended up writing tunes in a bunch of languages and styles, all of which reflected things I've learned or experienced over the last couple of years."

Since the group's inception in 2018, on the suggestion of Chrissie Hynde when he toured South America as a member of the Pretenders, Carwyn has been on a voyage of musical discovery through the styles of that continent. And in those five years he learnt a lot! But in a radical new move, Carwyn has stepped back from the mic, preferring to focus on writing and producing, handing over the vocal duties to band members Baldo Verdu (Venezuela) and Elan Rhys (Wales) plus a host of collaborators. "They can sing and express what I'm feeling so much better than I can, and both Elan and Baldo bring an authenticity and strength to our songs that surprise and elevate me. Collaborating with so many other inspiring artists on this album has helped us to grow and assimilate more styles - we're halfway through our next album already."

Rio 18 is an internationalist collective with Celtic and Latin roots and love at their core. With eye popping carnivalesque cover art by the brilliant Colombian graphic artist, Yoda, "Radio Chévere" is both timely and timeless.

Duncan Forbes returns to 49North with a super fresh sounding 4 track EP, all killer no filler !

First up is ‘Moods Shift And Flicker’ which eUortlessly fuses Duncan’s love of Detroit and dub techno with his love of Chicago house music and spoken word all underpinned by an infectious disco bass line. Following on and taking things up a level or two we are treated to the uplifting peak time monster that is ‘Time Is Now !’. Peak time melodic techno that will be just as at home in any large open-air space as it will in a dark basement. Third on the menu is Spectra, a no holes barred sonic battle weapon that will take you to the stars and back as it builds and builds. Desert is served up in the form of ‘I Wanna Know’ a solid 808 electro workout with one foot in the 80’s and the other somewhere in the future which asks the questions ....How Come The Quantum ? How Come The Universe ? ....... I Wanna Know !

The Magic of Boney M (Special Remix Edition)' LP includes the very best of one of the 70's biggest pop acts. From the mega hits 'Daddy Cool' and 'Rivers Of Babylon' to the back in vogue 'Rasputin' which went viral on TikTok in 2021 becoming the 2nd most popular catalogue track on the platform last year after the meme generation rebooted the disco classic. This double vinyl version (one LP is translucent pink and one is translucent blue) release also features stunning new remixes from LIZOT and Majestic. Promo/marketing activity. Limited pressing/stock may need to be allocated.

LA threesome ASHRR aka lead vocalist Steven Davis and producer-musician-vocalists Josh Charles and Ethan Allen are back with a brilliant new album for Ralph Lawson's superb 20/20 Vision Recordings that finds them working by the old mantra of 'art for art's sake'. This effortlessly eclectic record collides electronic soul, post-punk, space disco and indie-dance and is rich in melancholic melody, hazy, late-summer moods and late-night dancing. The vocals bring an indie edge to jangling delights like 'Please Don't Stop The Rain' while 'What's Been Turning You On' is a laidback and languid groove for lazy sessions.

No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.

Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.


With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.

“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”

A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.

By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.

Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.

Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.

Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.

On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.

The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).

The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.

Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.

German Powerhouse Labels Public Possession and Running Back Team up to bring you a nostalgic tribute to 80s Disco-Synth-Pop and Balkan Self-Pity. In a blend of cultural nostalgia and contemporary resonance, be-friended artists Krystal Klear and La Raf are set to release their first collaborative record titled "Boli Boli" (It hurts, it hurts) this autumn. The record is a steamy homage to the 80s disco-synth-pop. La Raf’s vocals equipped with Krystal Klear’s sound remind us of the bittersweet memories of the bygone yet still beloved music-era from former Yugoslavia.
The song came to life during a spontaneous creative outburst when Krystal and Raf reunited in a studio in London last year. Singer La Raf, a Croatian native based in Berlin, channeled the raw emotions of a not so recent break-up regret into the lyrics of "Boli Boli."
Infused with Balkan self-pity, the song delivers a very personal experience of pain and regret, not as mere sorrow but as a confident, joyful indulgence in one's own grief. This emotional depth finds a perfect counterpart in Krystal Klear’s talent for crafting melodies
that evoke both happiness and melancholia. Together, they have created a track that is as introspective as it is danceable, offering its listeners a glimpse into a world where sadness is embraced with a sense of pride and joy, capturing the cultural tapestry of the Balkan region.

Aesthetically, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat hates to tread water. At the same time, the Baltimore-based two-piece of vocalist Ed Schrader and bassist Devlin Rice won’t force their songs to fit a preconceived style. “The next album’s always gotta be different from the last one. We’re different people from record to record. So, writing authentically to ourselves will always bring our work to a place that we haven’t been to yet,” Rice said. Schrader added, “We’re terrified of turning into AC/DC. We never want to be married to one scene or time or sound. We want to be the Boba Fett of bands! Constantly altering the way in which we make records has been pretty key in that process.”
For Orchestra Hits, the band’s latest, that alteration was welcoming longtime musical comrade Dylan Going into the fold as a co-writer and co-producer. A songwriter in his own right, a guitar sideman for ESMB on their last two tours, and a collaborator with Rice in the noise riffage band Mandate, Going had both a unique vision and an intimate familiarity with the ESMB vibe.
“Dylan came to every show we’ve ever played in New York—no matter how weird it was,” Schrader said. “He’d be standing there ready to move an amp or feed us barbecued cactus after the gig and toss on some Golden Girls so we could decompress. It felt like family as soon as we began working, but I honestly had no idea how damn good he was at tossing out these hooks.”
According to Schrader, the songs “just poured out of us” over the course of a highly caffeinated three-day weekend in a tiny room in Devlin’s house while his cat, Sandy Goose, screamed continually. “It was like three kids hiding from the world to get into some lovely mischief,” they said. The lack of external pressure in the process gives Orchestra Hits an almost paradoxical vibe. For all of the album’s layers, that mix live and sequenced instruments, it never loses the raw energy of a small handful of friends in the same room plugging in, cranking up, and playing until they pass out.
Lyrically, the album finds Schrader, now 45, meditating on experiences in their youth to make sense of the present moment. “We are not into the garden,” Schrader wails on the relentless “Roman Candle,” a song about the sad debacle of Woodstock ’99, and a direct response to Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” a utopian ode to hippie idealism. A 19-year-old Schrader, having snuck into Woodstock ’99 through a hole in the fence, was there the night members of the crowd used candles intended for a vigil for victims of the Columbine High School massacre to set fires all over the grounds. Even before the fires, Schrader remembered feeling disconnected from the music, the nostalgic cash grab, and the meatheads in the crowd. After watching a press tower collapse, they boarded a random shuttle bus and were dropped off near a Denny’s. “It was a far cry from the Garden of Eden,” Schrader said. “That experience defined what I didn’t want to be a part of, and yet America is more like Woodstock ’99 than ever.”
With percolating synthesizer arpeggios, and climbing bass grooves, “IDKS” is the album’s dance-floor slapper. “’IDKS’ is a funny one,” Schrader said. “We already had a pretty satisfying suite of songs when Dylan was packing up to head back to New York, but he missed the train because of a freak snowstorm. Realizing he’d be stuck in town another day, he says to me, ‘Here’s this other weird thing I have.’ It was ‘IDKS.’ The hooks were so good I felt like Homer Simpson at a free donut convention. I just dove right in, and we cranked that baby out in like 20 minutes.”
Lyrically, “IDKS” is a letter from the true self to public-facing self. “It’s an angry song,” Schrader said. “Because the public-facing self is always looking for an easy escape, but it forces the true self into a cage. I honestly thought my lyrics were corny and was about to change them, but Dylan was digging it just the way it was. So that’s what you hear.”
With the soaring “Daylight Commander,” the band went against all of their musty-basement-bred instincts. “I went full High School Musical with the vocals,” Schrader said. “At first it felt almost embarrassing, but I remember reading somewhere that Bowie recommended always floating a little bit above your comfort zone, and that’s what we did here.” The song is part exercise in absurdity and part pop Trojan horse. “If ever we had a ‘Shiny Happy People’ moment, I guess this is it,” Schrader said.

The principles of pleasure radiate a knowing, carnal heat throughout the genre-fluid sound of LSDXOXO. His decade of dedication to the sensibility of underground club culture has brought forth club classics interwoven with pop music hooks and subversive, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

After four years of what LSDXOXO, real name RJ Glasgow, calls a period of “healing and self-discovery,” he is consolidating his multiplicitous sound with one compelling masterstroke: the debut album DOGMA, to be released on his own imprint F.A.G. DOGMA marks a complete paradigmatic shift: it is a poetic and fantastical performance, a route for deep escapism through an expanded musical palette including piano and guitar, and a deeply personal confessional through a fresh approach to songcrafting.

Within DOGMA, RJ meditates on the interlinked qualities of fame, infamy, lust and submission, as he rediscovers a pure, unadulterated approach to music-making, all the while adopting a futurist approach to pop music appreciation. RJ’s unmistakable signatures—the smutty dancefloor caller, the maker of irresistible bangers, the latter-day electroclash and DnB nostalgist—take on even more shades and intricacies. Despite his widespread acclaim as a collaborator with and songwriter for other artists, RJ strips DOGMA down almost exclusively to himself, carving out intentional space as a chameleonic vocalist and performer. He breathes life into the album with private thoughts, external fears and a red thread through personal themes that crystallise the album’s narrative from front to back.

The album’s promo single “Bloodlust” offers angsty, intimate indie-tronica, and musings on the intoxicating nature of love and infatuation. The lead single “Ghost” reaches beyond RJ’s Philadelphia origins to find itself in the deep south, in a sultry fever dream of coquettish R&B featuring backing vocals from close collaborator Kelela. Elsewhere on the album futuristic love, pensive pop earworms, evocative vintage dance styles and sleazy club tracks intermingle. While the DOGMA era will eventually explore remixes and reworks, the album is RJ’s purest embrace of himself and his artistry.

RJ first garnered attention as LSDXOXO in New York City with his on-the-pulse Soundcloud edits and then as part of the cult GHE20GOTH1K collective. His DJ sets and productions quickly earned him acclaim across globally-linked underground scenes. His decision to shift from sampled vocals to picking up the pen and microphone pushed his reach out to the stratosphere; his association with XL Recordings via the Dedicated 2 Disrespect EP in 2021 was a turning point for the burgeoning superstar.

This multiplicity of the LSDXOXO sound has led to enviable co-signs. These include being selected as the opening DJ for Beyoncé’s German Renaissance tour dates, remixing Lady Gaga, Pink Pantheress and Shygirl and producing five tracks for Kelela's highly acclaimed 2023 album for Warp Records, Raven. His fully-realised live show has also taken to the stage, serving fierce charisma to huge audiences at festivals including Primavera, Nuits Sonores and Rewire.

For the first time since its inception 36 years ago, Steve Hiett’s elusive Down On The Road By The Beach is finally made available outside of Japan. Most recognized in the fashion sphere as an English photographer and graphic designer, Hiett‘s transportive audio portraits amplify his serpentine guitar to the infinite blue, recorded across Paris, Tokyo and New York with no coastline in sight. Now widely celebrated as a desert island disc, very little is actually known of its unfathomable genesis.

A career devotee of Brian Wilson’s ground breaking harmonies, Hiett shot The Beach Boys for Rolling Stone - as well as The Doors, Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix (in one of his final performances at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival) - while establishing himself as a fashion photographer. Decamping to Paris in 1972, he began what would become 20-year collaborations with Vogue Paris and Marie Claire, printing his signature warm, saturated and vibrantly hued snapshots.

In 1982, representatives from Tokyo’s Galerie Watari visited him to propose a solo exhibition. Asking if he could insert a 7” of original music into the back of the exhibition catalogue, Hiett laid down ‘Blue Beach - Welcome To Your Beach’ in a Parisian radio station, playing all of the instruments himself, and two more cuts in New York with Yoko Ono, The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan hired-gun Elliot Randall. Once dispatched, the phone began ringing off the hook with requests for him to fly to Tokyo. Assuming these long-distance callers were wanting him to check proofs for the book, it wasn’t until he arrived that he discovered CBS/Sony had facilitated an entire album. Heitt hastily gripped some petty cash, bought a guitar and retreated to his hotel room to start writing.

Entering the studio the following day, he was further surprised by a waiting room of session players known as Moonriders - one of Japan’s most acclaimed rock bands of the 1980s. Intimidated by their indecipherable sheet music, Hiett suggested Randall join them and with money being no object for major labels at the time, his wingman was on the next plane out of New York to finalise the high production indulgence. Near-ambient arrangements that float in a space between The Durutti Column, Steve Cropper and Ashra, Down On The Road By The Beach also crowns Hiett the master of recontextualization with his zero-gravity blues visions of Roll Over Beethoven, Santo & Johnny’s Sleep Walk and the 1967 Eddie Floyd soul hit Never Found A Girl.

Produced in coordination between Be With, Efficient Space and the artist, this definitive reissue is restored from original masters with vivid reproductions of the Down On The Road By The Beach exhibition catalogue, intended to accompany its original release, and extensive liner notes penned by fellow Steve Hiett obsessive Mikey IQ Jones.

Tanukichan, the musical project of Oakland, CA’s Hannah van Loon, has been a prominent figure in modern shoegaze music since 2016, when she first collaborated with Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi. Together, they released an EP and two full-length albums under Bear's Company Records, culminating in 2023's GIZMO. With her new EP Circles, out September 20th, 2024, via Carpark Records, van Loon ventures into new territory by teaming up with a new producer for the first time – Franco Reid.

The genesis of their partnership dates back to the GIZMO campaign, when Reid noticed van Loon wearing an Incubus shirt in a press photo on Instagram. Intrigued by whether or not van Loon was a genuine fan, he sent her a DM. Their shared musical interest sparked a dialogue that eventually led to the creation of the single "NPC" in 2023.

Lead single “City Bus,” offers a reflection on van Loon's childhood bus rides in San Francisco, evoking the stop-and-go rhythm of commuter life through hard-hitting drums and heavy guitar feedback phasing in and out of the mix. Themes of self-reflection and societal belonging permeate the track, echoing van Loon's ongoing personal journey.

While much of Circles delves into internal struggles, “It Gets Easier” takes on a more celebratory tone as van Loon realizes she’s developed a heightened sense of maturity when dealing with hardship. “It feels easier to let go of situations or people that don’t serve me,” reflects van Loon, “Or if they can’t be avoided, at least I don’t have to dwell on the sadness or discomfort I feel when letting someone down.” Introduced by Reid, nu-gaze sensation Wisp, contributes a verse in her similarly ethereal vocal style.

There is a notable shift on Circles when you consider the first three Tanukichan releases were produced by a pioneer of the chillwave genre. With van Loon’s consistently dreamy songwriting and Reid at the helm, Tanukichan enters new sonic territory that feels larger, arena-ready, and more like a highspeed night drive than the hazy summer dream of its predecessors.

2024 marks 10 years since the release of Perfume Genius" critically acclaimed album Too Bright (Matador). The third studio album by Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) marked a significant departure from his earlier work with its bold, avant-garde sound and introspective lyrics. The LP featured the standout single "Queen"- Hadreas" confrontational dissection of "gay panic" which Pitchfork said "sounds like triumph amid the pathetic relevancy of its subject matter in 2014." The song was jolt in the cultural discourse and has since become a fan-favorite. Hadreas grew up in Seattle, WA and started his music career in 2008. He put himself on the map with the release of debut album Learning in 2010 via long-time label home Matador Records, earning him widespread praise from music critics and fans around the world.The momentum only intensified with his subsequent albums, 2012"s Put Your Back N 2 It, and 2014"s Too Bright, which exhibited a massive leap forward in both production and confidence.

Alice Taylor was a popular session singer who sang background vocals for several local Philly groups including The Delfonics during the height of the Philly Soul boom of the early to mid-1970’s.

In 1974 Alice under the auspice of producer Emanuel ‘Manny’ Campbell Jr and fellow Philadelphian musician/composer Charles R. Bowen entered the famed Sound Room Studios in Upper Dardy PA, to record a session of her own. This session yielded two songs. The more commercial pop soul orientated “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ‘n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar”. A song which took influences from other popular songs of the time that mentioned one’s love for Rock ‘n’ Roll singers and taking road trips to L.A (Los Angeles) in an attempt to cash in. Although the elongated song title may at first be a tad off-putting the recording showcases Alice’s vocal talents to the full and in itself is a very good record. The second song “Sounds Ridiculous” is based around the theme of a girl falling in love with a guy who spends most of his time daydreaming rather than getting a regular 9-5 job. An excellent record that should find favour with 70’s/crossover soul fans alike.



Manny Campbell Jr used some of Philadelphia’s finest musicians on Alice’s session, notably session drummer Earl Young, reputedly the first exponent of the hi-hat cymbal a style of drumming used extensively throughout the disco period. Young had honed his skills during the 1960’s with his band The Volcanos, recording sessions for the Arctic and Harthon Record Labels. The Volcanos later became The Moods before morphing into The Trammps who Young recorded on his Golden Fleece Label with the group recording several further disco hits for Buddah Records prior to their worldwide hit “Disco Inferno” for Atlantic Records. Young’s strumming can be found on many other Philadelphia International, Sal Soul and MFSB recordings. The string and horn arrangements on the session were provided by another MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother) pool of musician’s member, Don Renaldo.



“I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Superstar/Sounds Ridiculous” came out in November of 1975 as an initial pressing run of 500 copies for promotional use which sadly were not of the best quality with some background noise being present in the introduction on both sides of the single, a possible detrimental factor in the release gaining any significant airplay. It’s was the second and final release on Emandolynn Music’s short lived, Stage-Art label. The first release being another of Manny Campbell’s acts The Nu-Rons & Co “Disco Hustle/Can’t Do Enough Girl” (Stage-Art 1001). Sadly, Alice Taylor passed away sometime during the 1980’s. Soul Junction through its ongoing relationship with Emandolynn Music have taken the opportunity to license these now very sort after Alice Taylor songs, which have been remastered to remove the aforementioned sound problems present on the original release. Which are now presented to you as a 3 track EP which also includes a previously unissued alternative mix of “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar, a recent master tape discovery.

Riding a wave of critical praise and positive feedback for his most recent Emperor Machine album, the fabulous Island Boogie, Andrew Meecham returns with a typically wild and dancefloor-focused set of dubs, ‘versions’ and remixes.

According to Meecham, Island Boogie is his most personal set to date – a full-length excursion that not only delivers perfectly formed expressions of his dub-tinged, off-kilter synth-boogie sound, but also tracks that draw deeply on his earliest influences and long-held musical expressions.

It’s fitting, then, that this remix EP begins with his own sparse, stripped-back ‘version’ rework of ‘S-S-S-Single Bed’, a fine cover of the mid-80s Fox single featuring the vocals of Michelle Bee. Meecham’s dub-wise revision is a skeletal and driving affair, with snippets of echoing guitar, colourful synths and Bee’s distinctive vocalisations rising above a weighty dub disco bassline and rock-solid percussion.

It's followed by two revisions of album favourite ‘Wanna Pop With You’ from A Love From Outer Space main man Sean Johnston under his now familiar Hardway Brothers alias. Combining his own love of raw, analogue-sounding electronics and trippy dancefloor psychedelia with select elements of Meecham’s original – percussion, synth sounds, crisp guitar licks and elements of Severine Mouletin’s lead vocals, Johnston’s main ‘remix’ is a weighty, mid-tempo treat. Arguably even better is his accompanying dub, which is more groove-and-effects focused and makes more of Beecham’s superb original bassline. It’s heavy, spaced-out and undeniably intoxicating.

To round off the package, long-time friend of the label (and sometime contributor) Rose Robinson dons her Tigerbalm pseudonym and gets to work on ‘La Cassette’. Brilliantly cutting up Severine Mouletin’s vocals, she delivers a driving slab of spaced-out, synth-heavy dub disco that adds more weight and energy to Meecham’s original. It’s a fittingly on-point way to close out a superb selection of club-ready revisions.

The latest full length album from Detroit mainstays Slum Village, F.U.N., has now made its way to vinyl. The 12-track project is their first album in nearly ten years and includes fresh collaborations with Larry June, Cordae, Eric Roberson, Robert Glasper , Karriem Riggins, Abstract Orchestra, Sango, Phat Kat, Daru Jones, Earlly Mac, The Dramatics and more. 2015's critically acclaimed Yes! further cemented T3 and Young RJ's ability to effectively carry on the legacy of the seminal rap group, retaining its essence while evolving its sound with fresh new energy. However, with last year's sold out tour in Europe, and the release of the Larry June and The Dramatics-assisted "Just Like You", it was revealed that the duo was back in the lab together working on a new Slum Village album. F.U.N. finds Slum Village expanding on their signature certain sound, but still staying close to their hometown roots: Young RJ explains- “We wanted to just try something new, so we focused on making Disco-inspired music,” and T3 notes that the recording process all “began with collecting old Disco records.” For fans who wonder why the sonic shift, and why the long hiatus between proper albums, T3 says “Slum is still here. We’re still relevant and we’re still trying to push the envelope. Sometimes people put too many rules on music, and without sounding cliche, we wanted to just have fun with this album.” F.U.N., indeed.

Mutant is proud to present Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino's latest album, Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen – Volume 1, featuring iconic scores from Giacchino's extensive portfolio rendered in the retro lounge style of Exotica from the 1950s.



“It's no secret that we at Mutant are huge fans of Michael Giacchino,” says Spencer Hickman, Co-Founder of Mutant. “We're excited to release a retrospective of his astonishing three decades as a composer. Rather than just curating a simple compilation of his previous works, Michael went back into the studio, rearranged and re-recorded every major theme from his career. These tracks have been recorded in an Easy Listening style inspired by such greats as Martin Denny and Les Baxter, creating not just a unique and incredible look back at some of the most beloved movie and television themes of the modern age, but also bringing a fresh, exciting take to the beautiful journey he has taken us all on with him. It feels like you are discovering these songs for the very first time: timeless, beautiful, and a joy to listen to. These newly recorded themes transport you to a far-off sunset, looking out at the ocean, complete with a cocktail in hand, providing a much-needed escape from the stress of modern times, and we can all agree that is something we all crave right now.”



Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen – Volume 1 spans nearly two decades of Michael Giacchino’s music, from his early video game scores to his television hits and blockbuster films. The album transforms these works through the lens of Exotica, replacing epic strings and thundering drums with vibraphones and marimbas.



“This album was inspired by the work of Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny,” says Giacchino. “What would they do with the Star Trek theme? Or video games like Medal of Honor? It was a way for me to play in that world I loved so much growing up. I thought it would be fun to create a fantasy world, where this album was recorded back in 1967 and then lost, only to resurface today.”

The album showcases Giacchino’s unerring talent for melody, stripping down grand symphonies to their essential elements while retaining their aesthetic and emotional core.



“So much was rooted in the big orchestral sound, so it was really about scaling it back. The real trick is figuring out the little fun hooks and things you can add along the way. There were no rules; I was up for anything. It was a way to re-engage with the material and be creative in a new way.”



Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen – Volume 1 includes an array of reinterpreted pieces from Michael Giacchino’s career. Highlights include ‘Primordial Forest’ from the 1997 video game The Lost World: Jurassic Park, ‘Life and Death’ from Lost, the theme from Ratatouille, ‘Roar!’ from Cloverfield, ‘Enterprising Young Men’ from Star Trek (2009), ‘A Man, A Plan, A Code, Dubai’ from Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and a Super 8 suite.



Featuring package design by Luke Insect, and liner notes by Charlie Brigden.

Over a catalog of six albums, Native Harrow have produced a discography of “rich, engrossing records” and “instant classics” while single-mindedly following their own artistic code, acquiescing only to the exigence of the song: each song its own world with its own rules.

Formed a decade ago, Native Harrow spent their first five or six years crisscrossing the United States and Canada on numerous tours, averaging more than 150 concerts per year in 47 states and 4 provinces, on the back of two self-released albums, Ghost (2015) and Sorores (2017). In 2019, they released Happier Now, partnering with London alt-country stalwarts Loose Records. The record garnered glowing reviews, with Rough Trade selecting it for its album of the month, writing “Beautifully soaring... rolling grooves ground languid and dreamy clearwater shimmers of sound.” The critical acclaim and Americana chart success of the album prompted three back-to-back UK tours in 2019 and early 2020, ultimately leading to a three-year stint living and touring in the UK and Europe. In this time, Native Harrow released two more critically acclaimed records with Loose; Closeness (2020) and Old Kind of Magic (2022), playing for audiences ranging from rock clubs in Norway and Sweden to opera halls in Portugal, and every stop in-between, as well as performing at festivals such as BST Hyde Park (supporting the Eagles and Robert Plant & Alison Kraus), Greenman Festival, Black Deer Festival, The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, Moseley Folk Festival, SXSW, and many more.

Following the eruption of its title track, Side A of “Divided Kind” transitions nimbly through hazy tremolo-laden dusty canyons, past an intimate soulful love letter, and towards a moody anthem of devotion buoyed by propulsive grooves, before ultimately settling on a gentle bird’s-eye-view of love and transcendence. Side B opens with the debut single, “Goin’ Nowhere” a soul transmission over incendiary bass and undulating layers of guiro, congas, tambourines, shakers, and handclaps that sidesteps into moments of infinite dial-toned burnished, Rhodes-propelled soul-jazz and self-assured blues rock à gogo before ending in a spectral folk reading on celestial meditation.

“Divided Kind” was produced and recorded by the pair, in their home studio surrounded by the vintage acoustic and electric guitars, dusty semi-functional amplifiers, and out-of-date Rhodes, B3, piano, and assorted percussion they’ve grown accustomed to. Chicago-based Alex Hall was again drafted to add drums and to mix, and Philadelphia drummer and engineer Joshua Friedman mastered the record. London-based musician Joe Harvey-Whyte added the pedal steel to “Borrowing Time”, with all other voices and instruments being performed by Tuel and Harms.

Austrian powerhouse Demuja debuts on Permanent Vacation with a deep four-tracker. A name long in the spotlight of the global house and disco scenes, Demuja has previously releasedhis deep, soulful sounds on the likes of Aus Music, Shall Not Fade, Nervous, and his own MUJA label. On his latest EP, he turns to Benjamin Frohlich and Tom Bioly’s revered Permanent Vacation imprint, showcasing four tracks of deep sonic bliss across the ‘Bring Back Love’ EP, which has already garnered support from Laurent Garnier, Stacey Pullen, Alinka, and more.

Ginger Root ist das Projekt von Cameron Lew aus Südkalifornien. Seit seiner ersten Veröffentlichung 2017 vermischt der Multi-Instrumentalist, Produzent, Songwriter und visuelle Künstler handgemachten, aber makellos polierten Synth-Pop, Alt-Disco, Boogie und Soul zu einem Sound, den er selbst als "aggressiven Fahrstuhl-Soul" beschreibt. Durch seine Linse als asiatischer Amerikaner, der mit der Musik der 1970er und 80er Jahre aufgewachsen ist, nimmt eine Musik Gestalt an, die insbesondere den kreativen und kulturellen Dialog zwischen japanischem City Pop und seinen westlichen Gegenstücken von French Pop über Philly Soul bis hin zu McCartney der Ram-Ära hervorhebt. SHINBANGUMI ist seine dritte LP und die erste für sein neues Label Ghostly International. Lew zeigt sich auf SHINBANGUMI gelassener, eigenwilliger und bewusster denn je und bringt genau das zum Vorschein, wonach sich Ginger Root anhören und anfühlen sollte. Die Leadsingle "No Problems" fungiert mit singbaren Basslines, schwungvollen Gitarrenriffs und cleveren Keyboard-Hooks als Eröffnungssequenz und als Brücke zu neuem Terrain. Für Fans von L'Imperatrice, Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Thundercat, Crumb, Khruangbin. ENGStep inside the world of Ginger Root. Cameron Lew makes it easy to do so; every considered detail is his own manifestation, written, designed, and executed as an all-encompassing diorama of sound and sight. A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and visual artist from Southern California, Lew has crafted his project steadily since 2017, inviting a fervent and growing legion of fans into storylines drawn across mediums: captivating albums with accompanying films and globe-spanning tours. The Ginger Root sound _ handmade yet immaculately polished synth-pop, alt-disco, boogie, and soul _ takes shape through Lew's lens as an Asian-American growing up enamored by 1970s and '80s music, specifically the creative and cultural dialogue between Japanese City Pop and its Western counterparts from French Pop to Philly Soul to Ram-era McCartney. He spins his retro-minded influences and proliferates savvily in the present, synthesizing a songwriter's wit, an editor's eye, and a producer's resource into something singular and modern. SHINBANGUMI, his long-awaited third LP, and Ghostly International debut set for physical release in 2024 with a visual album component, translates roughly to a new season of a show. It finds Lew more poised, idiosyncratic, and intentional than ever in a new chapter of life, unlocking "exactly what Ginger Root should sound and feel like," he says. "In terms of instrumentation and musicality, it's the first time that I felt very confident and comfortable with what everything should be comprised of. On the more personal side, I'm coming out of the last four years of writing, touring, and living as a different person; SHINBANGUMI is a platform to showcase my new self."

Imaginative re-workings and improvisations by Andrew Tuttle of the late great Michael Chapman's unfinished instrumental album. Sonic explorations that bridge the Southern and Northern Hemisphere via the Caribbean, remote Northumberland and sub-tropical Australia. Navigating calm seas and turbulent waters of ambient corals, new-age pirates, waves of lapping banjos and drifting eroding guitars.
When Michael Chapman passed away in September of 2021, at the age of 80, he did so – as he spent much of his life – as both a pioneer and a legend. A veteran of the British blues/folk/jazz scene, Chapman emerged in 1966 and continued working throughout his life, always pushing the boundaries of his creations while collaborating with a slew of similarly heralded musicians along the way: Bert Jansch, Mick Ronson, Elton John, Thurston Moore, Steve Gunn; to name just a smattering of those he worked alongside over the years.
It's the latter of those – Brooklyn guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn – who Chapman flourished alongside in recent years, the two collaborating on 50 and True North, two of Chapman’s final and finest records. It was through that friendship that Chapman’s music found Andrew Tuttle, the Brisbane-based multi-instrumentalist who has toured Australia several times alongside Gunn.
In the aftermath of Chapman’s passing, his partner Andru discovered Tuttle’s Fleeting Adventure LP, describing it as “one of the albums that kept me sane during that first brutal winter on my own.” The pair met in Australia shortly after, and before Andru had even made it back home to the north of England, Tuttle had begun working on the recordings she shared with him at that time. Those recordings were part of a project Chapman was working on at the time of his death, called Another Fish – what would have been a companion piece to his previously-released LP, simply called Fish.
Though Chapman had spent time in his local studio playing all the guitars, layering the different sounds and effects, he’d always intended to do much more work on the songs, however fate had its way and he never got to ribbon-bow those ideas and bring the album to its conclusion.
Though there was little intention in terms of how to finalise the project, Tuttle spent valuable time with those recordings. What materialised, eventually - with time, care, and diligent attention - is a two-disc set Another Tide, Another Fish, something both unusual and completely distinctive. The first disc, Another Tide is centred around Tuttle’s own work, which shaped all seven of Michael’s songs and ideas into new songs of their own, and the second disc which simply incorporates the recordings that Michael left behind.
“On all of the tracks I also ‘played along’ on banjo to the originals several times until I learned an approximation,” Tuttle continues. “This ended up resulting in a ‘hybrid’, where some works are easily identifiable to those who know Michael’s originals, and some took that inspiration to head altogether elsewhere. Each of the tracks, even where not obvious, does have at the very least a trace element sample of the original recordings so that it’s a true collaboration.”
What we’re left with is indeed a hybrid: part remix album, part cover album, both a solo work and a collaboration, of sorts. Inspired by Chapman’s original ideas and with new track titles directly referencing the numbered but otherwise untitled source material, Tuttle adds his own flashes of colours throughout, including editing, sampling, MIDI transposing and signal processing that twists these songs into beautiful new shapes. Perhaps Tuttle’s greatest achievement here then is that Another Tide sounds so effortlessly free of all this context.
Whether you know Michael’s, Andrew’s or even Andru’s story or not, these recordings will bristle with enchantment and intrigue, worlds are built, and while some thrive and grow, others fizzle out in a burst of light, such is the way. “It's been a long, long road but we got there and I think it's been more than worth it,” Andru says in the record’s liner notes. “I really hope you think the journey was worth it too.”
Guitars and effects by Michael Chapman recorded by Alex Warnes at Phoenix Studio, Brampton, Cumbria, 2017 Banjo, effects and edits by Andrew Tuttle at Bella Vista, Brisbane / Meanjin, 2023-2024

Step inside the world of Ginger Root. Cameron Lew makes it easy to do so; every considered detail is his own manifestation, written, designed, and executed as an all-encompassing diorama of sound and sight. A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and visual artist from Southern California, Lew has crafted his project steadily since 2017, inviting a fervent and growing legion of fans into storylines drawn across mediums: captivating albums with accompanying films and globe-spanning tours. The Ginger Root sound _ handmade yet immaculately polished synth-pop, alt-disco, boogie, and soul _ takes shape through Lew's lens as an Asian-American growing up enamored by 1970s and '80s music, specifically the creative and cultural dialogue between Japanese City Pop and its Western counterparts from French Pop to Philly Soul to Ram-era McCartney. He spins his retro-minded influences and proliferates savvily in the present, synthesizing a songwriter's wit, an editor's eye, and a producer's resource into something singular and modern. SHINBANGUMI, his long-awaited third LP, and Ghostly International debut set for physical release in 2024 with a visual album component, translates roughly to a new season of a show. It finds Lew more poised, idiosyncratic, and intentional than ever in a new chapter of life, unlocking "exactly what Ginger Root should sound and feel like," he says. "In terms of instrumentation and musicality, it's the first time that I felt very confident and comfortable with what everything should be comprised of. On the more personal side, I'm coming out of the last four years of writing, touring, and living as a different person; SHINBANGUMI is a platform to showcase my new self."

Step inside the world of Ginger Root. Cameron Lew makes it easy to do so; every considered detail is his own manifestation, written, designed, and executed as an all-encompassing diorama of sound and sight. A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and visual artist from Southern California, Lew has crafted his project steadily since 2017, inviting a fervent and growing legion of fans into storylines drawn across mediums: captivating albums with accompanying films and globe-spanning tours. The Ginger Root sound _ handmade yet immaculately polished synth-pop, alt-disco, boogie, and soul _ takes shape through Lew's lens as an Asian-American growing up enamored by 1970s and '80s music, specifically the creative and cultural dialogue between Japanese City Pop and its Western counterparts from French Pop to Philly Soul to Ram-era McCartney. He spins his retro-minded influences and proliferates savvily in the present, synthesizing a songwriter's wit, an editor's eye, and a producer's resource into something singular and modern. SHINBANGUMI, his long-awaited third LP, and Ghostly International debut set for physical release in 2024 with a visual album component, translates roughly to a new season of a show. It finds Lew more poised, idiosyncratic, and intentional than ever in a new chapter of life, unlocking "exactly what Ginger Root should sound and feel like," he says. "In terms of instrumentation and musicality, it's the first time that I felt very confident and comfortable with what everything should be comprised of. On the more personal side, I'm coming out of the last four years of writing, touring, and living as a different person; SHINBANGUMI is a platform to showcase my new self."

Instrumental rock is alive is the motto of the VAL EXPERIENCE BAND, the new project from
rock-metal guitarist and composer Valéry Granson (aka Val). As a fan of instrumental rock,
which reached its peak in the 80s and 90s and still fascinates him, he decided to record his
first solo album, OSMIUM.
His major influences lie somewhere between Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Andy Timmons, Joey
Tafolla , Ritchie Kotzen, Jeff Beck , Jimi Hendrix, Paul Gilbert, Eric Johnson, Santana, Queen,
Frank Zappa and many others. Instrumental rock is alive...
The VAL EXPERIENCE BAND is a project worth discovering, whether on album or in concert,
for an experience that will not leave you indifferent.