Berlin Express was a one-time collaboration between Conrad Schnitzler (Kluster, Tangerine Dream) and his son Gregor Schnitzler together with Peter Baumann (Tangerine Dream). They composed and recorded at Paragon Studios (Berlin) a 3-track 12' single released in 1982.
This 'electro-wave' project is now re-issued including the three original tracks plus a rare mix of 'The Russians Are Coming' from the same recording sessions. Limited run of 500 copies with a postcard.
Emotional Response presents the first of 2 EPs by Laura Sparrow aka LNS, the Calgary raised, Berlin based producer and DJ with 8 acid-tinged cuts that are equally expansive and inspiring, personal and inventive.
After her debut Malinge Range (cassette) on fellow native Canadian 1080p label in 2016, LNS moved to Berlin and has released a steady stream of 12”s, exploring ambient, dub, electro and techno. Initially appearing on Vancouver émigré’s Jayda G’s (alongside Fett Burger) Freakout Cult label before settling at DJ Sotofett’s cult WANIA label and more recently on the legendary and ‘original’ German techno label, Tresor.
A love of the Roland TR-303, alongside deep diving into breakbeat creation, manipulation, mutation and production, plus some intrepid mixing and post-production assistance, development and support with DJ Sofofett, have led to a collection of some of her favourite music to date.
LNS-ID 1 and LNS ID 2 are the result. Recorded during a burst of creativity through dedication, new studio equipment and learning techniques, as well the necessity of artistic expression in the moment.
Two sets of four tracks based on the acid tradition in the more restless corners of 90s and early 00s Braindance. Acid lines drive the melodies, while drums move between sliced break fragments and the familiar sounds of the Rolant TR-606 and TR-808.
Pads drift in with a warm glow or at times, quiet ghostly tension. The results are music that leans towards atmosphere and memory, something almost nostalgic that was built for those of us who still chase the more expressive edges of acid.
On her new album, Two Whole Summers, Half A Life, Lisa Bassenge is once again accompanied by her trusted fellow musicians, pianist Jacob Karlzon and bassist Andreas Lang, with whom she has already realised numerous projects. Typical of Bassenge, the repertoire comprises a seemingly wild yet harmoniously connected mix of pop, singer-songwriter and jazz elements. The spectrum ranges from Elliott Smith to Duran Duran, from Billie Holiday to Björk. ‘It's always about the expressiveness of the songs – that's the common thread for us,’ emphasises the Berlin-based artist. The album features a track by Hank Williams as well as Madonna's ‘Frozen’ and “Catch” by The Cure. Two original compositions are also part of the recording: the title track ‘Two Whole Summers, Half a Life,’ a tribute to the power of friendship and youth, and the neo-folk ballad ‘I'm Getting Old.’ Both works impressively underline Lisa Bassenge's own artistic signature. For over two decades, Lisa Bassenge has stood for stylistic openness and a characteristic voice that lends new nuances to every song. Despite all the diversity, jazz remains the tonal basis. The Scandinavian-style relaxed sound of Karlzon and Lang lends the interpretations a soft, atmospheric depth.
For the first time in more than a decade, Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) presents a solo album – 100% Tiki.
Over his 30-plus year career, St. Hilaire has become one of dance music’s quietly legendary figures. Born and raised in Dominica, he moved to Berlin in 1994 and has lent both his voice and his musicianship to some of the most iconic electronic music from the German capital – and beyond. Renowned for his collaborations with Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus (AKA Rhythm & Sound), he has also appeared on records with Deadbeat, Rhauder, Larry Heard aka Mr. Fingers and Stereotyp (G-Stone Recordings), amongst others.
However, few know the extent of St. Hilaire’s compositional and technical mastery. From his home studio in Kreuzberg, which includes an extensive collection of vintage hardware, self-built instruments and notebooks scribbled with endless lyrics, he has created a vast archive of material spanning ambient dub, avant-jazz, lush techno and lovers rock.
Tikiman Vol. 1 is a heady, downtempo tour de force of patois metaphors on education, displacement and personal vs. global histories, as is evident on slippy album opener “Bedroom in My Bag”: Mister, mister / Where are you going? / I’m heading for a faraway land / What are you having in the bag in your hand? / Help us to understand / He said, I’ve got my bedroom in my bag.
Overall, the album’s lyrics reflect on life between Berlin and Dominica, specifically St. Hilaire’s hometown of Grand Bay, where he has worked with various musicians famous for the island’s different genres of carnival music. St. Hilaire himself always favoured the island’s more “discrete” music, developing a sonic synergy between two different geographical strains of groove and minimalism, and combining them with foundational Caribbean mixing techniques, which provide the basis for his songwriting and distinct
baritone.
Tikiman Vol.1 offers a rare insight into St. Hilaire’s complex artistry, from the eyes-down grooves of “Little Way” and the guitar-heavy digi dancehall experiment “Keep Safe,” to the subtle hypnosis of “Ten to One” and the softly crashing synth waves of closer “Three And A Half”, evoking not only beaches but also coasts and borders. It’s a fitting expression of both the breadth of St. Hilaire’s work, as well as his history as one of the few black, Berlin-based artists who, despite remaining largely overlooked, has influenced the city’s electronic music culture since its beginnings.
Credits
Written & Produced by Paul St. Hilaire
Mastered by Stefan Betke
Artwork by Grant Gibson
Kynant Records was founded in 2015 by Richard Akingbehin, a British-Nigerian radio programmer (Refuge Worldwide), music writer and DJ. Originally specialising in deep techno and featuring artists such as Cio D’Or, Terrence Dixon and Donato Dozzy, Kynant has since launched a sub-label Kynant EX which focuses on ambient, dub and experimental electronics.
The latest in Field Records' run of essential vinyl pressings revisits Stephen Hitchell's 2009 masterpiece under his Variant alias, The Setting Sun. As part of Echospace and also celebrated for his productions as Intrusion and Soultek, Hitchell is considered a leading light in dub techno, with the versatility in his sound to range from rhythmic, physical pulses to purely tonal, abyssal drone. His work as Variant, which debuted with The Setting Sun, capitalises on this scope to deliver a compelling ambient-with-teeth set richly deserving of a proper vinyl pressing.
The Setting Sun first emerged on Echospace as a download-only release. Hitchell was at pains to map out the tools that went into the sound on the album — field recordings of storms in Berlin, Germany and train rides in Narita, Japan, outboard synths and samplers. Crucially, he declared no computers were used, and it shows. When The Setting Sun was recorded, in-the-box production was largely dominating electronic music and the technology had yet to replicate the warmth and character of analogue equipment. Hitchell's looming chords come baked with harmonic overtones, surface noise becomes another essential layer and fragments of distortion add to the narrative of these glacial, monumental pieces.
Hitchell threads his dub techno tendencies in subtle ways, from the kick pattering underneath 'As Time Stood Still' to the quintessential metallic delay ripples that define 'A Silent Storm'. 'Someplace Else' has a defined, albeit delicate, rhythm section guiding its lighter shades of pads and chords. However, drums are never a dominant aspect of the music, simply another layer in an intentionally coagulated whole. At times, flickering tones hint at space where percussion once stood, since muted to leave the wet signal setting a new course for the sound, somewhere far beyond drum duties. The hushed ceremony of tracks like 'Adrift' are the perfect scenario in which to absorb these microfibres of detail, where the genius of Hitchell can truly be savoured.
In line with the limitations of record pressing and Hitchell's proclivity for long-form tracks, 'The Setting Sun' is reserved for the digital edition of this reissue. It's a logical move, as the sound palette widens to encompass tangible, organic instrumentation evolving over the best part of half an hour. The presence of piano keys feels stark in the Variant sound world, but Hitchell ably folds these coded elements into his process bathed in the same curious luminosity that lingers around all his work. Evolving at a painstaking pace, the plaintive humanity in the cascading keys and plucked guitar strings renders one of the most personal expressions in Hitchell's considerable canon — a unique piece that holds its own space comfortably, while also adding to the overall weight of The Setting Sun as a profound benchmark in a stellar discography.
“Black Jacket” is a love letter between two bands separated by continents but united by mutual admiration. Contriva, of Berlin, and Chessie of Washington, DC, first came together in 2001 when sharing a stage, sparking a deep connection over their respective takes on textural, emotive, and mostly instrumental music that merges post-rock, ambient, and experimental elements into unique visions. Fast forward two decades and many trips to their respective studios and we now have “Black Jacket”, a double LP of musical alchemy that builds upon the expressionistic, idiosyncratic sounds of these two groups. A new classic that proves far greater than the sum of its parts.
Begun in the mid 1990's, Washington DC's Chessie is Stephen Gardner (also of noisy shoegaze pioneers, Lorelei) and Ben Bailes, whose various LP's for Slumberland's Dropbeat imprint and Plug Research pair abstract electronics and melancholy post-rock in search of the sounds and feelings of railways and train travel.
Berlin's Contriva, (Monika Enterprises, Lok Musik, and Morr Music) features Masha Qrella (known for her solo works for Morr Music), Max Punktezahl (also of Munich indie legends the Notwist and Berlin's Jersey and Saroos), Hannes Lehmann and Rike Schuberty. For over a decade beginning in the mid-1990's, Contriva crafted compelling instrumentals, grafting experimental textures onto beautiful and complex indie songs.
Together, the six of them have created “Black Jacket.”
A guitar stands alone in Wedding, that metropolitan biotope in the western center of Berlin, caught in constant transformation between idyll and abyss. It lets its gaze wander, unsettled, almost shy, until it encounters a trumpet, with which it begins a cautious, then ever more intimate pas de deux.
Welcome to the second studio album by the Berlin-based band Conic Rose.
The album title Wedding is no coincidence. The story of Conic Rose is closely intertwined with the Berlin neighborhood that gives the record its name. The band's studio is located here, and both studio albums were created in the immediate vicinity of the small river Panke. This place settles over the music like a warming patina. The album feels as though the musicians and the neighborhood have invited one another to get to know each other. Not least because Wedding also means marriage. These marriages between a band and an urban landscape, a fading past and an emerging future, fear and hope - unfold in every single song on Wedding.
For their second album, Conic Rose repositioned themselves completely. Not in terms of personnel, but in the question of how to move forward. Conic Rose still sound like Conic Rose; their distinctive blend of cinematic jazz, ambient textures and guitar-led contemporary music remains untouched. And yet Wedding is, in many ways, the conceptual counterpart to their debut album Heller Tag. Where the debut documented movement within an urban setting, Wedding describes a state of being. Behind every piece seems to hover a large question mark.The group opens up its palette, allowing more influences, becoming at once more subtle, more profound, more filigree. It is less about definition than about the spaces in between. The most immediately striking difference from the previous album is the strong presence of the guitar. In Bertram Burkert's playing, many voices seem to converge. His yearning openness forms an equal counterpoint to Döben's trumpet and flugelhorn. Blurred and layered sounds occasionally make the ground seem to slip away beneath one's feet, while Döben's gliding lines create both closeness and distance. Together, the band express in a deeply subtle way a sense of life that corresponds precisely to our time. Something lurks in the background, omnipresent yet still unnameable. Conic Rose need no words to convey this feeling of uncertainty with remarkable eloquence. Perhaps this has something to do with Wedding being a place of confrontational introspection, but Conic Rose confront the escape from escape itself. With the recording and release of Wedding, this process is far from complete. The seed only begins to grow in the listener's ear. With every listen and the echo it leaves behind in memory, the studio bud continues to bloom. The album is merely the point of departure. What ultimately matters is what it sets in motion within those who encounter it.
Jazzbois is a jazz-hiphop fusion trio from Budapest, Hungary. Their studio albums and live shows are all equally heavily rooted in improvisation and momentary self expression, each performance is absolutely unique and daring.
In the past 3 years Jazzbois has played SOLD OUT headline shows in: Melkweg Amsterdam NL, Jazz Café London UK, Village Underground London UK, Duc des Lombards Paris FR, La Hasard Ludique Paris FR, Gretchen Berlin DE, Knust Hamburg DE, Ekko Utrecht NL, Simplon Groningen NL x 2, Jassmine Warsaw PL x 2, AKvarium Budapest x 3
Played on festivals like: Montreal Jazz Festival CAN, Montreux Jazz Festival CH, SZIGET HU, X the Tracks London UK, Brick Lane Jazz festival UK, Jazz á Vienne FR, Istanbul Jazz Festival TR, Jazz Open Stuttgart DE, Blue Summer Festival PL, Jazz Around PL, Jazz in the Park RO, JAZZx RO…
In June 2025 Jazzbois performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada. The boys were approached by Rémi Hermoso to record a live session video in front of a small audience in Studio Fast Forward. The session was planned for 4 hours to have time to record with a small live audience, but Jazzbois went in and played 5 songs in only one take without any pause and were done with the material. They handled this recording session like all of them, do one take and be done with it. This way they can get the essence of the moment and not have to worry about making a mistake and starting over. All of these are part of the song, it's honest and raw as it was born right in the moment.
“We did all this for the passion of it, for the music and for the culture, thank you to old and new friends who took part in this intimate gettogether” - said Viktor Sági ‘Vanis’ bass player of Jazzbois.
A rising artist of the French electronic scene, Naajet asserts her identity with The Night Starts Now, a four-track EP that celebrates the freedom and intensity of the night. Co-founder of the Bande de Filles collective and known for her explosive universe blending House, Hardgroove and Breaks, as well as for the unique energy inherited from her dance background, Naajet delivers here a sonic manifesto conceived as an ode to club culture and to the present moment.
“I imagined this EP as an anthem to the world of the night. The night offers us unparalleled freedom, an outlet that allows us to be ourselves, to create, to love. The Night Starts Now captures this celebration of the present moment and this declaration of independence.” Naajet Opening the EP, “Ready To Shine” unfolds radiant House nourished by Pop and 90’s sounds. With a clear and ascending rhythm, the track combines euphoria and introspection. “I composed this track as a joyful and introspective journey that prepares us to embrace the night. For me, it is a call to accept our wounds, to transform them into light and strength, so that we may shine brighter when we enter the club,” explains Naajet. Between ethereal vocal lines and shimmering pads, the track acts as a ritual of entering the night, inviting us to turn wounds into strength and to shine on the dancefloor. The second track of the EP, “Sugar”, embodies the effervescence of the club. Carried by a hypnotic voice and an effervescent rhythm, the track celebrates the communion of bodies and the liberating energy of dance. “It is an ode to dance and to bodies coming together. This track speaks of those moments when, on the dancefloor, boundaries fall: we sweat together, we free ourselves together, and energy flows from one body to another,” says Naajet. A true concentrate of intensity, “Sugar” captures the moment when sweat, rhythm and abandon merge into a collective movement towards freedom.
With “I Can Be Anything”, Naajet changes register and flirts with deeper, even techno textures. Built on a throbbing pulse and sharp synths, this track is meant as a manifesto of identity. “I really wanted to propose a track that claims our right to free and plural expression and sexuality. I Can Be Anything is about our multiple identities, our ability to reinvent ourselves and to refuse any form of formatting,” she says. Between club intensity and political resonance, “I Can Be Anything” questions our multiple facets and embodies the assertion of an elusive and free self. Closing the EP on an euphoric note, “May It Never End” stands out with its broken rhythms and powerful synths. The track conveys the transcendent energy of the end of the night, when dawn arrives but we refuse to leave the collective trance. “I wanted to put into music this feeling of infinite energy, when time is suspended and the party seems to never have to stop. It is this euphoric vertigo that connects us all in the same breath, this utopia of a night that would never end,” says Naajet. A true apotheosis, this track embodies the utopia of an eternal night.
DJ, producer and co-founder of the Bande de Filles collective, Naajet has established herself with a singular universe where House, Hardgroove and Breaks blend, nourished by her background as a dancer and an instinctive sense of groove. For the past three years, she has performed on French and European stages – from Berlin to Amsterdam, via Geneva and Oslo – and has made her mark in clubs such as Rex Club, Le Sucre and Badaboum, as well as festivals like Nuits Sonores and Kolorz. On the production side, she has released several acclaimed EPs on renowned labels such as Shall Not Fade and Monki & Friends. In 2025, she takes a new step with the launch of her label SWEAT Records and a residency at Le Sacré in Paris, affirming her role as an ambassador of a free and intense club culture. She also collaborates with the waacking company MADOKI, for which she composes and mixes projects at the crossroads of dance and music. With The Night Starts Now, Naajet confirms her status as an essential artist of the new electronic generation1
After a longtime interest in the beguiling music of Nathan Dawidowicz, Hell Yeah now hooks up with the leftfield downtempo producer for their second full-length album, FLUFF. The immersive record features three long, winding and mystical soundscapes that blend trance and experimental into spiritual and ritualistic escapes.
Dawidowicz was born in Milan to a Polish-Lithuanian mother and a Cameroonian father, but grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. Because of that, their sound is deeply rooted in childhood experiences playing the piano at religious ceremonies, as well as taking inspiration from their father’s DJing throughout the '80s and '90s. Now based in Berlin, Dawidowicz has explored expression through music on labels like Luspoderosa, where they released their debut solo album, Sanctuary of Ideas.
It was when Calm and David Holmes started playing the epic, 23-minute 'Capricorn Rising Over Jerusalemite Temple' from that album that Hell Yeah founder Marco was encouraged to get in touch with Dawidowicz. A few months later, talk turned to releasing this new album, which comes with artwork by Spain's Alicia Carrera.
'Skeptic Afro Jr.' kicks off and soon sinks you into slinky, ever-evolving rhythms. It's a slowly evolving work of sound where the focus shifts from snaking basslines to lumpy drums, cosmic leads to life-affirming chords. 'Scintilla (Feat. Hannah Schraven)' is a deep and downtempo trip into dub and techno, with undulating drums and exotic melodies that escort you into otherworldly realms of spiritualism. Last of all are 'Deep Fluff' and a hidden track (Feat. Leo Börger), two cinematic explorations of deep space where acoustic frequencies and molten synths rewire your brain and connect you to a higher power.
FLUFF is another deeply personal and inward journey packed with transcendental experiences.
DJ FEEDBACK:
"That's such an outstanding piece of work - played two at the beginning on Saturday. Probably my favourite release of the year so far!" Sean Johnston ALFOS
"this is great! 3rd repeat. It’s so nice" Vladimir Ivkovic
"Just listened to Nathan's record and it really sounds amazing... Probably the best thing you've put out to my ears ;-) I love the way he bridges the sounds of the past with contemporary storytelling, taking you on a very long trip which you never want to leave!" Alexis Le Tan
"yeah Fluff is a wonderful weird one!" Axel Boman
"I love him" David Holmes
CAY unveils his personal side on Another Life, a debut album rich in melancholic euphoria
The expressive, multi-faceted 10 tracker comes on Mind Against's HABITAT label in January 2026
Cologne-born producer CAY explores beyond the dancefloor with Another Life, a debut album that trades peak-time pressure for an ambitious and artful exploration of self. Far from being rooted in one genre, the record weaves his own honest vocals with a wide range of powerful rhythms that pull from progressive, broken beat, techno and trance.
For CAY, making music has always offered refuge and a place to calm his mind, process life’s chaos and channel personal experiences into sound. His journey started in the clubs of Cologne, in illegal forest raves and with trips to Berlin to soak up big room techno. His search for more purpose, away from mental demons and the darker side of the party lifestyle, led him to production. DJing followed after a push from his brother turned Manager, and while those experiences around Europe shaped his understanding of dance floor dynamics, he was never in a rush to release his early experiments.
Instead, CAY took private time to evolve into an accomplished artist with his own musical voice. Label heads Mind Against were so impressed when they heard what he sent to their demo inbox, they both reached out to collaborate, and he has since released on their label HABITAT.
With Another Life, he is making music that is multilayered and rich in narrative, rather than defined purely by big moments. It is drawn from years of writing, with more than 60 tracks whittled down to one concise, impactful statement. "There wasn't one big concept,” says CAY “but there was direction. It's a big risk for me, but I wanted to introduce people who like club music to something deeper. I want the music to say something real.”
Because of that, Another Life introduces CAY the vocalist. For the first time, he sings on several tracks. The subjects are real, whether that's an important friend, a moment with his girlfriend or, on 'Runaway', the thought of giving up and escaping everything. The lyrics are honest but often slightly oblique, so they invite your own readings rather than spelling everything out.
Sonically, the album moves between optimistic grandeur and introspective reality. It's cinematic but personal and bridges the gap between dancefloor drive and vulnerable storytelling. There is a grand scale to many of the tracks, with arching synths reaching and heavyhearted drums anchoring a groove: you'll dance, you'll cry, maybe both at the same time.
Another Life is the sound of a producer granting himself permission to sing, turn inwards and risk audience expectations. It’s intimate without being insular, club-capable without being confined, and a compelling first chapter for an artist who has spent years building toward this moment of truth.
2026 Repress
Temudo - Meteora (FUSE06) by Noah Hocker
A leader of the Portuguese wave in techno co-founding Hayes Collective while boasting acclaimed releases on Klockworks, Blueprint, and Soma, Temudo grabs the reins to take club music back to its days of audacity and risk taking. A more than promising up-and-comer turned modern reference, Temudo defends his reputation with a release showcasing depth in his various sonic universes and a deep understanding of his music's history. For its seventh release, Temudo's 'Meteora' is a logical next step for the club's direction - a sweet spot between dancefloor efficiency and enduring aesthetic.
Combining the intrigue of mental soundscapes with the reliability of imposing rhythm, 'Meteora' finds itself collected, expressing effect through restraint. The title track, claiming the EP's A1, is just that - a force of interweaving sound design and powerful micro transitions. Some believe the best techno records are able to express emotion and attitude despite its dissonant and machinelike nature; if that's the case then Temudo has mastered the craft. 'When I Grow Up', however, puts the focus back on the body. What sounds like warbling tape modulation over a percussive lead makes this record an addictively delirious ride from start to finish, fitting in with the track before while shifting to different priorities. Proving his versatility, 'Vrthng' at first seems reminiscent of the minimal Berlin style with a higher pace, but quickly progresses into something intensely euphoric. With experience and measure, an out of the box approach can really pay off, and the added emotion in 'Vrthng' is certainly a turning point in the EP. This mindset is clearly carried over in the project's conclusion : 'It's Always Past'. A surprising use of harmony and storytelling, this final chapter ends with Temudo sealing his style with confidence. The track is mystified by its chords, ending 'Meteora' with a question mark that leaves us in anticipation for what Temudo dares to do next.
Marcel Dettmann's 'My Own Shadow' is the latest chapter in the Berlin-based legend's illustrious career. The live project is, in his own words, "a space where all of my artistic expressions meet," blending techno with film, sketches and photography. The shows are less club sets and more immersive experiences, where the audience gets lost in a "full sensory narrative." "My solo work has always been open, evolving across records and remixes," Dettmann added.
My Own Shadow's first official release, Approaching, is a five-track EP landing on !K7 Records in November. Complemented by his own photography on the artwork, the music spans techno and ambient, fizzing with a madcap funk and energy quite unlike any of his previous productions.
VITAL SALES POINTS
Renowned Berghain resident and contemporary techno stalwart Marcel Dettmann introduces his brand new project and alias My Own Shadow - after his latest releases on Running Back and Dekmantel. EU, UK and US tour dates during the campaign.
Arriving two years after the first chapter, Absurd Matter 2 isn’t just a sequel, it’s an evolution, redrawing the boundaries established by its acclaimed predecessor. The Berlin-based Italian producer tempers his confrontational sonics with rare moments of introspection, shifting seamlessly between blown-out noise, warped hip-hop, mutant club experimentation, and weightless ambience. Textures disintegrate and reassemble, rhythms flex and crumble, and every detail balances on the edge of fantasy. It’s a poetic, layered response to Nino Pedone’s changing physical reality: the gradual hearing loss and perceptual renegotiation triggered by Ménière’s disease, which struck him in 2022. At first, the experience felt like betrayal, a brutal disconnection from the very sense that had shaped his life. But over time, the disorientation turned into a strange kind of focus. The silence between sounds became as expressive as the sounds themselves.
The first Absurd Matter was a visceral reaction to trauma; the second is more reflective – an ambiguous chronicle of sensory recalibration. Pedone doesn’t represent his altered inner reality through extremes, but through depth, zooming in on illusory distortions, tense rhythmic fluctuations, and fragmented sonics. Dense, immersive, and mystical, the album mirrors Pedone’s evolving relationship with perception itself.
Tinnitus-like feedback wails and noir-ish strings introduce “Repeater”, making it immediately clear that Pedone is painting a more delicately finessed image this time around. Fleshed out by raps from cult MCs billy woods and E L U C I D, the track is marked by subtle, sophisticated contrasts: the blurred, inverted rhythms that couch Armand Hammer’s haunted back-and-forth, and the glitchy interference that offsets the lavish orchestral phrases. Backwoodz associate Fatboi Sharif lends his Lynchian drawl to “Bandage Chipped Wings”, grounding Pedone’s lysergic rhythmic distortions with syrupy, horror-inspired couplets. Pedone also invites discomfort into “Crash Landing”, with droning, metallic tones that contradict South Central rapper ICECOLDBISHOP’s elastic flow. “Bitch, I don't give a fuck about anybody,” he squawks over Pedone’s incongruous rasping textures and time-warped beats, “cash out at any party.” Working alongside London’s Loraine James on production, Pedone reunites with Moor Mother on “I Saw The Light”, blending James’ soft-focus atmospherics with soundsystem-damaging, overdriven bass hits and rusted percussive snips. Moor Mother’s assertive words hover over the wreckage, tightening Pedone’s themes of overstimulation and altered awareness as they stutter and veer off course, vanishing into the backdrop.
Contrasting his more pensive experiments, Pedone’s dancefloor deviations are more concentrated on Absurd Matter 2 than ever before. He torches a stuttering dembow structure on “X”, obfuscating the rhythm’s familiar energy with disturbing audio hallucinations. On “Splintered”, he reunites with Kenyan prodigy Slikback, mangling neon-lit trance arpeggios with dissociated trap rhythms. He sharpens his skills to a fine point on “Oblivion Step”, observing 2- step through a lens of distortion and personal abstraction, shaking blipping synth leads over neck-snapping drums and counteracting the momentum with airless sci-fi soundscapes.
Perhaps the album’s most surprising moment arrives with “Viel”, which features vocals from Los Angeles-based composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Together, Pedone and Smith chance upon their notion of dub techno, fogging synth stabs and ghostly vocal traces into eerie harmonic distortions. On some level, it’s almost pop music, a far cry from the bleak dissonance of Absurd Matter and a hopeful way to reframe turbulence as transformation. Absurd Matter 2 doesn’t simply document a process; it enacts one. It doesn’t offer clarity; it invites disorientation. It’s not a map of the labyrinth, but a foghorn piercing the darkness.
The latest wayward soundsystem sonics on the Social come from Wroclaw in Poland courtesy of dadan karambolo. As part of the strictly legit SPLOT crew karambolo is spearheading a vibrant community of bassweight freaks digesting all the best misfit club music from the cracks between — a hint of dubstep, a twist of techno and plenty of advanced sound design, all poured into a thoroughly modern, richly realised brew.
Having previously snuck tunes out on SPLOT’s in-house label and the respected Awkwardly Social crew out of Berlin, karambolo delivers an extended statement with his Sneaker Special Club debut. Subtle pressure is the order of the day as he zeroes in on evocative soundscaping and a subdued mood, all while piling on ample low end intensity and edging some sharp angles out of the meditative roll. Even when minuscule slithers of amen breaks sneak into ‘Awkward Expression’, the ambience remains somewhere between dream and dread while ‘Huskarl’ scatters industrial jackhammers across a vast tundra of drone.
‘Done For’ steps forward a touch more forthright with its grime-coded bass spasms, deploying the kind of bludgeoning physicality and ruthless reduction you might associate with fellow Sneaker alumni, Mars89. ‘Burbot’ also switches the script for a cheeky B3 that toys with 80s electro chopped into a snappy breakbeat and underpinned with a sticky synth line. Sidestepping direct dancefloor routes in search of different ways to achieve movement in the club, karambolo has more than matched the over-arching Sneaker ideal with an assured, original transmission from the outer limits of the soundsystem.
Dabrea is the first release by Kliche, a new alias from Biri. The record features three timeless and dubwise dancefloor cuts alongside a closing downtempo roller. Steeped in lush ambiance, and with a sense of urgency echoing the exploratory energy of rave’s formative years.
Following a move to London from Berlin, these tracks were recorded early 2025 and mixed at Willem Twee Studios in Netherlands. The record represents a fresh start for the producer after stepping away from club music, seeking a freedom of expression beyond the conventions of techno.
Fusing the melodic ideations of braindance with soundsystem weightiness and a deftness of craft, Dabrea is an impressive statement that ignites new energy into the contemporary club continuum.
Japan’s SUDO return to Drumcode with ‘We Are Free’, following their landmark 2024 debut ‘Real World’ Last summer brothers Isao and Takashi aka SUDO gifted Drumcode one of the most inspiring releases we’ve heard in recent times with ‘Real World’. Inspired by Underworld’s incendiary ‘Rez’, the EP was the sound of two producers pouring all their passion and shared musical history into a work that’ll be remembered for years to come.
The release peaked at no.1 on Beatport’s Release Charts and saw a follow up collaboration with Bart Skils ‘Nexus’ out later that year on Drumcode. ‘We Are Free’ continues SUDO’s emotion-led and timeless approach to techno, crafting a four-tracker inspired by the concepts of “freedom, divinity, memory and transition”. The title track genre-hops between electro-edged techno, silky ambient textures and breakbeats. Isao says: “We wanted to express in a powerful and explosive way one of our purposes on the dancefloor – a time of celebration, and freedom from restrictions.”
‘Elysium’ is a transcendental slice of techno that juxtaposes tough industrial rhythms with a stunning break that was inspired by a children’s choir Isao heard one day at Berlin Cathedral. “It took a long time to producer with many patterns until we were satisfied,” Isao shares.
“It was a real process of immersing oneself in the hypnotic groove and finding divinity.” Initially inspired by watching Bart Skils play a NYE 2025 set in Argentina, ‘Lost in Paradise’ is led by a delicate Latin vocal and crisp sun-dappled beats, before stepping up the pace in the second half. “As the production progressed, we were led to a wonderful result with the track’s vocal, a tribute to one of our biggest influences – the untouched nature of Ibiza and the vibes of the light and beautiful people that flow there.” The EP winds down with ‘Horizon’, a simultaneously beautiful yet bittersweet hymn that signals the end of the party.
‘Absurd Matter’ is a labyrinthine sonic conundrum that spirals around the two poles of extreme noise and hiphop. It's Berlin-based Italian producer Shapednoise's first album in four years and confidently advances his narrative into the next chapter, building on the groundwork of his prior abstractions to emerge with a coherent genre-warped fusion of urgent rap, crushing bass weight and idiosyncratic sound design. After spending years scrupulously deconstructing club music, Nino Pedone has rebuilt it brick by brick in his image.
The album is the first release on Pedone's brand new imprint WEIGHT LOOMING, a multidisciplinary label platform that's set to explore the depths of bass music, textured noise and abrasive transcendence. It follows a slew of acclaimed releases for Numbers,
Opal Tapes, Type and his own Cosmo Rhythmatic label, and forward thinking collaborations with Kenyan beat alchemist Slikback and Hyperdub-signed Angolan producer Nazar. Pedone's most ambitious project to date, ‘Absurd Matter’ taps into kinetic energy from a hand-picked selection of collaborators, including New York rap duo Armand
Hammer, French DJ/producer Brodinski, Bruiser Brigade's ZelooperZ and vanguard Philly poet, musician, and activist Moor Mother.
On ‘Family’, Billy Woods and Elucid weave a dismal, apocalyptic landscape with their razor-sharp anecdotes. The duo’s macabre imagery is given artificial life by Pedone's industrial scrapes and rattles that curl around their worlds like thick smoke. It's still rap, just about, but lodges itself in the back room of a factory, machines running themselves to an early death. Pairing with techno-rap trailblazer Brodinski, Pedone edges further towards the sound system, spatializing rhythms in four dimensions around Detroit rapper
ZelooperZ's playful expressions. This is the Italian producer's sci-fi tinged liquefaction of radio echoes, a way to fire familiarity into the void and sublime the human voice into weightless mist. When Moor Mother arrives shouting "me me me" on the aptly-titled 'Poetry', it sounds as if all of Pedone's loose threads are being tightened into a knot. His misshapen neo-grime beats sound like a broken jet engine, but smartly cede power to Moor Mother's resonant rhymes. "You can't cancel me" she assures. ‘Absurd Matter’ is a defining personal development for Pedone that not only appraises his career so far, but diverts its logic into frighteningly new sonic territory. From great loss, the producer has determined his work's cardinal themes, and sounds more strident and far heavier than ever before.
Berlin-based Colombian DJ, producer, and curator Edna Martinez presents a sonic journey into the electrifying world of Picó—the vibrant and dynamic sound system culture that has defined the streets of Cartagena and Barranquilla for decades. More than just a musical movement, Picó is a way of life, a bold expression of identity, community, and resistance. From its roots in the working-class neighbourhoods of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to its deep connections with Africa and the Caribbean, this compilation captures the pulse of a culture where music is played at full volume, rhythms travel across oceans, and dance is both a form of celebration and storytelling. For those unfamiliar, Picós are hand-painted sound systems, often adorned with dazzling colours and striking imagery, each with its own name and sonic identity. These mobile discos became the heart of neighbourhood bailes, where the sounds of champeta, highlife, soukous, mbaqanga, zouk, soca, and cumbia would turn every street corner, market, and terrace into a dancefloor. Initially built by local craftsmen using modified speaker components, Picós became legendary for their powerful bass and exclusivity, with DJs sourcing rare vinyl from African and Caribbean ports and rebranding them with unique piconemas—new names adapted to local slang, making the tracks instantly recognisable within the community.
This compilation brings together a carefully curated selection of these rare and sought-after tracks, tracing the deep-rooted musical exchanges between Colombia, West and Central Africa, and the Caribbean. Featuring artists like Los Corraleros De Majagual, Peacocks International Highlife Band, Pedro Lima, Zaïko Langa Langa, and more, the album also includes edits by Edna Martinez, reimagining these timeless rhythms for contemporary audiences while staying true to their original spirit.
Strut presents ‘Picó! Sound System Culture From The Colombian Carribbean’ across 2LP Vinyl, 1CD & Digital focusing on a celebration of the raw, undiluted energy of Picó culture. Through Edna Martinez’s curation, and extensive liner notes, this compilation offers a powerful and authentic glimpse into one of the most vibrant musical traditions of the Colombian Caribbean
Air Texture proudly announces its latest artist-curated compilation, “Hardwired,” assembled by Berlin-based musician JakoJako. This expansive collection celebrates the implicit connection between hardware-focused electronic producers, featuring contributions from Rødhåd, Acid Pauli, The Field, Neon Chambers, and many more.
“Hardwired” draws its conceptual foundation from synthesizer terminology. As JakoJako explains: “A hardwired synth has connections already soldered into the machine—it comes with certain functions without needing to patch cables externally. As a hardware producer, I feel whenever I meet someone who creates music as I do, we have this immediate connection, like a hardwired synthesizer. There’s no need for small talk—we can speak about gear.”
This metaphor of pre-established connections forms the emotional core of the compilation, celebrating the community of hardware enthusiasts who share an intuitive understanding and appreciation for machine-based music creation.
JakoJako has established herself as one of electronic music’s most intriguing voices, exploring the territory between technical precision and emotional expression. Her artistic approach balances rigorous knowledge with unrestrained intuition, creating works that reach beyond genre boundaries.
A Berghain resident with performances at Dekmantel and Fusion, to the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican, JakoJako has released music on prestigious labels including Tresor, Mute, and Leisure System, and crafted remixes for artists like New Order and Martin Gore. Her deep relationship with analog and modular synthesis, including her ongoing connection to Berlin’s SchneidersLaden, informs her distinctive sound.
Following her recent Mute album “Têt 41,” this curation for Air Texture provides further insight into the musical universe that has shaped JakoJako’s artistic vision.
“Hardwired” showcases 23 tracks for its digital release, with a select 9 tracks pressed to vinyl. The collection spans the spectrum of contemporary electronic music while maintaining cohesive focus on hardware-driven production approaches.
Highlights include collaborative works between JakoJako and fellow producers Mareena and Frank Wiedemann, alongside contributions from established artists like Rødhåd, Acid Pauli, and The Field, plus emerging talents representing the hardware renaissance in electronic music.
Founded by James Parker Healy, Air Texture emerged from New York City’s late ’90s rave scene, carrying forward the fundamental PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) ethos with a collaborative and curatorial focus. Air Texture has evolved from its roots in Manhattan’s club era and Brooklyn’s warehouse scene to embrace a global perspective, working with producers across diverse styles and regions worldwide through the label and its PLace: nonprofit series.
Red Pig Flower brings you her sensational debut album Practice Love, available on Sound Of Vast from 10th April. Her unique sound sits upon the apex of a three-sided pyramid. With Berlin, Tokyo and Seoul as the base, Red is a third culture kid, greater than the sum of her parts. The centre is filled with her incredible appreciation and knowledge of house and electronic music from every pin drop through history.
So taken with Red Pig Flower’s sound, Honey Dijon invited Red to her Southbank Centre show to play alongside her. Moxie loves her that much, that she invited Red to record a mix and to guest on her NTS show. Alan Fitzpatrick, and Just Her are amongst Red’s growing posse of followers.
Practice Love is a culmination of all of Red Pig Flower’s life experiences, brimming with her positive energy and an outlook on life of pure love. Red has collaborated with like-minded artists at every level: the music, the cover art and video all produced with talented friends, who get Red as the wonderful person she is and understand her vision. Her label partner and good friend, Knock in particular helped make Practice Love the incredible album it is. So intuitive is their musical symbiosis, they made 20 tracks and carefully curated and ordered nine of these, making an album of tracks that stand out on their own, yet flow perfectly as an album. Practice Love will make you feel joyous when you play it. By the end, you will feel like you know Red like a friend.
Practice Love kicks off with I don’t care, it makes you feel good: a dreamy, tribal mantra of a track that does exactly what it says on the tin. Next up is I Love To Dance. Red’s beautiful soft vocal is sweet yet poignant, leaving you in no doubt of her sincerity. Thirdly comes Feel Good Music. Are you getting a feel from the track names yet that this is an album of warmth and positivity? You can imagine this one at a Café Del Mar sunset, where those who get the spirituality of Ibiza come together, in the moment to appreciate the beauty of a sunset and understand that no matter how many you see, each is magical and unique.
The three tracks so far have taken you to twilight. The titular Practice Love takes you by the hand onto the dancefloor. There is a double meaning to ‘Practice Love’- The first is to make love your practice. The second is that you need to practice love to be able to become a practitioner of love. The video, shot by her friend Jelly, features Red Pig Flower in Brick Lane, London, wearing a little piggy mask and offering free hugs. The first passersby ignore her sign, but Red isn’t disheartened, spreading the right message, dancing with joy. Her optimism is rewarded, making peoples day better on a cold English afternoon.
Fifth track Sax and Drugs takes things a little sleazier, the beat is filthy and the synths are sexy. Your body starts to move to this one before your brain even realises. The incredible Declan McDermott joins on saxophone, the funkiest synths and Red’s sultry vocal washing your soul with Laurent Garnier inspired sunlight. On Thisiz House Music, again featuring Declan, Red takes you even further back. About Frankie Knuckles O’Clock, with a portal straight to 2025.
By now, you will agree with me that Practice Love flows so, so well. I Wanna Meet Somebody follows incredibly, continuing the feeling that if you close your eyes, you’re dancing with David Mancuso at the Loft. No Money completes this EP-within-an-album. Perfect vocal samples, valve synth riff and 808 drum patterns showing that producers as good as Red Pig Flower make it sound effortless. The best albums finish memorably and No Genre is one of those perfect finishers. Think Andrew Wetherall’s production on Screamadelica. The lights are up in the club, nobody wants to go home, arms in the air wanting more.
Red Pig Flower explains: Practice Love resonates deeply with me because house music has always been a sanctuary—a place for unity, joy, and self-expression. As a nomad and outsider, club culture and house music became my shelter. The cities I’ve lived in—Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, and London and more—nurtured me and shaped who I am today. That’s why the cover, by the incredible Carlos Sulpizio features their skylines, and the album is multilingual, representing the diverse influences in my life.
Practice Love is like a meal that has been prepared lovingly. They always taste better. And there’s plenty more to come from Red Pig Flower. How was your appetizer?
The B is back! Roza Terenzi puts the B in SBC; bounce, bass and.. Boss. Returning with a four track all original EP “Ministry of Wish” the label head is calling on corners of her ever expanding distinctive sound with a sliding scale (etherial to filth) sound bath. Something for every occasion, whether you’re looking to get down and dirty, leave the dancefloor in dust or stargaze via subbass, we got you covered. Recorded between Berlin and Perth, the tracks all signify moments in time that feels like it’s going too fast, an archival stamp on the year 2024; sometimes after a party that lingers with mythical adrenaline, sometimes a personal moment to express reflection.
With the only predictability being Roza’s penchant for Genre Bending, STEP14 sets the tone for the freaky, fabulous year to come of Step Ball Chain in 2025.
Welcome to the kickoff of DemoDc's 5-EP series, where he reflects on the complexities of our times. Coining "Meiosistosis" from mitosis and meiosis, DemoDc creates a unique vocabulary to express his deep perspective. Released through Heart Heart Records, the music follows a non-linear, cyclic journey, with each track standing independently, guiding listeners through an evolving experience.
"A1 - Awake" opens the series, celebrating those brave enough to face their flaws in a world of false promises. With introspective melodies and harmonies, the track encourages self-discovery and reflection, urging listeners to seek their own truths.
"A2 - Not From Around Here" embraces individuality, using its ethereal tones to highlight the strength found in being different and celebrating the alien within us all.
"B1 - Glimpsed (Original Mix)" offers a brief taste of the profound mysteries of the present, reminding us that truth is personal and elusive.
"B2 - Glimpsed (Metapattern Mix)" the remix by Berlin's Metapattern transforms the original track into a deep, pulsating techno piece perfect for DJs, adding a powerful twist to this captivating musical journey.
While they’ve been active for more than two decades, it’s only been in recent years that the Berlin and New York based contemporary sonic arts platform, Soundwalk Collective, has begun to gather the accolades and attention that they rightfully deserve. Firmly rooted within a multi-disciplinary practice that engages the narrative potential of sound within the contexts of visual art, dance, music and film, as well as tapping anthropological, ethnographic, and psycho-geographic research, they’ve gained great note for collaborations with Jean-Luc Goddard, Nan Goldin, Sasha Waltz, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and numerous others.
Building on the back of 2023’s brilliant “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, Soundwalk Collective now returns with “Khandroma”, one of their most fascinating and singular endeavours to date, which re-engages their enduring creative partnerships with Patti Smith. Issued by Ubi Kū, a brand new imprint founded by the Italian Buddhist Union dedicated to the relationships between Buddhist cultures, music, and sound, across the album’s stunning two sides this incredible ensemble draws inspiration from and conjures Tibetan deities, the Himalayan Plateau, the valleys of Nepal and the highest peaks where the most ancient Buddhist temples reside, culminating as a sprawling sonic tapestry like little else. Issued as a beautifully produced, limited edition vinyl LP and CD, mixed and mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, complete with a booklet featuring liner note essays penned by Chiara Bellini and Filippo Lunardo, and images by Stephan Crasneanscki, it’s hands down among our favourite releases by Soundwalk Collective to date and not to be missed!
An international experimental sound art collective founded in 2001 by the artists Stephan Crasneanscki, who was joined in 2008 by producer Simone Merli, Soundwalk Collective is a contemporary sonic arts platform, featuring a rotating constellation of artists and musicians, that, in vastly varied number of ways, has continuously explored the remarkable potential of sound within the contexts of visual art, dance, music and film, offering particular emphasis to anthropological, ethnographic, and psycho-geographic research, examining conceptual, literary or artistic themes. In addition to their many collaborations and accolades that attend to an increased ambitious catalog of releases, they scored Laura Poitras’ film, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, which won the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, as well performed and exhibited at Berghain, CTM Festival, documenta, Manifesta, New Museum, and Centre Pompidou, where they notably opened “Evidence”, a exhibition with Patti Smith comprising an audio-visual journey from the work of French poets Arthur Rimbaud, Antonin Artaud and René Daumal. While Soundwalk Collective’s output and use of sonority - sometimes original composition and others manipulated archival recordings - and context is varied, the project’s endeavours are unified by a focus on sound as material that is both tactile and poetic, pursuing layered narratives that address ideas of memory, time, love and loss. Their latest, “Khandroma”, enlisting Patti Smith’s contribution on one of its tracks, stands among the most exciting and rich of these explorations yet.
Perhaps the best way of approaching “Khandroma” is through Soundwalk Collective’s longstanding focus on the discipline of psycho-geography - a practice that interrogates the impact of an environment’s embedded histories and meanings on the psychology of the present - as well as the group’s integration of observations of nature, and uses of non-linear narrative, as a vehicle for recording and the synthesis of meaning. Like previous projects that have encountered them traveling extensively across the world, occupying diverse environments for long periods of investigation and fieldwork, during which they source materials for subsequent works, the material roots of “Khandroma” are a body of field recordings made by Crasneanscki, Francisco López, and Merli at altitudes between 2,760 and 4,500 meters, in varying locations across Upper Mustang during 2016.
Drawing the album’s title from the Tibetan feminine deity who reigns the skies, the album’s two compositions weave a stunning sonic tapestry from collaged sounds of nature, bells, drones, unplaceable tones and vocals, and in the case of its second piece, “Chasing the Demon”, the voice of Patti Smith, culminating as a deeply emotive and imagistic expanse that taps something far more profound than any of its single parts. As the collective states: “the album traces the continuous morphing of the wind into sound expressions. The Himalayan Plateau seems designed to amplify and echo the encounter of the breaths, the prayers, and the chants emerging from around and within those temples; amid the sounding of bells, the turning of prayer wheels, and the billowing of flags. A resonant musical body that we recorded so as to capture its boundless mutations; an unstoppable force that cries, whispers, and blows through and over stones, wood, empty halls and monastic robes, etching an ever-changing sonic landscape onto the surfaces it encounters.”
Immersive, stunningly beautiful, and haunting, “Khandroma” draws the ancient and distant into the consciousness of the present, close to home, bordering on the profound. Issued by Ubi Kū as a beautifully produced, limited edition vinyl LP and CD, mixed and mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, complete with a booklet featuring liner note essays penned by Chiara Bellini and Filippo Lunardo, and images by Stephan Crasneanscki, we can’t recommend it enough.
Music From Memory is thrilled to introduce Dead Sound, the collaborative project of Marco Sterk (aka Young Marco) and Berlin-based pop-auteur John Moods. Both artists are no strangers to the label; Sterk forms one third of the trio Gaussian Curve, while Moods released the 2022 album ‘Hidden Gem’ with The Zenmenn.
Their collaboration was both planned and spontaneous; Sterk initially reached out in 2022 expressing his desire to work with Moods. The pair finally got together in 2024 to produce ‘Into The Void’, an album that burst into life over the course of a few creatively charged days in each other’s company.
Moods’ dream-like, emotionally charged music wears its heart on its sleeve; its very human vulnerability makes it a perfect match for Sterk’s strong sense of melody and textural sonic visions.
‘Into The Void’ carries these psychedelic traits in its DNA, but they exist layered deep amongst the shadows. Painting on a wide canvas that effortlessly skips between genres, the pair weave anything that inspires them into a truly unique tapestry; a bold attempt to touch at the beyond.
Exploring the space between perception (level of the mind) and the nature of the universe (actual level of reality) seems traditionally like an impossible task. But there’s gotta be a time and a space for the profound and this album invites the listener to go deep, letting go of concepts such as love and opening oneself up to one’s own authentic journey. This transformative force of healing is a central theme of ‘Into The Void’, a path that is lined with light and darkness in equal measure. But, as Moods says, “do not skip the darkness, let that door open and swallow you. And maybe you’ll find, it's not as dark as you perceived at first."
Sleeve art by Michael Willis.
From RSF's debut smash album "Metropol Nights", comes the first in a series of remix EPs from the long player. The "Metropol Nights" album is a tribute to the iconic Berlin club Metropol, and the italo, disco, and hi-nrg music with which it was synonymous; Mark Moore/S'Express, Ascii.Disko, and Punx Soundcheck pay homage with reworks of album opener "That Night In Brazil", featuring none other than Andy Bell (Erasure) and Boy George. Also included is album favourite "TV Tower Dating".
/Black Vinyl[18,91 €]
140g transparent blue and green galaxy marble vinyl housed in a matte 3mm cardboard sleeve with lyrics insert featuring photography and artwork by Hidrico Rubens. Limited to 300 copies. The creation of ‘Chrysalis’ was a retreat from a seemingly endless string of unfortunate events, a cocoon from which Zanias could weave hope from hopelessness. In each of its eight songs she has engineered unique worlds to express alternate facets of the modern human experience, from burnout and the toxicity of capitalism to processing death and the inherent isolation of personal trauma. Written and recorded between Berlin and the rainforest of Queensland, Australia, the sound design of ‘Chrysalis’ reflects the rich biodiversity of the latter environment, where she drew much of her inspiration. Her voice shifts and morphs into ghostly, alien forms between catchy hooks that plant this album firmly in the ‘pop’ genre, without losing the underground rawness and lyrical depth for which she is known. With her third full-length album, Zanias is expressing her truest form thus far, fusing her seemingly discordant influences into a genre-defying electronic artpop, as dark and evocative as it is ethereal and uplifting. Written and produced by Alison Lewis Bass guitar on ‘Lovelife’ by Laura Bailey Mixed by Ewan Kay Mastered by Alain Paul Photography and artwork by Hidrico Rubens Sigil by Nat Soba Design and layout by Alison Lewis Makeup by Eavan Derbyshire
Fuelled by the Berlin-based duo's love of club music in all its forms ''FJAAK THE SYSTEM'' is FJAAK's most definitive album to date, a winding sonic odyssey that surveys the rave landscape, dipping between frantic euphoria and deep contemplation. Featuring sizzling collaborations with Modeselektor, Skee Mask, Red Eye and J.Manuel, the album draws a bold line under FJAAK's 15 years of mischief and mayhem, pulling together 23 tracks (culled from over 300, no less) that truly reflect the duo's boundless enthusiasm for the dancefloor. Grazing UK breakbeat, techno, 2-step, d'n'b, jungle, trip-hop and ambient, these elasticated, hybrid bangers paint a vivid picture of FJAAK's utopian club ideal, a place where genre boundaries evaporate and only the groove remains. Since graduating in audio engineering in the early 2010s, FJAAK have been challenging the logic of a maddeningly conservative club scene with their hardware only live shows, DJ sets a myriad of record releases. In 2019 they launched the label and platform Spandau20 with a steady flow of records and a mixtape series featuring new talent and established artists. With their rebellious attitude and notoriously energetic live sets, the duo have brought back a crucial lost ingredient to the rave: playfulness. And if their well-loved albums 'FJAAK', released on Modeselektor's Monkeytown imprint, and 'Havel' set the scene, 'FJAAK THE SYSTEM' rises above and beyond expectations, creating a new benchmark. It's not just blood, sweat and tears either, FJAAK's advanced technical knowhow and love of synthesizers and drum machines helps them formulate a sound that's conscious of dance music history, but focused on a brighter, more equitable future. Their second single 'And You Feel' is an emotional rollercoaster combining UK breakbeat with a dubstep-influenced bassline wobler and alluring vocals, emulating the moment the mind becomes a tranquil void through the crescendo of adrenaline like a strain of physical exertion. This is reflected on their new music video which shows an unexpected ''rage room'' scene.
Garth Erasmus is an artist and musician based in Cape Town, South Africa. 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' is his first album under his own name. Since 1985 his artistic interests have broadened to include music-making, designing and making his own instruments based on indigenous KhoiSan knowledge. From 1999 to 2012 he was a member of the South African First Nation activist group Khoi Khonnexion. In the past couple of years Garth Erasmus has also been a pivotal part of various international performance pieces and exhibition projects which brought him regularly to Europe. Most of these activities were developed and performed in collaboration with the Hamburg based band Kante and his band Khoi Khonnexion. In April 2024 Garth Erasmus will be part of the group exhibtion 'Oscillations' at Akademie der Künste, Berlin.
His works in music are predominantly characterized by a restless quest for alternative forms of expression and materials including self build instruments, field recordings or various electronic music devices.
In this context the music on 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' takes on a primal and metaphorical meaning. Rather than a formal, physical initiation, this process is more spiritually inclined, yet it is a spirituality which is consistently put into action.. “Ever since I was an art student I have experimented with alternative materials to release me from the Western education values I received. When I started to make these instruments in the 1980s, my intention was to create art objects but when I discovered the sound they made, it unlocked a door that transported me deeper in my quest in the realization that I was on the right path.
In fact all instruments which appear on 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' are products of a process of discovery starting from square one. All this is based and founded on the beauty of simplicity and minimalism as symbolized by the single string Khoisan musical bow and arrow as trance musical instrument. In this sense it soon became manisfest for Garth Erasmus to combine the bow instruments with various electronic instruments. Besides developing his own unique language in music he also shared an expressed interested in experimental sound aesthecis, Avantgarde composition and Free Jazz. However, his non - academic approach towards sound and music was always fueled by the desire for a reconnection to the land and to the idegenious knowledge of the KhoiSan, whose struggle for First Nation status continues.
Song for Morenga
This song is dedicated to a guerilla leader, named Jacob Morenga, who was the leader of the nama/herero anti-german uprisings that occured between 1904 and 1907.
Amaseh Amen
This is a classic mouthbow piece that conjures the spiritual nature of Khoisan cultural praxis.
Gwaing Reverie
It was composed as a personal gift to the other members of newly formed electro-acoustic trio „Gwaing". „Gwaing" is an ancient Khoisan place name, meaning the mouth of the river.
Mcinci Song
A typical meditation on the traditional Mcinci flute. This flute was originally played by shepherds and was made of reed.
The Ascension of Milford Graves
This piece attends to capture the risen spirit of the legendary African American drummer Milford Graves. It was composed soon after his death in 2021.
Song for The Sisters of the Soil
A live improvisation dedicated to Lucelle and Melissa (The Sisters of the Soil) on the occasion of visiting them at their residence, known as „Oppieyaart" on the Cape Flats. On 10 September 2022 there is an online event with them at Kunsthaus Hamburg.
Composed, produced and arranged by Evangelia VS, the artist behind Abyss X, Freedom Doll is the culmination of a year of emotional unloading through songwriting, offering an introspective journey into the ocean of her mind. Produced and recorded between an artist residency near the Mayan jungle in Mexico and her Berlin home, the album chronicles transformations the performer tackled mentally during the writing process, tracing the rollercoaster of falling in love during the pandemic, as well as the pleasures and tribulations of womanhood.
Freedom Doll encapsulates the romantic escapade between her voice and the guitar. The amalgamation of seduction, sexual tension, vulnerability and assertiveness pulses throughout the entirety of the album, spiralling out of the cracks spawned from her vocal chords. From the twirling dance between her lush harmonies and the progressions of the acoustic guitar in tracks such as Ascend and From Hot to Cold, to the explosive confrontation between the metallic and operatic qualities of her voice, the searing sound of the electric guitar in industrial rock / psychedelic anthems such as Torture Grove and Banyana and the cathartic momentum found in the gospel inclined chants in A CHEW - Freedom Doll untethers the dramatics and theatricality that defines Abyss X’s vocal performance and music production, while maintaining the sensual vibrations of her creative essence.
Freedom Doll is the encapsulation of the Minoan woman, the elusive harlequin tiptoeing her way through the “circus of terror” that is living and loving her way through womanhood. With this visual reference, Abyss X pays tribute to her ancestors and their groundbreaking ancient artistry. The back cover of the vinyl features a reiteration of depictions of bulls leaping found in Minoan frescoes; an inherently male cultural act that in the ancient Minoan times presumably gave expression to a tension that underlies man's somewhat tenuous mastery of nature. Freedom Doll’s artwork challenges this preconceived notion through an eco-feminist approach, bringing the Minoan woman slash Gaia in the seat of the bull leaper, taming the unhinged and predominantly male earth - threatening human force.
rand, the exciting new collaboration between pianist Jan Gerdes and electronic music producer Frank Bogdanowitz, is proud to present their debut album "Peripherie".
With Gerdes' background working alongside renowned composers such as Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, Wolfgang Rihm, and Helmut Lachenmann, and Bogdanowitz's extensive touring experience as Dr.Nojoke in the experimental minimal techno scene, rand brings together the worlds of acoustic and electronic music in a unique and captivating way.
Recorded live in 2019 at Berlin's Chez-Cherie Studios with no overdubs, the pieces were created through both improvisation and composition with Gerdes having access to three pianos during the recording process.
The resulting music is characterized by atmospheres that exist away from the conventional limelight, with musical elements blending together in a fluid indeterminacy.
The album showcases rand's ability to blur musical edges and create a wide ocean of sound, with piano and electronics taking listeners on a journey between detachment and connection.
rand's "Peripherie" represents the next step in their musical journey, following the release of EPs "I" and "II" on Bandcamp, a one-hour music improvisation for The POOL Berlin collective,
and a track on the Nonclassical label's "I hope this finds you well in these strange times Vol. 4" sampler.
The cover painting for "Peripherie" was created by Jan Gerdes, adding another layer of artistic expression to the project.
With their debut album, rand is set to make a name for themselves on the international stage and push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of contemporary music.
The eccentric beat ambassador Alexander Skancke showcases his sound once more on his Quirk label, diving into spring with his debut LP, “Kingdom Couch”. The Norwegian has crafted a versatile yet cohesive body of work between 2020 and 2023, parallel to when he began attending sessions with a therapist. The 10 track double 12” traverses between meticulously arranged minimal moods, shuffling jazz rhythms and ethereal experimental textures. In its few years of existence Quirk has become a safe haven for a freedom of expression as Skancke and his affiliates share their wild side on the label, but the LP marks a milestone on the imprint and for Alexander himself whose lifelong dedication to sound has built towards this moment, utilising the vast influences has absorbed over the years.
“Therapy Session I” teases you into the LP, shimmering blissfully as it grows, blossoming into a dream-like world, tuning your ears for the trip you are about to encounter. Constructed upon slick jazzy drums is “Lost In Time” loosening your senses as the pulsating bass swallows up your train of thought. “Dumbo Move” blurs the lines perfectly between the atmospheres the Berlin based producer has captured within the album. Dark, mysterious and mind bending material in “Purple Lucy” a chugging sub heavy bass driving the track forward as precise beeps and bleeps whirr throughout. On a more playful note is the B2, “Extravagance” animated drum patterns converse with the elastic groove perfectly. Closing off the first vinyl is “Therapy Session II”, another extended exploration of otherworldly ambience, drifting deeper in the world of Quirk.
“The Magnificent Tree Hut” stirs consistently throughout, crisp percussion combined with the psychedelic vocal samples which continue to flash in and out. Transitioning now into “Therapy Session III” sophisticated sounds, enticed further into the full bodied experience by the storytelling sounds of a female voice. Your eyes begin to close and you wake up in a hazy club setting, immersed in the after hours; that’s the immediate impact of “New Dawn”, pensive and hypnotic as it rumbles quietly in the realms of the underground. At just over ten minutes long Alexander Skancke brings you down for landing with the final “Therapy Sessions IV”, transcending movements crammed full of raw emotion, floating you calmly
out of the seventh outing on the label, and the thriving talents finest work to date.
The “Kingdom Couch” is an amalgamation of Skancke’s undying passion and burning desire to create outside of the norm, this can be heard throughout this masterpiece and will undoubtedly inspire its listeners to search for the bigger picture.
Artwork: Johann 3000
Mastering: Mike Grinser, Manmade Mastering
The next transmission from planet BRUK comes courtesy of Lårry, an enigmatic artist ploughing an individualist furrow through various fields of electronic expression, one hand tweaking the tiller and the other casually dismissing the rules of rave. You might have caught their sharply-pointed sound on Super Hexagon or Awkwardly Social, or perhaps stumbled across their fabled 2021 live performance from Fitzroy in Berlin, or even unconsciously swayed to something spun in a set any time over the past five years. Lårry's discography is modest but mighty, and How Was That For You builds into that idea with four
precise tools for forward-leaning soundsystem communion. From the fractalised barbs of electronica stepper 'In Water' to patiently dread-eyed wobbler 'Angela's Knife', 'Uniform Uninform's icy incisions to the snaking spiral staircase of 'Yargachin', this is brain fodder first and foremost, with bassweight impact threaded through as an added bonus. Keeping fine company amongst the other oddities inhabiting the Bruk mandate, Lårry continues to keep us on our toes, literally and figuratively.
'Intensely textured, interlocking guitar riffs weave together on New Bright Object, the debut album from Berlin and Edinburgh-based duo I’m Not You.
Working under the name I’m Not You, artist Alex Gibbs (bass & vocals) and sound designer Niall McCallum (guitar & drums) have honed a sound that draws in equal measure from jazz funk of Weather Report and the math rock of Don Caballero. Their debut album, New Bright Object is their most developed statement to date, an intricate, robust and unique collection of songs born from serpentine jam sessions in rural idylls.
The duo make no secret of their admiration for bands like Battles and Tortoise. They reference Jim O’Rourke’s lounge numbers and the droll lyricism of Modern Lovers’ Jonathan Richman. There’s a touch of Vini Reilly in their sparse and serpentine guitar lines. A hint perhaps of Mogwai. All these names place New Bright Object within a constellation of albums made with bigger budgets for wider audiences.
New Bright Object opens In a flash of light, comet-like, with the sound of ‘Mr. Wind- Up Bird’. The threads they weave are full with intent, as moments of density rise like hills from the track’s quieter valleys. It’s easy to imagine the pair looking out over the rolling fields of the garden studio in East Lothian where they recorded the album, as they assiduously try and draw their own landscapes in sound.
Similarly, there is a crispness to ‘A Certain Arrangement Of Atoms’ - every clipped hat, rim-shot snare and tightly wound tom a fine-tipped mark on the score. It is intricate and precise, a result perhaps of Niall’s attention to detail. Then there is the piano, Alex’s grandmother’s, slightly out of tune, which adds a few expressionist strokes to this pointillist composition. The piece loosens, until all we’re left with is the bass.
Although the album orbits around the pendulum sway of ‘The Older I Get’, it is ‘What Cats Think About’ that stands out most. That it does is by design – a nod to the Sun City Girls and albums that like to throw their listeners a curveball every now and then. Pleasantly ramshackle, confusingly domestic, agreeably strange.
All this speaks to the spirit of the album and the creative relationship between two best friends whose differences seem to have been the only things they could agree on.'
Nearly 10 years on since his last solo LP, Berlin techno icon Marcel Dettmann arrives on Dekmantel with an expansive album captured in a flash of inspiration.
In many ways Fear Of Programming is a reflection on the artistic process – the critical hurdles one has to overcome, the constant strive for originality, the ability to capture inspiration in its pure moment of inception. Bar the closing title track (and we all know Marcel loves a surprise closing), these 13 tracks came together during a period in which our hirsute host was able to immerse himself in studio practice and set the intention to record an album’s worth of material every single day. From the resulting mass of work there were many options to choose from, and Fear Of Programming stood out as one of the most complete statements on Dettmann’s approach in the here and now.
Unconcerned with an overarching concept, it was the work in the studio which drove the musical direction. No labouring over knotty arrangements, no painstaking mix downs – just honest expression, a moment caught, a groove locked, a stroke of synth sent pirouetting over a cavernous bed of texture. The results are varied, and while you might well hear plenty of bruising machinations in line with the techno Dettmann has made his name on, there are plenty of other shades expressed across the album.
Ambient sojourns, beatless epics and angular electronica have equal footing with strident, floor-friendly workouts. Standout piece ‘Water’ offers an icy ballet of swinging minimal and drip-drop melodics fronted by Ryan Elliott on lesser-spotted vocal duties, urging, ‘give me a sign, just a little something to let me know that you’re mine’. It’s playful, but still underpinned with the sincerity that comes with Dettmann’s work.
Running on instinct, Dettmann presents an honest version of himself in the here and now, speaking through the sonics and not over-thinking the results. His decades of experience helming a thousand techno parties speak for themselves, while his evolution as a musical entity through collaboration and his own BAD MANNERS label demonstrate his appetite for change. Indeed, the working method which resulted in the album also spurred him on to create a live set beyond his well-established DJ practice. Without resorting to a conceited overhaul, Fear Of Programming opens up the idea of what Dettmann represents in the modern techno landscape.
The train hurtled forward, rocking side to side as field after field rushed by under an unmoving sky. Her gaze was transfixed on the blurred landscape that passed her by. Behind her, she had left a city with lifelong memories, and as her mind cast back to thoughts of home, a salty tear welled in her eye. It did not fall. She yearned to go back, but her heart knew that this would never again be possible. Inhaling, she held her breath for a moment, almost unexpectedly. A nostalgia was within her, but she knew she must continue, direct her own life and maintain this motion before it dwindled into inertia. She exhaled and the tear rolled down. Looking out toward the horizon she dabbed her cheek, then gently sat upright. Her journey was only just beginning.
Tübingen born, then Frankfurt raised Berlin artist - Johannes Klingebiel, unleashes a potent and untiringly emotive work for the fourth imprint on Amsterdam’s Bloomer Records. A man of many disciplines, he combines his background in jazz drumming with an insatiable appetite for all varieties of electronic music.
Beginning with fond nostalgia that is juxtaposed by the driving motion of organic breakbeats, one is immediately engulfed. Rich synth leads play on minor chord variations to begin and work towards complex and richly cinematic compositions. After the first four tracks, ‘Break Something’ stutters in with a club-ready feel. Capable of both at-home and party environments, this thought-provoking release cannot be boxed into clear-cut categories.
Johannes Klingebiel uses delicate percussion skills to speak to his electronic orchestra. His lust for crisp, clean breaks results in an often inexorable motion that punctuates pensive chords and crescendos. Beginning with breakbeat variations the release ebbs towards half-time drum structures, IDM and experimental expressions later on. Among these quirky and often nostalgic gems, one can find a few driving and noticeably danceable numbers, offering glimpse of familiarity amidst emotive and inquisitive soundscapes.
VILIFY is a Berlin-based DJ and producer known for her multi-genre approach to bass-fueled club music. With over a decade of performance under her belt, she broadcasts numerous times monthly – known for her “Genre is a Social Construct” mix series, and DJs regularly at top venues in her home city and around the world. Her serene, melodic productions are anchored by titanic sub woofer emanations, and her sound can best be described as ethereal, eclectic, and exquisite. The Wire magazine selected “Road to Eleusis” for inclusion in its Tapper CD compilation series. A video for Interchangable Auras, was shot in Vancouver, BC, by Jeremy Shantz – a collaborator from VILIFY’s home nation of Canada – and is linked below. This 8 track LP, reaches across bass music, jungle, experimental electronic, world, melodic and more. It was a created in a time of uncertainty, aiming to release fear & past Karmic cycles in an effort to open the door to brighter, more authentic being. Connecting to source, rather than self, fostered this culmination of powerful, emotive sound and deep expression.
»Low Tide, Hi Grypus!« is the new live-iteration of JC Leisure as JC Leisure Group. Documenting an encounter and a communication between human improvisers and atlantic grey seals. The record presents responsive improvisation as a form of cross-species collaboration.
The project began on Porthdinllaen, Wales, where Leisure recorded seal vocalisations from a local colony at low tide. Back in their Liverpool studio, Leisure developed a performance system that translates human musical gestures – pitch, timbre, rhythm, density, presence - into triggers for these seal expressions. The resulting system is dual-active, as in it simultaneously acts and is acted upon in the horizontal instance. It creates a new-music non-linear threshold that cannot be replicated.
»Low Tide, Hi Grypus!« was recorded live at 1210 Berlin and captures one instance of this concept. Local improvisers were invited to encounter the performance system. Recorded in one take, pedal-steel, woodwinds, strings, piano, organ, and electronics gradually learn to listen and respond to the marine voices. This interspecific group moves from intimate duets (that's human, seal) into full ensemble works (humans, seals) over the course of one night.
Rather than treating field recordings as static material, the extensive seal archive functions as an active collaborator: shaping form, pacing, and interaction in real-time. Now that’s marine biology meets human communication!
JC Leisure has previously released work on Sun Ark, Warm Winters Ltd, Not Not Fun and collaboratively with Dialect as Raft of Trash. He has composed a radio play commissioned and broadcast by BBC Radio.
"Since their formation in the latter half of 2023, Berlin’s Industry have quickly emerged into the foreground as one of the more exciting groups of the European DIY punk scene. Having released their 2024 debut LP, touring and playing festivals all over the continent, they are now back with a follow up record that’s every bit as bruising and bleak as the first.
Much has been made of how ‘on point’ Industry sound - a mid-paced cocktail of heavy toms and churning riffs recalling ‘No Sanctuary’ era Amebix or classic Killing Joke. But Industry use these sounds as a springboard rather than a template, utilising the form for genuine expression where others are tempted by retro cosplay. Their sound is pared back, pulsing, relentless but danceable. But it’s the words that result in a listen that’s engaging from start to finish, an album that’s both expressive and polemic. Just as people often describe Discharge’s lyrics as Haiku, Industry uses the band’s repetitive grooves as a wide-open canvas on which their exasperated observations are given space to land with precision. The litany of criticisms are familiar to us all - violence exacted on the poor and vulnerable by those in power, the ongoing industrialised slaughter of humans and animals, the disastrous consequences of colonialism, the list goes on… The world in 2025 is fucked, and even though they say they ‘can’t even look’, this band has got their eyes wide open."
