Buscar:between the two

Vertice Di Convergenza explores the intersection between two rhythmicarchitectures. The sub-driven asymmetry of UK bass and dubstep blends thehypnotic cyclic motion of Dutch psy–IDM trance. Both share a focus on low-end design: basslines as structural anchors, kicks tuned to harmonic tension andpercussive spaces engineered for negative pressure. The result is a sonic plane where mechanical precision meets psychoacoustic flow.

Ayô Dele — which means "joy comes to me" in Yoruba — is neither a slogan nor a promised miracle. It is a breath of fresh air. That of an album born in the interstices, where the word find their way between shadow and light, between the disorder of the worldand the impulse to be .
At the heart of the project, Julien Gervaix and Damien Tesson, multi-instrumentalist beatmakers, share a groove language that is both dense and airy, where every detail breathes and finds its place.
With background in Afrobeat, Dub, Funk, Soul, Roots Reggae, and Electronic Music, they treat the studio to be their playground. Their music is a hybrid groove that speaks to the body: round or bouncing basslines, brass oscillating between melodic warmth and funk energy, textured guitars, arpeggios, enveloping Rhodes, clavinet that slides, presses, and embraces. Everything comes together with precision and flexibility, in an inventive and warm composition. The meeting of their experiences and sensibilities gives rise to open, generous music, made for dancing and vibration.
With Ayô Dele , Ireke is embarking on a new chapter: the duo is refining its style,allowing the voices to breathe. The groove remains the driving force but opens up to intimacy. This intimacy is carried by two unique female voices: Nayel Hoxo, a Beninese-Nigerian singer/rapper, and Agnès Hélène, who has already made a name for herself on Tropikadelic with "Petit a Petit". They don't sing side-by-side; they coexist, respond to each other, and sometimes intersect. But each follows her own path: Nayel, with the power of her words in Yoruba, offers songs of elevation, healing, and resistance — a light born in the cracks Agnès explores these cracks themselves: what wavers within us, what reinvents itself in bonds, glances, and gestures.
For one track, Olivya (Dowdelin) joins this dialogue in Martinican Creole. Her sunny soul sketches the contours of gentle resistance and celebrates rediscovered light.
Ayô Dele embodies a quiet yet radical determination: to smooth nothing over, to let plurality, contradictory emotions, and mixed heritage live. An album that moves forward through vibrations, that speaks of emancipation without slogans, love without clichés, anger without uproar.
Two women, two inner worlds: a sensitive complicity, a shared breath. Music that seeks not effect, but echo, weaving a living soundscape between reinvented traditions and contemporary textures. An alchemy faithful to the spirit of Underdog Records, where music unites and brings people together. Ayô Dele : "joy comes to me." A lucid joy, crossed by shadows, patiently regained. Music that welcomes, releases, gives, and in doing so, makes us feel good.
In a saturated world, Ayô Dele chooses nuance: transmission without emphasis, joy without naivety. An album that vibrates more than it demonstrates, that connects more than it imposes, and which, in its quiet clarity, resonates with a deep desire to be fully alive.

Take Me, I’m Yours is the first collaboration album between Alan Abrahams and Jan Jelinek. Released through the latter’s faitiche, it builds upon multi-layered vocal sketches by the former. The Paris-based artist, primarily known for his work as Portable and Bodycode, supplied Jelinek with multi-layered song sketches that the German artist subjected to a rigorous process of manipulation, excavating the ambiguities of the original material and transforming its rhythms into subtle pulses. Take Me, I’m Yours is neither a typical Abrahams record nor a classic Jelinek album—it is something third, mediating between the physicality of the voice and the abstraction of electronic sound design.

The two had crossed paths before really getting to know each other after Abrahams invited Jelinek to play at one of his Süd Electronic parties. The idea of a collaboration emerged slowly. “It started as an experiment, and over the past few years grew from a few tracks into this album,” says Abrahams. He describes recording the basic material as a “tantalizing” process, not knowing how Jelinek would transform his material, some of which was based on wordless chanting, while other tracks were working with lyrical content. However, their mutual trust allowed Jelinek to remove the harmonies, radically reduce the rhythms, and concentrate on Abrahams’ voice.

Jelinek heard something “fragile” in this voice, “moments of doubt and dark premonitions.” He points to Forever as an example. “Alan’s original song reminded me of classic vocal house, but his voice seemed to almost break,” he says. “This contradiction made the piece even bigger, because we hear a singer in the moment of an awakening.” He further accentuated such tensions through arrhythmic synth modulations and time-stretching algorithms, while also adding concrete sounds from a variety of sources. With its dedication to both transforming and amplifying the emotional qualities hidden within Abrahams’ pieces, Take Me, I’m Yours functions as a dialogue between those two singular artists.

Born out of a shared pop-up studio on the 5th floor of an Omotesandō shopping mall, “Paradox” is the rousing result of a compelling musical collaboration between two British-born, Tokyo-based producers: The Magus Project (Rhythm King / The White Label, Silk Road Sounds, WhatSonic?) and Submerse (Hooversound, Future Retro, Straight Up Breakbeat, Breaker Breaker).

It also marks a collaborative first between The Magus Project’s own WhatSonic? label and Yeti Out’s imprint, Silk Road Sounds.

The archetypal DIY split-single approach — two individual artists offering a track each across a single release — is magnificently elevated in this case by a powerful connective force, in the guise of a shared rhythm spanning Paradox’s non-identical-twin tracks; a relentless pulse that, uniquely, allows either track to be mixed effortlessly into the other, bridging the transition between 126 and 168 bpm or vice versa.

Different speeds, different tracks, identical pulse: making the bpm matter and, well, not matter all at once: a kind of Schrödinger’s tempo, a thought-experiment in sonic form, an either/or/both of genre-spanning stylistic enquiry.

New Stand High Patrol album, featuring Joe Yorke, Nazamba, Jah Thomas - and remixes from Mad Professor, Androo & Jeanville.


Dub and House Music. Two aesthetics born in the shadows, shaped far from the mainstream music industry. Two underground cultures where independence is often a necessity and ingenuity is essential. Two scenes rooted in the margins of society, with dance, sound systems and minorities at their heart.
From the Jamaican sound system sessions of the late sixties, through the nights at Chicago's Warehouse, to the murmurings of the New York house scene in the early eighties — history shows that house, reggae and dub share far more than many people may assume. Collective action, resistance as a driving force, music moving straight from studio to turntable, shared messages: these are the threads that bind these landmark musical movements together. It is at this crossroads, driven by the spirit of experimentation that defines them, that the members of Stand High Patrol found yet another territory worth mapping.
"Skanking & Jacking", the new Musketeerz album, reveals a side of the Dubadub sound never heard on record before. Built for the dancers and for DJs, the LP brings together the pulse of house music and the vibrant groove of reggae. Uncharted territory, never interfaced like this before. The result of a meticulous blending of styles, house, reggae and dub intertwine across 12 extended tracks. The sound is carefully crafted. Built on immersive loops and interlaced with micro-variations that give it an organic texture. Born from the interaction between being and machine. This is not about simply bringing worlds closer together; it's about mobilising influences to chart a new sonic galaxy.


Beyond it's aesthetic statement, "Skanking & Jacking" also stands out for its international cast. The most extensive Stand High Patrol have ever assembled on an album. From England, Italy, Switzerland and Jamaica, the guest vocalists, producers and MCs deepen the sense of dialogue between cultures and styles. At the mic, Joe Yorke, Marina P, Nazamba and Jah Thomas join the Dubadub Musketeerz on their explorations. Each appearance subtly reshaping the contours of the project.
Never fixed, always in motion, "Skanking & Jacking" pays tribute to the traditions that shaped it and closes, as a final nod, with remixes from Jeanville, Androo and the legendary Mad Professor. The album stands as further proof of a crew that shows no signs of stopping its reinvention. Available on stream, digital and double LP on May 29th.

2023 Backstock

New album of one of the biggest Reggae/Dub french soundsystem starring MacGyver, Rooty Step & Pupajim (who worked with Alpha Steppa, Biga Ranx, High Tone, Mungo's Hi-Fi ...).

Since their inception at start of the 2000s, Stand High Patrol have rocked sound systems to their own riddim, assimilating and re-purposing the codes of the genre in their own unique style. From tiny bars in Brittany to huge festival stages, on independent radio or across national airwaves, the crew have quietly trod their own path, never compromising their core value of independence. Connoisseurs have long recognised Stand High’s credentials both as a dub group and a leading sound system, but they stand out from the crowd because of their ability to deliver the unexpected, whether live or on record. Their ability to draw such a diverse audience is testament to this atypical approach to making music.

In 2020, almost 20 years since their humble beginnings, the collective presents their fifth album, “Our Own Way”. As with their first two albums “Midnight Walkers” and “Matter Of Scale”, now considered as classics in their genre, this new opus asserts itself as the latest representation of the crew’s versatile approach to crafting sound. Their music, a blend of its own known as “Dubadub”, has always borrowed influences from multiple sources, and over the course of their career their roots in dub and reggae have intertwined with hip-hop, jazz, new wave, trip-hop and numerous other genres. The ‘Dubadub Musketeers’ have never ceased experimenting, forever seeking to increase the sonic territory they cover, day after day. Both live and recorded, they’ve made it a point of honour to never offer up the same thing twice. Any resemblance that “Our Own Way” might bear to those first two albums is a consequence of this obvious creative continuity, rather than of going “back to basics”.

In contrast to the last two Stand High Patrol records, the hip-hop inspired “The Shift”, or the Bristol indebted “Summer On Mars”, “Our Own Way” doesn’t have a unifying concept or theme. Rather than being limited to a single aesthetic, the LP pays respect to the entire canon of Jamaican music, all unified under Stand High’s inimitable production values. With the wealth of experience gained during the recording of their last two records, the collective decided to aim for a freer project, letting themselves be guided by their own music and their own instincts. The end result is a musical portrait of what Stand High Patrol is in the present moment.

The tracks that make up the new LP burst out of the studio, each born out of unbridled, impulsive creativity. Previously unheard compositions and specially re-tooled dub plates have been assembled into a tracklist that shifts and moves like a classic Dubadub Musketeer live set. Each step of the process has been refined by years of practice : composition, effects, and the final mix. Throughout “On Our Way”, the brutal dub stepper, though still a favourite for sound system sessions, is noticeable by its absence. Instead, it’s the full weight of the crew’s reggae heritage that’s expressed in the mix. It's not just the depth and weight of each tune that strikes the listener, but also the spaces heard between the notes that grab and hold their attention.. The sense of a trip, whether musical, internal or geographic, is omnipresent throughout the LP, linking each track to those before and after. “Our Own Way” finds Stand High Patrol exploring as usual, yet also narrating their journey as they’ve rarely done before.

W.R.F. was formed in 2015 by Nina and late studio partner Andrew Weatherall to help wrangle the vast output recorded together beyond his solo releases.
Spotlighting nine tracks from the Apparently Solo series of EPs recorded between 2016- 2019 and released on Bandcamp in 2023, this lustrous time capsule marks the culmination of Walsh and Weatherall’s creative relationship born after they clicked at London’s earliest acid house clubs, becoming partners then managers of their Sabres Of Paradise/Sabrettes labels before taking different paths by the late '90s.
An accomplished musician, Nina had learned the art of studio technology by the time they reunited and started working together in 2012. Created at her Facility 4 Studio situated in the dangerous, gang-ridden no man’s land between Streatham and Mitcham, Anamchara captures the super-prolific creative stretch starting in 2015 that produced Weatherall’s Convenanza and Qualia solo sets, W.R.F.’s The Phoenix Suburb (And Other Stories) plus a whole lot more. According to Nina, Andrew envisioned the spectacular ‘Borderland’ as natural successor to ‘Smokebelch’, his most revered track. When it came to his remix, Nina enlisted renowned viola virtuoso Sarah Sarhandi and composed new harmonies with Pachelbel’s Canon in D Minor in mind.
The set also catches the breakthrough period when, through Nina’s careful coaxing, Andrew started using the computer system she’d set up to better express his musical visions by arranging the elements, grooves and melodies she sent him. Still considered the UK’s greatest DJ-producer, Andrew’s arrangements were inspired by his club-igniting sets. “This allowed me to mix the colours for his palette whilst he was painting the picture,” says Nina. Anamchara straddles the gamut of musical styles explored by W.R.F. at this time, from slower paced psychedelic “drug chug” outings ‘We Two’. ‘Heat To Meat Ratio’, ‘Hidden Watchers Part 1’ to banging acid house and techno sometimes inspired by the violence outside the studio door, including ‘SCHLAP’, ‘Crack-Ed’ and churning acid juggernaut ‘Yacidik’ (“After much dangling of the acid carrot, Andrew took a bite and, after one familiar raised eyebrow, never looked back,” says Nina).
Many tracks fly elements from the enormous sonic library Nina inherited from late partner Erick Legrand that she called The Akashic Library of Sound. Marking Andrew’s 2016 admission into the vault, ‘Rattly Old Puffin’ boasts Erick’s psychedelic guitar and tumbling drum loop Weatherall would run with, including on ‘Borderland’. “Erick was like our third member,” says Nina.
Bringing down the curtain, ‘Alma’’s exquisitely poignant melody that unfolds over thirteen time-stopping minutes was composed by Nina while navigating Erick’s birth and departure date anniversaries to accompany Andrew’s reading from Gordon Burn’s 1991 same-named novel at 2018’s Durham Literary Festival. Burn’s novel imagines early 60s popstrel Alma Cogan, who succumbed to cancer in 1966 surviving to reflect on fame. “Now it just makes me think of Erick. And every time I hear those well-placed cymbal crashes I can only think of the Captain himself.”
A beautiful grand finale for this astonishing selection of pure gold from the vaults.
Kris Needs / 2026

Maybe it was inevitable that Vilhelm Bromander and Fredrik Rasten would find each other. A symbiotic musical alliance of suggestive combinatory magic that stretches back to the interstitial two day space that separates their dates of birth and manifests here as the movement between ‘perfect’ or ‘just’ intonation and the ragged, psychoactive energy of the slippages from and towards that togetherness that render otherwise simple patterns or generally understood repetitions as wildly other and alive.

Astral Twins shares ‘twin’ works by each composer. The patiently unfolding real time retuning of Fredrik Rasten’s guitars on the a-side’s Sojourns and Vilhelm Bromander’s quickened steps and spry looping melodies on the flip’s Partially Dancing.

Both artists have history of going deep into the aesthetic and acoustic impact of intonation (how you think about what is ‘in tune’). Where their first LP (...for some reason that escapes us, 2019, Differ Records) shared a gorgeous set of sustained tone colour fields, this time they lean more explicitly into the folk music traditions of Scandinavia and further afield, whilst echoing the zoned minimalist atmosphere of Arthur Russell’s classic Instrumentals.

Recorded up close and in real time at Fylkingen’s soon-to-be-abandoned temporary location in Stockholm’s southern suburb of Bredäng, Astral Twins sings with the possibility that one plus one can equal more than two.

Fredrik Rasten:
 Sojourns explores the live retuning of guitar and double bass in a sequence of just intonation harmonies. A guitar ostinato runs throughout the piece where the retuning becomes an integral part of the composition. The slow pace reveals every detail in the transition from one harmonic arpeggio to another — how interfering waves emerge and disappear as the tonal interactions settle in electric clarity. The double bass shadows the guitar's process and comments with occasional pizzicato tones and register jumps, at times providing a low foundation for the sound and sometimes soaring together with the guitar. This is music that is deeply listening; experimental and at the same time humbly inviting many kinds of being with sound.

Vilhelm Bromander: 
As the title suggests, this song has a partially dancing character. The title also has a double meaning with reference to the partials and harmonics that dance together. The basic idea was to write music in just intonation that instead of being drone-based is reminiscent of a lightly dancing folk music, where the joyous feeling of just being in the music — “musicking" — is allowed to lead the way.

The double bass plays repeated overtone double stops in an open harmonic progression with subtle modulations that is inspired in equal parts by Steve Lacy's persistent repetition of phrases as east-asian khaen music. The guitars and mandolin have a freer role, with plucked retuned strings that enhance the bass's modulations and provide forward movement. The music invites to both melodic and spectral listening, suddenly halting so that other focal points can reveal themselves. For example, a chord sequence suddenly transitions to a more spectral part where Fredrik is playing a bowed guitar with a chain, several plucking guitars, voices, and pitch pipes. I wanted to make something ‘orchestral’ with just two people and no overdubs: a dance of overtones and open resonant strings, where we seamlessly take turns standing in the foreground.

Despite the thousands of kilometers between them, Monterrey and Medellín have always seemed to move in parallel. Both cities rise around guardian hills that watch over their people, and if you look closer, even the concrete that forms the backbone of each city traces back to these rugged metropolises.

The list of coincidences could go on—small, almost conspiratorial links that chance has woven between the two places. Adding another chapter to this unlikely connection is Regal86, who had already crossed the bridge once before to dive into the depths of Colombia’s “city of eternal spring.”

Doble Filo, his first full-length cut to vinyl, now becomes his latest calling card. The eighth release on Discos Nutabe’s catalog arrives with six tracks—six sharp-edged pieces that lay bare Regal86’s sonic marginality.

It’s a form of exclusion that isn’t imposed but chosen, a deliberate stance to sidestep the demand for exotica that still shapes much of Latin America’s electronic landscape. This is spicy, rough-edged techno—ruleless and unruly—driven by dense, clipped progressions that plunge you into a vortex masquerading as a rayado ritual.

There’s no overload of concept here, nor any caricature of the extravagant. This album simply delivers music built to tear through any club or dive, without false promises or unnecessary labels. If there’s one thing worth highlighting about Doble Filo as a whole, it’s the way it consistently—and almost implicitly—reasserts its core premise from start to finish: these techno tracks are meant to be played wherever the hell you want.

In a moment when oddities tend to be rewarded more than usual, Doble Filo doubles down on fundamentals, reclaiming the spirit of early electronic music and carrying it into an era where immediacy seems intent on blurring the honesty of those who shape the sound.

For Regal86, sonic hustle is the only thing that keeps his spirit steady.

Still compelled by the space they first opened, Gūsū returns with a second release, “Inhabiting Me”. What began as a shared approach, sprouted from intuition, has grown denser and more defined, holding on to that same fragility and openness. The duo continues to befriend with contrast, friction and proximity, shaping a language that inhabits their uncommon ground.

Vintage drum machines, tape delays and bass guitar widen the sonic ground, adding pulse, grain and instability, while the guzheng holds its place in full clarity. Each sound source becomes each other’s ornament, forming to gesture the next currents.

What emerges is less a fixed composition than a shifting form: precise in detail, impossible to contain. Listeners who have experienced Gūsū’s live performances will recognise this rare quality: a music of great sensitivity that expands with quiet force, drawing them inward rather than confronting them directly. The sound fades, re-enters, and leaves behind the trace of a lighthearted heaviness, echoing back in fragments, reappearing in memory with altered weight and colour.

Time bends inward and tones return altered. Between repetition and resonance, a tensile form begins to emerge. Neither nostalgic nor futuristic, neither static nor loose. Gūsū does not merge its materials into one smooth surface; it lets them stand close enough to sharpen one another.

Gūsū is a transcultural music project born from the confluence of two distinct artistic voices: Xueyan Chen and Nicolas Balmer. Together, they create a complex dialogue of sound that bridges the ancient and the modern, exploring the liminal spaces between tradition and experimentation. Gūsū’s inception was serendipitous, sparked by a shared stage in late 2022. What began as spontaneous improvisations has since evolved into a profound collaboration. The duo has performed under various monikers, finding their ultimate identity in the name Gūsū, a nod to both heritage and transformation.

Now into its sixth year, NuNorthern Soul’s Summer Selections series has become a popular annual fixture. Like its predecessors, 2026’s edition showcases a variety of Balearic dancefloor workouts, sensual soundscapes and tracks tailor-made for poolside sun-down sets.

As usual, Summer Selections Six is a vinyl-first affair, offering wax enthusiasts a chance to cop killer cuts set to feature on a swathe of forthcoming NuNorthern soul releases – including some that would otherwise be unavailable on physical formats.

To begin, is It Balearic? label regulars and Rotation Sound System crew members Wrekin’ Havoc turn their attention to NuNorthern Soul favourite B.J Smith’s 2014 cover of Outkast’s ‘Prototype’. Their take, which will be featured on a forthcoming collection of reworks of Smith’s NNS material, places the long-serving producer’s beautiful, beguiling vocals atop lo-fi 80s electro beats, moody pads, squelchy synth sounds and far-sighted electronics.

Up next is label newcomer Sasha Foam, a fast-rising Lisbon-based DJ/producer whose Memoria EP is set to land digitally soon. ‘Curios’, his contribution to Summer Selections Six, is a propulsive and ear-catching affair, with joyful synth melodies, rushing piano riffs and cheerful TB-202 style acid tweaks rising above a crunchy, drum-machine driven mid-tempo groove.

Rounding off side A is ‘Call To Wind’, a rootsy, warming and sun-baked slab of Balearic dub gorgeousness from Strictly Dub Records founder Saimon AKA Roots Artefact. The track, which marks his first new material since last year’s NuNorthern Soul debut Different Perspective, is one of the many highlights set to be featured on the Estonian’s forthcoming Rocking Boat EP.

Turn to the flipside and you’ll find three more inspired, immersive treats. Dan Dub Lounge, Muzka and Simon Sheldon being their Visions of Light project back to NuNorthern Soul with the borderline genius ‘ReBorn Slippy’, an exotic, intoxicating and sitar-laden slow-motion instrumental cover of the Underworld favourite taken from their soon-come collection of ‘mild pitch’ takes of dance and electronic classics.

To complete another stellar Summer Selections 12-inch label founder Phil Cooper platforms two recent additions to the roster. First is Potteries-based producer Andrew Wright AKA Lonely Deckchair. Wright offers up ‘Adaflo’ from his forthcoming debut album. Atmospheric and magical, ‘Adaflo’ is a simmering, slowly unfurling fusion of poignant pianos, minimalist beats, shuffling bass and tumble-down chords.

Then there’s Aussie artist Perth Lewis, whose first two self-released albums (Moments In Time and Distance Between) were recently reissued by NuNorthern Soul. The Sydney-based producer is set to release a new EP, Cherry Moon, soon, and ‘Monolith’ is taken from that collection. Deep, dubby and beguiling, it sees Lewis pepper a head-nodding, effects-laden beat with spacey sonics, cascading piano motifs and some seriously sparkling synths.




[d] B1: Visions of Light -

Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.

Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.



The Release:
Striking the sweet spot between sampledelic downtempo and earth-rooted deep house, Fila Brazillia's Old Codes New Chaos is a maverick patchwork of grooves and soundscapes. Crafted in North East England in the vibrant period before chill-out was co-opted by advertising, Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry's sharp-eared funk formula remains a cult classic suite of exquisite productions spanning deep house, broken beat and ambient shot through with wry humour.
Last physically released in limited quantities in 2002, Forever Records are revisiting this 1994 gem with an extensive reissue led by a triple vinyl pressing. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

'Chemistry' and 'Rankine', plus an exclusive print of Catherine Brennand's watercolour painting that graces the front of the album. All editions also features liner notes by veteran music journalist John McCready.

Press response to Old Codes New Chaos:
"The album that made the world finally sit up and take notice of the avant funk grooves coming from Hull's immaculately stoned tech funk magicians." Frank Tope, Mixmag, UK 1994.
"This album… stands out a mile from most of its peers as a work of untouchable genius." Bill Brewster, DJ Mag UK 1994.

"Fila works because they fit into that no man’s land, the space in your record collection where ambient seems too much like wallpaper and house seems just too braindead for your bedroom " Frank Tope, Mixmag, UK 1994.

"Having already created the perfect desert island disc, "Mermaids" and explored the darker side of sub bass on the 17-minute extravaganza "Fila Funk", Fila Brazillia have just unleashed their moving debut LP, "Old Codes New Chaos", and to be quite honest, you'd be fool to miss out this time around." Mandi James, Melody Maker, UK 1994.

“Where Cobby and Man rip up the rulebook on the four to the floor and probably make the greatest afterhours house album in the word”. Tony Marcus, Mixmag, 1996.

Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.

Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.



The Release:
Striking the sweet spot between sampledelic downtempo and earth-rooted deep house, Fila Brazillia's Old Codes New Chaos is a maverick patchwork of grooves and soundscapes. Crafted in North East England in the vibrant period before chill-out was co-opted by advertising, Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry's sharp-eared funk formula remains a cult classic suite of exquisite productions spanning deep house, broken beat and ambient shot through with wry humour.
Last physically released in limited quantities in 2002, Forever Records are revisiting this 1994 gem with an extensive reissue led by a triple vinyl pressing. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

'Chemistry' and 'Rankine', plus an exclusive print of Catherine Brennand's watercolour painting that graces the front of the album. All editions also features liner notes by veteran music journalist John McCready.

Press response to Old Codes New Chaos:
"The album that made the world finally sit up and take notice of the avant funk grooves coming from Hull's immaculately stoned tech funk magicians." Frank Tope, Mixmag, UK 1994.
"This album… stands out a mile from most of its peers as a work of untouchable genius." Bill Brewster, DJ Mag UK 1994.

"Fila works because they fit into that no man’s land, the space in your record collection where ambient seems too much like wallpaper and house seems just too braindead for your bedroom " Frank Tope, Mixmag, UK 1994.

"Having already created the perfect desert island disc, "Mermaids" and explored the darker side of sub bass on the 17-minute extravaganza "Fila Funk", Fila Brazillia have just unleashed their moving debut LP, "Old Codes New Chaos", and to be quite honest, you'd be fool to miss out this time around." Mandi James, Melody Maker, UK 1994.

“Where Cobby and Man rip up the rulebook on the four to the floor and probably make the greatest afterhours house album in the word”. Tony Marcus, Mixmag, 1996.

For well over a decade, MONOLORD have caused mass riff hypnosis with longform epics steeped in repetition, volume, and heaviness. One of heavy music’s most consistent and beloved bands, MONOLORD are gearing up for their next chapter with a new album titled Neverending. In looking for a new take on the genre, MONOLORD approached the legendary producer Sylvia Massy, known for her work with Tool, System of a Down, and Johnny Cash, among many more. The payoff from this new process is undeniable. Neverending feels like the culmination of 13 years of heavy, molten music, with a keen eye towards creating a sharper album. “The recording of this album is an example of the spirit of MONOLORD’s camaraderie,” says bassist Mika Häkki. “We’ve looked back and seen for the first time how much we have done as a band collectively, and realized what an intense 13 years it has been.” "The lyrics on this album are more personal than before because I went through some major life changes in the last couple of years,” guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger says. “I usually write about religion and how people are superstitious, but this record is more about relationships between people. But it’s not all about me. Sometimes I’m writing from another person’s perspective.” Neverending’s lead single “You Bastard” offers listeners a sharp contrast: A propulsive groove offset by lyrics about suicide. There’s two sides to suicide,” Jäger points out. “There’s the person who commits suicide and the people who gets left behind...The choruses represent the person left behind, and that person is calling the other a bastard—but it’s not pointing fingers or saying, ‘You suck.’ It’s more like, ‘You left me here with all the bullshit.’ It’s an understanding that life is not easy." Though it might not be immediately obvious, album opener “Iodine” was inspired by 70's rock epics like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter." Elsewhere, album closer “It’s Neverending” is the first MONOLORD song that Jäger doesn’t sing on. Instead, the death-metal style vocals are performed by former Entombed bassist Jörgen Sandström, (also of Grave, Domedagen and Firespawn.) 13 years on, MONOLORD’s path takes a new turn, and Neverending becomes the band’s most befitting album title. “It's been a wild ride and still is,” says drummer Esben Willems. “I've spent a quarter of my life in this band. Looking back, I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished along the way, and in many ways, this album feels like the essence of everything we've done so far. My mindset is the same it's always been, to be the absolute best the three of us can be.”

Building momentum around his moody, alchemical breakthroughs in the techno-bass laboratory, Buckley lands on Sneaker Social Club with a punchy quadruplex that marks him out as an innovative talent in the next generation of low end producers.

Manchester-based Elias Buckley first came to light with a lathe-cut drop on ec2a, followed up over the past two years with outings on Well Street, Dimeshift and S.P.E.C. That sets the tone for exploratory zone Buckley is operating in, and he maintains a forward-thinking slant to his physical, dynamic club weapons on this latest EP.

'City Dweller' rests on a creeping mid tempo 4/4 pulse, all the better to carry slithering layers of sound design that slide off the undulating sub bass throb. Minimalism is the order of the day here, but his approach is shot through with gully zaps and rude swagger that makes this a positively UK- centric affair. 'Carl's Floorboard' makes a sizeable swerve towards brutalist grime mutation, letting the space in the mix swallow you whole around the dislocated bass womps and whipcrack snares.

On the B side, 'Gawy' hits the mark squarely between techno propulsion and soundsystem swagger, plying slippery sound design to the bass blasts and working an offbeat groove designed for maximum lock-in. Making sure there are no doubts about his range, Buckley saves one of the deadliest joints on the record for the closer, whipping up a wide-as-you-like UKG bounce on 'M.O.B.S.O.T.' while maintaining the lean and mean sound that binds the EPs any angles together.

MILK is the new EP born from the collaboration between Brussels-based producers Alex Lesage and Eekway. The project marks the convergence of two complementary approaches to contemporary electronic music, united by a shared vision: creating music with strong physical impact, designed for the club while maintaining depth and high production standards.



Developed in Brussels, the project's home base, MILK sits at the crossroads of Drum & Bass, Jungle, and IDM, combining the heritage of UK bass traditions with a distinctly modern sonic research. The EP explores sharp rhythmic structures, massive low-end pressure, and detailed sonic architecture, driven by extensive work in sound design, sampling manipulation, and spatial composition.

Two decades into their existence, Elder remain an anomaly in the heavy underground - a band with the ability to absorb and shed influences from a myriad of genres without falling into pastiche or losing their identity. Their new album Through Zero is a reaffirmation of their commitment to pushing boundaries and cements their status as leaders in heavy psychedelic rock. Elder has long since mastered crushing riffs, melodic jaunts, progressive patterns, hypnotic grooves and ethereal atmosphere along their path of music-making in the past twenty years. On Through Zero, Elder takes these years of experience and forms possibly their most immediate and engaging record to date, while allowing seeds from outside the sphere of rock music to take root and bloom within their progressive framework. Listeners will find familiar elements of new textures, sequences, and sounds alongside Elder"s iconic take on heavy rock. As always, every spin reveals new details. Recorded in Berlin across several months between tours in 2025, Through Zero is the first album which the band not only produced but also comixed together with longtime collaborator Richard Behrens. The album sounds more like a full extension of the band"s creative intentions than ever before.

A divine transmission continues…

The signal never stopped — it just went deeper.

For the second chapter of JESUS LOVES SKYLAX, we return to the source: raw emotion, machine soul, and the sacred pulse of the underground. A continuation of the Todd Edwards spirit — not imitation, but devotion. On the A-side, Byron The Aquarius opens with “House Music Was Good While It Lasted (Goodtimes)” — a bittersweet sermon in sound. Dusty, looping, hypnotic — somewhere between lost tapes and eternal truth, echoing the soul of Detroit at its most intimate. UK craftsman Tom Carruthers follows with “Crank Up” — raw, skeletal, almost industrial in its tension. A direct lineage from early machine music, channeling the stark energy of Cabaret Voltaire through a house framework. No compromise. Just rhythm and intent.

Flip the record.

Blue Mondays deliver “Warm Up For Ron Hardy (Disco Mix)” — a fever dream built for the booth. Loose, emotional, and dangerously effective. A tribute not in name, but in spirit — the kind of record that lives between two worlds, where disco dissolves into house under strobe lights and sweat. Closing the EP, CNVX – “L’Amour (Floorfillers Remix)” hits with pure peak-time electricity. Acid lines twisting through the mix, driven and ecstatic — a modern weapon forged in the language of the underground. A direct nod to the timeless pressure of Floorfillers energy, built for dancers who still believe.

✝ JESUS LOVES SKYLAX ✝

He still does.

"I got to know visual artist, musician, and producer Guido Erfen and sound engineer, acoustic artist, and percussionist Michael Springer as part of a group of five by the name of SHM1. The members of the group organised concerts at Rhenania, a disused grain silo, where I performed with The Absurd in 1988 and 1989. The band was also featured on one of Erfen's tape releases. Erfen and Springer met when they were still at the same secondary school and soon became close friends and musical allies. With the other members of SHM they built an independent network for creating and distributing music beyond the mainstream in Cologne. Rent at Rhenania was incredibly low, allowing a recording studio to be established there.

The first traces of the Ukrainian Underground arrived at Erfen's door via a cassette tape with three bands from Kharkiv and Kyiv, the package including a long essay which detailed the rock scene in the two cities by Sergey Myasoyedow. In 1986, Myasoyedow, together with Sasha Panchenko, had founded the “Novaya Scena“ rock club in Kharkiv, presenting bands inspired by punk, the avant-garde, dadaism, and even medieval melodies. If Erfen hadn't been part of the independent mail-art scene, he wouldn't have had the chance to discover this unorthodox music. It was the summer of 1990, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent state the following year.

In 1991, singer and keyboard player Soloveyka from Kharkiv arrived in Cologne and gave Erfen half a dozen cassettes with underground bands from Ukraine and a handful with bands from the Soviet Union. Intrigued by the original music of many of the acts, he visited Ukraine twice, made friends there, compiled a tape with his favourite tracks and finally succeeded in convincing Hamburg label boss Alfred Hilsberg to present underground music from Ukraine on the CD “Novaya Scena“ via his label What's So Funny About (the original home of Einstürzende Neubauten).
The album compiled 20 tracks recorded between 1986 and 1992 by 14 bands out of Kharkiv and Kyiv– music beyond the usual Perestroika records, often with jarring dissonances over grooves that fans of Captain Beefheart or The Fall would certainly enjoy.

On the other hand, there are tracks featuring flute and trumpet that seem inspired by folk, classical music, and punk. Ghostly chamber prog miniatures by Cukor Belaya Smert (lit. Sugar White Death) from Kyiv featuring, among others, the classically trained pianist and singer Svitlana Nianio (née Ochrimenko) and guitarist, visual artist, and spokesman Yewgeny "Yenia" Taran. Nianio sang in her native Ukrainian, as did two more of the bands. Today, this seems more relevant than ever, more culturally and historically significant from a Ukrainian point of view than it was even in 1993. Young Ukrainians were amazed at that time that rock music sung in their native tongue could work!

It is in the aftermath of the “Novaya Scena“ album that the music on this LP was created. About a year after the release of the CD in August 1993, Nianio and Taran came to Cologne to work on music for the dance production "Transilvania Smile" by the dance theatre ensemble Pentamonia2.
The seeds for the Traces of Ukrainian Underground in Cologne were sown. Starting in 1994, a series of informal recording sessions took place at Michael Springer’s Phanton Studio and at SHM studio in Rhenania. Together, these sessions formed the basis of the four different incarnations of the Ukraine-Cologne connection heard on STROOMS’s compilation.

With CT018, Cosmic Tribe introduces a new editorial format within the catalogue: a focused artist EP on Side A, followed by reinterpretations on Side B — establishing a dialogue between original material and alternative rhythmic perspectives.

Alex Gordiy is a Ukrainian producer currently based in the Netherlands. He has been producing and experimenting across various genres, with a strong focus on electro and techno in recent years. In his music, deep and energetic grooves merge with lush synth textures, creating tracks that unfold with a clear narrative intention.

This release contains two original techno tracks from Alex Gordiy and two electro reinterpretations from EC13 and ROI.

On Side B, the material is reinterpreted through electro. ROI and EC13 reshape the originals into sharper, machine-driven versions, shifting the rhythmic emphasis while preserving the core motifs. The result is a contrast between techno’s linear momentum and electro’s syncopated precision.

Two techno originals. Two electro reinterpretations.

Cosmic Tribe · Research & Development in Sound.

"MODEM - In itself, as a name invented for a band, it's significant. MO comes from "MOdulazione." DEM comes from ''DEModulazione'', logical functions in analog and digital transmissions. And the signal that the Bologna duo AMIN-PECK want to give us is that "Your Fun" and "Valerie" contain artistic and musical information, especially avant-garde, created in an electronic style with strong new wave tendencies, but absolutely ahead of its time. Among the Italian discos of end 70s that represented a cultural phenomenon that has remained in the collective imagination, ''Picchio Rosso'' stands out. Besides serving as an entertainment venue for thousands of young people, it served as a bridge between DJs and many talented young musicians. The discotheque was the laboratory for 4 Italo-Disco productions, all recorded at the Amin-Peck studios in Bologna, under the direction of Giancarlo Meo, who, after the successes of Easy Going and Vivien Vee and other Claudio Simonetti productions such as Capricorn and Kasso, enjoyed great esteem and prestige. This is how excellent Italo-Disco songs like "Another Song" by Music Service, "Eve of Destruction" by Vivien Vee, "Boogaboo" by The Jugglers, and "Running Straight" by Amin-Peck were born, the latter being the true musical architects of Peecker Melody, including the one-off project MODEM.. What can be said about "Your Fun" and the instrumental "Valerie"? Simple, slightly hypnotic, wellconstructed, and catchy songs. Just as the two songs were mixed by various Picchio Rosso DJs of the time--Luca Zanarini and Silver were the most legendary--Best Record has reissued them, with the same cover designed by Leonard Parker and featuring Claude Gorial, the man who 40 years ago designed the original cover and the current reissue. Same names, same success !!!"

ICONYC steps into new territory with Traffk, a spellbinding EP from UVITA, Twiins, and Motip White. Built around two deeply immersive compositions, Traffik operates as a threshold rather than a destination — a carefully measured passage into unfamiliar territory where tension is curated, expectations are subverted, and every detail feels deliberately withheld until the right moment.

At the center lies the title track, “Traffik,” a commanding convergence of three distinct creative voices distilled into a singular, unsettling vision. Suspended between austere minimalism and intricate design, the piece unfolds with a forceful rhythmic backbone that plunges into subterranean depths. Twisting brass motifs flicker and bend like fractured light across polished surfaces, creating an atmosphere that is both tactile and elusive. As the groove locks into a hypnotic oscillation, a spectral vocal presence emerges, injecting a sense of weight and foreboding before the track fractures inward, collapsing into a violent release that ejects us from its vortex with uncompromising intensity.

On our B-side, UVITA and Twiins reconvene for “Lucy Tried For It,” a continuation that trades overt drama for a slow-burning psychological pull. Anchored by a prowling low-frequency current and a relentless percussive drive, the track draws us deeper through carefully placed sonic detonations that expand its spatial dimension. Gradually, malfunctioning mechanical textures and distant, almost feral cries seep into the framework, setting the stage for an introspective spoken-word moment that nudges the piece further into the subconscious. As fragmented melodic elements begin to surface, “Lucy Tried For It” reaches a moment of suspended reflection before surging forward once more, closing the EP on an emotionally charged and resolute note.

With Dispersion, Loom & Thread return to the volatile architecture of the expanded piano trio - and quietly fracture it from within.

Daniel Klein (drums), Tobias Fröhlich (double bass) and Tom Schneider (keys, sampler) remain the sole agents on stage and in the final recording. The triangle holds. And yet, the field has expanded. For their second studio album, the trio fed their improvisations with the timbral signatures of guest saxophone and vibraphone players - not just as additional voices to be featured, but also as material to be absorbed, atomized and redistributed. The result is not augmentation but thorough refraction.

Where the debut album explored the recursive labyrinth of Schneider's live sampling of his own piano, Dispersion introduces an external grain into the feedback system. Breath and metal. Reed turbulence and struck resonance. The trio sampled extended improvisations by saxophone and vibes players: Victor Fox, Asger Nissen, Volker Heuken, and L&T's own Daniel Klein; dissected their attacks, overtones and decay curves, and integrated these fragments into the trio's internal circuitry. What emerges is a play of presences without bodies - instrumental ghosts circulating through the dense weave of rhythm and keys.

At first, one might hear the familiar relational tension: Klein's polyrhythmic elasticity interlocking with Fröhlich's tensile double bass figurations, Schneider poised at the hinge between tonal field and percussive impulse. But soon, the surface splinters - again. A vibraphone shimmer appears, yet no mallets are visible. A reed multiphonic surges through the texture, bending space between bass and drums. These events are neither quotations nor overlays; they are redistributed energies, dispersed across the trio's grammar. A digital multidimensional interplay ensues.

If the first album unfolded as a two-tiered game - live phrase and sampled reflection - Dispersion adds a further axis. The sampled materials from other improvisers are stripped of their erstwhile two-way interaction and reconstituted as malleable particles. Signifier detached from origin, resonance detached from gesture. The trio navigates a constantly shifting topology in which acoustic memory and electronic manipulation are indistinguishable.

Crucially, the album never abandons the physical urgency of three musicians reacting in real time. The additional timbral layers do not thicken the texture into opacity; rather, they introduce stark points and arrows of diffraction. Density opens into prismatic clarity. Lines splinter and regroup. What seems like a quartet or quintet collapses back into three bodies negotiating an expanded field.

Dispersion is not about addition but about distribution - of agency, of timbre, of temporal perspective. It is an album in which the trio setting becomes a site of multiplicity without surrendering its immediacy. A dissolution not only of the divide between present experience and memory, but between inside and outside, self and other.

Three musicians. Countless vectors. A music that fractures in order to cohere.

CREDITS:
Tom Schneider: piano & sampler
Tobi Fröhlich: double bass
Daniel Klein: drums & percussion

sample sources:
Victor Fox: tenor saxophone
Asger Nissen: alto saxophone
Volker Heuken: vibes
Daniel Klein: vibes

Recorded by Martin Dressler at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg.
Mixed & mastered by Martin Ruch.
Artwork by Viet Hoa Le.

Swiss label Mormorio Records returns with its sixth release.
MOR006 is delivered by Zürich-based artist Aline, presenting two original tracks that move between subtle grooves, reduced textures and a warm, driving flow.
On remix duties, Paul K and Lorik each bring their own perspective to the record, stretching the originals into deeper territories while keeping the essence intact. The result is a balanced release that works as well on intimate dancefloors as it does in late-night sessions.

MOR006 continues the label’s focus on understated, carefully crafted club music, rooted in the Swiss underground scene.

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

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

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

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

Every so often in music, we come across voices that achieve a certain timelessness, so naturally do they encapsulate both past and present. Laure Briard is one of these voices, retro in form but contemporary at heart, spanning a career rich in aesthetic twists and turns, never without her signature magic, a special kind of eternal filter. Her first album, Révélation (2015), reveals her yé-yé influences, a testament to her love for ‘60s French pop music. Her second studio album, Sur la piste de danse (2016), follows in this vein and finds Laure accompanied as always by her long-time bandmates who share an affinity for warm, catchy arrangements that never lose their appeal. Her tour of Brazil marks a turning point in her career, introducing her to the local indie scene and thus launching her collaboration with the band Boogarins, as well as inspiring the release of multiple EPs composed and performed in Portuguese. Today, her music is embellished by touches of bossa nova and a folk sensibility, boasting increasingly intricate arrangements, as exemplified by her 2019 release, Un peu plus d'amour s'il vous plaît. Several years later, the Californian desert captures the musician’s imagination with Ne pas trop rester bleue, a poignant musical journey inspired by the rich history of Western legends and the role they play in shaping our collective consciousness.

In Voyage Mental, Laure Briard draws upon an inner energy unearthed during a new stage in her life, where the thrill of spontaneous adventure is not accessible in quite the same way. The result is a collection of sophisticated, introspective songs, narrating a young mother’s quest for balance in the face of routine. The album, nostalgic but always tethered to the present moment, is also the fruit of her collaboration with Gaëtan Nonchalant, a talented musician known for coaxing poetry out of the mundane. The two of them co-wrote and recorded five tracks at Studio Nocturne, accompanied by her long-time sidekick Pieuvre, aka Vincent Guyot, Léo Blomov, Pierre-Louis Vizioz, and Hedi Bensalem. The gentle pop opener “Rocking Chair” sways steadily to the rhythm of dynamic drums, followed by “Train,” a ballad that extends an invitation to set sail and daydream alone. The folk escapade continues with “Golden Sun,” a duet featuring the 1960s cult American musician F.J. McMahon, who Laure contacted via the internet on a whim. “Golden Sun” is an unlikely encounter between two generations and two cultures, giving new life to an old forgotten demo on the other side of the Atlantic. And while Laure sings of wide open spaces, cowboys, and sunsets sinking into the sea, we feel the city surrounding her in “Miroir,” a song composed by Hedi Bensalem that laments the suffocation of living in a crowded metropolis where the sky is a distant gray smudge. This pressing need for air, this search for rest and total disconnection, is one of the album's central themes. It may also explain the ever-present sense of nostalgia that pervades the songs, a welcome respite in our current era of doomscrolling and darkness. Along the way, Laure soothes us with melancholy guitar, delivers poetry set to scattered piano notes, and takes us by the hand during lively, uptempo passages. We climb onto her wings, never straying too far from the ground, soaring joyfully above her moods.

Following Parnell March’s Back Bar Grooves EP in February and November’s release of the Dust Tears (lead song from Sarah/Shaun’s debut) remixes, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label returns with a second EP of dream pop from husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), alias Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced McLochlun), who wooed hearts and wowed critics with debut EP ‘It’s True What They Say?’ last year.

‘It’s True What They Say?’ attracted fans across the board: Artist Of The Week in The Scotsman, rapturous reviews from The Skinny and Tokyo's Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, BBC 6Music airplay courtesy of Nemone (Mary Anne Hobbs' Morning Show), more radio play from Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart & Vic Galloway, plus Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) via their respective Soho Radio shows, not forgetting ringing endorsements from the likes of David Holmes, Youth, Kevin Bales (Spiritualized), Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks) and Julian Corrie (Franz Ferdinand).

They played gigs supporting Glasgow's huge Glasvegas, at festivals (Kendall Calling, Dunbar Music, Hidden Door), plus a slew of venues across the Scottish capital, ending the year with a trio of shows supporting Glaswegian 80s pop legends The Bluebells at Aberdeen’s Tunnels, Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys and Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, while The List magazine tipped them among their Ones To Watch For 2025, with journalist Fiona Shepherd suggesting they were “blending the starry-eyed pop of Sonny & Cher with the electronic experimentation of Chris & Cosey.”

Very much the companion piece to the debut EP but arriving a full twelve months later, Someone’s Ghost is emblematic of the duo’s desire not to rush things or release anything half-baked.

“I’ve always wanted to create the perfect pop record and I do really feel that we’ve achieved that with this one,” says Shaun. And he’s clearly not the only person who thinks so.

REVIEWS, FEEDBACK ETC:

"I LOVE that! Dreamy dreamy pop." ROY MOLLOY (Marvellous Crane/Alex Cameron) on BLAST RADIO, Sydney
“the Scottish music scene’s cream of the cool... buzzy drum beats, high, distant chimes, and heavenly electronics…. very ethereal.” THE SKINNY

"Listening to Sarah/Shaun is like eavesdropping on a noir dreampop, long-distance phone call between them both, across two separate sonic locations. On this stunning 4-song EP, Sarah’s voice, effortlessly mesmerising, draws you into these big beautiful and haunting passages of perfect dream-pop. All beautifully produced in a multi-layered-scape of low-fi analogue textures, epic cinematic crescendos, intense electro-pulse grooves and warped psycho-pop guitar riffs. Within the songs lurk a sense of unresolved emotions, longing and pathos. There are shades of classic Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra but also Post-Punk Electronica and Beach House. But what a unique sound they’ve created of their own. I love it" DAVID MCCLUSKEY (The Bluebells)
"Absolutely beautiful" SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"Lovely stuff here! Total quality." MARTYN 'MASH' HENDERSON
"Ooooh. Everything the last record promised is here. Well done" GEORGE T aka George Demure (Accident Machine)
"Vince clark Era Depeche Mode in places" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized)
"Sounds cool. Well done" PETE KEMBER (Sonic Boom, Spacemen 3)
"Glorious, it (Debbie Harry) grabs hold of you and doesn't let go." IAIN DAWSON aka RAVECHILD (Everyone Wants To Play The Hits Podcast)

SOMEONE’S GHOST

Born out of an incredibly anxious, stressful time, the songwriting process for these recordings has been something of a personal tonic for Shaun…

“There was a period when I was having nightmares,” he reveals. “Apparently I was saying there was someone in the room, I was talking to that person and Sarah was seeing all this while I was still asleep.

So, I was thinking that this was my ghost. I started writing songs because I was going through something and I was dealing with something and writing songs was a comfort. My ghost was a comfort, whether it was real or not. The idea of it was a comfort.”

“I firmly believe that everyone has someone who watches over them but all of the songs are essentially about being there for someone,” he says. “Everybody needs someone but also everyone needs to stay real and keep what you have, keep it close, never let it go. If you don’t have it, continue to tell people you’re there for them. It’s about loving and hoping people will be good to you in return.”

While Shaun took the songwriting lead on Filter Of Love and EP closer The Sound Which Stresses The Sound Of My Ears, Debbie Harry was originally instrumentally conceived by producer Jaguar Eyes, alias Ali Chisholm, later lyrically completed by Shaun, and the EP’s lead track, Anhedonia, and one of its stand-outs (much like Starbed on the debut) was conceived by Sarah, as a result of experiencing a bit of a spiritual epiphany of her own.

“When I first heard the word Anhedonia, I didn't know what it meant but when I found out I thought about it quite a bit. How sad it would be to have no enjoyment in anything,” she explains. “This song is really about my own personal beliefs. When I have been down, that's one of the things that helps me the most. It talks about trying to make amends but realising, for some things, you can't. But I think with any kind of faith comes hope… which is always a good thing.”

A record about hope, truth, honesty, a belief in something bigger than oneself… and all set to a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Lynch or Eighties feature film. What more could anyone ask for, really?

There’s equally a desire to offer something universal and positive to anyone who tunes in. The labels for the 12” edition reveal the dual mantras “Who just wants to survive?” and “It’s about time to live a little”, with both messages also engraved in each record’s run-out grooves. T-shirts accompanying debut EP It’s True What They Say? bore the slogan “Kill Them With Kindness” - leading caps intentional. Shaun carries the acronym KTWK everywhere he plays, as a reminder: it’s stitched into his guitar strap. And this particular wee pebble has already caused a few ripples: people have been approaching him at gigs to acknowledge their appreciation and respect for it.

"We feel we have made an honest, open, colourful, body of work,” say the duo. “We hope to go out and play the songs with the guys (our band) and then potentially make more records. We are taking things as they come. Everything has been organic so far, after all. We are looking forward to whatever this brings."

What happens when the mathematical rigor of Johann Sebastian Bach is stripped of its classical facade? With the album SRDNG x LPZG, the duo AMAS, together with double bassist Frithjof-Martin Grabner, delivers a radical answer on May 15th, 2026. The work does not merely translate Bach’s legacy; it consistently reimagines it within the aesthetics of Minimal, Dub-Techno, and Ambient. The creation of this extraordinary abstraction spanned three years and two geographical poles: the raw isolation of Sardinia and the academic precision of Leipzig.

The project found its origin in the seclusion of Pula, at the southernmost tip of Sardinia. There, AMAS extracted and digitally dissected the rhythmic and tonal essence of 14 selected works by Bach. In a temporary local studio, these minimalist sequences fused with field recordings of the surroundings to form a hypnotic framework of electronic structures. Back in Leipzig, this foundation met Frithjof-Martin Grabner. In an intense session held in a hall of the historic HMT Leipzig, spontaneous improvisations emerged that breathe the spirit of Miles Davis’ approach to "Ascenseur pour l’échafaud": free play based on rudimentary sketches, an intuitive reaction to the material—comparable to Davis’ iconic scoring of silent film images. It is a deliberate prioritization of atmosphere over technical perfection. Grabner utilizes the full spectrum of his instrument, creating sounds that, in post-production, often blur the line between analog depth and synthetic texture.

The result is an organic symbiosis: the vastness of Sardinia (SRDNG) meets the intellectual density of Leipzig (LPZG), while the strictness of the Baroque dissolves into the repetitive energy of Minimal Techno. To do justice to this conceptual ambition, the album will be released in an uncompromisingly audiophile edition. Limited to 200 copies worldwide, the double LP is pressed on 180g vinyl and features a front cover with a special 3D effect, continuing the visual tradition of the AMAS series. An album for listeners who understand Bach as a living origin of modern sound art—and for lovers of electronic music seeking a new, organic soul within the repetitive depth of techno.

Filmmaking and music-making share a common element of worldbuilding. Whole cloth, environments are raised in which a perspective can be placed; the viewer, the listener, is taken on a ride into the unknown for a time. Movie, the newest album by DMV-based duo Lifted, is like a film shot with microphones rather than cameras, using the pacing, spatialization, and semiotics of cinematic sound design to lead us through a surreal soundworld that draws as much from Foley artistry as dub, jazz, and electronic music. Musical elements and field recordings shift in and out of focus, collaged in spontaneous improvisation sessions on CDJs by the core duo of Andrew Field-Pickering (Max D, Dolo Percussion, Beautiful Swimmers) and Matt Papich (Co La, Ecstatic Sunshine). We may not see where we are, but our ears give us all the information we need.

We open on a pedal steel, played by More Eaze, but it’s been warped and slowed, gradually pitching upward until it's met by drums and electronics. Imagine the THX logo emerging onscreen. Movie is bookended by two related themes, “The Ice Chewers (Opening Credits), ” and “Midnight Snack (End Credits), ” giving the spatial experiments at the heart of the record form and focus. If there’s a broader narrative to latch onto, it’s in the transition moments, the juxtaposition of various field recordings that indicate movement of characters through space and life happening at its own pace. Tracks are defined by other thematic elements: a wandering piano in "Repossessed, " the drone of Duncan Moore’s bagpipe on “Melts Very Nasty, ” the delicate dance of Dustin Wong’s guitar over Jeremy Hyman’s drums on “Midnight Snack. ” Even with such an expansive ensemble cast, the focus remains squarely on the flow from one scene to the next.

Robert Altman’s use of sonic perspective shifting, as well as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s intricate construction of environmental ambience and aural representations of the unknown, were both inspirational for Lifted’s focus on sound as a way to establish set and setting in film. We hear Altman especially in the way dialogue emerges and recedes: as Papich puts in a sandwich order, as Field-Pickering browses the grocery store. These techniques have been a part of the duo’s arsenal in Lifted and their own projects for years, but here, without the mandate to make something overtly musical, they are foregrounded and placed in crisp focus. Here is another way to listen to the world, to understand how time, place, and personality are communicated through sound as Lifted closes the gap between artforms. What you can’t see only drives the imagination to more brilliantly invent.

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

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

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

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

BAILE & Nuage land on Shall Not Fade with their ‘Back 2 Earth’ EP

Four deeeep timeless tracks on this 12 inch. Sleek, progressive, acidy house & trancey ethereal breaks ‘Back 2 Earth’ is full of that headsy 90’s energy à la Underworld and Orbital…..we’ve been getting very lost in these ones!

Written remotely between Brooklyn, New York (BAILE) and Yerevan, Armenia (Nuage) both producers are more than a decade deep in their craft and it shows. They say “this all began with Nuage sending over a few short demos. BAILE took those pieces and constructed them into more fleshed out tracks, after which the two passed the songs back and forth slowly filling in the blanks.” …and that's the key here - no rush, no agenda just the realest takes expertly hewn.


Same Beat on the A1 is just that.. breakbeats, spoken word vocal chops and repetitive synth lines, but less is more. The percussion, bassline and programming do the work. Sometimes it's more about what you leave out than what you put in.

On ‘TSP’ you Nuage’s signature metallic synths. It’s a definite eyes closed/hands in the air weapon. Hypnotic flow building and ratcheting up the energy.

Flip over to title track’ Back 2 Earth’ and we get a trancey, garage and house blend. Sleek synths & arpeggios and minimal chops that seem to whisper ‘heaven…earth’.. BAILE utilized the Prophet Rev2 for pads and synths and a Moog Little Phatty and Minitaur for the bass but we want to know can a breakbeat soothe?

'Catch Yourself' closes out the EP.. More breaks and arpeggios but this time with an acid lead from the TB-03, grungy bass and warm gated synths underneath. Sample spotters you aren’t scoring any points here, the “I know that sample” vocal here come from Felicia Douglass (a frequent collaborator of BAILE’s who is in The Dirty Projectors and Ava Luna) and makes double the point that this EP is one of those ones that even on first listen you already know it. ‘Back 2 Earth’ has been on the SNF schedule for a minute so big up BAILE & Nuage for the patience but what that extra private time has meant, is that we can say with certainty that this EP keeps sounding better & better & better..

Acclaimed producer, DJ, and dancefloor healer Octo Octa (Maya Bouldry-Morrison) announces her fourth full-length album, Sigils For Survival. Following 2013's Between Two Selves, 2017's Where Are We Going?, and 2019's Resonant Body, the new record marks a decade since Maya publicly came out as transgender in November 2015. ''As an autobiographical artist, I set out to write an album that would be a milestone for this past decade of joy and sorrow,'' Maya explains. ''Sigils For Survival is my attempt to encapsulate the intentions and techniques that I used to move through life into a spell.'' For each of the record's eight tracks, Maya drew a sigil. Each is a personal symbol intended to ''bind magic to the song and seal its intention.'' These drawings appear throughout the physical edition's design. Maya's sister, New York artist Hope Morrison, incorporated each sigil into her original paintings, which comprise the album's vivid artwork. Hope Morrison, whose imagery translates the sigils' energy into vivid form; the layout was designed by Jo?o Ervedosa. Created entirely on hardware instruments and later mixed in Logic, Sigils For Survival captures the tactile immediacy of live performance. Maya preserved the feel of MIDI-clock drift and off-grid recording, letting her machines interact in the rhythmic pocket, rather than confirming them to a click. Alongside her signature deep, ecstatic electronics, the album features hand-played dulcimer, hand-pan, and recorder. Her voice also returns, carrying spells of love, protection, and transformation. Across Sigils For Survival, Octo Octa channels the ecstatic house lineage into an intimate ritual space. The music speaks of immediacy, play, and communion -- of magic as method, love as survival, and sound as spellcraft. Sigils For Survival is both a document of ten years lived fully and an invocation for the next chapter -- a glowing testament to music's power to protect, transform, and set the spirit free.

In May of 1966, the unknown singer Jack Wood recorded two songs at Great Lakes Studio in Sparta, Michigan. These unique, otherworldly songs 'Born to Wander' and 'So Sad' would be self-released by Wood on his own Lawrence Records imprint in an edition of 100 copies. Going nowhere and being quickly forgotten, it would take Wood ten years to pay back the $250 he borrowed for the entire endeavor. Fast-forward to the 21st century and the deepest of record collectors are intrinsically moved by the power behind Wood's single, vacillating between Northern Soul, garage, big band and country music all within the same song. Featured in the new Bacardi Rum advert as well..

For Metro Beirut’s latest release, Cem Mo steps forward with his debut vinyl EP, a record that bridges the roots of Chicago and Detroit house with his own deep and textured approach to groove.

Born in Ankara and having taken piano lessons at an early age, Cem drifted from classical into jazz, re-teaching himself harmony and improvisation before finding his way into production. After moving to Amsterdam in 2016, the city’s community and music scene expanded his horizon, shaping a sound that treats producing like improvising, with curiosity for grain, color, and repetition, where subtle shifts make all the difference. Along the way, Cem has released on Handy Records and Rhythm Section, while his project Nowhere People has appeared on Artisjok Records.

This EP brings together a tight circle of artists who deepen its character. Saxophonist Moritz Schuster, known for his work across electronic music and past work with Cem and Malik Kassim, formerly known as Retromigration, delivers a striking, free-flowing performance charged with raw intensity. On “The Hard Way”, Franco Corica joins Cem for a deep, soulful, jazz-leaning moment that feels both reflective and quietly defiant. Finally, longtime friend Malik pulls up with a dancefloor remix that preserves Cem’s melodic sensibility while adding his own loose, resulting in a circular dialogue between two artists who’ve grown side by side.

Artwork: Shahd Issa

Oliver Koletzki Releases Twelfth Studio Album 12

The beautifully crafted twelve-track opus is out now via Stil vor Talent.
Berlin-based artist, DJ, producer and Stil vor Talent co-founder Oliver Koletzki today releases his twelfth studio album, “12” — a deeply considered, emotionally rich long-player that marks the next chapter in a career spanning more than two decades at the forefront of electronic music. The album is out now on Stil vor Talent in digital formats and as a 2x12” gatefold vinyl.

Serving as both a milestone and a manifesto, “12” distils Koletzki’s evolving sound into its most refined form yet. Across twelve tracks, the album explores atmosphere, restraint and emotional clarity, balancing slow-burning club energy with introspective storytelling. It’s a record shaped by experience, patience and an unwavering attention to detail; qualities that have long defined Koletzki’s output as both an artist and a label curator.

The journey begins with album opener “Petrichor”, a quietly powerful introduction built around wistful organ chords that gradually unfold into a warm, hypnotic groove. Acting as the album’s emotional threshold, the track sets the tone for what follows: music that rewards immersion, thrives on nuance and unfolds with deliberate pace. From there, 12 moves seamlessly between introspective moments and more direct dance floor statements, always guided by Koletzki’s unmistakable melodic sensibility.

Singles released in the lead-up to the album offered carefully sequenced glimpses into its breadth. December’s “Trip With Me”, a collaboration with Frida Darko, brought playful energy and sharp modern club dynamics, while January’s “I Don’t Need Your Love” delivered a confident, emotionally charged statement rooted in Koletzki’s introspective yet club-ready DNA. February’s “Petrichor” revealed the album’s cinematic depth, followed by “Schnapsidee” in March — a track that leans into groove, character and subtle eccentricity.

Elsewhere on the album, tracks like “Logic”, “It’s All Gone” and “Tick Tick” showcase Koletzki’s ability to create tension and release through finely balanced arrangements, while “La Hora de Mosquitos” and “Calle Sur” hint at the global influences that continue to shape his sound. The closing stretch — from “About the Fox and a Tiger” through “What Remains” to “Voice or Noise” (with Frida Darko) — brings the album to a reflective, yet characteristically playful conclusion.

As a whole, “12” feels purposeful and cohesive, guided by a clear narrative arc rather than fleeting trends. It reflects the maturity of an artist with nothing left to prove, yet still driven by curiosity and a desire to evolve. Much like Koletzki’s previous albums, “12” stands as a self-contained world, inviting listeners to step inside and stay.

Released on Stil vor Talent, the album also reinforces the label’s ethos of artistic freedom, quality and long-term vision. Now over 20 years strong, the imprint continues to shape contemporary electronic music while remaining deeply rooted in underground culture: a balance Koletzki himself has embodied throughout his career.

A shared studio session in Detroit led to this focused techno collaboration between heavyweight talents Luke Hess and Thor. Recorded over several intense days inside the DeepLabs studio, the EP reflects a meeting of two distinct approaches. Hess brings the warm, soulful pulse long associated with Detroit techno, while Thor contributes a stripped-back minimal sensibility shaped by his Icelandic roots. Analogue machines and rare samples give the music a tactile edge and form the crisp but deep drive of 'Induction' to the subtly uplift and smoky soul of 'Samruni'. This is a restrained yet powerful record.

This first-time reissue of Quinteplus’ 1971 album revives a key moment in Argentine jazz, featuring crisp trumpet and tenor sax, electric piano-driven funk and modal grooves, and a tight, spacious rhythm section. It showcases prominent figures like Jorge Anders and “Pocho” Lapouble.

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Quinteplus was born in Buenos Aires at the end of the 1960s, emerging directly from the ideas and experiments of the legendary Agrupación Nuevo Jazz. Founded in the early ’60s, this collective brought together some of the most forward thinking figures in Argentine jazz functioned as a creative lab where musicians questioned where jazz could go next. Among the key ideas discussed was the fusion of jazz with Argentine folk styles such as zamba, chacarera, malambo, cueca, and candombe, as well as a deeper look into African rhythms as a bridge between musical worlds.

Two members of that collective, keyboardist Santiago Giacobbe and bassist Jorge “Negro” González, carried those ideas forward when they formed Quinteplus in 1969. The group came together naturally: all the musicians already knew each other and had played in different projects around the Buenos Aires scene. They shared a strong admiration for Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s quintet, along with a clear goal—to develop a modern jazz language grounded in local Argentine rhythms.

From the start, Quinteplus stood out for its openness and adventurous spirit. Rhythm was central, and so was experimentation. The band belonged to a generation of Argentine jazz musicians eager to explore electric instruments and new textures, anticipating what would soon be known as jazz-rock. This was happening in Buenos Aires at the very same time Miles Davis was opening new doors with “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew”. Giacobbe introduced one of the first Fender electric pianos in Argentina, while González pioneered the amplification of the upright bass and even developed a hybrid electric, boxless version of the instrument. Trumpeter Gustavo Bergalli, meanwhile, maintained close ties with the emerging Argentine rock scene, collaborating with Luis Alberto Spinetta and appearing on Almendra’s first album.

In 1971, Quinteplus recorded its first and only studio album for EMI. The original lineup featured Jorge Anders on tenor saxophone, Bergalli on trumpet, Giacobbe on keyboards, González on upright and electric bass, and Norberto “Pocho” Lapouble on drums and percussion—who also illustrated the album’s iconic sleeve. The record is a refined showcase of the band’s musical vision: original compositions, fluent jazz language, folk-derived rhythms, funky electric textures, tight ensemble playing, and standout brass solos. Though critically praised, the album received little label support and sold modestly, eventually becoming a sought-after collector’s item.

Quinteplus disbanded in 1973, their music was perhaps too bold and unconventional for its time.

The AMTK+ series on Amotik's self-titled imprint gives room for friends and admired artists to present their futuristic take on techno. For the fifth edition, Italian producer D-Leria joins the team and presents two highly effective, booming techno trips. The first track, 'Filterbank' sets the tone with its punching kick-drums mangled in between buzzing bass lines. His second track, 'Let It Be' shows a rare side from D-Leria where he uses mesmerising vocal chops to create an immersive, driving techno tool. On the flip side, Argentinian artist Translate comes in with some excellent bleepy hypnotism on 'Notation', followed by the darker, pulsating 'Shifted Communication'.