Banoffee Pies Records Black Label Series continues with a very special solo EP from Ukraine born producer & DJ, Adelina. Now Berlin based, the Oracool party founder, and multi medium artist, who’s roots in Kyiv’s underground sound, and passion for music culture, shines through their already distinct sonic signature.
Following the mesmerising dusty cut single “Soft Moving” the full EP extends to combine this haunted 5 track collection via the 7th release on the BPR sub label. Adelina’s introspective approach strikes a magnetism on their surrounding environment using a precise and mature combination of broken structures, dreamy dub basslines and high bliss electronica.
Recently immersed into sound creation while exploring the most cryptic aspects in the connections between sonic spheres, BPBL07 offers a fluid introduction to the imprint while representing the new Ukrainian sound wave. Their choice selections and alluring charisma as an artist reflect their infinite certainty in the power of music as a universal key.
Black Label #36 is introducing Mladen Solomun to the Compost Black Label Crew. Solomun who was born in the heart of Bosnia, grew up and still lives in Hamburg. Beside his residency at "Uebel & Gefaehrlich" he is the host of Club "DIY" in his chosen hometown Hamburg since five years now. With his first releases on labels such as Diynamic Music, Sonar Kollektiv, Liebe*Detail and Steve Bug's Dessous Label his tracks were played and charted by DJs like Gabriel Ananda, DJ T., Tobi Neumann, Martin Landsky, Laurent Garnier, Tiger Stripes just to name a few.
For his Black Label debut Solomun has built three very deep and organic tracks.
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For more than 25 years, Black Label Society has stood as one of heavy music’s most unshakeable pillars, delivering album after album of blues-soaked grooves, hard-hitting riffs, and soul-baring ballads. “Engines of Demolition” makes no exception to the steady rule of unrelenting commitment to pure, uncompromising, hard rock.
In 2022, Wylde was invited to honor his fallen brothers, the late great Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his brother Vinnie Paul, as part of Pantera Celebration. Writing and recording with Black Label Society over these last four years is when Engines of Demolition was born. Engines of Demolition follows the release of four singles, “The Gallows” (2024), "Lord Humungus" (2025), “Broken and Blind” (2025) and “Name In Blood” (2026), and marks the first full-length album release since Doom Crew Inc. (2021).
Black Label Society is the pure expression of the paradox of Zakk Wylde’s darkest, loudest riffs and softest soul crushing ballads. BLS is a relentless heavy, bluesy, unhinged hard-rock-metal circus quartet summoning caffeine-fueled cacophony on records and the stage. BLS songs are odes to celebration and mourning from the darkest depths to the highest of highs.
A charismatic hard rock and metal marauder recognized as a living legend and guitar icon, Wylde rose to prominence when Ozzy Osbourne chose him as his loyal axe man. Multi platinum albums, countless guitar magazine covers, Worldwide sold out tours, his own guitar and coffee brands add to Wylde’s ever-growing legacy. He gets as much joy from fronting his Black Label Society as he did playing on stage with his hero, Ozzy Osbourne, to his Black Sabbath cover band, Zakk Sabbath.
Seit mehr als 25 Jahren ist Black Label Society eine der unerschütterlichsten Säulen der Heavy-Musik und liefert Album um Album bluesgetränkte Grooves, knallharte Riffs und gefühlvolle Balladen. „Engines of Demolition“ fügt sich nahtlos ein in das unerbittliche Bekenntnis der Band zu purem, kompromisslosem Hardrock.
Im Jahr 2022 wurde Wylde eingeladen, im Rahmen der Pantera Celebration seine verstorbenen Brüder, den großartigen Dimebag Darrell Abbott und seinen Bruder Vinnie Paul, zu ehren. Während er in den letzten vier Jahren mit Black Label Society Songs schrieb und aufnahm, entstand „Engines of Demolition“. Das Album folgt auf die Veröffentlichung von vier Singles, „The Gallows“ (2024), „Lord Humungus“ (2025), „Broken and Blind“ (2025) und „Name In Blood“ (2026) - und ist das erste Studio-Album seit Doom Crew Inc. (2021).
Black Label Society ist der pure Ausdruck des Paradoxons von Zakk Wyldes dunkelsten, lautesten Riffs und sanftesten, herzzerreißenden Balladen. BLS ist ein unerbittliches, bluesiges, verstörendes Hardrock-Metal-Zirkusquartett, das auf Platten und auf der Bühne eine koffeinhaltige Kakophonie hervorruft. BLS-Songs sind Oden an das Feiern und Trauern, von den dunkelsten Tiefen bis zu den höchsten Höhen.
Wylde, ein charismatischer Hardrock- und Metal-Musiker, der als lebende Legende und Gitarrenikone gilt, wurde bekannt, als Ozzy Osbourne ihn zu seinem treuen Gitarristen machte. Multi-Platin-Alben, unzählige Titelseiten von Gitarrenmagazinen, weltweit ausverkaufte Tourneen, seine eigene Gitarren- und Kaffeemarke tragen zu Wyldes ständig wachsendem Vermächtnis bei. Er hat genauso viel Freude daran, seine Black Label Society zu leiten, wie er sie hatte, als er mit seinem Helden Ozzy Osbourne auf der Bühne stand oder mit seiner Black Sabbath-Coverband Zakk Sabbath spielte.
For more than 25 years, Black Label Society has stood as one of heavy music’s most unshakeable pillars, delivering album after album of blues-soaked grooves, hard-hitting riffs, and soul-baring ballads. “Engines of Demolition” makes no exception to the steady rule of unrelenting commitment to pure, uncompromising, hard rock.
In 2022, Wylde was invited to honor his fallen brothers, the late great Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his brother Vinnie Paul, as part of Pantera Celebration. Writing and recording with Black Label Society over these last four years is when Engines of Demolition was born. Engines of Demolition follows the release of four singles, “The Gallows” (2024), "Lord Humungus" (2025), “Broken and Blind” (2025) and “Name In Blood” (2026), and marks the first full-length album release since Doom Crew Inc. (2021).
Black Label Society is the pure expression of the paradox of Zakk Wylde’s darkest, loudest riffs and softest soul crushing ballads. BLS is a relentless heavy, bluesy, unhinged hard-rock-metal circus quartet summoning caffeine-fueled cacophony on records and the stage. BLS songs are odes to celebration and mourning from the darkest depths to the highest of highs.
A charismatic hard rock and metal marauder recognized as a living legend and guitar icon, Wylde rose to prominence when Ozzy Osbourne chose him as his loyal axe man. Multi platinum albums, countless guitar magazine covers, Worldwide sold out tours, his own guitar and coffee brands add to Wylde’s ever-growing legacy. He gets as much joy from fronting his Black Label Society as he did playing on stage with his hero, Ozzy Osbourne, to his Black Sabbath cover band, Zakk Sabbath.
Seit mehr als 25 Jahren ist Black Label Society eine der unerschütterlichsten Säulen der Heavy-Musik und liefert Album um Album bluesgetränkte Grooves, knallharte Riffs und gefühlvolle Balladen. „Engines of Demolition“ fügt sich nahtlos ein in das unerbittliche Bekenntnis der Band zu purem, kompromisslosem Hardrock.
Im Jahr 2022 wurde Wylde eingeladen, im Rahmen der Pantera Celebration seine verstorbenen Brüder, den großartigen Dimebag Darrell Abbott und seinen Bruder Vinnie Paul, zu ehren. Während er in den letzten vier Jahren mit Black Label Society Songs schrieb und aufnahm, entstand „Engines of Demolition“. Das Album folgt auf die Veröffentlichung von vier Singles, „The Gallows“ (2024), „Lord Humungus“ (2025), „Broken and Blind“ (2025) und „Name In Blood“ (2026) - und ist das erste Studio-Album seit Doom Crew Inc. (2021).
Black Label Society ist der pure Ausdruck des Paradoxons von Zakk Wyldes dunkelsten, lautesten Riffs und sanftesten, herzzerreißenden Balladen. BLS ist ein unerbittliches, bluesiges, verstörendes Hardrock-Metal-Zirkusquartett, das auf Platten und auf der Bühne eine koffeinhaltige Kakophonie hervorruft. BLS-Songs sind Oden an das Feiern und Trauern, von den dunkelsten Tiefen bis zu den höchsten Höhen.
Wylde, ein charismatischer Hardrock- und Metal-Musiker, der als lebende Legende und Gitarrenikone gilt, wurde bekannt, als Ozzy Osbourne ihn zu seinem treuen Gitarristen machte. Multi-Platin-Alben, unzählige Titelseiten von Gitarrenmagazinen, weltweit ausverkaufte Tourneen, seine eigene Gitarren- und Kaffeemarke tragen zu Wyldes ständig wachsendem Vermächtnis bei. Er hat genauso viel Freude daran, seine Black Label Society zu leiten, wie er sie hatte, als er mit seinem Helden Ozzy Osbourne auf der Bühne stand oder mit seiner Black Sabbath-Coverband Zakk Sabbath spielte.
Recorded at Clement Coxsone Dodd's Studio One as part of an album project produced by Cedric Myton, utilising some of the legendary backing tracks courtesy of the Soul Vendors, Sound Dimension and The New Establishment.
Banoffee Pies Records Black Label Series continues with the next Various Artist compilation - 4 low slung mood tracks for early AM riding the lines between Tech-House and 2 Step.
Monika Ross opens the selection with "Cut Strategy" on the A1, a dark winter spookyness set around 2 step glitches and delay. Tom Frankel takes over on the A2 with an ode to Green via "Terp Flavours". UKG inspired micro house - lockdown business. On the flip Mariiin drops her debut release entitled "Elif" on the B1 - a head down mover setting the tone for her future sound. The release then comes to a classy finish with deep mesmerizing rhythmic melodies on N-GYNN's "Yazdah" which fades away through another swinging vocal hook. Black Label Minimal. Much love. BP x
Mastered: Optimum Mastering
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Alicia Keys' original is a much loved beauty, and this remix by Jan Kincl, a Zagreb-based producer known for his jazz-informed house project with Regis Kattie, was made just hours before a Berlin DJ gig.
Two months later, Jan and Delfonic, a Berlin staple coming from a more organic and soulful side of the city, were in Montenegro on a shuttle from the airport to Southern Soul festival. Eddy Ramich, mutual friend who's been playing Jan's demo was on the same bus and played it to Delfonic. Before making it through one full listen, Delfonic said this should be released and suggested to make his own remix.
What they ended up with is a 12" with three versions, three attempts to flip the original's beatless soul and bend it into shapes of deep house and Miami bass.
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Black Label Series 03 on Banoffee Pies Records welcomes new additions to the fold with another low slung collection of minimal house and breaks. Opening with patient mystery the label debut from Monotronique delivers 118 bpm sample heavy 'Baggage With A Secret'. Nicely warmed, the A2 turns for the floor with Freerotation resident Tom Ellis in control on 'Third Morning', a groovy roller with glitched vocal loops. The curveball of this release comes on the B1 with a garage inspired high tempo d&b track, '23 Ghettobee' from Filip Szostak - One to cool or shake the dance. The B2 invites Lyssna Records own Flord King with another micro gem for the head bopping late nights on 'Shanti'. Together the four tracks investigating different moods with a similar style. BP X
Banoffee Pies Black Label Series 02.1 lands exploring more deep minimal bumpers for the floor. BPBL02.1 offers another Unknown sample heavy edit, an insert from Bristol local and label friend Crump, and tracks from their newest label affiliates, Jase and Pablo Marco.Groovy business from the Banoffee camp. Heat!
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Introducing the highly anticipated first EP, ‘Flat Earth Mafia Edits Vol.1,’ by illusive underground artist, Flat Earth Mafia. This four-track vinyl release promises to take your turntable game to the next level with rave-ready dance floor edits for the club. The EP effortlessly blends breakbeat, bass, and rave tracks drawing on nostalgic vocals to create a euphonic journey for listeners.
Flat Earth Mafia remains shrouded in secrecy, allowing their edits to speak for themselves. With limited availability, don’t miss your chance to own a copy of this EP.
Introducing the highly anticipated first EP, ‘Flat Earth Mafia Edits Vol.1,’ by illusive underground artist, Flat Earth Mafia. This four-track vinyl release promises to take your turntable game to the next level with rave-ready dance floor edits for the club. The EP effortlessly blends breakbeat, bass, and rave tracks drawing on nostalgic vocals to create a euphonic journey for listeners.
Flat Earth Mafia remains shrouded in secrecy, allowing their edits to speak for themselves. With limited availability, don’t miss your chance to own a copy of this EP.
Die Powerhouse-Rocker Fozzy veröffentlichen ihr neues Album BOOMBOX, ihr erstes Album seit fünf Jahren. Das Album, das die US-Top-10-Singles "Nowhere to Run" und "Sane" enthält, wurde erneut von Johnny Andrews produziert. FOZZY-Frontmann Chris Jericho sagt über das Album: "Judas... sowohl das Album als auch der Song waren ein RIESIGER Durchbruch für FOZZY. Es brachte uns auf das nächste Level und brachte uns eine gute Position im Rockradio und als Live-Magnet ein. Daher wussten wir, dass wir das Album unseres Lebens nachlegen mussten. BOOMBOX ist dieses Album! Ihr habt bereits die Top-Ten-Singles "Nowhere To Run" und "Sane" gehört - knallharte, eingängige Songs, die den Ton für dieses Album angeben. Aber es sind "I Still Burn", "Army Of One" und "Relax", die meiner Meinung nach dieses Album und diese Band noch weiter nach oben bringen werden! Also dreht die Lautstärke auf und haltet euch die BOOMBOX an eure Ohren!!! Es wird ein wilder Ritt werden."
*2026 repress - with new labels and small hole. NOTE NEW CATALOGUE NUMBER! One of Shella’s most popular reissues, “Rebel” by Jamaican Canadian roots maestro Rothadam is finally back in stock! Pressed with a small hole (as opposed to the 2017 re-issue with the jukebox punch-out). Supported by King Shiloh, Gilles Peterson and countless others, Rothadam’s “Rebel” is one of the deepest and most sought after roots 45s to ever come out of Canada. “Rebel” evokes Black Ark studio wizardry with Rothadam’s delicate yet defiant vocal, thunderous bass and a massive horn section. This release is a monster double-sider: Two different versions of “Rebel” were recorded in Toronto circa 1975, 76 by different producers (Sid Lovejoy at LMP and Ron Lewis at Half Moon) and backed by different bands. The “Rebel” message in Rothadam’s music is obvious, but more than anything the song is a call for peace and unity reflecting on his life in Trenchtown, Jamaica. Rothadam explains: “…..because where I was living , It’s hard to don’t get involved. It wasn’t an easy thing to just live and just be happy….. Hard life man, hard life…most of my friends when they were doing things that aren’t right…Not me. So in other words, I was born to be a strong man.” Rothadam passed away in 2026 but was delighted with the new audience his music had found. This latest reissue is dedicated to his eternal memory.
"Spiritual Jazz 19" besteht aus zwei Doppel-LP-Sets, die den Einfluss und die Ausdrucksformen jenes Underground-Jazz beleuchten, der sich in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts in Kalifornien und den angrenzenden Bundesstaaten entwickelte. Die insgesamt 24 Titel erscheinen in Gatefolds und enthalten Liner Notes, Fotos und Download-Codes.
Die US-Westküste wird oft mit dem Boom des Cool Jazz in den 1950er Jahren in Verbindung gebracht; doch überall dort, wo Jazz gespielt wurde, florierten auch modale, afrozentrische und spirituell geprägte Strömungen – und die Westküste bildete da keine Ausnahme. In der Nachkriegszeit rangierte die Central Avenue in L.A. als bedeutendstes Jazz-Viertel Amerikas direkt hinter Manhattan. Auch wenn Manhattan in jenen Jahren das faktische Zentrum des Jazz-Universums war, übte Kalifornien eine stärkere Anziehungskraft auf die Kultur im Allgemeinen aus und zog Menschen aus dem ganzen Land in den Bann seiner aufkeimenden Gegenkultur der 1960er Jahre.
Hier untersuchen wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gegenkultur auf den Jazz. Wir beleuchten den Einfluss der Black Panthers – der prägendsten Kraft innerhalb der schwarzen politischen Bewegung nach der Ära der Bürgerrechte – und widmen uns den neuartigen spirituellen Praktiken und Religionen des aufkommenden New Age. In Kalifornien waren zahlreiche eigenwillige Independent-Labels wie Arhoolie, Theresa und Nimbus sowie viele weitere private Unternehmungen ansässig; wir präsentieren die Ergebnisse ihres Strebens nach musikalischer Freiheit. All diese Faktoren beeinflussten die Entwicklung und Blütezeit des Jazz und der Jazzmusiker an der Westküste – und die Evolution des Spiritual Jazz in dieser Region wird hier eingehend betrachtet.
Spiritual Jazz 19" besteht aus zwei Doppel-LP-Sets, die den Einfluss und die Ausdrucksformen jenes Underground-Jazz beleuchten, der sich in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts in Kalifornien und den angrenzenden Bundesstaaten entwickelte. Die insgesamt 24 Titel erscheinen in Gatefolds und enthalten Liner Notes, Fotos und Download-Codes.
Die US-Westküste wird oft mit dem Boom des Cool Jazz in den 1950er Jahren in Verbindung gebracht; doch überall dort, wo Jazz gespielt wurde, florierten auch modale, afrozentrische und spirituell geprägte Strömungen – und die Westküste bildete da keine Ausnahme. In der Nachkriegszeit rangierte die Central Avenue in L.A. als bedeutendstes Jazz-Viertel Amerikas direkt hinter Manhattan. Auch wenn Manhattan in jenen Jahren das faktische Zentrum des Jazz-Universums war, übte Kalifornien eine stärkere Anziehungskraft auf die Kultur im Allgemeinen aus und zog Menschen aus dem ganzen Land in den Bann seiner aufkeimenden Gegenkultur der 1960er Jahre.
Hier untersuchen wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gegenkultur auf den Jazz. Wir beleuchten den Einfluss der Black Panthers – der prägendsten Kraft innerhalb der schwarzen politischen Bewegung nach der Ära der Bürgerrechte – und widmen uns den neuartigen spirituellen Praktiken und Religionen des aufkommenden New Age. In Kalifornien waren zahlreiche eigenwillige Independent-Labels wie Arhoolie, Theresa und Nimbus sowie viele weitere private Unternehmungen ansässig; wir präsentieren die Ergebnisse ihres Strebens nach musikalischer Freiheit. All diese Faktoren beeinflussten die Entwicklung und Blütezeit des Jazz und der Jazzmusiker an der Westküste – und die Evolution des Spiritual Jazz in dieser Region wird hier eingehend betrachtet.
YL Hooi returns with 'Running Around (83)', the project's first release since 2019's Untitled. Valya Ying-Li Hooi and Tarquin Manek finally commit a long road-tested live favourite to tape, welding together engine room doom, disembodied vocals, cryptic lyricism and a smouldering dub-techno bassline, recast and overdriven.
The hand-stamped white label 12" honours its roots with three heavyweight remixes. After corrupted audio files erased YL Hooi's recent live collaboration with Mad Professor, the Ariwa boss gives their encounter lasting form with a percussion-dripped halftime stepper featuring veteran Black Steel and new blood Karmelody.
The flipside immediately detours with Ulla's full-scale tear down and rebuild, layering woodwind, keys and subtle percussion into an improbably elegant convergence of ambient, minimal jazz and modern classical. John T. Gast's Midas touch then drags it into bardo dancehall territory, a rugged soundsystem destroyer that's scuzzy, screwed and wired with punk instinct.
Fila Brazillia is the name of the decidedly singular collaboration between Steve Cobby and David McSherry, born in the coastal town of Hull in the UK. Bending—and often outright breaking—more or less every rule in the book, they've been effortlessly blending deep house, downtempo, breaks, ambient, and wry humour, sampling anything they can get their hands on. Their first outing was the 1990 single-sided white label 12" Mermaids, an airy deep house tune featuring a cheeky sample taken from the theme from Robison Crusoe. Since then, they've released a boat load of singles, seven highly regarded full-lengths, and more than 60 remixes for artists such as Radiohead, Busta Rhymes, and Lamb.
Black Market Gardening is their third full-length and marks a creative high-point for the duo. Over nine tracks, Fila Brazillia guides you through hazy, bass-heavy trip hop, cosmic synth lines, brisk breakbeats, funky guitar riffs, and even touch of drum 'n bass (it's the mid-1990s after all...). There's just so much to take in, leaving the listener wondering where the samples end and the live instrumentation begins. Yes, Fila Brazillia's output fits squarely within the chill-out tradition prevalent in the UK at that point in time, but their unmatched creativity and boundless approach to the studio process makes their music truly timeless.
Black Market Gardening is available as a 30th anniversary edition for the first time since 2001.
Originally released in 2019 and pressed up only in limited edition white label form. The repress is sold in a black-die cut sleeve with full-color label artwork.
Originally released by Umor Rex on cassette in 2018, Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Sirimiri is now available on vinyl for the first time, newly remastered for this edition. This LP marks the fourth and final installment in a series of four reissues released throughout 2026 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Umor Rex.
It is a fitting way to close such a special anniversary year. Rafael is not only an artist who has released three albums on Umor Rex, but someone who has been part of the label’s history for more than a decade. His sensibility and way of listening have complemented and nourished the label throughout the years, while his mastering work has helped shape the sound of many of our releases. A close friend, and an essential part of what Umor Rex is today.
Sirimiri roughly translates as “drizzle” in Basque, and we can’t think of a better word to describe its content. The album consists of four long-form pieces, each shaped through different processes and with its own distinct identity, in which Irisarri seeks to blend subjective time with the listening experience through loops, repetition, and subsequence-based sound. Following Eno, nothing happens in quite the same way twice: perception is constantly shifting, and nothing stays in one place for long. The desolation and despair—in a strangely positive way—that we heard in The Shameless Years (Umor Rex, 2017) and later in FAÇADISMS (Black Knoll, 2024) are present here, but the impression is more concrete, unfolding through rawer, less rhetorical landscapes. If The Shameless Years existed somewhere between beauty and active tragedy, this record travels through the beauty and melancholy of an observing eye—a quiet, rebellious insurrection.
Written, produced, mixed & mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NY. Carl Hultgren: Guitars on “Sonder”, Taylor Jordan: Electric Piano on “Mountain Stream”. Design by Daniel Castrejón.
Tenuous Links welcomes Torino’s very own VIOLA to the label with his new ‘Wrinkles’ EP. As the label owner of Reflue Records, VIOLA first caught my attention with his debut full-length release, a body of work that showcased a deep, rugged sound and a clear technical prowess shaped by his surroundings rugged coastlines and industrial landscapes of Torino in northern Italy. After speaking with Cristiano for over a year, it felt like a natural progression to bring his music to Tenuous Links. “The music I write almost always functions as a visceral soundtrack to whatever environment surrounds and infects me while I'm creating. Deeply rooted in the architectural contrasts of the places I’ve inhabited.”
‘Wrinkles’ is VIOLA’s second full-length body of work, yet the years of graft and dedication behind it are immediately apparent. Across three original tracks and a remix from London’s Jay Duncan, the EP delivers pure grit and crunch, inhabiting large, cavernous atmospheres grounded by pummelling bass, dynamic drums and intricate rhythmic detail.
The title track ‘Wrinkles’ is an ode to club spaces and the scene that revolves around them. Its broken rhythm channels the dancefloors of Cristiano’s formative years, spent partying in abandoned bunkers and warehouses in and around Torino. VIOLA explains: “Crafting such a raw, gritty bassline felt like an absolute necessity during the writing process, retracing memories of long nights spent dancing in silence.” The track’s cavernous atmosphere mirrors those pitch-black, unlit spaces, drawing us deeper and deeper into the abyss, with only brief glimmers of light offering reprieve from its relentless, all-enveloping bassline.
‘Mon Tom’ draws heavily from VIOLA’s hometown and his complicated relationship with Torino ,a city where tranquillity and beauty sit alongside heavy industry. The calm of the coastline is violently interrupted by vast steelworks and plumes of black smoke, leaving an imposing industrial mark on both the landscape and its people. The track reflects these contrasts. Metallic yet fluid, it moves at a faster pace, built around a driving 4/4 rhythm designed to suspend the listener while skittering percussion creates an increasingly uneasy sense of movement. It’s a meeting point between the beauty and brutality of the environment that inspired it.
‘P Maggiore’ was written between 2019 and 2020 while VIOLA was living in Rome’s chaotic Porta Maggiore district. Surrounded day and night by the grinding noise of trains, screeching tram brakes and beaten metal, he translated those raw auditory memories directly into high-pressure sound design. Yet, in contrast to the intensity of his surroundings, VIOLA deliberately pulls back the tempo.
Rounding off the EP is a skeletal remix of ‘Wrinkles’ from London’s Jay Duncan. She strips the original back into a techy, rolling cut, retaining its atmosphere and darkness while introducing a lighter touch of minimal-esque sound design. The result is a subtly transformed take on the title track that provides a fitting conclusion to the EP.
‘Wrinkles’ EP is a record shaped by place, by architecture, industry, memory and the physical spaces that leave their mark on us. From Torino’s industrial coastline to the chaos of Rome and the darkness of abandoned club spaces, VIOLA turns his surroundings into sound. Coming to vinyl and digital October 16th of October.
Swivel inaugura su nuevo sello Swivel Traxx produciendo cinco tracks originales recién salidos del horno.
Swivel Traxx steps up with ‘Out of Circle EP’, a 5-track trip delivered by label head Swivel. Blending raw 90s vibes with modern hypnotic soundscapes, the EP shifts gears from tense ambient to direct, Birmingham-influenced techno and high-energy cosmic madness. Built for both deep head-trips and pure dancefloor mayhem:
A1. Out of Circle (Prelude): A beatless atmospheric opener setting a mystical vibe for the whole record. A hypnotic, bell-like arpeggio glides over a warm Moog bassline and thick tension, teasing the concept behind the EP.
A2. Out of Circle: The title track drops straight into club territory while keeping things dark and mysterious. Massive cavernous pads, a driving rhythmic base, and a relentless sequenced synth loop pay homage once again to classic Birmingham techno.
A3. The Black Knights: A dark, dystopian trip. Driven by a hypnotic groove and sharp triplet hi-hats, this one brings a combat-ready energy made for peak-time dancefloor moments.
B1. Starlight: The fastest joint on the record (140 BPM). Equal parts melodic and club-focused, it locks TR-909 drums, Moog bass, and lush pads together for an astral trip into the unknown.
B2. Roundtable: A heavy, mental, and dark closer. Packed with raw analog-filtered synths, broken beats, and a relentless interplay of open and closed hi-hats, it delivers pure energy for the floor.
Reissue of Rudimentary Peni’s stunning debut 12-song 7”. Recorded in 1981 at Street Level Studios and originally released on their own Outer Himalayan label. From the first track Rudimentary Peni pull you in and aurally assault your ears. It’s abrasive, sharp with supreme musicianship. They created a perfect, demented universe of twisted, poetic and needle in the red punk that has never been bettered. This reissue comes with a fold out replica sleeve with the iconic Blinko foetus artwork and booklet.
In the spring of 1971, somewhere between Brussels, Paris and a collective pop fever dream, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki landed on vinyl. It sounded like nothing else then and it still does not today. More than half a century later, Sdban Records proudly presents a reissue of this singular cult album, available from April 3, 2026 on vinyl.
The album was produced by Jean Kluger and written both by Jean and Daniel Vangarde (aka Bangalter, later the father of Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk), who were alreadywell ahead of their time, long before electronic music rewrote the rules of pop culture.
Released under the name Yamasuki, also referred to as The Yamasuki Singers, or The Yamasuki's, the project was never intended as a conventional band. It was a studio-born fantasy, a concept album disguised as a pop record. What began as a standalone single quickly expanded into a full-blown pan-cultural pop opera that ignored genres and common sense with joyful abandon.
Musically, the album sits at a delirious crossroads. Psychedelic pop collides with funk rhythms, samba and bubblegum melodies, full of chants and choruses in a phonetic pseudo-Japanese, written with the help of a dictionary. Kluger and Vangarde famously recruited a children's choir to perform the vocals, and for added spectacle, they brought in a Japanese judo grandmaster, whose ritualistic shouts and battle cries erupt throughout the record.
Several singles were released. One of them, Yamasuki, with accompanying dance move, appeared in the United Kingdom and France on John Peel's Dandelion label, a fitting home for a record that thrived on the margins of pop culture. Its B-side, Aieaoa, proved even more potent. In 1975, the song was reborn as A.I.E. (A Mwana) by Black Blood, an African group recording in Belgium, this time sung in Swahili. That melody would travel even further. Aie a Mwana became the debut single of English pop group Bananarama, and in 2010 it resurfaced once more as Helele, an official song of the FIFA World Cup, recorded by South African singer Velile Mchunu with Danish percussion duo Safri Duo. That version became the most widely known incarnation of the song. With Jean Kluger directly involved, it was less a cover than a continuation of the original idea.
The album's afterlife did not stop there. Over the years, Yamasuki has been quietly sampled, covered, and featured across media far beyond the realm of novelty pop. Kono Samourai was sampled in The Healer by Erykah Badu (2007), produced by Madlib, while Yama Yama has found its way into recent pop culture as well: appearing in the television series Fargo, on Angus Stone's project Dope Lemon, and on the 2008 Late Night Tales compilation curated by Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders. Proof, if any were needed, that this strange little record carries a deeper musical DNA than its playful exterior might suggest.
This new reissue of Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki proves the renewed interest and respect for this cult album, faithful to the original spirit while finally giving it back the physical presence it deserves. In an era obsessed with genres and algorithmic neatness, Yamasuki still laughs, dances and karate-kicks its way past definitions. It reminds us that pop music can be playful without being disposable, strange without being cynical and joyfulwithout explanation. The world of Yamasuki was always fabulous, we are just lucky it found its way back to us!
Up In Her Room are delighted to announce their first release of 2025, and a return to the label from Oli Heffernan, aka Ivan the Tolerable!
10 new chunks of lo-fi instrumental library-hop - recorded in 2 days in Summer 2024, ‘Nocturnes’ is the first ITT album of 2025, and the first one made solo by Heffernan since ‘Wild Nature’ in 2019.
Known for his genre-defying and boundary-pushing approach to music, Heffernan – who has spent years experimenting with various styles, instruments and production techniques has crafted a collection of tracks that defy categorization. The new album is a sonic tapestry of atmospheric library music, dusty hip-hop beats, and the organic, unfiltered essence of field recordings, all neatly packaged up into a format that allows each element space to breathe.
‘Nocturnes’ weaves intricate layers of samples, loops, and live instrumentation, combining elements of hip-hop, dub, jazz, and electronic music, all while maintaining a sense of urban cinematic flair.
The album is released by Up In Her Room on limited edition black heavyweight vinyl
Trumpeter, rapper and sonic wanderer Pan Amsterdam has carved out one of the most distinctive voices operating at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop today.
Pan Amsterdam is a musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle. His creator is a jazz musician from Houston who’s found fame working with Detroit punk rock God, Iggy Pop, and British indie royalty, Metronomy, and now makes shapeshifting, adventurous hip hop out of the music’s spiritual home, New York.
He’s an irreverent character born out of frustration and named after a misunderstanding, yet one who’s on the verge of releasing his fifth album of truth-slaying, genre-crossing rhymes and beats. The result is a catalogue that feels both deeply rooted in Black American musical tradition and completely untethered by convention.
Pan Amsterdam returns with ‘Panarama’, his fourth full length album and a bold reassertion of his hip hop identity, released via Def Pressé. Created by Houston-born, New York-based musician and composer Leron Thomas, the record finds Pan Amsterdam embracing the harder edges of his sound while continuing to blur the lines between jazz improvisation, abstract rap, punk attitude, and experimental production
Written as a response to contemporary life and the endless cycle of information, conflict and distraction that defines modern culture, ‘Panarama’ unfolds as a stream of consciousness journey through hyper-normalised realities. Across sixteen tracks, Thomas navigates social commentary, personal reflection, absurdist humour, and cultural critique, delivering his observations with the same spontaneity and freedom that have become central to the Pan Amsterdam project
Lead single ‘Szechuan Beef’, produced by acclaimed collaborator 1FS, serves as one of the album’s defining statements. Built around Thomas’ signature free-flowing delivery, the track explores the overwhelming nature of contemporary life, where domestic conflict, social division, entertainment scandals and political discourse become flattened into a constant stream of content.
In Thomas’ own words: “My stream of consciousness style comes quite naturally to me due to the conditioning of scroll down culture where everything, no matter how minor or extreme, is hyper normalised.”
Elsewhere, the track ‘Vanilla Ice’ was written in response to widely publicised ICE killings and the speed at which tragedy is absorbed and forgotten within online culture. Thomas channels the anxiety and emotional disorientation of endlessly consuming information, allowing his thoughts to unfold in real time as social commentary collides with everyday digital noise. The result is both deeply personal and sharply observational, reflecting the fragmented reality of modern life. Other album highlights include the cinematic, Interpol-esque opener - ‘Old Friend’ complete with shimmering guitar lines and an far-reaching introspective, no-filter vocal as Thomas teams up with Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Brad Truax (Interpol) across multiple tracks, often the production traverses left-field indie territory, but always maintaining Pan Amsterdam’s unique musical identity throughout. For the hip hop purists and beats lovers there are plenty of riches to discover from the clever nostalgic sample flips of ‘Cutlery’, the sleepy lofi of ‘Shuriken’ and the wonky LA beat scene / early Flying Lotus era beats of ‘Drunken Noodles’ - all boasting quick witted lyricism. ‘Deep Fried Shiney Things’ explores early electro and industrial sonics while album finisher is an upbeat new wave / indie band cut which sees Thomas take a break from rapping, but of course never letting up on the sharp observations nonetheless
While his previous record explored more alternative territory, ‘Panarama’ marks a deliberate return to rap, as Pan Amsterdam explains:
“I just wanted to do a rap album again.I enjoyed making my last album, but I felt like rapping again. I like to have the freedom to move in between musical worlds that suit the current state I’m in. Frequency accommodating frequency.”
This philosophy runs throughout the album. Tracks move effortlessly between jazz-inflected arrangements, experimental beats, punk energy and underground hip hop aesthetics, allowing ideas to evolve organically rather than conforming to traditional structures. Thomas describes himself as an improviser first and foremost: “I think like an improvisor. That’s how my albums pretty much move. It’s improvisation.”
Featuring additional contributions from Spice Programmers, AnOtter and Mr. Shn, ‘Panarama’ presents a wide-ranging cast of collaborators while remaining firmly rooted in Thomas’ singular creative vision. The record embraces contradiction, humour and unpredictability, capturing fleeting thoughts and observations with the same freedom and spontaneity that define jazz improvisation itself.
A musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle, Pan Amsterdam has built a reputation as one of contemporary music’s true outsiders. The project emerged from frustration, experimentation and artistic freedom, with Thomas drawing equally from his background as a jazz musician and his collaborations with artists including Iggy Pop and Metronomy. Operating from New York while carrying the spirit of Houston’s musical heritage, Pan Amsterdam has developed a distinctive voice that sits comfortably between avant-garde jazz, underground hip hop and experimental music.
Reuniting with Def Pressé for ‘Panarama’, Thomas explores what he describes as the more hardcore side of his artistic identity:
“They let me do anything and everything I wanna do so long as it’s on audio, and I need that freedom. What may verbally be perceived as vulgar to one group of people may be very thoughtful and a poignant description of the times that we’re presently in, so I’m glad that I’m part of a label home that understands that.”
For Louis Johnstone, making music has never been about waiting for the right equipment, the right environment or the right moment. Across more than a decade of work as both Wanda Group and A Large Sheet Of Muscle, the Huddersfield-based musician has built one of British experimental music's most singular bodies of work by embracing whatever happens to be within reach, allowing instinct, improvisation and circumstance to shape the outcome as much as conscious composition.
"'Chinese Benefits' was made over a year ago on an iPhone that had a broken microphone and was on its way out," he explains. "I have made many records after this with clearer sounds. Sharper ideas. That is never the point, though. You work with what you hold in your hands."
Recorded entirely on a failing iPhone 6 that stopped working shortly afterwards, 'Chinese Benefits' isn't a record about damaged technology. It is a record shaped by it. Rather than resisting the limitations of the device, Johnstone allows them to become part of the music itself, where distortion, interference and deteriorating fidelity are inseparable from the recording process.
Across twenty brief but disquieting pieces, corroded spoken word, environmental recordings, abrasive noise and fractured electronics continually emerge and dissolve. Voices drift in and out of range, reverberation stretches everyday sounds beyond recognition, and bursts of white noise interrupt moments of uneasy calm. There are echoes of radio transmissions, field recordings and musique concrète throughout, yet 'Chinese Benefits' never settles comfortably into any one tradition. Instead, it inhabits a space where accident and intention become almost impossible to separate.
That philosophy has long defined Johnstone's work. Through a vast catalogue of self-released recordings on his Umbro G imprint, alongside releases for labels including The Trilogy Tapes, he has consistently favoured immediacy over refinement, embracing imperfection not as an aesthetic but as a practical reality. His recordings are less concerned with perfection than with capturing the conditions in which they were made.
Looking back on 'Chinese Benefits', however, Johnstone's own assessment is characteristically understated.
"Listening back fully, it's quite a nice record actually. Fair enough, I make them and never really listen again TBH. Even better, it was the last Large Sheet Of Muscle record made on that phone with grit and damaged guts."
Like much of his work, 'Chinese Benefits' offers few fixed meanings. Its titles remain cryptic, its voices partially obscured and its structures deliberately unstable. What emerges instead is a deeply personal document of process over perfection, where the limitations of the tools become inseparable from the music they produce, and where the act of making something matters far more than the conditions in which it was made.
Ascendancy presents “Sow The Seed EP” by label co-owner Lo-Lo, with 4 tracks curated in collaboration with Alex Picone, that cover different moments on the dance floor. Likewise, they all share a straightforward dance energy, groovy basslines and melodic textures.
All tracks written & produced by Lo-Lo from Montevideo, Uruguay in 2025. Original graphics by Lo-Lo. Distributed by Small Black Dots. Ascendancy label all rights reserved.
Ursprünglich 1968 in New York auf Barakas eigenem Label Jihad veröffentlicht, ist "Black And Beautiful Soul And Madness" ein leidenschaftliches Zeitdokument der 1960er Jahre. Man könnte es leicht für eine verschollene Veröffentlichung von ESP-DISK halten, fügt es sich doch nahtlos zwischen Sun Ra, The Fugs und Albert Ayler ein. Die Band nutzte ihre Stimmen auf vielfältige Weise: mal singend im Stil von Doo-Wop und Soul, mal rappend im Stil der Last Poets, und oft auch beides gleichzeitig. Emotional fesselnd und von enormer Kraft, wird dieses Werk nun erstmals wieder auf Vinyl zugänglich.
This one means a lot to us. A project we’ve been working on for a couple of years. One where we hand over the curatorial keys of the label to very specific artists in whom we have absolute trust and who have an almost academic knowledge of a specific rhythm or a specific region where our eyes and sensitivity cannot reach. In order to amplify powerful voices from the global south, where the true underground is happening today, and that move away from the traditional axis of New York, London, Berlin. We present to you: Mzansi Bass curated by Shannen SP.
A project meant to explore the space between 3-step, Gqom, the dark sides of Amapiano, and mutations of Pritori rap deeply rooted in Black African rave music from the local scenes of Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Eastern Cape, and their global mutations from Brazil and the Netherlands. The project is anchored around the legacy act of DJ Lag and new comers of South African bass whose music has broken international barriers with pure-emotionally-rich dance music. The release works as both a celebration of the roots and the future offering it projects. As Shannen puts it, it's electronic music with a futuristic feel, both raw but minimal, trance-inducing and deeply physical, built in a very particular geographic space for
the whole world to enjoy.
Indulge into this special soundscapes crafted by their own inhabitants. Expect a couple each year from now on.
UK-based DJ and producer Drum Dance returns with a fresh three-track dance 12” on his Into The Cosmos label. Opening title track ‘Space Ritual’ is an almost 12-minute-long journey beginning somewhere in dreamy ambient, dub techno territory before evolving into a deep meditative trance with hypnotic percussive rhythms, rolling dubbed out hi-hats and euphoric synths; like Balearic meets Black Ark. The track then veers off in a new direction; playful arpeggiated synthesizers and stripped-back electronic drums taking it somewhere resembling early house or a cosmic Italo disco dub mix.
Techno goes outernational on ‘Arp Sequence 3 Dub’; stuttering lo-fi machine sounds and samples collide with pitched calypso percussion, dubbed out roots steppers drums and a deep walking bassline before heating up into a driving frenzy of 4/4 drums, siren synths and run-away FX.
‘Cosmo Jam’ starts life like a raw, moody Detroit house jam; tape-saturated kalimba, electric keys and loose drums skipping in and out of time. The track eventually gives way to a more ruff UK broken beat sound; cosmic jazz keys weave around outernational percussion, rhythmic vocals and a heavy low-end.
Compiled onto one vinyl album for the first time, Landlocked (Numbers, 2026) presents Hallucinator’s 1999 debut album originally released under Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald’s label Chain Reaction. Writing much surrounding the culture of what would be later considered ‘Dub Techno’ and its’ primary distribution center, Hard Wax, leads one down roads of shifting primary sources and decades old overheard smoke break recollections. Maybe brevity primes the listener to the paralinguistic to approach the sound on its terms; focusing on how things are uttered and not what.
This theory will remain unconfirmed. Hallucinator original press release left us with three or so gestures to consider over the years since:
“A new act on CHAIN REACTION”s distinct productional thesis. HALLUCINATOR are 3 people from he UK/London and this their first release ever- that’s all what the artists want to let us know…. This record is dedidacted to the memory of Stephen Lawrence!”
The first gesture is one of personnel. Since ’99, we’ve gotten to learn a bit more about the artists behind the Hallucinator project. All London-based, all writers, composers, and sound-designers— Anna Piva, Edward George, Trevor Mathison. These three seem to flow between parameters as aesthetic tactic and tacit structure to the work itself. For example, other collaborative shapes have come from this lineup including Flow Motion (Piva, George and Mathison) as well as the now defunct Black Audio Film Collective of which George and Mathison are founding members.
The second gesture is in the second line of the previous press release, “distinct productional thesis.” Much of Landlocked’s affect and sequencing seems to suggest an emotional study of entropy at the level of sediment. Rhythms play with space and capacity through polyvalence. The production chose subtractive vertigo, often switching and bringing back in elements that vanished from the track 6 minutes ago. Dubbing out so much of a track, one begins to associate sound akin to memories held in the experience of running your hand across a concrete block as a child. Felt (re)memberance in lieu of narrative tale. Using textures that flicker between colour and percussion, Hallucinator’s 12-tracker of loudspeaker perception music might be a mediation on the psychic wake of the Cold War. Intermittent strata of ambience and groove convects an active margin rifting event underneath a scorched geology of power in Western Europe. Again, this is all grapevine hearsay.
But it’s silence that voices the third gesture. The album’s sparse application of the written word touches on the ennui paradox of being landlocked on an island. Stuck. Trapped in the psychosis of occidental hypercentricism. A looping silence of Black British tragedy: “to the memory of Stephen Lawrence”. 18 year-old Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in southeast London by six white men in 1993. The rift of grief and implicit reiteration of modern subordination left by this hate act went legally silent for almost two decades until Lawrence’s killers were ultimately sentenced to virtually life in jail in 2012. Only six years removed at the time of Hallucinator’s initial invocation of rememory, the mind-numbing accretion of what Black Studies Professor Denise Ferreira da Silva might call “unpayable debt”, finds demonic ground across Landlocked, forming an aural sense of what continues to be refused.
The album ventures through spaces of overactive non-happenings: ‘Red Angel’’s factory floor dub flashes between smokestack and jungle visions, or the halfway mark’s stilted breath of ‘Dusk’ lending its mood to the sort of sedated dreams built from daily life under colony rule for instance. That linked rhythm links us back to our linked fates across Black and Brown folk is real, thus the syncopated signals through this work behave on the level of transnational radiotelegraphy, sounding out its windswept tension of a body negotiating a meat-grinder schema of linear production and wage for others to know that unspeakable thing can be broadcast in every drum tongue.
As the silence continues to reverb, we return to the sort of meaning-making that cannot be told but felt. Soothing to some, disturbing to others. Landlocked, a Rorschach test for a crumbled empire.
Recently hailed by The Guardian as "British techno's great survivor," Nigeria-born, UK-based Ibrahim Alfa Jnr continues with the fine form shown on his recent Infinite Black Inside LP with this first EP on his newly minted label Infinite Black Audio. The music was made after the end of a time of bad health, which means there is a feeling of both relief and reflection here. The nameless tracks are all overtly technological in their DNA - spanned synths warp around mechanical kicks on the opener as detuned jazz keys tumble through the mix. ''Track 2' floats on skittish breakbeats, there's moody downtempo on 'Track 4' melodically-inspired hope on 'Track 6.' An adventurous and rewarding EP.
Hidden Sounds Record store – with the help of Emotional Recordings – launches the Dark Times label with the first of two club orientated EPs from Canadian brother-production duo Lex and Rew MacCrimmon and their project Alkahest.
Released on their own Post Contemporary label between 1994 – 1996, Alkahest contrasted with the spacious electronica of their influential and still on-going project, Legion Of Green Men.
Growing up in suburban city life in Burlington, Ontario, the MacCrimmon brothers’ interest in music and collecting records started early, always looking for interesting sounds in new places. With a limited local music scene or record stores, the alternative and college radio stations were the only way to discover new music or the type of music they sought.
The German electronic sounds of Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream were early obsessions, alongside Neu, Cluster (& Eno) and the post punk and synth pop emanating from Britain. The Flying Lizards, John Foxx / Ultravox, Gary Numan and The Normal were favourites, before diving into the 80s industrial experiments of Cabaret Voltaire, Severed Heads, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle.
Making their own music soon followed, first experimenting with 4 track cassette and digital delay, drum machines and synths soon followed, steadily building their own studio. All these influences merged in the early 90s with the dawn of house and techno and the progression to start the Post Contemporary label launched in 1992.
With the project Legion Of Green Men achieving early success, their diversion with Alkahest explored a post-industrial techno hybrid. Unsubtle, night music, the rhythm and sonic textures are more prominent over melody.
Contact High covers this Alkahest sound, from the 133 bpm trippy, psychedelics of opener Black Tabs, the acid breaks of Ground Zero or the charging nature of closing Séance 333, where all bets are off – together this 4 track EP perfectly captures the early spirit of Canada’s electronic music scene finding its place in dance culture, from the raves of the Toronto’s outer rim to the beaches of Anjuna.
However, in the title cut Contact High, there is something else happening, as electronic dub is explored, where the space in the music, between the beats, is as important at what happens on the surface. A love of this ethereal feeling would lead the brothers to head further in this direction and here is a perfect example of that early journey.
180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.
Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.
Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”
After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.
This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.
Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.
Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.
Did you know that Judy Freeman and Blackrock cut more songs than the 4 that were put out in 1971? We know of at least one.
"I Know Where You're Coming From" is a 70s funky Northern Soul masterpiece. We've rescued a lost, never heard before, track by the group for the A-Side here. Fans of their music will immediately connect with this blistering anthemic Northern Soul monster. Go ahead and grab the talcum powder, and prepare to dance up a storm to this one.
We've selected the completely unrelated, previously unreleased Marshall Hooks "She Is All I Need" for the B-Side on this one. A relatively straight ahead Otis Redding-styled Soul original that thumps and a nice compliment to the A-Side. If you aren't familiar, Marshall released one LP on Blue Horizon and a monster R&B 7" in 1965 on the Muriel label.
Feeling both familiar and forward-looking, MBK004 expands its reach with an international lineup of
producers united by a shared appreciation for the New York underground sound.
Crafted by Tunisian producer Gringow, our first two tracks take listeners to the darker side of minimal.
Also owner of the HeardOf label, Gringow lends his talent to Minimal Brooklyn with 15 minutes of
hypnotic rhythms. “Black is the new color” gives chills, while “My K” triggers introspection.
Flipping the record will bring listeners to a brighter space. We begin with Chilean DJ/producer
Francisco Ruíz-Tagle and his original track “Primal Depths”. Francisco introduces textures that have
been cultivated throughout his life. His submission to Minimal Brooklyn holds nothing back, delivering
a multidimensional auditory experience to listeners.
MBK004 ends with “Bean Water”, an original track from Chicago-based producer Double Dipp. This
spell-casting production truly highlights the attraction of minimal. Dynamic instrumentals with clean
resolution. This is Double Dipp’s formula for timelessness.
Spiritual, intimate and revolutionary, yet firmly rooted in Brazil's folklore. Africadeus was the breakthrough album of the mighty Naná Vasconcelos, in which he discovered the berimbau to the world and took the instrument to a universal level, abstracting it from its original context of capoeira. Having played in the shadows for other artists such as Milton Nascimento, Gato Barbieri or Som Imaginario, Naná is here finally in the spotlight.
Recorded in 1973 in France for Pierre Barouh's Saravah label, this is the album that definitely imprinted Naná's name in the international scene, on his track to becoming one of the best percussionists of all times.
Immensely proud to offer a quality reissue of both his early 70s albums for the French label Saravah.
Africadeus comes in its original gatefold cover, and is available in standard black vinyl and a limited edition of 200 copies on red transparent vinyl.
'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'
'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)
"Tre" is the new long-awaited 12-track album by The Dining Rooms out for Schema after two lps on the research label Milano2000, "Subterranean Modern" and "NumeroDeux" and a lot of appearances on the most important atmospheric-downtempo compilations. 12 tracks and 2 videos to be precise (Maria Arena is the brillant filmaker working with TDR). 12 elements redefining the borders of TDR music, drawing inspiration from Jazz, Africanism, Hip-Hop, House, Soul with true eclectism. "Tre" is a turning point in the history of TDR and represent a sort of change of perspectives.
Indie shops only. Limited red vinyl rerelease. 500 for the World (just 80 copies for the UK) After falling out with Sir Coxsone, the legendary head of the Kingston label Studio One, Lee Perry first founded his own band and then, in 1973, set up his own studio in his backyard. What was born out of necessity developed into a unique success story. With both the Upsetters and the Black Ark, Perry made music history - most notably with the 1976 release of the album Super Ape, on which he made the genre of dub bubble and boil from the mixing desk in previously unheard ways. For Perry, the studio is like a living organism. Whether he truly experiences it that way or simply lets too much ganja go up in smoke, for Perry the equipment is organic, empathetic, and intelligent. The catch is that the results sound exactly like that as well. Long before sampling was invented, he layered tracks of deep basslines, echoes, and reverb with various self-recorded sound sequences – often played in reverse - on top of, into, and beneath each other. In other words, Perry was the first producer who made the music instead of the band. Among other things, this earned him the title ‘Salvador Dali of Dub.’
For their next release, Phase Group invites you deep into the mind of a singular artist to offer a glimpse of their prolific body of work, zooming in on music composed specifically between 2018 and 2021.
Across 16 tracks, ‘Summa 2018-2021’ by Serbian producer Andria reveals a highly unique approach to sound design and composition, spanning the realms of futuristic IDM, ritual ambient, fourth-world techno and other elusive electronic genres.
Listening to this album in its entirety feels like entering a self-contained sonic world, where animistic and ancestral traditions are refracted through unfamiliar forms of technology. It’s an album which moves effortlessly from moments of deep and contemplative abstraction, as heard in tracks like ‘Sunlessness’, with it's atmosphere of otherworldly field recordings and ancient rites, to propulsive tracks that will guide clubs through ceremonial trance states such as ‘Floating Island’, where industrial kicks underline expressive poly-rhythms, evocative synths and snarling digital glitches.
The release is a gripping and immersive listening experience filled with spellbinding and expertly conjured sounds alongside highly effective moments of dance music that will surely find their way into the sets of the most expressive and fearless DJs. This is one for fans of Coil, Shackleton, Andy Stott and Demdike Stare.
Behind the work is Andrija Čugurović the Belgrade-based artist. A graphic designer by day (and in-house designer here at Phase Group), he dedicates his nights and time away from work and production to Belgrade’s underground electronic scene, digging deep into the worlds of Bass, Techno, Industrial, Ambient, IDM, Experimental and Computer Music.
A regular attendee at spots like Drugstore and the 20/44 boat since a young age, Andrija has honed a deep connection with the music he creates and DJs and that is evidenced in this highly original collection of music. This is his second release on Phase Group, coming after his debut EP ‘o o o o o’ in 2020, the second release on the label.
'Summa 2018-2021’ is available digitally and on high-fidelity C-90 cassette, dubbed at Tapeline UK and distributed by Rubadub.
All tracks composed and produced by Andrija Čugurović.
Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.
Artwork by Andrija Čugurović.
Following the success of Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2023, Cosmocities returns in 2026 with two new chapters in its acclaimed compilation series dedicated to the rich heritage and continuing evolution of Japanese electronic music.
Compiled by label owner Matt Soulie, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 further explores the depth, sophistication and diversity that have long made Japan's electronic underground one of the world's most inspiring musical landscapes.
Since its inception, the Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku project has celebrated the artists and sounds that have profoundly influenced the Cosmocities vision. Across four volumes, the series has journeyed through ambient soundscapes, deep house, boogie, jazz-infused electronics and forward-thinking club music. Volume 4 shifts the focus firmly towards the deeper end of the dancefloor, bringing together timeless classics, rare gems and sought-after reinterpretations from some of Japan's most respected producers.
Opening proceedings is Kaoru Inoue's remix of Soft's "Art Farmer", a rolling percussive Afro-house excursion rich in hypnotic groove and organic rhythm. XTAL's "Heavenly Overtone" follows with a beautifully cosmic house journey, combining shimmering keys and celestial atmospheres that perfectly capture the compilation's expansive spirit.
On the B-side, Slow Didi's "Follow Me (Hidaway Mix Instrumental)" delivers a deep and hypnotic groove before Tokyo Black Star's "Fantastique Voyage" channels the soulful, sophisticated energy of classic 1990s deep house. The journey continues with Manabu Nagayama and Soichi Terada's "Low Tension", presented here in a sublime instrumental remix by Satoshi Fumi and Yoshi Horino, where warm piano melodies and elegant synth work create a timeless late-night mood.
The final stretch moves into more driving territory. Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Orionids (2025 Revised)" subtly raises the tempo, blending deep house sensibilities with sleek tech-inflected textures. Kaoru Inoue's "Ground Rhythm", reworked by The Backwoods, plunges deeper into hypnotic territory with a heads-down groove designed for intimate basement spaces and low-lit dancefloors.
Closing the compilation is Bitowa and YAMADAtheGIANT's "Forest (Mixtacy Exclusive Version)", a trippy, immersive finale that leaves listeners suspended in a dreamlike state between nature, rhythm and imagination.
A carefully curated collection of deep, cosmic and forward-thinking sounds, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 once again showcases the enduring creativity, innovation and global influence of Japanese electronic music.
LUCIANO LAMANNA — A CARLO Blackwater Label — 2026 Distributed by Triple Vision More than ten years in the making, A CARLO is a single-sided EP by Luciano Lamanna for Blackwater Label, dedicated to Carlo Giuliani and to the memory of the events that unfolded during the G8 protests in Genoa in 2001. This record is the result of a long process, one that began more than a decade ago and has remained unfinished until now. Two tracks, both carrying the name and memory of Carlo, finally complete a circle that has been open for years. The first track, “Il Giorno del Sole”, was previously released on physical CD through Blackwater Label. The second, “Amore Infinito”, arrives more than ten years later, completing the dialogue between the two pieces and giving the project its long-awaited counterpart. Together, the tracks form a deeply emotional and personal statement: melancholic, haunting and at the same time driving and hopeful. Lamanna moves through the industrial language that has always characterised his work, while “Amore Infinito” explores a darker, more intimate territory, evoking the emotional intensity of Coil. A CARLO is not intended as a historical reconstruction or a conventional political statement. It is an act of memory.
Dial Records boss makes a welcome return to Smallville in March of 2024 with a fresh four-tracker EP ‘Gravity Hill’. Peter Kersten, better known to most as Lawrence, has been at the forefront of underground house and techno for decades now. His Dial imprint, co-founded alongside Carsten Jost, has grown to become a north star for many seeking out raw, emotive and understated electronic music and Lawrence’s own productions follow a similar path, finding a home on many beloved labels beyond Dial such as Kompakt, Mule Musiq, Ghostly
International, Giegling, Pampa and of course Smallville, that he co-founded together with Stella Plazonja and Julius Steinhoff in 2005.
Title-track ‘Gravity Hill’ opens the project and perfectly sets the tone with Lawrence’s distinct atmospheric haze of keys, chords and pads billowing atop swaying bass tones and crisp drums. ‘Beaver’ follows next and edges into dubbed out realms with expansive stab delays, rounded subs, modulating percussive flutters and a robust rhythmic drive.
‘The Swamp’ then leads the B-side, diving into a deeper territory via airy Rhodes melodies and subtly unfurling pads, intertwined with organic percussion and a jazz tinged bass line. ‘Stargazer’ then concludes the package and shifts back to a more straight, dance floor- oriented feel via a twitchy acid bass, circling resonant synth licks, hypnotic textures and a swinging drum groove.
Smallville 62 artwork by Stefan Marx as always and it's the first 12“ Smallville cover in full colour ever after 61 black/white releases.
Die südafrikanische House-Variante Amapiano geht bei ATFA mit "Teenage Dreams" in die dritte Runde. Nach TENO AFRIKA und DJ BLACK LOW schnappte sich das in New York beheimatete Label das 2019 gegründete Produzenten-Duo NATIVE SOUL, die mit "Teenage Dreams" ihr Debüt geben. Der Titel ist passend gewählt, schließlich sind Kgothatso Tshabalala und Zakhele Mhlanga (DJ Zakes) mit 19 bzw. 18 Jahren sozusagen selbst gerade erst den Kinderschuhen entwachsen. Obwohl die beiden in Pretoria aufgewachsenen Jungproduzenten zur Generation 'Ma2000' gehören, also nach Beginn der Demokratie geboren wurden und die Apartheid nie erlebt haben, überzeugt "Teenage Dreams" mit einer künstlerische Reife, die das jeweilige Alter der beiden Soundtüftler weit übersteigt. Die zwölf Tracks auf dem Debüt sind überwiegend moody, instrumental und mit Drums "made from basslines which stick out like a pocket turned outside of pants" versehen. Für Fans von BURIAL und MR. FINGERS!
Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella’s 2021 brilliant collaborative jazz dance album People Need People channelled a vision of togetherness and used the universal language of music to elevate our spirit during these trying times. This vision can’t be more relevant today and the album’s legacy is kept alive with the same spirit of collaboration that distinguished the project.
“Inner Light” - featuring Raashan Ahmad on vocals - is the first song from the album chosen for a series of reinterpretations of the project that will be released throughout 2022. Joaquin Joe Claussell needs no introduction, the Body & Soul founder and Sacred Rhythm label honcho is a true legend and purveyor of spirituality – a cosmic messenger that brings us two versions of “Inner Light”; his work here is not to be solely intended as a remix but, as the title suggests, delivers two new proper versions of the original song.
This EP is the first in a trilogy of 12” releases that will also feature further reinterpretations of tracks taken from the “People Need People” album, by none less than Anthony Nicholson, DJ Spinna and Tall Black Guy!
The Vienna-based collective nomind launches its label journey with a four-track VA released on vinyl and distributed by Matter of Fact. The EP features four original tracks from the producers behind the collective. Pressed on 180g black vinyl.
Carlos Benedetti, a Colombian house producer and live performer from Cali, has steadily become one of the standout names in today’s underground dance scene. Following multiple vinyl releases on the acclaimed German label Disco Disco, Benedetti’s productions have earned widespread praise and support from respected figures including deep house icon Cinthie.
Specialists, selectors and collectors alike have described his records with comments such as:
“fabulous 12-inch”
“This is the most wild dance record to come out this year so far”
“Cannot formulate the words to capture how this one sounds and makes me feel”
“Listen close and behold.”
With this latest EP for SUPREME STRIKER, Benedetti once again delivers a collection that feels destined to become a future underground classic.
The record opens with Nostalgia Blues, a soulful and deeply textured piece channeling the spirit of Larry Levan’s legendary dancefloor energy, somewhere between disco’s emotional golden age and modern club functionality.
On Bellavista, Benedetti dives deeper into high-energy territory, layering powerful black grooves, hypnotic rhythmic tension and rich percussive movement into something both vibrant and timeless.
Pyramid follows with soaring arpeggios and delicate melodic flourishes, recalling the euphoric sophistication of Todd Terje at his most inspired, while maintaining Benedetti’s raw dancefloor sensibility.
Closing track How High The Moon nods toward Patrick Cowley’s pioneering synth work, injecting the EP with cosmic disco pressure, futuristic funk textures and a strange late-night sensuality.
More than a simple collection of tracks, the EP unfolds as a fully coherent journey through house, disco, Italo and high-energy mutations, balancing emotional depth, machine-driven grooves and timeless dancefloor instinct with remarkable naturality.
Nu Vision is a modern salon for visionary leaders, fighting for their art, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing forwards towards a new paradigm. The band all have their own stories and extensive discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in places you might have attended but none of that matters. This is a new beginning. A group. A collective.A movement. Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense. Equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Their friends at DFA noted that the album “sounds like Depeche Mode scoring a Michael Mann montage: brooding,motorik, and shot through with black-and-blue beauty.” this idea is taken further in the first video from the album for track one / side one “Time” that launches the project publically along with the albums announcement. The palette of ‘The Seed’ is defined and refined in the best way. It’s an album that opens up many pathways. Brisker, freakier tracks like “Shadow In The Dark,” “R U Serious?” and “Humanity” run towards a softer finish with “Somedays” and the seven-minute, eyeliner-smearing closing ballad, “Lullaby Garden.” These are proper songs made with vintage machines, with a sound that carries obvious influences. ’ The Seed’ pulses forward as the body of the beast is turned inside out, wearing a beating heart on its sleeve, honoring those who left us too soon - DAF’s Gabi Delgado, Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy, Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher, and Sandwell District’s Juan Mendez. It’s important to note the emotional core of ‘The Seed’ album is the song ‘Synchronicity’ that is filled with both love and regret, the story of losing a friend without properly making amends. It is unquestionably heartbreaking, but is also delivered with a pang of hope, the feeling that with so many sunrises caught, so many additions and subtractions in life, a perspective has been gained. This is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A New Vision
The label's seventh release is a five-track vinyl VA, a real coup de theatre. They've called upon a strong selection of artists behind the EP's artistic direction, including Alessio Collina , V.I.C.A.R.I. , Nicola Brusegan & Carlo Di Roma, Shacklo and the label's founder, Vito Fattore.
Black Box Records has proven once again that they are a company that produces classy, mature and dancefloor-ready house tracks, with many more to come this year.
