Search:bu

The perfect accompaniment to that deep fall feeling, Frank Maston's beloved 2025 single finally gets its long overdue vinyl release! As our friends New Commute articulated beautifully, "Foreign Affairs" drifts through London fog and Paris shimmer, its avant-lounge glow wrapping each melody in a wistful ache. On B-side "Liaison," ghostly strings and a solitary piano paint a deserted twilight shoreline, Pacôme Henry's distinct 16mm cinematography hovering nearby." We've pressed just 500 of these gorgeous records so, be quick, Maston always flies.

Originally written for a film Maston was scoring in 2024, he decided to keep it aside for himself. And, well, us all. The song has a vibe Maston has previously flirted with; he wanted to dive in...all the way: "The arrangement is huge, definitely the biggest I've written, and it merited live musicians playing together. Also another experiment, to do it with all live musicians playing my arrangements. I wanted to make something that you'd want to put on when you bring a date back to your place. It's on the edge of sappy but that's sort of the point. I decided to give myself an unlimited budget - just spend whatever was necessary to get the right musicians and record it the best way possible."

It's this dedication to sonic perfection which Maston is rightly lauded for. We couldn't not put this on a cute wee 7" when we heard it.

The A side, "Foreign Affairs", is a brilliant, Bacharach-esque romp with a bit of that unapologetically romantic Morricone angle. Says Frank: "I was trying to synthesize that sort of jazzy/sexy/classy/romantic mature sound, where the edginess is in these surprising chord changes and subtle arrangement cues."

A wonderful complement, the flipside "Liaison", evokes Martin Denny, but Eden's Island was in Frank's head, too. He wanted to take a deep dive into that exotica sound - a genre he'd referenced a bit but never fully committed to - so the piece is lavished with those big sighing strings and a pretty lush arrangement. Happily, it all sounds super rich. Also, "Umiliani is always a reference for this sort of thing (Il Corpo etc.), That almost mechanical arrangement of things moving together and a simple melody over it (something I nicked from Ennio)".

The two songs were recorded in Paris and London in the summer of 2024. Aside from the rhythm section and piano, there's vibraphone, a full string section, trombones and alto and concert flutes. "Liaison" boasts strings, vibraphone, a female choir and tenor sax. Maston played piano and acoustic guitar but that's it (as opposed to playing basically everything on Tulips). His friend Oscar Sholto Robertson played drums and percussion whilst Maston mainstay Elie Ghersinu (formerly of L'Eclair) played bass.

The theme for a lot of Maston's titles is that they have two meanings. So "Foreign Affairs" is both a reference to him living abroad and the idea of constant cultural diplomacy and then there's this sexy/cheeky interpretation of foreign affairs in a literal way - "an affair abroad, ooh la la!". The artwork for this 7" single has Roman campaign flags, referencing the foreign affairs in sort of a sassy way. There's a violence implied. But then if you look from a bit of a distance it looks like a bouquet of flowers. So Frank thought it went with the spirit of the title. Also, he's used a lot of roman motifs now so he kept that theme going, even with the terracotta cover.

This is a vitally important project for our Frank. He explains why, here: "For whatever reason, these songs really resonated with me. I feel like they are either the end of a stylistic era for me or the beginning of a new one. They're sonically the culmination of what I'd been working towards and trying to get better at since I started. If I heard this when I was making Tulips I would have said "YES! *This* is what I want to be doing!". So that's the essence of it. It's a statement and the intended reaction is "This is really good, but why now?". Like the edge to it is the context of someone making this sort of thing in 2025, which I think is a huge strength. The real heads will get it. My music always has like a 2-3 year latency until people really catch onto it, and these ones will have a nice payoff I think."

We couldn't put it better ourselves. So we haven't.

When Straight Ahead hit the shelves in 1974, it marked another bold chapter for Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. The band—Steve Ferrone on drums, Barry Dean on bass, Jack Mills on guitar, and Lennox Langton on congas— was firing on all cylinders, pushing jazz fusion into fresh, uncharted territory.

Critics took notice, with Billboard praising the album as “excellent in development and inventiveness, ” and it found its way onto multiple charts at once.

The journey begins with “Beginning Again, ” a lively opener built on Langton’s congas and Ferrone’s muscular groove. Auger’s electric piano sparkles here, immediately setting the album’s adventurous tone. Then comes their take on Wes Montgomery’s “Bumpin’ On Sunset. ” Darker in mood and drenched in atmosphere, Auger stretches out into improvisation while still honoring Montgomery’s spirit. The interpretation struck such a chord that, years later, Wes’s widow wrote to Auger to tell him it was her husband’s favorite version of his much-loved tune.

The title track, “Straight Ahead, ” shifts gears into funk, showcasing the group’s ability to slide effortlessly between genres. “Change” pushes further, blending rock’s raw energy with jazz’s improvisational freedom, driven by Auger’s command of the Hammond organ. To close, “You’ll Stay in My Heart” brings the tempo down with a tender, soulful ballad—an intimate ending to an album full of bold explorations.

At the time, reviewers hailed the record as a gem. One called it “a minor masterpiece of incredibly engaging and melodic keyboard-centric jazz-rock fusion. ” Another singled out “Bumpin’ On Sunset” as “the best reason to own this recording.”

Half a century later, Straight Ahead still resonates. It captures that fertile moment in the 1970s when jazz, rock, and funk were colliding, and artists like Auger were busy redrawing the map. To this day, it stands as proof of Auger’s fearless curiosity and his knack for breaking boundaries—music that looked forward then, and still feels ahead of its time now.

ANORAX goes for the jugular - offering 2 in-demand gems from the legendary USA All-Platinum label - with its’ latest #eatsleepcollect 7” release.

The a side is a real coup, the first ever worldwide issue on single of the much loved Just Having Your Love by veteran Soul trio The Moments. JHYL is up there with the acts much loved Nine Times and I’ve Got The Need as a creator of dancefloor frenzy but being an album only track has restricted its DJ plays.

Now, for the first time in 50 years, it is available on 7” single so the simmering demand can finally be satisfied. The track fuses timeless Soul harmonies with exuberant magically produced New Jersey Disco and as well as being a Modern Soul connoisseurs favourite has long been a Northern Soul floor filler. The flip was also released on All Platinum’s Turbo imprint and was produced and written by The Moments. The Rimshots were the house band at All Platinum’s recording studio in Engelwood and had close links with The Moments who they toured with as support. Do What You Feel saw them take centre stage in 1975 as the adrenalin up chanted jam became a funk anthem. Five decades on it is still a timeless gem at jazz funk venues.

For the ninth installment of the _NRV series, Romania’s Cosmjn delivers The Music Behind EP — four hypnotic cuts that showcase his trademark swing and subtle intensity. Cosmjn is a name most in the minimal circuit perk up just seeing on the sleeve. He runs the Radial imprint together with LIZZ — who appeared on _NRV006, in case you missed that. “Doom Alarm” sets the tone with driving percussion and a shadowy groove, while “Dirty Wob” leans into gritty bass pressure and late-night warehouse energy. On the flip, “Nancy Byoss” pushes forward with a heavy, propulsive workout built for maximum floor impact, before “The Music Behind” closes the record with a spacious, dynamic trip that stretches into the after-hours. A versatile EP, primed for the booth and the bag alike.

Volpe is the finely tuned trio led by Ghent-based pianist Heleen Andriessen. Drummer Stijn Demuynck and bassist Kobe Boon support Andriessen's lyrical melodies with an infectious groove. The carefully crafted compositions alternate between energetic and melancholic, allowing the listener to feel immersed in a warm bath while transporting them to an uncanny world.

'elders' (Dutch for "elsewhere"), doesn't refer to a physical place but to a refuge in Heleen's mind-a sanctuary where she searches for beauty on gray, rainy November days. A simple detail taken from everyday life can serve as a gateway to this hopeful, imaginative world. Musically, this translates to repetitive patterns that gradually evolve or suddenly burst open. Subtle dissonance is welcome here, with the band lovingly embracing the slight disruption it offers. Heleen's playful runs and Stijn Demuynck's grooves balance the melancholic undertones. Seemingly simple melodies tell stories and offer familiarity to listening ears.

keywords: piano trio, contemporary jazz, keith jarrett, modal jazz, minimalist

The engine idles low. The story is almost told. Jaguar On Palisade 3 marks the final descent in a trilogy carved from fog, memory, and cold chrome — a farewell wrapped in smoke and steel.

CRIMEAPPLE weaves through late-night laments and razor-edge reflections, cruising past ghosts and gilded silence, traveling over cinematic productions by trusted collaborators: DJ Muggs, DJ Brown 13, Michaelangelo, Buck Dudley, Loman, DJ Skizz, and Comma Uno. Each beat is a scene; each bar, a flicker of something lost. There’s heat, there’s hunger, and the creeping calm of finality.

It’s not about where we’re going — it’s about what we’ve already left behind. Pressed on limited edition vinyl for those who’ve been riding since the ignition turned. No reruns. No reissues. Just one last ride.

Wahrscheinlich das erste Album, das komplett in einem Bundesliga-Fußballstadion geschrieben und aufgenommen wurde, nämlich im Millerntor-Stadion des FC St. Pauli in Hamburg. Keine Sorge, es klingt überhaupt nicht nach Stadionrock. Ganz im Gegenteil sogar ... Lo-Fi, ohne spröde zu sein, und minimalistisch, ohne karg zu wirken. Seit 1995 haben sich Swearing At Motorists mit ihrer rohen Energie, ihren herzlichen Songtexten und ihrer unerbittlichen DIY-Ethik eine Kult-Anhängerschaft aufgebaut. Als ,The World's Local Band" bezeichnet, sind sie unzählige Kilometer gereist, um weltweit Konzerte zu geben, und haben die Bühne mit legendären Acts wie Guided By Voices, Songs:Ohia, The Breeders, Spoon, Unwound, Brainiac, The Lemonheads, My Morning Jacket und vielen anderen geteilt. Nach einer zehnjährigen Pause ist die Band zurück. Von Kritikern gefeiert, aber definitiv unter dem Radar geblieben, sind Swearing At Motorists nach wie vor ein beliebter Fixpunkt der Indie-Rock-Underground-Szene.

SoftSun was formed in 2023 by guitarist Gary Arce (Yawning Man) and bassist/vocalist Pia Isaksen (PIA ISA). On their second album they are joined by Robert Garson on drums. The band is experimenting with sounds and are difficult to place in a specific genre. They have a style of their own with contrasts of softness and distortion, beauty and noise and emotional peaks and valleys. The music is patient, heavy and dreamy, with haunting vocals and beautiful guitars drenched in distortion and reverb over patient and thought out drums. The songs are flowing slowly and take inspiration from both the Californian desert landscapes to the Norwegian oceans where the two founding members come from. On this second record SoftSun has developed their sound further and sound both moody, experimental, beautiful, and raw.

Aqua Blue vinyl, limited to 350 copies. SoftSun was formed in 2023 by guitarist Gary Arce (Yawning Man) and bassist/vocalist Pia Isaksen (PIA ISA). On their second album they are joined by Robert Garson on drums. The band is experimenting with sounds and are difficult to place in a specific genre. They have a style of their own with contrasts of softness and distortion, beauty and noise and emotional peaks and valleys. The music is patient, heavy and dreamy, with haunting vocals and beautiful guitars drenched in distortion and reverb over patient and thought out drums. The songs are flowing slowly and take inspiration from both the Californian desert landscapes to the Norwegian oceans where the two founding members come from. On this second record SoftSun has developed their sound further and sound both moody, experimental, beautiful, and raw.

Wounds is the band's long-awaited fifth album - their first in six years, their most eclectic and ambitious work to date. As heavy as it is haunting, the record masterfully blends doom, post-punk, and driving krautrock in a dynamic, hypnotic maelstrom - pushing London's most exciting cult band into intoxicating new territory. "Wounds is a series of songs about the different ways people live with and process 'the wounds' of their lives," explains vocalist Maya. "A strange celebration of that formative pain we have all experienced in some way. The loss and joy of survival - the celebration of finding others like us, the gift of knowing life comes after fire." Wounds was recorded by Mike Bew, on location at Foel Studio. The band could be found working deep into the witching hours, experimenting with new sounds and filling the valleys with cantankerous wails of sound, bursting from amps borrowed from My Bloody Valentine. "The Welsh countryside has a mystical quality to it," says guitarist Adam. "We recorded in a deep, dark valley; misty days and shooting stars at night. You could wander through nearby woods and stone circles during breaks. Foel Studios is woven into this setting with a transcendence of its own - its storied history includes sessions by Electric Wizard, Hawkwind and The Fall." Synths on the album are arranged by Berlin-based Bow Church, an influential figure in the dark electronic scene and a longtime collaborator of the band. His work weaves icy and atmospheric textures into the album's tracks. While meticulously crafted, Wounds captures the visceral energy of Cold in Berlin's renowned live shows. The album's arrangements and raucous sound remain true to the unrelenting intensity and atmosphere of their stage performances - every track retains the sweat, urgency, and immediacy of a band performing in the moment.

Couples Therapy - the split between Philly buds Modern Baseball and Marietta is available re-mastered and on vinyl!

Camp Trash ist das Ergebnis von zwei Freundschaften: 1. Friendship America, die kurzlebige Band aus Sarasota, die von den Brüdern Keegan und Levi Bradford und Bryan Gorman gegründet wurde, und 2. die jahrzehntelange Freundschaft und Zusammenarbeit beim Songwriting zwischen Keegan und Bryan. Nachdem Keegan Florida verlassen hatte, blieben er und Bryan in Kontakt, indem sie an Musik arbeiteten und sich Song-Demos per E-Mail schickten. Obwohl sie in verschiedenen Bundesstaaten lebten, beschlossen die drei Freunde, dass es Zeit war, mit den Songs, die sie geschrieben hatten, ein neues Projekt zu starten. Sie gründeten Camp Trash, ohne einen Plan zu haben, wie sie aufnehmen oder auf Tour gehen würden, nur mit einer Handvoll Songs und der Freude, gemeinsam mit Freunden etwas zu schaffen. Camp Trash unterschrieb 2020 bei Count Your Lucky Stars Records, veröffentlichte 2021 ihre Debüt-EP ,Downtiming" und 2022 ihr erstes Album ,The Long Way, The Slow Way". Ihr neues Album ,Two Hundred Thousand Dollars" wurde von James Palko aufgenommen, produziert und gemischt, von Zach Weeks bei God City Studios gemastert und enthält einen neuen Beitrag von Kyle Meggison (ehemals Worst Party Ever) am Schlagzeug. Die zweite LP der Band ist das Ergebnis jahrelanger Begeisterung für Fountains of Wayne und Guided by Voices und dem Wunsch, kurze, laute und eingängige Songs zu schreiben. Die Songs sind lose miteinander verbundene Charakterskizzen, die unglücklichen Betrügern, Spielern, Sektenmitgliedern und kleinen Gangstern folgen, die von etwas Größerem träumen und sich narrensichere Pläne ausdenken, um dorthin zu gelangen, aber feststellen, dass der Weg dorthin komplizierter ist, als sie sich jemals vorgestellt haben.

First chapter of a futuristic dub experiment series by The 18th Parallel. Geneva based collective invites engineer extraordinaire Roberto Sánchez to revisit 10 scorcher riddims from the Fruits Records vault to craft this inventive modern classic. Reminiscent of the greatest dub albums by King Tubby, Scientist, Prince Jammy, or Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.

Fruits Records presents the first volume of a series of dub albums by Swiss collective The 18th Parallel. Following in the tradition of Jamaican producers who revisited their catalogues in dub versions, such as Bunny Lee and his Aggrovators with King Tubby, Junjo Lawes or Linval Thompson teaming up with Roots Radics and Scientist, or Joe Gibbs and his Professionals with Errol Thompson, Fruits Records is launching a series of dub albums produced by the label's studio band, The 18th Parallel, which will invite different sound engineers to (re)mix the tracks throughout the albums: DUB AVALANCHE. This first volume offers a deep dive into the label's catalogue through ten classic or unreleased riddims revisited by Fruits Records' long-time partner, Spanish sound engineer extraordinaire Roberto Sánchez. The instrumentals are brilliantly performed by The 18th Parallel and punctuated by the voices of legendary artists such as The Viceroys, Lone Ranger, Cornell Campbell, and Dennis Walks, who appear fleetingly before disappearing into clouds of echo. Roberto Sánchez performs ten explosive, creative sound deconstructions, playing with stylistic codes to stimulate our memory and offer a timeless sensory experience.
Like the classics of the genre, the cover art evokes a quirky retro-futuristic imaginary space where, breaking with convention, the talent of Mexican artist Melissa Santamaría is expressed through a striking metaphor of a sonic avalanche.

DUB AVALANCHE VOL. 1 is already establishing itself as a future must-have for fans of uncompromising reggae and dub!

Since first bursting onto the scene with her classic Number One hit singles 'Can The Can' and 'Devil Gate Drive', Suzi Quatro has sold over 50 million records worldwide and is recognized as a true rock 'n' roll legend and feminist icon. Over her 50-year career, Suzi has inspired countless artists from Joan Jett to Debbie Harry and KT Tunstall. She is also known for her role as theLeather Tuscadero in 'Happy Days'. 'A's & B's' is a collection putting the spotlight on her classic '70s singles. Side one is packed with hits including 'The Wild One', 'Devil Gate Drive', '48 Crash' and 'Can The Can', whilst side two showcases the Quatro-penned B-sides which accompanied those iconic rock singles Available on vinyl for the first time, the compilation is remastered from the original master tapes by Phil Kinrade at AIR Mastering, and is pressed on 140g red glitter vinyl with a top-loading sleeve.

None other than Nick Cave helped director John Hillcoat with the screenplay for the movie Lawless, while he also took great care of the movie’s soundtrack. Cave and fellow musician Warren Ellis form the core of The Bootleggers, a country and bluegrass ensemble that welcome a string of guests artist like Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley and Mark Lanegan. The Lawless soundtrack contains cover versions of artists such as Velvet Underground and Captain Beefheart and also features original compositions by Cave/Ellis and the great Willie Nelson. Lawless is a studded movie by director John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition) about a gang of bootleggers in Virginia during the Great Depression. And when we say star-studded, we really mean it: Guy Pierce, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Shia LeBoeuf signed up for the gritty and evocative story about brothers who try to create their own American Dream during Prohibition. Lawless is available as a limited edition edition of 750 numbered copies on smoke coloured vinyl and includes an 8-page booklet with movie pictures and liner notes by Hal Willner and director John Hillcoat.

The Dears have made some of the most beautiful music of the past quarter century, but also some of the most defiant, with an attitude and emphasis that seems to blend the operatic with a punk sensibility. On their new album, "Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!", The Dears are again at the top of their form, coming back with passionate, compassionate, urgent music that uplifts, explores dark corners, and ultimately shines out in a way that's absolutely gorgeous, with an edge.

""Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful!" feels like a new masterpiece and provides further evidence that The Dears are a vital part of the musical landscape, and also just completely doing their own thing, as ever." "If I love The Dears, if you love The Dears, it's because that orchestral, symphonic feel, those gorgeous melodies, are grounded in a gritty, gonna-die-on-this hill mentality and a heady intellectualism." "... my heart skipped a beat from the opening chords of "Gotta Get My Head Right"—a masterpiece of rising tension and killer melodies, layered and precise and yet roving and wild, with changes in the music and the progressions that alter your brain while listening. What follows is an album that's as various and yet as unified as that first track. Few bands can achieve this kind of complexity while also making it seem timeless and so very perfect." "There's no one like The Dears and there never will be, and I really appreciate that so very much." - excerpts from the album bio, written by New York Times bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer

The Dears' 9th studio album, "Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful", pressed on gold vinyl in a limited edition of 1000, will release worldwide 11/7 via Next Door Records.

Calling a Deicide album “more accessible” is kind of like calling a velociraptor less lethal than a T-Rex…you’re gonna die either way. But on 1997’s Serpents of the Light, the fourth album from the Tampa death metal quartet, Glen Benton’s rage-filled imprecations are a little more intelligible and songs like “Slave to the Cross” and “Blame It on God” do sport choruses that verge upon being hooky (if you have a meathook in mind). The anti-religion invective remains unabated, however… this remains music in extremis despite the stripped-down production. For its first-ever standalone U.S. LP release, we’ve remastered Serpents of the Light for vinyl and given it an Orange Smoke pressing complete with an inner sleeve featuring lyrics and a 12” x 24” poster of the cover image. Not for even the faintly faint of heart

Calling a Deicide album “more accessible” is kind of like calling a velociraptor less lethal than a T-Rex…you’re gonna die either way. But on 1997’s Serpents of the Light, the fourth album from the Tampa death metal quartet, Glen Benton’s rage-filled imprecations are a little more intelligible and songs like “Slave to the Cross” and “Blame It on God” do sport choruses that verge upon being hooky (if you have a meathook in mind). The anti-religion invective remains unabated, however… this remains music in extremis despite the stripped-down production. For its first-ever standalone U.S. LP release, we’ve remastered Serpents of the Light for vinyl and given it an Orange Smoke pressing complete with an inner sleeve featuring lyrics and a 12” x 24” poster of the cover image. Not for even the faintly faint of heart

During the past 50 years, tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton has been one of the most consistent jazz artists, always taking thoughtful and swinging solos while displaying a warm tone. His 2004 live recording brought a top-notch quartet to the Jazzclub De Tor, Enschede, the Netherlands. Accompanied by pianist Rein de Graaf, bassplayer Marius Beets and on drums Eric Ineke, Scott Hamilton plays six jazz tracks from the set including "Rhythm Riff", a 12-chorus solo that gradually builds in excitement. Live at De Tor is available as a limited edition on silver coloured vinyl, contains liner notes on back of the sleeve by jazz journalist/author Scott Yanow.

Finding Ways is a new project from Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear).

Sebastian Rochford is a singular force in British music, an extraordinary drummer, composer, and producer. His work with theiconic group Polar Bear helped redefine the boundaries of jazz and earned multiple Mercury Prize nominations. With a careerspanning collaborations with Patti Smith, Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Adele and Grace Jones, and his 2023 ECM duo album A ShortDiary with Kit Downes, an album written for his father described as a “ quiet masterpiece” , Rochford has carved out a uniquespace in contemporary music.Finding Ways, his new major project, marks a bold new chapter for Seb Rochford. The first album focuses on the guitar, featuringamong others, the dynamic lineup of Tara Cunningham, David Preston, Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Simon Tong(The Verve,Gorillaz), exploring various combinations and layering up to three guitars at once. The result is a striking blend of jaggedexperimental grooves and raw emotional depth, with an unaffected, pedal-less sound that evokes a timeless, exploratory edge.Rochford’s music, as ever, defies categorisation—a sound that feels alive, fractured, and profoundly human, and all mixed by thesingular talent and master of sound, Tchad Blake.The title Finding Ways refers to a frame of mind he chose to adopt after multiple significant life events happening in a smallamount of time. "It’s about finding ways to keep ourselves moving forward and buoyant, transforming life’s challenges intosomething meaningful, also in a practical, everyday type of way.In Finding Ways, it’s direct, energetic music that refuses to be boxed in, a reflection of Seb Rochford's trailblazing spirit. For fansof his previous work and newcomers alike, this album is a testament to his ongoing quest to find emotional truth in sound.

Léo Dupleix return to Black Truffle with Round Sky, following the enchanting Resonant Trees (BT119). The composer here performs on analogue synthesizer, harpsichord and spinet as one member of Asterales, a group that brings together four important figures in the international community of musicians working with just intonation: Dupleix, Jon Heilbron (double bass), Rebecca Lane (quarter-tone flute) and Frederik Rasten (guitars). The quartet perform three recent pieces by Dupleix, each of which is like a different view on the same landscape of unruffled calm, where the unique harmonic events made possible by just intonation flicker across melodies and harmonies like light on the surface of water.

The first side is dedicated to ‘Poème d’air’, composed while Dupleix was immersed in the music of 14thcentury ars nova composer-poet Guillaume de Machaut. A sustained study of the ‘sonic possibilities of low-pitched sounds in just intonation’, it begins with a long, rumbling pitch from Heilbron’s bass, soon joined by the organ-like tones of the composer on synthesizer. The piece is made up of cycling sequences of chords, each of which is repeated for several minutes before the music either freezes on a single harmony or silently pauses before the next episode begins. These structures are initially dominated by the bass and synthesizer, with Lane’s pure vibrato-less flute tone and Rasten picked harmonics adding flashes of colour. As the piece develops, flute and guitar become more prominent and the bass climbs to higher registers. The development culminates in a stunning episode around fifteen minutes in where the texture thins out, casting a spotlight on a melodic figure exploiting the uncanny sound of Lane’s quarter-tone flute.

On the second side we are treated to two briefer pieces, closer to the sound of Resonant Trees as they return harpsichord and spinet to the foreground. ‘Ghosts’ centres on a harpsichord melody that slowly expands as it repeats, growing from a haunting six-note cell to a flowing succession of notes whose shape become increasingly difficult to perceive. Alongside this melodic development, an increasingly lush accompaniment grows, with long tones from bass, flute, e-bowed guitar and synthesizer holding notes picked out the harpsichord melody in a swaying harmonic cloud. Dupleix notes that the concluding ‘Round Sky’ was written in the countryside in spring, a circumstance that seems far from irrelevant to the impression the piece makes when its euphonous spinet arpeggios emerge from a gentle synthesizer drone like a flower from a bud. Performed as a duo with Rasten, with both instrumentalists also singing, this title piece exemplifies what makes Dupleix’s music so unique: grounded in a rigorous application of just intonation principles yet as open as Harold Budd or Andrew Chalk to an uncomplicated, intuitive experience of beauty.

Heavyweight psychedelic improvisers EarthBall are back with their third and most monstrous record to date: ‘Outside Over There’, released on Upset The Rhythm (Nov 7th). Born from the haunted basements of Nanaimo, Canada, the quintet thrives on spontaneity, shaping improvisation into jagged hallucinations and ecstatic eruptions.
Recorded live-off-the-floor in 2024 in Jeremy, Izzy, and Kellen’s basement, and mixed by drummer John Brennan, ‘Outside Over There’ is an album that feels both summoned and inevitable. Each track lands with uncanny purpose, as if uncovered rather than written.
The opener, 100%, features a cameo from comedian and English icon Stewart Lee, who lent his blessing for the band to use a fragment of his stand-up. The album was mastered by John Dieterich (Deerhoof), with liner text contributed by longtime comrade John Olson (Wolf Eyes). Olson describes the album in his unmistakable style:
“This eight-track odyssey unfolds like a dreamscape, where whispered incantations brush against the shadowy fringes of the cosmos, and wild, Cézanne-inspired rock anthems erupt like geysers of color in the midst of a western warm and wet rain storm… culminating in the sprawling eleven minute masterpiece, ‘And The Music Shall Untune The Sky,’ aptly dubbed the Earth Crusher. A creation so utterly deconstructed and intertwined with the pulse of nature itself that if AI was called upon to conceive ‘Outside Over There’ anew, it would just spit back, “F.U. in Tree Font”. An enchanting invitation for even the flat-earthers to join the circle, if only just a little.”
EarthBall’s trajectory has been relentless. Their 2024 album ‘It’s Yours’ was praised by The Quietus as “fully aggressive and fully life-affirming,” and by The Wire as "a boisterous mind-melting album”. The band’s live double set LP ‘Actual Earth Music Vol. 1 & 2’ (2025) captured blistering performances: a performance opening for Wolf Eyes at the Fox Cabaret, and a Café OTO improvised throw-down featuring Chris Corsano and Steve Beresford. These releases on their own confirm them as one of Canada’s most vital experimental exports, not to mention the impressive self-released discography on their Bandcamp. The band’s reach has stretched far beyond their west coast roots with a UK tour May 2024, plus this past June, EarthBall closed Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon. This November they will perform at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, with a European tour to follow (tour dates below). Outside of EarthBall, each member carries their own torch. Jeremy Van Wyck, founding member of the legendary Shearing Pinx, has toured extensively, released over 100 records, and has been a vital force in the Vancouver and West Coast underground for the past 25 years. He and Isabel Ford (Izzy) play together not only in EarthBall, but also in Psychedelic Dirt, Shearing Pinx, Behaviours, and Crotch.
John Brennan collaborates widely, including recently with Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich), Evichen (Victoria Shen), Francesco Fonassi, Plan Your Future (with Greg Saunier of Deerhoof), Brennan/Corsano duo and Physics with John Dieterich. Kellen Maclaughlin performs with KVMP and Ora Corgan, while saxophonist Liam Murphy is a west coast staple, playing with the best across Vancouver Island and the mainland. On three of the tracks of ‘Outside Over There’, the band is joined by their comrade Justin Patterson, who also plays with Brennan in the duo Modale. This cross-pollination fuels EarthBall’s sound - a collective improvisation, psychically overdriven, and grinding into bloom.
Outside Over There’ is more than an album though, it is a ritual, a gathering of sound at the forest’s edge; where feedback, saxophone screams, and ecstatic vocals dissolve the boundary between chaos and clarity. EarthBall invite you into their circle, to share in the joyful terror of spontaneous creation. ‘Outside Over There’ will be released on November 7th through Upset The Rhythm digitally and as a limited blue-in-black vinyl LP.

"The Archer" is the second studio album by American musician Alexandra Savior. It was released on January 10, 2020 through 30th Century Records. "The Archer" was produced by Sam Cohen, often known as a fan of collaboration. On working with Savior, Cohen says, "It's really a joy to work with someone who's got such a strong sense of melody and also such a strong sense of what she wants stylistically." Savior's debut record, "Belladonna of Sadness", was written in collaboration with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and NME says, "Savior continues to build on that bold arrival and is becoming a star in her own right." "The Archer" shows that not only does her voice stand alone, but that her musicality stands alone, too.

The Klezmaticsare thrilled to announce the re-issue of their seminal 1990 album, "Rhythm & Jews Revisited", set for release on limited-edition vinyl LP pressed on Bio Vinyl. In 2026, The Klezmatics will be celebrating their 40th anniversary. This milestone will include the re-issue of many of their landmark recordings which will include previously unpublished material. Originally released in the pre-digital era, this groundbreaking album never made its way to modern platforms, until now. The re-issue features alternate versions of the album"s iconic tracks, unearthed from recently discovered master files, offering fans and new listeners alike a fresh perspective on this klezmer masterpiece.

Puhdys - Live im Musikladen 1977 & mehr: Die frühen West-Auftritte Mitte der 1970er Jahre wagten die Puhdys erste Schritte über die Grenzen der DDR hinaus. 1974 spielten sie in Belgien, 1975 folgten Auftritte in niederländischen Diskotheken. 1976 standen sie beim Festival in Turku (Finnland) sogar mit Chuck Berry auf der Bühne und traten erstmals in der Bundesrepublik auf - beim "Fest der Jugend" in Dortmund. Ein besonderer Meilenstein war die Einladung zur Sendung "Musikladen Extra" im Februar 1977. Die Aufzeichnung in den Studios von Radio Bremen zeigte die Band ungewohnt locker und spontan - ganz anders als bei den streng durchgeplanten DDR-TV-Produktionen. Dieter "Maschine" Birr erinnert sich lebhaft an die entspannte Atmosphäre und die Gastfreundschaft von Produzent Mike Leckebusch. Diese Veröffentlichung dokumentiert die frühen West-Auftritte der Puhdys mit Originalmaterial aus dem "Musikladen" und weiteren seltenen Archivaufnahmen. Sie zeigt eindrucksvoll, wie die Band ihren Weg in die westliche Musiklandschaft fand - lange bevor sie mit über 22 Millionen verkauften Tonträgern und mehr als 4.000 Konzerten zur festen Größe der deutschen Rockgeschichte wurde.

SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. Their second album, How You Been, finds the supergroup of prolific composer/producers pushing ever further into the hyperrealist, collectivist approach to music creation nascently explored on their debut Small Medium Large, which was lauded as "awe-inspiring" by Glide, "exuberant" by the Los Angeles Times, and "an exciting milestone" by Pitchfork. As SML has evolved and spread out in space-time, their fluencies, both as an improvising unit in performance and as a production team in the studio, have sharpened. At inception the band inspired disparate but distinctive artist comparisons like Essential Logic, Oval, Herbie Hancock"s Sextant, and electric Miles Davis, as well as assorted genre touchpoints like Afrobeat, kosmiche, proto-techno and new-jazz. With How You Been their work manages to both collapse and explode such derivatives, displaying a new, high resolution version of SML, fully-flowered into a new strain of sound, bound to incite its own copycats in due time.

When Straight Ahead hit the shelves in 1974, it marked another bold chapter for Brian Auger"s Oblivion Express. The band - Steve Ferrone on drums, Barry Dean on bass, Jack Mills on guitar, and Lennox Langton on congas - was firing on all cylinders, pushing jazz fusion into fresh, uncharted territory. Critics took notice, with Billboard praising the album as "excellent in development and inventiveness", and it found its way onto multiple charts at once.

A Single Woman was reissued in 2006, adding seven of those performances left behind. Now, four more previously unissued recordings from those sessions have been added to create A Single Woman: The Complete Elektra Recordings—21 tracks on CD and double-LP. Newly remastered, this collection also contains new liner notes from the British Ambassador of Soul, David Nathan, outlining both the recording of the album, but also recounting his nearly three-decade relationship with Dr. Simone—beginning when he formed the UK Nina Simone Appreciation Society in 1965. Experience this icon’s final studio recordings in the most comprehensive way with A Single Woman: The Complete Elektra Rcordings.

Official 12" reissue of Freex Machine's sought-after discoid-funk burner. Two underground groove-led gems recorded and released in 1979 on the New York indie-label Starbase Sounds. The Freex Machine hailed from Corona, Queens and had emerged as an extension of the group Hooker, a teenage band of musicians that started performing together in the early 70s, earning a respected reputation locally. Whilst a handful of singles were released under various monikers, including Aura and Stars, the band's distinct New York-centric live funk sound remained consistent.

Originally released in 1973 and pressed in very small quantities, Emerge is the second album by the McCrary family and their non-gospel debut. Long sought after by collectors and modern-soul and funk connoisseurs, it's an exemplar of what was considered "progressive soul" in the early 70s as well as what emerged a generation later as "neo-soul." This long-overdue reissue was produced with the full cooperation of the McCrary family and gives this remarkable record wide distribution and easy accessibility for the very first time since its initial low-key release over half a century ago. The McCrary family started out as a gospel group in their native Youngstown, Ohio but turned to secular music upon relocating to Los Angeles in 1970 and recording this album for the tiny Cat’s Eye label of Beverly Hills. The music veers between sophisticated, jazzy R&B (Charity McCrary’s beautiful “Matter Of Time”) to occasionally grittier funk (as on “Kung Fu”). “Be A Father To Your Son” and “People Run On Love” bear messages that are still relevant decades later. The McCrarys would later gain wider recognition with their hit “You” featuring Stevie on harmonica and with “Any Old Sunday” which was memorably covered by Chaka Khan.

Muito Kaballa return in style with a refined modern sound on "Tomorrow A Flower" for the London-based imprint Batov Records, blending indie pop, soul, hip hop, jazz, Brazilian rhythms, and West African grooves.

Sometimes there are discoveries that hit like thunderbolts! Matt Pascale & The Stomps are undoubtedly one of them-and a major one at that. Everything here is simply perfect. Musically, the backbone of this album remains blues, but rock, funk, soul, and even hip-hop are never far off. The compositions flow like a string of potential hits. It only takes listening to this album once or twice for certain melodies to lodge themselves firmly in your brain. As for the performance, it"s downright incredible. Matt Pascale has a raspy voice with a "more Italian you couldn"t get" vibe, his guitar playing is a sheer marvel of precision and feel, and The Stomps are a rhythmic and groovy powerhouse capable of waking the dead. Un-be-lie-va-ble!

"A Few We Remember" is the new album by Jonah Parzen-Johnson and Lau Nau. The recording debut for the new duo of Finnish composer Lau Nau, aka Laura Naukkarinen, and American baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson, it cycles between moments of knotty ambience, whispered melody, and innocent tinkering, as the duo improvises over 8 narrative scores composed by Parzen-Johnson.

The long-awaited analog release of “ODDTAXI” by Skirt and PUNPEE, the opening theme of the TV anime "ODDTAXI" is finally here!

■Skirt
Skirt is a self-described “unhealthy pop” band known for its refreshingly light yet slightly shadowed songwriting and band ensemble, earning widespread
acclaim across professions, genders, and age groups.
The project began in 2006 as the solo multi-track recording endeavor of Wataru Sawabe. In 2010, he launched his own label, Kaczka Sound, and released
his first album ""S-O-S,"" marking the true beginning of Skirt’s full-fledged musical journey.
In April 2021, Skirt collaborated with PUNPEE on the opening theme "ODDTAXI" for the anime "ODDTAXI". Drawing from his extensive knowledge of
comedy, Sawabe served as a judge for the finals of the UNDER 25 OWARAI CHAMPIONSHIP—a comedy competition for performers under 25—in
September 2023, and also wrote the event’s official theme song, "Kitai to Yokan"
In addition, he has contributed music to numerous animated works, films, and TV dramas. His exceptional songwriting skills have led him to write songs
for a range of artists including Takashi Fujii, Kaede (Negicco), Toko Miura, and adieu (Moka Kamishiraishi).
As a versatile multi-instrumentalist, Sawabe has also participated in live performances and recordings with artists he deeply admires, such as Spitz,
Makoto Kawamoto, and Moonriders. Skirt continues to attract attention as both a band and the project of a wonderfully talented, genre-defying
singer-songwriter.

■PUNPEE
Active as both a rapper and producer, PUNPEE has released acclaimed albums such as "MODERN TIMES" and "The Sofakingdom"" His diverse body
of work includes contributions to a Red Bull TV commercial, the opening theme for the TBS show "Wednesday's Downtown" a remix of Hikaru Utada’s
"Hikari -Ray of Hope MIX-" and the track "Time Machine ni Notte / Kazoku no Fukei" for the Sotetsu–Tokyu through line commemorative short film.
But of course, what truly matters—is what comes next. P

Ulver geben heute bekannt, dass ihr klassisches Promo-Tape aus dem Jahr 1993 auf Peaceville Records neu aufgelegt wird. 2023 markiert dreißig Jahre seit der Aufnahme und die Platte zeigt Ulvers Black-Metal-Wurzeln, bevor die Band begann, sich außerhalb der Grenzen des Genres zu entwickeln.

Weithin bekannt für hochkarätige Klanglandschaften und exquisite experimentelle und elektronische Kunst als Teil ihrer kontinuierlichen und sich ständig verändernden Entwicklung, verschmolzen Ulver's Anfänge ätherischen Black Metal mit zarten Folk-inspirierten Passagen. Trotz der rauen Kanten sticht das Material der Band mit seinen höchst unkonventionellen Kompositionen im Vergleich zu den primitiveren und roheren Angeboten anderer schnell aufstrebender Acts in der norwegischen Szene jener Zeit hervor.

Vargnatt war Ulvers erster Ausflug in die Wildnis und ein außergewöhnliches Debüt-Demo, das das verwendete, was zu einem Grundelement ihrer legendären Trilogie (Bergtatt, Kveldssanger und Nattens Madrigal) werden sollte, nämlich akustische Gitarren inmitten melodischer und oft komplexer und verworrener Arrangements, die mit einem bereits fortgeschrittenen Grad an Musikalität gezaubert und vorgetragen wurden, mit dem unheimlichen Gesang des langjährigen Frontmanns Kristoffer Garm" Rygg. Zu dieser frühen Inkarnation von Ulver gehörten auch Carl-Michael Eide von Aura Noir / Ved Buens Ende am Schlagzeug sowie Robin "Mean" Malmberg (von den norwegischen Pionieren Mysticum) am Bass.

Das auf dieser Platte enthaltene Audiomaterial besteht aus Originalmaterial, das vom Original-DAT stammt. Die Veröffentlichung enthält außerdem den Bonustrack "Vargnatt", der 1993 live bei Bootleg TV in Oslo aufgenommen wurde und aus der Nationalbibliothek Norwegens stammt.

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg äußerte sich wie folgt zu der Wiederveröffentlichung:
Das ist das erste, was wir als Ulver aufgenommen haben. Wikipedia sagt, es sei unser zweites Demo, aber es ist unser erstes und einziges. Stovner, Oslo, 1993, zwei-drei Tage, wham, bam, thank you mam, mit sehr wenig oder gar keiner Erfahrung. Wir waren Kinder, 17-19 Jahre alt, und haben das Wasser getestet. Abgesehen vom Gesang und einigen merkwürdigen musikalischen Entscheidungen muss ich sagen, dass ich mich heute weit weniger dafür schäme, als ich es wahrscheinlich in den Neunzigern tat, und ich muss darüber lächeln, dass diese Aufnahme 30 Jahre später immer noch aktuell ist. Es erfüllt mich mit Freude (und etwas Traurigkeit), die verrückten Launen und Dinge, die wir erlebt haben, in relativ unberührter Form wiederzuhören. Peaceville, der Hauptlieferant vieler unserer Lieblingsplatten von damals, leistet hervorragende Arbeit bei der Wiederveröffentlichung einiger dieser alten Underground-Tapes. Also, nach ein paar limitierten Auflagen, "warum zum Teufel nicht", oder? (Kristoffer Rygg, Ulver)
Tracklisting

Musikalisch schwebt das Gespenst von Leonard Cohen aus seiner mittleren Schaffensphase über dem Album, und die Band räumt ein, dass dies eine wichtige Inspiration war – „das ist der wichtigste Maßstab – die Art von dystopischen Songs, die er mit einer satirischen Haltung schrieb, trugen dazu bei, den düsteren politischen Ton dieses Albums zu prägen“ – Alexi.

Endlich das erste Soloalbum des bayrischen Experimental-Volksmusikers und Frontmanns der hochgelobten "Kofelgschroa" ist wieder lieferbar. Maxi Pongratz - der bayrische Texter und Liederschreiber der Band "Kofelgschroa" - ist mit diesem Album nun endlich auch solo unterwegs. Nach den drei erfolgreichen Alben mit seiner 4-köpfige Kapelle und ihrer ganz eigenen Version traditioneller Blasmusik, geht Maxi Pongratz nun eine Zeitlang eigener Wege: Mit seinem ureigenen Akkordeonspiel und Liedern, die uns laut auflachen lassen, solange, bis uns das Lachen auch mal gehörig im Halse stecken bleibt, die mehr als nur zwei Ebenen haben, in der die heile Welt Risse kriegt und die, das ist entscheidend, dem Schmunzeln und Augenzwinkern, der leisen und auch der lauten Ironie ihren Raum geben. Kaum ein anderes Bundesland hat eine so starke Tradition der anarchistisch gegen den Strich gebürsteten Volksmusik hervorgebracht wie Bayern; wo sonst wird so kritisch, politisch, witzig und laut geschrammelt, gestampft und gesungen? Ganz in dieser Traditionslinie der Zick-Zack-Gänger und Querschläger stehend, hatte es nicht umsonst bereits über die Texte von "Kofelgschroa" geheißen, sie seien dadaistisch-valentinesk. Das setzt Maxi Pongratz auf seiner ersten Soloplatte nun noch eins drauf. Mit seinem Akkordeon oder dem Klavier lässt er diese Texte in schnellen Schritten springen, plötzlich stocken oder schleppt und schuppst sie hinter und vor sich her. Das ist authentisch und rau, laut und lustig und nicht zuletzt auch ziemlich schlau.