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COLLECTING ORDERS FOR REPRESS

With a name that evokes experimentation and defiance of the mainstream, Laboratoire Obsolète is more than just a record label it´s a creative laboratory where sounds alchemist can craft groundbreaking compositions, redefining the very essence of music.

Repress on neon magenta vinyl, limited to 200 copies. Portland, Oregon based quartet Hippie Death Cult present their sophomore album "Circle Of Days". An album that serves as a musical bridge to their critically acclaimed debut "111", while being a fresh exploration of sound and vision. "Circle Of Days" is a pensive reflection of frustration and hope, experienced as we evolve from the confinements of self indulgence and into a more altruistic mindset. Listeners new to HDC can expect to hear a band that feels familiar yet also unique. Hippie Death Cult are a group with their own musical identity. One that manages to be influenced by great rock and metal bands of the past while not becoming a blueprint of them.

Die internationale Rocksensation The Hives, die beste Liveband der Welt und immer noch eure neue Lieblingsband, hat wieder einmal, schneller als erwartet, ein neues Werk geschaffen, wie man es noch nie gehört hat und wahrscheinlich auch nie wieder hören wird. Ihr siebtes Album 'The Hives Forever Forever The Hives' erscheint am 29. August auf dem ehrwürdigen Label Play It Again Sam. Ein neues Album voller Energie, Freude, Wut und Leben! Jeder einzelne Song eine Single, jede einzelne Single ein Hit, jeder Hit ein Volltreffer mitten ins Gesicht. Diese neue Meisterwerk entstand unter der Leitung des langjährigen Kollaborateurs Pelle Gunnerfeldt in Stockholm. Mike D von den legendären Beastie Boys ist als Gast vertreten und auch Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) stand mit Rat und Tat zur Seite.

The Hives, bestehend aus Howlin’ Pelle, Chris Dangerous, The Johan And Only, Nicholaus Arson und Vigilante Carlstroem, haben sich in über dreißig Jahren in die Annalen der Rockgeschichte eingeschrieben. Dank ihrer Erfolge füllten sie große Stadien und teilten die Bühne mit so monumentalen Acts wie AC/DC und den Rolling Stones. Die BBC bezeichnete sie als „Naturgewalt“, und der Rolling Stone kürte ihr Album 'Veni Vidi Vicious' zu einem der 100 besten Alben des Jahrzehnts. Mit Millionen verkaufter Alben, Platin-Auszeichnungen und zahlreichen Preisen - Grammys, MTV Awards, NME Awards - gelten sie als Titanen der Musikwelt. Oder wie Joe Strummer es gesagt hat: The Hives haben den Rock ’n’ Roll gerettet!

With »News from Planet Zombie«, The Notwist return to view after years of exploration and experiment with an album rich in both melancholy and positivity, sketched across a suite of thrilling, fiercely committed pop songs. It’s an album reflecting a chaotic world, but responding with warmth and generosity, to achieve creative and spiritual consolidation. Recorded in their home base of Munich, it reconnects with the security of the local to explore the troubles of the global: a guiding impulse writ large across this album’s eleven songs. It’s also the first studio album since 1995’s »12« that the entire band recorded together in the studio in its expanded live formation.

A new album by The Notwist is always a curious endeavour; their musical language is as consistent and resilient as the contexts for creativity are unpredictable and ever shifting. For »News from Planet Zombie«, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck embraced the plural possibilities of writing together, bringing songs to the collective and then arranging, rehearsing and recording that material live, in the studio.

The result is an album that’s energised, fully in ›the now‹, with spectacular moments where you can hear the magic bubbling up in the dynamic between the Achers, Beck, and fellow members Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl. If »Teeth« begins »News from Planet Zombie« quietly and reflectively, by »X-Ray« everyone’s supercharged, blasting out future anthems with the collective energy cranked up high. The chiming keys of »Propeller« skim the instrumental’s surface like stones across burbling water; »The Turning« clangs its way into one of the album’s most heartwarming melodies.

»News from Planet Zombie« was recorded over one week at Import Export, a non-profit space for arts and music. You can tell, too; there are some pleasingly rough edges here, as though The Notwist’s striving for hazy perfection means they’re also confident enough to let the songs breathe and mutate between our ears. That openness to chance also takes in guest turns from friends both local and international, reflective of a cosmopolitan Munich: Enid Valu joins in on vocals, while Haruka Yoshizawa guests on taishōgoto and harmonium, Tianping Christoph Xiao on clarinet, and Mathias Götz on trombone.

The Notwist aren’t best known for cover versions, but »News from Planet Zombie« features two: a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s »Red Sun« (from 2000’s »Silver & Gold«), which the group originally developed for a theatre play directed by Jette Steckel, and a take on Athens, Georgia folk-pop gang Lovers’ »How the Story Ends«. They slot into the album’s narrative perfectly, nestling in like old friends, revealing The Notwist as poetic interpreters. Played well, the cover version is both acknowledgement of fellow travellers and act of generosity, and The Notwist nail both aspects here.

And that narrative, the way the album plays out? »News from Planet Zombie« acknowledges the distress of our current geopolitical impasse, while reminding us there are collective ways forward. Fed through the figure of the zombie, Markus Acher explores our anxieties: »In the title and some lyrics I reference B- and horror-movies, which is a reference to the crazy world at the moment, which seems to be like a really bad and unrealistic B-movie.« But there’s a reminder here not to lose the thread entirely, that these things, too, will pass.

»The river here in Munich I often go to has been there forever and will be there long after us,« Acher reflects, pinpointing an important source of succour for him, »always the same but always changing. Very calming, but also always reminding me that like this river time only flows into one direction and you can’t go back. Every moment is very precious.«

Artwork by Marie Vermont

The Notwist:
Markus Acher: vocals, guitar
Micha Acher: bass, sousaphone, euphonium, trumpet
Cico Beck: electronics, keyboards, guitar, recorder, percussion
Theresa Loibl: bassclarinet, clarinet, piano, harmonium, organ
Max Punktezahl: guitar
Karl Ivar Refseth: marimbaphone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, percussion
Andi Haberl: drums, dulcimer
+
Enid Valu: vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Haruka Yoshizawa: taishōgoto on 6, harmonium on 9, 10, 11
Tianping Christoph Xiao: clarinet on 4, 10, 11
Mathias Götz: trombone on 4, 10, 11

With »News from Planet Zombie«, The Notwist return to view after years of exploration and experiment with an album rich in both melancholy and positivity, sketched across a suite of thrilling, fiercely committed pop songs. It’s an album reflecting a chaotic world, but responding with warmth and generosity, to achieve creative and spiritual consolidation. Recorded in their home base of Munich, it reconnects with the security of the local to explore the troubles of the global: a guiding impulse writ large across this album’s eleven songs. It’s also the first studio album since 1995’s »12« that the entire band recorded together in the studio in its expanded live formation.

A new album by The Notwist is always a curious endeavour; their musical language is as consistent and resilient as the contexts for creativity are unpredictable and ever shifting. For »News from Planet Zombie«, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck embraced the plural possibilities of writing together, bringing songs to the collective and then arranging, rehearsing and recording that material live, in the studio.

The result is an album that’s energised, fully in ›the now‹, with spectacular moments where you can hear the magic bubbling up in the dynamic between the Achers, Beck, and fellow members Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl. If »Teeth« begins »News from Planet Zombie« quietly and reflectively, by »X-Ray« everyone’s supercharged, blasting out future anthems with the collective energy cranked up high. The chiming keys of »Propeller« skim the instrumental’s surface like stones across burbling water; »The Turning« clangs its way into one of the album’s most heartwarming melodies.

»News from Planet Zombie« was recorded over one week at Import Export, a non-profit space for arts and music. You can tell, too; there are some pleasingly rough edges here, as though The Notwist’s striving for hazy perfection means they’re also confident enough to let the songs breathe and mutate between our ears. That openness to chance also takes in guest turns from friends both local and international, reflective of a cosmopolitan Munich: Enid Valu joins in on vocals, while Haruka Yoshizawa guests on taishōgoto and harmonium, Tianping Christoph Xiao on clarinet, and Mathias Götz on trombone.

The Notwist aren’t best known for cover versions, but »News from Planet Zombie« features two: a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s »Red Sun« (from 2000’s »Silver & Gold«), which the group originally developed for a theatre play directed by Jette Steckel, and a take on Athens, Georgia folk-pop gang Lovers’ »How the Story Ends«. They slot into the album’s narrative perfectly, nestling in like old friends, revealing The Notwist as poetic interpreters. Played well, the cover version is both acknowledgement of fellow travellers and act of generosity, and The Notwist nail both aspects here.

And that narrative, the way the album plays out? »News from Planet Zombie« acknowledges the distress of our current geopolitical impasse, while reminding us there are collective ways forward. Fed through the figure of the zombie, Markus Acher explores our anxieties: »In the title and some lyrics I reference B- and horror-movies, which is a reference to the crazy world at the moment, which seems to be like a really bad and unrealistic B-movie.« But there’s a reminder here not to lose the thread entirely, that these things, too, will pass.

»The river here in Munich I often go to has been there forever and will be there long after us,« Acher reflects, pinpointing an important source of succour for him, »always the same but always changing. Very calming, but also always reminding me that like this river time only flows into one direction and you can’t go back. Every moment is very precious.«

Artwork by Marie Vermont

The Notwist:
Markus Acher: vocals, guitar
Micha Acher: bass, sousaphone, euphonium, trumpet
Cico Beck: electronics, keyboards, guitar, recorder, percussion
Theresa Loibl: bassclarinet, clarinet, piano, harmonium, organ
Max Punktezahl: guitar
Karl Ivar Refseth: marimbaphone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, percussion
Andi Haberl: drums, dulcimer
+
Enid Valu: vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Haruka Yoshizawa: taishōgoto on 6, harmonium on 9, 10, 11
Tianping Christoph Xiao: clarinet on 4, 10, 11
Mathias Götz: trombone on 4, 10, 11

In 1962, Black Music was making its transition from R&B to soul and the Chicago music industry was exploding, producing thousands of records and dozens of new labels. The two biggest black labels Vee-Jay and Chess led in the creation of the distinctive, smooth, Chicago soul brand with names familiar and not so familiar: the former with Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler and the latter with Mitty Collier, Etta James and Billy Stewart. And yet it's the smaller labels that make up the bulk of the Chicago story: Hawk with Geraldine Taylor, Lu-Cee with Roberta, M-Pac with Dorothy Prince and it's here that we explore some of the finest sounds of the era in this collection. Extensive liner notes written by Robert Pruter, author of the acclaimed 'Chicago Soul'. Side One. 1. The Town I Live In - McKinley Mitchell 2. I'm The One Who Loves You - The Impressions 3. Shake A Tail Feather - The Five Du-Tones 4. Mama Didn't Lie - Jan Bradley 5. Make It Easy On Yourself - Jerry Butler 6. Seven Day Fool - Etta James 7. The Blues Don't Like Nobody - Tony Adams 8. I've Got To Get Away From It All - Mitty Collier 9. How Much Longer - Geraldine Taylor 10. I'm On The Prowl - Roberta. Side Two: 1. Fat Boy - Billy Stewart 2. Can't Take No More - Ted Taylor 3. I Don't Want To Suffer - Walter Jackson 4. Open Your Heart - Sugar Pie DeSanto 5. Shook Up Over You - Dee Clark 6. Something's Got A Hold On Me - Etta James 7. Why Not Tonight - Dorothy Prince 8. Delilah - Major Lance 9. Money In My Pocket - Moss Tolbert

Dusty Springfield hosted this impromptu TV special to promote the Tamla Motown artists that were taking part in their first ever European tour in 1965. Motown sent over their six premier - The Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha & The Vandellas were all backed by the Motown house band, The Earl Van Dyke Sextet. Dusty was a huge Motown fan and was keen to play her part in bringing the acts to a wider audience. The Beatles and the Stones also went out of their way to give Motown a mention in their interviews. Remember, Motown had only just launched its label in Europe earlier that year and the artists were known only to a small number of soul aficionados, so ticket sales for the tour were very poor. Mary Wilson recalls that the acts referred to it as the ghost tour, but they all put a performance for this fabulous TV show.

When Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018 we lost the Queen of Soul, acknowledged as the foremost female singer of her generation, someone who sold over 75 million records in her glittering career. The sadness that so many soul fans felt at that time was most acute knowing that we would never hear her beautiful voice on any new recordings. So it is with great pleasure that we present a live set from Aretha never before heard on a commercial CD. And it is with pride that we can say that the recordings, made in a TV studio in Cologne during her first European tour in 1968, are smack in the middle of soul’s Golden Age. The musical quality - the great artist at her peak – is so high that this issue can only enhance her reputation. This is prime Aretha Franklin – and soul music doesn’t get much better than this. Notes by John Ridley.

Headline: Alexis Taylor von Hot Chip setzt seine Soloreise fort.

Alexis Taylor zählt zu den markantesten Singer-Songwritern des UK, der mit seiner unverwechselbaren Stimme ein beachtliches Solowerk geschaffen hat. "Paris In The Spring" ist sein bisher persönlichstes Album, das individuelle wie auch universelle Gefühle offenbart. Die Texte scheuen sich nicht vor eindringlichen Themen, doch musikalisch präsentiert sich die LP unbeschwert, beschwingt und zeitgemäß, mit eleganten Disco-House-Elementen, sinnlichen Basslinien und von Vangelis inspirierten Klanglandschaften.

Taylor hat für diese lebendige Klangwelt namhafte Künstler ins Boot geholt, darunter Nicolas Godin (Air), The Avalanches, Lola Kirke, Oli Bayston, Étienne de Crécy, Elizabeth White (Pale Blue) und Green Gartside (Scritti Politti). In dieser Welt trifft ein intimer Country-Stil auf die eingängige Popmelodie von Paul McCartney, den futuristischen Funk von Sly & The Family Stone und, so Taylor, "Synthesizer, die im Regen stehen gelassen wurden". Hier verschmelzen britisches Americana und französisches Flair – irgendwo auf dem Mars. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album über die Freiheit von Zwängen, von Vorurteilen, von Genregrenzen. Taylor experimentiert mit verschiedensten Musikstilen – Country, Folk, Disco – und hat sie zu etwas Einzigartigem verwoben.

"No Regrets" wurde 2003 veröffentlicht und ist das vierte Album der schwedischen Hardrock-Band Hardcore Superstar. Das Album setzt ihre charakteristische Mischung aus Sleaze-Rock, Glam-Metal und Punk-Energie fort und liefert eine Sammlung von rohen und hochoktanigen Tracks.

Herausragende Songs wie "Still I'm Glad", "Honey Tongue" und "No Regrets" zeigen das Gespür der Band für ansteckende Melodien, düstere Gitarrenriffs und rebellische Attitüde. Während sie ihren unverkennbaren Sound beibehalten, ist das Album im Vergleich zu seinem Vorgänger etwas härter und düsterer ausgefallen.

Obwohl "No Regrets" ihr letztes Album vor einer kurzen stilistischen Veränderung war, bleibt es ein Fan-Favorit und ein wesentlicher Teil der Entwicklung von Hardcore Superstar. Vollgepackt mit Attitüde und hymnischen Hooks festigte das Album ihren Ruf als eine der führenden schwedischen Hardrockbands, die Fans von Sleaze und Classic Rock gleichermaßen anspricht.

"No Regrets" ist in einer limitierten Auflage von 666 einzeln nummerierten Exemplaren auf Translucent Red Vinyl erhältlich

For here lies one of the most influential bands in the realm of gothic metal, a group with doom and death metal roots that has flourished for over three decades, boasting thirteen albums that have garnered devoted acclaim. This injustice is now being set right by The Circle Music , beginning with the vinyl release of the classic album "Burning: A Wish", which emerged twenty-four years ago. "Burning: A Wish", released in the twilight of the year 2001, stands as a dark reliquary of dreams lost to the velvet fog of melancholy. To revisit it now, two dozen years later, is to unseal a time capsule of gothic ache, doom- laced longing, and the tormented tenderness that only Lacrimas Profundere could conjure at their creative height. It was a candle-lit corridor between worlds. A slow fall into velvet shadows. A scream muffled by rain.

By the time "Burning: A Wish" was released, Lacrimas Profundere had already begun to evolve from their early death- doom origins, shaping their identity with the sophistication of seasoned mourners. The death growls had receded, replaced by the haunted, baritone croon of Christopher Schmid, whose voice is an echo from a chapel ruined by time. Yet, while the growls faded, the emotional gravitas remained intact, transmuted into melody, into baroque gloom, into something more sorrowfully refined. Produced with lush, theatrical clarity, the album never drowns in its own atmosphere, it breathes with it, moves with it. The soundscape is dominated by somber guitar textures, languid tempos, and subtle orchestral touches. From the very first notes, it is clear that this is music for ruined lovers and moon-drenched graveyards.

This is the hallmark of Lacrimas Profundere 's style: an emotional minimalism that does not explain or elaborate, but merely opens wounds and lets them breathe. That this album has remained, until now, absent from the warm embrace of vinyl is both tragic and oddly poetic. For what format better suits a record such as this than the one that cracks and hisses like an old seance? Vinyl is tactile, intimate. It requires attention, reverence. To place Burning: A Wish on a turntable is to light a candle in the dark.

The Golden Age of southern soul lasted from about 1962 to 1975, when disco ripped the heart out of it. And although it may seem as though the blend of country, gospel and R & B that emerged from the great studios in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in that decade was entirely fresh and new, like any other genre classic, southern soul picked up musical cues and absorbed influences from a whole variety of sources: horn lines from Louisiana's swamp pop, lyrical themes from the blues, songs from country music, and of course so, so much from the black churches. Part of the 'History of Soul' series, this LP reveals the musical antecedents that gave southern soul its inspiration. The music here will tell you the real story - and it will knock your socks off too! Notes by John Ridley.

Rotating Irish/international collective United Bible Studies (UBS) releases its 28th album, Strange is the Coastline, this Autumn (CD on Talking Elephant Records / LP on Hobby- Horse).
The album is preceded by the single ‘In The Arms of Lewes’ which was available on all digital platforms from 14th August.
'Strange Is The Coastline' is a collection of original folk-rock songs written by current core members David Colohan (co-founder of UBS) and Alison O’Donnell (Mellow Candle) in the company of multi-instrumentalist Steven Collins (The Owl Service). Melding and meshing classic folk, contemporary pop, and passionate tune-smithery in an inspiringly complementary way; disparate, yet delightfully cohesive, with themes of Albion myth and legend to Victorian-era murder ballads via tales of chilling contemporary stalkerss, and climate chaos.
United Bible Studies was formed in 2001 and over the last couple of decades has been home to a head-spinning array of performers in an ever-evolving merry-go-round of studio and live personnel. Drawing on the broadest community of musicians, the band have created an impressive catalogue of 28 albums of studio and live recordings.
Standard weight black vinyl LP in picture sleeve with lyric booklet. 300 copies for the World.

“...teems with bushy-tailed folk-rock about Albion and Ireland, as well as brutal, bracing songs about singer Alison O’Donnell’s experiences with a former stalker, such as the startling You Often Hid”. (THE GUARDIAN)

MF Robots return with a euphoric blend of Afro-soul-funk, delivering a release brimming with optimism, tight vocals, and the inescapable grooves that have become their signature. This album is a celebration of life, love, and musical joy, radiating positivity from start to finish.


Co-founder Jan Kincaid describes the track Glide as “a celebration of the unfolding of a love story.” From its romantic, reflective instrumental introduction to the soulfully upbeat opening bars, the listener is immediately swept into a journey.

True to MF Robots’ style, the track is joyful and celebratory, yet it pushes further—exploring the path love takes over time, and how, when it works, we can glide through life’s challenges with the right person by our side.


The album’s vibe is exuberant and full of energy, paying homage to soulful greats while adding a modern twist. There’s a subtle nod to legends like Earth, Wind & Fire, but what truly shines through is the sense of fun—the feeling that MF Robots are having an absolute ball singing, playing, and creating music that moves both body and soul.

MF Robots return with a euphoric blend of Afro-soul-funk, delivering a release brimming with optimism, tight vocals, and the inescapable grooves that have become their signature. This album is a celebration of life, love, and musical joy, radiating positivity from start to finish.


Co-founder Jan Kincaid describes the track Glide as “a celebration of the unfolding of a love story.” From its romantic, reflective instrumental introduction to the soulfully upbeat opening bars, the listener is immediately swept into a journey.

True to MF Robots’ style, the track is joyful and celebratory, yet it pushes further—exploring the path love takes over time, and how, when it works, we can glide through life’s challenges with the right person by our side.


The album’s vibe is exuberant and full of energy, paying homage to soulful greats while adding a modern twist. There’s a subtle nod to legends like Earth, Wind & Fire, but what truly shines through is the sense of fun—the feeling that MF Robots are having an absolute ball singing, playing, and creating music that moves both body and soul.

Zwei Plattenspieler und ein Mikrofon. In der Klarheit dieser einfachen Schlussformel liegt eine Wahrheit - eine Wahrheit, die zugleich erahnen lässt, wie groß die Möglichkeiten innerhalb dieser Grenzen sind. Manchmal muss man daran erinnert werden.I Guess U Had To Be There, das neue Album des New Yorker Rappers ELUCID und des erfahrenen Produzenten Sebb Bash, ist genau so ein Fall. So frisch, als wäre es morgen entstanden - und doch kann man darauf wetten, dass man es auch 1989 hätte auflegen können und sofort alle Köpfe mitgenickt hätten.Es gibt Momente in der Musik, in denen Meister ihres Fachs sich auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer jeweiligen Schaffenskraft begegnen - Alben wie Madvillainy, Liquid Swords, Dr. Octagonecologyst oder Hell Hath No Fury -, bei denen das Ergebnis mehr ist als die Summe seiner Teile. ELUCID und Sebb Bash bewegen sich auf I Guess U Had To Be There genau in dieser berauschenden, scheinbar mühelosen Sphäre.Alles wirkt zugleich vertraut und bahnbrechend. Die Beats verschieben und wenden sich unter ELUCIDs Füßen, doch er balanciert sie wie auf einem Drahtseil - seine Performance so beweglich wie die einer Bergziege, Produzent und Rapper in perfekter Synchronität. Einige leuchtende Stars haben unvergessliche Gastauftritte: billy woods, Breezly Brewin, Estee Nack und Shabaka Hutchings. Doch im Kern ist dies eine Zwei-Mann-Show, und das Duo hält den Fokus genau dort, wo er hingehört.I Guess U Had To Be There ist ein fesselndes, konventionssprengendes Hörerlebnis und ein neuer Höhepunkt im Schaffen zweier der besten Künstler dieses Genres.

Mononoke is a Berlin band founded by Fabian Rösch and Benjamin Geyer. Their musical passion is improvisation with a sound that moves between experimental electronic music, jazz, beat music and ambient.
This LP combines their two recent EPs which have been released on the Munich based label tunnel.visions,
each on one side.

APARt
APARt was created in the field of tension between spontaneous improvisation and careful studio work, marked
by the lockdowns during covid and social isolation. It was precisely this physical separation that gave rise to a
new experimental approach.
Each track is a puzzle, whose individual pieces were put together, moved around, and placed in new contexts.
Instead of jamming and rehearsing together, musical ideas were exchanged online so that they could be freely
interpreted, altered and redesigned.


modular
Newly found vivid playfulness, fresh approaches and a tilt towards the unexpected marks these songs. Capturing moments in our lives full of challenges, developments and salvation.
The same new and unusual process of working separately, shaped the subsequent second EP modular which
followed the same working structure but with a new component: the modular synthesizer, which decisively reshapes the sound: a collection of analog textures, broken structures and a touch of raw intimacy.
Each song is an episode, each sound a reminder of how music connects us.?
Even when circumstances, such as a pandemic, can threaten to pull us apart.

Reissue of the highly-regarded 2003 live album by Canadian technical death metal masters Cryptopsy. Capturing a crushing 2002 Montreal performance featuring their then-new vocalist Martin Lacroix and a career-spanning setlist including tracks from None So Vile, Blasphemy Made Flesh, and Whisper Supremacy, showcasing incredible energy, technicality, and a notable drum solo by Flo Mounier. It's considered by many fans to be a definitive live death metal album, representing their best material from previous albums in one powerful recording.

“It’s hard to find your way, following the ghost,” sings Noah Alves on the title track from Middleman’s debut album, as the band explores ideas of how being chained to the past can hinder your forward momentum into the future. This creates a thrilling duality to the debut LP from the London DIY four-piece made up of Alves, Harper Maury, Rory White and Ted Foster. They are all young, in their early-to-mid-twenties, and very much focused in the now, harnessing an energy, urgency and rawness that feels fresh, alive and viscerally present. However, it’s also clear there’s a deep love of music that was made before they were born: the taut, wiry assault of Mission of Burma; the raspy yet melodic charge of The Replacements; the pioneering punk of Wipers, fleshed out via the more restrained and tender moments of Big Star or Neil Young. The result is a beautiful dichotomy of a record that both pays tribute to a rich musical lineage that the band are a part of, while also resisting the urge to get sucked into a dead end of nostalgia, mythology and recycling past glories.

Trio Sfera – Verschwiegene Lieder is a richly atmospheric album that weaves classical melodies, world music influences, and intimate soundscapes into a deeply expressive listening experience. With pieces such as Verschwiegene Liebe, Oblivion, and Assyrian Woman, the trio invites the listener into a world of quiet intensity, emotional depth, and subtle beauty. Each track unfolds with sensitivity and nuance, creating a musical journey that speaks softly yet leaves a lasting impression.

Solid Ball of Rock is the tenth studio album by legendary heavy metal band Saxon and was originally released in 1991. Five of its eleven tracks were written by new bassist Nibbs Carter, who co-wrote another three songs.

The addition of young bassist Nibbs Carter seemed to inject new life into the group, which unleashed some of its most aggressive songs in years, including the full-on thrashing "Altar of the Gods" and positively scorching "Baptism of Fire."

"For our audience – and without an audience there is no band – our focus returned on Solid Ball of Rock…" noted singer Biff Byford. "Since then, we've been right on it."

Solid Ball of Rock is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on silver vinyl and includes an insert.

A journey into the raw and visceral origins: from the demo sessions mixed by Steve Albini to the night of the very first secret show on December 20th, 1988. In the heart of Chicago, Geordie and Martin Atkins turned frustration and distance into pure creative energy, recording the now-legendary "Black Cassette" demos at Albini"s house. Distorted, menacing bass lines, unruly oscillators, and Albini running endlessly up and down the stairs between the basement drum room and the pantry control room defined a sound that was brutally direct and uncompromising. The first interactions with the Yamaha drum machine foreshadowed elements that would later shape parts of the album. Those sessions sparked essential ideas, while the future studio - purchased from Steve and moved to Wabash Ave - would soon become the core of Invisible Records and Killing Joke"s operations. On the other side, a truly rare document: excerpts from Atkins"s very first show with the band, at Burberries in Birmingham on December 20th, 1988. In a small, mirror-lined club filled with tension, adrenaline, and inevitable collisions with the walls, Extremities, The Fanatic, Intravenous, and The Beautiful Dead were performed publicly for the first time. It was the night when everything ignited: the blast beat still in its embryonic stage, the controlled fury Geordie demanded - "can you go a bit more Moonie on it?" - and above all Jaz"s theatrical yet strikingly genuine laughter. Not just joy, but a declaration: a giant "fuck off" to the doubters and a prelude of what was about to come. A raw, essential, indispensable testimony: the birth of an era.

A journey into the raw and visceral origins: from the demo sessions mixed by Steve Albini to the night of the very first secret show on December 20th, 1988. In the heart of Chicago, Geordie and Martin Atkins turned frustration and distance into pure creative energy, recording the now-legendary "Black Cassette" demos at Albini"s house. Distorted, menacing bass lines, unruly oscillators, and Albini running endlessly up and down the stairs between the basement drum room and the pantry control room defined a sound that was brutally direct and uncompromising. The first interactions with the Yamaha drum machine foreshadowed elements that would later shape parts of the album. Those sessions sparked essential ideas, while the future studio - purchased from Steve and moved to Wabash Ave - would soon become the core of Invisible Records and Killing Joke"s operations. On the other side, a truly rare document: excerpts from Atkins"s very first show with the band, at Burberries in Birmingham on December 20th, 1988. In a small, mirror-lined club filled with tension, adrenaline, and inevitable collisions with the walls, Extremities, The Fanatic, Intravenous, and The Beautiful Dead were performed publicly for the first time. It was the night when everything ignited: the blast beat still in its embryonic stage, the controlled fury Geordie demanded - "can you go a bit more Moonie on it?" - and above all Jaz"s theatrical yet strikingly genuine laughter. Not just joy, but a declaration: a giant "fuck off" to the doubters and a prelude of what was about to come. A raw, essential, indispensable testimony: the birth of an era.

Shoreline’s new album Is This The Low Point Or The Moment After? is built around an unanswerable question: when you hit rock bottom, can you tell where things begin to turn? Meant to be heard front to back, the record starts in a subdued, reflective place, grows progressively heavier, and ultimately lands on a more hopeful note. Drawing from the current wave of emo and hardcore while reflecting the collision of Germany’s alternative scenes, the album shows a band with a clear musical vision focused on big melodies, heavy riffs, and an honest DIY punk foundation.

"""Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan Bandits is a bare-bones country band made up of beloved Canadian alt-rock band Motherhood and “delta doom” guitarist Keith Hallett (Echodelick Records)

DOWN FOR LIFE features foot-stompin’ tracks like “No One Likes Losing,"""""""" a self-deprecating look at being competitive yet never managing to get ahead, “Waste Your Time,” about the confusion of suddenly losing someone you love, as well as a reflection on familial personality traits, and “If I Needed You Now,” showcasing country music at its finest - three chords and the truth. Or, in this case, two chords.

Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan Bandits features Penelope Stevens (bass/vocals), Brydon Crain (vocals/guitar), Keith Hallet (lead guitar, console steel), and Adam Sipkema (drums).

DOWN FOR LIFE also marks a trifecta of releases this year from Motherhood Music Inc., following the band’s “wildly entertaining!” (Bandcamp) fifth album Thunder Perfect Mind and side-project Penny & the Pits’ “delicate and
demanding” (LOUD Women) debut Liquid Compactor."""

"Formed in San Diego at the tail end of the 1970s, The Crawdaddys stood apart from the punk explosion surrounding them, reviving the raw rhythm & blues spirit of the early British Invasion with unshakable devotion. Their debut album Crawdaddy Express, originally released in l979 on Voxx Records, captures the band at full throttle, gritty guitars, swirling organ, and a ferocious live energy straight out of a sweaty basement club circa 1965. Reissued to celebrate BOMP!’s 5Oth anniversary, this essential slab of garage revival magic remains a timeless reminder of when rock & roll was wild, loud, and gloriously untamed"

Demetrio Castellucci and Massimo Pupillo present the music of Sleep Technique, a performance by Dewey Dell inspired by the Chauvet cave and its ancient cave paintings.
The music comes to life anew on record, an immersion into the depths of sonic particles, moist electroacoustic rhythms, the repeated forms of speleothems, and the electric bass that scrapes the walls, shaping them into concave or convex surfaces. A voice that moves incredibly slowly, yet is in constant motion, like the millennia-old, unceasing erosion of water.
The album’s journey follows the geography of the cave in reverse, moving from its deepest chamber back to the entrance.

Demetrio Castellucci is a composer and sound designer who has been involved in theater productions, choreography, and film since 2004. Around the same time, he began performing as a DJ, favoring an omnitemporal approach geared toward dance that transcends musical genres. Since 2006, he has been a member of the dance company Dewey Dell, and since 2007, he has been active as Black Fanfare, a maximalist electroacoustic project. He has collaborated on performances by Andreco and Enrico Ticconi/Ginevra Panzetti, as well as on films by Ahmed Ben Nessib, Beatrice Pucci, and Ilaria di Carlo. After living in London and Berlin, he settled in Vilnius, where in 2018 he founded Unarcheology, a digital platform that publishes music and radio programs. He is also active as Airport Gad, an ambient project which, together with Unarcheology, launched its own “Airline Company”: concerts in a flight simulator built from cardboard, where the pilots are also the musicians.

Massimo Pupillo is best known as a founding member of the band Zu, with whom he has released 18 albums and performed over 2,000 live shows worldwide. He has maintained a highly open and multidisciplinary approach that has led him to work with some of the most acclaimed figures in the contemporary art world: South African photographer Roger Ballen, actors Malcolm McDowell and Marton Csokas, Romeo Castellucci and Chiara Guidi of Societas Raffaello Sanzio, American choreographer Meg Stuart, poet Anne Waldman, and Italian poet Gabriele Tinti, among others. He has collaborated live and in the studio with avant-garde musicians and composers such as Alvin Curran, piano duo Katia & Marielle Labèque, and classical virtuosos like Viktoria Mullova and Giovanni Sollima. He has also worked with some of the most influential names in the international rock scene, including Mike Patton, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth), Guy Picciotto & Joe Lally (Fugazi), Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Damo Suzuki (CAN).

In the field of improvised music, he has collaborated with Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, and Tony Buck, among others. Within the experimental music scene, his collaborations include Oren Ambarchi, David Tibet (Current 93), Thighpaulsandra (Coil), Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), Abul Mogard, Mick Harris (Scorn), Gordon Sharp (This Mortal Coil), FM Einheit (Einstürzende Neubauten), and many more. In cinema, he composed the score for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film LIMONOV, presented at Festival de Cannes in 2024.

The beauty, confusion, complexity, and intensity of their youth - lived under the shadow and around the scars of conflict - are entangled in the industrial dance-punk hybrid encoded in the record's DNA, aptly entitled Crystalpunk. "This record is us waving a flag for that generation -- the ones who inherited confusion, resilience, and a fractured sense of self." They're waving that flag as intensely as possible too. For the uninitiated, Chalk mainlines the reaction between genres, eras, and cultures, commuting this collision into their sound. The Belfast group could comfortably power an underground warehouse party after-dark, incite a mid-day festival mosh-pit, or shake an arena on any given evening.

Their power has seamlessly translated to the stage with the group packing venues and delivering alternately sweaty and electrifying performances to a growing rabid fan base. As a group, they've sold out shows across the UK, EU and USA, notched festival performances such as Glastonbury, SXSW, BBK, Trans Musicals and more across 11 countries and were handpicked to tour alongside IDLES and Fontaines D.C.. Coming from dissimilar backgrounds and rallying together naturally, Ben and Ross first crossed paths in film school. As the story goes, Ben had noticed a framed poster of Dublin disruptors Gilla Band in one of Ross's Instagram photos and felt a kinship before ever actually speaking to him.

"Nobody else at our school was into experimental noise guitar bands, so that was all I needed to see," laughs Ben. Emerging in 2022, Chalk initially made waves with songs like "Them," "Velodrome," and "Static." Ultimately, they come-of-age and tell a story that resonates beyond borders. Not just a portrait of the band, but one of their home, a complicated place where the sacrifices made and risks taken by activists, artists, ravers and punks created the only environment that a band like Chalk could emerge from. Crystalpunk is not about choosing a side, it's about choosing the future.

Limited Green LP is for Indies only. all LPs include a DL card. Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop wonder Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail's contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic, bound up in sometimes conflicting ideas and feelings around nature and environment, sincerity and artifice, escapism and belonging. It's an album about how no man can remain an island, however hard he might try. Released by Fire Records, with support from Johnny's own label Lost Map, and produced by long-term collaborator Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group), 'Island Family' opens with its title track, a song of death, ghosts and the ties that bind, fusing abrasive electronic beats with a tongue-in-cheek fireside folk refrain and the haunted ice cream van melody of a digitally reincarnated traditional Scottish jig. A purgative surrender to nature's whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, 'Natural Successor' is five-and-a-half-minutes of cathartic churning bass. 'In The Land of The Dead' is an eight-bit glitch-core reflection on island party excesses spasming into existential dread and regret, suitably accompanied by a funereal mariachi band. It's followed by the epic 'It Came Back', the understated verses and arms-aloft falsetto chorus of which are accompanied by a tense, foreboding bass-driven electro hip hop instrumental with (spoiler) a brain-shattering industrial-metal meltdown. 'Melody Something' is the album's purest moment, a cautiously uplifting solar-powered-ballad about losing track of time in the cycle of the seasons, and the gap between memory and reality. Shapeshifting closer 'Remote Control' is a channel hopping cabin-fever-dream flipping from warped boyband ballad to deep-fried fuzz pop. "One of my favourite artists" Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

Spectral Bounce’s latest offering comes direct from Norway, courtesy of Anders Hajem — co-founder of Boring Crew Records. To date, the Oslo producer’s previous releases have been vessels for the exploration of myriad dance musics, seeing the artist fluently turn his hand to soulful house, dub techno and 2-step.

SPEC07 — the Myr EP — is a much more focused affair, finding Hajem in techno mode across 4 potent cuts typified by undulating drums and swelling echoes. Despite its emphasis on percussion, atmosphere has not been sacrificed for rhythm: vivid FX and meticulous attention to detail bring these tracks to life beyond the context of the dancefloor. This is music that can be stepped into and explored, productions that reward repeat listens.

Opening at full throttle, “Myr” is a jackin’ percussive workout, harnessing punchy drums for maximum effect. Its pulsating low-end runs in tandem with trembling synths that perpetually reflect and refract in the stereo field. Atop its rolling drums, hardgroove-inflected “Sprett” utilizes timestretched vocals, cavernous reverb and ecstatically quivering tones, elevating this 2000s-era framework to new heights. “Existence” brings things to a deeper and more hypnotic place: delays are turned up, siren calls reverberate and timbres ebb and flow. Hajem goes more chasmic still on “Concussion”, hitting the brakes for a much slower cadence and allowing space for a truly expansive listening experience. Heady and mystical, entrancing and otherworldly — listen close enough; beneath the dizzyingly shifting pulses and rattling drums you’ll hear incantations, while bass tones pulse in the depths.

SPEC07 — immerse yourself!

Credits:
Art by Susanne Janssen
Mastering & Cut by Marco Pellegrino @Analogcut
Words by Cameron Leaf

down 2 release the fourth one:

d2e004: philip chernikov’s green directions

ace masta bass with a four tracker that spreads an electric blanket over any dance floor.

Peach Discs' first release of 2026 comes from fast-rising star of the Manchester scene PACH. (pronounced "pack"). Five slippery rollers built for dark rooms, wafty terraces and the most locked-in of afters.

"The Wake-Up Call" EP represents the full spectrum of the PACH. sound, one rooted in the minimal tunes coming out of Romania but with a cheeky playfulness that can only come from a life spent in the trenches of UK club culture. The A1 "Keep It Bubblin’" is a prime example, as Todd Edwards-style vocal chops flirt back and forth with dub-inspired feedback lines, or "5am Wake-Up Call's" skipping, UKG-adjascent hats. Things get a little rowdier with "Complex Waveform's" scuzzy bassline that wouldn't sound out of place coming from the Clone Records ecosystem. Here it's bolted to a chassis of tough, techy drums and trippy vox that tickle at your peripheries. Flip to the B-side for something a little deeper – the dubbed-out percussion and disembodied voices of "Not That Kinda Party" contrasting with the moody, low-key synthetic tones of "Book The Dungeon", both sharing a mutual concept of smartly stripped-back, hypnotic jams that focus on heads-down grooves and rolling energy.

Chicago beat mathematician Toddsonic33 flipping it real durty for us...

4 tracks that are part machine yet fully fused with soul, a sound that feels as authentic Chicago as it can get. With 2 featurings from fellow Chicagoan Don's Mark Grusane and Darryn Jones, this is a real deep dive into the jackin' drum sound from the windy city.

The Mighty Zaf delivers a must have Double-Pack on Hot Biscuit Recordings. Do Not Sleep on this very Limited Run of DJ Only Promo Vinyl.

BBMXI!! What a ride. Eden is back with another (un)holy 4 Track Ep.
You can not stop the Big Beat Manifesto, it is here to capture dancefloors across the globe, gaining
new followers by the minute.
Give in to it, surrender to the beat & move your feet. Bless you in the morning. Peace and unity.

"The Outfit release career defining new album, Preservers of the Pearl, asserting themselves as messengers of the new wave of underground rock and roll, pushing the movement forward alongside fellow trailblazers Mystery Lights, Sheer Mag, Shadow Show, Uni Boys + more.

Everything has been leading here. Daniel Romano shifts from his position as sole writer, opening the floor to Outfit stalwarts Ian Romano and Carson McHone, and welcoming into the fold longtime friend and legendary Canadian rock-n-roller, Tommy Major. The band is functioning as a true collective — multiple voices and perspectives — all serving one creative pulse. The result is both a new beginning and a homecoming, a complete and fearless statement.

Tracked to tape at their own Camera Varda studio, the album captures the band live in the room — breathing, musing, and believing. It’s the sound of human hands and hearts at work, in a shared moment of co-creation, preserved in real time in stunning hi-fi.

Here is music as communion — rock n roll as experience. Preservers of the Pearl rejects the flattening forces in modern times — what the band calls “the mono-agriculture of the mind.” In a “target culture”, condemned to homogeny and banality, The Outfit refuse polish and uniformity, embracing imperfection as truth, and promoting curiosity through creativity. At the center of it all is a deep spiritual current — what The Outfit calls Rock & Roll Magick: the belief that music is a sacred act, a force that can reconnect the individual to what is larger.

The Outfit are making music that is purposeful and profoundly urgent. Preservers of the Pearl is an invocation - it’s fearless in a time of great compromise, and resolute in an age of peripheral bullshit. Here is a band serving something greater than themselves."

"The Outfit release career defining new album, Preservers of the Pearl, asserting themselves as messengers of the new wave of underground rock and roll, pushing the movement forward alongside fellow trailblazers Mystery Lights, Sheer Mag, Shadow Show, Uni Boys + more.

Everything has been leading here. Daniel Romano shifts from his position as sole writer, opening the floor to Outfit stalwarts Ian Romano and Carson McHone, and welcoming into the fold longtime friend and legendary Canadian rock-n-roller, Tommy Major. The band is functioning as a true collective — multiple voices and perspectives — all serving one creative pulse. The result is both a new beginning and a homecoming, a complete and fearless statement.

Tracked to tape at their own Camera Varda studio, the album captures the band live in the room — breathing, musing, and believing. It’s the sound of human hands and hearts at work, in a shared moment of co-creation, preserved in real time in stunning hi-fi.

Here is music as communion — rock n roll as experience. Preservers of the Pearl rejects the flattening forces in modern times — what the band calls “the mono-agriculture of the mind.” In a “target culture”, condemned to homogeny and banality, The Outfit refuse polish and uniformity, embracing imperfection as truth, and promoting curiosity through creativity. At the center of it all is a deep spiritual current — what The Outfit calls Rock & Roll Magick: the belief that music is a sacred act, a force that can reconnect the individual to what is larger.

The Outfit are making music that is purposeful and profoundly urgent. Preservers of the Pearl is an invocation - it’s fearless in a time of great compromise, and resolute in an age of peripheral bullshit. Here is a band serving something greater than themselves."