Search:cha wa

Aaron Warren und Bjorn Copeland machen seit 1999 zusammen Musik: neun Jahre als Flaccid Mojo und 26 Jahre als Black Dice. Diese Zusammenarbeit ist wie eine Wanderung durch die verwüstete Landschaft der zeitgenössischen Musik. Indem sie Dummes, Gedämpftes und Verbrauchtem stapeln, schaffen die beiden immer wieder unausgewogene, atemberaubende Mutantenkonstruktionen. Das neueste Beispiel dafür ist ,Loose Jacks", das zweite Album von Flaccid Mojo. Es besteht aus kostenlosen Handy-Apps, fragmentierten YouTube-Videos und Elektronik mit zerbrochenen Bildschirmen - den verbrannten und zerknitterten Überresten des Streaming-Industriekomplexes. ,Loose Jacks" ist das breite, hysterische Grinsen, wenn man in den letzten Tagen einen Schatz findet. Die Songs von Flaccid Mojo sind für Live-Auftritte gemacht, mit einem modularen Arsenal an Rhythmen, Stabs und Payoffs, die alle bereitstehen. Das ist ihre Art, das Physische in den Mittelpunkt zu stellen und sicherzustellen, dass die körperlichen Vorgaben der Komposition jedes Songs diese Befehle an alle im Publikum wiederholen. Die Befriedigung eines Loops, der so lange läuft, bis er dir im Blut liegt, die Bassline, die zu einem Stoß geformt ist, der Snare-Hit, der so scharf ist wie der Ellbogen eines Fremden. Man kann sich wie ein Geist fühlen, der durch die Platte einer anderen Band schwebt, aber Loose Jacks ist wie eine Mauer, eine schwere Decke, starke Hände, die dich auf einen Haufen von Körpern heben. Es ist eine befreiende, unspirituelle Erfahrung. Eine fleischliche. Wie schon ihr Debütalbum ,Flaccid Mojo" (veröffentlicht 2022 bei Castle Face) wurde auch ,Loose Jacks" von Chris Coady aufgenommen, der seit den Neunzigern bei Black Dice-Konzerten dabei ist. Es ist toll, mit Leuten zu arbeiten, die es kapieren und nicht über Tonarten oder ,das Raster" diskutieren. Ähnlich wurde ,Loose Jacks" von Sarah Register gemastert, deren Band Talk Normal sich eine Wand mit dem Proberaum von Black Dice teilte. Für Fans von Chrome, Men's Recovery Project und den Chemical Brothers.

Bill Pritchard präsentiert mit Haunted sein poporientiertestes Album seit den 1990er-Jahren. Veröffentlicht auf Tapete Records, vereint das Werk melodische Raffinesse mit lyrischem Tiefgang. Die Songs kreisen um Erinnerungen - Menschen, Orte und Emotionen, die bleiben, ob real oder imaginär. Aufgenommen zwischen Hamburg und Newcastle-under-Lyme, spiegelt Haunted den internationalen Charakter von Pritchards Musik wider. Vintage-Elemente wie Drumcomputer und Bläserarrangements treffen auf moderne Produktion, ergänzt durch Gitarren, Orgel und subtile psychedelische Akzente. Das Ergebnis ist ein organisches, europäisches Popalbum voller Wärme und Vielschichtigkeit. Thematisch erforscht Pritchard die Spuren der Vergangenheit: von Alltagsbeobachtungen bis zu semi-fiktiven Liebesgeschichten. Die Songs wechseln zwischen luftigen, optimistischen Momenten und introspektiven Passagen - stets mit feinem Gespür für Melodie und Atmosphäre.

2026 Repress

MOLA - fierce gutter pop, bittersweet ballads and roaring indie anthems oscillating between heartbreak, chaos and radical connection. On Liebe Brutal (out 26.09.2025), raw emotion meets sharp irony, Italo-drama meets pogo energy. Isabella Streifeneder and producer Markus Harbauer deliver their most direct, dynamic and vulnerable record to date - brutally honest, brutally beautiful.

San Francisco–born singer-songwriter Ben Kweller returns with Cover The Mirrors, his seventh studio album — and perhaps his most personal work to date. Known in the late ’90s as a member of post-grunge outfit Radish, who were signed to Mercury Records and even counted Nils Lofgren among their fans, Kweller has since carved out a long and prolific solo career rooted in melodic indie rock and unfiltered emotion. Cover The Mirrors is a deeply poignant record, written in honour of what would have been Kweller’s late son Dorian Zev’s 19th birthday. It also marks Kweller’s first release since Dorian’s tragic passing in 2023 — an event that reshaped both his life and his music. Far from retreating into silence, Kweller channels his grief into a collection of songs that explore loss, love, and renewal with raw honesty. “This is the most personal, emotionally raw project I've ever worked on,” he reflects, and every track bears that truth. The album features an impressive roster of collaborators from across the indie landscape: Waxahatchee joins on “Dollar Store,” a sparse and arresting song built on two vocals and a guitar that eventually erupts into a distorted, soaring finale; MJ Lenderman lends his touch to “Oh Dorian,” a tender tribute steeped in warmth and melancholy; Jason Schwartzman resurrects his mid-aughts project Coconut Records for the haunting “Depression”; and psych-rock icons The Flaming Lips appear on the shimmering, otherworldly “Killer Bee.” Musically, Kweller’s craft is as sharp and sincere as ever — intimate yet expansive, stripped-down yet powerful. Cover The Mirrors captures an artist walking through grief with purpose, turning heartbreak into something both fragile and transcendent. It’s the sound of Ben Kweller looking loss directly in the eye — and finding beauty, courage, and connection reflected back. - “One of the great American songwriters” – Jack Antonoff TRACKLIST: A1. Going Insane A2. Dollar Store (feat. Waxahatchee) A3. Trapped A4. Park Harvey Fire Drill A5. Depression (feat. Coconut Records) A6. Don't Cave B1. Optimystic B2. Brakes B3. Killer Bee (feat. The Flaming Lips) B4. Letter To Agony B5. Save Yourself B6. Oh Dorian (feat. MJ Lenderman) Clear Vinyl LP

Shelf Lives are an Electro-Bass Punk (a genre that probably doesn’t exist—but somehow makes perfect sense when you hear them). After years of creating, releasing, and caring-ish what people think, the band now operate with zero hesitation and total authenticity. The result of this controlled chaos is their debut album ‘hypernormaL’.

The 11-track album, produced by imdead, reveals that Shelf Lives are once again redefining the boundaries of modern punk and electronic music. It captures the duo at their most uncompromising — blistering, self-aware, and disturbingly danceable.  Just when you think you’ve figured them out, Shelf Lives grin, twist the dial, and push the needle into the red. 

The album sees the band collaborating with an enviable list of who’s who, from Danio (Fred Again, Joy Anonymous, Jelani Blackman) on 60K, to writing with Pat Alvarez (Blessed Madonna, Joy Crookes, Good Neighbours) and Lola Sam from Hot Wax playing bass on ‘like heR’. 

Shelf Lives are an Electro-Bass Punk (a genre that probably doesn’t exist—but somehow makes perfect sense when you hear them). After years of creating, releasing, and caring-ish what people think, the band now operate with zero hesitation and total authenticity. The result of this controlled chaos is their debut album ‘hypernormaL’.

The 11-track album, produced by imdead, reveals that Shelf Lives are once again redefining the boundaries of modern punk and electronic music. It captures the duo at their most uncompromising — blistering, self-aware, and disturbingly danceable.  Just when you think you’ve figured them out, Shelf Lives grin, twist the dial, and push the needle into the red. 

The album sees the band collaborating with an enviable list of who’s who, from Danio (Fred Again, Joy Anonymous, Jelani Blackman) on 60K, to writing with Pat Alvarez (Blessed Madonna, Joy Crookes, Good Neighbours) and Lola Sam from Hot Wax playing bass on ‘like heR’. 

‘Platinum Rare 1’ contains extremely rare recordings by the four original SWEET members. The legendary glam/hard rock band continues to thrill fans all over the world to this day. Over the years, SWEET have sold more than 55 million records and reached 34 number 1 chart positions. The songs on ‘Platinum Rare 1’ come from the private archive of SWEET guitarist Andy Scott and were personally selected by him. Fans of the band will be thrilled with this collection of rare and alternative takes and mixes. Many of the songs on the album have never before seen the light of day on a regular SWEET release. ‘Platinum Rare 1’ is an absolute enrichment for every true fan of SWEET.

Vic Bang's "Oda" arrives quietly - it was waiting for the right moment. The eight tracks are shaped by listening, by circling around sound instead of chasing it... you can definitely hear patience in the pacing, a willingness to let ideas linger, to let all the small motifs breathe.

The album moves with a softer and more deliberate rhythm than much of Vic's earlier work, as the sound world here feels concentrated and cohesive, built from a limited set of elements that gradually reveal themselves. Melodies unfold without too much fuss, textures repeat and mutate very subtly and the whole record holds together like a single extended thought.

The title Oda - or "ode" in English - hints at devotion, but not in any grand or ceremonial way. These pieces seem devoted to sound itself: to tone, to gesture, to fragile and simple musical forms. There's a gentle melancholy running through the album, but also clarity, even tenderness. Each track is dedicated to something - a timbre, a rhythm, a resonance - living up to the title's etymology.

All Music composed by Victoria Barca in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 2024 and 2025.

Saxophone (3) by Camila Nebbia
Vocal samples by Catu Hardoy and Nicolás Said
Cello samples by Gabriela Areal

Mastered by Adam Badi Donoval

Front cover relief "Endulzando el oído" by Victoria Barca
Back cover photo by Indira Seoane
Design and layout by Paulina Ufnal and Janek Ufnal

Mute welcomes German synthesizer and producer duo Felsmann + Tiley to the roster with the release of their new album Protomensch. Out February 13, 2026 on limited edition black vinyl packaged in a special gatefold sleeve featuring a mirror foil lamination on the inner panel revealing a ‘self-portrait of the protomensch.’

On Protomensch (German for “proto-human”), Felsmann + Tiley blend shimmering synthwave, pounding trance, and introspective IDM with synth-pop-infused tracks featuring guest vocalists including London’s Pet Deaths and Australian artists The Kite String Tangle, Woodes, and Laius.

This juxtaposition between sentient beings and machines permeates the whole album – right from the duo’s manifesto introducing us the highly intelligent yet irrevocably shortsighted and downright tragic character of Protomensch – the cover artwork featuring turtleneck wearing chimpanzee, futuristic music videos, and stark social media aesthetics to seated, next-level live-shows involving collaboration with dozens of visual artists.

Despite their online ubiquity, sparked in part by their viral reinterpretation of label-mate M83’s “Solitude,” which has been used over 1 million times on TikTok and high-profile syncs on shows including Young Royals (season two), the BAFTA-winning crime thriller Top Boy (season three), and Amazon’s The Better Sister, Felsmann + Tiley have lingered largely on the periphery, their origins cloaked in quiet anonymity, until now. With the release of Protomensch, Felsmann + Tiley present their fully realized artistic vision and step into the spotlight.

Steeped in nocturnal, death rock adventurism, riven with a post-punk anxiety that feels increasingly like the twitching heart of our modern age, and driven by hardcore punk intensity, the second studio album from Boston’s FINAL GASP, titled New Day Symptoms, does what all great rock records do - not only does it place itself within a lineage, summoning up and amplifying a spectrum of powers from Rock n' Roll lore, it makes them resonate in the here and now. It gives voice to those fears and frustrations lurking just under the surface of waking consciousness and turns them into a rallying cry. Throughout New Day Symptoms, FINAL GASP create a potent reaction from the furious and the forlorn, frontman Jake Murphy’s vocalizes both a supercharged howl into the void and a remorseful echo back. But where the band’s 2023 debut, Mourning Moon, was a concentrated shot of acrid, underground death rock, its propulsion tanks largely filled with references to Samhain and Killing Joke, New Day Symptoms keeps all the core urgent energy while vastly broadening its scope. Through the anthemic, acid-corroded vistas of "Look Away" and gothic tub-thumping beat of "Gifted Shame" to "No Hand To Lead" channelling "Don’t Fear The Reaper" and its loping groove, New Day Symptoms takes the familiar into uncharted territory and makes the unfamiliar instantly, internally recognisable. With new space to explore, this is an album that feels a mapping of personal trials and dark recesses. Short: Boston's FINAL GASP return with New Day Symptoms - the new album steeped in nocturnal, death rock adventurism, riven with a post-punk anxiety that feels increasingly like the twitching heart of our modern age, and driven by hardcore punk intensity! FFO: Danzig, Killing Joke, TSOL, Lathe of Heaven, Poison Ruin, Gouge Away, Tribulation

Sodom ist eine deutsche Thrash-Metal-Band, die 1981 in Gelsenkirchen gegründet wurde und neben
Kreator, Destruction und Tankard zu den „Big Four“ des deutschen Thrash Metal zählt. In ihrer 43-jährigen
Karriere veröffentlichten sie 18 Studioalben und touren unermüdlich um die Welt, wo sie vor ausverkauften
Festival- und Clubbesuchern eine treue Fangemeinde begeistern. Auch ihr Fanclub, die Sodomaniacs, ist
sehr engagiert. Ihr letztes Studioalbum erreichte Platz 5 der deutschen Charts.
Diese Neuauflage ihres sechsten Albums „Get What You Deserve“ erschien ursprünglich 1994. Es war
nur in limitierter Auflage auf Vinyl erhältlich und ist seit Langem nicht mehr auf CD verfügbar. Das
Originalalbum wurde unter der Aufsicht des ehemaligen Gitarristen Andy Brings remastert, der auch einen
brandneuen Remix des Albums erstellt hat.
Die Triple-CD-Edition enthält das remasterte Studioalbum, einen bisher unveröffentlichten 2026-Remix
des Albums sowie das neue Remaster und den Remix der EP „Aber Bitte Mit Sahne!“.
Dies ist die ultimative, von Fans initiierte Wiederveröffentlichung dieses Crossover-Thrash-Metal-Klassikers
einer der angesehensten Bands des Genres!
Die Doppel-LP-Edition enthält das remasterte Studioalbum und den Remix.
Die Deluxe-Box enthält die 1993 erschienene Vorläufer-EP von „Get What You Deserve“, „Aber Bitte
Mit Sahne!“, sowie einen bisher unveröffentlichten Live-Mitschnitt aus Frischborn, Deutschland (1993).
Die Deluxe-Box enthält das neue Remaster und den Remix von „Get What You Deserve“, die EP „Aber
Bitte Mit Sahne!“, ein 34-seitiges Softcover-Buch mit ausführlichen neuen Liner Notes, Fotos und Erin-

Aufgenommen am 25. Juni 1962 live im Tsubo, einem Café in Berkeley, Kalifornien, zeigt „Full House“
den legendären Gitarristen Wes Montgomery auf dem Höhepunkt seiner Kreativität, begleitet von einem
beeindruckenden Ensemble mit dem Tenorsaxophonisten Johnny Griffn und dem Wynton Kelly Trio, das
durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit Miles Davis gereift war – dem Pianisten Wynton Kelly, dem Kontrabassisten Paul Chambers und dem Schlagzeuger Jimmy Cobb.
All About Jazz beschrieb das Album später als „einen Vorgeschmack auf das, was kommen und viel zu früh
verloren gehen sollte“, und die Darbietung wird diesem Versprechen gerecht. Was den Umfang angeht,
ist auf „Full House“ für jeden etwas dabei. Montgomerys lyrische Zurückhaltung kommt in „I’ve Grown
Accustomed to Her Face“ zum Tragen, während der mitreißende Bebop von „Blue ’N’ Boogie“ und der
lateinamerikanisch angehauchte Groove von „Cariba“ die ganze Bandbreite des dynamischen Zusammenspiels der Gruppe offenbaren. Untermalt von einem begeisterten Live-Publikum bleibt „Full House“ eine
der zugänglichsten und mitreißendsten Aufnahmen Montgomerys.
Diese Neuauflage des Albums erscheint als Teil der Original Jazz Classics Series auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl,
gepresst bei RTI, mit vollständig analogem Mastering von den Originalbändern bei Cohearent Audio und
einer Tip-On-Hülle, die das Original-Artwork originalgetreu nachbildet.

The buzz about the Crystal Teardrop that has been growing for the past two years looks set to reach fever pitch with the release of their debut album _IS FORMING. Featuring a dozen memorable compositions by the bands Alexandra Rose and Leon Jones, the album more than lives up to the promise of their 2024 single releases and their ecstatic live performances on stages across the UK and Europe. The band formed in Stoke-on-Trent in early 2023, "inspired," explains Alexandra Rose, "by a mutual passion for the sights, sounds and creative experimentation of the late 1960s." In addition to Alexandra on lead vocals on guitar, the band comprises Leon Jones (guitar, sitar), Stuart Gray (keyboards, Mellotron), Ed Quigley (bass, vocals), and Huw Woodward (drums, percussion). Intuitively blending elements of garage rock, folk-rock, power pop and psychedelia, the band have created an appealing concoction infused with their own perspectives and personalities. To best capture their sound, they recorded at an all-analogue facility, Tilehouse studio in North London, working closely with White Stripes producer Liam Watson of Toe Rag Studios fame.

Bettye Swann possessed one of the most emotive voices in soul music’s cannon but her recording career was that of a shooting-star; it blazed at the start, then illumined brightly before abruptly dissipating, all in just eleven years. In 1975 she ceased recording, moved to Las Vegas and retired her Bettye Swann persona.
The Louisianan Betty Jean Champion had relocated to Los Angeles as a young woman where in around 1964 she was introduced to Al Scott, owner of Money Records. It was her fourth Money 45 “Make Me Yours” that propelled Swann into the stratosphere. One of the defining songs of the era, it was her pathway to Capitol Records with whom she signed in 1968.
By 1972 Bettye was at Atlantic Records. The initial Atlantic 45 “Victim Of A Foolish Heart” b/w “Cold Day In Hell” recorded at Fame with Mickey Buckins and Rick Hall, made for a promising debut reaching #16 on the Billboard chart. It was followed by Bettye’s version of Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again” and “Til I Get It Right”, a gentle country-soul labour. “I’m Not That Easy To Lose” also dates from those sessions.
In an attempt to broaden her appeal Atlantic sent Swann to Sigma Sound in Philadelphia where she cut Phil Hurtt’s’ and Tony Bell’s “Kiss My Love Goodbye”, “Time To Say Goodbye” and “When The Game is Played On You”. Her fortunes continued to wane so Swann was next placed with Nashville producer Brad Shapiro. The results were artistically stellar and included three unissued gemstones in The Isley’s “This Old Heart of Mine”, a definitive version of Maxine Weldon’s “I Want Sunday Back Again”, and “Either You Love Me Or Leave Me”.

The next chapter in this series, 'Second Thoughts (Expanded Edition)', marks 50 years since Split Enz ventured to London to record with Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera in the producer's chair. This definitive 2LP set pairs the original 1976 mix, remastered from the original tapes, with a companion LP 'Wide Angle Enz' - a treasure trove of live recordings and alternate mixes, including a previously unreleased archival rough mix of '129 (Matinee Idyll)' which is exclusive to this release. Presented in the distinctive Australia/New Zealand sleeve featuring John Prew's band portrait, the album concludes with the hypnotic locked- groove of 'Mental Notes', mirroring the international version's striking finale. Pressed on two 140g vinyl, housed in a wide- spine sleeve with printed inner bags. Remastered from the original tapes by Phil Kinrade and overseen by Eddie Rayner, with lacquers cut by Harry Rudkins at AIR Studios.

"Tonight At Noon" compiles tracks from two earlier recordings sessions: one session from 1957 with Jimmy Knepper on the trombone, the drummer Dannie Richmond, Saxophone player Shafi Hadi and the pianist Wade Legge, which were released on the album "The Clown" (Atlantic 1260). The second session took place in 1961 with Booker Ervin and Roland Kirk on the saxophone, Knepper, the bassist Doug Watkins, Mingus at the piano and Richmond on the drums, and was released on "Oh Yeah" (Atlantic SD 1377).

The two sets differ in mood, but this does not mean that it is an album that uses leftovers. While Mingus in the first session strives for European harmonics and melodic approaches with a hard bop tempo (particularly on the title track) in the direction of the blues, the second session with its vespertine elegance and spatial explorations comes over rather as a sort of exercise à la avantgard Ellington with sophisticated harmonies that pave the way for sluggish marches and gospel-like blues. Kirk and Ervin complement one another particularly well, their swing is appararently boundless. Mingus’s piano playing is deeply rooted in the blues, and his sense of tempo and lightness anhances these numbers, particularly in "‘Old’ Blues for Walt’s Torin".

In these compositions one already finds hints of Mingus’s later recordings. The most beautiful number is taken from the 1957 session and concludes the album: "Passions Of A Woman Loved", almost ten minutes in length, feels like an Ellington suite. Although, or maybe simply because several years passed between the two sessions, one cannot deny this album’s magic.

Pink Must is the duo project by Brooklyn based sound artists and musicians Mari 'More Eaze' Rubio and Lynn Avery. This self titled album is the debut release under the Pink Must umbrella.

Based on a long-standing artistic chemistry and shared love of genre-defying sounds, Pink Must started off as a remote grunge collaboration, with demos shared long-distance between New York and Texas. Over time, and especially since uniting in Brooklyn in 2023, the project evolved into its own animated soundspace, connecting raw imperfect textures with classic songwriting and a playful approach to both track instrumentation and lyrics.

The duo's production blends richness, glitches, and dissonant layers with drum and string arrangements in ways that subtly hint at influences like Stina Nordenstam and PJ Harvey. The record is tangled yet direct: fictional sketches of various situations, songs about love, change, decay, and even Mari's dog, Keith—all wrapped in signature guitar dreams and deadpan vocal lines.

Auch wenn die NWOBHM zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung von Elixirs »The Son Of Odin«, im Juli 1986, bereits Geschichte war, zählt das Album zu den besten Alben der Bewegung. Mit einer neuen Fassung ihrer hoch gelobten Single ‘Treachery (Ride Like The Wind)’, viele Jahre nach der ursprünglichen 7“, wurde »The Son Of Odin« vom englischen Terrorizer-Magazin als eines der Top 20 Power-Metal-Alben gekürt, während es das Sweden Rock im April 2010 als „Album-Klassiker des Monats“ auswählte. Elixir starteten 1983 in London. Die fünf Musiker nannten seinerzeit das erste Album von MSG sowie »British Steel« von Judas Priest sowie neuere Bands wie Mercyful Fate und Queensryche als ihre Haupteinflüsse. 1985 erschien die Debüt-Single ‘Treachery (Ride Like The Wind)’, die im Kerrang! von keinem Geringeren als Ronnie James Dio in einem Gastbeitrag abgesegnet wurde, was die Band anspornte, ihr erstes Album in Angriff zu nehmen. Das Resultat war »The Son Of Odin«, aufgenommen im Januar 1986 im The Lodge Studio von The Enid und sechs Monate später abgemischt. Nahezu überall folgten überschwängliche Kritiken, nicht zuletzt im Metal Forces, wo Dave Constable zu Protokoll gab: „Eine selbstfinanzierte LP, die so manche Veröffentlichung eines Major-Labels in den Schatten stellt.“ Constable resümierte: „Ich höre mir lieber »The Son Of Odin« an, als die hundertste Version von »Turbo« oder »Somewhere In Time«.“ Die 40th Anniversary Edition dieses unsterblichen NWOBHM-Klassikers beinhalt zusätzlich zum regulären Album die vollständige Session, von der die ‘Treachery (Ride Like The Wind)’-Single stammt, genauso wie das vorangegangene Demo und die BBC Friday Rock Show Session. Zudem erzählen aktuelle Interviews mit Gitarrist Phil Denton und Manager Seymour Mincer erzählen die Geschichte des Albums.

Mourn The Light kehren mit einem beeindruckenden neuen Album zurück, das epischen Heavy Metal mit einer düsteren, doomlastigen Atmosphäre verbindet und mit gewaltigen Vocals, emotional aufgeladenen Melodien und massiven Riffs überzeugt.

„Sorrow Feeds the Silence“ hebt den charakteristischen Stil der Band mit dramatischem Songwriting, dynamischen Arrangements und einem Sound, der an die Glanzzeiten des klassischen Metal erinnert und gleichzeitig mit moderner Intensität voranschreitet, auf ein neues Niveau. Von herzlichen, langsameren Passagen bis hin zu triumphalen Metal-Hymnen ist dieses Album das stärkste und vollständigste Statement in der Karriere der Band.
Unverzichtbar für alle, die kraftvollen, melodischen und atmosphärischen Heavy Metal suchen.

Für Fans von Candlemass, Dio, Grand Magus, Solitude Aeturnus, Savatage.

Sundays is the debut full length from Oakland-based Tanukichan, aka multi-instrumentalist Hannah van Loon. At surface level, the album sounds just how the title describes: hazy, dreamy, reflective, just like a lazy Sunday afternoon. Upon second and third listens, the dreamy music unveils a deeper world: an ever present sense of longing, an endless state of summer and a period of instability that plagues us all at one point or another in our lives.
Raised in San Francisco, van Loon started out making classical, bluegrass and jazz music as well as playing in numerous bands in the area before deciding to make something more personal. What started with a few unfocused demos, with van Loon playing all the instruments herself in her house, became a studio experience and viable collection of music after her friend Anthony Ferraro of Astronauts, Etc. introduced her to Company Records founder Chaz Bear (Toro Y Moi, Les Sins). After collaborating on her 2016 EP Radiolove, van Loon and Bear set out to make a much more sonically cohesive release, with both the producer and artist playing all the instruments on the record. The result is a slice of dream pop that could only come from the combination of the laid back atmosphere of California and the nostalgic and often difficult memories that are generally associated with coming of age.
To van Loon, the tracks of Sundays are a form of contemplation and approaching life’s issues from a different and less complicated perspective. “Sometimes for me, it feels easier to write songs about things than to talk. A lot of things in life are layered and paradoxical, but with songs it always seems simpler.”
Opening track “Lazy Love” sets the stage, sonically and lyrically, for the rest of the album, combining vulnerable lyrics with gorgeous, fuzzy tones. Above pummeling synths and guitar tones, van Loon sings “you know I'd do anything/don't you know I try my best/if I could wake up when the sun is rising” showing the album’s constant theme of balancing always wanting to be the best person you can be, while also feeling a low level joy at letting life play out as it wants to. “Natural” is a track that feels perfect for a road trip, a track that hums away with a driving beat, culminating in the sheer excitement of finally having a night alone with someone you’ve loved for a while, among many highs and lows: “a window too bright/it's natural sunlight/grey fades to white lie/kiss you tonight/it's natural delight/help me feel right.” The tracks collectively address a deep rooted sense of yearning for someone, something new, while also feeling content with your life; a realization that maybe the places you’ve always belonged aren’t where you should be anymore, that suddenly you might be looking for something completely different.
“I settled on the name Sundays as the title of the record because it encapsulated how the record felt to me,“ van Loon says. “I was thinking about the laziness, and dreamy clarity that you can feel after a late night, waking up having to face the world with a new perspective.” Sundays encapsulates this feeling, a nostalgic way of looking at the world, waking up feeling like a slightly different person than before, looking back on life, not sure if you can tackle what’s next, but doing your best, day in and day out

Vitamin Of The Moon launches as the new label and artistic platform of Toulouse-born, Berlin-based producer Lenny Mailleau, also known as one half of Zendid. The Question marks both its inaugural statement and Lenny’s first release under the new imprint. It is a focused, groove-driven record that moves between house, dub, techno, minimal, and space-disco. The tracks are delivered with quiet confidence, sophistication, and clear dancefloor intent.

The opener, “The Question,” establishes a taut, hypnotic framework. It features crisp 707 drums, syncopated movement, disco-tinged basslines, and a subtle, paranoid tension that relentlessly draws the floor in. “Saturday Déboch” stretches the energy further. It is built for late-night or early-morning moments when time dissolves into rhythm, using dub-inflected textures, highly detailed spatial echoes, and a patient, locomotive four-to-the-floor drive. On the flip, “Schönleinstrasse Caval” sharpens the architecture with stripped-back techno percussion and a rolling, functional pulse, clearly shaped by Mailleau’s time on Berlin floors. Closing the EP, “La Femme” (ft. Ariachi) adds a warmer, more playful and emotive layer by weaving vocal fragments and melodic accents around a minimal-tech core.

With The Question, Lenny Mailleau introduces Vitamin Of The Moon through restraint and clarity — positioning it as an extension of his personal language and refined club sensibility. A first chapter that honours minimalism’s roots while quietly pushing it forward, proving once more that focus, rhythm and atmosphere remain central to imagining contemporary club music.

Saxophonist and producer Ben Vince announces the release of his sixth album, Street Druid, the first in almost six years via AD 93.

Street Druid merges acoustic, manipulated and electronic sound and it has saxophone, synth, voice, guitars and drum machine, and features drum kit from Moses Boyd. It features artwork by Byzantia Harlow. It is at once tender, psychedelic and fierce. It is not interested in genre or category. It lasts just under 45 minutes.

A prelude for the future, hands join to cast a peace spell. Consciousness is vast water seeking divine essence and meaning where colours merge and refract. The street druid walks through the night, a benevolence in the darkness, guiding you home. Immersed in noise, life can feel empty, like hollow vessels, a sentient interlude. At times we are found in Gaia’s rhythm, kinetic and rebuilt, transcending through the impact of sound on the body. Every moment is a new change, a new challenge, a new life, we must ride the wave if we are not to be caught adrift or drown. Trying to keep hope intact, we must not retreat into fear, recognise we all live here in Longville and stop the fire before it engulfs us all.

With Severance, IGLO returns to Figure with a focused yet exploratory EP that reflects his open-ended approach to contemporary techno. The release moves fluidly between restraint and expression, combining functional structures with subtle, unconventional elements that give the tracks a distinct sense of character. Rather than settling into a fixed formula, Severance highlights IGLO's curiosity and willingness to push his sound forward while remaining grounded in precision and control.

Connection opens the release with a restrained, heads-down groove. A firm low-end foundation and sparse percussion lock into a steady momentum, while understated melodic elements add depth without breaking the track's linear drive.
On Kauriraris, the energy tightens. Nervous synth motifs and crisp rhythmic details create a sense of urgency, pushing the track forward through constant micro-variation. It's a lean and effective tool built for sustained pressure.
Flipping the record, Blink Twice moves into darker, denser territory. Murky textures and a weighty groove unfold gradually, building tension through repetition and space. The track thrives on its slow burn, making it well-suited for late-night transitions.
Alive introduces a more open and flowing feel. Warmer tonal elements and a subtle swing soften the edges, while the groove remains firmly anchored and forward-moving.
Digital-only track Forlornly closes the EP with a spacious and introspective mood. Reduced rhythms and airy melodic layers create a calm, drifting atmosphere that rounds off the release with control and restraint.
With Severance, IGLO delivers a tightly structured EP that emphasizes clarity, tension and functionality - a confident addition to the Figure catalogue.

Chris Liebing and Charlotte de Witte announce their second-ever collaborative release, 'Symphonie des Seins' (Symphony of Existence). The release, taking in an original alongside a Dub mix from Liebing, follows 2019's 'Liquid Slow' from the pair and marks the second release ahead of Chris Liebing's 'Evolver EP' releasing in late-March.

A surging acid-beast channelling mid-90s techno energy, 'Symphonie des Seins' sees de Witte delivering a tweaky, spoken
vocal comprising the hallucinogen-fuelled diaries of ayahuasca and DMT trip reports that Liebing stumbled upon online. Crisp
but heady, old school but utterly contemporary with its delivery, 'Symphonie des Seins' sees two techno artists with very
di?erent formative eras converge perfectly with a razor-sharp piece of dancefloor mayhem.

Following January's 'Roy Batty' EP, Chris Liebing and Charlotte de Witte's 'Symphonie des Seins' is the last single before Liebing's thirteen-track 'Evolver' LP lands on March 27th. The 'Evolver LP' features additional collaborations with Luke Slater, Speedy J, The Advent, The Alte Stuben Modular Ensemble aka Daniel Miller, Terence Fixmer, and Pascal Gabriel and is Liebing's first solo Techno LP, having focused on long-form electronica output alongside co-writer Ralf Hildenbeutel for 2018's 'Burn Slow' and 2023's 'Another Day' for Mute Records, and the André Walter co-produced 'Evolution' in 2002.

Composed by vibes legend Roy Ayers for the soundtrack of the 1973 film starring Pam Grier, Coffy was a jazz chart hit. The music, an inventive mix of heavy funk and soul-jazz, with vocal highlights from Dee Dee Bridgewater, perfectly encapsulated Grier's vigilante character.

"Rough and ready blues played with unmitigated intensity…scorching and soulful, joyous and stomping.
—Living Blues

Electrifying and raucous…one of the few authentic links to pure Chicago blues.
—Chicago Tribune

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials are the reigning champions of raucous, slide-stoked Chicago blues. They’ve achieved legendary status with over 40 years of critically acclaimed recordings and raucous foot-stomping gigs on club, theatre and festival stages all over the world. Slideways is a tour-de-force of old-school Chicago blues played with contemporary urgency.

Shows in support begin on street date in Chicago, followed by Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, New York and Syracuse amongst others. Touring will continue throughout Spring and Summer.

Press, radio and social media focus on album and tour dates, pitching stories and reviews to over 1000 print and internet media contacts around the world. Over 1400 radio programmers worldwide will be serviced and solicited for blues specialty show and selected Triple A and Americana rotation airplay. The album is certain to be welcomed with open arms by the blues media.

Slideways is bursting with Lil’ Ed’s rollicking slide-work and rough-hewn vocals on a joyous blend of smoking slide guitar boogies, raw-boned shuffles, and heart-stopping slow blues. As always, The Blues Imperials supply rock-solid, road-tested and gloriously riotous backing."

Dharmacide is a Spanish band known for their eclectic fusion of genres, blending elements of shoegaze and dreampop music. Their sound is marked by intricate guitar riffs, powerful drumming, and deep, emotive vocals that create a unique atmosphere under the influence of today's bands like Diiv, Warpaint or Beach House but also by classic artists like Cocteau Twins, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds or Tom Waits. The band, with members of Alcalá Norte and Depresión Sonora, has made a huge impact on various stages, performing at renowned venues and festivals, including iconic spots in their home country as well as internationally, earning praise for their high-energy performances and thoughtful compositions. Their latest singles have been produced, mixed and mastered by Mark Gardener from Ride. 'The Cigs, The Light, The Coffee and Crying' is the first single taken from their awaited soon-coming second album in which we find a powerful reverb-laden riff with a solo vocal melody in the middle of the chaos until breaking into a powerful chorus.

"On its Various 2 compilation, Altered Circuits returns with a gripping four-track selection by an equal number of distinct-voiced artists. Perrax En La Calle sees tINI merge sturdy drums, arpeggiated basslines, and ominous synth work. She knows what makes the floor tick blindfolded, and keeps the energy high here, channelling electronic body music and Italo into a contemporary club knockout. Up next is Ionic, a fusion of quirky, pointillist hooks that play call and response, driven by 909 kicks and a sub pattern underneath. Mogwaa spellbinds, and often pulls the rug only to reveal more intricate melodic needlework -- it's done so nimbly and enticingly, there's no way not to get drawn in. On the flip side, rising talent Desiree Falessi joins with the peak time Scandal. Statically-charged basslines mesh with reverb-drenched percussion salvos, and as slinky pads and subtle theme variations emerge, the intensity builds toward a tipping point. Closer Flex features a sharp arpeggiated bassline that funnels through misty, LFO-steered synths, scattered alarm-like melodies, muffled vocals, and gated-reverb snares. When classic high-pass modulation intermezzos are introduced, Monile demonstrates how sparse means, when deployed precisely, can sustain considerable tension."

Originally released in 1988 on the compilation Acid Tracks Vol. 3 via Needle Records, "The Other Side" has long been recognised as a potent example of early Chicago acid house. Now, more than three decades later, the track receives its first official 12" release - and, crucially, its first release with the original artists correctly credited. While historically attributed to Maurice Joshua, "The Other Side" was in fact produced by Da Posse (Hula Mahone), with vocals by Martell. This forthcoming release marks the first time that the original production has been properly acknowledged and presented in its intended standalone 12" format, restoring authorship to the artists responsible for the record's creation. The release is issued by Island Life Records, a Bali-based label with a growing reputation for carefully curated projects that bridge foundational dance music history and contemporary club culture. By formally reintroducing "The Other Side" with accurate credits, Island Life Records contributes an important corrective to the historical record of Chicago house and acid house music. Musically, "The Other Side" remains a striking artefact of its era: minimal, hypnotic, and emotionally charged, balancing raw machine-driven groove with an atmospheric vocal presence. It exemplifies the experimental, DJ-led ethos of late-1980s Chicago, where tracks were built for function, feeling, and longevity on the dancefloor rather than commercial visibility. The release is accompanied by a set of new remixes that respectfully extend the track's legacy into the present day. Remix duties come from Island Life Records founder Garry Todd under his Clouds Of Kouros alias, Johnny Aux (one half of Paranoid London), and Age Of Hyperion, with the digital including a remix from Garry Todd, each offering a distinct contemporary interpretation while retaining the spirit and tension of the original recording. This release stands not only as a long-overdue physical edition, but as a historically significant moment: the first time the original production has been released on 12", and the first time the correct creative contributors have been formally recognised.

A Consummate Fusion of Wit, Humor, Satire, Honesty, and Chaos: Warren Zevon’s Excitable Boy Captures Dark Elements of American Culture with Uncanny Insight

• Sourced from the Original Analog Tapes for Definitive Sound: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set and Hybrid SACD Play with Explosive Dynamics and Airy Openness

• Jackson Browne-Produced Album Includes “Werewolves of London,” “Lawyers, Guns, and Money,” and “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”

Excitable Boy established Warren Zevon as rock’s gonzo figurehead — or, as Jackson Browne aptly called him, “the first and foremost proponent of song noir.” A supreme collision of over-caffeinated energy, acerbic wit, dark humor, irreverent reporting, bittersweet romance, swept-under-the-rug truth, and illicit desire sent up with booze, pills, and therapist confessions, the breakthrough album zeroes in on frightening aspects of American culture with an incisiveness that’s even sharper today than upon the effort’s release in 1978. Its hard-boiled narratives owe to a tradition established by Raymond Chandler, continued by Hunter S. Thompson, and carried into the 21st century by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan. And the music has never sounded so excitable. Sourced from the original analog master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set and hybrid SACD elevate the best-selling album of Zevon’s career to audiophile status.

Co-produced by Browne and Waddy Wachtel — and featuring contributions by members of Fleetwood Mac plus Linda Rondstadt, J.D. Souther, and Browne — the platinum-certified record now plays with a verve and explosivity that match its subject matter. Listeners will experience wide separation between the instruments; full-range dynamics; sterling transparency that draws a through- line to the original sessions at the Sound Factory; and a presence that enhances the body and tenor of Zevon’s vocals. Like the hairy creatures in “Werewolves of London” and the ghosts wandering the corridors of Excitable Boy, Zevon’s legacy still runs amok via the grooves of his finest studio work. Draw blood, indeed.

Cedofeita Records returns with CDFT004, a limited run of 150 numbered 12”s cut for DJs who like their records to do the work: five tracks across house, electro and breaks, sequenced with a clean sense of tension and release. Based in Porto, the label stays close to a simple rule — not where artists are from, but where the work happens. These tracks were written and shaped while the artists were living in the North of Portugal, tied into the local circuit and its night-time pace.

Miguel Rendeiro opens with “Love Me Too” — direct, fast and warm at the bottom end. Mike Morales follows with “Outta Shine”, modern and controlled, built on crisp rhythm and a steady forward push. On the flip, Bruno, Erp & Rompante hit heavier with “Parking Place” — bold stabs, sampling grit, room-holding weight. Sector Relay shifts the colour with “Social Distortion”, stripped electro pressure for late hours. Tasc’oTau feat. João Pedro Dias closes with “Magnificent City” — liquid break swing and soft detail, a final chapter that resets the room without losing the thread.

Stripped bare and driven hard - this is Jack at its most physical. Filthy, saturated drum work meets crunchy, uncompromising samples as Bohm channels the genre's raw core across four relentless tracks. Each cut is engineered to whip crowds into a frenzy and lock the dancefloor in. Pure warehouse ammunition. Essential addition to any serious recordbox.

Directions Out Of Town is the latest and teased as (possibly) the last LP by DIY electronic abstract pop wizard Finlay Shakespeare.

Directions Out Of Town is a fierce mix of headstrong pop bangers. Fact. There is simply no one else traversing the field that Shakespeare is exploring. It can be lonely in the desert, Simon says. Lyrically, Directions Out Of Town is dealing with loss; personally, geographically, politically, culturally - a general decay of everything.

This new record is heavily inspired by structural film where the results unravel a method where metaphor is removed from the act of sound synthesis, production and mix of the tracks. Fiercely independent and brimming with integrity this is a deeply effective journey through machines of the human experience.

The track titles are telling: 'Away', 'Get', 'Direction', 'I go for a walk', etc

This is sentiment via complex synthesis wrung through patterns of pop. One also finds ways out that only turn out to be false/untrue.

"I essentially don't know where I belong any more. This record is the precursor to that."

What is ostensibly an electro pop record reveals a multitude of layers and depth as one man and his machines wrestle with the reality of this tangled matrix. If the charts had brains this would be album of the year.

Finlay Shakespeare is an electronic musician working in the UK. His fascination for synthesized sound was born out of his parents' record collection, leading him to explore the electronic music of decades past throughout his teenage years. While starting to write and record his own tracks, he also began learning analogue electronics, which led him to design and build his own equipment. To date, he has released work on Editions Mego, Superpang, and his own GOTO Records.

Written during a period of geographic and artistic transition, Country Music traces Severin Black’s movement from London to Berlin, unfolding through cycles of isolation and adaptation. Composed on the city’s periphery, the album’s material was continually dismantled and reassembled, reflecting a process of both artistic and personal reconstruction. The album marks a shift in production methodology, moving away from the immediacy of summed live takes toward a more deliberate, stratified multitrack approach. Sparse yet hypnotic, the record distills layers of sound formed by constant relocation, recurrent solitude, and a recalibration of instinct. In many ways, it echoes the experience of exile, not in a political sense but in the quieter, more insidious form of displacement that alters one’s perception of time and self. The music drifts between structure and dissolution, a reflection of existing at the threshold of different spaces—both physically and sonically.

The shedding of the previously used Nape moniker signaled a decisive sonic transformation, informed by extended time spent in the Pyrenees and a renewed engagement with folkloric material. Severin began playing the clarinet while making this record, and though its presence is minimal, it reveals itself as an interest in acoustic simulation, particularly the digital approximations of classical instruments that emerged within 1990s synthesizer technology. This interrogation of authenticity and mediation parallels the album’s thematic engagement with memory, where recollection functions not as a retrieval of fixed experience but as an iterative process of distortion and reconstruction. The relocation to Berlin reignited an affinity for grime music, evident in the syncopated brass of Pilgrim Wine and the fractured vocal layers of March, while memories of childhood in rural Wales permeate the record’s atmospheric spaces. The album includes contributions from longtime collaborator Vanessa Bedoret and Berlin-based artist Pavel Milyakov (Buttechno).

Country Music situates itself within an unresolved dialogue—between past and speculative futures, between folk lineage and digital fragmentation, between place and its embodied and sonic traces. What emerges is not a fixed statement but a process, an ongoing negotiation between what is left behind and what is brought forward. Words by Chantal Michelle

Mastered by Owen Pratt / Design by Severin Black / Center label image by Nicky Kidd / Back cover text by Alya Kanıbelli