Search:clarity

Encounters with the ineffable.
The dormant roused.
Openness, observation, questioning, humility, sincerity.
Re-imagining the known, that which is untapped, all that was concealed.
Pathways to wholeness unearthed.
Meeting of truest self.
Temporal versus infinite.

The fallout.

Sudden disintegration, falling away, continuity shattered.
Facade ruptured, persona released, identity laid bare, history withdrawn.

Appearance of no-thing-ness.

Pregnant with possibilities, birth out of chaos, mystery unfolds.
Healing through anguish, renewal through trauma.
Newborn imaginings.

Accept the summons.

Chapters of lucidity, adventures in clarity.
Alignment in harmony.
All encompassing.
Reorientation emerges, subsequent renewal, transcendent insights, enlightened revelations.
Surrender reached, acceptance embraced, liberation appears.

Transmutation.

Solemn symbols of gratitude.
New found depth of meaning, of understanding, of moving, of seeing.
Beyond mental illusion, unifying as nature, expression of stillness.
Vision of the undivided, transmission of wisdom.

Flowering into being.

- Kas ॐ

Dire Straits' arresting self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk's reign but couldn't have been further removed from the era's slash-and-burn style. Recorded in West London in February 1978, the band's tasteful, jazz-inflected set embraces folk, blues, and pub rock while also tracing a direct line back to the beat-oriented sound of early rock n' roll. Country and roots accents further distinguish the British quartet's stripped-down music from any 1970s peers, as does the transparent production, which has remained revered among audiophiles the world over – and which has never been better than on this meticulous pressing.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Dire Straits features natural tonalities, superb balances, you-are-there imaging, deep-black backgrounds, and pristine clarity. Even if you've heard this album hundreds of times before, you've never experienced it with such lifelike sonics and premium richness. This numbered-edition collector's set immerses you within the smoky, laidback atmospherics of every song. This is how all vinyl should sound.

Crucial to every arrangement, Mark Knopfler's winding guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. His intricate playing comes across as if it's being transmitted via his 60s-era Fender Vibrolux amplifier placed right before you. The cleanliness, dimensions, and live feel are that good. His bandmates, too, benefit from the extra groove space afforded by this 45RPM edition. Rhythms skate and swirl; percussive effects resonate with crispness and attack; the leading edges of notes naturally decay.

Dire Straits' strong, well-edited batch of original material further enhances the overall enjoyment and makes the record one whose pleasures go far beyond the organic sonics. Just as Knopfler's narratives pour forth with poetic and surrealist texts, the musical settings – an intoxicating combination of easygoing shuffles, back-hall boogies, and pop-honed ballads – mirror the old-fashioned soulfulness inherent in the classic recordings of the late 50s and early 60s. The lyrics are equally captivating.

Drawing from his time as a youth in Newcastle, Leeds, and London, Knopfler invests tunes with an autobiographical slant and emotional connectivity that become obvious the moment he opens his mouth to sing. "Down to the Waterline," "Wild West End," and "Lions" all feature colloquial touches that add to their reach. By extension, "In the Gallery" functions as a tribute to Leeds sculptor Harry Phillips (father of future Knoplfer collaborator, Steve Phillips) while the record's breakout smash, "Sultans of Swing," pays homage to struggling bar bands.


Through it all, Dire Straits performs with a subtle cool and clever poise that no band ever matched. Just how good is the chemistry? Bob Dylan heard the quartet and invited Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on Slow Train Coming. But even Dylan himself didn't hear Dire Straits sound this magnetic back in its original heyday. Now, everyone can.

Whisper Doll's new music comes from a time in frontwoman Fiona Tagami's life when she was actively trying to cultivate whimsy, a sense of possibility. "It's about this switch of trying to be in the world as a hopeful person," she says. The songs' dream-pop sound, with their woozy guitars and ethereal vocal melodies, evokes that feeling. Some moments feel weightless and joyous, others dense with mystery. Whisper Doll began as a solo project when Fiona was in high school in Atlanta, writing in her bedroom while she fell in love with bands like The Sundays, Mazzy Star, and The Cranberries. During the process of making her debut album, 2024's Perfume Garden, she moved to New York and became quickly wrapped up in the city's indie scene. While playing in various other bands, she met her future Whisper Doll bandmates: drummer Shawn Majeed, guitarist sophomore album Lucky Clover is Whisper Doll's first full-band record, and the first one made in full in NYC, representing a newfound sense of clarity for Fiona as well as a newly collaborative process. With their meticulously crafted sound and deeply thoughtful songwriting, Whisper Doll place us in a world that's unmistakably their own.

Hippotraktor, the progressive metal band from Belgium, combining the best of prog, groove and post-metal return with new album! Wmerging from Mechelen, Belgium, to the joy of ear-splitters and deep-feelers of post rock, Hippotraktor release their third studio album Annihilist. "A good blend between the vibes of Meridian and the technicality of Stasis." (Verheyden), that exhibits once again the band's ability to balance crushing physicality with emotional nuance, whilst pushing further into highly cultivated experimentation. For Hippotraktor, immense sonic weight coexists with remarkable clarity and depth, and through the many shifting passages and moments Annihilist becomes a journey of awe, dissolution, melancholia and rampaging power. At the heart of this album is a sense of collective inspiration. Verheyden's compositional vision provides the framework for music that is both intricate and instinctive, yet Hippotraktor's identity is forged through the dialogue between all five musicians. Although often associated with progressive metal, post-metal and sludge, Hippotraktor resist classification. Their music draws freely from multiple traditions while remaining unmistakably their own, blending rhythmic complexity, cinematic atmosphere and deeply human expression into a sound that feels both expansive and immediate. As an album Annihilist is not only gripping in every moment and turn, but their balance of the intimate and titanic feels deceptively effortless; a testament to their galvanised abilities. FOR FANS OF Psychonaut Mershuggah Dvne Vola The Ocean Hypno5e Sikasa Blackshape

Hippotraktor, the progressive metal band from Belgium, combining the best of prog, groove and post-metal return with new album! Wmerging from Mechelen, Belgium, to the joy of ear-splitters and deep-feelers of post rock, Hippotraktor release their third studio album Annihilist. "A good blend between the vibes of Meridian and the technicality of Stasis." (Verheyden), that exhibits once again the band's ability to balance crushing physicality with emotional nuance, whilst pushing further into highly cultivated experimentation. For Hippotraktor, immense sonic weight coexists with remarkable clarity and depth, and through the many shifting passages and moments Annihilist becomes a journey of awe, dissolution, melancholia and rampaging power. At the heart of this album is a sense of collective inspiration. Verheyden's compositional vision provides the framework for music that is both intricate and instinctive, yet Hippotraktor's identity is forged through the dialogue between all five musicians. Although often associated with progressive metal, post-metal and sludge, Hippotraktor resist classification. Their music draws freely from multiple traditions while remaining unmistakably their own, blending rhythmic complexity, cinematic atmosphere and deeply human expression into a sound that feels both expansive and immediate. As an album Annihilist is not only gripping in every moment and turn, but their balance of the intimate and titanic feels deceptively effortless; a testament to their galvanised abilities. FOR FANS OF Psychonaut Mershuggah Dvne Vola The Ocean Hypno5e Sikasa Blackshape

Nearly ten years after Nocturne, Girls in Hawaii make a major comeback with Eldorado, a fifth album marking a new chapter in the history of one of Belgian indie rock"s most iconic bands. Driven by radiant, deeply human songs, Eldorado recaptures the very essence of Girls in Hawaii: instantly memorable melodies, raw emotion, and that unique balance between fragility and power. Inspired by the spirit of great 1990s indie records - from Pavement and Grandaddy to Radiohead - the album blends pop clarity, collective energy, and elegant melancholy. Written and recorded with a deliberately artisanal approach, Eldorado celebrates the rediscovered joy of creating together. It is a soulful, sincere, and timeless record that reaffirms Girls in Hawaii"s unique place in the European music landscape.

This VA release brings together four producers who share a common language: hypnosis, movement, and an obsessive attention to sound design. Across two sides of vinyl, the record moves through different shades of deep and mental techno, held together by a sense of restraint and clarity rather than force.

Na Nich opens the A-side with a mental yet groove-driven piece, where impeccable sound quality meets a clean, deliberate design. LFO-driven elements float underneath the surface, almost speaking, giving the track a voice of its own without ever breaking its hypnotic hold.

Forest On Stasys follows with a tribal and deep approach that still hits with weight. Shakers and layered percussion drive the movement forward, building a rhythmic body that feels both organic and controlled.
On the B-side, Translate stays true to a purely mental identity: repeating LFOs and speaking tones that fold in on themselves, always kept clean and precise, letting the repetition do the work.

Save Your Atoll & Gabriele Santucci close the record with a deep, tribal-leaning cut full of groove and motion. Bongos, shakers, and background percussion build a danceable hypnosis, where every element serves the movement.

Four tracks, four voices, one shared sense of direction — a record built for the floor, but never at the expense of detail.

Leo Gibbon returns to Mudline with barbed, a six-track suite of dust-worn, sample-driven constructions pieced together from a balcony while travelling. Built from fragments that retain the emotional weight of their origins, the EP finds Gibbon paring his sound back to its essentials, letting cracked loops, negative space and tactile percussion carry a quiet sense of intimacy. There's a subtle tension throughout, music suspended between memory and movement, where worn textures and carefully preserved imperfections become part of the composition itself.

James Massiah appears on the record with a characteristically measured performance, his delivery drawing on the cadence and phrasing of archived poet freestyles, less spoken word than an act of excavation, recalling a lineage of recorded voices whose authority comes from rhythm, restraint and lived experience. His presence folds seamlessly into the EP's weathered textures, becoming another fragment in Gibbon's collage rather than a conventional guest appearance.

The first half drifts through reflective, inward-looking terrain before the second side gradually opens towards the dancefloor, never abandoning the emotional pull that defines the record. Even at its most club-focused, barbed favours understated pressure over obvious peaks, allowing atmosphere and texture to carry as much weight as rhythm. Mastered by Miles Whittaker, every grain, scrape and imperfection is left intact, balancing grit with clarity and reinforcing Mudline's instinct for raw, emotionally resonant club music that feels as honest as it does functional.

Two-time BRIT Award winner Becky Hill will release her eagerly anticipated third album ‘REBECCA’ on September 25th.

‘REBECCA’ was written during a period of intense personal and artistic reflection and sees Becky exploring ambition, identity, visibility and the contradictions of her life from a place of greater openness and creative freedom. Across the record, she examines the tension between desire and self-preservation with clarity, humour and brutal honesty, resulting in her boldest, emotionally charged body of work to date.

Described by Becky as “curated chaos”, ‘REBECCA’ also marks a significant evolution in her sound. It sees her reconnecting with the wider influences that shaped her early musical identity, pulling inspiration from guitar music alongside the dance and drum & bass foundations that have defined her career. ‘REBECCA’ blends that collision of worlds with heavy electro production, alternative influences and euphoric electronics into an album that feels both expansive and unpredictable.

Two-time BRIT Award winner Becky Hill will release her eagerly anticipated third album ‘REBECCA’ on September 25th.

‘REBECCA’ was written during a period of intense personal and artistic reflection and sees Becky exploring ambition, identity, visibility and the contradictions of her life from a place of greater openness and creative freedom. Across the record, she examines the tension between desire and self-preservation with clarity, humour and brutal honesty, resulting in her boldest, emotionally charged body of work to date.

Described by Becky as “curated chaos”, ‘REBECCA’ also marks a significant evolution in her sound. It sees her reconnecting with the wider influences that shaped her early musical identity, pulling inspiration from guitar music alongside the dance and drum & bass foundations that have defined her career. ‘REBECCA’ blends that collision of worlds with heavy electro production, alternative influences and euphoric electronics into an album that feels both expansive and unpredictable.

The Yummy Fur’s first album of new material in over 25 years is seductive and ambiguous; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. The band’s original incarnation – fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist John McKeown from 1992 to 1999 – morphed from making quick-hit cartoon-art songs to Eno and Cale-influenced creepers, populated by characters from McKeown’s life in Glasgow and the films, books and poetry that he lived a parallel life through. Everybody Talks About The Weather delights in using every past iteration of the band as potent collage material: a melee of sounds and ideas existing at once, revealing themselves then dipping back into hiding.
Recorded by the original core trio of McKeown, Brian MacDougall (guitar) and Paul Thomson (drums), Everybody Talks About The Weather comes 17 years after the band reformed for sporadic live shows, and seven years after the release of their sorta-greatest hits compilation Piggy Wings (Rock Action). Ten tracks long with nothing to spare, it is as condensed and vital as their best songs, with a new clarity of sound that allows their ambiguities to come into the light.
The album begins with “Cogs”, a taunting inquisition from within. As McKeown stages a fight between his id and ego, the tension heats up between conversational guitar lines and minimalist repetition; threatening sing-song melody and real, palpable menace. The band members are forced in tandem only to break apart, sustaining a genuine sense of just-hidden danger throughout the whole record – except, arguably, “Headphones”, a looser moment which sees McKeown make an existential something out of nothing while waiting for someone in the car (“I should have brought a book.../My ears are bleeding from the compression on your album”)
The songs are riots of reference: “Unity Over Europe” is a slyly complex two act play about the Mitford sisters – Diana, Unity, and Nancy, in a wink to the YF canon – smashing tragic biographical detail together with allusions to Thomas Pynchon and Francis Bacon. Pynchon is also lifted to serve “Blue Sunshine”, a collision of school shooters, serial killers and fictional fuck-ups (“Fast forward to Compton/Fast forward to Pynchon/Fast forward to Columbine'”) whose buzzy guitar lines are taunting and confrontational like a smarmy teenager. The innocuous title of “My Lasagne” belies a song that exists in several time periods at once: a visit to see Guernica, 50 people with their backs to the portrait of Dora Maar; the time that Picasso painted from; the Reina Sofia and the dirty streets of the Malasaña; myth-making musicians and the myths they’re riffing off overlapping and leering at each other.
All this could be laboured in lesser hands, but cultural verbosity is second nature to The Yummy Fur, who transform all this source material into songs that are weird, sexy, funny and absurd. Meaning is not happily understood or flattened. Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation accompanied McKeown as he wrote this album, and she’s paraphrased in “Semolina Ballerina”, the album’s justification of artistic ambiguity. Thomson’s motorik beat leads a gathering of back-and-forth instrumental phrases – including a wiry contribution on saxophone – embodying the futility of trying to parse something definitive from repeated action. “Listen to the very first thing that’s in your head,” Sontag-via-McKeown commands directly, then slinks sideways: “Interpretation is a conversation in an unmade bed”
The album features two more focused portraits, or at least The Yummy Fur’s version of such a thing. “Wanda” merges the life of filmmaker Barbara Loden and the title character of her semi-autobiographical 1970 feature film, with Loden’s then-husband Elia Kazan joining the fray of no-good men in her film. It’s a mix of adaptation and avant-criticism, with McKeown’s wordplay and mannered pronunciation mirroring the way that non-fiction and fiction twist around each other in the song. The title track is a series of vignettes and impressions from the lives of the band’s ‘90s inner circle, positing painter Mac McNaughton as a kind of Falstaffian ringleader. As with Piggy Wings and the recent single “New T-Shirt”, McNaughton painted the cover of Everybody Talks About The Weather – like the album’s music, the image of a coy girl in a white dress is an uncanny amalgamation of styles, suggestions and references just out of reach, as though seen in an art museum in a dream.
The album ends with two reads of the same frustration. “King of Nothing” is the closest The Yummy Fur will ever get to sludge-rock: the band melts together into a dusty, dreary haze as McKeown drowns in a drudgery of personal struggle (“Two jumpers on in Babylon/And only cats to talk to”) and the rhythmic toppling of heroes (Rowlands, Duvall, Munro). The majority of visible dirt is cleaned off for “Say Hello”, an uncharacteristic depiction of throwing the windows open after a dark night of the soul. Here, the situation is still cold and hard (“When the sun burns gold, but the heat never reaches your fingertips”) but it feels surmountable. Everybody Talks About The Weather is an unpredictable album from an unpredictable group, but ending on a moment of almost uncomplicated light is maybe its biggest surprise. - Claire Biddles (2026)

The Yummy Fur’s first album of new material in over 25 years is seductive and ambiguous; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. The band’s original incarnation – fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist John McKeown from 1992 to 1999 – morphed from making quick-hit cartoon-art songs to Eno and Cale-influenced creepers, populated by characters from McKeown’s life in Glasgow and the films, books and poetry that he lived a parallel life through. Everybody Talks About The Weather delights in using every past iteration of the band as potent collage material: a melee of sounds and ideas existing at once, revealing themselves then dipping back into hiding.
Recorded by the original core trio of McKeown, Brian MacDougall (guitar) and Paul Thomson (drums), Everybody Talks About The Weather comes 17 years after the band reformed for sporadic live shows, and seven years after the release of their sorta-greatest hits compilation Piggy Wings (Rock Action). Ten tracks long with nothing to spare, it is as condensed and vital as their best songs, with a new clarity of sound that allows their ambiguities to come into the light.
The album begins with “Cogs”, a taunting inquisition from within. As McKeown stages a fight between his id and ego, the tension heats up between conversational guitar lines and minimalist repetition; threatening sing-song melody and real, palpable menace. The band members are forced in tandem only to break apart, sustaining a genuine sense of just-hidden danger throughout the whole record – except, arguably, “Headphones”, a looser moment which sees McKeown make an existential something out of nothing while waiting for someone in the car (“I should have brought a book.../My ears are bleeding from the compression on your album”)
The songs are riots of reference: “Unity Over Europe” is a slyly complex two act play about the Mitford sisters – Diana, Unity, and Nancy, in a wink to the YF canon – smashing tragic biographical detail together with allusions to Thomas Pynchon and Francis Bacon. Pynchon is also lifted to serve “Blue Sunshine”, a collision of school shooters, serial killers and fictional fuck-ups (“Fast forward to Compton/Fast forward to Pynchon/Fast forward to Columbine'”) whose buzzy guitar lines are taunting and confrontational like a smarmy teenager. The innocuous title of “My Lasagne” belies a song that exists in several time periods at once: a visit to see Guernica, 50 people with their backs to the portrait of Dora Maar; the time that Picasso painted from; the Reina Sofia and the dirty streets of the Malasaña; myth-making musicians and the myths they’re riffing off overlapping and leering at each other.
All this could be laboured in lesser hands, but cultural verbosity is second nature to The Yummy Fur, who transform all this source material into songs that are weird, sexy, funny and absurd. Meaning is not happily understood or flattened. Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation accompanied McKeown as he wrote this album, and she’s paraphrased in “Semolina Ballerina”, the album’s justification of artistic ambiguity. Thomson’s motorik beat leads a gathering of back-and-forth instrumental phrases – including a wiry contribution on saxophone – embodying the futility of trying to parse something definitive from repeated action. “Listen to the very first thing that’s in your head,” Sontag-via-McKeown commands directly, then slinks sideways: “Interpretation is a conversation in an unmade bed”
The album features two more focused portraits, or at least The Yummy Fur’s version of such a thing. “Wanda” merges the life of filmmaker Barbara Loden and the title character of her semi-autobiographical 1970 feature film, with Loden’s then-husband Elia Kazan joining the fray of no-good men in her film. It’s a mix of adaptation and avant-criticism, with McKeown’s wordplay and mannered pronunciation mirroring the way that non-fiction and fiction twist around each other in the song. The title track is a series of vignettes and impressions from the lives of the band’s ‘90s inner circle, positing painter Mac McNaughton as a kind of Falstaffian ringleader. As with Piggy Wings and the recent single “New T-Shirt”, McNaughton painted the cover of Everybody Talks About The Weather – like the album’s music, the image of a coy girl in a white dress is an uncanny amalgamation of styles, suggestions and references just out of reach, as though seen in an art museum in a dream.
The album ends with two reads of the same frustration. “King of Nothing” is the closest The Yummy Fur will ever get to sludge-rock: the band melts together into a dusty, dreary haze as McKeown drowns in a drudgery of personal struggle (“Two jumpers on in Babylon/And only cats to talk to”) and the rhythmic toppling of heroes (Rowlands, Duvall, Munro). The majority of visible dirt is cleaned off for “Say Hello”, an uncharacteristic depiction of throwing the windows open after a dark night of the soul. Here, the situation is still cold and hard (“When the sun burns gold, but the heat never reaches your fingertips”) but it feels surmountable. Everybody Talks About The Weather is an unpredictable album from an unpredictable group, but ending on a moment of almost uncomplicated light is maybe its biggest surprise. - Claire Biddles (2026)

Founded in Germany in 2019, CONSVMER. have spent the last few years carving out a space that’s entirely their own: progressive metal, beatdown, and metalcore delivered entirely in German, with an unflinching focus on subjects most people would rather look past. Their 2024 record Seelenfrieden turned heads inside and outside the German metal scene, with coverage from outlets including Nik Nocturnal and a collaboration with Paleface Swiss that confirmed the band were operating at a level far beyond their years. Live, they have earned their place on stages at Summer Breeze, Core Fest and Bembel X Core Festival. Now, with new vocalist Jacques Gronert and a vision sharpened to a point, CONSVMER. return with Abgrund.
Where Seelenfrieden refined the template, Abgrund dismantles it. Across eleven tracks the band push further into territory that feels genuinely unique and uncompromising: the title track opens the record on collective collapse and a society steering towards the edge with no intention of stopping, while songs like "Gier" tear into systemic greed and exploitation with brutal clarity, "Willenlos" descends into dissociation and the erasure of identity, and "Sucht" confronts addiction and self-destruction with a rawness that is hard to shake. Closer "Gottverlassen" leaves the listener exactly where the title suggests. The collaboration with brutal deathcore veterans Acranius on "Sucht" hits like a freight train, their English-language verses locking into CONSVMER.'s German delivery to devastating effect. Fellow German hardcore outfit DOGBITE also appear, adding another dimension to a record that never loses focus.

“Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic”
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground (1864)

The Intermittent Signal is the sound of resistance.

In the year since The Sick Man Of Europe’s debut album was released, the world has moved on. Steady hands have slipped from the levers of power, logic has shifted underground and the message grows more urgent with every passing day.

Repetition has been relearned and the machine rhythms repurposed, this time with increased intensity. Arrangements have moved beyond the bare bones economy of the first record and there’s a newfound melodicism in places. Clarity and conviction ring true through the static and noise, while utopian ideas to remodel a broken system gain traction. This is a rejection of the attention economy and a call to reconnect through community and organisation. Those simple acts that were once commonplace have become increasingly radical as new fractures emerge.

“Through repetition the message has gained weight and become something more urgent,” The Sick Man Of Europe explains. “The vehicle for this message needed to evolve, grow to gain the strength to carry it. We’ve landed on something more expansive, immediate and immersive. Less is more. Until it isn't.”

“Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic”
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground (1864)

The Intermittent Signal is the sound of resistance.

In the year since The Sick Man Of Europe’s debut album was released, the world has moved on. Steady hands have slipped from the levers of power, logic has shifted underground and the message grows more urgent with every passing day.

Repetition has been relearned and the machine rhythms repurposed, this time with increased intensity. Arrangements have moved beyond the bare bones economy of the first record and there’s a newfound melodicism in places. Clarity and conviction ring true through the static and noise, while utopian ideas to remodel a broken system gain traction. This is a rejection of the attention economy and a call to reconnect through community and organisation. Those simple acts that were once commonplace have become increasingly radical as new fractures emerge.

“Through repetition the message has gained weight and become something more urgent,” The Sick Man Of Europe explains. “The vehicle for this message needed to evolve, grow to gain the strength to carry it. We’ve landed on something more expansive, immediate and immersive. Less is more. Until it isn't.”

Meeting vulnerability with persistence, Lucerne-based musician Remo Helfenstein presents Spite, his first solo album on Präsens Editionen. Whereas his 2022 debut EP, Comforting Katharina, traced raw, devotional impulses, Spite expands the terrain—balancing psychedelic drift with sudden moments of clarity, wounded grandeur with flashes of pop transcendence.

The record thrives on contradiction: oscillating between the no wave austerity of Suicide and the meditative (and dadaist) expanses of Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s collaborative work, while opening into passages of gospel-infused spaciousness. At times intimate and porous, at times expansive and ecstatic, Helfenstein shapes a sound world that fuses analog and digital processes—both deeply personal and insistently collective. This duality comes to life most strikingly in recordings with fellow musicians Klara Germanier (background vocals and guitar), Raphael Loher (k

After hooking up with Ten’s Gary Hughes for his first three solo albums, and his fellow Hard Rain band-mate Paul Hodson for his fourth, when it came to ‘Spirit of Man’, Bob’s fifth album, the Magnum vocalist worked with the guys from Lost Weekend, along with Vince O’Regan (Escape, Legion, Pulse), who had been Bob’s touring guitarist for many of his solo shows. Vince and Bob also played many acoustic shows, and during this productive period the duo retired to Vince’s studio and recorded acoustic versions of songs covering Bob’s full solo career. The result is 11 songs highlighting the beloved velvet tones of Catley’s vocals and the melodic clarity of O’Regan’s delicate finger picking. No Magnum songs, but then this is purely a record of Bob Catley’s wonderful and highly successful solo career. Artwork and design by award-winning artist Sebastian Kozak (Ten, Crown of Thorns etc).

With Random Constraint Satisfaction Problems, the ever elusive and shape-shifting Thomas Bush offers up a new album of category scrambling song craft. Since earlier solo efforts like Old And Red (2018), Preludes (2022) and The Next 60 Years (2024), Bush—currently based in Malmö—has traced a digressive path that has proven him capable of everything from murky wobbling dirges to uptight head-bopping laments to crystalline synth chords that hang precariously in the air over your new favourite bass line. Like its title, the album's songs/tunes/opportunities for pleasure offer the listener further evidence of a sensibility that is equal parts ambiguity and clarity.

In addition to his solo work, Bush has worked with a range of collaborators in one-off configurations and longer term projects like RAP (with Guy Gormley) and cATHOLIC CHURGH (with Jon Auman). Critical responses to Bush's output have often focused on his predilection for certain folk-ish impulses and instrumentation, but, judging from releases like 2026's guld, his definition of "folk music" seems to have as much to do with A Guy Called Gerald as it does with Shirley Collins or John Martyn.

For all of its diversity, what unites Bush's ever-expanding body of work is its dual commitment to experimentation and a job well done.

“Random Constraint Satisfaction Problems was recorded at Vista Studio 1, Malmö between 2022 and 2025. After creating an account at academia.edu for the purpose of reading a text now forgotten, I began to get emails asking me questions such as ‘Thomas Bush, did you write “Brucellosis and Sacroiliitis: A Common Presentation of an Uncommon Pathogen”?’ or ‘Are you the Thomas Bush who wrote “ATR-dependent phosphorylation of FANCA on serine 1449 after DNA damage is important for FA pathway function”?’, which began to make me wonder if I was, or if not, perhaps I should.

The resulting work is an attempt to find meaning in this, and other chaotic and ambiguous situations through analysis using materials and equipment available to hand. Being sensitive to signs and following them with enthusiasm. Both the source material and evaluation is presented.”

Proudly partnering with the globally acclaimed Forza Horizon gaming series for the fifth time, Hospital Records once again bring their D&B A-game to the world of racing & gaming with a whopping 24-track soundtrack that's getting pressed to a pristine 3x12 triple gatefold vinyl product. For both Forza & Hospital fans alike, this is a physical piece of both D&B and gaming history.

Originally released on the legendary Rat Records in 2000, Old Skool quickly established itself as one of the defining records of the emerging Bassline Breaks movement. Now, over 25 years later, it returns fully remastered on Cyberfunk Records, bringing this underground classic back to a new generation of DJs and listeners.
Produced by DJ Quest and Kalibre, Old Skool perfectly captures the raw energy of the era, combining infectious vocal hooks, rolling breakbeats and heavyweight basslines that still sound as fresh today as they did on its original release.
A landmark release that bridged the worlds of UK Garage and Breakbeat, Old Skool helped shape the Cyberfunk sound that would follow. This remastered edition preserves all the character and atmosphere of the original while delivering the power and clarity expected on modern sound systems.
Tracklisting
A. Old Skool (2001 Original Mix)
The original version that helped establish DJ Quest as one of the pioneers of the emerging Bassline Breaks sound. Fusing infectious old-school vocal samples, rolling breakbeats and heavyweight basslines, this timeless underground anthem perfectly captured the crossover between UK Garage and Breakbeat. More than two decades on, its unmistakable groove and dancefloor energy continue to make it a favourite with DJs and fans around the world.
AA. Old Skool (Paket Remix)
Spanish breakbeat heavyweight Paket delivers a fresh interpretation for today's dancefloors, retaining the iconic vocal hooks and recognisable feel of the original while introducing tighter drums, modern production and his trademark bass-driven energy. Respectful of the source material yet built for contemporary sound systems, Paket's remix gives this classic a powerful new lease of life.
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A first-generation Nigerian-American hailing from Katy, TX, singer-songwriter Blessing Jolie creates pop music that straddles the line between introspective indie-folk and R&B. Like Tracy Chapman and Alanis Morissette before her, her songs are stories steeped in the vulnerability and messiness of a young woman growing up– from experiencing love for the first time to the effects of imposter syndrome to finding your place in between cultures and expectations. "I watched all my old friends graduate college while I was still chasing a dream. I wondered who I would’ve been if I took the same four-year route—but I’m learning to stand by myself through clarity, mistakes, and every detour. My life is mine to build and experiment with however my heart leads." - Blessing Jolie on Software Developer "Software Developer" is the third single leading up to Blessing Jolie's debut album with Thirty Tigers, 20Teens.

Time Heals Everything is the fifth studio album from Blu and Exile, a duo that first connected in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades refining a chemistry that continues to evolve. The ten-track LP follows 2024’s Love (the) Ominous World and leans deeper into their core strengths: soul-forward production, incisive writing, and left-field choices that feel instinctive rather than experimental.
The album opens with “Soul Unusual,” a mission statement that builds on the lineage of “Soul Provider” and “Soul Amazing,” reframed through Blu’s present-day perspective. “The word special comes to mind,” Blu explains. “This is my perspective of those songs now.” Exile adds that the record went through multiple iterations before landing in its final form. “Once I changed the beat, it really came together for me, and his words hit differently,” he says, setting the tone for a project rooted in refinement and intention.
“Crumbs” pairs Blu with Rome Streetz and ICECOLDBISHOP on a golden era-inspired backdrop, taking aim at the ‘crumbs’ people are expected to accept from corrupt systems of power. The track underscores one of the album’s central themes: clarity through experience, and the perspective that comes with time.
Time Heals Everything finds Blu and Exile honoring their foundation while continuing to push forward, proving once again that soul and risk-taking can coexist without compromise. “We took a different approach with the direction while still staying true to the culture our music has built with our fan base,” Blu says. In 2026, that culture remains alive, evolving, and resonant as ever.

When Drop Nineteens disbanded in the mid-'90s, singer Greg Ackell decided he would never make music again. He wouldn't noodle around on a guitar in his basement. He wouldn't get a group of friends together just to jam. He was done with music entirely. Following the release of the shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and the intricate experimentations on National Coma in 1993, the group disbanded. They shared stages with Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey and Smashing Pumpkins. They went from being teenagers in Boston to mid-twenty-somethings with a few MTV videos, a couple BBC sessions and numerous festival appearances under their belt. So when Drop Nineteens ceased to be, Ackell felt content. He had the rest of his life in front of him to figure out what he wanted to do. Music was a closed chapter.That was until 2021, when a friend from the band's early days got Greg on the phone to suggest making some music together, just to see how it felt. Instead of shutting it down like he had been doing over the years, he decided to entertain the prospect. For the first time in nearly 30 years, he picked up a guitar with intent. He immediately called up Steve Zimmerman, the band's bassist and fellow guitarist, and the two got writing. It felt effortless for Ackell, like he never stopped writing music. "We were off to the races," he says, "But also the question came up: what does a Drop Nineteens song sound like today?" Enter Hard Light, the band's stunning third record. It's the band's proverbial follow up to Delaware, a modern Drop Nineteens record that is completely singular in its sound and vision. The first task making Hard Light was, of course, getting the rest of the band back together. Drop Nineteens is an inherently collaborative project. Ackell writes the lyrics, and he works with band members Steve Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin to create the sonic world. The record came together over the course of a year, recording at a patchwork of studios all around the country: Boston, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Los Angeles. When Kelley and Ackell first heard their vocals recorded together on the opus album closer "T", the chemistry was undeniable. Making music together felt natural, fluid, exciting.Hard Light is a romantic record in the literary sense. Beauty from longing; longing from beauty. You put the album on and want to be clad in a velvet dress sprawled across a fainting couch. You want to be holding someone's hand while you sit back in the tall grass. The guitars are expansive and expressive as ever. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are cool, crystalline, and luminous. "Gal" comes on like a dream. The vocals pour in when you least expect them, once in the middle, where Ackell delivers one of the strangest (and best) lyrics on the record, "And there were snakes/with cats at the wheel." Hard Light's first single, "Scapa Flow" is triumphant and an excellent example of what a modern day Drop Nineteens song sounds like. The guitars glide cloud-like, floor toms shuffle and rumble in the background, searching. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are as toned as they are bound. Hard Light is every bit the ride that Delaware was, diverse in its sounds, with surprises at every turn. Drop Nineteens have brought clarity and cool in 2023 to the genre they helped create. A portrait of a band 30 years later, as talented and dedicated to their craft as ever. To put it more bluntly, they're at the top of their game.

Spanish producer Notzing joins Alpenglühen with Vermiström, a four-track EP exploring the deeper edges of experimental dance music.
Over the past few years, Notzing has established himself as one of the most compelling voices in Spain's underground techno scene. His sound is stripped back yet immersive, built from hypnotic drones, stretched loops, and subtle rhythmic developments that gradually pull the listener into a trance-like state.
With Vermiström, each of the four tracks unfolds organically, evolving with patience and precision. Intricate, unconventional rhythms intertwine with long-form sequences and richly processed textures, creating a constantly shifting sonic landscape.
What truly defines this EP, however, is its profound sense of depth and its unmistakable dub aesthetic. Every element occupies its own carefully crafted space: textured atmospheres, meticulously sculpted percussion, and syncopated sequences that seem to exist at two different tempos simultaneously. Creative use of delays and spatial effects subtly references the language of Jamaican dub, while an exceptional level of sound design and mixing gives the record remarkable clarity and dynamic range.
Rather than revealing everything at once, Vermiström unfolds gradually. Each listen brings new details to the surface, as subtle shifts in texture, rhythm and space slowly reshape the music from within.

This album is a masterpiece in which the three core pillars of Akira Ishikawa’s musical vision—jazz, rock, and African music—are fused in a sublime and thrilling balance. One arresting track follows another: the solemn and majestic “Prayer”, evoking the eternal land; the clear yet subtly psychedelic “Dawn”; the serene and beautiful “Love”; and the highly dynamic, explosive “Jumbo”.
The brilliance of Hirmasa Suzuki’s arrangements deserves special mention—simple yet profoundly deep, they give vivid clarity to the album’s overall concept and imagery. Among Ishikawa’s serious, non–instrumental-cover works, this album stands shoulder to shoulder with Electrum, Bakishinba, and Uganda, and should be regarded as one of his definitive achievements.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7" single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low prole while making his heart felt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with. The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musician-ship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a HipHop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is an artist on his own terms. Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experi-ence behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderoya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape. However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to nd the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his inuences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine. "It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to put in a box. The album showcases both Martens' range and his ability to make a cohesive album. The lead single "Falling Away" starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On "Still Here" he professes his resilience through life's twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like "You" and "Our Love" mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens' lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. "Love & Flowers" finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that ts the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor or while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like "Muse" and "Chess" that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens' lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There's an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.

Son Volt’s latest album, Sound Signal Serenades, will be released as a Record Store Day exclusive. Featuring twelve originals, Son Volt return to the elemental strengths that have long defined their sound—restless guitars, melodic clarity, and songs rooted in the lived experience of American landscapes. Anchored by Jay Farrar’s steady, unvarnished voice, the record balances reflection and resolve, drawing lines between personal memory and the wider currents of history, change, and endurance. The songs move fluidly between stripped-down intimacy and full-band drive, blending folk-rock, country, and electric grit with the confidence of a band that knows exactly who they are. There’s a sense of forward motion throughout the album—never nostalgic for its own sake, but deeply aware of where it’s been. Lyrically, Farrar explores themes of connection, resilience, and place, finding meaning in both the ordinary and the unsettled. This album stands as another chapter in Son Volt’s enduring catalog: honest, grounded, and quietly powerful, reaffirming their role as one of America’s most consistent and thoughtful rock bands.

Recorded in Waterloo, Iowa and produced by Michael Cutsforth , the album blends iconic blues storytelling with soulful, lived- in delivery, performed with clarity, conviction, and heart. Burt - long celebrated for his ability to captivate audiences with a raw, acoustic roots style and winner of the International Blues Challenge for solo artist - returns to the core of what makes his music resonate so deeply. After releasing three studio albums with full- band arraignments, This Trip marks a conscious shift toward intimacy and honesty. Burt brings the immediacy of his live performances into the studio, stripping back instrumentation to place the listener directly in the room with the storyteller. The result is a warm, immersive listening experience where every lyric lands with intention and every pause carries meaning - an album that invites you to slow down, lean in, and truly listen. Lyrically, This Trip reflects on life in all its chapters, exploring love, loss, hurt, fear, joy, and the moments that define who we become. These are songs shaped by experience and delivered with empathy, offering comfort as much as truth. Listening to Kevin Burt feels less like consuming music and more like sharing space- it's reflective, grounding, and quietly transformative. This Trip isn't just an album you hear; it's one you feel, and one you'll want to return to again and again.

Neon Electronics presents “Liberation”, the final chapter of the project born as the successor to The Neon Judgement—an essential vehicle for Dirk Da Davo, an artist who helped lay the foundations of EBM and post-punk. As co-founder of The Neon Judgement, he forged a sonic language that continues to resonate across generations. With “Liberation”, he brings Neon Electronics to a close, marking the end of this era with clarity and intent.

Joined by longtime collaborators Glenn Keteleer (Radical G) and Pieter-Jan Theunis, this release captures the essence of his most vital years. It distills the spirit of the ’80s and early ’90s into a sequence of tracks that unfold like a collection of undeniable hits—direct, timeless, and uncompromising.

The record reaches its final form with remixes by Ancient Methods, a leading force in industrial techno, and Patrick Codenys of Front 242—one of the few acts whose legacy stands alongside Dirk’s own.

For the label, presenting this final work is both a privilege and a responsibility: a closing statement from one of the true architects of the sound itself, and the definitive work of Neon Electronics as a project.

2026 Repress

Berlin’s Phil Berg, one of techno’s most distinctive rising names, debuts on Mutual Rytm with his ‘Dārin’ EP. First invited as the debut guest DJ for Mutual Rytm’s inaugural label night back in 2022, Berlin’s Phil Berg has maintained a close relationship with the imprint ever since. Known for his shadowy, immersive sound, Berg has carved out a singular position within the scene - equally respected for his high-impact DJ sets, his improvisational live performances, and a production style defined by clarity, tension, and a deeply recognisable sonic identity. While his live shows remain a vital part of his artistic DNA, often shaping the raw ideas that later evolve in the studio, his work extends far beyond the club floor, marking him out as a fully formed and increasingly essential voice in contemporary techno. That connection between stage and studio is fully realised on ‘Dārin’, where Berg delivers a darker, more driving statement for his Mutual Rytm debut, with the title track already becoming a standout in the sets of label founder SHDW. The title cut opens the EP with great urgency, as flaming drums and machine-gun synths are fired across the night sky, with sensuous whispers and sonar pulses adding the pull of the groove. Next, ‘Tempest’ brings big, banging hits, nailing down the kicks while rising tension appears through the backlit synths and distant bass rumbles. ‘Tanoo’ releases the pressure with a more luminous synth line that locks you in a trance as linear drums race on, while ‘Mephisto’ keeps you on edge with twitchy motifs and a burrowing bassline that drills down deep into a moody underworld. The EP closes with ‘Destiny Bond’, which rises with undulating, tactile lines, sleek synth smears, and a cosmic sense of travel. As digital bonus cuts, ‘Seiko’ and ‘Nyx’ bring anxiety and foreboding to the fore with two more muscular and physical deep techno hitters crafted for maximum impact.

Phase I marks the recorded debut of Supereon , a Norwegian trio formed in August 2024 and rooted in the ever- evolving Scandinavian jazz scene. Consisting of Alexander Hoholm on double bass, Martin Gjerde on piano, and Raymond Lavik on drums, the ensemble brings together three distinct musical voices in a collective pursuit of sound, texture, and rhythmic interplay. Recorded in June 2025 at Studio Martin in Roros, the album was produced by Hoholm in close collaboration with David Aleksander Sjolie .

The result is a recording that captures both clarity and immediacy, allowing the trio's intricate interplay to unfold with a natural sense of space and depth. At the core of Phase I lies a process rather than a set of compositions. The music is entirely improvised, shaped in real time from short rhythmic ideas that serve as points of departure. From these concise impulses, the trio develops expansive sonic landscapes where repetition, variation, and subtle transformation create a sense of forward motion. Drawing on influences ranging from the minimalism of Steve Reich to the textural sensitivity of Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds, Supereon crafts a sound that is at once rhythmic, meditative, and hypnotic. As its title suggests, the album stands as the first chapter in an ongoing journey - one that will continue to unfold in future phases.

Berlin-based Harry Wills joins the label for an EP of loopy tech house.

The Third Room launches its new curator-led series with Oscar Mulero, one of techno's most uncompromising and influential voices. Through decades of releases, DJ sets and his work with PoleGroup, Mulero has helped shape a sound defined by tension, reduction and depth, leaving a lasting mark on contemporary techno culture. For this first chapter, he brings together artists who reflect that same discipline and sonic clarity. Rather than focusing on solo authorship, Mulero shifts towards dialogue - connecting with producers who operate within a shared language, while bringing their own distinct perspectives to the record. He opens with Sonic Synergy, the only solo track: restrained, dub-influenced and immersive, built on warm low-end and gradual development. The centrepiece of the record follows with Reaction Pair, a collaboration with DVS1. Bringing together two of the scene's most established voices, the track unfolds as a fluid, open construction: a rolling, slightly woobly bassline meets evolving chords that build and dissolve tension in continuous cycles, creating a sense of forward motion without obvious peaks. Seven, with Luigi Tozzi, introduces a more spatial dimension, merging Tozzi's atmospheric depth with Mulero's steady drive. Closing track Between the Stars, with Isabel Soto, leans into a timeless, understated energy - functional without ever becoming forceful. Across all four tracks, the EP remains consistent in tone: spacious, spheric and focused on long-form movement. As the first entry in the series, it sets a clear direction - reduced, hypnotic techno built for longevity. ? 2026 The Third Room A1 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero | A2 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Zak Khutoretsky | D1 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Luigi Tozzi | B2 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Isabel Soto Mastered by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

Great Television unfolds as a loose, emotionally driven narrative about navigating love, identity, and self-destruction against a backdrop of memory, movement, and Southern imagery. It begins with “Sunset Promenade,” where a deep, possibly lifelong bond offers comfort amid internal turmoil, establishing a desire for connection strong enough to withstand a restless mind. This sense of identity expands in “Girls of Atomic City,” where independence and womanhood are celebrated, though tinged with performance and uncertainty.

As the story progresses, songs like “Okeechobee Mud” introduce instability and intensity, portraying relationships that are passionate but corrosive, where love becomes inseparable from pain. “Thiokol Tripwire” honors the lives lost in the 1971 Thiokol Chemical Explosion and those affected in the south Georgia community of Woodbine. “Razorwire Wall” reinforces this devotion to chaotic love, suggesting loyalty even in destructive circumstances. A turning point arrives with “The Easy Kind,” where Cook reflects on attempts at self-repair, acknowledging her contradictions and rejecting simplicity in favor of a more fractured self-understanding. This awareness deepens in “Caldonia and The Love Convoy” and “In Your Veins,” where freedom blurs into recklessness and love takes on addictive qualities, revealing her complicity in cycles of harm. “19th Nervous Breakdown” provides crucial context, tracing her instability back to a turbulent upbringing marked by neglect and emotional disorder. “Feverfew,” leaves the narrative unresolved, as she recognizes her repeated attraction to destructive paths yet continues to follow them. In contrast, the closing track “Lightly” offers a rare glimpse of pure, protective sisterly love. Altogether, the album portrays a cyclical journey of longing, damage, and partial self-awareness, where clarity emerges but transformation remains uncertain.

2026 Repress
Moving Pressure marks its fifth release, and the first one to stretch across a double vinyl with full sleeve artwork. It isn't framed as an album, yet its sequencing carries a narrative weight that lingers between immediacy and introspection.
MP05 welcomes on board Australian producer Connor Wall, whose work fuses tightly wound rhythm and immersive atmosphere, balancing precision with a sense of openness. His sound is rooted in the physical pull of the dancefloor, yet drawn toward zones of suspension and elusion. And Moving Pressure 05 captures that duality very clearly. Momentum sets the tone from the outset - taut drum programming, metallic accents, and structures that build energy in decisive bursts. There's a sense of propulsion that feels engineered for peak hours, exuding a tightening grip on the floor. Gradually, tension loosens up, stretching patterns into spirals, layering vaporous pads and resonant low-end that opens a more interior space.
Together, the two arcs trace Wall's range with clarity: body and mind, force and dissolve. Rather than presenting opposites, they reveal different angles of the same language. An exploration of density, atmosphere, and the subtle thresholds between the two.

There’s something quietly defiant about Melody Boy. Written and recorded in a tiny beach hut studio on the English coast, and notably know for his previous work with Paul Weller and The Moons, Andy Crofts’ debut solo album arrives without compromise or concession to trend. It’s a record built on melody above all else, songs that feel unearthed rather than manufactured, guided by instinct, memory, and a lifelong obsession with the craft of songwriting.

Crofts, long established as a songwriter and musician, steps forward here with a voice that feels both seasoned and strangely elusive. There’s no rush to explain, no attempt to overstate. Instead, Melody Boy unfolds with a natural confidence, hook laden, harmonically rich, and emotionally direct without ever losing its sense of mystery.
Drawing from a lineage of classic songwriting while remaining firmly his own, the album leans into warmth, analogue textures, and a sense of timelessness that resists the churn of the modern music cycle. It’s not chasing a moment, it’s creating its own space.
Lead single “Blue” introduced that world: melodic, reflective, quietly anthemic. Across the album, that same thread runs deep, songs that reveal themselves slowly, rewarding repeat listens rather than demanding immediate attention.
There’s a deliberate sense of distance in Melody Boy. Not coldness, but clarity. A refusal to overexplain. The result is a body of work that feels personal without being confessional, detailed without being crowded.

In a landscape built on constant output and fleeting attention, Andy Crofts offers something else entirely: a record that trusts the listener to meet it halfway.
"Blue is another song that I can't get enough of at the moment" - Gary Crowley (BBC London)

There’s something quietly defiant about Melody Boy. Written and recorded in a tiny beach hut studio on the English coast, and notably know for his previous work with Paul Weller and The Moons, Andy Crofts’ debut solo album arrives without compromise or concession to trend. It’s a record built on melody above all else, songs that feel unearthed rather than manufactured, guided by instinct, memory, and a lifelong obsession with the craft of songwriting.

Crofts, long established as a songwriter and musician, steps forward here with a voice that feels both seasoned and strangely elusive. There’s no rush to explain, no attempt to overstate. Instead, Melody Boy unfolds with a natural confidence, hook laden, harmonically rich, and emotionally direct without ever losing its sense of mystery.
Drawing from a lineage of classic songwriting while remaining firmly his own, the album leans into warmth, analogue textures, and a sense of timelessness that resists the churn of the modern music cycle. It’s not chasing a moment, it’s creating its own space.
Lead single “Blue” introduced that world: melodic, reflective, quietly anthemic. Across the album, that same thread runs deep, songs that reveal themselves slowly, rewarding repeat listens rather than demanding immediate attention.
There’s a deliberate sense of distance in Melody Boy. Not coldness, but clarity. A refusal to overexplain. The result is a body of work that feels personal without being confessional, detailed without being crowded.

In a landscape built on constant output and fleeting attention, Andy Crofts offers something else entirely: a record that trusts the listener to meet it halfway.
"Blue is another song that I can't get enough of at the moment" - Gary Crowley (BBC London)

In an era of excess and endless distraction, Margaret Glaspy rejects the noise in favor of something far more essential. Before setting to work on her fourth full-length album I Am Both, she stepped away from social media and soon discovered a clarity of mind she hadn't experienced in years, followed by a sustained burst of creative momentum. As she penned her lyrics in longhand and then polished them up on a typewriter, Glaspy assembled a selection of songs that span from fictional vignettes to unguarded self-revelation to empathetic observation of the troubled world around her. Produced by Joe Henry (the three-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer known for his work with luminaries like Aimee Mann and Joan Baez), I Am Both ultimately stands as a striking new statement from one of the modern music canon's most formidable songwriters.

In the wake of the release of Swedish post-rock luminaries OH HIROSHIMA's 6th studio album And The Dead Tree Gives no Shelter, Pelagic is reissueing OH's Oscillation (2019) and Myriad (2022) on vinyl. Oscillation marks a significant step forward for OH HIROSHIMA. On their third studio album, the Swedish band further refines its distinctive blend of atmospheric post-rock, weaving together shimmering guitar lines, weightless vocals and understated electronic elements into seven richly textured soundscapes. Balancing intimacy with grandeur, Oscillation unfolds like a lucid dream_at once delicate, expansive and quietly captivating. OH HIROSHIMA began with Resistance Is Futile, a largely instrumental post-rock debut that already hinted at their atmospheric sensibilities, with only subtle early traces of vocals. On In Silence We Yearn, the band's identity became more defined, with vocals taking on a more central role and their sound expanding into emotionally driven, shoegaze-tinged post-rock. With Oscillation, they refined this approach into more complex, denser song structures, balancing clarity and abstraction while deepening their cinematic atmosphere. To get a sense of what the album has to offer, watch the music video for "Darkroom Aesthetics". Recorded by Kristian Karlsson (pg.lost, Cult of Luna) and mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna, Oscillation unfolds in vast, immersive soundscapes where fragile melodies drift through reverb-drenched space before building into powerful, cathartic waves of sound. FOR FANS OF Alcest Mogwai God Is an Astronaut Karnivool pg.lost Classic black or white 2LP available!

In the wake of the release of Swedish post-rock luminaries OH HIROSHIMA's 6th studio album And The Dead Tree Gives no Shelter, Pelagic is reissueing OH's Oscillation (2019) and Myriad (2022) on vinyl. Oscillation marks a significant step forward for OH HIROSHIMA. On their third studio album, the Swedish band further refines its distinctive blend of atmospheric post-rock, weaving together shimmering guitar lines, weightless vocals and understated electronic elements into seven richly textured soundscapes. Balancing intimacy with grandeur, Oscillation unfolds like a lucid dream_at once delicate, expansive and quietly captivating. OH HIROSHIMA began with Resistance Is Futile, a largely instrumental post-rock debut that already hinted at their atmospheric sensibilities, with only subtle early traces of vocals. On In Silence We Yearn, the band's identity became more defined, with vocals taking on a more central role and their sound expanding into emotionally driven, shoegaze-tinged post-rock. With Oscillation, they refined this approach into more complex, denser song structures, balancing clarity and abstraction while deepening their cinematic atmosphere. To get a sense of what the album has to offer, watch the music video for "Darkroom Aesthetics". Recorded by Kristian Karlsson (pg.lost, Cult of Luna) and mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna, Oscillation unfolds in vast, immersive soundscapes where fragile melodies drift through reverb-drenched space before building into powerful, cathartic waves of sound. FOR FANS OF Alcest Mogwai God Is an Astronaut Karnivool pg.lost Classic black or white 2LP available!