2025 Repress
Moods & Grooves proudly welcomes the return of one of Detroit’s best multi-talented producers, Andrés.
“Out In The Open” released in 2002, established Andrés's identity as many assumed he was an alias of Kenny Dixon Jr. He’s finally back with a full release for Moods & Grooves after a couple of dope remixes of Cool Peepl and Jason Hogans/Paul Randolph.
“Back In The Open” chops up a classic hit along with a few unknowns that will keep the floors moving throughout the night.
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The perfect accompaniment to that deep fall feeling, Frank Maston's beloved 2025 single finally gets its long overdue vinyl release! As our friends New Commute articulated beautifully, "Foreign Affairs" drifts through London fog and Paris shimmer, its avant-lounge glow wrapping each melody in a wistful ache. On B-side "Liaison," ghostly strings and a solitary piano paint a deserted twilight shoreline, Pacôme Henry's distinct 16mm cinematography hovering nearby." We've pressed just 500 of these gorgeous records so, be quick, Maston always flies.
Originally written for a film Maston was scoring in 2024, he decided to keep it aside for himself. And, well, us all. The song has a vibe Maston has previously flirted with; he wanted to dive in...all the way: "The arrangement is huge, definitely the biggest I've written, and it merited live musicians playing together. Also another experiment, to do it with all live musicians playing my arrangements. I wanted to make something that you'd want to put on when you bring a date back to your place. It's on the edge of sappy but that's sort of the point. I decided to give myself an unlimited budget - just spend whatever was necessary to get the right musicians and record it the best way possible."
It's this dedication to sonic perfection which Maston is rightly lauded for. We couldn't not put this on a cute wee 7" when we heard it.
The A side, "Foreign Affairs", is a brilliant, Bacharach-esque romp with a bit of that unapologetically romantic Morricone angle. Says Frank: "I was trying to synthesize that sort of jazzy/sexy/classy/romantic mature sound, where the edginess is in these surprising chord changes and subtle arrangement cues."
A wonderful complement, the flipside "Liaison", evokes Martin Denny, but Eden's Island was in Frank's head, too. He wanted to take a deep dive into that exotica sound - a genre he'd referenced a bit but never fully committed to - so the piece is lavished with those big sighing strings and a pretty lush arrangement. Happily, it all sounds super rich. Also, "Umiliani is always a reference for this sort of thing (Il Corpo etc.), That almost mechanical arrangement of things moving together and a simple melody over it (something I nicked from Ennio)".
The two songs were recorded in Paris and London in the summer of 2024. Aside from the rhythm section and piano, there's vibraphone, a full string section, trombones and alto and concert flutes. "Liaison" boasts strings, vibraphone, a female choir and tenor sax. Maston played piano and acoustic guitar but that's it (as opposed to playing basically everything on Tulips). His friend Oscar Sholto Robertson played drums and percussion whilst Maston mainstay Elie Ghersinu (formerly of L'Eclair) played bass.
The theme for a lot of Maston's titles is that they have two meanings. So "Foreign Affairs" is both a reference to him living abroad and the idea of constant cultural diplomacy and then there's this sexy/cheeky interpretation of foreign affairs in a literal way - "an affair abroad, ooh la la!". The artwork for this 7" single has Roman campaign flags, referencing the foreign affairs in sort of a sassy way. There's a violence implied. But then if you look from a bit of a distance it looks like a bouquet of flowers. So Frank thought it went with the spirit of the title. Also, he's used a lot of roman motifs now so he kept that theme going, even with the terracotta cover.
This is a vitally important project for our Frank. He explains why, here: "For whatever reason, these songs really resonated with me. I feel like they are either the end of a stylistic era for me or the beginning of a new one. They're sonically the culmination of what I'd been working towards and trying to get better at since I started. If I heard this when I was making Tulips I would have said "YES! *This* is what I want to be doing!". So that's the essence of it. It's a statement and the intended reaction is "This is really good, but why now?". Like the edge to it is the context of someone making this sort of thing in 2025, which I think is a huge strength. The real heads will get it. My music always has like a 2-3 year latency until people really catch onto it, and these ones will have a nice payoff I think."
We couldn't put it better ourselves. So we haven't.
Unchained is the long-standing guitar-based project of Nate Davis, originally from Providence, RI, and based in France for over a decade. In his two most recent LPs—Gabbeh (2024, A Colourful Storm) and Frontalier (2025, Stern Records)—Davis strives to describe a new path for outsider jazz instrumentalism that remains committed to harmonic and rhythmic form while placing greater emphasis on sonic texture through experimental production techniques.
Release Description:
Unchained—a name which at the project's inception or on earlier recordings spoke perhaps to the ecstatic saturation of high gain guitar—has over the past three albums (N.D. Visitor, Pic, and Gabbeh) come to represent more and more an acknowledgement of and sensitive remove from a crashing world. An excuse of oneself from trend towards a siloed artistic development.
On Frontalier, Nate Davis crosses further into this patient personal lexicon of guitar composition, presenting a new set of richly developed songs and leaps in arrangement which may very well shock Unchained fans the world over. The sympathetic geometric guitar themes of the earlier second-period Unchained style are almost entirely absent, making way for a fully realized presentation of the jazz, MPB, and fusion influence present to varying degrees on the previous three albums. Davis's keen sense of melody and songcraft have never been stronger, here landing on music which is at moments evocative of Wes Montgomery, Allan Holdsworth, Jobim, or the jazzier impulses of Lô Borges. Distinct in Davis's music, however, is what these references might belie: an innate tending towards repetition as an affective tool—one which has less to do with the aesthetics of the scene from which the project emerged than it does with devotional prayer. In this way it feels as if Unchained has always been music for living. What was once a maximalist expression of youth has matured into the sound of living with and in the world and an empathic transmuting of all the joy, disappointment, and ambivalence that comes with it. Songs that feel like the sort of thinking one does looking out the window on a long train ride, or the routinism of internal and external life and the breaking out of it. As much as it will be recognized by the fandom as a significant step forward, Frontalier serves also as a perfect gateway for new listeners to the singular music of Unchained.
- Opening Intro
- Emotional Weather Report
- Intro
- On A Foggy Night
- Intro
- Eggs And Sausageside B
- Intro
- Better Off Without A Wife
- Nighthawk Postcardsside C
- Intro
- Warm Beer And Cold Women
- Intro
- Putnam County
- Spare Parts Iside D
- Nobody
- Intro
- Big Joe And Phantom
- Spare Parts Ii And Closing
50th Anniversary Reissue on limited edition 180g Yellow Marble. Recorded in front of a live audience at the Record Plant Recording Studio in Los Angeles in 1975, Nighthawks at the Diner debuts some of Waits" greatest classics like "Warm Beer, Cold Women" and "Eggs and Sausage" with a crack jazz ensemble backing him up and some of the greatest stage patter ever committed to record.
- Cement
- Dive Into My Sun
- Numb Yourself
- Heaviside
- My Favorite Color
- Weave Me (Into Yr Sin)
- Stain
- Ten
- Yellow Love
- Ring Of Chain
- Nail In Your Hand
- Heaviside (Wisp Version)
- Cement (Demo)
- Dive Into My Sun (Demo)
- Numb Yourself (Demo)
- Heaviside (Demo)
- My Favorite Color (Demo)
- Yellow Love (Demo)
- Ring Of Chain (Demo)
Cloudy Gold Vinyl. This 10 Year Anniversary Edition features new, gatefold packaging with updated photos, lyrics and liner notes. Disc one incldues the originial album in full and the brand new second disc features rare b-side "Nail In Your Hand," a re-done version of "Heaviside" with artist Wisp performing vocals on the song, and seven never-before heard demo versions of songs from Citizen's second album. Ten years ago, Citizen released Everybody Is Going to Heaven _ a record that marked a bold turning point in their career. Following the breakout success of Youth, the band could have stayed the course. Instead, they doubled down on darker textures, heavier moods, and a fearless sense of experimentation. Released in 2015, Everybody Is Going to Heaven expanded Citizen's sound beyond their emo and post-hardcore roots, weaving in elements of grunge, and alternative rock. Tracks like "Cement" and "Stain" captured a raw, unsettled energy that explored mortality, depression, and identity with an honesty that still resonates today. It wasn't a record built for easy listens _ it was built to last. Now, a decade later, Everybody Is Going to Heaven stands as a defining moment in Citizen's evolution _ a record that challenged both the band and their audience, and helped shape the fearless, genre-blurring artists they've become. As they celebrate its 10th anniversary, Citizen remains a band deeply committed to growth, refusing to be tied to a single sound or era. Everybody Is Going to Heaven didn't just mark where they were; it lit the way for everything that came next.
- Star Wars And The Revenge Of The Sith (7:29)
- Anakin's Dream (4:44)
- Battle Of The Heroes (3:42)
- Anakin's Betrayal (4:05)
- General Grievous (4:05)
- Palpatine's Teachings (5:25)
- Grievous And The Droids (3:27)
- Padmé's Ruminations (3:18)
- Anakin Vs. Obi-Wan (3:56)
- Anakin's Dark Deeds (4:04)
- Enter Lord Vader (4:13)
- The Immolation Scene (2:39)
- Grievous Speaks To Lord Sidious (2:48)
- The Birth Of The Twins And Padmé's Destiny (3:39)
- A New Hope And End Credits (13:05)
Mutant, in association with Walt Disney Music and LucasFilm, are proud to present a 20th anniversary celebratory pressing of John William's original score to the iconic final chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Following a powerful return to cinemas this spring, George Lucas' 2005 science fiction epic has continued to capture the hearts generation after generation. Returning for his sixth Star Wars film, John Williams brings the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker to life with a masterful flair. From the opening fanfare's hard pivot to the action packed dogfight, Williams weaves between kinetic adventure, and haunting heartbreak with grace and precision. In a series full of the absolute pinnacle of music ever committed to film, Revenge of the Sith sits proudly side by side, while feeling wholly unique.
Long out of print on physical media, and only being pressed on Vinyl for the second time ever, this limited edition release features incredible original artwork by Matt Ferguson and is pressed on 2x 140gm black vinyl.
White LP. Born out of the early 1980's Austin noise punk scene, Scratch Acid deliberately eschewed the loud, fast rules of hardcore as everything they didn't want to be and embraced a weirder, artier sound. Prior to the release of their 1984 debut S/T EP, someone gave Touch and Go Records owner Corey Rusk a cassette of the recording, and he was instantly a huge fan. Rusk was immediately interested in releasing the EP and contacted the band to express his admiration. At the time, Scratch Acid had already committed to working with Rabid Cat Records, who released the band's debut release S/T EP (1984) and their only full-length album, Just Keep Eating (1986). The group quickly developed a riveting performance aesthetic, and, as the debut S/T EP made its way around the country via fanzines, college radio, and word-of-mouth, the band mounted short tours to the Midwest and the East Coast. After playing a total of 146 shows, Scratch Acid broke up after the long tour that followed the release of the Berserker EP (Touch and Go Records, 1987). Since that time, the band have had many imitators, and many alternative bands have cited Scratch Acid as one of their influences.
Born out of the early 1980's Austin noise punk scene, Scratch Acid deliberately eschewed the loud, fast rules of hardcore as everything they didn't want to be and embraced a weirder, artier sound. Prior to the release of their 1984 debut S/T EP, someone gave Touch and Go Records owner Corey Rusk a cassette of the recording, and he was instantly a huge fan. Rusk was immediately interested in releasing the EP and contacted the band to express his admiration. At the time, Scratch Acid had already committed to working with Rabid Cat Records. The group quickly developed a riveting performance aesthetic, and, as the debut S/T EP made its way around the country via fanzines, college radio, and word-of-mouth, the band mounted short tours to the Midwest and the East Coast. While he was not able to work with Scratch Acid directly through Touch and Go, Rusk had begun booking shows with Scratch Acid in Detroit, so he could see them live and meet them. A friendship formed, and Touch and Go Records would eventually release the band's second EP, Berserker, in 1987.
Scowl is a band that sounds exactly like their name implies. Venomous, fierce, antagonistic. A sneer not to be crossed. Over the last five years, the Santa Cruz, California, band has firmly planted their flag in the hardcore scene with their vicious sound and ripping live show, sharing stages around the world with Circle Jerks, Touché Amoré, and Limp Bizkit, and filling slots at prominent festivals like Coachella, Sick New World, and Reading and Leeds. But with their new album, Are We All Angels (Dead Oceans), Scowl is aiming to funnel all that aggression through a more expansive version of themselves.Much of Are We All Angels grapples with Scowl's newfound place in the hardcore scene, a community which has both embraced the band and made them something of a lightning rod over the past few years. Standout single "Not Hell, Not Heaven" outright rejects the narratives cast onto them by outsiders. "It's about feeling victimized and being a victim, but not wanting to identify with being a victim," explains vocalist Kat Moss. "It's trying to find grace in the fact that I have my power. I live in my reality. You have to deal with whatever you're dealing with, and it ain't working for me." The band breaks from a sense of disassociation to seek deeper connections on "Fantasy." "It's incredibly challenging to try to balance my love for the scene while also feeling, in some spaces, extremely alienated and hated," Moss says. "`Fantasy' is about feeling like I don't know how to connect with these people anymore, because I have shelled myself away so hard." The album ends in a philosophical place on the closing, titular track, "Are We All Angels," asking questions like, "Is this all there is?" and ultimately putting it on the listener to decide. "It's about the personal struggle between good and evil. It doesn't matter how `good' or `bad' you are, there are systems that will try to rewrite your narrative no matter what you actually do," explains Moss, noting that punctuation on "Are We All Angels" has been deliberately omitted in an attempt to leave the statement open-ended. Are We All Angels is the highly anticipated follow-up to Scowl's debut, 2021's How Flowers Grow, a 16-minute primal scream over punishing riffs. But amidst the pounding chaos, it was the record's sonic outlier, a cleaner interlude called "Seeds to Sow," that, true to its name, planted the seed for what was to come for the band. "It kind of laid out this destiny for us, and I feel like now we're fulfilling that," says drummer Cole Gilbert. The band continued to expand their sound on 2023's widely acclaimed Psychic Dance Routine EP, incorporating more pop hooks and favoring gentler singing over heavy screaming, paving the way for what would come next.Scowl's growth got a huge boost from producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Code Orange, Balance and Composure), who broadened the band's scope. "Will would say, `Everything you have here is correct, but it's in the wrong place,'" says Gilbert. Moss adds: "Will really helped restructure a lot of the material. Some songs he tore apart to make more space for the really good hooks and choruses." But even through this more eclectic approach, Scowl loses none of their edge, and still manages to convey the anger and frustration that lies underneath. They are deeply committed to carrying the ethos of punk and its sense of community. "Hardcore and punk have sculpted how we operate, what we want to do as a band, and how we participate," says guitarist Malachi Greene. "At our core, we are a punk and a hardcore band, regardless of how the song shifts and changes."
The line between art and entertainment has always been fuzzy. Certainly, there’s plenty of overlap between the two, but lately it feels like there’s a growing divide, an ever-widening chasm separating our fundamental need for creative expression and our insatiable appetite for disposable content. That’s where T. Hardy Morris comes in.
“I’ve spent a lot of time parsing the difference between the two,” he explains, “not just for myself, but for society at large. What does it mean to be an artist? How do we measure creative success? Where are the boundaries between audience and performer when everyone’s broadcasting their lives 24/7?”
Morris dives into those questions headfirst on his riveting new album, Artificial Tears, and while the answers don’t come easily, the search yields plenty of reward. Recorded in Nashville with My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel at the helm, the collection is an electrifying work of existential exploration, a raw, rock and roll reflection on meaning and identity in a modern world that’s simultaneously more connected and isolated than ever before. Despite the weighty ruminations at its core, the result is a remarkably grounded, down to earth album that’s at once honest and abstract, a poignant, clear-eyed look in the mirror from a master craftsman committed to his work for nothing more—and nothing less—than its own intrinsic value.
- 1: Press Play
- 2: Pop’s Love Suicide
- 3: Tumble In The Rough
- 4: Big Bang Baby
- 5: Lady Picture Show
- 6: And So I Know
- 7: Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart
- 8: Art School Girl
- 9: Adhesive
- 10: Ride The Cliché
- 11: Daisy
- 12: Seven Caged Tigers
Experience the Double-Platinum 1996 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time
Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Is Sourced from the Original Analogue Tapes
1/2” / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe
If great art, as many believe, is inherently polarizing, then the Stone Temple Pilots’ Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop easily ranks as the California-based band’s finest album. Simultaneously celebrated and castigated upon release in spring 1996, the group’s third full-length finds vocalist Scott Weiland and company expanding their “grunge” palette with a smart blend of glam rock, psychedelia, jangle pop, and other related styles. Having benefited from long-view reassessments that shed the biases and meanness of initial criticisms, the double-platinum effort is now largely and rightly seen as a creative masterwork. All the more reason why it deserves reference-grade production.
Overseen by producer Brendan O’Brien, Stone Temple Pilots used bedrooms, hallways, bathrooms, and the lawn to capture a broad blend of textures, spaciousness, and ambience that helped underline the group’s obvious (and somewhat unexpected) leap from normal “alternative” status to an artist whose aspirations went beyond that of many of its contemporaries. You can hear the multitude of details and tonalities with previously unattained clarity, presence, and scope on this fantastic reissue, which also delivers the impact and punch every rock record deserves. Another tremendous asset: The depth, grain, and pitch of Weiland’s voice.
For all the contagious choruses and glossy melodies that help make Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop sparkle, the vocal performances of the late singer arguably rank as the best that the much-missed Weiland committed to tape. None other than the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan — who, like many peers and critics, felt a pressing need to reevaluate the record as both time marched on and the self-importance attached to the “alternative” scene faded — praised Weiland’s efforts by noting: “Like Bowie can and does, it was Scott's phrasing that pushed his music into a unique, and hard to pin down, aesthetic sonicsphere.”
Smooth and diverse, those traits are everywhere on Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. From the clever combination of emotional closeness and distance he brings to the catchy albeit ultimately melancholic “Lady Picture Show”; to the lounge-fly balladeering that causes “And So I Know” to lightly swing akin to a bleary-eyed house band’s final number at a 4 A.M. bar; to the effortless cool and laissez-faire casualness he articulates on the grinding “Pop’s Love Suicide”; to the dimensional raspiness, defiant energy, and let-loose wail that sail through the crunchy “Big Bang Baby.”
The latter tune, the record’s first single and per Weiland a conscious attempt by the band to deconstruct its prior approaches, clearly borrows from the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Because of it, the song drew all kinds of barbs from naysayers. Their disdain extended to most material on Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, which indirectly references other prized acts such as the Beatles, Cheap Trick, T. Rex, and Lush. Those cynics failed to grasp that Stone Temple Pilots were paying homage and having a blast, with even Weiland, then battling serious substance-abuse and legal issues, getting in on the action.
Stone Temple Pilots’ skeptics also turned a deaf ear to the records’ stellar pop craftsmanship, sticky hooks, and sly commentary on music-industry machinations and fame. Not to mention the band’s intent, made clear from the outset. In an interview conducted in 1994, guitarist Robert DeLeo stated: “The last thing I wanted to do with this band was make everybody believe we invented something.”
Seen through that lens and the hindsight afforded history, and appreciated independent of the self-righteous authenticity standards of the day, Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop sounds borderline fearless while authoritatively checking all the right boxes for fun, flavor, and finesse. Part winking send-up, part tribute to the glitter rock age, and part middle finger towards the hip crowd that didn’t know what they were missing, this mid-90s classic repeatedly invites you to drop the needle and press play.
- A1: Let's Dance
- A2: My Lovely Elena
- A3: Sweet Eyes
- A4: Take Me With You
- A5: Always In My Heart
- A6: Dance Of Maria
- A7: I Think Of You
- A8: Smile For Me
- A9: Leila Leila Jolie Fille
- B1: Don’t Forget Me
- B2: Hey! Dabke
- B3: Summer Is Coming
- B4: Let Me Love You
- B5: Goodnight My Love
- B6: Midnight Dance
- B7: Sweet Nadia
- B8: My Heart Song
Beautiful mix of eastern sounds and western rhythms, with haunting melodies, nice drum breaks and using traditional arabian instruments alongside organs and drums.
Compilation of tracks from the two Mosaic of the Orient LPs released in the 70's - beautiful psychedelic funk gems.
Right Track is a specialized music label based in Beirut - Lebanon. As an IFPI certified member they are the exclusive Licensee and distributor of multiple international and regional labels in addition to a range of Lebanese Artists. From Omar Khorshid’s arabian-funk to Fairuz’s eerie songs, from Ziad Rabani’s proto-disco to lebanese traditional Wadih Al Safi compositions, Right Track is committed to re-releasing the Immortal Arabic music repertoire on 180 g vinyls, delivering the highest possible quality from remastered audio to satisfy the demanding audiophile connoisseurs.
- A1: It S Showtime - Various Performers (2.5)
- A2: That Dumb Laugh - Various Performers (1.59)
- A3: Sam Ol Joker - Various Performers (1.4)
- A4: The Real You - Various Performers (2.32)
- A5: Back On Tv - Various Performers (1.24)
- A6: Buy Me A Drink First? - Various Performers (1.13)
- A7: Trial Of The Century - Various Performers (1.42)
- A8: My Mother Had Me Committed - Various Performers (1.32)
- A9: The Saints - Various Performers (1.17)
- A10: The Other Half - Various Performers (1.43)
- B1: Social Services - Various Performers (1.41)
- B2: Knock Knock - Various Performers (1.39)
- B3: Doppelg?Nger - Various Performers (2.23)
- B4: That S All Folks - Various Performers (0.54)
- B5: Old Neighborhood - Various Performers (1.14)
- B6: Uh Oh I M In Trouble - Various Performers (1.34)
- B7: Voices - Various Performers (2.25)
- B8: There Is No Joker - Various Performers (1.5)
- B9: It S All Theater - Various Performers (2.03)
Hildur Gudnadóttir reunites with director Todd Phillips for the score to Joker: Folie à Deux, following their acclaimed work on 2019's Joker, which earned Gudnadóttir an Academy Award, GRAMMY, BAFTA and Golden Globe. Phillips describes her music as 'basically the second biggest character in the first film', and her return was never in question.
For Folie à Deux, Gudnadóttir pushed her sonic language further, inventing a new instrument to reflect Arthur's internal split. Inspired by his mental confinement, she worked with Icelandic builders to create a 'string prison' - long strings stretched through space and played with a trench cello - to evoke both euphoria and claustrophobia.
The Solid Gold Playaz (and global house music scene) experienced an immeasurable loss in 2021 with the sudden passing of Kenny Gino. Known for pushing the boundaries of deep house and house with funk, Solid Gold Playaz carved a legacy on dance floors worldwide, bringing infectious grooves and undeniable energy to the community.
Years following this heartbreaking loss, the surviving member remains committed to honoring Kenny’s memory and the groups musical efforts. “This music was our heartbeat, and that heartbeat will never stop,” says Mike Theus. “We started this journey together, and I will continue to celebrate the sound we built, ensuring Kenny's spirit lives on in every track, every set, and every dance floor. ” Fans can expect future releases of new and unreleased material on Moods & Grooves as Solid Gold Playaz keeps the music alive.
The Black Gold EP blends the hypnotic depth of deep house, the infectious bounce of house with funk, and the driving energy of tech-house; this EP is a sonic experience designed for dance floors and late-night sessions alike. Let the beats move you. Let the grooves consume you. The Black Gold EP is coming. Are you ready to dance?
VERY LIMITED 2025 REPRESS ON BEAM OF LIGHT VINYL .
Everything changed for The Beths when they released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. The indie rock band had long been nurtured within Auckland, New Zealand’s tight-knit music scene, working full-time during the day and playing music with friends after hours. Full of uptempo pop rock songs with bright, indelible hooks, the LP garnered them critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, and they set out for their first string of shows overseas. They quit their jobs, said goodbye to their home town, and devoted themselves entirely to performing across North America and Europe. They found themselves playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie. Almost instantly, The Beths turned from a passion project into a full-time career in music.
Songwriter and lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes worked on what would become The Beths’ second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, in between these intense periods of touring. Like the group’s earlier music, the album tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends. Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.
"If you're at a certain age, all your friends scatter to the four winds,” Stokes says. “We did the same thing. When you're home, you miss everybody, and when you're away, you miss everybody. We were just missing people all the time.”
With songs like the rambunctious “Dying To Believe” and the tender, shoegazey “Out of Sight,” The Beths reckon with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time. People who love each other inevitably fail each other. “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations/They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings on “Dying to Believe.” The best way to repair that failure, in The Beths’ view, is with abundant and unconditional love, no matter how far it has to travel. On “Out of Sight,” she pledges devotion to a dearly missed friend: “If your world collapses/I’ll be down in the rubble/I’d build you another,” she sings.
“It was a rough year in general, and I found myself saying the words, 'wish you were here, wish I was there,’ over and over again,” she says of the time period in which the album was written. Touring far from home, The Beths committed themselves to taking care of each other as they were trying at the same time to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. They encouraged each other to communicate whenever things got hard, and to pay forward acts of kindness whenever they could. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Their most emotive and heartfelt work to date, Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it -- a sentiment we need now more than ever.
Thomas Valverde unveils Polka, his second album. This new record dedicated to solo piano takes the approach of a pared-down, minimalist production. Both upright and grand pianos are used. The grand piano is used to develop a powerful, committed and liberating discourse, while the upright piano brings a more organic sound and allows an intimate experience. The tracks on the album are conceived as sidereal love songs. Songs without words, more apt to translate the invisible, the threads of love and beauty. Everything has to be said on the keyboard, in the notes and between the notes. The album was recorded at the prestigious La Fabrique des Ondes studio, with David Chalmin (collaborator of Thom Yorke, The National, Katia & Marielle Labèque) recording and mixing. The album's title is a nod to two of his teenage heroes: Serguei Rachmaninov (genius composer) and Vladimir Horowitz (legendary pianist), whose music haunts so many musicians and music lovers. It's also a pun on the name of DJ and producer Paul Kalkbrenner (Paul K), whose simple, powerful tunes influenced the title "Polka". Thomas Valverde is also the founder and artistic director of the Biarritz Piano Festival, which features some of the world's finest pianists.
DIG Curated is proud to announce its latest release: a jolting EP from Tbilisi's rising producer Uvall. This highly anticipated record is backed by Amsterdam's radiant force Marron, co-founder of the ever-evolving techno event Eerste Communie - a true rite of passage in the underground dancefloors.
Driven by a relentless passion for vinyl, and a vision for techno rooted in shared experiences, DIG Curated stands as a community-driven platform allowing emerging artists to be discovered through the endorsement of established diggers in the scene. Co-founded as a sub-label of DIG, by Berlin-based techno mainstays Olivia Mendez and Chami, the project is nurturing a future of vinyl curation shaped by credibility and collaboration.
For the third release on DIG Curated, Marron steps in to present a trailblazer in Tbilisi's underground scene - Irakli Bregvadze aka Uvall. He is known for groove-driven, high-energy techno, emerging from the heart of Georgia's electronic music movement, where the mantra "We dance together, we fight together" symbolises a commitment to unity and resistance. His production style - a potent fusion of hypnotic rhythms and raw intensity - is designed for big-room club spaces, capturing dancers in an immersive experience throughout. Uvall's magnetic sound lies in touching all elements while never failing to keep the minimalism as intriguing as it is mysterious. His undulating rhythms, draped with enigmatic synths, work seamlessly at both faster and slower tempos, keeping the tracks deeply captivating.
With Northern Lights' heavy pulsations that control and mold the listener, it becomes clear why Marron-who has been consistently curating the steamiest dancefloors-would choose to present Uvall's music as a precious discovery. Both artists seem to be born under similar stars, living and breathing the social movement that techno is, standing up for freedom of expression and border-transcending values.
Renowned for his deep-rooted dedication to the underground techno community, Marron lends his endorsement and artistic appreciation to the release. As a co-founder of Eerste Communie, Marron has consistently championed forward-thinking sounds and community-driven dancefloor experiences, making him the utlimate advocate for DIG Curated's mission. Always in competition with himself, Marron's fast-paced yet highly rhythmic selections are driven by his roots in African groove combined with a powerful, yet hypnotizing and atmospheric techno sound.
"With DIG Curated, we aim to harness the collective power of creativity and knowledge, and spotlight emerging artists. We want to collaborate with esteemed figures in the music scene, who have the credibility to endorse new names with distinct sounds." - Chami, co-founder of DIG Curated.
"As DIG continues to evolve and grow, we are committed to pushing the signature sound of techno that brought us together, and inspire a new movement in vinyl curation by launching DIG Curated." - Olivia Mendez, co-founder of DIG Curated.
DIG Curated 003 is a testament to the power of community, resilience, and the importance of music as an igniting tool to empower and connect dancers in times of polarisation and adversity.
- 1: Good People Do Bad Things
- 2: Dreaming
- 3: Home
- 4: Goodbye Song
- 5: Winning
- 6: In My Hand
- 7: Danced On The Wire
- 8: Song For Meadow
- 9: Mind Thunder
- 10: Down
UK Salford band The Ting Tings released their first catalogue of hits in 2008, with global success taking them on an immediate 6-year world tour. That’s Not My Name, Shut Up & Let Me Go, Great Dj & Hands, still regular fixtures on playlists and syncs worldwide.
They vowed never to make the same record twice, 5 albums in, they are sticking to their word.
Their new album ‘Home’ was recorded in a wooden decked analogue studio is an easy breezy yacht rock album committed to traditional songwriting inspired by their all-time favourites, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, The Eagles, The Carpenters, Cosby Stills & Nash, Supertramp, Christopher Cross, best heard in a car, preferably with the sea in view and the windows down.
- A1: Citizen Kane
- A2: Remembrance Day
- A3: Polar Opposites
- A4: Marilyn Dreams
- A5: Ice
- B1: La Lune Lunatique
- B2: All Fall Down
- B3: Nowhere Girl
- B4: Crowds
- B5: Beginning To Fade
In May 1981 B-Movie and Soft Cell went into Advision Studios in London with the same producer, Mike Thorne (Wire, Bronski Beat, China Crisis, The Communards) to record singles for the label they were both signed to. Phonogram had really wanted to sign B-Movie but had also committed to Soft Cell, having been coerced into it by Stev0, who managed both artists and wouldn’t let them have one without the other. B-Movie commenced recording the dark moody anti-fame anthem ‘Marilyn Dreams’, whilst Soft Cell got underway on a cover of an obscure Northern Soul classic. When both songs were released in July 1981, ‘Tainted Love’ became a worldwide hit and shot Soft Cell to international fame, making them the biggest stars of 1981. B-Movie had formed in 1979, in Mansfield, a typical northern town in the middle of the Nottinghamshire coalfield. Originally a three piece featuring, vocal / bass, guitar and drums, they expanded by adding a keyboard player to broaden their initial post punk sound. Local Lincoln independent record label, Dead Good Records, firstly put them on the compilation LP ‘East’, followed by 7" inch EP and then a mini-album releases, which led to an appearance on the legendary Some Bizarre label (alongside the likes of Blancmange, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and The The)
Major label interest followed, from which came the deal with Phonogram, B-Movie initially re-recording the track ‘Remembrance Day’, which reached No61 in the UK chart in early 1981 and, more importantly, was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and appearing in his Festive 50 for that year. All of the recordings the band made during their Phonogram period have been consigned to the Universal Music vault for several decades, with the band finally managing to have these returned in 2024. The various tapes have been digitised and restored, resulting in the creation of what would have been their 1982 debut LP ‘that never was’. Ten tracks including the three singles plus seven previously unreleased recordings. The CD version contains a further seven recordings including the 12” versions, single B-sides and the track “Moles’” from the Some Bizarre compilation.So “Hidden Treasures” from B-Movie, is only four decades late but still able to sit seamlessly alongside contemporaries like The Chameleons and The Sound. The LP is a darker, more brooding and psychedelic affair, more akin to the gothic elements of the Bunnymen or Joy Division, than the ‘pop sensations’ Phonogram wanted them to become. By both opening and closing this chapter of B-Movie, it puts them firmly in the same bracket as their new wave and post-punk contemporaries, which is the least they deserve, as one of the great ‘lost’ bands of the early 1980’s. "It’s nice to hear B-Movie are finally getting a chance to release their forgotten gems’” Matt Johnson (The The) Vinyl




















