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One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind".



In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was 'going on behind'. We see that music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical.



Our liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz, and the tracks we've chosen cover the key period of the early 1960s to the 1980s. It was during these dark years of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and its satellite states produced a number of outstanding artists playing in a variety of styles. The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome.



We chronicle the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. What went on behind the Iron Curtain in these countries was once mysterious and unknown to the West, but the perseverance of their artists provided sound and light amid the secretive, dark days of the communist-capitalist standoff. There was no end of life-affirming spiritual jazz behind the Iron Curtain.



"Whether it's by improvisation in the African-American jazz tradition, or by a village kobza player standing on top of a damn hill - he feels connected to the stars."

ALDORANDE is a band of five groove adventurers, led by their founder and captain Virgile Raffaëlli, who are pushing the boundaries of music with boundless passion and unparalleled instrumental mastery. After two critically acclaimed albums, the group returns with Trois, the final chapter of their cosmic trilogy, recorded on tape at a prestigious Parisian studio.

Trois is an epic album, driven by bold instrumental explorations and waves of celestial choirs. Drawing inspiration from the 70s fusion movement, it honors the genre’s masters while adding a unique, contemporary twist. The galactic textures and sophisticated arrangements transport the listener on an unforgettable astral journey.

Once again, Favorite Recordings has poured its heart and soul into this album. Every note, every arrangement has been meticulously crafted to capture the essence of that era, with a relentless drive to ensure that every step of production and recording stays as true as possible to the genre’s iconic references.

On drums, Mathieu Edouard lays down a killer groove that leaves no one indifferent. Florian Pellissier, on keyboards, unfolds an interstellar sound palette with a spectacular collection of instruments: Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CP-70B, Moog Minimoog Model D, Sequential Prophet 5, ARP Solina String Ensemble, Roland Juno 106, Roland Jupiter 8, and Oberheim OB-8. On percussion, Erwan Loeffel scatters a jungle of intoxicating rhythms. Laurent Guillet, on guitar, fires off hypnotic, irresistible riffs, while Virgile Raffaëlli, on bass, anchors the entire experience with deep, melodic bass lines that give the band a captivating and unique dimension.

Get ready to take off with ALDORANDE and their album Trois, which promises to take you beyond the stars.

Léonie Pernet signs her comback with a third album, Poèmes Pulvérisés, a compelling, hard-hitting avant-pop odyssey. Constructing a hypnotic soundscape where hope and chaos converge, this third opus is both an invocation to the dancefloor and a cinematic call to resistance.

During a month living with the Wampís in the Amazon Rainforest, Aboutface and the Wampís community collaboratively captured field recordings, music instrumentation and traditional Wampis Nampets – ancient songs sung from the perspective of animals living in their rainforest environment.

These recordings then informed 4 improvised performances to articulate the story of the 4 Nampet songs from within each animal's habitat, to depict nature and culture as inseparable, and to propose that humanity is not exclusive to humans but a multinaturalist characteristic available to all living organisms.

This is the first project of its kind in Wampís history and contains sound recordings of biodiversity that no longer exist due to deforestation.

Indigenous-managed Amazonian rainforests sequester around 340 million tonnes of CO₂ each year—equivalent to the UK’s annual fossil fuel emissions. In stark contrast, non-Indigenous-controlled forests have become sources of carbon emissions, therefore accelerating our global climate crises. Among the vital custodians of these precious ecosystems are the Wampís people, who protect 1.3 m ha of precious rainforest territory currently being decimated by mining for gold. This devastating practice is currently decimating Wampís territory, destroying their river habitats, leaving toxic methylmercury pollution that strips all biodiversity, contaminates the food chain, and causes widespread harm.

100% of all sales revenues from this release will directly go to the Wampís to protect their rainforest territory, to fund Wampís-led eco-initiatives against illegal mining, alongside ways to preserve Wampís cultural heritage– embedded in their songs, art and crafts, central to their conservation of their territory called The Iña Wampisti Nunke: A system of life that encompasses reciprocal relationships between humans, plants, animals, and spirits, central to the harmony of all its multi-dimensional ecology– which they term Tarimat Pujut.

For more project information, a short essay is provided alongside a nonstop-listening version of the album as part of the free Bandcamp download with every LP.


Credits

Nampet songs
Kutir, Wancha and Pinchichi by Elizabeth Huampankit Najamtai.
Manchi by Fernando Ijisam Tsakim.

Acoustic Percussion by Wampís band Guayabita
Fernando Ijisam Tsakim, Edilberto Ijisam Tello, Larry Tello Huampankit, Jose Luis Cahuata Pipa, Tedy Tello Cahuata, Heyner Tello Cahuata, Eli Artista Antonio, Never Tello Huampankit

Violin by Taro.

Peruvian bamboo quena, classical flute, acoustic guitar, electronics, composition and arrangement by Aboutface.

Original portrait painting of Fernando Ijisam Tsakim by Nyran Loomcal.
All other artworks, analogue photography and design by Aboutface.

Rainforest field recordings identified and collected by The Wampís of Guayabal and Aboutface.

Electronic musician and singer/songwriter originally from Greece, ELLI, has called London home for the past 15 years, balancing her career as an automotive engineer with her passion for creating music. After collaborating
with several producers as a vocalist, she released music on renowned labels like Connected, Anjunadeep,Objektivity, and Truesoul. In addition to her successful collaborations, ELLI's solo journey began with her debut
single "Race My Heartbeat" on Prins Thomas’s Horisontal Mambo label.

She followed up with "Just for Me & You", released as part of Steven Julien's DJ Kicks mix on iconic !K7 Records.
Channelling a broad range of influences, her solo project explores the intersection between ambient/electronic ethereal soundscapes and a more upbeat side that leans towards cosmic synth-pop.

Germany's iconic deep funk collective digs into a new soundscape: "A Higher Frequency" was recorded with a nine-piece live to tape at legendary MPS studio in the Black Forest, adding an airy, jazzy flavour to their trademark raw and breaks-heavy funk. Ten tracks full of spiritual grooves, soulful themes, loose funkiness and organic interplay, captured with state-of-the-art 1960s gear in a super-vibey room - but the title A Higher Frequency is not just about the pristine analogue sound quality of the recording, it is also a reference to a trancendant wavelength where minds meet and music connects.

Together with long-time friends and collaborators Daniel Kimaz on flute and Guillame Métenier, who worked his magic on the studio's historic Bösendörfer grand piano and Hammond organ, the group spent a week in the Black Forest, with full focus on the mission to capture the live energy and togetherness of the ensemble.

The result is an album bursting with positive energy and power, rooted in a universal funk groove with excursions into many colourful branches like outernational, cinematic, soulful jazz, psychedelic & disco.

The common thread is a propulsive, driving-forward feel: "Open The Gate" welcomes us with hard-hitting breakbeats and dramatic crime brass, followed by the cool groovin' piano-led soul jazz of "Get Loose", while "Spinning" takes us on a ride through cinematic horn choruses and folky-psych flute and guitars. "Back And Better" is Nichola Richards' time to shine, laying her sweet vocals over the sparse hiphop-infused soul beat to tell a comeback story. "Sweet Company" is a lighthearted uptempo tune inspired by TV and library themes of the 1960s. The swampy groove of "Sparks Of Joy" best reflects the fun of the band playing together and "Phantom Power" combines a trademark Mocambo breakin' theme with an unusual instrument, an electric phin from Thailand – a nod to the many so-called "world music jazz" recordings that the MPS studio gave birth to. On "Can't Stop This Fire", soul singer Carlton Jumel Smith from New York City takes over the mic as a special guest and brings the house down with a heavy funk delivery. "When We Roll" builds another highlight where bouncy drums play off disco-jazz horn themes and finally, the gospel-flavoured cine-soul epic "Homebound" drives it all home.

The vinyl record comes in a limited first edition in hand-made tip-on sleeve.

Ambre Ciel is a composer, violinist, pianist and singer who hails from Montreal, Canada and is a purveyor of dreamy, expansive, spacious pop music that draws influence from the contemporary classical influenced artists such as Agnes Obel, Patrick Watson, Sufjan Stevens and Thom Yorke. As well as the impressionist world of Debussy and American minimalists such as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich and in addition mentions "music that breathes" from such artists as Gyoa Valtysdottir, JFDR, or the collaborative work of Jónsi and Alex Somers.

"Evil is very real and having its way, and love is also real and hasn't lost yet." That's how Activity's Travis Johnson described their third album, A Thousand Years In Another Way. A friend had asked why these songs seemed to capture the strange, heavy feeling of being alive right now better than anything else_and that was his answer. The album doesn't try to explain this time we're living in; it simply feels like it. It's a mix of violence, alienation, and tenderness_reflecting the surreal, dreamlike (or nightmarish) rhythm of daily life. Across ten songs, Activity blends experimental rock, electronics, and found sounds with a sense of paranoia, flickers of hope, and a warped reality. Working with producer Jeff Berner (of Psychic TV), the band manipulated sounds and played with room acoustics to create a feeling that's disorienting_like the air is thick and the walls are listening. Coming out of a period of uncertainty, the Brooklyn-based quartet_Travis Johnson, Jess Rees, Bri DiGioia, and Steven Levine_pieced the album together from fragments: clipped samples, looping guitar lines, ghostly melodies. Rees, DiGioia, and Johnson share vocal and writing duties, shaping a record that feels both deeply personal and strangely alien. There's a constant sense that things could shift or fall apart at any second_nothing stays one thing for long. A Thousand Years In Another Way might not offer answers, but it captures the feeling of right now better than most. And maybe, it sounds a bit like your world too.

Thy Burdens is a natural evolution of the Drunken Prayer catalog. The album is an homage to the fiery, sublime music of the church that means so much to the musicians who worked on it. Musically it's hard country-soul with horns, shouting and a lot of groove. The songs vary between the evergreen and the obscure. Represented here are tributes across the landscape: Thomas Dorsey, Martha Carson, Snooks Eaglin, Ralph Stanley, The Zion Travellers, Leon Payne, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Hank Williams, Odetta, Dylan, and traditionals that are too old to credit. The project was spearheaded by Drive-By Truckers' bassist Bobby Matt Patton who cut his teeth playing in fiery Pentecostal church bands around north Alabama, and Morgan Geer (Drunken Prayer) who learned a lot of the hymns they recorded from his great grandmother and father in Mobile, AL. This all started when Bobby Matt met Morgan at a shared gig in Chapel Hill, NC, where they found themselves instant friends and kindred spirits. After talking for a while the idea for this album was born. The inspiration, other than purely rocking the hell out, was a pull to get to the core values of the old songs. The incontrovertibly true and inconceivably vast principles of kindness, right and wrong, and social justice: Cosmic Gospel. Morgan started using the moniker "Drunken Prayer" after a chance conversation with Tom Waits on the importance of gospel music, regardless of religious beliefs. There are a handful of Drunken Prayer albums, all with semi-religious overtones and imagery, but this one is the first that's all gospel - a prophecy revealed. Thy Burdens was recorded at Dial Back Sound, Patton's studio in Water Valley, MS. There may be some ghosts but there's nothing haunted about this music. It's a joyful noise

Rico Friebe has more to tell to a whole generation and crafted a musical superlative for this in the guise of the sequel record ANTHEMS FOR A LOST GENERATION2 - including 10 new future pop songs that continue the stories from part one!

Tresor resident DJs LNS and DJ Sotofett have for some years been developing a style at the club‘s Globus floor, and their new EP is a die cut of exactly the classic techno, electro, and house music they play.
Here are no productions drenched in reverb, no hi-fi obsessions or generic algorithmic patterns – this is Globus Trax, the duo's third release on Tresor Records, four tracks consisting of real TR-909 workouts, rude and driving basslines, live runs through the mixing desk, and a Blake Baxter cover version with LNS on vocals.
LNS & DJ Sotofett programmed an EP to perfectly fit their warehouse style of DJing, bringing out colour and variation in a spectrum more similar to a club compilation than a dogmatically reduced concept. With a single repeated vocal sample, Globus Trax opens bombastically with ClickClickClick, a dub -infused UK garage house track anyone in the world can easily describe in the course of a second.
Following this comes Gearbox which is a hefty slab of big room electro featuring a centerpiece arpeggio and the warmest harmonic pads on the EP's four tracks, which not-so-subtly makes reference to the pioneering band that shares a name with Globus and Tresor's home, the Kraftwerk.
The house vibe returns on Destination 909, which is nothing but a manifesto for the TR-909, where the beloved drum machine's jacking beats meet galactic strings and synthetic bass, only to be ripped apart in a slamming break that sees the machine take centre stage as it cuts in-and-out of the mix, again a clear nod to the duo’s sets in the club.
LNS steps up on vocal duties and DJ Sotofett keeps the 909 running for their final cut, taking a deeper dive into the realms of classic techno and paying tribute to “The Prince of Techno” Blake Baxter by covering his Reach Out originally released on Tresor Records in 1995.
The 12” was cut by DJ Sotofett himself at Manmade Mastering, where he resurrects the lost art of late-90s loud cuts with sonic presence and punch, optimal for the club-focused 12” format, and is the first to come in the new Tresor Sleeve, boasting an embossed logo on either side.

Divine Dances. In plural form.
The fourth album from DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson couldn't have a more explicit title.


Masters of emotions and feelings, the duo has always known how to express melancholy and nostalgia with precision. Yet this time, all their efforts have concentrated on a single goal: taking listeners by the hand—no, by the ear, obviously!—to bring everyone back to the dance floor and explore a variety of atmospheres together.


And naturally, a variety of styles. Funk, ndombolo, electro, hip hop or zouk, each new vibration discovered carries away the previous one to form a dancefloor where all eventually come together.
Divinely light.


The body, surrendered to this call to dance in all its forms, has been so caught up in the whirlwind of groove that the mind has fallen in behind it to continue as one. Words explode into syllables that metamorphose into notes, then perfectly align with those from the score.


One second. A bit of attention. Caught by an irrepressible groove, then comes the moment to slalom through melodies to discover, at the turn of a rhyme, a new meaning. Approached head-on, certain overly serious themes would empty the room and bring the atmosphere down to lead levels. The diagonal approach, humor, and apparent nonchalance of the two men are the best weapons at their disposal. Their Trojan horse to put substance into their form(s). To evoke transidentity, consent, economic malaise as well as the spiritual, or to tell little stories of frustrated loves, seemingly insoluble but which will end well.


Anthony Hilaire for Creole words, Sarah Solo for hip-swiveling soukous, Patrick Bebey for pygmy flute notes, and Grégoire Mahé to bring electricity to DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson's songs; styles blend in a musicality worked into its smallest interstices.


Gathered on this dance floor illuminated with 80s disco brilliance, you observe brassy notes slithering under the electronic veneer, synthesizer keys splashed by furious hip movements. To raise your eyes to connect with the spiritual is to watch the sky become constellated with crystalline Fender Rhodes notes, destined to fall like rain on the heavy bass of afrobeat groove.
Smiles attached to faces, no one should think they can get through the ten tracks of Divine Dances while remaining seated : he's doomed to fail.


OUT MAY 2025 DELUXE WHITE VINYL 180 G /CD / DIGITAL

OVERVIEW: DUB TREES is one of Youth’s most revered dub projects, it helped define the Liquid Sound Design sound that fans around the world hold dear. This project is the third in a triptych of albums Youth has made with a specific Celtic / Hindu fusion. Starting out with the classic Celtic Cross ‘Hicksville’ 20 years ago, featuring the mythical Simon Posford (Shpongle) through to ‘East of the River Ganges’ (ft Klaus Shultz / Tangerine Dream amongst many others) in 2004 followed by the last piece of this mystical puzzle ‘Celtic Vedic’ ,released on compact disc only in 2016 , which charts the journey of the Celt from Northern India to Snowdonia. The idea stems from Youth’s firm belief that there is a strong correlation between Celtic and Vedic cultures and their Northern Indian roots. Youth has assembled a host of collaborators to weave their labrynthine magic on ‘Celtic Vedic’: Jah Wobble (PiL) on bass, Matt Black/Coldcut (Ninja Tunes) on warped soundscaping duties, Galician Celtic pipe and flute player Daniel Romar, Bollywood contemporary Indian singer Shridevi Keshavan and Elfic Circle. It features many field recordings made by Youth on his various Indian odysseys and is all harnessed together with cutting-edge electronica that the Liquid Sound Design team pioneered 20 years ago. The team today are still pioneering new directions within ‘Downtempo Electronica Music’ and beats that create 3 dimensional landscapes for the helioscopic imagination to explore and psychoactive maps for the inner astronaut in all of us. ‘Celtic Vedic’ promises unchartered bass annihilation and heliotropic soundscapes, pounding basslines overlayed on 3D holographic beats and wrestles with serpentine melodies and psychedelic textures.

Behind the pseudonym INVIGO lies Venceslas Catz. In 2016, he caught the attention of Les Inrocks with his electro-pop single "Gravity," then in 2018, he conquered the Parisian public with his track "LAtely." He then performed in several Parisian venues for a few concerts (Silencio, Glazart, etc.).



Since 2019, he has composed for film, television, and advertising. In September 2020, he launched his neo-classical project, under his name Venceslas Catz, blending classical and electro influences. A new signing to Partyfine, INVIGO returns with a debut album with Latin sounds on May 16, 2025. INVIGO works in his Paris studio, where he composes and records his projects.

Casual Treatment presents the second record on his imprint. Joined by Argentinian powerhouse Jonas Kopp, they offer 4 collaborative works constituting Co.lab EP.

"JPEGMAFIA, a trailblazing force in experimental hip hop, releases his latest solo project, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU. This album, his first since 2021, is a complex and innovative work that showcases his meticulous production skills. Featuring collaborations with Denzel Curry, Vince Staples, and Buzzy Lee, the album explores themes like capitalism, conscription, and propaganda through some of JPEGMAFIA’s most anarchic raps to date. The release is accompanied by an extensive global tour, reinforcing his status as one of the genre’s most incendiary talents. Since his last solo release, JPEGMAFIA has continued to push boundaries in the music industry, most notably with his 2023 collaboration with Danny Brown on Scaring the Hoes, which garnered critical acclaim and chart success. With I Lay Down My Life for You, JPEGMAFIA cements his reputation as a visionary artist, delivering a powerful commentary on the world through his unique lens. The album’s release is set to make a significant impact, both in stores and on stages worldwide."

The long-anticipated debut LP from Atlantik has finally arrived on Feines Tier. Hailing from Cologne, childhood friends Georg and Clemens have spent over a decade refining their passion for hardware-driven live techno.
Whether as a regular touring act, resident duo at Berlin’s legendary Sisyphos, or an opening act on Fusion’s Turmbühne, Atlantik has captivated audiences with their high-energy approach to techno.
While their sound continues to evolve, its roots remain in Cologne’s minimal techno golden era. Atlantik blends glitchy percussion, delicate melodies, and hypnotic atmospheres—always maintaining the precision and restraint of minimalism. Enjoy the journey!

Félicité Thösz is the eleventh studio album by French band Magma, and was originally released on the 3th of July 2012.

The album was Magma’s first studio release in 27 years to contain new material written after the band’s reformation in 1996.

“Félicité Thösz” was written during 2001-02 by Christian Vander, but only played live by the band from 2009. “Les hommes sont venus”

was written and performed in 1992 by Les Voix De Magma, and again in 1995 for the band’s 25th anniversary, then called “Tous Ensemble”.

Félicité Thösz is sung almost entirely in Magma’s constructed language Kobaïan, apart from a passage in

French named “Seule une fleur est venue au fond des bois en mon cœur (âme)”.

Félicité Thösz is now available as a remastered LP in a 3mm sleeve and contains an insert.

The record is cut at 45rpm for the ultimate audio experience.

Der Daniel Pemberton-Score zur RomCom "Fly Me To The Moon" von Regisseur Greg Berlanti mit Scarlett Johansson und Channing Tatum in den Hauptrollen, die im Juli 2024 in die Kinos kam und seit Dezember 2024 auf Apple TV+ läuft. Eine scharfsinnige, stilvolle Dramakomödie vor dem Hintergrund der historischen Mondlandung von Apollo 11 der NASA. Dabei balanciert Daniel Pemberton gekonnt zwischen der enormen Bedeutung der NASA-Mondmission und den komödiantischen und an Raubüberfälle erinnernden Episoden, während er gleichzeitig - mit Verweis auf Quincy Jones und dessen Soundtracks zu "The Italian Job" und "Big Band Bossa Nova" die spielerische Energie und Leichtigkeit der Spät-1960er einfängt.

Continuing in a series of studio albums, Serwed (OL & Flaty) present their new release - "V" (Five).

Stylistically, this album further develops the idea of blending aesthetics, operating at the intersection of post-club, downtempo, digital dub, electro-acoustic, neo-classical, score music, and musique concrete, creating a unique sonic space.
Catching the subtle nuances of self-reflection, this chamber-like, intimate work is primarily directed toward the subconscious and intuitive perception. The structure and form are driven by emotion, while aesthetics take a back seat, giving way to pure sense.
The compositions capture moments of insight, spontaneity, and live improvisation. Delicate yet expressive, carefree yet precise, "V" is a deeply immersive and personal experience.

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe. This record is not considered a product, but rather a time stamp of the underground minimal house music culture of 2025. Thank you, Mother Nature, for providing the materials that allow humans to express their creativity. Mastered by: Rob Small. Graphics: Peter Koblinger

Reverie is a soundtrack of atmospheric chamber music for violin, cello, and piano by sisters Rebecca Foon and Aliayta Foon-Dancoes, and marks the first full-length album collaboration between the two players/composers. Reverie melds cellist Rebecca's post-rock and semi-improvised sensibility forged from over two decades playing in DIY/indie bands like Esmerine, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, and Set Fire To Flames, with violinist Aliayta's more recent trajectory from award-winning virtuosic performer to academically-shaped explorations of interdisciplinary composition. Following several years in London at the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music, Aliayta's move to Princeton in 2023 for a Composition PhD put the sisters back on the same continent, regularly meeting and collaborating at Rebecca's Lost River studio in Quebec's Laurentian mountains. Working with co-producer Jace Lasek (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Patrick Watson, The Besnard Lakes), the result is an immersive suite of thematic variations that balances intimacy and detail with wide-spectrum spatial lushness. Subtle electronic interventions and gently blown-out acoustics ebb and flow throughout, further conveying Reverie's overriding mission to weave a meditative pastoralism with the underlying anxiety, sorrow, and tragedy of ecocide.

A noughties classic, an earworming anthem, an eventual schoolyard ringtone favourite; Roman Flügel’s once inescapable ‘Geht’s Noch?’ celebrates turning 21 on Running Back, refreshed and remixed by a scene-spanning set of artists paying keen tribute to its absurdist energy.
Casually released as part of a Cocoon Records compilation in 2004, ‘Geht’s Noch?’ rose from the depths with the support of Sven Väth, becoming an international phenomenon, conquering and uniting the dominant scenes of minimal and electroclash alike. Some have said it laid the foundations for the ‘Dirty Dutch’
house scene, albeit from over the border in Germany.
Well known for injecting much-needed levity into the contemporary club landscape via her Live From Earth parties, DJ Gigola adds additional firepower to ‘Geht’s Noch?’, inducing a planet-shaking kick drum, before sending the track’s signature bleeps into nonsensical Morse code for even greater pleasure. Another rave
culture connoisseur, Luca Lozano, offers two alternate takes; his ‘Technocs’ mix rolls deep with additional cowbells, robotic voice commands and stadium-sized claps. Meanwhile, the ‘Gehts Garage Remix’ draws a savvy connection with the original’s as-yet-untapped UK funky potential.
Peder Mannerfelt, who straddles the line between innovation, functionality, humor and seriousness quite like its original author, takes ‘Geht’s Noch?’ to truly wuthering heights. His remix builds unexpected drama and catharsis around the enduring riff, before a collaboration with studio partner Par Grindvik as Aasthma
spins the club out with a glossy, anime-tinted take, full of whimsy and colour.
And while the digital release of Geht’s Noch? also spans interpretations from Audion, Domnik Eulberg & Moguai, this vinyl release presses Steve Angello vs Who’s Who remix to wax, that which helped take ‘Geht’s Noch?’ out of the underground and into the stratosphere. Twenty years on, and Flügel’s offbeat hit is always ascending. Love it or hate it, ‘Geht’s Noch?' will still get you good.
Words by John Loveless

Life and Death is thrilled to unleash the electrifying debut EP from rising Irish producer Cromby, marking a bold new chapter on DJ Tennis’ genre-defying label. Packed with highvoltage energy, emotional depth, and razor-sharp house production. At its heart is “I’m Coming Back”—a radiant, hands-in-the-air anthem co-crafted with NiKi K. The track also receives a powerful rework from the enigmatic Known Artist, who transforms it into a hypnotic late-night weapon—fusing atmospheric textures with raw emotional drive. Cromby finally concludes with “One More Time”— a colorful house thumper of pure peak time energy, right on cue for the summer festival season ahead.

here may still be electronic music artists in this age of overflow and convenience who follow their own artistic vision regardless of what attention it might bring, if any. With an output that shows individualism, ideas and a signature sound. An ongoing creative process, uncompromising and adventurous, even eccentric, with results of consistent quality and determination. Dennis Busch aka James Din A4 is an archetypical example for this type of artist. He flooded the scene with releases in the 00s with numerous monikers, mostly on his own Esel imprint, and they were all great. On the outside you had his singular artworks (he is also a very accomplished collage artist) and quirkily humorous titles, and on the inside you had his music, also seemingly informed by a collage approach (only with samples), managing to sound focussed and out of focus, often at the same time. If you listen to a James Din A4 track it probably is simultaneously playful and disciplined. Anything can happen, and a lot if it actually does.

For quite some years, music releases by James Din A 4 were scarce. Jan Jelinek, an ardent fan, re-interpreted some of his favourites from the vast back catalogue as an album in 2014, then ten years later the album „Ins Licht“ appeared, and it quite nonchalantly continued what seemed to have stopped, right on the same level of greatness. And now we know that it still continues, as the label Live At Robert Johnson releases the new album „Never Look Back“. Its title should not be taken too literally, as all the trademarks of his musical legacy are perfectly intact. You will find the light and air that seems to seep through the sounds, the frisky structural details, the jolly melodies, the subtle deepness, the minimalistic yet not too strict grooves.

But do not be mistaken, this album is not looking back too much, of course. After all, this is music that is still evolving. Let’s hope for more glimpses of James Din A4‘s special and spacious world, they are ever
needed.

LIMITED VINYL COMES IN CARDBOARD SLEEVE WITH BOOKLET!
OSTRANENIE is a collection of digitally manipulated, impressionistic piano miniatures — each named after blockbuster films and TV series. Improvised late at night as a reaction against passive media consumption, these pieces function as both homage and critique, navigating the space between classical impressionism and contemporary digital manipulation. They don’t just deconstruct traditional piano expression; they interrogate the emotional stakes of sound in an era where immersion culture flattens meaning and algorithmic logic erodes agency.

The album’s title references the Russian formalist Viktor Shklovsky’s concept of “ostranenie” (ɐstrɐˈnjenjɪj, estrangement/defamiliarization), a term he introduced in the early 1920s to describe art’s role in resisting the indifference of habitual perception.

“And so, held accountable for nothing, life fades into nothingness. Automation eats away at things, at clothes, at furniture, at our wives, and at our fear of war.”
—Viktor Shklovsky, Theory of Prose (1925)

Shklovsky saw art as a way to break through the anesthetizing effects of routine, stripping away the layers of habit that dull our senses. By making the familiar strange, art reclaims perception from the mechanical and the automatic. His argument wasn’t just a theoretical exercise — it was a response to a world rapidly consumed by industrialization, war machines, and the alienation of a technologically dominated modern life. In this context, he positioned artistic technique as something autonomous, distinct from mere social criticism or psychological reflection. Art seeks to remove “...the crust that the world of things deposits on our senses, with routine’s unending murder of the real.” Ben Ehrenreich on Serena Vitale’s Making Strange (The Nation, 2013)

This tension—between revolutionary/artistic and industrial technologies—defined the 20th century, and it continues to resonate today. The mechanization and automation that fueled the First World War’s devastation, alongside the social and economic turbulence of the 1920s, became central to the era’s self-conception. But just as technology was a source of alienation, it was also positioned as an agent of radical change. As the shock of modernity disrupted the human condition, it also became the driving force behind an ideological utopia — one that ultimately deformed into political totalitarianism — a paradox that remains unresolved.

OSTRANENIE plays within this contradiction. The music shifts seamlessly between an uncanny black MIDI dismantling of traditional piano virtuosity and moments of raw, fragile intimacy. The result is a work that resists automatic anonymity while questioning what it means to create in an era where the technological mediation of sound — and experience itself — is unavoidable: Art in the age of its technological constructedness.

Yowzers is a new album by Chicago composer, improvisor, and musical folklorist Ben LaMar Gay. Yowzers features Gay"s working quartet with Tommaso Moretti (drums, percussion, voice), Matthew Davis (tuba, piano, bells, voice), and Will Faber (guitar, ngoni, bells, voice), as well as guest instrumentalist Rob Frye and a mini-choir. The album recalls the high-minded freedom of Liberation Music Orchestra, the glitched-out electronic webs of Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, the unbridled rhythms and sandpaper bellows of Bukka White, and the harmolodic cartoon glory of Arthur Blythe"s Illusions. It"s all there, filtered through an improvisational approach and a lifetime of secrets embodied. For a man who has inhabited and traveled these continents so extensively, it"s safe to call this work true "Americana", despite what that word might mean to the average person in the United States.

The vinyl is a collaboration between two indie labels KXNTRAST and U JAZZ ME.

The record was pressed on 180g vinyl with printed innersleeve.

HER NAME WAS YUMI is the title of hoshii's second studio album, created by saxophonist Kuba Więcek in late 2022. On this album, the musicians deliberately free themselves from the burden of European music genres, exploring sounds that carry a spark of hope and a free spirit. In the musical layer, they focus on deep synthesizer basslines, intensification of electronic sounds and an extensive layer of samples, redefining their approach to composition.

The album title refers to YUMI (夢美 - from Japanese "beautiful dream") - a friend of hoshii who brings him to Earth when he feels tired of life on the distant planet Versus. However, even among earthly sounds, loneliness becomes inevitable. At the right moment, YUMI, overcome with longing, decides to fly and find her friend.

HER NAME WAS YUMI is a musical journey full of experiment, freedom and a new sonic identity. The album shows hoshii in a new version - even more conscious, bold and not limited by genre frames.

Kuba Więcek - alto saxophone, electronics

Grzegorz Tarwid - synthesizers

Max Mucha - bass guitar, synthesizers

Miłosz Berdzik - drums, glockenspiel

Mutant, in conjunction with Netflix, are proud to present the premiere physical release of Scot Stafford's score to the film, Ultraman: RisingUltraman: Rising follows Ken Sato, an all-star athlete who reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman in the wake of rising monster attacks in Tokyo, discovering that his greatest challenge isn't fighting giant monsters: it's raising one. Stafford's score for Rising takes influence from the original Ultraman theme, while simultaneously ushering in a new era for the character and his fans.

Among the Evergreens is the latest chapter in the revered Americana singer-songwriter's own story. Emerging under her own name in 2021 after retiring her long-time moniker, Oh Susanna, this album marks her most personal work to date. The thrice JUNO nominated artist continues her tradition of storytelling on her eleventh release.

Ting was released in 1992. The band decided to record the songs with mainly piano and percussion accompaniment. Hofstede put his guitar aside, Stips did not touch his extensive library of sounds and samples and Kloet did not played the drum-set, but played orchestral percussion instruments. Guest musicians were invited for most songs (mainly bass and cello) and on some songs 'Klangsteine' (musical stones), works of art by the Swiss sculptor Arthur Schneiter, were used. These stones could be played with mallets, which explains the title of the album. They could also be rubbed by hand to create a buzzing sound. On the album the entire band plays the stones, together with Schneiter and friend Swiss percussionist Fritz Hauser. The music is often quiet and melancholic, but also contains some strong pop songs, including the cheerful "Soap Bubble Box", the lyrics of which were inspired by the artist Joseph Cornell and the Nits classic "Cars And Cars". The lyrics are often introverted and/or abstract, even poetic and much less immediately understandable than on previous albums. Ting is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on silver coloured vinyl and includes an insert with additional pictures provided by the band.

Violent Delights is an anthology of stories that meanders through themes of grief, rage, desire and identity. There are stories of the toxicity of addiction, and growing up around religion; stories of overwhelming obsession, isolating abandonment, and empowering anthems of identity, and stark laments about sexual violence. They are each lived experiences, laid bare, reclaimed with every syllable whether dripping in spite or swagger, anger or anxiety. "Loss is a central theme of the album," explains vocalist Kate Price. "For us, we have our own specific version of what that is in these songs, but for anyone listening, it could be the loss of something else - a loved one, a relationship. But we're never mourning loss. We're celebrating it. Loss is almost universally looked at as a negative, but we're finding the positives in those moments. We had to go through hell to get to heaven. Violent Delights is about looking back with gratitude, and even fondness, the closing of one chapter and beginning of another." Jools - comprised of Kate Price, Mitch Gordon, Chris Johnston and Callum Connachie, Joe Dodd, and Chelsea Wrones - has been a name on the lips of clued-up fans and tastemakers since its collective of musicians found each other in the earliest days of 2023. Quickly gaining a reputation for their cathartic, unpredictable and specular live performances, the band have been consistently championed by BBC Radio One, including two `Tune of the Week' placements on Daniel P Carter's esteemed Rock Show. Violent Delights was recorded across two week-long stints at Southampton's The Ranch studio in August and December of 2024, with Lewis Johns helming production and mixing duties. When pressed, Jools may identify as a punk band - in its truest sense that punk is a mentality, rather than a sound - but Violent Delights equally lends from the worlds of metal, rap, post-hardcore and hip-hop as much as it does the post-punk of its surface layer. Gordon and Price are as likely to point to Turnstile, Mannequin Pussy and Amyl & The Sniffers as influences on the record as they are to Little Simz and The Streets' Mike Skinner. "We don't necessarily look at music in sounds or structures," nods Gordon. "Instead we look for attitudes."

In the turbulent world of hip-hop, few artists are able to make the transition from hot young star to acclaimed rap luminary. Los Angeles emcee Blu has followed this rare path, graduating from a spot on the 2009 XXL Freshman list to an expansive catalog with more than 25 celebrated releases. Now, the talented lyricist is celebrating his remarkable journey with Forty, a new album entirely produced by influential beatsmith August Fanon, who has crafted tracks for Westside Gunn, Mach-Hommy, Tha God Fahim, billy woods, Navy Blue, and more. “This album is a celebration of me reaching 40 years of age,” Blu explains. “All the content is a reflection of where I am mentally at the age of 40.” With intricate verses packed with wisdom and maturity, the collection finds Blu and a host of guests reflecting on happiness, religion, love, knowledge, humanity, and more.
Fanon brings these tracks to life with a unique production approach, taking it back to basics with soul heavy soundscapes Blu describes as “straight loops, no drum programming or layers, just really soulful loops.” With appearances by Kota The Friend, Asher Roth, R.A.P. Ferreira, Mickey Factz, Homeboy Sandman, Chester Watson, Fashawn, and more, Forty is a timless experience from an artist who remains a vital presence in any decade of life.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Take That’s iconic third studio album, Nobody Else. Originally released in 1995, the album featured hit singles like ‘Sure’, ’Back for Good’ and ‘Never Forget.’ To celebrate this milestone, Nobody Else is being released on vinyl for the first time ever! Available in several formats, this special release includes a Deluxe Edition of the album on double Marbled Orange vinyl and CD, as well as the original album on Translucent Pink (exclusive to the Take That online store) and Black vinyl. The 2LP Deluxe and 2CD formats feature exclusive bonus content, including the rare Japanese edition bonus track ‘All That Matters to Me’, live recordings from the 1995 Nobody Else Tour, and a brand-new remix of ‘Hanging Onto Your Love’ by Howard Donald. Marketing.

Akte is a series of events at the renowned Club Gewölbe to keep the vision of timeless Ambient, Minimal and Techno in Cologne alive and is now expanding to develop a record label.

The first release will be a 12" EP by founder Philipp Stoffel featuring 4 originals and a remix by living legend .VRIL. A modern interpretation of techno with strong dub influences, produced in different styles and put together to form a meaningful listening journey. Akte pursues an EP concept away from pure techno tools towards the idea of packing the diverse listening experience of an LP into an EP, striving for a texturally cohesive aural aesthetic.

Mastering engineer Stefan Betke, also known as Pole, gave the record its sonic polish. The EP is rounded off by the grainy cover design by Berlin-based artist Friedrich Breidenich, which visually captures the sonic aesthetic and translates the listening experience into a striking visual form.

U.K. progressive post-rock supergroup Crippled Black Phoenix is a musical collective that has featured nearly 30 members in it's rotating roster. The constant driving force is multi- instrumentalist Justin Greaves (Electric Wizard, Iron Monkey Se Delan), who formed the band in 2004 with Mogwai bassist Dominic Aitchison. Creating what they describe as "endtime ballads" to signify both the slightly macabre nature of their songs & the unusual blend of styles as the final evolution in music. The band have made live shows a focus by performing in unusual venues across the world as well as using Victorian-era instruments in tandem with more modern instruments, often involving more than a dozen members onstage. In 2006, Crippled Black Phoenix released their first album, 'A Love Of Shared Disasters', followed in 2009 by 'The Resurrectionists' & 'Night Raider', but it was their fourth album released in 2010 on Invada Records - 'I, Vigilante' - an album of uncompromising soundscapes that garnered the band & album widespread critical acclaim within the media worldwide. On 'I, Vigilante', CBP create songs that feel both sky-crackingly epic & intimate at the same time. "We Forgotten Who We Are" is an 11 minute thundering storm which powers through sections of head-nodding chugging guitars to a sunrise of happy melody & back, "Fantastic Justice" is a staggering display of songwriting, with twists & turns that make the band sound like a mini orchestra - horns, strings, crashes & swoons with Greaves the dark conductor. The spoken-word opening to "Bastogne Blues" is perfectly evocative for a genuinely troubled song, CBP's command of bleakness is at it's strongest here; cinematic doesn't come close to describing the song's emotional resonance. When 'I, Vigilante' threatens to disintegrate into a black hole of misery, a faithfully screaming version of Journey's "Of A Lifetime" shows a sense of humour & some sweet guitar tones. This edition of 'I, Vigilante' is presented on black vinyl LP & is the first time the album has been released on single vinyl

From the newly minted SWOB label. The third chapter of SW,’s tekkNOthing featuring a dub-oriented collection of five tracks that elegantly double back on the creative foundations from which the tekkNOthingproject emerged. With tempos on the low and analogue effects spilling over valleys of rhythm, the journey concludes with ‘thxJA’, where the sheer weight of dense musical layers unveils another chapter.

"As one of the biggest albums of the ‘80s, Foreign Affair showcased Tina Turner at her very best, further cementing her position as The Queen of Rock ‘n Roll. Celebrated in this 2LP white vinyl edition (33rpm), it includes the original album fully remastered for the first time.

Foreign Affair was Tina’s third studio album since her dramatic global resurgence, following the monumental success of Private Dancer (1984) and Break Every Rule (1986), as well as her lead role in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. It went on to be a multi-platinum record across the world, including UK, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and many more. The biggest track to come from the album was the 80s anthem, “The Best.” The track continues to transcend generations, with one of the most recognisable choruses in music history. On top of The Best, the album is complimented by several Tina favourites, such as Steamy Windows, I Don’t Wanna Lose You and the title track Foreign Affair."