quête:cosmic

Australian label Nightime Drama, run by Peter Fincher (aka Vibrio) and Shaun Franklin (aka Trebek) now serves up its second standout release of 2016. This four track affair comes hot on the heels of the last by Yoshihiro Arikawa, and is a second release on the label by Aussie live act, DJ and producer Trinity, with Steven Tang and Italian based Andee on the remix. Trinity has also released on OOC, Coincidence and Android Muziq and regularly performs all round Europe. His sound deep and cosmic, heady and hypnotic, as the fresh tracks here prove. Cascade Drive is seven minutes of direct and elastic house with spacey pads and driving drums carrying you through the cosmos. From the Earthmothern label and one half of RK's, Andee strips it back to a slick rubber kick drum then layers in a forceful acid line and icy hi hats to really get you under its spell. The longform groove is physical and cerebral in equal measure. The next original is Expansion, and again finds Trinity serving up a hi tech and soul infused deep techno sound that is lithe and liquid, smeared with great pads and truly timeless. Emphasis boss Steven Tang is the perfect man to remix given his style, and his version flips the cut into a more heavyweight and banging techno effort, but one that is just as littered with sci fi sounds, spaceship trails and intergalactic energies.

LP + insert. A cosmically poetic duo playing Afro-Roots-Electro with a clear nod to spiritual jazz. Esinam Dogbatse (flute, synths, vocals, fx, percussion) | Sibusile Xaba (guitar, vocals, percussion).



ESINAM & Sibusile Xaba is a meeting of nomadic, wandering and kindred spirits in music. Both artists draw upon their ancestry: Belgian-Ghanaian(ESINAM) and Kwazulu Natal-South Africa (Sibusile Xaba) through a unique connection, a deep artistic and spiritual level, they use rhythms and grooves to translate stories to the audience. Their vocal chanting enhances trance to rhythmic patterns that grace us by melodies of the future and past.

On April 25th 2025, ESINAM & Sibsile Xaba will release their first joint album entitled 'Healing Voices'.

This album is a reflection of the kaleidoscopic multitude of musical inspirations running through the veins of two very talented solo artists. Both multi-instrumentalists, they provide many different layers to their music. Each track is a reflection of their cross-pollination. Musically inspired by Ghanaian Highlife and traditional songs from Zulu and Ewe culture, but with a distinct contemporary interpretation where their acoustic sound is enhanced by electronic gadgets.

As multi-instrumentalists, the two artists translate messages from their ancestors through rhythms and grooves. Their vocal chanting enhances trance to rhythmic patterns that grace us by melodies of the future and past.

Thanks to their Belgian-Ghanaian and South-African roots, they are unique in their being, strong in their union and connected on deep artistic and spiritual levels. The collaboration between ESINAM and Sibusile Xaba is bringing healing to body and soul.

In 2018 Esinam discovered Sibusile Xaba during his European (solo)tour. She was enchanted by his musical energy and craftsmanship and invited him as a vocal guest feature on the track 'Flowing River', from her debut album 'Shapes in Twilights of infinity'. When she was asked at the first edition of WOMAD Festival in South Africa if she wanted to collaborate with a 'local artist', she didn't have to think twice.

So in October 2022, Esinam and Sibusile seized this opportunity to dive into the rehearsal and recording studio, and discover and combine each other's musical universes to shape up new music together.

In May 2023 this collaboration continued with rehearsals, recordings and a first European tour with performances in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany and Slovenia.

In March 2024 they released the first single 'Africa Wola' out of the fothcoming album. In November 2024, they released a remix of their first single by South-African DJ and producer DaCapo and played at Visa for Music in Morocco.

Polyamore presents “Ritmo Magnetico EP” by Disco Strummer, a vibrant blend of disco, funk and Italo grooves. The title track delivers deep basslines, bright keys and uplifting energy made for the dancefloor, while “Stardust” takes a cosmic turn with space‑disco atmospheres and hypnotic synths. Together, the two tracks celebrate movement, freedom and Disco Strummer’s signature blend of sunny groove and cosmic flair.

French producer Yse Saint Laur'ant is exactly the sort of artist you want to hear from as the sun begins to shine more often. He's a master of escapist, beauty, classy grooves that marry disco and Balearic into pure magic. 'Space Ride' does that on a bubbly groove with a cosmic edge and 'Saint Tropez' brings loose-limbed funk and boho percussion to a Provencal sound. 'Monaco' is bathed in sunlight and made all the more classy with some gorgeous stings and mellifluous chord work then 'Esplanade' shuts down with a dubby, flute-led sound with a whimsical charm. Twenty First release on the much sought after Vinyl Only label.

Lewis Taylor is a rising 20-something house head from Newcastle who shows off his chops on this new one from Ebullience. Ebullience is a good way of describing his take on tech and minimal, too. There is plenty of cheer in the lively synth work of opener 'Do You Wanna Come Party', to which the answer is yes, please, very much so. 'Satisfaction' has its head up in the clouds with more wispy cosmic synth motifs, zippy grooves and silky pads that are luminous and pure. 'Optimism' strikes that same balance between low-end oomph and celestial melodic charm - a fresh, future blend that is perfect for summer. 'Still Dreaming' closes with more mature melodies and accomplished arrangements that quietly buzz.

Shep is back on his People Pleaser's label with a fourth transmission of groovy tech house that blends drive, cosmic atmospheres and just the right amount of vocal and melodic hookiness. 'Reach For The Tongs' is warm and dubby, one to get the head down and lock into. 'Pulver Zimmer' has warped synths and glassy percussion, bringing the early Terry Francis style drums to life and 'Rave Gravel Drive' gets more unhinged. The synths are wonky, the sound designs more trippy and abstract and the groove is minimal and synthetic. 'Mutzki' closes with a subtle, warming rush of low-key joy thanks to the muted chords that ride a slick groove.

Aubrey is Allen Saei, a UK techno veteran who shaped the early scene as a DJ and record shop worker, but also with his influential label Solid Groove. It launched in 1991 and burned bright for 13 years with fans including Derrick May and Terry Francis. In 2026, it returns with a brand new EP from the boss himself, following a major studio upgrade. His sound harks back to those golden early days but in subtle ways: 'Timing Shock' has booming kicks and wispy synth details bring a future feel. 'Complex Vortex' is a trippy wormhole, 'Spinning Gravity' is deep, Detroit-style machine warmth and 'Cracker Jacker' burrows into a distant cosmic abyss. A fine return from Aubrey.

Mystic Letter K presents Occulimus. Behind this alias stands Cari Lekebusch, one of Europe’s most respected and prolific techno figures, with an undeniable legacy and historic releases on labels such as Missile, Hybrid, and Planet Rhythm, among many others.

With Mystic Letter K, Lekebusch steps into a parallel, more mature and conceptual universe—one where he fully explores a mental, tribal, deeply hypnotic and highly danceable strain of electro. His sound is built on constantly shifting patterns: elements that repeat, reconfigure, and sequence themselves in multiple ways, creating a continuous sense of motion that drives the listener into states of trance and altered perception. Occulimus captures this essence with surgical precision: an unmatched groove, raw yet refined, designed for the dancefloor but equally suited for full immersion. Each side of this double vinyl acts as a powerful and versatile tool, allowing any DJ to build, sustain, and transform energy with a single record in the bag.

A direct, functional, and absorbing work that reaffirms Lekebusch’s forward-thinking vision and his unique ability to sculpt sound in motion.

Basking in the glow of Lightsaber, the swashbuckling synthesizer synergy of Tending Tropic, Kay-Chi and Sharlese debuts. A cross-continent collaboration that bridges the Atlantic, this group joins forces through a shared passion for italo and wave with their sound set firmly on the floor. The title track is analogue brightness, drums drive a melody that dips and soars next to Sharlese’s uplifting lyrics. Energy levels are high from the needle drop. Cymbals crash for “Timeloop.” Vocoder words are softened by gently scaling chords before generous builds give way to sparking synthwork. Disco flourishes and bongos break to spiralling notes in the playful “Luminara.” Cosmic influences radiate through key shifts and understated toms in this celebration of the night sky. “Inertia” marches to a heavy-hitting beat. Industrially dipped, the percussion is fortified by a simmering melody that spills over into a bold body-throbbing close. Despite being oceans apart, this is a partnership light years ahead.

Good Morning Tapes are back with a new album of lushest New Age sound-bathing x emotionally gooey trip hop from Andro Gogibedashvili aka Saphileaum.

Saphileaum has spent the past decade in passage between notable houses of atmospheric sorcery - Mule Musiq, Not Not Fun, Slow Life, Constellation Tatsu - and of course Good Morning Tapes, who now host their 3rd meeting, »Heavenly Hills«. A definitive chapter in his ten year saga, it is flush with symphonic strings and sky born keys, breezily urged by percussion that straddles chill out and folk zones. That said there’s also a Balearic - or should that be Black Sea? - appeal to its title tune, that lingers in the glistening wake of »Your Grace«, to the shimmering breaks of a parting piece »Alarko (Cosmic Eagle)«, falling into the space between Boards of Canada’s cult-inspired hauntological nostalgia and Shackleton’s hallowed ethno-dub.

»The tracks in the album were written with the inspiration of the kingdom of Shambhala in the Himalayas. I’m deeply fascinated and touched by it. Even the album title, holds the idea of its Heavenly nature and the tracks are like individual, elemental parts of it. The album is not a journey into Shambhala, but rather a play and a dance with its energy, image and presence in my world. »Alarko (Cosmic Eagle)« is dedicated to my grandfather, Temur Tsiklauri, and I dedicate the whole album to my country Georgia, which I deeply love«.

Quartier Celeste is a unique project in today’s landscape: here’s Premier Voyage, an album that goes beyond music to offer a complete universe, almost an autonomous mythology, which unfolds through music, lyrics, videos, and a collection of visual artifacts.

It all began with a revelation: the discovery of NASA’s sound archives, recordings collected during space missions to the outer
reaches of the solar system. What can be heard as we approach the Sun? What sound does a black hole produce when its electromagnetic activity is translated into audible frequencies? What does Jupiter's fifth moon whisper through the instruments of
a probe?

From track to track, we drift through an immense space — sometimes calm, almost meditative, sometimes shaken by cosmic storms. We encounter supernovas, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, stellar winds, and clouds of antimatter. The infinitely large rubs shoulders with the infinitely intimate: the fragile, close voice offers a human counterpoint to these titanic forces. The whole is mystical, contemplative, punctuated by bursts of noise, areas of shadow, and flashes of light amid vast areas of darkness.

French label Latency presents ‘Estradas (Versions)’ - a dynamic reimagining of the acclaimed collaboration between drummer-composer Valentina Magaletti and Afro-Portuguese producer Nídia. Following Estradas’ recognition as one of 2024’s Best Albums by Pitchfork, The Wire, Resident Advisor, Artforum, Bandcamp, and more, ‘Estradas (Versions)’ invites a diverse lineup of producers and DJs to deconstruct and reimagine the raw percussive language initially crafted by Magaletti and Nídia. Where the original Estradas channeled their distinct rhythmic sensibili- ties into a bold sonic statement, this collection pushes those ideas further - opening the material to radical transformation across tempo, genre, and mood.

One of the leading baile funk innovators from Belo Horizonte, Dj Anderson do Paraíso opens the release by transforming “Andiamo” into a slow-burning, hallucinatory drift. Mexico-based Rosa Pistola and Freebot follow with “Rapido,” infusing it with syncopated, raw heat drawn from the pulse of underground Latin dancefloors. Lebanese-Australian producer Dj Plead pares “Sicilia” down to its core, distilling its essence into stripped-back, polyrhythmic ten- sion. On “Mata,” Brazilian DJ and producer BADSISTA delivers a fierce, bass-heavy version driven by slicing synths and unrelenting club pressure. Multidisciplinary artist FAUZIA sharpens the rhythmic intricacy of “Nasty” with her signature blend of speed and emotion.

London-born DJ, producer, and label founder Sherelle - known for her high-octane 160bpm mix of footwork and jungle - injects “Estradas” with blistering breakbeat energy, reframing its urgency through a razor-sharp UK lens. Chinese musician and sound artist Yu Su offers a fluid, atmospheric reinterpretation of the same track, softening its edges while preserving its momentum. Scottish composer and producer Fergus Jones pulls “No Promises” into hypnotic new rhythmic terrain. Dominican producer and multidisciplinary artist Kelman Duran stretches “Ta A Bater Ya” into a shadowy, reverberant space, while Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane and its Cosmic Analog Ensemble reimagines it with layered, cinematic textures echoing vintage library music and psych-jazz soundtracks.

These artists treat Estradas as raw material - reframing its structures and reactivating its rhythmic possibilities through entirely new prisms. What emerges is not a conventional remix album, but a vibrant constellation of versions : a response to Estradas’ percussive provoca- tions, and an extension of its spirit of exploration - all while keeping its pulse alive.

Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders return with their best album yet, and a UK tour this August. Press by Silver PR
‘’On the alternate timeline where the Meat Puppets inherited the bulk of the Grateful Dead’s tourheads when Jerry Garcia died in 1995, none of this would be necessary, because Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders are a household name for evolving their own musical space that overlays dusty folk, cosmic jazz, deep psych, free improv, and even (gasp!) indie rock, building an audience that ranges from open-eared curiosity seekers to deep committed music weirdos that’s also yielded the Heavy Lidders, an infamous sub-cult of concert tapers that you’re already sick of hearing about. A lot of other things are better over on that timeline, too.
But in this consensus reality (and probably the other one, too), Liquid Donnon catches the Lidders at their heaviest, “heavy” in the Lidderverse being far from a monolithic musical idea. There’s heavy like the album-opening “From Loch Raven to Fells Point,” one of several tracks with elegant and gnarled conversational jams featuring the core Lidders lineup of Alexander alongside guitarist Drew Gardner and bassist Jesse Sheppard (both of Elkhorn) and drummer Scott Verrastro. But there’s heavy, too, like “Calliope Walker” and “Tightroping,” featuring Gardner shifted to dream-space vibraphone, the former with saxophonist Tacuma Bradley, the latter with Christina Carter of Texas noise-psych legends Charalambides on veil-crossing wordless vocals, her first collaboration with Alexander in some 20 years.
But then there’s also heavy like the cover photo of Alexander’s late friend and album namesake Donnon, taken at a Dead show at Rich Stadium in Buffalo in 1989, a spirit threading through the songs and weaving unexpectedly into Alexander’s life decades later, emerging especially when Alexander passed through a near-death experience of his own. But, taken together, the different heavies of Liquid Donnon add up into a state of musical grace, where all the Heavy Lidders from all the universes come together as one. Just, like, imagine.
Convened in 2019 on Alexander’s relocation back to his native east coast, the Heavy Lidders are the latest hard-touring expression for the guitarist’s music, joining a vast and tangled discography (and tape list) that includes the beloved long-running west coast Dire Wolves Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band and, before them, the Iditarod and Black Forest/Black Sea, as well as a bushel of solo play-all-the-instruments projects, a stint with Jackie-O Motherfucker, sessions with Kemialliset Ystävät and Avarus and others, and you’ll have to keep digging for the rest.
And while it’s not hard to find tapers at Lidders gigs (and they encourage you to be one), or to track themes and songs over Alexander’s many live releases, Liquid Donnon makes a new primary text, the original versions of six new pieces for the repertoire. The album closes with a devastating pairing of “Reservoir Drop” into “The Summer Song,” floating into a duo between Alexander’s guitar and Carter’s voice. Catch a half-dozen Lidders shows this summer, and you might not ever catch them playing it like that again, but you just might open the doorway back to that better place." - Jesse Jarnow (writer, WFMU DJ, producer and host of The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast)

Digi Dub re-enter the vinyl world with a handful of archival 10” releases, the first collating tracks harvested from four releases which originally came out in the early 90s.

The Aliens EP provides a perfect showcase of the adventurous and experimental approach that the label took at a time when breakbeat hardcore was starting to fragment. Taking none of the paths that their peers took, the artists in the Digi Dub stable infused their breakbeat science with a playful dubwise methodology to create idiosyncratic dance music operating at the interstice between modern dub mechanics and rave dynamics that was a premonition of much of the experimental bass music that the UK has become known for.

The first track comes from the trio L.S. Diezel whose Alien In The Woods marries cosmic interference with a steppers reinforced breakbeat and a tough digital bassline. The Diezel boys are joined by label owner Lee Berwick under his Launch DAT pseudonym for the second track Rougher Than A Lion. Beginning with what sounds like a sort of distorted tribal ritual, the track erupts into a symphony of skittering breakbeats, processed jazz lines, bursts of acid and discombobulated ragga chat.

On the second side the collaboration between Diezel and DAT continues with Poor Mans Glory that sees a weighty sped-up funk break allied with a suitably robust dub bassline overlaid with bursts of rasta invocation rattling around in the echo chamber. L.S. Diezel’s Get Your Spear Out rounds out the package with a clangorous proto-dubstep breaker forging the link between a Jah Shaka dance and Horsepower Productions.

With the original 12s now rare as rocking horse shit, grab yourself a 10” and make your bass bins smile.

Super-cosmic Dub album by bass & keys wizard Slim Levy, full of song writing magic and it’s very own cassette tape mojo.

Fourteen beautifully messy dub tracks, psychedelic floor movers and short curveball riddims, inspired by Lee Perry’s radical mixing desk treatment on “Dub Revolution” but infused with the musicality of the “Pet Sounds” album by the Beach Boys.

Initially a professional bassist, Slim Levy fell in love with the golden age of Jamaican music of the 60s and 70s after a formative tour alongside the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry.

In 2020 he launched his career as a producer. At his home studio in Strasbourg / France he is always on the search for sound artifacts and magic imperfections, shaping his distinct sound.

This is a record of noted pedigree. Nottingham is one of thee homes to god-tier hardcore punk. The scene there has evolved, revolved, mutated, and grown over the decades. It's DIY venues and recording studios are now of legend.
The catalogue number of WSR084 is no coincidence. As with Crass and their 'counting down to 1984' aesthetic, this is anarcho hardcore railing hard against the times. If you're not currently furious you're asleep and Blind Eye are spitting anger.
Taking inspiration from The Comes, Jerrys Kids, Aus-Rotten and Chaos UK, this album is a concise call to arms. Perfectly captured over a weekend towards the end of 2025 by Boulty at Stuck On A Name Studios, Mistrust Your Nation sees mid-tempo stompers mix with breakneck ragers, all pressed at 45rpm and sounding as hefty as the band playing in your front room.
Anmarie Spaziano's vocal is at once melodic and raging, giving new definition to “pissed off”. Steve Charlesworth's drums are second to none, they've never been equalled in over 40 years of doing this. Andrew Morgan's guitar on this record is wild: shredding equal parts cosmic noise and brutally-tight riffing whilst Matt Grundy's bass anchors the chaos, pushing every second onwards.
As a label we never tire of bands who have THAT THING. We struggle to describe it and to pin it down, but we know it and we feel it and we only deal with people who have it. When we put gigs on and Blind Eye share a bill with solo banjo player Jacken Elswyth (for example) the sound is clearly different, but the ethics are the same. We can see it and we can hear it and we hope you can too. We are a genre-free label. We are a label that deals only with righteous, inspiring people. Play this record loud. Let it help you through these hideous times - Wrong Speed HQ

Once again, you can expect Periphery's trademark mind- blowing instrumentation, immersive soundscape architecture, cathartically crushing vocals, and cosmically catchy melodies, but the band's signature sound has also evolved like any living and breathing organism would, gaining complexity and strength through life experience. You also get emotional acuity, raw humanity, and a level of relatability that could only come from a group of brothers who have effectively gone through it all. The deep experiences have enabled the collective to deliver their most cohesive offering yet.

Mark Flash returns on DTFA with two late-night transmissions built for the floor and the mind. "Interstellar Dreams" opens the space. Warm textures, deep chords, uplifting strings, and floating atmospheres drift into Detroit's futurist side, combining Hi-Tech Jazz with a funky bassline by Jon Dixon.

"Midnight Scanner" moves with purpose—pulsing synth lines and restless energy cutting through the dark, like signal traffic across the city after hours. Direct, mechanical, and locked-in, it's a peak-time tool designed to drive the room forward.

Together, the two tracks capture both ends of the spectrum: street-level grit and cosmic lift-off—classic Mark Flash territory where funk, techno, and movement meet. Functional. Emotional. Built for DJs.

Matter at Hand Records launches its first release MAH01: Abeja Descarada is a four track EP showcasing Oliver Albach's vision on contemporary techno, without explorative boundaries. "move on" - sets the tone with a deep, driving pulse, noisy hi-hats and shadowy textures. "you trippin’" - locks into a bleep-driven monotony that unfolds into a subtle cosmic drift. The titel track "abeja descarada" reveals a different vibe — an afterhour piece with soft, gloomy ambience. "unhinged" closes on a raw note: a relentless 808 groove with off-kilter synth work.