Suche:creative writing

Space Ghost returns with Back From Reality, his first solo album since 2022. Blending ambient, downtempo and house, the LP explores themes of escapism, introspection and the search for moments of calm in an increasingly overwhelming world. Out October 9th, 2026 via Space Ghost’s own Peace World Records.

Drawing influence from late '90s and early 2000s ambient and electronic music, the record channels the nostalgic atmosphere of PS2-era video game soundtracks, console startup screens, and save menus. “I used to play games like Spyro, Crash, Ape Escape, Gran Turismo. It's fun for me to reimagine songs that could have lived in games from that era. ” The project reveals Space Ghost's interest in writing music for video games, with tracks such as "System Reset" reimagining an alternate PS2 startup screen or “VGM” visualizing a stage selection screen for an imaginary game.

Visually, the project emulates the minimalist design trends of album artwork from the same era: sparse industrial landscapes paired with minimal type. Space Ghost took the cover photo himself while driving around the quiet, empty Oakland ports at night. Tracks like “Sugar Cube” and “Back From Reality” mimic these late night environments and create a downtempo zone for listeners to get lost in. “One of my favorite things to do after writing songs, is to drive around Oakland listening to them. It's almost like the final test for the songs, to see if their emotion holds up.
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Written over the course of five years, Back From Reality reflects Space Ghost’s experience of balancing everyday life with the desire to be creative. “This album is me coming home from my day job and returning back to the place where I feel the joy and freedom in making my music. If I could, I would work on my music full time, but for now it's part time and often a form of escapism. ” Beneath its calming surface, the LP quietly wrestles with larger questions. Against the backdrop of global conflict, environmental decline, and economic uncertainty, the album searches for small moments of optimism through creativity and introspection. Back From Reality holds a moment of space away from these overwhelming times, allowing listeners to pause and recharge.

Back From Reality releases on Peace World Records October 9th, 2026

Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she'd wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. "I'm a psychological mixer - I'm trying to think of how someone's experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way," Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band's own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars.' In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, lyricist and vocalist Ash Richter is as straightforward as she's ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track 'peaches,' a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. 'still asleep' chronicles Richter's euphoria after Total Wife's first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. "Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing," she sings, before: "Is there such a thing as too happy?" The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play - climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like 'in my head' and 'second spring,' she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. "I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism - trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery," she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do - from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they've christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they've settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry's floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell - injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.

Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she'd wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. "I'm a psychological mixer - I'm trying to think of how someone's experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way," Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band's own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars.' In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, lyricist and vocalist Ash Richter is as straightforward as she's ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track 'peaches,' a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. 'still asleep' chronicles Richter's euphoria after Total Wife's first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. "Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing," she sings, before: "Is there such a thing as too happy?" The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play - climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like 'in my head' and 'second spring,' she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. "I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism - trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery," she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do - from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they've christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they've settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry's floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell - injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.

Richly progressive folk-informed heavy post-rock and a sick burn to boot. - The Obelisk Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa), the driving creative force behind THE KEENING returns with her second album, Devotion. The new album sees Vernon and company releasing one of the year's most evocative albums; a truly compelling mix of slow burning, ethereal post-rock, folk, goth, and soaring doom. For Vernon, the writing process for Devotion took place in two starkly different environments. It ranged from the contemplative solitude of a friend’s cabin in a deserted Idaho ski resort, to the hectic reality of a 55+ senior living community in Spokane, Washington, where she was staying with her father. This shift resulted in an explosive album with a subtle duality that resonates throughout its most poignant moments. Take the lead single, "A Little Bit of Blood," for example. Quiet, acoustic guitar strums give way for Vernon's haunting vocals, before the backing instrumentation explodes into a soaring chorus reminding the listener that sometimes the best paths taken are the most difficult. "You drew a little bit of blood to show me Just a little bit of blood to make me see It took a little bit of blood to wake me Just a little wound in the night to free me" In a 2024 interview with Decibel Magazine, Vernon discussed the drastic shift in heavy music's themes in recent years, highlighting a willingness to convey raw emotion: "Metal is beginning to share more vulnerable things, more confessional things. Metal has almost become a safe place to talk about those things. People are being open with their struggles. Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have." Devotion lays these emotional confessions bare and showcases a truly bright burn. Devotion was recorded in April 2022, again at Hallowed Halls in Portland, with Billy Anderson and Nathan Carson featured in their same roles as heard on Little Bird. Once again, Vernon showcases her writing prowess, having a heavy hand on all the instrumentation for Devotion; Vernon played drums, guitar, piano, organ, and hammered dulcimer, and provided most of the vocals on both albums, with a few guest vocalists added to the mix.

Underoath reinvents the balance between chaos and harmony with each successive release. Their compositions, conjured from creative tension, become iconoclastic anthems. Even when the band almost combusts, the crackling energy coalesces into something deeply resonant for millions.

Each time they have a chance to do something safe, Underoath challenges themselves instead, with integrity and attitude. Their pair of gold albums and three Grammy nominations stand in stark defiance of the idea of commercial compromise. The Underoath catalog weaponizes noise, aggression, and ambiance as skillfully as melody.

This year the band celebrates 20 years of their album Define The Great Line. Coming on the heels of 2004’s They’re Only Chasing Safety, Define The Great Line saw Underoath pivoting towards a more aggressive sound. The record’s unconventional – and, at times, jarring – intensity served as a stark contrast to the pop-leaning trends that were taking over heavy music at the time.

Featuring fan favorites like “Writing On The Walls”, “In Regards To Myself”, and “You’re Ever So Inviting”, Define The Great Line defied expectations when it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It is widely regarded as one of the definitive heavy records of the early 2000s, solidifying Underoath’s legacy as one most influential bands of the genre.

The heart of their sound, which delivers naked vulnerability with thrilling force and cinematic lushness, can be heard in generations of bands who’ve pursued their trailblazing spirit. But Underoath refuses to sit still. Walking an artistic tightrope between immersive access and isolationist otherness, Underoath owns the space between huge choruses and forward-thinking heaviness, both on record and onstage.

By the time Michael Nau completed Popfly, the songs felt less like compositions than companions. Arriving in fragments, notebook lines, and fleeting observations, these pieces kept company for years until taking their final form. The result is one of Nau's most openhearted, expansive records, both homespun and otherworldly at once. Radiant folk melodies, tape-warped textures, and flashes of everyday wonder coexist in perfect balance on Popfly. Nau has never been a songwriter who forces songs into existence. Instead, he follows them, trusting intuition over agenda and allowing songs to gradually reveal themselves. Writing and recording often blur together, with melodies evolving before lyrics are finished and stray recordings forming the basis for new songs. Popfly showcases these creative detours: thoughtful folk songs, sonic experiments, and accidental beauty transformed into fully realized compositions. Many songs began at home, growing in meaning. Since he entered the Vermont studio, Little Jamaica, with longtime friend and collaborator Benny Yurco, many of them had already lived several lives. "Studio recording feels like covering my own songs," Nau says. This idea flows throughout: performances are lived-in, feeling effortless, as if assembling itself. The title track carries a flicker of wonder in its simple observations. "New Slack" moves with the loose confidence of a song content to follow its own path. On "Lost Station Hideaway," soft static and fading signals become something strangely comforting, as if the song itself is being broadcast from somewhere just beyond reach. Family and friendship are deeply woven throughout the record. Nau's children contribute vocals, bringing warmth and spontaneity to the album's communal spirit, with longtime collaborator and wife Whitney McGraw lending her serene voice. The harmonies that drift from them extend the album's central impulse of people gathering to make something beautiful. Across Popfly, loose-limbed folk songs mingle with homespun psych-pop, porchside country-folk, dreamlike atmospherics, and quietly profound observations. The record moves with the ease of conversation among old friends, finding beauty in tiny revelations, strange coincidences, and everyday mysteries. The record is full of transmissions from different moments in Nau's life, stitched together by instinct, affection, and time. Taken together, they form a portrait of a life spent paying close attention to the world and its small miracles.

For Luca, Cuylan’s new album of elegant modern classical, globally informed folk and gentle electronic music, is in part a tribute to his dearly departed dog. Luca came into Cuylan’s life like a key unlocking a door, leading to experiences and experiments simultaneously new and familiar. Back then the Turkish-born musician was living in LA with his wife, leading a busy creative life, writing and recording scores for films and Netflix series, and suddenly with the adoption of Luca here’s this bouncy, furry being demanding constant attention. Cuylan accepted the responsibility like a father welcoming a child. He grew closer to his wife. He started psychoanalysis. He returned to acoustic guitar, his original instrument, waylaid for 20 years in favor of synthesizers and electronics, pulsing post-rock and skittering jazz. Luca was there in the studio when Cuylan recorded his first solo album, 2021’s No Such Thing As Free Will, which The Guardian said “seems to invent new languages for the guitar.” Without a doubt, Luca the dog made Deniz the musician more expressive and more vulnerable. Better at his craft. Better at his humanity. Luca was just five years old when bone cancer struck. He exited far too quickly, a comet of joy passing into the dark, unfathomable universe. Cuylan found his absence very hard to process–he was just right here! It took a couple years, but inevitably Luca, the catalyst for Cuylan’s current chapter, inspired new artistry after his death–from Cuylan, and from a host of collaborators from around the world who contributed to For Luca. All of them share an abiding compassion for the more-than-human creatures with whom we share this planet–dogs, cats, whales, ants, trees. The entire menagerie, humankind’s kindred. The album is a collective meditation on–and celebration of–their immeasurable essence. It was born not from despair but from a transcendent love that burns all the brighter for its brevity.

MARGOT is a violinist, composer and producer defined by a deeply emotional orchestral language shaped by classical training and a highly personal approach to string writing. She has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and St. Vincent. Trained from the age of four in North Florida, she moved to New York at nineteen, where her musical world expanded through collaborations and exposure to new scenes, alongside the discovery of artists such as Radiohead, Sigur Rós and Björk via their string arrangements. In 2020, she met pianist and composer Juan Villacrez in Colombia, leading to the creation of the instrumental album The Apartment on Third Street (over 13 million streams) and a long-term creative collaboration.


Her new album The Villain presents a major new artistic statement: a cinematic, immersive instrumental work unfolding across ten movements, shaped by profound personal loss and recorded live in Colombia with a minimum of takes and no overproduction. The physical edition of the record is designed by NYC-based artist Bráulio Amado (known for his work with André 3000, Harry Styles, Frank Ocean and Róisín Murphy), reinforcing the album’s position as a complete visual and sonic object. MARGOT’s writing, violin playing and emotional depth resonate throughout, particularly through arrangements in which she layers her own performances, creating a sound world that is at once intimate, restless and constantly evolving.

This November, Brownswood Recordings will release Mek Do & Mend, the debut album from self-taught producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and artist Wonky Logic. Although his name may not yet be familiar to everyone, Wonky Logic (AKA Dwayne Kilvington) has spent the past two decades quietly becoming one of the UK's most respected musical collaborators. His career has moved comfortably between London's jazz, electronic and contemporary music scenes, performing and recording with artists including Nala Sinephro, Yussef Dayes, Nightmares On Wax, Shabaka Hutchings and Emma-Jean Thackray. Alongside his work as a producer and composer, he's been musical director for projects with Eddie Chacon, John Carroll Kirby and I.G Culture's LCSM, scored the feature documentary Zandra With A Zed, contributed music to A24's The Smashing Machine, and continues to lead music workshops with young people, refugees and people experiencing incarceration.

Far more than a collection of compositions, Mek Do & Mend is a deeply personal reflection on the people, places and experiences that have shaped Kilvington throughout his life. It's the story of growing up on a Leeds council estate, where music became both a creative outlet and a way of understanding the world. Making music often meant working with whatever was available: a second-hand keyboard, a makeshift studio desk or ageing equipment that simply had to last a little longer. The title itself came from a conversation with his mother, capturing the resourcefulness that defined his upbringing and continued into the making of the album itself, which was written and produced to a tight deadline around touring, family life and Kilvington's work as a musician and educator.

Built from material spanning more than fifteen years, Mek Do & Mend brings together some of Wonky Logic's earliest compositions alongside brand new pieces written during the making of the record itself. Childhood ideas sit alongside music conceived only months before recording, creating an album that draws together a lifetime of writing rather than documenting a single moment. Running throughout are voice notes from family members, teachers, friends, mentors and collaborators—not simply as interludes, but as a reminder that no creative life is ever self-made. Rather than telling his own story outright, Kilvington invites listeners to discover him through the people who've shaped him: an aunt remembering him playing in church as a child, lifelong friends recalling early experiments making beats together, fellow musicians from different stages of his career and his mother describing him in her own words. Together they reveal the invisible network of relationships, philosophies, communities and experiences behind the music. "The album exists somewhere between being a biography and an autobiography," says Dwayne. "The biography is in the voice notes and how other people see me. The autobiography is in the music."

That same philosophy extends to the musicians who appear on the record. Every contributor has played a meaningful role in Wonky Logic's life beyond the studio. Long-time collaborator Luke Wynter, Steam Down drummer Benji Appiah, partner Vanessa Rani, Jonathan Enser, Joe Bristow, Brother Portrait and Nubiya Imani all feature not simply because of their musicianship, but because they form part of the album's story.

Across its fourteen tracks, Mek Do & Mend moves effortlessly between dynamic jazz arrangements, pulsating broken rhythms, delicate, twinkling piano passages, interstellar synth textures and elegant brass lines. Album opener and first single 'Strange Attractor' begins with a shimmering introduction before unfolding into an exhilarating surge of rhythm and momentum. Named after the mathematical concept of the same name, it serves as the conceptual point of origin for the album. Written when Kilvington was just seventeen, the composition reflects the idea that even the most unpredictable lives are guided by hidden patterns that often only become visible with time. Second single 'A Thousand Hands' features the unmistakable vocal tones of Brother Portrait, whose cerebral lyricism drifts over a low-slung, constantly shifting groove as woozy synth lines ebb and flow overhead. At its heart, the track celebrates the family, friends, mentors and collaborators whose often unseen influence shapes who we become, echoing the album's belief that every achievement is, in some way, a collective one. LP focus track 'BAME (Beyond All Marginalised Expectations)' is a lush, spiralling composition, brimming with both emotion and resolve. Reclaiming an acronym long imposed on racialised communities in the UK, the piece transforms it into a statement of possibility rather than limitation: a defiant rejection of stereotypes and a refusal to let identity be defined by other people's expectations.

The album itself only exists because other people believed in it. Isabel Gracefield made the RAK sessions possible, Rick David brought the record together with his characteristically thoughtful mix, and Gilles Peterson committed to releasing it on Brownswood before hearing any of the music. Away from the stage, Kilvington works with the charity Finding Rhythms, writing and producing original records with people experiencing incarceration, while also leading workshops with Arts Train and Dovetail Orchestra.

Recorded live in a single day in Studio One at RAK, Mek Do & Mend was mixed by Rick David through an analogue Cadac console before being mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis. The aim wasn't nostalgia or audiophile perfection, but to create a record people could return to throughout their lives, discovering something new with each listen.

As Dwayne puts it: "I don't want this body of work to be reduced to a jazz record. It's more like a novel about life told through music."

Nearly three decades after first forging one of underground hip-hop's most enduring creative partnerships, Aesop Rock and Blockhead reunite for Trouble Mountain, a new full-length meditation on escape, survival, and the strange terrain of everyday life. Inspired by the nostalgic promise of Poconos resort commercials that blanketed New York airwaves during their childhoods, the album imagines a fictional getaway where the search for reinvention proves just as disorienting as the reality left behind. Arriving as Aesop Rock's 13th studio album, Trouble Mountain finds his writing as inventive as ever—transforming family history, work, memory, and the absurd mechanics of modern life into vivid, deeply human reflections. Blockhead's production is equally vital, pairing the duo's unmistakable chemistry with lean, evolving soundscapes that feel both familiar and newly exploratory.
Together, they revisit the themes that have connected their work since Labor Days: labor, alienation, and the enduring hope that there's somewhere else we'd rather be. Rather than offering an escape, Trouble Mountain asks why we're always searching for one—delivering one of the duo's most imaginative and resonant collaborations to date.

Nearly three decades after first forging one of underground hip-hop's most enduring creative partnerships, Aesop Rock and Blockhead reunite for Trouble Mountain, a new full-length meditation on escape, survival, and the strange terrain of everyday life. Inspired by the nostalgic promise of Poconos resort commercials that blanketed New York airwaves during their childhoods, the album imagines a fictional getaway where the search for reinvention proves just as disorienting as the reality left behind. Arriving as Aesop Rock's 13th studio album, Trouble Mountain finds his writing as inventive as ever—transforming family history, work, memory, and the absurd mechanics of modern life into vivid, deeply human reflections. Blockhead's production is equally vital, pairing the duo's unmistakable chemistry with lean, evolving soundscapes that feel both familiar and newly exploratory.
Together, they revisit the themes that have connected their work since Labor Days: labor, alienation, and the enduring hope that there's somewhere else we'd rather be. Rather than offering an escape, Trouble Mountain asks why we're always searching for one—delivering one of the duo's most imaginative and resonant collaborations to date.

2026 REPRESS + DOWNLOAD

Years Of Denial is back on Veyl with their second LP 'Suicide Disco Vol. 2'. The follow up to 2019’s 'Suicide Disco', the duo makes a triumphant return, elevating their distinct sound which fuses dark wave, goth, newbeat, post-punk, EBM, and techno. The LP features 12 tracks all written and produced at Ark of Noise studio, located miles away from the polluted noise of social turbulences, immersed in isolation, creative indulgence, and poetic writing.
From the start, 'Art Break' provides the perfect warm-up, gently cleansing the palette and re-introducing us to Barkosina’s lustful vocals with a slow-burning pace that only marks the beginning. 'Wrong' picks things up, injecting a dose of body music for an infectious piece that bleeds into 'La Pendue' which keeps the energy rising. Next up, 'Mr. Guillotine' delivers a razor sharp edge, carving out a fresh post-punk feel which then brings us to the brooding, 'Never Satisfied'.
'Lover’s Crime' marks the halfway point of the record and one of the album’s standout tracks. Undeniably seductive with an ominous feel, the pair keep this mood going with 'City Lights' and then smash things open with 'Dancing With Demons'. After the devious message sent with 'The Letter', we are submerged in the romantic melancholia of 'Death Of A Lover' and 'Regarding the Pain of Others' before closing things out with 'Social Anxiety' which features vocals by longtime collaborator Broken English Club. The result is an immersive journey through the pair’s self described, Suicide Disco sound, and further builds on the Years of Denial form and legacy.

2027 Repress

With Panorama, Frank Maston pays homage to the classic era of library records and Italian soundtracks of the 70s. A blissed-out, grooving collection of filmic cues, it continues the unique brilliance of Tulips and Darkland. Elegant and easy, subtle and stylish, breezy and beautiful; this is his Maston-piece. Commissioned by legendary label KPM, Panorama cements Maston as a master of modern classics and the most mesmeric of contemporary composers.

In early 2020, Be With suggested to Frank that he should make a KPM record. He wasn't aware that they were still putting out new library records - but he was super keen: "It was completely surreal and it still hasn't fully sank in that I have a record in that catalog, sitting alongside those incredible albums that were so influential to me."

Frank was visiting family in his hometown of LA in March 2020 when the world ground to a halt so the KPM project arrived at a fortuitous moment. Having fantasised about committing to a record with no distractions, with a proper budget, access to his gear and space to work in - to really dig in and try to write and arrange the best work he could possibly make - it was a real "be careful what you wish for" moment. But, as Frank explained, "it completely saved my year and sanity to have something to focus on and get excited about. It was my lifeline." He spent seven months on it, working almost every day.

Maston had already been making library-influenced music so when KPM outlined the criteria for the tracks it was exactly what he had been doing all along. He thought the best approach would be to make a follow-up to Tulips that had a parallel life as a KPM record. Enjoying complete creative freedom, “gave me the drive to power through and dig in deep. I'm not sure if I could have kept myself on such a rigorous recording schedule under my own steam, and I think the momentum I had writing and recording it is part of the strength of this record."

Maston’s sleek retro-groove instrumentals emulate the classic KPM “Greensleeve” reel-to-reel recordings that provided mood-setting music for mid-century cinema, television, and radio programs. Apparently in close conversation with the John Cameron-Keith Mansfield KPM pastoral masterclass Voices In Harmony, Maston's Panorama could be heard as that record's funky follow-up. Yes, it's *that good*. Another reference point from the hallowed library would be Francis Coppieter's wonderful Piano Viberations.

Opener "First Class" is a blissed-out groove, featuring the soothing vocals of Molly Lewis and a glistening harp over drums, a two-note bass motif (from Eli Ghersinu of L'Eclair) and an assemblage of guitars, synths, French horn and glowing vibraphone. Acid Lounge, anyone? The irresistibly funky "Easy Money" is a gorgeous cut led by more of Molly's vocals, pastoral flute and Rhodes, underpinned by drums and percussion, grooving bass, chilled guitars and synth strings. Kicking the tempo up, the percussive "Storm" is a vibin' filmic-fusion jam where psychedelic guitars (courtesy of Pedrum of Allah Las/Paint) organ, jazzy flute, Rhodes and vibes all compete for a place in the sun, over drums and walking bassline.

The heavenly "You Shouldn't Have" is a delicate, melancholic wonder; a dreamy instrumental where the melody is shared by a whistle, harpsichord and celeste, over a cyclical piano chord sequence and bass, synths, guitars, organ and distant French horn. The tempo rises again with the passionate, sticky "Fling", a summery, nostalgic groove with skipping drums and percussion, warm bass and electric guitar, yearning flute and synth strings. The brilliantly titled "Fool Moon" has that Voices In Harmony sound down pat. A romantic slow-mo dreamscape of Rhodes and harpsichord, piano, light drums and softly strummed acoustic guitar.

Side B opens with "Medusa", a hopeful, mellowed-out track with shuffling drums, feel-good flute, muted horns, glowing Rhodes and synth strings. The soft and gentle "Morning Paper" is an elegant way to start the day; a beatless blend of flute, guitar, percussion, ambient synths and vibes. The upbeat head-nod jam "Scenic" has that widescreen car-chase feel, uptempo drums and percussion, grooving bass, piano, synths and ambient electric guitar. "Adieu" is a smooth summer vibe, relaxing with brushed drums, Rhodes, flutes and horns. Molly Lewis's gorgeous vocals steal the show, alongside vibes, jamming organ and synth strings.

"Hydra" is another laid-back 70s-sounding retro cinema cue with light drums and percussion, walking bass, spacey synths, clavinet, glowing vibraphone, vintage organ and electric guitar. Closer "Jet Lag" is a laconic bow out; bass-driven drum machine soul, featuring hand percussion, Rhodes, vibes, synths and organ.

Multi-instrumentalist Frank played a bit of everything across Panorama. Yet, humble as ever, he believes the time, energy, and enthusiasm of all of the musicians invited to the sessions helped him realise his vision: "There were two Italian flautists who really understood what I was going for. Two french horn players, cor anglais, a vibraphonist and a flügel horn player. I've never involved this many people in my projects before, and yet the result is the most "me" record I've ever made."

Musically, a strong Italian theme runs through the record. Frank is fascinated by ancient Rome and both his parents are Italian (Maston was originally Mastrantonio before anglicisation). So, it felt natural to fully embrace these strands and tie everything together with the striking artwork. The Romans were influenced by Greek culture, emulating their art and architecture, which, in turn, influenced Renaissance era artists. Frank acknowledged this tradition when reflecting on his place in the lineage of library and soundtrack composers. He then asked his friend Mattea Perrotta, a painter and sculptor, for some sketches. What he received was exactly what he had in mind: "Especially the theater mask, which really captures the range of moods on the album". Frank arranged them as per the cover and it soon felt right: "I wanted to make a cover that was reminiscent of the classic KPM albums without making it too pastiche - so it has its own identity and looks at home alongside other library records, while still fitting in nicely in the KPM catalogue." The last step was for us to introduce Frank to Be With-KPM’s Rich Robinson, who helped put together the back and centre labels and align it all within the KPM standard.

Panorama is a perfect title for the album. With no opportunity to travel for tours or recording projects, Frank arranged postcards from his collection on his desk with beautiful views of the mediterranean coast, the Roman Colosseum and Cinque Terre. These also served as visual prompts: "That was part of the sonic concept - imagining myself driving down the mediterranean coast with this music on, with the top down." Additionally, the range of moods and vibes - "I tried to make each song very different from the previous one in terms of tempo and arrangement and feeling" - speaks to the idea of a Panorama of music and sounds and emotions. The last track was originally called Panorama, but KPM already had that title in their catalogue so it was changed to "Jet Lag", which, as Frank notes, "is perhaps even more fitting, since the trip is over".

Inspiral Carpets announce Burn Like The Sun - their first studio album in 12 years. The album marks a major new chapter for Inspiral Carpets following a period shaped by loss, reflection and renewal. An extended hiatus left the future of the band uncertain, and the return to writing and recording became something deeper than simply making another record. What emerged is an album rooted in endurance, connection, and forward motion. At the centre of that story is the return of original frontman Stephen Holt, whose rejoining of the band reconnected Inspiral Carpets with their earliest creative identity while opening the door to an entirely new era. Rather than revisiting the past, the band approached Burn Like The Sun determined to create something fresh, relevant and emotionally honest - a record that acknowledges their history without being defined by it.

Inspiral Carpets announce Burn Like The Sun - their first studio album in 12 years. The album marks a major new chapter for Inspiral Carpets following a period shaped by loss, reflection and renewal. An extended hiatus left the future of the band uncertain, and the return to writing and recording became something deeper than simply making another record. What emerged is an album rooted in endurance, connection, and forward motion. At the centre of that story is the return of original frontman Stephen Holt, whose rejoining of the band reconnected Inspiral Carpets with their earliest creative identity while opening the door to an entirely new era. Rather than revisiting the past, the band approached Burn Like The Sun determined to create something fresh, relevant and emotionally honest - a record that acknowledges their history without being defined by it.

Inspiral Carpets announce Burn Like The Sun - their first studio album in 12 years. The album marks a major new chapter for Inspiral Carpets following a period shaped by loss, reflection and renewal. An extended hiatus left the future of the band uncertain, and the return to writing and recording became something deeper than simply making another record. What emerged is an album rooted in endurance, connection, and forward motion. At the centre of that story is the return of original frontman Stephen Holt, whose rejoining of the band reconnected Inspiral Carpets with their earliest creative identity while opening the door to an entirely new era. Rather than revisiting the past, the band approached Burn Like The Sun determined to create something fresh, relevant and emotionally honest - a record that acknowledges their history without being defined by it.

If art is to be exhibited, then Ulrika Spacek will ensure that their art is collective; that even as the world becomes inhospitable to community, their intentions are an act of resistance.

Whether it is Oysterland, the self-curated night the band have been Hosting for over ten years to platform artists of other disciplines in live music spaces, or Total Refreshment Centre, the East London studio Syd runs which connects the dots between the jazz scene and like-minded experimental artists of the capital and beyond, or their creative bleed as musicians and producers over the years with the likes of Crack Cloud, caroline, DIIV, Holy Wave and Slowdive, the band’s existence is inseparable from their community.

In a hyper-individual world, the band’s fourth album, ‘EXPO’, offers an antidote. It’s there, in the shared dream logic of the music, the off-kilter melodies, jagged guitars and cirrus cloud atmospherics. It’s there, in all the things that are said and unsaid between them; there in the writing, producing and mixing processes they share in. And even as each of their parts Moves toward a unified vision, it’s never more keenly felt than in the bigger Picture to which Ulrika Spacek belong.

Though their well-established foundations are in the art-rock world - and though they are inspired by electronic elements more than ever - Ulrika Spacek are interested in the glitch that exists between the two. Their Music reckons with human warmth and digital isolation, equal parts welcoming and altogether alienating. “Our music has always been a collage - a bit patchwork, sonically - but what makes this album a landmark for us is that we went one step further and made our own sample bank,” explains singer / guitarist Rhys. They create their own doppelgängers in a world of almostreal, where the band appear as if in a hall of mirrors. Digital drums are sampled layered upon real drums, and the effect is almost like birth in reverse - pulled from the ether and returned back to the tangible world.

“There’s a lot that can be said about writing when there is no aim, there is a freedom and a purity in it which opens a door to more music, and in this case, it set a mood for a new album, one that would be colder, darker and one that would embrace electronics and new instrumentation in a new terrain,” the band share. “The album’s greater theme is isolation and alienation in an online world where it seems everybody around you is constantly exhibiting themselves, living in public wanting to be seen and heard. The age of ‘individuality’ is lonely, it’s a room of concave mirrors, and with this in mind, we set upon making our most collective effort; ‘It’s back to strength in numbers, count in fives.”

For fans of Radiohead, Moin, DIIV, Astrel K, Slowdive.

LP presented on Crystal Clear vinyl.

'We Fell In Turn' is the solo debut from Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and quartet leader Kalia Vandever. Vandever, who plays with Harry Styles and Japanese Breakfast, “sculpts her trombone’s golden tones into dazzling compositions” (Pitchfork), writing music that tends to “dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there” (The New York Times). In 2022, Vandever released Regrowth, an album that “features the ecstatic, brilliant melodies that have become Vandever’s signature sound” (Bandcamp). This spring, Vandever brings contemplative reflection to We Fell in Turn, a brave and understated work from an ascending voice in American jazz.

Recorded over three days in upstate New York, 'We Fell In Turn' is improvisational — a stark palate of solo trombone, voice, effects, and little more. “My solo process has always been heavily rooted in improvisation,” says Vandever. “I wanted the process to feel similar to the way I perform. Lee Meadvin, who engineered and produced the album, had a heavy hand in the creative process as well. He would dictate prompts before I started improvising and those pieces ended up shaping a lot of the imagery that comes up throughout the record.”

Connecting the dots between Jeff Parker’s 'Forfolks', and early releases from Grouper, 'We Fell In Turn' is a study of space and patience, embracing vulnerability in its sparse adornment. At times, the album is reminiscent of Patrick Shiroishi’s 'Hidemi', both in its familial inspiration and solo instrument study, while sharing the ineffable feel of William Basinski’s 'The Disintegration Loops' — the traces of her trombone folding in on themselves in an organic loop. Emotionally generous throughout, Vandever acts as a torchbearer for jazz’s historical yearning for connection.

On 'We Fell in Turn' Vandever draws inspiration from childhood memories — events that shaped her approach to love, community, and partnership, and her maternal homeland of Hawaii. “We were exploring childhood memories, earliest experiences with disappointment and pain, and my Hawaiian roots,” says Vandever. “We Fell In Turn came after I titled the track "We Wept In Turn". Both come from the intangible feeling of waking up from vivid dreams, particularly the experience of falling right before waking up or waking up in tears.”

Through this exploration into her heritage, Vandever also found guidance. “In Hawaiian mythology, ‘aumākua are known as ancestral spiritual guides that manifest in different forms, whether physical or intangible,” says Vandever. “My ‘aumākua visits me in my dreams, usually with a reassuring hug or a reminder of my past. Memories and early experiences seem to escape me, but find their way back in dreams.” And now they’ve found their way into 'We Fell in Turn', Kalia Vandever’s stunning solo debut.

Limited Edition Transparent Black Vinyl Version - 500 Units Only

There are few people across the globe, who will have not been touched by the work of Frankie Knuckles. Forever regarded as ‘The Godfather of House’ for his unrivalled contribution to the house music we know today; what started as an underground movement in Chicago has grown to international heights thanks to Frankie. His records earned him recognition on a global scale, allowing him to work with some of the globes biggest names including the likes of Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

Five years ago, Frankie passed away in Chicago on 31st March 2014 leaving behind one of the greatest house music legacies spanning almost four decades. Now he is commemorated by long time writing and production partner Eric Kupper. Eric, himself a seasoned DJ producer and writer, has worked on over 116 Billboard #1 Dance Records and played a pivotal role in a many of Frankie’s productions. Having both worked together for many years they established themselves at ‘Director’s Cut’ from 2011 and set about producing original releases and remixes based on the classic ‘Def Mix’ sound while sharing equal credits for their creations.

Together they re-produced and re-purpose classic cuts for modern dancefloors, with reworks including tracks from Marshall Jefferson, Ashford & Simpson, Artful & Ridney and The Sunburst Band, alongside Frankie Knuckles originals. These releases have now been brought together by Eric to feature on special album called ‘The Directors Cut Collection’ on SoSure Music. It includes the Director’s Cut reworks of Frankie’s classic cuts such as ‘Your Love’ and ‘Take You There’ with Jamie Principle, alongside Frankie’s first #1 single - ‘The Whistle Song’ on which Eric shares writing credits.

Within a multitude of classic reworks, highlights include a previously unreleased version of Ashford & Simpson’s ‘Bourgie Bourgie’ and a huge Director’s Cut Retro Signature mix of Marshall Jefferson’s The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body) featuring Curtis McClain.

The Director’s Cut Collection is a fitting tribute to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Frankie’s passing whilst giving Eric a platform to tell his side of the creative story. This album is to be released in collaboration with The Frankie Knuckles Foundation who work to continuing Frankie’s legacy well into the future.

London duo Babeheaven — vocalist Nancy Andersen and producer/multi- instrumentalist Jamie Travis — return after four years with their highly anticipated 5-track EP ‘Slower Than Sound’, released via Scenic Route on October 24.

Following their singles ‘Beloved’ and the 6 Music-premiered track ‘Picture This’, ‘Slower Than Sound’ marks a deeply personal and intimate turn for Babeheaven. Written and recorded largely in Nancy’s home studio, the EP embraces minimal instrumentation, acoustic textures, and spacious arrangements, capturing the emotional vulnerability and euphoria the duo describe as “Post Rave” — the music you listen to on the ride home from a
party.

“It feels like a rebirth in a lot of ways,” says Nancy. “Writing at home gave me space to experiment, make mistakes, and rebuild confidence. Once I brought the songs to Jamie, we shaped them together into what you hear now.”

The EP explores love, reflection, and personal growth. Beloved conjures a comforting, almost mythic presence, while Lost For Words reflects the struggle to connect with the world and oneself. Picture This offers snapshots of a relationship, looking back while imagining its future. The cover Tiny Demons by Todd Rundgren blends seamlessly with the EP’s introspective mood, and Loud Thoughts, featuring Samba Jean-Baptiste, captures heartbreak, burnout, and creative pressure. “I hope people can find their own meaning in these songs,” Nancy says. “I’m writing for myself, but music is for each listener to interpret.”

Since debuting with Friday Sky in 2016, Babeheaven have steadily built a loyal following through their acclaimed albums Home For Now and Sink Into Me, amassing over 65 million Spotify streams and earning support from BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, and KCRW. Their live shows have sold out Village Underground,

Bush Hall, and Jazz Cafe, and they’ve shared stages with Cigarettes After Sex, Loyle Carner, and Nilüfer Yanya. Visually, Babeheaven’s world has been shaped alongside creatives including Margot Bowman, Frank Lebon, Tegen Williams, Sacha Beeley, and Joyce Ng, cementing their reputation as one of the UK’s most distinctive acts.

After facing cancelled tours, industry pressures, and a period of creative doubt, Slower Than Sound represents a return to the core of their artistry: intimate, honest, and self-produced. Jamie reflects: “Not putting out music for so long was hard, so we hope this is the start of a more prolific period for us, reconnecting with the London music community and beyond.”

Born-and-raised Detroit staple DJ Holographic unveils her album, House In The Dark LP via her newly launched label, Through The Veil.

The LP taps into the core of Afrofuturism that defined the foundation of Detroit techno but reimagines it in a femme, queer, and conscious way. The project draws from her deep-rooted relationship with astrology and shadow work—a therapeutic practice used to explore and heal repressed parts of the self. These transformative inner journeys serve as the creative bedrock for the album, which navigates themes of self-discovery, healing, and empowerment.

“Through healing practices like shadow work, astrology, and more, I’ve found a profound sense of arrival while writing House In The Dark. I’ve stepped into who I’ve always wanted to be as a creative and so much more. ‘Pisces’ is a journey through the depths of illusion, where the home becomes both a sanctuary and a mirror for our inner world, revealing what’s real and what we choose to believe.” — DJ Holographic

A celebrated DJ whose talents have taken her to Berlin’s Panorama Bar to Pitchfork Music Festival in Mexico City, Holographic has upcoming stops at London’s fabric, New York’s Public Records, Circoloco’s opening Ibiza party, and more. Her work has been covered by PBS, CRACK Magazine, Ransom Note, Billboard, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, and more.

Born-and-raised Detroit staple DJ Holographic unveils her album, House In The Dark LP via her newly launched label, Through The Veil.

The LP taps into the core of Afrofuturism that defined the foundation of Detroit techno but reimagines it in a femme, queer, and conscious way. The project draws from her deep-rooted relationship with astrology and shadow work—a therapeutic practice used to explore and heal repressed parts of the self. These transformative inner journeys serve as the creative bedrock for the album, which navigates themes of self-discovery, healing, and empowerment.

“Through healing practices like shadow work, astrology, and more, I’ve found a profound sense of arrival while writing House In The Dark. I’ve stepped into who I’ve always wanted to be as a creative and so much more. ‘Pisces’ is a journey through the depths of illusion, where the home becomes both a sanctuary and a mirror for our inner world, revealing what’s real and what we choose to believe.” — DJ Holographic

A celebrated DJ whose talents have taken her to Berlin’s Panorama Bar to Pitchfork Music Festival in Mexico City, Holographic has upcoming stops at London’s fabric, New York’s Public Records, Circoloco’s opening Ibiza party, and more. Her work has been covered by PBS, CRACK Magazine, Ransom Note, Billboard, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, and more.

As rRoxymore, Hermione Frank has been exploring the outer edges of the dance floor and producing music that goes beyond traditional genre boundaries for more than a decade. In that time she has covered plenty of ground from caustic and abrasive techno to long-form and immersive grooves, always with a focus on contrasting tempo, texture and tone. On previous albums she intertwined the electronic and the acoustic with elements of psychedelia and jazz. With Juggling Dualities, Frank takes a sideways look at New Age and Wellness culture.

Writing the album came about after many months of being unable to create during a complicated personal time which left her lacking inspiration, feeling creatively stuck yet emotionally uprooted. What helped was distance - taking time and space to disconnect from the struggle. That brought a different rhythm to life and a fresh perspective that allowed exploration without any expectations. A six-week surge of intense creativity followed in which the majority of the album was written. As she explains, "The record represents a journey of reconnection that conveys an underlying message of hope and healing at its core. I think it is my most honest
work to date."

Initially conceived as a New Age project but with a signature personal twist and some subtle humour, there is a familiarity to Juggling Dualities. It is warm and comforting with a sound palette that is refined but familiar - there are soothing signifiers and organic designs that nod to the motifs of New Age but passed through a more contemporary lens.

Juggling Dualities is an invitation to reconnect with yourself. It's music that encourages you to take a pause, be in the moment and reflect on the fact that no matter what challenges come your way, they shall eventually pass.

Facta returns to Wisdom Teeth with ‘GULP’: a zippy, hi-def mini-album full of scrambled vocals, blown-out basslines, dripping synths and spring-loaded grooves that together map out his playfully psychedelic corner of contemporary club music. Written in a quick creative burst in late 2024, the record brings together a range of the producer’s distinct creative strands into a sharp, cohesive whole. Sitting snugly within the stylistic niche carved out by his A&Ring and DJ sets (alongside label co-founder K-LONE), we hear the influence of 00’s minimal, tech house, UK soundsystem music, ambient electronica, dub and more rubbing shoulders in a way that feels effortless and personal. Many of the tracks began life as sketches penned on the road - dotting between festivals, European club shows, and on tour in Japan - and so the record carries with it a sense of movement and forward momentum, and feels populated by voices, memories, people and places.

The Londoner’s characteristic approach to sound design and genre interplay are on full display here. Generative vocal hooks melt and warp into strange fluid forms, while synths stretch, detune, bend and dissolve into space before snapping back into shape again. Keyboards mirror human vocal formants, forming melodies that feel at once organic and alien. Basslines warp and distort, as if being re-moulded out of different synthetic properties.

Across the record there’s a commitment to expressing simple or familiar ideas in new and unexpected ways, whilst experimentations and innovations are presented clearly and intuitively. Cherished genre references are lovingly deployed as personal touchstones across the record - bleeping minimal- and tech-house; breakbeat dubstep and funky; Chicago house; dub techno - yet sounds and influences are combined and meshed in unexpected ways. Each track is tightly engineered and reduced down to its key elements, which are then manipulated, flipped, warped and pushed to breaking point. As is typical of Facta’s music, uncanny contrasts are worked throughout the music in unexpected ways. Warm, balmy moods come laced with seams of tension or uncertainty, whilst the record’s darker moments are handled with a light, playful touch.

With 15 years experience writing, DJing and A&Ring under his belt, ‘GULP’ is testament to Facta’s love of creation and curation - of seeking out, absorbing, experimenting, and channeling new sounds to create your own sonic world. A record borne of playful experimentation and happy accidents, ‘GULP’ shines bright with a simple, pure energy - a testament to writing quickly and intuitively and, above all else, enjoying the process.

The album’s artwork features photography by award-winning Boston-based photographer, Pelle Cass, whose complex time-lapse composites present hyperreal yet impossible tableaus of seemingly simple everyday scenes - an approach that parallels the record’s blurring of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Cass’s work has been widely exhibited, collected, and published, including solo shows at Gallery Kayafas, Boston, the Photographic Resource Center, Boston, and the Houston Center for Photography, and in collections such as the Fogg Art Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He was twice a Critical Mass Top 50 photographer and has received two fellowships from Yaddo and one from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation.

DJ support from - Hector Romero, Marco Lys, Mousse T, Sam Divine, Vintage Culture, Ferreck Dawn, Mat.Joe, Claptone, Joseph Capriati, Claude VonStoke, Dennis Cruz, Huxley, Mark Knight, Format:B, Nic Fanciulli.

Riva Starr presents his fifth album 'Keep Me On The Dancefloor' on Snatch! Records.
An opportunity to demonstrate his growth as a producer and as an artist, the album showcases an unexpected Riva Starr sound – one that explores a fresh creative approach, focussing on songwriting, collaboration, and telling stories that are firmly rooted on the dancefloor.

Featuring collaborations with Chromeo, Flight Facilities, Harry Stone and more.
'The album was entirely crafted through writing sessions with talented musicians, writers, and singers. This approach brings something unique, as being in the room with other creatives adds an extra layer of creativity and depth, enhancing the production quality. Most of the tracks came together quickly, thanks to the incredible vibe and chemistry in the studio. Sometimes, the process needed a bit of back and forth and more than one session to perfect.' – Riva Starr

Fusing sounds that represent different eras of Riva’s career, 'Keep Me On The Dancefloor' wistfully and effortlessly glides between disco, funk, soul, filtered house, and even the guitar licks of classic rock; a sum of his career to date, it is a body of work that focusses on amplifying the positive moments, memories, and experiences that can only be found in music. Exploring what it means to connect with someone in the moment; a celebration of losing your inhibitions to the music and finding yourself completely in sync with someone you’ve only just met.

Charged with storytelling and heartfelt lyrics, his most personal work to date is the result of a considered approach to making music, one of collaboration with one foot still on the dancefloor, and the other firmly in the studio guiding an array of talent to build something unique with him. Moving away from the DJ-friendly cuts that have underpinned much of Starr’s career, the fifteen tracks on 'Keep Me On The Dancefloor' are much deeper. With singer Harry Stone providing catchy toplines and infectious vocals across at least half of the album, there is a clear maturity on display at every level.

Additional features come from electro-funk duo Chromeo on the irresistibly groovy 'I Was Lost', and Prince-esque vocals from Nic Hanson on '(I’ll Be Your) Paradise'. 'Know You Love Me' – the laid-back, sun-kissed cut with Flight Facilities – compliments the melancholy vocals of Biishop on “Wildfire” and the disco-infused 'It Feels Much Better' with Harry Stone.

Music is a tonic for the soul, but it feels much better with someone else.

2025 Repress

Om Unit surprises us with a second volume of his 'Acid Dub Studies' project, once again fusing his love for the 303 with studio techniques given to us by musical heroes such as King Tubby, Adrian Sherwood, Jammys and Basic Channel

This second volume further solidifies the convincing narrative created by its best-selling predecessor, heading in a more groove-based direction in places whilst being underpinned by the same sonic narrative that has been enjoyed by many music fans from a variety of different spheres for the past 18 months or so

Support so far for the Acid Dub Studies project has come from many corners including some of the most highly respected names in UK Radio such as Don Letts and Steve Barker, Benji B and Tom Ravenscroft as well as a whole host of truly global worldwide underground support both via radio and in the dance

Om Unit says of this record: 'I felt encouraged by the sheer love for the original selection of works to go back in again and continue to experiment with this approach to writing whilst refining some of the process. Being able to combine processes and influence has been the mainstay of my creative life and I hope this next volume of Acid Dub will be enjoyed by everyone who was a fan of the first'

The beloved 303 bassline continues to inspire every new generation and Acid Dub Studies II is another storybook of sound in that vast continuum that shows no sign of slowing down.

1. Watermelon Man
This track version actually came from an improvisation that Allesandro IIona (Keys) made on a live show at RonnieScott's at the start of the year. I think we were were having some issues with one of the monitors on stage and it juststarted making this beeping sound. Then I remember Alleh just came in with that piano riffat the start and the rest was history. This one of thefirst tracks we recorded for the EP and I'm super pleased with how this one turned out. Afterseeing Herbie Hancock live for thefirst time the year before, this felt like the perfect tribute to him!

2. Mandible
The majority of the writing on this album was done at my studio space in Hither Green, where I am every tuesday! I usethis space to record but mainly a space to develop my art. So this EP all came from a few sessions there. We all haveour own creative things going on so it was really great to collaborate as a band and trash out some ideas we had.Mandible is one of my favourite tracks on the EP. It's very simple but leaves us a lot of space to explore some more freeimprovisation. I think in some of my previous recorded music I was more focused on creating well crafted music withgreat melodies and harmony. Whereas here there's a bit more focus on playing as a group and being more explorative inimprovisation. We also didn't have a melody for this track until a week before the recording! Sometimes it just takes awhile tofind that melody or it might just pop into your head one day.

3. Slum
This is a tune that was actually written by myself in 2017/18. Round about that time, I had been playing at a jam night ata warehouse unit in Limehouse called Unit 31. The night was ran by Pianist Raffy Bushman and Drummer Sam Michnikand was focused on hiphop and Jazz fusion. We would usually play a set of instrumental music before it opened up forvocalists and other instrumentalists to come and jam. It was a great place to try out new ideas, so I wrote this tune for itbut we never recorded it. It was really nice to revisit this tune and get it recorded properly at 'That SoundStudios' (Seven Sisters). This track is all about dynamics and a slow build throughout. Descending to more chaos at theend!

4. Red Pistachio
For thefirst two sessions we wrote with a different bass player to Edmondo Cicchetti who is on the recordings. A greatbass player and friend of mine Tom Driessler. This track started kinda exactly how it starts on the record, with that basshook. I'm very influenced by Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah and his melodic writing. Particularly on his album 'StretchMusic'. So this felt really inspired by that album. The chords don't really move around too much until the solo sectionwhere it becomes more like a blues. Then Allesandro get's a bit more loose at the end with the descending sequence.

5. Jerome arrived Late
Quite simply we started writing this tune before Jerome (Drums) arrived late. In the recording session we were a bitundecided about what to do in the solo section. We tried out a few different options before we eventually landed onfeaturing Gabriele Pribetti on Sax. I'm really into his solo on this as it's rhythmically and dynamically really exciting. As Imixed the record it was also a great solo to mess with and run through lots of different plug-ins. There's some weirddelays and phasing going on that and I added some octaves too in places.

Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.

The nearest comparisons to his new album TRANSIT TRIBE can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.

Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!

Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. Mystica Tribe is the musical alias of Tokyo-based dub/techno producer Taka (Takafumi) Noda. He collaborated with Vienna's own Vegetable Orchestra on 2020's "Transplants (Mystica Tribe Version)". After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.

So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, vibraphone, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, melodica, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.

Liner notes by Steve Barker

Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.

The nearest comparisons to his new album TRANSIT TRIBE can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.

Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!

Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.

So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.

There are few people across the globe, who will have not been touched by the work of Frankie Knuckles. Forever regarded as ‘The Godfather of House’ for his unrivalled contribution to the house music we know today; what started as an underground movement in Chicago has grown to international heights thanks to Frankie. His records earned him recognition on a global scale, allowing him to work with some of the globes biggest names including the likes of Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

Frankie passed away in Chicago on 31st March 2014 leaving behind one of the greatest house music legacies spanning almost four decades. Now he is commemorated by long time writing and production partner Eric Kupper. Eric, himself a seasoned DJ producer and writer, has worked on over 116 Billboard #1 Dance Records and played a pivotal role in many of Frankie’s productions. Having both worked together for many years they established themselves as ‘Director’s Cut’ from 2011 and set about producing original releases and remixes based on the classic ‘Def Mix’ sound while sharing equal credits for their creations.

Together they re-produced and re-purposed classic cuts for modern dancefloors, with reworks including tracks from Marshall Jefferson, Ashford & Simpson, Artful & Ridney and The Sunburst Band, alongside Frankie Knuckles originals. These releases have now been brought together by Eric to feature on special album called ‘The Directors Cut Collection’ on SoSure Music.

For the third volume classic cuts such as Inaya Day & Robin S. - Right Now (A Director’s Cut Master) and Marko Militano - Good People (Director’s Cut Signature Mix) are nestled alongside equally absorbing Directors Cut mixes of Vintage Lounge Orchestra covering 'Dreams' and Art Department pres. Martina Topley Bird feat. Mark Lanegan & Warpaint covering 'Crystalised'.

The Director’s Cut Collection is a fitting tribute to commemorate the seventh anniversary of Frankie’s passing whilst giving Eric a platform to tell his side of the creative story. This album is to be released in collaboration with The Frankie Knuckles Foundation who work to continuing Frankie’s legacy well into the future.



DJ Feedback:

Dixon - 5/5 - "Classic"

The Black Madonna - 5/5 - "Love you Frankie!!!"

Laurent Garnier - 5/5 - "“niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice OHHHH SOOOOO NIIIIIIIIIIIIICE !!!!!”

Honey Dijon - 5/5 - "Iconic!!!!!!"

Axel Boman - 5/5 - "It's all about love - not about emotions!!!!

Adam Beyer - 5/5 - "<3"

Space Dimension Controller - 5/5 - "Always"

Tensnake - 5/5 - "Classic Love It"

Jonny Rock - 5/5 - "Hot!!!"

Prins Thomas - 4/5 - "very nice! fresh take on an all-time classic"

Len Faki - 5/5 - "It's been a while listening to this masterpiece - and yes - it's timeless and I love the new touch on the new version. thanks Frankie!"

robdabank (Radio 1) - 5/5 - “One of my all time faves and great mixes here!”

Severino Panzetta (Horse Meat Disco) - 5/5 - "OH YASS!!"

Matthias Tanzmann - 5/5 - "Can't believe it has been five years already. Legendary

Michael Serafini - 4/5 - "Excellant Retouch on this!!!"

Ease-Nightmares On Wax - 4/5 - "Timeless classic for a true legend RIP x"

Timo Maas - 5/5 - "well...classic!"

Tiefschwarz - 5/5 "bless Frankie Knuckles!!"

Red Rack'em - 4/5 - "Love this new version. Really tasteful. Well done!"

Make The Ting is a project born out of my writing on creativity that lives online as post it style notes known as the ‘Yellow Squares’ found across Instagram and Twitter. The first square was posted on July 31st 2021, as covid-19 restrictions were lifting in the UK and I was thinking about what the music scenes and wider creative communities are after 18 months of lockdown. The idea’s developed into lectures presenting them in real life, but the platform felt right to explore my own creativity more broadly to challenge my own ideas in real time. My history as a DJ, Label Owner and Promoter in the Grime scene wasn’t at the forefront of these ideas, but I wanted to reconnect back to the ecosystem that inspired and gave me a creative career in the first place. Blay Vision’s ‘Cammy Riddim’ in the summer of 2022 inspired an idea to translate the ideas in the squares into song form. I approached Grime MC Jammz about the idea, and the first song ‘Yellow Square’ was done with the core principles that I had written about so far. 6 months passed, and while on a Muay Thai retreat in Thailand in February 2023 I thought about expanding the musical side of the Yellow Squares further. I text Jammz about turning this idea into an album, that we make as quickly as possible using my writing as a guide, and his voice and creativity to turn them into songs. We gave ourselves two weeks, set up a shared notes in iPhone did two zoom meetings, one phone call, exchanged messages on iMessage and he wrote 7 songs in a week, then recorded them all in one day at Ten 87 Studios in Tottenham, London. Jammz wrote all of the songs to one of his own beats, then we selected the final instrumentals we liked that we thought fit the ideas from both our camps the day before recording. The speed forced our hands creatively and it would have been a completely different project if we worked on it for months. Time is the creative director. Albums don’t have to be blockbuster projects with big budgets and huge campaigns behind them. Albums are just collections of ideas. Removing the pressure of trying to make a perfect one meant it got done and released with the least stress possible. Even the business of the album took 5 mins to handle. An equal revenue split on each song between me, Jammz, and the producer. Everyone gets paid quarterly into their own account automatically by our distributor. On announcement of the album in March 2023, we released the acapellas, for people to do their own versions, before most of the original songs had been heard by anyone. We encouraged people to Remix The Ting, and I did custom artwork for everyone that sent me a complete remix before the album came out on the 30th June 2023. The front covers are drawn individually by me. I wanted to make the record an extension of what I do with the yellow squares themselves and capture the energy of where my head is at in 2023. If it’s blank, it’s space for you to draw your own yellow square. Maybe what you think about the album, what it’s inspired for you, or just a snapshot of where your creative brain is at on the day you are picking up this record. This could be the first of many albums, this could be a one off. Nobody knows what is going to happen next. It all may make sense in the end – Elijah

John Ghost (Ghent, Belgium) is the sextet led by guitarist/composer Jo De Geest. As a group, they draw influences from jazz, rock, and contemporary classical music. Minimalism, electronics, and an overall cinematic quality characterize their instrumental sound. The ensemble's sound can be described as a symbiosis of Hidden Orchestra, Portico Quartet, and James Holden.



After the critically acclaimed “Airships Are Organisms” (4-star reviews in The Guardian and Financial Times, as well as airplay on BBC 6 and Worldwide FM) John Ghost is back with “Thin Air . Mirror Land”, to be released on October 6 via Sdban Ultra, the label of ECHT!, Black Flower, Glass Museum, STUFF. and more.



For this album, they continued their fruitful collaboration with legendary producer Jørgen Træen, known for his work with Jaga Jazzist, Electric Eye, Kaizers Orchestra, and numerous projects on the Hubro Record Label. The result is an album with a slightly more somber tone, focussing on a broader range of instruments and an emphasis on percussive elements."Thin Air . Mirror Land" unfolds as an aesthetic refuge in stormy times. It is a musical urge for introspection in a chaotic reality, and a longing to reconnect with a natural environment.



During the creative process, Jo drew inspiration from the music of artists such as Hans Zimmer, György Ligeti, Magma, The Residents, Disasterpeace, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, Do Make Say Think, William Basinski, and Jóhann Jóhannsson. The album title "Thin Air . Mirror Land" and the song titles are driven by a fascination with the artwork of Edvard Munch. Jo found inspiration in Munch's painting "The Storm" (1893) as a catalyst for the writing process, exploring a dystopian backdrop and the intriguing interplay between comfort and unrest. Heavily inspired by the music, Jaak De Digitale created the gloomy artwork for the album.



Members of the band are Jo De Geest (Endlingr), Rob Banken (Rapidman, HAST), Wim Segers (Compro Oro, PAARD.), Karel Ceulenaere (Black Flower), Lieven Van Pée (Echoes of Zoo, De Beren Gieren) and Elias Devoldere (Nordmann, Elias) who went through a thoughtful studio process, with the result being a conceptual and slightly dystopian atmosphere.

Symphony Orchestra is a new group from Maximilian Turnbull and Michael Rault. Both Rault and Turnbull are accomplished songwriters, performers and producers in their own right, with Turnbull leading The Badge Epoque Ensemble, playing with the group Darlene Shrugg, and once releasing records under the name Slim Twig and Rault having released several psychedelic rock & roll classics under his own name in the past decade. The pair have worked together in various capacities for many years, writing and recording together on U.S. Girls' In A Poem Unlimited, and contributing to each other's releases, but the debut LP from Symphony Orchestra (due out May 12th on Telephone Explosion) marks their first release as an official entity.

Needless to say, there is a potent creative chemistry between Rault and Turnbull and Radiant Music showcases the alchemy between their distinct skill sets. The album is an exercise in pure collaboration. After years spent focusing on solo projects and working as hired guns on other projects, the duo came together with no specific intentions other than to work free of boundaries and direction. Freeing themselves from the familiar pressures of deadlines and expectations, they found a sense of discovery through togetherness. Duties on this project were split between Rault acting primarily as a one-man rhythm section and lead vocalist with Turnbull bringing chord sketches and his trademark aphoristic lyrical musings to the table. Trading off roles on guitar and keys from song to song, the duo's deft approach to melody bleeds through their instrumental parts as much as it does through Rault's vocal melodies. The majority of this album was self-engineered over the course of three sessions in 2018, at Michael's Montreal studio. Dormant during the pandemic, Rault's move to Los Angeles and the birth of Turnbull's twin sons, work reignited in 2022. The latterly tracked instrumental 'Concerto' and ballad 'Unthink The Thinkable' provide a dynamic depth to the album perhaps attributable to this tumultuous pause. Mixing came courtesy of Steve Chahley & Tony Price (U.S. Girls, BÉE, Jane Inc, etc).

In all of their work, Rault and Turnbull have made a hallmark of elaborately precise production and arrangement, Radiant Music is no different, though its pared-back simplicity provides a streamlined directness. The pairing of Rault's soulful, elastic vocal with Turnbull's evocatively cerebral lyrics provides a thrilling sensation unlike anything else in their respective catalogs. With an explosive, groove-forward approach, kaleidoscopic walls of vocal harmony and technicolor displays of guitar work, these 31 minutes of music will most certainly stimulate the mind of any fan of classic pop rock and funk. The blown-out breakbeats, winsome woven vocal melodies and propulsive wah-wah guitars of the title track evoke memories of an after-school cartoon special that never really existed outside of a lysergic daydream. "Harp In The Wind" is a perfect moment of overcast melancholy complete with ribbons of weeping synthesizers and velcro-fuzz guitar that could rip a clean line through Kevlar. "Know Thyself" and the harmony-rich "Intersection" are standout tracks that find a kinship in Stereolab's space-age effervescence. "Concerto" is a slab of beaming, mischievous funk that nods to Billy Preston's extraterrestrial keyboard explorations.

Radiant Music, like the best pop music, is life-affirming, confectionary, and enticing. Symphony Orchestra have created an album that hits you right where you need it, anchoring heady, adventurous sonic ideas down to a solid foundation of masterful songcraft, virtuosic instrumental performances and undeniable groove. Not a bar, nor beat is wasted.

Red Hot Chili Peppers announce their brand new studio album, Return of the Dream Canteen which will be released October 14th on Warner Records. The surprise announcement was dropped at Denver’s Empower Field to rapturous response as the North American leg of their critically and commercially acclaimed global stadium tour kicked off.

The news of Return of the Dream Canteen's imminent release marks the band’s second album of 2022, hot on the heels of the platinum-selling chart topper Unlimited Love which was released in April debuting at #1 in the UK. It will also be the band's second Rick Rubin produced album of 2022, and reinforces their reputation as a band at their absolute peak, riding the crest of an undeniable creative wave.

Continuing to win over audiences across the generations, the band performed a run of sold-out UK/EU dates earlier this year, including two nights at London Stadium. "A scorching European touch-down from the California legends" – CLASH

We went in search of ourselves as the band that we have somehow always been. Just for the fun of it we jammed and learned some old songs. Before long we started the mysterious process of building new songs. A beautiful bit of chemistry meddling that had befriended us hundreds of times along the way. Once we found that slip stream of sound and vision, we just kept mining. With time turned into an elastic waist band of oversized underwear, we had no reason to stop writing and rocking. It felt like a dream. When all was said and done, our moody love for each other and the magic of music had gifted us with more songs than we knew what to do with. Well we figured it out. 2 double albums released back to back. The second of which is easily as meaningful as the first or should that be reversed. 'Return of the Dream Canteen' is everything we are and ever dreamed of being. It’s packed. Made with the blood of our hearts, yours truly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“Music for me, is rarely complete,” says GODFLESH mastermind Justin Broadrick, “but it has to reach a point where enough is enough. Creatively, there has to be self-discipline. One has to end it.” Broadrick is primarily referring to the nebulous process of writing and arranging songs into their various potential shapes, but he could just as easily be describing GODFLESH’s imminent conclusion. Just three years after the hypnotic crunch of Purge, 25 years after an uncertain hiatus that nearly scuttled the band, and 38 years since GODFLESH’s inception, Broadrick and bassist-at-arms Ben Green set out to mercilessly crush this cold world with their tenth and penultimate album, this year’s Decay. “Decay was born from the same sessions as Purge,” Broadrick declares of the new record’s six tracks. “It was one huge pool of songs. I picked what I felt was appropriate for what I wanted to achieve with Purge, with the intention of releasing the songs that didn't fit as a new album within a year of Purge being released. Unfortunately, two years passed whilst considering external labels, so that I didn't have to self-release GODFLESH anymore, but it took an awful lot of time to establish a comfortable home for me. The recordings were done, but as usual for me, I did change a lot of stuff once I came back to it.” Now, GODFLESH is ready to unleash an even bolder, bleaker series of sounds in Decay. These songs arrive shortly after Broadrick released a public statement about major abdominal surgery he underwent earlier this year.