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When Omar J Neri sent us the DAT with a white sticker marked with the date “26 January 1996” and some psychedelic drawings, we were quite astonished. Even more so when we listened to the incredible material inside the tape.

In 1996, Roby J was probably at his best, playing constantly in clubs like Insomnia, Imperiale, and Ashram, as well as Alex Piacciafuochi, the mind and owner of one of the studios (Alex Midi Studio) that defined the Tuscan progressive sound.

At that time, Omar J was a young talent building his reputation around the best clubs in the region. It was a fertile period for him, leading to his first release: "Primitive Pulsar".

Roby and Omar’s distinctive leftfield touch can be heard in these two long, slow-evolving, and structure-changing tracks. Truly two steps ahead and forward-thinking!

Unfortunately, Roby left us too soon in 2014. With Omar’s help, we are extremely honored to continue his important legacy and lucky enough to open their archives. More is yet to come… in loving memory of Roby J.

Bomj Diego had one simple dream – to spend a lazy summer weekend at his friend’s dacha, kicking back in a plastic lawn chair, sipping on Ovip Lokos, and letting the world spin as slowly as the rusty ceiling fan in the old guest house.

One Friday, he finally got his chance. He loaded up a plastic bag with a few cans of Ovip Lokos, an ancient Bluetooth speaker, and a single flip-flop (he’d lost the other one in a heated game of dominoes the week before). But as soon as he got off the train at the dacha station, Diego realized he had no idea where the actual dacha was. No address, no signal, just the distant sound of a chainsaw and the smell of freshly cut grass.

Undeterred, he followed the smoke of a barbecue like a hungry wolf. After an hour of wandering, he stumbled into a random backyard where a group of old timers were playing cards around a makeshift table. “Ah, Diego! You made it!” one of them shouted, raising a can of Ovip Lokos. Diego had no idea who the guy was, but he immediately sat down, cracked open his own can, and joined the game.

Hours later, as the sun dipped behind the trees and the mosquitoes started their evening shift, Diego realized – this wasn’t his friend’s dacha. In fact, it wasn’t even the right village. But the old men insisted he stay for shashlik, and as the Ovip Lokos flowed, Diego figured, “Eh, close enough.”

He never did make it to the right dacha, but sometimes, it’s the wrong turn that makes the best story.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib release their new album, Bandana, via Keep Cool/RCA Records and MadlibInvazion/ESGN. The album includes previous releases "Flat Tummy Tea," "Crime Pays," and "Giannis" featuring Anderson. Paak. The album is the pair's follow up to their 2014 critically-acclaimed debut Piñata, and includes additional features from Pusha T, Killer Mike, YasiinBey, and Black Thought.

The duo's seamless collaboration juxtaposes two giant talents: Madlib,the prolific producer with a record collection spanning all genres and eras, an adept sampler, peer to the late J Dilla (his collaborator on Champion Sound and his musical soulmate), foil for DOOM, hip hop's Charlie Parker, with whom he created the landmark album Madvillainy. Freddie Gibbs, the gravel-voiced braggadocios rapper, a vocal athlete, a star-on-the-rise knocked off course who refused to give up and has since offered some of the most compelling rap music in the past ten years.



On Piñata, Madlib offered Gibbs, then a gritty street rapper from Gary, Indiana, a chance to expand his captivating storytelling, giving him the dramatic backgrounds for his brutally-honest, soul-scraping lyrics. As a pair, Freddie and Madlib exude a natural chemistry and craft an alchemical music, appealing to everyone on the hip-hop spectrum.



Freddie Gibbs and Madlib are also set to play a string of shows in the U.S. and Europe this summer, which kicked off earlier this week with a sold-out, two-night residency at The Roxy in Los Angeles. They're set to play at MoMa PS1's Warm Up series in New York, Paredes De Coura Festival in Portugal, and Made in America in Philadelphia later this summer before heading off to Europe again in the Fall. Additional dates to follow soon.

180 G. BLACK VINYL WITH LINER NOTES IN CREOLE, FRENCH, ENGLISH

Originally released in 1979, "Spiritual Sound" lives up to its name, a soaring, triumphant album, six tracks of spirit magic from Guadeloupe.

Telluric, intense, terribly alive, the gwoka drums of Guadeloupe carry the identity of a painful and fervent island. Marked forever by the crime of slavery, Guadeloupe's créolité cherishes the ka drums and their natural environment: the low-pitched boula drum with male goatskin, the high-pitched soloist makè drum with female goatskin, the chacha, ti bwa, triangle, calabash and other percussion instruments that surround them, and the voices - the fiery, proud, timbred, urgent voices of the gwoka.



This album is also a legend for its voices: in his then dazzling youth, singer Lukuber Séjor was one of the first gwoka artists to largely feminize the chorus of répondè, who converse with his text delivered in a straight and powerful voice.

And everything here sets new standards. In 1979, Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound proclaimed a spiritual patriotism of ferocious intensity. The album by Lukuber Séjor - whose spelling alone is a battle - sets out to give Guadeloupe the intangible weapons of self-respect and self-knowledge, through a singular practice of traditional music.

The genesis of gwoka music is less straightforward than one might imagine... The drums performed the servile task of accompanying the work of slaves in the fields and during the “corvées” imposed by the administration, before being freely practiced by the common people after the abolition of 1848. At the heart of the conviviality of the Guadeloupeans furthest from the cities - geographically and socially - the gwoka drums come out for carnival, funeral wakes and neighborhood celebrations, but also during strikes, fits of anger and armed vigils of the riots and revolts that have punctuated the island's history. For generations, governors of the colony and then the prefects of the overseas department of Guadeloupe have been viewing the gwoka as a potential for turbulence and a threat to public order.

But as the Beatlesmania, “chanson engagée” and rock revolutions unfolded in Europe, young people turned to the drums of mizik a vié nèg (“bad negro music”, in Creole), which Guadeloupeans had learned to despise by following the “assimilation” process advocated by the school system and most of the political class. At the end of the sixties, in a Guadeloupe mourning the deadly repression of the May 1967 social movement, they played traditional music, refusing to wrap it up in tourist prettiness and madras folk costumes. Instinctively, they played a rough and contemporary gwoka, led by the incendiary Guy Konkèt. This was the era of decisive 45 rpm records such as Robert Loyson's Kann a la richès, which brought to light the fieriest words of union rallies.

At his home in Sainte-Anne, Lukuber Séjor played with flautist Olivier Vamur and his brother Claude Vamur, who cobbled together a drum kit from tin crockery and became, a few years later, the most influential drummer in Kassav'.

These were the years of the Bumidom program, when young Guadeloupeans were encouraged to emigrate to mainland France. At the age of twenty, Lukuber Séjor embarked on the liner Irpinia, disembarking at Le Havre and taking the train to the Gare Saint-Lazare - the route taken by thousands of young West Indians who went on to study or looked for work, all the while trying to maintain a link with their homeland. In this case, it's at the Antony university residence, where Lukuber played the drum and participated in a thousand gwoka updates and aggiornamentos, while exile reinforced the need for a spiritual link with the native land.

In 1978, Guy Konkèt played at the Salle Wagram, a historic event for West Indian music. After serving as répondè - i.e. backing vocalist - on one of his home-recorded albums, Lukuber joined his live band. Little by little, he became one of the key artists on a circuit parallel to French show business. At a student party in Caen, he met a young woman from Martinique who, at the time, was more motivated by her ambitions as a visual artist than by her vocation as a musician. Her name was Jocelyne Béroard and, a few years before she plunged into the Kassav' adventure and became the greatest West Indian singer of her generation, she designed the cover of Lukuber Séjor's LP.

This ambition was obvious and imposed its will. A more or less regular band was formed, with Roger Raspail, Rudy Mompière and Éric Danquin on ka drums, Claude Vamur on ti bwa, Olivier Vamur and Françoise Lancréot on flutes and Annick Noël on keyboards. Lukuber Séjor is set on wanting to extend the gwoka palette to other instruments, as the jazz-rock revolution opens a thousand new doors. Annick Noël will play a wide range of timbres and textures on electric piano and synthesizer. Another novelty: the répondè are two men and two women, Roger Raspail, Olivier Vamur, Françoise Lancréot and Maryann Mathéus ...

Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound is a self-production in which the singer and leader sank all his savings, allowing him no more than a single day in the studio. The first side is more of a musical manifesto, with the first two tracks, Éritage and Penn é plézi, being instrumentals. The third, Son, forcefully celebrates the need for Guadeloupeans to connect with the gwoka. In fact, Jocelyne Béroard's cover shows a tambouyé in the shadow of a cloudy sky, against which a radiant sun is rising and whose light will soon flood the entire landscape. The silhouette and face of this man strongly evoke the immense Vélo, master of the ka, rejected at the time on the fringes of society.

The second side of the LP is surprising. Formally, three tracks are explicitly linked like the three parts of a triptych. Primyé voyaj evokes the appalling tribulation of Africans deported as slaves to Guadeloupe; dézyèm voyaj speaks of the Bumidom program and the economic, political and social forces driving young Guadeloupeans towards the mirage of prosperity in France; twazyèm voyaj closes the cycle with the emigrants' return from Europe after years away from their island...

This gwoka, obsessed with the need to save Guadeloupe spiritually, appeals far beyond the politicized audience. Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound instantly became a classic, although Lukuber Séjor never really made a career for himself as a musician.

After all, the album was released in 1980, with no promotional resources in France or Guadeloupe - and therefore no concerts. The thirty-two-year-old author, composer and performer made his own third trip back to Guadeloupe. He set up a small woodworking business, which he lost in Hurricane Hugo in 1989. His other activity, teaching in a medical-educational institute, became the core of his professional life. He continued to be an active campaigner - a campaigner for the Creole language, a campaigner for the reawakening of identity, a campaigner for special education, a campaigner for a thousand causes that he ignited with his generous and perceptive enthusiasm, such as the defense of breadfruit fries...

The echoes of his 1979 album have not died down. Of course, the use of Penn é plézi as the theme tune for Radio Guadeloupe's funeral notices from 1980 to 1992 kept him in the collective memory, but he continues to sing and compose sporadically, as with his all-female

vocal group Vwapoulouéka... Still convinced that music is a means of liberating the spirit, he continues the journey of a young man eager to deploy the power of Creole music and language.

Bertrand Dicale

Repress!

Emotional Rescue and Utopia Originals join forces to release the pop, new wave, funk of Obscure Desire, a one-off project and EP from effervescent 80s Auckland, New Zealand that saw three friends come together to make a perfect piece of club pop history.

Revolving around the musical talent of Andrew Waldergrave, a trained pianist, music degree drop-out, who moved to the island’s cultural centre of Auckland and emersed himself in the arts and nightlife scene the city had to offer.

Working at Obscure Desire, a Fashion Boutique meets Salon, he became friends with Grant Mitchell and Giselle Trezevant, together forming not a band, but as they saw it, a project to make a record for their scene and beyond.

Coming from outside of the established band route of endless rehearsals, local gigs, growing a fan base and home recordings, they fell did not have the support network of indigenous New Zealand labels. As so often the case in unearthing these lost reissue gems, the artists took matters into their own hands, seeking to write, record and release themselves.

After meeting Trevor Reekie, head of the local Pagan Records label, he took on production duties. Collating the necessary musicians, the project grew from the one song to become a full EP, recording between a home 16 track studio and a full 24 track desk at Harlequin Studios.

Centred around the title song, it is a perfect pop moment. Waldergrave’s piano leads into an infectious groove of slap bass, gated drums, Reekie’s acoustic guitar and cut vocals, before Trezevant’s vocals propel the song to an 80s swing out vibrations. Coming in Extended, Harlequin and Instrumental (digital only) mixes, this was an overload of White Funk.

Here reduced to the best two versions, more room is given to let the other recordings breathe, first the gloriously anthemic instrumental Bullet. Intricate programming and production, lead into the pop sensibility of I Wonder, some kind of wonderful antipodean reimagining of Chris & Cosey finest pop moments, an optimistic paene that permeates the whole EP. Closing 4A, espouses the Jazz Funk, with Trezevant’s simple French lyrics telling of dreams of a lover’s image.

Released in 1986 with no local support from radio and TV, it became something of a “hit” record in New Zealand’s more discerning clubs, however the members soon moved to London and the project remained a one-off moment. Over time the EP has gained cult status to become globally desired that sees copies of the original 12” selling for $000s. Now at last available for a global reach, while remaining a personal, uplifting moment of time.

"HARD POP Vol.2” Vinyl limited edion is the album that contains 6 essential tracks to discover the essence of Hard Pop vol.2 and Deborah, connecng the electronic world with the pop and urban dimension, maintaining the unforge&able energec and sophiscated style of the DJ and producer Deborah De Luca. The album features surprising and unreleased featuring, exclusive remixes – from Geolier to Emma Marrone – and the smashing hit “Messege For My Ex” in the “edit” version. Limited and numbered edion of only 200 units and soon 300 units of the deluxe edion on
vinyl.

From the same recording sessions as Bézier's first EP on Körperspannung records 'Negative Velocity', 'Contraption' channels a few moods and scenarios.

On the a-side 'Contraption' is an insignificant droplet darting through the sky. Soon it joins a disarray of objects positioned above the atmosphere, maneuvers in formation to reveal randomized, decentralized nodes packed for mayhem.

On the b-side Bézier shows a slice of his lived experience. Back in 2004 he used to go to house parties around East LA with friends they grew up with every weekend to listen to music. Winding through the Southern Californian roadway sprawl they'd drive 1/2 an hour to 1 hour on the I-10 (sometimes diverting to Route 60 if gridlock is expected) to get to the location, usually in a residential neighborhood. Being respectful of the communities and the struggle of the progenitors of this music, Bézier presents 'Blue Halo' as an homage to that sound with a twist: Cumbia-Synth to provide a little sauce for your ears. Dave Easlick joins the milieu to provide a percussive framework for this tune.

Lastly, 'Bit by an Electric Wire' showcases Easlick's drumming with an overlay from Bézier. As Dave rips and shreds through his drum kit the OCD machine living inside Yang's brain switches on and organizes, collates and files that dataset into a hardcore rhythm track.

A1 - Tidal Realm

Opening with the kind of finely-honed, sumptuous ambience we know and love Aural Imbalance for, Tidal Realm slowly reveals its welcoming arc with filtered breakbeats and a captivating off-beat string melody before analogue amen breaks are expertly chopped and sliced at will for our listening pleasure. Further melodic charm is added as the soothing ambient backdrops rise like a calming mist, blanketing the scene in style.

A2 - Tears Of An Angel

Subdued breaks sleepily laze during the intro to Tears Of An Angel, gently roused to movement by a sombre backdrop of delicate pads and high pitched ambient textures. Once in full swing, the old-school breakbeats nestle perfectly over a deep, earthy 808 bassline while the atmosphere develops continually through a melodic, ethereal landscape crafted with a trademark understated panache.

B1 - Surface Area

Readying for the unexpected, a suitably eerie ambient intro to Surface Area sees Aural Imbalance flex his versatility once more as a stunningly crafted break pattern suddenly takes center stage and immediately whisks the listener on a journey to lands afar. Micro melodies and inimitable pads add depth but make no mistake - these breaks are sublime, and will inspire both the listener and the dancefloor in equal measure.

B2 - Warm Embrace

Closing out the EP we have Warm Embrace, which opens with the sounds of playful fireflies in the twilight, emitting their soft glow through the washes of inexplicably radiant FX. Old school breaks soon enter the mix, constructed with aplomb over a bed of deep, classic 808 bass perfect for the occasion. The breakdown introduces a deliciously delicate melody, adding further depth to the track perfectly before the breaks and nightlife resume their frolics.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

Amber Run is a British indie rock band from Nottingham. The band have released three albums and four EPs.

They played Reading and Leeds festivals, enjoyed national radio support and had a strong press reaction: “Their vast sound has Coldplay stadium ambitions” (Independent); “Epic tunes that sound destined for arenas” (Daily Star); and “Incredibly effective” (The Sun).

Amber Run recorded their debut album throughout January and February 2014 with Sam Winfield and Brit Award-winning record producer Mike Crossey, who previously produced albums for Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon, Foals, Keane, Jake Bugg and Yungblud.

With Noah’s Mumford & Sons-like vocal melodies and the wisps of Bastille’s fist-pumping pop on single “Just My Soul Responding”, Amber Run maintains a legitimising rockstar edge.

There are comparisons with Coldplay on the single “I Found”, while the title track has London Grammar’s mellow trip-hop vibes.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of 5 AM, Music On Vinyl in cooperation with Amber Run and Sony Music present a limited, individually numbered 10th anniversary edition on yellow & black marbled vinyl. The package includes an insert with lyrics

Hard Times proudly welcomes a new release from an artist deeply connected to the label’s storied past. Alex Arnout presents BLACK LOGIC with their debut EP, ‘Pull Up’, a project born from passion, collaboration, and a return to House music's soulful roots

Hailing from West Yorkshire, Arnout spent his formative years on the Hard Times dancefloors, absorbing the beats and vibes that would later shape his own productions. His journey with the label reignited when he was invited to remix Michael Watford’s classic 'Love Change Over' and Steve Silk Hurley’s fresh hit 'All I Need'. Now, he returns with something truly special

“Black Logic was born out of the pandemic,” says Arnout. “I wanted to move away from drum machines and synths, getting back to sampling jazz and the deep house sounds of the ‘90s - taking inspiration from artists like Bugs in the Attic, Jazzanova, and Ernest Saint Laurent.

What began as a solo project soon evolved into a collective effort. Bassist and guitarist Alan Riggs, a former member of Delta 5, joined the sessions, bringing warmth and groove to the productions. Vocalists Tempo O’Neil, Anthony Beckford, Mariana Orsho, and Sophie Barker added their distinct voices, completing the vision.

The ‘Pull Up’ EP is the first of a debut double-header from Black Logic, delivering five stunning tracks that blend jazzy keys, deep grooves, and rich, soulful vocals. From the warm basslines to the celestial closing moments, this EP is a statement of intent - a wonderfully fresh, yet nostalgic take on deep house from a collective of masterful musicians.

Out soon: FLASH-X-28 - Florian Meindl - Chaos EP (12") Splattered Vinyl - 180g - Limited Edition of 150

Emerging from the depths of the Minneapolis underground scene, The Worm is one of the best underground techno duos in the US, composed of midwest stalwarts Naughty Wood and Heckadecimal. Naughty Wood brings decades of experience, including collaborations on Traxx’s esteemed Chicago imprint Nation. The machine wizard known as Hecka- decimal boasts a deep catalog with releases spanning Always Human Tapes and Great Circles. In early 2016, the mysteri- ous tape-duplicator Ryan Wurst received some demos, which soon became The Worm, a very rare and limited cassette on Always Human Tapes. In April of that year, The Worm flew to Denver to perform live at a basement rave co-hosted by Deep Club and Always Human Tapes, at which Traxx also delivered a DJ set. The Worm’s sound was minted in Ryan Scannura’s brain.

Fast forward 8 years, and Ryan S. saw it time for two absolutely mental tracks from the AHT cassette to finally be pressed to wax, together with two other cuts. The A-side kicks off with “12 Days Of Squirm,” a deep, pulsating acid earworm that builds in intensity. “LISA” could almost be an outtake from a lost Nation session. The tune melds haunting melodies with a demented beat, sure to scare off most casual diggers. Deep Club presents two new-old tracks on side B. “808 Verb Talk” is a slimy, wiggly mix in the vein of 12 Days. Finally, “Pytch1” brings the energy down in an extended, slow-burning closer. Eight years and two Ryans later, this collection is finally ready for turntables in living rooms and foggy basements around the world. Only for the most devoted midwest techno warriors!

Over three years in the making, Needle Mythology Records is delighted to announce a super deluxe, expanded remastered reissue of The Lilac Time’s 1991 masterpiece, Astronauts. Released as a triple vinyl, triple CD or single vinyl, only 1000 copies of each format will be produced, there will be no further pressings. Both the 3LP and 3CD editions will come with an extensive 11,000 word oral history of Astronauts and liner notes by Needle Mythology co-founder and longtime Stephen Duffy fan, Pete Paphides.

All three albums including a 2024 remaster, a collection of works in progress entitled‘Softened By Rain The Making Of Astronauts’ and a live compilation ‘Any Road Up The Lilac Time Live 1990/91’ have been mastered for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Roadand will be housed in a triple gatefold sleeve with a colour inner sleeve and new artwork for each disc, which has been especially created by designer Mike Storey. The main sleeve for Astronauts itself will replicate the original artwork but with the four distinctive “blobs” rendered in a red “foil” texture. In addition to these three disc sets, 1000 single vinyl remastered copies of Astronauts will also be made available, in a cherry red vinyl edition to match the outer sleeve.

With the shoegaze and baggy movements at their zenith, The Lilac Time’s fourth album was released at a moment when the left-field music zeitgeist was shaped by the nascent shoegaze, baggy and grunge movements. Whilst Astronauts conformed to none of those trends, neither was it the record Stephen had in his head when he finally finished working on it. We’ll never know how that record would have sounded, but it’s hard to imagine a better version of the album he did end up making. The songwriter who brought ‘A Taste of Honey’ and ‘Hats Off, Here Comes The Girl’ into the world envisaged the sort of choruses that would jump from the single speaker of your favourite transistor and lodge themselves into the collective memory bank.

But while he really was writing some of his most beautiful melodies, Astronauts is a family of songs that demands to be kept together in the sundazed cloud of inspiration that created it. It constitutes a partial retreat from the outwardfacing utopianism of its predecessors, choosing instead to dwell on the journey taken to get to this point. That this is an audibly different band to the pastoral expeditionaries of the group’s previous releases is almost entirely down to the departure of Nick Duffy and the arrival of Sagat Guirey. Suddenly, accordions, banjos and mandolins are out; jazz guitar is in. Sagat’s filigree work on the outro of ‘A Taste for Honey’ acts as a sublime parting shot to a lyric which acts as a wiser, wistful companion piece to Stephen’s 1985 solo hit ‘Kiss Me’, something tantamount to the camera retreating to reveal the years elapsed between the time depicted and the present day. The distance between the carefree youth of pop stardom and the first intimations of mortality can be measured between the first and second verses of the quietly devastating ‘Madresfield’; from the depiction of the deserted cricket pavilion obscured by fresh snowfall to the sudden shift in perspective from subject to protagonist: ‘No one ever told me/That killing time is harmful/For time cannot recover/What soon the ground will offer.’ For all of that, however, the resulting album didn’t correspond to the vision its creator had for it. At a loss as to what to do with it, Stephen surrendered Astronauts to Creation with no plans to promote or draw attention to it. The consciousness shift of which Stephen had hoped The Lilac Time might be a precursor hadn’t happened. Or, rather, it had – but it had happened elsewhere, in the Haçienda and Shoom and in Ibiza. Not on the hills of Herefordshire. In a nod to that sea change, Stephen handed over one song, ‘Dreaming’ to Hypnotone, who

Born in 1989 in Bamako, Mali, Nfaly Diakité is a member of the Donsow, Bambara animist hunters. Nfaly Diakité is named after his grandfather, the late Nfaly Diakité, one of Mali’s most respected donso chiefs. His grandfather did not play, but as a leading figure in the donso brotherhood, he was always accompanied by musician Yoro Sidibé. Nfaly grew up alongside Yoro Sidibé, who became his first master of the donso ngoni, a type of eight-stringed antelope skin harp. After leaving school to devote himself to his instrument, Nfaly continued his apprenticeship with Diakaria Diakité and Oumar Sidibé, two donso masters from the Wassolo region.

He quickly made a name for himself in the donso community and was much asked to play at the traditional ceremonies of his brotherhood. He then met percussionist Ibrahim Sarr and joined the BKO Quintet, with whom he recorded an album and toured Europe and the United States. His virtuosity on the donso ngoni soon attracted attention, and he took part in numerous music and dance festivals in Mali and abroad, with the aim of raising awareness of this little-known traditional instrument.

Nfaly Diakité is also a Kônô, meaning that he is responsible for passing on the history and culture of the Bambara people through music and song. He pursues his mission by combining tradition with more contemporary sounds and by collaborating with artists from a wide range of musical backgrounds. For him, music is a means of conveying messages of peace, love and harmony, and his compositions evoke the values of respect, tolerance and open-mindedness.

‘Tribute to Toumani Koné’ is Nfay Diakité’s first solo album, recorded in Bamako in June 2020. On the album, Nfaly is the only singer, providing backing vocals and playing the donso ngoni and keregne. The album is a tribute to the storyteller and poet Toumani Koné, the greatest donso ngoni player since N’gonifo Bourama. Nfaly Diakité is a representative of the new generation of donso ngoni players and he wishes to pay tribute to Toumani Koné, who throughout his long career has been a symbol of courage, daring, loyalty and honesty.

The nine-track of this solo album leaves no room for hesitation. Three instruments (donso ngoni, voice and keregne) manage to carry one into another dimension without ever tiring. The fitting and precise rhythm is a deep but melodious transe. Nfaly’s voice plays between expressive urgency and calm wisdom, and the choruses with his own voice multiply the planes of dimension of the music. The donso n’goni, of which Nfaly is an excellent player, sounds rough and earthy but always clear and sharp. All the strength of a music that does not belong to a single musician but to a long cultural tradition of which he is the spokesman is expressed here. The young Nfaly, thanks to his experience and sensitivity, succeeds on his own in pushing us into this world without feeling the weight of tradition but only the liberation of music that sounds all the more contemporary. This album is to be listened to in its entirety as one tight journey between repeated formulas, highlights and moments of rest within the same relentless rhythm. The densest moment is probably found in the heart of the album, between the tracks Nankama (the predestined one) and Mogote Diabeye (no one can please everyone). Here, the message, which can be deciphered from the translation of the lyrics, seems to transcend language barriers and intepret us directly about our human condition, urging us to move our bodies to the dense rhythm of life.

Having shared stages with artists like Efterklang and Ólafur Arnalds, Samson has long felt like an outsider, caught between being “too experimental” for some and “too indie” for others. His struggle to fit into a defined space has deeply influenced his music. After the pandemic derailed a major indie record deal, Samson grew disillusioned with the industry, reflecting on how his search for belonging had often been met with barriers.

His new album “Songs of Beginning & Belonging” are reflections on these experiences. Moving away from the themes of home and displacement that coloured his earlier works, the new album reflects a sense of inner peace and renewal. It is a delicate, meditative collection that underscores Samson’s growth as an artist and a person, driven by a desire to move past old wounds and start anew.

“Songs of Beginning & Belonging” is an album that feels at once delicately sparse, at times even symphonic, but is tied together by a repeated and palpable feeling of quiet liberation - a determination for things to move forward rather than reflecting back on what’s come before.

Recorded between November 2022 and May 2024 in Will’s former studio, a secluded spot on the River Tejo in Almada, which he shared with Casper Clausen of Efterklang), the album was made specifically for Dauw, who had asked Will to create a piece of music for them. The album was, as always, largely recorded using his 1970's 'Uher 4200' tape machine, plus a small collection of other tape machines that wind their way in and out of the recordings and shape in it in a beautifully singular way.

Sound the alarm, we’re back! PAGER15 is our first VA since 2020, and it’s a special one— dropping soon with four tracks, four unique voices, and enough groove to shake your neighbor’s picture frames off the wall!

First up, our homeboy Phil Evans, aka "the coach” aka daddy cool, with Chocolate Funk. Imagine warm pads, crispy drums, and a bassline so addictive it should come with a warning. Add his signature offbeat stabs and a swing smoother than the creamy drizzle on kimchi fries, and you’ve got a groove that lingers long after the needle lifts.

Fresh blood incoming! Wavelength Infinity marks the Pager debut of the Parisians Aline Umber & Maxime dB, and they’re making waves. Deep, undulating basslines meet shimmering pads in a hypnotic blend of rhythm and texture. It’s a groove-roller that pulls you in faster than a free drink at the bar.

Flip it over, and California Sunshine Boy Rocky delivers debut number two with Aquatic Maneuvers. Flowing pads and bubbling percussion weave together a lush, evolving soundscape. Organic and intricate, it shifts like underwater currents, with each layer wrapping around you like the warm embrace of an after-hours vibe you never want to end!

And then there’s the Gude-Launebär himself—Markus Sommer, aka Frau Hommer, answering the eternal question: Does it Funk? Spoiler: absolutely. Rolling basslines, sharp percussion, and cheeky melodic twists come together. This is Hommer energy at its peak!

You know the drill: Either you grab it while it’s hot, or you’ll be left watching it spin on someone else’s deck. PAGER15 is calling—don’t let it go to voicemail!

To Celebrate its 60th release, Syncrophone proudly presents 'The Syncrophone Remixes Vol. 1' by Rolando. Featuring electrifying reworks of Derrick Thompson, Zadig, and Malvito, this collection brings a powerful, Detroit-inspired sound that echoes the future of techno. Available soon—don’t miss these exclusive remixes. Vol. 2 is just around the corner, promising even more groundbreaking surprises.

Tearra’s “Just Loving You” on it’s original U.S Midtown label due to its quality and desirability continues to regularly achieve four figure sale prices on the rare occasion that a copy comes on to the open market. Soul Junction through a licensing deal with Emandolynn Music first reissued this modern soul anthem back in 2017 as part of a dual 45 package that included the previously unissued Delights track “Listen To Me Girl” with the limited 500 copy pressing run selling out in a matter of days. Since then, copies of that Soul Junction release have regularly sold for circa £60 a copy with sales enquiries still being received for either side of this 45 to this day. Therefore, we at Soul Junction have decided to fulfill this continued demand by reissuing “Just Loving You” for the second this time paired with Teeah-Louise’s “You Happened To Me” as the featured flipside (reissued for the first time).

Tearra, real name Teeah-Louise a native of Mobile, Alabama was offered a recording contract by Philadelphian Record Producer/Label Owner Manny Campbell Jr during 1980. Campbell himself had relocated his Emandolynn Music operations from the city of Brotherly Love to Atlanta, Georgia some two years earlier. Campbell had planned to record a whole album on Teeah-Louise under the working title of “Great Love”. He firstly released a lead 45 single, the mid-tempo “You Happened To Me/Got To Keep You Mine” on his Coastal label logo with the artist credited as Teeah-Louise. Teeah’s fiancé didn’t share his future wife’s ambitions of a recording career and her prospective album project faltered and was never completed. Although as a further two tracks had been recorded this allowed a for second 45 release to follow “Ooh Let This Feeling (Last A Long, Long Time)” backed with the desirable “Just Loving You” these were released on the Midtown label, with Midtown by then being Coastal Records main record distributor. This second release was credited under the artist name of Tearra, due to Teah-Louise by now not wishing to use her real name. Both the Coastal and Midtown releases were only ever pressed in 500 promotional copies runs. Teeah-Louise left the recording business for good soon after her marriage.

In addition, a later 12” Coastal Records single issued on the group ‘Tomorrows Wish’ featuring the song “My Love For You” which shares the same backing track as Tearra’s “Just Loving You”. All four of Teeah-Louise’s songs were wrote by Manny Campbell, with Manny sharing the songwriting credits on “Ooh Let This Feeling (Last A Long, Long Time)” with his cousin, Keith “Toppie” Hill notably a former group member of the aforementioned ‘Delights’.