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Having established himself as one of the most exciting contemporary dance producers with a string of stellar releases, Japanese producer boys be kko returns triumphantly with the Nagasawa EP, four floor cuts bursting with emotion, shimmering in Tokyo technicolor, and perfectly at home on Bliss Point.

Nagasawa kicks off with a bang. “ChuKii” is a peak time heater: breaks, chopped vocals and punchy toms sear over a low end groove that proves body music can funk. Melodic acid explodes like a firework mid-track, taking the dance floor to psychedelic new heights.

The club psychedelia continues with “Mold Mold”, a minimal, subterranean system roller adorned with swells, bells, and deep, guttural growls dubbed to the vanishing point.

“Sant Esteve (kko Edit)” is melancholic and contemplative jazz house, eschewing cliché and twinging with nostalgia for that moment you felt most free.

“Humor is an important part of my music”, boys be kko reflected over lunch as Izakaya smoke billowed past his face. “Oignon”, the fourth and final track on Nagasawa, is an airy and joyful slice of sampledelia that makes good on this promise. An enormous smile of a track sending listeners off with a slice of sonic sunshine and, dare we say, hope.

Whilst YTM is at home presenting dancefloor focussed material, we see him explore the other side too, with "Memory Is A Clock" like the earlier "Vortix", he ditches the 4x4 for breakbeat territory. Whilst the bass keeps the solid metronome you would expect, "Memory Is A Clock" is a track that takes a few moments, contemplative melody and trademark arpeggios take the lead. When it comes to the other collaborations on the record, the appearance of Brame And Hamo on "Raver's Heart Is A Mess" sees them lean into the Progressive nature both artists love so much. Then Pablo Bozzi lends his own unique outlook to "We Don't Know The Way, We Just Stay" in one of the standout tracks, epitomising Younger Than Me’s ability to create profound experiences.

The album concludes with "Music Will Never Stop, Heartbeat Will Never Fade, Party Will Never End", less of a title and more of a personal philosophy – the perpetual essence of rave culture and its timeless impact on music. A rhythmic belter, juxtaposed with incendiary synth-lines and staple catchy sequence work, finishing the record with one of the true highpoints. In addition the release also features four digital bonus tracks, including "The Other Face Of Loneliness" and a Prog Dance Reshape of one of the records more eclectic cuts "Zarathustra Dance" all offering an extended exploration into the creative landscape YTM inhabits.

For the first EP on his new label, Planet Strangelove, Job Jobse brings new life to an overlooked balearic house gem: "Pasion," an early '90s deep cut by the Leeds artist Pianoman, inspired by Tangerine Dream's "Love On A Real Train,” aka the most breathtaking synth arp of all time. Alex Kassian, whose sprawling take on Manuel Göttschings's "E2-E4" already showed his fine touch for the kosmische vibe Tangerine Dream embodied, delivers a "Dance Mix" and a "Dream Mix," one packing a club-ready beat, the other drifting weightlessly. London duo The Trip, of the label and party Tesselate, deliver a remix as breezy as it is thumping, all wailing divas, sunkissed pads and shimmering pianos. As for Pianoman's "Analysis" remix, it's a dazzling artifact of the balearic era at its peak, touched by the ineffable essence of its time but sounding just as fresh as its modern reinterpretations.

The night is restless, the streets eerily silent... only distant echoes and haunting rhythms fill the air. Halloween 2025 drags you deep into the atmosphere of a world forever changed.



As shadows lengthen and whispers grow louder, the familiar coziness of Lofi Girl’s room takes a darker turn. This 20-track compilation gathers artists from across the globe to conjure chilling melodies and spectral beats, the perfect soundtrack for the spooky season. Press play, and lose yourself in a soundtrack where the undead roam and even the walls seem to listen.

Leave it to Langhorne Slim - a pioneer of raw, rule-breaking Americana for more than two decades - to reach far beyond the genre he helped inspire.

The Dreamin' Kind finds the Nashville transplant strapping on an electric guitar and embracing his longtime love of larger-than-life rock & roll. With it's chugging power chords, 1970s-sized riffs, and richly layered arrangements, The Dreamin' Kind is fueled not only by sheer amplification, but by the soul-baring songwriting that's become Slim's calling card, too. Tucked between those anthems are acoustic-driven songs that skirt the outer orbits of folk music, from the bare-boned heartbreak of ''Stealin' Time'' to the organic, orchestral sweep of ''Dance On Thru.'' The result is the more explorative and expansive album of Slim's career: a record made for rock clubs, campfires, and garages alike, produced by Greta Van Fleet's Sam Kiszka, and anchored by a lifelong desire to break down new walls.

''It felt like I was blowing some old shit up so I could plant some new flowers,'' Slim says of the creation process. ''I love acoustic music. I love folk music. But those aren't my only loves. Rock & roll has always tickled the same place in my soul as great singer-songwriter music, and I wanted to explore those influences. Raw songs that make you feel something: that's the stuff I'm after.''

Das dritte Album von Jana Horn wurde in New York geschrieben und in der Wüste von Texas aufgenommen. Horn begab sich mit Jade Guterman (Bass) und Adam Jones (Schlagzeug) ins Sonic Ranch Studio, um ihr selbstbetiteltes Album aufzunehmen, das aus zehn Klanglandschaften besteht, die nicht wirklich so klingen, als kämen sie von irgendwoher. Frühere Vergleiche mit Yo La Tengo und Phil Elverum sind nach wie vor zutreffend für ,Love" und ,All in bet", während sparsame Post-Punk-Rhythmen ,Designer" und ,Don't Think" prägen. Im Jahr 2023 schrieb The New Yorker: ,Horns Werk reiht sich in eine Gemeinschaft der Einsamen ein, die Genregrenzen überschreitet: Spuren von Young Marble Giants, Syd Barrett und Broadcast schweben durch ihre Songs."

Michael Mayer returns to the Speicher series for his first release since last year’s brain-bursting The Floor Is Lava album. And yes, the floor is indeed lava when Mayer is on peak form, as he is here, with three tracks that oscillate, effortlessly, between the twin poles of Mayer’s music: dancefloor detonation and heart-wrenching beauty. To be fair, there’s more of the former here, but there’s beauty in generous discipline, too, and the unrelenting “Cry Me A Raver” feels, somehow, like it brings together decades of Kompakt pleasure in six giddy minutes – disco-fied arpeggios, glistening and hand-burnished textures, abstruse patterns that fall in and out of step. “Don’t Sync With My Tag” stomps with destructive glee, a beat as undeniable as the shaker cross-rhythms are silkily sexy. There’s always been something practical, functional, and utilitarian about Speicher, but it doesn’t get more everyday DJ-life than this: Mayer tells us the title is “a super-annoying message that pops up every time you open Rekordbox. Nobody knows what it means. It’s a DJ mystery.” But who needs answers, anyway? By the time you’ve started to get close to solving the riddle, Mayer’s taken you to Detroit via Cologne with “It Isn’t What It Isn’t”, a little doffing of the cap to Rhythim Is Rhythim. “You’re May, I’m Mayer, I used to tell him,” Michael chuckles. This made one of our cats almost jump out of its skin, with its stealthy slyness – creeping, amorphous electro noise; percussives that just won’t quit; the whole thing flooded with twitchy strip-light energy and silver-machine flare- outs.

Speicher is as Speicher does, and this is a damn good one. Make Mine Mayer!

Michael Mayer returns to the Speicher series for his first release since last year’s brain-bursting The Floor Is Lava album. And yes, the floor is indeed lava when Mayer is on peak form, as he is here, with three tracks that oscillate, effortlessly, between the twin poles of Mayer’s music: dancefloor detonation and heart-wrenching beauty. To be fair, there’s more of the former here, but there’s beauty in generous discipline, too, and the unrelenting “Cry Me A Raver” feels, somehow, like it brings together decades of Kompakt pleasure in six giddy minutes – disco-fied arpeggios, glistening and hand-burnished textures, abstruse patterns that fall in and out of step. “Don’t Sync With My Tag” stomps with destructive glee, a beat as undeniable as the shaker cross-rhythms are silkily sexy. There’s always been something practical, functional, and utilitarian about Speicher, but it doesn’t get more everyday DJ-life than this: Mayer tells us the title is “a super-annoying message that pops up every time you open Rekordbox. Nobody knows what it means. It’s a DJ mystery.” But who needs answers, anyway? By the time you’ve started to get close to solving the riddle, Mayer’s taken you to Detroit via Cologne with “It Isn’t What It Isn’t”, a little doffing of the cap to Rhythim Is Rhythim. “You’re May, I’m Mayer, I used to tell him,” Michael chuckles. This made one of our cats almost jump out of its skin, with its stealthy slyness – creeping, amorphous electro noise; percussives that just won’t quit; the whole thing flooded with twitchy strip-light energy and silver-machine flare- outs.

Speicher is as Speicher does, and this is a damn good one. Make Mine Mayer!

With "sYn," Soulbound present their most uncompromising work to date. The fourth studio album from the melodic industrial metal band strikes a dark, direct tone, remaining both catchy and unsettling.

Als Sir Georg Solti im Herbst 1969 sein Amt als Musikdirektor antrat, verglich er die Stadt Chicago und
ihr berühmtes Orchester einmal mit dem „Dornröschen“-Schlaf. Doch fünf Jahre später war es ein anderes
Ballett – Strawinskys „Le Sacre du Printemps“ –, das zeigte, wie explosiv diese neue Beziehung geworden
war, in einer Aufnahme, die auch ein halbes Jahrhundert nach ihrer Entstehung noch immer aus den Lautsprechern dröhnt. „Glamourös und kraftvoll.“ – Gramophone
Deccas vollständig analoge Vinyl-Serie DECCA PURE ANALOGUE punktet mit einigen der legendärsten
Aufnahmen aus den Archiven von Decca und Philips. Die Serie wurde von Rainer Maillard gemastert und
von Sidney C. Meyer in den renommierten Emil Berliner Studios geschnitten, bei Pallas auf 180-gr.-Vinyl
gepresst und in luxuriösen Gatefolds in handnummerierten, limitierten Auflagen präsentiert.
Es werden ausschließlich originale analoge Quellen verwendet – in diesem Fall 2-Track Stereo-Bänder–
und es kommen keine zusätzlichen Geräte im Signalweg zum Einsatz, d. h. es findet keinerlei digitale
Klangbearbeitung statt.
Die LP wurde für 45RPM gemastert, um einen besseren Hochtonbereich zu erzielen und die ganze „Wucht
und Klarheit“ der Originalaufnahme wiederzugeben.
Jedes Album enthält das Original-Artwork und Original-Liner Notes, Archivfotos und Faksimiles der OriginalAufnahmeprotokolle sowie neu verfasste Anmerkungen, die die Geschichte der Aufnahme, den technischen
Hintergrund und den Mastering-Prozess beschreiben.

Mit „Angel’s Share“ veröffentlichen Nathan Evans und SAINT PHNX ihr gemeinsames Debütalbum und
liefern eine Platte voller Emotionen, Energie und dem unverkennbaren Geist ihrer schottischen Herkunft. Ein
Album, entstanden aus Freundschaft, nächtelangen Gesprächen und den besonderen Momenten im Leben,
die uns für immer verbinden. „Angels Share“ vereint die warme Klangwelt des Folk mit mitreißenden,
stadionreifen Hooks und ehrlichem, handgemachten Songwriting. Es ist eine Reise entlang von Küsten,
durch Erinnerungen und unzerbrechliche Verbindungen. Es ist ein Album für gemeinsame Momente, stille
Nächte und all das, was dazwischen liegt. Das Album ist jetzt als CD und Vinyl erhältlich.

COLORS OF BACH: Violinistin Eldbjørg Hemsing lässt die Musik von Bach in völlig neuen Klangfarben leuchten Auf ihrem neuen Album COLORS OF BACH lässt Violinistin Eldbjørg Hemsing die ausdrucksstarke Musik von Johann Sebastian Bachs in völlig neuen Arrangements erklingen und eröffnet zeitgenössische Perspektiven auf sein Werk.Vielschichtig, fein nuanciert und mit ungezügelter Spielfreude, schöpft das Album seine Inspiration aus der strukturellen Raffinesse und der expressiven Schönheit von zwanzig ausgewählten Werken. Die renommierten Arrangeure Tim Allhoff, Jan-Peter Klöpfel und Jarkko Riihimäki rücken bekannte Meisterwerke durch buchstäblich neue "Farben", die in Bachs Musik eingeführt werden - durch Klang, Harmonie und Emotion - in neues Licht.Im Zentrum des Projekts steht eine gemeinsame künstlerische Philosophie: Bachs Musik zu erweitern, neu zu denken und zu formen - ohne sie zu verfälschen. Die Arrangeure schöpfen ihre Inspiration aus der positiven und universellen Kraft seiner Themen und Harmonien und bewahren dabei die innere Zuversicht, die Bachs Werk so einzigartig macht.Von der verspielten Brillanz der Partita Variation bis zur tief berührenden Neuinterpretation von Bachs Brandenburgischem Konzert - ikonische Melodien erhalten neue Vitalität, eröffnen emotionale Dimensionen, bewahren aber zugleich größten Respekt vor den originalen Meisterwerken. Die dichte, melodische Gestaltung des Orgelpräludiums in C-Dur geht nahtlos in eine virtuose Fassung für Solovioline und Streichorchester über und schafft ein fesselndes Hörerlebnis. Air nimmt die Eleganz eines italienischen Konzerts an, während das geliebte Erbarme Dich aus der Matthäuspassion als intime instrumentale Ballade neu erstrahlt. Gemeinsam zeigen diese kreativen Arrangements die Wandlungsfähigkeit und Zeitlosigkeit von Bachs Musik - und entfalten ein eindrucksvolles Kaleidoskop musikalischer Farben."Bach ist so ein genialer Komponist", reflektiert Eldbjørg Hemsing, "dass es unendlich viele Möglichkeiten gibt, seine Formen und Strukturen zu betrachten. Jede Melodie, die er geschrieben hat, vereint auf faszinierende Weise technische Präzision und tiefes Gefühl - und genau darin liegt die unerschöpfliche Vielfalt seiner Musik." COLORS OF BACH ist eine Hommage an diese zeitlose Musikalität - eine Einladung an die Hörerinnen und Hörer, Bachs Werke auf spielerische Weise neu zu entdecken. Im Herzen des Albums stehen Freude, Hoffnung und ein Sinn für Leichtigkeit. "Wir wollten dem Publikum die Möglichkeit geben, sich mit diesen bedeutenden Werken der Musikgeschichte neu zu verbinden", sagt Eldbjørg. "Und vielleicht dabei auch ihre ganz persönliche Interpretation zu entdecken."Eines der emotionalsten Arrangements des Albums ist Air. Das Stück, das oft mit Abschied und Trauer in Verbindung gebracht wird, hat für Eldbjørg eine tief persönliche Bedeutung: "Dieses Werk ist eines der wichtigsten, die ich je gespielt habe", erzählt sie. "Es wurde bei der Beerdigung meines Vaters aufgeführt, und ich habe es lange mit dem Schmerz des Verlustes verbunden. Aber so wollte ich ihn nicht in Erinnerung behalten. Musik hat die Kraft, unsere Emotionen zu lenken - und indem ich diesem Stück eine neue Perspektive gebe, kann ich selbst entscheiden, wie ich mich damit verbinden möchte. Genau das ist der Geist dieses Albums."COLORS OF BACH bildet eine Brücke zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Mit seinen überraschenden Momenten, facettenreichen Klangbildern und tief empfundenen Arrangements lädt das Album sowohl neue als auch erfahrene Hörerinnen und Hörer ein, die unendlichen Farben in Bachs Musik neu zu entdecken.

[a] a1 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Bach Partita Variation (After Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 100: I. Preludio) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:18
[b] a2 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Ertönt uns durch dein Güte Variation (After Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, No. 5: Ertöt uns durch dein Güte) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:58
[c] a3 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Ave Maria Variation (After The Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846: I. Prelude) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet and Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:08
[d] a4 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Minuet in G Major Variation (After Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, BWV Anh.116, No. 7: Menuet in G Major) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:12
[e] a5 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Concerto in A Minor Variation (After Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041: II. Andante) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:30
[f] a6 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Martynas & Norwegian String Qui Melancholy Variation (After Concerto for Violin & Oboe in C Minor, BWV 1060R: III. Allegro) [Arr. for Violin, Accordion, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 3:11
[g] a7 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben Variation (After Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: VI. Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:42
[h] a8 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Air Variation (After Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068: II. Air) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 2:37
[i] a9 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Bach Brandenburg Concerto Revisited (After Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F Major, BWV 1046: I. Allegro) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki] 2:11

[k] b2 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Aria Goldberg Variation (After Goldberg Variations, BVW 988: Aria) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 1:48
[l] b3 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Prelude in C Major Variation (After Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 553: I. Prelude) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 1:57
[m] b4 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit Variation (After Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki] 1:27
[n] b5 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Invention in F Major Variation (After Invention in F Major, BWV 779) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 1:57
[o] b6 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Organ Sonata Variation (After Organ Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528: II. Andante) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 2:42
[p] b7 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Befiehl du deine Wege Variation (After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 53: Befiehl du deine Wege) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 1:33
[q] b8 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Erbarme dich, mein Gott Variation (After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 47: Erbarme dich, mein Gott) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:08
[r] b9 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Louisa Tuck & Tim Allhoff Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ Variation (After Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639) [Arr. for Violin, Cello & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:39
[s] b10 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Concerto in D Minor Variation (After Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: III. Presto) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:06
[t] b11 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Choral Aria Variation (After Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54: I. Aria) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 3:37

Naked Lunch - Songs for the Exhausted (Reissue) 2004 markierte für Naked Lunch einen radikalen Neuanfang. Nach dem kometenhaften Aufstieg in den 90ern, geplatzten Major-Deals und finanziellen Katastrophen stand die österreichische Band vor dem Aus. Doch statt aufzugeben, zog sich das Quartett mit Produzent Olaf Opal (u.a. The Notwist) in ein Studio zurück und schuf über drei Jahre hinweg ein Werk, das als "nicht für möglich gehaltenes Meisterwerk" (Der Standard) gilt. Songs for the Exhausted ist kein leichtes Album: dunkel, intensiv, sperrig - und dennoch tröstend. Es erzählt von Müdigkeit und Wiedergeburt, von kompromissloser Kunst fernab des Pop-Business. 22 Jahre später erscheint dieses Kultalbum erstmals als Vinyl-Reissue bei Tapete Records - ein Muss für Liebhaber anspruchsvoller Indie-Musik.

Texas-based Ben Hixon is a high-quality house head and for the one on his home label of Dolfin he hooks up with Stonie Blue, while Atlanta mainstay Stefan Ringer also steps up to feature on one cut. 'DX15' opens with a hooky synth motif that's stretched and bent over wooden drum knocks. It's minimal but warm and full of subtle tension. 'The Dancers (feat Stefan Ringer)' has more of a shuffle and sway to it to get those hips going and 'W3dnesday' then sinks back into loopy, elastic rhythm territory with woozy late-night chords draped over the top. 'What You Want (feat Sotnie Blue)' is a more jacked-up cut with hurried kicks and an irresistible urgency.

Belgian producer and DJ Ethan Fawkes returns with Funky Raver, a vibrant six-track vinyl release that channels the spirit of 70s funk and disco through a modern electronic lens. It features three originals alongside remixes from Victor Muerte, A.Fruit and Nite Fleit.

Fawkes, known for pairing raw rhythm with emotional punch, dives headfirst into the golden age of groove and rebuilds it for today's dance floor. The result feels warm and energetic, fresh take that nods to disco's roots while pushing forward.

Each remixer takes the core idea in a new direction without losing its heartbeat.

Victor Muerte takes "Funky Raver" track into a remix out a driving techno rework marked by hypnotic whiper repetition. It taps into the darker side of the groove, building steady pressure and giving the release a powerful late-night edge.

A.Fruit flips her version of "Get the Groove" into a fast, broken beat-driven workout full of tight percussion and futuristic low-end, giving the original a kinetic bass-forward storm that keeps the momentum surging.

Nite Fleit, the producer with a reputation for bold, genre-blending club tracks, injects her remix with electro pressure. She delivers a high-voltage version of "I Misplaced You" to take that turns the funk foundations into pure rave.

Taken together, the originals and remixes trace a full arc, from glittering disco lights to the throb of the warehouse. Funky Raver is a celebration of groove, motion and emotion. A reminder of how timeless dance-floor energy can be.

"Produced by Billy Mannino (Oso Oso, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Macseal), Kerosene Heights' LP Blame It On The Weather cements the band's place as one of the greatest of this current wave of punk/emo revival. BrooklynVegan writes ""...it’s been a minute since I’ve heard a band do mathy Midwest emo as clear, punchy, and hook-driven as Kerosene Heights are doing it.” Blame It On The Weather (their first LP with SideOneDummy Records) releases August 15, and they'll be on the road supporting this rollout every month the rest of the year including tours with TRSH, Free Throw, Dikembe, Michael Cera Palin and more, and appearances at Warped Tour and FEST in Gainesville.

FFO: Joyce Manor, Glocca Morra, Fiddlehead, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Michael Cera Palin, etc."

Album First Released 1980 Now Available On 180 Gram Vinyl And Cd. All Songs Are Performed By Byron Lee's Allstars. Featuring Ken Lazarus, Jo-jo, Keith Lynn, Smokey 007, Hubert Lee And Cecil Barker. All The Tracks Originally

Recorded In The Mid-sixties, Were Produced By Alty East, One Of The First Producers Of Ska In Jamaica. Dvertising In Riddim, Black Echoes And Record Collector Magazine

2025 Repress

The breakthrough dance collective of the year bar none! Having made a name for themselves creating the evilest drum&bass music the world has ever seen, in recent months Noisia have been seen DJ-ing at house clubs, releasing singles with prominent house labels and most recently remixing for the likes of Robbie Williams! However, it wasn't long before they decided to go back to the dark side and join forces with good friend Mayhem (USA) to come with something more disgusting than ever, oh and they got KRS-One to provide the vocal!

A truly breathtaking intro bursting with evil foreboding sets the scene, before Noisia and Mayhem unleash the darkness with their signature drum programming alongside futuristic never heard before beats and breaks. Be sure to wait for the hip-hopesque interlude that features the immense vocal talents of none other than KRS-One. If you're not nodding your head by that point, you best check your neck isn't broken!

Comes in standard full colour Vision Recordings repress sleeve.

Swan Song

The vinyl LP at the heart of this éthiopiques 31 tracks 2 to 11 was one of the very last vinyl records ever released in Ethiopia. But above all it represents, we felt, the absolute masterpiece of the Ethiopian Groove – the Swan Song of Swinging Addis. The album leaves a clear idea for posterity of the level of sophistication and mastery that modern Ethiopian music had achieved, before being crushed under the Stalino-military heel of the Derg – as the bloody revolution that was unfolding came to be called.

Ethiopia1976.

The Revolution that broke out in February 1974 rolled on in a ruthless march. The whole of Ethiopian society was utterly stunned. The bouquets of flowers handed joyfully to the first tanks of the coup d'état were to wilt very rapidly. From September 1976 to February 1978, 18 months of Red Terror (the name given by the junta itself) spilled blood throughout the country. This fratricidal conflict took its heaviest toll among students and youth. The shift from feudalism to a cruel and primitive Stalinism left the country's citizens deeply traumatised, and snuffed out any pretence of activism, whatever the sector of society. This ice age was to last for seventeen long years.

ሙሉቀን፡መለሰ Mulukèn Mellèssè Muluqän Mälläsä

It was three tracks by Muluken that served as the opener for éthiopiques-1 more than 25 years ago. Seven more tracks appeared on éthiopiques-3 and 13, all accompanied by The Equators, which was soon to become the Dahlak Band.

The first track, Hédètch alu, also the very first piece that Muluken ever recorded, left audiences both unsettled and amazed. Reflecting the singer's extremely young age (he was just 17 at the time), this angelic voice mystified many, who thought they were in fact listening to a feminine voice. He was not yet 22 when he released his last vinyl record in 1976 with Kaifa Records (KF 39LP), one of the very last to be issued in Ethiopia, before the cassette tape became the dominant medium for music distribution – and before the new revolutionary regime put a stop to all independent musical life, via an unspeakable barrage of prohibitions and other persecutions.

Mulu qèn, literally, “A well filled day”. This tender maternal intention wasn't enough to ward off the cruelty of fate. His mother's premature death drove Muluken to leave his native Godjam, in northeast Ethiopia, to live with an uncle in Addis Ababa. Born Muluken Tamer, he took his uncle's last name – Mèllèssè.

The spelling Muluken appeared in his administrative records. Transcription of Amharic to the Latin alphabet, both in Ethiopia and for scholars, gives rise to controversies and quibbles that can never be neatly settled. French allows for a closer approximation of the original pronunciation, thanks to its battery of accent marks, confusing as they may be to anglophones.

Between rather accommodating administrative record-keepers and the various versions that pop up in interviews given by the artist, Muluken's year of birth oscillates between 1953 and 1955…

1954? One thing is certain: the artist's talent made itself known very early indeed, because he got his start in 1966-67, at the age of 13 or 14. Photos from the period attest to his extreme youth. It's a strange sort of initiation for a very young teenager to become a sensation in the heart of Addis's nightlife at the time, Woubé Bèrèha – the Wilds of Woubé. And what's more, in the club of the Queen of the Night, the Godjamé Assègèdètch Alamrèw herself, the very same that was portrayed by Sebhat Guèbrè-Egziabhér in his novel-memoir Les Nuits d’Addis Abeba2… The legendary female club owner who is remembered to this day by the capital's ageing boomers.

Muluken first tried his hand at the drums, before he grabbed the microphone. He emigrated briefly to the Zula Club, across the street from the old Addis Post Office, one of the ground-breaking bars of the burgeoning musical scene, before joining the Second Police Band in 1968, for around three years. He spent a few months with the short-lived Blue Nile Band founded by saxophonist Besrat Tammènè. As the musical scene grew increasingly successful, and pulled slowly but decisively away from its institutional ties, Muluken released his first 45rpm single in February 1972 (Amha Records AE 440). It was included in two LP Ethiopian Hit Parade compilation albums in September of the same year. All in all, Muluken released eight two-track 45s and the same number of original cassette tapes between February 1972 and 1984, the year that he departed for permanent exile in the USA. After converting to Pentecostalism in 1980, Muluken gradually abandoned all secular musical activity. In 1985, at the end of a concert in Philadelphia, he decided to quit concerts and recording for good. Mèlakè Gèbré, the historic bass player from the Walias band who was playing with him that night, recalls that everything appeared so irredeemably diabolical in Muluken's eyes, that it was to be the end of his contribution to Ethiopian Groove.

The end of the story, the beginning of a legend.

Dahlak Band, forgotten by History

Aside from his personal history and vocal talents, it must be remembered that Muluken Mèllèssè was one of the biggest names in the musical innovations that marked the end of the imperial period. These éthiopiques aim to convince those who are just discovering this hidden gem... As for Ethiopians themselves, they are to this day captivated by this singular and atypical figure in the Abyssinian pop landscape – even though he withdrew from public life some 40 years ago. Incorrigible devotees of poetic twists, of more or less hidden meanings, Ethiopians appreciate above all the care Muluken took in choosing his lyrics and the writers who penned them, such as Feqerte Haylou, Alemtsehay Wodajo and, here, Shewalul Mengistu (1944-1977). Love songs, written by women, a far cry from the conventional drivel that pleases sappy sentimentalists.

Muluken is equally acclaimed for his perfectionism when it came to music, the opposite of the overly casual approach that is all too common. He remained a faithful partner of musicians who came from a lineage that borrowed from several inventive and pioneering bands (Venus, Equators, Dahlak). Amongst them were certain artists who began their musical lives with Nersès Nalbandian at the Haile Sellassie Theatre and who come of age in around 1973 – at just the wrong time, you might say. Among them were the pillars Shimèlis Bèyènè (trumpet), Dawit Yifru (keyboards) and Tilayé Gèbrè (sax & flute). Most notably Tilayé Gèbrè, certainly one of the most important musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation, of the end of the imperial era, and of the early years of the Derg.

It was only in 1981 that a miraculous opportunity arose for Tilayé to escape the Stalinist paradise of the dictator Menguistou Haylè-Maryam. Once again it was Amha Eshèté (1946-2021) who provided a solution. The spirited and courageous producer, who had been in exile in Washington since 1975, succeeded, thanks to his incredible perseverence, in bringing the Walias Band to the USA. It was, in fact an extended Walias Band comprising ten musicians3, six of whom chose to slip away after a few concerts and the recording of an LP (The Best of Walias, WRS 100). Tilayé Gèbrè was one of these. He has been living in the USA ever since. There he joined the then-nascent Ethiopian diaspora, which lived largely unto itself, and was making only very modest headway in the American musical market. It seems unfair that Tilayé Gèbrè and the Dahlak Band were not able to benefit earlier from the public recognition that they do deserve.

A similar draining away of the top-rate talents would lead to the reorganization of the major groups of the “Derg Time”. The remaining artists spread themselves around between Ibex Band (renamed Roha Band), Ethio Star Band and a remodeled Walias Band. That spelled the end of the Dahlak Band.

With this record, produced by the essential Ali Abdella Kaifa a.k.a. Ali Tango, we can appreciate everything that the Derg not only destroyed, but also prevented from flourishing. This gem of Ethiopian-style afrobeat came out in 1976 (and, by way of a parenthesis, before the FESTAC 1977 in Lagos, which was attended by an impressive delegation of Ethiopian musicians — although Fela was already personna non grata in his own country). Despite everything that might distinguish this ethio-groove from Fela’s music – no colonial axe to grind, no question of political confrontation with the authorities, no claims to negritude or Africanism for the Ethiopian musicians, and less extrovertion! –, this LP fits beautifully into the saga of intense and electrified soul of the new “African” groove that Fela and Manu Dibango embodied so well from that point onwards.

In restoring this record to its place in the afrobeat epic, it can be seen that, if nothing else, the timeline bestows a legitimate pedigree and a historical primacy to works that had no international impact when they were originally released.

Warning! Masterpiece!

Zeitkratzer director Reinhold Friedl and his ensemble present new compositions, grounded on Domenico Scarlatti's piano sonata F-minor K.466. Commissioned by the dance company Rubato and dedicated to Mario Bertoncini (1932-2019).

Little is known about Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). His music is, so to speak, left to its own devices: free, cheeky, playful, sonorous, surprising. Harmonically strolling again and again into unforeseen regions, the ear leads, not the theory; and also the fingers get their right: playful and haptic it goes. Scarlatti explained, "since nature has given me ten fingers and my instrument provides employment for all, I see no reason why I should not use all ten of them."

Freedom, friction and listening pleasure instead of convention: "He knew quite well that he had disregarded all the rules of composition in his piano pieces, but asked whether his deviation from the rules offended the ear? He believes there is almost no other rule than that of not offending the only sense whose object is music - the ear."

Reinhold Friedl applied this principle and composed the music for a choreography by dance company Rubato. Dance music drawn from Scarlatti, who was so inspired by dance music. The material of the piano sonata F-minor K.466 is twisted anew in all its richness, shifted back and forth, declined, frozen, noisified, sound structures extracted, floating. Those who know the sonata, will more than smell it’s shadows. Dedicated to Mario Bertoncini (Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza) who was particularly fond of K.466, on which all the music presented here is grounded.

"Wild flowers", Barbara Zubers had once called Scarlatti's music. Let them bloom.

Manny Corchado should be a household name for all boogaloo fans. A true boogaloo gem that blends Manny Corchado's explosive rhythm with the melodic touch of salsa legend Nelson y sus Estrellas. His classic track 'Pow-Wow' is one of the most sought-after singles among collectors and DJs-not just for its A-side, but also for the absolute dance floor bomb hidden on its B-side: 'Chicken and Booze.' This instrumental recording features an irresistible rhythm section that could practically serve as the definition of the boogaloo genre itself. In this case, it plays at a faster tempo than other similar hits, making it even more effective on the dance floor. The horn arrangements create a catchy hook, spiced up with percussion breaks, all while driving its addictive, fast-paced groove. On the B-side of this single, we find another version of the same song-this time re-titled 'Aguardiente y Pollo' in Spanish-performed by Nelson y sus Estrellas. The tropical and salsa orchestra, founded in Venezuela by pianist, composer, and bandleader Nelson González Rojas, keeps the same punch and dance-driven focus as Corchado's version, but adds more melodic and sophisticated arrangements, in the style of the other tracks featured on the band's 1977 album, where this stunning cut was originally included (available here on a 45 for the first time). This Latin vinyl 45er is pure dance floor dynamite!

Pt.2 of 2

Gigi Masin's sparkling sonic magic leads us to the light in “Implodendo in una accecante oscurità” (Imploding in a blinding darkness). The mirror reflects nothing but a faint, unfamiliar, mysteriously hostile face, but a glimmer survives, evoked by a painfully solemn romanticism that is salvific, glimmers of light bounce off broad synthetic volutes, a bewitching ambient, airy quiet, they spread, a few veins of darkness shine through, aesthetic beauty equates to clear spirituality, sax and female voices, the elegy that intertwines piano and vocal loops, that omnipresent melancholy, nostalgia, reassuring, which is openness to tomorrow. It is the moment of light, the powerful feeling that nothing is lost, that what awaits to be grasped is more than a remnant, perhaps an overcoming, light that “is not what it shows but what it reveals”, that light that becomes memory that does not need to illuminate to be perceived where it most needs to spread, where darkness has resided for too long

GAMM is proud to welcome New Zealand born, but these days based in Berlin, Philippa to our camp.
Over the last years, Philippa has been releasing amazing, warm, soulful, and highly distinctive dance music on labels like Slothboogie and Freerange as well as building her DJ roster. For her premier GAMM release,'Cloud Walking EP', Philippa has three amazing tracks that all mix up samples, live musicality, and vocals. If you put Moodymann and Henrik Schwarz in a blender somewhere in the Balearic Islands, you're kinda close. Either way, it's deep, organic, and almost kinda orchestral at some points. If you ask us, we would simply call it dance MUSIC.

Opening the EP is the title track 'Cloud Walking' which is a deep Fender Rhodes affair with vocals inspired by Aretha's Day Dreaming classic. Moving on, on 'Hear Me' Philippa shows off her musical piano skills with a lush and atmospheric deep house jam. On 'Return To The Red Kite' we follow a similar theme but with big warm orchestral strings, spoken words, and live guitars. Again, very Balearic yet very soulful and incredibly pleasant to your ears :)

For the second instalment of the Curio Cabinet gourmet-dub series, we bring you two fat slices of steppers’ delight, straight from the southern city of Toulouse.

Both are made by Stefan Dubs under the guiding light of his live project, Sòn Du Maquis. This project has deep roots in the free rave, micro-festival, and dub & sound system culture of his country. It’s also the name of his own label, home to his dub-infested productions; ranging from slo-mo jungle to droney steppers and blown-out trip-hop on a slightly medieval tip.

Staying true to classic sound system tradition, each side pairs the original cut with its own version.

First there is Tolosan Dub, a trancey bass meditation colossus with deep synth work moving around in the trees. Some early nineties UK digidub vibes are surely mashing up the dance here. The version workout slows things down a bit, taking you even deeper into the riddim... strictly warrior style !

On the B-side we've got Bonnefoï Dub, which is pure bass-bin filth with a rootsy harmonica touch and a raw clubby feel. This tune just screams to be played out loud on a proper sound system. The version is certified dance-floor gold, yet there are enough dubbed-out flavours going on for intimate headphone sessions or some mad home skanking.

Repress

The legendary partnership of NYC's Disco godfather Tom Moulton and Philadelphia International Records has long been documented.
A truly explosive collaboration that yielded endless classic tracks for dancers and deep listeners alike, Moulton seemed to be totally in tune with the labels output and the direction it should go in. Luckily we've been enjoying the fruits of this labour for the last 30+ years with a lot of these PIR classics becoming ingrained in the psyche of the modern day music fan as the building blocks of House music.

The names alone hark to the legendary voices of the era, major stars including The O'Jays, The Futures, Jean Carne & The Jones Girls all feature with classic after classic getting the TJM treatment. Moulton's supreme ear on this special PIR reissue 2 x 12" see's some all-time classics from the aforementioned artists in their full, unabridged, unedited Disco glory. The selections on this EP are absolutely top-shelf, flawless in fact. One could argue that these are the 'definitive' versions of these anthems. Pure Disco gold essentials. Anyone with even a passing interest in Disco will most certainly need this record in their possession, the 2012 pressing of this EP is super in demand among those in the know and it can change hands for £100+ second hand, so a repress was desperately needed.

These tracks are fully licensed and reissued in conjunction with Tom Moulton and PIR and all relevant rights holders. Remastered from original source materials to the highest spec and pressed onto top quality vinyl, courtesy of Above Board distribution for 2019.

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of »using the studio as a compositional tool« and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: »Dome« (July 1980), »Dome 2« (October 1980) and »Dome 3« (October 1981). A final fourth album, »Will You Speak this World: Dome 4« was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifuly stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

Editions Mego is proud to release the new album by Australian producer Jasmine Guffond. Developed over a two year period, Microphone Permission is an unsettling musical journey utilising contemporary tools of communication to display Guffond's ongoing research into online surveillance and sound as a method of investigation.

Source material on Microphone Permission are from various projects Guffond has been working on; a commission to sonify the data of the city of Melbourne, a dance performance about the future sounds of an extinct forest, an installation that sonifies Twitter meta data in real time, a job as a composer for a theatre work about music and feminism by five young female identifying performers in Western Sydney and a site specific installation at the Linachtalsperre dam that employed the harmonic frequencies of electric currents.

The results are a stark, brooding, disorientating journey into a paranoid musical field that sits somewhere between ambient club music and a dystopian soundtrack. Elements of techno, classical music and sound art form a dark intriguing masterwork that questions the nature of invasive, algorithmic and computational listening practices.

For example Microphone Permission refers to the consent we routinely give when installing various apps. onto our smart devices. Inspired by a 2018 scandal in which fans of Spain's most popular soccer team were effectively turned into unwitting spies by granting the La Liga application microphone permission. No matter which make or model, all smart devices are built with a microphone that is by default, forever listening. Listening in these situations often takes on an algorithmic form that enables tech developers to bypass public response to what is intuitively considered invasive practice, that is, traditional modes of eavesdropping such as using the microphone to listen and record audio.

Editions Mego presents The Psychologist, the sophomore album by the Istanbul born and raised, Berlin based electronic music composer and sound artist Hüma Utku.

As the title suggests, The Psychologist, is a series of sonic essays based around themes of psychological phenomena and can be read as a musical enquiry into the human condition. With Utku’s background as a graduate of Psychology and her current practice as a conceptual music composer we see the two main threads in her professional career intertwine on this unique and ambitious release.

Including recordings of Buchla 200 from Utku’s Elektronmusikstudion residency in October 2020,The Psychologist is a genre aversive work that embodies elements of synthesiser music, electroacoustic, experimental techno, industrial, modern composition and spoken word. Piano, string compositions and vocals hold weight throughout a number of pieces providing a dramatic acoustic edge to the psychological explorations contained within.

The foreboding mood of much of this release is the product of investigation that lends the unsettling theme of anticipatory grief to the mood of the tracks Light of All Lights and Continuing Bonds. Islands of Consciousness refers to Jungian metaphor for consciousness whilst the unnerving Rüya twists around dream analysis in Gestalt psychology. Fuel For The Flames proceeds as a buzzing and swirling representation of alchemy and psychological symbolism. Dissolution of I is haunted by a strange sensation of dissociation whilst defense mechanisms support the sublime Sublimation. The bright shapes of Chironian Wound represent archetypes and analytical psychology whilst the fried soundscapes and rhythms of Ataxia encapture neurological states.

The results unravel with both the clockwork rhythms of the human body and the unpredictable nature of the psyche, the pieces follow arrhythmic patterns in a harmonious way. It tells the raw and intimate story of the human experience with a new work whereby the predictable operates in parallel with the unexpected and like human experience itself, is dark and complex.

Composed, Written & Produced by Hüma Utku
Piano by Hüma Utku
Vocals by Hüma Utku
Double Bass performed by Adam Pultz Melbye
Cello performed by Florina Speth (aka Schloss Mirabell)
Violin performed by Marta Forsberg
Cover photography & art by Gözde Güngör
Design by Eloise Leigh

Reissue of the 3rd full length by Thomas Bücker aka Bersarin Quartett.

Melancholia. Longing. It is difficult to speak about these moods or states of the mind without invoking stereotypes. In ancient medicine, melancholia was considered to be one of the four temperaments, matching the four humours. In fact, melancholia, meaning "black bile" in Ancient Greek, was thought to be caused by an excess of this very body substance. By contrast, in more modern interpretations, literates and Freudians relate many variations of longing to the one primordial longing, the desire to return to one's mother's womb. In this context, the womb is considered to be the place of absolute comfort and cosiness, of total bliss. Thus it should not be surprising that to many of us melancholia is a mood which we like to invoke and to maintain, we like to envelop ourselves in it like in a warm blanket. Our brain and our sensory systems appear to be made for perceiving and emotionally responding to music in a very immediate fashion. Consequently music is the obvious drug for all of us melancholia-addicts. However, there is a thin line between melancholia and sadness, and music which is meant to be melancholic too often crosses this line by far. Only very few artists succeed in avoiding this crossing, and in creating music which is melancholia in its most pure form. It is safe to say that BERSARIN QUARTETT - the electronic music project of Thomas Bücker - is one of them.

After his debut in 2008 and the sophomore "II" in 2012 - album of the month in many magazines and in numerous "Best of the year" lists - Bücker in 2015 returned with his third BERSARIN QUARTETT album "III". Much like his two predecessors, III is a pure paradox. It is the creation of a perfectionist, an adamant control freak. Every element, be it a note, an ambience layer, a string arrangement, a field recording, a baseline, a vocal (Clara Hill on Track 11) or a beat, is meticulously modified and then assigned its place in Bücker's vast but still minimalistic arrangements. Thus, superficially Bücker's pieces seem to radiate a certain mechanical bleakness. However, there is a unique reduced warmth and liveliness emerging from these stainless compositions and transcending them. This transcendence is precisely the point where Bücker ironically looses control over his creations. In contrast to the first two BERSARIN QUARTETT albums, III offers a few darker shades and succeeds even further in narrowing down the arrangements to the absolute essentials without loosing the characteristic grandeur of Bücker's sound. Whereas BERSARIN QUARTETT's debut was merely a description of melancholia in its most pure form, III maybe even goes as far a defining what melancholia really is. It is the only emotion in the vast spectrum of human states of mind which one can bear forever.

blickwinkel welcomes composer and multi-instrumentalist Francis Plagne to the label with a reissue of Asleep in a beached boat, an album that was initially released on his own Mould/Mouse Museum label in 2021 on cassette. The album was mostly given away to friends but now gets a wider release through a limited vinyl and digital edition.

Gentle melodies set an airy atmosphere and are intertwined with tensive dialogs between rhythms and textures coming from a wide array of acoustic and electronic instruments. Stylistically somewhere in between his Rural Objects (Black Truffle) and Udge (Horn of Plenty), on the eleven tracks on this album we hear Plagne in his most playful way to date.

Francis Plagne is a musician from Melbourne, Australia whose work swings between songwriting and a variety of other approaches, including group improvisation, instrumental abstraction, and domestic musique concrète. He performed live regularly since 2005 and has released recordings on labels such as Black Truffle, Horn of Plenty, Kye Records, Penultimate Press and his own Mould/Mouse Museum micro-label. In addition to performing his own work either solo or with a band, he has performed and recorded in improvised and other arrangements with Tetuzi Akiyama, Oren Ambarchi, Andrew Chalk, Crys Cole, James Rushford, and Joe Talia, among others.

Shadows Lifted from Invisible Hands is an autobiographical record, comprised of four songs that Hoff refers to as ambient media. Each track is composed from sources drawn from his own involuntary aural landscape, specifically musical earworms and tinnitus frequencies.

Neither sound nor a daydream, the earworm (or stuck song) emblematizes music as a commercial form—immediate, ubiquitous, and persistent. Likewise, tinnitus is inaudible and unscrupulous, manifesting across a spectrum of frequencies at will. The cognitive swirling of these phenomena provides an ambivalent, internal soundtrack that scores a person’s movement through the world.

Those suffering from tinnitus or those who have grown accustomed to the “Tinnitus Effect” in movies will likely recognize the buzzing pitches on the record, but will likely not recognize the songs. Distorted and distilled, Shadows Lifted from Invisible Hands features altered versions of four commercial pop songs: Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” Madonna’s “Into the Groove,” and Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”

Having been haunted by these songs on and off for years, Hoff tweaks the tracks, transposing and recomposing them for orchestral instrumentation. Speaking back to these involuntary echoes, these tracks go to great lengths to obfuscate their sources; to be sure not to simply re-introduce each earworm, as though they were samples. Otherwise, what’s the point? No one needs another stream.

Besides, earworms are not music, although we perceive them as such. They are non-cochlear and exist as an affective force that is neither subjective nor objective, which is to say they are an invasive—and alien—phenomenon. Like tinnitus, they are aggravated by economic, social, and environmental forces as well as emotional states, mental health, and aging. Hoff doesn’t underplay his own struggles with mental health in discussing the record—noting a long history of depression and its acuteness over the last few years, which serve as the backdrop to the composition of this record.

Scratch any pop song hard enough and you’ll find sadness underneath it. Subdermal, the songs on this record evoke a type of ephemeral weariness and despair. By recasting the original songs through their shadowy doubles, Hoff provides a window into the dark core of pop music. At the center of which lies capitalism’s desperate attempt to replicate itself through a cheap high built on echoing refrains. Just below the surface the listener finds a hangover of shadows dancing through the mind.

Peter Rehberg is known for his pioneering electronic work with computer software which over time evolved into a modular set up alongside running MEGO and then Editions Mego labels.

Rehberg was a prolific collaborator, with other musicians and with contemporary dance and theatre productions, most notably with French artist and choreographer, Gisèle Vienne with whom he created a series of soundtracks from Showroomdummies, released under the name DACM in 2002 (Showroomdummies MEGO 056), to Crowd in 2017. A collection of Rehberg’s solo works for Vienne was released in 2008 (Work for GV 2004-2008 EMEGO 092). The outfit KTL, with Stephen O’Malley, was initiated by Gisèle Vienne for her work Kindertotenlieder and subsequently made a series of soundtracks for Vienne’s works branching off into a prolific series of live shows. The work Rehberg did for theatre and performance teased out aspects of his practice one may not have encountered in his own solo work as PITA or that of collaborations with other musicians.

Editions Mego is proud to present a previously unreleased theatre soundtrack made for Icelandic choreographer Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir, whom Rehberg had a decade long collaboration with until his untimely passing in 2021. The original composition for Liminal States was created by Rehberg for the performance Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli in 2018 and then revisited as a catalyst for the concepts behind Liminal States. This work is based on an ongoing artistic research conducted by the choreographer into altered states of perception through phenomenological embodiment. It is the last in a trilogy dealing with the notion of larger forces that act on us beyond our conscious mind. The trilogy consists of Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli (2018), Boundless Ominous Fields (2024) and now Liminal States (2024).

Rehberg's score for Liminal States is a vast canvas of spectral ambience at once tangible and unfathomable in its constantly shapeshifting lysergic dread. The results are a psychological journey through the mental effects of sound on space and subsequently the mind. The first part presents cascading waves of shimmering electronics laying the groundwork for the second part where the psychological illusion splinters into all manner of sonic effects taking the listener on a deep mental voyage. If references are witnessed the late period long form hallucinatory works of Coil, such as Time Machines and Constant shallowness leads to evil, are amongst a similar mind message delivered here. Unlike any other release in Rehberg’s output Liminal States is a single long form work which, despite the form, retains Rehberg’s idiosyncratic sound vision.

Guðjónsdóttir and Rehberg’s collaboration blurs that relationship into a greater force which truly enables the theme of liminal states to unfold in a brave new fashion. Rich in timbre and sonic invention this is powerful work easily holding its own outside of the intended performance whilst still complimenting the missions statement entirely. This profound collaboration has the cumulative effect where the concept and soundtrack are one and may be one of the strongest works in the entire Rehberg canon.

Blickwinkel presents ‘On a Tuesday and a Wednesday’, the first collaboration between Pierre Bastien and Casper Van De Velde. The album captures what the duo has been working on during a 2-day residency at Werkplaats Walter (Brussels), invited by the label. In their improvised sessions, they quickly found a way to merge Bastien's renowned mechanical sound sculptures with the playful and detailed style of percussionist Casper Van De Velde. The result is a blend of intricate rhythms and organic, music that flows effortlessly between the intimate and the expansive.

In spring 2022, Sankt Otten released their album “Symmetrie und Wahnsinn”, and now the next record is ready to enlighten our maltreated minds. “Tote Winkel” (Blind spots) is once again part of an album series with a geometric context, both creatively and musically.

Stephan Otten and Oliver Klemm made productive use of 2021, which has been decelerated to the maximum by Corona. For the first time, an external studio was booked (Mühle der Freundschaft, Bad Iburg) and the pool of analog synthesizers and other sound generators there was dusted off. Sankt Otten came up with the master plan to first free the spirit of 50 years of German electronic music trapped in the antiquated keyboards and oscillator housings, then to dismantle it, turn it inside out and reinterpret it. Echoes of music from Düssel- dorf are joined by sounds familiar from the Weserbergland, or mystical, sublime arcs of sound and, of course, the sequences typical of the Berlin School - whether side by side or interwoven. In a departure from the usual way of working, the majority of the tracks were created in the studio and in part from improvisations, which makes “Tote Winkel “ the most organic material we have heard from Sankt Otten to date.

New York-based Rafael Anton Irisarri mastered “Tote Winkel”, as he has done on productions by Biosphere, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tycho, Terry Riley, Fennesz and many more. As part of the series of graphic covers, this extraordinary die-cut artwork was also designed by Daniel Castrejon. The vinyl version comes in a die-cut cover and colored vinyl, the CD in an elegant cardboard slipcase.

The Osnabrück duo Sankt Otten, founded in 1999, have been releasing on DENOVALI since 2009. “Tote Winkel” is their 14th album of timeless (instrumental) music. The band has dedicated itself to the holy trinity of Krautrock, Ambient and contemporary Elecronics.

Yup, more Jungle, D 'n B and breakbeats on GAMM...yay!

The MIR guys from Stockholm have been spreading rapid beats and dark b-lines since 2006 and are well established on the D'n B/Jungle scene for their productions, DJ sets and club nights.

For their GAMM debut, we get an eclectic cocktail of dark basement sounds and high-speed rhythms.
Starting off with a dancehall/jungle ting (War Edit), continuing with a classic hip hop/jungle mash up (Passin' Me By Edit), a deep breakbeat / Detroit version of a classic Kenny Larkin jam (Q Edit), and finishing off the EP with another hip hop / d&b roller.

All killers, no chillers!

Brussels-based accordionist Suzan Peeters releases her debut album Cassotto on the Belgian label blickwinkel. With Cassotto, she opens a door into a hidden chamber of sound. The title refers to the “cassotto” — a small resonating chamber inside the accordion that warms, softens, and deepens its tone. Listening to this record feels as if you’ve stepped into that room yourself, enveloped in a world where intimacy and grandeur collide.

Although this is her first release, Peeters is already recognised as one of the most promising names in Belgium’s experimental music scene. Her distinctive live shows — from leading venues across Belgium to a packed Café Oto in London — have earned her a reputation for combining accordion, electronics and unconventional objects such as a massage board into a compelling whole where contrasts come together in an unexpected way. Cassotto captures this approach in recorded form, giving listeners the same sense of immediacy as her concerts, but framed within the intimate space suggested by the album’s title.

While the cassotto chamber naturally gives the accordion a soft and velvety voice, Peeters harnesses that warmth to explore extremes — from hushed detail to bold, expansive gestures that fill the room. As such, the album moves between the acoustic and the electronic, the tender and the abrasive, the static and the dynamic, the traditional and the experimental.

With Cassotto, Suzan Peeters presents a debut that places the accordion at the centre of an adventurous and contemporary sound world — one that invites to discover how far an accordion can reach when tradition and imagination intertwine.

Suzan Peeters (*1999) is a Belgian accordionist, composer, and experimentalist. She is constantly looking for new timbres and sound textures within the accordion, pushing its acoustic spectrum to its limits by manipulating the interplay between her body and the body of her instrument.
Suzan studied classical accordion at KASK & Conservatorium in Ghent and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. She is currently studying Live Electronics at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Kulture Galerie releases its 3rd Digital Artefacts cassette tape: "Mediterranean Blue" by NYC's own Alien D. Alien D is back on Kulture Galerie. Prior to this, Daniel Creahan has been featured on labels such as Lillerne Tapes, Banlieue Records, and Theory Therapy, and now shares a 6 track EP called Mediterranean Blue that lands on Filippo MSM's tapes series Digital Artefacts, the label's more experimental output.

The work is something of a companion piece to his recent release on Theory Therapy, “For the Early Hours of the World in Bloom,” exploring similar states with a more hazy, fluid sensibility. The compositions here trace back to a week spent several years prior on the Puglia coastline, where, in the midst of a read through of Helene Cixious’s Tomb(e), he began compiling a series of works drawing the gleaming sun, swirling waves and jagged, rocky coastline of the region, mixing in fragments of slow, pulsing low end, wafting synth elements and a range of processed samples dwelling on states of transition, life and love. Waves and dripping water swirl around lilting saxophone, kick drums drown the mix in heavily side-chained throbs of bass, and breaks rush in and out of the mix, making for a series of recordings that seem to view the dancefloor as a dream, always front of mind but hazily remembered.

“I was obsessed with these balances between the light-washed, dusty landscape and these quiet modest homes dotting the hills, and all I could think about was the passage of time, falling in and out and back in love, and the slow drift of memory,” he says. “It was like waking up with a new thought.”

The latest smash hit 7" from Gee Bello featuring Roy Ayers & Jocelyn Brown, now available!

Gee Bello, known as a backing vocalist for Wham! and a key member of iconic bands like Light Of The World and Incognito, returns with a new release featuring the legendary Roy Ayers & Jocelyn Brown.

Side A Features the radio edit of The Sunshine Goes On And On, originally released as a digital single in 2025. Produced by Gee Bello. Side B Pure Perfection, a sophisticated and danceable 2023 track. Mixed by Europe's popular production unit Cool Million featuring the legendry, Jocelyn Brown. Produced by Gee Bello.



a 01: The Sunshine Goes on and On (Radio Edit) feat. Roy Ayers
Georgie B Radio Edit

»Hug of Gravity« is the second solo album by Raphael Loher and his first for Hallow Ground. The Swiss pianist and composer uses piano preparations, tape machines, and digital means to forge an aesthetic of playful reduction and rhythmic abstraction. The source material for these four sprawling pieces was culled from recordings of the artist performing the album’s predecessor, 2022’s »Keemuun.« Loher used them in a painstaking two-part working process to create an album that is both a product of and an ode to transformation, exploring themes of alternative temporalities and spatialities. »Hug of Gravity« oscillates between experimental electronic music, ambient, and minimal music and calls to mind the work of artists like William Basinski, Linda Catlin Smith, or label mate Andrius Arutiunian.

Loher laid the foundation for »Hug of Gravity« in 2020 with ten solo performances at his studio, during which he presented the pieces from his debut album. For these intimate concerts, he prepared the piano with modelling clay in order to move beyond the well-tempered tuning that dominates most of Western music. He then used a consecutive three-month residency in the Blenio Valley to refine the recordings. »I cut up and rearranged the material, then transferred the results—around 30 pieces—to a varispeed tape machine and then back to the computer. After that was done, I cut them up and rearranged them again,« he laughs. By radically reworking the material, he created an album that eschews traditional notions of time and space.

Loher points out the influence that his surroundings had on him. »The process created the music—and the place was essential to the process.« he says. He wandered through the mountains for up to nine or ten hours a day, which gave him a sense of what he calls expanded temporality. »Time just felt longer, my experiences seemed more diverse and nuanced, and it was as if I perceived my environment more clearly,« he explains. This shift in Loher’s perception of time and space—the latter also expressed in the album’s title—influenced his work with the varispeed tape machine. It allowed him to change the pitch of different recordings while layering them to let interference patterns emerge and emphasise the emotional qualities of the unconventional tunings he had used.

In this way, Loher constructed numerous interlocking narrative arcs throughout »Hug of Gravity,« an album that is ever-changing; an exercise in calm ecstasy that provides its audience with the feeling of being removed from conventional time and space. This approach is also reflected in the artwork for »Hug of Gravity,« which is based on drawings Loher made during his residency at Blenio Valley. Their fine hand-drawn lines run in parallel and let incidental patterns emerge, an effect that is only multiplied when the six different drawings that accompany each vinyl copy of the album are overlapping, forming ever-new visual constellations.