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In view of the immense Black Lives Matter mobilisation in reaction to the murder of George Floyd and the comparatively meagre societal reaction to the attack in Hanau, the question arises: How come our society does not show the same empathy and solidarity towards its own fellow citizens with Kurdish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Afghan migrant backgrounds or members of the Roma and Sinti?

How limited is our postcolonial discourse if we are unable to address the racist exploitation of those who repair our cars, deliver our parcels or harvest our asparagus?

It’s all a sham. Shake it off like a biometric photograph. Shake off that false consciousness. The Black Diaspora is a transatlantic lie invented by music curators and journalists. Embrace this nuanced return to structures and superstructures, to articulations and historical constellations as analytical tools.

Allow me to dampen your expectations. This is not the sound of decolonisation. This is no compilation of BLM protest songs. This is no celebration of Black emancipatory struggles. You will not be able to play this at your hip post-pandemic house party. This will not go down well with your woke friends. This is music for the square in the room. For that reluctant BAME/Person of Color repelled by your fetishisation of the African-American experience.

This is music for gated communities. This is Fehler Kuti singing of class relations, not of identities and positionalities. This is Fehler Kuti resisting.

Listen to these songs of infrastructure and appraisal of the welfare state. Join me in mourning the broken promises of prosperity for all. Send that “Ausländer“ of your mind to heaven. Colonialism fucked you up. Platform Capitalism is keeping you in chains. Are we to unionise all human and non-human workers at Amazon? Will modernity always have that "forever nigger“? What about those dispossessed field hands harvesting your asparagus?

All is lost. The system is rigged. Because all histories, gestures and identities have been absorbed into this late capitalist apparatus we call diversity. It can integrate anything and anyone. It made me. It is the price of the ticket. And it is unable to challenge its own premise of an atomised society. As if you and I had so little in common.

They will try and help you. They will build a museum for your history and a scholarship program for your future. I warn you. Don‘t let them give you a name. Resist appellation. Don’t get that German passport. Don‘t eat asparagus.

Fehler Kuti, Spring 2021

All songs by Julian Warner. Produced by Markus Acher and Tobias Siegert.

Markus Acher – drums, percussion, backing vocals Micha Acher – sousaphone, trumpet Cico Beck – synthesizer Jenny Bohn – backing vocals Pacifico Boy – vocals Katja Kobolt – spoken word Theresa Loibl – bass clarinet, backing vocals Sascha Schwegeler – steeldrum, kalimba, percussion, backing vocals Tobias Siegert – bass, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals Julian Warner – piano, memotron, vocals

recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert at Minga Records, july – december 2020 mastered by Moritz Illner at Duophonic

Cover art and photography by Andreas Neumeister. Layout by Sascha Schwegeler.

Fehler Kuti “Professional People” is part of the same multiverse as “The History of the Federal Republic of Germany as told by Fehler Kuti und die Polizei”. A production by Julian Warner. In cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele. Funded by the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich. Released by Alien Transistor.

A GROOVY SELECTION IN THREE ORIGINAL VINYLS TO DISCOVER THE GOLD NUGGETS OF FUNK, SOUL & HIP-HOP ! Selection by the journalist Olivier Cachin and illustrations by the artist LAZOO.

The fourth studio album from Melbourne’s 7-piece heavy groove combo is an abstruse journey into the darker fringes of instrumental music, drifting from funk to spiritual jazz and through to psychedelic fuzz rock.

Inspired by the catastrophic year that was 2020, the bands recording sessions were rescheduled three times due to extended Melbourne lock downs, before finally being recorded in November 2020. The album’s title, The Old World, refers to life before the onset of the pandemic which shattered 21stcentury humanity’s sense of stability and invincibility. Arcing back to the simplicities and blissful ignorance that existed before the grim onset of empty supermarket shelves, deserted streets and a world locked down.

The album begins with psychedelic-soul lament, Death of the Old Gods, before rolling into apocalyptic-dancefloor-fillers Hold Fast to the Void and Abode of the Clouds, then momentarily mellowing out on laid-back number, Never Again. Side 2 opens with Harry Cooper pt II (a tribute to the bands sax player and a follow up to part I from their 2017 album Drinking Water) before launching into brutal and fiery, The Beast, then finally closing with the epic 12 minute spiritual-jazz title-track, The Old World. The astute listener may also hear sprinkled across the album hints of Afrobeat, Free-Jazz and Stoner-Doom (yep, Stoner-Doom), along with plenty of the bands new favourite instrument, the goat bell.

Released on local Melbourne label, Northside Records, the album will be available on limited edition night-sky marbled vinyl and features cover artwork by Australian artist, Daniel Hend.

Giancarlo Erra Returns With Spellbinding New Lp ‘Departure Tapes’ On
Kscope. Gatefold Oxblood Coloured Vinyl Edition.
UK based Italian composer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Giancarlo
Erra started his career in 2005 with one man studio project Nosound. In 2008
Erra signed with Kscope and released a string of albums under the Nosound
banner before recording the first album under his own name ‘Ends I-VII’ in
2019.
He now returns with a new album ‘Departure Tapes’, reflecting what has been
a difficult year with the loss of his father to cancer.
In Giancarlo’s own words “The end result is the most experimental (and darkest at times) material I ever wrote, without compromise or set plan. It contains
all the elements of my music in a very unconscious free flow way. It’s the first
album I wrote without knowing I was writing it, intrinsically linked to one of the
hardest and yet more healing parts of my life.”
‘Departure Tapes’ is an album of contemplative recordings, written while travelling between the UK and Italy. Most of these tracks have been recorded live
by Erra, so for the most part they are totally unique and hold a sincerity which
cannot be replicated.
Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and the more electronic / ambient
recordings of Brian Eno may offer a reference point by which to enter Erra’s
world, but the depth within these recordings is truly original.
‘Departure Tapes’ is available in a gatefold sleeve on oxblood coloured vinyl and
The DVD-A/V includes high resolution stereo & 5.1 mix: DVD-V: stereo 24/48
LPCM lossless mixes, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround DVDA: 5.1 Surround 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes

I first discovered khroniky – Ukranian folk songs – in the Highlands of Scotland. I was watching a screening of Bajka, a mesmerising documentary made by the filmmaker Lucia Nimcová and sound artist Sholto Dobie. I knew nothing about these ballads beforehand, but I was fascinated by these odd, beautiful songs, especially the easy way in which they mixed misery and levity, where gentle melodies blend with tales of dark violence. The folk songs describe hardship, murder, torture, death in gulags, heavy drinking, outsmarting men, love affairs. But they’re often very funny too – many of the songs make fun of marriage, and there’s an amazing subcategory of khroniky songs called potka (vagina) songs.

The khroniky have never been properly documented because they were considered too crude, or contained lyrics that were problematic, politically. When Ukrainian folk songs have been archived in the past, it’s normally a sanitised, more polite version of the ones that Lucia remembers from her childhood. Lucia grew up on the other side of the Ukrainian border in Slovakia. She is part of the Rusyn (Ruthenian) minority ethnic group found in the borderlands of Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Poland. Rusyn is a centuries-old Slavic language, looked down upon as a poor, uneducated dialect by the neighbouring Ukraine and Slovakia. It was forbidden to talk about Rusyn culture at Nimcova’s primary school, but the khroniky stayed in her memories.

“I remember weddings when I was young,” says Lucia, who now lives in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. “At the end of the night, when everyone was drunk and the young couple would go around their guests, people would sing in Rusyn. There was singing and dancing, and songs about being in prison or falling in love. I picked up the lyrics and sometimes my mum would make my sister and I sing them for people we met on the train. I was about five or six but the lyrics still come back when I sing to my kids.”

Determined that these rich, nuanced, unique songs shouldn’t be forgotten, she decided to record them. Over two years, Lucia, joined by experimental musician Sholto Dobie, visited Rusyn villages high in the Carpathian mountains to rediscover the songs and make the documentary. It was at the beginning of war breaking out in Ukraine in 2014.

“The Rusyn community is a very closed one,” explains Lucia. “Sometimes we’d have to wait several days to hear someone sing; we had to earn their trust before they shared something very personal to them. We’d stay up ‘til 5am at a wedding, then go straight to a morning baptism, or collect haystacks with the villagers, hoping they’d sing while they were working.”

DILO is named after an important independent Ukrainian daily newspaper that was shut down when the Red Army entered Lviv in 1939. The four long tracks on DILO blur field recordings with song; an unpolished, privileged glimpse into a private world. We hear dogs barking and insects buzzing in the summer heat, then a blast of hurdy gurdy or violin will drift in, or a plaintive song soars softly over the rural background noise, with casually harrowing lyrics about a cuckoo, “lifeless in a world of misery”, as translated in the album’s booklet.

For both Lucia and Sholto, it was important not to tamper too much with what they heard. “When you think about ethnography,” Lucia explains, “you have to have a lot of time, love and respect to document it with sensitivity.”

“The songs all have their own atmosphere and intimacy from the spaces they were recorded in and it was important to maintain these particularities and move with them,” adds Sholto, who now lives in Vilnius, Lithuania. “They guide and sometimes interrupt a journey between interiors – domestic spaces; in kitchens, by the fire – and exteriors; marketplaces, cow sheds. We used contact microphones to record metal bridges and fences, and we spent one afternoon recording a wool processing machine, the details of the rattling and tuning wheels are the ground layer for the third track.”

Lucia took rough notes and diary entries during the recording process, which are now shared in the booklet alongside a selection of lyrics, loosely translated, but revealing the depth and astonishing beauty that sometimes lies in the language of these folk songs.

The feel of the album is intimate, flipping between laughter, where a woman sings about selling her pussy to buy a cow in one track, then shifts to a raw, painful truth; an adult son asks his mother why his dad won’t be back for dinner, as he’s gone to war.

Since Lucia and Sholto began working together in 2014, they have shared the audio recordings on radio and film and shown photos in gallery spaces, making sure these special, smutty, poignant songs don’t get lost. This new record and booklet joins that same continuum, another glorious fruit from the same rare tree.

In October last year Pete Josef's second album ëI Rise With The Birdsû came out. Now Sonar Kollektiv has decided to release four remixes of three different songs off the fantastic album. First of all there is the Jazzanova remix of ëGiantsû, which almost completely gets rid of the vocals, but all the more absorbs the zeitgeist - a remix probably working perfectly for a group of battling breakdancers. The program continues with a remix by Pete Josef himself. The Englishman strips down ëThis Sunû to its basic structure, then simply building a modern Salsa track out of it. Which brings us to the remix by Friend Within. The Liverpool producer and Pete Josef have been friends for many years, dating back to a 2013 collaboration (ëThe Workû) that made it onto Disclosure's Mixmag mix CD. ëMainframeû sounds super fresh after Friend Within's rework and seems like the party banger we've been looking forward to for months! But what Feiertag finally takes the liberty of doing with his remix of ëGiantsû is beyond imagination. Far away from the original Feiertag's interpretation moves in dark downtempo realms - dubby and spheric at the same time. In short: Each of the four remixes is a small masterpiece on its own.

Canadian-based producer Rumbleton returns after his remix on AKOism 3 to release his solo EP on an AKO Beatz. 4 carefully constructed tracks that take you on a journey, Rumbleton engineering skills are next level and we call him the beat master at AKO. Beats that take you into the darkness then bring you into the light. Rumbleton also linked up with AKO boss to produce a track that has already got people excited. Outernational jungle at its finest.

In Post-Heretic Dracula X Chronicles II the Dracula figure functions as a part fictive and part autobiographical metaphor. Dracula mirrors certain systematic (therefore also internal) conditionings and attributes in its whole ambivalent fluctuations. This character represents the complex relationships of a loving/living person in a neo-liberal capitalist system while oscillating between melancholia & rage, facing the preservation or loss of his love and standing in an alienated position towards the ruling order. The eleven featured compositions and their respective song names (both of them are riddled with references) playfully touch on conflicts between love, life and system-critique, without being too upfront about the subject-matter.

Nicola Kazimir (*28.05.1990 in Zürich, Schweiz)

A DJ, producer, musician, artist, space-owner, record label owner and party organizer, Nicola Kazimir works freely across platforms and communities. For Kazimir, these numerous positions are not static, and they can actfluidly and reciprocally as a whole, or as separate entities. His artistic and acoustic productions are mostly based on topics that include the institutionalization of techno, copyright, dividualism and the human perception of repetitive rhythm patterns mixed with aesthetic codes of b-movie horror movies or occultism. He is one of the founders and still part of the labels Les Points/ Gentrified Underground / Infoline and the offspace Mikro Zürich. Other projects include a supporting role in the organization of Zentralwäscherei Zürich and being part of the Clubbüro-team at Rote Fabrik.

Something wicked this way comes. Following singles 'Know The Future' b/w 'Digital Warfare' in 2019 and 'Hypersocial' b/w 'Safety Test' in 2020, ESP’s own Patrick Conway has now teamed up with the illustrious Appleblim (of Skull Disco and Apple Pips fame) for a meaty self-titled debut 2xLP under the new collaborative moniker, Trinity Carbon. There is something to be said for art created in the face of global unraveling, while mass transgression and the friction of culture shifting produce poignant commentary, but more often than not, it’s the personal coping mechanisms within our work that have the power to speak directly to the receiver. After a number of sessions resulting in wild imaginative beginnings, it was the untimely passing of Andrew Weatherall and a coming to terms with that loss that moved the two Brits-via-Berlin to herd their roaming sketches into a more narrative statement. In the uphill struggle to retain some sense of individualism, it’s always outsiders like Weatherall whose risks illuminate the roads of creativity less traveled, and when those beacons go dark there is a disorientation felt far and wide. Conway and Blim concede to the internal inquiry, “What would Weatherall do?” bringing to mind the man’s pervading morale, always soldiering onward through mediocrity, as it was undoubtedly an impetus for the duo growing steadfast and chiseling 'Trinity Carbon' into completion. While employing trusted machines in the bass department, they established a warm euphonic home base from which they could stray in a variety of tonal and rhythmic directions without straining a tether to the album’s core. However, as soon as any hint of familiarity may arise, or listeners begin to mentally assign stylistic epithets, the duo boldly change course to remind us that while the banal stay safely defined, it’s the iconoclasts, the outsiders who make us feel.

Reissue on vinyl of the seventh PJ Harvey studio album White Chalk. The album was produced by PJ Harvey, Flood and John Parish and originally released in September 2007. White Chalk features the singles ‘When Under Ether’, ‘The Piano’ and ‘The Devil’. Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, with cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of original co-producer John Parish.

The New Studio Album Of Epic Black Heavy Metal From The
Norwegian Legends
“Five heavy dinosaurs looking in wonder and bewilderment at the stars” Fenriz
With the highly revered Norwegians remaining ever-dedicated to the art of the
riff after 35 years of existence, Darkthrone return for album number nineteen
and a new dose of metallic godliness. On the back of 2019’s triumphant ‘Old
Star’ opus, the duo of Nocturno Culto & Fenriz present a 41-minute maelstrom
of Epic Black Heavy Metal across five sprawling compositions.
Organic and dynamic, the album is an exploration of the very finest vintage
metal and the best of doom, all delivered in the unmistakable Darkthrone style,
whilst also incorporating instruments such as the Moog to further expand upon
these soundscapes.
Eschewing the process of using their own Necrohell II studios - which has
served the band so well over the last 15 years - & welcoming a change of environment and the opportunity to experiment with new ideas, ‘Eternal Hails......’
was recorded at Chaka Khan Studio in Oslo, & engineered by Ole Ovstedal &
Silje H gevold, breathing new life into the sound while retaining the essence of
Darkthrone’s natural, raw feeling.
The cover artwork features the piece “Pluto and Charon” (1972), from renowned science fiction artist David A. Hardy; a hugely inspirational image for
both Fenriz & Nocturno Culto spanning several decades, and this also stands
as a symbolic link between the genre-bending styles apparent on Darkthrone’s
earliest works, to those same traits evident on ‘Eternal Hails......’.

Over the past decade, Egyptian-born, Barcelona-based DJ and techno producer Raxon, known to friends and family as Ahmed Raxon, has popped out a steady stream of twelve-inch singles, precision-tooled, for labels like Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul, and Ellum Audio. An alumni of Kompakt’s Speicher series – check the insistent, vibrating pulses of “The Ancient” and “Dark Light” on 2019’s Speicher 107 – with Sound Of Mind, Raxon has produced a long-awaited debut album that’s ready and aching both for the dancefloor and the boudoir, traversing the heat of the club and the warmth of the home.

“The idea of an album has always floated around in my head for the past few years,” Raxon confirms, “but it was never the right moment in my mind.” Instead, he’s been insistently pursuing his vision of deep, elegant techno, taking him from early DJ gigs in Dubai, including the legendary audio tonic night, then relocating to Europe on the recommendation of Herman Cattaneo, all the while allowing his experiences to inform and transmute his producer’s thumbprint. He’s an architect by training (though he gave architecture up for electronic music), which might explain why Raxon productions are so sturdy and well-designed; but remember also that architecture is a field filled with brave experimentation, something Raxon definitely draws on throughout Sound Of Mind.

Like many albums from the past twelve months, Raxon’s debut developed partly thanks to the unique social situation the planet has found itself caught within. “In the beginning of 2020 I started working on a few tracks with the album in mind,” he recalls, “with no idea of what’s to come in the next few months. As catastrophic as the situation was/is, I found myself in the studio; in a way the lockdown gave me that creative freedom in the studio, to try to tell my story through sound.” And indeed, there is something in the way of ‘life writing’ about Sound Of Mind, particularly in the way Raxon’s productions pay subtle homage, perhaps, to his formative listening experiences in the late nineties.

It’s no retro trip, but there’s plenty of variety here, and a few moments that’ll tickle the collective memory – see the prowling pulsations of the opening “Majestic”, the alien breakbeat action of “Vice” and “Journey Mode”, where the interstellar tones feel like Foul Play or Steve Gurley, the leaking gas and woozy keys that make “Droid Solo” so subtly destabilising, or the strobelight drones that sputter and flare throughout “El Multiverse”, where dappled organ tones fight it out with interdimensional transmissions, all sucked into the vortex of a late-night techno mantra. Beautifully sculpted, Sound Of Mind feels consummate, an elegant set that pulls Raxon’s vision into its sharpest focus. Alive with possibilities, it’s a fever dream of creativity.

In den letzten zehn Jahren hat der in Ägypten geborene und in Barcelona lebende DJ und Techno-Produzent Raxon, der Freunden und Familie auch als Ahmed Raxon bekannt ist, eine ganze Reihe von 12inch-Singles auf Labels wie Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul und Ellum Audio veröffentlicht. Wir kennen Raxon außerdem durch seinen Beitrag zur Kompakt Extra/Speicher-Reihe – man höre sich nur mal "The Ancient" und "Dark Light" auf dem 2019 erschienenen Speicher 107 an. Nun hat Raxon mit “Sound Of Mind“ sein lang erwartetes Debütalbum produziert, das sowohl für den Dancefloor als auch für die eigenen vier Wände geeignet ist und dabei sowohl die Hitze des Clubs als auch die Wärme des eigenen Zuhauses durchmisst.

"Die Idee eines Albums schwebte in den letzten Jahren immer in meinem Kopf herum", bestätigt Raxon, "aber es gab nie den richtige Moment." Stattdessen verfolgte er leidenschaftlich seine Vision von tiefem, elegantem Techno, die ihn von frühen DJ-Gigs in Dubai, einschließlich der legendären Audio-Tonic-Nacht, dann auf Empfehlung von Hernan Cattaneo nach Europa führte. Im Laufe dieser Zeit sammelte er unzählige Erfahrungen, die es ihm erlaubten, seinen Stil als Produzent mehr und mehr zu transformieren. Raxon ist gelernter Architekt (obwohl er die Architektur für die elektronische Musik aufgegeben hat), was vielleicht erklärt, warum seine Produktionen so robust und gut durchdacht sind; aber man sollte auch nicht vergessen, dass Architektur bestenfalls immer ein Feld mutiger Experimente ist, etwas, worauf Raxon in “Sound Of Mind“ definitiv zurückgreift.

Wie viele andere Alben der letzten zwölf Monate auch wurde Raxon’s Debüt von der einzigartigen gesellschaftlichen Situation, in der sich der Planet momentan befindet, beeinflusst. "Anfang 2020 habe ich angefangen, an ein paar Tracks für das Album zu arbeiten", erinnert er sich, "ohne zu wissen, was in den nächsten Monaten auf uns zukommen würde. So katastrophal die Situation auch war/ist, ich fand mich im Studio wieder; in gewisser Weise gab mir der Lockdown auch eine kreative Freiheit im Studio, um zu versuchen, eine Geschichte durch meinen Sound zu erzählen." Und in der Tat gibt es auf “Sound Of Mind“ so etwas wie eine "Lebensgeschichte", besonders in der Art und Weise, wie Raxon’s Produktionen eine subtile Hommage an seine prägenden musikalischen Erfahrungen in den späten Neunzigern darstellen.

Es ist fürwahr kein Retro-Trip, aber es gibt hier viel Abwechslung und ein paar Momente, die das kollektive Gedächtnis kitzeln werden - zum Beispiel der sich langsam heran pirschende Pulsschlag im Eröffnungstrack "Majestic", oder die außerirdischen Breakbeats von "Vice" und "Journey Mode", in denen sich die interstellaren Sounds ein wenig wie Foul Play oder Steve Gurley anfühlen. Dann das ausströmende Gas und die wummernden Tasten, die "Droid Solo" subtil destabilisieren, oder die Strobo-Drones, die in "El Multiverse" herum sprudeln und flackern, wo einzelne Töne einer Orgel mit interdimensionalen Transmittern um die Wette strahlen und schließlich in den Strudel eines nächtlichen Techno-Mantras gesogen werden. “Sound Of Mind“ fühlt sich formvollendet an, wie ein elegantes Set, das Raxon’s Vision verstärkt in den Fokus rückt. Ein Fiebertraum voller Kreativität und Möglichkeiten.

City Slang is thrilled to welcome Pom Pom Squad into the City Slang family. The way Mia can nod to her influences, be they of the iconic 60’s girl group, characters from a John Waters film, or cutting edge fashion from today, while simultaneously spinning a beautiful and original story in her songs, is absolutely thrilling. This is the kind of record that makes you not only excited to see what you can do with an artist in a post-pandemic future, but also how you can build their career in the present circumstances. We cannot wait for you to hear this record in its entirety!

Produced by Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties and co-produced by Berrin herself, it’s a record that plays out like an exorcism in front of your bathroom mirror -- confronting the dark we’ve had planted within us and then ripping it out, all while watching every second of it. It’s vulnerable yet triumphant, deliciously irreverent & inviting yet sneering in the faces of those that had once tried to define her. First single “Lux” was unanimously praised by press including Stereogum who called it “a serrated blast of noise in which Berrin takes someone to task with glee” and The Fader who said “come for the scrappy punk reimagining of The Virgin Suicides, stay for Pom Pom Squad's galvanizing treatise on feminine awakening in a world that would rather keep your eyes shut.”

Mia Berrin spent her childhood trying to find where she fit right in the world, looking to the pop culture icons on TV in hopes of finding an image she connected to. She connected with the films of John Waters and David Lynch, loved the dark campiness found in Heathers, was in awe of the power of women like Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna. Growing up as a female of color who would later in her life unearth and embrace her queerness, discussing and reconciling

Kojaque follows his critically acclaimed cult concept record, ‘Deli Daydreams’, with an
expansive, urgent debut album. In this landmark debut, Kojaque mines both his
emotional interior as an artist, and the external forces of a love triangle barrelling
towards chaos. ‘Town’s Dead’ is a mind-bending, explosive and expansive trip,
documenting a tumultuous love triangle that unfolds across New Year’s Eve in a
place where gentrification poses as much a threat as the violence of street dealers.
Sonically, the record smashes any previous expectations, stretching an aural palate
that leaps from rage to solace, from clattering musical combustions to tender
ruminations. The tremendous scope and scale of ‘Town’s Dead’ demonstrates an
artist utterly untethered to assumptions about what a particular voice or genre should
be, and instead explores radical musical territory. Dark corners of parks, bedrooms,
clubs, streets and psyches are excavated and pouring over the rubble is an artist
who refuses to conform, unafraid of the vulnerabilities that are exposed when the
voice rings true, because there’s just no point in being anything else.
Kojaque is part of a new wave of Irish artists flooding the world with blistering and
sophisticated literature, film and music - ideas and work that emerged from a social
revolution stonewalled by late-stage capitalism. Welcome to that state of mind, where
the path less travelled is the only one worth taking.
On the announcement of his debut album Kojaque has said: “‘Town’s Dead’ comes
from the potential that I see in Dublin and in the people I’m surrounded by day in and
day out. There’s nothing but talent and ambition among young people, I’m constantly
reminded of that through the art and music that I see being made but I think so often
the city grinds you down, it takes your hope and your ambition. I know that it can
change because so many of my friends express the exact same wants, desires and
frustrations with living in Ireland. If so many of us are on the same page then I know
that things can change, there just needs to be some sort of catalyst to kick start that
change and for me that’s always been art and music. Time and time again, amazing
art continues to be made in spite of the struggles and setbacks that are presented
when living here. The title track and the album is a fight against what can sometimes
feel inevitable, it’s a rejection of what people tell you is your destiny as a young
person in the city, Town’s NOT dead it’s just Dormant.”
CD housed in digisleeve containing 12-page lyric and photo booklet.
Black double vinyl housed in 5mm wide spine single sleeve with 12-page lyric and
photo booklet.
“Hints of Odd Future and its offspring... Kojaque is not your average rapper” - i-D
“Dublin’s hip-hop community are making waves right now... an intimate introduction
to the world this bold artist inhabits” - Clash
“Social realist rhymes set to silky hip-hop” - NME
“Likeable and funny” - Trench
“The Dublin MC forcing us to face real life; both the gory and the glory” - Wonderland
“Ireland’s freshest hip-hop hope, Kojaque, serves ‘soft hip hop’ with a side order of
poetry and performance art” - Notion

The four Scottish-Irish musicians Conor Dalton, David Donaldson, Greame Reedie and Ian Maclennan are Island People. After their highly acclaimed debut from 2017, they have now finished their second album with the simple and consistent title »II«. Compared to their debut, »II« sounds more mature and complex. The arrangements unfold like the long tracking shots of an early Antonioni film - time seems to stand still, circling the moment. Impressionistically, one feels transported into the Scottish island landscape with its contrasting lights and harsh elements. Gloomy, darker, richer textures have conquered their space on »II« as much as the more present acoustic components. As much as its predecessor, also this record was skilfully produced, the musicians’ entire experience is audible (Conor Dalton is a sought-after mastering engineer; David Donaldson a Grammy Award-winning producer) – but anything fashionable or sensationalist has been intentionally waived. The musical serenity, holding up a craft that neither has to show itself off every minute nor wants to respond to the latest trends impressed us the most. The cover photo was contributed by the Scottish artist Helena Ohman. She also provided the video for the track »Crash«. Furthermore, singer Alice Hill-Woods was invited to contribute the lyrics and vocals to »Stalling«. Island People »II« will be released as gatefold double LP as well as on CD and digitally. In advance we asked Island People about the creative process behind the album and quote as follows: This album reflects on the destination we have in common before us, and celebrates the longer road while also considering paths not taken and journeys that ended too soon. It has been said that »art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.« For us the writing of this album has been a great journey through both, shared with friends. While our first album acknowledged our own spaces and borders as individuals, the new album seemed to grow very quickly from our travels together as a band. Periods spent on the road playing live afforded extra time together and while we didn’t feel constrained to a concept at the start, more and more of the tracks evolved to reflect these journeys and experiences together.

With his raw, dark, cutthroat approach to Techno, EarToGround are very happy to introduce Spain's PWCCA to the label via four distinctive original tracks and remix work from label owner Gareth Wild.

With recent appearances on genre leading labels such as Oscar Mulero's Warm Up Records as well as Tsunami, Granulart, Faut Section and New Rhythmic he makes a perfect addition to London's ETG.

Recorded during the thick of the Covid lockdown, Kevin, Tony, & Eric hunkered down in their studio and turned their energy inward. With all live shows and future tours canceled, Brainstory had no other outlet besides their rehearsal space which had been converted into a makeshift studio. Stepping up to the obstacles of the moment, they recorded and produced an EP of brand new music. They were already highly skilled musicians two years ago, but time in the studio with Leon Michels producing Buck and playing alongside bands like Holy Hive and Chicano Batman had a profound effect on them. Their ears have developed, their ethos and their drive has matured, their musicianship is full-blown; hence the name of the EP, Ripe. Ripe is a seven song journey into who Brainstory are as people and as a band. They are lighthearted and fun but never anything less than dead serious about their artistry. In choosing to record a mostly instrumental record, they have departed from their 2019 debut Buck and are showing more of their Jazz roots. Ripe pulls from Jazz, Hip Hop, 70s Funk, 60s Soul, and life in Southern California in the year 2021. Kev's intro to the EP is a testament to their thing, his goofy and charming "let's go baby_.less go baby" is welcoming and fun and then "Scissors" drops - serious as can be. The first vocal number we hear is "Seasons", a song about maintaining through the challenges of 2020 that would make Roy Ayers proud. "Long Day" and "Rogers" are drenched in reefer and psychedelia and promise a moment away from reality if listened to in headphones. "Bye Bye" is another stone cold ballad from the group that is destined to be a staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. Ripe is a welcome ray of sunshine as we all shake off the darkness of 2020 and will hold fans over while they finish recording their full length sophomore album due out in 2022.

COLORED VINYL IS TRANSPARENT WITH ORANGE & GREEN SPLATTER. Recorded during the thick of the Covid lockdown, Kevin, Tony, & Eric hunkered down in their studio and turned their energy inward. With all live shows and future tours canceled, Brainstory had no other outlet besides their rehearsal space which had been converted into a makeshift studio. Stepping up to the obstacles of the moment, they recorded and produced an EP of brand new music. They were already highly skilled musicians two years ago, but time in the studio with Leon Michels producing Buck and playing alongside bands like Holy Hive and Chicano Batman had a profound effect on them. Their ears have developed, their ethos and their drive has matured, their musicianship is full-blown; hence the name of the EP, Ripe. Ripe is a seven song journey into who Brainstory are as people and as a band. They are lighthearted and fun but never anything less than dead serious about their artistry. In choosing to record a mostly instrumental record, they have departed from their 2019 debut Buck and are showing more of their Jazz roots. Ripe pulls from Jazz, Hip Hop, 70s Funk, 60s Soul, and life in Southern California in the year 2021. Kev's intro to the EP is a testament to their thing, his goofy and charming "let's go baby_.less go baby" is welcoming and fun and then "Scissors" drops--serious as can be. The first vocal number we hear is "Seasons", a song about maintaining through the challenges of 2020 that would make Roy Ayers proud. "Long Day" and "Rogers" are drenched in reefer and psychedelia and promise a moment away from reality if listened to in headphones. "Bye Bye" is another stone cold ballad from the group that is destined to be a staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. Ripe is a welcome ray of sunshine as we all shake off the darkness of 2020 and will hold fans over while they finish recording their full length sophomore album due out in 2022.

Death Drives A Cadillac was Spike In Vain’s second
album, never officially released and unheard in its final
form until now. Like many hardcore bands circa ’84 and
’85, the group was ready to further expand its palette and
ease off the thrash tempos. Recorded roughly a year after
Disease Is Relative with a bigger budget, the album is even
more wide-ranging, and the songs are more fleshed out.
“Despair grew inside her, I grew inside her. She named
me Spirit Death, and this is my song” sings Chris Marec,
the vocalist on half of this LP. Though less “young” than
their debut, that album’s darkness lingers, but here has a
more removed, observational quality, with many songs
sung in character or in the third person, along with a
tendency for anthropomorphic allegory. It has a bit less to
do with screaming for death to come than with a growing
resignation to being the other, a recognition of inescapable
alienation and its relation to childhood trauma. —all with
a heaping side of absurdity and a sense of wonder at the
gradually unfolding endtimes.
That said, many of the tracks wouldn’t be out of place
on the debut, and some feature exotic tunings. Bits of roots
music come into play as well—gospel, blues, and country
figure to some extent in a third of the songs, sometimes
in convoluted, Beefheart-esque ways, and at other times
toying with genre archetypes as a cat does a mouse.

Classic black LPs housed in gatefold w/ special canvas cardboard stock and silver hot foil! Nordic pop diva KARIN PARK of ÅRABROT adds her ethereal, mournful voice and keys to the primordial sound of legendary electronic pioneer LUSTMORD for this sublime and poignant collaboration. ALTER is a ritual of our times. On the pair's frst collaborative work, the nine tracks that make up ALTER are every bit as heart-wrenching as they are terrifying, mining new sonic territory, it is a fascinating study of light and shade that delves deep into vast uncharted darkness. Their ability to create atmosphere on the album opener "Hiraeth" is second to none, perfectly assembling a harrowing backdrop for Park's lilting sound of longing. From there, Park's vocals add all of the emotional depth and power found in names like Kate Bush, Maynard J Keenan and Elizabeth Frasier, perfectly playing against Lustmord's waves of dark drama and creating a wholly unique record that recalls Dead Can Dance, Massive Attack and Portishead at their greatest. Considering Park's credentials, it might be surprising that a collaboration with Lustmord would ft so seamlessly. Utilizing a sound comprised of elements of industrial, synth pop and more, the celebrated Swedish solo artist and member of Norwegian rock band Årabrot utilizes experimentation in her work, blazing trails and bringing to mind the work of her peers The Knife, Scott Walker, Robyn, Depeche Mode and Burial with her darkly-rich compositions. Multiple winner of Norway's Spellemann award, Park co-wrote the Norwegian entry for the 2013 Eurovision, fnishing fourth overall. But it is the sensibility of the sacred music of her youth that Park adds to ALTER, contributing a powerful vocal that guides the listener through the cavernous, mystical depth of their collaborative work. "Lustmord is the Gustave Doré of music", Karin Park ofers pensively. "Painting magical pictures with a sound that is so vast, it gives space for your own imagination." Brian Williams grew up in North Wales, beginning his musical career as Lustmord in 1980 and becoming a pivotal fgure and pioneer in the early industrial music scene in the UK. A former member of SPK during arguably their most crucial era, Williams went on to work with Throbbing Gristle members Chris & Cosey and appeared on early albums by Current 93 and Nurse With Wound amongst others. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1993, Williams worked on dozens of motion picture soundtracks including The Crow, Underworld and Paul Schrader's First Reformed, as well as on several video game, television scores and solo albums. Williams has also contributed to and collaborated with artists as varied as the Melvins, Clock DVA, Jarboe, John Balance of Coil, Clock DVA, Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream), Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit), Puscifer and more, including Grammy Award-winners Tool from their much acclaimed eforts 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum. FOR FANS OF Lustmord, Årabrot, Dead Can Dance, Hans Zimmer, Sunn O))), Fever Ray, Chelsea Wolfe, Boards of Canada, Heilung, Zola Jesus, Swans.

Limited coloured LPs housed in gatefold w/ special canvas cardboard stock and silver hot foil! Nordic pop diva KARIN PARK of ÅRABROT adds her ethereal, mournful voice and keys to the primordial sound of legendary electronic pioneer LUSTMORD for this sublime and poignant collaboration. ALTER is a ritual of our times. On the pair's frst collaborative work, the nine tracks that make up ALTER are every bit as heart-wrenching as they are terrifying, mining new sonic territory, it is a fascinating study of light and shade that delves deep into vast uncharted darkness. Their ability to create atmosphere on the album opener "Hiraeth" is second to none, perfectly assembling a harrowing backdrop for Park's lilting sound of longing. From there, Park's vocals add all of the emotional depth and power found in names like Kate Bush, Maynard J Keenan and Elizabeth Frasier, perfectly playing against Lustmord's waves of dark drama and creating a wholly unique record that recalls Dead Can Dance, Massive Attack and Portishead at their greatest. Considering Park's credentials, it might be surprising that a collaboration with Lustmord would ft so seamlessly. Utilizing a sound comprised of elements of industrial, synth pop and more, the celebrated Swedish solo artist and member of Norwegian rock band Årabrot utilizes experimentation in her work, blazing trails and bringing to mind the work of her peers The Knife, Scott Walker, Robyn, Depeche Mode and Burial with her darkly-rich compositions. Multiple winner of Norway's Spellemann award, Park co-wrote the Norwegian entry for the 2013 Eurovision, fnishing fourth overall. But it is the sensibility of the sacred music of her youth that Park adds to ALTER, contributing a powerful vocal that guides the listener through the cavernous, mystical depth of their collaborative work. "Lustmord is the Gustave Doré of music", Karin Park ofers pensively. "Painting magical pictures with a sound that is so vast, it gives space for your own imagination." Brian Williams grew up in North Wales, beginning his musical career as Lustmord in 1980 and becoming a pivotal fgure and pioneer in the early industrial music scene in the UK. A former member of SPK during arguably their most crucial era, Williams went on to work with Throbbing Gristle members Chris & Cosey and appeared on early albums by Current 93 and Nurse With Wound amongst others. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1993, Williams worked on dozens of motion picture soundtracks including The Crow, Underworld and Paul Schrader's First Reformed, as well as on several video game, television scores and solo albums. Williams has also contributed to and collaborated with artists as varied as the Melvins, Clock DVA, Jarboe, John Balance of Coil, Clock DVA, Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream), Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit), Puscifer and more, including Grammy Award-winners Tool from their much acclaimed eforts 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum.

Finnish producer Sasu Ripatti has been torching the fringes of electronic music since the mid 1990s, a process that's found him melting a wide spectrum of musical innovation into his cult brand of experimental minimalism. From the skeletal jazz deconstructions of his 1997 Vladislav Delay debut "The Kind of Blue EP" to the blurred dub techno variations of 2000's "Multila" and 2012's "Kuopio", Ripatti has betrayed a restless, voracious passion for sound. "Fun is Not A Straight Line" builds on this impressive legacy, retaining his sonic signature and adding a playfulness that harks back to his beloved deep house smash, Luomo's "Vocalcity". After becoming frustrated by the inflexibility of the 4/4 house idiom, Ripatti found solace in rap and bass music's rhythmic complexity and anarchic structures. "I bought Nas's 'Illmatic' when it came out in '94 and have more or less been listening to rap since," he explains. "I'm not really sure why now, but that rap influence wanted to come through." Chopped rap vocals, booming subs and gritty, neck-snapping beats are the primary colors of "Fun is Not A Straight Line", painted into the foreground and blended into an immediately recognizable rhythmic palette. The tracks cross into the same continuum as Chicago footwork, with stuttering samples that build thick walls of bass and flurries of wordless rhymes amid a narcotic haze of beats. On 'monolith', Ripatti's love of New York rap is in full focus as he obscures chipmunked vocals with tight, crackling percussion that disintegrates into rolling kicks; 'speedmemories' is even more upfront, channeling the raw sunshine energy of So So Def electro into rhythms that are powerfully skeletal. Elsewhere, syrupy Southern-fried TR-808 bass womps are tangled with molasses-slow vocals on 'videophonekitty', fuzzed into textured, dissociated ambience. Since the beginning, Ripatti has tried to find a balance between his experimental urges and drive to create more universal music. As his more recent albums have traveled into darker, more extreme realms, he has craved something different for balance. By drawing a crooked line between DJ Premier, DJ Screw and DJ Rashad, Sasu Ripatti has emerged with the most accessible and unashamedly enjoyable album he's produced in years.

Beautiful orange & yellow sunburst vinyl - Solstice '21 sees twelve bright lights of independent electronic music mark the coming Summer Solstice. In such dark days, the age-old practice of celebrating the move from shadow to light, feels steeped in a renewed symbolic power. Solstice '21 marks this significant moment with a rich array of musical offerings. Reflective, lively, and always powerful, this collection is spun with modern twists of an ancient thread. Rotator - This is the first outing under this moniker from Justin Owen, also known under the alias Licit, as well as being a protagonist in the world of modular synthesis as the man behind the Abstract Data modules; Letters from Mouse - "Bubbling analogue synthesis from Scotland." This analogue synth maestro and inimitable broadcaster (aka The Magic Window), boasts a string of quality releases, including the recent highly acclaimed album An gàrradh, also on Subexotic; Cub/cub - "Cub/cub explores the world in-between nostalgia and nihilism, analogue and digital, real and false; creating evocative and mournful musical collages." First discovered on Boards of Canada forum Twoism, Cub/cub's two debut releases with Subexotic demonstrated his considerable talent to mix fascinating texture with beguiling melody. With an astonishing follow-up album coming soon, his rising star feels unstoppable; Orbury Common - "aural ephemera from the home of the orbs." This mysterious duo from the West of England are blessed with delightful musical cunning; their brilliant debut on Subexotic lifted the lid, and this offering reaffirms exciting times lie ahead; Onepointwo - "Minimal electronics, abstract radio signals and dystopian soundscapes are proceeded from both digital and analogue sources." A creator of intricate yet powerful collage, with finely wrought motifs that repeat and build to create a shimmering psychedelic impact. This is Onepointwo's glorious trademark. Spell-binding releases already exist on Woodford Halse, Poeta Negra, Lotus, as well as an imminent powerhouse album forthcoming on Subexotic; Giants of Discovery - "Experimental electronica with the occasional noisy guitar thrown in." Giants of Discovery's ability to get to grips with the musicality of his subject, has lead to previous exquisite sojourns into realms such as Victorian cosmic horror and Greek mythology, as well as an equally fantastical, towering follow up album on Woodford Halse; Wonderful Beasts - "A Wonderful collaboration between boycalledcrow and Xqui." Their playful interaction finds ways of crafting acoustic fragments into unexpected kaleidoscopes of sound. With beguiling debuts on cult label Wormhole World (soon to be followed up by an extraordinary new album on Subexotic), there is a kind of breathless magic about everything they do; Dogs versus Shadows - Electronic Sound Magazine says "A rare example of gamekeeper turned poacher...a welter of impressive electronica." Lee Pylon's ability to straddle a wealth of uncompromisingly inventive creations, and his broadcasting prowess as the much loved Kites & Pylons, is already the stuff of legend. A multitude of releases across many labels including Subexotic, Woodford Halse, Miracle Pond, Third Kind, Submarine Broadcasting, Sensory Leakage, provide a glittering treasure trove of work; Counter Silence - A stalwart of Subexotic, Counter Silence's sparkling and wistful musical work very much stands alone in temperament and style. 2020's Pathways EP on Subexotic remains a precious oasis, imbued with a haunting solitude that lives on in the memory; Transient Visitor - "All music unlocked by Alex Cargill (C.O.I. Central Office of Information) and Martin Jensen (The Home Current)." These two intercontinental maestros (well Sidcup & Luxembourg) boast impressive solo back catalogues across many labels (including Castles in Space, Polytechnic Youth, Woodford Halse). Their newly conceived collaborative Transient Visitor project, brought about the superb TV1 album in 2020 - we can see the sparks fly again in this welcome 2021 return; Simon Klee - "Natural, Electric, Organic Psychedelic - Sounds, noise and psychedelic beats." Klee's playful alchemy engages the mind and spirit, as witnessed in a flurry of top quality releases in recent times (e.g. Subexotic, ANR, Woodford Halse), and there is a visceral joy in his work that is perfectly placed for a midsummer celebration. Klee also produces a truly excellent mixcast and increasingly essential tape label, both under the guise of Anticipating Nowhere; Rupert Lally - "Hailing originally from England but now based in Switzerland, Guitarist, Percussionist and Electronic Musician Rupert Lally began his career as a Sound Designer and Composer for Theatre and TV, before launching his solo career in 2005. Since then his releases have blurred the boundaries between electronic and acoustic music." Lally's consistently brilliant work is always a highlight of the electronic music calendar, including recent stellar works across many labels such as Spun Out Of Control, Third Kind, Woodford Halse, and Modern Aviation.

Phobophobes new album Modern Medicine follows the band’s critically acclaimed debut album Miniature World, released 2018 via Ra Ra Rok Records, which received the accolade of being 6Music’s ‘Album of the Day’ following heavy support from Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq and Iggy Pop. Press coverage was a who’s who of tastemakers clambering to define their undefinable sound ….”dark and dreamy” (DIY), “gothic” (Clash), “unique warped pop” (Best Fit); and live the band were invited to tour with Killing Joke including a date at London’s Roundhouse, and a headline slot at the Rise Stage at Green Man Festival.

All songs on Modern Medicine were written and arranged by Phobophobes** except ‘Hallow Body Boy’ which was written and arranged by Phobophobes and Jessica Winter. The album was produced by Phobophobes and recorded at El mirador Studios, Andalusia, Spain during the summer of 2018, mixed by Dave Emery at ‘Assault and Battery,’ and mastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering.

**Phobophobes current line-up consists of original members Jamie Bardolph Taylor (guitar, vocals), Jack Hussey (guitar) and Chris Olivares Chandler (keyboard, vocals), alongside new members Daisy Smith (bass) & Lisa Martin (drums). Due to recent line-up changes the latter two musicians do not feature on Modern Medicine, instead credits include Nathan Ridley (drums/backing vocals) and Elliott Nash (lap steel/baritone guitar/keyboards/percussion), with additional appearances from Christo Mccracken (guitar/effects), Gamaliel Traynor (cello/violin) and Jessica Winter (keyboards on ‘Holly Body Boy’).

Maple Glider is Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Tori
Zietsch.
On debut album ‘To Enjoy is the Only Thing’, written whilst Zietsch
lived in Brighton in the UK, she compiles a striking set of vignettes
from her life; growing up in a restrictive religious household, falling in
and out of love, cross-country and international travel, longing,
alienation and more.
Moments both unremarkable and life-altering but always deeply felt,
brought to vivid life by the beauty of Tori’s artistry and wry sense of
dark humour.
Elaborating further on her vision for the project, Zietsch describes:
“To me, ‘To Enjoy is the Only Thing’ feels like walking past tinselcovered trees in mid-September, swimming along the calanques in
the south of France, frost on the hood of a car, darkness at 4pm,
lightness until 10pm, Sibylle Baier’s Colour Green, Devendra
Banhart’s Ma, Adrianne Lenker’s a-sides, a muted feeling, the
perpetual grey fog that swallows the Silver Coast in Portugal, an ugly
green dress, the color red, red wine, red blood, red lips, the red of a
cardinal’s robe, Switzerland, my mother’s diaries, a coroner’s report,
the sun on my face, the end of love.”

Sasha introduces LUZoSCURA, a new compilation that hasevolved from the thriving eponymous playlist. Featuring adiverse package of original works from a host of fresh talent, aswell as established artists and Sasha himself, it traverse selectronica, ambient, breaks and techno. Meaning light and dark, LUZoSCURA began on Spotify as a stash of tracks sent to Sasha which didn't meet the pace of his clubsets nor suit his venerated label LNOE, LUZoSCURA came into itsown through 2020 as Sasha gravitated toward more mellowed sounds while being off the road, and clubbers diverted their ears to home listening. Gaining a renewed source of energy inconnecting with more gifted, budding producers and seeing the project blossom, the idea for the compilation came off the back of doing a live stream solely featuring tracks from the playlist. Meticulously compiled to flow like a DJ mix for home listening, Sasha kicks it off with the buoyant, breaks-influenced 'Corner Shop', the first of his three tracks on the compilation. MJ Cole is among the established artists to feature with blissed out track 'Maestro', while The Micronaut, a multi-instrumentalist whose back catalogue was a favourite of Sasha's through lockdown, offers an immersive trip in 'Koelsa'. Lau.ra, lead singer from British experimental rock band Ultraísta, evokes a sense of spiritedness in 'I'll Wait' before we hear again from Sasha with another breaks-loaded trip in 'HNDI' and a collaboration withB ritish producer Franky Wah. Closing the odyssey with a stirring, expansive soundscape is synth duo Felsmann + Tiley.

A few months ago, Dj Schwa & Name Does Not Matter rumbled through the timbers with their latest EP on RFR Records. For all of you, who like to get physical, we are now offering two Tracks of the digital EP including two brand-new Remixes on Vinyl.

Follow the “Ape King” and jump into the frying acid pan! Straight forward stomping on the beat section, pretty classic when it comes to the bassline. And whilst the 303 is continuously marching towards our cortex, shit kicks in with a nonchalant melody part. Wait, are the old Djax Up days back?

London’s Posthuman is delivering the perfect Remix for “Ape King” qua musical self-definition. His analogue machine park powers the Original with an even deeper drilling bass line, reduces the melody to its essence and nonchalantly sets the groove between classic Chicago and UK Hardcore influences.

“Obsolete” is a true feast for lovers of classic Electro. And despite of the title, all its ingredients are perfectly well balanced. Sounds like Aril Brikha, Nitzer Ebb and Clarence G. (RIP) joined forces in the studio and filtered the essence of one of our favorite genres.

We stay in London. Jerome Hill lays hands on “Obsolete” and proves from the very first second that there is absolutely no space for compromise. This is all about straight Techno and the feeling of being exposed to a stroboscope in a dark basement while the first rays of sunlight are already penetrating through the crack of the door.

Strut present the definitive edition of Sun Ra's classic 'Lanquidity' album from 1978 with brand new 4LP box set and 2CD editions. Recorded overnight at Bob Bank's Blank Tapes on 17th July 1978 after the Arkestra had appeared on Saturday Night Live, the album is unique in the Ra catalogue. "Most critics felt that it was more of a fusion-inspired record," explains Michael Ray."As the name suggests, the album is liquid and languid." Bob Blank continues,"Musically, it was very ad hoc and freeform. There were horn charts but most trackscame out of improvised jams. Sun Ra just did his thing." Comprising five effortlessly fluid pieces, the album eases in with Lanquidity. Danny Ray Thompson remembers, "This was one of Sun Ra's on-the-spot compositions. It is almost like an Ancient Egyptian Stargazing Ceremony, mapping out the stars and the planets." Where Pathways Meet is "Sun Ra's funky version of an Egyptianmarch. Pharaoh is sending his troops off to fight and this is his pep-talk!" continues Thompson. "The music seems to take different pathways but still converges." The loping groove of That's How I Feel, features the reflective trumpet lines of Eddie Galewith solos by John Gilmore and Marshall Allen: "Marshall comes in with that snake charming oboe." Says Thompson. The funky Twin Stars Of Thence weaves around Richard Williams celebrated elastic bassline while the haunting closer, There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of), is pure "space music." The poet Mama Nzinga described it as 'The essence of light. Spirit takes a ride inside the deep darkspace of just being."

Good things come to those who wait! A commonplace that is also true in the case of Perel’s Running Back debut. Ever since „Die Dimension“ appeared on DFA, our own CEO couldn’t wait for a call from the lady herself. Star is the consequence of said call and not only that.
Picturing Perel’s development as a recording artist on the one hand and the hardships everyone had to experience since the world has been changed by a pandemic on the other, making it - in her word words - „an EP about crossing the „physical distance between the people I miss and love“. Opening with the riveting vocals of Star („This song is literally a love song for my people“), the three pieces also show Perel's growing versatility as a producer. The tried and tested neon disco lights interchange with darker tones, uplifting and affirmative moments (Tour De Perel) rotate with contemplative and pondering intervals (Internal Monologue). Yet, by no means Perel is whistling a sad tune. Her melodies are as always deep, distinguishable and delightful to dance to. Wherever that may be.

‘Several Others’ marks Whispering Sons’ first full-length release
since their 2018 debut ‘Image’, which has notched up over
20,000 sales locally in Belgium as well as tallying up millions of
streams for their dark and unique blend of experimental and
frenetic post-punk.
Similarly, prior to lockdown, their ferocious live shows had also
seen them begin to firmly cement themselves as a must-see
live band, playing alongside the likes of The Murder Capital,
Patti Smith, The Soft Moon and Croatian Amor, as well as
touring across the UK and Europe with Editors in 2019 and
2020.
The new album sees the band distil the ferocious post-punk
aesthetics from which their sound first emerged and pushes
them to the absolute limit. The tracks toy with the delicate
balance between moments of fragility and their capability for
relentless and driving intensity, experimenting at the point in
which no wave, industrial and avant-punk converge.
The anxious and propulsive instrumentation is eerily abstracted,
whilst Fenne Kuppens’ words, sung in a dramatic and utterly
distinctive low register, inject that extra central tension and
darkness.
What the critics said about first single ‘Surface’:
“The first sign that they're fast outstripping the genre-trappings
of their post-punk roots, and an ample showcase for Fenne
Kuppens’ magnetic presence on lead vocals.” - The Quietus
“Bold, dark, and immersive” - CLASH
“A confounding, confusing and continually climaxing song of
dead-ends, narrowing avenues and night-time awareness” - The
Line Of Best Fit

Push For Night is the New York City based duo of Oliver Chapoy and James Elliott. Trafficking in dark, liminal electronics, the duo's sound is an ever shifting morass of psychoacoustic textures and spectral utterances. Evoking eerie, unnatural, and hidden spaces, this is music that exists in the threshold – locked in a constant push and pull of thwarted expectations and sublime release, hovering in a trance state of the always in-between. These seven tracks reference dark ambient, post-industrial, electroacoustic, 90s IDM, even fourth world explorations, but the music never truly slides into any definable style. The uncertain and illusory rule this sonic soil. Recorded by PFN in NYC and CDMX, 2017-2020 using various synthesizers, drum machines, heavily processed field recordings and guitars.

Svart Records reissue of Morbus Chron’s game-changing atmospheric Death Metal album “Sweven”, together with the remastered ltd ed. EP “Saunter Through The Shroud”. Gatefold sleeve with original Sweven booklet included. Pressed on black vinyl and limited dark green vinyl (400 copies). On “Sweven”, Morbus Chron carved out their very own territory of unorthodox death metal, far beyond their raw and simple initial style, adding many uncanny acoustic parts to create a nightmare world of utter horror. Together with producer Fred Estby (ex- Dismember), the band found a warm, yet haunting sound to go with their vision. The resulting soundscapes spread out like a wasteland of death and terror, sending chills down the hardest of spines. Guitar and drum patterns flow in various directions, building cathedrals of darkness in which tormented vocals echo in agony. The EP ‘A Saunter through the Shroud’, was a revelation upon its release in July 2012, displaying tremendous progression from previous efforts. Instead of playing it safe, sticking to traditional death metal patterns, Morbus Chron had started to transcend the genre to incorporate elements of progressive rock as well as black metal. With patterns oozing of Voivod, Atheist and Darkthrone, as well as Death and Autopsy, Morbus Chron was on their way to something majestic. Possessing unrelenting integrity, the band shunned all trends to go further into the unknown with “Sweven”. Smell the coffin with these two pioneering recordings, available in one lush package for the first time! Morbus Chron’s idiosyncratic legacy has never sounded or looked finer.

Svart Records reissue of Morbus Chron’s game-changing atmospheric Death Metal album “Sweven”, together with the remastered ltd ed. EP “Saunter Through The Shroud”. Gatefold sleeve with original Sweven booklet included. Pressed on black vinyl and limited dark green vinyl (400 copies). On “Sweven”, Morbus Chron carved out their very own territory of unorthodox death metal, far beyond their raw and simple initial style, adding many uncanny acoustic parts to create a nightmare world of utter horror. Together with producer Fred Estby (ex- Dismember), the band found a warm, yet haunting sound to go with their vision. The resulting soundscapes spread out like a wasteland of death and terror, sending chills down the hardest of spines. Guitar and drum patterns flow in various directions, building cathedrals of darkness in which tormented vocals echo in agony. The EP ‘A Saunter through the Shroud’, was a revelation upon its release in July 2012, displaying tremendous progression from previous efforts. Instead of playing it safe, sticking to traditional death metal patterns, Morbus Chron had started to transcend the genre to incorporate elements of progressive rock as well as black metal. With patterns oozing of Voivod, Atheist and Darkthrone, as well as Death and Autopsy, Morbus Chron was on their way to something majestic. Possessing unrelenting integrity, the band shunned all trends to go further into the unknown with “Sweven”. Smell the coffin with these two pioneering recordings, available in one lush package for the first time! Morbus Chron’s idiosyncratic legacy has never sounded or looked finer.

Roy Montgomery, a pioneer of the NZ underground, believes there is
always new sonic terrain to investigate. His latest series of albums for
Grapefruit marks forty years of rigorous exploration in which he’s
managed to navigate disparate genres, scenes, and atmospheres, always
at the forefront of experimental independent music. To commemorate,
Grapefruit will be releasing four new Montgomery albums in 2021.
The first installment, Island Of Lost Souls, arrived to great acclaim
in January. The second and latest album, His Best Forgotten Work,
features Montgomery’s rare, brooding vocals across nine gorgeous
tracks recorded from his home in Christchurch, New Zealand.
His Best Forgotten Work follows the intense, all-instrumental Island
Of Lost Souls. It departs in spirit with darkly buoyant variations on
popular songs, including two highly anticipated covers of legendary
songs by The Carpenters (“Superstar”) and Tim Buckley (“Song To
The Siren”). Montgomery shows the listener that these influences
aren’t such strange bedfellows after all; one need only listen closely.
Where some might be inclined to relax and lean into their legacy
at this stage in a sprawling career, Montgomery’s new music
continues to seek and challenge. His compositions are beautiful as
well as disconcerting, and often speak to precarity and dread. His Best
Forgotten Work is a title with tongue planted firmly in cheek, alluding
to the artist’s position of enjoying a peculiar bit of fame in relative
obscurity. But listening to his dry wit and rich voice, one will find it
isn’t easily forgotten.

De Brassers were one of the most notorious bands in the Belgian new wave/punk history. With their no nonsense attitude they scared the shit out of the local catholic community of Hamont. De Brassers were a local mixture of the Sex Pistols (in the lowest gear) and Joy Division (they always performed a cover version of Joy Division’s Shadowplay), combining a criticism of bureaucracy and politics with experiences of psychological and existential tensions. The doomed sound they produced tells a lot about the dark atmosphere of the late seventies and early eighties: the fear of atomic bombs, cold war pessimism, police violence against squatters, the first cases of AIDS, and the grim years of Reagan & Thatcher.

This compilation takes you back to that time. All tracks from their first 7″ "En Toen Was Er Niets Meer” & their self-titled 12″, plus rare & unreleased tracks taken from various live performances & the cassette “Levend”. If you’re in for a raw slice of Belgian history let de Brassers immerse you in a cold wave of punk.

‘Miracle’ is the new album from Manchester singer songwriter Francis Lung,
released on Memphis Industries.
“For me, ‘Miracle’ is about the struggle between my self-destructive side and my
problem-solving, constructive side,” says Francis. “I suppose through a lot of
these songs I’m dealing with these emotional problems, acknowledging the
negative aspects of my behaviour instead of burying them, and providing an
alternative point of view for myself.”
Despite its serious subject matter, ‘Miracle’ is far from austere in sound, marrying
the cinematic, dreamlike quality of Francis’s earlier music with the pared-back
charm of great singer-songwriters like Judee Sill, Jeff Tweedy and Elliott Smith.
The album opens with ‘Bad Hair Day’, a relentlessly catchy - and deceptively
upbeat - ode to hangovers and missed connections. “I’ve been calling on you all
night / But I never get through, I just get in the way” Francis laments; “I am a
cloud in the sun’s light / Whatever I do, whatever I say.”
Elsewhere, the title track finds him pondering the fickle nature of the music
industry: “I think of [‘Miracle’] as acknowledging and even encouraging the
feelings we’re not supposed to succumb to - giving up, giving in - just because it
can be comforting to hear it from someone else. ‘Why am I climbing these social
ladders and jumping through the hoops of this creative industry? Does this make
me happy?’”
These themes of longing and lacking, missing and being missed, reoccur
throughout ‘Miracle. “When I die / Will I be missed / Or am I missing the point?”
asks ‘Say So’; while ‘Lonesome No More’, inspired by the Kurt Vonnegut book of
the same name, begs the question: if loneliness was eradicated, would we miss
it?
By confronting these feelings, Francis is able to move forward, as triumphant
album closer ‘The Let Down’ proves. Its lyrics serve as a call to action, as
Francis wills himself (and the listener) to “Get up / Get something going / Do
something, do it / Do it now.”
‘Miracle’ was produced by Francis in collaboration with Brendan Williams (Dutch
Uncles, Matthew Halsall, Kiran Leonard) and Robin Koob (who co-arranged and
performed strings). The opportunity to take creative control was one Francis
relished. “I’m quite bad at delegating,” he admits, noting that he played every
instrument except strings on ‘Miracle’. The result is a cohesive, deeply personal
record, which is as vital as it is vulnerable. “I don’t want to be defined by my
anxiety, my depression or any history of substance abuse,” Francis says, “but I
do want to reach out to other people who have had similar experiences,
especially if it’s in a way that helps them feel a little better. To me, this music is
celebrating healing as much as it focuses on the darker sides of the human
psyche.”

Here’s a monster of its own. Not to be confused with Trevor Jackson early 2000 project (even if the british producer has obviously been informed by post-punk, dub, post-industrial and the likes) Playgroup was more than anything a collective, based somewhere around Bristol and London. Drummer Bruce Smith was the key figure behind the project. Neneh Cherry husband and fabulous motorik force for The Pop Group, The Slits, New Age Steppers, African Head Charge and – more recently - Public Image Limited, Bruce brought the post-punk aura into the realm of controlled chaos with several partners in crime.

Playgroup is the so-called English version of Jamaican dub, informed by the industrial revolution and the studio wizardy of On U Sound acolytes. Crucial Tony (Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, Singers & Players) on bass and guitars, Sean Oliver (New Age Steppers, Rip Rig & Panic) on guitar, the almighty Style Scott (Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, New Age Steppers) on drums and percussionists Eskimo (African Head Charge, Creation Rebel, Mark Stewart And The Maffia) and Bonjo I (African Head Charge) are among the main conspirators here. Produced by none else tham Adrian Sherwwod Epic Sound Battles Chaper One still resonates with its original dark humor and guerrilla warfare tactics.

Blue Vinyl

We continue our sonic adventure with Blovk, producer and sound designer from Madrid, he has refined his musical idea with his peculiar way of understanding techno and electronic music in general.
Releasing on labels such as Awry, Subosc, Postdynamic, Subsist, Doppt Zykkler, MainConcept… and his own imprint, Outside Noises.
In our XL series we want to showcase every corner of our artists’ sound spectrum. We are not just commited to raw and direct dancefloor weapons, we are also aiming the mind of the listener.
To make attemporal electronic music is one of our objectives and this record in particular deserves a place in the list of music to be played loud when all this nightmare finishes.
First cut on wax is Of sleep and tears, an emotional title that describes a dronney atmospheric introduction. Beatless, textured, full of resonant details and space wind.
Pouring Flesh brings the beat to the scene with a clear bass drum and a shuffled bassline setting the patch to martian synth noises and stereo details, all enclosed in an intelligent structure full of subtle twists and hypnosis. The thinking hand combines synthetic details with precise beats on a progressive arrangement.Elements come into action wisely, pulsating electronic grooves fighting with floaty elements make the recipe. Fluids above the skin open the B side in a darker mood. Heavy sub bass action and profound synthesizer lines setting the mood for what comes next.
Shedding machines acts as an ambient interlude in similar coordinates as the first cut in this mini LP.
Closing the release Fluent Gods, an electrified mental dance workout using a similar sound palette as the previous ones. Detailed and precise sound design ranging from sharp asymmetrical sequences, ethereal textures and profuse bass frequencies.
Music by Blovk, text by Hd Substance

Tehran - Iran's cultural melting pot with a population of 15 million. There is a broad and lively music scene here, about which little is known in the West. Here, traditional music from Baluchistan in the south or Kurdistan in the west meets the hip trends of the metropolis.
"This Is Tehran?" invites you to discover this music scene and marvel at its diversity. From Contemporary Classical Sounds with Saba Alizadeh on the Iranian spiked fiddle Kamanche or Siavash Molaeian together with Kasra Faridi on the piano to the well-known experimental electronic musician Ata "Sote" Ebtekar.

The electronic beats of a cooperation of Ehsan Abdipour and Andreas Spechtl stand naturally next to almost jazzy sounds of a Parastoo Ahmadi or Mina Momeni. The Otagh Band invites you to the dark, trip-hop laden Rotenburg, which they wrote about the cannibal of Rotenburg.

"This Is Tehran?": a showcase of Iranian music that makes one curious and invites you on a musical journey, as we have certainly not imagined!