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“SEPARATE THE SKIN FROM BONE / IN DISMAY WE’LL CALL THIS HOME” – Craig Johns Jr, The Dark, “Chemicals”.
Aus der verschmutzten, korrupten und moralisch bankrotten Metropole Los Angeles kommt eine weitere unglaubliche Rockband. Dies ist: The Dark. Craig Johns Jr tat sich mit Alan Ashby zusammen (besser bekannt als der Saitenvirtuose der RIAA-goldzertifi zierten kalifornischen Metal-Band Of Mice & Men), um ein Projekt zu starten, das das moderne Leben in LA wirklich widerspiegelt. Zusammen mit Drummer Derek Vautrinot und Bassist
Nick Goins sind The Dark bereit, ihre Debüt-EP "The Dark" über Arising Empire zu veröffentlichen.

Linea Aspera is the London duo of Ryan Ambridge (Synths/Programming) and Alison Lewis (Vocals/Synths). They began the project in November 2011, technically drawing inspiration from electronic music from the early 1980s. Within the duo, Alison writes and performs all vocal elements, while Ryan is responsible for the writing and performing of the electronics, as well as recording and mixing of the final recordings. For their debut album they utilized small, simple analog synthesizer set up: Roland SH-09, Roland Juno 6, Vermona DRM MKiii, Korg Poly 800 and Analogue Solutions Semblance. Linea Aspera's sound includes clear influences from early electronic body music, classic synth-pop and, in some instances, industrial and noise. Lyrically the band incorporates the sciences of osteology, neuroscience, and anthropology weaving a new medical language around themes of desire, despair and renewal. Linea Aspera serve up an icebox of dark doom riding on Alison's powerful vocals with a soft but sharp touch.

Italian dramatic death metal band DARK LUNACY celebrate
the 25th anniversary of their acclaimed debut album
“Devoid” which will be reissued as remastered 2LP
gatefold on February 21st via Fuel Records/Self.
In addition to the original track listing “Devoid 25th
Anniversary” contains “From The Blacked Soul” taken
from the first EP, “Oblivion” a bonus track from the
recording sessions of the album, and a commemorative
poster.

Four tracks from Nu Groove’s 2025 catalogue arrive on wax for the very first time, as the legendary NYC label continues to reinstate its cult status. The first two record box staples come from Marshall Jefferson & Steve Mac pres. Sleezy D, while the next two built for the underground come from Juliet Mendoza. Opening the collection, ‘In The Night’ and ‘Wanna Get Down’ see genre titans Marshall Jefferson and Steve Mac unite to showcase the sound of the late Sleezy D, a Chicago pioneer and close friend of Jefferson. The next two originals, ‘Juju Love’ and ‘In The Dark’, are presented by LA native and dance culture expert Juliet Mendoza, whose throwback sonics hold deep reverence for the 90s house scene.

South-London, British-Bengali musician Tara Lily shares her debut album 'Speak In The Dark'. The LP is about "speaking your truth" and combines alternative R&B, jazz, electronica and traditional Indian sounds into a unique fusion. The record, produced by Dom Valentino, features American jazz trumpeter Theo Croker, UK rapper Surya Sen, and Archy Marshall (aka King Krule) on guitar.

Growing up in Peckham as part of a British Bengali family has given Tara Lily a unique perspective on music and global culture. She has spent her life absorbing a multitude of sounds and genres from her surroundings, ranging from electronica to jazz and RnB to traditional Bengali folk music. From training at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music (where she studied jazz piano and voice) to learning Indian classical music and being the first act signed to Motown Records UK. Tara is a musical anomaly.

Debut album from South-London, British-Bengali musician and rising star Tara Lily, featuring American trumpeter Theo Croker & UK rapper Surya Sen
LP produced by Dom Valentino with additional contributions from Bad Sounds, Jaz Lee, Archy Marshall, Chiranjeeb Chakraborty, Akash Parekar, Mei Kerby, Ian Stratford
European Tour supporting JP Cooper (1st week of October, 2024)
UK Tour w/ Juabi - Manchester, Barbican (London) - Sept 2024
Artwork by Jay Vaz (Dreaming Vinyl)
"No Way Out" video shot in association with The North Face in the Himalayas, Nepal. Directed by Siddanth Ghosh
Press support - The Guardian, Evening Standard - "One to watch", Wonderland, ID, Notion, Clash
Radio support - 'Double Time' was track of the week on BBC Radio 1, other spots plays - BBC 6Music, Jazz FM (playlisting), BBC Asian Network, NTS
Recipient of the FAC x Amazon Music - Step Up Fund
Tours - UK, India (Echos Of Earth / Vh1 Supersonic festival / Jazz
Weekender), Nepal, Bangkok, Hong Kong, EU
Festivals - Glastonbury (3 sets - BBC introducing - Televised / Leftfield B2B Billy Bragg / PRS), We Out Here, Shambala, Daytimer Dialled In, Wilderness, Cross The Tracks
Career highlights - SHAKTI JAZZ NTS show, joined King Krule on stage at Apollo Theatre and supported RAYE at the Royal Albert Hall, Jazz Cafe w/ Mahalia, playing live on TV on BBC2 (The Kia Oval)

Protokick new EP brings a Hardfloor update

It’s safe to assume no one in the audience at Carnegie Hall on March 30, 1974 anticipated what Miles Davis would play at the concert documented on Dark Magus: Live at Carnegie Hall. Recorded near the tail end of his electric period, the double album remains the darkest, most ferocious statement of Davis’ career — a visionary effort that foresaw developments in jungle, noise-rock, funk, and drum ‘n’ bass.

Initially issued in Japan in 1977, Dark Magus waited two decades for U.S. release. Now, more than 50 years after Davis and his ensemble blew minds at the famous New York venue, it gets its first-ever domestic issue on vinyl — and on a definitive-sounding pressing at that.

Mastered at Mobile Fidelity's California studio, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, this numbered-edition 180g 33RPM 2LP set of Dark Magus invites you to pull up a seat and wrap your head around an exhilarating performance that simultaneously functions as an audition, experiment, release, and magnificent explosion of jazz-rock fusion. We hope your turntable and speakers are up to the challenge.

This collectible reissue presents the improvisational magic that unfolded onstage — the skronking tonalities, wah-wah-pedal bluster, acid-washed effects, furious drumming, run-the-voodoo-down grooves, menacing riffs, crashing cymbals —with incredible detail, color, and pace. It also captures the band’s unbelievable energy, rendering both instruments and on-the-fly changes with revealing depth, definition, and dynamics. At its core, MoFi’s audiophile set takes you deep into the boundless mystery, promise, and uncertainty of Davis and company’s efforts like never before.

The story behind Dark Magus is nearly as unbelievable as the spur-of-the-moment compositions that resulted when Davis brought drummer Al Foster, bassist Michael Henderson, percussionist James Mtume, horn virtuoso Dave Liebman, and guitarists Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas together, and, in a new twist for the concert’s second half, added guitarist Dominique Gaumont and tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence to mix. That the latter two instrumentalists had never seen each other until that night adds to Davis’ legend — and penchant for bold, unorthodox moves.

Ditto Davis’ own actions that spring evening, which reportedly included showing up to the show an hour late and taking the stage with his back facing the crowd. The strategy worked. Davis inspired the group to play in a bold manner that few, if any, had heard before. Dark Magus is a rhythmic bonanza. Rooted in Afro-centrist techniques, avante-garde sensibilities, and exploratory moods, the songs eschew set arrangements and solos, and, for the most part, melodic devices.

For Davis, Dark Magus represented a personal triumph amid a period marked by health issues, addictions, and critical decline. The latter slight would be corrected, but not until decades later when Dark Magus saw Stateside release in 1997 via a CD reissue. Of course, the free-form patterns, unpredictable passages, dense structures, and distorted blues that course through the songs — titled after Swahili numerals — are not for everyone. And certainly not for the fainthearted. Though Dark Magus contains majestic moments marked by quiet restraint and something on the level of balladry, its rich and radical concoction of tormented thwacks, thumps, cracks, clatters, wails, bleeps, burbles, stomps, and enigmatic beats remains its adventurous heart and soul.

Primal and enigmatic, fierce and jagged, forceful and revolutionary, jolting and terrifying, Dark Magus seemingly attacks from any and all directions. Turn it up loud and let the prophetic brilliance of this inimitable and relentlessly funky album wash over you.

High Roller Records, reissue 2025, 180g black vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, lyric sheet, A4 info sheet, poster, fully restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony, Cutting by SST Germany on Neumann machines for optimal quality on all levels... The ultimate audiophile edition of this German Speed Metal classic

High Roller Records, reissue 2025, transparent beer colored vinyl, ltd 250, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, lyric sheet, A4 info sheet, poster, fully restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony, Cutting by SST Germany on Neumann machines for optimal quality on all levels... The ultimate audiophile edition of this German Speed Metal classic

Originally released in 1993 on Blades legendary lp, The Lion Goes From Strength to Strength, Dark and Sinister featuring MC Mell'o' is now available for the first time on limited edition 7" vinyl. The instrumental is on the B-Side.

Named after a metro station located in East Paris, Pointe du Lac originated in 2014 as the brainchild of analogue gear enthusiast Julien Lheuillier, joined shortly after by multi-instrumentalist Richard Francés, followed by Quentin Rollet on Saxophone a few years down the line. Les siphonophores des eaux froides et profondes de l'Arctique (“Siphonophores of the cold, deep Arctic waters”) is the project’s third studio album, the first one written as a three-piece as well as their first release on Hands in the Dark.

Like the organisms the album title refers to, Pointe du Lac’s music is highly polymorphic and complex, using a subtle and distinctive blend of Electronica, Krautrock, Jazz and Kosmische as vessels for the band’s fantastic instrumental imaginary voyages. Compared to previous albums and EPs -which tended to suggest cosmic odysseys- this new cinematic outing is diving deep and intends to shed light on fascinating, mysterious and diverse creatures and their habitats. Supported by (paradoxically) warm and impeccable sonic forms, the exploration turns out to be an unsurprisingly expansive one, yet accessible and oddly familiar sounding. There is a sense of assurance and serenity in the French trio’s latest offering, the musicians mastery and open-ended approach to free ambient music lets their ideas flow and never stagnate. The narrative of this expedition is one that will be remembered long after the listening finishes.

Sunfear is a project from Turkish multidisciplinary artist Eylul Deniz who now returns to Dark Entries with her sophomore album. Deniz has been making waves in sound since 2017 when she debuted her blend of ambient and experimental music using piano, guitar, voice and synths as tools for storytelling and self-expression. Inspired by Dante's Love That Moves the Sun and Other Stars, Pessoa's poems and Turkish poet Lale Muldur, this darker follow-up to Octopus channels some of her own personal loss and grief. Tracks like 'Above' pair sparse guitar riffs with swirling electronics, 'Bright and Wild' contrasts lush drones with jagged feedback and there are also hints of hope in the likes of 'Form Changed.' A great return.

Das Ende von DARK FORTRESS war unausweichlich. Ihre turbulente Reise vom ersten Vertrag beim amerikanischen Label Red Stream Records im Jahr 2001 bis zur The Cosmic End Tour (mit The Spirit und Asphagor) im Jahr 2023 war dabei voller Höhen und Tiefen - wobei die Höhepunkte ganz klar überwogen. Letztendlich zeichnete sich das Ende von DARK FORTRESS schon mit der Veröffentlichung ihres viel gelobten letzten Albums "Spectres from the Old World" im Jahr 2020 ab. Wobei ein selbst ge-wählter Schlussstrich immer eleganter ist, als am Tropf zu siechen und langsam in Vergessenheit zu geraten. Kaum jemandem war jedoch bewusst, dass das letzte Album den frühzeitigen Nekrolog der Band bedeuten sollte. DARK FORTRESS hinterlassen dabei mit "Anthems from Beyond the Grave" ihr einziges Live-Album und gleichzeitig pechschwarzes Testament.V. Santura sagt dazu: "Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass DARK FORTRESS jemals ein Live-Album machen würden. Nachdem ich mir Monate nach der letzten Show die Mehrspuraufnahmen aus Rotterdam und Bochum angehört hatte, traf es mich wie der berühm-te Blitz: 'Heilige Scheiße! Wir klangen echt unglaublich gut.' Und ich bin selten zufrieden mit unseren Shows. All unsere harte Arbeit hatte sich auf dieser Tournee endlich ausgezahlt. Als Century Media das Material hörte, stimmten sie sofort zu: 'Wir müs-sen es veröffentlichen - es ist zu gut, um es ungenutzt verschwinden zu lassen!' Wenn das unser Ende ist - und das ist es defini-tiv - dann ist es ein würdiges Ende für DARK FORTRESS.""Anthems from Beyond the Grave" ist nicht nur ein Live-Album, sondern funktioniert auch als perfektes Best of inklusive Linerno-tes, welches auf die 29jährige pechschwarze Geschichte der Band zurückblickt.DARK FORTRESS ist tot, lang lebe DARK FORTRESS!