quête:dead end

Were FEX the Wildest & Weirdest German New Wave Band in 1984?

Few cult mysteries in modern music have captured the internet's imagination quite like "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet." Eventually identified as "Subways of Your Mind" by the elusive German band FEX, the track became a viral sensation decades after its creation-and even made its way into a recent Hollywood blockbuster (Black Phone 2).

Now, two more lost FEX recordings have emerged from an old demo cassette: "Dead End" and "Sarah." And they're every bit as electrifying as the legend suggests.

On both songs, guitarist and main songwriter Ture Rückwardt joins forces on lead vocals with his former wife and musical partner Ilona Rückwardt, forming a vocal pairing that channels raw energy and eerie chemistry. What they deliver are two of the most urgent, adrenaline-fueled post-punk artifacts you're likely to hear this year-even if they were recorded more than forty years ago.

Opening with a sharp, melodic guitar solo, "Dead End" bursts forward with uptempo drive-catchy, fierce, and full of momentum. Apparently inspired by Orwell's 1984, its lyrics depict urban desolation-loneliness, homelessness, hopelessness-yet still shimmer with defiance in lines like, "Truth is amazing - hoping is like waiting."

The second track, "Sarah," dives even deeper into darkness. Mixing post-punk intensity with psychedelic textures, Rückwardt tells an imaginary story of a couple lost in drugs and spiraling through a bad trip, only to wake and realize that sobriety offers little comfort-the real world itself can be just as brutal and offers no easy escape.

Neither song makes the slightest concession to commercial trends. Instead, they feel utterly uncompromising-wild, strange, and defiantly timeless. In a world obsessed with polish and playlists, "Dead End" and "Sarah" sound like transmissions from a different planet.

Both tracks were originally recorded as demos in 1984 in the band's rehearsal room, with Hase engineering. The newly restored versions preserve the raw spirit of the original tapes while adding subtle layers to enhance their atmosphere without losing the authentic 1980s sound. FEX hint that the untouched demo versions might surface later, possibly on a second volume of their archival

The Money Records 2” multi-track tape of ‘Sugar Love’ and ‘You Bet I Would’ revealed an unknown title ‘We’ve Reached A Dead End’. This turned out to be a beautiful Richard Cason-penned ballad which featured a lush, dramatic arrangement by Los Angeles musician Ray Jackson, complete with male backing vocals.

Cason co-produced the three songs with producer Hadley Murrell who licensed the recordings to Ruth Dolphin at Money. ‘Sugar Love’ only appeared on the flip of the second pressing of ‘You Bet I Would’, the instrumental was used initially. ‘Sugar Love’ is in itself in-demand as a dance track. Money 606 did not sell enough to warrant a further release and the track lay unmixed in the vault until now.

Interestingly the tape was dated May 1973, just prior to the two releases, and was described on the box as a rework of a tape from July 1971 - the music certainly wasn’t rushed.

Serie mit unbekanntem Ausgang. Diary of Dreams starten eine Serie von Mini Alben, deren finale Anzahl noch nicht beschlossen ist; Mastermind Adrian Hates erklärt: "Die Serie endet, wenn die Geschichte zu Ende erzählt ist." So beginnt nun am 31.10.2025 die neue musikalische Traumreise mit dem Kapitel "Dead End Dreams". Der Titel ist ursprünglich eine Textzeile aus dem Song Panik? vom 2002er Mini Album PaniK Manifesto, welches für DoD das erste seiner Art war. Die Zeile blieb für Adrian jedoch bis heute inhaltlich unvollendet; es gab dazu noch so viel mehr zu sagen. Es war also höchste Zeit, dieses Sinnbild zu vollenden. Begeben wir uns dafür nun gemeinsam in völlig neue Klangwelten des Tagebuchs. Der Titel verrät ein wenig, womit zu rechnen ist - düstere und apokalypische Szenarien und ein Rückzug in die eigenen Gedanken, um das auszublenden, was kaum fassbar mehr scheint: die Realität; Eine Welt am kollektiven Abgrund. Gegründet wurde die Band 1989 und erspielte sich seitdem mit über 700 Konzerte in 43 Ländern ein treues Publikum.

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Einatmen. Ausrasten! Mit ihrer neuen Platte "The Power of Now" heben THE DEAD END KIDS die Messlatte für energiegeladenen Punkrock auf ein neues Level. Unbändig, mitreisend und voller Entschlossenheit nehmen Caro, Charlie und Fatima ihre Hörer*innen mit auf eine wilde Achterbahnfahrt durch den Zeitgeist. Egal ob Millennials in der Krise, Z-Promis im Trash TV, missglückte Datingversuche im Fitnessstudio, dem Empfinden, sich aus einer gescheiterten Beziehung nicht lösen zu können oder der Abschied eines geliebten Menschen, die vielseitigen Kids finden für jedes Gefühl und jeden Moment die richtigen Worte und die passende Tonlage, um die jeweilige Stimmung, zu unterstreichen. Jeder Song gleicht einer Explosion aus dynamischen Gitarrenriffs, treibenden Schlagzeugrhythmen und Texten, die von den Dramen und Triumphen des Alltags erzählen. Und seien wir ehrlich: keine Punkband hat so schöne Gitarrensoli wie das Trio Infernale.âÇ¿Aufgenommen wurde "The Power of Now" von Thies Neu und Rodrigo Gonzalez in der Tonbrauerei in Berlin, das Mastering hat Andi Jung übernommen.

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Einatmen. Ausrasten! Mit ihrer neuen Platte "The Power of Now" heben THE DEAD END KIDS die Messlatte für energiegeladenen Punkrock auf ein neues Level. Unbändig, mitreisend und voller Entschlossenheit nehmen Caro, Charlie und Fatima ihre Hörer*innen mit auf eine wilde Achterbahnfahrt durch den Zeitgeist. Egal ob Millennials in der Krise, Z-Promis im Trash TV, missglückte Datingversuche im Fitnessstudio, dem Empfinden, sich aus einer gescheiterten Beziehung nicht lösen zu können oder der Abschied eines geliebten Menschen, die vielseitigen Kids finden für jedes Gefühl und jeden Moment die richtigen Worte und die passende Tonlage, um die jeweilige Stimmung, zu unterstreichen. Jeder Song gleicht einer Explosion aus dynamischen Gitarrenriffs, treibenden Schlagzeugrhythmen und Texten, die von den Dramen und Triumphen des Alltags erzählen. Und seien wir ehrlich: keine Punkband hat so schöne Gitarrensoli wie das Trio Infernale.âÇ¿Aufgenommen wurde "The Power of Now" von Thies Neu und Rodrigo Gonzalez in der Tonbrauerei in Berlin, das Mastering hat Andi Jung übernommen.

Repress and remaster of the Dead End Limited 03 PLUS 8 remixes.

Repress and remaster of the Dead End Limited 03 PLUS 8 remixes.

Ultraman from St. Louis, Missouri is back after a 12 year hiatus with their much anticipated new LP "Dead
End Thoughts Under a Crawling Sky". Formed in 1986, Ultraman released two LPs on New Red Archive
before disbanding in 1995.

Stuck in the depths of a dark alley, blocked by yet another breeze, hitting a stone wall, road sign ahead: Dead End.
Impasse. "Cul-de-sac".
Hip‐hop. The original, some would say, official music of the late 20th Century Bronx.
Some say it has endured it's fair share of distractions, detractors and defectors. Some say it has murdered itself, having been abandoned by its so‐called best men, those who have gone off in other directions, or who have, simply, just beat‐retired. Yet, there are plenty of Soldier Monks still out there, prepared to sweat it out in the Temple of Machinery and Mics.
Low Cut honored this cause four years ago, with his MPC crafted minimalist version of NY Minute and he's back to ring the bells and unsheathe the samples!

The starting point of Dead End's production remains the 90's boom-bap, but the will to carry it even further brings it to its destination. By decorating it with rich samples flushed out after digging through vinyls pressed several decades ago, it is guided by a compass pointing deposits to the East. With sound quality inherited from a fastidious composition and mix works, using inspiration rather than just being a copycat, Dead End celebrates it without setting it up as a museum piece.

Picturing the beatmaker stuck in the depths of a dark alley, ended with a brick wall, is easy. But far from isolated in his Parisian basement, Low Cut has rung phones in New York, Baltimore and Detroit, rounding up the faithful. He magnetized the hidden but sharp forces, and gained attendance of legends. The casting of Dead End : Ruste Juxx & Nutso, Dirt Platoon, Guilty Simpson, Torae, Rasheed Chappell and the stainless Masta Ace, among other beat crushers. Also starring DJ Duke, Nix'on, Topic and Ordoeuvre with their DMC titles crates, for a deep beatfight on bars scarified of scratches.
Heavy atmosphere, martial beats and street soul, Dead End is also the final episode of the projects initiated by Low Cut, based on the model of a producer inviting various MCs.
He will then replace his turntable needles, refresh his sample banks, and settle the BPMs of his productions on more abstract frequencies.

The band’s vast knowledge of the history of hardcore and metal are evident in all 12 tracks on this album.
You can hear influences ranging from Poison Idea and Death Side to Slapshot, and even youth crew
bands like Side By Side and Youth Of Today. Throw in a heavy dose of Motörheadish rock’n’roll and lead
guitar work that could easily be from one your favourite New Wave Of British Heavy Metal albums – and
you have Night Fever

‘Dead End Kings‘, eines der ehrgeizigsten Werke der Band,
wurde in den Ghost Ward Studios und in The City Of Glass
aufgenommen. Anders Nyström und Jonas Renkse kümmerten sich um die Produktion des Albums, während David
Castillo, der für seine früheren Kooperationen mit Katatonia
sowie Opeth und Bloodbath bekannt ist, für den Mix des
Albums verantwortlich war. ‘Dead End Kings‘ war das
Aufnahmedebüt von Gitarrist Per Eriksson für die Band,
zusammen mit dem neuen Bassisten Niklas Sandin.

Tape
"Samples, movies and beats. That's the essence of Dead End's brand new LP titled Kino Vol.1. The Portuguese producer takes the chair and delivers a masterful performance that combines music and cinema. Kino Vol.1 is a multidisciplinary album built around samples picked from some of his most loved blockbusters and inspired by iconic movie clips. For the occasion, Saturate's Instagram profile has turned into a video gallery, featuring footage from cult movies and series such as The Office, Sicario, A Fistful Of Dollars, perfectly synched with Dead End's productions.
The album experience itself resembles that of a mini-series like Netflix's Love Death Robot or Oat Studios, where every episode is a story on its own, written and shot in a different way. The fourteen tracks, or episodes as I like to call them, range from heavy club to hip hop and halftime. Some are more colorful and atmospheric like the ending tripled composed by 'Cocoon,' 'Voyage' (feat Dj Ride) and 'Flowers Bloom'. These cuts seem to come off reflective and introspective movies. Others are way heavier, as they were made straight for fighting and chase scenes. In this group, you can count 'Melee Attack,' 'Though Break,' 'Stealth', 'Thin Ice'. My favorite instead are those which set up an ambiguous and sinister mood. 'Bullit Drift,' 'The Fog,' 'Shindeiru,' 'The Road,' all these episodes could fit very well in both mental thrillers (a la Nolan) and unconventional psycho/horror movies. They build a palpable tension that successfully keeps me on my toes as I expect a jump scare or a sudden plot twist to come in at every second given.
In conclusion, Dead Ends' Kino Vol.1 has the virtue of creating a listening experience that, thanks to its references to the world of cinema, becomes interactive and involves the listener in first person. It's impossible not to try to figure out from which films the samples are taken or to try to imagine which scene would be perfect for a specific track."

Lime/Black Vinyl. Limitiert auf 125 Exemplare. Additional Time wurde 2011 im Südwesten Deutschlands gegründet und stehen seitdem für Leidenschaft, Attitüde und das Festhalten an ihren persönlichen Werte. Von einem klassischen Hardcore-Hintergrund kommend, der Ihren rohen und aggressiven Background ausmachte, haben sie ihr neues Zuhause im Metalcore gefunden. Additional Time vereinen die Grundidee von Metalcore, Metal und NYHC und versehen genau diesen brachialen Sound mit ihrer ganz eigenen Note. "Dead End" ist ein neues Kapitel, das beweist, dass diese Band für ein neues und erfolgreiches Kapitel bereit ist.

Southern Lord announce Crush The Machine, the debut EP from West Coast hardcore punk collective D.E.A (Dead End America), formed by the late, great Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford of Poison Idea, with current and former members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Eyehategod, The Accüsed A.D, World Of Lies, Ape Machine, and more.

Captured before Hanford’s passing earlier this year, D.E.A's debut shall be released on 7" and digital EP on 30th October (Non-Returnable) Recording details, liner notes from Mark Lanegan and more info below.

Crush The Machine sees the primary writers, drummer/vocalist Steve Hanford and guitarist Tony Avila (World of Lies, Why Won't You Die, Aborted Cop, Here's Your Warning) joined by lead guitarist Ian Watts (Ape Machine, Minmae) and bassist/vocalist Nick "Rex Everything" Oliveri (Mondo Generator, The Dwarves, ex-Kyuss, ex-Queens Of The Stone Age), with additional lyrics and vocals from Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod, Corrections House, Outlaw Order) and Blaine Cook (The Accüsed A.D, The Fartz, Toe Tag).

"A perfectly appropriate title for this 7 inch EP of jack-hammering, oldschool style hardcore tunes released by Southern Lord, written and played by a rogues gallery of real deal music lifers as a condemnation of the criminal Trump administration and republican party, in the same spirit of those by-gone days when Ronald Reagan or George Bush was the crooked, self-serving president of the crumbling United States empire. Never before has there been a more obvious target, as Donald Trump and his mafia family cabinet rape the country while Rome burns. D.E.A. is Tony Avila, Ian Watts, Nick Oliveri, Mike IX, Blaine Cook and the legendary and beloved, late producer and drummer of Poison Idea, Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford. Dying shortly before the completion of this record, it stands as a final testament to his genius, one last hot-wired blast of his epic musical brilliance."

Mark Lanegan
Los Angeles
August, 2020

On his debut album “Scattered Memories”, the composer, musician and true master on the Iranian spike fiddle kamancheh SABA ALIZADEH blends his instrumental virtuosity with spherical electronics, samples of Persian music instruments and field recordings from his hometown Tehran.

Born in Tehran in 1983 as son of the world renowned Tar and Setar virtuoso HOSSEIN ALIZADEH, SABA ALIZADEH studied the Iranian spike fiddle with SAEED FARAJPOURY and KEYHAN KALHOR plus photography and later experimental sound art with MARK TRAYLE at the California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles. His musical activities that lead him all around the globe for performances (a.o. at Carnegie Hall) branch into 2 different areas: on the one side ALIZADEH is a highly reputated virtuoso on his traditional instrument, on the other he likes to approach music from a more experimental / technological aspect in his electronic / electro-acoustic pieces. This not being enough, he founded Noise Works in 2014, a platform and label for organizing experimental concerts and for the transfer of knowledge of music technologies among young Iranian musicians which makes him a central figure at the forefront of the current, very vivid Persian music scene that gained a lot of attention through artists like SIAVASH AMINI, PORYA HATAMI and of course SOTE who included a track by ALIZADEH on the compilation “Girih: Iranian Sound Artists” that he had curated.

In 2018, ALIZADEH self-released his debut “Scattered Memories” on CD in Iran which now, in a reworked version, sees its deserved world-wide release as LP and DL. Over the course of 10 tracks ALIZADEH melts his 2 musical worlds into 1: tradition meets modernism, eastern sounds meet western production, folklore meets contemporary electronics. An album that will appeal to an open-minded “world music” audience as well as fans of current streams like ambient or drone in its most subtle forms.

"Meat. The story needs meat. (And blood ... coagulated blood (Gore)). The substance we are seeking here lies beyond the bare bones of fact, thewhen and the where (founded in 1988, Mülheim an der Ruhr) or personneland instruments (a trio since 2016, built around keyboards, saxophone, bass & drums). The story is more than the sum of its facts. Mysteries may very well lurk here or there along the way. What keeps the final two foundermembers going after all this time Do Morten Gass and Robin Rodenberg have skeletons locked in their closets How dearly we would we love to know the answer to that one, alas the most beautiful puzzles tend to remain unsolved.Including their debut Gore Motel' (1994), BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE have amassed an impressive eight longplayers. Four album titles allude to the night - their debut was followed by Midnight Radio' (1995), Sunset Mission' (2000), and Black Earth' (2002), whilst the most recent instalment carried the name Piano Nights' (2014). The nocturnal quartet was punctuated by Geisterfaust' (2005), Dolores' (2008) and a mini-album entitled Beileid' (2011), adding rather eerie overtones to the after hours ambience. The BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE legend has grown stronger both at home and abroad with every record they have released and every show they have played. Strange as it may seem, there is a uniform consistency to their reception. Whatever the band does, critiques are unfailingly positive, yet repetitious. References, links and associations recur almost word for word. Consider the arrival of Christoph Clöser in 1997, by way of illustration. When he joined the group, his saxophone replaced the departing Reiner Henseleit's guitar as one of the defining instruments in the band. This was arguably the sharpest break in their sound to this day and a significant marker in terms of the band's reverence for Dutch instrumentalists GORE (the clue is in the name), whose repetitive riffs paved the way for how the guitar would be deployed in a post-everything future. Nevertheless, this fissure in the BOHREN continuum has barely merits a mention in the greater scheme of things. Similarly conspicious by their absence in the BOHREN chronicles are the numerous instruments which they added to the mix - vibraphone, organ, tuba, bass trombone to name just a few. The introduction of choirs at least had a clear visual impact. Since Thorsten Benning left at the end of 2015, the band has continued as a trio, sharing shifts on the drums (although they have equipped themselves with mechanical brushes). A decrease in personnel was conversely accompanied by quantum leaps forward in the group's musical development - or more precisely, minor adjustments triggered major effects. Such changes may not get any easier to spot in the future, such is the intensity of internal imagery sparked by the music, a maelstrom of distractions so powerful that its promises are too sweet and too dangerous in equal measure. The music of BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE opens up remarkable rooms of association, from a warm burrow to a pristine secret lodge, from a
dusky woodland tavern to a smoky quayside dive. Individual and collective floods of images rush forth irresistibly. Loneliness is not at all problematic: empty multi-storey car parks, nighttime drives, remote bridges to nowhere. All in your mind. This is the temptation, a sweet, guilt-free addiction. It's all in your mind - and only there. These sinister crackling songs are invitations to secrete oneself in darkness. With track titles such as 'Maximum Black', 'Zombies Never Die' or 'Dandys Lungern Durch Die Nacht', the mind wanders inexorably into filmic spaces.
Echoing the masters of midnight cinema, stories evolve all by themselves. As the American Film Noir Foundation observed so smartly: 'the vivid co-mingling of lost innocence, doomed romanticism, hard-edged cynicism, desperate desire, and shadowy sexuality.' Their definition of Film Noir serves just as well as an appraisal of the group, 'Bohren For Beginners'.
Which says it all really, doesn't it A final word of warning! Sources close to the band describe the double CD
released in October 2016 as a gateway drug to the Bohren universe. Enter at your own risk, some have never found their way out again."(by Lars Brinkmann)

Ekin Fil is the solo moniker of Ekin Üzeltüzenci from Istanbul and 'KOMA' is her first release on Stockholm imprint Possible Motive.

'KOMA is an album which is based on the combination of separate songs made in various times in the last two years. Songs that sometimes include unwanted noises caused by my broken sound card, songs that I left unfinished with the intention of finishing later. The sleepy and still mood that's all over the 8 tracks may be the response to the hard times that I was not able to react sober to until recently.'

Ekin has been releasing albums on LP/digital and cassette formats on American and European labels under her moniker Ekin Fil since 2007. She was awarded 'Best Original Film Music' for her first Soundtrack 'Kaygi' at SIYAD, 2017 and 'Best Film Music' for the Soundtrack of 'Korfez - The Gulf' at Turkisches Film Festival in Frankfurt, 2018.

Double black vinyl LP available for the first time via Cargo. Stories Don't End is the third studio album by American folk-rock band Dawes, originally released in 2013. At Rolling Stone, David Fricke proclaimed this release to be a "quietly gripping, deceptively gleaming record." Bud Scoppa of Uncut evoked that "the sound is glossier, beefier, less wistful" on the release because the change in producers. // Stories Don't End is a game changer for Dawes and one that's more than likely going to work. Don't be surprised if you find this album propping up the shelves of your local supermarket soon as they leave behind their indie roots for world domination. By the end of the year Dawes are going to be everyone's favourite new band”. Echoes And Dust.

'Welcome To The End Of The World' delivers The Dead Milkmen's
trademark twisted humour along with some underlying dark elements
that will creep in to your consciousness if you pay close enough attention

The six tracks run the gamut of weird and wild, from the heavy, Ramonesinfluenced lead single 'Only The Dead Get Off At Kymlinge', a ghost story about the haunted trains terrorising passengers on the Stockholm Metro to 'Battery Powered Rat', a jangly instrumental about two popes, a chess game, and a rat at the Vatican. ("Battery Powered Rat is one of the weirdest things we've ever done", says drummer Dean Clean.)
Musically, the band draws on industrial influences, with a strong beat- driven aesthetic. "It's a pretty good representation of the different styles of things that we do", Dean Clean explains. "It's got some sort of heavy stuff and some groovy, almost dance-oriented stuff, which is fun to say".

More stunning live material to come out of the Factory Records vaults...Ian Curtis & company recorded this live at the legendary Les Bains Douches in Paris on December 18th, 1979. This is the 2nd proper live album released by Joy Division & it contains great versions of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Shadowplay," "Atmosphere," "Transmission" & others, with liner notes by Anthony Wilson.

The Activist returns to Sneaker Social Club with a fresh double-drop of mutant grime futurism featuring deadly flows from Tia Talks and Jammz.

Low End Activist first came through centred on link-ups with grime MCs before widening the scope of his sound with purely instrumental, conceptually-charged albums. This sure-shot double single reaffirms his affinity for outsider grime production as a vessel for deft bars from breakthrough talent and seasoned mic veterans alike.

On 'False Idols' and 'Atomic Clock' there's an emphasis on sharply angled, glitchy production that bends and warps well outside the established formula of MC-focused beats. Constantly shifting, hyper-detailed and front-loaded with walloping slabs of bass, both cuts are devastating in either vocal or instrumental form. Tia Talks pulls no punches stating her truth on the former, while Jammz muses on the endless battle against time on the latter, continuing the peerless run of avant-grime that courses through the Activist's back catalogue.

‘In Virus Times’ is an acoustic instrumental piece by Lee Ranaldo.
Composed during the pandemic, ‘In Virus Times’ is released as a onesided LP with an etching on Side B. The cover is a beautiful photo by
Lee’s friend, the great Brazilian photographer Anna Paula Bogaciovas.
 Originally released as one track as part of a collaboration with Lucien
Jean for Le Presses du Reel, the music was featured on a mini CD that
accompanied a book that featured two short stories.
 ‘In Virus Times’, released by Mute, sees the track transformed into 4
pieces and is available on transparent turquoise vinyl with digital
download and an exclusive poster, designed, signed and individually
numbered by Lee Ranaldo. The poster design is based on an electron
microscope photo of the COVID-19 molecule.
 Lee has written some of his own ‘loner notes’ for the release:
 “This recording began on an evening in September 2020, stuck at home
in lower Manhattan during the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic as
we came out of a deadly summer. A heightened sense of anxiety
stemming from the then-upcoming US Presidential elections as well as
the virus seemed to pervade all aspects of life, for myself and everyone I
knew. Its minimal quality reflects the sense of ‘motionless time’ that
many of us felt. I set up some microphones in our darkened living room
(studios being closed due to Covid restrictions), coaxing out one simple,
repetitive phrase, and then another, sounding them out into the air. The
casual home ambience - a siren or truck rumbling down the street out
the window; someone talking around the table in another part of the loft;
water running - intrudes at points. I worked to develop a few simple
thematic elements, but mostly I wanted to hear the notes and chords
ringing out, hanging in the air for a long time on that evening when the
world seemed close to stopped on its axis.
 “I’d been listening closely to Morton Feldman’s catalog throughout the
pandemic. His sparse, long-duration music could often be heard playing
on repeat as we spent endless days locked inside. His willingness to do
very little, with very simple elements, and to such profound effect, has
been inspirational. I found the vast open spaces in his works thrilling,
miraculous, and comforting in those empty times. Additionally, the Drop
D guitar tuning used here has prompted my own variations on Bach’s
works for solo cello, open strings droning against melodic lines, so
simple and perfect…” - Lee Ranaldo, New York City, August 2021

Taking place in the Paras district, Cangallo province, in the Ayacucho region of the Central-South Sierra of Peru - this is a recording of a ritual held on February 5th 2020 for the one year anniversary of the death of Mrs. Sofía Miranda de Bellido, recorded by her grandson Hánkel Bellido.

At noon the coffin of "Mamay Sofía" was presented, so that her relatives could say goodbye for the last time. Following tributes from family members, these songs dedicated to her life and her passing were sung.

The townspeople were notified of the events by the sound of bells that produce a peculiar and powerful sound, and that can be heard in the other nearby towns of Paras. It is said that these bells were greased with human fat, and brought from the Cerro de Pasco region during colonial times. The bells must be played all morning until the change of mourning takes place.

At midnight the songs of the Almakunapaq (also known as San Gregorios) mass began. These are unique to the Andean peoples - a fusion of Andean and Christian syncretic traditions - and are said to help the dead to enter the eternal Kingdom.

It was 4am when the change of mourning took place, and in accordance with traditions, the friends & family announce the presence of harp and violin players, to liven up the proceedings with songs of joy and merriment until the next day.

"Mamay Sofia, manan wañukunkichu, kawsakuchkankim sunquykupi; sichus qunqarusqaykiku, chaymi ichaqa wañukunki!"

"I have not died, I will die on the day that you forget me!"

This is her first album in five years, she returns with a renewed sense of clarity and control, asserting herself as a generational songwriter with a sharpened perspective. While her early work chronicled the emotional turbulence of young love, Ricochet reveals a deeper fixation: time, mortality, and the quiet terror of watching the things you love slip away. The album"s 11 songs are steeped in introspection, anxiety, and acceptance - an acknowledgment that the world keeps turning regardless of what"s unfolding in your own small orbit.

This is her first album in five years, she returns with a renewed sense of clarity and control, asserting herself as a generational songwriter with a sharpened perspective. While her early work chronicled the emotional turbulence of young love, Ricochet reveals a deeper fixation: time, mortality, and the quiet terror of watching the things you love slip away. The album"s 11 songs are steeped in introspection, anxiety, and acceptance - an acknowledgment that the world keeps turning regardless of what"s unfolding in your own small orbit.

,Stürmische und kathartische Dark-Pop-Perlen", schrieb Gorilla vs Bear über Jessica Weiss' frühe Soloarbeiten. Die Sängerin und Songwriterin von Fear of Men bringt dieselbe lyrische Präzision und emotionale Intensität in ihr Soloprojekt New German Cinema ein. Es hat fünf Jahre gedauert, zwischen London und LA, aufgebaut aus nächtlichen Dateien, langen Stillephasen und der stillen Beharrlichkeit zweier Menschen, die versuchen, etwas Schönes von entgegengesetzten Enden der Welt aus zu vollenden. Produziert mit Alex DeGroot (Zola Jesus, Cate Le Bon), wirkt es sowohl forensisch als auch hingebungsvoll, das Produkt von jemandem, der die Katharsis nicht überstürzt. Pain Will Polish Me präsentiert sich sowohl einsam als auch verbindend, als wäre es aus Fernübertragungen zwischen zwei Traumzuständen entstanden. Weiss nennt es eine Meditation über Pop und den europäischen Arthouse-Autoren Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Es verfolgt, wie Intimität und Kontrolle ineinander übergehen, bis es unmöglich ist zu sagen, wo das eine endet. Die Songs handeln von den Teilen von dir selbst, die sich in der Liebe auflösen, und von den kleinen Gewalttaten, die damit einhergehen, wenn man bekannt ist. Sie bewegen sich durch klaustrophobische Beziehungen, Obsession, Hingabe, Zyklen des Leidens, die sich allmählich wie Hingabe anfühlen. Die Sprache ist Pop, aber das Gefühl ist etwas Fremderes, Kälteres, Innerlicheres. Die Songs bewegen sich im Schatten. Es ist ein Album darüber, sich selbst zu verlieren, um zu sehen, was übrig bleibt. Ein Dokument der Liebe als Besessenheit, Wiederholung, Überleben. Eine Meditation über die Liebe als Spiegel und Untergang, in Fragmenten gestaltet und dann zu einem Ganzen zusammengefügt.

In 2026, Vreid will release The Skies Turn Black, their first studio album in five years and a powerful statement from one of Norway's most enduring metal bands. The album marks a renewed creative chapter, shaped through a challenging but ultimately transformative process in which the band reconnected with the essence of their Sognametal roots while exploring new dimensions of their sound. Throughout the album's eleven tracks, Vreid merges fragments of their past with a revitalized artistic drive. The early breakthrough came with From These Woods, written during a late-night session in a remote mountain cabin. The song captured the emotional core of the album and helped steer the band back toward the heart of their identity. The title track The Skies Turn Black also holds a central place on the album. Written by bassist and songwriter Jarle Kvåle as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and the music that has shaped his life, the song carries a deeply personal foundation. Kvåle's experience attending Black Sabbath's farewell concert in Birmingham, after previously helping to organize the band's final Norwegian shows along with Ozzy's, left a profound mark and sparked the creative energy that shaped the song's weight and atmosphere.

Nach dem "makellosen und zeitlosen Soul" (The Guardian) des 2019er-Vorgängers "American Love Call" öffnet "Private Space" von Durand Jones & The Indications die Tür zu einer breiteren Palette von Klängen und führt die Band kühn in eine synthielastigere Soul-Welt aus mit Streichern durchsetzten Disco-Beats. Das harmonische Zusammenspiel zwischen Aaron Frazers sanftem Falsett am Schlagzeug und Durand Jones' kräftigem Gesang sitzt noch immer tadellos und wird von Blake Rhein (Gitarre), Steve Okonski (Tasten) und Mike Montgomery (Bass) perfekt abgerundet. The Indications bleiben auch auf ihrem dritten Album wahre Meister darin, Revival-Sounds mit einer modernen Haltung zu verschmelzen. "Private Space" atmet den Geist der vergangenen Disco-Ära und die zehn Tracks liefern so eine dringend benötigte Dosis Eskapismus nach diesem turbulenten Jahr 2020. Das Album entstand nachdem die Band einen Großteil des Jahres getrennt voneinander verbracht hatte. Die Freude des Wiedersehens und am kreativen Miteinander ist auf "Private Space" jederzeit spürbar. Der hoffnungsvolle Sound setzt auf die Idee, dass Freude uns befreien kann. Die Kraft eines guten Songs, ein Licht in der Dunkelheit zu sein. Bandleader DURAND JONES fasst es treffend zusammen: "At the end of the day, I just want people to close their eyes and forget where they are. Just the way a Stevie Wonder album does for me."

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

For the first time in more than a decade, Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) presents a solo album – 100% Tiki.

Over his 30-plus year career, St. Hilaire has become one of dance music’s quietly legendary figures. Born and raised in Dominica, he moved to Berlin in 1994 and has lent both his voice and his musicianship to some of the most iconic electronic music from the German capital – and beyond. Renowned for his collaborations with Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus (AKA Rhythm & Sound), he has also appeared on records with Deadbeat, Rhauder, Larry Heard aka Mr. Fingers and Stereotyp (G-Stone Recordings), amongst others.

However, few know the extent of St. Hilaire’s compositional and technical mastery. From his home studio in Kreuzberg, which includes an extensive collection of vintage hardware, self-built instruments and notebooks scribbled with endless lyrics, he has created a vast archive of material spanning ambient dub, avant-jazz, lush techno and lovers rock.

Tikiman Vol. 1 is a heady, downtempo tour de force of patois metaphors on education, displacement and personal vs. global histories, as is evident on slippy album opener “Bedroom in My Bag”: Mister, mister / Where are you going? / I’m heading for a faraway land / What are you having in the bag in your hand? / Help us to understand / He said, I’ve got my bedroom in my bag.

Overall, the album’s lyrics reflect on life between Berlin and Dominica, specifically St. Hilaire’s hometown of Grand Bay, where he has worked with various musicians famous for the island’s different genres of carnival music. St. Hilaire himself always favoured the island’s more “discrete” music, developing a sonic synergy between two different geographical strains of groove and minimalism, and combining them with foundational Caribbean mixing techniques, which provide the basis for his songwriting and distinct
baritone.

Tikiman Vol.1 offers a rare insight into St. Hilaire’s complex artistry, from the eyes-down grooves of “Little Way” and the guitar-heavy digi dancehall experiment “Keep Safe,” to the subtle hypnosis of “Ten to One” and the softly crashing synth waves of closer “Three And A Half”, evoking not only beaches but also coasts and borders. It’s a fitting expression of both the breadth of St. Hilaire’s work, as well as his history as one of the few black, Berlin-based artists who, despite remaining largely overlooked, has influenced the city’s electronic music culture since its beginnings.


Credits
Written & Produced by Paul St. Hilaire
Mastered by Stefan Betke
Artwork by Grant Gibson

Kynant Records was founded in 2015 by Richard Akingbehin, a British-Nigerian radio programmer (Refuge Worldwide), music writer and DJ. Originally specialising in deep techno and featuring artists such as Cio D’Or, Terrence Dixon and Donato Dozzy, Kynant has since launched a sub-label Kynant EX which focuses on ambient, dub and experimental electronics.

Renowned producer, dj, artist and author Justin Robertson fresh from the success of his Five Green Moons project joins forces with composer and Stone Club co-founder Matthew Shaw on their tribute to mythical band MineralTail. An 11 track cosmic trip through krautrock, weird ambience and loose-limbed grooves that accompanies the story contained in Justin's new novel of the same name. Expect hypnotic electronics and ritualistic rhythms, swirling melodies and glorious riffs.

'Critics agree that the greatest album ever recorded is the self-titled debut by the MineralTail. Recorded after the extinction of humanity by the combination of a Megalithic stone and two dogs, the record remains peerless in its ingenuity, passion and inventiveness. An album that consistently remains at the top of all rankings and charts. Though all such accolades are meaningless, nonetheless its enduring appeal is obvious. Here, at last is the first reliable account of how that record was made. The recording techniques, the creative disputes, the true source of the sound. It is a story of sublime inspiration, skulduggery, time travel, beauty and conflict. But most importantly it is the story of music itself. Because held within the grooves of the MineralTail's breathtaking debut is the voice of God's most dazzling accident. Music.'