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Bristol based artist 'Unkey' drops his debut EP on Artikal in fine style.

Following his deadly remix of J:Kenzo's 'Desired State' he brings 4 heavyweight tracks to the label.

Unkey's minimalistic but raw style of production shines throughout, making these tracks instant heaters for the dance floor.

Blu:sh back in Kalahari orbit for a third bite of the cherry.

This one’s dark and dank, with sultriness off the scales. The antithesis of the Frenchman’s output as Terra Utopia, it’s everything we’ve come to love from the project in 6 deadly traxxx.

Moody but never unruly. Taught, tough and rendered in the same seductive, turbulent vortex that’s defined all the Blush material to date.

Strapping earworm grooves set pace, as is tradition with these records. Not sparing on the menace either. Some of it sounds like Blu:sh on a villain arc. Whether you’re a cut-throat stalking the backstreets or looking for a mean streak of pure sci-fi dystopia, we got you covered.

Proper late nite hedonism. Oscillating between sensuous clubland fantasy and a volatile astral kinda flex, the sense of impending danger is unabating.

In der Rock-Mythologie traf Robert Johnson 1930 an einer Kreuzung auf den Teufel und begründete damit den Rock'n'Roll. Fast hundert Jahre später, im Mai 2024, steht Dirty Sound Magnet vor seinem eigenen Schicksal, als es an der Zeit ist, ein neues Album aufzunehmen.Zum ersten Mal in ihrer Geschichte hat das Trio nicht den Luxus, jeden Schritt des Aufnahmeprozesses sorgfältig zu planen. Seit 2022, nach der Veröffentlichung ihres vielgelobten Albums DSM-III, spielt die Band 120 Konzerte pro Jahr und managt alle Aspekte ihrer Karriere selbst. Daher ist es 2024 für das Trio die einzige Möglichkeit, ein neues Album zu produzieren und aufzunehmen, indem es seinem Instinkt folgt. Me and My Shadow ist das Album, zu dessen Entstehung die Band bestimmt war - ein Album, auf dem alles auf elegante Weise zusammenkommt.Wie immer in der Rockgeschichte war die Tragödie nie weit entfernt, und das Album wäre beinahe nicht entstanden. Zwei Wochen vorden ersten Aufnahmesessions entgeht Stavros nur knapp dem Tod durch eine versehentliche Vergiftung. Auf einem Krankenhausbett, halb bewusstlos und umgeben von aufgeregten Ärzten, tauchen die Themen des Albums in seinem Unterbewusstsein auf. Inmitten des Geflüsters der besorgten Ärzte, die um sein Leben fürchteten, wuchs in ihm die Gewissheit und Klarheit: ,Das kann unmöglich das Ende sein - wir müssen noch ein Album aufnehmen." Dieses Licht, das ihn aus den Schatten zurückholte, ist dasselbe Licht, das vor hundert Jahren Robert Johnson und seitdem unzählige Musiker inspiriert hat.

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.

SPIRIT!, the third LP from HUNNY, is about embracing the weird-an album born from uncertainty and built on instinct. It"s a testament to breaking free, starting over, and tuning out the noise. Now the sole project of longtime frontman Jason Yarger, HUNNY has shed its past shape to become something more fully itself. SPIRIT! doesn"t reinvent the wheel so much as keep it spinning forward. Across 15 tracks, the album-co-produced by Yarger and former bassist Kevin Grimmett with drums by former drummer Joey Anderson-leans into the sounds that have always lit HUNNY"s fuse: hooky post-punk, gleaming synths, and shout-along choruses praised by Alternative Press, Kerrang!, and Rock Sound. But it also pushes further-into abstraction, playfulness, and freedom. It"s the latest turn for HUNNY, a band long celebrated for shapeshifting through genres and decades with style on fan-favorite releases like Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. (2019) and new planet heaven (2023)-always evolving, yet unmistakably themselves. That dynamic energy carries into their high-voltage live show, sharpened on tours with Joywave, Mom Jeans, Waterparks, and State Champs.

Original Gravity Records announces a deadly new 7" from Boss Foundation, the fresh alias of producer and multi-instrumentalist Neil Anderson. Previously known as Woodfield Rd Allstars for his vintage Jamaican (predominantly instrumental) output, Anderson now moves forward under the sharper, more genre-focused name Boss Foundation—a banner that reflects the heavy, stripped-down, late-’60s Boss Reggae style at the core of his sound.

Side A: The Henchman

A tough, propulsive Boss Reggae instrumental driven by a fierce groove, The Henchman comes armed with vintage-style pistol-shot effects and a pair of unmistakable Dennis Alcapone vocal drops, giving the cut the swagger and tension of a lost 1969 sound-system special. Heavy, atmospheric, and tailor-made for selectors who favour harder-edged instrumentals.

Side B: Pressure Version

An organ-led version built on the riddim Anderson created for The Pioneers’ 2025 recording of “I Feel So Bad” (the Jackie Edwards classic). Featuring Abramo Riti on Hammond organ, Pressure Version offers a warm, melodic excursion that highlights the depth and movement of the rhythm—spacious, soulful, and crafted with the sensibilities of a classic late-’60s version cut.

Pressed in a strictly limited edition, this double-sided killer marks the official debut of Boss Foundation, signalling a powerful new chapter in Original Gravity’s ongoing commitment to era-authentic Jamaican sounds.

Mit ,A Constant Charade" nimmt der Künstler und Produzent Elujay aus Oakland die Maske von seinem facettenreichen, genreübergreifenden Schaffen ab. ,Einer der talentiertesten Singer-Songwriter der Bay Area" (Hypebeast) gibt sein Solo-Debüt beim kunstorientierten Indie-Label drink sum wtr mit einer risikofreudigen LP, die auf fast ein Jahrzehnt einzigartiger Arbeit in der zeitgenössischen Pop-Landschaft folgt. Er sieht seinen Stil als eine Fusion unerwarteter Einflüsse: R&B gemischt mit Rhythmen aus Yacht Rock, Sophisti-Pop, Dancehall, Al Jeel, Lovers Rock und den Klängen seiner trinidadischen Wurzeln. ,A Constant Charade" ist eine dynamische Sammlung, die von Verletzlichkeit und Ehrgeiz geprägt ist. Die Themen berühren soziale Signale, Verhaltensmuster und die Art und Weise, wie wir uns anderen gegenüber verhalten, ,einfach beobachten, wie ich mich fühle, wenn ich unter Menschen bin", sagt er. "Ob ich nun den Code wechsle oder mich anders verhalte ... wir alle tun das, es ist eine Farce." Mit seinem charakteristischen Gesang und den bisher stärksten Arrangements, zusammen mit einer Reihe von Mitwirkenden und Co-Produzenten, durchbricht Elujay die Spielchen, um echt zu sein. Aufgenommen an verschiedenen Orten über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren, krönt "A Constant Charade" ein bahnbrechendes Jahr 2025, das mit der zweiten Folge von GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE von JEMS! begann, seinem von dsw unter Vertrag genommenen Projekt mit J. Robb. Wie GEMS lehnt sich das neue Album stärker an den Einflüssen karibischer Musik und Leftfield-Elektronik an, von Dance bis Ambient und einem Dutzend Stilrichtungen dazwischen. ,Ich denke, es ist wichtig, einfach zu erkennen, dass diese Leute, mit denen man zusammenarbeitet, den neuen Sounds, die man entdeckt, eine gewisse Glaubwürdigkeit verleihen", sagt Elujay. Er schreibt einen Großteil der nostalgischen Qualität von "A Constant Charade" Nicholas Creus zu: ,Er ist Jazzgitarrist und ein großer Fan von The Police und Yacht Rock, er ist einfach überall auf diesem Album zu finden." Ebenso wie den langjährigen Mitstreitern Martin Rodrigues, Jaden Wiggins und Ben Yasemsky, die Elujay seit seiner Kindheit kennt. ,Benji ist einfach ein stiller Killer, ein großartiger Gitarrist, Produzent und Finisher, der immer in letzter Minute alles aufräumt." Wenn es um die Zusammenarbeit mit anderen geht, ,habe ich kein Ego, es geht nur darum, dass die beste Idee gewinnt. Letztendlich geht es um die Menschen, wir wollen einfach nur die bestmögliche Musik machen."

Experimental tape loop jungle from Oxford’s Battery Operated mad scientist duo. Deep, sumptuous hazy textural loops (with a slammer of an A1) driven by heavyweight percussive bliss. Supported regularly by Dead Man’s Chest on SWU/Kool FM

The third instalment of the remixes from J:Kenzo's album 'Taygeta Code' sees four killer producers take on each remix in their own unique style across the 140 bpm spectrum.

BOYLAN (Sentry / Mean Streets) leads the dance with his 140 bpm jungle / breaks flip of 'Like A Hawk' which features vocals by the mighty FLOWDAN. Bringing the heat in heavy and devastating fashion!

MANI FESTO (Rupture / Club Glow) steps up with his electro breaks remix of the modular dance floor heater 'Deadbull', with filtered breaks and a high energy bounce.

Canadian dubstep producer MYTHM (Artikal / Wheel & Deal) delivers his heavyweight remix of album highlight 'Narky'. The Vancouver native flips the groove and levels up the energy bringing additional heat to his version.

The final remix is from UNKEY (Foto Sounds) who takes on the album opener 'Desired State'. Unkey turns the air dark, strips back the vibe and uses sub heavy minimalism to inject a feeling of dread throughout his remix to put a stamp on the finale covering 4 corners of the world of Dubstep and 140 music.

Crypt of the Wizard is proud to present Ginger Wizard - The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World on vinyl and digital formats.
About ten years ago in a record store in Prague, the Ginger Wizard discovered a copy of Bo Hansson’s Lord of the Rings LP. Although initially unfamiliar with the record, the reference to Tolkien’s masterwork and the incredible cover art drew him in and, rather fittingly, sent him off on a journey of discovery that would reshape his creative trajectory.
Years later while working in cassette tape manufacturing, Ginger Wizard noticed that most fantasy-inspired music fell into two camps: metal and dungeon synth. With little interest in the former, but intrigued by the latter, he began writing a few songs imagining a beautifully packaged and tactile cassette tape. However, dungeon synth he soon realized was “the most boring music to make”.
So began the Ginger Wizard’s own mythological discography. In 2022 came The Feast for the Dead King and Other Musical Themes recorded at home in a cold kitchen, is conversely an album full of warmth drawn from sheer exploration. A year later Can I Choose My Own Psychopompos? was recorded for the legendary Stoned to Death label - a 7” séance of semi-improvised noise and melody featuring allies from the Ginger Wizard’s live backing band The Peter Jacksons. The following year with Bathysburg Tales, a new approach was needed in order to keep the project interesting. Drawing inspiration from Popol Vuh and the inclusion of vocals lent by Protomartyr’s Joe Casey and Jakob Battick, a new more cinematic sound began to emerge.
Now, we present The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World marking a step into something stranger while still channeling the spirit of Bo Hansson. The new album rejects swords and sorcery for the mythology of the natural world “the ancient stuff,” he explains in the record’s insert, “has a similar taste for me as fantasy.” These songs bloom, creep, and shimmer like forgotten plants under distant suns while rooted in something real and organic. Inspired by the myths of nature rather than heroic quests, it’s an album that feels alive, equal parts archaeological dig and psychedelic garden.
Currently at work on a soundtrack for an imagined 1970s fantasy film in collaboration with The Peter Jacksons, the Ginger Wizard continues to expand his strange universe while The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World serves as a new map to somewhere ancient, beautiful, and unknown.

Originally released as a digital double a side both lead tracks were chosen by the remixers and the results are like an electrical storm.

Newark, NJ’s Dälek (Will Brooks) drags T. Relly’s growl through the quicksand, a cacophony of whiplashed beats and visceral loops spurring our protagonist on. It’s a gaggle of Ghostface Killas trapped in a hall of mirrors; it’s next door’s MBV heard through the walls whilst submerged in a low-lit bathtub. And Wu Tang are pulling the plug out.

Kevin Martin aka The Bug continues to release teeth rattling sonic masterpieces, his most recent being November’s ‘Implosion’ on his own Pressure label. In his hands ‘Protein’ becomes a submarine bass, head n’ rig wrecker opting here for more of his hooky ‘In Blue’ style Bug mix. As Kevin said – “to my fantastical mind it sounds like Bug dirt ‘n’grind Vs Yin Yang Twins’ louche swagger and Neptunes funk”.

“In Bristol, it was hip-hop and reggae renegades meeting up with white ex-punk guitarists, alternative pop pioneers hanging out with underground roots music makers, and sound system sonic stalwarts grooving out with rave’s space cadets that laid the bedrock for such an explosion. And if you think that such an eclectic melting pot ever went away, you would be wrong. Ree-Vo is all the proof that you need” – The Big Takeover

NPVR is the avant garde duo made up of the late Peter Rehberg and Nik Void. Editions Mego is proud to present their second and final release. No this is not some kind of Beatles synthetic AI that raises the dead reconstructed recordings but rather a new album made by the humans and their machines.

The initial meeting of Rehberg and Void was in London in 2016 and despite or due to their mutual awkwardness found solace and compatibility in the fact that they both had a similar electronic modular set up, along with matching cases to transport all. The idea to collaborate was an obvious and organic process as a means to connect their individual gear together and observe the outcome. The fruits of these initial experiments, recorded in London, resulted in the playful experimentation of their acclaimed 2017 release 33 33 (eMego 251).

Now in 2024 Editions Mego presents the logically titled follow up, 33 34. These sessions were recorded six months after the initial recordings at Peter’s home in Vienna. This was planned out as a mirror city release to the original London recordings. With Peter having access to his full studio set up this time around we encounter a rich audio landscape which organically folds together a variety of musical genres blurring any distinction between these forms so the resulting music hovers as a new cloud of sound. Any musical form, be it industrial, electro-acoustic, ambient, drone and techno all coexist and melt into the other as the ensuing result unveils a hypnotic swarm of divergent sounds (music). When active there were no lines or contexts with NPVR, either between sound or genre within these recordings or live where NPVR were at home playing at a techno club one night and an avant garde venue the next.

The initial session of these recordings was edited by Rehberg and sent to Void to further develop. Over time the final versions were agreed on and then shelved as other outside projects took over. The awkwardness had been surmounted and the two had become close friends. NPVR performed at a range of venues such as Tresor, Sutton House, Corsica, Blitz, Paris GRM #Focus2, LEV Festival and Rigas Skanumezs Festival. Following Rehberg’s untimely passing Void had difficulty listening back to the sessions but eventually thought it fit to complete and release this album, of which even the artwork (like 33 33, an image from Zurich photographer, Georg Gatsas) had been decided upon prior to Rehberg parting ways.

There is an unmistakable joy to these recordings. One encounters an enthralling exploration of their chosen machines which conveys the excitement of what can be randomly conjured when people speak through such devices. There is no grand statement or argument here, just the sheer thrill of creation and the recorded results of random encounters. The art of collaboration was always a mainstay of Rehberg’s practice from the advent of the MEGO adventure. Rehberg & Bauer was an initial collaboration with former business partner Ramon Bauer. Even at this stage one can hear a relaxed sense of delight in the sheer discovery of sound.

A mix made for the Wire magazine following the release of 33 33 hints at the freedom that comes with endless urge for exploration and discovery. Abstract tracks from Z'EV. Jérôme Noetinger and Jung An Tagen are included alongside British stalwarts The Fall and New Order. There were no lines between pop / academic / underground or mainstream in Rehberg’s world. All of it sat at the same table. It is just matter in the atmosphere, like the diverse exploration found in these recordings that comprise 33 34.

Towards the end of his life Rehberg was obsessing over the immense output of the German ambient musician Pete Namlook. An artist renowned for not only his sprawling catalogue of ambient masterpieces but one who often said his main inspiration was nature. This is apt with regards to the work of NPVR which also aligns with such thought as the intertwining of the two individual artists and their machines results in a natural symbiotic flow, as it happens, just like in the world around us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY, the 'supergroup' led by former MONSTROSITY and VILE frontman and current artwork artist Mike Hrubovcak and Rogga Johansson from PAGANIZER and RIBSPREADER are releasing their third full-length, "Disturbing The Cenotaph". Since the duo, completed by former THE PROJECT HATE drummer Thomas Ohlsson, originally picked up their moniker as an homage to the 1981 cult horror flick of the same name, it shouldn't come as a surprise they've once again paying tribute to director Lucio Fulci (1927-1996) in one of this album most lethal salvo, 'New York Ripper'. Elsewhere on this third album, other tracks like 'Undead Apocalypse' or 'Burial Disturbance' were inspired by other famous horror classics like "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", Hrubovcak has come up in his lyrics with his own tales of terror. Some are totally fictional like, 'Coffin Colony' about a "diseased homeless living in underground coffins who gets infected with rabies after eating sewer rats". Others, like 'Lunatic Butcher' are inspired by real-life events or, in that case, by the antics and vicious killings of Paul John Knowles, dubbed 'the Casanova killer'. Musically speaking, Johansson jokes about "every band saying that their new album is their best but that's actually true here eh eh! This album is HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY on steroids. The sound is broad and impious, the vocals are awesome and the heavy riffing interlaced with occasional melody makes an overall varied, fun and GORY listen!" Completed, like on 2024's "The Mortuary Hauntings", by a gruesome artwork courtesy Felipe Mora (whose nightmarish visions can already be seen on albums by CONSUMPTION, ACHERON or WOMBBATH) and mixed by Håkan Stuvemark from WOMBBATH, Disturbing The Cenotaph is one raw, in-your-face and eight songs packed death-metal-to-the-core album ready to chill you to the bone!

The song titles on Van Halen's aptly titled Fair Warning don't lie. The likes of "Unchained," "Mean Street," "Push Comes to Shove," "One Foot Out the Door," and more indicate the mood the band channels on its double-platinum 1981 record — the nastiest, darkest, and fiercest album of the group's storied career. For the fourth time in four years, Van Halen throws down the gauntlet to all challengers and emerges victorious.


Sourced from the original analog tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set plays with unfettered clarity, dynamics, and immediacy. Benefitting from superb groove definition, an ultra-low noise floor, and dead-quiet surfaces, this vinyl edition captures what went down in the studio with tremendous realism and involving presence.

Taking a more controlled approach in the studio and still completing everything in less than two weeks, Van Halen and producer Ted Templeman relied on studio amplifiers to direct the sound. Further diverging from the live-on-the-floor approach of its earlier albums, the ensemble also employed overdubs to great effect. The result: Dense, stacked architecture that underlines the hard-hitting tenor of the songs — and which comes alive like never before on this reference edition that looks as good as it sounds.

The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation befit the reissue's select status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. Aurally and visually, it is made for listeners who want to immerse themselves in everything involved with the album, including the iconic cover art adopted from William Kurelek's haunting painting, "The Maze."

Isolated frames from Kurelek's childhood-inspired work — including a man bashing his head into a brick wall, a guy pinning down an adversary as he delivers bare-fist blows to his face and others watch with apparent glee, a boy tied down on a conveyer belt and being sent through the equivalent of a meat saw — adorn the front and back covers. The sunnier visual disposition of Van Halen's prior efforts gives way to something sinister and tortured, traits reflective of the music within. The band members, too, are visually depicted not in glamorous shots but in a serious black-and-white portrait in which the quartet is clad in black leather jackets.

Tough, aggressive, stark: Fair Warning comes on like a series of bare-knuckled punches to the solar plexus and boasts lyrical narratives to match. Though not a concept record, the concise album revolves around themes of roughing it on the streets and struggling to survive amid dim prospects. Singer David Lee Roth reportedly penned many of the initial lyrics after traveling to Haiti and observing extreme poverty. The characters and situations populating Fair Warning reflect hardscrabble existence, last-chance desperation, and underlying danger.

Witness the crazies, poor folks, and hunters of “Mean Street”; the former prom queen turned pornographic actress on “Dirty Movies”; the menace and vice of “Sinners Swing!”; the streetwise hustle of “Unchained”; the isolation and alienation of “Push Comes to Shove”; the desire for escape on “One Foot Out the Door”: A carefree California beach party Fair Warning is not.

Having said he felt angry and frustrated during the sessions, guitarist Eddie Van Halen uses the forceful arrangements as a playground for his seemingly unlimited arsenal. Supported by a crack rhythm section and a hyped-up Roth, he performs with an almost impossible combination of punk-like intensity, technical finesse, lyrical fluidity, and unbridled emotion. The virtuoso was increasingly butting heads with Templeton and seeking a freedom in the studio he believed denied him.

No wonder he plays like a bat out of hell. Listen to the rapid-fire manner in which he slaps the high and low E strings on the 12th fret of his instrument on “Mean Street,” instilling the tune with funk flair and metal-spiked sharpness. For the pouty strut of “Dirty Movies,” Eddie Van Halen contributes slide guitar magic made possible after he sawed off the lower portion of a Gibson SG so he could reach further down the fretboard.

Related intensity, urgency, and daredevil momentum punctuate the surging “Sinner’s Swing!” A heavily flanged, delicately melodic introduction frames the attitudinal “Hear About It Later,” among the most creative arrangements of Van Halen’s career. And do riffs come any bigger or magnetic than those on the high-wire kick of “Unchained”? As for the out-of-left-field “Sunday in the Park,” an instrumental composed on an Electro-Harmonix micro-synthesizer: Who but Eddie Van Halen to supply creep factor in such an ingenious way?

Despite selling fewer quantities than Van Halen’s prior efforts, Fair Warning remains for many diehards the record that epitomizes all of the band’s immense strengths —Roth’s manic energy and tongue-wagging humor, Alex Van Halen’s rhythmic heartbeat-in-your-chest bombast, and Michael Anthony’s lucid bass lines included. Arriving when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and new-wave movements were taking flight, it signaled a shot across the bow from a band determined to stay a step ahead and provide proof nobody could touch what it delivered.

More than four decades later, Fair Warning still sounds that alarm.

First EP from a new project formed in 2023 by Allan Crockford (The Galileo 7, The Prisoners,The James Taylor Quartet etc) and Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, Swansea Sound, Death In Vegas etc)

Both writers bring their influences to the four songs here, with dual lead vocals and a mix of Medway psych, horror- garage, and kitchen sink new- wave pop vignettes. There's paranoia and psychosis, a cautionary tale about gullibility, and a love song straight out of 1978...

Recorded in Rochester and Folkestone, and released jointly on Button's Gare du Nord and Crockford's Fool's Paradise labels, this 7" is the first to be pressed on the new bioplastic compound Evo-vinyl.

The notion of home isn’t precise, even a dictionary will offer multiple definitions. A home can be a place where you live, a place where you belong, where you originate from or a place where you’re given care; it can be a physical space, a land, a people or even a person. The concept isn’t completely universal, but everyone possesses a unique idea of what home means to them. On her fifth album, Ziúr considers not just what home symbolizes from her perspective, but the word’s resonance to the diverse community that surrounds her, and how their stories have impacted her over the years. Indeed, it’s the first time she’s felt it necessary to examine her own nationality. In the past, she’s deliberately avoided labelling herself as German, feeling disconnected from her country’s politics, culture and even the German language itself. In 2025, the idea of Germanness is in flux and progressives are under attack from all sides. The country’s politics aren’t only being turned inward by the growing throng of far-right voices, but by scared moderates, opportunists and those blinded by comfort, willing to ignore hatred to maintain their privilege. Stepping up to provide a different narrative, Ziúr scours her soul, writing and singing in German for the first time and proposing growth and evolution, not fear and regression. “I never considered being part of Germany,” she explains. “But I am.”

A solemn mood permeates the album’s opening track ‘Brown is the Color’, and Ziúr sings in measured, slow-motion breaths over noisy synth oscillations and doomed piano flourishes. Already, it’s a significant departure from her last run of releases, veering away from the frenetic, satirical chaos of 2023’s Hakuna Kulala-released ‘Eyeroll’ or its fantastical, dubby predecessor ‘Antifate’. Ziúr pulls on real world insights here, tracing her oldest, dearest musical inspirations to present her origins to anybody who might be listening. “Cold world is holding up,” she laments with a metallic crunch. “To let go of your heart, let me go.” And her voice emerges from the shadows completely on ‘Tame’; unprocessed, Ziúr sounds naked and vulnerable on ‘Tame’, curving her precise words around broken, lopsided rhythms and jangling new wave guitars. It’s pop music in its own way, inverted and reconstructed to fit snugly into her well-established sonic landscape. On ‘No Yawn’, brittle, downsampled hi-hats and industrial scrapes ping-pong around distorted riffs, provided by James Ó Ceallaigh aka WIFE; “You fail to sugarcoat your half-ass attempt,” she deadpans, “to build your promised wonderland on quicksand.” Even the beatless ‘All Odds No Chants’, a collaboration with Elvin Brandhi and Sara Persico, reveals another room in Ziúr’s autobiographical suite, mirroring György Ligeti’s enduringly influential choral works with its gnarled, dissonant vocal harmonies.

Future pop unit "Mononkuru" has released their first album in nearly seven years since their previous album, "RELOADING CITY," on vinyl!
"Bokura wa Warai at a Dead End," a brand-new pop album featuring guest appearances by AAAMYYY and Daichi Yamamoto, is here!

Seven years after their last album, Mononkuru has finally released their long-awaited new album. Known for their jazz-infused pop, the band has changed their
name to "Mononkuru" in katakana and updated their sound. In addition to the innovative modern pop disco they showcased on recent releases "GINGUA"
and "HOTPOT," this album is packed with highlights, including "Futari Shibai feat. Daichi Yamamoto," a bold new work featuring a featured artist for the first time
for Mononkuru, and "Who am I feat. AAAMYYY," which debuts on an album.

Capcom and Laced Records invite you to return to a world of Reploids and cyber-elves, betrayal and Bio-Metals...

Thoughtfully sequenced with a disc covering each of the Mega Man Zero games, and a fifth covering ZX and ZX Advent, this box set will allow fans to fully ensconce themselves in the series.

ultimatemaverickx returns as sleeve artist, producing lore-faithful, vibrantly colorful panels depicting memorable story moments and highlighting major characters in iconic poses.

The Mega Man Zero/ZX soundtracks' glorious mix of urgent acid house, ambient, face-melting metal, and even soaring pop feel downright prophetic in the modern music landscape. Transported from their '00s hardware origins to your turntable come the sounds of our present, broadcast from the past - and it rips.

Dead Bird is AK-Industry's very first EP for Industrial Propaganda's sub-label: Totentanz Recordings. This new EP explores the limits of the hard techno and techno hardcore genres.

AK-Industry, the founder of Nekrolog1k Recordings, has been a driving force in the Industrial Crossbreed and Hardcore Techno scene since 2008.

His signature sound blends breakbeats with hardcore and techno, resulting in a unique and powerful style that has garnered attention from major labels such as The Third Movement (NL), Industrial Strength (USA), Dark Descent (NL) Industrial Propaganda (CH) and Ad Noiseam (DE).

Having performed at some of the biggest hardcore events in Europe, including Dominator, Q-Base, Defqon, Army of Hardcore Festivals, Club r_AW, and PRSPCT XL, AK-Industry has cemented his place as a top-tier artist in the genre.

He has also collaborated with heavyweight artists such as Mindustries, I:gor, N-Vitral, Ophidian, The Teknoist, Bryan Fury, Switch Technique, Igneon System, Delta9 and Fiend.

With brand new releases on the horizon, AK-Industry shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push the boundaries of the Industrial Crossbreed & Hardcore Techno genres.

Arankai stammt aus Wisconsin im Mittleren Westen der Vereinigten Staaten und trat erstmals 2022 mit einer Reihe von Independent-Veröffentlichungen in Erscheinung. Mit einer Mischung aus Metal, Alternative Rock und empathisch-emotionalen Texten baute er sich mit seinen rauhen Sound und seinee beeindruckende Präsenz in den sozialen Medien schnell eine treue Fangemeinde auf. Im Jahr 2025 veröffentlichte er nun mit "A Portrait of Red" den ersten Teil seiner lang erwarteten Albumtriologie und festigt damit seinen Platz als aufstrebender Act in der Alternative-Metal-Szene. Inklusive der Single "Conquer" mit Josh Mowery von Catch Your Breath. Für Fans von Archers, Bad Omens, Corpse Husband, Motionless In White, Black Veil Brides, I Prevail, Sleep Token, Fit For A King, The Amity Affliction.

"The Virgin Suicides", AIR's zweites Album und der unvergessliche Soundtrack zu Sofia Coppolas Regiedebüt wird zum 25. Jubiläum als "The Virgin Suicides Redux" neu aufgelegt. Ein brandneuer analoger Mix des Original-Albums verleiht den eindringlichen Klanglandschaften, die wie der dazugehörige Kultfilm über die Jahre an Bedeutung gewonnen haben, neue Tiefe. "The Virgin Suicide Redux" ist als analoges Vinyl-Album sowie in einem 2-CD/Blu-Ray Digipack erhältlich. Dieses Set enthält den neuen Analog-Mix von 2025, eine Blu-Ray mit dem Album in Dolby Atmos und eine Auswahl bisher unveröffentlichter Demos und Raritäten.

We Are The Robots Vol. 01 – Hypnotica Colectiva 25

Hypnotica Colectiva drops a fresh wax cut: We Are The Robots Vol. 01 — a heavyweight double vinyl release that channels the raw energy of the crew’s legendary club nights and distills 15 years of sonic exploration across electro, broken beats, and IDM textures.

Marking catalogue number HCR025, the Valencia-based imprint doubles down on its underground ethos, curating a ten-track lineup from artists deeply connected to the collective’s orbit. Each contributor brings a distinct flavor of robotic sound design.

Every track has been handpicked for its club impact, conceptual depth, and ability to resonate with the aesthetic of We Are The Robots — a party series that’s been pushing uncompromising electro since 2010. Expect a full-spectrum journey: from cerebral synth workouts to gritty analog pressure, industrial atmospheres, shadowy breaks, and raw minimalism.

Artwork come courtesy of Dani Requeni, keeping the HC Records design language sharp and functional. Steve Voidloss handles mastering duties, ensuring each groove hits with precision.

Mastered by Voidloss at Black Monolith Studio, London.
Artwork, Label art & Designs by Dani Requeni.
All rights reserved.
HC RECORDS
València, 2025.

This summer's epic murder mystery will find its way to your record player! The new film by Chris Columbus
(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Home Alone) has once again been fully scored by composer Thomas Newman.

With titles such as American Beauty and Road to Perdition under his belt, Newman is renowned for his hauntly eerie,
but beautiful style. The beloved film composer matches perfectly with the cozy, yet intriguing
Netflix movie starring Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye, Mamma Mia! The Movie) and Helen Mirren (The Queen, Excalibur).

The Thursday Murder Club is available as a limited edition on red vinyl.

Based on a Motown classic that also served as the debut song for a world-famous kids group, the long-awaited ending theme is finally getting a single release!

From the soundtrack of director Shinichiro Ueda's One Cut of the Dead, the indie film that became a social phenomenon upon its 2018 release, grossing over 3.1 billion yen, this gem of a track is now available on vinyl. While retaining the melody of the original song written by Berry Gordy Jr., Kensun Lovers (Nobuhiro Suzuki and Shoma Ito) added Japanese lyrics and a new arrangement, with actress Mayumi Yamamoto on vocals. The theme song "Keep Rolling" quickly won the support of discerning international listeners, reaching No. 1 on Spotify's "Japan Viral Chart" the week after the film's release.

On the B-side, two versions of the film's main theme "zombeat" are included, featuring hard-hitting guitar work brimming with respect for the original Zombie series.

South London's restless pulse runs through British-Bengali musician Tara Lily's latest collaboration with the enigmatic King Krule. On 'Quiet Nights (Early Takes)', the pair craft shadowy soundscapes where hazy jazz chords and warped synths blur into something raw and hypnotic. The standout track, "Tropical Storm," described as a "lucid dream playing in our minds again and again" captures flashes of early Archy Marshall chaos, refracted through Tara's sleek and sleepy vocals, over a bed of guitar pedals, synths and DIY beats. Talking about the project Tara says: "'Quiet Nights' are some of the early sketches from a deadly quiet and beautiful period of time. For myself it was a time of stripping back, dropping down into the ground and channelling something raw and real."

Born out of the Northern California DIY scene, Moms With Bangs started as a ragtag group of high schoolers looking to build a musical community filled with loud, chaotic, unfiltered energy. Quickly becoming known for their loud experimental sound and unhinged live shows. Moms With Bangs become legendary for being high-volume, high-energy, and having zero barrier between them and their audience. It was these qualities that caught the attention of Jello Biafra
himself, who was so impressed he signed them to his label Alternative Tentacles Records, making Moms With Bangs the youngest signing in the history of the label. Recorded at Tiny Telephone in Oakland, CA over the course of two days in January of 2024, Leo Hirsch, Michael Cook, Austin Kennedy, Axel Sanchez, and Oliver John live-tracked these songs in one large recording room, recording at the same time facing each other, to make sure the recording captured the unfiltered energy of the live show as much as possible. As for the name of the 7”? “Do What’s Delicious” came from a suggestion from Jello Biafra himself, while the band was in the studio, as a name he once considered for a Dead Kennedys release. The two tracks on “Do What’s Delicious” capture the throttling high energy rhythms of bands like Thee Oh Sees. Showcasing an affinity for the off-kilter groove of bands like Deerhoof or Black Midi. Moms With Bangs aims to disgust and delight with no limits! We couldn’t be more excited.

"700 Miles of Desert" is the second album by White Rose Transmission, the project of Adrian Borland and Carlo van Putten. The record weaves dark, poetic rock with atmospheric melodies and introspective lyrics, capturing a haunting beauty that became a poignant farewell to Borland's musical journey.

The debut from Berlin's Misere is a new jewel in the modern post punk crown. Sit back, relax and let the darkness engulf you with their primitive and sparse sound. Standout "Prickelnd" starts with the pounding floor tom and snare and slightly flanged bass before the guitar kicks in and the song takes twists and turns. It’s like a minimal sounding Xmal Deutschland and Blood and Roses with a vocalist that sings with a deadpan delivery. Another standout "Dracula" has the sound and spirit of the first Kleenex single down to a tea, but adds a hint of classic early 80’s goth. Final track "Abrieb" sounds like it could fall apart at any moment, in all it’s glorious chaos. It’s the sound of what UK Decay would have sounded like, if they were women. A superb release that shows the sound of Berlin in 2025.

Sean Forbes, Rough Trade

A transatlantic masterpiece, "Mystery Merxhant" is a vivid sonic journey that fuses the smooth, raw lyricism of Bahamian rapper Obijuan with the cinematic, dusty soundscapes crafted by UK producer Giallo Point. Together, they weave an immersive tale of introspection, hustle, and mystique.

Obijuan’s deep, measured delivery glides effortlessly over Giallo Point's expertly layered beats, which are steeped in rich samples, haunting melodies, and boom-bap drums. Each track feels like a page from an ancient, esoteric scroll, with Obijuan delivering cryptic rhymes that balance between wisdom and wit. Survival, self-reliance, and spiritual alignment blend with hypnotic loops, shadowy and noir-inspired tones and cinematic vibes.

This collaboration solidifies Obijuan and Giallo Point as formidable artists in the underground scene, bringing a fresh yet nostalgic sound that invites listeners to lose themselves in the depths of its artistry.

When Chuck D proclaimed "Bass, how low can you go?" on Public Enemy's anthemic 'Bring the Noise,' maybe he was pre-empting or inciting the 10,000 fathoms-deep, spine-bending basslines and sub-quake tremors of 'Implosion.'

Implosion is a crushing split album, appropriately released on The Bug's own PRESSURE label. Mapping out a new form of spectral dub, the sound is deliberately immersive, introverted, and yes, definitely implosive. In pursuit of heavy lids, blurred vision, and merciless bass bin punishment, it’s one part meditation, two parts low-end theory, and essentially a confession of devoted sound system addiction.

As expected from a tag team featuring British soundlab explorer and 'London Zoo' composer Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, and Michael Fiedler, aka Jah Schulz—a long-time graduate of Germany's new school of sound system reggae culture—the duo approaches their target differently yet share the goal of keeping their sound "raw" (Fiedler) and "brutally minimal" (Martin). This proves that opposites can attract, even if their tools are different and their methods sometimes diverge.

From such a disparate combo, hailing from different geographical and aesthetic backgrounds, contrasts are certainly on display, even within each artist's own contributions. From the melancholia and transcendence of 'Alien Virus (West Indian Centre, Leeds),' to the duality of ascension and descension on 'Hope,' or the Sunn 0))) in dub, visceral drone of 'Dread (The End, London),' to the tripped-out repetitions of 'Midnight,' which reinvents Chain Reaction for post-millennials, the result is both sacred and narcotic. Each track illuminates the emotional impact and atmospheric pressure being explored across this deceptively sparse album—a mastery of tone and texture.

This collection might be as reduced, minimal, and deep as The Bug has ever gone, perhaps echoing the solemnity of his recent Kevin Richard Martin Black release and invoking the futurist steppas self-pioneered on his previous Pressure album. Alternatively, Fiedler‘s Ghost Dubs project ventures into his most heavyweight direction yet, which is no mean feat considering his previous, the critically acclaimed album Damaged, was a monstrously massive triumph of analogue weight and enviable sound design.

Implosion is ice-cool, a stark contrast to the warmth and sociability of traditional Jamaican roots and the current trends in digi-dub. Instead, the mood is soaked in tension and intense dread, finding an unexpected melting point where classic dub's stark rhythm attack, isolationist ambience's eerie drift, dub techno's floatation strategies, and even the relentless riffs of doom metal collide. As the bass-obsessed pair drop what is arguably the heaviest ambient dub album to emerge from any electronic sector—a moody counterpoint to The Orb's fluffy clouds, etc, Martin has cited The Roots Radics, Black Jade, and On U Sound's Pounding System as heavily influencing his approach to the album, while Fiedler has expressed his admiration for Adrian Sherwood's productions and Rhythm & Sound's enchanting soundscape. Yet, the super heavyweight pulsations, emotive resonances, and bone-rattling vibrations detonated here effortlessly go far beyond these influences.

Shadowy and elusive, there’s a mysteriousness at this record's core. A haunting moodiness oscillating between nostalgia and future shock. Despite the deadly fixation with SLOW and HEAVY, the album maintains a totally hypnotic swing throughout. Implosion and its lead single 'Imploded Versions' are testaments to being enveloped in bass, seduced by bass, submerged in bass, and utterly crushed by bass, as The Bug and Ghost Dubs seek to craft a new form of dub for zonal headz and Babylon seekers.

Mastered by Stefan Betke (a.k.a. POLE) at Scape Mastering studio, this record is heavy as f-ck without resorting to continuous distortion. It’s low-end worship taken to an absolute extreme, yet remains highly listenable and definitely danceable, albeit at the slowest of paces. Sacred and narcotic, this is low-end worship amplified to the max. Dive in if you dare.

Recorded in concert at the University of Sheffield in March 2025, Reality Is Not A Theory is the first collaboration between Mark Fell and Pat Thomas. Major figures in British experimental music since the 1990s, Fell and Thomas have developed their rigorous practices from radically different backgrounds and perspectives: where Fell’s singular take on synthetic abstraction emerged from Sheffield’s electronic underground, Thomas is a virtuoso improvising pianist steeped in jazz and modernist art music who has simultaneously worked with sampler-based electronics for decades. As the record’s wonderfully academic subtitle explains, we are presented here with two sides of ‘algorithmic and improvised music for computer and piano’, exemplifying both players’ insatiable search for new (and sometimes uncomfortable) playing situations.

The performance begins with Fell’s electronics close to the timbres of acoustic percussion, attacks that suggest wood, metal or glass threaded along a rapid pulse while Thomas focuses on the lowest registers of the piano, deadening the strings. As Fell’s electronics start to ring out and occupy more harmonic space, Thomas turns to wide, repeated clusters, which slowly expand into patterns of chords. Like in his recent solo recordings and his trio work with Joel Grip and Anton Gerbal, Thomas’ playing combines extreme dissonance with a deep lyrical sense. Fell’s work gradually shifts its focus toward drum sounds, drawing on the microtemporal processes that have characterized his practice in recent decades. Heard together with Thomas’ probing piano, the computer sounds call up unexpected associations with the klangfarben antics of improv drummers like Paul Lovens or Tony Oxley. Throughout its second half, the music grows increasingly frenetic, as Thomas sounds out rapid, irregularly repeated figures and beautifully sour chords in the upper register, while Fell’s percussion develops into angular pan-pipe-like feedback and waves of glissandi.

With great confidence and patience, Fell and Thomas often let their individual contributions remain rhythmically distinct and unsynchronised, allowing unexpected correspondence and coincidence to guide the music’s development. Recorded in a hall named after Sheffield steel manufacturer and Master Cutler Mark Firth, the location might suggest a model for understanding how Fell and Thomas interact here: two workers in the same workshop, each immersed in their own part of the production process. Arriving in a striking sleeve designed by Mark Fell, with liner notes by Francis Plagne, Reality Is Not A Theory is an invigorating document of the meeting of two mavericks of contemporary music.

PD002 takes flight in the form of a lost, deadeye jungle bird scavenging for his next trinket. It captures the raw energy and playful, feral sound that defines the Pelican Dub aesthetic: a blend of primal rhythms, hypnotic textures, and experimental intensity.

Pelican Dub 002 features three original tracks by DJ Merlín, alongside one co-production with Adam Pits:

Obsession
Obsessed once again… Nearly lost my head rocking it like a madman.
These drums weren’t simply made. They were forged by a blacksmith with a big blade and a bad temper. It boasts a peculiar flow and a three verse arrangement. Not a mix tool, or is it?

Down the Wrong Road
A futuristic techno-dub track featuring pinched, glassy drumwork wrapped around a pseudo-acid riff. Born during the aftermath of a questionable decision of two friends meeting early in the morning after separate all-night adventures, hence the title: Down the Wrong Road…..

Dirt Bubble
Dirty, unpredictable, and uncompromising. The original version of Dirt Bubble is a raw and visceral workout, chaotic in just the right way.

Dirt Bubble (DnB Mix)
The younger sibling that has outgrown its original prototype. This DnB rework has rightfully become a flagship for the Pelican Dub sound. Expect primal rhythms, wild experimental drum design, and a savage, stretched-out analog bassline that dominates the low end.

First Word Records are very proud to bring you 'Ghouls', the 6th studio album from Bastien Keb.

Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, this album spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.

Part soundtrack, part beat-tape, part memoir, this is a dreamlike soundscape sewn together from half-forgotten memories & late night breakdowns.

Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.

He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection, Taxi Driver, The Warriors and La Haine. There are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.

Keb describes the sonic experience of this album simply as this… "You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm…"

For this 19-track opus, Keb is joined extensively by Malik Ameer Crumpler; a poet, composer, editor and professor based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media.

A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.

His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.

He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).

Keb concludes "this record is for anyone feeling lost in a world that seems to have lost itself without knowing it. It's for the people who know that the world is missing the beauty of the lights in the distance, whilst being distracted by new shoes and flashy phones..."

'Ghouls' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 14th 2025.

Ne$$ and Baby J’s 3rd album comes after a long collaborative working relationship from previous group A-Alikes. Ne$$ has recently done a series of UK shows in London, Leicester and Birmingham as well as an upcoming feature on 05.21 YouTube channel and interviews on Itch FM. The tracks have also been supported on Soho radio and by Shotry Blitz. The album represents an original voice in hip-hop, addressing working-class proletariat stories of street life, and the effects of capitalism on black and poor people. Ne$$ has been a successful part of the US hip-hop seen over the past two decades, working with the likes of Mos Def, Dead Prez and Bilal. Baby J is an established UK, hip-hop producer whose production credits include Amy Winehouse, Skinnyman, Dead Prez, Plan B and Mark Ronson. The album is sonically broken and dark with a raw purist Hip Hop sound.

Season of The Dead is a visceral, cinematic extreme metal project born from the twisted minds of Titta Tani (former drummer of Necrophagia and Goblin), Giacomo Anselmi (former Goblin guitarist and current member of Goblin Legacy), and Enrico Giannone, founder and owner of Time To Kill Records, acting as producer and visionary behind the entire concept. The idea is as brutal as it is clear: to resurrect the blood-soaked legacy of horror-infused death metal, channeling the rotten spirit of bands like Necrophagia, Mortician, and Fulci, while paying tribute to the grotesque imagery and raw energy of cult underground horror films. Influences range from Killjoy to City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and Cannibal Holocaust, creating a soundscape that feels like a soundtrack to a lost VHS splatter nightmare.

Four years on from their landmark Grassroots, visionary half-time heavyweights The Untouchables return with their third album, Lost Knowledge. The duo of Kate McGill and Ajit 'Nitrox' Steyns have carved out a space in modern D&B all their own, building on a legacy that reaches back to the late 00s to keep pushing into unexplored terrain with an assured and deadly line in rhythmic intrigue and atmospheric immersion.

Lost Knowledge launches into action instantly with the high-pressure drum science and dubby splashes of 'Drunken Bells', capturing the loopy techno propulsion and rolling intensity that drives so much of the output on Samurai Music. Where The Untouchables excel is in finding variety and nuance in their relatively forbidding, pared down sound. The heads-down groove of 'Mafia Town' owes as much to dembow and dancehall as D&B, while 'Lost Knowledge' spirals out into psychoactive flurries of synth strafes and organic percussion slathered in tight-locked delay trails. There's no light relief from strident hooks or riffs, just a pure, unshakeable commitment to the power of the beat and deeply designed layers of sound shaping out the space around.

'Busy Bones' makes space for carefully deployed hints of pad tone while the snares snap out of the mix with a sharp set of teeth. 'Four Eared Demon' baits the gabber crowd with its rapid-fire 4/4 hats atop seasick creaks across the midrange, keeping subtlety and patience in the lower frequencies to maintain the signature elegance readily associated with The Untouchables. 'Phase Correlation' teases an artfully unhinged ripple of synth that stands out amongst the murky murmurs filling out the middle distance, but it's still exercised with brutal precision.

Nothing happens by accident or feels out of place - McGill and Steyns are in total control, and they demonstrate incredible range and inventive approaches within their focused style. The accent of the grooves shifts, and individual sounds carry all kinds of artefacts, yet everything gets folded into the exacting Untouchables sound with a liberal dubwise sensibility. Brimming with inspiration and immaculately produced, on Lost Knowledge their one-of-a-kind sound is stronger than ever.

After completing his nationwide run with Ice Nine kills, the rocker has been hard at work prepping Cruel World. The collection of songs includes several notable features, including the likes of From First To Last, as well as Ice Nine Kills. The 9-song minialbum is chock full of TX2's well-known hard-hitting sinister sound, and he's bringing an added dose of heavy with these new songs as well. Fan-favorite track "MAD," which has seen 10,000+ video creates on TikTok and has created an unstoppable buzz around the project. Rising out of the shadows of a small town known for music, Fort Collins; TX2 brings an unmatchable intensity in his music through the form of powerful raw lyrics and explosive performances. After struggling for so many years as an artist, TX2 used his pain as fuel and finally found his sound. As a result, his music went viral on TikTok and he now has ~800K followers on the platform. TX2 has since begun a movement known among his fans known as the "X Movement", which is all about bringing awareness to mental health and creating a safe space for those in need to talk. The rules are simple, any member can vent and share how they are feeling, while other members are encouraged to push other members' self-esteem up. The movement is currently growing every day, providing a platform to speak about mental health, vent, and support one another. TX2 wants everyone to know they are not alone in their struggles. The nine rack minialbum is available on CD & LP!