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We are delighted to present the debut record by pianist, poet and radio producer Phil Smith. Turning his attention away from BBC feature-making, and his cult Jazz-Disjunction NTS show, Phil offers us the diaristic, heartfelt and homespun "Tagebuch".

"Tagebuch" is a collection of musical journal entries, spanning Phil's time living in Berlin from 2013—2017. Using sweetly tumbling piano as a starting point, he flexes his storytelling chops, shifting from scene to scene via voice, folk-jazz arrangements, musique concrète and the occasional techno-synth chugger.

Don't be fooled by Phil's back-of-envelope charm, this is an expertly-crafted radio biopic without words; the minutiae of life percolated through layers of accordion, U-Bahn harmonics and beer foam. A talented cast of guests and friends, notably multi-instrumentalist Zac Gvi, add an unassuming weight and emotional muscle to this deeply personal source material.

Recommended if you like John Carroll Kirby, Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Alabaster DePlume. The vinyl edition of "Tagebuch" comes complete with a book of poems and photos by Phil.

“Überkeine underlines his inclination towards textured techno drifts with this second Ep. Four tracks designed for the club, designed for motion, stirring up disorder on the dancefloor. Aggressive Starter, as its name implies, lays the foundations of the record with assertiveness.
Infatuated with Broken beat techno debauchery, Überkeine continues
experimenting the relationship between kick drum layers and synthetic rambunctious sounds. Revolving around a simple yet effective loop, this track toggles between various stages of distortion bringing emotions through force and discharge. Piggyback Ride brings us into a wavering and unhealthy yet very danceable chamber of depravity.
Energetic, odd and straightforward, the track is divided into two different sections acting as trauma resolving pieces of cake. Radical Jazz starts the B side with ruthless energy, delivering a noteworthy slap dipped in lunatic infringement. A not so sorry, carnal bassline, that hits you in the guts, right where it belongs. Techno with a lack of boundaries. Last but not least, Atomic moog’s proficiency in making deep and spaced out techno acts as leverage for the record. A breath of fresh-air, dedicated to the after-hours. Solid, dubbed-out and delectable piece of equipment. Black and clear “split effect” vinyl, each record is unique !”

Sometimes, we have the tendency to run away from distress because we do not want to deal with the feeling of pain, but the first step in spiritual healing is overcoming the fears and recognizing the pain. The sooner you address the cause of your difficulty, the sooner you’ll get freedom from the pain. Be aware of your situation.
Once you have faced the source of anxiety, you need to acknowledge the pain. Feel your emotions and question what their sources are. Be honest about your feelings. In this stage, it is normal to feel like situations are beyond your control, which can transfer the feeling of hopelessness. However, by allowing yourself to feel rage, it becomes easier for your wounds to heal. Honor your feelings.
Honoring your pain will teach you self-forgiveness. You should be able to feel the kindness within you and experience all the love you have for yourself. You will feel a conflict between the instinct to heal on your own, and the desire to accept the situation and seek support to get healed. You prove that you have an unwavering determination to get healed by choosing the latter. When you want spiritual healing, you have to place your faith in the universe, too.
Surrendering the pain means releasing the pain and seeking support from the universe. It will help you ease your sufferings.
The negative ego vanishes from within you and makes your heart feel lighter once you release your pain. This is a sign of spiritual wellness. You will start to feel a deep openness towards things and think with a peaceful mind. You will become whole again and you will develop the ability to deal with the disruptions of your life with tolerance. The inner peace will be restored. Feal.

For the past 20 years, NO FORMAT! has been cultivating the idea of an artisanal and homemade label, supporting artists who stand out with unexpected projects. Its motto, "You never know in advance what you"ll fall in love with", has guided its direction from the outset. Its high standards on the quality of the sound has become its trademark, while one of the mainstays of its work is the development of collaborations between artists from diverse backgrounds. For its 20th anniversary, a new guard of electronically-inspired artists takes over the NO FORMAT catalog for an original remix album, specially created for the occasion. 10 iconic tracks from the label are reimagined by 10 young, talented, emerging and/or established producers, carefully chosen on each track. While Pan-African trio Toto Bona Lokua"s music is reworked by British-Ghanaian afro-bass pioneer Hagan, South African vocal duo Msaki x Tubatsi is reimagined through a remix by amapiano heavy-weight Vigro Deep. Blick Bassy"s delicate Cameroon folk turns into an afro-club anthem produced by Moonshine collective leading figure Vanyfox ; Haitian-American neo-jazz artist Melanie Charles electrifies "Kouzen" by Haitian Canadian singer-songwriter Mélissa Laveaux ; renowned sound artist Sofie Birch transforms Koki Nakano"s delicate piano into an ambient soundscape. Japanese house pioneer Shinichiro Yokota gives a new spin on electro-jazz collective Asynchrone, which was inspired by Ryuichi Sakamoto"s work. "NO FORMAT! Remixed (2004-2024)" is both a celebration of 20 years of music and creation, bringing this beautiful and curated catalog into a vibrant and festive compilation, and a step towards the label"s next 20 years.

The principles of pleasure radiate a knowing, carnal heat throughout the genre-fluid sound of LSDXOXO. His decade of dedication to the sensibility of underground club culture has brought forth club classics interwoven with pop music hooks and subversive, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

After four years of what LSDXOXO, real name RJ Glasgow, calls a period of “healing and self-discovery,” he is consolidating his multiplicitous sound with one compelling masterstroke: the debut album DOGMA, to be released on his own imprint F.A.G. DOGMA marks a complete paradigmatic shift: it is a poetic and fantastical performance, a route for deep escapism through an expanded musical palette including piano and guitar, and a deeply personal confessional through a fresh approach to songcrafting.

Within DOGMA, RJ meditates on the interlinked qualities of fame, infamy, lust and submission, as he rediscovers a pure, unadulterated approach to music-making, all the while adopting a futurist approach to pop music appreciation. RJ’s unmistakable signatures—the smutty dancefloor caller, the maker of irresistible bangers, the latter-day electroclash and DnB nostalgist—take on even more shades and intricacies. Despite his widespread acclaim as a collaborator with and songwriter for other artists, RJ strips DOGMA down almost exclusively to himself, carving out intentional space as a chameleonic vocalist and performer. He breathes life into the album with private thoughts, external fears and a red thread through personal themes that crystallise the album’s narrative from front to back.

The album’s promo single “Bloodlust” offers angsty, intimate indie-tronica, and musings on the intoxicating nature of love and infatuation. The lead single “Ghost” reaches beyond RJ’s Philadelphia origins to find itself in the deep south, in a sultry fever dream of coquettish R&B featuring backing vocals from close collaborator Kelela. Elsewhere on the album futuristic love, pensive pop earworms, evocative vintage dance styles and sleazy club tracks intermingle. While the DOGMA era will eventually explore remixes and reworks, the album is RJ’s purest embrace of himself and his artistry.

RJ first garnered attention as LSDXOXO in New York City with his on-the-pulse Soundcloud edits and then as part of the cult GHE20GOTH1K collective. His DJ sets and productions quickly earned him acclaim across globally-linked underground scenes. His decision to shift from sampled vocals to picking up the pen and microphone pushed his reach out to the stratosphere; his association with XL Recordings via the Dedicated 2 Disrespect EP in 2021 was a turning point for the burgeoning superstar.

This multiplicity of the LSDXOXO sound has led to enviable co-signs. These include being selected as the opening DJ for Beyoncé’s German Renaissance tour dates, remixing Lady Gaga, Pink Pantheress and Shygirl and producing five tracks for Kelela's highly acclaimed 2023 album for Warp Records, Raven. His fully-realised live show has also taken to the stage, serving fierce charisma to huge audiences at festivals including Primavera, Nuits Sonores and Rewire.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Dave Guy’s debut album Ruby. Having lent his talents both on stage and in the studio to artists like Amy Winehouse, Lizzo, Pharrell, and Sharon Jones to currently playing every night on The Tonight Show as a member of The Roots, Dave steps out on his own with a jazz record that is both unique and modern. Ruby mixes his musical in­fluences with the energies of the city that raised him, capturing different moods and inviting the listener into the world as Dave Guy sees and feels it. Recorded in Queens at The Legendary Diamond Mine, the album is produced by Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon and features musical contributions from Leon Michels, Marco Benevento, Claire Cottrill, and more.

Ruby instantly sits with the classics as an album that is fully realized and not simply a collection of songs. Lead single “7th Heaven” opens the album with an anthemic energy as Dave’s horn lines soar over thundering drums, ethereal vocals, and dancing piano. Keeping the energy high, “Footwork” is a Latin inspired number that is sure to soundtrack many a dance fl­oor from SoHo to Harlem. The synth intro of “Pinky Ring” cleanses your palate for the mood shift when the track drops. Deep bass tones underline the impeccable drumming and

Dave effortlessly finds the pocket wasting no notes as the verses and choruses trade off. The record leans into spiritual jazz vibes on “Diamond Encore” with a dark and deep almost “Axelrodish” rhythm track then picks the energy back up with the stomper “Still Standing”. “Dave Wants You” has a bop all its own with an unorthodox drum pattern that Dave anchors with his trumpet hits. The otherworldly arrangement of “Drony Boy” puts the production on a pedestal. The first intro almost serves as an intermission on the album while the second

intro sets up the neck snapping track that is about to drop. A menacing guitar signals the builds and the whole thing is juxtaposed by Dave’s beautiful trumpet riffs. “Quesodillas” & “Green Door” begin the autumn of the album with their mellow & intimate energy and “Ruby’s Rubies”, the album’s closer is the perfect ending to the journey.

Tijs Vanneste, succesvol muzikant én tv-maker, komt met zijn eerste eigen plaat 'Over De Helft'.

Als deel van het iconische duo 'Van Echelpoel' werd het hoog tijd voor Vanneste om zijn eigen muzikale pad te bewandelen.

Tijs scoorde al eerder met albums in functie van zijn televisiewerk: 'Hier Is Het Goed' en 'Wildgroei' maakten deel uit van zijn gelauwerde televisieprogramma 'De Kempen' op VRT1. Dit nieuwe project wordt gedreven door zijn persoonlijke passie en mag gelabeld worden zoals iedereen in deze woelige tijden dat zelf wilt: een daad van egoïsme, nakend narcisme of gewoon een uiterst hoge nood aan een eigen creatieve uitlaatklep.

'Over De Helft' is geen toevallige schepping, integendeel, het is een belichaming van elementen die voor Tijs van onschatbare waarde zijn: humor, diepgang en plezier doordrenkt met wereldwijde muzikale invloeden zoals Reggae, Dub en Slavische klanken.

Zoals we van Vanneste gewoon zijn wordt dit alles op zijn eigen hardnekkige en eigenwijze manier van uitdrukken gepresenteerd: het authentieke en ondertussen tot wereldtaal verheven Kempense dialect.

De titel van dit zelfverklaard meesterwerk is treffend: 'Over De Helft'. Want laat dat nu de plek zijn waar Tijs zich bevindt: bijna 45 jaar oud en vooral erg blij met waar hij nu voor en in het leven staat: eerlijk en rechtdoorzee. Nummers als 'Talent' en 'De Kempen' vertellen over vroeger, nu en... later.

In het allerbeste geval is 'Over De Helft' een stimulans voor zowel lichaam als geest of op zijn minst een plaat die je doet dansen, lachen en verlangen naar een eeuwigdurende zomer.

Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young. He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college. Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks-bass & Brian Worrell-drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970. Formed in 1972, Magnum throughout the next 16 years consisted mainly of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably ‘Soldier of the Line’, ‘Sacred Hour’ and ‘The Spirit’. Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single ‘Just Like an Arrow’. This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor (Queen) produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990. Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain a tighter control, and after their initial mainstream success, the band lost their major label backing and returned to a more personal level of production. This finally found the band splitting and the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more Pop orientated direction with a band that included Sue McCloskey on lead vocals. This new direction didn’t sit well with Catley, and after a headline performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records saw Catley agree with a decision which eventually led to his debut solo album, ‘The Tower’. This release was completely written by Gary Hughes of Ten, with the writing completely decided to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the amazing Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. On release, the many positive reviews concluded that the release of ‘The Tower’ had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination…..and Bob Catley’s solo career had been launched with amazing success!! With a lyrical intricacy and majestic pomp, songs like ‘Far Away, ‘Fear of the Dark, ‘Madrigal’ and ‘Deep Winter’ take you back to that glorious period of Magnum between ‘Chase The Dragon’ and ‘Wings Of Heaven’ whilst hard melodic rockers such as ‘Scream’, ‘Dreams’ and title track ‘The Tower’ show just what Magnum would have sounded like if they’d gone a little bit harder. Another absolutely brilliant album that totally deserves to be filed alongside those mid-period Magnum classics.

No one has lived a life quite like Marcos Valle. He became an overnight international sensation, fled a military dictatorship, dodged the Vietnam war draft, had his music sung by Homer Simpson, made enemies with Marlon Brando, and became an unsuspecting fitness guru for multiple generations. But to truly understand the great Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi instrumentalist, one must listen to his music.

Lead Single (Life Is What It Is) : Between the release of his first album in 1962 and today, Marcos Valle has released twenty-two studio albums traversing definitive bossa nova, classic samba, iconic disco pop, psychedelic rock, nineties dance and orchestral music. He has also had his songs recorded by some of the all time greats, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina, and (last but not least), Emma Button of the Spice Girls. He has also had his music sampled by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Pusha T and many more.


With his twenty-third studio album Túnel Acustico, Valle set out to bring it all together.

“I believe my music is many things. It goes in different directions. I have many different ways of writing music, sometimes it’s melodies and harmony, sometimes the groove is the focus. But all the music I have made over my sixty year career is unified. It is all natural and it is all sincere. And this is what I wanted to bring to my new album.”

A prominent feature of Valle’s career has been his dual residence between Brazil and the USA. Originally moving over in the mid-sixties on the back of bossa nova’s international proliferation, Valle toured with Sergio Mendes and became hugely in demand as a composer and arranger. But the Vietnam War loomed and the threat of being drafted saw him return to Brazil. He spent the following years in Rio writing music for TV and film, as well as four cult favourite albums in collaboration with some of Brazil’s most groundbreaking musicians including Milton Nascimento, Azymuth, Som Imaginario and O Terco.

By 1975, Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most oppressive, making living and working increasingly difficult. Valle moved back to the US where he would reside in LA, writing songs for, and collaborating with the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, amongst others.

Túnel Acústico features two songs originally conceived during Valle’s time on the West Coast: “Feels So Good”, a stirring two-step soul triumph written in 1979 with soul icon Leon Ware, and the sublime AOR disco track “Life Is What It Is”, composed around the same time, with percussionist Laudir De Oliveira from the group Chicago.

Built around an unfinished demo Marcos found on a shelf in his house 44 years after it was made, the “Feels So Good” demo was restored with the help of producer Daniel Maunick, who also utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs. Valle added Portuguese lyrics to sit alongside Ware’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.

Also written in late seventies LA, “Life Is What Is It” was co-penned by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago and first released on the bands’ Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Another nod to his good times in LA, Valle recorded his own version for Túnel Acústico, upping the tempo and deepening the groove for a blast of irresistible summer soul.

On Túnel Acústico, Valle's core band features two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.

The contemporarily composed music on Túnel Acústico features an impressive lineup of guest lyricists, including renowned Brazilian artists: Joyce Moreno (Bora Meu Vem), Céu (Nao Sei), and Moreno Veloso (Palavras Tão Gentis) as well as Valle's brother Paulo Sergio Valle (Tem Que Ser Feliz).

The album closes with "Thank You Burt (For Bacharach)", a tribute to the legendary composer who passed away in 2023.

Túnel Acústico will be released on 20th September 2024 via Far Out Recordings. Valle is set to tour Europe and America in support of the album.

Nigerian electronic musician and violist Ibukun Sunday debuts on Phantom Limb with Harmony / Balance, a brooding, introspective take on Afro-ambient music that follows two acclaimed digital-only albums for Phantom Limb imprint Spirituals.


Based in Lagos, Ibukun Sunday has expertly positioned himself between the rarely-married cultures of ambient and West African musics. He entwines his compositions with field recordings from his native Nigeria and deeply considered philosophies of existence, humanity, and society. The themes of Harmony / Balance derive from Swami and Hare Krishna founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta and his work Bhagavad-Gita Eng: “As It Is”, a script on the duality of human nature. In Bhaktivedanta’s text, two cousins - warriors from the sacred Hindu text the Mahābhārata - and their armies are pitted against each other. The humility, self control, and devotion of one cousin against the arrogance, envy, and pursuit of power of the other. Bhaktivedanta writes that from this battle we see the necessity to cultivate and nurture our love and faith, but to simultaneously understand our selfishness and hubris. Appropriately, in Ibukun Sunday’s music, a heavy, apocalyptic dread contrasts fascinatingly with passages of light. The static-spiked, corrosive sound design of Harmony / Balance conjures darkness, but its skipping rhythmic patterns and melodic contours are made of beautifully vibrant colours.



Though Sunday excels in the kind of drawn-out elegance also found in the work of Kali Malone, William Basinski or Fennesz, and also in a magisterial repetition akin to Terry Riley or Manuel Göttsching, his unique practice, classical training, and core culture shine through in a pure and singular way. Scattered throughout Harmony / Balance are unexpected melodic antiphonies closely aligned with African music, interspersed between huge, spacious drones and field recordings.



Lead track “Arrayed On The Battlefield” evokes mythical and deific wars with hissing, buzzing synthesis that could be dystopian if not for a levitational, sunlit harmonic structure. It rolls and shimmers, transcendent frequencies alive with rhythm. Later, “Enemy Of My Enemy” employs shimmering, meditative chord pads and blissful negative space, while towards the end of the record, “To Fight With” could have been taken from a Denis Villeneuve sci-fi - the fizzing, fiery distortion at its peak gradually, carefully yields a rumbling, distant thunder as it closes. Throughout the record, Sunday’s education as a classical viola player is also evident. A honed musicality and developed ear for harmonic resonances lend the work a measured eloquence, even amidst deep, spiritual intuitiveness. This intensely personal and powerfully expressive creativity is key to the grace with which he crosses divides.


Ibukun Sunday is a solo electronic musician and violist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He has released two albums with Phantom Limb’s digital-only imprint Spirituals, which enjoyed rightful acclaim as unique and powerful works of experimental ambient music. He also performed at Phantom Limb’s 5th anniversary celebrations in 2023, playing alongside Richard Skelton at St. John’s on Bethnal Green in London, UK.

THE 6TH ALBUM BY FRENCH CULT UNDERGROUND RAPPER

BOTH PRODUCTION AND GUESTS PERFECTLY MATCH DEEP, TOUCHING AND ASTUTE LYRICS featuring EUPHONIK, SWIFT GUAD, SALIGO & DEMI PORTION

Bitter Calm is a band from Birmingham, AL. They make music that one would call “sad”, but much like the torrential rains that punctuate their lives, it’s a different kind of sad— less like a breakup at the dinner table and more like a breakup in the atmosphere. Deeply, loudly, profoundly sad.

Inspired by MJ Lenderman, Songs: Ohia, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and more, Bitter Calm's sophomore record is more about the destination than the journey— the destination being “hell” and the journey being “self-annihilation”. There is no relief to be found in the music itself save for the catharsis of accepting one’s own hopelessness. The relief comes from the fact that the songs were ever written, recorded, and performed in the first place.

On the other side of this endless descent, descent, descent... something beautiful happened. With support from violinist Meg Ford, bassist Alex Guin, and percussionist Chayse Porter— all Birmingham heavyweights in their own right— Harp eschews the uncomfortable trauma-dumping of his more whispery peers in favor of something darker, meaner, more “results oriented”. Building on the release of their debut LP, "Eternity In The Lake of Fire" is sure to solidify Bitter Calms place in Birmingham's tight-knit indie scene.

"‘A virtuoso guitarist with a galvanising charm that electrifies her audience.’ - Guardian

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway release a new six-song EP, Into the Wild, via Nonesuch Records. The EP, a follow-up to their Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed 2023 album, City of Gold, includes three new songs as well as previously released covers of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’ and Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘good 4 u’, and an alternate version of the City of Gold track ‘Stranger Things’.

In addition to the band’s previously scheduled US tour dates, which include a performance at the Ryman in Nashville in September, they have announced a new batch of US dates in November, including stops in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, upstate New York, Massachusetts, and more.
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Of the new release, Tuttle says: “With this new EP we invite you to come on a journey with us Into the Wild. I wrote the title track with Ketch Secor after a week spent in the redwoods. This song is about getting lost in the wilderness even if it’s just in the forest of your mind. ‘Getaway Girl’ was an unfinished song I had started writing for our last LP City of Gold. It’s about a whirlwind romance set in New York City, kind of like Carrie Bradshaw meets bluegrass. In addition to these two new original songs, we included some of our favorite covers that we’ve woven into the live show, ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane and ‘good 4 u’ by Olivia Rodrigo.”

She continues: “We paid tribute to one of my favorite California songwriters Kate Wolf with a new version of her song ‘Here in California’ which features my dad, Jack Tuttle, and longtime friend AJ Lee singing with me. I used to play this one with my family band back in the day! On ‘Stranger Things’ (Down the Rabbit Hole Version) I wanted to go for a stripped back ethereal version of this song originally played by the full band on City of Gold. It features a trio with Dominick Leslie on mandolin, and Nathaniel Smith on cello and synth. I hope you enjoy trekking deeper into the woods with us as we pick up where we left off on City of Gold and explore new territory as a band.”

Earlier this year, Tuttle and the band—fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, mandolinist Dominick Leslie, bass player Shelby Means, and banjo player Kyle Tuttle—earned their second consecutive GRAMMY win for Best Bluegrass album for City of Gold, released last year on Nonesuch Records. Earlier this month, the band was nominated for eight IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards: Tuttle and the band are up for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, and Album of the Year for City of Gold. Tuttle is nominated for both Female Vocalist of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes for Fiddle Player of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Additionally, Jerry Douglas, who produced City of Gold with Tuttle and is up for Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year, will be inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

Raised in Northern California, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she has received many accolades; in addition to the two GRAMMY wins she was also nominated for Best New Artist. She has earned three wins at the 2023 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and Tuttle won Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards. Additionally, she has earned Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards, and Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in both 2017 and 2018. Tuttle has performed around the world, including shows with Billy Strings, Béla Fleck, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Dwight Yoakam, as well as at several major festivals including Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage."

Repress!

Leif Vollebekk, the Montreal singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist had hit a wall. In the midst of endless touring Leif found himself retreating to his lonely hotel rooms after shows and listening to Nick Drake's 'Pink Moon' alone in the dark. His own songs didn't sound right and he felt the bright spots in his sets were the covers he'd end with: songs by Ray Charles or Townes Van Zandt. In this deep blue mood he booked a secret show at a Montreal dive bar, only playing covers with a band that rehearsed once.  The experience led Leif to change his approach to songwriting: explore the ideas that came spontaneously to him, and let the songs shape themselves. Soon the songs came pouring out of him. This approach is what created the lush, freewheeling and often devastating 'Twin Solitude,' out February 24 on Secret City Records.

"By the time the last notes die away, all that's left should be you," Leif says. "And I'll be somewhere else. And that's Twin Solitude.' 

Leif's third album, features 10 delicate and expansive original songs, with lyrics that pour out of this singer songwriter that are often compared to Jeff Buckley.  Leif's words lay on a bed of elastic instrumentation full of piano, synthesizer, guitar, rich electric bass and strings.

Several songs on the album came to Leif and were written in one sitting. 'Into the Ether' came to be while he was exploring a Moog synthesizer. 'Elegy' is a bedside soliloquy, of love slipping through fingers and came to Leif while he was riding his bike through Montreal.  The meditative 'Michigan' was written on a half-tuned guitar and fully written as he was about to go to sleep.  Other songs on the album capture the countless hours Leif has spent on the road, crisscrossing North America. 'Big Sky Country' recalls a trip to Vancouver with his family when he was young, never forgetting the expanse of Montana and listening to Ian Tyson's song 'The Gift' in the car over and over again.
'Twin Solitude' features Olivier Fairfield from Timber Timbre (drums), Sarah Page from the Barr Brothers (harp) on 'Rest' Shahzad Ismaily of Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog and SecretCheifs3 (bass) on several tracks and the string duo Chargaux throughout the album as well.  It was engineered by Dave Smith and recorded at his Breakglass Studios in Canada.  Produced by Leif Vollebekk.

Vollebekk made his album debut in 2010 - and since then has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, and shared stages with Daniel Lanois, Beth Orton, Sinéad O'Connor, Patrick Watson, Coeur de Pirate, William Fitzsimmons and Sam Amidon. His debut 'Inland' was described as  beautiful, memorable and moving' by NPR and  timeless and monumental'  by The Independent.

2024 Repress

Pitch Black’s “Electronomicon”, a landmark album in New Zealand’s electronica scene, finally gets pressed on vinyl.First released in 2000, “Electronomicon” shows Pitch Black developing their deep dubby sound further by creating long and involved song structures that traverse a range of sonic experiences. The resultant album journeys from organic ambience and layered soundscapes to skanking keyboards, cutting acid riffs and thumping rhythmic grooves, with dub being the glue that holds it all together.

“Electronomicon” reached 28 in the New Zealand album charts and led to a sell-out 30-date tour of New Zealand and Australia. It has since gone on to become one of the duo’s most popular albums, regularly finding new fans around the world.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release, the band dug out the original audio files and Angus McNaughton has remastered them for this vinyl release. Hamish Macaulay has also adapted the original artwork, creating a brand new collage for the centerfold out of pictures taken at the time.

Nubya Garcia isn’t an artist you can easily classify. Is it jazz? Sure, the London-born saxophonist, composer and bandleader grew up studying the genre under the noted pianist Nikki Yeoh at Camden Music. But it isn’t until you listen to albums like 2020’s Source and 2024’s Odyssey that you hear broader creativity shining through: It’s jazz, classical, dub, R&B and whatever else Garcia wants to convey. It all comes from a place of exploration and self-study, of wanting to do all the things across all disciplines while ignoring arbitrary boxes that don’t t.

Garcia’s sophomore album Odyssey, out in September 2024 via Concord Jazz, is a majestic feat on which she blends orchestral arrangements with R&B, jazz, broken beat and dub, resulting in a grand, nuanced record that feels airy and celestial without sacricing the groove. It’s a deeply personal oering about her trek to falling back in love with musical composition over the past four years.

Source, her 2020 debut album, was released via Concord Jazz to massive critical acclaim, an NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, a Pitchfork “Best New Music” review and a Rolling Stone “Album of the Month” mention. In a prole, The New York Times called Source “a sweeping set of jazz with Afro-Caribbean inuences that funnels a life’s worth of experiences into an hourlong listen.” Also upon release, the album entered the UK charts in the Top 30, and she was just one of three artists selected to perform live at Glastonbury’s 2020 Experience, which aired on the BBC to thousands of viewers. Source was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, a prestigious award given to the best albums from the UK or Ireland.

In 2022, Garcia toured the US in support of Khruangbin, performing in sold-out venues including Radio City Music Hall in New York, the Ryman in Nashville and the Met in Philadelphia. She then headlined her own tour in the UK and US, performing at various festivals including Glastonbury, Love Supreme, Pickathon and Newport Jazz.

Garcia continues to tour worldwide while also collaborating with major brands like Lululemon, Paul Smith, Labrum, Nicholas Daley and Burberry. She was one of three creatives selected for Fossil’s “Moment In Time” campaign, which was published globally in VOGUE, GQ, and GLAMOUR magazines. Elsewhere, Garcia has been featured in numerous print publications, including Mojo, Vogue and Ebony.

As a composer, Garcia’s original music has been placed with Apple TV (Ted Lasso); OWN Network (Cherish The Day); FX TV (Atlanta); EPIC GAMES (Fortnite); and on multiple podcasts (including the theme tune for Anika Noni Rose’s Clio award-winning podcast Being Seen).

Nubya Garcia isn’t an artist you can easily classify. Is it jazz? Sure, the London-born saxophonist, composer and bandleader grew up studying the genre under the noted pianist Nikki Yeoh at Camden Music. But it isn’t until you listen to albums like 2020’s Source and 2024’s Odyssey that you hear broader creativity shining through: It’s jazz, classical, dub, R&B and whatever else Garcia wants to convey. It all comes from a place of exploration and self-study, of wanting to do all the things across all disciplines while ignoring arbitrary boxes that don’t t.

Garcia’s sophomore album Odyssey, out in September 2024 via Concord Jazz, is a majestic feat on which she blends orchestral arrangements with R&B, jazz, broken beat and dub, resulting in a grand, nuanced record that feels airy and celestial without sacricing the groove. It’s a deeply personal oering about her trek to falling back in love with musical composition over the past four years.

Source, her 2020 debut album, was released via Concord Jazz to massive critical acclaim, an NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, a Pitchfork “Best New Music” review and a Rolling Stone “Album of the Month” mention. In a prole, The New York Times called Source “a sweeping set of jazz with Afro-Caribbean inuences that funnels a life’s worth of experiences into an hourlong listen.” Also upon release, the album entered the UK charts in the Top 30, and she was just one of three artists selected to perform live at Glastonbury’s 2020 Experience, which aired on the BBC to thousands of viewers. Source was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, a prestigious award given to the best albums from the UK or Ireland.

In 2022, Garcia toured the US in support of Khruangbin, performing in sold-out venues including Radio City Music Hall in New York, the Ryman in Nashville and the Met in Philadelphia. She then headlined her own tour in the UK and US, performing at various festivals including Glastonbury, Love Supreme, Pickathon and Newport Jazz.

Garcia continues to tour worldwide while also collaborating with major brands like Lululemon, Paul Smith, Labrum, Nicholas Daley and Burberry. She was one of three creatives selected for Fossil’s “Moment In Time” campaign, which was published globally in VOGUE, GQ, and GLAMOUR magazines. Elsewhere, Garcia has been featured in numerous print publications, including Mojo, Vogue and Ebony.

As a composer, Garcia’s original music has been placed with Apple TV (Ted Lasso); OWN Network (Cherish The Day); FX TV (Atlanta); EPIC GAMES (Fortnite); and on multiple podcasts (including the theme tune for Anika Noni Rose’s Clio award-winning podcast Being Seen).

We welcome Torn back to Samurai Music for a full length return trip.
Immortal ventures back into the abyssal realms that Ivans music inhabits with 13 meticulously crafted solo works. Meditative, brooding and hypnotic, it's a hauntingly immersive journey that shines a light on his singular vision and artistry.
From the outset, Torn descends into the subterranean with unmatched precision. Each track on Immortal is an intricate colage of raw, sinewy textures and eerie melodies,meticulously woven to create an intensely intoxicating experience.
Standout pieces like the title track 'Immortal', 'Into The Abyss', Unending Rails' and'Glacier' display the inimitable Torn style in its full glory. Immaculate rhythms and layered atmospherics, forever evoking a sense of inexorable momentum
What sets Immortal apart is its ability to maintain a cohesive narrative while exploring diverse sonic and rhythmic territories. Torn seamlessly transitions from the minimalist, almost meditative ambience of tracks like Reckless and I Dare to the more aggressive, beat-driven attacks of Inner Battle and Invisible Turmoil. Each piece contributes to the overarching foreboding atmospheric journey.
For aficionados of deep, shadowy atmospheric drum and bass, Torn's Immortal is indispensable, a tenebrous soundscape that is equal parts innovative, disquieting and enthralling.

Limited Edition of 1000 Opaque Light Blue 180 Gram Vinyl LP. Ghost on Ghost is Iron & Wine's fifth full length record and was originally released in 2013. The album found Sam Beam the bands principle member working once again with longtime associate Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Califone). The record marks the last time the two would work together on a journey that began with the bands second record, Endless Numbered Days. It also marked a shift for the two from working in Chicago to setting up in New York City. The idea behind the move was to tap into the creative musical community New York had to offer. The line-up that helped bring Beam's vision for Ghost on Ghost to life included a who's who from the jazz community as well as the deep wells of outside art including Steve Bernstein (Sex Mob/Levon Helm Band), Rob Burger (Tin Hat Trio), Brian Blade, Curtis Fowlkes (The Jazz Passengers), Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan Band), Marika Hughes, Briggan Kraus, Maxim Moston, Tony Scherr (The Lounge Lizards), Doug Wieselman, Kenny Wolleson (Tom Watis/John Zorn) and Anja Wood. The level of talent on Ghost on Ghost far surpassed anything Beam ever imagined when he first began writing songs as Iron and Wine on his four-track. Upon completing the Ghost on Ghost Beam jokingly referred to the recording process as "a reward to myself" after years of chasing sounds by himself. Being able have the finest in musicians in New York City perform on the record, elevating these songs into places he never imagined Beam stated, "it was an honor -- really inspiring." Beam stated at the time that Ghost on Ghost takes it's inspiration from records like Nilsson Schmilsson, Ram, Mingus Moves and What's Going On. The record they all crafted is warm and inviting and was like anything up to that point in the Iron & Wine catalog.

The unconscious and unknown must be really nice places. In any case, if you take the second album of Menelaos Tomasides under his given name as travelogue. A trip into dreamlike territory, yet concrete enough, a journey without target yet looking forward and looking back into familiar places, „dreamhike“ both continues and departs from the style Menelaos has found earlier, in “When the Moon Comes Through”, or his more conceptual-intentional “31 Minuten” works. As the album title - which roughly translates to “dream hiking” but also hints on “walkabout” and “songlines” – suggests, we are rambling between the real and the imaginary. From the bucolic border triangle of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands to the buzzing streets of the capital of Cyprus, where Menelaos has lived for many years, the tracks are about real places, about real experiences and emotions yet interwoven with a dreamlike fabric. Something that is just not tangible, yet substantial and palpable. Something concrete that manifests in the genuine and special sound design of this records - basically all of Menelaos’ works - his really special treatment of dynamics and loudness. It is one of the very few records where the established language of music making, specifically Techno, House, Dub, and early 2000’ Electronica, the clicks, thumps and plops from an earlier age of electronic music, transmogrify into slow movements of something new. Something that is gentle and truly personal, looking inwards. There are four-to-the-floor beats, there is wobbly bass, and dubby chords, even sublimated clarion calls. There is an immense energy in these tracks, the sheer materiality of low frequencies of a massive sound system manifested in a tiny room. Yet it is without any aggression, stripped bare of sonic pressure. It is quiet music no matter how high you turn up the volume. A rare treat, that requires exceptional skills and exceptional restraint and control on the technical side of music making. Probably it is a result of Menelaos specific combination of instinctual, intuitive approach to making music, which meets a genuine love for sound in seemingly endless loops of refinement that can lead to such a result as „dreamhike“. The elegant floating balance of control and playful experimentation manifests for example in a track that continues the ongoing collaboration with seasoned Cologne improviser Achim Fink on bass trumpet. Not only in this respect, the album can be described as a product of openness. It comes from a lot of taking in the world, of travel, of places and people met, of friendship and conversation (not necessarily with words). The deep trip of “dreamhike” further manifests Menelaos as one of the truly independent voices of electronic Cologne and beyond. Somewhat alike in character and attitude probably to what late Pete Namlook has established for Frankfurt with his label Fax +49-69/450464 (though ultimately warmer and much less uncanny) Menelaos has found his very own sound and vision. Music that answers to no one but speaks to everyone. Uncompromising yet gentle to the core: kind sounds from a kind spirit, arguably the most extraordinary and valuable quality music can have these days.

Île Flottante is Mr. Beatnick´s 5th album, following 2023’s Joy In Variation (including the notorious cover of Love on a Real Train) and his well-received off-beat collaboration with London-based avant-garde agitator Richard Greenan – Coasty – this is his first contribution to the International Feel trademark. Probably best known for some big deep house revivalist tunes circa 2013 on the now dormant Don’t Be Afraid record label, Beatnick now converts that aural quality and dimensionality into the Balearic system.
Île Flottante takes its name from the tastiest French pudding of Mr. Beatnick’s childhood holidays. The name, also a jeux de mots - floating island - hinting at the album’s inspirations and sense of identity, as a danceable soundtrack to a fictional island. Explored with high intensity and over a yearlong process, the sounds of the well-worn, but never failing Balearic universes were a mind expanding influence. Think of genre staples like Software, Manuel Goettsching, Mark Barrott, Len Leise, Don Carlos, Gaussian Curve, Joan Bibiloni or Yasuaki Shimuzu.
„I spent a year listening to a lot of synthesized island music, and marveling at the many twinkling wonders of the Balearic musical universe. Struck by a sense of belonging that had often eluded me on my musical journey thus far, as the weirdo at the back of the club who had orbited many scenes for 20 years, but never felt like I fitted in, I found music that made me feel like I had come home. The songs that came out of this process are presented in the order that they were written - an open book of ocean hymns, honest and spoken from the heart.“
Île Flottante tries its very hardest to avoid being any one thing in particular. At one point, it is a gentle beach walk accompanied by polyrhythmic drum plod and flourishes of Guzheng. At another, the infamous James Yancey septuplet swing is repurposed against a marimba melody that wouldn’t be out of place in one of Link’s forest adventures.
Elsewhere, there are the bellows of distant whales, touches of Italian dream house and a splash of vintage madchester, all working to create a space that feels both familiar and loaded with well worn tropes, but with its own quirky sense of personality, facets which are often attributed to Mr. Beatnick’s holistic b-boy approach. This is his understanding of a Balearic (b-boy) stance. Just with a float instead of a freeze.

In a joyous reunion after a long, 7-year hiatus, the Neil Cowley Trio reconvene giving rise to a creatively inspired recording, 'Entity', their 7th studio album. In 2006 the Neil Cowley Trio burst onto the scene with an exciting sound that fizzed with energy; their muscular anthems, galloping grooves and tender moments placed them at the forefront of the new 'post jazz' movement, paving the way for 6 highly acclaimed albums over 10 years. Cowley then pressed 'pause' to pursue a solo career - no less successful - with a focus on electronica. Now, stirred by his extended time of solitary music making, he makes a firm statement about the joy, comfort and the rewards of human connection in the digital age. Joining Cowley are his close musical allies, bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins; three friends giving their all to each other. Cowley is a brilliant composer and dazzling pianist and the trio flame still burns bright. 'Entity' is a magnificent return to form cementing the 'Neil Cowley Trio sound' - head-nodding wonky grooves, killer melodies, emotionally charged pieces with a glass like fragility laced throughout. It is a mature, sophisticated album of deeply impassioned music, delicate beauty, hooks aplenty and an ode to friendship.

Jaz Karis is getting ready to take off. The South London singer and songwriter has been making waves with her silky voice and lyrical, candid pen since her first EP back in 2017, building herself up steadily over the years. 2024 will see the long-awaited arrival of Jaz Karis' debut album, Safe Flight, . It's a record that spans a breadth of sonics: slinky Afrobeats, gleaming R&B, warm gospel, shimmering flecks of pop, hiphop, jazz and amapiano, all woven through with the glowing thread of Jaz's signature soulful feeling. "Soul to me is a feeling," she explains, "All I want to do with my music is evoke feelings."

The imagery for this album all pertains to identity and travel - IDs, lanyards, nostalgia-tinged film footage - and in turn, it all alludes to the path that Jaz Karis is on. Safe Flight finds an accomplished, assured artist reflecting on where she's been and ready to step up to the next level: a star on the rise but still deeply down to earth. At once soulful, vibey and poignant, this is an album about embracing possibility, admitting mistakes, and trusting the process. "It's about getting free," Jaz says with a smile, "And it's not that I have it all figured out now or anything, but I'm on this learning curve. There's something exciting about being on the journey."

Isaiah makes a powerful entrance with the "Concrescence EP," his debut release on Stützpunkt. This EP is a meticulously crafted exploration of sound, where deep, immersive basslines intertwine with atmospheric textures and driving rhythms.

Gold Vinyl. The first vocal album by beloved Ethiopian nun, composer, and pianist Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru - profound and deeply moving home cassette recordings made amidst political upheaval and turmoil. These songs, recorded between 1977-1985, are different from anything previously released by the artist. Rich with the sound of birds outside the window, the creak of the piano bench, the thump of Emahoy's finger on the record button, they create a sense of place, of being near the artist while she records. Emahoy dreamt of releasing this music to a larger audience before her passing in March of 2023. We are proud to release this music, in collaboration with her family, now, in what would have been her 100th year. LP comes with a 16-page booklet full-color booklet. Gold cover first edition, pressed in both black and gold vinyl editions.

Though she was Stax Records' Queen of Soul (and Otis Redding was her king), there was much more to Carla Thomas. In 1967, even while being promoted by the name of her most recent album, The Queen Alone, she was expanding her sound, developing a cabaret act that showcased a mix of genres and styles and that was built around her beautiful voice. She was exploring new vistas when these two sides were recorded.
Isaac Hayes wrote "Loneliness". Carla's suave delivery evokes Diana Ross, and the shiny brass horns call out a Burt Bacharach arrangement as much as Stax. This is Carla with a nice polish on the groove.
Labelmate and friend Deanie Parker wrote "If It's Not Asking Too Much". A sparer presentation, the organ drives the tango rhythm and also—a second keyboard, I think—swells behind Carla, everything entwining and deepening the song's brooding tone. This is the kind of side that can both start your night or finish it.
Carla Thomas has got it all.

Rage Queen Delilah Bon is a force to be reckoned with blending elements of hip-hop, nu-metal, and riot grrrl ethos into her signature "Brat Punk" style. Her music serves as a fierce anthem for marginalized communities, particularly women, non-binary and the LGBTQ+ community. Her performance at the 2023 Glastonbury festival garnered acclaim from Kerrang!, who hailed her as a ‘standout voice in the rise of bold and bratty heavy music’. This recognition secured her a coveted spot on Kerrang!'s 'Sound of 2024' artist list and further recognition as ‘New Noise’ artist in Metal Hammer magazine and full feature in Clash Magazine. 2024 promises to be a monumental year for Delilah Bon, with a series of highly successful single and video releases to date and her highly anticipated album ‘Evil, hate Filled Female’ due for release in September. She’s also playing a host of Summer festivals including Download, Glastonbury, 2000 Trees and several European festivals including Rock For People in Czech Republic and Metropolis Festival in the Netherlands, with more to be announced! Her singles from the upcoming album, “Maverick” and "Finally See Me” have received widespread support from BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio, earning coveted spots as Track of the Week’ on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Radio 1 Introducing Rock Show, ‘Future Flavour’ on Nels Hylton’s BBC Radio 1 Future Alternatives and ‘Track of the week’ on Kerrang! New Noise with Hope Lynes. She’s also had major editorial support from Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon Music, including her 3rd Misfits 2.0 playlist Cover artist. Delilah Bon's international appeal was further solidified by her support slot on US artist Scene Queen's UK tour in 2023 and performances at sold-out arena shows in France earlier this year supporting French band Shaka Ponk. Notably, she made National television appearances on Le Late Show and Taratata TV in France, showcasing her magnetic stage presence to a global audience. With her bold persona, genre-defying sound, and unwavering commitment to amplifying marginalized voices, Delilah Bon continues to cement her status as a trailblazer in the music industry.

Merkwürdig is thrilled to present you our second VA EP, featuring a lineup of talented artists who are pushing the boundaries of electronic music. Nate.SU, Bodj, OBG Felix Bergleiter & Thomas Grün and Fabiano José come together to deliver a diverse and captivating collection of tracks.

First up, Nate.SU takes us on a cosmic adventure with „Neutrino". This mesmerizing track combines atmospheric textures with pulsating beats, creating a sense of weightlessness and exploration.

Next, Bodj invites us to explore „Inside Reflux" with his intricate production. The track blends deep grooves with obscure melodies, creating a hypnotic and immersive experience.

OBG takes us on an travel „with the wave" with their atmospheric composition. Ethereal pads and mesmerizing rhythms.

Closing the EP, Fabiano Jose brings the vibes with "Discotale". This infectious track is filled with funky basslines, and catchy vocal samples, guaranteed to get the dancefloor moving.

Merkwürdig MW 002 is a testament to the label's commitment to showcasing innovative and forward-thinking music. Stay tuned for this Vinyl-only release, as it promises to be a journey through diverse sonic landscapes.

Secretsundaze marks a new chapter in the institution’s storied history with the foundation of imprint 9FINITY. Stemming from founder James Priestley’s daughter Ludo’s toddler-speak of ‘9FINITY’ to define something massive or huge, the label aims to run with this descriptor through no-nonsense, discerning dance records from artists at the vanguard of modern club music.

The label makes a statement with its maiden release, a V/A compiled with the considered curation synonymous with the Secretsundaze name.

9FINITY001 brings together the talents of Eoin DJ, DJ Life, Luca Attanasio, Coffintexts and E-Talking across 5 tracks and digital bonus that act as a distillation of the label’s sonic vision.

The EP kicks off with Eoin DJ’s ‘Red Rubber Roses’ (Rhythm Dub). A deep, yet driving affair that melds a subtle break with an organ bass line. Think Junior Vasquez meets Radiant Love and you’re getting close. Joining Eoin DJ on the A-side is Naarm production wizard DJ Life with ‘Aberration’. A true headspinner, Life pulls out all the stops on this one, brooding D n’ B style low end, his trademark psychedelic flourishes and a mid-track pace change for good measure. A statement of intent for the imprint on its opening stanza.

The flip opens with exciting newcomer Luca Attanasio’s ‘I Like You Mind’. Straight up intelligent modern house music to kick start the B-side with moody keys and sensual vocal samples juxtaposing a rising bassline that emphasizes groove. Next is Coffintexts’ percussive ‘Make U Sweat’. Doing exactly what is says on the tin, a bold club track with a heavy Latinx vibe that implores the listener to move. Last but certainly not least, E-Talking closes out an impressive opening outing for 9FINITY with the balearic tinged, progressive ‘Party’.

The EP also has an exclusive, Bandcamp only digital bonus with Coffintexts providing a dub wise, 140 version of ‘Make U Sweat’.

Satya continues its release schedule this November with the Atman EP, a maiden collaboration between label founder YokoO and US talent Atish. The four-tracker continues a standout 2021 for the imprint, which saw its first release land in April of this year.

“Despite having followed seemingly different musical paths over the last couple of years, our passion for ‘moving’ heartfelt music stands at the core and remains aligned. Atish’s initial musical ideas, no matter how much they were transformed, sit at the heart of the EP. They initiated the creative process.” - YokoO.

Proceedings begin with Inner Labyrinth, a gently-building dance cut packed full of ethereal synths and dream-like pads. The title track comes next, manifesting as a similarly celestial number that’s ripe for the early hours, before Words To Say ups the tempo with driving kick-hat combos. Sunrise maestro Sepp rounds off the EP, serving up a stunning remix of the final track that marks itself as a masterclass in stripped-back, minimal house.

France’s YokoO is an esteemed talent in the electronic music scene. Releases on Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream, as well as his recently-launched Satya imprint, have cemented his reputation for all things deep, emotive and dreamy, whilst performances across all five continents have highlighted him as a truly global artist. Based in New York, Atish has cultivated a devoted following around the world. As co-founder of the Manjumasi record label, he has created an outlet for other artists’ music as well as his own productions and his own work has found a welcome home on prestigious imprints including Anjunadeep, Kindisch, and Stil Vor Talent to name a few.

Beloved Spanish indie rockers Hinds are back with their utterly triumphant fourth album, VIVA HINDS. Written by the band’s co-founders, co-vocalists, co-guitarists and co-songwriters Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote, it features their first-ever fully Spanish language songs, as well as first collaborations with the likes of Beck and Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten. Recorded in rural France, the album was produced by Pete Robertson (Beabadoobee), engineered by the GRAMMY-nominated Tom Roach, and mixed by GRAMMY-winning engineer Caesar Edmunds (The Killers, Wet Leg).

Shortly after the band made their debut ten years ago, they hit what felt like an insurmountable obstacle – they had to change their name from Deers to Hinds for legal reasons. But, as their fans began to greet them at shows by cheering “¡VIVA HINDS!”, the band soon realized that what initially felt like an ending was actually just the beginning. Fast forward to 2023, and VIVA HINDS was written by Cosials and Perrote after a series of endings. They hit a creative rut after releasing their 2020 album The Prettiest Curse, and their bassist and drummer devastatingly decided to leave the band. They also split with their management team, lost touring revenue due to lockdowns, and were without a label for the first time. But when Perrote and Cosials got together to write again it became clear that their connection, one so special that they call themselves “millionaires in friendship,” would be all they needed to get them through. VIVA HINDS – the most accomplished, sonically adventurous, honest and celebratory record of Hinds’ career – is only the beginning.

PRESS/ONLINE: “The track, though signaling a new era for Hinds, arrives rapturous and catchy, as Perrote and Cosials trade verses and riffs. ...'Coffee' is a sweeping first chapter of where the duo aims to
“‘Coffee’ is a a gorgeous punk-indie cross contamination, instantly memorable, grungy” - Wonderland


“They bring the energy of a thousand rock bands, entrancing the crowd with their searing indie riffs, the constant interlocking of guitars and smiles, and deeply charming banter” - Rolling Stone

“The Prettiest Curse is an evolution. It is striking, complex, uncompromising indie-pop. More than that, it makes a bold statement: it canonises Spanish indie-rock” – Loud and Quiet 9/10
“They’ve taken their sound and unashamedly experimented with it. They’re all the better for it” – NME 4/5

“The Spanish group’s second album displays the superior songcraft of the band, as vocalists Ana Perrote and Carlotta Cosials wade through love’s messy feelings with confidence and exuberance” - Pitchfork

Jomni and Jori is an electronic music duo that has been deeply involved in the Japanese club scene, consistently producing sounds with an emotional and spacey vibe while bringing out the gem in electronic music to create unique club experiences. The record lovers who met in Kyoto have now dispersed to Cologne, Kyoto, and Tokyo, and have started a new label influenced by old records yet dedicated to exploring fresh sounds together with Miki.


"Slips" is a captivating blend of swinging beats and retro sound, featuring lush pads, melancholic chords and the randomly pitched synths. "Naizo" includes the catchy lead synth that serves as a guiding light, encouraging acceptance and self-discovery with its unforgettable melody and infectious mid-tempo groove. "Neuk" transports listeners to a world of liberation, where shimmering pads evoke the luminous breeze beyond deep-sea caverns. Underpinned by an expansive sub-bass that conjures visions of vast landscapes, it embodies an unwavering devotion to the art of dance. "Hitoshio" unveils the pulsating stab synths project the afterimage of the body onto the dancefloor with accelerating drums and anchored by classic house vocal samples.

After Prince Istari finished the Dub Encounter with Erik Satie, he
immediately set to work on expelling the evil curse of artificial intelligence. While the encounter with Satie was guided by the original
compositions, this album delves deeper into dub science.

The opening track is "Curse Of Machine Learning," a grinding cumbia dub track that sucks you into the curse of machine learning. It's followed by "Artificial Neural Network," arguably the album's most nerve-wracking track, with wild snare rolls colliding with offbeat echoed riddim sections. "Large Language Models" offers a more relaxed, arabesque one-drop riddim with speech synthesis vocals. "Fake Image" closes the first side with a full trombone solo contributed by Eugene Rosebud.

Side B starts with the one-drop killer tune "Haunted By Delusion,"
featuring an organ solo by Prince Istari. Drum and bass in your face.
"Evil Forces," on the other hand, is a fusion of jazz and dub; after the
brass section breakdown, it rolls into a crazy synth solo. Then next „I
Want Your Data" pulls your data into the AI's guts with a vibraphone.
This is maybe the ambitious tune on the record speaking of chord
progressions. The final track sees Eugene Rosebud return with a double trombone solo in "Transhuman Feedback Rock" assisted by a saz cooling the blues pattern with a hookline. Here we have beautifull springreverb and harmonizer dub effects on the snare twirrling around the trombone solos.

All tunes composed, arranged, conducted and engineered by Prince Istari and played by his house band The Virtualistics. Trombone Solos by Eugene Rosebud. Packaged in a nice cover drawn by Markus Schäfer and frequency shift and cut by LXC.

After the highly anticipated debut album “Sugar Honey Iced Tea!,” the dynamic NYC duo strikes once more with a double pack of alternate versions and remixes. Craig Handfield and Brandon Weems, better known as musclecars, have unveiled a dance music masterpiece, now graced by the touch of house music legends Louie Vega and Maurice Fulton.

This double pack showcases multiple versions of “Tonight,” remixed by dance music maestro Louie Vega, who momentarily stepped away from his Masters At Work ventures to infuse this project with his magic. The main remix unfolds like an epic journey adorned with orchestral elegance, while the dub versions range from festival anthems (NV South Jersey Mix) to tracks that echo the early Masters At Work essence (Louie Vega’s Bronx Dub).

Additionally, we are gifted a new version of “Hello?” reimagined by Maurice Fulton. In this version, Maurice’s signature live bass lines intertwine with exuberant, hard-hitting percussion, casting a whimsical light on the deep, introspective original.

Complementing the remixes from musclecars’ esteemed inspirations, we encounter two new versions of “Ha Ya! (Eternal Life)” and “Water,” both stripped of percussion to reveal the stunning arrangements, textures, and harmonies. These renditions are accompanied by a full side of musclecars’ dance odyssey “I Don’t Remember The Last Time I Saw Stars.”

The Double Honey Pack is a tour de force. It’s a rarity to witness two legends unite to elevate an already stellar project, yet Vega and Fulton achieve just that. Meanwhile, Weems and Handfield meticulously peel back the layers, allowing the intricate details to shine. This promises to be the release of the summer!

Riding a wave of critical praise and positive feedback for his most recent Emperor Machine album, the fabulous Island Boogie, Andrew Meecham returns with a typically wild and dancefloor-focused set of dubs, ‘versions’ and remixes.

According to Meecham, Island Boogie is his most personal set to date – a full-length excursion that not only delivers perfectly formed expressions of his dub-tinged, off-kilter synth-boogie sound, but also tracks that draw deeply on his earliest influences and long-held musical expressions.

It’s fitting, then, that this remix EP begins with his own sparse, stripped-back ‘version’ rework of ‘S-S-S-Single Bed’, a fine cover of the mid-80s Fox single featuring the vocals of Michelle Bee. Meecham’s dub-wise revision is a skeletal and driving affair, with snippets of echoing guitar, colourful synths and Bee’s distinctive vocalisations rising above a weighty dub disco bassline and rock-solid percussion.

It's followed by two revisions of album favourite ‘Wanna Pop With You’ from A Love From Outer Space main man Sean Johnston under his now familiar Hardway Brothers alias. Combining his own love of raw, analogue-sounding electronics and trippy dancefloor psychedelia with select elements of Meecham’s original – percussion, synth sounds, crisp guitar licks and elements of Severine Mouletin’s lead vocals, Johnston’s main ‘remix’ is a weighty, mid-tempo treat. Arguably even better is his accompanying dub, which is more groove-and-effects focused and makes more of Beecham’s superb original bassline. It’s heavy, spaced-out and undeniably intoxicating.

To round off the package, long-time friend of the label (and sometime contributor) Rose Robinson dons her Tigerbalm pseudonym and gets to work on ‘La Cassette’. Brilliantly cutting up Severine Mouletin’s vocals, she delivers a driving slab of spaced-out, synth-heavy dub disco that adds more weight and energy to Meecham’s original. It’s a fittingly on-point way to close out a superb selection of club-ready revisions.

As we get into the groove of the summer time; it comes with great pleasure to introduce the next release instalment that comes as a collaborative pressure of collectivity & quality musicianship to produce the EP that we had decided to title as the 'Forward On Riddim' which best describes the vast amount of works that has been going on with this link up between Ashanti Selah & Hark's riddim factory (many work in yet to be released in the pipeline!)

Featuring on the Forward On Riddim we have the vocal works of Zed Regal with a version called 'Magical Connection' which describes the deep sense of understanding and empathy between what would be seen as a search for the search of that divine soulmate.

Then leading into the next version on the riddim 'Overstand' with a message of upliftment for the good of Humanity to rise up and stand as one for the right cause in the spirit of Equal Rights & Justice for all Mankind - that is what we must overstand!

Last but not least we have the real deal artist Mad Sam with a track that he had voiced with no rehearsal fresh from the vibes of JA called 'Unbreakable' preaching words of wisdom to the youths of today to keep it firm and always show love & respect to receive it!

Hope you feel the vibe and message in the music as we bring you these heartikal sounds with an immense line up of top-class international musicians in what turned out to be the first collaborative project between Ashanti Selah and Zac Harkavy!
credits

DJ Support: DJ Sabo, Gordon Invisible Inc, Ground Chill Mountain, Roe Deers, Thomas Von Party, Vidis

Multi Culti serve up a full-length treat from Peruvian artist Aristidez. Cofounder of Lima-based party collective Casa Locasa and the non-profit label Behua Icara (translated as Healing Rhythms), in support of indigenous culture, Aristidez has recently relocated to Berlin. With releases on Calypso, Disque-Discos, and Kebrada, as well as remixes for Amplio Espectro, Ida Sound, Discos Aquelarre, Rotten City Files, and Playground Records, Aristidez has quietly made a name for himself with a growing catalog of low-key dance tracks that have been championed by the likes of Matias Aguayo, Andrew Weatherall (RIP), and Inigo Vontier, to name a few. With an emphasis on the hypnotic power of rhythm, Aristidez channels indigenous influences in subtle fashion, alluding to visionary experience without resorting to pastiche or obvious tropes. There are freaky tribal rhythms but no shaman samples, just expertly produced tracks than reveal an expansive set of electronic influences that range across tempos and decades, from breaky 90s rave, 80s proto-trance, cult dub, downtempo and more. It’s listenable, danceable, heady and kaleidoscopic stuff that should stand the test of time.

Gondwana Records are proud to announce Morning Sun / Arrival, a limited two track 12" release from the sublimely beautiful and immersive LA deep-jazz masters Phi-Psonics.

Samosa Records dips its toes back into the Afrikano waters with Volume 3 of the Afro themed, genre-busting series and features four deadly tracks from some of Samosa’s most trusted lieutenants.

Breaking the ice as the first track of this exceptional EP is Vincent Galgo and ‘African Rebel’. Mr Galgo has clearly read the brief here – giving us a 125bpm marauder that’s a melting pot of unstoppable horns, furious rhythms and an Afro-pop style bass that is the beating heart of the track.

Track 2 is Samosa regular Frank Virgilio who introduces us to his ‘Mistress’. As a straight up jazz-infused, mid-tempo rhythmic chugger, ‘Mistress’ quickly gets down to the important business of racking up the beats and instrumentation. The generous spread of guitar riffs, assertive bass and organ stabs are expertly lifted by the layered and always rolling drums and bongos induce a trance-like state of mind, so be warned!

On the B-Side Samosa newcomer Casper Leo wears his Tribal heart on his sleeve with the enchanting and utterly captivating jangler - ‘Tom Tom’. You can never have too much Kora guitar and ‘Tom Tom’ has lashings of it, with delicious sprinkles of melodic Marimba – perfect for West African sunsets.

Closing the EP off in style is Afro beats grand master, Lego Edit and the filthy-sexy ‘El Safari’. No other producer can take the essence of the Afro beat structure and bend it to their will like Lego Edit can. Like a late night fist-fight in Club Coco Bongo, ‘El Safari’ punches its way out of the doors. A slinky, wily alley cat of a tune that digs deep with its claws and doesn’t let go and another masterpiece from Lego Edit.

Afrikano Vol.3 has done the impossible and set the bar even higher for this wonderfully diverse Samosa series. We want more. We want ‘4’. With this in your record box, you’ll come with a warning.