Damian Lazarus reveals the eighth chapter of Crosstown Rebels acclaimed annual ‘SPIRITS’ VA compilation series.
The latest instalment sees the label founder once again curating a carefully balanced lineup of emerging voices and established names, with the eight-track collection set for release on 30th January 2026.
Since its inception in 2017, Damian Lazarus’ SPIRITS series has become a trusted barometer for the year ahead, spotlighting forward-thinking artists and cutting-edge club music from across the global electronic landscape. With ‘SPIRITS VIII’, Crosstown Rebels continues this tradition, delivering a refi ned yet adventurous selection that moves seamlessly between hypnotic house, melodic depth, and late-night energy - building on the momentum of previous volumes and capturing the label’s unmistakable essence.
Opening the release, Raz Alon sets the tone with ‘Hey It’s Me’, a warm and immersive opener that draws listeners in with emotive touches and fluid groove work. Lost Desert follows with ‘Ultima’, leaning into trippy, melodic-tinged sensibilities as tumbling rhythms meet expansive atmospheres and subtly evolving motifs. On the flip, TIMANTI ventures into a captivating voyage with ‘Warrior Spirit’, pairing swirling synths with hazy melodies, before STEB delivers ‘House Of STEB’, a groove-led cut packed with personality, swing, and club-ready flair.
The journey continues with Yuvèe’s ‘Set The Fire’, featuring FADO, a hypnotic and vocal-led track that balances emotional weight with understated rhythmic pressure. Ekoboy then ups the intensity on ‘Lose Control’, combining crisp percussion with infectious momentum designed for peak-time moments. On the final stretch, MADI brings a reflective buy playful touch with ‘Around Me’, weaving lush textures and subtle dynamics into a deeply absorbing listen, before JUAAN closes the compilation with ‘Bass Cliente’, a punchy and bass-forward finale that rounds things out with raw club energy.
With its continued ability to champion new talent while welcoming respected artists into its orbit, Crosstown Rebels remains a vital force within electronic music. SPIRITS VIII stands as another clear statement of the label’s vision, reaffirming its role in shaping the sound of contemporary house and techno.
Buscar:dee
- A1: Black Loops - Soul To Soul Communication
- A2: Tuccillo - Move It Again
- A3: Timmy P - Big Bad
- B1: Chez Damier & Ben Vedren - Conspiracies
- B2: Agnès - Mrnb (Safe And Effective Mixx)
- C1: Cinthie - Hudd House
- C2: Jovonn - Dance Off
- C3: Iron Curtis - Speak To Te, Baby (20Th Anniversary Mix)
- D1: Dj Sneak -Ten Times 10
- D2: Darius Syrossian - Get Static
- E1: Eddie Leader - From The H.u.d.d
- E2: Groove Armada - Play Me Raw
- F1: Oliver Dollar - Sp Beater
- F2: Tiger Stripes - Touch Me
- F3: Olive F - Bangers And Mash
- G1: St. David - The Screaming
- G2: Seven Davis Jr - Infrasound
- H1: Mark Farina & Homero Espinosa - Look Around You
- H2: Rhythm Plate - Posthumous
- H3: Dfra & Nick Weraver - Heat Beats Fast
For two decades, Hudd Traxx has stood as a pillar of underground house music – a label defined by longevity, taste, and its ability to bridge the old school with the new. To mark its twentieth anniversary, the revered UK imprint presents ‘20 Traxx From The Hudd’, a specially curated, all-new twenty-track compilation handpicked by label founder Eddie Leader.
The compilation brings together a global, star-studded lineup of artists who embody the Hudd Traxx ethos: soulful, inventive, and uncompromisingly underground. Contributions come from Groove Armada, Seven Davis Jr., Chez Damier, Cinthie, Jovonn, Oliver Dollar and others, offering a snapshot of the label’s wide-ranging influence. From the silky deep house depths of Black Loops’ opener ‘Soul to Soul Communication’, to the unmistakable analog warmth across Cinthie’s ‘Hudd House’, to the raw, stripped-back energy of Seven Davis Jr.’s ‘Infrasound’, the collection captures the many deeper shades of house Hudd Traxx has championed for twenty years.
Founded in 2005, Hudd Traxx has served as a trusted home for pioneering artists such as Nightmares On Wax and Matthew Herbert, guided by Eddie Leader’s consistent curatorial vision and unwavering commitment to craft. As a producer, his releases on Classic, Robsoul, and Balance Alliance have been supported by Laurent Garnier, Josh Wink, Disclosure, and many more. ‘20 Traxx From The Hudd’ isn’t just a celebration of the past; it’s a fervent reminder that Hudd Traxx remains as relevant and vital as ever.
NRV010 welcomes back Jay Tripwire with a focused, four-track EP that leans into what he does best: groove-led, understated club tools built for long blends and sound systems.
The release is anchored by Tripwire’s signature restraint and flow, alongside a Sublee remix that strips the material back even further, emphasizing hypnosis, reduction, and low-swing momentum.
This is functional, confident material — no excess, no forced moments — designed for selectors who value flow, patience, and control over obvious drops.
For DJs who play: minimal / microhouse / deep tech-influenced selectors who prioritize groove, tension, and longevity over peak-time theatrics.
Detroit’s DJ Minx debuts on Rekids with the ‘Energy’ EP. The First Lady of Wax completed 2025 with a remix for Radio Slave and Kameelah Waheed following her appearance at Rekids’ Panorama Bar takeover. Release Date: 13th February 2026.
Legendary Detroit House and Techno pioneer and Women on Wax founder, DJ Minx, drops her debut ‘Energy’ EP for Rekids 13th February 2026. She follows her 2025 appearance on the House of Rekids mix series, and at the label’s Panorama Bar showcase in Berlin, before closing the year remixing Radio Slave & Kameelah Waheed’s ‘All Rize’. Known for championing women in the music industry, particularly Detroit DJs and producers, Minx recruits Florida-native, two-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Kendra Foster for a larger-than-life, jacking title cut. Robust drums, bright synth stabs, and Foster’s uplifting vocal bring the energy before Minx’s ‘You Can’ features an inspirational spoken word vocal, while low-slung rhythm and a deep, crawling bassline drive the track forward.
DJ Minx has been a central figure in Detroit’s musical history since the 90s. Minx has hosted radio shows on WGPR and CJAM, held a residency at Club Motor, and performed at every edition of Movement since 2000. Her contributions have been recognized with the Spirit of Detroit Award and honors from Mixmag and Time Out. Recent highlights include her ‘Queendom’ EP on HE.SHE.THEY., a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, releases on Planet E and Rules Don’t Apply, collaborations with Kevin and Dantiez Saunderson as e-Dancer, and continued headline performances worldwide.
Infinite Salutations is a game of two halves from Coflo and Emmaculate, where free wheeling jazzy expression meet club ready grooves. Salutations feat. QVLN is a guitar led winner with sweet vocal touches and layered percussion. Infinite is more of a dancefloor bumper with cool keys, bass delving and barbed synths. The Bay Area's Coflo is a mainstay on the label, having chalked up a range of hits from the deeper If It Goes to his magical cover of Love's Masquerade. Illinois' Emmaculate touches down on Cataleya for the first time, fresh from his release on G.A.M.M. with DJ Spen, production work for Ten City and remixes for the likes of Incognito. With Infinite Salutations, Coflo and Emmaculate provide a fantastic start to 2026 for Cataleya.
Nick Holder’s Iconic ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ Finally Arrives Digitally with New Remixes from Jason Hodges and Trackheadz.
Definitive Recordings proudly presents a long-awaited milestone: the first-ever digital release of ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ by Nick Holder’s Fruit
Loops project, originally released in 1995 and repressed countless times on vinyl since. This timeless house anthem, a pure expression of discodriven groove, now returns remastered and refreshed — accompanied by two brand-new remixes from fellow Toronto house legends Jason
Hodges and Trackheadz.
The original version of ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ captures the raw magic of mid-90s house — a stripped yet irresistible jam that fuses classic 70s
disco sampling with a deep, rolling bassline and a straight house groove. It’s simple, it’s soulful, and it’s pure disco-house sexiness.
Jason Hodges delivers a playful rework that modernizes the cut while keeping its soul intact. His remix adds shuffled percussion, chopped vocals,
and a subtly reworked bassline — injecting a fresh rhythmic twist that stays true to the track’s roots while enhancing its dancefloor punch.
Trackheadz then takes the track into deeper territory, layering lush synth chords, organ lines, and sweeping strings over a steady, hypnotic build
— a masterclass in musicality and atmosphere for the late-night crowd.
A true veteran of Toronto’s house scene, Nick Holder rose to international acclaim in the late ’90s and early 2000s with releases on Definitive,
NRK, Stickmen, and Studio K7, shaping the sound of deep and soulful house. As the founder of DNH Records, he’s been a driving force behind
countless underground classics, including ‘Da Sambafrique’, ‘Trying to Find Myself’, and ‘Summer Daze’.
Jason Hodges, another staple of the Toronto underground, is known for his tough yet groovy sound that bridges New York swing and Chicago
grit. Having remixed the likes of DJ Sneak, Derrick Carter, DJ Heather, and Kaskade, Hodges continues to be a name synonymous with timeless,
floor-filling house. Trackheadz, helmed by Kaje Trackheadz, brings decades of experience in blending sweet strings, soulful brass, and deep club
energy. Responsible for underground staples like ‘Our Music’ and ‘Feel’, he has remixed everyone from Todd Terry to The Sunburst Band, and
continues to expand his vision through Trackheadz Records.
Nearly three decades on, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ still grooves as hard as ever — now revitalized for the next generation of house lovers.
Federsen’s Alt/Dub imprint returns with its second instalment of its Artist Series featuring Forward Memory, Thomas + James, Gradient and Beppu.
Federsen, known for his deep Dub Techno sound, launched his label Alt Dub in 2024. The imprint focuses on warm and spacious dub aesthetics, carrying the torch for Dub Techno’s origins. Since its debut release in early 2024, Alt Dub has expanded with collaborations and artist series featuring names like cv313 and Fletcher, establishing itself as a forward- thinking force in modern Dub Techno.
Forward Memory’s ‘Scholz’s Star’ leads the release, laying down organic percussion and twitchy, oscillating synth grooves alongside, subtly evolving textural components and evolving bottom end swells.
Glaswegian duo Thomas + James follow next with ‘Chosen Colour’, a deep immersive journey fuelled by billowing ethereal pads, bumpy bass stabs and a raw, reduced rhythm section.
Respected Dub Techno artist Gradient follows next on the flip side with ‘Vibes Realm’, delivering his signature floaty style via shimmering dub stabs, crisp drums and a swaying bottom end drive.
Beppu’s ‘Conversions’ then concludes the EP, shifting gears once again as spiralling dub echoes, hissy atmospherics and wide bass intertwines with delayed, broken rhythms.
COLLECTING ORDERS FOR REPRESS
Third release for Musek with another various artists showcasing the wide musical approach of the label. On the A side, label heads Francesco Farfa and Hamsa offer their remix of a minimal wave hidden gem by Swedish 80’s band Art Fact. On the B side, Hamsa teams up with Luca Piermattei for a deep and introspective techno cut. Roberto Manolio closes the EP with a powerful classic Acid track to keep the energy high on the dancefloor.
2026 Repress
When Guy J launched his new label, Early Morning, it was clear each release would carry his signature intensity. Now, with this third release, Guy J continues to prove that Early Morning is an intimately personal venture.
Comprising nearly 15 minutes of music, the material presents a hypnotic experience through two meticulously crafted tracks. The opener, Silver Lake, showcases the hallmarks of his style, building layer upon layer until the arrangement transforms into a dynamic fusion of deep emotion and unbridled energy. With a controlled balance of musical motifs, frequency shifts, and refined arrangements, the track oscillates between moods, culminating in an exhilarating high made to ignite the dance floor.
The second track, Evo, opens with a melody-infused bassline that nods to the 1980s, interwoven with synths reminiscent of early Frankfurt's electronic scene. Overlaid with vocal elements evoking meditative depth, Guy J uses every technique in his repertoire, shifting unexpectedly between structured sequencing and bursts of psychedelia. The track takes listeners on an immersive, unexpected journey.
This third release from Early Morning solidifies the label's vision, promising a bright future for dance floors worldwide.
2026 Repress
Since its inception in 2016, Cornucopia has been a musical project synonymous with creativity and depth. The name itself, rooted in ancient mythology, symbolizes abundance and prosperity. Today, it evokes the same spirit- a metaphorical horn overflowing with ideas and innovation. This ethos emerges in the latest release, the fifth offering from the new label run by Guy J.
The music is a testament to artistic richness and a celebration of sonic exploration.
The release opens with Remember Me, a mellow yet groove-infused track tailor-made for sunset moments by the sea. Built on hypnotic layers, it evolves into an atmospheric journey that blends joy, subtle ecstasy, and vibrant energy. In an age of musical hyperproduction, Remember Me is a reason alone to celebrate Cornucopia's return. Yet,it is only the beginning; the unexpected euphoria unfolds as the release progresses.
Seasoned partygoers often categorize tracks by their vibe-some are designed for the night, while others are for the early hours. The title track, Early Morning, is an ode to the latter, crafted to accompany the most dedicated dancers as they greet the dawn. Driven by uplifting arpeggios, the track radiates unfiltered positivity, eliciting smiles and a deep connection among those on the dance floor. Already road-tested in DJ sets, this euphoric anthem has been hailed as a secret weapon of underground music, delivering pure joy with every beat.
Released by the Early Morning label, it is a fitting finale to this remarkable collection. With its undeniable potential to become a future classic, Cornucopia's latest offering is an experience that lingers long after the final note.
From time to time Fortunea Records gives us the chance to highlight and welcome new faces. And this one is Petals In Sound!
Louise Baldwin is a UK-based producer and DJ. After over a decade of living, working and partying in South East London, she relocated to Crosby in Liverpool. Following a number of years experimenting with music production, she finally found her groove during the 2020 Covid lockdown. In October 2020, she released under her moniker the well-received debut EP 'Palace’ on Boyanza Records, gaining support from the likes of NTS Radio and the Sloth Boogie Radio Show. Many releases on labels such as Closer To Truth, Dirt Crew and Inhale Exhale followed.
Louise playfully attacks the fabric of deep house, pushing and pulling the genre into modern territory with clever and precise production techniques. And now she will release her first vinyl record on the Austrian imprint. The ‚Days‘ EP includes 4 original tracks and a remix by the Vienna-based dj and producer Dzc.. Hypnotic rhythms and well crafted deepness defines this record.
Petals In Sound’s ‚Days’ EP will come out on december 19th. All tracks have been mastered by Patrick Pulsinger. The vinyl is limited to 200 copies and there will be no repress!
ROTCIV is back with his new EP ‘Memory’, which marks the 20th release on Beartrax’s label Melodize. Throughout the record, the Berlin-based and native Brazilian producer explores his signature dark, mysterious, and atmospheric vibes shaped by the underground and queer club nights and dance-floors that fuel his sound, refined by over almost 30 years behind the decks.
Maintaining Melodize’s specialized sound deep-rooted in moody electronic principles, the EP opens with ‘Memory’, a piercing, dark, synth dynamic alongside rich tonal textures in both harmony and melodies alike. Unapologetic, yet calming and reminiscent of a slow drive through the winter nights; cold, yet bold, sharp, and comforting.
First to remix ‘Memory’ with a nostalgic, synth-heavy 80’s remix is Frankfurt-based DJ, producer, and visual artist Chinaski. Integrating his signature bold synth hooks into the track, Chinaski knows how to roll in with longing sentimentality. The remix features a bouncier approach with re-envisioned acoustic percussion and catchy synth arps, along with an eery dark disco feel.
On the B side, Rotciv kicks in with ‘Trintage’, which gives a sinister sensation with its hypnotising bass synth lines alongside contrasting, choir-like pads. Seeping with articulate poly-rhythmic synth arps, Trintage guides the listener to be indulged into a dream-like state on the border between both digital and analogue soundscapes, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.
Next up is New York-based and founder of Samo Records, Facets, who takes on the next remix for ‘Trintage’ with a more electro-grunge techno approach consisting of heavier four to the floor kicks in company of Rotciv’s hypnotic textures. Having shifted the synth melody rhythmically, a sense of space and tension is created within the soundworld of this track. The play between gritty bass-end synths along with softer, textured high-ends helps emphasize the groove injected into this remix.
One last remix of ‘Memory’ by Melodize’s own label founder, Beartrax, rounds out the EP. Available exclusively via digital bonus, Beartrax features his deeply hypnotic aesthetic by driving in ethereal synths alongside cosmic arps and slow-rolling rhythmic and pulsating groove lines.
Techno pioneer Robert Hood debuts on Rekids with a blistering release entitled ‘Nothing Stops Detroit’ ahead of an album this winter.
Over the last three decades the Underground Resistance alum has continually been at the forefront of the techno genre whilst releasing on many of electronic music’s finest labels to boot. In recent years his solo outings have appeared on a select few labels such as Dekmantel, Music Man Records, not to mention his very own M-Plant. Having made appearances on Rekids in the past remixing label boss Radio Slave - both as Robert Hood (‘Don’t Stop No Sleep’) and Floorplan (‘Feel The Same’) - the Detroit originator now drops a four track release in his official debut on the label.
With its machine aesthetic, ‘Nothing Stops Detroit’ is unmistakably Hood from start to finish. Precision kick drums propel the title track forward as stuttering effects and deep stabs work alongside a march band rhythm. ‘7 Mile Dog’ is next with its grainy synths and scintillating pads, making way for the meandering bassline, rattling atmospherics and trippy, oscillating top line of ‘Ignite A War’. Finally, ‘The Cure’ is a cacophony of twisted percussion and rumbling low-end that energetically concludes matters.
- Satellites
- Who We Are
- And So I Goes
- Cloud On My Tongue
- The Great Escape
- Off-White
- Trigger Warning
- Stay
- Fallen Empire
- Let There Be Love
- True Love Waits
Viktoria Tolstoy, celebrated for her expressive voice, emotional storytelling and cross-genre artistry, seamlessly blends jazz, pop and original songs.
Her standout tracks ‘Autumn Breeze’ (4.6M streams) and ‘Calling You’ (6.5M streams) have reached millions of listeners worldwide.
Collaborations with top Scandinavian and European jazz artists, including Nils Landgren and Esbjörn Svensson, have positioned Viktoria as one of the leading female voices in European jazz.
Jacob Karlzon, renowned Swedish pianist and composer, is recognized for his virtuosic technique, cinematic soundscapes and inventive harmonic language.
Their collaboration began in the mid-1990s, forming one of the most enduring and successful partnerships in Scandinavian jazz.
Their music bridges Nordic lyricism and modern jazz sophistication, appealing to both jazz and a wider crossover audience. A trusted name on the European scene, they continue to tour internationally and attract strong streaming and media presence.
Their new duo album reflects and renews that bond - an intimate conversation shaped by time, friendship, and change. The world has shifted since their last recording and so have they. Yet their shared musical language endures - evolving, deepening, and gathering new shades of emotion. There is a rare ease between them: two Artists who no longer need to explain, only to listen and respond.
The result is music that feels unforced, sincere and alive - born of trust and the courage to explore the unknown. In the end, it’s the simple beauty of reunion: two musicians meeting again, with everything they’ve lived and everything still to discover
- 1: Highway Star (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 2: The Cut Runs Deep
- 3: Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic
- 4: Ramshackle Man
- 5: A Castle Full Of Rascals
- 6: Perfect Strangers (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 7: Truth Hurts
- 8: Solitaire
- 9: Loosen My Strings
- 10: Anyone's Daughter (Live At The Nec)
- 11: A Touch Away
- 12: Black Night (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 13: Nasty Piece Of Work
- 14: Slow Down Sister
- 15: Child In Time (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 16: Anya (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 17: Love Conquers All
- 18: Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
- 19: Wicked Ways
- 20: The Purpendicular Waltz
- 21: Speed King (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 22: The Battle Rages On
- 23: King Of Dreams
- 24: Soon Forgotten
- 27: Fortuneteller
- 28: Lazy (Live At Schleyer-Halle)
- 29: Somebody Stole My Guitar
- 30: Hush (Live At The Nec)
- 31: Smoke On The Water (Live At The Nec)
- 32: Knockin' At Your Back Door (Live At The Nec)
- 33: Fire In The Basement
- 25: Time To Kill
- 26: Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover
"Deep Purple's Greatest Hits, released in 2009, is a comprehensive compilation showcasing the legendary band's most iconic tracks. Spanning their groundbreaking career, the album features classic live versions of hits like ""Smoke on the Water,"" ""Highway Star,"" ""Child in Time,"" and ""Black Night,"" offering a perfect introduction to Deep Purple's influential sound. Known as pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal, the band’s virtuosic guitar solos, soaring vocals, and dynamic keyboard riffs shine throughout this collection. Greatest Hits captures the essence of Deep Purple's heyday while celebrating their timeless appeal. It highlights the band’s ability to blend powerful rock energy with intricate musicianship, making them a cornerstone of the genre. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, this compilation is an essential addition to any rock music collection, solidifying Deep Purple’s legacy as one of the most influential bands in rock history. Greatest Hits is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on purple coloured vinyl."
A landmark in Detroit deep house, Forevernevermore is Moodymann’s second full-length album on Peacefrog Records. This 2000 release sees Kenny Dixon Jr. at his most soulful and experimental, blending dusty samples, live instrumentation, and hypnotic grooves into a deeply personal sonic collage. Drawing from his earlier KDJ releases, the album reimagines rare cuts into a cohesive, emotionally rich journey through love, loss, and the spirit of the Motor City. Essential for fans of deep, narrative-driven house music.
Smokey 2LP with limited edition Obi Stip to celebrate the 35-year anniversary
2026 Restocked!
If you've been following the Payfone story over the last 13 years, you'll know that Phil Passera and Jimmy Day's long-running collaborative project has specialised in one-off musical morsels - sublime songs cooked up in cahoots with all manner of guest musicians and vocalists. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Day and Passera have now delivered a full six-track tasting menu in the shape of Lunch, their hotly anticipated debut album.
Recorded over an 18-month period at Passera's Barcelona studio and Day's studio in Brighton, Lunch is an unsurprisingly assured and musically detailed affair that's entirely made up of previously unheard songs. Unlike acid-flecked recent single 'Volt To Volt', which delivered a tweaked take on late 1980s house music, the album's six tracks showcase the trademark sound the duo has been developing since first joining forces 13 years ago.
Trawl back through Passera and Day's high-quality catalogue, which includes outings on Leng, Golf Channel Recordings and Defected as well as their own OTIS imprint, and that distinctive musical recipe becomes clear. Rooted in their love of classic drum machines and their trusty JUNO-60 synthesiser, the Payfone sound combines equal amounts of electronic and organic instrumentation, warm and inviting downtempo and mid-tempo grooves, and pertinent and thoughtful lyrics delivered with panache by an impressive roll call of guest vocalists.
Lunch, then, is a standalone sonic statement - an initially vinyl only album on their own OTIS imprint - that continues this impressive lineage. Like all Passera and Day's collaborative work, it is free of samples, with the pair preferring to create their own sounds from scratch. Opener 'Movin' On', featuring the honeyed vocals of former XL Recordings artist Willis Earl Beal AKA Nobody and slap-bass from Jo Gabriel Harris (who also features on three other songs across the album), is a deep and effortlessly evocative mid-tempo delight that perfectly sets the tone for what's to come.
Brooklyn-born April Pittman and Russian/Armenian vocalist Zara Kian lend their talents to woozy, sun-baked shuffler 'Paperman' before regular Payfone collaborator Ludmilla Rodriguez headlines 'Joan of Arc', a veritable Mediterranean breeze rich in tumbling analogue synth synths, elastic bass and tumbling guitar solos. Those yearning for a touch of lightly disco-flecked dancefloor heat will savour 'Spend The Night', where Los Angeles singer Collette Tibbetts AKA Carmella The Balls, accompanied by virtuoso keys courtesy of Parisian pianist Gabriel Cazes, rises above a sweet, melodious, dub disco-adjacent backing track. In contrast, 'Pamela' is low-slung and hypnotic, with 'Sofian' vocalist Barbara Alcindor ushering us through a deep, heady groove-scape.
Fittingly, Passera and Day round off Lunch via a vibrant and potent sweet treat, 'Pony Bar'. Headed up by the J.J Cale-esque lead vocals of man of mystery Leon Lace, the pedal steel-sporting song joins the dots between dusty Americana, kaleidoscopic Balearic beats and lilting, slow-motion disco. Like the rest of the album, you'll be thinking about it long after you've washed down the last few musical mouthfuls.
'In 2023, sound artist and composer Weston Olencki toured across the American South. Beginning in their hometown in South Carolina, they snaked a circuitous path from the mountains of West Virginia to the banks of the Mississippi River. As the miles accumulated, so did the initial seeds of new work.
'Instruments and artifacts they acquired hitched a ride in the backseat, while songs and sounds filled their portable recorder: water in its various states, the familiar insectoid buzz of those summer nights, trains cutting through the landscape, the traditional music that lived alongside the communities that kept it. Olencki took it all in, and over time, found ways that these experiences coalesced into a bramble-like perspective of time, where past, present, and future intersect in ways both barbed and beautiful.
'Broadsides, Olencki’s newest solo full-length is the multilayered result of this journey. The album follows their landmark release Old Time Music from 2022, which presented radical interpretations of traditional tunes from Appalachia and throughout the South alongside original compositions that drew significantly on archival recordings. On Broadsides, Olencki rejects delineations between the unmoored avant-garde and the rootedness of one’s cultural heritage, revealing their porous and intertwined nature. “My mother was a quilter. Her mother before that,” they write in the album’s liner notes. “Quilting, like music, is a practice of embedding knowledge and remembrance into the very core of the thing you are making. It’s not just about the materials, but how they’re reassembled, recontextualized, stitched, woven to form new patterns - the minutiae of craft holding significance to those looking to find it. Stories woven from stories, never told the same way twice.”
'Like all great road trips, Broadsides unfolds slowly and continuously, with moments of dramatic reverie punctuating the endless melt of highway in the rearview. We’re immediately confronted by the uncanniness of revisiting old haunts, as Southern storms break through the initial churn of the freight locomotives of Alabama. Olencki’s interpretation of the bluegrass standard “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” captures the euphoria of melancholy in motion. The permutational plucks of banjo are bounced around the frame by a computer, its pitches determined within algorithmic sequences and transcriptions of classic three-finger licks. The tonalities of old-time are smeared and stretched until all that’s audible is the insistence that Heaven might be real.
'In the album’s second half, “Omie Wise,” a murder ballad made famous by Doc Watson, follows an interlude recorded on the river in North Carolina in which the titular character’s body was laid. Ghostly echoes of a dozen other renditions float through the substrata as Tongue Depressor’s Henry Birdsey accompanies them on the pedal steel guitar. The album’s central composition, “all my father’s clocks,” is a profound meditation on entropy and impermanence. The sound of their father’s extensive clock collection ticks away as Olencki pulls a bow across the length of an autoharp sourced from a rural strip mall. The instrument was left as detuned as it was found, the resonance of its deep bass drone and clanging high-end the result of years of neglect and the warping effects of Southern humidity.
'Historically, broadsides were an early form of broadcasting, an often- musicalized telling of current news pasted in the public square. The name was later taken up by Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen in the 1960s, whose Broadside magazine published songs and social commentary when American folk music resurfaced as an urgent way of communicating the multifaceted politics of its time.
'Olencki borrows the phrase to recall both this old form of songmaking and that later prominent reexamination of traditional music’s role in modern life, but also to draw attention to the fragmented and machine- mediated way heritage is diffused in this very different, but no less pivotal, moment.
'As a sanitized past is used as justification for current violence and domination, we can turn to these artifacts to better understand the history of ourselves, but only if they are consciously pushed to evolve. Broadsides represents one personal, striking vision of what far-flung futurisms could be respun from = these high, lonesome sounds: a reflection of the unbridled joy and deep sorrow inherent to living together through time, and a desire to push further into the untold and unknown.'
- A1: Poison Vine*
- A2: Don’t Look Away
- A3: Calling Out Your Name
- A4: Free Love
- A5: Say Something New
- B1: The Way It’s Gotta Be (Oh Yeah)
- B2: Devil And The Deep
- B3: Weight Of The World
- B4: Teardrops
- B5: Birds Heading South
Black Vinyl[22,90 €]
Clear Vinyl[24,79 €]
Cornetto Vinyl[26,01 €]
Picture Disc[28,99 €]
“Yeah Yeah Yeah just arrived out of the blue. I just took a chance. I had some ideas for a new album I’d been working on, but we weren’t planning on recording until the year after. It all happened very fast. There was a window of opportunity- youth was free, the studio was free, and the band were free- and I thought, let providence prevail. No one had heard the songs apart from myself and Alan McGee, but we both thought that we had something. You could feel it, even though none of the songs were really finished, and so we decided to roll with it and go and record them. I think with Yeah Yeah Yeah it was more than just trying to capture a vibe- it was about trying to record something majestic, which is how youth describes the record. There are gospels and strings on tracks like Free Love and don’t look away, which have kind of turned into these massive anthems. It has P.P. Arnold as a featured vocalist on a couple of tracks- the first, the single poison vine, which has a groove and a blistering chorus. She’s also on another song that’s a psychedelic funk track: the way it’s gotta be (oh yeah). Songs like Teardrops or Birds Heading South- we’ve tried to capture that classic, slightly
Wistful theme- whereas the weight of the world just rocks out. There’s also a little acoustic track to break it all up called the devil and the deep, which is a favourite of mine. We recorded the album over in Spain at space mountain, Youth’s studio, way up in the mountains, just as the almond trees were in blossom- which I took as a good omen for the session”.




















