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After regular appearances at Berghain since his debut two years ago, Altinbas now presents his contribution to Ostgut Ton, tying together five tracks that outline an expedition through celestial bodies in ‘Beyond the Veil’. Deepening his research on intricately crafted ambiance, the EP strikes a balance between commanding rhythm and blossoming synth work that reaffirm his inimitable style. ‘Beyond the Veil’ is a conceptual collaboration between an artist and a room; describing the dancefloor as an organism and the architecture of its surroundings.

Over the years, harmony has become synonymous with the Belgian artist’s sound. Deeply tuned and cohesive, Altinbas’s productions walk the boundary between insistent anticipation and unparalleled warmth. Although dancefloor effect remains a central theme for him, ‘Beyond the Veil’ is the latest chapter in a long study of obscurity in music that qualifies almost as ritualistic. Tracks like ‘Beyond the Veil’ and ‘Charming the Cosmic Snake’create tension in the keys that resonates like an expedition into new soundscapes. With weight and stability in the percussion, airy textures and hypnotic synth lines roll off the rhythm to mesmerize the listener. Sculpting his arrangements around the development of rich, dubby and atmospheric tones, Altinbas capitalises on the natural flow of his elements to provide an organic touch to tracks that are tuned especially for high pressure sound systems. ‘Entanglement’ and ‘Winter’ are both examples of this : soulful techno that ebbs and flows with each transition. Dimension is pushed dramatically into each of the five pieces of the EP as a direct response to the current climate of tool oriented techno. Keeping a safe distance from this approach, Altinbas invites listeners to explore the shape of his sound in an embrace rather than submit to its abrasion. The project concludes with ‘Antichamber’ - the fifth track of the EP that announces a departure from strict club codes. Dampening the rhythm from a pulse to a sway, a dreamlike landscape rises from deep within the record, smoothing over any of the rougher residuals from the preceding tracks. The descent that is ‘Antichamber’ is the result of an accumulated euphoria, gently guiding the listener back to consciousness.

‘Beyond the Veil’ represents a checkpoint for Altinbas in his research of moving a dancefloor not only physically, but emotionally. Carving out his own space in dancefloor-oriented music, he offers highly expressive compositions in defiance of the status quo. Altinbas offers this EP as a personal statement of where he stands; five tracks of carefully tended tone and harmonic glow create an emotional urgency for the collective experience.

Following on from the highly anticipated Rebirth 20 anniversary project, Rebirth return with the first of two limited-edition bonus 12"s, digging deeper into the label’s catalogue with four killer remixes and previously overlooked gems.

Kicking things off with Leon Feat. Corrina Joseph – I Follow You (Darryl Baalki Remix), a soulful and deeply grooving house cut with Corrina Joseph’s beautiful vocals riding over a warm, hypnotic groove. Darryl Baalki adds his signature touch, making this one a serious late-night house weapon.

Next up is Gianluca Pegoiani Feat. Ann Saunderson – Numero 5 (Rough Ride) (Nick Holder Trackheadz Remix). Nick Holder’s Trackheadz take the original into deeper territory, delivering a classy, rolling slice of deep house with that unmistakable Detroit/Chicago-inspired feel.

On the flip we have Mata Jones & Mikey V – Funky (Elado Remix), bringing a more energetic and playful edge to proceedings with a seriously infectious groove, chunky drums and plenty of dancefloor funk.

Finishing off the EP is Psycho Radio Vs LC Anderson – Bad Reputation (Red Axes Remix). Red Axes work their magic on this one, twisting it into a dark, psychedelic indie-dance workout packed with attitude and hypnotic momentum.

Another essential selection from Rebirth as they continue celebrating 20 years of the label with some seriously choice cuts.

Limited Press — act fast!

Introducing the second release from Principauté de Bowl-Air — PBAVINYL002

Principauté de Bowl-Air is a label founded by DJ Bowlcut, a key figure in supporting Seoul’s underground scene through Seoul Community Radio. The project presents his vision of deep, glitchy minimal house music, woven with the story of a secret micronation hidden in the heart of Seoul.

Following the debut vinyl release, PBAVINYL002 features an original track by DJ Bowlcut alongside reinterpretations by his friends Slowmouth and Furz.

The cover artwork references one of the first K-pop acts to introduce rave sounds to Korean audiences — Seo Taiji and Boys. Their first techno album featured an image of the top of an aluminum can, and PBAVINYL002 draws from the same visual reference. The track “Dig This” also reworks elements from their song “You in Illusions (Techno Taiji Mix).”

The A-side opens with “Falling”, a hypnotic-groove track built around deep synths and designed for afterhours. It works as a perfect DJ tool for gently guiding the crowd into a subtle trance state, further enhanced by the vocal sample “Everybody Falling, Anybody Feel that Falling?”, which pulls listeners into a slow, spiraling moment.

The second A-side track, “Dig This”, takes direct inspiration from one of the earliest K-pop tracks to feature rave stabs, TB-303, and classic rave elements — “You in Illusions (Techno Taiji Mix)”. DJ Bowlcut reuses many of the same samples that Seo Taiji originally layered, reconstructing them into a deep minimal cut with a distinctive Mentasm stab woven into the minimal house framework.

The B-side features remixes by Slowmouth and Furz.

Slowmouth transforms “Falling” into a brighter, more festive exploration that reveals the hidden layers of the original hypnotic groove.
Furz, meanwhile, turns “Dig This” into a funky, dancefloor-ready banger aimed at a wider crowd.

FKJ returns with Tyber— a project that captures a period of personal and creative transformation following the release of his acclaimed album ‘V I N C E N T’. Written and recorded across multiple continents, the album reflects years spent navigating movement, solitude, collaboration and renewal.

The result is FKJ at his most expansive and uninhibited. Across ‘Tyber’, groove-driven compositions sit alongside jazz-led instrumentals, sample-heavy explorations and more direct songwriting moments, moving seamlessly through genres without ever losing cohesion. The album feels both deeply personal and globally informed, spotlighting an artist documenting his evolution in real time. It captures musical snapshots across London, Los Angeles, Paris, Brazil, and beyond to create music that combines intricacy and intimacy seamlessly.

Anchored by themes of emotional equilibrium and self-care, Tyber balances vulnerable storytelling with an unmistakable, groove-laden optimism. The album seamlessly weaves together spontaneous, late-night collaborations with artists like Labrinth, Bas, and Baby Rose, alongside deeply personal solo compositions. Ultimately, Tyber is a vibrant celebration of human connection and resilience, offering listeners an immersive, cinematic invitation into FKJ’s newly restored world.

For over 11 years, Nowadays Records has been shaping the French electronic music scene with boundless energy and total artistic freedom. Much more than a label, Nowadays is a big musical family where every release, meeting and event becomes a real celebration. With over a hundred albums and nearly a thousand titles to its credit, Nowadays Records embodies musical diversity across a variety of genres: abstract hip-hop, house, electronica and alternative pop.



It's in this festive spirit that the Club Nowadays project is born, a true embodiment of the collective's vision. Through its club compilations and evenings featuring label artists and outside guests.



Today, the label continues to chart its course with the release of Club Nowadays Vol. 6, a new opus in its series of compilations, which fully embodies its vision of club music. This sixth volume brings together emblematic figures of the label and emerging artists around the following dance tracks.



Don't Lie, the first single from the compilation, is a heartfelt track born of a broken heart, but turned towards the light. Mira Ló composed this track as an act of resilience, following a break-up in love. She transforms her pain into positive energy, hoping that everyone can recognize themselves in it and find a little sweetness to soothe their own grief.



R1D1 brings together his groovy house and garage influences to create the track Marsupilami around a hand-crafted synth, sharp drums and deep bass. Influenced by hip-hop beatmaking, he incorporates vocals from radio and interviews, transformed into rhythmic elements. The name, a nod to the famous character, comes naturally through the sampled “houba houba”. Between offbeat textures and assertive groove, the track embodies R1D1's singular, hybrid universe.



OOGO & Blanka, two pioneers of the label, offer us Phô Real, a hybrid track between soulful deep house and hip-hop groove, mixing organic and digital textures. A track to get the dancefloor moving, with a delicious nod to La Fine Équipe's culinary universe.



With Tracksuit & Loafers, Yambow creates a bridge between groovy French Touch elegance and the effervescent energy of UK house, in the tradition of producers like Salute and Oppidan. The track is conceived like an acid cocktail: funky, euphoric and dancefloor-friendly. The title is a nod to cultural contrasts - between English tracksuits and French loafers - which translate into a musical interplay between sophistication and fervor.



Finally, Laaanky, the Parisian producer, breaks codes and gives free rein to his passion for raw sound, efficiency and groove on the track Bloom. Between textured house, dub echoes and Afro-tinged post-dubstep rhythms, he explores a danceable, minimalist and percussive electronica. Less is more.

Hailing from Paris, Wonderkidz reveals their very first Various Artists compilation, a project featuring exclusively producers from the Parisian scene. Through this compilation, the collective spotlights a new generation of artists who share a common vision of electronic music, while asserting an identity deeply rooted in the capital.

Spanning house, tech house, and minimal, the tracks explore different facets of contemporary club culture while maintaining a distinctly Parisian flair. Each track reflects the energy, diversity, and creativity of a constantly evolving local scene.

This debut release naturally centers on artists close to the collective, in keeping with the philosophy Wonder Kidz has upheld since its inception: building bridges between the talents in its circle, showcasing producers with whom it shares a history, a vision, or a common artistic sensibility, and providing a platform for expression to a vibrant independent scene.

Two of the most prolific remixers in the world of Disco,Dave 'Love' Lee and John Moraleshave teamed up for one of their biggest projects to date - 'Mixed To The Maxxx'. After gaining access from the legendary original artists, the pair take the multi-track tapes of many classic Disco, Funk & Soul tracks and re-work them...to the Maxxx!

Where Remixed With Love stands as Dave Lee's own gold-standard body of work, Mixed To The Maxxx sets that legacy alongside Morales' own decades-deep M+M body of work: Lee brings his musically dense, groove-first touch to the likes of Harold Melvin, Syreeta, Lenny Williams and The Brand New Heavies, while Morales applies his extended, dancefloor-built M+M treatment and crushes the likes of Barry White, The Temptations and Loleatta Holloway, plus Dennis Coffey's breakbeat classic "Scorpio" for the DJs and collectors alike. Both work from original tapes, surfacing parts barely audible or entirely unheard in the source mixes, and both know when to let a classic breathe rather than bury it under modern production. It's a pairing a long time in the making. Lee and Morales first talked about working together around a decade ago, and getting Mixed To The Maxxx off the ground took five years of patient work: tracking down usable stems, securing approvals, and navigating a licensing landscape where much of the best material is now tied up with major labels increasingly cautious about clearing remixes. What's landed here is the product of that graft as much as the pair's shared ear for a great record, the sound of two people who know exactly what they're looking for and are willing to put in the time to find it.

A double 12" sampler in summer 2025 previewed the record's range. A bass-driven overhaul ofThe Brothers Johnson's "The Real Thing" and an extended mix of Philly legends Bell & James' "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" showcased Lee's side, while an anthemic take on Inner Life's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and a tempo-lifted Light Of The World"London Town" flew the flag for Morales. Both drew strong early support ahead of the full LP.

Two of the most prolific remixers in the world of Disco,Dave 'Love' Lee and John Moraleshave teamed up for one of their biggest projects to date - 'Mixed To The Maxxx'. After gaining access from the legendary original artists, the pair take the multi-track tapes of many classic Disco, Funk & Soul tracks and re-work them...to the Maxxx!

Where Remixed With Love stands as Dave Lee's own gold-standard body of work, Mixed To The Maxxx sets that legacy alongside Morales' own decades-deep M+M body of work: Lee brings his musically dense, groove-first touch to the likes of Harold Melvin, Syreeta, Lenny Williams and The Brand New Heavies, while Morales applies his extended, dancefloor-built M+M treatment and crushes the likes of Barry White, The Temptations and Loleatta Holloway, plus Dennis Coffey's breakbeat classic "Scorpio" for the DJs and collectors alike. Both work from original tapes, surfacing parts barely audible or entirely unheard in the source mixes, and both know when to let a classic breathe rather than bury it under modern production. It's a pairing a long time in the making. Lee and Morales first talked about working together around a decade ago, and getting Mixed To The Maxxx off the ground took five years of patient work: tracking down usable stems, securing approvals, and navigating a licensing landscape where much of the best material is now tied up with major labels increasingly cautious about clearing remixes. What's landed here is the product of that graft as much as the pair's shared ear for a great record, the sound of two people who know exactly what they're looking for and are willing to put in the time to find it.

A double 12" sampler in summer 2025 previewed the record's range. A bass-driven overhaul ofThe Brothers Johnson's "The Real Thing" and an extended mix of Philly legends Bell & James' "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" showcased Lee's side, while an anthemic take on Inner Life's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and a tempo-lifted Light Of The World"London Town" flew the flag for Morales. Both drew strong early support ahead of the full LP.

"Emergence of Shadow" (Mint Condition Records / Self Distribuzione)—the new album by Davide
Ghidoni, produced by Gianluca Pighi—is arriving: its digital release is set for Friday, September 11,
while the vinyl will be available starting Friday, September 18.
A trumpeter with a career marked by international collaborations, Ghidoni here signs his most
personal project to date. It is a predominantly instrumental record in which the trumpet becomes a
voice, a narrative, and an emotion. The only vocal track is "Come On Closer," performed by Heidi
Vogel (The Cinematic Orchestra), creating a moment of suspension and intensity within the project.
Davide Ghidoni’s passion for music and the trumpet was born in his childhood around the age of ten,
fueled also by Western films and Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks: those melodies, where the trumpet
played a central role in the duels of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, deeply shaped the artist's
imagination and sound.
Ghidoni has always maintained an open and curious approach, letting himself be inspired by different
genres, artists, and musical cultures. His projects naturally coexist with influences ranging from rock
to soul, jazz to blues, and other languages that have left a mark on his path. Rather than identifying
with a single genre, he prefers to view music as a guiding thread capable of uniting different styles
through emotion, sensitivity, and respect for artistic identity.
"Emergence of Shadow" represents a new chapter in his journey. After numerous collaborations with
various artists, the musician felt the urge to undertake a completely his own project, giving shape to
ideas he had nurtured for a long time.
The record is inspired by the 1970s soul, rock, and blues sounds, but the goal is not to faithfully
reproduce or imitate those genres: the atmospheres, themes, and arrangements recall that sonic
world, yet are reinterpreted through a personal and original sensibility. The trumpet remains the
primary narrative element, supported by meticulous arrangements and a solid rhythm section that
enhance its character and expressive intensity.
Alongside the sounds that distinguish his path, the album also explores deeper emotional
dimensions. Some tracks are fluid and atmospheric, born from the desire to recount vibrations
without rigid schemes, letting melodies and dynamics guide the listener on an inner journey. The aim
is to offer an engaging listening experience in which music communicates directly, beyond words.
The album encapsulates everything Davide Ghidoni wanted to express and fully represents his
artistic identity: a timeless instrument to communicate emotions and engage in dialogue with different
musical traditions, always keeping the pursuit of musical quality and sharing with the public at its
core.

For South Central’s premier singer, songwriter, and producer, success was never an overnight accident; it was a blueprint executed with meticulous precision. With his highly anticipated project, Labor of Love, Blxst delivers a masterclass in modern West Coast R&B and Hip-Hop, proving that true artistry requires both sweat and soul. The album serves as a sonic manifesto on the price of ambition, the weight of loyalty, and the delicate balance of maintaining romance while building an empire. It stands as a definitive evolution of the distinct sound Blxst pioneered, blending crisp, trunk-thumping 808s with soulful, nostalgic chords and his signature, effortlessly smooth vocal runs.

Entirely self-produced and co-written, Labor of Love bridges the gap between the sun-drenched grit of Los Angeles street culture and the vulnerability of late-night bedroom playlists. From the bounce of celebratory anthems to introspective, late-night drive confessionals, Blxst curates a tracklist that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. It explores the sacrifices made in the pursuit of greatness, paying homage to the sonic pioneers of LA while firmly cementing his own place as the vanguard of the city's modern sound. It is a celebration of independence and the self-made mentality, reminding listeners that he remains the chief architect of his own destiny.

Ultimately, Labor of Love is a testament to the grind, capturing the sleepless nights and tested relationships that pave the road to success. Blxst puts his heart on the line to show that the work itself is where the true passion lives, creating an album for the city, for his family, and for everyone who stays dedicated to their craft. More than just a collection of radio-ready hits, this project is a cohesive, cinematic experience from one of music's most reliable hitmakers. It is a definitive reminder that Blxst isn't just riding the wave—he is directing the current.

Like a pelican spotting its moment, Dimitri Andreas returns with a collection shaped by patience, precision and instinct.

Pelican marks a new chapter for a respected figure in underground electronic music. While recent years saw Andreas immersed in theatre productions, immersive audio experiences and multidisciplinary artistic projects, his fascination with rhythm, space, tension and emotion never left. It simply found different forms.

On Pelican, those worlds converge.

Across five original productions, Andreas distills the elements that have long defined his sound: hypnotic grooves, organic percussion, tribal influences, rich atmospheres and a deep sense of movement. The title track glides on suspense and anticipation, while Omenica and Mahu explore the groove driven territory that has become synonymous with his name. Cambolisa delivers a powerful melodic payoff, and Ember closes the journey with vintage synth warmth and restless energy.

The release is completed by three outstanding remixes from artists whose influence on contemporary electronic music is undeniable. Deetron reshapes Pelican into a deep and sophisticated techno excursion, Extrawelt transforms it into a cinematic and evolving voyage, while Petar Dundov expands Cambolisa into an emotional and atmospheric journey of his own.

Following a series of acclaimed MOVE Recordings releases supported by DJs including Sven Väth, Timo Maas, Jamie Jones and Fedele, Pelican arrives as a body of work shaped by years of exploration beyond the confines of club culture.

Rather than revisiting the past, Andreas brings those experiences back to the dance floor: music with patience, depth and perspective. Pelican is the sound of an artist returning not to where he started, but with everything he discovered along the way.

Already Supported by Laurent Garnier, Alexi Delano, Âme, Ilario Alicante, Just Her, Adriatique, Karotte, Danny Howells, Drumcomplex, Paco Osuna, Steve Parry, Marco Bailey, Alex Neri, Pole Folder, Amand, Calao, Neon, Gay Barone, ….

MĀRARA, meaning flying fish, is a musical project born in the heart of a still largely unknown Polynesian island. While Tahiti commands attention and the spotlight, Mārara remains in the shadows, ignored by tourist circuits and dominant cultural narratives. This album aims to put Mārara on the map and give voice to an island that deserves to exist in all its richness.


Through this work, we offer an immersion into our traditions, customs, legends, and myths. These stories, deeply rooted in Polynesian culture, are transformed by the environment: for example, the legends of an atoll differ from those of a mountainous island, shaped by the climate, the terrain, and the elements. MĀRARA captures this diversity and reveals its unique character.


This album is not just a musical creation: it is an act of cultural transmission and visibility. Music becomes a vehicle for identity, a voice for an unknown territory, and a bridge between past and present.


"With MĀRARA, we make our island sing so that its voice resonates beyond its horizon."

IMPRESS!VE Collective & BBE Music present: Terry Callier – Live Peace. There was no one quite like Terry Callier, and Live Peace captures the rare magic of his live performances in their most intimate and spiritual form. Recorded live in Leeds in the late 1990s and early 2000s at shows run by Lubi Jovanovich & Gip Dammone of The DIG! Family, this release documents an artist whose music transcended genre, era, and expectation, offering truth, compassion, and deep emotional connection rather than spectacle. Recorded live by renowned sound engineer Martin Dixon at The Yardbird Suite / The Underground in Leeds in 1998 and 2001), these performances feature Terry alongside his hand-picked ‘Family Band’; which included legendary guitarist Jim Mullen, Chris Kibble on keys and famed percussionist Bosco D’Oliveira. Painstakingly restored from the only surviving source using modern AI-assisted audio tools, the aim was never to polish away the grain, but to let Terry’s voice, message, and band shine once more. Sparse, soulful, and profoundly human, the recordings preserve the immediacy of nights where packed rooms fell into pin-drop silence, hanging on every word and note. From the aching beauty of “What Colour Is Love” to the cinematic power of “Lazarus Man,” this album reminds us what a master storyteller and spiritual presence Terry Callier was. Live Peace stands as a powerful reminder of why Terry Callier remains one of music’s most revered and influential voices, whose songs of love, justice, and humanity resonate as strongly now as ever. This project is fully endorsed by Terry's daughter Sunny Callier - and the cover photo and sleeve images are all suitably also previously unseen visual treasures.

For more than three decades, this Grammy-winning US bandleader and roots master has outrun genre, classification and comfort zone, journeying between the acclaimed solo work with his own name on the marquee, his storied jam-band Gov't Mule, and America's fabled rock 'n' roll institutions from the Allman Brothers Band to the Grateful Dead. To represent this lifetime of roots and branches in a single project, while tearing down and reimagining his songbook with bold orchestral arrangements, acknowledges Haynes, was a daunting prospect that nonetheless exerted an irresistible pull. Now, the resulting live album - Dreams & Songs, released September 18, 2026 - is a living document of 2019's one- of- a- kind concert at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, with a visceral mix by the legendary Bob Clearmountain capturing the thrilling collision between Haynes' lineup of seasoned rock 'n' roll improvisers and the 64- piece Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

When Pouya dropped The South Got Something To Say in the summer of 2019, it wasn’t just a title—it was a definitive statement of growth. Nodding to André 3000’s iconic 1995 Source Awards declaration, the Miami pioneer used his third studio album to prove that his raw, independent formula had mutated into something deeper, more mature, and entirely unmatched in the underground rap landscape. Now, for the first time since its digital release, this pivotal moment in Florida hip-hop history is finally available on wax, offering listeners something tangible they have been anticipating for years.

The South Got Something To Say captures Pouya at a lyrical and sonic turning point. While maintaining the blistering flows, heavy bass, and visceral Florida energy that initially put him on the map, the album opens the door to intense themes of mortality, legacy, and the heavy toll of independent success. It bridges the gap between the frantic energy of the SoundCloud era and a mastery of songwriting, offering fans a remarkably transparent look into the mind of an artist surviving the very chaos that birthed him. Standouts like "Cruisin' in the MIA" and "Florida Thang" showcase his signature rapid-fire delivery, perfectly balancing the record's darker, more introspective moments.

The sonic diversity of the project is anchored by a stellar lineup of collaborators who push Pouya into new creative territory. He enlists Three 6 Mafia royalty Juicy J alongside heavy-hitting underground peers like Ghostemane and City Morgue, while seamlessly pivoting into the melodic, hazy soundscapes of indie-pop artist Cuco and longtime producer Rocci on tracks like "Talk to Me Before I Die" and "Mood Swing Misery." This striking balance of aggressive phonk and melodic vulnerability solidifies the album as a cohesive, genre-bending journey rather than a mere collection of singles.

For years, vinyl collectors and die-hard fans have begged for this underground masterpiece to be immortalized on wax. This first-ever vinyl pressing delivers the booming low-ends and intricate, therapeutic bars exactly how they were meant to be experienced. From the opening nostalgic chords to the final fading beats, this release stands as an essential artifact of the modern underground rap movement, finally giving a landmark Southern album the premium physical presentation it deserves.

Remastered limited edition double vinyl with double-sided screenprinted poster-cover (sleeve folds out to be one huge poster). A real collectors item!

When Off Off came out around June 1984, one couldn’t speak of an independent music scene in Portugal. Warm Records’ vague existence didn’t have any impact and Dansa do Som’s inaugural release appeared only in December. 10 years after the revolution, after two IMF interventions, a lot of political instability (not to say turmoil, in the first couple of years) and the natural excesses of a sudden burst of freedom, the Portuguese consumer had more choices but a generally poor standard of living. There was no entrepreneurial culture and serious second thoughts about investing private money in risky ventures.

After many complaints about the whole music scene (institutions, critics and record label executives, popular and classical music alike), something that would continue well beyond the end of the decade, Telectu decided to finance, record, produce, release and sell an album with complete independence from outside structures. Their karmic reward was profit. According to Vítor Rua, Off Off was the only album fully payed by the duo and the only one that really payed off. Not an easy accomplishment for a double LP housed in a large (also double-sided) screenprint with complicated cuts and folds. The artwork was conceived by António Palolo, a friend and multidisciplinary artist. It was based on a collage of heavily saturated and xeroxed polaroids framed in shocking pink and green. Palolo was considered the third member of Telectu, regularly producing slides, video and other visual support for their shows. The inspiration for the type of cover came from GRM’s Gramme series.

Off Off is divided in four distinct sides, each one corresponding to a “theme” or “function” related to Telectu’s manifold artistic interests and interactions. The titles are also gateways to influences and a small portion of Portuguese cultural life:

- Side 1 / “Diagonale” is dedicated to Egídio Álvaro, art critic and gallery director (he opened Diagonale in Paris). Performance art was arguably his main artistic concern over the years, so the music on this side is suggested for use by one or more performers in live or playback situations. The three tracks segue into each other, linked by a synth arpeggio much in the same way as Telectu’s previous “Belzebu” álbum (1983);

- Side 2 / “Anarké” is dedicated to the composer Filipe Pires, one of Jorge Lima Barreto’s recurring invocations when asked about worthwhile contemporary music in Portugal. It is subtitled “concert music”, proposing «a new form of listening». Three tracks also, and these are separated by “clap interludes”, which basically consisted in the following: JLB and VR each had a pair of headphones on, and they clapped their hands according to the rhythm of the music each one was listening. Both musicians were interacting with a different Steve Reich piece: Vítor with “Music for Mallet Instruments”, Jorge with “Six Pianos”. The result is disjointed clapping, an awkwardly deliberate celebration of their own music. Telectu applauded themselves.

- Side 3 / “Cornucópia” is subtitled “music for theatre” and dedicated to Luís Miguel Cintra and Luís Lima Barreto (JLB’s brother), both connected to the Cornucópia theatre company. The side consists of several short pieces previously used as interludes in the Cornucópia staging of “Mariana Espera Casamento” (1983). Field recordings, mood pieces, ambience and a numeric poem (“Soneto Soma 14x”, by E.M. de Melo e Castro) read by João Perry, a quite well-known stage actor. His voice is treated with a flanger effect;

- Side 4 / “Palolo” is “video music”. It’s a one-take mix recorded from cassette sources (Telectu studio experiences) and done live while watching António Palolo’s Om film (1978) projected on the living room wall. It’s a deep, immersive, quasi-mystical 20-minute piece perfectly suiting the meditative, abstract, fluid images created by Palolo by mixing paint and water inside a bathtub. One imagines the Cosmos, hardly suspecting the technique. The film is 90 minutes long, so the music on the LP is of course edited.

The six titles on sides 1 and 2 evoke demons, all of them with conflicting symbolism, since it varies from culture to culture, religion to religion. No explanation is given and Vítor Rua has no idea where this imagery comes from. During virtually the whole stretch of the 1980s, Jorge was the one in charge of titles and concepts, and Vítor didn’t bother too much even reading the liner notes :) In any case, when you synchronize the listening experience with the imagery, a powerful impression emerges, a feeling of being in the presence of these entities while placing yourself inside the sonic narrative.

Off Off is undoubtedly a seminal album in the history of electronic music, as much Heldon as Fripp & Eno, jazz and American minimalism, cosmic out-thereness, mantric miniatures. Telectu at the height of their powers, still very early on, delivering an album-manifesto advocating intermedia art and the fierce independence of Portuguese musicians «from the scum of capitalist music industry monopolies. It’s a path to follow, albeit one that requires enduring hardships and retaliation from music industry gangsters.» Despite a few journalists deemed «capable of being free», the media are «enslaved by the dominant and fascist imbecility of the speculators of light music.» Off Off is addressed to those journalists «and to an audience angry at the cultural misery imposed upon us ..., certain that this music will open new horizons of musical pleasure in the conception of Portuguese avant-garde music, and in the open consciousness of us all. OFF OFF repeats Freedom.»

Those two words are a direct lift from Alberto Arbasino’s 1968 book Off Off, the basis of which is a critical analysis of Theodor Adorno’s and Dwight MacDonald’s ideas concerning the stratification of culture in different levels (high, mid and low) and the pervasiveness of mass culture in the form of a culture industry. In very simplistic terms, and that is precisely the point that inspired Jorge, Arbasino argued that it was possible and desirable to effect a revolution from below, cultivating alternative circuits completely cut-off from what he termed the in-in reality. Telectu’s record was a deliberate demonstration that it could be done, displaying Freedom in the face of all the gatekeepers and other human obstacles.

From Berlin to Lagos: Jembaa Groove expand their sound on "Be A Lover"

Berlin-based outfit Jembaa Groove return with "Be A Lover", a four-track EP set for full release on 18 September via global soul imprint Agogo Records. Following two critically acclaimed albums and an intensive period of touring across Europe and the US — including a SXSW showcase and a widely acclaimed KEXP session — this latest release marks a new chapter in the band’s trajectory. Built around highlife rhythms and shaped by Afro-jazz and the more organic edges of Afrobeats, "Be A Lover" unfolds with a warm, languid and deeply soulful feel, capturing different strands of today’s multifaceted Afrofusion scene.

Here, the band strips back from a seven-piece ensemble to its two founding members, while at the same time opening outward into a deeply collaborative space. At its centre is a close creative partnership with celebrated Nigerian highlife revivalists The Cavemen., alongside contributions from London-based, Nigerian born soul artist Azekel, Lagos vocalist Tim Lyre, and Malian icon Fatoumata Diawara.

“This record has a different flavour,” says Owusu. “It’s really about collaboration — different feelings, different thoughts, different energies coming together.” While centred around the Lagos contemporary scene, the record is shaped by a wider diasporic network stretching across London, Lagos, Berlin and Amsterdam, cities producer and bass player Yannick Nolting describes as “the pillars where everything that is happening in today’s highlife and Afro-fusion scene.”

Formed in Berlin in 2020, Jembaa Groove began after a chance meeting between bassist, producer and composer Yannick Nolting and percussionist, vocalist and songwriter Eric Owusu. Drawing on their respective musical journeys — Nolting’s years working with Lusophone artists in Lisbon and Owusu’s deep roots in Ghana’s highlife tradition, including work with Pat Thomas and late highlife legend Ebo Taylor — the project quickly took shape: their debut album Susuma established a powerful, poly-rhythmic sound grounded in highlife, jazz and soul, while 2024’s "Ye Ankasa | We Ourselves" expanded that vision through collaborations with artists across Ghana and its diaspora, including UK based Ghanaian singer, rapper, percussionist, and arranger K.O.G and legendary Ghanaian highlife musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley.

The collaborative spirit continues on "Be A Lover", most of which grew out of a meeting with sibling duo The Cavemen. at Supersonic Jazz Festival in Amsterdam in 2023, leading to a sustained exchange of ideas between Berlin and Lagos. With two acclaimed albums behind them, The Cavemen. have emerged as central figures in both Lagos’ alternative music scene and the wider contemporary highlife revival, bringing the genre to a new generation through a stripped-back, melody-driven sound. “There was some kind of magnetism towards Lagos,” says Nolting; for Owusu, who is Ghanaian but spent much of his life in Nigeria, the connection runs even deeper. “I feel lucky to be able to bring different cultures together and make something really beautiful,” he says. A key part of that process was a close working exchange between Nolting and The Cavemen.’s Kingsley Okorie, who effectively stepped into a co-producing role on three out of four of the tracks.

The one exception is opener No Pain No Gain, which features Nigerian-born, East London-based Azekel, whose smooth, R&B-leaning vocal moves through a slow-burning arrangement of bright keys, gently rising horns and atmospheric synths, anchored by Owusu’s organic percussion.

The title track Be A Lover, featuring Afro-fusion Lagos artist Tim Lyre, distills the EP’s central message into its most immediate form. Backed by syncopated percussion and a gently smouldering arrangement, Lyre’s voice moves with a laid-back, melodic ease, delivering a simple refrain: “be a lover, not a fighter.” “It’s a very simple message,” says Nolting, “It’s about showing more love, on a personal level but also more broadly… just show love.” That same sense of warmth runs throughout the record, reflecting its core idea.

On Obi, The Cavemen. take centre stage, with Kingsley Okorie leading through melancholic, plaintive vocals rooted in classic highlife. In contrast, his brother Benjamin James punctuates the track with high-pitched vocal interjections, heightening the emotional tension against a backdrop of slow, restrained instrumentation.

Waka follows with a more melodic, hook-led refrain from Eric Owusu, whose loose, almost conversational delivery creates a striking contrast with Fatoumata Diawara’s unmistakably powerful, raspy vocal. The collaboration grew out of a chance meeting while Owusu was on tour, with ideas exchanged quickly and Diawara returning a finished vocal within days. “We are so proud to have her. It’s a privilege” says Owusu. "Be A Lover" is a record shaped by connections like these — between people, scenes, and cities. “It was partly intention, partly destiny,” says Nolting. “We met these people along the way, and somehow Lagos was meant to come into our path.”

GAEG is the production project of Japanese duo Keita Sano and Monkey Timers, bringing together two key figures from Tokyo’s underground dance scene. Built from the ground up with carefully placed disco samples, twisted FX and warped electronics, their sound is psychedelic, anarchic and unpredictable. Familiar dancefloor elements are pushed through a distorted lens, creating a sound deeply rooted in house and disco, while drifting into strange and futuristic territory. Highly effective on a dancefloor, these four tracks cover a wide range within the mid BPM range for different scenarios in the club space, one for the DJ record bag at all times.

With Foreverglades, Miami’s independent rap cornerstone Pouya delivers a cohesive, highly anticipated body of work that serves as a gritty love letter to the Sunshine State. Moving away from the claustrophobic trap beats that defined the early SoundCloud era, Pouya steps fully into his veteran status by embracing a distinctly rich and organic Southern sonic palette. The album's title plays heavily on the Florida Everglades, signaling a destination that is both a permanent state of mind and a humid, unforgiving landscape where only the strongest survive. Over the course of 12 tracks, the project balances hazy nostalgia with modern underground rap execution, highlighting Pouya's sharp technical growth and deep roots in his hometown culture.

The production on Foreverglades is remarkably cohesive, leaning into thick basslines, melting instrumentation, and classic Southern rap influences that give the tracks a heavy, atmospheric depth. Behind the boards, the album leans on a talented collective of underground producers—including Alexis Martin, Boohmii, Esthetic Gloom, and Oleg—who construct a soundscape that is both menacingly smooth and psychedelic. Rather than relying on the frantic tempos of his early catalog, the backdrops here allow Pouya to showcase his immense vocal versatility. He flows effortlessly, seamlessly shifting from his signature rapid-fire, triplet-flow delivery to a more grounded, melodic cadence that mirrors the thick humidity of the Florida landscape.

Lyrically, Foreverglades is a self-reflective journey that finds Pouya confronting the psychological realities of a decade-long independent career. While his trademark dark humor and raw bravado remain intact, they are balanced by a vulnerable perspective on success, mortal anxieties, and the paranoia that comes with staying independent in a shifting industry. The tracklist is meticulously curated, anchored by atmospheric standouts like "Found You," "Florida Baby," "In My City," and the Rocci-assisted "Burnt Down." By anchoring the project with raw storytelling and a distinct sonic identity, Foreverglades stands as a defining moment in Pouya's discography—a project best experienced with the bass turned all the way up and the windows rolled down.

1xLP, pressed on Whirlpool colored vinyl, includes 12x12 double-sided insert.

Music From Memory presents ‘Miraggi’, the debut release by Argento, a new project conceived by composer and producer David August. Written between Berlin and the Tuscan coast, the record unfolds as an imagined soundtrack to the Mediterranean, shaped by memory, longing and a profound connection to landscape.

The earliest sketches emerged during extended periods spent along Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast, where the shifting light, vegetation and ever-changing presence of the sea became lasting creative impulses. At the same time, an immersion in Italian library music of the 1970s and ‘80s quietly informed the project’s tonal language, while traces of jazz fusion and Balearic ambience surfaced not as direct references but as distant echoes.

Built around a dialogue between synthesizers, electronics, acoustic percussion and environmental recordings, ‘Miraggi’ balances rhythmic movement with spacious, cinematic composition. During the recording process, August was joined by drummer and percussionist Lorenzo Setti, whose performances and co-writing became an integral part of the album’s evolving rhythmic language. Across extended improvisations and recording sessions, August and Setti gradually shaped a musical language that feels both deeply personal and quietly transportive, allowing atmosphere and place to become as important as melody or rhythm.

The title ‘Miraggi’ (‘Mirages’) emerged organically, evoking a longing for something that remains just out of reach — something that cannot fully be grasped or lived. It suggests a suspended state between perception and imagination, akin to a hallucination or a dream. In this sense, ‘Miraggi’ reflects the project’s inner narrative: an imagined soundtrack shaped by desire, memory and the spiritual abundance of the Mediterranean Sea.

‘Miraggi’ will be released on vinyl and digitally via Music From Memory on September 10th 2026.

With “La Fiesta Seria y Nuevas Formas de Tecnaco”, the fourth chapter in the ESTADO DE BIENESTAR series, the project continues to delve deeper into a singular sonic territory, situated at the fringes of experimental electronics and free from any aesthetic constraints, moving unapologetically between tribal dub, primitive electro, hypnotic ambient and even classical piano structures, articulating a musical discourse that is as disconcerting as it is coherent.

Most of this work emerges from the use of CV sequences which, with their distinctive human groove, trigger iconic synthesizers from different generations, giving rise to a new radical exploration of proto-electronics as an open and constantly evolving language.

Recorded almost entirely in analog, the album preserves a lo-fi aesthetic that has become one of the project’s defining characteristics.

Previously described by various international specialist media outlets as “a new genre because of its unclassifiable nature”, ESTADO DE BIENESTAR continues to develop a language of its own: one that follows no one and, in its own way, follows everyone. A sonic territory that, at Oráculo, we have chosen to call Transelectronica.

Time Heals Everything is the fifth studio album from Blu and Exile, a duo that first connected in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades refining a chemistry that continues to evolve. The ten-track LP follows 2024’s Love (the) Ominous World and leans deeper into their core strengths: soul-forward production, incisive writing, and left-field choices that feel instinctive rather than experimental.
The album opens with “Soul Unusual,” a mission statement that builds on the lineage of “Soul Provider” and “Soul Amazing,” reframed through Blu’s present-day perspective. “The word special comes to mind,” Blu explains. “This is my perspective of those songs now.” Exile adds that the record went through multiple iterations before landing in its final form. “Once I changed the beat, it really came together for me, and his words hit differently,” he says, setting the tone for a project rooted in refinement and intention.
“Crumbs” pairs Blu with Rome Streetz and ICECOLDBISHOP on a golden era-inspired backdrop, taking aim at the ‘crumbs’ people are expected to accept from corrupt systems of power. The track underscores one of the album’s central themes: clarity through experience, and the perspective that comes with time.
Time Heals Everything finds Blu and Exile honoring their foundation while continuing to push forward, proving once again that soul and risk-taking can coexist without compromise. “We took a different approach with the direction while still staying true to the culture our music has built with our fan base,” Blu says. In 2026, that culture remains alive, evolving, and resonant as ever.

Recorded in Los Angeles over the course of a single day at a studio in the Eagle Rock neighborhood, Dois Desertos was produced by Mario Caldato Jr. and emerged without a predetermined plan or schedule. The project took shape during Portuguese musician João Pimenta Gomes' stay in Los Angeles with his family. During that time, through Rodrigo Amarante, João met Mario and Samantha Caldato, as well as musicians Abe Rounds (drums and percussion) and Gabe Noel (bass and cello). From those encounters, the album began to unfold organically.

Working from simple scores—some containing little more than chord progressions—the sessions left plenty of room for improvisation. Every performance was captured live, in a single take, with no overdubs. The mixing process, also carried out live by Mario Caldato Jr., followed the same philosophy: effects and level adjustments were performed in real time and printed directly to the final two-track master.

At the heart of the album's sound is the Cristal Baschet, a rare instrument played by rubbing glass rods with the hands, causing metal resonators to vibrate and produce an ethereal, resonant tone. João describes its sound as "a trace, almost like a shadow." Rather than taking the lead, the instrument serves as a textural foundation, while the bass and cello carry the melodic lines. Some of these melodies are original compositions, while others draw from traditional Portuguese fado, reimagined through an open and exploratory approach.

The album has a dreamlike atmosphere, reflecting the perspective of someone experiencing Los Angeles from the outside—not in a rush to belong, but fully receptive to the city's unique energy. Two films helped shape this imaginary landscape: Model Shop (Jacques Demy, 1969), in which the French filmmaker uses Los Angeles as a pretext to simply observe and inhabit the city, and Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself. The result is Dois Desertos, an album that, in João's own words, "could never have been made anywhere else."

With Dois Desertos, João Pimenta Gomes invites listeners into a deeply immersive experience, revealing a more exploratory side of his artistic practice while reinforcing Amor in Sound's commitment to releasing original works that engage with the many languages of contemporary music.

After years of steadily building momentum within the deeper side of drum & bass, Monika now delivers his long-awaited debut album, How We Saw Forever, landing this August on Spearhead Records.

UK-born and now based in New Zealand, Monika has developed a sound that blends deep rolling grooves, soulful textures, delicate musicality and moments of genuine emotional weight. Across the album he moves effortlessly between late-night introspection, euphoric warmth and darker, more experimental territory, showcasing an artist fully confident in his own sonic identity.

Having already made a strong impression through previous releases on Spearhead and appearances across the label’s 20-year anniversary campaign, How We Saw Forever feels like a major step forward creatively. From the haunting beauty of “What Turns Your World” featuring Oktae, through to the nostalgic rave energy of “Mango Pop” and the weightier pressure of “Syndicate”, the album captures Monika’s ability to balance emotion, atmosphere and dancefloor impact without ever feeling formulaic.

At its core, How We Saw Forever is an album about atmosphere, memory and emotion, music designed equally for solitary headphone moments and packed dancefloors at sunrise. There’s a cinematic thread running throughout the project, but also a raw honesty that gives the album its real depth.

Speaking about the album, Monika says:
“This project became a reflection of so many different seasons of life over the last few years. Some tracks came from really emotional places, others were written purely from joy and escapism, but together they tell the story of where I’ve been creatively and personally. I wanted the album to feel immersive, something people could disappear into.”

Released via BCee’s Spearhead Records — a label long celebrated for championing soulful and emotionally rich drum & bass. How We Saw Forever marks another exciting chapter for both Monika and the wider Spearhead family.

His music is characterized by a mix of electronic, deep and tropical house, and techno music produced in a minimalist manner with jazz and soul influences. "Vandaag", containing a sample of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. became a major charting hit in 2014. Six years later, in 2020, Bakermat released his first studio album The Ringmaster - a ten- track project showcasing his lengths and versatility, including the chart- topping release "Baiana\u0301", awarded Gold and Platinum status, surpassing 100 million total streams, and stamped as the official feature track for EA's FIFA 2021. The Ringmaster also includes the singles "Partystarter", "Trouble", "Learn To Lose", "Baiana\u0301", and "Under The Sun (ft. Kidda)". The full album features collabs with Alex Clare, Gossip Girl's Emily Lind, BRAVES, and 7Chariot amongst others. The Ringmaster is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on yellow, black and red marbled vinyl

Kid Drama presents 'Machines and Other Things', his first full-length album for Metalheadz and a project shaped by instinct from a producer three decades deep into his craft.

Initially conceived through the lens of the classic Headz sound, the album only found its true identity once Kid Drama stopped looking backwards and allowed his own Autonomic influences to take hold. Slowing the tempo and focusing on groove rather than function, he built a body of work unconcerned with club trends, instead prioritising atmosphere, texture and progression.

Written sequentially rather than assembled from a large pool of tracks, 'Machines and Other Things' captures a distinct moment in time. Across the album, layers of tape saturation, analogue processing, noise and environmental detail sit alongside melancholic melodies and intricate rhythms, creating a sound that feels tactile and deeply immersive.

Also featuring collaborations with Goldie, dBridge, Loxy and LaMeduza, 'Machines and Other Things' finds Kid Drama drawing on the past without being defined by it, delivering a body of work that feels unmistakably his own.

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

A Collision of Worlds. A Convergence of Sound.

Czarface opens another portal. On Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer, the boundary between comic book canon and hip-hop reality dissolves. Frankie Pulitzer, also known in certain dimensions as FacePuller, is no ordinary collaborator, character, or catalyst. He is a hybrid entity: part human, part alien force, fully embedded in the expanding Czarface universe.

Following landmark team-ups with MF DOOM and Ghostface Killah, Czarface continues its “Meets” saga with a full-scale crossover event that pushes deeper into story and sound. Frankie’s presence is both lyrical and mythological, bringing a chaotic, shape-shifting energy that challenges and complements Czarface’s razor-sharp precision. Dusty drums, cinematic soundscapes, and razor-edged bars bring the classic Czarface sound, yet mutated.

The universe widens with appearances from Busta Rhymes, Method Man, and El-P (of Run the Jewels), each adding their own gravitational pull to the project, thus grounding it in hip-hop legacy while amplifying its larger-than-life scope.

“Ruins are the style of our future cities, future cities are themselves ruins.” - Izosaki Arata

A note from Lawrence English: Nostalgia is not an ideology, though in this moment, we could be mistaken for thinking it might be just that. Over the past years, the idea of nostalgia has been filtered through various political and technological lenses and has become a tool used for forgetting, rather than remembering. Instead of embracing histories’ complexities and inconsistencies, this version of nostalgia seeks only singular recollection. This contemporary phenomenon of nostalgia has become a methodology at best, and a weapon at worst, used to erode the past and project forward a collapsed and unimaginably sanitised version of things, places, and ways of being from former times. It’s this projection that sees it playing a mounting role in a social pathology associated with reducing the imagined possibilities of future.

The Rest Is My Ghost is a record that interrogates the manifestations of this reductive futuring and celebrates those that have tried (and failed), and those who continue to push back against decayed and revisionist positions. It’s a record that considers the weaponisation of nostalgia for the purposes of cloaking possible futures.

In recent times, I’ve proposed a term for this weaponised use of nostalgia, something I have called Acid Nostalgia. I offer it as a shorthand to describe the de-contouring of the future through a corrosive fixation on a flatten rendering of the preceding times. It is, in part, a certain type of lazy cultural scripting where tropes of the past are presented in the absolute, as empty pictorials; photocopies without any original from which to draw actual meaning, or useful detail.

Acid Nostalgia describes an increasingly common political projection of nostalgia that exists without any subjective connection to the memory surrounding and contained within it. Like acid poured onto a surface, this use of nostalgia seeks to erodes and smooth out the complexity and texture of lived connection and longing, which has until recently guided contemplations of nostalgia. Acid Nostalgia instead erases the texture of histories and de-contours the past, and in doing so dematerialises the horizon of possibility, which by its very nature marks the beginning point for any (and all) imaginable futures. Acid Nostalgia is a dreamless screen, where uncertainty, restlessness and aspiration are subjected to corrosion, breaking down and neutralising the wellspring of futures which are birthed from within the ambiguously charged, complex and at times chaotic atmospheres of the present.

The Rest Is My Ghost is not however some universal reading of these things and happenings. Rather it draws its breath from a very personal pathway carved through my own fraught experiences of nostalgia and framed through a disparate collage of chance encounters, situations, places and provocations. It takes oblique notes from civic and architectural references such as Japan’s Metabolist movement, Hong Kong’s ‘one line sky’ and Los Angeles’s vanished Sodium Vapour lights. It interpolates texts – factual and fictional – by authors such as Franco Berardi, Kate Crawford, JG Ballard, Katsuhiro Otomo, Mark Fisher and Alexei Yurchak who have each so wonderfully sought to rupture the familiarity of now, and push us towards other ways of imaging ourselves, our surroundings and our very ways of being in this world.

I also owe a debt of thanks to Adam Curtis in helping launch what has become this edition. It was his provocation, in a conversation we shared about an overwhelming and profound sense of uncertainty around being able to predict the immediate future and how to respond to that, which sparked the earliest inklings of this edition.

The Rest Is My Ghost is ultimately a record about the promise of constructions and connections to come, material, social and political. It's a record that accepts the fragility of failure as a source of ultimate potential, and a position from which the deepest freedom of imagination might be sought and summoned forth to conjure even the most unimaginable, (but) possible futures.

»Ampersand Curve« initiates a brilliant new phase of work by North Manchester’s most elusive artist, best known as Michael J. Blood. His string of ruffkut club bangers, as well as jams with Rat Heart & Samizdat over the past seven years, have made his records a true cult property, and now find him signed to one of the UK’s most foundational techno imprints – more of which later this year.

But under the Sees aegis, he swims in very different waters, following his instincts to use the studio-as-instrument to produce his most impressive, deep-minded work, made from – and for – the heart. Where MJB was all about off-the-cuff club jams cooked for immediacy, his new stylistic switch reveals myriad worlds of influence swirling under the hood, where interrelated spheres of spiritual jazz, dub, ambient, and concrète more clearly light up his rich inner world.

As the story goes, MJB was burgled a few years back and lost most of his studio just as the project was hitting its stride. It prompted a personal review of his practice, re-learning new kit, allowing him to bend the rules. Adopting a sort of first-thought, best-thought approach to composition, the new methodology fuelled a renewed imagination in flux, or what he identifies as Sees: a personalised way of conveying complex emotions. That undoing of musical and mental conditioning opens the walls of his music to vast new horizons. Opener »Ithaca« fathoms sonorous midnight jazz with 10 mins of a plangent, searching sax solo in HD widescreen, like some alternate version to the Blade Runner Love Theme, while a resonant vocoder soliloquy, »Unseem«, reaches into space harmonised between Alvin Lucier and Ron Trent, and »Sheer« chases the devil out of labyrinthine dub dimensions.

The floating dream architecture of »Caprices« caps the LP’s underlying narrative and painterly qualities with a romantic conclusion of blushing pads and shivered, metallic echoes of the subtropical that suggest a coming-to-terms with worries, refreshed and good to go again.

Matrix Disruption is the vinyl debut of Cluster B, a project that confidently navigates the dark territory of hypnotic tech, progressive house, and trance nuances. Four tracks crafted with patience and vision, where the groove is never an end in itself but becomes a narrative tool.

The EP opens with the title track, "Matrix Disruption," where mechanical rhythms and synthesizers interweave into a dense, hypnotic fabric.

"Escalation" pushes the accelerator, building tension layer by layer, leading into a climax that leaves no escape.

“Dancing in the moment" takes the dancefloor to deeper, more suspended territories.

“Human Touch" closes, introducing a more human and melodic respite.

A work that looks to the dancefloor, designed to be played on vinyl and do its job where it counts.

A refined and deeply immersive vinyl release that captures the essence of timeless underground electronic music. Akbal Music celebrates a very special moment in its history with the addition of renowned Romanian artist Barac, a key figure within the international minimal and rominimal scene. As part of this collaboration, Akbal Music presents I Close My Eyes In Order To See EP. This release will be presented exclusively on a limited 180g audiophile vinyl edition as part of Akbal Music’s official 20 Years Anniversary Pressing series, reinforcing the label’s commitment to music collecting culture, analog sound, and the unique sensory experience that vinyl continues to represent within the underground electronic music community. More than a release, this EP symbolizes a meeting point between generations, visions, and sonic identities, honoring Akbal Music’s past while projecting its future through a carefully curated, elegant, and deeply emotional musical journey.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7" single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low prole while making his heart felt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with. The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musician-ship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a HipHop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is an artist on his own terms. Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experi-ence behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderoya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape. However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to nd the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his inuences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine. "It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to put in a box. The album showcases both Martens' range and his ability to make a cohesive album. The lead single "Falling Away" starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On "Still Here" he professes his resilience through life's twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like "You" and "Our Love" mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens' lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. "Love & Flowers" finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that ts the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor or while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like "Muse" and "Chess" that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens' lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There's an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.

Alex Warren returns with his highly anticipated sophomore album, WILDCHILD, following the success of his critically acclaimed debut You’ll Be Alright, Kid, which featured the chart-topping, record-breaking hit “Ordinary” and established Warren as one of music’s biggest global breakout stars. Inspired by the nickname his late father gave him growing up, WILDCHILD is Warren’s most vulnerable but also most joyous work to date — a raw, cinematic collection exploring grief, growth, love, and self-discovery. Blending heart-stopping ballads with infectious pop anthems, the album captures Warren at his most honest yet, pairing deeply personal storytelling with soaring vocals and expansive production. Featuring recordings of his father’s voice woven throughout the project, WILDCHILD offers an intimate portrait of an artist moving from heartbreak toward healing.

Alex Warren returns with his highly anticipated sophomore album, WILDCHILD, following the success of his critically acclaimed debut You’ll Be Alright, Kid, which featured the chart-topping, record-breaking hit “Ordinary” and established Warren as one of music’s biggest global breakout stars. Inspired by the nickname his late father gave him growing up, WILDCHILD is Warren’s most vulnerable but also most joyous work to date — a raw, cinematic collection exploring grief, growth, love, and self-discovery. Blending heart-stopping ballads with infectious pop anthems, the album captures Warren at his most honest yet, pairing deeply personal storytelling with soaring vocals and expansive production. Featuring recordings of his father’s voice woven throughout the project, WILDCHILD offers an intimate portrait of an artist moving from heartbreak toward healing.

When everything around is racing blindly toward ruin, change direction and spin as fast as you can until you defy gravity and rise above the ground into blissful madness. "K-drone", the debut album by three renegades—Jakub Šimanský, Michal Vaľko, and Ján Podracký—is like a hallucinatory Calvary with five stations. Each station is a time-loop capsule, a tiny utopia sneering at the phantom progress of the world outside.

The opening track, "Speedrone", is pure vertigo; for seven long minutes, there's nothing to hold onto. Šimanský’s banjo cuts through the air, Vaľko’s hurdy-gurdy sounds like someone scraping a rusted sheet of metal with a handful of nails, and Podracký’s bass recorder hums like a slowly intensifying migraine. "Sine" is like a train journey through a barren wasteland, where the images outside the window constantly repeat like a bad trip. "Pro DJ" starts like a gig in a bar at the end of the line—a gig that never actually goes anywhere. It’s as if all three are locked in a spasm, their repeated motifs turning into haunting earworms. "Alien Radigue" shifts into a strange idyll in a clearing in the middle of the forest, where an unknown bird species trills in the background. The end and definitive dissolution come in "Slush", where everything suddenly slows down. Šimanský plucks a simple guitar melody, Podracký’s harmonica drifts from side to side like a boat gently rocking by the shore, and Vaľko’s hurdy-gurdy drones like a drunken mosquito buzzing around.

"K-drone" sounds like an acid anti-western movie recorded in a tucked-away burrow, like smoke-soaked folk and experimental campfire songs echoing through a deep forest. It evokes Third Ear Band's "Alchemy", it screeches and repeats like some of Henry Flynt's experiments, and you could easily imagine hearing it drifting from one of the windows on the cover of Hala Strana's eponymous album.

Jakub Šimanský is the bard of Czechoslovak guitar primitivism, an earthy folk sommelier whose fingerpicking you may also know from the duo Šimanský Niesner. Michal Vaľko, aka Line Gate, needs no introduction to fans. He has released three albums on mappa, and his hurdy-gurdy meditations hold an important place in the drone and minimalist music scene. "Den", "Apex", and "Trap" have become essential listening. Ján Podracký is a self-taught composer and musician whom you might know from various participatory music projects, such as an orchestra where all the players play diatonic harmonicas. Besides harmonicas, he has long explored a wide range of flutes. In short, a pied piper who will guide you through other worlds.

Purple & Translucent Orange Vinyl. Raw Fury and Black Screen Records are outta space to announce Cameron Paxton's game soundtrack masterpiece Dome Keeper on vinyl. The double LP set includes both volumes, "Vol 1: The Engineer" and "Vol 2: The Assessor", in their entirety pressed on beautifully coloured wax and packed in a sleeve that is featuring the iconic artwork of the game. Composed by Cameron Paxton, Dome Keeper features an enchanting original soundtrack that combines a mysterious atmosphere with an adventurous sense of wonder. Paxton got into the project early on and saw the game become reality right from the start: "Dome Keeper began life as a game jam title called Dome Romantik. So originally the scope was much smaller. Because I was there at the beginning of development, I had a long time to spend experimenting and coming up with the vibe before the game ever got picked up."