quête:dj wire

Since first forming in 2016, London's High Vis have steadily polished their palette of progressive hardcore with shades of post-punk, Brit pop, neo-psychedelia, and even Madchester groove, mapping a middle ground between hooks and fury, melodies and mosh pits. Singer Graham Sayle describes their third album 'Guided Tour' as an axis of competing forces: "It's trying to be a hopeful record, while also being incensed." Rounded out by drummer Edward 'Ski' Harper, guitarists Martin MacNamara and Rob Hammaren, and bassist Jack Muncaster, the band's deep roots in the UK and Irish DIY hardcore scenes have kept them grounded but growing, inspired equally by restlessness and righteous anger. As Sayle puts it, "Everyone's scratching, everyone's working all the time, and their idea of relaxing is just getting fucked and avoiding reality. This album is an escape from that."From its opening seconds of a cab door slamming, a car revving away, and a baggy rhythm swinging to life, 'Guided Tour' sounds like a band reaching for new heights, bristling with energy. Recorded across a few weeks at Holy Mountain Studios in London with producer Jonah Falco and engineer Stanley Gravett, the results feel dynamic and dialed-in, like anthems burned into sense memory through sweat and repetition. Harper cuts to the chase: "We had a clear idea going in, every moment got used. Maybe when we're 60 we can sit around and get a drum sound right, but for now it's about getting things done."The album's 11 songs span the spectrum of contemporary guitar music, sharpened by experience, camaraderie, and societal frustrations. From swaggering street punk ("Drop Me Out," "Mob DLA") to jangling indie sneer ("Worth The Wait," "Deserve It") to heavy alt ("Feeling Bless," "Fill The Gap") to shoegazey spoken word ("Untethered"), the group's chemistry transmutes any style to their unique intensity. Sayle champions this evolving fusion: "For years coming from hardcore, we had pretty clear boundaries - other scenes were separate worlds. Now things are getting more blended, drawing from different places."Nowhere is this sentiment flexed more boldly than on "Mind's A Lie," a dance- punk anthem inspired by Harper's love of house, garage, and pirate radio. Stabs of sampled female vocals (by celebrated South London singer and DJ Ell Murphy) build into a razor wire rhythm of low-slung bass, tense drums, and sparkling guitar before Sayle's staunch voice starts barking harsh truths ("Face to face with all I've known / I can't call these thoughts my own"). After a sudden breakdown, the track regroups and takes off, cruising into the horizon in a haze of chiming guitars and Murphy's ascendant voice, from the streets to somewhere beyond.

Last year, following the special vinyl 45 release of Samba De Flora - the Romero Bros from Argentina presented a full LP of Latin and Brazilian club flavours to be exclusively distributed worldwide on vinyl by Echo Chamber Recordings.

It received brilliant feedback from a wide range of DJs across the planet and the full version of Samba De Flora was licensed to Acid Jazz Records for their legendary Totally Wired Compilation LP - so it was a natural idea for a couple of those people to be involved in this next release on a vinyl 45 - with the two tracks that gained the biggest feedback

Side A - “Cravo E Canela” with the Romero’s great take on the classic Brazilian anthem from Milton Nascimento originally on their LP from last year which gained a lot of airplay at the time. This 45 release this has been given an extra special remix / update from the legendary Chris Bangs. He adds more bass bounce to the ounce and a funky shuffle to make it even more club friendly

Side B - “Gabriel” - their Latinized version of Roy Davis Jr’s 90s club smash. LA based DJ Greg Belson was such a fan after he got the LP, that he immediately made an exclusive edit to put on a 45 dubplate - to pack on his 2025 UK Tour - dropping it to devastating effect in place like Glastonbury and club dates across the country. So it was a natural choice to include this version on the flip of the 45 - under his Preacher monicker to align with his other releases on the sister label - Echo Edits

After a series of successful outings alongside sidekicks Ofofo and Zongamin, studio wizard MYTRON turns in his debut solo full-length for Multi Culti World Records. With contributions on Invisible Inc, Calypso, Bongo Joe, Kalahari Oyster Cult, LYO, Codek Records and Earthly Measures, Mytron has carved out a name for himself in a carefully-curated left-field quadrant of the indie-dance galaxy. Tuning his oscillators to myriad sounds — from dub and disco to krautrock — the London-based producer perhaps most notably channels the pristine compositional style of Kraftwerk. While most apparent in the use of vocoder, there’s a consistent efficiency of arrangement that recalls the man-machine in effervescent, idealistic fashion. Mytron manages to keep it simple, funky and musical — whimsical tunes that bop along with analog grit, wilderness, and wonk. There’s a warmth and wit that shine through every synth line, an understated confidence that speaks of years spent tangled in wires and waveforms, with an inclusive sonic eclecticism that flattens hierarchies between genres, geographies, and generations. Each influence is invited to the table, treated not as pastiche but invited to dine and dance in a space where kosmische dub disco and Afro rhythms can coexist without borders. The sleeve design echoes this philosophy: video-feedback patterns hinting at our modern screens, both portals and filters — coloured, distorted intermediaries through which we perceive the world. In the trippiest sense, the record is both reflection and refraction — a sonic mirror held up to an interconnected, glitchy reality. Tailored equally for DJ use and home-listening head trip, the album is meticulous, mischievous and merry.

BanBanTonTon review:

On Mytron’s debut long-player for Multi Culti groovy 21st Century leftfield house gear collides with Daniele Baldelli and Beppe Loda’s hugely influential `80s afro / cosmic. The 9 tracks are chunky, chugging and full of funky, funny noises. Old school B-lines mixing with eccentric electronics. Spinning, spiralling sounds.

Sugar is an electro-pop, vocoder confection, cut from the same sonic cloth as cult classics like Codek’s Tam Tam. Created from tough trap drums, splashing effects and a mutant Giorgio Moroder bass arpeggio. The title track, Propellor, pits Kraftwerk-esque hardware harmonised vocals against a bongo loop and a whistling hook. Playground has simian shrieks surround tumbling tom-toms. Highway Maintenance adds kosmische synths to a dance of woodblocks and buzzing bottom end. Keep On Dubbing is an organ-led, clip clopping percussive canter.

Tracks such as Speaker Can Talk, shot through with disco lasers blasts and recalling Curt Cress’ Dschung Tek, also lift the tempo up, but the bulk of the music here is a mid-tempo, techno drum circle. Squelchy sequences gurgling in and out of programmed percussion. On Quasar, spiky acid edges in and slowly takes over.

Key references that come to mind are Baldelli’s own turn-of-the-2000s Cosmic Sound Project productions, and Wolf Müller’s scene shaking sides on Themes For Great Cites, from around a decade later.

2024 repress

In February 2021, Jan Jelinek's seminal album "Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records" turned 20. The anniversary repress, a double LP with two bonus tracks (B-sides from the Tendency EP, 2000), is a little late to the party.
What the press said about Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records:
“Don’t be misled by the title, though for there isn’t a finger-snapping rhythm c bebop lead anywhere on the album. Instead, Jelinek chooses to explore the visual effect moiré - two shifting patterns creating an implied third dimension - in the audio realm.” (Alternative Press)
“The title acts as explanation for the studio technique that provided the basis for this album, snippets of other people’s arrangements deconstructed through a sampler into loops and then splashed onto an audio canvas.” (ATM)
“Jelinek’s sound evolved out of his dislike for (and inability to play) keyboards.” (RPM)
“Jelinek has abstracted his sources beyond recognition, looping his millisecond samples into flickering patterns of sonic moiré laid atop a dub Techno framework. (...) Jelinek might as well have sampled a horn player’s hissing intake of breath – it would have been ‘jazz’ enough for his purposes.“ (The Wire)
“It’s a perfect inversion of conventional music, a sonic negative. Everything that would typically be foreground is moved back or pushed off the screen altogether, and the flecks of sonic debris that would normally be covered by other sounds are left to carry the melody and rhythm.” (Pitchfork)
“All you need to know is that these onomatopoeic non-specific songs (...) are warm, paradisical creations”. (NME)
“Listen carefully and you’ll hear textures slowly unfolding and mutating. Presuming you’ve not fallen asleep of course.” (iDJ)
“At times, it’s all a bit dripping tap Japanese water torture; so sedentary it drowns in its own motionlessness” (DJ)
“Loop Finding Jazz Records' is a genuine modern classic whose re-release is anything but a cynical mortgage repayment exercise. Consider this a second chance, then pretend you had it all along.” (Boomkat)
PS:
“I’ve been fortunate enough to see Jan Jelinek live once, at Tonic NYC (...). Wearing a black and white striped shirt, he looked like a nihilistic Charlie Brown.” (beachsloth)

"I have two new records, just full of smells. "
from Scanners Live in Vain by Cordwainer Smith

Lutto Lento's new 2568 E.P. is an album in 7-inch single form. Lutto, real name Lubomir Grzelak, has for years been one of the most acclaimed sonic storytellers around. His first outing on Meakusma is another trip beyond the constraints of musical logic, interweaving elements from industrial music, early avant-garde influences, post-club tendencies, and more, conjuring up a mini-album of huge scope.

Not unlike The Residents, 2568 E.P. touches upon stories from the deep, with an absurdist touch that is at the same time forgiving and inviting. It has a hauntological feel to it, but contradicts it at the same time. It is purring and cold, whispering and layered. Beatific and up close. There is a space ship in the swimming pool, but the cocktail party goes on, kind of. On the edge of industrial music, with a choir thrown in for good measure. On the fringes of club music. Toss the wire-sphere into the air and pay the price for space. Fake composure and dive in.

Lutto Lento is Lubomir Grzelak, a sound artist, composer, music producer, and DJ. Known for his idiosyncratic productions and eclectic sets that break barriers between genres, he has steadily built a reputation for adventurous electronic music that resists easy categorization. Beyond records, he composes for theatre, film, and contemporary dance, weaving diverse influences into a distinctive sonic language.

Braiden, an artist synonymous with the UK’s underground continuum, makes a powerful return after his hiatus with Raindance, a four-track EP of original productions on his own Off Out imprint. First emerging during the post-dubstep era with standout releases on Joy Orbison’s Doldrums and iconic Dutch imprint Rush Hour, Braiden carved a unique path as both DJ and producer through long-standing residencies on Rinse FM and NTS, where his boundary-pushing selections became essential listening.

The record channels the energy of the club and the scene he emerged from, blending freshly explored influences into a focused yet diverse body of work.

The EP opens with its title track, an unruly and visceral cut that channels early grime’s skeletal power into a hypnotic techno landscape. Clattering claps, cascading strings and a guttural bassline drive it forward, shimmering with movement and wired with an unpredictable edge. Touch The Sky, featuring a vocal contribution from multidisciplinary artist KESH, follows as a meditative centrepiece — a weightless, emotional interlude hovering with restrained melancholy and awe. X5x ramps up the energy again, urgent, euphoric, and devastatingly effective, its acid-licked synth line and thunderous kicks recalling the vastness of late-night warehouse catharsis. Lagrangian Point closes the EP on a different axis altogether; a time-dilating drone that strips away the percussion entirely while retaining the physicality and ethereal tone that runs through the EP.

Also a visual artist and photographer, Braiden’s finely tuned aesthetic runs through the record, with him self-designing and photographing the artwork printed on a full colour sleeve. Raindance arrives as a meticulously crafted statement: fierce and cinematic, a notable evolution from his earlier single-led releases, with additional mix engineering support from friends Joy Orbison and Objekt.


b A2. Touch The Sky ft. KESH

Next up on Bosconi, the ever-persistent Italian outpost helmed by DJ sorcerer Fabio della Torre, comes a bold new chapter from label mainstay Lapucci—a familiar name to heads who remember his trippy debut Levitated Sensor Detector (LSD).

With Level of Control, the Florence-based Burbi Dub dubplate conjurer delivers a four-track EP that travels across moody electronics, psychedelic grooves, and off-world rhythms.

Kicking off the A-side is “Radio Controller”, a dark and melodic new beat jam with deep ‘80s roots—think obscure synths, rolling drum-machine funk, and a haunting vocoder line that crackles like forgotten transmissions.
Next up, “Einstein”. This one’s a jacking electro-techno burner, all drive and tension—built for those peak-time moments where things feel like they could go off the rails. There’s a cinematic sense of anticipation here, a nod to the cosmic weight of relativity and dancefloor gravity.

Flip to the B-side for “Level of Reality”—a trance-soaked electro weapon, laced with a screaming guitar-like lead and a soaring, emotional melody. It’s peak-time power with sunrise sensitivity—equal parts rave and revelation.
Closing things out is “Irabijanti”, a stripped-back, hypnotic afterhours tool with a fresh, effortless groove. Subtle nods to Middle Eastern scales and rhythms give it a dreamlike, drifting feel—like getting lost in the dunes of some alien desert.

Another must-have from the Bosconi mothership—Lapucci pilots us further out, not with a bang but with a slow magnetic pull into somewhere weird, warm, and wired.

Gwenan Spearing, known for her perceptive, groove-oriented DJ sets, and more recently as a live performer working with hardware improvisation, launches a new imprint, Phase Space, with Degrees of Freedom, a debut album diving deep into generative electronics, modular systems, and real-time response. Composed and recorded in 2019-2020, the album treats constraint as creative fuel, floating between ambient,
sonic sculpture, and improvisation, mapping Gwenan’s path from rural Wales to Berlin’s outer zones of experimental sound.
Sync opens with a theme on a slow triangle wave, expanding the space as it evolves. Some Pluck explores generative counterpoint using LFOs and Euclidean rhythms. Generator I unfolds in an oscillating time where keyboard and bass circuits cross-modulate. Sleep Pressure is a lullaby for grown-ups, capturing that eerie threshold before sleep, followed by Loper, where time flows fluid and unstable. The closer, Generator II, holds machine heartbeats in delicate equilibrium before unraveling into graceful decay, a soft farewell. (That’s the Universe waving.) Degrees of Freedom is algorithmic music with a pulse: visceral, hand-wired, and built for deep listening.

A true royal rebel without a cause joins the Step Ball Chain chosen family. Berlin psy-con Yazzus presents a sexy sweatfest; a four track original EP featuring DJ Fuckoff of tech-trodden club stompers that will shake and break you. Operating in a lane of her own, she draws on her UK roots with bass laden bounce and never forgets to add that sapphic touch crucial to SBC. “Rebel Royale” is keeping techno freaky, cheeky and ahead of the curve.

Quintessentially out of control, elements of tension and release are toyed with throughout all the tracks, the building and driving addictive synth work in Venom & Vision; Serpent’s Rising sending even the most sane into a spiral. Basslines come thick and heavy, chunky by nature and particularly prevalent in Delicately Mad and My Lipgloss My Rules, they are the backbone of the record. Don’t get it twisted, this isn’t some run of the mill techno; the modular bleeps and freakouts, FX and vocals are wired and inspired; the glue showcasing Yazzus’s fully sick technical abilities. Last but not least, she entails the help of friend DJ Fuckoff; haunted slippery vocals are a match made in heaven for the percussive psy workout Erotica.

After the success of our first release, UR2wo’s Move Me (including Blame’s legendary Shadow Mix on vinyl) and continued support from big names in clubs and socials, Break-The-Future returns with a new signing: Nathan Cable. A veteran of progressive house, Nathan gained recognition as part of Tenth Chapter, with tracks like Wired on William Orbit’s Guerilla Records in the 90s, supported by DJs like Sasha, Pete Tong, and Dave Seaman. Now back under his own name, Nathan offers a modern blend of intelligent breaks, with a rich, emotional sound that fits alongside Ninja Tune's style. His new tracks are already getting support from John Digweed on Transitions Radio Show.

The release kicks off with Nathan's Innocence featuring the All Tribes Mix, which blends lush pads, whispering arps, and gated vocals. Nathan’s Gyroscope Mix follows with a deeper take, built on rubber bass and rich keys.

For the remixes, we bring Northern Ireland's Richie Blacker, who ramps up the BPMs for the club with a spacey, synth-driven journey.

Last but not least, we have legendary rave innovator Nookie, who offers two remixes: the nostalgic Speed Remix, channeling 90s rave, and the darker Not So Innocent Remix, reminiscent of London’s Rage. Essential!

Synth-pop duo Marina Zispin return with their highly anticipated album Now You See Me (Now You Don’t), set for release on March 7 via Scenic Route.

Now You See Me, Now You Don't is the continuing journey through the ever evolving sound of Marina Zispin AKA Bianca Scout and Martyn Reid. As with their previous EP - the recurring themes of Life and Death loom heavily over the 10 album tracks. With support from 6 Music, Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, METAL, Dummy, The Line of Best Fit, Boomkat, and more for their recent singles. With Now You See Me (Now You Don’t), Marina Zispin further reinforces their reputation for crafting lush, melancholic soundscapes paired with surreal storytelling and ice-cold synth pop.

Since their formation in 2018, bridging Newcastle and London, Marina Zispin have quickly captivated audiences with their ethereal blend of dreamlike melodies and avant-garde textures. Their 2023 debut 12” on Night School paved the way for a successful UK tour, a BBC 6 Music session, and a memorable performance at Bucharest’s Collisions festival.

Bianca Scout, acclaimed for her solo album Pattern Damage (with praise from The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Bandcamp, The Wire, and more) continues to push sonic boundaries with her unique fusion of sound collage, post-punk, and poetic lyricism. Recent shows across Europe, including at Poland’s Unsound Festival, underscore the duo’s expanding influence.

With Now You See Me (Now You Don’t), Marina Zispin invite listeners on a captivating journey through a signature blend of fantasy and reality. The album is now available for vinyl pre-order.

repress !

Paranoid London, the electronic band of Gerardo Delgado and Quinn Whalley, has become synonymous with stripping acid house back down to its basics, rescuing the sound from smiley faces, rave, and sugary excess while paying respects to its gay, black, American roots. Performing mainly live with hardware only, often with vocal guests, as well as unique hybrid DJ sets, the duo has established a tongue in cheek, grumpy punk sound and attitude without taking it too seriously.

Following 2019’s latest album PL and a bunch of 12” singles and edits, their new long-player Arseholes, Liars, and Electronic Pioneers refers to the cavalcade of c***s we find ourselves surrounded by. Our only respite being the joy that musical geniuses bring. The cover artwork and gatefold of the vinyl reflect this with a collage-like poster including personalities of all kinds, from politicians and royalty to music legends. When we asked them to highlight key music pioneers from their picks, they mentioned American electro don Aldo Marin, British producer Andrea Parker and Post Punk band WIRE.

Inspired by early ‘90s British prog house on the likes of Sabres Of Paradise Records and Guerilla Records, the album presents a step up on their production while the anarchic attitude remains unaltered, unadulterated and undiluted.

In Quinn’s words: the album has a slightly more Hi-Fi sound than previous efforts, but retains the urgency and punk rock attitude that we're known for. It was tested over the summer, where it lit up festival stages at Glastonbury, Houghton, Love International, and many, many others.

As expected, PL has recruited a bunch of special guests on vocals including Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, US house veteran Monica “DJ Genesis” Lockett, the novo-New Romantic/gothic, Jennifer Touch, and Joe Love, from Fat Dog, Brixton’s current ones-to-watch. As well, previous collaborators Josh Caffe and Mutado Pintado return for new recordings. All bring something unique to the party, while integrating perfectly with PL’s Fuck you! circuitry.

DJ support from Husky, Hector Romero, Javi Bora,Grace Bones, Judge Jules, Sebb Junior, Jay Vegas,Odyssey Inc, ATFC, Claptone, Black Legend, CevinFisher, Michael Gray, Kisch, Hoxton Whores, FullIntention, Booker T, Jamie Jones, Knights Of TheTurntable, Sam Divine, DJ Rae, CASSIMM, Alex Preston

We’ve got a very special vinyl release for you; a brand-new rework of the 1982 classic ‘Do It To The Music’ by New York Dance group, Raw Silk being refreshed for 2024 by legendary UK DJ and producer, Michael Gray. Perfectly in-keeping with the Fool’s Paradise brand and ethos we have built over the past year, West End Records was a label close to our hearts having been one of the most influential dance labels of the past forty years and went on to define the sound of New York City during the heyday of Disco and the ever-popular, Studio 54. With the original reaching #5 in the US Billboard Dance Chart and #18 in the UK SinglesChart, such a classic West End Records record could only be revisited by one of the very best, and who better than Michael Gray to refresh this dance floor gem! Michael’s reworks pays true homage to the original adding his signature flair and groovy, funk-leaden sound. Featuring an exclusive reprise mix which is only available on the vinyl package!

Radio support on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music,BBC Radio Cornwall, Hedkandi, Kiss FM, Mi-Soul,Gaydio, Radio 105 / Montecarlo (Italy), Mambo Radio,Rinse fm, Select Radio, Totally Wired Radio, PointBlank, RTE, Power fm (Ireland), Metro FM (SA), CoolFm, Radio Reverb, Radio FG (France), Release Radioand many more.

"LATZFONSER KREUZ / FELTUNER HÜTTE scheduled for release on September 20th 2024 is the third single to be lifted from Ulrich Troyer's TRANSIT TRIBE due later this year.

Mamadou Diabate, originally from Burkina-Faso and now resident in Vienna, who is also a world-famous virtuoso balaphon player, collaborates on "Latzfonser Kreuz" with fellow countryman Hamidou Koita to produce a remarkable percussion track, both singing and employing talking drum and djembe to come up with a sound that can only be described as dubbed-out Nyahbinghi-style electro-beats! The track references the little church at Latzfonser Kreuz, which is the highest pilgrimage spot in South Tyrol, one of the highest in Europe; every year in June, the Black Lord, a black carved Gothic wooden cross, is brought from the village church in Latzfons to thepilgrimage church, where it remains throughout the summer.

On the flip for "Feltuner Hütte" Ulrich Troyer is joined by co-producer Osman Murat Ertel, founding member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula from Istanbul, who has worked internationally for many years collaborating with the likes of Jaki Liebezeit, Fred Frith and Mad Professor. But here Murat takes us on a dub psych-out trip with his favoured electric saz, with wha wha FX, delay and echo, like Link Wray meeting King Tubby on the old streets of Istanbul."

Steve Barker (DJ, Radio Presenter - On the Wire, BBC 1984 – 2023, now Slack City Radio & reggae/dub columnist and contributor to The Wire)

Credits:

Mamadou Diabate: vocals (A) & talking drum (A)

Osman Murat Ertel: electric saz (B)

Hamidou Koita: vocals (A), djembe (A)

Didi Kern: percussion (A), drums (B)

Flip Philipp: percussion (B)

Ulrich Troyer: analog synthesizers & drum-machines, sampler, field recordings, dub effects (A+B)

A written by Mamadou Diabate, Hamidou Koita & Ulrich Troyer

B written by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Recorded by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna - except electro saz on track B recorded by Osman Murat Ertel at Saniki Studio, Istanbul

Mixed & arranged by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna

Produced by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Mastering & Lacquer Cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin

Cover Drawing by Ulrich Troyer

Special thanks to Steve Barker, Mamadou Diabate, Osman Murat Ertel, Diggory Kenrick, Eva Kelety, Didi Kern, Hamidou Koita and Flip Philipp

Kindly supported by the City of Vienna (MA7 - Kultur), Federal Ministry Republic of Austria (Arts, Culture, Civil Service & Sport), SKE-FONDS (AT) & Amt für Kultur, Bozen (IT

"Following on from May's "ECHOES Part 1 & 2" this is the second single of three to be released as an introduction to the next album project of Ulrich Troyer - TRANSIT TRIBE - to be released later this year.

This time it's one for the reggae fans and dubheads with contributions from Diggory Kenrick who has been busy over the last few years adding the distinctive sound of his flute to many new reggae productions. He is also an associate of the U.K. reggae label Pressure Sounds that specialises in reviving classic sounds from the roots and dancehall eras of the genre. Also joining the production is Takafumi Noda aka Mystica Tribe, a Japanese producer and musician who has specialised in a new form of dub techno and is known for adding the signature sound of his melodica to productions of dub friends from around the world.

The subject of travel, especially along modern, fast routes has long been subject to fascinate musicians, from the days of Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" and now the whole genre of dub techno seems to be one built for listening on long journeys. The Autostrada Del Brennero / Brennerautobahn is one of the most important motorways in Italy, as it connects the Po Valley with Austria through the Brenner Pass and features many modern bridges and overpasses that are ready built illustrations for the covers of dub techno albums! On this release this major European truck route is celebrated musically by Ulrich Troyer with inputs from Diggory and Taka to create two modern dub classics."

Steve Barker (DJ, Radio Presenter - On the Wire, BBC 1984 – 2023,

now Slack City Radio & reggae/dub columnist and contributor to The Wire)


Credits:

Diggory Kenrick: flute

Taka Noda: melodica

Didi Kern: drums

Ulrich Troyer: analog synthesizers, analog drum-machines, sampler, dub effects

A written by Diggory Kenrick & Ulrich Troyer

B written by Taka Noda & Ulrich Troyer

Recorded by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna - except flute recorded by Diggory Kenrick at Holloway Studio, London / melodica recorded by Taka Noda at Mystica Sound Studio, Tokio

Mixed & arranged by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna

Produced by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Mastering & Lacquer Cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin

Cover Drawing by Ulrich Troyer


Special thanks to Steve Barker, Osman Murat Ertel, Diggory Kenrick, Eva Kelety and Takafumi Noda

Kindly supported by the City of Vienna (MA7 - Kultur), Federal Ministry Republic of Austria (Arts, Culture, Civil Service & Sport), SKE-FONDS (AT) & Amt für Kultur, Bozen (IT)

Repress

I lean upon this,
I lean on all of this
and I know
her dress upon my arm
but
they will not
give her back to me.
Early support: Truss, Tommy Four Seven, Truncate, Marcel Dettmann, Psyk, AnD, Pfirter, Eomac, Perc, Rebekah, Svreca, Paula Temple, Dax J, Joseph Capriati, Joachim Spieth, Henning Baer, Lag, Takaaki Itoh, Go Hiyama, D. Carbone, Par Grindvik, Max M, Wire, Paul Mac, Kriz, Octave, Drvg Cvltvre, Dimi Angelis, Joe Farr, Ryuji Takeuchi, Slam, Rivet, Gary Beck, Nuno dos Santos, Manni Dee, Luis Ruiz, Mark Morris, Mattias Woot, Mike Darkfloor, Erphun, Radial, Exium, P.E.A.R.L., Mr. Jones, Joseph Mcgeechan, Joton, UVB, Juho Kusti, Aiken, Operator, Jeff Rushin, Martyn Hare, Inigo Kennedy, Sebastian Kokow, Roberto, Shards, L.A.W, Ricardo Garduno, Space DJz, Operator, Blank Code, Patrick DSP...

DJ Support: Danny Krivit, Craig Charles (BBC Radio 6 Music), Hallex M, Jazzanova, Delite Radio, Mi Soul, Pointblank, Totally Wired Radio, XFM, Radio Solar, Tony Minvielle, Simon Phillips, Chris Phillips (Jazz FM), KCRW DJs, Ian Friday, Aroop Roy, Samantha Badd (Café Del Mar), Mr. V, Simon Harrison (Basic Soul), Greame Park, Mike Fossati, Timo Mass, Deli G, Servino (Horse Meat Disco), Hyenah.

‘Badly Written Songs’ is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek title. It comprises a carefully structured and well-produced array of songwriting, topped and tailed with live instrumentation, commanding vocal performances and high-end production: the result of years of sound engineering and music production experience. Since the last album, Ross Hillard has continually honed his skills whilst earnestly crafting this sophomore long player. As well as developing a range of audio plugins, Ross also manages recording sessions at his own Paddocks Recording Studios: huge live spaces boast cutting-edge technology, integrated with distinguished analogue kit. The studio is complemented by a collection of prized microphones, together with a fully-restored vintage Raindirk mixing desk.

The opening track and first single from this album is the positively-anthemic gem entitled ‘Good Morning Sunshine’. It tells a forward-looking story promoting the merits of getting back into the driving seat of life. It’s propelled further by superb jazz-inspired drums and live horns that build up to an exhilarating crescendo. Featuring the vocal talents of Sophia Marshall, the story she paints is supported by a wonderful, darkly humorous cartoon video. An animated cadaver hilariously acts out her notions of positive living.
Other tracks also destined for a single release include: ‘Loving You’. It’s a song written around love lost. A bouncing house composition lays the foundations for Sophia Marshall's beautiful vocal that narrates the many facets to be found in loving another person. ‘Better’ again echoes jazz-inspired drums behind Sophia's vocals, drawing attention to how so many people are lost on their devices, missing out on the awesome world around them. A catchy chorus chants the notion behind this song, i.e., that you ‘could be better!’ This single is also supported by another fantastic video featuring the same comical, deceased character introduced through the ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ video.

Fool’s Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records’ Mark Knight - that comes straight from the heart, it’s a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, ‘Untold Business’, which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal House from the 1990s from where he came.

With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great song writing, this new Toolroom sub label will be a platform for high quality House music that’s designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho, Mark Knight who joins forces with Australian Toolroom label mate, Sgt Slick and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight on a dynamite cover of Prince’s 1979 classic, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’.

Respectfully transporting the song onto today’s dance floors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV’s that would indeed make The Purple One proud!

Completing the vinyl package is Dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British Soul icon, Jaki Graham, who together bring the dance floor heat with their new single, ‘Fire’. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, ‘Fire’ see’s Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

- I Wanna Be Your Lover reached Traxsource #1 where it stayed for 6 weeks consecutively - Radio support on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Cornwall, Hedkandi, Kiss FM, Mi-Soul, Gaydio, Radio 105 / Montecarlo (Italy), Mambo Radio, Rinse fm, Select Radio, Totally Wired Radio, Point Blank, RTE, Power fm (Ireland), Metro FM (SA), Cool Fm, Radio Reverb, Radio FG (France), Release Radio and many more.

DJ support from Husky, Hector Romero, Javi Bora, Grace Bones, Judge Jules, Sebb Junior, Jay Vegas, Odyssey Inc, ATFC, Claptone, Black Legend, Cevin Fisher, Michael Gray, Kisch, Hoxton Whores, Full Intention, Booker T, Jamie Jones, Knights Of The Turntable, Sam Divine, DJ Rae, CASSIMM, Alex Preston

Utrecht label U-Trax welcomes 90s legend P.A. Presents for an enhanced re-release of his first two releases on this label, namely "Salicylic Acid" and "Flight Simulator".

Ironically P.A. Presents aka Peter Aarsman is the only artist on U-TRAX that actually is born and bred in the city of Utrecht. Even more irony lies in the fact that he hasn't lived in the city for 25 years and has only recently returned home. He was an early player in the hip hop and boogie scenes and long before house landed in Europe he was playing disco and Italo which helped establish him as a truly vital DJ talent. The two reissue EPs presented here marked his production debut back in 1993, both of which are hugely sought after and pricey techno records on second hand markets. In 2019 he returned to the music scene with two new EPs on U-Trax in the the form of Swirling Gas and Sax Madness and new releases are planned for 2020.

The release kicks off with 'Mesopmorph', an effervescent, nostalgic cut with a deeply buried techno rhythm that eventually takes over in tribal style. 'Pop' is a brilliantly tense and dense track wired up with fizzing synths, chattering claps and haunting effects as well as pending drums, then 'Theme' is cosmic industrial, with powerful hits and metallic sounds married to searching laser synths.

'Vera S' is classic 90s techno with mad vocal sounds and frantic synth lines darting about the mix, then things grow deeper and more heady on the stripped back intergalactic journey that is 'Flight Simulator.' The timelessness continues on the dancing analogue drums and hi hats of the classic Detroit styled 'Experiental' and 'A Gasp' before 'Vexillum' brings more warm solar winds and molten techno grooves whist 'Long Metal' closes out with pounding kicks, skewed synths and real sense of space travel.

These are essential early techno tracks that sound as fresh and relevant now as ever and come with remastering and restoration from Thee J Johanz.

Pressed on 2x12" 180 grams grey marbled vinyl.

Mannequin's 100th - a comp looking forward featuring an international and serious cast... BIG TIP!
The modern synthwave scene would be significantly poorer without the keen ear and tireless efforts of the Mannequin label run by Alessandro Adriani. Geographically situated within the nerve centers of Rome and Berlin, yet with a musical spirit that easily transcends these boundary lines, Mannequin's back catalog has been an important component in the modular assemblage that makes up electronics-based independent music in the 21st century, and an important reference point for those who need to defend against the lazy accusations that this such is purely retro' in its form and content. Recent accolades and accomplishments - being named Resident Advisor's label of the month' for May of this year, starting the 'Death of the Machines' 12' series, and being given the 'green light' for bi-monthly parties at the Säule room in Berghain - have been earned through Mannequin's unflagging commitment to sonic diversity and Adriani's own realization that the anxious and sharp-edged sounds associated with, say, the Cold War of the 1980s can convey a completely different message today. Adriani says it best when claiming that there is no such thing as 'old' or 'new' music...only the music of now'. With this cogent statement of intent, Mannequin continues to go on exploratory missions to find the best and most relevant aspects of genres like acid, industrial, EBM, post-punk, coldwave and still more.

Which brings us to Mannequin's newest project and 100th release overall: the Waves of the Future double LP compilation, which itself is not a conventional retrospective collection. Case in point - none of the artists appearing on this collection have put out their own releases on Mannequin yet, despite acting as Mannequin's unofficial ambassadors (via DJ sets and other means). This makes the set even more compelling rather than less so, since it shows how Mannequin fits into a larger picture that includes other scene leaders and label owners including Beau Wanzer, Willie Burns (WT Records), Silent Servant (Jealous God) and Ron Morelli (L.I.E.S.). Of equal importance is how Waves of the Future projects a sense of aesthetic resilience and continuity, showcasing just how well the current artists allied with Mannequin employ and re-interpret the sonic lexicon that appears on that label's reissues of 'classic' acts such as Nocturnal Emissions, Bourbonese Qualk, Din A Testbild and Doris Norton.

However, none of this would matter as much if the music itself didn't have strong potential for lighting a blaze in the dark corners of the human imagination, and of course for forcing bodies into motion. Each track here pivots around a couple of key sound elements that seem to set the stage for the next track to come: see the sputtering / chopped ghost voices on Morelli's Charges Won't Stick,' which easily informs the slicing drone and authoritarian beat of Shawn O' Sullivan's Ill Fit,' which then lays down the emotional foundation for the sequencer-powered With You' from An-I & Adriani or the glassy landscape of Illum Sphere's Exhaustion'. Elsewhere, the wired mischief of Not Waving intersects easily with the spherical electro-funk and coded commands of Beau Wanzer. When all the disparate parts of Waves of the Future are soldered together, it perfectly illustrates Mannequin's non-linear philosophy and Adriani's suggestion that Mannequin listeners directly engage with the music rather than trying too hard to analyze or dissect it.

Tony Bontana, the Birmingham rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist, releases his 35th album My Name, which is also his first to receive a proper vinyl pressing. The album follows an impressive 2025 in which he performed with Nourished By Time, Mark William Lewis, YHWH Nailgun, TAGABOW and 454.

His earlier 2025 album The Beautiful Malaise made The Wire’s annual top 50, and he appeared as the sole feature on Nourished By Time’s album The Passionate Ones, where Marcus praised his “freewheeling spirit.”

Tony’s production work has appeared on records by Billy Woods, Cities Aviv and Novelist, with upcoming collaborations planned with Blackhaine and DJ Python. The single Battered Chips has received airplay from NTS, Esk on Rinse and Huw Stephens on 6 Music.

If anyone is counting this is the 35th album by Birmingham rapper, producer, multi-instrumentalist Tony Bontana. A pioneer of his own ‘Splayed’ style of production characterised by heavily manipulated samples, non-linear rhythms and introspective lyricism. My Name is a significant landmark for Tony being the first album to receive a proper vinyl pressing. It caps an impressive 2025 which has seen Tony play live with acts such as Nourished By Time, Mark William Lewis, YHWH Nailgun, TAGABOW and 454. His previous album “The Beautiful Malaise” (one of four he released in 2025) made The Wire’s annual top 50. He appeared as the sole feature on the acclaimed Nourished By Time album The Passionate Ones on the track Jojo with NBT’s Marcus praising the rapper as having the “freewheeling spirit of a street baller out on the playground” . His productions have already appeared on records by Billy Woods, Cities Aviv and Novelist with further collabs to come with the likes of Blackhaine and DJ Python. The standout single Battered Chips has received airplay from NTS, Esk on Rinse, New Music Fix and Huw Stephens on 6.

Crowned Eagle is the powerful new album from Alpha Steppa and long-time collaborator Nai-Jah. Blending ten potent vocal tracks with ten heavyweight dubs, this double-sided journey is inspired by Nai-Jah’s Nigerian heritage: an exploration of ancestral wisdom, modern struggle and spiritual resilience. Musically, the album bridges old and new, weaving together roots reggae, dub, afrobeat and beyond, all through the unmistakable lens of Alpha Steppa’s signature style: deep, spacious and defiantly conscious. Following the success of their Streetdub video series across social media, which has reached millions and featured frequent high profile collaborators, Alpha Steppa and Nai-Jah are set to take their sound worldwide with a global tour in 2026.

"Alpha Steppa is paving the way for a generation who are keen to tread new waters." DJ Mag

“One of the most prolific and inventive dub producers around.” Wire

“A serious player in the sound system world.” Mixmag­

“Obliteratingly heavy bass.” Q Mag

DJ Honesty returns on Syncrophone and drops tight techno / house cuts, flipped hard by Satoshi Tomiie on the remix. Pure underground heat, wired for the floor and the heads.

‘Workaround’ is the lucidly playful and ambitious solo debut album by rhythm-obsessive musician and DJ, Beatrice Dillon for PAN. It combines her love of UK club music’s syncopated suss and Afro-Caribbean influences with a gamely experimental approach to modern composition and stylistic fusion, using inventive sampling and luminous mixing techniques adapted from modern pop to express fresh ideas about groove-driven music and perpetuate its form with timeless, future-proofed clarity. Recorded over 2017-19 between studios in London, Berlin and New York, ‘Workaround’ renders a hypnotic series of polymetric permutations at a fixed 150bpm tempo.

Mixing meticulous FM synthesis and harmonics with crisply edited acoustic samples from a wide range of guests including UK Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra (tabla); Pharoah Sanders Band’s Jonny Lam (pedal steel guitar); techno innovators Laurel Halo (synth/vocal) and Batu (samples); Senegalese Griot Kadialy Kouyaté (Kora), Hemlock’s Untold and new music specialist Lucy Railton (cello); amongst others, Dillon deftly absorbs their distinct instrumental colours and melody into 14 bright and spacious computerised frameworks that suggest immersive, nuanced options for dancers, DJs and domestic play. ‘Workaround’ evolves Dillon’s notions in a coolly unfolding manner that speaks directly to the album’s literary and visual inspirations, ranging from James P. Carse’s book ‘Finite And Infinite Games’ to the abstract drawings of Tomma Abts or Jorinde Voigt as well as painter Bridget Riley’s essays on grids and colour. Operating inside this rooted but mutable theoretical wireframe, Dillon’s ideas come to life as interrelated, efficient patterns in a self-sufficient system.

With a naturally fractal-not-fractional logic, Dillon’s rhythms unfold between unresolved 5/4 tresillo patterns, complex tabla strokes and spark-jumping tics in a fluid, tactile dance of dynamic contrasts between strong/light, sudden/restrained, and bound/free made in reference to the notational instructions of choreographer Rudolf Laban. Working in and around the beat and philosophy, the album’s freehand physics contract and expand between the lissom rolls of Bhamra’s tabla in the first, to a harmonious balance of hard drum angles and swooping FM synth cadence featuring additional synth and vocal from Laurel Halo in ‘Workaround Two’, while the extruded strings of Lucy Railton create a sublime tension at the album’s palatecleansing denouement, triggering a scintillating run of technoid pieces that riff on the kind of swung physics found in Artwork’s seminal ‘Basic G’, or Rian Treanor’s disruptive flux with a singularly tight yet loose motion and infectious joy. Crucially, the album sees Dillon focus on dub music’s pliable emptiness, rather than the moody dematerialisation of reverb and echo. The substance of her music is rematerialised in supple, concise emotional curves
and soberly freed to enact its ideas in balletic plies, rugged parries and sweeping, capoeira-like floor action. Applying deeply canny insight drawn from her years of practice as sound designer, musician and hugely knowledgable/intuitive DJ, ‘Workaround’ can be heard as Dillon’s ingenious solution or key to unlocking to perceptions of stiffness, darkness or grid-locked rigidity in electronic music. And as such it speaks to an ideal of rhythm-based and experimental music ranging from the hypnotic senegalese mbalax of Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, through SND and, more currently, the hard drum torque of DJ Plead; to adroitly exert the sensation of weightlessness and freedom in the dance and personal headspace.

DJ Marcelle's career has flourished on her own terms, with many critically acclaimed releases: in the past six years alone this Dutch woman has released five albums and numerous ep's. On stage and in the studio she transcends a feeling of freedom whilst always moving forward. Marcelle turns her DJ sets into full-on sonic adventures; she's the g.o.a.t of dancefloor eclecticism.



''Genre-defying and one-of-a-kind are two descriptions that get thrown around a lot in dance music, but DJ Marcelle fits that bill.'' (Resident Advisor)



''A Different Fridge For Cheese: '' An adventurous set that fizzes with vitality, originality and humour.'' (The Wire about her 2024 album)

Manteca’s 2014 album, first time on vinyl. Manteca, the London Latin jazz/salsa funk combo, are back with a first-time vinyl release of their brilliant digital album “Oye” from 2014. “Oye” is a collection of heavy-duty Latin music that reaches well beyond the standard salsa or Cuban dance-band style, appealing to anyone and everyone, from mambo dancers to B-boys, jazz brothers to soul sisters! Led by Colombian singer Martha Acosta and bassist Javier Fioramonti, who have played with everyone from Roberto Pla and Candela, to Alex Wilson’s groups and Salsa Celtica, as well as backing Latin legends such as Joe Bataan, Jack Costanzo, Henry Fiol and Azuquita, this band really cooks! “Que Pasa” is smoking Latin funk, this will get your head nodding and foot tapping for sure.“Oye”, a lovely mid-tempo Afrobeat/Latin jazz fusion number with punching brass and super-funky kit playing. There are three cover versions on the album: Horace Silver’s “The Jody Grind”, a 1960s Blue Note Records soul jazz classic. Manteca does it justice, taking the original and turning it into a heavy Mongo Santamaria style funky Latin soul belter. Sergio Mendes’s “Groovy Samba” is also given the 1960s Mongo “Watermelon Man” style Latin soul jazz treatment. Very hip arrangement, and some fantastic brass soloing in there too. The last one is a brave choice. It’s the timeless bolero standard “Como Fue”, which the band plays beautifully. “Para Pello” (“For Pello”), a conga-style big percussive beat that evolved from Afro-Cuban street carnivals. Secondly, “Bomba Chevere”, a blend of Puerto Rican bomba and Colombian cumbia. The big Afro-Cuban track of the album is “Descarga China”, which has two different mixes. One is a descarga funk mix with some heavyweight kit playing and smoking trumpet soloing, while the other is a more straight-ahead Latin jam with Javier’s upright bass playing underpinning the whole number in a very Cachao way. Big shouts to the whole band, which features some of the best musicians from the London Latin music scene of the last three decades. These cats are as good as you’ll get in Latin music from anywhere across the world.This London Latin music gem has been crying out for a vinyl release for over a decade. At last, it's here. Slap it on the turntable, drop the needle on track one, turn the volume up, press play and be ready to dance. Standing still is NOT an option! DJ Lubi (One Jazz / Totally Wired Radio)

Livity Sound welcomes Joe Milli to the fold with an assured EP of crisp club workouts that land between techno's evocative depth and UK funky's offbeat, drum-focused functionality.

Over the past few years Milli has been establishing his sound across a swathe of radio shows, guest mixes and releases, and he lands on Livity with a timeless take on the label's commitment to stripped back, atmospheric soundsystem music.

There's variety across the Deep Forest EP, ranging from the balmy bassweight house of the title track to the deep-diving dub pulses and bruk drum science of 'Look Again'. 'Keep That Wire' draws nervous energy from its synth hooks and the taut, angular beat before the rolling Detroit techno pulse of 'Expressions' brings the EP home in punchy, percussion-loaded style.

In line with past releases from the likes of Bakongo, DJ Polo and Tribal Brothers, Milli's strength lies in his ability to bend the UK funky formula to different styles, all precision-tooled for the club.


Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

We are excited to announce the return of the iconic Totally Wired series with a brand new collection on LP and CD. The first 50 orders will include a special art print of the artwork. We are also doing a limited edition T-shirt to celebrate this milestone!

In 1988 Acid Jazz released its first compilation album ‘Totally Wired: A Collection From Acid Jazz Records’. Compiled by Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson it collated 11 tracks that summed up the early days of our scene, mixing new label signings, cool new records being played in our clubs and a couple of oldies. It sold well to the then small scene and set the template for a series, that in the wake of the international success of The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, The James Taylor Quartet and others exploded. By the time that Volume 5 appeared, we were selling tens of thousands of copies, with major label artists vying for inclusion.

By that point ‘Totally Wired’ was a phenomenon, that sign-posted changes in both the directions of new music, but of the oldies that were played on the scene. It gave DJs new tunes to play and soundtracked 1000s of Cafés and bars the world over in the age of the CD. It was largely retired at the end of the 90s and as times changed.

Over the years we have been asked to return to the scene of the crime, but it has never quite felt right, until now. With vinyl back, and the need for easy to digest compilations becoming neccessary in the chaos of streaming’s ‘I can listen to anything I want, but can’t think what that might be’ is evident, but also we are feeling excited about where Acid Jazz is right now. New artists on the label are making great records, Matt Berry has a Top thirty album, and The Brand New Heavies are headlining the Royal Albert Hall. It’s easy to make an exciting album when that is happening.

So we are releasing “Totally Wired: A New Collection From Acid Jazz” and treating it like the important milestone that it is. From the Acid Jazz sid we have new and exclusive recordings by Matt Berry, Chris Bangs and new signings Earth-o-Naut and Quiet Fire, there is also a recent white label only 45 cut by the Soul Revivers – released ahead of their new album due this Autumn and featuring Kokoroko’s Shiela Maurice-Grey and Anoushka Nanguy. For the oldies we have dug deep into our own archives to bring you the Acid Jazz Orchestra’s version of Corduroy’s ‘Something In My Eye’ and The Brand New Heavies astounding funk take of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’. These are all joined by recent scene records by Carmy Love – one of the greatest voices in the UK – The Romero Brothers, and BDQ, carrying the series onwards at last.

Since first forming in 2016, London's High Vis have steadily polished their palette of progressive hardcore with shades of post-punk, Brit pop, neo-psychedelia, and even Madchester groove, mapping a middle ground between hooks and fury, melodies and mosh pits. Singer Graham Sayle describes their third album 'Guided Tour' as an axis of competing forces: "It's trying to be a hopeful record, while also being incensed." Rounded out by drummer Edward 'Ski' Harper, guitarists Martin MacNamara and Rob Hammaren, and bassist Jack Muncaster, the band's deep roots in the UK and Irish DIY hardcore scenes have kept them grounded but growing, inspired equally by restlessness and righteous anger. As Sayle puts it, "Everyone's scratching, everyone's working all the time, and their idea of relaxing is just getting fucked and avoiding reality. This album is an escape from that."From its opening seconds of a cab door slamming, a car revving away, and a baggy rhythm swinging to life, 'Guided Tour' sounds like a band reaching for new heights, bristling with energy. Recorded across a few weeks at Holy Mountain Studios in London with producer Jonah Falco and engineer Stanley Gravett, the results feel dynamic and dialed-in, like anthems burned into sense memory through sweat and repetition. Harper cuts to the chase: "We had a clear idea going in, every moment got used. Maybe when we're 60 we can sit around and get a drum sound right, but for now it's about getting things done."The album's 11 songs span the spectrum of contemporary guitar music, sharpened by experience, camaraderie, and societal frustrations. From swaggering street punk ("Drop Me Out," "Mob DLA") to jangling indie sneer ("Worth The Wait," "Deserve It") to heavy alt ("Feeling Bless," "Fill The Gap") to shoegazey spoken word ("Untethered"), the group's chemistry transmutes any style to their unique intensity. Sayle champions this evolving fusion: "For years coming from hardcore, we had pretty clear boundaries - other scenes were separate worlds. Now things are getting more blended, drawing from different places."Nowhere is this sentiment flexed more boldly than on "Mind's A Lie," a dance- punk anthem inspired by Harper's love of house, garage, and pirate radio. Stabs of sampled female vocals (by celebrated South London singer and DJ Ell Murphy) build into a razor wire rhythm of low-slung bass, tense drums, and sparkling guitar before Sayle's staunch voice starts barking harsh truths ("Face to face with all I've known / I can't call these thoughts my own"). After a sudden breakdown, the track regroups and takes off, cruising into the horizon in a haze of chiming guitars and Murphy's ascendant voice, from the streets to somewhere beyond.

Charlotte de Witte’s unrelenting single ‘No Division’ featuring XSALT drops digitally on May 29th while she plays six NYC shows in four days (vinyl on 6th June) – with different DJ sets across venues from small and intimate to big and uncompromising. The vinyl version (including the Original Mix and Instrumental Mix as a B-side) gets an early release and will be on sale at the shows.

Why the NYC connection? Says de Witte: ‘Launching this single while I’m in New York feels symbolic. There’s something about the city, its chaos, its diversity, its constant movement, that perfectly mirrors the spirit of ‘No Division’. It’s a place where differences collide and coexist.’

‘No Division’ is the second single from Charlotte’s eponymous long-awaited debut album (out November 7th). ‘This track is another chapter of my upcoming album, and like the others, it reflects a part of who I am. ‘No Division’ is both a call and a celebration. It’s a reminder of what’s possible when we lose ourselves in the music and come together on the same frequency. It reminds us that we are one.’

‘No Division’: Brimming with an overwhelming, penetrating techno power, this track demands our full attention, with spacey hoover sounds, piercingly hooky main theme, a classic organ sound and hissy robotic spoken vocal lyrics like ‘…cut the wire/break the system/fight the fire/no division…’ It’s a manifesto you can dance to. Charlotte de Witte has an agenda as well as making a killer track; ‘‘No Division’ comes from a place of unity and the understanding that when we come together through music, the barriers between us start to dissolve. It’s about erasing the invisible lines that separate us, whether cultural, emotional, or personal.’

XSALT was previously sampled by de Witte on her tracks ‘Overdrive’, ‘High Street’, ‘Roar’ and ‘How You Move’. Here he provides exclusive vocals for her for the first time.

UK Salford band The Ting Tings released their first catalogue of hits in 2008, with global success taking them on an immediate 6-year world tour. That’s Not My Name, Shut Up & Let Me Go, Great Dj & Hands, still regular fixtures on playlists and syncs worldwide.

They vowed never to make the same record twice, 5 albums in, they are sticking to their word.

Their new album ‘Home’ was recorded in a wooden decked analogue studio is an easy breezy yacht rock album committed to traditional songwriting inspired by their all-time favourites, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, The Eagles, The Carpenters, Cosby Stills & Nash, Supertramp, Christopher Cross, best heard in a car, preferably with the sea in view and the windows down.

In May 1981 B-Movie and Soft Cell went into Advision Studios in London with the same producer, Mike Thorne (Wire, Bronski Beat, China Crisis, The Communards) to record singles for the label they were both signed to. Phonogram had really wanted to sign B-Movie but had also committed to Soft Cell, having been coerced into it by Stev0, who managed both artists and wouldn’t let them have one without the other. B-Movie commenced recording the dark moody anti-fame anthem ‘Marilyn Dreams’, whilst Soft Cell got underway on a cover of an obscure Northern Soul classic. When both songs were released in July 1981, ‘Tainted Love’ became a worldwide hit and shot Soft Cell to international fame, making them the biggest stars of 1981. B-Movie had formed in 1979, in Mansfield, a typical northern town in the middle of the Nottinghamshire coalfield. Originally a three piece featuring, vocal / bass, guitar and drums, they expanded by adding a keyboard player to broaden their initial post punk sound. Local Lincoln independent record label, Dead Good Records, firstly put them on the compilation LP ‘East’, followed by 7" inch EP and then a mini-album releases, which led to an appearance on the legendary Some Bizarre label (alongside the likes of Blancmange, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and The The)
Major label interest followed, from which came the deal with Phonogram, B-Movie initially re-recording the track ‘Remembrance Day’, which reached No61 in the UK chart in early 1981 and, more importantly, was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and appearing in his Festive 50 for that year. All of the recordings the band made during their Phonogram period have been consigned to the Universal Music vault for several decades, with the band finally managing to have these returned in 2024. The various tapes have been digitised and restored, resulting in the creation of what would have been their 1982 debut LP ‘that never was’. Ten tracks including the three singles plus seven previously unreleased recordings. The CD version contains a further seven recordings including the 12” versions, single B-sides and the track “Moles’” from the Some Bizarre compilation.So “Hidden Treasures” from B-Movie, is only four decades late but still able to sit seamlessly alongside contemporaries like The Chameleons and The Sound. The LP is a darker, more brooding and psychedelic affair, more akin to the gothic elements of the Bunnymen or Joy Division, than the ‘pop sensations’ Phonogram wanted them to become. By both opening and closing this chapter of B-Movie, it puts them firmly in the same bracket as their new wave and post-punk contemporaries, which is the least they deserve, as one of the great ‘lost’ bands of the early 1980’s. "It’s nice to hear B-Movie are finally getting a chance to release their forgotten gems’” Matt Johnson (The The) Vinyl

Ajay Saggar is BHAJAN BHOY. "With BHAJAN BHOY, Saggar synthesizes all of the stylistic approaches he’s explored over the years, swirling them into an intoxicating musical blend, with an earthy spirituality. Even the project’s name reflects the dual aspects of Saggar’s upbringing coming together in harmony. In Hindi, a “bhajan” is a devotional song, sung in the mandir, or temple, while “bhoy” is a Scottish and Irish derivation for a young man. There’s a searching quality to Bhajan Bhoy, as if Saggar is still hunting for transcendence with each track, whether through an expansive drone, an orchestral facility on the piano, or an electronics-augmented raga that threatens to dip into noise” (Erick Bradshaw / writer and WFMU DJ). This album presents a rich and varied set of compositions that showcase Saggar’s skills as an incredibly talented and accomplished composer and musician. With each and every Bhajan Bhoy LP, you are are carried to a higher place. With ‘Bhoy On The Wire’, the 35 minutes laid out unfolds like a cosmic tapestry, an extraordinary exploration that shimmers and reverberates with newfound vibrancy. The songs were broadcast as part of a session on Steve Barker’s “On The Wire” radio show in April 2024. They were a gift to Steve and his team for 40 years of broadcasting. “On The Wire” is simply the greatest radio show in the world. As Ajay explains in his own words : “In September 1984, I started a degree course at the University of Lancaster. On a wet and soggy Sunday afternoon towards the end of September, I sat in my room staring out at the grey Lancashire landscape, and decided to alleviate the boredom by seeing if there was anything to listen to on the radio. Most of the stations I tuned into were as dull as the weather outside. However, as I neared the end of the FM dial (and was about to give up hope), I chanced upon a station where I was taken by the music being played. That show was “On The Wire”, introduced by Steve Barker. From there on in, every Sunday, between 2-5pm, I tuned into Radio Lancashire to listen. Steve’s shows had an incredible and wide reaching selection of music and genres, that thrilled your ears and left you wanting more. Tied to that, his deep knowledge of the material he played helped the listener dig into the sounds even more, and also left you in admiration of this trait. In 1985, I started putting on DIY shows in Lancaster (inviting the likes of Bog-Shed, bIG fLAME, The Membranes, The Wedding Present, etc etc) and Steve was kind enough to mention the shows on-air, which helped in getting people from different parts of the county to come to the shows. At the tail-end of 1985, he invited me to the studio to come and hang out. When in 1988, the group I was in, Dandelion Adventure, released our first (demo) cassette, it was Steve, who not only played tracks off it, but invited the group to the studio for an interview. Now if you’re a young band, that is a massive thrill! And in 1990, when Dandelion Adventure did a John Peel session, I actually used “On The Wire” jingles (that Steve had put on a cassette and given to me a few years before) on the track “All the World’s A Lounge”. Since then, the show has been a mainstay for me, and so many others around the world, to get turned onto incredible sounds from around the world. And over the course of 40 years, Steve has always supported my music. These six tracks are a 40th birthday gift to the “On The Wire” team (Steve, Michael “Fenny” Fenton (an absolutely critical part of the show), and Jim Ingham (engineer who keeps the technical side of things going)) for sharing so much amazing music, and making the world a better place. They were originally broadcast as an exclusive session in April 2024 on “On The Wire", and are here for your listening pleasure. Music like shower”. Artwork by Jake Blanchard

Available on Bedroom Isolation Frosted Silver Still Void Crystal Clear vinyl for indies only. Genre: Indie Rock / Electronic. Following his post-hardcore heroics with Indian Summer and Calm, Marc Bianchi unplugged his distortion pedal and switched on the four track. From his boyhood San Mateo, California bedroom, Her Space Holiday explores the bewilderment of young adulthood through a dreamy prozac lens. This expanded 25th anniversary edition of Home Is Where You Hang Yourself includes an extra LP of remixed songs from Duster, Bright Eyes, Micromars, and Mahogany, an elegant tip-on jacket, lyrics, and 20 milligrams of millennial malaise. Ask your doctor if Her Space Holiday is right for you

Available on Bedroom Isolation Frosted Silver Still Void Crystal Clear vinyl for indies only. Genre: Indie Rock / Electronic. Following his post-hardcore heroics with Indian Summer and Calm, Marc Bianchi unplugged his distortion pedal and switched on the four track. From his boyhood San Mateo, California bedroom, Her Space Holiday explores the bewilderment of young adulthood through a dreamy prozac lens. This expanded 25th anniversary edition of Home Is Where You Hang Yourself includes an extra LP of remixed songs from Duster, Bright Eyes, Micromars, and Mahogany, an elegant tip-on jacket, lyrics, and 20 milligrams of millennial malaise. Ask your doctor if Her Space Holiday is right for you

Available on Bedroom Isolation Frosted Silver Still Void Crystal Clear vinyl for indies only. Genre: Indie Rock / Electronic. Following his post-hardcore heroics with Indian Summer and Calm, Marc Bianchi unplugged his distortion pedal and switched on the four track. From his boyhood San Mateo, California bedroom, Her Space Holiday explores the bewilderment of young adulthood through a dreamy prozac lens. This expanded 25th anniversary edition of Home Is Where You Hang Yourself includes an extra LP of remixed songs from Duster, Bright Eyes, Micromars, and Mahogany, an elegant tip-on jacket, lyrics, and 20 milligrams of millennial malaise. Ask your doctor if Her Space Holiday is right for you.

Available on Bedroom Isolation Frosted Silver Still Void Crystal Clear vinyl for indies only. Genre: Indie Rock / Electronic. Following his post-hardcore heroics with Indian Summer and Calm, Marc Bianchi unplugged his distortion pedal and switched on the four track. From his boyhood San Mateo, California bedroom, Her Space Holiday explores the bewilderment of young adulthood through a dreamy prozac lens. This expanded 25th anniversary edition of Home Is Where You Hang Yourself includes an extra LP of remixed songs from Duster, Bright Eyes, Micromars, and Mahogany, an elegant tip-on jacket, lyrics, and 20 milligrams of millennial malaise. Ask your doctor if Her Space Holiday is right for you.