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2026 Repress

Yorkshire's underground has always run deep and this double pack from one of the region's finest new labels, Hearlucinate, makes the case well. For this double album, Leeds mainstay Tristan da Cunha has done a careful excavation of Scott Featherstone's DAT archive featuring music recorded under his Triform alias entirely on analogue hardware. The results are simultaneously timeless and urgently present, and the kind of machine jams that only reveal their full power in dark, hazy rooms. 'Harmony' has a dark and sleazy soul, there's muscular drum weight to 'What Is This', 'Basic House Rocker' has an anxiety-riddled sound that's alive with twitchy acid electronics and 'Chimes' marries vast, swinging kicks with Detroit soul. Wonderful.

We are celebrating 25 years since the release of Jaga Jazzists “A Livingroom Hush” with a reissue in 140g orange vinyl as a 2LP!

Originally released in Norway in 2001, with Ninja Tune coming on board to release it internationally the following year, Jaga Jazzist are a true musical one off.

Formed in the mid-Nineties around the nucleus of percussionist Martin Horntveth, his multi-instrumentalist brother Lars (who was 14 at the time), tuba-playing sister Line and an expanding coterie of musicians, they were determined to make a big, joyful sound that knew no boundaries of genre. 'We wanted to have a big, big band, but not one playing big band jazz,' as Lars Horntveth once put it.

Comparisons reached for by the press at the time were as broad - from Talk Talk, Soft Machine, Eric Satie, John Coltrane and Don Cherry to acts like Aphex Twin, Stereolab, Squarepusher and Tortoise. This range summed up the breadth and originality of the group's sound. Combining trumpets, trombone, electric guitar, bass, tuba, two bass clarinets, fender rhodes and vibraphone, and it is the mixture of these instruments with an electronic edge that really made it stand out.
The album is a journey that manages to sound both classic and contemporary and an oasis to anyone interested in music which combines iconoclasm with beauty, melody with avant gardism and, in general, a complete lack of interest in anything other than good music.

Product Specs:
Limited edition 2xLP on 140g orange vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

CODE, das kommerziell erfolgreichste Album der elektronischen Pioniere Cabaret Voltaire aus Sheffield, ist endlich wieder erhältlich – nach jahrelanger Vergriffenheit.
Das ursprünglich 1987 veröffentlichte achte Studioalbum der Band wurde von den Originalbändern durch Denis Blackham neu remastert, der seit über 20 Jahren sämtliche Alben von Cabaret Voltaire gemastert oder remastert hat. Die Neuauflage erscheint bei Mute und präsentiert das originale Artwork in restaurierter Form.
Gemeinsam produziert mit Dub-Ikone Adrian Sherwood, markiert CODE einen mutigen Schritt in Richtung Synth-Pop und mechanischem Funk. Es war das letzte Album von Cabaret Voltaire, das mit einem großen Produktionsbudget entstand und dabei dennoch kompromisslos glaubwürdig blieb. Mit den Singles „Don't Argue“ und „Here to Go“, die beide Charterfolge feierten, zählt es zu den Höhepunkten im Schaffen der Band.
Der Albumtitel verweist auf ein Thema, das damals von großer Aktualität war und heute relevanter denn je erscheint: die zunehmende Durchdringung des menschlichen Lebens durch Technologie, Computer und Programmierung. Für Cabaret Voltaire stand CODE dabei sinnbildlich für Kontrolle – nicht nur im kreativen Prozess des Musikmachens, sondern auch im Hinblick auf gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Machtstrukturen vor dem Hintergrund einer Ära des Überflusses.
Aufgenommen wurde das Album im bandeigenen Western Works Studio in Sheffield. Adrian Sherwood war bereits in der Vorproduktion beteiligt, bevor die Aufnahmen für den Mix in die Red Bus Studios nach London verlegt wurden. CODE dokumentiert eine Band auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer kreativen und kommerziellen Schaffenskraft.
Diese Wiederveröffentlichung wurde 2019 gemeinsam mit Richard H. Kirk begonnen. Nach seinem viel zu frühen Tod wurde das Projekt anhand seiner Notizen und in enger Abstimmung mit Stephen Malinder sowie dem Nachlass von Richard H. Kirk vollendet – eine würdige Hommage an sein außergewöhnliches Vermächtnis.

Format: LIMITIERTE AUFLAGE AUF CODIFIED MARBLE VINYL. Inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger mit neuen Linernotes.

Mit Glimmerence veröffentlicht die Berliner Sängerin und Songwriterin Mirna Bogdanovic ihr drittes Album - eine eindringliche Sammlung poetischer Songs zwischen Jazz, Art-Pop und emotionalem Storytelling. Der eigens geprägte Titel beschreibt einen Schwebezustand zwischen Liebe und Illusion und bildet den roten Faden dieser zutiefst persönlichen Musik. Gemeinsam mit einigen der profiliertesten Musiker der Berliner Jazzszene entstehen fein nuancierte Klangwelten, in denen Stimme, Text und Arrangement untrennbar miteinander verschmelzen. Bogdanovic verbindet vokale Ausdruckskraft mit erzählerischer Tiefe und macht jeden Song zu einer atmosphärischen Momentaufnahme voller Nähe und Intensität. Mit einer eindrucksvollen Neuinterpretation von Chris Isaaks "Wicked Game" setzt das Album einen kraftvollen Schlusspunkt. Glimmerence ist ein vielschichtiges, emotionales Werk über Sehnsucht, Verletzlichkeit und Selbstermächtigung - und ein starkes Statement einer der spannendsten Stimmen des zeitgenössischen europäischen Jazz.

“When the flesh gets cut off the soul, it’s not the end.”

More than forty years after hardCORPS emerged from a Brixton basement, ‘Metal & Flesh’ returns in a new expanded edition on double vinyl and CD, newly remastered with the full involvement of surviving members Rob Doran and Clive Pierce. Born from the collision of punk, analogue synthesisers, sequencers, disco, reggae and experimental studio techniques, hardCORPS created electronic music that was as physical and emotional as it was mechanical. The arrival of French vocalist Regine Fetet gave the group its defining identity, placing her raw, uncompromising voice against the dense machinery of Hugh Ashton, Clive Pierce and Rob Doran. Working mainly with a Roland System 100, several Roland MC4 sequencers and later an additional MC500 and Atari ST 1040 computers, etc. pp., hardCORPS always transformed limitations, accidents, distortion and human imperfection into part of the music itself. Although rooted in the early 1980s, ‘Metal & Flesh’ refuses easy nostalgia, retaining the tension, space and character that made hardCORPS unlike their contemporaries. Yet, shall we eventually mention Kraftwerk, maybe let’s quote Ian Shirley from Record Collector magazine: „’Je Suis Passée‘ was not only a love letter to Kraftwerk but penned with such verve, passion and precision that Ralf and Florian probably would have accepted a blind date at a Düsseldorf cocktail bar (…).“ And as Martin Rushent famously said in 1990: “Hard Corps were ignored in their time. Perhaps it is the burden of the adventurous and the innovative to be ignored in their time, which is sad. Don’t ignore them now.”

This new edition has been carefully remastered to preserve that character and dynamics rather than simply making the recordings louder or more ‘modern’, while the artwork has likewise been developed to reflect the band’s original identity. Metal & Flesh’ is not merely an artefact of the 1980s, but a rare and fiercely individual document of four people discovering what happens when human instinct and machines collide.

Remastered by Martin Bowes. Graphic design by hard CORPS and Steve Lippert.

Gatefold sleeve gloss lamination, printed inner sleeves with lyrics, two double-sided hand-numbered.

De Kloe: their name is as hard to explain as the music they channel from a total oddball universe. Rumour has it a wormhole sits hidden between the beer crates and a broken dartboard in the basement of the DPG Media building in Antwerp. Leon Jespers, Elian Van den Eynde and Midas Heuvinck stepped through and came back with De Kloe’s first full-length album.

Needless to say, De Kloe operates in the cracks - splicing obscure samples, fractured lyrics, jagged basslines, and serrated guitar riffs into something volatile and alive. Club rhythms pulse underneath, but nothing stays in place for long. Tracks mutate, structures dissolve, and both live and on record the band leans into instinct over control.

After the singles ‘Our House’ & ‘The Fish’ the trio finally presents their debut album ‘Vanity Fair’: more extravaganza tunes you didn’t know you need it, but soon will be addicted to.

A place where pop music collides with dubbed out samplemania, short sharp no wave riffs, sun-gazing psychedelica, 90’s indie sleaze, post everything vibes and endless sonic fun & happiness.

Some people would say Vanity Fair is a musical exploration of glossy machinery, the dacay of celebrity and a secret wink to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where
everything is on display and nothing is quite what it seems.

Other will say ‘Vanity Fair’ is a splendid record with 12 marvelous songs you just have to listen to and buy it because your life will only gets better from then on.

We believe both of them.

Credits
All songs written and produced by De Kloe
Elian Van den Eynde: guitar
Leon Jespers: electronica & keyboard
Midas Heuvinck: bass

Guest musicians
Kiara Govaert & Nina Brügger: vocals
Kiara Govaert: ocarina
Co-production and mixing by Martijn De Bondt
Recording by Simon Beeckaert
Mastering by Gert Van Hoof
Graphic design and layout cover by Leon Jespers

Pierre Mariétan (1935–2025) was a prolific Swiss composer, sound artist, and pioneer in acoustic ecology who spent most of his life working in France. Over his long career, he composed more than 300 instrumental, orchestral, vocal, and electronic pieces. Mariétan studied under avant-garde legends like Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann. In 1966, he founded GERM (Groupe d’Étude et de Réalisation Musicales), a music collective that blurred the lines between strict composition and free improvisation. In 1969 the French BYG label released a GERM album and the same year GERM played at the legendary 5-day Festival in Amougies, Belgium, sharing stage with Pink Floyd, The Soft Machine, Frank Zappa, Don Cherry,…

In 1979 Mariétan founded the Laboratoire d'Acoustique Urbaine (Urban Acoustics Laboratory) to bridge environmental sounds, urban architecture, and musical composition. Mariétan was also a professor at the University of Paris where he taught the relationship between sound and space. Later in life, he remained active as a director for the Movement of Environmental Sound and continued developing permanent, immersive sound installations across the globe. His album Musique d’été was originally released on cassette back in 1983 by Éditions Salabert and Costin Miereanu’s Poly-Art International, and it has been slightly tweaked for this LP reissue. The record splits his vision of "Summer Music" into two different vibes. Side A is a deep dive into an electronic, synthesizer-driven landscape, while Side B features raw acoustic field recordings of forests and traditional Swiss alphorns.

Adjust the intensity of the sound at the same level, if not just above the background noise specific to the place of diffusion.

Ready to take our streets back? Kill the Colossi sind wohl eine der spannendsten neuen Bands aus England und haben mit ihrer (zuerst nur) selbstveröffentlichten Debut-CD "Braces for Impact" vor zwei Jahren sofort für weltweite Beachtung in der Szene gesorgt (mittlerweile auf Vinyl von Sunny Bastards erhältlich)! Kein Wunder die aggressive Mischung aus "in your face"-OI!-Shoutern und markanten Streetpunk-Melodien umrahmt von fetten Gitarrensound und wohlplatzierten Singalongs knallen alles weg. Vergleiche mit Kalibern wie "Lion's Law" machten schnell die Runde. Das Ox-Magazin schrieb zurecht: "KILL THE COLOSSI sind neben THE CHISEL die gegenwärtig wohl beste englische Oi!-Punk-Combo." Und selbst die Metalszene wurde auf die Band aufmerksam (Rock Hard 9/10) und bescherte der Band eine Einladung zum Kuhzi-Festival. Jetzt erscheint der Nachfolger "Roses & Riot Shields" und setzt den Weg von Kill the Colossi eindrucksvoll fort: Mitreißend-kraftvoller UK-Streetpunk/ Oi! mit ausgeklügeltem Songwriting und dem "gewissen Etwas", den man schwer in Worte fassen, dafür umso mehr im Herzen spüren kann! 10 neue Songs bei denen man übliche Klischees und abgenudelte Stereotypen vergebens sucht. Stattdessen sozialkritische Lyrics (Empire of the Dirt, Scarcity), wütende Bestandsaufnahmen über das verzerrte Spiegelbild der Gesellschaft (Working the weak), bis hin zu all dem neumodischem Scheiss, der manipuliert und beeinflusst (Under the Influencer; Legal High). Mit "Boots don't fit" schließlich gibt's eine unter die Haut gehende Hymne, die fernab der üblichen oft banalen Bekenntnisse gegen Rassismus viel tiefer in die Wunde sticht und deutlicher nicht sein kann! Jede Gesellschaft kriegt halt was sie verdient_"Kill the Colossi" dürfte mit diesem Album der Sprung in die nächste Liga sicher sein!

Ready to take our streets back? Kill the Colossi sind wohl eine der spannendsten neuen Bands aus England und haben mit ihrer (zuerst nur) selbstveröffentlichten Debut-CD "Braces for Impact" vor zwei Jahren sofort für weltweite Beachtung in der Szene gesorgt (mittlerweile auf Vinyl von Sunny Bastards erhältlich)! Kein Wunder die aggressive Mischung aus "in your face"-OI!-Shoutern und markanten Streetpunk-Melodien umrahmt von fetten Gitarrensound und wohlplatzierten Singalongs knallen alles weg. Vergleiche mit Kalibern wie "Lion's Law" machten schnell die Runde. Das Ox-Magazin schrieb zurecht: "KILL THE COLOSSI sind neben THE CHISEL die gegenwärtig wohl beste englische Oi!-Punk-Combo." Und selbst die Metalszene wurde auf die Band aufmerksam (Rock Hard 9/10) und bescherte der Band eine Einladung zum Kuhzi-Festival. Jetzt erscheint der Nachfolger "Roses & Riot Shields" und setzt den Weg von Kill the Colossi eindrucksvoll fort: Mitreißend-kraftvoller UK-Streetpunk/ Oi! mit ausgeklügeltem Songwriting und dem "gewissen Etwas", den man schwer in Worte fassen, dafür umso mehr im Herzen spüren kann! 10 neue Songs bei denen man übliche Klischees und abgenudelte Stereotypen vergebens sucht. Stattdessen sozialkritische Lyrics (Empire of the Dirt, Scarcity), wütende Bestandsaufnahmen über das verzerrte Spiegelbild der Gesellschaft (Working the weak), bis hin zu all dem neumodischem Scheiss, der manipuliert und beeinflusst (Under the Influencer; Legal High). Mit "Boots don't fit" schließlich gibt's eine unter die Haut gehende Hymne, die fernab der üblichen oft banalen Bekenntnisse gegen Rassismus viel tiefer in die Wunde sticht und deutlicher nicht sein kann! Jede Gesellschaft kriegt halt was sie verdient_"Kill the Colossi" dürfte mit diesem Album der Sprung in die nächste Liga sicher sein!

Ltd Edition! Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders — hervorgegangen aus der Asche der legendären Lazy Cowgirls und angeführt von einem Frontmann, dessen Name seit Jahrzehnten für das raue Herz der amerikanischen Underground-Musik steht — melden sich mit ihrem neunten Album „I’ll Dream Alone“ zurück. Zwölf Songs voller lauter Gitarren, schnörkelloser Storytelling-Tradition und der bekannten Mischung aus knurrendem 70er-Jahre-Punk, Country, Blues und klassischem Rock, die die Band seit den Lazy-Cowgirls-Tagen zum Maßstab für Authentizität in der amerikanischen Rock’n’Roll-Szene gemacht hat. Aufgenommen und produziert von Gavin Ross in den Steady Studios, Burbank, CA — demselben Studio wie die letzten beiden Alben. Pat Todd hat die Songs so geschrieben oder mitgeschrieben, wie es bei den Rankoutsiders Tradition ist — manche jahrelang live erprobt, bevor sie endlich aufgenommen wurden („Ambition Street“), andere direkt im Studio entstanden, mit Texten, die erst zum Schluss dazukamen („We’re Outta Time“, „The World It Don’t Need You“ und der Titeltrack „I’ll Dream Alone“ selbst). Das Album reicht von der an Velvet Undergrounds „Loaded“ erinnernden Ballade „Mediocre Heart“ über den treibenden Soul-Beat von „Beyond the County Line“ bis zum Update eines 60er-AM-Radio-Rockers in „The Last Of Me“. Gitarrist Nick Alexander übernimmt bei „It Ain’t All My Fault“ – nach wahren Begebenheiten – ausnahmsweise den Leadgesang, unterstützt von Stephen Vigh, Kevin Keller und Pat Todd. Den Auftakt macht die erste Single „Desire Has Left Town“, gefolgt von „We’re Outta Time“ als zweiter Single und „Blood & Gunpowder“ am Release-Tag. Die Band unterstützt die Veröffentlichung mit einer Europa-Tournee vom 9. Oktober bis 8. November 2026 und bringt „I’ll Dream Alone“ direkt ab Release quer über den Kontinent auf die Bühne.

Spring 2026 saw The Proclaimers recording their new album, You May Offend. It is brothers Craig and Charlie Reid’s first album since 2022’s hugely acclaimed Denture’s Out (“Proves you don't need to be a young pretender to land hit after palpable hit,” – MOJO magazine). Their 13th studio album’s 12 tracks – punchy and punky, rousing and carousing, tender and tough – were recorded at Monmouth’s legendary Rockfield Studios with producer Dave Eringa, their crack live band – Steven Christie, Garry John Kane, Zac Ware and Clive Jenner – and frequent guest guitarist, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield. The result is an album, as ever, concise as well as incisive, and about looking forward. Pushing on and digging into the issues and feelings that matter to them here, now and tomorrow, not yesterday, as with the title track, and first single, a lament for the state of free speech, with Charlie approving of the fact that the title can be taken two ways: “As in: ‘Look, careful what you do, you may offend someone.’ Or: ‘OK children, you may now offend.’ Is it an instruction or an invitation? Or a warning?” A powerful accompanying video for the You May Offend single is being created by Emmy & BAFTA award winners, director Douglas Mackinnon in partnership with Peter Anderson Animation. “My favourite band of all time. They write the most spectacular songs, big hearted, uncynical passionate songs.'” - David Tennant “There is a whole other world of music behind that song that I’ve just been discovering, and they’re a wonderful, wonderful band. Now we live in the age of coolness that doesn’t mean anything, it's just quality and soul. The Proclaimers make more sense than ever.” – Chris Martin after Coldplay performed Sunshine on Leith at BBC’s The Piano Room

The unconscious element to the conscious process.

The practice of dub techno and its tendrils is a fundamental for me, both aesthetically and from an engineering perspective.

I start every recording session with a dub inspired jam, the first piece I ever recorded in 1996 was an effort to recreate Phylyps Trak with only a Korg X3 and an Ibanez PUE5 (borrowed from Gary Howell). It was an awesome introduction to jamming, and the footing stones of noise, delay and saturation were explored with my foot hard on the enthusiasm pedal.

These practice jams are in some sense cathartic, the first step taken again & again, which helps me move forwards each session and additionally helps to 'warm the circuits' both of myself and the machines.

After realising the genius of Basic Channel is akin to the genius of peasant food, using every ingredient with nothing left to waste, (up to and including the oft maligned working noise of the machines themselves), this was a watershed moment for my own subjective progression. No longer tied to just emulation of something inspiring, but taking these learned tools into other areas of music helped to break free from a strong current of influence and also to progress into other areas with the new toolbox.

Dub:

The importance of the dub pioneers should never be understated, in modern music and my own practice. Yet with my initial inspiration being two german dudes issuing extreme techno variants with obscured label designs, who then signposted their listeners to their own inspirations (via their Wackies re-issues or nodded to on their Rhythm & Sound/Burial Mix sub-labels), meant that I started late and travelled backwards.

Learning to notice the live mixing of Mikey Dread or Lee Perry when the faders are bleeding through even when turned down, (echoed in BC's Quadrant Dub), or the brash send effects literally thrown into the mix also taught me that 'rough' mixing can inject a recording with life, uniqueness and the most right wrongness. Looking back Basic Channels very few elements helped me realise that the rules to be understood, are also the best ones to be broken.

Push the mixer into the red.

Amp that noise up from the tape delay cos it sounds sick.

Pseudo side-chain effects cos the kicks are way too loud and the mixer can't sum it nicely.

Spam the send knob into the delay units now, now and now.

Carelessness.

Noise:

Once I wrapped my head around the intrinsic 'noise' element that set those records apart, this became a torchlight into the alt noise movements which I was tentatively exploring at the time, and also is evidently a connection or thread into them.

Whether the Industrial/Post Punk UK scene (This Heat, TG, A Tent, F.E.) or the prolific output of the US Noise scene (Wolf Eyes, Live & Shave in LA, and subsequently following the lineage all the way back to Chrome's Alien Soundtracks), I had finally discovered a connection from techno to this 'free for all' corner of music.

This input from the Noise arena of sound is, in my experience, an all important step for a sonic artist, taking it's roots and extending out from Stockhausen/Pierre Henry and utilised/warped/mangled by thousands of adventurous pioneers ever since, I now see the line separating the high brow and the low brow is actually an artery carrying information from the head to the heart.

Vault is a selection of these jams that precede each of my solo recording sessions, for 30 years I've recorded hundreds of these 'workouts'. They are never intended as serious statements, just moments of naive enjoyment, yet most importantly they are time & space captured as practice.

The objective is always a warm up exercise, but sometimes those exercises turn a different corner, with a certain focus or direction dependent on what random samples are left in my machines from the previous session, instead of conscious choices, these unconscious elements can facilitate those 'positive mistakes' that make a piece of sound retain a different feel or colour and thus become special, or at least special to the creator.

I am quite conscious that the 'record everything' aspect of my ethos has been invaluable in cataloguing and saving these jams, while the attitude of carelessness during this process (after all, it's only a warm up jam) invites more enjoyment than seriousness ever could. Even if you don't feel the piece at the time, record it, because some years later it may well fit, or become relevant in a way you never intended.

-Miles

Montréal-based sound artist Steve Bates expands his strategies and stylistic influences on An Infinite Antenna, his second solo album for Constellation, giving freer reign to melodic components and textural dynamics: leftfield synth work, deconstructed drum machine, pointillist electric guitar, and radiostatic blur are all part of the new brew swirling around his bruitist signal-bending and field-recording sensibility. Arguably a more ambient album than his acclaimed 2022 Constellation debut, An Infinite Antenna is at the same time more densely packed with ideas, dynamics, evocations and earworms. Coming out of the anarcho-punk scene of the Canadian Prairies in the 1990s, Bates founded Winnipeg’s experimental sound festival Send + Receive in 1998 before moving to Montréal to become Sound Coordinator at Hexagram (Concordia University), delving further into sonic research and theory, tape-based composition, and installation work. Alongside the curatorial arc of his own sound art label The Dim Coast, Bates released several solo and collaborative albums on ORAL_records leading up to All The Things That Happen, the 2022 Constellation debut praised by Boomkat for its “grittily iridescent ambient billow rendering maximalist panoramas” and by Backseat Mafia as “extraordinary soundscapes of unstable, destructive cacophony and tender calm, echoes of the threat of power.” Where that album was noisier and single-minded, made with the self-imposed limit of a Casio SK-1, Bates plays more widely with instrumentation and atmospheres on An Infinite Antenna, also drawing on his post-hardcore roots in seeking a sort of track-by-track concision nonetheless driven by the album’s coherence as a seamless work. “I was trying to set durations I associate with punk rather than the longer, sprawling music coming from more ambient styles (that I very much love), and while I wasn’t able to quite pare it down to Minutemen durations, I had that reduction to essential elements as a sort of whisper over my shoulder.” Incorporating source recordings made throughout 2023-2025, including at artist residencies and site-specific sound installation visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the album’s cover photo was taken in Sarajevo), Austria, Greece, and Saskatchewan, An Infinite Antenna combines Bates’ “idea of slowly scanning a radio dial” with a soundworld of recurring timbral and textural touchstones that forge an integrated whole.

The album’s 12 tracks work effectively as stand-alone pieces, replete with shifting undercurrents, buried melody, and stuttering kinetics, and as a sequential flow where the brief interstitial silences between them are like short pauses to flip the next page in a sketchbook of perspectival studies of a wide but singular tableau. The glistening atonal synth expressionism of opener “Pink pink pink pink…pink pink” drifts gently toward submerged ambience, darkened by the noised rumble and static interference of “Green as a ghost”, which introduces broken beats and piano chords in its denouement. Tracks like “Battles and sieges and street trees” and “Easier sad than done” work the foundations of low-end field-recording resonance, but dappled with lovely melodic droplets of treated guitar and synth. “Waste, songs of the world” and “Disaster loans” are among the album’s most explicit stylistic references to posthardcore, with distorted ambient bass and gently abrasive drum sampling. Closing track “Swamps and factories”, the album’s longest piece, is perhaps most reminiscent of Bates’ previous record with its sustained dissonant glimmer-drone, but the journey An Infinite Antenna traces to get there is Bates at his most dynamic, diverse, distinctive, and engaging. Thanks for listening.

Montréal-based sound artist Steve Bates expands his strategies and stylistic influences on An Infinite Antenna, his second solo album for Constellation, giving freer reign to melodic components and textural dynamics: leftfield synth work, deconstructed drum machine, pointillist electric guitar, and radiostatic blur are all part of the new brew swirling around his bruitist signal-bending and field-recording sensibility. Arguably a more ambient album than his acclaimed 2022 Constellation debut, An Infinite Antenna is at the same time more densely packed with ideas, dynamics, evocations and earworms. Coming out of the anarcho-punk scene of the Canadian Prairies in the 1990s, Bates founded Winnipeg's experimental sound festival Send + Receive in 1998 before moving to Montréal to become Sound Coordinator at Hexagram (Concordia University), delving further into sonic research and theory, tape-based composition, and installation work. Alongside the curatorial arc of his own sound art label The Dim Coast, Bates released several solo and collaborative albums on ORAL_records leading up to All The Things That Happen, the 2022 Constellation debut praised by Boomkat for its "grittily iridescent ambient billow rendering maximalist panoramas" and by Backseat Mafia as "extraordinary soundscapes of unstable, destructive cacophony and tender calm, echoes of the threat of power." Where that album was noisier and single-minded, made with the self-imposed limit of a Casio SK-1, Bates plays more widely with instrumentation and atmospheres on An Infinite Antenna, also drawing on his post-hardcore roots in seeking a sort of track-by-track concision nonetheless driven by the album's coherence as a seamless work. "I was trying to set durations I associate with punk rather than the longer, sprawling music coming from more ambient styles (that I very much love), and while I wasn't able to quite pare it down to Minutemen durations, I had that reduction to essential elements as a sort of whisper over my shoulder." Incorporating source recordings made throughout 2023-2025, including at artist residencies and site-specific sound installation visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the album's cover photo was taken in Sarajevo), Austria, Greece, and Saskatchewan, An Infinite Antenna combines Bates' "idea of slowly scanning a radio dial" with a soundworld of recurring timbral and textural touchstones that forge an integrated whole. The album's 12 tracks work effectively as stand-alone pieces, replete with shifting undercurrents, buried melody, and stuttering kinetics, and as a sequential flow where the brief interstitial silences between them are like short pauses to flip the next page in a sketchbook of perspectival studies of a wide but singular tableau. The glistening atonal synth expressionism of opener 'Pink pink pink pink_pink pink' drifts gently toward submerged ambience, darkened by the noised rumble and static interference of 'Green as a ghost', which introduces broken beats and piano chords in its denouement. Tracks like 'Battles and sieges and street trees' and 'Easier sad than done' work the foundations of low-end field-recording resonance, but dappled with lovely melodic droplets of treated guitar and synth. 'Waste, songs of the world' and 'Disaster loans' are among the album's most explicit stylistic references to posthardcore, with distorted ambient bass and gently abrasive drum sampling. Closing track 'Swamps and factories,' the album's longest piece, is perhaps most reminiscent of Bates' previous record with its sustained dissonant glimmer-drone, but the journey An Infinite Antenna traces to get there is Bates at his most dynamic, diverse, distinctive, and engaging. Thanks for listening

,Dead Meat" ist das Debütalbum der Londoner Band The Tubs, gegründet von den ehemaligen Joanna Gruesome-Mitgliedern Owen Williams und George Nicholls. Musikalisch verbindet die Band Jangle Pop, Post-Punk und britischen Folk-Rock zu einem eigenständigen Sound, der ebenso von Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson und der Canterbury-Folk-Szene geprägt ist wie von modernen Indie-Bands wie The Goon Sax oder Twerps. Charakteristisch sind die hell klingenden, treibenden Gitarren, eingängige Pop-Hooks und die Verbindung von traditioneller britischer Folk-Melodik mit der Energie des Indie-Rock. Über diesen Klangteppich legt Owen Williams seine scharf beobachteten, oft melancholischen Texte, die zwischen Selbstironie, Enttäuschung und emotionaler Verletzlichkeit pendeln. Mit Songs wie ,Round The Bend", ,Duped" und ,I Don't Know How It Works" gelingt The Tubs eine faszinierende Mischung aus Folk-Rock, Jangle-Pop und Post-Punk, die gleichermaßen zeitlos und modern wirkt und ,Dead Meat" zu einem der bemerkenswertesten Gitarrenalben seines Jahrgangs macht.

The hardest part of ending is starting again.

After a seven-year hiatus following the devastating loss of their beloved bandmate, LINKIN PARK’S remaining members struggle to find their way forward. Their shared history and enduring friendship, combined with the fresh perspective of two new band members spark a renewed creative energy that leads them on a transformative journey of artistic reinvention.

Following the band from intimate 2022 studio sessions through their explosive November 15, 2024 FROM ZERO album release and concert in São Paulo, the film UNSHATTER weaves together rare vault footage, electrifying performances from sold-out shows, and candid interviews with band members and fans—capturing the raw, honest story of what it means to start over.

This accompanying Film Soundtrack (Live in São Paulo) features transcendent performances of songs spanning their entire career, including exclusive recordings not experienced in the film.

Debout album by Day of Protest Records. Old school, mental and chamanic tribe for hearers and dancers.

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.

Issued on Crystal Clear vinyl is Max Richter’s emotive and minimal score to Damon Lindelof’s TV series about a post-apocalyptic global event where 2%

of the world’s population disappears without explanation. Richter’s approach explores the feelings of the protagonist’s family, the Garveys, through intimate,

small scale music. He tackles this psychological landscape by bringing a ritual quality to the score, while themes of departure and loss are represented by

a sense of sonic decay, relying on the instrumentation of a few sustained tones on pianos, harps and celesta.

Max Richter is a classically trained composer that defies boundaries. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music and finishing his studies under the tutelage

of avant-garde composer Luciano Berio in Florence, Richter’s career has followed many paths. His musical output ranges from ballets

(Wayne MacGregor’s Infra), reinventions of classical works (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons), collaborations with The Future Sound Of London, Roni Size and

Vashti Bunyan to writing scores for film and TV (Waltz With Bashir, Lost and Found, Last Days on Mars) and solo work.

„Ein bisschen Frieden“, „Flieg nicht so hoch, mein kleiner Freund“, „Papillon“, „Ein leises Lied“, „Mit dir vielleicht“, „Allein in Griechenland“ oder „Ich bin zurück“. Diese Hits von Nicole kennt wohl jeder und kann jeder mitsingen.

Nicole ist die die Grande Dame der deutschen Popschlagerszene, seit vielen Jahren auf den größten, schillerndsten Bühnen unterwegs. Aber sie liebt auch die Zurückgezogenheit, um als klassische Singer-Songwriterin an ihrer Musik zu arbeiten. Sie schafft es ehrliche Einsichten und pures Gefühl, in bewegende Songs zu übersetzen, die gerade durch diesen Tiefgang so faszinierend und zeitlos sind.

Vor allem bleibt sie sich treu und weiß ihren unverkennbaren Sound immer wieder ganz behutsam neu und weiter zu denken: Unaufgeregt und immer absolut nah am eigenen Leben, gewährt sie Einblicke in ihr Leben und ihre Weltsicht - passend zu Ihrem schweren Kampf gegen die Krankheit. Sie möchte Mut machen und zeigen, dass es sich lohnt zu kämpfen, auch gegen eine scheinbar nicht zu besiegende Krankheit.

„Ein bisschen Frieden“ bescherte Nicole Millionenverkäufe und Top-Platzierungen in ganz Europa. In den vier Jahrzehnten, die seit diesen ersten Sensationserfolgen der Euro-Gold-Single vergangen sind, folgten zwei Dutzend weitere Longplayer, für die sie gleich 11 Goldene Stimmgabeln sowie 17-mal den ersten Platz bei der ZDF-Hitparade gewann. Auf die Zweitplatzierung beim World Popular Song Festival in Tokio (1983) folgten zudem ein ECHO-Pop in den Neunzigern, mehrfach die Goldene Europa und 2017 der smago! Award.


2024 feierte Nicole Ihren 60. Geburtstag und setzte diesen Trend fort. Das Album „Carpe Diem“ gilt als eines ihrer Besten und wurde mit einem Chart-Eintritt gekürt.

Stillstand hat es für Nicole nie gegeben – auch 2026, nach 45 Jahren auf der Bühne, nicht. Bereits die erste Single „Ich will mehr“ machte deutlich, wohin die Reise geht: nach vorne. Mit ihrem neuen Album „Meine Schätze“ blickt Nicole auf ihre außergewöhnliche Karriere zurück und setzt gleichzeitig ein kraftvolles Zeichen für Aufbruch, neue Wege und echte Lebensfreude.

„Meine Schätze“ produziert von ihrem kongenialen Produzententeam – Achim Meier, Zoran Grujovski und Jens Carstens, ist dabei kein klassisches Best-of-Album. Stattdessen hat Nicole ganz persönliche Songperlen aus 45 Jahren ausgewählt – Lieder, die sie geprägt, begleitet und inspiriert haben. Dazu gehört auch ihre gefühlvolle Interpretation des Don-McLean-Klassikers „And I Love You So“.
Teilweise neu arrangierte Akustikversionen verleihen den Songs eine besondere Intensität und zeigen ihre emotionale Tiefe ebenso wie ihre zeitlose Kraft. Gemeinsam mit musikalischen Weggefährten und Freunden wie Heinz Rudolf Kunze, John Kelly, Johnny Logan, Nino de Angelo und Mickie Krause entstand ein Album, das Mut macht, nach vorne zu blicken und das Leben bewusst zu genießen. Diese positive Energie trägt Nicole mit ihrer unverwechselbaren Stimme – kraftvoll, klar und berührend wie selten zuvor. Eine Nicole, die viele überraschen wird.

Die Botschaften der Songs haben auch nach 45 Jahren nichts von ihrer Aktualität verloren. Sie stehen für Hoffnung, Zuversicht und die Überzeugung, dass gute Musik Generationen verbindet.

Musikalisch präsentiert sich „Meine Schätze“ in einem modernen, frischen Soundgewand. Gefühlvolle Streicher des F.A.M.E.'S. Skopje Studio Orchestra treffen auf einen atmosphärischen Mix aus Folk, Pop und Schlager – eingängig, emotional und voller Tiefe. Ein Klangbild, das bewegt und lange nachhallt.
Besonders bemerkenswert: Die Produktion setzt bewusst auf echte, handgemachte Musik. Statt künstlicher Intelligenz stehen hier authentische Musikerinnen und Musiker, echte Instrumente und ehrliches musikalisches Handwerk im Mittelpunkt – ein klares Bekenntnis zu Qualität, Leidenschaft und echter Emotion.

Sunburst Orange w/ Turquoise Vinyl, limitiert auf 500 Exemplare. Emma Ruth Rundles "These Killing Times" ist mitreißend, emotional und voller anti-patriarchaler feministischer Wut. Das sechste Studioalbum der Multi-Instrumentalistin, Songwriterin und multidisziplinären Künstlerin ist eine reaktive Anthologie, voller Energie, Lebensfreude und Widerstand; es stellt uns Fragen nach unseren Absichten und den Rollen, die wir in den Gemeinschaften spielen, in denen wir leben, und danach, wie wir dem Würgegriff des Kapitalismus begegnen wollen. Schlaflose Nächte, Momente des Grauens und Zeiten der Qual könnten über eine Zeitleiste der jüngsten gesellschaftspolitischen Ereignisse gelegt werden, um die Entstehung von "These Killing Times" nachzuzeichnen: die zunehmende Macht des christlichen Nationalismus, der groteske Zirkus des politischen Diskurses und das damit verbundene ontologische Unbehagen. Aber es gibt auch Liebe - als Balsam und Stärkungsmittel, als Mittel zur Flucht. Das Verlangen nach Gemeinschaft und Verbundenheit, während man mit den gewalttätigsten Seiten der Menschheit konfrontiert ist, bleibt eine ungelöste Spannung. Während sie Anfang 2025 aus der Ferne die verheerenden Auswirkungen einer weiteren Klimakatastrophe beobachtete, reflektierte Emma über die Wurzeln der systemischen Probleme, die sich direkt in so viele katastrophale globale Ereignisse niederschlagen, und traf die bewusste Entscheidung, ein hoffnungsvolles Album zu schaffen. Wo äußere Kräfte sie dazu verleiten wollten, sich nach innen zu wenden, in Richtung Isolation und Hoffnungslosigkeit, streckte sie sich stattdessen nach außen, um ein Album zu schaffen, das den Schmerz anerkennt, aber als Antwort darauf sowohl Gemeinschaft als auch Widerstandskraft bietet.

Samosa Records brings the heat just in time for the summer months with Volume 3 of the electrifying ‘Earth, Wind & Funk’ series – landing a slick four tracker that will relieve you of your socks and undergarments…

Kicking Vol.3 off is Roberto Telll with ‘It’s Magic’ – an unstoppable, bass driven leviathan of a track with perfectly balanced vocals and groovy, punchy beats. ‘It’s Magic’ straddles that sweet spot of disco flavour expertly infused with a peppery funk spice. Mesmerising.

Track 2 sees the welcome return of label favourites and fellow Italian groove machine Dirtyelements with ‘Get On Down’ (De Gama Re-Groove). The mid-tempo calypso rhythm on this slice of leg-wobbling perfection is outrageously infectious. Dirtyelements has yet another solid, stomping disco builder bursting out of the lab with a mission to cause mayhem.

On Side B, Marco Corona swoops in with his 126bpm sonic torpedo ‘Eat Me!’ From the start, ‘Eat Me!’ drums its way into your subconscious with a powerful bass drum and tribal tinted percussion. Before you know it, you’re over the border into house territory – expertly picked vocal loops and builds make this one insanely irresistible.

Closing out the EP with ‘Hey Jee’ is Italian producer extraordinaire Frank Virgilio. Step into Mr Virgilio’s taxi whilst he whisks you through downtown Manhattan en route to the best night out in town. Soaring strings, slick bass work and nimble beats are the dress code – but, don’t worry, Frank always gets you in.

Raising the Samosa bar yet again, ‘Earth, Wind & Funk Vol. 3’ is a cool antidote for those hot summer nights under the stars – best served with your favourite cocktail.

Chopping Mountain, das neue Album von Ibibio Sound Machine, ist die bislang deutlichste Umsetzung der langjährigen Mission des Londoner Kollektivs, Liebe, Einheit und Widerstand durch Musik zu fördern. Es ist das sechste Album der Band in voller Länge und das erste, bei dem Max Grunhard seit ,Doko Mien" aus dem Jahr 2019 als Produzent mitwirkt. Nach ihrem von Hot Chip produzierten Durchbruch ,Electricity" (2022) und dem düstereren, clubbigen Einschlag des von Ross Orton produzierten ,Pull the Rope" (2024) fühlt sich ,Chopping Mountain" an, als stamme es direkt aus den Herzen und Erfahrungen der von Eno Williams und Grunhard angeführten Band. Williams ist wie immer eine Sirene - eine Frontfrau, wie sie nur einmal in einer Generation vorkommt, deren Ruf, sowohl auf die Tanzfläche als auch nach einer besseren Zukunft, unmöglich zu widerstehen ist. Wie sie das macht, ist ein Rätsel. Nimm zum Beispiel einen Song wie ,Return to Sender". Inspiriert von einem Autounfall, bei dem sie spürte, wie ihr das Lenkrad buchstäblich aus den Händen sprang - was sie mit ,einem spirituellen Angriff durch unsichtbare Kräfte" verglich -, ist der Track ein kraftvoller, kathartischer Rager, ein Ganzkörper-Workout und eine lautstarke Ablehnung des Bösen in mehreren Sprachen, Englisch und ihrer Muttersprache Ibibio. Sie ist natürlich kaum allein am Fuße des ,Chopping Mountain". Ibibio Sound Machine - Grunhard (Saxophon, Keyboards), Alfred Bannerman (Gitarre), PK Ambrose (Bass, Keyboards), Joseph Amoako (Schlagzeug), Afla Sackey (Percussion), Scott Baylis (Trompete, Keyboards) und Tony Hayden (Posaune, Synth) - sind übernatürlich eingespielt und schöpfen aus ihren Wurzeln und Inspirationen in Highlife, Disco, Afrobeat, Funk, Post-Punk und Electropop, um um ihre Stimme herum gewaltige Klangkathedralen zu errichten. Vor dem Hintergrund einer entmutigenden Welt bleiben Ibibio Sound Machine hoffnungsvoll, auf der Suche nach Bewusstsein und Verbundenheit. Sie setzen den Weg fort, den sie erstmals auf ,Pull the Rope" eingeschlagen haben: Viele Songs auf ,Chopping Mountain" entstanden aus Jam-Sessions, bei denen sie sich auf einen Groove, ein Instrument oder einen Text konzentrierten. Auf ,Concept of Love" formen sie einen Afro-Disco-Song, auf ,Love" vertiefen sie das Konzept und liefern ein ätherisches Stück Highlife. Bei ,Give Me Peace" ist sogar Dele Sosimi von Fela Kutis Egypt 80 zu hören. Diese berauschende Mischung aus unterschiedlichen Stilen und Herkunftsorten verschmilzt über das gesamte ,Chopping Mountain", wobei die Songs darin vereint sind, dass sie die schärfsten Werkzeuge sind, die Ibibio Sound Machine im gegenwärtigen Moment einsetzen können. Sie stellen den Kampf um Freiheit als einen gemeinschaftlichen dar. Der Weg zur Befreiung ist lang und beschwerlich, aber er ist nicht ohne Freude - hier ist ein Album, das vor ihr nur so strotzt.

Donkey Inching', the Cellophane Suckers' ninth studio album, is set for release in September 2026. Unwavering and stubborn as a donkey, the Cellophane Suckers follow their very own path at their very own pace. The band, decried as "lead-swallowing" high-speed rock 'n' rollers, stoically let chords linger and celebrate feedback, reducing rather than harmonising, then picking up the speed when you least expect it and slowing down shortly afterwards to roll on in a Dadaist fashion the drums become a machine, the guitars increasingly embodying yin and yang. With "Execution Day", they pay tribute to Spencer P Jones, whom one might well cite as a musical influence, and Neil Young is also honoured, whose Wall of Sound goes down well with the Suckers. The fact that a text by Charles Bukowski is also "set to music" may be down to their love for red wine "Donkey Inching"... creeps stoically and stubbornly, like a donkey, into your ears. In July 2026, the Cellophane Suckers will once again be touring Brittany, and in September they'll be hosting a release party at the Sonic Ballroom in Cologne. Further concert weekends are planned for autumn/winter 2026...

Erin LeCount returns with the release of EP PAREIDOLIA, now on limited edition transparent glitter vinyl and with the addition of hotly-anticipated track THE CINEMA.

Available for pre-order on the 1st July at 5PM BST and set for release on 11th September 2026.

Erin LeCount is a 23-year-old self-taught artist and producer. A visionary sonic architect and the sole writer and producer of her music, her sound ranges from luscious baroque-pop arrangements to alluring gothic-pop. At the foreground of her music are diaristic lyrics and captivating synths which offer an enchanting interplay of vulnerability and power. The themes within her music explore everything from identity to relationships and the meaning of life. Erin’s influences include Fiona Apple, Kate Bush, Lorde, Imogen Heap, Charli xcx, and Sampha.

The newest sound suite by Night Foundation, the solo project of visual artist and Noir Age label owner Richard Vergez. Inspired by reality and light. Mental objects that traverse our minds in the form of sound. Things familiar, but new to your ears. Interest in the things left behind. Some were just accidents that fell on the tape. Manipulations of time.

A memory archive containing exposed wires, slightly broken machines, and those slow, morose moments in film or the happy accidents in dreams. Live, improvised sequences for liminal synths, one-string guitar, mutated trumpet, metal objects, drum box. That type of thing. Under the spell of Brussels, Leeds, and Berlin.

Night Foundation is a current collaborator with Little Annie and has releases on labels such as Psychic Liberation, Jungle Gym, and Amulet of Tears.

For fans of:

Bourbonese Qualk, Klaus Schulze, x.y.r., Tomaga

Limited edition cassette with Rispgraph cover and newsprint insert.

Set for release Sept. 11, 2026

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.

For the first time, Fakear has released an album that speaks primarily of humanity, emotions, and himself. Simultaneously imbued with nostalgia and hope, love and anger, loneliness and celebration, it takes the form of a sensitive autobiography rooted in the adolescence of an emo metalhead skater searching for his place in the world. Facing him, the adult writing these tracks tries to convince himself that he has found his balance. If we were to place this album within the current landscape, we would have to look towards the resurgence of bass music and emotional electronic music championed by artists like Fred again.., Four Tet, Bonobo, Sammy Virji, and Camoufly.

The late Matt Watts was an American songwriter/storyteller and performer from Montana residing in Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium. He ws the son of a catholic priest and mother with Cherokee roots in the Carolinas.

He first began using the electric organ to write songs and also recording them on cassettes when he was 11 years old. When he was 13 his mother bought him an electric guitar from a pawn shop in South Carolina. Using a karaoke machine as an amplifier, he began writing and performing and recorded his first album at age 15 in a small studio in Great Falls, Montana.In addition to writing and performing his own music, he began performing and touring with various local Punk & Noise bands.

In 2007 when he was 19, he moved to Antwerp, Belgium. Since his arrival he has worked and performed with Zita Swoon Group, become a member of Rudy Trouvé's I H8 Camera, translated Simon Allemeersch and Rudy Trouvé’s critically acclaimed piece SCREEN into English, formed The Calicos (now Humo’s Rock Rally winners under Quinten Vermaelen) as a one time backing band, worked with many artists and songwriters (including Emillina Torini & The Colorist, The Love Substitutes, ..) and toured and released various widely acclaimed solo albums and a duo album with Nicolas Rombouts on Starman Records.

Highlights for sure were “How Different It Was When You Were There” (2017 - **** De Standaard), produced by Nicolas Rombouts (ex-Dez Mona) and featured guest performances by Nathalie Delcroix and Bjorn Eriksson (Eriksson Delcroix) and Stef Kamil Carlens. Its excellent successor “Queens” (produced by Stef Kamil Carlens and Nicolas Rombouts) featured a.o. the late Sandy Dillon and Jim White.

Sadly Matt Watts passed away too soon in June 2024. “Restless Kind” is the final album readied shortly before his death in a production by Bai Kamara Jr. Another astonishing collection of intimate Americana songs with lyrics as fascinating miniature novels.

Noch bevor Brian Eno dies tat, schuf Mort Garson zurückhaltende Musik. Garson, der an der Juilliard School ausgebildet wurde und in der Nachkriegszeit als Session-Musiker tätig war, komponierte Lounge-Hits, schrieb die Musik zur Mondlandung von 1969 und schuf opulente Arrangements für Doris Day sowie die sehnsuchtsvollen ,Countrypolitan"-Streicherbegleitungen für Glen Campbells ,By the Time I Get to Phoenix". Mitte der 1970er Jahre fegte eine Naturgewalt über die kontinentalen Vereinigten Staaten hinweg, die alle Schichten unabhängig von Rasse und Klasse durchdrang und sich in unseren Köpfen, unseren Häusern und unserer Kultur festsetzte. Es war weder ,Der Exorzist", noch ,Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" oder gar Schlaghosen, sondern ein Buch mit dem Titel ,Das geheime Leben der Pflanzen". Das Werk des Okkultisten/ ehemaligen OSS-Agenten Peter Tompkins und des ehemaligen CIA-Agenten und begeisterten Wünschelrutengängers Christopher Bird schoss an die Spitze der Bestsellerlisten und breitete sich wie Kudzu über das Land aus, bis es zu einem Phänomen wurde. Scheinbar über Nacht blühte das Geschäft mit Zimmerpflanzen in voller Pracht auf, und photosynthetische Eukaryoten aller Gattungen hingen an den Wänden, thronten über Bücherregalen und sonnten sich auf sonnigen Fensterbänken. Die wissenschaftlichen Ansätze hinter ,Secret Life" waren fadenscheinig: Pflanzen können unsere Gebete hören, sie sind Lügendetektoren, sie sind telepathisch, in der Lage, Naturkatastrophen vorherzusagen und Signale aus entfernten Galaxien zu empfangen. Doch das hielt Millionen Menschen nicht davon ab, ihre neuen Pflanzen zu kaufen und zu pflegen. Die vielleicht verrückteste Behauptung des Buches war, dass Pflanzen auch Musik mögen. Und ganz gleich, ob Sie eine Schlangenpflanze, einen Spargelfarn, eine Friedenslilie oder was auch immer bei ,Mother Earth" auf der Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles erwarben (oder eine Simmons- Matratze bei Sears kauften) - Sie nahmen auch ,Plantasia" mit nach Hause, ein Album, das speziell für sie aufgenommen wurde. Mit dem Untertitel ,Warm Earth Music für Pflanzen _ und die Menschen , die sie lieben" war es voller idyllischer, charmanter, kiff-freundlicher und entschieden unwissenschaftlicher Melodien, die auf einem neumodischen Gerät namens Moog eingespielt wurden. Das Album erlangte Jahrzehnte nach seiner Veröffentlichung eine enorme Kult-Anhängerschaft. Die Neuauflage von Sacred Bones aus dem Jahr 2019 trug dazu bei, ,Plantasia" einem breiteren weltweiten Publikum bekannt zu machen, und bescherte Garsons ungewöhnlichem Meisterwerk ein bemerkenswertes zweites Leben. Was einst ein seltsames Relikt der Pflanzenbegeisterung der 1970er Jahre war, ist zu einem geliebten Evergreen geworden, der von einer neuen Generation von Hörern wiederentdeckt und neu geschätzt wird und weit über seinen ursprünglichen Moment hinaus gedeiht, wobei er sich von einer obskuren Kuriosität zu einem geliebten Kultklassiker und einem Meilenstein des Streaming-Zeitalters entwickelt hat. Nun, 50 Jahre nach seiner ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung, markiert ,Plantasia" von Mother Earth einen bedeutenden Jubiläumszeitpunkt. Ein halbes Jahrhundert später hallt es weiterhin nach - eine bleibende Erinnerung an Mort Garsons Fähigkeit, das Synthetische seltsam lebendig und das Skurrile auf merkwürdige Weise tiefgründig wirken zu lassen.

Am 15. Februar 2026 feierte Posaunist und Sänger Nils Landgren seinen 70. Geburtstag – wie es sich für einen der erfolgreichsten europäischen Musiker seines Fachs gehört mit einem oppulenten Orchesteralbum »Love of My Life« und einer Tour durch die großen Konzerthäuser.

ACT-Gründer, Förderer und Freund Siggi Loch machte Nils Landgren ein besonderes Geschenk: Einen Abend in der von ihm kuratierten Reihe »Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic« im großen Saal der Berliner Philharmonie. Im ersten Teil des Konzertes spielten Mitglieder der ACT Family für »Mr. Red Horn«.

Nach der Pause betrat Nils Landgren unter großem Jubel selbst die Bühne – mit einem exklusiven Programm, dass seinem großen Idol und Weggefährten Joe Sample gewidmet war. Mit dabei: Michael Wollny, Lars Danielsson, Wolfgang Haffner, China Moses und Mitglieder der Berliner Philharmoniker mit Arrangements von Magnus Lindgren.

Es wurde eine Soul-Jazz-Party im Klassiktempel, bei der am Ende der ganze Saal tanzte – jetzt nachzuhören auf »Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic – Nils Landgren 70«

2026 Repress

Produced by Marc Mac Marking the 10th anniversary of this series of 'mixtape style', revolutionary and thought provoking albums, Omniverse Records have pressed a short run of never before on Vinyl releases. The complete set of records "It's Right To Be Civil", "Extend The Knowledge", "Message From Soulville" and the new "Generation - X" albums will be available each on single record continuous play vinyl. The albums are a must for the fans of Marc Mac's side projects, each album has a story to tell and the collection makes great listening both musically and subtly informative. This is without doubt for the collectors. Not to be slept on.

5 x LP
60-page hardback book
Black vinyl
Printed labels
Printed inners
Slipcase
A2 poster
Slipmat

Originally released in 1990 by Happy Mondays, Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches captured the chaotic, euphoric spirit of the Madchester movement, blending indie rock, acid house rhythms and funk grooves into a sound that helped reshape British alternative music. Featuring era-defining tracks such as “Step On” and “Kinky Afro,” the record became both a commercial breakthrough and a cultural snapshot of a generation fuelled by dance culture and Northern nightlife.

More than three decades later, its grooves, attitude and genre-blurring production still resonate strongly with contemporary audiences, influencing modern indie and electronic artists alike.

5LP Edition. All original audio remastered from Factory Records master tapes. Includes original album, Hallelujah + Madchester Rave On, Baby Big Head Bootleg Album (Live at Elland Road, 1991), classic and new remixes, 60-page hardback book with brand new essays from James Brown and Central Station designers, fold-out A2 tour poster and Madchester slipmat.

It’s no disrespect to the man to not believe, in part or in whole, every word that Ray Wylie Hubbard writes, sings, or speaks — and frankly, he’d probably respect you a little less if you did. As celebrated songwriters of the outlaw poet/down-home-country-blues persuasion go, Hubbard’s credibility is unimpeachable. And to be fair, even as a somewhat notorious raconteur, his overall truthiness is a lot more bankable than your average politician or fundamentalist grifter.

But fold your cards every time he goes all in across a table from you, or swallow as fact every nugget of wisdom he sharpens into verse or stretches into a yarn without catching the gleam in his eye or wry tell between the lines, and odds are you’ve been played. But honestly, that’s all just part of what makes Hubbard so damn fun. “You know, a lot of artists when they put out a record, they go, ‘This is the best record I’ve done up to this point,’” the Americana legend considers sagely after a pause when asked how to best sum up Reel 2 Reel 4 Real, his 20th album in a recording career stretching back to the mid-70s. “But I’m not going to say this is the best record I’ve done. I’ll say it’s the best record I’ve ever heard.” No matter how many awards and Hall of Fame inductions others might honor him with (he’s a member of both the Austin Music HOF and the Texas Heritage Songwriters HOF), Hubbard never swaggers or sings his own praises without keeping his tongue planted firmly in cheek.

But after brushing aside his bluff with a chuckle, Hubbard gets real. “I am very proud of it,” he answers sincerely. “Everybody that played on it put a lot of work into it, and it just felt right doing it. I’m very grateful.” Set for release August 21, 2026 (with the first taste, “Cassette Mix Tape,” dropping May 29, followed later this summer by a second single, “Dog or Wolf”), Reel 2 Reel 4 Real marks Hubbard’s return after a two-album major-label joyride on Nashville’s Big Machine Records. “They treated me great, and did everything they could,” he says, “but it was kind of limited because I’m an old guy. I’m no longer a country hunk, you know?”

Aufgenommen am 3. Juli 1960 beim legendären Newport Jazz Festival, zeigt At Newport 1960 Muddy
Waters in Höchstform. Begleitet von Otis Spann am Piano, Pat Hare an der Gitarre, Andrew Stevens
am Bass, Francis Clay am Schlagzeug und James Cotton an der Mundharmonika präsentiert Waters eine
mitreißende Performance, die tief in der Tradition des Blues verwurzelt und zugleich erstaunlich modern
klingt.
At Newport 1960 gilt als Meilenstein der Bluesgeschichte. Das Album trug maßgeblich dazu bei, den
Blues einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich zu machen, und festigte Muddy Waters’ Ruf als einer der
Väter des elektrischen Blues. Zu den Höhepunkten zählen Klassiker wie „I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man“,
„Baby, Please Don’t Go“, „Got My Mojo Working“ sowie „Goodbye Newport Blues“ von Langston Hughes.
Erleben Sie den unverwechselbaren Klang eines der bedeutendsten Blues-Labels Amerikas in audiophiler
Qualität – mit der Chess Records Acoustic Sounds Series. Für diese hochwertigen Neuauflagen wurden
klassische Alben und Compilations aus dem Chess-Records-Katalog sorgfältig von den originalen analogen Masterbändern neu gemastert und auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl bei Quality Record Pressings gefertigt. Jede Ausgabe erscheint in einem hochwertigen Tip-on-Gatefold-Cover aus erstklassigem Karton und wird damit
auch höchsten Ansprüchen an Klang und Ausstattung gerecht

Mickey and the band bringing a standout track from their live show to the studio, paying homage to PPU's early catalog, with their version of "Shoot Your Shot", from Donald Burnside and Cardell Funk Machine.

Es sind fünf hektische, chaotische, zermürbende, völlig durcheinander gewirbelte Jahre. Es sind all die mühsamen Missverständnisse einer fünfjährigen Beziehung, verzerrt und zu einer absurden schwarzen Comedy-Miniserie auf Vinyl gedehnt. Es ist der Klang all unserer Streitgespräche, die gleichzeitig erklingen. Es sind mehrere aufeinanderfolgende Sprachnachrichten, die nicht angehört, sondern stattdessen als Transkript gelesen wurden. Es sind fünfzehn Songs des ikonoklastischen Rappers Mike Eagle und des innovativen Produzenten Kenny Segal. Es ist das weltweit erste halb skurrile Trennungsalbum. Es ist "DOOMED!", es ist auch LA. Vielleicht nicht in erster Linie, aber Los Angeles ist tief in der Gegenwart und der Geschichte dieses Albums verwurzelt. Die Geschichte jeder Großstadt ist auch eine Geschichte von Zugezogenen. DJ Premier in New York, Tupac in Kalifornien. Wenn man es aufbaut, werden sie kommen. Mike und Kenny kamen beide als junge, aufstrebende Künstler nach LA, angezogen von der Szene rund um die bahnbrechende Rap-Crew Project Blowed. Sie sind seit fast zwanzig Jahren befreundet - und arbeiten gelegentlich zusammen. Trotzdem ist "DOOMED!" das erste Mal, dass die beiden ein komplettes Werk gemeinsam geschaffen haben. Aber alles geschieht zu seiner Zeit, und das Schicksal hat sie genau in dem Moment zusammengeführt, der es dem Duo ermöglichte, etwas Außergewöhnliches zu schaffen. Mike, der gerade eine Reihe von Alben mit mehreren Produzenten hinter sich hatte und das Ende einer turbulenten Beziehung verarbeitete, brauchte eine kreative Katharsis. Kenny hingegen hatte sich nach einer Reihe von hochgelobten Kollaborationen - nicht nur mit Rappern wie billy woods und K-the-I??? - sondern auch mit dem Jazz-Trio Human Error Club und dem bluesigen Indie-Rocker Benjamin Booker - auf seine nächste Herausforderung festgelegt. "In den letzten Jahren machte Kenny sehr deutlich, dass er nicht einfach weiterhin ein oder zwei Beats für meine Projekte beisteuern wollte; er wollte etwas aufbauen", erklärt Open Mike Eagle. "Ich konnte ihn davon überzeugen, mir ein paar Beats für Neighborhood Gods Unlimited zu überlassen, mit der Maßgabe, dass wir uns als Nächstes auf unser gemeinsames Projekt konzentrieren würden. Dann zerbrach meine Beziehung, gerade als wir mit der Arbeit begannen, und ich dachte mir: Perfekt, dazu habe ich eine Menge zu sagen."

House is the Religion. The DJ is my Deacon. The Music is my God and James Bangura is cool af.

Genuine, passionate, clear, authentic and real…. He isn’t trying, he just is. And his music is the same. It’s fucking cool. It’s real and authentic and it just is James Bangura. So it’s a real honour to add him to the Shall Not Fade roster; from Techno to Jungle to House and everything between the DC native can extract the true essence of a genre and simultaneously make it his own & pay homage to its roots.

So on Jack Sermon there’s no surprise when he flexes a seemingly generationally inherited knack for all things House (and Techno) and delivers four tracks of raw, real, genuine House music. OG shit.

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‘House is the Religion, and the DJ is my Deacon, but the music is my God” says the Evangelical vocal on title track ‘Jack Sermon’. Never has there been a more aptly named track…This is a jack sermon… an OG inspired Chi town cut channeling early house music’s soulful beginnings delivered with straight up jacking house beat offset with laidback dusty dub chords….. We don;t say this lightly but we’re calling anthem on this one.

‘Scat Pack’ takes a more percussive and drum forward House motif. Thunderous kicks tease techno but this is still house, NY at heart complete with voguing diva vocals . Blown out and choppy we could say ‘this could have been ripped from a late 90’s club recording on a lost tape’ but that would do disservice to the precise but invisible fusion that's been laid down here..

‘Funk To Berlin’ opens the flip side and in Bangura’s journey to explore classic forms of house and techno, this track may well have taken root from Dub techno pioneers from the past. Deep dub chords and deeper subs lead the track but that jacking percussion makes this more than homage. Machine Funk, Machine soul. AA side business.

‘The Green Line’ closes out the EP in style.. rolling it out with skittering synths that work like percussion, ethereal pads and a faint vocal ‘Chicago’ spiralling into itself making this track one you can get lost in. Some might argue that this one is techno but who cares. It’s the journey not the destination. Two tickets please.

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If you don’t know James Bangura’s music already (or even if you do) do some digging.. Look for releases on Mister Saturday Night, K7! and Floorspeed and check his output as part of “Black Rave Culture” with Amal and Nativesun and as a member of Groovedeep with Toronto’s Ciel and fellow DC native Jackson Ryland.

To close, we’ll leave you with this note from James……. told he is cool af.

House music, to me, exists on a wide spectrum. I’m inspired by its many forms: stripped-back minimalism, percussive drive, hypnotic textures, and soulful undertones. Rather than confining myself to one approach, I treat each track as an exploration—testing structure, pushing rhythm, and allowing subtle details to carry emotional weight. The studio becomes a space where groove and atmosphere meet intention. This body of work highlights that process. It reflects how I balance technical precision with feel, tension with release, and tradition with forward motion. Every decision—from drum programming to spatial design—is part of shaping a sound that feels honest and instinctive. - James Bangura

Power Electronics, for the most part, stays within its lanes of transgressive misanthropy, with a blackened explosiveness of tortured psyches and nightmarish reflections for the darkest facets of the human condition. Since Whitehouse introduced the phrase, concept, and framework to Power Electronics, its authorship has been primarily male. But within the past decade or so, a diverse web of voices - female, feminist, non-binary, queer - has thrust the PE aesthetic beyond that of the tortured male artist. As such, the notion that Power Electronics is synonymous with true crime worship, political ugliness, degraded sexual fantasies, and misogynistic perspectives has been somewhat dispelled (though many still pursue such ignoble agendas).

Enter Ester Kärkkäinen. For close to a decade now, she has developed her own voice, tread her own path, and exorcised her own demons in her unique take on Power Electronics, recording as Himukalt. A Power Electronics album based on the collapse of a relationship is probably not as uncommon as one might think. The sexual violence portrayed through Power Electronics may very well have had its origins in the heartbroken, scorned, or otherwise romantically mistreated. Kärkkäinen gives us two very different perspectives on these themes through two rather different sounding records. There is Last Wish from the plague year of 2020, and there is Torn Asunder: The Half Girl, recorded in 2019. Where the 2020 record is a long-form fever dream of the erotic gone horribly wrong and turned morally questionable, Torn Asunder is the more fractured, yet more concise extrapolation of Kärkkäinen's anger, horror, confusion, and depression from the end of a sexless relationship. She nakedly reveals a psyche that has been shattered, scarred, and broken as she alternates between deadpanned proclamations and barked sermons amidst the harrowing articulation of heavy industrial electronics, laced with shrill feedback tones, disjointed rhythms, and harsh noise outbursts. Torn Asunder stands as a significant milestone in Himukalt's catalogue, but remains one her most rarely heard documents given it was originally published as part of Helen Scarsdale's instantly out of print, 10 cassette On Corrosion boxset. With this vinyl reissue, Torn Asunder can get a proper re-evaluation as one of her strongest works.

Hailing from Las Vegas, Himukalt began in 2016 as a vehicle for Kärkkäinen's noise constructs and crude programming that found references to Puce Mary, Anenzephalia, and Atrax Morgue’s Mörder Machine. Since then, she has maintained a manic schedule with releases for Tesco Organisation, Cloister Recordings, Old Europa Cafe and her own EK Verlag. With the release of Torn Asunder, Helen Scarsdale terminates the mission for the On Corrosion reissue campaign.

Within the broad church of metal and its many offshoots – rock, doom, stoner and all the rest – it remains a minor thrill to stumble across a group who seem to exist at a slight tangent to everything else. Crumbling Ghost is one such anomaly. Crumbling Ghost are not newcomers. They've been operating for some time, releasing records sporadically, Four' is in fact their fourth release. Along the way they've accumulated a fervent coterie of followers, not to mention the occasional nod of approval from tastemakers such as Stuart Maconie, Stewart Lee and Tom Ravenscroft. And though they've appeared at Roadburn, shared stages with Hawkwind and even Damo Suzuki, they remain (possibly by design) curiously under the radar.
The group's core idea is deceptively simple: traditional folk material refracted through the haze and heft of heavy, fuzzy stoner rock with a chunk of psyche and a smattering of doom. But crucially, this is done without the costumery and theatrical tics that often accompany such collisions. No mock pagan pageantry, no graveyard cosplay, no cartoon Satanism.
What Crumbling Ghost latch onto is not folk as a museum piece, but as a lived experience, the dramas rooted in the culture, stories, and daily lives of ordinary people, the folklore, the tales of love and death, murder and adultery, freedom and oppression. Singer Katie Harnett says. "Doting mothers, possessive, violent partners, vulnerable women, seasonal workers and Royal scandals this album is our representation of the trials and tribulations of human existence and universal experiences that still feel relevant today.

Guitarist John adds. "Themes of murder, betrayal, loss, jealousy, and love are found across the record. In particular, the songs of Martin Carthy have been a particular source of inspiration".
The result is a set of murder ballads, supernatural reckonings and cautionary tales, all wrapped in slabs of heavy, thumping fuzz and atmospheric sonics. Harnett's voice sits at the centre: unmistakably folk rooted, but shorn of prettification, melodic yet capable of real bite.

The album opener 'Bows Of London' is a murder ballad of sisterly hatred and grim sibling rivalry, centred on a haunted fiddle fashioned from a dead sister's bones. The loping relentless, hypnotic backing chillingly and perfectly accompanies the narrative. Of course, the story doesn't end well. 'Bill Norrie' follows, a hooky melody propelled by an insistent bassline and a haunting psych tinged haze punctured with sheets of noise.. The story of young Bill Norrie who sends a token to a married woman, whose jealous husband beheads him, without knowing he was his wife's son from an earlier affair. An instrumental palate cleanser arrives in the shape of 'Valtz Efter Tor Lohne' a Norwegian traditional the band jokingly describe as a "banger".
Then we have 'Lovely Joan' which offers a rare note of sly triumph: a quick witted woman outmanoeuvres a predatory nobleman, escaping with his ring and his horse. Muscular riffs give this tale of empowerment a welcome sense of teeth. 'Gower Wassail' is a traditional Welsh folk tune that captures the raucous spirit of communal ritual, noise making and drink fuelled hope for a good harvest. Captured perfectly here by CG complete with wah wah guitar and a drunken groove catching the song's celebratory chaos. Then we have a little gem in 'Last Of All Sleep' , an original band composition and a genuine highlight: a heavy lidded, shoegaze tinged folk reverie, equal parts distortion and delicacy. It's a drop-dead gorgeous shoegaze-tastic psychedelic grunge mini epic. The album closer 'The Unquiet Grave' is a very apt place to finish. It's about a young man whose constant grief at the death of his true love disturbs her eternal sleep so she cannot rest. Even though the playout on this track, complete with a demonic repeated riff and feedback feels suitably bleak, even this song allows a glimmer of release ... we think.
And there we have it, 7 songs, 7 worlds, all honed to perfection by producer Wayne Adams (Green Lung/Big Lad) that will reward every repeated listen.

Folk and metal/heavy rock do have a connection of course, just look at Green Lung and their 'folk horror' infused musical universe, but Crumbling Ghost are a very different beast.
'Four' amply and beautifully demonstrates that when it comes to 'folk horror' there's nothing quite as horrible as folk ... Here, the horror such as it is, and it must be said, the moments of light, comes not from theatrics, but from the songs themselves – which, after all, is where it's always lived.
Crumbling Ghost are John Mosley – Guitar / Donny Hopkins – Guitar / Ruth O’Loughlin – Bass / Katie Harnett – Vocals / Matthew Atkins- Drums.