Originally released on CD in Japan in 2003, as a love letter & thank you to his Japanese fans. Recorded at home, produced, engineered & mixed by Matthew Sweet (bass, guirars & vocals) with the classic ‘Girlfriend’ era lineup of Ric Menck (drums), Greg Leisz (guitars) and the genius electric lead guitar of Television’s Richard Lloyd. The sleeve art is by renowned artist Yoshimoto Nara. In the liner notes, Sweet describes the album's title as an attempt at reverse English: "If I did it correctly, the title should seem a little strange or wrong, but still meaningful! The true definition is supposed to be a 'love you' life, one devoted to loving someone or something, even life itself!"
“an excellent modern guitar pop album, filled with great hooks and harmonies and irresistible ringing six-strings”
Allmusic
“Kimi crackles with Girlfriend‘s energy, as Lloyd and Sweet’s guitars provide antagonistic foils as they did more than a decade before on cuts like “Tonight We Ride.”
Rolling Stone
Revered worldwide for their love-fueled, technically adventurous all-vinyl b2b DJ sets, Maya Bouldry-Morrison (Octo Octa) and Eris Drew conceived Alchemical Sisters as a vehicle for creating music together. Alchemical Sisters describe themselves as "psychedelic chaos, acid rollers, and big beat, channeled through hardware instruments and animated by love, touch, rhythm, and spiritual fire." Their self-titled debut double album is forthcoming on Interdimensional Transmissions this October, just in time for Samhain XXVI. Alchemical Sisters was recorded in the forests of New Hampshire by Maya and Eris and mixed by BMG in Detroit in the Interdimensional Laboratory on high end hardware for ecstatically euphonic results. In the cold winter months, Maya and Eris emptied the master bedroom of their forest cabin and sealed it as an alchemical retort--a hermetic vessel in which a higher form could emerge. For a year they slept on the studio floor while, in white nightgowns and under the spell of mushrooms, they brought dulcimers and ancestral instruments into communion with turntables, twentieth-century machines, and new technologies. Alchemical Sisters is the substance crystallized within that vessel by their secret fire. They then brought their music to BMG in Detroit to meticulously mix their vision through hardware, in a high end studio environment. For two weeks at the height of winter, we shut out the world and focused on fusing their sonic vision within the Interdimensional Laboratory. Setting up their computer and sound card, BMG processed their tracking sessions through a high end mixing console, using transformers and tubes and the special properties of many machines to create a solid visceral sound out of a dream, to create a powerful euphonic ecstatic experience from their highly personal highly evolved music, whose sources could be both carnal and celestial. It was important to have their music connect before thought, to feel both the power and the gentleness of their sound, to have the texture and presence of their myriad influences unconsciously affect you. Watching them work together, the patience, the focus, the rigorous thought and discipline, the love, the space and the dedication afforded to each other was a genuinely inspiring thing to witness. They truly are Alchemical Sisters, and we are extremely proud to share their debut album on IT, and their debut performance at IT's Samhain XXVI. It truly is a loop point in time, a full circle moment.
Mihail A. Popov is a Russian with two decades in the game behind him, partly under his given name, but half of that time has also seen him work as I Gemin. Now he lands on Deeppa Records with a conceptual EP "built around depth, patience and underground exploration." The aim is to explore all new musical ground and follow newly emerging paths, and the result is a fine four-tracker. 'Like The Star' is a lush, deep nu-disco jam, 'Love Undercover' has a seductive slide to the live-sounding drums and playfulness in the horns, while 'Terra Incognita' brings jazzy chords and a balmy late-night warmth. 'Melancholy' gets more heavy and roughed up with smudged neo-soul and r&b samples, making it a romantic affair. Kid Sublime and 6th Borough Project drop remixes that bring more club-ready grooves and complete a superb EP.
Swedish visionary Boko Yout is releasing their long-awaited debut album GUSTO, out via Hoopdiggas Recordings.
GUSTO is Boko Yout’s debut album – a kaleidoscopic journey through memory, trauma, humour and healing. Framed as a fictional therapy programme led by the eccentric Dr. Gusto, each track represents a confrontation with a different shadow of the self: unspoken fears, inherited burdens, or unresolved inner conflicts. But GUSTO is not just about darkness – it’s also about hope, longing and the light that makes those shadows visible in the first place.
Boko Yout weaves together raw emotion, spiritual symbolism and bold experimentation. Referencing vodun philosophy, Jungian archetypes and post-genre production, they draws inspiration from artists like Yves Tumor, Odd Future and LCD Soundsystem. The result is a debut that feels more like a sonic manifesto – driven by love, intention and a deep commitment to artistic freedom.
Hackney based Hidden Sounds Records launches – with support from Emotional Recordings – it’s Dark Times label by diving in the the music of Alkahest, a short-lived project from Canadian brother-production duo Lex and Rew MacCrimmon.
For the second EP, the Twisted Up release is re-examined, with a tweaked track list to represent the times and how their sound continues in relevance today. Released in 2 years (1994-1996), Alkahest was the darker side of the MacCrimmon’s productions and allowed them to focus on twisted, psychedelic electronics, away from their main Legion Of Green Men project.
Self-described music obsessives from a young age – lying under a home-made harpsichord, with their heads in the resonator box was an early indication of a love outside the norm. Experiments with forks and pencils on strings – totally unaware of the likes John Cage – highlighted an interest in sound from unusual places.
Anything with a synth notably grabbed their attention, going to the public library to take out BBC Sound Effects and Morton Subotnick albums, sat alongside contacting European mail order catalogues, to grow their knowledge and record collections.
As early productions formed, working under the sound production name of Incarnate, their love of art was just as influential as music. The likes of M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali, Bridget Riley and the Op Art movement, was all part of brothers in their progression to form the Post Contemporary label in 1992.
Following the DIY ethos of the music they had long been buying, their “indie ethic” influences all coalesced in the label, not conforming to one sound or tempo, placed them within the electronic music coming from Canada, but also, out on their own.
Twisted Up expands the Alkahest sound, the title cut a stomping anthem, it’s unrelenting drums and lifting strings a call to arms. The compelling Shake arrives, acid techno rewiring synapsis, dub static between the beats.
On the flip, Twisted Another is just that, a reversion excursion, pushing the psychedelic synthesis to the forefront, stabs call and respond. Closing the EP with the perfectly titled, Kiss My Acid, a journey of industrial bang, reflexed, Alkahest showing their sound is pulsating, widescreen overtures.
PARKWEST intorduces a brand new collaboration between label head Mark Seven and the LA-based recording artist Jamma-Dee. Together working under the name MACH-JAMM.
Four cuts here, all unique and special in their own way. The original version of Dedication, is a beautiful Burrell inspired gem, with a floating flute and Rhodes chords over a thumpin rhythm.
The NYC mix takes it where you might expect, to the classic sound of New York City house! The drums snap and the rhythms bounce.
On the flip Good Love is a Gospel inspired groove to raise the spirit with uplifting organ stabs and vocals. We finish we we began in deep NJ style, as Lost in the Maze pairs hypnotic vocal chant and horn licks over a rock solid bass.
The high-energy momentum continues with Whodamanny’s new double single on his own Biloba Catalogue. Capturing the post-summer ache of an obsessive love, "Obsesiòn" channels that deep-rooted Southern intensity, where obsession isn't a flaw, but a vital, positive drive to love endlessly. Turning up the heat, "Corazón Caliente" hits with a raw, sweat-soaked proto-house rhythm and heavy workstation brass stacks built to set hearts on fire. On the flip side, both tracks receive DJ-ready treatments with the specially named dub version "Dub Pasión" and the instrumental take "Sueño De Verano."
Deep, deep stuff on the debut album from K Wata. Long and dubwise, dark and detailed. With bass that fills and warms a space.
All noir. Cast shadows against the wall. Weight being shifted and distributed with singularly delicate poise, like a knife being balanced on the end of a finger.
There’s a silvery, loose flow state to this record that maybe reveals the way some tracks were first written to be deployed live at Sustain Release 2025. Then taken back to the lab and tightened up further into the album’s final form, with beautiful mixing work between Kenzo and Chris Botta.
With that in mind, Give U Space unfolds slowly and fluidly, giving the listener the chance to access and open up to the deepness of the sound, being led down a path. It rolls and builds momentum and groove, and ratchets tensions up toward peaks of energy "Whisper Dub" and "There Will Be Love".
The tunes feel architectural. Rooms to be in and settle into. Simultaneously stripped back and then etched with neat little details and characterful or atmospheric sound choices. The silhouette of slo mo Memphis and Houston trap is a leading influence, especially with the drums. Mixing with bits of click’n’cut sampling and psychoacoustic tricks, the penumbra of dub techno and drowsier dubstep, and SG’s soft vocals rising in the ether.
The presence and inspiration of the sound system is obvious in all of Kenzo’s work, the music can rattle when spun up louder or blended into the club. But K Wata’s uniqueness and signature comes from an often equally inward facing quality, touched by distance and longing and a sort of chiaroscuro incandescent light set up.
Written and produced by K Wata.
Mixed by K Wata and Christopher Botta at Fer Sound Studio.
Xzibit – Kingmaker markiert die lang erwartete Rückkehr der Westcoast-Legende, sein erstes Album seit 2012. Vollgepackt mit Heavyweight-Kollaborationen präsentiert Kingmaker Branchengrößen wie Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Redman, Royce Da 5'9", Ty Dolla $ign und viele mehr. Mit einer knallharten Produktion und Xzibits charakteristischer, messerscharfer Darbietung verbindet dieses Album rohe Lyrik mit erstklassigen Beats und bekräftigt Xzibits Status als Hip-Hop-Powerhouse. Kingmaker ist ein Muss für Shops und Fans gleichermassen und wird in der gesamten Kulturszene für Aufsehen sorgen.
Paraiso has been doing vital work in Portugal - documenting the underground dance scene's history and pioneers in various mediums while also showcasing equally brilliant artists from newer generations. And they've been doing it for a decade now: we all know that a label dedicated to its local scene through and through is something rare and should be celebrated. This compilation 'X - 10 Years of Underground House Music from a Paradise Called Portugal' is a manifestation of that cross-generational spirit, with ten never-before-heard pieces of music by initiators and legends like The Advent alongside more recent veterans like Roundhouse Kick and Vil or younger talent like Phoebe or Van Der. Things start off with Salbany's 'Trax 10', oozing a techno elegance and irrefutable groove that wonderfully portrays the spirit of the Lisbon sound: raw yet ethereal, disarming in its simplicity while containing rave, romance and rhythmic complexities. Label founders Maria Amor & Shcuro firmly carry on the torch with 'Intracellular', gelled by dubby washes, syncopated drums, infectious rhythmic sense and layered with a melodic vocal motif. Vil's 'Cave' brings in stone-cold tight percussion offset by rich, evocative pads and technoid know-how for days. The Advent steps in with an ode to acid-minimalism, raw and slow-burning, with curious and twisted moments peppered with the skill of an expert. Van Der storms in with a piece of hybrid qualities, impeccably blending a swing onto industrial territories for a hypnotic-yet-banging hands in the air dancefloor moment. Scam Dust (the duo of Tiago and Shcuro, from adjacent generations) picks up on the industrial flavours, adds furious jacking rhythmics and live sonic experimentation that takes us to peak-quality effect and noise manipulation. 'Subvert' follows and goes deeper, as if into the depths of the ocean, with aquatic arpeggios and sparse drums that morph into an 303-driven state of mysterious oceanfloor mania - Roundhouse Kick sending us messages from the South. Violet and her 'Dream Machine' emerge with its mutant noisy motif, delay-drenched percussion and steady beat interrupted by keys, drum variations - and a u-turn to its paranoid loopy beginnings. Phoebe enters the chat and brings sonic sun rays in 'Galaxia 2000', a wide-eyed moment lead by colourful, open synthesisers with gates and filters taking us on a beautiful ride on tense, swingy drum patterns. The tenth track comes from Lisbon's rkeat and is full of closing act ear-candy with its beautifully chiseled, groovy as hell percussion, organic sonics and metallic instruments that seem to announce that the next decade is about to be just as good, if not better than this lovely 2016-2026 stint of boundary and scene-pushing.
Nicolas Balmer reveals the heavy silence of his soul.
Facing his own mirror.
The soundscape unfolds.
Fire sets the tone.
Kindling of the abyss, driven to go on and on.
Passion in his language contains suffering.
A silver lining, found in delicately layered noise.
A myriad of intertwined sounds paint the melodies of a life.
Holding the memories of those who danced with his shadows and light.
Nicolas releases his album “Leben” on Zürich based Subject To Restrictions Discs. While moving between New Wave, Kraut and Electronics, his intuition for ambient oozes from each composition, fast-paced or slow. As Nicolas Balmer lays bare his most intimate sources of inspiration with Leben. He holds nothing back.
The album is shaped by a sense of optimistic melancholy: restless and contradictory, yet full of hope. The music is not about arriving, but about the journey: loss and finding oneself; despair, love, guilt and forgiveness. This is an album that does not seek to explain life, but rather embraces it in all its contradictions.
Nicolas Balmer is a Zurich-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and synthesizer enthusiast who has been exploring contemporary music for over fifteen years. Working across music, theatre and interdisciplinary projects, he moves between genres and forms. His work includes the electronic project Nico Sun, the experimental duo Gūsū with Xueyan Chen, the collaborative project Konstant with Angelo Repetto and Kenel/Sonne. He also composes and produces music for theatre and performance, as well as working in mixing and production. Across his projects, Balmer is driven by raw textures, emotional authenticity and a search for an independent musical language.
Dire Straits' arresting self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk's reign but couldn't have been further removed from the era's slash-and-burn style. Recorded in West London in February 1978, the band's tasteful, jazz-inflected set embraces folk, blues, and pub rock while also tracing a direct line back to the beat-oriented sound of early rock n' roll. Country and roots accents further distinguish the British quartet's stripped-down music from any 1970s peers, as does the transparent production, which has remained revered among audiophiles the world over – and which has never been better than on this meticulous pressing.
Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Dire Straits features natural tonalities, superb balances, you-are-there imaging, deep-black backgrounds, and pristine clarity. Even if you've heard this album hundreds of times before, you've never experienced it with such lifelike sonics and premium richness. This numbered-edition collector's set immerses you within the smoky, laidback atmospherics of every song. This is how all vinyl should sound.
Crucial to every arrangement, Mark Knopfler's winding guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. His intricate playing comes across as if it's being transmitted via his 60s-era Fender Vibrolux amplifier placed right before you. The cleanliness, dimensions, and live feel are that good. His bandmates, too, benefit from the extra groove space afforded by this 45RPM edition. Rhythms skate and swirl; percussive effects resonate with crispness and attack; the leading edges of notes naturally decay.
Dire Straits' strong, well-edited batch of original material further enhances the overall enjoyment and makes the record one whose pleasures go far beyond the organic sonics. Just as Knopfler's narratives pour forth with poetic and surrealist texts, the musical settings – an intoxicating combination of easygoing shuffles, back-hall boogies, and pop-honed ballads – mirror the old-fashioned soulfulness inherent in the classic recordings of the late 50s and early 60s. The lyrics are equally captivating.
Drawing from his time as a youth in Newcastle, Leeds, and London, Knopfler invests tunes with an autobiographical slant and emotional connectivity that become obvious the moment he opens his mouth to sing. "Down to the Waterline," "Wild West End," and "Lions" all feature colloquial touches that add to their reach. By extension, "In the Gallery" functions as a tribute to Leeds sculptor Harry Phillips (father of future Knoplfer collaborator, Steve Phillips) while the record's breakout smash, "Sultans of Swing," pays homage to struggling bar bands.
Through it all, Dire Straits performs with a subtle cool and clever poise that no band ever matched. Just how good is the chemistry? Bob Dylan heard the quartet and invited Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on Slow Train Coming. But even Dylan himself didn't hear Dire Straits sound this magnetic back in its original heyday. Now, everyone can.
After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster I Roy.
The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie’s greatest productions, including ‘Lorna’s Dance,’ a percussion and horns take of ‘Caught You In A Lie’, and a strings cut of the Heptones’ ‘Love Without Feeling.’
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan favorites from season two of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY: Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock, and follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. Drivers: * Focus track scored written, produced and conducted by Emmy Award winner, and 3 time nominee, Jeff Russo (The Man Who Fell To Earth, Legion, Fargo, Oslo, The Night Of, Umbrella Academy, Altered Carbon, Star Trek: Discovery, Short Treks, Strange & New Worlds, Picard series, Love & Death) * Jeff is a founder, lead guitarist and songwriter of 2x Grammy Award nominated, multi platinum rock band, Tonic. * Russo's main theme is a modern adaptation of Alexander Courage's original Star Trek theme, and includes a theremin as a way to foreshadow Courage's vocal arrangement of the theme. * Tracks taken for Season 2, episode 9, titled, Subspace Rhapsody
Demilitarize follows Nazar’s remarkable 2020 debut Guerrilla, which reprocessed Angolan kuduro music with rough textures, field recordings and media clips, telling a personal story of the civil war that exiled his family to Europe, while his father, a rebel General, fought a losing battle in the jungle back home. After Guerrilla, and an extended period of serious illness, now Demilitarize is motivated by a reckoning with mortality and the flowering of new love, turning the ‘rough kuduro’ of Guerrilla inside out.This is a deep sound world, genuinely dreamy, the arc of the album describing shedding the armour of trauma and surrendering to this new situation. A constant and unexpected aspect of Demilitarize is Nazar's gentle, submerged vocal. Insistent and mantra-like, it’s like a cross between Elisabeth Frazer, Arthur Russell and Frank Ocean, and the music is fragile and opaque in response. The rhythms of kuduro are still here,but move around his voice like fish around a swimmer, while precise sound design illuminates from different angles. Chords spiral, ripple and shoot through the beats giving tracks the loosest of settings; songs disassemble; vocals float off-centre.
Includes smash-hit singles "Boys & Girls" "To Be," and "appears"
This smash hit, which catapulted Ayumi Hamasaki to the darling of the era, along with the accompanying single "appears" drew attention for its shocking
cover art, earning it the nickname "white ayu" and "black ayu." A shining milestone in the history of J-pop.
Wax Digits keep rolling out the groovy jams with an eight instalment, and this time it is back to the Various Artists format. Fingerman is the label owner and he goes first here with 'Phunkee Party', a seductive sound with twanging bass riffs and chunky drums under soaring vocals. The talented I Gemin then drops 'Sambalike', a more nuance and subtle groove that worms its way under your skin and then the love gets dialled up on the flip side thanks to Chuggin Edits and 'Anita's Mystery', a blissed-out roller bathed in sun. Smokecloud Records boss Osmose shuts down with some bright, retro disco soul in the form of an edgy rework of 'Ur Luv.'
Breakbeat Paradise Recordings returns with another heavy dose of raw funk and breakbeat pressure in the ever-growing Toxic Funk series – this time bringing together two seasoned groove specialists: The Fritz & Funkanizer. On Toxic Funk Vol. 21 the duo delivers two party-starting cuts packed with vintage breaks, heavyweight basslines and undeniable dancefloor energy.
Opening the A-side, Big Crush rolls in with chunky drums, infectious funk guitars and a soulful groove that feels tailor-made for packed club floors and sweaty late-night sessions. Flipping over to the B-side, Respect 900 turns up the heat with crisp breaks, old-school attitude and a driving funk workout loaded with signature Toxic Funk flavor. Both tracks blend classic funk roots with modern breakbeat production, perfectly capturing the spirit of the series.
With Toxic Funk Vol. 21, The Fritz & Funkanizer continue the tradition of delivering timeless DJ weapons for funk heads, breakbeat lovers and vinyl collectors alike. Another essential 7-inch release from Breakbeat Paradise Recordings, guaranteed to keep the grooves spinning and the dancefloor moving.
Hidden Sounds Record store – with the help of Emotional Recordings – launches the Dark Times label with the first of two club orientated EPs from Canadian brother-production duo Lex and Rew MacCrimmon and their project Alkahest.
Released on their own Post Contemporary label between 1994 – 1996, Alkahest contrasted with the spacious electronica of their influential and still on-going project, Legion Of Green Men.
Growing up in suburban city life in Burlington, Ontario, the MacCrimmon brothers’ interest in music and collecting records started early, always looking for interesting sounds in new places. With a limited local music scene or record stores, the alternative and college radio stations were the only way to discover new music or the type of music they sought.
The German electronic sounds of Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream were early obsessions, alongside Neu, Cluster (& Eno) and the post punk and synth pop emanating from Britain. The Flying Lizards, John Foxx / Ultravox, Gary Numan and The Normal were favourites, before diving into the 80s industrial experiments of Cabaret Voltaire, Severed Heads, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle.
Making their own music soon followed, first experimenting with 4 track cassette and digital delay, drum machines and synths soon followed, steadily building their own studio. All these influences merged in the early 90s with the dawn of house and techno and the progression to start the Post Contemporary label launched in 1992.
With the project Legion Of Green Men achieving early success, their diversion with Alkahest explored a post-industrial techno hybrid. Unsubtle, night music, the rhythm and sonic textures are more prominent over melody.
Contact High covers this Alkahest sound, from the 133 bpm trippy, psychedelics of opener Black Tabs, the acid breaks of Ground Zero or the charging nature of closing Séance 333, where all bets are off – together this 4 track EP perfectly captures the early spirit of Canada’s electronic music scene finding its place in dance culture, from the raves of the Toronto’s outer rim to the beaches of Anjuna.
However, in the title cut Contact High, there is something else happening, as electronic dub is explored, where the space in the music, between the beats, is as important at what happens on the surface. A love of this ethereal feeling would lead the brothers to head further in this direction and here is a perfect example of that early journey.
Step into the backroom of the Bordello, the lights dim and the soundtrack adopts a different tone. L.F.T. leans against the wall. Nestled under his arm, Sonic Boom: four tracks of acid-inflected electro disruption. Love, Fist, Tears is no stranger to the more gnarled side of the machines, and that unadulterated rawness is evident from the needle drop of “Locked in My Head.” From its bent and buckled intro, the track launches a beat that punches before drawing the listener in for more. Vocoder lyrics are mangled with distortion, static soaked chords blighted by corrosive chemicals and industrial decay as the knives are drawn from the outset (and this is only the beginning). Blistered and cracked beats are doused in a pestilent haze for “Las Plagas” and a message of intent is firmly stated: there will be no let up on Sonic Boom, no reprieve. “Ningen” opens the flip. Grisly, petrol smeared beats splutter below a juddering synthline that coils and twists with serpentine menace. A probing tom is lanced before being set alight in the finale. Sinister and unsettling, “Schmutzig Personality” is as physically powerful as it is psychologically gripping. Barrages of drums rain down, barbed snares and sharpened claps, as an assault of acid is further weaponised by machined vocals. L.F.T. doing what he does with an EP that will leave bodies and speakers broken.
Dan Kye is the mysteriously evoked moniker from multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocal sensation Jordan Rakei. The New Zealand-born artist - who now resides in London - presents his first long-player from Dan Kye, ‘Small Moments’, on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section INTL. An ode to the dancefloor, the musical project was born out of Jordan’s lockdown experience, created from the comfort of his own home. Recorded with just a laptop, extra live instruments and guest musicians, ‘Small Moments’ seamlessly transcends across electronica, jazz and funk, with each genre being effortlessly fused with Jordan’s melancholy vocals. Allowing himself to push the boundaries, Jordan’s Dan Kye moniker draws on the energetic and uplifting elements of house and techno and perfectly mixes it with the sultry vocals and emotion that come with the live elements we know and love from Jordan Rakei. The record offers listeners a journey through more floor-heavy tracks such as ‘Mogeri’ and ‘Raro’ to more groove infused offerings such as ‘Rainbow Road’ (which is named after one of the maps in Mario Kart and inspired by the energy of Prince’s iconic live concert at The Aladdin in Las Vegas), whilst tracks, like ‘Sober’, take on a more lyrical and anthemic feel.
Jordan Rakei: “Rhythm Section INTL was my entry point into dancefloor orientated music, and it was Bradley who asked me whether I could head in that direction so he could play my music out in the clubs. Dan Kye has still got melodies, but the main focus is to keep it high energy.”
After meeting Bradley Zero online whilst living in Australia, Jordan eventually moved to London in 2014. The same day he landed, he went straight to a Rhythm Section party to meet Bradley, and it was here that he first got a taste for house music. He enjoyed Rhythm Section INTL’s ability to draw on both live and electronic talent; and thus, after Bradley asked him for some productions for the parties, the idea for Dan Kye was born. ‘Small Moments’ is a musical masterpiece that can be enjoyed as much on the dancefloor as it can in the comfort of your own home and is a perfect step into Jordan’s landscape and idealism of dance orientated music.
Bradley Zero - “In around 2014 the proprietor of the famous Northside Records in Melbourne handed me a self released 12” from a new, unknown artist based in Brisbane. It was Jordan Rakei - Franklin’s Room. I’d been home almost a year before I actually got round to listening to it and I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I lay down on the sofa, put the record on and was transported! The Dan Kye project is a testament to the experimental and independent ethos Jordan lives by and is a product of an artist reaching full stride but not afraid to still try something new. This ‘Small Moments’ LP was conceived in a record store, born in a club on Rye Lane and is now flying the nest, throwing caution to the wind and making a bold statement.”
When the first JIM album Love Makes Magic was released in 2023, it was the end product of an experiment that had begun during the strange days of the pandemic. Cooped up in his studio, James Baron started fiddling about with an as-yet unnamed new album idea. It became Vicious Charm’s first LP release. Labelled variously as Balearic, folktronica, blue-eyed soul and Laurel Canyon, Love Makes Magic was perhaps all and none of those things: a record rooted less in Californian mythology than in Baron’s own musical world, somewhere between Sherwood, Nottingham, classic songwriting, electronic soul and the no-nonsense good times that have long run through his work under his other monikers (principally the anagrammatic Ron Basejam and, of course, Crazy P) One thing was indisputable, it connected with people... and still does.
The album was a minor hit, appearing in many a Best of 2023 chart and voted Album of the Year in Bill Brewster’s Furtive 50. A tour and a few memorable festival appearances – his 2024 We Out Here Festival being one of those wonderfully timed ‘moments’ - perfectly captured the horizontal vibes on the album, while injecting some live energy into its delivery. While there was a follow-up remix album for Love Makes Magic, JIM was already preparing a sophomore LP: “I wrote the majority of The Curious Case Of Existence in a couple of months at the beginning of 2024, then it was just a case of making the record over the next couple of years in between everything else.”
Drop the needle on this latest dispatch from the tape vaults, and we are back in Chicago at The Curtom Studios in 1977. For instalment number five in the "Hutson Sevens" series, Home of The Good Groove Records are so very honoured to deliver this previously unreleased cut from Leroy Hutson—a true titan of soul music and an absolute master of his craft.
"Betting On My Love" carries that signature smooth orchestration we have come to expect from Hutson’s finest hours. It moves with a wonderful, breezy optimism. Hutson’s joyful, velvet lead tones skip effortlessly across the groove, wrapped in lush backing harmonies that instantly evoke the feel of the Hutson II
classic, "I Think I’m Falling in Love".
Now, a brief confession of pure, crate-digging indulgence: if tailored strictly for the dancefloor, the track arguably hits its logical peak and fade just past the three-minute mark. But to cut it there would strip away the raw human magic of the session. If you let the wax ride to the very end, the arrangement dissolves into a wonderful, lingering instrumental outro, culminating in the studio players purposely "clattering" their instruments in a moment of pure creative release. It is a brilliant, candid studio artifact that was fortunately preserved on the original master recording. Essential listening for the global soul family—do not sleep on this debut pressing.
For the flip we present Leroy Hutson’s 1979 cut “ So Nice”, a masterclass in late-70s soul music. A stand out track from the “Unforgettable” album and a vital reminder of Hutson’s unmatched ability to inject sophisticated romanticism into the bleeding edge of that disco era.
Slightly edited for the 7-inch pressing, up steps our remastering and editing maestro Mr Phil Ward. Phil always has the utmost respect when remastering and editing original content, ensuring that every second of the groove is fully respected and preserved. His stellar work here includes the studio recording of the three-count drum intro, never heard before now, leading into that meditative smooth groove layout.
It is an exquisite arrangement of simmering electric keys, nimble basslines courtesy of the legendary Keni Burke, and subtle bongo accents that collectively deliver a timeless masterpiece. Now available on 7-inch vinyl for the first time.
Hysterical Love Project return with February’s Album, ten warm compresses steeped in the hum and hiss of late season humidity. Downcast guitars are aerated by sanguine refrains and flitting e-waste, languidly driven by a persistent low-end throb. Contentment pulsates with delerium; sweetness ripens into pressure.
You ask me, what’s the point of doubt? What’s the price of peace of mind? I open the windows to let the insects in and the light out.
FFO: Chris & Cosey, Labradford, City Centre Offices, YL Hooi
Written and recorded by Brooklyn Mellar and Ike Zwanikken
Physical Distrubution by Rubadub
For its second release, the Parisian vinyl-only imprint Mustard & Pickles takes a bold step into the V/A format, a challenging one where balancing diverse styles is key—here, the gamble paid off. The EP kicks off with a stellar deep house cut from Berlin based Hustache, using a hypnotic vocal to lure us straight into 'That Beautiful Place'. Over on the A2, things get bouncy yet mysterious, featuring an addictive vocal loop that keeps you hooked. Flip the record, and M&P label head Tom Cler serves up a tailor-made break-to-4/4 weapon, packed with deep leads and the VA's signature : insane vocal lines. Closing out the wax, Numero 6 drops a gorgeous deep house gem. With its lush pads, quirky textures, and enchanting vocals, it feels like he’s casting a spell on the dancefloor—and we’re totally here for it.
Dark Entries is ecstatic to announce Terminal Fascination, a retrospective release of the music of Camille O’Grady, subversive artist, leather witch, punk poet, and gender saboteur. O’Grady cut her teeth in New York’s burgeoning punk scene at clubs like CBGB’s, where her band Leather Secrets would share the stage with acts like Television. She became one of the few women to be welcomed into the Mineshaft, Wally Wallace’s legendary Manhattan gay BDSM club. Towards the end of the 70s, she would trek west to San Francisco to be with her partner, performance artist and gallerist Robert Opel, who was tragically killed in 1979. O’Grady would pass away from COVID in 2020, with her voluminous works across various media - text, image, and sound - having been unpublished during her lifetime.
Working with O’Grady’s estate, Dark Entries has assembled thirteen of her finest recordings, including instant classics like “James Dean to the Rescue,” “Tourniquet,” and, of course, “Toilet Kiss.” Two songs, “Angel with a Key” and “Love Comes Like a Cutthroat,” were recorded at a studio in Los Angeles for a 7” release that never materialized, while the rest of the material was recorded live in 1979 at The Ambush, a San Francisco leather club. O’Grady’s songs, often written from the perspective of a gay man, explode like a genderfuck version of Patti Smith, like Buffy St. Marie in leather, like the hedonic utopianism of the 1960s dragged (blissfully) through the broken glass of the 1970s. The release of Terminal Fascination coincides with the publication of ‘A Cross-Worlds Angel,’ a 300-page book of O’Grady’s work by Phillip Zimmerman. The record includes an insert featuring liner notes, lyrics, and photographs. Celebrate Camille O’Grady, the artist Jack Fritscher described as an “earth mother, a leather lioness of the arts.”
'The Shadow BoxerÔ - a tale of oppression, discipline, and inevitable revenge - is re-interpreted by British producer Heritage, whose musical style perfectly aligns with the Shaw Cuts squad.
Ku Ding trained in Tai Chi under Master Yeung for over a decade. This discipline prioritizes health, self-defense and above all, the virtue of tolerance. 'Looking Back, Moving ForwardÔ mirrors this holistic training for body and mind through its broken rhythms, dreamy pads, and warm bass.
Despite facing relentless harassment at work from his tyrannical boss Jin Dasheng, Ku Ding remains calm and endures the humiliation. The playful percussions, vocal snippets, and powerful low-end grooves of 'DancehallÔ underscore the protagonist's deep-rooted discipline and resilience.
However, after his lover A Bao is killed and both his master and his friend Hu Binglian are successively murdered, he is forced to rise up and fight back using his martial arts prowess.
'2003Ô comes in swinging, fueling Ku Ding with the perfect mindset for the battle ahead via punchy drums and an energetic bassline.
Driven to mete out justice, Ku Ding prepares for his revenge without betraying his sacred tolerance. The complex breakbeat patterns of 'HaywireÔ carried by recurring, subtle chords, give him a final boost. But can this rational approach succeed? You better find outÉ
GodSexy (the best unused track title in Prince’s sadly now dormant Future Titles notebook) throbs and bounces in all the right places. Positively sprightly whilst also oozing depth, it unveils itself layer after beautiful layer. In true Howells style, it sits alone and imperious in a world above and beyond mere genres, sonically cerebral yet simultaneously 100% dancefloor ready. Urgently uplifting, inspirationally intense.
Shut Down is House Heaven meets Danny Does Disco in characteristically off-kilter (and peerless) fashion. Driven by a twisted percussive loop and a seductive vocal sample, aided and abetted by hypnotically funky guitar licks and lush chords that duck and dive like the (original) Artful Dodger, it’s all about the tension between analogue evangelism and digital futurism.
Hotrocks, your bonus vinyl only offering, will have you heading through the door marked ‘Magic Black Plastic’ at a rate of techno-infused knots. This is serious heads down business, a rave monster, Joey Beltram and Patrick Cowley’s mystery lovechild. Blistering, breathless, bounteous, bloomin’ brilliant.
No Home is the new album by Lane Hartley, releasing October 23rd 2026 on Royal Oakie Records. Produced in collaboration with David Hartley of The War On Drugs & Adam McDaniel (Animal Collective, Angel Olsen, Geologist), the album was recorded at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville and features contributions from North Carolina’s tight knit music community–including Mary Lattimore, Seth Kaufman of Floating Action & Dream Sitch, David Hartley, Jack Victor Johnson, and more.
After recording his debut album Naming Horses, Lane left Los Angeles and returned home to the Carolinas, eventually landing in Asheville. It wasn’t too long until the songs started flowing and Lane found himself reaching out to Adam McDaniel at Drop of Sun Studios–a vaunted space that’s been at the heart of indie-rock the past few years, bringing to life recent albums from MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, Fust, and more. McDaniel introduced Lane to David Hartley, and what originally started with discussions to record one song quickly turned into a plan to track a whole album live with a six piece band. Once in the studio, co-producer McDaniel encouraged the group to lean on intuition–“All of the players on this record really brought it to life in such a cosmic way. They instilled so much childlike wonder and fun into the making of the album. It inspired me to keep going” says Lane.
Lyrically the album is a collection of vignettes about people who’ve become alienated from their deepest desires of connection, belonging, intimacy, and autonomy–inspired both by Lane’s own life and the lives of people he’s loved. The unique character of the album emerged when Lane made the decision to pair the dark lyrical content with bright & lush arrangements, inspired by Gene Clark’s No Other, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, and Amen Dunes’ Love. In Lane’s words, “The content of the songs got way darker, and my reaction was to make the songs catchier, and to lean harder into the music that influenced me. I wanted each song to feel like a room in a haunted house, with a beautiful garden growing outside”.
Album opener “I Am Not Ashamed” was inspired by the anti-memoir of actress Barbara Peyton, a 1950’s Hollywood starlet who met an untimely end; “It’s about knowing that whatever you’ve done to survive, you still deserve love” says Lane. “Mother” pairs lyrics about ancestral trauma with the sunshine-pop influence of Colin Blunstone, featuring backing vocals from Lane’s sister Barrett Hartley. “It's about coming to terms with the fact that the people meant to protect us are dealing with their own trauma…”
Meanwhile, “All Of This Is Yours” and “Tone Poem” form the spiritual center of the album, an attempt to transmute anger & pain to bittersweet acceptance in the wake of a breakup. “I feel like on the surface this is essentially a breakup album, a lot of these songs are about mourning the end of a relationship and reflecting on what went down. I was falling in love and getting my heart broken, then waking up and driving across the country and doing it all over again.” “Love Is Not A Song” was inspired by Margo Guryan’s Love Songs, pairing bright piano with playful lyrics about an old man who’s been beaten down by life but still believes his greatest love is yet to come. Last but not least, title track “No Home” sums up the album’s key theme of alienation, “It all goes back to this feeling of wanting to belong to someone or somewhere, wanting to belong in your own body.”
Despite the widespread popularity of reggae music in the UK, following its explosion onto the international music scene in the late 1960s, many of these in charge of Britain's mainstream media were reluctant to give the exciting new sound coverage, wither in print or over the airways.
In an attempt to counter this prejudice, Trojan Records took the bold step of embellishing recordings from Jamaica with sophisticated orchestration, with the resultant ‘commercial reggae’ sound immediately finding favour with the country’s reggae fans.
Consequently, the company not just maintained, but in fact extended the procedure, employing producers to record the country’s finest British-based reggae acts. The result was the release of an abundance of superbly crafted recordings, the production values of which rated with the best that British pop had to offer.
Celebrating 50 years of dancing, Amnesia represents the heart and soul of electronic music in Ibiza. Telling a story that spans five decades, the 50th anniversary vinyl/CD compilation is a window into a legendary venue that has helped establish some of the world's biggest tracks.
From the iconic piano riff of Eric Prydz' 'Pjanoo' to the laid-back groove of 'Benediction' by Hot Natured. A club that spans eras and genres - the disco of Chic's 'Good Times', the synth-pop of New Order's 'Blue Monday', or the gritty electro of Alter Ego's 'Rocker'.
The soundtracks of 50 summers are represented across 50 tracks spanning 10 vinyl/5 CDs. A hand-picked selection that reflects the incredible breadth of Amnesia's cultural influence, featuring music from Calvin Harris, Donna Summer, Paul van Dyk, Candi Staton, Fred Again.., Robert Miles, Laurent Garnier, Binary Finary, and many more.
This special 3LP clear vinyl collates the “Back To Black” era in a definitive package. Featuring the original studio album, 4x unreleased demos, rare B-sides and demos, alongside the notable live performance from Paradiso, Amsterdam (February 8th 2007) from the Back To Black tour, never released in full and on vinyl.
This edition features brand new alternative cover artwork, including Amy’s handwritten lyrics, and never-before-seen photos by original album photographers Mischa Richter and Alex Lake, plus brand new, exclusive liner notes from Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi.
2026 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the 5x Grammy award winning album “Back To Black”, universally regarded as one of the greatest, most important and influential albums in pop history.
If you dig deep enough into the internet's lower depths, you'll find a shaky video shot on a camcorder. In 43 seconds, we see a makeshift drum kit built out of backyard Ostbahnhof trash, hear distorted vocals, and feel the anarchic energy of band and ravers dissolving into each other. It's now been twenty years since Bonaparte played their very first show at the legendary Bar25 on Berlin's Spree river. The ringmaster of this unhinged musical theater was Tobias Jundt then, and it's Jundt again now bringing the Bonaparte extravaganza back to the stage. New and nostalgic sit close together when the party's been going this long. Or, as they put it: "PARADISE IF YOU CAN STAND IT."
From late October through mid-November, Bonaparte will tour Germany, Austria, and Jundt's native Switzerland at full intensity, the full lineup - band to burlesque. Since their 2006 debut through their supposed farewell in 2019, Bonaparte played over 800 shows in 28 countries. Bottom line: "Too Much" isn't enough to properly celebrate a body of work like this. And the new songs from "PARADISE IF YOU CAN STAND IT" are far too significant not to bring to the stage. The lo-fi trash-punk of Bonaparte's earliest records has been built out with added layers, in production (largely alongside British avant-garde electronic artist HELiX) and in the songwriting itself.
The world certainly hasn't gotten any simpler since 2006. Tracks like "EVERYBODY PRESiDENT," loosely riffing on Zoe Leonard's poem "I Want A Dyke For President," and the corrosive "BRAiN ROT" mirror the social chaos we find ourselves in 2026. "OBEY (THERE iS STiLL A RiOT GOiNG ON)" is just as furious, though here the principle of hope still holds, as a multigenerational choir concludes "everything will be okay." Jundt speaks across generations again on "i LOVE YOU (MORE LATER)," dedicated in equal measure to his parents and his daughters: "Let the echo chamber bleed - from here into eternity."
The reconciliation and hope Bonaparte allows for and tends to, amid violence and all that noise, make "PARADISE IF YOU CAN STAND IT" a singular document of an artist grown wiser. Separation and grief don't cancel out love and vitality - they depend on each other. Ultimately, the album is a record of searching for and finding a home. To arrive, you have to let go.
And what better place to let go than in step with Bonaparte's wild, hedonistic party circus, finally back to gently terrorize our cities?
2026 jährt sich die Veröffentlichung von Koop Islands, dem gefeierten dritten und letzten Studioalbum des schwedischen Duos Koop, zum 20. Mal. Mit seiner einzigartigen Verbindung aus Jazz, Swing, Electronica und filmischer Orchestrierung etablierte das Album Koop als international renommierten Act. Umfangreiche weltweite Tourneen und ein Katalog, der bis heute eine große globale Streaming-Hörerschaft begeistert, folgten.Mit Gaststimmen von Ane Brun, Yukimi Nagano von Little Dragon, Mikael Sundin und Earl Zinger enthält Koop Islands den internationalen Streaming-Hit ,Koop Island Blues", der inzwischen mehr als 100 Millionen Streams auf Spotify verzeichnet. Das Album bietet außerdem ,Strange Love", Koops zweiterfolgreichsten Song im Streaming, der hier als Bonustrack enthalten ist. Zuvor war der Titel nicht auf einer regulären europäischen Vinyl-Ausgabe erhältlich - nun erscheint er erstmals in diesem Format.
He makes his debut with us with Love & Learn, a 3-track EP where romantic and emotional elements meet a more driving, electronic and techno-infused sound.
Warm, hypnotic and full of feeling, the three tracks move between intimacy and the dancefloor, each carrying its own atmosphere while sharing BOBBY.’s distinctive touch.
There's a moment during every great dance floor experience when the music takes over and everyone becomes part of something bigger. "SHOUT!", the latest release from 2SoulFusion Presents Ascension, captures that feeling in its purest form. Featuring the powerhouse voices and ad-libs of Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, along with an all-star ensemble of master vocalists including Josh Milan, Rahsaan Patterson, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Ramona Dunlap, and Lea Lorien, this joyful anthem is an invitation to let go, lift your spirit, and celebrate through music.
Produced, written, arranged, and mixed by 2SoulFusion—Louie Vega and Josh Milan—"SHOUT!" draws inspiration from the communal spirit of gospel while embracing the energy and freedom of house music. Driven by simple yet powerful affirmations—"Shout," "Sing," "Move," "Love," "Get Up On Your Feet," "Listen Up," and "Let This Music Take You Higher"—the song transforms into an experience where every voice becomes part of the celebration. It's a journey of anthemic hooks, soaring harmonies, infectious grooves, and unforgettable melodies designed to ignite dance floors, uplift hearts, and remind us that music has the power to unite people through rhythm, joy, and love.
The inspiration for "SHOUT!" was born from a creative exchange between Louie Vega and Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director of the internationally acclaimed fashion house Casablanca. Introduced by longtime friend Joseph Capriati, Charaf shared a bold vision—to bring together the worlds of fashion, gospel, and house music for one unforgettable Casablanca runway presentation in Paris.
Louie Vega recalls: “Charaf was introduced to me by my friend Joseph Capriati, who said Charaf was looking to meet me about an idea he had. His vision was to marry fashion, gospel, and house music within Casablanca's collection. At first, he wanted me to DJ and play gospel house music. I said, 'Instead of playing existing music, why don't I create an original song with a gospel house flavor?' I immediately got together with my 2SoulFusion partner Josh Milan, and together we came up with 'SHOUT!'”
That vision came to life during Casablanca's spectacular Paris presentation inside a breathtaking cathedral, where Louie Vega premiered the original twelve-minute and nine-second composition live. As the music echoed through the cathedral, Dames Brown joined the London House Gospel Choir in a soul-stirring performance while the models walked the aisle on Casablanca's carpet made of their signature green color and a dashing vibrating giant mirror echoing the runway visually. Renowned DJs Luciano and Chloé Caillet were among those who walked the runway, while friends of Charaf Tajer and special guests—including Jaden Thompson, Folamour, Dimitri From Paris, Kapela, and many others—were in attendance, making it an unforgettable gathering where music, spirituality, fashion, and culture merged into one extraordinary experience.
Inspired by that magical evening in Paris, Louie Vega and Josh Milan returned to the studio to expand the original composition into the powerful recording heard today. Built around rich live musicianship, Josh Milan's keyboards, organ, piano and synth bass provide the foundation alongside Axel Tosca's expressive grand piano recorded live, Sherrod Barnes' soulful guitar, and Gene Perez's unmistakable bass groove. Together they create an infectious, organic driving sound that allows the vocals to soar while delivering the unmistakable musical depth and musicianship that define 2SoulFusion.
Leading the celebration are Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, whose commanding performances are elevated by an extraordinary choir of world-class vocalists. Dames Brown's spirited sermon and ad-libs, and Dawn Tallman’s powerful ad-lib vamping out together with the soaring harmonies of Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Rahsaan Patterson, Ramona Dunlap, Lea Lorien, and Josh Milan, recreate the feeling of a joyful gospel congregation—not confined to four walls, but alive on dance floors around the world. Every chorus encourages listeners to get up, listen up, feel it, sing, move, love, and become part of the experience. Recorded between Honeycomb Studios in Pennsylvania, The Hub Ibiza and Manhattan Center Studios, New York City, and mixed at The Hub Ibiza, "SHOUT!" reflects the continuing vision of the Ascension project, where spirituality, musicianship, community, fashion, and dance music become one.
Put your hands together and please welcome Linda Lo to Shall Not Fade's Time is Now imprint. The LA producer/DJ's new 12" EP "Masa" drops 23rd Oct 2026 and f**k is it sick.
Linda Lo fuses* mambo, samba, and salsa with UK garage, dubstep, and club rhythms to make guaranteed rewind material that is gonna light up the dance…
* imma talk about this fuses sh*t in a minute.. First we need to get a bit philosophical. Cos rewinds and fusions aside, this EP is alive. It's part of something bigger and cyclical, without a start or an end. It is music. It was part of someone else's music before and it will be part of other people's music in the future. Right now though, it's Linda Lo's music.
Too esoteric? Let me elaborate and, let's talk about fusion. There is the fusion that is – steal a bit of genre X and culture Y, chuck it on the grid and strut about professing fusion – and then there's actual fusion: Music that is something "new" and real and genuine. Music that you end up describing excitedly as a "fusion of" things (even if it inevitably ends up doing it a disservice). Music that is simultaneously one thing and not that thing, and also something else and not that something else too. Music that is just "music" to the creator but is also part of the progression and evolution of music for others. Mala wasn't making "dubstep". Skream & Benga ended up not making Garage. Like many before and after they were making their music and Linda Lo is making her music so let's hear from her about it. Big up Linda. This is real.
Notes from Linda:
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“Like Croydon by way of Havana”
“Masa, or corn-based dough used to make tortillas and tamales, is a traditional staple food for many in Mexico and throughout LatAm. In the Maya worldview, people's flesh is made out of masa. In order to make masa, corn must be dried, nixtamalized, ground, and mixed (often by hand) to create the right textured dough. I find much of my music work is a collision and a mixing of many elements, all worked into one product. In this way, I've worked these songs, transforming raw rhythms and sub bass into hand-mixed tunes. ‘Masa - EP' presents four delicious heaters. The title track explodes with a fiery double-time dubstep groove. Mambo horn stabs bite through a bass inferno. ‘Cenote' looks down upon a subterranean pool of sound—still on the surface but impossibly deep. ‘Minifalda', pure flirt and gyration, calls in cuica and other voices from a samba bateria. Finally, claves stitch across ‘Mestiza', a fusion of blooming lush orchestration and jagged 2step rhythm.
Around 1960, my grandparents were regular dancers at the Palladium in Los Angeles: young, Mexican, and falling in love to dance music, specifically big band mambo. My mom, consequently, is a fantastic dancer, and her mambo collection along with my dad's exotica records formed the base of my own vinyl collection. When I first discovered garage and dubstep, there was something indescribably familiar to me, something mambo-like about the syncopated offbeat hits and drama. Later, as I began stitching together mambo claves and 2step drums, I assumed I was trying out something totally new. The farther I go, the more I see that I was wrong.
Dubstep, garage and jungle share a parental lineage back to dub reggae, originating from Jamaica. Mambo hails from Cuba, and sister genres of salsa to NYC & PR, and bachata and meringue to the Dominican Republic. Yet, these musical genres of the Caribbean have not developed in isolation. Reggae, mambo, dancehall, salsa, even son jarocho from Veracrúz, Mexico (where my family is from), all developed together, influencing each other fundamentally. Ultimately, all musics of the Caribbean have come from West African polyrhythmic musical heritages. Garage, mambo, dubstep, and salsa are points in time along one musical continuum.
I feel very honored to be a selector working in Los Angeles (and elsewhere!). I hope I can share some music for the next generation of young people to fall in love to. "
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I'm moved by what Linda writes here. #1 Doing what you love, and finding you are part of something bigger. Creating for yourself freely and hoping to inspire others with healthy amounts of care, humility, freedom, self awareness and enjoyment. (It is inspiring and I'm honoured we are now a part of sharing Linda's music). #2 There's something wonderful about finding connection and a sense of place. A place physical, spiritual and in time. Music can help us all find connection and be part of a place. Wheel it up wherever you are.
Seven years after the haunting resonance of Voids, electronic pioneer Martyn returns to the album format with Music For Existing. Arriving on 15 May 2026, the record is more than a collection of tracks; it is a profound exploration of what it means to remain devoted to a craft in an era of relentless noise.
The album’s announcement is heralded by the lead single "Heavy Sound." The track serves as the perfect bridge between Martyn’s past and present - a masterclass in tension and release that previews the album’s dialogue between the producer, the musicians, and the audience. We live inside a culture that has prioritised and monetised restlessness. The modern apparatus runs on the continuous production of "next," driven by algorithms that value novelty over depth.
Music For Existing serves as a love letter to the communal act of making music - something that is both healing and inherently defiant. For Martyn, a musician often finds solace in musical conversation with others; in the moment we press record, we simply exist together. This record is an invitation to build human infrastructure around what we love, leaning into the fluid nature of community and seeing exactly where the music takes us when we choose to listen.
The album is a sprawling, "off-the-grid" tapestry that echoes Martyn’s profound appreciation for jazz - free, instinctive, and bursting in every sonic direction. This collection features an expansive cast of collaborators, including Duval Timothy, Dan Only, Lucinda Chua, and Mark Cisneros. The record is further elevated by the contributions of jazz talents Mischa Porte and Cees Bruinsma, alongside the evocative words of writer and poet Musa Okwonga.
While the acoustic textures and improvisational spirit of this record may feel like a departure, they represent a homecoming. Jazz has always been ingrained in Martyn’s work; even in his most stripped-back club tracks, the DNA of swing, syncopation, and free-form structure was always present, if not always visible.
Music For Existing marks the beginning of an exciting journey that will continue from the studio to the stage, celebrating the radical act of existing in the moment.
Muss sich alles ständig so schwer anfühlen? Claud Mintz ringt ständig mit dieser Frage. Und zwar nicht in Form von höflichen kleinen Wortgefechten, sondern in Form von großen, langwierigen, existenziellen Kämpfen - von der Art, die einen letztendlich dazu bringen könnte, den Kurs des gesamten Lebens zu ändern. Die 10 Songs auf seinem facettenreichen und glanzvollen dritten Album ,Me and the Music" zeigen den 27-jährigen Singer-Songwriter und Produzenten aus Brooklyn, wie er sich mit dieser Frage auseinandersetzt und schließlich triumphierend zu etwas gelangt, das einer Antwort nahekommt: Die Dinge können schwer sein, aber das bedeutet nicht, dass man keinen Spaß haben kann. Das Leben kann schwer sein, aber das Bier in Ihrer Hand ist es nicht - warum sollten Sie es nicht für einen Moment in die Höhe recken, mit den Freunden um Sie herum mitsingen und Ihre Sorgen für die Dauer eines perfekten Indie-Pop- Songs vergessen? ,Me and the Music" ist Clauds erstes Album seit drei Jahren, seit dem 2023 erschienenen, hochgelobten ,Supermodels". Sowohl ,Supermodels" als auch ,Super Monster" aus dem Jahr 2021 waren weitgehend inspiriert von ,dieser einen unklaren Beziehung", von der er irgendwann während des Schreibens von ,Me and the Music" erkannte, dass sie ,eigentlich nie wirklich etwas war". ,Supermodels" war ein so ernstes Album, und ,ich habe einfach so lange in meinen Gefühlen geschwelgt", sagt Claud. ,Es gibt einen Unterschied zwischen Aufrichtigkeit gegenüber dem Leben und dem Leben zu ernst zu nehmen." Diese Erkenntnis veränderte alles: Im Titelsong von ,Me and the Music" singen sie: ,Das ist der letzte Song, den ich von dir ruinieren lasse", und das meinten sie auch so. Nachdem Claud diesen Song geschrieben hatte - in den berühmten Electric Lady Studios zusammen mit ihren Freunden Hank Heaven und Annie DiRusso -, begannen sie, sich völlig befreit zu fühlen. ,Dadurch wurde viel Bedauern losgelassen, das ich mit mir herumgetragen hatte, und es ermöglichte mir, zu denken _ das macht so viel Spaß", sagen sie. ,Musik zu machen macht so viel Spaß." Das Markenzeichen von Me and the Music sind also Songs, die die Komplexität des Erwachsenwerdens und des Lebens in der Welt einfangen, ohne dabei den Sinn für Verspieltheit oder Spaß zu verlieren. Es ist ein typisches ,Slice-of-Life"-Album , das neue Romanzen, Insider-Witze, Gap-Werbespots, die Band ,America" und das Land Amerika thematisiert und all diese Dinge mit Sorgfalt und Rücksicht behandelt. Die Lead-Single ,She Doesn't Love Me" von ,Me and the Music" ist in vielerlei Hinsicht der Kern des Albums - ein leichtfühliges Lied darüber, wie es ist, in den 2020er Jahren in Amerika queer und trans zu sein. (Es ist eine kraftvolle, mitreißende Hymne, die vor Schmerz nicht zurückschreckt - und trotzdem Lust macht, wie Claud in dem Titel singt, die ,Biere in die Luft zu recken".) Als Claud den Song gemeinsam mit Heaven und DiRusso schrieb, waren sie fest davon überzeugt, dass es ein Yacht-Rock-Song werden sollte; das Demo klang letztendlich dennoch ,Lo-Fi und Indie". ,Me and the Music" wurde von Claud und John Congleton (Alvvays, St. Vincent) produziert und bedeutet für Claud, dass sich der Kreis schließt: Mit diesem Album hatte Claud endlich das Gefühl, als Produzent selbstbewusst genug zu sein, um die Rolle des Co-Produzenten zu übernehmen (und hat seitdem eine Reihe viraler Singles von Romy Mars produziert). Die Zusammenarbeit ist natürlich ein wesentlicher Bestandteil von Clauds Arbeit - wer wären wir ohne unsere Freunde? Neben Claud gehört er zu einem Viertel zu Shelly, einer Band, die er gemeinsam mit Clairo, Noa Getzug und Josh Mehling gegründet hat. Auf ,Me and the Music" arbeitet Claud bei dem Titel ,The Legend" erneut mit ihrem langjährigen Kollaborateur Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan) zusammen. Der Song thematisiert das Gefühl, tief in jemanden verliebt zu sein, der nicht mit einem gesehen werden möchte, sagt Claud: ,Es geht gewissermaßen um eine beschissene Beziehung und den Wunsch, die Liebe zur Schau zu stellen, ohne jedoch dazu in der Lage zu sein ", erklären sie. Doch wenn es auf ,Me and the Music" ein echtes Liebeslied gibt, dann ist es ,I Owe You", ein Dream-Pop-Road-Song, der hingebungsvoll und facettenreich ist. Er fängt den Geist von ,Me and the Music" als Ganzes ein: die Dinge Tag für Tag zu nehmen, Bilanz über das zu ziehen, was einen umgibt, und die schönen Dinge anzunehmen, wenn sie sich bieten. Das fühlt sich gar nicht so schwer an.
Isaac Kniveton (fka Keplrr) steps out with Daydreaming, a four track deluge of psychedelic club projections for Call Super and Parris’ can you feel the sun imprint.
Having boasted a notable reputation as Keplrr for labels like Control Freak and Midgar, Isaac Kniveton now embraces transition. On Daydreaming, his debut release under his own name, he maintains an unclassifiable sound with newer purpose; a sound that cascades in brighter colours. It’s a renewed sense of focus and subtlety that produces some of his most arresting work to date.
The ornate funk of opener Flutter angles for the wide-eyed, a cosmic stepper that pins tight drums to a weightless melodic base. Love Groove’s inebriated swing trips out further, a steady cut that binds vocals from GRACE founder Katiusha with entangled melodies. Symmetry’s wayward rhythm ups the ante with subtle rave tension, gently rising as its circular bassline swells. On closer Molecule, he locks in for an exploratory dive, offering shades of Detroit and twisted theremins.
A fascinating new era for Isaac Kniveton that finds solace in can you feel the sun’s forward-leaning club manifesto.
From a Beaumont Bar is Pug Johnson's third full-length album and his most complete collection of heartbreak songs to date. Rooted in classic country storytelling, the record draws from the bars, backroads, and late nights that shaped him, turning years of lived experience into songs full of regret, humor, longing, and hard-earned perspective. Written with the benefit of hindsight, these stories don't try to rewrite the past—they simply tell it. From barroom anthems and dancehall shuffles to slow-burning ballads, From a Beaumont Bar captures the moments after love has gone wrong, when all that's left is memory, acceptance, and another round. While Beaumont, Texas provides the backdrop, the album's themes reach far beyond one place. It's a record about heartbreak in all its forms, told with the wit, warmth, and honesty that have become Pug Johnson's calling card. Rich with pedal steel, fiddle, accordion, and timeless country grooves, From a Beaumont Bar is both a tribute to traditional country music and a reminder that the best songs don't just tell stories—they make you feel like you've lived them.
The songs of Jules de Corte are condensed, folky gems with an almost effortless charm. Poised between the intimate and the universal, between lightness and darkness, they touch on religion, love, loss, and the small dramas of everyday life. Yet they resist easy translation. Packed with wordplay, de Corte’s signature alliterations, humor, and local cultural references, the songs inevitably lose something in another language. Still, when a Belgian quartet of improvisers takes them on, joined by American songwriter Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, the songs are reborn rather than merely transposed: literal fidelity gives way to interpretation, and what is lost in words is often gained in spirit.
Even without tracing every change, their overall effect is fascinating. Songs are slowed down, often doubled in length, and filled with unexpected musical intrusions. They gain fuller arrangements and are placed in an entirely new context. Replacing de Corte’s piano with guitar can create a radically different vibe, as in “Mariska.” An added solo can heighten the contrast between childlike perspective and the almost matter- of-fact brutality of “Little Anita.” In “The Stranger,” another use of contrast unsettles the everyday harmony, transforming it with a subtle, disorienting twist.
Ultimately, these performances show that interpretation is not successful simply because it is literal. With the groundwork laid by Linus, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy further liberated the songs from their original versions. Lyrics and melodies become malleable, shaped by his recognizable cadences, timbre, and personal quirks. Like his collaborators, he allows himself the freedom to bend the material to his own approach. There is no radical break between this performance and his other records. Listeners familiar with the originals may be puzzled at first; for those new to de Corte, it is a wholly different experience.
Does it really matter that the original “Little Jesus, Mighty God” is a 100-second nugget combining playful naivete with biblical fervor? In the hands of these five explorers, the song becomes an intriguing contemplation, with subtle musical shades and a recitation in which every syllable carries a maturity that offers a new perspective. Then there is “The Outsider,” which feels as genuine as any original American folk song. The musicians’ process is more than reinterpretation—it is reimagination, bringing new musical compatibility and emotional depth. Whether that depth was there from the start, waiting to be uncovered, or created in the process is beside the point. What matters is that Linus and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have made the essence of these songs their own, paying homage yet dancing to their own tune.
Linus is the Belgian duo of guitarist and banjo player Ruben Machtelinckx and reedist and synthesiser player Thomas Jillings. Across five previous albums — Onland (2014), Linus + Skarbø / Leroux (2015), Felt Like Old language at the crossroads of folk, jazz, minimalism, chamber music and free improvisation. Their music is adventurous, shaped by a particular sensitivity to texture, timbre and the subtle interaction between musicians.
What began as a duo gradually grew into a flexible musical world, bringing Linus together with musicians such as Nils Økland, Ingar Zach, Niels Van Heertum, Øyvind Skarbø and Frederik Leroux. Yet each new constellation has remained recognisably Linus: music in which carefully considered forms leave space for intuition, interaction and the unexpected.
For their sixth album, Linus takes a new step by moving into the world of song and text. Inspired by a shared love for the late Dutch songwriter Jules De Corte, the album is a reimagining of De Corte’s unique repertoire. More than simply interpreting De Corte’s songs, they absorb and reshape them, bringing them into dialogue with their own musical language. In keeping with this open approach, they are joined by celebrated vocalist Bonnie “Prince” Billy. With albums such as 1999’s I See a Darkness appearing on several greatest album lists, Bonnie “Prince” Billy is a cult figure in the alternative folk scene, and his highly intuitive way of singing seamlessly matches the subtle interplay Linus has developed over more than a decade.
Strawberry Guy’s new album ‘Give Me A Dream’ unfolds as a tender, fragile and intimate record. The 14 track album arrives as the ultimate hopecore long player, in a time when we need it most. It's a guiding light, healing for the mind, exploring the tight-rope balance that is making it through life intact. Strawberry Guy evolves from the dreamy indie-pop home recordings to a perfectly formed crystalline vision, utilizing an immersive studio approach. Shifting from sparse & fluid piano parts to rich, engulfing layered strings, infectious melodies and an exquisite rumination on manhood from fraught emotional states. Give Me A Dream is a big step up, brimming with ideas, glistening production, and a tender heart.
Kay Slice’s music is more than meets the ear. He channels a movement. His sound moves beyond borders, blending highlife rhythms and poetic verses into a sonic force that connects the soul of Africa with its scattered children across the globe. Slice is rooted in legacy but speaks to the now. Bold, layered, and deeply aware.
This isn’t fusion. It’s ancestral alignment with a futuristic edge.
From the electrifying grooves of West Africa to the sharp truths of hip-hop, Kay’s music isn’t merely entertainment; it’s a cultural awakening. His performances are highlights: Ghanaian drums, balafon chants, and rhythmic prophecy shaking stages to their core. His storytelling is vivid, raw, and intentional. The immigrant experience reimagined through sound and soul. And as Kay says about this new single, “Moving with purpose, driven by the will to put in the work. The time is now to raise Mother Africa.”
Following his powerful debut From Back To Back (2022), Kay is stepping into full artistic clarity. In 2026, it all comes to a head with Kay’s next album, scheduled for autumn 2026, forged across borders, driven by the spirit of his Ghanaian ensemble and a love letter to highlife, elevated with modern energy.
No longer bound by survival, Kay is moving like a general of sound. Leading with grace, grounded in legacy, but always forward-moving. His shows? Think rituals. Think liberation. Think sweat, spirit, and rhythm. Kay Slice isn’t finding his voice. He is the voice of diasporic pride, ancestral rhythm, and future Africa.
It's 1995 and techno has hit max speed while house is going deep. UK soon-to-be-legend Baby Ford has different ideas as he kicks off his now cult Trelik label with this EP from Ian David Loveday aka Tan-Ru that strips everything back, layers in dubby low ends and masters the art of loop building. It's still driving and mind-melting but with a restrained and futuristic sound that is utterly fresh. As well as the original is a more textured dub and the flip-side classic ' Assembly'. This one is in a hurry, with claps and feathery snares riding the swinging drums. Freaky stabs bring some fun and decades on the EP, which started it all, still sounds unmatched.
Riviera Records presents XTC002: The Atlantic Connection with non-stop flights to X-Coast from Ireland, UK and USA.
The first route offers a very intuitive bass and breakbeat driven ride with a Tama Gucci signature, sensual vocals cutting through the airspace. The second journey is flying over (hard) house territory
with DJ Torture serving the snacks.
The B side we have a UK to X-Coast red eye flight with a trance edge courtesy of Capt. Ejeca. B2 is the only supersonic flight offered at this time navigated by Tommy Holohan: a shuffled up Reese bass powered techno from Ireland to X-Coast in just 4 minutes and 57 seconds - buckle up.
Ein Gefühl der Hoffnung, das aus dunklen Ecken heraufschleicht, durchdringt nahezu jeden Titel der neuen LP von Sour Widows, ,Sigil". Das Album entstand in Zusammenarbeit mit der renommierten Produzentin und Jay-Som-Mastermind Melina Duterte in der Innenstadt von Los Angeles; die elf Songs des Albums nehmen unerwartete Wendungen und sind die fesselndsten, die Sour Widows bisher geschrieben haben. Das Album zeichnet sich durch eine neu gewonnene Unmittelbarkeit aus, als hätten Sour Widows dringende Erkenntnisse zu teilen, und auf der gesamten Länge von ,Sigil" läutet eine scheinbare Katastrophe einen Neuanfang ein.
‘Unfindable Ring', out October 23 on Bayonet Records, is an adventurer’s epic. The arc of the journey, like any good Spirited Away or Neverending Story, lands its wide-traveled protagonist right back at home before bedtime. Grumpy, like many great hero tricksters before him, has always been a project of juxtaposition: upbeat radio-ready hits whose buoyant, goofy hooks belie the dark thoughts they describe. Much of this, Schmitt acknowledges, owes its due to the matter-of-fact morbidity of the trans experience in America. It’s from these experiences—personal, romantic, political, and existential—that the tale of ‘Unfindable Ring’ unfolds.
Ambition and play have always defined the Grumpy sound. Late last year, the Fader praised their “demented, hooky” EP, “Piebald,” whose innovative fuzz-pop confections earned them coverage in NPR and the New York Times. Stereogum heralded them as “wonderfully weird,” and Paste designated them “the best of what’s next.”” Through boisterous collaborations with the likes of Sidney Gish and Claire Rousay, they’ve effortlessly ingratiated themselves with the titans of DIY, and, more recently, Schmitt has become an unlikely favored collaborator of chart-topping country giant Zach Bryan, who named his new record––which prominently features Schmitt’s harmonies–– conspicuously, ‘With Heaven On Top.’
In Grumpy, Heaven Schmitt is joined by Anya Good, Ellie Long (Kid Lake), Austin Arnold, Diego Clare (D.A. Crimson), and Lane Rodgers, who each contribute to every step of the process—engineering and recording, mixing, drafting artwork, producing, and making music videos. A kind of interdisciplinary thieves’ guild, the project, while once Schmitt’s solo eponym, is a labor of communal love.
“We are living these happy lives, and there are people we come across who don’t know us at all who want us to die,” Schmitt, explains. Often the visibility of the joy itself is what prompts the vitriol––“I’m so happy I could die,” Schmitt belts over and over on the chorus (a familiar figure of speech, sure, but one which, upon any scrutiny, shows Schmitt’s hand in the macabre.) A middle finger to fate, Good started asking, “What are you going to do with your One Beautiful Life?” Grumpy is going to keep playing, touring, searching, finding.
Elastica’s iconic self-titled debut album is set to be reissued by Rough Trade Records on 2 October in a new edition boasting rarities and b-sides.
Striking their own, distinct path in March 1995, Elastica proved uniquely fresh-sounding as the London four-piece delivered on the reputation they had built up gigging around the capital beyond in the months ahead its release.
Home to the likes of Line Up, Waking Up and Connection, singles at once timeless yet in the moment, Elastica’s debut captured the fraying emotions, hazy experience and burning energy of life, love and after-hours adventure.
Absorbing atmospheres and attitudes of their post-punk and new wave forbears, Justine Frischmann (vocals, guitar), Annie Holland (bass), Donna Matthews (guitar, vocals) and Justin Welch (drums) poured their own identities into the album’s 15 tracks which balancing youthful swagger, with sage-like observation and a knowing cool that made Elastica and their debut effortlessly timeless.
Layne & Chang might not be household names to everyone, but in the underground they’re long-established fixtures. Chang—who’s released music under a string of aliases over the years—was tipped by Urb magazine as one to watch back in the mid-’90s and has been embedded in dancefloor culture ever since. Alongside him, Layne Fox (formerly San Francisco, now back in Florida) brings deep disco credentials, having helmed the cult-loved Disco Dimensions label and recording as 40 Thieves—best known for the underground anthem Don’t Turn It Off. In short, the boogie lineage on this record runs deep.
And that’s before you even get to Dan Tyler. As one half of the Idjut Boys and co-founder of Noid Recordings, Tyler helped lay the groundwork for London’s edit culture long before it became a global phenomenon. His involvement here only strengthens the package.
“Shake Your Body” opens the release with a locked-in, funk-driven groove—swirling melodic lines, subtly acidic textures, warm vocoder touches, and tight, punchy drums all dialed for peak-time movement. On the A2, “In The Desert” shifts the mood into something more transportive: a hazy, late-night burner equally suited to open-air parties, after-hours sessions, or home listening with the lights low.
Flip to the B-side and Dan Tyler delivers two cosmic reworks that push things further out. Psychedelic, elastic, and built for serious systems, both cuts hit that sweet spot between heady and physical—already circulating among a handful of tastemaker DJs and primed for heavy rotation as festival season ramps up.
A strong, floor-ready release that sits comfortably in the Whiskey Disco catalogue—rooted in disco, but reaching well beyond it.
Crash landing onto the scene in 2017 with his now legendary NTS broadcast of 2 hours of unheard music, the ultra-mysterious and enigmatic Michael J. Blood has gone on to release a series of sought after, lush and rugged future classics on his own imprints Blood Inc. and BodyTronixxx. Allegedly hailing from Manchester in the North of England, Blood’s sound is hard to pin down but instantly recognisable. Rooted in the twin foundations of modern dance music—Detroit and Chicago—while schooled in the sweaty basements of Manchester’s fêted club scene, his music feels both original and familiar, timeless yet unplaceable.
Weaving together a hypnotic narrative that feels both archival and futuristic, Cause & Effect Vol. 1 brings together some of Blood's rare and hard to find bangers from a variety of his early sold out projects. The collection mixes the pulse of Chicago with the grit and cosmic dreams of Detroit, while never losing sight of the North of England’s sophisticated late-night sleaze. Blood’s dance-floor eclecticism and raw, infectious mutant beats drive a soulful, jazz-louche energy into every track. The result is a collection of atmospheric grooves that weave together hypnotic rhythm and smoky texture, blurring house, techno, broken beat, and jazz-soaked electronics into a heady trip. Cause & Effect Vol. 1 maps out the restless evolution of Blood’s sound, a testament to his instinct for rhythm, atmosphere and dance-floor alchemy. House for the heart, techno for the mind, both built for the body. It’s in the Blood.
Cultivated Electronics celebrates two decades at the forefront of electro with its landmark 50th release on the main label, returning to the very beginning with a new release from Signal Type - the collaborative project of label head Sync 24 and Matt Whitehead. The anniversary EP pays homage to the sound that launched Cultivated Electronics back on CE001 A1, with Signal Type delivering "Break Through", a snappy, driving and psychedelic electro workout built firmly for the dancefloor. Funky, spacey and packed with the restless energy that has defined the label since its inception, the track feels both like a nod to CE's roots and a statement of where the label stands today. The celebrations continue with three remixes from long-standing Cultivated Electronics collaborators and influential figures within the electro scene. Keith Tenniswood, aka Radioactive Man, brings an old-school, Mad Mike-esque Underground Resistance flavour to his rework, injecting the original with raw Detroit-inspired energy and machine-driven propulsion. Carl A. Finlow, operating under his Silicon Scally moniker, takes things deeper, delivering a heady after-hours interpretation built around immersive, late-night club sonics. Rounding out the EP, Finnish electro pioneers Morphology deliver a hypnotic, 90s-inspired roller, bringing their distinctive analogue sensibility and futuristic groove to the original. The vinyl edition arrives on blue marbled translucent coloured vinyl, housed in a full-sleeve package featuring artwork from Geometric Love. From its first release to its 50th, Cultivated Electronics has remained dedicated to forward-thinking electro, connecting classic machine funk with contemporary club sounds. CE050 marks both a celebration of the label's history and a salute to the artists and sounds that continue to shape its future. Here's to another 50 releases.
Both Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn had already started promising solo careers in the 1980s, but something special happened when Tim DuBois suggested they record together. Brooks & Dunn was not just a temporary collaboration, but the beginning of one of the most impressive and successful stories in country music.
The men were unstoppable. Their debut album delivered four number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, going seven times platinum in the US (seven million copies sold) and three times platinum in Canada. "Boot Scootin' Boogie" was the album's biggest hit and single-handedly revived line dancing in the 1990s. This undeniably shows the album's cultural significance. Finally, this classic gets the LP treatment it deserves.
Brand New Man is available as a 35th anniversary edition on smokey marbled vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics.
Donato Basile AKA DJ Plant Texture always wants his music to tell a story, and with his debut EP on Tresor Records, entitled Life, he’s now trying to tell the biggest story there is. According to the artist, “Life is about the fear of growing up”; both the anxiety itself and acknowledging and moving past it.
This narrative seems to have struck a chord with those who have heard the track, “People want to reflect themselves in the music; something personal. Lots of people have been in touch after hearing it; I guess they feel something melancholic in it. Personally, I imagine the track is like the life of a person; going from being born through childhood and youth and onwards, so perhaps they hear this?”
Having used an MPC since the early 2000s, Basile feels an intuitive connection to the hardware he uses, and so the creative process is very spontaneous: “I know where everything is so the music is made immediately. I make everything in the first ten minutes; after that if it’s not right then I just abandon it and start something else.” This immediacy, and familiarity with his equipment is apparent on the A-side, where Basile’s previous life as a drummer comes to the fore and tracks like Cycles and Ripetivo display his native understanding of groove but also how to stir things up - the three A-side tracks find classic techno rhythms seemingly falling apart only to snap back into place even stronger. The B-side finds Donato exploring more of his melodic side with WTT and the aforementioned title track showing Plant Texture’s love of breakbeat and classic techno.
The three digital bonus tracks continue this exploration of melody and syncopated beats - The EXP Days echos the wistful feeling of Life, as Basile meditates on the times spent at EXP, his record shop in Bari, which functioned as a meeting place for electronic producers in the area.
Trixie Whitley returns with 'Folded Time', her first full-length album in seven years and one of her most adventurous and rhythmically driven records to date. Written largely at the kitchen table of her Brooklyn apartment and recorded between Brussels, New York and Montréal, the nine-track album finds Whitley moving freely between rock, soul, R&B and more experimental territory.
Rhythm sits at the heart of 'Folded Time'. Whitley plays drums, bass, guitar and piano herself, with her love of polyrhythms running throughout the record. Heavy, slow-moving drums turn opener 'Carry' into a mantra, 'Fascinating and Fun' grew out of studio improvisation, while on 'Carnaval' Whitley and Cem Misirlioglu face each other behind two drum kits for what she calls a "drum rave". Her unmistakable voice remains at the centre, moving just as easily between restraint and raw power.
Across the album, Whitley looks at motherhood, womanhood, heartbreak, desire and forgiveness, and at how the past continues to shape who we become. It is a record about taking stock without standing still: instinctive and physical, but full of detail.
Phenomena begins with two artistic voices that seem to speak different languages. Barcelona-based producer R-010 (Lucas Rojo) approaches composition through rhythm, space and electronic transformation; Madrid-born vocalist and multidisciplinary artist Venerandi through texture, breath and the expressive possibilities of the human voice. By the time the album reaches its final moments, that distinction has quietly disappeared.
Rather than functioning as a meeting point between two individual practices, Phenomena gradually
becomes a third language—one that belongs to neither artist alone. Voice no longer sits above the music
but moves inside it, dissolving into layers of synthesis, percussion and guitar until performance itself
becomes another malleable sound source. Likewise, electronic production never behaves as a fixed
environment; it constantly adapts, absorbs and responds, allowing acoustic gestures and digital
manipulation to reshape one another in real time.
This continuous transformation defines the record more than any particular genre ever could. Echoes of trip hop, bass music, psychedelia and experimental electronics drift across its surface, yet they are never
presented as stylistic markers. Instead, they appear as temporary states within an ecosystem that remains
in constant motion, where dense rhythmic passages collapse into suspended atmospheres and moments
of stillness carry as much weight as those driven by pulse.
The presence of Matteo Caro (guitar and percussion), Pablo Gorostiaga (guitar) and Alessio Rodolico
(percussion) further expands this dialogue. Their contributions are not decorative additions but structural
ones, gradually dissolving the distinction between composition, improvisation and production. Instruments
emerge, mutate and disappear inside the same sonic fabric, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish
what was performed from what was transformed.
With Phenomena, Lapsus Records presents a work that feels less interested in crossing genres than in
questioning the borders between artistic identities themselves. The album never asks the listener to decide
where the human ends and the machine begins. Instead, it quietly suggests that, after enough careful
listening, the question itself may no longer matter.
Adam Freeland’s return continues with the relaunch of Marine Parade and the release of the Twister EP, marking his first solo material since 2007.
“Twister” draws on Freeland’s love of psych rock, drone, leftfield techno and breakbeat, combining raw bass, polyrhythmic grooves and cavernous dub hits before building into a hypnotic drone-driven climax and cinematic guitar finish. On the flip, “Kiligurl” pairs pulsing drone and broken rhythms with spring reverb for an organic dub feel.
The EP follows Transhuman, Freeland’s collaboration with Spooky’s Duncan Forbes, and marks the next chapter for Marine Parade, the influential label that helped pioneer the edgier side of breakbeat in the 2000s. After closing in 2009, the label’s return follows Freeland’s decade living off-grid in California’s Mojave Desert and his work with The Acid alongside Ry X.
Breakbeat Paradise Recordings proudly welcomes back one of the undisputed heavyweights of the international funk and breaks scene, Basement Freaks, for another scorching edition of the Toxic Funk series.
The brainchild of Greek producer George Fotiadis, Basement Freaks has spent more than two decades building a worldwide reputation for infectious grooves, heavyweight beats and dancefloor-destroying funk. With releases on labels including Jalapeño Records, Bombastic Jam, Good Groove Records and many more, Basement Freaks has become a staple in DJ sets around the globe and one of the most respected names in modern funk.
Opening the release is Got That Funky Stuff, an irresistible slice of raw party funk packed with chunky breakbeats, killer basslines and soulful samples that are guaranteed to get any crowd moving. Flipping over, Life For Dat Sweet Ting keeps the energy flowing with another irresistible groove, combining vintage funk flavors, rolling drums and signature Basement Freaks swagger into a certified dancefloor weapon.
Whether you're a funk DJ, breakbeat selector or simply a lover of timeless grooves, Toxic Funk Vol. 25 delivers two expertly crafted cuts that showcase why Basement Freaks remains at the very top of the global Nu Funk scene. Another essential 7-inch for collectors and DJs alike, and another dose of pure funk from Breakbeat Paradise Recordings.
After almost twenty years of releasing music, Sven Tasnadi finds himself circling back to some of the sounds that first drew him into house music. Explorer was written at home following a longer break from producing and after moving out of his studio, a change of setting that coincided with a shift in priorities. "The tracks on this EP came together at home after a longer break from music and after I moved out of my studio," he explains. "Musically they are very deep and minimal, at times almost meditative. They were inspired by a new chapter in my life as well as my never-ending love and connection to artists like Lawrence from Smallville and Frank & Tony from Scissor and Thread."
That sense of returning to something runs through the whole record. For much of Tasnadi's career, producing and DJing were closely connected, with many releases naturally shaped by the club. Things have changed. "DJing is no longer my main focus, so I can dedicate myself to these deep and minimal sounds again, free from pressure or expectations," he says. "In a way, after almost twenty years of releasing music, things have come full circle for me."
"Atlas (Chapter 1)" and "Atlas (Chapter 2)" grew from the same initial idea but followed separate paths during production. Chapter 2 came first, while Chapter 1 emerged later from a variation Tasnadi discovered while the track was still essentially a loop. "I was still looking for the right theme for the original idea when another version suddenly opened up," he recalls. He saved that variation for later so he could stay focused on the first version. When he returned to it, the two had developed distinct enough identities to stand independently. Their shared DNA is still audible in the restrained rhythms, slowly shifting details and the way small changes carry much of the movement.
The title track moves further into dub techno, another longstanding passion for Tasnadi. "Explorer is almost a classic dub techno track," he says. "Subtle movements within a constantly repeating pattern create a particular atmosphere. It feels like the track could just keep going forever." It is a patient approach to repetition that he connects to artists such as Moritz von Oswald and his friend Daniel Stefanik.
"Megasektor", one of the first tracks Tasnadi made at home with a new equipment setup, brings the EP into deep house territory. "To me it's almost classic deep house, or at least how I define deep house for myself." Warm, compact and gently propulsive, it provides a natural closing point for a record that is ultimately less about changing direction than reconnecting with an instinct that has always been there.
Explorer captures Tasnadi at a point where making music has become more personal again. The four tracks come from following ideas for their own sake and from rediscovering the deeper, more minimal sounds that have stayed with him throughout his career.
Melissa Weikart and her piano have proceeded through life in step, from her early classical
training to the experimental practice that defines her work today, a blending of sounds and forms that has never been so clear—and so fully realized—as on her new album, Contact. Across twelve shifting and evocative tracks that examine the connective tissue binding us to ourselves and others, the Franco-American musician’s voice and piano navigate personal and emotional terrain with clarity and nuance, forging a rich dialogue between artist and instrument, artist and self, and artist and listener.
Winner of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations emerging artist award and the instrumentalist prize at the 2023 La Défense National Jazz Competition, Weikart has released two EPs and an album as a solo artist, and one EP and an album—Surprise and Secret—with her electronic duo Beatrice Melissa. A student of jazz and ’70s folk-pop, and a keen lover of improvisation since her time at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Weikart has always conjured the confessional candor of the singer- songwriter in her music, even as she dispenses her lyrics across rich, shifting, dreamlike tableaux.
On Contact, written and arranged entirely by Weikart (aside from “New angles”), she pushes her sound further than ever before. The album is animated by a pressing need for connection, observing what brings us together and what drives us apart, and the life-saving revelations that emerge along the way. The album’s opener, “Crash,” is a dreamy telephone-hour ode, a message in a bottle, to connections new and old. On the wistful “Mesurer le vent,” Weikart conjures Debussy or Ravel, layering contrasting sounds like an Impressionist painting. The title track begins as a showcase of Weikart’s frank lyricism, a splice-reel of missed connections and wasted time, then glides into a hazy, euphoric galaxy of pleas, circling around her thesis—“I wanted to make contact”—that ushers us into “The Intersection,” a song that recalls her the beginning of her career, when it was just Weikart and her keys. “Appétit.e” is built around a sample of her down-the-hall neighbor’s drumming—another subtle, affecting gesture toward proximity and connection—while pulsating synths reminiscent of Air lend the track an unsteady atmosphere. On the Carpenters-inspired “Expectations,” Weikart muses on the relationship patterns, universal and specific, that have always been a hallmark of her songwriting.
The psychedelic “L’amour de construit” is a slow-motion fall down the rabbit hole, as Weikart
considers the way her own emotions are captured and commodified by the confining ways we think about love. The interlude—“L’amour pt. 2”—finds her near the end of that trip, shouting into the void as a last-ditch effort to rescue herself from the fall. The drums near the end of the interlude warn us that there may be no cushion for, until she is saved, again, by the power of revelation, on the confident, resilient “Not Right”—on which a show-stopping, frenetic conversation between singer and piano is gracefully interrupted by a rush of transcendent strings, lifting her back up.
On solid ground anew, “New angles,” featuring Manu Delta, creates a percussion-less groove that relies on experimental synth sounds. The 11-o’clock stunner “Catching up”—composed in a church—meets the singer in a state of ecstatic confession, bringing her to the formative memory that propels “Bicycle,” the album’s closer. Younger, more wide-eyed, she reflects on her move from Boston to Strasbourg, those early days, when Weikart had no other companion than that loyal hunk of scrap metal that took her to the shores of her own soul. She seems to suggest, on “Bicycle,” that a backward-glance is not always troublesome, not always anxiety-producing, but can be grounding: a reminder of where we come from, so that we can keep moving forward.
Ossie lands back on Heist after his 2025 hit ‘Are U still smiling?’ with a 4 track EP featuring Miraa May.
How on earth do you follow up your debut when that record got dancefloors moving across the world and picked up radio & dj plays from dance music’s finest selectors?
Many producers would get instant writer’s block, but not Ossie. His new EP on Heist is full of joyous melodies, catchy vocals and euphoric dancefloor moments. Across 4 tracks, Ossie takes us on a trip through rolling electronics, catchy UK sounds and big room anthems.
His Heist debut in 2025 did not go by unnoticed, and Ossie kept a busy calendar since, with regular shows in London and Hï Ibiza with Skepta’s Mas Tiempo crew, his own Supercali imprint as well as his appearance alongside heavyweights Louie Vega, Kerri Chandler, Cinthie and more on Heist’s ‘House of House’ much celebrated compilation.
The Motivation EP kicks off with a bumpy UK track that somehow reminds us of Bicep early day hit ‘Vision of love’. Where the Bicep boys went for a big sample, Ossie landed a surprise studio session with Algerian born-London native Miraa May where they wrote ‘Motivation’ in a single session. The track is stripped back to its core with catchy scats and chants from Miraa May and keys that’ll stick with you far after the track is over. If you’d need any extra motivation for your daily routine, to get out of bed or to go out dancing, this is your jam.
‘Can it get any better’ is a loopy house affair with soulful vocal chants, hints of disco and a subtle piano theme that drives the track into big room territory. It’s energetic without ever getting over the top; a thin line Ossie navigates effortlessly on this record.
On the flip, we’ve got ‘Left side’; a deep groover built around a synth & disco loop and cleverly sampled vocals singing ‘I believe… oooh yes I do’. This one is definitely a lowkey banger, where Ossie turns that one simple loop into a powerful theme made to ignite dancefloors.
The EP closes with the heavy warehouse groove of ‘Don’t stop’. A cavernous low end, rough percussion and chopped synth stabs all come together on this beast of a track. Ossie cleverly plays around with vinyl backspins, vocal chops and small changeovers to keep things interesting, while the groove just keeps on going.
Ossie’s ‘Motivation’ EP has dancefloor written all over it and with all its forward energy, there’s no doubt you’ll be hearing this one a lot in clubs all over the world.
Pablo Volt and J.G.G. make dub-folktronica the unpolished way: guitar, horns, drums and synths, recorded loose, drenched in echoes and tape saturation. They met in Barcelona over a shared love of experimental beers and even more experimental sessions, determined to see how far their musical chemistry could take them. "Mordida", their 2023 tape, spent months on repeat at the Pingipung office. Now comes the debut LP: Aqui me quedo. It's a record built on the gap between two childhoods. Pablo Volt (aka Pope, as producer) grew up in Mendoza, Argentina; Jordi Gege aka J.G.G. in a suburb of Barcelona. What they share is a language and a curiosity about each other's memories and musical roots - the studio is where they embrace their different origins in improvisations. A ditch from Pablo's childhood becomes "Zanjon". A mountain Jordi used to roam becomes "Emisora". An ice cream shop, a Sunday market, a football club: small doors into a past the other never lived, but somehow recognises. Aqui me quedo, "I'm staying here", is also the name of the Barcelona bar where they toast after a good session. Two friends, tracing their way back through the past, decide the present is where they'd rather be. Handmade, melodic, unashamed of a smile as they greet from the LP sleeve: this is the spirit in which Pingipung was founded 24 years ago and these two guys, muy simpatico, are living proof of it.
,DOGGOD" ist das 2025 erschienene dritte Album des kalifornischen Trios L.A. Witch und erweitert den bisherigen Garage-Rock- und Psychedelic-Sound der Band um deutliche Post-Punk- und Goth-Rock-Einflüsse. Inspiriert von Bands wie Joy Division, The Cure und Krautrock verbindet das Album treibende Basslinien, atmosphärische Gitarren und dunkle Melodien mit der charakteristisch mystischen Ausstrahlung der Band. Inhaltlich beschäftigt sich ,DOGGOD" mit Liebe, Hingabe, Unterwerfung und Spiritualität. Der Titel spielt mit den Begriffen ,Dog" und ,God" und setzt sich mit bedingungsloser Loyalität, Selbstaufgabe und gesellschaftlichen Rollenbildern auseinander. Zwischen romantischer Sehnsucht, düsterer Vorahnung und hypnotischen Rhythmen präsentieren L.A. Witch ihr bislang vielschichtigstes und ambitioniertestes Album.
Fudge is Michael Kiwanuka’s most free and instinctive album to date. A vibrant, deeply human record shaped by spontaneity, emotion, and creative joy. It’s loose, soulful, and alive with the kind of magic that only happens when the process leads the way. The album was inspired by the encouraging words of the late Chick Corea, whose interview Michael stumbled upon during the pandemic lockdown, urging him to embrace what he loved without worrying about what others might think.
Each physical edition brings you into that world. The artwork, created by Michael’s friend and visual collaborator Stevie Gee, bursts with colour and character. It’s a psychedelic cartoon-inspired piece that perfectly mirrors the album’s warmth and wonder
Fudge is Michael Kiwanuka’s most free and instinctive album to date. A vibrant, deeply human record shaped by spontaneity, emotion, and creative joy. It’s loose, soulful, and alive with the kind of magic that only happens when the process leads the way. The album was inspired by the encouraging words of the late Chick Corea, whose interview Michael stumbled upon during the pandemic lockdown, urging him to embrace what he loved without worrying about what others might think.
Each physical edition brings you into that world. The artwork, created by Michael’s friend and visual collaborator Stevie Gee, bursts with colour and character. It’s a psychedelic cartoon-inspired piece that perfectly mirrors the album’s warmth and wonder
The vibraphone may have gone quiet, but the groove hasn't. Roy Ayers passed away on March 4, 2025, in New York City, at the age of 84, but the man they called the Godfather of Neo-Soul left behind a vault deep enough to keep dancefloors moving for generations. BBE Music now hands the keys to Berlin's own Delfonic, whose second volume of reworks digs even further into that treasure chest for six fresh, floor-ready reimaginings. The series began when Delfonic shared a spontaneous edit with BBE founder Pete Adarkwah, and listener demand for a vinyl pressing turned the idea into a full official release. Volume 1 sold out fast and moved through collector circles at speed; Volume 2 arrives with even higher expectations attached, and record heads who missed out the first time won't want to sleep twice. Everything here is pulled from deep, previously-vaulted Ayers sessions. The reworks draw from BBE's celebrated Virgin Ubiquity compilations, a trove of unreleased Roy Ayers recordings cut between 1976 and 1981. These are the rarer cuts serious collectors have been chasing for years, now given a second life courtesy of BBE Music Delfonic is the alias of Markus Lindner, a Berlin lifer. He's been DJing professionally since 2004, building his name across Berlin and wider Europe with a sound rooted in hip-hop but stretched across many genres. For anyone who needs the primer: Ayers pioneered jazz-funk through his group Roy Ayers Ubiquity and was widely regarded as the godfather of neo-soul. His breakthrough came young; he got his first vibraphone mallets at age five after watching Lionel Hampton's band, and by 1963 he had his own recording contract. His records have been sampled for decades by artists including Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, and Kanye West, cementing him as one of the most sampled figures in soul-jazz history; a status that only grows with every year that passes. About BBE Music: This is a label with real archival credibility on Ayers specifically. BBE has held the license to the Virgin Ubiquity sessions since 2004, and this rework series is a natural extension of that decades-long relationship. Buyers trust the BBE stamp on soul-jazz reissues and edits precisely because of that history and the care, thought and quality that goes into every physical release, as BBE celebrates 30 years of real music for real people.
“Slide in the party like three monkeys wearing a trench,” GDP says in the opening seconds of Cross Off Matthew, his first solo album in over a decade. The line is indicative of the New Jersey emcee/ producer’s relationship with music, one that’s ebbed and flowed throughout his career and eclectic discography. Entirely self-produced, Cross Off Matthew feels like a reintroduction as well as an expansion of what makes the cult rapper so beloved. GDP came up in the respective punk, hardcore, and skateboarding scenes of New Jersey, roots that inspired his DIY approach to making hip-hop. He applied a decidedly punk ethos to his brand of neo- boom bap on early releases like 2009’s Realistic Expectations and 2011’s Useless Eaters, albums that celebrated his youthful indiscretions but also signaled an old soul lying beneath the surface.
He opted to release them on punk/indie labels (including Run For Cover and Ride The Fury Records) instead of more traditional hip-hop outlets, and along with an ambitious touring schedule, he carved out a dedicated fanbase throughout the early 2010’s. Cross Off Matthew is a slow-cooked labor of love, born out of taking enough time away from something to understand the journey with greater perspective and appreciation.“I’m older, arguably wiser, but that creative fire stayed with me,” he says. “I wanted to make something that felt nuanced, something that I could feel proud of.” Throughout the album, the production toggles between foreboding and facetious just as deftly as his bars. Tracks like “Island In The Sky” and “Location Therapy” make rap confetti out of caustic guitars and glaring distortion, while “Seroquel” and “Rock For Light,” (the latter a nod to NJ rap royalty, The Outsidaz) embrace GDP’s signature blend of East Coast hip-hop and punk sensibilities, with lyrics that highlight the sharp wit and heady philosophizing that he made his name on. GDP examines vices, interpersonal relationships, the collective dread of late-stage capitalism as well as the pitfalls and rewards of trying to lead a creative life throughout it all. The wiseman that peaked out from beneath the shield of debauchery on his early releases has now come to the forefront, as GDP’s trademark humor and commentary feel refined by years of life lived experience
byt’ continues its eclectic journey with the third release in its catalogue. This chapter sees the return of Telva, shifting into a new frequency with a story born between 11.11 and a full Taurus moon back in 2024 in Berlin. The composition recorded in a single take, is articulated through a dreamy, electronic, minimal house, and vocal infusion. Left as romantic and unrestrained as the artist’s reverie, it is preserved in its raw form to protect its intimacy.
“Every record I make is a guide towards a better understanding of all that I can be. 11:11 is a fragment of a special spark I experienced, which peeled back another layer of myself enriched by the lessons along the way, until finally holding it in my hands today. What started as an epiphany on Heideglühen’s dance-floor unfolded into a kiss of destiny, a fleeting delirious love affair, and a quest of passion that hugged my memory, compelling me to revisit my early days. An endeavor of surrender, no matter how unknown, unconventional or uncertain it all may feel. To finally have the courage to let it be messy, raw and true, so that I stand naked once again, while daring to honor the absence of order as part of the magic and mystery of life.” - Telva
Somehow it feels fitting that 1+1 equals not only 11, but also the two slabs of vinyl carrying Henry Hodson’s music here. A small inside joke, perhaps, but also a sign of how naturally this record came together: instinctive and shaped with intention. Hodson — who first appeared on Limousine Dream and later with a subtle and beautifully controlled EP via Silky Beats — continues his trajectory between deep house warmth and minimal clarity. These six tracks are drawn with the sort of fine-grained rhythmic detail that rewards attention without ever demanding it. Light-footed percussion, elegant restraint, grooves that breathe. The double 12’’ format isn’t a gimmick; it’s a commitment. Each track gets the physical space and sonic depth it needs.
For over 25 years, David Madson (aka Odd Nosdam) has been stationed away from the light of the mainstream, diligently working the nightshift. Every so often, we awake to find another of his bleary and beautiful missives slung into the waking world – albums whose assemblages of sampled grooves, atmospheres and voices are unified by a hallucinatory sense of melody, like disparate visions strung together through ribbons of sleep-talk. From his earliest days as a member of the seminal group cLOUDDEAD, through his remixes for artists such as Boards of Canada and Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nosdam has been reporting back from his rounds upon the perimeters of culture and consciousness, forging a musical language all of his own.
On Patrol is the second Odd Nosdam LP to be released on The Notwist’s imprint Alien Transistor – following on from the 2019 album Mirrors – and continues a collaborative history that begun with a 2008 remix of The Notwist song, “Sleep”. It’s a love letter to the vinyl format, produced with the aim of optimizing for a single LP. This objective permeated every aspect of the album’s production, from the duration of each side through to the vinyl mastering (Jessica Thompson) and lacquer-cutting (Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin). As we've come to expect, the album is built almost entirely from found sounds, many of which were taken from obscure and second-hand vinyl gathered during Nosdam’s ceaseless crate-digging escapades. Other sources include field recordings made in 2022 at the Catalonia summer home of artist Salvador Dalí, which are baked into the swirling sci-fi glide of “Here to Know (Adéu Mix)”, and a sumptuous clunking bass line courtesy of Organi’s Mike Walti, which runs like an infinite highway through the fuzzy, sunbaked sprawl of “Deepsimple”.
Odd Nosdam’s work has always swept the entire atmospheric spectrum, from rhythmic vigour to levitational beauty. On Patrol is perhaps his finest assimilation of these extremes. “Sgt. Pepsi” is the perfect case in point: a formidable slow groove capsizes into vinyl crackle after a mere minute, before the song resurrects itself through sweeping strings and vocal harmonies, sliding against each other like the overlain romantic denouements to a dozen Hollywood films from the 1940s. Elsewhere, “Get You In (Belong Mix)” drapes shoegaze guitar over a trundling funk backbeat, straddling the physical world and the outer realms, while hushed voices point toward the song's implied themes of cultural cliques, critical consensus and the plight of the eternal outsider: “Sure, I can get you in... these people are my friends, I’m one of them - I belong.”
This is music that both endures and disappears. Odd Nosdam has always wielded a strange relationship with time, scrambling association with any specific era, weaving together numerous tempos simultaneously. There is no master clock. Each track could happily hold up as an infinite loop, yet Nosdam clearly favours the potency of the gone-too-soon, applying the fadeout just as hypnosis starts to crest. Indeed, the songs are both the product of meticulous long-term construction and spontaneity. While the foundations of On Patrol have come together over several years, the recording process involved channeling vibes through a vintage Roland Space Echo and bouncing song fragments back and forth from hard disk to cassette 8-track, gifting a phased permanence to creative decisions made on the fly – a hat-tip to the production processes of Nosdam's longtime hero, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Like a recurring dream, On Patrol appeals to both the plains of momentary ephemera and the long-established backchannels of the unconscious, equal parts revelation and deja vu.
With NIGHTS AFTER VAMP, Magnolia Park have spun an electrifying mix of hard rock, punk, nu-metal, hip-hop and metalcore into a dizzying, multisensory experience. Throughout its 17 songs, the record soundtracks an ominous journey through the fictional world of Nocturne Nexus; where rulers and rebels battle with the future hanging in the balance. Heavily inspired by the band's love of anime, horror and fantasy, the album's narrative was spurred by the long-running Vampire Hunter D, iconic works like Star Wars, Dracula and Joseph Campbell's legendary monomyth. Produced by the band's in-house producers alongside Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember, Wage War), Hiram Hernandez (blessthefall) and Andy Karpovck (408, Taylor Acorn) and mixed by Zakk Cervini (Bad Omens, Bring Me The Horizon) - Magnolia Park soundtrack this dramatic tale of crimson blood and chrome-plated courage through their own mix of man and machine, stacking whirring electronics and industrial undertones alongside sledgehammer breakdowns, walls of detuned guitars and Roberts' seam-splitting vocals.
"From the Toolkit of Lovers" is the latest from Brian Leeds, known publicly under several monikers: Huerco S., Pendant, and Loidis - a play on his own surname. Recorded over the summer of 2025, Leeds expounds upon the sound of One Day in a 110-minute meditation on life, love and dub
This compilation containing both super limited and sold out EPs "Naehe & Flackern" and "Es laesst nicht los, mich jedoch laengst" on one 12" Vinyl. The band Nidare presents their EP "Naehe und Flackern", a collection of three powerful songs that thematically deal with the feeling of hate. The singer's lyrics paint a vivid picture of hate in different facets: the hate towards society, the hate the singer faces in his life and the hate the singer himself carries outward. "Naehe und Flackern" is an EP that takes listeners on an emotional journey while also being a profound emotional exploration. Nidare manages to channel the darkness in her lyrics and music. The EP is an expression of pain, anger and despair, but also a call for self-reflection and understanding of the complex nature of human emotions. "Es laesst nicht los, ich jedoch laengst" is a visceral, unapologetic journey through the emotional landscape of a fractured world. Built around themes of political disillusionment, mental health struggles, and the crushing weight of existential dread, this EP serves as both a cry for help and a reflection of the suffocating atmosphere of modern life.
Every coastline develops its own rhythm. The Adriatic is no exception.
For decades, Italy’s eastern coast has been shaped by funk, Cosmic Disco, Balearic sounds, Italo Disco, House, Latin rhythms, Brazilian music and countless other influences. Rather than blending into a single style, these musical worlds have lived side by side, constantly inspiring new generations of DJs, musicians and dancers. For more than fifteen years, Soul Fingers and Funk Rimini have explored that landscape from different perspectives. Founded by Claudio Cavallaro in 2013, Soul Fingers grew into a vinyl-driven community where groove matters more than genre. Its philosophy has always been simple: if the groove is right, genres stop mattering. Brothers Ricky and Francesco Cardelli developed Funk Rimini into a project rooted in funk, disco, live performance and electronic production. Anima Adriatica is where these two journeys meet.
The project didn’t begin with the ambition of making an album. It began behind the turntables. As DJs, Claudio Cavallaro and Ricky Cardelli found themselves constantly searching for records capable of connecting distant musical worlds inside their sets; from Afrobeat into disco, from hip hop into Latin, from Brazilian grooves into boogie, from cosmic electronics into deep funk. Sometimes those records existed. More often, they didn’t. So they stopped searching and started writing them. Not records designed to belong to one genre, but records designed to travel between genres. That space between musical worlds became Anima Adriatica.
The music grew through spontaneous jam sessions with Ricky and Francesco Cardelli, drummer Enrico Mao Bocchini and, gradually, a wider circle of musicians, singers and longtime friends, making Anima Adriatica less a traditional band than the beginning of an open collective. Recorded at SynthPosio Studio, founded by Ricky and Francesco Cardelli inside Rimini’s iconic skyscraper, the project also carries a symbolic connection to the building itself, where many Italo Disco classics (including records by Betty Miranda, The Creatures and many others) were recorded decades earlier.
Betty Miranda returns not as a nostalgic guest, but as a bridge between generations. On the title track she performs a spoken-word text written by Claudio Cavallaro, reflecting on the invisible thread connecting the Adriatic dancefloor across time. From Baia degli Angeli to Cocoricò, from the legendary clubs of Riccione to today’s independent communities gathered around projects such as Soul Fingers and Funk Rimini, the places have changed, but the dancefloor continues to tell the same story. Much like Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s Rimini captured the Adriatic through literature, Anima Adriatica imagines its soundtrack.
Brazilian musician Daniel Plentz (Selton) expands that vision on Açúcar and Alegria, bringing another coastline into the story. Across its four tracks, the EP moves naturally between analogue funk, boogie, Brazilian music, underground disco, cosmic textures and the wider Black musical tradition, with All Down The Line paying tribute to the Paradise Garage era.
Released by Bordello A Parigi, the project found its natural home through a shared love of adventurous dance music, records and club culture. More than the title of an EP, Anima Adriatica marks the beginning of an open collective; a meeting point where musicians, DJs, producers and friends continue building bridges between genres, generations and communities.
Because Anima Adriatica doesn’t live inside a genre. It lives between genres. If soul music has always reflected the places where it was born, Anima Adriatica is simply our own Adriatic Soul.
Shaka from Switzerland has always been someone on our radar and after receiving a test pressing of his release on Seasons Limited of the track Smoky Club the question was asked to do something to suit Ten Lovers Music and he has delivered. Drafting in Michael Berry on additional keys and Martin Cappi on flute, From West To South is as at home on the dancefloor as it is nodding along to at home.
Onto side AA and Takahiro Fuchigami from Japan delivers 3 superb broken beat gems, Rhythm Section, Sliding Window and Sparkling Fate are all very different but musically perfect to our ears.
Powerhouse vocalist Sandra St. Victor returns with Eleven, her eleventh studio album and first solo release in over a decade. From her years with The Family Stand to collaborations with Roy Ayers, Curtis Mayfield, Chaka Khan, Prince and Lalah Hathaway, Sandra has built a remarkable career that has consistently blurred the lines between soul, funk, jazz and gospel.
Executive produced by Sandra St. Victor and Patrick Gibin for Mother Tongue, Eleven brings together Sandra's longtime collaborators alongside the Mother Tongue family, bridging her rich musical legacy with a fresh, forward-looking sound rooted in soul, jazz, boogie and soulful dance music.
The album combines brand new compositions with inspired reinterpretations, from Kaidi Tatham's stunning reimagining of Captain Sky's Moonchild and his masterful reinvention of the Leon Ware/Syreeta underground gem Tiki Tiki Donga, to a beautifully understated new version of Sandra's own Dizzy, originally released on Gemini: Both Sides in 2001 featuring Questlove, Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd, here reimagined by Mark de Clive-Lowe. Along the way, the lo-fi soul of Black Ice, the timeless duet No More Water featuring Lalah Hathaway, and the straight-up funk of Makes Me Wanna Fall In Love Again and What Would Miles Do showcase an artist continuing to evolve while remaining true to her artistic voice.
Rooted in experience yet driven by curiosity, Eleven bridges Sandra's remarkable musical legacy with the creative vision of Mother Tongue, resulting in an album that feels both timeless and unmistakably
"Dark Flower" is the new imprint by Robert Babicz, launched in cooperation with Systematic Recordings as a home for his own music. Named after one of the defining tracks of his career, it feels less like the launch of another label and more like the opening of a private room: a place for sound, emotion and instinct, shaped entirely by Babicz himself. With „Electric Love EP" he begins this chapter in full colour. After more than 1.000 released tracks and music on labels such as Bedrock, Kompakt, Systematic and Sudbeat, FLOWER0001 is not about proving anything. It is about freedom.
“Electric Love” opens the EP with punchy breaks, luminous harmonies and choral textures that seem to rise above the beat. It is bold, open and slightly unexpected, electronic music with a pulse and a sky above it. "Cuerpo Con Color” brings things closer to the floor: warm chords, fluent grooves and a calm, driving pressure that slowly pulls the body into motion. Across two versions, “Tease Me” closes the EP with a burning bassline, oriental vocal fragments and a seductive tension running underneath. Strange, physical and unmistakably Babicz.
Mysticisms completes its archival releases of the Dub Specialists with a 3rd EP of the outer reaches of the Digi Dub realm, this time mainly drawing from the project’s final album Loop To Loop.
Conscious Sounds head honcho Dougie Waldrop, working again with Chris Petter (Love Grocer) runs the desk, the heavy sample originals move from House to Breaks, Dub to Funk.
For the final reversions, label co-owner and editing specialist Piers Harrison returns, turning Love Song in a long form 4/4 romantic digi bounce. A sure-fire winner, the catchy groove and trippy beats, the template of what makes Dub Specialists come alive.
Following is Lotion Dub, edited by Vanity Project. A key part to the project, working with Millie Mckee, as well assisting Chuggy, his solid arrangements and engineering skills take the old school original, with digi horns, electro stabs and reggae “skanking” guitar, accentuating the drum and bass to effect.
The final side of edits come from Chuggy, taking the steppers of Dub Downtown, teasing the drop, looping and riding the riddim and also, finally, from rising producer and label head of Spiritual World Recordings, N1 Sound who sticks to the true essence of re-editing, creating a DJ friendly excursion, extending and live dubbing the sought after 808 Dub from Dub Specialists debut Break To Break, thus bringing the whole project full circle and complete.
