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Marconi Union, one of the most influential names in contemporary ambient and electronic music, announce their twelfth studio album, The Fear of Never Landing, set for release 6th June via Just Music. The news is paired with the release of first single Eight Miles High Alone, out 20th March on all major streaming platforms.

Known for their ability to craft cinematic, immersive soundscapes that blur the lines between ambient, electronic, and experimental music, the Manchester-based duo once again push the boundaries of sonic exploration. The Fear of Never Landing takes us on a dynamic journey that’s atmospheric, diaphanous and never short of mesmerising. While the new record is certainly infused with a sense of hope, there’s more than a soupçon of anxiety too, as the title suggests.

A 55-minute odyssey presented as one seamless piece divided into nine movements, they transcribe the nexus of modern living into a mostly wordless odyssey. The album encapsulates Marconi Union’s ability to translate the complexities of the human experience into sound, all while maintaining a stunning sense of cohesion.

While the music feels effortless, the creative process was anything but. During the two years it took to complete the album, members Jamie Crossley and Duncan Meadows faced creative struggles that even led them to briefly question the band’s future. A pivotal moment came when they performed a live soundtrack to the 1975 skateboarding film Downhill Motion, rekindling their connection to atmospheric composition. By testing new material live and returning to their roots, Marconi Union redefined their creative process, leading to some of their most emotionally impactful work to date.

“We’ve always made atmospheric music but we had started to lose that aspect. Other than some rough ideas, we had no sense of what we were doing anymore, a kind of musical wilderness. Eventually a couple of things fell into place, and it was like, ‘Ah, okay.”
With a foundation to build upon, they went back to basics and decided to take their time going forwards. “We tried out a few new tracks live which gave us the opportunity to see what worked and what didn’t. We've never given ourselves that luxury before.”

The first track to be shared, Eight Miles High Alone, is a mesmerizing sequencer-driven track that builds an immersive, atmospheric soundscape. Its hypnotic pulses and intricate layers evoke a sense of solitude and weightlessness, perfectly capturing the album’s blend of tension and introspection. “Eight Miles High Alone was the first piece that we managed to complete and helped to inform our approach to the rest of the album.”

Formed in Manchester in 2003, their debut album, Under Wires and Searchlights (2003), introduced their signature sound, but it was their 2011 release of Weightless that brought international acclaim. Developed in collaboration with a sound therapist, Weightless was scientifically recognised as “the world’s most relaxing song”, praised for its ability to reduce anxiety and heart rates. With over 900 million streams and widespread coverage across media, the track remains a cultural phenomenon.

Over the years, Marconi Union has continued to evolve, producing critically acclaimed albums such as Signals (2021), Ghost Stations (2016), and Tokyo+ (2017). Their work has been hailed for its emotional resonance and sonic depth, with The Quietus noting their ability to find “beauty in the bleakest places” and The Sunday Times describing them as “amongst today’s most talented musicians.”

Beyond their studio albums, Marconi Union has collaborated with visual artists, provided soundtracks for installations, and remixed notable acts like Max Richter and Vök. Their invitation by Brian Eno to perform at Norway’s Punkt Festival further cemented their reputation as innovators in the ambient music sphere.

With The Fear of Never Landing, Marconi Union once again showcases their unmatched ability to create immersive soundscapes that resonate deeply. The album reaffirms their position as masters of atmosphere and emotional storytelling, making it an essential addition to their storied catalog.

'Clover' is the debut LP from Sleeper's Bell, the project of vocalist/lyricist/librarian-by-day Blaine Teppema & guitarist Evan Green. Recorded with Jack Henry (Friko, Horsegirl), 'Clover' is a product of Chicago's reliable DIY scene, offering a more confessional & folk-influenced lens. Instrumentation spans from fiddle to saxophone, combining an expansive sound with laser-focused lyrics. Praised by New York Times ("Sleeper's Bell captures the lingering wounds, self-doubt and distrust") , Stereogum, ('Clover' is shaping up to be the perfect heartbreak album"), Chicago Reader ("tender"), NPR Music and more, ‘Clover’ spit-shines dive bar wisdom into polished folk-rock. These songs date back as far as 10 years, having changed form countless times throughout the year. As the duo continued steeping themselves in the city’s storied independent scene, their newfound momentum expanded initial conceptions of what Sleeper’s Bell could be. Sleeper's Bell "shine in layers of musical finery" (For The Rabbits) and have cultivated a strong fanbase in their hometown of Chicago, supporting the likes of beloved twangers Merce Lemon, Fust, @, and more.

“Splitter Archive” is a debut release by p4rticl3, a duo consisting of Berlin-based Gerriet Krishna Sharma, co-founder of spæs lab Berlin, and Glasgow-based TRSSX. Presented and recorded entirely live at EXIT Glasgow in November 2024, “Splitter Archive” was a 4-channel abstract electronics performance presented as part of a larger collaboration between EXIT and spæs lab. This particular ‘archive’ catalogues intricate granularity and looped swells of low frequencies generating a multitude of vertiginous spatio-temporal planes. Abstract, experimental techno-esque structures.

STAR CREATURE's Global Caress series started this year off with a bang with newcomer ARSENE's "JACK SHIT" 7" selling out almost immediately. The followup here might just do the same… Another gruesome twosome of hard hitting, left field, electro acid. The half-Finnish, half-Estonian duo LLL add a distinctly Baltic outsider edge to the classic combo of Chicago jackin' house meets UK sound system culture. The fellahs tap an arsenal of original gear rescued and revived over the years to create hyper-saturated textures, thuggish rhythmic beats, squelchy acidic synths and mischievous microphone miscellany

Acclaimed director and musician Jim Jarmusch and experimental lute player and composer Jozef van Wissem met nearly 20 years ago, forming a close bond after they ran into each other on the streets of New York City. In 2011, they began performing and producing records together. The follow up to “American Landscapes “ entitled “ The Day The Angels Cried” releases June 6 and coincides with a world tour. The duo weaves an intricate Lute and guitar string tapestry of droning, minimal free-folk compositions destined to captivate listeners with their dark hypnosis. This time vocals and electronics are added as well. Van Wissem’s work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director’s stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late ‘70s. Van Wissem’s compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called “New Music for Early Instruments.” The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem’s compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef ’s foreground, like the “scenic” on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. “The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury.” .According to Van Wissem: We started with layers of instrumental parts.. Jim recorded a otherworldly Passerelle bridge guitar part to which we added vocals. This became the title track " The Day The Angels Cried" The lyrics for this song came to me during a vision I had in a dream. It was much like a vision Swedenborg writes about. In it he converses with angels. In my vision the angel looked down from the heavens upon the earth engulfed in flames. Recent events in Los Angeles and other parts of the world, have led me to believe that this dream was a premonition. “The Day The Angels Cried” ( Inc 040/41) releases June 6th on Incunabulum Records, right before the duo start their World tour. releases June 6, 2025 Jozef Van Wissem Voice, Baroque And Renaissance Lutes, 12 String Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Electronics, Found Recordings Jim Jarmusch Voice, Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Passerelle Bridge Guitar, Electronics, Found Recordings

Dieses Album bringt wieder mehr Schwärze in den Sound der Australier, die damit eine leichte Kursänderung härter am Wind vornehmen; ohne sich der Nostalgie "alter Tage" hinzugeben. AUSTERE bleiben im selbstgesteckten Rahmen der reiferen und definierten Version ihres besonderen depressiven Black Metal Stils, der ihre Erfahrung und künstlerische Entwicklung widerspiegelt. AUSTERE entstanden aus einem Soloprojekt des Multi-Instrumentalisten und Sängers Desolate alias Mitchell Keepin, der sich im Jahr 2005 mit dem Schlagzeuger, Keyboarder und Sänger Sorrow aka Tim Yatras zusammenschloss. Mit frostigen Gitarren, spitzen Schreien und Wehklagen als Markenzeichen offenbarte AUSTEREs Debütalbum "Withering Illusions and Desolation" (2007) noch einen starken nordischen Einfluss. Das Zweitwerk "To Lay like Old Ashes" folgte im Jahr 2009 ebenfalls mit einem rohen Sound, überzeugte aber auch durch eine verfeinerte Produktion. Danach konzentrierten sich beide Musiker auf andere Projekte und AUSTERE ging in den Winterschlaf. Erst im Jahr 2021 fand das Duo erneut zusammen. Die Zahl der Anhänger war in den Jahren ihrer Abwesenheit dennoch rein durch Mundpropaganda stark angewachsen. AUSTERE sind zurück und tragen auf "The Stillness of Dissolution" schwarze Trauer. Doch darunter kleiden sich die Australier auch in all die subtilen Grautöne, die aus der kontinuierlichen Entwicklung ihrer Musik gewebt wurden, und aus dunkler Materie spannende neue Klangräume erschaffen.

Dieses Album bringt wieder mehr Schwärze in den Sound der Australier, die damit eine leichte Kursänderung härter am Wind vornehmen; ohne sich der Nostalgie "alter Tage" hinzugeben. AUSTERE bleiben im selbstgesteckten Rahmen der reiferen und definierten Version ihres besonderen depressiven Black Metal Stils, der ihre Erfahrung und künstlerische Entwicklung widerspiegelt. AUSTERE entstanden aus einem Soloprojekt des Multi-Instrumentalisten und Sängers Desolate alias Mitchell Keepin, der sich im Jahr 2005 mit dem Schlagzeuger, Keyboarder und Sänger Sorrow aka Tim Yatras zusammenschloss. Mit frostigen Gitarren, spitzen Schreien und Wehklagen als Markenzeichen offenbarte AUSTEREs Debütalbum "Withering Illusions and Desolation" (2007) noch einen starken nordischen Einfluss. Das Zweitwerk "To Lay like Old Ashes" folgte im Jahr 2009 ebenfalls mit einem rohen Sound, überzeugte aber auch durch eine verfeinerte Produktion. Danach konzentrierten sich beide Musiker auf andere Projekte und AUSTERE ging in den Winterschlaf. Erst im Jahr 2021 fand das Duo erneut zusammen. Die Zahl der Anhänger war in den Jahren ihrer Abwesenheit dennoch rein durch Mundpropaganda stark angewachsen. AUSTERE sind zurück und tragen auf "The Stillness of Dissolution" schwarze Trauer. Doch darunter kleiden sich die Australier auch in all die subtilen Grautöne, die aus der kontinuierlichen Entwicklung ihrer Musik gewebt wurden, und aus dunkler Materie spannende neue Klangräume erschaffen.

Divine Dances. In plural form.
The fourth album from DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson couldn't have a more explicit title.


Masters of emotions and feelings, the duo has always known how to express melancholy and nostalgia with precision. Yet this time, all their efforts have concentrated on a single goal: taking listeners by the hand—no, by the ear, obviously!—to bring everyone back to the dance floor and explore a variety of atmospheres together.


And naturally, a variety of styles. Funk, ndombolo, electro, hip hop or zouk, each new vibration discovered carries away the previous one to form a dancefloor where all eventually come together.
Divinely light.


The body, surrendered to this call to dance in all its forms, has been so caught up in the whirlwind of groove that the mind has fallen in behind it to continue as one. Words explode into syllables that metamorphose into notes, then perfectly align with those from the score.


One second. A bit of attention. Caught by an irrepressible groove, then comes the moment to slalom through melodies to discover, at the turn of a rhyme, a new meaning. Approached head-on, certain overly serious themes would empty the room and bring the atmosphere down to lead levels. The diagonal approach, humor, and apparent nonchalance of the two men are the best weapons at their disposal. Their Trojan horse to put substance into their form(s). To evoke transidentity, consent, economic malaise as well as the spiritual, or to tell little stories of frustrated loves, seemingly insoluble but which will end well.


Anthony Hilaire for Creole words, Sarah Solo for hip-swiveling soukous, Patrick Bebey for pygmy flute notes, and Grégoire Mahé to bring electricity to DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson's songs; styles blend in a musicality worked into its smallest interstices.


Gathered on this dance floor illuminated with 80s disco brilliance, you observe brassy notes slithering under the electronic veneer, synthesizer keys splashed by furious hip movements. To raise your eyes to connect with the spiritual is to watch the sky become constellated with crystalline Fender Rhodes notes, destined to fall like rain on the heavy bass of afrobeat groove.
Smiles attached to faces, no one should think they can get through the ten tracks of Divine Dances while remaining seated : he's doomed to fail.


OUT MAY 2025 DELUXE WHITE VINYL 180 G /CD / DIGITAL

The long-anticipated debut LP from Atlantik has finally arrived on Feines Tier. Hailing from Cologne, childhood friends Georg and Clemens have spent over a decade refining their passion for hardware-driven live techno.
Whether as a regular touring act, resident duo at Berlin’s legendary Sisyphos, or an opening act on Fusion’s Turmbühne, Atlantik has captivated audiences with their high-energy approach to techno.
While their sound continues to evolve, its roots remain in Cologne’s minimal techno golden era. Atlantik blends glitchy percussion, delicate melodies, and hypnotic atmospheres—always maintaining the precision and restraint of minimalism. Enjoy the journey!

This is a release that has been on the back burner for a few years now. Discussions started a while ago but so many distractions happened in-between (plus we released the excelled Amen Brother EP by EQ as well which distracted things for a while). But we got there and by god, we know how much this EP is loved by you guys... so super happy to have finally got it over the line.

This is a proper piece of grail... EQ and the amazing Mastersafe. They only released one record together, this one, back in 1994. Though trainspotters, anoraks and fans alike will be stoked to know that they actually made quite a few tunes together back then that were never released (though a few made it to dubplates)... and EQ has found all the DAT's, so keep on eye on Vinyl Fanatiks during 2025 for further treats by this duo!

Introducing Gabriel Seher and Boris Kraft aka Draaht on Logistic records. In the dynamicrealm of live electronic improvisation, Draaht emerges as a captivating duo, seamlesslyblending sonic landscapes that fuse instant composition with the pulsating beats of Techno.Logistic gets back to his Techno roots with 2303 from Draaht, Techno music all the way inthe line of artists the label has worked with such as Robert Hood or Tobias. This 3 track EPTechno has a strong and powerful analog sound production. A killer vibe for the dance floor.

Orbital London returns after a three - year hiatus with "Revenant EP" , marking its lucky number seven release — this time featuring Jack Michael and the debut of Romanian duo The Apricots , consisting of Alexandra and DJ Slim Fit . A destined musical match, as Alexandra has been an Orbital fan since the very beginning.

Staying true to its concept, the release features two original tracks — one from each artist — while pushing creative boundaries as they remix each other's work.

On Side A , Jack Michael’s “Infinity” goes fast and driving with a heavy bassline, blending breakbeat and techno flavors. A haunting winding melody and a mysterious vocal add to the track’s hypnotic energy. The Apricots’ remix of Jack’s track blurs the lines between electro and breakbeat, with a trance vibration in the underneath layers and surprise dubstep insertion with a dirty bassline.

On Side B , The Apricots’ “Subdued” is powered by the rich, broken - beat percussion and a wild, rave - inspired bassline. As the title suggests, the heaviness of the bas s is m omentarily tamed by the emotive pads and melodies — only to return stronger for a different , yet electrifying bass interlude, topped with a deep male vocal. Jack Michael’s re shape of "Subdued" takes a dreamier approach, crafting a deeper breakbeat journey, dominated by long hefty bass wave s and bathed in quirky synths and etherial pads.

Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie return with a bang! Fresh off a short hiatus, the duo drops a box of fierce, grooving house cuts packed with signature Karlovak energy--raw, rhythmic, and irresistibly funky. Classic vibes with a fresh twist. The boys are back, and they mean business.

Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila return with Nuits Sans Nuit, their second collaboration following their Baba Soirée debut from 2023. Recorded as an intuitive exchange between Rotterdam and Valencia, the album emerged from a simple ping-pong process: Banabila sculpted sounds and atmospheres, to which Bastien responded with his distinctive instrumental palette: flute-augmented cornet, mechanised log drum, and more. Mixed by Banabila, the result is a raw yet immersive work that resonates with a somnambulant, wide-awake presence. Nuits Sans Nuit unfolds through shifting shades of melancholy. "I don"t know how to describe the feeling of these crazy times we live in," says Banabila. "Les plus désespérés sont les chants les plus beaux," Bastien quotes De Musset. Wordless yet deeply expressive, the album invites listeners into a space of contemplation, where meaning emerges through immersion - like ritual music carrying an unspoken message. Echoes of saudade, blues, fado, and soleá surface in the duo"s playful noise, reimagined through their singular vocabulary.

Recorded in Kobe, Kyoto, Tokyo, September 2015 Photos by Jim O'Rourke. Layout by Shunichiro Okada Despite decades of activity and having crossed paths in various collaborations Editions Mego is honoured to release the first ever duo recording from two of the most highly regarded citizens of planet experimental electronic. Individually, Jim O'Rourke and Christian Fennesz have been responsible for numerous legendary works which merge the traditional avant-garde with contemporary sensibilities. On It's Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry these giants of experimental electronic practice come together for an immensely powerful sonic experience. The signature of both O'Rourke and Fennesz cohabit this new release with O'Rourke's gurgling harmonies swimming amongst the shimmering frequencies and strummed melodies produced by Fennesz. Two side long tracks situate themselves as a warm electronic adventure. Simultaneously radical and comforting these works shift from gentle sonorities to fully distorted explosions all of which reside within a template of tension between musical and non-music matter. Timeless in execution and presentation It's Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry is a deeply rewarding sonic experience from two of the most romantic gentlemen active in experimental music today.

Welcome to the era of “Artificial Renaissance”. Humanity and technology stand at a crucial and fundamental intersection. Echoing past cultural revolutions in a modern, technologically advanced world, everything is set to be redefined—our lives, our thoughts, and the way we move forward.

Dutch EBM/synth duo Staatseinde returns with “Artificial Renaissance”, an electrifying new mini-album. Fusing the urgency of classic EBM with the boldness of futuristic synth-punk, the band crafts an interstellar sonic journey fueled by pulsating rhythms and dystopian narratives.

The album blends space punk, italo-disco and electro into a dark, cinematic exploration of rebellion, euphoria, and dystopia. “Space Scream” launches with a cosmic punk battle cry, while “Tanzverbot” pulses with defiant energy against restriction. “Suicide Tuesday” captures post-club emptiness with shimmering 80s nostalgia, and “The Trip” unravels themes of environmental doom. “Freight” propels an italo-disco-infused space odyssey tackling exploitation, while “Une Mémoire Sans Fin” dives into AI’s eerie hold on human emotions. The fast-paced “Mutant Whispers” transforms the dancefloor into a space of fluid identity and resistance, closing with “The Mansion”, a hypnotic synth-driven descent into surreal miscommunication.

With “Artificial Renaissance”, Staatseinde ventures into unexplored sonic territory, expanding the boundaries of their lyrics, balancing artificial futuristic aesthetics with raw human emotions. As the lines between past and future blur, their pulsating music reminds us: the new age is already here.

The formidable duo of Seba & Paradox return to Metalheadz, more than 5 years after their first collaborative release on the label. Both artists are prolific in their own right, each with their own distinctive signature sound that they have managed to seamlessly combine, resulting in truly first-class drum and bass. This latest offering is no exception as we present both 'Cypher' and 'Orlean' to the world, another masterclass from Seba & Paradox.

Corrosiv, the sophomore album from Orchestroll, reveals the duo at their most mature and vulnerable. Originally conceived as a reflection on hybridity and bastardization, the album deploys New Age and ambient compositional tropes as a launchpad, exposing their trite sanctity to the realities of corrosion. Having come of age in the 1970s and 1980s, the New Age movement perdures today as a domain of contradictions; its promise of transcendence riddled with the very commercialized dogma from which its adherents claim to flee. Healing modalities such as reiki, crystal therapy, and sound baths are simultaneously pathways to solace and sites of exploitation; their sonic counterparts—ethereal synth pads, shimmering textures, celestial drones—claim to facilitate meditation and enlightenment while devolving into empty signifiers of vitality. With Corrosiv, Orchestroll displays neither reverence nor disdain toward New Age: they exhume it instead, revealing the saccharine effervescence and commodified murk undergirding its aesthetics. The result is intoxicating—disquieting.

Born from a two-week residency at EMS Studios and expanded through a performance at MUTEK Montreal’s 25th anniversary, Corrosiv has since outgrown its original conceptual nucleus, taking on a broader scope. Its inquiry into New Age ideology’s voided rhetoric and aesthetic mysticism now informs a broader interrogation of cultural mediocrity, anti-authoritarianism, gatekeeping, music industry toxicity, and the crumbling edifice of late capitalism and techno-feudalism—all the mechanisms by which meaning is stripped from ceremony, and once-potent forms of knowledge are subsumed into the machinery of economic extraction, severed from their original essence, and transformed into hollow simulacra. Corrosiv distills these themes through a loose narrative: a soul, fixated on wellness as dictated by cosmetic economism, becomes ensnared in an endless afterlife, unable to transcend and shed its dilapidated consciousness.

Framed as an act of audio dissolution, the album thus engages in an alchemical process, whereby complex waveshaping, morphing synthesis, and distortion enact a ritual of fragmentation. There is also friction: between the rigid, mechanical imposition of systematized order and the untamed, chaotic force of organic metamorphosis. Here corrosion and confinement are not solely conceptual motifs; they are enacted in real time, sculpting the album’s terrain. Scraping, tarnishing, degradation—the languid wear of form and substance—become instruments in their own right: buffing as abrasion, entrapment as transformation, corrosion as a means of reconfiguration. The ‘protagonist,’ if there must be one, is the listener, caught within the throes of structural determinism and the potential for emancipation, unable to pass into something greater as the specters of collapsed futures accumulate in the margins.

Corrosiv extends its reach through collaborations with familiar voices: Heith (PAN), VISIO (Haunter), Femminielli (Drowned by Locals), Habib Bardi (Interzone), and Jiyoung Wi (Enmossed, Psychic Liberation, Doyenne) each leave their imprint on its sprawling landscape. At 1h16m, it is a procession, dense with earworms that burrow into the listener’s unconscious.

Misshapen, broken-down metals leach copper into blood, acid reflux burning through the core. Psyche disaggregates into cosmic turmoil, drifting between planes—tongue on rustline, gullet laced with solvent hymns, molars unlatching, bitcrushed to marrowspill. A spasm of brine, ferrous scripture, venomtext blooming in leaden rivulets, cartilage smoldering in phosphor decomposition, synapses drowning in a quicksilver choir. Crest of bile, churning ore, breath clotting into arsenic mist, vein-thread cinched, a corrosive gospel, limb by limb, oxidized to silence.

Ultimately, as the music exhales its final breath, its residue refuses to dissipate—and stillness alone remains. There are no conclusions here—no resolution, no collapse—only the slow drift outward of a vessel unmoored, lost in the sea of symbolic souring. Corrosiv sings the song of a world barren of prophecy, littered with aesthetic detritus. Whether this magic has been transfigured or simply worn away is unclear: the last breath dissipates, but the oxidation does not stop. The silence, too, will decay.

Conceptualized, composed, performed, recorded, mixed, engineered and produced by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier, and Asaël Richard-Robitaille in 2023 and 2024 at Elektron Musik Studion (EMS) - Stockholm, Sweden and Landsc8pe Studio - Montréal, QC, Canada.
Artwork by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier.
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu @ Schwebung Mastering.

In dark and difficult times, the music of Barney Lister and Kojo Degraft-Johnson lifts us up. As MRCY, the production and vocal duo are confronting the many crises of modern life with a fresh sound full of punchy instrumentation, enveloping orchestration and lyrical honesty. On their latest project, VOLUME 2, Barney and Kojo deliver emotive music that surprises as much as it comforts, referencing timeless sounds as much as a sense of the cutting edge. Channeling soulful vocal melody alongside afrobeat polyrhythms, jazz soloing and driving, distorted grooves, tracks like "Man" address the challenges of modern masculinity, while standout number "Fear" drives a message that encourages us to fight the terror we might feel about the state of the world with optimism. Following the acclaimed release of their 2024 debut project VOLUME 1, which saw the duo nominated as Rising Stars at the Rolling Stone Awards and named as one of DIY's Class of 2025, MRCY returns with vital music that addresses the complexities of being alive today. "We're trying to extinguish fear with optimism and worry with love," Barney says. "VOLUME 2 breaks the mould to present a bigger picture of who we are - something with angst, surprises and more guts. The main feeling of the project is that the world is fucked but let's dance through it."

Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 is the first ever archival release from Repetition Repetition, the “two-man electric minimalist band” consisting of Ruben Garcia and Steve Caton hailing from Los Angeles in the mid 1980’s. Repetition Repetition’s unique blend of cosmic art-rock minimalism / maximalism was self-released across a series of cassettes produced in micro editions, and while garnering the attention and participation of luminaries such as Harold Budd, remained under the radar during the band’s existence. Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 collects select material from across the duo’s catalog.

It was over a plate of Mexican breakfast food when Ruben Garcia and Steve Caton first told Harold Budd of Repetition Repetition and the worlds they intended to explore by respective way of synthesizers and guitars --- a rendezvous instigated by the former’s fan mail to the legendary composer. If the upstarts entered this restaurant from a one-way street of admiration, they would leave with not only Budd’s interest but, sometime later, a blessing in the wake of many hours shared by the three in Garcia’s Los Angeles home recording studio: “This is going to be difficult, but God help them, I think they’re great,” noted Budd in a USC lecture in 1985. Now several degrees removed from prior rock music aspirations, the real game was afoot.

Between 1984 and 1988, Repetition Repetition operated within something akin to the underground of the experimental underground, although even that designation perhaps overstates the case. The duo’s sparse output consisted of three cassettes self-released on Garcia’s Third Stone Music label: Repetition Repetition (1985), Lakeland (1987), and The Machinist (1987). Their songs would also be included during this period on Trance Port Tapes’ vital scene-scanning compilations assembled by A Produce. Live performances occurred with similar infrequency, but Garcia and Caton counted converts in quality over quantity, numbering among them the aforementioned Budd, a Chambers Brother, and, judging by a memorably drop-jawed reaction following a rare Repetition Repetition gig, Jackson Browne.

Likewise, critical support materialized in the form of KCRW deejays Brent Wilcox and Dean Suzuki, whose steady airplay positioned Repetition Repetition’s music amidst fearless company like Jon Hassell, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Richard Horowitz. Yet, to hear fellow Trance Port featured players like Tom Recchion and Bruce Licher of Savage Republic tell it, Garcia and Caton moved as ghosts --- a notion more vexingly endorsed by the silence of record companies that failed to come knocking --- and therein lies an overarching truth to the work itself.

Journey to the heart of Repetition Repetition and one discovers a collective ear impossibly attuned to the hypnotic possibilities of stylistic convergence, the resulting music possessed of seamless multimodalities which beckon to a glimmering plane of the disembodied. Where Caton sought his artistic fixes at an intersection of popular genres, Garcia zoned in on the sonically spare, drawing from the same wellspring as the Enos and Rileys of his personal avant-garde pantheon, and in their coming together the two tapped into a deeper cosmic source. Synthetic walls of keyboard sound in forever states of reprise met waves of shimmering --- and at times even punishing --- guitar in reply, their soundscapes hovering convincingly between, as suggested in fittingly dualistic fashion in a press kit assembled by Garcia, such disparate sensations as bird flight in one song and oil drilling in the next.

But don’t call it a push-pull dynamic, as this was a creative partnership founded upon fluidity and organicism by way of, naturally, repetition. In contrast to, say, the Bressonian ideal of repetitive motion as a great stripping away, the concept in the hands of Garcia and Caton equated to ascendancy via continuous unfolding, a maximal route to minimalism. To be sure, their recording philosophy morphed over the course of the act’s short history, and what started as a process defined by consistent in-person interplay developed into a more isolated method formulated by Garcia, who eventually took to his own one-man bedroom-studio sessions in order to fully chart any and all potential ostinato-loaded paths which he could travel down, the Tascam-captured resonances subsequently provided to Caton as blueprints from which to take flight himself, adding layer upon layer of steel to the proceedings.

If the practice and execution changed, however, the evidence certainly didn’t rest in the results: The seamlessness remained, and, despite the brevity of their time together, so has Repetition Repetition. With this finely calibrated collection of songs in Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987, Freedom To Spend sees to it that the private worlds of Garcia and Caton can now be visited by all rather than just the count-‘em-on-both-hands lucky few whose musical endeavors or collector vocations carried them into this once-distant dimension.

Repetition Repetition’s Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 will be released on Freedom To Spend in vinyl and digital editions on May 30, 2025. The collection includes extensive liner notes from Bill Perrine, and wil be offered alongside Over & Over, a supplemental collection of music available exclusively as a mail order cassette from Freedom To Spend and RVNG Intl.