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Die Welt war nie bereit für The Monsters, und The Monsters waren nie bereit für diese Welt. Nach vierzig Jahren, in denen sie zu einem echten Monster aus Fleisch und Blut herangereift sind, präsentieren sie ihr neuntes Album: gut ein Dutzend kompromissloser, wilder, lärmiger und fuzz-geladener Tracks. Ein Mix aus Ein-Riff-Beat, Trash, Garage, "Bern Metal", Boogie, Punk und Grunge - Songs, die einen von innen nach außen stülpen, aufgenommen mit "Miracle" Robert "Worker" Butler und abgemischt von Jim "Dirtbomb" Diamond - ein echtes Garage-Punk-Dreamteam. Vor vierzig Jahren, 1986, war die Jugendkultur-Revolution in Bern (Schweiz) in vollem Gange, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene wollten sich aus den konservativen Fesseln befreien. Die Straßen brannten, Clubs entstanden und eine neue Schweizer Musikkultur wurde geboren. Dies markierte auch den Beginn von The Monsters. Vierzig Jahre später hat sich der Zustand der Musikkultur - oder vielmehr der Welt im Allgemeinen - wohl eher verschlechtert. Individuelles Denken und Schaffen sind nach wie vor nicht sonderlich anerkannt oder gar erwünscht (Hey KI!). Im März 2026 blieb der Band also nichts anderes übrig, als ihre Instrumente, das Aufnahme-Equipment und ihre Ideen in den Proberaum zu verfrachten. Sie verbrachten einen Monat mit Robert Butler (u. a. The Miracle Workers) und seinem mobilen "Two Cent Recording Studio". Sie schrieben Texte (insgesamt etwa 100 Wörter - mal sinnvoll, mal unsinnig, über das ganze Album verstreut), tüftelten am Sound und nahmen Gitarren in allen erdenklichen Variationen auf. Das Ganze wurde gewürzt mit Percussion, Schlagzeug, Bass sowie obskuren Orgeln und Synthesizern, die sie auf Flohmärkten oder in den Kellern von Freunden aufgetrieben hatten. Nach diesem vierwöchigen Trip schickten sie das gesamte Chaos an Jim Diamond (Ghetto Recorders Studios in Detroit, Dirtbombs, White Stripes, Gories, André Williams... klar, worum es geht, ne?!), um es einem umwerfenden Mix-Abenteuer zu unterziehen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Dutzend Songs ohne Kompromisse, Schwächen oder Stärken. Einfach nur roher, ungeschliffener Lo-Fi-Garage-Punk'n'Roll voller Energie - und das mit vierzig Jahren "Nicht-Erfahrung". Erhältlich sind schwarzes Vinyl und eine pinke Picture-Disc (beide mit Insert & DLC), eine höchst audiophile CD sowie Kassette, die bei doppelter Geschwindigkeit leiert! Für Fans von Reverend Beat-Man, VRR, The Mummies, Oblivians, Billy Childish, Damaged Goods, Monks, very early Hives, Garagepunk, Lo-Fi-Roll, Alternative Beat

Die Welt war nie bereit für The Monsters, und The Monsters waren nie bereit für diese Welt. Nach vierzig Jahren, in denen sie zu einem echten Monster aus Fleisch und Blut herangereift sind, präsentieren sie ihr neuntes Album: gut ein Dutzend kompromissloser, wilder, lärmiger und fuzz-geladener Tracks. Ein Mix aus Ein-Riff-Beat, Trash, Garage, "Bern Metal", Boogie, Punk und Grunge - Songs, die einen von innen nach außen stülpen, aufgenommen mit "Miracle" Robert "Worker" Butler und abgemischt von Jim "Dirtbomb" Diamond - ein echtes Garage-Punk-Dreamteam. Vor vierzig Jahren, 1986, war die Jugendkultur-Revolution in Bern (Schweiz) in vollem Gange, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene wollten sich aus den konservativen Fesseln befreien. Die Straßen brannten, Clubs entstanden und eine neue Schweizer Musikkultur wurde geboren. Dies markierte auch den Beginn von The Monsters. Vierzig Jahre später hat sich der Zustand der Musikkultur - oder vielmehr der Welt im Allgemeinen - wohl eher verschlechtert. Individuelles Denken und Schaffen sind nach wie vor nicht sonderlich anerkannt oder gar erwünscht (Hey KI!). Im März 2026 blieb der Band also nichts anderes übrig, als ihre Instrumente, das Aufnahme-Equipment und ihre Ideen in den Proberaum zu verfrachten. Sie verbrachten einen Monat mit Robert Butler (u. a. The Miracle Workers) und seinem mobilen "Two Cent Recording Studio". Sie schrieben Texte (insgesamt etwa 100 Wörter - mal sinnvoll, mal unsinnig, über das ganze Album verstreut), tüftelten am Sound und nahmen Gitarren in allen erdenklichen Variationen auf. Das Ganze wurde gewürzt mit Percussion, Schlagzeug, Bass sowie obskuren Orgeln und Synthesizern, die sie auf Flohmärkten oder in den Kellern von Freunden aufgetrieben hatten. Nach diesem vierwöchigen Trip schickten sie das gesamte Chaos an Jim Diamond (Ghetto Recorders Studios in Detroit, Dirtbombs, White Stripes, Gories, André Williams... klar, worum es geht, ne?!), um es einem umwerfenden Mix-Abenteuer zu unterziehen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Dutzend Songs ohne Kompromisse, Schwächen oder Stärken. Einfach nur roher, ungeschliffener Lo-Fi-Garage-Punk'n'Roll voller Energie - und das mit vierzig Jahren "Nicht-Erfahrung". Erhältlich sind schwarzes Vinyl und eine pinke Picture-Disc (beide mit Insert & DLC), eine höchst audiophile CD sowie Kassette, die bei doppelter Geschwindigkeit leiert! Für Fans von Reverend Beat-Man, VRR, The Mummies, Oblivians, Billy Childish, Damaged Goods, Monks, very early Hives, Garagepunk, Lo-Fi-Roll, Alternative Beat

Superfan is the songwriting veil of Kali Priya Flanagan, the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and producer. While initially imagined as a solo act, ambitious string arrangements crafted in collaboration with cellist Omeed Almassi have come to define Superfan’s noisy and magnetic pop soundscape.

Today, Superfan announces their forthcoming album ‘My Piledriver Heart’ (MPDH), out October 16 via new label home AD 93 (Joanne Robertson, Dagmar Zuniga, YHWH Nailgun). Along with the announcement, Superfan presents his new single “In the Gold Room” paired with the live version filmed by Garrett Winston inside Agger Fish Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

MPDH marks the first release outside of the record deal Flanagan signed at age 14. The album finds Flanagan embracing a more expansive, experimental vision of indie rock - melding deeply tuned acoustic guitar, cello, and Eastern musical influences into what he calls his “Acousticello” sound. Recorded largely live with cellist Omeed Almassi and producer Hudson Pollock, the record explores heartbreak, independence, and hopeful melancholia. Kali says “This time around it was about being (myself) versus becoming myself. This album was made to acknowledge the ebbs and flows in chugging along with life and love, from a place of comfort within the self that opens you up to the beauty in everyday life.” He does so through intimate performances that blur the line between folk, chamber music, pop-rock ballads, and alternative rock. Last year, he released the singles “Apeiron (Fantasy Football)” and “Miss W Jones” and earlier this year he released “Picture of Return.”

Following his acclaimed debut Tow Truck Jesus, Flanagan opened for The Strokes at Red Rocks, and has quietly become a fixture of New York’s DIY scene, performing alongside artists like Horsegirl, Knifeplay, and Quiet Light, while also playing support shows with King Woman and Victoryland this summer. He is also in the rising emo band Holidays in United States.

Before Superfan, Flanagan found success during the pandemic under his first moniker, “KALI.” His initial releases garnered millions of streams and led to collaborations with seasoned high-profile producers and industry teams. Despite his budding career as an indie-pop star, Flanagan was dissatisfied with the conditions of his artistic output and community as he reached adulthood. His coming-of-age years in Los Angeles were marked by an ever-present new-wave pop music oblivion: “hits” made in 5-hour sessions with strangers, a social life suffocated by others’ aspirations for fame, and an absent audience for live music that pushed past the prescriptions of recorded music. On MPDH, Kali says “I can’t help my urge to write these pop-rock ballads, but we really wanted to push the boundary of genre and expressing the sentiments of the songs through experimentation.”

Almost immediately after hearing the Beatles' North American debut album at eight years old, Al Di Meola decided he wanted to become a musician. Just 11 years later, he was recruited by Chick Corea to replace Bill Connors in the legendary jazz fusion band Return to Forever, together with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. His tenure turned out to be a short one—just two years—but turned out to coincide with the group's career peak.

Around the time the group broke up, he released his first record Land of the Midnight Sun, followed by Elegant Gypsy in 1977. On this album Al showcased his prowess for fast electric guitar riffs, lyrical acoustic passages, and every technique in between. The record clearly showcases his predilection for flamenco and Latin jazz, exemplified by the record's two most important tunes: "Mediterranean Sundance" and "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway".

Elegant Gypsy is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on red vinyl and includes in insert.

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.”

With the fire of chariots, these moments are passing us. Preserve me with your tears, come save me from the burning years. The Burning Years. An album by Jason Priest.

The Antoni Maiovvi-fronted Jason Priest returns with new album The Burning Years. On this latest effort, the band draws influence from 90s shoegaze, indie alternative, and Britpop. For fans of Slowdive, New Order, The Cure, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Midnight Mannequin Records is proud to present Jason Priest's The Burning Years on deluxe transparent orange vinyl, complete with insert and OBI strip.

Selva Discos is proud to present its latest release: the EP by the band Discoteca Tropicana. This record features 4 original tracks that celebrate the rhythms that have influenced Brazilian disco music, showcasing the best of this fusion: the swing and tropical flavour that bring sunshine to any dance floor.

The project is the result of a collaboration between Kiko Costato, the enfant terrible of the Brazilian music scene, and Zé Nigro, a producer and multi-instrumentalist who has won two Grammy Awards and has worked with major names in Brazilian and international music such as João Donato, Antonio Carlos & Jocafi and Natasha Diggs.

This EP is based on 4 different themes. For each one, Kiko and Zé Nigro recruited some of Brazil’s finest studio musicians – people who work with Seu Jorge, Céu, Criolo, Metá Metá, Cidadão Instigado and Tulipa Ruiz – as well as pioneering artists from the Brazilian Black music scene, such as the backing vocalists who work with the legendary Gilberto Gil.

“Corpos Celestes” is a more classic “disco diva” track, featuring string arrangements and a grand piano, as if it were the start of the evening, a magical moment straight from the heyday of disco in the United States; “Corpo Treme” is the sweat, the vuco-vuco, a song for that moment when you’ve already let yourself go, a sprint to the frenetic rhythm of the carimbó; “Tobina” is the meeting of Brazil and Africa, from which Brazilian swing is born, an original chant straight from the Congo, with a characteristic African guitar, adapted to Brazilian rhythms, just like the afoxé. Finally, the dancefloor hit “Não Pode Acabar”, a more urban disco track, which works just as well for kicking off a party with the right vibe as for closing a set with the highest energy.

Cut Rate is the debut LP from Detroit-based techno punk band Decliner. Written and recorded over the span of several years, the music reveals a sludgier, darker, and more industrial sound, representing a marked departure from their raw and thrashy roots.

Cut Rate is an album that lives at the edge of potential… a fever-dream where danger, uncertainty, and reckless hope collide. With dark humor, underdog grit, and flashes of raw beauty, it moves like someone risking everything — bravely, boldly, sometimes foolishly.

Intimate yet volatile, Cut Rate balances vulnerability and strength, chaos and tenderness. It unfolds like a roll of the dice, a shot in the dark, a chance that you can’t walk away from.

Produced by Steven Stavropoulos, the record delivers hellish, intricately designed soundscapes that establish the bedrock of each track. Tim Barrett’s guitar adds a dense layer of emotion throughout, elevating the music and further establishing the record’s stylistic ambiguity. Rob Luzynski’s vocals are at once tortured, brazen, and ridiculous, an anti-hero winking at the abyss, telling stories that no one should live by but that we all may learn from.

Manfredi and Marijn met for a studio retreat in Paris and quickly found common ground in their love for synthesizers, strange vocals, punk, leftfield electronics and music that doesn't necessarily fit into one box.

In the early '90s, Manfredi joined Wide Records in Pisa, becoming part of a post-punk and DIY network that stretched from Fugazi and The Make-Up to Coil, Clock DVA and early Nine Inch Nails, while spending time on the road tour managing bands across Europe.

Marijn grew up in a completely different generation, but has always had an old soul when it comes to making music. He's drawn to old machines, unconventional sounds and records made long before he ever entered a studio himself. The weirder the vocal or synthesizer, the better. credits

Legendary Gabber/Hardcore dj & producer Rob GEE is famous in New York as “the hardest DJ to ever play the Limelight.” In the early 90’s, GEE kept delirious audiences going – spinning at Limelight’s “Future Shock” dance/techno nights and performing with his live band and spinning at the club’s “Rock And Roll Church” metal/rock/industrial nights.

Rob GEE is the only artist of his kind to collaborate and create with members of respected rock, metal, hardcore and hip-hop acts such as Slipknot, Hatebreed, Biohazard, Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, & System Of A Down, creating a unification of electronic, metal, hardcore, hip-hop, and any other style for that matter known as gabber music. GEE is writing history launching gabber onto the world scene.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Rob GEE's legendary 1996 hardcore masterpiece Punk, Funk & Live is now officially available on vinyl again. For several years, this EP has become a highly sought-after holy grail, for both old-school gabbers and new harddance, hardtechno and hardstyle collectors.

Punk, Funk & Live features the classic anthems "Ecstasy, You Got What I Need", "Gabberslam", "Son Of Rob GEE" and exclusive bonustrack "Rob GEE Megamix", mixed by Bass-D & King Matthew.

This limited 30th anniversary edition of Punk, Funk & Live is available on purple vinyl.

Singer-songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey was 20 years old when he became the third signing to Leon Russell and Denny Cordell's Shelter Records – after Russell himself and the legendary J.J. Cale. The result was Ramsey's 1972 eponymous debut, a masterpiece of laid-back Texas country-rock, blues-inflected folk and outlaw ballads.

As a child, Ramsey was an obsessive radio listener – from Elvis and the Beatles to Delta blues, country and even classical music. By middle school, he had formed his first garage band and started writing songs. After a brief stint at the University of Texas, he took to the burgeoning coffeehouse circuit where he toured alongside folks like Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker and Keith Sykes. It was during these shows that Ramsey developed much of the material for his LP, a diverse yet coherent mix that revealed his varied influences.

Recorded in Memphis, Nashville and at Russell's home studio in the Hollywood Hills, the album features some of the era's greatest session musicians: Eddie Hinton on guitar, Red Rhodes on pedal steel and the rhythm section of Leland Sklar and Jim Keltner. A true songwriter's songwriter album, its tunes have been covered by Waylon Jennings ("Satin Sheets"), Jimmy Buffett ("The Ballad of Spider John") and, most famously, Captain & Tennille ("Muskrat Love"), but no cover can beat the originals from the wise-beyond-his-years Ramsey.

Though Willis Alan Ramsey has continued to perform regularly and write new songs, a second album is yet to be released. For years, whenever someone asked about it, Ramsey was known to answer "What's wrong with the first one?" The answer is, of course, absolutely nothing. In fact, it's perfect.

This first-time vinyl reissue reproduces the original lyric sheet. Includes new interview with Ramsey and liner notes by author Richie Unterberger.

Trumpeter, rapper and sonic wanderer Pan Amsterdam has carved out one of the most distinctive voices operating at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop today.

Pan Amsterdam is a musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle. His creator is a jazz musician from Houston who’s found fame working with Detroit punk rock God, Iggy Pop, and British indie royalty, Metronomy, and now makes shapeshifting, adventurous hip hop out of the music’s spiritual home, New York.

He’s an irreverent character born out of frustration and named after a misunderstanding, yet one who’s on the verge of releasing his fifth album of truth-slaying, genre-crossing rhymes and beats. The result is a catalogue that feels both deeply rooted in Black American musical tradition and completely untethered by convention.

Pan Amsterdam returns with ‘Panarama’, his fourth full length album and a bold reassertion of his hip hop identity, released via Def Pressé. Created by Houston-born, New York-based musician and composer Leron Thomas, the record finds Pan Amsterdam embracing the harder edges of his sound while continuing to blur the lines between jazz improvisation, abstract rap, punk attitude, and experimental production

Written as a response to contemporary life and the endless cycle of information, conflict and distraction that defines modern culture, ‘Panarama’ unfolds as a stream of consciousness journey through hyper-normalised realities. Across sixteen tracks, Thomas navigates social commentary, personal reflection, absurdist humour, and cultural critique, delivering his observations with the same spontaneity and freedom that have become central to the Pan Amsterdam project

Lead single ‘Szechuan Beef’, produced by acclaimed collaborator 1FS, serves as one of the album’s defining statements. Built around Thomas’ signature free-flowing delivery, the track explores the overwhelming nature of contemporary life, where domestic conflict, social division, entertainment scandals and political discourse become flattened into a constant stream of content.

In Thomas’ own words: “My stream of consciousness style comes quite naturally to me due to the conditioning of scroll down culture where everything, no matter how minor or extreme, is hyper normalised.”

Elsewhere, the track ‘Vanilla Ice’ was written in response to widely publicised ICE killings and the speed at which tragedy is absorbed and forgotten within online culture. Thomas channels the anxiety and emotional disorientation of endlessly consuming information, allowing his thoughts to unfold in real time as social commentary collides with everyday digital noise. The result is both deeply personal and sharply observational, reflecting the fragmented reality of modern life. Other album highlights include the cinematic, Interpol-esque opener - ‘Old Friend’ complete with shimmering guitar lines and an far-reaching introspective, no-filter vocal as Thomas teams up with Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Brad Truax (Interpol) across multiple tracks, often the production traverses left-field indie territory, but always maintaining Pan Amsterdam’s unique musical identity throughout. For the hip hop purists and beats lovers there are plenty of riches to discover from the clever nostalgic sample flips of ‘Cutlery’, the sleepy lofi of ‘Shuriken’ and the wonky LA beat scene / early Flying Lotus era beats of ‘Drunken Noodles’ - all boasting quick witted lyricism. ‘Deep Fried Shiney Things’ explores early electro and industrial sonics while album finisher is an upbeat new wave / indie band cut which sees Thomas take a break from rapping, but of course never letting up on the sharp observations nonetheless


While his previous record explored more alternative territory, ‘Panarama’ marks a deliberate return to rap, as Pan Amsterdam explains:

“I just wanted to do a rap album again.I enjoyed making my last album, but I felt like rapping again. I like to have the freedom to move in between musical worlds that suit the current state I’m in. Frequency accommodating frequency.”

This philosophy runs throughout the album. Tracks move effortlessly between jazz-inflected arrangements, experimental beats, punk energy and underground hip hop aesthetics, allowing ideas to evolve organically rather than conforming to traditional structures. Thomas describes himself as an improviser first and foremost: “I think like an improvisor. That’s how my albums pretty much move. It’s improvisation.”

Featuring additional contributions from Spice Programmers, AnOtter and Mr. Shn, ‘Panarama’ presents a wide-ranging cast of collaborators while remaining firmly rooted in Thomas’ singular creative vision. The record embraces contradiction, humour and unpredictability, capturing fleeting thoughts and observations with the same freedom and spontaneity that define jazz improvisation itself.

A musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle, Pan Amsterdam has built a reputation as one of contemporary music’s true outsiders. The project emerged from frustration, experimentation and artistic freedom, with Thomas drawing equally from his background as a jazz musician and his collaborations with artists including Iggy Pop and Metronomy. Operating from New York while carrying the spirit of Houston’s musical heritage, Pan Amsterdam has developed a distinctive voice that sits comfortably between avant-garde jazz, underground hip hop and experimental music.

Reuniting with Def Pressé for ‘Panarama’, Thomas explores what he describes as the more hardcore side of his artistic identity:

“They let me do anything and everything I wanna do so long as it’s on audio, and I need that freedom. What may verbally be perceived as vulgar to one group of people may be very thoughtful and a poignant description of the times that we’re presently in, so I’m glad that I’m part of a label home that understands that.”

Omasta step into their own voice with “Hits Different”, marking a new stage in their evolution as musicians and storytellers.

Following their debut “Jazz Report From The Hood", which proved a major success and brought attention to Omasta as one of the most distinctive groups emerging from the contemporary jazz scene, the musicians return with their second album, “Hits Different”. The record develops the language established on their debut, pushing it into new territory and shifting the perspective from that of the protagonists themselves to that of a narrator telling the story.

While the debut album was a story about the lives and emotions of the band’s members, “Hits Different” adopts the perspective of a narrator, giving the album a more cinematic structure. As on the first record, the story is never told explicitly. The track titles merely point the way, leaving space for listeners to bring their own emotions, imagination, and experiences to the music. Each track becomes another scene in a story that moves through a broad spectrum of emotions, from happiness and excitement to anxiety, tension, and disorientation. It is a story that allows everyone to create their own interpretation, but its ending leaves no room for doubt. There is no happy ending here.

Originally released in the fall of 2009, Love 2 was entirely written and produced by Air in their Atlas studio in Paris and marked a return to the band's trademark atmospheric and dreamy sound.

Mutant präsentiert in Zusammenarbeit mit WaterTower Music und DC Studios stolz die erste physische Veröffentlichung von Claudia Sarne’s Original-Soundtrack zu „Supergirl“. Die Komponistin Claudia Sarne sagte über die Entstehung der Musik für „Supergirl“: „Die Vertonung von ‚Supergirl‘ war wie ein wilder Fiebertraum. Ich habe mich besonders mit der Unordnung und Komplexität ihrer Figur identifiziert und liebte die Bandbreite, die der Film erforderte. Die Möglichkeit, von dreckigen Synth-Basslinien und -Sequenzen zu großen thematischen Orchesterstücken und traurigen Solo-Klavierpassagen zu wechseln, war eine unglaubliche Reise. Craig wünschte sich Musik, die das Gefühlsleben der Figuren zum Ausdruck bringt – von Ruthyes Herzschmerz und Idealismus über Karas Verzweiflung und Rebellion bis hin zu Lobos Nihilismus und Krem’s Schrecken; all das verbunden durch die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Kara und Krypto.“ Mit einem Cover-Artwork von Bilquis Evely, gepresst auf 2x 140 gm Farbvinyl, mit einer im Siebdruckverfahren bedruckten D-Seite.

Die Musik auf Horse Lords' "Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!" wirkt zugleich unglaublich detailliert und zutiefst menschlich. Die zwölf versammelten Stücke sind vielschichtig, verflochten, tonal und rhythmisch komplex - moiré-artige Muster aus Interaktion und Verzahnung, die sich sowohl körperlich als auch geistig entfalten, voller klanglicher Gänge mit einem unausweichlichen Groove. Künstler sind nicht notwendigerweise Wissenschaftler, Logiker oder spirituelle Führer, doch durch ihr persönliches Verständnis von Ordnung und Erfahrung eröffnen sie einen unmittelbaren Zugang zu gesteigerten Zuständen von Materialität und Immaterialität. Horse Lords wurden 2010 in Baltimore gegründet; sie gingen aus einer anderen Gruppe namens Teeth Mountain hervor und starteten als Trio mit Gitarrist Owen Gardner, Bassist Max Eilbacher und Schlagzeuger Sam Haberman, bevor der Altsaxofonist Andrew Bernstein zum Kernensemble hinzustieß. Obwohl das Quartett aus einer fruchtbaren Noise- und Experimental-Rock-Szene hervorgegangen ist - einem legendären Umfeld für Künstler und Außenseiter, das viele einflussreiche Bands hervorgebracht hat (Lungfish, Matmos) - war ihr Ansatz über sechs Alben, zahlreiche Kollaborationen und als gefeierte Liveband weit vielseitiger, als es die punktierten Rhythmen instrumentaler elektrischer Rockmusik vermuten lassen. Für dieses Projekt wird die Band durch Bassklarinettistin Madison Greenstone, Posaunist Weston Olencki und - erstmals bei Horse Lords - durch Gesang von Nina Guo und Evelyn Saylor ergänzt. Das Eröffnungsstück ,Eureka 378-B" ist ein Arrangement von sakraler Harfenmusik aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, getragen vom Gesang von Guo und Saylor; seine Melodie entfaltet sich weit und setzt einen tonalen Startpunkt für vieles, was folgt. Dazu kommen die kurzen "Rotations", die Fragmente aus anderen Stücken isolieren. "D2BT2HA!" enthält unzählige klangliche und konzeptuelle Schichten, doch angesichts der unverkennbaren Kraft und Menschlichkeit der Musik ist der Prozess, sie zu entschlüsseln, begeisternd und zutiefst lohnend. Selten ist eine Platte, die einen so unmittelbar packt und zugleich bei jedem Hören vollkommen neu erscheint.

,Beyond the Fleeting Gales" ist das Debütalbum der New Yorker Band Crying und verbindet eingängigen Indie-Rock mit elektronischen Elementen, Prog-Rock-Einflüssen und kraftvollen Gitarren. Die zehn Songs vereinen atmosphärische Synthesizer, starke Melodien und dynamisches Songwriting zu einem energiegeladenen und emotionalen Gesamtwerk.

Mit Gamgumsupon legt Kuhn Fu sein bislang direktestes und energiegeladenstes Album vor. Das international besetzte Ensemble um Gitarrist und Komponist Christian Kühn verbindet Jazz, Punk, Metal, Psychedelia und Big-Band-Sound zu einer explosiven Klangsprache, die sich jeder Genre-Schublade entzieht. Kraftvolle Riffs treffen auf ausgefeilte Arrangements, improvisatorische Freiheit auf ungebremste Spielfreude und feinen Humor. Trotz ihrer kompositorischen Komplexität wirkt die Musik unmittelbar, eingängig und voller überraschender Wendungen. Zwischen brachialer Energie und verspielter Leichtigkeit entfaltet Gamgumsupon eine eigene musikalische Welt, in der Virtuosität stets im Dienst des Songs steht. Ein mutiges, kompromissloses Album, das Rock und Jazz auf ebenso originelle wie mitreißende Weise neu zusammenführt.

The Lemonheads release a strictly limited edition 12” single on 21st September featuring three classic tracks on white vinyl. Lead cut is ‘Roky’, Evan Dando’s homage to the late, great outsider genius Roky Erickson (of garage psyche legends 13th Floor Elevator and much solo strangeness).


"If Roky Erickson had vanished from the face of the earth after The 13th Floor Elevators released their epochal debut single, ‘You're Gonna Miss Me’, in early 1966, in all likelihood he'd still be regarded as a legend among garage rock fanatics for his primal vocal wailing and feral harmonica work." AllMusic


‘Roky’ is Evan's incisive take on the songwriter’s struggles and features a searing guitar break from the song's co-writer Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond)


The Bevis Frond toured with The Lemonheads in support of the latter’s much-praised ‘Love Chant’ album of 2025 from where ‘Roky’ originally comes. And, to complete this unique package, the Frond cover two Lemonheads’ songs, ‘The Great Big No’ and ‘My Drug Buddy’; both sounding like the kind of UK-based left field power pop that inspired Kurt Cobain in the formative days of grunge – indeed, they could have snook out on the original Rough Trade or 53rd & 3rd labels at any time.


Fact fans looking for Roky-styled curveball ley line between events, might note that The Lemonheads covered The Bevis Frond’s ‘Old Man Blank’ on 2019’s ‘Varshons II’, the same year that Roky sadly passed.


Stars & Quotes:
“One of the most distinctive voices of the ‘90s” The New York Times
“The Lemonheads are one of my favorite bands” Jimmy Fallon
“Gloriously euphoric melancholy” MOJO (on Roky)

2026 Repress

The sixth studio album by the British rock group, originally released in 1971. Produced between touring commitments and widely regarded as a notable progression from their previous work, the band devised a series of novel recording and writing experiments, which also inspired the album's signature track “Echoes”.

On January 17th, 2026, Grammy Award-winning hip-hop icon Lupe Fiasco joined Miami’s Nu Deco Ensemble, a hybrid orchestra dedicated to reimagining music from all genres, for a special concert at Miami Bandshell. This Juneteenth, Lupe and Nu Deco will release the recording for the whole world to hear, presenting Lupe Fiasco’s hits and new classics as they have never been heard before. Invigorated by the backing of the 33-person full orchestra, led by conductor Jacomo Bairos, Lupe forcefully rhymes every word of career highlights like “Daydreamin’,” “Kick, Push,” and “Paris, Tokyo,” emphasizing the musicality innate to Lupe’s tongue-twisting bars. In addition, Lupe presents unique live versions of new hits, including “Samurai,” from his critically acclaimed 2024 album of the same title, and “SOS,” an outtake released for the first time on 2025’s Samurai DX. The Nu Deco version of 2015’s “Dots & Lines” begins with a solo guitar exhibition from Aaron Lebos, while songs like “Daydreamin’” and thrilling closer “Superstar” benefit from the powerful pipes of backing vocalist Kelley Kessell and J Howard. The 9-track set is a scorcher, reaffirming Lupe’s status as one of the most proficient and electrifying live performers in hip-hop today.

“I marvel afresh at Béla’s extraordinary vision, his indefatigability as a creator, his galvanizing presence as a bandleader, and of course, his freaking banjo playing. Live Heart will reverberate through and energize the bluegrass community forever.” – Chris Thile Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart at the Ryman is a 3LP set that captures one legendary night in bluegrass. On January 8, 2022, in the aftermath of a Nashville blizzard, Béla Fleck was joined by three generations of renowned players who together brought the fire: Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Edgar Meyer, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, Billy Strings, Bryan Sutton, Tony Trischka, and Molly Tuttle. The celebrated banjo virtuoso and musical adventurer has both dug deep into his instrument's complex global history and unlocked the breadth of its possibilities. He has earned 19 Grammy awards, and his acclaimed studio album My Bluegrass Heart, was a homecoming in sound. The music Fleck composed for his GRAMMY-winning My Bluegrass Heart is the third chapter in a decades-spanning trilogy that began with 1888’s Drive and the Bluegrass Sessions in 1999. This live record encompasses bluegrass in its core – the intergenerational passing down of music – and is nothing short of a masterpiece in sound, artistry, and community.

Two dancefloor bombs, recorded in Peru in the mid-'70s by bandleader, producer, and keyboardist Otto de Rojas. It's no coincidence that "Choca las caderas" was originally released as a single backed with "Al ritmo del Bump-Bump," a clear tribute to the classic "Soulful Strut," making the artist's affinity for the soul and funk sounds coming out of the States unmistakable. "Choca las caderas" is made for dancing and partying hard, with irresistible horn arrangements and an incredibly groovy rhythm section. "El tema de Coco" is another superb instrumental recorded by Otto de Rojas, who plays the electric pianos and Moog on this track.


These two tracks are now reissued together on a 45 for the first time.

Mit Music From The Films Of Francis Ford Coppola erscheint eine sorgfaltig kuratierte Doppel-LP, die die unverwechselbare Klangwelt eines der einflussreichsten Regisseure des modernen Kinos wurdigt. Von Der Pate uber Apocalypse Now bis hin zu The Conversation und The Outsiders vereint diese Sammlung Musik aus Filmen, die das amerikanische Kino seit den 1970er Jahren nachhaltig gepragt haben. Die Zusammenstellung zeigt eindrucksvoll, wie entscheidend Musik fur die emotionale Wirkung von Coppolas Filmen war. Neben den Kompositionen von Carmine Coppola finden sich Aufnahmen von Kunstlern wie Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley oder Richard Wagner. Die Doppel-LP beleuchtet das Zusammenspiel von Bild und Ton und richtet sich gleichermaßen an Filmfans, Soundtrack-Sammler und Liebhaber klassischer Filmmusik.

Mit Hurra! Hurra! So nicht. veröffentlichte Gisbert zu Knyphausen 2010 den Nachfolger seines vielbeachteten Debüts und festigte damit seinen Ruf als eine der prägendsten Stimmen des deutschsprachigen Singer-Songwriter-Genres. Das Album wirkt gegenüber dem Erstling reifer, melancholischer und musikalisch ausgearbeiteter, ohne dabei die unmittelbare emotionale Kraft seiner Songs zu verlieren. Entstanden im renommierten Electric Avenue Studio von Tobias Levin und eingespielt mit seiner damaligen Liveband, profitiert die Aufnahme von der Erfahrung zahlreicher Konzerte und einer außergewöhnlich eingespielten Besetzung. Mit der Wiederveröffentlichung auf dem bandeigenen Label Rastplatz Krachgarten wird ein zentrales Werk im Katalog von Gisbert zu Knyphausen erneut verfügbar gemacht und richtet sich sowohl an langjährige Hörer als auch an eine neue Generation von Songwriter-Fans.

Alles spaltet sich. le_mol loopen. Was bleibt? SPLIT SPLIT - ihr 6. Post-Rock-Album (Noise Appeal Records). Während manche Spaltungen unvermeidlich ("Splitsville"), erzwungen ("Splitter") oder sogar pathologisch ("Split Brain") sind, wirken viele Spaltungen vermeidbar und durch bestimmte diskursive Kräfte vorangetrieben ("Split The Rich"). Würde man Spaltungen jedoch immer weiter aufspalten, käme es dann nicht zu einer Rückkehr von Nuancen, Meinungspluralität und Gemeinschaft? SPLIT SPLIT. Da bei den Instrumentalstücken von le_mol Wort und Musik getrennt sind, dienen die Titel jedoch ohnehin bestenfalls als Interpretationshinweise. Eine Ausnahme bilden die existentialistischen Lyrics von The Zew ("Split Tongue") - einer selbsternannten Cyborg Folk Musikerin aus Wien. Das Konzept setzt sich fort in den Collagen und Monotypien der wienerischen Künstlerin Hanna Hollmann. Musikalisch bietet 'SPLIT SPLIT' eine Mischung aus melancholischem Post-Rock und Shoegaze ergänzt durch Elemente aus Post-Punk, Ambient und Industrial. Der Einsatz mehrerer Loop-Stations ermöglicht es den beiden Multiinstrumentalisten wie eine fünfköpfige Band zu klingen und sorgt für überrasche Wendungen im Songwriting, die gängige Hörgewohnheiten herausfordern. Loops stick together - they never split! FFO: Mogwai, Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros Marketing Hardfacts: - begleitende Konzerte 2026/27 (bestätigte Daten bis hierhin): TBA - eine Vorabsingle (splitter!)

Altsaxofonist Lou Donaldson wurde schnell zu einer festen Größe des Blue-Note-Labels, nachdem er 1952
als Sideman an der Seite von Thelonious Monk und Milt Jackson zu hören gewesen war. Noch im selben
Jahr begann er, eigene Sessions als Bandleader einzuspielen und blickte, als er 1960 ins Van Gelder Studio zurückkehrte um sein hervorragendes Album ”Sunny Side Up” aufzunehmen, bereits auf ein Dutzend
Aufnahmesessions unter eigenem Namen zurück. In vielerlei Hinsicht ist das Album ein Paradebeispiel für
den typischen Blue-Note-Hard-Bop-Sound: eine Mischung aus swingenden Standards und bluesgetränkten
Eigenkompositionen, die von einem Quintett mit viel Gefühl und Ausdruck interpretiert werden.

Altsaxofonist Jackie McLean war 1959 bereits seit fast einem Jahrzehnt eine feste Größe der New Yorker
Jazzszene, als er für Blue Note als Bandleader aufzunehmen begann. Die gesamten 1950er-Jahre hindurch
hatte er sich an der Seite von Bebop-Legenden wie Miles Davis und Charles Mingus seine Sporen verdient.
Sein zweites Blue-Note-Album ”Swing, Swang, Swingin’” hält das schwungvolle Versprechen des Titels
voll und ganz ein. Mit Energie und Spielfreude führt McLean durch ein mitreißendes Programm. Als
einziger Bläser des Quartetts steht sein unverwechselbarer Sound ganz im Mittelpunkt: Sein markanter,
leicht herber Ton und sein ausgeprägtes Gespür für moderne Harmonik verleihen seinen leidenschaftlichen
Improvisationen eine besondere Strahlkraft. Neben Standards von Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer oder Cole
Porter präsentiert McLean eine beschwingte Interpretation von Benny Golsons ”Stable Mates”, bevor das
Album mit seiner eigenen Blues-Komposition ”116th and Lenox” seinen Abschluss findet.

Jan Garbareks kraftvolles Doppelalbum Rites, auf dem der Meistersaxofonist von seinen langjährigen
Weggefährten Rainer Brüninghaus und Eberhard Weber sowie der Perkussionistin Marilyn Mazur und
dem Elektronikkünstler Bugge Wesseltoft begleitet wird, galt bei seiner ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung
1998 gleichermaßen als Magnum Opus und als eindrucksvolle Retrospektive der künstlerischen Bandbreite Garbareks. Auch heute noch überzeugt es als gelungenes Kompendium und als völlig eigenständiges,
modernes musikalisches Statement. Über die weit gespannte stilistische Landschaft des Albums verteilen
sich Bezüge zu den unterschiedlichsten Musikkulturen der Welt – von Norwegen bis Indien. Hinzu kommen
eine Vertonung eines Gedichts der indigenen Bevölkerung Nordamerikas für Stimmen und Saxofon sowie die
überraschende Fassung von Jansug Kakhidzes „The Moon Over Mtatsminda“, gesungen vom Komponisten
selbst gemeinsam mit dem Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra.
Als Teil der ECM-Reihe Luminessence veröffentlicht, e rscheint R ites n un e rstmals a uf V inyl – i n einem
hochwertigen Tip-on Gatefold plus umfangreichem Booklet mit Texten, Fotografien s owie sämtlichem
Originalmaterial der ersten CD-Veröffentlichung.

Als das selbstbetitelte Debütalbum von Gisbert zu Knyphausen im Jahr 2008 erschien, entwickelte es sich schnell zu einem der prägenden Werke des deutschsprachigen Singer-Songwriter-Genres. Presse und Publikum reagierten gleichermaßen begeistert auf die besondere Mischung aus poetischer Beobachtungsgabe, persönlicher Verletzlichkeit und einer stets hoffnungsvollen Grundhaltung. Heute gilt das Album längst als moderner Klassiker, dessen Songs über die Jahre nichts von ihrer Relevanz und emotionalen Kraft verloren haben. Die Wiederveröffentlichung auf dem bandeigenen Label Rastplatz Krachgarten macht dieses wichtige Werk erneut verfügbar und richtet den Blick auf den Beginn einer außergewöhnlichen Karriere. Für den Handel bietet das Re-Release die Gelegenheit, einen zentralen Katalogtitel eines der bedeutendsten deutschen Liedermacher seiner Generation erneut prominent zu platzieren.

‘A Great Day in Newcastle’ is musical documentation of the North East working class experience.

Through a storytelling approach with the aid of new member, genius poet, Cooper Robson, the record details dark topics like substance abuse, crime and toxic masculinity through this Geordie Jazz Noir soundscape, whilst still feeling light hearted and playful, fully embodying the classic Northern optimism.

With the introduction of Cooper’s poetry combined with Stan’s developing composition skills, King’s genius orchestration and groove composition and Ferg’s classic melodic sound, the record shows the growth of the bands sound wholeheartedly, returning to their roots of rock, supported by producer and friend Geordie Greep.

Alongside longstanding members Sandro Shar (keys) and George Johnson (tenor sax), the band reaches new highs of intensity throughout the 45 minute epic.'

Gold Colored Vinyl LP Edition zum 25jährigen Jubiläum des Jan Delay Solo Debüt Albums! Zusammen mit der Sam Ragga Band produzierte der Beginner-Frontmann Jan Delay ein Album, das die deutsche Pop-Landschaft nachhaltig veränderte. Noch nie war Reggae mit deutschen Texten so authentisch, so fett und so erfolgreich. Mit der Interpretation des Nena-Hits "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" schaffte Jan Delay den Durchbruch auch außerhalb der HipHop-Community und legte 2001 mit "Searching For Jan Soul Rebels" weiter nach. Jan Delay zeigt sich als scharfzüngiger Kritiker und Zyniker, Songs wie "Ich Möchte Nicht, dass Ihr Meine Lieder Singt" und "Vergiftet" polarisieren, wurden aber trotz aller textlichen Radikalität zu veritablen Hits.

Marlon von der Band Scherben sagt folgendes zur Platte: marode aus Düsseldorf legen drei Jahre nach ihrem Debüt mit ihrem zweiten Studioalbum ordentlich nach. Das elf Songs starke Album "Strukturen", verpackt in ein stimmiges Schwarz-Weiß-Cover, arbeitet sich mit einer Mischung aus Resignation, Frust und kämpferischem Optimismus am Irrsinn der postkapitalistischen Gesellschaft ab, ohne dabei in Phrasendrescherei zu verfallen. Persönlich hab ich mich besonders über die schallende Erkenntnis "Ich bin zu dumm für Turbostaat" aus dem Lied "Angekommen" gefreut. Musikalisch bleiben marode sich treu: Tempowechsel, gute Breaks und der harmonierende Wechselgesang sorgen dafür, dass keine Langeweile aufkommt. Insgesamt ist das zweite Album noch einmal runder und fetter als das erste. Wer musikalisch irgendwo zwischen Razzia und Dackelblut zu Hause ist, wird hieran sicherlich Freude haben. Schönes Ding!

After the sell-out sensation of the album 'Soul Drums’, the Steve White Trio return with a special 7” single, as they take on Deep Purple’s ‘Mandrake Root’. A fitting tribute to Jon Lord, with a Hammond-heavy groove, White shows his range and power from behind the kit. It is backed by the original ‘Sunburn’, written by Joel White and Chris Hague, who complete the brilliant Trio.

’Soul Drums’ was the inaugural release in the new Acid Jazz Jazz Sessions series earlier this year and, remarkably, the first album bearing the name Steve White. After a storied session career and long association with Paul Weller, as a member of the Style Council and as the heartbeat of Weller’s solo band on ‘Wildwood', 'Stanley Road', 'Heavy Soul’ and ‘As Is Now’, the Trio sees Steve return to his jazz and filmic influences, with a true modernist touch.

The 7” release coincides with a special appearance at the 100 Club on 17 September.

RAWAX presents Bandulu on their own RAWAX series!
We will re-issue most of the Bands' timeless music.
Starting with "Running Time" from 1995.
Don't feed the Discogs Sharks!

Following the success of the inaugural all-Jiri Jiri edition, Batov Records returns with the second instalment of its Give Me Disco series, once again curated by label co-founder and globe-trotting selector DJ Kobayashi. Rather than revisiting familiar disco classics, Give Me Disco Vol. 02 digs deeper, bringing together four dancefloor discoveries from across Europe and Asia, including two previously unreleased tracks available here for the first time.

Spanning Portuguese jazz-funk, Norwegian cosmic oddities, Japanese-inspired psychedelic disco and cinematic groove, the EP reflects the breadth of Kobayashi's record bag - a carefully assembled selection of tracks that have soundtracked his DJ sets for years alongside exclusive material rescued from the vaults.

Opening the record is The Bam Jam Band's brilliantly understated "Theme", a soaring slice of jazz-infused disco from Portuguese musicians Sérgio Alves and Pedro Tenreiro. Originally released only as a now long-sold-out 7 inch on Mad About Records, the track has become one of Kobayashi's trusted secret weapons, championed by discerning selectors including Darryn Jones and Red Greg. Built around Alves' dazzling synthesiser work, "Theme" finally gets the wider audience it deserves. The EP's first exclusive arrives courtesy of D. Apal, instrumentalist and member of Norway's Flammer Dance Band. His only solo release, issued on the band's Lysketrekk Records, has become a cult favourite among adventurous record collectors. Batov now unveils the previously unreleased "60 Meter'n (Rytme)", an extended instrumental dub that strips away the vocals to let the handclaps, cavernous bassline, dub effects and wonderfully eccentric synthesisers breathe, transforming an underground favourite into an irresistible dancefloor weapon.

Side B opens with YĪN YĪN's "Tokyo Disco", taken from the band's acclaimed third album Mount Matsu on Glitterbeat Records. Long-time admirers of the Dutch quartet, Kobayashi has championed them since first hearing the breakthrough pairing of "Dis ̄ kô Dis ̄ kô" and "Dion Ysiusk" on Bongo Joe. Since then, he has hosted the band twice on Soho Radio and supported them live in London. "Tokyo Disco" perfectly captures YĪN YĪN's distinctive blend of Japanese-inspired psychedelia, Southeast Asian influences, post-punk funk and shimmering disco grooves, making it a natural fit for the Give Me Disco series.

Closing the EP is another exclusive from Jiri Jiri, whose contribution helped launch the series on Vol. 01. Ahead of their forthcoming album later this year, the duo unveil the previously unreleased "Spaghetti Western", a wonderfully off-kilter fusion of Morricone-esque cinematic atmosphere, taut funk rhythms and the soulful modern groove of SAULT. Equal parts soundtrack and dancefloor curveball, it provides a fitting finale while offering another tantalising glimpse of what's still to come. With two exclusive cuts sitting alongside two carefully chosen modern classics, Give Me Disco Vol. 02 is another lovingly curated snapshot of DJ Kobayashi's musical universe: borderless, groove-driven and unapologetically built for adventurous DJs, discerning collectors and open minded dancefloors alike.

This compilation took almost four years to come together. For the residency, the band Alexander Flood composed three new pieces, which they developed with the ensemble over two rehearsal days before performing them across three concerts. The core ensemble - Lucy Liebe, Franka Fairy, Tara Sarter, Raffaelo Visconti and Nonny Smith - remained together throughout the summer of 2024, growing into something far greater than just a band. This compilation not only documents the music played by the Residence Band, but also captures the wider story of the other bands that we recorded while they were on tour and who came to the studio with me the following day. Kai appears here after performing at Holidays in 2024. Sonic Interventions recalls a special milestone: the band's first concert outside Berlin, which took place at Holidays in 2023. Sasha Berliner performed at the Jazz Klub, which is illustrated throughout the comic included in this booklet. Benedikt Montiel Mathews joined the Jazz Montez project through a year-long internship and a record we released together. Hind Ennaira led the successor to the Residence Band during a weekend at El Barrio in 2024. However, her recording was not made in Frankfurt, but in Essaouira, Morocco, during a spontaneous late-night session.

Inlcuding: Pressed on high quality 150g vinyl, the record comes packaged in a beautiful cover, designed by artist Verena Mack. It features a 20 page booklet that includes a fictional comic on the making of a Jazzklub.

Includes unlimited streaming of Jazz Montez Presents Vol. III via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

The third and final full-length, double album from the Elephant 6 Recording Co. co-founders. Their first record in 27 years from the Athens, GA band. A legend is a heavy thing to carry. It has been 27 years since the last album by The Olivia Tremor Control. In that time, they have influenced countless bands, been the subject of documentaries and biographies, and now, finally, improbably, there is a third Olivia Tremor Control album. In the 1990s, The Olivia Tremor Control released two albums of experimental and psychedelic pop genius, Music from the Unrealized Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle (1996), and Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1 (1999). As founding members of the Elephant 6 collective, they redefined the US underground scene, injecting bright paisley colors and sonic adventure into a scene weighed down by grim irony and a fear of pretension. Work began on the album as far back as 2005 but progress was slowed by other projects, other responsibilities, but in 2010, the band of Hart, Doss, John Fernandes, Pete Erchick, Eric Harris, and Derek Almstead began to record. By 2011 The Olivia Tremor Control had reemerged as a fully active band and added AJ Griffin to the lineup as well as touring members Scott Spillane and Robbie Cucchario. The band was now recording constantly and were fast on their way to completing the album. Then in the summer of 2012, Bill Doss suddenly, tragically passed away. With everyone still in shock and grieving, work on The Same Place came to a halt. Every attempt to resume the project stalled until 2023, when, after watching the Elephant 6 Documentary, Athens producer/musician Jason NeSmith came on board to help. In 2024, with the album nearly finished, Will Hart unexpectedly passed away. Drawing on Will's extensive collections of notes, The Same Place was finally completed by the surviving band members, the broader Elephant 6 community, and producers Derek Almstead, Jason NeSmith, and Ron Kwasman. The Same Place does everything The Olivia Tremor Control ever did well. It also does it better, and goes further, than anyone could have imagined was possible.

It’s rare for a hardcore punk band to make four full-length albums, and rarer still for the fourth album to be the band’s masterpiece. Yet Paratiisi, the fourth album from Helsinki punks Kohti Tuhoa, stands as the undeniable coup de grâce of a catalog overflowing with classic hardcore punk. If you’re already a fan, it’ll comfort you to know Paratiisi leans heavily on the strengths Kohti Tuhoa has possessed since their earliest releases: a timeless sound that combines UK82 drive and hooks with dramatic metal flourishes; a captivating vocalist with the perfect balance of grit and clarity, who can both howl like a banshee and carry a tune; and a particularly Finnish way with a driving, medium-fast tempo. But for all the continuities with Kohti Tuhoa’s excellent previous records, Paratiisi almost feels like the work of a new band. The riffs and choruses that anchor the album are impossibly catchy; Paratiisi bulges with huge moments that practically force you to air guitar and sing along (even if you don’t speak a word of Finnish), the band’s peerless chops and the rich and clear recording driving these climaxes to dizzying highs. But while the hooks are memorable, there isn’t a moment on Paratiisi that feels dumbed-down or overly familiar.

In fact, the album feels notably ambitious, pulling influences from across punk’s historical and aesthetic breadth and digesting them seamlessly into Kohti Tuhoa’s distinctive sound. The lyrics (don’t worry: English translations are included!) meet the same high bar as the music. They’re direct, assertive, and punk, but they’re also subtle and insightful, whether they’re tackling huge issues like microplastics or sharing a very personal account of a sexual assault and its aftermath. And then there’s Paratiisi’s most unexpected moment, “Eliitin Psykopatia,” a free punk freakout in the tradition of “Why (Reprise)” and “L.A. Blues.” If Kohti Tuhoa’s brief foray into free jazz tries your patience, though, don’t worry, because after three minutes of building tension, they reward you with what is bound to be the best riff of 2026, a clash of chords potent enough to blow holes through walls the world over. Paratiisi is the sound of one hardcore punk’s most exciting bands at the height of their powers.

Tokyo Riddim Band continue their journey striding across times and cultures, this time with their colourful keyboardist and frontwoman Mimi Kobayashi breathing new life into a song she originally penned in 1981. ‘Lazy Love’ first featured on Mimi’s highly sought after Coconuts High LP, which she recorded in LA recruiting top session players to play alongside her. It was also included in Time Capsule’s 2024 compilation of Japanese reggae - Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985.

This soulful pop tune turned deep dub cut retains the romantic charm of the original, whilst the tasteful performances of the Tokyo Riddim Band and Ras Tavaris combined with Prince Fatty’s studio magic give the song a newly found depth.

London based Tokyo Riddim Band is a unique fusion of cultures, bringing together the vibrant energy of three generations of Japanese female musicians with the eclectic sounds of London. Their dynamic performances blend reggae drums, funky bass lines, and the smooth City Pop guitar, all magically dubbed-out live on stage. This is not just music; it's a cultural phenomenon, offering a fresh and exciting take on the reggae scene.