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Ever wonder what triumph over adversity sounds like? The answer lies in 'Trickery', the new album from gothic post-punk legends Then Comes Silence. A reflection of the band's experiences touring and meeting people all over the world, Trickery celebrates friendship, unity, and the feeling of belonging to a group, a tribe, all wrapped in Then Comes Silence's patented post-punk-wall-of-sound.

Trickery by Then Comes Silence, released 10 May 2024.

This version of Trickery comes as a 1xLP.

Pull the Rope, the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine, casts the Eno Williams and Max Grunhard-led outfit in a new light. The hope, joy, and sexiness of their music remain, but, further honing the edge of their acclaimed 2022 album Electricity, the connection they aim to foster has shifted venues from the sunny buoyancy of a sunlit festival to a sweat-soaked, all-night dance club. Williams and Grunhard attribute this shift to a matter of collaborators, recording Pull the Rope with Sheffield-based producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A.) over the course of two weeks. The way the pair wrote songs changed significantly_rather than Eno penning lyrics to music generated by Max and company's jamming, Orton started with Eno and Max writing together before adding the band. With less time in the studio and a new way of considering how they built songs, the duo found making decisions about Pull the Rope's sound quicker and more instinctual than before. "Ross is from Sheffield, which has an edgier, more industrial vibe than London," Grunhard explains. "He hears things differently than us, is more grounded in rave and grungier sounds, and knew when to add drums or push the instrumentation more. It was very different for us, but it lends itself to where Ibibio Sound Machine is going." In melding their songwriting process, Grunhard and Williams have, impossibly, pulled the trick of making Ibibio Sound Machine a tighter band than ever before, building out from their core in a way that highlights the electrifying group of musicians they play with. Rather than recording with the full band in the room, Pull the Rope was sculpted, elements added and shaped by Grunhard, Williams, and Orton along the way. As a result, Pull the Rope is a nimble, sleek machine that's thrilling from the first note of the opening title track, Eno's otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose's throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads, making an argument for unity that begins on the dancefloor. "We are the places we grew up, the places we've been, and the people we've met along the way," Williams says. "Hopping around the globe, we've found that people are fundamentally the same_they're people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering." Lead single "Got to Be Who U Are" literally globetrots, name checking locales across the world that would feel disparate were it not for how well-traveled they are. Eno growing up in the musical melting pot of the Ibibio region of Nigeria and Max being a conservatory-trained musician from Australia, one could call their meeting in London and formation of Ibibio Sound Machine predestined. "Mama Say" and "Let My Yes Be Yes" touch themes of female empowerment. They're indicative of the band's depth as they push further into the electronic; "Mama Say" hits notes of electropop while "Let My Yes Be Yes" fuses electro to Afrobeat. Ibibio Sound Machine have always imbued their music with political consciousness, and the light that shines through in Williams' vocals and voice has never felt more necessary. The sound of Pull the Rope, then, is hope in darkness, bliss in spite of bleakness. Once again, Ibibio Sound Machine are here to provide the soundtrack to the best night of your life, and the better world to come.

The Swedish quartet Goran Kajfes Tropiques present Tell Us, an album consisting of three long pieces composed by the group, is "slow music" to the bone, a deep body of work utilising the language of jazz as its core mode of communication but echoing way beyond. The quartet is expanded with strings, adding wings to the music and helping it lift off the ground in a personal, highly engaging manner.

Pull the Rope, the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine, casts the Eno Williams and Max Grunhard-led outfit in a new light. The hope, joy, and sexiness of their music remain, but, further honing the edge of their acclaimed 2022 album Electricity, the connection they aim to foster has shifted venues from the sunny buoyancy of a sunlit festival to a sweat-soaked, all-night dance club. Williams and Grunhard attribute this shift to a matter of collaborators, recording Pull the Rope with Sheffield-based producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A.) over the course of two weeks. The way the pair wrote songs changed significantly_rather than Eno penning lyrics to music generated by Max and company's jamming, Orton started with Eno and Max writing together before adding the band. With less time in the studio and a new way of considering how they built songs, the duo found making decisions about Pull the Rope's sound quicker and more instinctual than before. "Ross is from Sheffield, which has an edgier, more industrial vibe than London," Grunhard explains. "He hears things differently than us, is more grounded in rave and grungier sounds, and knew when to add drums or push the instrumentation more. It was very different for us, but it lends itself to where Ibibio Sound Machine is going." In melding their songwriting process, Grunhard and Williams have, impossibly, pulled the trick of making Ibibio Sound Machine a tighter band than ever before, building out from their core in a way that highlights the electrifying group of musicians they play with. Rather than recording with the full band in the room, Pull the Rope was sculpted, elements added and shaped by Grunhard, Williams, and Orton along the way. As a result, Pull the Rope is a nimble, sleek machine that's thrilling from the first note of the opening title track, Eno's otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose's throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads, making an argument for unity that begins on the dancefloor. "We are the places we grew up, the places we've been, and the people we've met along the way," Williams says. "Hopping around the globe, we've found that people are fundamentally the same_they're people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering." Lead single "Got to Be Who U Are" literally globetrots, name checking locales across the world that would feel disparate were it not for how well-traveled they are. Eno growing up in the musical melting pot of the Ibibio region of Nigeria and Max being a conservatory-trained musician from Australia, one could call their meeting in London and formation of Ibibio Sound Machine predestined. "Mama Say" and "Let My Yes Be Yes" touch themes of female empowerment. They're indicative of the band's depth as they push further into the electronic; "Mama Say" hits notes of electropop while "Let My Yes Be Yes" fuses electro to Afrobeat. Ibibio Sound Machine have always imbued their music with political consciousness, and the light that shines through in Williams' vocals and voice has never felt more necessary. The sound of Pull the Rope, then, is hope in darkness, bliss in spite of bleakness. Once again, Ibibio Sound Machine are here to provide the soundtrack to the best night of your life, and the better world to come.

Released on 180-gram vinyl including sleeve notes and rare photos.Recorded Live at Basins Nightclub in February 1987, 12 songs including the hits that made Desmond Dekker an international reggae star. Desmond Dekker's contribution to Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae is unique with his amazing songwriting and wonderful vocal talent.His song "Israelites" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in 1969 and was one of the first reggae songs to gain widespread popularity outside of Jamaica. The song's success helped bring reggae music to a global audience. Desmond Dekker's music often featured themes of everyday life, love, and social issues, and he played a significant role in popularizing Jamaican music genres.Desmond's other successful songs include "007 (Shanty Town)," "It Mek," and "You Can Get It If You Really Want".His contributions to the development of Jamaican music have left a lasting impact, and he is remembered as one of the pioneers of reggae and a key figure in the genre's international success.Recorded Live at Basins in 1987, here you have a live performance of 12 songs including the forementioned hits that made Desmond Dekker an international reggae star.

Ever since their auspicious beginnings, more than a decade ago, Laughing Bastards have giddily delighted in impurity. Initially a reeds-guitar-bass trio modeled after the classic Jimmy Giuffre 3, the band has remained truthful to its original spirit. Saxophone player Michel Mast and guitarist Jan-Sebastiaan Degeyter have remained its core, but the band went through several permutations, first welcoming Eline Duerinck (cello) and Marcos Della Rocha (for Unanimal in 2019) and solidifying its present-day line-up with bassist Cyrille Obermüller.

Bastards. It's kind of a rude word to throw around carelessly, but there has always been that element of being irregular, being too stubborn to comply with what is expected, that has set them apart. This is nowhere more evident than in the material contributed by Degeyter, who wrote more than half of the album's compositions. A talented illustrator and designer (he created a few of their striking album covers) as well as a versatile guitarist, Degeyter always manages to add a strong visual component to his material. In combination with his knack for pulling exotic influences into the band's overall sound, it leads to a playful, cinematic eccentricity.

"Tigraman" and "Black Spoon" are examples of this. Both are infused with an Ethiopian-tinged sound, but while the first one develops the catchy throbbing of a trance-like soul/rock tune, the second exudes the lush cadence of Golden Age Ethio jazz, the kind that gets under your skin with those sensual, irrepressible rhythms. They are a nice match with the increasing drama of the Slavic-tinged "Red Lemon", the slow, dreamy flow of the Jamaican dance hall-inspired "Sand", a strong feature for Duerinck, and "Dosi", that shows Obermüller's knack for propulsive melody.

The synesthete in Degeyter gets free reign in "Calliope", chamber jazz in which sweeping sax and cello are kept grounded by guitar, bass and drums. Mast's odd meter-song "Fetish" is another showcase for the band's effortless dancing and some gorgeous tenor schmooze. Della Rocha's "Turquoise" starts off in brooding, contemplative way and keeps simmering on a low, glowing fire. To top it off, there are a few covers that remind you of the band's origins. A new take on Giuffre's rootsy "The Train and the River" stresses their loose flexibility with an Americana style somewhat reminiscent of Charlie Haden, while Carla Bley's evergreen "Vashkar" gets a carefully constructed makeover to close out the album with grace.

On their latest album, Laughing Bastards prove they are a quintessential Belgian band - soaking up sounds and influences from all over the place while maintaining a tight unity - with an international appeal. Combining jazz and chamber music with ideas from pop music and multi-colored strains does not only give their music an iridescent edge, but also keeps the interplay fresh and inspired, something to return to while waiting to see them live on stage.

“Great Doubt” is the third full length LP by Danish composer Astrid Sonne. Throughout her acclaimed discography, Astrid Sonne has been carefully crafting different moods through electronic and acoustic instrumental endeavours. On “Great Doubt” this skill is refined, now with the distinct addition of the composer's own vocal in front. The tone of each track is unmistakably Sonne’s, structured around contrasts through an impeccable sense of timing. Lyrics on the album are sparse, merely highlighting different scenes or emotional states of being, leaving the music to fill in the blanks. Yet they also form a pattern of ambiguity, consolidated through the album title, searching for answers through looking at how and what you are asking, questions for the world, questions of love. The viola, a trusted companion since Astrid Sonne’s youth, appears effortlessly throughout the album, fully integrated into the sonic universe; through a pizzicato driven arrangement in the poignant track “Almost” or along with booms and claps in mutated cinematic stabs during “Give my all”, paraphrasing Mariah Carey's 1997 ballad. Yet the string section also gives way to explorations of woodwinds, counterbalancing the bowed movements with digital brass and airy flutes. Finally, beats and detuned piano are fresh additions to the soundscape, cementing how Sonne’s practice is always evolving into new territories. In fall 2022, Astrid Sonne relocated from Copenhagen with its peers of artists such as ML Buch, Erika de Casier and Smerz, to live in London, where musicians of the South-East London scene like Coby Sey, Lolina, Still House Plants and Mica Levi provide a new inspirational framework. “Great Doubt” bears witness to both of those geographical locations, yet finds itself in its own unique space, in many ways due to the presence of Sonne's voice throughout. A voice that has always been present in her work, but never fully explored as a solo instrument before now. Astrid Sonne elaborates on the wish to work more in depth with the voice: “I come from a tradition of choir singing where I’ve used my voice as a way of creating unity with other voices. I’ve disciplined my voice in a certain way and this album is an exploration of me trying to find my own voice as an instrument, as a communicator, as a new way of being honest.” Questions take up a central role throughout the album. The doubt is both a blessing and a curse, always lying in-between, acting as both what holds back and drives forward. A metamorphosis not going anywhere. The great doubt takes place in a space of courage, chances, love, loss, gifts and surprises. Genre: Electronic / Experimental

Known for classic collaborative albums with artists like J Dilla, MF DOOM, and Freddie Gibbs, widely celebrated producer Madlib is a sampling savant who has crafted beats for the likes of Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak, Tyler The Creator, Logic, De La Soul, and many more. The California artist’s latest project is Liberation 2, his second collaboration with hip-hop icon Talib Kweli. A global call for unity through space and time, the acclaimed album features appearances by Q-Tip, Westside Gunn, Roc Marciano, Roy Ayers, Goapele, Wildchild, Pink Siifu, and more. Now, the remarkable jazz-inflected Madlib instrumentals from Liberation 2 are receiving a proper vinyl release. Following in the footsteps of past Madlib instrumental classics, this limited-edition collection features 14 compelling tracks from one of the most gifted musical minds in hip-hop history.

The first ever vinyl reissue of Troum's »Symbiosis« EP includes unreleased extra track.

The 5 tracks were recorded from May 2000 – August 2002 and consisted of guitar-only solo pieces by both members. Forming a unity out of singularities, merging the contradictions, this first re-issue has an additional unreleased bonus track, a reworking of older material recorded with the same approach. Finalized in march 2023.

Troum is a duo located in Bremen, Germany, established in early 1997. The two members GliSch and Baraka

The original »Symbiosis« CDEP was released in January 2003 as a limited edition in a handmade 3D pyramid-box (200 copies) as Transgredient TR-02. An additional standard edition came in a stickered & handcoloured cardboard cover with obi.

Introducing the forthcoming vinyl single from FJAAK's highly anticipated album, "FJAAK THE SYSTEM." Featuring three electrifying stompers and an exclusive acapella track tailored for DJ tool usage, this release promises to captivate techno enthusiasts and vinyl aficionados alike. First up, "A1 - Redemption" unleashes an ancient acid-techno anthem, pulsating with acidic elements and an unmistakable old-school vibe. Its hard-hitting beats and minimalist structure reflect the chaotic state of our world's system, while sporadic vocal shots weave a narrative of societal disarray, urging listeners to delve into the madness. Next, "A2 - Hustle" encapsulates the relentless journey of artists striving to leave their mark in the world of music. With pulsating futuristic breakbeats and driving rhythms, the track embodies the dedication and passion fueling their creative pursuits, amidst the challenges of the road and the vibrant energy of the techno scene. Then, "B1 - Mechanic Love" delves into the intricate dynamics of relationships in a technologically infused world. Exploring the blurred boundaries between humans, machines, and cyborgs, the track navigates themes of love, intimacy, and companionship within a futuristic realm where humanity's evolution converges with technological innovation. It's a symphony of emotion and machinery, inviting listeners to ponder the complexities of existence. Lastly "B2 - Unity" featuring US artist Red Eye, the vinyl single includes an exclusive acapella version of a track featured on the upcoming album, providing DJs with a versatile tool for creative mixing and experimentation.

Brownswood Recordings are proud to present the reissue of Toshio Matsuura’s 2017 cult classic LOVEPLAYDANCE, issued for the first time as a complete album on limited edition red and white double vinyl.



The project focuses on covers, presenting classics & influential tracks in a new context. This new edition includes a cover of the Rotary Connection’s classic "Black Gold of the Sun'' featuring Afro-Cuban singer Daymé Arocena and her prodigious Havana-based players, as well as the high energy re-lick of Byron Morris and Unity’s ‘Kitty Bey’, a classic from Gilles Peterson’s seminal afternoon session at Dingwalls in the 1990s; neither included on the original vinyl LP.



On ‘LOVEPLAYDANCE’, legendary Tokyo DJ and producer Toshio Matsuura charted a new direction by casting musical cornerstones in a fresh light. The TOSHIO MATSUURA GROUP features Tom Skinner (drummer for Smile, Sons of Kemet, amongst others) as its musical director, as well as some of the UK’s most exciting jazz-influenced musicians. Drawing on years of surveying and curating different corners of music, Matsuura deftly combined this talented pool of players into one singular, wide-ranging album. A co-founder of Japan’s United Future Organisation (aka U.F.O.), this record sees Matsuura reconnect with longstanding friend and collaborator Gilles Peterson. Releasing the album via Brownswood Recordings in the UK, it’s a continuation of a relationship which started as a bridge between London’s then-blossoming jazz scene and Tokyo’s new musical vanguard of the early ‘90s. This album continues that two-way dialogue between Japan and the UK.



The scope of the music reflects the breadth of Matsuura’s interests; It ranges from Bugges Wesseltoft’s Detroit-influenced, dancefloor-minded jazz, stretched out into a more meditative contemplation, to Flying Lotus’ LA-rooted, Brainfeeder beatmaking, translated from laptop-to-live, given a new, equally idiosyncratic lease of life. Elsewhere, Carl Craig’s iconic ‘At Les’ is taken in a looser direction, the overtones of euphoria cast in a different hue.



They’re touchpoints which hint at interests in the different, diffuse corners of electronic music, and how they connect to jazz and improvisation. Featuring an all star line up of some of the best players London has to offer, line up includes Nubya Garcia, Yazz Ahmed, Yussef Dayes and more.

Gary Clark Jr. releases his new studio album JPEG RAW on 22nd March 2024.

This new body of work signals a brave new world for Clark’s ever-expanding creative palette. The new music is dense and adventurous with a more cohesive synthesis of his eclectic musical universe. His samples, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Boy Williamson, decorate flourishes of African, World Music, and even Jazz while merging with rock, R&B, hip-hop and blues; familiar areas he has ventured before, this time with more unity forging a fresh new style.

Clark’s lyrics are pointed, deeply personal, outspoken and socially conscious with occasional forays into rap and spoken word from Clark himself. The sonics are immersive, verging on modern groove-oriented psychedelia with hip-hop driven beats in verses giving way to anthemic choruses, rich with power-chording and wide fuzz riffage.

JPEG RAW is Clark's first album since 2019’s critically lauded This Land, which became his third consecutive top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and garnered three Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance (“This Land”) and Best Contemporary Blues Album (This Land). Clark’s first Grammy win was awarded in 2014 for Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Please Come Home”).

Italian hard techno DJ-producer MAIKE DEPAS announces EP "Rave the Planet" (out 29 February) ahead of MAIKE DEPAS 2.0 audio-visual makeover

"Depas strikes a fine balance between raw energy and subtle melodic hooks." (DMY)

"Throughout the pounding track Midnight Ride, the Italian beatsmith expertly blends lush synths with intricate rhythmic components and gritty bass." (EDM com)

"Depas' approach to techno is a veritable melting pot of influences, blending sounds from the 80s and 90s with contemporary symphonic and cinematic elements." (Magnetic Mag)

Upon the return from the dark and dreamy regions of his previous EP "Euphoria", Milanese hard techno DJ-producer MAIKE DEPAS (Michelangelo De Pasquale) announces new EP "Rave the Planet", out 29 February via The Innovation Studio, ahead of MAIKE DEPAS 2.0 audio-visual makeover. Sending tremors through the electronic underground scene, Depas joins Kobosil and In Verruf in carrying the torch of uncompromising Berlin techno while keeping his feet firmly planted in the melodic 1990s trance of Push, Jam & Spoon, and Cygnus X.

Introducing his new heavy-duty fusion of face-melting techno and trance carrying "Go Hard or Go Home" warning sign, Depas makes the crowd grind their teeth with a behemoth of an opener "Heartbreaker" only to fill the dancefloor with dread on the shiver-inducing "Vortex", a power move designed to set the scene for the title track"s fervent rave sermon delivered in a cyborg voice by Depas, followed by the erotic undertones of throbbing closer "Float Together" including the blistering remix by the Italian DJ Amstra.

"Rave the planet / Stay together / In techno we trust / Rave the planet" - MAIKE DEPAS, Rave the Planet

At its core, "Rave the Planet" is Depas" personal paean to the true spirit of the original rave culture as represented by Lukas Havlik"s (Ludenworks) Luis Royo-esque artwork of a pulsating cybernetic planet of complex, interconnected nerve fibres wrapped around the Depas globe logo. “As a raver, you feel this sense of unity with community and it"s similar to a religion we"ve had for thousands and thousands of years,” Depas compares. “We are the planet, we are the culture, so both are the reflection of ourselves in the wider world.” For Depas, the concept of solidarity runs deep within techno culture. Coming right from the heart, Depas is driven by the opportunity to bring people together for one thing and one thing only: “Just for the love of techno and to celebrate the music in a club.”

"As a raver, you feel this sense of unity with a community similar to a religion we"ve had for thousands and thousands of years." - MAIKE DEPAS

"Rave the Planet" is released in conjunction with MAIKE DEPAS 2.0, a tectonic audio-visual shift that entails a wide array of digital content as varied as DJ sets live streamed from Berlin"s Teufelsberg and other dystopian locations around Europe as well as enhanced PR-photos featuring cyberpunk-inspired outfits designed by Demobaza, a cyberpunk-inspired casual couture brand best known for their sustainable Dune X Demobaza collection. Over the course of upcoming metamorphosis from a flesh-and-blood individual into a mysterious CGI character, Depas is another step closer to revolutionising the dance music scene through the metaverse.

You just moved to the big city, you end up at a party where you don't know anyone and someone walks up to you and asks: "Hey, are you alone here?". That is exactly the feeling that Porcelain id describes on their debut album Bibi:1, short for the Arabic pet name Habibi. Porcelain id is the pseudonym under which Hubert Tuyishime (they/them/their) has been unleashing unique songs since 2020.

The album - inspired by their move from a quiet provincial town to Antwerp - is the soundtrack to walking into city traffic during rush hour and trusting to get out of the chaos in one piece. It is an ode to exciting encounters with complete strangers and to the friends you can come home to afterwards. A story about being a stranger in a city you've romanticized for so long, the rejection that comes with it, and the false nostalgia with which you look back on it all later on.

At first hearing, the completely English-language Bibi:1 may seem like a brusque farewell to the autobiographical intimacy and lo-fi singer-songwriter music on the previously released EPs Mango and Reprise, and especially on songs like Vlaanderen. But to Porcelain id it feels like an organic evolution. One towards more abstraction, experimentation and electronics, but never detached, and still building on the core of Porcelain id.

The new sound is the result of an intense collaboration with producer and partner in crime Youniss Ahamad, who, despite their different musical backgrounds, immediately felt challenged after Porcelain id's legendary elevator pitch: 'I want to make something that is situated between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Yeezus by Kanye West'.

Together they drew the blueprint for Bibi:1 in Youniss' home studio. Track by track, without looking back. A sporadic, but rigid process that added to the intensity of the album. In the studio, the songs were taken to a higher level. The two invited a pack of talented friends and young musicians to the studio to add parts, a stark contrast to the solitary approach of previous EPs. Aram Abgaryan (recording engineer/synths/vocals), Nard Houdmeyers (guitar), Tim Caramin (drums), David Idrisov (bass), Alban Sarens (sax) and Emma Hessels (vocals) came by. Aram Santy was at the controls during the mixing sessions.

The result sounds like the ultimate symbiosis of Porcelain id and Youniss. Lofi, but ambitious. Fragile, but rough. Poppy, but disruptive. Sometimes challenging. Then welcoming again. Sometimes even danceable. Each song forms a small vignette that is part of a diverse, but coherent unity. Adam Coming Home and Low Poly are closest to the melancholy of Porcelain id's earlier work, while Lights! strikes a new path. First single Man Down, on the other hand, is inspired by the Antwerp students who drown every year and sounds like a wandering nightly stroll through the city. For Brilliant, David Idrisov was asked to 'play bass as if Chet Baker were not a trumpet player, but a bass player', a bizarre assignment that he accomplished with verve. And Cellophane flirts with emo trap and was sung with raspberries between the teeth, to simulate the effect of grills.

and the novelty goes on: mule musiq welcomes another fresh producer to its vast catalogue of music from all around. this time andro gogibedashvili aka saphileaum. he is coming from tbilisi, georgia and already released an impressive body of work, considering he just publishes music since 2016. countless eps and albums, digital, on tape, documenting his feverish creative urge on labels like not not fun records, good morning tapes, diffuse reality, or vodkast. they cover a comprehensive stylistic range from ambient and downtempo to tribal, house, and techno nuances. a deeper shade of soul, precisely fashioned, growing from different playgrounds of inspiration. he was born into a musical family. as a kid he studied georgian folk. in his school rock band, he sang, and the guitar was his love. then electronic music called the tune, and techno hit his heart. in the midst of it all the 26-year-old never lost contact with his spiritual home. “i find deep inspiration in georgian myths and legends, occultism and esoteric teachings, lost civilizations, earth, unity, truth, information, and the secrets of the universe. these things, to name a few, inspire me daily and help me create the music I make.” saphileaum reveals. “exploring together”, his debut album for mule, navigates all these elements through a merry-go-round of gentle driven rhythm zones. fourth-world spheres, balearic tropes, field recording zones, tropical downbeat, tribal percussions, trancing sounds, balafon hums, mallet airs, hooky house – it’s all there, circling the eavesdropper into a dreamland of melodic undercurrents. “my loops come from tribal and cosmic inspirations. tribal, as below, and cosmic as above. the combination of these two, is very interesting to me”, he clarifies, while joking “but, to put it super simply, loops are super handy for djing”. which brings us to the final promotion of “exploring together” - it’s playability. its vast. multifunctional. spiritual. made for gatherings, were all dance time away. lost in music actions, only touched by the hand of rhythm and sound. his ten tracks are created for such flashes, wide spreading a musical narration of illuminating durability. “cosmic, relaxing, fun, tribal, and mystic.”, as saphileaum declares.

"He’ll always be a man of his people, but Jamie Webster’s message has cut through hearts all over the land since the folk troubadour’s debut album ‘We Get By’ in 2020. The songwriting may have evolved from those defiant early days on the acoustic guitar, but the hard-hitting storytelling that made his name remains as he continues to give a voice to the masses through towering anthems to hold close through uncertain times.
Though born from frustration and adversity, Webster's music has always managed to encapsulate a sense of unity and togetherness through tough times. Take the breakthrough single ‘Weekend In Paradise’ which distills a living for the weekend ideology of the working classes. An anthem just about everyone working nine to five can relate to, the flagship single speaks volumes of the journey so far as it surpasses 20 million streams on Spotify alone. His second album ‘Moments’ charted in the Official UK Album Chart #3, Indie Chart #2, Official Vinyl Chart #2, Scottish Album Chart #2. The scale of public support for the songs of singular, life-as-he-sees-it-singing, aspirational indie voice of Jamie Webster looks set to reach new heights as he announces the release of his third album, 10 For The People, on Fri 2 February 2024 with Modern Sky UK. While working confidently towards his third Top Ten album chart finish early next year, Webster’s Pied Piper-pull is set to draw a previously unimaginable 40,000 fans to one place as he also announces a HUGE outdoor headline show at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Fri 12 July 2024. "

"He’ll always be a man of his people, but Jamie Webster’s message has cut through hearts all over the land since the folk troubadour’s debut album ‘We Get By’ in 2020. The songwriting may have evolved from those defiant early days on the acoustic guitar, but the hard-hitting storytelling that made his name remains as he continues to give a voice to the masses through towering anthems to hold close through uncertain times.
Though born from frustration and adversity, Webster's music has always managed to encapsulate a sense of unity and togetherness through tough times. Take the breakthrough single ‘Weekend In Paradise’ which distills a living for the weekend ideology of the working classes. An anthem just about everyone working nine to five can relate to, the flagship single speaks volumes of the journey so far as it surpasses 20 million streams on Spotify alone. His second album ‘Moments’ charted in the Official UK Album Chart #3, Indie Chart #2, Official Vinyl Chart #2, Scottish Album Chart #2. The scale of public support for the songs of singular, life-as-he-sees-it-singing, aspirational indie voice of Jamie Webster looks set to reach new heights as he announces the release of his third album, 10 For The People, on Fri 2 February 2024 with Modern Sky UK. While working confidently towards his third Top Ten album chart finish early next year, Webster’s Pied Piper-pull is set to draw a previously unimaginable 40,000 fans to one place as he also announces a HUGE outdoor headline show at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Fri 12 July 2024. "

Originally recorded in 1987 at Tabansi recorded Studio & Roger All Stars and pressed by Wilfilms, Nigeria. You’ll find six tracks of drumcomputer driven lo-fi jams laced with catchy synth lines from the mind of producer Austine Onwurah, who was quite active in the 80’s.. The project with Mr. Idigo resulted in a highly addictive cosmic boogie album which includes four absolute highlights. The record starts with one of the standout cuts; Flight 505, which is a tough electro/boogie crossover with vocals and sparse vocoder on top. Followed by the heavy boogie jam ‘We Got To Love’ , that is the personal favorite and a great track for DJ’s . The magnificent A-side closes with the catchy title track, again great production with top chorus and synth hook. On the flip you’ll find the wicked digital reggae tune ‘Mystic World’ with still ever relevant lyrics that closes the LP.. There is something special about this sought after record, the way the instrumentation has been played and programmed is very groovy and musical with a certain sound to it that is unmistakably Nigerian. The synth melodies weave in the tracks with ease and layers of funky bass and guitar float on top. Music that will grow on you every time you listen to it, one of the clever wonders coming from Nigeria! Officially licensed with courtesy of the family. Carefully restored and remastered with respect to the original sound and artwork. ‘’The need to ‘Search’ has come oh’ people of the world we have taken earthly forms the wisdom of love and unity thou shall love one another for love and unity is the route of life so do I search for Love, Peace & Unity’’ – Alphonsus Idigo

Number 6 is a special one. The new Kri record goes back to the buzzing 1980s in Yugoslavia, where numerous art projects, including bands such as Laibach, were testing the censorship and unity of the Communist Party. One such project was a punk and later post-punk/industrial band called O! Kult which took a hard stance against bureaucracy, technocracy and alienation. Their test was successful as it brought censorship and surveillance by the state and media authorities.

O! Kult’s late industrial-ish period started in the second half of the 80s after Brane Zorman experienced the British Summer of Love firsthand. The track Zvestoba (Loyalty) has never been officially released until now. Kri Records are bringing the track to life after digging it out of the cult Radio Študent archives.

The track and its mystical vibe have been reimagined by Silent Servant, Christian Kroupa (1/2 of Black Dot) and 198319831983, adding fresh EBM, electro and melancholic techno edge to the record. We want to thank Brane Zorman for trusting us with O! Kult material, all the producers and the Ministry of Culture of Slovenia for the support with the release of KRI006.

In the 1970s, Robert Cahen turned to the burgeoning field of video art, where he became a pioneering artist. He was originally trained in musique concrète, his creative background, and joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in 1972. The pieces on this record were composed in the GRM studios between 1971 and 1974. They testify to a lively inspiration and imagination combined with a precocious formal mastery that already carries the seeds of later developments, which the artist cleverly and inventively deployed in the field of visual arts. (François Bonnet, Paris, 2022)

--

«La nef des fous» (1974), 12’00

There are pieces of music whose title is obviously a mere label given afterwards to a finished product. And others, on the contrary, which develop in spiral around a bundle of images and impressions condensed into a few words. This is the case indeed with La nef des fous. However, this work by Robert Cahen oddly wraps itself around its title, with bends, breaks, and an impetus driven further every time to close a new circle, for such is the very essence of the spiral. This, at least, is the way I perceive the form of the work, with its theme-chorus which, in part one, both ponctuates and disrupts the emerging musical curve in various ways and at irregular intervals, as well as its broader and more open second part, which closes with a recollection of the beginning of the work. The challenge of a musical form justified by the topic it illustrates, right down to its gaps, its wanderings and its twists, and which would confer upon it the necessity of a profound logic, that of insanity, is the challenge attempted by Robert Cahen. In such a genre as tape music, so careful with respect to form, one can appreciate its audacity. La nef des fous, or Unity through heterogeneity, or Each to their own madness, but all in the same boat. This means that if we can listen to each of these sound characters, “broken chants”, which create the work for themselves, through the singularity of their delirium, we can also, from one to the other, trace the continuous chanting of a music that is inherently and spontaneously poetic, a music that carries “the unconscious under its skin” (Christiane Sacco). (Michel Chion, January 1976)

«Masques 2» (1973), 08’34

Concert version (for tape only) of an audiovisual work entitled Masques, in which the faces of old dolls and «masks», filmed during the Basel Carnival, were projected in 16mm. Masques 2 is a metaphorical version of Masques in which music is featured in its arcane musicality.
Through its concrete and suggestive music Masques 2 aims to bring to light hidden memories, buried within us, thus enabling an awakening, the resurgence of events from our own history. (R. C.)

«Plurielles» (1971), 08’35

Premiered at the Paris Biennale, 24 September 1971. Suite based on the score of a TV film directed by Sophie Talmon.

«Persona» (1971), 08’34

Premiered at the Paris Biennale, 24 September 1971.

«Passé composé» (1971), 05’29

Aiko T. is a concept, an entity, a ghost that appears only through her own music.

"I’ve released various materials over the years under other names, Aiko has been materialized in 2022 through self-published music and with IIKKI it's the first official release that I am very proud of. Despite this, Aiko has been publishing in other forms since 2020, but always within the sphere of ambient music.

This album was born as a long-lasting sound continuum. It was then cut, stitched together and reassembled to give shape and restore unity from the fragments, in order to have an album that shows its completeness halfway between the titles and the compositions themselves. Contrary to what it may seem, it is not born from a concept and does not want to be. The titles were chosen in a poetic, almost naïve way, the sounds of these creatures led me to believe that they could be divided into different distinct phases of the day. What I want to communicate with the titles is just what came to mind in a moment of reflection, a very simple thing, that sometimes time passes too quickly, and the moments we spend with our loved ones could always be better, it could have been a beautiful morning, afternoon, evening or night." - Aiko Takahashi

Music crafted by Aiko Takahashi with laptop and various music devices, analogue and otherwise

André Roligheten is known for his strong presence in a number of collaborations with everything from Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity, Team Hegdal, Friends & Neighbors, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Susanne Sundfør, to his own release "Roligheten - Homegrown" from 2017.With his new adventurous ensemble, he is now releasing brand new music on the album "Marbles" (Odin, 03.11.23). The album contains a collection of compositions that facilitate bold interaction. The compositions are conceived as parallel universes with their own, improvised musical forms. Imagine that Sonny Rollins and Egberto Gismonti met on the beach at a yoga retreat in Hawaii and decided to make an album together! Roligheten brings out a highly personal expression in his warm tenor saxophone together with a star team of Scandinavian musicians. Each and every one of them adds a unique depth and substance to the musical universe; Strøm's rigorous double bass, Ståhl's bold vibraphone, Nilssen's elastic drums and Lindström's gripping pedal steel. This merges into a unique sound that carries Roligheten's compositions on a golden stool. The gallery of people in this ensemble has prestigious names, and they have worked with artists and bands such as Tonbruket, Bushman's Revenge, Ane Brun, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobo Stenson, Supersonic Orchestra and Georg Riedel.

Saxophonist Alex Hitchcock continues his mission to seek out new sounds and textures at the forefront of contemporary jazz, and to act as a catalyst to bring together some of the finest musical talents drawn to the fervid internationalism of the contemporary London scene His response to the current challenging climate for artistic endeavour is to go big and go bold: Dream Band: Live in London is a truly groundbreaking project presenting three different 'dream bands' of his favourite musicians, captured live over three nights at London's legendary Vortex club performing music specially composed for each ensemble. The extraordinary line- ups he assembled are testament to the respect he has earned among his peers as a composer, player and bandleader with a uniquely inspiring vision. The band for the first night features the frontline of Mark Kavuma's trumpet and Liselotte Ostblom's vocals blending together over the trio of Rob Luft, Rio Kai, and Jamie Murray: the second features James Copus on trumpet with longtime musical partners Kit Downes on piano and Lewis Wright on vibes, and Conor Chaplin and Marc Michel supplying bass and drums, and the third sets Downes' piano alongside the guitar of Ant Law and Alexandra Ridout's trumpet, with the international all-star rhythm section team of Orlando le Fleming and James Maddren. Part of the album's delight lies in the unexpected combinations of these acclaimed players, and the new levels of creativity that they bring forth; the constant presence of Hitchcock's unmistakeable voice on tenor sax and the strength and consistency of his writing gives the project a compelling unity. Each of the three bands brings their own unique blend of voices to Hitchcock's compositions, taking them in directions unforeseen even by their composer.

Dub-Stuy’s riddim series is a nod to tradition with a modern twist, with the label teaming up a producer with different vocalists to voice a single riddim.

The latest entry in the series comes from French producer Von D who crafted the Saga riddim exclusively for this occasion, a weighty steppers piece featuring guitar, keys, and horns. The riddim is paired with vocal turns from reggae singers Chukki Starr, Chezidek, and Jah Mason who each bring their own unique stylings to the riddim, riffing on uplifting messages of unity in the face of oppression.

As always the release includes the instrumental version, this time with a dub twist from Von D. Mastered by Bristol legend Joker.

Pixel Prison is a deeply introspective album that explores the themes of societal division and the struggle for unity. Rising Tide combines the best elements of Roots Reggae, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues and adds deep meditative Dub into their music. Incorporating sounds from across the musical landscape and rooted with hard-hitting conscious lyrics, the band has tapped into another deep well of inspiration for their sophomore release!

“We’re excited to share ‘Pixel Prison’ with our global following,” says Rising Tide founder Marcus Urani. “This album is a reflection of our commitment to using music as a tool for positive change, and we hope our fans will join us on this journey.”

Malian and French pair Siraba unveil their much-anticipated self-titled debut LP on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings label, a 10-track odyssey fusing Mali’s rich musical traditions with cutting-edge electronic music.

Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of the French electronic band dOP, have won plenty of plaudits for the early singles taken from their debut album as duo Siraba. Those singles, spanning across the summer months, have found the pair bring the traditional sound of the Wassoulou - a river valley of West Africa - to the electronic world after 20 years of friendship. The music comes with an important underlying message of love and respect and results in spellbinding tracks that move heart, body and soul, finding a perfect home on Secret Teachings - a left-of-centre alternative label to Lazarus’ celebrated and often more club- focused Crosstown Rebels. With the arrival of the full album, the pair exhibit and showcase the emotional breadth and depth of their music, with detailed explorations of organic textures and native sounds merged with future-focused ideas and concepts.

The title track opens with an atmospheric mix of spoken words and spine-tingling chords that bring rich Afro flavours, while ‘Dounoiia’ is a languid groove made from hand drums and pixelated synth leads that cast a fine spell. The slow-blooming ‘Bani’ brings rich Malian blues and melancholic horns, while ‘Komafly’ is a rich mix of acoustic strings and broken beats that transports you to a hot and dusty landscape. A vital component of the sounds of the Wassoulou, the indigenous stringed instrument the Ngoni features again on the rousing ‘Nanse’ as spiritual vocals sung in Bambara rouse the soul.

‘Djandjo’ is another rich infusion of Malian culture with simmering electronics to make for something both ancient sounding yet futuristic, and the hypnotic ‘Ngana Fôlly’ with its rich bass is a song ‘dedicated to those who fight for the well-being of their families, for unity... a song for the people who also fight a great disease, between life and death’. The sublime ‘Toro’ is a wavy groove perfect for sundown - a deep and inviting sound rich in soulful vocals and dreamy melodies, while ‘Tolonawoulile’ is driven by the intense strumming of the Ngoni with busy hand claps and hurried drums and last of all ‘Fo Te Mokobana’ sinks into a heart-warming slow groove with sweeping strings and Malian percussion all overlaid with impassioned vocals.

A rich listening experience, Siraba’s debut album is an immersive journey and absorbing dive into the minds of two artists breaking new grounds while spotlighting native traditions and musical techniques spanning hundreds of years.

Assegai is an instrumental rock outfit consisting of saxophone, bass, guitar, and drums. Each member of the group brings a variety of musical influences to the eclectic entanglement that is Assegai’s distinct sound. No matter where you place yourself musically you will always find something to grab your attention in their odd type of instrumental rock. The album Water Worlds and Dry Spells is the product of a mutual pile of ideas; written sketches, memorized conversations, and cell phone recordings which were all collected in a joint cloud folder, and eventually laid the foundation of the compositions. Continuing from their 2020 album Kraal and their 2022 album 53, this release is a further development of the unity that the band have found themselves in, where jazz phrases fuse with krautrock repetition, traditional folk themes, and polyrhythmic structures. The compositions on Water Worlds and Dry Spells showcase the intensity that the band has cultivated during the last couple of years of live performances. On Water World and Dry Spells Assegai acts as the perfect live band for a future abandoned water world

With a timeless sound that blends heavy soul and psych-rock, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the best live bands in the country. Led by singer Kelly Finnigan, the band of has drawn on their colorful history _ both their experiences as veteran touring performers and as individuals growing up in the Bay Area _ to create "It's Only Us," their fourth release since 2012.A reflection of what they see as the current state of the world, the record touches on difficult subjects such as broken relationships, mental health issues, gun violence and power struggles, all with an underlying message of unity, resilience and acceptance. The band's signature style of arrangement has been expanded with top-notch production and creative instrumentation to round out the Monophonics' trademark soul sound, while Finnigan's vocals are more powerful than ever. At times these tracks can feel classic, as familiar as an old song you grew up with, while simultaneously raising questions about the state of music in 2020 and what the future might hold."It's Only Us" is the sound of a group continuing to grow as songwriters, musicians, performers and people _ reflecting on where they've been, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the years to come.

Following the highly-acclaimed release of FEELING GOOD and INNER PEACE compilations, WEWANTSOUNDS is delighted to announce the reissue of two superb classic albums in our new MAINSTREAM RECORDS ORIGINAL CLASSICS series. The releases will be crammed with bonus material. WEWANTSOUNDS has gone back to the original negative to reconstruct the original artworks and will add many jaw dropping never-seen photo sessions and CD Bonus material with new liner notes. LPs will be released in glorious gatefold sleeves.



[a] 01: Awareness (Suite): Omnipotence/Babylon/Unity/Umility [Trio for Two Bassists and Tenor]

Never Before Reissued On Vinyl! After the smash success of Deee-lite's debut record World Clique, and their now-iconic dance club hit "Groove Is In The Heart", anticipation was high for a follow-up from the New York-based dance music trio of vocalist Miss Lady Kier, and producers DJ Towa Tei and Super DJ Dmitri.

For their sophomore record Infinity Within, Deee-Lite opted to venture in a different direction of sorts. The club-embracing disco-funk sounds and groovy vibes of World Clique were everpresent, but while that record contained themes of global togetherness, Infinity Within took a more socially aware route, with politically charged themes of environmentalism, (To show their bonafidese, Infinity Within was one of the first titles to be issued in an ecologically friendly Eco-pak.) sexual liberation, voting rights, and critique of the juidicial system.

Taking major inspiration from the ancient Chinese divination text I Ching, Miss Lady Kier would later explain that Infinity Within was a natural progression for the group, not a departure. Elaborating in an interview with Reflex Magazine, she remarked: "The reason why we titled this new album Infinity Within to balance out World Clique’s idea of looking outward and thinking about unity is if you look outward, you should look inward to see what you’re doing as an individual.

Because people seem to be so passive I’d like to see people turn their TV sets off and start protesting." Infinity Within was not the overwhelming commercial success that World Clique was, but it's tracks shined on the Billboard Dance Club charts, with it's lead single "Runaway" reaching #1 on the chart, bolstered by a Gus Van Sant-directed music video.

The record also featured a slew of top-tier collaborators, including Parliament veterans Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins (Returning from their appearances on World Clique) as well as Bootsy's brother Catfish Collins, legendary house DJ Statoshi Tomiie, and rap verses from Michael Franti, Jamal-Ski, and a pre-"Tennessee" Arrested Development.

Even though critical reaction at the time was cooler than their debut, over the years Infinity Within has been considered an underrated
gem of 90's dance, a classic of early club and house music, and a remarkable follow-up for Deee-Lite.

The House Of Love – guitarist and vocalist Guy Chadwick, lead guitarist
Terry Bickers, bassist Chris Groothuizen and drummer Pete Evans –
formed in London in 1986 - Chadwick had been around the music
industry for several years, but was energised seeing The Jesus And Mary
Chain, inspiring him to form the band - Signing to Creation, The House Of
Love were greeted enthusiastically by the music press and their single,
Shine On and self-titled debut album became indie disco classics - By
1989, the band were big news and had signed to Fontana, part of the
PolyGram group
The touring and promotion for The House Of Love took its toll on the group with
lead guitarist Terry Bickers leaving the group to be replaced with Simon Walker.
Taking its name from a Peter Blake painting, Babe Rainbow was released in July
1992. Overseen by The The and Julian Cope producer Warne Livesey, it has a
tremendous urgency and greater unity than their previous album. Trailed by the
single The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes, Babe Rainbow also contains live favourite
Crush Me, the brooding High In Your Face and Top 50 hits Feel and You Don't
Understand. Simon Walker left the group and was replaced with Simon Mawby,
who himself was to depart by the end of 1992.
This re-issue replicates the original 1992 Fontana UK release with printed inner
sleeve and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

‘Time Will Tell’ : A journey in reggae music from Bristol to Kingston JA.

Embark on the wild journey of a reggae-loving Bristolian youngster who travelled to the heart of Jamaica on intrepid mission to record a timeless reggae album in the 90s. ‘Time Will Tell’, a collaborative masterpiece uniting the extraordinary talents of Henry & Louis (Andy Scholes & Jac kLundie), Blue & Red (aka Rob Smith from Smith & Mighty) and renowned Jamaican and UK-basedv ocalists.A musical opus that infuses reggae's rich history into modern rhythms straight outta Bristol.

It all began in the summer of 1997, when Andy Scholes decided to trace the origins of reggae music straight back to its origins; armed with a 16-track reel-to-reel and an abundance of passion,he flew to Jamaica with a desire to record his reggae heroes over riddims built by Rob & Jack in Bristol.

Through a series of unexpected events Andy crossed paths with UB40 in the streets of Kingston.He built a friendship with the band and their lead singer, the legendary Ali Campbell took a ninterest in the project, generously giving Andy free access to his studio in Port Maria allowing him to bring life to ‘Time Will Tell’.

Scholes got in the studio with various Jamaican artists and recorded with Tony Tuff, Prince Green, and Johnny Clarke, each contributing their distinct voices and adding to the album's spiritual and conscious themes. The mystical vibe continued with the participation of other artists like Ghadian, Shalom, Pacey, Ben Dice, and Kerosene Oil, each bringing their own authentic style to the project.

The making of ‘Time Will Tell’ required time, dedication, and the synergy of a like-minded collective. The album embodies the warmth and transformative power of music serving as a driving force for positive change.

22 years after its initial release, the album is freshly remastered and reissued onto 12” vinyl by Dubquake Records!

This session, recorded at Studio Pathé-Magellan October 11 and 14, 1955 in Paris, is the first of three recordings released for the Barclay label between 1955 and 1956.

For his first recording-date in Paris Chet decided to tackle Bob Zieff’s compositions, the same ones that Dick Twardzik had picked up in a hurry at the Alvin Hotel on his way to board the liner Ile-de-France. Violonist Dick Wetmore had just recorded the eight tunes, and Bob Zieff had had just enough time to revise the arrangements. Chet neither a champion sight-reader nor a big fan of rehearsals, hadn’t yet played them in front of an audience. From that first French session only the reel referred to as a ‘production tape’ remains.

This ‘complete Bob Zieff’ gives an impression of unity that wellmatches the suite concept intended by the composer; as for “The Girl From Greenland”, its role comes as a codicil. The record of Chet’s quartet with Twardzik has now appeared in Ben Ratliff’s book “Jazz, a Critic’s Guide to The 100 Most Important Recordings” (The New York Times Essential Library); it’s a fitting mention for an album that was long-unrecognised in the the United States…

Zur Feier des 40-jährigen Jubiläums des belgischen Labels PIAS erscheint exklusive Auswahl an 12“-EPs mit Musik von einigen der wichtigsten und erfolgreichsten Wegbegleiter. Consolidated ist ein amerikanisches Kollektiv, das 1988 in San Francisco gegründet wurde. Sie waren bekannt für ihren linken politischen Aktivismus und ihre radikalen Texte, sowie für ihre innovativen Soundcollagen, die Industrial-, Hip-Hop-, Hardrock- und Funkmusik vermischten. Ihre Texte behandelten Themen wie Vegetarismus, Frauenrechte, Tierrechte, den Kampf gegen Rassismus und Homophobie, den Zweiten Weltkrieg und Holocaust, sowie die Gefahren des Kapitalismus und die Übel des amerikanischen Nationalismus.

It is a privilege to welcome Ed Upton back to Shipwrec for his sixth release with the label. An artist who has been at the forefront of electronic music for three decades, under his well-honed DMX Krew guise the British musician has crafted icy electro, thoughtful electronica and textured techno. It is a combination of these styles that culminate in Tree in Space. A steady kick tethers "Parasite" to reality, a thick earthen melody countered by twinkling refrains as soaked drums splash. Off-centre bleep and beats introduce the title piece. Solid basslines are lightened by playful brassy electrofunk notes as genre limitations melt into Summer warmth. Skeletal scales find themselves confronted by a bruising bulwark of bass in "Unbelief." Balancing these angular and globular tones are arcing keys that draw the disparate elements into unity. "Meltdown" is the closer. Blending a spread of sounds, acid, braindance and techno, DMX Krew serves up something truly special. Brooding notes are met by cracked percussion and simmering 303 squawk in a track that pursues its own path. An EP from a musician that continues to stretch boundaries and imaginations.

Sly & The Family Stone’s Anthology is an essential collection for any fan of funk, soul, or R&B music. The 1981 compilation album features the band’s greatest hits, including US Billboard chart-topping “Family Affair”, “Everyday People” & “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”.



The music of Sly & The Family Stone has influenced countless artists over the years and this anthology is a testament to their enduring legacy. A compilation album full of infectious grooves, catchy hooks and powerful messages of unity and positivity.



Anthology spans the band’s career, from their early recordings in the mid-1960s to their later hits in the 1970s. This 2LP is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on pink coloured vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve

Multi-instrumentalist Sally Anne Morgan, known for her work as part of The Black Twig Pickers, and half of House and Land (with Sarah Louise), cultivates seeds sown by folk musics and psychedelia. Carrying tills the rich soil of Appalachian traditions and her rural North Carolina surroundings into warm, reflective songs about the weight people carry with them, as well as Morgan"s own pregnancy and the birth of her first child. Bridging the more freeform, expansive leanings of 2021"s Cups and the lucid beauty of her acclaimed 2020 debut Thread, Carrying finds Morgan imbuing her masterfully crafted songs with more subtle and intricate arrangements. The album"s exploratory nature is anchored by a full band comprised of some of the most thoughtful players in the psychedelic folk and "cosmic country" spheres, including a guest appearance by Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), and the foundational rhythm section of fellow The Black Twig Pickers collaborators: drummer Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn Band, Pelt), guitarist Andrew Zinn, and bassist/engineer Joe Dejarnette. Morgan finds unity in the burdens and joys, tensions, and releases of modern living as a common thread that people bear in their day-to-day lives. "So much of what we accumulate and carry around with us burdens us, but we also can"t or don"t know how to let go," says Morgan. The profoundness and mundanity of that weight ran parallel for Morgan as she literally carried her child to term: the utter commonality of enduring what billions of parents before her had, and the awesome power of the human body and spirit, the complicated and unpredictable wash of emotions that come with nurturing and nourishing another life.

Blue Dolphin was a wild, iridescent punk band from Austin, Texas circa 2016. Over the course of a year, they created a buzzing, liberatory sound, a dark blood mix of melodic ease and existential gloom. This pairing suggests monuments like ’Peace?’ or ‘Is This Real?’ but Blue Dolphin found this path all on their own, through trust and reliance, that practice space unity that the best bands build simply through the joy of playing with each other.

Emboldened by this connection, the band birthed memorably fractured, brisk music full of daring and revelation.

At times, the songs barrel along as if the band is struggling to keep their instruments under control, an unrestrainable, breathless frenzy of notes. Other times, they take on a pensive ache, a weighted despair. Every time they form a perfect skeleton for Sarah Sissy’s vocal shove. The songs will squall and sway, reach overload, rattle half to death, and yet the moment Sissy begins singing they snap into a focused beam, a bulldozing, clear-eyed force.

‘Robert’s Lafitte’ is a rush of darkness, resilience, mystery and bliss, exactly what you’d want from a record named after Texas’s oldest running gay bar, and a band maybe named after the indescribable freedom of ocean life or maybe named after a type of ecstasy.

The LP contains the entire recorded output of Blue Dolphin, including all three self-released tapes and four previously unheard songs.

Members of Blue Dolphin have played in other bands like C.C.T.V., Chalk, Mystic Inane, Chronophage and NOSFERATU.

For fans of Silver Abuse, Chalk, Twelve Cubic Feet, Chronophage, C.C.T.V., Mystic Inane.

Includes poster / insert.

“It just feels good to scream at the top of my lungs,” admits UNITYTX vocalist Jay Webster. “And not even at anyone. Sometimes you just need to scream.” Truer words have rarely been spoken in the context of recent history, and on their debut Pure Noise LP, FERALITY, UNITYTX confront the last few years head-on with a blistering cocktail of car crash energy, sludgy horror-show macabre, industrial metal sheen and sinister subliminality. Produced by Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember, Wage War), FERALITY follows the band’s 2019’s Madboy, their first EP for Pure Noise that elevated the Dallas-based quartet (Webster, guitarist Ricky Cova, bassist Kendrick Nicholson and drummer Jonathan Flores) onto tours with the likes of Silverstein, The Amity Affliction and Poppy and shone a spotlight on the genre-bending sonic blend UNITYTX have been building in the underground since 2014.

Back in early 2020 I was trying to get in touch with Austin to see if he had any unreleased tracks from the 90's. My mate John Vinyl Junkie has been friends with Austin for years so was able to introduce me. Turned out Austin didn't have any unreleased tracks. However, he was up for repressing one of his early vinyl releases, The Austin EP. Sadly this was one I was missing from my collection so Austin sent me a couple of Near Mint copies I was able to get really good rips from. With the help some superb CEDAR mastering we got these tracks sounding better than ever! So with some amazing 2021 mastering we got this EP sounding better than the original. Due to issues with pressing plants (I should write a book!) this release suffered from delay after delay.

The Skankin' Monks featuring Kenyatta Hill making a big tribute to his father, the legendary Culture vocalist, Mr. Joseph Hill. Babylon's Big Dog is a rearranged remake of the Culture classic from 1982's Lion Rock LP.

The Skankin' Monks are a reggae formation from Amsterdam that gets inspiration from several styles. In 2013, they had a big hit with singer 'CHEZIDEK's "ALL MY LIFE" - Since then they collaborated with artists like Eek-A-Mouse, Meta Dia, Kenyatta Hill & Christos DC etc.. The Monks meditate on the music they're creating & they have only one goal; to let everyone enjoy the musical zen in unity.

The life-affirming energy at the heart of Sven Väth‘s recent album Catharsis is revisited, reanimated, and remixed by some of the most exciting names around, closing the circle on a superlative burst of
recent work that has not only given us the epic original LP, but also the extraordinary compilation What I Used To Play.

Roman Flügel, Benjamin Damage, Robert Hood, Planetary Assault Systems, Mano Le Tough… do we need to go on? This hand-picked list of luminaries have answered the call and certainly don’t disappoint, each fusing their signature sound with Sven‘s DNA to create a wild, uncompromising companion piece to the original album.

True to form, the running order is very much rooted on the dance floor, Silvi‘s Dream, revisited by Damiano von Erckert, explodes like a Balearic sunrise. Dreamy strings with a touch of Detroit create a lovely atmosphere while the beautiful piano sound goes right into your heart and appears as if you could feel the warm sun on your skin. Roman Flügel’s acidic rework of What I Used To Play is a homage to the 80s and the early sound of electronic music which creates nostalgic feelings and offers a greatly produced retro soundscape à la Kraftwerk. Staying close to the original, but with the perfect amount of spin, it’s a symbiotic interplay of synthetic bass pads, and a tiny bell melody. Robag Wruhme’s cranking minimal funk takes us down The Worm-hole. A concise interference sound builds
up sustained tension, tangled but structured, deep and yet driving. Robag took over the deep and dirty rhythms of the original perfectly and delivers a versatile piece. This opening salvo oozes quality and
sets things up perfectly for the electrified celebration of hi-octane technology come.

Jonathan Kaspar‘s growling interpretation of We Are provides a melancholic atmosphere with fascinating percussion parts. Zaps shoot through the air like small laser pistols while we let ourselves
be carried away by the bass, the frisky vocal stutter effect is the icing on the cake. Speeding things up, the euphoric trance that engulfs Krystal Klear’s epic version of Feiern. Expansive strings increase up
to ecstasy and guide us to a love-filled unity. This remix is sure to be an excellent peak-time smasher for the open-air season. On to a wild ride of pure techno with Benjamin Damage, who delivers a dry and uncompromising Berlin Techno version of Mystic Voices. Harder pace but the string synthesizer harmony brings light to an otherwise gloomy environment. Next up is Luke Slater’s PAS Deep Heet Mix to add a retro nineties vibe to proceedings on Nyx. Entering a rough space with gigantic clap impacts, we are blessed with straightforward Techno. Shimmering and spooling, this groove hits the
mark. Then, as if it was ever in doubt, Sven‘s lofty place in the techno firmament is underlined by a peak-time contribution by non-less than Detroit legend Robert Hood. Unmistakable, you must recognize the signature Robert Hood drive on Butoh. Chord stabs fulfill the Detroit feeling with offtaking string elements and high-energy vocal transformations. It’s a warm embrace that triggers emotions. Planetary Assault Systems then blasts things ever deeper into the cosmos on a second outing of Nyx. Reduced and to the point but of course, true to form, with powerful tribal percussion parts and intensive cutting hi-hats.

From there on in, the collection gradually re-enters the atmosphere, burning with a phosphorescent, melancholy glow. Harald Björk extrapolates Being In Love into a hypnotic groove for the early hours. A playful and atmospheric electronica interpretation to soothe our souls due to disharmonious synth pads and a dreamy deformation of the original melody. Mano Le Tough harnesses the ethno-rhythms
and brooding energy of Catharsis into a low-slung, tribal stomper. Anomalous organ parts ring out and link up with a trance-like sequence, summer feelings arouse as you feel like you can almost smell Ibizan air. The collection comes full circle with a second equally seductive interpretation of Silvi‘s Dream by Florian Hollerith. Stripped-down and hypnotic, the homage to Sven's girlfriend Silvi is extended as a reverence to Sven himself. Sven's profound vocal clearly infuse time and space and leave a forever-lasting memory of love.

By accident or design, it somehow leaves us with the reassuring sense that, although this specific part of the journey may be drawing to a close, the mission of the man behind it all most definitely isn't.

written & produced by: Sven Väth & Gregor Tresher

For Fans Of... El Michels Affair, Adrian Younge, Roy Ayers, Karriem Riggins, The Roots, Khruangbin. Producer "Grimez" has been making music for 20 years deep. Grimez has ghost produced tracks for 50 cent, Hi-Tek, Kool Keith, Stick man (DEAD PREZ), Killah Priest, Sadat X, MOOD & Talib Kweli, and Mighty Diamonds to name a few. Gritty & raw analog instrumentals Deep, Hard Hitting Soul-Jazz Meets Dub Instrumental Analog Grooves For Your Psyche. In few words, Doctor Bionic can be described as Instrumental b-movie psych-hop. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Doctor Bionic is the brainchild of Cincinnati's Jason Grimes, formerly the producer of the hip-hop group MOOD (with emcees Main Flow & Donte). Having grown up in the Scribble Jam scene here in Cincy, and running in circles that included artists like Hi-Tek & Talib Kweli, Grimes' music has continued to evolve from sample-based loops, to live instrumentation with deep layering; provided by a revolving door of local musicians. The common thread in most Doctor Bionic tracks are the neck snapping drum breaks, but the tempo adjustments and varying instrumentation lends itself to a collection of non-genre specific songs - held together in unity by the flawless drums, often provided by Josiah Wolf (of indie-rock band Why?). The result of these recording sessions are a masterclass in musical juxtaposition. Spacious yet clustered. Futuristic nostalgia. Ideal for long car rides or setting the vibe during a laid back gathering of friends. Also Available From Doctor Bionic: Animal Totem LP, The Invisible Hand LP

The follow up to the band’s celebrated 2020 release Fish Pond Fish and Darlingside’s fourth LP marks a subtle but remarkable departure for the Boston-based quartet NPR once described as “exquisitely arranged, literary minded, baroque folk- pop.” While the album retains much of the lushness and sophistication of Extralife (2018) and Fish Pond Fish, the band’s latest work highlights the individuality of the four songwriters in a way that adds a fitting element of reinvention to an album that captures brilliantly the quality of the moment in which it was made. Grappling with change both personal and universal, with quandaries domestic and existential, Everything Is Alive is an album about loss and the struggle for a semblance of redemption; themes of grief, distance and hope permeate an album filled with vivid imagery and lyrical creativity. Comprised of Don Mitchell, Auyon Mukharji, Harris Paseltiner and David Senft, four likeminded multi-instrumentalists who first met at Williams College in 2009, Darlingside’s career has been defined by the elegance of their compositions and the remarkable unity of their four voices. Their talent for harmony and melodic world-building is part of what garnered praise from outlets like NPR, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker, and what has created demand worldwide for their extraordinary live performances. Becoming beautifully unindividualized has, in other words, worked very well for Darlingside in the past. With a vigor and discipline more common to graduate-level writing workshops than to indie rock, Darlingside have, over the years, experimented with all manners of idiosyncratic methods for elevating and upholding a truly democratic process of songwriting—processes that include multiple rounds of group writing and recording exercises—all with the aim of escaping the trap that bands with multiple songwriters often fall into: the ruse of ego-driven infighting and artistic incoherence. Everything Is Alive is Darlingside taking a risk. Nudged by the limitations created by pandemic isolation, as well as through other more voluntary catalysts, the album, which was produced and recorded by the band and mixed by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine), foregrounds in a sustained and heretofore untried way the individual voices of each member.

Bosq & Kaleta return for the second single off their forthcoming full length album. Uplifiting Afro Disco & Funk are the name of the game on this beautiful release with artwork by Amanda Lobos from Brasil.

It's not possible to pick an A & B side between these two quality cuts, recorded between Bosq's Medellin Studio, NYC & Cotonou, Benin (one of Kelata's hometowns).

Sonayon is a midtempo summertime Afro Disco burner that almost doesn't need a translation from it's Gun (A language native to Benin and some parts of Southern Nigeria) lyrics for you to understand that it speaks of overcoming hardship & brighter days ahead.

Meji Meji, loosely meaning something akin to "two heads are better than one" in Yoruba takes a similarly positive stance, with Kaleta singing about unity over division on a heavy Disco Funk groove with blistering horns and heavy percussion.

Both sides already getting heavy support on dancefloors worldwide.

Unitas Multiplex
The unity in diversity
Out of many sounds, one track.
Out of many tracks, one ep.
Sixth release by Vincent Neumann including a remix by Blind Observatory.

Sometime in 1984, San Diego native Anthony "Antone" Williams found himself sitting alone at Pure Sound Studios, tinkering around with a drum machine. Eventually he landed on a "sinister groove" which would lay the propulsive foundation for his hauntingly melodic tour de force, "Windows of My Mind." Released the following year as a seven-inch single on his own Unity Records label, the song features Antone's otherworldly production. Some have referred to the result as "post punk soul," but we'll let you be the judge.

Coming up in San Diego in the Seventies, part of an extensive musical family, Antone's creative fuse was lit by the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, and the Jackson 5.. At the age of 13, he was performing in area clubs, making a name for himself. By age 22, he had opened his own recording studio, Pure Sound. The influence of Sly and the Family Stone was decisive for Antone, who took to wearing a star-shaped gold necklace, not unlike the one famously worn by Stone on his epochal 1975 LP High on You.

"Windows of My Mind" was Antone & The Underworld's sole release. Limited to 500 copies and handed out as a promotional tool for a purported album of the same name, the single didn't get much traction. (A story as old as time.) Perhaps the music was ahead of its time and Antone's visionary message will finally sink in 2023. "I didn't want to make a song like Shake Your Booty", he says now. And yet we think that this long-lost record with its "sinister groove" is eminently danceable, almost 40 years later. We challenge you to take a listen to this home-grown 1985 7", remastered directly from the original tape, and make an assessment of your own.

Renowned Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader Nicola Conte proudly presents his new album Umoja via London based label Far Out Recordings.

A joyous exultation across ten tracks, Umoja taps into the abundant well of knowledge Conte has amassed over his career as connoisseuring compiler and archivist of deep jazz, latin, afrofuturist, bossa-nova and soul music from around the world. Expressing unity, oneness and harmony in Swahili, Umoja coalesces universal feelings through the multifaceted global music Conte has spent his life studying and researching.

Having released music with Blue Note, Impulse! and Schema records, Nicola Conte’s relationship with Far Out began over a shared love of hard-edged bossa-nova and swinging samba-jazz. Between 2009-2013 Nicola Conte compiled five volumes of forgotten 60s Brazilian music for his Viagem series. He then released his critically acclaimed Natural album: a collaboration with vocalist Steffania Dippiero, featuring jazz standards alongside covers of lesser known Brazilian gems.

The music of Umoja draws on the deep-dug 70's independent spiritual and free jazz sounds, private-press soul records, and African and Afro Caribbean rhythms in Conte’s collection. But he equally recognises his debt to many of the decade’s more celebrated musical icons, such as North American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.

Since founding the Bari-based bohemian cultural movement and club night Fez at the dawn of the nineties, Conte has proven to be a pillar of the contemporary, international soul-jazz scene. Composed alongside his long time friend, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, Conte brings together a dazzling host of guests from around the world, including award winning British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane, acclaimed Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy, french vibes player Simon Mullier, US vocalist Myles Sanko, rising South African drummer Fernando Damon, former Roy Hargrove bassist Ameen Saleem and Serbian flute sensation Milena Jancuric.

Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded direct to analog tape, with just two takes for each track. “Searching for an unadulterated, spontaneous, almost improvised feeling”, Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape in order to retain the colour and warmth of the analog sound. “Very little post production or editing has been added, so what you hear is largely what happened in those magical live sessions”.

Third in a series of 7" vinyl releases on Posthuman’s Balkan Vinyl imprint - the "Kanlab series" - focused on celebrating underground artists from the label roster, is hardware wizard Chevron, known for his releases on Planet Mu, Shipwrec, Wrong Music and more.

Two tracks of analogue acid here channelling classic UK rave & 90s techno.

All artwork for the Kanlab series is by non-binary designer Leo Soph Welton of I Am Human Design.

In the mid-'60s, Albert Ayler found himself at the center of major transformations within jazz. On his albums for ESP-Disk', his delivery was radically aggressive and his tone blistering – aiming for something beyond the New Thing. His music would be further energized when (at the behest of John Coltrane) Bob Thiele signed him to Impulse! As Ayler told The Plain Dealer at the time, "It's not about notes anymore. It's a sound – a feeling. The approach we're taking will discontinue the use of the word 'jazz.'"

In Greenwich Village, Ayler's first LP on Impulse!, perfectly captures the Cleveland-born saxophonist's radiant intensity. Sourced from a pair of live engagements – February '67 at the Village Theatre on New York's Lower East Side and December '66 at the Village Vanguard – these recordings show an improved clarity in production and performance.

Both sets feature two basses (including Alan Silva and Henry Grimes) which allowed the ensemble to go in different harmonic directions while maintaining an organic unity. Of particular interest are "For John Coltrane," a tribute to Ayler's mentor who would pass later that year, and "Truth Is Marching In" where trumpeter Donald Ayler joins his brother to celebrate and ultimately deconstruct several jazz traditions to stunning effect.

Vibrant in sound and vision, Albert Ayler's In Greenwich Village is a landmark statement in free jazz and a career high-point for this truly original artist. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this classic album on vinyl for the first time domestically in 30 years.

International super group Bokanté, led by Grammy-winning Snarky Puppy founder Michael League, are set to release a brand-new studio album, History, via Real World Records consisting of nine tracks celebrating black history, global unity and the futility of war. The first single “Adjoni” is out today and you can watch the song’s official video below.

Consisting of members from five countries and four continents, different genders, races and generations working in harmony and celebrating individuality, Bokanté are united in the belief that music should be a voice for the voiceless. Recalling rhythms from West Africa as well as those of Guadeloupe’s drum-centric Gwo ka, lead single “Adjoni” is a story of a life on the spectrum and of brilliance in the margins; the lyrics of “Iliminé” speak to the protective properties of love, offer a mantra to keep us joyful regardless.

History finds them exploring further, dressing folkloric instruments including the Arabic oud, West African ngoni and North African guembri, the bass lute favored by Morocco’s Gnawa maalems, in western clothes. Interweaving layers of percussion with all the nuanced skill expected of four percussion maestros: André Ferrari of Swedish folk renegades Väsen. Ex-Berklee music professor Jamey Haddad (Sting, Paul Simon). Nagasaki-raised, New York-based Keita Ogawa (Cecile McLorin Salvant). Ghanaian-New Orleanian drum king Weedie Braimah (Christian Scott), a special guest on What Heat, a vital band member now.

In March 2022, EMPIRE assembled some of Africa's finest singers and songwriters, the musical equivalent of Ocean's Eleven, at a writing camp in San Francisco. The result is Where We Come From, Vol. 1, a 15-track compilation featuring Afrobeats royalty Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage and Olamide as well as Tanzanian duo Navy Kenzo, Cape Verde's June Freedom and a host of other stars across Nigeria and Ghana - KiDi, Fireboy DML, Kizz Daniel, Tolani and more. The sounds traverse East, West and South of the continent, incorporating drill, amapiano, trap and Afrobeats in fashioning an album that at once sandwiches luxury between lust and love while also being a flagpost to hedonism. The cover art, created by Nigerian artist Dricky Stickman, incorporates all 15 songs into the final product, illustrating unity, community and culture. “This project ‘Where We Come From, Vol. 1’ is a perfect example of music having no limitations,” Kareem Mobalaji, Regional Head West Africa said. “Yes we are from Africa, but we are truly determined to reach the entire world with our voice, which is music.”

Repress!

One of the gems on the smash hit album 'Soulmatic', Purple Disco Machine & Boris D'Lugosch's, 'Love For Days' gets the remix treatment three ways.

First up the master Kenny Dope - crisping up that shuffling rhythm with some added percussion and synthesiser arps to turn what was already a peak time soulful anthem, into a close to 8 minute extended journey drawing you in more and more with each build up and breakdown. Next up the PDM offers up an extended mix of the original, a welcome sight for those DJs on the club scene who have been rinsing this since the album dropped last year.

Finally, Motez takes you into raunchy, r&b tinged, garage territory, really honing in on Karen Harding's incredible vocals whilst incorporating brooding pads and sweeping fx's to create a special twist on the original.


DJ Support:

Aeroplane (Aeropop / Eskimo Recordings), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Autograf (Counter Records), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Satin Jackets c/o (Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S.), Eric Sharp (9G Records), Gregor Salto c/o (Spinnin' Records), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music), Jerome Price (Throne Room Records), DJ Licious (Spinnin' Records), Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Electronic Youth (KMS), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra) :: Mark Knight c/o (Toolroom Knights), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Muzzaik (Spinnin' / Toolroom), The Disco Boys (We Play Music), Trevor Mac (Jalapeno Sound System), Ferdinand Weber (Spinnin' Deep), LCAW (Ultra), Plastic Plates (Sweat it Out), Mark Lower (Nurvous), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Eton Messy, Après (Love & Other Records), Spada (Ego Music / Hysterical), Eelke Kleijn (Spinnin' / Suara), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Adriana Lucia (Get Physical), Broc Roc (Dj B-Roc of The Knocks), Chordashian (Mullet Records), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), Just Kiddin (Nervous Records)

Idris Elba c/o (Connaisseur Records / 7Wallace), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Shiba San c/o (Suara / CUFF), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Rudimental (Asylum / Big Beat), Sirus Hood (Under No Illusion / Dirtybird), Marc Spence (This Ain't Bristol / Skint), Martin Solveig c/o (Spinnin' Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Riva Starr c/o (Hot Creations), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Kokiri (Love & Other), Fred Falke (Work It Baby Records), Claptone c/o (Exploited), Roger Sanchez (Stealth Records / Astrx), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Icarus (FFRR / SubSoul), Pezzner (Dirtybird), Jourdan Bordes (Phonetic Recordings), Mahalo (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), AC Slater (Night Bass), Chordashian / Felix Feygin (Mullet Records), Fei-Fei Wang, Kristina Sky (Ultra / Armada), Thee Cool Cats (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra), Infected Mushroom c/o (HOMmega Productions), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music),Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Human Life (LIFEX / Exploited), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), and Danny Howard (BBC Radio 1 / Nothing Else Matters)

Black Truffle is pleased to announce Symphony No. 107 –The Bard, a previously unheard archival recording of the legendary improvising ensemble MEV (Musica Elettronica Viva), captured in concert at Bard College, New York in 2012. Formed by a group of American expat composers in Rome in 1966, the MEV ensemble played an important role in the development of free improvisation, bridging the live electronics tradition begun by Cage and Tudor and the high-energy squall of free jazz. Early recordings like Spacecraft or The Sound Pool unleash volleys of metal and glass amplified with contact microphones, howling winds, primitive synthesizer bleep and raucous audience participation, the intensity of which puts much later ‘noise’ to shame. In later decades, the ensemble would go through many iterations, often including legendary free players like Steve Lacy and George Lewis. In its final years, MEV settled into the core trio of founding members heard here: Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, and Richard Teitelbaum, using piano, electronics, and small instruments.

Curran, Rzewski, and Teitelbaum were life-long friends blessed, as Curran says, with ‘incompatible personalities’: major figures in the post-Cagean experimental tradition, they explored countless divergent and even contradictory paths as composers and performers, from agitprop songs to brainwave-controlled synthesis. MEV is the sound of these three personalities coming together, their contributions radically individual yet attaining a state of ‘fundamental unity’ that Rzewski, in a text written in the collective’s earliest years, defined as the ‘final goal of improvisation’. Of course, listeners familiar with aspect of the trio’s individual works might hazard some guesses about who is doing what: the crisp piano figures are probably Rzewski’s, the cut-up hip-hop samples most likely Curran’s, the sliding, squelching synth possibly Teitelbaum’s. But often these identities are dissolved in a constantly shifting hall of mirrors, the listener unable to tell which of these pianos is live and which is a sample of a past virtuoso, or whether a horn blast derives from ethnographic documentation or Curran cutting loose on Shofar. The two side-long sets here occupy a similar terrain of constantly shifting texture and instrumentation, unexpected interruptions, and moments of sudden beauty. The first set is sparser, at times almost ominous, as a bell repeatedly sounds across wheezing harmonica, seasick orchestral textures, and creaking wood, making room for episodes of yodelling and delicate prepared piano before exploding into a storm of buzzing synth and piano fragments. The second set is more frenetic, moving rapidly across centuries and continents: cars crash into post-serial piano pointillism, wailing voices collide with chopped and screwed hip-hop samples, Hollywood strings are buried under layers of electronic gurgles. The performance slows in its final moments, making way for a sampled voice repeating the phrase ‘protest and the good of the world’, reminding us that MEV’s idea of freedom was always more than musical. Symphony No. 107 –The Bard is a beautifully recorded example of the endlessly multi-layered later MEV sound, accompanied by new liner notes by Alvin Curran (now the only surviving member of the group) and a selection of previously unseen photographs from across the many decades of the group’s activity. Arriving in an elegant sleeve bearing a beautiful photograph by Francis Zhou of the Olin Hall at Bard College where the concert was recorded, this is an essential document from a major group in the history of experimental music. As Rzewski wrote, this music is ‘like life, unpredictable, sometimes making sense, mostly not’.

Did you know that if we go back 10 generations, we could count for each of us some 2,046 ancestors, going back 20 generations there would be 2.097.150 ancestors and going back 40 generations each of us would have more than a trillion ancestors, which is more than all the people who have ever lived on earth?

This complicated paradox, known as the Pedigree Collapse, however, leads to the simple conclusion that we all share at least one ancestor with each other.

Inspired by this reflection, "How many ancestors do we have?" is the latest EP by Woxow, sound mixologist and mastermind of Little Beat More, translating the concept into a profound journey in search of the roots of music, to find that ancestral vibration that has resonated in every human being since the dawn of time.

Jazz atmospheres, refined hip hop beats, world music overtones, dub rhythms and reggae reminiscences, all enriched by the dense and meaningful voices of London's Reggae RoastMC Natty Campbell, the eclectic and electric Raashan Ahmad and the legendary rapper and
performance poet Azeem, bringing to light the infinite connections that unite all humanity.

The album is further enriched by the precious remixes of underground legend Koralle, electronic shaman Deela, dub master Paolo Baldini Dubfiles, and gifted hip-hop head Luke Beats, who hybridise Woxow's ancestral vision with their skillful artistry, giving a new dimension to the tracks.

The artwork by visual artist and filmmaker Simone Brillarelli captures the essence of the album in a vibrant bloom of colourful flowers sharing the same soil, and ultimately the same planet, reiterating the message of shared family and unity that is celebrated in the music.

The EP is available both as a gatefold with two 7-inch vinyls and as a single 12-inch vinyl, as well as digital. Join the family now.

Did you know that if we go back 10 generations, we could count for each of us some 2,046 ancestors, going back 20 generations there would be 2.097.150 ancestors and going back 40 generations each of us would have more than a trillion ancestors, which is more than all the people who have ever lived on earth?

This complicated paradox, known as the Pedigree Collapse, however, leads to the simple conclusion that we all share at least one ancestor with each other.

Inspired by this reflection, "How many ancestors do we have?" is the latest EP by Woxow, sound mixologist and mastermind of Little Beat More, translating the concept into a profound journey in search of the roots of music, to find that ancestral vibration that has resonated in every human being since the dawn of time.

Jazz atmospheres, refined hip hop beats, world music overtones, dub rhythms and reggae reminiscences, all enriched by the dense and meaningful voices of London's Reggae RoastMC Natty Campbell, the eclectic and electric Raashan Ahmad and the legendary rapper and
performance poet Azeem, bringing to light the infinite connections that unite all humanity.

The album is further enriched by the precious remixes of underground legend Koralle, electronic shaman Deela, dub master Paolo Baldini Dubfiles, and gifted hip-hop head Luke Beats, who hybridise Woxow's ancestral vision with their skillful artistry, giving a new dimension to the tracks.

The artwork by visual artist and filmmaker Simone Brillarelli captures the essence of the album in a vibrant bloom of colourful flowers sharing the same soil, and ultimately the same planet, reiterating the message of shared family and unity that is celebrated in the music.

The EP is available both as a gatefold with two 7-inch vinyls and as a single 12-inch vinyl, as well as digital. Join the family now.

Did you know that if we go back 10 generations, we could count for each of us some 2,046 ancestors, going back 20 generations there would be 2.097.150 ancestors and going back 40 generations each of us would have more than a trillion ancestors, which is more than all the people who have ever lived on earth?

This complicated paradox, known as the Pedigree Collapse, however, leads to the simple conclusion that we all share at least one ancestor with each other.

Inspired by this reflection, "How many ancestors do we have?" is the latest EP by Woxow, sound mixologist and mastermind of Little Beat More, translating the concept into a profound journey in search of the roots of music, to find that ancestral vibration that has resonated in every human being since the dawn of time.

Jazz atmospheres, refined hip hop beats, world music overtones, dub rhythms and reggae reminiscences, all enriched by the dense and meaningful voices of London's Reggae RoastMC Natty Campbell, the eclectic and electric Raashan Ahmad and the legendary rapper and
performance poet Azeem, bringing to light the infinite connections that unite all humanity.

The album is further enriched by the precious remixes of underground legend Koralle, electronic shaman Deela, dub master Paolo Baldini Dubfiles, and gifted hip-hop head Luke Beats, who hybridise Woxow's ancestral vision with their skillful artistry, giving a new dimension to the tracks.

The artwork by visual artist and filmmaker Simone Brillarelli captures the essence of the album in a vibrant bloom of colourful flowers sharing the same soil, and ultimately the same planet, reiterating the message of shared family and unity that is celebrated in the music.

The EP is available both as a gatefold with two 7-inch vinyls and as a single 12-inch vinyl, as well as digital. Join the family now.

Unitas Multiplex The unity in diversity Out of many sounds, one track. Out of many tracks, one ep. Sixth release by Sol Ortega including a remix by Narciss. Tracks A1, A2, B1 w+p by Sol Ortega. Additional production by Narciss on B1. Mastered by Conor Dalton. Distributed by Ready Made. Artwork by Galster. Layout by Blind Observatory.

Albert’s Favourites label founder Scrimshire is set to release bold new album 'Paroxysm'. In the last few weeks of October 2022, Scrimshire wrote a new collection of songs with the descriptive working title "Scream". A direct response to the absurdity of the breakdown in the UK government, the horror of the treatment of refugees arriving on our shores and the callous disregard for the trauma being caused to low-income people or anyone considered "other". While self-preserving Conservative MPs fought for their jobs, record profits were announced by energy companies as they were gouging crippling amounts of money from people's pockets. The anger, sadness, mourning, and frustration he felt was poured into these recordings.

Originally named “Scream 8”, ‘Unity Gain’ was one of the early outpourings from those sessions. Piano and drums bubble up until it fully boils over with huge stabbing synthesiser and string sounds in an outburst of frenetic energy. "Division seems to characterise our daily experience”, says Scrimshire. “How does a society stop the callousness and corruption from seeping into its bones?".

Singer Faye Houston features on both ‘Eyes Shut’ as well as, alongside saxophonist, composer, and multi-wind instrumentalist Tamar Osborn, on ‘Flames’. About the latter Scrimshire explains, “One person can breathe fire into your life and the world, leaving an indelible mark. The album was influenced hugely by a friend we sadly have lost. I think of it like the heat you still feel after a fire has gone out”.

London-based poet and emcee The Repeat Beat Poet captures moments of time, thought, and feeling on ‘What Is The State Of Our State’, a furious yet succinct stream-of-consciousness diatribe in two parts. From afrobeat and reggae-influenced London band Soothsayers, clarinetist and saxophonist Idris Rahman features on ‘Your Invasion Is A Lie’, an ever-progressing, cosmic-jazz track.

The elegiac ‘Unforgotten, Unforgiven’ features saxophonist Nat Birchall, on which Scrimshire says "This is dedicated to the politicians who have forced refugees into life-threatening decisions. Pushing people into the hands of traffickers, into small boats and too many beneath the waves of our seas. Who force the lives of men, women, and children into more danger, in the hope of escaping war, poverty and persecution only to meet more cruelty and persecution. It won't be forgotten, and it won't be forgiven".

Scrimshire’s last album, 2021’s 'Nothing Feels Like Everything', received an Album of the Year nomination at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards and last March he was named by the Guardian as one of three producers behind the new wave of UK soul, alongside Inflo (Michael Kiwanuka, Sault, Lil Simz) and Swindle (Joel Culpepper, Greentea Peng, Kojey Radical). Albert’s Favourites was formed by Adam, Dave Koor, and Jonny Drop, who designed the logo and artwork, and has released records by The Expansions, Hector Plimmer, Huw Marc Bennett, Pie Eye Collective, Qwalia, Ronin Arkestra.


Early support from Huey Morgan, Amazing Radio specialist playlist, Gideon Coe. Previous support from Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova

Inspired by the rawness and honesty of artists like Elliott Smith, Julien Baker, Adrianne Lenker & Sufjan Stevens, Callum Pitt imbues his indie-folk with grand, orchestral, chamber pop sensibility plus an alt-rock edge. Despite using music often as a canvas to openly discuss depression & anxiety, as well as political unrest, Callum still manages to imprint feelings of optimism and unity, alongside genuine warmth and honesty, throughout his songs.

This debut album In The Balance pinpoints back to one night in 2019, where Pitt was handed an earth-shaking reminder of how much hangs in the balance with each passing second. Minutes after he waved goodbye to his brother and parents as they left his house, a fire engine hit the back edge of their car. They were all unharmed. But if the car was in the engine’s path a fraction of a second later — if Pitt had said one more word at the doorstep — it would have ploughed directly into the drivers’ side.

28-year-old Pitt has been working on his craft for a decade, beginning in the Newcastle pub scene and gradually refining his thoughtful, poetic songwriting voice. He won the Alan Hull Award for songwriters in 2019, and the Fender Player Plus competition in 2021. Meanwhile, he’s studying a masters in Occupational Therapy, and has worked with children, young people and adults with disabilities through various outlets, including therapeutic music work. These are experiences that shaped In The Balance, his first true body of work, giving him a new perspective on the cathartic and unifying power of music.

After his first appearance on Specimen Records as a part of the, SPECTRO-017 with his track “React”, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, in which the producer reaches back into some deeper, almost trippy states of mind, accompanied by some ultimately addictive electro grooves.

The first track, “Vaxxer”, which also titles the EP, puts up a warehouse-worthy beat, handing out bass-punches as it moves along. A rude hi-hat pattern shuffles the groove, and once the rhythm has you hooked, some lush eerie synth patterns start to emerge transporting the listener to the rooftop of a skyscraper in a dystopian city.

Next up is “Oxidant”, which was written with a close friend in mind who was going through some difficult times. The strong determination of the pulsating bass, overlayed by a very emotional melodic element leads you from the contrast to unity, refecting, pushing forward.

“Multiverse” comes in with a thunderous boom, reminiscent of a huge spaceship landing, which could be a metaphor for events that land on top of our heads, which we have no control over and have to deal with. The track introduces an infectious 808-groove, building up, and some chilling synths warp their way straight into your mind to de-program all the viruses in there and set you free from any mind-control.

Finally, finishing off is “Shiffty”. It lands straight away with a heart-pounding beat, with bass-bots bouncing, adding an ultra-funky bassline that will keep your feet moving. Waves of synthy-bliss wash over as this groove connects all your individual elements together.

Frankey & Sandrino's latest release 'Der Sprung' on their imprint Sum Over Histories takes on a musical odyssey, a gateway to an interdimensional adventure that transcends the dance floor.
Their music creates a portal to a peaceful world, a departure from the mundane and a passage into the extraordinary. Frankey & Sandrino's captivating soundscapes invites to explore uncharted territories, to escape the ordinary and to venture into a realm of infinite possibilities.

As we immerse ourselves in the pulsating rhythms and ethereal melodies of their music, we are united in a common purpose - to connect with one another, to celebrate our differences and to embrace our shared humanity.

Frankey & Sandrino's latest release is a gathering of souls, a celebration of unity and a testament to the power of music to bring people together. Their music reminds that we are all connected, that our differences are what make us unique and that love and compassion are the key to a better world.

Get ready to take the leap into the unknown, as we embark on a journey into the infinite, leaving the world behind and soaring into the unknown depths of our imagination.

Dutch progressive Death Metal legends Phlebotomized at the peak of their 30 year old career!

Phlebotomized is among the oldest Death Metal bands from Holland and one of the first using violin and synthesizers in extreme metal. Their typical “Death Metal with a twist” caused a stir in the booming Dutch metal scene back in the early 90’s. Formed in 1989, Phlebotomized started out as a Grindcore/Death Metal band,
inspired by acts like Morbid Angel, Nocturnus and Paradise Lost. Later on, the band began to use keyboard and violin arrangements, resulting in their unique sound. Their “Devoted to God” demo (1992) was recognized as a classic one demo worldwide. In 1994 Phlebotomized released their seminal “Immense Intense Suspense” album which offered an intelligent blend of atmosphere and brutality. It took the Death Metal scene by storm, giving both the band and the album a legendary Cult status worldwide.

The band played numerous shows but disbanded shortly after the release of their second full-length album “Skycontact” in 1997.

After a hibernation of 16 years, Phlebotomized regrouped in 2013 upon the re-release of their classic albums. The band played several live-shows and

Already a multi award-winning and established artist, with a growing global reputation, South African artist Bokani Dyer presents his newest record ‘Radio Secheba’ - due for release on digital, CD & LP vinyl formats on 12th May 2023 via Brownswood Recordings.

This 15-track album continues Dyer’s creative journey of making rich and immersive music which places him amongst the new wave of South African jazz artists, including the likes of Siya Makuzeni and Nduduzo Makhathini.

‘Radio Sechaba’ provides an intimate view into South Africa’s multifaceted people - and an opportunity for global connection through music. The meaning behind ‘Sechaba’ in the album title is nation. The record hones into the related topics of nation-building and unity and this is no ordinary topic for Dyer, who was born into a Botswanan community in exile from apartheid. The title of this thought-provoking album echoes that of “Radio Freedom” - the voice in exile of the African National Congress.

Dyer’s career highlights include acclaim as a solo artist (including being named the Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz in 2011) and with his trio (the Bokani Dyer trio’s Neo Native won the South African Music Award for Best Jazz Album in 2019). Bokani features on the opening track of the critically acclaimed Johannesburg scene jazz compilation, ‘Indaba Is’ - released in early 2021. Bokani played at the 2022 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was a part of the South African Songbook (2019) at the Lincoln Centre USA, London Jazz Festival (2015), headlined the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (2015) and held an artistic residency at the Bird’s Eye jazz club in Basel, Switzerland (2014).

Mikail Tafari aka Congo Natty aka Conquering Lion aka X Project aka Rebel MC is back.
After releasing his acclaimed 31 track album last October on digital platforms, he comes with a 9 track double LP featuring the more uptempo tracks & Mixed Double CD Mixtape.
He created the tracks with his ‘Resistance Band’, featuring a rich talent of the established & new global artists from Brazil, Japan, Jamaica via Deptford & Tottenham. It crosses genres of Drum & Bass, Reggae, Jazz & shows the Rootz of Jungle. The Resistance Band include The cream of reggae: Courtney Melody, Reggie Stepper, Junior Delgado, Daddy Freddie & Carroll Thompson. The new school of uk vocal talent: Maverick Sabre, Eva Lazarus, Akala, Klashnekoff & Logic & the new jazz school : Shabaka Hutchins, Nubya Garcia on sax & Amrit Kaur on sarangi. Plus international artists: from Brazil – Monkey Jhayam, Japan : Junglists Youths, Fikir Amlak & Krar Collective from Ethiopia, but all have their rootz in Jungle.

Set to represent the global diaspora and giving a voice to the people on the upcoming album, Congo tells the most important story jungle music can tell whilst documenting the uprising and reflecting on where mankind, culture and the journey is at in 2023.

With a five decade deep discography spanning seminal and timeless releases like Street Tuff, Tribal Bass & Wickedest Sound (as Rebel MC), Junglist, Get Ready, Code Red, Under Mi Sensei, Get Wild, Kunta Kinte and more, Congo has played a founding and hugely influential role in one of the most phenomenal, boundary breaking music movements the UK has ever known.

Remaining on the front line of the musical rebellion to this day, Mikail understands jungle’s power to unite and break barriers. Weaving positive affirmations of his spiritual life as a Rastafarian into his song writing, he has been an consistent protagonist in the jungle uprising since the early 90s. Forever humble, he seeks to spread more positivity and encourage unity, whilst focusing on the new generation who will carry his torch into the next five decades.

Continuing to spread the Congo Natty message as a performer, musician, label owner, pioneer, revolutionary, humanitarian and father, Ancestorz (Rootz Of Jungle) is set to be his most personal, ambitious, timeless and expert album to date and his finest chapter yet.

Over the course of a nearly 50 year romantic and creative partnership sound artist Annea Lockwood and the late pioneering electronic composer Ruth Anderson have shared space on a number of significant releases of early electronic and tape music, including Charles Amirkhanian’s trailblazing 1977 anthology of women electronic composers New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media, a 1981 split LP on Opus One, a 1997 CD for Phill Niblock’s XI imprint, and 1998’s Lesbian American Composers compilation on CRI. The couple additionally taught a course on the history of women’s music-making, at Hunter College, called Living Women, Living Music. Throughout their time together, they co-authored a number of Hearing Studies designed for people with no formal musical training, which were collected for a 2021 book publication by Open Space Music. They spent most of their private life between Crompond, NY and the house they built themselves at Flathead Lake, Montana. Although Ruth passed away in 2019, the composers’ dialogue continues today with Tête-à-tête, a collection of unreleased archival and new material spread across an LP and a single-sided 10” record.

It all began with a telephone call. In 1973, Ruth Anderson was seeking a substitute to cover a yearlong sabbatical from her position as the director of the Electronic Music Studio she had founded at Hunter College in New York City. Her friend Pauline Oliveros too was on sabbatical, but recommended Ruth call Annea Lockwood—then living in London—about the post. Already drawn to America by the work of the visionary composers with whom she would soon be labelmates on Lovely Music, Annea jumped at the opportunity and within days of meeting in person the pair were, in her words, “joyously entangled.”

Over the next nine months, while Ruth was living in Hancock, New Hampshire, the couple would speak daily by phone in between visits. Ruth recorded these phone calls and, in 1974, surprised Annea with a cassette containing “Conversations,” a private piece she composed by dexterously collaging fragments of their conversations alongside slowed and throwed snatches of old popular songs: “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby”; “Oh, You Beautiful Doll”; and “Bill Bailey.” The centerpiece of Tête-à-tête, this side of intimate musique concrète extends to its listeners a rare invitation to eavesdrop on the halcyon phenomenon of two people falling in love. Tender and playful throughout, “Conversations” comes to its zenith with a cut-up of relentless laughter of a contagious beauty that is, for once, properly convulsive.

“For Ruth” is Annea’s elegy to her life partner. In 2020, Annea returned to Hancock as well as to Ruth’s resting place at Flathead Lake to make field recordings, which she wove together with further excerpts of the couple’s 1974 conversations for a commission presented as part of the 2021 Counterflows Festival in Glasgow. A consummate field recordist, Annea imbues the simple sounds of church bells, birds, wind, and the bodies of water that permeated her time alongside Ruth with an otherworldly depth and sense of narrative akin to that of her celebrated sound maps of the Hudson, Danube, and Housatonic rivers. An oneiric, subtly tonal evocation of a meeting at the shores of existence.

The collection opens with “Resolutions,” Ruth’s last completed electronic work, from 1984. A meditation for the individual listener composed as the result of her study of Zen, it’s a rigorous, process-driven piece that charts the very slow, smooth descent of a 5th from the octave above middle C down to sub-bass frequencies. Minimalist in execution, yet powerful in effect, it glides by almost imperceptibly, with new tones arriving and hovering or levitating upwards, seemingly out of nowhere. A healing piece, it harnesses the highly focused energy of pure tones as a means to, in Ruth’s words, “further wholeness of self and unity with others.”

Tape transfers by Maggi Payne, master by Giuseppe Ielasi and lacquers cut at Dubplates & Mastering, with domestic photos and liner notes provided by Annea Lockwood.

Sourcing influences from 90s Tech, house, trance and breaks Aiden Francis' pure passion for underground electronic music radiates through his music and DJ sets. Effortlessly drifting between different sounds and aesthetics, Aiden has managed to break himself free from the constraints of genre so that his true creative prowess can be flexed in full.

The lack of constraint overflows into Aiden's DJ sets, providing highly energetic experiences that flows through a unity of sounds, cultures and voices. This varied approach to DJing has found Aiden's name appear on high-quality events across Manchester and the UK, having played along Eris Drew at The Loft, taking the reins for High Hoops Pride Weekender at The White Hotel featuring on the lineup alongside D.Tiffany and Fafi Abdel Nour and regular intimate sets at Eastern Bloc.

Der ursprüngliche King of Reggae, Desmond Dekker, brachte den Sound Jamaikas durch eine Reihe internationaler Hits in die ganze Welt, wobei seine Musik zwischen 1967 und 1975 nicht weniger als sieben Mal die britischen Pop-Charts zierte. Zu dieser unglaublichen
Reihe von Hits gehörten '007', 'It Mek', 'Pickney Gal', You Can Get It If You Really Want", Sing A Little Song" und die erste in Jamaika produzierte Aufnahme, die die britische 7"-Single-Liste anführte, Israelites".
Alle diese unverzichtbaren Aufnahmen sind auf der "The Essential
Artist Collection" enthalten, die auch das Beste aus seinem übrigen Schaffen umfasst, wobei fast jeder Titel ein großer jamaikanischer Bestseller ist.

Die Sammlung ist sowohl als Doppel-Vinyl-LP mit 28 Titeln als auch als 2CD-Set mit 50 Titeln erhältlich. Die Sammlung ist die neueste in Trojan Records' neuer, stilvoll gestalteter "Essential Artist"-Serie, die die populärsten und einflussreichsten Aufnahmen von von einigen der berühmtesten jamaikanischen Interpreten enthält. Und wie diese hervorragende Zusammenstellung beweist, waren nur wenige Reggae-Künstler waren einflussreicher und gefeierter als der legendäre Desmond Dekker.

Following the tumultuous riots of the late 60's, youths in Washington, DC were looking for two things: positivity and an outlet to relieve tension. MUGO, aka "Music, Unity, Guidance, & Organization", offered just that. Formed by 8 high school friends during the summer of 71', this high-octane machine was driven by Manager and retired Marine Sgt. Reuben McNair Sr. His son, Reuben McNair Jr., was a leader within the group, and consequently wrote the B-side of their only public release. This cut, entitled "Space Travel", boasts a driving rhythm section as well as synthesizer overdubs likely to captivate even musically ambitious extraterrestrials. The flip, "Organize", became the group's unofficial theme song; submitting to the public a deft vocal response to rampant inner city blues.

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet "attacks" when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

"These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like and absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970)."

Circus/Citadel is released by We Jazz Records on 24 February, 2023, as white and black vinyl editions, on CD and digitally. The artwork displays a freeform graphic score of the music by We Jazz artistic director and designer Matti Nives. The vinyl versions are housed in heavy duty tip-on sleeve with silver-embossed lettering, and the CD comes in a matte digisleeve with silver-embossed lettering. Antti Lötjönen Quintet East performs live in Finland in January and February.

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet "attacks" when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

"These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like and absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970)."

Circus/Citadel is released by We Jazz Records on 24 February, 2023, as white and black vinyl editions, on CD and digitally. The artwork displays a freeform graphic score of the music by We Jazz artistic director and designer Matti Nives. The vinyl versions are housed in heavy duty tip-on sleeve with silver-embossed lettering, and the CD comes in a matte digisleeve with silver-embossed lettering. Antti Lötjönen Quintet East performs live in Finland in January and February.

V.I.V.E.K announces his second release on the self-named VIVEK label. Known for his cult label, SYSTEM MUSIC, this label focuses more on eclectic 140 bpm outside the realm of the dance floor.

The 4 track EP explores broken beat, ambience, melody and rhythm at 140, something that has been missing over the last few years within the genre. Colours is not only the EP title, but a reflection of the diversity of the tracks. Musicality sits at the heart of this with a nod to easy listening.

“The main focus of this release was to take me out of my musical comfort zone. I wanted to work with other musicians as well as push myself to inhabit new creative ideas.” - V.I.V.E.K

Whether it’s as an artist, label owner, a deep-drawing world-touring selector or system-building soundman behind some of London’s most important dances, V.I.V.E.K has an inherent drive to push things forward and contribute to the craft of music with serious attention to detail. A life-long frequency student dedicated to soundsystem culture, he has total respect for the heritage, value and rich variety of true music, an ability to totally arrest your full attention and imagination with his music... And has done so since he emerged in the early 2000s.

Musically pressed and blessed on key imprints such as his own System Music, Deep Medi, Tectonic and iconic reggae imprint Greensleeves, V.I.V.E.K’s creations are a crucial brew of bass styles encompassing everything from heavyweight bass hypnosis to flighty, steppy garage hybrids via sweet dub soul and all-out low-end pressure. His self-built custom soundsystem, SYSTEM, meanwhile, is a unique force of nature in UK bass music culture; the most prominent modern system to be established this decade, it’s a whole new chapter in the UK’s longstanding and illustrious history of barrier-breaking soundsystem communities. As such, it attracts committed fans from around the globe and selectors from across the system spectrum.

His label System Music has the same treasured, trusted status; not only as a source of legit never-to-be-repressed artefacts that prize the real value of music, but also as a key platform for encouraging forward-thinking, powerful system music from across the OG – freshmen continuum. Karma to Kromestar, Sleeper to SP:MC, LAS to Egoless: System Music’s celebration of bass music’s sonic scope and nurturing of talent and craft ensures its consistent buy-on-sight ranking.

Most importantly it’s as a selector that V.I.V.E.K’s position is the most vital. The selective tailor of rich, immersive and eclectic sessions, few DJs dig as deep, join the dots or draw for dubs quite like this West London operator. Accentuating his influence as a producer, engineer, dubsmith, label curator and system builder; his creative excursions as a DJ, both on the dancefloor and the airwaves as a broadcaster on the likes of Rinse FM, galvanise his status as one of the most respected, influential and singular artists who is driven by nothing but craftsmanship, unity and the sense of culture that UK bass music needs to thrive and inspire.

The 2nd solo EP by Bielefeld’s finest RR on Feuilleton is bringing jazzy & classic house music feels toge-ther with a fresh & futuristic twist on 5 cuts - dedicated to the fine stereo systems & sophisticated dancefloors on the planet. Written & produced by René Raabe, mixdown by Tim Eder, mastering by Sven Weisemann, lacquer cut by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering and photography by Paula Theiss.

Paketo Wilson's Praise Him is a cult roots album that is hard to find on the seance hand market. When you do, it will cost you a small fortune, so this reissue will be music to the ears of fans old and new. He proved it back in 1982 with Trevor Davis under the Child of God label in just one day. It has hints of lovers' rock over the nice reggae rhythms with vocals that touch on classic themes of peace, love and unity, the trials of ghetto life and losing those close. Bobby Ellis and Headley Bennett bring mystical horns to most tunes and help make them all the more spiritual. This is positive and heartwarming reggae from a top songwriter.

EMA’s Woozy label returns with Sha Ru’s Match My Sway EP; a powerful club record that sits proudly in the canon of modern protest music. Dubstep-influenced electronics meet spoken word on the continued struggle of oppressed nations’ fight for liberation. Comes with a slamming Walton remix, with all artist profits going towards the Kyiv Angels and Repair Together charities in Ukraine.

Sha Ru are a New York-via-Berlin based duo renowned for their deft mix of spoken word and club electronics, gaining notoriety thanks to their exhilarating productions and renowned live, hybrid and DJ sets. Having spent most of their time based between two different countries, the covid pandemic unexpectedly united the band in Belarus and subsequently Ukraine for an extended period of time. They quickly found themselves immersed in each country’s respective electronic music scene, building strong relationships within each community. It quickly became apparent that both countries were actively fighting for their future freedom, and the duo felt compelled by the unity they experienced in this to respond with music. This resulted in Match My Sway, a record chronicling resistance both lyrically and sonically that found a suitable home on EMA’s impressively futurist-leaning Woozy imprint.

The EP opens with Temporary Iteration, a fierce steppers track with plummeting subs that chronicles a moment of transition into clarity by focusing on the ‘now’; staying true to your belief by moving directly towards your goal together. Not Fluctuating ups the sonic ante with hefty kicks, drill snares and potent throbbing bass, while the vocals describe the feeling of ultimate resistance in the name of seeking the truth.

Side B enters with Synced Energies, acting as the EP’s thrilling climax. Percolating synths pogo around a 2-step beat providing chest-gripping catharsis. Lyrics repeat a mantra of unity, refuting divisions. Tectonic and Ilian Tape affiliate Walton sees us out with the intense stuttering rave mechanics of his Not Fluctuating remix, a modern techno monster that deserves to be enjoyed on a 10ft tall rig; a complimentary take on a powerful original.

While the theme of the four elements has been a constant source of inspiration in the arts, its setting to music using electroacoustic techniques seems highly auspicious, since the notion of matter and its transformation is consubstantial with the concrete approach. In »Sphæra«, Daniel Teruggi precisely addresses this question, transcending matter with the help of novel digital audio techniques so as to draw out forms, trajectories, layers, and musical objects, all of which result from the merging or sublimation of primordial sounds. Indeed, this is where Daniel Teruggi’s music and compositional approach stand out: by engaging sounds, with strength, will and inspiration, in a close encounter with energies, whether tectonic or electrical. Such collisions, such metamorphoses, are then appeased in the whole space of the composition, a fascinating landscape, the final destination of all transmutations. (François Bonnet, Paris, 2021)

"Between 1984 and 1989, my acousmatic work was focused on processing and merging the four fundamental substances. Each 'element' gradually became articulated with the others, thus crystallizing my subjective perception of their materiality. Over the years, helped by the enthusiasm of a Greek friend who propelled me into the Socratic universe, what started out as an exploratory path has become a circular, spherical unity, in which each occurrence simultaneously belongs to one of the four substances as well as the whole.

These four sections, of uneven durations, embody the different resonances of each 'element' upon my imagination. The movements are ordered compositionally and range from the intangibility of the air to the extreme density of the earth.
In Eterea, the dual nature of air, a space for the dissemination of sounds and an environment for mobile masses, shaped the work and the development of its forms. Whether it be the vast expanse of particles as organised movement or the displacement of sources in our three-dimensional perception, ethereal air fills the space and drives the immaterial motions and gestures.

Aquatica locates the materiality of water in relation to its amazing extremes: from the drop to the ocean, an extensive journey unfolds through the various phases of the reinvented liquid. Still waters, deadly waters, raging waters follow one another, leading to the aerial fusion of a primordial equilibrium eventually retrieved.

Then comes Focolaria and the unsteady fires, the elusive and wild will-o’-the- wisps that open and adorn the gates leading to the depths of the earth.

The land of Terra is devoid of atmosphere, a land of matters before the advent of life. The sounds of the original matter merge and evolve into purer forms. The motions trigger progressions towards new equilibriums of forces, the ultimate fusion, the very last attempt, needed for the emergence of life.

The sphere is now complete, the world ready for creation..." (Daniel Teruggi)

Does Spring Hide Its Joy is an immersive piece by composer Kali Malone featuring Stephen O’Malley on electric guitar, Lucy Railton on cello, and Malone herself on tuned sine wave oscillators. The music is a study in harmonics and non-linear composition with a heightened focus on just intonation and beating interference patterns. Malone’s experience with pipe organ tuning, harmonic theory, and long durational composition provide prominent points of departure for this work. Her nuanced minimalism unfolds an astonishing depth of focus and opens up contemplative spaces in the listener’s attention. Does Spring Hide Its Joy follows Malone’s critically acclaimed records The Sacrificial Code Ideal Recordings, 2019 & Living Torch [Portraits GRM, 2022]. Her collaborative approach expands from her previous work to closely include the musicians Stephen O’Malley & Lucy Railton in the creation and development of the piece. While the music is distinctly Malone’s sonic palette, she composed specifically for the unique styles and techniques of O’Malley & Railton, presenting a framework for subjective interpretation and non-hierarchical movement throughout the music. Does Spring Hide Its Joy is a durational experience of variable length that follows slowly evolving harmony and timbre between cello, sine waves, and electric guitar. As a listener, the transition between these junctures can be difficult to pinpoint. There’s obscurity and unity in the instrumentation and identities of the players; the electric guitar’s saturation timbre blends with the cello’s rich periodicity, while shifting overtone feedback develops interference patterns against the precise sine waves. The gradual yet ever-occurring changes in harmony challenge the listener’s perception of stasis and movement. The moment you grasp the music, a slight shift in perspective guides your attention forward into a new and unfolding harmonic experience. Does Spring Hide Its Joy was created between March and May of 2020. During this unsettling period of the pandemic, Malone found herself in Berlin with a great deal of time and conceptual space to consider new compositional methods. With a few interns left on-site, Malone was invited to the Berlin Funkhaus & MONOM to develop and record new music within the empty concert halls. She took this opportunity to form a small ensemble with her close friends and collaborators Lucy Railton & Stephen O’Malley to explore these new structural ideas within those various acoustic spaces. Hence, the foundation was laid for Does Spring Hide Its Joy. In Kali’s own words: “Like most of the world, my perception of time went through a significant transformation during the pandemic confinements of spring 2020. Unmarked by the familiar milestones of life, the days and months dripped by, instinctively blending with no end in sight. Time stood still until subtle shifts in the environment suggested there had been a passing. Memories blurred non-sequentially, the fabric of reality deteriorated, unforeseen kinships formed and disappeared, and all the while, the seasons changed and moved on without the ones we lost. Playing this music for hours on end was a profound way to digest the countless life transitions and hold time together.” Ideologic Organ is pleased to present Kali Malone’s Does Spring Hide Its Joy as a triple LP set of around two-hours duration. Mastered by Stephen Mathieu and cut at Schnittstelle Mastering, the record is pressed in perfect sound quality by Optimal in Germany. The album is packaged in a heavyweight laminated jacket with full-color printed inner sleeves, and also available as a three-hour triple CD. Kali Malone’s album “The Sacrificial Code” (2019) has sold over 6000 copies in vinyl and CD format. Kali Malone’s album “Living Torch” (June 2022) has sold over 4000 copies in vinyl and CD format.