The latest in Field Records' run of essential vinyl pressings revisits Stephen Hitchell's 2009 masterpiece under his Variant alias, The Setting Sun. As part of Echospace and also celebrated for his productions as Intrusion and Soultek, Hitchell is considered a leading light in dub techno, with the versatility in his sound to range from rhythmic, physical pulses to purely tonal, abyssal drone. His work as Variant, which debuted with The Setting Sun, capitalises on this scope to deliver a compelling ambient-with-teeth set richly deserving of a proper vinyl pressing.
The Setting Sun first emerged on Echospace as a download-only release. Hitchell was at pains to map out the tools that went into the sound on the album — field recordings of storms in Berlin, Germany and train rides in Narita, Japan, outboard synths and samplers. Crucially, he declared no computers were used, and it shows. When The Setting Sun was recorded, in-the-box production was largely dominating electronic music and the technology had yet to replicate the warmth and character of analogue equipment. Hitchell's looming chords come baked with harmonic overtones, surface noise becomes another essential layer and fragments of distortion add to the narrative of these glacial, monumental pieces.
Hitchell threads his dub techno tendencies in subtle ways, from the kick pattering underneath 'As Time Stood Still' to the quintessential metallic delay ripples that define 'A Silent Storm'. 'Someplace Else' has a defined, albeit delicate, rhythm section guiding its lighter shades of pads and chords. However, drums are never a dominant aspect of the music, simply another layer in an intentionally coagulated whole. At times, flickering tones hint at space where percussion once stood, since muted to leave the wet signal setting a new course for the sound, somewhere far beyond drum duties. The hushed ceremony of tracks like 'Adrift' are the perfect scenario in which to absorb these microfibres of detail, where the genius of Hitchell can truly be savoured.
In line with the limitations of record pressing and Hitchell's proclivity for long-form tracks, 'The Setting Sun' is reserved for the digital edition of this reissue. It's a logical move, as the sound palette widens to encompass tangible, organic instrumentation evolving over the best part of half an hour. The presence of piano keys feels stark in the Variant sound world, but Hitchell ably folds these coded elements into his process bathed in the same curious luminosity that lingers around all his work. Evolving at a painstaking pace, the plaintive humanity in the cascading keys and plucked guitar strings renders one of the most personal expressions in Hitchell's considerable canon — a unique piece that holds its own space comfortably, while also adding to the overall weight of The Setting Sun as a profound benchmark in a stellar discography.
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light blue marbled vinyl[13,66 €]
High Cube is the beat-focused brainchild of Brian Foote (Peak Oil, Leech) and Paul Dickow (Strategy, Community Library), two low-key legends of the American experimental underground. After some 30-odd years of making music separately and together, Foote and Dickow are collaborating in earnest for the first time as a duo. For this debut, the pair enforced a simple, stringent set of rules: five instruments, a one-hour timer, and a total ban on overthinking.
The result is a record that is the sound of two old friends unplugging the usual levers and letting the "accident" of their chemistry take the wheel. It is drier, sparser, and decidedly "chunky"—a fictional band stepping into a suit to drive around for a while. It is neither dance nor chill-out, but a moody, complex trajectory defined not by the gear used to make it, but by the narrative mood it compels.
"Volcano Snail” starts things off in a disheveled shuffle, locking into gear with blurred and bubbling effluence. The shimmering dimness is lit low, with a woozy gait that recalls the headiest highs and luminescent lows of Jan Jelinek. “Underwater Welder” is a foggy, neon-lit cruise of skittering low-ends suspended in a permanent fall of color, while “A Dragon’s Treasure is its Soul” offers blown-apart, low-end city pop fragmented into an array of rhythmic detritus. Chordal textures hover in the air as a percussive loop takes its beguiling and frolicking shape.
B-side opener “Yonaguni” shapeshifts in real time, drifting with the grace of a glacier before bobbing in a frigid pool of vibrating clatter, static, and synth stabs. “Ofid+wor” offers a tried and true blitz of braindance, nodding to an endless list of 20th and 21st-century electronic body music. Buoyant closer “Mother of Thousands” holds a gravity-defying tenderness, pirouetting on a breeze with the elegance of effervescent longing. Woven together, the six extended tracks of High Cube are tethered to nothing but the ether—a giant sonic leap of peripheral absurdity from two artists with a lifetime of shared rhythm.
Ben is a Detroit-based producer who makes up half of Symptoms of Love, along with BPT records alum Ryan Spencer. He here brings us a 4 tracker of the absolute highest order. It both sounds like music that no one else is making, while also sounding like a pastiche of everything that you've ever liked in the past. The magic formula baby!!!!!!! Shall we walk thru the music together?
BPT founder and music's #1 man Jeremy Castillo has described the EP absolutely brilliantly as such: "YMO style dissonant electro with a Detroit touch on the a side, with pitched down Patrick Cowley psychedelic Macarena on the B-side.
The A1 and title track is an incredible statement of intent from Ben - it really does sound like if Hosono grew up in Detroit listening to Electrifying Mojo. It's an absolute blast of sunlight coming through your headphones. Press play and watch your vitamin D levels rise baby!!!
A2 cut "Music Remembers" is a groovy joy ride reminiscent of Galaxy II Galaxy, complete with re-pitched vocal chops and 808 claps galore. This will hit SO hard on a spring day if you live in a city currently blanketed in snow.
On the flip, B1 "Whose Water" will be a big hit with anyone who dug Dam Funk's Garret project. Introspective downtempo synth fans rejoice!!! And we wrap a stellar outing with B2's "New Sun" - a propulsive Cosmic workout that will open up any dancefloor. The psychedelic Macarena is right baby!!!
The fifteenth release from electro label Gladio Operations once again brings us a multi-artist format, featuring new faces and a distinctly Spanish flavour.
This EP opens with the return of producer Cycloplex, with his characteristic minimalist sound.
This track, titled ‘EP01-A’, once again showcases his powerful and aggressive bass lines.
From Gerona comes one of the new and talented artists on the Spanish electro scene. David Pasajero makes his debut on Gladio Operations with ‘Dislektro’, a fluid journey of melodies and warm textures infused with acidic touches.
On the B-side we find Barcelona producer Dark Vektor, who needs no introduction, as he is one of the Spanish icons of electro sound. This artist also makes his debut on the label with ‘Te Voy A Dar Ahhhhh’, a dizzying track with suspenseful melodies and a powerful bass line that will keep you on the dance floor no matter what.
The Spanish duo Slit Observers is another of the label’s new faces and treats us to this vibrant track titled ‘Green Machine’, where we encounter dark passages with a perfect dose of acid and embellished with subtle vocoders.
The EP closes with a collaboration between German producers Intergalactic Noize Commander and Elektrotechnik, the latter an artist who has released music previously. ‘Informationen’ is a rough track, created in the most hidden German bunkers, featuring arpeggios and robust bass lines that dominate throughout the whole track, accompanied by gloomy vocals.
Osunlade returns with a 5 track EP of exceptional quality showcasing his unique talent for creating emotive, electronic, cerebral house music with soul. Even within these boundaries Osunlade finds scope for variation, be it irresistible bumping grooves(Sistagurl), meditative melodies with etherial thought provoking spoken word, (The Journey), or full on electronic soundscapes encompassing the tribal and the esoteric, (Prism).
Pimpin’ takes a slowed down acid bass-line as the cue for a diatribe against the changes in the pimp game - a metaphor for today’s decline in standards of excellence.
The jewel in this crown is a hark back to the days of raw house music with a powerful and emotive female vocal. The Way U Left Me is an emboldened declaration of independence from toxic love guaranteed to tear down any dance.
“ko mixtape” is okgiorgio’s personal vision of club culture: a 15-track journey where electronics,
acous c instruments, and samples coexist. Capturing two years of live performances across Italy
and Europe, it embodies the privilege of connec ng with so many people and bringing them
together on the dancefloor. The album is designed to be heard in one breath, much like a DJ set,
and is performed en rely in Italian—driven by the belief that even when traveling the world, it’s
vital to showcase where you come from.
okgiorgio is a musician and producer born in 1996. Based in Bergamo, he is a member of the band
ISIDE and has produced for major Italian ar sts such as Pinguini Ta0ci Nucleari, Loredana Bertè,
Carl Brave, Tancredi, and many others. His solo project—a blend of refined, powerful electronic
textures held together by an uncanny use of vocal manipula on—launched in 2022 with the track
"okokok" and a packed debut live show at the APE event in Milan.
His music has gained significant recogni on abroad. In December 2022, he was named one of
Rockit’s "CBCR" (Ar sts to Watch) for the following year.
DJ Support: Garnier, Opolopo, Worldwide FM, Marcia Carr, Bill Brewster, Timeout Moscow, Craig Smith, Delfonic, Tony Nwachukwu, Marcel Dettmann, DJ Rocca, Shuya Okino, Borrowed Identity, Titonton Duvante, Alex Attias, Rainer Truby, Sol Power All-Stars, Kyri R2, Robert Luis, Severino Panzetta, Lars Behrenroth, Kassian, Alkalino, Getdown Edits, Moodymanc, Gerd, Lea Lisa, Young Pulse, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Mark Grusane, Alex Barck….
International dance music heavyweight, producer and DJ Alexander Lay-Far returns with a powerful new chapter - Lay-Far Dance Orchestra (LFDO) - a fully-fledged live band project that reconnects him with his jazz-funk and fusion DNA while pushing dance music forward with unmistakable groove, musicianship and emotional weight. Formed in early 2024, LFDO is no nostalgia exercise. With Lay-Far at the helm as bassist, bandleader, composer, arranger and sound engineer, the orchestra has already been turning heads with explosive live performances, reinventing classic Lay-Far cuts, and now unveil their first album “Skybreak” with all new and original material written and produced by Lay-Far together with his bandmates and star guests, including Lipelis, Antoha MC and Seven Davis Jr. This work shows the departure from the predominantly electronic sound of Lay-Far's previous solo albums in favour of live instrumentation recorded to analogue tape and effortlessly bridging the gap between Jazz, Library Music, Disco-Funk, House, Broken Beat and Drum’n’Bass. “Skybreak” is dynamic, passionate, spiritual, cinematic, playful, heartfelt, life-affirming, dreamy and deeply romantic. Ultimately, there’s something profoundly romantic in recording and releasing such music in this day and age!
“Take Flight (Part 1)” is opening the album with style. It takes us on a beautifully orchestrated journey, blending the sensuality of Library Music with high-octane Jazz-Funk and raw b-boy breaks, propelled by breathtaking flute and Rhodes solos of Timur Nekrasov and Maxim Glonti. This aural symbiosis of “beauty and the beats” will become more and more prominent as the album unfolds.
It’s time for “Aquarius Love” created with the inimitable artist and vocalist Seven Davis Jr. (Secret Angels, Ninja Tune). In this composition cinematic soul and heavy jazz meet the restless energy of live drum & bass with deep and heartfelt vocals - timeless sound combined with a timeless message about love and life!
Next is “Head In The Clouds” - a theme for an imaginary rom-com, an ode to all the dreamers - sweet, light, naive and heartwarming. Space-Disco-Funk at its best!
“Where You From” is a fiery Soulful House number with heavy Afro-Latin influences recorded in collaboration with Lipelis. It’s full of Sun, joy and passion. Its irresistible rhythm is emphasised by funky octave bass, wah-wah guitar, catchy piano riffs, guitar solo by Lipelis and seemingly light conscious message delivered by Lay-Far and Maryag. Summer is here!
Now the album takes an unexpected twist in the form of “The Harp of Boom” which at first glance appears to be a classic-sounding Boom-Bap banger. Yes, It’s loud, raw, and gritty, yet it gradually evolves into something delicately-touching and deeply-soulful thanks to a memorable flute melody and lush string arrangement. Definitely recorded with tongue in cheek.
Next is “Feel The Moment” a remarkable collaboration with one of the most recognisable and distinctive Russian artists, singer, trumpeter and cultural icon Antoha MC. It’s a feel-good song, hopeful, life-affirming and bittersweet. A stylish excursion into Brit-Funk and Soviet Jazz-Fusion sound, drawing inspiration from the likes of Atmosfear, Light Of The World or Soviet Jazz bands like Allegro and Arsenal, but reimagining the influences through the modern West London broken beat lens.
The spectacular music journey continuous with “Take Flight (Part 2)” - it’s all about the deep infectious jazz-funk groove, heavy beats, rolling percussion and the glory of the soloing instruments - saxophone and flute by Timur Nekrasov, demonstrating the wide range of emotions from thoughtful and lyrical to restless and borderline vicious. One for freestyle dancing!
As the album draws to an end a vibrant musical triptych “Soul Constant” awaits, mixing together the deep and sensual mood of spiritual jazz with heavy syncopated drum’n’bass rhythms by Michail Fotchenkov, lush orchestration, expressive saxophone solos and the ending which can simply be described as “aural bliss”. It’s breath-taking!
A pleasant bonus is the exclusive version of “Where You From” by Lipelis himself, who is taking it into dub territories, further enhancing the rhythm section and enriching the song with his trademark playful synth flourishes and dreamy guitar solos for maximum effect (and appeal).
The album “Skybreak” by Lay-Far Dance Orchestra is the work of real artistry and craftsmanship with timeless sound that’s not only deeply-rooted but also forward-thinking.
Bristol duo Pume Orenge unspool a world of spectral electronica from cassette loops and instrumental improvisation on their debut album Angel By Milo for Odda Recordings.
It is a world that opens draped in ferric hiss. A fog of sound, dense and yet not quite there, catching the light in strange shades and ambient drifts. Looping and receding, looping and receding, as pucks of static burst like faraway fireworks on a cold winter’s night. Sound sources obscured, ambiguous, not quite what they seem.
Angel By Milo takes its lead from the analogue process and textures by which it was made. Percussive and melodic loops were established, manipulated and responded to with instrumental improvisation, in a give-and-take with the materiality of the medium.
Across these seven intricately developed tracks, the sound fluctuates between the cinematic and the introspective, at times melancholy, at others verging on a kind of restrained anger, before the calm sets in once more. It is music for the small hours, awash with the grainy stuff of memory.
Embedded within Bristol’s independent scene, Pume Orenge’s quiet debut also speaks to the duo’s shared roots in the area, and like many of Odda’s previous releases, contains a sensitivity to place and atmosphere, even when these are no more than implied.
Angel By Milo builds on the DIY ethos of Pume Orenge's 2023 self-titled debut EP, whose tracks were recorded live in single takes, now honing a more intentional, purposeful approach to music making. It is one in which layers of meaning are allowed to reveal themselves, a way of composing that makes a virtue of its labour and the chance occurrences that can arise in the process.
This is music in praise of shadows. Of the things we can’t quite see, the feelings we can’t quite grasp. Heard through the haze, or maybe not at all.
- Stahlwerk Ruhr + Blocco Schengen
- Planlosneu - Derpolier
- The Eschaton - Plague Pits
- Autoscooter Abfahrt - Kühle Matroasen
- She's Gone - Veinspine
- Die Feuerwehr Kommt Nicht - Age O.p.f
- Mondlandschaft - Bêtes Sauvages
- Stromschlag - Der Fotograf
- Keine Gnade - Pleasue Victim
- Immergleich, Immer Stumm - Ruhr
- El Baile De Las Goticas Feas - The Berlangas
- Plastik Fantastik - Weltklang Feat. Akkumuller
- I Wanna Shit - Nuke Kanata
Schmitz is a cool guy. He dreams of meeting the ruler of the universe. One day, his dream comes true: he meets the electro goddess Irma. The compilation is a kind of audiobook in 13 acts, danceable and cool, fast and loud, an homage to all space cats. The LP comes with a booklet introducing the bands and telling the story.
- A1: Natural Disaster
- A2: Nowhere To Hide
- A3: Painting By Numbers
- A4: Helium
- A5: Simple Things
- A6: No Audience
- B1: Prototype
- B2: No Furniture
- B3: Elevator
- B4: Trojan Horse
- B5: Paracosm
- B6: I Just Don’t Know You Yet
- B7: Goodbye Glitter
Singer, songwriter, and producer Absolutely will release her highly anticipated sophomore album Paracosm on February 20, 2026, via Epic Records. A kaleidoscopic mix of pop, electronica, jazz, and R&B, the album features previously released singles “Goodbye Glitter,” “I Just Don’t Know You Yet,” and “No Audience,” each offering a window into the record’s emotional and sonic scope. From the viral, piano-pounding transformative catharsis of “I Just Don’t Know You Yet” — which sparked standing ovations on tour and millions of TikTok views last summer — to the cinematic introspection of recent single “No Audience,” praised by Rolling Stone as “an invitation to create purely for yourself,” Paracosm cements Absolutely as one of the most compelling new voices of her generation and 2026’s de facto artist to watch.
- 1: Adhd
- 2: Worry Days
- 3: Crying Song
- 4: Fuck U
- 5: Bastard State
- 6: Mania
- 7 3: Sides Touching
- 8: Canned Coffee
- 9: Babymusicc
As collaborative projects often do, 33 has in time found a more fixed form, a kind of structure that turned it from a loose collection of collaborators gravitating around founders Bill John Bultheel and Alexander Iezzi into something resembling more of a traditional band. Not that there is anything conventional in their creative process tho, nor in the music itself… Nontheless Tripolar - their second album and first for Haunter - seems to take them closer to song territory than ever before.
The (progressive) graduation of multi-instrumentalist Cem Dukkha and vocalist/clarinet player Ivan Cheng from collaborators to full-time members has brought 33 to a more refined awareness of their possibilities as a creative unit, although their compositional process has retained a high level of spontaneity and musical madness. Tripolar was in fact assembled by editing hours of improvisation that Bultheel, Iezzi and Dukkah recorded with no specific endgame in mind. The sessions saw them exchange a variety of acoustic, electronic and electric musical instruments: percussions, guitars, strings, piano, hurdy gurdy, synthesizers and even CDJs as a tool of live sampling manipulation.
By molding the pieces into what they are now, the band managed to concoct some beautiful vignettes of contradictory mental and emotional states, as sonically playful as a renaissance fair happening within a broken timestream. Cheng’s lyrical and vocal contributions helped them coalesce even further into proper songs, adding a melodic presence that’s at once seductive and uncanny. But vocal duties are often ceded to guests, namely Danish pop-neoclassicist Astrid Sonne, Kenyan metal guru Lord Spikeheart, Irish goth raconteur Olan Monk and Japanese body-poet Golin.The amount of different sounds arranged into each of the tracks produces a unique sense of awe and bewilderment, a testament to the incredible talent and craft the musicians have employed into putting together such a broad range of influences and approaches into a coherent and extremely effective musical journey.
An equally erratic thematic thread seems to run through all the tracks, one ultimately preoccupied with mental health and its ramifications. Without turning the project into a concept album, 33 and their collaborators have sprinkled it with references to personality disorders and mental conditions that are all too relevant to the contemporary age, reflecting on the lineage of human inner life. A wide display of lyrical and musical tools is employed to explore these themes, ranging from Sonne’s expressionist depiction of ADHD in the opener, to Cheng’s queer-themed reinvention of an Irish murder ballad in closing track ‘Babymusicc’. Tracing lateral trajectories for introspection, Tripolar is not only highly captivating, but it ultimately sounds esoteric in the best possible way: progressively revealing layer after layer of incredible aural magic, its true meaning living in the form and in its manic scope of energies.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 is a compilation bringing together the early 2000s works of Marco Passarani under his Analog Fingerprints alias, collecting key tracks originally released on Rome’s Plasmek and Pigna labels.
For Numbers, the story starts long before the label itself. In their formative years, digging in Glasgow’s Rubadub, Passarani’s records felt like dispatches from a future city. Releases on his own Nature Records and on labels such as Generator and Interr-Ference Communications were mind blowing: rooted in Detroit techno, Chicago house and electro, yet pushing somewhere new. Much like fellow travellers Autechre, who would remix him in 2001, Passarani’s music balanced machine funk with restless experimentation.
Information was scarce, and you would hear these records first on the dancefloor or at listening stations in shops like Rubadub. Print fanzines like Ear and early web outposts such as Forcefield offered only fragments. But there was a palpable axis forming between Detroit techno and a new European wave of record labels including Skam, Rephlex, Clone, Viewlexx and Nature itself. It was the sound that defined Saturday nights at Rubadub’s ‘69’ parties in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow.
Passarani’s records, in particular, were instrumental in bringing together the future Numbers co-founders. Richard had already booked him pre-Numbers; meanwhile Calum (Spencer) and Jack (Jackmaster), then 16/17 year olds working alternate Saturdays in Rubadub, were so enamoured with the Roman sound that they travelled to Rome for the Bitz Festival in 2003 to seek out Passarani and Lory D at their source.
The first Analog Fingerprints release landed as a 12” on Plasmek in 2001, following the fractured, IDM-leaning 6 Katun material. For Passarani, the project marked a recalibration. A DJ first and foremost, he had moved into production via early computer setups, from a Commodore Amiga through primitive PC audio, Cubase and Logic, later experimenting with Ableton. The IDM scene had offered a playground for trial and error, but there was always a tension between abstraction and the dancefloor. Analog Fingerprints became the bridge: still intelligent, but with more dance than distance. After years of broken beats and complex arrangements, he wanted directness without surrendering identity.
Working closely with Francesco de Bellis and Mario Pierro in the Pigneto district, the trio formed Pigna as a vehicle for reclaiming a more accessible dance sound, deliberately steering away from the minimal wave beginning to dominate Europe. Sessions were fast, instinctive, often stretching late into the night with friends dropping by. It was a studio as social space, production as collective energy.
“In that constant search for balance, Analog Fingerprints was my way of expressing something closer to the classic dance floor. The track 'Tribute' - a tribute to my favourite early Detroit techno track of all time, 'First Bass' by Separate Minds - came after I realised I had almost lost my connection with the dance floor. The simplest step was to take inspiration from early Chicago and Detroit and twist it in our Roman ‘Pigna’ way. My goal was to create more accessible dancefloor tracks by mixing my unconscious Italo roots with my teenage love for that early US sound, ensuring the result was as far as possible from the minimal sound that was starting to dominate everywhere.” - Marco Passarani
Technically, the Analog Fingerprints tracks span a transitional era: Roland TR-909, SH-101 and Alpha Juno hardware met early software experiments. A Novation Drumstation rack stood in for the unattainable TR-808, syncing with TB-303 and TR-606. Yet the true secret weapon was Jeskola Buzz, a tracker-style modular environment that allowed step-by-step parameter control and strange melodic constructions, later exported into the audio sequencer. Even the lead on ‘Tribute’ came from an early PPG Wave-style plugin. It was hybrid thinking at a moment when digital tools still felt unstable but full of possibility for technologists like Passarani.
Behind the music sat Finalfrontier, a loose Roman collective orbiting Nature and Plasmek. Distribution and production were intertwined; importing obscure records into Italy built connections with like-minded outsiders across Europe and the US. Expensive phone bills and fax machines forged an “electronix network” that linked Rome to Clone, Viewlexx, Skam, Rephlex, Rubadub and Detroit’s Underground Resistance. There was a shared sense of survival and resistance, of operating against commercial systems.
Passarani recalls “The first time I found a sheet of paper inside an Underground Resistance 12” with info about upcoming releases... and a huge picture of Spock on the back. Imagine that: you love the music, you love Star Trek, and there’s someone on the other side of the ocean sharing those same values and sounds. It was the perfect match. We even gave our original company the suffix ‘Finalfrontier’: that says it all.”
Feedback in that era arrived physically: distributor faxes, conversations with visiting DJs, the experience of playing abroad and meeting kids who had connected with the records. Glasgow became a key node in a scattered outlier network. Passarani personally brought the first two Nature releases to Fat Cat in London, playing them in-store. Shortly after, a fax arrived from Rubadub in Glasgow requesting copies.
“I still remember that phone buzz and the fax paper slowly sliding out, with someone I didn’t know saying they wanted 75 copies of Nature 001. Or like the time we got a fax from the Rephlex crew just saying, “Hello Nature Records, Keep up the good work.” That was how we knew the message was getting through. It was a fantastic feeling; just one piece of thermal fax paper as an analog notification - the mood for the entire week would change.” - Passarani
The connection to Glasgow has since stretched across generations. As Passarani reflects, links often fracture as scenes renew themselves, but in Glasgow something different happened. New and old mixed seamlessly. There was a visible trust in what came before, and a willingness to carry it forward rather than discard it. Observed from Rome, it was deeply encouraging.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 captures that moment of exchange: Rome to Glasgow, Detroit to Europe, experiment to dancefloor. It documents an artist recalibrating his sound and a network of scenes discovering one another in real time, connected by vinyl, faxes and shared intent.
- A1: Dj Tennis - Hello Hello
- A2: Rudy With A Hoodie - Lovelovelove
- B1: Dj Tennis & Ashee - I Wanna Know
- B2: Easttown - Bubblicious
- C1: Josh Wink - Higher State Of Consciousness (M-High Edit)
- C2: Andre Zimmer - Simpli-City
- D1: Paurro - Bubbles
- D2: Vitess - Insane
- A | Redrago - She Got It Wrong (10")
- B | Redrago - Free The Drums (10")
Manfredi Romano, founder and A&R of Life and Death Records, has been a pivotal figure in electronic music for over two decades. This year marks an important milestone as he is invited to curate the upcoming fabric presents mix for fabric Records, a release that highlights his instinctive storytelling and the distinct musical identity he has cultivated throughout his career.
Manfredi’s journey began in Italy around the turn of the millennium, tour-managing punk bands and organizing left-field music events before completing his studies in computer science at the University of Pisa. He went on to form DAZE, Italy’s first booking agency dedicated exclusively to electronic music, laying the groundwork for what would become a globally influential presence in the scene.
In 2010, he shifted focus to his own artistic project, DJ Tennis, which quickly gained international recognition for its emotive blend of house, techno, and disco. Renowned for creating intimate atmospheres in even the largest spaces, DJ Tennis has performed at leading clubs such as Circoloco Ibiza, Fabric London, and Panorama Bar Berlin, and at major festivals including Sonar, Timewarp, Primavera Sound, and Coachella. His 2022 residency at Phonox in London further showcased his ability to shape dancefloors with nuance and depth. Since 2017, he has also co-founded and curated Rakastella, the celebrated Art Basel Miami festival created in partnership with Life and Death and Innervisions.
As a producer, DJ Tennis draws from early relationships with post-rock pioneers such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, and Fugazi, channelling their influence into intricately layered electronic compositions. His work has appeared on respected labels including Kompakt, Rhythm Assault, Running Back, !K7, Cercle Records, Aus Music, and Circoloco Records, alongside frequent releases on Life and Death. His remix portfolio includes collaborations with Diplo, Boys Noize, Loco Dice, WhoMadeWho, and Acid Pauli, among many others. He has also previously contributed a DJ-Kicks mix, bringing his eclectic sensibilities to one of electronic music’s most beloved series.
After extended periods living in Miami, Berlin, and Barcelona, DJ Tennis now resides in Paris. Outside the studio and club environment, Manfredi is a passionate chef who has curated menus for charity events and collaborated with Beatport at ADE, Pioneer, and Resident Advisor. He is also an avid collector of bicycles, vintage action figures, and vinyl — his record collection now surpasses eleven thousand pieces.
With the forthcoming fabric presents DJ Tennis release, he offers a deeply personal, narrative-driven statement that reflects decades of crate-digging, boundary-pushing selections, and a lifelong devotion to sound. It marks a new chapter in his artistic evolution and stands as one of the year’s most anticipated entries in the iconic series.
The first single from DJ Tennis is a collaboration with long-time studio partner Ashee, and it immediately sets the tone for the mix: warm, seductive, rhythm-driven, and emotionally charged.
“I Wanna Know” is a sleek club track built around a pulsing groove and a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The low end is rounded and warm, giving the track a driving but understated momentum. Percussion is crisp and minimal, allowing the bassline and vocal elements to take center stage. The repeating, robotic earworm of a vocal hook, “I wanna know’ is the lynchpin to the track and will remain in your head long after the track has finished.
It’s the kind of record that warms up a room early in the night, sets the tone for a sunset beach set, or adds a lush, emotional peak during a more leftfield club moment.
- A1: Doing Laps - Art School Girlfriend
- A2: L.y.a.t.t. - Art School Girlfriend
- A3: The Field - Art School Girlfriend
- A4: Down The Line - Art School Girlfriend
- A5: Almost Transparent - Art School Girlfriend
- B1: Save Something - Art School Girlfriend
- B2: The Peaks - Art School Girlfriend
- B3: Hope More Hopeless - Art School Girlfriend
- B4: Lines - Art School Girlfriend
- B5: Framer - Art School Girlfriend
Colour Variant Vinyl[23,95 €]
London-based, Wrexham-raised artist and producer Art School Girlfriend announces her third studio album 'Lean In', due March 11th 2026 via Fiction Records. She also shares new track 'The Peaks', and announces a 2026 run of headline dates. Armed with the freedom and space to experiment, 'Lean In' was self-produced in her own East London studio and sees Art School Girlfriend set to move from cult bedroom artist to one of the UK's most vital artist/producers operating at the moment, tackling alternative rock, electronic pop and experimental ambient sounds in her most cohesive work to date
INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS is back with the third instalment of the ANTIKHRIST VISIONS saga. This release is particularly symbolic: it’s the ninth in the catalogue, marked by the infernal numerology that runs right through the whole series. It’s a descent into a sonic underworld, where noise becomes ritual and pleasure is just pure agony.
The artist tasked with opening this new chapter of the saga is the mighty Óscar Mulero, an essential figure on the national electronic scene and one of our biggest international ambassadors, whose career has left a deep mark on contemporary music. Here, with Faceless, he delves into dark, precise, and devastating electro territory; a spiritual machine that dictates the pulse of chaos.
Next up, we’ve got Pressurized Modulator with Reddrum: hard, crunchy, industrial electro, absolutely buzzing with electrical tension and twisted sonic matter.
Closing out the A-side is Jacko Volvone (aka Hoax Believers) with Quieren Cerrar Las Fábricas: a track that expertly blends electro, techno, and post-punk echoes, resulting in a tense, distorted, and combative sound, like a working-class echo shouting from the abyss.
Flipping over, the B-side opens with Hanging Nuts (made up of Waje Martín, Fake Robotik, and Ruben Montesco). They unleash a murky descent of filthy, distorted, primal electro, slashed through with guitars and raw, guttural vocals: a genuine chant from beyond the grave. The second cut marks the debut of Techselektah & Phil Fork with Champagne No Potable: a raging street anthem packed with fury, energy, and social criticism, where Spanish vocals emerge amidst EBM structures that have that ‘80s spirit, reinterpreted with today’s raw edge. And the big finish is down to HBK1 alongside Rigor Mortis, with Instinto Caníbal: a full-on explosion of electro-industrial and EBM that awakens the body’s most primitive urges.
Antikhrist Visions Vol. III is a sonic summoning from the lands of Hades: ritualistic matter, organic sound, and primal force. A testament to pleasure and torment—Tormento do Gostar—etched into the vinyl as if it were molten iron.
Memento Mori.
MTY-3.14 “π”, released on March 14, 2026, is the fifth and final chapter of a journey begun fifteen years ago.
This standard edition presents the final form of Polar Inertia across three 12" vinyl records, featuring 11 tracks. Nothing added, nothing removed—only the music, unfolding in full.
Images dissolve, words fall away. What remains are faint echoes, like footprints slowly erased in fresh snow.
This final opus does not close the path. It fades into it. π is not an ending, but a state: the moment where movement continues, even as the world turns silent.
A last step.
A final trace.
Still moving, beneath the cold.
POLAR INERTIA
We are no one because we want to be no one,
And to be no one we have to be everywhere and nowhere- Polar Inertia examines the enigmatic and blurry realms, embracing the art of obscured vision.
Encountering the collective Polar Inertia is much like being absorbed by fog and captivated by its ever-shifting forms and densities, with things being as indistinguishable as in a whiteout.
Formed in 2010 by a group of artists, Polar Inertia transcends visibility, delving into structures that lie beyond the public gaze. Layers upon layers intertwine within the fabric of Polar Inertia, extending beyond their profound electronic compositions and live performances. It manifests as a conceptual universe, where sound, monochrome aesthetics, and elusive narratives converge, much like trying to grasp the intangible fog. The entity that is Polar Inertia is involved in installations, print- and video work and texts created for different contexts and live in different spheres such as Palais de Tokyo in Paris or the Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art. Still, clubs and festivals are perfect spaces to experience these nebulous soundworlds and immerse in them. Fittingly, some of Polar Inertia’s appearances include the colossal halls of Berghain and Bassiani and at experimental festivals like Mutek Montreal and Atonal Berlin, that like to break with the classic club conventions.
Polar Inertia's sonic landscape unfolds with wafting textures accompanied by resonating beats and drones, reverberating through empty spaces, merging with the vast expanse of nothingness. Their sound exists at the crossroads of ambient, experimental, and deep techno, interwoven with vocal narratives. Since their inaugural release “Indirect Light“ on Dement3d Records in 2011, they remain a stronghold of relevance and captivation in the electronic domain.
Mastered by sixbitdeep, with artistic direction by Diplomatie Studio.
Melodize is bringing the world back on the dance floor with Lauer and his 4-track “K1m Fantasy” EP. Behind the label is Brooklyn-based DJ and musician Beartrax, who is known for his groovy yet moody compositions. Philipp Lauer, known as Lauer, is a true veteran in the electronic music sphere, with over 20 years of experience, yet his sound remains novel and fresh.
This time, Melodize and Lauer shape the world of a fantasy dance floor where everything is possible. “K1m Fantasy” starts with Lauer letting his confidence shine through as an experienced professional with a signature sound in the first track “Boss Electro”, which will inevitably showcase why he’s the boss.
The playful tune of “Rabbits” takes the listener on a journey through electro-induced synths much like the image of curious rabbits playing on a grass field. The eponymous B-side “K1m Fantasy,” with its steadily unfolding mellow soundscape, is an introspective piece exploring the fantastical world of the techno dance floor where all becomes one.
Lauer’s last treat is “Choirs,” where brassy exclamations take turns with a haunting choir of electronic voices, reminding us that unity is key to pleasure and existence.
»Low Tide, Hi Grypus!« is the new live-iteration of JC Leisure as JC Leisure Group. Documenting an encounter and a communication between human improvisers and atlantic grey seals. The record presents responsive improvisation as a form of cross-species collaboration.
The project began on Porthdinllaen, Wales, where Leisure recorded seal vocalisations from a local colony at low tide. Back in their Liverpool studio, Leisure developed a performance system that translates human musical gestures – pitch, timbre, rhythm, density, presence - into triggers for these seal expressions. The resulting system is dual-active, as in it simultaneously acts and is acted upon in the horizontal instance. It creates a new-music non-linear threshold that cannot be replicated.
»Low Tide, Hi Grypus!« was recorded live at 1210 Berlin and captures one instance of this concept. Local improvisers were invited to encounter the performance system. Recorded in one take, pedal-steel, woodwinds, strings, piano, organ, and electronics gradually learn to listen and respond to the marine voices. This interspecific group moves from intimate duets (that's human, seal) into full ensemble works (humans, seals) over the course of one night.
Rather than treating field recordings as static material, the extensive seal archive functions as an active collaborator: shaping form, pacing, and interaction in real-time. Now that’s marine biology meets human communication!
JC Leisure has previously released work on Sun Ark, Warm Winters Ltd, Not Not Fun and collaboratively with Dialect as Raft of Trash. He has composed a radio play commissioned and broadcast by BBC Radio.
- 1: In The Morning, The Mist Will Fade
- 2: Heartbeat
- 3: Take My Head
- 4: Mosaics Of Madness
- 5: Lies In Ink
- 6: Trust Me, I Love You
- 7: Make Up Your Mind, Before You See Us Fall
- 8: Pandaemonia
- 9: End Of The Road
- 10: Dantes Goodbye
- 11: Playbill
- 12: The River Styx
- 13: Th0Rns
- 14: Orpheus
With “chapters left unread” , 22-year-old Berlin artist Dust of Apollon presents his debut album: an electrifying yet deeply emotional work that moves between electronic and rock elements. Across 14 tracks, the album revolves around themes such as identity, inner conflict, love, depression, and healing. Throughout, there is a recurring sense of looking back on the unread chapters of one’s own life: moments that once felt impossible to understand, and wounds that only years later found their words. The focus track, “end of the road, ” stands as one of the album’s most intense moments. It tells the story of two lovers who draw closer to each other in the night, only to drift apart again when daylight breaks. A raw and honest conflict between hope and letting go, between closeness and the fear of reopening a wound that may never fully heal Thus, “chapters left unread” becomes not only a musical debut, but an intimate self-portrait: a look back at what once was, and an attempt to make peace with one’s past...chapters left unread that are now finally being read!
- 1: Pile
- 2: Wings
- 3: Amors
- 4: A
- 5: Good Lord
- 6: Ready
- 7: Leathered & Laced
- 8: Qualia
- 9: Ω
- 10: The All
Consuming you in one swoop, through 10 tracks of poetic electronic-pop odyssey’s, Evadney’s sensational voice acts as the guiding force, weaving between piano, strings, harp, driving electronic elements, and almost beatless moody textures.
Following the release of 3 eps on Black Acre, being remixed by I.JORDAN, inclusion on Jamz Supernova’s BBCRadio ‘Ones To Watch’ list, the Glastonbury Emerging talent list and creating an audiovisual live show performed in the UK and Shanghai, Evadney’s debut album ‘It’s Dreaming’ looks set to solidify him as a bold new voice on the UK music scene, bringing with him a new world of melancholy, narrative-driven pop.
The subjects of sexuality, love, family and a yearning for the divine are played out across this cinematic piece of work. “I’m asking myself and everyone to consider; Where is your love? What does it mean for you? What are your boundaries around it and why?” - Evadney. On ‘Plie’ Evadney’s vivid storytelling flows effortlessly in a surreal conversation with an angel who teaches him how to dance. ‘Qualia’’ is a harp laden ode to his parents and their enslaved ancestors, whilst ‘Leathered & Laced’ and ‘Good Lord’ are devastatingly beautiful and honest stories of Evadney pulling himself out of his darkest moments of lost direction and substance abuse.
“Tectonic” is a concise portrait of SIMON BERZ’s geological sound explorations across continents over the last 15 years: drums, electronics, and a set of electronically manipulated basalt stones from Iceland.
SIMON BERZ is a transdisciplinary drummer, sound artist, and music educator based in Switzerland and Berlin. Working at the intersection of improvised music, sound art, and performance, and deliberately crossing boundaries between disciplines, his aesthetics are shaped by a sustained engagement with natural materials, particularly stone, and their sonic transformation through electronic manipulation. Beyond his performance work, BERZ founded BADABUM as an art label and a music school.
For the last 30 years, BERZ has been performing in Japan, China, Russia, the USA, Cuba, Iceland, Turkey, and across Europe. He has collaborated with artists including BILL LASWELL,BABY SOMMER, DAMO SUZUKI (CAN), JAMES TURRELL, JIMI TENOR, JOHN SINGLAIR, JOJO MAYER (NERVE), KONDO TOSHINORI, KIDD JORDAN, LAUREN NEWTON, LEE “SCRATCH“ PERRY, MAURO PAWLOWSKI (dEUS), NILS PETTER MOLVÆR, NIKI GLASPIE, NORBERT MÖSLANG, PAUL LOWENS, PFADFINDEREI, ROB MAZUREK, SKÚLI SVERRISSON, and he was the live drummer for APPARAT. As BERZ understands artistic practice as energy emerging from nature and through dialogue with people, his recorded output is intentionally selective, with one highlight being “Beats versus Breath” with KONDO and LASWELL (2023). Alongside a regular drumkit and electronics, he has developed his own instruments such as the “Lithophon” in which resonating stones are turned into amplified sound through water drops, and “Tectonic”, a set of Icelandic basalt stones shaped through electronic manipulation. These self- built instruments form the material basis for his performances, installations, and sound recordings.
“Tectonic” is also the title of BERZ’s latest work: a summary of his geological sound explorations across continents. From Iceland to Indonesia and Bali, from New Orleans to China, in caves and at shores, BERZ carried his millions-of-years-old basalt stones as both instrument and collaborator. On Java, he met Baron, a builder of stone gamelan instruments. At the Pacitan Tabuhan Cave (Indonesia) he performed with MISBACH BILOK and WUKIR SURYADI (SENYAWA) who work with corals as instruments. BERZ brought these encounters and “field recordings” to the Stöðvarfjörður studio in Iceland, where he recorded with his “Tectonic” set-up, drums, and electronics. The music was later mixed in Berlin by DIRK DRESSELHAUS (SCHNEIDER TM). The resulting album moves from club-driven tracks to ambient passages, from gamelan-inspired textures to HipHop-like beat patterns. It resists easy categorization while staying direct and physical in its impact.
- A1: A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Part 1 (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- A2: A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Part 2 (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- B1: Ouroboros Is Broken (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- C1: Geometry Of Murder (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- C2: German Dental Work (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- D1: Divine And Bright (Black Noi$E Inversion)
- D2: Dissolution I (Black Noi$E Inversion)
New “Inversions” of drone rock pioneers Earth’s debut release. A collaboration between Dylan Carlson and Black Noi$e (Armand Hammer, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt) formed in mutual respect and appreciation for one another. Both artists were intrigued by the creation of vast musical landscapes and the connection of music, with its ability to transport the listener. The music of Earth was recognised and celebrated for moving at a glacial pace and yet this new collaboration surprisingly saw Black Noi$e slowing things down even further.
The debut, which originally came out in 1991, notably featured Kelly Canary and Kurt Cobain on vocals on the tracks “A Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge Part 2” and “Divine and Bright”. Black Noi$e reimagines the original recordings with his experimental sensibility and innovative multi-instrumental, cross genre exploration. Applying contemporary electronics to the heavy droning bass and guitars and languid rhythms, this inversion oscillates and reverberates with a different kind of energy whilst simultaneously highlighting the much loved low slow and distorted properties of the original.
‘Extra Capsular Extraction’ was the first music Dylan made with Earth and his first time in a recording studio, which he recalls at the time as being “terribly exciting”. It also marked the first time collaborating with others and seeing it reified into a tangible object or product, a spirit that Dylan has carried through to the present. The original album is a document of a specific period and Dylan’s creative development. These inversions of Extra Capsular Extraction are, to quote Dylan, “an exciting way to reintegrate them into the present time and with my more expanded conceptions of musical endeavours”.
"Doom-metal innovators" Pitchfork.
"With guitars ramped up to the nth degree, but tuned to gut-wrenchingly low frequencies, Earth carved out a veritable canyon of pure molten drone, one which would have a profound influence on modern metal music." The Quietus
- A1: Honey
- A2: I Need U
- A3: Too Hot To Stop
- A4 2: Funky In Here
- A5: Cosmic Sensation
- B1: More Orgasms
- B2: Feeling (That I Got For You)
- B3: Next To You
- B4: First Crush
The groove never skipped a beat. 10 years after Global Warming and 2 years after Breaking to the Bus Stop, Romain Dalmasso aka Lord Funk, remains an insatiable crate-digger driven by one thing: the dancefloor. With his 3rd LP, More Orgasms, he drops a record that literally bleeds club culture and raw funk.
This is a deeply organic album. Moving away from clinical productions, the french producer gathered a tribe of top-tier musiciansto bring a living, breathing soul to every track. It’s an in-depth study of groove where cutting-edge electronics meet organic warmth and human vibration.
The tracklist is a map of his musical heart: from the R&B anthem First Crush co-written with his partner-in-crime Guillaume Atlan (The Supermen Lovers) and ignited by Shahdo, to the sharp 80s-Blondie energy of Merryn Jeann. True to his hedonistic roots, the vinyl sleeve doubles as an adult board game. More Orgasms isn't just a release; it’s a tangible piece of club culture—a heavy, singular pressing for the diggers and the lovers who want music that has soul and sweat in its DNA.
- The Orientalist
- Mother Dubber
- 112: Dub
- Hard Working
- Bad Weather
- Short Visit
- Enter The Dragon
- Onew Dub
- Delhi-Katmandou
- Taniotoshi
- Echo-Logik
When High Tone Live dropped on Jarring Effects, it wasn't just another live album - it was a statement. Captured in the spring of 2003, the Lyon-based collective condensed years of experimentation into an 11-track journey that redefines what live dub can be. Since their formation in 1997, High Tone have stood at the crossroads of dub, electronic music, rock, and urban culture. With Jarring Effects as their home base, they built a reputation for transforming the stage into a laboratory - a place where basslines mutate, beats deconstruct, and every frequency breathes. High Tone Live draws from four key releases - Low Tone, Opus Incertum, Bass Température and ADN - Acid Dub Nucleik - revisiting them through the raw energy of the stage. Classics like "Dehli Katmandou" and "Enter the Dragon" are stretched, twisted, and reborn in extended, improvisational forms. Two unreleased tracks, "112 Dub" and "Onew Dub," complete the set, adding a dose of fresh material to a disc that feels both retrospective and forward-looking. As with any live recording, there are rough edges: the mix shifts, some moments feel caught mid-explosion. But that's the beauty of High Tone Live. The imperfections add warmth, immediacy - a reminder that this music is made by humans pushing machines to their limits. High Tone Live stands as one of the strongest documents of Europe's post-dub explosion. It's a record that bridges continents and genres - a sonic travelogue where analog grit meets digital hypnosis. More than a live set, it's a manifesto of independence and sound exploration, stamped with the unmistakable seal of Jarring Effects.
The Buenos Aires–based producer’s second album on Umor Rex can be read on at least two levels. The most direct traces its origin to the influence of environmental music, as well as to some pioneers of electronic music. The album was recorded in a single session, making extensive use of loops that were later edited and condensed into the six pieces that make up Pequeño clima doméstico. This working method responds to a playful approach that runs through Entidad Animada’s musical intentions, which often start from a specific genre or aesthetic and then filter it through his own language.
From a more conceptual perspective, the record proposes music as a tool capable of modifying the perception of a moment. Rather than closed songs, the album functions as a device that allows one to tune a state, transform a space, or alter a mood. In this sense, it engages with the idea of functional music not as a utilitarian background, but as a means to equalize time, slow the pace, and reconfigure the listener’s emotional climate.
All songs written and performed by Entidad Animada. Recorded in August 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Field recordings and processed textures by Guazuncho.
Mastered by José D’Agostino at Moloko Estudio, Frankfurt, Germany. Cover photo by Diego Berruecos. Layout by Daniel Castrejón.
- 1: I Believe In You
- 2: In Blood
- 3: Kingdom Undersea
- 4: I See Red
- 5: A Death In London
- 6: Secret Dreams Of Thieves
- 7: Sing
- 8: Free, Free
- 9: Metaphysica
- 10: Caught In The Blink Of An Eye
- 11: Evergreen
- 12: Ordinary Love
- 13: We Wrote Our Names In The Dust
- 14: Heatwaves
- 15: Solid Light
- 16: For A Life In London
Spanning dance and indie movements since their formation in Liverpool at the end of the last millennium, Ladytron have earned a unique position by carving out new sonic and conceptual space, and refusing to abide by formula or trend. In the early 2000s, the fiercely individual group were placed at the forefront of the so-called electro-clash scene (which now enjoys another revival), but with time, they came to appreciate the pop cultural moment that they had reluctantly become part of. The new album follows a period of renewed cultural presence for the band. Their 2002 single "Seventeen" unexpectedly went viral on TikTok, introducing Ladytron's sound to a new generation and amassing hundreds of thousands of fan- made clips. Their legacy was further acknowledged recently with "Destroy Everything You Touch," one of their most celebrated tracks, featured in the GRAMMY- nominated original Motion Picture Soundtrack of cult movie Saltburn, reaffirming Ladytron's enduring appeal
- A1: Harris & Orr - Spread Love
- A2: Terry And Deep South - Trying To Get By
- A3: Toshiyuki Honda - Burnin' Waves
- A4: Igna Igwebuike - Disco Bomp
- B1: Janette Renee - What's On Your Mind (Super Club Remix)
- B2: Grupo Serenata - Sodade, Tem Pena D’mim
- B3: Vital Disorders - Zombie
- B4: Alphonsus Idigo - Flight 505
- C1: Dj Food - Peace (Harvey's 30 Something Mix)
- C2: Man Jumping - In The Jungle
- C3: Stars - Dancin’ People
- D1: Gaucho - Dance Forever (Club Version)
- D2: 49Th Floor - Night Passage (Bongo Mix)
- D3: Orion Agassi - Desacato
- D4: Fatdog - Remember Feat Cj Raine
yellow vinyl[28,15 €]
With two deeply cherished compilations already in the bag, Luke Una steps up for the third volume in his É Soul Cultura series on Mr Bongo. A love letter to the dancefloor and its power to unite people from all corners of society amid growing division and extremist politics. Genre-spanning in nature, the 15 tracks travel between cosmic soul, boogie, proto-house, slo-mo technoid grooves, drum machine afro, astral bass-bugging futurism, jazz funk, dance, and disco. Each having the ability to move the body as much as the heart.
From his formative years in Sheffield to co-founding Manchester’s much-fabled Electric Chair with Justin Crawford, through to helming the iconic LGBTQ institutions of Homoelectric / Homobloc, Luke has spent 40 years immersed in dance music. His latest outlet, É Soul Cultura, has grown from a label to a globe-spanning events series with Luke holding residencies and embarking on tours across the world from Japan and Australia to America and Europe.
“For me, the dancefloor was never about a one-dimensional, thudding, 130 BPM beat only. It's a much more dynamic, broader vision than that. I cut my teeth in an era where a 100 BPM record had as much impact, excitement, and energy as a 134 BPM dancefloor jazz funk or techno record”, Luke mentions. É Soul Cultura Volume 3 is the perfect embodiment of that notion: “It’s about four decades in the trenches playing dance music, the late-night afters, the shebeens, the basements, warehouse parties, the eight-hour journeys in East London, through to festival sets at Houghton and We Out Here. It’s music unconstrained by genre or tempo and more about making your body move”.
But this isn’t simply a collection of disparate dance tracks; they carry meaning and soul. “It’s less about escapism, more about reconnection. My experience of post-covid has been the coming together of all the clans in various clubs and gatherings. A reaction to a very toxic world out there, where the aggro rhythms of division have sought to divide us, and people don't meet as often. The coming back together face-to-face in clubs has encouraged a real love in the air, there's a real togetherness and collective spirit”.
Opening up the compilation is a track that channels that very message, the transcendental, soul-rousing Harris & Orr ‘Spread Love’. Joining the dots from there, to the low-slung deep house closer of Fatdog ‘Remember’, you’ll find electronic drum machine Nigerian funk, sitting side by side with dancefloor Cape Verdean brilliance, a post-punk cover of Fela Kuti, rubbing shoulders with cosmic electro, and an Una-championed, 8-minute, kickless DJ Harvey remix. There’s jazz funk in various guises moving from boogie synth to astral travelling, slo-mo acidic raw techno, and a ‘79 soul stepper, alongside swirling percussive Italo disco and tribal-charged house. All infused with an innate ability to bring people together.
As society becomes increasingly fractured, É Soul Cultura Volume 3’s message is more than movement. It’s about dance music’s power to unify people from all walks of life and break down the barriers that divide us.
- A1: Harris & Orr - Spread Love
- A2: Terry And Deep South - Trying To Get By
- A3: Toshiyuki Honda - Burnin' Waves
- A4: Igna Igwebuike - Disco Bomp
- B1: Janette Renee - What's On Your Mind (Super Club Remix)
- B2: Grupo Serenata - Sodade, Tem Pena D’mim
- B3: Vital Disorders - Zombie
- B4: Alphonsus Idigo - Flight 505
- C1: Dj Food - Peace (Harvey's 30 Something Mix)
- C2: Man Jumping - In The Jungle
- C3: Stars - Dancin’ People
- D1: Gaucho - Dance Forever (Club Version)
- D2: 49Th Floor - Night Passage (Bongo Mix)
- D3: Orion Agassi - Desacato
- D4: Fatdog - Remember Feat Cj Raine
black vinyl[28,36 €]
With two deeply cherished compilations already in the bag, Luke Una steps up for the third volume in his É Soul Cultura series on Mr Bongo. A love letter to the dancefloor and its power to unite people from all corners of society amid growing division and extremist politics. Genre-spanning in nature, the 15 tracks travel between cosmic soul, boogie, proto-house, slo-mo technoid grooves, drum machine afro, astral bass-bugging futurism, jazz funk, dance, and disco. Each having the ability to move the body as much as the heart.
From his formative years in Sheffield to co-founding Manchester’s much-fabled Electric Chair with Justin Crawford, through to helming the iconic LGBTQ institutions of Homoelectric / Homobloc, Luke has spent 40 years immersed in dance music. His latest outlet, É Soul Cultura, has grown from a label to a globe-spanning events series with Luke holding residencies and embarking on tours across the world from Japan and Australia to America and Europe.
“For me, the dancefloor was never about a one-dimensional, thudding, 130 BPM beat only. It's a much more dynamic, broader vision than that. I cut my teeth in an era where a 100 BPM record had as much impact, excitement, and energy as a 134 BPM dancefloor jazz funk or techno record”, Luke mentions. É Soul Cultura Volume 3 is the perfect embodiment of that notion: “It’s about four decades in the trenches playing dance music, the late-night afters, the shebeens, the basements, warehouse parties, the eight-hour journeys in East London, through to festival sets at Houghton and We Out Here. It’s music unconstrained by genre or tempo and more about making your body move”.
But this isn’t simply a collection of disparate dance tracks; they carry meaning and soul. “It’s less about escapism, more about reconnection. My experience of post-covid has been the coming together of all the clans in various clubs and gatherings. A reaction to a very toxic world out there, where the aggro rhythms of division have sought to divide us, and people don't meet as often. The coming back together face-to-face in clubs has encouraged a real love in the air, there's a real togetherness and collective spirit”.
Opening up the compilation is a track that channels that very message, the transcendental, soul-rousing Harris & Orr ‘Spread Love’. Joining the dots from there, to the low-slung deep house closer of Fatdog ‘Remember’, you’ll find electronic drum machine Nigerian funk, sitting side by side with dancefloor Cape Verdean brilliance, a post-punk cover of Fela Kuti, rubbing shoulders with cosmic electro, and an Una-championed, 8-minute, kickless DJ Harvey remix. There’s jazz funk in various guises moving from boogie synth to astral travelling, slo-mo acidic raw techno, and a ‘79 soul stepper, alongside swirling percussive Italo disco and tribal-charged house. All infused with an innate ability to bring people together.
As society becomes increasingly fractured, É Soul Cultura Volume 3’s message is more than movement. It’s about dance music’s power to unify people from all walks of life and break down the barriers that divide us.
- A1: Promises
- A2: Trouble
- A3: Shimmer
- B1: Your Love
- B2: American Dream Part Ii
- B3: Garden
- C1: Panpipes
- C2: Solo
- C3: Household Goods
- D1: Closer
- D2: Tapes & Money
- D3: Stronger
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is the musical project of British producer, singer, and songwriter Orlando Higginbottom. Known for his emotionally rich electronic compositions and playful visual aesthetic, he emerged in the late 2000s with a sound that merges dancefoor energy with melodic songwriting. His work spans house, techno, synth-pop, and experimental electronic music, and he has earned recognition for both his solo releases and his collaborations with artists across the electronic and pop landscape.
Trouble balances introspective songwriting with dance-foor energy, positioning itself as more than just a collection of club-ready singles. Key tracks include "Garden" which features Luisa Gerstein on vocals and "Tapes And Money" which incorporates Funkadelic's "One Nation Under A Groove" The album was well received, with favourable reviews from several well- respected music publications including the NME who decribed TEED as "one of the UK's most exciting young producers." It was also DJ Magazine's 'album of the year'
- A1: Your Selfish Wayss
- A2: Morning Light
- A3: Just Like You
- A4: One Way Or Another
- A5: Folie
- B1: No-One In The World
- B2: Clouds At My Feet
- B3: Summer Rain
- B4: Ancient Hometown
- B5: The Girl With The Fairytale Dream
- C1: All Your Own Way
- C2: Juke Box Heart
- C3: The Daydream Girl From Sealand
- C4: I Am The Murderer
- D1: Some Love Will Remain Unsaid
- D2: Shadow Play
- D3: On The Horizon
- D4: Just After Sunset
Apollo Records proudly present the vinyl reissue of ‘Morning Light’, the acclaimed 1997 album from Mark Van Hoen’s Locust project; a work that blurred the boundaries between ambient electronics, trip-hop, and dream-pop with an emotional precision few have matched since.
Originally issued during the label’s pioneering late-’90s era, ‘Morning Light’ marked a bold evolution for Van Hoen, best known at the time for his dark, abstract ambient work under Locust and as a member of Seefeel. Seeking to create something more human and melodic, Van Hoen assembled a rotating cast of collaborators, including Zoe Niblett, Craig Bethell, Neil Halstead (Slowdive/Mojave 3), and Wendy Roberts, blending fractured dance rhythms, live instrumentation, and intimate vocal performances into something both deeply personal and effortlessly cinematic.
From the haunting reimagining of The Carpenters’ ‘No-One In The World’ to the slow blooming emotional arcs of ‘All Your Own Way,’ ‘Folie’, and ‘The Girl With The Fairytale Dream’, the album’s 13 tracks form a widescreen narrative of melancholy and beauty. Reviewers at the time hailed it as “a subtle delight” and “sheer God-given genius”, comparing its mood and texture to Massive Attack, This Mortal Coil, and Portishead, yet noting its entirely singular voice.
This reissue restores Morning Light to vinyl for the first time in over two decades. A crucial artefact from the fertile intersection of experimental electronica and ethereal pop, ‘Morning Light’ stands today as one of the label’s most quietly influential releases.
Jerome Hill, Lukes Anger, Dark Vektor and Computer Madness deliver a no-nonsense 12 Inch strike between Electro, Detroit pressure and machine funk. Punchy drums, icy synth cuts, raw momentum, built for DJs, built for floors. Four producers, four angles, one shared language of body-ready electronics, driven by Detroit energy and sharp-edged Electro.
Two sides, each lasting 8 minutes and 50 seconds. A clash that resonates in friction, united by the materiality of vinyl - if only for a time. Or at best, a rapprochement, like in cinema. On side A, a MIDI composition by Xavier Robel for synthesized piano, based on La Monte Young's tuning system for The Well-Tuned Piano. Mouse clicks, boxing gloves, vibrancy, and mischief. On side B, a positively insistent On-U Sound-flavored rhythmic investigation, produced by Androo in response to Xavier Robel's composition (one he hadn't asked for). From sparse elements, a kaleidoscopic pulse unfolds - as dub seeps within a fog of electroacoustic fluctuations.
London-based sonic champion Shy One releases her long-awaited second album Mali on Errol and Alex Rita"s Touching Bass. So-called after her given name, Mali is a confident, future-facing ode to Black British electronic music and diasporic lineage. Informed by the full spectrum of London sound that she was raised on - with a vital cast of Black British collaborators including George Riley, Steve Spacek, James Massiah and Private Joy.
Mammal Hands are pleased to announce the release of their highly anticipated fourth album 'Captured Spirits', released 11thSeptember via Manchester tastemaker record label, Gondwana Records.
Consisting of saxophonist Jordan Smart, pianist Nick Smart and drummer and tabla player Jesse Barrett, the trio have forged a growing reputation for their hypnotic fusion of jazz and electronica and have recieved glowing recommendations from the likes of The Guardian and Gilles Peterson. Drawing on their love of electronic, contemporary classical, world, folk and jazz music, Mammal Hands take in influences including Pharoah Sanders,Gétachèw Mekurya, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Sirishkumar Manji.
Forming in Norwich in 2012, brothers Nick and Jordan along with Jesse, developed their distinctive and polished sound with their meteoric live shows and release of three critically acclaimed albums: 'Animalia' (2014), 'Floa' (2016) and 'Shadow Work (2017). Landmark live performances have included shows at The Roundhouse London, the main stage at Field Day Festival, La Cigale Paris, Montreal Jazz Festival, Hamburg Elb Jazz, Athens Technopolis and Unit Tokyo.
Roman Khropko delivers four cuts balancing precision club mechanics with flashes of emotion. The record moves between stripped minimal techno and warmer electro, designed to unfold gradually.
The A side opens with Glimpse, a straight-forward roller driven by tight drums and a suspenseful build. Piece of Truth follows with a funkier swing, blending elastic basslines with subtle tech house inflections that keep things in motion.
On the B side, Fractum settles into a hypnotic minimal tech mood, laying steady groundwork for an extended club stretch. The closing track, Among The Machines, shifts into emotional electro territory, carrying melodic tension that leaves a melancholic aftertaste.
A concise and functional toolset for the dancefloor. This is one to stay in your bag for a long time.
With »News from Planet Zombie«, The Notwist return to view after years of exploration and experiment with an album rich in both melancholy and positivity, sketched across a suite of thrilling, fiercely committed pop songs. It’s an album reflecting a chaotic world, but responding with warmth and generosity, to achieve creative and spiritual consolidation. Recorded in their home base of Munich, it reconnects with the security of the local to explore the troubles of the global: a guiding impulse writ large across this album’s eleven songs. It’s also the first studio album since 1995’s »12« that the entire band recorded together in the studio in its expanded live formation.
A new album by The Notwist is always a curious endeavour; their musical language is as consistent and resilient as the contexts for creativity are unpredictable and ever shifting. For »News from Planet Zombie«, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck embraced the plural possibilities of writing together, bringing songs to the collective and then arranging, rehearsing and recording that material live, in the studio.
The result is an album that’s energised, fully in ›the now‹, with spectacular moments where you can hear the magic bubbling up in the dynamic between the Achers, Beck, and fellow members Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl. If »Teeth« begins »News from Planet Zombie« quietly and reflectively, by »X-Ray« everyone’s supercharged, blasting out future anthems with the collective energy cranked up high. The chiming keys of »Propeller« skim the instrumental’s surface like stones across burbling water; »The Turning« clangs its way into one of the album’s most heartwarming melodies.
»News from Planet Zombie« was recorded over one week at Import Export, a non-profit space for arts and music. You can tell, too; there are some pleasingly rough edges here, as though The Notwist’s striving for hazy perfection means they’re also confident enough to let the songs breathe and mutate between our ears. That openness to chance also takes in guest turns from friends both local and international, reflective of a cosmopolitan Munich: Enid Valu joins in on vocals, while Haruka Yoshizawa guests on taishōgoto and harmonium, Tianping Christoph Xiao on clarinet, and Mathias Götz on trombone.
The Notwist aren’t best known for cover versions, but »News from Planet Zombie« features two: a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s »Red Sun« (from 2000’s »Silver & Gold«), which the group originally developed for a theatre play directed by Jette Steckel, and a take on Athens, Georgia folk-pop gang Lovers’ »How the Story Ends«. They slot into the album’s narrative perfectly, nestling in like old friends, revealing The Notwist as poetic interpreters. Played well, the cover version is both acknowledgement of fellow travellers and act of generosity, and The Notwist nail both aspects here.
And that narrative, the way the album plays out? »News from Planet Zombie« acknowledges the distress of our current geopolitical impasse, while reminding us there are collective ways forward. Fed through the figure of the zombie, Markus Acher explores our anxieties: »In the title and some lyrics I reference B- and horror-movies, which is a reference to the crazy world at the moment, which seems to be like a really bad and unrealistic B-movie.« But there’s a reminder here not to lose the thread entirely, that these things, too, will pass.
»The river here in Munich I often go to has been there forever and will be there long after us,« Acher reflects, pinpointing an important source of succour for him, »always the same but always changing. Very calming, but also always reminding me that like this river time only flows into one direction and you can’t go back. Every moment is very precious.«
Artwork by Marie Vermont
The Notwist:
Markus Acher: vocals, guitar
Micha Acher: bass, sousaphone, euphonium, trumpet
Cico Beck: electronics, keyboards, guitar, recorder, percussion
Theresa Loibl: bassclarinet, clarinet, piano, harmonium, organ
Max Punktezahl: guitar
Karl Ivar Refseth: marimbaphone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, percussion
Andi Haberl: drums, dulcimer
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Enid Valu: vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Haruka Yoshizawa: taishōgoto on 6, harmonium on 9, 10, 11
Tianping Christoph Xiao: clarinet on 4, 10, 11
Mathias Götz: trombone on 4, 10, 11
- A1: Ali Ou Hayani
- A2: Ana Sahraoui
- A3: Nihayat Hob
- A4: Angham Chaabia
- A5: Dikrayat
- A6: Alach Yayouni
- B1: Layali Fass
- B2: Lobna
- B3: Tanger L'été
- B4: Taksim Abdou
- B5: Hanan
- B6: Interlude
Abdou El Omari was born in 1945 in Tafraout, south of Agadir -- a village suspended between the pink granite peaks of the Anti-Atlas and the waves of the Atlantic. A landscape already musical in itself. He grew up in the dry mountain light, surrounded by the rhythms of nature and Berber's culture. Very little is known about the man -- a veil of mystery still surrounds his life, only deepening the fascination. In the 1970s, as Morocco was transforming, Abdou El Omari shaped a sound of his own -- a visionary blend of spiritual jazz, psychedelic funk, Moroccan traditions, and early electronic experimentation. Today, his work is resurfacing, rediscovered by a new generation of listeners in search of lost horizons. This record stands among its rarest and most precious fragments. At twenty-two, he founded his first group, Les Fugitifs, which gained him local fame. Soon after, he released records and cassettes on labels such as Cléopâtre, Hassania, Boussiphone, Hilali, and his own, Al Awtar, while performing on RTM (national radio and television). He also composed for artists like Naima Samih, Laila Ghofran, and Aicha El Waad. In 1976, through the label Gam, he released his only vinyl album, Nuits d'été -- a record that would become cult decades later, reissued in 2017 by Radio Martiko. In the 1980s, his music grew quieter, more secret. He tried to recover his old tapes from the studios he had recorded in, but gradually withdrew from the scene and returned to hairdressing. A pioneer of musical fusion, he opened paths that would remain unexplored for years. He passed away in 2010, never witnessing the rediscovery of his music by diggers, bloggers, and collectors online. One day, his close friend and poet Aziz Essamadi, rescued a cardboard box from the trash -- a box containing Abdou El Omari's personal archives. It was later entrusted to Casablanca based collector Ahmed Khalil, founder of the label Dikraphone. Inside were treasures preserved by chance: demos, rehearsals, private recordings, unseen photographs -- and a stunning, almost forgotten cassette. Here, El Omari sounds bolder than ever, exploring territories where pop, cosmic disco, electric blues, and Moroccan tradition merge without boundaries. Armed with his ARP Odyssey synthesizer, hypnotic grooves, and the celestial layers of his Farfisa, he expanded the dialogue between deep roots and electronic exploration. This album is the continuation of a vision -- a music of the Moroccan future: rooted, but reaching for the unknown. Colorful, magnetic and timeless, here is music for dancing as much as for dreaming.
- 1: Island Family
- 2: Natural Successor
- 3: The River It Runs Inside Of Me
- 4: In The Land Of The Dead
- 5: It Came Back
- 6: Thistle
- 7: Melody Something
- 8: Nuclear Sunflower Swamp
- 9: Green Mountain
- 10: Remote Control
Limited Green LP is for Indies only. all LPs include a DL card. Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop wonder Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail's contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic, bound up in sometimes conflicting ideas and feelings around nature and environment, sincerity and artifice, escapism and belonging. It's an album about how no man can remain an island, however hard he might try. Released by Fire Records, with support from Johnny's own label Lost Map, and produced by long-term collaborator Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group), 'Island Family' opens with its title track, a song of death, ghosts and the ties that bind, fusing abrasive electronic beats with a tongue-in-cheek fireside folk refrain and the haunted ice cream van melody of a digitally reincarnated traditional Scottish jig. A purgative surrender to nature's whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, 'Natural Successor' is five-and-a-half-minutes of cathartic churning bass. 'In The Land of The Dead' is an eight-bit glitch-core reflection on island party excesses spasming into existential dread and regret, suitably accompanied by a funereal mariachi band. It's followed by the epic 'It Came Back', the understated verses and arms-aloft falsetto chorus of which are accompanied by a tense, foreboding bass-driven electro hip hop instrumental with (spoiler) a brain-shattering industrial-metal meltdown. 'Melody Something' is the album's purest moment, a cautiously uplifting solar-powered-ballad about losing track of time in the cycle of the seasons, and the gap between memory and reality. Shapeshifting closer 'Remote Control' is a channel hopping cabin-fever-dream flipping from warped boyband ballad to deep-fried fuzz pop. "One of my favourite artists" Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music
- A1: Circle Limit - Insence
- A2: Led-M - 713Aw
- A3: Missing Project - Poisson D'avril
- B1: Virgo - Clear Columns
- B2: Tensor - Solar Eclipse
- B3: Tek Of 606 - Moment Of The Decay
- C1: Misty Fuzz - In The End Of The Trip
- C2: Fossil - Green Tectonics (Virgo Mix)
- D1: Modern Living - Snow Bird
- D2: Tensor – Balloon
- D3: Toh Chisei - Cubby
WRWTFWW Records is very pleased to announce the first-ever vinyl release of Art Form 2, the seminal 1998 Various Artists compilation from Tokyo’s cult label FORM@ RECORDS, now available as a limited edition double LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve, as part of the ongoing collaborative series between the Swiss and Japanese labels.
Initially available only in CD form, Art Form 2 emerges as a quiet artifact from an exploratory phase in FORM@ RECORDS’ late-1990s trajectory. The compilation drifts through the deeper layers of Tokyo’s electronic underground, where IDM, techno, ambient, and downtempo dissolve into one another within an atmosphere of deliberate experimentation. Both intimate and forward-looking, it preserves a moment in which a local scene, largely unseen, was patiently reshaping the future beyond the reach of prevailing global narratives.
Flowing with carefully sculpted rhythms, immersive sound design, and a subtle sense of machine soul, Art Form 2 reflects the maturity of the FORM@ aesthetic in 1998. The compilation resonates with the spirit of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence era, Carl Craig’s melodic futurism, Ken Ishii’s cerebral techno, B12’s deep electronics, and Ian O’Brien’s emotive touch, while remaining unmistakably rooted in its own local context. Timeless and singular, it stands as a beautifully preserved time capsule of underground electronic music.
Following the vinyl excavations of Virgo’s Landform Code (1998) and Remnants (1999), Art Form 2 continues WRWTFWW Records’ collaboration with FORM@ RECORDS. It is released simultaneously with Art Form I (1997), further expanding this archival series, which will continue with the forthcoming vinyl edition of Re-Form Ver-1.0 (1999).
2026 Repress
Turbotito and Ragz's electrifying Naya Beat label has curated a cultured list of remixers to add their spin to the work of legendary Indian vocalist Asha Puthli. This essential remix album features Yuksek, Maurice Fulton, Psychemagik, Kraak & Smaak, Jitwam, and Turbotito & Ragz.
Naya Beat, which translates from Hindi as 'new beat', is focused on uncovering foundational electronic sounds from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. It found quick success with its first release, 'Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983 - 1992', followed by a rare 1985 Hindi New Wave album by Pinky Ann Rihal and more recently a ground-breaking compilation ‘Awaaz’ uncovering Bollywood electro and leftfield 80s original soundtrack recordings.
Hot off their highly sought after EP of Dimitri From Paris’ seminal remixes of Asha Puthli’s iconic track ‘Space Talk’, the label now offers up the first of two full-length releases based around her music. Cosmic disco pioneer, Studio 54 icon and jazz improviser Asha Puthli has recorded, sung or shared the stage with the likes of Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Barry White, Andy Warhol and many more. From David Mancuso's The Loft, to Giorgio Moroder's early work with Donna Summer, to hip-hop where she has been sampled extensively, Asha's musical influence and impact is profound. She was the first artist of South Asian descent to successfully crossover and make a mark on dance, jazz and pop culture in the West.
For this LP, Naya Beat tracked down the long mythologised original stems and recordings of Puthli's most seminal albums, including ‘The Devil is Loose’, and working closely with Asha, they have tasked a series of producers inspired by her work to remix her music.
Yuksek opens up with a pumping disco remix of 'I Am Song (Sing Me)' awash with uplifting synths and big claps next to the original vocals, which soar to the heavens. The seminal 'Space Talk' is remixed by Maurice Fulton into super steamy and late-night territory. The live drums and jumbled percussion are lit up with soulful chords as Puthli's carefully delivered vocals seduce up top. 'Lies' (Kraak & Smaak Remix) rides on fat-bottomed drums and bass that unfold with a dub swagger beneath a nebulous eco-system of cosmic synths and dramatic vocals. Label heads Turbotito & Ragz flip 'One Night Affair' into a leggy disco celebration with sweeping synths and bright effects, and Psychemagik's 'Right Down Here' is a pulsating mix of dark, snaking bass and drums with deep space ambience and raw hits making for a turbulent and tense atmosphere. Lastly, Jitwam closes out with a smooth disco sound laced with dynamic drums and cruising chords next to another sensuous top line from Asha Puthli.
- A1: Sunlight Zone
- A2: Clarion-Clipperton Zone
- A3: Oreison
- B1: Twilight Zone
- B2: Fracture
- B3: Abyss
- B4: Polymetallic Nodule
- B5: Hadal
- B6: Sunlight Zone (Strings Version) *
Laurel Halo returns with an album of original soundtrack music, composed for the film Midnight Zone by visual artist Julian Charrière. Following the path of a drifting Fresnel lighthouse lens as it descends through the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone — a remote abyssal plain in the Pacific Ocean, rich in rare metals and increasingly targeted for deep-sea mining — the film traces a descent into one of Earth’s last untouched ecosystems.
Charrière’s film reveals the deep not as void, but as a luminous biome teeming with fragile life: bioluminescent creatures, swirling schools of fish, and elusive predators. The suspended lens becomes an abyssal campfire, attracting species caught in the tides of uncertainty, their futures hanging in the balance.
Echoing this tension, Halo’s compositions evoke a sensory freefall, where gravity falters and light and sound flicker in uncertain rhythms. Midnight Zone is a sonic drift through the space between what we seek to extract, fail to understand, and must protect.
Halo’s score evokes the life that exists beyond our physical airbound capacity. The material features long, subtle passages of electro-acoustic ambient, drone and sound design, slowly flowing and unfolding with rich detail. The music, composed largely on a Montage 8 synthesizer and Yamaha TransAcoustic piano at the Yamaha studios in New York City, possesses an uncanny quality: that of synthetic waveforms being amplified and sung through the stringboard of the physical body of the TransAcoustic piano. Combined with stacks of violin and viol da gamba, the music on Midnight Zone possesses trace elements of a human hand in an otherwise sunken landscape. Patient, submerged, and alive. The album will be the third on Halo’s imprint, Awe.
The film is central to Charrière’s current solo exhibition Midnight Zone. The exhibition engages with underwater ecologies, exploring the complexity of water as an elemental medium affected by anthropogenic degradation. Reflecting upon its flow and materiality, profundity and politics, its mundane and sacral dimensions, the solo show acts as a kaleidoscope, inviting us to dive deep.
Mononoke is a Berlin band founded by Fabian Rösch and Benjamin Geyer. Their musical passion is improvisation with a sound that moves between experimental electronic music, jazz, beat music and ambient.
This LP combines their two recent EPs which have been released on the Munich based label tunnel.visions,
each on one side.
APARt
APARt was created in the field of tension between spontaneous improvisation and careful studio work, marked
by the lockdowns during covid and social isolation. It was precisely this physical separation that gave rise to a
new experimental approach.
Each track is a puzzle, whose individual pieces were put together, moved around, and placed in new contexts.
Instead of jamming and rehearsing together, musical ideas were exchanged online so that they could be freely
interpreted, altered and redesigned.
modular
Newly found vivid playfulness, fresh approaches and a tilt towards the unexpected marks these songs. Capturing moments in our lives full of challenges, developments and salvation.
The same new and unusual process of working separately, shaped the subsequent second EP modular which
followed the same working structure but with a new component: the modular synthesizer, which decisively reshapes the sound: a collection of analog textures, broken structures and a touch of raw intimacy.
Each song is an episode, each sound a reminder of how music connects us.?
Even when circumstances, such as a pandemic, can threaten to pull us apart.
- 01: Into Quiet
- 02: Crève
- 03: Revenge
- 04: New World
- 05: Night Terror
REVNOIR is one of the most exciting new forces to emerge in the rock and metal world. Officially unveiled in September 2023, the project has been quietly evolving behind the scenes for nearly two years, led by the talented trio Maxime Rodriguez-Medallo, Julien Ho-Tong, and Kaz Nakazawa. Blending elements of modern rock, crushing metal, and dark electro, REVNOIR crafts a powerful, melodic sound that resonates with both emotional depth and cinematic intensity. Since their formation, the band has made impressive waves—already surpassing 1 million Spotify streams across their four latest singles and building a loyal listenership with over 70,000 unique monthly listeners on the platform.
Their explosive live energy was on full display when they joined Future Palace on a European tour and later proved their rising star status with a sold-out headline show at La Maroquinerie in Paris (550 capacity) in April 2025. Now signed to Arising Empire, REVNOIR are gearing up for their next big chapter: supporting Coldrain on their massive UK/EU headline tour this winter. Spanning 17 dates across 10 countries, including major stops in the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, and more, the tour marks Coldrain’s first European run in over four years and is set to draw thousands of fans each night. As main support on every date, REVNOIR will be performing in some of the biggest venues of their career so far—introducing their sound to a whole new wave of international listeners and firmly cementing their place among the most promising heavy acts of this new generation.
Psychotronics is arguably one of the finest creations from a quite unique Dutch formation called Normally Invisible. In the primordial, early nineties phase of what we now call electronic music, a fellowship of students at the prestigious The Hague Institute for Sonology was formed. Not to become superstars, as there was no real commercial scene to speak of, but driven by sheer artistic curiosity and intrinsic passion for this new way of musical expression.
Nico, Olaf, and Thiemo demonstrate their interest in a broad range of tempos, feelings, and styles across their discography, with Psychotronics as one of the more dance floor oriented releases. Anacalypto Records brings you this former promo EP in a transformed and remastered official re-release. To complete the label's 5th release, the B-side of Psychotronics is topped off with the formerly unreleased "Cookie" from the same year, 1995.
B. Chamber (Stratum A), by B. Close, is the first full length solo release by Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist Brian Close. The first of two volumes assembled from some thirteen hours of music produced by Close while residing in Connecticut from 2021-2025, B. Chamber (Stratum A) offers a vivid, fractal afterimage of a prolific, specific time and space in the artist’s oeuvre.
After leaving New York City early in the pandemic to a farmhouse in the countryside with dedicated spaces for multiple sound stations, Close developed an intensive daily practice of melding with the machines. The vast, pastoral backdrop of rural CT provided inspiration and contrast for his ongoing investigations into dynamic, poly-rhythmic electronic music. The sounds on B. Chamber (Stratum A) range from the machine-modeling of acoustic instruments and natural environments to the utterly unhuman, spinning on the axis between crystalline, pointillist precision and shifty blown-cone distortion. Close’s atypical interpretations of rhythm, noise and other undefined musics land in a hybrid zone of their own.
Throughout B. Chamber (Stratum A), Close’s productions are in perpetual motion. Foxtrot’s shifting hi-hats and disembodied voices rise like cicadas propelled by glitching machines and tangled rhythms, Many Drive draws momentum from dubby stabs and twinkling atmospherics. Character Community’s nimble, drifting snares and erratic static are uplifted by swelling synths, and Mpan’s modular mining forgoes drums but is no less propulsive for it. Acre Voices’ seasick pads and deft drum patterns tap an energizing nerve, and closer 5D Bow’s ambush of pummeling machine gun fire spirals into the tryptamine palace and emerges completely rinsed and refreshed.
Equally powerful in the club as in the outdoors, in the headphones eyes closed or on the move, B. Chamber (Stratum A) grants an immersive temporary trip on B. Close’s unique wavelength, with Stratum B to complete the picture in the summer of 2026.
RIYL - Mark Fell, muay thai, Vladislav Delay, gaming, Errorsmith, modular synthesizer.
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Brian Close (b. 1979, NYC) uses the cold logic of mathematics to trigger states of total sensory displacement. Close co-founded multiple AV studios to explore the "hypnotic"—a ritualistic practice of motional-graphism and improvisational sound. His work is a study in synesthesia and the architecture of trance, using geometric precision to dissolve the sense of time. It is a digital-visceral experience built on heavy logic, designed for large-scale immersion and timelessness.
Close is one half of Georgia who have released records on Palto Flats, Firecracker Recordings, Meakusma, Youth, OOH-Sounds and EM Records, and have a long-running residency on NTS.
B. Chamber was written, produced and mixed by Brian Close.
Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Artwork by Brian Close.
Narthex means railed-off western portico or ante-nave in earty Christian churches for women, penitents and catechumens.
Narthex is also a trio featuring (at the beginning) Daniel Denis (Universe Zero, Art Zoyd), Alain Neffe (Pseudocode, Human Flesh, Bene Gesserit) and Nicolas de Villemarqué (Nuwage Music). They had a very different musical background, mostly electric-electronic rock, and decided to work in the field of acoustic music recorded live (two microphones + portable DAT) in churches of their area. After several recording sessions, Nicolas de Villemarqué decides to leave the group. ln order to complete the trio, Daniel Denis and Alain Neffe ask the participation of some of their friends. Anna Homler, Michel Berckmans and Daniel Malempré have accepted the challenge and succeed to fit into their musical universe.
The instruments Church organ, harmonium, sitar, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, zither, valiha, senzas, tarang, voice, percussions, metal clarinet, classical guitar, mew's harp, ongolok, violin, dulcimer, mouth organ, etc.
The music Often dark, sometimes repetitive or experimental, sometimes rhythmical and exotic, always based on emotion inducted by the sound. One could define it as dark age music (as opposite to new age music), a sort of minimal come back to the roots and purity of acoustic sound without the cultural background linked to the 'academic' use of some instruments (for example African senzas are transformed and tuned to sound like Indonesian instruments, sitar or harmonium are used as rhythmical instruments, vahilla is played with a bow).
The places Churches located in an area of 20 kms in the region where Daniel Denis and Alain Neffe live for years and where they feel at home (and feel the vibrations. Every church, place emotionally loaded, has its own specific resonance and sound structure. Every church gave to the musicians a particular inspiration and fill the sound of the instruments with a natural reverberation/echo. The place but also the moment is important. They had the privilege to be allowed to record in the Ecaussines church at night lightened only by candles. lt was one of their most productive recording sessions.
Vortex 1 marks the next chapter in the DUB Recordings / Repetitive Rhythm Research series on Clone Records. Aleksi Perala dives deep into his unique sonic universe - unleashing a powerful collection of advanced rhythms. Precision-crafted patterns spiral into a mesmerizing vortex of sound, pulling you into new dimensions of rhythmic exploration. A signature experience from one of electronic musicâ??s most singular and prolific producers, known for the unique Colundi tuning system and a sound that has continually pushed musical boundaries since his early releases on Rephlex. Powerful tools for adventurous DJs and devoted braindancers alike. Clone Exclusive *Limited edition on Silver/Black and Gold/Black Marbled vinyl*
Belgian artist, label boss and DJ, End-jy, glances back at one of his most revered releases to date, the 2003 ‘Red Alert’ EP, originally released on Lupp Records it marked a defining moment, earning widespread support from scene-shaping artists including Carl Cox, Tiësto, Marco Bailey, Dave Clarke and Mark Broom. Long regarded as a personal milestone, the track now returns in renewed form on the artist’s own label as MV08. This forthcoming EP revisits the original with fresh perspective, featuring a powerful remix from Pig&Dan alongside a newly reworked version by Dimitri Andreas and the artist himself, bridging the track’s enduring legacy with a contemporary evolution.
Pig&Dan take the reins first, extracting fragments of the original version of ‘Red Alert’ and reshaping them into a dub tinged, deep techno cut fuelled by circling synth stabs, robust percussion, tension building atmospherics and a driving bottom end. Following on is ‘Red Alert’ (Dimitri Andreas & End-jy 2026 Remix), the pair lay down a deeper, more hypnotic and minimalist interpretation courtesy of crisp, stripped-down drums and oscillating resonant synth flutters underpinned by the original’s dark, dubby aesthetic.
The original version of ‘Red Alert’ opens the flip side, capturing the essence of the underground at the turn of the millennium, the track fuses, gritty stabs with organic percussive elements, hypnotic siren like synths and a subtly evolving feel throughout.
‘Flexibeat’ then concludes the release, a composition that veers into the realms of early Detroit techno and electro via an amalgamation of twitchy synth pops, cinematic strings, saturated 808 drums and murky bass tones.
Already Supported by Jamie Jones, Calao, Amé, Marco Faraone, Timo Maas, Nick Varon, Steve Parry, Just Her, Dax J, Perc, Massimiliano Pagliara, Alex Neri.
Placid aka Paul Wise is the operator in chief at ‘We’re Going Deep’ – an online community and record label born out of a lifelong love affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm, and an obsession for collecting records since 1988. With a mission to share and release new music via his We’re Going Deep and We’re Going Back imprints, you’ll find only the best in underground Acid, Electro, IDM, Techno and House for the dance floor and your listening pleasure.
Up next in the label series, We’re Going Deep is excited to welcome 4 tracks of fresh material from pivotal electronic music maker Gerard Hanson, under his much prized E.R.P. alias. Renown for keeping his profile below the radar and letting the machines do all the talking for him. Hanson’s work as a producer has been much coveted since his debut back in the mid 90s as Convextion. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, he has become something of a hero in the underground Electro community. His work as E.R.P. has left a huge impression on labels such as Frustrated Funk, Bleep43 and Semantica over the years. Renown for his distinctive shimmering machine funk aesthetic, he ably summons the outer reaches of deep space listening thanks to his innate mastery of brooding, sci-fi soundscapes that few can equal.
Following releases for Apnea and Synchrophone, Hanson lifts off with a heartfelt tribute to our recently departed friend James Baker on ‘One4ReKab’. Ascending with the pulse of a steady kick drum, precision snares take hold as whispered vocals seep in and out of consciousness. Underpinned by trademark angular bass tones, soaring strings inject a deep sense of foreboding as all the parts fuse with a fierce glow. Stepping things a notch back as the sonic trajectory levels out, ‘Onward’ takes a more contemplative stance in a fusion of hypnotic drum programming that leads the fray whilst subtle arpeggios flow, all whilst wistful melodies wind you in.
Over on the flipside, Hanson revisits his 2008 composition “Multipole Vector” to launch yet another interstellar cruise by mission in the shape of “Multipole Vector II”. Leading with the simplest of bass progressions and metronomic beat programming, twinkling synth elements reach across the void as chords sweep to and fro to powerful effect. Ending out on the uplifting yet almost IDM inflected tones of “Self Unemployed”, this low tempo air rounds the EP off on an equally captivating note filled with playful charm, that makes this collection of music all the more pleasing.
Repress.
Just one week after the outbreak of the First Intifada in 1987, Riad Awwad brought his sisters Hanan, Alia and Nariman together in their living room and began recording The Intifada album on equipment he had made himself. One of these was co-written with their friend, the acclaimed Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish. Riad printed 3000 copies of the cassettes which he began distributing in the Old City of Jerusalem and across the West Bank. The Israeli Army immediately confiscated all the copies they could find, the vast majority of which remain in the military archives to this day. Riad was arrested, interrogated and detained for several months. Straight after his release, he formed a band, Palestinian Union, and put out a new album. He then founded a school, offering kids in the West Bank an alternative musical education, teaching them how to create their own electronic equipment. In 2005, Riad was tragically killed in a car accident. His legacy lives on through his family, his timeless music and his powerful story, which continues to inspire to this day.
Over several years, Mo’min Swaitat has amassed an archive of rare tapes and vinyl from Palestine and beyond. Many of these were acquired from a former record label in his hometown of Jenin, in the north of the West Bank. The Majazz Project is a research project and record label borne out of the archive, focused around sampling, remixing and reissuing vintage Palestinian and Arabic cassettes and LPs, shedding new light on the richness and diversity of Arabic musical heritage.
Siren Selector presents the first voyage of Remy Solar, as the producer takes a break from composing sound system exclusive dubs to expand his horizons with this by-turns lush, textured, menacing and plaintive album.
‘Heavy Terrain’ emerges from the depths of a lifetime inside the dub fraternity: reared on a potent diet of Lee Scratch Perry and Augustus Pablo, The Disciples and Digital Mystikz, it’s an album which stuck its head in a bass bin in an abandoned bingo hall in north London before striking out on a musical road-trip to imbibe sounds and rhythms from further afield.
The album opens with the militant drums and ethereal pads of 'Sound in the East' before being bookended by two mixes of 'Star Trail', where unformed musical space and time cross uncharted distances to coalesce into the beginning of direction and rhythm. The lush deep house chords and drilling synths of 'Lila #3' summon ghostly presences, while in its counterpart 'Lila #7' layers of melody rise and hang like mist before dissipating in percussive heat. 'Dakhla's’ swelling and retreating drones fade into swirls of drums. In the eponymous 'Heavy Terrain', off-beat keyboard chops respond to each other from uncertain depths while electronic horns pulse across miles of open space. 'Empty City 'sees walls of sound coalesce and fragment, falling into bursts of white noise.
Remy Solar explores a deliberately constrained hardware set-up to create the primordial conditions of trance, locking down a rhythmic foundation while semi-improvised excursions form and reform above it. It’s an album that takes the listener on a journey between order and chaos, past and future, all the while underlaid by a counterpoint of cavernous bass lines and echoing percussion, yang and yin, shade and light.
- 1: Lemonade Tycoon
- 2: Anti-Bird-Spike-Bird-Nest
- 3: Interlude (Stride)
- 4: Allcapsallbold
- 5: Pet Boss
Taupe’s latest album release, waxing | waning delivers jazz experimentalism, ‘skronk’, avant-rock, and electronics, by the Glasgow-based trio, due out via Minority Records. Across its seven tracks, waxing | waning captures Taupe’s approach – bold and boundary pushing – shaped by a fresh shift in the band’s dynamic and compositional approach.
Taupe’s waxing | waning, co-composed and realised by its players in a studio that was once an undertaker’s premises in Glasgow, is an absolutely affirmative album, an act of cultural defiance in desperate times.
Comprising Mike Parr-Burman (guitar, bass guitar, electronics), Jamie Stockbridge (alto and baritone saxophones) and Alex Palmer (drum kit, percussion), Taupe work up a storm of skronk, free jazz and harmolodic frenzy whose closest relations include Zu, Melt Banana and John Zorn. However, waxing | waning is from its opening, stuttering blasts, an exercise in seeking out and claiming new territory, finding unique and novel permutations in which jazz, rock, electronics interbreed at breakneck pace. Here is a group determined to say and do things they don’t get to say and do elsewhere in their musical lives.
‘Lemonade Tycoon’ hits the ground skronking. It’s cubistic jazz, cumulative in its impact, avoiding the white lines of the conventional freeway, bridling, bustling, coming at you from all angles – a three way conversation of astonishing rapidity, fast track, telepathic communication – everyone from James Chance to Albert Ayler coming at you at once, before morphing in to a spidery scrawl of electronics and furious percussion. ‘Anti-Bird-Spike BirdNest’s‘ title somehow sums up the sort of mental images evoked by the music – its sheer creative disobedience, as if being chased in vain, like a delivery rider evading capture by ICE agents -– shapeshifting, assuming different shades, sprouting metal quills and, in its midsection, seeming almost to swallow itself alive, before regurgitating itself in a sublime mess.
‘Interlude (Stride)’ is not exactly ambient, more a horizontal enmeshment of percussion, drones, reverberant noise, electronics, a sonic mulch. ‘allcapsallbold' reminds of early Aksak Maboul, in its playfulness, a haywire series of short phrases, subject to mechanical interference, a complex weave of irregular rhythms, increasingly eloquent sax phraseology and caustic guitars, which land heavier and heavier. ‘Pet Boss' is the new jazz equivalent of a highly evolved, mature conversation among brilliant equals, sharp, empathetic, complementary, rising to a collective, joyful noise. On the title track, electronics descend like a shower of bright particles, intensifying in their luminosity, whitening the skies, as sax and drums kick up a tempestuous, spontaneously sculpted noise that summons the ghosts of the great free jazz players, before a dark calm descends slowly. Finally, ‘Turn Push Kick’, a burgeoning chatterstorm of electronics, before the group kicks in, at angles to one another, led by abrasive guitars, reminiscent of Sunn O))) in their ritualistic concussion, riffing, digging deep amid squealing sax and piledriving percussion.
- Phonè
- Turenas
- Stria
- Sabelithe
Dr. John Chowning (b. 1934) is a pioneering computer musician, composer and professor who, in 1967, discovered the FM synthesis algorithm. This breakthrough in electronic music allowed for simple, yet rich timbres described as sounding "real." With this discovery, Chowning composed singular, dramatic electronic music and changed the timbre of music forever.
Chowning utilized the potential of computers to synthesize sounds according to programmed instructions. The composer's use of his own FM algorithms, digital synthesis with computers and the new compositional concepts offered by a programmable musical structure combine to create some of the most original and unique electronic music ever created.
The compositions on this LP were realized between 1966 and 1981 and the music on this LP, with the exception of Stria, was originally released on CD in Germany (Wergo, 1988). The version of Stria included here contains a section not included on the Wergo CD. Thus, this version of Stria is complete. This is the first time these purely digital recordings have been released on an analog medium. The original dynamics of these groundbreaking compositions have been preserved on this LP. As a result, listeners are advised to increase volume with caution.
In 1975, John Chowning founded the CCRMA - Center For Computer Research In Music and Acoustics at Stanford University. Through Stanford, Chowning licensed his groundbreaking algorithms to Yamaha resulting in numerous new instruments including the iconic DX series of keyboards. In 1972, his composition Tureens which is included on this LP, was the first to create the illusion of continuous 360-degree space using four speakers.
Technical Notes:
All pieces on this LP are originally quadrophonic. The illusion of moving sound sources is thus projected from the surrounding environment given by four loud-speakers on the stereo-basis.
STRIA was composed using Chowning’s own program to compile the musical structure into note-lists and MUSIC 10 (by D. Poole/Tovar) to generate the sounds in software-synthesis. The original quadrophonic version utilized 12 bits, two different sampling rates being used to accommodate the enormous amount of data on the magnetic disc-packs available at that time. The original sound-data was processed by sampling-rate conversion and digital mixes to achieve the stereo version presented on this LP.
SABELITH and TURENAS were synthesized originally using Smiths’ SCORE and MUSIC 10. However, their format was changed from direct sound-samples to a command stream for a special purpose computer, the System Concepts Digital Synthesizer, designed by Peter Samson, one of the first large-scale digital synthesizers for real-time sound processing - one was designed for CCRMA in the late seventies. For this recording the sounds were recorded directly from the synthesizer computing the samples in real-time.
PHONÈ was realized with the System Concepts Digital Synthesizer using again Chowning’s own program to create the note list.
The master tape of this LP was made directly from the computer system at CCRMA which generated and stored the sound data in digital format. No analog recording was involved at any stage of the production and editing process.
- 01: Le Bleu Du Ciel Central
- 02: Ils Chevauchaient Le Vent
- 03: La Mémoire De La Mer
- 04: Fin De Partie
- 05: Le Dialogue Des Machines
- 06: Autoroute B
- 07: Le Lendemain De L&Apos;Explosion
- 08: Perdus Dans Des Rêves Inutiles
- 09: En Attendant L&Apos;Envahisseur
- 10: Les Contrées Solitaires
- 11: L&Apos;Ancienne Voie Romaine
- 12: L&Apos;Ultime Archipel
Michel Houellebecq is, of course, well-known for his novels, translated into more than 40 languages, and his Goncourt Prize (The Map and the Territory, 2010), but perhaps less so for his debut album, released exactly a quarter of a century ago on Tricatel label. One can sense the influence of Serge Gainsbourg's L'Homme à la Tête de Chou, a disillusioned Procol Harum and a world-weary Burt Bacharach hovering over Houellebecq's poems in Présence Humaine, a now cult classic album orchestrated by Bertrand Burgalat and the musicians of Eiffel. Twelve thousand copies sold and a few concerts later, the writer decided (or so we thought) to bid farewell to the stage, only to generate more media attention though his literary success. Frédéric Lo is, of course, known as an exceptional lyricist, composer, arranger, and producer, author of a sublime fourth solo album (L'Outrebleu, released last March) and a master of collaborative work, notably with Bill Pritchard, Peter Doherty and Daniel Darc. Initially, Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Lo met for the tribute album that the latter was planning for the tenth anniversary of Daniel Darc's death, but their recording of "Psalm XXIII" was, to their great disappointment, rejected by the label and therefore did not appear on the final version of Cœur Sacré (2023). Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining, and the two men decided to take their collaboration a step further. Lo decided to set the writer's words to music, in his studio in Pantin. Raw, stripped-down music draped in electronica, adorned with piano and antediluvian drum machines, often minimalist, sometimes repetitive, provides the perfect backdrop for twelve tracks that question and reflect on humanity's past and future (if indeed there is one). Reflections on the human condition, 21st-century style, a work of speculative fiction conceived by two eternally modern "young lads," Souvenez-Vous de l'Homme (Remember Man) is an album that might occasionally evoke The Stranglers' La Folie, and, given the title, that's probably no coincidence. But above all, it's a hypnotic and melancholic album, uncompromising and captivating. Most importantly, it's an album like no other.
Here we have two luminaries of contemporary music, vocalist Audrey Chen and iconoclast guitar player Tashi Dorji, who both have proven themselves as key representatives of idiosyncratic music for the past 20 plus years.
Audrey, born into a family of material scientists, doctors and engineers, channeled those family genes through un-processed hyperextended voice, consequently transmutating her family's DNA into her very own sonic language of equal precision, discipline and creative power as her kins' professions.
Tashi, on the other hand, carries the mountains in his spirit: born in Bhutan, Southeast Asia, now residing in Ashville, North Carolina, close to the Appalachians. That earthly power is unmistakably present in his energetic guitar playing, which also incorporates folkloric elements of both his native country, and his homeland since 2000.
Those two strong musical personalities met on stage in the late summer of 2023 at Morphine Raum, Berlin. The fact that it took place in one of the birthplaces of techno music, seems to have pushed their performance towards an industrial, repetitive aesthetic of, at times, almost dancelike quality. However, as the track titles suggest, that classic forward pulsating rhythm, associated with electronic dance music, is bent at their heart's content, as are its appertaining clean melodies gnashed to smithereens.
- 01: Just Because You Don&Apos;T Believe That I Want To Dance, Don&Apos;T Mean That I Don&Apos;T Want To
- 02: Psalm 68 (22-35)
- 03: Cyber Feminism Index
- 04: Faithful And True
- 05: Crimes Of The Future
- 06: Rider On The White Horse
- 07: The Royal Arch
- 08: Best Served Cold
- 09: Op1 Dead
- 10: Ai Futurr
XDCVR_ unveils 'I HATE THAT SHIT, I HATE ALL THAT SHIT' a blistering sonic manifesto on the 'performativity of decay'.
In a world saturated with digital perfection, the album emerges as a vital, hand-made act of electronic rebellion.
Framed as a "soundtrack for the end stretch" the record explores the notion that societal decay is not a passive process, but an active performance—a machine chugging along long after its wheels have fallen off.
This is cyborg music for a bifurcated reality: carbon-fiber toughness shielding a core of systemic rot. The sound palette is intentionally raw and imperfect, a direct challenge to the sterile, automated order of what the artist calls the "techno-fascist oligarchy."
Tracks eschew conventional temporality, mirroring the feeling of existing in two concurrent timelines—one hyper-aware of the collapse, the other numbly consuming it.
Drawing a line from the Cold War anxieties of the past to the data-farming dystopia of the present, 'I HATE THAT SHIT…' posits art as the last authentic incubator for societal change. It is, in the artist's words, "a deliberate 'fuck you' to the oppressive order of the status quo. This is not easy listening; it is a contested space, a lit fuse, and a necessary noise for our complicated times."
- A1: Paul Kalkbrenner - No Goodbye
- A2: Water World - Give Me Love
- B1: Panoramic - Colors
- B2: Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful Of Sunshine (Stonebridge Club Remix)
- C1: Y-Traxx - Mystery Land (Fred Baker Vs Mr Sam's Magical Mystery Dub Mix)
- C2: Weiss - Feel My Needs
- D1: The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)
- D2: Sia - Drink To Get Drunk (Different Gear Remix)
Since 2020, 12 Inch Lovers have been releasing new samplers every year, eagerly anticipated by collectors. These samplers have now become a staple and are easily added to vinyl collections across Europe. They offer timeless classics and rare tracks that are often hard to find elsewhere.
With Samplers 11 & 12, they surprise again with a mix of modern classics and tracks that have never been released on vinyl or are difficult to find. By adding unique and exclusive tracks, the 12 Inch Lovers samplers remain innovative and high-quality. They are a must-have for DJs, collectors, and fans of contemporary classics!
SAMPLER 11
A1) Paul Kalkbrenner - No Goodbye (2019)
Berlin techno producer Paul Kalkbrenner became world-famous with his 2008 hit Sky & Sand. Since then, he has released one record after another and performed all over the world in the biggest venues and at the most renowned festivals. No Goodbye is one of his more recent hits, released in the summer of 2019.
The track was created using an a cappella he received on a demo tape while on tour. He was immediately inspired by the vocal and built his own sound and production around it. Interestingly, Kalkbrenner rarely uses vocals, but for No Goodbye he collaborated with Australian singer Chiara Hunter, giving the track a unique and instantly recognisable character. The result is a stylish, dance-floor-friendly track with a rolling house groove that quickly became a modern classic on dance floors worldwide.
A2) Water World - Give Me Love (2000)
This trance classic by Water World appeared in 2000 on the French label Adequat Records and is the perfect tune for a sunny summer evening. Warm melodies and pulsing beats instantly create that beach feeling, as if you were dancing with your feet in the sand. The record recalls Beachball by Nalin & Kane, sharing the same dreamy, sun-drenched vibe.
Behind Water World were producers Laurent David and Frédéric De Backer-names well known to many trance fans. In the nineties De Backer was active with projects such as Global Trance Mission (Dream Mission) and Y-Traxx, the trio that released the 1997 classic Mystery Land.
Give Me Love clearly bears their combined signature: euphoric, warm and melodic, with a timeless build that perfectly balances emotion and energy. The track was released on vinyl as part of Trance E.P. Vol. 01 and remains a fixture in retro-trance sets to this day.
B1) Panoramic - Colors (1996)
Colors by Panoramic is a Belgian trance classic released in 1996 on the legendary label XTC Records, a sub-label of Bonzai Records. Panoramic was a collaboration between Belgian techno icon Marco Bailey and Mauro Mirisola. The duo, also known under playful aliases such as The Coke Man & Sniff, released an EP featuring two powerful trance tracks.
We chose Colors, a tune with pure Belgian trance DNA: driving rhythm, dreamy synths and a catchy female vocal. The combination of Bailey's production expertise and Mirisola's creative touch resulted in a timeless track that still appears in many classic playlists.
B2) Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful Of Sunshine (StoneBridge Club Remix) (2008)
British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield released the album Pocketful of Sunshine in 2008, featuring the title track as a single. The original pop version became a major hit in North America, reaching the Top 5 in the US. Swedish DJ and producer StoneBridge (Sten Hallström) reworked the song into a groovy house version, released in the summer of 2008.
StoneBridge gave the upbeat pop tune a club-ready beat and an infectious piano riff that made it shine on dance floors worldwide. It was not his first time transforming pop into house gold-he had already achieved global fame with his remix of Robin S - Show Me Love (1992), one of the greatest house anthems of all time. He also remixed Sia - The Girl You Lost to Cocaine in 2008, another club favourite.
The StoneBridge Club Remix of Pocketful of Sunshine appeared on a special remix EP in July 2008 and was played endlessly in clubs-by us too, in the venues where we performed. The result is a timeless, sun-soaked house classic thatmakes sitting still impossible.
C1) Y-Traxx - Mystery Land (Fred Baker vs Mr Sam's Magical Mystery Dub Mix) (original release 1995)
Y-Traxx was a nineties trance project by DJs Laurent David and Fred Baker. This trance classic first appeared in 1995 as a B-side but gained real attention when it featured on a Paul Oakenfold mix album. Thanks to that success it received an official re-release in 1998 on the respected French label FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recordings).
In 2003 an excellent remix by Mr. Sam & Fred Baker followed on the Nebula label. That version is highly sought after on vinyl by trance collectors, and we are proud to feature it on our new sampler.
C2) Weiss - Feel My Needs (2018)
Feel My Needs by British producer Weiss (alias Richard Dinsdale) is the tune with that unmistakable old-school piano and catchy vocal that instantly pulls you onto the dance floor. Released in May 2018on the UK label Toolroom Records, the track is pure feel-good house with a modern touch. From the very first piano riff, hands go up in the air.
Toolroom even called it a "future anthem" for the summer of 2018, and indeed Feel My Needs became a huge floor-filler. The record charted high on global dance lists and gained massive popularity at festivals and clubs that year. With its warm piano chords, tight beat and soulful vocal, this is a modern house classic that will stay in the collective club memory for a long time.
D1) The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) (2005)
American band The Killers formed in 2001 and scored a massive hit a few years later with Mr Brightside. Taken from their debut album Hot Fuss (2004), it became their biggest and best-known track-a true rock-pop anthem.
In 2005 the song was given an electronic twist when renowned producer and remixer Jacques Lu Cont (the alias of Stuart Price) created an eight-minute dance version titled Mr Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix). This remix replaced the raw rock energy with a more progressive and electronic vibe, driven by a steady beat and long build-up.
The track found a second life in club culture and quickly became a dance-floor favourite. For vinyl collectors it was an instant must-have, and to this day it stands as the perfect party closer. The Killers themselves loved it so much that they often used the remix live as an outro, followed by the original version. A remix that perfectly bridged rock and club culture-and has since become a genuine classic.
D2) Sia - Drink To Get Drunk (Different Gear Remix) (2001)
The legendary ice-cube sleeve says it all: Drink to Get Drunk was a huge club hit in the early 2000s. Released in 2001 on the UK label INCredible, a sub-label of Sony Music, it was a collaboration between British DJ duo DifferentGear (Gino Scaletti & Quinn Whalley) and singer Sia.
The producers took Sia's original song Drink to Get Drunk from her album Healing Is Difficult and gave it a complete transformation, keeping her distinctive vocal and placing it over a hypnotic progressive-house groove.
The combination of Sia's unmistakable voice and the deep, driving production hit hard: the track became hugely popular in Belgian clubs and turned into an anthem of its time. In Belgium it even reached number one in the dance chart in early 2001, and it also performed strongly in the UK and the Netherlands.
To this day it remains a nostalgic crowd-pleaser that perfectly captures the atmosphere of the early 2000s.
Having transitioned between London, Lisbon and back again as a DJ and producer, as well as across the world as the drummer in beloved pop group, Metronomy, Anna Prior remains an essential and independent force in alternative and electronic music culture. The current epicentre of this creativity is undoubtedly Prior’s own label, Beat Palace. Established in 2021, it has showcased the talent and diversity of FLINTA producers carving an esoteric space within alt-pop and electronic music.
Returning to the imprint for the first time since its inception, Anna Prior utilises this vital platform to refine her own craft across the five-track ‘Firefly’ EP, exploring new moods and styles, balancing playfulness with vulnerability, shadow and light. Prior describes ‘Firefly’ as, “a collection of moments - some fleeting and some stubbornly lingering.... Each track came together almost by accident, but now feels to me like they've always belonged together.”
Lead single ‘True For You’ pulsates with soft euphoria, as Prior weaves softly cascading synths with her own earnest declarations, composing a sensual, sophisticated drama about “letting other people's differing truths sit alongside your own” that nonetheless carries a distinct club energy. In contrast, title track ‘Firefly’, written alongside co-producer Matt Karmil, unfolds as a spoken-word piece, investigating memory, “the tricky mirror that reveals more than it conceals”. Throughout, Prior’s inquisitive, native Yorkshire accent anchors a wide-eyed soundscape that gradually, impressively escalates into the cinematic.
Centerpiece track ‘Silence’ turns this approach inside out, escalating the tempo and revealing a DnB-influenced shade of Prior’s work that is certain to surprise and impress, scattering elegant syllables amongst serious soundsystem pressure as Prior navigates the feeling of being ghosted; by friends, lovers and even her own work. ‘No More Drama’ returns to pop, presenting a bold cover of Mary J. Blige’s classic that inverts the original’s unmatched intensity for a more serene, but no less affecting rendition.
Finally, ‘Beside You’ delivers one last, sublime blend of Prior’s songwriting and sequencing instincts, a simple pop incantation that coaxes dancers into a soft trance while concluding with a reminder from Prior that “amid life’s unanswered calls and fleeting highs, there is always space to feel safe and unjudged.” Concluding this sublime EP, Prior finds new ground to settle into her talents.
- とんでもマウンテン / Mount Amazing
- アドバタイズデモ / Advertise Demo
- キャラクターせんたく / Character Selection
- マジンディスコ / Genie Dancer's Disco
- マジンロック / Genie Dancer's Rock
- カンフーストリート / Kung-Fu Alley
- ドラゴンカンフー / Dragon Kung-Fu Fighter
- ウキウキおもちゃランド / Toytown
- わくわくテレビスタジオ2 / Funtime Tv Studio 2
- トレーニングスペース / Training Room
- とこなつアイランド / Eversummer Island
- ウエスタンビレッジ / Wild West Town
- ファンタジーナイト / Fantsy Knight
- たいけつ!ウッキーピンク(バナナにハートブレイク) / Battle! Monkey Pink
- ナイトキャッスル / Knight's Castle
- うちゅうテレビようさい / Space-Tv Fortress
- たいけつ!ウッキーイエロー / Battle! Monkey Yellow
- とのさまじょう / The Emperor's Castle
- サルなげスタジアム / Super Monkey Throw Stadium
- Happy☆センセーション / Happy Sensation
- マジンダンサー / Genie Dancer
- うみべリゾート / Seaside Resort
- わくわくテレビスタジオ / Funtime Tv Studio
- サルうらない / Hall Of Horoscope
- ピポサルのテーマ / Super Monkey
- ゲッチュマン / Cyber Ace
- とのさまじょう2 / The Emperor's Castle 2
- とんでもマウンテン2 / Mount Amazing 2
- カッチンコールたいりく2 / Freeze Continent 2
- ミニマルテーマ / Minimal Theme
- かくれんぼのもり / Hide-N-Seek Forest
- カッチンコールたいりく / Freeze Continent
- ワイルドウエストキッド / Wild West Kid
- へんしんとうじょう / New Morph
- ガチャメカとうじょう / New Gadget
- しんきろうタウン / Mirage Town
- ウエスタンビレッジ2 / Wild West Town 2
- ひこうきだいへんたい / Airplain Squadron
- どっきりホラータウン2 / Bootown 2
- けっせん!スペクター(スペクターのテーマ) / Final Battle! Specter(Specter's Theme)
- びゅんびゅんビッグシティ / The Big City
- クリアリザルト2 Sg3 / Result 2 Ae3
- クリアリザルト Sg3 / Result Ae3
- サルをつかまえろ!/ Catch Monkeys!
- どっきりホラータウン / Bootown
- テレビステーション / Tv Station
- トモウキシティ / Tomouki City
- サルティメットファイティング / Ultim-Ape Fighting
- ドンドコゆきまつり2 / Winterville 2
- はじめてのゲッチュ / The First Catch
- とこなつアイランド2 / Eversummer Island 2
- たいけつ!ウッキーレッド2 / Battle! Monkey Red 2
- たいけつ!ドクタートモウキ / Battle! Dr.tomouki
- トモウキシティ2 / Tomouki City 2
- しょうてんがい / Mall
- ミラクルニンジャ / Miracle Ninja
- びっくりおんせんランド / The Hot Springs
- けっとう!ウッキーブルー / Fight! Monkey Blue
- マジンワルツ / Genie Dancer's Waltz
- ナイトキャッスル2 / Knight's Castle 2
- マジンチーク / Genie Dancer's Cheek
- トモウキタワーはっしん! / Go Tomouki Tower!
- サトルねつべん / Satoru's Speech
- トモウキのカツラ / Tomouki's Wig
- たいけつ!ウッキーレッド / Battle! Monkey Red
- トモウキのテーマ / Tomouki's Theme
- スタッフロール Sg3 / Staffroll Ae3
- サルシネマ / Monkey Cinema
- びっくりおんせんランド2 / The Hot Springs 2
- だつりょくハカセ / Lazy Professor
- まよなかベイサイド / Midnight Bay
- たいけつ!スペクター / Battle! Specter
- うちゅうテレビようさい2 / Space-Tv Fortress 2
- ドンドコゆきまつり / Winterville
- たいけつ!ウッキーホワイト / Battle! Monkey White
- たいけつ!ウッキーブルー / Battle! Monkey Blue
- クリアジングル Sg3 / Clear Fanfare Ae3
- ウキウキおもちゃランド2 / Toytown 2
- ブルーのオルゴール / Blue's Orgel
- はくちょうのみずうみ / Swanlake
4XLP box set, 4 Coloured discs: translucent violet, ice, blue, and orange vinyl
Hardcover slipcase box
Celebrate twenty-five years of Ape Escape and thirty years of PlayStation with Ape Escape 3 Originape Soundtracks in a Box!
Saru Get You 3
As with the Ape Escape Originape Soundtrack, composer Soichi Terada has meticulously re-recorded and reconstructed all tracks from the Ape Escape 3 Original soundtrack. Previously only available on CD, this is the complete soundtrack's first time on vinyl. This box set was produced in partnership with Mr. Terada and Far East Recording, and is an officially licensed Sony Interactive Entertainment product.
This release contains eighty tracks, spanning four individually sleeved records, housed in a hardcover box. It is similar in construction to the Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks in a Box release (2024), and the two will look quite nicely next to one another on your shelf!
We are happy to announce that this box set features a definitive edition of the Ape Escape 3 Originape tracklist. This also includes "Swanlake," a track previously unavailable on the CD release. At its core, the Ape Escape 3 soundtrack features much of Soichi Terada's signature sound: lush electronic, jungle, silky smooth synthesizer, humor, and charm.
Ape Escape 3 was originally released in 2005 (Japan), and its moviemaking pipos were unleashed across the rest of the globe in 2006. The game features two new protagonists (Kei and Yumi) who battle the Freaky Monkey Five, underlings of the nefarious Dr. Tomoki and the evil monkey Specter.
Complimenting the game's journey through the TV-verse, the Ape Escape 3 soundtrack also features twists on themes from Wild West Showdowns, Kung-Fu movies, and space operas. Fans of the Ape Escape Originape Soundtrack, as well as newer work like Asakusa Light, will certainly enjoy all elements of Soichi Terada's music present in Ape Escape 3.
The music on this box set was mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering, who also mastered the original Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks box set (2024). Using Mr. Terada's premastered source files, the music was completely and specifically mastered for vinyl. The box set also features original Ape Escape 3 character renders and key art. All of the design elements have been put together with careful thought, referencing the original Japanese guidebook for inspiration and visual cohesiveness.
It is with great pleasure that we celebrate Soichi Terada's music and the Ape Escape franchise with this four-disc release!
Original key art and renders from the サルゲッチュ team
Officially licensed © Sony Interactive Entertainment
©2025 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. “PlayStation”, ”プレイステーション”, “Ape Escape” and ”サルゲッチュ” are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
Hamburg is sinking into an ever-expanding landscape of fresh construction ruins born from investor fantasies, concrete monster-bridges and ghostly office spaces. But from secret basements, a Geflecht begins to grow. After the first tape by Hamburg duo Kostenfalle, now comes their second album on vinyl.
The furious electropunk of Kostenfalle has been cut into the matrix at 45 RPM. Nine
songs in the fast lane, driven by sequencers, synthesizers, drum machines, and bass guitar. Despite the electronic machinery, Kostenfalle remain fiercely dynamic, twisting and shifting through intricate structures and sudden turns. Punk and Electronic Body Music lock into a dance; without warning we’re plunged into a psychedelic riff, only to slam angrily into the next guardrail.
With alternating vocals, Christian manning the transistors, Philipp holding the bass, the lyrics emerge dark and oblique, meditating on life as a one-dimensional human and on the spaces between people. Boycott and sabotage. Explode and generate.
In an engrossing lattice of polyrhythmic beat science and deep atmospheric meditation, Samurai Music is thrilled to welcome Marco Shuttle to the fold for the Sumud EP.
Since his early years locked into the 00s London techno scene, Marco Sartorelli has developed as an artist entirely on his own terms. Through the rush of new ideas and cross-pollination that has characterised cutting-edge techno over the past 20-odd years, Sartorelli has travelled as Marco Shuttle from one considered stylistic concept to the next. On his own Eerie label and across expansive releases for respected outposts such as Spazio Disponibile, Incensio and Astral Industries, he's taken an exploratory approach to rhythm and spatial design while always drawing on intentional thematic frameworks, creating distinctive and immersive dance music in the process.
As Samurai Music continues to celebrate the rich seams of inspiration where deep techno and drum & bass intersect, Sartorelli's malleable, mysterious strain of drum work fits right in and sets a captivating tone for the label's operations in 2026. 'Sumud' is a steely drum mantra dealing in fractured patterns with the primal patina of the early Artificial Intelligence era, while 'Las Dunas de Taroa' leans on gently pulsing melancholia undulating at a half-time pace. 'Iso 50' taps into raw, analogue minimalism once more, evoking the sound of Roman Flugel's Ro70 records in their icy, alien formation. Completing the set, we're guided towards the tense electronica of 'Polylayering What I've Got', where uneasy melodic chimes interlock with intricately programmed drum machines.
There's a distinct sense of golden-era, mid-90s electronica coursing through Sumud EP, but Sartorelli shrouds the classic tools at his disposal in his subtle signature atmospherics, pushing towards a plain of expression that transcends time.
- A1: Give It To Me Baby
- A2: Ghetto Life
- B1: Make Love To Me
- B2: Mr. Policeman
- C1: Super Freak
- C2: Fire And Desire
- D1: Call Me Up
- D2: Below The Funk (Pass The J)
Rick James Blends Brazen Attitude, Fearless Sexuality, and Shrewd Charisma on Street Songs:
Punk-Funk Album Aims for the Hips and Head, Includes the Timeless Hit “Super Freak”
Sourced from the Original Master Tapes and Strictly Limited to 4,000 Numbered Copies:
Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Presents 1981 Smash in Audiophile Sound for the First Time
1/4” / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe
“Punk funk” was a relatively unknown concept before 1981. But once Street Songs took the charts by storm that year, the world soon knew about what became Rick James’ signature style. And how. True to its name, Street Songs blends outspoken sexuality, brazen attitude, and edgy commentary amid contagious R&B-fueled arrangements that simultaneously aim for the hips, head, and various nether regions. And it’s never sounded better.
Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 4,000 numbered copies, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents James’ platinum-certified effort in audiophile quality for the first time. Playing with crisp dynamics, lively textures, airy headroom, and revealing clarity, this collectible edition of the record that stayed at the No. 1 spot on the R&B Album Charts for 20 weeks invites you to get closer to music that beckons you to turn your space into a private dance floor.
Then again, you’ll likely be so taken by how the taut bass lines, snappy rhythms, and four-on-the-floor beats — all rendered in stunning detail and with full-bodied architecture — come across with such accuracy and presence, you might stay pinned to your seat. On this pressing, the soundstaging, imaging, and lit-fuse energy of Street Songs reach new heights. Everything from the rubbery feel of the guitar lines to the depth of James’ temperature-raising vocals to the scale of the horn charts emerges as if James and his ace session crew set up in your room.
The Buffalo native and his ensemble waste no time getting their message across. On the album-opening “Give It to Me Baby,” James and company lay down a mix of sleek funk and pulsing disco that practically activates the bright lights of a discotheque and stimulates the libido of anyone within earshot. Having reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul charts, the song is pure sex — and just one of the carnal delights on a record that embraces the subject as fearlessly as James does his identity.
Of course, the most famous of James’ erotic excursions — the timeless “Super Freak” — hit No. 1 on Hot Dance Club Play charts, No. 16 on the Hot 100, and, later, No. 153 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Top 500 Songs of All Time. Bolstered by a quavering keyboard theme and electro riffs, the much-sampled track worms itself inside your muscles with smile-inducing subject matter, gliding vocals, nimble movements, a hot tenor-saxophone solo, and backing vocals by the Temptations.
The iconic Motown group isn’t the only celebrated guest artist on the Grammy-nominated Street Songs. James’ then-labelmate, Stevie Wonder, lends harmonica to the frank sociopolitical narrative on “Mr. Policeman,” a protest tune that also manages to stroll ’n’ strut via simmering organ, staggering brass accents, and James’ gritty vocal performance. In addition to contributing backing vocals on several cuts, Teena Marie turns in one of the album’s signature moments on “Fire and Desire,” a romantic old-school duet with James that impresses with smoothness, sensitivity, and smokiness.
High-profile colleagues aside, James remains the undisputed star, a figure whose leather-and-latex attire, braided hair, and natural swagger made him misunderstood by some in the mainstream and embraced by everyone in the know as a true original. As a testament to his magnetism and skills, his charisma and rawness seemingly seep through every note, whether on the balladic sweep of the risqué “Make Love to Me” or strident, poke-and-prod persuasion of the moonwalking “Call Me Up.”
On the closing “Below the Funk (Pass the J),” an uptempo autobiographical tale that addresses the visionary musician’s second-favorite love, the singer acknowledges his upbringing and inseparable connection with his roots — an homage to where he began and a toast to where he’s gone.
Rick James, keepin’ it real on Street Songs, still as real as it gets.
French artist Trypheme debuts on Impatience with “Odd Balade”, a darkly-hued collection of songs drawn from human delicacy and dreamworld mythology.
“Odd Balade” is Trypheme’s most ambitious and boldest record to date - both lyrically and musically. The album’s thirteen tracks resist rigid genre boundaries and flutter from medieval folk realms, sprawling synths, gothic 80s wave, leftfield pop, haunted vocals, mutant electronica to reverbed guitars - all reflected through her own shadowy prism. Especially album closer “A Walk In The Vercors” evokes a soothing serenity that echoes the sonic balm of Julee Cruise.
Trypheme’s musical repertoire trends heavily electronic and somewhat abstracted, but on “Odd Balade”, the artist slips into the role of the modern troubadour with a shift to a more poetically and personal songwriting that is infused with symbolism and dreamlike fantasies. The connective tissue of the album is the audacity to love and the vulnerability that ensues. As intimate and introspective as the lyrics are, the themes remain universal and human to the core: the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and t“the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and the cycles of life. The record was largely composed in Chars, stirred by the French village’s eerie atmosphere and frequent trips to the seaside in Brittany, where Trypheme resides. Drawing inspiration from the rugged terrain of the seaside landscapes, the writings of Allen Ginsberg and Mark Fisher and the hyperrealist art of Scott Prior, Trypheme uses her songs to depict life with broad strokes of rhythm.
On “Odd Balade” Trypheme consolidates herself as a gifted, nimble songwriter, masterly producer and subtly powerful vocalist. The record combines her skill for crafting lush, alien sound worlds and efficient, alluring arrangements with stealthily devastating songs. Belin’s voice becomes a key ingredient, appearing on eleven of Odd Balade’s thirteen tracks, by turns heavily manipulated, sampled and replayed as a form of percussion, or basically bare.
“Odd Balade” is the manifestation of Trypheme’s roving artistic practice, a ceremonial-grade sacrament cast in a rich nocturnal glow. Pairing the mundane with the mythic, the album stays true to its core: odd and strangely familiar.
RIYL - Riding off into the sunset to an unknown destination, hauntology, present, tales told by the fireside, hot summer rain, adventures, to feel a warm presence when you are walking in the forest or in the mountain, coastal landscapes, sailor’s stories, slow motion, vitesse, heavy blossoms, colors, the warmth of the sun, the tenderness of the moon, getting lost in unfamiliar streets, city’s lights, motorway rest area by night, magic numbers, rendez-vous, picnic, serendipity, poetry, the smell of old records and old books.
Tiphaine Belin has been releasing music as Trypheme since 2016. Odd Balade was written and produced by Belin, and mixed by Belin and Abel Roux. It was mastered by Amir Shoat. Cover art photography is by Ariane Kiks, with art direction by Ariane Kiks in collaboration with Mathilde Chaize.
Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic - fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can't precisely define the band, that's the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band's fourth album - the spectral, spacious Dance Called Memory - in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar. Nation of Language's first two albums, Introduction, Presence (2020), and A Way Forward (2021), came as pandemic godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums. But it was their last LP, Strange Disciple (2023), that catapulted the group from cultural standouts to critical darlings, with the album being named Rough Trade's Album of the Year. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band "are learning what it means to get bigger and better." This is Devaney's calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. The single "Now That You're Gone," which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness, was inspired by witnessing his godfather's tragic death from ALS, and his parents' role as caretakers for this ailing friend. At its heart, the song is a reflection of how friends can be there for each other, and also highlights a theme throughout the record: the pain and lost promise of friendships that fall apart. On Dance Called Memory, the band once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). "What's so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don't need to do what might be expected of us," says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bassist Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. They imbued Dance Called Memory with a shifted palette - sampling chopped-up drum breaks on "I'm Not Ready for the Change" for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or smashing all of the percussion of "In Another Life" through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music. Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. "There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I've been drawn to at different points. I've read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human," Devaney says. "As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I'm focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that_ Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy."
"And what about you? What are you looking for?" - René Daumal
This musical journey pays tribute to René Daumal and his enchanting world of mysteries and magic. The album shares its title with Daumal's novel, Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing, published posthumously in 1952, eight years after the author's untimely death.
Mount Analogue is a classic allegorical adventure novel. The novel describes an expedition undertaken by a group of mountaineers to travel to and climb the titular Mount Analogue an enormous mountain on a surreal continent, that is invisible and inaccessible to the outside world and can be perceived only by the application of obscure knowledge. The central theme of mountaineering is extensively explored through literary and philosophical lenses. Daumal died before the novel was completed, providing an uncanny one-way quality to the story, which ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence.
The first disc features a fifty-minute composition divided into six chapters: Introduction, Meeting, Supposition, Crossing, Arrival, and Conclusion. This album weavestogether a rich tapestry of diverse instruments, sounds, and voices that collectively tell the story of this conceptual work, loaded with a synesthetic multitude of colors, aromas, meanings, textures, and moods.
Contributors to this musical poem include Bill Laswell (bass), Henry Kaiser (guitar), Anna Clementi (vocals), Percy Howard (voice), Hideo Yamaki (percussion), Graham Haynes (cornet), Dorian Cheah (violin), Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet), Peter Apfelbaum (keyboard), and P.ST (concept, electronics), who all lend their talents to a series of excerpts from Daumal's text.
A truly global project, the recordings took place across various locations in Europe, North America, and South America, culminating at Orange Music Studio in New York, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Bill Laswell, James Dellatacoma, and Michael Fossenkemper.
The second disc presents five improvisations for solo electric guitar by Henry Kaiser. The first solo, Jodorowsky's Peradam, draws its inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain, which was inspired by the Daumal novel. Kaiser's initial forty-eight-minute guitar solo serves as a foundational guide for his four subsequent, Rashomon-esque, solo musical interpretations of Mount Analogue, as seen through the psychedelic labyrinth of Jorodrowsky's cinematic masterpiece.
"And what about you? What are you looking for?" - René Daumal
This musical journey pays tribute to René Daumal and his enchanting world of mysteries and magic. The album shares its title with Daumal's novel, Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing, published posthumously in 1952, eight years after the author's untimely death.
Mount Analogue is a classic allegorical adventure novel. The novel describes an expedition undertaken by a group of mountaineers to travel to and climb the titular Mount Analogue an enormous mountain on a surreal continent, that is invisible and inaccessible to the outside world and can be perceived only by the application of obscure knowledge. The central theme of mountaineering is extensively explored through literary and philosophical lenses. Daumal died before the novel was completed, providing an uncanny one-way quality to the story, which ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence.
The first disc features a fifty-minute composition divided into six chapters: Introduction, Meeting, Supposition, Crossing, Arrival, and Conclusion. This album weavestogether a rich tapestry of diverse instruments, sounds, and voices that collectively tell the story of this conceptual work, loaded with a synesthetic multitude of colors, aromas, meanings, textures, and moods.
Contributors to this musical poem include Bill Laswell (bass), Henry Kaiser (guitar), Anna Clementi (vocals), Percy Howard (voice), Hideo Yamaki (percussion), Graham Haynes (cornet), Dorian Cheah (violin), Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet), Peter Apfelbaum (keyboard), and P.ST (concept, electronics), who all lend their talents to a series of excerpts from Daumal's text.
A truly global project, the recordings took place across various locations in Europe, North America, and South America, culminating at Orange Music Studio in New York, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Bill Laswell, James Dellatacoma, and Michael Fossenkemper.
The second disc presents five improvisations for solo electric guitar by Henry Kaiser. The first solo, Jodorowsky's Peradam, draws its inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain, which was inspired by the Daumal novel. Kaiser's initial forty-eight-minute guitar solo serves as a foundational guide for his four subsequent, Rashomon-esque, solo musical interpretations of Mount Analogue, as seen through the psychedelic labyrinth of Jorodrowsky's cinematic masterpiece.
Impatience is thrilled to present Leaving Memory, the latest album-length work by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova. Leaving Memory is a searing distillation of the duo’s ouevre - it’s eleven prismatic electronic seances combining for a mind warping wormhole with it’s own internal (il)llogic, where pop, ambient, and industrial music convene beneath a rugged HD of digital processing and brain fog. Equally rosy with nostalgia as it is ominously forward looking, Leaving Memory defies easy categorization and makes for an astounding, confounding listen.
By turns violently abrasive and disarmingly touching, Piper and Lena deploy sounds that fracture and disintegrate, burn up and explode, synthetic supernovas that give the record an unmistakable, inimitable texture. Song structures often abide by their own blueprint - heading in one direction before making an abrupt dive elsewhere. Bursts of vibrant colour lurk below layers of grayscale noise. Unidentifiable voices deliver secret messages from the murk. When rhythm’s emerge they ground the tracks to some unknown terrain and invigorate.
Lame Line veers towards the sweeter end of their spectrum, a hazy plaintive repetition increasingly lashed with friction, before Exit erupts with clanging rhythm and shards of distortion. Diagnosis is an almost sweet alt-pop song, Lena’s vocals yearning beneath a dubby shuffle, while Keeper Of The Void’s possessed incantations open up to a ripping, fried climax. Beryl Grey releases the pressure gauge, a gently lilting drift arpeggiating as the sun sets, and Lost Cars sweats through claustrophobic drones and bird song before the clouds part on a serene scene. Leaving Memory closes with Shin, offering a genuinely sweet resolution and a gentle landing back down to earth of either footsteps or fireworks, swelling synthesized horns and woodwinds, a kiss on the cheek for making it out the other side.
On Leaving Memory, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova share their uniquely discordant take on freaky music for unsettled minds, an intensely energized set that offers a deeply evocative, unimaginable otherworld for adventurous ears.
Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova have been producing music together since 2020. Leaving Memory is the first to be presented in the LP format. Piper has previously released music via Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain and Gost Zvuk, as well as his own Singapore Sling Tapes label. Lena works predominantly as a photographer, and together Piper and Lena have released music via radio.syg.ma and Kartaskvazhin. Both make music as part of Air Krew, who have released music on the Echotourist and Motion Ward labels. They’re both currently based nowhere.
Leaving Memory was written, produced and mixed by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, and mastered by Sergey Podluzhniy. Cover photo by Lena Tsibizova, design and layout by Justin Sloane.
repress!
Seasoned musical maestro Argy unleashes his long-player, New World. Argy’s varied back catalogue showcases his versatility and deep knowledge of electronic music. An experienced producer and DJ, he channels a lifetime of skill and natural talent into his LP New World. Across 14 tracks, we enter ‘Dreamstates’, utilising ‘Mental Powers’ to explore the ‘Wilderness’ and connect with a ‘Higher Power’. Rooted in an underground sound with an array of impassioned vocals, highly emotive arrangement and potent rhythms, the album demonstrates Argy’s artistic maturity. Join him as he leads us on a voyage into a New World…
- A1: Raw Movements 5 52
- A2: Love Train Ii 4 47
- A3: Palace Strut 4 10
- B1: Coral Reef 4 52
- B2: Street Beat 4 41
- B3: What's The Time 5 53
- Rude | Movements
- C1: Rude Movements 7 49
- C2: Movement I 6 10
- D1: Movement Ii 7 40
- D2: Movement Iii 7 59
Repress !
Way back in 1981, two musicians got together to make a record. Mike Collins played guitar and had just bought a Roland CR78 - the first programmable drum machine. Keith O'Connell played Fender Rhodes piano and Prophet 5 synthesizer. Excited about the quirky and unusual instrumental track they'd composed, when the duo entered London's Utopia Studios to finish off their creation, neither could have predicted what was to follow... Now viewed by many as one of the most influential early electronic dance records, 'Rude Movements' was swiftly picked up on by David Mancuso, who used it to devastating effect at his infamous 'Loft Parties', in turn introducing it to Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, David Morales and Kenny Dope, a group of young DJs who would go on to write the blueprint for dance music as we know it.
In the more than 35 years since its release, 'Rude Movements' has continued to inspire and excite, sampled by The Bucketheads' classic House track 'Whew!' (featured on recent BBE compilation '20 years of Henry Street Records') and listed by a veritable 'who's who' of dance music's elite as an all-time favourite. Rare and much sought-after on vinyl, BBE are happy to announce the release of a fully remastered version of 'Rude Movements' presented alongside the original demo version 'Raw Movements', plus three other versions of the iconic track. Also included on the vinyl package are the Afrika Bambaata inspired 'Street Beat' and 808/MiniMoog workout 'Palace Strut', as well as three other 80s SunPalace compositions. CD and digital versions expand the catalogue still further, with more experimental SunPalace magic. Timeless original, quirky and unique, these recordings are set to inspire yet another generation of DJs,
producers and music fans.
Nanook of the North is back with their second album, following the enthusiastically received 2018 debut "Nanook of the North," (Denovali) The duo of a composer and violinist Stefan Wesołowski and electronic producer Piotr Kaliński were acclaimed by Boiler Room, The Wire or NPR. Bob Boilen of Tiny Desk Concerts called Nanook of the North's performance "one of the wow moments of SXSW". Their new material is a raw and minimalist sonic landscape, practically devoid of percussive elements but featuring vocals by an acclaimed mezzo-soprano Margarita Slepakova. As with the debut, the music on "Heide" is rooted in nature and its primordiality. The title of the album alludes to wildness and untamedness, and the material was recorded last winter in a village located in the middle of forests in the northern Poland, which is clearly felt in the atmosphere of the 9 new tracks on "Heide".
Stefan Wesołowski is a Polish composer and violinist, author of critically acclaimed original albums and film music scores. Associated with publisher Mute Song and record labels like Important Records, Lakeshore Records, Ici D'ailleurs and Back Lot Music. He is an author of original soundtrack to „Listen to me Marlon” (Universal) - Oscar-shortlisted and BAFTA-nominated documentary on Marlon Brando directed by Stevan Riley and original soundtrack to Irish feature film by Nathalie Biancheri entitled „Wolf” (Focus Features), starring Lily-Rose Deep and George MacKay, premiered 2021 at Toronto Interational Film Festival.
Piotr Kaliński is na electronic music producer and guitarist. Based in Gdańsk, Poland. Associated with record labels like R&S Records and Instant Classic. Member of Hinode Tapes, Hatti Vatti and JANKA bands. One of the most active figures in Polish alternative scene - in last few years he performed live in many countries across Europe, Japan, Korea and United States. Kaliński is an author of original music for short films, fashion brands campaigns like Calvin Klein or Paul Smith and games (i.e. „Cyberpunk 2077”).
Margarita Slepakova is a coloratura mezzo-soprano specialized in the field of historical practices of early music. Based in Switzerland, she is a renowned opera, concert, and recital singer, collaborating with ensembles and orchestras all over Europe. Slepakova is a founder of Le Sommeil project, specializing in French music of the 17th century. She sang in many concert halls and opera houses including Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall during BBC Proms. Margarita also performs contemporary music and has premiered pieces written especially for her voic
Alongside with the release of the new album “Tote Winkel”, Sankt Otten will be delighting us with another limited vinyl bonus release. “Hymnen und Helden” (hymns and heroes) is a collection of cover versions created over the last few years. As the album title suggests, it pays homage to self-proclaimed musical hymns and heroes from the seventies and eighties.
HYMNEN UND HELDEN – track by track: A well-known Moog sequence leads us on the way into the cover album. Giorgio Moroders 1977 disco classic “I feel love” has been tackled here. Sankt Ottens instrumental interpretation starts out familiar, but ends in a slightly disturbing disharmony of mellotron and ebow guitar.
The instrumental version of the melancholy Wipers anthem from 1983 starts with a rather unusually fast 808 beat for Sankt Otten. The 80s electronic echoes suit the punk rock earworm “Doom Towen” surprisingly well.
Without Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, more unusual electronic music would hardly have been conceivable in Germany in the early 1980s. “Alles ist gut” tribute to this band and singer Gabi Delgado-Lopez, who passed away in 2020 and with whom they shared the festival stage in 2015. Gabi‘s lyrics are rendered by text- to-speech software with the voice of an unknown Claudia.
“Wishing (If I had a photograph of you)” was made famous in 1982 by A Flock of Seagulls. This record was regularly played on Stephan Ottens turntable back then. Reason enough to remember this with “Sehnen (Hät- te Ich von dir eine Fotografie)”. The recordings for this album were made in 2007 and have been updated and completed in the last year. Carsten Sandkämper, who was also featured on Sankt Ottens debut album “Eine kleine Traurigkeit”, contributed the vocals and lyrics.
The Swiss band Grauzone became famous with the NDW hit “Eisbär”. Instead of this title, they took on the B-side of this single with “Ich liebe sie”. A synthpop love song full of innocence, stylishly sung by Carsten San- kämper and refined with Kraftwerk-like choral sounds and an herbaceous motorik beat.
The band has enjoyed a personal friendship with Harald Grosskopf since their collaboration in 2013 on the album “Messias Maschine”. With “So weit, so gut”, they take on his little hit from the album “Synthesist”, which is one of the gems of the synthesizer albums of the eighties.
“Kriegsmaschinen, fahrt zur Hölle” is an anti-war song from 1974 by Günter Schickert, the Berlin master of the echo guitar. Unfortunately, the lyrics are still relevant. Oliver Klemm contributes the delay guitars and Stephan Otten puts the lyrics through a vocoder. Sankt Otten compress the 17-minute original to just under 5 minutes and move it musically from the 70s to the 80s.
Sankt Otten’s adaptation of David Bowies “Heroes” is equipped with warm Juno 106 sounds, ebow guitar and synthesizer pads. The German “Helden” version, known from the movie Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, is sung in a touching way by Carsten Sandkämper.
New York-based Rafael Anton Irisarri was responsible for mastering the record. As part of the series with graphic covers, this die-cut artwork was also created by Mexican designer Daniel Castrejon. The one time only vinyl pressing, limited to 350 copies, comes in a beautifully designed die-cut cover and colored vinyl. The Osnabrück duo Sankt Otten, founded in 1999, have been releasing on Denovali since 2009. The band has dedicated itself to the holy trinity of Krautrock, Ambient and contemporary Electronics.
d Sehnen [Haette ich von Dir eine Fotografie]
Directions Out Of Town is the latest and teased as (possibly) the last LP by DIY electronic abstract pop wizard Finlay Shakespeare.
Directions Out Of Town is a fierce mix of headstrong pop bangers. Fact. There is simply no one else traversing the field that Shakespeare is exploring. It can be lonely in the desert, Simon says. Lyrically, Directions Out Of Town is dealing with loss; personally, geographically, politically, culturally - a general decay of everything.
This new record is heavily inspired by structural film where the results unravel a method where metaphor is removed from the act of sound synthesis, production and mix of the tracks. Fiercely independent and brimming with integrity this is a deeply effective journey through machines of the human experience.
The track titles are telling: 'Away', 'Get', 'Direction', 'I go for a walk', etc
This is sentiment via complex synthesis wrung through patterns of pop. One also finds ways out that only turn out to be false/untrue.
"I essentially don't know where I belong any more. This record is the precursor to that."
What is ostensibly an electro pop record reveals a multitude of layers and depth as one man and his machines wrestle with the reality of this tangled matrix. If the charts had brains this would be album of the year.
Finlay Shakespeare is an electronic musician working in the UK. His fascination for synthesized sound was born out of his parents' record collection, leading him to explore the electronic music of decades past throughout his teenage years. While starting to write and record his own tracks, he also began learning analogue electronics, which led him to design and build his own equipment. To date, he has released work on Editions Mego, Superpang, and his own GOTO Records.
Savy Records celebrates its fifth year with Lumo, a new vinyl-only series built around the darker corners of the dance floor. The first edition gathers four artists whose productions move naturally through the night -- from tension and space to drive and release. The record opens with Andy Martin, a Mexican-Jamaican artist whose dub-infused ''Wicked Tune You Know'' nods to UK bass influences, with a percussive undertow and an addictively off-kilter synth line. Finnish favourite Sansibar makes his return to the label with ''Innerwelt,'' a twisted electro cut laced with acid paranoia and washed-out vocals, slightly unsteady but always in motion. On the flip, IDA -- fellow Finnish export and SAVY label founder -- keeps things tight with ''Electrostatic Rest,'' a straight-up electro roller built on clean drums and a classic electro bass, one to lock in the dancefloor groove with. Lewski closes with ''Glakk,'' a machinated, bass-heavy analogue banger, driving up the tempo as it heads up the peak time. Lumo presents a darker, deeper side of Savy: one that nods to the underground, and cut for purpose as a vinyl-only release.
C.L.A.W.S. comes to Dark Entries with a new ripping LP, Splat City II. C.L.A.W.S. is the solo project of musical luminary Brian Hock, who has been a key figure in the Bay Area underground for over two decades via his involvement in projects like Bronze and The Vanishing, as well as helming the record labels Squirrels on Film and Immortal Sin. With C.L.A.W.S., Hock takes on the dancefloor, picking up cues from the Hague’s Giallo-dipped electro, the skewed minimalism of Chicago acid, and the mind-rending forays of San Francisco post-punk icons like Chrome and Tuxedomoon. Following 2019’s inaugural Splat City EP, Splat City II continues to map the psychogeography of a metropolis both alien and immediately recognizable, one where life is cheap, but so are the thrills. Previously released on Squirrels on Film in digital-only format, this expanded vinyl edition of Splat City II features two new cuts. Things kick off with “Route 505” and “One Tear,” a duo of rompers that vibe like Tom Ellard and Chip E locked in a room with a vial of liquid. Next up, Bay Area deckmaster Tyrel lends his editing chops to “Vigilant Slimy Monsters,” sculpting a moody space disco beast. Squirrels on Film co-founder Solar teams up with Hock for “Black Magic Carpet Ride III,” a cavernous downtempo banger. The slow-mo pace continues with “Wild Slugs United,” which features the no wave-esque clarinet work of Paul Costuros. Closer “Don’t Flip the Crystal Ship” pays homage to Bayview venue Bay Area 51 with melancholic strings and a quartz-solid electrofunk bassline. Splat City II comes in a sleeve with artwork by Bert Bergen, which features a vampiric cat and sci-fi cityscapes.
TrioRox is a project born from the encounter between three leading figures on the Italian music scene (and beyond):
pianist Giovanni Guidi, bassist Joe Rehmer, and electronic musician DJ Rocca (Luca Roccatagliati).
Three individuals boast eclectic and impressive resumes. Guidi, a child prodigy of jazz piano, has released several
albums for the prestigious ECM label and has collaborated with top jazz and electronic musicians, from Enrico Rava
to Matthew Herbert, Joe Lovano, and Ricardo Villalobos. Joe Rehmer, an American living in Italy, is one of the most
sought-after bassists, sharing stages and recording studios with such luminaries as Bob Mintzer, James Moody, and
Danny Gottlieb. DJ Rocca has been a DJ and musician since the 1990s, boasting numerous albums, singles, and
remixes with and for key figures in the alternative dance scene (Andrew Weatherall, Dimitri From Paris, and Howie
B), as well as a stint in the jazz scene, releasing several albums with Franco D’Andrea.
The trio's music is a blend of electronic, dance, jazz, and pop, with hints of groove in house and techno, as well as
blends of electro, classical, and minimalism. A melting pot of styles between Keith Jarrett and Carl Craig. The album
will be released on IRMA Records in September 2024, featuring guests Luigi Di Nunzio, Gianluca Petrella, Dan
Kinzelman, and Jacopo Fagioli.
This EP of remixes is by:
Zed Bias: Manchester-based electronic musician, producer, and DJ in the Garage/2-step, Broken, and Funky
Breakbeat genres.
Alexander Robotnick: Italian record producer, DJ, and composer considered a cult figure in the New Wave and Italo
Disco scene.
Daniele Bladelli: One of the first and most important Italian DJs, famous for pioneering Afro and Cosmic music.
Bjorn Torske: Norwegian house and breakbeat producer. He has collaborated extensively with Röyksopp.
- I Was Born To Boogie
- Communism, Hypnotism & The Beatles
- Cocaine Cowboys
- The Girl With The Strawberry Hair
- I Used To Dream In Colors
- I Remember Everything
- She Wanted Me To Be A Junky
- Glam Girl (In An Indie World)
- You Get On My Nerves
- Fake Punk
- The Girl Is Mine
- Ramalama
- Disco Junky
- She's A Mystery To Me
- The Good Times We Had
- You're My Sister
- Sexy Young Thing
- The Sadness Of It All
- Bad Vibes (Part One)
- The Destruction Of Lower Manhattan
- I'm Never Satisfied
21 songs are barely enough to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! From less than a minute twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads to two minutes something fuzzy rockers, electronic r'n'r and sexy glam, you'll find all you need and much more in this incredible album! It takes at least 21 songs - and 30 Polaroids on the cover! - to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! On the XYZ, Dum Dum Boys and NON! guitar player third solo album, entirely home recorded, you will find plenty of fuzzy bangers, trashy rockers, electronic r'n'r, lo fi disköpunk, sexy glam, twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads, 21 different faces on just 2 album sides! With the help of 60s fuzz pedals, analog synths, a wild organ, an out-of-space Theremin, raw drum machines and tons of delay, reverb and strange noises, all used to maximize the minimalism of the tracks, Memphis Electronic manages to create an orgy of arousing sounds, an overdose of aural pleasure, an irresistible avalanche of exciting songs, all ranging from 49 seconds snapshots to 2 minutes something instant classics!
Finlay Shakespeare is an electronic musician working from the UK and across Europe. A childhood obsession with his parents’ record collection led him to both create his own music and build his own synthesizer equipment throughout his teenage years. After studying audio engineering, he was invited to become in-house engineer for the Moog Sound Lab UK, leading to collaborations with acts as diverse as Suicide, Charlemagne Palestine, The Grid and Mica Levi & Eliza McCarthy, both in live and studio environments. In 2017, Finlay began recording a series of monthly “Housediet'' releases - all improvised and captured at home utilising drum machines, modular synthesis and processed vocals. After several encounters with Peter Rehberg of Editions Mego, a compilation of the Housediet tracks was drawn up by Rehberg and Shakespeare, culminating in the release of “Domestic Economy” in early 2019. “Solemnities' ', a second album for Editions Mego appeared the following year. In the period since Rehberg’s untimely passing, Finlay has recorded for Superpang, Modulisme and his own GOTO Records imprint. “Illusion + Memory”, meanwhile, continues on from where “Solemnities” left off, with Finlay once again aiming to work at the fringes of electronic pop. Alter is proud to present “Illusion + Memory”, the third full length physical LP of Shakespeare’s utterly unique and sophisticated output. Shakespeare’s obsession and knowledge of late 70’s and early 80’s electronic pop music is once again at the forefront of this intense and dynamic release. Alas, this is not some retro throwback. Shakespeare’s deep understanding of his machines breathes new life into a genre of music once defunct. Supporting the likes of Blancmange bolstered his reputation for sublime synth hooks and dark lyrical content. Building on his previous work in the field “Illusion + Memory” is an unabashed pop record, as joyous as it is intense, moving from the brooding opening ballad “Your Side of the River” through the punchy “Theresa” which could be read as a love song to Throbbing Gristle’s United. Elsewhere “Climb” unleashes the opportunity to the dancefloor as wild electronics snake into all manner of schizophrenic shapes. There is a romantic side to this music. In its homage to electronic pop of the late 70’s and early 80’s but also in the emotional punch Shakespeare injects into every second of every track. Shakespeare’s reboot of these musical forms is technically impressive, one rich in feeling and deep in emotion, atmospherically and vocally. The two come together to create a unique visceral sonic experience… today!
2026 Repress
Next year the iconic anthem Cafe Del Mar will celebrate its 30th anniversary, a landmark that will be celebrated with a series of brand new remixes alongside the finest existing remixes in specially remastered versions.
Launching the series of vinyl releases in September is a remastered vinyl-only release of the original mix, as well as the best-known version of this classic track, the iconic Three ‘N One Remix.
Nearly 30 years ago, Paul M aka DJ Kid Paul recording as Energy 52 unleashed a record onto an unsuspecting public that would go on to define club culture for an entire generation of dance music enthusiasts. Named as an homage to the legendary Ibiza sunset spot, Café Del Mar broke down boundaries between the underground and
the mainstream, charting in the UK singles charts on three separate occasions and named as the “best tune ever” by Mixmag at the start of the new millennium. In terms of cultural and emotional impact in dance music, it’s hard to find a record that comes close.
Café Del Mar has come to represent the most euphoric and hedonistic pleasures of dancefloors - in Ibiza and all around the world - and has been remixed by some of the biggest names in the industry. Now, 30 years after its original release, Superstition Records will be putting out a new series of releases, with brand new remixes as well as remastered versions of some of the many remixes from across the last three decades. The vinyl-only remastered version of the original and Three ‘N One mixes will launch the series, with further details about the rest of the series announced in the coming weeks.
In 2021 Paul Van Dyk’s Café Del Mar remixes launched a series of vinyl and digital re-issues on the Superstition Records imprint after an almost 20 years hiatus. From 1993 until 2003 Superstition Records was a groundbreaking Techno, Tech-House and Trance Label and released some of the biggest and most revered records of the early German electronic scene.
- 1: Circus Of Horrors
- 2: Shock Waves
- 3: Demoniac
- 4: Love Butcher
- 5: A Heartbeat From Hell
- 6: Wandering Girl
- 7: Truck Stop Killer
- 8: I Am The Apocalypse
- 9: Epilogue
Toronto, ON – Celebrated Canadian filmmaker and composer Chris Alexander joins Library of the Occult records with his album 'Body Double' arriving January 17th
A sinister fusion of 80s horror aesthetics and cinematic electronic soundscapes, Body Double immerses listeners in a shadowy world of pulsating synths, eerie melodies, and haunting atmospheres. Alexander's signature approach to sound design captures the spirit of classic genre film scores while pushing into uncharted sonic territory.
In the words of Shawn Macomber from Decibel: "Chris Alexander is easily one of the most fearless, imaginative, and iconoclastic world-builders currently operating in the worlds of cinema, and music. And when it comes to conjuring the magic and menace just beyond the veil, the man is damn near peerless."
With Body Double, Alexander channels the sonic legacy of icons like John Carpenter and Goblin, weaving a tapestry of sound that feels both familiar and otherworldly.
- Information Society - Running
- Tka - One Way Love (Edit)
- Jocelyn Enriquez - Do You Miss Me (Freestyle Mix)
- K7: Body Rock
- Jasmine - On The Loose (Club Vocal)
- Definite Destruction - You Played Me For A Fool (Clubstruction)
- System Iii - I'm Gonna Make You Mine (Vocal Remix)
- Alexis - Stop Lying (Club Mix)
A high-energy dance music genre that blends elements of pop, electro, hip-hop, and Latin rhythms, freestyle creates an irresistible urge to dance. It's characterized by fast tempos, complex drum machine patterns, and prominent synthesizers and often explores themes of love, heartbreak, and relationships. On this brand- new compilation, we celebrate the best of Tommy Boy and Easy Street's contributions to freestyle culture. This collection brings together hits from TKA, Jocelyn Enriquez, Information Society, K7, Jasmine and more.
“Tubby did three original dub albums, ‘Dub From The Roots’. ‘The Roots of Dub’ and the third is ‘Brass Rockers’ with Tommy McCook ‘pon the flying cymbals. Where he mixed it with the horn going in and out in a dub way and one named ‘Shalom Dub’ you can call Tubby’s too because he mixed the versions as they were off forty fives’’
Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music. After discovering a mistake that made a ‘serious joke’ (more of which later...) they went on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely ‘Dub Music’. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard... the Remix / Version cuts to an existing vocal tune.
Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 28th January 1941 and grew up in the High Holborn Street area of downtown Kingston. He studied electronics at Kingston’s National Technical College and also on two correspondence courses from the U.S.A... When he had qualified Tubby began repairing radios and other electrical appliances in a shack in the back yard of his mother’s home. His work in the early days included winding transformers and building amplifiers for Kingston’s Sound Systems. Tubby built his first Sound System in 1957 playing jazz and Rhythm & Blues at local weddings and birthday parties. His reputation as a man who knew and understood both electronics and music grew steadily and as the sixties drew to a close. Tubby
purchased his own basic two track equipment. He installed this alongside his dub cutting machine, a home-made mixing console, and his impressive collection of jazz albums in the back bedroom of his home at 18 Dromilly Avenue which he christened his music room.
Tubby and Striker were at Treasure Isle Studio’s one day while Ruddy from Spanish Town was working with the engineer Byron Smith....
“Tubby and myself was talking when Ruddy was cutting some dub but Smithy (engineer) made a mistake through we were talking and forgot to put in the voice. It was two track recording in those days. Ruddy said ‘No Man! Make it stay! and so they cut the rhythm. When I went over to Ruddy’s that Saturday night a dance was in progress and when they played the vocal to the tune... then he said we’re going to play ‘Part Two’. They never called it ‘Version’..and then he played the rhythm track. The song was a catchy song and everybody started to sing along and the deejay started to toast so everything went down well. On Monday morning I went up and I said ‘Tubbs the mistake we made was a serious joke.It mash up Spanish Town! The people went wild. So you have to start to do that now ‘cause when the man put on the ‘Part Two’ everyone start singing this song. It played about twenty times. I said you try Tubbs!’...Well the next Saturday night now when Tubby strung up down the farm U Roy said he’s going to play ‘Part Two’ but Tubby did it different now. He started with the voice then dropped it out and let the rhythm run and then he brought in the voice in the middle and from there Tubby started to get really popular.’’
Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
Dynamic Sounds upgraded to sixteen track recording in 1972 and Tubby purchased, again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee. The old four track equipment and the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him far wider scope to work with and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby’s dub plate experiments began to make it on to vinyl and the first ever long-playing King Tubby releases would feature a collection of his mixes to a selection of Strikers rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds. Lovingly restored and with a few extra gems added to the CD Editions. These releases were the first to carry the name of King Tubby and the first to credit the great musicians that contributed so much to the rhythms that made these albums possible.
- A1: Des Plumes Dans La Tête (Variation 1) 1:15
- A2: Situation Initiale 1:20
- A3: Pour Les Oiseaux 1:16
- A4: Feu 0:24
- A5: Le Brasier De Tristesse 3:36
- A6: Ferme Les Yeux 1:08
- A7: Des Plumes Dans La Tête (Variation 2) 1:15
- A8: Les Débutants 1 1:50
- A9: Pour Les Oiseaux (Variation 1) 1:17
- B1: Anthracite 1:28
- B2: Nocturne Urbain 2 0:59
- B3: Pour Les Oiseaux (Variation 2) 0:39
- B4: Sinon Le Vent Qui Passe 0:41
- B5: Noir 1:19
- B6: Ferme Les Yeux (Variation) 0:42
- B7: Les Débutants 2 1:16
- B8: Pour Les Oiseaux (Variation 3) 0:36
- B9: Blanche Comme L'infini 1:58
- B10: Situation Finale 2:02
- B11: Des Plumes Dans La Tête 1:20
- Un Autre Décembre Lp
- C1: Minéral 3:28
- C2: Sous Tes Yeux Probablement 1:16
- C3: Granulation 1 1:38
- C4: Neuf Cents Lunes 3:56
- C5: Alors La Lumière Vacille 1:07
- C6: Granulation 2 0:56
- D1: Il Fait Nuit Noire À Berlin 2:12
- D2: La Lettre Qu'il N'envoya Jamais 2:00
- D3: Granulation 3 1:35
- D4: Un Autre Décembre 2:24
- D5: Granulation 4 1:26
- D6: Du Rève Dans Les Yeux 1:30
- Nocturne Impalpable Lp
- E1: Blanc 2:23
- E2: Cet Enfer Miraculeux 2:59
- E3: Radiophonie N°1 2:54
- E4: Doucement, Le Grain De Sa Peau 3:41
- E5: 0:36
- E6: Ocre 2:47
- E7: 0:35
- E8: Radiophonie N°2 3:15
- E9: Adieu Miséricorde 1:14
- E10: 0:31
- E11: Léger 2:25
- E12: 0:40
- F1: Le Monde Intérieur 4:01
- F2: Arachnéenne Encore 1:29
- F3: 0:27
- F4: Je Me Suis Bâti Sur Une Colonne Absente 4:04
- F5: 0:33
- F6: Radiophonie N°3 2:07
- F7: Nocturne Urbain 4:56
Minority Records is releasing a unique boxset Politique du silence with three early albums from Sylvain Chauveau, French composer of minimalist neoclassical music.
“When I made my first albums as a composer, I was obsessed with minimalism, and this quote from the film director Robert Bresson summed up my state of mind. I set myself three principles: 1) Use silence as a starting point, 2) Only add sound when it's absolutely essential, 3) Don't imitate the Anglo-Saxon musicians I admired, but draw on the musical culture of my country, France which lead me to listen intensively to Satie, Debussy and Ravel.” Chauveau explains the background to his work.
The collection Politique du silence contains the recordings of Des plumes dans la tête (2004), Un autre Décembre (2003) and Nocturne impalpable (2001) on coloured 180 gram vinyls. The cover features artwork by French photographer Valéry Lorenzo.
“When I discovered the simple and powerful black and white pictures by Valéry Lorenzo, in the 90s, I immediately fell in love with them. We became good friends and since then I ask him to let me use one of his photos for most of my album covers, or to make my portrait for press shots. It has become a real collaboration, music and images, for more than 25 years. It was then logical to ask him again for the cover of this boxset, like a gentle reflection on my piano and strings era. It's a true honour for me to see my early music recollected, repackaged, remastered after all this time. Which gives me hope that this music, in which I've put all my soul and heart during the years 2001 to 2003, is maybe not forgotten yet.” Chauveau himself adds of his collaboration with Valéry Lorenzo.
Nocturne impalpable and Un autre Décembre were re-issued by Minority Records in 2014 and 2015 and both titles completely sold out. This year’s release also includes the album Des plumes dans la tête in its world premiere on vinyl.
Nocturne Impalpable is a world of minimalism, abstraction, and contemporary rendition of classical music with variations for the piano, clarinet, strings, and accordion which are often compared to the compositions of composers Harold Budd and Claude Debussy. Here, Chauveau partially reveals his versatility as a composer by connecting electronic elements, noises, and ambient planes with monumental strings and piano preludes. The
album of piano variations Un autre Décembre is interspersed with field recordings and electronic noises. The inspiration for the recording of the album and for its name was the song Jaurès by the Belgian singer and composer Jacques Brel. This song tells the story of the grandparents’ generation who toiled in the mines. “Comfort and health won’t protect our generation from sadness and discontent. We also live through winter times, even if these are slightly warmer due to the current climate.” An album of 20 short instrumental sketches with several delicate intermezzos for the piano, string quartet, and the clarinet, Des plumes dans la tête, was composed for the eponymous film by director Thomas de Thier.
Sylvain Chauveau was born in 1971 in the French town of Bayonne and currently lives in Barcelona. His extensive discography of mainly meditative neo-classical recordings for the music labels FatCat, Sub Rosa, Sonic Pieces, and Flau is enriched by several collaborations and his participation in the Ensemble 0, Arca, and On projects. Chauveau has also composed many film soundtracks as well as music for the theatre. He has presented his works in Prague several times, most recently in the spring of 2024 at the Spectaculare festival. His compositions get tens of millions of streams on streaming services, and he’s been called the French king of minimalism.
- A1: I'm 9 Today (2019 Remaster)
- A2: Smell Memory (2019 Remaster)
- B1: There Is A Number Of Small Things (2019 Remaster)
- B2: Random Summer (2019 Remaster)
- B3: Asleep On A Train (2019 Remaster)
- C1: Awake On A Train (2019 Remaster)
- C2: The Ballað Of The Broken Birdie Records (2019 Remaster)
- C3: The Ballað Of The Broken String (2019 Remaster)
- D1: Sunday Night Just Keeps On Rolling (2019 Remaster)
- D2: Slow Bicycle (2019 Remaster)
- E1: The Ballað Of The Broken Birdie Records (Ruxpin Remix Ii)
- E2: Smell Memory (Bix Remix)
- E3: There Is A Number Of Small Things & The Ballað Of The Broken Birdie Records (Μ-Ziq Straight Mix)
- E4: The Ballað Of The Broken Birdie Records (Biogen Mix)
- F1: Smell Memory Kronos Quartet
- F2: Random Summer Hauschka
- F3: The Ballað Of The Broken String Sóley
In 1999, on December 23 to be precise, the electronic music landscape changed forever. On that day, the now legendary Icelandic band múm released their debut album “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK”. The thing is though, back in the day, hardly anybody realized. It was Christmas after all, people were busy with potentially more important things and didn’t pay attention to some kids selling records on Reykjavík’s high street. Little did those shoppers know.
Thankfully, those 10 tracks weren’t overlooked for long. On the contrary: the album went on to become one of the most influential building blocks of what back then was called electronica and today is considered an art form playing a crucial and important role in shaping and defining the rich electronic music culture of the 21st century. Now, 20 years after the record dropped onto planet Earth, Morr Music is re-issuing the remastered album with its original artwork, adding newly commissioned re-works: A note-for-note representation of “Smell Memory“ by Kronos Quartet (with additional drums by múm’s Samuli Kosminen), a gentle reinterpretation of “Random Summer” by acclaimed pianist and composer Hauschka and an otherworldly new version of “Ballad Of The Broken String” recorded by label mate Sóley. Additionally, four remixes produced in the early 2000s are made available for the first time ever on vinyl here.
In 1999, electronic music was in full bloom. The dance floors were thriving worldwide.Yet the concept of using electronic sounds in acoustic-based productions (or vice versa) was still in its infancy. Many producers were trying, most of them failed. The results felt often forced, fabricated, unimaginative, random and forgettable. New ideas require new mindsets after all. With “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK”, múm established a new approach in music production. Instead of setting a fixed agenda and working with a distinct hierarchy for their sonic palette, Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Smárason let each instrument and sound source be true to itself, creating an ever-evolving universe of sonic bliss. Listening to the album in 2019 still makes every music lover’s heart jump. Combining Drill-and-Bass-inspired beat-chopping, future-informed DSP-programming, ethereal vocal work, indie rock’s boominess, folk music’s soulful brittleness and a lofty feeling for melody and arrangement, the album is a rare example of musical transcendence and remains impossible to categorize.
Many of the ideas formulated and recorded for the album quickly became an integral part of the canonical self-conception musicians around the world were and still are aspiring to. How these ideas really came about, though, is not known – the dynamics, the struggles, the qualms, the sudden realization of having achieved something which might actually stick. Maybe that is a good thing. Örvar Smárason remembers that most of the album “was recorded in a tiny, sweaty room in the summer of 1999 with carpenters banging nails around us, but sometimes we put on headphones so we couldn’t hear them.” It is a good thing they did. As is often the case with classics, all one can do is listen closely and let the magic sink in – again and again.
repressed !
Francois Kevorkian is a name that should need no introduction. With over 40 years in the game FK has occupied numerous roles in his long and storied career - drummer, DJ, A&R man, remixer and producer - his skills know no boundaries. Having DJ-ed during the nascent days of club culture in NYC alongside Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan and more, Kevorkian has been there from day one. Years spent in the seminal clubs of the day sharpened his ears and his prowess behind the mixing desk saw him become the A&R man at the legendary Prelude records in the early 80's, this in turn led to him working with everyone from The Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Erasure, D-Train, Yazoo, The Smiths, Kraftwerk and many many more. A true NYC original and legend, Kevorkian is still active today and the respect he commands amongst his peers has never waned, his adventurous extended DJ sets, seminal mixes and remixes and his open ears and open mind have ensured that he will go down in history as a musical pioneer.
Rewind to 1995. Kevorkian's 'Wave Music' imprint has come into existence with a handful of releases. No-one could imagine that his self-produced 'FK EP' - the next release on the label - would be a stone cold classic. Easily one of the most consistent, exciting and solid EP's to come out of NYC during this golden era of dance music. Across 4 tracks we are taken on a sound journey through a world that is undoubtedly informed by FK's time as an engineer, DJ and most importantly, a music lover.
EP opener 'Hypnodelic' brings us into this world, a deep, driving cut that fuses the dubbed out vocals of Freddie Turner against FK's keyboards and immaculate drum programming, oozing cosmic electronic soul, this track was destined to be a future classic. 'Mindspeak' also boasts some tough drums and with a respectful nod to Chicago is an incredibly mixed and arranged peak-time cut that will drive your dancefloor into deep space again and again. 'Edge Of Time' welcomes us to the flipside of the EP, wild Latin percussions, tablas and old school horn stabs drive this monstrous cut, not to mention cavernous dub FX and that huge bassline that just doesn't let up. Essential. 'Moov' rounds things out on a more subdued, stripped back vibe. Reversed percussions and spaced-out synth chords lace this beautifully understated and warm track, one that builds into a crescendo of melodies and hypnotic rhythms and the perfect way to close what has been a truly special musical journey.
This essential reissue of the 'FK EP' has been fully licensed, sanctioned and remastered in conjunction with FK from the original master sources by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK, repressed onto high quality vinyl and packaged as the 1995 release was. A truly classic record indeed, available again for 2018. Welcome back Wave Music!
You don’t need to be Freud to regard teeth as a delicate issue. They can make joy look joyous and pain look painful, and on the cover of the new múm album they do both at the same time. As »Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is Okay« (2001), »Finally We Are No One« (2002) and »Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know« (2009) »Smilewound« is another example of the band’s art of juxtaposing two conflicting meanings and taking advantage of the energy created through the tension between both.
Sparser in sound than many of its predecessors, »Smilewound« is an airy, relaxed record. The múm-core-duo of Örvar and Gunni doesn’t make you laugh out loud (except maybe for the quirky vintage Arcade-sound-start of »When Girls Collide«), but it will make you smile often - despite the heavenly voices singing about violence in one form or another in most songs. Musically, múm’s capability to build playful electronic sound-ornaments around simple melodies is in full bloom. And these days they know that trimming the ornamentation can strengthen the melody. Take »The Colorful Stabwound«: an aguish drum’n’bass piece and »Smilewound« gets close to a straight pop-song. Even that isn’t very close, but it combines its rhythmic strength with a simple yet effective piano-line and the soothing lushness of a female voice to something compelling that follows you like the smell of a delicate eau de toilette. Or »Candlestick« which started out as a little ditty strummed on an acoustic guitar many years ago and has grown into this bouncy piece of synth-pop that changes its musical colours every couple of beats until you feel comfortably dizzy. Perfect pop in very fancy clothes. No wonder that antipodean pop-princess Kylie Minogue wanted to collaborate with múm on the »Whistle«, the main song in 2012-movie »Jack & Diane«.
Recorded in, among other places, the band’s practice-space, an old baltic farmhouse and on the kitchen-table after dinner, the album was produced by múm themselves. And being the revolving collective they are, it comes as no surprise that we see the return of former member Gyda. Defining satellites as part of the core fits nicely with the band’s penchant for ambivalence - in fact that's part of the album's charm.
RASTER MEDIA 30 YEARS ANNIVERSARY EDITION REPRESS / 180 G VINYL
Ich bin meine Maschine features remixes by Boys Noize, Function and AtomTM himself.
to underline this tryptic statement (and to demonstrate the diversity) of one of atom™'s compositions that appeared on his 2013 'HD' album, raster-noton now releases a vinyl ep featuring remixes by boys noize, function and atom™ himself. 'ich bin meine maschine', in an elaborate manner, illustrates uwe schmidt´s main musical concern - the exploration of electronics in pop music. inspired by a statement of the cybernetician heinz von foerster, atom™ constructed/generated a message that is playing around with a widely-cited kraftwerk quotation, turning 'ich bin eine maschine' into 'ich bin meine maschine' (i am my machine). besides the album version of 'ich bin meine machine,' the ep features some dominantly techno infuenced versions that perfectly connect the pop attitude of 'HD' with dancefoor functionality. the boys noize remix shows off alexander ridha´s deft skills for translating atom™´s futuristic pop into his own rough and driving electronic language. on the other hand, atom™'s 'linear remix' breaks down the original structure of the song and turns it into a reduced and much straighter, forward looking composition. function - one of techno's true underground heroes - provides a remix that is breathing the air of solid and hypnotic club music, in which just the essential elements are streamlined and ondensed into perfection. all 3 remixers adapt the track to their particular universe. by doing so, they prepare the 12' vinyl for its fnal destination - the club.
Explicit isolation is the third album by the international collective E/I, led by composer and percussionist Szymon Pimpon Gąsiorek. The group’s seven core members came together while studying at Copenhagen’s Rhythmic Music Conservatory and the Royal Danish Academy of Music. For this latest release, they are joined by Slovenian musicians Samo Kutin (hurdy-gurdy) and Kaja Draksler (organ), alongside Danish tuba player Rasmus Svale.
The three compositions distill sound down to its essential elements, drifting freely through space. The material is minimal, moving in the geological rhythm of endless cycles of tension and release, formation and dissolution, density and lightness. Pimpon acts here more as a guide than a creator with a master plan. He is a navigator, leading us to the most crucial moments where sonic emissions merge into vibrating drones, building to an inevitable leap—an explosion after which the particles rearrange themselves once again. It feels like futuristic temple music infused with intergalactic spiritual jazz, the extensions of drone music, and acoustic ambient textures, all highlighted by the jolly grin of the navigator.
“I wrote the scores and asked each of the musicians to record their parts individually. What’s interesting for me about doing it this way is that it removes the element of immediate interaction and introduces a factor of randomness. I then edited and mixed it myself, also adding my own parts. Previously, it was strictly acoustic music, and the recordings were ‘live,’ meaning they were captured in one room at the same time, with no subsequent edits.” Pimpon has also incorporated electronics, which make the album even more airy and organically complement the sounds of the hurdy-gurdy and organ, recorded in Trboje, the small Slovenian village.
A rising and genre-defying figure in the French electronic scene, Goldie B continues her ascent with Who Says Night’s For Sleeping?, a five-track EP that asserts her distinctive signature: an instinctive blend of club energy, cinematic storytelling and UK rave influences. Conceived as the soundtrack to a night lived in full intensity, the record moves through the fire of the dancefloor, the collective trance, and those suspended moments where one floats between dream and wakefulness.
“I imagined this EP as the soundtrack to a night experienced in its entirety. From the first rush of adrenaline on the dancefloor to that floating walk home, still carried by the music. My influences range from Moby and Air to Floating Points and Joy Orbison, artists who know how to combine power and emotion. I love connecting the raw energy of the club with more dreamlike textures, because you can absolutely dream while dancing. Each track is an instinctive snapshot of my inner world.” Goldie B The EP’s opening act, “The Space Between” blends ethereal pads, organic strings and a steady crescendo, recalling the elegance of Air or Moby. It opens a suspended space, equally suited to inner drift or physical release. “I wanted it to feel like a threshold, a gentle hand pulling you into a trance state.”
On “U Make Me Feel So Good”, a sensual and narrative breakbeat track, a flowing bassline gradually tightens into trancier energy. Seductive female vocals weave through broken rhythms, creating a piece that is as tactile as it is hypnotic. “It’s about contrast, the softness and caress at the start, then a tension that rises and electrifies.”
Instagram | Youtube | TikTok | SoundCloudAt the heart of the project, “Rêve de Rave” channels 90’s breakbeat spirit with old-school samples, an euphoric central break and voices urging to move your feet. Urgent and liberating, it embodies the dreamlike essence of the rave. “It’s how I imagine the rave: a lucid dream where joy and collective energy feel almost unreal.”
Next comes the most incisive cut of the EP, “Purple FX”, driven by a grating central bassline that evolves relentlessly until its explosive drop. Minimalist yet implacable, it captures the sheer force of a peak-time track. “I wanted a track purely designed for the club, where the tension just keeps rising until it explodes.”
Closing in chiaroscuro, “Snake Waves” shifts from breakbeat into a half-house, half-techno 4/4 groove, carried by a sinuous, hypnotic bassline. The track plays on tension and release, with a rich harmonic break before fading like a suspended farewell, where the party recedes but the energy lingers. “It’s a farewell piece that keeps the intoxication alive, like a final vertigo before slipping back into the night.”
Goldie B is a multifaceted force on the French electronic scene. A producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, MC, DJ, and co-founder of the label Omakase Recordings, her sets blend bass, jungle, UKG, and breakbeat, captivating audiences with their contagious energy. Based in Marseille, she has released music on renowned labels such as D.KO, Banoffee Pies, and YUKU, and has performed on some of the biggest French stages and festivals: Peacock Society, Astropolis, NDK, Marsatac, Delta, Le Bon Air, and even the Festival d’Avignon. In 2024, she was selected by Apple Music for its Women In Electronic series. Her new Who Says Night’s For Sleeping? EP confirms her status as an instinctive and distinctive artist to watch on the French electronic scene.
"Chuck Roth’s music wanders. The New York-based guitarist’s inquisitive style builds from rippling patterns that center the physicality of his instrument, roaming wherever they take him. watergh0st songs, his Palilalia debut, collects songs from the past half-decade, presenting an intimate snapshot of his music that draws from an eclectic background in classical guitar, electronic music, and improvisation." "The mark of watergh0st songs is its exploratory nature. Roth began his musical journey as a classical guitarist studying the canon works for the instrument, but he was never interested in playing fast or flashy. Instead, he wanted to roam down musical paths and see where they led him. He eventually became more interested in electronic music, where he found inspiration in subtractive properties and patterning. The music of watergh0st songs translates that electronic music to the guitar: many of the songs began as synth tones and later branched out through the physicality of his instrument." "When writing music, Roth wants melodies to feel comfortable in the body, focused less on setting a structure and more on letting music unfold how it happens in any given moment. His songs are fluid and his melodies are clear, plucked with careful attention but never too deterministically. His is the music of a traveler, floating around the strings of the guitar. It is about embracing the banal, or the everyday moments that shape a life." "Though Roth’s music often feels quite direct, there is a dreaminess that lives inside of it. His lyrics don’t feel too hot or cold, instead they have a wistfulness and melancholy of what it feels like to live through every passing day. His exploratory style bolsters these lyrics, giving the music its sense of ennui, as does his focus on texture. Each track takes on a different structure: 'Bunny Hop' unfolds like a squirrel jumping from branch to branch of a tree, while 'Private Boy' has a slower approach, growing from delayed harmonics that almost sound like bowed strings. His textures range from metallic and bristling to soft and feathery, evolving with gentleness. It is about ending up somewhere different than where it started, and watching the notes that fall in-between." The embrace of the routine colors Roth’s music. In it, there is a sense of presence, of admiring the smallest details and moments. Roth loves to take walks and look around, observing the beauty of his surroundings. Similarly, watergh0st songs feels like moving through the world at the pace of a comfortable trot and soaking in every sound as it emerges. It is a quiet evolution—but one that stays."—Vanessa Ague
From the heart of Tamanrasset in South Algeria, Imarhan transcend Tuareg tradition, weaving hypnotic synths into desert blues. The result is a timeless work—deeply respectful of their roots, yet alive with a stirring sense of modernity.
ESSAM is the band’s fourth album, recorded with the same core lineup, but marks a significant shift in their sound and approach. Musically, it marks a departure from the rocky, bluesy, psychedelic Tuareg guitar-driven sound influenced by Tinariwen’s heritage — moving toward something more open, modern, and exploratory.
For the first time, their long-time sound engineer Maxime Kosinetz stepped in as producer. He travelled to Tamanrasset with Emile Papandreou (of the French duo UTO), a multi-instrumentalist who introduced electronic elements by sampling live instruments and reprocessing them in real time with a modular synthesizer — subtly reshaping the band's sonic identity.
The album was recorded mostly live, in one big room at Aboogi Studio — the band’s own rehearsal and recording space in Tamanrasset. The studio, a converted concert hall, has become a kind of cultural hub for the local youth. Friends dropped by during the sessions to contribute handclaps, vocals, and just be part of the energy. It’s a space where people gather, hang out, play dominoes, smoke chicha — a rare communal spot in a city that doesn’t offer many for young people, somewhat like a youth and community center.
This context — the creative shift, the live recording process, the atmosphere around Aboogi — might be interesting threads to explore in the conversation.
Splatter Vinyl[36,93 €]
In einer Zeit, wo alles immer mehr Digital und von KI dominiert wird, setzt Angelo Kelly auf Authentizität
und zwar auf allen Ebenen
Die Songs auf dem neuen Album „ALIVE“ wurden komplett von ihm geschrieben, arrangiert und produziert. Wer sich die Texte der Lieder anschaut wird schnell merken, dass sich einiges in seinem Leben
verändert hat. Er öffnet sich in seinen Songs mehr, als er es jemals in einem Interview tun würde.
Die Art, wie dieses Album produziert wurde, könnte auch nicht authentischer sein!
AK: „Mir war es wichtig das Album komplett analog auf einer Bandmaschine aufzunehmen ganz ohne
Computer. Meine Band und ich waren dabei alle im gleichen Aufnahmeraum und haben meine neuen
Songs gemeinsam in „One Takes” aufgenommen. Nichts wurde korrigiert und es gab auch keine Overdubs
/ Zusatzaufnahmen! So sind die Aufnahmen sicherlich nicht perfekt, und im Radio werden sie höchstwahrscheinlich nicht laufen, aber das ist die einzige Art Musik zu machen, die mich heute noch reizt und
interessiert.“
Das Album wurde dann auch komplett analog auf Band gemischt.
Und für alle, die sich dieses Werk auf Vinyl holen: Das Mastering wurde im letzten Schritt von Chris
Bellman analog vollendet.
Black Vinyl[36,93 €]
In einer Zeit, wo alles immer mehr Digital und von KI dominiert wird, setzt Angelo Kelly auf Authentizität
und zwar auf allen Ebenen
Die Songs auf dem neuen Album „ALIVE“ wurden komplett von ihm geschrieben, arrangiert und produziert. Wer sich die Texte der Lieder anschaut wird schnell merken, dass sich einiges in seinem Leben
verändert hat. Er öffnet sich in seinen Songs mehr, als er es jemals in einem Interview tun würde.
Die Art, wie dieses Album produziert wurde, könnte auch nicht authentischer sein!
AK: „Mir war es wichtig das Album komplett analog auf einer Bandmaschine aufzunehmen ganz ohne
Computer. Meine Band und ich waren dabei alle im gleichen Aufnahmeraum und haben meine neuen
Songs gemeinsam in „One Takes” aufgenommen. Nichts wurde korrigiert und es gab auch keine Overdubs
/ Zusatzaufnahmen! So sind die Aufnahmen sicherlich nicht perfekt, und im Radio werden sie höchstwahrscheinlich nicht laufen, aber das ist die einzige Art Musik zu machen, die mich heute noch reizt und
interessiert.“
Das Album wurde dann auch komplett analog auf Band gemischt.
Und für alle, die sich dieses Werk auf Vinyl holen: Das Mastering wurde im letzten Schritt von Chris
Bellman analog vollendet.
For over a decade, Hyunhye Seo a core member of Xiu Xiu, in her solo work navigates the precarious edges where composition dissolves into pure gesture. Through ecstatic piano improvisations, restless percussive attacks and an expansive use of acoustic space, she constructs layered sonic environments that move across the boundaries of noise, avant-garde jazz, ambient and contemporary classical music. Her performances reveal an unfiltered process of listening and creation - a practice in which thinking becomes the enemy, and surrender the only viable strategy.
Continuation captures one such surrender. Recorded live at MAO - Museo d'Arte Orientale in Turin during the exhibition Rabbit Inhabits the Moon – The Art of Nam June Paik in the Mirror of Time, this cascading piano improvisation unfolds as a dialogue between performer, space and the particular acoustics of a museum built to house contemplative objects. Jamie Stewart processes the sound in real time; Giuseppe Ielasi shapes the final mix. What emerges is a work of charged immediacy - restless gestures giving way to passages of unexpected tenderness, noise and silence trading places in continuous exchange. The title is precise: this is music that refuses conclusion, that exists in a state of perpetual becoming. On Side B, Continuous Extension offers an unprecedented response. Phew - the pioneering figure of Japanese avant-garde music since the late 1970s - was invited by curators Chiara Lee and Freddie Murphy to reinterpret Seo's performance. Working with synthesizer and subtle processing, Phew distills the resonances of Continuation into a new electronic landscape - waves of abstraction that echo like reflections in sound, tracing the harmonic tensions of Seo's playing into territories she herself did not visit.
The accompanying booklet includes an essay by Bruno Lo Turco exploring the deep connections between improvisation and Buddhist thought, and a written reflection by Seo on her own practice of surrender and listening.
Continuation is released on Ubi Kū, the record label of the Unione Buddhista Italiana. The cover reproduces Avalokitesvara "Water and Moon" from the Museo d'Arte Orientale "E. Chiossone" in Genoa - the bodhisattva of compassion gazing at the reflection of the moon in water. Like that reflection, this music exists fully in the present, complete and unrepeatable.
- A1: Madre Terra
- A2: Destino
- A3: Occhi Fissi Feat. Madbuddy
- A4: Viaggio Nella Musica
- A5: L’attesa (Skit)
- A6: No Drama Feat. Claver Gold
- B1: Sott’ E Sop’
- B2: Sulle Nuvole
- B3: La Multa (Skit)
- B4: Funk4Ass
- B5: Riti Oscuri
- B6: Per La Mia Gente
- B7: L’attimo (Bonus Track)
Subconscio left the smallest town in Gargano to begin a new life in uncharted Bologna.
Leaving mother earth, he still retains a strong sense of that distant world, expressed through the senses of his inner child. The Subconscio
project finds its expression in music, where it blends Neo Soul, Hip Hop, and Electronica into a sound deeply influenced by individual experiences. Soft vibrations and relaxed lyrics are the means through which he expresses his devotion to creative freedom, moving with the urgency of someone who has finally found his voice. The word dáimōn originates from Ancient Greek and means divine messenger, a guiding
spirit that hovers in a middle ground, called metaxu, the same place where the soul resides, and acts as a link between God and humanity.*
"Daimon" is Subconscio's debut album, produced by Luzee. It's the intimate vision of a person suspended in his imagination, questioning
the identity of his own memory and how the places that led him to his NOW are actually his future. The present doesn't exist in the narrative.
It exists only in the connection between childhood memories and the adult perspective.
Giulio is his son and also his parent: the Subconscious; the "daimon" is the musical journey that connects these two ways of observing the
same memory. Nostalgic turmoil meets the desire to recognize oneself and fuel the obsession with music, because only this—albeit the least
apparent art—is the only one that can be the voice and bearer of the dimensions of consciousness.
Featuring on the album: Madbuddy and Claver Gold
Minor Notes continues to explore and open up the world of Russia's underground electronic scene. The new vinyl release is a collection of original works by the highly experienced Kaluga-based music producer Chivee Gres. The record perfectly showcases the sound of Deep House and Jackin, showcasing Nikita's subtle sampling, masterful arrangement, and deep knowledge of production techniques. This music is made for the dancefloor: Side A is the perfect companion to any warmap, while Side B will brighten up primetime with its bouncy sound.
Integrate marks the debut release for both new UK electronic music label System One & label head D. Howard* No stranger to the music having worked with some of the most well known electronic acts over the last 30 years, Integrate marks the first time D.Howard has gone studio side to empty the contents of his mind
Integrate spans a range of classic influences over its 7 tracks. The warm vintage pads and arpeggiated acid sequences of Helford Dawn recall a touch of Warp era Black Dog. Solaris take a spacey electro driven trip adrift on evocative & reflective chords while Aja takes the beat further, melancholic & eerie atmospheres sits atop a lithe acid bass line and crisp drum programming
Dear James pays tribute to the much regarded producer James Rekab Baker who sadly passed away in September 2025 James was the first person to hear this project & his enthusiasm and support was the push needed to start System One and release the music. The track is a soulful melodic deep tech cut reminiscent of early Dutch techno and has received great reactions from radio DJs such as Damo B, Colin Dale, Luke Una, Ross Allen, Paul ‘Apiento’ Byrne & Ollie Chubb at NTS and Quinn Paranoid London (Rinse FM)
System One is a new label dedicated to soulful electronic music, late night grooves & intergalactic beats, drawing its inspiration from the early 90s techno & ambient sounds of Uk, Frankfurt, Detroit & beyond
System One - Bass, Beats, Pads & Bleeps
CYRK Relaunches Time Zero with a High-Voltage Return to Electro Berlin-based duo CYRK proudly announce the relaunch of their Time Zero imprint, marking the occasion with a striking new release that dives head-first back into their electro roots. The EP showcases three tracks of pure electronic funk, delivered with the razor-sharp production and futuristic flair that has come to define the project. Adding a further layer of intrigue, the record includes a remix from the enigmatic producer Client_03, whose identity remains one of electronic music's most compelling mysteries. Their reinterpretation pushes the release into even deeper machine-funk territory, rounding out a package that reaffirms CYRK's command of the genre. With the rebirth of Time Zero, CYRK signal a new chapter--one that celebrates their unmistakable sound while looking boldly toward the future.
The new album by the collective that for
over 25 years has been among the most
representative names of the Italian dance
and electronic scene worldwide.
“BLOOOM”, this is the title of the new release,
will be available in all traditional stores and
on digital platforms starting January 16.
Set against the soundscapes that have become
the Planet Funk trademark, the lyrics by Dan
Black attempt to give voice to a fragile and
contradictory condition of our time: an
intensified sensitivity that, instead of
turning into openness and connection, often
becomes emotional overload. A generation
constantly overwhelmed by excessive stimuli,
relentless information, anxieties, and fears,
called upon to find its way in a world thaoffers neither pauses nor silence. In this paradox, sensitivity is no longer just a natural gift, but
a daily effort: staying open and receptive without being overwhelmed, trying to preserve a human and
vulnerable gaze in order, despite everything, to fully appreciate life and the present moment.
The single’s artwork—like that of the album—curated by Nationhood, visually conveys this tension: the
distant sirens of a city that amplifies feelings of disorientation and loneliness even when we are
surrounded by thousands of people.
“BLOOOM”, preceded by the single “FEEL EVERYTHING”, arrives at the end of an intense, creative year
full of music, which saw Alex Neri (DJ, keyboards, synthesizers), Marco Baroni (keyboards, piano,
programming), Dan Black (vocals and guitar), and Alex Uhlmann (vocals and guitar) engaged between
studio work, collaborations, and live performances in Italy and abroad. A journey that today
transforms into new energy, into an even more open vision oriented toward the future.
Exactly one year ago, PLANET FUNK released “Nights in White Satin”, a single that reached the top
positions of the radio charts and launched a season rich in concerts and DJ sets in Italy and around
the world. The subsequent “I Get a Rush”, the collaboration with Alfa and Manu Chao on the remix of
their hit “A me mi piace”, and the track “È Naturale” together with Francesca Michielin, confirmed
Planet Funk’s ability to renew themselves and engage with different musical worlds while always
remaining true to their own identity.
Throughout this journey, music has inevitably intertwined with life. The memory of Sergio Della Monica
and Domenico “Gigi” Canu, pillars and founding souls of the PLANET FUNK project, is a living part of
this new chapter. Their vision, creative spirit, and way of understanding music continue to be a
constant guide, a deep root from which new ideas and new directions can grow.
“BLOOOM” is also this: a personal and artistic blossoming that, starting from the legacy left by
Sergio and Gigi, transforms into a living process of growth, metamorphosis, and discovery. An album
that does not look back with nostalgia, but forward with awareness, momentum, and a desire for
renewal.
Founded in 1999, for over 25 years PLANET FUNK have represented one of the most important, solid, and
influential realities in the international electronic music scene. Born from the meeting of Souled
Out! (Domenico “GG” Canu and Sergio Della Monica) and Kamasutra (Marco Baroni and Alex Neri), and
following their debut with “Non Zero Sumness” in 2002 (a gold record and a turning point for the
band), PLANET FUNK have managed to reinvent themselves over time while maintaining a unique sonic
identity. This has led them to collaborate with internationally renowned artists, deliver iconic
performances around the world, create soundtracks and international advertising campaigns, and
continue to demonstrate constant creative vitality
How better to solidify over a year of meteoric rise than with the release of a debut EP? dublon is both the phenomenon of the moment and one of the most promising prospects for a lasting career in the electronic scene. The Norwegian producer has teamed up with top-tier musicians (saxophonists, pianists) to blend organic craftsmanship with his incredible electronic touch. He has also collaborated with respected and renowned artists like Tour-Maubourg, TABLE, and the incredible American singer Deza to bring this project to life.
The result is Nectar, an EP that balances touching elegance with an insatiable urge to dance to its uplifting rhythms. dublon and his Jazz-House sound are set to keep us moving all year long.
Over the past decade, Siavash Amini’s compelling electronic music has quietly garnered praise from
Pitchfork, The Guardian and AllMusic. From his home base in Tehran, Iran, Amini has collaborated
with artists like Rafael Anton Irisarri and 9T Antiope, and regularly uses literature, film, mysticism, and
medieval Iranian culture as musical launchpads. Amini’s new album, Eremos, illustrates a passage
from Avicenna, the preeminent philosopher and physician of the Islamic Golden Age: one can move
out of darkness, he writes, by confronting the darkness within. The results are - even for Amini -
uniquely immersive, cinematic and moving: a landmark.
London-based producer Tar Blanche, also known as a member of the dreampop band Yumi Zouma, unveils How to Dance Freely Without Social Anxiety, a 7-track journey through jazz-house, deep house, and chill-out lounge.
With a sound that resonates alongside artists like dublon, Table, and Berlioz, the English producer blends ambient textures, refined guitar riffs, and emotive productions, crafting an intimate yet hypnotic atmosphere. Signed to Délicieuse Records, Tar Blanche continues to push boundaries, cementing his place as one of the most exciting producers in modern electronic music.
Fictional Reality is the new EP from Elektrotechnik, joining us for our first release in 2026. The EP contains five original tracks and one remix by LDI Records label head Lloyd Stellar. Track “Delta” sets the right mood straight away with its nice warm and atmospheric pads, while “Options” already brings in the energy for the dancefloor. The A Side closes with the track “Electro”, a real old school style Electro hymn. For his remix of “Electro” on B1, Lloyd Stellar focusses on a few elements of the original track and creates a totally new groove. The tracks “A.I.” and “Primate Dance” are both energetic, eclectic and round up the EP in a perfect way.
- A1: Poison Ivy
- B1: Forget About
Her natural command on stage, paired with a voice that feels quietly seasoned, has made her one of the most exciting young live musicians emerging from the region. Now, with her first release, a double single featuring the raw, one-take folk recording 'Poison Ivy' and the dreamlike, psychedelic shimmer of 'Forget About' -- Grant introduces the full spectrum of her sound. One track close to the bone, the other lost in a dream, both unmistakably hers. 'Poison Ivy' was recorded when Grant was just 16, in a spontaneous midnight session after finally playing her songs to her dad. With only one microphone, no click, and a single take, the track became a time capsule of her earliest songwriting voice -- fragile, real, and impossible to recreate.
Now featuring Dan Bridgewood-Hill's evocative violin, it stands as a folk recording filled with warmth, instinct and unfiltered emotion. "I tried re-recording it," she says, "but nothing touched the magic of that first take." In contrast, 'Forget About' showcases Grant's emerging production instincts. Influenced by Zero 7, the song began as a kitchen jam before evolving into a lush mix of psychedelic keys, airy electronics and indie- rock textures. Self- recorded in Logic, the track reveals a new dimension to her writing, cinematic and rhythmically hypnotic
- Intro
- Picto
- I Could Just Do It
- Build A Box Then Break It
- This Time I’m Present
- Showroom Poetry
- Expo
- Square Root Of None
- Weights & Measures
- A Modern Low
- Incomplete Symphony
If art is to be exhibited, then Ulrika Spacek will ensure that their art is collective; that even as the world becomes inhospitable to community, their intentions are an act of resistance.
Whether it is Oysterland, the self-curated night the band have been Hosting for over ten years to platform artists of other disciplines in live music spaces, or Total Refreshment Centre, the East London studio Syd runs which connects the dots between the jazz scene and like-minded experimental artists of the capital and beyond, or their creative bleed as musicians and producers over the years with the likes of Crack Cloud, caroline, DIIV, Holy Wave and Slowdive, the band’s existence is inseparable from their community.
In a hyper-individual world, the band’s fourth album, ‘EXPO’, offers an antidote. It’s there, in the shared dream logic of the music, the off-kilter melodies, jagged guitars and cirrus cloud atmospherics. It’s there, in all the things that are said and unsaid between them; there in the writing, producing and mixing processes they share in. And even as each of their parts Moves toward a unified vision, it’s never more keenly felt than in the bigger Picture to which Ulrika Spacek belong.
Though their well-established foundations are in the art-rock world - and though they are inspired by electronic elements more than ever - Ulrika Spacek are interested in the glitch that exists between the two. Their Music reckons with human warmth and digital isolation, equal parts welcoming and altogether alienating. “Our music has always been a collage - a bit patchwork, sonically - but what makes this album a landmark for us is that we went one step further and made our own sample bank,” explains singer / guitarist Rhys. They create their own doppelgängers in a world of almostreal, where the band appear as if in a hall of mirrors. Digital drums are sampled layered upon real drums, and the effect is almost like birth in reverse - pulled from the ether and returned back to the tangible world.
“There’s a lot that can be said about writing when there is no aim, there is a freedom and a purity in it which opens a door to more music, and in this case, it set a mood for a new album, one that would be colder, darker and one that would embrace electronics and new instrumentation in a new terrain,” the band share. “The album’s greater theme is isolation and alienation in an online world where it seems everybody around you is constantly exhibiting themselves, living in public wanting to be seen and heard. The age of ‘individuality’ is lonely, it’s a room of concave mirrors, and with this in mind, we set upon making our most collective effort; ‘It’s back to strength in numbers, count in fives.”
For fans of Radiohead, Moin, DIIV, Astrel K, Slowdive.
LP presented on Crystal Clear vinyl.
- A1: Dadax
- B1: Futurismo
black & silver vinyl[35,50 €]
Merzbild Schwet, the second album opus released in 1980, is considered one of Nurse With Wound's major releases, and is part of the famous "Silver Edition" on Rotorelief Records, with a luxurious chrome-plated cover in double Gatefold sleeves, and sumptuous 200g vinyl discs issued in 300 copies on silver and black vinyl, and 700 copies on black vinyl.
The first track, Futurismo, begins with clanking rhythms, record skip clicks, and horn riffs before veering off into a crazed quilt of women singing, laughing, and talking in French. About halfway through, wild screeches of distortion disrupt the piece, and then more bizarre sounds take over before the piece ends with a collage of over modulated electronic hum and rambling piano. The other cut, Dada X, goes further into weirdness with lots of silences, creepy creaking noises, tones that build up and collapse, and scattered spoken word in French and English from Eve Libertine from the political punk band Crass, and the piece certainly lives up to the Dada of its title.
Brooklyn based baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson presents his new work "Imagine Giving Up" on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 17th January of 2020 sees Parzen-Johnson move into new domains of sound as he uncovers newfound energy and pulse in his music.
In addition to the sonically rich analog synth elements that accompany his earlier solo saxophone work, Jonah has layered heavily sound designed samples of his own saxophone to create truly one of a kind percussive snaps, reverberant basses, and warbling leads. At it's core, the music remains deeply devoted to almost vocal sounding melodic lines and patiently developed compositional ideas.
A compact set of 6 originals, "Imagine Giving Up" is Jonah Parzen-Johnson's most ambitious album yet. While taking a step away from the previous world of "ambient jazz", his new music stems from the use of drone-like sounds for baritone saxophone, a style which is uniquely his own. Electronics are blended in for good measure, creating a coherent vision of abstract jazz with depth. As with all of Parzen-Johnson's releases, the music comes with a deeper narrative which he will continually explore in live performance.
The manifesto for the album reads as follows: "Only a few people can really start over. Everyone else is left to struggle down the path they were assigned. The option to give up, to choose your own path, is power, and, hopefully, a call to action: take a risk to help someone." "Imagine Giving Up" by Jonah Parzen-Johnson, will be available via 'We Jazz Records' on violet and black vinyl versions, CD and digitally.
Koma Saxo, the explosive quintet led by Berlin-based Swedish bassist/producer Petter Eldh, returns on We Jazz Records with their new album, cut live at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, December 2019. Whereas their lauded debut was a triumph of remapping the goal posts for an acoustic jazz combo for the 2020's, "LIVE" takes you right to the heart of the actual ensemble sound, with 5 musicians tearing the place down, no post production. From the fiery opening sequence kicking off with "Euro Koma", on to the much calmer beauty of "Waltz Me, Waltz Me Baby, All Night Long" and the first single "Fiskeskärsmelodin", the 8-song set is pure fire, never failing to convey the extraordinary intensity of the group: Eldh on bass, Otis Sandsjö (Y-OTIS), Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen on saxes, and Christian Lillinger on drums.
An excerpt of liner notes by Peter Margasak:
"When I first saw Petter Eldh's quintet Koma Saxo in Berlin in September of 2019 I was floored. The raw, sprinting energy of the band was both infectious and astonishing, but what I most remember was a sense of cognitive dissonance. Was this the same combo that recorded a fantastic eponymous 2019 studio album that represented one of the most convincing, pleasurable, and driving hybrid's of searing post-bop and the production ethos of hip-hop? There have been endless stabs by producers trying to remap the machinations of an organic, all-acoustic jazz band with electronic post-production, but Eldh, channeling a sonic language heavily informed by J Dilla, nailed it in a way I'd never experienced before. Having the trust of his three imaginative, high-octane saxophonists—Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, and Mikko Innanen—he used their grainy sound as raw material, smudging and smearing it like a painter creating new hues on a palette, and then extending, editing, and powering it up within the imperturbable grooves meted out by he and drummer Christian Lillinger. He didn't really alter the essential core of the band's performances. There's no question that a seriously burning quintet had laid the tracks down, even if the performances reflected the kind of concision many jazz groups adapt for a studio endeavor. But the way his jacked-up bass lines and Lillinger's impossibly peripatetic, stuttering rhythms buffeted the massed saxophones elevated Koma Saxo to plane all its own, and I repeatedly returned to that place—half the time trying to figure out what the hell Eldh had done, and the other half lost in giddy ecstasy.
The live show, on the other hand, featured the band without any production tricks. Its soaring, pithy repertoire came alive in a different way, and this excellent live recording from the 2019 We Jazz Festival, has reminded me of how fun and visceral that experience was."
Koma Saxo "LIVE" is released by We Jazz Records on 30 April 2021 on two vinyl editions (silver + black), as a bundle with an unreleased 7" (+ silver vinyl edition), on CD and digitally. The vinyl versions plus the CD come complete with silver embossed lettering. The vinyl is delivered on heavy-duty tip-on sleeve, complete with an insert featuring liner notes by Peter Margasak, Andreas Müller, Matti Nives and Petter Eldh.
a 01: Euro Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
b 02: Puls Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
c 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
[d] 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
Silver Vinyl
Koma Saxo, the explosive quintet led by Berlin-based Swedish bassist/producer Petter Eldh, returns on We Jazz Records with their new album, cut live at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, December 2019. Whereas their lauded debut was a triumph of remapping the goal posts for an acoustic jazz combo for the 2020's, "LIVE" takes you right to the heart of the actual ensemble sound, with 5 musicians tearing the place down, no post production. From the fiery opening sequence kicking off with "Euro Koma", on to the much calmer beauty of "Waltz Me, Waltz Me Baby, All Night Long" and the first single "Fiskeskärsmelodin", the 8-song set is pure fire, never failing to convey the extraordinary intensity of the group: Eldh on bass, Otis Sandsjö (Y-OTIS), Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen on saxes, and Christian Lillinger on drums.
An excerpt of liner notes by Peter Margasak:
"When I first saw Petter Eldh's quintet Koma Saxo in Berlin in September of 2019 I was floored. The raw, sprinting energy of the band was both infectious and astonishing, but what I most remember was a sense of cognitive dissonance. Was this the same combo that recorded a fantastic eponymous 2019 studio album that represented one of the most convincing, pleasurable, and driving hybrid's of searing post-bop and the production ethos of hip-hop? There have been endless stabs by producers trying to remap the machinations of an organic, all-acoustic jazz band with electronic post-production, but Eldh, channeling a sonic language heavily informed by J Dilla, nailed it in a way I'd never experienced before. Having the trust of his three imaginative, high-octane saxophonists—Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, and Mikko Innanen—he used their grainy sound as raw material, smudging and smearing it like a painter creating new hues on a palette, and then extending, editing, and powering it up within the imperturbable grooves meted out by he and drummer Christian Lillinger. He didn't really alter the essential core of the band's performances. There's no question that a seriously burning quintet had laid the tracks down, even if the performances reflected the kind of concision many jazz groups adapt for a studio endeavor. But the way his jacked-up bass lines and Lillinger's impossibly peripatetic, stuttering rhythms buffeted the massed saxophones elevated Koma Saxo to plane all its own, and I repeatedly returned to that place—half the time trying to figure out what the hell Eldh had done, and the other half lost in giddy ecstasy.
The live show, on the other hand, featured the band without any production tricks. Its soaring, pithy repertoire came alive in a different way, and this excellent live recording from the 2019 We Jazz Festival, has reminded me of how fun and visceral that experience was."
Koma Saxo "LIVE" is released by We Jazz Records on 30 April 2021 on two vinyl editions (silver + black), as a bundle with an unreleased 7" (+ silver vinyl edition), on CD and digitally. The vinyl versions plus the CD come complete with silver embossed lettering. The vinyl is delivered on heavy-duty tip-on sleeve, complete with an insert featuring liner notes by Peter Margasak, Andreas Müller, Matti Nives and Petter Eldh.
a 01: Euro Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
b 02: Puls Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
c 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
d 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[a] 01: Euro Koma (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[b] 02: Puls Koma (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[c] 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[d] 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
- 1: Intro
- 2: Return Of Ravens
- 3: The Shadowshires
- 4: Solitude
- 5: Leave A Room
- 6: Sorcerers
- 7: Can Die No More
- 8: Nathalie And The Fireflies
- 9: Let Us Go As They Do
- 10: Down The Nile
- 11: Outro
Transparent Blue Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Green Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Lime Vinyl[28,53 €]
As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.
If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.
Transparent Orange Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Green Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Lime Vinyl[28,53 €]
As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.
If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.
Transparent Orange Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Blue Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Lime Vinyl[28,53 €]
As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.
If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.
Transparent Orange Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Blue Vinyl[28,53 €]
Transparent Green Vinyl[28,53 €]
As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.
If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.
Introducing Human Behaviour Records, a vibrant new realm where music meets the soul, a home for fresh, innovative sounds and frequencies that resonate with the very essence of what makes us uniquely human. A journey into the deep, timeless grooves of dance music, blending rhythms and harmonious beats that transcend space and time. Our mission is to create a profound, unforgettable connection with all those who hear it, inviting listeners to lose themselves in the universal pulse that binds us together. We hope to spark a sense of unity, bringing together individuals from all walks of life and fostering a community built on shared experience and creative expression.
First up one up on the label is Nic David with his highly anticipated EP “Magnetic”. It pushes and pulls the boundaries of house and electro, connecting frequencies that attract positive feelings and inspire irresistible movement on the dance floor. Followed by A2 we have “The Feelin” a track that takes you on a journey with no destination, an ever-evolving ride through funky basslines and enlightened melodies. B1 taking a turn into the harder sounds with “Work it (Listen up)” capturing the mind with heavy drums and mind altering sounds through peak moments. And for the final track we are proud to have none other than Nate S.U for the remix of “Work It”. A forward thinking human known for his hypnotic sounds, creating timeless music that sits on its own throne. His take on “Work It” fuses electronic textures and a rock inspired rhythm, pushing the boundaries from the ordinary.
2026 Repress
How better to solidify over a year of meteoric rise than with the release of a debut EP? dublon is both the phenomenon of the moment and one of the most promising prospects for a lasting career in the electronic scene. The Norwegian producer has teamed up with top-tier musicians (saxophonists, pianists) to blend organic craftsmanship with his incredible electronic touch. He has also collaborated with respected and renowned artists like Tour-Maubourg, TABLE, and the incredible American singer Deza to bring this project to life.
The result is Nectar, an EP that balances touching elegance with an insatiable urge to dance to its uplifting rhythms. dublon and his Jazz-House sound are set to keep us moving all year long.
2026 Repress
Dam Swindle's new 'Backyard Galaxy' EP is an ode to house music and the classic Swindle sound.
It's only been a few months since Dam Swindle released their highly acclaimed album "Open" and already the boys are back on Heist with a new release that takes you right back to the dancefloor. Where they've spent the better part of the last 3 years writing their album with all its sonic explorations and collabs, this new EP sees the duo return to their roots of club-ready house music. The 'Backyard Galaxy' EP comes with 4 high-energy house tracks made in their Amsterdam studio that have been road-tested all summer.
EP opener "Feel it much?" has all the ingredients of a classic Swindle heater, with warm pads, rich organic percussion and tons of soul. There's a simple and effective vocal running throughout the track that blends nicely with the classic house elements and electronic textures that are layered throughout the track. There's an effortless flow to this track and it comes as no surprise that it has been a highlight in their sets this summer.
The EP title track 'Backyard Galaxy' is an up-tempo Latin-themed jam with a hint of old school techno. The synth stabs hit you just right and the modulated vocal chops are a lovely boost for the build ups and add a touch of swing to a track that already has a tight groove. Add to that a huge breakdown and drum roll and you've got yourself a track that'll light up any dancefloor.
On the flip, we're moving into garage territory with the shuffling vibes of 'Rhythm Baby'. The current popularity of the genre is not missed on Dam Swindle, but when you look closely, you'll see this track is full of elements that the duo have built their legacy on. The vocal chops, transposed key samples and swing are all on point and work just as well below, as above 130 bpm if speed is your thing.
The EP closes with the NY-style house cut 'What you give', which reminds us of Dam Swindle's remix of Cinthie's Heist hit 'Won't U take me' with its lush organs and moody keys. It's perhaps the most classic house track they've made in a long time and you can hear they had a great time recording this. It's playful, vibey and catchy. Just the way we like it.
Dam Swindle might have delivered one of the standout cross-over albums of 2025, but on this EP the message is clear: Once a househead, always a househead.
As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!
Much love,
Heist HQ
ROTCIV is back with his new EP ‘Memory’, which marks the 20th release on Beartrax’s label Melodize. Throughout the record, the Berlin-based and native Brazilian producer explores his signature dark, mysterious, and atmospheric vibes shaped by the underground and queer club nights and dance-floors that fuel his sound, refined by over almost 30 years behind the decks.
Maintaining Melodize’s specialized sound deep-rooted in moody electronic principles, the EP opens with ‘Memory’, a piercing, dark, synth dynamic alongside rich tonal textures in both harmony and melodies alike. Unapologetic, yet calming and reminiscent of a slow drive through the winter nights; cold, yet bold, sharp, and comforting.
First to remix ‘Memory’ with a nostalgic, synth-heavy 80’s remix is Frankfurt-based DJ, producer, and visual artist Chinaski. Integrating his signature bold synth hooks into the track, Chinaski knows how to roll in with longing sentimentality. The remix features a bouncier approach with re-envisioned acoustic percussion and catchy synth arps, along with an eery dark disco feel.
On the B side, Rotciv kicks in with ‘Trintage’, which gives a sinister sensation with its hypnotising bass synth lines alongside contrasting, choir-like pads. Seeping with articulate poly-rhythmic synth arps, Trintage guides the listener to be indulged into a dream-like state on the border between both digital and analogue soundscapes, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.
Next up is New York-based and founder of Samo Records, Facets, who takes on the next remix for ‘Trintage’ with a more electro-grunge techno approach consisting of heavier four to the floor kicks in company of Rotciv’s hypnotic textures. Having shifted the synth melody rhythmically, a sense of space and tension is created within the soundworld of this track. The play between gritty bass-end synths along with softer, textured high-ends helps emphasize the groove injected into this remix.
One last remix of ‘Memory’ by Melodize’s own label founder, Beartrax, rounds out the EP. Available exclusively via digital bonus, Beartrax features his deeply hypnotic aesthetic by driving in ethereal synths alongside cosmic arps and slow-rolling rhythmic and pulsating groove lines.
- A1: The Whip Hand
- A2: Aegis
- A3: Dyslexicon
- B1: Empty Vessels Make The Loudest Sound
- B2: The Malkin Jewel
- B3: Lapochka
- C1: In Absentia
- C2: Imago
- C3: Molochwalker
- C4: Trinkets Pale Of Moon
- D1: Vedamalady
- D2: Noctourniquet
- D3: Zed And Two Naughts
Noctourniquet And then everything went black, at least for a while, at least for The Mars Volta. In the months and years following their fifth full-length, Octahedron, Omar kept on at his usual fearsome creative pace. In fact, he ramped up his output considerably, starting up his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions label and releasing a slew of solo albums. It was a practice he’d begun shortly after De-Loused’s release, with his solo debut A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One, but as the decade reached its close, Omar grew to rely upon his solo recordings as an outlet for his prolific creativity, these albums often exploring musical pastures far beyond even The Mars Volta’s wide-ranging parameters. Before choosing to release music under his own name, Omar would always play it to Cedric first, to see if the frontman thought it had potential to become Mars Volta music. Shortly after Octahedron’s completion, Cedric flagged one batch of tracks Omar had cut with Deantoni Parks, a brilliant drummer and composer who’d briefly occupied the Mars Volta drumstool in-between Jon Theodore and Thomas Pridgen’s tenures, and whose volcanic creativity and unique, unpredictable approach to rhythm and composition had quickly made him one of Omar’s favourite artistic foils.
As with the music that made up Octahedron, the new tracks Cedric had optioned for The Mars Volta often veered far from the riotous, Grand Guignol visions of their earlier releases. It possessed the punchy, song-based focus of Octahedron, though this was a considerably darker, more menacing strain of pop, with synthesisers figuring heavily in the productions. Cedric took the tracks in 2009 and set about writing songs to the music. But no more new Mars Volta music would be heard until 2012. The years that passed in-between were nonetheless momentous, and busy, witnessing an unexpected reunion of the members of At The Drive-In, and Cedric joining his own side-project, Anywhere. But there wasn’t any sign of life within the Mars Volta until Omar, Cedric and their bandmates took to the road for a series of live shows in the spring of 2011, billed as The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, debuting the songs that would become Noctourniquet. The album followed the next year, and it remains one of The Mars Volta’s finest, its electronic textures staking out unfamiliar but fertile new ground.
An unsettling, subtly turbulent listen, Noctourniquet found Cedric sketching out a story about “some sort of device that stops the darkness from bleeding”, drawing influence variously from the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy, the Greek myth of Hyacinthus and the song Birth, School, Work, Death by British underground rockers The Godfathers. It was an album of dystopian futurism, signalled by the paranoid cyber-rock of opener The Whip Hand and its unnerving chorus, “That’s when I disconnect from you”. But it was also an album of inspired, unexpected moves and uncanny invention, like how Dyslexicon seemed to eerily evoke Blondie’s Rapture, before rushing headlong into its bruising chorus, tempos shifting restlessly throughout like quaking earth beneath the listener’s feet, or how Aegis put a brave new spin on The Mars Volta’s trademark rewiring of salsa’s overdriven passions, or how Cedric had never sounded as scary as he did on The Malkin Jewel’s mutant burlesque shuffle. Tracks like Molochwalker were sleek and concise in a way The Mars Volta had never really attempted before – which was all part of Omar’s plan.
“It had all been guitar, guitar, guitar, overdubs, everything fighting for space in the same frequency,” he explains. “So for Noctourniquet, it was all about subtracting elements, of sticking to how I made demos.” Deantoni’s presence helped revivify the group, playing against cliché and expectation, and taking each song in unexpected directions. “I’d beatbox a rhythm for him to play, to go with my guitar part, and he’d come back with three or four alternate options. It was so great.” Similarly, Cedric had never sung better than on Noctourniquet, staking out a fearsome spectrum from the chilling Tom Waitsian growl of The Malkin Jewel to the keening, beautiful vocalisation on Vedamalady, rising to match some of Omar’s most deft, most immediately effective and melodic songs yet. Indeed, Noctourniquet is the sound of a band discovering new ways to do familiar things, renewing their commitment to their mission, finding fresh inspiration a decade in, and shaking off any complacency that might have come with ten years of acclaim and success.
Grupo um celebrate 50 years with release of lost dictatorship-era album nineteen seventy seven!
First time release - vinyl comes with printed innersleeves
Brazilian avant-jazz vanguardists Grupo Um celebrate their 50th anniversary, sharing a second previously lost 1970s album from the vaults. Nineteen Seventy Seven (titled after the year it was recorded) is another rip-roaring instrumental fusion treasure from the band which spawned from within Hermeto Pascoal’s famed mid-1970s São Paulo collective.
Like their debut album Starting Point, Grupo Um’s Nineteen Seventy Seven was recorded when Brazil's military dictatorship was at its most repressive. “There were no open doors to those who dreamt to be protagonists in creative instrumental music”, remembers drummer Zé Eduardo Nazario, “even popular composers and singers had to submit their songs to censors and many records were banned and confiscated from the stores.”
Just like Hermeto Pascoal's Viajando Com O Som (1977) and Grupo Um's previous album Starting Point (1975), both of which remained unreleased until the 21st century, Zé Eduardo asserts that the 1977 album was flatly 'without any chance to be released at that time."
Recorded at Rogério Duprat’s Vice-Versa Studios in São Paulo, the group were under both time and space restraints, “we chose the small Studio B,” Lelo Nazario recalls, “which had a Tascam (TE AC) 12x8 console and a 4-channel AMPEX AG 440 machine. Therefore, we had to record without overdubs, everything straight to tape.”
Expanding from a trio to a quintet, original Grupo Um members Lelo Nazario (keys), Zé Eduardo Nazario (drums), and Zeca Assumpção (bass) were joined by saxophonist Roberto Sion and percussionist Carlinhos Gonçalves. Carlinhos, Zé and Zeca had already played together in the group Mandala, while brothers Lelo and Zé had just finished a stint backing Hermeto Pascoal during his years in São Paulo.
Lelo was deeply immersed in modular synthesizer experimentation during this period, working extensively with the ARP2600 and EMS Synthi AKS. These electroacoustic explorations formed the sonic foundation for "Mobile/Stabile," one of his first compositions to merge modular synthesis with Brazilian music, a fusion that would ripple throughout the Brazilian jazz scene. The piece premiered at the first São Paulo International Jazz Festival in 1978, performed by Grupo Um with guest trumpeter Márcio Montarroyos. In a shocking moment, festival organizers interrupted the show mid-performance, sparking fierce backlash from both audience members and journalists who denounced the incident as artistic censorship during Brazil's era of political and cultural repression. The version on Nineteen Seventy Seven is the first recording of the composition.
Nineteen Seventy Seven combines Afro-Brazilian rhythm, modular synthesis and a plethora of whistles, percussion and effects pedals. Album opener “Absurdo Mudo” - so titled for the absurd difficulty it poses to the musicians performing it - starts out in a cloud of mysterious dissonance, before the haze breaks for a glorious keyboard and saxophone interplay atop an uptempo samba groove. “Cortejo dos Reis Negros (Version 2)” (Procession of the Black Kings), based on the maracatu rhythm, inverts the traditional jazz song structure by beginning with improvisations, which are followed by the theme and a final coda. “The studio also had two Parasound electronic reverb units,” Lelo notes, “and the timbre is very audible on the soprano sax and percussion.”
Grupo Um’s daring music represents a manifesto of resistance during the dictatorship years, but it’s one which remains just as relevant today. As Lelo puts it: “For me, the aesthetic issue has always been about combining contemporary avant-garde languages with Brazilian music, independent of categories and commercial interests. The result of this fusion takes music to a new level.”
Recording credits (1977)
Recorded at Vice-Versa B Studio, São Paulo, November 9, 1977
Produced by Lelo Nazario and Zé Eduardo Nazario
Engineered by Ricardo “Franja” Carvalheira
Lelo Nazario – Wurlitzer electric piano, acoustic piano, signal generator, percussion
Zé Eduardo Nazario – drums, percussion
Zeca Assumpção – electric bass
Carlinhos Gonçalves – percussion
Roberto Sion – soprano sax, clarinet
Release credits (2025)
Produced by UTOPIA Studio, São Paulo
Project Coordination in Brazil by Irati Antonio (Utopia Studio)
Tape Restoration and Digital Mastering by Lelo Nazario at Utopia Studio, July 2025
Liner Notes by Lelo Nazario and Zé Eduardo Nazario
Photography by Jorge Las Heras, Lelo Nazario, and artists' personal archives
Photo Restoration by Lelo Nazario
Artwork and Design by Alessandro Renaldin
- Hasiera 00:50
- 2: Iratzarri 0:37
- Sarrakio 02:10
- Dantza Bihurritua 03:50
- Desagertu 03:18
- Meditazioa I 02:09
- Besarkatu Ninduzun (Cdr Y Basandere Ahotsak) 03:50
- Meditazioa Ii 02:53
- Ametza Iii 02:06
- Oroipen 04:04
- Fallen Gaza 03:09
- Atseginzale Dantza 02:14
- Sua Eta Heriotza 00:59
- Agur Maria (Cdr Y Basandere Ahotsak) 03:55
- Bukaerako Dantza 04:03
- Amaiera 00:36
Una interpretación de Soinuarenbidea II debería partir de esta premisa: todo es posible, nada es aleatorio, y en sí mismo es un imposible de aleatoriedades. El escenario planteado explora la idea de realidad aumentada desde una percepción sonora, ambiental y colectiva. La obra transita hacia adelante y hacia atrás recreando experiencias extintas de porvenir incierto, tratando de facilitar un fin pacificador. Cada pieza sonora se crea, se despliega, se repliega y se destruye, en una torsión permanente de toda la realidad que hace posible cada fragmento musical, cada identidad acústica, cada espacio sonoro. Lo onírico, la ficción, y el viaje están continuamente presentes, y es en el transitar de cada fragmento donde se produce el diálogo de la exposición musical. Los elementos de esta ficción se recrean continuamente, en un continuum donde se entrelazan y se van contorsionando a medida que crecen o decrecen con cada fragmento de síntesis concreta. Los temas explícitamente musicales son el magma que conduce a dar voluptuosidad al disco, siendo la piel un contexto o límite que en sí mismo fluctúa indefinidamente en texturas y configuraciones posibles. Y la urdimbre del silencio es la síntesis que está continuamente presente y que trata de cohesionar los fragmentos en continua colisión expresiva. Las grabaciones de campo proporcionan el material sonoro concreto, y como un fractal sonoro cada una de ellas ofrece diferentes grados de interpretación que a su vez conduce a nuevos fragmentos y nuevas creaciones. Así que se puede pensar que esta es una síntesis de una posible realidad, pero interpretable en infinidad de maneras. Un movimiento y una estaticidad implícitas que generan estructuras y dinámicas acústicas. Lo que se escucha no es real, pero en sí mismo forma parte de la realidad, creando un escenario expectante. Lo cinematográfico, plástico y teatral, danzante y dinámico cobra importancia en este juego, porque se trata de contar una historia, una experiencia recreada desde los puntos de vista del arte visual. Es a su vez hilo conductor y entretenimiento, discurso político y puro divertimento. Es desde este espacio de convivencia artística que tiene sentido la totalidad y justifica el formato sonoro planteado. La contradicción de la obra es patente en el formato, y es a su vez el planteamiento de una accidentalidad en el devenir vital. Contenedor de Ruido recoge todas estas contradicciones y las manifiesta en la obra Soinuarenbidea II. Es una historia sonora, es un cuento acústico. Es un fragmento de vitalidad en imágenes audibles. Es una invitación a la reflexión, a la crítica, al disfrute, a la meditación, a la celebración. Y sobre todo es esperanzadora apreciación de la realidad como algo maleable que confeccionamos colectivamente, que requiere de una paciente observación y la participación colectiva global, en un mundo finito pleno de diversidades y del que ignoramos prácticamente todo, al que deberíamos volver con respeto y devoción.
Soinuarenbidea II-ren interpretazio batek premisa honetatik abiatu beharko luke: dena da posible, ezer ez da ausazkoa, eta, berez, ausazkotasun ezinezko bat da. Planteatutako agertokiak errealitate areagotuaren ideia aztertzen du, soinu-, ingurumen- eta talde-pertzepzio batetik abiatuta. Lanak aurrera eta atzera egiten du, etorkizun zalantzagarriko esperientzia desagertuak birsortuz eta helburu baketsua lortzen saiatuz. Soinu-pieza bakoitza sortu, hedatu, tolestu eta suntsitu egiten da, musika-zati bakoitza, identitate akustiko bakoitza eta soinu-espazio bakoitza ahalbidetzen dituen errealitate osoaren etengabeko bihurdura batean. Onirikoa, fikzioa eta bidaia etengabe daude presente, eta pasarte bakoitzaren joan-etorrian gertatzen da musika-erakusketaren elkarrizketa. Fikzio honen elementuak etengabe birsortzen dira, continuum batean, non sintesi zati zehatz bakoitzarekin hazi edo txikitu ahala elkar lotzen eta bihurritzen diren. Esplizituki musikalak diren gaiak diskoari atsegintasuna ematera eramaten duen magma dira, azala testuingurua edo muga izanik, testura eta konfigurazio posibleetan mugarik gabe aldatzen dena. Eta isiltasunaren irazkia etengabe presente dagoen sintesia da, zatiak etengabeko adierazpen-talkan kohesionatzen saiatzen dena. Landa-grabazioek soinu-material zehatza ematen dute, eta soinu-fraktal batek bezala, horietako bakoitzak interpretazio-maila desberdinak eskaintzen ditu, eta horrek, aldi berean, zati eta sorkuntza berrietara eramaten du. Beraz, pentsa daiteke errealitate posible baten sintesia dela, baina hamaika modutan interpreta daitekeena. Egitura eta dinamika akustikoak sortzen dituzten mugimendu eta estatikotasun inplizitu bat. Entzuten dena ez da erreala, baina, berez, errealitatearen parte da, eta agertoki espektakularra sortzen du. Zinematografikoak, plastikoak eta antzerkikoak, dantzariak eta dinamikoak garrantzia hartzen dute joko honetan, ikusizko artearen ikuspegitik birsortutako istorio bat, esperientzia bat, kontatzea baita helburua. Aldi berean, hari gidaria eta entretenimendua da, diskurtso politikoa eta dibertimendu hutsa. Elkarbizitzarako espazio artistiko honetatik osotasunak zentzua du eta planteatutako soinu-formatua justifikatzen du. Obraren kontraesana nabarmena da formatuan, eta, aldi berean, bizi-bilakaeran istripu-tasa bat planteatzea da. Zarata-edukiontziak kontraesan horiek guztiak jasotzen ditu eta Soinuarenbidea II obran adierazten ditu. Soinu istorio bat da, ipuin akustiko bat. Bizitasun zati bat da, irudi entzungarrietan. Hausnarketarako, kritikarako, gozamenerako, meditaziorako eta ospakizunerako gonbidapena da. Eta, batez ere, itxaropentsua da errealitatea modu kolektiboan egiten dugun gauza xaflakor gisa hautematea, behaketa pazientea eta partaidetza kolektibo globala eskatzen dituena, dibertsitatez betetako mundu mugatu batean, ia guztia kontuan hartzen ez duguna, eta errespetuz eta debozioz itzuli beharko genukeena.
An interpretation of Soinuarenbidea II should start from this premise: everything is possible, nothing is random, and in itself is an impossible randomness. The proposed scenario explores the idea of augmented reality from a sonic, environmental, and collective perception. The work moves back and forth, recreating extinct experiences of an uncertain future, seeking to facilitate a peaceful end. Each sound piece is created, unfolds, retreats, and is destroyed, in a permanent twisting of all reality that makes each musical fragment, each acoustic identity, each sonic space possible. The dreamlike, the fictional, and the journey are continually present, and it is in the transit of each fragment that the dialogue of the musical exposition takes place. The elements of this fiction are continually recreated, in a continuum where they intertwine and contort as they grow or diminish with each fragment of concrete synthesis. The explicitly musical themes are the magma that leads to the work's voluptuousness, the skin being a context or boundary that in itself fluctuates indefinitely in possible textures and configurations. And the warp of silence is the synthesis that is continually present and seeks to unite the fragments in a continuous expressive collision. The field recordings provide the concrete sound material, and like a sonic fractal, each one offers different degrees of interpretation that in turn lead to new fragments and new creations. So one can think of this as a synthesis of a possible reality, but interpretable in an infinite number of ways. An implicit movement and staticity that generate acoustic structures and dynamics. What is heard is not real, but in itself is part of reality, creating an expectant scenario. The cinematic, plastic and theatrical, dance and dynamic aspects take on importance in this game, because it is about telling a story, an experience recreated from the perspective of visual art. It is at once a common thread and entertainment, political discourse and pure entertainment. It is from this space of artistic coexistence that the whole makes sense and justifies the proposed sound format. The contradiction of the work is evident in its format, and it is, in turn, the presentation of an accidentality in the course of life. Noise Container gathers all these contradictions and manifests them in the work Soinuarenbidea II. It is a sound story, an acoustic tale. It is a fragment of vitality in audible images. It is an invitation to reflection, to critique, to enjoyment, to meditation, to celebration. And above all, it is a hopeful appreciation of reality as something malleable that we collectively craft, requiring patient observation and global collective participation, in a finite world full of diversity and of which we know practically nothing, to which we should return with respect and devotion.
Paisajes sonoros, diseño sonoro, drones y música grabada, realizada y arreglada para Contenedor de Ruido por David Aranaz. Coro: Basandere Ahotsak. Producido y mezclado por David Aranaz. Mástering: Estanis Elorza. Fotografía: David Aranaz. Texto: David Aranaz. Traducción: Saioa Aranaz Oreja. Trabajo y Diseño artístico: Cristina Martinez. Edición: Contenedor de Ruido Producciones y Sarbide Music. Distribución: Contenedor de Ruido.
Contenedor de Ruido agradece el apoyo en la realización de Soinuarenbidea II al coro Basandere Ahotsak y en especial a Eva Orbara Goicoa.
Soinuarenbidea II está dedicado al pueblo palestino.
Paisajes y objetos Sonoros, samplers y otras músicas transformadas para Soinuarenbidea II
Burlada: Paseos sonoros matinales por Merindad de Sangüesa, Calle Mayor, Capuchinas, Parque Uranga y varias iglesias y plazas. Pasajes del cotidiano: basura de papel, cristal y plástico.
Pamplona: Cementerio de San José. CEIP Sanduzelai /// Quinto Real: Fábrica de Armas, Puerto de Urkiaga y alrededores. Suite del silencio, bosques en movimiento /// Fábrica de armas de Orbaiceta: regatas, biosques, paseo sonoro hasta regata /// Belate: Puerto de Belate y alrededores. Vacas en pradera junto a las turberas /// Bardenas Reales: Suite de guitarra y Suite del silencio, estepa desértica /// Austria: Tranvías de Graz y Viena. Muchedumbre del metro de Viena.
Voces cinematográficas de: Matanza en Texas, Robocop, Espíritu Sagrado, Solo los Amantes Sobreviven, Voces de Gaza, Yojimbo, Terciopelo Azul, Los 7 Magníficos.
La pista A2 está dedicada a la memoria de David Lynch.
La pista B4 está dedicada a Eva Orbara Goicoa.
Pista A4: Contiene interpretaciones de piano de Three Piano Pieces Op.11 de Arnold Schoenberg.
Pista A5: Es una interpretación expandida con síntesis FM del Concerto Op. 24 - Etwas lebhaft - de Anton Webern.
Pista A7: Contiene la canción Besarkatu ninduzun (Letra de Josune López y música de Josu Elberdin) en interpretación de Basandere Ahotsak en la iglesia de Burutain bajo la tormenta.
Pista B2: Contiene la canción Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Fernando Tárrega) en interpretación torsionada de David Aranaz Sarasa.
Pista B14: Contiene la canción Agur María (Letra y Música de Estíbaliz Robles “Estitxu” y arreglo exclusivo de Alfonso Ortiz para Basandere Ahotsak) en interpretación de Basandere Ahotsak.
Equipamiento para Soinuarenbidea II.
Micros de condensador SE7, configuración XY y ORTF; Micros de cinta ORTIZ LUTHIER configuración XY y Blumlein; Grabadoras MARANTZ y ZOOM; Sintetizadores y samplers Elektron MONOMACHINE SPS-1, MACHINEDRUM SFX6 y MODEL:SAMPLES. Dave Smith MOPHO. Torso Electronics S-4. Sintetizador Modular 333 DIY; Guitarra clásica ALHAMBRA 6P; Esculturas Sonoras tipo Baschet, cristal y metales; Mesa Soundcraft FX16ii; Interface de Audio RME Babyface Pro FS; DAW Logic Pro; Procesamiento de modelado analógico con Acústica Audio, Waves, Softube, Brainworx, Sonible, Analog Obsesion, Tokio Dawn. Metering de Logic y RME DigiCheck . Amplificación Hafler PRO2400. Monitorización BW DM602 S3. Mezcla digital; Mastering híbrido.
It’s with great pride that we announce this amazing album on Optimo Music from Portland-based duo Natural Magic. It was the final vinyl release that Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch put into production before his untimely departure in late September this year.
Having been a long time lover of everything krautrock, space rock, experimental and psychedelic it seems more than fitting that he leaves us this LP as his parting gift; because this sublime album is all these things wrapped up into one and much more.
The album’s opening track “Galaxy Builder”, with its driving tempo, monolithic bass and screaming guitars might give the impression we’re about to hear a Neu for the 21st Century, but no, by the 2nd track we’re already on the first of several wild detours into uncharted territories: part shoe gaze, part ethereal, part psychedelia it’s a unique piece of beautiful euphoria from start to finish. By the time we reach the end of the A-side’s closing track “Distant Bells” the whole place is in tears after hearing possibly one of the most poignant pieces of electronic music of the entire year.
The B-side takes us even deeper into this trip through the duo’s homeland in the Pacific Northwest opening with “Skyward Eye”. If the Orb had ever teamed up with Slowdive and gotten Andrew Weatherall on production this could be it. “Get It Right” is a fuzz-filled epic with heavy dub leanings and meanings...it soars high up into the beyond and prepares us for “Ride”; an unashamed space voyage in the true sense…cosmic guitars, laden with FX; before returning gently down to the rolling green hills of Earth with the closing track “Chugsby’s Theme”. Whoever Chugsby is, his vibe is organic, deeply grounded and beautiful.
In the duo’s own words:
“Natural Magic II is a west coast road trip soundtrack for the fading summer. Taking inspiration from the majesty and myths of their home in the Pacific Northwest, the seven track album is culled from the late night, dimly lit, live sessions of Mike McKinnon on keys/drums and Matthew Quiet on bass. Overdubs of guitar, synths and percussion followed. All this from the same space they throw their legendary Limited Edition parties - all-night free experimentation celebrations in their own right. The album art work is handmade flower pigments, opium poppy pollen ink and wood-scrap charcoal by their friend and collaborator Pith Cocomici. Roll the widows down, tilt the seat back and turn it up. Gas, grass or black mass... there's magic in the hills.
2026 Restocked!
If you've been following the Payfone story over the last 13 years, you'll know that Phil Passera and Jimmy Day's long-running collaborative project has specialised in one-off musical morsels - sublime songs cooked up in cahoots with all manner of guest musicians and vocalists. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Day and Passera have now delivered a full six-track tasting menu in the shape of Lunch, their hotly anticipated debut album.
Recorded over an 18-month period at Passera's Barcelona studio and Day's studio in Brighton, Lunch is an unsurprisingly assured and musically detailed affair that's entirely made up of previously unheard songs. Unlike acid-flecked recent single 'Volt To Volt', which delivered a tweaked take on late 1980s house music, the album's six tracks showcase the trademark sound the duo has been developing since first joining forces 13 years ago.
Trawl back through Passera and Day's high-quality catalogue, which includes outings on Leng, Golf Channel Recordings and Defected as well as their own OTIS imprint, and that distinctive musical recipe becomes clear. Rooted in their love of classic drum machines and their trusty JUNO-60 synthesiser, the Payfone sound combines equal amounts of electronic and organic instrumentation, warm and inviting downtempo and mid-tempo grooves, and pertinent and thoughtful lyrics delivered with panache by an impressive roll call of guest vocalists.
Lunch, then, is a standalone sonic statement - an initially vinyl only album on their own OTIS imprint - that continues this impressive lineage. Like all Passera and Day's collaborative work, it is free of samples, with the pair preferring to create their own sounds from scratch. Opener 'Movin' On', featuring the honeyed vocals of former XL Recordings artist Willis Earl Beal AKA Nobody and slap-bass from Jo Gabriel Harris (who also features on three other songs across the album), is a deep and effortlessly evocative mid-tempo delight that perfectly sets the tone for what's to come.
Brooklyn-born April Pittman and Russian/Armenian vocalist Zara Kian lend their talents to woozy, sun-baked shuffler 'Paperman' before regular Payfone collaborator Ludmilla Rodriguez headlines 'Joan of Arc', a veritable Mediterranean breeze rich in tumbling analogue synth synths, elastic bass and tumbling guitar solos. Those yearning for a touch of lightly disco-flecked dancefloor heat will savour 'Spend The Night', where Los Angeles singer Collette Tibbetts AKA Carmella The Balls, accompanied by virtuoso keys courtesy of Parisian pianist Gabriel Cazes, rises above a sweet, melodious, dub disco-adjacent backing track. In contrast, 'Pamela' is low-slung and hypnotic, with 'Sofian' vocalist Barbara Alcindor ushering us through a deep, heady groove-scape.
Fittingly, Passera and Day round off Lunch via a vibrant and potent sweet treat, 'Pony Bar'. Headed up by the J.J Cale-esque lead vocals of man of mystery Leon Lace, the pedal steel-sporting song joins the dots between dusty Americana, kaleidoscopic Balearic beats and lilting, slow-motion disco. Like the rest of the album, you'll be thinking about it long after you've washed down the last few musical mouthfuls.
After 8 years, 2 albums on BureauB and different small releases RVDS comes back to his roots and releases these 3 Acid Bangers:“Too much Acid” which has 4 TB303 Basslines in one match, which can remind on some Emanuel Topp tracks, then there is the Acid Electro track “Schluckauf” (Hiccup) which expresses hiccups in sounds, the last track “Acid Busline 242” is very soulful and has recordings of the busline 242 in London.
- A1: Yaw - Where Will You Be
- A2: Flying Lotus Feat Andreya Triana - Tea Leaf Dancers**
- A3: Les Sins - Grind**
- B1: Noir & Haze - Around (Solomun Vox)**
- B2: Julien Dyne Feat Mara Tk - Stained Glass Fresh Frozen
- B3: Jitwam - Keepyourbusinesstoyourself
- C1: Dopehead - Guttah Guttah
- C2: Talc - Robot's Return (Modern Sleepover Part 2)**
- C3: Peter Digital Orchestra - Jeux De Langues**
- C4: Jai Paul - Btstu**
- D1: Beady Belle - When My Anger Starts To Cry**
- D2: Daniel Bortz - Cuz You're The One**
- D3: Joeski Feat Jesánte - How Do I Go On**
- E1: Nightmares On Wax - Les Nuits
- E2: Slf & Merkin - Tag Team Triangle**
- E3: Lady Alma - It’s House Music
- F1: Tirogo - Disco Maniac
- F2: Kings Of Tomorrow Feat April - Fall For You (Sandy Rivera's Classic Mix)**
- F3: Soulful Session, Lynn Lockamy - Hostile Takeover **Moodymann Edit
In 2016, a year after the 50th entry in the long-running series, none other but the iconic Detroit artist, DJ and producer Moodymann stepped up to helm the next landmark edition of DJ-Kicks, his first ever multi-artist DJ mix compilation. Following !K7's 40 th anniversary, this classic DJ-Kicks mix is now being repressed on coke bottle clear vinyl.
Born Kenny Dixon Jr., Moodymann is a one-of-a-kind electronic music icon, hailing from, and wholly synonymous with the Motor City. He is an outspoken, impossibly charismatic artist who has been putting a distinctive and soulful stamp on house and techno since the early 90s. Melting together jazz, funk, soul, blues and rock in captivating ways, he is responsible for some of electronic music’s most definitive tracks, EPs and LPs on labels like Planet E, Peacefrog and his own KDJ and Mahogani Music imprints. As able to serve up the sweetest and most sensual sounds as he is the darkest and most depraved grooves, his own unique voice and stream of conscious musings infuse expertly sought-out samples for music that is decisively alive and authentic.
Across 75 minutes and 30 tracks, Moodymann does not disappoint: despite being a notorious vinyl fetishist, Dixon’s aim is to present music of quality, not to one-up fellow collectors. Rather than serving up ridiculously rare or hard- to-find records, he instead focuses on creating a libidinous, blues-drenched mood that takes in heart-breaking soul, gorgeous hip-hop and love-fuelled house.
In addition to cuts from his own creative circle, the mix features 11 exclusive Moodymann edits. Like everything Kenny Dixon Jr. touches, his DJ-Kicks showcases the taste, skill, and soul of a dance music original.
The second release from the Époque label is a major one, featuring Niels Van Gogh’s 1998 hit single "Pulverturm”, which earned gold certifications in Belgium and South Africa and climbed into the Top 10 in the charts of many European and worldwide countries. The esteemed Brazilian techno artist ANNA delivers a rework, adding her signature touch to this iconic track.
"In 2023, while preparing for my Tomorrowland set, I was exploring iconic tracks that resonated in Belgium and could be perfect for an edit. I chose 'Pulverturm' for its powerful vocals and strong melody”, says ANNA. “What started as a quick edit turned into a labour of love, and I was so happy with the outcome that I wanted to try to release it as an official rework. We were in conversation with Niels Van Gogh when I sent the track to Charlotte de Witte, who loved it. She introduced me to Époque, and we decided to release the rework together. It's been a year since I crafted this rework, and I've never had so many artists from various genres, Techno, House, Melodic Techno, Tech House, Hard Techno, requesting a track like they did with my rework of 'Pulverturm.' It's incredibly exciting to finally share it with the world!"
Charlotte de Witte adds: “I fell in love with ANNA's masterfully crafted touch on ‘Pulverturm’ the moment she sent it to me. Being a bit of a sucker for legendary tracks that have left a deep mark on the history of electronic music myself, this one just hits all the right spots. It's been a long and challenging road to make it happen but I'm incredibly proud and honoured to have Niels Van Gogh's timeless classic ‘Pulverturm’, seen through ANNA's eyes, for the second release of Époque. A label we founded earlier this year to honour nightlife, club culture and dancefloor legacies.”
The original “Pulverturm” is a twitchy and hypnotic cut with trance infused synths over the top of the rumbling drums. There is progressive energy in the melodies and plenty of emotion in the vocals. ANNA’s version is driving and emotive with sensual vocals and bright, trance infused chords over rolling drums that bring the power.
About Époque:
Époque is a Belgian label and nightlife archive created by KNTXT and run by KNTXT and Charlotte de Witte. In collaboration with clubs and labels, past and present, Époque captures the spirit and lifestyle of our bygone discotheque culture. The Époque label reworks iconic tracks, brings back dance classics and uses club memories and aesthetics to translate these legendary compositions into unique new releases produced by today’s leading electronic music talent. Époque also designs high quality merch and party gear as an homage to the global club scene.
- A01: Twilight High Frontier (I_003)
- A02: Thug Life (I_008) - Album Mix
- A03: Under The Bridge (I_034)
- A04: Clan Battle (I_011) - Album Mix
- A05: Souls Who Want To Awaken (I_004)
- A06: Colony Girl (I_006A) / Chorus: Orika Okachi
- A07: Secret (I_017)
- B01: Lingering Scent (I_021) - Album Mix
- B02: Everything I Want (T_001) / Chorus: Orika Okachi
- B03: From The Aquarium Town (I_006_Lyric) / Vocals: Mikrimaria (Nomelon Nolemon)
- B04: Nighttime Stroll (I_018A)
- B05: Front Breakthrough (I_044) - Album Mix
- B06: Iomagnusso (I_041)
- B07: Overpeak (I_004B)
- C01: Fallout (I_001)
- C02: The Gundam Lies Heavy (I_053)
- C03: Granada Night (I_032A)
- C04: Poison Notebook (I_018_B)
- C05: Interrogation (I_052)
- C06: The Path Of Determination (I_037A)
- C07: Star At The Bottom Of The Water (I_002)
- C08: Rose Of Sharon (I_016)
- C09: Damage Per Second (I_055)
- D01: Zekunova (I_056) / Chorus: Kocho
- D04: Machu And Zekuax (I_049)
- D05: Next Episode Preview (I_026) -Full Size Album Mix
- D06: Current Location Of Summer -Full Size Album Mix- / Vocals: Orika Okachi
- D07: Far Beyond The Stars / Vocals: Shania Yan
- D02: Reunion (I_029)
- D03: Universal Century Chronicle (I_048)
A vinyl soundtrack for GQuuuuuuX (Geku Axe) is now available!
"Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" is a new Gundam series, a collaboration between Studio Khara, the creators of the "Evangelion" series,
and Sunrise, the creators of the Gundam series. The pre-release theatrical version was released in January of this year, becoming a huge hit,
grossing approximately 3.4 billion yen and attracting over 2.06 million viewers.
The TV broadcast began in April, and it became one of the most talked-about anime titles of the spring.
A vinyl record featuring a selection of the soundtrack from "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX," including the music used in the pre-release theatrical
version, is now available. The music was co-produced by Junsei Terui, known as a member of the bands "Haisui no Nasa" and "siraph" and
Masayuki Hasuo, also a member of "siraph," and composer of the anime "Jujutsu Kaisen" series and the live-action film "Showtime Seven"
The music, which includes pop, electronica, and minimal music that fits the worldview of the work, will allow you to experience a new "Gundam"
sound. The LP label side is colored vinyl (splatter disc) and it is a set of two discs!
It’s been over 20 years since Kenny Dixon Jr., better known as Moodymann, released Black Mahogani—an album rich in atmosphere and emotion, offering a quintessential journey through deep house, soul, and jazz. Timeless yet modern, it’s an immersive and emotionally resonant experience that reflects the singular character of Detroit’s deep musical heritage.
Originally released in 2004, Black Mahogani is arguably one of Moodymann’s most revered and sought-after works. It completes the puzzle laid out by his rare and elusive KDJ 12” releases from the mid to late '90s. With the help of Detroit legends like the late Amp Fiddler, Roberta Sweed, and Norma Jean Bell, Dixon infused his analog soundscapes and samples with a new organic warmth—expanding the deep house genre while simultaneously paying homage to 1970s soul and cinematic soundtracks.
Dixon’s masterful control of tension—knowing exactly when to hold back and when to let go—makes Black Mahogani an enduring masterpiece. It's not just a landmark in electronic music, but a definitive statement in 21st-century Black American music.
Back when the first white labels started floating through the hands of German, British, American and Canadian DJs in late ’84, nobody was ready for what was coming. The official drop hit in early ’85 and the scene was never the same again. This was the moment Mike Mareen broke through the static. Yeah, he’d been working with Chris Evans-Ironside since the ’70s but nothing hinted that together they’d channel something this futuristic. “Dancing In The Dark” sounded like it had slipped through a wormhole: melancholic, hypnotic vocals wrapped in vocoder haze, riding an arrangement so razor-sharp it made most releases of the era feel prehistoric. It didn’t need the pop charts… It owned the clubs. And the clubs listened.
London. Berlin. Madrid. Rome. Paris. Lisbon. Amsterdam. Athens. Toronto. NYC. Tokyo. Mexico City.
One drop of that electro bassline and DJs were hooked. Crowds were hooked. The whole underground was hooked. Soon Europe’s radio charts caved under its pressure, and the track crossed borders on mixtapes, becoming a cult anthem behind the Iron Curtain. It was everywhere, even where it technically wasn’t allowed to be.
Fast-forward four decades and the spell hasn’t faded. “Dancing In The Dark” still shows up in indie dance, italo wave, house and deep house sets. Producers keep re-editing it like it’s sacred material. It’s one of those tracks that DJs treasure, a timeless weapon, one of the top three defining singles of Mareen’s entire career.
And now for the 40th anniversary of its official release, Vintage Pleasure Boutique and Night’n Day Records drop the vinyl every collector and selector has been waiting for: a special reissue loaded with four brand-new remixes spanning the full spectrum of today’s underground indie/disco/italo/house energy.
Tallac – the American Berlin dweller – dives deep into the hypnotic soul of the original, pulling out its buried deep-house DNA and carving out a spacious, emotional roller.
Luksek, Italian producer & DJ, goes raw and dirty: loop-driven, gritty, underground, hypnotic, the kind of edit that eats dancefloors alive.
Flemming Dalum, the Danish Italo grandmaster, finally gets to remix the track he’d always dreamed of touching and of course it’s pure Flemingish electro-italo magic.
And the Polish sparkle: A.P. Mono delivers a shimmering mix of italo disco, glitterbox groove, disco glamour and synthwave glow, all while keeping the spirit of Mareen’s original heartbeat intact.
The wax also features two historical heavy-hitters: the 1985 Jens Lissat’s team remix and Luis Rodriguez’s original arrangement, essential cuts in the Mareen universe.
This release isn’t nostalgia. It’s a resurrection. A celebration. A reminder. “Dancing In The Dark” didn’t survive 40 years by accident, it survived because it still moves bodies, breaks hearts and lights up floors in ways modern tracks can only wish for.
If you’re an indie, italo, wave, house or disco DJ… This record isn’t just worth owning… It’s mandatory.
- A1: Uncanny Unit - El Futuro Está En Vuestras Manos
- A2: Allumynd - Mind Limits Broken
- A3: Fabio Vinuesa - Corrupted Data
- B1: Robot City - Intercom 82 (Bastardo)
- B2: Synth Alien - Electric Abyss
- B3: Vema-Diodes - Train Light
- C1: Univac - Helicon
- C2: Telephasycx! - Chaos Theory
- C3: Ørbitā Secundariā - Submodulo Ba73
- D1: Nightcrawler & Dark Vektor - Oscuridad-Sintetica
- D2: Shhgrr & Igal - Decadence
- D3: Estado De Bienestar Feat. Chayell Zen / Peter Bonne - Guardianes Del Tiempo (Danos Mucho Beis Mix)
El Elektro Compilado Padrísimo Vol. 1 is a double 12” compilation curated by Spanish artist Elektro’s Grandfather, Dark Vektor featuring his personal selection from today’s scene. A fearless snapshot of the Spaniard national electro scene. Established figures stand shoulder to shoulder with new blood, generating a current where tradition and innovation collide in sparks. Every track is a charged fragment of a collective identity, soldered into one unstoppable groove. A declaration that the Spanish electro underground is alive, mutating, and absolutely padrísimo. Presented in ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid BLACK vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered for vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios (Germany).
Childhood Intelligence’s 18th release by ADSR aka. Todd Nickolas & Dominic Paterson from Toronto, Canada. The 2x12” album presents mostly tracks written and produced by Todd, with A1/D1 being in collaboration with Paterson. "Give a teenager in a rural Canadian setting an analog synthesizer, a drum machine and a four-track cassette recorder and feed him a steady diet of 80s EBM, Post-Punk, Synthpop, Electro, Dub, Acid, Hip Hop and House, and you’ll get the kind of genre melding electronic-based music that Todd Nickolas has been known for since his early days of writing and producing." The end result is a versatile one, with “Passive Articulation” presenting abstract Techno - House - Electro visions, and fusing all the elements of vintage Intelligent Dance Music that we cherish so much: warm basslines, beautiful chord progressions, diverse and surprising arrangements infused with haunting melodies, hypnotic cyber sounds, detached vocal cuts and dubbed percussion.…Overall fresh & timeless classiness for the present, past & future.
Recorded various locations New Hamburg, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles. ADSR greatly thanks those who were there from the start, those who joined along the journey and those here now.
In a World of deep paradoxes unrestrained by time, mysterious new corporations appear; tagged with the words 'Sunrise Inc.' ... For the first chapter in Childhood Intelligence's Sub-Division Corporation "Sunrise Inc.", Future vinyl Artifacts from Inf0 - Sheffield, UK - have been collected; 6 Traxx showcasing visions of Dark Mystique, from Dreamy Auras and Lush Soundscapes, to Outer Space - all in Pulse with Fresh Acid Saturation and Electrobass. Limited copies...
Alpenglühen starts 2026 with two close friends working together in the 11th one
Atàvic is the collaborative project between Estrato Aurora and Absis, merging two distinct yet complementary approaches to electronic music. The project is rooted in texture, atmosphere, and subtle narrative, allowing sound to evolve organically and without excess.
They together bring a refined sense of space and detail, working with ambient layers, restrained rhythms, and melodic fragments that unfold slowly. Here is a 4 track release with a more tactile and material approach, focusing on timbre, resonance, and sonic density, blurring the line between abstraction and structure.
The alignment between Atàvic and the label lies in a shared appreciation for subtlety, patience, and sonic storytelling, where each release is conceived as a complete and meaningful statement.
With this reference, Atàvic contributes a work that resonates with alpenglühen’s aesthetic ethos while reinforcing the collaborative project’s own identity: music that invites close listening and reveals its nuances slowly.
If you’re looking for a peak-time, dancefloor-driven banger to keep you moving until sunrise, this is not that record.
But if you’re after a mind-blowing experience that challenges and expands your listening (and dancings), this one’s for you. Don’t overthink it.
The Danish label arbitrary presents Framework / Zwischen Remixes – a remix by German artistJan Jelinek and one by musician & label founder Mads Emil Nielsen originally made for a digital compilation, now published on 7" vinyl (arbitrary22).
For the CRXSSINGS release, Jan Jelinek remixed Nielsen’s Framework 10, a track from the Framework Book/CD (arbitrary01) based on sequences/recordings of sine waves and noise.
Side B: a rework by Mads Emil Nielsen of Jelinek’s voice collage and electronic sounds, from Zwischen – Marcel Duchamp, would you like or expect people to spin the wheel on your kinetic object Roue de Bicyclette?
Framework 10 (Remix) written & produced by Jan Jelinek, Berlin, 2019.
Zwischen/Marcel Duchamp (Remix) written & produced by Mads Emil Nielsen, Copenhagen, 2019.
Graphic design + score (cover, back: Framework 10) by Mads Emil Nielsen.
Mastered and cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M, Berlin.
Mike Majkowski makes his debut on Hands in the Dark Records with Invisible, a selection of six moody and mysterious pieces produced between 2019 and 2025.
The prolific Australian double bassist and music maker has been involved in a diverse array of contemporary, improvised and experimental music since the early 2000s. This time, the Berlin-based artist is venturing deeper into downtempo, meditative and hypnotic minimal electronic realms.
While time and space are constraints, they also define our identities, creating inexplicable bonds with others flowing through shared moments and shared places. The state of being invisible obliterates these confines, allowing one to return to their pure essence. In this setting, Majkowski’s compositions display a discreet and profoundly emotional language characterised by vulnerability, darkness and confusion, while also embodying hope, soothing and resilience. A dim light, transcending love, space, memory and time.
- 1: A Hate Inferior
- 2: Dör För Långsamt
- 3: Repeater Ii
- 4: Backengrillen
- 5: Socialism Or Barbarism
Yellow Vinyl[24,16 €]
“The GRILL will fucking rule things…” – Backengrillen’s debut album out in January "Backengrillen's music is a paean to chaos and destruction. The basic idea is to take a death/doom metal, or noiserock riff and play it until it loses meaning and then break it apart like a ravenous cat would a tiny forest mouse. It's filled to the brim with the self-hatred endemic to the province of Västerbotten from whence the member’s hail. The record was written on a Thursday during their first ever rehearsal, performed live on a Friday and recorded on a Saturday, so what you're hearing is raw, stupid, gut instinct music played by seasoned purveyors of hardcore punk, metal, free jazz, noise et cetera. Record no 2 is in the making, less stupid, more ugly. Stay tuned and fuck the pigs." - Backengrillen, November 2025 Backengrillen is a new ensemble with their roots in HC, punk, noise and free Jazz. All members from Umeå, with roots in the original version of Refused – and one with starting points in the jazz-rock ensemble Nirvana (1980). With a solid and yet varied background in the creativities of Refused, TEXT, INVSN, Fire Orchestra, The International Noise Conspiracy, The End, Serpent, The Thing, Final Exit and other classic jazz combos we will now start our journey of 4 colliding locomotives, creating a new form of beauty and energy. Antifascist, antiracists free form death – jazz – in the memory of Lars Lystedt – Backengrillen arrives with new perspectives on jazz. And punk. In-your-face HC jazz inspired by The Cramps, Little Richard, Albert Ayler, Polly Bradfield, Entombed, John Zorn, Misfits, Stooges, Lars Gullin, Can and much more. Backengrillen’s self-titled debut album is out on January 23rd, 2026 on vinyl, CD, and digitally on Bandcamp via Svart Records. Backengrillen Dennis Lyxzén – vocal and effects Mats Gustafsson – saxophones, flutes and live electronics Magnus Flagge – bass David Sandström – drums and electronics
- 1: A Hate Inferior
- 2: Dör För Långsamt
- 3: Repeater Ii
- 4: Backengrillen
- 5: Socialism Or Barbarism
Black Vinyl[23,32 €]
“The GRILL will fucking rule things…” – Backengrillen’s debut album out in January "Backengrillen's music is a paean to chaos and destruction. The basic idea is to take a death/doom metal, or noiserock riff and play it until it loses meaning and then break it apart like a ravenous cat would a tiny forest mouse. It's filled to the brim with the self-hatred endemic to the province of Västerbotten from whence the member’s hail. The record was written on a Thursday during their first ever rehearsal, performed live on a Friday and recorded on a Saturday, so what you're hearing is raw, stupid, gut instinct music played by seasoned purveyors of hardcore punk, metal, free jazz, noise et cetera. Record no 2 is in the making, less stupid, more ugly. Stay tuned and fuck the pigs." - Backengrillen, November 2025 Backengrillen is a new ensemble with their roots in HC, punk, noise and free Jazz. All members from Umeå, with roots in the original version of Refused – and one with starting points in the jazz-rock ensemble Nirvana (1980). With a solid and yet varied background in the creativities of Refused, TEXT, INVSN, Fire Orchestra, The International Noise Conspiracy, The End, Serpent, The Thing, Final Exit and other classic jazz combos we will now start our journey of 4 colliding locomotives, creating a new form of beauty and energy. Antifascist, antiracists free form death – jazz – in the memory of Lars Lystedt – Backengrillen arrives with new perspectives on jazz. And punk. In-your-face HC jazz inspired by The Cramps, Little Richard, Albert Ayler, Polly Bradfield, Entombed, John Zorn, Misfits, Stooges, Lars Gullin, Can and much more. Backengrillen’s self-titled debut album is out on January 23rd, 2026 on vinyl, CD, and digitally on Bandcamp via Svart Records. Backengrillen Dennis Lyxzén – vocal and effects Mats Gustafsson – saxophones, flutes and live electronics Magnus Flagge – bass David Sandström – drums and electronics
Warehouse Find
Massiande has become one of the most captivating talents South America has produced for authentic House music.
An artist of multicultural roots, he was born in 1988 in Santiago, Chile, has lived most of his life to the side of US American people, has Dutch family heritage and his name derives from a Sierra Leone dialect. All of these global influences have had a great effect in the way he perceives and lives music.
Growing up as a profound and dedicated fan of Soul, Jazz and Disco; discovering House, a genre that connected these genres' roots with electronic experimentation, was a life turning point.
DJing since 2007, he is known for performing emotive and dynamic sets, with a moving soulful drive that resembles much of the spirit of New York, Chicago and Detroit pioneers.
After starting to focus on music production, 2013 brought his debut record "Heart Rushed Love" through German label Housewax, a record of classic vibes that received praise for its charm and character on underground scenes worldwide and, most notably, from House music artists in Chicago, including his personal hero, House maestro Larry Heard. Such a start would be a sign of great things to come.
Inspired by the same Chicago spirit, in 2015 the release of "Stand", through the prestigious MOS Recordings, represented a step further in his career as a producer, finding its place on the crates of DJs as diverse as Patrice Scott, Voiski, Apparat or Honey Soundsystem.
These days, Massiande brings a deeper and mature House sound which is reaching a wider audience, with his conceptual "Freedom" EP through UK's Phonica Records and the landmark "Yesterday, Today, Forever" EP on Jimpster's Freerange, while also revealing a consistent variety of skills on a fully dancefloor-oriented EP for Hercules & Love Affair's Mr. Intl imprint.
With a growing discography whose flair endures the test of time, Massiande's path thrives with a true passion for House that's appealing to both casual listeners and the most loyal purists of the genre around the world.
Groggy, engrossing new work from Ulla under their newly minted U.e. tag, riffing to the sublime on a set of (mostly) acoustic reveries that tap into the kind of smokey vapours favoured by the likes of Vincent Gallo, Voice Actor, Jonnine.
A new year, label, album and handle for Ulla, a multifaceted artist who has draped our pages with wonder, under numerous aliases and collabs, for almost a decade. On ‘Hometown Girl’ they distill transience and flux into a quiet set of chamber works subtly resembling the room recorded nuance of their ‘Jazz Plates’ side with Perila - here taken a step further into more elusive, low-lit dimensions.
In a mode that’s wistful and melancholic, listening to the album’s dozen discrete pieces feels like leafing thru a journal of hand-written notes, reflecting on the feelings that come with separation from loved ones and displacement from familiarity. Ulla performed and recorded all of the instruments themselves, lending a tangible tactility to layered arrangements of woodwind, keys, strings, drums and voice, lightly speckled with electronics and perfused with open window field recordings.
They locate a crackling frisson of personality in the voice notes and day-dreaminess of their mottled inscapes, gauzily demarcating lines between past and present selves. In that aesthetic and approach we can also hear similarities to Jonnine’s blue-skied ‘Southside Girl’ or crys cole’s poetic sensuality, often leaning into the domestic surreal.
A frayed, opening salutation ‘Good Morning’ signals a delirious half hour in Ulla’s company, variously swaying to the downstroked jazz swing of a ‘Lavender (NF)’ spritzed with clarinet, whilst ‘Froggy Explorer’ stirs the air like Jan Jelinek on a barely-there tip. The Basinski-esque fritz of degraded loops really snags the imagination along with a twinkling nightlight ‘Ball’, as the album opens out into its most fully resolved songs with a closing couplet of disarming wonders ‘Drawing of Me’, and a blurry ‘Mute’ that feels like Ulla 〜almost〜 reveals too much before retreating back into the shadows.
- Heartsick
- Ordinary People
- The Devil We Know
- In The House Of Denial
- Infinite Sadness
- Payback From God
- Yours To Bury
- Perfect Things
- Letters To Insomnia
- Perfect Blue
- Running The Fear Of It Dry
- Ataraxia
NEW MISERABLE EXPERIENCE are a Philadelphia-rooted collective that reshapes heavy-music rigour into expansive, melody-forward songs through alternative synth-rock. What started as a file-trading collaboration between vocalist/bassist David Grossman (ex- ROSETTA) and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Mahesh Kost expanded into a full band that now includes ROSETTA drummer Bruce "B.J." McMurtrie Jr., technical-metal bassist Brett Bamberger (REVOCATION), and guitarist Brody Uttley (RIVERS OF NIHIL). The group forgoes technical exhibitionism in favour of mood and melody, composing introspective songs designed to reward close listening. Across the twelve tightly arranged tracks of 3rd album "Gild The Lily", the band pares its palette to essential elements: clear melodies, precise dynamics, and richly textured production. The album trades overt bombast for craft, building emotional weight through small gestures and patient arrangements rather than moments of spectacle. "We started saying `infinite sadness' as a bit of a catch phrase with the last album. I think that sums up the vibe of the album and project overall. We are very much in the `sadboi' world with Jeff Buckley, Puma Blue, Radiohead, Deftones, The Black Queen", says Grossman. Sonically, `Gild the Lily' combines alternative synth rock with chorus-tinted guitars, and a rhythm section that alternates between taut propulsion and roomy, reverb-soaked space. The arrangements both electronic and instrumental negotiates smooth and slick danceability alongside sinister edges. The band's aesthetic is one of deliberate economy: textures are chosen to serve mood and narrative rather than technical exhibitionism, and arrangements reveal their depth across repeated listens. Slick, sorrowful and cinematic in atmosphere, `Gild the Lily' is an eclectic collection that can not only groove in vibe and inspire movement, but also pierce to the nerve in ethereal lamentation. RIYL Crosses * Black Queen * Ulver * Vowws * Rosetta * Revocation * Rivers of Nihil
"An Eternity Still" delves into the theme of closure, capturing the emotional journey of closing one chapter and beginning another. It evokes a stirring blend of nostalgia and the need to move forward, balancing bright memories with the desire for growth and new challenges.
For this project, Vanity Productions' Christian Stadsgaard teamed up with close collaborators Emma Acs and Malthe Fischer, who joined in the compositional process. While the album maintains Stadsgaard's signature melancholia, it also introduces a fresh sonic palette, incorporating vocals and guitar alongside the project's hallmark broken electronics and dark, evocative melodies.
The Album also features remixes by acclaimed artists Farzané and Ireen Amnes, further enriching the album's collaborative spirit and adding new dimensions to its haunting soundscapes.
A reflection on how we hold each other and how we let go, ‘Secular Music Vol 1’ is the first instalment in a triptych of albums by multi-limbed live dance music outfit Girls Of The Internet. Continuing their ongoing policy of “therapy through music”, the album touches all points on the shifting landscape of human connection: belief, doubt, loss, forgiveness. Emphasising human elements of songwriting, performance and production within the lineage of house, disco and electronic music; this first record furthers the band’s flair for manifesting the creative and communal spirit that birthed the scene. Joining the dots that have not been joined for a long time, the collective takes on people of all sexualities, gender expressions and body types. House music was created as an inclusive artform and Girls of the Internet are here to assert we are all invited. The group is completed with a rotating assembly of talented collaborators, including the live band with Nandi and Wynter on vocals and Tommy Peach on bass and trumpet. ‘Secular Music Vol 1’ also features guest appearances from Dani Siciliano, Sió, Pinty, i am an island, and James Alexander Bright - also a regular member of the live band. Girls Of The Internet’s 2024 album ‘When I Was Lost, I Found Myself’ was the follow-up to the acclaimed ‘Girls FM’, one of BBC 6 Music’s Albums of the Year in 2019. Firmly on the radar of key DJs Gilles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, Trevor Nelson, Pete Tong, and Lauren Laverne for some time, the band’s songs have more recently found fans in BBC Radio 1’s Sian Eleri and BBC 6 Music’s Nick Grimshaw as well as around the rest of the planet on tastemaker stations Byte FM, FIP, NTS, KALW, KCRW, KEXP and Soho Radio. Girls Of The Internet have performed on home turf at Glastonbury, The Warehouse Project’s Homobloc, Drumsheds, Printworks, Latitude, Lost Village festival, and a residency this summer at London’s Colour Factory. With Ibiza shows at Pikes and Glitterbox at #1 Club in the World Hï; this July saw Tom take on their first US dates with DJ sets in New York, LA and San Francisco. The live band are currently in the middle of an extended live tour that runs through to December. ‘Secular Music Vol 1’ is set for release on 14th November 2025 on Girls Of The Internet's own recently launched House Of the Internet label.
- Grace 00:58
- Ladida 03:43
- Sum 04:09
- The Boy 03:34
- Doing It Too 03:26
- Never Enough 04:00
- Words 2 Say 03:50
- Bite The Bait 04:06
- ON 2: Something 02:23
- Ttw 03:57
- Crave 03:27
- Get It Off 04:00
- Sweet Sensation 03:43
- Eyes Shut 03:09
- Close 2 Me 04:01
- I'm Your Muse 03:35
- Around 03:50
Rochelle Jordan is proudly stepping into her diva era. To those in the know, the Los Angeles-based British-Canadian singer and songwriter has long been an underground force coaxing together the mutually flirtatious scenes of daring alt-R&B and heart-pumping electronic music. With her longtime creative director/producer KLSH, she’s cultivated a singular marriage of sound — mixing soulful sensuality, house bump, DnB wildness, hip-hop swagger, and pure experimentalism — that’s spread not only through certain circles, but also to the mainstream. At the same time that her gauzy 2014 single “Lowkey” was going viral in 2023 — racking up 21 million streams on Spotify alone — she was in the studio cooking with tastemaking beatsmiths like KAYTRANADA and Sango, quietly preparing to melt dance floors and headphones alike.
Now, as the timelines merge, Jordan is approaching success with the sparkle of a brand new star and the stance of someone who’s earned everything she has. Her new musical chapter aims to carry forward the magic that fans feel in her coquettish vocals and bold soundscapes even as she reaches deeper into her pop bag. The fact that her first single of 2025, the darkly dazzling “Crave,” was produced by Chicago house legend Terry Hunter (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé) speaks volumes to this exact moment in Jordan’s ascendent trajectory.
“My goal when I first started making music was to bring back something that I felt had started to fade away for me,” says Jordan. “That certain essence or sound that would give me butterflies in my stomach when I’d listen to music — it would unleash some kind of chemical that would make me feel happy and excitable and curious, something that would make my soul shine. My number one goal is always: How do I give people that feeling when they listen to my music?”
Jordan grew up in Toronto raised by British-Jamaican parents. She remembers hearing one of her older brothers cycling through a variety of music at maximum volume in the room next to hers. “Reggae to soul to drum and bass to garage music to gospel,” Jordan recalls. “It was all intertwining for me at such a young age.” She developed her own sound quietly, and soon met KLSH through MySpace. They traded multiple songs back and forth daily until he flew her out to L.A. to record what would become her debut project, 2011’s R O J O. That collaboration hasn’t faltered since, resulting in sonically surprising, subtly infectious sets like Jordan’s breakthrough 2014 album 1021 (with “Lowkey”) and 2021’s dance-steeped revelation, Play with the Changes.
“If you’re talking about Rochelle Jordan, you’re talking about KLSH,” she says. “It’s one and the same. We come from the same inspiration source.” With him at her side to this day, Jordan is crafting new listening experiences as radiant as refracted light glimmering through a prism — an incredible space from within which to explore love in all its iterations — from romantic infatuation to self-affirmation, and strength in womanhood to pride for what she’s accomplished thus far.
More than a decade into her career, Jordan has arrived at a new stage of life and creativity — she’s a seasoned professional, a fully realized woman, and she’s excited to continue growing. “I know my story isn’t necessarily a new one,” she says. “I look at 2 Chainz, who became 2 Chainz way later on in his life. I look at Tina Turner, who became Tina Turner at 40. I want to be another story of resilience for people.” As she prepares to unveil more of her vision, and fans clamber for a long-awaited fourth album, Rochelle Jordan is casting aside self-doubt, and appreciating and underlining her status as a verifiably influential reigning diva in her one-of-one sonic space.
HSH is a new collaborative series by Human Space Machine and Sunju Hargun. It is an exploration of their shared friendship & connection to electronics, machines and the beauty of unpredictable mistakes, extending into long studio improvisations that shaped an EP born from free-spirited jam sessions.
This debut features four jams combining the strengths of both artists. It is heady and meticulously crafted, filled with subtle details, a trippy fusion of light and dark, thoughtful and physical techno with space to experiment.
Something for everyone, every space and every hour.
Credits:
Written, Produced and Recorded in Amsterdam, March 2025.
Distributed by One Eye Witness
Mastering: Giuseppe Tillieci (Neel) Enisslab
Gargantuan is the debut studio album by U.K. electronic duo Spooky (Charlie May and Duncan Forbes), released by William Orbit's Guerilla Records in March 1993.
Today Gargantuan is regarded as a landmark album in the history of progressive house and British dance music. As Guerilla’s standard bearer, they helped coalesce an immersive sound that was neither Detroit, nor Chicago, nor Manchester.
The duo became renowned for being at the forefront of the progressive house scene that emerged in the aftermath of the "post-rave comedown", joining fellow acts like Orbital and Underworld in re-casting house music in an energetic live environment.
Gargantuan has been out of print on vinyl since 2006 and is re-released on 21st June.
- 1: Micha
- 2: Si Tu M’aimes Demain
- 3: Garçon Manqué
- 4: Tête Brûlée
- 5: Wherever You Hide, The Party Finds You
- 6: Cocoon
- 7: Ta Vedette
- 8: Cent Fois
- 9: Quelque Chose De
French chanson, electro beats, pared-down or synthetic piano: at 21, Iliona draws on all of this. Plural, multifaceted, elusive. Yet her lyrics resonate as if one were singing heartache—and the love one hopes for—for the very first time.
She composes, records, and produces her tracks alone, determined to keep them as close as possible to the tunes, harmonies, and silhouettes she holds in her mind. This time, they are infused with the light of an intense love, and still carried by extreme sparseness in their arrangements: nothing—from electronic arpeggios to melodic autotune—is ever superfluous; everything has its place. Lifted by a new lightness, the tracks also echo the spirit of the yéyé sound Iliona has been listening to for a few years, without necessarily knowing the name of every songwriter or the mark they left behind. It’s their longing for carefree abandon that hovers over the hypnotic Si tu m’aimes demain and its music video inspired by the New Wave, the Beatles, and all those future memories you begin to build when you’re in love.
A gentle warmth also sweeps through the hazy doo-wop contours of Tête brûlée, and the lo-fi twist of Cocoon; but always with that veil of shadow that once floated over the apparent nonchalance of Françoise Hardy’s songs. That unease, that worried smile, resurfaces in the lovely pop gallop of Garçon manqué, an ode to the deepest friendships—the ones you hold in your arms to dance or, sometimes, to cry. Or in the delicate Cent fois, which whispers, “when will the movie scenes we quietly dreamed of come to life?”
The answer, perhaps, lies in wherever you hide, the party finds you, a superb soundtrack to an imaginary drama, whose venomous keyboards unfold the pictorial strength of Iliona’s songs.
- Somewhere, Nowhere
- Angles Mortz
- False Prophet
- Fluoride Stare
- The Void
- Ascension
- Just A Kid
- Host
- Landslide
- Renaissance
- 7: Am
- Blue In Grey
2026 Repress
Flickering in ultraviolet, there is an elusive place where blue pill meets red, ups become downs, and day merges with night. Those liminal spaces where anything is possible is where you’ll find Nightbus and their hypnotic debut album Passenger. Doom, uncertainty, and opportunity lurk in the shadowy corners of their murky existence with stops at disassociation, co-dependency, and addiction before reaching its final destination - a glimmer of hope.
The in-between of Nightbus’ own Gotham lies where Manchester’s city pulse meets Stockport’s outer realm. An audio-visual entity formed among a musical family of friends, freaks, and foes in messy mills and after hours on dancefloors alike, their sound bleeds from tension where collective creative forces are bound together and collide with the fallout of being torn apart. Before even playing a show, their So Young released single ‘Mirrors’ – a knowing nod of respect to some well-known gloomy Northerners - may have made old school indie heads shimmy at shows in Salford’s The White Hotel but also signalled the duo’s knack for offering listeners a Bandersnatch approach to hitchhiking their own personal Nightbus in whatever direction they choose to take. “Everyone can have their moment with our songs; the music is our response to who we are as young people, living in the city full of this energy right now,” they say.
Whilst reverb hefty melodies and dread-filled loops embody isolation from writing at each of their home studio set-ups, magic happens in the ether across 90s trip-hop, indie sleaze and electronica; Jake’s production layers Olive’s pop sentimentality with drums and samples whilst tales of a cast of faceless characters place Olive as puppet master; her severed self’s perspective manipulating their stringed limbs at arm’s length to see how their stories play out when scenes reflecting her own lie close to the bone. “It’s a bit fucked; like having this out of body experience with a made-up movie running through my head,” she says. “As I write I can see they’re all from a similar world, but they allow me to explore different feelings without giving away part of myself.”
Recorded at The Nave in Leeds with producer-engineer Alex Greaves (Heavy Lungs, Working Men’s Club), surprise and danger lies in every crevice. Brooding whispers turn to chants on 6-minute opus ‘Host.’ Improvised when performed live, its immersive shift in tempo leads to hefty dub courtesy of Jake’s pedals. Even then, you won’t know shit’s hit the fan until its mid-point reveal when ominous bass blasts a thunderous soundtrack as its protagonist defiantly walks away after committing the perfect crime. “It makes you wait, and more songs should have sirens,” Olive grins.
Leaning deeper into alter-egos via the video game-psychological horror of a Silent Hill dystopia, the band’s Fight Club moment ‘Angles Mortz’ turns its literal translation of death angles on its head as it reflects upon kink and internalised shame reincarnated as pride. Elsewhere the ice cool ‘Landslide’ is a Requiem for a Dream about the addiction of being in a band; ‘The Void’ explores co-dependency and estranged relationships; and carefully selected samples revive house track ‘Just A Kid’ from the band’s early incarnation. Passenger’s every direction is to face challenges head on. “That is what’s so great about horror; you can see through predictable patterns so when the unexpected occurs it's more realistic and uncomfortable… I want to own the dark stuff!”
As for Passenger’s first single, the pulsating ‘Ascension’ is a spiralling deep dive into death, suicide, and legacy around who or what we leave behind. A noughties club banger by way of NYC beats - ergonomically designed for those who like to stay out a little too often and too late - it throbs like a house party’s partition wall as the literal levelling up undergoes a neon transformation; blue glitching to pink, diffusing the white construct of the Nightbus Matrix. “It really does feel like the end of something and was purposely written that way,” they say, “the ascension is like a firework going off!”
With wheels in motion, Nightbus has become a movement surpassing sonic realms. Between shows from Porto to Brighton taking in The Great Escape, Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial and Paris’ Supersonic; DJing; remixing; guesting (BDRMM’s Microtonic album); and even enlisting talented like-minds to craft a 3-part queer coming-of-age music video series which ties in with a new ‘hyperpop’ phase in the evolution of their popular Nightbus Soundsystem club night, heads are now being turned from sports brands to high-end fashion designers. “There are things we can’t reveal just yet,” tells Olive, “but we’re excited about the direction this beast we’ve created is heading.” As the album philosophises and asks one ultimate question; what does it truly mean to be ‘Passenger’? Nightbus may not claim to offer a definitive answer, but it might make you feel a bit better about those demons.
The seventh release on The Comfort comes from a legendary Finnish electro-disco duo known to any music nerd worth their salt: Putsch’79, the pair of Sami Liuski and Pauli Jylhänkangas. Across their shared catalog and solo projects, most notably Sami’s work as Bangkok Impact and 8Bit Rockets, their music has found a home on some of the most inspiring platforms and labels, including Creme Organization, WeMe, Viewlexx, Clone, Bunker, Klang Elektronik, and Klakson.
Heavy on bliss and warmth, the four tracks sit elegantly between italo, house, and disco, featuring sleek vocoders, beautiful arpeggios, soft percussion, gentle plucks, and just the right amount of low-end to hold it all together. Each track feels like being dropped into a different dream-state: from the bubbly B2 “Birdz” to the racy, forward-driving A1 “Estrange.” The grooves and soundscapes never resolve—they simply unfold—perfect for open-airs, afters, and hazy loft parties.
Some records are born on the dancefloor, some from vivid visions, and some—like this one—from the beauty of birdsong. Tracing its origin to a moment suspended between night and morning, sometime around 2016 or 2017, Birdz emerged from a shared experience: Sami and Pauli listening in awe as the world slowly woke up. This EP is their attempt to translate that fleeting encounter into music.
- 01: Joy (Reprise)
- 02: Keep You Close
- 03: Hebron
- 04: Axis (Feat. Saul Williams)
- 05: Day&Apos;S Gon&Apos; Come
- 06: Listen
- 07: The Honourable
- 08: Hollows &Amp; Grooves
- 09: Wishful Thinking (Feat. Michael King)
- 10: Giving Thanks
- 11: Peace. Love. Life
- 12: After Home (Feat. Tony Kofi)
- 13: Sea Song
- 14: With Care
- 15: Faith (Feat. Deschanel Gordon)
MidnightRoba is the solo project of vocalist, songwriter and producer Roba El-Essawy. The voice of Attica Blues (Mo Wax 1997, Sony 2000), Raise A Symphony is MidnightRoba's second solo album. Her first album, Golden Seams, very much rooted in jazz, received support, airplay and features from DJs such as Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6), Tony Minvielle and China Moses (Jazz FM), Robert Elms (BBC London Live) and Kevin Le Gendre on J to Z (BBC Radio 3). Single releases from this second album have been played by Gilles Peterson (WorldWideFM & BBC Radio 6), Kate Hutchinson (Soho Radio), Marshmello (NTS), Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Kev Beadle, Patrick Steele, DJ Amazon, and more.
'Raise A Symphony' is music of our time. A 15-track electronic offering, it comments on topics ranging from colonialism to complicity of silence; from compromised politicians to the power of protest and gratitude to those on the frontlines of change; from displacement and sea migration to the desire to protect our loved ones and the need for kindness; to have faith in the future and the importance of searching for joy in the meantime. The self-produced album 'Raise A Symphony' sees contributions from Saul Williams, Deschanel Gordon, Michael King and Tony Kofi, amongst others. The album title takes it's name from Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech where King calls for the nation to rise to gather together and form a 'beautiful symphony of brotherhood'.
"..in Raise A Symphony, Midnight Roba has transmuted talent into something more powerful, where bridges built from her exquisite, unique harmonies, soaring songs and percussive productions allow competing emotions to co-exist and feed into each other. This album itself is a form of community; voices in unison, reaching outwards and offering restoration and upliftment throughout this remarkable work of love and fury." Emma Warren
a 01: Joy (Reprise) [feat. Deschanel Gordon]
A concentrated dose of club energy weaving together house, electro, obscure disco, and groove. This is the new vinyl adventure from Raibano Records and Mondo Groove, two Romagna-based labels that have long championed an uncompromising and authentic vision of the Italian electronic scene.
The 12” brings together six unreleased tracks, three per side, crafted by Raibano’s founders Alberto Melloni and Gianmaria Gamberini. On one side, hypnotic rhythms and pulses for the darkest corners of the dancefloor; on the other, Balearic echoes and textures designed to take you far beyond it.
- A1: Verflossen Ist Das Gold Der Tage
- A2: Staub Und Sterne
- A3: Hinter Uns Die Wirklichkeit
- B1: Bedingungslos
- B2: Die Nächte Sind Erfüllt Von Maskenfesten
- B3: Umschlungen Von Milliarden
- C1: Sanft Verblassen Die Geschichten
- C2: Es Ist Alles Schon Gesagt
- C3: Schwarzer Regen Fällt
- D1: Jeder Gedanke Umsonst Gedacht
- D2: Welche Welt
- D3: Ist Es Das, Was Du Willst
II[29,37 €]
Reissue of the 3rd full length by Thomas Bücker aka Bersarin Quartett.
Melancholia. Longing. It is difficult to speak about these moods or states of the mind without invoking stereotypes. In ancient medicine, melancholia was considered to be one of the four temperaments, matching the four humours. In fact, melancholia, meaning "black bile" in Ancient Greek, was thought to be caused by an excess of this very body substance. By contrast, in more modern interpretations, literates and Freudians relate many variations of longing to the one primordial longing, the desire to return to one's mother's womb. In this context, the womb is considered to be the place of absolute comfort and cosiness, of total bliss. Thus it should not be surprising that to many of us melancholia is a mood which we like to invoke and to maintain, we like to envelop ourselves in it like in a warm blanket. Our brain and our sensory systems appear to be made for perceiving and emotionally responding to music in a very immediate fashion. Consequently music is the obvious drug for all of us melancholia-addicts. However, there is a thin line between melancholia and sadness, and music which is meant to be melancholic too often crosses this line by far. Only very few artists succeed in avoiding this crossing, and in creating music which is melancholia in its most pure form. It is safe to say that BERSARIN QUARTETT - the electronic music project of Thomas Bücker - is one of them.
After his debut in 2008 and the sophomore "II" in 2012 - album of the month in many magazines and in numerous "Best of the year" lists - Bücker in 2015 returned with his third BERSARIN QUARTETT album "III". Much like his two predecessors, III is a pure paradox. It is the creation of a perfectionist, an adamant control freak. Every element, be it a note, an ambience layer, a string arrangement, a field recording, a baseline, a vocal (Clara Hill on Track 11) or a beat, is meticulously modified and then assigned its place in Bücker's vast but still minimalistic arrangements. Thus, superficially Bücker's pieces seem to radiate a certain mechanical bleakness. However, there is a unique reduced warmth and liveliness emerging from these stainless compositions and transcending them. This transcendence is precisely the point where Bücker ironically looses control over his creations. In contrast to the first two BERSARIN QUARTETT albums, III offers a few darker shades and succeeds even further in narrowing down the arrangements to the absolute essentials without loosing the characteristic grandeur of Bücker's sound. Whereas BERSARIN QUARTETT's debut was merely a description of melancholia in its most pure form, III maybe even goes as far a defining what melancholia really is. It is the only emotion in the vast spectrum of human states of mind which one can bear forever.
NPVR is the avant garde duo made up of the late Peter Rehberg and Nik Void. Editions Mego is proud to present their second and final release. No this is not some kind of Beatles synthetic AI that raises the dead reconstructed recordings but rather a new album made by the humans and their machines.
The initial meeting of Rehberg and Void was in London in 2016 and despite or due to their mutual awkwardness found solace and compatibility in the fact that they both had a similar electronic modular set up, along with matching cases to transport all. The idea to collaborate was an obvious and organic process as a means to connect their individual gear together and observe the outcome. The fruits of these initial experiments, recorded in London, resulted in the playful experimentation of their acclaimed 2017 release 33 33 (eMego 251).
Now in 2024 Editions Mego presents the logically titled follow up, 33 34. These sessions were recorded six months after the initial recordings at Peter’s home in Vienna. This was planned out as a mirror city release to the original London recordings. With Peter having access to his full studio set up this time around we encounter a rich audio landscape which organically folds together a variety of musical genres blurring any distinction between these forms so the resulting music hovers as a new cloud of sound. Any musical form, be it industrial, electro-acoustic, ambient, drone and techno all coexist and melt into the other as the ensuing result unveils a hypnotic swarm of divergent sounds (music). When active there were no lines or contexts with NPVR, either between sound or genre within these recordings or live where NPVR were at home playing at a techno club one night and an avant garde venue the next.
The initial session of these recordings was edited by Rehberg and sent to Void to further develop. Over time the final versions were agreed on and then shelved as other outside projects took over. The awkwardness had been surmounted and the two had become close friends. NPVR performed at a range of venues such as Tresor, Sutton House, Corsica, Blitz, Paris GRM #Focus2, LEV Festival and Rigas Skanumezs Festival. Following Rehberg’s untimely passing Void had difficulty listening back to the sessions but eventually thought it fit to complete and release this album, of which even the artwork (like 33 33, an image from Zurich photographer, Georg Gatsas) had been decided upon prior to Rehberg parting ways.
There is an unmistakable joy to these recordings. One encounters an enthralling exploration of their chosen machines which conveys the excitement of what can be randomly conjured when people speak through such devices. There is no grand statement or argument here, just the sheer thrill of creation and the recorded results of random encounters. The art of collaboration was always a mainstay of Rehberg’s practice from the advent of the MEGO adventure. Rehberg & Bauer was an initial collaboration with former business partner Ramon Bauer. Even at this stage one can hear a relaxed sense of delight in the sheer discovery of sound.
A mix made for the Wire magazine following the release of 33 33 hints at the freedom that comes with endless urge for exploration and discovery. Abstract tracks from Z'EV. Jérôme Noetinger and Jung An Tagen are included alongside British stalwarts The Fall and New Order. There were no lines between pop / academic / underground or mainstream in Rehberg’s world. All of it sat at the same table. It is just matter in the atmosphere, like the diverse exploration found in these recordings that comprise 33 34.
Towards the end of his life Rehberg was obsessing over the immense output of the German ambient musician Pete Namlook. An artist renowned for not only his sprawling catalogue of ambient masterpieces but one who often said his main inspiration was nature. This is apt with regards to the work of NPVR which also aligns with such thought as the intertwining of the two individual artists and their machines results in a natural symbiotic flow, as it happens, just like in the world around us.
Peter Rehberg is known for his pioneering electronic work with computer software which over time evolved into a modular set up alongside running MEGO and then Editions Mego labels.
Rehberg was a prolific collaborator, with other musicians and with contemporary dance and theatre productions, most notably with French artist and choreographer, Gisèle Vienne with whom he created a series of soundtracks from Showroomdummies, released under the name DACM in 2002 (Showroomdummies MEGO 056), to Crowd in 2017. A collection of Rehberg’s solo works for Vienne was released in 2008 (Work for GV 2004-2008 EMEGO 092). The outfit KTL, with Stephen O’Malley, was initiated by Gisèle Vienne for her work Kindertotenlieder and subsequently made a series of soundtracks for Vienne’s works branching off into a prolific series of live shows. The work Rehberg did for theatre and performance teased out aspects of his practice one may not have encountered in his own solo work as PITA or that of collaborations with other musicians.
Editions Mego is proud to present a previously unreleased theatre soundtrack made for Icelandic choreographer Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir, whom Rehberg had a decade long collaboration with until his untimely passing in 2021. The original composition for Liminal States was created by Rehberg for the performance Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli in 2018 and then revisited as a catalyst for the concepts behind Liminal States. This work is based on an ongoing artistic research conducted by the choreographer into altered states of perception through phenomenological embodiment. It is the last in a trilogy dealing with the notion of larger forces that act on us beyond our conscious mind. The trilogy consists of Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli (2018), Boundless Ominous Fields (2024) and now Liminal States (2024).
Rehberg's score for Liminal States is a vast canvas of spectral ambience at once tangible and unfathomable in its constantly shapeshifting lysergic dread. The results are a psychological journey through the mental effects of sound on space and subsequently the mind. The first part presents cascading waves of shimmering electronics laying the groundwork for the second part where the psychological illusion splinters into all manner of sonic effects taking the listener on a deep mental voyage. If references are witnessed the late period long form hallucinatory works of Coil, such as Time Machines and Constant shallowness leads to evil, are amongst a similar mind message delivered here. Unlike any other release in Rehberg’s output Liminal States is a single long form work which, despite the form, retains Rehberg’s idiosyncratic sound vision.
Guðjónsdóttir and Rehberg’s collaboration blurs that relationship into a greater force which truly enables the theme of liminal states to unfold in a brave new fashion. Rich in timbre and sonic invention this is powerful work easily holding its own outside of the intended performance whilst still complimenting the missions statement entirely. This profound collaboration has the cumulative effect where the concept and soundtrack are one and may be one of the strongest works in the entire Rehberg canon.
Brussels-based accordionist Suzan Peeters releases her debut album Cassotto on the Belgian label blickwinkel. With Cassotto, she opens a door into a hidden chamber of sound. The title refers to the “cassotto” — a small resonating chamber inside the accordion that warms, softens, and deepens its tone. Listening to this record feels as if you’ve stepped into that room yourself, enveloped in a world where intimacy and grandeur collide.
Although this is her first release, Peeters is already recognised as one of the most promising names in Belgium’s experimental music scene. Her distinctive live shows — from leading venues across Belgium to a packed Café Oto in London — have earned her a reputation for combining accordion, electronics and unconventional objects such as a massage board into a compelling whole where contrasts come together in an unexpected way. Cassotto captures this approach in recorded form, giving listeners the same sense of immediacy as her concerts, but framed within the intimate space suggested by the album’s title.
While the cassotto chamber naturally gives the accordion a soft and velvety voice, Peeters harnesses that warmth to explore extremes — from hushed detail to bold, expansive gestures that fill the room. As such, the album moves between the acoustic and the electronic, the tender and the abrasive, the static and the dynamic, the traditional and the experimental.
With Cassotto, Suzan Peeters presents a debut that places the accordion at the centre of an adventurous and contemporary sound world — one that invites to discover how far an accordion can reach when tradition and imagination intertwine.
Suzan Peeters (*1999) is a Belgian accordionist, composer, and experimentalist. She is constantly looking for new timbres and sound textures within the accordion, pushing its acoustic spectrum to its limits by manipulating the interplay between her body and the body of her instrument.
Suzan studied classical accordion at KASK & Conservatorium in Ghent and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. She is currently studying Live Electronics at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
blickwinkel welcomes composer and multi-instrumentalist Francis Plagne to the label with a reissue of Asleep in a beached boat, an album that was initially released on his own Mould/Mouse Museum label in 2021 on cassette. The album was mostly given away to friends but now gets a wider release through a limited vinyl and digital edition.
Gentle melodies set an airy atmosphere and are intertwined with tensive dialogs between rhythms and textures coming from a wide array of acoustic and electronic instruments. Stylistically somewhere in between his Rural Objects (Black Truffle) and Udge (Horn of Plenty), on the eleven tracks on this album we hear Plagne in his most playful way to date.
Francis Plagne is a musician from Melbourne, Australia whose work swings between songwriting and a variety of other approaches, including group improvisation, instrumental abstraction, and domestic musique concrète. He performed live regularly since 2005 and has released recordings on labels such as Black Truffle, Horn of Plenty, Kye Records, Penultimate Press and his own Mould/Mouse Museum micro-label. In addition to performing his own work either solo or with a band, he has performed and recorded in improvised and other arrangements with Tetuzi Akiyama, Oren Ambarchi, Andrew Chalk, Crys Cole, James Rushford, and Joe Talia, among others.
Our journey through “Música Para Boliche” literally “music for the club” from Argentina’s underground scene doesn’t stop. We dug even deeper, right into the ’90s.
Four tracks plus one, all visionary even at the time of their release. Once again, you can feel the magical touch of the Italian and Argentine DJs who worked on it.
Jack Bulgaro did his part, bringing home an instrumental unreleased version of Podés Seguir Sin Arriesgarte, taken from the album Undermalabia, produced by El Signo, pioneers of electronic music in Latin America.
The version will be officially released for the first time, vinyl only, by Maledetta Discoteca Records.
Queer communities have long transformed parties into something powerful: spaces where care flourishes, injustice gets challenged, and new worlds are danced into being. But today, DJs command huge fees while behind-the-scenes workers earn below minimum wage. Corporations profit from our culture while communities that created these spaces are displaced. As venues shut and workers burn out, it’s clear that something has gone deeply wrong.
Club Commons: Moving Bodies to Grow Movements in Queer Nightlife & Beyond by Anjali Prashar-Savoie takes you inside hidden stories of resistance and reinvention. We meet the people reshaping nightlife from below: abolitionist security teams creating safety without police, sober raves doubling as mental health support, radical childcare at parties, venues becoming worker cooperatives, and free party crews reclaiming public space. Through their work, we see how party-throwing skills build movements, how refusing to play changes everything, and why protecting queer nightlife means transforming who owns it.
Quotes
“When Anjali shines her perceptive light on dancefloor culture, everything is better illuminated. I can’t wait to read this book. It’s one we need.” Emma Warren (author of Dance Your Way Home/Up the Youth Club)
“Anjali’s one of the most exciting and insightful voices writing about dance music today, bringing fresh perspectives, intellectual rigour and emotive power to a conversation that’s too often homogenous, superficial or cynically commercial. Club Commons promises to be an essential and overdue book: a chance to reexamine the queer history of club culture, celebrate and critique its present, and map out radical possibilities for its future.” Ed Gillett (author of Party Lines)
“Beautifully written and unique, Anjali Prashar-Savoie’s behind-the-scenes journey through queer nightlife is as thorough as it is fascinating. Documenting a world that commercial interests are rapidly destroying, Club Commons is proof that queer culture holds the key to a better future for the dancefloor and beyond.” Professor Sam Parsley (author of Minor Keys, coach, DJ and founder of In the Key, a directory and platform championing the careers of women, trans and non-binary electronic music producers)
“Club Commons: Moving Bodies to Grow Movements in Queer Nightlife & Beyond is a vital reminder of how important the dance floor is to connect, unfurl and envision new futures. The text highlights the historic and existing care work entangled with the club space, particularly in providing temporary sites of refuge and embodied joy for Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. This is juxtaposed with research on the corporate and carceral commodification of nightlife in recent years, which exposes the false premise that club spaces are always radical. This book affirms my belief that the non-commercial nightlife ecosystem is an essential part of our social change infrastructure, rather than a luxury. Club Commons is a call to action to reclaim this space on our own terms and revive the underground.” Camille Sapara Barton, (author of Tending Grief: An Embodied Guide to Being with Grief Individually and in Community)
- A1: The Jungle
- A2: Love That Boy
- A3: House On Fire
- A4: Sacrifice
- B1: Get My Mind
- B2: Le Queens
- B3: In Your Eyes
- B4: Bold
Montreal indie rock trio Plants and Animals announce "The Jungle", their fifth studio album set to be released October 23rd via Secret City Records. Their shortest album yet and certainly their boldest, "The Jungle" is eight acts in a world full of noise. The album is auto-produced and was recorded at Mixart, their studio in Montreal. The band explains : "We started working on this a couple of years ago. Warren was afraid for a friend's health. He thought he was self-medicating too much and not taking care of himself. He couldn't let go of this image of an overworked dude swallowing too many sleeping pills and falling asleep with the stove on. So it began as the place next door, sometime before Greta Thunberg turned the expression into a rallying cry, where Earth is the house and the people are sleeping. It's terrifying, and on the whole we're not unlike this friend, are we?" "The Jungle" starts with electronic drums that sound like insects at night. A whole universe comes alive in the dark. It's beautiful, complex and unsettling. Systematic and chaotic. All instinct, no plan. Voices taunt,"yeah yeah yeah." This tangled time in which we find ourselves is reflected back in shadows. Every song is such a landscape. The first one grinds to a halt and you become a kid looking out a car window at the moon, wondering how it's still on your tail as you speed past a steady blur of trees. You watch a house go up in a yellow strobe that echoes the disco weirdness of Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer and David Bowie. You get pummelled by a rhythm then set free by a sudden change of scenery_the wind stops, clarity returns. You're under a streetlight in Queens, soft-focus, slow motion, falling in love. You speak French now too, in case you didn't already. Bienvenue. These are personal experiences made in a volatile world, and they reflect that world right back at us, even by accident. There's one song Nic sings to his teenage son who was dealing with climate change anxiety and drifting into uncharted independence. The band carries it out slowly together into a sweet blue horizon. Warren wrote the words to another shortly after losing his father. It's about the things we inherit not necessarily being the things we want. In a broader sense, that's where a lot of people find themselves right now.
A rhythmic minimal ambient piece played with organic electronic sounds. Elements of electronic, psychedelic, and ethnic music are interwoven. The vinyl debut of Japanese composer / electronic musician NAT000. Mastered by ISAO KUMANO of Phonon, a Japanese audio equipment manufacturer. NAT000 : After performing live as a one-man drone under the name sonic mainly at 20000v in Koenji Tokyo and DOM in Nishi-Shinjuku (now EARTHDOM in Shin-Okubo), he became a band member of the hardcore bands BUTTHEAD SUNGLASS and ABRAHAM CROSS, which gained popularity in the underground scene in Tokyo in the 2000s.The Band has been performing in parks, abandoned buildings, and campgrounds. Since turning solo again, he has been producing electronic music and performing live using analog synths, samplers, drum machines, software, and effectors, and has privately released a CD of self-produced recordings. This album is a compilation of past works from those CDs and newly produced works for the album.
“Stuck in My Head / Home is Behind” marks the most profound and personal release from Jamie Collomb, known to many as Oneduz - artist, father, husband, and co-founder of The Global DNB Collective. This vinyl project, created with unwavering passion and intention, was Jamie’s proudest work, a true reflection of his artistic soul.
Tragically, Jamie passed away unexpectedly just as the record entered production. Featuring original tracks by Eclipsed Shadows and Noisesmith, and powerful remixes by two of Jamie’s heroes: drum & bass legends Blame, and longtime friend and inspiration Danny Styles. This release stands as both a musical statement and a lasting tribute.
Following Jamie’s passing, his creative partner Andy (Syntax Era) and GDNBC designer Ryan Feyler (Drbblz) came together to carry his vision across the finish line. Every detail of this release honors Jamie’s legacy.
All profits from this album will go directly to support Jamie’s wife, Shanda, and their two young children, Porter and Hadley. This is more than a record, it’s a celebration of Jamie’s life, his music, and the community he helped build.
- Mean Street
- Dirty Movies
- Sinners Swing!
- Hear About It Later
- Unchained
- Push Comes To Shove
- So This Is Love?
- Sunday Afternoon In The Park
- One Foot Out The Door
The song titles on Van Halen's aptly titled Fair Warning don't lie. The likes of "Unchained," "Mean Street," "Push Comes to Shove," "One Foot Out the Door," and more indicate the mood the band channels on its double-platinum 1981 record — the nastiest, darkest, and fiercest album of the group's storied career. For the fourth time in four years, Van Halen throws down the gauntlet to all challengers and emerges victorious.
Sourced from the original analog tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set plays with unfettered clarity, dynamics, and immediacy. Benefitting from superb groove definition, an ultra-low noise floor, and dead-quiet surfaces, this vinyl edition captures what went down in the studio with tremendous realism and involving presence.
Taking a more controlled approach in the studio and still completing everything in less than two weeks, Van Halen and producer Ted Templeman relied on studio amplifiers to direct the sound. Further diverging from the live-on-the-floor approach of its earlier albums, the ensemble also employed overdubs to great effect. The result: Dense, stacked architecture that underlines the hard-hitting tenor of the songs — and which comes alive like never before on this reference edition that looks as good as it sounds.
The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation befit the reissue's select status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. Aurally and visually, it is made for listeners who want to immerse themselves in everything involved with the album, including the iconic cover art adopted from William Kurelek's haunting painting, "The Maze."
Isolated frames from Kurelek's childhood-inspired work — including a man bashing his head into a brick wall, a guy pinning down an adversary as he delivers bare-fist blows to his face and others watch with apparent glee, a boy tied down on a conveyer belt and being sent through the equivalent of a meat saw — adorn the front and back covers. The sunnier visual disposition of Van Halen's prior efforts gives way to something sinister and tortured, traits reflective of the music within. The band members, too, are visually depicted not in glamorous shots but in a serious black-and-white portrait in which the quartet is clad in black leather jackets.
Tough, aggressive, stark: Fair Warning comes on like a series of bare-knuckled punches to the solar plexus and boasts lyrical narratives to match. Though not a concept record, the concise album revolves around themes of roughing it on the streets and struggling to survive amid dim prospects. Singer David Lee Roth reportedly penned many of the initial lyrics after traveling to Haiti and observing extreme poverty. The characters and situations populating Fair Warning reflect hardscrabble existence, last-chance desperation, and underlying danger.
Witness the crazies, poor folks, and hunters of “Mean Street”; the former prom queen turned pornographic actress on “Dirty Movies”; the menace and vice of “Sinners Swing!”; the streetwise hustle of “Unchained”; the isolation and alienation of “Push Comes to Shove”; the desire for escape on “One Foot Out the Door”: A carefree California beach party Fair Warning is not.
Having said he felt angry and frustrated during the sessions, guitarist Eddie Van Halen uses the forceful arrangements as a playground for his seemingly unlimited arsenal. Supported by a crack rhythm section and a hyped-up Roth, he performs with an almost impossible combination of punk-like intensity, technical finesse, lyrical fluidity, and unbridled emotion. The virtuoso was increasingly butting heads with Templeton and seeking a freedom in the studio he believed denied him.
No wonder he plays like a bat out of hell. Listen to the rapid-fire manner in which he slaps the high and low E strings on the 12th fret of his instrument on “Mean Street,” instilling the tune with funk flair and metal-spiked sharpness. For the pouty strut of “Dirty Movies,” Eddie Van Halen contributes slide guitar magic made possible after he sawed off the lower portion of a Gibson SG so he could reach further down the fretboard.
Related intensity, urgency, and daredevil momentum punctuate the surging “Sinner’s Swing!” A heavily flanged, delicately melodic introduction frames the attitudinal “Hear About It Later,” among the most creative arrangements of Van Halen’s career. And do riffs come any bigger or magnetic than those on the high-wire kick of “Unchained”? As for the out-of-left-field “Sunday in the Park,” an instrumental composed on an Electro-Harmonix micro-synthesizer: Who but Eddie Van Halen to supply creep factor in such an ingenious way?
Despite selling fewer quantities than Van Halen’s prior efforts, Fair Warning remains for many diehards the record that epitomizes all of the band’s immense strengths —Roth’s manic energy and tongue-wagging humor, Alex Van Halen’s rhythmic heartbeat-in-your-chest bombast, and Michael Anthony’s lucid bass lines included. Arriving when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and new-wave movements were taking flight, it signaled a shot across the bow from a band determined to stay a step ahead and provide proof nobody could touch what it delivered.
More than four decades later, Fair Warning still sounds that alarm.
































































































































































