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Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is a tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight and dance music royalty, Armand van Helden, a fresh new edit of a revered club weapon from Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti and David Amo, Kiss FM regular, majestic and Sydney-native Alex Preston.

Up first label boss, Mark Knight enlists Grammy nominated Armand van Helden for their debut collaboration, 'The Music Began To Play'. Kicking off with a hard-hitting house groove and electrified bassline that drives the record, before dropping into the track's golden moment and sampling the 1979 classic disco cut 'I Don't Need No Music' by T.J.M; a gem of a record that encapsulates both Mark and Armand’s love for classic cuts.

Next up, a record that became a cult hit of the underground and one that defines the true sound of Toolroom's heritage, Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti and David Amo’s 'Raw'. Refreshed for 2022, we see one of France's hottest exports, Tony Romera, deliver a high energy, club focused remix of 'Raw', bringing the classic club record back to dancefloors and sound systems across the globe!

Up next is another heater from Majestic, who debuts on Toolroom with ‘Annie’. Recapping one of the hottest summers on record, Majestic embodies the Balearic, Ibizan heat, sampling Kid Creole & the Coconuts 1982 hit, 'Annie I’m Not Your Daddy', turning a slice of calypso / disco, into a club ready record for the dancefloor. From the brass melody to the hooky guitar riff, majestic lays down his signature style with a Groove Armada-esque vibe throughout.

Rounding things off is label favourite, Alex Preston with his unique blend of 4 to the floor dance music and live funk guitar riffs that have swept through clubs, moving feet, and bringing those feel-good vibes. Ticking all the right boxes on this one, 'Hunching' kicks off with its infectious groove and bassline, throwing in some lush strings, guitar flits and an 80's inspired saxophone break that adds some serious flavour to the record.

Upcoming Melbourne producer, Michael 'Cybernet' Giese
debuts on Gestalt Records with a blistering 4 track EP full of
neo-noir-esque Goa, progressive trance, left¦eld house and
deep breakbeat.

Known as the “Dynamic Duo” Pig&Dan celebrate twenty years by making a long-awaited debut on Crosstown Rebels next month. The two-track Rock You All Night EP draws inspiration from the USA’s heritage house scene, with a slice of Hot Filtered Disco!

The influences of Chicago and New York are heard right from the offset, with rolling homegrown stabs coupled next to heavy and wholesome bassline grooves. There’s an inherent feel-good atmosphere to the piece, reflective of the era’s freedom and openness, before Let Yourself Unwind finishes proceedings on a similarly euphoric close. Disco-esque melodies flitter beneath an upbeat, repeating vocal as choir-like instrumentals build to create the perfect synergy for both dancefloor and radio play.

Pig&Dan have firmly established their presence as one of electronic music’s most esteemed duos. The pair’s releases speak for themselves, be it on Sven Väth’s Cocoon, Adam Beyer’s Drumcode or John Digweed’s Bedrock to name a mere few of the labels they’ve found success on. Their DJ performances are similarly impressive, with recent years marking the launch of a new live show that debuted across some of the biggest global stages, including Fabric (London), Warung (Brazil) and AIM festival (Canada).

Genre defining label Hot Creations welcomes in another milestone release this July, as imprint-founder Jamie Jones makes a long-awaited return with the three-track Bionic Boy. It acts as his first solo EP on Hot Creations since last September’s Handy Work, continuing a standout 2022 for the UK talent.

We’re graced with JJ’s techy, groove-laced sound right from the offset, as Bionic Boy leads the charge. Packed full of hard-edged percussion and rampant kick-hat pairings, a well-known female vocal takes us to the dancefloor and beyond before Moment Of Clarity soon arrives. Euphoric piano stabs live beside Chicago-esque key solos, paving the way for Here Comes The Drums. Darkened pads, tribal drums and whomping kicks meld to form a late-night, club-driven number that represents the signature Jamie Jones sound that we know and love.

As a world-renowned DJ and producer, head of Hot Creations and founder of the global Paradise event series, Jamie Jones has etched out a legacy in electronic music that few others can attest to. His personally curated Paradise series offers an international showcase of house and techno’s most recognisable artists, whilst his flagship label, Hot Creations, continues to pioneer a contemporary house sound. 2022 sees the label host a ‘Ten Year’ anniversary tour, with events planned across Miami, London, New York and Amsterdam, whilst Paradise makes its home in iconic Ibiza nightspot Amnesia. Confirmed guests for the weekly Wednesday residency include Joseph Capriati, Nicole Moudaber, Loco Dice, The Blessed Madonna and many other genre-leading performers.

One Tribe label-owner AMÉMÉ makes his debut production appearance on Crosstown Rebels next month with the three-track Drum Beat. The EP includes a remix by longstanding US house veteran Joeski, marking a major career achievement for the Benin-born talent.

The Latin influence is experienced right from the word go on Loca, as Saharan-esque elements build alongside resonant hats and playful, Spanish-like vocals. Tribal percussion drifts in and out alongside, whilst whirring key solos feature subtly throughout. Drum Beat comes next, manifesting as a welcome slice of contemporary Afro-house that’s packed full of raw instrumentals and authentic lyrical samples, before Joeski’s remix brings things to an up-tempo, club-ready close.

Specialising in Afro-leaning electronic music, AMÉMÉ has marked himself as one of the continent’s breakthrough talents in recent years. Head of One Tribe, his productions have been supported by the pioneering figure of Black Coffee since 2019, whilst his appearances on Watergate Records, Blond:Ish’s Abracadabra imprint and the mighty MoBlack Records have been equally well-received, firmly establishing his presence as one of modern dance music’s rising stars.

Joeski’s trajectory can be traced back to 1991, when he burst onto the NYC house scene as a founding member of The Chocolate Factory DJ collective. Since then, the US veteran has garnered a worldwide following thanks to his Maya label, which was first incepted in 2001, as well his keen ear for production that has seen him release on Crosstown Rebels, Relief and a myriad of other heavyweight imprints in recent years.

The fast rising FUTURA imprint from Leon, releases its new release from Mexican DJ Producer Mike.D with stellar remixes from Len Lewis and Do Or Die to complete the package .



Salomon Records founder Mike.D hails from Juarez Chihuahua, and is considered one of the new generation talents of DJs and producers from northern Mexico. His music selection and mixing abilities have given him the opportunity to play at the legendary Mexican venue Hardpop for many years. As a producer he’s released on labels like Kanja Records, Kina Music, The Lab, Dream Culture and more which has cemented his place in the scene. His music is regularly supported and played by the likes of Arapu, Sepp, Cosmjn, Maher Daniel, Mihai Pol, Sublee, YokoO and more.


For his debut release on Futura, he drops 2 originals the first of which is the title track ‘Mente Trascendente’. An edgy minimal deep tech house track with a grooving electronic bassline, deep atmospheric pads, classy beat pattern all combining to create an elegant 8 minute journey. The second on the package is Len Lewis’s remix of ‘Mente Trascendente’. Len Lewis released his first track back in ‘93 on Jumpin & Pumpin, which then led to records on the likes of the legendary Swag. Lewis’ designated name for his sound is, SiTH, Sinister Tech House, claiming its mysterious name after a Mixmag reviewer used this description for his music many years ago. His remix fits this name perfectly, powerful low bassline drives the track effortlessly, and smooth breakdown combining with eerie incidentals and pads, treated vocal cuts providing the signature hook for the track. This is a remix that’s perfect for the heads in the scene.



Next up we have ‘Sendero Interno’. The original mix is a pure minimal work out right from the outset. The stripped back and delicate beats use popping sounds for filling the frequencies, and work perfectly against the backdrop of the brooding pads and synths make this an classy introspective underground track, which is everything the Futura label is about. To round things off we have the final remix which comes from My Own Jupiter DJ Producer, Do Or Die. Well known for producer techno and electro the fast rising producer, delivers an acid house sci-fi esq work out on this remix with punching beats cutting through the mix, whilst retaining the brooding synths and samples from the original and adding in some special vocal cuts to keep this remix unique and perfect for the floor.

The latest from Mr. K and Most Excellent Unlimited pairs lowdown and stomping disco from an unlikely source with a funked-out floorfiller from some very familiar voices.

Minnie Riperton’s 1977 single “Stick Together” was an outlier in her catalog of smooth modern soul, an intentional nod in the direction of the prevailing disco sound. Co-written with Stevie Wonder, “Stick Together” in its original single release was divided into two parts, the first a fairly conventional uptempo cut with all the catchy qualities you’d expect from Stevie and the husband and wife team of Richard Rudolph and Minnie. It was the second half of the song that caught the ears of DJs who played for funkier dancefloors, however. Freddie Perren, a former member of Motown’s legendary Corporation collective of songwriters and producers, and a man then red-hot off his success with Tavares’ “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel” and the Sylvers’ “Boogie Fever,” was on production duties, and the song clearly benefits from his disco-friendly touch. In Mr. K’s epic edit we are treated to a lengthy exploration of the second part of “Stick Together,” featuring keyboardist Sonny Burke (veteran of Marvin Gaye’s band and fresh from playing on Candi Staton’s disco smash “Young Hearts Run Free”) working out an irresistible Jingo-esque piano part, Riperton’s sensual ad-libs, and, as if that wasn’t enough, a cameo appearance by Pam Grier on finger snaps! Krivit’s 8-minute-plus edit passes way too quickly to get enough of the hypnotic groove — rewinds are called for!

Our flip side, “Body Language,” originated as an album cut on the Jackson Five’s last album of original material for Motown, Moving Violation, recorded before Jermaine left to go solo and the remaining brothers joined Epic Records in a new incarnation as the Jacksons. For such an obvious heater it’s puzzling why the label never released it as a single; but regardless of that apparent misstep, “Body Language” has long been a sure shot in many DJs’ bags. With his new edit, Mr. K presents the track in its ultimate form, loud, remastered, stretched out and rippling with energy over a full six minutes. With an iconic bass line that just doesn’t quit, and Michael and the boys in fine form, it’s impossible to imagine a situation where this wouldn’t set the room on fire.

Informed by a highly influential early 1980s electronic music classic, the title track literally mind-sets the theme of Llewellyn’s latest release, kicking off with a euphoric vibe and drums shimmering with digital artifacts. At times almost dreamy cinematic pads, upfront with energetic Moroder-esque propelling bass lines, are the sound signatures of Llewellyn’s journey through a warm and synthesizer laden EP, reviving the sound aesthetics of both the post-discoid VHS and today’s club era with a contemporary touch. Finishing off with a laid-back facet, this four track EP contains enough warmth and drive to get you safely through the cold months, into a warm and promising future.

Llewellyn is one of Martin Enke’s producer’s monikers, who is closely associated with the Riotvan crew and also known as Lake People. Past releases can be found on labels like Riotvan, Uncanny Valley, Permanent Vacation, Mule Musiq and others.

Hidden in a world of anonymity we are craving for intimacy.

AI. The second output in the MAT editions series on CLIKNO is a double 12" separated into "Anonymity" and "Intimacy". The digital world and social media in particular change our perception and behavior; our values and morals undergo a transformation and
shift. How much are we still anonymous? How much are we still intimate (with us/with others)? What does anonymity and intimacy mean to us today?

MUSIC. Dr.Nojoke shows on AI his deeper, darker and trippier side.

A. Petar Plet Plete is a Bulgarian tongue twister sung by anonymous voices, which hypnotize through endless repetitions over a straight Maurizio-esque groove with odd melodic percussion. Nivin grooves elegantly with typical Dr.Nojoke clicks and sophisticated loops of a mysterious female voice reminding slightly to Kraftwerk's Man-machine era.

I. EOW and Nuknot are both intimate orgies of thick textures of reverberations and reflections as if space is folding in itself and time is on hold. EOW seduces with a heavy kick-drum groove and a triplet bassline underneath crawling through unconscious memories. Woe! Nuknot is carried by transcending atmospheres, a dubby low end bassline and a repetitious glassy sound, that can drive a crowd into madness - inspired by Moritz von Oswald and Deadbeat. Nuknot ends with an ambient lock groove.

ART. CLIKNO curates artworks from living artists. On MAT ed.02 CLIKNO is proud to present digital artist Lucas Gutierrez and his work "Your Mesh.sgl", originally part of the exhibition - Knowledge Of - at Aperto Raum Berlin, 2017. An exhibition and dialogue exploring the term "knowledge" and the manner in which self-studies are structured within contemporary artistic approach.

TEXT. MAT02 comes with writings to anonymity and intimacy from the Danish philosopher, actress and choreographer Marianne Kjaer Klausen.

The album celebrates also the 15th CLIKNOversary of Dr.Nojoke.

Some of LUXXURY’s most popular floor fillers on wax for the first time in this new limited series.

“Uh Huh” hearkens back to a Beautiful Time, ripping off and improving upon a Silver Convention-esque bassline. “Da Ya” is a deep cut Eastern European cover of a sleazy pop disco classic. “Petula” is LUXXURY’s most popular rework to date after DJ Harvey gave it an auspicious premiere in his Milan Boiler Room set.

Ark & Pit Spector continue their inspired journey with an extended EP full of groovy jams and absorbing rhythms for Hold Youth. The Frenchmen have formed a potent alliance with a series of expertly-crafted, high-quality releases dropping over the last couple of years. On this new EP they go deeper into their sound explorations with five original works and a remix from their Parisian buddy and Hold Youth member, Le Loup. First up, we go into bumping jazzy territory with 'Chauffage Central', a mesmerising cut with swirling pads, soulful vocal clips and a jaunty b-line. Straight up after that, Hold Youth rudeboy Le Loup gives 'Chauffage Central' a funky little rework, throwing live sounding percussion, Nubian vocal clips, trumpet parps and a pumping bassline into the mix which gives a totally different identity. The final track on side A, is a cheeky teaser called 'Petite Ondée'. Rolling out for just under two minutes the track has a muffled, jazz-esque feel to it with a warm rolling bassline and bright, sparkling piano keys.

On the flip we kick off with 'Air Conditionelle', a lush, retro feeling with those oh-so-familiar heavy-hitting eighties snare licks. The bassline takes you to a New York City street and the whole atmosphere is that of an old school NYC neighbourhood, while a spoken-word sample adds a human touch just before the track comes to an end. 'Sub Tropical' goes a little leftfield with an unusual combination of sounds in tandem with a pulsating low end, occasional sax licks and punchy percussion to give it plenty of energy. 'Averse Et Contre Tous' closes out the EP with a slothish ride into the sunset - Ark and Pit Spector show their experimental side presenting an odd union between blues samples, gruff electronic sounds and piano keys.

Another triumphant effort from Ark and Pit Spector, in fact, some of the finest work to date. Make sure you check it out!

Since 2010, Jackie House aka Jacob Sperber has been driving the A&R side of the San Francisco dance-music troupe running the HNYTRX label and producing remixes with other members under the Honey name. Putting label duties on hold in 2013 Sperber cocooned into his music studio, entering as a brave brunette and exiting as an ambitious blonde. "Stydive" is Jackie's debut to wax and has as much house-party in it as it does warehouse 4am. With a vocal sample nod to punk's past, 'Stydive' pogo dances to dusty and stuttering live/analog drum rhythms and skips along a rude and infectious bass-line. Bound to find lovers of all persuasions for its dub-esque qualities, instantly recognizable hook, and open relationship with house music, this tune begged to have it's own side. That said, there is always room for some Matrixxman who takes Stydive to a strobe lit South of Market darkroom in his remix on the B. Spurting erotic lazers around a cavernous kick, this tune finishes off even the most experienced edger.

Ecstatic’s dreamiest cadets bliss out on a new album of acoustic and electric guitar, harmonium and synth tapestries, notably nestling a Romance cameo within a genteel toggle of atmospheric pressure.

Back on (side) road after releasing quietly acclaimed kosmische gem ‘I Had too Much to Dream Last Night’ back in 2021 and the lysergic lushness of ‘Listen to the Sky’ a couple of years later, Celestial suggest a more sublime return to earth with the shine-eyed wonders of ‘I Can Hear the Grass Grow’, an album that soothes to the supine in eight shimmering parts of pearlescent melodic motifs marbling harmonious backdrops intended to tenderly comb nerves straight.

The duo take their role as seductive sandmen with a curious melodic wit that leaves something to the imagination whilst nudging it along the album’s narrative thread. A courtly flamenco lick flickers in opener ‘The Endless Stair’, one of the most restrained recordings we've heard from the childhood friends; blessed with just a little reverb and echo, as if a mic's been lowered into some dimly lit basement while Celestial puzzle out mystifying, interlocking harmonies. It hits a mid-point between John Fahey's raga-inspired Americana and Vini Reilly's rain-soaked Northern blues - the emotion throbs from every note.

Celestial's music is never too polished, giving it the fuzzy, uninhibited flair of a long-lost mail order private press and instilling it with a level of humanity that's rare to discover in the new-new age. Even when mysterious labelmate Romance turns up to ornament 'Mermaid Boulevard' with backmasked electronics, it's their low-slung Ry Cooder-esque guitar/bass that provides the narrative anchor, while the title track and spongiform analog textures of ‘Song For The rainy Season’ dial it right down to a Harmonia-via-BoC pastoral sublime. Vini Reilly and Eno’s influence is most surely felt on the swaying elegance of ‘Sweet Sleep, Angel Mild’, with a central motif that lingers on the mind long after it’s stopped playing, whilst their closing couplet perfectly resolves the cycle with a melancholic kiss-off for the ages.

In the ever-evolving landscape of the underground music scene, few bands have made an impact quite like Selofan, an immensely talented duo of Joanna Pavlidou and Dimitris Pavlidis, has carved a niche for themselves within the international pantheon of darkwave, post-punk, and '80s synthpop, blending these influences to create a sound uniquely their own. Their journey, marked by a commitment to artistic integrity and evolution, has taken them from the cozy confines of local venues to the grand stages of international festivals, earning them a dedicated following and critical acclaim along the way. Their sixth album, Partners in Hell, released in October 2020, navigated the band through unprecedented times, testing their adaptability and resilience. Despite the hurdles to performing live and the global pandemic's challenges, Selofan emerged stronger, embarking on international tours with a newfound appreciation and connection with their global audience, during this period of introspection and isolation, Joanna Pavlidou embarked on a new venture, GIOVANNA, released under Selofan’s house label, Fabrika Records. GIOVANNA, which places Pavlidou at the helm of vocal and lyrical composition, represents a full on foray into synth-pop. showcasing a different facet of her artistic identity, with lyrics entirely in Greek. In 2023, Selofan hit the circuit hard, lighting up revered festivals with their presence. They stood shoulder to shoulder with heavy hitters like Molchat Doma and Lebanon Hanover at Grey Scale and performed with with the likes of The Sisters of Mercy, VNV Nation, and She Past Away at the Death Disco fest in their hometown of Athens. With each album they have released Selofan made significant strides in their evolution, deepening their engagement with their art. And their forthcoming seventh full length studio release, Animal Mentality, is poised to be their most compelling work yet. Animal Mentality unfolds as a labyrinthine journey through the elemental aspects of human emotion and experience, set against the backdrop of Selofan's signature darkwave sound. Each track on the album delves into different facets of the human condition, from the depths of desire to the pangs of isolation, encapsulating the duo's profound understanding of the intricate spectrum of human emotion and subjective experiences. The album kicks off with "Sticky Fingers," a track that melds cinematic scope with a haunting storyline, reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre's icy synths and a lyrical nod to Joy Division. This opening salvo revisits the tragic allure of classic car accident songs, weaving a tale of joy turned to sorrow amidst the snowy Alps. "Love's Secret Game" delves into the depths of forbidden desire, with vocals that echo the melancholy timbre of Xmal Deutschland, Lebanon Hanover, and Nico. It's a tale of passion and ephemeral connection, promising an enduring presence despite the inevitable fracture of time and distance. In "Lucille," sung by Dimitris Pavlidis, the plot is ensnared in the machinations of a tempestuous affair, with gothic undertones evoking the dramatic soundscapes of Ultravox and Clan of Xymox. The lyrics are steeped in danger and desire - a dance with the shadows. "Sacrifice Me" plunges into the abyss of despair, driven by a Bauhaus-esque bassline. It's a plea for release from the chains of alienation, a yearning for a final gesture of solace in the face of overwhelming darkness. "Bluebirds" offers a poignant reflection on solitude, with the fleeting imagery of bluebirds symbolizing the elusive quest for happiness. The song serves as a meditation on the internal struggle to maintain hope in a world shaded by sorrow. The narrative shifts with "Glassplitter," where German lyrics paint a portrait of deceptive allure and toxic entanglement. We are confronted with irresistible danger, masked by a veneer of beauty. "Ignoranz" continues the exploration in German, pondering the universality of misunderstanding. It's a reflection on the subjective nature of truth and the shared human experience of ignorance. "Behind My Eyelids" closes the odyssey, a contemplation on melancholy and metamorphosis. The phoenix rises from the ashes of betrayal to the brighter realm of renewal - a beautiful homage to the resilience of the human spirit amidst the often harrowing cycles of life. More than just an album, Animal Mentality is a milestone in Selofan's career, marking a decade of musical innovation and growth. It's a testament to their enduring spirit and a bold step into new realms of artistic expression. As Selofan continues to evolve, they remain at the forefront of their genre, pushing boundaries and exploring the depths of the human psyche through their haunting melodies and poignant lyrics.

Mr. K turns his attention to his hometown with a couple of deep underground NYC disco cuts that have never appeared on 7-inch before: the stomping ‘Hey Roots’ by Black Rock and Ahzz’s sought-after ‘New York’s Movin’’. Black Rock’s ‘Hey Roots’ was the band’s follow-up to their 1975 proto-disco single ‘New York City Bump’ and takes a similar four-on-the-floor approach while raising the tempo to match the energy of a standard 1977 dancefloor cut. Mr. K’s edit builds the track methodically, using a sparse sprinkling of the original vocals and focusing on the hypnotic, Bohannon-esque beat. On the flip, he tackles the Peter Brown-adjacent classic ‘New York’s Movin’’, this time dropping the vocals entirely in favour of working with the wicked instrumental take, a wild jam that layers handclaps, tambourine, slicing rhythm-guitar and perfectly cheesy synth strings to make an irresistible dancefloor banger. Adding a dubby breakdown and arranging the parts to get the maximum out of the limited 7-inch real estate (both cuts here top the five-minute mark), Mr. K has given us another powerful tool in an ever-growing arsenal of dancefloor weapons.

"Based in Thiers (63), Ernest Bergez, also known as Sourdure, has been walking a tightrope for the past ten years, combining a spirit of experimentation with a personal, handcrafted approach to traditional music. Affirming and transfiguring the ""Sourdure-esque"" aesthetic, Outredore unfolds a surprising array of discoveries in Occitan and French: hallucinatory laments, oblique rhapsodies, and carnivalesque odes.


A generous and respectful invitation to build unexpected bridges between disparate sonic worlds, the album extrapolates the modal vocabulary specific to traditional Occitan music, blending it with stylistic elements from around the Mediterranean. Carried by a voice more raw than ever and caught in the ebb and flow of a troubled era, Outredore's songs explore the relationship between the personal and the political.


Vulnerable, faltering and visceral, Outredore evokes a nova cançon occitana that has traded folk guitars for electronic machinery."

Composed by Forever Pavot for the film *L'Engloutie*, this soundtrack for Louise Hemon's film reveals a more intimate and cinematic side of Forever Pavot's universe.

Between hypnotic melodies, ethereal Morricone-esque choirs, delicate orchestrations, and psychedelic textures, these tracks accompany the images with a unique elegance. Both contemplative and mysterious, this music extends the film's enigmatic charm far beyond the screen.

Limited edition of only 300 copies

The first new material from Krash Slaughta since last autumn finds our man dropping a tuff 45 featuring two dope ATCQ remixes. And what else to call that but ATCK a.k.a. ‘A Tribe Called Krash’! First up is Scenario which gets a gritty guitar-led new beat making it sound closer to something by Gravediggaz at their noisiest (or even DMX) than the Afro-centric jazz-hope vibes of Native Tongues. Over on the flip, a co-production with, and tribute to, the now sadly departed Del the Soul Condor, takes Low End Theory’s Buggin’ Out and sticks with the jazzy vibes but swaps Buggin’s minimal double-bass dominated shenanigans for something rather more Latinate and Bonita Applebum-esque. Naturally these are as cheeky as they come so it’s a strickly limited affair. Don’t sleep…

There is a pivotal scene in “August in the Water” (dir. Sōgo Ishii, 1995) where the surface of a pool turns into a stone wall. The water that gave the protagonist's life its meaning becomes a threat. As you fall through this stone wall, you appear in a set of underwater coral-reef corridors, and one of the most beautiful musical themes begins to play: Aquatic Ambience, composed by David Wise for Donkey Kong Country (1994). It's a theme that represents the weightless vibe of your new deep-sea life, where you go about your mundane errands, collecting bananas while driving on a swordfish, or, as HerzMayhem put it: "Poor monkey... always swimming, never going anywhere..."

Synthetic Water Music is the second of three compilations, following Synthetic Bird Music and timed to mappa's 10th anniversary. As with the birds, it gathers friends of the label, artists who have released with mappa or played our shows. Most of the music is new, made to measure for this compilation, much of it from Central and Eastern European hands. Birds and water mix well, so please feel invited to play them together, creating your own environments.

Where the birds were in one flock, water is dispersed across four chapters. You live your life as a droppity drop: vapour in the heavens, condensing in clouds, falling into a swamp, trickling into the deepest sea.

Tlālōcān (Cassette 1, Side A)
A place of eternal spring, of aquatic energy that nourishes everything and allows all things to bloom. Bubbly and splishy-sploshy, it is full of dripping sounds and moist caverns (“Emerald Pool” by Pauline Anna Strom), a landscape filled with living fountains (“Oh, to be a Fountain” by Eva Sajanová) and winding streams that flow through the area, forming part of its organic architecture. It is also a paradise reserved for those whose deaths were water-related, where the aquatic and terrestrial beings live in symbiosis and perspectives shift rapidly, from observing a single droplet (Shakali, Lau Nau) to dew (Feronia Wennborg & Lucy Duncombe) and on to flowing currents (Visible Cloaks) that gradually transform into river music (Ursula K. Le Guin & Todd Barton).

Nephelora (Cassette 1, Side B)
A celestial anti-gravity sound world made of evaporation, steam and the formation of clouds, as if looking at “The Sky At The Bottom of the Well” (by Natalia Beylis) or at “The Cloud That Never Rains” (by Henrique Vaz).

If a cloud never rains,
it is not a cloud at all, but a veil that parches the earth with its gaze.
It generates only its own shadow —
a looming mass of suspended longing,
a sky that hoards but never yields,
a reservoir that swallows every river and returns nothing but echoes.

The water in this world is often invisible but sometimes all the more present, as Bint Mbareh describes it: “Recently been obsessed with invisible waters because I come from a place where you have to imagine the water is there even though you cannot see a river, a sea, usually no rain, so water is in the air, the voice and the imaginal realm, drought is imagined to be negotiable.”

Žaboglach Zha-bo-glahch (Cassette 2, Side A)
A fusion of Scottish lochs and Slovak ponds: a misty, foul-smelling, swampy realm, the kind of place that swallowed Artax from The NeverEnding Story. Stagnant waters full of decay become a blooming habitat for sirens (“thereby losing the weightless delight of being swept along with it” by Adam Badí Donoval) and beings straddling the line between fauna and flora, inventing their own communication systems (“Water-lily phase” by Action Pyramid).

R'lyeh (Cassette 2, Side B)
A brooding sunken city at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a journey to get there. Let this chapter guide you, from the shore down to the depths, to the gates of an unexplored world that is inherently dark, unfathomable, and beyond the limits of human perception: starting with seasickness ("Seasick" by Nikolaienko), passing through a classic Poe-esque maelstrom ("Flurry at the Whirl-pull" by Atte Elias Kantonen), a gateway into the darkness and emptiness of the ocean floor, and finally traversing the city itself (“last waves of 2025” by Jules Reidy).
But what is pulling you to a place like this that only a few explore and even fewer leave? Maybe “the darkness that water can contain, the expanse of things we don't know and that can trigger fear instincts even as we try to rationalise them and think we are in control of the rest of nature” (“supercritical fluids” by Diane Barbé).

Dive in and surface wherever you like. Always swimming, never going anywhere. Just don’t forget to take water breaks.

P.S. Birds, then water, can you guess what comes next? Synthetic Soil Music, an elegy for insects and worms? Synthetic Glaciers, or maybe Pollinators? Which sounds would you miss the most if they disappeared? Or what if the third one never comes at all, and somebody, or something, makes Synthetic mappa Music instead. Don't you worry, with the right training data, it can all be replicated, better than the real thing.

Fresh off of their 2020 offering Adult Themes, El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled Yeti Season, this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where Adult Themes inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Yeti Season brings us to a different place in time_with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with Yeti Season. If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. The first single off of Yeti Season showed their hand back in 2018. A double-sided banger, that release brought the musical textures to the fore that dominate this record. The first song, titled "Unathi," is fully realized with the beautifully haunting-yet-hopeful vocals of Piya Malik, formally of 79.5_another Big Crown artist. Singing in Hindi, Piya's ethereal voice is telling us to work and strive together toward progress. Even if you don't understand her language, you can still hear the urgency of purpose, creating a lasting vibe that sits on top of it all. Leon Michels explains that Piya had a vital influence on this record: "When Piya started singing in Hindi, she had a different voice, a different tone. I knew we had to do something together." And so Piya appears on three other songs on Yeti Season: "Zaharila," "Murkit Gem," and "Dhuaan." Each providing particular signatures to the album. "Zaharila" is a building and changing love song punctuated by blaring trumpets, driving drums, and Piya's pleading lyrics. While the more upbeat "Murkit Gem" opens with a fuzzed out, Wu-Tang-esque baseline that buoys Piya's stylings. The psychedelic guitar and Piya's changing tones and textures singing about an all-consuming love are what pushed "Dhuaan" on to the second single from Yeti Season. There is also a vocal appearance from Shannon Wise of The Shacks, yet another Big Crown artist. Her song called "Sha Na Na," lies more in the familiar EMA vein: melodic, hypnotic, soulfully visual. But between Shannon's airy singing, the jumpy baseline, moody vibes, the active drum lines, it sounds like a pensive walk home after a strangely dramatic night. So what is Yeti Season? It could be more of a feeling than an actual place or time of year. It's a heavy album_as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better_or fuller_coming our way. You hear it in songs like "Ala Vida," with its stabby, pulsing chords laying a bedrock for EMA's bright, atmospheric horn lines. Or even in "Fazed Out," which leaves you with a feeling of determination, a striving for resolution even though the driving, march-like song structure should accompany some conquering army. This persistence has to come from the fact that Leon Michels and company finished this record during the lockdown. It was a tough and troublesome time. But look at what has come of it: Yeti Season_a record of high and heavy drama, but also one of hope and promise. It may take a year like 2020 behind us to find hope in a winter big footed creature like a Yeti, but that's where we are.

Dark Entries helps Suzanne Ciani come out of the closet as Steve! Legendary composer, sound designer, and Buchla maestra Suzanne Ciani has a staggering list of accolades and accomplishments, from scoring Hollywood films to releasing influential new age records to literally designing the Coca-Cola bottle-opening sound. In the late 70s/early 80s, Ciani, while living in New York, acquired an Eventide H 949 harmonizer, which offered high fidelity pitch-shifting. In her words, “When I adjusted the pitch of my voice to 0.80, my natural voice became re-invented as what was clearly a gay man, who I called Steve. I became Steve; and Steve expressed himself as only he could.” Ciani adopted the male persona and collaborated with Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream on “Steve Goes to a Party.” The track features Ciani-as-Steve adlibbing in decadent and delirious fashion alongside Baumann’s robotically funky beats. Steve would emerge again a few years later at George Louvis’s Stardust Studios in New Jersey, to create “Steve Saves the World,” an absurdist and ecstatic proto-house groover complete with a gospel-esque chorus from the Stardust All-Stars. This EP is rounded out by a birthday wish to Ciani’s then-boyfriend Alfred on “Steve Happy Birthday Wishes” featuring Suzanne. Steve’s Out of the Closet perfectly captures the delirious techno-poptimism of the 1980s downtown avant-garde, with parallels in Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives or Lynn Goldsmith’s project Will Powers, responsible for the track “Adventures in Success.” The Steve sleeve was designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh, and the record also includes a birthday card with liner notes from Ciani.

'Channel Zero is a new release produced by the London-based Brazilian artist Protocol. It is made up of 4 unprocessed live jam recordings of heavy, stripped-down techno. Composed over a period of 2 years, the artist focuses on experimenting on the far edges of techno, inspired by early avant-garde music, drone, and Musique Concrete. It comes in a hand-numbered limited edition of 180g black labels, in a 3mm inside-out cover with a black inner-sleeve.
'The work is a confirmation that techno still thinks forwardly, but pays homage to its mostly overlooked origins. The titles come from one of the early Cybernetic Culture Research Unit essays, also named Channel Zero.
'Lost Signal (Noise) opens up the EP with reverberated static noise, followed up by a deep bass with more layers of percussion and atmospheric noise patterns, slowly evolving into unexpected rhythms. The second track, Blind Belief, is composed of a deconstructed kick sequence, with machinic-like sound structures in the background and a hi-hat that morphs with various envelopes, together with a nostalgic 909 rim-shot. Turning to the B side, Electromagnetic Shadow is an atmospheric four-to-the-floor techno track, where deep kick drums and polyrhythmic noise soundscapes move into industrial noise pattern. Closing Protocol's debut EP, Black Snow Cult brings together the EP's sound palette into aggressive patterns of Birmingham-esque industrial percussions, where synthetic sounds are put together in primitive sounding sequences together with high pitched frequencies.'

South Coast artist Howman lands back on DNO Records for his second outing, ‘Trap Eastwood’. First introducing his heavyweight fusion of rock, hip-hop, dubstep and electronica via his outstanding 2023 debut, ‘Moon Operator’, the multi-instrumentalist and producer returns with a refined palette. Still bearing the first class musicality, rich layering and imaginative sonics that we’ve come to expect, the new EP is more stylistically focused than its predecessor. This time, Howman homes in on a spot somewhere in the 140/dubstep/trap sphere, decorating it with digital fizz, alien bleeps, snarling bass, and the signature gruff twang of guitar that makes his music feel deeply personal and eternally human.

The title track is perhaps the most prominent example of the latter, where Howman’s Western-esque riff conjures up the tension before a duel at high noon, while the bend and wobble of each string shapes the movement of the track like the curves of a rattlesnake.
But it’s a constant from the start, like on opener ‘Strip Search’, with its cinematic guitar intro, and combination of repetitive keys, earnest strings and bear-hug bass that nods to classic hip-hop.
Or closer ‘Fatigue’, where the layers of stuttering plucks, emotive melody and scratchy slide noises form a downtrodden soundscape plagued by police sirens and punctured by “Champion Sound” snippets.
On ‘Navigator’, Howman’s approach is more subtle: fluttering strums and a simple bassline creating a brooding, enigmatic vibe in stark contrast to the urgent, alarm-like stabs which first grip the attention.

Throughout there is an overriding sense of the unknown. ‘No Spring’ weaves drawn-out flute notes, tinkling percussion, super-massive 808 lows and spurts of breakbeat into a twisting, winding thing that wants to lure and enchant. While ‘Frosty’ is as ice cold as its name suggests, murderous bass meeting a spidery piano melody in dread-inducing matrimony — along with snatched words from some familiar faces outside a Berlin edition of THE MINE.

Produced between 2022 and 2025 across various locations, influenced by Howman having to move into more solo live performance (as opposed to his previous band setups), and miraculously surviving a catastrophic data loss incident, the EP is a snapshot of disruption focused into creative cohesion. We’ve been told, however, that it’s not a new direction or a sign of things to come, which only serves to make his next release that much more enticing, that much more of a mystery.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.

Ursprünglich in kleinen, ausverkauften Auflagen selbst veröffentlicht, fangen La vida de alguien más (2021) und Obrigaggi (2023) Diles Que No Me Maten auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer unermüdlichen Kreativität ein - sie bewegen sich fließend zwischen krautrockigen Grooves, Free-Jazz-Chaos und spektralen, traumartigen Meditationen. La vida ist ein berauschender 34-minütiger Ausbruch von Post-Punk-Dringlichkeit und improvisierten Wendungen, während Obrigaggi, aufgenommen in einem Haus am Flussufer in Veracruz, mit intimer, jenseitiger Anmut dahinschwebt. Nun werden diese Alben zum ersten Mal gemeinsam neu aufgelegt und über Moonlight Activities vertrieben. Diese Alben markieren die Entwicklung der Band von Underground-Lieblingen in Mexiko-Stadt zu einer der experimentierfreudigsten Rockbands auf der internationalen Bühne.

Coming in hazy and heady, an end-of-summer cosmic jammer from Nick Mitchell Maiato, full of big choruses, blazing guitars, country honk, and deep grooves—replete with funky horn section. It’s been four years since Poolside, the last release by One Eleven Heavy (Mitchell Maiato’s sometimes-band with James “Wooden Wand” Toth), and that time has clearly been used for some serious woodshedding on the auteur’s part. On Náquera, named after the Spanish pueblo in which he resides, Mitchell Maiato’s songwriting, vocals, and guitar playing all come into sharp focus as he mans the wheel on an ocean drive of interwoven electric guitar dueling, funky multi-movement jams, bittersweet odes to uncomplicatedness, and rolling rockers. Featuring an effortlessly graceful preface by Macon, GA piano prodigy Gavin Rushing, “Riki Rachtman” is a cosmic americana ballad examining the state of heavy metal in contemporary pop culture from the perspective of a disgruntled first-person narrator. “Critical Mass” is a soaring, two-chord ode to dropping out, with an opening organ salvo by Grateful Dead midi-tech Bob Bralove, a monster, key-changing guitar duel at its core, and a fat, snaking bass groove by Otto Wilberg (Mitchell Maiato’s former colleague in Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura).“Flamebait” is one of the record’s big surprises with its almost Lennon-esque rock-and soul slab of technocracy bashing, its woozy, three-part horn section, and its improvised, sun-scorched guitar solo slap-dab in the middle.And, on “The Angle,” we get an homage to rock-and-roll pool hustler narratives framed within an expansive country-funk jam that nods to Mitchell-Maiato’s love of Parliament and Grateful Dead in equal measure.

No Use For A Name were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk/skate punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Of course, a lot of what made this possible was the vocal range and imaginative song writing of Tony Sly. Despite his tragic passing in 2012, Tony's presence can still be felt today, as his influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Leche Con Carne is a blistering punk rock record, the band's third studio album, and a blend of Bad Religion-esque riffage and edgy vocals that hit between singing and yelling. The record features some of the bands' biggest hits, the love song "Soulmate", the story-telling cautionary tale "Justified Black Eye", and the popular Bob Marley cover of "Redemption Song." 30 years since its first release, Leche Con Carne feels as omnipotent as ever. An essential Fat Wreck Chords release, and a classic album in the No Use For A Name discography. Produced by Ryan Greene (NOFX) and Fat Mike, Features hit singles "Soulmate," "Justified Black Eye," and "Redemption Song", for fans of Bad Religion, The Offspring, Green Day, Grape coloured 2026 vinyl.

Anne has a passion for writing in alternative open tunings and her eclectic musical influences span blues, jazz, folk and country. Her new album Cigarettes and Smokescreens showcases her talent for storytelling. When not playing sold- out stages across the UK, you can find Anne in a field in the middle of nowhere with her two retired horses. This special album is now available as a vinyl LP pressed at Seabass Vinyl in Scotland, following an initial CD only release.

Anne Gair has toured extensively across the UK. She has played iconic venues including The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, King Tuts Wah Wah, The 100 Club and The Voodoo Rooms. She has played festivals including Belladrum and Celtic Connections. "Anne has got the most stunning voice, It's very Joni Mitchell- esque. (Her music) is beautiful storytelling and gorgeous melodies." -- Anna Foster - BBC Radio "A voice that just soothes your soul" - Rambling Folk "(Anne's) voice is beautiful, just gorgeous" - Nerina Pallot

Wilba rolls into Haŵs with 'Kombucha in the Club' - four chunky club cuts dipped in acid, prog and sleazy late-night pressure. Built with proper low-end heft and a wicked grin, this one doesn’t hang about.

A1 opener 'Wrong Turn' sets things in motion with pulsating proggy goodness, restless energy and the repeating call of “Destination” guiding the trip into the unknown. 'Polly’s Acid Kiss' follows with squelching 303 lines and a sci-fi-esque vocal, pushing deeper into tripped-out territory without losing its punch. On the flip, 'Sin City' leans fully into the sleaze - rolling tech house, smoky vocals, wailing sirens and enough attitude to carry the small hours. The EP rounds off with 'Rejigging the Jig', which wastes no time laying down the damage: fat drums, elastic basslines and enough swing to pull the room sideways.

Heavy grooves, crooked hooks and just the right amount of mischief. Kombucha never sounded so wrong.

Jorge Ben’s 1963 debut, Samba Esquema Novo, introduced his infectious blend of bossa nova and samba, propelled by the timeless Mas Que Nada and Chove Chuva. While his later sound leaned more into rock and Afro-Brazilian rhythms, this album bursts with swirling melodies, rich harmonies, and big-band energy, all anchored by Ben’s distinctive, minor-key guitar work. A vibrant, era-defining classic.

‘Yarrow’ is a bouquet of new music by Portland, Oregon-based musician and field recordist Patricia Wolf, marking the label’s ninth release and the third of Season Two. These works are her reflections on the life cycle of plants and their dynamic ecological relationships.

Wolf created the album in response to her artist residency at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, as part of the Art-Science Exchange Project in the summer of 2024. She worked closely with ecologists Dr Paul CaraDonna, Dr Amy Iler, Dr Jane Ogilvie, Dr Nickolas Waser, Dr Mary Price, and Dr Will Petry, spending weeks engaged in long-term research on plants, pollinators, and their interactions as the climate changes.

Each track on Yarrow looks at a different part of a plant’s life. The songs touch on the conditions that plants need to grow, the quiet life of roots, how flowers attract pollinators, and the strength of seeds. The first single, 'Inflorescence', the scientific name for the floral display that a plant makes in an effort to reproduce, captures this event in song. The music slowly builds layers, reflecting the album’s overall feel. The album ends with the majestic Boards of Canada-esque 'Adapted for Extreme Conditions', and the entire b-side features Patricia’s field recordings from around Gothic, Colorado, and a guided meditation by Dr Paul CaraDonna, whose research inspired the project, inviting listeners to tune into the sounds and activities of the ecosystem.

Brannten Schnüre is an experimental dark folk group out of Würzburg, Germany. Christian Schoppik composed and played all the music, Katie Rich whispers, recites and sings. Together they make astoundingly beautiful folk with a rich instrumentation leaning towards the atonal spectrum. Instrumental wanderings stand alongside Nico-esque poetry tales. Christian plays the accordeon and in some songs guitar and flute. Inspired by hierophants like Nový Svet and David Jackman, solemn song fragments (a lot of old greek rembetiko-recordings) are modified and looped, with additional instruments and voices being integrated later on. Their music has been described as 'surreal folkcollage' and 'german hauntology'.

With the emergence of Schoppik's second project, a dada cabaret called Agnes Beil in 2010, Brannten Schnüre moved closer to the song structures of its frivolous sibling. The songs of Schoppik's latest creation Sommer im Pfirsichhain are further accompanied by a female singing voice, lending the pieces the voluptuous quality of a stickily tense midsummer. Sommer Im Pfirsichhain (Summer In The Peachgrove) is the second part of a quartet of releases. The first being Aprilnacht which got released on Sic Sic Tapes last year. Part three Geträumt hab' ich vom Martinszug and part four will follow later.

Reference points are bands like Winter Family and Twinsistermoon. Music etched on folkloric, ritual elements transferred into the 21th century. Also worth mentioning is the hand-drawn artwork which is made by artist Gwénola Carrère.

The scope, variety and ambition of Ebbb’s debut album Shallow Hits is clear from the off. “Come Alive” whirs into being quietly before morphing into a sun-kissed, radiant piece of calypso-esque electronic pop; the Latin-flavoured “Now You Know” feels destined to soundtrack sun-drenched festivals this summer; “Shallow Hits” is as deft and detailed as it is big, bold and euphoric; while the wonky yet propulsive charge of “Side On” sounds like a drum ‘n’ bass club and church choir combined. A fervent eclecticism and unpredictable restlessness underpins the album. Latterly the record dives into the moody technoid textures and multi-layered harmonies that characterised their debut EP All At Once - exemplified by ‘Youth’ and the closing track “I’m Not Enough” that lands an emotional gut punch to an album that is already littered with them. However there’s a remarkable coherence and identity that underpins the album. Ebbb are exploring far and wide, deep and vast, yet they do so via an approach that remains unmistakably them.

Nach der Veröffentlichung von „idea 1“, kündigt Kelela ihr neues, drittes Album an, das am 10. Juli bei Warp Records erscheint – und veröffentlicht die zweite Single „linknb“, produziert von Oscar Scheller.

Der Track entstand in einer Phase der Schreibblockade und begann als Mantra, das Kelela schrieb, um sich wieder an die Arbeit zu bringen. Angeführt von einem labyrinthischen Gitarrenriff über treibenden Metal-Drums ist „linknb“ ein Song über Selbstvertrauen, das man sich durch Schwierigkeiten erarbeitet hat, darüber, sich nicht klein machen zu lassen. „Es ist nicht schwer, mutig zu sein / Es ist leichter, zu viel preiszugeben / Ich weiß nur, dass ich den Weg geebnet habe, unterbezahlt.“

Das von Mischa Notcutt inszenierte Video versetzt Kelela in die Mitte einer urbanen Traumlandschaft. Als enger Freund und Kelelas ehemaliger Kreativdirektor war Notcutt die naheliegende Wahl. Das Video lässt Realismus und Abstraktion ineinanderfließen und verwandelt eine einsame Reise in eine Meditation über Selbstfindung und Erneuerung.

Mit „new avatar“ rückt alles, worauf Kelela hingearbeitet hat, in den Fokus. Sie begann ihre ersten Songs in der Indie-Szene von Washington, D.C. zu schreiben, bevor die Clubmusik und die elektronische Produktion, die ihre frühe Karriere prägten, die Oberhand gewannen. Mit „new avatar“ schließt sie den Kreis: R&B, unterlegt mit verzerrten Gitarrenklängen, trifft auf neue Schnittstellen in der Tanzmusik und gipfelt in einem Sound, der aus all den musikalischen Einflüssen schöpft, die sie je geprägt haben. Das Album enthält zudem Kollaborationen mit PinkPantheress, A. K. Paul und Fousheé.

„Dieses Album findet Trost in der Konfrontation“, sagt Kelela. „Ich möchte nicht, dass die Musik von dem ablenkt, was wirklich in der Welt vor sich geht; ich möchte, dass sie in dieser verrückten Zeit Sinn ergibt und den Menschen gleichzeitig hilft, mit der Schönheit und Freude in Kontakt zu kommen, die sie ebenfalls erleben.“

Das Album setzt sich mit einer Welt auseinander, die aus allen Nähten auseinanderfällt, und mit der Klarheit, die das Überleben erfordert.

„Die Leute sollten auch wissen, dass meine Freunde und ich ständig lachen und dass Humor kein Abwehrmechanismus ist; er ist Ausdruck dafür, wie scharfsinnig wir die Dinge einschätzen und wie klar wir die Welt sehen.“

Im Kern schildert „new avatar“ eine vielschichtige Erfahrung, und obwohl die Außenwelt präsent ist, schwächt sie Kelelas Entschlossenheit zu keinem Zeitpunkt.

About Kelela: Throughout her globally revered, boundary-pushing career, Kelela has established a lane of her own in R&B and electronic music. On her long-awaited third album, new avatar, the singer/songwriter (through the versatility of the guitar) challenges perceptions of these genres, while weaving together fragments of lived experiences to shape a world of connection and resilience during times of unrest.

The songs journey through Black femme rage, joy as resistance, Gotham City-esque dystopia, misogynoir, romantic tension, and more. It’s anchored by production that demands a broader rethink about alternative, rock and indie music.

Kelela’s defiant nature has propelled her so far already — from her hometown of Washington, D.C to world stages. In 2013, she released her debut mixtape, Cut 4 Me. She continued solidifying her revolutionary R&B sound with 2015’s Hallucinogen EP, with The New York Times naming its single, “Rewind,” one of the “25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going”. By 2017, she released her electric debut album Take Me Apart (which was followed by 2018’s TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES), building upon her intimate storytelling.

After a nearly five-year hiatus, she returned in 2023 with her groundbreaking second album, Raven, and its critically-acclaimed counterpart, RAVE:N, The Remixes in 2024. Raven has been hailed as one of the ‘Best Albums of 2023’ by Pitchfork, Billboard, Vulture, Variety, and more, while the remixes solidified her as a leader in the dance music space.

In 2025, Kelela showcased yet another innovative side of her artistry with her live album In The Blue Light, which hit #5 on the Contemporary Jazz chart and #20 on the Jazz Albums chart. Now, with new avatar, Kelela displays the masterful intention she puts into forming new sonic cityscapes. But don’t confuse it with escapism: “I don't want the music to be a distraction from what's really going on in the world; I want it to help you get into it.”

Reissue. As undeniably powerful, durable, and straight-shooting as Motorhead's Lemmy Kilminster, Spirit Caravan's inveterate founder and leader, Scott "Wino" Weinrich, is an absolute rock lifer. Following on the heels of the band's debut, Jug Fulla Sun, Dreamwheel is a Spartan-sounding five-song EP, the perfect compliment to the dense, doom-laden psychedelia of the full-length. In fact, Dreamwheel's greatest strength is the breathing space between notes, provided by the rock solid rhythm section of drummer Gary Isom and bassist Dave Sherman. Such rhythmic austerity -- the kind championed by the effort of bands like Free, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, and Grand Funk Railroad -- allows Wino's compelling, soulful baritone voice and sizzling Hawkwind-esque leads to truly sing out. As the voice behind St. Vitus and the Obsessed, Wino helped formulate and configure the shape of modern stoner rock and doom metal. Spirit Caravan, as evidenced by this brilliant, relaxed gem of an EP, is perhaps his most able vessel. Each song burns with analog warmth, intensity, and brightness. Though it took nearly a decade for Wino to receive his overdue appreciation as an artist, the late '90s and early part of the new millennium have seen his stock soar, even if not financially. - All music

Aqua Blue Vinyl, limited to 300 copies. As undeniably powerful, durable, and straight-shooting as Motorhead's Lemmy Kilminster, Spirit Caravan's inveterate founder and leader, Scott "Wino" Weinrich, is an absolute rock lifer. Following on the heels of the band's debut, Jug Fulla Sun, Dreamwheel is a Spartan-sounding five-song EP, the perfect compliment to the dense, doom-laden psychedelia of the full-length. In fact, Dreamwheel's greatest strength is the breathing space between notes, provided by the rock solid rhythm section of drummer Gary Isom and bassist Dave Sherman. Such rhythmic austerity -- the kind championed by the effort of bands like Free, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, and Grand Funk Railroad -- allows Wino's compelling, soulful baritone voice and sizzling Hawkwind-esque leads to truly sing out. As the voice behind St. Vitus and the Obsessed, Wino helped formulate and configure the shape of modern stoner rock and doom metal. Spirit Caravan, as evidenced by this brilliant, relaxed gem of an EP, is perhaps his most able vessel. Each song burns with analog warmth, intensity, and brightness. Though it took nearly a decade for Wino to receive his overdue appreciation as an artist, the late '90s and early part of the new millennium have seen his stock soar, even if not financially. - All music

‘Falling Backwards’ is the debut album from Him & Earl via Wah Wah 45s, serving up a mystic brew of desert blues, English folk, Americana and stirring southern soul, with tentacles stretching out into psychedelia and prog, across 11 hot and hazy tracks.

Singer-songwriter Olly Him and DJ, producer and composer Wyndham Earl both have deeply-dug roots in the south coast of England, with the former making his name as a solo artist before exploring his soulful folk/prog sound with a number of live acts, and the latter collaborating on albums and sharing stages with Bonobo, Khruangbin, Alice Russell and TM Juke, having remixes released by Tru Thoughts and Mr Bongo Records and releasing his solo projects on his Time Spun imprint.

The pair first met in 2015 when Wyndham produced some songs for now defunct hypnotic Afro-folk outfit Creatures Of The Deep, of which Olly was a founder member. They instantly clicked, but after the group broke up it was a few years before serendipity brought them back together; a chance encounter at a gig saw them begin hatching plans to make a full album under the name Him & Earl with Olly writing the songs and Wyndham arranging and producing the project.

After so long floating in the creative ether, the connective power of these songs has been strikingly immediate. The debut Him & Earl live show in early 2026, before any tracks had even come out, blew Olly and Wyndham’s expectations out of the water as their five-piece band found themselves toe-to-toe with a sellout crowd – a sweaty room full of happy music fans, on an otherwise bleak January night, throwing shapes to live percussion showdowns, losing themselves in psychedelic guitar and bass wig-outs, and singing along to choruses they’d never heard a note of before.

Since then, the first two singles “Bottled Up” and “Away” have had high profile airplay from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Huw Stephens and Cerys Matthews, and Radio X’s John Kennedy, adding to widespread tastemaker and specialist support around the world, as excitement builds for the album.The LP’s introspective and philosophical lyrics are brought to life by a sonorous yet strangely uplifting sound palette that morphs by stealth into a darkly propulsive, psychedelic and bluesy trip.

Opening song “Away” taps straight into a key theme of the record – journeying, in both a physical and mental sense, and the quest to move on and embrace the unknown – and its sunny guitars, trumpet and violin barely even hint at the tumultuous sonic adventure that’s set to unfold. A stronger indication comes in the title track,“Falling Backwards”, as its elegant web of staccato finger-picked hook, fluid piano melodies and strings unfurls into a six-minute exploration of what Olly describes as “going through every day normality while feeling close to chaos and like things could fall apart at any moment… when there is a myriad of different things holding everything together and if one thing goes wrong everything can fall apart around it.”



“Better Days” swiftly restores a sense of upbeat calm, with lively Kora and Afrobeat-inspired guitar licks, atmospheric trumpet and a harmony-clad mantra of hope on the horizon; the folky “Bottled Up” continues that blissful notion with undulating finger-picked guitar, earthy clarinet counter-melodies and celestial murmurations of delicately plucked strings. The magnetic pull toward more mysterious horizons comes via the dusty twang of Wild West-esque guitars on “Open Road”, a nomadic journey of self-discovery through spacious sonic plains embellished with eerie flickers of flute and clarinet. This leftward turn gathers pace in the trancelike

psych-prog depths of “Preside”, an instrumental cut at the album’s pivotal halfway point. Hypnotic, guttural desert blues-infused riffs on “Inside” channel the feeling of a psychedelic or spiritual trip where, in Olly’s words, “something clicks and you understand things on a different level – it makes you see inside yourself and see things in a different way.” “Shadow overhead” brings a lighter touch to a darker subject – the feeling of paranoia and being locked away from the world – drawn from Olly’s own experience and also his years of working in and around mental health.

Exuberant horns lend hope to loosely looping suspense on “Blindside” (about being caught out by the unexpected, and searching for something to see or hear to pick you up again) and then mesh with urgent strings, low-slung guitars and subterranean bass on “Around Again”, which explores the modern fight to stay afloat amid the endless churn of information and distractions. Still plumbing the bassy, bluesy depths of this journey into the psyche, “You Can Only Know” is a dreamlike revelation about finding someone or something that helps to make sense of the world. Luminescent synths duck and weave, while a rock-solid bass riff is tracked by a soul-soothing four-part “hey hey” harmony, reassuring as a glowing lamp in the window at the end of a life-changing trip.

Seasoned sunset soundtrack label-owner, DJ and composer Mark Barrott returns with new album The Exit Diaries. A constant innovator and master of chillout, the record is a rich, deluxe affair comprising two long-form instrumental pieces that weave together soul, jazz, orchestral composition and electronica. With over three decades of output across multiple aliases, Barrott has carved out an influential space spanning early breakbeat futurism, Balearic folk, orchestral ambient and global electronica. He has earned widespread acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, Mojo, Uncut alongside radio support from Mary Anne Hobbs, Elizabeth Alker and Hannah Peel. His new album ‘The Exit Diaries’ features two movements: side one, ‘Light Variations’, is inspired by “Sunday tunes” - a warm, slow-unfolding soundtrack of soul, Alice Coltrane–esque textures and gentle synths, elevated by the fluid drumming of Leo Taylor (The Invisible, Floating Points, Hot Chip). Side two, The Stone Tape, opens with the sweeping ‘When Devils Become Gods’, before drifting through the ambient landscapes of ‘Quarries’ and the cinematic, emotionally rich compositions ‘The Stone Cutter’s Dilemma’, ‘Land (iii)’ and ‘Closer’. Throughout, Barrott demonstrates a rare ability to transport listeners into deeply atmospheric, meditative spaces, delivering a deeply immersive and quietly profound addition to his catalogue.