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Hello 24! Nice to have you here. 23 is so yesterday, so over the top, really. Well, we’ve been dancing the following dances recently. What about you?

What lasts a long time usually turns out well. Having admired TEE MANGO from afar for many years, our A&R Michael Mayer took heart and invited him to this year’s TOTAL. “So In Love” is in the best tradition of the KOMPAKT minimal funk of the early years. We are delighted to have this lovely Englishman on board!

REINHARD VOIGT has always placed great emphasis on loving animals. On the track with the unsurprising title “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)”, he lets whole hordes of different four-legged friends and poultry on the microphone. Hopefully the stench will dissipate from the studio.

When Rhenish cheerfulness meets holiday anticipation, the result is something like this Hawaiian shirt turned music called “Chee-Caruso” by JÜRGEN PAAPE. No animals were tortured for this piece either, even if it sounds like it.

We stay in the realm of fauna and turn our attention to London’s award-winning pedigree dog REX THE DOG. “Laika” is a heart-warming ode to the mongrel dog of the same name, who was the first living creature to make it from the streets of Moscow into space. She would have loved that bleep.

A little-known fact about MICHAEL MAYER is that he is one of the fastest crossword puzzle foxes on the left bank of the Rhine, always in relentless rivalry with Wolfgang Voigt, who thinks he is even faster. The big battle is yet to come. Uninvited guest with five letters? “Urian”.

As an integral part of the family, JONATHAN KASPAR is of course not to be missed. “Are You” celebrates the kind of early morning rapture that is commonplace at his new DJ venue, the brand new Cologne superclub FI. Everything is so colourful here.

SASCHA FUNKE takes a bow to one of the greats of German showbiz with the trippy electro smasher “The Heck”. Born – like DJ Koze and Barnt – in Flensburg, died in Berlin in 2018 and wore glasses. More will not be revealed.

More emotion, more love, more sing-along factor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” masterfully combines groove and pop – a blend that sounds very familiar to us. She may be at home in Madrid, but there’s Cologne DNA in her somewhere. We’re sure of it.

Let’s meet the legends, the veterans! JÖRG BURGER is still in a psychedelic mood in 2024. That suits him, that’s where he needs to be, that’s where we want him to be. A parallel universe is conceivable in which such music is affectionately called Goa.

Before going to bed, the WASSERMANN reads us a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, we focus on a point between everything, but really everything, and absolute, stark naked nothingness. 3, 2, 1… Let go.

Hallo 24! Schön, dass du da bist. 23 ist ja sowas von gestern, geht gar nicht, echt. Also, bei uns tanzt man neuerdings die folgenden Tänze. Und bei Euch?

Was lange währt, wird meist gut. Schon seit vielen Jahren aus der Ferne TEE MANGO bewundernd, hat sich unser A&R Michael Mayer ein Herz gefasst und ihn zur diesjährigen TOTAL eingeladen. “So In Love” steht in bester Tradition des kompaktschen Minimal Funk der frühen Jahre. Wir freuen uns, den quirligen Engländer an Bord zu haben!

Tierliebe wird im Hause REINHARD VOIGT schon immer groß geschrieben. Auf dem Stück mit dem nicht weiter verwunderlichen Titel “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)” lässt er gleich ganze Horden verschiedenster Vierbeiner und Federvieh ans Mikro. Hoffentlich zieht der Gestank wieder aus dem Studio ab.

Wenn rheinischer Frohsinn auf Urlaubsvorfreude trifft, dann kommt so etwas wie dieses Musik gewordene Hawaiihemd namens “Chee-Caruso” von JÜRGEN PAAPE heraus. Auch für diesen Beitrag wurden garantiert keine Tiere gequält, auch wenn es allenthalben so klingt.

Wir bleiben im Reich der Fauna und wenden uns London’s preisgekröntem Rassehund REX THE DOG zu. “Laika” ist eine herzerwärmende Ode an die gleichnamige Mischlingshündin, die es von den Strassen Moskaus als erstes Lebewesen ins All geschafft hat. Den Bleep hätte sie bestimmt gemocht.

Eine wenig bekannte Tatsache über MICHAEL MAYER ist, dass er zu den schnellsten Kreuzworträtsel-Füchsen links des Rheins zählt, stets in unbarmherziger Rivalität zu Wolfgang Voigt, der sich für noch schneller hält. Der große Battle steht noch aus. Ungebetener Gast mit fünf Buchstaben? “Urian”.

Als fester Bestandteil der Familie darf natürlich auch JONATHAN KASPAR nicht fehlen. “Are You” zelebriert frühmorgendliche Entrückungszustände, wie sie in seiner neuen DJ-Wirkungsstätte, dem nigelnagelneuen Kölner Superclub FI Gang und Gäbe sind. Alles so schön bunt hier.

SASCHA FUNKE verneigt sich mit dem trippy Electrosmasher “The Heck” vor einem der ganz Großen des deutschen Showbiz. Geboren – wie DJ Koze und Barnt – in Flensburg, gestorben 2018 in Berlin, Brillenträger. Mehr wird nicht verraten.

Mehr Gefühl, mehr Liebe, mehr Mitsing-Faktor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” vereint meisterlich Groove und Pop – eine Melange, die uns durchaus bekannt vorkommt. Sie mag zwar in Madrid zuhause sein, aber irgendwo steckt in ihr eine Kölsche. Da sind wir uns sicher.

Auf zu den Legenden, den Urgesteinen! JÖRG BURGER zeigt sich auch in 2024 in einem psychedelischen Mood. Das steht ihm, da muss er hin, da wollen wir ihn haben. Es ist ein Paralleluniversum denkbar, in dem solche Musik liebevoll Goa genannt wird.

Der WASSERMANN liest uns vor dem Schlafengehen noch ein Märchen aus Tausendundeine Nacht vor. Wir fokussieren uns gleichzeitig auf einen Punkt zwischen allem, aber auch wirklich allem und dem absoluten, splitterfasernackten Nichts. 3, 2, 1… Loslassen

Ten years after his first full-length effort ‘Man Is Deaf’ landed him firmly in the runnings for DJ Mag’s album of the year, prodigal son Michael Anthony Wright AKA Brassica returns to Civil Music with a deeply accomplished, painstakingly whittled LP of hydraulic electro slickness, rich synthscapes, and hooky, peak-time tearjerkers for the most discerning front-left lifers. ‘Tribeless Gathering’ is a barnstorming testament to Brassica’s stylistic and timbral deftness, touching down in the elusive epicentre of the club/home listening venn diagram with ease.

From the elastic, neon acid pointillism of opener ‘Hop Kweng’ to the mardy, miasmic plod of closing chugger ‘Changa Hill’, Brassica seamlessly segues between avenues of influence, his notoriously omnivorous musical knowledge roadmapping each turn. Raised on a diet of everything from early rave standards to metal, and schooled in avant garde sonics as a student of sound design at LCC, Brassica does a peerless job of sublimating his countless influences into a record of refined, heterogeneous, and most crucially, catchy, club moods.

Less spartan than his more recent oeuvre on Feel My Bicep, and less baroque than his technicolour experiments in postmodern synth pop with vocalist Stuart Warwick, Tribeless Gathering represents Brassica’s triumphant return to the main room, replete with rushy hooks primed for the planet’s finest soundsystems, and passages of heads-down tension bound to draw listeners right to the edge of their seats. Overall it is a concise and refined testament to Wright’s command of spectral sonics and effortless ability to pressurise a dancefloor. It is no surprise that he has also worked as a prolific mastering engineer, tuning music from a plethora of dance disciplines for maximum club impact. This work extends to his own projects (including this one), cementing them as rare expressions of complete artistry from studio to turntable.

As we delve deeper into the record, we are ushered through a series of accomplished and varied club moods, each channelling a unique cocktail of influences, but retaining a warm, ebullient analogue sensibility unique to Brassica’s work. This playful scope of influence calls to mind James T Cotton or Machinedrum’s experiments in dance music form, but Wright manages it all under one roof, wrangling everything from sashaying wub-laden two step to snarling Dillinja-esque FM damage into something inherently his.

Choice cut ‘Change Yourself’ layers an almost Cerrone-like piano refrain over radiant surges of saturated bass, dubby, strobing chords and a jagged, driving break, building to a jaw-clenching apex of dancefloor elation, while the rude, playful half-step of ‘Elevation’ breaks down the vintage speed garage formula into linear fragments, utilising a tight palette of resonant bass slugs, infectious synth leads and Papua New Guinea-style vocal strobes. The aptly named ‘Hold Tight’ fuses heart-in-mouth UK ‘ardkore pads with glissando acid disturbance and surgical snare fills in a formula which recalls the ethereal grit of Nubian Mindz’ 00s experiments in big-smoke break science, while the questing melodic arcs and arpeggiated squarewaves of ‘Pinball Marinara’ could easily have soundtracked an 80s sci-fi epic, beset with sparkling, bare-bones drum programming and hazy beds of sub sediment.

With ‘Tribeless Gathering’, Brassica both irreverently fuses and pays homage to the many unique and weird permutations of UK dance music. The short lived gathering of junglists, ravers and house hotsteppas of a similar name may have long since dissipated, along with the tribes themselves, but across these 11 tracks, he lays a blueprint for a new sound of togetherness.

This is somehting Kano's and die-hard italo-disco fans will definitely
appreciate. Kano's "Anothern Life" is finally remastered and repressed on limited-edition white vinyl for the first time since 1983 and out on FullTime Production.

This LP consecrated the fascination of italo-disco, which merged disco, funk and synth pop.

This is demonstrated by a song like "I Need Love", where we immediately recognize the classic elements of synth pop (thus merged with the rhythm and the funk voice of the charismatic voice of Glen White. So "Mad In Love" and "Dance School", where you can already recognize all the grooves that will one day be other followers who have taken, to recall the name, a direct lesson from this "school". Kano surely influenced a whole genre of new European dance acts.

"Another Life", a single now immortal for lovers of the genre, certainly
felt the influence of another genre, known as space disco, a short Eurodisco vein. So "Ikeya Seki", which is not a tribute to the East
like the later China Star (typical of the aesthetics of many bands of
this early 80's), but a very suggestive instrumental piece whose name
derives from a comet discovered by two astronomers Japanese in 1965, Seky and Ikeya in fact. This, is the sound that is also found in the 8-bit soundtracks of arcade videogames, in those contained in Commodore floppies, and it is the music that everyone would have liked to sweat every day.

Out on October 7th!

It's been 40 years since Michal Turtle released his seminal, ground-breaking album "Music From The Living Room" into the world and promptly disappeared back into the aether.

An extremely obscure cult classic known only to deep diggers and aficionados of the finest order, it wasn't until Music From Memory reissued some of the tracks from it via retrospective compilations of Turtle's unreleased music almost 30 years later that his name become more widely known and a new generation were able to discover the artist's unique and pioneering style of experimental electronic music production, the majority of it very much ahead of its time, and to this day, still timeless.

Invisible Inc contacted Turtle in the summer of 2023 about releasing something else by him and it was during this exchange of emails that ideas were expressed about releasing not simply a straightforward reissue of "Music From The Living Room" to mark its 40th anniversary (the album has never been reissued in full) but rather a re-imagined/re-constructed take on the album bringing contemporary techniques, styles and newly recorded vocal and instrument parts into the mix and breathing new life into these wonderful compositions.

Collaborators old and new were brought into the studio and the songs re-created from the ground up. Familiar songs like "Are You Psychic?" and "Village Voice" get overhauled and echo remnants of their original counterparts but simultaneously sound like completely new tracks. The always mesmerising "Phantoms of Dreamland" is represented through a live recording at Café Oto featuring original album vocalist Lucianne Lasalle and regular collaborator HOVE on electronics. The remaining tracks, however, will be completely new to the ears of most people, never having been reissued or heard in these new forms ever before.

Regardless, whether in some way familiar or not, these hypnotic and repetitive pieces of beautiful sound art, all very different in style from one another, have an entirely new identity that even diehard devotees of the originals will fall in love with.

“Holy shit. This record is amazing. 'Are You Psychic?' is really something” dj_2button Dummy Hand / Weirdos Inc.

“What a record!” Cosmo Vitelli I'm A Cliché

“Amazing release. Probably your best release yet! Does everything an amazing record should and more...” Alexis Le-Tan Oddity Radio / Full Circle / Offen Music

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion.

These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.

After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release, Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit, spirit, and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s.

Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as What's Going On, Call Me, Night Beat, and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks, Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency, effortlessness, and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization.

In combining four of the era's predominant styles – Philly soul, sweaty funk, Southern-reared blues, acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums, Still Bill occupies a distinct universe.

Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion.

Withers' balanced outlook on human desires, needs, and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability.

"I mean look, I'm really a factory worker," said Withers in 1972. "That's a real job." There's that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality, wedded to a belief in simplicity, and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple.

Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" and heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Don't Want You on My Mind" with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the record's other big hit: the sexual, funk-laden "Use Me," which reached No. 2 and reflects the singer's everyman persona. It's an identity couched in keeping it real, the very inclination that ultimately led Withers to retire in the mid-'80s rather than bend to industry pressures or risk credibility.

That commitment to truthfulness and realism helps make Still Bill feel as unaffected as the air we breathe. Looking back on "Lean on Me" years later, Withers said it seemed like "something that was there before I got here" – the kind of song that could be 100 or 10 years old, or one we encounter anew 10 years into the future. The same can be said for every note on Still Bill.

yet is a slippery word in English. Amorphous, these three letters in dierent contexts can define contrast or emphasis, set a place in time, show an expectation that something will occur or, paradoxically, that it is likely to stop.
It is this mercurial nature that makes yet the perfect title for Tresor’s latest compilation: the label follows on from the more explorative sections of 2021’s landmark Tresor 30 boxed set with a compilation, featuring 13 artists making music that resists easy definition.
Every track hints at and borrows from the familiar yet none follow the expected path: halfway through Deserto, Nandele & A-Tweed dramatically reveal a very dierent sonic landscape that was initially suggested; DJ Sotofett collaborates with Sri Lankan artist Kavadi with results that are unlike anything in the Norwegian producer’s catalogue as yet.
Further invention can be found as Jean Redondo’s Hypersonic moves across spaces inhabited by digital hardcore and hyperpop before swerving o-road and into a futuristic hip-hop section; on No Longer Human, Ireen Amnes takes a dierent path at the crossroads melding hyperpop, trance, and sci-fi soundtrack atmospherics, Significant Other heads towards UK Bass and Dubstep, and France’s Willis Anne skims by the outskirts of footwork with a piece that is almost completely uncategorisable.
Yet more sonic experimentation comes from E-Saggila, Nadia Struiwigh, NVST, Solid Blake, and Viikatory who oer unique takes on the well-established electro blueprint, while Ryan James Ford, and Nit. both find ways to blend elements normally found in ambient pieces with those heard on a dancefloor.
The feel of the compilation is yet again reflected in the enigmatic artwork by Malik Arbab, where shapes and colours suggest animals and plants but in a world that appears to be transient and constantly evolving.

HDSN is one of the most diverse young artists in recent times, and every new production that hits the shelves is proof of his endless exploration of the electronic music universe. “Low End Therapy” is the follow up to his first release on NBAST ́s sister label “ We Must Protect This House” , which kicked off a new era of sound on his second home label earlier this year. Now that the dust has settled WMPTH002 is here: straight to the point, pounding and euphoric, its a modern reimagined dream of an illegal 1992 warehouse rave anthem full of energy but also incredibly catchy and instantly recognisable.

2025 Repress

On his fourth album proper, Now Here No Where, Danish producer Kölsch (aka Rune Reilly Kölsch) is charting new terrain. Fans of his ‘years trilogy’ – 1977, 1983 and 1989, released on Kompakt over the past decade – were privy to a kind of sonic diary, an autobiography, tracking the artist’s early years through three albums of superior, meticulously rendered techno. Calling in collaborators where needed – most notably, the strings of Gregor Schwellenbach – there was still something deeply personal going down, not quite hermetic, but internally focused; the albums proved not only Kölsch’s mastery of his chosen form, but also his capacity to make techno personal, individual, and to trace histories of the self through music. But on Now Here No Where, Kölsch finds his feet firmly planted in the present. Reflecting on his new album, he notes, “It is fascinating to write about memories and feelings that have had years to manifest and develop, but how would I approach current emotions?” It’s a good question: our past coheres through the narratives we build around memories, but the moment we’re in, the newness of the now-ness, is harder to navigate; this story is as yet untold. For Kölsch, this makes Nowhere Now Here “an album about life in the year 2020. A time defined by confusion, misinformation and environmental challenges. It is an emotional interpretation of personal and mental challenges, observations and personal growth.” Kölsch does this with music that effortlessly balances emotional heft with the dancefloor’s brimming desires. It’s a space that Kölsch has navigated for a while now – one of techno’s breakthrough acts, an in-demand DJ across the globe and a prolific and restlessly creative producer, he’s also Kompakt’s biggest-selling act – but Now Here No Where ratchets up the lushness, making for a delirious drift across twelve tracks that are at once perfectly poised and deeply trippy. “Great Escape” is an elegant swoon, an opener that pivots on a sigh and a prayer; then “Shoulder Of Giants” bustles into view, subliminal clatter and an aching violin line giving way to a riff that glows with fluorescence and iridescence. “Remind You” combines an odd ECM jazziness with notes from a twenty-first century torch song; “Sleeper Must Awaken” mines huge buzzing synths and lets them float, in and out of sync, with reduced, ticking beats; “Traumfabrik” (dream factory – there’s a giveaway) is oddly lush, the tones malleable and plastic, morphing across a glitching undertow. There are sad, emotional washes of strings throughout the penultimate “While Waiting For Something To Care About”, while “Romtech User Manual”’s patterns twist and shape in the light. Throughout, Kölsch never keeps his eye off the dancefloor, and you can tell this is his still his home. “The amount of energy and joy I experience every time I perform, has a profound effect on me. It has inspired me so much of late and has become an integral part of my musicality.” “The way we join in expressing our hope for the future every weekend has given me so much,” Kölsch concludes. The club as a temporary autonomous zone, as a space both of freedom and of politics; somehow, that’s all here, Now Here No Where. “Most of all, it is an album about hope.”

Auf seinem vierten Album “Now Here No Where” betritt der dänische Produzent Kölsch (alias Rune Reilly Kölsch) neues Terrain. Seine Trilogie mit den Jahreszahlen 1977, 1983 und 1989, die in den letzten zehn Jahren bei Kompakt erschienen war, hatte seine Fans durch eine Art akustisches Tagebuch, eine Autobiografie geführt, die die frühen Jahre des Künstlers über die Länge von drei großartig produzierten Techno-Alben nachgezeichnet hatte. Wo es nötig war, wurden Kollaborateure hinzugezogen - allen voran für die Streicher, arrangiert von Gregor Schwellenbach -, dennoch zeichnete die Musik immer auch etwas zutiefst Persönliches aus, etwas nicht Hermetisches, auf eine bestimmte Art immer auch nach Innen fokussiert. Die Alben bewiesen nicht nur, wie sehr Kölsch die von ihm gewählte äußere Form beherrscht, sondern auch seine Fähigkeit, Techno zu etwas Persönlichem und Individuellem zu machen und der eigene Geschichte durch Musik näher zu kommen.

Auf “Now Here No Where” steht Kölsch nun mit beiden Beinen fest auf dem Boden der Gegenwart. Mit Blick auf sein neues Album stellt er fest: "Es ist faszinierend, über Erinnerungen und Gefühle zu schreiben, die Zeit hatten, sich zu manifestieren und zu entwickeln, aber wie nähere ich mich meinen aktuellen Emotionen?”. Eine gute Frage: Unsere Vergangenheit wird im Innersten zusammengehalten durch Geschichten, die aus Erinnerungen entstehen, aber der Moment, in dem wir uns befinden, die Neuheit des Neuen, ist schwieriger zu beschreiben; die Geschichte ist noch nicht erzählt. Für Kölsch ist “No Here Now Where” daher "ein Album über das Leben im Jahr 2020. Eine Zeit, die von Verwirrung, Desinformation und ökologischen Herausforderungen geprägt ist. Es geht dabei um die emotionale Interpretation von persönlichen und mentalen Herausforderungen, von Beobachtungen und der eigenen, individuellen Weiterentwicklung".

Kölsch tut dies mit Musik, die mühelos kleine Gefühlsausbrüche mit den großen Sehnsüchten der Tanzfläche in Einklang bringt. Es ist dieser Zwischenraum, in dem sich Kölsch schon seit einiger Zeit bewegt, als weltweit gefragter und gefeierter Live Act, DJ und so unermüdlicher wie kreativer Produzent (nicht umsonst ist Kölsch der “biggest-selling-artist” bei Kompakt), doch “Now Here No Where” treibt all das noch weiter auf die Spitze: ein enormer Sog entsteht, der uns über zwölf Tracks hinweg gefangen hält wie ein perfekt ausbalancierter Trip. Der Opener "Great Escape" ist pure Eleganz, ein Track, der irgendwo zwischen Seufzer und Gebet hin und her schwankt; dann drängt "Shoulder Of Giants" ins Blickfeld, ein unterschwelliges Geklapper, eine wehende Geige, schließlich ein schillernder Riff, der in der Dunkelheit zu leuchten und zu glühen scheint.

"Remind You" kombiniert seltsamen ECM-Jazz mit einem sentimentalen Liebeslied des 21. Jahrhunderts; "Sleeper Must Awaken" schürft im Bergwerk riesiger Synthesizer, mal im Takt, mal aus dem Takt ticken die minimalen Beats; "Traumfabrik" ist ungewöhnlich “lush”, die einzelnen Töne, geschmeidig und modelliert, zerfließen in einem glitzernden Abgrund. Das vorletzte Stück "While Waiting For Something To Care About" wird von traurigen, emotionalen Strings untermalt, während sich die Strukturen von "Romtech User Manual" im Licht drehen und immer wieder neu formieren. Die ganze Zeit über behält Kölsch die Tanzfläche im Auge, und man merkt ihm an, dass sie immer noch sein Zuhause ist: "Die Menge an Energie und Freude, die ich bei jedem Auftritt erlebe, hat eine tiefe Wirkung auf mich. Sie hat mich gerade in letzter Zeit stark inspiriert und ist zu einem integralen Bestandteil meiner Musik geworden.”

"Die Art und Weise, wie wir an jedem Wochenende gemeinsam unsere Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft zum Ausdruck bringen, hat mir viel gegeben", so Kölsch abschließend. Die Vision des Clubs als eine temporäre autonome Zone, als ein Raum von großer Freiheit aber auch von politischen Ideen, das ist irgendwie alles hier drin, Now Here No Where. "Es ist vor allem ein Album über Hoffnung."

This time we present you the golden GoldFFinch boys on the new Fuse label on the more techno orientated side of things.
Four dark and haunting tracks which stand out of the flood of functional techno nowadays.

One more year and our annual compilation 'Hate & Tenderness' is back. This time in its fifth edition, where we have agreed a group with some of our favorite artists from the last years to create a wonderful compilation full of love.

Being faithful to our philosophy based on contrasts, legendary artists such as DJ Shufflemaster, Truncate or DJ Dextro join youngsters such as Gene Richards Jr, Phil Berg, Mathys Lenne, Kashpitzky, Nicolas Vogler or Damian Vargas to name a few, all of them accompanied by the label heads Fixon & Dig-It, to leave a release that moves us indescribably and that we want to share with everyone!
credits

eloelo recordings returns with its most assured release to date: ‘FREAK’, an original cut from label head ELODIE, backed by a club-ready remix from Parisian heavyweight DJ W!LD, and rounded off with the vinyl-only bonus ‘Carla’.

Championed on BBC Radio 1, ‘FREAK’ arrives with momentum firmly behind it. This is a hypnotic, slow-burning seducer rather than a blunt-force club tool - restless, wriggling textures crawl through the mix, weird and tactile, shifting constantly around the listener, while ELODIE’s own hand-built percussion keeps everything taut and unmistakably her own. Equally immersive through headphones as it is over a club sound system, the track reveals new details with every listen without ever losing its dancefloor drive. Sultry vocal hooks thread through the groove, and in the breakdown a trippy, melodic rhythm coils and builds before the track snaps back open. Classy, controlled and seriously sexy.

On remix duty is DJ W!LD, a bona fide legend of the underground. The Paris-based artist, longtime Circoloco resident at DC-10 and founder of W Label and Spit&Die, has long been one of underground house music's most respected figures. Long a torchbearer for deep, dark, sexy house, he flips ‘FREAK’ into a pumping, peak-time cut. Built for the floor and armed with a gloriously warped breakdown, his rework has already been tearing up the dancefloor, causing serious damage wherever it's played.

A long-standing digital favourite finally committed to wax, ‘Carla’ closes the vinyl release: a cult cut long adored by those closest to the label and to ELODIE’s music. Timeless, seductive and deceptively powerful, it has always deserved its place on vinyl — and here it finally gets it.

Refined, seductive and unmistakably her own, ‘FREAK’ is another forward-thinking, groove-driven statement that pushes eloelo records' distinctive, timeless sound further still.

LIMITED EDITION FIRST PRESS OF 300 COPIES ON TRANSPARENT RED VINYL WITH JAPANESE STYLE OBI. NON-RETURNABLE.
Osaka quartet HIBUSHIBIRE return this August with their fifth studio album ‘Phantom Fuzzy Exotica‘.
Phantom Fuzzy Exotica continues to find the band exploring their own little universe, where psychedelia, 70’s hard rock and folk rock influences collide. You’ve got the short punchy riff heavy songs, the mellow time-out bits, and of course the epic psych jams and more vocals then previously. It’s all here, and as always they deliver the goods.
Phantom Fuzzy Exotica … in the bands own words
The initial image behind this album was “phantoms”- things that seem to exist, yet somehow don’t. Another thing that sets this album apart from our previous releases is that four of the five tracks feature vocals. The only instrumental is “Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Electric Nonsense.” We didn’t consciously plan it that way; it just happened naturally. After finishing last year’s tour, we didn’t have much time, but everyone’s ideas came together, and I think we’ve created an album we’re truly satisfied with.
Mandrake Oracle: The opening track of the album.Built around a single guitar riff by changchang, while the other instruments and electronics keep pushing the music forward. Personally, I imagined Deep Purple playing a Pink Floyd song while writing this one.
Minagoroshi Western: Imagined as the soundtrack to a fictional spaghetti western. In the end … everybody dies.
Daydream Rendezvous: A piece of daydream acid psychedelic folk.
Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Electric Nonsense: Hard psychedelic jazz rock. The title is a little nod to Frank Zappa.
Ai Vist Lo Lop (Cover): I’ve always loved Ai Vist Lo Lop by the wonderful Occitan traditional band Mont-Jòia, and I’d wanted to cover it someday. We especially enjoyed creating the a cappella section and finding the right sound for the main melody.
We sincerely hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as we enjoyed making it. — changchang
The Phantom Fuzzy Exotica European Tour 2026
AUGUST
19th Archive, Liverpool (UK) , 20th Ivory Blacks, Glasgow (UK), 21st The Golden Lion, Todmorden (UK), 22nd The Bunkhouse, Swansea (UK), 23rd Beautiful Days, Devon (UK), 25th The Peer Hat, Manchester (UK), 26th Le Pub, Newport (UK), 27th Strongroom Bar, London (UK) with Black Helium, 28th The Holloway, Norwich (UK), 29th The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham (UK), 30th The Piper, St Leonards (UK) with Black Helium
SEPTEMBER
1st DND, Dunkirk (FR), 3rd Pilsen Busking Fest, Pilsen (CZ), 4th Pilsen Busking Fest, Pilsen (CZ), 6th Riff, Budapest (HU), 7th Végállomás Klub, Szombathely (HU), 8th A Beton, Győr (HU), 9th Chemiefabrik, Dresden (DE), 10th Bar Neun, Berlin (DE), 11th Subsol, Dusseldorf (DE), 12th Magasin 4, Brussels (BE), 13th De Onderbroek, Nijmegen (NL), 14th La Bulle Café, Lille (FR)
HIBUSHIBIRE are
Changchang (Guitar/Vocal/Bouzouki/Electronics/Melting Eye Spectacle), Tetsuji Toyoda (Bass/Vocal/Mermaid Mountain), AOI HAMA (Drums/Vocal/Cat Tongue Queen), Kohei Katsuma (Conga/Vocal/Theremin/Percussion/God Dog Family)

This Summer has never looked so bleak. Along with news of the album, Kulk have also released their new video single 'An Endless Kife': "An Endless Knife is about growing up. When we're younger, sometimes it feels like we're invincible. Like everyone we know and love are constant parts of the universe. When that reality is shattered, it changes how we see the world. You come to realise we are all just a couple of bad days from the worst. At the same time, it feels devastating. It reminds us to look after each other" - Kulk The band have toured across the UK extensively the past few years, playing amongst bands such as Part Chimp, Hey Colossus, Crowbar, Melt Banana, Iress, Big Brave, Gnoomes, Conan and Portrayal of Guilt... to name a few! They have toured twice with PigsX7, including shows at Electric Ballroom (London) and Rock City (Nottingham) and have appeared at the renowned UK festivals Arctangent and Desertfest

The West Coast's contribution to hardcore punk is undeniable. That tradition of aggression, passion, and scrappy melodicism continues with The Barbarians Of California, an engaging new manifestation of iconoclastic spirit and true bombast. Born from the shared passion of Aaron Bruno (AWOLNATION) and his longtime engineer Eric Stenman - who cut his teeth in the same Sacramento community that eventually launched diverse and disparate acts like Deftones, Far, Will Haven, Team Sleep, Hella, Dance Gavin Dance, Death Grips, and Trash Talk - the spirit of the underground and the personal catharsis delivered through metallic hardcore never left either of them. So, when Aaron learned that Eric crafted a batch of throwback bangers combining impassioned angst with modern sensibilities, he wanted in immediately. The Barbarians of California was born.

In 2024, the band released their debut album, And Now I'm Just Gnashing My Teeth, and celebrated with a high-energy show at the iconic Troubadour in Los Angeles, cementing their place in the hardcore scene's next chapter. Since then, they've continued to build momentum with headline shows across LA, a summer 2025 arena tour with Deftones and other festival appearances that brought their explosive live presence to a wider audience. Dropping two new singles in 2025 including a collaboration with Keith Buckley (Every Time I Die/Many Eyes), The Barbarians Of California are gearing up in 2026 for the release of their sophomore album, MEGATONS. With their second full length, The Barbarians of California are unleashing fresh chaos straight from the sun-soaked, teeth-gnashing heart of the Golden State. Blending raw hardcore energy, razor-sharp riffs, and that signature mix of ferocity and tongue-in-cheek humor, these new songs hit like a caffeine-fueled fever dream.

Es sind fünf hektische, chaotische, zermürbende, völlig durcheinander gewirbelte Jahre. Es sind all die mühsamen Missverständnisse einer fünfjährigen Beziehung, verzerrt und zu einer absurden schwarzen Comedy-Miniserie auf Vinyl gedehnt. Es ist der Klang all unserer Streitgespräche, die gleichzeitig erklingen. Es sind mehrere aufeinanderfolgende Sprachnachrichten, die nicht angehört, sondern stattdessen als Transkript gelesen wurden. Es sind fünfzehn Songs des ikonoklastischen Rappers Mike Eagle und des innovativen Produzenten Kenny Segal. Es ist das weltweit erste halb skurrile Trennungsalbum. Es ist "DOOMED!", es ist auch LA. Vielleicht nicht in erster Linie, aber Los Angeles ist tief in der Gegenwart und der Geschichte dieses Albums verwurzelt. Die Geschichte jeder Großstadt ist auch eine Geschichte von Zugezogenen. DJ Premier in New York, Tupac in Kalifornien. Wenn man es aufbaut, werden sie kommen. Mike und Kenny kamen beide als junge, aufstrebende Künstler nach LA, angezogen von der Szene rund um die bahnbrechende Rap-Crew Project Blowed. Sie sind seit fast zwanzig Jahren befreundet - und arbeiten gelegentlich zusammen. Trotzdem ist "DOOMED!" das erste Mal, dass die beiden ein komplettes Werk gemeinsam geschaffen haben. Aber alles geschieht zu seiner Zeit, und das Schicksal hat sie genau in dem Moment zusammengeführt, der es dem Duo ermöglichte, etwas Außergewöhnliches zu schaffen. Mike, der gerade eine Reihe von Alben mit mehreren Produzenten hinter sich hatte und das Ende einer turbulenten Beziehung verarbeitete, brauchte eine kreative Katharsis. Kenny hingegen hatte sich nach einer Reihe von hochgelobten Kollaborationen - nicht nur mit Rappern wie billy woods und K-the-I??? - sondern auch mit dem Jazz-Trio Human Error Club und dem bluesigen Indie-Rocker Benjamin Booker - auf seine nächste Herausforderung festgelegt. "In den letzten Jahren machte Kenny sehr deutlich, dass er nicht einfach weiterhin ein oder zwei Beats für meine Projekte beisteuern wollte; er wollte etwas aufbauen", erklärt Open Mike Eagle. "Ich konnte ihn davon überzeugen, mir ein paar Beats für Neighborhood Gods Unlimited zu überlassen, mit der Maßgabe, dass wir uns als Nächstes auf unser gemeinsames Projekt konzentrieren würden. Dann zerbrach meine Beziehung, gerade als wir mit der Arbeit begannen, und ich dachte mir: Perfekt, dazu habe ich eine Menge zu sagen."

Es sind fünf hektische, chaotische, zermürbende, völlig durcheinander gewirbelte Jahre. Es sind all die mühsamen Missverständnisse einer fünfjährigen Beziehung, verzerrt und zu einer absurden schwarzen Comedy-Miniserie auf Vinyl gedehnt. Es ist der Klang all unserer Streitgespräche, die gleichzeitig erklingen. Es sind mehrere aufeinanderfolgende Sprachnachrichten, die nicht angehört, sondern stattdessen als Transkript gelesen wurden. Es sind fünfzehn Songs des ikonoklastischen Rappers Mike Eagle und des innovativen Produzenten Kenny Segal. Es ist das weltweit erste halb skurrile Trennungsalbum. Es ist "DOOMED!", es ist auch LA. Vielleicht nicht in erster Linie, aber Los Angeles ist tief in der Gegenwart und der Geschichte dieses Albums verwurzelt. Die Geschichte jeder Großstadt ist auch eine Geschichte von Zugezogenen. DJ Premier in New York, Tupac in Kalifornien. Wenn man es aufbaut, werden sie kommen. Mike und Kenny kamen beide als junge, aufstrebende Künstler nach LA, angezogen von der Szene rund um die bahnbrechende Rap-Crew Project Blowed. Sie sind seit fast zwanzig Jahren befreundet - und arbeiten gelegentlich zusammen. Trotzdem ist "DOOMED!" das erste Mal, dass die beiden ein komplettes Werk gemeinsam geschaffen haben. Aber alles geschieht zu seiner Zeit, und das Schicksal hat sie genau in dem Moment zusammengeführt, der es dem Duo ermöglichte, etwas Außergewöhnliches zu schaffen. Mike, der gerade eine Reihe von Alben mit mehreren Produzenten hinter sich hatte und das Ende einer turbulenten Beziehung verarbeitete, brauchte eine kreative Katharsis. Kenny hingegen hatte sich nach einer Reihe von hochgelobten Kollaborationen - nicht nur mit Rappern wie billy woods und K-the-I??? - sondern auch mit dem Jazz-Trio Human Error Club und dem bluesigen Indie-Rocker Benjamin Booker - auf seine nächste Herausforderung festgelegt. "In den letzten Jahren machte Kenny sehr deutlich, dass er nicht einfach weiterhin ein oder zwei Beats für meine Projekte beisteuern wollte; er wollte etwas aufbauen", erklärt Open Mike Eagle. "Ich konnte ihn davon überzeugen, mir ein paar Beats für Neighborhood Gods Unlimited zu überlassen, mit der Maßgabe, dass wir uns als Nächstes auf unser gemeinsames Projekt konzentrieren würden. Dann zerbrach meine Beziehung, gerade als wir mit der Arbeit begannen, und ich dachte mir: Perfekt, dazu habe ich eine Menge zu sagen."

This limited vinyl edition of Brain Invaders offers another chance to experience the album in
its most iconic format. Faithful to the original release, it features high-quality pressing andpackaging, making it a must-have for collectors and fans alike. Part of Be the Change, a project conceived and developed by Rude Cares to raise awareness about climate change and environmental sustainability within the music
community, this exclusive eco-friendly variant is more than just a vinyl release. Created in collaboration with artists who share this vision, each edition supports a more sustainable future: a donation is made to Green Future Project for every release, and 100 new trees are planted to fully offset the project's residual environmental footprint. A timeless album with the same energy and impact that made it a fan favorite, Brain
Invaders remains an essential addition to any punk rock vinyl collection—now with a positive
impact beyond the music.

'As I Slip Into the Sky reflects a particularly small sliver of time compared to Where the Smoke Goes, with recordings taking place in early 2025, while Johnny was bed-bound in an assisted living facility with multiple sclerosis. Alabama born, Portland based artist Joel Nelson helms the nearly entirely electronic backdrop, posing a new canvas for Johnny, with Buchla Music Easel bubbling up between Johnny’s lines. This album captures Johnny in a remarkably tender and emotive form. Love and all its permutations. The tangled, but caring nature of familial love, (“But you and me, we can talk on the phone every day. I would never leave you behind”), to the anguish and euphoria of romantic connection. Johnny has a remarkable ability to pose questions, ("What is real love like?), and provide answers that reflect the truest of realities, absent cliche ("I don't know. His curly hair, short on his head, his smile, his smile, his smile...that is what real love is like").
'Joel Nelson's nimble work across a small array of analog synthesizers creates a flowing backdrop to Johnny's stream of consciousness. At times, Broadcast's fuzzed out ballads come to mind, while at others, early Oneohtrix Point Never's gauzy, distant drones anchor beneath Johnny's slippery syntax.
'Johnny recorded his poems while confined to a hospital bed, through an iPhone laid gently on his chest. Assisted by the caring presence of friends John Albea and Lauren Jones, we can hear through these recordings Johnny immersed in his world of words, taking in the world of sounds Joel had provided for him. We hear his breath, at times we hear the harsh sibilance captured by the iPhone microphone, but more than anything, we hear the tenderness and poetic resolve of his caring soul. He was incredibly grateful for the past years of connecting with the small cohort of Birmingham-affiliated musicians and artists who upheld him as the unofficial poet laureate of "The Magic City", Birmingham, AL. Perhaps most appropriately, Johnny closes the album out in a state of gratitude:'

"My funeral was perfect
I was buried wearing a very charming jacket
A very charming jacket I just happened to have on when i died
He was always the lucky one, Mary-Ellen said
I've been looking for a nice casual jacket like that I could wear to casual little outdoor parties and to my funeral all my life
But Johnny just had one
Probably someone left it in his car
He was so lucky
It doesn't even make sense
But its true
He really was that lucky"

Following the first two singles by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle (later F.S.K) from 1980 and 1981, as well as their debut LP “Stürmer” and the 1982 EP “Magic Moments”, A-Musik is now releasing “Ça c’est le Blues,” another of their early works, all of which were released on Alfred Hilsberg’s legendary ZickZack label and have long since become rarities. “Ça c’est le Blues” was originally released in 1984 and marks nothing less than a milestone in F.S.K.’s already impressive discography. While numerous bands from the West German underground of the early 1980s, following the “Summer of Pop” of 1982 and the associated breakthrough of the “Neue Deutsche Welle,” either moved toward the mainstream or began singing in English, Justin Hoffmann, Thomas Meinecke, Michaela Melián, and Wilfried Petzi took a different path.

The songs became more elaborate, the production – influenced by bands like Gang of Four and Dexys Midnight Runners – more opulent, and the instrumentation now included wind instruments for the first time, which have since become an integral part of F.S.K.’s sound. At the same time, the Munich-based band’s music-historically motivated focus was directed more toward the US than was typical of the bands in the West German scene of that era. To their signature blend of post-punk and experimental music, as already evident on “Stürmer,” they now incorporated funk (on the opener “Faire Le Chicken”) and jazz (on the heartbreaking cover version of “My Funny Valentine”). From then on, this “transatlantic feedback” was an essential component of F.S.K.’s musical practice. The discursive twists and turns, the incorporation of references, and the insistence on German lyrics would influence bands in the coming decades, not just those of the “Hamburg School.” At the same time, the album features legendary hits by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle – such as “Move Ahead” and “Fragen der Philosophie (Völkerball)”– which are still played at every concert to this day.

With the reissue of “Ça c’est le Blues,” one of the most impressive releases in 20th-century German avant-pop history is finally available again. The reissue includes a comprehensive booklet featuring an in-depth interview about the album with all band members, as well as numerous previously unpublished photos.

Ever since the late 1950s bossa-nova revolution, Brazil’s influence on French music has been undeniable. Pierre Barouh, Georges Moustaki and a vast array of lesser known artists, all made the Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) an axis of promotion at the service of a cool and metaphysical, modern and mixed Brazilian lifestyle. Some were seduced by the poetic languors of the bossa, some were looking for fun, and others just loved the American hybridization of jazz-bossa, jazz-samba.



What is bossa nova? One of its creators, Joao Gilberto said: "Its style, cadence, everything is samba. At the very start, we didn't call it bossa nova, we sang a little samba made up of a single note - Samba de uma nota so .... The discussion around the origins of bossa nova is therefore useless”. It is nevertheless useful to remember that these magnificent Brazilian songs, which the guitarist describes as samba, were shifted and balanced around improbable chords. "I like things that lean, the in-betweens that limp with grace," said Pierre Barrouh, quoting Jean Cocteau.



With emotion, arrangements for violin and supple guitar licks, bossa nova rapidly changed. A transformation that can be heard in the Tchic, tchic, French Bossa Nova 1963-1974 compilation, the result of a cultural reappropriation, which traveled through the United States and supplemented itself in France.

A musical revolution that has remained significant, bossa nova was born in Rio. From 1956 to 1961, Brazil lived through its golden years. In five years, the country had invented its modernist style. Elected president in 1956, Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, an elegant man with a broad forehead, brandished a promising slogan: "Fifty years of progress in five years". He quickly got to work. Not worried about increasing debt, he launched the project for a new federal capital, Brasilia, designed by the communist architect Oscar Niemeyer. Volkswagen opened state-of-the-art factories and created the “fusquinha”, the Beetle. In Rio, the Vespa made its first appearance. The Arpoador Surf Club crew run into the “girl” from Ipanema, Helô Pinheiro - the tanned garota ("chick"), between a flower and mermaid, who at 17 walked by the Veloso bar, where the fiery author and composer, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, were getting drunk on whiskey. From then on, bossa symbolized cool.

In 1958, Joao Gilberto recorded Chega de Saudade, which the directors of Philips denied, calling it "music for fagots". The marketing director, who believed in it, secretly pressed 3000 78-inch vinyls and distributed them at schools around Rio, creating a tidal wave.

American jazzmen then took over. In particular, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and guitarist Charlie Byrd. In November 1962, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded a "Bossa-Nova" concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, inviting the genre’s pioneers. Unprepared, the show soon turned to disaster. But the troupe was invited to the White House by Jackie Kennedy. The first lady loved "the new beat" and in particular Maria Ninguem, a song by Carlos Lyra, later covered by Brigitte Bardot.

In Brazil, the 1964 military coup quickly ended this euphoria. The destructive atmosphere that ensued pushed many Brazilian musicians to leave, if not to exile. Thus, Tom Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Joao Gilberto arrived to the United States. In New York, Joao Gilberto met saxophonist Stan Getz. At the time, he was married to the Bahianese Astrud Weinert Gilberto, who had a German father. She had never sung before, but she knew how to speak English. Getz therefore asked her to replace her husband on The Girl From Ipanema. The Getz/Gilberto record with Tom Jobim on piano, was released in March 1964. Phil Ramone, the "pope of pop" was in charge of sound.

Bossa nova arrived in Paris through the classic “guitar-voice” channel (Pierre Barouh, Baden Powell, Moustaki…) But France loved jazz and Paris had already welcomed its American contributors. All these good people were to pass through Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The cabaret l'Escale became the Mecca of Latin American sound where one could find Pierre Barrouh and his friends, such as the Camara Trio, samba-jazz aces, whose only record was published by the Saravah label. With a band strangely called Les Masques (a band that included Nicole Croisille and Pierre Vassiliu, among others), the Camara Trio recorded an interesting Brazilian Sound, including the track Il faut tenir which is present on this tasty compilation of rarities.

Other enlightened musicians can also be found on the compilation, such as Jean-Pierre Sabar (songwriter for Hardy, Auffray, Leforestier ...) and the French pop rock organist Balthazar. In 1975, Sabar recorded Aurinkoinen Musiikkimatka on a Finnish label, which featured the crazy Vai, Vai, included on this record. We are now following the footsteps of Brazilian electronic musicians such as Sergio Mendes, Eumir Deodato or Marcos Valle who created funk and disco sounds on their keyboards and synthesizers. A style that influenced Véronique Sanson when she wrote Jusqu’à la Tombée de la nuit in 1969 for Isabelle de Funès, the niece of Louis and a great friend of Michel Berger - Sanson did end up singing this track on her 1992 Sans Regret record.


The pinnacle of exoticism and travel, Sylvia Fels’ Corto Maltese includes bongos, sea mist and ocean sounds. The title was taken from Jacky Chalard’s concept album written in 1974, Je suis vivant, mais j’ai peur (I am alive, but I am scared), based on Gilbert Deflez’s science fiction novel.


However, bossa nova extended the scope of popularity. "In the 1970s, I was a fan of Sergio Mendes, Getz / Gilberto. I fell in love with this music that I knew because I had been an orchestral singer, " explained Isabelle Aubret, who in 1971 delivered a composite record of covers by the very funky Jorge Ben, Orfeu Negro, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Morais and Jean Ferrat. "I recorded this album for Meys Records in Paris, far from Brazil, with wonderful musicians, François Raubert, Roland Vincent, Alain Goraguer...". The latter wrote the arrangements for Casa Forte, a very percussive title borrowed from Edu Lobo, one of the initiators of the bossa who spent time in California. "Jazz and bossa came together and produced very rhythmic music. I love singing, it allows me to dream, to have fun, to feel a high on stage, and these songs brought me joy, made me swing, my singing felt like a dance.”


The world tours of French singers and their desire for the tropics, often brought them to Rio with its hills, forests, caipirinhas and tanned bodies. There are surprises though, like this Iemenja (Iemenja is the goddess of the sea in the Afro-Brazilian candomblé religion). Not unlike the composer and musician Jean-Pierre Lang, based in Sao Paulo, Claire Chevalier taught Brazil to Brazil. In 1970, the singer and painter published a 45-inch vinyl, Mon mari et mes amants (My husband and my lovers), under the improbable pseudonym of Clarinha (little Claire). She was then living in Rio, with her husband, Joël Leibovitz, who founded a band called Azimuth, and who owned a record label specialized in "sambas enredos" songs for samba school parades.


For its B side, she asked Pierre Perret to come up with lyrics for a song composed by Carlos Imperial: "Oh goddess of the sea, o goddess Iemenja, I bring a white rose to adorn your long hair ..." . "Perret came to see us, and we had fun, remembers Joël Leibovitz. We wrote Lemenja for fun, we recorded it at the Havaí studio, behind the Central do Brasil the central station. Erlon Chaves, the arranger who worked with Elis Regina, joined us" adding his share of Afro-Brazilian percussions and funky brass to the mix.

There is a common misunderstanding in Franco-Brazilian history: that bossa, admittedly hedonistic, is perceived as funny, even though the poets who wrote the texts are often philosophizing on the human condition. Its French interpreters pull it towards a carnival inspired universe, far removed from its fundamental essence. Thus, Jean Constantin covered the famous Samba da minha terra, an ode to the art of samba written by the classic Bahian composer Dorival Caymmi, renaming it with the enticing title of Pas tant de tchi tchi pompon: "On your pier there is no tchi tchi / when you arch your back, you know everything is alright ”(lyrics by Gérard Calvi). This expedited bossa aims for the absurd, but retains a certain elegance.

Indeed, Jean Constantin was not an idiot, the rather large man had a huge mustache and liked fantasy, (Les pantoufles à papa, Le pacha, inspired by cha-cha-cha-cha, salsa and jazz) but he was also the lyricist of Mon manège à moi interpreted by Edith Piaf, the composer of Mon Truc en plume by Zizi Jeanmaire and the soundtrack of François Truffaut’s 400 Blows. Le Poulpe, published in 1970, from which this bossa is extract, was arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, an accomplice of Serge Gainsbourg’s Melody Nelson. In short: "There is enough of samba / By looking at the parasol / Because my poor cabeza / Is going to die in the sun".

Even the American actress Marpessa Down, who was at the heart of the bossa nova revolution with her role as Euridyce in Marcel Camus’ film Orfeu Negro, winner of the 1959 Cannes Palme d'or, fed the clichée with Je voudrais parler au petit cuica - "Tell me how you manage to always make people want to dance / It's true, I must admit that I cannot resist your magic" - in consequence, once can hear the cuica, a little drum inherited from the Bantu.


But bossa nova had many angles. Societal, of course, pushing actresses who were symbols of women's liberation like Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, or Sophia Loren to engage in the exercise of accelerated bossa. In February of 1963, Sophia Loren made a record in French in Rome, Je ne t'aime plus, featuring the song De jour en jour, a bossa written by two Italians, Armando Trovajoli and Tino Fornai, which was released a little later by Barclay. Bossa accompanied the 1960s, a decade of moral liberation. Ann Sorel, who interpreted La Poupée des favellas, caused a sensation with L’amour à plusieurs, a provocative song written by Frédéric Bottom and Jean-Claude Vannier. As for the actress Andrea Parisy, she displayed her bourgeois cheekiness in Marcel Carné's Les Tricheurs before interpreting Les mains qui font du bien. And Magalie Noël, the friend of Boris Vian, who sung Johnny fais-moi mal, was hired to sing Une énorme Samba, composed by Alain Goraguer (arranger to Gainsbourg, Bobby Lapointe and Jean Ferrat) with lyrics by Frédéric Botton.

But in the end, of what wood is bossa nova made of? The answer is given by Christianne Legrand, daughter of Raymond the conductor, and sister to Michel the composer: "With me, with jà" - jà means "immediately" in Portuguese. In 1972, the singer, an expert in vocal jazz and a member of the Double Six, published Le Brésil de Christianne Legrand. Two songs included on the Tchic Tchic compilation that demonstrate how bossa, jazz, funk, rock, etc. work like a swiss army knife: the music is used to denounce broken systems, or miracles, HLM et ciné roman, Cent mille poissons dans ton filet, two songs from the O Cafona soundtrack, a successful telenovela broadcast, at the time in black and white, on TV Globo. The first was adapted in French by the fighter and friend of the Legrand tribe, Agnès Varda. The second is content with a play on words, jostling them into a summer fun.



Véronique Mortaigne

‘They went beyond punk before punk had properly started…the entire album is a controlled explosion of ideas. Nearly fifty years on, This Heat’s debut is something the world has still not completely caught up with.’ - Simon Reynolds

‘Over the years, there have been bands to play as aggressively, or even as strangely, but very few have been able to rise from their collective influences and histories to create music so singularly distinctive and inspiring.’ – Pitchfork 9/10

‘This Heat sounded like the future then ... and still do now.’ - Dan Snaith (Caribou)

Although widely considered to be Post-Punk’s finest, This Heat actually began performing and recording their music in 1976, the early days of London’s punk era. Within their two albums and an EP they perfected a strange and volatile new strain of avant-garde rock that time has proved to be massively influential, a blueprint for much that would follow: post-rock, math rock, homemade musique concrète, experimental electronica.

Numerous critics have recognised the band's influence on the music of Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, Steven Wilson, Public Image Ltd., Radiohead, Swans, Shellac, Young Knives, Black Dice, Lightning Bolt and numerous other experimental and post-rock bands. Disbanding in 1982 they have left an undeniable legacy that has only continued to grow in stature and relevance.

The album This Heat, also known to fans and critics as the ‘Blue and Yellow’, was their eponymous debut release, recorded in sessions between February 1976 and September 1978 in a variety of studios including their own Cold Storage, a converted cold storage room in the Acme Studios complex. Innovating throughout, they combined loops and tape manipulation (producing for example the proto-drum and bass ‘24 Track Loop’) with live performance and haunting vocals to a complex, dissonant whole. The band recorded everything they ever did – including gigs – and tracks such as “Water” were entirely improvised in the studio.

Having recently passed the 50 year anniversary of their first gig, and the recording of material that appears on their debut album, the group’s surviving members Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward, true to their DIY roots, have set up an imprint to release their recordings for their growing fan base that is increasingly recognising their influential place in music history. 


Rough Trade Records veröffentlicht eine remasterte Doppel-Vinyl-Neuausgabe von Love Is Overtaking Me. Die Sammlung vereint Folk-, Pop- und Country-Songs von Arthur Russell, darunter "Planted a Thought", "Close My Eyes" und "I Couldn"t Say It to Your Face". Die ursprüngliche Ausgabe erschien 2007. Für die neue Edition wurden frisch entdeckte Originalbänder verwendet und von Timothy Stollenwerk in Portland neu gemastert. Ergänzt wird das Release durch überarbeitetes Artwork von Molly Smith sowie ausführliche Linernotes von Tom Lee. Seit über zwanzig Jahren macht Audika Russells vielseitiges Werk zugänglich und hat maßgeblich dazu beigetragen, ihm posthum ein größeres Publikum zu erschließen. Heute gilt er als visionärer Künstler und Einfluss für viele zeitgenössische Musiker. Schon zu Lebzeiten arbeiteten zahlreiche Künstler mit ihm, darunter Produzent John Hammond. Auf dem Album finden sich außerdem Aufnahmen mit The Flying Hearts sowie Projekten wie The Sailboats, Turbo Sporty und Bright & Early. Aus über acht Stunden Material zusammengestellt, umfasst das Album Aufnahmen von 1973 bis 1991. Einige Stücke sind auch im Film Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell von Matt Wolf zu hören.

Knocked Loose have announced their hotly anticipated new album, A Different Shade of Blue -- a mammoth of a sophomore release and massive step forward for the band and for hardcore and metal as we know it. Recorded by producer Will Putney, the new LP was approached slower and more methodically. Abandoning the previous 'live in studio' recording approach for something more deliberate, the band cranked out twelve new tracks that deal with all manner of anger, especially loss in lieu of absence. While some musical influences are easily identified - Pantera, Hatebreed, Obituary and more - the band's palette and canvas has expanded by leaps and bounds, incorporating Gothenburg-style death metal (At the Gates, early In Flames), slam metal (Devourment, Dying Fetus), blood-thirsty thrash (Sodom, Kreator), black metal (Craft) and the mind-boggling complexity of latter noisy hardcore like Snapcase and Bloodlet. Clocking in at a lean and mean 37 minutes and featuring guest vocals from Emma Boster of Dying Wish and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die, A Different Shade of Blue grabs the listener by the throat from the jump and slowly tightening that grip for the duration.

Melodies everywhere. Hidden ones, obvious ones, the kind that stick around long after the magic is gone. The Fulmars, Hagen’s lo-fi experimental indie outsiders, return with 13 haunting songs on their first proper full-length album. It’s filled with warm lo-fi guitar hooks, carried by Teacherface’s stripped-back Roland drum machine pulse and Fabian Dietz’s soft, delicate vocals. Modern castaways’ music, truly seeing the light, somewhere between the hazy spirit of The Velvet Underground, the playful weirdness of early Throw That Beat In The Garbagecan!, the tender shadows of Dead Moon, and the hypnotic austerity of Party of One. There is a lot of tragedy, all covered in positive agility. Hypnotic simple charmers compellingly recorded by the illusionists behind the delicate Hüüpnootsche Platen Un Kassetten cassette label. If you listen in a row, you will fall into a calm flow, time is on the go, and you so, in The Fulmars circle, disappearing in melodies, those hidden, obvious, glorious. You will fall for the voice, their “rollie” grooves carry you out there, browsing on irresistible humble guitar vibes. Be ready to watch the blue birds fly, it’s a real streetside surprise, for your pleasure, please don’t call it leisure.

This new album compiles several songs made in the years following Black To Comm's classic "Alphabet 1968" album. Originally released on the seminal Type label in 2009 (and to be reissued on Cellule 75 this year) "Alphabet 1968" combined the sound of vintage shellac and vinyl loops with broken electronics and field recordings, the press release mentioning disparate influences "ranging from Moondog to Basic Channel by way of Bernard Herrmann". In a beautiful one-page review in The Wire magazine (later reprinted in his book Ghosts Of My Life) Mark Fisher compared Richter's music to JF Sebastian’s miniature automata in Blade Runner ("with their bizarre mixture of the clockwork and the computerised, the antique and the ultramodern, the playful and the sinister"), ETA Hoffmann's inventor-magicians and Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's 1886 tale of Thomas Edison's (fictitious) construction of an artificial human.

Now titled "Coh Bâle" (inspired by a strange dream) these recordings were supposed to become a follow-up to said album but for reasons unknown it never materialized and the album seemed forever lost. At the time Richter started to dive deeper into several strains of (so-called) world music aka the folk music of Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe as well as liturgical and medieval music, the Kraut-Electronica of Harmonia and several certain Mediterranean experimentalists from the 1980's who started to merge their mostly electronic and field recording based compositions with traditional musics from all over the world by way of new sampling technology.

Many of the songs for the album were recorded while travelling and at various residencies around Europe: a detuned piano in a Thessaloniki basement (Richter played at a children's birthday party there), vintage synthesizers in the GRM studios in Paris, decaying acoustic instruments found in an old Black Forest mansion, childrens' voices at a workshop in Karlsruhe's ZKM Institute; then mixed on headphones in the ICE trains running between these places and his hometown Hamburg.

"Coh Bâle" is taking inspirations from old Nonesuch Explorer and Ocora LP's, Crammed Records, 80s Mediterranean Ambient (Nuno Canavarro, Roberto Musci) combined with the DIY spirit of Deux Filles and Flaming Tunes and the playfulness of Asa Chang & Junray. The songs are both mysterious and transparent, intricate and frugal, vibrant and patient. One of the album's unexpected climaxes is a gorgeous (artificial) berimbau version of the Welsh traditional "Iechyd o Gylch".

No two songs feature the same instrumentation and many acoustic sources (pianos, flutes, wood percussion, viola, tablas, autoharp) were disassembled and later coalesced into new configurations or used as virtual instruments; later combined with samples, field recordings, electronics and (on a few tracks) autotuned vocals reminding of recent works by the likes of Claire Rousay or More Eaze.

We had to wait for a worldwide pandemic for Richter to dig deep into the vaults and finally bring these recordings to light. This is the 2nd release from his archives after the "Diode, Triode" LP which presented Musique Concrète/Acousmatic recordings made at INA/GRM and ZKM. Another massive Double-CD (MM∞XX Vol. 1 & 2) was released last year featuring collaborations with 33 artists such as Andrew Pekler, Richard Youngs, Eric Chenaux, Maja Ratkje, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem In my Heart, GRM boss François Bonnet (Kassel Jaeger), Felix Kubin, Timo van Luijk (In Camera, Af Ursin), Luke Fowler and many others, showing Richter's versatility and his willingness to reinvent himself for every new release.

Marc Richter is widely known under his Black To Comm moniker, having released (at least) 12 albums under this alias in the last 20 years. He is currently signed to the Thrill Jockey label. Richter composes soundtracks for film and has worked with visual artists such as Mike Kelley and Ho Tzu Nyen. He also records as Jemh Circs and Mouchoir Étanche for his own Cellule 75 label (named in tribute to the late Luc Ferrari).

Available for the first time on vinyl! ESCAPE THE FATE deliver electrifying melodies and shattering screams with raw emotional force. Their staggering Epitaph debut entitled There"s No Sympathy for the Dead has five songs and every one of them is guaranteed to blow you away. Die anderen beiden Alben, die wir als Backkatalog haben, haben sich auf CD über 3.000 bzw. 5.000 Stück verkauft!!

Nach einem bahnbrechenden Jahr hat die GRAMMY-Preisträgerin, Sängerin, Songwriterin und Multiinstrumentalistin Sierra Ferrell beendete ihre Tournee 2025 in ihrer Wahlheimat Nashville, Tennessee. Live aufgenommen, direkt auf Acetat im Blue Room von Third Man Records, fängt diese einzigartige Performance die rohe Energie, den feurigen Geist und die fesselnde Bühnenpräsenz ein, die Ferrell an die Spitze des modernen Bluegrass und Country katapultiert haben.

BEAR's sound is a calculated collision of technical precision and unfiltered aggression _ a modern strain of European metal that balances math-inflected complexity with visceral, live-wire intensity. At the core of their identity a combination of brains and brute force. With Anhedonia, Belgian heavyweights BEAR deliver five songs of pure adrenaline and unfiltered heaviness that capture a band confronting the strange emotional vacuum that can follow trauma. Anhedonia is both a battle cry and a confession; a visceral document of resilience carved from years marked by illness, loss, uncertainty, and hard-won perseverance. Musically, Anhedonia represents a sharpened evolution of BEAR's already formidable sound. Known for their intricate rhythms, punishing riffs, and explosive intensity, the band made a conscious decision this time to strip away excess and focus on the core of each song. There is no wasted movement on this EP. Every riff lands with purpose. Every rhythmic shift feels earned. The band trimmed the fat without sacrificing identity, creating space for dynamics and melody to cut deeper than ever before. "The songs are somewhat stripped back, allowing more space for Maarten's vocals to really shine this time around. I feel like we really hit a great balance of maintaining our signature complex sound while also allowing for more experimentation and melody." (James Falck) Anhedonia acknowledges numbness without glorifying it. It confronts pain without being consumed by it. And in doing so, it transforms heaviness into something connective. BEAR have always been a band driven by conviction, and here they stand at their most authentic, vulnerable and ferocious. Together, BEAR create music that feels alive _ tense, volatile, and emotionally charged _ where technicality enhances impact, and heaviness carries genuine vulnerability beneath its surface. FOR FANS OF The Dillinger Escape Plan * Every Time I Die * Botch * Converge * Norma Jean * Coalesce * Herod

BEAR's sound is a calculated collision of technical precision and unfiltered aggression _ a modern strain of European metal that balances math-inflected complexity with visceral, live-wire intensity. At the core of their identity a combination of brains and brute force. With Anhedonia, Belgian heavyweights BEAR deliver five songs of pure adrenaline and unfiltered heaviness that capture a band confronting the strange emotional vacuum that can follow trauma. Anhedonia is both a battle cry and a confession; a visceral document of resilience carved from years marked by illness, loss, uncertainty, and hard-won perseverance. Musically, Anhedonia represents a sharpened evolution of BEAR's already formidable sound. Known for their intricate rhythms, punishing riffs, and explosive intensity, the band made a conscious decision this time to strip away excess and focus on the core of each song. There is no wasted movement on this EP. Every riff lands with purpose. Every rhythmic shift feels earned. The band trimmed the fat without sacrificing identity, creating space for dynamics and melody to cut deeper than ever before. "The songs are somewhat stripped back, allowing more space for Maarten's vocals to really shine this time around. I feel like we really hit a great balance of maintaining our signature complex sound while also allowing for more experimentation and melody." (James Falck) Anhedonia acknowledges numbness without glorifying it. It confronts pain without being consumed by it. And in doing so, it transforms heaviness into something connective. BEAR have always been a band driven by conviction, and here they stand at their most authentic, vulnerable and ferocious. Together, BEAR create music that feels alive _ tense, volatile, and emotionally charged _ where technicality enhances impact, and heaviness carries genuine vulnerability beneath its surface. FOR FANS OF The Dillinger Escape Plan * Every Time I Die * Botch * Converge * Norma Jean * Coalesce * Herod

On her second album, Sawt El Doumouh (The Sound of Tears), Beirut-based Sandy Chamoun summons flickers of light from sadness. Influences from the Arabic tradition of Tarab – one of the first styles Chamoun learnt to sing – and polyphonic Cantu are reinterpreted and reimagined through her voice and electronics, synths from her SANAM and Ghadr bandmate Anthony Sayhoun, and live percussion from Ali Hout.
Marked by its times, the record isn’t what Chamoun had planned. “I wrote the lyrics between October 2023 and September 2025,” she explains. “The plan was to write about nature, since the album’s concept was inspired by Cantu, a tenor Sardinian ritual that celebrates humanity’s victory over nature. I intended to visit several places and regions in Lebanon and write a track for each, but after the genocide and the war in Lebanon, everything changed.”
“I chose the title because many mornings during this period I woke up crying silently. I remember a dark story from school: a teacher yelled at a small boy while he was crying and told him to cry without making any sound. I feel we are still living in that condition in the region — forced to die or suffer without making any noise.”
Sawt El Doumouh is a gorgeous refusal to be silent. It opens with a booming drum. Over keening autotune Chamoun’s pure voice cuts through, burying the despair to illuminate rays of hope. On “Ward W Shok” a shuffling swing gives way to a righteous organ interlude. The title track sees a choir of Chamoun’s vocals lull and lap. Drums arrive and indignation stirs, what’s mournful begins to stride.
Chamoun’s tracks are as beautiful as they are defiant. Why write songs in the face of horror? Perhaps because music can hold onto something better. By turning to song, Chamoun catches the hopeful glints and sparks that persist and strive outside the terror. In SANAM and Ghadr she often borrows lyrics from Arabic writers through the centuries, listening to what their words say in the present while reminding us the world can and has been different to how it is now. Solo she writes her own words, and the way her songs alternately soar and sigh evokes hopeful pluralities and suggestions of other, kinder realities. Even hearing someone cry is a connection to humanity.
It’s a possibility conveyed in the album’s most jubilant moments. “Shahed” is an incandescent dance of percussion and levitating synths. “I wrote it after I saw a photo of a small boy on a horse on the beach in Gaza,” Chamoun recalls. “I imagined a fantasy where the boy lives in the water and watches the terrifying reality on the shore, trying to bring water to put out the fire. Shahed is the witness who lives far from the shore, enjoying the water and trying to help. You can hear this duality: the percussion is desert-like, while the vocals and synths evoke the feeling of water.”
Although it comes from darkness, in Chamoun’s music we can hear faith in something beyond it.

Exactly four years and one day after ''All That Has Never Been True'' Ultha releases their fifth full-length studio album entitled ''A LIGHT SO DIM''.
It features 10 original new songs at a combined length of 74 minutes, with guest appearances by Pieter Uyttenhoven & Annelies van Dinter (TAKH), Pardis Latifi (DAEVAR), Danni Kann and the ''Chor Der Damen Ohne Namen'', a 40-women choir from Cologne.
Recorded, engineered and mastered at GOBLIN SOUND STUDIOS (Cologne) by ANDY ROSCZYK, who also contributed guitars and keys to various tracks. Artwork was done by TOBIAS HAHN, featuring photography by MAX HECKMANN.
After the conclusion of the trilogy consisting of Converging Sins, The Inextricable Wandering & All That Has Never Been True, the question was: where do you go when you've lost everything? You either accept defeat and die - or you start fighting. This is an album about hope in the darkest of times. It's a call to arms for the inner self, to find a rope of light in a world of mist. ''A Light So Dim'' is another concept album, with a narrative spinning from beginning to end. The unnamed narrator wakes up and tries to make sense of a world gone absolutely mad, where truth is nothing more than an empty shell of its once great self.
''IT'S THE STRUGGLE FOR AMBITION IN AN OCEAN OF DEFEAT. LIKE A FOREST FOR A GARDEN IN A WORLD YOU'LL NEVER SEE''.
This is for all of you!
Viva reason, viva love.

A kickstart without brakes – straight into the heart of the German-speaking rock scene with performances at Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Lollapalooza, and more. And all of this completely independently – without a label, without a booking agency, without a producer. Because wasting time was never on the agenda for the punk & alternative trio from Frankfurt since their very first performance in May 2023 at the Warsteiner Band Contest, which they won right away. If we ended the band description at this point, everything would sound perfect. But if you take a closer look at the dozen singles that Friends Don't Lie have released in just 18 months, you'll discover a second layer: vulnerable lyrics about self-doubt, fears, and big emotions. At the same time, it becomes clear that the band also takes a political stance. It's about discontent – against racism, resentment, selfishness – against all forms of hatred. Friends Don't Lie are thus becoming the voice of a generation, as we last saw with acts like Kraftklub and Casper. In May 2026, Uncle M Music will release their long-awaited debut album, Zenit der Dramaturgie. Ten German-language rock/punk songs that set the bar extremely high and bridge the gap between Donots and Kraftklub.

Stick To Your Guns hold a mirror up to society’s ills without blurring its ugliness. In an attempt to unapologetically trumpet real change, the Southern California quintet—Jesse Barnett vocals,Andrew Rose bass,Adam Galindo[drums], Chris Rawson [guitar], and Josh James [guitar]—never shy away from speaking or screaming unpopular truths from the purest place. Founded in2003, Stick To Your Guns have always written and performed with a sense of urgency, their socially conscious message hitting as hard as their signature hybrid of hardcore, punk, and metal. Over the course of their career, they’ve amassed over 50 million total streams, performed on four continents, and shared stages with the likes of Parkway Drive, Architects, and Every Time I Die. Most recently, Alternative Press praised 2017’s True View as “the result of a long time spent on self-reflection and realization.” The band’s latest release ‘Invisible Rain’ incorporates two new songs that remain quintessentially Stick To Your Guns while incorporating fresh elements. The band’s relentless pursuit of a better world and their critique of societal injustices continues to drive their music and message. In 2024, Stick To Your Guns signed with SharpTone Records, marking a new chapter in their storied career. This partnership promises to bring their potent blend of activism and music to an even broader audience, amplifying their call for change and social justice.