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Death Is Not The End present a further volume of Arja Kastinen's eerie amalgamations of 110 year old wax cylinders with her own meticulously transcribed takes, this time focussing in on Armas Otto Väisänen's field recordings of kantele player Iivana Mišukka (b. 1861 d.1919).

"Ivana Mišukka (1861–1919) was one of the Karelian kantele players recorded by the folk music researcher Armas Otto Väisänen on wax cylinders in 1916 and 1917. In the early 20th century, the remote areas of Border Karelia were undergoing the final phase of a transformation in musical culture, with the ancient runo song tradition giving way to newer forms of music. This transition is reflected in Mišukka's repertoire and choice of instrument. The ancient small kantele, hollowed out of a single piece of wood, was already rare at the turn of the century. Mišukka's kantele was a new type of instrument with 26 strings, constructed of several parts, but he played it using the traditional plucking technique. Like other Border Karelian kantele players, his repertoire consisted of music rooted in runosong culture, as well as newer dances and songs from the east and west. Most of the recorded material falls into the latter category.

Ivan Bogdanov Mišukka was born out of wedlock in Suursara village, Suistamo, on 1 May 1861. He began playing the kantele at the age of five or six, quickly mastering the instrument. In adulthood, he was considered one of the area's best master players. Mišukka was landless for most of his life and lived in different parts of the Suistamo parish. His first wife, Tekla Markintytär, died in 1897 at the age of 40, and his second wife, Jevdokia Filipintytär Jeminen, died in 1907 at the age of 50. Seven children were born from the first marriage, two of whom died young. The third wife, Maria Ignatintytär Gurnan (Kuurnanen), was a well-known master of lamentations. Together with Maria, Iivana Mišukka worked as a tenant farmer in the village of Suursara. Mišukka suffered from rheumatism, which prevented him from participating in physical work like Maria. This was apparently partly the reason why Iivana Mišukka went to earn extra money by playing the kantele on gig trips. He often had other traditional artists from Suistamo as his travelling companions, such as the runosingers Konstantin Kuokka and Iivana Onoila. Iivana Mišukka died in Leppäsyrjä village, Suistamo, on 18 May 1919 at the age of 58, and his kantele was donated to Teppana Jänis.

Mišukka only used 14 of the 26 strings on his kantele, playing the same tunes either a fourth higher or lower. He tuned his kantele to the major scale using fifths, except for a low seventh scale degree on the upper strings, but not below the fundamental. Since he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all, he could use the major scale both lower and a fourth higher with this tuning. According to Mišukka, the sound of higher, or 'finer', strings is 'more beautiful', while that of lower ones is 'greater'. Among runosingers, the size of the thirds varied, ranging from major to minor to neutral. A similar phenomenon can be observed in kantele tunings, where the third, sixth and seventh scale degrees vary in a comparable way.

During a meeting, Väisänen suggested that Mišukka play the smaller kantele belonging to Konstantin Kuokka. The idea was to bring it closer to the horn to improve the recording quality. However, the kantele was completely out of tune, and now Mišukka tuned it to the Lydian scale (track 18).

Using the old plucking technique, Mišukka placed his right middle finger on the fundamental tone, his right index finger on the second scale degree, his left middle finger on the third scale degree and his left index finger on the fourth scale degree, and his right thumb on the fifth. The thumb also played the notes above the fifth note of the scale. As Mišukka remarked to Väisänen: 'Peigaloll' tuloo enemb ruadoa' (the thumb has to do more work). However, he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all. Below the fundamental note, he played the seventh and sixth notes of the scale with his right middle finger of and the fifth note of the scale with his right ring finger. This fifth scale degree below the fundamental is almost always used as a drone. Sometimes, when the melody required it, Mišukka, like other players, also varied the fingering. He would also occasionally strike the same string with the side of his fingernail after plucking it.

The wax cylinder recordings of Karelian kantele players are kept in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki, Finland. Copies were made of them onto reel-to-reel tapes in both the 1960s and 1980s. The 1960s copies are mono and the 1980s copies are stereo. However, not all kantele recordings from these decades have survived.

The sound of the kantele is difficult to hear in wax cylinder recordings due to its low volume, and it occasionally becomes completely obscured by noise. During the copying process, the cylinder sometimes rotates unevenly, resulting in breaks or jumps in the music. Additionally, the rotation speed of the cylinder in the copies does not correspond to the performance speed of the original music, which alters the pitch. However, since Väisänen's precise notes are available in the archive, it is possible to deduce the melodies, their speed, and the tuning level of the kantele in the recordings. Of the copies of the original recordings from the 1960s and 1980s, I have selected the one that best met the requirements of this publication and adjusted the speed of the recording to align with Väisänen's notes. To enhance the listening experience, I have replayed the songs, which now partly overlap the old recordings on this release."

— Arja Kastinen

Death Is Not The End present a further volume of Arja Kastinen's eerie amalgamations of 110 year old wax cylinders with her own meticulously transcribed takes, this time focussing in on Armas Otto Väisänen's field recordings of kantele player Iivana Mišukka (b. 1861 d.1919).

"Ivana Mišukka (1861–1919) was one of the Karelian kantele players recorded by the folk music researcher Armas Otto Väisänen on wax cylinders in 1916 and 1917. In the early 20th century, the remote areas of Border Karelia were undergoing the final phase of a transformation in musical culture, with the ancient runo song tradition giving way to newer forms of music. This transition is reflected in Mišukka's repertoire and choice of instrument. The ancient small kantele, hollowed out of a single piece of wood, was already rare at the turn of the century. Mišukka's kantele was a new type of instrument with 26 strings, constructed of several parts, but he played it using the traditional plucking technique. Like other Border Karelian kantele players, his repertoire consisted of music rooted in runosong culture, as well as newer dances and songs from the east and west. Most of the recorded material falls into the latter category.

Ivan Bogdanov Mišukka was born out of wedlock in Suursara village, Suistamo, on 1 May 1861. He began playing the kantele at the age of five or six, quickly mastering the instrument. In adulthood, he was considered one of the area's best master players. Mišukka was landless for most of his life and lived in different parts of the Suistamo parish. His first wife, Tekla Markintytär, died in 1897 at the age of 40, and his second wife, Jevdokia Filipintytär Jeminen, died in 1907 at the age of 50. Seven children were born from the first marriage, two of whom died young. The third wife, Maria Ignatintytär Gurnan (Kuurnanen), was a well-known master of lamentations. Together with Maria, Iivana Mišukka worked as a tenant farmer in the village of Suursara. Mišukka suffered from rheumatism, which prevented him from participating in physical work like Maria. This was apparently partly the reason why Iivana Mišukka went to earn extra money by playing the kantele on gig trips. He often had other traditional artists from Suistamo as his travelling companions, such as the runosingers Konstantin Kuokka and Iivana Onoila. Iivana Mišukka died in Leppäsyrjä village, Suistamo, on 18 May 1919 at the age of 58, and his kantele was donated to Teppana Jänis.

Mišukka only used 14 of the 26 strings on his kantele, playing the same tunes either a fourth higher or lower. He tuned his kantele to the major scale using fifths, except for a low seventh scale degree on the upper strings, but not below the fundamental. Since he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all, he could use the major scale both lower and a fourth higher with this tuning. According to Mišukka, the sound of higher, or 'finer', strings is 'more beautiful', while that of lower ones is 'greater'. Among runosingers, the size of the thirds varied, ranging from major to minor to neutral. A similar phenomenon can be observed in kantele tunings, where the third, sixth and seventh scale degrees vary in a comparable way.

During a meeting, Väisänen suggested that Mišukka play the smaller kantele belonging to Konstantin Kuokka. The idea was to bring it closer to the horn to improve the recording quality. However, the kantele was completely out of tune, and now Mišukka tuned it to the Lydian scale (track 18).

Using the old plucking technique, Mišukka placed his right middle finger on the fundamental tone, his right index finger on the second scale degree, his left middle finger on the third scale degree and his left index finger on the fourth scale degree, and his right thumb on the fifth. The thumb also played the notes above the fifth note of the scale. As Mišukka remarked to Väisänen: 'Peigaloll' tuloo enemb ruadoa' (the thumb has to do more work). However, he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all. Below the fundamental note, he played the seventh and sixth notes of the scale with his right middle finger of and the fifth note of the scale with his right ring finger. This fifth scale degree below the fundamental is almost always used as a drone. Sometimes, when the melody required it, Mišukka, like other players, also varied the fingering. He would also occasionally strike the same string with the side of his fingernail after plucking it.

The wax cylinder recordings of Karelian kantele players are kept in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki, Finland. Copies were made of them onto reel-to-reel tapes in both the 1960s and 1980s. The 1960s copies are mono and the 1980s copies are stereo. However, not all kantele recordings from these decades have survived.

The sound of the kantele is difficult to hear in wax cylinder recordings due to its low volume, and it occasionally becomes completely obscured by noise. During the copying process, the cylinder sometimes rotates unevenly, resulting in breaks or jumps in the music. Additionally, the rotation speed of the cylinder in the copies does not correspond to the performance speed of the original music, which alters the pitch. However, since Väisänen's precise notes are available in the archive, it is possible to deduce the melodies, their speed, and the tuning level of the kantele in the recordings. Of the copies of the original recordings from the 1960s and 1980s, I have selected the one that best met the requirements of this publication and adjusted the speed of the recording to align with Väisänen's notes. To enhance the listening experience, I have replayed the songs, which now partly overlap the old recordings on this release."

— Arja Kastinen

High-quality FERRO cassette tapes, printed on 160g premium paper.

Release info
XERO marks the beginning of a new series in which Saša Delimar invites artists he has long admired to reinterpret his original works. Each release features original compositions alongside one or two remixes, offering a new perspective on the material.

The first edition welcomes Steve Braam, aka Orca Silent (Canada).

The series focuses on minimalism and explores deeper, more experimental soundscapes beyond conventional dance floor structures

Debut solo album from leader of legendary psych band Föllakzoid, Available on white color vinyl! RIYL: Föllakzoid, Beatrice Dillon, Huerco S., Arca, Amnesia Scanner, SOPHIE, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Musician and filmmaker Domingæ is probably best known as the founder of experimental psych band Föllakzoid. Written whilst stranded in Mexico and Tokyo on her way to a world tour with Föllakzoid, her new debut solo album Æ has taken the decompositional system she devised for the band and added the depth of inner exploration and a symbiotic relationship with musical craft. The resulting sound is as groovy and hypnotic as the best Föllakzoid tracks but with a seductive and darkening electronic texture. She has become a channel in which the shadows inhabit. Domingæ's sounds and formats are articulated via depuration, expanding in time and space via the subtraction of shifting elements. The process of unlearning and uninstalling previously established creative softwares in order to achieve dissolution has always been a central focus in her creative pursuit. Æ is a result of said experimentation, the dissolution of preconceived notions to create a minimal sound yet rich in textures.

Pariah’s cult album re-issued! “Blaze of Obscurity” brings you pure Thrash Metal fury! Satan changed their name to Pariah in 1988-1989. There’s Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, the list seems almost endless. Sub-genres are important in metal and bands are quickly classified and labeled. Pariah (the last re-incarnation of Satan) is one of few bands that are difficult if not impossible to classify. Is it Heavy metal? NWOBHM? Thrash Metal? Pariah did not make it easy to describe their sound. It might be too sophisticated to simply label it Heavy Metal, which in its infancy was a rather simple affair.

They don’t sound like any Metal band out there, perhaps discounting some of the more aggressive and technical ones, and then the signature NWOBHM sound is added. The guitar playing by Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey is undeniably what defines Pariah as well as Satan in the past. Undeniably, Satan has gone a long way; from humble NWOBHM beginnings, to Experimental/Melodic Mettal (in Blind Fury) and something that could be described as a NWOBHM/Thrash Metal hybrid (“The Kindred”). It’s as if they’ve been experimenting trying to find their identity, and theyfinally found it. Stylistically, “Blaze of Obscurity” could be seen a step back to “Suspended Sentence”, but this time around they got everything right, down to the last note. Those who have heard Satan know what to expect: great guitar playing.

And sure enough, “Blaze of Obscurity” is a demonstration of guitar mastery and is overall a very guitar-driven album, with plenty of mind-boggling riffs and solos are all over the place, but more importantly, it’s a demonstration of some amazing songwriting as well. This is easily Pariah/Satan’s creative peak and one of the most consistent albums I’ve ever heard, featuring eight great and conceptually perfect songs with lyrics that come across as sophisticated and thought-provoking. It is not fair to put the entire spotlight on Tippins and Ramsey though since the drumming and bass work from Sean Taylor and Graham English really shines. The rhythm is fast and tight, keeping it focused, aggressive and intense till the end. Vocalist Michael Jackson (yes, that’s his name) has to be commended too as this is easily his careers best performance.

The verdict: “Blaze of Obscurity”: the level of musical genius expressed here, along with near flawless songwriting, is more than enough to skyrocket it to heights reserved only for classics. Probably not your choice for some light listening those quiet Sunday evenings, but those who take a more serious, intellectual approach when selecting their music will find very much to appreciate here.
Tracklisting

With „Darkness Is My Crown“, DEFACING GOD present their most personal and intense album to date. The Danish extreme metal visionaries once again fuse blackened death metal, symphonic darkness and occult atmosphere - this time with a strong focus on inner conflict, loss, transformation and resilience. The album stands as an unfiltered reflection of confronting darkness head-on and reshaping it into strength, identity and purpose. „Darkness Is My Crown“ is a powerful artistic statement, defined by authenticity, emotional depth and uncompromising vision, further solidifying DEFACING GOD’s place within the modern extreme metal landscape. The album will be released on March 27, 2026, and was mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (Heaven Shall Burn, Babymetal, Belphegor …) at Antfarm Studios.

Hagridden' is the second full-length from Scottish sisters Bratakus. Fiercely political and unapologetic, the duo made up of siblings Brèagha Cuinn (guitar and vocals) and Onnagh Cuinn (bass and vocals) deliver ten songs that combine garage rock and feminist punk with the same deft poise as forerunners The Distillers, The Donnas, Bikini Kill and X-Ray Spex.
In 2019, a BBC news report called Bratakus "the UK's most remote punk band". Formed in 2015 outside a small whiskey village called Tomintoul in the Scottish Highlands, the sisters (then 14 and 8 years old) have maintained a DIY ethos in everything they've done. Recording at home, self-releasing music, booking their own tours and with no drummer available locally, the duo turned their limitation into a statement, performing live with a drum machine and cementing their reputation as an uncompromising force within the punk scene.
'Hagridden' marks a new beginning for the two sisters, introducing real drums to the recording process (including a guest appearance from Chris Dangerous of Swedish rock band The Hives) plus a more focused approach to songwriting. The message and music are just as loud, but the execution is now deadlier than ever.

Working with 32 writers, vocalists, musicians, and producers across the U.S., the U.K., and Brazil, the album carries an intimate feel that resonates with vinyl buyers who value authenticity, context, and artistry. Blending roots- influenced Americana and soulful pop, the album delivers a warm, organic sound designed for full-album listening. With songs focused on relationships, friendships, and everyday life, Behind the Scenes offers a cohesive yet varied listening experience that encourages repeat spins and long-term shelf appeal. Performing, writing, and recording since the age of 16, lead singer Liz Lenten relaunched Auburn in 2012 and has since released four albums recorded in Nashville with Grammy-nominated producer Thomm Jutz, earning critical acclaim, an extensive international airplay. Liz tours regularly with Auburn Acoustic; hosts the podcast Behind the Scenes of an Indie Artist and was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2022 for Services to Music.

Anton Toorell’s second solo album, Solos II, deepens and intensifies the six-string language introduced on his 2022 debut, Solos. Rather than widening his scope, the Swedish guitarist, composer and producer sharpens his focus, homing in on the physical and sonic relationship between player, instrument and tuning. The result is three extended pieces of cascading tonality that feel disciplined yet light, their conceptual frameworks always secondary to the luminous sounds Toorell draws from two guitars.
Throughout Solos II, Toorell explores both the guitar’s potential for silvery, sometimes clashing textures and his own physical engagement with the instrument. Across ‘Volta’, ‘Cripta’ and ‘Scala’, he plays two guitars simultaneously: one fretted with the left hand using hammer-ons and pull-offs, while the right hand activates mostly open strings on a guitar resting in his lap. Despite the inherent complexity of this approach, the music never feels busy or demonstrative. Technique remains a quiet servant to Toorell’s compositional instincts and improvisational sensitivity.

The album leaves space for unplanned resonances and happy accidents, yet its structures are clear, resilient and finely balanced. The seventeen-minute ‘Volta’ unfolds as a shimmering continuum, its repeated figures gently reshaped through minute inflections, creating a sensation of constant motion. ‘Cripta’ spirals inward, cycling hypnotically in a way that recalls both Terry Riley’s iterative minimalism and the hallucinatory guitar loops of early Seefeel.
With the closing ‘Scala’, the recording environment comes fully into view. Captured in a 16th-century wine cellar at Palazzo Stabile in Piemonte, Italy, the room functions as a guiding presence and an implicit third instrument. Toorell tuned the guitars in response to the cellar’s reverberant character, seeking configurations that would open up the space itself.

Jacaranda is an album published in 1973 that highlights Bonfá’s refined approach to bossa nova and Brazilian instrumental music, blending Brazilian melody and rhythms with jazz-influenced harmonies. The album is cantered on Bonfá’s classical-influenced guitar technique. Indeed, rather than focusing on vocals, Jacaranda lets the guitar lead the narrative, creating a relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere which evokes Brazilian landscapes and moods. Compared to his previous album Introspection (HE72018), Jacaranda is less restrained and inward, it does not have a meditative mood but offers warmer harmonies and a stronger melodic richness. This is the first vinyl edition of this album since its first edition in 1973.

Manfredi Romano, founder and A&R of Life and Death Records, has been a pivotal figure in electronic music for over two decades. This year marks an important milestone as he is invited to curate the upcoming fabric presents mix for fabric Records, a release that highlights his instinctive storytelling and the distinct musical identity he has cultivated throughout his career.

Manfredi’s journey began in Italy around the turn of the millennium, tour-managing punk bands and organizing left-field music events before completing his studies in computer science at the University of Pisa. He went on to form DAZE, Italy’s first booking agency dedicated exclusively to electronic music, laying the groundwork for what would become a globally influential presence in the scene.
In 2010, he shifted focus to his own artistic project, DJ Tennis, which quickly gained international recognition for its emotive blend of house, techno, and disco. Renowned for creating intimate atmospheres in even the largest spaces, DJ Tennis has performed at leading clubs such as Circoloco Ibiza, Fabric London, and Panorama Bar Berlin, and at major festivals including Sonar, Timewarp, Primavera Sound, and Coachella. His 2022 residency at Phonox in London further showcased his ability to shape dancefloors with nuance and depth. Since 2017, he has also co-founded and curated Rakastella, the celebrated Art Basel Miami festival created in partnership with Life and Death and Innervisions.

As a producer, DJ Tennis draws from early relationships with post-rock pioneers such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, and Fugazi, channelling their influence into intricately layered electronic compositions. His work has appeared on respected labels including Kompakt, Rhythm Assault, Running Back, !K7, Cercle Records, Aus Music, and Circoloco Records, alongside frequent releases on Life and Death. His remix portfolio includes collaborations with Diplo, Boys Noize, Loco Dice, WhoMadeWho, and Acid Pauli, among many others. He has also previously contributed a DJ-Kicks mix, bringing his eclectic sensibilities to one of electronic music’s most beloved series.

After extended periods living in Miami, Berlin, and Barcelona, DJ Tennis now resides in Paris. Outside the studio and club environment, Manfredi is a passionate chef who has curated menus for charity events and collaborated with Beatport at ADE, Pioneer, and Resident Advisor. He is also an avid collector of bicycles, vintage action figures, and vinyl — his record collection now surpasses eleven thousand pieces.

With the forthcoming fabric presents DJ Tennis release, he offers a deeply personal, narrative-driven statement that reflects decades of crate-digging, boundary-pushing selections, and a lifelong devotion to sound. It marks a new chapter in his artistic evolution and stands as one of the year’s most anticipated entries in the iconic series.
The first single from DJ Tennis is a collaboration with long-time studio partner Ashee, and it immediately sets the tone for the mix: warm, seductive, rhythm-driven, and emotionally charged.

“I Wanna Know” is a sleek club track built around a pulsing groove and a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The low end is rounded and warm, giving the track a driving but understated momentum. Percussion is crisp and minimal, allowing the bassline and vocal elements to take center stage. The repeating, robotic earworm of a vocal hook, “I wanna know’ is the lynchpin to the track and will remain in your head long after the track has finished.

It’s the kind of record that warms up a room early in the night, sets the tone for a sunset beach set, or adds a lush, emotional peak during a more leftfield club moment.

The Activist returns to Sneaker Social Club with a fresh double-drop of mutant grime futurism featuring deadly flows from Tia Talks and Jammz.

Low End Activist first came through centred on link-ups with grime MCs before widening the scope of his sound with purely instrumental, conceptually-charged albums. This sure-shot double single reaffirms his affinity for outsider grime production as a vessel for deft bars from breakthrough talent and seasoned mic veterans alike.

On 'False Idols' and 'Atomic Clock' there's an emphasis on sharply angled, glitchy production that bends and warps well outside the established formula of MC-focused beats. Constantly shifting, hyper-detailed and front-loaded with walloping slabs of bass, both cuts are devastating in either vocal or instrumental form. Tia Talks pulls no punches stating her truth on the former, while Jammz muses on the endless battle against time on the latter, continuing the peerless run of avant-grime that courses through the Activist's back catalogue.

Developer returns to his personal vinyl imprint Developer Archive with the label’s 17th release, continuing a focused exploration of raw, hypnotic techno built for physical spaces. Known globally as the driving force behind Modularz, Developer uses the Archive series as a more direct and uncompromising outlet—stripped back, functional, and deeply immersive.

This latest release locks into groove-based cuts powered by tension and restraint, where repetition becomes ritual and subtle shifts create sustained drama. The rhythms are dense and forward-moving, designed to work equally well in the pressure of a warehouse or the precision of a darkened club.

With Developer Archive 17, Developer reinforces his commitment to vinyl as a medium and to techno as a tool for controlled intensity—music that doesn’t chase trends, but instead sharpens its purpose with each release.

This is a special work by acclaimed composer and musician Adriaan de Roover, who has released records on Dauw, VIERNULVIER, PIAS, and Consouling Sounds. Chansons de trottoir / Stoepliedjes documents his relationship to sampling in the form of a radio play.

Originally created as a radio piece for Resonance FM in Manchester, the album is a sonic portrait of a walk through Brussels. It is constructed from two field recordings: one made during a walk from Metro Midi towards Adriaan’s home, and another recorded on a walk towards Flagey. Rather than foregrounding recognizable landmarks, the piece focuses on the pavement underfoot: the steady, repetitive rhythm of footsteps on sidewalk tiles.

The recordings are mixed with samples from the music of the Brussels hip-hop group STIKSTOF. Their music became the soundtrack to a period in which Adriaan’s desire to move from Antwerp to Brussels began to take shape. Through repeated listening, the city of Brussels gradually revealed itself to him. This experience echoes that of countless music fans who, while listening to The Beatles, imagine what Liverpool might be like: a city revealed through sound and myth, often crystallized in lukewarm Hard Rock Café–style projections.

Chansons de trottoir / Stoepliedjes is an exercise in sampling and an exploration of how one might find a personal place within the music of others. It frames appropriation as an attentive and considered act. Suspended between memory and imagination, the piece exists closer to a dream state than to reportage.

Two percussionists, one sound universe. With “All you can BEAT,” Double Drums serve up an energetic and surpri-singly versatile percussion album. The two exceptional musicians have been performing together on stage for 20 years now. In addition to numerous concerts in Germany, they have also performed throughout Europe and Asia.
Now Alex Glöggler and Philipp Jungk are celebrating their anniversary with a work that showcases their entire musi-cal range: from driving rhythms to a multifaceted soundscape to moments of great emotion. “All you can BEAT” is a tribute to everything percussion can be: powerful, delicate, wild, and touching at the same time.

On the one hand, there are rousing original compositions such as “One More Time” and “Hydra,” about which the rhythm artists say: "The music is inspired by the many-headed monster Hydra from Greek mythology. When it loses a head, two new ones grow back. Musically, new patterns or rhythmic elements are constantly being added, overlap-ping each other and pushing others into the background. The result is minimal music based on an energizing flow with a focus on the marimba."

Mutant präsentiert in Zusammenarbeit mit Back Lot Music und Focus Features stolz die Veröffentlichung des Soundtracks zu Craig Brewers sensationellem neuen Film Song Sung Blue – der herzergreifenden wahren Geschichte der legendären Milwaukee-Tribute-Künstler Lightning und Thunder.Die Oscar®-nominierten Schauspieler Hugh Jackman und Kate Hudson spielen Lightning und Thunder (Mike und Claire Sardina), das großartige Neil-Diamond-Tribute-Duo, das im Mittelpunkt dieser atemberaubenden neuen Interpretation eines Jukebox-Musicals steht.Mit Coverversionen von Songs von Neil Diamond, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly und vielen mehr!

Lush Life is the Sonar Kollektiv debut EP by German singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Flo Naegeli.

Originally hailing from the Bavarian forests of southeastern Germany, Naegeli began his musical journey at the age of seven as a folk accordionist, later switching to electric guitar and developing a disciplined approach to songwriting and musicianship that led to formal music studies and a professional career. After moving to eastern Germany, he gradually stepped away from band projects to focus on solo work, embracing self-production tools to realise a sound that blends soulful songwriting with warm, organic instrumentation.

Written and largely recorded by Naegeli himself, Lush Life is a deeply personal yet accessible collection of songs reflecting on fatherhood, family relationships and friendship.

France's near-revolution of May '68 was the zenith of that generation's struggle for a new kind of life. It kicked the country's small, but vibrant, counter-culture into overdrive, and birthed a local underground music scene. The bands it spawned made music with much less rock purity than groups from the UK and US. Their musical and cultural influences foregrounded improvisation, disjunction, and genre-blending: Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, free jazz, and radical politics. The introduction of the synthesiser in the early 1970s added fuel to the fire.

This collection of French underground music inaugurates a series to accompany "Synths, Sax & Situationists", the first English-language book to investigate this movement. It focuses on the music of the second wave of bands that emerged in 1972/3, which saw radicalised psychedelic and jazz influences merge with the future-music possibilities offered by new technology. The next volume will investigate the politically-charged bands that erupted in immediate aftermath of May '68.

Mahjong Room is the second album Cameron Lew released under the artist name Ginger Root which explores his coming of age and discovery of his own signature sound; self coined as Aggressive Elevator Soul. Self Produced and Performed, this album marked the beginning of Ginger Roots' rise in popularity outside of his Huntington Beach hometown. Lew was still in film school at the time of recording and releasing Mahjong Room. His attention was equally focused on the music videos that were made for singles `Two Step', `Call it Home', `Jeanie', `Mahjong Room', and `Ohio'. Becoming a signature of Ginger Root releases, the video treatments of songs were humor-filled and directed and produced by Lew himself. Catching the attention of other touring indie acts Ginger Root spent most of the fall of 2018 on tour with artists Khrunagbin, Duran Jones & The Indications, The Marias, and Omar Apollo.

With “chapters left unread” , 22-year-old Berlin artist Dust of Apollon presents his debut album: an electrifying yet deeply emotional work that moves between electronic and rock elements. Across 14 tracks, the album revolves around themes such as identity, inner conflict, love, depression, and healing. Throughout, there is a recurring sense of looking back on the unread chapters of one’s own life: moments that once felt impossible to understand, and wounds that only years later found their words. The focus track, “end of the road, ” stands as one of the album’s most intense moments. It tells the story of two lovers who draw closer to each other in the night, only to drift apart again when daylight breaks. A raw and honest conflict between hope and letting go, between closeness and the fear of reopening a wound that may never fully heal Thus, “chapters left unread” becomes not only a musical debut, but an intimate self-portrait: a look back at what once was, and an attempt to make peace with one’s past...chapters left unread that are now finally being read!

Driveline Records launches its catalog with a focused four-track vinyl EP built for the dancefloor, presenting four distinct yet cohesive techno cuts driven by groove, atmosphere and functionality.

The A-side opens with Invexis - "Roots", a hypnotic builder that slowly unfolds into a funky-driven rhythm. Tight hi-hats and rolling basslines carry the track forward, culminating in a subtle yet engaging melodic progression that lifts the energy without losing tension.

Next, Pylot - "Observation" delivers a highly functional club tool based on steady loops and an aquatic sound design. Aggressive low-end and raw basslines support an atmospheric and hypnotic flow, making it a solid choice for mid-set pressure and long blends.

On the B-side, Berlin-based duo Disguised contribute "Gitty (Dub Mix)", a dub-influenced and dreamy track designed to keep the dancefloor moving while creating a floating, immersive mood. Deep grooves and spacey textures balance rhythm and emotion.

Closing the EP, Shadow Hrym - "Delia" explores more melancholic territory, combining tribal and funky rhythms with emotive soundscapes, offering a powerful and memorable ending to the record.

A strong debut statement that defines Driveline Records' sonic vision: DJ-oriented techno with depth, groove and atmosphere, pressed on vinyl for dedicated selectors.

The first resonant space Zosha Warpeha played in was the Emanuel Vigeland Museum in Oslo, Norway. Built as a mausoleum, its walls reach up into a gradual archway, creating an environment where sound expands and reverberates for twelve seconds before decaying into silence. Warpeha was greeted only by dim lights when she entered, and it wasn’t until she had spent several minutes listening that she was able to make out the frescoes that covered every inch of the room: graphic depictions of the cycle of life from conception through death. As the sound of her Hardanger d’amore encountered the walls and these slowly emerging scenes, they obscured its point of origin in both time and space, augmenting its own life cycle. The experience sat in the back of her mind over the next several years as she developed her own patient style of composition and performance, one that comes into full bloom on her new album I grow accustomed to the dark.

When Warpeha was selected as an artist in residence at Brooklyn’s ISSUE Project Room in 2025, she saw it as an opportunity to more intentionally explore how her music might fill a room with ample natural reverb. I grow accustomed to the dark documents two single-take solo performances for Hardanger d’amore and voice at IPR, with both pieces composed in a unique tuning system developed to interact with the space itself. Listeners can trace resonance from the contact of the bow on gut strings into the body of the instrument, its five sympathetic strings offering another layer of refraction, before the sound is thrown about the cavity of the room. The echoes emerge like a photographic double exposure, or wisps of smoke that linger in the air, creating ghostly harmonic convergences that blur the line between what is there and not-there. Sound begins to act like light, a synesthetic alchemy that transforms drones into beams and ornamental trills into flickers.

Both side-long compositions, “filament” and “visual purple,” exemplify a duality that animates Warpeha’s music: an expressive, individualistic style that draws on extensive knowledge of her instrument’s history in folk traditions, and an austere, devotional quality maintained by focus and precision. Though very different in character and structure, both pieces evolve slowly through numerous repetitive phrases, passages of stillness, and bursts of intensity. “filament” opens with a cycle of delicate melodic fragments played and sung around a drone before blossoming into an outpouring of swooping arpeggios, harmonics flying from the strings like sparks off a bonfire. The disorienting pulsation of harmonic beating forms the core of “visual purple,” the close-tone dissonance building to a swarm of open strings ringing boldly throughout the space. After the knotty tones reach their climax, the piece collapses into studied quietude, hushed, but without any drop in intensity.

When Warpeha first visited the Vigeland Museum in 2019, she was in Oslo to deepen her relationship to the Hardanger fiddle through the study of Norwegian traditional music, which is primarily passed down aurally. The experience of learning songs by ear, not only internalizing the tune but also absorbing the techniques and tonalities by listening, was a crucial step in her development as a composer. The years since have seen her sharpen those skills as a prolific member of the New York avant-garde and improvised music communities. Warpeha’s music encourages listeners to join her in this journey, to listen closely with each repeated phrase and through each dramatic shift. Like the frescoes on Vigeland’s walls, with time and intention, the depth of I grow accustomed to the dark comes on like a revelation.

Next year, Earthtones Recordings (which was renamed to Seasons Recordings after ten releases) marks the significant milestone of 30 years in the game. Ahead of that, they have been digging in the vaults for some choice reissues and this hugely in demand one from Natural Rhythm gets the nod. It has been remastered and is a joyous house outing with 'Original Jive' layering up cascading jazz keys with soulful pads and moving drums. 'Earthtones 001' is the beatless sound of a humid jungle, then 'Eclectic Dub' reworks the original with a more stripped-down and focused, groove-driven sound. 'Dub Drums' closes a vital reissue.

This EP marks a natural convergence for Primal Instinct. Built around pure dancefloor intent, it presents a focused spectrum of moods, unified by intent. Each track is unmistakably Temudo, and unmistakably Primal Instinct: physical, driven, and designed to move bodies first and foremost.
The release is the result of close collaboration between Temudo and the label. A shared framework took shape, allowing Temudo to adapt to the vision without altering his sound, forming a joint effort where two aesthetics align.
Visually, an image rooted in memories of Carnival in Temudo's hometown becomes the perfect symbol: chaotic, social, and in constant motion, reflecting the absurdity of life and the human condition.

Strut Records presents a fresh look at Oblivion Express, the 1971 album that marked Brian Auger’s shift into a new musical frontier. After years spent shaping the sound of British jazz-soul with the Trinity, Auger stepped into the new decade with a leaner, electrified ensemble and a renewed sense of purpose. This record captures the moment that transformation took shape.

Oblivion Express introduced a sound that was distinctly Auger’s own. Rather than echoing the fusion emerging in the United States, Auger developed a language rooted in the UK’s jazz underground, culminating in a spaced out jazz- rock / prog-fusion album awash with larger than life drum fills and Auger’s virtuosic organ playing. Between bassist Barry Dean and drummer Robbie McIntosh the album moves effortlessly between tight, articulated phrases and broader, improvisational passages. The trio’s interplay forms the backbone of the album and sets the tone for the sound that would define the early years of the Express.

Album opener “Dragon Song” launches with a restless drive that immediately signals Auger’s new direction. Auger chose to record this version of John McLaughlin’s piece (his friend and former bandmate in 'The Niddy Griddys') after hearing McLaughlin’s album Devotion during its mix at New York’s Record Plant Studios. Auger was blown away, recalling, “Oh my god, this is amazing. I wanted to record that myself - and I did!”. Pieces like “Total Eclipse” demonstrate the Oblivion Express’ command of dynamic contrast, and title track “Oblivion Express” explores the cinematic and compositional prowess of the group through stripped back, building moments vs. explosive melodic breakdowns. Riff-heavy “The Sword” later became known through Madlib’s usage in 2014 tracks “Yeti Movie” and “Parodies”.

In retrospect, Oblivion Express stands as a jazz leaning, prog-rock masterpiece and foundational moment in Auger’s catalogue. It captures the starting point of a new sound that is more focused, more urgent, and fully committed to the possibilities of jazz-rock at the dawn of the seventies. The album remains a vivid document of a band discovering its identity and setting the stage for the further array of influential releases that would follow.

Another Squid inks its way into existence. The new project from northern operator
Accented Measures, whose synth tower stacks taller than the horizon it’s aimed at. A self
made groove patroller, Aqua Surf releases four well swung jewels of power, an ode to
motion, pressure, and late night systems thinking.

Each track is cut from the same cloth but bent at a slightly different curve, offering a
focused glimpse into the Aqua Surf orbit. You’ll find heavy nods to the Quasimidi
classics, early Korg rompers, quirky Roland workstations and lost dub style vocal
fragments strung throughout the EPs play through. Ultimately, the record is a multi
planetary trip built on MPC sequences, where swing does the steering and texture does
the talking.

Functional but curious, these are tracks designed to travel through rooms, through
bodies, through time slots where the lights stay low and the floor stays sweaty.

From the depth of transient memories comes ‘Some Leaves Must Fall 聽其自然’, Temple Rat’s latest EP and the inaugural release for Martin Gilleshøj’s ‘Buttheads’ label.

Across 6 tracks Temple Rat distills fragments of spatial memory, merging conceptual ambience with the mystic, spatial, and driven edges of deep trance and hypnotic techno. A pensive and functional synthesis, one played out like an ode to the sustained.

Through 2024 while moving between Berlin and Sichuan, Temple Rat conceptualized and finished ‘Some Leaves Must Fall 聽其自然’. At its core, the work is an exploration of how the personal memory of cities and their particular acoustic environments can be transmuted in musical form. For these places, altered by the passing of time and the shifting of contexts, mirror the fluid and generative nature of sound itself.

Creatively this approach was borne out in a kind of archaeology of sound: by sampling and capturing auditory fragments Mei was able to preserve otherwise fleeting moments of experience. Sonics which not only embodied the emotions of the present but served too as a mechanism of recall, pulling memory back into focus even against the erasures of time.

In its method this project seeks to transform the sonic textures of urban and natural environments into high-energy dance tracks, exploring the tension between the certainty of space and the uncertainty of time. A tension operating not only within the structural logic of the sound itself, but so too as an affective experience, extending into the listener’s body and perceptual field.

For we are not the first to note that in a world of pervasive temptation and fragmented information, sustained listening has become rarified. Through this project, Temple Rat hopes to counter this tendency; to encourage a deeper mode of listening that restores attention, re-establishing our essential connection with the present.

All music is written, recorded, arranged, and produced by Temple Rat aka Yuxin Mei
Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at Enisslab
Distributed by One Eye Witness


Arriving twenty-six years after his debut Cell, Particle further sharpens the fractured electronics and muted melodic language explored on 2021’s From Stasis, presenting a crisper, more immediate set of compositions.

Cadoo, also widely known as a founding member of pioneering electronic project Gridlock, has used Dryft as a consistent outlet for his electronic work across decades, bridging early post-industrial IDM with more contemporary, restrained forms.

Long recognized for beat structures that feel precarious, rhythms that seem to strain, erode, and reassemble in real time, he approached Particle with a renewed focus on allowing these patterns to fully resolve. Melodic elements are given a more direct role, actively driving momentum rather than hovering in the margins.

Emphasizing clarity and immediacy, Particle favors tactile sound design and forward-pushing arrangements over density or abstraction. The result is a notably focused Dryft release that functions as an all-encompassing signpost for Cadoo’s electronic output to date, informed by decades of exploration while remaining resolutely forward-looking

Musically, the album represents a range of compositional approaches. Murky, densely textured depths of sound are explored with subtle pulses and pings woven within, contrasted with composed or improvised moments of acoustic instrumentation making a move into the foreground. Certain tracks on Sea Island such as album opener Ahull make rhythm their focus by exploring subtle polyrhythms and investigating colliding moments of repetition and variation.

Though staunchly electronic at its core, instruments such as vibraphone and piano make appearances, and layers of live musicality, improvisation and detail appear in the looped and layered beds of manipulated sound recordings.
A varied cast of players appear in the loscil “ensemble”, some familiar collaborators from the past such as Jason Zumpano on rhodes and Josh Lindstrom on vibraphone, and others new to the mix such as Fieldheadʼs Elaine Reynolds who provides layered violin on Catalina 1943, and Ashley Pitre contributing vocals on Bleeding Ink. Seattle pianist Kelly Wyse, who collaborated with loscil on his 2013 edition of piano-centric reworks Intervalo, performs on the tracks Sea Island Murders and En Masse.

'Trying Times' is a record about being in love whilst battling the limits of the self against a backdrop of global uncertainty. James Blake explores the tension between intimacy and isolation, the pressure to curate and perform even as everything, inside and out, feels fragile and precarious. Themes of reflection, both literally and metaphorically, run through the record’s visual presentation, as Blake holds a mirror to the contradictions of modern connection - how we see ourselves, how we’re seen by others, and what gets lost in between. It’s about the disorienting loop of joy and dread: feeling safe in love, yet knowing the bubble could burst at any moment; struggling to stay present while global anxiety and private doubt pull you in different directions. A meditation on love, identity, and fragility in an age where the world feels balanced on a knife edge

13 Track Album is James' seventh studio album and first fully independent release Album features British rapper Dave, and singer-songwriter Monica Martin Marketing plan will support long term growth, audience building and connecting with super fans Strong Content Plan including Single / Focus Track Performance Videos Alternative album versions TBC inducing deluxe, piano version and more

Limited to 300 copies. Yellow Vinyl. Approaching Doom is the third album by Monsternaut, a darker and heavier representation of the band's established devotion to groovy riffs and to the point compositions. The songs took shape over several years, during which the arrival of a new drummer opened the door to more adventurous rhythms and riff ideas, pushing the band into new territory while staying true to their roots. Sonically, the album leans toward the grit and weight of early 90s metal rather than polished modern production, giving it a raw and immediate edge. Its lyrics and atmosphere follow a naturally darker direction as well, adding an extra layer of tension beneath the grooves. Recorded entirely the old fashioned way, straight to analog tape with no digital editing, it captures the band playing as they are, relying on performance, chemistry, and feel rather than correction. The result is a record that hits harder, feels more focused, and marks a confident new chapter in Monsternaut's evolution.

Studio Barnhus presents ARN4L2, a producer from Cartagena, who debuts on the Stockholm label with the striking EP TIERRA BOMBA, a record built from the fractured memory of an island in the
Colombian Caribbean, understood as a surface in motion.
The project draws on tools present in the early development of the Champeta genre – the Yamaha RY30 drum machine, the Yamaha DD-14 drum pad, and the Pyramid mixer – alongside percussive
gestures and guitars characteristic of the style. On songs like the effortlessly bouncy title track and the gaita-laced curveball BULLA, featuring the characteristic melodic flute of the region, ARN4L2’s instinct for propulsion and detail comes into focus, while vocal tracks like the energetic closer LA ÑAPA integrate the artist’s voice as texture, without hierarchy or center.
TIERRA BOMBA becomes a point of convergence, where technology, sonic practices, and fragments of local popular culture meet in the present tense. Released through Studio Barnhus on
12'' vinyl and all digital platforms on March 13.

Text written by Edna Martinez.

With Figures of Glass (Piano Etudes – Edits), Vanessa Wagner offers a new listening perspective on Philip Glass’s Piano Études, shaping a curated selection of edited versions drawn from her acclaimed recording of the complete cycle. These edits do not alter the substance of the works; rather, they refine their temporal focus, revealing their emotional force with renewed clarity.

Conceived in parallel with Figures of Glass, a hybrid project developed with visual arts collective Scale, the release extends a dialogue between piano and light, sound and space. Between piano and light, Vanessa Wagner interprets Glass’s Études at the heart of a scenographic installation, exploring the visual imagination embedded in the composer’s music. Minimal structures become spatial gestures; repetition opens onto perception, colour, and resonance. Taken together, these edits form a coherent arc through Glass’s language: from tension and propulsion to suspension and introspection, from rhythmic urgency to contemplative stillness. Wagner’s approach is marked by precision, restraint, and a deep attention to resonance, allowing each piece to unfold with an assumed expressive sobriety.

Figures of Glass also exists as a live creation, presented for the first time in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet on April 7, 2026. In both recorded and staged forms, the project invites contemporary listening contexts — from focused headphone listening to immersive visual environments — while reaffirming the Piano Études as a major landmark of 21st-century repertoire. Bridging modern classical piano, minimalist writing, and spatial listening formats, Figures of Glass (Piano Etudes – Edits) speaks equally to traditional classical audiences and new listeners discovering Philip Glass through curated, editorial-driven experiences.

“It’s hard to find your way, following the ghost,” sings Noah Alves on the title track from Middleman’s debut album, as the band explores ideas of how being chained to the past can hinder your forward momentum into the future. This creates a thrilling duality to the debut LP from the London DIY four-piece made up of Alves, Harper Maury, Rory White and Ted Foster. They are all young, in their early-to-mid-twenties, and very much focused in the now, harnessing an energy, urgency and rawness that feels fresh, alive and viscerally present. However, it’s also clear there’s a deep love of music that was made before they were born: the taut, wiry assault of Mission of Burma; the raspy yet melodic charge of The Replacements; the pioneering punk of Wipers, fleshed out via the more restrained and tender moments of Big Star or Neil Young. The result is a beautiful dichotomy of a record that both pays tribute to a rich musical lineage that the band are a part of, while also resisting the urge to get sucked into a dead end of nostalgia, mythology and recycling past glories.

Following the album "Mori", which focused mainly on slow-tempo pieces, this album "Yama" centers on up-tempo tracks. Moriyama’s sharp yet deeply embracing drumming is powerfully dynamic, like climbing a steep mountain at full speed. On both "Mori" and "Yama", the addition of saxophonist George Garzone allows listeners to be immersed in a refreshing flood of sound.

Solid Ball of Rock is the tenth studio album by legendary heavy metal band Saxon and was originally released in 1991. Five of its eleven tracks were written by new bassist Nibbs Carter, who co-wrote another three songs.

The addition of young bassist Nibbs Carter seemed to inject new life into the group, which unleashed some of its most aggressive songs in years, including the full-on thrashing "Altar of the Gods" and positively scorching "Baptism of Fire."

"For our audience – and without an audience there is no band – our focus returned on Solid Ball of Rock…" noted singer Biff Byford. "Since then, we've been right on it."

Solid Ball of Rock is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on silver vinyl and includes an insert.

Shoreline’s new album Is This The Low Point Or The Moment After? is built around an unanswerable question: when you hit rock bottom, can you tell where things begin to turn? Meant to be heard front to back, the record starts in a subdued, reflective place, grows progressively heavier, and ultimately lands on a more hopeful note. Drawing from the current wave of emo and hardcore while reflecting the collision of Germany’s alternative scenes, the album shows a band with a clear musical vision focused on big melodies, heavy riffs, and an honest DIY punk foundation.

2026 Repress

Turbotito and Ragz's electrifying Naya Beat label has curated a cultured list of remixers to add their spin to the work of legendary Indian vocalist Asha Puthli. This essential remix album features Yuksek, Maurice Fulton, Psychemagik, Kraak & Smaak, Jitwam, and Turbotito & Ragz.

Naya Beat, which translates from Hindi as 'new beat', is focused on uncovering foundational electronic sounds from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. It found quick success with its first release, 'Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983 - 1992', followed by a rare 1985 Hindi New Wave album by Pinky Ann Rihal and more recently a ground-breaking compilation ‘Awaaz’ uncovering Bollywood electro and leftfield 80s original soundtrack recordings.

Hot off their highly sought after EP of Dimitri From Paris’ seminal remixes of Asha Puthli’s iconic track ‘Space Talk’, the label now offers up the first of two full-length releases based around her music. Cosmic disco pioneer, Studio 54 icon and jazz improviser Asha Puthli has recorded, sung or shared the stage with the likes of Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Barry White, Andy Warhol and many more. From David Mancuso's The Loft, to Giorgio Moroder's early work with Donna Summer, to hip-hop where she has been sampled extensively, Asha's musical influence and impact is profound. She was the first artist of South Asian descent to successfully crossover and make a mark on dance, jazz and pop culture in the West.

For this LP, Naya Beat tracked down the long mythologised original stems and recordings of Puthli's most seminal albums, including ‘The Devil is Loose’, and working closely with Asha, they have tasked a series of producers inspired by her work to remix her music.
Yuksek opens up with a pumping disco remix of 'I Am Song (Sing Me)' awash with uplifting synths and big claps next to the original vocals, which soar to the heavens. The seminal 'Space Talk' is remixed by Maurice Fulton into super steamy and late-night territory. The live drums and jumbled percussion are lit up with soulful chords as Puthli's carefully delivered vocals seduce up top. 'Lies' (Kraak & Smaak Remix) rides on fat-bottomed drums and bass that unfold with a dub swagger beneath a nebulous eco-system of cosmic synths and dramatic vocals. Label heads Turbotito & Ragz flip 'One Night Affair' into a leggy disco celebration with sweeping synths and bright effects, and Psychemagik's 'Right Down Here' is a pulsating mix of dark, snaking bass and drums with deep space ambience and raw hits making for a turbulent and tense atmosphere. Lastly, Jitwam closes out with a smooth disco sound laced with dynamic drums and cruising chords next to another sensuous top line from Asha Puthli.

Spectral Bounce’s latest offering comes direct from Norway, courtesy of Anders Hajem — co-founder of Boring Crew Records. To date, the Oslo producer’s previous releases have been vessels for the exploration of myriad dance musics, seeing the artist fluently turn his hand to soulful house, dub techno and 2-step.

SPEC07 — the Myr EP — is a much more focused affair, finding Hajem in techno mode across 4 potent cuts typified by undulating drums and swelling echoes. Despite its emphasis on percussion, atmosphere has not been sacrificed for rhythm: vivid FX and meticulous attention to detail bring these tracks to life beyond the context of the dancefloor. This is music that can be stepped into and explored, productions that reward repeat listens.

Opening at full throttle, “Myr” is a jackin’ percussive workout, harnessing punchy drums for maximum effect. Its pulsating low-end runs in tandem with trembling synths that perpetually reflect and refract in the stereo field. Atop its rolling drums, hardgroove-inflected “Sprett” utilizes timestretched vocals, cavernous reverb and ecstatically quivering tones, elevating this 2000s-era framework to new heights. “Existence” brings things to a deeper and more hypnotic place: delays are turned up, siren calls reverberate and timbres ebb and flow. Hajem goes more chasmic still on “Concussion”, hitting the brakes for a much slower cadence and allowing space for a truly expansive listening experience. Heady and mystical, entrancing and otherworldly — listen close enough; beneath the dizzyingly shifting pulses and rattling drums you’ll hear incantations, while bass tones pulse in the depths.

SPEC07 — immerse yourself!

Credits:
Art by Susanne Janssen
Mastering & Cut by Marco Pellegrino @Analogcut
Words by Cameron Leaf

Peach Discs' first release of 2026 comes from fast-rising star of the Manchester scene PACH. (pronounced "pack"). Five slippery rollers built for dark rooms, wafty terraces and the most locked-in of afters.

"The Wake-Up Call" EP represents the full spectrum of the PACH. sound, one rooted in the minimal tunes coming out of Romania but with a cheeky playfulness that can only come from a life spent in the trenches of UK club culture. The A1 "Keep It Bubblin’" is a prime example, as Todd Edwards-style vocal chops flirt back and forth with dub-inspired feedback lines, or "5am Wake-Up Call's" skipping, UKG-adjascent hats. Things get a little rowdier with "Complex Waveform's" scuzzy bassline that wouldn't sound out of place coming from the Clone Records ecosystem. Here it's bolted to a chassis of tough, techy drums and trippy vox that tickle at your peripheries. Flip to the B-side for something a little deeper – the dubbed-out percussion and disembodied voices of "Not That Kinda Party" contrasting with the moody, low-key synthetic tones of "Book The Dungeon", both sharing a mutual concept of smartly stripped-back, hypnotic jams that focus on heads-down grooves and rolling energy.