Seit ihrem Durchbruch im Jahr 2016 ist Söderqvists ShitKid eine der interessantesten Bands überhaupt, die immer wieder Erwartungen übertrifft und Konventionen bricht. Nachdem sie das Projekt 2020 plötzlich beendet hatte und komplett aus der Musikszene verschwunden war, kommt ShitKid jetzt mit Compilations und einem Live-Comeback im Jahr 2026 zurück. ,The Essential (Vol 1)" bringt die rohen, rockigen Highlights ihrer Karriere zusammen.
We stumble, we doubt, we fall - but within those moments lies the spark of transformation. It isn't just change. It's courage. It's fire. And that same bravery is at the core of the twenty- second instalment of Armin van Buuren's annual year mix series. Opening with a powerful narration that sets the stage for transformation, this 113- track journey takes you through the sounds that breathe courage, reinvention, and unshakable energy. From uplifting anthems and emotive vocal tracks to driving, boundary-pushing tech-trance, the mix features productions from Armin van Buuren, Adam Beyer, KI/ KI, Ferry Corsten, Joris Voorn, Hardwell, Svenson & Gielen, Hannah Laing, Factor B, Mauro Picotto, and others. Collaborations with artists such as Bon Jovi, Martin Garrix, Sam Gray, and Malou highlight the spirit of connection and reinvention, while tracks such as "Set Me Free (Rising Star Remix)", "Put Your Bassline", "Holding The Light", "Marama (Moon & Stars)", and "Missing Part Of Me" demonstrate the power to transform moments into memories. Whether through soaring melodies or relentless grooves, this mix invites you to take the leap, embrace the unknown, and let the music guide your own transformation. All together, in A State of Trance.
James Davison, the most startlingly talented UK brass player of his generation, joins this highly experienced team with brilliant results. Charlie Parker's 'Ornithology',Thelonious Monk's 'Straight No Chaser', Billy Strayhorn's 'Satin Doll' and Horace Silver's 'Peace are amongst the gems to be found here. This is the second Woodville Records release to be based solely around the brilliant arranging skills of world class trombonist Mark Nightingale. The first, Alan Barnes plus 11 (WVCD151) featured Mark's adept and characterful handling of a twelve- piece ensemble. Jazz Classics ...with a Twist displays equal inventiveness and imagination, showcasing a sextet line-up in a programme of individually re-thought takes on these ageless tunes. In Mark's hands this band frequently resembles a much larger ensemble such is his skill in manipulating tone colour and voicing.
Dass es jede Menge deutsche Thrash-Legenden gibt ist ja nun kein Geheimnis ... Aber statt sich immer nur die alten Standards reinzutun, sollte man sich lieber mal mit einer Underground-Perle beschäftigen, die der eine oder andere von euch kennen sollte: Necronomicon! Noch nie gehört? Tja... Das Leben als Thrasher hätte so schön sein können, wenn...ja, wenn Necronomicon Mitte der 80er nicht so ein Pech mit ihrem Label Scratchcore gehabt hätten... „Apocalyptic Nightmare“ von 1987 wurde hierzulande erstmal großflächig und schändlich ignoriert. In den Staaten, in Südamerika und in allen Skandinavischen Ländern wurde das zweite Album der Baden-Württemberger dagegen mächtig abgefeiert – und dass man in diesen Ländern was von guter Musik versteht, ist ja wohl klar. Sänger Freddy braucht den Vergleich mit Destructions Schmier nicht zu scheuen, und der Gitarrensound auf „Apocalyptic Nightmare“ ist schon des Öfteren mit den frühen Celtic Frost verglichen worden. Während ein kleines, obskures Label Necronomicon damals den Start versaut hat, werden High Roller Records es besser machen – und zwar mit der Deluxe-Re-Edition von „Apocalyptic Nightmare“! Mit dem Signing bei High Roller geht für die Band endlich eine echte Odyssee zu Ende!
Impatience is thrilled to present Leaving Memory, the latest album-length work by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova. Leaving Memory is a searing distillation of the duo’s ouevre - it’s eleven prismatic electronic seances combining for a mind warping wormhole with it’s own internal (il)llogic, where pop, ambient, and industrial music convene beneath a rugged HD of digital processing and brain fog. Equally rosy with nostalgia as it is ominously forward looking, Leaving Memory defies easy categorization and makes for an astounding, confounding listen.
By turns violently abrasive and disarmingly touching, Piper and Lena deploy sounds that fracture and disintegrate, burn up and explode, synthetic supernovas that give the record an unmistakable, inimitable texture. Song structures often abide by their own blueprint - heading in one direction before making an abrupt dive elsewhere. Bursts of vibrant colour lurk below layers of grayscale noise. Unidentifiable voices deliver secret messages from the murk. When rhythm’s emerge they ground the tracks to some unknown terrain and invigorate.
Lame Line veers towards the sweeter end of their spectrum, a hazy plaintive repetition increasingly lashed with friction, before Exit erupts with clanging rhythm and shards of distortion. Diagnosis is an almost sweet alt-pop song, Lena’s vocals yearning beneath a dubby shuffle, while Keeper Of The Void’s possessed incantations open up to a ripping, fried climax. Beryl Grey releases the pressure gauge, a gently lilting drift arpeggiating as the sun sets, and Lost Cars sweats through claustrophobic drones and bird song before the clouds part on a serene scene. Leaving Memory closes with Shin, offering a genuinely sweet resolution and a gentle landing back down to earth of either footsteps or fireworks, swelling synthesized horns and woodwinds, a kiss on the cheek for making it out the other side.
On Leaving Memory, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova share their uniquely discordant take on freaky music for unsettled minds, an intensely energized set that offers a deeply evocative, unimaginable otherworld for adventurous ears.
Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova have been producing music together since 2020. Leaving Memory is the first to be presented in the LP format. Piper has previously released music via Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain and Gost Zvuk, as well as his own Singapore Sling Tapes label. Lena works predominantly as a photographer, and together Piper and Lena have released music via radio.syg.ma and Kartaskvazhin. Both make music as part of Air Krew, who have released music on the Echotourist and Motion Ward labels. They’re both currently based nowhere.
Leaving Memory was written, produced and mixed by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, and mastered by Sergey Podluzhniy. Cover photo by Lena Tsibizova, design and layout by Justin Sloane.
Don’t believe your ears - Pepper’s Ghost is the latest offering from NYC project Nuke Watch.
Whatever you think it is - it is not. By the same token it really can be whatever you want - electronica, jazz, improv, noise, new age, ambient - it’s none and all of these. Like the primitive visual illusion it’s named for - Pepper’s Ghost is a projection of a thing, it’s not the thing.
The Nuke Watch method - like that of Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos’ other primary project Beat Detectives - leans almost entirely on live improvisation, with some advanced studio alchemy in post. Where the Beat Detectives palette draws from club music tropes, Nuke Watch blends recognizable tones (hand drums, woodwinds, keys, fretless bass) with sounds of providence unknown, the line between organic and synthesized instrumentation unintelligibly smudged. What is real and what is projection? It’s hard to say. What do our ears tell us? This is where we arrive at Pepper’s Ghost.
Warped as the sounds may be, the playing belies a crew of deeply expressive, learned improvisers who have their craft honed. Their friendship and psychic connection enhances the ritualistic rhythms, mutant modular synthesis, nimble keyboard runs, absurdist sampling and unidentified skronk. They’re wonderfully complemented across several tracks on this set by Cole Pulice’s levitational, sublime saxophone.
As unhinged as this might all appear, once the mind and music meet on the same wavelength this is profoundly moving, energizing and uplifting Alive Music that recalibrates the sense of what music can be.
Nuke Watch is Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos, with an array of friendly guests. They’ve released records as Nuke Watch on The Trilogy Tapes, Commend and Moon Glyph. As Beat Detectives they’ve released records on Not Not Fun, 100% Silk and their own studio imprint NYPD Records.
Pepper's Ghost was written and produced by Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos. Additional instrumentation on these recordings by Cole Police, Leonard King, Eric Timothy Carlson, Chris Farstad and William Statler. It was mixed by Chris Hontos and mastered by Jack Callahan. Painting on the cover is “The Unity Of Being” (2020), by Ry Fyan. Design and layout by Aaron Anderson.
RIYL - Musical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks, downtempo, music of the spheres, good journey, Eddie Harris, Ketron, "world building", orange sunshine, suspension of disbelief.
Making a welcome return nine years on from his last outing on Dekmantel, Makam offers up a generous helping of wayward grooves that take his curious spirit even further into unmarked territory. With a strong dub sensibility grounding his rich tapestry of percussion and instrumentation, Guy Blanken follows his own path to arrive at an album that embodies house music as a launchpad for experimentation.
Blanken says himself he was determined to approach his first Makam productions in years from a place of total freedom — "It's not a single direction, but rather a landscape of sounds, moments, and textures. TARP feels like a new beginning, a free project that just had to happen naturally." The steady pulse of the club remains a guiding principle boldly manifested on heads down roller 'Static Shade', but even in the lilting organic loops and tumbling percussion of 'Forgive' there is a funkiness that's beholden to continuous movement.
At times the direct thump of 4/4 disco juts out as a call to dance, not least on 'Flying Birds' and 'La Tuna', but elsewhere the rhythms are more slippery. 'Dub In Loen' plots a delicate path through dub techno and 'Lummel Spirit' casts off into pattering Balearic bliss. The pervasive dub mood of the record comes to the fore on expertly crafted stepper 'Diagonal Rain' and crooked album opener 'Clear Skies'. 'Jackie B' lands as a love letter to quintessential deep house, and yet still there's a left-of-centre charm that gives the track a personality that is pure Makam.
Exuding warmth and imagination at every turn, TARP is the perfect example of how to make a groove-oriented album a rich home listening experience. There are ample moments primed for the spectacle of the dancefloor, but the mellow hue and broad sweep of approaches make Makam's welcome return utterly compelling from end to end.
Before celebrating its 100th release, Quintessentials is very happy to present another ep from Detroit’s finest Alton Miller (in fact it’s his 4th for the label)! „Last one 1st“ is a driving and building Detroit inspired track, that doesn’t lack elegance. The remix courtesy of french hot shot Life Recorder (check out his full EP on Quintessentials as well) focuses on a proper Detroit House vibe, call it a classic. The b-side is deeeeep! The original version of „give it up“ is a smooth and soulful tune providing goose bumps. Switzerland’s finest house producer Shaka adds some club feel to a beautiful early morning track. Classic release!
2026 Repress**
Recording as the Morning Kids, Daniel Wang dropped this classic in 1996 on his own great Balihu Records. Released, produced and engineered by a true DIY disco-punk - the samples are huge and Wang weaves his own playing into the mix with killer effect.
This much sought after EP has been remastered is now available again after a very long time.
HUGE TIP!
clear vinyl[11,35 €]
Sun Electric - the legendary Berlin duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer - returns with Episodes, an enticing new album. While the pair has been active and creating over the years (remember their track 'Every Now And Then' on the 10 Years De:tuned compilation in 2019), Episodes marks their first album of original material in nearly 20 years. Now, with a renewed way of working together, they present fresh and captivating music on the Belgian De:tuned label, built from recordings made with the vintage 1960s Subharchord Synthesizer. Across 6 tracks, Sun Electric takes listeners on a strange yet wonderful journey through shifting moods and sonic textures, capturing their unmistakable sense of exploration and atmosphere. With kind support of the Studio for Electroacoustic Music of the Akademie der Kunste. Stay tuned!
The wonderful Ian Anderson at The Designers Republic created all the graphic work. Mastered by Mike Grinser at Manmade Mastering. Available on 180g vinyl and CD, with a separate digital release through all the usual online stores.
black vinyl[10,88 €]
Sun Electric - the legendary Berlin duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer - returns with Episodes, an enticing new album. While the pair has been active and creating over the years (remember their track 'Every Now And Then' on the 10 Years De:tuned compilation in 2019), Episodes marks their first album of original material in nearly 20 years. Now, with a renewed way of working together, they present fresh and captivating music on the Belgian De:tuned label, built from recordings made with the vintage 1960s Subharchord Synthesizer. Across 6 tracks, Sun Electric takes listeners on a strange yet wonderful journey through shifting moods and sonic textures, capturing their unmistakable sense of exploration and atmosphere. With kind support of the Studio for Electroacoustic Music of the Akademie der Kunste. Stay tuned!
The wonderful Ian Anderson at The Designers Republic created all the graphic work. Mastered by Mike Grinser at Manmade Mastering. Available on 180g vinyl and CD, with a separate digital release through all the usual online stores.
Aspen Edities is pleased to present Aerial, the third album of the experimental quartet Oker.
Whereas their album debut Husene våre er museer (2018) and its follow-up Susurrus (2021) focused on collective and individual compositions, Aerial features two longform pieces of fully improvised music, sculpted from the recognizable acoustic sound palette that the quartet has developed across a decade of extensive touring. The titles, Aerial, Equinoctial Tide and Crepuscular Rays refer to meteorological and planetary phenomena, and in Oker’s interplay we hear light, wind, clouds, and tidal cycles transpire as shimmering, roaring, rubbing, coalescing and diverging environments of sound. The sonic stoicism and minimalism in their expression is challenged by frictioning micro-chaoses, combining to create calm, winding paths of musical detail and form. Echoing our planet and its meteorological reality, Aerial yields both consistency and perpetual change.
Bringing together some of the most compelling musicians from the Norwegian improvised music scene, Oker operates as an acoustic experimental quartet devoted to the amalgamation of improvised and composed modes of expression. Their music combines fine-tuned tonalities, deconstructed grooves, acoustic noise and other sonic events, taking their rather conventional instrumentation as a point of departure. Textures in gradual change coexisting with responsive and spontaneous gestures create a varied but coherent musical ecosystem which can be airy or dense, dry or blooming. A certain minimalist or stoic approach to sound production is an overarching and recurring element in all of Oker’s music, differentiating their sound from the majority of music in the field of improvised music or free jazz.
Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno recorded their first album, “El Nuevo Montuno Llegó” (1970), when Roberto Berríos was just 22 years old. This was also the debut release on Haddock’s own Uniart label. Berríos remembers that they did the recording in two sessions, splitting it up into four tracks per visit. The engineer was the famed Pedro “Pedrito” Henríquez, who recorded El Gran Combo, Roberto Roena and many others. The band had a mix of tasty, powerful originals, from Tony Cintrón’s title track that announced the band had arrived, ‘El Nuevo Montuno Llegó,’ to Quique Dávila’s mournful ‘Triste Arrabal.’ Then there was the hit Santería themed tune, ‘Llamé a Changó,’ which was a song that Quique Dávila brought to the band, but had been originally composed by Carlos Pinto, though Quique was given the credit. Dávila also composed ‘Me Queda Un Guaguancó,’ which is Roberto’s favorite song on the record (as well as a fan favorite), with Papo sounding like his friend Héctor Lavoe, and Quique Dávila’s proud manifesto declaring that Puerto Rico now had its own son montuno, ‘Oye Tu Son, Borinquen,’ featuring the pianist’s tasty but brief solo. The cover versions came from the group’s earliest period when most of their repertoire consisted of renditions of beloved but lesser known tunes, and include Louie Ramírez’s ‘Balancéate’ (a favorite of Roberto’s from Ray Barretto’s songbook), Bobby Valentín’s ‘Monina y Ramón’ (recorded during his stint with Willie Rosario), and a bolero indelibly sung by Cheo Feliciano when he was with the Joe Cuba Sextet, ‘Dichoso,’ written by Joe Cuba’s talented pianist, Nick Jiménez. Some of the arranging was done by Cintrón and some by Dávila, though Quique had some help from his old friend from El Combo Moderno, Freddie Miranda, who at that time was with Roberto Roena’s Apollo Sound. Roberto says that the arrangements of the cover tunes were made specifically to be different and more contemporary sounding than the originals. “El Nuevo Montuno Llegó” has become a legendary salsa dura classic from Puerto Rico and we are thrilled to present this first legitimately licensed and remastered vinyl reissue. It includes detailed liner notes that reveal the untold story of the band and their debut album, and rare photos.
On and on, the beat goes on. Sound System culture plays a huge part in the history of House music, shaping Mysticisms, its founders and the music it brings into the spotlight. Continuing the dive into that history, in all its forms and permutations, Tranquil Elephantizer’s 1995 classic Zombie Dawn is reissued here in its original form.
A name that has been getting noticed on recent releases for the likes of legendary San Francisco collective Wicked Records and Manchester’s cult Red Laser label, the project has, in fact, been around for several decades.
Morphing out of the late 80s Acid House revolution, members Alexis Worrall, brothers Caspar and Darius Kedros and focal point, David Jenkins aka DJ Shakra came together in the South London melting pot of free parties and DIY anything is possible ethos.
Born of a collaboration between the short-lived Camberwell Butterflies project – featuring Alexis Worrall and DJ Shakra amongst others – and the Kedros’ bothers downtempo/trip hop forbears Slowly. With a shared label, on the ground-breaking Chill Out Records, and Thursday late-night encounters at London’s legendary Megatripolis club, they decided to pool studio resources and Tranquil Elephantizer was born.
Mixing lo-fi 808 heavy analog jams of the Butterflies, with the studio sophistication from the Slowly crew, sparked something new and Zombie Dawn was the first result. Local producer Crispin J Glover dropped by the studio, riding high with his Caucasian Boy project’s hypnotic Northern Lights (featuring DJ Shakra on Roland 303) – recently out on Strictly Rhythm – he offered to remix both Zombie Dawn and the Slowly album cut No Slo Dub for release on his own Matrix label and an underground hit on the London and West Coast 90s party scene was born.
Coming in the original “Saxmental Mix”, alongside Glover’s storming “Nu Dawn Club Mix” Zombie Dawn was a correlation of the past, present and future in one record. The history of British House can be heard in the bumpin’ nature of the beats, the sharp hats encompassed around dub overtones that give it added warmth. The slightly quirky, left field touches of the tracks, set against the then weekly overload of sharp US imports, brought the mix of influences from the Tonka and Sugarlump Sound Systems they had partied and been involved with, on to vinyl, adding touches of jazz keys and disco’s heritage for good measure.
A bedfellow for the emerging UK House sound coming on the likes of Luxury Service (Rob Mello / Zaki Dee), Other (A Man Called Adam / DJ D) and Nuphonic (Faze Action / Idjut Boys), that shaped and defined London clubs and far beyond. Some 30 years later, with a new album on the way, here is debut Tranquil Elephantizer’s release, remastered especially for this reissue, ready to bring that optimistic thinking back.
Tranquil the Mystery.
Jason ".idk." Mills' neuestes Projekt, Even The Devil Smiles, ist eine fesselnde Reflexion über Überleben, Transformation und die Schicksalsmomente, die seinen Weg für immer verändert haben. Ausgehend von seiner eigenen Geschichte der Inhaftierung und einer entscheidenden Wendung des Schicksals, die es ihm ermöglichte, seine Freiheit vorzeitig wiederzuerlangen, lässt er diese gelebte Erfahrung in ein Werk einfließen, das sowohl eindringlich als auch unerschrocken ehrlich wirkt. Durch seine lebhafte Erzählweise behandelt er Themen wie Verrat, spirituelle Konflikte und Widerstandsfähigkeit. Jeder Track pulsiert vor der Spannung gelebter Erfahrungen und fängt die Herausforderungen, Entscheidungen und Durchbrüche ein, die seinen Weg geprägt haben. Getreu Mills' multidisziplinärer Vision ist ,Even The Devil Smiles" mehr als nur Musik. Es präsentiert sich als kulturelles Artefakt, das eine Brücke zwischen der Mixtape-Ära des Hip-Hop und zeitgenössischem Design und hoher Kunst schlägt. Das Ergebnis ist ein Projekt, das die Härte und Unmittelbarkeit des rohen, Hardcore-Rap in sich trägt und sich gleichzeitig als Sammlerstück positioniert, das über die Musik hinaus Resonanz findet und Zuhörer und Trendsetter gleichermaßen einlädt, sich sowohl mit einer zutiefst persönlichen Erzählung als auch mit einem bleibenden kulturellen Statement auseinanderzusetzen.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, XL Recordings today announce a special, expanded version of Leila’s acclaimed second album Courtesy Of Choice. Originally released on 11th September 2000, the album followed the success of her Rephlex Records debut Like Weather and felt like a broadcast from a futuristic radio station no one else could tune into. Twenty-five years on, alongside collaborations with the likes of Bjork, Aphex Twin and Terry Hall and iconic performances at the likes of the V&A and Venice Biennale, more and more listeners have found the frequency. While Courtesy of Choice's influence continues to transmit through contemporary culture. the Iranian-born, London-raised producer remains utterly singular:
"I realised very early on that people don't really belong anywhere. That's what gives me the freedom to do any kind of music...I don't feel any commitment or loyalty to anything. My commitment is to noise." – Leila
This new version, Courtesy Of Choice… asides and besides, re-presents the original 14 track album — including the previously vinyl-only “Relax the Pleasuredome” — alongside a wealth of unreleased material. Leila chose to re-edit rather than remake the album (she has all the original data… midi and audio), choosing to set the parameters of only recovering buried details while preserving its spirit. “I wanted this reissue to be honest,” she explains. “Nothing added, just making sure the performances came through as they were meant to.” Among the twenty unheard tracks are Roya Arab’s striking collaboration on Cabaret classic “Mein Herr,” the surrealist collage “A Reasoning” with a sample of Max Ernst, the hypnotic “Acid Frog Fave,” the digi rave blowout “Birdie Rave,” and “techyarr”’s future forever funk from the realm of primetime Neptunes. Together they reveal both the breadth of Leila’s vision and the enduring power of an album that continues to sound ahead of its time.
“Mi Manifesto” = “I just show up”. No warning.
MI MANIFESTO is an album slow-cooked—actually, really slow-cooked—pretty much over a match flame. It’s a little peek into my everyday life. If you stumble into it, you might bolt… or sit down, watch it unfold, and let this train hit you head-on. It’s not an album for everyone—only for those who walked in, got it, and decided to stay.
Pressed on a brilliant acid-yellow 12”, this special release is packed with surprises:
Each copy includes a custom insert by Pan Dan featuring the album’s lyrics. Inside every package, you’ll also find a personalized surprise gift — a small creative token straight from Pan Dan’s imagination. It might be playful, poetic, unexpected… or all of these at once. In any case, it will always be yours alone.
Idriss D returns to Memento Records with his brand new track "Oct. 13", kickstarting the label's 20th anniversary in 2026, a year that will see quite a few special events to celebrate this milestone.
True to his musical roots and upbringing, Idriss heads right into experimental territory here, merging different styles and vibes: echoes of the upbeat mid '00s Minimal Techno craze fuse masterfully with sci-fi sounds and robotic vocals, with glitchy percussions and an infectious funky bassline creating an irresistible groovy rhythm. It's a track that boldly encapsulates the history of the label, from its raw beginnings in Italy's underground clubs to the more sophisticated latest outputs, a nod to its past while looking at the future.
Mr. Marc Houle is onboard here on remix duties: the man responsible for tracks like Bay Of Figs and Techno Vocals graces the release with an outstanding production. Slightly speeding up the pace, Marc adds spacey acid synth melodies and frenetic vocal loops drenched in delay, making this even trippier and more energetic than the original.
Black and House Music fan Munir Nadir rounds off the EP with a personal rendition playing squelchy keyboard arpeggios and hard slapping synth stabs, bringing a musical live-session feel to his contribution.
