quête:friendship

Claude VonStroke makes long-awaited Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Noche Clara’, featuring Honeycomb. A full-circle moment between two house music icons finally comes to fruition, with the two-tracker out on 5th December 2025.

Two decades after label founder Damian Lazarus first booked him to play in the UK, American electronic icon Claude VonStroke finally lands on Crosstown Rebels with ‘Noche Clara’ - a release that bridges friendship, history, and the enduring spirit of the global underground. Built around hazy tones, captivating synth melodies, and sweeping atmospherics, ‘Noche Clara’ captures the playful minimalism and late-night atmosphere that defi ned his early work. On the flip, ‘Bam Bam’ layers warped vocals over a trippy off kilter sonics and a tunnelling, hypnotic groove, providing a haunting and commanding deep dive into the late-night hours. A collaboration with beatboxer, producer, DJ, and instrumentalist Honeycomb, who recently toured with The Floozies and Dirtwire, the link-up came naturally following a joint appearance between the pair at California’s infamous Zenyara, plus multiple Dirtybird festival appearances and more.

A true maverick of modern dance music, Claude VonStroke has spent over two decades shaping the sound and culture of house. From founding the iconic Dirtybird label, home to artists like Fisher, Eats Everything, and Catz ‘n Dogz, to headlining the world’s most respected clubs and festivals, his legacy is built on connection, humour, and an unfiltered love of the dancefloor. Now exploring more underground and experimental sounds, VonStroke is entering a new creative chapter ahead of his forthcoming artist album in early 2026 - a shift perfectly exemplified by this impressive debut on Crosstown.

Pat Orburn serves up a wicked nine-track offering for Cassette Blair — a project built from pure resourcefulness and raw imagination. His vocals glide over synth-driven textures crafted from all around, including a battered Yamaha psr 175 keyboard that his flatmate rescued off the street. Pat leans into the beauty of imperfection, shaping found sounds through analog tools, tape warmth, and gritty modulation.

“good” marks the second release on Cassette Blair — a label founded by Gavsborg, dedicated to uplifting his extended global family of artists. True to its mission, the record feels communal, handmade, and deeply personal: a celebration of creativity that thrives outside of traditional studios, born instead from curiosity, friendship, and the joy of sound exploration.

“Good news. Good it’s out, good of Gav to help, all round completely good!"

- Pat Orburn

Digi- Cover art & Design by Pat Orburn (London, UK)

Cassette- Cover art & Design by Gavsborg, Sherice Bromfield & Pat Orburn (Kingston Jamaica & London, UK).

Mixed by Pat Orburn (London, UK).

Mastered by Mario “Syantis” Lawerence (Kingston, Jamaica).

Acclaimed Scottish composer Craig Armstrong releases his new work Pacific via his own label CMA Records. Written for piano, cello, and electronics, the three-movement piece was originally commissioned in December 2024 by Christian Kellersman, a pioneering figure in contemporary classical and jazz music, for his new live event series Berlin Confidential, co-curated with Alexander Szlovák. The series aims to promote innovative new music projects, with a particular focus on emerging musicians and composers.

Armstrong was among the first artists invited to perform as part of Berlin Confidential, premiering Pacific at Berlin’s historic Meistersaal concert hall in March 2025. The concert featured Armstrong on piano alongside cellist Lena Angelina von Almen and producer and musician Guy Sternberg, combining acoustic instruments with live electro-acoustic treatments to create a rich and atmospheric sound world.

Recorded in May 2025 at Lowswing Studios in Kreuzberg, Pacific continues Armstrong’s ongoing exploration of blending acoustic and electronic sound in a natural, seamless way. Over several days in the studio, Armstrong, von Almen and Sternberg developed the work’s intricate textures and dynamic interplay, resulting in a recording that captures both the intimacy and expansiveness of the original live performance.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the piece, Armstrong says: “I wrote this work during a time of great instability in the world, I wrote “Pacific” as an Elegy dedicated to the many suffering in today’s conflicts and in the hope that peace will prevail.”

Across its three movements, Pacific 1 is elegiac in nature, with the main themes stated and developed throughout the piece, punctuated by recurring piano motifs. The movement is reflective and atmospheric, with subtle electronic interventions. The second movement is arrhythmic in nature, following shifting time signatures that reflect a sense of uncertainty - the music is searching and static, ending without resolution but leaving hope for one to come. Pacific 3 moves towards peace and resolution, bringing the work to a close with quiet strength and emotional release.

When speaking about the creative process and his collaborators, Armstrong said: “Lena’s beautiful playing , tone and expression worked so beautifully on Pacific, Lena was also a great collaborator and was always willing to experiment and try new musical approaches. Lena is such a natural musician and she brought so much emotion and beauty to the piece. I wish her all the best in her future musical journey.”

He continues: Guy is a unique combination of being a brilliant engineer and mixer and a prolific very talented musician/composer. I was very fortunate to spend time with Guy in his studio in Berlin. His sensitivity to the project and his electronic programming made a wonderful contribution to the composition. His collaboration and friendship made the days working in Berlin such a great experience I would like to thank Emma Ford for her dedication, enthusiasm and guidance on Pacific”

For both von Almen and Sternberg, the collaboration was equally meaningful. Von Almen reflects on the experience of recording the piece, saying: “As a musician, it is always a great privilege to work on a piece together with the composer, and of course I felt even luckier to go through the process of creating something new with an artist like Craig Armstrong. Figuratively speaking, it felt like knitting a silk scarf: using the finest materials and taking the utmost care during the recording, we have realised another beautiful and touching work by Craig, which will bring us and certainly many others great joy. I feel very honoured to have been part of this and to have experienced this warm encounter.”

Sternberg adds: “Diving into Armstrong’s music while working on this record felt like examining a diamond under a microscope, discovering endless beauty within simplicity. Perfection and complexity emerging from simplicity, where every note, tone, noise, and gesture has meaning. I’m deeply grateful to have been part of this process, and for the freedom Craig gave me to express myself through his music, to let our sonic visions merge into one. It’s been both a lesson in music-making and in setting the ego aside, if only for a moment.”

Reflecting Armstrong’s belief in the role of music as a force for empathy and reflection, proceeds from Pacific will be donated to charities working towards peace: Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross.

The limited-edition vinyl release has been pressed on Eco Vinyl at SeaBass Vinyl, a sustainable plant near Edinburgh. The record features striking cover art by Dirk Rudolph, who has designed several of Armstrong’s previous releases.

We’re happy to announce the “Planetary Shift” EP by our friend O-Wells with an additional remix by Bangkok’s finest Sarayu from More Rice. An EP that combines friendship and a long overdue Ozelot-cosmos release. After we heard “Planetary Shift” a while ago for the first time, we kept insisting on releasing it- Now we’re happily presenting it to you in the form of a 4 track EP.

The record orbits around O-Wells’ signature style: dub-inflected drums, slithering synth lines, and percussive patterns that never sit still. There’s a sleek futurism to these tracks, but they feel worn-in, like spacecraft that have already charted the edges of known space. Across the EP, O-Wells embraces tension and release—rolling low-end pressure that swells, only to dissolve into weightless melodic fragments.

The result is music that feels in constant flux, forever shifting through sonic terrain without losing its pulse. Anchoring the EP is a remix from Sarayu, a key voice from Southeast Asia’s flourishing electronic music scene. Known for threading traditional rhythmic sensibilities into contemporary club frameworks, Sarayu flips O-Wells’ abstract groove into something tactile and urgent. His version turns the track inside out—primal percussion and humid atmospheres pushing the original’s spacious minimalism toward a more grounded, earthy palette. It’s a vital rework that expands the release’s global reach, bridging Frankfurt and Bangkok through the shared language of rhythm and friendship – Overall, the reason why we do what we do.

Following his debut on our platform in 2021, our dear friend Juri Heidemann now returns to the label with our very first vinyl release, INSTINKTLAB023. Over time, his sound has evolved into a clear and distinctive signature, embodying modern, purposeful techno as it is perceived and defined in 2025. This release marks a milestone for both our label and our friendship.

Italian jazz beat maestros Koralle & Yawuh team up for their first collab album, 'Primo Quarto'.

'Primo Quarto' is a record full of late-night tales about beats and jazz (you guessed it) and a musical friendship that manifested itself in an apartment building in Bologna after dark. Thirteen tracks were produced and mixed on the first floor (where Yawuh lives) and on the fourth floor (where Koralle’s studio is located). With the help of an A-list of local musicians (Matteo Magnaterra, Piergiorgio Perrella, Giovanni Tamburini, Gianluca Arcesilai), three MCs from the US (Anti Lilly, Tiff The Gift, Physical Graffiti), and producer friends Saib (Berlin), Phlocalyst (Luz), and Lorenzo Morresi (Milan).
“'Primo Quarto' is an Italian expression that refers to the first quarter of the moon,” Koralle and Yawuh explain. “The lunar phase when the moon is half illuminated and half in shadow. For us, this moment captures the emotional core of the album: a balance between light and dark, the seen and the hidden, clarity and mystery.”
Artwork by Japanese illustrator Tomo Oriyama.

2025 Repress

At the end of the day, it's about human touch, personal connection and emotional reactions.
With great pleasure we are more than happy to welcome Session Restore and Bernhard Hudalla to the family with a superb debut 12" for the Mojuba sublabel a.r.t.less. A friendship and collaboration that connects musical dots between Hanover and Leipzig resulting in this release called Pathfinder EP. Session Restore might be familiar to some of you through his label rauh, from the party series he's doing in and around Hanover over the last couple of years or as one of the finest vinyl DJs the city has to offer. The debut EP for the Mojuba sub label is a true love letter in four parts to deep and dubby Techno with an emotional touch. As always, let the music do the talking and enjoy! Limited edition in hand-pulled screen-printed cover.

2025 Repress

First release from the Portuguese vinyl only label, Dreams Come True. Born from the childhood dream of his mentor Ostinato, DCT aim to reflect his passion for vinyl records and electronic music. For this first release, nothing better than bring together friendship, passion and talent. In the last couple of years Floog and Ostinato became close friends and crafted this release togheter.

The original tracks from Floog reflect all his versatility fusing minimal with some spicy and tasty vocals, following a different path of the classic rominimal sound. The remixes are the reflection of the label owners personal taste.

Antraum (Traumer and Anton) did a huge remix with an infectious groove, a huge bassline, and certain sound complexity that makes you dance from the first to the last beat. Ted Amber its for sure one of the bastions of the classical Rominimal sound. This remix shows all his talent to build unique vibes in each release he does. Dreams Come True is now unleashed, and we ll keep sharing them with you.

The tracks on Night Song reflect Howl Quartet's narrative range, with each composition offering a personal or poetic point of departure. The title track, 'Night Song', captures the shifting emotional landscape of new parenthood, drawing on quiet intensity and tenderness. 'Falling Man' is a moving tribute to Brunt's great uncle, an RAF pilot who died in a plane crash shortly after the Second World War, while 'Renjo' channels the drama and exposure of a high-altitude journey through the Himalayas. 'Smallhope', dedicated to a much-loved family home, unfolds slowly with warmth and nostalgia. 'Embers' reflects on the quiet, transformative energy of a fire's dying glow.

'Oku' is a journey inward, drawing on the Japanese idea of inner space, 'Tolls' offers a sombre reflection on consequence and choice and 'Gwdihw' is a lively tribute to the much-missed Cardiff venue where the group's early musical friendships began. Each member of Howl Quartet brings their own musical voice to the group, but it is the strength of their long-standing connection, musically and personally, that defines the band's sound. With its balance of lyricism and exploration, Night Song is both a natural progression and a bold new chapter for the quartet.

Bill Withers was a modest, gentle, and yet towering musical figure responsible for some of the most important, universally known soul hits ever written.

Making Music is his fourth studio album and highlights what Bill found the most important in life: friendship and family, in no particular order.

This year we’re celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Making Music is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on translucent red vinyl and includes an 8-page booklet.

Old-time and traditional music stay exciting for their contrasts. Exacting instrumentation honed through mentorships and late-night jams at fiddler's conventions tangles with a community-sourced inventiveness that influences variants and new sounds. Joseph Decosimo is a master of this genre for this very reason, blending deep technique with an openness and curiosity that keep his music crackling with life. A "marvelous fiddler" (No Depression) and banjo player who braids "exultation and veneration" (INDY Week) into his music, on his third solo album Fiery Gizzard Decosimo gathers a close-knit ensemble of friends from his musical career to infuse his interpretations of fiddle and banjo pieces with a contagious communal joy. As an artist working with traditional music from the South and Appalachia, Decosimo chooses songs based not only on historical significance and lineage but also his own sensory approach. For Fiery Gizzard, his ear was tuned to otherworldly tones and mystery, sourcing from field recordings such as Virginia fiddler Luther Davis' hypnotic version of "Shady Grove" while amping up the music's psychedelic potential. On the middle Tennessee banjo composition "Flowery Girls," a VHS of bluesman Abner Jay inspired Decosimo to rig up a pickup inside a fretless banjo and play it thr ough a tube amp to capture some of Jay's edge and funkiness. But to round out the sound and keep it kinetic meant galvanizing a genre-eschewing crew to jam out - and not in a "spaced-out drooly" kind of way, he laughs, but as a sort of "responsive conversation." Decosimo has always been a community-minded artist. He began playing as a seventh graderin Tennessee, fostering relationships with older players at jams and in homes, a learning mode natural to his inquisitive nature and desire for musical connection. A folklorist by intuition, he later became one by profession, studying with old-time legend Clyde Davenport, teaching in East Tennessee State University's renowned bluegrass program, and receiving his PhD at the University of North Carolina with a dissertation titled "Catching the `Wild Note': Listening, Learning, and Connoisseurship in Old-Time Music." In North Carolina, Decosimo kicked about in the verdant environment of Durham and Chapel Hill's folk and indie scenes, collaborating with artists including Alice Gerrard, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell. This community has influenced his own music, including his "sublime and strangely heartening" (Bandcamp Daily) 2022 release While You Were Slumbering and Beehive Cathedral, Decosimo's 2024 "Appalachian mountain music treasury" (New Commute) trio album with Luke Richardson and Cleek Schrey for Dear Life Records. Continuing on this path, Fiery Gizzard is home base for a loose outfit of mostly Tarheel-based musicians from within and beyond traditional music. Inspired by a tour with fiddler Stephanie Coleman (Nora Brown), guitarist Jay Hammond, and synth builder and multi-instrumentalist Matthew O'Connell, Decosimo assembled studiomates based on close friendships and comfort. Coleman, O'Connell, and Hammond contribute to Fiery Gizzard, along with bassist and producer Andy Stack (Helado Negro, Wye Oak), horn player Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne), Mipso and Fust's Libby Rodenbough, Joseph O'Connell (Elephant Micah), and trad/experimental artist Cleek Schrey. Decosimo's fiddle and banjo work is virtuosic, intricate and simple simultaneously, a testament to his many years of study. On some tracks, his playing or lovely, plain-hearted singing is the centerpiece, such as on his interpretations of Texan street preacher Washington Phillips' 1929 recording "I Had a Good Father and Mother" or the Eastern Kentucky fiddle barn-burner "Glory in the Meetinghouse," famously played by Luther Strong for Alan Lomax. But there's also a trusting open-door policy, like where Southern Appalachian tune "Ida Red" relaxes into Coleman's sweet, confident fiddling and Hammond's loping guitar. As a bandleader, Decosimo's confidence and enthusiasm for the music reveal the heart of traditional music and how it can come to life through community. Fiery Gizzard is Joseph Decosimo as a powerful champion of traditional music - a sponge who soaks up as much as he squeezes out, a responsive artist who makes his genre accessible, and a magnet who can bring musicians of all sorts into his orbit with his same passion.

2025 Repress!

Recorded in a remote cabin on the Devon coast, STILL OUT is an album-length collaboration between musician-filmmakers – and childhood friends – Will Cookson and Tom Haverly. A reflection on friendship, landscape and the passing of time, it inspired a road trip from North Yorkshire to North Devon they took together in the summer of 2024, and forms the soundtrack to a film of the same name which had its premiere screening as part of Stroud Film Festival in March 2025.

Like the film, STILL OUT is also an oblique homage to The KLF’s iconic 1990 album Chill Out, which the Gloucestershire-based pair revisited after it turned up unexpectedly a few years back in Tom’s dad’s record collection. Inspired to create their own recording using a similarly free-spirited process, Will and Tom relocated to the Devon coast in late summer 2023, splicing together a 40-minute mix from their personal archive of recordings and found sounds in a remote cabin with no electricity or mobile reception.

"It came together using cut-and-paste techniques, with ongoing shifts and tweaks,” says Will. “The final result was an audio collage that felt like something legendary hip hop producers The Bomb Squad might make - if ambient music was the only material in their sample library."

Using ‘ambient’ as a starting-point rather than an end in itself, they took inspiration from across the musical spectrum – classic-period Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Bill Evans, plus outliers such as 80s singer-songwriter Virginia Astley and the late DJ-producer Andrew Weatherall. The connections, though, are anything but obvious as the audio shifts seamlessly from field recordings and spoken-word interludes to mood pieces and snatches of vintage pop.

Edited and assembled using freely available open source programs, the source material was often radically altered using tools such as “PaulStretch”, a digital sound-morphing algorithm that allows users to stretch audio files to extreme lengths.

"When we found ourselves in a creative slump or unsure how to navigate a tricky part, we'd say, ‘Let's put some syrup on it and slow it down,’” says Tom. “That always helped us get back on track during late-night recording sessions at the cabin."

Part-soundtrack, part-meditative experiment, STILL OUT is intended as a reflection on the mental and emotional shift that occurs when stepping away from the routine of daily life – an album that forms a celebration of our ever-changing relationship to the world around us and the mystery of what it means to pass through time and space.

“The true follow up, 35 years later, to The KLF’s ‘Chill Out’”.
JD Twitch (Optimo).

An ambient journey reflecting on friendship, the British landscape - and The KLF’s landmark album Chill Out

"This record and film are just lovely. You need this in your life. Moo-Moo!” Balearic Mike (Down To The Sea & Back)

"The album is a perfect companion to the KLF classic, utilising the British countryside as the setting, occasionally reminding you that Mother Nature is not to be messed with.” Strictly Kev (DJ Food)

"A beautiful ambient journey into the landscape, taking the listener from reality to dream state and back again. A mystical realm full of mysterious chanting, rattling trains and sounds from the very depths of the earth."
Lally MacBeth & Matthew Shaw (Stone Club)

Emile Sornin has a robot in his life. It's not love, but it's not friendship either, and Forever Pavot is releasing an album documenting the affair on Born Bad. After a bunch of bold pop studio albums and a small stack of soundtracks, Emile needed a break. To put an end to it, he embarked with handyman extraordinaire Jonas Euvremer on the manufacture of an automaton destined to make his musician’s life easier. Melchior, who gave his name to the record, has the face of a ventriloquist's dummy, two plastic left hands, preppy clothes and a primitive logic circuit. This goodie two-shoes cousin of Bender’s is supposed to be doing the interviews and deal with socials for Emile. The plan worked admirably : Melchior is a perfect cover-boy, and his very existence has put our man back to work.



They set a path for phat electronic ventures (and by the way, mostly english-speaking). Sub- continental bass & massive drums, heavy-footed and unabashed : as much appreciated as unexpected. The half-android shares songwriting credits and vocal parts vocoded to perfection. Not a jealous lad, Melchior makes way for a guest of choice on “UFO” and “Waiting for the sign” : Lispector. Julie Margat sings and collaborated on the lyrics for these two bangers that provide a lot of context (robot angst is real). Kumisolo, our favorite Japanese « it » girl in Paris, also sent her “Postcard”, more vapour than song, unreal musical cotton candy of arrangements.


Domotic, who mixes and co-produces, gives a nice spin to “Count to 10”, a hip-hop/kraut crossover with a BEAK> flavour. The Forever Pavot, once a big-band, will be touring as a bass/ drums/keys & vocals trio, with Melchior as guest.



Record after record, Emile Sornin has become an increasingly literate musical illiterate. When needed, his music can still become a thicket of ancient and modern finds. « Le robot gentilhomme », a skillful pastiche of baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, would stand a few rounds against Wendy Carlos. His love for oldies also shines through “Skyway”, a nod to the late Pierre Arvay, France’s Colonel Sanders of library music nuggets.



Forever Pavot may have gone wild, but remains indebted vis-à-vis the golden age of film music. Forebears deluxe Ennio Morricone & François de Roubaix make Hitchcock-style cameos: discreet appearances that you’ll watch out for (those syncopated cascades of syllables at the end of « UFO », and I guess we can indulge with some clavichord/ondioline Victoria sponge). His new flirt is all but a toxic relationship. « Melchior, Vol. 1 »: the robo-bromance is not over yet.

Camp Trash ist das Ergebnis von zwei Freundschaften: 1. Friendship America, die kurzlebige Band aus Sarasota, die von den Brüdern Keegan und Levi Bradford und Bryan Gorman gegründet wurde, und 2. die jahrzehntelange Freundschaft und Zusammenarbeit beim Songwriting zwischen Keegan und Bryan. Nachdem Keegan Florida verlassen hatte, blieben er und Bryan in Kontakt, indem sie an Musik arbeiteten und sich Song-Demos per E-Mail schickten. Obwohl sie in verschiedenen Bundesstaaten lebten, beschlossen die drei Freunde, dass es Zeit war, mit den Songs, die sie geschrieben hatten, ein neues Projekt zu starten. Sie gründeten Camp Trash, ohne einen Plan zu haben, wie sie aufnehmen oder auf Tour gehen würden, nur mit einer Handvoll Songs und der Freude, gemeinsam mit Freunden etwas zu schaffen. Camp Trash unterschrieb 2020 bei Count Your Lucky Stars Records, veröffentlichte 2021 ihre Debüt-EP ,Downtiming" und 2022 ihr erstes Album ,The Long Way, The Slow Way". Ihr neues Album ,Two Hundred Thousand Dollars" wurde von James Palko aufgenommen, produziert und gemischt, von Zach Weeks bei God City Studios gemastert und enthält einen neuen Beitrag von Kyle Meggison (ehemals Worst Party Ever) am Schlagzeug. Die zweite LP der Band ist das Ergebnis jahrelanger Begeisterung für Fountains of Wayne und Guided by Voices und dem Wunsch, kurze, laute und eingängige Songs zu schreiben. Die Songs sind lose miteinander verbundene Charakterskizzen, die unglücklichen Betrügern, Spielern, Sektenmitgliedern und kleinen Gangstern folgen, die von etwas Größerem träumen und sich narrensichere Pläne ausdenken, um dorthin zu gelangen, aber feststellen, dass der Weg dorthin komplizierter ist, als sie sich jemals vorgestellt haben.

"Love it! Electronic wonkiness at its finest" - Richard Norris (The Grid)

TEA, CAKES AND THE (WO)MAN MACHINE

Curtain Twitcher could only have emerged from Sheffield.
A female electronic duo whose corrupted downtempo post Balearic chug pulses and wobbles, throbs and twitches - full of fat noises and bolshy Moogery.
It's human and appealingly analogue. More Delia Derbyshire's Radiophonic Workshop than DAF, More Tangerine Dream than Depeche Mode. Not your average bloketronica.

Frankly this music doesn't behave itself in any way you might expect. Plugged in post rave pop can be far too orderly. Music should be messy. Even on occasion revealing a tune your mum could hum.

"Leap The Dips" emerged from machine jamming with a creative freedom that only comes from friendship. That friendship is a musical one but it's also real and genuine: "We’ll talk about pretty much owt if you provide the tea and cakes".

The word "amateur" originates from the Latin word "amator," meaning "lover" or "admirer". This Latin term is derived from "amare," which means "to love". The French adopted "amateur" from Latin, and the English then borrowed it from French, initially retaining the sense of someone who loves or is devoted to something. Over time, the English usage of "amateur" also developed a meaning related to a lack of professional skill or experience. How did a word derived from love become a slur? Is love really so defenseless? They say love conquers all, but in reality isn’t love quite ridiculous? It has no intention, no motive, no agenda. How could it possibly prevail? It can’t be bought or sold, or so they say.Its mere existence can't be proven or even measured. What an impossible thing. Trying and failing, time and time again, no wonder cynicism always seems to win. I see “amateurism” as a delighted, even foolish, protest. Protest against everything. Of what’s expected of someone, or expected of someone to desire or strive for. To be elite, to be expert, to be professional, to be a master, to excel and succeed. Where’s the joy in that? I just want to have fun. I want to want. I want to love. And keep doing it, forever. I want to have fun, even when it’s tiring and sometimes even heaven is boring as hell. I want to be bad. I want to do my own thing. “I vant to be alone”. I want to be someone so dedicated to their passion that it starts to seem like there’s something wrong with them. All the way. We can take it all the way, and never get it back. ” - Molly Nilsson Amateur is the 12th studio album by Molly Nilsson. Deep in the teeth of a career that threatens to tip into something resembling a “legacy,” Molly Nilsson celebrates with an album recorded instinctively, quickly and bursting with so many moments of emotional brilliance and clarity it may be her greatest yet. Hers has been a career spent reaching out, perennially powerful in her earnestness, a warrior ridiculously defenceless and armed with a glittering sincerity. Shearing herself of the machinations of the music industry, recording at home, writing direct to the heart. Amateur is a jubilee for losers. A treatise in 13 songs, Amateur states clearly that we should live our life with eternal curiosity, offers us an open hand of comradeship out of the rat race. The songs on the album are both some of the most personal of Nilsson’s career and the most anthemic. First single How Much Is The World asks us to re-evaluate value in the face of a Neo-liberal system squeezing the life out of our loves. Pulsing opener Die Cry Lie satirises the commercialisation of emotion in the form of a shout-along diss-track. With a pounding rhythm track held down by gorgeous chord changes, heartbreaker Valhalla carries the torch for the main themes of the album: never growing up, making mistakes with kindness, moving on. When the drums crash in on the line “It’s going to get better now, you’ll see, going to be much better off without me” there is a world of feeling swirling about in the vocal delivery. One reading of the track might be that it’s a break up song but the subtext is classic Molly Nilsson: by living truthfully, making mistakes, we’re active agents against the myriad oppressions of the world. All The Way takes the theme for a run into the eternal sunset. It’s a manifesto for living fully. “Take it all the way, and never get it back” - it’s the process that’s the important point. The journey not the destination. Big Life, follows on like a part 2: An ode not only to Molly Nilsson’s career of endless gigs, endless connections with people, it’s a massive ode for following your dreams, doing it yourself. Closer The Bitter End is a powerful anthem for friendship, another definition of love infused in Nilsson’s work, A beautifully poignant ode to comradeship til the end, it seems to be the songwriter approaching aging, approaching life’s inevitability with the same vigour and earnestness, the same love of life she enjoyed at the onset of her career. There are moments on Amateur shrouded in reverb, slightly out of focus, forcing the listener to step deeper into the Mollyverse.. Nilsson’s open-armed beseeching to the world permeates every beat, every chord. These are songs exploding with life: the chunky, aggressive bassline on the punker Get A Life can’t hide its massive, catchy chorus. The sweeping Swedish Nightmare might be a tongue-in-cheek self-reference, but at its heart it’s a song about the duality of living life large, what is a dream, what is a nightmare? Molly Nilsson says you can’t have one without the other, and why would you want to? Here’s to making mistakes.

Firing remix package of cuts from two legendary album's from Brazil's Orquestra Afro-Brasileira. Feat

Two albums - Obaluayê (1957) and Orquestra Afro-Brasileira (1968) - were enough for Orquestra Afro-Brasileira to mark its history in music forever. Born in 1942 in Rio de Janeiro by its founder Abigail Moura, it remained active until 1970 and, in 2021, was revived by the only living member of the original line-up at the time, Carlos Negreiros, when the third and final album in the orchestra's career, entitled 80 years, was released by Amor in Sound/Night Dreamer. Today (31) the album gets its remix version with tracks signed by names of the caliber of Marcelo D2, Criolo, Pupillo, Emicida, Rael, Cut Chemist, Mexican Institute of Sound, among others.

Aiming to keep the legacy of the Orquestra Afro-Brasileira alive, the album 80 Anos (Remixes) reaffirms the group's relevance as a creative source for different generations of musicians and listeners, based on new interpretations produced by artists who are also fans of the orchestra. According to Mario Caldato Jr., the album's musical director, "it was a great joy when I got to know the work of the Afro-Brazilian Orchestra and, soon after, had the honor of meeting and working with Carlos Negreiros. Producing 80 Anos alongside him was a gift and being able to look back on it, having the remix album to celebrate this legacy, is really wonderful."

For Amor in Sound - Mario and Samantha Caldato's record label - this release faithfully represents their values: Respect for memory, diversity, friendship and the possibility of creating new worlds. Made in a totally collaborative way, the album is born as a historical record, interpreted by great names in current music and, above all, great friends. “Being able to do this is indescribable, the value of relationships makes up and continues the legacy of the Orquestra Afro Brasileira,” says Samantha.

The project brings together Brazilians Criolo, Emicida, Rael, Marcelo D2, Lucio Maia, Pupillo, Rogê, Tropkillaz, Kassin, Pedro Dom, Zilladxg, Nuts, Daniel Ganjaman, Imperatore and Nave, as well as international DJs and producers such as Mix Master Mike, Cut Chemist, Gaslamp Killer, J Rocc, TASO, Mexican Institute of Sound and Mophono.

For more than thirty years, Arnaud Fournier has been shaping the landscape of the French expe-rimental scene. First within the duo HINT, a singular fusion of experimental, noise and indie music, he released three studio albums in the late 1990s and has continued to perform regularly ever since, including a live album with EZ3kiel in 2009. With La Phaze (1999), Dead Hippies (2013) and later Atonalist (2017), he has always instinctively sought to cross genres and stage dialogues bet-ween extremes. In 2025, with 100% Black Puzzle, he delivers his very first album under his own name, a work where saturated guitars, saxophones, trumpet, hypnotic loops and vast layers of drone meet. Mixed and mastered by Olivier "Cali" Fournier at Studioscope in Angers, 100% Black Puzzle gathers familiar faces around it. Its title resonates as an intentional echo, directly referencing 100% White Puzzle, HINT's debut album. Thirty years on, Arnaud Fournier rediscovers the same spirit of absolute freedom across these five tracks: no format constraints, no compromise on length. The title track, an eight-minute instrumental, sets the tone - a raw, urgent gesture, cap-tured in the moment. In his own words, it was about "finding myself once more in that first-song state of mind, without any confinement." With 100% Black Puzzle, Arnaud Fournier fully embraces signing the work under his own name. No pseudonym, no mask, but an unveiling: a profoundly intimate record, steeped in family and friendship, where noise and beauty constantly collide and entwine. Thirty years after shaking up the French indie scene with HINT, he delivers a body of work that is at once retrospective and forward-looking - a black puzzle that resounds like a rebirth. And what better way to "close the circle" than by heading back on tour?

The most inspiring bands are the ones that can create a world around themselves that is about far more than just the music. The artwork, lyrics, sounds and ethos all merge together perfectly to create its own universe, a secret club. The Lovely Eggs are one such band. And against all the odds, 2025 sees them celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band! Stubbornly and heroically independent, The Lovely Eggs have forged their own path and have achieved mainstream success without ever compromising their DIY ethics. Released on their own label Egg Records, with eye watering artwork by Casey Raymond and hand packed in a black plastic bin bag on neon toxic slime green vinyl, this is yet another collectible release from a band who care as much about the art and ideas in their records as they do about the sound. "We had all these spare songs after we released our last album Eggsistentialism and we didn't really know what to do with them," explained Holly. "They just didn't seem to fit in with the vibe of Eggsistentialism but we'd recorded them and wanted to get them out there." "They're kind of a sketchbook of songs," added David. "They're not polished or laboured over but we thought it would be interesting to release them. It's why we called the record Bin Juice. These were songs we had thrown away. But hopefully people like going through bins collecting trash."

Dutch based producer Ivna Ji, originally from Croatia, and Mexican artist G13ck (Daniel Vela) introduce their joint imprint Parcela Sound with Archways, a six track release moving through complex rhythm structures, shadowy atmospheres, and deep low frequency currents.

The record balances wide melodic sweeps and distorted textures, building tension between restraint and intensity. Collaborations with Düsseldorf based saxophonist/vocalist Amber Pine and Italian/Dutch producer Riccardo Izzo (Fatalist/Flooder) bring vocals and lyrics into the record, giving it a more direct emotional pull.

The project was shaped mainly in Ivna Ji’s home studio with just a few instruments, including Moog’s DFAM and her favorite DSI Evolver, alongside sessions at Zarkoff’s Sensorium Studio, where she focused on mixing and heavily relied on the Sequential Prophet 6, which ultimately proved to be the key ingredient every track was missing.

Mastering was handled by Filip Motovunski, whose sharp ear and precision brought the record to life with clarity and impact, giving the low end full weight without losing the finer details.

Parcela Sound grew out of more than a decade of friendship and collaboration between Ji and Vela, first sparked by a casual exchange of thoughts and admiration developed over years of sharing ideas and supporting each other’s projects, including releases on Vela’s labels Aztlán and Baox. With Parcela, they created a platform that supports emerging and often overlooked artists, some of whom have become close friends over the years.

The artwork by Croatian designer Ugruv Smek, featuring a gecko motif, ties the launch to their shared roots and playful approach.

Archways marks the first chapter of Parcela Sound, a platform for music created with curiosity, care, and connection.