quête:further down

With Variations for Light Waves, Swedish composer Linnéa Talp deepens the focus and intensity that shaped her 2022 debut Arch of Motion. Once again, the breath and hum of the pipe organ form the album’s core, but here she pushes further into deep listening and sonic nuance. Across seven pieces, she lingers on the instrument’s most resonant points, allowing its character to reveal itself slowly and patiently.
Talp’s path to this work has unfolded with similar steadiness. After first emerging with her project Deerest, she shifted toward improvisation and minimal composition, guided by an increasing sensitivity to sound and perception. Careful listening is now central to her practice, informing both her methods and her musical language.
The album was recorded over four years on pipe organs across Sweden, including a small funeral-chapel instrument in Lötsjökapellet—an environment Talp describes as an exceptional space for listening. Several pieces feature Christer Bothén (contrabass clarinet) and Mats Äleklint (trombone), whose playing blends seamlessly into her aerated organ tones. The improvisation “Air On Both Sides,” recorded in 2022 with Bothén, became the project’s starting point, an immersive bath in glowing harmonics. At times she interweaves Buchla recordings, setting electronic breath against acoustic resonance.
Talp’s fascination with quietness and delicacy is balanced by an interest in sonic brittleness. The closing title track gradually dismantles a downward chord progression, drifting into gentle collapse, while the brief opener pushes the organ’s pipes into gasping strain. These moments create a music open to chance, instability, and transformation.
Threads running through the album include an interest in chords, subtle improvisation, light, and memories of coastal landscapes. Talp also connects the work to the “thick white fog” surrounding her daughter’s birth. The result is music that envelopes like mist yet continually reveals new shapes—a world o

Some years ago, Kjell Bjørgeengen and Keith Rowe attempted to convert video signals into sound by setting up Rowe’s pickups next to an old CRT monitor, turning its magnetic field into a sound generator. Rowe further developed the system with David Jones at Alfred University, slimming down the setup using a copper coil, a circuit board, a video input, and a telephone pickup. Jones named it the »Flood Coil«, and it’s that instrument you can see on the album’s front cover and that lies at the core of these recordings, made without any physical live input from the artists themselves. In essence, it’s generative music in its purest form.

Bjørgeengen’s video feed is generated by oscillators, then routed into Marhaug’s pedals and then back into the Flood Coil, so any visual shifts alter the sound, and any modification to the sound changes the video. The duo have played this setup live many times, but for this studio version they left the system to do its thing without any intervention for two minutes at a time before moving onto the next idea. They recorded hours and hours using this process and then selected 18 highlights for this album, extracting harsh noise, power electronics, lulling feedback drone, and peculiar rhythmic snippets to show the scope of their technique.

A wall of growling, hi-octane Pulse Demon-style noise opens the set, gradually exposing us to more asymmetric textures, shifting through unstable repetitions that transform Merzbow’s metal-inspired screams into »Aaltopiiri«-era rhythmic noise. It’s remarkable, actually, how much Marhaug and Bjørgeengen can squeeze from the system, chancing on shivering, lower-case chugs and pops, galloping drums, soundsystem subs, and grinding blast beats that sound like Napalm Death’s »Scum« piped through a broken amp stack. It ain’t pretty, but noise/industrial freaks will revel in the fierce delights inside.

Following the digital release of the single “Meu Canto” in early February 2026, Gerardo Frisina and singer Luzia Dvorek return to Brazilian music with a new and compelling interpretation of a timeless classic, “A Lenda do Abaeté” by Dorival Caymmi; the release of this 45rpm single brings to a close a special project entirely dedicated to Bahia, the beating heart and symbol of Brazilian culture.

“Meu Canto” takes shape from an original composition by Gerardo Frisina, who signs both music and production, crafting a soundscape that is suspended between delicacy and depth upon which Luzia Dvorek - joined by songwriter Toco, whose refined backing vocals further enrich the song’s emotional dialogue - has drawn the melodic line and written the lyrics. A journey into roots and origins that tells the story of Luzia’s family, deeply embedded in the warm, fertile land of northeastern Brazil. “Meu Canto” sees also the participation of Alfonso Deidda on flute, whose airy timbre introduces new shades of color to the composition.

In “A Lenda do Abaeté”, the 45rpm B-side, Gerardo Frisina weaves an elegant and immersive rhythmic framework, evoking soundscapes that feel both deep-rooted and timeless. Within this setting, Luzia Dvorek’s voice unfolds with emotional intensity, balancing expressive strength and subtle delicacy as it narrates the ancient legend of the Abaeté lagoon. A place steeped in charm and mystery, suspended between myth and reality, whose stories have been passed down through generations in Salvador, in Brazil’s north-eastern region.

The project is further enriched by the acoustic guitar of Francesco Borrelli - who also took care of the tracks mixing and mastering - and Toco’s distinctive vocal contributions, which add depth and nuance to the overall sound.

British rock singer Chez Kane is back with her third studio album, “Reckless” — an explosive blend of arena-ready hooks, slick guitar work, and unapologetic 80s-style swagger. Following the success of her first two records, Chez levels up with a collection that’s bigger in sound, richer in emotion, and packed with pure melodic firepower. Once again written and produced by Danny Rexon, frontman of Swedish hard rockers Crazy Lixx, “Reckless” channels the golden age of melodic rock while injecting it with fresh energy and modern production. The chemistry between Chez and Danny continues to shine, resulting in a record that blends 80s-inspired anthems, infectious hooks, and soaring vocals into a modern rock statement with attitude.

From glam-infused bangers to emotional slow-burners, “Reckless” showcases Chez’s growing confidence and undeniable charisma, proving she’s not just riding the revival wave — she’s leading it. If you’re craving fist-pumping choruses, soaring vocals, and a no-holds-barred throwback to the glory days of rock, look no further. Chez Kane’s “Reckless” is melodic rock done right — bold, catchy, and undeniably alive. Turn it up loud. This one’s recklessly unforgettable.

British rock singer Chez Kane is back with her third studio album, “Reckless” — an explosive blend of arena-ready hooks, slick guitar work, and unapologetic 80s-style swagger. Following the success of her first two records, Chez levels up with a collection that’s bigger in sound, richer in emotion, and packed with pure melodic firepower. Once again written and produced by Danny Rexon, frontman of Swedish hard rockers Crazy Lixx, “Reckless” channels the golden age of melodic rock while injecting it with fresh energy and modern production. The chemistry between Chez and Danny continues to shine, resulting in a record that blends 80s-inspired anthems, infectious hooks, and soaring vocals into a modern rock statement with attitude.

From glam-infused bangers to emotional slow-burners, “Reckless” showcases Chez’s growing confidence and undeniable charisma, proving she’s not just riding the revival wave — she’s leading it. If you’re craving fist-pumping choruses, soaring vocals, and a no-holds-barred throwback to the glory days of rock, look no further. Chez Kane’s “Reckless” is melodic rock done right — bold, catchy, and undeniably alive. Turn it up loud. This one’s recklessly unforgettable.

WILDFIRE is the long-awaited new studio album from Loreen, set for release on 27th March. Marking her first full studio album in nearly a decade, WILDFIRE is a powerful and intimate body of work that explores emotion, perception and inner transformation, a record that allows the full emotional spectrum to exist, from vulnerability and pain to freedom, love and truth.

The album features the global phenomenon “Tattoo”, alongside fan-favourite “Is It Love” and the transcendent new single “Feels Like Heaven”, co-written with Sia. Together, the tracks reflect Loreen’s unique ability to fuse raw emotional honesty with cinematic pop, creating music that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Loreen is the only female artist to have won the Eurovision Song Contest twice and has amassed over 9 billion streams worldwide. “Tattoo” topped radio airplay and singles charts in five countries, further cementing her status as one of the most distinctive and influential voices in modern pop.

With WILDFIRE, Loreen returns with an album that is fearless, expansive and profoundly human

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

While many have tried to emulate the ancient German (black)thrash sound, CRUEL FORCE brimmed with an authenticity that could not be denied, as well as songwriting that added to that noble tradition rather than lazily picking at its corpse. Their two successive albums, 2010's The Rise of Satanic Might and 2011's Under the Sign of the Moon, made CRUEL FORCE a certifiably CULT name in the international metal underground. Sadly, the band fell into a hiatus following that second album, but returned reinvigorated with the comeback 7" EP Across the Styx in 2022 and, a year later, the glorious full- length Dawn of the Axe at the hands of new label home SHADOW KINGDOM. Continuing to make up for lost time, CRUEL FORCE storm back with swords gleaming high on their fourth full- length, Haneda.

Where a line could be drawn between the band's "first era" of The Rise of Satanic Might / Under the Sign of the Moon, so continues this Second Era that began with Dawn of the Axe - one that harkens to the "Jurassic period" of heavy metal, when everything was rawer, less polished, and more energetic and powerful. As displayed by that pivotal predecessor, Haneda further proves that CRUEL FORCE are more so an old-style speed metal band, largely bereft of that blackened edge during their First Era. The tradeoff is that there's a prominent mysticism coursing through that speed, and the blue-collared aspect of Dawn of the Axe is now spit-shined to a lethal slickness that makes Haneda hit that much harder.

However, it must be stressed that, while it follows logically from Dawn of the Axe, Haneda is very much its own headspace, its own continuation of a still-vital aesthetic. At times more epic, exuding both more and different atmospheres, CRUEL FORCE here take the listener on a journey from old temples to desert planes, from deep jungles to mountain tops, and other mysterious locales beyond; indeed, the whole record is like a journey through mystical realms. Although no concept album, Haneda is very conceptual in its aesthetics, even down to its production: BIG and naturaltoned, from the guitars to especially the drums, everything here is as '80s and authentic as possible, underlining

José González has delivered a new album, Against the Dying of the Light, a companion and further meditation on the themes of his critically acclaimed album, Local Valley. Where Local Valley turned inward toward place, language, and personal reflection, this new record widens its gaze, becoming an urgent call to preserve the light of humanity with all its flaws, at a moment when, technology increasingly shapes how we think, feel, and relate to one another.

While José has always embraced technological advancement, he questions the assumption that every new possibility must be pursued to its maximum potential, especially when progress comes at the expense of human flourishing, attention, and empathy.

Keeping in the tradition of folk music as protest, José’s new single — sharing its title with the forthcoming album — urges listeners to resist systems that dehumanize and divide: “Disconnect from every algorithm, every perverse incentive that drags you down. Let’s rebel against the replicators, against the dying of the light. Kill the codes that feed the hate, keep the codes that make you thrive, celebrate the **king fact that we’re alive.”

Across the album, González works within a deliberately minimal framework, pushing his familiar palette to new heights through subtle variation, restraint, and detail. Each song unfolds with its own distinct character, proving how much emotional and musical range can be achieved within self - imposed limitations. Written in English, Swedish, and Spanish, the record reflects his Swedish - Argentine roots and frames its humanist message as a global one rather than a purely personal or political statement.

José González is one of the most quietly influential artists of our generation. The Swedish - Argentine artist has built a singular musical world from hypnotic, minimal guitar work and his unmistakably gentle voice — a sound that has become deeply personal to millions of listeners worldwide. With billions of streams across platforms and hundreds of thousands of physical records sold, González’s songs often act as emotional landmarks. Ask almost anyone, and they can name at least one of his tracks tied to a defining moment in their lives.

New “Inversions” of drone rock pioneers Earth’s debut release. A collaboration between Dylan Carlson and Black Noi$e (Armand Hammer, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt) formed in mutual respect and appreciation for one another. Both artists were intrigued by the creation of vast musical landscapes and the connection of music, with its ability to transport the listener. The music of Earth was recognised and celebrated for moving at a glacial pace and yet this new collaboration surprisingly saw Black Noi$e slowing things down even further.
The debut, which originally came out in 1991, notably featured Kelly Canary and Kurt Cobain on vocals on the tracks “A Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge Part 2” and “Divine and Bright”. Black Noi$e reimagines the original recordings with his experimental sensibility and innovative multi-instrumental, cross genre exploration. Applying contemporary electronics to the heavy droning bass and guitars and languid rhythms, this inversion oscillates and reverberates with a different kind of energy whilst simultaneously highlighting the much loved low slow and distorted properties of the original.

‘Extra Capsular Extraction’ was the first music Dylan made with Earth and his first time in a recording studio, which he recalls at the time as being “terribly exciting”. It also marked the first time collaborating with others and seeing it reified into a tangible object or product, a spirit that Dylan has carried through to the present. The original album is a document of a specific period and Dylan’s creative development. These inversions of Extra Capsular Extraction are, to quote Dylan, “an exciting way to reintegrate them into the present time and with my more expanded conceptions of musical endeavours”.
"Doom-metal innovators" Pitchfork.

"With guitars ramped up to the nth degree, but tuned to gut-wrenchingly low frequencies, Earth carved out a veritable canyon of pure molten drone, one which would have a profound influence on modern metal music." The Quietus

LIMITED TO 50 COPIES! Hand Numbered, Edition of 50.

‘Elevation’ is album eleven from High Focus Records founder and 1/4 of The Four Owls Fliptrix.

The latest instalment in a formidable run sees the lyricist further his vision of the world in the hope of elevating the collective mind and spirit of both artist and listener across 19-tracks.

Having worked with Forest DLG in some capacity across all of his records over the past fifteen years, from mixing and mastering, but also collaborating on multiple tracks as rapper / producer, it is surprising that it took so long for the pair to come together on a full-length collaborative project.

‘Elevation’ is that record.

Fliptrix reached out to Forest with a view to creating something completely different from his previous boom bap heavy outing ‘Dragonfly’, he is always looking to advance his craft and take things higher, and after Forest responded with a pack of 70+ instrumentals the direction of travel became crystal clear. The result is an album designed to lift the listener into a higher state of consciousness and trigger conversations about the state of the world, in the hope of enacting positive change during tumultuous times.

Fliptrix’s vision and Forest DLG’s style feel perfectly aligned. The album is truly collaborative; Forest going away and creating the artwork inspired by Fliptrix’s otherworldly experiences with the Shipibo tribe in the rainforests of Peru; from the single covers, to the album cover and merchandise as Fliptrix focussed on writing.

Having worked with all the greats in the UK hip hop scene, Fliptrix actively sought out new energies on ‘Elevation’, especially when it comes to the album features. Jungle forefather General Levy on lead single ‘ENERGY! ENERGY! ENERGY!’ Grime legend Frisco on ‘Visionaries’, Ayah Marar on ‘Transform’, Da Flyy Hooligan, Kamakaze, Coops, and a 19-strong HF posse cut in the shape of ‘Dangerous’ make this album a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate.

Yuvi Havkin aka Rejoicer returns with an exceptional collaborative album, California Space Craft. On this aptly titled record, he joins forces with seasoned LA bass polymath Sam Wilkes — known for his inspired studio work with Sam Gendel and his dynamic live performances alongside Louis Cole and KNOWER — and drummer Tamir Barzilay, completing the LA-connected trifecta alongside a select handful of key featured guests. The idea for California Space Craft was born out of a series of inspired live sessions in Los Angeles between 2019 and 2022, notably at Listen to Music Outside in the Daylight Under a Tree, where the trio’s natural chemistry first began to bloom. The resulting recordings encompass a wide variety of inspired sound stylings, as one would expect from any of these accomplished artists on their own; however, the sum is truly greater than the parts here, with the fluidity of their freeform improvisations over a dedicated three-day recording session feeling remarkably focused as a cohesive whole. Opening track “Traveling Light” sets the LP’s tone with equal parts Sly & Robbie-style, space echo– drenched rhythms and the cozy kosmische, guitar-led feel of early-2000s genre-fluid explorers like Tortoise. As we continue on to “Ritual in G#,” we are reminded that this is indeed a unique and timeless sonic space the trio has created, as Havkin’s crisp Rhodes chords anchor an ever-evolving psychedelic sound bed. The soaring trumpet of Avishai Cohen adorns the Afrobeat-indebted “Lion Water,” with Barzilay laying down a proper Allen-esque groove, while “Further (with you),” featuring Nitai Hershkovits on keys, offers a defining look at the titular concept of the album — with pure Cali feels coalescing effortlessly into sciNew Release Information fi narrative modes and a proper dose of Rejoicer futurism. Elsewhere, “Her Hair in the Air” shines with fresh polyrhythmic intention, illustrating the balanced bond between the three collaborators at their conversational peak, and the brisk synth strokes of “Early Porpoises,” alongside LP closer “Oceanic Friends” — again ideally named — double as a grand, in-stereo ride into the blissful Pacific sunset horizon. California Space Craft embodies the power of open, collective intention and musical kinship, offering memorable, uplifting moments and an aural glimpse of hope, warmth, and loving melodious calm in an otherwise quite chaotic time for humanity.

Long Ryder guitarist/mandolinist Sid Griffin states 'High Noon Hymns' is “two thirds the distilled altcountry genre we helped found back in the 1980s, one third Paisley Underground adventurism yet with a dash of our own crazed soulfulness thrown in." Due to the unexpected passing of Long Ryders' bassist Tom Stevens, bass duties on the new album were shared by Murry Hammond of Americana stalwarts The Old 97s and The Long Ryders’ own Stephen McCarthy. McCarthy also performs live with The Jayhawks and occasionally records with the Dream Syndicate. Guests appearing in the album include DJ Bonebrake of X on vibes and young bluegrass wunderkind Wyatt Ellis on mandolin. The album was recorded at Kozy Tone Studios in sunny Poway, California.

WRWTFWW Records is very pleased to announce the first-ever vinyl release of Art Form 2, the seminal 1998 Various Artists compilation from Tokyo’s cult label FORM@ RECORDS, now available as a limited edition double LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve, as part of the ongoing collaborative series between the Swiss and Japanese labels.
Initially available only in CD form, Art Form 2 emerges as a quiet artifact from an exploratory phase in FORM@ RECORDS’ late-1990s trajectory. The compilation drifts through the deeper layers of Tokyo’s electronic underground, where IDM, techno, ambient, and downtempo dissolve into one another within an atmosphere of deliberate experimentation. Both intimate and forward-looking, it preserves a moment in which a local scene, largely unseen, was patiently reshaping the future beyond the reach of prevailing global narratives.
Flowing with carefully sculpted rhythms, immersive sound design, and a subtle sense of machine soul, Art Form 2 reflects the maturity of the FORM@ aesthetic in 1998. The compilation resonates with the spirit of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence era, Carl Craig’s melodic futurism, Ken Ishii’s cerebral techno, B12’s deep electronics, and Ian O’Brien’s emotive touch, while remaining unmistakably rooted in its own local context. Timeless and singular, it stands as a beautifully preserved time capsule of underground electronic music.
Following the vinyl excavations of Virgo’s Landform Code (1998) and Remnants (1999), Art Form 2 continues WRWTFWW Records’ collaboration with FORM@ RECORDS. It is released simultaneously with Art Form I (1997), further expanding this archival series, which will continue with the forthcoming vinyl edition of Re-Form Ver-1.0 (1999).

In the ever-evolving yet foundational landscape of instrumental groove music, F-Spot Records is proud to debut "Monkey Part 2 b/w Lully" from up-and-coming, multi-faceted keyboardist and composer Max Naseck. Raised in Dallas, Texas, but having worked throughout the Los Angeles music scene for almost a decade, Max Naseck, joined by guitarist Brandon Bae and drummer Julian Allen, brings his new trio project to life. After chasing this sound and style of playing for several years, Appropriately given the name "The Left Hand of God" by some of his musical peers, Max takes the classic soul jazz trio setting of holding down both the bass and melody elements and moves them to a unique combination of funky Moog synth (Key bass) and a Wurlitzer 200A electric piano. This 45 provides a fresh yet retro sound that is sure to leave listeners grooving and locked in.
From the first notes and tight 4-on-the-floor rhythm, "Monkey Part 2" kicks off the A-side with a unique psychedelic blend of soul, funk, and a touch of disco. With Allen's groovy touch, Naseck perfectly locks in with his left hand, followed by Bae's precision-picked electric guitar, which completes the trio's solid groove, further propelled by Naseck's right hand taking the melodic lead. Then on side B, "Lully" brings the tempo down to a more soulful, atmospheric blend that's equal parts Khruangbin & modern jazz pioneers, a la John Scofield. Recorded live together in one room, Max brings his strong compositional style to the table, showcasing how three musicians can interact in a playful, melodic, and groove-focused way.

Siren Selector presents the first voyage of Remy Solar, as the producer takes a break from composing sound system exclusive dubs to expand his horizons with this by-turns lush, textured, menacing and plaintive album.

‘Heavy Terrain’ emerges from the depths of a lifetime inside the dub fraternity: reared on a potent diet of Lee Scratch Perry and Augustus Pablo, The Disciples and Digital Mystikz, it’s an album which stuck its head in a bass bin in an abandoned bingo hall in north London before striking out on a musical road-trip to imbibe sounds and rhythms from further afield.

The album opens with the militant drums and ethereal pads of 'Sound in the East' before being bookended by two mixes of 'Star Trail', where unformed musical space and time cross uncharted distances to coalesce into the beginning of direction and rhythm. The lush deep house chords and drilling synths of 'Lila #3' summon ghostly presences, while in its counterpart 'Lila #7' layers of melody rise and hang like mist before dissipating in percussive heat. 'Dakhla's’ swelling and retreating drones fade into swirls of drums. In the eponymous 'Heavy Terrain', off-beat keyboard chops respond to each other from uncertain depths while electronic horns pulse across miles of open space. 'Empty City 'sees walls of sound coalesce and fragment, falling into bursts of white noise.

Remy Solar explores a deliberately constrained hardware set-up to create the primordial conditions of trance, locking down a rhythmic foundation while semi-improvised excursions form and reform above it. It’s an album that takes the listener on a journey between order and chaos, past and future, all the while underlaid by a counterpoint of cavernous bass lines and echoing percussion, yang and yin, shade and light.

Michel Houellebecq is, of course, well-known for his novels, translated into more than 40 languages, and his Goncourt Prize (The Map and the Territory, 2010), but perhaps less so for his debut album, released exactly a quarter of a century ago on Tricatel label. One can sense the influence of Serge Gainsbourg's L'Homme à la Tête de Chou, a disillusioned Procol Harum and a world-weary Burt Bacharach hovering over Houellebecq's poems in Présence Humaine, a now cult classic album orchestrated by Bertrand Burgalat and the musicians of Eiffel. Twelve thousand copies sold and a few concerts later, the writer decided (or so we thought) to bid farewell to the stage, only to generate more media attention though his literary success. Frédéric Lo is, of course, known as an exceptional lyricist, composer, arranger, and producer, author of a sublime fourth solo album (L'Outrebleu, released last March) and a master of collaborative work, notably with Bill Pritchard, Peter Doherty and Daniel Darc. Initially, Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Lo met for the tribute album that the latter was planning for the tenth anniversary of Daniel Darc's death, but their recording of "Psalm XXIII" was, to their great disappointment, rejected by the label and therefore did not appear on the final version of Cœur Sacré (2023). Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining, and the two men decided to take their collaboration a step further. Lo decided to set the writer's words to music, in his studio in Pantin. Raw, stripped-down music draped in electronica, adorned with piano and antediluvian drum machines, often minimalist, sometimes repetitive, provides the perfect backdrop for twelve tracks that question and reflect on humanity's past and future (if indeed there is one). Reflections on the human condition, 21st-century style, a work of speculative fiction conceived by two eternally modern "young lads," Souvenez-Vous de l'Homme (Remember Man) is an album that might occasionally evoke The Stranglers' La Folie, and, given the title, that's probably no coincidence. But above all, it's a hypnotic and melancholic album, uncompromising and captivating. Most importantly, it's an album like no other.

“From Birmingham and centred around the extraordinary songwriting talent of James and Patrick Roberts – initially as The Sea Urchins and since 1993 as Delta – they’ve only just got round to releasing their debut album, Slippin’ Out. It is a work of some beauty”. 9/10 NME ALBUM OF THE MONTH, 2000

“It’s classicist for sure, shot through with the influence of The Beatles, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. In James’ downright beautiful closing ballad ‘I Want You’ one can also discern the school of ambitious English balladry that peaked in about 1968: The Casuals, Love Affair, Barry Ryan. The impression of accomplished old-schoolery is only furthered by the dizzying string arrangements penned by Louis Clark Jnr, son and namesake of the one-time orchestral chief of Electric Light Orchestra” – Mojo lead review, 2000


Having ended the 90s with the spirited ‘Laughing Mostly’ compilation of singles and demos (Guardian Album Of The Week) Delta finally released their debut studio album of twelve songs in the summer of 2000 on the Dishy Recordings label. Accepting that this might be their sole studio album the band threw everything at these recordings allowing it to exist in its own sphere, unbothered by their contemporary generation and disregarding the idea of even releasing a single.

Recorded at DEP International there was a notable difference to the scruffier, looser charm of their 1990s recordings, a tighter focus developed by having the experienced Lenny Franchi mixing the LP with them. Lenny had been working with a number of Island artists including My Bloody Valentine and Tricky so knew his way around a desk. There was also the question of budget (a few months passed between recording and mixing whilst funds were raised) so every day counted. Ultimately though you can hear the joy in the recordings, even amongst the melancholy and angst. As James recently recalled in an interview in Shindig! Magazine: “It was such a big deal for us. It’s one of my fondest memories doing that record. Everyone was happy. If there’s anything that I’d stand by, I think it would be that”

Louis Clark Jr joined the band towards the end of the ‘90s and brought a classically-trained element to the recordings particularly with his string arrangements. For ‘Cuckoo’, ‘I Want You’ and the prophetic ‘We Come Back’ Louis brought in eight players from the Birmingham Conservatoire; the baroque style is partly why the record often receives comparisons to Love’s ‘Forever Changes’.

On release ‘Slippin’ Out’ was a big favourite with writers at the NME, Mojo and The Guardian again and before long the band were signed to Mercury/Universal for their second studio album ‘Hard Light’, a far more expensive and expansive love affair. It was a temporary palatial home where things quietly fell apart again, but that’s another chapter.

“If long-term memory is nothing more than selective editing and only pop’s most weighty visceral works are built to last then it’s quite possible that in 50 years the Britpop era will be best recollected for the two bands it ostracised. Earlier this year we met Shack and thought their story of mercurial brilliance indicated the biggest music biz oversight of the 90s. We were wrong because we hadn’t met Delta yet. This is richer and more engrossing than anything by Shack” 

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.