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Das sechste Studioalbum der schottischen Band Franz Ferdinand!

In The Human Fear geht es um das Menschsein und die Ängste, die uns dazu machen, aber man hätte es auch kühn nennen können. Kühn auf eine Art, wie wir es gerne sind. Es ist ihr sechstes Album, das sie mit dem Produzenten Mark Ralph hauptsächlich in Schottland aufgenommen haben, mit ein paar Overdubs in London und Paris. Bob Hardy und Alex Kapranos gründeten die Band 2002, Julian Corrie und Dino Bardot kamen 2016 dazu und Audrey Tait 2021. Dies ist die erste vollständige LP mit Dino und Audrey, obwohl sie auf den letzten Singles mitgewirkt haben und mit der Band ausgiebig getourt sind. Unsere Ängste definieren unsere Menschlichkeit. Wir finden unseren Charakter und unsere Persönlichkeit, wenn wir unsere Reaktion auf sie verstehen. Was sie auslöst. Es ist nicht unbedingt die Angst selbst, die uns menschlich macht, sondern das, was wir mit ihr machen oder was wir zulassen, dass sie mit uns macht. Was wir nicht wählen können und was wir können. Unsere Ängste sagen uns, wie wir menschlich sind. Jeder Song hängt an einer anderen Angst. Es geht darum, in den Abgrund zu blicken und dann zu sagen:
"Scheiß drauf... ich kann genauso gut noch einen trinken, bevor ich hineinfalle." Es gibt klangliche Überraschungen und verschiedene Perspektiven auf dem Album, aber wenn man die Band kennt, weiß man, dass sie es gemacht hat. Die es genossen haben, es zu machen. OK, einige der Themen können ein wenig düsterer werden, aber es gab Licht und Freude beim Zusammenstellen.
Das Album beginnt mit dem Track "Audacious" der als Vorabsingle den Ton für das Album angibt. Die zweite Single, die im November erscheinen wird, ist "Night Or Da"y, die sowohl in den Texten als auch in der Musik die Spannung zwischen Angst und Spaß darstellt. Das klangvolle Synthie-Stück "Hooked" zeigt eine andere Seite des Albums und wird unser Fokus-Track bei der Veröffentlichung sein. Das Album wird Mitte September zusammen mit einer Reihe von Live-Terminen in Großbritannien und Europa angekündigt und am 10. Januar 2025 veröffentlicht. Die Band wird außerdem im Oktober und November für Live-Shows nach Mexiko und Südamerika reisen.

From a club-friendly chrysalid onto deploying his wings as a full fledged pop artist in recent years, Saint Petersburgs Kito Jempere has enjoyed a journey unlike any other and his newest album, Part Time Chaos Part Time Calmness live-documents the chameleonic changes / game-changing paradox experienced this year between his life both as a musician and as a family man.

Better known for his work as a house producer which has earned him accolades from prominent dance music outlets throughout well over a decade of intense work both into and outwith the limelights, Kito has for all that never been focussed on writing solely discoid material, throwing as much effort over the years into multi-faceted parallel ventures, far and apart from strictly dance floor-oriented functionality. Yet, from this partition between various projects and mindsets, this is through a radical shift towards downtempo pop and out of the 4x4 loop that Kito got to fully assert himself as a musician, embracing the rejoicing variety of tone and mood of his tender loves, secret and not. The movie Ive never made but have the soundtrack for, Part Time Chaos Part Time Calmness is the fruit of change as much as change itself. A return to the simple means of his young self, his old trusty guitar from his late teens serving as the backbone to Killer Line and Love Myself But I Cant Make It Love, and the natural development to last years Green Monster, which
initiated these deep tectonic movements in Kitos approach to his art, PTCPTC is an intimate trip down the kaleidoscope of his present life. Joined up by an impressive cast of artists, including Jimi Tenor, Adam Evald and Hard Ton, Kito didnt just bin his old persona, he took it back to where it belongs. From the low-slung emotional folk of the opener, Killer Line, to the eerie flamenco-jazz hybrid Before Music Dies. via the broken soulfulness of Put Love Into Your Heart and anthemic 80s balearic breaks meets coastal synthwave vibe of Sounds of Love, the album pulsates with a refreshingly genre-unbound vision. To the naive, laid-back sonic bokeh of Footsteps,
succeeds the left-of-centre cinematic narrative of In The Countryside, which includes some fun nods to fictional brands taken from Tarantinos imaginarium (Red Apple cigarettes) or other movies like High Fidelity, after Nick Hornbys eponymous novel.

Freed from gridlocked programming and impersonal tropes, PTCPTC showcases a wide array of songs, beats, grooves old and new, some dating back to 2018 and improvised sessions with his 9-people Kito Jempere Band, all of which were finished within the same timeframe and with this all-inclusive momentum in mind. Through the epic synths of Absent Ascent. in revamping the universal classic Over The Rainbow with Celebrine, on the appeasing ballad Shorespotting feat. Evald or in the waves-ready closing cut Lovers, Jempere tells a tale of hard-earned emancipation and life-affirming freedom.

From a club-friendly chrysalid onto deploying his wings as a full fledged pop artist in recent years, Saint Petersburgs Kito Jempere has enjoyed a journey unlike any other and his newest album, Part Time Chaos Part Time Calmness live-documents the chameleonic changes / game-changing paradox experienced this year between his life both as a musician and as a family man.

Better known for his work as a house producer which has earned him accolades from prominent dance music outlets throughout well over a decade of intense work both into and outwith the limelights, Kito has for all that never been focussed on writing solely discoid material, throwing as much effort over the years into multi-faceted parallel ventures, far and apart from strictly dance floor-oriented functionality. Yet, from this partition between various projects and mindsets, this is through a radical shift towards downtempo pop and out of the 4x4 loop that Kito got to fully assert himself as a musician, embracing the rejoicing variety of tone and mood of his tender loves, secret and not. The movie Ive never made but have the soundtrack for, Part Time Chaos Part Time Calmness is the fruit of change as much as change itself. A return to the simple means of his young self, his old trusty guitar from his late teens serving as the backbone to Killer Line and Love Myself But I Cant Make It Love, and the natural development to last years Green Monster, which
initiated these deep tectonic movements in Kitos approach to his art, PTCPTC is an intimate trip down the kaleidoscope of his present life. Joined up by an impressive cast of artists, including Jimi Tenor, Adam Evald and Hard Ton, Kito didnt just bin his old persona, he took it back to where it belongs. From the low-slung emotional folk of the opener, Killer Line, to the eerie flamenco-jazz hybrid Before Music Dies. via the broken soulfulness of Put Love Into Your Heart and anthemic 80s balearic breaks meets coastal synthwave vibe of Sounds of Love, the album pulsates with a refreshingly genre-unbound vision. To the naive, laid-back sonic bokeh of Footsteps,
succeeds the left-of-centre cinematic narrative of In The Countryside, which includes some fun nods to fictional brands taken from Tarantinos imaginarium (Red Apple cigarettes) or other movies like High Fidelity, after Nick Hornbys eponymous novel.

Freed from gridlocked programming and impersonal tropes, PTCPTC showcases a wide array of songs, beats, grooves old and new, some dating back to 2018 and improvised sessions with his 9-people Kito Jempere Band, all of which were finished within the same timeframe and with this all-inclusive momentum in mind. Through the epic synths of Absent Ascent. in revamping the universal classic Over The Rainbow with Celebrine, on the appeasing ballad Shorespotting feat. Evald or in the waves-ready closing cut Lovers, Jempere tells a tale of hard-earned emancipation and life-affirming freedom.

+ REPRESS OF THE LONG OUT OF PRINT DEBUT ALBUM BY THE COATHANGERS + LIMITED EDITION FOURTH LP PRESSING ON NEON BUTTERFLY VINYL + REMASTERED WITH TWO BONUS TRACKS + EXPANDED ARTWORK BY BRADFORD COX (DEERHUNTER, ATLAS SOUND) + HOUSED IN A GATEFOLD JACKET + DL COUPON // Eighteen years ago, four young Atlanta women picked up instruments without any prior musical experience or lofty aspirations and decided that they were going to start a band so that they could play a friend's party. The house-show begat more shows around town, and the feisty and fiery live sets begat an album. Recorded during a single graveyard shift at a local studio and mixed the following night, the self-titled debut album by The Coathangers was a raw, rowdy, and revelrous affair. What it lacked in polish it made up for in its undeniable energy and charisma. "We didn't think anyone was going to listen to it," says vocalist/guitarist Julia Kugel. "We knew our friends in Atlanta would get it, but we didn't think it was going to go anywhere. We were just excited to make a record." Little did Kugel or her bandmates_vocalist/drummer Stephanie Luke, bassist/vocalist Meredith Franco, and keyboardist Candice Jones_know that their scrappy house show-anthems would catch on, prompting years of international tours, a slew of excellent LPs and singles, and, eventually, a deluxe version of their boisterous debut, The Coathangers. The eponymous debut album by The Coathangers is a whirlwind ride of a band at the most frenzied, celebratory, and free moment of their existence. As a standalone record, it's a brash and bawdy rocker sure to please anyone who likes their rock n' roll sweaty and messy. As a piece in the band's legacy, it's an exhilarating reminder of the band's youthful care-free beginnings. The deluxe remastered version of The Coathangers includes the bonus tracks "Wife Eyes" from the Hard Candy EP and the title track from the Never Wanted You EP. The Coathangers on vinyl features expanded artwork by Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) in a gatefold jacket.

NOTON and The Vinyl Factory are pleased to announce the release of the new edition of Carsten Nicolai’s ∞ (Endless Loop Color Edition), under his alias Noto.

This new limited edition box set celebrates Carsten Nicolai’s beloved interactive installation, bausatz noto, currently featured at The Vinyl Factory: Reverb exhibition at 180 Studios.

The exhibition features an expanded version of Nicolai’s artwork bausatz noto (1998) – an interactive piece centered around four Technics SL-1210 turntables and a selection of colored vinyl records. Visitors are invited to select and play the records, each of which has been cut with 9 or 8 unique locked grooves on each side. As Nicolai explains, “the different colors indicate different sound material, from the very abstract to the graphic” that users can loop and layer to create infinite permutations and combinations.

Previously released as a sold-out signed edition with a hardback book, this 2024 box set edition brings the installation into your own space. Comprised of twelve 10” colored vinyl records, each featuring 18 or 16 unique locked grooves (9 or 8 per side), the concept remains the same: Nicolai provides the tools to build your own soundscapes.

The records are sleeved in twelve custom-made archive folders, housed in a handmade box with artwork. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

Lacquers created by Lupo / Calyx Mastering

Da Beatminerz defined the dark, gritty sound of underground Hip-Hop in the '90s. Formed in 1992 by brothers Walter “Mr. Walt” and Ewart “DJ Evil Dee” Dewgarde, the production duo pioneered Hip-Hop's brooding vibes, a tonal shift that came with the release of Black Moon's classic debut album Enta Da Stage. As producers of the seminal 1993 project in its entirety, Da Beatminerz set a precedent for hardcore Hip-Hop.

Their sample-heavy, gutter tracks laced with heavy basslines, and hard kicks and snares helped reshape the music genre. Da Beatminerz continued to refine their distinct sound and identity with countless classic records for other artists and two albums of their own (2001’s Brace 4 Impak and 2004’s Fully Loaded w/ Statik) over the course of their illustrious 30-year career.

Stifled Creativity is the duo’s first full-length album in 20 years.

“We started working on this album in 2009... We had one focus and the focus was to stick to our core sound. We just wanted to bring back our traditional way of attempting a classic album. Everybody has their own type of hip hop that they love. Well, this is ours.” - Mr. Walt













m Adore HER (feat. Keith Murray)



q It’s All 4 U [REPRISE] (feat. Halley Hiatt & AZ)













[m] Adore [HER] (feat. Keith Murray)



[q] It’s All 4 U [REPRISE] (feat. Halley Hiatt & AZ)













[m] Adore [HER] (feat. Keith Murray)



[q] It’s All 4 U [REPRISE] (feat. Halley Hiatt & AZ)

Red Vinyl. Since emerging in 2015, Sextile have been a party-provoking force on the LA underground, capable of kicking up a riot with the raw-edged squall of a synth or the sharp-elbowed jerk of a guitar. Sextile are now ready to rage with a serotonin-boosting new album, a new group dynamic, faster BPMs, and an even wilder new direction. Recorded in Yucca Valley, Push bounces and bops at the fringes of hardcore dance music, with the hallmarks of drum & bass, gabber and trance illuminating the record like glowsticks at a `90s Fantazia rave. "Contortion" introduces the album with shadowy vocals from Keehn and a `00s-ready twist of dirty electro bass, setting the tone for the dance-punk rave-up that unfolds across 11 attention-grabbing tracks. There's plenty of historic teen angst and biting social commentary written into the album's vivid tales and misadventures. Balancing storytelling with face- melting synths that turn the tune into an acid trance character study, "No Fun" is penned from the perspective of a teenager trying to flee their town. A punk spirit underscores the album. The clue's in the name with "Crassy Mel," which partly serves as a high-energy dedication to `70s anarcho-punk legends Crass . The track's headbang - ing heft, vocal yelping, and Prodigy -shaped breakbeats accentuate the album's overwhelming sense of fun. Plus, the dreamy ambient wash at the end of the song is the ultimate palate- cleanser. Push was inspired by the kind of pleasure-seeking music fans whose social calendar comprises both the punk show and the rave. Josh Wink, Iggy Pop, Goldie, and early XL Recordings have all been namechecked as influences on Push , and the dancefloor remains a constant pres - ence. Repping their place of origin, "New York" brings these musical touchstones off the page, guiding the album like an acid-soaked lodestar with its grinning nod to "Higher State of Consciousness" and a whirlygig of music-box synths. There are still nods and "hellos" to the caustic post-punk of Sextile's earlier work. Sextile haven't relinquished their punk credentials, they've just given them a smiley-faced revamp.

Ben Lukas Boysen’s new album, Alta Ripa, signifies a seismic shift in his artistic journey. It revisits the foundational impulses of his youth, shaped amidst the serene beauty of rural Germany—a bucolic backdrop where his creative palette flourished. However, it was his move to Berlin in the early 2000s that electrified his sound, infusing it with the city’s pulsating energy and diverse cultural influences. Alta Ripa captures this transformative experience, blending the introspective melodies of his rural beginnings with the bold, experimental tones born from Berlin’s vibrant electronic music scene. This album is a testament to Boysen’s evolution, showcasing how geographical shifts can profoundly shape artistic expression.

Boysen’s fourth studio album under his own name, Alta Ripa is a nod to his beginnings as much as a hint to his future, and as a work, it’s almost contradictory in its boldness and humility. He invites the listener on a journey of self-discovery; both for himself and for them, describing the music as “something the 15-year-old in me would have liked to hear but only the grown-up version of myself can write.”

His last two albums involved working closely with other musicians, including cellist Anne Müller, flugelhorn player Steffen Zimmer, and drummer Achim Färber. However, inspired in part by a recent return to live performance, Alta Ripa sees Boysen circling back to his passion for pure computer music.

For Boysen, the return to his youthful musical language marks a major turning point in his career. It represents a departure from his roots in classical music – his mother was an opera singer and his father an actor with an appreciation for Wagner, Arvo Pärt, Keith Jarrett, and Stockhausen. Although these are still important influences, Alta Ripa encapsulates a new, exploratory interplay between Boysen’s careful craft and his ability to let go of some of the process.

The album’s title comes from the original Roman name of the town that Boysen grew up in, Altrip, where he lived until his early twenties. This formative period is central to the ideas behind this album, from Boysen’s parental ‘schooling’ in classical music through to his sonic journeys through drum and bass, Aphex Twin, and Autechre — all of which changed his idea of what music could be. The extreme energy of tracks like ‘Acperience 1’ by Hardfloor, ‘Tracks & Fragment’ by Cari Lekebusch, ‘Focus2 Implan’ by Jiri.Ceiver, and ‘Low On Ice’ by Alec Empire are also pivotal influences.

For Boysen, this time of his musical development also involved knocking down the pillars that he previously thought had carried his world. A key moment for Boysen was being given a precious (pre-internet) club cassette at school that featured artists like Source Direct, Photek and Goldie. Excited by this new discovery, he introduced his father to the song ‘Dred Bass’ by Dead Dred. After the song finished, Boysen Sr. turned off the tape and proclaimed it was “the end of all music”. This heated exchange sparked a new, and more mature dialogue between the two that involved them sharing and discussing music on a regular basis.

Boysen’s classical and jazz music upbringing might not be easily noticeable from the electronic palette that he uses. But it can be found in its bones; the structure of the tracks and their dynamic shifts. On Alta Ripa, he intentionally embraces a spirit of controlled chaos, churning out sonic ideas to see what sticks.

One of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategy cards contains the phrase “gardening, not architecture”, and the trajectory of Boysen’s creative path reflects this metaphor. In much of his previous work he followed a sort of Brutalist architect’s approach; here, he was fully responsible for the tracks’ austere structures and planned them with deliberate care. But by sacrificing some of that control on Alta Ripa, he sets the right conditions for a dark and unpredictable, organic growth. It’s a push forward into a new world.

Warehouse Find!

Detroit Swindle continue their incredible run of form with a cracking new EP for for their Freerange follow up, suitably entitled Unfinished Business. It's pretty fair to say that the Dutch duos 2012 Freerange debut helped cement their reputation as one of the most exciting young house music acts to emerge in recent years. Their relentless tour schedule and stream of quality EP's for the likes of Tsuba, Dirt Crew and their own fledgling label Heist are testament to their success. Remixes for the likes of Waze & Odyssee, Sowar and Medlar all did the damage as did their immense Boiler Room takeover session which sealed the deal for any skeptics. Turning to the fresh stuff, we see DS delivering three brand new originals plus we have a hard as nails (by our standards anyway!) remix from the enigmatic Crue.

Title track Unfinished Business sets the tone with a driving, shuffling, tech tinged beauty loaded with their trademark cut-up, MAW style vox samples.

Under The Spell drops next with a more low slung groove, rhodes stabs and breakdowns that are tried and tested for maximum dancefloor pleasure.

The B1 sees Crue step up for his hard hitting remix which brings a darker, raw edge to the EP with a bad boy basement feel and garage swing bringing some peaktime intensity.

Finally we close the EP with Woman, a track that's probably about as close as the DS boys get to a smooching torch song. Lush pads and strings bring a deeper vibe to proceedings but the female spoken word samples keep the energy high and ensure things never stray too far from the floor.

DJ und Produzent Brennan Heart (Fabian Bohn) ist seit mehreren Jahren in Hochform. Ein wahrer Star der Hardstyle-Szene mit vielen Studio- und Mixalben, Golden Awards und Kollaborationen mit den Grössten der internationalen Szene - von Steve Aoki über Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike bis Ben Nicky.

"Save Euphoric" ist sein bisher persönlichstes Album, ein Spiegelbild seines jüngeren Ichs. Brennan: ""Save Euphoric" handelt davon, diesem fröhlichen, lebhaften Kind in mir endlich den Raum zum Atmen zu geben. Zu lange habe ich mich hinter der Arbeit versteckt, hinter "Leidenschaften", die mir viel gebracht, mich aber völlig aus dem Gleichgewicht geworfen haben. Es ist ein persönlicher Spiegel, eine Erinnerung daran, auf dem Boden zu bleiben. Ich glaube, unser geliebter Hardstyle ist genug gereift, dass ich all dies jetzt durch unsere Musik teilen kann."

Dieses Meisterwerk von einem Album enthält 19 Titel und jeder davon erzählt einen anderen Teil von Fabians Geschichte. Sie alle gehen zurück zu den euphorischen Wurzeln des Hardstyle und zeigen seine Liebe zu grossen Melodien, orchestralen Breaks und Ausdruckskraft in seinen Songs. Die Entstehung war eine Zusammenarbeit von Fabian mit einigen seiner musikalischen Freunde, darunter Timmy Trumpet, Jonathan Mendelsohn (u.a. bei "Running Up That Hill"), Toneshifterz, u.v.a. Die CD enthält eine persönliche Nachricht von Fabian selbst und bietet über eine Stunde Hardstyle vom Feinsten. Ein absolutes Muss für alle Fans von euphorischem Hardstyle!

San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok

Aqua Tofana Colourless Vinyl. San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok.

San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok

Früher war alles besser. Alles außer CHRISTMAS, die von Jahr zu Jahr unaufhaltsamer wurden. Wenn andere Bands auftauchen und schnell wieder verbrennen, haben sich CHRISTMAS dazu entschlossen, einfach alle Arschlöcher zu überleben. Mit Erfolg: 20 Veröffentlichungen in 14 Jahren. 550 Shows in 18 Ländern und 21 verschlissene Ex-Bandmitglieder. Der Hardcore-Zug rollt, gepanzert mit Tonnen von Kronkorken, angetrieben von alles verbrennendem Wahnsinnsidealismus (mit der Betonung auf Wahnsinn). Immer dämonisch dem scheintoten Geist des Rock-n-Roll ins Gesicht grinsend, kurz am Abgrund der Nachpunkgeschichte vorbei und CHRISTMAS sehen dabei noch verdammt gut aus!

Farbiges Re-Vinyl (random coloured!), Inside-Out Cover, Recyclingkarton. Booklet. Limitiert auf 300 Exemplare. Früher war alles besser. Alles außer CHRISTMAS, die von Jahr zu Jahr unaufhaltsamer wurden. Wenn andere Bands auftauchen und schnell wieder verbrennen, haben sich CHRISTMAS dazu entschlossen, einfach alle Arschlöcher zu überleben. Mit Erfolg: 20 Veröffentlichungen in 14 Jahren. 550 Shows in 18 Ländern und 21 verschlissene Ex-Bandmitglieder. Der Hardcore-Zug rollt, gepanzert mit Tonnen von Kronkorken, angetrieben von alles verbrennendem Wahnsinnsidealismus (mit der Betonung auf Wahnsinn). Immer dämonisch dem scheintoten Geist des Rock-n-Roll ins Gesicht grinsend, kurz am Abgrund der Nachpunkgeschichte vorbei und CHRISTMAS sehen dabei noch verdammt gut aus!

San Jose slowcore / space rock outfit Duster return with surprise album, ‘In Dreams’, continuing theirinclination of sonically capturing an open-ended
question.

These thirteen tracks hone in on the band’s trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialled back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy drum machine avenues.

It’s the fifth Duster album.

LP available on Aqua Tofana coloured vinyl and black vinyl.

San Jose slowcore / space rock outfit Duster return with surprise album, ‘In Dreams’, continuing theirinclination of sonically capturing an open-ended
question.

These thirteen tracks hone in on the band’s trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialled back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy drum machine avenues.

It’s the fifth Duster album.

LP available on Aqua Tofana coloured vinyl and black vinyl.

Prairiewolf make easy listening music for an age of fracture. They almost do it in spite of themselves. No one can seriously question the head music bona fides of the members of this Colorado-based trio.

Guitarist Stefan Beck has already assembled a formidable discography of jewel-toned guitar zone-outs under his Golden Brown moniker. And keyboardist and guitarist Jeremy Erwin and bassist Tyler Wilcox have both made their reputations as chroniclers of the vast world of out-music. Erwin helms the indispensable Heat Warps blog, a performance-by-performance archive of Miles Davis’s labyrinthine electric period. And Wilcox has been covering the ragged edges of psychedelia and experimental rock at Aquarium Drunkard and other publications, not to mention his own virtual basement for heads, the great bootleg blog Doom and Gloom from the Tomb.

These guys come by it honestly. And yet, given their backgrounds, Prairiewolf’s self-titled debut last spring was remarkably free of face-melters, brown acid blowouts, and ascendant spiritual jazz odysseys. Instead, they dropped a record of beautiful, elegant, low-key cosmic groovers that sounded like the piped-in background music to a resort hotel on Jupiter. It was an unlikely psychedelia, brocaded with mid-twentieth century sonic threading from the hi-fi era: vintage synthesizers, smears of spaghetti western, luxe tropical details, the faint schmaltz of space age pop. Imagine something like a Harmonia residency in the airport lounge. And yet somehow it all worked brilliantly. Prairiewolf became last summer’s cool-down standard. After a year woodshedding around Colorado’s Front Range region, the Prairiewolf boys have fired up their trusty Korg SR-120 drum machine for another outstanding collection of suborbital exotica. The appropriately titled Deep Time operates in its own chronology, unspooling at its unhurried pace. All its incongruous period and stylistic references—the new age pulses, Hawaiian steel, shaggy hippie rambles, lysergic guitar spirals, and orchestral synthesizer flourishes—float atop the album’s own singular temporality. Deep Time makes its own time.

From the moment Beck folds his slide guitar, origami-like, into a sound resembling the call of gulls on the tranquil album opener, “Peach Blossom Paradise,” there is a sense of departure from everyday life. The shimmering “Lighthouse” has a similar sunbaked nonchalance, like an afternoon passed day-drinking in a seaside bar. That they named their lush, kaleidoscopic downtempo track “The Meander” pretty much says it all. The ranging, propulsive “Saying Yes to Everything” seems like a nod in the direction of Rose City Band’s brand of wookie krautrock. And the motorik noir of “Demon Cicadas in the Night” also goes hard. Beck and Erwin’s intertwined guitar jam on the eerie album standout “The Cold Curve” evolves into something that sounds like primitive computer music. A genteel bassline from Wilcox on another album highlight, “Revisionist Mystery,” sets the stage for a loopy space jazz turn from guest clarinettist Matt Loewen of Rayonism. The title of post-rock cowboy tune “Another Tomorrow” might refer to the alternative future that so many critics heard in the music of Prairiewolf’s first album. Or it might simply refer to the persistence of time, however deep. Either way,

I’m thankful for the way Prairiewolf make each of their tunes a little oasis or sanctuary, each subsisting according to its own crystalline little logic for a few minutes. It is no simple task to filter out the omnipresent anger and anxiety of everyday life these days. But Prairiewolf are out here making it seem easy.

Brent S. Sirota

Ben Lukas Boysen’s new album, Alta Ripa, signifies a seismic shift in his artistic journey. It revisits the foundational impulses of his youth, shaped amidst the serene beauty of rural Germany—a bucolic backdrop where his creative palette flourished. However, it was his move to Berlin in the early 2000s that electrified his sound, infusing it with the city’s pulsating energy and diverse cultural influences. Alta Ripa captures this transformative experience, blending the introspective melodies of his rural beginnings with the bold, experimental tones born from Berlin’s vibrant electronic music scene. This album is a testament to Boysen’s evolution, showcasing how geographical shifts can profoundly shape artistic expression.

Boysen’s fourth studio album under his own name, Alta Ripa is a nod to his beginnings as much as a hint to his future, and as a work, it’s almost contradictory in its boldness and humility. He invites the listener on a journey of self-discovery; both for himself and for them, describing the music as “something the 15-year-old in me would have liked to hear but only the grown-up version of myself can write.”

His last two albums involved working closely with other musicians, including cellist Anne Müller, flugelhorn player Steffen Zimmer, and drummer Achim Färber. However, inspired in part by a recent return to live performance, Alta Ripa sees Boysen circling back to his passion for pure computer music.

For Boysen, the return to his youthful musical language marks a major turning point in his career. It represents a departure from his roots in classical music – his mother was an opera singer and his father an actor with an appreciation for Wagner, Arvo Pärt, Keith Jarrett, and Stockhausen. Although these are still important influences, Alta Ripa encapsulates a new, exploratory interplay between Boysen’s careful craft and his ability to let go of some of the process.

The album’s title comes from the original Roman name of the town that Boysen grew up in, Altrip, where he lived until his early twenties. This formative period is central to the ideas behind this album, from Boysen’s parental ‘schooling’ in classical music through to his sonic journeys through drum and bass, Aphex Twin, and Autechre — all of which changed his idea of what music could be. The extreme energy of tracks like ‘Acperience 1’ by Hardfloor, ‘Tracks & Fragment’ by Cari Lekebusch, ‘Focus2 Implan’ by Jiri.Ceiver, and ‘Low On Ice’ by Alec Empire are also pivotal influences.

For Boysen, this time of his musical development also involved knocking down the pillars that he previously thought had carried his world. A key moment for Boysen was being given a precious (pre-internet) club cassette at school that featured artists like Source Direct, Photek and Goldie. Excited by this new discovery, he introduced his father to the song ‘Dred Bass’ by Dead Dred. After the song finished, Boysen Sr. turned off the tape and proclaimed it was “the end of all music”. This heated exchange sparked a new, and more mature dialogue between the two that involved them sharing and discussing music on a regular basis.

Boysen’s classical and jazz music upbringing might not be easily noticeable from the electronic palette that he uses. But it can be found in its bones; the structure of the tracks and their dynamic shifts. On Alta Ripa, he intentionally embraces a spirit of controlled chaos, churning out sonic ideas to see what sticks.

One of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategy cards contains the phrase “gardening, not architecture”, and the trajectory of Boysen’s creative path reflects this metaphor. In much of his previous work he followed a sort of Brutalist architect’s approach; here, he was fully responsible for the tracks’ austere structures and planned them with deliberate care. But by sacrificing some of that control on Alta Ripa, he sets the right conditions for a dark and unpredictable, organic growth. It’s a push forward into a new world.

Bon Jovi has used great hooks, epic-sounding productions and stadium-sized passion to forge a sound that combines a pop sensibility with a heavy-metal attitude.