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“Duran Duran” aka “The Wedding Album” released in 1993 was a return to form for the band, charting in the top10 on both the UK and US album charts and spawning the world-wide hit’s ‘Ordinary World’ and ‘Come Undone’

Following in 1995, “Thank You” was an album of covers featuring songs written by Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Lou Reed and Elvis Costello. The album charted in the top20 of both UK and US charts.

Originally squeezed onto 1LP, both albums are highly sought after as neither have been re-pressed on vinyl since their original release. They are now spread across 140g 2LPs for the best sound. CDs will now be in paper sleeves as opposed to jewel cases.

“The Wedding Album” has a newly embossed sleeve and includes a 12” art card, and “Thank You” features a gatefold sleeve with a fold out poster replicating the original release.

2026 Repress

Tresor Records is fortunate enough to be sitting on a catalogue of past releases that no other label in electronic music would turn down. Three of the finest in this collection were contributed by Surgeon;
“Basictonalvocabulary”, “Balance” and “Force + Form”, which all came out between 1997 and 1999.
Surgeon’s inimitable combination of Detroit techno and post-industrial sounds emanating from his British homeland found its fullest expression in these masterful trio of releases.
Following the release of Surgeon's first album in 5 years "Crash Recoil" earlier in 2023, Tresor Records have decided that its high time to give these seminal albums another airing.

Original Funk Band from Paris

With just three years on the scene, Jéroboam is already considered as one of the most exciting and essential new voices in contemporary soul funk.

A true manifesto for live music and the dancefloor, this 11-piece live machine hits the stage like a juggernaut and doesn’t just play funk, they live and breathe it.

After a slew of certified underground classic releases on Space Grapes and Chuwanaga which have been supported worldwide by tastemakers and connoisseurs, Jéroboam is now presenting its long awaited first LP on Favorite Recordings.

From boogie-funk to 2-step soul crossover, Jéroboam delivers 8 heartelf songs, combining razor-sharp compositions with genuine and relatable lyrics.

Achieving such an exciting and challenging piece of work is the outcome of a long and inspiring process started more than 10 years ago in Paris.

From their early beginnings on the local scene, the core musicians of Jéroboam thrived on their mutual love for funk music under the name and concept of Echoes Of.

Building on these successful experiences and expanding its line up over the years, the band has been able to sharpen its sound, craft a distinctive crossover identity and create its own original music under a brand new entity : Jéroboam.

This momentum culminates in their debut full-length album, set for release in june 2026 on Favorite Recordings, a defining moment for one of Europe’s most vital modern funk acts.

Craig Bratley’s sophomore album, Return To Bass, has been a long-time gestating, with a whisky-like distill time in the musical barrels from whence this came. His debut was in 2014 and 12 years later here he is again, in the blink of a, er, Jurassic age. In that time, he’s gathered a good deal of experience, released several musically varied 12-inches, as well as having Andrew Weatherall remix a few of his efforts (not completely surprising, since The Guv’nor also played Craig’s music).

Bratley has spent the last few years honing his musical and technical skills which are evident on this album, as are his influences, which can be heard on his impressively consistent back catalogue, include Italo-disco, British electropop, acid house and a slowed down version of Chicago house that lends it a heroin crawl. Added to that, though, is the dub reggae sound championed by King Tubby, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and our own Dennis Bovell, which is much in evidence on this set.

It seems apposite, in the wake of the death of Sly Dunbar (and, less recently, his partner, Robbie Shakespeare) that Craig’s album is now appearing, since Bratley’s sound is imbued with a dub sensibility and the engine of the whole set is built around the thud that Sly & Robbie brought to their greatest productions; the song titles are clues: ‘Plasticine Dub’, ‘Return To Bass’ and ‘No In Between Dub’.

The LP Features standout vocals from Amy Douglas, Thomas Gandey, and Ola, plus funeral-march trumpet work by Tim Hutton.

** FIRST TIME ON 45 **
Born in Jamaica, Tory Wynter spent his early years in London. From there, he moved to New York City where he studied voice and acting and quickly assumed his music and entertainment career. Tory began performing with some of the greatest names in entertainment, and for some of the most prestigious audiences. He burst onto the recording scene, writing several albums and singles for major record labels. The experience and expertise he picked up along the way allowed him to open a highly successful publishing company and record label, Laykash Records.

Both tracks are taken from his LP "On The Love Side / Happy Side" and have now been released for the first time as a strictly limited 45 RPM single. In addition, "Oh Let The Rain Fall Down" will soon be released on the upcoming Tramp Records compilation titled "CAN YOU FEEL IT Vol.5 - Modern Soul, Disco & Boogie 1977-88".

Ryjel was a band from suburban Pittsburgh, PA, that started out in the mid-1970s performing classic rock covers. The band was approached by a local entrepreneur who wanted to cut a single for the disco market, but a lack of financing scuttled the proposal. Nevertheless, the band was able to record a dozen of its original tunes in a professional studio for possible release, and among those songs were "Heart's On Fire" and "Baby Don't Stop."

Both tracks were recorded some 50 years ago having remained unreleased to this day. It needed the investigative work of the Tramp Records crew to discover them. Finally they are available on a strictly limited 45 RPM single release. In addition, the full length version of "Heart's On Fire" will soon be released on the upcoming Tramp Records compilation titled "CAN YOU FEEL IT Vol.5 - Modern Soul, Disco & Boogie 1977-88".

2026 Repress

"To make authentic Jungle you’ve got to get the breaks right sonically and LMajor does that without effort. Something in the tone of his drums really spoke to me and I knew immediately I wanted a record for Astrophonica. Authentic UKG is also all in the drums and it turns out he can do those too. Throw in some killer hooks and riffs and it’s the perfect combination - full of vibe and character” - Fracture

‘Can’t Do It’ is raw dance floor Jungle in a drawn out and journey like fashion. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Incredibly fun to mix - can you do it?

‘Spinnin’ is all blissed out UKG with dizzying chord stabs and vocal ticks. Wait for the irresistible walking bass line to take you by the arm and go for a stroll.

The drums in ’Feelin’ are so in the pocket that there’s no space for your wallet and keys so forget them and just bubble. Heavy sub bass will have the rest of your jeans flapping.

‘Hush’ closes the EP on a high with trademark LMajor breaks and drawn out arrangement. No need to rush this one, just tune out to the rhodes and Think break workout before the lashing and metallic Amen ramps up the excitement. Shhh, just listen.

Claus Voigtmann has built his reputation away from excess, favouring precision, patience, and a deep understanding of the dancefloor over trend-led movements. Emerging from a punk background, his approach to music carries that same raw intent, translated into rolling, groove-led sets that blend movement with a stripped-back sense of pressure and release. As co-founder of the influential Toi.Toi.Musik party series, he helped shape one of London’s most respected underground movements, while later channelling his focus into his label Subsequent - a platform for more exploratory, long-form expression that has found its way into the crates of DJs including Zip, Ricardo Villalobos, and Sonja Moonear.

Having already landed on Enzo Siragusa’s FUSE imprint in 2023, remixing the label boss’s ‘Laughing Tones’, and after featuring heavily across the brand’s global events for years, his ‘Elevate’ EP distils his ethos into four direct, function-led cuts. Built with clarity and intent, the record reflects his commitment to music that works in the room first and foremost, resulting in a collection of tracks shaped by experience rather than excess, and where every element serves a clear purpose.

‘Bass Tool’ brings low-end pressure and tightly wound percussion, setting the tone from the off , while ‘Loading Complete’ leans into a more cosmic roll, layering shifting textures over a forward-driving framework. On the B-side, ‘Sidequest West’ keeps the focus in the sub-bass realms while still maintaining focus on groove and flow, before the title cut closes the release by opening things out, balancing weight and space in a way that reframes the EP’s direction and journeys into the late hours.

When I first heard YELKA play I thought to myself: “I’d like to play in that band.”

In the meantime I have realised that it would not be as easy as I imagined. The fluffy easy sound that gets created is so particular that it would not be so easy to execute those exact sounds of the band. This is mostly due to the unconventional harmonies of the guitar. Daniel himself said he is content with the guitar and added an extra one on almost all of the songs. Which I, as a fan of Daniels anarchic approach to playing, love.

Also Yelka’s groovy smooth bass playing is in the forefront of the album once again. Her sound bounces through the guitar riffs as if it's the most common thing on earth. Once Yelka adds her vocals to the songs, that’s when they almost become pop and reminiscent of Velvet Underground.

Christians drums hold these two together through the track list, with a fun Krautrock and jazz influenced style. Everything was recorded live and it sounds fantastic!

The 6th track of the YELKA album "Jeans" is a highlight with the piano support from Federico Corazzini, who adds lush open jazz chords to the incredible intricate harmonies of the band. Arne Bergner (Studio Popschutz) who is once more responsible for the production of the album, also added a beautiful choir arrangement. The finishing touches completing YELKA´S wonderful sound as always added by Norman Nitzsches Mastering (Mokik Studio).

From top to bottom an amazing album: "King of the World" (Steely Dan cover), a pop song with a fantastic keyboard solo from `the one and only Dan Ra´ alias Daniel Nentwig (The Whitest Boy Alive), "Moon for Now", an atmospheric jazz-ish tune, to "Walking Whispering", a strong 9-minute guitar heavy number... I think there are more than two guitars in this one.

American indie rock/pop/jazz whatever - school (after all, it's the third album in the band's America trilogy) and yet above all Berlin, in its most likeable and perhaps even coolest form.

Masha Qrella

After two EP releases and a few millions streams later, Hamburg based songwriter, producer and visual artist KUOKO is about to drop her debut self-titled album. Released via Kabul Fire Records this album is brimming with energy and purpose, the singles such as Perfect Girl and Strong Girls Don"t Cry see KUOKO channeling her frustrations with society"s demands of women, and the impact that it can have on them. As a Vietnamese-German woman KUOKO is claiming her own place in an industry that often doesn"t represent women in the complex and fluid ways in which they actually exist and create music - self-taught, conceptual, ambitious.

After releasing his first beat & instrumental album "Alltimers" in 2020, Berlin based multi-talent V.Raeter is back and kicking off the champagne for his upcoming sophomore LP "Sunday on a Monday" - this time released via Kabul Fire Records, also known as the nourishing home of high class instrumental releases in proud HipHop fashion. Sunday on a Monday is a sample based instrumental gem that pays tribute to the laid-back atmosphere of late summer days.

Mit "Off Grid" liefert wacho den perfekten Soundtrack zur Entschleunigung. Der Track bricht mit dem digitalen Überfluss und setzt auf warme, atmosphärische Texturen, die ihre volle Wirkung erst auf dem Plattenteller entfalten. Musikalisch bewegt sich die Veröffentlichung zwischen organischem Downtempo und minimalistischen Lo-Fi-Beats. Es ist Musik für die Momente, in denen der Rest der Welt stummgeschaltet wird - analog, tiefgründig und zeitlos. Erhältlich als exklusive Vinyl-Edition für alle, die Klangqualität nicht nur hören, sondern auch fühlen wollen. Ein Must-have für Sammler und Liebhaber kuratierter Electronic-Sounds.

Wacho is Kabul Fire Records" newest of talented beat makers who"ll be sure to serve all lovers of instrumental hiphop productions more than well. With his debut album "Simplicies" he offers his very own synth heavy take on lo-fi & boombap instrumentals and creating atmospheric sounds that will always have you trip in between earth and the moon.

50 years ago, Nancy Spungeon reviewed the Heartbreakers relaunch gig for New York Rocker. They"d hired bassist Billy Rath to replace Richard Hell and written new songs. This was the genesis of the L.A.M.F. story. FOUND IN AN ATTIC - a copy master of the original 1977 Track Records tape, without "mud"! This classic punk album, recorded in London by the band featuring New York Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, along was universally condemned in the music press for having a "muddy mix" - later found to be a mastering fault. When Track went bust the following year, manager Leee Black Childers burgled the Track Records" Carnaby Street 3rd floor office and liberated the tapes that belonged to him and the band. He found everything - except for the master-tape, which remained undiscovered until last year. Other releases had been from outtakes or remixes. First released for RSD in 2021 with not enough copies, and has been unavailable for three years. Now reissued to satisfy the demand for this latterly discovered, acclaimed recording.

Cloud Machines is the extraordinary debut collaboration between M.C. Schmidt of legendary electronic duo Matmos and John Berndt, the Baltimore avant-garde institution and band leader behind High Zero Festival, the Red Room collective, Geodesic Gnome, and radical sonic concepts like Spectral Relay (a bespoke signal processing architecture) and Relabi (a conceptual genre defined by a Rorschach-blot pulse. These two iconoclasts have delivered something genuinely unexpected: an oddly sweet electronic opus that"s as immediately engaging as it is a series of delicious puzzles. When two of experimental music"s most irascible characters spend twelve years crafting an album, you don"t just get another release - it is an anthology of pocket universes. The record is a love letter to two of their strongest mutual influences of the 1980s - the delirious comic books of French auteur Jean Giraud (AKA Moebius) and the beautiful miniatures of the SKY Records Cluster/Eno/Conny Plank collaborations. Cloud Machines honors the spirit of those ineffably "hermetic" creations by reinventing their legacy through the lens of decades of accumulated experimental practice and the duo"s singular creative personalities. The result feels simultaneously like rediscovering a lost classic from 1978 and receiving a transmission from an alternate, somehow better timeline in 2026. Yet unlike so much "difficult" experimental music, Cloud Machines maintains an uncanny and sneaky accessibility - each track a self-contained world, inviting and alien in equal measure.

Cloud Machines is the extraordinary debut collaboration between M.C. Schmidt of legendary electronic duo Matmos and John Berndt, the Baltimore avant-garde institution and band leader behind High Zero Festival, the Red Room collective, Geodesic Gnome, and radical sonic concepts like Spectral Relay (a bespoke signal processing architecture) and Relabi (a conceptual genre defined by a Rorschach-blot pulse. These two iconoclasts have delivered something genuinely unexpected: an oddly sweet electronic opus that"s as immediately engaging as it is a series of delicious puzzles. When two of experimental music"s most irascible characters spend twelve years crafting an album, you don"t just get another release - it is an anthology of pocket universes. The record is a love letter to two of their strongest mutual influences of the 1980s - the delirious comic books of French auteur Jean Giraud (AKA Moebius) and the beautiful miniatures of the SKY Records Cluster/Eno/Conny Plank collaborations. Cloud Machines honors the spirit of those ineffably "hermetic" creations by reinventing their legacy through the lens of decades of accumulated experimental practice and the duo"s singular creative personalities. The result feels simultaneously like rediscovering a lost classic from 1978 and receiving a transmission from an alternate, somehow better timeline in 2026. Yet unlike so much "difficult" experimental music, Cloud Machines maintains an uncanny and sneaky accessibility - each track a self-contained world, inviting and alien in equal measure.

Originally released by Time Capsule in 2021 and long out of print, Stories From Another Time 1982-1988 returns in an upgraded edition following years of demand and rising collector prices on the secondhand market. Widely regarded as a modern cult classic, Mário Rui Silva’s visionary recordings blend acoustic folk, cinematic soul, spiritual jazz and saudade-filled Lusophone rhythm into a deeply timeless and universal work that transcends genre and geography.

This new edition features half-speed mastering cut at Metropolis alongside an expanded 4-page insert with a tribute essay and unseen photographs following Silva’s passing in 2024.

Double LP + 4-page insert

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The roots of Angolan popular music explored in the meticulous guitar studies of Mário Rui Silva. For fans of Naná Vasconcelos, John Hassell’s Fourth World ambient, Eduardo Mateo’s psychedelic folk and Cameroonian electronic music visionary Francis Bebey.

Whether on mesmerising acoustic ballads or hypnotic groove-led tracks, the music of Angolan guitarist, researcher and intellectual Mário Rui Silva has a beguiling, melancholy quality, woven into the dynamics of his deft guitar playing.Rhythmically complex yet supremely effortless, the music collected here stems from three albums Mário released in Luanda in the 1980s that reflect his diverse range of influences, from traditional Angolan and West African rhythms to European jazz and classical instrumentation. It is united by a sense of low-key beauty, whether on the chugging opener ‘Kazum-zum-zum’, the jazz-funk keys of ‘Lembrança Dum Velho’, or the twinkling, late-night poly-rhythms of ‘Kizomba Kya Kisanji’.

Born in Luanda, Angola in 1953, Mário dedicated his life to Angolan popular music. His fifty-year career has seen him live between Angola and Europe, rub shoulders with Cameroonian musicians Francis Bebey and Ewanjé, record the seminal album Angola ’72 with fellow Angolan musician Bonga, and draw influence from Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell.

It was the teaching of Angolan legend and Ngola Ritmos co-founder Liceu Vieira Dias that Mário gained a technical, political and spiritual understanding of Angolan musical culture. In the hands of Liceu, the traditional Angolan semba and kazukuta rhythms of the 1940s and ‘50s helped create an emancipatory sense of national pride and collective agency that awakened its listeners to the racism and tyranny of colonial rule, underpinning the country’s push for independence in the process.

What might sound like the intonations of Brazilian influence are what Mário attributes to the “African rhythms taken by the slaves which gave rise to other musical cultures” around the globe. Instead, this music emerged from a collective instinct to assert a cosmopolitan Angolan identity free from the patronising falsehoods of Lusotropicalism.

“There was a need within me to contribute in doing new things,” Mário describes. “In the sense of solidifying the music of Angola that was the result of the meeting of two cultures, and wanting to value the Angolan part whenever possible.”A selection from Mário’s three 1980s albums, Sung’Ali (1982), Tunapenda Afrika (1985) and Koizas dum Outru Tempu (1988) have been compiled here as a 2xLP release by Time Capsule’s Sam Jacob and Kay Suzuki. Together, they provide a snapshot of one man’s journey to the core of his nation’s music, charged with the search for a culture uprooted by colonialism

Acclaimed London collective Kokoroko have announced a brand new remix EP titled Brownswood Remix Editions 009 - Kokoroko remixes, set for release on 12th June 2026. The project reimagines standout tracks from their 2025 album Tuff Times Never Last, offering fresh perspectives on three fan favourites through a carefully curated selection of producers.



The EP brings together a dynamic trio of remixers: IG Culture, IZCO, and Musclecars, each delivering a distinct sonic interpretation rooted in club culture, soul, and rhythm-forward experimentation.



Brownswood Remix Editions 009 - Kokoroko remixes will be released on vinyl as part of the Brownswood Remix Editions series, landing as Edition 009. Known for spotlighting forward-thinking reinterpretations from across the global jazz and electronic spectrum, the Brownswood imprint brings a tangible, collector-friendly dimension to the project. This limited vinyl run offers fans and DJs alike the chance to experience these reworks in their fullest analog form, further cementing the EP’s place within the label’s celebrated remix catalogue.



Each remix expands the sonic world of Tuff Times Never Last, an album that resonated widely upon its release in July 2025, praised for its uplifting themes and rich blend of jazz, afrobeat, and soul influences.



With this release, Kokoroko continue to highlight the evolving dialogue between live instrumentation and electronic reinterpretation, reinforcing their place at the forefront of contemporary UK music.

Following Parnell March’s Back Bar Grooves EP in February and November’s release of the Dust Tears (lead song from Sarah/Shaun’s debut) remixes, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label returns with a second EP of dream pop from husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), alias Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced McLochlun), who wooed hearts and wowed critics with debut EP ‘It’s True What They Say?’ last year.

‘It’s True What They Say?’ attracted fans across the board: Artist Of The Week in The Scotsman, rapturous reviews from The Skinny and Tokyo's Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, BBC 6Music airplay courtesy of Nemone (Mary Anne Hobbs' Morning Show), more radio play from Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart & Vic Galloway, plus Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) via their respective Soho Radio shows, not forgetting ringing endorsements from the likes of David Holmes, Youth, Kevin Bales (Spiritualized), Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks) and Julian Corrie (Franz Ferdinand).

They played gigs supporting Glasgow's huge Glasvegas, at festivals (Kendall Calling, Dunbar Music, Hidden Door), plus a slew of venues across the Scottish capital, ending the year with a trio of shows supporting Glaswegian 80s pop legends The Bluebells at Aberdeen’s Tunnels, Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys and Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, while The List magazine tipped them among their Ones To Watch For 2025, with journalist Fiona Shepherd suggesting they were “blending the starry-eyed pop of Sonny & Cher with the electronic experimentation of Chris & Cosey.”

Very much the companion piece to the debut EP but arriving a full twelve months later, Someone’s Ghost is emblematic of the duo’s desire not to rush things or release anything half-baked.

“I’ve always wanted to create the perfect pop record and I do really feel that we’ve achieved that with this one,” says Shaun. And he’s clearly not the only person who thinks so.

REVIEWS, FEEDBACK ETC:

"I LOVE that! Dreamy dreamy pop." ROY MOLLOY (Marvellous Crane/Alex Cameron) on BLAST RADIO, Sydney
“the Scottish music scene’s cream of the cool... buzzy drum beats, high, distant chimes, and heavenly electronics…. very ethereal.” THE SKINNY

"Listening to Sarah/Shaun is like eavesdropping on a noir dreampop, long-distance phone call between them both, across two separate sonic locations. On this stunning 4-song EP, Sarah’s voice, effortlessly mesmerising, draws you into these big beautiful and haunting passages of perfect dream-pop. All beautifully produced in a multi-layered-scape of low-fi analogue textures, epic cinematic crescendos, intense electro-pulse grooves and warped psycho-pop guitar riffs. Within the songs lurk a sense of unresolved emotions, longing and pathos. There are shades of classic Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra but also Post-Punk Electronica and Beach House. But what a unique sound they’ve created of their own. I love it" DAVID MCCLUSKEY (The Bluebells)
"Absolutely beautiful" SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"Lovely stuff here! Total quality." MARTYN 'MASH' HENDERSON
"Ooooh. Everything the last record promised is here. Well done" GEORGE T aka George Demure (Accident Machine)
"Vince clark Era Depeche Mode in places" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized)
"Sounds cool. Well done" PETE KEMBER (Sonic Boom, Spacemen 3)
"Glorious, it (Debbie Harry) grabs hold of you and doesn't let go." IAIN DAWSON aka RAVECHILD (Everyone Wants To Play The Hits Podcast)

SOMEONE’S GHOST

Born out of an incredibly anxious, stressful time, the songwriting process for these recordings has been something of a personal tonic for Shaun…

“There was a period when I was having nightmares,” he reveals. “Apparently I was saying there was someone in the room, I was talking to that person and Sarah was seeing all this while I was still asleep.

So, I was thinking that this was my ghost. I started writing songs because I was going through something and I was dealing with something and writing songs was a comfort. My ghost was a comfort, whether it was real or not. The idea of it was a comfort.”

“I firmly believe that everyone has someone who watches over them but all of the songs are essentially about being there for someone,” he says. “Everybody needs someone but also everyone needs to stay real and keep what you have, keep it close, never let it go. If you don’t have it, continue to tell people you’re there for them. It’s about loving and hoping people will be good to you in return.”

While Shaun took the songwriting lead on Filter Of Love and EP closer The Sound Which Stresses The Sound Of My Ears, Debbie Harry was originally instrumentally conceived by producer Jaguar Eyes, alias Ali Chisholm, later lyrically completed by Shaun, and the EP’s lead track, Anhedonia, and one of its stand-outs (much like Starbed on the debut) was conceived by Sarah, as a result of experiencing a bit of a spiritual epiphany of her own.

“When I first heard the word Anhedonia, I didn't know what it meant but when I found out I thought about it quite a bit. How sad it would be to have no enjoyment in anything,” she explains. “This song is really about my own personal beliefs. When I have been down, that's one of the things that helps me the most. It talks about trying to make amends but realising, for some things, you can't. But I think with any kind of faith comes hope… which is always a good thing.”

A record about hope, truth, honesty, a belief in something bigger than oneself… and all set to a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Lynch or Eighties feature film. What more could anyone ask for, really?

There’s equally a desire to offer something universal and positive to anyone who tunes in. The labels for the 12” edition reveal the dual mantras “Who just wants to survive?” and “It’s about time to live a little”, with both messages also engraved in each record’s run-out grooves. T-shirts accompanying debut EP It’s True What They Say? bore the slogan “Kill Them With Kindness” - leading caps intentional. Shaun carries the acronym KTWK everywhere he plays, as a reminder: it’s stitched into his guitar strap. And this particular wee pebble has already caused a few ripples: people have been approaching him at gigs to acknowledge their appreciation and respect for it.

"We feel we have made an honest, open, colourful, body of work,” say the duo. “We hope to go out and play the songs with the guys (our band) and then potentially make more records. We are taking things as they come. Everything has been organic so far, after all. We are looking forward to whatever this brings."

It’s True What They Say is the debut EP from Edinburgh-based, husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), aka Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced “McLochlin”).

“Sarah and I both have a love for nostalgia,” explains Shaun. “We watched that amazing old 80’s Sci-Fi, (John) Carpenter movie, Starman, a few months back. Myself and my brother David used to watch it all the time. We must have been, roughly, 5-7 at the time. I remember loving the movie but the end, you know, with the beautiful, atmospheric, synth ending, I love that particular moment the most - best part of the movie, you know, when he goes home… It’s heartbreaking but stunning, all the same. It’s the music that moves you most… It did when I was 5 and it still does to this day. It must have had some form of a (much deeper) impact on me.”

The duo narrates stories across themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness - the good that comes with the bad in everyday life, not just on a personal scale but within a community as well.

“Starbed is the first song I have ever written and just came out of the blue really, with Shaun playing a melody and me singing along,” says Sarah. “It’s simple and just about two people in love. Love songs are always the best songs, after all… Music has been a big part of my life from a young age. I was unwillingly dragged to piano and violin lessons, which I’m thankful for now! I’d say the first band I really became obsessed with growing up were the Beatles, and on the back of that a lot of 60s music and fashion. From then on, I had a love for music.”

“Shaun definitely opened my ears to a lot of sounds and got me thinking about soundtracks and all the noises that can be made,” she goes on. “We love just spending time experimenting in the house with instruments, pedals etc and Ali is a real magician to work with, too…”

The recordings took place over the summers of 2022 and 2023, with fellow Delta Mainline member Ali Chisholm (aka Jaguar Eyes) plus long-term friend and collaborator Gavin King. Further collaboration then came via the ‘net from the (international) likes of Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty), Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz) and Daniel Land (The Modern Painters), among others (see a full list of credits below).

Both Sarah and Shaun have a love for uber-soundtrack producers such as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter, Cliff Martinez plus live acts such as Beach House, Spiritualized, M83, Suicide, Moby and OMD (to name a few). Shaun also credits the work of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (from Survive) on the Stranger Things score… “Even a moment in a movie, whether it be just 30 seconds during a particular scene, it grips you,” he says. But there’s something much deeper at play as well. “Music is a healer,” he goes on, “and I write from my own perspective but more so for others. Once I've done my bit, it doesn't belong to me any longer. It belongs to whoever wants it or needs it.”

The result is a cinematic, synth-wavey, dream poppy and downright beguilingly beautiful body of work. And they’re just getting started…

REVIEWS/RADIO/FEEDBACK:

“Starbed is folky, flavoured by pedal steel, cello, and brass. Dust Tears, in stark contrast, is a mini synth-pop rave epic. Part Bicep. Part Human League. Keep Your Eyes Closed summons a mood that’s romantic, but also dark and potentially doomed – like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks meets Cliff Martinez’s Drive score. My pick though is It’s True What They Say, whose interwoven jangle and picking recalls New Order’s more introspective moments (Love Vigilantes, Love Less… ). Drums crashing, cathartic. Guitar raising dramatic arcs. Its chorus a rush, like a reprise of Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart’s ‘Higher Than The Stars’.” BAN BAN TON TON
"Dust Tears sees them sharing vocal duties over a synth foundation reminiscent of Moby’s Go - Artist Of The Week” THE SCOTSMAN
"Woozy pop" NEMONE (Mary Anne Hobbs Morning Show, BBC 6Music)
"Nice one, very David Lynch meets Euro dream pop" YOUTH (Killing Joke, Paul McCartney, U2, The Orb, Spiritualized etc)
"Music sounds killer! Real emotion” DAVID HOLMES
"I’m enjoying it” TIM BRINKHURST aka LONDON (IKLAN, Young Fathers, Callum Easter)
“Oh, this is lovely!” SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"It’s totally my cup of tea with milk and biscuit" BRENT RADEMAKER (Beachwood Sparks/GospelBeach)
"Beautiful, ecstatic electronica! Short and to the point" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized, Julian Cope, Soulsavers, BE)
"Makes me wanna sit in the sun and sip an Arnold Palmer" CHRIS DIXIE DARLEY (Father John Misty)
“Really beautiful - Cocteau Twins / Spiritualized vibes but has its own thing going on, too - worth checking out!” JULIAN CORRIE (Franz Ferdinand, Miaoux Miaoux)
‘Sounded nice on a sunny day, makes me think of Twin Peaks, nice moods’ EAMON HAMILTON (Sea Power)
"Dealing in nostalgia, no bad thing at all, great to play that (Dust Tears) for you” RODDY HART (BBC Radio Scotland)
“I'll give the vocal tracks a spin before the release." VIC GALLOWAY (BBC Radio Scotland)
"Rather good!" IAIN ANDERSON (BBC Radio Scotland)

CREDITS:

Lyrics, Guitars, Keys, Synths, Drums, Drum Programming, Percussion, Mandolin, Glockenspiel: Shaun McLachlan
Lyrics, Vocals, Keys by Sarah McLachlan
Guitars, Synths, String Arrangements, Drum Programming, Engineering: Jaguar Eyes Percussion/Drums/Effects, Fire Extinguisher: Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz)
Guitars by Daniel Land
Slide Guitar by Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty)
Brass by Bruce Michie
Keys, pre-production & engineering on “It’s true what they say”: Gavin King
All produced by Jaguar Eyes and Shaun McLachlan and then mixed at Glasgow’s Chem19 Studios by David McCaulay (From Scotland With Love, Rick Redbeard, BBC TV’s Attenborough and The Mammoth Graveyard score).
Artwork: Jamie Walman (Fourteen Admirals)

MORE INFO:

Although Shaun released a pair of solo singles (When We Dance and Give Your Love To Me) during Lockdown, he will be better known to many via his work as the multi-instrumentalist in Edinburgh band Delta Mainline. With two albums released to date, Oh! Enlightened and Bel Avenir, both rapturously received by fans and critics alike, Delta Mainline have developed an international, cult following. Oh Enlightened (2013) achieved widespread critical acclaim on release, earning the band comparisons to Arcade Fire and Echo & The Bunnymen, while 2019’s Bel Avenir pulled in references to The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and krautrock. A third DM album is currently being mixed and due for release later this year…