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"I got to know visual artist, musician, and producer Guido Erfen and sound engineer, acoustic artist, and percussionist Michael Springer as part of a group of five by the name of SHM1. The members of the group organised concerts at Rhenania, a disused grain silo, where I performed with The Absurd in 1988 and 1989. The band was also featured on one of Erfen's tape releases. Erfen and Springer met when they were still at the same secondary school and soon became close friends and musical allies. With the other members of SHM they built an independent network for creating and distributing music beyond the mainstream in Cologne. Rent at Rhenania was incredibly low, allowing a recording studio to be established there.

The first traces of the Ukrainian Underground arrived at Erfen's door via a cassette tape with three bands from Kharkiv and Kyiv, the package including a long essay which detailed the rock scene in the two cities by Sergey Myasoyedow. In 1986, Myasoyedow, together with Sasha Panchenko, had founded the “Novaya Scena“ rock club in Kharkiv, presenting bands inspired by punk, the avant-garde, dadaism, and even medieval melodies. If Erfen hadn't been part of the independent mail-art scene, he wouldn't have had the chance to discover this unorthodox music. It was the summer of 1990, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent state the following year.

In 1991, singer and keyboard player Soloveyka from Kharkiv arrived in Cologne and gave Erfen half a dozen cassettes with underground bands from Ukraine and a handful with bands from the Soviet Union. Intrigued by the original music of many of the acts, he visited Ukraine twice, made friends there, compiled a tape with his favourite tracks and finally succeeded in convincing Hamburg label boss Alfred Hilsberg to present underground music from Ukraine on the CD “Novaya Scena“ via his label What's So Funny About (the original home of Einstürzende Neubauten).
The album compiled 20 tracks recorded between 1986 and 1992 by 14 bands out of Kharkiv and Kyiv– music beyond the usual Perestroika records, often with jarring dissonances over grooves that fans of Captain Beefheart or The Fall would certainly enjoy.

On the other hand, there are tracks featuring flute and trumpet that seem inspired by folk, classical music, and punk. Ghostly chamber prog miniatures by Cukor Belaya Smert (lit. Sugar White Death) from Kyiv featuring, among others, the classically trained pianist and singer Svitlana Nianio (née Ochrimenko) and guitarist, visual artist, and spokesman Yewgeny "Yenia" Taran. Nianio sang in her native Ukrainian, as did two more of the bands. Today, this seems more relevant than ever, more culturally and historically significant from a Ukrainian point of view than it was even in 1993. Young Ukrainians were amazed at that time that rock music sung in their native tongue could work!

It is in the aftermath of the “Novaya Scena“ album that the music on this LP was created. About a year after the release of the CD in August 1993, Nianio and Taran came to Cologne to work on music for the dance production "Transilvania Smile" by the dance theatre ensemble Pentamonia2.
The seeds for the Traces of Ukrainian Underground in Cologne were sown. Starting in 1994, a series of informal recording sessions took place at Michael Springer’s Phanton Studio and at SHM studio in Rhenania. Together, these sessions formed the basis of the four different incarnations of the Ukraine-Cologne connection heard on STROOMS’s compilation.

After the release of the single “Egal” with singer Geraldine—the two Tuscan producers who met in Berlin—Lorenzo Fortino and Francesco Salvadori strengthen their friendship and musical connection in the studio with their first EP, “Friends Above Berlin,” released on the label Connessioni. The record opens with “Heide” (A1), which drops you straight onto the dancefloor with a blend of minimal house and acid that never lets go, a smooth mental trip full of groove. Next comes “Another Club Dimension” (A2), a track balancing house and techno, where a dominant bassline perfectly drives electronic drums, synthesizers, and ethereal vocals, resulting in a warm, elegant, and decisive sound. Side B opens with “Positive Attitude” (B1), a techno track with references to acid/progressive melodies, building continuously in intensity and emotional impact. The record closes with “Flying Through the City” (B2), where electro and acid sounds merge into a melodic journey with dreamy arrangements, making the track feel suspended beyond music itself, somewhere between past and future.

2026 Repress


Voices From the Lake (consisting of Donato Dozzy and Neel) mark the 10th anniversary of their influential self-titled album with a fully remastered reissue on Spazio Disponibile. It arrives in full on vinyl for the first time, as well as on digital formats, first quarter of 2023 as the pair continues to play select live shows around the world. The release will see the light of day as a 4-set vinyl LP release, including download. Italians Dozzy and Neel have been friends united by a shared vision of music since their teenage years. They are immaculate sculptors of sound who fuse evocative ambient and leftfield techno into multi-layered soundscapes. For many years they worked as established solo artists but came together in 2011 to craft what is now regarded as one of techno's most pure and absorbing listening experiences. It's often said that the best music comes about as a happy accident, and that is certainly true of Voices From the Lake. The career-defining album first arose in the thoughts of Dozzy and Neel when the latter was preparing a mix for the former's wedding and named it Voices From The Lake. It was a pertinent title that stuck in the mind: both grew up by waters around the coast of Italy, and in their early days the pair even held private parties on the shores of a lake. Fittingly, Japan's celebrated Labyrinth festival at that time was also held by a river and a lake in the middle of a forest on a serene mountainside. It was that exact setting the pair envisaged when making music to play live on stage. During preparations, they "accidentally" wrote an entire album. It has only ever been performed live a few times - once at Japan's Labyrinth festival in 2011, at London's Barbican, Barcelona's Mira Festival, Paris' Marathon Festival and once during 2022's Amsterdam Dance Event. Those shows saw the pair using banks of analogue and digital equipment to improvise in the moment and essentially remix the album live on stage. That spontaneity is captured in the original Voices From the Lake recordings and on later LPs such as Live at Maxxi in 2015, and the most recent EP Quarto Freddo from 2020. But the debut album remains a standout achievement. A decade on, it's quiet intensity, musical storytelling and slowly unfolding tension remain in a class of one. Each sound is meticulously designed and placed, and the spaces left behind are just as important in conveying such a captivating mood and emotion. Rather than traditional kick drums, hi-hats or snares, this is music crafted from layers of real-world sound - dripping water, chirping birds, rustling leaves or a distant breeze - and it's that which defines the album's organic allure. From deeply contemplative to cautiously optimistic, pastoral organic scenes to more underwater worlds, Voices From the Lake is a cohesive collection of tracks that add up to one inseparable whole.

Shed makes his first appearance on Dekmantel with Rave Echoes — a supple, mesmerising album of angular techno caught between the heat of peak time and the time-blurred hours after the club.

A combination of dreamlike atmospherics and rugged propulsion takes on many forms across the album. It's submerged and restrained on 'Loot 25', speckled with sharply sliced breaks on 'Everybody' and scattered across a sparse, steppy soundscape on 'Rave Predator'. Emotive, swooning strings collide with tough, squashed breakstep drums on 'Double Scoop' and 'Taking You Home' thrusts with urgency and rave romanticism in equal measure.

Wielding his signature blend of UK-school soundsystem pressure and Berlin-school techno momentum with poise and purpose, on Rave Echoes Shed offers a perfect impression of those wild, indescribable sensory overloads that leave their mark on anyone devoted to the dancefloor.

Leinenbezogene, foliengeprägte Tip-on-Gatefold-Hülle mit 24-seitigem Comicbuch im LP-Format.

The 3rd collaborative album between Les Claypool (Primus) & Sean Lennon (the previous sold over 150,000 combined) is an elaborate concept record reflecting on morality, the warnings of A.I., and the slippery slope of optimization without empathy. Told across 14 songs - which ooze with classic psychedelic / progressive rock stylings - and the accompanying comic book by Rich Ragsdale, The Great Parrot-Ox and The Golden Egg of Empathy is a peak for both The Claypool-Lennon Delirium and rock music at large.

Ten years ago, in a sharehouse on Chapel Street, four 20-year-olds with zero expectations wrote and recorded an EP in a single afternoon. Those six blistering minutes of music became Giddy Up. An hour later, Amyl and The Sniffers had a name, a Bandcamp upload, and the beginnings of a legacy.
Following a year of backyard gigs, playing for friends and partying across Melbourne's sticky carpet music scene, the band released their iconic second EP Big Attraction in 2017.
Now, to celebrate a decade of raw power and reckless spirit, Giddy Up/Big Attraction returns in a definitive 10th anniversary 12-inch vinyl edition — fully remastered for maximum punch.
Featuring early classics like “I’m Not A Loser” and “Stole My Pushbike,” plus enduring live favourites “Balaclava Lover Boogie” and “Westgate,” this is the sound of Amyl and The Sniffers before the world caught up — feral, funny, and unstoppable.
The LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve showcasing Chris Sutherland’s iconic 2017 band photo, alongside an exclusive new essay from Amy Taylor and a heap of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes shots from the band’s earliest days by Jamie Wdziekonski. As Amy recalls: “We recorded and wrote over the afternoon… we’d never played together before that day… it’s spontaneous, and fun and achievable in that time because to us it sounded more than good and we weren’t perfectionists and it didn’t matter.”
From DIY house shows in Melbourne to international stages, it all started here.

Reissued for the first time on vinyl, the debut album by English post-punk heroes Snake Corps, originally released in 1984 on Midnight Music. The band raised from the ashes of Sad Lovers & Giants, after their official split in 1983. Led by Tristan Garel-Funk and Nigel Pollard (who immediately left the band replaced by Jon Greville of Rudimentary Peni). Often championed by legendary John Peel, The Snake Corps deserve a major recognition for their epic sound often reminiscent of early U2 and Ultravox.

After the success of their first collaborative album Blue House Rockin’, Soul Sugar and Dub Shepherds reunited at the Blue House Studio for a new analog-heavy recording session.



Super Freak is the first single from these sessions: a fiery 70s-style reggae reinterpretation of Rick James’ classic. Led by Jolly Joseph’s signature falsetto, it rides a heavyweight bass line, playful reggae groove, and warm layers of organ, piano, guitar, and Mini Moog, all recorded live on vintage gear.



The journey continues at Bat Records Studio, where Dub Shepherds apply their trademark “hard mix” on 24-track tape,

bending sound, space, and rhythm into a deep dub sorcery.



This 7-inch 45 rpm single features both vocal and dub versions and paves the way for the forthcoming album Blue House Rockin’ Vol. 2.

Xistence Records is destroying the boundaries between house and techno. The Rise E.P. simply goes to show you a good label does not lose it's competency after 4 years of releasing music. This 4 tracker sounds sublime! If you like deep emotional melodic music, you should have this 12”.
Difficult to pick a standout track as they all offer something different…

The original version of Resilience is a stunning track, reminds of the early Octave One sound with a great mixture of percussion, classy bassline, nice layering of textures and melodies.

While Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/Los Hermanos) retouch is a soulful stripped back tune with elegant drum work, linked together by a uplifting synth pattern.

Sunset To Sunrise, a delightful piece of haunting electronica. It’s a real journey back to the birth of Los Hermanos. Class!

Meteoric Rise original version came out as digital earlier on the label, Journey Around The Sun Mix here has the UR sound. It’s more complex, Detroit lesson in syncopation and rhythmic programming with chord stabs and shuffling drum work drives this one forward..epic!

“Without Hope None Of Us Have Anything “

MINDHELMET and the machines. Release your release.

With his highly accomplished third album If This Is It, DJ Seinfeld (Armand Jakobsson) evolves further into the artist he always set out to be, refining his emotional, club-leaning sound across nostalgic house, UKG, and 2000s-tinged trance.

The 12-track LP — featuring SG Lewis, Confidence Man, TS Graye, Dan Whitlam, ARY, “Norwegian pop witch” Moyka, and Barry Can’t Swim affiliate just lil — explores letting go in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

“A million ideas turned into a few, a few turned into no ideas at all, and no ideas eventually turned into one,” says Jakobsson of the album, which he began the week his acclaimed 2021 record Mirrors was released. “Through writing it, I’ve tried to turn long-held anxieties into acceptance, and I hope listeners can take their own meaning from it.”

With his highly accomplished third album If This Is It, DJ Seinfeld (Armand Jakobsson) evolves further into the artist he always set out to be, refining his emotional, club-leaning sound across nostalgic house, UKG, and 2000s-tinged trance.

The 12-track LP — featuring SG Lewis, Confidence Man, TS Graye, Dan Whitlam, ARY, “Norwegian pop witch” Moyka, and Barry Can’t Swim affiliate just lil — explores letting go in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

“A million ideas turned into a few, a few turned into no ideas at all, and no ideas eventually turned into one,” says Jakobsson of the album, which he began the week his acclaimed 2021 record Mirrors was released. “Through writing it, I’ve tried to turn long-held anxieties into acceptance, and I hope listeners can take their own meaning from it.”

Deep and moody roots from The Congos , delivered with their signature harmonies.
Originally released on their debut 1977 LP ,with a different mix later released on 7” single ,we are happy to say you will be treated to both mixes + dub on one glorious 10”.
Another gem from the Black Ark, released by us here at Studio 16.

Brown Spirits are a super-heavy psychedelic three-piece band who play raw energetic super-charged psych rock heavily influenced by krautrock, freejazz and deep funk music from the 1970s that gives them a truly unique and highly addictive sound. The group record and mix their own music to ¼-
inch analogue tape at home maintaining a strictly DIY-ethic.

Brown Spirits are Tim Wold, Agostino Soldati and Ash Buscombe. The group are from the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, home to an ever-growing
music scene that includes Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Surprise Chef, Tropical Fuck Storm and more.
The group have already released two superb critically-acclaimed album on Soul Jazz Records – ‘Cosmic Seeds’ and Solitary Transmissions’.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing three new albums from the Australian group on one day. All three albums are super-limited one-off special coloured
vinyl pressings of just 500 copies each that will all be deleted on the day of release.

These three albums were originally released (between 2017-2020) in long-deleted very short run-editions - either self-released in Australia or on an
indie German psych label. No copies of Brown Spirits #2 or Brown Spirits #3 are currently available anywhere in the world. Both of Brown Spirits two
earlier releases for Soul Jazz Records are also sold out on vinyl and these three super-limited special edition LPs will also sell out.

Brown Spirits are a super-heavy psychedelic three-piece band who play raw energetic super-charged psych rock heavily influenced by krautrock, freejazz and deep funk music from the 1970s that gives them a truly unique and highly addictive sound. The group record and mix their own music to ¼-
inch analogue tape at home maintaining a strictly DIY-ethic.

Brown Spirits are Tim Wold, Agostino Soldati and Ash Buscombe. The group are from the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, home to an ever-growing
music scene that includes Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Surprise Chef, Tropical Fuck Storm and more.
The group have already released two superb critically-acclaimed album on Soul Jazz Records – ‘Cosmic Seeds’ and Solitary Transmissions’.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing three new albums from the Australian group on one day. All three albums are super-limited one-off special coloured
vinyl pressings of just 500 copies each that will all be deleted on the day of release.

These three albums were originally released (between 2017-2020) in long-deleted very short run-editions - either self-released in Australia or on an
indie German psych label. No copies of Brown Spirits #2 or Brown Spirits #3 are currently available anywhere in the world. Both of Brown Spirits two
earlier releases for Soul Jazz Records are also sold out on vinyl and these three super-limited special edition LPs will also sell out.

PARK PLACE With PAUL TILLMAN SMITH

MAGAZINE GIRL b/w SIMPLE LOVE LIFE
IZIPHO SOUL in association with CHUMP CHANGE RECORDS is thrilled to announce an intriguing new 7”.

From the pen and production prowess of Oakland’s unsung hero Paul Tillman Smith, ably assisted by co-producers Nelson Braxton and Levi Seacer Jr. we present the following musical gems:-
‘Magazine Girl’ featuring the striking vocals of Donnie Williams singing a tale of fantasy. Delightfully crafted for this record, ‘The Catwalk Mix’ by Philip Ward.
‘Simple Love Life’ - modern-day soulful boogie of the highest order, featuring the sensual voice of Terrill Carter.
Also included is Paul Tillman Smith’s ‘Country Rap Epilogue’ cut as a separate track to offer both a humorous twist and context to the song.

Dual label design to reflect the theme’s of each side.

Cheeba’s Reggae Sound Boys are unloading the bass bins again with another two slices of funky reggae beats for the dance, in their second release on ECR

VOICE OF THE VOODOO - Emerges through a haze of psychedelic dub sounds into a big break beat laden skank. Organ riffs are chopped up over the funky reggae guitar rhythm and the big bass grooves. With vocals and JA deejay scats coming in and out of the mix. This has been waiting for release for a while and the dubplate has been hammered all round the country the last 12 months or more !

SAY IT LOUD - The flip side is equally club friendly with a hard hitting combination of beats and rhythms - coming on like Jah Shaka playing a soundclash at Wigan Casino - when it explodes into a big soul-stomping piano loop and heavy Hammond flourishes. The vocals riff on the JB “Black & Proud” theme, with a dancehall flava to create a party vibe just right for the summer BBQs

Namae Koi - AAVA (Artificial Audio-Visual Artist), voice without a body, child of cinema and code - meets DJ Hell, godfather of electroclash, myth in motion.

This record is a split mirror:
Two originals by Koi.
Two reworks by Hell.
Four versions of desire, memory, and beat.

"U Can Dance With Me" is a digital western - a flirt in boots and chrome. A line pulled from a movie that never existed.
"Mars" travels forward by looking back - retro-futurist pulses, melancholic satellites, soft resistance.

DJ Hell bends both tracks into something darker, sweatier, more physical.
Koi stays crystalline. Watching. Whispering. Undressing the beat.

A future duet with no fixed timeline.

2026 Repress

Alarico returns to Mutual Rytm with his 'Drops Of You' EP, packed with his mind-bending signature rhythms while focussing on a more minimal and atemporal approach than before.

Milan-based artist Alarico has firmly arrived on the world stage in recent years. Taking cues from the harder realms of techno of the 90s, he adds his own quirky rhythms and quickened sense of groove to showcase his modern take on the genre. Building on material dropping via his own Katana Records, with high-profile support from bigname DJs across the scene, he breaks new ground again here on this compelling new EP as he returns to SHDW's label Mutual Rytm with 'Drops Of You'.

Excellent opener '0 Kelvin' races out of the blocks with wiry synths and percussion that sounds like knives being sharpened, all over tight, punchy techno drums. 'One More' then gets more twisted with freaky synth line scurrying about the mix while hammering hits and bouncy drum programming races onwards into an unknown future.

'Asma' slips into a deeper but no less impactful groove - the tightly coiled drum funk is overlaid with soulful vocal whispers and militant snares that cannot fail to sweep dancers away. Next, the slick 'Sunburn' keeps the pace high and is another warp-speed techno excursion with bold drum patterns and dry hi-hats cutting up the beats. It's a fulsome sound fleshed out with great synth detail and euphoric vocal cries, before closer 'Drops Of You' layers broken beats, vocal snippets and psychedelic synth colours into an intense and emotional workout.

Alongside the vinyl cuts, three digital-only offerings are also loaded into this one as a trio of treats in the form of 'Sino', 'What For' and 'Erased', with each track harnessing pacy, energetic rhythms, a mix of bright and murky sonics, and tunnelling grooves crafted for maximum impact.

Alarico 'Drops Of You' drops via Mutual Rytm on 8th September 2023

Fresh from flexing his scalpel skills via an impressive double 12-inch for Hot Biscuit Recordings, The Mighty Zaf once more joins forces with regular studio buddy Linkwood for two more tried-and-tested reworks. 'Get Another Love' is particularly potent, with the duo combining elements from a vintage disco-soul workout - glistening guitars, bass, vocals, strings - with a vintage-sounding drum machine beat which alternates between sweat-soaked Chicago-house jack and post-electro swing. 'He Made You Mine', meanwhile, is a straight edit of a slow, loved-up, immersive and horn-laden disco-soul gem that switches from loved-up downtempo loveliness to punchy dancefloor excellence midway through.

DJ Support: &ME, Adam Port, Oliver El-Khatib (OVO Sounds), Moblack, Antdot, Maxi Meraki, Sam Divine, Shimza, Benji B (BBC), SARZ, Kilimanjaro, Boddhi Satva, Jeremiah Asiamah (BBC), The Pete Tong (BBC), Méle, Kid Fonque, Black Coffee, DJEFF, Kitty Amor, Enoo Napa, Fiona Kraft

Sondela Recordings returns with Sondela Selects Vol. 2, a special 12” showcasing four of the label’s most defining moments. From FKA Mash & Sio’s soulful ‘Bumblebee’ to Thakzin’s groundbreaking ‘The Magnificent Dance’, which birthed the global 3Step movement, this package is steeped in history. Henrik Schwarz’s remix of Mike Steva & Stevo Atambire’s ‘Destiny Song’ and Sammi Ferrer & Chaleee’s peak-time cut ‘Champagne’ round off a collection that cements Sondela’s role in shaping Afro-inspired electronic music.

If you’ve spent any time in a London club over the last few years, you know the name. Rossi. has gone from being the “secret weapon” of the underground to the guy everyone is trying to book. After cutting his teeth with a residency at Fabric and tearing the roof off Printworks and Studio 338, he’s finally given us the anthem we’ve been waiting for.

The bosses new single on Homegrown., ‘Ease Your Mind,’ isn’t just another tech-house filler. It’s the perfect distillation of that “Rossi. sound” that’s been vibrating through the UK scene lately.

2026 Repress

Originally released on the cult V4 Visions label in 1991 & 1994, Ashaye’s 'Dreaming' and 'What’s This World Coming To' showcased the sound of Steet Soul, a genre that emerged in the 1990s, blending elements of soul, R&B, and hip-hop, that could be heard playing across London’s pirate radio stations. As the popularity of UK soul has grown in the last 5 years, DJ’s and tastemakers have put 'Dreaming' and 'What’s This World Coming To' into heavy rotation which has only increased demand & price for the original vinyl considerably. At present this demand is so high that it’s not even possible to purchase 'Dreaming' on the second hand market, while copies for 'What’s This World Coming To' are changing hands for £50+. On this fully licenced, RSD release, two of Ashaye’s biggest tracks are together on one 12 inch for the first time! Don’t sleep on this double header of premium UK street soul on South Street International's debut foray into vinyl!

^°Michigander Music again sets the pace with another future classic, D Send to Asend, a powerful 4-track EP from Canada's Greg Gow and Detroit's Brian Kage. Rooted in Detroit techno at its finest hour, this release is strictly for the true heads combining Gow’s techno sensibilities and driving textures with Kage’s raw, soulful energy. Together, they break down borders and deliver a timeless, late-night sound that feels both refined and uncompromising.

Unpolished, refined, energetic club "mutations" Rantzen and Spinoglio go way back in time as old friends, and we are reuniting some of their old and recent pieces to forge a strong atmospheric dance LP with a unique flavor. Luen is also contributing strongly through her collaboration with Andy on " Black cloud". Some tracks in this release were made 15 years ago and some others were made in the last 5, but who cares ? Enjoy the music

We are pleased to announce the first FEX live album, Don't Look Back. The release features selected recordings from two concerts in Paderborn and Uelzen, both captured in 1985. All tracks on the album are previously unissued, including entirely unheard songs such as It's a Hard Life, Just Get Back, Legend, and Waiting Song, alongside a previously unreleased version of Subways of Your Mind, widely known as "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet."
One of the most striking aspects of the album is the remarkable sound quality of the live recordings, as well as the strength of the performances themselves - particularly given that FEX were still considered a newcomer band at the time. The four-piece lineup consisted of singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich on keyboards and occasional second guitar, Norbert Ziermann on bass, and Hans-Reimer Sievers on drums. In 1985, the band was preparing for broader exposure through a nationwide tour organized by the small promotion company HBM-Musikbüro.
The album opens with the psychedelic Skyscraper, a track Rückwardt reportedly regarded as a personal favorite to perform. Hädrich contributes dynamic synthesizer layers, while Ziermann underpins the track with a distinctive slap bass groove. This is followed by the energetic rock number It's a Hard Life, which once again demonstrates that the band possessed multiple songs capable of matching the impact of their best known track Subways of Your Mind.
After this energetic opening, the album shifts into a more restrained mood with the synth-pop ballad I Got My Eyes On You. It is followed by Strange Feeling, presented here in a particularly compelling live version that arguably surpasses the previously released studio demo featured on the Skyscraper LP, with Rückwardt delivering one of his most expressive vocal performances. On Goldrush, another fan favorite, it is Hädrich's DX7 synthesizer work that stands out.
Don't Look Back continues to flow seamlessly, moving between styles such as new wave, synth pop, and a blues-influenced form of classic rock. On It's Good To Know, a song addressing the theme of stardom, the band returns to a heavier rock sound. In contrast, the synth-driven Just Get Back reflects on the conflict in Northern Ireland, then ongoing at the time. Lines such as "It's the money, it's the money why they come along" are directed at mercenary soldiers, while "even Sunday's a killing time" directly references Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2.
Previously known songs such as Dirty Slapstick and Heart in Danger lead into We Don't Want It No More, perhaps the band's most striking pop ballad. It is easy to imagine that the track had the potential to achieve radio success in the 1980s. The following piece, the epic Legend, explores themes of loneliness and love simultaneously. With poetic and abstract lines such as "some isolate in the falling rain" and "that's why I count all the reasons they call out for living, sadness is falling inside," it builds an almost eerie atmosphere.
One of the final highlights of the album is Subways of Your Mind, recorded in Uelzen. In this version, Rückwardt's vocal performance is even more on point than on the previously issued recording from Paderborn. Another notable moment is the driving, 1970s-inspired rock 'n' roll track Waiting Song. Both the composition and its live performance carry an energy that could easily stand alongside the repertoire of bands such as AC/DC. It was usually the track that FEX ended their concerts with, calling out each band member at the end of the song.
This leads to a broader reflection: it is striking that FEX did not achieve a wider breakthrough at the time. The performances captured here suggest a band capable of delivering consistently, song by song, note by note. It is not difficult to imagine FEX performing in large venues and engaging sizeable audiences. In reality, however, most performances in 1985 took place in front of relatively small crowds. The recordings featured on this album originate from the Roxy club in Paderborn and a small, unknown venue in Uelzen, likely in front of fewer than fifty attendees.
An essential figure behind these recordings is the engineer known only under his nickname Hase (German for "rabbit"), who was responsible for capturing not only these concerts but many other surviving FEX recordings. Bringing his own mixing desk to performances, he developed a deep familiarity with the band's material and was able to shape the live sound with precision, including the timely use of vocal effects. The original recordings existed only on cassette and required careful and extensive restoration work. Zoey Cairs was finally responsible for bringing them to their present quality.
This album marks the beginning of the Live Waves series, following the rediscovery of additional recordings that have gained international attention since November 2024, when they surfaced through what has been described as the largest "lost wave" music search to date. The title of this first live LP Don't Look Back carries a certain paradox. While the album invites listeners to revisit recordings from forty years ago, FEX themselves were always oriented toward the future. In that spirit, further releases of brand new material are already planned.
The cover artwork is once again based on an image by Magnussen from the Kiel archive, depicting the Prinz-Heinrich-Brücke. The bridge, once located in the northern part of the city, no longer exists. As a symbol, however, it remains fitting: a bridge stands for movement and connection - qualities that FEX sought to embody on tour, bringing their music to different places and audiences.

/// First track, Symmetry, debuted on BBC Radio 6 New Music Fix, 10th February: "A beautiful, beautiful album" /// I got my life back. On 17 February 2025, 1024 rays of ultra sound converged at an operation table in Bern, Switzerland, and disconnected a noisy circuit on my brain. 90% of the manifestation ceased – of a disease that I no longer wish to mention by its name. During the same period, I completed my new album: Self Help Manual. I’ve read more current research about the nameless disease than my neurologist, who despite that I didn’t follow his advice on suitable treatment, called me after the successful operation: a brave, brave man. I have composed the music in the same way as in my previous album – Songs for the Nervous System – through layers upon layers of improvisations in dialogue with my synthesizers, most of which are the same age as me. I made the majority of the songs in my studio in the remains of Old Hagalund in Solna. I edited the recordings in my bed during the waking hours of clarity at night. Some songs – NAC, Ketosis, Overkill – were recorded in the basement of my childhood home in Skutskär, in Norduppland, where I’d returned to be nurtured by my retired parents – who during a night when I couldn’t turn over in bed, or pull the blanket over me – made a list of what would happen to my belongings. To my friends who have stood out with me despite my disease, I want to state: you will not inherit me yet. On the new album, the electric bass takes on a leading role. ESG and Liquid Liquid have been important when I reinvented my baselines, limited and liberated by my poor fine motor skills. Plasma is my homage to Summertime Rolls by Jane’s Addiction, that I listened to frequently in my youth. I guess that no one will hear the resemblance. In several songs, the Fender Rhodes plays an important role, a magical instrument that I bought shortly after my diagnosis over a decade ago, and for a long time didn’t dare to touch out of respect for Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti. A couple of songs draw inspiration from the Horn of Africa – Inner Nile and Delta. At first, subconsciously in the reverb-drenched Inner Nile, then more consciously in Delta. I’m sorry it doesn’t swing the right way, but it was my attempt to return to the cradle of humanity. Longevity is possibly my favourite. The melody is played by an arpeggiator that I controlled by pressing down different keys in an exhilarating sense of freedom. One song in particular, the second track – One – has caused friends to associate freely: one thought it sounded like Patrick Cowley, another like Sly & Robbie meets Kraftwerk, a third like Air – Moonlight Safari. I made one song just before the surgery: opening track Symmetry. It’s the mightiest and most minimal song. I made one song after the surgery: finishing track Self Help Manual. My previous medication pump is heard through the microphone of my Ovation Magnum. It’s the most hopeful song on the album. I took the cover photos with my Hasselblad during walks in Tokyo suburbs of Ōmori and Kamata more than ten years ago. It was something about the faith of the traffic cones that fascinated me – born in the same streamlined form, they had over the years become increasingly individual and lovable. The mixing was finalized by Christoffer Roth in the newly built Studio Dubious in Nacka. Rashad Becker, who in an interview said that he listens as much with his mouth as with his ears, mastered the album at Clunk in Berlin. Right now it feels like anything is possible. My recovery is perhaps a small step for mankind, but a giant leap for me. I hereby leave the music to you. Joakim Forsgren

Forever Records

Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.

Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.


The Release:
Dancing on the wildest edge of the 90s outsider techno zeitgeist while proudly independent of any so-called scene, Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves: A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics is both of its time and out of time. Rooted in the experiments of electronic music pioneers, industrial culture and ethnic music from around the globe while responding to the house and techno explosion, Robbert Heynen, Reinier Brekelmans, Reinoud van den Broek and Tim Freeman's freewheeling masterpiece takes in lush electronica and murky abstraction on its singular voyage through parts unknown.

Forever Records presents an extensive reissue edition of the first 'fully released' Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia album. Originally released in 1992, this is the first time the full, previously CD-only, version of Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves will be pressed on vinyl. The original LP and CD artwork from the various editions released in the early 90s has been combined and designed by the band, and the audio has been remastered with their full approval. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition available housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

Press response to Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves - A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics:

“That’s Magick! The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia are Holland’s best kept secret.”
Sherman, NME, UK 1992

“PWOG’s debut LP is an organic invocation rite — the soundtrack to a new world coming to life, an odyssey. Cross-cultural rhythms, ambiences and environmental samples segue into one another like a fluid relay, and unlike the majority of dance records, it never settles into a routine. It’s always evolving, always unpredictable, an indefinitely religious experience.”
John Selzer, Melody Maker, UK 1992.

"Grown men, who snorted their first ecstasy to this record, stammered with tears in their eyes about divine experiences and the cosmos, man."
Peter Erik Hillenbach, Marabo Magazine, Germany 1992.

Sacred Grooves’ introduces tribal dance music for the mind, body music leaning on the avant garde. Its ripples of sound drift through tranced out ritualistic beats into ambience and serenity resembling something akin to The Orb meeting Klaus Schulze at a brain tuning session.
Sherman, NME, UK 1992

"There's still dance for a moment, in the opening track "The Challenge," then Psychick Warriors roam the earth, where African drummers, tropical sounds, and science-fiction chords have found their place in a spiralling interplay of rhythms and sounds. A captivating, almost magical ritual." Corné Evers, Oor Magazine, Netherlands 1992.

"It's truly astonishing what these Dutchmen have come up with for their first LP. Their roots might explain the enigma, for Psychick Warriors are more in the tradition of Psychic TV than in the desolate temples of techno-house fetishists, to which they are wrongly relegated. Here, chromosomes dance, not instincts." CMK, Tip, Germany 1992.

"The transcendental essence of this album is spread throughout, with musical gravitations emerging unexpectedly from sonic experiments that are sometimes primitive, sometimes
futuristic in intention… But there is always an aura of cosmic magic that constantly puts all the parts involved in conflict and which, upon closer analysis, ends up being the main reason for the final result." Blitz Magazine, Portugal 1992.

Forever Records

Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.

Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.


The Release:
Dancing on the wildest edge of the 90s outsider techno zeitgeist while proudly independent of any so-called scene, Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves: A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics is both of its time and out of time. Rooted in the experiments of electronic music pioneers, industrial culture and ethnic music from around the globe while responding to the house and techno explosion, Robbert Heynen, Reinier Brekelmans, Reinoud van den Broek and Tim Freeman's freewheeling masterpiece takes in lush electronica and murky abstraction on its singular voyage through parts unknown.

Forever Records presents an extensive reissue edition of the first 'fully released' Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia album. Originally released in 1992, this is the first time the full, previously CD-only, version of Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves will be pressed on vinyl. The original LP and CD artwork from the various editions released in the early 90s has been combined and designed by the band, and the audio has been remastered with their full approval. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition available housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

Press response to Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves - A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics:

“That’s Magick! The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia are Holland’s best kept secret.”
Sherman, NME, UK 1992

“PWOG’s debut LP is an organic invocation rite — the soundtrack to a new world coming to life, an odyssey. Cross-cultural rhythms, ambiences and environmental samples segue into one another like a fluid relay, and unlike the majority of dance records, it never settles into a routine. It’s always evolving, always unpredictable, an indefinitely religious experience.”
John Selzer, Melody Maker, UK 1992.

"Grown men, who snorted their first ecstasy to this record, stammered with tears in their eyes about divine experiences and the cosmos, man."
Peter Erik Hillenbach, Marabo Magazine, Germany 1992.

Sacred Grooves’ introduces tribal dance music for the mind, body music leaning on the avant garde. Its ripples of sound drift through tranced out ritualistic beats into ambience and serenity resembling something akin to The Orb meeting Klaus Schulze at a brain tuning session.
Sherman, NME, UK 1992

"There's still dance for a moment, in the opening track "The Challenge," then Psychick Warriors roam the earth, where African drummers, tropical sounds, and science-fiction chords have found their place in a spiralling interplay of rhythms and sounds. A captivating, almost magical ritual." Corné Evers, Oor Magazine, Netherlands 1992.

"It's truly astonishing what these Dutchmen have come up with for their first LP. Their roots might explain the enigma, for Psychick Warriors are more in the tradition of Psychic TV than in the desolate temples of techno-house fetishists, to which they are wrongly relegated. Here, chromosomes dance, not instincts." CMK, Tip, Germany 1992.

"The transcendental essence of this album is spread throughout, with musical gravitations emerging unexpectedly from sonic experiments that are sometimes primitive, sometimes
futuristic in intention… But there is always an aura of cosmic magic that constantly puts all the parts involved in conflict and which, upon closer analysis, ends up being the main reason for the final result." Blitz Magazine, Portugal 1992.

High-definition world building collides with incisive physical urgency around 170 BPM as Pianeti Sintetici makes his first appearance on Samurai Music. Davide Perrone's vivid production style found a more downtempo outlet on last year's release for Samurai sub label Saibai, but he pivots naturally towards the weightier presence of the Exoverse with a richly rendered suite of sonic systems teeming with life and pockmarked with mystery. The spacious drums that lead on 'Agilus' have an acoustic, in-the-room quality that instantly grounds the track before the myriad layers of synthesis start spiralling skywards, pitting twinkling pads against rapid, undulating acid wielded with assured control. By way of contrast 'Mimoide' burrows downwards, using needlepoint marks to puncture the brooding beds of sound looming in the middle distance. At the same time, Perrone weaves lithe, rubbery shapes across the foreground of the mix for a three-dimensional expression you can almost reach out and touch. Opening up a B side tipped towards a mellower pace, 'Living Plasma' leans into a 4/4 meditation as a vessel for another distinctive tapestry of modulating sound design from Perrone's seemingly infinite sonic resources. 'Exoverse' edges towards a more melodic standpoint with its teased flutters of arpeggio that sneak in and out of the mix and a harmonic dimension to the atmospheric layers that shape out the size of the track. Across all four pieces, the sheer detail at play in the Pianeti Sintetici universe is mind-boggling. By rights it should be a busy, stress-inducing experience, but Perrone's gift lies in the ability to take a macro view on these incredibly complex creations, zooming out by boiling the parts down into a symbiotic whole that feels patient and considered. The reward for the listener comes from taking the time to zoom in and marvel at every micro detail writhing across the surface.

Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!

One year on from his first Samurai release, Vardae returns to plunge even deeper into his mesmerising strain of hyper-mobile drum mantras and textural intrigue. Cédric Arnous' prolific run over the past few years has rapidly positioned him at the forefront of a scene between scenes where the rhythmic intrigue of drum & bass collides with modern techno's hypnotic linearity. On The Energy Of Presence he relishes the flexibility afforded by this intersection to deliver four distinct, high-impact workouts made with his ever-evolving live set in mind. 'Grounded Attachment' leads with the sonar strafe and broken beat pulse readily associated with the Vardae sound, threading twitchy percussion and steely brushstrokes around the bedrock of low-end pressure. It's the slowly emerging drone sweeps that round out the character of the track, betraying a warmth encased within the metallic overtones that deepens the emotional weight immeasurably. By contrast, 'Magnetic Flux' swerves towards a more direct thrust with its high-tempo 4/4 undercarriage and a limber, acidic lead line that helps join the dots between Vardae's modernist sheen and the roughneck days of free party tekno. This is still charged, atmospheric dance music, but it has no problem showing its teeth, too. 'Electric Feelings' is similarly sprightly in its tempo, but as ever Vardae runs a tight game with the weight of his drums, finding lightness and dexterity even at 170BPM while the transcendental wormhole opens up around the rhythmic force at the centre. Ensuring there's no space for predictability on this release, 'The Energy Of Presence' plies its own trade in sumptuous dub techno chords and angular groove designed to make you move on a different kind of downbeat. The consummate title track, it's the most roundly melodic offering on the record, served as a crescendo to the whole listening experience comfortably nestled on the B2 of the physical edition. Capitalising on the hypnotic codes etched into the dub techno sound, Vardae dials up the delay feedback for a psychedelic release at the end of a record that covers a lot of ground without losing focus.

Nina Kraviz launches a new label.

treats is the younger, bratty sister label to trip, specialised in cool music for the dance floor that seems to ignore the idea of genres. To prove this point the first release brings together two tracks that have been roasted in Nina's sets for months and are genre bending.

On the A-side, Brazilian phenomenon and SoundCloud cowboy Joao Lagrima de Ouro teams up with Baile Funk legend MC Pogba. "Pitbull de Glocada" is an excessively naughty heater, with a serious nod to the regional Brazilian electronic music, creating an authentic blend of sounds.

On the B-side, Nina herself teams up with Rio de Janeiro marvel Mc Nick. The two met online, as Nina came across Nick's sensual hit "Mete com forza e com talento" and made her own version of it. Later during a Brazilian tour, the two finally met up on the mythical beach of Mc Nick's hometown where "sem amor" was recorded. Nina's signature minimalist production and approach to vocals pairs idyllically with Mc Nick's fiercely carnal and feminine raps.

treats 001 consists of two tracks with a fluctuating identity, spilling over with risque playfulness that might require parental advisory for some, but it's hard to deny the sheer joy these tracks exude.

Now into its sixth year, NuNorthern Soul’s Summer Selections series has become a popular annual fixture. Like its predecessors, 2026’s edition showcases a variety of Balearic dancefloor workouts, sensual soundscapes and tracks tailor-made for poolside sun-down sets.

As usual, Summer Selections Six is a vinyl-first affair, offering wax enthusiasts a chance to cop killer cuts set to feature on a swathe of forthcoming NuNorthern soul releases – including some that would otherwise be unavailable on physical formats.

To begin, is It Balearic? label regulars and Rotation Sound System crew members Wrekin’ Havoc turn their attention to NuNorthern Soul favourite B.J Smith’s 2014 cover of Outkast’s ‘Prototype’. Their take, which will be featured on a forthcoming collection of reworks of Smith’s NNS material, places the long-serving producer’s beautiful, beguiling vocals atop lo-fi 80s electro beats, moody pads, squelchy synth sounds and far-sighted electronics.

Up next is label newcomer Sasha Foam, a fast-rising Lisbon-based DJ/producer whose Memoria EP is set to land digitally soon. ‘Curios’, his contribution to Summer Selections Six, is a propulsive and ear-catching affair, with joyful synth melodies, rushing piano riffs and cheerful TB-202 style acid tweaks rising above a crunchy, drum-machine driven mid-tempo groove.

Rounding off side A is ‘Call To Wind’, a rootsy, warming and sun-baked slab of Balearic dub gorgeousness from Strictly Dub Records founder Saimon AKA Roots Artefact. The track, which marks his first new material since last year’s NuNorthern Soul debut Different Perspective, is one of the many highlights set to be featured on the Estonian’s forthcoming Rocking Boat EP.

Turn to the flipside and you’ll find three more inspired, immersive treats. Dan Dub Lounge, Muzka and Simon Sheldon being their Visions of Light project back to NuNorthern Soul with the borderline genius ‘ReBorn Slippy’, an exotic, intoxicating and sitar-laden slow-motion instrumental cover of the Underworld favourite taken from their soon-come collection of ‘mild pitch’ takes of dance and electronic classics.

To complete another stellar Summer Selections 12-inch label founder Phil Cooper platforms two recent additions to the roster. First is Potteries-based producer Andrew Wright AKA Lonely Deckchair. Wright offers up ‘Adaflo’ from his forthcoming debut album. Atmospheric and magical, ‘Adaflo’ is a simmering, slowly unfurling fusion of poignant pianos, minimalist beats, shuffling bass and tumble-down chords.

Then there’s Aussie artist Perth Lewis, whose first two self-released albums (Moments In Time and Distance Between) were recently reissued by NuNorthern Soul. The Sydney-based producer is set to release a new EP, Cherry Moon, soon, and ‘Monolith’ is taken from that collection. Deep, dubby and beguiling, it sees Lewis pepper a head-nodding, effects-laden beat with spacey sonics, cascading piano motifs and some seriously sparkling synths.




d B1: Visions of Light -

Bahamadia’s 1996 debut album Kollage is rightly regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of the 1990s. For the first time ever, Be With present the definitive double LP version of this eternal hip-hop classic, including the legendary "Path To Rhythm" which never appeared on the original LP or on vinyl, anywhere. An indelible VIBE from start-to-finish, Kollage presents Bahamadia's swirling rhymes delivered with an irresistibly butter flow and razor-sharp assuredness over a steady slew of smoothed-out, jazzed-up, blunted beats. Achingly cool and effortlessly funky throughout, it's an absolute must for true 90s hip-hop fanatics.

The entire Kollage project was recorded at D&D Studios and the ties to Gang Starr are keenly felt, with DJ Premier producing five tracks in addition to the killer songs Guru had already produced with her. Working with the cream of the mid-90s East Coast sound, Kollage is, accordingly, a record that demonstrates a varied musical taste with disparate influences, as Bahamadia has previously stated: “The title Kollage was a reflection of my state of mind. I first got interested in music from playing my parents’ and grandparents’ records, as well what I heard on the radio. I wanted Kollage to reflect that diversity both lyrically and sonically."

With intelligent, poetic lyricism and a laconic verbal style bursting with both warm texture and deceptive energy, Bahamadia’s flow was as inspired by Aretha and Nancy Wilson as it was Q-Tip, Schoolly D and Lady B. Swaggering out the gate, "WordPlay" finds Bahamadia confidently showcasing her considerable old-school battle-rhyme skills over a Guru beat that utilises an infectiously bouncy bassline with splashes of sultry jazz horns and a Jeru vocal snatch for the hook. Up next, the quietly shimmering and ruggedly beautiful "Spontaneity" is one of the most alluring on the record, Da Beatminerz crafting a brilliantly soulful and jazzy soundscape for Bahamadia's effortless vocals to float across. It's followed by "Rugged Ruff", where the rapper carefully constructs a swift off-beat flow over Premier's raw jazzy fire.

With smooth spacey synth vibes overseen by former Geto Boys producer N.O. Joe, "I Confess" is, without question, a fly love song and soothing (p)-funk groove. "UKNOWHOWWEDU" is an airy, chilled tribute to her hometown. Produced by Ski Beatz & DJ Redhanded, it rides a gloriously mellow break. It's a true Philly anthem, shouting out a who’s who of the entire city’s scene. Early banger "Total Wreck" follows, presenting a murky Guru instrumental elevated by jazzy horns. Bahamadia invokes the title's suggestion, firing her brilliant bars more aggressively than we’re accustomed to. More Beatminerz-brilliance comes in the way of "Innovation", an opportunity for the MC to invoke Freestyle Fellowship in her forward-thinking and literary verses. "Da Jawn" features hometown buddies The Roots, with Black Thought gliding into a back-and-forth with Bahamadia over ?uestlove’s warm, snapping percussion. With the strut club banger "True Honey Buns (Dat Freak Sh*t)", DJ Premier provides some laidback vibrant boom bap for Bahamadia to share a wild, cautionary tale about a night out with her girl, Kia.

Fan favourite "3 Tha Hard Way" is a hypnotically sinister cut, with Bahamadia, K-Swift and Mecca Star taking star turns to coast over DJ Premier’s raw beat whilst the tender "Biggest Part Of Me" is a heartfelt stunner dedicated to her son. Incredibly, only the European and Japanese CD versions of Kollage was released with the brilliantly breezy “Path To Rhythm”, featuring Ursula Rucker. Whilst ostensibly a "bonus track", it's anything but, to our ears. Very much in sonic conversation with KRS-One's stretched-out sleeper classic "Higher Level", it's absolutely essential so we had to include it, appearing on wax for the first time here, exclusively. Quite a coup.

Somewhat predictably, whilst Kollage was released to significant critical acclaim, it suffered from disappointing sales. In the intervening years - and for far too long - it was a criminally underrated record, an increasingly hidden gem. We hope this double LP reissue - which looks and sounds amazing - will go some way to correct this. This 2024 Be With double LP re-issue has been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston and pressed at Record Industry. It's too bold and beautiful to remain overlooked and underserved.

Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its extensive reissue program of Meiko Kaji"s early discography, originally released by Teichiku Records in Japan between 1972 and 1974. The Quentin Tarantino muse-famous for her starring roles in Lady Snowblood and Stray Cat Rock-was also a gifted singer. Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika is another collection of superb cinematic songs featuring Kaji"s signature mix of Japanese Pop and Groove, backed by lush, atmospheric orchestrations. This includes her rendition of "Tokyo Nagare Mono," the theme song for Seijun Suzuki"s cult 1966 film Tokyo Drifter. This reissue features the original artwork, an OBI strip, and a four-page insert with new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha, who interviewed Meiko Kaji for the occasion.

Nate Krafft (Nathaniel Killins IV) is a visionary Detroit producer whose 1990s work were released under his own name and aliases such as Super Nova and Naquil and have since become highly collectible. He later re-emerged as Nate Nubia, continuing to experiment techno infused with machine soul and cosmic imagination.

In 1995, he dropped two cult 12"s on his own Infra label: Man ?? Machine and Crimson Arsenal, blending Detroit techno with electro edges and sci-fi atmospheres exploringuncharted territories. These sought-after EPs, which sounded futuristic long before their time, are brought together for the first time as one limited edition red vinyl 2x12".

Please also consider his Planetary Invazion EP, under his Super Nova alias, reissued in 2018 on the same label.

Timeless and built by one of the legends who helped define the language of house music. Huge support by Ricardo Villalobos. KBMV001 is not just a debut catalogue number on Shelby own label, it is a foundation stone. Authentic, timeless and built by one of the legends who helped define the language of house music. Klassik Blueprint Muzic opens its catalogue with a statement. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Chicago house sound, Shelby?s history reaches back to the formative years of the culture, with early milestones including ?Essence Of A Dream? under his Risqué III alias in 1987 and ?All For Lee-Sah? on Derrick May?s Transmat in 1989.

That legacy is exactly what gives ?OMG (Oh My God)? / ?Who Wants It DEEP?? its force. This is not nostalgia packaged as heritage, it is a living connection to the raw machinery, groove science and emotional depth that made Chicago house a global language in the first place. Shelby has long been associated not only with classic Chicago house, but also with the tougher edges where acid, techno and Detroit-inspired futurism meet, a cross-current reflected throughout his discography and in the way later reissue culture continues to treat his catalogue as foundational. Pressed on 180g vinyl and coming straight from Chicago, USA, this is a release that connects past, present and future in one gesture: authentic house music from a genuine architect, still speaking with authority.

This reissue of ENV001 "Premise EP" is remastered from the original tapes and features the original artwork by Todd Sines. Featuring a remix from The Connection Machine, the 1995 EP was recorded in Ohio and originally mastered inDetroit by the legendary Ron Murphy. The release marked the end of four years of Geist living the midwest and his return to the metro area of New York City, a dramatic shift that would soon be reflected in Environ's sound.

In 1994, with only a single 12" in his discography, Morgan Geist decided to start his own record label. His debut on Dan Curtin's Metamorphic label was inspired by the sounds of Detroit techno and Chicago house. But Geist was equally fascinated by UK imports from labels like Warp, B12, and ART. He sought to combine these inspirations on the first release of his new label, Environ. Featuring a remix from The Connection Machine, whose unique "Bitflower" was released the year before on Carl Craig's Planet E, "Premise EP" (1995) was recorded in Ohio and mastered in Detroit by the legendary Ron Murphy. The release also marked the end of four years of Geist living the midwest and his return to the metro area of New York City, a dramatic shift that would soon be reflected in Environ's sound. This reissue of ENV001 "Premise EP" is remastered from the original tapes and features the original artwork by Todd Sines.

"I wanted to travel / Home into somewhere,"Ana Roxanne breathes across an eerie suspended drone on "The Age of Innocence". "I wanted to try / And go very far." These are the first words we hear on Poem 1 and reintroduce an artist who's in a conspicuously different phase of her life than she was when her debut album, Because of a Flower, sprouted nearly six years ago.

Heartbroken and reflective, Roxanne surveys the transformations that followed and displays a new-found boldness. Her voice is naked, vulnerable and alive, no longer shrouded in tape noise or looped and echoed beyond recognition beneath layered electroacoustic textures.

Throughout the course of Poem 1, Roxanne displays her skill as a singer and songwriter in the classic sense, using the limited instrumentation simply to accent her exposed tones. Muted piano phrases and plucked bass notes languidly trail her anguished siren song on "Berceuse in A-flat Minor, Op. 45", making each word count.

On "Keepsake" meanwhile, she sounds as if she's alone in an abandoned bar, stroking the dust off the piano's keys as she inventories her emotional scars. There's a smell of old whisky in the air, but Poem 1 is a remarkably sober album; never wallowing in self pity, Roxanne finds catharsis in the logic of her expressions, twisting out the edges of her memories into surreal, cinematic asides. "Untitled II", the album's pronounced, uninhibited centerpiece, delivers on the Lynchian promise that's been present since her first EP, 2019's ~~~. "

And when she interprets the Robert Schumann's lied "Stille Tränen" on "One Shall Sleep", she turns Justinus Kerner's words into a whispered echo of her own grief, narrating the 19th century poem over syrupy synthesizers and strings. There's a light emerging on the horizon, though; burying her past on the choral standout '"Cover Me", Roxanne shifts the pace and the mood on 'Atonement', lifting her voice into a gentle lilt.