quête:headphones

Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell’s third solo album pinball wanderer is an otherworldly collection of intergalactic wizardry that mixes psychedelic melodies, Can-via-The Stone Roses grooves and Arthur Russell-style experimental textures. With guest appearances from Dot Allison and Neu! legend Michael Rother on a cover of The Passions’ peerless post-punk classic ‘I’m In Love With A German Film Star’, it is perfect for both deep-listening headphones moments and cutting across the coolest, most understated dancefloors. The loose-limbed rhythm tracks were the starting point and were laid down with the help of Andy’s old Oasis bandmate Gem Archer. The rest followed after an intense all-night session last summer, with the completed album being delivered the following morning. It’s Andy’s finest work to date; a quintessential nighttime record where you can slip through the gaps in the notes and revel in the moment.

The new recording of The Book of Sounds is an intimate exploration of the piano by pianist Carlos Cipa - a way of looking into the sound, of listening into the moment when Cipa's fingers press down on the piano keys. The Book of Sounds, composed between 1979 and 1982 by composer and pianist Hans Otte, is a musical pendulum movement of one hour in twelve 'pieces', as the composer himself describes them. Chords and melodies repeat themselves, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly; they follow each other in harmonic cadences and yet never dissolve - a timeless back and forth.
The Book of Sounds is the European-German answer to the concert music of American minimalism. But it is also the essence of many questions about society and the human condition at that time. Inspired by Zen Buddhism, Otte was convinced that a return to simplicity, to the unagitated - a piano, harmonic cadences, a middle register - frees the listener to focus on what is really important in art: the human being. Introspection begins with listening. Seldom have simple chords and melodies been so selectively staged. It is a process of endless reduction - no wild sound dramaturgies, no climaxes, hardly any beginning or end. The interpreting pianist simply prepares a tableaux of perception for the listener. Cipa naturally sets accents; he recorded the 12 pieces on three different pianos - a Steinway grand piano, a Yamaha piano, and a Yamaha CP-70, an early electric piano - to help shape the tonal characteristics.
Carlos Cipa hits the nerve of the times with this new recording. What music can be as art is still up for debate today. The Book of Sounds is not 'art-proof' and in this it is still a provocation today; absolutely unspectacular and practising relaxation. It is a wonderful invitation to feel, experience, and perhaps even find oneself in the confrontation with the work - and for a moment not to fuel the discourse. Cipa, who otherwise appears as a composer himself, here carries out Otte's intended gesture of withdrawal in a double sense and steps into the background as creator but also interpreter, in order to bequeath The Book of Sounds to the loudspeakers and headphones at home in one step forward.

DOVS are the duo of Vienna’s Johannes Auvinen, aka Tin Man, and Mexico City’s Gabo Barranco, aka AAAA. Psychic Geography is their second album together, but it differs considerably from both their respective solo work and their 2019 debut LP together, Silent Cities: Where that album’s hardware-based acid kept its gaze focused squarely on the dancefloor, Psychic Geography is a strictly ambient affair.

The album has its roots in a trio of beatless tracks that peppered Silent Cities; this time, the duo decided to try making an entire album with no drums. “It opened up the chance to make a different, more narrative style of music with more complex structures,” Auvinen says. Ambiguity and uncertainty are key watchwords for their music, which moves with eerie, liquid grace. Untethered from 4/4 kicks, their music drifts and morphs; familiar acid sequences give way to surprising shifts in tone and mood. And with no drums to distract the ear, the seeming simplicity of their silvery synth lines opens up to reveal remarkable depth and dynamism.

Barranco and Auvinen recorded the album together in the studio utilizing machines like the Roland TB-303, Juno G, Prophet 5, Elektron Octatrack MKII, Make Noise DPO and René, Mutable Clouds, Roland SH-101, Behringer TD3, and Sherman Filterbank. Listen on good speakers or headphones, and you can tell: Their gear yields a tonal richness that recalls the ambient and cosmic music of decades earlier. You can practically feel the heat from their circuits warming the air.

The meaning behind the name DOVS is as ambiguous as the duo’s music. (Dig, if you will, the picture of Picasso’s dove of peace—or, perhaps, the outline of a bird pressed into a small white pill.) But Psychic Geography needs little explanation. DOVS’ album is a collection of mental maps of imaginary places. Set your coordinates for the mirage on the horizon and prepare to dissolve.

Recorded in its entirety using just a laptop, a pair of headphones and a midi sampler, Indentations is the debut full length album from New York based percussionist and producer Grant Chapman.

Indentations draws deeply on Chapman's personal experiences surrounding loss and betrayal. An intimate work reflecting the struggle of dealing with traumatic experiences, the album makes the case for equilibrium following life-altering experiences.

‘’The album is a meditation on the sheer weight a broken relationship can have on two people. A personification of the stages of grief one feels when growing apart from someone they love, for reasons they can’t seem to reckon with or comprehend.’’

Working from his East Village apartment, Indentations is a rich amalgam of intricately layered found sounds, almost all of which were found on YouTube, taking in influences that range from ASMR to acapella choral performance.

The effect is dizzying in its depth and scope. Chapman has created a boundless emotional musical journey that can feel both deeply intimate and cosmically vast.

Debut LP from David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol), Wendy Eisenberg, and Kramer. Includes free download of an additional 15 minutes of music. Squanderers are the glowingly new 2024 vintage trio of guitarists Wendy Eisenberg and David Grubbs alongside multi-instrumentalist and legendary producer Kramer. The group sprung into action as the duo of Kramer and Grubbs with the single 'Congress of Poodles' b/w 'Lendrick Muir Bible Study Weekend,' part of Kramer's 2023 Shimmy-Disc box set Rings of Saturn. Squanderers now enter the arena of live performance with the addition of bona-fide guitar slayer Eisenberg, a dream of a foil to Grubbs's grubbslike guitarisms, setting the scene for Kramer to follow his musical divining rod. Divining urges not dirges. In Grubbs's book-length poem, The Voice in the Headphones, 'Squanderer' is the nickname that most deeply troubles of the book's unnamed protagonist: "Hang your head, Squanderer. You'll never darken the doorway of Studio A." Will this trio of inveterate Squanderers redeem themselves?

M.I.T.A. makes his debut on FJAAK's CROWD label with the highly anticipated Night Owl EP, a fresh offering that sees the producer delving deep into his signature sound, blending intricate rhythms, atmospheric textures and hard-hitting beats to create an immersive journey through the nocturnal world. The Night Owl EP unfolds across four meticulously crafted tracks, opening with the title track listeners are plunged into a brooding soundscape characterized by pulsating basslines and haunting melodies, embodying the enigmatic energy of the night. 'Ego Bash' follows, delivering a high-octane groove infused with relentless percussion and electrifying dynamics, a track destined to ignite the dance floor. On the flip side, 'Broadcast Chatter' takes a more experimental route, weaving intricate sonic details and hypnotic loops into a piece that commands attention with its depth and complexity. Rounding out the EP is 'Venus of Intensity', a visceral and emotive closing track that builds to a crescendo of raw power, leaving listeners in awe of M.I.T.A.'s ability to balance intensity with elegance. With Night Owl, M.I.T.A. cements his place as one of the most exciting names in the Italian contemporary electronic scene. This EP not only highlights his skillful production but also his artistic vision - whether experienced in the dark corners of a club or through headphones on a late-night drive, Night Owl promises to leave a lasting impression.

Drasii is the duo of Chris Kalis and Lisa Armstrong. Since emerging as an offshoot of Chandeliers, denizens of Chicago’s loft party scene, they have been exploring more dance-oriented tempos and song structures equally suited for a large sound system or a pair of headphones.

Influenced by the American midwest electronic music scenes that they came out of, their new 12-inch record, Spirito Celeste (ETC Records, November 15th) combines deft melodic interplay and sublimely danceable rhythms conjuring everything from dreamy ambient, moody acid, and synth pop, to classic house and techno.

If you feel like motoring down the highway at 100 miles per hour breathing in pure rock n roll exhaust then look no further– Rowdy is here to kick out the jams and rev up with their self-titled debut LP Rowdy! These seasoned rockers are dealing out a heavy dose of song-forward classic garage punk that sounds like a mixed bag of Joan Jett singing for Teengenerate and Roky Erikson and The Aliens covering Oblivions. This is no surprise as Rowdy is formed by members of legendary Austin band Hex Dispensers and Scotland's Goldie Dawn, (Hex Dispensers, major contributors to the Texas garage punk scene). Rowdy’s sound runs the gamut with catchy 77 punk tunes like “All in My Head”- with its huge chorus, anthemic doo-wop tinged songs like “Fine Mystery, and bluesy garage rippers like “Cost Of It”. The recording is raw and punchy, dripping with overdriven twangy guitars, a steadfast, tight rhythm section, and blown out vocals. This record is pure rock n roll madness! Pop this Rowdy on in your headphones, shotgun a Steel Reserve, and you’ll be on your motorcycle doing donuts on your highschool principal’s lawn in no time.

Rose Main Reading Room, the fourth full length by Peel Dream Magazine, is a lush, inviting headphones record; the kind of album made to accompany city bus rides and rainy-day solo trips to accidental destinations. The band, whose name nods to the BBC Radio 1 legend John Peel — arbiter of all things underground, quality, and (it must be said) "cool" — has since its inception been a genre-hopping experiment, jumping from motorik krautrock to shoegaze and space age pop, and their newest work is a perfect starting point for the uninitiated, beckoning toward a newfound romance and nostalgia with their catchiest collection of songs to date. Across its fifteen songs, Rose Main Reading Room ultimately proposes a world of marvels and compelling complexity: “Oblast” cheekily prods at mutually assured destruction; “Ocean Life” explores the infiniteness within ourselves; while “R.I.P. (Running in Place)” unpacks an all too familiar stagnation. It’s all part of, and crucial to, Rose Main Reading Room’s transportive power, ever reaching for the wonder and magic of the world we live in.

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate returns with one collective foot in overdriven space-biker scuzz rock, but the other bigfoot kicking upward into new galaxies of synth punk, no-prog, and freek funk. Yes, dare we say it, the new PCWS LP, Tales From the Golden Skull, GROOVES--but from the perspective of the Japan n' Kraut/Eurorock undergrounds, coated in some nasty Windy City grime. Aided by the Chicago Cosmonaut Couriers Crew, ala famed renaissance man Mac Blackout (synths/horns/electronics), Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (trumpet) of longtime zone-jammers Drazek Fuscaldo/Mako Sica, Will MacLean on Moog keytar (!-- of local Silver vocoder-ed Apples lovin' treasures Protovulcan), plus the oldest-school synthlord Bil Vermette, who's been modulating since the 70s. We'll call Tales From the Golden Skull a near-concept lp (aren't they always?) that looks back at fallen friends and collaborators, and then into the unwritten golden future (as PCW himself hit the golden 50). The sonic journey dips into dark textural valleys, and chugging riffs rising to thee fiery heavens, as the thundering-but-subtle rhythm section of Jose "Beast but Best" Bernal and Rob "Dead Feathers" Rodak know when to crash and when to burn (one). Sir PCW lays down his trademark big muff-blastage and echo-cries, to channel the despair and feral bark of the mighty Vega/Hammill/Iggy/Dickie P/Haino/Mojo-Risin/Mizutani, but also knows when to shut up for some layered instrumental Embryo/Harvester/Fausty trance rock and dabbed/dubbed out "not-quite-shoegazin" calmness in the eye of the Ur-storm. This might be the most expansive, detailed yet furious PCWS LP yet, recorded at Rec Room studios with Eric Block, who has done all from a band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to recorded Rhys Chatham 100+-peeps guitar orchestras. So strap the headphones on and absorb the tales of this spaced ritual-rock opus. Artwork - Steve Krakow

''One Foot in the Rave'' is a vibrant collection that showcases Jonny's signature style--a blend of melodic, melancholic acid jams, bleepy funk, and warm analog electronics. Whether for the stereo or the sound system, the LP moves from the upfront bounce of ''The Apocalypse is Now'' and ''Raymond Tuesday's Big Day Out'' to the shimmering reverb of ''Starry Night'' and the birdsong-infused ''Ringfort.'' Listeners will find themselves in familiar Automatic Tasty terrain, rich with psychedelic exploration. According to Jonny, ''What to say about this record? I don't really know and it hardly matters. I wrote them on different bits of gear; ye olde faithful Roland SH101, my MC202 (pencil and paper de rigeur), a battered x0xb0x 1.0 (thx Daniel!), a beloved Yamaha Cs-5, a similarly beloved Roland SH5, a truly hammered Juno106, a Roland JX3P, a Nord something or other, an MPC2500, my TR606, and a Vermona DRM1 MKII being sequenced via a bedraggled TR626. Also Jay's TR808 is on there (thx Jay!) and a TR8 being squashed through a Mutronics Mutator (wheee Damo!) and a Zoom H4n recorder. I edited them on a dilapidated laptop, with no headphones or monitors, steering by the tiny speakers on the computer and playing them in my car, twiddling the mix as I went. But these are frivolous and unimportant details. All that matters is that these songs were made out of love. Cheerio, Jonny. P.S.: This record is dedicated to Jay 'Winthorpe' Kelly.'' ''One Foot in the Rave'' will be available on vinyl and digital platforms starting October 14th.

Emerging producer Très Mortimer dishes out eight huge heaters on the highly-anticipated ‘M1 City’ release, a dedication to the mighty Korg M1, coming to Seth Troxler’s Slacker 85 on 25th October.

Kicking off ‘M1 City’ is the simplistic, but refined and booth-rattling ‘Work That Body’. A crisp M1 stab is the main character in this, amplified by thunderous and high energy drums.

Then there’s ‘Secrets’, a house jam inspired by the likes of MK that utilises TR-909 drums, a subtle rolling bassline, intimately whispered and soulfully sung vocal shots, and, of course, classic Korg M1 synth stabs. Together with dramatic contemporary builds, a highly danceable house smasher is formed.

‘No More’ is pure gasoline for the dancefloor. Très pairs another barrage of clean M1 stabs with a rousing vocal sample that leads into, with the help of a rolling snare, another highly effective house drop. Following the extremely saucy ‘Big Daddy’ skit, we’re dropped straight into ‘One Of Those Nights’, a show-stopping track complete with cutting, sharp stabs, a bulging bassy synth and a West Coast-esque synth sound.

‘Bitch I’m From Chicago’ feat. Gleebz is, as the title suggests, a dedication to the city where house music found its name. Batting off all the poser cities like LA and Miami in the sassy lyrics, it embodies the spirit of Chicago with hefty kick drums and weighty chord stabs.

At the tail end of the release, ‘Let Me Go’ and ‘Love’ (featuring vocalist 7000 (7K)), bring things to a rousing emotive close. Both tracks see Très put clean vocals over piano riffs, giving off differing moods – the former is euphoric, the latter melancholic. Synths bubble beneath, and each track funnels their own respective house grooves, resulting in two tracks fit for both the dancefloor and headphones.

Très Mortiner explains: “The M1 sound is classic. It automatically transports you back to those timeless house songs that never get old. For me, house music is all about connection. People experiencing a little moment of euphoria together when they hear a riff that they all know on the dance floor. That’s what it’s all about. With this project I wanted to tap into that 90s rave sound and spirit. I wanted it to sound like the OG Chicago rave scene.”

“M1 City is my first project to be released on vinyl. I think vinyl is very much alive. It’s essentially for music connoisseurs now. I don’t expect people to have a vinyl collection when all music is always available to everyone on their phones. Nevertheless, I love the idea of some random DJ finding this record in a shop in 10 years. Who knows what I’ll be producing then?”

Très Mortimer is a key figure in Chicago's house scene, steadily building a strong following with his no-nonsense, dancefloor-driven sound. Drawing inspiration from his Polish roots, Trés has signed with major labels like Mad Decent, Insomniac’s IN/Rotation, and Ministry of Sound, while also launching his own imprint, Optics Records. He made his mark with a clever rework of Zombies' 1968 hit ‘Time Of The Season’ (1M+ streams). Standout releases include his downtempo collaboration with plumpy, "BAMBU," and his latest single, "At Night I Think Of You," which was recently given a remix makeover by Seth Troxler and Nick Morgan.

Slacker 85, launched in 2023, is the record label behind ‘M1 City’. Founded by Seth Troxler, it aims to give a platform to "oddball, esoteric and diverse sounds," positioning itself as a counter to the polished, refined dance artists dominating the scene. Troxler, upon the label’s launch, declared that he wanted to create something for "the anti-hero, the kids who could have done it but didn’t care to try”—essentially, "the slacker." So far, it’s delivered a range of releases from artists like Jackmaster, Danny Daze, Dan McKie, and Andre Salmon, offering tracks rooted in house music's past but evolving within its present boundaries.

‘M1 City’, this ode to a piece of gear that consistently finds itself at the heart of house music history, highlights Très Mortimer’s respect for and knowledge of the scene and its key gear. Trè combines this admiration and inspiration of house music’s greats with a modern sensibility, resulting in eight tracks worthy of today’s dancefloors and today’s ravers.

“…a surprisingly cohesive atmospheric soundtrack to a movie that does not yet exist.” LONER is the stunning album from cult auteur DAVID J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets) featuring Mia Doi Todd and Tim Newman. U.K. Edition in orange vinyl with gatefold sleeve. Limited edition of 500. Former Bauhaus and current Love and Rockets bass man returns via Dakota Records with a series of deconstructions of an original twenty some year old demo. Originally streamed as part of his 2007 series of unreleased stash ‘Tracks from the Attic,’ a precursor to the now hugely successful platform: Patreon. David’s original demo titled ‘Albino Dog’ alongside singer/songwriter Mia Doi Todd’s sublime studio version both appeared via that platform in 2015; only the latter appears amongst this new series of arrangements. David’s premonition of Mia’s voice on this song is one to be applauded – perfectly suited creating a ghostly sepulchral aura. Here the Colonel is aided by a series of foot soldiers varying in rank. Veteran comrade Joyce Rooks adds texture with her trademark cello to Mia’s ‘Albino Dog’, whilst privates’ Nigel Gwennap (‘The Day that David Bowie Died’) and Whitehall Rec’s Joel Baldwin contribute electric guitar and drum programming respectively. But it’s the work of the captain that captivates this whole package. Tim Newman (Love is a Ghost), arranger, sound alchemist, mixer and lunatic. Tim’s work with David is best savoured via their ‘Analogue Excavations & Dream Excavations’ 2002 Glass Modern set. ‘Loner’ offers the listener a kaleidoscope of sounds best experienced with headphones, the journey from David’s simple ‘Albino Dog’ strummed acoustic demo to ‘Crescendo’ is quite staggering. Joel’s synth on ‘Cold, Cold, Cold’ and the glitch added to Mia’s vocal (‘Loner on the Range’) for example take the song into an altogether different direction. But it’s ‘Crescendo’ though that sits atop the apex. Building, as the title suggests, into a blistering array of guitars, bass and drums with a gorgeous, ethereal repeating low vocal motif from Mia wrapping itself around the cacophony.

Rose Main Reading Room, the fourth full length by Peel Dream Magazine, is a lush, inviting headphones record; the kind of album made to accompany city bus rides and rainy-day solo trips to accidental destinations. The band, whose name nods to the BBC Radio 1 legend John Peel — arbiter of all things underground, quality, and (it must be said) "cool" — has since its inception been a genre-hopping experiment, jumping from motorik krautrock to shoegaze and space age pop, and their newest work is a perfect starting point for the uninitiated, beckoning toward a newfound romance and nostalgia with their catchiest collection of songs to date. Across its fifteen songs, Rose Main Reading Room ultimately proposes a world of marvels and compelling complexity: “Oblast” cheekily prods at mutually assured destruction; “Ocean Life” explores the infiniteness within ourselves; while “R.I.P. (Running in Place)” unpacks an all too familiar stagnation. It’s all part of, and crucial to, Rose Main Reading Room’s transportive power, ever reaching for the wonder and magic of the world we live in.

Rose Main Reading Room, the fourth full length by Peel Dream Magazine, is a lush, inviting headphones record; the kind of album made to accompany city bus rides and rainy-day solo trips to accidental destinations. The band, whose name nods to the BBC Radio 1 legend John Peel — arbiter of all things underground, quality, and (it must be said) "cool" — has since its inception been a genre-hopping experiment, jumping from motorik krautrock to shoegaze and space age pop, and their newest work is a perfect starting point for the uninitiated, beckoning toward a newfound romance and nostalgia with their catchiest collection of songs to date. Across its fifteen songs, Rose Main Reading Room ultimately proposes a world of marvels and compelling complexity: “Oblast” cheekily prods at mutually assured destruction; “Ocean Life” explores the infiniteness within ourselves; while “R.I.P. (Running in Place)” unpacks an all too familiar stagnation. It’s all part of, and crucial to, Rose Main Reading Room’s transportive power, ever reaching for the wonder and magic of the world we live in.

After a slight hiatus Jad & The’s Speed Dial imprint is back and this time joined by a myriad of underground talent to give you the Various Artists “Rhythm Rituals” EP.

The A side is jam packed with 3 uptempo tech-prog-chug goodness featuring Eora Nation based up and comer Mtty, label head Jad & The, and a re-issue of Pocket’s timeless “Smoke Signals” previously released via Australia’s seminal “Thunk” Recordings in the year 2000.

On the flip the tempo is slowed but Australian DJs DJ Relax and Local Support deliver arguably the finest moments on the record - broken beat Balearic badness in the best way, hell yeah!

Placid aka Paul Wise is chief in command at ‘We’re Going Deep’ – an expanding online community and record label, born from lifelong affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm and obsession for collecting records since 1988. He’s spent the last 3 decades moving heads and feet at venues, parties and fields across the UK and beyond.
On a mission to share and release new music via his label, you’ll find only the best in Acid, Electro, IDM, Techno and Deep House for the dance floor, front room or your headphones making the cut. For the 10th and final edition of his much prized various artist series, he unearths more machine fuelled magic: offering another set of equally excellent music from stellar talent.
Starting the dance, Dutch maestro Boris Bunnik dons his Versalife mantle to opens with ‘Skirmish 101’. Setting the machines to cycle, Bunnik fires a hefty slab of bass to bring down the walls whilst pristine robot like rhythms set your body in motion, all enveloped with sparse synthesis and shimmering effects. Crashing the joint with ‘Acid Baby’ - The Acid Pimp drops a no holds barred, riotous 303 workout that’s nothing short of a tour de force in exorcising the power of Roland’s most celebrated silver box. Putting pedal to the metal with drums and reverb, a smiley face or grimace is guaranteed!
Longtime collaborators Jamie Anderson & Owain K reset the dial on the flip with ‘Basement Dub’, a house paced workout that glides at a steady pace. Evoking the spirit of Mood II Swing whilst immersed in the depths of an underwater realm. Ending on the upbeat note of Konerytmi’s ‘Aamunkoitto’, the Finnish producer reflects a breezy disposition with a joyful melody, step-to electro beat and rolling acid bassline – all perfectly balanced to keep your calm and head out in the right direction, a great way to sign off on this highly collectable series.

* Sounds like a mix of Thom Yorke, Burial, Nils Frahm, all swirled together in a colorful yet creamy mix;

* A blend of Emikas neoclassical descending melodies, signature breathy, female vocals, icey pianos, heavy sub-bass vibrations and layered Hazy beats.

* Sat between her life in moving-boxes, wedged between them surrounding her upright piano in an unfurnished empty-sounding room in her in-laws house. Haze was made with voice-memo recordings of her piano and voice on her phone, edited and mixed on her laptop in headphones. Little loops in Ableton, lyrics, sadness and melodies, just like Emika’s real-life in boxes.

* Emika is set to launch a new event series, inspired by her memories of early Dubstep in the legendary Black Swan venue in Bristol (now closed) she saw her friend Mala play, with one table-lamp, it was all about this new sound, and meditating on the bass-weight. Something she plans to continue in her Haze Nights, where each guest will be gifted a little Haze Light with their ticket.

Respected Leipzig based multi-instrumentalist Panthera Krause arrives on KANN with New Age appeal! Delving into a more mysterious sound than the label is commonly known, the artist draws from the dark side of the pool, taking in Baltic choir inspirations, 80s cinema themes (Tarantino's favourite) and lyrical GDR rock for good measure. Produced in secrecy over the past 12 months, Krause gets in touch with his inner Stereolab by creating an enchanting new full length entirely on headphones. Drip fed to those close to him over the past year, he was convinced to share these audiobooks to a wider audience, now resulting to: Aside The Aeons. Adding almost only sounds from Korg M3R, Roland Aeorophon and a JX 03 synthesizer to the action - the record explores an unique musical universe and head trip for the astral plane.

On Pedro The Lion’s new album Santa Cruz, critically acclaimed musician David Bazan returns with a new chapter in his ambitious and ongoing recording project - 5 albums devoted to places he lived in throughout his life. Santa Cruz is Bazan’s third album in the series and follows up where 2022’s Havasu and 2019’s Phoenix left off. Tracks like "Modesto" and "Little Help" foreshadow Bazan's exposure and ultimate love of classic rock n' roll records, while songs like "It'll All Work Out" showcase his unique approach to synthesizers, something he introduced with the 2005 self-titled Headphones album. The stories on Santa Cruz highlight Bazan’s teenage years and solidifies what he sees as an exposition in a traditional three-act structure. After 25 years refining and building what he calls his “garden of songs,” David Bazan has sold hundreds of thousands of albums, performed in sold-out venues and living rooms around the globe, and played high-profile live sessions with the likes of NPR’s Tiny Desk, KEXP, WNYC’s Soundcheck, WXPN’s World Cafe and many others. His music has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Vox, Paste, Aquarium Drunkard and others.

DJ and producer David Holmes is welcomed to the Late Night Tales fraternity with an evocative collection of personal songs and music, peppered with exclusive new material and rare gems. By now, I think we all know David Holmes, right There's acid house Holmes, with bone-rattling Chicago jams and Detroit destroyers, break-digger Holmes responsible for the grittily shaking 'Let's Get Killed' and seminal Essential Mix compilation (which brought Sixto Rodriguez to people's attention, and then there's soundtrack Holmes. His most enduring and vital source of musical inspiration - cinema - plugged into David's rst solo record 'This Film's Crap, Let's Slash the Seats' and inspired 2000's 'Bow Down to the Exit Sign', created as the soundtrack to a not-yet-made movie. Ofcial soundtracks have been bountiful, including scores for Soderbergh's Out Of Sight and Ocean's trilogy, '71, Hunger and Good Vibrations. In a series of personal songs sung by himself, David's last solo album 'The Holy Pictures' explored inuences of La Düsseldorf, The Jesus and Mary Chain and early Brian Eno. His Unloved collaboration with Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent then took us on a musical journey full of raw 60s pop-noir, psychedelia and French Ye Ye with a contemporary twist. Somehow he's also found time to produce records by Primal Scream and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Unsurprisingly, for someone au fait with matters cinematic, this Late Night Tales conjures up its own mindmovies. It's not only packed with the judiciously selected nuggets for which his mixes are noted but also stuffed with original material, including collaborations with BP Fallon and Jon Hopkins and an amazing new reading of 10cc's 'I'm Not In Love' by Holmes-produced Song Sung. In fact, there's a Celtic thread running through the whole journey with Stephen Rea's reading of an extract from Seamus Heaney's AENEID BOOK VI - Elsewhere Anchises. Among the other gems included here are David Crosby's lush 'Orleans', Buddy Holly's celestial 'Love Is Strange' and the Children Of Sunshine's 'It's A Long Way To Heaven'. David Holmes loves music. It's a way of expressing the sometimes inexpressible or the inconsolable, a questing desire to nd out just what is over the next hill. It's no surprise to learn he's a keen walker. Always on the move, headphones on, lost in some reverie or piece of music, the soundtrack to his life, the stuff that feeds his imagination. I walk a lot. It's amazing for listening to music: your phone or your emails aren't going and you're just in the forest listening to music. It's so intimate. Anyway, I was listening to the KLF's Chill Out album, which still sounds amazing, but it triggered an idea with concrete sounds through travelling and movement. And one of the things I was trying to do was to use this idea not just break up the moods but also as a metaphor for moving through life and arriving in different destinations or arriving at different stages in different parts of your life. Memory, Love, Living, Family, Friendship, Healing, Death and The Afterworld are some of the themes I wanted to explore within this record. Although these strong themes and tracks are personal to me, I also wanted it to be a great listen that was unpredictable yet had a seamless ow - a journey that was personal to me yet to the listener a great compilation of music that they may or may not have heard before. I hope I've succeeded in the later.' David Holmes 2016

Barro Music Label reaches its tenth reference with a tremendous EP in which the protagonist (even of the cover) is Nöle, the label's boss. In Electro Bloody Music, the popular DJ and producer from Pamplona delivers four original tracks accompanied by a fantastic remix by Delectro. The renowned Colombian producer, active since 2006, has released on some of the best international labels and with his 80s EBM, electro and techno influences, he is the ideal person to accompany the label boss on such an important release. As for Nöle, after the success of Mendekua, his previous work released in 2022, he does what he is the best at: dark and frenetic techno with EBM flavor, like the one he played during his long residency at Stardust and does now at Lasociación.

On the A-side of Electro Blood Music we find three originals, the first two could be included in the category of Techno Body Music while the third is more purely techno. The EP starts with BuruHilketa, a dark track with a certain experimental atmosphere endowed with an incisive synth line and disturbing vocal samples that accompany us during most of the composition. Shaktale, shares some of the atmosphere of the first track, as it also includes vocal samples and a eerie synthesizer melody quite catchy. It has quite a complex rhythm and an extremely careful production that we recommend listening with headphones to appreciate in detail. Cementerio caliente is powerufl techno track, with hypnotic synths and an acid touch and tremendously forceful. With this kick drum, you could definitely demolish a house!

On the B-side we find another original track titled Noisebuilder and the remix by Delectro. Noisebuilder, with its fat and aquatic basses starts off more techno but, little by little, it also includes EBM details. The track lives up to its name and the noise builds, little by little, layer by layer while the intensity keeps growing. With a hard-hitting beat, spiced in the background by synthesizers that help to create an atmosphere, it is one of the clearest bangers of the EP. Delectro delivers a remix a little more forceful and darker, a bombshell of pure Techno Body Music that closes this magnificent EP.

Release note: El Garaje de Frank

Christina Kubisch’s Stromsänger finds this legendary sound artist at the top of her game mixing electromagnetic wave recordings with a score for six voices, creating powerful results. Stromsänger is based on a collaboration with the Norwegian vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices and on a special experience while researching and recording electromagnetic waves in the city of Trondheim.

“The general theme of the composition is the idea of sounds which travel. During a tram ride from the city up to the hills with an old tram I discovered not only stunning views of the surrounding landscape but as well a special soundscape. Wearing a custom made induction headphones, I could hear the normally hidden electromagnetic fields of the tram, which were so impressive and musical to me that I immediately decided to base my piece for Trondheim Voices on this discovery.

As a start, a series of pure vocal recordings were produced by Trondheim Voices while listening to a choice of electromagnetic tram sounds and following score instructions. This material was mixed in my Berlin studio and afterward was played back through a multi-loudspeaker setup into the room of the Elisabeth Church in Berlin and was instantaneously recorded. The emerged recording was played back and recorded again. The process of playing back the previous recording was repeated numerous times, generating numerous “re-recordings”, until the voices sounded aethereal and abstract. The last one of these recordings became the very beginning of the Stromsänger piece.

Part A is based on the electromagnetic sounds of the waiting tram and previously recorded voices. The singers come on stage and start to sing together with their recorded part which slowly fades out while the live singing takes over: a kind of choral for electrical tram waves and voices.

Part B is based on the actual tram ride with strong and intense electromagnetic sounds. The single recordings were treated electronically and were divided into six channels. Each singer has chosen one of these files and improvises with the magnetic sounds as a soloist or in duos or trios.

Part C is based on the itinerary of the tram ride to Lian, where a pilgrim's path starts. The names of the single stops, which have very beautiful and poetic names, are performed together as a kind of "sound poetry". The singers walk around on stage and/or can choose special positions for their performance. The recording of the word "Lian", the final stop, was recorded beforehand and played back and re-recorded several times in the open Norwegian landscape near the final tram stop. The voices slowly disappear and fade out.”

Christina Kubisch, 2024

How do you follow up a work described in the Independent on Sunday as “the best debut album since Marquee Moon”? That’s the question facing singer-songwriter John Canning Yates, twenty years on from the critically acclaimed ‘The First Album’ by his band Ella Guru.
‘The Quiet Portraits’ will appeal to anyone who loves the beautiful melodic soundscapes woven by Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, and Tom Waits, while Yates’s unique vocals evoke the emotional fragility and compelling narrative of Neil Young, Paul Buchanan, Mark Linkous and Elliott Smith.
Mastered by Jason Mitchell (PJ Harvey, Robert Forster), and featuring guest contributions from pedal steel maestro BJ Cole and friend and multi-instrumentalist Andy Frizell (Kevin Ayers, Wizards of Twiddly), those dedicated followers of Ella Guru who stayed the path will find their patience very well rewarded. ‘The Quiet Portraits’ is a remarkable achievement from an unassuming, yet hugely talented artist.

It’s a welcome relief amid the rapidly changing musical landscape to find that all that has changed in John’s world is the number of musicians around him. The beautiful storytelling, the art of finding those magical musical moments that will remain with you for years to come: all of that has survived the passing of time intact.
Happiest with headphones on, working alone in the small hours from his Liverpool home, Yates has created another masterpiece.
He explains: “In the wee small hours, with loved ones safely asleep and the busy day done, there comes a hush. Within it, you can breathe and listen. Listen for the infinite possibilities. From those possibilities emerged these portraits. I have sought to find those precious moments: of love and peace in turbulent times, of truth and hope for calmer days ahead. I hope you find them too.”
Entitled ‘The Quiet Portraits,’ the new solo album from John Canning Yates tells tales of people and places, of time, family, history, belonging, forgetting and remembering.

As a professional sound engineer by day, Colin Dunkerley aka Lapsed Pacifist, spends much of his time traveling and rarely gets to focus on producing his own music. Despite high praise from those who have become familiar with his work over the years, Colin’s previous productions have mainly consisted of shares with friends and DJs in smaller circles through his ‘Negative Neutron’ alias.

Colin envisaged a more pronounced and darker ambient style to emerge one day, but struggled to dedicate the time. ‘Hypatia’ came to life over an extended and fragmented period, with field recordings and loops of audio created on the go, later processed through his modular setup. In the autumn of 2022, Colin spent time collating and listening to these many fragments and field recordings, making notes in a book as he wandered around cold, unfamiliar places with headphones on, trying to shape disparate starting points into something thematically connected.

The title of Lapsed Pacifist’s debut album, ‘Hypatia’ is a reference to one of the many fantastical descriptions of imaginary places by Marco Polo in the book, Invisible Cities. Written as a dialogue between Mongol emperor Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, the book became the inspiration and a clear parallel for how Hypatia came to be and what it means to Colin today.

Attaching music to a place and time can become a very powerful and long-lasting memory. Across its eight tracks, Hypatia depicts fragmented glimpses of color and textures –a scrapbook of senses– traversing the optimistic first steps; the first smell of cold air; cityscapes burnt into your head; and the many emotions from exploring new places that stick with you longer than any photograph ever could.

“The experience of moving between places so frequently can be fascinating but also dislocating and often quite lonely. I have so many small stories about places I’ve been, but I often think they aren’t necessarily real reflections of anywhere, no more real than anything Invisible Cities author Calvino dreamt up”. - Lapsed Pacifist.

Hypatia is available on Transparent Copper smoke 12” + digital, mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri and featuring artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding.

Kaito Cuts: Revert / Sequoia b/w Trek / Wait Up/ Sloan by Kaito | Galaxy Sound Co. — GSC45-042, Test Pressing | With their 42nd donut in the always-on-point 45 edit series, @galaxy_sound_company drops a new batch of lo-fi hip-hop beats instrumentals. This time out GSC is showcasing a newcomer to the head-nodding beat maker scene — @kaitoian.


Kaito, an out cold skater as well, has a couple of self-releases you can find on his Bandcamp page, which are solid & sound at home alongside his pop’s ( Todd Osborn) Ghostly International releases. This 7” EP outing spins at 33 1/3 to pack in as much as GSC can squeeze in & is straight up beatloverz heaven. What is impressive, for this old timer, is how clearly deep Kaito’s musical knowledge goes. He clearly has learned well from his father & all the good music he certainly has had at his fingertips. From Madlib to Os Mutantes to Fela Kuti to J Dilla & other artists who were not afraid to dig deep & unearth beats & melodies to tickle your fancy, Kaito’s tastes are as refined as anyone in the game. I know a number of the original source materials that comprise each track, but that I leave to you to dig out for yourself. Here I encourage you to open your eardrums & listen deep with your fav pair of headphones & let each track wash over you. From straight forward head-nodding hip-hop thumpers to beautiful Brazilian femme fatale vocals that lure you into the loop, to a Afrobeat driver that’ll break ya neck, to a mellow, soulful MPC hopper that will lovingly recall a Arlo Parks joint, to then closes out with a synth-laden spaced-out dreamy loop to end credits.

After the release of the first volume of music selected by Klinkhamer Record shop owner Michel Veenstra in 2022, the anticipation and expectation amongst the heads for a follow up compilation has been building. Now BBE Music can announce that Klinkhamer Volume 2's
collection of music from the 70's and 80's is ready to add to the series.

An eclectic selection of tracks which crosses genres and styles, Michel has once again curated a compilation album of music that will appeal to the heads, the collectors and the lovers of the groove. A melange of folk, Jazz and funk for the headphones and the dancefloor, Klinkhamer juxtaposes instrumentals with vocal tracks in English, Swedish and French over a double vinyl release and a track order that creates as much a journey as a flow.

Michel, alongside his brother Stephen, is the owner of the Klinkhamer Record shop in Groningen and a regular trader at the globally known Utrecht Record Fair since the 1990s. It is this wealth of experience, a nose for a gem and an ear for a tune that that has fed into a compilation that has music lover stamped throughout its eight tracks, all remastered from original vinyl.

Coming as a double vinyl and digital release, Klinkhamer Volume 2 is a Godfather II level of follow-up to the previous compilation in the series and really is a must for all true music collectors, vinyl junkies and lovers of tunes curated for the mind, the heart and the feet.