Cerca:heart

John Pizzarelli returns with one of his finest albums yet, Dear Mr. Bennett—a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Tony Bennett, whom he knew personally. The cover even features artwork drawn by Mr. Bennett himself. A celebrated name in jazz, Pizzarelli has collaborated with music’s biggest stars and toured for years with Frank Sinatra. This release follows his acclaimed tributes Dear Mr. Sinatra, Dear Mr. McCartney, and Dear Mr. Cole.

This will be a two-project series based on the music of Tony Bennett. John is a well-known artist in the Jazz space and a staple in the NY scene. His father was a renowned studio musician and go-to person for years. Tony Bennett came to a show of John's and sketched a picture of him performing on a napkin during the show. That picture will serve as the cover of the album.

Very limited numbers, orders will need to be confirmed.

For his new album, Irreparable Parables, Andrew Wasylyk felt a strong desire to write a set of songs featuring an element hitherto rare in his work: the human voice. Equally strong was the conviction that he did not want to sing them himself.

The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer set about assembling a group of guest singers, sending out the songs to wherever they were in the world. The vocals were recorded remotely and then, like migrating birds, winged their way back to Scotland. The result is an album of great beauty which, perhaps preeminently in Wasylyk’s work, expresses the vulnerability and resilience of the human spirit.

Six singers appear on the record, represented by six songbirds illustrated on the sleeve by Clay Pipe Music’s Frances Castle. The cuckoo is a nod to Belle and Sebastian’s 2004 single ‘I’m A Cuckoo’, that band’s Stuart Murdoch being the first voice you hear on the new album. When the vocal for ‘Private Symphony #2’ arrived, says Wasylyk, “it was everything that I was looking for and more. But this is Stuart Murdoch. Of course he’s going to make something incredibly beautiful and thoughtful.”

The song lyrics were, for the most part, written by the singers. The music is Wasylyk’s creation. He navigates a sound world that lies somewhere beyond the borders of classical and jazz, ambient and abstract. It is difficult to describe, but easy to understand, which is to say to feel. That is the way Wasylyk’s work is experienced: as a feeling. It takes you back to childhood, perhaps, to feelings of comfort and safety, or to memories of walks at sunrise and sunset, or to the way a shadow falls on a particular field in a particular place at a particular time in your life. This is consoling music. That is why, though pretty, it is not merely pretty. These are songs to shore up the soul.

Wasylyk writes in a room, in his native Dundee, full of “half broken” instruments. He picks these up, plays a little, seeking an idea, a feeling, a door that lies ajar. The musical palette of Irreparable Parables includes brass and woodwind, a six-piece string section, guitar, bass, drums, vibraphone, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, tape loops, synthesisers and percussion. The strings were arranged by the cellist Pete Harvey, a long-term collaborator.

Among the other guest vocalists are Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, Saya Ueno from Japan’s Tenniscoats and Peter Brewis from Field Music. Wasylyk himself takes the lead vocal on the title track, though a throat infection and touch of pitch-shifting have altered his singing in a way that even he, having fallen out of love with his own voice, finds acceptable.

The heart of the record can, arguably, be found in two tracks, ‘Love Is A Life That Lasts Forever’ and ‘Spectators In The Absence of God’, sung respectively by Molly Linen and Kathryn Joseph. The former, bright with trumpets, was inspired by the writing of Derek Jarman. “I was feeling deeply upset about the world and wanted to try and write some- thing that was obviously hopeful,” Wasylyk says.

‘Spectators …’ offers an emotional counterpoint. It is an “apocalyptic hymn” that seems to grapple with watching human suffering from afar, too distant to be at physical risk, but experiencing the psychological wounding, and feelings of helplessness, even complicity, that come with constant awareness of other people’s pain. “Kathryn’s a pal, I love her dearly, and she’s a brilliant artist who really feels what she writes,” Wasylyk says. “The cracked tenderness of her voice is spellbinding.”

The album closes with an instrumental piece, ‘Soul Enters The Ocean Sun Climbs Out Of The Sea’, all piano and strings, that offers a sense of resolution and ascension. A good moment, too, for Wasylyk to reflect upon the artistic companionship that he enjoyed while making this record – the songbirds that answered his call: “These humans are incredible at what they do. I’m deeply grateful and feel so lucky. It blows my mind.”

Straight outta Gothenburg, DJ Blendah & The Printz blur the lines between remixes, edits and reworks, and “Get Funky in the Heart” is no exception. Taking the finest elements from Teddy Pendergrass, Dee-lite & Q-Tip, and adding fresh live bass and beats, this is a tried and (road)tested floor-filler! 122 BPM
On the flip, Studio 45 gaffer Del Gazeebo has relented to years of public demand to finally release “Know How to Shake?” to the public - a staple of his party sets over the years that has never since a vinyl release until now. Not only that, he's completely rebuilt it, with more sonic twists, turns and "party tricks" than ever before. It's the Young MC/Jacksons blend you never thought you needed, but essential all the same. 118 BPM

Just when you thought Kevin Richard Martin's music couldn’t go any slower, lower or deeper, Sub Zero emerges. A slow-motion excavation of drug-tech, dub, dreamy noise and frozen ambience, the album gradually mutates into hypnotic pulsations and melodic melancholia. It is arguably Martin’s most striking release to date under his given name.


Originally released digitally on Bandcamp only in the depths of winter 2022, amid the final year of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine, this desolate epic went on to become KRM's best-selling digital album on the platform. With persistent demand for a vinyl pressing and a full DSP release from fans, Martin thought the time was right for Sub Zero to finally surface in its full glory: remastered and paired with fresh new artwork.


Unnervingly, the album is as beautiful as it is solemn, as glacial as it is relentless, and as subtle as it is terrifying. A trip into a sonic abyss, with a tour of a philosophical void, it’s to my ears, KRM’s most seductive work yet, and also his most emotionally resonant. Martin expertly balances tear-jerking motifs with heavier than hell rhythmic weight. With its melodic fog, eternal drones and eerie atmospherics, the peripheral throb of distant kick drums, the heartbeat punctuation of cavernous subs and the snowstorm blizzard of fuzz absolutely envelopes the mind, whilst crushing the soul.


In terms of lineage, Sub Zero might recall a more paranoid Porter Ricks, a dystopian GAS, or a brutally dubbed-out Pan Sonic. Most fitting, however, is its kinship with the deepest dub terrain Martin previously explored on In Blue, The Bug’s acclaimed 2020 collaboration with Dis Fig for Hyperdub, where he obsessively probed subaqueous pulses and low-end modulations.


Sub Zero is possibly the most minimal, desolate, and deviant dub record yet released on Martin’s PRESSURE label. It marks the point at which dub disappears into its own effects trails. Dub music capturing frozen moments in time. Dub as an addictive painkiller, that sounds both sacred and ocean deep.

Following her acclaimed 2023 release Flood City Trax, a dreamy, lo-fi take on footwork inspired by the crumbling rust-belt city she calls home, Nondi returns to Planet Mu with her second self-titled album, Nondi…While Nondi… retains some of the hazy, nostalgic atmosphere of Flood City Trax, it pushes her sound in bold new directions. “I made this album to capture the sense of freedom I used to get from music when I was first discovering it all,” Nondi says. “It’s meant to be cute, fun, kinda weird and emotional — but most of all, it’s a presentation of some of the prettiest tracks I’ve made.” Though she hasn’t really experienced club culture where she lives, her impressionistic productions evoke the surreal, lingering sounds of a night out — the melodic haze that hums in your ears as you drift off to sleep. Lo-fi and melodic, yet fluid and free, her music carries a sense of flight and intuitive logic. Nondi’s influences range widely — Actress, Aphex Twin, footwork, and the stranger edges of dub techno are all felt, yet she hallucinates them through her own weathered, dreamlike lens. Her tracks often build from clashing loops that evolve and transform organically, or from familiar genre elements reshaped by her instinct for misty, heart-wrenching melody. Some moments stay closer to genre, like Broken Future 175, a drum-and-bass tear-out that dissolves into lush, blurred chords, or Just Hanging Out, a bruised and beautiful take on 2-step. Lead single Tree Festival feels like a blown-out fusion of rave energy and sped-up new-age bliss, while Death Juke drifts through off-beat vocal samples, pulsing drums and 8-bit FX, reminiscent of early Steve Reich reimagined through a Game Boy. Nondi… is a uniquely moving and exploratory album that expands her sonic world even further. Lo-fi yet luminous, playful yet profound.

Marking their 51st release, long time label collaborator and friend Owain K returns to 200 with a brand new solo 4 track EP, Kinematic Equations.

Having joined 200 back in 2012 with the “Colonius EP”, a lot has happened in that time. With 50+ releases on the imprint and Owain setting up his own blog and a label under the Innate banner. However, some things remain - mutual friendship, a shared love of underground Electronic music and Kölsch!

15 years on the Welsh rooted, Bristol (UK) based artist delivers some of his best music to date in the shape of the “Kinematic Equations”. A four track journey into astral electronics that weave together his take on deep space sounds, fused with a healthy dose of dubby aesthetics that are close to the label’s heart.

Starting with the rhythmic pulse of ‘Axial Shifts’ on side A, chords steadily arc into life as the intensity rises and falls, all whilst keeping a measured trajectory. Drifting into the ether, ‘Open Cluster’ fills the zone where heavy sub meets filtered percussion to a rounded 909 kick, set with dreamy atmospherics and shimmering delays.

On side B ‘Eta Aquarid’ blazes a powerful trail to machine-like rumbling and evolving pads which burst brightly over the course. Last but not least, the magical aura of ‘Ghost Of Jupiter’ appears - a fusion of glimmering melodies that float over driving bottom end and steady percussion, bringing the EP to a perfect conclusion.

Written and produced by Owain Kimber
Mastered by Emanuel Geller at Salz Mastering

Emerging from a shared love of long-form storytelling and hypnotic groove, Techfui presents a stunning double album from Ada Kaleh and Wareika, a cross-continental dialogue between two singular visions of deep and micro house.
Romanian composer and sound alchemist Ada Kaleh channels his signature world of organic textures, dub-soaked spaces and slowly evolving rhythms, known from his forward-thinking work on R&S, Apollo and his own Ada Kaleh Romania imprint. His part of the productions unfolds like a ritual: subtle, detailed and endlessly spiralling, built for dancers who like to disappear inside the groove.
On the other side, trio Wareika bring their unique blend of live jazz sensibility, meditative dub and electronic body music, honed over years of improvisation and boundary-blurring club performances. Their contributions lean into fluid polyrhythms, elastic basslines and shimmering harmonies, tracks that feel alive, breathing and in constant motion.
The journey is expanded by a heavyweight remix cast: minimal house icon Thomas Melchior, Techfui founder and Bahrain mainstay Salah Sadeq, whose deep house productions are crafted to move both heart and floor, and the elusive studio force DUST. Each rework dials the hypnosis in further, stretching time and space without ever losing the warmth of the original material.
True to Techfuis ethos of bringing family, friends and fresh talent together to create honest, unconventional art, this double album is not just a collection of tracks, but a deep, carefully produced listening experience, timeless deep house and micro house for late nights, early mornings and every hazy moment in between.

Straight from Honolulu, Bombye is a newly found Hawaiian soul trio led by Nick Kurosawa, one of Hawaii’s most captivating voices. Known for his rich,
velvet tone and vintage-inspired phrasing, Nick and his band channel the essence of 1970s soul, funk, and R&B into a deeply organic soundscape that feels both nostalgic and new.
The EP features four tracks that showcase the band’s musicianship and emotional depth.
Mixing by Andrew Garma and mastering by Wax Alchemy deliver exceptional clarity and analog warmth, while Shiro Ishihara (SNEA) provides the minimalist yet evocative artwork
that perfectly complements the record’s soulful aesthetics. This limited-edition vinyl includes a bonus “Bombye” sticker exclusive to CONNECT RECORDS. Each copy is pressed with
care for collectors, DJs, and analog enthusiasts seeking authentic, heartfelt soul music with timeless groove and depth.

Emeralds, the sophomore long player from Parlor Greens, finds the trio serving up a beautifully curated sampler of what funky organ music can be. Three true masters of their respective crafts: Tim Carman (formerly of GA-20) on drums, Jimmy James (True Loves, formerly of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) on guitar, and Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ. Seasoned and soulful pros coming together to make infectiously funky instrumental jams. Parlor Greens are truly in top form: tour tight and more confident than ever in who they are and where they’re going.


The first time these three met in Loveland at Colemine’s Portage Lounge studio was marked by a certain freshness. It was new, it was the first time they had all played together. It was exciting, it was unknown territory. The session for Emeralds weighed much heavier on all three members. All three dealing with personal tragedies in their individual lives, the session truly served as a genuine moment of joy for the group. Just three talented musicians, writing and playing music now as friends in a familiar environment. No moment is the weight of the session more obvious than with the album’s closer, “Queen Of My Heart,” a tune Jimmy wrote for his mother shortly after she passed away. So with a heavy and soulful heart, Colemine Records is beyond proud to present the sophomore effort from three maestros. Parlor Greens presents… Emeralds.

Mia Zapata was the greatest rock singer of her time. She may have likely been the greatest blues singer in punk rock history, the woman who married the 78 and the '78. Tragedy did not make this true. Mia Zapata made this true, and the ferocious, spring-loaded shrapnel frame that was built around her by Andy Kessler (guitar: metronomic and furious), Matt Dresdner (bass: fluid, punching, beat-addicted and melodic), and Steve Moriarty (drums: martial and explosive) - who, with Mia, combined to form The Gits - made it true. The Gits were formed at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in mid-1986, grabbing and swapping pieces of art, thrash, noise, punk rock, classic rock, and all the sorts of magical silly and bookish jingle bells that an old-school liberal arts education handed you; for the next few years they worked on turning it all into something tough, sensitive, both brutal and kind. Andy, Matt, Mia, and Steve moved to Seattle in middish 1989, landing in a house on Capitol Hill where they (and fellow travelers) wood-shedded and rehearsed for the next few years. The Gits put out three EPs in 1990 and '91 before signing with C/Z Records and releasing their first full-length album, Frenching the Bully. Seattle quickly claimed the quartet as their own and embraced the Gits blend of ferocious fangs and soft heart, the slug/slap of the guitars, and the gorgeous, soft underbelly of the poetic emotions. These qualities not only fit in with the doe-eyed/sharp-clawed grunge ethos but earned the Gits the respect of their peers, including Nirvana, who tapped them to open a major local show in 1990. Then other stuff happened, and their frantic, confessional barbed-heart snowball began rolling up hill very, very fast; the Gits "quickly" (hah! After half a decade learning to implode and explode hearts and stomping their boots on manifold beer-softened, Marlboro-weeded wood stages!) inspired rapture, awe, and the levitation that happened when peak emotion meets peak grindage in front of amps spitting out something that sounded like the mad marriage of Bolan swagger and Dischord tension_ all fronted by a genuinely incomparable woman who held her heart in her mouth and shared it, in all its celebration and fear, without hesitation. The Gits were an angry, inflamed slinky fully in tune with and tuned by the Bessie Patti Smith of her time, truly the only singer who could summon Joplin, Poly Styrene, Sam Cooke, Iggy Pop and Ian MacKaye all in the same goddamn song. In 1993, less than four weeks after accepting an offer from Atlantic Records, Mia died. I leave it at that, because this is not about death; it's about an extraordinary life. I do not say, "You should have been there," I say, "We are lucky so many of us were, and I am so glad we have this extraordinary evidence of the power and gifts of Mia and the Gits that you now can hold in your hands." And I note that Frenching the Bully, this extraordinary testament to the soul, shock, fury and feeling of the Gits, has been long out of print on vinyl and CD, and this new edition - remastered by legendary Seattle engineer Jack Endino - joyfully rectifies that. -Tim Sommer

Jon Lucien’s ‘Search For The Inner Self’ was one of the highlights of Paul Weller’s recently complied Ace CD “That Sweet, Sweet Music”. When also issuing it as a single, we included ‘We Got Love’, a track from his self-financed CD “Precious Is Love”, which proved to be as feted a choice as the top side. Due to this and further encouragement from soul fans, DJs and the Lucien family, we licensed the rest of the Beau Ray Fleming produced 1969 recordings for LP and CD reissue. Here is the very start of Lucien’s songwriting creativity − ‘Precious Is My Love’, ‘A Heart In Love’, ‘Flower Garden’ and ‘The Season Of Spring’ are accomplished and captivating creations, equal to his later much-admired work.

Global music superstar Jade announces the deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'.

The deluxe album features 8 new songs including the powerful single 'Church', the generational anthem 'This Is What We Dance For' and JADE's highly praised cover of the Madonna classic 'Frozen'. The Encore, also includes previously released singles ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘FUFN (Fuck You For Now)’, ‘IT girl' and ‘Midnight Cowboy’.

This is the grand finale of the THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! era!

Steeped in nocturnal, death rock adventurism, riven with a post-punk anxiety that feels increasingly like the twitching heart of our modern age, and driven by hardcore punk intensity, the second studio album from Boston’s FINAL GASP, titled New Day Symptoms, does what all great rock records do - not only does it place itself within a lineage, summoning up and amplifying a spectrum of powers from Rock n' Roll lore, it makes them resonate in the here and now. It gives voice to those fears and frustrations lurking just under the surface of waking consciousness and turns them into a rallying cry. Throughout New Day Symptoms, FINAL GASP create a potent reaction from the furious and the forlorn, frontman Jake Murphy’s vocalizes both a supercharged howl into the void and a remorseful echo back. But where the band’s 2023 debut, Mourning Moon, was a concentrated shot of acrid, underground death rock, its propulsion tanks largely filled with references to Samhain and Killing Joke, New Day Symptoms keeps all the core urgent energy while vastly broadening its scope. Through the anthemic, acid-corroded vistas of "Look Away" and gothic tub-thumping beat of "Gifted Shame" to "No Hand To Lead" channelling "Don’t Fear The Reaper" and its loping groove, New Day Symptoms takes the familiar into uncharted territory and makes the unfamiliar instantly, internally recognisable. With new space to explore, this is an album that feels a mapping of personal trials and dark recesses. Short: Boston's FINAL GASP return with New Day Symptoms - the new album steeped in nocturnal, death rock adventurism, riven with a post-punk anxiety that feels increasingly like the twitching heart of our modern age, and driven by hardcore punk intensity! FFO: Danzig, Killing Joke, TSOL, Lathe of Heaven, Poison Ruin, Gouge Away, Tribulation

The 1975 veröffentlichten am 26. Februar 2016 ihr zweites Studioalbum „I Like It When You Sleep, for You
Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It”. Es führte sowohl die britischen (BPI Platinum) als auch die USamerikanischen (RIAA Gold) Albumcharts an und brachte sieben Singles hervor: „Love Me”, „Ugh!”, „A
Change of Heart”, „She’s American”, „Somebody Else”, „Loving Someone” und „The Sound”. Pitchfork,
Rolling Stone und The Guardian führten es als eines der besten Alben des Jahres 2016 auf. Die BoxsetVersion wurde bei den Grammy Awards 2017 für die Kategorie „Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition
Package” nominiert.
2026 ist das 10-jährige Jubiläum dieses viel beachteten Albums. Um dies zu feiern, wird das Album
auf farbigem Vinyl (Farbe noch zu bestätigen) in einer 6-seitigen Dreifach-Gatefold-Verpackung mit alternativem Artwork und 17 12”x12”-Kunstkarten veröffentlicht, wobei jedes Kartenbild einen Song mit dem
Text auf der Rückseite darstellt.

Bettye Swann possessed one of the most emotive voices in soul music’s cannon but her recording career was that of a shooting-star; it blazed at the start, then illumined brightly before abruptly dissipating, all in just eleven years. In 1975 she ceased recording, moved to Las Vegas and retired her Bettye Swann persona.
The Louisianan Betty Jean Champion had relocated to Los Angeles as a young woman where in around 1964 she was introduced to Al Scott, owner of Money Records. It was her fourth Money 45 “Make Me Yours” that propelled Swann into the stratosphere. One of the defining songs of the era, it was her pathway to Capitol Records with whom she signed in 1968.
By 1972 Bettye was at Atlantic Records. The initial Atlantic 45 “Victim Of A Foolish Heart” b/w “Cold Day In Hell” recorded at Fame with Mickey Buckins and Rick Hall, made for a promising debut reaching #16 on the Billboard chart. It was followed by Bettye’s version of Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again” and “Til I Get It Right”, a gentle country-soul labour. “I’m Not That Easy To Lose” also dates from those sessions.
In an attempt to broaden her appeal Atlantic sent Swann to Sigma Sound in Philadelphia where she cut Phil Hurtt’s’ and Tony Bell’s “Kiss My Love Goodbye”, “Time To Say Goodbye” and “When The Game is Played On You”. Her fortunes continued to wane so Swann was next placed with Nashville producer Brad Shapiro. The results were artistically stellar and included three unissued gemstones in The Isley’s “This Old Heart of Mine”, a definitive version of Maxine Weldon’s “I Want Sunday Back Again”, and “Either You Love Me Or Leave Me”.

Von "Closing Time" über "Nighthawks At The Diner" und "Blue Valentine" bis "Heartattack And Vine" - zwischen 1973 und 1980 veröffentlichte Tom Waits sieben Alben bei David Geffens Label Elektra/Asylum. Sie formten Waits" Ruf des vagabundierenden, exzentrischen und trinkfreudigen Sonderlings. Alle Werke bringt Anti-Records jetzt hochwertig remastert neu heraus.

There’s an alternate reality where everyone makes a living wage and the cleanest buses you’ve ever seen arrive every other minute. Where the most intense songs are about confessing your love to a crush at the apple orchard, and where gentle feelings and chaotic energy are inseparable best friends. This is the timeline where Cootie Catcher is right at home. This Toronto based four-piece exudes both vulnerability and unbridled excitement, creating a sound that hypercharges the open-hearted tenderness of twee pop with spiraling synths and giddy electronics. New album Something We All Got is the clearest and most vibrant reading of Cootie Catcher’s vision yet, with songs of sweetness, nervousness, and expectancy that beam out unguarded.
After releasing music made primarily in basement recording environments, Something We All Got is the band’s first flirtation with studio recording. The edges are still sharp, however, with some parts assembled from time-honored lo-fi methods and fun, personally-sourced samples seeping into the production. The sound is explosive and upbeat, with euphoric guitars, bubbly synth lines, speedy drums both played and programmed, and all other manner of sound constantly colliding. Cootie Catcher has three songwriters, Sophia Chavez, Anita Fowl, and Nolan Jakupovski, all of whom have distinctive voices but still manage to overlap in their writing on shared concerns like navigating the lines of romantic and platonic relationships, their city’s social scenes, and struggles in both the microcosmic experience of playing in a band and the zoomed-out challenges of living through late-stage capitalism.
Joy still touches every surface of Something We All Got. “Quarter Note Rock” bounces around the room in a fit of jangling guitar chords, scratched samples, and interplay between breakbeat loops and somersaulting live drums. It’s a blast of positivity even with lyrics about how disappointing it can be to meet your heroes. A smiling electro pop instrumental supports lyrics about having to step painfully away from an almost realized love on “Gingham Dress,” a song that subverts themes of domesticity as a backdrop for the dashed wilt of hopeless devotion.
Cootie Catcher rolls down hills and jumps through flaming hoops throughout Something We All Got without ever dumbing down the visceral emotions that drive these songs. There’s a palpable tension between the band’s exhilarating sonics and the raw, often uneasy sentiments expressed, but it’s an integral part of what makes them unique. Rather than hide behind the kind of calculated vagueness that plagues so much of the indie rock landscape in the time of cursed algorithms, Cootie Catcher runs full-speed toward every confusion and excitement, fearlessly direct and embracing the reality they’re in.

Mit "Deep Hate" präsentiert Marc Dwyer (Buzz Kull) aus Sydney sein bisher intensivstes und zugleich raffiniertestes Werk. Die vier neuen Tracks bilden eine mitreißende Suite aus Industrial-Pop-Hymnen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Darkwave, Minimal Synth und Industrial Dance Music – unerbittlich und treibend, durchdrungen von einer Atmosphäre der Distanz und Sehnsucht. Jeder Song verkörpert den Puls der modernen Nacht, für die Außenseiter, für das Herz, das in der Leere noch schlägt. Eine moderne Fortsetzung der Tradition von Depeche Mode (Black Celebration) und den energiegeladenen Rhythmen von Front 242, neu interpretiert durch eine moderne Linse. Dwyer tourt mit Cold Cave, Boy Harsher und Molchat Doma. "Deep Hate" ist sein erster Release seit 2022 als 4-Track-Vinyl und CD mit zusätzlichen Remixen von PIG, Kontravoid, Cold Cave und Spike Hellis.

Mit The Mirror legt Buck Meek, Gitarrist von Big Thief, sein viertes Soloalbum vor - ein feinfühliges Werk über Sprache, Identität und das ständige Sich-Verändern. Freunde und Weggefährt:innen wie Adrianne Lenker, Jolie Holland oder Tucker Zimmerman wirken mit und hinterlassen ihre Spuren nicht nur musikalisch, sondern auch in den Texten. Meek begreift Songwriting als gemeinschaftlichen Prozess und nutzt den Spiegel als zentrales Bild: nicht zur Selbstbespiegelung, sondern als Gegenüber, das Fragen stellt. Aufgewachsen in einer kunst- und literaturgeprägten Familie in Texas, sammelte Meek früh vielfältige musikalische Erfahrungen - von Blues über Jazz bis Folk. Diese Offenheit prägt auch The Mirror. Gemeinsam mit Produzent James Krivchenia verbindet er die Live-Energie einer Band mit subtilen elektronischen Texturen. Die Aufnahmen entstanden in einem experimentellen, offenen Setting, das Spontaneität über Perfektion stellt. In seinen Songs geht es um Nähe, Verletzlichkeit und die Brüchigkeit von Erinnerung. Wortspiele, Spiegelungen und innere Dialoge machen Sprache selbst zum Thema. Angst und Zweifel erscheinen dabei nicht als Gegenspieler, sondern als Begleiter. The Mirror erklärt nicht - es hört zu, tastet sich vor und lädt dazu ein, dem Unbekannten mit Neugier zu begegnen.
Sicherhe

rot/schwarzes Marble Vinyl. Offensichtlich parkverliebt_ eine musikgewordene Parksituation: Du schlenderst langsam durch das zerbrechliche Idyll inmitten der Stadt, die Luft ist kalt und klar, die Arme hinter dem Rücken verschränkt. Hochgewachsene Bäume spannen den Raum auf, gedämpfter Stadtlärm mischt sich mit dem Rascheln der Blätter, mehr oder weniger verwirrte Tiere sehen aufmerksam in Deine Richtung. Du setzt Dich auf eine Parkbank, hältst inne und fängst an Dich darüber zu freuen, wie schön das alles eigentlich ist. ParkWalkers emopop/slowcore sound ist bestimmt durch zwei cleane Gitarren (Hannes & Nicola), eindringliche Basslinien (Arnaud), entspannte Drums (Armin) und der warmen Stimme von Nicola. Melodien, die hängen bleiben, in meist klassischer Songstruktur. Die lieben 90er oder Nullerjahre lassen grüßen, vielleicht fällt einem American Football, Snow Patrol ein oder fühlt sich an Death Cab for Cutie und Weakerthans erinnert. ParkWalker haben sich 2018 gefunden, und leben verteilt in Berlin, Stuttgart und Karlsruhe. Klar in der DIY-Szene verwurzelt haben sie viele Stunden auf Bühnen im In-und Ausland mit verschiedenen Formationen verbracht, u.a. Tidal Sleep. Nach ihrem Debüt "Distant Phenomena" im Jahr 2021 ist für Herbst 2025 das zweite Album "The Extra Mile" bei This Charming Records geplant. Das Album wurde in den RAMA Studios aufgenommen und von Christian Bethge (z.B. Messer) produziert und gemastert

2026 Repress

MOLA - fierce gutter pop, bittersweet ballads and roaring indie anthems oscillating between heartbreak, chaos and radical connection. On Liebe Brutal (out 26.09.2025), raw emotion meets sharp irony, Italo-drama meets pogo energy. Isabella Streifeneder and producer Markus Harbauer deliver their most direct, dynamic and vulnerable record to date - brutally honest, brutally beautiful.

On "Another Year Older," Larry Fleet cements his status as country music’s premier blue-collar soul-singer, delivering a masterclass in honest, salt-of-the-earth storytelling. Shifting his gaze toward the reflective milestones of adulthood, the White Bluff, Tennessee native trades the restless energy of his earlier work for a grounded, hard-won perspective on what truly lasts. The project seamlessly blends the grit of classic 70s country with the soaring, gospel-infused vocal power that has become his trademark, capturing the quiet dignity of the working class and the profound beauty found in the everyday. From the steady wisdom of the title track to the heartfelt odes to faith and family, Fleet treats the passage of time not as a burden, but as a teacher. It is a record for the dreamers and the doers alike—a soulful, unvarnished progress report from a man who has clocked the miles, felt the weight of the world, and realized that getting older is just another word for getting it right.

San Francisco–born singer-songwriter Ben Kweller returns with Cover The Mirrors, his seventh studio album — and perhaps his most personal work to date. Known in the late ’90s as a member of post-grunge outfit Radish, who were signed to Mercury Records and even counted Nils Lofgren among their fans, Kweller has since carved out a long and prolific solo career rooted in melodic indie rock and unfiltered emotion. Cover The Mirrors is a deeply poignant record, written in honour of what would have been Kweller’s late son Dorian Zev’s 19th birthday. It also marks Kweller’s first release since Dorian’s tragic passing in 2023 — an event that reshaped both his life and his music. Far from retreating into silence, Kweller channels his grief into a collection of songs that explore loss, love, and renewal with raw honesty. “This is the most personal, emotionally raw project I've ever worked on,” he reflects, and every track bears that truth. The album features an impressive roster of collaborators from across the indie landscape: Waxahatchee joins on “Dollar Store,” a sparse and arresting song built on two vocals and a guitar that eventually erupts into a distorted, soaring finale; MJ Lenderman lends his touch to “Oh Dorian,” a tender tribute steeped in warmth and melancholy; Jason Schwartzman resurrects his mid-aughts project Coconut Records for the haunting “Depression”; and psych-rock icons The Flaming Lips appear on the shimmering, otherworldly “Killer Bee.” Musically, Kweller’s craft is as sharp and sincere as ever — intimate yet expansive, stripped-down yet powerful. Cover The Mirrors captures an artist walking through grief with purpose, turning heartbreak into something both fragile and transcendent. It’s the sound of Ben Kweller looking loss directly in the eye — and finding beauty, courage, and connection reflected back. - “One of the great American songwriters” – Jack Antonoff TRACKLIST: A1. Going Insane A2. Dollar Store (feat. Waxahatchee) A3. Trapped A4. Park Harvey Fire Drill A5. Depression (feat. Coconut Records) A6. Don't Cave B1. Optimystic B2. Brakes B3. Killer Bee (feat. The Flaming Lips) B4. Letter To Agony B5. Save Yourself B6. Oh Dorian (feat. MJ Lenderman) Clear Vinyl LP

Our Mirage have carved out a distinct voice in the heavier music scene with emotionally charged lyrics, atmospheric textures, and searing intensity. Formed in 2017, the band quickly gained momentum through an ever-growing fanbase and a string of compelling releases. Their 2022 studio album Eclipse has amassed over 15 million streams on Spotify, cementing their reputation as one of Germany’s most exciting new metalcore exports. Now, the band is gearing up for their most ambitious release yet: Fractured Minds, due out on January 30th, 2026. The record promises to be even more explosive, expanding on their signature mix of crushing heaviness and emotional depth. The momentum is already undeniable —with five singles released from Fractured Minds to date, the band has accumulated over 5.5 million Spotify streams on those tracks alone. Meanwhile, Our Mirage currently count more than 260,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, underlining their ever-growing international presence. Beyond streaming success, Our Mirage have proven themselves a formidable live act, playing major festival stages such as Summer Breeze Open Air and delivering powerful, emotionally raw performances night after night. In January and February 2026, the band will embark on a co-headline tour, bringing Fractured Minds directly to fans across Europe.

After decades spent shaping the sound of southern Madagascar and becoming one of the defining voices of tsapiky, Damily returns with Fanjiry, his most intimate and focused record to date. Known for electrifying village ceremonies and carrying the fever of Toliara across continents, he takes a sharp turn — not away from trance, but deeper into its core.

Recorded in just three days at Studio Black Box with analog wizard Peter Deimel, Fanjiry strips the tsapiky band down to a single guitar and a single heartbeat. Damily plays alone, yet fills the space completely — bass, rhythm, melody, pulse, and breath merging into a dense and vibrating sound. Every riff is architecture, every harmonic a door opening onto memory, childhood landscapes, and nights where music heals, binds, and exhausts the dark.

There is no nostalgia here, no museum of tradition. Fanjiry is a new frontier for tsapiky: raw, precise, suspended between earth and sky, born from craft and necessity. The title — the last star before dawn — captures its essence: a quiet moment before the world awakens, where a single guitar can hold an entire history and still point forward.

Medium Rare showcases The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at their finest — a dynamic mix of B-sides, unreleased gems, and three brand-new songs that bridge the band’s early ska-punk roots with their mature, horn-driven sound. Bursting with energy, grit, and heart, this collection captures the spirit of the Bosstones’ Boston-bred attitude and their unmatched ability to blend melody, muscle, and message into timeless ska-core anthems.

Svarta Havet's sophomore album out in February via Svart Records Hailing from Turku, Finland, SVARTA HAVET are set to release their sophomore album Månen ska lysa din väg for the European market via Svart Records on February 27th, 2026. Originally released by the US based Prosthetic Records in May 2025, Månen ska lysa din väg casts a critical eye over the negative effects of Western colonialism, capital greed and convenience at the cost of sustainability, presenting a rallying cry for change whilst never losing sight of the light that this world has to offer. Formed in 2018, SVARTA HAVET is a self-described dyster (gloomy) post-hardcore group born from the Finnish DIY punk and hardcore scene, with the members bonding over a shared affinity for punk music and community-first ideals with a focus on antifascist, feminist, trans and queer politics.

Where their 2021 debut full-length, JORD/VATTEN, served as an introduction to SVARTA HAVET’s amalgam sound of post-metal, hardcore punk and black metal, Månen ska lysa din väg is a deftly woven together panorama of their respective influences and a captivatingly urgent political and compassionately personal case for humanity’s course correction. With communities residing at the heart of their purpose, on a localised and a broad scale, SVARTA HAVET are not ones to lay idle in their hopes of a better world. 2026 will continue to see the band both touring their home country and beyond, as well as being deeply involved in organizing gigs and events through the collectively-run venue, Kirjakahvila ("Book Cafe") – a queer feminist, anti-capitalist DIY community space in Finland. In addition to hosting local acts, the group’s tireless efforts to support international bands will continue to see SVARTA HAVET helping to foster a vibrant underground scene in the process. SVARTA HAVET is: Lotta (she/her) - vocals Joakim (he/him) - guitar Anders (he/him) - bass Jara (she/her) - drums

“Feel So Good Around U” , LB aka Labat ‘s debut album. French dance music producer & DJ, LB aka Labat’s nights are filled with live show and DJ Sets in iconic venues and major festivals. Insatiable, the artist churned out releases for over a decade. For his first long format, he stopped lonely home-studio and teamed up in Berlin, London, Paris & Melbourne with famous producers such as Baugruppe90, Heartstring, Sam Alfred, Crush3d, Memphis LK, Skin On Skin, Lucas V, Amne ou Notinbed.

The result is both a solo work and a collective manifesto, with a unique touch mixing drum & bass, house, reggaeton, electroclash enhanced with vocals used as samples.

Inspiriert von den schattigen Cabarets und verrauchten Jazzclubs des Weimarer Berlins der späten 1920erJahre, präsentiert Bryan Ferry mit seinem Orchester auf „Bitter-Sweet“ sein Solo- und Roxy-MusicRepertoire in neuem Gewand – mit einer raffnierten Jazz-Sensibilität. Das Album besticht durch elegante
Bläserarrangements, gedämpfte Trompete, Klarinettenklänge und eine Atmosphäre urbaner Melancholie,
die Klassiker wie „Alphaville“, „Reason or Rhyme“ und „While My Heart Is Still Beating“ neu interpretiert.
Ferry selbst steuert auf acht Titeln den Gesang bei, während die übrigen Stücke als instrumentale Neuinterpretationen präsentiert werden, arrangiert mit dem Können von Colin Good und gespielt von einem
Ensemble erfahrener Jazzmusiker. Das Konzept des Albums entstand aus Ferrys Tätigkeit als Musikberater
für die gefeierte deutsche Fernsehserie „Babylon Berlin“, in der einige Titel ursprünglich verwendet wurden
und die filmisches Drama mit authentischem Jazz verbindet. Perfekt für langjährige Fans, Jazzliebhaber
und Sammler: „Bitter-Sweet“ bietet eine neue Perspektive auf Ferrys Songwriting und ist damit ein herausragendes Album zum Ausstellen, Entdecken und Verschenken.
Das Album erscheint erstmals seit 2012 wieder als limitierte rote LP und CD.
Tauchen Sie ein in eine Welt, in der klassischer Art-Pop auf die wilden 20er Jahre trifft. „The Jazz Age“
interpretiert Bryan Ferrys Roxy Music- und Solo-Katalog als elegante Jazz-Instrumentals neu, präsentiert
vom Bryan Ferry Orchestra. Von „Virginia Plain“ und „Do the Strand“ bis hin zu „Love Is the Drug“ und
„Avalon“ – jeder Titel erstrahlt in authentischen Arrangements im Stil der 20er Jahre mit Banjo, Klarinette,
gedämpfter Trompete, Baritonsaxophon und Kontrabass, komponiert vom renommierten Arrangeur Colin Good. Britische Jazz-Größen wie der Trompeter Enrico Tomasso und der Saxophonist Alan Barnes erwecken
diese zeitlosen Melodien zum Leben, während die Mono-Produktion den Charme alter 78er-Schallplatten
heraufbeschwört. Ferry selbst verzichtet auf den Gesang und fungiert als Dirigent und Produzent. Dieses
innovative Projekt entstand aus seiner Liebe zum Jazz und seiner Neugier, wie seine Songs ohne Gesang
klingen würden. Perfekt für langjährige Fans, Jazzliebhaber und designorientierte Sammler: „The Jazz
Age“ bietet eine neue Perspektive auf Ferrys Werk und ist damit ein herausragendes Sammlerstück zum
Entdecken, Ausstellen und Verschenken.
Das Album erscheint erstmals seit 2012 wieder als limitierte Edition auf waldgrünem Vinyl (1LP) und
als CD.

Inspiriert von den schattigen Cabarets und verrauchten Jazzclubs des Weimarer Berlins der späten 1920erJahre, präsentiert Bryan Ferry mit seinem Orchester auf „Bitter-Sweet“ sein Solo- und Roxy-MusicRepertoire in neuem Gewand – mit einer raffnierten Jazz-Sensibilität. Das Album besticht durch elegante
Bläserarrangements, gedämpfte Trompete, Klarinettenklänge und eine Atmosphäre urbaner Melancholie,
die Klassiker wie „Alphaville“, „Reason or Rhyme“ und „While My Heart Is Still Beating“ neu interpretiert.
Ferry selbst steuert auf acht Titeln den Gesang bei, während die übrigen Stücke als instrumentale Neuinterpretationen präsentiert werden, arrangiert mit dem Können von Colin Good und gespielt von einem
Ensemble erfahrener Jazzmusiker. Das Konzept des Albums entstand aus Ferrys Tätigkeit als Musikberater
für die gefeierte deutsche Fernsehserie „Babylon Berlin“, in der einige Titel ursprünglich verwendet wurden
und die filmisches Drama mit authentischem Jazz verbindet. Perfekt für langjährige Fans, Jazzliebhaber
und Sammler: „Bitter-Sweet“ bietet eine neue Perspektive auf Ferrys Songwriting und ist damit ein herausragendes Album zum Ausstellen, Entdecken und Verschenken.
Das Album erscheint erstmals seit 2012 wieder als limitierte rote LP und CD.
Tauchen Sie ein in eine Welt, in der klassischer Art-Pop auf die wilden 20er Jahre trifft. „The Jazz Age“
interpretiert Bryan Ferrys Roxy Music- und Solo-Katalog als elegante Jazz-Instrumentals neu, präsentiert
vom Bryan Ferry Orchestra. Von „Virginia Plain“ und „Do the Strand“ bis hin zu „Love Is the Drug“ und
„Avalon“ – jeder Titel erstrahlt in authentischen Arrangements im Stil der 20er Jahre mit Banjo, Klarinette,
gedämpfter Trompete, Baritonsaxophon und Kontrabass, komponiert vom renommierten Arrangeur Colin Good. Britische Jazz-Größen wie der Trompeter Enrico Tomasso und der Saxophonist Alan Barnes erwecken
diese zeitlosen Melodien zum Leben, während die Mono-Produktion den Charme alter 78er-Schallplatten
heraufbeschwört. Ferry selbst verzichtet auf den Gesang und fungiert als Dirigent und Produzent. Dieses
innovative Projekt entstand aus seiner Liebe zum Jazz und seiner Neugier, wie seine Songs ohne Gesang
klingen würden. Perfekt für langjährige Fans, Jazzliebhaber und designorientierte Sammler: „The Jazz
Age“ bietet eine neue Perspektive auf Ferrys Werk und ist damit ein herausragendes Sammlerstück zum
Entdecken, Ausstellen und Verschenken.
Das Album erscheint erstmals seit 2012 wieder als limitierte Edition auf waldgrünem Vinyl (1LP) und
als CD.

The buzz about the Crystal Teardrop that has been growing for the past two years looks set to reach fever pitch with the release of their debut album _IS FORMING. Featuring a dozen memorable compositions by the bands Alexandra Rose and Leon Jones, the album more than lives up to the promise of their 2024 single releases and their ecstatic live performances on stages across the UK and Europe. The band formed in Stoke-on-Trent in early 2023, "inspired," explains Alexandra Rose, "by a mutual passion for the sights, sounds and creative experimentation of the late 1960s." In addition to Alexandra on lead vocals on guitar, the band comprises Leon Jones (guitar, sitar), Stuart Gray (keyboards, Mellotron), Ed Quigley (bass, vocals), and Huw Woodward (drums, percussion). Intuitively blending elements of garage rock, folk-rock, power pop and psychedelia, the band have created an appealing concoction infused with their own perspectives and personalities. To best capture their sound, they recorded at an all-analogue facility, Tilehouse studio in North London, working closely with White Stripes producer Liam Watson of Toe Rag Studios fame.

After decades spent shaping the sound of southern Madagascar and becoming one of the defining voices of tsapiky, Damily returns with Fanjiry, his most intimate and focused record to date. Known for electrifying village ceremonies and carrying the fever of Toliara across continents, he takes a sharp turn - not away from trance, but deeper into its core. Recorded in just three days at Studio Black Box with analog wizard Peter Deimel, Fanjiry strips the tsapiky band down to a single guitar and a single heartbeat. Damily plays alone, yet fills the space completely - bass, rhythm, melody, pulse, and breath merging into a dense and vibrating sound. Every riff is architecture, every harmonic a door opening onto memory, childhood landscapes, and nights where music heals, binds, and exhausts the dark. There is no nostalgia here, no museum of tradition. Fanjiry is a new frontier for tsapiky: raw, precise, suspended between earth and sky, born from craft and necessity. The title - the last star before dawn - captures its essence: a quiet moment before the world awakens, where a single guitar can hold an entire history and still point forward.

The Song “Hard, Hard Promises” showcased on this latest Soul Direction release, showcases Bobby Hebb’s song writing talents and brings together the album only release performed by
Alice Clark and the Unreleased demo version sung by Bobby Hebb himself. Incidentally the studio dub was entitled “Hard Heart Promises”. We don’t know if he ever intended to release the song himself, but it showcases his talent as a songwriter and a singer. After a few conversations with Universal Licensing, they graciously allowed Soul Direction to release this version and with the consent of Bobby Hebb’s Publishing Company. To both these, we are extremely grateful. Thank you for your continued support.

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic - fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can't precisely define the band, that's the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band's fourth album - the spectral, spacious Dance Called Memory - in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar. Nation of Language's first two albums, Introduction, Presence (2020), and A Way Forward (2021), came as pandemic godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums. But it was their last LP, Strange Disciple (2023), that catapulted the group from cultural standouts to critical darlings, with the album being named Rough Trade's Album of the Year. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band "are learning what it means to get bigger and better." This is Devaney's calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. The single "Now That You're Gone," which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness, was inspired by witnessing his godfather's tragic death from ALS, and his parents' role as caretakers for this ailing friend. At its heart, the song is a reflection of how friends can be there for each other, and also highlights a theme throughout the record: the pain and lost promise of friendships that fall apart. On Dance Called Memory, the band once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). "What's so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don't need to do what might be expected of us," says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bassist Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. They imbued Dance Called Memory with a shifted palette - sampling chopped-up drum breaks on "I'm Not Ready for the Change" for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or smashing all of the percussion of "In Another Life" through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music. Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. "There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I've been drawn to at different points. I've read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human," Devaney says. "As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I'm focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that_ Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy."

"deathcrash’s third album, Somersaults, glimmers with an everyday euphoria. The London-based slowcore/ post-rock quartet has always had an affinity for building worlds only to crush them. From their breakout EP, People thought my windows were stars (2021), through two critically acclaimed studio albums, Return (2022) and Less (2023), they have been both the architects and the destroyers, the creationists and the ones manning the flood barrier. But, recorded between Black Box Studio in the Loire Valley and Haggerston’s Holy Mountain, Somersaults is almost joyful.

Its ten tracks are more vocal heavy than any of the band’s catalogue – think Mark Linkous via The Kinks – but lyrically, Somersaults resists revelation. For all its abrasion, phrases appear half-swallowed, broken off at the edge of meaning, consumed by the smaller textures of living. “Thirty, no career, it fucking worries me / And doing the band doesn’t help,” Banks sings in ‘NYC’. But, “This life is the best life,” he finishes in ‘CMC’ on top of the ambient white noise of an office printer, thankful that the band is still there, “still making noise in the doorway.”

Their role as caretakers of Duster, Low and Codeine’s slowcore lineage is all across Somersaults – songs scud to a narcotic crawl, sound monolithic and inwards before spotlighting a crystalline nothing. Cathartic builds are muddied with tenderness, the bass a heavy grounding, the drums an exhausted heartbeat grasping for air. But more so than ever, even the silence feels collaborative – a gesture of communal trust – friends celebrating the room they’ve made for each other’s ghosts, and some of the biggest, brightest songs they’ve made to date."

"Rough and ready blues played with unmitigated intensity…scorching and soulful, joyous and stomping.
—Living Blues

Electrifying and raucous…one of the few authentic links to pure Chicago blues.
—Chicago Tribune

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials are the reigning champions of raucous, slide-stoked Chicago blues. They’ve achieved legendary status with over 40 years of critically acclaimed recordings and raucous foot-stomping gigs on club, theatre and festival stages all over the world. Slideways is a tour-de-force of old-school Chicago blues played with contemporary urgency.

Shows in support begin on street date in Chicago, followed by Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, New York and Syracuse amongst others. Touring will continue throughout Spring and Summer.

Press, radio and social media focus on album and tour dates, pitching stories and reviews to over 1000 print and internet media contacts around the world. Over 1400 radio programmers worldwide will be serviced and solicited for blues specialty show and selected Triple A and Americana rotation airplay. The album is certain to be welcomed with open arms by the blues media.

Slideways is bursting with Lil’ Ed’s rollicking slide-work and rough-hewn vocals on a joyous blend of smoking slide guitar boogies, raw-boned shuffles, and heart-stopping slow blues. As always, The Blues Imperials supply rock-solid, road-tested and gloriously riotous backing."

"Nearly two decades after their 2007 debut and a 2010–2022 hiatus, Austin, TX’s Voxtrot return with Dreamers in Exile, a new LP that turns an underdog story into a true second act.

The band who quietly became cult heroes in the streaming era deliver a record that carries the electric rush longtime fans remember while speaking directly to the new era of youth who discovered them through playlists and word of mouth.

Musically, Dreamers in Exile folds Voxtrot’s classic DNA—C86 sparkle, Sarah Records romanticism, the pulse of The Velvet Underground, the elegance of Felt—into a sharper, more confident sound.

Guitars chime and sprint, rhythms push forward, and Ramesh Srivastava’s literate, heart-forward lyrics trace the distance between youth and maturity, exile and home, regret and renewal. Mixed by Dean Reid (Lana Del Rey, James Blake), it reads as both reintroduction and redemption.

For a band born of the 2000s blog wave alongside Vampire Weekend, The National, and Grizzly Bear, Dreamers in Exile is less nostalgia than proof of life. It’s the sound of a beloved group returning on their own terms and finding their songs resonating more widely than ever."

This launch contains some danceable material by Walrus that until now has been gathering dust in his digital archives.

That’s a shame, we thought. Your heart is your passport is decidedly lighthearted and minimal in approach, giving us a few elements and a lot of space to daydream in. On Weekend, the mood is a bit gloomier, even though it still has the same open and playful demeanour. Both these tracks were part of what was once going to be an album. Instead, music has been released over a range of different labels in the last 5 years.

Red Vinyl

The Communards’ sophomore album ‘Red’ consolidated the genius of the musical partnership between Bronski Beat singer Jimmy Somerville and pianist Richard Coles. Fusing synths and hi-NRG production with lush string and horn arrangements, The Communards straddled pop and the political, the album’s themes set against the political unrest and moral panic of late 80s Britain. A global smash upon its release, this remastered and expanded 35Th Anniversary Edition features an extensive array of B-sides, live tracks, demo versions and remixes, including classic mixes by legendary 80s club doyens Shep Pettibone, Clivilles & Cole (better known as C&C Music Factory) and a euphoric new 2022 remix of ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ by UK outfit The 2 Bears (Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and DJ Raf Rundell). Available on Deluxe Double CD , Collector White & Red Double Vinyl , Black Vinyl. All editions remastered , with new sleeve notes.

Especial is delighted to reprise the label’s relationship with Osaka’s acid master, Akio Nagase. Following his debut, Global Acid EP and follow up African Acid EP covered a range of influences, all with the heavy dose of Roland TR-303, here he completes a trilogy of EPs, culminating in a homage to his love of dub reggae.

Having made reggae influenced dance music under the Makedub alias for decades, here he takes it a step further, utilising a knack for catchy hooks and acid lines, while fusing reggae and live desk-dub mixing.

I Love Smoke, a chant, the stand-out, those classic vocals flowing in and out with a 3AM (Eternal) bump. Riotously expounding the virtues of smoking ’Mari Jane’, the hypnotic stoner vibes are wrapped around Nagase’s meditative and dancefloor heartbeat.

Night Time High Acid swings, the low-end rumble and kick build before the TR-303 and harmonica lead interweave, samples and sirens encase in an ethnic, tribal slo-mo dub flow.

Things shift with the 4/4 bump of Creation Dub. A call to rise wrapped in the warmth of Dub House beats. Melody and dub flow, no need for 303. Vox are space echo’d to the limit. Keys stab, horns call, slip side away.

To finish, Harmonica Dub is just that. Heavy mouth organ solo, the blues calling atop a dub-techno stepper beat. Rimshot, stabs, echo. All encompass that psychedelic flavour of Akio. Dub, Love and Respect. Thank you Mr Kikumoto for the acid, thank you Mr Nagase for beats

2026 Repress

DJ Quik is a giant of West Coast hip-hop. With his fourth album Rhythm-Al-Ism he created his masterpiece, a perfect hip-hop album. As Quik explains, “the name Rhythm-Al-Ism alone tells you what I was doing. I was mixing up rhythms. I was meshing R&B with hip-hop and jazz. And a little bit of comedy”. It’s absolutely sensational and as with a lot of mid-90s albums those original vinyl copies are now rare so here’s the Be With re-issue.

A preternaturally gifted producer/rapper, DJ Quik has produced scores of LA gangsta rap classics. He’s released platinum and gold records of his own, as well as helped craft them for the likes of Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Dr Dre. Quik has always been quirkier and more interesting than his gangsta rap peers, both musically and lyrically. An old-school funk producer at heart, he’s also incredibly nice on the mic. His raps often deal in boasts, jokes and good times but also cover his beefs, his trials and his trauma. Partying and pain, all mixed up. DJing and producing hype beat tapes from age 14, Quik’s tracks blended the languid funk and rubbery synths of Zapp and George Clinton with a gangsta aesthetic, creating a more danceable foil to Compton’s more typical nihilistic hedonism. Ultimately, his records sound custom engineered to drift out over sun-soaked barbecues.

Released in 1998 on Profile, Rhythm-Al-Ism was the closest Quik ever got to making a commercial splash. “You’z A Ganxta” and “Hand in Hand” made radio waves across the country and the less radio-friendly tracks like “Medley For A ‘V’” were bumping out of car stereos. Combining his soulful, jazzy P-Funk/G-Funk beats with his effortlessly smooth flow, Rhythm-Al-Ism was the quintessential West Coast Party. Squelchy synths, bouncy bass, monstrously knocking drums and freaky keys - this is peaking acidic party-rap, straight out the gate. Music for gliding, for skating, for time with your people and your poison. Sunshine. No cares. BBQs. Heavy smoke in the air. Dripping with wit and good humour. A real swing to the vibe.

The album opens with Quik setting out his mission statement with “Rhythm-Al-Ism (Intro)”, telling us what this is all about before the self-explanatory “We Still Party” rocks the spot. It’s definitely all about the party here, complete with Quik’s signature head-nod/body-moving beat. Next up, the undeniable laidback funk and dripping swing of groove-laden “So Many Wayz”. This positively slaps.

Then we get to the three huge singles. The R&B-tinged radio-friendly minor-hit “Hand In Hand” closes the first side only for the flip to get straight into the rolling and scratching of bleepy computer-funk banger “Down, Down, Down” (featuring a particularly nice use of Howard Johnson’s epochal “So Fine”). The effortlessly smooth, flute and guitar-laced “You’z A Ganxta” completes the trio. Next up the fast-paced, vocoder-enhanced, woulda-beena-global-hit “I Useta Know Her”. This coulda (shoulda) been a single too. Head-nod funk workout “No Doubt”, with its ace sample of Prince's “Sexy Dancer”, closes out the second side.

“Speed” races out the gate on the second disc, sampling Edwin Birdsong’s “Rapper Dapper Snapper” in a harder, better, faster, stronger way than those daft Parisian punks. Amphetamine-swift raps over soaring, string-drenched b-boy beats. A total anthem. Up next, the staggering, near 8-minute laconic, lounge-y sax-rap of “Whateva U Do” cools things down and smooths things out with its flute wrapping around a sample of Smokey Robinson’s “So In Love” and some oh-so-classy lounge-piano tinkling. And speaking of smooth, things don’t get much smoother than the blissfully melodic glider-anthem “Thinkin’ ’Bout U” riding that ace flip of SWV’s “Use Your Heart”. Exceptional.

The exquisite funky-flute-slapper “Medley for a ‘V’ (The P***Y Medley)” opens the fourth and final side, with star turns from Snoop Dogg and a typically suave Nate Dogg. It’s followed by the supremely skanked-out “Bombudd II”, a beautifully sweet reggae-fuelled ode to the herb. “Get 2Getha Again” is slick funk. Stunning.

This 2022 Be With double LP re-issue has been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. Unusual for the time, Rhythm-Al-Ism was originally pressed as a double and we’ve reproduced the original LA vibe picture sleeve and insert to match.

As that original front cover says, this is “over 70 minutes of commercial free music” and it’s absolutely perfect from start to finish. There are no stand-out tracks here. It’s all gold.
: Rhythm-al-ism (2LP)

Lucid Express sind fünf junge Träumer aus Hongkong, die mitreißenden, bittersüßen Rock machen, der zum Träumen einlädt. Ihr zweites Album "Instant Comfort", das Nachfolger ihres selbstbetitelten Debütalbums aus dem Jahr 2021 ist, enthält ihre bisher komplexesten Arrangements. Lucid Express holten den Shoegaze-Autor Kurt Feldman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Depreciation Guild) für das Mixing und Mastering an Bord - das Ergebnis ist ein noch klarerer und mitreißenderer Sound der Band. Über Discord zusammengekommen, entstand ,Instant Comfort" in marathongleichen nächtlichen transpazifischen Sessions zwischen der Band in Hongkong und Feldman in New York City - ein gemeinsames Streben nach Perfektion, das sich von Mitternacht bis zum Sonnenaufgang abspielte. Durchdrungen von gleichermaßen schleichender Melancholie und hoffnungsvoller Romantik, werden in diesen neuen Songs verwirrende Gefühle zugelassen. Luftige Melodien werden von einer schweren Gitarrenwand untermalt: siehe ,Promise Me" und ,Something Blue". Lucid Express waren schon mit Punchlove und Blushing in den USA auf Tour und hat auf renommierten Festivals in Asien und Amerika gespielt, darunter Clockenflap, LEVITATION und Slide Away.

21 songs are barely enough to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! From less than a minute twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads to two minutes something fuzzy rockers, electronic r'n'r and sexy glam, you'll find all you need and much more in this incredible album! It takes at least 21 songs - and 30 Polaroids on the cover! - to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! On the XYZ, Dum Dum Boys and NON! guitar player third solo album, entirely home recorded, you will find plenty of fuzzy bangers, trashy rockers, electronic r'n'r, lo fi disköpunk, sexy glam, twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads, 21 different faces on just 2 album sides! With the help of 60s fuzz pedals, analog synths, a wild organ, an out-of-space Theremin, raw drum machines and tons of delay, reverb and strange noises, all used to maximize the minimalism of the tracks, Memphis Electronic manages to create an orgy of arousing sounds, an overdose of aural pleasure, an irresistible avalanche of exciting songs, all ranging from 49 seconds snapshots to 2 minutes something instant classics!

Included in Rolling Stone’s Most Anticipated Albums of 2020 list, this dynamic collection of Kelsea Ballerini’s latest 13 songs is aptly self-titled – kelsea - not surprising since this is her most authentically, self-aware reflection to date. Writing or co-writing all of the songs on the record, It’s an introspective look into the emotions of the last two years of her life. Using songwriting as therapy, she explores everything from social anxiety to the importance of real friendships to new perspective on old heartbreaks to the realization that even the most independent, stubborn people need someone sometimes. The writing credits on this album are, in her words, “pretty RAD”. In addition to Nashville royalty Shane Macanally, Hillary Lindsay and Ashley Gorley, she wrote with Ed Sheehan, Tayla Parx, and Julia Michaels. This is the first time Ballerini has been in the producer’s chair throughout the project, co-producing each track. She allowed the songs to drive the sonic personality of the record, resulting in a broad range of production elements/styles . Ballerini also set the collaboration bar high with two on this record... Stay tuned.

Buoyed by an ever-evolving collage of pop influences, Mumble Tide’s work has regularly swung between the sweet and savage, the grungy and glistening. But at its heart is the meeting of two minds; singer-songwriter Gina Leonard and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Rogers. Over the last few years they have honed their distinctive brand of kaleidoscopic indie, all anchored by Leonard’s crystalline, plaintive voice.

Now, following a series of acclaimed singles and EPs, they return with new single ‘Pea Soup’, the third to be previewed from their upcoming debut album ‘Might As Well Play Another One’, to be released on the 1st May via Breakfast Records. Produced by Stew Jackson (Massive Attack), it’s their most self-assured and compelling work to date, a sweeping, orchestral vision of struggle, sadness, and the beauty in between.

Toronto, ON – Celebrated Canadian filmmaker and composer Chris Alexander joins Library of the Occult records with his album 'Body Double' arriving January 17th

A sinister fusion of 80s horror aesthetics and cinematic electronic soundscapes, Body Double immerses listeners in a shadowy world of pulsating synths, eerie melodies, and haunting atmospheres. Alexander's signature approach to sound design captures the spirit of classic genre film scores while pushing into uncharted sonic territory.

In the words of Shawn Macomber from Decibel: "Chris Alexander is easily one of the most fearless, imaginative, and iconoclastic world-builders currently operating in the worlds of cinema, and music. And when it comes to conjuring the magic and menace just beyond the veil, the man is damn near peerless."

With Body Double, Alexander channels the sonic legacy of icons like John Carpenter and Goblin, weaving a tapestry of sound that feels both familiar and otherworldly.

„Nessun Dorma – Best Of“ ist die perfekte Sammlung der unvergesslichsten Arien von Mario Lanza, einem der größten Tenöre des 20. Jahrhunderts. Auf dieser Vinyl LP erlebst du die kraftvolle Stimme und die emotionale Tiefe, die Lanza zu einem weltweiten Klassiker machten. Mit Hits wie Nessun Dorma und anderen berühmten Arien ist diese LP ein Muss für Klassik-Liebhaber und Vinyl-Fans.

The last time Noir embarked on a similar creative exorcism was for 2012's Jimmy's Show LP which selected choice cuts from 18 E.P. 's released via straight to fan subscription over as many months. The resulting album is one of his most lauded and beloved by fans, with the vinyl now selling for silly money on Discogs.

Programmes for Cools is Jimmy's Show's spiritual successor, idiosyncratic, other worldly and brimming with timeless melodies. Noir's influences seep through the track list, wrapped with a haunting, dreamlike delivery.

First single 'Out Of Sight' is a Fleetwood Mac meets Selected Ambient Works era Richard D James, four to the floor banger. Already a fan favourite, it propels Side A forward with a somewhat misplaced optimism, much like Neil Young's 'Walk On' starting On the Beach.

Side B is more esoteric, exemplified by 'Fireworks’which includes lyrics and vocals from Marie Claude Dequoy,produced with the wooze of golden era Boards of Canada. Elsewhere, influences as disparate as Stevie Wonder, on the wonky clav funk of 'The Fountain', and Ian Brown 'I think I found it' illustrate Noir's disregard for musical straightjackets (the latter may have the most unapologetic baggy, hypnotic groove since the Mondays' 'Halleluiah').

As the album swells to its conclusion, via the epic Led Zeppelin meets the Warhol clique 'Morning Light’and the heart tugging finale of 'Motorbike’(the first song released from the most recent run of E.P.'s), there is a sense of completion and finality...
‘This is the last Jim Noir album. There are no more Jim Noir albums after this one. This time I'm serious. It's been the hardest I've ever worked on anything. I think I have created my own Be Here Now...Sorry.’
Joking and hyperbole aside, the album has more of an Abbey Road feel, and needs to be experienced in one sitting. If the infamous Davyhulme prankster is to be believed and this is his final outing, then you could wish for a more fitting album. - NM

Zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich: "Bryan Adams - Live in Lisbon" ist ein mitreißendes, ausverkauftes Konzert aus dem Jahr 2005 im Pavilhao Atlântico in Lissabon. Ursprünglich als DVD-Konzertfilm veröffentlicht und später auch digital erhältlich, enthält diese neue Vinyl-Edition 18 der größten Hits von Bryan Adams, die neu gemastert und für Vinyl neu geschnitten wurden. Das bei Bad Records erschienene Set umfasst 18 Titel auf 2 LPs in einer Gatefold-Hülle.

‘Moonlight Concessions’ goes back to basics, a return for Throwing Muses to their esoteric off-kilter best courtesy of Kristin’s pin-sharp sketches and their suitably abrasive musical arrangements. The album follows their acclaimed ‘Sun Racket’ from 2020, a heady set filled with tough and tender tales spiked with surreal imagery. Produced by Kristin Hersh at Steve Rizzo's Stable Sound Studio in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ is a collection of snippets from everyday life writ large - think Raymond Carver Short Cuts, overheard conversations, recounted happenings and telling one-liners, all sewed together to illustrate the times as they slowly mature, fully peppered with original Muses’ vim and vigour. ‘Drugstore Drastic’ is a kerbside soliloquy caught en route to a more alluring rendezvous. Built on a brisk acoustic strum with a guitar sub-melody underpinning proceedings, it’s an unfolding tale of social awareness from a blurred sub-conscious. ‘Summer Of Love’ began as a bet with a guy for a dollar that revolved around the idea that the seasons don’t change us. The album opener, it’s a haunting baroque overture, bowed and brooding. ‘Libretto’s strings offset the acoustic ambience, the hot and cold of longing at the very heart of it, a thematic driver filed with warmth in a safe haven lubricated by tequila. Written in the differing South Coast environs of The Gulf Of Mexico and Southern California, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ pulls from the star clusters that light both, generating optimism and hope in varying degrees. Hersh explains, “In New Orleans the stars look greenish-blue, as it’s below sea level and swamp-lit. But on Moonlight Beach, they glow icy white. All these songs were written in these two glowy places, which helped our sonic technique find itself.”

A high-energy dance music genre that blends elements of pop, electro, hip-hop, and Latin rhythms, freestyle creates an irresistible urge to dance. It's characterized by fast tempos, complex drum machine patterns, and prominent synthesizers and often explores themes of love, heartbreak, and relationships. On this brand- new compilation, we celebrate the best of Tommy Boy and Easy Street's contributions to freestyle culture. This collection brings together hits from TKA, Jocelyn Enriquez, Information Society, K7, Jasmine and more.

The Gun were a late 1960s British rock guitar trio who had a single British Top Ten hit, “Race with the Devil”. Brothers Adrian (guitar) and Paul (bass) Gurvitz teamed up with drummer Louis Farrell to create some energetic music. They founded a crossroads between blues rock, progressive and metal. The power trio created one of the best kept secrets from the sixties.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is ready to reintroduce herself. After conquering the pop world with one of the biggest groups on the planet and stepping out as a solo artist, she has reached a new clarity: no more compromises, no more limits.

With the introduction of her debut album ‘My Ego Told Me To’, Leigh-Anne isn’t reinventing herself, she’s restoring the woman she always was. Bold, unapologetic and free, this album is the purest expression of her artistry to date and musically reflects every facet of Leigh-Anne Pinnock - unfiltered, independent and finally on her own terms. “Everything that has been in my heart, everything I’ve wanted to do, I’m doing now. It feels like freedom. It feels right.”

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is ready to reintroduce herself. After conquering the pop world with one of the biggest groups on the planet and stepping out as a solo artist, she has reached a new clarity: no more compromises, no more limits.

With the introduction of her debut album ‘My Ego Told Me To’, Leigh-Anne isn’t reinventing herself, she’s restoring the woman she always was. Bold, unapologetic and free, this album is the purest expression of her artistry to date and musically reflects every facet of Leigh-Anne Pinnock - unfiltered, independent and finally on her own terms. “Everything that has been in my heart, everything I’ve wanted to do, I’m doing now. It feels like freedom. It feels right.”

As far as disco bangers go, they don't come much better than 'To Be With You Again'. The shock is hits is actually a brand new tune on a new label rather than an unearthed old gem. It's a heart-swelling sound with symphonic strings and swooning energy all finished in magnificent style by the stunning vocals from the Choir of Angelic Disco Angels. Getaway Jones adds the tight bassline and some superb keys to make this a must-cop 12" this is guaranteed to fly off the shelves. An instrumental on the flip is just as moving, but it's the vocal-fuelled A-side that really soars.

Minority Records is releasing a unique boxset Politique du silence with three early albums from Sylvain Chauveau, French composer of minimalist neoclassical music.
“When I made my first albums as a composer, I was obsessed with minimalism, and this quote from the film director Robert Bresson summed up my state of mind. I set myself three principles: 1) Use silence as a starting point, 2) Only add sound when it's absolutely essential, 3) Don't imitate the Anglo-Saxon musicians I admired, but draw on the musical culture of my country, France which lead me to listen intensively to Satie, Debussy and Ravel.” Chauveau explains the background to his work.

The collection Politique du silence contains the recordings of Des plumes dans la tête (2004), Un autre Décembre (2003) and Nocturne impalpable (2001) on coloured 180 gram vinyls. The cover features artwork by French photographer Valéry Lorenzo.

“When I discovered the simple and powerful black and white pictures by Valéry Lorenzo, in the 90s, I immediately fell in love with them. We became good friends and since then I ask him to let me use one of his photos for most of my album covers, or to make my portrait for press shots. It has become a real collaboration, music and images, for more than 25 years. It was then logical to ask him again for the cover of this boxset, like a gentle reflection on my piano and strings era. It's a true honour for me to see my early music recollected, repackaged, remastered after all this time. Which gives me hope that this music, in which I've put all my soul and heart during the years 2001 to 2003, is maybe not forgotten yet.” Chauveau himself adds of his collaboration with Valéry Lorenzo.
Nocturne impalpable and Un autre Décembre were re-issued by Minority Records in 2014 and 2015 and both titles completely sold out. This year’s release also includes the album Des plumes dans la tête in its world premiere on vinyl.

Nocturne Impalpable is a world of minimalism, abstraction, and contemporary rendition of classical music with variations for the piano, clarinet, strings, and accordion which are often compared to the compositions of composers Harold Budd and Claude Debussy. Here, Chauveau partially reveals his versatility as a composer by connecting electronic elements, noises, and ambient planes with monumental strings and piano preludes. The
album of piano variations Un autre Décembre is interspersed with field recordings and electronic noises. The inspiration for the recording of the album and for its name was the song Jaurès by the Belgian singer and composer Jacques Brel. This song tells the story of the grandparents’ generation who toiled in the mines. “Comfort and health won’t protect our generation from sadness and discontent. We also live through winter times, even if these are slightly warmer due to the current climate.” An album of 20 short instrumental sketches with several delicate intermezzos for the piano, string quartet, and the clarinet, Des plumes dans la tête, was composed for the eponymous film by director Thomas de Thier.
Sylvain Chauveau was born in 1971 in the French town of Bayonne and currently lives in Barcelona. His extensive discography of mainly meditative neo-classical recordings for the music labels FatCat, Sub Rosa, Sonic Pieces, and Flau is enriched by several collaborations and his participation in the Ensemble 0, Arca, and On projects. Chauveau has also composed many film soundtracks as well as music for the theatre. He has presented his works in Prague several times, most recently in the spring of 2024 at the Spectaculare festival. His compositions get tens of millions of streams on streaming services, and he’s been called the French king of minimalism.

A chance meeting in Mexico City set Points of Inaccessibility into motion. When Ibero-American composer Rafael Anton Irisarri crossed paths with Dutch media artist Jaco Schilp at MUTEK in 2024, a conversation about how technology shapes perception revealed an unexpected common ground. Schilp invited Irisarri to a spring 2025 residency at Uncloud, the Utrecht-based collective he co-founded, where Irisarri's sound began to take form amid an environment shaped by Schilp’s visual research.

The Uncloud studio was located inside the former Pieter Baan Centre, a forensic psychiatric prison where suspects of violent crimes were once confined. Its long history of silence and containment shaped the atmosphere in which the project developed. Within this setting, Irisarri coaxed long bowed-guitar tones through a network of pedals and looping systems. The raw gestures thickened into a vaporous and architectural field of sound. Schilp processed the material through a custom point-cloud software patch that produced images in continuous flux. The visuals flickered, dissolved and reformed like memories that resist coherence, functioning as a digital Rorschach that reflected the observer’s own perception.

Amid these spectral echoes, the project evolved into an examination of how the past persists within present signals. Memory endures as residue and interference, continually shaping perception even when its source has faded.

Schilp’s visual process required a continuous stream of sound in real time. Irisarri improvised throughout the residency, generating material that allowed the visuals to develop in parallel. Once back in his New York studio, he began shaping the recordings by carving pathways through the improvisations and mapping selected passages into MIDI. This process allowed him to build outward from the bowed-guitar material with minimal overdubs, adding Prophet 5 textures, Moog bass and strings that expanded the harmonic field while keeping the original performances at the center. To refine the structure, Abul Mogard provided editorial input, working with Irisarri’s stems to guide transitions and strengthen the overall pacing. The material, originally created under conditions of immediacy and constraint, evolved into a fully realized work through careful revision, patience and sustained reworking.

The title engages the geographic concept of the Poles of Inaccessibility, locations defined solely by their distance from all surrounding points. Irisarri adapts this idea to the conditions of digital life, where new forms of inaccessibility arise through the informational enclosures that structure perception. What appears to be a fully connected network often produces a deeper kind of separation, one shaped by the filtering logic of the systems that mediate experience. In this sense, the digital sphere mirrors its geographic counterpart. We inhabit spaces saturated with signals, yet the possibility of genuine contact becomes increasingly remote.

At its core, Points of Inaccessibility considers what can be understood as the new rituals of capitalist realism. Irisarri uses the term digital shamanism to describe the forms of simulated connection that organize contemporary life. These systems promise comfort through algorithms, influencers and AI interlocutors, yet they often reproduce the same conditions that generate loneliness in the first place. What appears as connection becomes the echo of connection, a sequence of gestures that imitate solidarity while withholding it. Like the geographic poles, these rituals are defined by distance. They pull us into environments where everything is illuminated, yet meaningful proximity becomes increasingly rare. In this sense, the work approaches a hauntology of the present, a reflection on futures that have stalled and intimacies that have been thinned by the algorithmic infrastructures that surround us.

This thematic tension unfolds across the album’s four movements. Faded Ghosts of Clouds introduces the work with textures that rise and dissipate in slow cycles, creating an atmosphere that resists clear definition. Breaking the Unison occupies a pivotal position in the sequence and focuses on the moment when the individual and the system fall out of alignment. Its shifting patterns trace the scattering of signals that once suggested connection, revealing the instability at the heart of contemporary perception. Signals from a Distant Afterglow forms the center of the album and features vocals by Karen Vogt, whose presence enters the sound field like a fragile transmission shaped by distance and delay. The closing piece, Memory Strands, follows motifs that appear, recede and briefly intersect before returning to quiet. Across these movements, the album outlines a landscape in which emergence and disappearance continually inform one another.

Listening to Points of Inaccessibility is an encounter with a sound field that is constantly in flux. Elements surface briefly, shift position and recede, creating a sense of motion that resists stable interpretation. The music moves between closeness and vastness, carrying traces of memory while withholding a clear point of resolution.

The album’s visual identity completes the project’s conceptual arc. In Mexico City, where Irisarri and Schilp first met, Daniel Castrejón transformed stills from Schilp’s point-cloud visuals into the cover image. The final artwork captures a single suspended frame of the digital material, a moment extracted from a field that is normally in constant motion. Its surface recalls the texture and abstraction found in the work of Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies, where material presence and erasure coexist within the same plane.

What emerges is a work that examines the tension between technological systems and human presence. Points of Inaccessibility asks whether connection is still possible within environments shaped by mediation and delay, or whether we have become isolated points within the very networks that promise proximity. What possibilities for relation persist within environments organized by algorithms and interruption? And how are we meant to understand presence when so much of it is constructed at a distance?

Points of Inaccessibility will be released on BioVinyl on February 6, 2026, with audiovisual performances planned throughout 2026.

Mastered by Stephan Mathieu
Artwork by Jaco Schilp
Design and layout by Daniel Castrejón
Artist photo by Iulia Alexandra Magheru.

In 1999, on December 23 to be precise, the electronic music landscape changed forever. On that day, the now legendary Icelandic band múm released their debut album “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK”. The thing is though, back in the day, hardly anybody realized. It was Christmas after all, people were busy with potentially more important things and didn’t pay attention to some kids selling records on Reykjavík’s high street. Little did those shoppers know.

Thankfully, those 10 tracks weren’t overlooked for long. On the contrary: the album went on to become one of the most influential building blocks of what back then was called electronica and today is considered an art form playing a crucial and important role in shaping and defining the rich electronic music culture of the 21st century. Now, 20 years after the record dropped onto planet Earth, Morr Music is re-issuing the remastered album with its original artwork, adding newly commissioned re-works: A note-for-note representation of “Smell Memory“ by Kronos Quartet (with additional drums by múm’s Samuli Kosminen), a gentle reinterpretation of “Random Summer” by acclaimed pianist and composer Hauschka and an otherworldly new version of “Ballad Of The Broken String” recorded by label mate Sóley. Additionally, four remixes produced in the early 2000s are made available for the first time ever on vinyl here.

In 1999, electronic music was in full bloom. The dance floors were thriving worldwide.Yet the concept of using electronic sounds in acoustic-based productions (or vice versa) was still in its infancy. Many producers were trying, most of them failed. The results felt often forced, fabricated, unimaginative, random and forgettable. New ideas require new mindsets after all. With “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK”, múm established a new approach in music production. Instead of setting a fixed agenda and working with a distinct hierarchy for their sonic palette, Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Smárason let each instrument and sound source be true to itself, creating an ever-evolving universe of sonic bliss. Listening to the album in 2019 still makes every music lover’s heart jump. Combining Drill-and-Bass-inspired beat-chopping, future-informed DSP-programming, ethereal vocal work, indie rock’s boominess, folk music’s soulful brittleness and a lofty feeling for melody and arrangement, the album is a rare example of musical transcendence and remains impossible to categorize.

Many of the ideas formulated and recorded for the album quickly became an integral part of the canonical self-conception musicians around the world were and still are aspiring to. How these ideas really came about, though, is not known – the dynamics, the struggles, the qualms, the sudden realization of having achieved something which might actually stick. Maybe that is a good thing. Örvar Smárason remembers that most of the album “was recorded in a tiny, sweaty room in the summer of 1999 with carpenters banging nails around us, but sometimes we put on headphones so we couldn’t hear them.” It is a good thing they did. As is often the case with classics, all one can do is listen closely and let the magic sink in – again and again.

A year and a half has passed since Slovak-Hungarian artist Adela Mede self-released her debut album ‘Szabadság’. Its liner notes described it as “a navigation”, a search through “the personal, familial, cultural, folkloric and geographic of her past and present.” Her second album, ‘Ne Lépj a Virágra’ no longer searches; here, she puts down roots and delves deeper into the earthy reality of her home, Central Europe. Mede sings in three languages with newfound conviction and grace – this is an album of profound faith and confidence in the potential of this fertile soil.

Composed and recorded during the last 18 months in Bratislava, Slovakia – a city where three countries meet, where the East and the West collide – 'Ne Lépj a Virárga' translates to “don't step on the flower”. Its themes – budding potential, recognizing the beauty in the ordinary, solidarity, turning despair into hope – emerged through Mede's wholehearted involvement with her community, teaching singing to both children and adults, and various grassroots volunteering initiatives. It features collaborations with local artists, Mede's singing students, as well as fellow Eastern European contemporary artists Martyna Basta and Wojciech Rusin.

Adela Mede embellishes carefully crafted songs with minimalist and folklore influences, but also embraces more experimental approaches. The result is a collection of quite varied yet consistent pieces which highlight Mede's proficiency as a singer, arranger, producer and improviser. It is a grounded, confident next step for the Bratislava-based artist. Whether her vocals are naked, heavily processed, warped and reversed, or looped and layered; whether the production is sparse and minimalist or overwhelming and swampy; none of that changes the fact that the gentle tentativeness of her debut is gone. This is “Central European music”, at its most striking and meaningful: patient, determined, embracing both complexity and possibility.

cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful 3xLP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release.

Only the three members of cLOUDDEAD – Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam – can speak to the group's origins, but in the context of underground hip-hop towards the end of the 20th century, their arrival makes perfect sense. Cincinnati had a vital scene; home to Scribble Jam, an annual confluence of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graffiti artists. While the trio soon relocated to the Bay Area where they co-founded the Anticon collective, their Midwestern roots – in ramshackle basements of off-campus hovels, as the "cerberus of Southern Ohio" – would remain the atomic heart of their early recordings.

As Chris Martins writes in the liner notes, "The only reason we know their names today is because of how loudly and curiously they aired their insularity. They rewrote the entire world as they knew it through their own fucked perspective, and when those mysterious 10-inches started popping up in record shops, it wasn't just a puzzle to investigate: there seemed to be a whole cosmology hidden in those grooves."

Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo "Apt. A" and "And All You Can Do Is Laugh" are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Dose create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples.

Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow – a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's Disintegration Loops and MF DOOM's Operation: Doomsday. All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it.

This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. European exclusive version comes on clear vinyl, incl. fold-out poster and liner notes insert.

Allowing yourself to find meaning or beauty in the mundane is an act of generosity, Whether it’s seeing a smiling face in an electrical outlet socket, or discerning cosmic design amidst the forest floor detritus, it comes from a place of kindness to yourself and senses – and openness to hidden spirit of the world. These tracks came together during a period of intense personal change for adaa, rooted in a fruitful reflection on the connections between spirit and body, “feeling my flesh so I can feel and understand my spirit,” as adaa puts it. The sense of a crossover and clash of multiple connected realities – on-screens, on-line, on-earth, off-world, after-life – unites adaa’s multifaceted productions.

Ostensibly an assemblage of found sounds. scribbled thoughts and poems from diaries, and musial snippets, the album's scattered production reflects adaa’s own many mirror worlds. Field recording sit behind most tracks, alongside VST synths, guitars, and a variety of voices, from adaa’s own mangled vox to EVP samples taken from YouTube (recorded sounds believed to be spirits or paranormal activity), all processed to varying degrees.

While the music was mostly produced either in adaa’s studio in Providence, Rhode Island, or in bed, the field recordings bring the outside world in. The result of walks in the woods, hum of roads and highways, hiss of beaches, warmth of walks with friends and past lovers “around the East Coast”. It sits behind tracks like ‘sight’ where a lilting piano lin bobs atop a pond of rustling and distant whistles. Is that birdsong? Or ghosts? Saccharine hyperpop arpeggiation crossfades sharply into noise guitar squall. Angelic demon voices yawn into a hefty crescendo. Pure drones duet with gales of undefinable field sounds.

“Sometimes I feel like a seed in frosted soil,” says adaa. “If i choose to be optimistic.”

Inspired by the soundtrack from the motion picture American Graffiti, this 3LP collection captures the sound of late night cruising, jukebox romance and early rock ’n’ roll rebellion. Spanning doo wop, rockabilly and classic pop, the set brings together era defining hits from the mid 1950s to early 1960s, featuring timeless favourites by Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Dion, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, The Platters and many more. Pressed across three vividly coloured vinyl records, red, blue and yellow, this set is both a nostalgic listening experience and a striking collector’s piece, celebrating the golden age of American rock and pop in authentic style.

Andrew Weatherall never wakes up in the morning and decides to start a new album that day. Instead, recording music is a continuous process usually working with different collaborators and seeing where the muse takes him. Somewhere down the line the rewards of a collaboration will coalesce into a body of work between thirty minutes and an hour long and he will put a call into the Rotters' team to say he has a new release ready to go.

We were visiting the studio catching up on new tracks in various states of readiness when he offered up some remixes of tracks from his recent "Ruled by Passion…" he'd been sent by fellow musicians. Tim Fairplay, Andrew's partner in The Asphodells, Sean Johnston from A Love From Outer Space and Scott Fraser live and work in the area and all popped in at various points.

Andrew's black book reads like the who's who of contemporary music but rather than plunder it for remixers he'd let drop the idea of a remix with friends and neighbours. These plus a couple a swaps with musical friends who were new to the concept of remixing, gave Andrew an hour of music he thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

It goes without saying none of the tracks are duds but our ears always prick up when Justin Robertson's take on "Beglammered" ups the heart rate or Daniel Avery's own unscrewing of "… the Axis" ruffles the neck hairs. We've stopped arguing in the office about which is the best track. They all are.