quête:here

Australian talent DJ Swella making his debut on the Clone Royal Oak series! Known for his warm, chord-driven house sound (highlighted on his Pleasure Trax releases). He continues the trajectory here: classic-leaning, groove-focused club music with that late-night energy.

nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 (quiet wind): a collection of forward-thinking electronic experiments sourced from central Japan - co-curated by Nagoya artist abentis for Facta & K-LONE’s Wisdom Teeth imprint.

The project profiles a close-knit community of music makers operating in and around the Japanese city of Nagoya: one of the country’s most populous and industrial cities, but one all too often overlooked in terms of its cultural significance.

Curated in close collaboration with local scene organiser Yuya Abe - aka abentis - the record seeks to capture the creative energy of a community of artists making hard-to-define, future-facing electronic music away from the clamour of the bigger cities. “In Nagoya, there’s a strong culture of supporting artists. Even if you pursue music in your own way, as long as it’s good, you’re encouraged to keep doing what you want”, explains abentis. “Within that environment, my generation has been able to freely bring in elements we like from all kinds of genres, combine them in our own way, and express ourselves individually. If you go to Tokyo or Osaka, that kind of freedom isn’t something you can take for granted.” Spiritually, Nagoya fits the mould of cultural hotbeds like Bristol, Detroit or Melbourne, showing that some of the most innovative creative communities form away from the glare of the capital cities. Like Detroit, Nagoya is principally known for being a major auto manufacturing hub, famous for being the home of Toyota Motors - but behind the scenes, it is quietly harbouring one of Japan’s most vibrant and forward-thinking electronic music scenes. “In a good way, Nagoya is a bit removed from the cutting edge, so you find people making all kinds of music”, explains Karnage. “If you’re making music, you feel like part of the crew, and people of different ages mix together without much hierarchy.” The city’s music scene is characterised by a freedom to mix genres and an open-door approach to creatives of all disciplines. The artists featured come from a diverse set of backgrounds, ranging from hip-hop to noise music, but have found a common collective identity in their omnivorous approach to genre. As such, the record moves fluidly between shimmering ambient and new age (Am Shhara, DHYAN, daiki hayakawa), psychedelic minimal house (Methodd, abentis), abstract, low-slung downtempo (baptisma, Nasty Soupman) and spaceage steppas (Karnage). “I’d say the way ambient, new age and that kind of sound design are blending nicely with dance music feels somewhat new”, says baptisma, the crew’s eldest member and de-facto scene leader. Responsible for bringing artists like Basic Channel, Mala and Jan Jelinek to the city, baptisma has been crucial in establishing underground electronic music in Nagoya since the 90s, and now helps cultivate the next generation of local talent. “Artists and DJs are seamlessly mixing ambient and new age with techno, house and bass music. I think that’s a really interesting development.” nagoyaka na kaze has its roots in a one-off event held in October 2024 as part of the 10 Years of Wisdom Teeth Japan tour. Curated by abentis in collaboration with Facta & K-LONE, the showcase featured live sets from eight artists based in and around Nagoya at one of the city’s key dance music hubs, Club JB’s. Each of the artists features again here, on record, presenting an original commission produced especially for the project. The record’s art direction was led by Yudai Osawa - in-house designer for Kankyō Records, the much-loved Tokyo record shop run by H. Takahashi - and features original photos by Hayato Watanabe.

No Fuss is back with a 14th outing that levies up to its name of dealing in only quality, fad-free sounds. Saison kicks off here with 'The Truth' which is a deep, lithe and soulful sound laced with soft acid, before DJ Romain's 'I'm Gonna Love You' taps into 90s New York house depths with neat organ stabs. On the reverse, Manuel Sahagun gets loopy with his bumping and raw 'Rouff' and its deft melodic curlicues while classy house operator Toni Lionni's remix of Deepmore's 'Babe' is a prime slice of serene and gently back-lit deep house hypnosis.

Deluxe-Doppel-LP-Pressung zur Feier des 10-jährigen Jubiläums von Basements bahnbrechender LP Colourmeinkindness. Diese Sammleredition enthält das komplette Album auf der ersten Disc und vier alternative Versionen von Songs des Albums auf Disc 2 sowie ein Etching auf der D-Seite. Colourmeinkindness war ursprünglich das Abschieds-Album, das der ersten Pause von Basement vorausging, und ein Meilenstein für die Band, der sie als einige der besten Songwriter in der Rockszene der 2010er Jahre zementierte. Nach dem Debütalbum I Wish I Could Stay Here aus dem Jahr 2011 fühlt sich Colourmeinkindness von den ersten disharmonischen Tönen des Openers "Whole" reif an - ein Song, der die Basement Live-Sets seitdem in Aufruhr versetzt. Das Album wurde zum Fan-Favorit, weil es eine Reihe verschiedener Sounds bietet - melodische Singalongs wie "Covet" und "Bad Apple", Emo-inspirierte Refrains wie "Breathe" und "Comfort" und gewaltige Riffs wie in "Spoiled" und dem Schlussstück "Wish" - sie alle stechen auf einem klassischen Album hervor, das es wert ist, 10 Jahre lang und darüber hinaus gehört zu werden.

Basket of Light is the most progressive and complex release by the British folk-rock group Pentangle. Traditional English folk songs are reinterpreted with a mix of jazz, pop and rock influences. Everything their previous works promised is fulfilled here. The album opener 'Light Flight' has become their signature song. If there is a prog folk masterpiece then it is Basket Of Light. Pentangle proved they could release a progressive, ground-breaking work without keyboards, much studio trickery or even electric instruments.

The original Pentangle was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The original line-up includes Bert Jansch (vocals & guitar) and John Renbourn (vocals & guitar).

Haf is the third album from Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 in little over a year, no mean feat in and of itself but especially considering Carwyn’s work with other artists (including Edwyn Collins and the North Mississippi Allstars) this year too.

The album picks up where their last (Fontana Rosa) left off, with around half the album being recorded analog to tape at Gizzard Studios in London, with one last tune remaining from their sessions at the legendary (but now closed) Toerag Studios.

There are echoes here of their first album, Joia! - the recordings were once again instigated by the great Brazilian producer and multi-instrumentalist who happened to be visiting London earlier in the year. He suggested doing something.... so they did. And there is a return to more definite Brazilian influences too - Tonnau Ar Tonnau is an homage to ‘Onda’ by Cassiano, Keep On Smiling has a distinct samba / chorro feel. Gwenyn y Gwanwyn (about helping a bee out if you see it struggling) is very much a nod to the psychedelic samba funk of Antonio Carlos e Jocafi. But other Latin styles still loom large: on the sultry salsa of Bella Estrella or the melancholic Andean ballad, Lagrimas Frias.

Anglo-Brazilian singer Nina Miranda features on the Lalo Schifrin goes samba Shades of Red, while new addition to the Rio 18 family (at least on record), Miriam Isaac adds a real RnB edge to the record, along with some beautiful duets: the Salsoul banger Como Te Amo and the gorgeous Whistling Sands (about a beach in North Wales) are standouts.

In reverse to how Carwyn made the first two Rio 18 albums, Haf was recorded in London
and Wales and mixed over five hectic days in Rio. Three days later, it was mastered and at
the pressing plant. Time doesn’t wait for Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18!!

Finally, the song ‘Haf’ and the album itself are dedicated to Haf Morris, Carwyn’s late music teacher - he says, “her focus, guidance and patience shaped me like no other. I hope she’s enjoyed my musical journey, from wherever she’s watching. Diolch, Haf”.

Blues, country and folk or funk, rock and soul – Broussard always gives his songs a very special touch; here he reaches his peak performance!

Acclaimed soul singer and songwriter Marc Broussard returns with his new studio album, "S.O.S. V: Songs Of The 50's," paying homage to the timeless classics of the 1950s. With his unmistakable, warm soul voice, Broussard interprets timeless songs by legends such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, and Fats Domino—complemented by his own original composition that fits seamlessly into the era. The album is the fifth installment in his successful S.O.S. (Save Our Soul) benefit series, with proceeds once again benefiting the non-profit organization Love Of People in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana. His latest charity album, "S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul" (2023), a collaboration with blues icon Joe Bonamassa, benefited the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation and the organization Guitars Over Guns – and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.

Here comes a special project with the late great Milton Henry, recorded in New York for Black Redemption a few months before his transition. Two rootikal rddims by Birmingstrong’s King Stanley set the tone and provide a perfect backing to Milton Henry’s poetic voice. ‘My Story, My Song’ back to back with ‘Lake Of Fire’, each with a dub version, ready for your stereo… his works, words and voice will live on forever more!

We’ve purged the Acid Mothers Temple archives once again, resurrecting another classic album ‘Electric Heavyland’.
Originally released in 2002 on CD only (via Alien 8 Recordings), ‘Electric Heavyland’ is presented here for the first time on vinyl, remastered and with a whole bonus live side!
Housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with heavy use of the original black and metallic silver ink artwork
“Suddenly, my world explodes as the band pounces on the joint with some hell-blues, laced with sci-fi laser transmissions. Jesus H. Fuck, this is loud. There comes a point when heavy jamming and pure noise meet, and that point is tearing shit up at this very moment.” Pitchfork
Of key note for AMT diehards/collectors. Side D was recorded live at at the 2nd Acid Mothers Temple Festival December 13th 2003 with Yamazaki Maso (Masonna) as a guest.
Makoto says "we have played this song, Atomic Rotary Grinding God live only once, this is that recording"
Produced, engineered and mixed by Kawabata Makoto live recorded by Takayama Manabu (original source is VHS video tape)

With a career spanning over 50 years, Earl Sixteen is one of the major artists in the history of Jamaican music. He has been produced by some of the biggest names in the business, from Studio One to Jah Shaka, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Mad Professor. Earl Sixteen has always stood out for the accuracy of his performances and the smooth depth of his voice.

Today, in collaboration with Switzerland most active studio group of the last decade, The 18th Parallel, he presents his new single ‘My Son’, written by the genius lyricist Marc Ismail. The lyrics touch on the harsh reality of the younger generations in Jamaica who grow up in precarious conditions and, in some cases, have no choice but to turn to crime. Here, the elder's voice urges young listeners to take a hard look at themselves and weigh the consequences of their decisions.

The message is enhanced by Earl Sixteen's performance and the extraordinarily powerful rhythm section of The 18th Parallel. B side features a scorcher dub by Westfinga: 'Hear My Dub'. A masterpiece of contemporary roots reggae!

" Shake away " After many hours of work, the no wave, synth punk crooner has produced his best album yet. The voice is soulful and deep, and each track seems paradoxically spontaneous and thoughtful, while the production is perfect for bringing out all these catchy hits.It inevitably brings to mind Alan Vega at his best, but with that Australian touch that makes this album so personal .

The classic 1988 NOFX album, available on vinyl. First time pressed in Europe on black and colored vinyl. Recorded in 88 by Brett Gurewitz in 3 days at west beach recorders. We we"re all stoked cause we got to meet Brett from bad religion. He asked us if we wanted to put the record out on epitaph, but we wanted to put it out ourselves. What a mistake. It took almost a year to sell 1500 copies at 4 bucks a piece, and we only got paid for half. We ended up giving the record to epitaph like 5 years later with a new cover. I wouldn"t say this record sucks, but it"s still pretty hard to listen to.

The classic 1988 NOFX album, available on vinyl. First time pressed in Europe on black and colored vinyl. Recorded in 88 by Brett Gurewitz in 3 days at west beach recorders. We we"re all stoked cause we got to meet Brett from bad religion. He asked us if we wanted to put the record out on epitaph, but we wanted to put it out ourselves. What a mistake. It took almost a year to sell 1500 copies at 4 bucks a piece, and we only got paid for half. We ended up giving the record to epitaph like 5 years later with a new cover. I wouldn"t say this record sucks, but it"s still pretty hard to listen to.

Here’s an expanded edition of one of Nurse With Wound’s most intense, unique opuses, so unique that for long-time fans it was a strange, chaotic loundge bizzarie when it first came out. For the first time, all four audio sides are complete (originally, there were only three sides). And to crown it all, a magnificent new cover by the great and talented Babs Santini, who is none other than Steven Stapleton behind his pseudonym of plastic artist, still in the luxurious tradition of the “silver collection” at Rotorelief Records.

Nurse with Wound’s album Huffin’ Rag Blues is unique in NWW’s discography. Stapleton teams up with composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles, his co-creator of musical terrorism, to tackle the exotica and lounge genres, crushed into a cacophonous mess. Long-time NWW friends Colin Potter and Matt Waldron are also on board. Blues, jazz, crime films, bachelor pads and soap opera music are processed and discarded, then chopped up and recycled in a mix that contains a ton of space, but also overflows with dynamic tension, hilarious asides, sexually suggestive poetry and a certain rock & roll abandon.

This is a very surprising opus for long-time fans, is like a soundtrack that could illustrate a David Lynch film It’s brilliant, maddening, hilarious and sinister enough to earn a place in any collection with a little quirkiness and eccentricity. Huffin’ Rag Blues incorporates more familiar musical elements – including instruments (played live, even), rhythm and vocals – than almost any other Nurse With Wound album to date. The album’s main concern is, as always, to create environments for lucid dreaming rather than to create music as such.

Official reissue. New remastering vinyl of the 1979 LP by Colin Potter + "silver edition" Gatefold cover + complete NWW list on Gatefold inner.


Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella is the debut album by British experimental unusual and absurd music group Nurse With Wound, released on their own United Dairies label in 1979. An unusual record which blends noise and jamming.

The album's equally unusual title is a quote from the surreal, poetic novel Les Chants de Maldoror by Uruguayan-born French author Isidore-Lucien Ducasse, written under the pseudonym Comte de Lautréamont.It has been included in the "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" by TheWire in 1998, and is one of the records that have had a lasting impact on avant-garde, experimental and psychedelic music.It was on this record that the famous "NWW list" appeared for the first time, featuring dozens of names of musicians and groups who had influenced Nurse With Wound - a list that now serves as a treasure map for many collectors of the genre and fans of outsider music. It's been replicated here in the innersleeve of the gatefold.

Timo Lassy follows up his new album "Trio" on We Jazz Records by sharing two non-album cuts from the same sessions on a new 7" vinyl single / digi release. "Mountain Man Exit" is a stormy number featuring the trio of Lassy (tenor sax), Ville Herrala (bass) and Jaska Lukkarinen (drums) in full flight plus Tuomo Prättälä (of Ilmiliekki Quartet) on synth duties. Album track "Orlo" gets a new treatment, edited for the 7" and taking shape as a tough-as-nails mix breaking new ground here without the string section.

Timo Lassy follows up his new album "Trio" on We Jazz Records by sharing two non-album cuts from the same sessions on a new 7" vinyl single / digi release. "Mountain Man Exit" is a stormy number featuring the trio of Lassy (tenor sax), Ville Herrala (bass) and Jaska Lukkarinen (drums) in full flight plus Tuomo Prättälä (of Ilmiliekki Quartet) on synth duties. Album track "Orlo" gets a new treatment, edited for the 7" and taking shape as a tough-as-nails mix breaking new ground here without the string section.

We Jazz Records kicks off their new series of archival 7" releases with Esa Pethman "In Belgium 1967" released 23 September 2022. The two-tracker is licensed from the Belgian VRT radio archives and both of the pieces are previously unreleased. Finnish jazz legend Pethman, heard here on alto flute and tenor sax, joins forces with European jazz greats such as Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov and Jean Fanis. This is a small but valuable piece of unheard European jazz history from the early heyday of modern jazz. The physical release is a quality "inside-out"-styled EP with 3mm spine and small center hole on the 45rpm vinyl.

An excerpt from the liner notes by Mikko Mattlar:

"Esa Pethman (b. 1938) was one of the key figures of modern Finnish jazz in the 1960s. His album The Modern Sound Of Finland was the first Finnish modern jazz album and his composition "The Flame" a true modern Fenno-jazz evergreen.

Pethman was born in Kuusankoski, 135 kilometres from Helsinki in the Kymenlaakso area. The jazz scene was active even though it was an area of rural landscapes and paper mills. Pethman discovered jazz when he heard a Charlie Parker record being played at a local music shop in the late 1940s. Following Parker, bebop became his favourite style of jazz.

Young Pethman played flute and saxophone in local bands who accompanied schlager singers. They played tangos and waltzes for dancers, but usually started a typical dance event with an hour of jazz. In 1959 Pethman moved to Helsinki to study music at the Sibelius Academy. Back then it was a strictly classical music academy, but Pethman later described the studies as crucial for his development and career. He quickly made his way to studio sessions and into the best orchestras in Helsinki.

As a student of composition, Pethman also began writing his own music. "The Flame" was a melody he just got on his mind one night, and he decided to write it down. The catchy composition was released as a 7" single in 1964, a year before Pethman's debut album. Both records stand as benchmarks for modern Finnish jazz. The album consisted entirely of Pethman's compositions, not versions of jazz standards like a lot of the Finnish jazz released until then.

In the mid 1960s, Finnish jazz was also taking its first international steps. Pethman's quintet took part in the first Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1967. At the Montreux jazz band competition, the quintet came in fourth of the twelve contestants. Despite not winning the competition, the band got an honourable mention, and Pethman was now recognized outside Finland.

In December 1967 Pethman travelled to Brussels. His visit was organised by the national Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio and their jazz program producer Matti Konttinen. Konttinen was supposed to go to Brussels with Pethman, but the musician ended up traveling alone.

In the Decca recording studios Pethman played two songs. He recorded a version of his most famous composition "The Flame", where he played the alto flute and was accompanied by Belgian musicians. On Swiss saxophonist Heinz Bigler's composition "Like Steel", Pethman played the tenor saxophone. The band was now more international, consisting of Bigler, the Italian Francesco Santucci, the Dane Uffe Karskov, a Belgian rhythm section and Pethman. After 55 years, Pethman still remembers Bigler's remarkable skills as a saxophonist.

The two-day visit included the recording session, a dinner and a concert. Pethman and the other non-Belgian musicians came to Brussels mainly to play at a jazz concert organised by the European Broadcasting Union EBU. They played at the studio first, and the concert was held the following day. Pethman and all the other soloists played as members of an international big band. The studio and live session were produced by the Belgian Radio and Television jazz section leader Elias Gistelinck."

Drummer/producer Teppo Mäkynen's 3TM returns with a new album, "Lake", on 29 November on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album is the much awaited follow up to 2017's successful 3TM debut "Form", which was awarded as the "Jazz Album of the Year" in Mäkynen's native Finland. "Lake" was preceded by the ambient electronic album "Abyss" in August, which set the mood for what's to come next: A compact yet far-reaching body of work bringing together the trio's acoustic jazz sound and ideas rooted in abstract electronic music in a remarkably boundless way.

"Lake" is a collection of 9 Mäkynen-penned originals ranging from the looping, hypnotic compositions such as first single "Laws Of Life" to the delicacy of tracks such as "Woods". There is a sense of long form narrative here, evident in glorious, slowly evolving tracks such as "Lake" and "A Pile Of Broken Dreams". The overall sound is swinging, melodic, deep and futuristic. It's acoustic jazz and abstract electronic music understood deeply and used as the base of a new sound, which goes beyond the usual distinctions of "acoustic jazz" or "electronic music". This is music for the present day, moving forward.

3TM's "Lake" will be available as white and black vinyl versions, complete with printed inner sleeve featuring Mäkynen's essay about the theme of the album. On vinyl, "Lake" will also be available as a 2LP bundle with "Abyss", and the CD version includes both discs, "Lake" and "Abyss".

In the 3TM trio formation Mäkynen is joined by sax man Jussi Kannaste and bassist Antti Lötjönen, both Finnish scene mainstays. The band will celebrate their new release at Helsinki's We Jazz Festival on 7 December.

The Helsinki-based Bowman Trio return with their second LP on We Jazz Records on October 18. "Persistence" is a strong effort, showcasing the young trio's knack at creating dynamic, sparse and memorable music which carries well the term "loft jazz" occasionally attached to it. Here, drummer Sami Nummela, trumpeter Tomi Nikku and bassist Joonas Tuuri present 9 strong originals, 8 of which are penned by Nummela and one by Nikku.

On the course of the new album, Bowman Trio moves from the introspective, calm moments of "Badwater", "Mac Elliot" and "Mä en jaksa" to the full swing of "The Chase" and the solid grind of "Persistence". The album closing track "Sista sommardagen" ("The last day of summer" in Swedish) is a hauntingly beautiful, delicately breezy ballad. Two years in the making, the album is a testament to the album title and a fine example of a band taking time in developing their sound to perfection.

Bowman Trio debuted in 2016 with the group's first LP also being the first release on Helsinki's We Jazz Records, and since then their reputation has grown in Finland and beyond. The trio is known for making music which invites the listener in and takes it sweet time in unraveling its secrets. Their sound is somewhat dry, naturally relaxed and there's a lot of room for manoeuvre within it for all of the players. That being said, each of the musicians in the trio know how to play for their team, and the compositions move forward constantly and effortlessly. Bowman Trio makes music which always feels close to you, like you're right there in the room with the band. That's "loft jazz".