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Joyce Manor are California pop-punk legends and I Used To Go To This Bar is this epochal band operating at the top of their game. They continue to deliver relentlessly satisfying rock music in a manner that makes it look simply effortless. The Torrance, California-hailing trio of Barry Johnson, Chase Knobbe, and Matt Ebert are at a point in their career where their position as one of the most beloved rock bands is a foregone conclusion. Their seventh album finds the group continuing to find rich new veins to tap in their short-and sweet songcraft without losing an ounce of bite that gained them such repute in the first place. I Used To Go To This Bar further situates Joyce Manor in the rich lineage of their influences and inspirations. Think AFI"s rapid-fire burn, Weezer"s indelible power-pop acumen, and the dusky emotionalism of The Smiths while further establishing them as leading lights in the current rock landscape. The fresh burst of inspiration that fuels I Used To Go To This Bar proves that Joyce Manor are far from content to rest on such laurels, moving forward with their sound and style in a way that reminds you of how they got to this point in the first place. Catch them live at Coachella 2026.

Auf ihrem Debütalbum ist eine lange Liste von Elite-Musikern aus der Daptone-Familie zu hören, die alle mit ihrem Talent dazu beigetragen haben, Pazners kreative Vision zu verwirklichen. Das Album wurde mit großem Beifall aufgenommen und erlangte schnell den Ruf als eines der besten Instrumental-Soul-Alben des Jahrzehnts – mit Rezensionen von Pitchfork, American Songwriter, Brooklyn Vegan, Rolling Stone u.v.a.. Im digitalen Bereich wurde das Projekt durch ein unglaublich starkes organisches Wachstum bei den DSPs unterstützt, wobei die Streaming-Zahlen alle Erwartungen übertrafen und es zu einem Durchbruchserfolg sowohl für Daptone als auch für Pazner machten. Nach dem Erfolg seines Debütalbums verbrachte Pazner die nächsten Jahre damit, den musikalischen Kosmos zu erkunden – er schrieb Songs mit Lee Fields und begleitete ihn als Keyboarder auf Tournee. In dieser Zeit gründete er auch eine Familie. Diese Reihe von einschneidenden Lebensereignissen bereitete den Boden für das kommende Album „In Search of a Revival“ (Daptone Records).
Dieses Mal, ganze 10 Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung des selbstbetitelten Debütalbums, komponierte, arrangierte und produzierte Pazner das gesamte Album selbst. Mit einer Mischung aus Musikern, die bereits auf dem Debüt zu hören waren, sowie einer Handvoll Freunden und Mitwirkenden, die er auf seiner musikalischen Reise kennengelernt hat, bildete er ein 17-köpfiges Ensemble aus den besten Musikern der Szene. Während „The Olympians“ stark vom klassischen Soul-Stil von Curtis Mayfield und James Brown beeinflusst war, lehnt sich „In Search of a Revival“ an die goldene Ära der Wrecking Crew, die üppigen Texturen der Gold Star Studios, Vintage-Filmmusik und die eher unbekannten Ecken der cineastischen Klanglandschaften an. Von den kaskadenartigen Harfenklängen, die „Sirens of Jupiter“ eröffnen, bis hin zur treibenden Horns von „Sagittarius By Moonlight“ liefern The Olympians einen ganz eigenen neuen Sound: einen alten Traum vom fernen Griechenland, gemalt in üppigen, filmischen Arrangements über harten Rhythmen. In Search of a Revival ist auf dem besten Weg, ein weiterer Daptone-Klassiker zu werden – ein Album, das nicht nur die Traditionen des Instrumental-Soul würdigt, sondern auch einen kühnen neuen Standard für das Genre in den kommenden Jahren setzt.

Auf ihrem Debütalbum ist eine lange Liste von Elite-Musikern aus der Daptone-Familie zu hören, die alle mit ihrem Talent dazu beigetragen haben, Pazners kreative Vision zu verwirklichen. Das Album wurde mit großem Beifall aufgenommen und erlangte schnell den Ruf als eines der besten Instrumental-Soul-Alben des Jahrzehnts – mit Rezensionen von Pitchfork, American Songwriter, Brooklyn Vegan, Rolling Stone u.v.a.. Im digitalen Bereich wurde das Projekt durch ein unglaublich starkes organisches Wachstum bei den DSPs unterstützt, wobei die Streaming-Zahlen alle Erwartungen übertrafen und es zu einem Durchbruchserfolg sowohl für Daptone als auch für Pazner machten. Nach dem Erfolg seines Debütalbums verbrachte Pazner die nächsten Jahre damit, den musikalischen Kosmos zu erkunden – er schrieb Songs mit Lee Fields und begleitete ihn als Keyboarder auf Tournee. In dieser Zeit gründete er auch eine Familie. Diese Reihe von einschneidenden Lebensereignissen bereitete den Boden für das kommende Album „In Search of a Revival“ (Daptone Records).
Dieses Mal, ganze 10 Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung des selbstbetitelten Debütalbums, komponierte, arrangierte und produzierte Pazner das gesamte Album selbst. Mit einer Mischung aus Musikern, die bereits auf dem Debüt zu hören waren, sowie einer Handvoll Freunden und Mitwirkenden, die er auf seiner musikalischen Reise kennengelernt hat, bildete er ein 17-köpfiges Ensemble aus den besten Musikern der Szene. Während „The Olympians“ stark vom klassischen Soul-Stil von Curtis Mayfield und James Brown beeinflusst war, lehnt sich „In Search of a Revival“ an die goldene Ära der Wrecking Crew, die üppigen Texturen der Gold Star Studios, Vintage-Filmmusik und die eher unbekannten Ecken der cineastischen Klanglandschaften an. Von den kaskadenartigen Harfenklängen, die „Sirens of Jupiter“ eröffnen, bis hin zur treibenden Horns von „Sagittarius By Moonlight“ liefern The Olympians einen ganz eigenen neuen Sound: einen alten Traum vom fernen Griechenland, gemalt in üppigen, filmischen Arrangements über harten Rhythmen. In Search of a Revival ist auf dem besten Weg, ein weiterer Daptone-Klassiker zu werden – ein Album, das nicht nur die Traditionen des Instrumental-Soul würdigt, sondern auch einen kühnen neuen Standard für das Genre in den kommenden Jahren setzt.

Sweatmaster releases a new full-length album after a 15-year hiatus via Svart Records Sweatmaster, one of the aristocrats of Finnish garage rock, is making a big comeback with the release of their fifth album More! in January 2026. After the release of their 2010 album Dig Up the Knife, the band took a long break, which ended a few years ago with live performances both domestic and abroad. At the same time, new material began to emerge in the rehearsal room, and the band quickly found a common strategy for working on it. "We were unanimous about the strengths of our band and decided to get to the heart of the matter. The main idea was to make straightforward songs carried by the vocals. The kind that would work well live with our aggressive playing style," says the band's drummer Matti Kallio. Svart Records will release Sweatmaster's fifth album early next year. More! is a sharp package of fourteen songs that has not been polished to death. "We wanted a raw and electric sound for the new album, built tightly around the three of us playing. The aim was to stick to Sweatmaster's original energy and not spread ourselves too thin. However, despite our efforts, the intervening years brought some new tones with them," guitarist Mikko Luukko explains the background of the new album. The album's first single will be released on Friday, September 19th, and according to singer-bassist Sasu Mykkänen, Destroyer is the essence of Sweatmaster. "The drum fill draws you into the pull of the electric triangle. The guitar taps at the ballads and wants nothing more than to drive the rhythm until the passionate vocals take over. The song doesn't lead anywhere, it's already there. 2 minutes, 37 seconds. Wham bam. Here you go." More! is available for pre-order now at Svart’s webstore on Svart exclusive vinyl, limited coloured vinyl, classic black vinyl, and CD. Release date January 30th, 2026.

Joe Claussell reimagines 3 tracks from Patrick Gibin's 2024 successful debut album 'Strength In Numbers' for Mother Tongue. These are not simple remixes but complete translations into the NYC legend's own language where the words Cosmic and Spiritual go hand by hand. The depth of these new versions is another testament of Joe's ability to always push the Sound to new heights!
'Let It Go' is manipulated into a dancefloor opus rich of sonic surprises and magnificent synth workouts.
'Joint Purpose' is present here in two versions, the deep and complex 'Teenage Music' mix and the thunderous 'Dub Dub' take which is exactly how it's called: an epic out of body bass experience.
'In This Together' comes in a full 15 minutes suite with tempo and mood changes which echoes the best 70's fusion and finally in a more ethereal form ('Voice Of Innocence Version') to close the double pack.
A breathtaking travel into Claussell's endless creative imagination where boundaries are won and Music is all that matters!

Ace’s small but ever-evolving “Black America Sings…” series has been quiet of late, but it springs back into action this month with the 2-LP and CD releases of “Highway Of Diamonds” – a second dip onto the catalogue of Bob Dylan, as reimagined by some of the foremost African-American artists of the 20th century.

From almost the start of his songwriting career, Dylan’s words and music have impacted on black American music, with ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’, speaking to an America that was still mostly segregated and becoming an anthem for all colours and creeds. As Dylan’s own career progressed, so did the number of covers he received, with a significant amount coming from what might be termed ‘non-traditional’ sources such as those heard here.

The 20 songs on “Highway Of Diamonds” continue the story that was told in part on the earlier “How Many Roads” compilation, with an almost entirely different selection of artists lending their voices to some of the best songwriting of the 20th century, and an almost entirely different selection of songs (with the exception of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ itself, which provides a common thread linking the story told across the two sets).
Big names from the worlds of soul, gospel and jazz, timeless songs and, for many, new ways of appreciating ever-durable material make “Highway Of Diamonds” as essential a purchase as its predecessor.

As ever, the great audio is complemented by a handsomely illustrated package on both CD and double vinyl, with a plethora of illustrations and in depth song-by-song-and-track-by-track annotation by Ace legend Tony Rounce.

Since 2018, BBE Music’s J Jazz Series of compilations and album reissues has been at the forefront in focussing attention on the hitherto cloistered and rarified world of Japanese jazz. True to the ethos of the series, curators Tony Higgins and Mike Peden have once again dug up a truly rare gem in the form of a 45 from the mysterious Christal Zone, originally released in 1971 only as a promo and reissued here for the very first time. Several years before pianist Tohru Aizawa and brothers Tetsuya and Kyoichiro Morimura formed the now-celebrated Tohru Aizawa Quartet — whose 1975 private- press spiritual jazz LP Tachibana Vol 1 has become a cornerstone of the J Jazz canon and previously reissued by BBE — they were already venturing into bold, experimental territory. Their 1971 single Rai Rai, released as a promotional 7-inch on Liberty Records under the short-lived moniker Christal Zone was written and arranged by koto player and composer Hideakira Sakurai. An almost unclassifiable hybrid of jazz, Japanese folk, Algerian raï, and free improvisation. Sakurai’s visionary approach dominates the track, blending traditional Japanese instrumentation with a dense polyrhythmic groove that evokes not only avant-garde jazz but also the raw street energy of Algerian raï — celebratory, unfiltered, and joyfully unrestrained. The story behind the recording of Rai Rai is as spontaneous as the music itself. While casually rehearsing at Sakurai’s villa, the group was overheard by producer Kunihiko Murai, who was so stunned by what he heard that he arranged a studio session for them the very next day. The resulting 7-inch — Rai Rai / Kanashiyana, released under the one-off Christal Zone name — is now one of the rarest artefacts in Japanese jazz, with original copies fetching astronomical prices among collectors. BBE Music has faithfully reproduced the original artwork and packaging to celebrate this extraordinary and super rare piece of J Jazz history. A piece that bridges the ancient and the future, Japan and North Africa, in under four minutes of controlled chaos. A truly one-of-a-kind artefact, Rai Rai is a manifesto from a generation unafraid to rip up the rulebook and follow their own path.

Sweatmaster releases a new full-length album after a 15-year hiatus via Svart Records Sweatmaster, one of the aristocrats of Finnish garage rock, is making a big comeback with the release of their fifth album More! in January 2026. After the release of their 2010 album Dig Up the Knife, the band took a long break, which ended a few years ago with live performances both domestic and abroad. At the same time, new material began to emerge in the rehearsal room, and the band quickly found a common strategy for working on it. "We were unanimous about the strengths of our band and decided to get to the heart of the matter. The main idea was to make straightforward songs carried by the vocals. The kind that would work well live with our aggressive playing style," says the band's drummer Matti Kallio. Svart Records will release Sweatmaster's fifth album early next year. More! is a sharp package of fourteen songs that has not been polished to death. "We wanted a raw and electric sound for the new album, built tightly around the three of us playing. The aim was to stick to Sweatmaster's original energy and not spread ourselves too thin. However, despite our efforts, the intervening years brought some new tones with them," guitarist Mikko Luukko explains the background of the new album. The album's first single will be released on Friday, September 19th, and according to singer-bassist Sasu Mykkänen, Destroyer is the essence of Sweatmaster. "The drum fill draws you into the pull of the electric triangle. The guitar taps at the ballads and wants nothing more than to drive the rhythm until the passionate vocals take over. The song doesn't lead anywhere, it's already there. 2 minutes, 37 seconds. Wham bam. Here you go." More! is available for pre-order now at Svart’s webstore on Svart exclusive vinyl, limited coloured vinyl, classic black vinyl, and CD. Release date January 30th, 2026.

Part two of the FOX FIRE series is here, with more killer 1970's roots from Clive Matthews and Trevor Byfield. 'Am Going Home', is the third and final cut on the legendary rhythm also employed for Clive's 'Apology' and Trevor's 'Tell Me That You Love Me', both of which were released in our first and previous set of FOX FIRE tunes. 'Am Going Home' is just as killer as those two, and has its own unique dub side, different to either of the others.

Part two of the FOX FIRE series is here, with more killer 1970's roots from Clive Matthews and Trevor Byfield. 'My Girl Has Gone' is Clive Matthews' first recording, originally released in the mid '70s on the Percival label, and recorded at Dynamic Sound with the Now Generation Band.

Part two of the FOX FIRE series is here, with more killer 1970's roots from Clive Matthews and Trevor Byfield. 'Jah Guide' is classic roots, originally released only on a UK 12-inch on the Ethnic Fight label.

This remastered vinyl reissue of Blind Ear reintroduces The Celibate Rifles' urgent, socially aware punk-rock energy, cementing its place as a cornerstone of Australian alternative rock. 1989 is where The Celibate Rifles take their punk instincts to the next level-garage muscle, surgical precision, and a rock'n'roll pulse that sounds more urgent than ever today. Formed in Sydney ten years ago, the band appears here in full flight: two guitars in constant dialogue, a rhythm section with newfound dynamic range, and a razor-edged vocal that bites without losing melody. The remaster opens up the stereo image, sharpens the six-string detail, and restores to the turntable the physical punch this record demanded from day one; it's the definitive way to (re)discover a key title from the Australian school. The tracklist is pure traction: "Some Kind of Feeling" hits the ground running with speed and focus; "Wonderful Life '88" nails an instant hook and a clear-eyed critique of yuppie culture; and the closer, "O Salvation," lands as an expansive, cathartic statement of intent. Two tracks unusual in Australian rock for their subject matter-"Sean O'Farrell" and "Belfast"-tackle the Northern Ireland conflict head-on and underscore the band's social gaze, while the rest of the album maintains a no-filler intensity. This edition preserves the original LP sequence (the two bonus tracks existed only on the period CD) and stands as an essential piece for collectors and front racks alike: ideal for in-stores, listening bars, and classic alternative rock playlists. If your audience connects with BORED!, Radio Birdman, The New Christs, or The Saints, Blind Ear is an unequivocal yes.

AboutBlank produces here 3 majestic tunes...

Super positive state of mind style, not too happy through but really sunny and full of energy, with a repetitive serial music acid melody on the Cosmicology A side 45 RPM killer 180BPM hardfloor track.

The flip open on a regular 160 BPM heavy kicker, trippy mental acid-pikes-of-ice more classic but bloody efficient...

Last track (same speed as A1) is a serious hard-kicker too... at the hardcore frontier with a crazy melody coming in, reminding the old school 90's transecore best-of...

This record was produced both by Brain Bending and Acid Night.

Visual by X.G.

A year after their acclaimed self-titled debut album, The Only Ones followed up with Even Serpents Shine. The sophomore album was met with positive reviews, that “Even Serpents Shine doesn’t boast an out-of-the-box classic tune along the lines of “Another Girl, Another Planet” from the debut, but in many respects, this is the more consistent album, achieving a similar degree of thematic and melodic variety while generat- ing a more coherent sound and feeling.”

Even Serpents Shine features remastered audio and is avail- able as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on flaming coloured vinyl.

Waiting is the essence of travel. Patience is its own reward.

Two people. A Telecaster guitar with a few effect pedals. A drum machine. An audio interface is connected to a laptop. The ingredients are simple yet effective.

But any suggestion of four-track cassette machines and vintage bedsit productions is quickly dispelled by digital dubbiness and refined arrangements. A tail of reversed echos. The crystalline flourish of octave-pitched delays. Riddled hi-hats tickle and taunt. A bass drum asserts its space.

Winkler's guitar patterns have a fragmented, almost haphazard connotation. Searching in a shimmer of reverb. Until the beat, the framework, sets in to reveal structure. Intentionality. Reihse's programmed rhythms go just to the point of a groove, holding the moment of tension, knowingly delaying the gratification. Beats that have scratchy patina anda subtly playful edge; their crispness stands in contrast to the contemplative drift of the guitar. Is it a trance? Or a dance? Yes.

There are some apparent references here: a good portion of Les Disques du Crépuscule, some kraut-esque electronica, even a smidgen of Morricone / Spaghetti Western, blending into a kind of Musique Noir – yet these serve as a set of orientational coordinates, rather than quotations.

This is so far the most assured release by Periode, perhaps eschewing some of the naiveté that was wilfully cultivated in earlier output – there is no cheeky cover version this time. And no singing either. The nine pieces have the quality of a series, a variation on a mood, or a subset of moods. What emerges is an inviting swagger in the face of bleakness. There is a profound melancholy, but it is not the darker kind, and does not exclude humour.

First impressions may suggest that this is purely nocturnal music. Yet it equally evokes the harsh sunlight and baking summer heat. Or a rainy day. And transportation: the music suggests the motion of travel, even if that travel only happens within the mind. And waiting. Waiting while doing nothing much. Because that's all you can do. (Alexander Paulick)

We Jazz Records is delighted to present the first ever vinyl release for two modern classic tracks by Swedish organist Eric Malmberg. Originally released in 2007 by the label Häpna on Malmberg's second solo album "Verklighet & Beat", the pair of tunes herein serve as proof of Malmberg's remarkable artistic vision, echoing both the pure pastoral beauty and the irresistible groove of his work. This release, part of the ongoing 7" series by We Jazz Records, follows the label's Artistic Director Matti Nives's 10+ years of obsession with the aforementioned Malmberg album after an initial chance encounter with the side A track on a WIRE Magazine compilation in 2007.

"Eric Malmberg's music is a small miracle. I don't want to call him a genius, because I don't want to jinx him. But I will say that he's a complete original, in addition to being a vastly talented musician. I will also say that his recordings and the two performances that I saw by Sagor & Swing merit a place on a short list of most enjoyed musical experiences of the last half decade. I could bleat about the quality of the work, but "most enjoyed" to me carries the stronger charge." – David Grubbs, New York, March 2007

"A special mention needs to go out to the phenomenal and totally bonkers 'Till minne av Lilly Lindström' a track which starts with a clean break, builds into dancefloor abusing Hammond-hammering mayhem and then ends up with lush string orchestrations and disco-lite sweeps. Insane and more enjoyable than you could possibly imagine - an album to totally lose yourself in, and one for anyone looking for something just that little different. Huge recommendation." – Boomkat

Mikkel Metal makes a welcome return to Echocord with his new ‘Rebuild’ EP, accompanying remixes from Luke Hess and Frenk Dublin.
Copenhagen’s Mikkel Metal is a pioneering figure in dub-techno and minimal house, known for his atmospheric soundscapes and textured production. With acclaimed releases on Kompakt and Echocord, including Close Selections, Victimizer, and Peaks and Troughs he’s cemented his place as one of Denmark’s most distinctive electronic artists. Here he continues to dispay this further diving into new sonic realms with a new EP for Echocord.
Title-track ‘Rebuild’ opens, a hazy excursion through metallic, reverberations, expansive atmospherics and crisp drums before Detroit’s own Luke Hess steps in to offer his interpretation, delivering his signature groove-driven style, extracting the essence of the original and stirring it in amongst robust drums and spiralling dub echoes. ‘Bend’ is up next and displaying Mikkel’s production prowess as he blends murky bass flutters and analogue rhythms with psychedelic guitar melodies and dynamic space echoes, resulting in something that sounds uniquely his own. ‘Steam’ continues this theme with further psychedelia infused guitar tones flowing alongside breathy vocal stylings and fluttering atmospherics tucked into the depths. Rotterdam, Netherlands based artist Frenk Dublin delivers his ‘Deep Space Rework’ of ‘Stream next, reshaping the original into something entirely different with a dropped-tempo roots dub aesthetic, weaving fragments of the original into the composition alongside swaying dub drums and heavy doses of sub. ‘Midnite’ then concludes the release, another experimental sonic foray into unique effect processing, glitched out percussion, haunting vocals, plucked bass notes and expansive atmospherics

Strong one on Voyage Direct from Rotterdam's Benny Rodrigues...TIP!

The label say "Benny Rodrigues seems to delight in confounding critics. Since making his debut alongside Darko Esser with 2007's Underwater Records-­-released 'Paradox', the Rotterdam-­-based DJ has surprised and excited at every turn.

Variously delivering woozy tech-­-house, rave revivalism, stripped-­-back minimal, jackin' acid, wide-­-eyed deep house and, under his occasional ROD alias, shirts-­-off warehouse techno. Along the way, he's released music on some of Europe's most prestigious labels, including Desolat, Soma, EC Records, Be As One and Wolfskuil Records.

Here, he makes his debut for Tom Trago's Voyage Direct imprint with two undulating, hypnotic, heads-­-down tracks that blur the boundaries between house and techno. Rhythmically loose but impressively tough - like all of Rodrigues' best productions - both cuts are built around mesmerising late night grooves and intoxicating chords.

'Master French' kicks things off, lacing nagging shakers, subtle synth strings and fluttering chords over a robust, shuffling tech-­-house groove. Rodrigues works the mix like a master, bringing elements to the fore before sliding them into the background. It's a simple, heads-­-down, 4am groove, but it's executed brilliantly.

'Z', on the other hand, is an altogether breezier affair, with repetitive, new age-­- inspired synthesizer melodies seemingly drifting over a rock solid house groove. Notable ride cymbals and warm beats proper the track forward, giving it a humid, tropical feel. This is music to move the body, mind and soul. "

SPIRIT!, the third LP from HUNNY, is about embracing the weird-an album born from uncertainty and built on instinct. It"s a testament to breaking free, starting over, and tuning out the noise. Now the sole project of longtime frontman Jason Yarger, HUNNY has shed its past shape to become something more fully itself. SPIRIT! doesn"t reinvent the wheel so much as keep it spinning forward. Across 15 tracks, the album-co-produced by Yarger and former bassist Kevin Grimmett with drums by former drummer Joey Anderson-leans into the sounds that have always lit HUNNY"s fuse: hooky post-punk, gleaming synths, and shout-along choruses praised by Alternative Press, Kerrang!, and Rock Sound. But it also pushes further-into abstraction, playfulness, and freedom. It"s the latest turn for HUNNY, a band long celebrated for shapeshifting through genres and decades with style on fan-favorite releases like Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. (2019) and new planet heaven (2023)-always evolving, yet unmistakably themselves. That dynamic energy carries into their high-voltage live show, sharpened on tours with Joywave, Mom Jeans, Waterparks, and State Champs.

Here, Flavien departs from his usual creative process to embrace collaboration—because plouf! (Léviathan) is also the story of a dive, his first collective adventure with musicians he had always dreamed of working with: Michelle Blades (guitar), Kiala Ogawa (keys), Akemi Fujimori (bass), Cédric Laban (drums), and Thibaud Merle (winds).



Reworking these songs is a way of revisiting forgotten musical landscapes, shedding new light on them with a different perspective. It’s about transforming a solitary electronic record into a collective piece by exploring new textures and instrumental approaches.



With this album, Flavien Berger uses his early tracks as raw material—as if the 2015 Léviathan were now a kind of demo from which to extract the essence and create something entirely new. The project, like the music that drives it, is rooted in the idea of reinvention.



The result is a fresh sonic exploration where Léviathan’s tracks take on new forms—some staying true to their original versions, others completely reimagined, blending past and present.

Where maturity evolves into a signature sound, the personal and musical journey becomes one. Chromadelia by Italian producer and live artist Ness refines two decades of precision and craft. It is techno reduced to its core logic - direct, functional, and self-aware. Ness' process moves from spontaneous jams to detailed sculpting, a continuous sequence where improvisation gradually becomes structure. Randomness plays a role, but only as the foundation for his architecture. The result is music that feels both deliberate and fluid, shaped by intuition and refined through years of practice. Minimalism here isn't merely an aesthetic choice, but an organic conclusion -- drawn from experience and the trust that less can truly reveal more. The four tracks on Chromadelia extend this clarity onto the dance floor: sharp, beepy, metallic, rhythmically charged, yet open enough to let each element breathe. Introspection and club-functionality coexist seamlessly, each amplifying the other. In Chromadelia, Ness demonstrates that every tone, every pulse serves a purpose, offering a clear reflection of an artist who has learned to let precision speak louder than complexity.

5 Year Anniversary of Jme's follow up to Integrity; a release like no other.......over half a dozen videos, an exclusive cinema screening tour, which had a physical only release launch featuring various limited formats and much more.....the rules of a 'release' were broken once again.
Features on the album include Skepta, Giggs, Wiley, P Money, Big Zuu, Shakka, President T and Merky Ace whilst production comes from the likes of Preditah, Tre Mission, S-X, Blay Vision, Lewi B, Splurt Diablo, Deeco and of course Jme himself.

Kiss Klassics shows no sign of slowing down – putting dance & R&B classics on 45 for the first time ever – here we go for Gusto’s dancefloor banger from 1995 which sampled Harvey Mason’s disco classic “Groovin’ You” which in turn gets the 45 edit treatment by Wales’ one and only Super Twitcher, Sam Tweaks – it’s Tweakin’ Ace!!

Childhood Intelligence’s 18th release by ADSR aka. Todd Nickolas & Dominic Paterson from Toronto, Canada. The 2x12” album presents mostly tracks written and produced by Todd, with A1/D1 being in collaboration with Paterson. "Give a teenager in a rural Canadian setting an analog synthesizer, a drum machine and a four-track cassette recorder and feed him a steady diet of 80s EBM, Post-Punk, Synthpop, Electro, Dub, Acid, Hip Hop and House, and you’ll get the kind of genre melding electronic-based music that Todd Nickolas has been known for since his early days of writing and producing." The end result is a versatile one, with “Passive Articulation” presenting abstract Techno - House - Electro visions, and fusing all the elements of vintage Intelligent Dance Music that we cherish so much: warm basslines, beautiful chord progressions, diverse and surprising arrangements infused with haunting melodies, hypnotic cyber sounds, detached vocal cuts and dubbed percussion.…Overall fresh & timeless classiness for the present, past & future.

Recorded various locations New Hamburg, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles. ADSR greatly thanks those who were there from the start, those who joined along the journey and those here now.

Another excellent find here, an unreleased dub/instrumental album compiled by Lloydie Slim at the end of the 70s, featuring exclusive dubwise & instrumental cuts to many of his rhythms from earlier in the decade. As a bonus we've added 2 more tracks to the original 10 track album tape - the vocal & dub cuts to Johnny Clarke's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", one of Slim's personal favorites of his productions. This single was originally released in 1975 in JA on his Don One label, and again in New York a few years later on his namesake Ivanhoe the Conqueror label. This album is a great listen which reminds us of the classic Channel 1 Revolutionaries instrumentals of the mid/late 70s.

Alpenglühen starts 2026 with two close friends working together in the 11th one
Atàvic is the collaborative project between Estrato Aurora and Absis, merging two distinct yet complementary approaches to electronic music. The project is rooted in texture, atmosphere, and subtle narrative, allowing sound to evolve organically and without excess.
They together bring a refined sense of space and detail, working with ambient layers, restrained rhythms, and melodic fragments that unfold slowly. Here is a 4 track release with a more tactile and material approach, focusing on timbre, resonance, and sonic density, blurring the line between abstraction and structure.
The alignment between Atàvic and the label lies in a shared appreciation for subtlety, patience, and sonic storytelling, where each release is conceived as a complete and meaningful statement.
With this reference, Atàvic contributes a work that resonates with alpenglühen’s aesthetic ethos while reinforcing the collaborative project’s own identity: music that invites close listening and reveals its nuances slowly.
If you’re looking for a peak-time, dancefloor-driven banger to keep you moving until sunrise, this is not that record.
But if you’re after a mind-blowing experience that challenges and expands your listening (and dancings), this one’s for you. Don’t overthink it.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most celebrated musicals of all time, and this original London cast recording from 1986 remains the definitive recording. Michael Crawford’s Tony Award-winning performance as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman’s portrayal of Christine Daaé helped make this the best-selling cast recording in history. Re-issued for the first time in decades, this classic album brings the unforgettable score to a new generation of listeners. From the title song to “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You,” every track reflects the power and beauty that continue to make The Phantom of the Opera a global phenomenon nearly forty years after its debut. Since its premiere, The Phantom of the Opera has been seen by more than 160 million people in 195 cities and has received over 70 major theatre awards. It holds the record as the longest-running show in Broadway history and was the first British musical to debut at number one on the music charts. The recording has been certified Platinum in six countries.

Groggy, engrossing new work from Ulla under their newly minted U.e. tag, riffing to the sublime on a set of (mostly) acoustic reveries that tap into the kind of smokey vapours favoured by the likes of Vincent Gallo, Voice Actor, Jonnine.

A new year, label, album and handle for Ulla, a multifaceted artist who has draped our pages with wonder, under numerous aliases and collabs, for almost a decade. On ‘Hometown Girl’ they distill transience and flux into a quiet set of chamber works subtly resembling the room recorded nuance of their ‘Jazz Plates’ side with Perila - here taken a step further into more elusive, low-lit dimensions.

In a mode that’s wistful and melancholic, listening to the album’s dozen discrete pieces feels like leafing thru a journal of hand-written notes, reflecting on the feelings that come with separation from loved ones and displacement from familiarity. Ulla performed and recorded all of the instruments themselves, lending a tangible tactility to layered arrangements of woodwind, keys, strings, drums and voice, lightly speckled with electronics and perfused with open window field recordings.

They locate a crackling frisson of personality in the voice notes and day-dreaminess of their mottled inscapes, gauzily demarcating lines between past and present selves. In that aesthetic and approach we can also hear similarities to Jonnine’s blue-skied ‘Southside Girl’ or crys cole’s poetic sensuality, often leaning into the domestic surreal.

A frayed, opening salutation ‘Good Morning’ signals a delirious half hour in Ulla’s company, variously swaying to the downstroked jazz swing of a ‘Lavender (NF)’ spritzed with clarinet, whilst ‘Froggy Explorer’ stirs the air like Jan Jelinek on a barely-there tip. The Basinski-esque fritz of degraded loops really snags the imagination along with a twinkling nightlight ‘Ball’, as the album opens out into its most fully resolved songs with a closing couplet of disarming wonders ‘Drawing of Me’, and a blurry ‘Mute’ that feels like Ulla 〜almost〜 reveals too much before retreating back into the shadows.

"Eau" is the lovely new album from aus, the solo project of Tokyo-born composer and producer Yasuhiko Fukuzono, who has gained attention, in Japan and overseas, for his thoughtfully paced and sensitively skillful music as well as his intriguing sound design for exhibitions and experimental cinema. Having worked primarily with keyboards and electronic sound up to this point, "Eau" is a slight yet fascinating shift for aus; the album, while still primarily an electronic work, revolves around the sonic world of a stringed acoustic sound source, the koto, that most characteristically Japanese of musical instruments. The very accomplished Eden Okuno provides the delicate-yet-rich koto sounds on offer here; Fukuzono, in the liner notes, acknowledges the importance of Okuno's artistry to the project.

The compositions on the album are designed to balance the sound of the koto, with its subtly variable attack and flickering resonance, with the timbre of other instruments. The delicate decay and metrical flexibility of the koto is enveloped by sustained synthesizer sounds and contrapuntally constructed piano melodies, creating a flowing ambience with absorbing undercurrents, a languid and liquid quality that reveals the suitability of the title.

Avid fans of contemporary Japanese music might hear the influence of pioneering works such as the the 1979 Hiroshi Yoshimura composition "Clouds for Alma", realized by koto player Tadao Sawai, and the 1993 album "Koto Vortex I: Works by Hiroshi Yoshimura" which featured performances of Yoshimura's works by the Japanese koto quartet Koto Vortex. These works attempted to remove the koto from its traditional context and place it within the context of ambient and techno. "Eau" is available on CD/LP/cassette/digital, with E/J liner notes by aus. "Eau" is the first collaborative release by EM Records and FLAU, the label run by Yasuhiko Fukuzono (aus).

Blues and Soul Award winner and double MOBO Awards nominee Ronnie Herel is back with his 2nd volume of his excellent compilation series Neo-Soul Sessions. Ronnie, a massively important figure in the UK Black music scene, is a radio presenter with Mi Soul and includes BBC 1xtra in his broadcasting credits. He is a DJ of international renown and was one half of the Quartz production duo which scored memorable hits with Dina Carroll. His undisputed love for and knowledge of the Neo-Soul genre shines through in the Neo-Soul Sessions and this latest, volume 2, is no exception. Featuring tracks from artists such as Vula, Terri Walker, Aname Rose and Slakah the Beatchild, among others, Neo-Soul Sessions volume 2 is a brilliantly curated and pieced together selection of twelve tracks that absolutely nails the beauty of the later releases in the Neo-Soul genre. Played from start to finish the track selection and order is a pre-made DJ set that flows in a way that would soundtrack a dancefloor, a house party and an excellent backdrop of tunes for any time and day of the week. Ronnie's passion for championing independent artists is also evident in his selections here and the compilation serves as a platform for those voices who deserve to break through. The decision to choose six of his favourite tracks to sit alongside six exclusive and unreleased gems means that a light is now shined on every artist featured on the compilation. An absolute must for serious lovers of Neo-Soul, RnB and Black Music, Neo-Soul Sessions volume 2 is released on double vinyl LP and CD formats.

For over six decades, Charlemagne Palestine (b. 1947, New York) has been a pioneering composer, performer, and multimedia artist, celebrated for his ecstatic sonic explorations and ritualistic, metaphysical performances. Emerging from the cross-disciplinary New York art scene of the 1960s and ’70s, he helped shape a heretical edge of minimalism alongside figures like Conrad, Riley, Niblock, and Glass. Trained as a Jewish cantor and later as the carillonneur at St. Thomas Church, Palestine cultivated a deep fascination with resonance and overtone—an obsession that evolved through his use of percussion, early synthesizers, and monumental piano works, influencing artists from John Cale to Nick Cave.

Animated by a spirit of ecstatic play and what he calls his »meschugge« (Yiddish for »crazy«) sensibility, Palestine’s universe blends the sacred and the absurd, filled with soft toys, ritual gestures, and immersive sound environments. Rejecting the »minimalist« label in favor of a maximalist, »spontanimalist« approach, he creates long-form, resonant performances that transform spaces into vibrating, living organisms—opening portals into the nature of time, sound, and devotion.

In the same vein, the aptly titled live record »The Organ is the World’s Greatest Synthesizer« – performed during the Sonic Acts Festival at Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk in 2025, and taking its title and cover art from a drawing realized by Palestine himself during the concert – adds to his opaque yet vibrant personal mythology and intimate transcendence, marking a return to the Staalplaat catalog after »Fffroggssichorddd« (2020) and »Music for Big Ears« (2001).

Beginning with a resonating bell and his falsetto overtone singing, then surrendering to the endless, wild soundscapes of tone-feeling and beat frequencies generated by the church’s organ, across 40+ minutes, single sound sources evolve into clusters, entangle fully with one another, and establish their own spatial existence and aural architectures. We witness the traces of something that can be described as a perpetual performance, a test for the ever-changing interaction between artist, instrument, space and, ultimately, us.

Since Palestine has always defined his execution as a form of anti-composition - of simply »being in the music« as if inhabiting a space - the true power of »The Organ is the World’s Greatest Synthesizer« lies in encapsulating a moment of Palestine’s practice in its most authentic, live dimension. Sound becomes at once subtle substance and strange telluric force, animating physical forms from some unknown channel beyond and within, accessible only through our sensorium. The point in this liminal temple of tone, timbre and frequency is not to learn anything but to simply enter. Palestine earns once again his self-given title of contemporary shaman by keeping this sonic portal open, allowing us to witness and make it last.

»I have always felt and heard and mixed the sounds in my world as liquids not as solids. Sonic liquids are material that is endlessly transformable. But I’m not crazy about people who go around defining stuff.«

First Word Records are proud to bring you 'Penny Ballads', a 5-track EP from Royce Wood Junior. Royce Wood Junior is a Grammy & Mercury Award-nominated musician, songwriter and record producer from London, currently based in Brighton. As a multi-instrumentalist, he's collaborated with a litany of brilliant artists over the years, such as Jamie Woon, Nao, Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Olivia Dean, Joy Crookes, Jamie Lidell and Jordan Rakei, additionally to touring with the likes of the legendary Thomas Dolby. He's released two acclaimed solo albums to date ('The Ashen Tang' in 2015, and 'No Two Blue Ticks' in 2021). 'Penny Ballads' demonstrates RWJ's varied talents, with a collection of alternative soul compositions, each one as unique as the next. It includes the first two singles, the Poplife-Prince era flavoured 'Go Get Your Money', and the double-time future funk adrenaline shot, 'Clean Up', along with three previously-unreleased tracks. 'Beretta' is low-slung soul funk, beginning with quirky squelchy synths, before the soulful lead vocal of feature artist Lucey Way breezes in to melt everyone's hearts. 'Things' sweeps in next, an infectiously soulful midtempo heavy soul bop, with an instant earwork of a hook, like a modern-day Steely Dan / Doobie Brothers, complete with a head-nodding string section to end the track. The collection concludes on a more melancholy downtempo tip with 'Rolling'; an almost-folktronic anthem, with a key refrain that wouldn't be out of place on a 70's Stevie piece. RWJ (aka Jim Wood) says of this project… "Back in the 17 and 1800's Troubadours and minstrels would go from Tavern to Tavern selling Penny Ballads, single sheets of music and lyrics written quickly and frivolously to make a quick buck.. It strikes me that we're in a similar phase in the way we value music in 2025. An old Penny Ballad was cheap and dog-eared, ink-smudged, sung aloud by firelight, Now songs live in the digital ether, dissolved in the air, a ghostly breath paid in micro cents. The new era of Penny Balladry is here, and weird. This EP is a snapshot of my writing over a two year period. Focussed on minimal recording styles, one mic on the drums, generally first or second takes on parts and vocals, I wanted the music to feel like small moments with lyrics that talk about the weird nuances of being alive as a latter stage human on the cusp of the Ai revolution. Culturally so evolved, but physiologically still just a bunch of mammals walking about with primitive fears and needs. Just trying to reconcile it all moment to moment…" Previous support for Royce's music has included Radio 1's Future Sounds, BBC 6 Music's New Music Fix, Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Jo Whiley (BBC Radio 2), Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Tom Robinson, Huw Stephens (BBC 6 Music), Zane Lowe and MistaJam. There have been sessions previously for the likes of Red Bull and press from Huck, Line of Best Fit, Clash, Aesthetica & DIY magazine. Entirely self-written and self-produced, this EP gives a solid taste of RWJ's talents. A deeply funky diverse set of music from an immensely talented individual. 'Penny Ballads' is due to be released on vinyl & digital, 24th October 2025. The vinyl version also includes an exclusive additional mix of the first single 'Go Get Your Money'. TRACKLIST: 01: Clean Up (EP Mix) 02: Go Get Your Money 03: Beretta (feat. Lucey Way) 04: Things 05: Rolling 06: Go Get Your Money (B-Sharp Mix) Deconstructed Mixes

Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse release their 2024 debut full length album on vinyl now!. Led by the famed former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno (5/17/1958 - 10/21/2024)! Speaking about the album Paul Di'Anno said, "I'm looking forward to the release of 'Warhorse' and I hope you like it. By my standards, too much time has passed since the recording of this album and I can't wait to finally have this record in my hands." Warhorse members Hrvoje Madiraca and Ante Pupacic Pupi commented "Are you ready - Ready to rock? 'Cause we are ready - Ready to rock! As the song says! Enjoy the album, cheers!" The debut Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse album, called 'Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse', was recorded during 2022 and 2023 in Croatia and the UK... Paul sings like never before and in a way that will surprise and leave all his fans speechless, as well as heavy metal fans in general.

Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse release their 2024 debut full length album on vinyl now!. Led by the famed former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno (5/17/1958 - 10/21/2024)! Speaking about the album Paul Di'Anno said, "I'm looking forward to the release of 'Warhorse' and I hope you like it. By my standards, too much time has passed since the recording of this album and I can't wait to finally have this record in my hands." Warhorse members Hrvoje Madiraca and Ante Pupacic Pupi commented "Are you ready - Ready to rock? 'Cause we are ready - Ready to rock! As the song says! Enjoy the album, cheers!" The debut Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse album, called 'Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse', was recorded during 2022 and 2023 in Croatia and the UK... Paul sings like never before and in a way that will surprise and leave all his fans speechless, as well as heavy metal fans in general.

Die Musik von Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak) und Daniel Pemberton für den Film Eddington auf rot-blauem Split-Vinyl. Mit Original-Artwork von Matt McCormick. Kommt mit einem ,Keep Honking"-Autoaufkleber. Eddington ist eine schwarze Komödie und ein moderner Horror-Western von Ari Aster. Der Film mit Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler und Joaquin Phoenix in den Hauptrollen spielt in einer Kleinstadt in New Mexico während der Corona-Pandemie. Der Film feierte im Mai 2025 bei den Internationalen Filmfestspielen in Cannes seine Premiere und wurde dort für die Goldene Palme nominiert und kam im Juli 2025 in die US-amerikanischen und im November 2025 in die deutschen Kinos.

The Just Joans' new album Romantic Visions of Scotland finds the Glasgow band in characteristically melancholic form, pairing shambling indie pop with sharp observations on romantic pratfalls and everyday dis-appointments, all delivered with sardonic Scottish wit, fronted by siblings David and Katie Pope, whose wry lyrics and heartfelt vocals remain at the heart of the band’s distinctive sound.
Originally inspired by a grandiose exhibition title spotted on Glasgow buses in 2019 for a show at the Nation-al Museum of Scotland called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland, the new album arrives six years later as a collection of semi-autobiographical snapshots from the Central Belt of Scotland. Whilst some of the details have been exaggerated for comic (or tragic) effect, the songs are based on personal experience of mundane failings, bitter regrets and missed opportunities that make up an unremarkable life.
Recurring themes of nostalgia for a bygone era and the fear of being left behind by lovers, friends and peers run throughout the album. Musically and lyrically, the band channels Village Green-era Kinks, with nods to The Television Personalities, The Smiths and Dolly Mixture.
In the past they have always recorded by themselves in a variety of bedrooms, living rooms – and the occasional toilet. For the first time they have abandoned their DIY recording practices to create what songwriter David Pope calls, “a corporate behemoth in an actual studio.” The album was recorded at Chem19 in Blan-tyre with Paul Savage, who is best known as a founding member of local legends The Delgados. He has also produced and recorded the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and Camera Obscura, and has captured a slightly more muscular version of the band while retaining their ramshackle charm.
The album artwork by vocalist and painter Katie Pope depicts Motherwell Train Station – an ordinary, boring place that speaks to the subject matter of the songs, but with a hint of potential escape. As David Pope ex-plains, “For me, the painting reminds me of the ending of Billy Liar in which Billy tries and fails to leave his hometown for the bright lights of London. Half the band also live in Motherwell, so it seemed appropriate.”
Funded by Creative Scotland, the recording allowed the band to bring in bass and cello arrangements, adding depth and a sheen of musical proficiency to their signature sound.
About The Just Joans - The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Early demos were collected together and released as a loose concept album, Last Tango in Motherwell, in 2006. Chris Elkin joined on guitar and was followed shortly after by David’s younger sister, Katie, on vocals and Fraser Ford on bass. Over the years they have released EPs and albums on WeePOP! and Fika Records and have gained a cult following as Scottish pop miserabilists.
The current line-up consists of Katie Pope (vocals), David Pope (vocals, guitar), Chris Elkin (lead guitar), Fraser Ford (bass), Arion Xenos (keyboards) and Jason Sweeney (drums).
Press Quotes:
“They fit snugly into the scratchy, low budget Scottish indie tradition of The Delgados and Arab Strap… There’s mischief in this miserabilism.” - Mojo 4*s
“Glasgow’s The Just Joans have documented the romantic pratfalls of a generation of indie kids with sardonic wit and a shambling musical style where Stephin Merrit lies down with The Vaselines.” - Uncut
“Funny and sad, it’s the kind of song that made Red House Painters, The Magnetic Fields and The Wedding Present’s early albums so easy to embrace; an unpretentious sharing of relatable gloom.” - Record Collector

To mark what would have been Mikis Theodorakis' 100th birthday in 2025, Intuition released a very special album: 'Lost Songs' - fourteen previously unpublished compositions by the world-renowned Greek composer, presented here for the first time in a remarkable solo piano version by German pianist Henning Schmiedt. A remarkable moment took place in 2009 at Mikis Theodorakis' studio in Athens: Henning Schmiedt personally played his piano arrangements of the 'Lost Songs' to Theodorakis himself. Some of the melodies sparked the composer's memory, while others did not - but he listened attentively, offered comments and gave guidance that directly influenced the final versions of the pieces.

As such, 'Lost Songs' can be considered a posthumous release with the composer's blessing. These pieces offer a glimpse into Theodorakis' expressive power and artistic maturity from a very young age - most of the 'Lost Songs' were written in the early 1940s and provide a compelling window into the formative years of one of the most important composers of the 20th century.

'Lost Songs' is available on 180g vinyl and digipak CD editions.