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Agathe Plaisance, a self-taught visual artist and musician, creates a universe where the softness of folk origins gradually metamorphoses, giving way to sonic explorations that push the door open to other worlds. Her light-and-dark electronic pop plunges us into her inner world, with deeply intimate lyrics about illness, addiction, the relationship with oneself and with others. The Lynchian atmosphere created by the synth layers surround an ethereal voice, echoing the work of artists such as Cat Power and Mazzy Star. Through a live performance of continuous tension, the woman in the making explores herself and seeks to transcend her pain in order to reinvent herself. With this new album, Agathe Plaisance delivers an intense and introspective work, born from a period of deep depression. She explores with honesty her anger, losses, fears, and addictions, while also casting a clear-eyed gaze on those of others. Despite the darkness that runs through the record, glimpses of hope, love, and light begin to surface, offering a path toward healing. Deep Rest is more than just a title - it's a metaphor, a play of shadow and light at the heart of the project. The artist transforms pain into a tool for reinvention. Her folk beginnings gradually give way to more electronic and experimental sounds - a shift that mirrors her personal rebirth.

French artist based in Brussels, Che Vuoi presents her first album Cinecittàx, a nod to the great Italian studio, and a tribute to false dreams.

A theatre at the back of a run-down piano bar, where surreal and intimate scenes unfold; words and stories drawn from disparate sources: Fellini, G. Réal, Diderot... or written by herself, spoken, shouted or barely whispered by an altered voice.


Noises, samples, a drum machine, a brush on a snare drum, a piano spinning round and round until it reaches delirium and its own abolition, leaving us suspended in a constant in-between or a time that never truly existed.



« This voice, gentle, mad, with lightning verve, tells between the lines and the echoes the presence of threatening shadows and ghosts. And it is Che Vuoi, her character, her world of images, that haunts us. It is a strange bewitchment that carries us beyond the words she has freed from "the stationery I stole from Bellavista the other night" ("le papier à lettre que j’ai chipé au Bellavista l’autre soir") into the lair of her universe, as whimsical as it is silky in which we let ourselves slip, as one would slip over the rock of an esoteric river, in the heart of a forest that makes music and has delirious things to tell us. »

Sierra Levesque is a 20-year-old, award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who is rapidly establishing herself as one of rock’s most
exciting rising stars. Gen Z’s Most Ambitious New Guitarist” and named among “10 Young Shredders Shaping Rock and Metal Today,” Sierra Levesque has also been prominently and in Guitar World Magazine, which declares she “stakes a claim as the future of rock ’n’ roll.” Her sound is a fusion of pop, rock, and metal,
drawing inspiration from legendary artists such as Avril Lavigne, Heart, Joan Jett, and Scorpions.

With a rapidly expanding global fanbase, Sierra has
amassed over 2 million Spotify streams, 450,000+ music video views, and 250,000+ social media followers. Sierra’s growing list of accolades includes winning four MyFM Spirit Awards for “Best Local Musician,” being a finalist for 'Artist of the Year' at the 2024 Ottawa Awards, earning a nomination for 'Song of the Year' at the 2025 Ottawa Awards, and receiving the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal for her outstanding contributions to the arts. Sierra Levesque’s debut album NEW GENERATION delivers 13 original, self-recorded tracks that blend powerful guitar riffs, evocative storytelling, and rebellious energy—establishing her as one of the most exciting young artists shaping the future of rock.

Drawing from her constant searching for her own unique sound she filters her love of rhythm and groove through her Nordic sensibility to create an accessible, compelling blend of excitement and introspection. Growing up on the island of Saaremaa in her native Estonia, Britta Virves was a keen piano student playing a strictly classical repertoire. A chance encounter introduced her to jazz: "I wanted to learn guitar. So I went to my teacher Tit Paulus, and he told me to stay with piano, and introduced me to Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans - my mind was blown - a new world opened up." Britta immersed herself in the music and her talent soon attracted attention.

Moving to Sweden to further her studies, she was soon touring Europe with the acclaimed Norrbotten Big Band, under the direction of Joakim Milder, working closely with featured guest vocalist Genevieve Artadi and accompanying Artadi on a duo tour opening for Louis Cole. Each tune on the album draws inspiration from an aspect of Britta's own life. "Simple Things" has the directness of a pop song married to the depth of jazz, as Genevieve Artadi's ethereal vocals float over an insistent backbeat that supports limpid depths of harmony.Other tracks include "Bravery", whoch showcases the subtlety and dynamic control of the rhythm team and is one of Britta's favorite tracks on the album - "I feel it's like a big waterfall that's rushing down and making its path just by flowing naturally." By contrast, "Chances" plays with a neatly delivered set of accents that tie the roots effortlessly

Following their two previous releases, the group--led by the charismatic vocalist Ms. Kennedy and her brilliant musical partner Ondre J (known as Gregory Porter's longtime Hammond organist) - presents a work that fuses funk, soul, and jazz with gripping pop songs and heartfelt ballads, all driven by groove, depth, and Ms. Kennedy's unmistakable voice. The album will be released on CD and LP via Leopard Records. Born from genuine conversations, spontaneous ideas, and a desire to move people through authenticity, 'Humanity' was recorded in the band's Brooklyn home base. The album tells stories of joy and sorrow, self- doubt and self- love, loneliness and connection.

With 'Humanity', Kennedy Administration deliver a record that feels like a soul party, an embrace, and an existential reflection all at once. It's music for overthinkers, outsiders, smartphone scrollers, dancers, and anyone who wants to feel a little less alone. Highlights include Mark Lettieri's (Snarky Puppy) fiery guitar solo and a moving duet with US gospel singer Doobie Powell. Having herself overcome a period of homelessness during the pandemic and rediscovered her voice through music, Ms. Kennedy turns this album into a profoundly personal yet universal statement.

"As iconic as she was discreet, Françoise Hardy established herself in the '60s as a major artist in the genre of ""French chanson."" Her voice, songwriting, and ability to surround herself with talented collaborators helped her seduce the whole world and, over the decades, shape a discography of the highest caliber.
This brand-new Best Of compilation is the very first to cover Françoise Hardy’s entire career, spanning from her 1962 debut to her final recordings in 2018. Featuring a timeless 1960s-inspired cover, it brings together her most iconic songs, from early classics like ""Tous les garçons et les filles"" and ""Le temps de l’amour"" to signature hits such as ""Comment te dire adieu"" (a streaming and sync favorite), ""Message personnel,"" the viral sensation ""Voilà"" (#1 viral hit, with over 300k TikTok creations), and ""Le large."""

"As iconic as she was discreet, Françoise Hardy established herself in the '60s as a major artist in the genre of ""French chanson."" Her voice, songwriting, and ability to surround herself with talented collaborators helped her seduce the whole world and, over the decades, shape a discography of the highest caliber.
This brand-new Best Of compilation is the very first to cover Françoise Hardy’s entire career, spanning from her 1962 debut to her final recordings in 2018. Featuring a timeless 1960s-inspired cover, it brings together her most iconic songs, from early classics like ""Tous les garçons et les filles"" and ""Le temps de l’amour"" to signature hits such as ""Comment te dire adieu"" (a streaming and sync favorite), ""Message personnel,"" the viral sensation ""Voilà"" (#1 viral hit, with over 300k TikTok creations), and ""Le large."""

Toyah’s 1991 solo album Ophelia's Shadow is issued on limited edition picture disc vinyl for the first time ever.

The picture disc features colour images on each side of the vinyl and is housed in special die-cut vinyl outer sleeves containing previously unseen colour photography from the album shoot.

A personal favourite album of her catalogue, Toyah confirms: “Above all, this is the one album I have made that truly represents me. I’m fiercely proud of it. Ophelia’s Shadow is not just a record, it’s a reflection of who I was, who I am, and who I continue to become. It’s the sound of resilience, reinvention, and raw truth.”

The album features a band line-up including Trey Gunn on stick, Paul Beavis on drums and Tony Geballe on guitar. Two tracks, Brilliant Day and Lords Of The Never Known feature Robert Fripp on guitar and were originally played live by Sunday All Over The World, the band Toyah & Robert Fripp toured and recorded with in the late 1980s.

Following releases on Longform Editions and her own Paralaxe imprint, Dania descends on Somewhere Press with crepuscular, quixotic pop that hits a sweet spot between Mark Clifford’s Cocteau Twins remixes and Massive Attack.

Parked next to Alliyah Enyo, Slowfoam, and Angel R, Dania’s found an ideal home at Somewhere Press, and »Listless« is her most confident, transcendent set to date. Her last few albums were steeped in meaning – a way for the Iraq-born, Tasmania-raised artist to explore her identity and probe the impacts of colonisation. Here, she gives herself more room to breathe, thriving in the mysteries of nighttime – a direct reference to her nocturnal existence as an emergency doctor in Australia. The album was completely composed in the midnight hours, but it’s not self-consciously dark in the way you might expect. Opening track »On a Grassy Knoll« is one of the prettiest – and poppiest – tracks Dania has released, cracking open her voice with thrumming harmonies that she complements with granulated, Guthrie-esque guitars and, most unexpectedly, half-speed drums. It’s the first time Dania’s used percussion, and it suits her extremely well.

In fact, even when the powdery breaks drop away in the album’s final breaths, you can almost hear an outline of where they might remain. On »Write My Name«, Dania loops her voice between waved strings and slippery piano phrases, and the hypnotic closer »A Hunger« is a thudding, sub-heavy 4/4 away from being Peak Oil-style contemporary dub techno.

But the big draw here is Dania’s batch of hazy dream-pop miniatures, like the Seefeel-adjacent »Heart Shaped Burn« (with Rupert Clervaux on drums), and the Bristolian »Car Crash Premonition«, that features a rolling bassline taking us right back to 1998. Very strong – peak listening if you’re into Bowery Electric, MBV, or Mark Van Hoen.

“In a concert, I show something with a beginning, a middle and an end. But, there is no end. Of course, there is no end. Because I am the music, and I am still here.” - Sophie Agnel

‘Learning’ - Sophie Agnel’s first solo LP, feels like the dark, physical inversion of her excellent ‘Song’ which came out on Relative Pitch earlier this year. Sinking her unique sound into vinyl for the first time, the LP arrives as Agnel recovers from a brain tumour - a shocking discovery that will require Agnel to start again with the piano. It’s a terrifying prospect, but Agnel has been here before, having reorientated herself almost entirely away from her early classical training over the last 4 decades of her work.

‘When I was young I had very good ears, oriole absolute. Then later I began to make strange sounds with my piano, to do different kinds of music. I was more interested in the sounds than the melody, for example. I remember once I sat down in a shop to try to read the scores of Schubert and there was a light emitting a very strong bzzzzzzz. And I couldn't listen to my oriole internal - I couldn't read the score. I was entirely subjugated by the sound of the light. And I understood that something had changed. Ten years before I could read and not hear the light. Now I understood that my ears were completely different. I was more open to the sounds of life.”

Born in Paris in the 60’s and playing her parents piano as soon as she could stand up, Agnel quickly grew tired of the classical world. What frustrated her was the strange disconnect between the frame of the piano and its keyboard - a weird boundary that seemed to form some hushed code of etiquette. “The first thing I put inside the piano was a plastic goblet. I’d seen a few pianists do it: Fred Van Hove, for example, put rubber balls inside his. But what didn’t appeal to me was that there seemed to be no link between the pianos outside and inside.”If you see Agnel play now, the body of her piano is littered with fish tins, ping pong balls, wooden blocks - not that you’d recognize their sounds. Having absorbed the language of the European avant-garde, Agnel is known for pulling the piano’s interior outside of itself by tipping her handbag into it. But these ‘strange sounds’ don’t just come from Cage - they also share the poetic force of Cecil Taylor and ‘Learning’ demonstrates that Agnel’s work on the piano's keyboard is just as important as what she’s littered on its strings. The record lets loose her ability to unleash a formidable sound mass and then rope it back to one single, clarifying note. With one hand, Agnel plays 88 tuned drums and on the other an enormous guitar - with the LP rotating through oncoming trains, and blues harmonica and feedback. It’s single minded stuff, borne out of a dedication to a wholly personal language of gesture, accumulation and deft reduction. “Maybe when I’m 80 I will not need anything,” Agnel says in a recent film made at her home. “I will do the same but with one note, and one finger. Maybe it's enough.”

‘Learning’ arrives in a reverse board sleeve designed by Jereon Wille. Recorded live at Cafe OTO by Billy Steiger on 6th June 2023 and 4th June 2024. Mixed by James Dunn and Benjamin Pagier. Side B edited by Benjamin Pagier. Mastered and cut by Loop-O. Front photograph by Aimé Agnel. Typography and layout by Jeroen Wille.

The next instalment in the classic DJ-Kicks series is a selection of rapturous house, blissed-out breaks, and transcendent rave from the high priestess of the motherbeat herself, Chicago"s Eris Drew. DJ, producer, musician, long-time resident at Chicago"s Smartbar, and co-creator of the T4T LUV NRG party and label, Eris Drew has been DJing since the early 90s, and has since taken her ecstatic house and high-energy, uncompromising mixing style to clubs, raves, and festivals worldwide. Eris" DJ-Kicks mix is 79 minutes of, as she puts it "the funky, emotional, ecstatic house-and-breaks backbone that defines my sound", and includes tracks, remixes, and exclusives by Moby, Calisto, DJ Garth, Onionz, DJ Who, Kair, Hoof, and Toka Project, as well as from Eris herself and partner Octo Octa. The result of countless hours of digging, her selection delves into the rattling breaks, rave stabs, and haunting strings of classic and lost "90s hybrid house-and-breaks jams, and matches them with more recent digs, the mix moving back and forth between emotive, bittersweet, and evocative, to raw, tough, and twisted with consummate ease.

Halina Rice is a London-based electronic music artist known for her groundbreaking approach to music production and live performance.Rice has established herself as a leading figure in the contemporary electronic scene, blending complex soundscapes with immersive visual elements.

Her previous releases have been praised for their innovative use of technology and emotional depth, earning her a dedicated following around the world.

UNREALITY is the latest installment in the NEW WOLRDS series where each track is considered as the creation of a unique environment using textured synths, warped sound design and underpinned by a beat-driven dance sensibility.

Rice has toured the album extensively across the UK and Europe with sold out headline shows as well as festival appearances on the lineup with artists such as Jon Hopkins, Max Cooper and Rival Consoles.

Press coverage for the album includes Mundane Mag, Narc Magazine and previous support for the artist project includes feture length articles in Electronic Sound Magazine, DJ Mag, Mixmag, Decoded, Earmilk and Headphone Commute.

"Rice is part of a frontier movement of like-minded artists who twist, transform and manipulate the hallmarks of electronic dance music and visual accompaniments into exciting new shapes"

Electronic Sound Magazine

"“Veruschka” is a unique film within the Italian cinematic landscape of the early 1970s — halfway between experimental cinema, visual art, and fashion. Directed by photographer Franco Rubartelli, it tells (in a highly symbolic and almost dreamlike way) the story of Veruschka von Lehndorff, the famous model and muse of the director, who plays herself in a journey of inner exploration and alienation through Africa and the world of fashion photography.
It is not a narrative film in the traditional sense, but rather a visual and sensory experience, made of extraordinary imagery, contemplative rhythm, and a constant sense of aesthetic melancholy. And for this very reason, Ennio Morricone’s score plays a fundamental role: it is the true emotional voice of the film.
For Veruschka, Morricone composed one of his most delicate and spiritual works. The soundtrack is a perfect balance between avant- garde and lyricism, between melody and sonic experimentation."

The word "amateur" originates from the Latin word "amator," meaning "lover" or "admirer". This Latin term is derived from "amare," which means "to love". The French adopted "amateur" from Latin, and the English then borrowed it from French, initially retaining the sense of someone who loves or is devoted to something. Over time, the English usage of "amateur" also developed a meaning related to a lack of professional skill or experience. How did a word derived from love become a slur? Is love really so defenseless? They say love conquers all, but in reality isn’t love quite ridiculous? It has no intention, no motive, no agenda. How could it possibly prevail? It can’t be bought or sold, or so they say.Its mere existence can't be proven or even measured. What an impossible thing. Trying and failing, time and time again, no wonder cynicism always seems to win. I see “amateurism” as a delighted, even foolish, protest. Protest against everything. Of what’s expected of someone, or expected of someone to desire or strive for. To be elite, to be expert, to be professional, to be a master, to excel and succeed. Where’s the joy in that? I just want to have fun. I want to want. I want to love. And keep doing it, forever. I want to have fun, even when it’s tiring and sometimes even heaven is boring as hell. I want to be bad. I want to do my own thing. “I vant to be alone”. I want to be someone so dedicated to their passion that it starts to seem like there’s something wrong with them. All the way. We can take it all the way, and never get it back. ” - Molly Nilsson Amateur is the 12th studio album by Molly Nilsson. Deep in the teeth of a career that threatens to tip into something resembling a “legacy,” Molly Nilsson celebrates with an album recorded instinctively, quickly and bursting with so many moments of emotional brilliance and clarity it may be her greatest yet. Hers has been a career spent reaching out, perennially powerful in her earnestness, a warrior ridiculously defenceless and armed with a glittering sincerity. Shearing herself of the machinations of the music industry, recording at home, writing direct to the heart. Amateur is a jubilee for losers. A treatise in 13 songs, Amateur states clearly that we should live our life with eternal curiosity, offers us an open hand of comradeship out of the rat race. The songs on the album are both some of the most personal of Nilsson’s career and the most anthemic. First single How Much Is The World asks us to re-evaluate value in the face of a Neo-liberal system squeezing the life out of our loves. Pulsing opener Die Cry Lie satirises the commercialisation of emotion in the form of a shout-along diss-track. With a pounding rhythm track held down by gorgeous chord changes, heartbreaker Valhalla carries the torch for the main themes of the album: never growing up, making mistakes with kindness, moving on. When the drums crash in on the line “It’s going to get better now, you’ll see, going to be much better off without me” there is a world of feeling swirling about in the vocal delivery. One reading of the track might be that it’s a break up song but the subtext is classic Molly Nilsson: by living truthfully, making mistakes, we’re active agents against the myriad oppressions of the world. All The Way takes the theme for a run into the eternal sunset. It’s a manifesto for living fully. “Take it all the way, and never get it back” - it’s the process that’s the important point. The journey not the destination. Big Life, follows on like a part 2: An ode not only to Molly Nilsson’s career of endless gigs, endless connections with people, it’s a massive ode for following your dreams, doing it yourself. Closer The Bitter End is a powerful anthem for friendship, another definition of love infused in Nilsson’s work, A beautifully poignant ode to comradeship til the end, it seems to be the songwriter approaching aging, approaching life’s inevitability with the same vigour and earnestness, the same love of life she enjoyed at the onset of her career. There are moments on Amateur shrouded in reverb, slightly out of focus, forcing the listener to step deeper into the Mollyverse.. Nilsson’s open-armed beseeching to the world permeates every beat, every chord. These are songs exploding with life: the chunky, aggressive bassline on the punker Get A Life can’t hide its massive, catchy chorus. The sweeping Swedish Nightmare might be a tongue-in-cheek self-reference, but at its heart it’s a song about the duality of living life large, what is a dream, what is a nightmare? Molly Nilsson says you can’t have one without the other, and why would you want to? Here’s to making mistakes.

‘Icon’ is an overused word when it comes to describing singers and musicians, but when it comes to Nina Simone there are few artists that the word describes more accurately. The ‘High Priestess Of Soul’ is surely one of the most iconic singers of the 20th century, and one whose fame and acclaim stretches far beyond conventional black American music circles. 

Nina Simone has featured on Ace and Kent CDs before but this is the first time she’s had one all to herself. “Let It All Out” is the first and only Nina Simone collection to draw repertoire from every label she recorded for between the late 1950s to the late 1970s. 

Not a traditional ‘Best Of’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ package (although the performances included here ARE among her very best, and do include most of her Greatest Hits!) it is a singles collection that presents Nina Simone’s soul and R&B-slanted 45s in chronological order. Invariably they are the definitive versions of the songs, whether she recorded the original versions or not. 

As well as almost all of her American pop and R&B chart hits from 1960 onwards, “Let It All Out” also contains all of Simone’s UK chart hits from the same period – several of which were more successful here than they were back home, including both versions of her biggest British hit ‘Ain’t Got No; I Got Life’, a UK #2 that did not chart at all in the US as was the case with the belated UK Top 5 hit ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ which also made no chart impression on its home turf…

Carefully curated and concisely annotated, “Let It All Out” lets the listener in to two dozen of Nina Simone’s most celebrated singles. There have been many compilations of her works since she passed away 20+ years ago, but none that gets to the heart – and soul – of her catalogue in quite so direct a manner as this one does. 

‘A Tremendous debut. Skilfully blending folk, country and other styles, Woof’s eponymous debut album features thoughtful songwriting, adroit musicianship and her remarkable, crystalline vocals’ - 4/5 RECORD COLLECTOR

‘Enchanting. Whether playing almost solo or with a full band arrangement, Wooff is never less than mesmerising’ - 4/5 SHINDIG!

‘Her spectral voice and acoustic guitar lead abstract stories of loss, yearning and self-exploration, nimbly embellished with pedal steel, organ and strings. ‘The Waltz Of Winter Hey’ and ‘Lefty’s Motel Room’, with its allusive nod to Townes Van Zandt, are outstanding’ - 8/10 UNCUT

‘Launching herself fully onto the scene, she beguiles with tales of love, loss, hope and womanhood, wrapped up in a beautifully strange gothic romanticism’ - FOR FOLK’S SAKE

‘The beauty in the record is not merely based on Toria’s melancholic melodicism and rich delivery. It can be enjoyed in the juxtaposition between the singer’s darker, more eerily gothic instincts and the soothing, reassuring presence of instruments like pedal steel and cellos.’ - KLOF

Kee'ahn, whose name is derived from kee’an, the Wik word meaning to dance and to play, is a proud Yalanji, Jirrbal, and Badulaig artist. Her music is steeped in connection to culture, community, Country, and self and with her soulful voice and storytelling, Kee’ahn has had a powerful impact on the Australian music scene, earning her the Archie Roach Foundation Award and Music Victoria’s Best Emerging Artist award. She has since performed at the 2025 AFL Grand Final collaborating with Baker Boy, Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan, Dallas Woods, Alice Ivy and shared stages with the likes of Julia Jacklin, Hiatus Kaiyote, Greentea Peng and Angie McMahon.

Kee’ahn’s debut EP “for me, for you x” is a collection of lush cinematic soul and rnb love letters. Across 5 tracks, Kee’ahn explores the pursuit of hope, compassion, connection, heartbreak, and healing. This project naturally and authentically came together, detailing moments across 5 years of Kee’ahn’s life. Each song begins on guitar and vocals with demo production in Kee’ahn’s Brunswick bedroom - they are diary entries to herself, formed into messages that hit the hearts of its listeners.

Each song is reminiscent of classic 60’s jazz soul to 90’s neo-soul rnb, to early 2000’s inspired soul pop weaving dynamic soundscapes with clear and meaningful catchy lyricism.

All Day I Dream bids farewell to another radiant summer with its Summer’s End Sampler, a 12-track collection of deep, melodic, and transportive sounds. Carefully woven together from a mix of rising favorites and emerging talents, the compilation encapsulates the warmth, nostalgia, and new beginnings that arrive with seasonal change.

Among the most revered voices in funk, Marva Whitney holds a special place thanks to her fierce energy and unmistakable style on tracks like the classic 'Unwind Yourself,' a long-time favorite for DJs and dance floors alike. Emerging from the dynamic world of the James Brown Revue in the late 1960s--alongside iconic names like Lyn Collins and Vicki Anderson--Marva quickly carved out a name for herself. In 1969, she began recording as a solo artist under James Brown's King label, scoring a Top 20 R&B hit with 'It's My Thing.' While mainstream hits were few, her music resonated deeply with funk lovers and crate diggers around the world. Songs like 'You Got to Have a Job' and the endlessly sampled 'Unwind Yourself' have only grown in stature over the decades. Her album, "It's My Thing", dropped that same year and has since become a touchstone of the genre. Backed by the legendary JB's and produced by James Brown himself--who also contributed to most of the songwriting--the album captures a raw, unapologetic funk sound with a distinctly female voice at the forefront. From the explosive opening of 'It's My Thing'--a bold response to the Isley Brothers' 'It's Your Thing'--Marva channels sheer intensity, backed by a band that doesn't let up. The pace briefly softens with 'If You Love Me,' a soul soaked ballad in the spirit of Otis Redding, before diving back into the rhythmic grit of tracks like 'Unwind Yourself.' Decades later, "It's My Thing" continues to inspire, sampled by producers and treasured by collectors--a powerful snapshot of funk at its most uncompromising. Reissue on 180g vinyl.

Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time traces an audio-spiritual journey through time and place, recorded across a long-awaited debut tour of Japan in the fall of 2024. Compiled from environmental improvisations captured in and for the moment, material at once welcoming, responsive, and inimitable, the album distills a voyage guided by psychic wayfaring, unbound presence, and activating performance for a reciprocal exchange with space, listener, and each fully engaged instant. The Japanese tour documented on Cloud Time held an almost mythic significance for Sprague, taking on properties of her own sonic white whale. After many near-departures and dropped plans to play in the country, "the empty spaces of cancelled trips and forgotten music turned into strange little misty spirits that I felt followed by," she says. "When I began preparing for the tour, I couldn't shake a sense that the invitation to Japan was more about opening myself up to this new place instead of bringing something into it tightly under my control. Improvisation has always been such a pillar in my music practice, and I really wanted to meet the country, spaces and people through that process." To amplify these intuitive whispers on-stage, Sprague reimagined her time-tested live rig, designed to be as free from error as possible, as a looser, more flexible set up that would allow her to interface with what was essentially a blank sonic canvas every night. Each performance became a collaboration between environment and instinct, Sprague processing the events, energies, and emotions informing the evening through her new sound ecosystem, and projecting an entirely present and unique version of herself to each open-eared and hearted crowd. "It was very much more than just an act of playing for me, but a total experience of time and place," she says. The seven long-form pieces that plot the course of Cloud Time, excerpted from over eight hours of recordings archived on the artist's on-stage recorder and generously shared on the album with no additional mixing and only minimal editing, invite listeners to become still in these deep-rooted moments of presence as the album moves from city to city, venue to venue. Cloud Time chronicles material recorded at each tour stop, Sprague selecting and sequencing the album around mood-based storytelling more so than linear chronology. "I tried to make the whole album flow in the way that any one of the complete live performances did," she explains, "while also keeping the spirit of the whole thing as a journey." The result is equal parts travelog, love letter, and impressionistic collage channeled from the potent ferment of a now encased in the glowing amber of memory. Intrinsically inspired by kankyo ongaku, an environmental music philosophy, known both in and widely outside of Japan that tunes into the similarly expansive ethos as Pauline Oliveros' deep listening practice and posits the listener as composer, Cloud Time is ambient music that seems to be listening right back, grounded in heartfelt synthesized frequencies that abundantly hold and heal. Pieces like "Nagoya," "Tokyo 1," and the ten minute "Matsumoto" in particular hum with the atomic resonance of gently tended landscapes, offering space for tuning way in and dropping far out from perspectives that stifle and bind. Cloud Time is an invitation to embrace each moment as both fleeting and eternal, floating by with nothing to grasp onto and absolutely everything to gain. The exercise in acceptance and letting go that Sprague practiced throughout the tour deeply impacted her understanding of self as both a guest and venerable performer. "The process of loving wherever I am, being present and focusing on a clear channel of communication for mind and emotion, rooted so deeply in respect for the space, those within it, and myself, ended up being profoundly healing," she says. "My vision and hope is that this album can be released as a gift back to anyone who either was or wasn't there. A cloud time of life passing by."

The Complete Piano Etudes of Philip Glass available for the first time on vinyl, housed in a 4LP Box set (also available as a 2CD format).



After more than thirty years of working with and performing the great repertoire, the music of Philip Glass has, in a way, almost revolutionized my life as a musician,” confides Vanessa Wagner.

An emblematic artist on the French music scene, winner of a Victoire de la musique award and director of the Chambord and Giverny festivals, Vanessa Wagner is as inspired in her interpretation of Mozart, Debussy, Tchaikovsky and Dusapin as she is alongside Murcof and Rone.

With her innovative and daring approach, she has established herself as a major influence on the classical music landscape, crossing boundaries and blazing inspiring trails.

A tireless pioneer of new repertoires, she has been exploring the repertoire of minimalist composers for several years. For InFiné, she has dedicated 4 albums to the major figures of this movement, John Adams, Meredith Monk, Brian Eno, Ryūichi Sakamoto, as well as to the new generation Caroline Shaw, Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly.

After giving numerous concerts based on these works, she felt the need to record in their entirety this essential monument in the history of music, which bridges the gap between the 20th and 21st centuries: Philip Glass's 20 Etudes for piano
by Philip Glass.
His approach helps to place these two books in the great repertoire, alongside the great cycles of studies by Ligeti, Debussy, Dusapin, and before them, Chopin and Liszt.

Philip Glass was born in 1937 and grew up in Baltimore. He studied at the University of Chicago, the Juilliard School and in Aspen with Darius Milhaud. Dissatisfied with much of what was then considered modern music, he moved to Europe, where he studied with the legendary pedagogue Nadia Boulanger (who also taught Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and Quincy Jones) and worked closely with sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar.

The thread linking Philip Glass to Vanessa Wagner may be as simple as a detail: a moment, a pedagogy, a way of looking at the piano. In Words Without Music, Glass recalls his apprenticeship with Nadia Boulanger in Paris - a lesson in rigorous received just as the Nouvelle Vague was about to shatter the conventions of cinema the conventions of cinema, just as the composers of the minimalist movement had done with with the language of music. Nurtured by Ravel and Debussy, the great French pedagogue disciplined yet inquisitive minds, capable of embracing modernity without denying modernity without denying their heritage.

Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time traces an audio-spiritual journey through time and place, recorded across a long-awaited debut tour of Japan in the fall of 2024. Compiled from environmental improvisations captured in and for the moment, material at once welcoming, responsive, and inimitable, the album distills a voyage guided by psychic wayfaring, unbound presence, and activating performance for a reciprocal exchange with space, listener, and each fully engaged instant. The Japanese tour documented on Cloud Time held an almost mythic significance for Sprague, taking on properties of her own sonic white whale. After many near-departures and dropped plans to play in the country, "the empty spaces of cancelled trips and forgotten music turned into strange little misty spirits that I felt followed by," she says. "When I began preparing for the tour, I couldn't shake a sense that the invitation to Japan was more about opening myself up to this new place instead of bringing something into it tightly under my control. Improvisation has always been such a pillar in my music practice, and I really wanted to meet the country, spaces and people through that process." To amplify these intuitive whispers on-stage, Sprague reimagined her time-tested live rig, designed to be as free from error as possible, as a looser, more flexible set up that would allow her to interface with what was essentially a blank sonic canvas every night. Each performance became a collaboration between environment and instinct, Sprague processing the events, energies, and emotions informing the evening through her new sound ecosystem, and projecting an entirely present and unique version of herself to each open-eared and hearted crowd. "It was very much more than just an act of playing for me, but a total experience of time and place," she says. The seven long-form pieces that plot the course of Cloud Time, excerpted from over eight hours of recordings archived on the artist's on-stage recorder and generously shared on the album with no additional mixing and only minimal editing, invite listeners to become still in these deep-rooted moments of presence as the album moves from city to city, venue to venue. Cloud Time chronicles material recorded at each tour stop, Sprague selecting and sequencing the album around mood-based storytelling more so than linear chronology. "I tried to make the whole album flow in the way that any one of the complete live performances did," she explains, "while also keeping the spirit of the whole thing as a journey." The result is equal parts travelog, love letter, and impressionistic collage channeled from the potent ferment of a now encased in the glowing amber of memory. Intrinsically inspired by kankyo ongaku, an environmental music philosophy, known both in and widely outside of Japan that tunes into the similarly expansive ethos as Pauline Oliveros' deep listening practice and posits the listener as composer, Cloud Time is ambient music that seems to be listening right back, grounded in heartfelt synthesized frequencies that abundantly hold and heal. Pieces like "Nagoya," "Tokyo 1," and the ten minute "Matsumoto" in particular hum with the atomic resonance of gently tended landscapes, offering space for tuning way in and dropping far out from perspectives that stifle and bind. Cloud Time is an invitation to embrace each moment as both fleeting and eternal, floating by with nothing to grasp onto and absolutely everything to gain. The exercise in acceptance and letting go that Sprague practiced throughout the tour deeply impacted her understanding of self as both a guest and venerable performer. "The process of loving wherever I am, being present and focusing on a clear channel of communication for mind and emotion, rooted so deeply in respect for the space, those within it, and myself, ended up being profoundly healing," she says. "My vision and hope is that this album can be released as a gift back to anyone who either was or wasn't there. A cloud time of life passing by." Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time will be released Friday, October 10th in vinyl, Japanese import CD (via Plancha), and digital editions.

Like sneaking an extra scoop (or two) of ice cream for dessert, what do you do when you know something’s bad for you, but its vice-like nature makes it all the more irresistible? Vega Records explores this conundrum in its latest release, “Can’t Let You Go” by the late, great Loleatta Holloway.

“Can’t Let You Go” is one of the last unreleased recordings Loleatta completed before her passing in 2011. In the main mix, she addresses a relationship she knows she should end but can’t bring herself to leave because the lovin’ is just too good: “I keep coming back time and time again,” she ruminates with raw emotion. “We got to make things better or we got to do whatever to make it right… oh, let’s make it right, ‘cause I can’t let you go.”

For the unfamiliar, Loleatta Holloway, a.k.a. the “Queen of the Night,” is a bona fide disco and soul icon. The singer behind successful singles such as “Hit and Run” and “Love Sensation,” she is one of the most sampled artists from the disco era.

The posthumous single was written and produced by prolific artist Yvonne Turner, whose resume includes production and remix credits for music greats such as Whitney Houston, Willie Colon, and Jeffrey Osborne; as well as mixes for Lenny Kravitz, Lalah Hathaway, Mica Paris, and more. Providing subtle, smooth background vocals for the track, she allows Loleatta’s belting vocals to be the star of the percussive house groover; while Vega Records boss Louie Vega offers a “Roots” mix and emotion-charged “Soul House” mix. Louie Vega also invited his vocalist friends Tawatha Agee (of seminal R&B and soul group Mtume) and Cindy Mizelle (Louie Vega’s longtime collaborator) to add powerful hooks and new background arrangements, enhancing the track with some call and response to Loleatta's adlibs during the vamp. Gene Perez on Bass, Axel Tosca on Fender Rhodes, and Roberto Quintero on percussion. In all, the record is club-ready catharsis made for dancing all your troubles away.

“Loleatta Holloway was one of the most dynamic vocalists of our time,” says Yvonne Turner. “She was blessed with the gift of song and her energy was electric! Loleatta's passion and artistry is on full display as she masterfully interprets a lyric then delivers her signature adlibs, which never disappoint. To describe her in a few words, Loleatta Holloway was the truth... my friend... extraordinary!”

Adds Louie Vega, “Loleatta Holloway has had a huge impact in my life as a DJ, producer, and clubber. She touched me in many ways through my music-making and even style of DJing; to this day, I still play many of her songs and acapellas. This is just our little way of saying thank you so much for what you've done for so many lives with your beautiful voice, you've affected us all!!!”

The record’s cover artwork is a mural of Loleatta Holloway created by Richard Wilson, a London-based artist who takes inspiration from DJs and producers from the house music and disco scene. Last month, Louie traveled to Liverpool, England for the mural’s unveiling.

Sabrina Claudio's fifth studio album, Fall In Love With Her, marks a significant evolution in her musical journey. Known for her ethereal blend of R&B and pop, Sabrina Claudio delves deeper into personal narratives, offering listeners an intimate exploration of love, identity, and self-discovery.

This album follows her 2022 release, Based on a Feeling, where she emphasized authenticity and emotional resonance in her music. With Fall In Love With Her, Sabrina Claudio continues this trajectory, crafting songs that are both vulnerable and empowering. The lead single, "Need U to Need Me," exemplifies this, weaving themes of longing and self-worth into a sultry, atmospheric soundscape. Her introspective songwriting, combined with minimalist production, allows her vocals to shine, creating an immersive listening experience.

With a GRAMMY win to her name for her songwriting work on Beyonce’s Renaissance album & over 3B worldwide streams to date, Sabrina Claudio has firmly established herself as a standout in the R&B and Pop spaces.

1xLP, and includes a poster. Grab the vinyl today — and fall in love with her all over again.

Berlin musician and DJ Nastia Reigel presents her debut solo album, Identity, on Function's legendary Infrastructure New York imprint. Following a constant output of EPs on heavy-hitting techno labels like fabric, Rodhad's WSNWG and Token, and playing regularly at the likes of Berghain, Reigel now returns with new music that pushes deep into the core of her craft. She has honed and sharpened her sound into something sleeker and more uninhibited. Identity embodies the core of Nastia's production DNA, showcasing her as a powerful and precise engineer. These eight new tracks, mixed by herself, all offer something distinct and carry her unmistakable signature. Much like human identity itself, the album explores contrasting layers of tension, groove and mood, oscillating from hypnotic rollers to peak time intensity with ease. It is both a personal artistic statement and a DJ-ready techno toolkit for fans of Function and Sandwell District.

It began with a cassette tape entitled 'Pleased To Meet You' gifted to us at Sessa's Fasching, Stockholm show by Yann Dardenne, the multi-tasking tour manager/sound engineer/producer/merch stall worker and co-owner of Seloki Records. On first listen, the selection of underground Brazilian artists from the Seloki's roster was superb, however, one song stopped us in our tracks. The hauntingly captivating ' GOSTO MEIO DOCE' by Nina Maia and Francisca Barreto, gave us a taste of Nina's ethereal, addictive voice and we knew we needed to hear more. Born in Minas Gerais but now based in Sao Paulo, the 22-year-old has already packed a lot into a relatively short space of time. The singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer, has already collaborated on the soundtracks for six Brazilian feature films, including a track with the vocalists Maria Gadu, Iza, and Liniker. But things enter a new exciting era with this, her remarkable debut album entitled 'INTEIRA', which translates to English as 'whole'.

As much inspired by Billie Eilish and Rosalia, as Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta and not sounding like other records coming out of Brazil, 'INTEIRA' is unique. Though rich in its Brazilian heritage, inspired by samba cancao, MPB, and the Clube da Esquina movement, it also channels influence from bands such as Portishead and Massive Attack, mixed with jazz, contemporary leftfield and electronic pop artists. Musically, it is not easily pigeonholed, with beautiful, well-crafted songs, sophisticated arrangements, eloquent vocals and intimate lyrics. Each track reflects different moments and stories from Nina's youth but with dialogues, feelings, and questions that span generations and resonate with all. This ambitious debut album is Nina's vision and sound, expressing herself without constraints and making music with her friends. Featuring a lineup of Thalin (drums), Valentim Frateschi (bass), Francisca Barreto (cello and vocals), Thales Hashiguti (viola and violin), Yann Dardenne (acoustic guitar and co-producer) and Nina on piano, Rhodes, guitar and production. The album led to a nomination in Paulista Association of Art Critics (APCA) award's 'Breakthrough Artist' category, who also listed 'INTEIRA' as one of the 50 best albums of 2024.

It also received support from Bandcamp Weekly and Jamz Supernova on BBC 6 Music. Released digitally by Seloki Records in Brazil in 2024, Mr Bongo in partnership with Seloki Records now present this new, deluxe worldwide edition that includes four additional songs. These comprise the brand-new exquisite 'MANHA', as well as an original twist on Vinicius de Moraes' classic 'Serenata Do Adeus'. Elsewhere you'll find a live recording showcasing Nina's remarkable energy on stage courtesy of 'DE DENTRO' and 'GOSTO MEIO DOCE' with the amazing musician/vocalist Francisca Barreto, where our whole story began. Here at Mr Bongo, we are honoured to release music by such a remarkable new talent - one whose musical trajectory is most certainly about to soar.

The saga continues with the powerful soundtrack to Vikings Season 3. Composed by Emmy Award-winner Trevor Morris, the score evolves with the growing scale and emotional weight of the series. Season 3 takes viewers deeper into Ragnar's journey, from political ambitions to personal sacrifice, and the music reflects this with rich orchestration, ambient electronics, and haunting Nordic textures. This edition also features musical contributions from Einar Selvik (Wardruna) and Steve Tavaglione, whose unique elements lend an ancient layer to the score. Vikings (Music From Season Three) is available as a limited edition of 750 numbered copies on white coloured vinyl. This 2LP package includes a 4-page booklet with pictures and liner notes by Trevor Morris.

Soulful and radiant, ALA.NI shines in Sunshine Music. Ten years after "You & I", which left a mark in France and internationally (with collaborations including Iggy Pop, Lakeith Stanfield, and Jon Batiste), the golden-voiced Londoner returns with a new album blending vintage tones and Caribbean influences. Shaped by a two-year stay in Jamaica, the musician delivers eleven timelessly elegant tracks infused with the laid-back charm of life surrounded by lush nature. Calypso, ragga, bossa, rocksteady... In this new album, ALA.NI allows herself subtle rewritings of the most emblematic Caribbean rhythms, with interpretations that go as far as Brazil. Her crystalline voice dances, with jazz inflections reminiscent of Sade Adu and Minnie Riperton.

A new Toy Tonics artist! Brazilian DJ, vinyl collector, party promoter, and style aficionado Martha Pinel has joined the Toy Tonics family.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, where she is a well-established DJ and a prominent figure in the lifestyle scene, Martha also resides in Berlin, where she became friends with the Toy Tonics crew.

She is the creator of Assembleia, a celebrated party in Rio de Janeiro known for its laid-back and unpretentious atmosphere. Assembleia has also become a Carnival sensation, hosting unforgettable annual editions that are now a highlight of the season. In Brazil, she is also known as the co-founder of the Croma project, where fashion and music merged to revolutionize Rio de Janeiro's alternative scene. She has been featured on the cover of GQ Brazil, which named her one of the "13 artists giving voice to the generation that is changing the world."

Martha has been DJing worldwide at festivals such as KALA Festival, Paris Fashion Week, DGTL, and Boiler Room. She has made a name for herself in the diggers scene, sharing the stage with DJs such as Hunee, Antal, Yusu, Sam Ruffillo, Prins Thomas, and many others.

Martha is passionate about discovering music daily and crafts dynamic, non-linear sets that play with the audience's emotions. Known for her bold approach, her sets are always powerful and brimming with personality. They seamlessly blend ethnic musical influences with cutting-edge productions from Brazil and beyond, incorporating African and Middle Eastern sounds, space disco, Italo disco, Balearic beats, house, and its subgenres.

Martha Pinel's debut EP, Real Rio, was born during a moment of rediscovery in her hometown, Rio de Janeiro, after spending a long time abroad. This project is a celebration of that reconnection, capturing the city's most authentic and visceral aspects-a place where beauty and chaos coexist, with dramatic highs and lows.

In the track "Uber Moto," Martha reflects on the urban phenomenon of app-based motorcycles, which have become a symbol of the city.

"Espírito de Estado," on the other hand, is a track that embodies the spirit of the Carioca Carnival, the greatest party in the world.

Finally, "Assim" offers a personal reinterpretation of Marcos Valle's classic Estrelar. In this track, Martha and Gabto leave their mark on this Brazilian music icon, reflecting on the concept of Body Culture-it's often said that it's impossible to walk along Ipanema Beach without noticing the Carioca cult of the body.

JADE has announced the release of her hugely anticipated debut solo album 'THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!'. The record will be released on September 12th and sees JADE work with a variety of A list collaborators on the project including Mike Sabath, Lostboy, Cirkut, RAYE and Pablo Bowman. The album includes previously released singles ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘FUFN (Fuck You For Now)’, ‘IT gir’l and ‘Midnight Cowboy’.

JADE has described this project as being about discovery, finding herself again and a love letter to little JADE.

JADE has announced the release of her hugely anticipated debut solo album 'THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!'. The record will be released on September 12th and sees JADE work with a variety of A list collaborators on the project including Mike Sabath, Lostboy, Cirkut, RAYE and Pablo Bowman. The album includes previously released singles ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘FUFN (Fuck You For Now)’, ‘IT gir’l and ‘Midnight Cowboy’.

JADE has described this project as being about discovery, finding herself again and a love letter to little JADE.

On the cover of 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living, the new album by Asher White, The Statue of Liberty is in pieces but not destroyed - in progress, being built, not yet complete. Her torch is on the ground, her head somewhere out of frame. Before she was a symbol, she was metal, and living, sweating people riveted her together. The spirit of de/construction characterizes 8 Tips, White's 16th LP overall and first since signing to Joyful Noise. Like White's previous albums, 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living darts boldly among varied musical styles. Doom metal splits open into bossa nova; psychedelic rock and power pop flip into industrial techno. Each song emerges from its composite parts in the studio: White doesn't draft or demo before recording, but builds out her pieces sculpturally, sound by sound. "It's forever collage, forever assemblage," she says of her music. "To me, it has more to do with J Dilla, L.A. beat, and musique concrète than pop songwriting." The record's quick turns and vivid contrasts reflect White's cultural voraciousness. A writer, painter, and sculptor as well as a musician, she gathers materials constantly, always digging for new ideas in every possible form. The films of Claire Denis, the novels of Clarice Lispector, and the memoirs of Eve Babitz all funnel into White's reflection of 21st century disaster capitalism. 8 Tips is also White's first album to have been mixed outside her Providence studio; after recording it herself, she brought tracks to Seth Manchester (Lightning Bolt, Battles, The Body) who gave the album its brawny, unruly charge. "I was interested in making something that serves dually as a self-help book and a chronicle of self-destruction," says White. Overlaying autobiography onto character vignettes, 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living wrenches open the idea of apocalypse - an abrupt disaster rained down on uncomplicated innocents - and peers inside at its bursting, devastated particulars. Apocalypse is slow and uneven. Nations falter as do individual people, clinging fast to their old, dilapidated self-preservation strategies. What saved you in the past might destroy you in the future. Flip it around, shake yourself loose, ruin the person you've known yourself to be, and you might get the chance to become something else. "There have been so many end times, many other apocalypses." White says. "People were writing self-help tips, and people were partying." We have survived catastrophe before. Out of the ruins, people made work - art, books, culture. "I was interested in making something that sounds like a self-help book, but it's actually about self-destruction," says White. "In full catastrophe living, you just have to do a bunch of whippets. This album is mostly about doing whippets. I'm not even kidding."

Teresa Rotschopf, a musician and composer from Vienna, presents her second solo album, »Currents and Orders« – a radical, delicate, yet grandiose sonic journey between experimental pop, new music, and improvised composition. The album will be presented live on August 27 as part of the »Pop-Kultur« festival (silent green, Berlin) and at the »ORF RadioKulturhaus« (Vienna) on 12 September.

»Currents and Orders« was recorded in an unusual location: a stalactite cave in Styria, Austria. Together with a small group of musicians (Maria Gstättner: bassoon, contraforte; Alex Kranabetter: tuba, trumpet, French horn; Patrick Dunst: saxophone, duduk; Florian Klinger: marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, cymbals, gong, stalactite; Patrick Pulsinger: gong, stalactite; Ulrich Schleicher: gong) and in co-production with Patrick Pulsinger, Rotschopf recorded the album in June 2023 – deep underground, far from daylight, but all the closer to archaic sounds and resonances.

The cave becomes not only an acoustic stage, but also a symbolic space of memory, retreat, and transformation. The album comprises four pieces – including two large-scale tracks:
- the opening, mantra-like title track »Currents and Orders« (over 10 minutes)
- the final, free-jazz, expressive »I Open My Gates (for You)« (over 20 minutes)

With a minimalist structure, choral voices, vibraphone, percussion, and wind instruments, fragile yet powerful soundscapes emerge, whose spatial depth is also palpable through the cave reverberation.

Rotschopf first developed the desire to record in a cave in the summer of 2022. What began as a visual and sonic image became a concrete project – supported by the Austrian Cave Association. In June 2023, Rotschopf and her musicians spent three days in a cave in the Styrian forest. Almost a kilometer of cable was laid, and equipment and instruments were carried deep underground. Rotschopf describes the recording situation as a kind of return to herself: »I descended into this cave, as if I could descend into myself, into my own womb ... What we did in the cave could just as easily be called ›recording music,‹ but it could also be called ›remembering‹ – remembering the earth, the cave, and humanity.«

»Currents and Orders« is an album like a ritual: haunting, atmospheric, bold in its form, and deeply rooted in both physical and emotional space. Music that takes its time, uses space, and pushes boundaries.

The pre-release single »O Please My Soul (Rest On My Back)« (release: July 17, 2025) is accompanied by a striking music video shot by Antoinette Zwirchmayr on 16mm film: Teresa Rotschopf holds a real owl in her hand – an image that is as magical as it is enigmatic.

Label owner Martin Hossbach read a review of Rotschopf's first solo album, »Messiah,« in 2018 and contacted the artist. Joint releases followed, including a drone album on the sub-label Martin Hossbach Score and a Pet Shop Boys cover version on Martin Hossbach Cover.

Teresa Rotschopf, Musikerin und Komponistin aus Wien, präsentiert mit »Currents and Orders« ihr zweites Soloalbum – eine radikale, zarte und zugleich groß angelegte Klangreise zwischen experimentellem Pop, Neuer Musik und improvisierter Komposition. Das Album wird am 27.8. im Rahmen des Festivals »Pop-Kultur« (silent green, Berlin) und am 12.9. im »ORF RadioKulturhaus« (Wien) live vorgestellt.

»Currents and Orders« entstand an einem ungewöhnlichen Ort: in einer Tropfsteinhöhle in der Steiermark, Österreich. Gemeinsam mit einer kleinen Gruppe von Musiker:innen (Maria Gstättner: Fagott, Kontraforte; Alex Kranabetter: Tuba, Trompete, Waldhorn; Patrick Dunst: Saxophon, Duduk; Florian Klinger: Marimbaphon, Vibraphon, Glockenspiel, Becken, Gong, Stalakmit; Patrick Pulsinger: Gong, Stalakmit; Ulrich Schleicher: Gong) und in Ko-Produktion mit Patrick Pulsinger nahm Rotschopf das Album im Juni 2023 auf – tief unter der Erde, fern von Tageslicht, dafür umso näher an archaischen Klängen und Resonanzen.

Die Höhle wird nicht nur zur akustischen Bühne, sondern auch zum symbolischen Raum der Erinnerung, des Rückzugs, der Transformation. So umfasst das Album vier Stücke – darunter zwei großformatige Tracks: - das eröffnende mantraartige Titelstück »Currents and Orders« (über 10 Minuten) - das finale, free-jazzig-expressive »I Open My Gates (For You)« (über 20 Minuten)

Mit minimalistischer Struktur, Chorstimmen, Vibraphon, Schlag- und Blasinstrumenten entstehen fragile und zugleich mächtige Klangwelten, deren räumliche Tiefe auch durch den Höhlenhall spürbar wird.

Der Wunsch, in einer Höhle aufzunehmen, kam Rotschopf im Sommer 2022. Was als visuelles und klangliches Bild begann, wurde zu einem konkreten Vorhaben – unterstützt vom Österreichischen Höhlenverein. Im Juni 2023 begab sich Rotschopf mit ihren Musiker:innen drei Tage lang in eine Höhle im steirischen Wald. Fast ein Kilometer Kabel wurde verlegt, Equipment und Instrumente tief unter die Erde getragen. Rotschopf beschreibt die Aufnahmesituation als eine Art Rückkehr in sich selbst: »Ich stieg in diese Höhle hinab, so als ob ich in mich selbst hinabsteigen könnte, in meinen eigenen Schoß [...] Was wir in der Höhle taten, könnte man ›Musik aufnehmen‹ nennen, genauso gut aber auch ›Erinnern‹ – Erinnern von Erde, Höhle und Menschsein.«

Currents and Orders ist ein Album wie ein Ritual: eindringlich, atmosphärisch, mutig in der Form und tief verwurzelt im physischen wie emotionalen Raum. Musik, die sich Zeit nimmt, Raum nutzt und Grenzen sprengt.

Die Vorab-Single »O Please My Soul (Rest On My Back)« (VÖ: 17.7.205) wird begleitet von einem eindrücklichen Musikvideo, das Antoinette Zwirchmayr auf 16mm-Film drehte: Teresa Rotschopf hält darin eine echte Eule auf ihrer Hand – ein Bild, das genauso magisch wie rätselhaft wirkt.

Labelbetreiber Martin Hossbach las im Jahr 2018 eine Rezension des ersten Rotschopf-Soloalbums »Messiah« und nahm Kontakt zu der Künstlerin auf. Es folgten gemeinsame Veröffentlichungen – etwa ein Drone-Album auf dem Sub-Label Martin Hossbach Score und eine Pet-Shop-Boys-Coverversion auf Martin Hossbach Cover.

Kasse Mady Diabate, a key figure in Malian music, left his mark on history with his gentle yet powerful voice, earning him the nickname "the golden voice of Mali". A respected Mandingo artist, he was known for his ability to touch souls with melodies and texts steeped in depth and tradition. As a griot, he carried the musical heritage of his people with dignity and talent. The album title song, Toumaro (A bientôt), written by his daughter Hawa Kasse Mady Diabate, is part of this heritage, celebrating love and gratitude. After Kasse Mady"s sudden death in 2018, Hawa continued the album her father had started, offering a poignant tribute to his legacy and a beautiful way to connect with him spiritually through music. Hawa herself is an iconic figure on the Malian music scene, particularly as a member of Trio Da Kali, the griot "super-group" whose album Ladilikan with the Kronos Quartet was a true masterpiece. Toumaro is a testament to the richness of the griot tradition, carried on by artists such as Hawa as well as Lassana Diabate and Madou Kouyate. Their collaboration on Toumaro with renowned musicians underlines the importance of passing on cultural and musical values, while renewing the genre through contemporary arrangements.

Bendik Giske’s Beatrice Dillon-produced 2023 album gets an addendum with reworks from Carmen Villain, aya, Hanne Lippard, Hieroglyphic Being, Wacław Zimpel and Dillon herself.

Giske’s clearly got his ear to the ground; his last remix record was an invitation for Laurel Halo to put her stamp on »Cruising«, while 2018’s »Adjust EP« roped in Deathprod, Total Freedom, Lotic, and Rezzett. Now comes this new LP of remixes and it’s one of the best we’ve heard in aeons. Carmen Villain boots things off with a remix of »Slipping«, following her excellent (and way, way too underrated) »Nutrition EP« with a giddy, subtle roller that sounds as if it’s been constructed using only Giske’s raw stems. His breaths and leathery key presses – already amped up by Dillon’s detailed recording – are magicked into a dubby concrète groove that’s enhanced with the sparest melodic elements: echoing rainforest-at-night horn blasts, and lopped off decay trails that help fuel the momentum.

aya’s revision of the same track takes a different approach, forming forceful overlapping polyrhythms from Giske’s clanks, using the gamelan-like arpeggios for melodic weight and repetition. The result is a constantly shifting, hypnotic trancer that’s achingly organic – more Raja Kirik than Paul Van Dyke. Polish clarinetist and producer Wacław Zimpel, meanwhile, supplements his trippy recent collaboration with James Holden on a similarly levitational wrinkle of »Slipping« that twists Giske’s quivering sequences with microtonal synth prangs, and gusty echoes. But it’s Jamal Moss who plays fastest and loosest with Giske’s source material, calling back to April’s psy-house stunner »Dance Music 4 Bad People« with a powdery, sexualised banger that buries the breathy »Start« stems underneath neon synths, and brittle drum loops.

»I’m a digital nomad,« Lippard deadpans over Giske’s »Not Yet«. »I’m addicted you know that.« It’s a typically dry treatment from the conceptual artist that unexpectedly amps up the hypnotic qualities of Giske’s original, adding her circuitous charm to his concertina-ing sax sequences. And to tie things up perfectly, Beatrice Dillon returns with her diaphanous remix of »Rise and Fall«, built to emphasise the radically different approaches of each artist.

The album introduced a lush, complex dream world that the singer, composer, and producer created and inhabited largely on her own. She produced all the songs, and wrote and performed everything on the self-released collection outside of a re-imagined cover of Pink Floyd’s “Green is the Colour” and 2 other tracks (“The Time,” “Give It Back To You”), which started as instrumentals written by Survive’s Kyle Dixon (who composed the Stranger Things soundtrack with his bandmate Michael Stein), to which Ainsworth wrote melodies and added lyrics. Ainsworth, who’s relocated to Los Angeles from Toronto since 2017’s Darling of the Afterglow, explains that the collection revealed itself to her “as a play taking place in Mother Nature’s vanishing home,” aka Phantom Forest, and that she’s singing from 3 perspectives: herself, Mother Nature, and Greek Chorus. For instance, of the album’s opener, “Diamonds Cutting Diamonds,” she explains: “The Greek Chorus sets the scene, narrating and offering direction on how to enter Phantom Forest. It’s my hope that the listener will imagine the narration to be directed to them as well, as they begin the journey of the album.” You’ll get a sense of this from the collection’s edenic cover art and the playful, pastoral video for the album’s first single, “Can You Find Her Place.” Its inspiration came from Ainsworth’s love for Italian Renaissance painter Botticelli’s 15-century masterpiece “Primavera,” an allegorical representation of the burgeoning fertility of the earth in spring. She notes: “The video features the Greek gods of the painting in a choreographed Baroque style dance.” Keeping with the personal feel of the collection, her sister Abby Ainsworth directed the clip. In line with the classical and historical depths of Phantom Forest, Ainsworth, who holds a Masters Degree in film scoring composition from NYU and studied composition as an undergrad at McGill, notes that although the album might be considered pop, she approached it as an orchestrator. “Even if I’m dealing purely with synths,” she says, “The songs are like a score, each one an evolving journey. I love to use strings so I’ve included my string arrangements on ‘Tell Me I Exist’ and ‘Can You Find Her Place.’ I recorded live musicians on drums, bass, and guitar on ‘Edge of the Throne,’ ‘The Time,’ and ‘Floating Dream,’ and wove those live elements into my programmed elements.” Phantom Forest is a beautiful, vast collection that mixes the historical and the hands on, with hooks about the apocalypse and people obsessively using face-recognition software to see what paintings their face match with, in search of some kind of connection. It’s a journey that holds up to close listening (and lyric reading) and to dance floors, but that can also exist on a purely emotional plane. In all cases, it asks that you listen, and take some kind of action.

Mocambo is proud to welcome Peki Momés, a Turkish artist who has always expressed herself creatively, but accidentally began recording music in 2023. With no pre-education in music, Peki Momés brings a stylish, fresh perspective to groove music, blending her vocals with a unique mix of intuition and uncompromising authenticity.

Her first two songs showcase her versatility, offering distinct sounds that work as both dancefloor hits and listening gems.
Göç Mevisimi transports listeners to a secret place between Japanese City Pop and outernational/tropical boogie sound. Dirty disco grooves, soothing Fender Rhodes, jazzy flute and charming lyrics in Turkish language about our constant search and movement that makes us all passagers of life create a bonafide piece of global underground.

Rüya, on the flip side, is a heavy psych joint that embodies the gritty sound of psychedelic Anatolia. With wobbling grooves, fuzzy guitars and contemporary vocals, it brings a raw, yet hypnotic energy.

Now collaborating with Mocambo Records, Peki Momés is working on an album that promises to offer a fresh approach to Turkish alternative music, ready to captivate music lovers around the world.

Blaney describes A Room With A Door That Closes as “a love letter to her blue,” an emotional state that she defines as “a kinetic, intense, and dark energy that needs to be expressed as soon as it is felt.” The eleven songs on the album span radioactive kiss offs, sorrowful meditations on yearning, and gossamer reveries about self image.

The music has a fittingly tumultuous, intricate sound: 1960s soul samples melt into warm drum n bass percussion, blips of glitch ping pong against grating synth, and Blaney’s vocals range from searing punk exclamations to gentle, exploratory croons. It’s the sound of a singer peering deeply within herself and presenting the world with everything she finds, unadulterated, in real time. Blaney produced the new project along with a tight team of three producers: Emerson Fossett, Harlan Steed (Show Me The Body), and Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, Squirrel Flower, Snail Mail).

Blaney had just started playing guitar and producing around the time she began writing the songs that would become the album. Being new to both producing and guitar playing opened up a sense of exploration and freedom for her. She felt emboldened to employ more adventurous riffs and unconventional song arrangements when she was writing. A Room With A Door That Closes is a collection of songs that rigorously pursue honesty, that present feelings as they arise without rushing to categorise them or explain them away. In the process of understanding her rage or discomfort, Blaney often lands on a sense of pride and assurance, but that’s never the ultimate goal. She eschews the easy comfort of neat resolution for the excitement of ongoing discovery. The album is an exercise in unfiltered self-expression, and a celebration of life at its messiest.

2025 Repress

Laurie Torres is a Canadian musician and composer raised in Montréal, Québec by Haitian parents. Since 2008, she has been a trusted stage and studio performer for Julia Jacklin, Pomme, and Land of Talk, as well as being a founding member of Folly & The Hunter, with whom she recorded four studio albums and toured Canada, Europe and the UK.

In 2023, Laurie shifted focus to work on her own creations, a process of making time - the will and the need becoming omnipresent. Drawing creative inspiration from contemporary artists like Tirzah, Gia Margaret, Valentina Magaletti, Tara Clerkin Trio and ML Buch, 'Après coup' finds Torres intersecting at a pivotal moment where artists whose marginalized identities are at the forefront in creating a beautiful array of "other options".

"Being othered and tokenized as a woman who plays music, as well as a queer and black person, takes a toll, while also positively feeding a strong urge to push and be seen."

Centering around piano, drums and synthesizer with interweaving field recordings, 'Après coup' follows the precursor ep 'Correspondances' in the form of a sprawling 11-track album. Translating directly from French - afterwards, after the event - its title subliminally points at something deeper between the lines. Recorded in 2023 between tours in a small window of time where 'normal' life hadn't quite recommenced, Torres meticulously crafted her debut solo material in view of surrounding nature, all providing the perfect nourishment for long streams of improvisation. Built right up to the edge of a lake, Studio Wild in St-Zénon, Québec offered an unparalleled location and set up for her freeform creativity.

Instrumental music seemed like a natural response and evolution for Torres who had long basked in the world of "pop music" as she elaborates: "I had an urge to use creativity as a sort of resting place, a place where things can unfold slowly and take time to reveal themselves. In other worlds words, I felt the need to make something slower, more elusive"

The immediacy of Torres' recorded takes doubled with minimal overdubs create a fiercely direct, intimate and unpolished lo-fi beauty. 'Après coup' then is self-reflective, open and inclusive with Torres allowing herself to be fully seen. An album to be felt at close distance with unrivalled authenticity. This album stands as a testament to Laurie's artistic evolution and serves as a beacon, inspiring her to continue nurturing her own creative pursuits and finding exhilarating freedom.

New pressing for this album, in translucent highlighter yellow. Inspired by minimal pop and the pioneers of electronic music, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE, Annie-Claude Deschênes’ first solo album, is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian, proposing to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness imposed on us. Conceived during the lockdown to overcome the surrounding inactivity, the songs that make up LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE were not intended to be released. It was by familiarizing herself with new technologies (drum machines, sequencers) that the conceptual and aesthetic ideas that define the album began to develop organically. Through producing beats composed from samples of utensils, table etiquette became a source of inspiration, a form of conformity that she enjoyed deconstructing. At the same time, a fascination for surveillance cameras and other futuristic-looking, but already obsolete technologies became part of her visual universe. Her experiments gradually evolved into a full-fledged project reminiscent of the works of the pioneers of electronic music. The album is inspired by Steve Reich’s minimalism, Kraftwerk’s synthetic textures, Herbie Hancock’s stylistic diversity and experimental cinema’s non-traditional approach to narration.