Buscar:hi rhythm

"Die unangefochtenen Könige des Garage Rock" sind wieder da! Zwei Jahre nach ihrem Album "Irregularis (The Great Hiatus)" aus dem Jahr 2023 melden sich Thee Headcoats mit einer neuen Platte zurück, die sich nahtlos in die Reihe ihrer besten Alben aus den 1990er Jahren einreiht. Wir präsentieren Ihnen stolz "The Sherlock Holmes Rhythm ,n` Beat Vernacular". Mit 12 fantastischen Stücken (oder Liedchen, wenn Sie so wollen), die letztes Jahr in den Ranscombe Studios in Rochester aufgenommen wurden. "The Sherlock Holmes Rhythm 'n' Beat Vernacular" erscheint am selben Tag wie "Man-Trap", das brandneue Album von Thee Headcoatees, auf dem die Jungs als Backing-Band fungieren. Thee Headcoats ist eine der vielen Musikgruppen unter der Leitung von Billy Childish und (soweit wir wissen) seine bislang produktivste. Kein Wunder, wenn man Billys unermüdliche Kreativität und seinen vollen Veröffentlichungsplan bedenkt. Thee Headcoats spielen harten R&B, Rock 'n' Roll und Punk Rock, beeinflusst von den frühen Kinks, Pretty Things und vor allem The Downliners Sect, mit einem zusätzlichen Sinn für Humor, der durch Bruce, die Vorliebe des Schlagzeugers für Deerstalker-Hüte, geprägt ist. Thee Headcoats etablierten ihren Stil auf ihrer ersten LP "Headcoats Down" Hangman, 1988 und setzten ihn mit "The Earls of Suavedom" [Crypt, 1989] und "Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It's Thee Headcoats! (Already)" [SubPop, 1990] fort. Auf späteren Alben wie "The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand" aus dem Jahr 1998 kam ein schlankerer, punkigerer Sound zum Vorschein, doch die Jungs blieben ihrem rauen, von den 60ern inspirierten R'n'B treu und klangen auf ihrem Comeback-Meisterwerk "Irregularis (The Great Hiatus)" aus dem Jahr 2023 im Wesentlichen unverändert. "The Sherlock Holmes Rhythm 'n' Beat Vernacular" setzt da noch einen drauf und ist beeindruckenderweise eines der absolut besten Billy Childish Alben der letzten 25 Jahre. Das glauben Sie nicht? Dann kaufen und hören Sie es und lassen sich eines Besseren belehren_

Impérieux (aka Alper Durmush) is a beatmaker extraordinaire hailing from Kircaali / Kardjali: since antiquity a hub of mythical music, located at the crossroads of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.
After conquering the hearts and feet of the scene with his stunning debut album Rezil and the follow-up Fena EP, Impérieux caps off his stellar year with a seven track mini album on Macro. Its effortlessly mesmerizing tracks consolidate the outlines of
forward-leaning club music.
Experimentation is a well-established facet of Impérieux’ approach to the adventurous techno (left)field, but the In and Out EP brings to the table his most condensed dance floor material so far. Holistically captivating hooks, bass lines and rolling rhythms: The next step after several years of exploration and refinement.
Unpredictability, bound together by a consistent, modernist glint. From the raw jacking of Gips to the warm euphoria of Baka, from the darbuka frenzy of Duman to the cutting friction of Trese – a triumph.

2025 REPRESS

A DJ, producer and significant figure in contemporary electronic music, Marcel Dettmann steps forward to contribute to Running Back’s ongoing Mastermix series. Whereas previous editions of Mastermix have taken an ear to the sound of lapsed, legendary clubs such as Wild Pitch and Front, Dettmann’s curation deftly captures the man himself in ongoing perpetual motion, raiding the vault for his own precision-tooled edits, long-employed on dancefloors to devastating effect. Alongside a continuous mix, this release arrives as a 3LP gatefold, and as a limited edition cassette.

Closely associated with Berlin’s techno landscape, Dettmann was born and raised in the former GDR, then later immersed in the bleary-eyed counter cultural landscape of post-unification Berlin. Initially oriented by post-punk, industrial and new-wave music, Dettmann has been DJing since 1993, always expanding and perfecting his repertoire. He later began working behind the counter at the city’s tastemaking rave boutique Hard Wax, and a decade after he first dropped a needle, became (and remains) resident at notable local nightspot Berghain/Panorama Bar, where his instincts have helped sculpt the signature sound of both main dancefloors.

Of course, you’re probably not asking, “Who is Marcel Dettmann?” More importantly, you might want to know; just what treats has he gifted us here? The trip begins with a simple pitch-shift skywards, transforming Identified Patient’s creeping ‘The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania’ into a peak-time freakout, before an alternate take on Toctronic’s ‘Bis uns das Licht vertreibt’ emerges from the vaults for the first time. Dating from 1995, and one of Dettmann’s all-time favourites, Cristian Vogel’s ‘Untitled’ clambers back into the box with respectable cuts, while John Bender’s ‘Victims of A Victimless Crime’ kicks off the flip sporting a new arrangement, transporting us back to the foundations of a confident, stripped-back sound.

A few subtle edits to Clark’s perilously funky ‘Dirty Pixie’ takes us to Dettmann’s remix of Junior Boys. Produced in 2010, it transposes the Canadian duo’s sophisticated pop with our curator in his minimal prime, and has since become an irresistible prize for high-minded diggers. The same can be said for Experimental Products’ explosive proto-electro anthem ‘Who Is Kip Jones?’, empowered from pricey Discogs purgatory with just the slightest of tweaks. It’s deservedly sandwiched between the guiding influences of Chicago and Detroit in the form of Mutant Beat Dance’s raw ‘The Human Factor’ and a shimmering new version of previous solo production ‘Water’, featuring close friend and Ostgut Ton ally, Ryan Elliot.

The second half of the Mastermix seamlessly connects the mechanical past and digital present of EBM and industrial in the dance, with Dettmann’s instincts as a guiding hand. Severed Heads’ iconic ‘We Have Come To Bless This House’ emerges with mere nips and tucks, while Nitzer Ebb’s ‘Shame’ is significantly reimagined as a highwire act of rhythm and tension, setting up a sensual second take on a 2017 remix of ‘Limbo’ from Swiss synth heroes, Yello.

Core musical memories are shaken and stirred with a context-shifting take on Frank Duval’s emotional classic ‘Ogon’, while Ian North’s ‘Sex Lust You’ and Ford Proco’s notable Coil collaboration ‘Expansion Naranja’ effectively throb with only minor adjustments, respectfully imagined as “shadow versions”. Meanwhile, a simple breakbeat lifts Albert Kuningas’s ‘Astraalprojektio’ in the direction of wide-eyed dancefloors, while a fresh take on K-Alexi Shelby’s ‘Season of The Real’ inexplicably emerges somehow even funkier than before.

The conclusion of the compilation leads back to Das Tier from the prolific experimentalist Conrad Schnitzler, whose swirling synths and hypnotic vocals are duly tightened by Dettmann, but only as he puts it, “in conversation with the original.” Concluding three discs and thirty years of commitment to the dancefloor, this Mastermix not only offers us the opportunity to eavesdrop on this endless exchange, but to gain some sought-after material for our own record collections.

When Harmonia made an album, it was about more than just music – it was about a vision. Released in 1975, Deluxe was the band’s second album. Compared to their debut, it focused more on structure, melody, and rhythm. Harmonia showed a more accessible side without losing their depth.

Now, 50 years later, Deluxe returns in a special anniversary edition: a high-quality gatefold with previously unreleased photos and orange vinyl inspired by the original artwork. This edition is for collectors and anyone curious why artists like Brian Eno and David Bowie considered Harmonia a major influence – and why Deluxe remains a blueprint for electronic music today. Brian Eno once called Harmonia “the world’s most important rock band”¹ – a quote that captures just how visionary their music was, and still is.

High-quality gatefold sleeve with unreleased archival photographs

50th anniversary reissue

orange colored vinyl, inspired by original artwork

Valby Vokalgruppe was initiated in 2008 by Anja Jacobsen, the Danish collective’s current line-cup is completed by Lil Lacy, Sonja LaBianca, Cæcilie Trier and Laura Marie Madsen. The group has written and performed a large number of cross-aesthetic pieces over the years, including an album Bah New Era released in 2012 on Eget Værelse.

Sharpened to its core, the group dives deep into rhythmical architectures built almost solely from the voice - think Platonic solids reimagined as sound objects. Think trance without electronics. These new compositions are compressed, sparkling forms — vocal geometries that spin, collide, and dissolve through repetition. From inside the circle: radical precision, soft dissonance, and playful intuition guide the way. The group explores the voice not as melody alone, but as material — vibrating, modulating, refracting.

Solids For Voices transcends into deep concentration calling for a clear state of mind, in recognition of an increasingly fragmented and incoherent reality. Valby Vokalgruppe endeavours a total absorption into the voice, the rhythm and the trance.

Four years on from their landmark Grassroots, visionary half-time heavyweights The Untouchables return with their third album, Lost Knowledge. The duo of Kate McGill and Ajit 'Nitrox' Steyns have carved out a space in modern D&B all their own, building on a legacy that reaches back to the late 00s to keep pushing into unexplored terrain with an assured and deadly line in rhythmic intrigue and atmospheric immersion.

Lost Knowledge launches into action instantly with the high-pressure drum science and dubby splashes of 'Drunken Bells', capturing the loopy techno propulsion and rolling intensity that drives so much of the output on Samurai Music. Where The Untouchables excel is in finding variety and nuance in their relatively forbidding, pared down sound. The heads-down groove of 'Mafia Town' owes as much to dembow and dancehall as D&B, while 'Lost Knowledge' spirals out into psychoactive flurries of synth strafes and organic percussion slathered in tight-locked delay trails. There's no light relief from strident hooks or riffs, just a pure, unshakeable commitment to the power of the beat and deeply designed layers of sound shaping out the space around.

'Busy Bones' makes space for carefully deployed hints of pad tone while the snares snap out of the mix with a sharp set of teeth. 'Four Eared Demon' baits the gabber crowd with its rapid-fire 4/4 hats atop seasick creaks across the midrange, keeping subtlety and patience in the lower frequencies to maintain the signature elegance readily associated with The Untouchables. 'Phase Correlation' teases an artfully unhinged ripple of synth that stands out amongst the murky murmurs filling out the middle distance, but it's still exercised with brutal precision.

Nothing happens by accident or feels out of place - McGill and Steyns are in total control, and they demonstrate incredible range and inventive approaches within their focused style. The accent of the grooves shifts, and individual sounds carry all kinds of artefacts, yet everything gets folded into the exacting Untouchables sound with a liberal dubwise sensibility. Brimming with inspiration and immaculately produced, on Lost Knowledge their one-of-a-kind sound is stronger than ever.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1934, Hector 'Costita' Bisignani is one of the leading figures in Latin American jazz. Settling in São Paulo in the late 1950s,
he quickly established himself as one of Brazil's most renowned flutists and saxophonists, collaborating with major artists such as Sérgio Mendes, Elis Regina,
Hermeto Pascoal, João Donato, and Gato Barbieri. His career also led him to play alongside Michel Legrand, Lalo Schifrin, Burt Bacharach, and Ray Conniff,

demonstrating his international influence. A founding member of Sérgio Mendes' Sexteto Bossa Rio, he contributed to the rise of Brazilian jazz by incorporating
local rhythms and bold compositions. He is also renowned as a teacher, making him a respected figure for several generations of musicians. With a career
spanning more than 70 years, he remains a pioneering figure in the history of Latin American jazz. 1981, now reissued, perfectly illustrates this creative freedom.

Recorded in the exuberant spirit of the 1970s and 1980s, it blendsbaião, jazz-funk, and Braziliansoul. Ledbyhissaxophone, flute,and clarone,andbackedbyhisGalleryClubband,

thisrarerecordingembodies the vibrant energy of a scene where experimentation and virtuosity went hand in hand.

DOUBLE VINYL
The full album on vinyl for the first time, packaged with the classic original Designers Republic artwork


ABOUT
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Collabs 3000: Metalism, the original classic pure techno album and first full-length collaboration between techno innovators Chris Liebing and Speedy J, is remastered and reissued via NovaMute.

Originally launched by Speedy J (aka Jochem Paap) as a platform for 12" collaborations with other artists, the Collabs series laid the groundwork for what would become one of techno's most compelling partnerships. The first release with Chris Liebing, Collabs 300 (featuring 'Trick_' / 'Treflon_'), landed in 2004 to a rapturous response; its machine-funk intensity and unmistakable breakdowns helped define the sound of early 2000s techno whilst revealing a writing and production chemistry that demanded a larger playground for their work.

That creative spark ultimately manifested in Collabs 3000: Metalism, a landmark record for techno. Combining the pair's mastery of subversive electronics and peak-time techno, the album remains a career highlight for both artists: a smouldering collision of taut techno rhythms, sonic abstraction, and, as the title suggests, robust metallic beats.

The 20th anniversary edition of this timeless techno masterpiece has been fully remastered by Liebing himself and is available on CD and for the first time on vinyl across 2 discs.

After a long hiatus from his world of Edits & Overdubs, Joaquin Joe Claussell brings you this Limited Edition 12" sampler taken from the forthcoming Joe Claussell "Praise" 6xLP box set. Joe raids the vaults of the legendary Savoy Records, the Strictly Rhythm of Gospel music! On the A-Side he takes the mid-tempo stomper 'So Much to Live For' by Myrna Summers and invokes the Holy Ghost, fortifying the drums and rearranging the vocals so you are left humming the chorus long after it has ended. The hook 'So Much to Live For' in itself sums up all of the 'Praise' series, a cry to instill hope and meaning in what is often perceived as the mundane of daily life. On the flip is a previously unreleased Joe Claussell takes of 'Jerusalem' by Bishop Jeff Banks. Here the sermon takes off right from the jump, a floor filling call and response four to the floor version finished in classic Claussell style. Wailing organs, driving percussion and vocals that will make you want to jump out of your skin. Both sides cut LOUD at 45RPM!

Very limited one time run of special color vinyl.

2025 Repress

Mihai Popoviciu, one of the most esteemed names in the deep house and minimal scene, is set to unveil his anticipated new album, ‘Puzzle Box’, on Bondage Music. As one of the label’s core artists, Popoviciu returns for his second full-length album release on the imprint following his successful 2016 album, ‘Home’ - available on vinyl from 15th November 2024.

With a career spanning over a decade and with releases on numerous influential labels such as 8Bit to Berg Audio, Popoviciu has firmly established himself as a go-to within the minimal-leaning realms of house music. Known for intricate soundscapes and deep, hypnotic grooves, his work continues to captivate audiences globally. On ‘Puzzle Box’, he delves deeper into his signature stripped-back yet soulful aesthetic, offering a diverse collection of tracks that traverse through various sonic textures.

“With Puzzle Box, each track unlocks something deeper with every listen” - Mihai Popoviciu.

Consisting of thirteen tracks in total, ‘Puzzle Box’ showcases the Romanian’s sound to its fullest. On the vinyl edition, fans are treated to standout tracks like ‘Batiscaf’, ‘Storm Rider’, and ‘Far Gone’ — vinyl-only gems that capture Popoviciu’s talent for layering subtle, dubby tones with groovy rhythms. The opening track, ‘They All Say’, sets the mood with smooth, atmospheric beats with a skippy groove, followed by the dynamic “Video” and the driving, pulsating energy of “Frankfurt.”

Popoviciu’s skill in crafting versatile productions is showcased throughout the album, with each track offering something unique.
From the sleek, melodic strains of ‘Puzzle Box’ to the hypnotic, rolling basslines of ‘Kinetic’, this LP is a journey into his meticulously constructed sound. The digital version also features the bonus track ‘Body Count 2’, offering a final, rhythmic flourish to round off the release.
‘Puzzle Box’ further cements Mihai Popoviciu’s role as a mainstay on Bondage Music, a label which continues to champion forward-thinking, minimal-leaning house music. With this latest LP, Popoviciu once again proves why he remains a favourite, building on his storied career with another masterclass in refined, deep electronic music.

Infotext ENG

After establishing himself as one of Europe's most distinctive voices in instrumental hip-hop, Mr. Käfer is ready to tell a different story. His third solo album, A Past Sense, arriving via Melting Pot Music on 11th November, shows a bold creative evolution from his signature lo-fi aesthetic into lush, collaborative territory that spans continents and genres.

His sixth project for Melting Pot Music marks a creative leap from the mood-driven, jazz-tinged instrumentals that built his reputation on releases like Lost Reflections (2019), Orientation (2020), and Now/Again I and II (2021, 2023). Now he's orchestrating a 14-track journey that weaves together hip-hop, soul, jazz, and North African rhythms through collaborations with carefully selected artists including Novine (GER), J-Tek (US), Kenji (US) and Cloudhead (AT).
Thematically, the album explores how memory reshapes identity, questioning the gap between who we were and who we've become. The visual side comes courtesy of acclaimed photographer and art director Robert Winter, capturing this nostalgic-yet-progressive spirit. A Past Sense will also be released on LP.
With A Past Sense, Mr. Käfer steps out from behind the boards and into the spotlight—trading lo-fi playlist comfort and algorithm-driven streams for something deeper. A past sense, maybe. But definitely a future sound.
Infotext DE
Europas instrumentaler Hip-Hop bekommt einen neuen Sound. Mit seinem dritten Soloalbum „A Past Sense“ verabschiedet sich Mr. Käfer von seiner lo-fi-geprägten Vergangenheit und erschafft ein Werk, das über Genres und Kontinente hinausgeht.
Wo frühere Veröffentlichungen wie „Orientation“ (2020) und die „Now/Again“-Serie (2021/2023) durch intime, jazzgetränkte Instrumentals bestachen, öffnet sich „A Past Sense" neuen Horizonten. Auf 14 Tracks verschmelzen Hip-Hop-Fundamentals mit Soul-Harmonien, Jazz-Improvisationen und nordafrikanischen Rhythmus-Patterns.
Die Kollaborationen mit Novine (Deutschland), J-Tek und Kenji (beide USA) sowie Cloudhead (Österreich) sind dabei keine Gastauftritte, sondern organische Begegnungen, die Mr. Käfers Musik in unerwartete Richtungen lenken. Er bricht bewusst aus der Blase algorithmusgetriebener Lo-Fi-Playlists aus und setzt auf echte musikalische wie menschliche Verbindungen.
Thematisch kreist „A Past Sense" um die Macht der Erinnerung und die Frage, wie Vergangenheit unsere Gegenwart formt. Diese konzeptionelle Tiefe spiegelt sich auch in der visuellen Umsetzung wider: Fotograf und Art Director Robert Winter entwickelte eine Bildsprache, die Nostalgie und Zukunftsvision in perfekter Balance hält.
Mit „A Past Sense" positioniert sich Mr. Käfer neu im internationalen Beat-Kosmos. Das Album erscheint am 11. November über Melting Pot Music – digital und auf Vinyl.

Wanda Felicias beeindruckendes Debütalbum ,Now Is The Time_" bei Timmion Records bietet eine dynamische Auswahl an Soul-Songs, die sowohl zeitlos als auch erfrischend aktuell wirken. Unterstützt von den analogen Grooves von Cold Diamond & Mink präsentiert Felicia eine Reihe von Geschichten, die in Vintage-Grooves versunken sind, aber für jede Zeit genau richtig sind.Mit Wurzeln in der New Yorker House- und Acid-Jazz-Szene - und nachdem sie sich jahrzehntelang aus dem Rampenlicht zurückgezogen hatte - kehrt Wanda mit einer gereiften Stimme und einem gereiften Geist zurück, bereit, jeden mit einem schlagenden Herzen zu beeindrucken. Jeder Track auf ,Now Is The Time_" fühlt sich gelebt an: vom schlurfenden Bounce von ,Stuck On You" über den blühenden Optimismus von ,Flowers in the Garden" bis hin zur introspektiven, funkigen Poesie von ,Reflections of Love".Auf dem gesamten Album singt Felicia mühelos, unterstützt von Cold Diamond & Minks reichhaltiger, aber dicht gewebter Palette aus Rhythmusgruppe und Horn-Riffs. Zusammen schaffen sie eine rootsige Klanglandschaft, die den Soul der späten 1960er bis frühen 1970er Jahre mit einem modernen Touch verbindet. Ob Sie sich nun von der Beat-Ballade ,All in the Game" oder dem Southern Soul von ,Until You're Mine" angezogen fühlen, dieses Album schafft seinen eigenen Raum jenseits von Trends - es zelebriert Handwerkskunst, Emotionen und zeitlosen Groove.

Wanda Felicias beeindruckendes Debütalbum ,Now Is The Time_" bei Timmion Records bietet eine dynamische Auswahl an Soul-Songs, die sowohl zeitlos als auch erfrischend aktuell wirken. Unterstützt von den analogen Grooves von Cold Diamond & Mink präsentiert Felicia eine Reihe von Geschichten, die in Vintage-Grooves versunken sind, aber für jede Zeit genau richtig sind.Mit Wurzeln in der New Yorker House- und Acid-Jazz-Szene - und nachdem sie sich jahrzehntelang aus dem Rampenlicht zurückgezogen hatte - kehrt Wanda mit einer gereiften Stimme und einem gereiften Geist zurück, bereit, jeden mit einem schlagenden Herzen zu beeindrucken. Jeder Track auf ,Now Is The Time_" fühlt sich gelebt an: vom schlurfenden Bounce von ,Stuck On You" über den blühenden Optimismus von ,Flowers in the Garden" bis hin zur introspektiven, funkigen Poesie von ,Reflections of Love".Auf dem gesamten Album singt Felicia mühelos, unterstützt von Cold Diamond & Minks reichhaltiger, aber dicht gewebter Palette aus Rhythmusgruppe und Horn-Riffs. Zusammen schaffen sie eine rootsige Klanglandschaft, die den Soul der späten 1960er bis frühen 1970er Jahre mit einem modernen Touch verbindet. Ob Sie sich nun von der Beat-Ballade ,All in the Game" oder dem Southern Soul von ,Until You're Mine" angezogen fühlen, dieses Album schafft seinen eigenen Raum jenseits von Trends - es zelebriert Handwerkskunst, Emotionen und zeitlosen Groove.

Obwohl "Suffer" lediglich eine Laufzeit von 26 Minuten hat, war die Platte für Fat Mike, den Sänger und Bassisten von NoFX, in Bezug auf das amerikanische Punk-Revival der Neunziger "das Album, das alles veränderte". Tatsächlich bedeutete der dritte Langspieler der Band 1988 nicht nur den internationalen Szenedurchbruch für Bad Religion, er schuf auch die Grundlage für den massiven Erfolg des Epitaph-Labels, das mit The Offspring, NoFX, Rancid und Pennywise just jene Gruppen unter Vertrag nahm, die in den Neunzigern mit Melodic Hardcore, Pop-Punk und Skatepunk für Furore sorgten. "Suffer" bot für die damalige Zeit etwas völlig Neues: Schnelle, aber sehr melodische Songs mit mehrstimmigen Gesängen und Hintergrundchören sowie abrupte Rhythmuswechsel; hinzu kamen der klare Gesang Greg Graffins, der durch eine exakte Aussprache und Metrik gekennzeichnet ist, sowie intellektuell inspirierte Lyrics. Bad Religion spielten die 15 Songs von "Suffer" in der Originalbesetzung - Greg Graffin (Gesang), Brett Gurewitz (Gitarre), Greg Hetson (Gitarre), Jay Bentley (Bass), Pete Finestone (Schlagzeug) - im April 1988 im Westbeach Recorders-Studio in Hollywood ein. Das Album wurde von Brett Gurewitz und Donnell Cameron in acht Tagen aufgenommen und gemixt.

NDATL continues with the latest release from the legendary UK producer Mr. G, delivering another timeless installment to his already heavyweight catalog. Black Jammies brings two top-tier cuts that showcase why Mr. G continues to stand as one of house music’s most respected and uncompromising figures.

The A-side, “Saved”, is a raw yet soulful groove that locks you in with its chords, hypnotic rhythm & sample. It’s Mr. G at his most essential—stripped back, powerful, and full of swing. On the flip, “So Wrong Yet So…..” dives even deeper, with it's deep bassline, while he asks "Are You Having Fun?" a true masterclass in tension and release, balancing grit and warmth with his signature touch.

These two tracks highlight the unique craftsmanship and uncompromising vision that have made Mr. G a true legend in the underground. Black Jammies is a must-have for DJs and listeners alike, capturing the spirit of NDATL: soulful, raw, and timeless.

Three years after his debut album, London-based Jeigo levels up with a new long player that displays his knack for meaningful melodies and deft rhythms while blurring the lines between ambient, garage and breaks. Inspired by three months on an olive oil farm in rural Italy, there is a beautiful sense of isolation and inward reflection to these sounds, even when the energy ramps up. Sultry, airy vocals and delicate strings weave between organic grooves on the opener, while pitched-up and pained tones bring a futurist twist to the paddy garage beats of 'Echoes.' There is a more warped low end and hints of Burial's ghostly vocal and drum designs on 'Emptiness' while 'Groundwater' is shuffling house suffused with luminous synth work that brings a nostalgic pang. Etum is a masterfully melancholic study that leaves a lasting emotional impact.

‘Cataclysm’ is a poignant call for revolution of both politics and consciousness, conveyed through ten distinct songs written and produced by Zanias between 2020 and 2024. Each piece of music inhabits its own aesthetic universe and rhythm, featuring elemental fusions of coldwave, italo disco, witchhouse, trance, breakbeats, hyperpop and even a touch of drum and bass. The unique amalgamation is best described as post-industrial ethereal wave, of Zanias’s very own signature. The subject matter grapples with how to move forward through times when civilisation and the entire ecosystem of the planet feel like they are on the brink of total collapse, while gazing back over hundreds of thousands of years of human survival in total awe of how far we’ve come. The lyrics aim for a balance of vulnerability and poetic strength, as the audience is beckoned to “thread the power through the pain”. While darker atmospheres are conjured through the sound design and instrumentation, the album ultimately directs itself steadfast toward the glittering sheen of hope. As the tempo ascends through the course of the album’s tracklist, so too does Zanias’s deep attachment to our sacred humanity and refusal to give in to despair.

‘Cataclysm’ represents an ambitious defiance of genre tropes in pursuit of pure artistry, with a potent political message delivered with assertive fervour and playful sincerity. Additional production was contributed by mixing engineer Trey Frye, best known for his work in the band Korine, and the album was mastered by Alain Paul.

In the two years since Parallel Minds’ Juno-Award-winning 5th release Homesick by label co-founder Ciel, we have taken our time reassessing our next moves as the larger dance music scene experienced a paradigm shift. What does it mean to release music made by underground artists from lesser-known scenes like Toronto at a time when bookers and A&Rs are taking fewer risks than ever before? How do we truly celebrate the musical diversity of electronic music when the bottom line threatens to reduce any and all forms of risk-taking?

You just do it, of course.

In truth, few artists have come to represent the music scene in the Big Smoke more than Phèdre, and having seen the duo’s progression from indie weirdo-pop to live hardware act to breakbeat wunderkind in the last decade has been nothing short of amazing. It’s really artists like these that inspired us to start the label in 2018, and we are super elated to usher in PM006 with their long-awaited album, Liquid Constancy.

On its face, Liquid Constancy is a breakbeat record. There are housier joints, to more bassy Baltimore club bangers, to breakneck footwork and jungle steeped in sunshine. All of them share a distinctly syncopated, dubwise rhythm that grounds the album’s tracks. With some having been developed as early as seven years ago, these tracks had their genesis in Phèdre’s mostly improvised live hardware sets from some of Toronto’s most notorious warehouse raves. Primarily powered by two Korg Electribe ESX-1s and the semi-modular Moog Mother-32, the jams found new life in the studio when the duo began recording them as tracks, which demanded a mindfulness of their permanence that Daniel Lee and apè Aliermo at first found intimidating.

Over time, the pair developed a synergistic workflow that pulls from Daniel’s background in drums and apè’s keen ear for texture and movement. They sourced samples featuring voices of BIPOC and feminist icons, drew from their shared love of sci-fi and kung fu movies, and from their Filipino, Chinese, German, and Surinamese backgrounds. Samples were manipulated via techniques like lowering bit rates and adjusting speed to maximize usage due to the Electribe’s limited sample time, which was a subtle way of injecting their interests into their music without being too on the nose. Growing up in the melting pot of the GTA, going to raves as teens, bumping post-punk, industrial, electro, hip-hop and 90s R&B — these experiences all had an undeniable influence on Liquid Constancy. As kids of immigrant parents, equally informed by both their adopted and native cultures, Phèdre makes music informed by sampling and defined by cultural hybridity. In times like these, what is more feel-good than believing in music as a universal language that brings our different backgrounds together?

Heavyweight psychedelic improvisers EarthBall are back with their third and most monstrous record to date: ‘Outside Over There’, released on Upset The Rhythm (Nov 7th). Born from the haunted basements of Nanaimo, Canada, the quintet thrives on spontaneity, shaping improvisation into jagged hallucinations and ecstatic eruptions.
Recorded live-off-the-floor in 2024 in Jeremy, Izzy, and Kellen’s basement, and mixed by drummer John Brennan, ‘Outside Over There’ is an album that feels both summoned and inevitable. Each track lands with uncanny purpose, as if uncovered rather than written.
The opener, 100%, features a cameo from comedian and English icon Stewart Lee, who lent his blessing for the band to use a fragment of his stand-up. The album was mastered by John Dieterich (Deerhoof), with liner text contributed by longtime comrade John Olson (Wolf Eyes). Olson describes the album in his unmistakable style:
“This eight-track odyssey unfolds like a dreamscape, where whispered incantations brush against the shadowy fringes of the cosmos, and wild, Cézanne-inspired rock anthems erupt like geysers of color in the midst of a western warm and wet rain storm… culminating in the sprawling eleven minute masterpiece, ‘And The Music Shall Untune The Sky,’ aptly dubbed the Earth Crusher. A creation so utterly deconstructed and intertwined with the pulse of nature itself that if AI was called upon to conceive ‘Outside Over There’ anew, it would just spit back, “F.U. in Tree Font”. An enchanting invitation for even the flat-earthers to join the circle, if only just a little.”
EarthBall’s trajectory has been relentless. Their 2024 album ‘It’s Yours’ was praised by The Quietus as “fully aggressive and fully life-affirming,” and by The Wire as "a boisterous mind-melting album”. The band’s live double set LP ‘Actual Earth Music Vol. 1 & 2’ (2025) captured blistering performances: a performance opening for Wolf Eyes at the Fox Cabaret, and a Café OTO improvised throw-down featuring Chris Corsano and Steve Beresford. These releases on their own confirm them as one of Canada’s most vital experimental exports, not to mention the impressive self-released discography on their Bandcamp. The band’s reach has stretched far beyond their west coast roots with a UK tour May 2024, plus this past June, EarthBall closed Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon. This November they will perform at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, with a European tour to follow (tour dates below). Outside of EarthBall, each member carries their own torch. Jeremy Van Wyck, founding member of the legendary Shearing Pinx, has toured extensively, released over 100 records, and has been a vital force in the Vancouver and West Coast underground for the past 25 years. He and Isabel Ford (Izzy) play together not only in EarthBall, but also in Psychedelic Dirt, Shearing Pinx, Behaviours, and Crotch.
John Brennan collaborates widely, including recently with Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich), Evichen (Victoria Shen), Francesco Fonassi, Plan Your Future (with Greg Saunier of Deerhoof), Brennan/Corsano duo and Physics with John Dieterich. Kellen Maclaughlin performs with KVMP and Ora Corgan, while saxophonist Liam Murphy is a west coast staple, playing with the best across Vancouver Island and the mainland. On three of the tracks of ‘Outside Over There’, the band is joined by their comrade Justin Patterson, who also plays with Brennan in the duo Modale. This cross-pollination fuels EarthBall’s sound - a collective improvisation, psychically overdriven, and grinding into bloom.
Outside Over There’ is more than an album though, it is a ritual, a gathering of sound at the forest’s edge; where feedback, saxophone screams, and ecstatic vocals dissolve the boundary between chaos and clarity. EarthBall invite you into their circle, to share in the joyful terror of spontaneous creation. ‘Outside Over There’ will be released on November 7th through Upset The Rhythm digitally and as a limited blue-in-black vinyl LP.