quête:his

BBE Music’s celebrated J Jazz compilation series reaches its fifth and final volume in early 2026, culminating in a track list that maintains the exceptionally high standard first set with volume one back in 2018. This final volume features a selection of tracks that is as diverse as it is deep, reflecting the rich and varied Japanese jazz scene that spanned from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, a golden era of innovation and creativity. J Jazz volume 5 sees compilers Tony Higgins and Mike Peden dig ever deeper into their respective record collections to reveal tracks that encompass myriad styles including white hot jazz funk fusion from Toshiyuki Honda (Eastern Legacy) and Mikio Masuda (Sonic Barrier), super rare ethnic jazz crossover by Christal Zone - their one-off 45 promo release from 1971, Rai Rai, a deconstructed and abstract jazz classic by Yasuhiro Kohno with his solo piano rendition of My Favourite Things, and Mile and Half’s skin-tearing, shredding freak-out from their mega rare private press album.

A track that is so relentless, it leaves the listener in need of oxygen and a Valium. These hand-picked selections sit alongside other specially chosen numbers that embrace hard-driving samba (Seiichi Nakumura’s Judy’s Samba), epic head-nodding soul jazz (Masaru Imada’s World Line), psychedelic private press fusion (Aoyama Gakuin 101’s Fervor), angular post-bop tear-ups (Akira Miyazawa’s Nijimasu), intense and insistent fusion (Motohiko Hino’s Olive Step), serene cinematic pianism (Hideo Ichikawa’s On the Trade Wind) and tripped-out hallucinogenic tribal funky jazz (Masahiko Sato’s Garandoh’s Africa to Africa). Most of the tracks on this collection are being reissued for the first time, many of them only available previously on extremely limited and mega-rare private press or independent releases. J Jazz volume 5 is a fitting end to a compilation series that helped create a new audience and appreciation of Japanese jazz Some of the albums the tracks are drawn from are featured in the large format book J Jazz: Modern and Free Jazz from Japan 1954-1988, by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, published by BBE Music in 2024. With almost 7000 words of extensive sleeve notes, J Jazz volume 5 comes in a triple 180g vinyl set inside a deluxe gatefold sleeve with obi strip, and comes with a 4-page insert, with photographs from the renowned Tokyo Jazz Joints project. It is also available as a double CD and digital download. Mastered at the Grammy-nominated Carvery Studio by Frank Merritt, this latest collection is a worthy successor to the preceding four volumes that set the bar so high. The J Jazz series is curated for BBE Music by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden.

On her new album, Neon Summer Skin, Bedouine, the project of Azniv Korkejian, explores this feeling of safety long before one can fully understand the concept. Written with vivid, honest and intimate imagery after visiting her family in Saudi Arabia, it tells the story of family and upbringing, and mourns the end of her childhood. There is a singular resonance and newfound heft in this music previously unheard in Bedouine’s discography. Bedouine is known for making gentle, lilting folk songs that build fingerpicked guitar melodies into tsunamis of emotion. Her masterful songwriting and timeless melodies have earned her praise from publications like Pitchfork, who said her music “boasts a surreal calm and lived in glow,” and Rolling Stone, who lauded her “humble folk-pop brilliance,” plus an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and tours with the likes of Fleet Foxes and Father John Misty. While working on the record, Bedouine realized the pain of displacement, of searching for home, has been a throughline in her family history. Other relatives have also experienced this sense of loss as they’ve migrated between Armenia, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. “I felt so frustrated about the places that I'm from becoming war torn or difficult to return to,” she says. “My family has been split apart time and time again.” This realization prompted her to document and honor her parents’ lives and stories. On a family trip to Houston, Bedouine recorded a conversation with her mother and sampled the introduction to “Canopies.” The song tells the story of her mother’s time in an orphanage. She was put there by her own mother as a way of escaping her abusive father. Nearby, her mother would sing about feeling her daughter’s essence in the air: "The waves of Beirut's beaches flutter, and how sweetly they blow my darling's air." It’s a story of profound yearning told with the quiet profundity of a flower blossoming.

Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, Soilent Green emerged in the early 1990s as a formidable force in the extreme metal scene, blending sludge, grindcore, and death metal into a uniquely savage sound. The band quickly gained recognition for their ferocious intensity and uncompromising approach, pioneering a fusion of genres that profoundly influenced the development of extreme metal. With a history spanning over two decades, the band has faced more than its share of adversity and struggles. Yet they continue to push forward. Driven by passion, perseverance and an unrelenting will to dominate. On stage, Soilent Green is known for their electrifying performances, harnessing raw energy and aggression to create unforgettable shows. Each performance is a visceral experience, featuring blistering riffs, thunderous drums, and guttural vocals that resonate deeply with audiences. Whether headlining festivals or playing intimate gigs, Soilent Green leaves an indelible mark, forging a connection with fans that cements their legacy as one of extreme metal’s most revered bands.

Magasine is back with a new release on his own label. "Thank You My Sun" has four upbeat tracks that fit somewhere between house, tech house, and minimal.

The opener, "Joy," is a total crowd-pleaser. It's captivating with a soulful choir phrase, which sets the mood for the whole piece.

Up next is "Artistico," a standout track with an emphatic bassline and powerful percussion.

On the B-side, "Klimduin" takes a chill ten minutes to deliver some minimalist magic.

The EP ends with "Mistral", a dance-worthy track with its rolling drum arrangement and floating synth figures.

Embracing a vinyl-first strategy, "Thank You My Sun" drops exclusively on wax ahead of its digital counterpart.

>>> comes in 4c Sleeves

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their bestselling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limitededition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics. Studio One Roots set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series and features many of the classic artists from Clement 'Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae. This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Devon Russell alongside some of the defining in-house groups of Jamaican reggae history - The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. The album is filled with a mixture of seminal cuts and super-rarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road.

Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’s ‘Blackish White’, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie’s Rastafarian drummers’ genre-defying interpretation of Booker T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams aweinspiring versioning of the Skatalites' seminal Rastafari anthem ‘Addis Ababa’ and many, many more. Original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King), compiled by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, wicked images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover, and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner sleeves. “There isn't a weak number across these 16 tracks, from the Gaylads’ ode to ‘Africa’ and Devon Russell's version of the heavyweight ‘Drum Song’ rhythm, to stunning instrumentals such as Jackie Mittoo and the Cyclones with nyahbinghi drummer Count Ossie on ‘Meditation’, Lenny Hibbert’s sparkling vibe work over Mittoo's ‘Ghetto Organ’ and The Sound Dimension’s ‘Congo Rock.” Pitchfork “The music of this compilation is of a rare, rare beauty and is essential to anyone's reggae collection.” All Music

American singer, songwriter and guitarist Boz Scaggs rose to fame in the 1970s with several top 20 hit singles in the United States. In 1976, he teamed up with a group of session musicians who would later form Toto and recorded his seventh album, Silk Degrees, which became a huge hit. The album reached #2 on the US Billboard 200, #1 in a number of countries around the world, and spawned three hit singles: “Lowdown,” “Lido Shuffle,” and “What Can I Say,” as well as the MOR standard “We’re All Alone,” which was later recorded by Rita Coolidge and Frankie Valli.

Silk Degrees is available as a limited edition of 750 copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Bassmæssage is the oldest and most consistent bass night in Leipzig Germoany, pushing local soundsystem culture and grass roots artivism. We are about to welcome a fresh release "for all who like it low and want it vibrant"!

After two installments of bass-heavy multi-genre various-BPM grooves on Volume One in 2015 and on Second Drop in 2023 here comes the full triplet in this line of bass music vinyl compilations featuring acts who have been mÊssaging our nights. This time on Threenity, one side side is running garagewise 130, flipped by a more dubsteppish 140 area, all drowning in dark sinister midranges, mindful drum programmings and heavy-weight lows for huge speakers, to be released around 9th May 2026 on a 2 floor DIY soundsystem night in Connewitz!

Opening with genre wizzard LUI from Leipzig, showing how dirty and fonkey a garage bit can actually go. Bricks of beats on a fundament of nasty bass concrete, roofed by a vast selection of uplifting samples are vibing for sure.
Trainsient is the deep bass moniker of Leipzig's Plastiks running DDNBC, delivering a heavy tribal statement of a lost place of a deep grime, overgrown with flutey leaves and dreamy synth lianes hiding da moddership.
Psionide from Dresden with estonian roots is celebrating a vinyl debut with a slow-jungle dream-breaks bit between retro and future, braindance and dance, listening and bassline coaster.
Son du Maquis outa Toulouse sneaks in low in a classic dubstep manner, only to drop the lowest wobble possible right throughout the ride.
Miles Won transmitting from Plugwhiz, nails headnodding with his beat writing skills. Where bass meets hip hop, the grass has never been greener.
Finally, veteran like Dub Across Borders cabling from Copenhagen is delivering the contemplating outro: a melancholic 140 halftime not only to send you home but right into the night sky.

These six peaces are found on a heavy cut vinyl, ready to shake your system. As bonus there is another papercraft Basstelbogen cover, which lets you build your own BM logo and a 1:3 ratio record player on top. Mach's mit, mach's nach, mach's b‰sser!

2026 Repress

When the TSA agent left a little note in Mike Huckaby's DJ case at the airport instructing him to protect the records that he dj's with, little did he know that Mike Huckaby would be compiling his first LP. A collection of previously released tracks that have been in demand ever since. All tracks are much louder now, and are remastered. This is also a collection of too many classics, produced by Mike Huckaby. Enjoy !

DJ Support: Joseph capriati, Joris Delacroix, A-Trak, Eliza Rose, Damian Lazarus, Laurence guy, TSHA, Ame, Maslow Unknown, Malugi, DJ Heartstring, Anna Lunoe, Mera Bhai, Mat.Joe, Swoosh, Tyson, THELMA, Speaking Minds, Cole Knight, Joris Voorn, Peggy Gou, Eden Prince, Tony and many more

SHEE is a Dublin born house music producer and DJ whose sound bridges deep, soulful club music with a distinctly Irish identity. Built on years of consistent releases, relentless touring, and grassroots community, SHEE has established himself as one of Ireland's most exciting house music exports. The Rosebud EP anchored by lead single 'The Groove' in collaboration with New York legend A-Trak and Dub Katz is the most significant release of his career to date.

The album is a powerful reaffirmation of human creativity: "My music has always been about connection, bringing enduring old stories into conversation with contemporary life," Portman says. "This album is a collective, entirely human-made effort, and it's richer because of it." Renowned for her luminous songwriting and distinctive voice in contemporary folk, Portman steps into bold new territory with an album that charts a heroine's midlife journey through dark woods in search of wonder. Drawing on ballads and folktales, Dominion of Spells explores themes of burnout, misogyny, motherhood, miscarriage and personal transformation, weaving lived experience with mythic imagery and traditional folk narratives. The title track, Dominion of Spells , reclaims a 17th- century phrase once used to diagnose women as "disordered", drawing on the myth of the wandering womb and the long history of medical misogyny. Portman transforms these ideas into a vision of a freer, fairer realm where women's bodies are understood rather than feared. The first single, Turn Again , is a tender meditation on parenthood, inspired by her young son's imaginative shapeshifting games and echoing the Tam Lin ballad, where steadfast love breaks a powerful spell. Elsewhere, the album explores women's right to move safely after dark, genderswapped retellings of heroic quests, miscarriage, phone addiction and the restorative power of creative practice.

The Lounge Society guitarist HERBIE MAY releases his second solo single on June 5 via Red Licorice Records. Uphill is an exuberant blast of choppy mood-altering indiepop energy with the kind of sharp, observant lyrics that recall Courtney Barnett, Jonathan Richman or Stuart Murdoch. The record is backed with Apple an urgent exhortation to get up, get out and go and Do Something. The 7inch 45 will be available on limited edition vinyl (250 copies) as well as on all digital platforms. Herbie says: These songs are my call to leave it all behind. To forget ourselves; the myths of our identities. These veneers of personalities we've constructed don't seem to serve us any more. We all feel stuck. So why don't we just drop it, find new selves, in new places. Who's with me?

With Superstring, one of the greatest trance classics returns to vinyl. Originally released by Cygnus X, the track became a landmark in trance history and remains instantly recognisable decades later. Its hypnotic melody and emotional drive helped shape the sound of the genre and continue to resonate with fans and DJs.

This special edition includes an exclusive, never-before-released remix by Oliver Lieb as well as the iconic versions by Rank 1: the celebrated Rank 1 Remix and the Deep Dub Remix. Each interpretation brings a different perspective to the timeless core of Superstring, showing why it remains one of trance's defining records.

Pressed on vinyl for collectors, DJs and trance enthusiasts, this release celebrates the enduring legacy of a classic that still feels relevant today. It represents trance's ability to connect generations through melody and emotion.

DCTL Members is a unit formed by Masafumi Onishi, aka TELLY, the label owner of Troop Music Works, and DJ DUCT, who is renowned for his turntable skills that span a wide range of genres, from Hip Hop and Rare Groove Funk to Detroit Techno and Deep House. For this upcoming EP, they feature Shu Suzuki, a multi-instrumentalist who lends his versatile talents to the project.
This time, by blending musical instruments with the raw warmth of analogue gear and rough, sampler-and-rhythm-machine-driven sequences, the sound has evolved into something even more energetic and full of DIY spirit.

Ekkel guides Earth Dog to The Destination, a four-pronged psychedelic clinic in the finest Nordic electronic tradition.

Co-founder of Norway’s Ute collective, celebrated Oslo-based producer and DJ Ekkel revels in prog naturalis. Previous releases as Alvar and Shadowmages, his duo with S.O.N.S., perfected this tripped-out sound with a heavy emphasis on melody. Following last year’s celebrated appearance at an Earth Dog rave in Brooklyn, he returns to grace the crew’s fourteenth release with The Destination.

Opener Questions About Mindcontrol awakens the discordant synapses, an entanglement of melodies and rhythm with a certain progressive attitude. Home Or In A Dream (Miami Morning Mix) properly ascends with trance-like wonder and ecstatic lucidity, before So Quiet returns to dusk with a tek-no throb and acidic bite. Destination G concludes with a nocturnal shimmer, an unrelenting groove caught in its own hypnosis ‘til the finale.

Mr. YT returns!

The cult deep house alias of Yuji Takenouchi was last seen on Brand New Day in 2017, which compiled a series of soft scenes and deepest soulful house for the ambient techno predator R&S and its Apollo, Generations and Global Cuts sub-labels across the mid-to-late 90s. Quietly and confidently some of the most beautiful house music ever made.

So it's a thrill to announce the Universo EP today on Short Span, and to say that he’s still making incredible new dance music in his studio. This is the first Mr. YT record of brand new material in twenty eight years.

The lushness springs forth as delightfully as ever. The inspirations of Detroit chords floating and interacting with a certain kind of Japanese plasticity and futurism. Crystal clear blue skies, sweet perfume and space race optimism, touched with a gentle wistfulness. The four tracks are each as beautiful and intricately deep musically as they are colourful and buoyed by energy. Ready to delight you.

Universo has some new purpose and drive up front, designed and deployed as his most propulsive dance music as Mr. YT. The tempo is taken up, and tracks frequently break out into virtuosic melody that dances across the pieces. Yuji’s talent for composition that hits as hard as it effortlessly glides hasn’t lost its edge in the quarter century plus break. The kick of “Acuario” and “Escorpio” are finely balanced with the influences of jazz and something a little more padded and cosmic. You could mix these into something by Los Hermanos or Ian O’Brien.

The EP bubbles down to a more yearning, sunsetting ambient house on the B side. The instantly recognisable language of classic Mr. YT, a warm and tender place.

Mr. YT has been absent a while, but Yuji’s busy. He’s established a long career as a musician and sound designer within the Japanese videogaming industry, having his hand in games including FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series surely adds something widescreen and sharply emotionally focused to the direction of his dance music. His Missing Project alias also got some shine from the stellar Music From Memory Virtual Dreams II compilation in 2024, which once again pinned down his enduring importance within the ambient techno movement of Japan. He’s also regularly working with Tokyo’s FORM@ Records and regularly self-publishing interesting work and studio versions. And his Missingsoul alias is still some of the most beautiful deep jazz-house committed to wax on Ron Trent’s Future Vision label. Check it all out!

Portugal's Dextro returns for second EP of stylish deep techno on Mutual Rytm with ‘Planets And Stars’. Dextro’s tunes have long been a staple of Mutual Rytm label head SHDW's sets, with the esteemed veteran previously landing on the label with his ‘Covil Dos Abutres’ EP last year. His return with ‘Planets And Stars’ features a selection of his most requested IDs from recent times, with the Portuguese DJ/producers featuring as a longstanding favourite within the European underground since the 90s through his stripped-back, economical sound that is rooted in masterful design and intuitive grooves. He is a true studio craftsman, whether going deep or more destructive, and that range is on show here as he makes a splash for his sophomore outing. SHDW notes, “‘Planets And Stars’ feels like his most refined and focused work to date. It also further strengthens our relationship, rooted in a shared vision and values around music and how it should be presented.” The EP kicks off with the heavyweight ‘1000 Places’, a track that will rattle walls as eerie synth whispers and sonar blips snake through the mix. ‘Industria Acéfala’ is just as hypnotic with a deep blend of rolling bass and rooted kicks, while unsettling tension comes in the one-note synth loops and scratchy texture. ‘Planets and Stars’ provides an intergalactic trip with cosmic dust, conscious spoken words and an infinite horizon that has you gazing off into the distance. The all-consuming ‘Perpendicular’ is shadowy with impish motifs darting about the mix as watery droplets fall into cavernous kicks. ‘Winter Letter’ is the final 12”cut and is perfectly deep, linear techno with gorgeous ambient details that turn your thoughts inwards. Three digital bonuses expand the trip: ‘Torresmos com Pão’ is unsettling and sparse, ‘Historia da Vida’ ramps up the tension with oversized hi-hats and rising synth turbulence and finally ‘Ghost Particles’ has shimmering bell sounds evoking a spooky moon-lit church in the dead of night.

Ital Tek's new album 'Mind Abandon' takes a different direction from his recent run of releases, embracing a more human touch in contrast to the dense, world-building drone of his previous albums and film work. This time, he set out to compose away from the computer as much as possible _ working more instinctively and allowing himself to get lost in the music. Alan found the most natural starting point was his own voice, processing vocals into shifting pads and textures. His guitar sits at the centre of much of the record, joined by live, hand-played percussion and effects, often captured in quick, spontaneous performances. The result is an album of spacious, contrasting dynamics, with textures pressing against each other and rhythmic elements fighting to surface from glutinous, layered sound. "It feels like a very introspective record for me," Alan says. "Losing my sense of identity/self as part of the process - the increasing effort to calm my mind and embrace humanity/imperfection in the music. This path made sense as a jumping off point for a lot of the music to be vocal or guitar experiments - singing in ideas and then processing to become less identifiable." The album feels carved and three-dimensional, weaving industrial and shoegaze influences with the darker edges of post-rock. Subtly embedded in its architecture are traces of dubstep dynamics _ a sound that remains part of Alan's DNA. Opening track "The Ice Is Thin" is driven almost entirely by live guitar and keyboard, awash in reverb. On "A Hidden Path," everything apart from the drums stems from processed vocals and guitar, with a fleeting appearance from his daughter's toy ukulele. It unfolds like the beginning of a journey _ vast and cinematic _ nodding to the widescreen tension of Ennio Morricone before building into a towering wall of noise. "Killswitch" disorients with pounding kick drums crafted from twanging acoustic guitar, pushing through layers of static-charged chords. "Undertow" spirals outward on looping guitar figures set against a pulsing Rhodes. "Misted," built around a rare four-to-the-floor beat, uses guitar as a driving rhythmic device, opening with a bassline that wouldn't feel out of place on a The Cure record. "Imagined Landscape" introduces icy keyboard textures that foreshadow the dark closer, "The Pull," where an arpeggiated bassline reminiscent of DAF underpins unnerving, internalised sound design that feels as though it's scratching from within. Mind Abandon closes on a heavy, stalking note _ fresh sounds drawn from the body and the heart.

London-based DJ, producer, singer, and Fine Human Records owner Dino Lenny returns to vinyl releases on his own label.

Two fast-paced tracks that meander through waves of dark electronica and diabolical synths.

These tracks were created to capture the inner workings of Lenny's mind, transforming them into hypnotic works.

With releases on R&S, Diynamic, Innervisions, Rekids, Crosstown Rebels, Strictly Rhythm, Cocoon, and his own Fine Human Records label,

has remixed and collaborated with Underworld, Missy Elliott, Wu-Tang Clan, and Madonna,

Lenny has long held a firm foothold in both the underground and mainstream electronic music scene.

Consistently supported by Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, Sven Vath, he maintains a presence that spans multiple scenes without being defined by just one.

Since 2021, he has hosted Tomorrowland's CORE radio show, featuring artists such as Nina Kraviz, Ellen Allien, Ame and Sven Vath