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Aspen is very proud to introduce ‘Non Sonett’ by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. This ensemble is a pioneering Norwegian chamber group whose work on ECM and Hubro has redefined the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition and folk music.Across seven albums, the ensemble has developed a highly distinctive l anguage built on restraint, timbral nuance and collective interplay, placing it among the most influential European ensembles of the 21st century.

Bringing together some of the finest musicians in Norway, the ensemble draws on a rare collective sensitivity, where each player contributes to a deeply integrated and texturally rich sound world.

With Non Sonett, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble opens a new chapter that grows directly out of recent years of work in more solitary and cross-disciplinary contexts. In this period, Wallumrød has developed material for solo performance as well as for dance, allowing ideas to take shape in more fluid and exploratory formats. Some of this material now finds its way into the ensemble, where it is met by the possibilities offered by instrumentation, collective playing, and the distinct voices of the musicians. At the same time, older pieces—originating in entirely different settings— re-emerge here in new forms, reshaped by the ensemble context.

A defining aspect of Non Sonett is the way many of the pieces function less as fully determined compositions and more as open frameworks: starting points, suggestions, or “springboards” for music. These structures invite response rather than prescribe outcome, relying on the ensemble’s inherent sensitivity and capacity to realize and transform the material in performance. The result is music that feels both precise and fluid, shaped in equal measure by composition and by the interpretative presence of the players.

Central to this album is a continued deepening of Wallumrød’s long-standing interest in ambiguity and in dissolving boundaries between different musical elements and expressive worlds. By placing contrasting materials and associations side by side—sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly—the music opens up spaces where meanings remain fluid and interconnected. On Non Sonett, this approach is taken a step further, allowing these juxtapositions to play an even more active role in shaping the music’s character and flow.

This approach connects closely with the ensemble’s broader artistic trajectory. Over time, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble has developed a language that is immediately recognizable—marked by reduction, clarity and a deep attention to sonic detail. While each release has its own character, the underlying aesthetic remains consistent: a focus on the inner life of sound itself. Rather than foregrounding gesture or virtuosity, the music draws the listener toward the smallest elements, where meaning emerges gradually through texture, spacing and timbre.

The listening experience becomes one of concentration and proximity, where each sound carries weight, and the accumulation of detail forms a larger whole. References may be sensed—to early polyphonic music, Norwegian folk traditions, or more recent experimental practices—but these are absorbed into a singular musical language that resists categorization.

As with the ensemble’s recent work, Non Sonett also continues the integration of electronics as a fundamental part of the sound world. Each musician engages with electronic elements alongside their acoustic instruments, creating a layered and dynamic sonic environment. At times, this leads into extended, exploratory passages reminiscent of analogue musique concrète; at others, electronics operate almost imperceptibly, subtly altering and extending the acoustic textures in real time.

Während wir auf ihr zweites Album ,Di Hotel Malibu" warten, verwöhnen uns Thee Marloes mit einer atemberaubenden Doppel-A-Seite. Die A-Seite, ,Under the Silver Moon", ist ein knallharter Two-Stepper, der sowohl die bitteren als auch die süßen Seiten einer Fernbeziehung einfängt, vor einem luftigen musikalischen Hintergrund. Die musikalische Leistung und die Produktion ziehen dich vom ersten Snare-Schlag an in ihren Bann, während Frontfrau Natassya Sianturis honigsüße Stimme durch Metaphern und Prosa lebhafte Bilder heraufbeschwört. Auf der B-Seite offenbart ,Through the Changes" die zarteste Seite des Sounds der Band. Kraftvoll und zart zugleich reflektiert der Song darüber, wie wir uns vorstellen - und damit ringen -, was nach dem Tod kommt. Natassya sehnt sich nach Gesellschaft und Gesprächen mit einem geliebten Menschen, der verstorben ist, mal erinnert sie sich an gemeinsame Momente, mal hinterfragt sie, ob es Sinn macht, weiterhin mit ihm zu sprechen und an ihn zu denken. Ihr Gesang ist so intim, dass es unmöglich ist, nicht jedes Wort zu spüren, während die Band die perfekte, zurückhaltende Begleitung liefert.

Step inside the shadow-drenched world of The Curse of Frankenstein with this definitive soundtrack release from Hammer Films, celebrating the film that launched Hammer Horror and changed cinema forever.

In early 1957, composer James Bernard wrote, orchestrated and recorded sixteen powerful cues for The Curse of Frankenstein. Created in a remarkably short production window, Bernard’s score became the sonic blueprint for Hammer’s bold new gothic identity.

Although all sixteen tracks were used in the finished film, the original session recordings are now lost. During Hammer’s painstaking 2025 4K feature restoration, approximately 13 minutes of clean music were newly extracted from the film’s original mixed music-and-effects track — a rare archival recovery that brings Bernard’s work back from the grave.

For the first time anywhere in the world, this historic music is released on vinyl, presented as four atmospheric suites across two 45rpm 7" EPs. Carefully curated to preserve the dramatic flow of the score, this release allows listeners to experience the chilling intensity, gothic menace and emotional weight that defined Hammer’s Frankenstein.

Pressed on green vinyl and produced exclusively as a Limited Collector’s Edition, this set is essential for Hammer fans, classic horror collectors and film-music connoisseurs.

This Limited Collector’s Edition includes:

• Four suites of music from the original The Curse of Frankenstein soundtrack
• Two 45rpm 7" EPs pressed on green vinyl
• Liner notes by David Huckvale, biographer of James Bernard
• Liner notes by Hammer music expert John Mansell

Own a landmark piece of horror film history and experience the sound that resurrected Frankenstein. This exclusive vinyl release is available only from Hammer Films — once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

Vladislav Delay, primarily known as a highly regarded electronic music innovator, steps ahead with his acoustic jazz quintet. Echoing the forward-looking vd musical vision always ahead of the curve, the new album does not fit into any specific category, forging a path of its own across the 10 tracks. Recorded at Candybomber Studio in Berlin, the album brings vd together with Maria Bertel, Lucio Capece, Derek Shirley and Max Loderbauer. This is shape-shifting, elastic music that exists left of any given timeline.

Based in Hailuoto in Northern Finland, Vladislav Delay has never fit into any given mould as an artist. His prolific, at times mythical output has elevated him to a veritable legend status in all music cycles appreciating a unique artistic voice. Be it his forward-reaching recent releases as Vladislav Delay on his own Rajaton imprint, his Ripatti alias, or playing metallic percussion with the Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Vladislav Delay always has A SOUND. And that sound is ever-evolving, as his new jazz album shows. What "jazz" is this? There are certainly liquid elements there in the mix, not unlike the ones heard on previous vd productions. Then again, this is acoustic quintet music by and large, but not any specific kind we have ever heard before. Isn't that the whole point of "jazz"? Whatever came before is a springboard, not a limitation.

Sara Parkman's fourth album – the first since 2022's Eros Agape Philia – explores the mystical tradition and the work involved in living – and dealing with life.

The album marks several new steps in Sara Parkman's musical development – from the passionate and majestic flow of words to the introspective tone. A recurring theme is the idea of prayer and work, or ora et labora in Latin.

‘I want the idea of prayer and work to be a source of comfort, hope and encouragement in the challenging times we live in. We must continue to work and believe in the common good,’ says Sara Parkman.

Since her album debut in 2016, Sara Parkman has pushed the boundaries of what folk music can be. Her albums have been repeatedly praised for weaving together tradition and the future. Along the way, she has been awarded a number of prestigious awards in Sweden – from Grammis wins to Dagens Nyheter's Culture Prize – and she has sold out tour after tour.

As the figurehead of a movement larger than herself, she has also carved out a place of her own for Scandinavian folk music, not least through her involvement in her own record label, Supertraditional.

Killer Groove Records proudly presents the self-titled debut album by Italian cinematic funk trio Atabasca. A sonic journey where funk, psychedelia and desert groove merge into a timeless narrative suspended between rhythm and vision.


"Atabasca" marks the debut release from the cinematic funk trio, dropping March 27th on limited edition LP, CD digipack and digital formats, the latter featuring an exclusive bonus track. This is a project built on evocative imagery: each song unfolds as an open scene, an emotional landscape where listeners can step inside and write their own ending.

Lap steel, kalimba, percussion and guitars interweave with bass and drums, striking an original balance between tradition and experimentation that evokes unwritten soundtracks for worlds at once distant and familiar. The record navigates between melancholy and irony, tension and release, with a sharp focus on dynamics and sonic narrative.


Deserts, seas, imaginary villages, getaways, pursuits and collective rituals: "Atabasca" emerges as a collection of musical landscapes that unfolds through vivid, evocative imagery.

Jazz-funk, world music, afrobeat, psychedelia and the Italian Golden Age of movie soundtracks merge into a singular emotional geography: warm, analog and deeply human.

The musical journey opens with "Dune", a melancholic statement that leaves room for imagination, before igniting with "Kundela Mawedi" and its cascading lap steel over haunting vocal chants. "Paco" tips its hat to classic westerns, tracing a bandit's trajectory, while "Cameo" drifts back to childhood through minimal rumba and shimmering kalimba. The cinematic imagery continues in "Cacopoulos", a nod to Spaghetti westerns and Eli Wallach, built on raw drum patterns and distorted guitars. Intensity builds in "Khettara", where afrobeat rhythms and Middle Eastern textures intertwine, before "Hell Dorado" tears off in pursuit of the American dream's funk-fueled mirage. "Papambra" weaves hypnotic polyrhythms between kalimba and lap steel, while "Porpora" delivers a sensual, visceral tango of passion and tension. The digital edition closes with "Reprise", a sequel that stretches the album's central theme into an expansive, meditative interpretation.

The tracks were recorded in single takes, capturing the raw energy and natural atmosphere of the performance. Artistic production was handled by the trio alongside Andrea Fabrizii (digger, musician, producer and catalogue curator for CAM Sugar), while Riccardo Ricci mastered the album at Velvet Room Mastering Studio in Brighton.

Like a desert blooming within the evergreen forests of the planet's far north, a unique, alien, disruptive environment. This is the vision behind Atabasca, the project of Luca Mongia (guitars, lap steel, keyboards, vocals), Paolo Mazziotti (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Valerio Pompei (drums, percussion, vocals).

Individually active for over twenty years on both the national and international scenes, the three Italian musicians came together in 2023 to create a project that merges experience, experimentation and creative freedom. Their music is imaginative and at times dreamlike, blending the classic concept of the instrumental trio with the worlds of film scoring and sound design.

Atabasca's sound moves through jazz-funk, world and cinematic territories, weaving together afrobeat, desert and psychedelic influences into a personal and timeless language. Each piece is a scene; each sound, a fragment of a world, a journey between reality and imagination where groove, texture and organic timbre merge into a singular sonic ecosystem: a perpetually shifting balance that generates new inner landscapes.


For fans of Khruangbin, Surprise Chef and instrumental psych-funk!

40 Thieves have been part of the Leng family since 2011 during which time they have released many quality singles and EPs as well as their sole full-length album, 2014’s epic The Sky Is Yours. Even so, double A-side ‘Love Is’/’Let Me Show You’ still marks their first release on Leng for almost three years.

In keeping with their signature sound, ‘Love Is’ is trippy, hallucinatory and gently mind-altering, with psychedelic guitar sounds, echoing percussion, and a heady lead vocal courtesy of crew member and Alona, all of which rides a chunky dub disco bassline and chugging mid-tempo beats. Richard Sen, a DJ and producer known for his love of dubbed-out sonics and pulsating grooves, delivers a typically spaced-out and otherworldly rework. Rooting his revision to the dancefloor via an undulating electronic bassline that throbs away restlessly throughout, Sen stretches out the track and emphasises its more trippy elements before introducing dreamier chords and heady vocals with a brilliant interpretation.

On ‘Let Me Show You’, 40 Thieves step things up to deep house tempo while remaining firmly rooted in 21st century San Francisco nu-disco with rich, dubby bass guitar, tactile piano chords, futurist synths and knowing nods to Patrick Cowley productions of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. The track is presented in two forms: the superb ‘Vocal Mix’, where Alona’s vocal rises above the groove and intoxicating electronics, and a genuinely radical and out-there dancefloor focused ‘Dub’. Pushing the track’s wilder and more out-there elements to the max via stripped-back arrangements and a smorgasbord of effects, 40 Thieves re-wire the cut as a heads-down psychedelic disco chugger topped off with wonderfully loved-up chords.

With his self-titled new album—out May 8 on Candid Records—Grammy-winning guitarist, producer, and songwriter Matthew Stevens delivers a definitive midcareer mission statement. Long recognized as one of the most thrilling and thoughtful guitarists of his generation, Stevens has built an elite reputation in music, touring and recording with a "who’s who" of modern icons, including Esperanza Spalding, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, Harvey Mason, and Walter Smith III.

On this new release, Stevens steps fully into the spotlight, performing at the absolute peak of his powers. The music seamlessly melds acoustic and electric sonics through a mix of genre-blurring originals and deeply personal covers. The album features a multigenerational cast of musicians, including mentors like Terri Lyne Carrington, personal guitar heroes like Jeff Parker, and rising visionaries such as vibraphonist Joel Ross and vocalists Anna B Savage and Corey King. Co-produced by Stevens alongside Josh Johnson and Eric Doob, the record is the culmination of 20 years of craft. It reflects a period of profound personal and artistic change, ultimately bringing Stevens to "a place of optimism, excitement, and confidence" that signals a bold new chapter for one of jazz’s most essential voices.

Aspen is very proud to introduce ‘Non Sonett’ by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. This ensemble is a pioneering Norwegian chamber group whose work on ECM and Hubro has redefined the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition and folk music.Across seven albums, the ensemble has developed a highly distinctive l anguage built on restraint, timbral nuance and collective interplay, placing it among the most influential European ensembles of the 21st century.

Bringing together some of the finest musicians in Norway, the ensemble draws on a rare collective sensitivity, where each player contributes to a deeply integrated and texturally rich sound world.

With Non Sonett, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble opens a new chapter that grows directly out of recent years of work in more solitary and cross-disciplinary contexts. In this period, Wallumrød has developed material for solo performance as well as for dance, allowing ideas to take shape in more fluid and exploratory formats. Some of this material now finds its way into the ensemble, where it is met by the possibilities offered by instrumentation, collective playing, and the distinct voices of the musicians. At the same time, older pieces—originating in entirely different settings— re-emerge here in new forms, reshaped by the ensemble context.

A defining aspect of Non Sonett is the way many of the pieces function less as fully determined compositions and more as open frameworks: starting points, suggestions, or “springboards” for music. These structures invite response rather than prescribe outcome, relying on the ensemble’s inherent sensitivity and capacity to realize and transform the material in performance. The result is music that feels both precise and fluid, shaped in equal measure by composition and by the interpretative presence of the players.

Central to this album is a continued deepening of Wallumrød’s long-standing interest in ambiguity and in dissolving boundaries between different musical elements and expressive worlds. By placing contrasting materials and associations side by side—sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly—the music opens up spaces where meanings remain fluid and interconnected. On Non Sonett, this approach is taken a step further, allowing these juxtapositions to play an even more active role in shaping the music’s character and flow.

This approach connects closely with the ensemble’s broader artistic trajectory. Over time, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble has developed a language that is immediately recognizable—marked by reduction, clarity and a deep attention to sonic detail. While each release has its own character, the underlying aesthetic remains consistent: a focus on the inner life of sound itself. Rather than foregrounding gesture or virtuosity, the music draws the listener toward the smallest elements, where meaning emerges gradually through texture, spacing and timbre.

The listening experience becomes one of concentration and proximity, where each sound carries weight, and the accumulation of detail forms a larger whole. References may be sensed—to early polyphonic music, Norwegian folk traditions, or more recent experimental practices—but these are absorbed into a singular musical language that resists categorization.

As with the ensemble’s recent work, Non Sonett also continues the integration of electronics as a fundamental part of the sound world. Each musician engages with electronic elements alongside their acoustic instruments, creating a layered and dynamic sonic environment. At times, this leads into extended, exploratory passages reminiscent of analogue musique concrète; at others, electronics operate almost imperceptibly, subtly altering and extending the acoustic textures in real time.

Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound. It is at once intimate and cosmic, drawing on the challenges and possibilities of their artistic exchange, tearing down technique to access all the expansive possibilities of their sonic meeting point.



At Source is a document of the world of sound to be conjured when two artists strive for something together, discovering the expansions and limitations of performance by bodies and machines. It is not an exercise in assimilation, but in productive exchange and creative confrontation. It does not draw on outside energies or influences, but grapples with what there is to find in their respective playing. "It also reflects how natural the collaboration was," says Barbieri, "a meeting at the source which was spontaneous, graceful and natural".



Barbieri and Giske first met and were enthralled by one another's performances at Kunsthaus Glarus in 2019, a meeting that spurred conversations on the power of transitions as a compositional force. Giske later contributed a rework of Fantas for Fantas Variations (Editions Mego, 2021), an ambitious undertaking to rescore Barbieri’s work for his saxophone and voice, a challenge Giske had started undertaking two years prior as an ongoing practice of transcription. “The request came as a proof of aligned ideas”, says Giske.



Their new collaborative project then started during an artistic residency in Milan’s ICA in 2021, by invitation of swiss artist and curator Jan Vorisek, as the world was emerging from lockdown. This meeting, and the preceding closure of sites for cultural exchange, made their work together 'feel like springtime' says Barbieri. Giske, who was on the brink of releasing his sophomore album, Cracks, then joined Barbieri's light-years tour, which functioned as an inaugural incarnation of her newborn label and platform through a series of multi-artist curated shows with appearances of Lyra Pramuk, Nkisi, MFO, among other artists.



Through the tour, they continued to develop material live, and this release, laid down in the studio, is true to that ever-evolving process of creation, where live feedback stays essential to the vitality of this collaborative effort. The tracks are each named with two evocative words that contain the two poles of their sound. Theirs is both abstract and cosmic, in the synth as machine undermined by Barbieri's naturalistic playing, and in Giske's continuous exploration of the symbiosis between his instrument, voice, and body. These binaries, of body and machine, posed various challenges, notably in how the stepped patterns Barbieri uses were near-impossible to translate for Giske's body to perform, and other times where mathematical resolutions were needed to sync their playing. Explains Giske: "It forced me to go to the core of what I am and what I have to offer”. Barbieri says that it "explores the liminality between the machine and the human, and the vulnerability in this process".



At Source is testament to two divergent practices finding a whole cosmos in which to convene; music is crystalised and made utterly enveloping through the focused and critical work of two musicians working at their peak. The versions here are, temptingly, "just one of many versions" of this abundant source material Giske explains. Like the best collaborations, At Source is more than the sum of its parts – bringing more to the feast than the simple combination of two musicians, promising versions upon versions of the exquisite material captured here.

A tribute to Bob the Landlord from Rotterdam. Bob the Landlord became known in Rotterdam after appearing in a documentary about the harbor cafe Willems Kantine. He was a loud and direct landlord who rented small rooms to people around the area. Bob was famous for his strong Rotterdam attitude and the way he spoke to people without filtering his words. One of the most famous moments was when Cowboy Jos asked him for five euros. Bob angrily replied, "Five euros? On your face!" This line later became a well-known quote in Rotterdam. Even though he could be rough and strict, Bob became a memorable character and a small cult figure in the city. 4 tracks on one very special release. A1 by Doctr - Our Minds Belong Together. The long awaited super nu italo hit already played by David Vunk at many festivals and clubs where everyboday is waiting for! A2 by Theo Scuera - Your Virus. Club banger and Dancefloor filler with crazy sexy bassline and pumping rhythm section. Half electro half techno. Endmix legendary by Endrik schroeder. A1 David Vunk and Ben la Desh - Unrealized prophet. Long time friends Ben la Desh and David Vunk team up again with another super deep techno house track, layered analog sequencial prophet 5 synths sound, Erica Perkons drums and fx. All of this comes together in an exciting tech break with space-like sounds. Be prepared for this secret wapon. B2 Patricio Diaz - Come To My Hell A Parisian space house techno track with energetic beats and 90ies vibes. Pure energy. Get your 10000 steps on this one. Hint: Most likely people will already buy this just for the cover. So be quick for this release and don't miss this.

Sadeira is a production trio made up of members based in both Brooklyn and Brazil and have dropped some global groove heat on the likes of Let's Play House and London-based Leng. For this one, they drop the first release from Ceci Discos in the form of the original single 'Miscigenacao'. It's a summer, deep cut sound with Balearic, MPB and jazz all colouring the swaying rhythms. Breezy vocals transport you to a coastal setting while the percussion is lively and authentic. The Jacques Renault Rhythmental remix lands more heavy but just as patiently, Diogo Strausz ups the sunshine with his piano-led reverie, and the Saidera Steppers dub is one to crank up nice and loud early in the evening.

Double 12" release

The Story — From the Streets of Rome to the Male Productions Label
In the early 1990s, Rome lived in a kind of suspended moment. The city was still tied to its historic clubs, yet in the outskirts—inside abandoned warehouses, quarries along the coastline, and the wooded parks north of the capital—something new was beginning to stir. A nocturnal, constantly shifting movement fuelled by a hunger for freedom and a sonic curiosity that reached far beyond the mainstream.

Moving through this ferment was Francesco “Chicco” Furlotti. First an organizer of unconventional parties and underground nights, he soon became one of the driving forces behind Rome’s itinerant rave scene. Furlotti sensed that a wave of change was about to sweep across the city. It wasn’t just about parties: it was the rise of a culture, a new way of thinking about music, community, and belonging.

It was within those nights—later held with official permits, properly built sound systems, and an ever-growing crowd—that Furlotti recognized the existence of a distinctly Roman sound, and the need to capture it, preserve it, and give it tangible form.
So, in 1991, he decided to take a bolder step: to found an independent record label—small, determined, and far removed from the commercial logic that dominated at the time.
That was the birth of Male Productions.

Male was not a label like any other: it was a workshop, a gathering point, a creative hub where DJs, producers, friends, and wanderers converged. Within that environment, an artistic core took shape—Stefano Di Carlo, Leo Young, and Mauro Tannino, along with other collaborators orbiting around Furlotti. From their synergy emerged a project whose very name declared its mission:

The True Underground Sound of Rome.

The collective did not simply aim to release music; it sought to tell a story of Rome through sounds that defied categorization: house, techno, ambient, electronic mysticism, psychedelic visions… a unique blend, instantly recognizable, emotional, and experimental. The sessions unfolded using essential yet razor-sharp gear: Roland drum machines, analogue synthesizers, Akai samplers, stripped-down mixers. Few tools, endless imagination.
The first result of this work was the 12” Secret Doctrine, released in 1991 in an extremely limited run—around 500 promotional copies, according to accounts. The record captured something that until then had floated only in the air of Roman raves: enveloping atmospheres, deep rhythms, melodies built to make the mind travel far beyond the dancefloor. A sound that did not imitate what was happening in Detroit, London, or Berlin, but absorbed those influences and re-sculpted them with a distinctly Roman sensibility.
Yet, precisely because it was independent and detached from commercial circuits, Male’s output remained sparse: few EPs, few copies, irregular distribution. Over time, those records became rare artifacts—almost mythical objects within the Italian electronic scene. The legacy of Male Productions seemed destined to survive only in the memories of those early years, in the stories told after raves, and in the private archives of a handful of collectors.
Many years later, thanks to the almost accidental rediscovery of a few original copies of the first two releases issued by Male Productions, it became possible to undertake a meticulous process of recovery and restoration of the audio etched into those grooves, with the aim of preserving as fully as possible the quality and character of that unrepeatable sound.

We are therefore able today to present — at last in a complete and faithful form — the first two mixes created for Male Productions, now released on a double vinyl that brings back into the present the exact moment when it all began: the nomadic nights of the raves, Furlotti’s vision, the creativity of Di Carlo, Young and Tannino, and the sonic identity of a Rome in the midst of transformation.

This is not merely a reissue.
It is a historical document.
A fragment of a culture that changed the city.
The authentic sound of the Roman underground, finally returned to the world.

Stay True Sounds presents ‘Stay True Cutz Vol. 9’, the ninth vinyl edition in the label’s ‘Cutz’ series, curated by Kid Fonque. Drawn from the label’s most recent catalogue, this selection brings together four essential South African house cuts for discerning ears and dancefloors.

Side A opens with beatsbyhand ft. Sio – ‘Trick Me’, a deep house reinterpretation of Kelis’ classic, reshaped into a soulful, floor-ready anthem carried by Sio’s assured vocal. It’s followed by Tea White’s ‘Earth Over Us’, a textured and emotive 3-step instrumental that leans into a more ambient, introspective space.

On the flip, Thabo Tonick’s ‘The Source’ delivers forward-facing 3-step with signature sampling and tight, purposeful builds. Closing the release, Nutty Nys offers ‘Never’ - a low-slung, heavyweight deep house cut layered with blues-tinged soul and unmistakable South African groove.

More than half a century into its existence, heavy metal still prowls as a living force in the dark, and Vancouver's SPELL summon that spirit with defiant conviction on their fifth album, 'Wretched Heart'. Rejecting the safety of nostalgia, the band; Cam Mesmer, Al Lester, Gabriel Tenebrae and Jeff Black, step beyond retro homage into shadowy new terrain, where harmony guitars blaze like torches against the night and gothic atmospheres coil around songs pulsing with desperation, longing, and wild exaltation. Forged through the fire of the stage and shaped by trusted collaborators, this is SPELL at their most potent: dramatic, vulnerable, and unafraid of excess. From existential laments to bittersweet anthems that shimmer with both steel and sorrow, 'Wretched Heart' beats with a fiercely human pulse. In SPELL's hands, heavy metal is no museum relic but a darkly romantic covenant-restless, cathartic, and forever reaching beyond the veil.

More than half a century into its existence, heavy metal still prowls as a living force in the dark, and Vancouver's SPELL summon that spirit with defiant conviction on their fifth album, 'Wretched Heart'. Rejecting the safety of nostalgia, the band; Cam Mesmer, Al Lester, Gabriel Tenebrae and Jeff Black, step beyond retro homage into shadowy new terrain, where harmony guitars blaze like torches against the night and gothic atmospheres coil around songs pulsing with desperation, longing, and wild exaltation. Forged through the fire of the stage and shaped by trusted collaborators, this is SPELL at their most potent: dramatic, vulnerable, and unafraid of excess. From existential laments to bittersweet anthems that shimmer with both steel and sorrow, 'Wretched Heart' beats with a fiercely human pulse. In SPELL's hands, heavy metal is no museum relic but a darkly romantic covenant-restless, cathartic, and forever reaching beyond the veil.

More than half a century into its existence, heavy metal still prowls as a living force in the dark, and Vancouver's SPELL summon that spirit with defiant conviction on their fifth album, 'Wretched Heart'. Rejecting the safety of nostalgia, the band; Cam Mesmer, Al Lester, Gabriel Tenebrae and Jeff Black, step beyond retro homage into shadowy new terrain, where harmony guitars blaze like torches against the night and gothic atmospheres coil around songs pulsing with desperation, longing, and wild exaltation. Forged through the fire of the stage and shaped by trusted collaborators, this is SPELL at their most potent: dramatic, vulnerable, and unafraid of excess. From existential laments to bittersweet anthems that shimmer with both steel and sorrow, 'Wretched Heart' beats with a fiercely human pulse. In SPELL's hands, heavy metal is no museum relic but a darkly romantic covenant-restless, cathartic, and forever reaching beyond the veil.

CrackedanklesRecords are proud to present Polypores “Wrigglers” - the latest emergence from Stephen James Buckley’s strange and overgrown brainforest, an artist who has seen recent albums crack the national top 40 charts.From the opening bars of lead single ‘Memespawn’, it is clear that this incendiary release is going to defy all precedent Polypores releases. Kicking off with a heady mix of woozy, slewed melody lines and a relentless Motorik beat, it soon breaks down into a gritty instrumental redux and a frenetic syncopated woodwind jazzathon before bursting out again into spine-tingling melody that resembles some deformed cousin of synth-pop. It’s beautifully melodic, whilst still maintaining Buckley’s trademark sense of the chaotic and the downright wonky. Endlessly listenable electronic music that breathes and moves like a physical organism, and always refuses to stand still. A restless misfit of an artist who inhabits the fringes of whatever scenes he inhabits, Buckley maintains a certain crackling unease throughout the whole thing, but it results in jubilant outbursts and freewheeling joy, tethered only by the mechanical constraints of the machines it’s wrought from, like some broken robots have cobbled together an orchestra and they’re writing a soundtrack for a film they haven’t seen.

Rosita is a cheerful, well-liked woman with a fiery desire to have children. Those around her find it irresponsible because she can barely take care of herself. When Rosita does manage to become pregnant, she chooses to keep her pregnancy a secret.

David Martijn, guitarist and synth player in the electro-rock band GOOSE, wrote the music for the full-length album 'Holy Rosita'. His experience as a composer for projects such as 'De Dag', 'War of the Worlds', 'De Twaalf', and '1985' contributed to Martijn's desire to challenge himself again to come up with a fresh, distinctive sound, as he does with every project.

"My initial feeling was that I would have to step far out of my comfort zone to let the music tell this delicate story. I soon felt that the music needed to be light and open, in contrast to the uncertain and complex reality in which Rosita finds herself. Therefore, it seemed like a good plan to keep the score very close to Rosita and much less focused on her surroundings or reality. The music had to be, as it were, a reflection of the thoughts and feelings playing out in Rosita's mind. That is often hopeful, determined, lively, sometimes a bit naive, and at other times very lonely, sad, and uncertain." - David Martijn

Are U Mad At Me marks a huge, cowboy boot-wearing step for the Brooklyn-based songwriter. Fields proves that genre is as fluid as sexuality, as the album saunters across country, pop, disco, grunge, and classical with ease. Across 12 tracks, Fields traverses bangers like power pop lead single “Party Girl” and two-stepping second single “Hands Off The Hat” (co-written with Grammy award-winning songwriter Melody Walker) all the way to tragic ballads like “Apalachicola to Tallahassee” (co-written with Karen Pittelman of Karen & The Sorrows) and the closing “Uncle Charlie’s.” He makes light of gender-neutral bathrooms marked with unicorns instead of stick figures in the guitar-driven “Pronoun Meltdown” and calls out a husband cheating on his wife with another man in the tragicomic ballad of “You Should Tell Your Wife.”

Are U Mad At Me arrives at a pivotal time in the roots music scene and the world at large. Fields, who is now rapidly becoming one of New York City’s queer country leaders — through his East Village residency at Lucinda Williams’ new honky tonk and dive bar and through his musical mentorship work through The Recording Academy — has been working tirelessly for this moment for more than a decade. Performing under this moniker since 2013, Fields has released three LPs and two EPs. He’s recorded on queer country pioneers Lavender Country’s 2022 reunion album, Blackberry Rose, and served as the band’s touring pianist. Additionally, his 2023 protest song duet with Mya Byrne, “Burn This Statehouse Down,” made it onto NPR music critic Ann Powers’ list of favorite songs of the year.

Certain paths necessitate and call for one singular long sequence in order to arrive at a fully formed conversation or reasoning. Nothing seems to broadcast it more clearly than the trajectory Brussels based Italo-Vietnamese artist Nguyễn Zen Mỹ embarked on during the last decade as Radio Hito.

After a string of highly cherished and sought out tape releases, Radio Hito’s new album ‘L’uso e gli attributi del cuore’, co-released by Maple Death & Meakusma, unfolds with devastating
clarity, a profound balance of depth, minimalism and emotional grounding. A ten-sequence song cycle for voice and MIDI soundfonts adapted from the 2021 book by French poet Claude
Royet-Journoud.

Written and recorded between January 2023 and August 2025, the cycle evolved through nearly 80 live performances from Galicia to Kazakhstan before arriving at its recorded form. Set to an Italian libretto adapted from Royet-Journoud’s text ‘L'usage et les attributs du cœur’ (POL, 2021), the work revisits the tradition of the 19th-century Lied — art song built on existing poetry— transposed into a radically economical contemporary setting: voice and Casio CTK workstations.

"I was interested by this incompleteness CRJ mentions - by the ‘suspension’ of meaning questioning readability and intelligibility. I ‘resisted’ to CRJ’s texts since I met him and got to know his work. … It seems to me that when playing the songs, I submit an object to be completed by the audience."

Radio Hito’s distinctive approach to setting poetry to music — spare arrangements, strophic repetition, and a voice suspended between recital, fm transmission and canzone — creates a language of its own, reaching new heights on ‘L’uso e gli attributi del cuore’, songs that are formally rigorous, emotionally restrained, and shaped by the discipline of sustained live performance, interlocking into a coherent cycle.

Rather than illustrating the poem, Radio Hito approaches it as a space of suspension. Royet-Journoud described poetry as a “profession of ignorance” where meaning remains incomplete; these songs extend that trembling state, allowing repetition, digital timbre, and restraint to hold the text open.

Often misread as minimal synth or romantic chanson, Radio Hito’s practice is rooted instead in the lineage of the art song and song cycle: open structures, close attention to language, and a live performance economy that pushes the voice at the heart of the stage. The choice of accessible keyboard workstations — light, portable, and embedded in contemporary popular culture — replaces the historical piano.

Radio Hito creates fantastical, mirage-like songs, intimate yet elusive. Her music is forlorn chanson for the digital age; bringing her haunting and beautiful vocalisations into conversation with MIDI soundfonts and humble-yet-deep casio compositions. Music that strides for simplicity, yet lands miraculously within an entire new universe, a uniqueness achieved from like-minded spirits such as Ghedalia Tazartès, Savina Yannatou & Lena Platonos, Dorothy Carter, cycles that trickle down into estuaries.

“Radio Hito's set is superb. Sitting on the altar steps with a synth, her fabulously expressive vocals colour sparse, pensive compositions.” The Wire

In eine Szene, die häufig von Schein und Dunkelheit dominiert ist, schickten die DESCENDENTS ab Mitte der 80er eine Portion dreckigen Humor, Songs über die junge Liebe und das junge Leben, unverschämt eingängigen Hooks, eine koffein-befeuerte Rhythmusgruppe und natürlich dem legendären Milo am Gesang. Es gab wieder Spaß im Punk. Das erstmals 2004 veröffentlichte Album ,Cool to Be You" zeigte, dass man erwachsen werden und einen ,richtigen" Job machen kann und trotzdem schneller und lauter spielt, als die nachgerückten Kids, die halb so alt sind wie man selbst. Es festigte ihr Vermächtnis als die Band, die den Pop" in den Punk brachte, ohne dabei die Punk-Kante zu verlieren. "Luckily, the only thing that has changed about the band is their switching of record labels from Epitaph to Fat Wreck Chords. Milo Aukerman, Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton continue to spit out hook-laden pop-punk with the energy and humor they have been known for since the early '80s. Like the Ramones before them, the Descendents' overall sound tends to be interchangeable, in the best possible way, with previous efforts. Why mess with a good thing? For instance, among these 14 tracks, "Nothing With You" can be compared to "Clean Sheets," while "Cool to Be You" and "Mass Nerder" are anthems à la "I'm Not a Loser" and "I Don't Want to Grow Up." - Zurück auf schwarzem und limitiertem farbigem Vinyl! Das entscheidenen Verkaufsargument: Jeder liebt die DESCENDENTS! Richtige Annahme, oder?

In eine Szene, die häufig von Schein und Dunkelheit dominiert ist, schickten die DESCENDENTS ab Mitte der 80er eine Portion dreckigen Humor, Songs über die junge Liebe und das junge Leben, unverschämt eingängigen Hooks, eine koffein-befeuerte Rhythmusgruppe und natürlich dem legendären Milo am Gesang. Es gab wieder Spaß im Punk. Das erstmals 2004 veröffentlichte Album ,Cool to Be You" zeigte, dass man erwachsen werden und einen ,richtigen" Job machen kann und trotzdem schneller und lauter spielt, als die nachgerückten Kids, die halb so alt sind wie man selbst. Es festigte ihr Vermächtnis als die Band, die den Pop" in den Punk brachte, ohne dabei die Punk-Kante zu verlieren. "Luckily, the only thing that has changed about the band is their switching of record labels from Epitaph to Fat Wreck Chords. Milo Aukerman, Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton continue to spit out hook-laden pop-punk with the energy and humor they have been known for since the early '80s. Like the Ramones before them, the Descendents' overall sound tends to be interchangeable, in the best possible way, with previous efforts. Why mess with a good thing? For instance, among these 14 tracks, "Nothing With You" can be compared to "Clean Sheets," while "Cool to Be You" and "Mass Nerder" are anthems à la "I'm Not a Loser" and "I Don't Want to Grow Up." - Zurück auf schwarzem und limitiertem farbigem Vinyl! Das entscheidenen Verkaufsargument: Jeder liebt die DESCENDENTS! Richtige Annahme, oder?

"K8A a.k.a. Kaethe Hostetter is a New York–based violinist. composer, and bandleader, whose work grew out of eleven years living and collaborating in Ethiopia. As a founding member of Debo Band and QWANQWA, Hostetter has been performing Ethiopian music for over two decades, and her solo debut, Woradj Alle, builds on this legacy by reimagining Ethiopian songs through live-looped violin and electronics.
"The album unfolds as a hypnotic, ritual-like performance that expands the instrument into an immersive sonic landscape, that refracts Ethiopian classics through dub, psych rock, and avant improvisation. It is not fusion, but transmission - music that blurs memory, place, and time.
"This collection of musical vignettes is based on my time in Ethiopia, the place I called home for 11 years", Kaethe explains. "The phrase 'Woradj Alle' is one of the first colloquial expressions I learned upon arriving in Addis Ababa, used on public transportation, simply meaning 'let me off right around here'. In choosing this name, I invite you to join me on the rickety minibus journey through my time in Ethiopia, and step off 'the bus' into scenarios, atmospheres, and soundscapes that describe moments I experienced, people I met, and other lasting impressions, striking and mundane."

Red Axes step into the fabric presents series with a release that feels both inevitable and deeply personal. Known for their hypnotic, psychedelic approach to club music, the Tel Aviv–based duo bring a narrative-driven sensibility that aligns seamlessly with fabric’s legacy of long-form storytelling and forward-thinking curation.

Across years of performances at fabric and other key global institutions, Red Axes have developed a reputation for sets that unfold patiently and unpredictably, drawing dancers into a world where groove, tension, and atmosphere take precedence over genre or trend. Their contribution to the fabric presents series reflects this ethos: a carefully sculpted journey that prioritises mood, momentum, and emotional depth, while remaining firmly rooted in the physical language of the dancefloor.

Formed by Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi, Red Axes emerged from Tel Aviv’s underground with a sound shaped by post-punk, acid, krautrock, and cosmic disco influences. Over the past decade, they have built a catalogue defined by raw textures, twisted melodies, and a distinctly human looseness, qualities that translate as powerfully in the club as they do on record. Their releases and remixes for labels such as Phantasy, Correspondant, Running Back, Dark Entries, and Permanent Vacation have established them as artists who consistently operate just outside the expected.

As DJs, Red Axes are celebrated for their ability to stretch time on the dancefloor, weaving obscure selections, unreleased material, and leftfield classics into slow-burning, trance-inducing narratives. This approach has seen them invited to venues and festivals including Panorama Bar, De School, Bassiani, Dekmantel, Sonar, and Primavera Sound, where their sets are defined not by peaks alone, but by the tension built between them.

With the forthcoming fabric presents Red Axes release, the duo deliver a statement that captures years of shared musical intuition and a deep respect for the club as a communal, transformative space. It is a mix that rewards close listening as much as physical immersion, a snapshot of Red Axes at their most focused, expressive, and uncompromising.

To mark the launch of their forthcoming fabric presents album, the duo unveil the lead single, “Hot Rod To Hell”, a bold reworking of Man Parrish and Roy Garrett’s 14-minute spoken-word electro epic, reimagined through Red Axes’ signature psychedelic lens.

Stripped back and refocused, the original’s narrative tension is transformed into a hypnotic, downtempo house track built for late-night immersion. A rolling, elastic groove anchors the track, while pulsing low-end, subtly warped synth lines, and tightly controlled percussion create a sense of slow, smouldering momentum. The spoken vocal elements drift through the mix like fragments of memory, lending the track a ritualistic, cinematic quality without overwhelming the dancefloor.

Toneblind returns with its second release, welcoming 26-year-old Catania native Edo Ecker and his new EP, “Fall In Love.”

With one full EP already behind him, Edo steps confidently into his next chapter, presenting a sound that bridges eras with effortless ease. Rooted in the golden age of Italian house music yet
sharpened by a modern edge, Fall In Love blends Italo and Euro house influences with his distinctive melodic touch.

Warm, romantic synth lines meet crisp, contemporary production, while subtle Mediterranean nuances nod to his heritage — adding depth and character without overpowering the groove. The
result is a record that feels nostalgic yet current, intimate yet undeniably dancefloor-driven. With its second chapter, Toneblind continues to define its path — honouring timeless influences while spotlighting a new generation shaping what comes next.

2026 Repress

Step into the lush, verdant depths of Shjva’s sonic jungle—an enchanted forest pulsing with ultra-absorbing dub techno, glitchy rhythms, and deep, hyper- textured grooves. We’ve been impressed by her incredible releases on People & Places and Warning, among others, and now, her latest EP on our label takes that boundary-pushing energy even further. The rising Ukrainian force is joined by Jeku, who flips the script with a mind-bending trip to Goa mix, catapulting the journey into a dreamlike, transportive realm.

With their third studio album New Thing, Reggae Workers Of The World take a bold step forward while staying deeply rooted in the timeless sounds that define them. Scheduled for release in March 2026 on Badasonic Records, the album captures the full scope of this transcontinental supergroup’s musical identity: soulful, genre-defying, and driven by classic songwriting.

Formed by Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers), Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites), and Nico Leonard (The Badasonics), Reggae Workers Of The World unite the musical spirits of New York, Los Angeles, and Charleroi into a seamless collaboration. Across 11 tracks, New Thing moves freely between reggae, ska, soul, mento, rhythm & blues, and early rock ’n’ roll, reflecting both the trio’s deep roots and their creative freedom.

The album is enriched by an exceptional list of guests, including Efren Santana (Hepcat), David Hillyard (The Slackers), and renowned harmonica master Steven Troch, who all appear on the title track “New Thing.” The result is a warm, organic, and vibrant record—equally suited for vinyl collectors, radio programmers, and live audiences.

Ahead of the album release, the first single will debut as a Japan-exclusive 7” vinyl on January 18, underlining the band’s strong international reach and collector appeal. Following the release of New Thing, Reggae Workers Of The World will return to the road with a European tour in April 2026, reaffirming their reputation as a powerful and authentic live act.

File under Boy Harsher Jae Matthews lends her unmistakable voice to a striking reinterpretation of Buzz Kull’s cult classic “Man On The Beat.” Built for midnight drives and neon-lit highways, Matthews’ version transforms the track into a dark, hypnotic pulse of tension and atmosphere, carried by her haunting, commanding vocal. Released as a special limited-edition 12" by Heartworm Press, the single reimagines the underground favorite with a colder, more cinematic edge.

On the B-side, Los Angeles duo Spike Hellis deliver an extended remix, stretching the track into a dancefloor-ready transmission of ecstatic synth and rhythm. Matthews is widely known as the vocalist of the dark electronic project Boy Harsher, but here she steps into a different light, channeling the nocturnal spirit of the original while making the song unmistakably her own.

Made in Hell is Hell Boulevard's new studio album, due for release in 2026. The band remains true to its distinctive style, combining dark gothic rock with cinematic orchestral arrangements and electronic elements to create a powerful, atmospheric sound. For the first time in the band's history, a Hell Boulevard album was mixed by Bengt Jaeschke at Chameleon Studios in Hamburg. The final mastering was done by Stefan Brown at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. This high-quality production chain marks an important step in the band's sonic evolution and gives the album a particularly striking and powerful sound aesthetic.

Rock legend John Corabi—renowned for his work with Mötley Crüe, The Scream, Union, ESP, and The Dead Daisies—steps into the spotlight with “New Day” his first full-length solo album of original material. Recorded in Nashville during the summer of 2025 and produced by multi-platinum songwriter and producer Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Buckcherry), the album fuses classic ’70s rock, soul, and blues influences into a sound that is both timeless and deeply personal. The record features the previously released singles “Così Bella (So Beautiful)” (2021) and “Your Own Worst Enemy” (2022), now fully integrated into a rich collection of tracks that showcase Corabi’s commanding vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and masterful songwriting.

Throughout the album, Corabi is joined by Marti Frederiksen, who adds backing vocals, guitars, piano, and percussion; Evan Frederiksen, providing drums, bass, B3 organ, electric guitar, mandolin, and programming; Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses) on lead guitar; and Paul Taylor (Winger, Steve Perry) contributing piano, organ, and clavinet. Together, they create an organic, instrument-driven sound built on real performances, melodic interplay, and soulful energy. A trip down to memory lane mostly with a nostalgic mood offering intimate everything that is in between acoustic moments to richly layered arrangements rockers: “New Day” is a journey through the heart of rock, infused with soul and blues sensibilities, and inspired by the melodic grandeur of early Boston and Queen. With a European tour planned for February/March 2026 and additional shows through late spring and summer, Corabi is poised to bring this music directly to fans, delivering both powerful live energy and emotional resonance. More than just a solo debut, “New Day” is John Corabi’s personal testament to rock’s enduring spirit—an exploration of melody, soul, and authenticity, played with passion and conviction at every turn.

O.B.F x Dubkasm.

Bristol, 10 AM. At the end of a garden, sub bass spilling out of a shed, the Dubquake crew had just stepped into the Dubkasm studio.

Rico jumped on the desk with Digistep, building riddims on the fly while Stryda and the crew bussed out some ninja moves. From that session, two raw dubz were born: Momentum and Shaku Dub.

Built for the dance, played on dubplate for a minute, it felt just right to press them onto heavyweight vinyl for the Teachings in Dub x Dubquake weekender that took place in Bristol and London last weekend.

Strictly dubplate pressure!

Renowned for his astonishing fingerstyle technique, melodic sophistication, and fearless improvisa- tion, Mancuso has earned praise from legends including Joe Bonamassa, Tosin Abasi, and Al Di Meola, who described his playing as "light years ahead." Now, with his second solo album Route 96, Mancuso delivers a more confident, expansive statement-- showcasing a mature, forward- thinking artist redefining modern guitar virtuosity.

A century-old grand piano, a secluded house surrounded by the greenery of Brittany, no internet connection, and a reel-to-reel recorder.L'Écho de Bretagne, the new EP by Niklas Paschburg, set for release from fall 2025 via Nettwerk Music Group, is a solo piano record as essential as it is intense. An album made of silences, space, slowness. A music that doesn't chase impact, but truth.

the album release is march 26th - 2026.

If his previous work, Mexican Alps (2025), marked the first time the German composer and producer created an ambient-electronic album without his instrument of choice, the piano, L'Écho de Bretagne emerges as a direct response to that absence. "It was exactly the lack of piano that brought about the need for this new record, which instead puts that instrument, so vital to me, at the very center, stripping everything else away," Niklas explains.

Born in 1994, Paschburg has shaped over the years a musical path deeply connected to travel, nature, and introspection. From his debutTuur Mang Welten(2016) toOceanic(2018),Svalbard(2020),Panta Rhei(2023), and the aforementionedMexican Alps— alongside soundtracks, remixes, and collaborations with artists like RY X, Hania Rani, Ásgeir, and Bryan Senti — his sound bridges neoclassical, electronic, ambient, and pop-driven composition.

WithL'Écho de Bretagne, the Hamburg-born, Berlin-based musician continues his exploration by seeking solitude in nature, much like he did onSvalbard, but this time with an even more radical choice: disconnecting completely from the internet, and switching off both computer and smartphone for a while, in order to fully immerse himself in his new music. "I rented an old cottage in Paimpol, Brittany, where I knew there was a grand piano," he recounts. "When I got there, I discovered that not only was the piano more than a hundred years old, but it was also of an unknown brand, never restored, and quite difficult to play. But that gave it a unique character, and I didn't give up. Sure, it was an instrument left to its own fate, I couldn't play anything too fast. But how fascinating was that? I'm convinced that setting limits, instead of giving yourself total freedom when composing, can become an extraordinary source of inspiration."

As for the decision to temporarily detach from a life that demands we stay constantly connected, Niklas describes it as both a creative and human experiment. "I had my laptop and phone with me, just in case, but I kept them turned off. That choice made me wantL'Écho de Bretagneto be a fully analog work, even in how it was recorded." A way of clearing the mind. "I don't think I've ever been as calm as I was during those days in Paimpol. Even though I was working on a very specific project and didn't have much time, that period was more relaxing than any vacation."

Not that it was free of hiccups. "I'd borrowed a reel-to-reel recorder small enough to travel with me, but after recording a session on the piano, I realized it wasn't working properly, the sound was distorted, full of crackles. I got worried, because I wasn't near any big city where I could find a technician. Luckily, I figured out the problem was the old tape reels I had brought along. That was the only time I had to go online, to order new ones. But it was just for a moment. I shut everything off again right after." At that point, Niklas was waiting for the new tapes to arrive. He found out, completely by chance, from a local UPS courier that they had been delivered to a nearby village. "Since my phone was off, I couldn't track the shipment. So one day I asked this delivery guy, who didn't know anything about it. But from that point on, we'd see each other daily and talk… That's what being disconnected also means: reconnecting with people around you, even strangers. It was thanks to that courier that I found out where the tapes had ended up. And he even helped me get them back, writing directions for me on a scrap of paper."

But there's another element that makes this new EP unique.L'Écho de Bretagnewas recorded entirely live; its tracks are all improvised, complete with their imperfections. This approach leads to a sound that is pure, profoundly organic, and deeply authentic, intentionally preserved to give the listener the feeling of a live performance happening in their own living room. The touch of fingers on the keys, the breath of the wood, the tension of the vibrating string, all become part of the music. There is no construction, only expression. "Even now, when I listen back to it, I feel that moment I gave myself to step away from everything: from reality, from words, from noise." The result is a collection of suspended melodies and atmospheres, reflecting a state of the soul. A refuge from the rush of time. A pause from the world.

Goosey makes his Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Wrapped Up In Your Love’, featuring remixes from Daniel Steinberg. Out on 10th April 2026, the Barcelona-based artist lands on Damian Lazarus’ imprint for the first time with a vocal-driven house cut backed by two reworks from Berlin mainstay Steinberg.

A vocal-led slice of modern house lands on Crosstown Rebels as UK DJ/producer Goosey makes his label debut with ‘Wrapped Up In Your Love’ on 10th April, a record that channels a classic touch through a contemporary lens. Built around slick drums, warm basslines, and an unmistakably uplifting vocal hook, the track leans into the nature of the dancefloor while keeping its groove firmly locked from start to finish.

The original mix leads the release with bright, feel-good energy, while the ‘Club Dub’ strips things back to the track’s rhythmic core, letting the drums, bass, and melodic touches breathe deeper into the groove. Berlin house mainstay and Arms & Legs co-owner Daniel Steinberg then steps in on remix duties, delivering two reinterpretations. His main remix sharpens the original’s hook with skippy percussion and rich M1 organ stabs, while his ‘6AM’ remix stretches the elements into deeper territory built for after-hours dancefloors.

Jeff Cascaro's previous albums have already highlighted the jazzy side of his sound. With his latest record, ‘Broadway and Beyond,’ the artist has now gone one step further. Wonderful, airy grooves allow the singer to shine with the finest vocal nuances. Everything is relaxed and tastefully arranged, the songs have swing and are soulful. Once again, it is his incredibly versatile voice that evokes the atmosphere of the old New York nightclubs. Jeff Cascaro takes us to Broadway and shows us what else there is to marvel at beyond it.

Mystic Force was a progressive power metal band from Baltimore, Maryland. After releasing several demo tapes, they signed a contract with the German label Rising Sun Productions. This resulted in two albums, “The Eternal Quest” (1993) and “A Step Beyond” (1995). Their third album, “Man Vs. Machine,” followed in 2001 on Siegen Records. After Mystic Force broke up, drummer Chris Lembach and guitarist Rich Davis formed the group Shift and recorded two albums with them. Rich then started his own solo project (for which he played all the instruments and sang), before looking for suitable fellow musicians again and releasing the CD “Inside The Upside Down” in 2024. Mystic Force was originally formed in 1984 by guitarists Rich Davis and Marc Rouchard together with bassist Keith Menser. After numerous line-up changes in the early days, they finally found suitable bandmates in Chris Lembach (drums) and Bobby Hicks (vocals). In 1987, Mystic Force released their first 4-song demo, followed by “Blind Vision” a year later. After selling large quantities of self-produced cassettes (the first 4-track demo is said to have sold over 5,000 copies), it was time for their first vinyl release. In 1990, the album “Take Command” was released on the English label C.M.F.T. Records, which included the first demo and four brand new tracks: “Take Command,” “Awakened By The Dawn,” “Immortal Souls,” and “Silent But Deadly.” Later that year, the 12“ single ”Shipwrecked With The Wicked“/”Eternal Quest" was released in a limited and numbered edition by the band's own company, Pro-duction. The widespread distribution of Mystic Force's material (also via underground distributors such as Oliver Jung's “Demolition”) led to an increasing number of labels taking an interest in the band. Ultimately, the choice fell on Rising Sun Productions, who released the debut album “The Eternal Quest” in 1993, featuring tracks such as “Shipwrecked With The Wicked,” “Another World,” and “Answers Of The Mystery”—a forgotten gem of progressive power metal somewhere between Fates Warning and Hades.

Before the 21:30min long odysseys, Grammy nominations, and the sold-out shows across the globe, there was this. Four tracks, recorded in Jönköping, released in November 2015 and immediately celebrated by fans and critics alike.The self-titled debut EP is where it all begins, we meet Sir Hällas - the knight living in a parallel medieval universe where tyrants reign, seers dictate the future, and the world lies on the edge of the apocalypse. Classic heavy rock with psychedelic influences collide with swirling keyboards and twin guitar harmonies, all wrapped around lyrics of tyrants, knights, demons and the end of the world.

This is where the Hällas trilogy takes its first steps. This is where adventure rock was born. Start here.

Burnski is back with another fine bit of A&R on his Constant Sound label, this time with Anil Anas stepping up. He is a producer who has made his mark on the likes of PIV and here kicks off with 'Had Enuff', which brings soulful jungle breakbeats to a house framework complete with police sirens, ragga vocals and 90s organs. It's a fresh blend with a big heart and 'Chrystal Glaze' then brings punchy drum funk and spaced out pads. 'House Fever' ups the energy with more textured drums and trippy synth sequences that help with dance floor take off and 'Trigger Path' closes with pure spaced-house drive. A tasty and tasteful EP packed with utility.