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A true Detroit techno classic, originally released on New Religion and now finally back on vinyl. We're proud to reissue this essential release on Metroplex, with the original tracks remastered for vinyl and a stunning remix by Kirk Degiorgio. A piece of Detroit techno history: back where it belongs. Don't sleep..

Black Mekon gelten als Kultfavoriten und verbringen seit mehr als 15 Jahren ihre Zeit damit, rund um den Globus zu touren und eine Reihe hochgelobter Geheimtipp-Alben zu veröffentlichen. Dabei haben sie ihren einzigartigen Mix aus Lo-Fi-Garage-Rock, Punk und Blues stetig perfektioniert und sich eine treue Fangemeinde aufgebaut.Nachdem sie bereits mit Künstlern wie Jon Spencer, Black Lips, Kid Congo und The Scientists die Bühne geteilt haben, wurden sie kürzlich persönlich von Jack White als Support-Act ausgewählt. Dies geschah kurz nach einer weiteren Japan-Tournee gemeinsam mit Guitar Wolf.13 Songs About Monsters hält genau das, was der Titel verspricht: eine Sammlung von Horror-inspirierten Garage-Rock-Hymnen, die pünktlich zu Halloween erscheint und als streng limitierte Glow-in-the-Dark-Vinyl-Edition veröffentlicht wird.

Superb first EP from Vinyl Foundation record shop... Kind of the vibe for a newskool Pumpin Tribe style... Like Sterrata or Funk Rebels... But bringing more space for Tribe !!

It’s that time of year again! Are your copies of “Now! That’s What I Ca l Christmas” and “A Motown Christmas” finaly feeling worn out? Strut has the ideal antidote this year, as we dive into the world of festive records made by African artists spanning the late 1960s to the 1980s with our new Krismasi: Christmas Sounds From Africa compilation.

Taking in music from across the continent from Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa and Zimbabwe, Krismasi draws from a wide range of sounds from fun novelty records and spur-of-the-moment jams to spiritual and gospel favourites. Featured artists include Ghanian great Kwadwo Donkoh with a meditative highlife praise song from his much-loved Christmas Africana album. Elsewhere, pop star turned pastor, Jerry Boifraind, has some fun with a song celebrating seeing friends at Christmas and Nigerian pop favourite Martha Ulaeto features with the lilting lead track from her own Christmas Africana release. We pick out some choice Central and East African sounds with Kakai Kilonzo’s bri liant Kilimambogo Brothers Band and Congolese legend Baba Gaston’s Orchestra Baba National capturing the joy of the festive season. We stop off in Zim for a rare Dorothy Masuka acoustic piece and one of the country’s great musicians post-independence, Paul “Dr. Love” Matavire with ‘Christmas Yaswedera’ (‘Christmas Is Near’). Township jazz star Reggie Msomi appears with a joyous township instrumental and, fina ly, we couldn’t release a Christmas co lection without some carols. Here we include here a great version of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ by UK-based Nigerian highlife musician Flash Dominci and a hi-octane funky medley of favourite festive hymns by Ghana’s Oscar Suley.

The compilation is the first in-depth co lection of rare African Christmas recordings, uncovering a rich and often overlooked chapter of the continent's musical history. Krismasi is available on Red & White Inkplosion Vinyl LP and CD. Vinyl restoration is by Colin Young at See Why Audio, mastering is by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, and the album features striking new artwork by Liam Large.

All tracks recorded at ROLL OVER STUDIOS, London. January 2004.

Features 10 Studio tracks including: It Mek, Israelites and Sing A Little Song.

Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born on 16th July 1941 in Saint Andrew Parish, Greater Kingston, Jamaica. As a youngster Desmond regularly attended his local church with his grandmother and aunt. Here would bring him his lifetime religious commitment and his enjoyment for singing.

Dekker moved to parish of St. Mary following his mother’s death as a result of illness. He later moved to St. Thomas, where he took up an apprenticeship as a tailor, before he moved back to Kingston and landed himself a job as a welder.

His co-workers encouraged him to pursue his singing career, he successfully auditioned for Leslie Kong's Beverley's record label and was awarded his first recording contract. As his career took off this was the time he decided to adopt the name Desmond Dekker instead of 'Dacres'.

Mehr als zwanzig Jahre nachdem Nouvelle Vague mit ihrem inzwischen kultigen Debütalbum den Post-Punk neu erfunden haben, schlagen sie mit A Date with Depeche Mode ein mutiges neues Kapitel auf – einer abendfüllenden Neuinterpretation eines der einflussreichsten und beliebtesten Songkataloge der modernen Musik.
Nur wenige Bands haben die Popkultur so geprägt wie Depeche Mode. Nur wenige Künstler beherrschen die Kunst der musikalischen Neuinterpretation so meisterhaft wie Nouvelle Vague. Diese beiden Welten zusammenzubringen wirkt zugleich völlig unerwartet und doch unvermeidlich.
Aufgenommen zwischen Rio de Janeiro und Paris, verwandelt das Album dreizehn Depeche-Mode-Klassiker in intime, filmische und tief emotionale Songs. Was einst von Maschinen und elektronischen Klängen geprägt war, wird hier warm, organisch und zeitlos – und legt das Songwriting offen, das den Kern dieser ikonischen Kompositionen bildet.
Gesungen von einer außergewöhnlichen internationalen Besetzung von Gastvokalistinnen und -vokalisten – darunter Skye Edwards (Morcheeba), Beth Hirsch, Flavia Coelho, Mélanie Pain, Phoebe Killdeer, Fredrika Stahl und weitere – bietet jeder Titel eine einzigartige Begegnung zwischen einer Stimme und einem Song und bleibt dabei dem charakteristischen Stil von Nouvelle Vague treu

Jazzbois Around The World - a project built around mutual musical respect, encompassing MCs from all around the globe - Some who we've had the pleasure of meeting personally, some who we connect with online. Much love to all of you for being a part of this.
Absolutely born out of an admiration of live hiphop and beats culture - a musical collage of international collaboration. So proud of all our culprits:
now available on 500pcs limited edition 12" vinyl

-Franky Bones
-Goya Gumbani
-Jah Digga
-Craneo / Slothbrite
-Kaicrewsade
-CLBRKS
-Capriisun
-AWON
-INQ.
-Kid Abstrakt
-BluntOne
-FAKT
-Pogány Induló & Ótvar Pestis
Bless you all!

Artwork/Illustration: Roland Herczkó
Print master: Lobotworks
All tracks produced by the jazzbois
Track 6 co-produced by Franky Bones
Track 3 co-produced by FAKT
Track 1 co-produced by MrSlipz
Track 10 co-produced by BluntOne

All tracks mixed & mastered by Czirják Tamás / jazzbois
Jazzbois are
Bencze Molnár - keys, sampling, editing
Viktor Sági - bass, guitars, sampling, editing
Tamás Czirják - drums, editing, drum sampling

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go. Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Nino, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa. Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Nino, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators.

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.


Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Niño, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa.


Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Niño, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators

It’s a rare occurrence for a band to continue making music into their fifth decade, even fewer top off that achievement with one of their most recent albums being named one of “2023’s Best Albums” by a venerable magazine like SPIN. But The Church did just that with The Hypnogogue, an album so adored by critics and fans alike that it ushered in an entirely new era for the Australian band.

Now armed with their 28th album Lacuna, the psychedelic dreampop legends continue to evolve and transform, remaining not only relevant but consistently delivering music that is innovative yet true to their signature sound. “Intense, forlorn, and exultant,” is how bassist/vocalist/founder Steve Kilbey describes the album.

With a measured command of melody and instrumentation that only comes with experience and age, it’s an album rife with indelible musical clasps that fasten hold of your attention and refuses easy surrender. It’s a steadfast talent that Kilbey hosts close to his chest that’s been ever-present in the 27 albums that preceded it (best evidenced by the jubilant, nearly sold out 2025-2026 Singles Tour legs across Australia and North America, featuring night after night of incredible three-hour sets).

Starting in 1980, The Church continued expanding their highly cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock without retreading their steps. Beginning with classic early albums Of Skins and Heart, The Blurred Crusade, and Heyday which built a sturdy foundation, 1988’s Starfish broke into the mainstream and gave The Church the international hit “Under the Milky Way.” The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognizable Australian rock anthems of all time.

Five Special were a five-man harmony vocal group from Detroit whose members included Mike Pattillo, Steve Harris, Zeke Stanley, Greg Finlay and Bryan Banks (the younger brother of Dramatics’ main man Ron Banks). The aim of these five young men was to create a group with the potential of anyone of its members to be able to step up to sing lead on any given song, something which they went on to achieve to great aplomb.

Ron Banks was very instrumental in the founding of Five Special introducing them to his long-time friend Charles “Chuck” Underwood, a one-time former road manager of the Dramatics and by then the owner of the independent T.E.A.I Record Corporation label (T.E.A.I being an abbreviation for “Tellin’ Everybody About It”). Five Special’s first release for T.E.A.I was the 1976 joyously uplifting dancer “The More I Get To Know You” a Jimmy Roach and Marcella Henderson composition featuring Bryan on lead, released as a part I and part II deemed to be a more disc-jockey friendly practice at the time. The record was popular with radio stations throughout the Detroit metropolis leading Chuck to precure a deal with Polygram which resulted in the song gaining release on their nationally distributed Mercury label. A second Five Special Mercury release followed in 1977, the Jimmy Roach penned mellifluous “(Let’s Stop Making) Small Talk” backed with the Ron Banks/Paul Clark penned psychedelic soul styled “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with Greg Finley and Zeke Stanley exchanging tenor and baritone parts throughout.

Through our ongoing working relationship with T.E.A.I Soul Junction have gained access to some previously unissued master tapes on Five Special which were recorded for an intended album project that was never finished. From these tapes we took “The More I Get To Know You” in its 5:50 minutes entirety (not split into parts 1 & 2) backed with the previously unissued mid-tempo delight “You Got To Be The One That I Love” with interchanging leads from Bryan and Steve coupled with the released psychedelic soul “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with interchanging leads between Greg and Zeke, catalogue number SJ565, currently a very popular release amongst Collectors and DJ’s alike. For our second and follow up Five Special 45 release, we have chosen to lead with the gorgeous, previously unissued “Two OF A Kind” penned by Ron Banks with lead vocals being provided by Steve Harris. The B-side of this release opens with another unissued psychedelic song, the Ron Banks/Chuck Underwood composed “Stone Chain Reaction” featuring punchy interchanging lead vocals from Greg Finley and Zeke Stanley, this is coupled together with the released mid 1970’s sweet soul masterpiece from the pen of Jimmy Roach “(Let’s Stop Making) Small Talk” making this yet another quality three track release from Soul Junction.

Dancefloor Tribe, Pumpin and hardtek old school (specially on the flip)

History has shown that the greatest bands–bands with that certain, ever elusive quality called lasting power–neither conform to nor buck the trends of their time, but rather force the times to catch up to them. Sheer Mag has such lasting power in droves. After almost a decade spent carving out a career that has already become the stuff of modern underground legend, the band’s new stand-alone single, “All Lined Up,” comes alongside the announcement of their signing to Third Man Records–their first partnership with a larger independent label–who will also be physically and digitally re-releasing the entirety of Sheer Mag’s back-catalogue, including their cult-beloved early EPs I (2014), II (2015), and III (2016), as well as their first two breakthrough LPs, Need To Feel Your Love (2017) and A Distant Call (2019). Sheer Mag’s sensibility, as fervently beloved by baseball-tee clad garage rockers and tattoo-less indie kids as it is by leather-and-stud-loyal punks, finds its strength in an unconventional mixture of refined complexity and straight-forward pop prowess. Seamlessly trading between head-turning guitar heroics and a charmingly timeless blend of disco, hard rock, and garage inflected hooks, Sheer Mag’s oft-referenced, never-replicated sound has played an undeniably large role in stoking the current resurgence of interest power-pop forward rock music. While quickly adopted as a fan-favorite amongst the sweat-caked crowds of the early 2010’s underground, time has attested to Sheer Mag’s singular cultural mutability: though never straying too far from their home-town Philadelphian origins

CPEN is the alias of Chris Penny and his 'Pirates Life' EP on Seasons Recordings back in the 2000s is one of our all-time favourites. It was used on Craig Richards's fabric mix and still sounds original more than a quarter of a century on as the man behind it has gone on to work with Luke Solomon and Honey Dijon on a Grammy-winning album. It's the title cut that does it for us with the way the groove is so languid and loose as it hangs just above the floor and deep space sounds colour the airwaves. 'Song Of The Muse' is a beautiful synth scape stripped of rhythm and 'Liquid Steps' has a little more bite but still roll on nice soft kicks with life-affirming keys up top. 'Third Quarter' is a majestic post-club comedown with all of CPEN's signature synth sounds and even some brassy smears, making it an utter downtempo delight.

Fred Peterkin releases a lot of music but rarely hands his work over to other artists to remix. This EP, which sees a trio of artists deliver their interpretation of the Berlin-based New Yorker's strings-and-piano-drenched 2023 deep house number 'Someone', is therefore an interesting development. He kicks things off with his own smooth, bass-heavy 2026 'Interpretation', an even deeper and more sensual take that blends dancefloor weight with light-touch jazziness, before Juliet Mendoza takes over with a more locked-in interpretation smothered in warming Rhodes motifs and snippets of soulful, eyes-closed vocal. Dave Aju's take is more weighty, psychedelic and propulsive, while Korea Town's 'Acid' interpretation is darker, faster, tougher and altogether more thickset - the kind of revision tailor-made for peak-time moments in dark basement clubs.

Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.

DJ Rasoul has a knack for crafting stripped-back grooves that pack a serious emotional punch. Samples are often key to it - as well as the way they are deployed - and 'Flight' is a perfect example. The drums are raw with a subtle stumble that keeps you locked, while the vocals are smeared in painterly fashion through the mix. The Paka Project remix is a little brighter while Andrew Macari sinks into vast kicks for a deeper trip. The Natural Rhythm remix is more sleek and sunny with extra vocal fragments and a warmer edge.

Chilean label Soundrive hits double figures with an EP that is as tasteful for house heads as all the other have been. Four serious names step up for this one, starting with Nottingham's DIY man Nail. His 'In The Sky' has all his usual hallmarks - heft to the groove and rawness to the drums, but also an emotional pull that cuts through from the woozy sax notes. Sakro stacks up his kicks into driving, nicely pressured loops on 'Deep In The Street' and runs them through with some thoughtful pad work and Texan Brett Johnson brings his usual off-beat tech house trippiness to 'Beautiful Smurf'. Gari Romalis shuts down with a warm, enveloping dub classic in the form of 'I'm Ya Dancer' complete with smoky vocals and wispy pads that are primed for dead of the night sessions.

Shadowy Detroit duo The Fantasy continue to offer up "secret mixes fixes" - high-grade, sonically spectacular re-rubs inspired by the original reel-to-reel re-edit era and the now iconic DJs behind the movement (Ron Hardy, Danny Krivit and Larry Levan included). The Motor City twosome kick off volume 5 in their ongoing series with 'Working Girl', a throbbing, San Francisco style electro disco workout peppered with spacey synth riffs, before turning a Bay Area drum machine workout into a breathless peak-time percussion-fest. Over on the reverse, 'On Fire Warp' is another percussion-laden revision of what sounds like a post-punk era industrial funk gem, while 'Lovefingers' is a break-driven translation of an ancient psychedelic rock workout.

In January 2016, a 21-year-old Jacquees confidently stepped into the spotlight and officially shifted the climate of modern R&B. Released as a mixtape hosted by DJ Spinz, Mood wasn't just a collection of songs—it was a bold sonic manifesto. Merging classic, unbridled Southern R&B vocals with the heavy, localized bounce of Atlanta’s dominant trap scene, the project gave a generation of fans their definitive late-night soundtrack. Now, a decade after its initial release, the foundational classic is finally making its official debut on all major streaming services, as well as arriving on CD and vinyl for the very first time.

Produced primarily by Nash B, Mood captured an artist on the precipice of superstardom. Backed by executive support from Birdman and the Cash Money Records family, the project features a powerhouse lineup of mid-2010s royalty, including standout guest verses from Kevin Gates, DeJ Loaf, Rich Homie Quan, Kirko Bangz, and Young Scooter.

For years, Mood lived in the digital underground of mixtape websites and YouTube rips, passed around by R&B purists like a treasured secret. Whether you're streaming it on the go, spinning the rich analog grooves of the vinyl, or popping the CD into your car, this release honors the timeless body of work that cemented Jacquees as the King of R&B.

Introducing Relik.

A new sub-division from Earth Dog Records, reissuing overlooked gems from the North American underground

The ‘90s to early 2000s saw US dance music experience a uniquely innovative gold rush. Records from that period narrate a burgeoning rave-obsessed sub culture, experimenting with the psychedelic sounds of tech house and progressive, with further flirtations with trance, breaks and beyond.

Many of those era’s artefacts have been increasingly difficult to find, and even rarer to hear out in the contexts they were constructed for. Relik exists as a means to preserve the legacy of this formative era, honouring the artists and labels that helped shape an ethos and sound unique to North America, and pivotal to the Earth Dog vision, while exposing this music to a new generation of listeners.

Each reissue will be released with permission and in collaboration with the original artists.

R001: The Vortex Archives

Volume one shines a light on Gainesville’s legendary Vortex Records.
Founded in 1996 by Boyd Westerman and Kyle Hogan, lifelong underground innovators (with Boyd remaining the undisputed king of the Discogs comment section). Vortex was home to a catalog of sounds that helped define a unique tech house and progressive flavoured corner of the North American underground.

Vortex Archives compiles four of our favourite cuts from the label’s discography, that for our money showcases their unmistakable sound best; a seamless fusion of progressive house, tech house, trance and breaks.

Nearly three decades on, these tracks (and the label from where they came) are as timeless and prescient than ever. We’re honored to certify their legacy by bringing them back into circulation.

A huge thank you to Boyd for trusting us with this release and helping to bring a sample of the Vortex catalog back into the world.

Endless respect to all the OGs who archived their catalogues, continued to make incredible music and subsequently paved the way for future generations. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Reissued on Pascal Pinkert's new label 'Phantom Sounds'. Originally release 2019, now remastered with bonus track included! TIP!

Excerpt from the original release text

"On the album, you’ll find a touch of the old and a great deal of new material. ‘Geen Genade’, ‘Wat Voel Je Nou’ and ‘Verloren’ still stand strong in pride of place, reminding us why we love De Ambassade so much in the first place. The opener and title track, ‘Duistre Kamers’ has a dark industrial vibe that is a perfect introduction of what is to come. Somehow ‘Zo Hoog Als De Bogen’ feels warm and cold simultaneously, it maintains an almost spooky tone; ‘Malefica’ in comparison sounds raw, uncut and almost upbeat. ‘Niet Van Mij’ is one of the reasons the album is so special. Its unexpected wavering synths create another contrast of the melancholic and the joyful in one, and the heavy percussion and echoing vocals tie it in with the rest. ‘Laatste Uur’ kicks you in the face, again with this industrial, moody feel and beautifully handled synths. The closing track ‘Wapengekletter’ is elegant, and a new favourite here. The dark vocals, haunting melody and cleverly tempoed percussion conclude the album wonderfully. Overall, De Ambassade has hit the nail on the head and produced this autumn’s must have Amsterdam album."

La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004. The band consists of vocalist Jordan Dreyer, guitarist Chad Sterenberg, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, bassist Adam Vass, and guitarist Corey Stroffolino. Known for their intense and emotionally charged sound La Dispute has released five studio albums to critical acclaim, including “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” (2008), “Wildlife” (2011), and “Panorama” (2019). Their music often explores themes of loss, grief, and human relationships through a series of interconnencted stories. La Dispute has developed a devoted fanbase and is known for the powerful, unforgettable live performances.

Mit dieser festlichen Compilation stehen die unvergesslichen Weihnachtsaufnahmen von Elvis Presley im Mittelpunkt. Der "King of Rock "n" Roll" zählt bis heute zu den erfolgreichsten und einflussreichsten Künstlern der Musikgeschichte, und seine Interpretationen klassischer Weihnachtslieder gehören seit Jahrzehnten zum festen Bestandteil der Advents- und Weihnachtszeit. Die Sammlung vereint zwölf seiner beliebtesten saisonalen Aufnahmen und verbindet traditionelle Weihnachtsklassiker mit Gospel-inspirierten Songs und gefühlvollen Balladen. Darunter finden sich zeitlose Titel wie "White Christmas", "Silent Night", "Blue Christmas" und "Santa Claus Is Back In Town". Mit seiner unverwechselbaren Stimme und seinem warmen Vortrag verleiht Elvis diesen Aufnahmen eine besondere Atmosphäre, die Generationen von Musikfans begeistert.

Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.

(limited red vinyl, including poster / lyric sheet) 'The Way You Talk Reminds Me Of Home' is the second album by Belgian indie band BLUAI. Two years after their warmly received debut 'Save It For Later' and an extensive run of shows across some of Europe's biggest festivals and venues, the three-piece return with their most ambitious and immediate record yet.


Across eleven songs, BLUAI explore what it means to live somewhere between past and present. Conversations with family, friends, partners and people who resurface after years away become starting points for songs about childhood, love, grief, responsibility and the uncertainty of approaching thirty. Rather than a traditional coming-of-age record, 'The Way You Talk Reminds Me Of Home' is about figuring things out while you are already in the middle of them.


Produced by Isabel Gracefield (Adele, Dua Lipa, PJ Harvey, Radiohead...) and recorded at London's legendary RAK Studios, the album was made with a deliberately instinctive approach.


BLUAI much as they sound on stage: raw, direct and closely connected.

Bo Harwood (1946–2022) was one of those behind-the-scenes figures of American independent cinema: a self-taught musician, composer, sound editor, sound mixer and songwriter.

Harwood started out as the lead singer and guitarist of a Southern California rock band before a chance meeting with John Cassavetes changed the course of his career. He scored his first feature, The Bach Train, in 1969, and later joined Husbands as an inexperienced assistant in the editing room. He gradually became Cassavetes’s sound editor, music supervisor, composer and sound mixer, eventually working across six of his films, from Husbands and A Woman Under the Influence through The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night and Love Streams.Harwood’s music is inseparable from the peculiar emotional universe of those films: strange, romantic, funny and often devastating.

Harwood and Cassavetes worked closely and instinctively together, developing music in the process of making the films. The surviving master tapes reveal something of this exchange: alongside finished pieces are improvisations, experiments and conversations, capturing the two of them working through ideas in real time. Harwood’s compositions were often recorded as rough “scratch tracks”, with Cassavetes preferring their immediacy and vulnerability to more polished arrangements.

This nine-track LP brings together some of that work. There is something wonderfully intimate about hearing these recordings outside the films: the songs stand on their own, while retaining the rawness and emotional charge that made Harwood’s collaboration with Cassavetes so distinctive.

A small document of a remarkable and largely overlooked body of work.

Tracklisting:

PISS ist eine laute, genreübergreifende vierköpfige Band aus Vancouver, B.C. Durch die Kombination von Punk, Poesie, Soundcollagen, Performancekunst und bildender Kunst schafft die Band ein multidisziplinäres Gesamtwerk, das die Grenze zwischen Persönlichem und Politischem verschwimmen lässt. Angetrieben von durchdachter Musikalität, energiegeladenen Live-Auftritten und einer kristallklaren künstlerischen Mission schreibt PISS Punkmusik, die darauf abzielt, die Grenzen eines etablierten Genres zu überwinden. Ihre Arbeit schöpft Inspiration aus einer Reihe unerwarteter Einflüsse: literarische Größen, Philosophen, Filmemacher, Maler, Psychoanalytiker, Aktivisten, Kinder, Mitglieder einer deutschen anarcho-feministischen militanten Gruppe und Gespräche mit Zuschauern. Diese Stimmen repräsentieren unterschiedliche ideologische Überzeugungen zum Thema geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt und ermöglichen es PISS, Kunst zu schaffen, die herausfordernde und kontroverse Themen wie sexuelle Gewalt und verinnerlichte Geschlechternormen darstellt - ohne Vereinfachung, Romantisierung, Polemik oder Dogmatismus. you made me / skin on linen ist das Debütalbum der Band. Es schildert eine Kindheit, die von struktureller, systemischer und intimer Gewalt geprägt ist. Auf dem gesamten Album dienen Motive aus der Kunst als Metaphern für die unzähligen Arten, wie wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gewalt in uns tragen: Jede Erfahrung hinterlässt einen Eindruck und formt oder verzerrt nach und nach das Selbst - ganz wie ein Stück Ton, das durch jeden Abdruck, den es erhält, geformt wird.

PISS ist eine laute, genreübergreifende vierköpfige Band aus Vancouver, B.C. Durch die Kombination von Punk, Poesie, Soundcollagen, Performancekunst und bildender Kunst schafft die Band ein multidisziplinäres Gesamtwerk, das die Grenze zwischen Persönlichem und Politischem verschwimmen lässt. Angetrieben von durchdachter Musikalität, energiegeladenen Live-Auftritten und einer kristallklaren künstlerischen Mission schreibt PISS Punkmusik, die darauf abzielt, die Grenzen eines etablierten Genres zu überwinden. Ihre Arbeit schöpft Inspiration aus einer Reihe unerwarteter Einflüsse: literarische Größen, Philosophen, Filmemacher, Maler, Psychoanalytiker, Aktivisten, Kinder, Mitglieder einer deutschen anarcho-feministischen militanten Gruppe und Gespräche mit Zuschauern. Diese Stimmen repräsentieren unterschiedliche ideologische Überzeugungen zum Thema geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt und ermöglichen es PISS, Kunst zu schaffen, die herausfordernde und kontroverse Themen wie sexuelle Gewalt und verinnerlichte Geschlechternormen darstellt - ohne Vereinfachung, Romantisierung, Polemik oder Dogmatismus. you made me / skin on linen ist das Debütalbum der Band. Es schildert eine Kindheit, die von struktureller, systemischer und intimer Gewalt geprägt ist. Auf dem gesamten Album dienen Motive aus der Kunst als Metaphern für die unzähligen Arten, wie wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gewalt in uns tragen: Jede Erfahrung hinterlässt einen Eindruck und formt oder verzerrt nach und nach das Selbst - ganz wie ein Stück Ton, das durch jeden Abdruck, den es erhält, geformt wird.

It's fitting that Mike Jefford is both a photographer and a musician, his music career having slowly evolved like a developing photo coaxes Technicolor images out of the shadows. His sonic palette began taking shape in Medway, Kent with darker, grittier strains: teenage grunge and metal turned into drum & bass and IDM, following the Brighton club scene to Berlin as Positive Centre, until he made a nest in rural Portugal where Laguna Seca’s bright, expressive range would blossom.
A longstanding friendship with Chris Clark supported Jefford’s most pivotal artistic evolution yet, jumping from a decade of techno dusk to music practically overflowing with life as Laguna Seca debuted on Throttle Records.
“O tempo” can mean “the time” or “the weather” in Portuguese, two intensely changing powers whose many different connotations Jefford reflects in a highly varied tracklist. The breadth of climatic catharsis permeates through textural production and songwriting experiments, down into the very bedrock of the album’s engineering process where Jefford traces the long signal chain of time: the amps, desks, and tapes of Motown, the vinyl mastering studio’s intricacies, the Akai samplers that gave modern hip hop its “ghostly and impressionistic” sound, the software that drives electronic music today.
Much as 2026’s O Tempo was inspired by vintage tonality, retro aesthetic, and the likes of CAN, Kraftwerk, and Jimi Hendrix, it’s not an exercise in nostalgia; this is music that could have only been made with today’s technological advancements, revelling in anachronisms and collisions between hindsight and present tense.
It’s tempting to view Jefford’s projects as opposites, but they come from the same sonic values. Positive Centre’s “bleak” and “sinister” world is also incredibly detailed, constantly updating pile-driving grooves with microscopic flourishes and vast ambient swells. The flaring psychedelia of Laguna Seca is a continuation of those textural, material, and kinetic explorations, where plate reverb splashes, blistering and crunchy beats, vocal glimmers, and guitar swagger are all glued together by recurrent themes of memory and time. As each of his projects travel to the same destination, all of Jefford’s roads have eventually led to vibrant colour.


Aaron Dilloway kehrt mit ,No Skill Comedy Mind Reading" zu Dais Records zurück - seinem ersten echten Album in voller Länge seit 2017, einer Sammlung von typisch verstörendem, absurdem Material. Geprägt von seinen typischen Verzerrungen und Verformungen - von Feedback umhüllte Fundstücke, Feldaufnahmen und Gesangsimprovisationen - versammelt ,No Skill" fast ein Jahrzehnt ausgewählter Soloarbeiten und wirkt dennoch ganz und gar zeitgemäß: ein sprunghaftes Produkt der Unbeständigkeit, zugleich hart und humorvoll. Nur wenige zeitgenössische Experimental-Künstler des letzten Vierteljahrhunderts sind so produktiv und verehrt wie Dilloway, ein Pionier der amerikanischen Noise-Szene im Mittleren Westen, ehemaliges Mitglied von Wolf Eyes und Gründer des in Oberlin ansässigen Labels und Plattenladens Hanson Records. Doch trotz seines immensen Gesamtwerks hat er nur zwei richtige Solo-LPs veröffentlicht, neben einer regelmäßigeren Produktion von Kassettenveröffentlichungen und Kollaborationsprojekten. Mit ,No Skill" vollendet er nun eine vieldeutige Albumtrilogie, die mit seinem wegweisenden Werk ,Modern Jester" aus dem Jahr 2012 begann. ,Ich habe fast das Gefühl, dass sie irgendwie Teil eines Ganzen sind. Alle drei Alben versuchen, in den schlimmstmöglichen Situationen Humor zu finden. Je nachdem, wer zuhört und wie die jeweilige Einstellung ist, könnten sie als lustig oder einfach nur als grauenhafte, schreckliche Alben empfunden werden." Halb im Ernst fährt Dilloway fort: ,Für mich ist dieses hier das Ergebnis von, na ja, verkorksten Sachen: psychische Erkrankungen, Medikamente, Scheidung, komischer Scheiß. Das Eintauchen in seltsame Dinge fasziniert mich immer auf die eine oder andere Weise." Neben den bereits erwähnten Einflüssen aus der menschlichen Erfahrung greift ,No Skill" auf verschiedene technische und ästhetische Kuriositäten zurück: das methodische Sounddesign von Alvin Lucier, Andy Milligans Low-Budget-Kult-Horrorfilm ,The Weirdo" aus dem Jahr 1989 und die pop-exzentrische Art des Filmkomponisten Hugo Montenegro. Dilloway stieß bei einer Lagerraumversteigerung auf dessen skurrile Habseligkeiten, darunter Notizen zu den frühen elektronischen Experimenten des Komponisten. Einige der beunruhigendsten Momente des Albums, wie das Lachen, das ,Bring Me The Head Of The Unknown Comic" heimsucht - klanglich eine Anspielung auf die Avantgarde-Größen Nurse with Wound und thematisch auf den Komiker aus den 1970er Jahren mit der Papiertüte über dem Kopf -, lassen sich auf den Einfluss dieses wahrhaft ungewöhnlichen Fundes zurückführen. ,No Skill" knüpft zudem an Dilloways jüngste künstlerische Ausflüge an: seine Umsetzung von John Cages 88-Band-Loop ,Rozart Mix"; die Originalmusik für ,The Absence of Milk In The Mouths of the Lost"; Gemeinschaftsalben mit Lucrecia Dalt (Lucy & Aaron) sowie Kim Gordon & Bill Nace (Body/Dilloway/Head). Während er an diesen und anderen Projekten arbeitete, legte er in Gedanken einen Ordner für sein nächstes Dais-Album an und sammelte Aufnahmen, die zu einer ziemlich vagen Vision passten. ,Dieses Album hat mich irgendwie völlig in Beschlag genommen, seit ich ,The Gag File` 2017 fertiggestellt habe. Zuerst dachte ich, es würde eher ein Pop-Album werden, aber dann hat mir das Lucrecia-Projekt diese Idee irgendwie aus dem Kopf getrieben. Es begann, eher wie meine Live-Sets zu fließen." Er entschied sich für eine Abfolge, die den Hörer ein wenig im Ungewissen lässt - ob erschrocken, amüsiert oder verwirrt; der Effekt soll absichtlich den Eindruck erwecken, dass etwas kaputt ist. Das Album beginnt mit schrillen Kreischen, bevor es in Drone-Passagen eintaucht, die durch zwei aneinander geriebene nepalesische Sarangi-Bögen entstehen, begleitet vom ersten Auftauchen seiner ogerartigen stimmlichen Präsenz. Anschließend werden mehrere Minuten von weißem Rauschen verschluckt (,Forced Auctioneer"). Dilloway verweist auf The Weirdos seltsamen Einsatz ausgedehnter Übergänge mit schwarzem Raum und seine lebenslange Liebe zum Bandrauschen. Er bekam Kassetten von älteren Kindern und hörte diese Geräusche als Teil der Songs, nur um später zu erfahren, dass es sich um klangliche Artefakte handelte, die von Generationen des Kopierens auf Kassette übrig geblieben waren. ,Ich stehe total auf die Idee, all diese Schichten aufzubauen und sie in etwas anderes zu verwandeln. Wenn ich zum Beispiel live spiele, kann es rauer zugehen als bei meiner aufgenommenen Musik, und dafür wollte ich genau dieses Gefühl einfangen - dass diese Ausbrüche laut sind, aber ein bisschen gedämpfter. Dieser totale Rauschklang, fast so, als wärst du unter Wasser." Dilloway sammelt Tonpoesie-Platten, und obwohl er seine eigene Arbeit nicht gerne in dieses Genre einordnet, spricht die Absurdität dieses Handwerks - die Verwendung von phonetischen Lauten und nonverbalen Geräuschen als Ersatz für traditionelle semantische Bedeutung - durch sein Werk. Auf ,Possession Audition Tape" liest er verschiedene Passagen aus einem Buch vor, das von einer französischen religiösen Gruppe aus dem 18. Jahrhundert handelt, die zu öffentlichen Unruhen neigte, und schneidet diese digital auseinander, wodurch er im Mix seine eigenen, echoartigen Stotterausbrüche erzeugt. ,No Skill Comedy Mind Reading" endet mit einem Stück aus Synthesizer und Orgel-Rhythmusmaschine, das auf Musik basiert, die er für den Film ,Supporting Actor" von Pieter Schoolwerth und Phil Vanderhyden komponiert hat - in dem ein Avatar von Dilloway in ein Portal gezogen wird. Dort trifft er in einem fantastischen Club auf posthumane Wesen. Die Szene, die sich irgendwie auf Audio übertragen lässt, versetzt das Set in einen passend verwirrenden Traumzustand. Ein Star der Noise-Musik, ein moderner Hofnarr, der aus dem Unbekannten berichtet.

Yr Knives is a Chicago instrumental quartet built around two very different guitar voices. The band came together sideways: composer Paul Karner wanted guitarists Andrew Trim and Brian Sulpizio to play disparate parts on a recording of his own, and when the two finally rehearsed together, a band fell into focus. Trim leads the groups Hanami and Retroreflector; Sulpizio is the constant behind Health and Beauty. Anchoring them are two Chicago mainstays, bassist Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day) and drummer Quin Kirchner. Two of them come up as rock and roll players, two as jazz players, and the music lives in how closely they listen across those languages.

Their debut, Begin Yr Singing, centers on two overdriven guitars merging into something neither could produce alone, over a rhythm section that can lock a groove or let it drift. The result is exploratory but grounded, "a searching music," in Trim's words, that asks questions it doesn't always answer and shifts from one performance to the next. Recorded live in a single room at Chicago's Palisade studio with Nick Broste engineering and mixed by Cooper Crain with Sulpizio, the six tracks draw on Sonny Sharrock, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Albert Ayler, Erik Satie, and Television. The band has toured supporting The Messthetics.

Für ihre zweite LP ,Iconoclast HaHa" greift das Vierer-Ensemble Aluminum aus San Francisco den Shoegaze, Big Beat und Alt-Pop ihres Debüts ,Fully Beat" (Felte, 2024) auf und heizt die Stimmung richtig ein. Im Gegensatz zu früheren, selbst aufgenommenen Alben besteht das Album aus einer Reihe mitreißender Studioaufnahmen der gesamten Band , die alle während einer inspirierten Woche mit Toningenieur Jack Shirley im Atomic Garden Studio in Oakland aufgenommen, abgemischt und gemastert wurden. Die Leadsänger und Songwriter Marc Leyda und Ryann Gonsalves schaffen weiterhin die Balance zwischen poppiger Eingängigkeit und experimenteller Unbekümmertheit, während sie diese Songs mit Spontaneität, Unmittelbarkeit und Post-Punk-Hartnäckigkeit erfüllen. ,Wir wollten, dass dieses Album gitarrenlastiger wird", bemerkt Leyda, ,deshalb haben wir über Marshall-Stacks aufgenommen, um ihm ein schwereres Feeling zu verleihen und einen schnelleren, punkigeren Sound zu erzielen, der bei Live-Auftritten gewaltig und mitreißend wirkt." Thematisch nennt Gonsalves als große Inspiration ,die Frustration, in einem gesellschaftlichen System zu leben, das dich zum Scheitern verurteilt, in dem du immer ,nicht genug` oder ,zu viel` bist, und all die Wut, Erschöpfung und den Druck, dich anzupassen." Im Rückblick auf das Zusammenspiel von Stimmung, Botschaft und Strudel auf ,Iconoclast HaHa" erläutert Leyda anhand seiner ultimativen künstlerischen Frage: ,Wenn es sich so anfühlt, als würde die Welt in Richtung Untergang kippen, machst du einfach weiter und versuchst, etwas Kraftvolles und Sinnvolles zu schaffen - denn was bleibt dir sonst übrig?"

For Luca, Cuylan’s new album of elegant modern classical, globally informed folk and gentle electronic music, is in part a tribute to his dearly departed dog. Luca came into Cuylan’s life like a key unlocking a door, leading to experiences and experiments simultaneously new and familiar. Back then the Turkish-born musician was living in LA with his wife, leading a busy creative life, writing and recording scores for films and Netflix series, and suddenly with the adoption of Luca here’s this bouncy, furry being demanding constant attention. Cuylan accepted the responsibility like a father welcoming a child. He grew closer to his wife. He started psychoanalysis. He returned to acoustic guitar, his original instrument, waylaid for 20 years in favor of synthesizers and electronics, pulsing post-rock and skittering jazz. Luca was there in the studio when Cuylan recorded his first solo album, 2021’s No Such Thing As Free Will, which The Guardian said “seems to invent new languages for the guitar.” Without a doubt, Luca the dog made Deniz the musician more expressive and more vulnerable. Better at his craft. Better at his humanity. Luca was just five years old when bone cancer struck. He exited far too quickly, a comet of joy passing into the dark, unfathomable universe. Cuylan found his absence very hard to process–he was just right here! It took a couple years, but inevitably Luca, the catalyst for Cuylan’s current chapter, inspired new artistry after his death–from Cuylan, and from a host of collaborators from around the world who contributed to For Luca. All of them share an abiding compassion for the more-than-human creatures with whom we share this planet–dogs, cats, whales, ants, trees. The entire menagerie, humankind’s kindred. The album is a collective meditation on–and celebration of–their immeasurable essence. It was born not from despair but from a transcendent love that burns all the brighter for its brevity.

Nach der Veröffentlichung der Lead-Single ,Glowin'" im Jahr 2025 kehrt Mike James Kirkland mit seinem lang erwarteten Album ,The Business" zurück. Begleitet von den Monophonics präsentiert Kirkland eine facettenreiche, von Bläsern geprägte Sammlung, die beschwingten Soul nahtlos mit gefühlvollen Balladen verbindet und damit seinen Platz als eine der beständigen Stimmen des Genres bekräftigt. Das Album beginnt mit dem energiegeladenen ,Ready Or Not", in dem Kirkland selbstbewusst verkündet: ,Baby, I am ready", und damit den Ton für ein triumphales Comeback angibt. Produzent Kelly Finnigan lässt in ,Where Did We Go Wrong" die üppige Raffinesse des Philly-Soul einfließen und unterlegt Kirklands Reflexion über eine Liebe in Aufruhr mit Bläsern, Flöte, Waldhorn und Sitar. Finnigan arrangiert zudem das romantische ,Leading Lady" und begleitet Kirkland beim zarten ,Remembering Our Love" im Hintergrundgesang. Der Midtempo-Titelsong ,The Business" widmet sich sozialen Themen und verbindet fließende Streicherklänge mit Texten, die systemische Ungerechtigkeit und polizeiliche Unterdrückung thematisieren. Im Gegensatz dazu fängt ,Joyriding" die Unbeschwertheit des Sommers mit einem mitreißenden Groove ein, der zu den Höhepunkten des Albums zählt. Die vielbeachtete Single ,Glowin'" bildet den Abschluss des Albums. Inspiriert von der Version der Rationals aus dem Jahr 1969 des von Dr. John komponierten Stücks spiegelt der Song Kirklands beständige Botschaft wider, spirituelles Gleichgewicht und Glück dem materiellen Erfolg vorzuziehen. ,The Business" wurde zwischen Ende 2021 und Mitte 2022 geschrieben und aufgenommen, unter Mitwirkung von Jimmy James (Parlor Greens) und Lou King (Ironsides). Das Album verbindet Kirklands zeitlosen Gesang mit der üppigen Musikalität der Monophonics und markiert damit eine willkommene Rückkehr des legendären Soulsängers.

Frenchman Janeret heads up the second release on fledgling label Species. Deep in the game for over a decade now, Janeret has an innate ability to blend emotive layers of electronic funk with sultry grooves and hypnotic rhythms. His output is impeccable, each release encapsulating his emotionally rich approach. On the road, he’s an in-demand selector, channelling his love for sharing music that moves people into spellbinding sets from Europe to the USA, Australia and South America.

On the Vibrations EP Janeret embodies the essence of what makes him unique: combining the core foundational components of his sound to produce four dancefloor-ready cuts that epitomise where he’s at right now…

The EP opens with its title cut, ‘Vibrations’, a steppy production with an enchanting riff and mythical melodies. A reggae vocal utters “vibration” intermittently, accompanied by a hip hop sample, demonstrating Janeret’s broad sonic palette. Layered drum arrangement and deep bassline make this one a surefire dancefloor groover.

Up next it’s ‘No End’, a mesmerising trip driven by crisp percussion and a mean b-line. As the drums roll out, Janeret introduces jaunty layers that add cosmic funk to the cut. With each stage of progression the swirling funky synths envelop the listener more and more, immersing you in their wistful vibrations. A spinetingling break allows space for a short breather before the beats come back in, guiding us to the close.

On the flip we have ‘Fazed’, which kicks off with sturdy breaks and a highly effective, simple melody. The low end is immediately captivating, complementing the melody with a little more complexity. Together, the beats, bass and uncomplicated melody build steadily, with more elements added bringing further depth to the cut. This is one for closing your eyes and really losing yourself in the moment.

Finally, ‘Sub Pressure’ closes out the EP with a dreamy, yet bass-heavy atmosphere. Soft pads glide across the top layer, while a hefty b-line balances things out in the bottom end. Janeret’s exquisite production keeps things progressing with subtle elements creeping in throughout, creating a symphony of electronic sound and vibration. Let the brighter layers tantalise your spirit, while the bass moves your body.

Masterful work from Janeret here, with four versatile tracks designed to move the dancefloor across mind, body and soul. Feel the Vibrations…

'Kiliae is a collection of pieces that tell the story of a homecoming. It is a cohesive narrative that captures the feeling of what a home can be, drawing its inspiration from life in that place itself - life that has now become something different after having lived in foreign places for an extended period of time.
'Kiliae captures a certain atmosphere, a feeling that has built up during countless walks and bike commutes in and around the city of Kiel.'

Rotterdam’s Nathan Homan jumps into the Spectral Bounce spotlight on SPEC09 — Frog Mine. These three cuts of mesmeric tech house roll, slip and spring from the speakers.

His Spectral Bounce debut is exemplified by punchy percussion playing against obscured, otherworldly sonics — something Homan has a particular instinct for, and which slot seamlessly into the SPEC catalog. Starting proceedings with a taut beat, snappy drums and hallucinatory croaks, the titular “Frog Mine” creates a hypnotic trip. Second track “Hyp” is a well-honed tech house roller: its adeptly slinking rhythm hearkens back to the 00’s, yet this framework is expanded upon with alien timbres and pinwheeling FX. Having set a heady tone, Homan doesn’t shy away from loosening up his sound: swapping the original’s smooth propulsion for a healthy dose of jackin’ bounce, the house mix of “Hyp” strips the ingredients back, before adding a cascade of syncopated toms and a seriously thumping kick.

SPEC09 — Amphibians on deck!

**2026 REPRESS. New Orange Artwork***

TRjj is made up of several people that meet regularly since 2016. It is practiced collectively with interchanging names and roles, so the full control about disguised authorship would be guaranteed. Everyone involved was set to meet half way. TRjj is a filter for the kinship of many. Its the freedom attained, once you have gotten rid of yourself. This heteronomic practice would be ideal to advocate against reasons which are claimed, biographies that are scripted, economies that are fueled and histories that are written to be recognized as something apparently truly valid and fully finnished.

ASUNCIÓN’S MOST WANTED, DJ HENDY AKA P. LOPEZ AKA ARIEL ME LLAMO, MAKES HIS DEBUT ON KAOS. AFTER MEETING HIM YEARS AGO IN PARAGUAY’S CAPITAL, I WAS ALWAYS DIGGING HIS MUSIC AND BLOWN AWAY BY HIS INSANE DJ SKILLS. FINALLY, WE GOT THE OUTPUT HERE. 6 TUNES, 6 ENERGIES. TRIBAL/GROOVE TECHNO AS LANGUAGE, BODY MUSIC AS MESSAGE. THESE ARE MUST-HAVE TOOLS FOR EVERY DIGGER. GUARANTEED DELIVERY NO EXTRA FEES +666111111111 CALL NOW!!!

The long-awaited 7-inch release of the live recording of "Unknown Happiness," the signature song by Maher Shalal Hash Baz led by Tori Kudo!

Coupling two live takes of their signature song with distinct arrangements, an essential release that offers a fresh perspective on the unique world of Maher Shalal Hash Baz!

"Unknown Happiness", the signature song of Maher Shalal Hash Baz, the Japanese experimental music project formed in 1984 and led by Tori Kudo. A piece that perfectly embodies the group's one-of-a-kind musical world?freely traversing folk, jazz, brass, classical music, and improvisation?its simple yet heartwarming melody continues to be cherished by indie and experimental music fans around the world.

Now, the live version that captures the song's charm in its freshest form is finally available on a 7-inch record. Side A features the distinctive ensemble of Maher Shalal Hash Baz, beautifully imperfect and filled with the unique atmosphere that only a live performance can convey. Side B presents a special live version with a piano-centered arrangement, revealing a new dimension of the song.

In August 2025, we gathered in Tindafel, a village by the sea in the north of Morocco, with a bunch of instruments our friend Abdou had lent us, along with a few things we brought ourselves.

At the core, Pablo plays gimbri, Miguel plays drums, Juan plays guitar and keyboards, sings and handles the radio transmissions, and Javier sings, plays keyboard and works with digital effects. Loops were created interchangeably by Pablo, Miguel and Javier, while Pablo would often also pick up the guitar or keyboards, with everyone moving between instruments and roles throughout the recording.

Nothing was written beforehand.
 All tracks were improvised and recorded in a single take using a room microphone, so no mixing was possible. 
To this day, as we write this, none of the tracks have been played again — yet!

The album was edited by Pablo and mastered by Tobias.

The cover photograph was taken in the kitchen of the house, the same place where Magic Pony Productions first came together.

The poem on the sleeve was written by Oscar García Sierra.

Soul Quest Records opens a new chapter with Re:Quest Vol.1, the first instalment in a new remix series dedicated to revisiting, reimagining, and breathing fresh life into music from the label’s growing back catalogue. True to Soul Quest’s ethos of deep, soulful, and jazz-tinged sounds, Re:Quest brings together four new interpretations from a diverse cast of producers, each offering their own perspective while retaining the spirit of the original recordings.

CPen “HypnoFreak” & “All Night Long”

We’re now into the 8th offering from the never-ending stream of great music to reissue from Pacific Coast House Recordings.


This one see’s Cpen, from the Rhodes Through Space / Straight No Chaser collab with Big Sam, on a solo venture. Killer, tripped-out deepness, built for dancing pleasures. As always, snap these up before they’re gone!

Excellent Tribecore record. Banging and full of dancefloor tricks. A killer for real.

PS : this is a FLAT repress done by MPO because late 2016 some copies were curved.

House music has truly gone worldwide and here at Local Talk Records we like to think that we're open-minded to all shades of our beloved 4/4 rhythms...

This time we've given North Africa an opportunity to showcase their take on electronic deep house...with soul of course.
Egyptian producer Adham Zahran has been on our radar for quite a while now.
With a blend of dark yet beautiful electronic themes we like to think that his sound lands somewhere between Ron Trent, Atjazz or the more electronic Glenn Underground tracks.
For his debut on Local Talk, Adham presents 'Stripped Years', a beautiful production that takes us down below with big strings, supa deep chords and a light yet bumpy 4/4 kick.
Not hard, not pumping, just sexy and deep.

In order to make the North African theme even stronger we asked Moroccan producer Cee ElAssaad to take 'Stripped Years' further beyond the limits of the original version. The result is quite Chicago-ish, slightly more soulful but still very electronic and thumping. Cee gives us two versions, the original remix but also a massive beatless version that works just as well without beats.

This is the sound of dream Texas, the cinematic Texas conjured in film and 20th century literary and art myth… big dark blueing horizons swallowing the infinite distance, a lonely poetry of sound, but also a stock taker of the iconoclastic, psychedelic, art rebel side of Texas… the cracked rock music side of Texas, the avant-garde in concrete cracks, the recklessly used, mind expanding drugs Texas, the dripping eastern swamps, the Houston house parties with the sounds of records blasting down the block and becoming musique concrète in the hot summer night.

Chrome Chasm’s debut album Interpreter is ambient, minimal in feel, maximal in texture, beautifully disorienting, vastly spacious— until it isn’t. It's a naturalistic shapeshifter, taking majestic form in the aforementioned elements and then dissolving back to raw genetic material to form anew. Spiritual jazz overtones, pedal steel moans and buzzing, noisy ambient visions are upended by grey-folded psychedelic unveilings. Interpreter’s three expansive tracks present a most detailed performance by its three deft musicians and the outcome often feels like a gorgeous collage in real-time.

Chrome Chasm was formed in 2024 by three of Houston’s brightest underground stars: Mlee Marie (Hearts Of Animals) on alto saxophone, flute and voice (whose long-form experimental sax performances helped inspire the formation of the band), Will Adams (Lower Dens/ Ka-Nives) on pedal steel, synth, percussion and voice, and Tom Carter on guitar. Carter has been casting a long shadow over Texas psychedelia and American underground music for over 3 decades, most notably with the Houston based Charalambides, a powerful creative force of the pre-new weird America era of experimental and avant psychedelic music, and most notably since with his solo guitar magnum opus Long Time Underground (which was deemed among the best experimental albums of 2015 by Pitchfork).

Interpreter’s opening track “The Star,” recorded almost completely live in one room and one take, is a 16-minute manifesto on ‘Dream Noir.’ An astute scholar of cross-genre connectivity and the through-lines of kosmische and spiritual-leaning sonic realms can hear echoes of Cluster, the skronk and beauty of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and the architectural ambient flow of Harold Budd and Philip Glass in the tidal lapping of distorted guitar, mantra-like saxophone and pedal steel flow. From its deconstructed, pastoral opening moments to its proto-electronic center that crests into a bombastic polytonal climax, Chrome Chasm never neglect narrative arc for experimentation and avant technique. In fact, as a group, they effortlessly control, open, fill and contract space in abeyance to emotional vibration. “The Star,” and indeed the album as a whole, feels more like a communion or extended poem, in direct communication with the listener, than it does a ‘captured experience.’

Across the three longform tracks of Interpreter, Chrome Chasm conducts a masterclass in fusing real time performance energy with an abstract, cut-up master’s reimagining of the literal. They demand the listener meet their music with dream logic and then, like the best dream peddlers, they present a labyrinth to fall into and experience, a place where explanation and conclusion become obsolete, and engagement and immersion become sublime.

“Trust me, you will pogo, skank, sing and possibly dance like your f*cking Dad on spice.” Party Eternal is the fourth studio album by the Brighton-based punk/ska band The Bar Stool Preachers. The album represents a massive turning point for the seven-piece, both creatively and structurally. It’s blisteringly good. Combining the best of brit-pop, ska, rock and indie ‘Party Eternal’ is exactly the tonic for the times. In parts scathing, and in others total escapism, this rowdy septet have written the greatest party punk album you’ll hear all year. Renowned for their relentless touring schedule, The Bar Stool Preachers have played stages around the globe, from grassroots venues to major festivals like Rebellion and Punk Rock Bowling. Their heartfelt lyrics and magnetic stage presence have earned them a reputation as one of the most engaging live acts in the punk scene today. Whether delivering politically charged messages or uplifting party anthems, The Bar Stool Preachers continue to inspire and unite audiences, carrying the torch of punk’s rebellious spirit into the modern era. Featuring the single ‘Pick A Side’ (the profits of which were donated by the band to Medical Aid for Palestinians), ‘This is Goodbye’ featuring Aussie Celtic Punk masters The Rumjacks and ‘Sick World’ which stars a guest turn from the genre-shattering and quite legendary Fishbone.

Dylan Atlantis' Insta bio read 'amateur artist' at the start of the year.

Now she's on a billboard in Times Square.

With vocals and lyrics that extend well beyond her young years, Dylan Atlantis is the definition of meteoric rise.

Pitchfork describes her as ""the silky R&B singer, sliding in with the laid-back cool.""

THE PHILIPPINES-BORN, WEST SYDNEY BASED MUSICIAN WAS RAISED on a musical diet of RnB and Hip-Hop by her Mum. Now a self-professed lover of all genres of music (even country), she's out here sharing her innermost thoughts and lyrical experiments with the world. ""I kinda just treat music like a diary but also a science lab where I can experiment expressing myself in different ways until it's awesome enough that I feel compelled to share it.""

Impressed Recordings are proud to present Dylan Atlantis' release - It Starts Again, on limited edition vinyl.

Originally released in 1990, as a triple album in box set with probably the best work THE KLINIK ever did. A selection of their musical works all recorded between 1984 & 1988 and never released before, the box came as a limited edition in 1990 and was sold out in no time, and therefor very rare and hard to find.

Now Antler Records has revisited the box, remastered into a sound experience like you never had before; 6 sides packed in newly designed inner sleeves with band photo's (by Inge Bekkers) that have never been published before. 6 sides, three heavy weight vinyl albums in one extra broadened single album sleeve. Cold electronics, shivering spheres, minimal and highly atmospheric, a soundtrack for a still to be made film. A sound experience like you never had before!

The Klinik is Marc Verhaeghen-Music & Dirk Ivens-Lyrics
All Tracks recorded in the Lab between 1984 & 1988
Digitally Remastered in 2026 by Pieter De Wagter(Equus)

Hell is empty and the salsa is all there is.

Chúpame el Dedo are BACK! After years of terrorizing the avant-tropical underground with their manic, mock-satanic metal-cumbia madness, the legendary Bogotano duo of Eblis Álvarez and Pedro Ojeda have officially scrubbed the pentagrams off the drum kit. They aren’t worshipping the dark lord anymore; they’ ve found a much more chaotic deity. Please lower your expectations and raise your instruments: Chúpame el Dedo are now officially Geobah Witnesses.

Forget everything you thought you knew. This new record is a high-octane salsa-altín exorcism. It’s not your abuela’s dance music; it’s a fever dream—like Waka Waka played at double speed through a frying mixing desk that’s caught fire mid-verse.

The Chúpame delirium remains terminal. We’re talking classic, hard-swinging Caribbean breaks that trip over jagged psych-synth riffs, all tied to those signature “broken” vocals—jumping from gutter-low growls to manic, helium-choked chirps. It’s twitchy, heavy, and lyrically, the most blasphemous shit they’ve ever committed to tape. It’s a holy, nonsensical collision that’ll leave you wondering if you’ve been saved or just brainwashed.

Put down the pitchforks, pick up a maraca, and surrender to the frequency. Geobah is watching.

Celebrate the incredible music from the first half of the 70s with this brand-new 2LP collection packed with the era’s most iconic hits.

LP1 kicks off with Queen’s ‘Killer Queen’, followed by Elton John’s timeless ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and Mott The Hoople’s anthemic ‘All The Young Dudes’. Glam-rock favourites from Sweet, Mud and Wizzard sit alongside Pilot’s feel-good ‘Magic’ and David Essex’s distinctive ‘Rock On’. Side Two turns up the guitars with Rod Stewart’s ‘You Wear It Well’, Free’s legendary ‘All Right Now’ and Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet’. Alice Cooper’s rebellious ‘School’s Out’, Status Quo’s ‘Down Down’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whisky In The Jar’ continue an incredible run of rock classics before Bob Dylan closes the LP with ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’.

LP2 opens with Paul McCartney & Wings’ epic ‘Band On The Run’, before Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’ showcase some of the decade’s finest songwriting. Harry Nilsson’s unforgettable ‘Without You’ and Terry Jacks’ ‘Seasons In The Sun’ lead into soulful classics from Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Stylistics. Side Two opens with Neil Diamond’s enduring ‘Sweet Caroline’ and Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, before Diana Ross’ ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours’ launch an irresistible run of soul and dancefloor favourites. Barry White’s ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’, George McCrae’s ‘Rock Your Baby’ and The Three Degrees’ ‘When Will I See You Again?’ lead into Michael Jackson’s beautiful ‘Ben’, bringing this celebration of 1970–1974 to a memorable close.

What happens when bassweight electronic beats meet the abstract world of one of the most uncompromising MCs on this planet?

Get ready for a special listening experience as Abu Ama and Sensational take you deep into a world of heavy bass, fractured rhythms, strange frequencies and completely unpredictable flows.

Abu Ama is known for his unique production style, combining Dub, Ambient and Industrial soundscapes with Middle Eastern sound structures. His productions create vast, atmospheric spaces where bass pressure and subtle details constantly collide. Over the years, he has developed his signature sound through releases on forward-thinking labels such as Bokeh Versions and Accidental Meetings. With Ringing In Your Ear, Abu Ama presents some of his most adventurous and forward-thinking productions to date.

On the microphone, we are proud to present a true underground legend straight outta NYC: Sensational.

Born Colin Julius Bobb in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, Sensational became one of the most distinctive and unpredictable voices to emerge from New York’s experimental hip-hop underground. Originally performing under the name Torture, he was already connected to the Jungle Brothers in the early 1990s before developing the completely unique style that would become synonymous with Sensational.

In 1997, he released his debut album Loaded With Power on the influential Word Sound label. Built from dusty beats, unusual samples and lo-fi textures, the record established Sensational as an artist who seemed to operate completely outside the established rules of Hip Hop.

Over the following decades, he continued to explore the space between underground rap, experimental electronics, noise and abstract music. His long list of collaborators included artists such as Spectre, Kouhei Matsunaga, Kid 606, Cardopusher, Handsome Boy Modeling School and many others. His work with Kouhei Matsunaga was even remixed by Autechre.

Sensational was never interested in fitting into a particular scene. His rhymes were surreal, his flows unpredictable and his approach completely his own. For more than three decades, he remained a true outsider — a cult figure whose music connected underground Hip Hop with some of the strangest and most adventurous corners of experimental music.

After Abu Ama and Sensational’s heavy 2023 single International Rokkaz left us wanting more, the two decided to take things much further. What started as a single collaboration evolved into a full length soundclash.

We were already incredibly hyped about this collaboration from the moment we heard it. But while we were preparing for the release of the single MOZZ, the terrible news reached us: Sensational had passed away.

The news hit hard. It is still difficult to believe that we will never hear a new Sensational verse again.

What makes Ringing In Your Ear even more special is that it captures Sensational doing what he did best — completely free, completely unpredictable and completely himself.

We dedicate this record to Colin Julius Bobb aka Sensational, in loving memory of an extraordinary artist, MC and true underground original.

Rest in power, Sensational.

"Temporary World" sees the return to Canopy of musical whizz kid Joi N'Juno, teaming up with the creative force of Kaleta, who has been a long-time collaborator of the label and long known for his work with Nigerian legends Fela Kuti & Sunny Ade.

For this project, the inspiration came from vintage Nigerian funk & disco, channelled through modern production aesthetics, bridging the gap between past & present.

Joi N'Juno's bouncy disco beats and groovy basslines lay the foundation over which Kaleta's funky guitars and the horn section from London Afrobeat Collective pepper the details. Keys bubble and synths soar as Kaleta's vocals, sung in both English & Yoruba, bring his evocative soulfulness. The culmination is an authentic melting pot of both vintage influence and originality.

Joi N'Juno turns in two different mixes of each song, the first in a "live", sounding approach and a second Mmore "oomphy" mix with fat synth bass, suited to the late night dance floors

The Five Green Moons present Moon 3. The third sphere to find its way into orbit. On its surface the evolution of a many faceted creature has taken place. Now with long, long tentacles and a million mouths the creature dances and sings. Its voice is the sound of the ghost dub ritual. The echo of spirits passing through the translucent veil. The chants of souls lost in the vampire woods. The clap, clap of its limbs colliding is the sound of frequencies being bent into fascinating new shapes by machine/ human hybrids. Post punk dubwise angular electro folk, Pastoral dub, whatever name you give to this music is of no consequence. It is alive and spinning in orbit.

The third Five Green Moons album sees Justin Robertson's sonic pallet blossoming into new exciting shapes. These 11 tracks offer a wide vista of across the frequencies including a truly remarkable and uncanny tale from celebrated author David Keenan on ' To Haunt of the Dark Earth A Spot' that brings to mind a vision of M.R. James merging with African Headcharge. Another refreshing collaboration can be found on 'Message from the Tone Generator' where underground electronic producer Nickelle adds her magical poetry to the psychedelic swirl. This is a bold and magical offering in a time of pastiche where new shapes are drawn from the sketches of the past.

If you need a sonic shorthand imagine Public Image Limited meeting the haunting chants of a new age Incredible String Band. The spiritual tones of late 70's Don Cherry. The whispering psych swooshes from Planet Gong and most importantly a solid bass foundation straight out of King Tubby's studio.

Agoro is a Franco-Ghanaian hip-hop group of four rappers and four musicians. After kicking off in 2023 with a 15-date tour in France, the group’s journey took a turn when a Ghanaian rapper vanished from the airport before boarding his return flight. Their new album chronicles this emotional roller coaster and the challenges of cultural exchange between Europe and Africa, with socially conscious lyrics in French, English, and Twi set to jazzy and electronic boom bap instrumental pieces.

Phillip George Allison was born and raised in Denham Town, West Kingston, the last of six children and the only boy. As a boy he sang hymns at his mother's side. Before long he was singing radio hits at school concerts, where he did Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson and Eddie Kendricks in a falsetto so close to theirs that friends called him "George Smokey."
With Delroy Williams and Shirley Forbes he formed The Mad Lads. Leroy Sibbles auditioned them at Studio One and called Coxsone Dodd over to listen, and they recorded the same day, with Sylvan Morris as engineer and the Sound Dimensions backing them. Ten To One, Losing You and You Never Know were big with the sound systems. George then left music to study electrical engineering at CAST. Years later producer Carl Prince of Gibbous Records asked him to re-record Ten To One, and that brought him back into the studio for the 1984 album So Unusual, where both of these sides first appeared.
Gypsy Woman was one of the first songs he ever sang in class. "Gypsy Woman was originally done by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, one of my favourite groups. I chose to do it a little differently, in my falsetto style, like Ten To One that I recorded while singing lead with the Mad Lads."
War Is Ugly "I wrote War Is Ugly during the politically motivated tensions and killings between rival gangs and gunmen all over the island in that period. My message was to the gunmen: turn in their arms and come. War is ugly, love is lovely."

New York-based Japanese jazz and electronic music polymath Takuya Nakamura presents his debut album Shape The Future - almost 35 years into his storied musical journey.

An expansive double album, the album’s first LP documents a spellbinding live performance by Nakamura recorded at fabric. A hybrid set combining DJing, live electronics, vocals, and trumpet, the set also features studio versions of special collaborations with Shigeto, Currency Audio and Tim Reaper. The second LP complements the first by assembling studio recordings of select album tracks. Altogether the two volumes make for a definitive display of Nakamura’s exceptional musicianship across jazz, DnB, jungle, broken beat, deep techno and more.

Across his career, Nakamura has played Brazilian music, merengue, salsa and straight-ahead jazz. He’s opened for Sun Ra Arkestra, performed with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Wu-Tang Clan, and Arto Lindsay, appeared on sessions with Terry Riley, ASAP Rocky, Goldie, and TV On The Radio, and remixed the likes of Quincy Jones, Sun Ra, Billie Holiday, and The Streets. He’s also played under director and playwright Robert Wilson.

Although the musical past and present of the Tokyo-born, New York-based DJ and trumpet player is undoubtedly eclectic, Nakamura is abidingly steeped in the sounds of jazz and jungle. This’ll be obvious to casual observers who may have seen any viral videos of him. But there’s more to this. The depth of Nakamura’s engagement with these kinds of music, the way they’ve made him into the person he is, the decades-long path they’ve taken him on; to now arrive at the summit of a solo album is all truly remarkable. Shape The Future resonates with every chapter in this story.

In high school, Nakamura’s friends started listening to jazz and jazz fusion, which piqued his interest, especially when they started going to clubs to see it live, where they managed to see US legends like Sonny Rollins play. Eventually he began to play jazz every day and his musical skill emerged early. He soon became obsessed with getting closer to the source of this music, which led to his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with George Russell, an influential figure who had taught Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Nakamura drank it in: not only the technical aspects but the sense of a direct connection to “a music culture where Russell and his friends changed harmony forever. I wanted to know how that was possible!”.

This was a radical experience in itself, but then another revolution happened for Nakamura. He was playing in a venue called The Western Front, near Boston and discovered that the elderly owner had his own soundsystem and was playing what was then - in 1992 - only just becoming known as jungle. This was as freeing a musical revelation as his proximity to the giants of jazz was, and in that instant the two things fused. He understood that using technology to fill a dancehall with sound and a jazz musician’s reflexes are all working to the same ends: “You’re always making decisions,” he says, “but it doesn’t have to be really difficult. It’s the truth of the frequencies, and how they’re affecting people’s minds.”

From that moment on, his life path was set. Moving to New York City, he sought out jungle and its offshoot sounds wherever he could find them, gigging and collaborating relentlessly, and gradually developing his own live and hybrid live/DJ shows. Through regular appearances at New York fixtures Zebulon and CBGBs, and continual shows elsewhere in the city, Nakamura developed his live performance and DJing and it was in these environments that he gradually weaved together his twin loves without compromising either, building an international reputation in the process.

It’s only fitting then that his first album, almost 35 years after he first found his musical direction, should be a live one: a window into this never-ending process. Even here, he had to be persuaded that he should make a record. A member of the fabric team got turned on to his music after their daughter saw him play. Of course, as a jungle lover, Nakamura knew fabric – which has a special place in the history of jungle and drum’n’bass – and “had wanted to play there since I was very young.” You can hear the club in the record: this isn’t just a live show, in keeping with his jungle roots, it’s Nakamura duetting with the soundsystem, and you can feel how the emotions in the room would have ebbed and flowed.

This dynamic translates to a transfixing record. Setting the tone with lushly textured ambient and reverberant jazz, Nakamura segues into cinematic breakbeat and stellar fusion, infusing it all with intoxicating low end and hypnotic rhythms. The LP’s midway point locks into mesmeric percussion heightened by resonant echoes of piano and trumpet. There’s an endless pull to this music. Nakamura adjusts the levels for maximum impact throughout, and the overall effect begins to evoke some harmonious hybrid between a jazz ensemble, a classic Metalheadz 12” and a Theo Parrish DJ set. His electric form continues through surreal jazz, intricate electronics and rolling sub-bass velocity, right up to the subtly devastating final cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, with Nakamura’s fragile vocal sitting in the heart of a huge sound.

From Tokyo jazz nights to formative studies and encounters in Boston to his artistic development in New York, Nakamura reaches another milestone with his monumental debut album. It’s a release that happened just the way a Takuya Nakamura record should. In the same way his instincts led him to musical revelations, taking his own sweet time has led him to make one of the most extraordinary debut albums imaginable, all executed in his own singular style. In Nakamura’s world, the universe finds a way.