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Set sail for the next leg of the journey! Diggers Factory is thrilled to present the One Piece: Into the Grand Line (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) Deluxe Vinyl Boxset.

Following the Straw Hat Crew as they finally move Into the Grand Line, the soundtrack captures the epic, high-seas energy of the hit series. Composed by the powerhouse duo Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli, the score blends orchestral scale with pirate folk-rock grit, now pressed on stunning colored wax.
Whether you're dodging Baroque Works or looking for a giant whale, this box set is the ultimate treasure for any Straw Hat at heart.
2LP Black Audiophile Vinyl: Two black vinyl representing the fiery spirit of adventure and the deep mysteries of the Grand Line.
Custom Die-Cut Jackets: Two single jackets featuring a central die-cut hole that reveals the beautiful map-work of the inner labels.
16-Page Booklet: A deep dive into the production with exclusive set stills and behind-the-scenes imagery from Season 2.
Double-Sided Poster (20" x 27"): Choose your vibe with the cinematic group shot of the crew or the iconic "Grand Adventure Awaits" sunset art.
6 Exclusive Postcards: Vintage-style travel postcards from legendary stops like Loguetown, Little Garden, and Drum Island.
Sticker Board: A collection of high-quality stickers including Laboon, the Going Merry, and Luffy's legendary $30,000,000 Wanted Poster.
Collector's Box: All contents are housed in a premium, wooden-textured outer box.
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure, ONE PIECE, returns for Season 2-unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet. Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line-a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world's greatest treasure, they'll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.

Heavyweight Digital Reggae! Crucial ‘Deejay’ counterpart for ‘Pad Anthony – Rebel'. For the lovers of King Jammys Digi era productions, and those ‘Shaka Style’ soundsystem selections.

Heavyweight Digital Reggae featuring the late, great Jamaican singer Pad Anthony! For the lovers of King Jammys Digi era productions, and those ‘Shaka Style’ soundsystem selections.

Brixton Heights Records proudly presents the brand new single ‘Am I the Same Man?’, a soulful roots-reggae gem featuring a heavyweight all-star lineup including: Mafia & Fluxy on drum and bass respectively, the Ital Horns on brass, Gussie Clarke on mastering and Gaudi on falsetto vocals + BVs, dub mixing, piano and co-production alongside The Brixton Heights Orchestra.

Drawing inspiration from the timeless instrumental groove ‘Soulful Strut’ by Young-Holt Unlimited, the track channels vintage soul through a deep lovers-rock lens. A fresh and earnest reinterpretation of Barbara Acklin’s 1968 classic ‘Am I the Same Girl?’, this version flips the narrative with an adaptation on the lyrics voiced by none other than Gaudi singing in falsetto, resulting with a smooth, dub-infused love song that combines classic soul and international reggae into a modern masterpiece.
Gaudi is not stranger to falsetto-singing and backing vocals, in fact he has lent his distinctive vocal talent to albums by reggae giants such as Steel Pulse, Horace Andy, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Don Letts, Johnny Clarke, Mad Professor, Hollie Cook, Michael Rose, Creation Rebel, Africa Unite, Awa Fall, African Head Charge, Lion D & Capleton.

Mixed and co-produced by Gaudi at his Metatron Studio in London UK and mastered by Gussie Clarke at Anchor Studios in Kingston Jamaica, ‘Am I the Same Man?’ is more than a cover version, it’s a heartfelt transformation that captures the emotional core of the original song while creating a whole new vibe that speaks to today’s lovers and soul seekers alike.

The B-side presents a meticulously crafted dub version by Gaudi, produced exclusively with analogue equipment and vintage studio hardware. The mix brings forward the intricacies of the original instrumentation and enhances the lyrical elements through spacious delays and warm, analogue textures. Last but not least, in order to maintain the highest level of authenticity and an organic sonic texture, all recordings were done at 432Hz, tuned to resonate naturally.

The third chapter of Vesuvius Soul Records connects distant corners of the underground — from Canada to the UK, passing through Barcelona and Naples — building a sonic bridge between different energies and creative visions.

Void Fill, a supergroup formed by members of Gad Whip, Everything Is Geometry, and King Pong Dub System, deliver two tracks that merge new wave and post-punk tension with synth-pop sensibility, each paired with its instrumental version. Their sound blends analog drive and emotional depth, echoing the label’s exploratory spirit.

On remix duty, the A-side features Lvca, one of the most influential names in today’s European underground scene. The B-side comes from Computer Rage, the Neapolitan duo behind VSR002.

Uluru is back with another Dibba production!
Italian dj and producer Dj Dibba open up to different sounds and surprise us with a contagious Uk Garage Remix.
On the flip, the producer from Albano Laziale (known as the italian Kingston) confirm himself as one of the reggae-hip hop raising stars with “Ego Skank”.

Pull up guaranteed!

Pressed on high quality black and transparent red vinyl (48 gr.)
Edition of 250, cut it loud and fat, highly recommended for big sound systems.

DJ Stepmom is an LA-based producer and DJ originally from Minneapolis, and one half of the electro-funk duo King Pari (Stones Throw/PPU). His sound leans heavily on vintage drum machines, guitar pedals, and thrift-store keyboards, shaping a style that's as raw as it is playful. On his release 'Don't Give It Your All Cuz You Might Need Some Later', DJ Stepmom threads deep house foundations with soulful vocal features, weaving in a wink of P-Funk eccentricity. The result is a melodic, groove-heavy trip that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly offbeat.

Black Midi war von Anbeginn der Band ein illustres wie kreatives Tummelbecken für die Mitglieder der britischen Band - nun löst sich Geordie Greep mit seinem am 4. Oktober bei Rough Trade Records erscheinendem Solo-Debüt noch mehr von jeglichen Einschränkungen und Kompromissen! Eines der Hauptthemen von Anthony Powells Roman "A Dance to the Music of Time" ist der Kontrast zwischen jenen Charakteren, die nur von Macht getrieben werden, und jenen, die mehr mit den sinnlichen Freuden des Lebens in Einklang stehen. Unweigerlich holen die Zeit und das Schicksal jeden Protagonisten ein, und der Leser kann darüber nachdenken, ob ihr Schicksal gerechtfertigt ist oder nicht. "The New Sound" wirkt oft wie eine Wiederholung von Powells Thema, untermalt von einem schrägen - und völlig verkabelten - Palm Court Orchestra. Das Album ist mit Sicherheit eines, das den Hörer über die gesamten elf Tracks hinweg voll in seinen Bann zieht. Greep: "Ich war besorgt wegen der Länge, um nicht zu viel zu verraten. Aber ich bin es auch verdammt leid, Musik zu hören und im Voraus zu wissen, was sie bedeutet oder was sie zu tun versucht. Bei all meiner Lieblingsmusik geht es darum, dass der Hörer sich mit dem auseinandersetzt, was vor sich geht. Meine Lieblingssänger, wie Peter Hammill oder Nat King Cole, sind buchstäblich einmalig. Das liebe ich. Vor allem bei Texten, bei denen man nicht genau weiß, worum es geht, aber man weiß, dass es nicht nur abstrakte Gedanken sind."

Six years after Nazamba’s first offering, he delivers his final gift: A Message From Zion.

The journey begins with George ’Nazamba’ and Rico ‘O.B.F’, two kindred spirits connected by sound. Countless cross-ocean visits between Kingston and the French Alps, from enjoying hot beers on the beach to reasonings in snowy mountains. Moments that forged a pure brotherhood.

Out of this friendship grew his first album, the self-titled Nazamba in 2019. Now comes his second, a collaboration between Thompson Sound and Dubquake Records. Together, they unite two generations of reggae powerhouses. Produced by Rico O.B.F, the record reimagines classic Thompson Sound gems. Nazamba’s musical storytelling is accompanied by the Roots Radics, with guest appearances from Linval Thompson & Barrington Levy.

Then came silence. In 2022, Nazamba passed on to Zion. The album project was unfinished, yet full of life. What remains is raw, unpolished and painfully beautiful.

A Message From Zion, a celebration of Nazamba’s universe. His voice, wisdom, poetry, heart and spirit. Forward we ah go. Ah true.

2026 Repress

After a storming Soma debut at the tail end of 2017, Cleric returns with the Silent Kingdom EP. This typically intense and raucous new release features an epic VSK remix on the flip.

Phantom Limb opens the EP, all guns blazing. Calamitous percussion hammers through as twisted synth hooks tear the speakers with unrelenting drive. Tag X takes on a more hypnotic functionality yet still embodies Cleric's fierce, vigorous energy. Title track Silent Kingdom concludes Cleric's original tracks for the new EP and doesn't let up on intensity one bit. Pervasive rhythmic elements are bolstered by dystopic pads that cleave through the heart of the track creating an absolute killer, peak time cut. The in-form, Berlin based VSK, fresh from his Soma release under Symmetrical Behaviour offers his take on Silent Kingdom; a decidedly gritty affair he retains the deeper elements of the original but certainly ups the severity.

Another hard hitting and astute release from one of the UK's brightest talents.

The productions of producer Bunny'Striker'Lee were so extensive in the early to mid 1970's that labels were created just to handle his ever expanding output...
Three labels that came about during this time when Dub was King,were Jackpot,Justice and Attack.
Here we look at the Jackpot label and have compiled a collection of some of its finest dub cuts..
Jackpot records was formed in the early 70's as a subsidiary of Trojan Records to handle the Hitmaker from Jamaica Bunny'Striker'Lee
We have gathered here what we think are some of the best dubcuts from this label and era..
Hope you enjoy the set......

South London’s Jerkcurb – aka Jacob Read – is back with news that his sophomore album ‘Night Fishing On A Calm Lake’ is to be released at the end of November following 2019’s ‘Air Con Eden’.

After that album’s successful release Read had planned to expand Jerkcurb into a full band setup when his father, a painter like himself and a creative inspiration, passed away. Instead of the envisioned plan of taking his project bigger Read returned to the family home and re-examined the material for the new album and instead the album became one of reflection, grief and redemption. It’s not much of a stretch to see clear musical inspirations for the record too – Prefab Sprout, Talk Talk and The Blue Nile, records where the moments of silence are stretched out.

Read produced and engineered the album himself, mostly at home with Lara Laeverenz and Gray Rimmer providing cocals. The album is mixed by Dilip Harris (King Krule, Mount Kimbie).

The enchanting cover artwork was painted at Read’s father’s studio in Camberwell, painted in oil with its dreamlike blur of blue and black . It hints at the early film noir and magical realist influences for the album.

The Rude Boy moniker has its roots firmly set in the downtown districts of Kingston, Jamaica.
Alongside the regular Ska/Rocksteady sounds coming out of the sound systems, there was an undercurrent theme to some songs that spoke of the struggles of the youth, of their confrontation, arrests and run ins with the establishment.
Some of these songs praised the Rude Boys for their stance and style while other songs were more in contempt with the Rude Boy's attitiudes, comings ,goings and violent behaviour.
For this release we have put together a set of tunes that the Jamaican Rude Boys would have been listening to at the sound systems on the lawns and street corners.
Not only the more obvious Rude Boy tunes like 'Gunmen Coming to Town' , 'Dreader than Dread', 'Moon Hop' but also some of the tunes that made the sound systems rock well into the night.
Hope you enjoy the set,,,,,

2025 Repress

The mighty Falsetto voice of Mr Cornell Campbell is another we believe, unsung hero of the Jamaican music scene. Who in our opinion should have broke through to a wider audience, than his cult status currently provides. We have unearthed straight from the master tapes an album that was due for release around the mid 70’s. A few of these cuts, found their way out on limited 7”s, that were mainly for the domestic Jamaican market. But as a complete body of work, never found a release until now. We hope like us, once you have played the tracks, you will feel that this set of cuts, stands up amongst Cornell’s finest work. Cornell Campbell (born 1948, Jamaica), made his first recordings in the early 1960’s for Coxone Dodd at Studio 1. Tracks like ‘Under the Old Oak Tree’, ‘My Treasure’ and later as a duo with Roy Patton ‘Salvation’ and ‘Sweetest Girl’, were local hits on the Jamaican Sound Systems. A short spell with the Uniques was followed by his roll as lead vocalist with the Eternals, under the monicker of Don Cornell. Their finest moment being the classic ‘Stars / Queen of the Minstrels’ cuts which still stand up today as some of Jamaica’s finest.

The 1970’s saw Mr Campbell move on to work with producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee, for whom he cut most

of his big tunes. He and fellow singer Johnny Clarke, would become Bunny’s 70’s equivalent to his 1960’s stable of singers like Slim Smith, Pat Kelly and Ernest Wilson. They would provide the voice to his many hits of the day. Bunny not being called ‘Striker’ for nothing. Cornell also had a series of hits around his theme as the ‘Gorgon’. The mighty figure unbeatable at the dances in the Greenwich Town district of Kingston. ‘The Gorgon’, ‘The Conquering Gorgon’. ‘Natty Dread in a Greenwich Farm’. These were all firm favourites at the dances in Jamaica. He also worked with other notable producers around this time. Winston ‘Niney’ Holness “I Heart is Clean’, Tappa Zukie ‘Follow Instruction’

and culminating in a massive hit ‘Boxing’ in 1979 for producer Joe Gibbs. But it was his time with Bunny Lee that set the levels for his record output. This unreleased album is from this period in time, when Cornell Campbell never sounded sweeter......

A surefire Salsoul classic and comfortably one of the label's finest moments, the self-titled LP from The Strangers was originally released in that golden year of 1983 and is one of the greatest albums of the post-disco era. It’s one of Be With's favourite ever LPs and it's a complete honour to be giving it our reissue treatment.

Still strangely overlooked but not for much longer, The Strangers contains flawless tracks with truly top tier production and includes the eternal Paradise Garage favourite "Step Into My Dream."

Are they Strangers to us? Well, no, they shouldn't be. The Strangers were a US electronic-funk studio concept group comprising Edward "Tree" Moore, Howard King and Hubert Eaves III, all key members of Mtume and Gary Bartz NTU Troop and, in the case of Eaves, one half of D-Train.

Now I KNOW you're gonna dig this!

We kick off with the dope electro-funk of "Wanna Take Your Body" which features Gary Bartz on sax (!) and becomes more sensational and irresistible the longer it plays. The wonky super-bomb "Let Me Take You Home" has a punk-funk, post-Prince feel, driving and delicate all at the same time while "Show Me How You Like It" is pure FUNK, the groove just pure fire.

Side B is perfection. It kicks off with the NTS favourite "Love Rescue", a track so slick it positively SLAPS out the gate and, while it bangs throughout, the vocals and melodies elevate this to the status of EMOTIONAL POP.

Next up, "Step Out Of My Dream" swaggers forth, the undisputed masterpiece that was huge with the London DJs and UK Soul fraternity; it's not hard to see why. It's a gliding, smooth, soulful piece of once-in-a-lifetime magic.

We The People were a vocal quarter who recorded a handful of singles between 1969 and 1976. Their most prolific release is this release from 1973 produced by Landy Mcneal. The music arranger was prolific Bert DeCoteaux Ace Spectrum (“Don’t Send Nobody Else”). Also Patti Austin, The Main Ingredient, Roy Ayers, Ramsey Lewis, Ben E.King, Sister Sledge, Lonnie Liston Smith and Marlena Shaw to name a few

Cassette music from Belgium and The Netherlands.

Again, a unique compilation by the leading Belgian re-release label Walhalla Records, specialized in minimal synth, cold wave, electro, and more. Following the widely acclaimed — and mostly sold-out — previous Underground Wave releases, totaling six albums so far and counting, there is now Volume 7. This release features Dutch and Belgian bands, each filling one side of the record. It offers a wealth of ultra-rare and previously unreleased material sourced from cassettes, deeply rooted in the electronic scene of the 80s and 90s.

Die legendären und sich ständig weiterentwickelnden Zamrock-Pioniere WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) verschieben mit ihrem neuen Album 'SOGOLO' weiterhin die Grenzen. Nach ihrem bemerkenswerten Comeback und dem von der Kritik gefeierten Zango von 2023 - ihrem ersten Album seit fast 40 Jahren - beweist 'SOGOLO', dass ihr innovativer Geist nach wie vor ungebrochen ist.

Abgeleitet vom sambischen Wort für 'Zukunft', verwebt 'SOGOLO' den von der Garage inspirierten Psych, Funk und Rock, den WITCH in ihrer Blütezeit in den 1970er Jahren buchstäblich miterfunden haben, mit dem experimentellen Geist des Augenblicks. Aufgenommen in Berlin während ihrer Welttournee, strotzt 'SOGOLO' vor Dringlichkeit, Aufregung und Entdeckungen, wie immer angetrieben von der magnetischen Präsenz des Frontmanns Emmanuel „Jagari“ Chanda.

Die Geschichte von WITCH ist fast zu außergewöhnlich, um sie zu glauben. Bekannt als die „Beatles von Sambia“, gründeten sie die Zamrock-Bewegung und veröffentlichten in den 70er und frühen 80er Jahren sieben Alben. Tragischerweise beendete die Aids-Epidemie die Zamrock-Ära und kostete allen Bandmitgliedern außer Jagari das Leben. Ihre Musik wurde 2012 wiederveröffentlicht und löste eine weltweite Wiederentdeckung aus, die zu ihrer triumphalen Rückkehr führte. Zango wurde von der New York Times in den höchsten Tönen gelobt, es gab ausverkaufte Welttourneen und einen preisgekrönten Dokumentarfilm, der weltweit ausgestrahlt wurde.

Mit 'SOGOLO' bestätigen WITCH, dass ihr kreatives Feuer noch immer brennt und beweisen, dass ihr Vermächtnis noch lange nicht zu Ende ist.

- Ltd. Col. LP: (Zamrock Dust (aka Opaque Natural) LP in einfacher Außenhülle und bedruckter Innenhülle)

Turbo Recordings is proud to present the revival of German techno giant Gregor Tresher’s Sniper Mode alias with the Riot Gear LP. We have been promised that this release will usher in a Golden Age of Electro in which we will serve at the right hand of the Lord for a starting annual salary of €43,000. Not bad.

Riot Gear showcases Tresher’s established production genius over 11 cuts of S-tier electro marked by menace, depth, and sharp melodic hooks. Lead single “Blinded by the Dark” is a collaboration with Dave Clarke, the most respected man in electro and perhaps just in general, and features the most punishing drop in recent memory. The album also includes standout vocal contributions from Detroit techno pioneer Jay Denham (“Sanctuary of Vices”), Miami Bass kingpin Exzakt (“Echoes From a Wasted Land”), dance-world enigma Kira (“Phantom Pain”), and Turbo favorite Perel (“Modesty Is a Virtue”). We would argue that this album represents a landmark achievement in the genre, which you have to admit would reflect pretty well on us as a label.

It is not every day that Turbo Recordings embraces the responsibility of husbanding a full-album release, and you should know that it comes as a cost. The additional listening time, track title typing, and intensive download/upload workload have pushed our dedicated staff of 90 to its breaking point. We have a lot going on over here.

Neon Castle hones in on a fleeting sub-genre of early to mid-’80s folk-rock. For a brief moment, glistening slide guitar, fretless bass, satin floating over drum machines intertwined with ethereal female voices, conjuring a sound at once familiar and otherworldly—pop structures touched by myth. Some songs sway with the warmth of open ranch-land, crystal visions beneath thundering skies; others shimmer with candlelit mysticism, as if born in a pagan stone tower, crafted with the very staff Kate Bush might have wielded. Together, these pieces reveal a singular cloth.

Compiled by Charles Bals—now in his third collaboration with Smiling C—Neon Castle affirms his rare gift for storytelling through sound. Each track unfolds like a scene from an imagined film: castles glowing with noble gas, kingdoms awash in purple haze, white horses roaming free, hair cascading to the waist. The collection sketches a realm both new and upon a time, a world where fantasy takes shape through music. With Neon Castle, attentive listening becomes narrative.

2025 Repress

When people think of Tough Gong they usually think of Bob Marley and rightly so, as he was nicknamed and often called Tough Gong and from this his early releases which came out on the Tough Gong label. But Tough Gong was also the name of a recording complex named after Bob Marley hat included a top level recording studio, pressing plant and distribution centre that would allow reggae music to carry on many years after his sad and too early demise.

Bob Marley had take over the former residence of Island Records boss Chris Blackwell the Island House, 56 Hope Road around 1974. Just before the 'Smile Jamaica' concert on 03rd December the same year the house was ambushed by gunmen. Bob's manager Don Taylor was hit 5 times AND Bob was shot in the arm and his wife Rita Marley was hit in the head by a stray bullet. How no one was fatally injured is staggering. Immediately after the concert Bob Marley started his self imposed exile from Jamaica, settling in London, England. This would lead to the aptly named exodus album being recorded there in the summer of 1977. It would not be until the 'One Love' peace concert in Kingston's national arena on the 22nd April 1978 that would see Bob's return to the island. Marley felt is was important to show his commitment to the people of Jamaica and on his return to 56 Hope Road he began construction of his own recording studio with the help of music mogul Tommy Cowen. Unfortunately Bob Marley's short life would end on the 11th May 1981 from cancer which originated form a football injury. His passing would lead to 56 Hope Road being turned into a museum to the legend of reggae music.

A new location would have to be found to carry on Bob's work which was 220 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 11. The buyer would be Rita Marley and the Tough Gong International Organisation.

Engineers working at the new facility included Errol Browne who had worked at Treasure Isle studios and Hopeton Overton Browne known as 'Scientist', named by the great producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee who worked with him previously at King Tubbie's and Channel One's studios described his ground breaking style as being like that of a scientist.

We focus for this release on the work carried out by the great Scientist on the songs of the Black Solidarity Label run by Ossie Thomas (aka Joe The Boss) recorded at Tough Gong studios. One of the foremost recording, pressing and distribution facilities on the Jamaican island set up from the work of Bob Marley to carry forward reggae music. Hope you enjoy this set......

On April 13th, 2019 Record Day, Vega Records celebrates with the new release 'My Body' performed by none other than the Legend and King Luther Vandross. This is a song that was never released and was recorded back in 1979 by Luther Vandross when he was working on the colossal album 'Never Too Much'. Brought to Louie Vega by artist and renowned background singer to the greats Mr. Fonzi Thornton, Vega was able to work on the immaculate sounds of Vandross. As Vega recalls 'When I put up the tracks in my studio it sounded as if Luther were singing today, it made it so easy to come with the house grooves having such a perfect vocal performance and one of kind tone. Once I came with the music, I felt I needed to call his original background singer team, which Fonzi organized in a flash. He called upon the genius background singers Brenda White, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Tawatha Agee and Fonzi himself. We are talking the A-Team of background singers, a dream come true in my studio', Vega recalls.
The Result is a stunning art piece by Richard Wilson on the cover of the vinyl double pack 12'. There are seven versions to choose from ready to work back to back.
So not only is it record day, it's also the birthday of Luther Vandross which is on April 20,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUTHER VANDROSS!!!
LOUIE VEGA SENDS A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LUTHER VANDROSS & THANK YOU TO FONZI THORNTON, SEVETA WILLIAMS, AND VANDROSS MUSIC, LLC.

Knowledge The Pirate returns with a powerful new statement with his new album, The Round Table, which is now available. The Round Table is produced in its entirety by longtime collaborator and legend Roc Marciano through his Pimpire International imprint.

With roots in New York’s revered ‘90s hip-hop scene, Knowledge The Pirate has steadily built a reputation as one of the genre’s most consistent and authentic voices. A frequent Roc Marci collaborator and key figure in the modern underground renaissance, Knowledge fuses golden-age grit with new wave innovation—bridging generations while staying firmly rooted in New York’s timeless sound.

Since his 2018 debut Flintlock, Knowledge has carved a lane entirely his own through his label Treasure Chest Entertainment, Inc. With five acclaimed projects under his belt, including the recent 5lbs of Pressure, he continues to deliver unfiltered street wisdom and personal reflection in every bar.

The Round Table stands as a testament to his evolution—an uncompromising body of work laced with Roc Marciano’s signature production and Knowledge’s lived-in lyricism. It’s not just a record—it’s a meeting of the minds, an audio council of kings.

“The Round Table is cinematic storytelling, teaching street knowledge, eating etiquette that will save your life” Knowledge professes. “This album is like an Honorable Elijah Muhammad book; How To Eat To Live. Produced fully by the true creator of the new wave sound, Roc Marciano, you are all invited to a seat at The Round Table; and break bread with the true Godfathers of this new wave rap renaissance.”

Reintroducing Soar - the alias of Christian Aebi, serial DIY taper and one-man orchestra from Langenthal, a fog-shrouded town in the Swiss provinces. Krautophobia, ambient lo-fi agriculture, analogue soul balm and slowspeed psych gelati-blitz cardboard pop only gesture towards the sound world he coaxed from his broken Tascam four-track recorder, in attics, churches, junkyards and at the kitchen table.

The spark for Soar was likely time and space, somewhere in the autumn of 1994. Armed with a cable salad of Sixties guitar/bass, fairground drums, mould-speckled organs and toy instruments, Aebi coaxed five albums, an unverified run of 25 cassettes, and a handful of gigs. Mostly issued through Zurich label Corazoo, the records arrived in hand-pasted sleeves, rough-cut reproductions of his teddy bear-fixated artwork that carried the same imperfect immediacy as the music. With Rudi Steiner, performances in galleries, clubs and halls bent into live sound-image happenings - part installation, part film, part flea-market-instrument theatre - invariably leaving the house engineers bewildered.

At the time of his untimely death in 2021, Aebi remained a village secret, his music passed quietly between friends and local ears. Now, Swiss graphic designer and Ghost Riders compiler Ivan Liechti has pieced together a portrait from the afterglow, gathering tangled audio formats, paintings, illustrations, photographs and notebooks with his family, former label and peers. What emerges is a first glimpse of Soar's intimate cosmos - brushing against Füxa, Spectrum, Dump, Stereolab and King Crimson, but orbiting a dimension entirely his own.

Natural Element proudly presents the long-awaited album The Paradigm Shift by one of Amsterdam’s finest and most prolific producers, Kid Sublime. Following on from the 12” single ‘You Got Me Runnin’’ which dropped in the summer, this 8 track, double LP offering is a special piece of work crafted during the pandemic years and Turbulence recording sessions with maestros Beka Gochiashvili and Mishulino.

The album showcases the evolution of Kid Sublime’s sound and the influence of London’s vibrant broken beat scene, with him having connected with some of the artists around the time of the passing of the legendary Phil Asher. It touches on house, bruk and even techno, with his signature soulful touch palpable across the whole record. Features include talented London artist Oliver Night, Sydney-based vocalist Natalie Slade and long time collaborator, flautist Han Litz, amongst others.

The Paradigm Shift takes you on a deep sonic journey straight from the heart, celebrating love, connection, spirituality and human evolution. There’s introspective moments with the jazzy house drifter ‘The Awakening’ and the dubbed out bass of ‘Kingz’, as well as joyful moments such as the uplifting ‘Heaven’s Glory’ and the romantic ‘Stay Over’, which is as soulful as it gets. ‘Bring It Come’ brings some minimal bruk flavours reminiscent of Bugz in the Attic, and the title track takes things a bit darker with a club-ready roller.

Sitting somewhere between the living room and the dancefloor, this album is sure to enliven the spirits of many a discerning listener and bring some much needed radiance and hope into people’s lives.

After two self-produced EPs, Sarah Maison (2018) and Soleils (2021), and the EP Karma (2021) with Anoraak, French singer, musician, author, composer, arranger, and producer Sarah Maison finally unveils her first album, DIVAD, the fruit of four years of creation. Sarah opens up, tackling personal themes through an exploration of the soul and existential questions. She also ventures into more autobiographical subjects such as melancholy, derealization, the search for meaning, and the breakdown of romantic or friendly relationships: often through coded language but always with a touch of humor. DIVAD is a manifesto of artistic independence, boldly and uncompromisingly fusing French chanson, Egyptian music, 70s disco, synth-pop, and English pop. Her influences draw on musical history while reinventing it, bringing together Alan Vega and Martin Rev, the 70s Egyptian band Al Massrieen, the king of Iranian psychedelia Kourosh Yaghmei, as well as Brigitte Fontaine and Françoise Hardy. Each track is a cinematic tableau, where the artist"s theatrical voice, both imperious and vulnerable, carries an intimate narrative with universal overtones. Co-produced with Steve Surmely (sound engineer) and Timotée Pédron (sound designer), the album blurs the lines and asserts an artist who defies categorization. Throughout these twelve tracks, we witnessa rebirth, with Sarah fully embracing her character as a dark, grandiose, and tragicomic diva straight out of a Dario Argentofilm, a sort of tribute to her Italian muses. Danceable, elegant, and elusive, DIVAD is a flamboyant work that reflects Sarah Maison"s image: free, sunny, and daring.

On "The Afrodub Experience," Umberto Echo takes us on a ride across four continents, exploring 50 years of Afro-Caribbean music history with numerous collaborators.

The inspiration is the Afrobeat of the 1970s, which he discovered through original musicians from Fela Kuti's "Africa 70" band in the Berlin project "Afrobeat Academy" which he began to fuse with dub and reggae.
Mitwirkende
wird veröffentlicht am 17. Oktober 2025

Recorded by Umberto Echo and the musicians in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, New York, Melbourne,
Kingston Jamaica & São Paulo between 2008 and 2024

Mixed by Umberto Echo & Silvan Strauss, November 2024 at Apollo Studio Berlin
assisted by DJ Tobi Neumann & Robin Ludyga

Produced by Umberto Echo, co-produced by Silvan Strauss

Mastered by Umberto Echo

Artwork by aDUBta

Umberto Echo published by KKBB Publishing/Edition Dubvibes


Drums: Silvan Strauss, Giuseppe Coppola
Drum Programming: Silvan Strauss, Gengis Don, Umberto Echo
Bass: Daniel Stritzke, Oghene Kologbo, Patrick Frankowski, Giorgi Kiknadze
Percussion: Samuel Wootton, Nicholas Ado-Nettey, Umberto Echo, Djakali Kone, Giuseppe Coppola
Guitars: Umberto Echo, Mandjau Fati, Ferdinand Kirner, Oghene Kologbo, Giovanni Agostini
Cora: Sebastian Cuevas, Djakali Kone
Saxes: Ben Abarbanel-Wolff, Florian Riedl, Giovanni Pecorini, I Sax
Trumpets: Benny Brown, Philip Sindy, Sebastian Kölbl
Trombone: Roman Sladek
Keys: Barney McAll, Lionel Wharton, Markus Kuczewski, Umberto Echo, Silvan Strauss, Milo Winter
Vocals: Lenna Bahule, Gengis Don, Vimbai „Vee“ Mukarati, Mark Wonder, Tydal Kamau
Backing Vocals: Runtendo Machiridza, Tariro neGitare, Erica Nevell

2025 Repress
Powerhouse performer Gretel Hänlyn today releases her highly anticipated second EP Head Of The Love Club, via VLF Records. Premiering as Clara Amfo’s Hottest Record in the World on BBC Radio 1, focus track ‘King Of Nothing’ is a rollicking revenge track, cementing Gretel as one of this year’s most exciting breakout stories.

Gretel Hänlyn has spent the last year stamping her ground as one of female guitar music’s new frontrunners, imbued with a singular vision and wickedly unique voice. Inspired by 90s alternative artists like The Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins and PJ Harvey, Head Of The Love Club is a suitably contemporary stride forward in the hotly tipped artist's sound and marks a definitive departure from the indie-folk textures of her breakthrough debut EP Slugeye. A heady mix of hi-fi grunge, goth-pop and alt/indie ballads, the EP features previous singles ‘Drive’, ‘Today (can’t help but cry)’ and ‘Wiggy’ alongside five other tracks that candidly display Gretel’s exceptional storytelling.

Last year was vital for the rising star: she released her debut EP Slugeye to critical acclaim, collaborated with Mura Masa on his headrush of a single ‘2gether’ (9M+ streams on Spotify alone) and was also playlisted multiple times across UK radio - a rare feat for a fiercely independent artist. This year is set to be her breakout – Hänlyn has already been included in NME’s coveted NME100 list, performed live as part of DIY magazine’s ‘Class of 2023’ series and was dubbed one to watch by The Sunday Times, Metro, Time Out + more.

Tell me something that makes a difference’ demands Gaia Weiss in Tenashee’s debut single. Something that immerses crisp melody into stodgy bass, collides warm dub with icy sound design, all the while slowly expanding like a supernova. ‘Tell me something’ takes the sounds and styles of the past and places them in a gravity-free future, while evoking an ethereal and precise atmosphere.
Gaia Weiss is an actress - not a singer by trade - and summons Charlotte Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot to deliver the spoken words as a fractured monologue, guiding us through splintered visions, and detuned chord progressions, in pursuit of the seemingly unattainable; ‘something that can make a difference’.
With this six-chapter journey on the newborn Street Cinema label, Tenashee (DJ Tennis and Ashee, Manfredi Romano and Joseph Ashworth) have crafted and refined - like two artisans from another era - a unique creation: a creature that reconnects electronic music with complexity and richness, fully aware of hyper-contemporaneity, yet capable of resisting surrender to it.
“Blink To Check It’s Real” featuring artist Campbell King - poet and beautiful soul - immediately immerses us in an electronic reality check, with 90s-inspired tweaking and glitching, all woven together with a poem from Campbell that contrasts the dizzying intensity of lust and connection with the comfort of being able to ‘loosen their grip’ and ‘make it safe.’
In ‘I Can See Now,’ Aurelia Ray (the stage name of pop-music-writing powerhouse Caitlin Stubbs) evokes a sense of serenity, pure love, and trust within a refined, spacious piece of minimalist electronica. “Blindsided” is a journey through pure, airy abstraction, a dance floor companion to the glacial trip-hop instrumental “Cold Logic”.
Finally, in “Memories,” the last track in the setlist but actually the first song the duo worked on, conceived and developed five years ago in 2020, the voice of Chinese German artist Mona Yim transports us to a place that is both emotionally introspective and intense, balancing on the edge between desire and reality.
“You should know where I go when I dream,” she states.
Over the course of five years, through exchanges, writing sessions, and fine-tuning in Paris, London, Saint Martin, and Ibiza, the world evolved, but Tenashee’s musical mission remained unchanged. The mini-album reflects the musical backgrounds of its two creators, their unique sensitivity to the present, and their desire to challenge each other with sharp, emotional, yet weightless styles and sounds. It is no longer just DJ Tennis; the successful DJ touring worldwide, organising events, and founding influential labels like Life & Death; nor only Joseph Ashworth with his scientific approach and creativity as a
producer and writer in the competitive world of pop; nor Ashee, with his releases on Circoloco and Aus Music. No, Tenashee is something more.
It is a duet searching for a thread that connects electronic music—past, present, and future—through experimentation, craft, and artistry. The moment has truly arrived for Tenashee to ‘tell us something.’

Bringing together the elder statesman of the Zulu guitar Madala Kunene and internationally acclaimed Sibusile Xaba, kwaNTU pulls two generations of South African guitar mastery into a single point of focus. Under-represented on recordings outside of South Africa, Madala Kunene (b. 1951), the ‘King of the Zulu Guitar’, is revered as the greatest living master of the Zulu guitar tradition. Sibusile Xaba, whose collaboration with Mushroom Hour Half Hour reaches back to his first recording in 2017 (Open Letter To Adoniah/Unlearning), has garnered international acclaim for his unique voice and virtuoso guitar stylings, which bring together multiple South African guitar lineages in an original, spiritualised fusion. Collaborating with Mushroom Hour and New Soil for kwaNTU, the two players come together to weave a filigree sonic fabric which reaches down to the heartwood of Zulu guitar music but moves resolutely outward, building on the past to create a deeply rooted statement about present conditions and future travels. kwaNTU – which can be roughly translated ‘the place of the life-spirit’ – is also conclave of teacher and student, as Xaba has been taught by Kunene for the last decade. Meditative, rich and sonically sui generis, kwaNTU finds these two musicians linking up within the inimitable space of sound and spirit that they share through Kunene’s teaching.

The great masters of South African music have not all had equal exposure. For many years the generation of musicians who were exiled during apartheid took centre stage, as the regime made it very difficult for those at home to be heard. More recently, a new cohort of important voices, especially in jazz, has broken through to international consciousness. But for the generation of musicians in between – those who shone like beacons in the most difficult final years of apartheid and immediately afterward – international recognition has been slow in coming.

Madala Kunene, ‘the King of the Zulu Guitar’, is among this number. A revered figure for current generations of South African musicians, Kunene began his recording career in 1990, at the bitter end of apartheid, with a now classic self-titled LP for David Marks’ storied Third Ear imprint. Born in 1951 in Cato Manor, near Durban, he had determined to be a musician from early childhood, and by the time he first entered a recording studio he had already had a long career as a popular performer. His virtuoso absorption and transformation of the venerable Zulu maskanda guitar tradition and his richly spiritualised approach to music immediately marked him out as someone special, and in the years that followed, Kunene cemented his position as one of South Africa’s musical elders. He is without doubt the grand master of the Zulu guitar tradition, but his sound and sensibility ranges far beyond it into varied sonic terrain, and he has collaborated with a wide range of musicians both at home and abroad. Now in his mid-seventies, he remains a shining light for those that are making music in contemporary South Africa.

‘He is really an amazing person,’ says the guitarist Sibusile Xaba, who has been mentored by Kunene for over a decade, and now invites a collaboration with him on kwaNTU. ‘As a mentor, he's really powerful in showing us the way. For us to have this opportunity to make music together and have a project together is really a blessing to me.’

Xaba himself grew up in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, where his mother had been in a band and his father sang in a church choir, and from early childhood Xaba played homemade tin guitars. He only later realised that music was his calling. ‘I just loved music. I was fortunate. My parents loved music. And when it was time for me to leave home and go to study outside Newcastle, I knew that music was what I wanted to do. There was no second option. It was just music.’ Moving to Pretoria to study music formally, Xaba committed himself to his craft, developing a unique style that draws on both US jazz masters such as Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall, and the rich and varied heritage of the South African guitar, from inspirational jazz players such as Allen Kwela and Enoch Mthalane, to the music of the Malombo groups and Dr. Philip Tabane (Xaba has previously collaborated with Dr. Tabane’s late son, Thabang), and the Zulu guitar tradition embodied by Kunene.

‘I was really in love with the jazz guitar, I really admired it, and I was digging a lot in that direction,’ says Xaba, recalling his first encounter with Kunene’s music, over a decade ago. ‘And then one day on my timeline, Kunene popped up, and I was like – “What's this sound?” I was so connected to it. It really touched me deep. I started checking out his records, and then I found out he's from the same region as I am, which is Zululand.’ After Kunene played a show at the Afrikan Freedom Station in Johannesburg, Xaba make contact with him, and visited him at home in Durban. They struck up a friendship, and Xaba became the elder’s student, as Kunene began to pass on his knowledge and his inimitable way of playing.

kwaNTU is a tribute to this relationship and the deep learning that has defined it. The album was recorded in Zululand in the town of Utrecht, at a cultural centre called Kwantu Village, which gives its name to the album. ‘It's such a broad word,’ Xaba says, ‘but the elders teach us that Ntu is basically an energy, almost chi, an energy, a force that all living beings have within them. It's a living energy, so kwaNTU is like, almost the place of this energy.’ The two men sequestered themselves for five days of jamming, improvising and planning, and then the session was recorded in one take over a single night, with Gontse Makhene joining on percussion and backing vocals and Fakazile on vocals. Other voices and overdubs were later added in the studio in Johannesburg.

The result is a rich and meditative recording that finds two generations in a deeply engaged dialogue. Teaching and passing on his knowledge, the elder Kunene has brought Xaba into a space of sound and knowledge that they now share; Xaba’s own practice of deep communion with nature and his dedication to his musical craft make him the perfect interlocutor for Kunene. The result is an album that foregrounds the two musicians engaged at the highest levels of responsive listening, sympathetic unity, and collaborative concentration. Bringing an elder statesman of South African music to an international listening audience for the first time in decades by pairing him with one of South Africa’s most important new voices, kwaNTU is a meeting of generations and a powerful demonstration of musical lineage and continuity.

‘Before music, there is sound,’ Xaba observes, speaking of Kunene’s unique approach to music. ‘And sound is like a common compartment…it's not restricted to particular people or particular geographic places, you know what I mean? It's sound. Everybody can hear it. So when he constructs that sound into music, I think everybody resonates with the energy behind his construction of sound into song. Here at home, we really love him for preserving our history through the guitar, through his stories as well the music, the songs that he writes. We really, really admire him.’

Although it was only reissued last year, that sold out in quick time, so now it lands once more but as a nice coloured pressing of The Mighty Ryeders' delightful single 'Let There Be Peace.' An OG is a rare and pricey collector's item and for good reasons - its scorching funk with big horns and raw rhythms. The B-side features 'Evil Vibrations' by MURO aka King Of Diggin', famously sampled by De La Soul in their brilliant 'A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays.' It's another timeless sound that pairs funk and soul into something as likely to get big reactions now as ever, not least because of how silky the groove is.

The begena is a large ten-stringed lyre which is part of the traditional Amharic heritage of Ethiopia. The Amharas, who have long formed the politically and culturally dominant people of Ethiopia, mainly inhabit the central and northern part of the country. In the majority, they follow the monophysite Orthodox Tewahido Church established in the early fourth century AD.

Music plays a very important part in the life of the church. Most of the liturgy is sung and, contrary to secular music, it is accompanied by percussion instruments only. The begena occupies a special place because it is the one melodic instrument exclusively dedicated to the spiritual repertory. Because of its mythical origin, it is highly respected. Tradition holds that the begena was given to king David by God, and brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I, together with the Ark of the Covenant. It has always been the instrument of kings and nobles. Played by pious men and women of letters, it never became widespread. But it never disappeared either, not even under the Derg regime (1974-1991) which had banned the instrument.

Among Amhara string instruments, the begena is the most carefully crafted, especially with regard to the ornately sculpted crossbar. Its ten gut strings are cleaned and twisted several times. The characteristic buzzing timbre equalled by no other Amhara instrument is due to the enzirotch, that is, small bits of leather placed between each string and the bridge. This plays an important part in the sound production by creating a brief contact between the string and the upper rim of the bridge, thus modifying the vibrating properties of the string. In this manner, the spectrum of the sound is considerably enhanced (up to over 10 kHz).

The begena is a very powerful instrument, it keeps the devil thirty steps away, and its presence in the home wards off malicious spirits. Priests and preachers recommend its presence, especially during Lent (Fassika Tsom) when the Orthodox Amharas ponder their sins and repent. Because of its spiritual import, the begena generates intense emotion. According to some musicians, playing the begena brings them into direct contact with God or the Virgin Mary. The religious role of the begena is underscored by the shape of the instrument, each part symbolises an important element of the faith. The crossbar for instance, which reaches across the entire width of the instrument, represents God who is above all things. The belly which "gives birth" to the sound represents the Virgin Mary, and the ten strings recall the Ten Commandments.

Recorded by Stéphanie Weisser in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2002-December 2005.

Mastered by Renaud Millet-Lacombe.

Issued under license from VDE-Gallo, Switzerland.

During this summer’s European tour with Junior Dell & The D-Lites, we were honoured to share the stage at This Is Ska Festival in Germany with none other than The Pioneers.

After the show, fate had me driving Jackie and George back to the hotel. On the way, we got to reminiscing about our last collaboration — Jump Up!, released on Original Gravity Records in December 2023. Mid-conversation, Jackie casually said: “Hey Neil, I’m in England all of July, we could record something.”

I dropped the guys off, said goodnight, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, an idea sparked: wouldn’t it be cool to have them record Jackie Edwards’ northern soul classic I Feel So Bad — but reimagined in an early reggae style?

So in July, we set up a session at Farm Factory Studios in Welwyn Garden City. George and Jackie came down, and it was nothing short of magical to hear these legends harmonising together once again in the booth. The result captures that late-60s moment when soul and reggae collided on dancefloors, raw and full of energy.

To add another dimension, we also created a version as if it had traveled from Kingston to London. The “Boss” version imagines the raw Jamaican master — while the A-side reflects how Trojan Records might have “sweetened it up” with horns and strings for the UK pop market.

Two sides, one timeless tune — a tribute to both the grit and the gloss of reggae’s golden era.

Words courtesy of FOND/SOUND –

What makes チトチック/クラクラ (CHITOTIHC/KULA-kura) so fascinating is that, in some weird way, it’s a meeting of minds and musical language of disparate artists at the forefront of a new kind of groove. There might be no “L” in the Japanese language but that doesn’t stop it from trying to find a working substitute. Similarly, Chito enlisted members from his Asiabeat and East Pulse, others from Mu-Project, K2, and Adi, and brought in Haruomi Hosono to play mercurial bass. In the great expanse of experimental Japanese-made pop music all of them might have gone in “out-there” in separate directions but on this record it was Chito who pointed their focus all on the same track.

“Bayou (バイヨー)” presents this floating idea of dance music with beats and rhythms that hover among the ethereal. Other like “Scribble Dance (らくがき)” use Harry’s acid bass lines to dig cavernous grooves that only come up for air via adrenaline-fueled jumps by Haruo Kubota’s quite Adrian Belew-esque guitar lines. Perhaps, Discipline-era King Crimson is an apt comparison to what Chito and his crew pull off here.

Where Discipline signaled a way to reconcile the most out-there polymeter music of prog with the more satisfying parts of post-punk and the new electronic wave, so to do I think チトチック/クラクラ (CHITOTIHC/KULA-kura) has that bit of heart/spirit in mind. This is the out-there of Japanese experimental music satisfying the best parts of the, then, new electronic wave. It takes a certain degree of proficiency and sheer chutzpah to go from “11” to the wonderfully impressionistic, ambient minimalism of a track like “Sanghyang (サンヤン)”.

It’s the joy of not knowing what each new track will hold and just letting yourself follow the hard-working hands of such learned musicians that brings the most out of Chito’s vision. It’s this very liquid music that keeps you on your toes on tracks like “Astral Lamp (無影灯)”. Tracks like “Jagg-chagg (ジャグチャグ)” and “Filament (フィラメント)” present a fourth world music bifurcated in exponential parts by the glitch of newer, modern, electronic modalities, intersected by expressions by differing voices. Every track you switch to presents a new way to get lost in the many phases and places Chito wants you to travel to.

In the end, as always, it’s not the destination but the journey through it that plants this album in your memory. – Diego Olivas

2025 Repress

The 'Unknown Artist' has emerged from the clubs of Antwerp with 'The Lizard King'. This house banger is a must-have to start the club season in 2025. Pure dancefloor heat folks! No digitals - vinyl only

This is the story of an artist in search of sound and breath: an artist who dares to question the rhythm of silence—an invitation to rethink music, sound, and musical collaboration. This is the story of a journey that, after opening countless paths, has finally found its vessel—and its messengers. Three artists of profound musical truth and radical freedom, merging into an exceptional trio that crosses genres and transcends words in a journey toward pure emotion.

Le Rythme du Silence is the culmination of this long search. Yom delivers it here with violinist Théo Ceccaldi and cellist Valentin Ceccaldi—kindred spirits in sound. “I’ve been working on this idea of the ‘rhythm of silence’ for years,” Yom explains. “I first heard the phrase from a Sufi master, describing the foundation of meditation. It struck something deep in me. I’ve practiced meditation for a long time, and we often think of it as a kind of stillness—opposed to noise and life. But in truth, the rhythm of silence enables meditation. It means accepting that the world continues to move and live around you, even as you try to be still. I wanted to compose from that place. To imagine sound as vibratory matter—the primal substance of creation. That required letting go of fixed structures: forgetting melodies, abandoning the idea of a constructed solo. I needed to leave behind music as a system, and touch sound as a living, breathing entity. It took years. Many projects led me elsewhere. But with the Ceccaldi brothers, I finally found the right resonance. Working with them was simply obvious—it was indredibly powerful.”

Yom first rose to prominence reimagining Jewish traditional music with his 2008 debut New King of Klezmer Clarinet. Since then, his path has led through rock (With Love, 2011; You Will Never Die, 2018), electronic utopias (The Empire of Love, 2013), meditative and sacred soundscapes (Prière, 2018), and countless unclassifiable hybrids (Unue, 2009; Green Apocalypse, 2010). It was inevitable that he would eventually cross paths with the free-spirited Théo and Valentin Ceccaldi—two artists who also place collaboration and genre-blurring at the heart of their artistic development. Their projects are always bold, demanding, and full of life (Kutu, Tricollectif, ONJ, Velvet Revolution, Grand Orchestre du Tricot, Lagon Noir, Constantine, etc.). And so, when the three met within the iXi string quartet, something clicked.
“I was seated between the two of them in the quartet,” Yom recalls, “and I could feel their energy flowing from both sides—it was wild! They’re so tuned into each other, they don’t need words. It’s like they’re connected by musical Wi-Fi. The groove happens instantly. They’re precise when they want to be—thanks to their experience in pop-influenced projects —but they can also let go completely, diving into pure sound. That’s exactly what this project needed.”

Without a single rehearsal, the trio formed instinctively. They began performing Yom’s compositions live, unfolding them into a single continuous piece, where clarinet and strings stretch the limits of sound and breath.
Bowed, plucked, or prepared with clothespins, the Ceccaldi strings engage in a playful and intense dialogue with Yom’s custom B-flat clarinet. Through their imaginative listening and fearless invention, air and space open into a vast new soundscape—one that lies somewhere between meditation and healing music.

“When Yom shared the concept of the rhythm of silence, we were immediately drawn in,” says cellist Valentin Ceccaldi. “There’s a deep intensity and spiritual commitment in his music that really spoke to me. With this trio, we’re trying to dive into the core of sound—but also to create a kind of communion with the audience. It’s like gradually turning up the volume on silence, and realizing it’s made of countless tiny sounds—the music of particles in motion" This stripped-down intensity demands full presence—body and mind—of these three musicians, vibrationally connected in a state close to trance. With them, we enter a journey - not religious, but sacred nonetheless.
The Rhythm of Silence becomes an echo of our most intimate, most distant inner landscapes.
An album—and a trio—to return to without end.

The begena is a large ten-stringed lyre which is part of the traditional Amharic heritage of Ethiopia. The Amharas, who have long formed the politically and culturally dominant people of Ethiopia, mainly inhabit the central and northern part of the country. In the majority, they follow the monophysite Orthodox Tewahido Church established in the early fourth century AD.

Music plays a very important part in the life of the church. Most of the liturgy is sung and, contrary to secular music, it is accompanied by percussion instruments only. The begena occupies a special place because it is the one melodic instrument exclusively dedicated to the spiritual repertory. Because of its mythical origin, it is highly respected. Tradition holds that the begena was given to king David by God, and brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I, together with the Ark of the Covenant. It has always been the instrument of kings and nobles. Played by pious men and women of letters, it never became widespread. But it never disappeared either, not even under the Derg regime (1974-1991) which had banned the instrument.

Among Amhara string instruments, the begena is the most carefully crafted, especially with regard to the ornately sculpted crossbar. Its ten gut strings are cleaned and twisted several times. The characteristic buzzing timbre equalled by no other Amhara instrument is due to the enzirotch, that is, small bits of leather placed between each string and the bridge. This plays an important part in the sound production by creating a brief contact between the string and the upper rim of the bridge, thus modifying the vibrating properties of the string. In this manner, the spectrum of the sound is considerably enhanced (up to over 10 kHz).

The begena is a very powerful instrument, it keeps the devil thirty steps away, and its presence in the home wards off malicious spirits. Priests and preachers recommend its presence, especially during Lent (Fassika Tsom) when the Orthodox Amharas ponder their sins and repent. Because of its spiritual import, the begena generates intense emotion. According to some musicians, playing the begena brings them into direct contact with God or the Virgin Mary. The religious role of the begena is underscored by the shape of the instrument, each part symbolises an important element of the faith. The crossbar for instance, which reaches across the entire width of the instrument, represents God who is above all things. The belly which "gives birth" to the sound represents the Virgin Mary, and the ten strings recall the Ten Commandments.

Recorded by Stéphanie Weisser in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2002-December 2005.

Mastered by Renaud Millet-Lacombe.

Issued under license from VDE-Gallo, Switzerland.

Repress 2026













k D1 | The Train (King's Cross) Feat. Caroline Polachek











[k] D1 | The Train (King's Cross) [Feat. Caroline Polachek]











[k] D1 | The Train (King's Cross) [Feat. Caroline Polachek]

a A1 James Russo (2)– Winged, Written-By Dialogue – Quentin Tarantino


d A4 Jamie Foxx And Christoph Waltz– "In That Case Django, After You...", Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[f] A6 Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton– Freedom, Acoustic Guitar – Elayna Boynton, Co-producer – Daniel Beard, Mixed By, Mastered By – Daniel Beard, Duane Allen (2), Piano, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Programmed By, Percussion – Kelvin Wootenm, Producer – Kelvin Wooten, Recorded By – Daniel Beard, Kelvin Wooten, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Written-By – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Kelvin Wooten
[g] B7 Don Johnson And Christoph Waltz– Five-Thousand-Dollar Nigga's And Gummy-Mouth Bitches, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[i] B9 Don Straud– Sneaky Schultz And The Demise Of Sharp, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[l] B12 Rick Ross With Walton Goggins And Jamie Foxx– 100 Black Coffins, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Isaiah Pryor, Phillip "Logann" Scott III*, Guitar – Charlie Burrel*, Lyrics By – Jamie Foxx, Rick Ross, Mixed By – Jaycen Joshua, Mixed By [Assisted] – Trehy Harris, Music By – Jamie Foxx, Producer – Ainz "Brainz" Dimilo*, Jamie Foxx
[m] Recorded By [Rick Ross's Vocals] – John Rivers*, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[o] C14 Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio And Christoph Waltz– Hildi's Hot Box, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[r] C17 James Brown And 2Pac With James Russo (2), Christoph Waltz And Jamie Foxx– Unchained (The Payback / Untouchable), Mixed By [The Payback], Edited By [The Payback] – Claudio Cueni, Voice [As Ace Speck] – James Remar, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino, Written-By [The Payback] – Fred Wesley, James Brown, John Starks*, Written-By [Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix)] – Anthony Henderson, Bruce Washington, Kasseem Dean*, Tupac Amaru Shakur*, Yafeu Fula, D18 John Legend– Who Did That To You?, Performer [Sample] – The Mighty Hannibal, Producer – Paul Epworth, Written-By – James T. Shaw (The Mighty Hannibal)*, John Stephens (3), Paul Epworth
[s] D19 Brother Dege– Too Old To Die Young, Lyrics By, Music By – Dege Legg, Mastered By – Bruce Barielle, Mixed By – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Producer – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Recorded By – Dege Legg, Vocals, Resonator Guitar [Slide/Dobro], Body Percussion [Stomps], Handclaps [Claps] – Dege Legg
[t] D20 Samuel L. Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Stephen The Poker Player, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[v] D22 Samuel L. Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Six Shots Two Guns, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino
[w] D23 Annibale E I Cantori Moderni*– Trinity: Titoli, Composed By – Franco Micalizzi, L. Stott*, Conductor [Orchestra Directed By] – M° Gianfranco Plenizio*

[a] A1 James Russo (2)– Winged, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[d] A4 Jamie Foxx And Christoph Waltz– "In That Case Django, After You...", Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[f] A6 Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton– Freedom, Acoustic Guitar – Elayna Boynton, Co-producer – Daniel Beard, Mixed By, Mastered By – Daniel Beard, Duane Allen (2), Piano, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Programmed By, Percussion – Kelvin Wootenm, Producer – Kelvin Wooten, Recorded By – Daniel Beard, Kelvin Wooten, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Written-By – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Kelvin Wooten
[g] B7 Don Johnson And Christoph Waltz– Five-Thousand-Dollar Nigga's And Gummy-Mouth Bitches, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[i] B9 Don Straud– Sneaky Schultz And The Demise Of Sharp, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[l] B12 Rick Ross With Walton Goggins And Jamie Foxx– 100 Black Coffins, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Isaiah Pryor, Phillip "Logann" Scott III*, Guitar – Charlie Burrel*, Lyrics By – Jamie Foxx, Rick Ross, Mixed By – Jaycen Joshua, Mixed By [Assisted] – Trehy Harris, Music By – Jamie Foxx, Producer – Ainz "Brainz" Dimilo*, Jamie Foxx
[m] Recorded By [Rick Ross's Vocals] – John Rivers*, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[o] C14 Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio And Christoph Waltz– Hildi's Hot Box, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[r] C17 James Brown And 2Pac With James Russo (2), Christoph Waltz And Jamie Foxx– Unchained (The Payback / Untouchable), Mixed By [The Payback], Edited By [The Payback] – Claudio Cueni, Voice [As Ace Speck] – James Remar, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino, Written-By [The Payback] – Fred Wesley, James Brown, John Starks*, Written-By [Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix)] – Anthony Henderson, Bruce Washington, Kasseem Dean*, Tupac Amaru Shakur*, Yafeu Fula, D18 John Legend– Who Did That To You?, Performer [Sample] – The Mighty Hannibal, Producer – Paul Epworth, Written-By – James T. Shaw (The Mighty Hannibal)*, John Stephens (3), Paul Epworth
[s] D19 Brother Dege– Too Old To Die Young, Lyrics By, Music By – Dege Legg, Mastered By – Bruce Barielle, Mixed By – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Producer – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Recorded By – Dege Legg, Vocals, Resonator Guitar [Slide/Dobro], Body Percussion [Stomps], Handclaps [Claps] – Dege Legg
[t] D20 Samuel L. Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Stephen The Poker Player, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[v] D22 Samuel L. Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Six Shots Two Guns, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino
[w] D23 Annibale E I Cantori Moderni*– Trinity: Titoli, Composed By – Franco Micalizzi, L. Stott*, Conductor [Orchestra Directed By] – M° Gianfranco Plenizio*

[a] A1 | James Russo (2)– Winged, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[d] A4 | Jamie Foxx And Christoph Waltz– "In That Case Django, After You ..", Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[f] A6 | Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton– Freedom, Acoustic Guitar – Elayna Boynton, Co-producer – Daniel Beard, Mixed By, Mastered By – Daniel Beard, Duane Allen (2), Piano, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Programmed By, Percussion – Kelvin Wootenm, Producer – Kelvin Wooten, Recorded By – Daniel Beard, Kelvin Wooten, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Written-By – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Kelvin Wooten
[g] B7 | Don Johnson And Christoph Waltz– Five-Thousand-Dollar Nigga's And Gummy-Mouth Bitches, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[i] B9 | Don Straud– Sneaky Schultz And The Demise Of Sharp, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[l] B12 | Rick Ross With Walton Goggins And Jamie Foxx– 100 Black Coffins, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Isaiah Pryor, Phillip "Logann" Scott III*, Guitar – Charlie Burrel*, Lyrics By – Jamie Foxx, Rick Ross, Mixed By – Jaycen Joshua, Mixed By [Assisted] – Trehy Harris, Music By – Jamie Foxx, Producer – Ainz "Brainz" Dimilo*, Jamie Foxx
[m] Recorded | By [Rick Ross's Vocals] – John Rivers*, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[o] C14 | Samuel L Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio And Christoph Waltz– Hildi's Hot Box, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[r] C17 | James Brown And 2Pac With James Russo (2), Christoph Waltz And Jamie Foxx– Unchained (The Payback / Untouchable), Mixed By [The Payback], Edited By [The Payback] – Claudio Cueni, Voice [As Ace Speck] – James Remar, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino, Written-By [The Payback] – Fred Wesley, James Brown, John Starks*, Written-By [Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix)] – Anthony Henderson, Bruce Washington, Kasseem Dean*, Tupac Amaru Shakur*, Yafeu Fula, D18 John Legend– Who Did That To You?, Performer [Sample] – The Mighty Hannibal, Producer – Paul Epworth, Written-By – James T Shaw (The Mighty Hannibal)*, John Stephens (3), Paul Epworth
[s] D19 | Brother Dege– Too Old To Die Young, Lyrics By, Music By – Dege Legg, Mastered By – Bruce Barielle, Mixed By – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Producer – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Recorded By – Dege Legg, Vocals, Resonator Guitar [Slide/Dobro], Body Percussion [Stomps], Handclaps [Claps] – Dege Legg
[t] D20 | Samuel L Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Stephen The Poker Player, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[v] D22 | Samuel L Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Six Shots Two Guns, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino
[w] D23 | Annibale E I Cantori Moderni*– Trinity Titoli, Composed By – Franco Micalizzi, L Stott*, Conductor [Orchestra Directed By] – M° Gianfranco Plenizio*

[a] A1 | James Russo (2)– Winged, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[d] A4 | Jamie Foxx And Christoph Waltz– "In That Case Django, After You ..", Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[f] A6 | Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton– Freedom, Acoustic Guitar – Elayna Boynton, Co-producer – Daniel Beard, Mixed By, Mastered By – Daniel Beard, Duane Allen (2), Piano, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Programmed By, Percussion – Kelvin Wootenm, Producer – Kelvin Wooten, Recorded By – Daniel Beard, Kelvin Wooten, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Written-By – Anthony Hamilton, Elayna Boynton, Kelvin Wooten
[g] B7 | Don Johnson And Christoph Waltz– Five-Thousand-Dollar Nigga's And Gummy-Mouth Bitches, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[i] B9 | Don Straud– Sneaky Schultz And The Demise Of Sharp, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[l] B12 | Rick Ross With Walton Goggins And Jamie Foxx– 100 Black Coffins, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Isaiah Pryor, Phillip "Logann" Scott III*, Guitar – Charlie Burrel*, Lyrics By – Jamie Foxx, Rick Ross, Mixed By – Jaycen Joshua, Mixed By [Assisted] – Trehy Harris, Music By – Jamie Foxx, Producer – Ainz "Brainz" Dimilo*, Jamie Foxx
[m] Recorded | By [Rick Ross's Vocals] – John Rivers*, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[o] C14 | Samuel L Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio And Christoph Waltz– Hildi's Hot Box, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino


[r] C17 | James Brown And 2Pac With James Russo (2), Christoph Waltz And Jamie Foxx– Unchained (The Payback / Untouchable), Mixed By [The Payback], Edited By [The Payback] – Claudio Cueni, Voice [As Ace Speck] – James Remar, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino, Written-By [The Payback] – Fred Wesley, James Brown, John Starks*, Written-By [Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix)] – Anthony Henderson, Bruce Washington, Kasseem Dean*, Tupac Amaru Shakur*, Yafeu Fula, D18 John Legend– Who Did That To You?, Performer [Sample] – The Mighty Hannibal, Producer – Paul Epworth, Written-By – James T Shaw (The Mighty Hannibal)*, John Stephens (3), Paul Epworth
[s] D19 | Brother Dege– Too Old To Die Young, Lyrics By, Music By – Dege Legg, Mastered By – Bruce Barielle, Mixed By – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Producer – Dege Legg, Primo (9), Tony Daigle, Recorded By – Dege Legg, Vocals, Resonator Guitar [Slide/Dobro], Body Percussion [Stomps], Handclaps [Claps] – Dege Legg
[t] D20 | Samuel L Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Stephen The Poker Player, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino

[v] D22 | Samuel L Jackson And Jamie Foxx– Six Shots Two Guns, Written-By [Dialogue] – Quentin Tarantino
[w] D23 | Annibale E I Cantori Moderni*– Trinity Titoli, Composed By – Franco Micalizzi, L Stott*, Conductor [Orchestra Directed By] – M° Gianfranco Plenizio*

The 'Natty Dread a Weh She Want' set brings together two legends of Reggae Music.
The stylish and unmistakable falsetto voice of singer Horace Andy and the production/DJ singing skills of Tapper Zukie.
Both artists catalogues of music stand up strong but this, originally released 1979 set of songs seems to have brought something special out of both of them when producing/writing and arranging this set of tunes.
'Natty Dread a Weh She Want' was a massive hit when it was released by Tapper Zukie and Horace Andy but this timeless track still sounds as fresh today as the day it was released in 1979,as do the other tracks on this fine album...
Hope you enjoy the set....

This 4-track EP showcases Robot84’s eclectic and diverse taste in editing, as well as his unique skill in finding those somewhat forgotten underground nuggets and expertly reimagining them. From the classic ’80s sound of FGTH to jazz-infused reworks of Public Enemy and Angie Stone, and the disco fuel of The Supremes, Robot Edits Vol. 1 sets the tone for a series made with serious selectors in mind.

London artist CASSIMM returns to Rekids with ‘I’ll Take You There’, landing 26th September 2025. It follows his recent remixes for label boss Radio Slave and his 2024 ‘House of Moves’ EP on the imprint, which won support from the likes of Paul Woolford, Dam Swindle, Hannah Holland, and Laurent Garnier.

CASSIMM’s 'I’ll Take You There' is a chunky House cut with powerful bass and rolling drums, joined by filters which build the vibe while a diva vocal rings out with raw emotion. It's a perfect mix of gritty production and infectious rhythm that lights up the floor with pure underground credentials, while the club mix of ‘I’ll Take You There’ hypnotises with a loopy feel and toughed-up groove.

Over the last decade, CASSIMM has amassed a massive following via a slew of chart-topping releases on labels like Defected, King Street, and Rekids. His best-selling, party-ready, and radio-friendly music earns consistent support across the globe, backed by BBC Radio 1 and artists like Honey Dijon, Nic Fanciulli, and many more.

Francois Kevorkian (Wave) : Lovely EP, atmospheric vibes.
Chris Udoh (Various) : Lovely !!!
Lea Lisa (Phonica Records / Folklor Club) : Fred P is a master of deep house. Live Long Love & When in Miami for me.
Will Hofbauer (Third Place, Wisdom Teeth, Rinse) : nice n deep ty!
Radio Slave (Rekids) : The King is back and what an EP ! Full support.
Jon Hester (Rekids, EDEC, Les Enfants Terribles, L.A.G.) : Lovely vibes on When In Miami and Live Long Love!
Jacques Renault : Nice EP, into When In Miami and The Heights in particular
Danny Howells (Dig Deeper) : Love Fred so much, always the highest quality music with soul. All four are stunners.
Dan Beaumont (Chapter 10 / NTS) : Always brilliant.. deeep! When in Miami for me
DJ Sprinkles (Comatonse) : thank you
Kai Alce (Real Soon) : Live Long Fred P!
Tomoki Tamura (Holic Trax) : pure class, deep house
Raresh (ar:pi:ar) : super! thanks
Laurent Garnier : FRED P alwayssssssssssssssss
Marcel Dettmann : thx
Archie Hamilton (Microhertz / FUSE) : Nice thanks
DVS1 : thanks
Alinka (Twirl, Classic, Crosstown Rebels, Batty Bass) : Beautiful tracks
Pat Hyland (Northside Loft Society) : Fred P is a master of deep. AWEsome EP!
Thor (Thor-Thule Records) : Another great release by the master of Deep House. Full support
Colin Dale : One of my fave producers from way back! Excellent 4 tracker with all the cuts 'hittin' the mark'. Will rotate & support.
Geir Aspenes (G-Ha (Sunkissed)) : Thank u
Jaye Ward (Dalston Super Store / Netil Radio) : Syncrophone just continues to churn out the goodness.. love Fred P too. so deep and full of the good soul ace! thx
Ame (Innervisions) : thanks
Domenic Cappello (Subclub) : love this
Greg Gow (Restructured / Transmat / KMS) : cool vibes full support
Jerome Sydenham (Ibadan) : When Miami is the business! Overall nice E.P!
Bill Brewster (NTS) : FRED P RETURNS!
Bailey Ibbs (Metafloor Records / Habits / Dansu Discs) : Live Long Love <3

2026 Repress

Fresh 90’s tech filled 4 tracker drops on Drifted Records’ latest edition to the catalog – DR003, Len Lewis - Critical Mass EP.

A1 showcases the rib cage rumbling, bassline infused 4x4 with ‘Critical Mass’. Following with the raw and driving breaks cut entitled ‘King Kong’.

Flipping the record brings a vocal splashed, arms in the air style thumper with ‘Born Blind’, and rounding off this latest edition with a misty roller for the B1, entitled ‘Tribal Prayer’.

Limited edition of 300 copies!

A brand new repress of this highly sought-after classic deep house/tech house 12" from Da Sunlounge that is currently fetching up to €100 on second-hand markets! This is high-caliber, bumping dancefloor house that's been igniting dance floors since 2003.


Back in the day, it received support from prominent artists such as Ralph Lawson, Silver City, Fred Everything, Inland Knights, and David Duriez. Da Sunlounge has released music on labels including Cajual, Salted Music, King Street, and Mother Recordings, and has remixed well known artists like Mood II Swing and Roland Clark, among others.

Tieum - Archives EP.1: A brand new Gobble Special, 24 years after its last release, the king of french early hardcore delivers a time capsule of hardcore history. Featuring never-before-heard tracks from over two decades!

The Temptations Get High on Psychedelic Soul: Cloud Nine Soars with Ambitious Arrangements and Production, Features Standout Vocal Performances and Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers

The Temptations’ Cloud Nine announced that Motown — and “The Sound of Young America” — would never be the same. Influenced by the emergence of cutting-edge rock and pop currents, as well as increasing sociopolitical turmoil, the album broke down barriers between rock, psychedelia, and soul while heralding the arrival of visionary arrangements and production techniques. Bookended by traditional R&B numbers, the 1969 record sent the Temptations in bold new directions and signaled the advent of psychedelic soul.

Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45PM 2LP set presents Cloud Nine in audiophile sound for the first time on a domestic pressing. This collectible reissue bestows Norman Whitfield’s extraordinary production with the grand-scale dynamics, natural tonality, expansive openness, and low-end weight it deserves. The timbre of each of the five members’ voices is readily identifiable — even within the group harmonies — bestowing a realism never experienced outside the recording studio.

Making its debut on 45RPM, the album further benefits from the wide groove space by playing with greater separation and more realistic presence than prior editions. Everything from the brassiness of the horns to the dry snap of the snare comes across with reference-grade clarity and positioning. And since Motown’s renowned Funk Brothers backing band plays on many of the cuts, you’ll want to savor every note. The imaging, soundstaging, and organic bloom-and-decay of the notes make that possible.

Amid Cloud Nine, the instrumentation and architecture stand out as much as any element. Never before had a Motown album contained such ambitious patterns and complex passages. Seemingly conscientious of the departure from their past methods, the Temptations and Whitfield bunched together the tracks that mark a deep dive into psychedelic territory and counterbalance them with seven sterling soul cuts that dovetail with Motown tradition drenched with heartfelt vocals, swelling strings, and finger-snapping beats.

On the original 33RPM release, traditional Motown soul — laden with heartfelt vocals, swelling strings, and finger-snapping beats — occupies Side Two. These songs reveal an ensemble still very much on top of delivering pristine pop-soul material graced with romantic sweetness, persuasive insistent, and soaring highs. Re-energized after the departure of lead singer David Ruffin, who was fired for a variety of reasons in June 1968, the Temptations seamlessly meld with his replacement, Dennis Edwards, on one melodic gem after another.

The collective tackles five songs co-written by the legendary Motown team of Barrett Strong and Whitfield. Not the least of which are the smooth, shuffling “Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go)” and deceptively simple, horn-spiked “Gonna Keep on Tryin’ till I Win Your Love.” On these tracks, as well as on a lush rendition of the ballad “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” and pleading, tender send-up of the Gerry Goffin-Carole King classic “Hey Girl,” Edwards and Paul Williams take turns on the lead with the estimable Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams providing backing support.

All five vocalists trade-off leads on the simmering title track, a groundbreaking composition shot through with wah-wah-pedal effects, liquid funk, deep bass lines, Cuban percussion, saturated reverb, and gang choruses. Whitfield mines each member’s natural vocal range with spectacular results, keeps time with cymbals, and channels both the heated temperatures and escapist desires of a society embroiled in war, conflict, and experimental drugs.

Amazingly, the Temptations top themselves on the similarly revealing “Run Away Child, Running Wild.” Nearly 10 minutes in length, the song explodes R&B parameters and harbors a cinematic scope. Urgent pianos, distorted guitars, stripped-down percussion, steamy Hammond organs, minimal bass motifs, five distinct voices narrating the tale of a boy who fled home and now finds himself amid the scary, unforgiving external world: They combine to give the urgent tune a walls-closing-in atmosphere where fear and desperation reign. Bolstered by an extended instrumental section that precedes a climactic return of the singers’ voices, “Run Away Child, Running Wild” equaled the success of the record’s title track, with both reaching No. 6 on the pop charts.

Following the chart success of their debut album Survival Mode (#3 UK Official Rock & Metal Chart) and explosive appearances at Reading & Leeds, Download, TRNSMT and 2000Trees, THE HARA return with their most ambitious record to date. Backed by their signing to Mascot Records, the trio deliver a fearless, genre-bending album that fuses stadium-sized riffs, cinematic electronics and raw, unflinching lyricism. Having shared stages with Sum 41, Nothing More and Ice Nine Kills, THE HARA are ready to break through to the next level – and this album proves they’re one of the UK’s most vital rising rock acts.

Seven - a number steeped in mystery and meaning, woven into the very fabric of time and space. Throughout history, the number seven has stood as an immutable symbol: from the days of the week to the alchemical metals, from the kings of Rome to its seven hills. An archetype that unites astronomy, myth, and ancient civilizations, finding its deepest expression in Rome.
According to legend, the Eternal City guarded seven sacred relics, the Pignora Imperii, objects whose possession ensured divine protection, prestige, and political authority. Ovid referred to them as the "pledges of power": testimonies of Rome's Trojan heritage and its connection with peoples such as the Sabines, Etruscans, and Greeks. These artifacts, now lost, were:
I. Lo scettro di Priamo
II. Il velo di Iliona
III. Il Palladio
IV. Le ceneri di Oreste
V. Lo scudo ancile
VI. La quadriga di Veio
VII. L'ago di Cibele
From this mythology emerges the new project by Lykos Records: a narrative journey in seven chapters, each dedicated to one of these relics, unfolding through the various artists releases corresponding to catalogue numbers 7, 14, 21... up to LYKOS-XLIX.
Chapter I, "Lo scettro di Priamo" LYKOS-VII, is dedicated to the symbol of Troy's power, brought to Latium by Ilioneus on Aeneas' command as a pledge of alliance and reconciliation. It is said to have been kept on the Palatine Hill.
To inaugurate this journey, seven Roman artists - PixFoil, DJ Red, Brando Lupi, Luigi Tozzi, Feral, Sunday Bath, and Worg - will give life to a sonic mosaic celebrating the musical heritage of the capital. Their tracks will form a collective work that bridges generations and diverse artistic visions.
Each double vinyl will feature an original illustration by Roberto Mulliri, wrapping the entire front and back cover and included inside as a poster.
Within the Pignora Imperii lies the strength and power of Rome, witnesses of the city's epic saga; likewise, Lykos Records weaves its destiny into the history of these sacred Roman objects, becoming a messenger of their enduring legends.

TUNL03 comes from a friend who has played a special role in the story of tunnel.
Dockett Eddy, based in Leeds, United Kingdom, has been curating Turnend Tapes for several years with taste, exigence, and a genuine underground approach.

Like moths in the dark, we met Beau on a winter night in Berlin. Dazzled by the light we were craving for, fooled in a world of dreams and illusions, our paths naturally crossed and bounded. The encounter happened at a pivotal moment for our label, towards the start of the journey. Since then, Beau has continually collaborated with us to create our graphic identity, giving shape to everything you see. Now and then, he also sent us some music… Eerie and austere at first, yet revealing a strange beauty when listened to closely, his sound was steeped in darkness, melancholy, and a quiet tension.
Four of these pieces surface here, pressed into the third tunnel record, ‘Mothlight’.

Mr Bongo presents a reissue of one of the rarest releases on the illustrious and now ultra-rare tax scam label TSG Records. A label with a checkered past, operated by Lloyd Price and with alleged ties to boxing promoter Don King. The album in question, Disco Party by Reality, is a stunning journey through ‘70s dancefloor-focussed funk into early proto-disco grooves. Back in mid-‘70s Manhattan, Dr. Otto Gomez and a group of fellow New York musicians including Tony Dixon, Norman Drayton, Tony Dupree, Al Jones and Fred Nanton were brought in for a recording session by songwriter and producer, Billy Nichols. Laying down one of Nichols' songs and a selection of the group's own, they were paid as session musicians and thought little of it. The tapes came to the attention of Lloyd Price who struck a deal with Nichols unbeknownst to Gomez and the rest of the band. Price then pressed the album and put it out in 1976 on a newly formed subsidiary label, TSG Records, that would later be documented as one of the US tax scam labels of the ‘70s. Such labels were created to exploit a loophole in the US tax system, running up inflated production costs / losses that investors or the parent label could write off against their tax bills. Releases on these labels were never intended to have commercial success. They would usually be produced in incredibly limited pressing numbers and have little to no promotion or distribution. As such many of these records instantly fell into obscurity, becoming mythical amongst DJs and record collectors. Sadly, this meant that artists like Dr. Otto Gomez and friends never had the chance for their record and their talents to shine at the time. In fact, it was only when Jazzman reached out for their 2022 reissue that Dr. Otto Gomez became aware that the album had ever been released and heard the story behind it. Disco Party is a time capsule where ‘70s instrumental funk edges and intertwines into an early disco sound. The sessions are for the dancefloor, minimalist and groove-based. The bass and drums are at the forefront, providing the pulse of the album. Driving funky guitar licks, and a brilliant horn section weave their way in and out of the productions. Highlights include the uplifting feel-good ‘Let's Party People’, the early disco swagger of ‘Reality’, and ‘Disco Party (Let's Have A)’ with its wah-wah groove and percussion break, which could easily have found its home on a Blaxploitation film soundtrack of the period. It’s not just rarity that makes this record so sought after, but rather the fact that it is a superb example of dancefloor-focussed mid ‘70s funk and disco.

Extra strikes again with equal parts hunt and play. It’s a jungle out there.

2025 Repress

Renowned producer and DJ Yuri Suzuki is back with a bang, releasing his latest record titled "Border" via the iconic Detroit Underground label. This new release features eight electrifying acid tracks that blend the infectious grooves of jacking house and the driving energy of techno.

Yuri Suzuki has been a pivotal figure in the electronic music scene, known for his unique sound and innovative production techniques. With "Border," he takes listeners on a journey through the pulsating heart of the underground music culture. Each track showcases his knack for crafting infectious rhythms and hypnotic melodies, making this vinyl a must-have for any serious collector or DJ looking to elevate their set.

The tracks on "Border" are a perfect representation of the classic acid sounds that have been making a resurgence in recent years. From the moment the needle hits the vinyl, listeners are transported to a world where the dance floor is king, and the beats are relentless. Yuri's signature style shines through, combining crisp percussion, gritty basslines, and infectious samples that create an irresistible urge to move.

“Most of these tracks were produced in the 90s, in my small room at my parents' apartment in Tokyo. At the time, I hadn't experienced a real rave, and my exposure to the culture was limited to the information I could find on the early internet. As a result, the music I created was inspired by an imagined rave scene, capturing the essence of something both distant and exciting.” - Yuri Suzuki

Celestial Echo is back with another funky bomb on 45, a hyper-rare track that only came out on demo from the label Midland International, The Medlows “Love (Part 1)" has been a secret spin for a lot of soul djs. A real favourite of label boss miche - he just featured it on his latest comp even, but this 45 is backed with a dancefloor ready extended edit from Bristol disco king Admin.

This has to be some of the heaviest soul to ever be pressed and kept in the shadows, once it’s in your record bag, it wont be leaving in a hurry.

buy or cry!

We Release JAZZ is honored to announce the release Shoals, a magnificent full-length album from Earth and Bones, the duo consisting of Liran Donin and Idris Rahman of acclaimed jazz outfit Ill Considered. Their majestic offering is available in an ultra limited edition 180g vinyl LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve with an original artwork by Dutch artist Vincent de Boer.

Carried by Liran Donin on double bass and shakers, and Idris Rahman on bass clarinet, tenor sax, shell, and Tibetan singing bowl, the 5-track album is a deeply entrancing meditative-shamanistic-ambient-jazz journey. The members of Earth and Bones poured their heart and beliefs into the project:

"From shamanic cultures and forgotten traditions, we delved deeper searching our ancient healers, exploring who they heal, what they heal, and how they do it. We wanted to focus on the poisonous human attributes that affect our animal kingdom, as well as how we can heal ourselves by balancing darkness and light. We express our forever gratitude to our community, tribe and animal kingdom.

Despite how governments and multinational corporations try to isolate us from one another, we can't make it alone without our shoal. To truly have a shoal, we need to accept each other for what we are."

Their friend, Vincent de Boer, delivers the visual side of Shoals:

"The living world and all its particular (eco)systems s increasingly a source of inspiration for my art process. When Idris and Liran showed me the new recording and the thoughts behind it, it immediately fell onto good grounds. A school of fish is eminently a metaphor for collective improvisation, something we are all engaged in on an artistic level. The group decisions go beyond causality, the energies provide a simultaneous awareness for choices of direction. The space between the entities thus form a new entity. Non-matter becomes matter and vice versa: an area where music and visual art meet.

I drew a school of fish and tried to make it look like a fixed entity, so that multiple lives become one collective. As a bird and perhaps as a rock or cave: outside becomes inside becomes outside: so that all domains of the living world are linked: the swimming, the crawling, the flying and the playing. The spiritual connection with the music of Idris and Liran is grand, the places it takes me are at once very distant and extremely close. From otherworldly to within the body: the opposites as well as the harmonies are of shamanistic proportions."

Points of interests

For fans of ambient-jazz, meditative music, shamanistic rituals, improvisational process, deep vibes, Ill Considered, Vincent de Boer, heartful connections, healers and healing, the body, the otherworld, life within and outside.

.Super limited edition vinyl of Earth and Bones' debut !

Classically trained, with a background in jazz, soul and gospel, Laura Mvula emerged from Kings Heath, Birmingham in 2012 with her first EP, She. The following year her debut album, Sing To The Moon, dropped to enthusiastic reviews; earning two MOBO awards (plus nominations for both the Mercury Prize and two Brits) and going gold. Preceded by Laura’s most popular single, ‘Green Garden’, a hymn to her west midlands home, Sing To the Moon was described in The Guardian as ‘Gospeldelia’, a genre unto itself, which may have been a small exaggeration but speaks to the album’s ambition, inventive arrangements and striking originality.

The original creators of Psychobilly Music, The Meteors began as a reaction against soft neo-rockabilly music of the late 70’s rock revival era. Since then the loud, sneering lovers of horror, perversion and death have released a few dozen records and are still going strong, 40 years into their career of evil. Svart Records are overwhelmed with psychotic joy to present an official reissue of The Meteors’ 2003 album Psychobilly. Long out of print on physical formats, this authorised reissue comes with a secret bonus track, all pressed on pitch black or poisonous green vinyl and wrapped in a gatefold jacket.

A Colourful Storm launches Delicate Bloom, a new series of dancefloor sprouts. Klon Dump reinterprets a medieval choral song into two propulsive, forward-thinking wigglers.

Follows EPs for Thomas Melchior's My King Is Light and tunes that found heavy rotation by the likes of Raresh, Christian AB and Peach. Rave like it's 1299!

40th Anniversary pressing of ?eUnder Me Sleng Teng?.
Limited edition 7?h 45 housed in a desirable illustrated sleeve.
Wayne Smith?fs game-changing ganja anthem twinned with Jammy?fs Studio Band crucial digital dub workout.
?Under Me Sleng Teng?f was the catalyst that sparked the digital Reggae revolution and one of the most significant releases in the history of music
?Essential purchase for any Reggae / Dancehall fan and in-demand Drum & Bass /Jungle / Rave essential - sampled by The Prodigy, SL2 and more.
Release in 1985 and produced by King Jammy ?eUnder Me Sleng Teng?f still sounds as revolutionary today as the day it was cut

First time vinyl reissue, expanded and deluxe double gatefold 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork and fresh liners written by Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours)
Alan James Eastwood's glorious Seeds is a certified folk-funk lost-classic.

But who was Alan James Eastwood? He had never hit the big time and commercial success eluded him. By the mid-1970s, his musical career was pretty much over and he was almost unknown except among deep heads, amongst whom he would gain cult status.

Original copies of the 1971 vinyl release of Seeds exchange hands for high sums, if you can find one. This expanded 2LP contains an extra record, collecting 9 rare non-album singles and is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned liner notes courtesy of Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours).

With the long overdue deluxe reissue of this prized artefact, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Alan James Eastwood. RIYL Nick Drake, Rodriguez, Richie Havens.

Alan James ‘Bugsy’ Eastwood was a renowned musician and singer who came to prominence in the late 1960s with The Exception, an unsung but excellent band from Birmingham. The Exception released many singles, the first featuring friend Robert Plant on tambourine, before an album, The Exceptional Exception. However, by this time, Bugsy was feeling constrained and restless; he left the band within weeks of the release.

Having vanished from the scene, he was honing a deeper, introspective edge to his songwriting. His demos found their way to the sound engineer and producer Mike Cooper at Pan Music Studios in Denmark Street. Loving what he heard, Eastwood soon entered a recording session with Cooper. The session was just Alan, his guitar and harmonica and - by all accounts - it was remarkable. With the songs, the voice and such an exceptional talent, it was hard to go wrong. Says Mike: "We had John Hawkins do the big string arrangements and Richard Hewson arranged the string quartet. We overdubbed the orchestrations on Alan's original session recordings, adding Chris Karan on tabla and various percussion. We considered re-recording the vocals but found that the magic on that original session was so exceptional overdubbing would not be as good as the atmospheric 'live' performance."

Mike and Alan viewed each track as a different entity, giving the album a diverse sonic palette. Assessing each song individually, they decided which would be suitable for each arranger. Top-flight session musicians were added to the roster to complete the sound, with Byron Lye Fook (father of musician Omar) on drums, bassist Mike Ward, Brian Pickles on marimba and jazz drummer Chris Karan on tabla and percussion. Recorded in a matter of days in Pan's small 8-track studio, they carefully added overdubs, rhythm sections and four string sessions arranged by Hawkins, with Hewson's arrangements recorded at Trident Studios.

Seeds was Alan James Eastwood's debut solo album – indeed, his only solo album - and was originally issued on President in 1971. It melded Eastwood’s impressive rock sensibilities with a folk thread to superb effect. His arresting voice - its deep, rough-hewn soulfulness - coupled with gorgeous string-drenched backing, make this a phenomenal listen. It really is a great 70s singer-songwriter record - with touches of acid-folk and folk-funk throughout.

It opens with "She's Getting Married In August", a mellow tune with Richard Hewson's strings arranged around Alan's straightforward guitar structure. Up next, the joyous, sun-dappled guitar and strings workout "Evenin' Rain" glides by before the fragile, accordion-enhanced "Les Papillons" breezes out of the speakers. The bluesy "Zeena" follows, featuring vocals and acoustic guitar and showcasing Eastwood's effortless harmonica. Starting out as a ballad, "Virgin Morn" builds with soaring strings and gospel-tinged backing vocals from Marilyn Powell and jazz singer Josephine Stahl. The A-side closes with the title track, "Seeds". With a chugging mid-tempo beat, soulful vocals and a beautiful Bacharach-esque string arrangement, it truly is stop-you-in-your-tracks spectacular.

Side B opens with "Crystal Blue", gilded by Lye Fook's marimba, lush gospel-esque backing vocals and handclaps. Eastwood's acoustic guitar begins "Lady Carole", which starts as a bluesy ballad and builds with more string arrangement, lifting the track to another height. A towering highlight of epic proportions, "Lotus Child" is a true masterpiece of arrangement. It opens with simple yet stunning do-do-dah vocal harmonies blended with John Hawkins's strings, bass lines and rhythmic beats, forming a vibe very much in conversation with the sounds coming from LA's Laurel Canyon. Next up, the heartwarming "Last Prayer", dedicated to Alan's first and last love, contains a melancholic vocal with a wistful string-drenched arrangement that would sit comfortably in a Federico Fellini score. Bringing the album to a close, "Hymn For Today" is a melodic raga with tabla, strings and a soft-psych feel. Eastwood's prophetic whisper - "I am real. At last, I am real" - profoundly hits home.

Kicking off the extra disc is the sparsely funky and country-tinged "Boston", released as the flip to the astonishing "Seeds". Next up are the two tracks that comprised Alan’s debut solo 7" single from 1968. The laconic, Bobby Charles-esque "Blackbird Charlie" evidences a real depth and charm in Eastwood's songwriting whilst the starkly brilliant flip, "My Sun", was a horizontal, atmospheric folk-tinged soundtracky precursor to his later work on Seeds.

In 1972, two further standalone singles followed. The first was the evergreen flute-driven folk-funk bomb, "Closer To The Truth", backed by the funky blues of "Strange News". The second, a deeply moving Havens-inspired "Moonchild" - rightly fawned over to this day - was flipped with "Red Shoe Truckin'", a groove-infused track. Eastwood also paired up with Marilyn Powell for a single produced by Powell's partner, Mike Cooper. Under the name Eastwood & Powell, they released their staggering rendition of "Beautiful", a rock-blues-pop song arranged by Ivor Raymonde and written by Carole King. Over on the flip, a funky Eastwood original "Opal Blue Sunday" lurked. This is not to be overlooked.

Over the years, Alan remained active on the music scene, but problems with alcohol and health complications from diabetes severely impacted his career. He spent his latter years living in London until his untimely death from heart failure on 25 October 2007, just one day before his 62nd birthday and without his music having received the real acclaim it so dearly deserved.

This deluxe reissue, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to rectifying this tragic fact. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life at Be With HQ, with the addition of passionately written liner notes specially for this landmark reissue by none other than Paul Hillery.

DJ Support: Melvo, Dr Packer, Kevin Yost, Birdee, DJ Meme, DJ Meme, Saison, Derrick McKenzie.

Next up on Sultra Records is a standout double A-side release from label head Michael Gray and Italian soulful house stalwart Antonello Ferrari.
This package delivers two quality soulful house cuts, each receiving fresh remix treatment.

On the A-side, "Season High" gets a pair of reworks — first from rising talent Charlie Price, followed by a groove-laden interpretation from Risk Assessment, the alias of seasoned UK DJ/producer Glyne Braithwaite.
Flipping over, "Music of Life" by Antonello Ferrari takes center stage. A respected DJ/producer since 1990 and head of Sunflowermusic Records, Ferrari’s past work includes releases on D-Vision, UMM Italy, and current contributions to labels like Z Records, King Street Sounds, Quantize Recordings, and Purple Music.

Michael Gray steps in with a slick remix of "Music of Life", and the package wraps up in style with the string laden and emotive Love Family Tribute Mix.
A must-have for fans of quality soulful and vocal house.

MIKE & Tony Seltzer präsentieren das Doppelvinyl ihres zweiteiligen Albums "Pinball". Das Original aus 2024 wurde von Fans und Kritik begeistert aufgenommen, war es doch etwas Neues, MIKE in dieser Direktheit rappen zu hören. Dieses Neue ersetzt MIKE auf "Pinball II" mit verfeinertem Songwriting und einigen der besten und energiegeladensten Raps seiner Karriere. Tonys Produktion klingt dabei kraftvoller und mutiger als je zuvor. Nach zwei Kollaborationen haben die beiden Künstler eine gemeinsame Chemie gefunden und schaffen ein Projekt, das vielleicht MIKEs zugänglichstes ist, das gleichzeitig aber die Essenz bewahrt, die ihn bis hierher gebracht hat. Zu den Gastfeatures und Kollabos beider Teile gehören Earl Sweatshirt, Clams Casino, Jay Critch, Akachi (Chief Keef-Produzent), Lunchbox, Sideshow, Niontay und viele mehr.

Jüngstes Lob für Pinball II:
* "Der Rapper und der Produzent aus Brooklyn haben sich für eine energiegeladene Fortsetzung des letztjährigen Pinball wiedervereint. Es ist eine leichter verdauliche Version von MIKE, die sich dennoch authentisch anfühlt." – Pitchfork 8.1
* "Der immer produktivere Rapper aus Brooklyn liefert eine Reihe Trap-beeinflusster Tracks, die es schaffen, alle Genre-Schubladen zu sprengen, in die man ihn stecken könnte." – Rolling Stone****
* "Rap-Fans auf der ganzen Welt sollten dankbar sein, dass MIKE sich entschieden hat, mit Tony Seltzer zusammenzuarbeiten." – The FADER

Paul Weller meldet sich mit Find El Dorado zurück – einem neuen, sehr persönlichen Album voller Neuinterpretationen, das am 25. Juli erscheint. Inspiriert von einer lebenslangen Leidenschaft fürs Musikhören greift Weller auf Songs zurück, die ihn schon seit Jahren begleiten – nun gedacht, neu gehört, neu gefühlt. „Das sind Lieder, die ich schon lange mit mir herumtrage“, sagt er. „Im Laufe der Zeit haben sie sich verändert. Und jetzt schien mir die Zeit gekommen, sie mit anderen zu teilen.“
Die Veröffentlichung markiert gleichzeitig ein neues Kapitel in Wellers beeindruckender Karriere. Als prägende Figur der britischen Musik – mit rund 11 Millionen verkauften Alben allein in Großbritannien – kehrt Weller zu Parlophone Records zurück, dem Label, das seine von der Kritik gefeierten Alben zwischen 2015 und 2019 betreut hat.


Find El Dorado ist weit mehr als ein klassisches Coveralbum – es ist eine emotionale Landkarte seiner musikalischen DNA. Von der sanften Melancholie in Ray Davies’ „Nobody’s Fool“ bis zum flirrenden Schmerz von „El Dorado“: Diese Songs haben Wellers Innenleben geformt – und finden nun ihren Weg zurück nach außen. Mit intimen Arrangements und starken Kollaborationen – darunter Hannah Peel, Declan O’Rourke, Robert Plant, Seckou Keita, Amelia Coburn und Noel Gallagher – öffnet Weller die Tür zu seiner ganz persönlichen Songwelt.

Veteran Japanese electronic music producer, AKIO NAGASE, a leading player in the Kansai underground music scene since the late 1990s teams up with Yukino Inamine, a gifted and young female singer from Okinawa who magically mixes traditional Ryukyu (Okinawa) folk songs with her sanshin (Okinawan Shamisen) playing into the modern age, to create this wonderful collaborative album, Yugafu ai KAJI. This album is set to be released on GLOCAL RECORDS, a record store/ record label run by Genta Minowa, an ex-staff at the record store, Disc Shop Zero in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo and who still continues to introduce a great selection of dubby, club music from his HQ in Harajuku.

AKIO NAGASE regularly organised parties at his own venue, as well as ran a record store of the same name while actively being part of the Kansai scene at legendary clubs such as Tsuru no Ma, Sound Channel, etc., the best of what was offered in the Kansai underground dance scene in the 2000s.

As an artist, he released his own productions out of labels such as Sound Channel and RUDIMENTS run by Minowa. His album, Make Dub was released in 2003 out of the label, Sound Channel featured an innovative, techno meets dancehall track, Dance Hall King which connected techno, acid house with reggae and dub. This album is an undiscovered gem whose sound still emulates freshness and originality today (my wish is for it to be reissued on vinyl!) After a brief hiatus of releasing music, he released the EP, Delusion out of Chillmountain Records, a label run by his friend, Ground in 2018 and at his own leisurely pace, he has been slowly but surely releasing material that oozes originality, expressed through a robust acid sound and a variety of elements such as afro and Ryukyu folk music that is then incorporated into the medium of dub. Recently, he has also started to gain international attention by releasing original material and remixes out of labels such as the UK label, Emotional Especial, etc.

For this album, NAGASE teams up with Yukino Inamine who brings her own distinctive singing and sanshin playing magic into this collaboration and they fuse electronic music sounds with Ryukyu folk songs to create this wonderfully imaginative album that has no precedence or equal. Apart from the song, Ishikawa Koiuta, all other songs are covers of Ryukyu folk standards that were handpicked by NAGASE from the repertoire of songs that Inamine regularly performs live. They met up when NAGASE was commissioned to remix one of her original compositions, Miyagi Kaigan that was released in 2023 and that evolved into a collaboration with a concept that mixed Inamine singing Ryukyu folk standards with a backing tracks produced by NAGASE. Whenever she went to the the Kansai area, she would work on the basic track material created by NAGASE at the dub master of Osaka, Soulfire’s studio, HAV who would then additionally edit her takes to create the finishing tracks.

This album, Yugafu ai KAJI opens with Shirahamabushi, a track that slowly builds with an interesting mix of slow acid techno and sanshin and then moves onto the easy-going electro dub of Tinsagu nu hana (it is actually a cover of the track of the same title that first appeared in the label sampler, Comuni ó n Especial that was released on Emotional Especial. NAGASE initially wanted to feature Inamine on vocals for this track but due to scheduling issues, it did not happen but with good fortune, the new version of this track is now included in this album). A side closes with the optimistic Balearic sounds of Tsuki nu Kaisha that converges immaculately with slow-mo steppers. It is also worth noting that the person who introduced NAGASE to Inamine was the Okinawa dub master, HARIKUYAMAKU. They met at a concert held by both him & Yukino Inamine hosted by BUN BUN THE MC at the venue, RAGGA CHANNEL. From this encounter, this album came into fruition and they also asked HARIKUYAMAKU to produce an earthy, traditional rootsy, dub version of Tsuki nu Kaisha that is included as the 3rd track on the B Side.

Ashimizubushi, the track that magically blends old school Chicago house ala TRAX with Ryukyu folk music starts off the B side and it carries on to an uplifting track with a Skaouse (ska + house) feel, Hounen Ondo. Inserted after HARIKUYAMAKU’s dub of Tsuki nu Kaisha, this album closes out with the song, ‘Ishikawa Koi Uta’, the only song written by Inamine who said that she wrote it after falling in love with chill-out music. It is an ambient dub track with a collage like flavour, reminiscent of early The Orb (remixed by Mad Professor) and the latter half of the track finishes off with a message presented by Masao Itokazu (her uncle) who received tutelage from the prior owner of her sanshin that Inamine plays, Moritomo Inamine (her grandfather).

Incidentally, the album title, YUGAFU ai Kaji is derived from an auspicious word from Okinawa, Yugafu which means fruitful year, happiness, prosperity and ai (indigo) is a word that Yukino found inspiration few years ago (she wears a Okinawan indigo clothing called kinonuno in the front cover of this album).

The unique indigo colouring produced by nature overlaps with the unique charm of the human personality, and she wanted to present that current along with the music so the name was integrated to ‘indigo wind’, and the two were connected to form the album title, ‘YUGAFU ai Kaji’.

The photo of the front cover was taken by a young, Uchinaanunishie—- (meaning a boy from Okinawa) 17 year old photographer named Ratio and the designer of this album is Anmonaito who is a childhood friend of Inamine who also did the artwork for her album, Miyagi Kaigan. And the mastering and cutting of this album was done by Rei Taguchi.

The cosmology existing in Yukino Inamine’s singing is fully amplified by AKIO NAGASE’s spacey, abundant with many ideas, dance machine beat~ambient music and all of these elements are organically linked by the adhesive effect of dub.

Joe Bataan's extensive discography was expanded in 2022 with the release of some old recordings from the King of Latin Soul that had never been previously published. After the success of his album "Riot!" (1968), Bataan had easy access to a studio whenever inspiration struck to record a new song sketch or even a complete track. Sometimes, he would finish the recording entirely and offer it in its final version to Fania for release. This usually worked, although on some occasions, the song was rejected. In the case of 'Drug Story,' the track was recorded without a clear final purpose, even though Bataan hoped it would become part of an album. When the Fania executives heard the result, they immediately rejected it, thinking it promoted drug use. The tapes were filed away and lost in oblivion until they ended up in a thrift store in New York. From there, they were rescued by a Latin music specialist and later sold, eventually making their way to the Vampisoul archives. The song was finally released in its entirety in 2022 on the LP "Drug Story" by Now Again. It features a long, slow vocal intro that evolves into a more uptempo track with two very distinct parts, to the point that it almost feels like two different songs. It transports us to the best moment of Joe Bataan's career, with all of his classic ingredients, delivering a track as good as his most famous songs. Bataan himself takes on the lead vocals and piano, Bobby Rodríguez handles the flute, sax, and bass, Pete 'Choki' Quintero plays the drums, and William Howes Jr. plays the electric guitar with wah-wah effects. Vampisoul strongly believes that the song deserved to be released as a single as well, and that its structure was perfect for each side to have a separate identity. So here it is, for the first time on a 45, 'Drug Story,', parts one & two, the long lost track by Joe Bataan. Pure Latin soul, recorded at the peak of the artist's career!