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Fresh from the critically embraced full-length LP/CD, Downward Staircase now arrives in a special remix release - answering the persistent calls from supporters of Joaquin "Joe" Claussell who have been demanding a 12" single. The wait is over.

Downward Staircase is an Afro-Jazz House composition crafted in a way only Joaquin himself can manifest. Layered with masterful percussion from a host of renowned players, the groove is both infectious and deeply rooted. The rhythm section drives with purpose, creating the perfect foundation for the stunning piano work of Joaquin's longtime production partner and favored pianist. The result is a powerful Afro-dance journey - spiritual, percussive, and built to ignite dance floors wherever it's played.

But that's not all.

Also featured on this EP is another Joaquin Joe Claussell remix titled Kwelo, featuring Afro-dance originator Mr. Jephte Guillaume. A collaboration rich in heritage and forward motion, it further expands the sonic landscape of this release.

This project has been over a year in the making - a true labor of dedication and persistence. We're incredibly excited for its release, and we know our loyal following shares that excitement. In many ways, it was your continued support that helped bring this record into existence.

Don't sleep.
.
Enjoy the Journey

“I hope this record gets bought, played, shared and sold, then winds up in a dusty bargain bin for someone else to discover in years to come. It sure is easy to save music online, but owning a piece of art made by an artist you support is so much deeper. In an age where the world is at our fingertips, it’s ever so important to slow down and appreciate things that take time.”

Delete Spotify. Invest in the underground. Rebel against convenience.

Arranged and produced by DJ Headlock

Additional mixing by Larry 'Bruce' McCarthy at Edgar Studios

Mastered by Johanz Westerman at Ballyhoo Studio Mastering

Mysticisms’ returns to the music of the Conscious Sounds label and their short-lived but highly prized Dub meets Funk project, Dub Specialists. Created by label head Dougie Waldrop and Chris Petter (Love Grocer) to explore their interest in samplers and a love of Funk and Jazz.

A hugely respected “Digital” and “Roots Reggae” label, Conscious Sounds has been a mainstay of the East London digidub sound for over 30 years. Dub Specialists released 3 albums on the Crispy Music sub label, they have recently gained considerable interest in digger circles, with rising prices to match.

As with their first Dubplate outing, the release features extended re-edits by the label and friends, this time featuring versions by Lexx, Miles J Paralysis, Chuggy and Vanity Project. Working with the simplicity and skill of his studio craft, Dougie utilised the Atari 1040, Cubase and Soundcraft mixer to effect. Petters’ chords sit atop reggae basslines, funk samples, loops and this time, a heavy dose of cut up vocals in to the mix.

While the first EP came from their debut album, Breat To Break, here the source material for the re-edits comes, in the main, from their second outing “Dub To Dub Beat To Beat”. A more expansive album that also dipped in to 4/4 rhythms and touches of House / Techno.

Opening track Dynamic Duo is a 4/4 stepper bomb – with samples from Adam West’s iconic interpretation of Batman – expertly extended by long-standing DJ, producer and edit master, Zurich’s own Alex Storrer aka Lexx, who dials things to max for a club stop. A new name on many lips, Miles J Paralysis takes it all back down with a beautifully drawn out, acid-tinged tripper. Bumpin’, the mid-tempo groove sucks you in, psychedelic and mind expanding.

The flip returns to the more traditional Dub Specialist vibes of Breaks’n’Funk’ cut ups, first with (co-)label head Chuggy’s faithful extension of Heavy Dub. Featuring the classic Ijahman Levi’s vocal, the breaks flow and piano / horns stab, a dance floor shaker for the discerning. To close, secret studio fixer to many, Matt Bruce again dons his Vanity Project moniker to perfectly tease and live dub (out) the half-stepper, Reality Dub and close this latest in the Dubplate series.

Beat The Mystery.

Mysticisms’ Dubplate series reaches number 10 with the first in a series of specials, taking the genre blurring music of Persian and presenting updated remixes and versions by up-and-coming producers, as well as friends and family of the label.

Started as a sporadic offshoot of Mysticisms’ main releases, with the idea to highlight the wonderful sounds of dub influenced dance music, Dubplate has now become an integral part of the mission.

To start, South London’s Picasso joins the label, showcasing his declared abstract grooves and an EP of Dub and Tech House movers. While his productions aim for the dance floor, they are often characterized by complex rhythms and unconventional structures, prioritizing atmosphere and texture over traditional melodies.

Drawing inspiration from ambient, jazz, experimental influences and the heavy hand of dub, Sam “Andrews” McKay has crafted an EP of immersive “soundscapes”. Joining the legendary Persian (Peter Reilly) as co-selector, his retakes are all warped grooves, wide bass and dubby atmospherics.

Opening with Space Within Art, the street soul meets reggae rhythms are jettisoned, and a Dub House swing drives the track. The love, homage and vibration for Sound System culture remains, enchanting trippy reggae sampledelic vocals weaving in the brain.

Dunya 2 sees a shift, minds expanding. A jazz influenced breakbeat, harp, strings, building to a psychedelic swirl, driven by a dub bass in a clash, morph and glow.

The deep Digi Dub of D Dub Twist grows, warping the ‘JA riddim meets English hedonism’ in true Soundclash style. Touches of drone underlay, highlighting Sam’s experimental leaning, utilising Persian’s love of Eastern mystical samples to marry perfectly for a deep dub excursion.

The self-prescribed “odd-fellow” completes his versions, exploring his love of depth and abstract sound in closer, Jacob’s Dub. The warm roots vibrations in original form develop into a scatter gun House bumper. Dubwise, Lovers, Stepper, all merge around shuffling, trippy beats and skippy hats, Picasso’s groove is laid bare, driving the EP to finale.

Abstract the Mystery.

James ‘ReKab’ Baker is a highly regarded British producer who made some of the finest tech-soul, electro & ‘Artificial Intelligence’ style electronic music of recent years. James sadly passed away August 2025 and has been a great loss to the community, his productions on labels such as Distant Worlds, Fourier Transmission, Yore, We’re Going Deep, Moatun 7, Magnonic Signals and Analog Concept were much loved by fans of this music worldwide and all sold out upon release.

Previously, his first 4 albums had only ever been available digitally, initially issued on the Icelandic label Moatun7 and are currently only available on Bandcamp. Now, for the first time, in association with UK electronic label System One, all 4 albums will be issued on vinyl as full length albums, fully remastered by Justin Drake & the digital versions will be once available again on all DSPs worldwide.

The first reissue in the series is ‘Analogue Isolation’, to be released March 27th. Written & recorded in 2020 through the Covid lockdown period, the album is a masterclass in pure home listening electronica. Blissful, emotive and melodic with crisp drums, gently pulsing basslines, lush pads and exquisite melodies, Analogue Isolation heralded the arrival of a truly talented producer who enchanted fans of the genre over the coming years

Analogue Isolation will be a limited initial run of 250 copies through all stores worldwide March 27. A pre-release stream is available on Soundcloud here. The subsequent albums will be released throughout the remainder of 2026 & will be accompanied in December by a strictly limited hardcase for collectors to house all 4 albums. Meanwhile, all 4 albums will be available on DSPs worldwide from March 27.

Nico Gomez, a Belgian orchestra leader of Dutch roots, has long been a favourite with Latin fans, record diggers, DJs, and collectors alike. His blend of bossanova, latin jazz, and easy listening always turns up a few choice nuggets and surprises; what is perhaps most remarkable is that it was recorded in Europe.


Back in 2013, Mr Bongo re-issued Nico Gomez's sought-after 'Ritual' album from 1971, and now we follow it up with another jewel from his catalogue his 1972 album 'Soul Of Samba'. For this re-issue, we have opted to present it with the cover art originally used on the Trio Records version released in Japan. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the album was released with different cover art under the title 'Bossa Nova’, on Omega International and International Bestseller Company records, respectively. We loved the beautiful psychedelic design of the Japanese version and wanted to use it for this re-issue.

'Soul Of Samba' features several euro-bossa-jazz favourites such as the catchy 'Rio'; which was a firm DJ choice cut at jazz dance nights, including Brighton's 'Jazz Rooms' in the 90s. It also featured in Rainer Trüby's classic ‘Glücklich' compilation series which explored European-Brazilian-inspired music. The beguiling ‘Aquarela', with its engaging latin shuffle, entices feet to the dancefloor and is not one to miss. 'Agua’ has a lazy-quirky latin-funk feel with breathy-stoned vocals floating in the background. The album additionally features numerous breezy latin, Brazilian, and easy listening joints, some of which are ripe for sampling.

Repress!

OUTTA SIGHT, in association with Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd., present two Modern Soul Monsters back-to-back.
JEFF PERRY (aka Jeffree) was born into rare soul royalty, the nephew of Robert Bateman, a pioneer of the Detroit sound, and brother of Greg Perry with whom he would co-write and produce for Holland/Dozier/Holland scoring hits for the Honey Cone, Chairman of the Board, Freda Payne and Jeff’s own group 100 Proof Aged In Soul.
“”Love Don’t Come No Stronger…” has transcended its Modern Soul status to become a mainstay of the 21st Century Northern Soul Weekender scene, an essential 45 for any discerning DJ wanting a guaranteed floor-filler.
MANDRILL were formed in New York in the late Sixties by the Wilson brothers, originally from Panama. They were joined over the years by a succession of accomplished musicians who honed their unique Latin-tinged sound that attracted, first Polydor, then United Artists and Arista, who signed them in 1977. “Too Late” was released in ’78 and helped define the “crossover” sound of the Northern Soul scene. It remains an anthemic and sought after 45 guaranteed to pack the floor.

Re-release for this LP-Set "Kiss Land" is the debut studio album by Canadian singer, The Weeknd. It was released on September 10, 2013, through XO- and distributed by Republic Records.

The album was supported by six singles: "Kiss Land", "Belong to the World", "Love in the Sky", "Live For", "Pretty" & "Wanderlust". The album's production was primarily handled by DannyBoyStyles, The Weeknd himself and Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville, among others.

After standout collaborations with Christophe Honoré and Bertrand Mandico, Calypso has signed with Pop Noire for the original soundtrack of Caroline Deruas’ film Les Immortelles. She unveils her new single, L’Homme Poisson, a gem of magnetic pop. With this ultra-catchy track, she reinvents 70s synth-pop with her signature poetry—both modern and timeless.


With Les Immortelles, Calypso Valois does more than accompany the film: she becomes its sonic soul. Each track—from enchanting choruses to rich instrumentation (piano, synths, strings, brass)—immerses the listener in a dreamlike universe, where music weaves the emotional thread. A singular cinematic experience, infused with mystery and magic. Whether you’re a fan of sophisticated pop, evocative soundtracks, or simply seeking an enchanting musical journey, this album transcends the boundaries of genre and era.
The film opened the Venice Film Festival and continues to make waves at festivals before its release a on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

Repress

The Collaboration - Having toured together over the years, Lattimore and Barwick now join forces to co-write and record this full-length album. Their creative synergy brings together harp, voice, and analog synths in a deeply emotional, immersive sound journey. The album was recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris with co-producer Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Beach House). This album continues a unique series of collaborations between the label and the Musée de la Musique, featuring historical instruments in contemporary composition. Since 2017, InFiné and the Philharmonie de Paris have co-developed a series of albums designed to highlight the extraordinary instrument collection of the Musée de la Musique. Following the albums InBach by Arandel (2020) and Saturn 63 by Seb Martel (2022), this third release is a meeting of two iconic contemporary ambient voices: Mary Lattimore and Julianna Barwick. The project offers the artists full access to the museum’s playable instruments for recording, sound conservation, and creative reinterpretation.



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Tragic Magic brings together Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, two of contemporary ambient, experimental and electronic music’s most celebrated composers, for a unique collaboration at the Philharmonie de Paris, with extraordinary access to the Musée de la Musique’s instrument collection, in partnership with the French label InFiné. The album features seven immersive, evocative compositions guided by the human spirit – intimate, grounded in friendship, both earthly and cosmic – and part of a greater continuum, reflecting the solace and transformative power of artistry across generations.

Co-produced by Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Beach House), Tragic Magic was created in just nine days, a testament to the “musical telepathy” that has developed between Barwick and Lattimore over years of touring and friendship. Arriving in Paris from Los Angeles shortly after the 2025 wildfires, their sessions combined improvisation with the emotions and experiences they carried, in a setting both inspiring and deeply supportive. Lattimore selected harps tracing the instrument’s evolution from 1728 to 1873, while Barwick chose several iconic analog synthesizers, including the Roland JUPITER and Sequential Circuits PROPHET-5. In freeform dialogue between voice and instrument, they create a meditation on tragedy, wonder, and the restorative power of shared experience.

The duo, often joined by Spencer, also explored the city, sharing meals and visiting museums and landmarks, each encounter leaving an impression on their next session. The experience allowed them to work intimately with rare instruments, blending their personal sensibilities with centuries of history, resulting in music that honors the past while remaining a deeply authentic expression of the present.
Throughout Tragic Magic, Barwick and Lattimore find something beyond themselves: a sense that while everything may not be okay, beauty persists. Their approach – transforming life into music, observing, feeling, and creating – continues a lineage of creative expression and visionary invention, embodied in the very instruments they employed for this project.

White Vinyl

The fringes of the desert have a way of changing a man, but the high-altitude chill of the Sierras will strip him down to his soul.

Following the gritty, neon-soaked introduction of his debut, Red Leather returns with his sophomore studio album, TAHOE. If his first record was a desperate sprint through the dark alleys of the soul, TAHOE is the cold morning after—a cinematic, sweeping exploration of isolation, clarity, and the jagged edges of recovery.

Named after the alpine lake that serves as both a sanctuary and a graveyard for secrets, the album navigates the duality of the landscape.

The songwriting dives deep into the "blue" period of his life—tackling themes of sobriety, the weight of sudden fame, and the ghosts of past versions of himself. It is an album about the silence that follows the storm, and the realization that the higher you climb, the thinner the air becomes.

Mit Maaya präsentiert Ami Yerewolo, die bedeutendste weibliche Hip-Hop-Stimme Malis und eine zentrale Figur des westafrikanischen Rap, ihr neues Studioalbum. Maaya ("Menschlichkeit") verbindet die rohe Energie modernen Hip-Hops mit traditionellen malischen Instrumenten wie Kamalé Ngoni und Tamani. Das Ergebnis ist ein kraftvoll geerdeter, zugleich zeitgenössischer Sound, der Amis künstlerische Identität präzise widerspiegelt. Als Rapperin, Produzentin und Gründerin eines eigenen Frauen-Rap-Festivals hat sich Ami Yerewolo gegen gesellschaftliche Widerstände durchgesetzt und eine Vorreiterrolle für eine gesamte Generation junger afrikanischer Künstlerinnen übernommen. Ihre Texte thematisieren Resilienz, Selbstbestimmung und den Mut, gegen konservative Normen aufzustehen - Botschaften, die weit über Mali hinaus Wirkung entfalten. Mit Gastbeiträgen von Jah Moko und Mina la Voilée erweitert Maaya seine musikalische und emotionale Tiefe. Das Album ist vollständig unabhängig produziert und überzeugt durch Authentizität, Haltung und eine klare, unverwechselbare Stimme.

By the end of the 1980s, R&B and soul were very much a part of pop culture. However, it was the UK group The Pasadenas who paid the most honest homage to the origins of these genres, with their music drawing on 1950s doo-wop, 1960s Motown and 1970s funk and R&B. The single “Enchanted Lady”, for example, was an ode to Smokey Robinson and could easily have been mistaken for the real thing.

Now their debut album To Whom It May Concern is finally back in stock for the first time on coloured vinyl. The album's biggest hit was "Tribute (Right On)", which took Europe by storm in the summer of 1988. The album was also a huge success, selling over a million copies.

To Whom It May Concern is available as a limited edition on red vinyl and includes an insert.

In an age that demands hyper acceleration, kinetic flashes and byte voracity, Blak Saagan sticks out like a sore thumb with a sprawling body of work that requires attention and unlocks profound symbols and meaning with every passage. After a 5 year gap, the Venetian composer returns with his most personal and openly political statement yet, ‘Un Sequestro Lungo 10.000 Anni’, a staggering 108 minute triple album soundtracking a dystopian city through flashes of futuristic fourth world visions, warehouse 80s rave-ups, meditative trance and dark rumblings. Following his acclaimed ‘Se Ci Fosse La Luce Sarebbe Bellissimo’ was never going to be an easy feat but Samuele Gottardello (Blak Saagan) approached the fresh canvas with a renewed sense of commitment sparking a dense parallel world inhabited by paranoia, control and repression. A world that is relieved by the figure of a woman with the body of a bird emerging from the asphalt and freeing humanity from the “sequestro” (kidnapping) to which it has long been subjected. Dystopia pushed to the limits and sadly close to our current affairs.

To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of our label Jamaican Recordings and to mark the sad one year passing of the musical maestro reggae producer Bunny `Striker’ Lee, we have pulled together a brand new collection of some great Bunny Lee rhythms.

Our label started way back with initial meetings with Bunny Lee and a promise to keep his music available, out on the streets. He will be sorely missed but will live on through his extraordinary musical legacy and we hope to add to this by including this release to the stable of an unbeatable catalogue.

Legendary record producer Bunny `Striker’ Lee’s vast selection of rhythms were ever present at any Sound Clash or Dance worth talking about in the early to mid-1970’s.
Where the version found on the b-side of a single or special dub cut on acetates, would be played to win over the people and conquer the dance. Bunny Lee was the undisputed rhythm master and on this special release he is also the MC telling the crowd how it is and that any rival sound system should watch out as he has the rhythms that can reign supreme. The band cutting these timeless rhythms were a group of top Jamaican musicians Bunny had put together called The Aggrovators.

The Aggrovators were a group of reggae musicians that usually featured Carlton `Santa’ Davis on drums playing alongside Robbie Shakespeare on bass, with other musicians added like Earl `Chinna’ Smith on guitar and Tommy McCook and Vin Gordon and Lennox Brown added for horn arrangements. Keyboards and organ duties normally fell
to musicians Ansel Collins and Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey. The band was named after singer Eddie Grant had repeated the phrase to Bunny Lee on one of his many trips to England, that such and such artist was giving him `Aggro’. This was a term used in England in the 1970’s by the Skinhead followers of reggae music. A term shortened
from the word `Aggrovation’, meaning trouble, fighting or making the situation worse. Bunny Lee was so taken with this term that on returning to Jamaica, not only did he name his group of musicians the `Aggrovators’ but he also named his record shop situated at 101 Orange Street `Agro Records’.

We have compiled some great tracks recorded by this fantastic group of musicians. With the added extra magic of Mr Bunny Lee calling it out as only he can on the microphone.
Yes Run Sound Boy Run the version master is here…Respect

In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning / Mood Indigo / Glad To Be
Unhappy / I Get Along Without You Very Well / Deep In A Dream / I See Your Face
Before Me / Can't We Be Friends / When Your Lover Has Gone / What Is This Thing
Called Love? / Last Night When We Were Young / I'll Be Around / Ill Wind / It Never
Entered My Mind / Dancing On The Ceiling / I'll Never Be The Same / This Love Of
Mine / The Girl Next Door

Steal Vybe are back on the cultured Seasons Limited label, this time with Stephanie Cooke adding some fantastic vocals. 'Change' first came back in 2017 in limited quantities on white label only, and now it gets a full release with some new remixes, original remixes and a fresh version from Steal Vybe. That one is balmy, soul-drenched and sun-kissed with a loved-up feel that swells the heart. The Dino & Terry mixes focus on pairing things back a little and going deeper, while French house legend Franck Roger ups the ante with some heftier drum weight.

BRA (Big Room Ambient) is a new label dedicated to ambient and experimental sound, a space for open sonic exploration where electronics and distant musical traditions converge to create evolving soundscapes.

The label’s first release is Harmograph by Matteo Scaioli, a hypnotic and deeply organic work shaped by self-built synthesizers, experimental electronics and masterfully performed tablas. The album, with a run time over 35 minutes, unfolds as a fluid sonic journey, where rhythm and texture interact in a subtle balance between structure and improvisation.

With Harmograph, BRA begins its catalogue by looking toward unexplored territories of contemporary sound.

Closed For The Festival is MIDI Janitor’s fourth full-length and is the follow-up to the Holy To Dogs LP, which was originally released on cassette in 2024 on legendary Vancouver tape label Hotham Sound and then in a vinyl edition by Toronto’s We Are Busy Bodies.

The Midi Janitor’s new album, Closed For The Festival, is a biography of Jonathan Orr’s shadow self.

Born from memories of his childhood spent wandering rural Ireland in Ballymore, Donegal on his grandmother’s Christian commune, Closed For The Festival masterfully straddles the line between warped joy and sinister naivety. As Orr states, “the songs are always trying to get to that moment of taking your hand and walking you into the woods on a pretty spring afternoon and then abandoning you there to figure out ‘how do I get out of here??’”

Closed For The Festival recalls the skewed electronica of Boards Of Canada, the dusted syncopations of Heathered Pearls, and the long-buried treasures uncovered by the Sublime Frequencies label, but is never willfully nostalgic in nature - each track is an incantation in honour of ‘thin places’, where the presence of an eternal moment seeps into the present moment - the uncanny feeling of which has followed The Midi Janitor throughout his life and creative work.
- Steve Ramsay: Young Galaxy, Stars

When Harry met Barney it was a match made in heaven - that's Hary Balk and Barney Duke' Browner. The Duke had worked with Harry since the early sixties on other labels inlcuding American Arts where he wrote Walk On InTo My Heart' for Bobbie Smith. But he really hit his stride at Impact alongside Harry and John Rhys. Eventually the three would make the move to Motown but not before the Duke struck paydirt with his Northern Soul anthem Crying Over You' featured here in its orginal coupling, vocal/instrumental. It was the instrumental that first commanded the dance floor back in the days of the Golden Torch, but today the vocal is king. Whatever your preference we know you'll enjoy our offering couretsy of Harry Balk himself... the first legal reissue in years!

SALES POINTS:
All time Northern Soul Classic - Two fabulous sides
TV advertised and featured in the film Northern Soul

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Kaidi Tatham, with a brand new 12-track album entitled 'Don't Rush The Process'.

This is Kaidi's 4th solo album under his own name, following on from 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards.

To bring you up to speed, Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, recently with the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Andrew Ashong and with longtime accomplice, Dego. This in addition to session and remix work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Marcos Valle, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Frater-Taylor and Leroy Burgess, along with First Word label mates Eric Lau, Children of Zeus, Allysha Joy and Darkhouse Family. Kaidi is also a revered DJ known for rocking parties globally, whilst his solo catalogue spans tons of EPs and releases for labels such as Dego's 2000 Black, Alex Nut's Eglo Records and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature.

This new album 'Don't Rush The Process' opens with an intro of sweet strings on 'Mystery Solved', ahead of lead title track, which is on a mid-tempo boom bap vibe, before switching to a more uptempo boogie vein, with the assistance of The Easy Access Orchestra, who also appear on 'We Chillin' Out', which is on a similar boogie tip. 'All I Need' is some gospel flavoured hip hop, whilst 'Knocknee Donkey' steps things up in a jazz-funk fashion. The second half of the album takes on a very Brazilian flavoured stance, with a set of delicious latin flavoured grooves on 'Any Flavour', 'Runnin' Tru', 'What A Dream' and 'Sooretama', the latter featuring the additional prowess of pianist Robert Mitchell. There's a touch more of the hip hop beats thrown in via 'Funky Fool' and the album closes out in inimitable Kaidi style with a short message: 'Mind Yourself'.

A hugely prolific artist, here he adds to an already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement"), K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") and Kyle Hall.

'Don't Rush The Process' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, July 2022 via First Word Records.

Die Reise von MUNA war schon immer davon geprägt, Raum für die komplexen, chaotischen und ekstatischen Realitäten des Lebens zu schaffen, und mit ihrem vierten Album "Dancing On The Wall" sind sie so prägnant, düster und mitreißend wie nie zuvor. Ausgehend von den funkelnden, mit Konfetti übersäten Höhen ihres selbstbetitelten Albums aus dem Jahr 2022 kanalisieren sie nun die ängstliche, unsichere Energie des Lebens in einem Los Angeles, das von politischen Spannungen, Umweltzerstörung und dem stillen Druck der Prekarität der Millennials geprägt ist. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das sich sowohl intim als auch spektakulär anfühlt, eine Popwelt, die mit Biss, Witz und emotionaler Resonanz aufgebaut ist, ein Soundtrack für Herzen, die gleichzeitig in Flammen stehen und das Chaos um sie herum beobachten. Auf dem gesamten Album erkundet MUNA Sehnsucht, Intimität und Verbundenheit vor dem Hintergrund einer Welt im Wandel. Es gibt eine stille Auseinandersetzung damit, wie man weiterleben, lieben und sich gegenseitig erreichen kann, während man Zeuge politischer Brutalität und systemischer Gewalt wird, und wie Freude ohne Verleugnung überleben kann. Tracks wie "Wannabeher" fangen den schwindelerregenden Nervenkitzel ein, sich vollständig in die Fantasie eines anderen zu begeben, während "Why Do I Get A Good Feeling" noch lange nach dem Ende des Beats nachhallt, eine Meditation über flüchtige Freude und ausgesetzte Möglichkeiten. Das Album schließt mit "Buzzkiller", einer schonungslosen Auseinandersetzung mit Sehnsüchten und ihren Folgen, dem Schmerz, etwas erreicht zu haben, nur um festzustellen, dass neue Fragen, Zweifel und Sehnsüchte zurückbleiben. "Dancing On The Wall" wurde von Naomi McPherson produziert, wobei ihre charakteristische Liebe zum Detail mühelos mit der ausgefeilten Pop-Technik ihrer Bandkollegin Josette Maskin hinter den Kulissen verschmilzt, um lebendige, atmende Welten für die prägnanten Texte und die unverwechselbare Stimme der Leadsängerin Katie Gavin zu schaffen. "Dancing On The Wall" verbindet euphorische Klanglandschaften mit prägnanten, menschlichen Geschichten. Das Album spiegelt einen intensiven, selbstgesteuerten kreativen Prozess wider, der von Instinkt, Vertrauen und vollständiger künstlerischer Kontrolle geprägt ist. Es wirkt lebendig, eindringlich und filmisch und spiegelt eine Generation wider, die sich durch Unsicherheit navigiert und sich dennoch nicht von ihrer Freude abbringen lässt. Mit diesem Album beweisen MUNA erneut, dass Pop gewagt, intim und sozialbewusst zugleich sein kann: ein Album, das nicht nur den Moment einfängt, sondern ihn zu einer Welt destilliert, in der man leben möchte.

Die Reise von MUNA war schon immer davon geprägt, Raum für die komplexen, chaotischen und ekstatischen Realitäten des Lebens zu schaffen, und mit ihrem vierten Album "Dancing On The Wall" sind sie so prägnant, düster und mitreißend wie nie zuvor. Ausgehend von den funkelnden, mit Konfetti übersäten Höhen ihres selbstbetitelten Albums aus dem Jahr 2022 kanalisieren sie nun die ängstliche, unsichere Energie des Lebens in einem Los Angeles, das von politischen Spannungen, Umweltzerstörung und dem stillen Druck der Prekarität der Millennials geprägt ist. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das sich sowohl intim als auch spektakulär anfühlt, eine Popwelt, die mit Biss, Witz und emotionaler Resonanz aufgebaut ist, ein Soundtrack für Herzen, die gleichzeitig in Flammen stehen und das Chaos um sie herum beobachten. Auf dem gesamten Album erkundet MUNA Sehnsucht, Intimität und Verbundenheit vor dem Hintergrund einer Welt im Wandel. Es gibt eine stille Auseinandersetzung damit, wie man weiterleben, lieben und sich gegenseitig erreichen kann, während man Zeuge politischer Brutalität und systemischer Gewalt wird, und wie Freude ohne Verleugnung überleben kann. Tracks wie "Wannabeher" fangen den schwindelerregenden Nervenkitzel ein, sich vollständig in die Fantasie eines anderen zu begeben, während "Why Do I Get A Good Feeling" noch lange nach dem Ende des Beats nachhallt, eine Meditation über flüchtige Freude und ausgesetzte Möglichkeiten. Das Album schließt mit "Buzzkiller", einer schonungslosen Auseinandersetzung mit Sehnsüchten und ihren Folgen, dem Schmerz, etwas erreicht zu haben, nur um festzustellen, dass neue Fragen, Zweifel und Sehnsüchte zurückbleiben. "Dancing On The Wall" wurde von Naomi McPherson produziert, wobei ihre charakteristische Liebe zum Detail mühelos mit der ausgefeilten Pop-Technik ihrer Bandkollegin Josette Maskin hinter den Kulissen verschmilzt, um lebendige, atmende Welten für die prägnanten Texte und die unverwechselbare Stimme der Leadsängerin Katie Gavin zu schaffen. "Dancing On The Wall" verbindet euphorische Klanglandschaften mit prägnanten, menschlichen Geschichten. Das Album spiegelt einen intensiven, selbstgesteuerten kreativen Prozess wider, der von Instinkt, Vertrauen und vollständiger künstlerischer Kontrolle geprägt ist. Es wirkt lebendig, eindringlich und filmisch und spiegelt eine Generation wider, die sich durch Unsicherheit navigiert und sich dennoch nicht von ihrer Freude abbringen lässt. Mit diesem Album beweisen MUNA erneut, dass Pop gewagt, intim und sozialbewusst zugleich sein kann: ein Album, das nicht nur den Moment einfängt, sondern ihn zu einer Welt destilliert, in der man leben möchte.

Blanche Biau, the enigmatic solo project blending 80s wave, post-punk, and shoegaze into a dreamy yet melancholic soundscape, is set to release a remix album of her sophomore record ‘Heartcore’. The new album, titled ‘Heartcore (Remixes)’, will be released via the Zurich based label Subject To Restrictions Discs.

Following the success of ‘Heartcore’, released in July 2025, the remix album brings together a group of artists to reimagine Blanche Biau’s hauntingly beautiful tracks. The remixers include Danzinger99, Donna Haringwey, Lumpex, Lust For Youth, Spear Flower and Milan STHC.

Blanche Biau on the remix album: «Heartcore is deeply personal to me, but I also imagined it as a living, breathing entity that could evolve. Collaborating with these incredible artists has been a dream – they’ve taken my songs to places I never thought possible. This remix album is a celebration of reinterpretation and connection.»

Blanche Biau is a solo project hailing from Zurich, Switzerland. Known for her DIY approach and ability to channel influences from 80s wave, post-punk, and shoegaze into a sound that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking, Blanche Biau has quickly established herself as a rising star in the alternative music scene. Her music combines raw emotion with dreamy atmospheres, resonating deeply with audiences worldwide.

Swedish alt-pop icon Lykke Li, whose career spans the haunting intimacy of Youth Novels to the widescreen ambition of So Sad So Sexy, returns with her most uncompromising statement yet. Signed to Crush Management and already confirmed for Coachella 2026 and a run of South American festivals, her forthcoming album The Afterparty strips things back to raw truth and artist dogma. Built on a shoestring budget but led by high-fashion meets candid, meme-ready visuals, the world of The Afterparty channels early Tumblr and i-D magazine energy—real, raw, and distinctly Lykke Li.

Swedish alt-pop icon Lykke Li, whose career spans the haunting intimacy of Youth Novels to the widescreen ambition of So Sad So Sexy, returns with her most uncompromising statement yet. Signed to Crush Management and already confirmed for Coachella 2026 and a run of South American festivals, her forthcoming album The Afterparty strips things back to raw truth and artist dogma. Built on a shoestring budget but led by high-fashion meets candid, meme-ready visuals, the world of The Afterparty channels early Tumblr and i-D magazine energy—real, raw, and distinctly Lykke Li.

2026 Repress

Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom, oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her music into new territory. The resulting work, Un American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed, slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout, however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of fighting oppression with full hearts of hope.

Originally released on Ezekiel Honig's Anticipate label in 2007, Standing on a Hummingbird is the debut album by Canadian sound artist Mark Templeton, now appearing for the first time on vinyl, newly remastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and cut by LUPO. Working at the intersection of post-glitch, electroacoustic ambient, and textural minimalism, Templeton composes through restraint and erosion, building patient and richly tactile pieces primarily from acoustic sources - fingerpicked guitar, plaintive banjo, muted accordion tones - subjected to careful processes of granulation, filtering, and environmental masking. These gestures never overwhelm the source material; instead, they wonderfully destabilize it. Melodies appear briefly, only to dissolve into dense atmospheres of field recordings: distant streets, birds, water, air. Sounds hover, vibrate, and vanish, much like the wing beating latent in the album’s title.

Tracks such as “Pattern For a Pillow” and “Amidst Things Uncontrolled” articulate this approach with particular clarity, setting languid acoustic figures against churning granular backdrops that feel at once sheltering and unstable. Elsewhere, moments of fragile clarity - fluttering guitar lines, reedy accordion tones - briefly break the surface before being absorbed back into the field.

Heard today, the record offers a clarion, almost spartan strain of textural ambient music: intricate yet unforced, shaped by human touch rather than automated excess. Its refusal of spectacle feels especially vital in a landscape saturated with maximalist digitalia - a reminder that electronic music’s most enduring gestures often occur where sound is allowed to tremble and hold itself just long enough to be felt before disappearing once again. (Alex Cobb, 2026)

"Die ""big voice"" aus Flint, Michigan, die uns den Smash-Hit „Norma Jean“ bescherte meldet sich kraftvoll mit „It’s so Hard“ zurück. „It’s so Hard“ ist eine tiefgründige, gefühlvolle Beat-Ballade mit einer Botschaft, die eine Geschichte erzählt, die wir leider nur zu gut kennen – die Geschichte zweier vielversprechender junger Menschen, deren Leben ein jähes Ende findet, als sie ungewollt in die Welt der Gaunereien, Drogen und Waffen geraten, die sie umgibt. Gestärkt durch eine unverkennbare Detroit-Härte nimmt dich der Track mit auf eine Reise quer durch das Land und verbindet den coolen East-Coast-Swagger der Isleys aus der T-Neck-Ära mit dem entspannten Groove, den die WC-Lowrider-Soul-Szene so liebt. Ein unverfälschter Ausdruck der Gewalt, die viel zu viele junge Menschen ertragen müssen.

"Wired" ist ein harter Neustart für Basement. Es markiert das erste Album der britischen Band seit acht Jahren, eine Wiedervereinigung mit ihrem ursprünglichen Label Run For Cover Records und eine Rückkehr zu jener ungebändigten Leidenschaft und kreativen Intuition, die schon immer ihr bestes Material ausgezeichnet hat. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2009 besteht Basement aus denselben fünf Freunden - Sänger Andrew Fisher, den Gitarristen Alex Henery und Ronan Crix, Bassist Duncan Stewart und Schlagzeuger James Fisher - und derselben alchemischen Verbundenheit. Das Einzige, was sich in den letzten Jahren verändert hat, ist ihr erneuertes Gefühl von Zielstrebigkeit. Und das macht ihr neues Album deutlich hörbar. "Wired" ist das dynamischste, mutigste und inspirierteste Werk, das Basement je geschaffen haben, und bewahrt zugleich die zeitlosen Grundlagen ihres einzigartigen Sounds: grollende Gitarren, mitreißende Refrains und eindringliche emotionale Sprache. Basement sind zurück und laufen auf allen Zylindern, aber sie haben kein Interesse daran, alte Erfolge zu wiederholen. Die gesamte Band war entschlossen, dass "Wired" ihr bisher klarstes künstlerisches Statement werden musste. Der Titelsong ist das drängendste Stück ihrer Karriere - ein sicherer Live-Favorit, getragen von stechenden Gitarren, einem wuchtigen Schlagzeug und einem himmelhohen Hook, bei dem Fishers Stimme in Bestform ist. "Broken By Design" zeigt den gegenteiligen Charakter: düster, zart, bassgeführt, aber dennoch typisch Basement in seiner sofortigen Eingängigkeit und stimmungsvollen Atmosphäre. Nichts auf Wired klingt stagnierend, kein Teil wirkt unausgereift. Die Band ließ sich von einer Vielzahl abenteuerlustiger Vorbilder inspirieren (R.E.M., Interpol, Smashing Pumpkins, um nur einige zu nennen), ohne jemals wie eine dieser Bands zu klingen - und auch nicht wie eine Kopie ihrer selbst. Der Albumtitel fasst all das in einem einzigen Wort zusammen. Die texturalen Konnotationen von "Wired" - metallisch, scharf, zackig - spiegeln die stählernen Klangwelten des Albums wider. Auf konzeptioneller Ebene spricht der Titel für die unerschütterliche Zähigkeit der Band: eine analoge Band, die in einer immer digitaleren Welt erfolgreich bleibt, ohne sich auf nostalgische Bequemlichkeit zu verlassen. Fünf Freunde, die mehrere Trennungen und Neuanfänge überstanden haben und dabei als Menschen und musikalische Einheit gewachsen sind. Basement müssen ihr Schicksal akzeptieren: Sie sind einfach dafür gemacht.

"Wired" ist ein harter Neustart für Basement. Es markiert das erste Album der britischen Band seit acht Jahren, eine Wiedervereinigung mit ihrem ursprünglichen Label Run For Cover Records und eine Rückkehr zu jener ungebändigten Leidenschaft und kreativen Intuition, die schon immer ihr bestes Material ausgezeichnet hat. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2009 besteht Basement aus denselben fünf Freunden - Sänger Andrew Fisher, den Gitarristen Alex Henery und Ronan Crix, Bassist Duncan Stewart und Schlagzeuger James Fisher - und derselben alchemischen Verbundenheit. Das Einzige, was sich in den letzten Jahren verändert hat, ist ihr erneuertes Gefühl von Zielstrebigkeit. Und das macht ihr neues Album deutlich hörbar. "Wired" ist das dynamischste, mutigste und inspirierteste Werk, das Basement je geschaffen haben, und bewahrt zugleich die zeitlosen Grundlagen ihres einzigartigen Sounds: grollende Gitarren, mitreißende Refrains und eindringliche emotionale Sprache. Basement sind zurück und laufen auf allen Zylindern, aber sie haben kein Interesse daran, alte Erfolge zu wiederholen. Die gesamte Band war entschlossen, dass "Wired" ihr bisher klarstes künstlerisches Statement werden musste. Der Titelsong ist das drängendste Stück ihrer Karriere - ein sicherer Live-Favorit, getragen von stechenden Gitarren, einem wuchtigen Schlagzeug und einem himmelhohen Hook, bei dem Fishers Stimme in Bestform ist. "Broken By Design" zeigt den gegenteiligen Charakter: düster, zart, bassgeführt, aber dennoch typisch Basement in seiner sofortigen Eingängigkeit und stimmungsvollen Atmosphäre. Nichts auf Wired klingt stagnierend, kein Teil wirkt unausgereift. Die Band ließ sich von einer Vielzahl abenteuerlustiger Vorbilder inspirieren (R.E.M., Interpol, Smashing Pumpkins, um nur einige zu nennen), ohne jemals wie eine dieser Bands zu klingen - und auch nicht wie eine Kopie ihrer selbst. Der Albumtitel fasst all das in einem einzigen Wort zusammen. Die texturalen Konnotationen von "Wired" - metallisch, scharf, zackig - spiegeln die stählernen Klangwelten des Albums wider. Auf konzeptioneller Ebene spricht der Titel für die unerschütterliche Zähigkeit der Band: eine analoge Band, die in einer immer digitaleren Welt erfolgreich bleibt, ohne sich auf nostalgische Bequemlichkeit zu verlassen. Fünf Freunde, die mehrere Trennungen und Neuanfänge überstanden haben und dabei als Menschen und musikalische Einheit gewachsen sind. Basement müssen ihr Schicksal akzeptieren: Sie sind einfach dafür gemacht.

Weiter geht's mit den Ipecac ISIS-Neuauflagen: "In The Absence Of Truth" ist das Album der Band aus dem Jahr 2006, neu gemastert von James Plotkin. Die 2LP 140gr Vinyl kommt in einer Tip-On-Gatefold-Hülle in zwei Varianten: Standard-Schwarzvinyl und eine Indie-Exklusivausgabe in Eco-Mix-Rot. Das Album baut auf dem vorherigen Album der Band, ,Panopticon", auf und erkundet weiter den klaren Gesang von Leadsänger Aaron Turner (obwohl seine früheren Techniken, die mehr auf Schreien und Growlen setzten, auch noch vorhanden sind). Musikalisch ist das Album dynamisch und reicht von ausgedehnten musikalischen Ambient-Klängen bis hin zu fast tribalistischen Trommelrhythmen. Isis haben ihre langen Songs beibehalten; "In the Absence of Truth" ist mit fast 65 Minuten das längste Album von Isis. Obwohl die Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr existiert, ist ihr Einfluss auf den Metal immer noch spürbar, und die Verkaufszahlen machen es weiterhin zu einem der Top-Alben von Ipecac.

Weiter geht's mit den Ipecac ISIS-Neuauflagen: "In The Absence Of Truth" ist das Album der Band aus dem Jahr 2006, neu gemastert von James Plotkin. Die 2LP 140gr Vinyl kommt in einer Tip-On-Gatefold-Hülle in zwei Varianten: Standard-Schwarzvinyl und eine Indie-Exklusivausgabe in Eco-Mix-Rot. Das Album baut auf dem vorherigen Album der Band, ,Panopticon", auf und erkundet weiter den klaren Gesang von Leadsänger Aaron Turner (obwohl seine früheren Techniken, die mehr auf Schreien und Growlen setzten, auch noch vorhanden sind). Musikalisch ist das Album dynamisch und reicht von ausgedehnten musikalischen Ambient-Klängen bis hin zu fast tribalistischen Trommelrhythmen. Isis haben ihre langen Songs beibehalten; "In the Absence of Truth" ist mit fast 65 Minuten das längste Album von Isis. Obwohl die Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr existiert, ist ihr Einfluss auf den Metal immer noch spürbar, und die Verkaufszahlen machen es weiterhin zu einem der Top-Alben von Ipecac.

With 'Tangkoa II', Belgian producer and multi-instrumentalist Dijf Sanders invites listeners into a vibrant and immersive sonic world shaped by travel, collaboration and instinct. Released via Unday Records, the album grew out of field recordings captured during a journey through Vietnam, later transformed into rhythmic, colourful compositions that feel both intimate and expansive.

Rather than building tracks piece by piece on a screen, Sanders approaches music as something alive and unfolding. Sounds are performed and reshaped in real time, giving the album a spontaneous energy, as if the music is discovering itself while you listen. Together with drummer and producer Simon Segers, he creates a fluid dialogue between electronic sounds and human rhythm, balancing precision with freedom.

Improvisation lies at the heart of 'Tangkoa II'. Contributions from Vitja Pauwels (guitar), Viktor Perdieus (saxophone) and Louise van den Heuvel (bass) bring a subtle jazz sensibility to the music, pushing it toward hypnotic grooves and unexpected turns.

The result is an album that feels warm, physical and constantly in motion. Electronic music that breathes, pulses and draws you fully into its atmosphere.

Nonesuch Records releases Let X=X, by Laurie Anderson with Sexmob. This triple-LP/double-CD set was recorded live during a 2023 tour by Anderson and the jazz band Sexmob – Steven Bernstein and Briggan Krauss on brass, Kenny Wollesen on percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. Its cover and interior packaging feature paintings by Anderson. The album features 23 songs, including many favourites from throughout Anderson’s career, performed in new arrangements – plus one by Lou Reed and Metallica, ‘Junior Dad’. Anderson and Sexmob play more US and international dates this spring and summer (details below).

The New York Times said Anderson and Sexmob’s concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) ‘wasn’t a historical recreation of past recordings; Sexmob’s sound is a beefier one than on Anderson’s albums. With musicians who can double on electric guitar and bass clarinet, its members offered a rich range of textural variation throughout the evening.’

Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned – and daring – creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 40 years. In a recent 60 Minutes profile, Anderson Cooper said she ‘is a pioneer of the avant-garde, but... that doesn’t begin to describe what she creates... It’s experienced by audiences who come to see her perform: singing, telling stories, and playing strange violins of her own invention... she blends the beautiful and the bizarre, challenging audiences with homilies and humor. She blurs boundaries across music, theater, dance, and film.’ The Washington Post has said she ‘doesn’t just tell stories; she draws out every word with a kind of physical pleasure, tasting its flavor as she probes the everyday mysteries of life.’

Anderson released her first album with Nonesuch Records, the critically lauded Life on a String, in 2001. Her subsequent releases on the label include Live in New York (2002); Homeland (2010); the soundtrack to her acclaimed film Heart of a Dog (2015); and her Grammy-winning collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Landfall (2018). Nonesuch released a re-mastered edition of Big Science in 2007 for its 25th anniversary, followed by a vinyl LP re-issue in 2021; the album includes Anderson’s beloved, surprise hit, song, ‘O Superman’, which also is featured on Let X=X. Her recent Nonesuch release was 2024’s Amelia, about renowned female aviator Amelia Earhart’s tragic last flight.

Anderson’s virtual-reality film La Camera Insabbiata, with Hsin-Chien Huang, won the 2017 Venice Film Festival Award for Best VR Experience, and, in 2018, Skira Rizzoli published her book All the Things I Lost in the Flood: Essays on Pictures, Language and Code, the most comprehensive collection of her artwork to date. Recent exhibitions and installations of Anderson’s work include Habeas Corpus at New York’s Park Avenue Armory; her largest exhibition to date, The Weather, at Washington, DC’s Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art; and Looking into a Mirror Sideways at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, which was her largest European exhibition to date.

Laurie Anderson was awarded the 2024 Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, along with Christopher Nolan and David Attenborough, and the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet in her honour: Asteroid 270588, Laurieanderson. That same year, she was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Much like the duo’s music, the story of Rural France is both mundane and magical. Tom Brown (also of transatlantic janglepunks Teenage Tom Petties) and Rob Fawkes moved to London in their mid-twenties. Despite living under the same roof, they never picked up a guitar – except for one drunken, failed attempt at writing a Spoon song (“Big Chops” …don’t ask). It was only after both separately relocating to Wiltshire and starting families that they began assembling songs as a way of meeting up. Tom had amassed a pile of sprightly slacker jams that were calling out for Fawkes’ messily melodic guitar lines. Rural France was born.

After a debut album on their hero, ex-Lemonhead Nic Dalton’s Half-a-Cow Records, they retreated to a garage to record their next two albums: RF (2021) and Exacamondo! (2024), both released on much-respected jangle label Meritorio Records. Despite being lo-fi in the truest GbV sense, both records were warmly received by the DIY indie blogosphere, with their short, scrappy, but supremely melodic songs landing on numerous AOTY lists. RF even won Album of the Year at Janglepop Hub.

Raven Sings The Blues probably summed up the sound best: “With drunken visions of Beach Boys harmonies playing in the back of their heads and hooks that consume Teenage Fanclub cheeriness with the same beautiful brevity that drives Tony Molina, the pair have knocked out eleven rumpled classics.” Album four, SLOTHS, arrives via Meritorio Records and Safe Suburban Home Records on 08/05, and is a slightly different beast. For one, it’s been mixed by a professional – Rob Slater (Westside Cowboy, Yard Act, Thank) – giving the guitars and drums room to breathe. It’s easily their most high-fidelity record to date. It’s also their jangliest, most baroque and thoughtful album yet. But alongside added organ, horns and mellotron – and drums from Tom’s Teenage Tom Petties bandmate Jeff Hamm – it still retains the buzzes, hums and little freak-outs that stick to the duo’s original “Pavement playing Teenage Fanclub” mission statement. “Rob and I both wanted to do something a little slower and a little more melancholy,” says Tom. “We resisted our usual urge to hit the distortion pedal and made something that fitted where we are now and celebrates how we still listen to Meatloaf when we get drunk.”

SLOTHS is also the most thematically consistent Rural France record to date. While it wouldn’t be right to call it grown-up, it definitely has homeowners’ insurance. From the Silver Jews-esque Americana of “Slab” and mid-life rallying cry of “Thirty Seven Forever”, to the horn-embossed loser anthem “Lonely Heart Pyramid Scheme,” the songs celebrate (and rail against) the absurdities of getting older, forming a band in your thirties, and the strange phenomenon of time passing. Because no matter how slow you move, everything else goes fast. SLOTHS.

Punch, gegründet 1969 in Long Island, war eine ambitionierte Hardrock-Band, die mit voller Wucht spielte. Die Band, bestehend aus Dave Stein (Gesang), Ray Kusnier (Gitarre), Tony Giustra (Bass) und Pete Tudda (Schlagzeug), hatte einen Sound, der von Kritikern als ,härter als Hardrock" und ,lauter als laut" beschrieben wurde. Die Musik von Punch hat eine unerbittliche Energie, die durch klagende Gitarrenriffs und einen Gesang, der sich erst schlängelt und dann knurrt, vorangetrieben wird. Während ihrer kurzen dreijährigen Karriere stand Punch mit Illinois Speed Press aus Chicago und Elephant's Memory aus New York auf der Bühne. Sie machten sich schnell einen Namen in der Clubszene von New York, am meisten begeistert war das Publikum aber in Montreal, wo ihre kraftvollen Auftritte echt gut ankamen. Die Band nutzte riesige Lautsprecherhörner, um die Wände zum Wackeln zu bringen, und füllte den Raum mit nur drei Instrumenten, eine Technik, die auch Led Zeppelin und Mountain nutzten. Obwohl Punch nur bis 1972 existierte, wird die Musik der Band mit der Zeit immer lauter und findet eine neue Generation von Fans. Ihr kompromissloser Ansatz hat auch heute noch die gleiche Kraft und erinnert uns daran, wie roher Hardrock klang, bevor Mitte der 1970er Jahre ein ausgefeilterer Sound die Oberhand gewann.

Es war eine einfache Idee: ein Festival zu schaffen, das brillante Musik und Kunst aus aller Welt vereint, entstanden außerhalb des Mainstreams entstanden – Musik, die nicht im Radio gespielt wurde und in Plattenläden noch schwerer zu finden war... Das allererste WOMAD-Festival fand am Wochenende vom 16. bis 18. Juli 1982 in Somerset, Großbritannien, statt. Mit dem Traum, „Weltmusik nicht nur als Beigabe zu einem Rockfestival zu präsentieren, sondern zu beweisen, dass diese großartigen Künstler selbst Headliner sein können”.

An den drei Tagen fand im Showering Pavilion auf dem Festivalgelände eine „Abendkonzertreihe“ statt. Am Freitagabend traten Tian Jin (eine Gesangs- und Tanzgruppe aus China), Simple Minds und Peter Gabriel mit einem „speziellen Festival-Set mit Nicht-Album-Material“ auf.
Live at WOMAD 1982 ist eine Aufnahme dieses Freitagabendkonzerts. Bei dem Nicht-Album-Material handelt es sich um sieben der acht Songs, aus denen das Album Peter Gabriel 4 (Security) bestehen würde. Ein Album, das erst zwei Monate später veröffentlicht werden sollte.

Peter Gabriels Live at WOMAD 1982 versetzt uns nicht nur zurück in die Geburtsstunde eines Festivals, das mittlerweile mehr als 160 Ausgaben in 27 Ländern veranstaltet hat, sondern auch in die Premiere eines Albums mit Songs wie "The Rhythm of the Heat", "San Jacinto" und "Shock the Monkey", die zu zentralen Werken im Schaffen Gabriels geworden sind. „Live at WOMAD 1982“ ist mehr als nur ein Live-Album, es ist ein entscheidender Moment, der zum ersten Mal auf CD und LP erhältlich ist.

Spinnin' Records, one of the most influential dance music labels, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Chapter 1 compilation featuring a selection of iconic hits that have shaped the global electronic music scene. Since its founding in 1999, Spinnin' has been a trendsetter in electronic dance music (EDM), nurturing superstar artists and groundbreaking tracks across house, future bass, big room, and deep house genres.

This edition of Spinnin' 25 Years...Chapter 1 double vinyl LP collection includes memorable tracks from legends like Martin Garrix with the chart-topping hit “Animals”, "Stumblin' In" by CYRIL, "Secrets" by Tiësto & KSHMR, "Tsunami" by DVBBS & Borgeous, “Bullit” by Watermat, “Toulouse” by Nicky Romero, "Show Me Love" by Sam Feldt and 23 more tracks showcasing the signature sound and major contributions to the label.

Spinnin' 25 Years...Chapter 1 is available as a limited edition on green vinyl. The iconic Spinnin' logo is printed with an uv spot varnish on the gatefold sleeve.