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SEVEN's latest release stands as a proper example of how house and techno complement each other. "Saveur de Monbi" exemplifies SEVEN's commitment to blending classic and modern sounds, delivering an EP that is both timeless and fresh. Available exclusively on Beatport from April 18th, 2025 and on all major platforms and in stores on May 2nd, 2025.

A1 - CRYME x Ben Reymann - WTTD The perfect opening track doesn't exist... "WTTD" stands for "Welcome to the Dancefloor" and sets the tone of this EP. Starting with heavy kicks, syncopated low toms, and hot vocals that ease you into the night, it tells a story about how we can feel and let loose while being on the dancefloor together.

A2 - CRYME x Ben Reymann - Acid Array "Acid Array" is driven by a low-resonant 303 bassline and is supported by ever-evolving atmospheric pads that stretch across the entire track. Simple and sharp hats, along with a powerful clap that cuts through the mix like butter, make up a perfect groove.

B1 - CRYME x Ben Reymann - Midnight Journey "Midnight Journey" is a drum-focused minimalistic track. The reverb-soaked, dreamy pads contrast with the rather rough drums, creating a nostalgic feel that is both sad and happy at the same time.

B2 - CRYME x Ben Reymann - Midnight Journey (Volpe Remix) On the B-side, we are happy to have Argentinian artist Volpe on board with his interpretation of "Midnight Journey." He flipped the track, giving it more drive by adding extra drums and changes in the rhythm structure while keeping the reverb-soaked, dreamy pads from the original. His classic, moody filter sweeps fit perfectly on top.

B3 - CRYME x Ben Reymann - Chordance "Chordance" stands out due to a rather clean mixdown. The playful rhythms of the toms combined with soulful chords as the main element and a big pulsating low end round the EP off with class.

Sababa 5 collaborate with India born singer Sophia Solomon on their most exciting double A-side to date, merging Bollywood-style songs with their signature blend of Middle Eastern grooves.

Renowned for their instrumental releases that fuse traditional and contemporary Middle Eastern music with psychedelic rock, funk, and disco, Sababa 5 have also pushed boundaries in collaborations with vocalists such as Shiran Tzfira, Yurika Hanashima, and Inbal Nur Dekel. These efforts have won them support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, and Jeremy Sole, on BBC Radio 6 Music and KCRW. Now, the band joins forces with Sophia Solomon for their latest musical exploration.

Born in Bengaluru, South India, and trained in Hindustani classical music in Mumbai, Sophia Solomon is a versatile, multilingual singer, recording artist, and live performer, drawing inspiration from Bollywood legend Asha Bhosle. A standout moment early in her career - a global tribute to Mahatma Gandhi - ignited her passion for bridging musical traditions across cultures.

“Shehzadi” (“Princess”) is an Indo-disco delight. Solomon’s Hindi vocals soar effortlessly across Sababa 5’s finely balanced arrangement of hypnotic drums, pulsing electric bass, fanning electric guitar, and sparkling synths in a beguiling minor key. There’s a strong hint of 80s nostalgia with a contemporary shine, evoking a Stranger Things meets Bollywood charm.

“Ranjha” (“Lover”) takes on a more Middle Eastern feel, with synth notes that undulate with longing and emotion, reminiscent of traditional instruments like the saz or baglama. The upbeat groove pairs seamlessly with Solomon’s dynamic, hope-filled vocals. Well-timed pauses add dramatic flair, while Sophia’s performance allows space for an exuberant synth solo.

This exciting collaboration marks another bold turn for Sababa 5, infused with new life through Sophia Solomon's artistry. “Shehzadi” and “Ranjha” represent a fruitful exchange of cross-cultural musical exploration, destined to be played on repeat far and wide.

DJ Support: Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Huey Morgan (BBC Radio 6), Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6), Deb Grant (New Music Fix, BBC Radio 6)

On debut album ‘While I'm Distracted’, London-based New Zealander Arjuna Oakes draws inspiration from contemporary soul and jazz, touches of global folk, electronica, modern classical, and post-rock, with dynamic arrangements and production. ‘While I'm Distracted’ is an album about fighting for your innocence and right to be a vulnerable and honest human. Arjuna’s songwriting explores themes of identity, depression, existentialism, social media, loss of innocence, and finding hope for the future through artistic expression.

'I'm obsessed with albums,' says Arjuna. 'I've made seven EPs, but needed time to tackle a full length record. I was using the EPs to learn the craft of how to make a great album, much like a director will make short films before they make a feature. I wanted to take the listener on a journey and spark their imagination. Hopefully the album expresses complex emotions, rather than having an intellectual concept. I'd rather ask questions than answer them'.

Across the album, Arjuna performs vocals, piano, keyboards, synths, production, and wrote the string arrangements. He’s joined by Harrison Scholes on bass, Jo Jenkins and Andre Smith on guitar, Sam Notman on drums, Louisa Williamson on saxophone, Nathan Haines on flute, Kate King on french horn, Leah Thomas on clarinet, Hilary Hayes and Emma Colligan on violin, Chris Van Der Zee on viola, Charley Davenport on cello, Zane Hawkins on percussion, James Macewan on trumpet, and additional production by Callum Mower.

Zara is the first album of Parus ethno-ambient project from Belarus that combines pagan songs that are sang by ethnographer and folk singer Hanna Silivonchyk on various dialects of Belarusian language and mixture of synthesizers and field recordings that where reordered in national parks of the country by electroacoustic music composer - Anton Anishchanka. The songs where collected during ethnographic expeditions in remote territories by Belarusian ethnographers in different periods of time

"What I choose to sing from the vast amount of authentic material are songs that
somehow feel like mine for all sorts of reasons, but that I love to be inside." - Hanna Silivonchyk

"Soniejka" is a summer song from the Dnepr river region, which sings about the readiness to meet life in any of its manifestations, about acceptance and love. "Zara" is also from the Dnepr river region, depicting the main Indo-European mythological story of the heavenly love between the Moon and the Dawn and their melting.

"Ruzovyja cviaty" is a lyrical song from Dzvina river region, romantic and touching, which sings about the very beginning of love between two people. And the song "Oj luhom idu" is a spring song from the territory of modern Poland, from Podlasie region, which tells about the life of a married woman, about the fate that may befall her and how it can be experienced. All of them are about one's own feeling of the present time, one's life, about personal life
experience, but at the same time - about universal human contents and meanings that exist outside of time.

Marie-Pierre Rixain and David Fenech form an unexpected and captivating duo, pushing the boundaries of alternative music. Together, they embark on an unclassifiable sonic journey, blending industrial downtempo, steady kicks, cold percussion, field recordings, and electric guitar feedback. Their music, often dark, carries flashes of warmth inspired by British dub—like an imaginary collaboration between The Bug and This Heat. At times, it echoes the world of La Perversita by Hector Zazou & Co.



Their debut album, Insane Ghosts, due out in spring 2025 on the Parisian label Hublotone, was recorded in 2024 in the intimate privacy of the bedroom. Mixed by David Fenech, it also benefits from the participation of Alexandre Berly (La Mverte) on the track ‘Toi en Moi’, adding a sub and experimental touch. The mastering was handled by the legendary Noel Summerville, whose sonic signature graces iconic albums by The Clash, My Bloody Valentine, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.



The album cover features a striking work by French photographer and filmmaker Antoine d’Agata (Magnum Photos). His poetic and abstract image adds another layer to Insane Ghosts, a project already shaping up to be a must-have for fans of introspective, dark and cold music. Like if Lost in Highway from David Lynch had a new soundtrack.

The indominable Russell Haswell returns! He's a restlessly forward-thinking, multi-disciplinary artist, performer and curator who calls Diagonal Records his home. His past collaborators include Aphex Twin, Gescom, Florian Hecker and Merzbrow. "DeepTime" is Russell's latest LP for the label following on from 2023's 'Reality Therapy'. Whilst "Reality Therapy" was an introverted affair, "DeepTime" is brimming with confidence and aimed squarely at the dance floor.

Russell's club friendly turns are resolutelyprogressivist. Whilst being informed by the works of Claude Young and Jeff Mills, his music feels like it was made in another dimension altogether. Title track, "DeepTime", "Unconformity" and "Atropine" all prove the point. It's techno but it's much more besides.

Aimer Perdre is a movie by the Guit Brothers and tells the story of Armande Pigeon; the queen of shenanigans. In Brussels, she struggles to make ends meet because she can’t stop gambling on everything, always ending up on the wrong side of luck. When she teams up with Ronnie one night, everything changes – they win it all. And when you hit a winning streak, you have to know when to stop.

For Aimer Perdre, Brooklyn NY native Simon Hanes travelled to Brussels in order to work directly with the directors, synchronizing the editing of the film with the composition of the soundtrack so that both processes would influence each other. Hanes and the Guits spent 3 months working alongside each other almost every day, passing ideas back and forth and allowing the soundtrack to grow organically. The music is an honest representation of Hanes’ experiences over those months, which he spent couch surfing across Brussels, sharing meals and ideas with new friends in broken refrains of French and English – falling asleep at the Cinémathèque, and occasionally breaking into abandoned buildings…but thats a story for another time.

Throughout all this, Simon hired musicians he met in bars, members of the Brussels experimental/artistic community, singers from a choir that was rehearsing in the squat where the Guits built their editing room…All the while sculpting the soundtrack out of these seemingly dissolute elements and constantly blurring the line between the compositional process and his day to day life.

Finally the process culminated in hiring the FAMES string orchestra for ONE SINGLE HOUR (all they could afford) to achieve the full orchestral sound the film’s climax so clearly needed.

The end result, like the film itself, is a reflection of life – a hodgepodge of sounds, colors and ideas that come together to create a beautiful, unique tapestry, sometimes harmonious, other times less so.

Comes with a limited edition flexidisc with a bonus track.

Z.I.P.P.O returns to SK11 with his second EP 'Eleven', a collection of four tracks that defy formula while remaining anchored to the roots of techno. Boldly unconventional yet highly functional, each piece serves as a passage: a shift in tempo, tone, or texture, shaped by a deeply personal sonic vision. Rather than offering a fixed narrative, the record encourages fluid movement - between genres, emotional states, and sonic architectures. Eleven is a finely tuned exercise in tension, groove, and release a thoughtful and uncompromising work from one of Italy's most singular voices.

The EP kicks off with the title track "Eleven", which carries the weight of a timeless hymn - balancing melancholy and release through an impactful lead motif, anchored by a heavy, hypnotic kick. "Hypernova" dives into submerged territory, where swinging percussions, chopped vocals, and aquatic atmospheres unfold with eerie precision on its 909 workout. On the B side, "Kaus" moves in a state of continuous evolution: elegant and deep, driven by tribal rhythms and swelling chords that glide into trance-like dimensions. "Replication" closes the cycle with relentless pressure: twisted sound design, full-bodied groove, and a sense of motion that refuses to resolve.

Forms is the debut release from Naturalisten. Behind this name is Rado, one of the founders of the Unknown Species collective. They’ve put together some great underground parties in London through the years, giving space to new talents and sounds, and blissfully ignoring trends and fads.
Rado’s colourful and imaginative take on deep techno shines through all the six tracks here. Fans of the sounds we often hear on the likes of Delsin, Nous’Klaer Audio, Spazio Disponibile, Bitta, Animalia, are likely to find plenty to love here. Starting with the subtlety of “Release The Tension”; passing through the swampy “Against The Tide”, the bleepy minimal drum’n’bass of “Woodpecker”, the acid deepness of “Aves Acid”; and landing on the early-morning atmospheres of “Canopy Dreams”, which we find very much reminiscent of some exquisite James Holden moments from a time long gone.

The final touch to an already beautiful body of work is added by Forest Drive West with his remix of the opening track “Release The Tension”. His reinterpretation slowly creeps in and wraps you up in a wave of low frequencies, before blossoming into an epic outro.

Early support for this release came from Sunju Hargun, Sybil, Aaron J, Benedikt Frey, among others.

180 G. BLACK VINYL WITH LINER NOTES IN CREOLE, FRENCH, ENGLISH

Originally released in 1979, "Spiritual Sound" lives up to its name, a soaring, triumphant album, six tracks of spirit magic from Guadeloupe.

Telluric, intense, terribly alive, the gwoka drums of Guadeloupe carry the identity of a painful and fervent island. Marked forever by the crime of slavery, Guadeloupe's créolité cherishes the ka drums and their natural environment: the low-pitched boula drum with male goatskin, the high-pitched soloist makè drum with female goatskin, the chacha, ti bwa, triangle, calabash and other percussion instruments that surround them, and the voices - the fiery, proud, timbred, urgent voices of the gwoka.



This album is also a legend for its voices: in his then dazzling youth, singer Lukuber Séjor was one of the first gwoka artists to largely feminize the chorus of répondè, who converse with his text delivered in a straight and powerful voice.

And everything here sets new standards. In 1979, Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound proclaimed a spiritual patriotism of ferocious intensity. The album by Lukuber Séjor - whose spelling alone is a battle - sets out to give Guadeloupe the intangible weapons of self-respect and self-knowledge, through a singular practice of traditional music.

The genesis of gwoka music is less straightforward than one might imagine... The drums performed the servile task of accompanying the work of slaves in the fields and during the “corvées” imposed by the administration, before being freely practiced by the common people after the abolition of 1848. At the heart of the conviviality of the Guadeloupeans furthest from the cities - geographically and socially - the gwoka drums come out for carnival, funeral wakes and neighborhood celebrations, but also during strikes, fits of anger and armed vigils of the riots and revolts that have punctuated the island's history. For generations, governors of the colony and then the prefects of the overseas department of Guadeloupe have been viewing the gwoka as a potential for turbulence and a threat to public order.

But as the Beatlesmania, “chanson engagée” and rock revolutions unfolded in Europe, young people turned to the drums of mizik a vié nèg (“bad negro music”, in Creole), which Guadeloupeans had learned to despise by following the “assimilation” process advocated by the school system and most of the political class. At the end of the sixties, in a Guadeloupe mourning the deadly repression of the May 1967 social movement, they played traditional music, refusing to wrap it up in tourist prettiness and madras folk costumes. Instinctively, they played a rough and contemporary gwoka, led by the incendiary Guy Konkèt. This was the era of decisive 45 rpm records such as Robert Loyson's Kann a la richès, which brought to light the fieriest words of union rallies.

At his home in Sainte-Anne, Lukuber Séjor played with flautist Olivier Vamur and his brother Claude Vamur, who cobbled together a drum kit from tin crockery and became, a few years later, the most influential drummer in Kassav'.

These were the years of the Bumidom program, when young Guadeloupeans were encouraged to emigrate to mainland France. At the age of twenty, Lukuber Séjor embarked on the liner Irpinia, disembarking at Le Havre and taking the train to the Gare Saint-Lazare - the route taken by thousands of young West Indians who went on to study or looked for work, all the while trying to maintain a link with their homeland. In this case, it's at the Antony university residence, where Lukuber played the drum and participated in a thousand gwoka updates and aggiornamentos, while exile reinforced the need for a spiritual link with the native land.

In 1978, Guy Konkèt played at the Salle Wagram, a historic event for West Indian music. After serving as répondè - i.e. backing vocalist - on one of his home-recorded albums, Lukuber joined his live band. Little by little, he became one of the key artists on a circuit parallel to French show business. At a student party in Caen, he met a young woman from Martinique who, at the time, was more motivated by her ambitions as a visual artist than by her vocation as a musician. Her name was Jocelyne Béroard and, a few years before she plunged into the Kassav' adventure and became the greatest West Indian singer of her generation, she designed the cover of Lukuber Séjor's LP.

This ambition was obvious and imposed its will. A more or less regular band was formed, with Roger Raspail, Rudy Mompière and Éric Danquin on ka drums, Claude Vamur on ti bwa, Olivier Vamur and Françoise Lancréot on flutes and Annick Noël on keyboards. Lukuber Séjor is set on wanting to extend the gwoka palette to other instruments, as the jazz-rock revolution opens a thousand new doors. Annick Noël will play a wide range of timbres and textures on electric piano and synthesizer. Another novelty: the répondè are two men and two women, Roger Raspail, Olivier Vamur, Françoise Lancréot and Maryann Mathéus ...

Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound is a self-production in which the singer and leader sank all his savings, allowing him no more than a single day in the studio. The first side is more of a musical manifesto, with the first two tracks, Éritage and Penn é plézi, being instrumentals. The third, Son, forcefully celebrates the need for Guadeloupeans to connect with the gwoka. In fact, Jocelyne Béroard's cover shows a tambouyé in the shadow of a cloudy sky, against which a radiant sun is rising and whose light will soon flood the entire landscape. The silhouette and face of this man strongly evoke the immense Vélo, master of the ka, rejected at the time on the fringes of society.

The second side of the LP is surprising. Formally, three tracks are explicitly linked like the three parts of a triptych. Primyé voyaj evokes the appalling tribulation of Africans deported as slaves to Guadeloupe; dézyèm voyaj speaks of the Bumidom program and the economic, political and social forces driving young Guadeloupeans towards the mirage of prosperity in France; twazyèm voyaj closes the cycle with the emigrants' return from Europe after years away from their island...

This gwoka, obsessed with the need to save Guadeloupe spiritually, appeals far beyond the politicized audience. Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound instantly became a classic, although Lukuber Séjor never really made a career for himself as a musician.

After all, the album was released in 1980, with no promotional resources in France or Guadeloupe - and therefore no concerts. The thirty-two-year-old author, composer and performer made his own third trip back to Guadeloupe. He set up a small woodworking business, which he lost in Hurricane Hugo in 1989. His other activity, teaching in a medical-educational institute, became the core of his professional life. He continued to be an active campaigner - a campaigner for the Creole language, a campaigner for the reawakening of identity, a campaigner for special education, a campaigner for a thousand causes that he ignited with his generous and perceptive enthusiasm, such as the defense of breadfruit fries...

The echoes of his 1979 album have not died down. Of course, the use of Penn é plézi as the theme tune for Radio Guadeloupe's funeral notices from 1980 to 1992 kept him in the collective memory, but he continues to sing and compose sporadically, as with his all-female

vocal group Vwapoulouéka... Still convinced that music is a means of liberating the spirit, he continues the journey of a young man eager to deploy the power of Creole music and language.

Bertrand Dicale

Skylax Records proudly presents "Winter Sequences", the debut EP by Arnaud Rebotini on the label and the launch of the Skylax Black series, dedicated to bold, sophisticated electronic productions. For over two decades, Arnaud Rebotini has been a defining figure in electronic music. As a producer, composer, and master of analog live performances, he bridges the worlds of techno, electro, and cinematic scores. Winner of the César Award for Best Original Score for Robin Campillo’s "120 Beats Per Minute", his talent transcends the dancefloor, captivating audiences in both clubs and cinemas. Rebotini is also a master of the remix, collaborating with legendary acts like Depeche Mode, Rammstein, Nitzer Ebb, and Bloc Party amongst others, and delivering a standout reinterpretation of Bronski Beat’s "Smalltown Boy" for the "120 Beats Per Minute" soundtrack. His remix work blends respect for the originals with his own creative power, placing him among the most revered names in electronic music.

The EP opens with “Snowy Sunday Smile”, a track that combines melodic depth with techno power, showcasing Rebotini's mastery of analog live performance in a compelling and emotional way. “Abnegation Electronique” follows with a subtle homage to Drexciya’s universe, fusing deep basslines and hypnotic layers to create a pure and immersive electro experience. On the B-side, “December in G” delivers a live improvisation featuring SH101 and TB303, seamlessly shifting between G minor and G major chords, evoking life’s contrasts between shadow and light. Closing the EP, “Echo Park’s Bells” conjures the enigmatic magic of Los Angeles with dreamy bells and ethereal textures that capture the city’s endless nights. Staying true to his raw, analog aesthetic, Rebotini’s music embodies timelessness and cutting-edge innovation. "Winter Sequences" captures this duality perfectly, blending raw energy with melodic sophistication. An iconic release, "Winter Sequences" is more than an EP—it’s an analog masterpiece, a sonic exploration, and a bold statement cementing the collaboration between Arnaud Rebotini and Skylax Record



Artwork by H5: The cover art, designed by the legendary H5 studio (Daft Punk, Air, Logorama), adds a unique visual dimension to the EP. Known for their globally acclaimed graphic work, H5 enhances the identity of this release with their unmatched creative touch. Available on 12” vinyl. Head to Bandcamp to secure your copy. A must-have for electronic music aficionados.

Ekman returns to Shipwrec! "Five years is a long time. For many, 2020 seems like a lifetime ago. It was in this fabled year that Ekman last appeared on Shipwrec, Kronkel marking a shift from the blackened acid blooms to more considered, yet unsettling, sounds. It is from this audio fount the dutchman returns with Elixer. Throbs of bass and rasping snares shear a path for smoother tones in Alruin Met Cranberry. Injecting the ever-present sense of unease, a menacing melody stalks the constricting recesses as paranoia takes hold. These inner alcoves are further explored in the disturbing Doornappel Met Peer. Spectral synth-lines don a thin shimmering veil, warbling notes tremble while beats offer little relief in this unstable outing. Aquatic undercurrents introduce the flip, a sharp drum slicing through the burbling bass of Codeine En Rozemarijn. From this murky soup, a string ascends as Ekman toys with contrasting tones to produce a piece of acid dipped elegance. Shattered drums pierce the ambient fog of the finale. Alsem Met Anijs blends intricate percussion with soulful strings to produce a hauntingly beautiful dreamscape to finish Ekman's heady brew."

Barcelona's techno powerhouse Oscar Escapa drops sweat-inducing two-tracker 'Enemy Returns' on DCLTD. Title track 'Enemy Returns': a relentless onslaught of hyperspeed techno, pounding kick drum, layers of hissing brushes and a 'womping' bass riff on the backbeat, laced with random off-set industrial stabs, the whole spiced with subtle but hooky variations. 'It's My Life': Escapa once again teams up with Joanna Dark -hers is the robotic voice- for more supersonic techno madness, this time the strata of wild percussion are spiked by a fuzzy bass arp riff, and the spoken automated vocal repeats the title like a mantra, ironically considering the spacey, industrial non-human vibe, while resonant guitar note patterns add a melodic element.

2025 Repress

DJ Koze might be one of the world's best producers, but above all he's a DJ, and it's his DJ ear that governs. J
ust as in a great set, so with his releases: 'Seeing Aliens' came out of nowhere, a big buzzing beast of a track, to announce that Koze was back on the scene and prime everyone for the coming album, knock knock.
But now that Koze has your attention, it's time to remind everyone what's most important about club music, pull things back, take a turn to the left, and get deep into the groove.

Thus 'Pick Up': the second single from knock knock is 100% pure groove, doubly so in the extended 12' version.

In a sense it's incredibly familiar - it is essentially a filter disco record, very close to something you could imagine coming out of Paris around the turn of the millennium. But of course, this is Koze. Nothing is normal or familiar in his world, and he's taken this most foundational of clubland staples into new territory. Flipping amples of Gladys Knight & the Pips 'Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)' and Melba Moore's 'Pick Me Up, I'll Dance', it creates something completely airborne, shot through with emotions such as gods must feel: not quite explicable to the human mind but strong enough to knock you off your feet. In its way it's absolutely as powerful as 'Seeing Aliens', but it comes in like the proverbial iron fist in a glove of velvet.
The flip, a ten-minute new track, 'The Love Truck' is a big contrast again. If 'Pick Up' is giddy flight,
'The Love Truck' is woozy floating. Its sharp, clicking percussion recalls 2000s minimal techno, but this time absolutely nothing is generic. The long, intense, on-and-off bass tones, the flickers of birdsong, the pure voices slipping in backwards as if from the future... it's all like the most blissful dream, and culminates in a coda so subtle yet so beautiful it's like ever time you've ever seen the sun rise and thought 'I never want this to end', all the while understanding deep down that the fleeting nature of the pleasure is also what give it its power. But of course, being created with that consummate DJ's ear, it's also full of the thrill of wondering what Koze has in store next.

As bassist for dance-punk outfit The Rapture, Mattie Safer cut his teeth in the music scene alongside a wave of now-legendary early 2000s NYC acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and more (a time period recently immortalized in the documentary film ‘Meet Me In The Bathroom.’) Fast-forward nearly 2 decades and Mattie has found the sweeter side of dance music as the current lead vocalist for slo-mo kings Poolside, and now he presents his 2nd solo lovetempo project on Razor-N-Tape.

Championed heavily by Gilles Peterson, lovetempo’s modern soul classic 'But I Do' gets a vinyl release with a trio of remixes. Crackazat delivers in his signature style, weav-ing the organic elements and earworm vocals of the original into a deep and jazzy mix. Lon-doner Daisybelle bumps the BPMs up a few notches and adds pulsing synths to her take, and Brazilian duo From House To Disco turn in a dubby club remix to round out the record.

Liner Notes by Martyn Pepperell

A collection of ten hypnotic guitar renditions that dive deeply into the traditional compositional musicality that underpins Harakami’s hallucinatory beatscapes before reconsidering them under a fresh, innovative and engaging new light. River: The Timbre of Guitar #2 Rei Harakami signals a new level of awareness and understanding of both Rei Harakami’s significance and Ayane Shino’s undeniable talent.

VITAL SALES POINTS:

In 1996 Tokyo-based label Sublime Records received a cassette demo from Rei Harakami, a 26-year-old Japanese experimental filmmaker, and musician. Within one year Harakami’s debut LP ‘Unrest’ was released. As the 21st century dawned, Harakami was becoming a critically acclaimed figure, and there was a feeling in Japan that Harakami would be an inevitable successor to such luminaries as Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Sadly Harakami passed away at age 40 in 2011, leaving behind a musical legacy that seemed to deserve more recognition. A fitting tribute now comes from the incredibly gifted classical guitarist Ayane Shino. Continuing her album series ‘The Timbre of Guitar’ (the inaugural release of which was ‘Sakura’ - a cover album of Susumu Yokota's seminal album, released through the Swiss label, Mental Groove Records in 2021), she now presents ‘River ???? : The Timbre of Guitar #2 Rei Harakami’. Ayane has reworked some of Harakami’s standout tracks into an album of tranquil yet complex compositions helping to build a new level of awareness and understanding of Rei Harakami’s significance. A collection of ten hypnotic guitar renditions that dive deeply into the traditional compositional musicality that underpins Harakami’s hallucinatory beatscapes before reconsidering them under a fresh, innovative and engaging new light.

In the years that followed Harakami’s untimely passing, Sublime Records continued to sign and support new artists emerging from Japan’s rich and fertile electronic music scene. This eventually led to a meeting with gifted classical guitarist Ayane Shino in 2020. Although a new name within electronica, Shino’s classical resume is impeccable. She has performed with a range of prestigious orchestras in concert halls and at music festivals across Japan, Europe, and South America while playing classical guitar for numerous animations, movies and television commercials and holding various educational roles. These days, she also hosts the Tokyo Harmonics radio show, which is syndicated through Hyogo prefecture’s Ashiya Radio and TJS Radio in Los Angeles.

During her time completing a masters at Tokyo’s University of the Arts, Shino became fascinated by Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Oneohtrix Point Never, Steve Reich, and, closer to home, Harakami and Susumu Yokota. ”I found myself in an environment where I was surrounded by fellow students who produced computer music, live electronics, and installations,” she explains. Following her meeting with Sublime, Hideoki Amano, the producer and owner of Musicmine, the parent company of the label, asked Shino if she would be open to transcribing and recording an album of covers of the late, great composer, producer and DJ Susumu Yokota’s music in incorporate into then-upcoming events commemorating the 5th anniversary of his death and reissues of his past works. “Yokota made music with the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer and samplers, not in a way like a conventional instrumentalist, so I was aware it might be more of a challenge for her,” Amano explains. Fittingly, Shino was up for his suggestion, leading to ‘Sakura: The Timbre Of Guitars #1 Susumu Yokota’. Song by song, Sakura highlighted Shino’s free-flowing playing and prowess at translating electronic music into classical guitar shapes.
After considering Harakami’s background as an instrumentalist, Amano felt revisiting his catalogue should be the next step for Shino. Well-versed in how often classical versions of electronic music tend to fall flat, he asked her to examine Harakami’s songs closely, select the musical phrases suitable for guitar and create arrangements that would sound interesting to music listeners with a deep engagement with ambient, techno and electronica. In Harakami’s discography, Shino discovered “a sense of simplicity, warmth, moisture and a floating sensation.” “I was gripped by his songs, which had an array of sounds that gave me a sense of mystery but also coexisted with a sense of familiarity,” she explained. Moving beyond his official releases, Shino began digging through YouTube to find live recordings, radio appearances and obscure outtakes. Within her mind’s eye, imagining playing his songs on guitar was effortless. On her approach to the album, Ayane explains: “For this album, I succeeded in spinning some exquisite, silk thread like delicate tones, interwoven with human warmth, gentleness and simplicity. And I was also able to rework Rei Harakami's distinctive sound with a floating feel to it and transform it into a very classical guitar sound. I hope many people will be able to receive this group of sounds that I created in this album that I played with all my heart.” A record of limitless innate beauty, ‘River ???? : The Timbre of Guitar #2 Rei Harakami’ is a delicate and thoughtful body of work. A true masterclass in deconstruction and subsequent rebuilding, and an eternal lesson in how the art that we leave behind can outlive us all.

Running Back is delighted to introduce RB Studio Sessions, a new sub-imprint of music envisioned, recorded and fully realised at Running Back’s in-house studio.
Built on the promise of unfettered creative freedom and aided by agreeable local autobahn connections in the Hesse region, the RB Studio Sessions project is christened with the work of Running Back’s founder, chief dreamer, and Geschäftsführer, Gerd Janson.
For this debut edition, he is joined for a momentous jam by the new-school hero of the house, good friend and kindred spirit, Narciss.
Just as Running Back’s earliest releases dropped a stylus to preserve timeless ideals of club culture, the four tracks on ‘No Maze Like Heaven’ further this continuum by turning back the sonic clock just a decade or so. Picture, if you will, a nascent Narciss, youthfully club
hopping and deeply inspired by the selections of Gerd himself, alongside a selection of DJs coaxing the Panorama Bar blinds open with exquisite, mid-tempo precision.
As such, new light immediately floods in for ‘Chicco’s Chips’, which captures many of those irresistible elements—Italo-tinted synths, hooky vocals, and perfect percussion— regenerated with the wide-eyed, high energy of Narciss’s own solo productions. ‘Elka,
meanwhile, is a richer, deeper dish, masterfully interlocking multiple heavenly melodies under layers of optimistic analogue fuzz.
Narciss and Gerd then look to the Netherlands for further collaboration with one of electronic music’s best-loved vocalists and another fine producer, Coloray, who fills ‘Look For You’ with a yearning performance in the vulnerable, synth-pop tradition. Finally, ‘No
Maze Like Heaven’ builds on this mood and melody for a finale that hits the sweet spot between machine power and oh-so-human emotion.
Featuring labyrinthian artwork from the mighty Gasius., via a sleeve that appears to blend M.C. Escher with MC Hammer, ‘No Maze Like Heaven’ proves to be a divine foundation of RB Studio Sessions. For Narciss, “a memory they will cherish forever.”
For Gerd, a taxdeductible working lunch. For DJs and dancers? Four ebullient hits-in-waiting, sounding great and meaning more.

The Situation collective headed up by Mr Mulatto and Frank Situation return with their much-anticipated new album ‘Audio Proxemics’. Across nine sumptuous tracks it explores a warm array of sounds from jazz-flecked deep house to soulful nu-disco with guests like Javonntte, Faze Action's Robin Lee and more. Situation is a collective of DJs, producers, editors, and musicians who hail from the five valleys of Stroud in the UK. Between them they have deep roots in electronic music and have been entrenched in the scene on many levels from hosting their own events, organising free parties, releasing everything from deep house to tech under several aliases and, since 2014, have established Situationism Records with cultured sounds from the likes of Ashley Beedle, Greg Wilson, Dr. Packer, and more.

This accomplished new album has been two years in the making and began with three tracks recorded by South African vocalist Venessa Jackson while she was on tour in the UK. As well as Venessa’s sweet tones, vocalists from across the globe contribute alongside some core Situation members: James Payne, Phil aka Dr Keys and Jon Gray aka BitterSuite who take care of bass, arrangement, production, and guitar.

It’s a timeless record that spans everything from jazz to funk with real musicality and standout instrumental skills lighting up each track. Underground favourite Javonntte adds deep and smoky tones to the flute laced and sunny house sounds of 'Bullit' while 'Never Taken A Weekend Off' is a lush broken beat sound with radiant synth leads and vocal hooks that echo classic Brit funk. 'Mrs Donovan' is a more club-ready sound with dazzling keys dancing over dusty house drums and 'Fairy Godmother' is a gorgeous slice of disco house with vibrant strings from Faze Action's Robin Lee and an effortlessly cool acid jazz vocal. Add in 'Over & Over', a lovely jumble of chords, organic percussion and life-affirming horns, and the hip-swinging drums and expressive interplay of sax and synth on the uplifting 'Rodborough Groove' and you have an album perfectly suited to bright days and hot summer nights.

Scottish techno thunderbolt Mha Iri returns to Adam Beyer’s Drumcode with her explosive new futurist three tracker EP ‘Neon Storm’. A Drumcode veteran warrior, Mha Iri boasts standout bestselling tracks on DC’s debut Elevate compilation, A-Sides Vol. 12 (‘Bell’), her debut EP ‘The Unexpected’ and 2024’s ‘Bombay’ EP. A YOZE remix of ‘Bell’ also featured on Elevate Vol II.

Now ‘Neon Storm’ launches another rip-roaring year for the Edinburgh artist, following early 2025 shows at fabric and Gashouder for Awakenings New Year, and an incredible 2024: an Australian tour inc. Carl Cox’s Eat The Beat festival alongside Lilly Palmer and Chris Liebing; her EP debut for PIAS Électronique supported by Mixmag, Clash, DJ Mag, Jaguar/BBC Dance; plus releases on Filth on Acid and TRICK.

‘Neon Storm’: the title track juxtaposes rampaging techno beats of pure primitive power, with futurist dystopian elements – fuzzy hoover growls and stabs, doppler builds, and an unsettling robot girl’s vocal riffs. A mysterious operatic choir surprisingly dovetails with the resulting soundscape as the dark sounds become increasingly ominous.

‘Moving Machines’ keeps up the energy with galloping techno, metallic stabs and a chopped melody with a 90s vibe as a rising doppler siren you can feel in your teeth spans a gargantuan breakdown… another shot of dance dynamite.

‘No Return’: similarly powerful, its resistless onslaught of thudding beats, bass snarls and regiments of rattling hi-hats herald spacey FX and an alien-like melodic vocal, alongside a suitably almost-Scottish-influenced melody.

'Neon Storm' is an apt description to this colourful yet chaotic set of tracks that have been making serious impact in my sets across the last months of touring. I wanted to create an EP that represented my energy but drew from the best Drumcode groove style and I’ve been so happy to watch how they go down in Adam’s peak time sets too.’

Christian Kleine continues to unearth long-lost transmissions with Electronic Music From The Lost World: Vol.2 - another batch of pristine artifacts from his personal DAT archive. Much like its predecessor, this release serves as both a time capsule and a reminder of Kleine’s effortless blend of melodic warmth, intricate rhythm programming, punk influences, and a deep-rooted love for the fringes of electronica.
Where Vol.1 felt like an invitation back to the late ‘90s, a time when IDM was still an evolving conversation, this second volume extends the dialogue, revealing more of the sonic experiments and fully-formed pieces that never saw the light of day. Tracks recall specific moments from Kleine’s time living in Berlin, an era of minimal comforts but maximal creativity, where all that really mattered was that the PowerPC, sampler, and synths kept running. This period of introspection, coupled with the musical freedom afforded by cheap rent and late-night school classes, shaped the deeply personal and solitary sound of these recordings.
Visually, Vol 2 shares its origins with the first volume, as Midori Hirano’s stark Berlin photography forms the foundation, and Noah M / Keep Adding pushes the imagery into a brighter, more reflective final space. Final touches remain in familiar hands, with LOOP-O on mastering and lacquer duties, bringing new life to Christian’s OG DAT recordings. 
And much like the classic City Centre Offices era that shaped this sound and Kleine’s early career, this release nods to that legacy. A special limited 7” EP with two bonus tracks, designed in tribute to CCO’s iconic DIY aesthetic, will be available on release day direct from the label’s Bandcamp.