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Following our well received "Prince Philip Presents..." 2LP compilation, here's a lovely overview of the second phase of Philip's career, as engineer & producer at his own studio, HC&F. These ten tracks comprise our favorites from his production catalog, spanning the mid '80s when the studio really got going, right up until 1996 and his last set of proper productions. The album holds a mix of well known classics like the Garnett Silk, lesser known album only cuts like the Frankie Paul, NY dancehall 12" staples like the Scion Success or Shelene, as well as some lesser known gems. We'd be remiss in not mentioning that this album also contains two previously unreleased cuts - a wicked mid '80s Tony Tuff, and the wild vocoder laden 1985 theme song for Philip's "Get Smart" radio show, which ran for many many years on New York University's WNYU radio station.

Die Wiederveröffentlichung von Connie Converses How Sad, How Lovely auf Third Man Records erscheint fast 51 Jahre nach dem Verschwinden der Singer-Songwriterin und ist damit die erste Neuauflage dieses Albums seit beinahe zehn Jahren - und das in jedwedem Format. Die Veröffentlichung umfasst 20 Tracks (darunter eine Bonus-7"-Single mit dem bislang unveröffentlichten Stück ,House" sowie einem neuen Remix von ,Playboy of the Western World", beigesteuert von Dirick Cummins), die nichts von ihrer Eindringlichkeit und Kraft verloren haben. Sie präsentieren eine Künstlerin, die ihrer Zeit um Lichtjahre voraus war.

Die Wiederveröffentlichung von Connie Converses How Sad, How Lovely auf Third Man Records erscheint fast 51 Jahre nach dem Verschwinden der Singer-Songwriterin und ist damit die erste Neuauflage dieses Albums seit beinahe zehn Jahren - und das in jedwedem Format. Die Veröffentlichung umfasst 20 Tracks (darunter eine Bonus-7"-Single mit dem bislang unveröffentlichten Stück ,House" sowie einem neuen Remix von ,Playboy of the Western World", beigesteuert von Dirick Cummins), die nichts von ihrer Eindringlichkeit und Kraft verloren haben. Sie präsentieren eine Künstlerin, die ihrer Zeit um Lichtjahre voraus war.

From the cold North of Sweden, NORNA and LEGBITER deliver a six-track document of contrast, convergence, and uncompromising heavy music. Bringing together two distinct voices, the release explores the many shapes heaviness can take_stretching from crushing, slow-moving atmospheres to sharp, volatile bursts of aggression. Formed by musicians with deep roots in the European underground, Norna approach heaviness as a vehicle for emotional gravity. Their sound is expansive and deliberate, built on massive low-end, tectonic rhythms, and an acute sense of restraint. Legbiter approach heavy music as direct, confrontational, and unrelentingly physical. Rooted in hardcore and metal's most ferocious intersections, the band thrives on immediacy and impact. Legbiter compress time, delivering short, explosive bursts that hit with the force of a live wire. Their sound is lean, aggressive, and unapologetically raw. "Even though we sound very different sonically I think we all have a lot of common ground, not only in being parts of the 90's scenes, but also musically in the somewhat dissonant and harsh guitar parts", says Legbiter guitarist (Rickard Nordström. "Personally, I love splits with bands that don't sound exactly the same, but share some common traits and vibes." "Contrast is everything, we have always tried to flow between despair and beauty. Dynamics are important to us. This split will give you that contrast", comments Norna guitarist and vocalist and former Breach vocalist Tomas Liljedahl. FOR FANS OF Handsome * Quicksand * Fireside * Breach * Helmet * Superheaven * Narrowhead * Metz

HELP(2) ist die Neuauflage einer der beeindruckendsten Charity-Aktionen der jüngeren Musikgeschichte. Bereits 1995 schlossen sich die Größen der britischen Musikszene zusammen, um mit den Erlösen der gemeinsamen HELP-Compilation Kindern in Kriegsgebieten zu helfen. Auch 2026 ist die globale Lage verheerend. Inspiriert vom legendären Charity-Sampler HELP aus dem Jahr 1995 hat sich in Großbritannien erneut ein Community-Projekt formiert, getragen von einigen der wichtigsten Musikerinnen und Musiker unserer Zeit. Ziel ist es, in bewegten Zeiten einen würdigen Nachfolger aufzunehmen: HELP(2). Wie schon beim Original, an dem unter anderem Radiohead, Oasis, Portishead, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack und Blur beteiligt waren, bringt auch HELP(2) Menschen zusammen, um die lebenswichtige Arbeit von War Child zu unterstützen: schnelle Nothilfe, Bildungsangebote, spezialisierte psychosoziale Betreuung sowie Schutz für Kinder, die weltweit von Krieg und Konflikten betroffen sind. Das Album macht auf den dramatischen Umstand aufmerksam, dass heute jedes fünfte Kind auf der Welt in einem Kriegsgebiet lebt. Entstanden ist das neue Album während einer außergewöhnlichen Aufnahmewoche im November 2025 in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den Abbey Road Studios. Als Executive Producer fungierte der vielfach ausgezeichnete Produzent James Ford. HELP(2) vereint eine beeindruckende Liste internationaler Künstlerinnen und Künstler, darunter Anna Calvi, Arctic Monkeys, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country, New Road, Damon Albarn, Depeche Mode, Foals, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Greentea Peng, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, Young Fathers - sowie viele weitere helfende Hände. Die kreative Leitung des Projekts liegt in den Händen des renommierten Filmemachers und Oscar-Preisträgers Jonathan Glazer und seines Teams von Academy Films, die sowohl die visuelle Umsetzung als auch die künstlerische Gestaltung von HELP(2) maßgeblich prägten. Sämtliche Erlöse des Albums kommen War Child UK zugute und unterstützen den Einsatz für Schutz, Bildung und die Rechte von Kindern in Konfliktgebieten weltweit. HELP(2) steht für Hoffnung - für Kinder, deren Leben durch Krieg zerstört wurde - und für die Kraft gemeinschaftlichen Handelns. Es ist ein eindrucksvolles Zeichen der Solidarität von Künstlerinnen und Künstlern für eine sicherere und gerechtere Zukunft. Denn kein Kind sollte jemals Teil eines Krieges sein.

Ora Cogans Musik ist wie Alchemie: teils Instinkt, teils Ritual und immer aus den Ecken entstanden, wo das Leben am intensivsten ist. ,Hard Hearted Woman", ihr Debüt bei Sacred Bones, ist wie ein Zauber für alle, die in einer immer härter werdenden Welt wild bleiben wollen. Mit einer Mischung aus eindringlichem Folk, Psych Rock und einem Hauch von Country schafft Cogan eine Welt, in der Katharsis üppig, geheimnisvoll und lebenswichtig ist. Geschrieben im ,Twin Peaks"-ähnlichen Nanaimo, British Columbia, entstand ,Hard Hearted Woman" aus einer Mischung aus kalten Wasserbädern, langen Schwimmrunden im Fluss, nächtlichen Gesprächen mit Freunden über Kunst und Politik und langen Autofahrten durch die ländliche Landschaft von Lillooet, um ihre Patin zu besuchen. Sie nahm das Album mit ihrer geliebten Band und Gästen aus der Country- und Experimentalmusikszene zusammen mit David Parry (Loving) im Dream Club in Victoria, British Columbia, sowie in ihrem Studio in Nanaimo und aus der Ferne mit Tom Deis auf. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das wie etwas aus Rauch und Meerwasser geglänzt ist - intim, schimmernd und ebenso von Witz wie von Trauer geprägt. Es ist eine wirbelnde, juwelenfarbene Ode an alle Engel und Dämonen. Das Album beginnt mit ,Honey", einem langsam aufblühenden, brennenden Song, der auf warmen Streichern und lockeren, treibenden Percussions aufgebaut ist. Cogans Stimme ist ruhig, rauchig und tröstlich und richtet sich an die ,hartgesottene Frau", die das Album prägt. Der Song, der als Reaktion auf die Anti-Trans-Gesetzgebung geschrieben wurde, strahlt Widerstandsfähigkeit aus, ohne jemals seine Zärtlichkeit zu verlieren. ,The Smoke" steigt auf einem hypnotischen Rhythmus empor, der an JJ Cale erinnert, während er die Form auseinanderzieht. Es ist ein Groove für die Endzeit, in dem Congas, Shaker, geknackte Gitarren und geisterhaft verwitterte Texturen aufeinanderprallen, während Cogan die dunkleren Ecken unserer gemeinsamen Menschlichkeit durchforstet. In ,Division" hallt ihre Stimme durch eine karge, hallende Landschaft. Der Song baut sich auf wie eine Leuchtrakete in der Nacht, ein Plädoyer gegen die betäubende Grausamkeit, die heutzutage zur Routine geworden ist. ,Hard Hearted Woman" ist ein Werk der Hingabe an das Geheimnisvolle, an die Gemeinschaft, an die seltsame Kraft, in einer zerbrochenen Welt Kunst zu schaffen. ,Das ist der wichtigste Teil, die Magie", sagt Cogan. Trotz seines Titels geht es in Hard Hearted Woman nicht darum, sich zu verschließen, sondern um Härte als Widerstandsfähigkeit. Es ist die Hülle, die wir uns zulegen, damit unser menschlichstes, zerbrechlichstes Selbst überleben kann. Es ist ein Album für alle, die versuchen, offen zu bleiben, auch wenn die Welt das unmöglich erscheinen lässt.

Relive the legend of Ys I and Ys II with this sublime symphonic version on vinyl!


The epic arrangements by Kentarô Haneda (known for his compositions on Space Adventure Cobra and Sherlock Hound) reveal the full splendour of the original melodies and pay tribute to the two legendary titles from Nihon Falcom.



The four movements are performed by the King Symphonic Orchestra.



Discover this symphonic suite in a beautiful gold vinyl edition!

"Rough and ready blues played with unmitigated intensity…scorching and soulful, joyous and stomping.
—Living Blues

Electrifying and raucous…one of the few authentic links to pure Chicago blues.
—Chicago Tribune

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials are the reigning champions of raucous, slide-stoked Chicago blues. They’ve achieved legendary status with over 40 years of critically acclaimed recordings and raucous foot-stomping gigs on club, theatre and festival stages all over the world. Slideways is a tour-de-force of old-school Chicago blues played with contemporary urgency.

Shows in support begin on street date in Chicago, followed by Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, New York and Syracuse amongst others. Touring will continue throughout Spring and Summer.

Press, radio and social media focus on album and tour dates, pitching stories and reviews to over 1000 print and internet media contacts around the world. Over 1400 radio programmers worldwide will be serviced and solicited for blues specialty show and selected Triple A and Americana rotation airplay. The album is certain to be welcomed with open arms by the blues media.

Slideways is bursting with Lil’ Ed’s rollicking slide-work and rough-hewn vocals on a joyous blend of smoking slide guitar boogies, raw-boned shuffles, and heart-stopping slow blues. As always, The Blues Imperials supply rock-solid, road-tested and gloriously riotous backing."

Return to the roots of the legend with Symphony Ys, an orchestral album featuring the iconic melodies from the games Ys I and Ys II!
The epic arrangements by Kentarô Haneda (known for his compositions on Space Adventure Cobra and Sherlock Hound)
reveal the full splendor of the original melodies and pay tribute to the two legendary titles from Nihon Falcom.


The four movements are performed by the King Symphonic Orchestra.

Discover this symphonic suite in a beautiful gold vinyl edition!

Allowing yourself to find meaning or beauty in the mundane is an act of generosity, Whether it’s seeing a smiling face in an electrical outlet socket, or discerning cosmic design amidst the forest floor detritus, it comes from a place of kindness to yourself and senses – and openness to hidden spirit of the world. These tracks came together during a period of intense personal change for adaa, rooted in a fruitful reflection on the connections between spirit and body, “feeling my flesh so I can feel and understand my spirit,” as adaa puts it. The sense of a crossover and clash of multiple connected realities – on-screens, on-line, on-earth, off-world, after-life – unites adaa’s multifaceted productions.

Ostensibly an assemblage of found sounds. scribbled thoughts and poems from diaries, and musial snippets, the album's scattered production reflects adaa’s own many mirror worlds. Field recording sit behind most tracks, alongside VST synths, guitars, and a variety of voices, from adaa’s own mangled vox to EVP samples taken from YouTube (recorded sounds believed to be spirits or paranormal activity), all processed to varying degrees.

While the music was mostly produced either in adaa’s studio in Providence, Rhode Island, or in bed, the field recordings bring the outside world in. The result of walks in the woods, hum of roads and highways, hiss of beaches, warmth of walks with friends and past lovers “around the East Coast”. It sits behind tracks like ‘sight’ where a lilting piano lin bobs atop a pond of rustling and distant whistles. Is that birdsong? Or ghosts? Saccharine hyperpop arpeggiation crossfades sharply into noise guitar squall. Angelic demon voices yawn into a hefty crescendo. Pure drones duet with gales of undefinable field sounds.

“Sometimes I feel like a seed in frosted soil,” says adaa. “If i choose to be optimistic.”

If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.

But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.

Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.

Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound.

Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenkini Naare’ was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.

While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious.

Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s.

Mit His Greatest Hits präsentiert Billy Vaughn eine stimmungsvolle Vinyl-Zusammenstellung seiner bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten Aufnahmen. Der legendäre Bandleader und Arrangeur prägte mit seinem unverwechselbaren Orchester-Sound die Easy-Listening-Ära und erzielte weltweit Millionenverkäufe.

Diese LP vereint seine größten Klassiker, darunter „Melody Of Love“, „A Swingin’ Safari“ und „Blueberry Hill“ – zeitlose Instrumentalhits, die bis heute für entspannten Hörgenuss und nostalgisches Flair stehen. Der warme Vinylklang unterstreicht die eleganten Arrangements und macht diese Veröffentlichung zu einem besonderen Hörerlebnis.

His Greatest Hits ist die ideale Zusammenstellung für Fans klassischer Orchester- und Instrumentalmusik sowie für alle, die zeitlose Melodien schätzen

Active for 40 years, Nurse with wound is one of the projects of Steven Stapleton, materialized in a very wide range of hysterical noise over sound collages and cut ups, abstract music, soothing drones and surreal sound paintings, and more rhythmical and mechanical pieces, always inspired by Dadaism and Futurism, Krautrock, jazz improvisation, surrealism, never losing his main goal, that is having fun and enjoying himself.He has had many collaborators, a recurrent one in the 80s and 90’s being Current 93’s David Tibet, another noticeable one still at work with him is Andrew Liles.The main line of this unpredictable sound builder is hectic and uncompromised, his point of view is that everything is possible and applies it to himself. As a youngster he wanted to be an artist so decided he was one . He is not a musician, and says he has no interest in becoming one. Surprisingly, (or not!), the love of his life is building sculptures out of recycled and reclaimed materials, building things with anything, even junk. And sounds, we are a witness to it.With these very strange juxtapositions of styles and manners, female rap music and 50s and 60s lounge music having a special top priority in Steven’s tastes, and a creativity that has no bounds no taboos, with a taste of novelty every time, Nurse with wound will no doubt continue to surprise people listening to his works, and himself, as he wants to keep it fresh every time, mostly for him.

2026 Restocked!

If you've been following the Payfone story over the last 13 years, you'll know that Phil Passera and Jimmy Day's long-running collaborative project has specialised in one-off musical morsels - sublime songs cooked up in cahoots with all manner of guest musicians and vocalists. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Day and Passera have now delivered a full six-track tasting menu in the shape of Lunch, their hotly anticipated debut album.

Recorded over an 18-month period at Passera's Barcelona studio and Day's studio in Brighton, Lunch is an unsurprisingly assured and musically detailed affair that's entirely made up of previously unheard songs. Unlike acid-flecked recent single 'Volt To Volt', which delivered a tweaked take on late 1980s house music, the album's six tracks showcase the trademark sound the duo has been developing since first joining forces 13 years ago.

Trawl back through Passera and Day's high-quality catalogue, which includes outings on Leng, Golf Channel Recordings and Defected as well as their own OTIS imprint, and that distinctive musical recipe becomes clear. Rooted in their love of classic drum machines and their trusty JUNO-60 synthesiser, the Payfone sound combines equal amounts of electronic and organic instrumentation, warm and inviting downtempo and mid-tempo grooves, and pertinent and thoughtful lyrics delivered with panache by an impressive roll call of guest vocalists.

Lunch, then, is a standalone sonic statement - an initially vinyl only album on their own OTIS imprint - that continues this impressive lineage. Like all Passera and Day's collaborative work, it is free of samples, with the pair preferring to create their own sounds from scratch. Opener 'Movin' On', featuring the honeyed vocals of former XL Recordings artist Willis Earl Beal AKA Nobody and slap-bass from Jo Gabriel Harris (who also features on three other songs across the album), is a deep and effortlessly evocative mid-tempo delight that perfectly sets the tone for what's to come.

Brooklyn-born April Pittman and Russian/Armenian vocalist Zara Kian lend their talents to woozy, sun-baked shuffler 'Paperman' before regular Payfone collaborator Ludmilla Rodriguez headlines 'Joan of Arc', a veritable Mediterranean breeze rich in tumbling analogue synth synths, elastic bass and tumbling guitar solos. Those yearning for a touch of lightly disco-flecked dancefloor heat will savour 'Spend The Night', where Los Angeles singer Collette Tibbetts AKA Carmella The Balls, accompanied by virtuoso keys courtesy of Parisian pianist Gabriel Cazes, rises above a sweet, melodious, dub disco-adjacent backing track. In contrast, 'Pamela' is low-slung and hypnotic, with 'Sofian' vocalist Barbara Alcindor ushering us through a deep, heady groove-scape.

Fittingly, Passera and Day round off Lunch via a vibrant and potent sweet treat, 'Pony Bar'. Headed up by the J.J Cale-esque lead vocals of man of mystery Leon Lace, the pedal steel-sporting song joins the dots between dusty Americana, kaleidoscopic Balearic beats and lilting, slow-motion disco. Like the rest of the album, you'll be thinking about it long after you've washed down the last few musical mouthfuls.

On the 25th August, Burna Boy will release his brand-new album ‘I Told Them…’. It will be available to stream everywhere as well as on CD & Vinyl. The Pre-order will go live alongside the album announce on the 28th July. ‘I Told Them…’ features Burna’s newest hit singles ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World (feat. 21 Savage)’, ‘Talibans II’ & ‘Big 7’ as well as a whole host of album features.



Burna Boy was born Damini Ogulu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, in 1991 and began making music at just ten years old. As a teenager he honed his craft on Nigeria’s southern coast, delving into dancehall, reggae and Afrobeat’s. In the early 2010s Burna Boy emerged as one of Nigeria’s fastest-rising stars, combining influences from his Nigerian heritage with hook-filled pop stylings to create unforgettable tracks. His 2012 single ‘Like to Party’ broke into the global mainstream and paved the way for his full-length debut L.I.F.E, a year later.



Over the next five years, Burna Boy released two more albums and collaborated with a long list of high-profile artists including J Hus, Skales, Fall Out Boy and Lily Allen. African Giant was released in 2019 followed by his fifth album Twice as Tall in 2020 (which featured collabs with Chris Martin and Youssou N'Dour), both charted in several countries across the globe andgarnered worldwide acclamation, with the latter winning a Grammy Award for ‘Best Global Music Album’. Breaking cultural boundaries, he became the first Nigerian to headline a show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, he released his sixth album, Love, Damini, last year (featuring collabs with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Khalid). It deservedly became the highest-charting Nigerian album in history and currently holds the record for the only African artist to earn a no. 1 on iTunes in 16 countries worldwide.

2025 REPRESS ON TRANSPARENT GREEN VINYL


Compiled by Philip King “And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.” NICK KENT, NME. All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure. Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms, ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course) these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother of invention. At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records). The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased track You Will See, released April 12th 2025. There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk / underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now. Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP. Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7” and lost until now. The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the main refrain. The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive, robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner. All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?

Das französische Duo Lilly Wood & The Prick, bestehend aus Nili Hadida und Benjamin Cotto, prägt seit 2006 die Pop- und Indie-Szene. Bekannt wurden sie zunächst durch ihre Mischung aus Folk, Pop und Elektro, bevor der internationale Durchbruch mit dem Robin-Schulz-Remix von Prayer in C gelang - ein Welthit mit über 1 Milliarde Streams und Diamant-Auszeichnung. Für ihr Debütalbum Invincible Friends erhielten sie den Victoire de la Musique-Preis als "Publikumsentdeckung". Es folgten erfolgreiche Alben (The Fight, Shadows, Most Anything) und weltweite Tourneen, von europäischen Festivals bis nach Australien. Mit CHRISTINA, ihrem fünften Studioalbum, schlagen Lilly Wood & The Prick ein neues Kapitel auf. Produziert von Myd, steht das Album für klare Beats, elegante Hybrid-Sounds und eine kompromisslose Richtung. Der Titeltrack Christina ist mehr als ein Song: Er thematisiert Schönheitswahn und Selbstinszenierung im Social-Media-Zeitalter - verpackt in hypnotischen Electro-Pop. Weitere Highlights wie Swear zeigen die neue Energie des Duos: direkter, moderner und voller popkultureller Wucht.

Kulture Galerie releases its 3rd Digital Artefacts cassette tape: "Mediterranean Blue" by NYC's own Alien D. Alien D is back on Kulture Galerie. Prior to this, Daniel Creahan has been featured on labels such as Lillerne Tapes, Banlieue Records, and Theory Therapy, and now shares a 6 track EP called Mediterranean Blue that lands on Filippo MSM's tapes series Digital Artefacts, the label's more experimental output.

The work is something of a companion piece to his recent release on Theory Therapy, “For the Early Hours of the World in Bloom,” exploring similar states with a more hazy, fluid sensibility. The compositions here trace back to a week spent several years prior on the Puglia coastline, where, in the midst of a read through of Helene Cixious’s Tomb(e), he began compiling a series of works drawing the gleaming sun, swirling waves and jagged, rocky coastline of the region, mixing in fragments of slow, pulsing low end, wafting synth elements and a range of processed samples dwelling on states of transition, life and love. Waves and dripping water swirl around lilting saxophone, kick drums drown the mix in heavily side-chained throbs of bass, and breaks rush in and out of the mix, making for a series of recordings that seem to view the dancefloor as a dream, always front of mind but hazily remembered.

“I was obsessed with these balances between the light-washed, dusty landscape and these quiet modest homes dotting the hills, and all I could think about was the passage of time, falling in and out and back in love, and the slow drift of memory,” he says. “It was like waking up with a new thought.”

Lillian King's debut album In Your Long Shadow is out October 24th. It is about letting the wind in, Lake Michigan in the winter, and the silence of a long summer evening. And really it's about the grief of losing her dad, Neil King Jr. When her dad died in September 2024, grief permeated every facet of Lillian's life. The loss is felt in everything, but especially when doing the things her dad loved the most -- the simple everyday good things that make life worth living: cooking, walking the longer way to work, swimming in cold water. In the throes of grief it feels impossible to find anything that doesn't just make you sadder, but when Lillian did find those things, she grabbed onto them. Soon it was clear that the best coping mechanisms weren't gin and tonics, but talking to her mom and sister as much as possible, and producing an album. The album arrangement came together in a couple of weeks as Lillian brought bandmates and friends Robert Salazar and Nick DePrey new and old songs to build on. Robert played the drums, while Nick played keys (with a smattering of bass and guitar). The process was collaborative and intimate, and only got better when Jack Henry (producer of albums by Friko and Free Range) joined to record and mix it. Some of the songs on this album are years old, including "Underwater", which Lillian wrote one late night in Montreal a decade ago. However, most came together in the months approaching recording."Dragging Dirt" was written just a week before getting into the studio. Despite the bummer material, the recording process was spontaneous and light hearted. The song "Echo" came together unexpectedly during a break between songs. In the midst of recording In Your Long Shadow, Lillian had concerns about making a "grief album." Her sister Frances, as usual, had the right advice: "Every album from now on is going to be a grief album." In Your Long Shadow is about loss as much as it is about living with it. Take it outside on a walk.

Hailed as "one of the finest ambient and dub techno albums around," Deep Ground earned Purl a place in the hearts of many lovers of the deeper side of electronica. Enthusiasts on Discogs describe it as "one of the best dubtech albums ever - hypnotic, mesmerizing & deep" - and compare it to luminaries like Biosphere and bvdub for its "warm deep calming sounds and atmospheres." Reminiscent of Wolfgang Voigt's GAS project, the seminal 2011 album by Purl (Ludvig Cimbrelius) is finally reborn in a remastered 3xLP vinyl reissue on LILA ART. Originally released on the revered Silent Season label based in British Columbia, this ambient techno masterpiece has continued to captivate listeners year after year. In many ways like a darker sister to 154's ethereal techno epic "Strike", Deep Ground echoes the misty forests and quiet expanses of Cimbrelius' youth in Sweden. As the artist reflects in a poem accompanying the release: "We are consciousness, rooted in the deep ground of being. The deep ground of being is where all things begin and end. The deep ground of being is eternal." This ethos permeates every layer of Purl's expression; crafting sonic sanctuaries that remain intimate while evoking the infinite.

Delicately remastered for vinyl by Giuseppe Tillieci (Neel) in collaboration with Purl. Limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Drawing from her constant searching for her own unique sound she filters her love of rhythm and groove through her Nordic sensibility to create an accessible, compelling blend of excitement and introspection. Growing up on the island of Saaremaa in her native Estonia, Britta Virves was a keen piano student playing a strictly classical repertoire. A chance encounter introduced her to jazz: "I wanted to learn guitar. So I went to my teacher Tit Paulus, and he told me to stay with piano, and introduced me to Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans - my mind was blown - a new world opened up." Britta immersed herself in the music and her talent soon attracted attention.

Moving to Sweden to further her studies, she was soon touring Europe with the acclaimed Norrbotten Big Band, under the direction of Joakim Milder, working closely with featured guest vocalist Genevieve Artadi and accompanying Artadi on a duo tour opening for Louis Cole. Each tune on the album draws inspiration from an aspect of Britta's own life. "Simple Things" has the directness of a pop song married to the depth of jazz, as Genevieve Artadi's ethereal vocals float over an insistent backbeat that supports limpid depths of harmony.Other tracks include "Bravery", whoch showcases the subtlety and dynamic control of the rhythm team and is one of Britta's favorite tracks on the album - "I feel it's like a big waterfall that's rushing down and making its path just by flowing naturally." By contrast, "Chances" plays with a neatly delivered set of accents that tie the roots effortlessly

GATEFOLD DOUBLE VINYL WITH SPOT UV FRONT COVER

Following the skewed-unself-help-brilliance of ‘Sus Dog’ (which marked his first full foray into songs, abetted by Thom Yorke), and its companion piece ‘Cave Dog’, Chris Clark returns to the dancefloor’s simple, but no less affecting pleasures, with ‘Steep Stims’.
“I found it hard to pull away from listening to this record, hard to stop making it, I had to remove myself from the Stims and stop enjoying it at some point. The album feels like nature to me. I love it when electronic music feels more naturalistic than acoustic music, more potent, that’s the devil’s trick, the promise of electronic music.” comments Chris.
“I used an old synth - the Virus on all of the tracks. I used it at Mess in Melbourne - run by my friend Robin Fox - I loved it so much I had to buy one when I got back to the UK, it took a while to find. They’re a bit clunky to program but make some of my most favourite sounds.”
‘Steep Stims’ marks a back-to-basics approach, invoking the early years of gung-ho creativity enforced by limitations in technology at the time. “Most of the tracks on this album capture the spirit of making music on old samplers, which don’t have much memory time”, explains Clark. “It reminds me of making ‘Clarence Park’, my first album, where I would have to finish tunes in the session, as they would be saved on floppy disks and I couldn’t easily go between tracks. This new record is just a few synths and a few choice sounds; the writing is the important thing.”
Made quickly, ‘Steep Stims’ reflects the immediate rave energy of his live show, but that’s not to say it’s basic floor fodder, as it’s rife with personality, synth magic, and knack for melody. Although swift and impressionistically captured rather than laboured over, it’s still formidably deft, with plenty of oddball weirdness lurking beneath the dancefloor.
Soft, orange, scorched, brutal, the opening track ‘Gift and Wound’ captures the classic dance music dread / awe / euphoria combo perfectly, before ‘Infinite Roller’ merges sparkly-minimalism with snarling bass and soft sines, which turn more dense and metallic as it progresses.
The melancholic smoke belch of ‘No Pills U’ gives strong classic vibrations, which is belied by its creation, made in just 20 minutes. “I love working quickly sometimes”, comments Clark. “Inspiration hits, rough and ready. It’s off the cuff but also screams ‘don’t gild the lily with nonsense, keep it simple keep it clean’”. Segueing into its elder brother, the piece becomes bigger and beatier on ‘Janus Modal’, where it permutates for over 7 minutes of fluttering, beatific club majesty.
At ‘18EDO Bailiff’ you inexplicably find yourself at a clearing, things have suddenly got much quieter. You enter a decrepit and eerie old house, and as you move through its unsettling interior, you arrive at ‘Globecore Flats’. A real piano tuned to 18 notes per octave gives the pair of tracks a haunted, olde worlde feel, which promptly gets eaten by a huge tech step tearout monster, birthing a strange but exotic beast.
The white hot ‘Blowtorch Thimble’ is all hooktasm-rave-hyper-amen-energy, whilst acidic flute leaps around like Ian Anderson on pingers throughout the catchily simple jump-up lurch of ‘Civilians’.
“‘In Patient’s Day Out’ is like some sort of Morricone-does-kraut-rock-with-drum-machines, but that’s probably just in my head” says Clark. “I made several versions of this then went with the early mix but cranked through some choice outboard because it just had something.”
Drumless, yet still full of exhilarating-big-trance-drama, ‘Who Booed The Goose’ flashes by in stroboscopic fast forward, then ‘5 Millionth Cave Painting’ gives a palate cleanser, letting “the virus with its delicious broken, luxurious reverb have a moment”, before ‘Negation Loop’ swoops down in all its glory, with Clark’s tweaked vocals leading deconstructed trance breakdowns, tape edits and brutal noisebursts.
An antidote to the bombast of its predecessor is ‘Micro Lyf’, which closes the set on a poignant note, of sorts. Muted staccato gives way to field recordings “that gradually put it in this outside space; alien in a meadow somewhere nameless. It feels like a sinkhole. The record kinda swallows itself up and then is gone”, ends Chris.

Long-time NuNorthern Soul contributor, B.J. Smith is a man in demand, dividing his time between solo work, playing guitar in Crazy P man James Baron’s popular JIM outfit, collaborating in a variety of well-regarded projects (Smith & Mudd, Bison and White Elephant amongst them) and composing for TV. Due to this impressive list of musical commitments, solo releases have been few and far between of late, with Smith’s most recent NuNorthern Soul release, a stripped back version of his Big Sur single, dropping late 2023.

It's been ever longer since he delivered a volume in his popular and ongoing Dedications To The Greats series, where the singer-songwriter and composer successfully turns his hand to other people’s songs. Since debuting the series on NuNorthern Soul in 2013 via revelatory and inspired covers of tracks by Mos Def and the Pharcyde, Smith has covered cuts by Outkast, Prefab Sprout and Soul II Soul.

On volume four, Smith’s first volume in the series for five years, he delivers a “cover of a cover” – a revolutionary and imaginative interpretation of Billy Swan’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, itself a version of a song first made famous by Elvis Presley. It was their mutual love of Swan’s version that brought Smith together with the release’s most prominent guest artist, Joe Harvey-Whyte, whose lilting, bittersweet and deeply emotive pedal steel performances can be heard across the EP.

Smith provides three contrasting takes. The EP is led by the ‘Mother Earth’ version, a slowly unfurling epic in which waves of effects-laden pedal steel and sun-splashed picking acoustic guitars usher in Smith’s eyes-closed vocalisations, settling into a groove reminiscent of his collaborative work with long-time friend and collaborator Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy that showcases Harvey-Whyte centre stage to joyful effect. As the 14-minute epic progresses, we’re treated to long, languid electric guitar solos, percussion-laden slow-motion builds and hazy, stretched-out organ solos. It’s a breathlessly brilliant concoction that’s a million miles away from either Swan or Presley’s versions.

In contrast, the similarly epic ‘Earth Heart’ version – available in full vocal and instrumental takes – pushes the song front and centre. Following an extended build up, where Tamar Osborn’s gorgeous and fluid flute motifs rub shoulders with languid guitar solos and Harvey-Whyte’s pedal steel, Smith takes to the mic, delivering an emotive performance of the song’s heartfelt lyrics over a hushed, slow-motion groove. The track builds in waves as it progresses, with Smith layering up instrumentation as it rolls towards a fine conclusion.

Completing a superb package is the ‘Root Heart Version’, a Balearic-meets-Americana take built around shuffling drums, toasty bass guitar, extended pedal steel instrumentation, flashes of flute and Smith’s sun-bright acoustic guitar. Loved-up and more than a little saucer-eyed, it’s a bona-fide sunset delight.

Superfly Studio proudly presents its milestone 50th release – the brand-new single Dub Princess & Dreadsquad

One of the most exciting voices in modern soul returns with Lilly - a deeply personal new album from Amsterdam-born singer, songwriter, and producer Danny Kuttner.

Blending 90s neo-soul, ECM-inspired jazz, and leftfield electronics, Lilly will resonate with fans of Hiatus Kaiyote, James Blake, and Billie Holiday – which Kuttner cites as some of the album’s key influences.

An emotional tour-de-force, the album is shaped by raw introspection and inspired by the passing of her grandmother. A stunning record that invites listeners into a world of vulnerability and sonic depth, and a must-have for vinyl lovers seeking soul, story, and standout production.

Mit Spot The Difference begibt man sich auf eine Reise im chiaroscuro, die das Projekt Balcony`s Paradise in einem neuen Licht erscheinen lässt. Psychedelik setzt eine Veränderung der Wahrnehmung voraus. Vom ersten Stück an machen wir uns auf den Weg in einen zeitlosen Klangraum aus Echos und Resonanzen. O`tool (Chuckamuck/Die Verlierer) ging dieses zweite Album ursprünglich an, indem er zu den Ursprüngen des ersten Albums zurückkehrte, in die Tiefen des australischen Outbacks. Von dort kehrte er mit Songs wieder, die mehr strukturiert, weniger improvisiert, aber genauso eingängig sind. Man findet diesen wilden Charme, eine Garage, die wie aus dem Ärmel geschüttelt scheint. Auf dem Album finden sich auch mehrere Coverversionen, von u.a.Television Personalities, M.O.T.O. sowie Jeff Clarke, Mitglied der Black Lips - Bands, die O'tool musikalisch schon lange beeinflusst haben.

"Hidden City" (2016) is The Cult"s tenth studio album - produced by Bob Rock and written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. It"s the final part of a trilogy that witnessed the rebirth of the band, beginning with "Born Into This" (2007), which evolved into "Choice of Weapon" (2012), and arrived fully formed, kicking and screaming with the seductive "Hidden City". The sonic assault of "Dark Energy" is the perfect intro to this album. Peel away the layers of this 12-track master class in space and time, and you will discover a band in their absolute prime. Which comes as no surprise, as the Cult have existed in the shadows and wild spaces since their inception. Remastered for vinyl by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound, and cut by John Webber at Air Studios.

"Hidden City" (2016) is The Cult"s tenth studio album - produced by Bob Rock and written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. It"s the final part of a trilogy that witnessed the rebirth of the band, beginning with "Born Into This" (2007), which evolved into "Choice of Weapon" (2012), and arrived fully formed, kicking and screaming with the seductive "Hidden City". The sonic assault of "Dark Energy" is the perfect intro to this album. Peel away the layers of this 12-track master class in space and time, and you will discover a band in their absolute prime. Which comes as no surprise, as the Cult have existed in the shadows and wild spaces since their inception. Remastered for vinyl by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound, and cut by John Webber at Air Studios.

There’s something Stavroz wants to share with you. ‘Take a seat’



Let it all sink in. Let your feet rest. Let your thoughts drift. Stavroz invites you to step away from the noise, from the scrolling, from the pre-packaged nonsense, from the GPT’s doing the thinking for you. It’s a gentle reminder to pause. To breathe. To remember how it feels to simply… wonder.



Stavroz offers their soundtrack to take that step back with them, guided by them. A journey, spanning over one hour, touching different genres while maintaining their signature sound. Stavroz has matured.



14 songs join you in that step, on vinyl no less! All the more reason to avoid skipping to the instant satisfaction part. Just start on side A and end on side D. Pop it on your record player, turn up the volume… and take a seat.

»What about Love« is MONKyMAN's personal journey through solitude, love and connection: An honest, heart-driven record exploring spirit, romance and community in a chaotic world.

Written over the course of three years and recorded live on analog gear only with no loops or plugins, the album blends warmth, vulnerability, and a message of hope. Produced with Drew Deal at Sundown Studios with guests from all over the planet, it invites you into a space of reflection, belonging and joy.

Genre-defying and soul-centered, the album unites meditative moments and heavy grooves, moving from the question »What about love?« to the simple realization: »I feel better in love.«
Downloads

LIMITED ITALIAN IMPORT. 500 ONLY.

Introducing "BLACK WAVES", a cinematic soul journey rooted in social justice, love, and introspection.

From the vibrant streets of Rome, Luca Sapio crafts an evocative musical landscape that echoes the soulful activism of Marvin Gaye’s "What’s Going On", Curtis Mayfield’s "There’s No Place Like America Today", and Eugene Mac Daniels’ "Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse".

Infused with the timeless sounds of Italian vintage soundtracks—Piero Piccioni, Ennio Morricone, and their cinematic grandeur—this album is a powerful blend of social awareness and heartfelt emotion.

Among the guests legitimising the sound of the album are the legendary Dennis Coffey (Original Motown Funk Brother) Rob Harris (Jamiroquai) and the veteran Boston rapper Ed O.G. along with the same strings used by Ennio Morricone.

Record mastered by grammy winner Mike Bozzi

Hailing from Roma, Italy, Luca Sapio is a celebrated singer-songwriter and record producer, known for his soulful contributions to the music industry.

With a career spanning over a decade, in 2012, Luca released his debut solo album, "Who Knows", which achieved notable success on the German and French charts and was recognized as the best independent record by SIAE, Italy's copyright collecting agency.

In 2014, he solidified his partnership with producer Thomas Brenneck and released his sophomore album, "Everyday Is Gonna Be The Day” once more backed with members of the Dap-Kings and the Budos Band.

In syrupy slow pursuit of a strong 2023 debut, Yungwebster's somnolent sequel is bolstered by pitch-perfect production from Space Afrika and Nathan Melja, who vaporise the rapper's auto-tuned post-Future drawl with euphoric orchestral drones, brittle micro-trap beats and weightless pads.

Over a decade ago at this point, Future released 'Codeine Crazy', the decelerated finale of 'Monster', one of his best-loved mixtapes. The track neatly summarised themes the Atlanta rapper had been circling for years at that point, layering his slurred, lean-dizzy rhymes over producer TM88's rubbery, melancholy synths. "Take all my problems and drink out the bottle," he moaned robotically, using the track's minor key bounce to represent the crushing delirium that followed fame and its tasting menu of intoxicants. It's still Future's high water mark creatively, and its traces can be observed in a full spectrum of contemporary sounds, from 6LACK's downtrodden, self-aware R&B to Lil Uzi Vert's feverish trap. But it's Yungwebster who's taken the haze to its logical conclusion, reimagining the Magic City-sculpted bumps as hypnagogic Actavis- 'n Xanax-hued ambient music. You could argue it was bound to happen - the more you sip, the slower it gets - and plays as a cracked mirror to cloud rap's long-smoked hybrid of Southern psychedelia and post-OutKast eccentricity.

Webster's opiated POV is clearer than ever before on 'II'. Just peep the cracks in his voice on the Space Afrika-produced opener 'Skyfall' as he coughs and splutters over watery samples, booming subs and SA's patented collage of soundtrack-ready strings and sirens. Presented at regular speed and in chipmunked form, it sets the pace for an album that, like its predecessor, constantly fucks with the timeline, pitching the whole master into doubletime or slowing it down to a crawl to present a curved, inebriated narrative rather than a straight line. Even without the tempo switches, Webster singles out beats that accent his warbled rhymes that sound as if they'll fall apart at any moment. French DJ and producer Nathan Melja backs 'Disheveled' with Black Ark-styled oscillations and airlock'd echoes, filtering the bassline until it almost disappears entirely; with room to breathe, Webster's able to take the lead - you might not be able to pick out the words, not entirely at least, but you get the message.

In fact it's Webster's voice that's the revelation on 'II' - with a coherent mix from producer tnotsobad, the nuances and fluttering tonalities emerge more vividly than they have before. It makes the flip between the regular speed and fast on 'Txts Red on iMessage' a textural decision, the different pace shifting the warbled cadences so Webster's voice becomes far more important than the additional elements. And on the album's Space Afrika-produced eight-minute centerpiece 'Crochet / I Swear', Webster's mumbled bio-mechanical whines create a much-needed foil for the decelerated boom-clack and suspended save room ambience. We get to encounter a personality here, not just an aesthetic, so as the album moves into its twilit fourth side, the beatless, voice-led somniferousness of 'YA SA' and ululating 'Phone' come off like a descent into tranquillised sedation. Rap has rarely sounded so chimeric.

Jackie Mittoo’s ‘Reggae Magic’ is a new collection from the great Jackie Mittoo. The album features a mixture of classic tunes and rarities from the period 1967-74, when Mittoo was at the height of his musical powers. Mittoo’s solo career began after the end of The Skatalites in 1965. He began pushing new musical boundaries, creating a uniquely identifiable organ-led funky reggae sound that owed as much to Booker T and The MGs, Jimmy Smith, Stax and Motown as to the post-ska and emergent rocksteady island rhythms of Kingston, Jamaica. His solo work at the legendary Studio One spanned seven albums and hundreds of singles.

Aside from producer and founder Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, it’s hard to think of anyone more central to the sound and success of Studio One than Mittoo; keyboard player extraordinaire, songwriter, arranger, musician, truly the Keyboard King at Studio One. Jackie Mittoo had been the youngest founding member of The Skatalites (at age 16), probably the most important group in Jamaican music. After they split, he became leader of the three pivotal groups at Studio One – The Soul Brothers, The Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension. He also became musical director for Studio One, helping create countless hits for singers Ken Boothe, Bob Andy, The Wailers, John Holt, Delroy Wilson and more – unforgettable tunes like Alton Ellis’ ‘I’m Still in Love with You’, Marcia Griffiths’ ‘Feel Like Jumping’, The Heptones’ ‘Baby Why’ and others. Between 1965 and 1968, many of the tunes created at Studio One can be attributed to Mittoo – timeless instrumental tracks, recorded either under his own name or those of The Soul Brothers, Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension, that have become the basis for literally 1000s and 1000s of Jamaican songs over many decades, giving the music an unsurpassed longevity.

The endurance of his music was as a direct result of significant developments in Jamaican music in the 1970s, namely the creation of three important new styles: Dub, Deejay and Dancehall. In the early 1970s Mittoo’s instrumental tracks were used as the musical source for a series of classic Studio One dub albums. At the same time Deejays at Studio One, including Dillinger, Prince Jazzbo and Dennis Alcapone, began toasting over these same popular rhythms to create their own new songs. In the mid-70s, a new generation of Studio One singers and deejays, including Sugar Minott, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne, Michigan & Smiley and others, began once again creating new melodies over these original instrumentals, signalling the birth of a new Jamaican style that became known as ‘dancehall’.

As dancehall swept across the island, rival producers copied these now classic rhythms. These original Jackie Mittoo-driven tunes spread like a virus throughout Jamaican music; be they the instrumental cuts to tunes such as Alton Ellis’ ‘Mad Mad’ , ‘I’m Just A Guy’, Larry Marshall’s ‘Mean Girl’, Slim Smith’s ‘Rougher Yet’, and instrumentals such as Mittoo’s classic ‘Hot Milk’ or ‘One Step Beyond’, The Sound Dimension’s ‘Real Rock’, ‘Heavy Rock’, ‘Full Up’, ‘Drum Song’, ‘Rockfort Rock’ … and the list goes on. These tracks became a constant soundtrack to the island, emitting from the ever-present sound of speaker boxes strung up around dancehalls. This recycling travelled even farther afield; The Sound Dimension’s instrumental ‘Real Rock’, updated by Willie Williams on his classic ‘Armageddon Time’ was in turn covered by The Clash. Lily Allen sampled Mittoo’s debut solo single ‘Free Soul’ for number one hit ‘Smile’; Dawn Penn’s ‘You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)’, accompanied by The Soul Vendors, was revived by Penn and producers Steely & Cleevie in 1994, since covered by Rihanna, Ghostface Killah, Stephen Marley, Damian Marley and Beyonce. And so it goes; an endless time-leaping, continent-hopping diasporic musical map of the world with all roads essentially leading back to one man – Jackie Mittoo.

First time reissue of this French cold-wave / minimal-synth treasure.



November 1981 – In the heart of autumn, we set off in two cars along the Nationale 1 (!) to reach Choisy-le-Roi, where a 16-track studio was waiting for us—a place where, over the course of a weekend, we would finally be able to carve our own grooves into vinyl. We were quite nervous, as Guerre Froide had already been around for a year and a half. Our elders in Kas Product had already released two EPs—one with four tracks, the other with three—in 1980, even though they’d started only a few months before us. Admittedly, there wasn’t really a sense of urgency—some of us came from the punk movement, where the prevailing mood was still very much No Future, even if we’d long since stopped believing in it... And yet others had truly lost everything, like those from the generation before us. The reasons, ironically, were often the same: heroin and/or love—hard drugs, in both cases.

Speaking of which, I had a terrible stomach ache—due to nerves or some form of tension—which forced us to make a pit stop in the Oise region so I could rush to the toilet of a local café. That same stomach discomfort would hit me again once we arrived at the studio—whose name, incidentally, I’ve since forgotten...

We had gotten there thanks to the generous initiative of a friend, Sylvain S., known as “Perlin” (what a phonetic coincidence!?), who had specifically created the Stechak Products label to produce our record. Stechak because it was consistent with his earlier association called Tchernoziom, and Products as a plural tribute to the trailblazers from Nancy.

Guerre Froide originally consisted of four members: Fabrice Fruchart on guitar-synth (Korg MS-20), Patrick Mallet on bass, and Gilbert Deffais, known as “Bébert”, on Korg drum machine. At the time, I was already singing in a rock/post-punk band called Stress, and that’s how Guerre Froide picked up the bad habit of rehearsing in the same basement in Amiens as Stress. Within a month or two, we had half a dozen songs. We then had the opportunity to record a 4-track demo with a friend from Radio France Picardie, and to perform in October at a festival held at the Amiens municipal circus. Then came the now-legendary concert on November 11 at B.J.’s Club. After that, we self-produced and released 50 completely DIY copies of a cassette titled Cicatrice. A few concerts later—after Jean-Michel Bailleux had joined us on bass and Patrick had switched to guitar, which felt more natural to him—and with more concrete plans starting to take shape, we had to find a new rehearsal space and start renting a room.

Then came the moment when Fabrice told us he was leaving to go study in Lille... After the June 19, 1981 concert, which was naturally dubbed “Farewell to 2F,” Marie-José, Bébert’s wife, offered to take over on synth.

That’s when Perlin, who was a close friend of the Deffais couple and a great fan of our music, offered to fully finance the production of a 4-track 12-inch EP—covering the studio time, mastering, pressing, and artwork. What up-and-coming band would have turned that down? An improvised contract was signed with each member of Guerre Froide. The first step was choosing which four songs we would record. Berlin 81 was an obvious pick, having already become the group’s flagship track. We wanted to avoid reusing songs from Cicatrice, so the focus shifted to new material—some written before, some after Fabrice’s departure. Ersatz, for example, was his composition, but Mauve and Peine Perdue, which were also selected, were both written by Patrick.

Their final LP, recorded with Jeremy Lemos, Purple On Time dropped in late 2003, and found new drummer Adam Vida cannily replacing the fairly departed Pat Samson. With consolidations and developments heavy on the ground, the band once more surged and retarded in near-orchestral precision, as Johnson"s voice swooped through fresh ranges. The songs were tangy, more rock than ever, yet just as potent when it came to drawing forth that thrusting, demented hip-shake that they induced in their faithful. 180-gram DELUXE with a die-cut sleeve and contains an extra song and a poster.

Chers legendäres Live-Album "The Farewell Tour" feiert 22 Jahre nach seiner ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung ein spektakuläres Comeback und erscheint erstmals auf Vinyl und digitalen Streaming-Plattformen.Die Doppel-LP wird auf hot-pinkfarbenem und lilafarbenem Vinyl erhältlich sein und enthält eine remasterte Version des Originalkonzerts. Zusätzlich zu den ursprünglichen 18 Songs der CD-Veröffentlichung beinhaltet die Kollektion drei bisher nur auf dem Konzertfilm enthaltene Bonus-Tracks: „Save Up All Your Tears“, „We All Sleep Alone“ und „Different Kind of Love Song“.Das Album nimmt die Hörer mit auf eine faszinierende musikalische Reise durch Chers einflussreiches und einzigartiges Werk. Es präsentiert kraftvolle Live-Performances von Hits wie „Believe“, „If I Could Turn Back Time“, „Just Like Jesse James“ und „All Or Nothing“ und repräsentiert jede Facette ihrer kreativen Karriere – von ihren klassischen Alben bis hin zu ihrer Arbeit für Film, Fernsehen und Theater. Diese Neuauflage ist nicht nur für Sammler ein Muss, sondern auch eine Würdigung von Chers phänomenaler Karriere und ihrem unvergleichlichen Einfluss auf die Popkultur.

Rivet’s new album for Editions Mego is an uplifting and joyous affair coming in the wake of tragedy and disenchantment. It is yet another rebirth from an artist willing to take a step back and reprise the current situation he is in. Mika Hallbäck has a long credible history in the Swedish underground. First recognised for his industrial techno works under the Grovskopa moniker he worked privately on more experimental works that eventually came out as On Feather and Wire, an album released on Editions Mego in 2020. After much acclaim for this bold new direction that blended electronic abstraction, pop and industrial forms into a heavy synthetic trip two tragedies struck. One was the passing of label boss Peter Rehberg and then the passing of his dog Lilo, who was as close as a companion one could have. These events led to the release of the more unsettling follow up L+P-2 (Lilo and Pita minus two) on Midnight Shift Records in 2023. Peck Glamour sees Rivet return to the reawakened Editions Mego with an album of optimism inspired by reconciliation with loss and further explorations of new mental/sonic realms.

Hallbäck defines his approach as not being married to any particular machine, instrument, process or genre. However he holds a particular affinity to sampling, of which, he says, provides the dirt and grit amongst what would otherwise be pristine, generic machine music. The contemporary crate digging method of scouring obscure download music bogs for unique sounds was his preferred research practice.

Peck Glamour is an album full of tracks brimming with the excitement of exploration. It's the results of a mind informed by punk, industrial, techno, dancefloor, disappointment, trauma and rebirth. Here the synthetic and authentic is viewed simply as the same means of human rationale and expression.

The opening, ‘Catch Up to Light’, sets the scene with ecstatic and odd fluorescent vocals sliding amongst crystalline likembe whilst synths swirl amongst the external festivities. ‘Orbiting Empty Cocoon’ is somewhat a homage to the alien sound worlds of The Orb, one which takes the listener deeper into a mind melting array of teased potential as visual elements are executed in a mask of audio wizardry and euphoric staccato rhythms, the later being a nod to Singeli music. ‘Patitur Butcher’ is more dance frontal utilising the Ghatam drum and a YouTube rip of a Chinese language lesson. ‘Plastic Bag Putain’ was made during the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and should be clear of its intent. ‘All that Heaven Allows’ is a marimba cover of an imaginary Love Parade anthem. 'Kyrie Geire’ potentially briefly fills the void left by the demise of Coil. The entire trip of Peck Glamour is sewn up with ‘We left before we came’ whereby extraneous recordings of double bass player Gregory Vartian-Foss (tuning/strumming/moving the bass) are superimposed with local field recordings to create a gorgeous bed of sounds acting as an exciting exit music to this sharp collection of cinematic ear excursions.