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2025 Repress

It's rare that a certain sound is entirely an artist's own. Although undeniably a stew of impeccable influences - from blues to folk to Latin to dusty funk, soul and hip-hop - one cannot hear a Tommy Guerrero song without immediately recognising it as his - and his only.The cult skater from San Francisco is globally renowned as one of the original members of the legendary "Bones Brigade" team. And as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, his laid-back soul is beloved by all who've basked in its blissful glow.There's something elemental about this music that really stirs the soul. Strikingly beautiful and instantly addictive, it's a kind of funk-fuelled, melody-driven, groove-based magic. There's a serenity and heart in the playing that radiates warmth and splendour, as if crafted for endless sunsets. His albums that surfaced on Mo Wax at the turn of the century have been treasured since their release and it's two of his most vital LPs that we're honoured to reintroduce.The originals were quietly pressed on to a single piece of vinyl so we've worked closely with Tommy this year to bring you these fresh, limited editions. They have been lovingly remastered, cut nice and loud on to heavyweight double vinyl and presented in deluxe gatefold jackets.A Little Bit Of Somethin' is a quietly majestic gem. Brimming with Guerrero's horizontal "loose grooves", these brief but innovative instrumentals demonstrate a rich variety and, as such, comprise an LP that is aptly titled. An enchanting start-to-finish listen, it was instantly regarded as essential upon release via Mo Wax in 2000. It has aged remarkably well.Throughout this inspired collection, simplicity is key. In deploying it, Guerrero presents a beautifully crafted melodic soundscape. The distinctive, mellifluous approach of his guitar style, blending Brazilian, Cuban, Mexican, soul and jazz motifs, is at once startlingly new and tantalisingly familiar. Set against unrushed percussion, the music releases a crystal clear stream of healing frequencies to create a fragile, hypnotic atmosphere.Each track clocks in at around three minutes and, with a lack of studio polish or commitment to traditional song structure, it's a wonder how this enigmatic record demands your attention. However, through its gentle dynamism and impressive playing, it does just that. Whilst resolutely low-key, this lo-fi aesthetic feels genuinely organic and remarkably personal, its powerful intimacy truly connects. It's what makes this album so beloved of those lucky enough to be already familiar with it. From Margaret Kilgallen's truly iconic cover artwork to the music contained within, it's all brilliantly effortless.Guerrero's musical ideas are consistently compelling throughout, making it impossible to select highlights. The album's laconic drift touches upon jazz-fusion workouts and slow-mo hip-hop drums, Tortoise-style experimental post-rock and cinematic sound textures. It's at once hazy, light and bouncy yet sombre and bluesy. The Latin soul of El Chicano blends with the breezy jazz of Grant Green. By employing guitars and drum machines to create a stripped down rhythmic tapestry of spellbinding, addictive songs, there are even traces of The Durutti Column. A little bit of country, a little bit of rock & roll. A Little Bit Of Somethin', indeed.

The short, mysterious career of the female French duo Deux Filles is bookended by tragedy. Gemini Forque and Claudine Coule met as teenagers at a holiday pilgrimage to Lourdes, during which Coule's mother died of an incurable lung disease and Forque's mother was killed and her father paralyzed in an auto accident. The two teens bonded over their shared grief and worked through their bereavement with music. However, after recording two critically acclaimed albums and playing throughout Europe and North America, Forque and Coule disappeared without a trace in North Africa in 1984 during a trip to visit Algiers. The short and terribly unhappy lives of Forque and Coule are at the root of the small but fervent cult following the mysterious duo have gained since their disappearance, not least because the placid, largely instrumental music on the duo's albums betrays no hint of the sorrow that framed their personal lives.

This would be a terribly sad story if a word of it were true. In reality, Deux Filles were Simon Fisher Turner, former child star/teen idol and future soundtrack composer, and his mate Colin Lloyd Tucker. Turner and Tucker left an early incarnation of The The in 1981 to pursue another musical direction. Turner claims that the idea of Deux Filles came to him in a dream, and he and Tucker strictly maintained the fiction throughout the duo's career. Not only did they pose in drag for the album covers, the duo once even played live without the audience realizing that the tragic French girls on-stage were actually a pair of blokes from south London. Deux Filles released two albums through Turner and Tucker's Papier Mache label, 1982's Silence & Wisdom' and 1983's Double Happiness'. Both albums are included here and blend watery piano, occasionally ghostly vocals, sheets of synthesizers, heavily processed guitars and the barest minimum of percussion. Drifting and wistful, they're a pair of lost ambient gems from a time when the genre had yet to mature, an excellent example of post-Eno, pre-Orb ambient music.

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in gatefold sleeve with original front covers of both albums, and a centerfold of archive images and the original liner notes. Each LP includes a sticker of the Lino cuts by Adrian Gill that was included with the original pressing.

"Like an early French film soundtrack with melodramatic overtones, the sound is jagged and disjointed but never harsh. Lilting guitars and ample use of echo smack of Vini Reilly, relying on the hypnotic qualities of the sound rather than abrasive noise" (Sounds, 03/1983)

For their much anticipated second release 'Music From Memory' take you into the world of Italian musician Gigi Masin....TIP!
Part of only a small and very much underground music
scene in his hometown of Venice, Gigi Masin self released two modestly pressed LP's 'Wind' (1986) and 'Wind Collector' (1991) and appeared along side Charles Hayward for the Sub Rosa compilation LP "Les Nouvelles Musiques De Chambre Volume 2" (1988).

Having met with little commercial success in Italy at the time, Gigi Masin's solo albums remained for the most part totally unknown. His music has though in recent
years, and seemingly by pure word of mouth, developed almost something of a cult following.

Gigi Masin's uniquely intricate and at times deeply emotive compositions take the listener into a realm of contemplation, a spellbound mind state where time and space appear to dissolve. His sparse and hypnotic often loop-based compositions seem to draw parallels with Detroit Techno's earliest beginnings, all at once conjuring those same feelings of both melancholic longing and ecstatic joy.

Previously unavailable, this unearthed 1968 BBC session contains markedly different versions from Garrick's 1970 classic 'Heart Is A Lotus' album.
A Londoner's rain-soaked riposte to modal jazz exotica, this long lost recording is already being hailed as an essential release.
The acid-rock meets psych jazz title track is a bona fide 60s classic.

12" 180gram 33rpm LP includes free download code sticker

The Palm Tree needs no introduction to anyone who has visited this part of town. Diamond boozer and Blitz survivor, it stands solitary on the Regent's Canal between Mile End and the Roman Road, quietly resisting the urge to move with the times. On weekend evenings you can enjoy the jazz standards of the Great American Songbook played by the musicians who feature on the album, no ticket required.

Tom Oldham (@tommyophoto) is a London-based portrait photographer, shooting portraits of musicians, sports stars and talented folk all round the world. His work has been widely recognised by the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, the Open Series in the AoP Awards and most recently the Sony World Photography Awards 2018.

Andy Gangadeen is a drummer of international renown, playing with bands as prominent and diverse as Duran Duran, Massive Attack, Spice Girls and Chase & Status. He a true pioneer of live dance music drumming and has been known to pick up the sticks at The Palm Tree from time to time.

Phil Collins revisits a career that can boast over 100 million sales and numerous worldwide #1 albums. Both Sides will be remastered by Nick Davis, who earned a Grammy nomination for Best Surround Sound album for his work on the Genesis '1970-1975' box set. Davis has also worked on all of the Genesis retrospective reissues.

Entirely curated and compiled by Collins himself, his idea for the 'Take A Look At Me Now' concept is to examine how his songs have evolved over time, with the majority of the additional content throughout the series focused on live versions of the tracks. By contrasting the original studio versions of the material with later performances, the series demonstrates how Collins' songs take on a life of their own once they're freed from the confines of the studio.

Collins returned to #1 in 2010 with 'Going Back' which represented his first studio album since 2002's 'Testify'. 'Going Back' was a personal labour of love project that found him faithfully recreating the soul gems that played such an influential role in his musical life.

The concept, he said at the time, 'Was not to bring anything 'new' to these already great records, but to try to recreate the sounds and feelings that I had when I first heard them.' That objective was achieved with the help of special guests including three surviving members of The Funk Brothers: Eddie Willis (guitar), Bob Babbitt (bass) and Ray Monette (guitar). 

'I decided to call this version of 'Going Back' 'The Essential Going Back',' he explains. 'In retrospect, I included too much music on the original version, and I believe that too much is not always a good thing. Hence this trimmed down selection of my favourite Motown songs.'

Hekt's debut album Forever is released 1st May 2026 on Numbers, with the first single "Someday" featuring Valeria Litvakov out now.

Made with his friends Henriette Motzfeldt & Catharina Stoltenberg (solo and together as Smerz), Copenhagen-based composer/producer Fine Glindvad (who records as Fine), and Valeria Litvakov, Forever is built around juxtaposition: pop and bass brushing shoulders with dopamine fueled EDM. The record is a funhouse of mirrors where polystyrene arpeggios skitter underneath uplifting chords.

As Hekt describes the record: "Forever is desire and digital synthesis, car rides and lingering perfume. It’s missing someone who was never really there, holding on to something you didn’t want in the first place. The songs you hear when you’re falling in love on the dancefloor, and the songs you hear when you open your eyes and realize it’s just you alone with the DJ, the last one to leave. Songs to make out and break up to. A party so good you get depressed it can’t last forever."

Forever is a continuation of Hekt's work exploring the emotional core of pop music. "Someday" is the soundtrack to a hundred imagined futures with strangers in the club, as pristine arps and heartswelling chords skitter under Valeria Litvakov's ruminations, both lovestruck and terrified. Smerz add a level of fantastic to the slanted otherworldly pop of "Up in the Air, So" and "Forever." On both tracks, the melodies are squishy and impressionistic, the sound of all those memories we make in dance floors, taxis home, and in the blurry morning sunshine as we adjust to reality.

And while guest vocalists abound on Forever, Hekt also takes a turn at the mic himself. On "Without You" he shakes up a perfectly mixed cocktail of melancholy and beauty. And on "Promise" his voice is turned into another melodic accent against the fragile IDM sound design. Elsewhere he turns up the aggro. Dueting with Catharina Stoltenberg on Boys Noize's secret weapon, "Anytime Anywhere," the two trade bars across a compressed field of static and feedback while little hints of sub and wiry synths circle the edge of the stereo.

Hekt's music has always attempted to redefine what club music can and might be. This reimagining of the very basic building blocks of the dance floor is felt across Forever where he leans into the emotions of 2010s EDM. "What I loved about hardstyle and jumpstyle was the emotional intensity that kind of music can bring if you’re in the right setting. And I think that is what has stuck with me from EDM too. Emotional intensity," he explains. "It’s just been the soundtrack to some of the most fun moments in my life." On "But I Can't Really Show You," he compresses the EDM-era into 3-minutes. Vocal catharsis, dubstep womp, and soaring chords make it sound like the entirety of Tomorrowland being processed through MAX/MSP. This Skrillex-meets-Calvin Harris colossus is designed to destroy every sub woofer as it pulls on every last heart string.

And then there are the straight-up club stompers. "Baby" is UK club music reimagined with the steely lines of Danish modernism - think DJ Q going b2b with Errorsmith. It has a bassline made out of flubber with a vocal chopped beyond recognition as it bounces across chromatic synth lines. Even when he strips things down on the slinky garage-esque "Big Things," there are still unexpected twists and turns. The melody sounds like an Ibiza House compilation played in reverse, alongside drums that swing in and out of psilocybin bleeps and bloops. On other tracks like "Dream" and "You Won't Believe," the tropes of dance musics past, present, and future are dissolved in baths of synthesis and polished sound design.

Forever is a record where club music and Scandinavian EDM seamlessly mixes into avant-garde pop. Hekt has crafted singular and unclassifiable love songs alongside effortless bangers, making an ode to those eternal dance floor moments where time stops and you start hoping for something big.

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

A sharp, genre-blurring portrait of Uruguay's most creative and profound voice of the new urban generation. Ironic, witty, and relentlessly current, Davus blends trap, plug, drill, and hip hop into a bold statement of cultural leadership-now captured on vinyl for the first time. Davus is one of the defining figures of Uruguay's contemporary urban movement. Known for his sharp lyricism, forward-thinking sound, and constant reinvention, he has become both a reference point and a source of inspiration for emerging and mainstream artists alike. Emerging from Montevideo's fast-evolving underground scene, Davus built his career by fusing irony, emotional honesty, and street-level storytelling with a sound rooted in trap and its subgenres-plug, Detroit, and sexy drill. From early independent releases to major collaborations with leading figures of the Latin American urban movement, his work has consistently pushed beyond trends while remaining deeply connected to the pulse of his generation. This recopilatory vinyl brings together key moments from across his catalog-songs that trace his evolution from underground innovator to a defining voice of contemporary South American urban music. More than a collection, it stands as a cultural snapshot of a generation that found its sound, its language, and its attitude through Davus's ever-evolving artistry-while simultaneously opening the door to a new chapter shaped by bold collaborations and cross-border creative exchange.

Calibre announces his new album 'Tricklemore Sea', set for release on vinyl and digital on 1st May via Signature Recordings.

A deeply personal and exploratory body of work, the album moves through ambient, shoegaze, electronic, blues and folk, all subtly shaped by the low-end sensibility that has defined his music for decades. It resists easy categorisation, reflecting an ongoing interest in blending bass culture with forms that sit outside it. Following the release of 'They Want You' at the end of 2025, this new project marks a clear shift in tone. Where that record leans into intensity and forward momentum, 'Tricklemore Sea' turns inward, occupying a more introspective space. Featuring entirely his own vocals and production, it carries a more exposed and vulnerable quality.

The album has taken shape gradually, drawing from material written in the years after 'Planet Hearth'. Rather than forming around a fixed concept, it emerges as a collection of pieces connected by tone and instinct. Tracks move between simplicity and abstraction, with piano-led compositions sitting alongside field recordings, improvisations and bass-driven works. Ideas often begin quickly, then evolve over long periods of revisiting and reworking. His voice takes on a more central role throughout, bringing a heightened sense of vulnerability. Lyrics and delivery are often left open, allowing space for interpretation. His process remains fluid and instinctive, with ideas written quickly, revisited over time and combined across different periods.

Moments such as 'Little Blend' carry a quiet melancholia balanced with hope, while 'Free One' reflects on the pressures of contemporary life. The title track considers the scale of human existence within a wider universe, framing individual lives as small but meaningful within something larger. Elsewhere, 'Deflower' and 'Pigeon Luncheon' draw from recordings made in Berlin at the end of lockdown, capturing a sense of movement and return. Older material, including 'Living In Your Head' and 'Hyndsight', is recontextualised and sits naturally alongside newer work. Threads from his wider catalogue remain present. 'Able Son Dub' nods to longstanding reggae influences, while 'Bit Broken Stream' appears here in a downtempo form alongside its drum and bass counterpart from 'They Want You'. Tracks like 'United Pull' and 'Mizzle Mine' lean further into abstraction, using minimal language and space to suggest mood rather than define it.

Over more than 30 years, Calibre has built a catalogue that moves across drum and bass, ambient, dub, techno, house, jazz, soul, blues and folk. His work is marked by restraint, quiet melancholy and a singular approach that continues to evolve. Complete authorship remains central, with all vocals, lyrics and production on both 'They Want You' and 'Tricklemore Sea' created solely by him. This breadth extends into his DJ sets, where he draws heavily from his own catalogue, often performing entirely self-produced material across a wide range of tempos and styles. His ability to move between contexts has seen him play at Boomtown, Houghton and Atonal Berlin, delivering distinct sets while maintaining a clear identity.

With 'Tricklemore Sea', that identity leans toward stillness, introspection and emotional depth. It is a record that prioritises feeling over definition, holding space for ambiguity while remaining grounded in a strong sense of authorship. Each release carries an element of exposure, a moment of vulnerability in letting the work go. At its core, the album seeks to capture something fleeting but recognisable, a sense of beauty that sits just beyond language.

He describes it simply: "The river inside of me flowing into the sea."

It’s taken Sealed records more than five years to put this release together but finally it’s here. The one and only Bikini Mutants. The Bikini Mutants were from Yeovil, Somerset and part of the All the Madmen world. In their short life as a band they recorded two demos at Monitor Studios, Milborne Port in Somerset in 1982. Let's Mutate collects these two demos on one LP, along with a 20 page booklet featuring photos, lyrics, reviews, interviews and much more. The band played mostly in Yeovil and the West Country along with the Mob and the Review, and even though they were part of the West Country anarcho scene, the sound was a mix of scratchy post punk and indie pop. Members of the band went on to be in My Bloody Valentine and the Chesterfields. The songs are intricate, delicate and engaging with the drums and bass locked in, the fuzzed out guitar weaving on top and Christine Cole’s angelic voice taking each song to pop heaven. Think a mix of Girls at our Best, Au Pairs and the Marine Girls.

Introducing The Hard Line is available on translucent green vinyl
Neither Fish, Nor Flesh is available on red coloured vinyl
Symphony Or Damn is available on gold coloured vinyl
Vibrator is available on blue coloured vinyl
JUST 400 AVAILABLE IN UK!!

180 gram audiophile vinyl, Newly remastered audio, processed at Artone Studio, approved by Sananda Maitreya
Anti-static black poly lined inner sleeves, Deluxe heavyweight sleeves on uncoated paper
All 4 albums include separate inserts with brand new introduction liner notes written by Sananda Maitreya
Box set is a limited edition, Hype sticker
Sananda Maitreya proudly announces “JUVENILIA : The Columbia Years”, a meticulously curated 4-LP box set bringing together
his first four groundbreaking albums, originally released between 1987 and 1995 Introducing the Hardline, Neither Fish Nor Flesh, Symphony or Damn, and Vibrator.
Set for release on February 6th, 2026, JUVENILIA mark the first time these iconic works have been remastered and presented together on
premium 180-gram vinyl, complete with restored artwork and new liner notes by Sananda.

Produced in collaboration with Sony Music UK, Music On Vinyl and Treehouse Publishing, “Sananda Maitreya’s JUVENILIA : The Columbia Years”,

pays tribute to a pivotal creative era that helped redefine the sound and spirit of modern soul, pop, and rock in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Introducing The Hard Line is available on translucent green vinyl
Neither Fish, Nor Flesh is available on red coloured vinyl
Symphony Or Damn is available on gold coloured vinyl
Vibrator is available on blue coloured vinyl
JUST 400 AVAILABLE IN UK!!

180 gram audiophile vinyl, Newly remastered audio, processed at Artone Studio, approved by Sananda Maitreya
Anti-static black poly lined inner sleeves, Deluxe heavyweight sleeves on uncoated paper
All 4 albums include separate inserts with brand new introduction liner notes written by Sananda Maitreya
Box set is a limited edition, Hype sticker
Sananda Maitreya proudly announces “JUVENILIA : The Columbia Years”, a meticulously curated 4-LP box set bringing together
his first four groundbreaking albums, originally released between 1987 and 1995 Introducing the Hardline, Neither Fish Nor Flesh, Symphony or Damn, and Vibrator.
Set for release on February 6th, 2026, JUVENILIA mark the first time these iconic works have been remastered and presented together on
premium 180-gram vinyl, complete with restored artwork and new liner notes by Sananda.

Produced in collaboration with Sony Music UK, Music On Vinyl and Treehouse Publishing, “Sananda Maitreya’s JUVENILIA : The Columbia Years”,

pays tribute to a pivotal creative era that helped redefine the sound and spirit of modern soul, pop, and rock in the late 1980s and 1990s.

This journey officially debuts with a Various Artists EP that perfectly embodies our sonic research, transcending musical genres and form to focus on pure feeling and connect to a timeless energy.

Opening the EP is Dismal with Holocryptic Woods, a 'psychedelic jungle' progressing vortex that challenges perception. Following is Little Sea with Jaguaro, a journey that evokes the golden-age aesthetic of progressive trance, balancing hypnotic structures and organic references to nature.

On the B side, Rambal Cochet presents Unreal Engine, a dark ritual at 135 BPM where Memphis rap meets acid spirals and neon atmospheres. Closing the VA, Electrodynamique delivers Ezo, an immersive electro trance dedication to the magic festivals’ nights feelings, rounding out the mosaic of identities of this project.

Surrender to the flow.

Very limited numbers, orders will need to be confirmed.

For his new album, Irreparable Parables, Andrew Wasylyk felt a strong desire to write a set of songs featuring an element hitherto rare in his work: the human voice. Equally strong was the conviction that he did not want to sing them himself.

The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer set about assembling a group of guest singers, sending out the songs to wherever they were in the world. The vocals were recorded remotely and then, like migrating birds, winged their way back to Scotland. The result is an album of great beauty which, perhaps preeminently in Wasylyk’s work, expresses the vulnerability and resilience of the human spirit.

Six singers appear on the record, represented by six songbirds illustrated on the sleeve by Clay Pipe Music’s Frances Castle. The cuckoo is a nod to Belle and Sebastian’s 2004 single ‘I’m A Cuckoo’, that band’s Stuart Murdoch being the first voice you hear on the new album. When the vocal for ‘Private Symphony #2’ arrived, says Wasylyk, “it was everything that I was looking for and more. But this is Stuart Murdoch. Of course he’s going to make something incredibly beautiful and thoughtful.”

The song lyrics were, for the most part, written by the singers. The music is Wasylyk’s creation. He navigates a sound world that lies somewhere beyond the borders of classical and jazz, ambient and abstract. It is difficult to describe, but easy to understand, which is to say to feel. That is the way Wasylyk’s work is experienced: as a feeling. It takes you back to childhood, perhaps, to feelings of comfort and safety, or to memories of walks at sunrise and sunset, or to the way a shadow falls on a particular field in a particular place at a particular time in your life. This is consoling music. That is why, though pretty, it is not merely pretty. These are songs to shore up the soul.

Wasylyk writes in a room, in his native Dundee, full of “half broken” instruments. He picks these up, plays a little, seeking an idea, a feeling, a door that lies ajar. The musical palette of Irreparable Parables includes brass and woodwind, a six-piece string section, guitar, bass, drums, vibraphone, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, tape loops, synthesisers and percussion. The strings were arranged by the cellist Pete Harvey, a long-term collaborator.

Among the other guest vocalists are Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, Saya Ueno from Japan’s Tenniscoats and Peter Brewis from Field Music. Wasylyk himself takes the lead vocal on the title track, though a throat infection and touch of pitch-shifting have altered his singing in a way that even he, having fallen out of love with his own voice, finds acceptable.

The heart of the record can, arguably, be found in two tracks, ‘Love Is A Life That Lasts Forever’ and ‘Spectators In The Absence of God’, sung respectively by Molly Linen and Kathryn Joseph. The former, bright with trumpets, was inspired by the writing of Derek Jarman. “I was feeling deeply upset about the world and wanted to try and write some- thing that was obviously hopeful,” Wasylyk says.

‘Spectators …’ offers an emotional counterpoint. It is an “apocalyptic hymn” that seems to grapple with watching human suffering from afar, too distant to be at physical risk, but experiencing the psychological wounding, and feelings of helplessness, even complicity, that come with constant awareness of other people’s pain. “Kathryn’s a pal, I love her dearly, and she’s a brilliant artist who really feels what she writes,” Wasylyk says. “The cracked tenderness of her voice is spellbinding.”

The album closes with an instrumental piece, ‘Soul Enters The Ocean Sun Climbs Out Of The Sea’, all piano and strings, that offers a sense of resolution and ascension. A good moment, too, for Wasylyk to reflect upon the artistic companionship that he enjoyed while making this record – the songbirds that answered his call: “These humans are incredible at what they do. I’m deeply grateful and feel so lucky. It blows my mind.”

Following Parnell March’s Back Bar Grooves EP in February and November’s release of the Dust Tears (lead song from Sarah/Shaun’s debut) remixes, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label returns with a second EP of dream pop from husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), alias Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced McLochlun), who wooed hearts and wowed critics with debut EP ‘It’s True What They Say?’ last year.

‘It’s True What They Say?’ attracted fans across the board: Artist Of The Week in The Scotsman, rapturous reviews from The Skinny and Tokyo's Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, BBC 6Music airplay courtesy of Nemone (Mary Anne Hobbs' Morning Show), more radio play from Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart & Vic Galloway, plus Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) via their respective Soho Radio shows, not forgetting ringing endorsements from the likes of David Holmes, Youth, Kevin Bales (Spiritualized), Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks) and Julian Corrie (Franz Ferdinand).

They played gigs supporting Glasgow's huge Glasvegas, at festivals (Kendall Calling, Dunbar Music, Hidden Door), plus a slew of venues across the Scottish capital, ending the year with a trio of shows supporting Glaswegian 80s pop legends The Bluebells at Aberdeen’s Tunnels, Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys and Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, while The List magazine tipped them among their Ones To Watch For 2025, with journalist Fiona Shepherd suggesting they were “blending the starry-eyed pop of Sonny & Cher with the electronic experimentation of Chris & Cosey.”

Very much the companion piece to the debut EP but arriving a full twelve months later, Someone’s Ghost is emblematic of the duo’s desire not to rush things or release anything half-baked.

“I’ve always wanted to create the perfect pop record and I do really feel that we’ve achieved that with this one,” says Shaun. And he’s clearly not the only person who thinks so.

REVIEWS, FEEDBACK ETC:

"I LOVE that! Dreamy dreamy pop." ROY MOLLOY (Marvellous Crane/Alex Cameron) on BLAST RADIO, Sydney
“the Scottish music scene’s cream of the cool... buzzy drum beats, high, distant chimes, and heavenly electronics…. very ethereal.” THE SKINNY

"Listening to Sarah/Shaun is like eavesdropping on a noir dreampop, long-distance phone call between them both, across two separate sonic locations. On this stunning 4-song EP, Sarah’s voice, effortlessly mesmerising, draws you into these big beautiful and haunting passages of perfect dream-pop. All beautifully produced in a multi-layered-scape of low-fi analogue textures, epic cinematic crescendos, intense electro-pulse grooves and warped psycho-pop guitar riffs. Within the songs lurk a sense of unresolved emotions, longing and pathos. There are shades of classic Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra but also Post-Punk Electronica and Beach House. But what a unique sound they’ve created of their own. I love it" DAVID MCCLUSKEY (The Bluebells)
"Absolutely beautiful" SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"Lovely stuff here! Total quality." MARTYN 'MASH' HENDERSON
"Ooooh. Everything the last record promised is here. Well done" GEORGE T aka George Demure (Accident Machine)
"Vince clark Era Depeche Mode in places" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized)
"Sounds cool. Well done" PETE KEMBER (Sonic Boom, Spacemen 3)
"Glorious, it (Debbie Harry) grabs hold of you and doesn't let go." IAIN DAWSON aka RAVECHILD (Everyone Wants To Play The Hits Podcast)

SOMEONE’S GHOST

Born out of an incredibly anxious, stressful time, the songwriting process for these recordings has been something of a personal tonic for Shaun…

“There was a period when I was having nightmares,” he reveals. “Apparently I was saying there was someone in the room, I was talking to that person and Sarah was seeing all this while I was still asleep.

So, I was thinking that this was my ghost. I started writing songs because I was going through something and I was dealing with something and writing songs was a comfort. My ghost was a comfort, whether it was real or not. The idea of it was a comfort.”

“I firmly believe that everyone has someone who watches over them but all of the songs are essentially about being there for someone,” he says. “Everybody needs someone but also everyone needs to stay real and keep what you have, keep it close, never let it go. If you don’t have it, continue to tell people you’re there for them. It’s about loving and hoping people will be good to you in return.”

While Shaun took the songwriting lead on Filter Of Love and EP closer The Sound Which Stresses The Sound Of My Ears, Debbie Harry was originally instrumentally conceived by producer Jaguar Eyes, alias Ali Chisholm, later lyrically completed by Shaun, and the EP’s lead track, Anhedonia, and one of its stand-outs (much like Starbed on the debut) was conceived by Sarah, as a result of experiencing a bit of a spiritual epiphany of her own.

“When I first heard the word Anhedonia, I didn't know what it meant but when I found out I thought about it quite a bit. How sad it would be to have no enjoyment in anything,” she explains. “This song is really about my own personal beliefs. When I have been down, that's one of the things that helps me the most. It talks about trying to make amends but realising, for some things, you can't. But I think with any kind of faith comes hope… which is always a good thing.”

A record about hope, truth, honesty, a belief in something bigger than oneself… and all set to a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Lynch or Eighties feature film. What more could anyone ask for, really?

There’s equally a desire to offer something universal and positive to anyone who tunes in. The labels for the 12” edition reveal the dual mantras “Who just wants to survive?” and “It’s about time to live a little”, with both messages also engraved in each record’s run-out grooves. T-shirts accompanying debut EP It’s True What They Say? bore the slogan “Kill Them With Kindness” - leading caps intentional. Shaun carries the acronym KTWK everywhere he plays, as a reminder: it’s stitched into his guitar strap. And this particular wee pebble has already caused a few ripples: people have been approaching him at gigs to acknowledge their appreciation and respect for it.

"We feel we have made an honest, open, colourful, body of work,” say the duo. “We hope to go out and play the songs with the guys (our band) and then potentially make more records. We are taking things as they come. Everything has been organic so far, after all. We are looking forward to whatever this brings."

Auf ,Reflections Vol. 3: Water Poems" bringen Félicia Atkinson und Christina Vantzou ihre Freundschaft und ihre atmosphärische Kunstfertigkeit in einem feierlichen Fokus zusammen. Gesprochene Worte und orchestrale Fantasie fließen wie Nebenflüsse in einen einheitlichen Strom und ergeben eine Sammlung traumhafter Lieder und Klanglandschaften, die im Meer, im Himmel und in den Steinen verankert sind. Mit elektroakustischen Instrumenten, Gesang und Umgebungsgeräuschen lädt Water Poems die Zuhörer in einen unbewussten Raum ein, irgendwo zwischen alltäglicher Intimität und dem Geheimnis des Ozeans, aus dem alles Leben entsteht. Atkinson und Vantzou haben sich 2009 kennengelernt und seitdem immer mal wieder zusammengearbeitet, aber ein Konzert 2019 in der Philharmonie in Paris hat dieses Projekt richtig in Gang gebracht. Da beide jetzt an der Küste leben (Félicia am Ärmelkanal, Christina am Mittelmeer), wurde das Meer natürlich zu ihrer Muse. ,Das Meer wurde nicht als monolithische Postkarte betrachtet", erklärt Atkinson, ,sondern eher als eine Person an sich; eine Energie, ein Geheimnis, ein komplexer Charakter, dem wir als Menschen, die am Meer leben, jeden Tag begegnen." Im Dialog mit dem Land und der Küste nahmen ihre Sprache und ihre Klänge einen sakramentalen Charakter an. ,Ein feierliches Gefühl, ein Gefühl des Dienens, zieht sich tief durch dieses Album", bemerkt Vantzou, ,ich habe das schon einmal gespürt, aber hier, in der Zusammenarbeit mit Félicia, ist es stärker." Stimme, Atem und wässrige Texturen prägen den Ton des maritimen Mysteriums von Water Poems. Neu in Vantzous Praxis und seit langem ein prägendes Merkmal von Atkinsons Werk, gewinnen ihre gesprochenen Worte hier an relationaler Intimität, indem sie sich gegenseitig und die Uferpromenade ansprechen. Die Texte wurden über zwei Jahre hinweg gemeinsam zusammengestellt. Mit radikaler Unschuld lenken sie das Bewusstsein auf die verborgene Auftriebskraft und die unbewussten Strömungen, die durch das Leben fließen: ,Wie kann ein Boot schwimmen? Wie kann ein Flugzeug fliegen? Wie kann ein Körper schwimmen? Wie kann ein Mensch träumen?" Was mit nah aufgenommenen Stimmen und Feldaufnahmen begann, wurde um Synthesizer, Gongs und Metallophone, Klavier, Vibraphon, Rhodes, Gitarren und Mellotron erweitert. Das Gezeitenklavier des Eröffnungstracks ,Film Still / The Sea" zieht uns in die unbewussten Gewässer des Albums. Enthalten sind Feldaufnahmen, die Vantzou in Delphi in der Nähe des legendären Orakels von Pythia aufgenommen hat - ihr griechisches Erbe verleiht diesem Ort der Vorfahren eine zusätzliche Dimension. Dieser Track und ,Water Poems" als Ganzes sind Ausdruck unseres geologischen Erbes und rufen zum Schutz der Küsten und zu einer Vertiefung unserer Beziehung zu unseren Küsten auf. Ein Teil der Einnahmen aus dem Album geht an Arion, ein gemeinnütziges Naturschutzprogramm für das griechische Mittelmeer. Der langjährige Freund und Mitstreiter John Also Bennett hat bei ,Scorpio Purple Skies", dem kosmischen Finale des Albums, mit E-Gitarre, Lap-Steel-Gitarre und Gesang mitgewirkt. Diese üppige Instrumentierung passt super zu den Science-Fiction-Visionen und der feierlichen Atmosphäre des Albums. Water Poems wurde in The Old Carpet Factory, einem Herrenhaus aus dem 18. Jahrhundert auf der griechischen Insel Hydra, in der Villa Medici aus dem 16. Jahrhundert in Rom und in Les Dunes, Atkinsons Heimstudio in der Normandie, aufgenommen. Mehr als das historische Prestige dieser Orte war es die spürbare Geschichte ihrer Landschaft, die die Musik geprägt hat. Atkinson sagt, dass sie sich zu ,Orten mit seltsamer Anziehungskraft" hingezogen fühlten. In der Villa Medici ,haben Steine und Mineralien das gesprochene Wort beeinflusst", bemerkt sie. ,Wir beide legen Wert auf Gefühl, Atmosphäre und Klang", fügt Vantzou hinzu, ,was er hervorruft und was er bewirkt. In unserem Fall konzentrieren wir uns auf die grundlegenden Elemente: Wasser, Luft, Fels, Kosmos - allesamt lebenswichtig.» Von der Insel Kreta aus arbeitete Vantzou den finalen Mix fertig und tauschte dabei Dateien mit Atkinson aus. Immer noch mit der Küste verbunden, verlief der Mixing-Prozess geduldig und wurde von wichtigen Pausen geprägt. Water Poems spiegelt wider, was die Meeresbiologin Rachel Carson uns in Erinnerung ruft: ,Am Rande des Meeres zu stehen bedeutet, Wissen über Dinge zu haben, die so nahezu ewig sind, wie es das irdische Leben nur sein kann." Es zelebriert rituell dieses ozeanische Gefühl als wichtige Quelle der Gelassenheit und Intelligenz. In einer Welt, die von hitzigen Meinungen und ökologischer Vernachlässigung geprägt ist, lenkt Water Poems unsere Aufmerksamkeit auf ,die Quellen der Quellen". Damit schafft es Raum, um uns wieder mit unseren elementaren, animalischen Instinkten zu verbinden und uns auf tiefere Strömungen einzustimmen. Water Poems von Félicia Atkinson und Christina Vantzou ist der dritte Band von Reflections, einer Reihe zeitgenössischer Kollaborationen von RVNG Intl..

This album brings together key tracks from Doug Carn recorded for Black Jazz Records in the 1970s.

Doug Carn is one of the most-important (and least-recognised) forces in the creation of the canon of 'deep and spiritual jazz music' - full of powerfully emotive intensity, consciously-uplifting lyricism and addictively beautiful melodies.

All of his LPs during this period have since achieved cult classic status including 'Infant Eyes', 'Adam's Apple', 'Spirit of the New Land' and 'Revelation'.

Aside from his songwriting and keyboard skills, many of the tracks here feature the stunning and powerful 5-octave range vocals of Jean Carn (later Carne), his wife at the time.

Musicians featured on this album include Alphonse Mouzon, Charles Tolliver, Henry Franklin, Michael Carvin, Walter Booker, Ronnie Laws and others. Aside from Carn’s compositions there are also striking interpretations of music by Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson and Wayne Shorter.

Black Jazz became one of the defining labels of independent and conscious jazz music in the 1970s alongside other important labels such as Strata-East and Tribe Records. As well as this Best of Doug Carn release, Soul Jazz Records are also releasing a Best of Black Jazz Records collection at the same time.

You can't put Bebe Rexha in a box. From her Grammy-winning songwriting roots on Eminem's "The Monster" to global chart-toppers with David Guetta and Florida Georgia Line, Rexha has established herself as a premier musical chameleon. With her latest project, Dirty Blonde, she officially enters a new era as an independent powerhouse. Now signed to EMPIRE, the Brooklyn-born star has crafted a 13-song "genre kaleidoscope" that serves as her first-ever visual album, representing a total creative rebirth and a departure from the major-label system she's known since she was a teenager.

Recorded across London, Tokyo, and Europe, Dirty Blonde captures the energy of Rexha's global travels. The project seamlessly blends heavy-hitting dance floor anthems with deep, personal storytelling. With the lead single "New Religion" she takes us straight to the club by reimagining the iconic dance record "Insomnia" by Faithless. On "Tokyo," she explores a drum & bass pulse inspired by a late-night rendezvous in Japan, while "Cike Cike" (produced by long-time collaborator DJ Snake) sees Rexha embracing her Albanian heritage by mixing traditional linguistic roots with modern 808 basslines.

At the emotional core of the album is the lead single, "I Like You Better Than Me." The track strips away the pop-star veneer to tackle themes of insecurity and self-scrutiny, blending raw lyrics with a pop-rock edge. From the Jersey-bounce-meets-country vibes of "Drink and a Little Love" to her vulnerable reflections on fame, Dirty Blonde is a celebration of an artist who is finally playing by her own rules. As Rexha firmly asserts, "The old Bebe is dead," leaving behind a focused, stronger creator who is making the music she truly loves.