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Chicago's finest lyricist MC Juice, infamous from the mid 90s from beating Eminem in the Rap Olympics, is back with a scorching 9 track EP (3 instrumentals and an accapella included) on 12" vinyl! Following on from his two 45s on Nobody Buys Records and well as the hit album The Man, all of 3 of which rapidly sold out this is some of Juice's best work displaying his razor sharp wordplay and effortless flow to its fullest. The sound scape provided by Bankrupt Europeans for their 3rd collabo with Juice ranges from the upbeat & funky original version of All Day to the murky oboe of its remix, the dramatic strings on Where You Go and the sinister vibes of Unseen, in short, the perfect set up for Juice to get loose! We are beyond excited to be delivering some of MC JUICE’s finest ever work and there is a general feeling around Nobody-Buys-Records HQ that this may just be our finest release yet. Between the absolutely incredible artwork by the immensely talented Big Crunch, the beautiful marble vinyl, and the exquisite beats and rhymes, this EP is quite simply the perfect summer package. As always, every record is hand numbered!

Originally released on CD in Japan in 2003, as a love letter & thank you to his Japanese fans. Recorded at home, produced, engineered & mixed by Matthew Sweet (bass, guirars & vocals) with the classic ‘Girlfriend’ era lineup of Ric Menck (drums), Greg Leisz (guitars) and the genius electric lead guitar of Television’s Richard Lloyd. The sleeve art is by renowned artist Yoshimoto Nara. In the liner notes, Sweet describes the album's title as an attempt at reverse English: "If I did it correctly, the title should seem a little strange or wrong, but still meaningful! The true definition is supposed to be a 'love you' life, one devoted to loving someone or something, even life itself!"

“an excellent modern guitar pop album, filled with great hooks and harmonies and irresistible ringing six-strings”
Allmusic

“Kimi crackles with Girlfriend‘s energy, as Lloyd and Sweet’s guitars provide antagonistic foils as they did more than a decade before on cuts like “Tonight We Ride.”
Rolling Stone

A Chicago dancefloor gem from the mid 80s by Melodious Myles & Bo! "Odyssey Love" has a lean, melodic house vibe that holds up incredibly well – with insistent beats, a catchy and prominent bass groove, and atmospheric keys floating in and out. It fills out the whole side and it's irresistible the whole way through. The remix that kicks off the other side is pretty great, too, tricking out the keyboards a bit for a more cosmic vibe, but also staying true to feel of the original. The hypnotic, swirling and more experimental "Ebol Yessydo" closes the single nicely.

Celebrating ten years of independent music, Nerang Recordings returns with its sixteenth vinyl release, A Decade of Nerang Recordings - Mix Selections. Bringing together six artists from across the label’s history and extended community, the compilation showcases the diverse sounds that have shaped Nerang over the last decade. Featuring DJ Swagger, Nasty King Kurl, Subjoi, DOS, Low Tape and Moody McIvor, the release moves effortlessly between UK Garage, House, Tech House, Lo-Fi House, Electro and Synthwave while maintaining a clear identity throughout. Since its inception, Nerang Recordings has never been interested in following a single genre, scene or trend. Instead, the label has always focused on releasing music based on quality, individuality and atmosphere. Over the years that philosophy has resulted in a catalogue that crosses stylistic boundaries while remaining connected by a shared spirit. A Decade of Nerang Recordings - Mix Selections serves as both a celebration of the label’s first ten years and a statement of intent for the future. Each track represents a different corner of the Nerang universe, reflecting the sounds, influences and artists that have helped shape the label’s journey so far.

From rolling UK Garage rhythms and club-focused house cuts through to hazy lo-fi textures, cinematic synth work and darker electronic excursions, the compilation highlights the freedom that has always sat at the heart of the label. Rather than being confined by genre expectations, Nerang continues to embrace music on its own terms, allowing each release to find its own identity and audience. While thisrelease reflects on the past decade, it is equally focused on what comes next. The goal remains the same as it was on day one: support great artists, release music without limitations and continue exploring new territory wherever it may lead. Ten years in, Nerang Recordings remains committed to doing things its own way

Mihail A. Popov is a Russian with two decades in the game behind him, partly under his given name, but half of that time has also seen him work as I Gemin. Now he lands on Deeppa Records with a conceptual EP "built around depth, patience and underground exploration." The aim is to explore all new musical ground and follow newly emerging paths, and the result is a fine four-tracker. 'Like The Star' is a lush, deep nu-disco jam, 'Love Undercover' has a seductive slide to the live-sounding drums and playfulness in the horns, while 'Terra Incognita' brings jazzy chords and a balmy late-night warmth. 'Melancholy' gets more heavy and roughed up with smudged neo-soul and r&b samples, making it a romantic affair. Kid Sublime and 6th Borough Project drop remixes that bring more club-ready grooves and complete a superb EP.

Compiled onto one vinyl album for the first time, Landlocked (Numbers, 2026) presents Hallucinator’s 1999 debut album originally released under Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald’s label Chain Reaction. Writing much surrounding the culture of what would be later considered ‘Dub Techno’ and its’ primary distribution center, Hard Wax, leads one down roads of shifting primary sources and decades old overheard smoke break recollections. Maybe brevity primes the listener to the paralinguistic to approach the sound on its terms; focusing on how things are uttered and not what.

This theory will remain unconfirmed. Hallucinator original press release left us with three or so gestures to consider over the years since:

“A new act on CHAIN REACTION”s distinct productional thesis. HALLUCINATOR are 3 people from he UK/London and this their first release ever- that’s all what the artists want to let us know…. This record is dedidacted to the memory of Stephen Lawrence!”

The first gesture is one of personnel. Since ’99, we’ve gotten to learn a bit more about the artists behind the Hallucinator project. All London-based, all writers, composers, and sound-designers— Anna Piva, Edward George, Trevor Mathison. These three seem to flow between parameters as aesthetic tactic and tacit structure to the work itself. For example, other collaborative shapes have come from this lineup including Flow Motion (Piva, George and Mathison) as well as the now defunct Black Audio Film Collective of which George and Mathison are founding members.

The second gesture is in the second line of the previous press release, “distinct productional thesis.” Much of Landlocked’s affect and sequencing seems to suggest an emotional study of entropy at the level of sediment. Rhythms play with space and capacity through polyvalence. The production chose subtractive vertigo, often switching and bringing back in elements that vanished from the track 6 minutes ago. Dubbing out so much of a track, one begins to associate sound akin to memories held in the experience of running your hand across a concrete block as a child. Felt (re)memberance in lieu of narrative tale. Using textures that flicker between colour and percussion, Hallucinator’s 12-tracker of loudspeaker perception music might be a mediation on the psychic wake of the Cold War. Intermittent strata of ambience and groove convects an active margin rifting event underneath a scorched geology of power in Western Europe. Again, this is all grapevine hearsay.

But it’s silence that voices the third gesture. The album’s sparse application of the written word touches on the ennui paradox of being landlocked on an island. Stuck. Trapped in the psychosis of occidental hypercentricism. A looping silence of Black British tragedy: “to the memory of Stephen Lawrence”. 18 year-old Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in southeast London by six white men in 1993. The rift of grief and implicit reiteration of modern subordination left by this hate act went legally silent for almost two decades until Lawrence’s killers were ultimately sentenced to virtually life in jail in 2012. Only six years removed at the time of Hallucinator’s initial invocation of rememory, the mind-numbing accretion of what Black Studies Professor Denise Ferreira da Silva might call “unpayable debt”, finds demonic ground across Landlocked, forming an aural sense of what continues to be refused.

The album ventures through spaces of overactive non-happenings: ‘Red Angel’’s factory floor dub flashes between smokestack and jungle visions, or the halfway mark’s stilted breath of ‘Dusk’ lending its mood to the sort of sedated dreams built from daily life under colony rule for instance. That linked rhythm links us back to our linked fates across Black and Brown folk is real, thus the syncopated signals through this work behave on the level of transnational radiotelegraphy, sounding out its windswept tension of a body negotiating a meat-grinder schema of linear production and wage for others to know that unspeakable thing can be broadcast in every drum tongue.

As the silence continues to reverb, we return to the sort of meaning-making that cannot be told but felt. Soothing to some, disturbing to others. Landlocked, a Rorschach test for a crumbled empire.

Hip Horns Brass Collective presents Brassvillain, a tribute to the cult album Madvillany by MF DOOM and Madlib with the collaboration of Las Ninyas del Corro, Ana Tijoux, Escandaloso Xpósito and Rodrigo Laviña. The catalan brass band covers iconic songs like Figaro, Meat Grinder or All Caps, with the metallic explosion that characterizes them and the voices of some of the best artists on the current rap scene. Daniel Dumile, aka, MF DOOM is not only a musical reference, but also the illustrations that accompanied his project have a great role in the history of hip hop. For this reason, Brassvillain is also a great graphic epic where the versatile artist Hermes LeBleu displays all his versatility. In the featurings appears HO$$$ Benítez, one of the most renowned drummers on the hip hop scene, who has already accompanied them on their previous releases, “The Dream” and “Thunder”. The production is by Hip Horns together with one of the best bassists and musicians in our country, Tito Bonacera, making this tribute a multidisciplinary meeting point between artists who grew up with the masked hero. On the B side we have two new singles from the band, BRAM! and Mulligan, in which they unleash their full potential both in composition and in execution to prove once again that they are one of the leading brass bands of the moment.

Das wandlungsfähige Trio Vanishing Twin präsentiert sein neues Album ,Archives" - eine Collage aus postmoderner Songkunst, die im gemeinsamen Schaffensprozess Transzendenz findet. Der Albumtitel spielt auf den unverwechselbaren Ansatz von Vanishing Twin an, tägliche Aufnahmesessions anzuhören, zusammenzufügen und neu zu bearbeiten. Gründungsmitglied Cathy Lucas beschreibt den Prozess so: ,Material sammeln, damit herumspielen, es auf den Kopf stellen, versuchen, die Teile zusammenzufügen und daraus eine Geschichte zu erschaffen". Da Lucas mittlerweile ins ländliche Frankreich gezogen ist und Valentina Magaletti sowie Susumu Mukai in London leben, verbinden sich die drei, indem sie Songs und Instrumentalfragmente in einem virtuellen Studio austauschen. Die geografische Distanz wird durch ihre kollektive Kreativität überbrückt, wobei jedes Mitglied als Multi-Instrumentalist seinen Beitrag leistet. Jeder Musiker bringt umfangreiche Erfahrung in Zusammenarbeit und Improvisation mit, wobei das Anhören und Bearbeiten von Studio-Sessions ein wesentlicher Bestandteil des kreativen Prozesses ist. Konzepte von Urheberschaft und Eigentumsrechten lösen sich in der Musik von Vanishing Twin auf, während die Mitglieder Instrumente tauschen und sich ganz dem Moment der Zusammenarbeit hingeben. Die ,Archive", die dem Albumtitel seinen Namen geben, werden zu Dokumenten der kollektiven Intelligenz des Trios. Die chaotische Energie von ,Archives" treibt Vanishing Twin in ungewohnte Formen und Richtungen. Außerhalb ihrer Komfortzonen findet das Trio neue Momente der Erleuchtung und Freude. Tief im Mix hörst du vielleicht, wie Magaletti zum Bass greift, Mukai unerwartet am Schlagzeug einspringt oder Lucas chamäleonartig durch die Lücken gleitet. ,Archives" verfeinert Vanishing Twins Modell des kollektiven Musizierens, bei dem Egos in spielerischen Mix-and-Match-Spielen in den Hintergrund treten und die Kreativität zwischen den drei Multi-Instrumentalisten fließt. Sie bewegen sich zwischen und außerhalb konventioneller Genrekategorien und reihen sich neben Weggefährten wie dem Tara Clerkin Trio und Still House Plants ein, wodurch sie die Vorstellung vom zeitgenössischen Musikensemble erweitern. Nach einem Jahrzehnt ihres Bestehens sind Vanishing Twin wandelbarer denn je.

Indie shops only. Limited red vinyl rerelease. 500 for the World (just 80 copies for the UK) After falling out with Sir Coxsone, the legendary head of the Kingston label Studio One, Lee Perry first founded his own band and then, in 1973, set up his own studio in his backyard. What was born out of necessity developed into a unique success story. With both the Upsetters and the Black Ark, Perry made music history - most notably with the 1976 release of the album Super Ape, on which he made the genre of dub bubble and boil from the mixing desk in previously unheard ways. For Perry, the studio is like a living organism. Whether he truly experiences it that way or simply lets too much ganja go up in smoke, for Perry the equipment is organic, empathetic, and intelligent. The catch is that the results sound exactly like that as well. Long before sampling was invented, he layered tracks of deep basslines, echoes, and reverb with various self-recorded sound sequences – often played in reverse - on top of, into, and beneath each other. In other words, Perry was the first producer who made the music instead of the band. Among other things, this earned him the title ‘Salvador Dali of Dub.’

Wax Digits keep rolling out the groovy jams with an eight instalment, and this time it is back to the Various Artists format. Fingerman is the label owner and he goes first here with 'Phunkee Party', a seductive sound with twanging bass riffs and chunky drums under soaring vocals. The talented I Gemin then drops 'Sambalike', a more nuance and subtle groove that worms its way under your skin and then the love gets dialled up on the flip side thanks to Chuggin Edits and 'Anita's Mystery', a blissed-out roller bathed in sun. Smokecloud Records boss Osmose shuts down with some bright, retro disco soul in the form of an edgy rework of 'Ur Luv.'

Richard Sen debuts on Phantasy with ‘Space 1999 / Bergen Light Rail’, the first transmission from the illustrious DJ and producer since his vinyl-only solo LP, 2024’s ‘India Man’.

Deeply invested in electronic music for over thirty years, first at the intersection of London’s acid house and graffiti art scenes, evolving in cult duos Padded Cell and Bronx Dogs, and now generously sharing his formidable knowledge of club culture on London’s Do!! You!!! Radio, Sen is known to take listeners anywhere. On this occasion, he locks into two distinct influences from his winding creative journey, with ecstatic results.

The title of ‘Space 1999’ mirrors Sen’s own hand-painted accompanying artwork, yet its sonic influence sits much closer to our own orbit; A tribute to a slice of London nightlife history, Space at Bar Rhumba was a midweek party led by residents Luke Solomon and Kenny Hawes, whose selections helped sculpt the deep house scene at the turn of the millennium. ‘Space 1999’ transports contemporary dancers back there in no less than ten minutes, led by a deep bassline and swinging drums, while an intergalactic melody slowly takes hold, resulting in pure satisfaction.

‘Bergen Light Rail’ embraces a different kind of kosmische, looking to the northern light of space disco and following the tram route of its namesake to the Norwegian city’s beloved Club Ostre, riding a rhythm of pogoing toms and crashing drums. Conjuring a dreamy tête-à-tête between ever-expanding, heavenly synths and tightly-wound arpeggiators, Sen’s transmission to the stars is a deeply human call to dance.

Repress!

Dan Kye is the mysteriously evoked moniker from multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocal sensation Jordan Rakei. The New Zealand-born artist - who now resides in London - presents his first long-player from Dan Kye, ‘Small Moments’, on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section INTL. An ode to the dancefloor, the musical project was born out of Jordan’s lockdown experience, created from the comfort of his own home. Recorded with just a laptop, extra live instruments and guest musicians, ‘Small Moments’ seamlessly transcends across electronica, jazz and funk, with each genre being effortlessly fused with Jordan’s melancholy vocals. Allowing himself to push the boundaries, Jordan’s Dan Kye moniker draws on the energetic and uplifting elements of house and techno and perfectly mixes it with the sultry vocals and emotion that come with the live elements we know and love from Jordan Rakei. The record offers listeners a journey through more floor-heavy tracks such as ‘Mogeri’ and ‘Raro’ to more groove infused offerings such as ‘Rainbow Road’ (which is named after one of the maps in Mario Kart and inspired by the energy of Prince’s iconic live concert at The Aladdin in Las Vegas), whilst tracks, like ‘Sober’, take on a more lyrical and anthemic feel.

Jordan Rakei: “Rhythm Section INTL was my entry point into dancefloor orientated music, and it was Bradley who asked me whether I could head in that direction so he could play my music out in the clubs. Dan Kye has still got melodies, but the main focus is to keep it high energy.”

After meeting Bradley Zero online whilst living in Australia, Jordan eventually moved to London in 2014. The same day he landed, he went straight to a Rhythm Section party to meet Bradley, and it was here that he first got a taste for house music. He enjoyed Rhythm Section INTL’s ability to draw on both live and electronic talent; and thus, after Bradley asked him for some productions for the parties, the idea for Dan Kye was born. ‘Small Moments’ is a musical masterpiece that can be enjoyed as much on the dancefloor as it can in the comfort of your own home and is a perfect step into Jordan’s landscape and idealism of dance orientated music.

Bradley Zero - “In around 2014 the proprietor of the famous Northside Records in Melbourne handed me a self released 12” from a new, unknown artist based in Brisbane. It was Jordan Rakei - Franklin’s Room. I’d been home almost a year before I actually got round to listening to it and I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I lay down on the sofa, put the record on and was transported! The Dan Kye project is a testament to the experimental and independent ethos Jordan lives by and is a product of an artist reaching full stride but not afraid to still try something new. This ‘Small Moments’ LP was conceived in a record store, born in a club on Rye Lane and is now flying the nest, throwing caution to the wind and making a bold statement.”

Revered worldwide for their love-fueled, technically adventurous all-vinyl b2b DJ sets, Maya Bouldry-Morrison (Octo Octa) and Eris Drew conceived Alchemical Sisters as a vehicle for creating music together. Alchemical Sisters describe themselves as "psychedelic chaos, acid rollers, and big beat, channeled through hardware instruments and animated by love, touch, rhythm, and spiritual fire." Their self-titled debut double album is forthcoming on Interdimensional Transmissions this October, just in time for Samhain XXVI. Alchemical Sisters was recorded in the forests of New Hampshire by Maya and Eris and mixed by BMG in Detroit in the Interdimensional Laboratory on high end hardware for ecstatically euphonic results. In the cold winter months, Maya and Eris emptied the master bedroom of their forest cabin and sealed it as an alchemical retort--a hermetic vessel in which a higher form could emerge. For a year they slept on the studio floor while, in white nightgowns and under the spell of mushrooms, they brought dulcimers and ancestral instruments into communion with turntables, twentieth-century machines, and new technologies. Alchemical Sisters is the substance crystallized within that vessel by their secret fire. They then brought their music to BMG in Detroit to meticulously mix their vision through hardware, in a high end studio environment. For two weeks at the height of winter, we shut out the world and focused on fusing their sonic vision within the Interdimensional Laboratory. Setting up their computer and sound card, BMG processed their tracking sessions through a high end mixing console, using transformers and tubes and the special properties of many machines to create a solid visceral sound out of a dream, to create a powerful euphonic ecstatic experience from their highly personal highly evolved music, whose sources could be both carnal and celestial. It was important to have their music connect before thought, to feel both the power and the gentleness of their sound, to have the texture and presence of their myriad influences unconsciously affect you. Watching them work together, the patience, the focus, the rigorous thought and discipline, the love, the space and the dedication afforded to each other was a genuinely inspiring thing to witness. They truly are Alchemical Sisters, and we are extremely proud to share their debut album on IT, and their debut performance at IT's Samhain XXVI. It truly is a loop point in time, a full circle moment.

Exit Records expands on dBridge' sophomore album A Love I Can't Explain with two new interpretations by The Fear Ratio (James Ruskin & Mark Broom) and Kahn. In keeping with the label's ethos the artists were left alone to deliver remixes without any stylistic requests and as a result we have two tracks that are personal & uncompromising.

dBridge has been a firm supporter of both Kahn and TFR so it's very fitting that Exit Records releases TFR's debut remix and Kahn's rework, which repurposes what you thought you knew about him as an artist. The ALICE remixes are another leap forward for Exit Records.

The roots of hard rock act Tucky Buzzard lie in psychedelic group, The End, who supported The Rolling Stones on an early tour, leading Bill Wyman to produce their sole LP. The band then morphed into Tucky Buzzard, now with scorching lead guitar licks and Hammond organ parts to the fore, and Wyman still on board as producer and manager. For their final album, Buzzard, released on Deep Purple’s Purple imprint in 1973, there is a mix of hard-edged blues rock, with a fine interpretation of perennial classic, “Who Do You Love,” and wistful originals like “Hanging On In There.” As ever, Wyman’s sterling production and presence on acoustic and electric piano makes this one a must for all Stones fans.

Dire Straits' arresting self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk's reign but couldn't have been further removed from the era's slash-and-burn style. Recorded in West London in February 1978, the band's tasteful, jazz-inflected set embraces folk, blues, and pub rock while also tracing a direct line back to the beat-oriented sound of early rock n' roll. Country and roots accents further distinguish the British quartet's stripped-down music from any 1970s peers, as does the transparent production, which has remained revered among audiophiles the world over – and which has never been better than on this meticulous pressing.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Dire Straits features natural tonalities, superb balances, you-are-there imaging, deep-black backgrounds, and pristine clarity. Even if you've heard this album hundreds of times before, you've never experienced it with such lifelike sonics and premium richness. This numbered-edition collector's set immerses you within the smoky, laidback atmospherics of every song. This is how all vinyl should sound.

Crucial to every arrangement, Mark Knopfler's winding guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. His intricate playing comes across as if it's being transmitted via his 60s-era Fender Vibrolux amplifier placed right before you. The cleanliness, dimensions, and live feel are that good. His bandmates, too, benefit from the extra groove space afforded by this 45RPM edition. Rhythms skate and swirl; percussive effects resonate with crispness and attack; the leading edges of notes naturally decay.

Dire Straits' strong, well-edited batch of original material further enhances the overall enjoyment and makes the record one whose pleasures go far beyond the organic sonics. Just as Knopfler's narratives pour forth with poetic and surrealist texts, the musical settings – an intoxicating combination of easygoing shuffles, back-hall boogies, and pop-honed ballads – mirror the old-fashioned soulfulness inherent in the classic recordings of the late 50s and early 60s. The lyrics are equally captivating.

Drawing from his time as a youth in Newcastle, Leeds, and London, Knopfler invests tunes with an autobiographical slant and emotional connectivity that become obvious the moment he opens his mouth to sing. "Down to the Waterline," "Wild West End," and "Lions" all feature colloquial touches that add to their reach. By extension, "In the Gallery" functions as a tribute to Leeds sculptor Harry Phillips (father of future Knoplfer collaborator, Steve Phillips) while the record's breakout smash, "Sultans of Swing," pays homage to struggling bar bands.


Through it all, Dire Straits performs with a subtle cool and clever poise that no band ever matched. Just how good is the chemistry? Bob Dylan heard the quartet and invited Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on Slow Train Coming. But even Dylan himself didn't hear Dire Straits sound this magnetic back in its original heyday. Now, everyone can.

Originally released in 1981, La folie is the 6th studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. Available for National Album Day on 1LP translucent pink vinyl for a limited run.

The fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released in October 1972. As the second of five consecutive albums which made up Stevie's classic period, Talking Book found Wonder at the top of his game, combining tight song writing with warm electronic arrangements and effervescent vocal performances. Released in 1972 and sandwiched between the release of Music of My Mind and Innervisions, Talking Book saw the then 22 year-old Wonder enjoying more artistic freedom from Motown, taking over the production reins and playing most of the instruments himself. As a result, the sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder's exquisite keyboard work, and his use of the Hohner clavinet model C on Superstition became widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks featuring the instrument. Despite making the majority of Talking Book himself, the album also benefits from the talents of guest guitarists Jeff Beck, Buzzy Feton and Ray Parker, Jr who featured on Maybe Your Baby and Lookin' For Another Pure Love.

Dennis Brown in fine 80s style singing classics such as

• Rocking Time

• Little Bit More

• Hold onto What You Got

• Tribulation

With typically heavy production from The Mighty Two.

Trumpet player Freddie Hubbard's fusion jazz on Red Clay is something that the younger generations within jazz and hip hop admire and aspire to. The title track "Red Clay" was sampled by both A Tribe Called Quest on "Jazz (We've Got)" and Freestyle Fellowship in "Parkbench People", only to be covered by today's new vocal jazz singer José James.

It would take half a day to explain the intricacies of a song like "The Intrepid Fox". Red Clay seamlessly blends bop with soul jazz and fusion in a way that will remain unsurpassed for a long time. Red Clay was Hubbard's first album on CTI Records, after his long stint with Blue Note Records. Accompanying Freddie on this album are Joe Henderson (sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Lenny White (drums). The album was produced by Creed Taylor and recorded and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder in his legendary studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Luca Lozano has long been an artist whose output as both a producer and designer we've admired and after many years of seeing his records fly off the shelves here at Phonica, we're delighted to be releasing the 'Da Vinci' EP by the Klasse Wrecks boss on our main label. We'll let Lucas, the modern day renaissance man himself, take it from here:

"These four tracks were created over a few sessions while I was settling into a dank basement studio (which was new at the time and now long gone).

‘The Magnificent’ and ‘Delta Force’ were made just after I acquired an old Korg Delta synth, I spent a lot of time getting the 1970s beast to sync up with modern equipment and both tracks make use of it in various elements.

‘Eau De Dave’ is a cheeky homage to a UK producer legend, I’ve been digging into his various older productions recently and went back to a fidget sound for the fun of it.

‘Crunchy Nut’ was kind of inspired by early U.K. tech house, it was the last track confirmed on the EP and came together super quick. As usual it’s a mix of old drum machines like a modded 707 and a bunch of old samples I’ve had on my computer for a couple of decades now. I’m happy I managed to work some slap bass into a track finally…"

PARKWEST intorduces a brand new collaboration between label head Mark Seven and the LA-based recording artist Jamma-Dee. Together working under the name MACH-JAMM.

Four cuts here, all unique and special in their own way. The original version of Dedication, is a beautiful Burrell inspired gem, with a floating flute and Rhodes chords over a thumpin rhythm.

The NYC mix takes it where you might expect, to the classic sound of New York City house! The drums snap and the rhythms bounce.

On the flip Good Love is a Gospel inspired groove to raise the spirit with uplifting organ stabs and vocals. We finish we we began in deep NJ style, as Lost in the Maze pairs hypnotic vocal chant and horn licks over a rock solid bass.

The high-energy momentum continues with Whodamanny’s new double single on his own Biloba Catalogue. Capturing the post-summer ache of an obsessive love, "Obsesiòn" channels that deep-rooted Southern intensity, where obsession isn't a flaw, but a vital, positive drive to love endlessly. Turning up the heat, "Corazón Caliente" hits with a raw, sweat-soaked proto-house rhythm and heavy workstation brass stacks built to set hearts on fire. On the flip side, both tracks receive DJ-ready treatments with the specially named dub version "Dub Pasión" and the instrumental take "Sueño De Verano."

Step into the backroom of the Bordello, the lights dim and the soundtrack adopts a different tone. L.F.T. leans against the wall. Nestled under his arm, Sonic Boom: four tracks of acid-inflected electro disruption. Love, Fist, Tears is no stranger to the more gnarled side of the machines, and that unadulterated rawness is evident from the needle drop of “Locked in My Head.” From its bent and buckled intro, the track launches a beat that punches before drawing the listener in for more. Vocoder lyrics are mangled with distortion, static soaked chords blighted by corrosive chemicals and industrial decay as the knives are drawn from the outset (and this is only the beginning). Blistered and cracked beats are doused in a pestilent haze for “Las Plagas” and a message of intent is firmly stated: there will be no let up on Sonic Boom, no reprieve. “Ningen” opens the flip. Grisly, petrol smeared beats splutter below a juddering synthline that coils and twists with serpentine menace. A probing tom is lanced before being set alight in the finale. Sinister and unsettling, “Schmutzig Personality” is as physically powerful as it is psychologically gripping. Barrages of drums rain down, barbed snares and sharpened claps, as an assault of acid is further weaponised by machined vocals. L.F.T. doing what he does with an EP that will leave bodies and speakers broken.

Muyei Power or Orchestre Muyei (muyei means 'our country') was one of the top dance bands of the1970s in Sierra Leone. Soundway Records' first collection of music from this West African country ('Muyei Power: Sierra Leone in 1970s USA') is an album of rock-infused, 'afro' music from a group that traveled the world throughout the mid 1970s. Fusing elements of electric Congolese and Nigerian music with fast, syncopated, uptempo modernised arrangements of traditional music, Muyei Power produced a series of unique single-only releases that have been unavailable for 35 years. The rare recordings featured here are a glimpse of a dynamic and powerful band at the very height of its powers.

Even though lyrically Orchestre Muyei focused on traditional themes and songs, the arrangements and formulation of the instrumental side of things still very much reflected the mixed nature of urban Sierra Leone music, exemplified by a small collection of bands that also included Afro National, Sabanoh 75 and Super Combo.



For the early part of 1970s the band toured extensively throughout Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire before making a handful of 45s in local TV and radio studios. The recordings featured here however come from a period of touring the college circuit in California during late 1975 and early 1976. Later that year, as they played the colleges of the east coast, they gave the tracks to the owner of the African Record Centre in Brooklyn, New York. He initially released two of them on his in-house Makossa Records label as 7-inch 45rpm singles in 1976. The tracks from 1975/6 were then not heard of again until 1979/80 when the African Record Centre released many of them on a series of Makossa Records 12's that sounded far superior than the records that had been released a few years earlier.


Orchestre Muyei Power finally split up in 1979 leaving no proper album releases and only a handful of recordings for us to enjoy all these years later.

History Of Modern is the band's first record since 1996's Universal. Andy McCluskey has described it as their "best album since Architecture and Morality - high praise indeed.

All artwork for the release has been designed by OMD's longtime cohort Peter Saville.


This autumn also sees OMD embark on the 'History of Modern' tour, with the classic line up of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes. The dates will see a mix of new songs with classic hits.

'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'

'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)

180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.

Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.

Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”

After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.

This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.

Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.

Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.

The album was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains) who became a believer after just a few songs of a ’68 set while the band was touring with Stone Sour last year.

Accomplished trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator, Kamal Abdul-Alim has been actively involved in creative music for decades. He has toured Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. He has recorded with all kinds of bands, large and small, and performed in festivals all over the world. “He takes the postbop of the 50s and free-form jazz of the 60s and turns it into an even balance of fine textures. Alim, who is highly underrated, has one of the most beautiful tones and concepts of jazz. A master of improvisation, he knows the art of weaving different ideas, whether they stem from Manhattan’s lower East Side or Europe” (Hugh Wyatt, New York Daily News). “Dance” was recorded in 1983 but first released on vinyl in 1987. Rhythm section includes drummer Idris Muhammad. Original pressings are extremely rare and expensive. “Brotherhood” is a much sought after track on the jazz dance scene. There is a high demand for this title again on vinyl and pressings are limited to 1000 copies, all individually hand numbered.

George Otsuka (or Ohtsuka), sadly passed away in March 2020, was one of Japan’s most renowned jazz drummers. ‘Sea Breeze’, released in 1971on the Union label, is his first record in quintet formation and is reissued here on a single LP housed in a gatefold sleeve.

And we can say that George Otsuka knew how to surround himself: Shunzo Ohno is on trumpet and Flugelhorn, Takao Uematsu on tenor sax and soprano, Takashi Mizuhashi on bass and Hideo Ichikawa on electric piano.

If all the tracks on this album are solid, included the astonishing cover of “Fool on the Hill”, it is especially “Sea Breeze”, the eponymous track opening the album that will make an impression. A super and long jazz-funk track where the five musicians, in perfect osmosis, leave each other enough space to express the full extent of their talent.

Recent copies of the original vinyl,which were only released in Japan have sold for £200-300.

High Focus Records are proud to present the latest collaboration from Verb T & Illinformed. ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ both continues and completes the trilogy that began back in 2015, with ‘The Man with the Foggy Eyes’, before broadening the horizons with last year’s release ‘The Land of the Foggy Skies’. This final chapter returns to the same conceptual landscape as its predecessors, but also sees Verb T & Illinformed returning to a more classic approach to album making. In spite of its concept, the Foggy Trilogy is something of a personal outpouring for Verb T, with the original aim being to vicariously discuss the trials and tribulations that play a part in his life, including his struggles with chronic illness and the feeling of alienation from leaving his hometown, while also reflecting on the state of the world as a whole. Their approach to making the album meant taking it back to the most natural form, where the idea for the track would be outlined, Illinformed would make the beat, Verb T would write to it and then they would tweak and adjust accordingly. The result is 19 of the most finely crafted tracks to emerge from the UK shores this year. As with the previous albums, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ finds Illinformed moving away from the more rugged sound that has shrouded the British scene over the last few months, thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Datkid and Wish Master, instead providing Verb T with an arguably more mellow backdrop. From the string and piano driven introduction on ‘Legacy’, to the blissful head-nod vibes of the closing track, ‘Blind Faith’, the union between beats and rhymes sits at the perfect level. The album also boasts one of the most impressive guestlists of the year, one that is very much a product of both players’ worlds. Thanks to Illinformed’s Bristol connection, there are features from the likes of Res One, Datkid, Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Chillman, as well as some locally sourced cuts from DJ Rogue. While on Verb T’s side of the fence, we have features from Rye Shabby and Moreone, along with a collaboration that reignites the same creative spark he found in his early days, as King Kashmere steps into the booth on Feeling Strange. All in all, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ does exactly what it sets out to do, by drawing the trilogy to a close while also providing insights into Verb T’s personal world and the world at large. The fact that it also happens to be one of the strongest rap albums of the year is the icing on the cake

PURE GARAGE RETURNS WITH A CAREFULLY CURATED SELECTION OF COLLECTIBLE CLASSICS.

Pure Garage, the best-selling UKG compilation of all time, returns with a fresh stack of high value collectible classics on DJ friendly vinyl.

With a host of gold & platinum selling compilation albums under it’s belt, plus countless sold out events across the UK, Pure Garage is known and trusted by both hard-nosed purists & the casual listener.

This latest foray coincides with an incredible resurgence in interest for the UK Garage sound, bringing together 8 high collectible infectiously funky cuts, spread across a DJ Friendly 2 slices of vinyl.

Pure Garage Collectible Classics Volume 1 opens with Buggin Me by garage pioneer Zed Bias alongside Al Brown, a groovy bassline, funky beats and a great vocal hook combine perfectly to showcase the mighty Zed Bias at his funky best.

Set It Off, by Chris Mack / Flavour, is a truly collectible record. Originally only available on vinyl as a limited white label press, copies of Set It Off have been trading hands on sites such as Discogs for as much as £130… It’s worth buying this compilation purely to get hold of this track on vinyl!

Another track that is going for big money on reseller sites is Romantic 2001 by DJ Deller. With this minimal 2 step riddim having sold for up to £120. This is definitely one for the collectors.

Funkaholics aka Jeremy Sylvester rounds off the first piece of vinyl on this album with the bass heavy Down 2 Da Ground.

Vinyl 2 kicks off with the sing-a-long classic from 1998, Anthill Mobs’s track Don’t Leave Me, followed hotly by the speed garage sounds of Body Grooving by M.F. Project.

Finally, Deep Impact drops My Fantasy followed up with a regular name of the Pure Garage live event line ups, Scott Garcia drops his soulful club classic Music Takes You, rounding out an impressive batch of tracks representing everything exciting about the UK Garage genre.

PURE GARAGE COLLECTIBLE CLASSICS VOL 1 will be released on double vinyl 16th December 2022!

Split System, the Aussie group featuring Jackson Reid Briggs (Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters) on vocals and Arron Mawson (Stiff Richards) on guitar, took the punk world by storm with its debut EP this past spring. That was hardly surprising given the talent involved. But whatever my expectations were for Split System, the Melbourne-based outfit far exceeded them. Not just another "super group" (also on board are guitarist Ryan Webb Speed Week, bassist Deon Slaviero, and drummer Mitch McGregor [No Zu]), Split System is straight-up one of the most powerful and exciting punk rock and roll bands of recent memory. The band's EP was a smasher, and now debut album Vol. 1 emphatically follows suit. My god, this record is a monster! Essentially Split System's sound is classic Aussie punk. That may sound like nothing new, but this band executes the style with a force and fury rarely heard these days. It doesn't hurt that Jackson Reid Briggs is one of the best rock and roll screamers going. He's got a fire inside of him. Meanwhile, Mawson and Webb form one hell of a guitar tandem. And that rhythm section is insane. These are all brilliant players who come together to make an extraordinary band. Vol. 1 comes storming out of the gates with "The End" and never lets up. Of course we knew some of the previously-released tracks ("Hit Me," "Demolition," "Climbing") were going to rip. But the newer material is just as good and will just about melt your face off. Songs like "Ringing In My Head" and "Grip" are pure energy and ferocity, while closing track "Feelings" has a mellowed-out Saints feel. This band knows how to rock and roll, and there are literally no songs on this album that don't entirely kick ass. Sometimes we think of these all-star groups as "side projects," but such categorization would sell Split System woefully short. If we're talking about the top three or four punk bands in Australia right now, this has to be one of them! Josh Rutledge/ Faster and Louder

The first Jet Set series is back in print and now repressed on colored vinyl. St. Louis producer Bonus Points scores high with Off Topic, an outstanding four-song EP for the Cold Busted label. With previous appearances on Chillhop Records, Sundae Sauuce, Horizon, and others, Bonus Points delivers a dazzling take on boom-bap beats and future funk. Bonus Points is a graphic designer by day and, in turn, his musical compositions reflect attention to color, form, and detail. These beats are visual. The release’s title cut opens things with a spacey intro before delving into some serious sunshine lounge vibes. A cool breeze wafts through these melodies. “Zoned Out” follows with a distant, romantic guitar and a lonesome, pensive feeling that’s perfect for seaside pondering. Next up is the old-timey jazz bop of “Coffee Lounge,” recalling the St. Louis swing of yesteryear over some phat beats. Off Topic closes with “Back And Forth

The Nu’rons were a family group consisting of two sets of brothers and cousins, the four young men in question being brothers Daryl Howard and Raymond Gibson (Daryl’s mother registered him under his father’s surname of Howard and Raymond under her maiden name of Gibson) together with Otho Bateman and Charles Bateman. They were all born and raised in Salem, New Jersey and from the age of ten and eleven began singing with a fifth member and Gibson brother Rudolph as a group called The Gospel 5. They eventually decided to crossover to secular music and as a group known for their energetic dance routines they came up with the new performing name of ‘The Nu’rons’ (taken from the word ‘Neuron’ which is a cell that transmits nerve impulses). However Rudolph was soon to leave the group due to physical illness. Also Daryl Howard and Charles Bateman had also been part of a working group known as The Devotions prior to becoming The Nu-Ron’s.Following hours of practice The Nu’rons eventually felt confident enough to put their own shows together and began to perform at local dances and parties around New Jersey and Philadelphia, often being used as a non-paid warm up act for bigger named artists. They moved between several different managers including Jimmy Bishop (Duo Dynamic Productions) until they came under the tutelage of WDAS radio DJ Georgie Woods (his wife Gilda, being the owner of the Philadelphia Gil, Dion and Top & Bottom record Labels). It was Georgie who introduced them to Manny Campbell who in turn invited them to an audition at his and partner Charles Bowen’s Emandolynn Music studio in Chester P.A. The song The Nu’rons chose to audition with was the self penned “I’m A Loner”, the audition went well, as during late January/early February of 1970 Manny and Charles took The Nu’rons into the Sigma Sound Studio’s with Tom Bell and the TSOP musicians to record “I’m A Loner” and “All My Life” which was released on the Nu-Ron label in April of the same year. The two studio takes presente don this release came short after the band moved on from the collaboration with producer Emanuel Campbell to take music matters in their own hands. Beside recording "Disco Hustle" to be part of the disco boom in Philly of the times, they recorded also “You Came Thru”, a rough yet beautiful heavy bassline driven soul funk recording, and the just amazing “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, here presented in one of the original Studio takes.

After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster I Roy.

The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie’s greatest productions, including ‘Lorna’s Dance,’ a percussion and horns take of ‘Caught You In A Lie’, and a strings cut of the Heptones’ ‘Love Without Feeling.’

Genesis' Foxtrot is the band's fourth studio album, released in 1972. Regarded as one of the seminal albums of the progressive rock genre, it marked a significant milestone in Genesis' discography.

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine says Foxtrot is where where Genesis began to pull all of its varied inspirations into a cohesive sound. The startling thing about the opening "Watcher of the Skies" is that it's the first time that Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power, he writes, giving the album a 5-star review.

"There's might and majesty here, and it, along with 'Get 'Em Out by Friday,' is the truest sign that Genesis has grown muscle without abandoning the whimsy. Certainly, they've rarely sounded as fantastical or odd as they do on the epic 22-minute closer "Supper's Ready," a nearly side-long suite that remains one of the group's signature moments. It ebbs, flows, teases, and taunts, see-sawing between coiled instrumental attacks and delicate pastoral fairy tales. If Peter Gabriel remained a rather inscrutable lyricist, his gift for imagery is abundant, as there are passages throughout the album that are hauntingly evocative in their precious prose." — AllMusic

This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock, and it's rightly celebrated for its enduring impact on the progressive rock genre, making it an essential listen for Genesis fans.

Analogue Productions has given Foxtrot the deserving full reissue treatment: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Follow up to Goodge's 2023 album Echoes Of Yesterday. Previous releases found on Hip Dozer and Cascade Records. Tracks found on the popular Spotify Mellow Beats playlist. 11th in 'Jet Set' Cold Busted series. Designed and manufactured similar to the vintage 60's style rice paper sleeves. In his latest EP, Sunday Soul, Goodge takes listeners on a four-track journey through the heart of funk, masterfully blending elements of R&B, jazz, and chilled lo-fi. Released as part of Cold Busted's Jet Set series, this four-song offering follows Goodge's 2023 album Echoes Of Yesterday and showcases his dedication to crafting timeless music. "Lights Out" kicks off the EP with heavy funk and stirring breakbeats, accompanied by a scratchy guitar that summons the revolutionary spirit of the '70s. Horns serve as a call to action, while a rollicking bass line and chunky electric piano might inspire listeners to go out and fight crime. "Promised Land" follows, featuring a formidable funk bass guitar and lead guitar chords that rhythmically play off the delightfully busy drums, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the city's bustle. The title track, "Sunday Soul," is a rowdy affair with a speech-over-beats leading to crispy snare rolls and chiming electric piano. Shaker magic, staccato horn bleats, and spiral flute bits combine to create a swirling vintage-hued photograph of sound. The EP concludes with "Within Myself," a spacier sonic experience that could serve as the soundtrack for chasing someone across rooftops. It's funk spelled with a capital K. Sunday Soul is a must-listen for fans of of the heavier side of funk, solidifying Goodge's position as a master of his craft, creating a nostalgic yet fresh soundscape that keeps listeners grooving back for more.

Djrum's first release since 2019, the Meaning’s Edge EP is an introduction to a whole new world. For the artist also known as Felix Manuel, it was created in the final stretches of six rather traumatic years work. Having carefully honed his techniques and aesthetics, and learned some hard-won emotional lessons over this time, finally he began to work in a quicker, lighter fashion – and to cleanse his palate a little by bringing in a fresh ingredient: his own flute playing. For listeners, though, it will serve as an appetiser, a way into the delights and complexities of this new phase of his creativity.

It’s a serious work in its own right, mind. The use of flutes – including Bansuri, Shakuhatchi, Western Classical, and synthesised all blending and blurring into one another – gives it a coherence and a sense of airiness that unites the five tracks over half an hour, however divergent their beats get. And as in all his music, Felix’s whole life is in here. Ethnomusicology studies, untold hours of DJing everywhere from the gnarliest squat raves to the most rarefied deep house clubs, explorations of his own neurological and emotional makeup, and the technical finesse of someone who is never not creating music or art, all roll into an experience that’s dazzling, delightful and keeps on giving.

Just the opening track ‘Codex’ alone touches on OG dubstep, Aphex Twin-like braindance, post-classical exploration, movie themes and more. The gentle tones and melodies that rise up out of it perfectly conjure Felix’s running theme of a protective bubble that provides a sense of safety and tranquillity even as the beats and acid gurgles and spurts all around it conjure up the slings and arrows of life’s difficulties.

The tone set, the EP moves through ultra-rarefied glass-like percussion in an almost ambient setting, hints of grime’s counterintuitive patterns, and even more hectic patterns influenced by Tanzania’s hyperspeed singeli style of dance music – but always with that perfect balance of chaos and control, unpredictability and protection. It rewards playing and replaying endlessly, it’s a profound and often joyous experience… and it’s only just the beginning. This is the return of a master craftsperson more focused than ever on his vision and vocation and ready to blow your mind all over again.

Mastered and cut on 140g black vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London. Pressed at optimal media, Germany.

Ltd Edition! Das Darkwave Elektronik-Duo BOY HARSHER aus Northampton, Massachusetts veröffentlichen nochmals ihre Katalog-Klassiker in verschiedenen Farben!

The process of making this mini-album “anaiis & Grupo Cosmo” was truly life-altering for me. It changed my approach to making music and really brought me back to the roots of what creation is about. I went to Salvador for a month-long artist residency in February 2020 and during that time, I not only fell in love with Brasil’s culture and music, but I also wrote “Toda Cor” with the wonderful Luedji Luna. A few years later, I reached out Biel who’d co-produced “Estrela Acesa” with Sessa to see if they’d be interested in re-developing “Toda Cor” with me. They were enthusiastic and we fully reproduced the record in December, remotely. The connection between us all was electric and it felt like there was a collective enthusiasm for creating more together so I flew out to Brasil in April 2023 to continue this exploration. The beauty behind this record really lies in the experience of making it. We all stayed together in Biel’s house in Ilhabela for a week with Cabral, who co-produced the record with us and plays bass. We would go to the beach, eat communally, share stories, be around the kids, but then spend most of the days creating and jamming together. Each day we would record our songs live to tape, not a computer in the room. By the end of the week we had this album. It was refreshing to make music in this way. The music and approach really held us in that moment and gave us a chance to create freely, in a big moment of transition in our lives in a way that truly embraces imperfection, spontaneity, just very human.

Since 1992, Robin Storey (founding member of the pioneering post-industrial band Zoviet*France) has been creating innovative and thought-provoking music under the Rapoon moniker. Drawing inspiration from his early days with Z*F, he continues to push the boundaries of ambient, industrial, and world music genres, earning him a dedicated following across the globe.

Originally available in 1994 as a limited-edition DAT tape through Staalplaat Records, Cidar was later included as a bonus CD in the reissue of another Rapoon classic, Fallen Gods. Now, after years of anticipation, fans can experience this mesmerizing work as a stand-alone release – remastered and expanded with three previously unreleased tracks from the original 1994 recording sessions.

Cidar showcases Robin’s signature sound – a seamless blend of Z*F-inspired drones and loops intertwined with vibrant African percussion and hauntingly beautiful Asian string instruments. This combination creates an immersive, trance-like atmosphere that transports listeners into a world of meditative sonic exploration.

With its enchanting rhythms and deeply textured layers, Cidar stands as a testament to Robin’s unparalleled ability to craft music that defies genre boundaries while remaining instantly recognizable. Fans of both Zoviet*France and Rapoon will find themselves drawn into the hypnotic sounds of this timeless masterpiece.

The standalone release of Cidar marks an important milestone in the history of experimental music, offering audiences worldwide the opportunity to rediscover or experience for the first time one of Robin Storey’s most influential works.

Manchester-based producer Lily Mumby, the creative force behind Lapalace, has chosen Lavender as her botanical muse for this sixth instalment. Like the aromatic herb that grows from tiny seeds to fragrant purple stalks, her compositions unfold with a similar patience and elegance. Her synthesisers breathe with a natural rhythm, creating textures that emerge and recede like morning dew on lavender buds waiting to bloom.

The standout track ‘new age night’ – a stunning love child of William Basinski's decaying tape loops and Aphex Twin's intricate programming—carries subtle lavender-inspired tones, balancing the plant's calming essence with hypnotic rhythms. Just as lavender requires thoughtful tending before rewarding the gardener with its distinctive aroma, Lapalace's landscapes reveal deeper complexities with each listen.

Much like gardening itself, Mumby demonstrates an innate understanding of when to intervene and when to allow natural development. This approach echoes throughout her career, from her debut EP "Ephemera" which caught the attention of Insult to Injury Records' Timothy Clerkin, through to her contributions to Chez De Milo's "So It Goes" Remix EP and Manchester label Skiptrace's various artists compilation.

Her work across BBC Introducing and fossil.radio reflects this same philosophy – creating environments where sound, space, and organic movement find their natural harmony. But this composition really feels that Mumby has come of age. "Music To Watch Seeds Grow By Vol. 6" represents the continued cultivation of Lapalace's distinctive sound and demonstrates the maturity of an artist way beyond her years. This music stands as a lighthouse through a thick fog of nostalgia, much like lavender standing tall amidst an English cottage garden.

Early DJ support including - Auntie Flo, Ruf Dug, Courtesy, Vladimir Ivkovic.

Demilitarize follows Nazar’s remarkable 2020 debut Guerrilla, which reprocessed Angolan kuduro music with rough textures, field recordings and media clips, telling a personal story of the civil war that exiled his family to Europe, while his father, a rebel General, fought a losing battle in the jungle back home. After Guerrilla, and an extended period of serious illness, now Demilitarize is motivated by a reckoning with mortality and the flowering of new love, turning the ‘rough kuduro’ of Guerrilla inside out.This is a deep sound world, genuinely dreamy, the arc of the album describing shedding the armour of trauma and surrendering to this new situation. A constant and unexpected aspect of Demilitarize is Nazar's gentle, submerged vocal. Insistent and mantra-like, it’s like a cross between Elisabeth Frazer, Arthur Russell and Frank Ocean, and the music is fragile and opaque in response. The rhythms of kuduro are still here,but move around his voice like fish around a swimmer, while precise sound design illuminates from different angles. Chords spiral, ripple and shoot through the beats giving tracks the loosest of settings; songs disassemble; vocals float off-centre.

[b] A2 Drag [Crashed]

In 1996, Busta Rhymes delivered his debut album, The Coming, three years after the Leaders of the New School unofficially disbanded. Though his talents were evident on those Leaders of the New School releases, Busta went on a series of features that only built up the public's desire for a solo Busta album. Right out of the gate, Busta dropped his classic debut single "Woo Hah!! (Got You All in Check)" that made it abundantly clear he was to be mentioned among Hip Hop's greatest solo artists. The energy and originality packed on that one song set a tone for the album that displays Busta's raw talent and ability to bend words with his ever rambunctious flow. The album features production by Easy Mo Bee, DJ Scratch, Q-Tip, and J Dilla. Songs such as "Everything Remains Raw", "Abandon Ship", and "Still Shining" all rise above as The Coming's stand-out tracks, but "Ill Vibe" is the album's crown jewel moment. Busta sounds right at home over this J Dilla beat, trading verses with his Native Tongue cohort Q-Tip. The Coming was a critical and commercial success for Busta Rhymes. It reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1996 and has since received a platinum certification from RIAA. As mentioned, The Coming boasts the hit single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check " which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1996. It was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It also ended up sporting another hit single, It's a Party featuring Zhané. The Coming shows amazing variety where Busta can break free from the bells and the whistles of the Busta Dungeon Dragon flow to explore other ways of leaving our jaws open by his incredible lyricism. The Coming surely lives up to its title, as Busta delivers a performance that ignited his impeccable solo career.

DJ Himitsu is a Tokyo-born, London-based producer and DJ, known for his understated approach and deep knowledge of Japanese vinyl and book culture. Following a debut EP of acid house on Australian imprint Lunatic Music in 2023, 'Exotic Animals' marks a new waypoint in Himitsu's artistic evolution.

On this debut full length, driving 303 basslines and kickdrums are traded in for obscure recordings and convoluted samples, which spiral and fuse to form shuffling, heady new compositions. Like shattered pottery reassembled into top-heavy sculptures with golden glue, 'Exotic Animals' shapes and juxtaposes opposing forms and fragments, with lolloping aplomb.

When not producing, DJ Himistu runs Caravan - a vintage Japanese record, ceramics and bookshop in London. It's with the same warmth, care and curiosity that he arranges his findings in the plunderous grotto of 'Exotic Animals'. In this way, stepping inside this work is like entering a remote trading post of instruments, memoirs and other sonic curios - as Himitsu stands patiently at the counter.

Recommended for fans of Jon Hassell, Giovanni Venosta, Discrepant.

RANDY'S 50th ANNIVERSARY CHAPTER ONE / VARIOUS - First time on vinyl for Chapter Two second part of the acclaimed previously CD only set that was released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Randy's Records. From Augustus Pablo's groundbreaking 'Java' to Carl Malcolm's UK pop crossover hit 'Fattie Bum Bum' Chapter Two showcase classic after classic from a all-star line up of the 70's reggae music greats including Black Uhuru, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Heptones & Big Youth. Beautifully packaged with inner sleeves featuring rare photos and liner notes by reggae historian, Dennis Katz.

Devotional music most often gets distilled into earthy chants and ancient folklore, it doesn't always ascend to the sky like Julinko’s ‘Naebula’ an album that from the first organ note clearly trades in terrestrial dreams for ethereal visions. A feverish quality permeates the whole record, as if a ritualistic performance was being captured from start to finish, a collection of hallucinatory doom, synthetic neo-folk hymns and ghostly art-rock.

Julinko, stage name for Giulia Parin Zecchin, has long been one of the best kept secrets of the experimental community in North-East Italy, with three records that helped define her unique blend of heavy psychedelia, slowcore and dark ambient. On ‘Naebula’ what really stands out is how powerful and soaring her voice is, a weapon of undeniable force that can transform into a vessel of raw fervour or glide effortlessly as a delicate lament. Her unconventional approach shines through on tracks like ‘Jeanne De Rien’, where a marching pulse acts as a pillar for an extended mantra, almost verging into powwow territory. ‘Peace Of The Unsaid’ uses its arrhythmical structure to create space, a crepuscular night ode that reaches the heights of Sinead O’Connor’s most intimate force-fulness while retaining a sweet composure. Whether it’s glacial murderous shrieks or gospel-esque vitality, songs like ‘Cloudmachine’ or ‘Kiss The Lion’s Tongue’ seem to draw as much from a tradition of European minimalism, the use of drones and repetition, to the tradition of folksongs as hymns, where modal harmonies make way for an apparent stasis. Another key element in Julinko’s songwriting is the seamless blend of her minimalistic approach with these dense textures borrowed from a distant outsider metal heritage, Lynchean noir on steroids or wordless exorcisms with deep undercurrents.

Nous'klaer Audio presents Nikos: A central figure and driving force of the Rotterdam nightlife, behind the scenes as well as on stage with powerful, ever-evolving live performances. Four tracks to make your body move, cut loud and going deep. The release marks the start of a new series on the label dubbed Spine. Supporting the head, connecting the brain to the body, a base for movement. The Spine series will focus on flow, while remaining energetic and driving. The sound design is bending and twisting, the solid sub bass will keep you grounded. The release comes in a special sleeve designed by Alice Vink aka Dirtydms.

Apex militant late '70s style here, if you think you are into steppers you should have this one firmly in your sights. One of Mr. Smart's hardest records, this originally appeared only as an album track, but also had some fame as a dubplate played at the time by Jah Shaka and others. We've long had that cut in our sights, and while some nice new re-mixes of this tune appeared in the last few years, here is the real thing from '79 steel. The A-side features the raw dubplate cut vocal, no horns or other adornment, HARD to the point stepping drum and bass style. The B-side features the original Gussie Clarke dub mix aptly titled "Hot Steppers", also previously released only on album. This cut as well was run on dubplate back at the time, a killer mix with full horns but no vocal. Leroy Smart is one of our all time favorite artists and we take pride in having re-released a handful of his all time best records, this one now added to that list.

Joe Fujinoki centered the compositions of his latest album Glass Torso round the idea of the fragility of the human body. Fujinoki described the narrative thread of the album as that of “holding the shape of a human body as if it might shatter like glass”. The precariousness of the body, the essence of the body as defined by Fujinoki as the torso, and the object relations between the boundaries of dialectical exercises pack themselves into his creative process.

Fujinoki recorded Glass Torso exclusively with analog synthesizers, stumbling in and out of structural loops to find space for accidental discoveries. The ten pieces of recorded material feel somewhere on the edge of typified form, feeling like a vascular system pumping in and out its undulating liquidities. Maybe this is the hollowed space held together by Fujinoki’s notion of the torso where you hear a microscopic world, dubby and generative. Fujinoki is adept at organizing this realm of subtle sound sources, giving proper considerations of shared tonal space. Seemingly, this handling of the precarity of sonic material elucidates Fujinoki’s mature attention to detail.

Ambient music genre tropes often affirm the listeners vessel for escape and dissociation. It provides an intoxicating allure by respite from an overwhelming exterior reality far outside the listeners controls. Here this space becomes apolitical, or its protest vocabulary softer and subtle. Fujinoki does not aim to tackle hyperobject topics on how to course correct the world, but he does something increasingly rarer to come across. On Glass Torso an alternative space is created not as shelter, but as a meditation on negotiation and compromise. This twenty eight minutes of audio lays down a foundation for imagination, for imagining how to negotiate the fragility of the self. Zoomed out, the implications of his negotiative sonics can be a playground for broader reflections on distributive care and attention.

Fujinoki says he feels “alert” to his physicality and placement in the world amidst vast digital cultures creating impositions on him and his surroundings. On Glass Torso he creates a concretized space on a vinyl record, where the virtual and the tangible antagonize one another that create the spectacle of the listening experience. This spectacle is a soft one, a considered one, and an utmost enjoyable one. Fujinoki juggles opposing forces brilliantly, and formulates an exquisite palette of soft passing music so he can also help the listener with the exquisite burden of their own Glass Torso.”

- Nick Klein, January 2026

Swedish visionary Boko Yout is releasing their long-awaited debut album GUSTO, out via Hoopdiggas Recordings.
GUSTO is Boko Yout’s debut album – a kaleidoscopic journey through memory, trauma, humour and healing. Framed as a fictional therapy programme led by the eccentric Dr. Gusto, each track represents a confrontation with a different shadow of the self: unspoken fears, inherited burdens, or unresolved inner conflicts. But GUSTO is not just about darkness – it’s also about hope, longing and the light that makes those shadows visible in the first place.
Boko Yout weaves together raw emotion, spiritual symbolism and bold experimentation. Referencing vodun philosophy, Jungian archetypes and post-genre production, they draws inspiration from artists like Yves Tumor, Odd Future and LCD Soundsystem. The result is a debut that feels more like a sonic manifesto – driven by love, intention and a deep commitment to artistic freedom.

In Gianfranco Rosi’s portrait of Naples, Sotto le Nuvole, the ground shakes periodically. Between Mount Vesuvius and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the fumaroles of the Phlegraean Fields hiss volcanic gas and steam. Below the sleeping volcano, modern day Naples emerges in black and white and fills with voices, with lives. From the traces of history and the concerns of the present, Rosi documents a city immersed in its continuous past, with Daniel Blumberg’s minimal soundscape hovering in a sonic space between liquid and air.
Tasked with creating a soundscape that would suspend space within Rosi’s film, Blumberg called upon the extended technique of saxophonists Seymour Wright and John Butcher to create a gossamer fabric of traces and sounds abstracted from their instruments. Having transitioned from theoretical physics to the saxophone, John Butcher has always deeply considered space in the context of his playing. His concerns are with flow, density and how the saxophone is situated in the living world. Zeroing in on the core sonic properties of the mechanical and acoustic components of the saxophone, Seymour Wright has integrated its every breath, reed vibration, keypad clatter and hissed microtone of his alto into his own, unique improvisational language. In his work with these two seminal players, Blumberg makes his most concentrated soundtrack to date - reinforcing the film's sense of overlapping time and space, and pushing at the limits of experimentation.

Initially recorded in Daniel’s flat in London, Butcher and Wright centre themselves around long, consistent tones, so soft that it seems breath is being gently pulled from the saxophone's bell by an invisible hand. Blumberg himself adds haunting bass harmonica, and recordings of Wright’s launeddas - a traditional and ancient triple pipe polyphonic reed instrument from Sardinia, Italy. Blumberg then travelled to the volcanic region of Baia, next to Pompeii. Once a flourishing classical Roman city loved by Nero, Baia slowly sank under hydrothermal pressure, leaving the city in a kind of geological purgatory. Using specialised geophones and hydrophones, Blumberg took those initial recordings and amplified them underwater, sending them calling out across the ruins of Baia’s mosaics, Nymphaeum statues and villas.

“It was important to me that the music was whispered in the same landscape that Gianfranco has worked for the past three years, so that you can hear the volcanic air gulping, the lapping of the waves, the steam and bubbles popping against John and Seymour’s saxophone breaths – an echo from a suspended time.”
What emerges is deeply melancholic, tender, subtle and right at the edges of audio technology. Submerged in an aquarian mausoleum, the mysterious vibrations of the saxophone and its bell become an echo of an echo, wading from the future into the past. ‘Sotto le Nuvole’ is less a soundtrack than a process of aeration - a sonic puncture in the material of the film which allows its central message to breathe, and a remarkable experiment at the limits of the saxophone’s possibility.

Hiroshi Sato's masterpiece “Awakening” has been reissued for the fourth time in a new color “Pastel Blue Vinyl”. The album was cut by world-renowned engineer Bernie Grundman based on high-spec sound data digitally converted to 96KHz/24bit from the original master tapes. The pressing was done at Sony Music's factory in Japan. This is Hiroshi Sato's fourth original album released in June 1982 after his career in Los Angeles, and his first album for Alpha Records. Featuring Canadian female vocalist Wendy Matthews and using the most advanced drum machine at the time, “LinnDrum,” this mellow and soulful album is a perfect fusion of Sato's sound sense and the atmosphere of American West Coast, and has transcended generations, continues to influence many musicians. Guest guitarists include Tatsuro Yamashita, Tsunehide Matsuki, and Yuji Toriyama! Limited edition.

The Suicide Handbook is Ryan Adams’ most elusive and mythic recordings. The album is a raw and intimate collection of songs that captures the songwriter at his most unguarded. Recorded at the beginning of his solo career and long circulating only through bootlegs, the album has earned a legendary status among die-hard fans and fans of the americana genre alike for its stark stripped-back beauty.
Acoustic arrangements and hushed, late-night vocals, these songs feel like private confessions set to tape. Adams leans into themes of heartbreak, isolation, and emotional vulnerability, delivering recordings that are as fragile as they are compelling. There’s an immediacy here that sets The Suicide Handbook apart from his studio releases. These are the original recordings in their rawest and un-touched form.
Released officially for the first time, experience the record as a cohesive piece, bringing warmth and depth to its lo-fi origins. The analogue format enhances every subtle nuance, from the quiet creak of strings to the tremble in Adams’ voice.
For longtime fans and collectors alike, The Suicide Handbook stands as a haunting, deeply personal snapshot of an artist laying everything bare—an essential addition to the Ryan Adams collection.

A former architect of the cult DiY sound in Nottingham, as well as being a member of downtempo outfit Bent, Nail is a house making machine whose own distinct fingerprint is all over everything he makes. His sound is raw but never hostile - he always finds a neat sample to bring some soul to his louche, loose drums. This EP for his In The Dance label starts with 'And So', a wonky sound infused with sensual whispers, while 'Before' blends woozy pad work with deep drums and prickly percussion. 'Grief' is a sombre affair with bluesy sax lines weaving between the dusty drums, and 'Size A Dat' gets choppy, playful, and funky. Another majestic EP.

Often credited as the father of multi-media theatre, Alwin Nikolais (1910-1993) took complete creative control over his productions - including cutting-edge approaches to lighting and costume that transformed human bodies into shifting sculptural shapes, while also composing wildly innovative electro-acoustic and synth-based audio as accompaniment.

After initially experimenting with musique concrète and tape manipulation (as demonstrated on the 1959 LP Choreosonic Music of the New Dance Theatre of Alwin Nikolais) Nikolais became the first owner of Robert Moog's synthesizer at the Audio Engineering Society convention in New York in late 1964. Relying heavily on the Moog and later the Synclavier synth/sampler, these 21 tracks document Nikolais' highly-prescient compositions across the mid 1960s through to the late 1980s - existing not only as extensions of his other-worldly choreographic productions, but standalone pieces of foundational mid-century American electronic and experimental music.

"Born in Southington, Connecticut in 1910, Nikolais’s early years and early career were in acting, music and puppetry. It was not until the late 1930s that he began his work as dancer/choreographer in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was commissioned by the Avery Memorial Theatre, a part of the Wadsworth Atheneum, to create an evening-length work to the music of Ernst Krenek. Previously his work and study as a pianist-organist found him accompanying silent films. This sort of accompaniment required from the musician not only a playing skill but also a versatility in improvisation, matching movement to sound, and evoking mood to situation.

Nik was drawn initially to dance by his involvement with the percussion scores used by the illustrious early twentieth century German dancer Mary Wigman. In trying to learn more about percussion, he was lured into dance class and thus his career began. His development of music and dance occurred simultaneously. His introduction to the twelve-tone technique opened his mind to the expanding areas of atonal music, and his dealing with music as sound per se. In 1948, after being appointed director of the Henry Street Playhouse in New York, Nikolais formed the Playhouse Dance Company, later known as the Nikolais Dance Theater, and began his aesthetic orientation toward dance as a study of motion. By the 1950s, he had ceased creating literal dances and began his explorations and eventual milieu as an abstractionist.

Sound became an important part of his abstract theatre. For his first dances, which involved his new thinking of dance as both a visual and kinetic art, he used live percussion scores in which he directed his dancers to play instruments of all nature. There was a combination of children’s toy instruments as well as harsh and resonant automobile brake drums, and other pitched auto parts which he also used to accompany classes. Once he installed his own tape recording machines, he quickly used the limited range these instruments provided in a new way, slowing and increasing speed and reversing sound. He also made the sounds adhere to the choreographic structure (not the other way around), thereby giving the dance its independence from the musical phrasing. But the real need remained: the search for new sound. Nik made a sound library, recording noises and percussion and vocal sounds, which the French aptly called musique concrète. Needless to say, he became a master at splicing bits and pieces.

From 1956 to 1962 Nikolais composed eleven major scores for his theatre pieces using such techniques. In 1963, James Seawright, who at the time was assisting Nik in his productions and also working at the Columbia-Princeton Center for Electronic Music, recorded a sound bank for the production Imago (1963). With this material, Nikolais created his first synthesizer score. Imago won the Paris Grand Prix in 1968 and launched the Nikolais Dance Theatre towards its national and primarily international acclaim.

During the same period, Seawright came to Nik and told him of a young man who had invented and constructed a simplified synthesizer and insisted that Nik visit the electronic fair currently being held in New York. Nik did so and met Robert Moog. He was completely taken by the new machine and after making some suggestions to Moog, (which Moog made), Nik bought the inventor’s first machine with the aid of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Moog himself was astonished by what his machine could produce for Nik. This machine was later acquired by the Museum of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor as the first Moog synthesizer. The Synclavier was Nik’s next source of sound and since the mid-1970s remained the major instrument in the Nikolais soundroom.

Alwin Nikolais has been honored and awarded throughout the world. He has received the French Legion of Honor, the Kennedy Center Honors, National Medal of the Arts, two Guggenheim Fellowships, as well as Mellon, Ford, and Rockefeller grants. He has been a recipient of NEA grants since 1966, been awarded five honorary doctorates, all for his remarkable achievements in Dance Theater. His genius has influenced several generations of artists."
—Murray Louis

Charles Webster was one of the architects of the early UK house scene but has never got the flowers he deserves. Maybe this first win a new series of reissues from his incredible vaults, will change it. Unreleased Stuff comes on Remote and opens with a louche tech house sound that's deep and emotionally dialled in. 'Don't Work' is great advice for anyone as well as being a humid house roller for the backroom. 'How To Live' brings more of a steamy energy that encourages you to get up on your toes and then 'Bad Year' slows it down and layers in some lovely liquid West Coast chords. Two more brilliantly vibey cuts close an EP that must not be sniffed at.

A key architect of European minimal house returns here and it seems that the years have only deepened the German's craft. Following the acclaimed Belongs on the legendary Playhouse label, Losoul's latest for Logistic Records is organic and rich with musical narrative that reveals itself slowly. 'Cult Rodeo' is a deep cut and dubby swinger that teases with crowd noise and 'Shake' then gets more glitchy as sounds pan across the setter field and a jerking rhythm slowly manifests. 'No Jacks Given' swings low and heavy as a freaky vocal injects arresting immediacy and 'Some Pals Were Sleepers' slips into a more foggy and atmospheric minimal dub world. 'The Peek A Boo Scratch' is an abstraction of the afterparty kind and improves with time.

Hidden Sounds Record store – with the help of Emotional Recordings – launches the Dark Times label with the first of two club orientated EPs from Canadian brother-production duo Lex and Rew MacCrimmon and their project Alkahest.

Released on their own Post Contemporary label between 1994 – 1996, Alkahest contrasted with the spacious electronica of their influential and still on-going project, Legion Of Green Men.

Growing up in suburban city life in Burlington, Ontario, the MacCrimmon brothers’ interest in music and collecting records started early, always looking for interesting sounds in new places. With a limited local music scene or record stores, the alternative and college radio stations were the only way to discover new music or the type of music they sought.

The German electronic sounds of Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream were early obsessions, alongside Neu, Cluster (& Eno) and the post punk and synth pop emanating from Britain. The Flying Lizards, John Foxx / Ultravox, Gary Numan and The Normal were favourites, before diving into the 80s industrial experiments of Cabaret Voltaire, Severed Heads, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle.

Making their own music soon followed, first experimenting with 4 track cassette and digital delay, drum machines and synths soon followed, steadily building their own studio. All these influences merged in the early 90s with the dawn of house and techno and the progression to start the Post Contemporary label launched in 1992.

With the project Legion Of Green Men achieving early success, their diversion with Alkahest explored a post-industrial techno hybrid. Unsubtle, night music, the rhythm and sonic textures are more prominent over melody.

Contact High covers this Alkahest sound, from the 133 bpm trippy, psychedelics of opener Black Tabs, the acid breaks of Ground Zero or the charging nature of closing Séance 333, where all bets are off – together this 4 track EP perfectly captures the early spirit of Canada’s electronic music scene finding its place in dance culture, from the raves of the Toronto’s outer rim to the beaches of Anjuna.

However, in the title cut Contact High, there is something else happening, as electronic dub is explored, where the space in the music, between the beats, is as important at what happens on the surface. A love of this ethereal feeling would lead the brothers to head further in this direction and here is a perfect example of that early journey.