Supreme Italo boogie 2 sider, a double banger! Two faves from the long out of print “FALL IN THE GROOVE†LP, GIOVANNI DAMICO is officially out of hiding and back in the moonlight with his Chicago label team STAR CREATURE. The A Side gives us a slice of Psychedelic Boogie that is continentally agnostic. The B Side hits us with an Afro-Italo smacker that's already been known to fill dancefloors worldwide! Housed in a replica 7" Jacket and ready for trouble
Bulbous Monocle focuses its lens further into the legacy and archives of the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. These Things Remain Unassigned—a phrase coined by Brian Hageman, one of the band’s musical snake appendages emanating from its Medusa crown—is presented as a double LP (gatefold jacket with a twelve page libretto). It gathers together the band’s singles, compilation tracks, outtakes and never before released gems encompassing the arc of TFUL’s musical corpus. Every track has been surgically remastered by Mark Gergis (Porest / Sublime Frequencies / Mono Pause) with his signature craftsman approach. This collection is an auditory and visual feast. The extensive booklet included features band ephemera, concert flyers, photographs, and commentary about each track from Mark Davies. Beyond the rare singles and unreleased tracks from the TFUL archives, are cover versions from such disparate artists and composers as Ennio Morricone, Krzysztof Komeda, The Residents, The Shaggs, Caroliner Rainbow and Pérez Prado. “…In addition to these compilation one-offs, there were also a few studio recordings that were never quite completed or released. Throw in an alternate mix or two and the handful of singles that came out on various labels over the years, and you end up with what I feel works well as its own body of work, a bunch of adopted oddballs that somehow fit together as a family. I hope youʼll agree with me that these things are now no longer unassigned, but part of a somewhat cohesive whole, stitched together into something mysterious and glistening.” —Mark Davies (2023)
Knowledge The Pirate returns with a powerful new statement with his new album, The Round Table, which is now available. The Round Table is produced in its entirety by longtime collaborator and legend Roc Marciano through his Pimpire International imprint.
With roots in New York’s revered ‘90s hip-hop scene, Knowledge The Pirate has steadily built a reputation as one of the genre’s most consistent and authentic voices. A frequent Roc Marci collaborator and key figure in the modern un-derground renaissance, Knowledge fuses golden-age grit with new wave innovation—bridging generations while stay-ing firmly rooted in New York’s timeless sound.
Since his 2018 debut Flintlock, Knowledge has carved a lane entirely his own through his label Treasure Chest Enter-tainment, Inc. With five acclaimed projects under his belt, including the recent 5lbs of Pressure, he continues to deliver unfiltered street wisdom and personal reflection in every bar.
The Round Table stands as a testament to his evolution—an uncompromising body of work laced with Roc Marciano’s signature production and Knowledge’s lived-in lyricism. It’s not just a record—it’s a meeting of the minds, an audio council of kings.
“The Round Table is cinematic storytelling, teaching street knowledge, eating etiquette that will save your life” Knowledge professes. “This album is like an Honorable Elijah Muhammad book; How To Eat To Live. Produced fully by the true creator of the new wave sound, Roc Marciano, you are all invited to a seat at The Round Table; and break bread with the true Godfathers of this new wave rap renaissance.”
"Polymath artist, musician and iconoclast Raed Yassin releases Eternal Ghost, two long-form pieces of modular minimalism via Fourth Sounds. Drawing on influences of Terry Riley, Suicide, no wave and synth pop, the double A-side 12” reverberates with urgent, high-octane loops, repeating patterns and distorted vocal frequencies, each track unfurling over 15 frantic Minutes of maximalist electronics.
Born in Lebanon and based in Berlin, with a musical practice that spans free improvisation, Arabic pop and sample-based cultural archaeology, Yassin is an artist who refuses to be contained, working across disciplines to interrogate ideas of personal identity, collective memory and consumer culture.
Eternal Ghost is the latest addition to a shape-shifting body of work, released to accompany Yassin’s debut London exhibition of the same name at Cedric Bardawil in June 2025."
"6-track house finesse from Amsterdam mainstay Beraber, topped off with a killer remix by Brazilian artist Zopelar. Expect six melodic tracks for the body & mind. Beraber returns to United Identities with Gentle Actions, setting the tone for long summer evenings and sun-soaked days. The Amsterdam based producer and DJ organically blends Chicago's classically-schooled keys and machine backdrops with subtle, atmospheric textures. This long-awaited record by Beraber (Baris Akardere) is a deeply personal collection of music, encapsulating a period of creative and personal growth. Rather than a concept record, it serves as a document of the past years, bundling some of most cherished productions into a cohesive and heartfelt gift to the audience. This EP marks the first time the producer has used his own vocals in his productions, next to vocal contributions from Barcelona-based artist Ivy Barkakati, whose lyrics perfectly resonate with the journey of the EP. Gentle Actions opens with Between Us, a calm builder, gracefully layered with meandering pads. Distant Language picks us up with its dubbed-out groove, guiding our feet on a journey through melodic landscapes. It flows into Responsibility, an introspective track with a powerful message about turning dreams into reality, before continuing with Lost in Loops, a loose and soulful house cut featuring his own vocals. The journey ends with the more upbeat, instrumental Good Company, topped off with a deep, nocturnal remix by Zopelar. Written and produced entirely in his Amsterdam studio -- housed in the same building that once held De School -- Beraber continues to rely on a deeply analog and outboard gear-heavy approach. The result is a record that stays true to his soulful and introspective signature, mirroring the sonic identity of his acclaimed radio show, Gentle Actions on Amsterdam's online radio station RRFM."
The debut recording by The Ancients, the intergenerational coalition of Isaiah Collier, William Hooker, & William Parker formed by parker to play concerts in conjunction with the milford graves mind body deal exhibition at the institute of contemporary art los angeles & now a working group. across x2LPs of side-length long-form improvised sets recorded at 2220 arts & archives in LA & the chapel in San Francisco, The Ancients bring the free jazz trio languages first explored by the Cecil Taylor Unit & Ornette Coleman’s -Golden Circle- band (expanded upon in later eras by Sam Rivers' Trio & Parker’s collective trios with Charles Gayle/Graves & Peter Brötzmann/Hamid Drake) into their own unique & scintillating realms of expression.
As we tumble further into the throes of history’s tides, people of hope & creativity rely on the works of our great artists to lift our spirits & focus our resolve. -ascension- was recorded less than a year after the passage of the civil rights act & four months after the assassination of Malcolm X. -journey in satchidananda- was recorded the month reagan was re-elected governor of California. M’boom made its debut recording weeks after the watergate scandal broke & a couple months after the wounded knee occupation ended. The music of the ancients builds on these great musical legacies. it resounds with the pride of survival & the joys of making & sharing music. It delivers to us hope & balm. something real in you, real in history, & real in the music is shared, right on time.
When Eremite records commenced operations during the 1990s free jazz resurgence, heavyweight freedom-seeking tenor saxophonists such as Fred Anderson, Peter Brötzmann, Charles Gayle, Kidd Jordan, & David S. Ware were at the height of their powers. Isaiah Collier’s tenor playing in the ancients is bracing testimony that the wellspring lives on. to hear the young chicago firebrand blowing freely with veteran improvisers in an entirely open-form group music is a revelatory study of his vast talent, personal voice, & the intensity of his expression —as well as a bold complement to his composition-based albums as a bandleader (including -the almighty-, a new york times' best albums of 2024 selection).
I've admired drummer William hooker since first encountering his music in a hartford ct city park, early ‘90s (on a double bill with Jerry González & Fort Apache Band). From the man himself right off the bandstand i bought his even-then rare 1st recording, the 1976 self-released x2LP opus -is eternal life- (reissued 2019 by superior viaduct). An imposing force on his instrument & an intrepid DIY cat, Hooker’s been exuberantly swinging in&out of free time for 50+ years. informed by the innovations of Sunny Murray & Tony Williams yet entirely himself, there is no other term for it than “pure hooker.” at age 78, with the ancients & everywhere else, THE HOOK is in peak form.
With a discography approaching 600 entries & 50+ years working across the musical maps, including in the history-defining bands of Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Peter Brötzmann, in his own wondrous ensembles from small group to orchestra to opera, a bastion of compassionate leadership & a poetic champion of his musical community, in tireless service to what he rather egolessly refers to as “the tone world”, multi-instrumentalist, improviser & composer william parker is a living hero of the grassroots & the black mystery musics, not to mention one of the great bassists in the history of jazz. To quote George Clinton, conquering the stumbling blocks comes easier when the conqueror is in tune with the infinite.
Live to 2-track concert recordings by Bryce Gonzales, Highland Dynamics. Mastered by Joe Lizzi, Queens, NY.
The Ottawa composer/performer and head of Black Bough Records plays every instrument on his CST debut: an accessibly avant-garde work of dark/ambient modern chamber music. Mark Molnar has been a linchpin of the Ottawa experimental music scene for over two decades, spanning contemporary classical, electroacoustic, industrial/noise, and improv. As a string player in a wide range of projects, an organizer and curator of innumerable shows, and via his own avantgarde label Black Bough Records, Molnar's unflagging contributions to independent music culture in Canada's capital city have been significant. EXO is his Constellation debut: a remarkable and bracing suite of post-classical composition on which Molnar plays every instrument. Meticulously self-recorded, primarily with strings, harp, and piano, EXO balances thematic melodicism, polytonality, and dissonance across three elegiac pieces of exquisitely expressive dynamism. This is exacting modern chamber music that blends formal and harmonic complexity with a solemn emotive sensibility accessible to a broad audience. Listeners that yearn for some edge and disquietude in a landscape of often all-too-approachable post-classical music should find EXO eminently worth their time and attention. While Molnar is a highly trained string player, and studied music under Aubrey Wolfe, microtonality with James Tenney, and composition with R. Murray Schafer, his trajectory has been entirely and intentionally outside the academy, signalling a socio-artistic commitment to DIY culture, forged from an early passion for the sonic worlds of post-hardcore, post-punk, no-wave, free improv, power electronics, and other independent/underground musics. His classically-informed works have been described as "tense currents of musical modernism invigorated with punk's raw vitality." EXO carries an undercurrent influenced by dark industrial and ambient metal in particular, with microphones purposely placed to pick up the low-end frequencies of the piano body, and of a bass drum positioned as a resonant skin in the acoustic space; an electroacoustic strategy organically meshed to the crisply defined and pristinely recorded pointillisms and polychords of strings, harp, and piano, which feed into this noisefloor of crepuscular sub-bass disquietude and decay. It's a production aesthetic that lends EXO a distinct undertow of tension and feeling, a sort of roiling maximalism where the chamber instrumentation traces arcs and waves of form and flow as if drawn from a dark, impervious ocean below. It also reinforces the profound hermeticism of Molnar's process, as a forbiddingly solitary creative act of immersion and navigation. The album artwork, featuring semiabstract stills of the sea by British photographer Ed Allen, further reifies this metaphor. The album's opening piece 'Sub Luna' (and its shortest at 8 minutes) showcases Molnar's adeptness at naturalistic and flowing complexity: tight cascades of climbing and descending chordal clusters hold their polytonal densities for various durations, yielding to more clarified harmonic suspensions and motifs, as melodic themes led primarily by violins in the higher registers provide a fractured lyricism. Molnar says: "the opening and closing figures of this piece act as opposing shorelines; the shorelines provide a reliable expression of range and key signature, and the tides come in and swallow them up, the motion of a body that addresses the relationship between states of lucidity and melodic figures." On 'Terre Sacer' everything happens in soupier waters, as a slow and doleful theme, anchored by grinding bass notes, circles in a gyre of dark resonances, until glistening strings gradually ascend to enrobe a plaintive and gently harrowing single-voiced ostinato over the composition's final third. Molnar's drone, ambient, minimalist, and goth-industrial influences are on display here. Side Two of EXO features the 18-minute multi-movement 'pallida Mors' (pale death): a waterfall of heterophony introduces dense chordal movements where strings are recorded and mixed to evoke pipe organ, in the album's most overtly dissonant and (anti)liturgical sequence. This gives way to ever more open and fragile spaces, before a resurgence of dark clusters and noise treatments introduces a final repeating piano coda, shrouded in devastated bass resonance, settling into what Molnar calls "a meditative hollow." Constellation is honoured to release this work by Mark Molnar, a longtime fellow-traveler whose selfless and boundlessly generous activities as an independent arts enabler sometimes obscure his own accomplished and uncompromising artistry. We trust EXO can help shed some much deserved light on this fine composer. Thanks for listening.
o encapsulate the themes. “Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,” Choi says. “It’s a poetic expression. You wouldn’t say it in normal conversation, but I like that.”
Following the four-piece band’s 2024 self-titled EP, Aseurai adds disco and city-pop influences while staying true to dream-pop roots. While Phoebe Rings was originally a solo project of Choi’s, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band. The four musicians cut their teeth working on other notable NZ projects such as Princess Chelsea, Fazerdaze, Tiny Ruins, AC Freazy,, Sea Views and Lucky Boy.
With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: “I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone’s gems.” Guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent spearheads unexpected arrangements, with bold fuzzy guitar textures, to spice up the mix. Benjamin Locke adds maturity to the lyrics, paired with perfectionist bass lines. And drummer Alex Freer’s slick production soars Aseurai to diverse and synergetic heights. The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ‘Phoebe Rings’ sound.
If the EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. “Without getting too gloomy, it’s a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,” says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. Across ten songs, Phoebe Ring’s storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification to tender autobiographical memories.
아스라이 흩어지는 하늘의 별이 (May the falling light of faraway stars) / 그대의 손 끝에 닿아 숨이 돼주길 (Reach your fingertips and let you breathe),” Choi sings in the title track “Aseurai.” Imagined as a breezy track inspired by a 90’s Korean pop band, Choi discovered, when fleshing out the lyrics, that it was about yearning for people she couldn’t see anymore. In the old-school disco track, “Get Up,” Locke addresses struggles with mental health in a Matrix-inspired driven mantra: ‘Just get up / Just get up.’ The groove persists with ‘Fading Star,” a quirky ballad filled with steely jazz/rock guitar solos dedicated to a suburban aging musician. Kavanagh-Vincent’s lead single ‘Drifting’ is an unrequited celestial love song with bouncing bass and playful synths.
The band wrote, produced, and engineered the album across studios and band members’ homes in 2023/2024 in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). It features mixing/mix production by local legend Jeremy Toy (Bic Runga, Aaradnha, Princess Chelsea) and mastering by Kelly Hibbert. With Aseurai, Phoebe Rings mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body - launching skyward on Carpark Records in June 2025.
Welcome to "Private Dancer": Acclaimed producer Johannes Albert returns with his third club album after six years - his first on Permanent Vacation - and it's a statement. The album stars a sound that was always in him - called House - something that moves the body and warms the soul.
Collaboration is key. London's own Helen Salvin graces "Wide-Eyed" with her magnificent voice where midtempo meets a subtle boogie. Things heat up when Biesmans jumps in for the infectious, uptempo "Get My Gee". And when longtime friend Iron Curtis lends a hand, the title track "Private Dancer" melts into subliminal grooves. Expect classic material, like the Arp-tinged "L’Chaim," alongside unexpected weirdness - see "Patterns Everywhere". The life affirming "My Kind" leaves you with nothing but positive vibes while the Pepe Bradock styled sampling of "Follow The Strings" goes sincere all the way.
With 15 years of releases and 25 years behind the DJ booth Johannes Albert masters the balance: House Music that's always classy yet still offers a modern twist. "Private Dancer' showcases 11 tracks that are well crafted - refined yet understated. Maybe all we need now is a basement, a red light, and - you know it - more of that feeling.
German trio Cloud Management approached Digital-Sting in late 2023 and started a conversation concerning a loose configuration of improvisations, studio experiments and rehearsal jam recordings. The timing was particularly serendipitous with Feel Free Hi Fi fresh off a West Coast USA tour with Exotic Gardens where we had spent several long drives along the California coast listening to Cloud Managements prior records on Altin Village. The second of which included collaborations with Exotic Gardens. This release " Unfinished Business" inhabits much of the musical history and influences foundational to the Digital Sting sound and ethos making the link up an obvious one. I don't want to be overly predictable in the comparison to the great body of work created by German legends like Moebius, Roedelius, Plank and others but it is there. Also present are heavy doses of dub wandering not too far from the furthest out zones created by African Head Charge or Dub Syndicate. Some creeping psychedelic unease in the way of Industrial Records also sits in the mix. Comparisons aside, Cloud Managements embrace of collaboration and jammy experimentalism create a sound that is unique and a bit rare in the contemporary dub and electronic music continuum where perceptions of genre restrictions can guide a bit too much. The two side long continuous tracks documented in this release lock in and groove as much as they wander, drift and break apart in subtle shifting ways making for special repeat listening where something new is always waiting.
The Infinite Wheel are a visionary duo who emerged from the DIY and Anarcho-Punk underground of the early ’80s West Country scene. Both members have been deeply involved in numerous influential projects, releasing chart-topping music under names that are instantly recognisable.
But it’s their groundbreaking work in the ’90s that truly captured our attention at Midnight Drive. Their deep dive into studio experimentation, dubwise mixing, and hardware-driven sound manipulation gave rise to a body of work that remains as compelling as ever. That journey has led us to these two stellar tracks, featured on our 10th release.
"Java Dub / Enviro" are immersive, longform explorations that stay true to the dub tradition—expansive soundscapes that pull the listener in, treating the mixing desk as an instrument in its own right. Thunderous basslines and cavernous echoes intertwine with tribal percussion and celestial ambient synths, creating a rich, enveloping sonic universe for both deep listeners and dancers alike.
Reissued and presented with the full involvement of The Infinite Wheel and featuring a brand-new centre label designed by the band themselves, this release more than marks a fitting milestone for Midnight Drive.
'Quiet Pieces' initiates Abul Mogard’s personal imprint Soft Echoes with a definitive self-portrait of calm, contemplative, and discreet inner landscapes made audible. It is the first solo album on vinyl in four years. RIYL Alessandro Cortini, William Basinski, The Caretaker.
While sifting through archived material left idle from earlier projects, a chance encounter with a late uncle’s trove of beloved 78rpm classical and opera records prompted the reworking and completion of what would eventually become the album. Spinning dusty records at 33 and 45rpm, Abul Mogard recombined their enduring spectres with unfinished sketches from his archive. The resulting soundscape blurs distinctions between his memories and those of another, exquisitely short-circuiting the senses with its waking, dream-like lucidity.
This was a process I hadn’t explored in my earlier works. I began sampling brief moments from these records, altering them with studio effects and playing them at slower speeds. In many cases, I wasn’t entirely sure how the original music sounded. These fragments, once further processed, became a source of inspiration for my new compositions. Over time, I realised that the old pieces from the archive and the new material derived from the samples naturally complemented each other.”
The resulting pieces hover over a threshold, a liminal space that harmonises the old and older material. Voluminous waves of quiet and loud undulate between consonance and dissonance, conjuring imagery of a decaying grandeur that humanity’s decadence has surrendered to the elements. Abul Mogard’s seemingly abandoned yet vast landscapes are nevertheless intimate with timbral frissons of red-lined distortion. Elusive, yet as tangible as sea spray or smog, they affect the olfactory senses with a rarified, synesthetic quality that modestly engages one’s emotional register – a hypnotic, distinguishing feature long hailed as one of the hallmarks of his work. A fidelity to memory and dream recall is sensitively probed in the journey from the stately symphonic stasis of 'Following a dream' to the almost industrial, untethered brutality evoked by a looming silhouette that’s never fully visible in 'Constantly slipping away', culminating in the foreboding coda of 'Like a bird'. Those pieces appear to shield the album’s sentimental core, where the tempestuous play of light and shadow of 'In a studded procession' escalates to breathtaking, panoramic climax, while 'Through whispers' evokes an out-of-body-like experience encountered with visceral poignancy.
Looking back, Mogard notes an unexpected influence: “I realise being inspired by Phill Niblock, whose work I had barely known at the time but explored after his passing in 2024. His album 'Boston Tenor Index' changed the way I approached dissonance. It encouraged me to push my sound further, to the edge of a space where I began to feel uncomfortable.”
The album artwork, created by longtime collaborator Marja de Sanctis, features a photograph taken at the Temple of Jupiter Anxur, an archaeological site overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Captured with an iPhone, the image traces the residual presence of construction techniques and architectural forms of the Romans, where material history is transcribed through contemporary tools. The convergence of ancient and modern technology aims to reverberate the site’s lasting spiritual presence – an echo persisting in what is now perceived as a quiet, emptied space. The spiral gestures towards infinity and light. Past and present dissolve into one another, reflecting 'Quiet Pieces' meditation on sound, memory, and time.
RIYL Alessandro Cortini, William Basinski, The Caretaker
In 2022, Osàre! Editions founder Elena Colombi approached artists and musicians with a prompt: Every body, everyone needs love to flourish. In her book The Will to Change, the eminent author and social activist, Bell Hooks, invites men to excavate their innermost selves, challenging the way that patriarchal society limits their capacity for intimacy, tenderness, care and emotion. As hooks lays out, feminist thought and work requires the collective participation of all genders in order to realise a liberated world. How can we imagine cross-gender solidarity through music and art? And how can we tell sonic stories that facilitate our full potential as desiring beings? These are the questions that The Male Body Will Be Next starts out from.
The title of the record draws connections between hooks' writing, a film by Rebecca Salvadori and Peter de Potter's stunning photo series of the same name. In de Potter and Salvadori's depictions, men's bodies appear as vulnerable, naked and exposed.
Divided into two parts, the first instalment of The Male Body Will Be Next hinges on colliding energies – the melding of club dance floors and haunting ambient textures, agile techno and noisy experimentation.
'The sun on my skin… it’s so warm and gentle,’ speak-sings Olivia Salvadori on ‘Su Di Te M’Infrango’, visualising utopias. Laurel Halo crafts a dreamscape spun from golden threads of synth and strings. Pensive and reflective, Ben Bertrand’s bass clarinet roams searchingly, its piercing tonality full of longing. Yet, in between these lucid, cinematic passages and spoken word, The Male Body Will Be Next finds space to dance together. Moving in fervent, rhythmic patterns, Sepehr’s ‘Divooneh’ pivots between tension and release. Filmmaker unleashes a wave of energy and The Spy delivers a potent take on vintage electro, the track title hinting at the double-bind of gendered expectations. Propelled between these eclectic styles, the record encapsulates the full spectrum of sonic expression.
Aus Music founder Will Saul collaborates with Fink and James Alexander Bright on the final EP in the AUS200.
After music from the likes of Quantic, Dam Swindle, K-Lone and Cinithe, Will Saul brings celebrations around his label's 200th release to a close with one track alongside long-time friend Fink and one with James Alexander Bright, an artist he discovered and signed to !K7 during a 10-year stint A&Ring with the label.
Saul's music has provided the backbone of the label since day one. His club-ready EPs and more immersive, expansive albums have helped to define its melodically rich fusion of bass and house. Just as importantly, his A&R has helped it evolve over the last two decades so it remains as relevant as ever with the current generation while providing a platform for contemporary talents to shine.
First up here he links up with his old friend, singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Fink who, as Sideshow, was behind the first-ever release on Aus back in 2006. Since then, he and Saul have continued a fruitful working relationship which now bears juicy musical fruit once more. Their 'Slo-mo Life' is six sublime minutes of deep, dubbed-out downtempo. It's powered by a prowling bassline with tender melodies and introspective chords next to subtle vocal loops that cannot fail to bliss you out. Fink then offers up a remix as Sideshow that rides on airy jungle breaks while evocative synths are smeared in painterly fashion before decaying in endless reverb to an angelic ambient sound.
British multi-hyphenate James Alexander Bright has built up a colourful body of albums and EPs that soundtrack everything from hazy daydreams to lazy afternoons in the park via dance floor trips. The singer has worked with, among others, Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay and Girls Of The Internet and always brings a lovably lo-fi and intoxicating sensibility.
'Blue' is a raw, live sound with crashing hits and broken kick patterns. Bright's nagging vocal speaks of emotional pain while shimmering chords bring the heat. Bright's remix reworks the track into a widescreen hazy breakbeat soul track that gives his vocals extra room to make their mark while the exquisite live drums from Joris Feiertag keep you moving.
Process of Elimination explores sickness as a teacher for anti-capitalist modes of being; a rewilding of the self. The product of an attempt to be indestructible, this sickness has an unknown diagnosis. The only route to determine the indeterminable is via a process of elimination. Eliminate the noise so it may quieten and make space for listening to what whispers underneath, allowing a return to the present moment. Slowness and queerness as technologies, questions as answers and mysticism as a path to healing when science alone does not suffice.
London-based multidisciplinary artist El Hardwick’s sophomore album follows their experience of becoming chronically ill after years of treating their body like a machine. El explains: “After failing to receive a diagnosis, which is only given via a lengthy process of elimination, I instead turned to autonomous modes of healing rooted in mysticism and herbalism; putting aside the need to be defined. My journey towards accepting my disability is told in parallel to my coming-out as trans. I also see my non-binary identity as a process of elimination: I am neither gender, both, in-between. It is through rewilding myself from capitalism and gender normativity that I learn how to connect to my body and the earth; no longer allowing either’s energy to be extracted from. The less I sought answers, language, metrics and analysis, the more peace I found.”
Following the hyperactive “Blood Karaoke” (2022, Reading Group), “Performing Belief” builds rhythmic thickets from gathered sounds interwoven with synths, drum machines and other samples. Having built these rhythmic nests, Krivchenia then called on two contemporary mages of the low end: electric bassist and fellow Angeleno Sam Wilkes (Wilkes/Gendel) and double bassist/multi-instrumentalist from Krivchenia’s native Chicago, Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society). Wilkes and Abrams bring the presence of a grounding human witness to the rhythmic undergrowth, providing a centering and even at times melodic voice to the gathering. This alchemy carries a profoundly fresh sense of time, blurring the edges of the quantized grid and the generic boundaries of electronic music.
The core of the album is a lush, opulent matrix of percussion ranging from the familiar—hand claps and drum machines—to the mysteriously verdant, sampled largely from Krivchenia’s own performed field recorded collection. For years, he would record any and all of his musical encounters with natural objects: performing on a particularly resonant log on a hike, throwing rocks into a pristine pond, tap dancing in the mud. This archive of “natural” sounds became the fertile soil out of which the tracks on “Performing Belief” grew. What is gained in the process is not just a novel set of sounds, but a new rhythmic language. The particular give, the anticipatory rustle, the extra breath of a hollow log when functioning as a kickdrum provides a greenness that overtakes the rhythmic grid, giving this music a peculiar kind of stickiness. This rhythmic language, set in Krivchenia’s long-fermenting electronic musical palate, feels like a revelation, even while it calls back not only to his wonderfully elastic timekeeping behind the kit with his beloved band Big Thief, but also to his prior work in computer music as well as his deep study and love of the vast human archive of drumming. “Performing Belief” is in good company in the rank and file of the legendary Planet Mu label. From the foundational early releases of the likes of Jega and Venetian Snares, to the contemporary envelope-warping work of Jlin and hundreds of brilliant releases in between, Planet Mu has been a beacon of forward-thinking rhythmic music for decades, informing Krivchenia’s own sense of the weird metaphysics of musical time since he was a kid. Krivchenia’s contribution to this history calls to mind the principle of organic danceability that subtends Mu’s whole catalogue, while bending our sense of rhythm in new and gracious dimensions. Krivchenia brings out the loamy complexity of natural rhythms, a clearing as generous as it is inviting. Let the drummer give you some.
Karpenters, the latest album from Kool Keith, produced by Grant Shapiro, stays true to the essence of Hip-Hop: boom bap beats, clever samples, and heavyweight guest features. Hip-Hop legends like Tash (Tha Alkaholiks) and Marc Live (Analog Brothers/Black Elvis) add to the project, complementing Kool Keith’s signature eccentric flow.
This marks Kool Keith’s first official album since the cult classic Black Elvis 2—a long-awaited release for dedicated fans. The album boasts mixing by J-Styles (Keith’s in-house engineer) and mastering by Grammy winner Steve “Steve B” Baughman, ensuring top-tier sound quality.
Leading the charge is the official music video for "Super Hits," directed by Wayne Campbell—known for his work on Kool Keith’s Love Infringement and videos for artists like Benny The Butcher.
With executive production by Kool Keith and distinctive, hard-hitting beats from Grant Shapiro, Karpenters is a project fans have been craving—raw, authentic, and unforgettable.
Cassette Release
Montreal, Quebec. A vast, adorned studio—an after-midnight sanctuary for the MOAB collective. Outside, winter carves its presence, the snow piling high against the factory’s walls. Inside, time dissolves into a sprawling, 24-hour reverie—music unfolding in an endless current, every moment captured, distilled, refined.
MOAB is a Montreal-based collective that embraces improvisation as its guiding force. Long, unbroken sessions where intuition eclipses thought, and where the body moves before the mind.
This is their first offering, released on Knekelhuis. A document of instinct, frozen in time yet endlessly shifting.
Portland's contemporary music makers and the city's historic Black music community come together on this new remix project which draws from the Albina Music Trust's archive. Across the long player, the artist reinvents the sounds of Portland's Black musicians with a modern beat-based sensibility, all of which subtly pay homage to the 1968 "Soul Assembly" program by the Black Student Union which educated audiences about Black Portland's cultural identity. Among many standouts are reimagined works by Jonny Cool, Jumbo of The Lifesavas and Tony Ozier who do a fine job of bridging generations and highlighting Portland's rich heritage.
The iconic Hôtel Costes music collection, a veritable benchmark of Parisian luxury and refinement, continues to captivate lovers of sophisticated sounds. Famous for its unique blends of warm vocals, funk, jazzy and pop grooves, fusing electronic sounds and acoustic instruments, this series is a must for connoisseurs of refined music.
This seventh volume, orchestrated by the talented Stéphane Pompougnac, offers light electro soul and racy house, perfect for livening up the most elegant evenings and keeping the most reluctant dancing until the wee hours. The Hôtel Costes series has revealed exceptional talents such as Pink Martini, Flight Facilities, General Elektriks, Angus & Julia Stone and Brigitte, while mixing hidden nuggets with masters such as Gotan Project, Femi Kuti, Trentemøller, Thievery Corporation, Shirley Bassey and Grace Jones.
With over 5 million copies sold worldwide, following the resounding success of the reissue of the first six volumes, this seventh opus is finally available for the first time on vinyl. A true gem that will delight long-time fans and appeal to a new generation of listeners worldwide.
The wonderfully favourable response to our first CD and double vinyl volume of the original A and B sides of the singles of the late great Isaac Hayes – as originally released on Stax’ Enterprise subsidiary between 1969 and 1972 – has forced us to bring forward, this month, the release of “Hot Buttered Singles 2” to cater for what Ace is sure will be just as great a level of popular demand.
This volume picks up where “Hot Buttered Singles Vol 1” left off with Hayes’ final 45 of 1972, and carries his seven inch story through to 1976 – by which time Stax was defunct, and Hayes’ was on his own Hot Buttered Soul label via ABC Records. It features eight US R&B chart hits including the much sampled ‘Hung Up On My Baby’ and ‘Chocolate Chip’, Hayes’ biggest hit of this period ‘Joy’ and the ever-popular 1976 instrumental ‘Disco Connection’, which finally gave Hayes’ his second UK Top 20 hit after ‘Shaft’.
All tracks match the original single edits, and wherever possible are taken from digital transfers of the original Enterprise singles masters. Where the original 45s came in two parts, they also do so here. And where original singles masters no longer exist, as was the case for two tracks, Ace’s engineers have re-created them beat for beat from the longer album versions. (Have fun guessing which two they were…)
Black[34,66 €]
Blurring the lines between the mundane and the mystical, ESKA’s latest album, ‘The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman’, is a profound exploration of motherhood, artistry, and the delicate dance between daily rhythms and creative transcendence. For ESKA, these aren’t opposing forces—they’re inseparable threads in a richly woven life.
“It’s the sound of a first-generation, middle-aged African British woman living in post-everything Southeast London,” ESKA reflects.
After two decades of trailblazing collaborations with world-renowned artists – Moses Sumney, Grace Jones, Radiohead and Baxter Dury, to name a few - along with various accolades - including a Mercury Prize Nomination, ESKA’s new album stands as her most personal and compelling work yet. A self-directed journey, it sees her embracing her ultimate creative partner: herself.
Rooted in her eclectic musical upbringing, ESKA pulls inspiration from the sounds and influences that have defined her journey, breaking free of conventional boundaries. The result is a body of work that defies easy categorisation—bold, dynamic, and unmistakably hers.
Blurring the lines between the mundane and the mystical, ESKA’s latest album, ‘The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman’, is a profound exploration of motherhood, artistry, and the delicate dance between daily rhythms and creative transcendence. For ESKA, these aren’t opposing forces—they’re inseparable threads in a richly woven life.
“It’s the sound of a first-generation, middle-aged African British woman living in post-everything Southeast London,” ESKA reflects.
After two decades of trailblazing collaborations with world-renowned artists – Moses Sumney, Grace Jones, Radiohead and Baxter Dury, to name a few - along with various accolades - including a Mercury Prize Nomination, ESKA’s new album stands as her most personal and compelling work yet. A self-directed journey, it sees her embracing her ultimate creative partner: herself.
Rooted in her eclectic musical upbringing, ESKA pulls inspiration from the sounds and influences that have defined her journey, breaking free of conventional boundaries. The result is a body of work that defies easy categorisation—bold, dynamic, and unmistakably hers.
Vilhelm Hasselgren is a Gothenburg-based producer and DJ with a focus on Jungle and productions that move between 160-170 bpm. Vilhelm focuses a lot on complex rhythms and ambient soundscapes and takes inspiration from both older and modern Jungle, as well as other electronic acts such as Basic Channel, Mala, Skee Mask and Arkajo. Vilhelm tries to create soundscapes that move between different musical starting points.
He has previously released on Rezonant Body, Canape Records, Bukva Sound and Of Paradise Records. Also has an upcoming EP releasing on Bukva as well as a V.A on Western Lore. In 2025, Vilhelm also has a residency at London-based Subtle Radio.
Vilhelms words:
Central Line EP is an EP that I'd myself consider to be my debut EP. The tracks were created within a two-and a half year span, with some tracks being re-worked and replaced. Later ending up with the final track-list, which I am very happy in how it ended up in the end. One of the tracks that were later added onto the EP being 1000 a co-production with my brother Einar (Local Arms), which we spontaneously recorded at our parents house over a weekend.
I mostly start from percussion, onto bass and later melody in my productions. The title track "Central Line" was started when I lived in Brighton for half a year, together with Theo Soderlund (Theomega). The Eski sample is a bit tricky one, but wanted to experiment with it, further I chopped an Amen and a Think break with an idea to create a pretty simple rhythm that could leave the riff to speak for itself. Even though the tracks were created within a pretty long span of time, I feel like they portray a sound that I want to further explore and produce at this point. Also Arcne adding a monster remix of Central Line that has been getting lot of love. Could not be happier to release it on Bukva Sound which prior releases I think really captivate a sound that has been really inspiring throughout the process.
The Delights formerly unissued recording “Listen To Me Girl” first made it’s vinyl debut during 2017 when released back to back with Tearra’s modern soul anthem “Just Loving You” (SJ1008). Having sold out very quickly this release now commands a price of £60.00 a copy. So, with demand still high we have decided to release “Listen To Me Girl” for a second time with the addition of two recently found unissued master tape tracks, which make their vinyl debut as part of this 3 track EP.
The Delights story began in the early 1960’s while as a children’s group from Chester PA. known as ‘The Twilights’ they began entering local talent shows which culminated in a performance at Philadelphia’s prestigious ‘Uptown Theatre’ during 1963. ‘The Twilights’ made their professional recording debut in 1964 for Weldon McDougal III, Johnny Stiles and Luther Randolph’s Harthon Production’s label with “It’s Been So Long/She Put Me Down” (TW-34). A second Twilights 45 came in 1967 “Shipwreck/For The First Time” (TW-35) which sold sufficiently well to be picked up for national distribution by Cameo Parkway. The group consisted of four male vocalists, brothers Kemp “Toppy” Hill, Ellis “Butch” Hill (the eldest) and Jaime “Peanut” Hill and their friend Raymond, plus lead singer and only female member Brandi ‘Peaches’ Wells (born Marquerite J. Pinder) who was only 9 years old when she sang on the group’s first Harthon 45, (Jaime Hill reputedly never featured on either of the two Harthon 45 recordings).
The Hill Brothers were cousins of Manny Campbell and it’s through this family connection that the group came to Emandolynn Productions initially as backing singers before being persuaded by Manny to drop their former performing name of ‘The Twilights’, to become ‘The Delights’. Under Manny and fellow Philadelphian Charles J. Bowen’s tutelage they recorded the delightful crossover dance track “Listen To Me Girl” during the months of July and August of 1968. Recent unearthed master tape finds from these early sessions have since yielded the featured “Come And Rejoice” an energetic subtle gospel influenced dance track which Manny wrote and produced on them in the hope of giving them a wider body of work and appeal as he shopped their demos around local record companies. The original backing track to “Listen To Me” is also featured on this release.
During the mid-1970’s ‘The Delights’ under the tutelage of respected Philly producer, arranger and songwriter Morris Bailey Jr recorded two 45 releases for the Jamie/Guyden distributed Phil-L.A Of Soul label “It’s As Simple As That/I’ve Got Enough Sense” (PH-374) and “Face The Music/Things Ain’t What They Used To Be” (PH-379). Brandi Wells had left the group prior to the Phil-L.A Of Soul releases to firstly join Major Harris’s backing singers ‘Brown Sugar’ before forming the group ‘Breeze’ who backed fellow WMOT label stable mates Billy Paul, Fat Larry & Philly Cream (a.k.a Ingram). Breeze later evolved into the group Slick who recorded the self-named album which produced the chart hits “Space Bass” and “Sexy Cream”. In 1981 Brandi recorded her first solo debut album ‘Watch Out’ which reached #37 on the Billboard R&B Chart, her second solo album entitled “20TH Century Fox” followed in 1985 for the Omni label. She recorded the Butch Ingram penned “I Love You” 12” single for Butch’s Society Hill records in 1992. Sadly, Brandi Wells passed away in 2003 at the age of 47.
The Vendetta Suite is back to light up the early part of 2025 with a brilliant brace of singles on Hell Yeah. Kicking things off is a glorious acid house/disco thriller backed by a soothing out of body escape.
We’ve often referred to The Vendetta Suite as Belfast’s best kept secret, but with the quality music he keeps releasing he is rightly picking up ever more of a profile. The Hell Yeah regular has long been a key part of his native Northern Irish scene thanks to the way he mixes genres; ambient, post-rave Balearic, dub and acid house all in the mix with his own unique psychedelic magic.
First up is ‘The Jam Answer’, which taps into plenty of classic sounds but reinvents them for modern dancefloors. Bendy acid lines weave in between the dusty analogue drums, familiar acid house vocal samples and fizzing chord stabs bring the heat before a cosmic synth lead sings out with sunny soul. ‘Island Hill Microdot’ channels dreamy Chicago house, the futuristic styles of IDM with the blissed out warmth of Balearic. Carried along with gentle percussion, it’s an immersive soundscape that makes for the perfect tropical distraction.
Two very different but equally effective cuts from The Vendetta Suite.
Edinburgh-based three-piece funk band High Fade are set to release their debut album 'Life’s Too Fast'.
Capturing the raw, on-stage energy that has been the driving force behind High Fade’s meteoric rise was never going to be easy, but that’s exactly what Harry, Oli and Calvin set out to do with a clear creative vision to record their album live at the iconic RAK Studios in London.
'We recorded in RAK Studios, with the desk built for the Rolling Stones in ‘76, with the same cigarette burns still on the faders. It instantly had a vibe of raw energy and liveliness to it that matched the way we wanted to record - live.' – Calvin
The result? 'Life’s Too Fast' – a blistering 10-track debut from one of the UK’s most exciting bands that manages to deliver the same tight, groove-laden funk rock that has put the group on the radars of Jack Black, Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk, has seen them tour with The Cat Empire, and tick off iconic venues including Glastonbury, Jazz Cafe, and Boomtown Festival.
'We decided to record the album live rather than through the normal single track overdubbed method – we felt this would help to fully convey the band’s power, sound and energy across to the listener! More like we’re playing a gig and having it recorded – it was a tough process, but we went about it in the best way for both us and the audience, to ensure they’re getting the most authentic High Fade sound and experience possible.' – Oli
Having spent much of the last three years on the road seeing to a punishing tour schedule, 'Life’s Too Fast' is a chance for the band to stop and take stock, to reflect on their whirlwind success, and create an artistic milestone that demonstrates who High Fade are today. 'It’s the most accurate representation of what High Fade is, what we sound like, and who we are' explains Harry. Telling a clear story that matches their own experiences over the last few years, the album is a snapshot taken by a band who are accelerating towards real success and recognition.
'I’m glad we finally have a body of work that we’re proud of and feels like a collection of songs that nicely represents where we are right now. It’s organised chaos and shows that we like to play, but can also write a catchy tune.' – Calvin
Launching into proceedings with the effortlessly uplifting 'Take Me To The Floor', every track is a demonstration of the band’s technical prowess and broad sonic palette. A forward-facing selection of completely original material, the album also gave the band the opportunity to re-imagine fan-favourite 'Sharpen Up' as a stripped-back cut that reflects the band’s current lineup.
'Honestly, I kinda feel like I could explode with excitement about getting it out for everyone in the world to hear because it has been a long time in the making! A culmination of what all the singles have been working towards! I guess the album represents us and the direction we’re taking the music, it represents us as a trio and the gel that is High Fade.' – Oli
Golden Ratio are Simon Stoll & Gary Clegg
It all started as a lockdown project in 2020 with Gary and myself exchanging ideas down the ether which grew into a body of work that we were excited to take further. We continued with the online process and enlisted some musicians we knew to fill in the gaps. Initially, this featured Jake Telford on sax and flute who is also credited with co-writing Morphology and Natural Law and Andre Espeut vocalist also credited with co-writing Stand Up & Fight, One Family and Wake Up To The Day. As restrictions lifted we were able to get some drummers into the studio: Filippo Galli (tracks 1 & 2) and George Addison-Atkinson (tracks 3-9). Other musicians featured are Kevin Davy, trumpet on Breaking Through Time, Gianluca Chiarella guitar solo on Morphology and Mohammed Nazam guitar on One Family.
In terms of previous experience, Simon was a member of Mamas Gun in their very early days before concentrating on a business career but has actively played with musicians from the north London music scene since the late 90’s. Gary played on the dance mix of Lazy by David Byrne produced by DJ Mark Wilkinson, played for Funkshy (Tansay Omar project), played in Charlotte Kelly’s band (from Soul II Soul) and was resident bassist at the Iceni club in the 90’s.
It’s long been our dream to have our own project featuring original compositions and dedicated to the style of music we love, our routes being the jazz funk and acid jazz scenes from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. We now have the opportunity to try and realise this dream and feel your label would be a perfect fit for us as it echoes and promotes those same musical influences.
On April 4, 2025, Elektra/Rhino Records will reissue Tracy Chapman’s eponymous debut album on vinyl in celebration of its 35th anniversary. Originally released by Elektra Records in April 1988, Tracy Chapman has long been unavailable on vinyl. This anniversary reissue has been prepared for release by Chapman and the album’s original producer, David Kershenbaum, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and sourced from an analogue master. The album package will also include an insert of translated lyrics, which accompanied the original international release. Featuring the classic singles ‘Fast Car’, ‘Talkin’ Bout A Revolution’, and ‘Baby Can I Hold You’, the album earned three Grammy Awards and went on to become one of the most successful debuts of all time, peaking at #1 in multiple countries and selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. To this day, it still makes regular appearances on charts around the world, and is one of the most successful albums by a female artist in chart history.
Chapman comments, “I was just out of college when the album came out and for a young singer songwriter it was a dream come true – making a record, recording my own songs, releasing my first album. 1988, that year marked the beginning of what has been a humbling and thrilling experience, seeing fans around the world embrace these 11 songs. I really wanted to mark the 35th anniversary of the album, and so I am grateful to have this opportunity to reissue the record on vinyl.”
Over the course of four decades and eight studio albums, Tracy Chapman has created a body of work that has been as consistently compelling as it is honest and uncompromising, eloquently telling stories with perennial appeal that are at once personal and universal. Impervious to trends, she has commendably stayed her musical course, earning the approbation of fans, critics and peers. Beginning with 1988’s multi-platinum Tracy Chapman, her musical journey has continued with Crossroads (1989), Matters Of The Heart (1992), 1995’s multi-platinum New Beginning (which featured the Grammy-winning single ‘Give Me One Reason’), Telling Stories (2000), Let It Rain (2002), Where You Live (2005), Our Bright Future (2008), and two best-selling compilations, Collection (2001) and Greatest Hits (2015). Along the way, in addition to her four Grammys, Chapman has earned an American Music Award, two Brits, and a Billboard Music Award.
Cross Record's new album, Crush Me, is steeped in the pressures and wonders of existence—a profound statement, especially coming from artist and death doula Emily Cross. A two-and-a-half-year gestation period offered challenges, disappointments, and joys reflected in the cramped space of the album, which explores how we handle the weights we carry. Emily Cross had held hundreds of Living Funerals and was as many episodes deep into her podcast, What I’m Looking At. She was five years into serving clients as a death doula and fresh off a tour with Loma, her band with Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater) and Dan Duszynski, when she began work on her fourth album. After moving from Austin, TX to Dorset, UK, she established the Steady Waves Center for Contemplation (named after a track from her second record, Wabi-Sabi ), where she hosted Living Funerals, met clients, scheduled mindful tea sessions, and showcased experimental music nights. All the while, she was scribbling down song ideas. Cross’s Tascam four-track demos finally reached readiness, and she sent them to an interested major independent label. She was encouraged to push her imagination to the limits of what a record could be. So, unlike her usual process of recording as inexpensively as possible, she prepared a two-week recording session in Germany with a group of skilled musicians from around the world. True to her previous work, Cross left plenty of room in her demos for experimentation, collaboration, chance, improvisation, and complete obliteration, then resurrection when necessary. Comfort and traditional structure were eschewed in favor of unaccountable magic, prayers whispered into The Void. Cross is comfortable with the chaotic and unpredictable, a perspective demanded by her work and writing style. The Berlin Airbnb was packed with people, instruments and luggage. During a ride down in a tiny elevator to the studio, Cross realized how central the sense of being crushed was to the album. “I thought of it later and it dawned on me that ‘Crush Me’ perfectly embodied the record,” says Cross. Yes, the weight of a body laying limply atop yours, or the tight squeeze of a hug, can be pleasant. Go too far, and you’re in the hands of a cruel, adolescent god. Upon leaving Germany, the record was unfinished, and without a roadmap. As passages were recorded as isolated parts, Cross and musician Marcin Sulewski collaborated, facing a haphazard brick pile, waiting to be assembled. Work dipped in and out of view like a buoy bobbing in a violent sea over many months. During that time, the aforementioned interested label went radio silent, suddenly not seeming so sure of a thing. Collaborators disappeared, continuing the themes of abandonment, surrender, and disarray that followed the project. Cross physically felt her entire body go numb: In a twist of fate, the record was rescued by long-time friend and supporter Ben Goldberg at Ba Da Bing Records who was eager to help realize the project. Cross worked for months on the album, all the while nursing a pregnancy and continuing her full-time funeral work. The last minute participation of Seth Manchester of Machines with Magnets, who mixed and mastered, was an essential liferaft. He gave true final form to the abstracted songs. Crush Me has the effect of a spell being cast, with songs balancing heaviness and levity. Vocals, guitars, and keyboards float above, as drums and upright bass (often bowed) lurch beneath. On “Rolling Backwards” percussion wanders about while feedback squeals and persists in the distance. “Dorset Area Of Natural Beauty” starts with a thick, unhinged church organ progression punctuated by the disquieting sounds of laughter reaching the point of hysteria. “God Fax” is a slow-moving panic attack, with shallow breaths in and out framing a guttural cacophony like a wooden freighter encountering increasingly turbulent waters and vocals struck emotionless by autotune. The album ends with “Twisted Up Fence,” a reflection on life from outside the wall--wistful, warm, and comforting. Cross, likely with a smile on her face, sings: “You say it’s an endless abyss” “And I say the abyss is the best”
Demonstrating the poignant power of experience + human connection + innate musicality + operating in the present moment, Jeff Mills' Spiral Deluxe collective unveil their second album - The Love Pretender. Driven by the free expression and creativity of improvised performance, Spiral Deluxe is an electronic jazz fusion project comprised electronic music visionary Jeff, along with legendary keyboardist Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/ Los Hermanos), Japanese rocker Yumiko Ohno (Buffalo Daughter/Cornelius) on Moog synthesizer and the Japanese bassist, adopted New Yorker, Kenji "Jino" Hino - son of Terumasa Hino, the world famous jazz trumpeter. Together, the four key players formed a band centred around completely improvised journeys through sound.
During their unrestrained performances, what Jeff describes as sonic "conversations" arose between the musicians, as they each contributed to full-length live shows, and studio sessions. Within the boundless parameters of freeform spontaneity, they developed an unspoken understanding of one another, finding balance and poise within the unplanned performances. The resulting recordings have been used for three releases so far: Two EPs, Kobe Session (2016) and Tathata (2017), and their debut album Voodoo Magic in 2018. With The Love Pretender, we're presented with another stunning collection of "tracks" extracted from one long improv session.
With each musician proficient in their specialism and, of course, an all-out music lover, the communication between the group members became almost telepathic. Very little preparation was needed, and their performances flowed naturally and organically. This can be heard, and felt, throughout The Love Pretender. Tracks like 'The Soloist' evolve effortlessly, each new shift subtly influenced by one of the musicians nudging the conversation into a different phase, and the rest responding accordingly, or vice versa. It's music that embodies the true nature of mindfulness and letting go of fear. In their unstructured, liberated cocoon the artists thrive and create musical moments that have, fortunately, been captured for us all to immerse ourselves in. Jazzy notes fill the air, combined with electronic bass, synthesised beats, sparkling keys and an all-round warm and welcoming atmosphere, with the slight edge you can only get from improvised performance.
Sylvain Luc's posthumous appearance on the album is of significance too. The French guitarist died in March 2024 at the age of 59. His natural flair adds another dimension to the album, bringing a touch of that laid back 1980s American California Coast feeling to tracks such as 'Society's Man'. These contributions to the LP, recorded separately, add character - a final sprinkling of humanity to complement the aliveness and presence of this body of work. Three other musicians also added their creative energy to the project. They were; TOKU, a Japanese jazz musician who specialises in wind instruments, especially the cornet, trumpet and flugel horn. And there's Masa Shimizu, who also has wide-ranging with the guitar, as well as being a producer.
Themes on the album include the optimism one can have by simply trusting the process and trusting that everything will work out in the end. By playing together in the way they do, Spiral Deluxe place their trust in the mystery of what will happen next. Getting comfortable with not knowing is key to a sense of peace with regard to the future and this energy is vital to their collective musical output. By embracing the notion of the unknown, you become an eternal optimist, living in the moment, rather than projecting into the future. This cultivates excitement, an antidote to anxiety.
Meanwhile, the title alludes to the shifts and changes that have occurred in today's society, whereby it's possible to achieve success through pretending. The superficiality, and falsehood, that can often be presented via social media, can lead to questions about what's real and what's not. From AI to the fake personas that populate the dominant platforms, The Love Pretender speaks to a process that is symbolic of the time we're living in. Behaviour that has become acceptable in today's world, which may not have been as welcomed a few decades ago. But this is part of the cycle of life...
Jeff's intention with this music is to present it in high-fidelity, to be listened to over and over and over again. In post-recording he worked for hours to ensure the audio quality was as high as it could be. The goal is to create music that people can live with their entire lives, from his solo work to these masterful improvisations. Music that comes to life, music that has a voice we can replicate with our own vocals. Expressive, unstructured, and alive...
With The Love Pretender Jeff Mills continues his mission to experiment with music outside the bounds of what is typically expected. It's freeing, enlivening, vibrant and uniquely human. As ever, Jeff's visionary outlook and bold approach to musical performance and recording has produced a body of work that epitomises his often revolutionary capabilities. There's no pretending here, just pure unadulterated sonic transmissions from a wonderfully daring, inspiring and optimistic ensemble...
No matter how much of their filthy riches Munich’s oh-so shiny and smart glitterati are going to spend on generic pest control, they’ll never manage to exterminate SPINNEN (n.b. German for “spiders” – and also for “being bonkers” ;) Instead, SPINNEN will spread even further, they’ll form new networks, take over new corners, new spots, connect more musical dots with invisible, incendiary cobwebs.
Whereas these two SPINNEN – Sophie Neudecker (drums) and Veronica “Katta” Burnuthian (bass) – have been doing their spidery thing(s) in countless muggy, experimental corners of Munich for years (think bands such as Bombo, Uschi, Apian, The Living Object, Friends of Gas + other art ventures, tats, Schaufel & Besen Records…), the duo’s first full-length offering for Weilheim-based Alien Transistor sees them move on towards a warm kind of light – “Warmes Licht”. Inspired by Lambrini Girls, Peaches, McLusky, Amyl And The Sniffers, and all things loud and gain-heavy around their hometown, the album – obviously two body parts (A + B side), 8 legs (tracks) – is set to arrive in March 2025.
“Zusammen wachsen/Zusammen fallen,” meaning grow together/fall together feels like a fitting motto on opening track “Träume,” an initial onslaught of shouts, spiky basslines, crunchy chords, a whole lot of awesome friction in that lovely lower end. “Visionen folgen/Kämpfen und Erschaffen,” is another apt line while doing just that, fighting, creating, turning visions into soundscapes, into pure sonic fun & resistance. Putting even more pressure on the mosh pit with wordless “Wirken,” that titular warm light eventually breaks through towards the end of hypnotic “Moment”: The lyrics might talk about a calm state of mind – but these two are certainly not slowing down, not aiming for consistency, or for “making it”…
“Warm” has no drums, no message, it’s pure light, all playful organ hypnosis, paving the way for the b-side that opens with first single “Geister” (spirits/ghosts/genies): Arriving with a rough wind that immediately turns things upside down, it’s all screams and riffs, turbines and propellers – one of many moments that make you realize how bad you want to see this hi-octane duo live, how good it must feel to have them scare the shit out of your body (“Verscheuche mich aus meinem Körper”). They’re like two genies coming from the same smashed bottle, offering three wishes to those who’re lucky enough to listen (Fuzzy Noise Pop? Punk Catharsis? Rrriot Krautsound?).
Following a quick melancholy breather (“Lichter”), things once again get restless as they rush towards the punk finale via slow-burning demolisher anthem “Ermüdend”/“Immer wieder,” only to unleash one last battle cry, one last middle finger made of light and noise to the heated room (“Mäuse”) they’ve long taken over.
It’s certainly no coincidence that a certain square/fine/upstanding citizen named Margit O. gave Munich’s Bürgerpark Oberföhring a scathing 1-star review on Google Maps exactly four years ago – at the very moment that Sophie and Katta first met just there, which eventually lead to the formation of SPINNEN. The reason for O.’s negative rating: “Too loud”.
Baby Rose makes healing music for the aimless and heartbroken. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and producer's uniquely rich voice naturally lends itself to her powerful, smoke-filled ballads lamenting lost loves and broken futures. "I make music to help myself get through things," she says. The piercing honesty and vulnerability she brings to her lyrics in turn helps others process their feelings and find a place of healing. For Rose, it's a journey that's still ongoing. "If I'm going to leave anything behind, it's going to be getting people back to themselves," she says. "As I get back to myself, it's a constant reset: Remember who you are, remember who you want to be." You can hear the impact of this approach in Baby Rose's upcoming second album, Through and Through. Take the hypnotic "Fight Club." Over the track's simmering baseline and crashing cymbals, she declares, "I don't need no one else to show me the way." She describes the song as a "breaking of the shell. It encourages me to just go for it and not care about what anyone else thinks." Therein lies Baby Rose's strength: a determination to live, love, and create on her own terms. "I'm not just a singer with a unique voice," she says. "I'm somebody that has something to say." In the years since releasing her last album, To Myself, Rose has been painstakingly piecing together its sequel. Started almost immediately after its release, her new body of work finds her in a state of musical and personal transition. It's a subtle merging of new sounds_stirring rock, upbeat r&b, psychedelic funk, pop, and soulful ballads_, all mastered through analog tape to make the music feel warmer and all-encompassing. It's also a journey inward as she battles past fear and self-doubt to finally discover_and love_who she is, where she is. Finishing an album with such peace and firm resolution is a first for Rose, but she makes it clear: She's nowhere near done writing her story. "I think as long as I'm being raw and trying to push past my comfort zone, it will feel rewarding," she says. "I don't want to be the type that doesn't take risks because I'm afraid. I have to trust that as long as the music is honest and innovative, it'll be timeless."
Pacific Rhythm is honoured to share the debut self-titled EP from Inner Flight, a duo comprised of Cooper Saver and Chris Macintyre. Inner Flight began as a long-distance collaboration during 2020 inspired by rural Canadian landscapes, natural beauty, and a myriad of musical fluencies spanning The Second Summer of Love, Andrew Weatherall, early Factory Records, and the deeper corners of the 4AD catalog.
It has since grown into an introspective and sometimes ecstatic body of work that weʼre elated to share with the world. Elevate your state of being with this idyllic soundscape from two of North Americaʼs finest vibe practitioners.
"Phantom Planet has returned! After a decade plus long hiatus, the band reunited in 2019 and released Devastator in 2020, their first full-length since 2008's Raise The Dead.
Devastator featuring the singles ""Time Moves On,"" ""Only One,"" and ""Balisong."" Pressed on limited edition vinyl in two colors, Yellow and Black, respectively.
Black Vinyl[39,08 €]
Exploring late-night, after-hours meditations on sound; ‘Everything Above The Sky (Astral Travelling with Luke Una)’ is a new compilation by the titular DJ, promoter and enigmatic cultural curator. Off the back of the E Soul Cultura phenomena, this compilation comes at a timely point in Luke’s rich career as he soars the heights of playing all over the world. Avoiding any chance of his sound being pigeonholed, Luke has put together a tracklist of songs and music that have a transcendental feel, after coming off the grid, going back to source, outside the city walls .
Music has long been believed to aid out of body experiences and many of us have searched long and hard for a combination of those elusive ingredients that might alleviate some of the monotony of everyday life, our daily routines and obligations, and those things that seem to block us from the spirit of the universe. In this collection, Luke selects music with all the right ingredients in just the right quantities, allowing the listener to engage in an esoteric journey of enlightenment through sound. Being a prolific collector of music, Luke initially delivered enough tracks to compile several compilations, making the licensing process the biggest effort to date for the label. The music moves softly and slowly, never becoming too intrusive, exemplifying the wonderful elevating properties of simple songs played from the heart.
Luke’s Everything Above The Sky manifesto reads, “Astral Travelling in the meadowlands with acid folk, spiritual jazz, around midnight hocus pocus, cosmic psychedelic soul, magical spellbound whirling swirling love songs, Brazilian ballads of light into machine soul gospel utopia dreaming, Balearic bossa, Outer Space ancient African drum, the breath of trees, escaping the big bad modern world, gathering round winter fires, walking amongst the bracken in Padley Gorge in late summer twilight, overlooking the Hope Valley, escaping ego, detaching and finally letting go amongst the stars with the slowly floating people. It’s beautiful beyond. Everything above the Sky”.
Beginning his career as an original Sheffield house young blood in the mid 1980s, Luke’s move to Manchester and partnership with Justin Crawford saw the birth of Electric Chair, a cornerstone cult night in the UK underground club scene. Then came Electric Elephant, a Croatian festival paying homage to their wild eclecticism from Balearic to Brazilian to É Soul, house, disco and techno. Luke’s much loved, long-running Homoelectric night and more recently Homobloc sell out festival for 10,000 souls has been at the forefront of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. Luke’s Friday evening show on Worldwide FM captured imaginations and became a cult four-hour must-listen monthly journey for fans all over the world. Today, Luke remains, as ever, at the forefront of a changing milieu, pairing the momentous legacy of Manchester’s 80s and 90s scene with the delivery of what today’s club communities need to get down.
The very first (and long overdue) career-spanning retrospective from Soul music legend P.P. Arnold • A 57 song 3CD set, or 25 song 2LP set featuring singles, album tracks, demos, and previously unreleased songs • A stylishly packaged collection with new sleeve notes by author Jude Rogers • A companion piece to P.P. Arnold's critically acclaimed autobiography Soul Survivor The term "well-established" might be appropriate for some artists but it barely begins to cover the career of the phenomenal P.P. Arnold, whose records and performances are now in their seventh decade.
Her consistently excellent music covers multiple genres, her high-profile admirers and collaborators are plentiful, and yet 'Soul Survivor - A Life In Song' is the first collection dedicated to this extraordinary body of work. Compiled by the artist, 'Soul Survivor - A Life In Song' is being released on a 57 song 3CD set, and 25 song 2LP set, both formats housed in an eye-catching sleeve created by photographer (and close friend) Gered Mankowitz, with extensive new sleeve notes by author Jude Rogers.
Alongside key singles and album tracks it includes previously unreleased recordings, demo versions, live performances, and some rare mixes that are being reissued for the very first time. From her early days at Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label (where she "became one of us", according to Andrew) her allies, associates, and working partners have included the Small Faces, Cat Stevens, Mick Jagger, Barry Gibb, Eric Clapton, Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Blockheads' Chaz Jankel, Roger Waters, Ocean Colour Scene, The Blow Monkeys' Dr. Robert, and Paul Weller. In 2022 P.P. Arnold told her extraordinary life story in her critically acclaimed autobiography Soul Survivor (Mojo magazine called it "a jaw-dropping memoir"); now that book has the soundtrack that it deserves.
CLEAR MARBLE VINYL[43,28 €]
2LP - 180 Gram Vinyl Jazz Standards Live is a remarkable collaboration between two iconic jazz musicians: Kenny Wheeler, a legendary trumpeter and composer known for his versatility, and Rain Sultanov, a saxophonist celebrated for his rich tone and innovative style. This album captures an unforgettable performance that has never before been released physically. Blending the expressive power of Wheeler's trumpet and Sultanov's saxophone, the quintet delivers a warm and resonant sound that harks back to the golden era of jazz in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fans of Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. quintet will recognize the vibrant interplay reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter. This double vinyl LP is a treasure trove for jazz enthusiasts, featuring a mix of beloved standards and original compositions by Wheeler. Adding depth and character to the performance is Shahin Novrasli's masterful piano work, which infuses the album with a distinctive mood. Meanwhile, Paul Clarvis on drums and Ruslan Guseynov on bass provide a dynamic and cohesive rhythm section that elevates each track. Jazz Standards Live is not just an album; it is a testament to the boundless creativity and artistry of two jazz maestros, uniting their talents to create an experience that is both timeless and fresh. Whether you're a longtime jazz aficionado or a newcomer to the genre, this album promises to captivate and inspire.
Black Vinyl[38,45 €]
2LP - 180 Gram Vinyl Jazz Standards Live is a remarkable collaboration between two iconic jazz musicians: Kenny Wheeler, a legendary trumpeter and composer known for his versatility, and Rain Sultanov, a saxophonist celebrated for his rich tone and innovative style. This album captures an unforgettable performance that has never before been released physically. Blending the expressive power of Wheeler's trumpet and Sultanov's saxophone, the quintet delivers a warm and resonant sound that harks back to the golden era of jazz in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fans of Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. quintet will recognize the vibrant interplay reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter. This double vinyl LP is a treasure trove for jazz enthusiasts, featuring a mix of beloved standards and original compositions by Wheeler. Adding depth and character to the performance is Shahin Novrasli's masterful piano work, which infuses the album with a distinctive mood. Meanwhile, Paul Clarvis on drums and Ruslan Guseynov on bass provide a dynamic and cohesive rhythm section that elevates each track. Jazz Standards Live is not just an album; it is a testament to the boundless creativity and artistry of two jazz maestros, uniting their talents to create an experience that is both timeless and fresh. Whether you're a longtime jazz aficionado or a newcomer to the genre, this album promises to captivate and inspire.
