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Eine Hommage an innovative mexikanische Musiker, die elektronische und indigene Instrumente mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik verschmolzen haben Mit 12 visionären Künstlern, darunter Luis Pérez, Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes, Aristeo und Tribu, um nur einige zu nennen Zusammengestellt und produziert vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill Cover-Artwork vom legendären Künstler Eduardo Terrazas sowie Design und Layout von D.Norsen Design Doppel-LP, gepresst bei Optimal, inklusive Booklet mit Liner Notes Audio remastered vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin Limitierte Farbvinyl-Edition, gepresst auf violettem und rosa Vinyl //// ,A LA ALTURA" - oder ,To The Height" - würdigt mexikanische Musiker, die sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts mit elektronischen und indigenen Instrumenten auf experimentelles Terrain wagten und dabei im Dialog mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik standen. Über ein Jahrzehnt in Arbeit und liebevoll kuratiert vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill, basiert A LA ALTURA auf Originalbändern und Masteraufnahmen mit unveröffentlichten, längst vergriffenen und privat gepressten Aufnahmen. Die Bände 1 & 2 präsentieren 25 visionäre Künstler, die sich aktiv für eine Art Bewusstseinserweiterung einsetzten - sei es durch die Suche nach den Sternen mittels ihrer Musik oder durch die Weiterentwicklung der Kunstform selbst. Ebenso kühn setzen diese beiden Bände ein Zeichen dafür, dass mexikanische Künstler und Komponisten wie Luis Pérez, Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes, Ana Ruiz und Antonio Zepeda in einem Atemzug mit Michael Rother, Terry Riley, Hiroshi Yoshimura und den vielen anderen Künstlern genannt werden sollten, die zu Recht für ihren Experimentiergeist gefeiert wurden.

Eine Hommage an innovative mexikanische Musiker, die elektronische und indigene Instrumente mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik verschmolzen haben Mit 12 visionären Künstlern, darunter Luis Pérez, Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes, Aristeo und Tribu, um nur einige zu nennen Zusammengestellt und produziert vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill Cover-Artwork vom legendären Künstler Eduardo Terrazas sowie Design und Layout von D.Norsen Design Doppel-LP, gepresst bei Optimal, inklusive Booklet mit Liner Notes Audio remastered vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin Limitierte Farbvinyl-Edition, gepresst auf violettem und rosa Vinyl //// ,A LA ALTURA" - oder ,To The Height" - würdigt mexikanische Musiker, die sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts mit elektronischen und indigenen Instrumenten auf experimentelles Terrain wagten und dabei im Dialog mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik standen. Über ein Jahrzehnt in Arbeit und liebevoll kuratiert vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill, basiert A LA ALTURA auf Originalbändern und Masteraufnahmen mit unveröffentlichten, längst vergriffenen und privat gepressten Aufnahmen. Die Bände 1 & 2 präsentieren 25 visionäre Künstler, die sich aktiv für eine Art Bewusstseinserweiterung einsetzten - sei es durch die Suche nach den Sternen mittels ihrer Musik oder durch die Weiterentwicklung der Kunstform selbst. Ebenso kühn setzen diese beiden Bände ein Zeichen dafür, dass mexikanische Künstler und Komponisten wie Luis Pérez, Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes, Ana Ruiz und Antonio Zepeda in einem Atemzug mit Michael Rother, Terry Riley, Hiroshi Yoshimura und den vielen anderen Künstlern genannt werden sollten, die zu Recht für ihren Experimentiergeist gefeiert wurden.

LUST is the second EP in the 7SINS SERIES, produced by Alex Cabrera. A release that reveals a more underground, personal and distinctive side of the artist, exploring new territories without losing the essence of his sound. A collection of varied tracks with their own identity, where rhythms, textures and atmospheres come together to build a darker, more experimental universe. A second sin that embraces stepping outside the established and pushing the sound into new places. No formulas. No limits. Just music.

'Get Back' is a 8-track album and collection celebrating the last ten years of Italian DJ and producer Da Lukas, a respected name in the global nu-disco and house music scenes. Known for blending vintage disco nostalgia with modern electronic production, this collection brings together his strongest club anthems from the past decade. The album also introduces two brand-new tracks. The first new track is a powerful cover of the James Brown-penned Lyn Collins funk classic, "Take Me Just As I Am," featuring a brilliant vocal performance by Fatimah Provillon. The second new addition is the original title track, "Get Back," a driving nu-disco anthem featuring the legendary dance/pop singer Amanda Wilson. This album serves as both a perfect retrospective of his signature sound and an exciting look at his latest work.

Andreas Tilliander returns to Kontra-Musik in a grand style with his second TM404 album. Titled 'Acidub', this highly anticipated release is much more of an evolution than a repetition of the first superbly self-restricted album, where Tilliander even decided to use only one of the two Roland TB-303 waveforms. Acidub is a more playful and open listening experience, no doubt inspired by his extensive live touring with the TM404 concept. In fact, you can almost hear Tilliander's flock of acid machines breaking free from the restrained modus operandi. Every sound is like a migratory bird with a heart yearning for high altitude and favourable winds. The opening track Alinge paints a lucid picture of these acid birds leaving a cold industrial landscape behind, the flickering black shadows from their wings against the white smoke rising from a forest of chimneys below. The very last seconds of Alinge even echo of the place the silver birds are longing for, but that will remain a secret between Kontra-Musik and the avid listener. Sufficient to say, we can follow these birds of passage as they're heading south towards a warmer climate, fleeing the cold discipline of the North. Mutron Mantra, for instance, brings us to a rainforest full of serpentine lianas, giant leaves dripping with moist and green pools of water bubbling with organic life. Don't Defend Mascot guides us through a steaming savannah at dusk with hundreds of yellow eyes following our every step while Pade vividly describes the perils of the flight and the pace and courage needed to press on. In all, Acidub is a surprisingly exuberant follow-up to the more introspective TM404 album. But while the musical journey of this second album is quite different, the experience of sheer aural eminence remains the same. Andreas Tilliander has done it again, and Kontra-Musik couldn't be prouder.

CPEN is the alias of Chris Penny and his 'Pirates Life' EP on Seasons Recordings back in the 2000s is one of our all-time favourites. It was used on Craig Richards's fabric mix and still sounds original more than a quarter of a century on as the man behind it has gone on to work with Luke Solomon and Honey Dijon on a Grammy-winning album. It's the title cut that does it for us with the way the groove is so languid and loose as it hangs just above the floor and deep space sounds colour the airwaves. 'Song Of The Muse' is a beautiful synth scape stripped of rhythm and 'Liquid Steps' has a little more bite but still roll on nice soft kicks with life-affirming keys up top. 'Third Quarter' is a majestic post-club comedown with all of CPEN's signature synth sounds and even some brassy smears, making it an utter downtempo delight.

Houston’s premier street griot is stepping into his most profound chapter yet with his highly anticipated upcoming album, O.Y.N. Throughout a decorated career that spans over 1.2 billion global streams and a fiercely loyal fanbase, Maxo Kream—born Emekwane Ogugua Biosah, Jr.—has established himself as one of rap’s most authentic, uncompromising storytellers. From the raw trenches of Alief to the critically acclaimed triumphs of Punken, Brandon Banks, Weight of the World, and his triumphant 2024 independent pivot Personification, Maxo has long been celebrated by Pitchfork, NPR, and Complex for his cinematic, hyper-detailed world-building. Now, O.Y.N. finds the Houston icon turning his gaze inward, pairing his signature Texas grit with an expansive, global perspective that redefines his artistic boundaries.

If his previous work was about Maxo taking full creative control as an independent force, O.Y.N. is about him uncovering who he is at his core. Following the passing of his father, Maxo found himself searching deeper for his family origins, leading to a pivotal moment of artistic and personal rebirth. For the first time in his life, Maxo traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, anchoring his new music in a profound celebration of his Nigerian heritage. The emotional centerpiece of this journey is the JPEGMAFIA-produced single “Time Out,” an introspective track that moves away from the frantic energy of his past releases to offer a stripped-back look at love, loss, and legacy. Featuring a heavy, resonant drum presence on the outro, the song’s accompanying music video was filmed on location in Lagos, capturing Maxo navigating his ancestral roots in real-time.

While O.Y.N. reaches new emotional depths, it doesn't sacrifice the hard-hitting, volatile street persona that made Maxo a star. The album expertly balances soul-baring vulnerability with cutting-edge hip-hop experimentation, showcasing elite chemistry with some of the genre's most forward-thinking visionaries. Look no further than “Fake Jeezy,” a collaborative explosion featuring Denzel Curry and masterminded by JPEGMAFIA. The track is a masterclass in industrial chaos, combining sharp lyricism and early-2000s trap imagery with cold, surreal visual aesthetics. This duality highlights Maxo's unique positioning in the culture as a trusted street general who can effortlessly trade bars with rap's avant-garde elite.

From his early days flipping Kendrick Lamar's “Rigamortis” to sharing marquee tracks with the likes of A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, and Tyler, The Creator on hits like “Big Persona,” “Cracc Era,” and “Cracc At 15,” Maxo Kream has always been a rapper's rapper. O.Y.N. represents the ultimate synthesis of this incredible journey. It is an album born from the soil of Alief but elevated by the spirit of Lagos—a raw, beautiful, and heavy-hitting testament to an artist who has survived his past, honored his losses, and fully embraced his destiny.

Das neue Album "The Lying Swans" der deutsch-brasilianischen Musikerin und bildenden Künstlerin Gloria de Oliveira entfaltet sich wie ein Werk des Magischen Realismus - bevölkert von Vögeln, Heiligen, Sirenen, blutigen Gesichtern, Geisterschiffen und gespenstischen Erscheinungen - und lädt die Hörer*innen in ihr bislang unmittelbarstes und komplexestes Werk ein. De Oliveiras drittes Album aber eigentliches Debut wirkt wie ein Werk der Gothic-Literatur, angestoßen durch das Bild einer Frau, die aus einem Spukhaus flieht; dieses zentrale Motiv prägte auch die visuelle Welt des Albums. Produziert von Randall Dunn (Anna von Hausswolff, Sunn O))), Marissa Nadler) und aufgenommen zwischen Island, New York und Berlin, ist das Ergebnis eine traumhafte Welt, in der Zauber und Gefahr nebeneinander existieren. Nach der EP-Compilation "Fascination" (2020, Reptile Music) sowie "Oceans of Time" (2022, Sacred Bones) - ihrer Zusammenarbeit mit David Lynchs langjährigem Sounddesigner Dean Hurley - führt "The Lying Swans" de Oliveira in neues Terrain. Sowohl thematisch als auch klanglich scheinen diese neun Songs aus den nebligen Gefilden von Hall und ätherischem Fuzz-Sound herauszutreten und eine erdige, greifbarere und damit verletzlichere Seite zu offenbaren. Dennoch bleibt ihre seraphische, sehnsuchtsvolle Stimme der Mittelpunkt, flankiert von einer beeindruckenden Riege an Musikern: Schlagzeuger Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam), Gitarrist Lennard Zander, Cellistin Gyda Valtysdóttir (múm), Harfenistin Marilu Donovan (LEYA, Eartheater, Julie Byrne) und Keyboarder Ulfur Hansson wirken mit, während Ambient-Ikone Tor Lundvall eine seltene Spoken-Word-Darbietung beisteuert. Lina Andonovskas Querflöte spielt eine tragende Rolle und verleiht den Songs einen ebenso luftigen wie beunruhigenden Klang - inspiriert sowohl von de Oliveiras brasilianischen Wurzeln als auch von den Giallo-Soundtracks der 1970er und 1980er Jahre, jenen atmosphärischen italienischen Horror-Krimis, die stilisierte, drastische Gewalt und Voyeurismus mit prachtvoller Schönheit verbinden. Inspiriert von Lyrik, Literatur, Film und bildender Kunst ebenso wie von Musik, haben de Oliveira und Dunn ein Album geschaffen, das sich mühelos zwischen dem Spektralen und dem Pastoralen bewegt - ein Werk, in dem Anklänge an Fantasy- und Giallo-Soundtracks, alte Folk-Traditionen sowie die rhythmische Zartheit von Bossa Nova, MPB und Tropicália verschmelzen. Auch die Texte verweben Mythologie mit Anspielungen auf Miltons Paradise Lost*sowie die Lyrik von John Keats, Emily Brontë und Anne Sexton. Ein durchweg erhabenes Werk. Als CD (Digisleeve) mit Booklet oder auf LP (in klassisch Schwarz, Coke-Bottle-Green oder weiß-blau marmoriert) mit bedruckter Innenhülle & inside-out Sleeve.

Das neue Album "The Lying Swans" der deutsch-brasilianischen Musikerin und bildenden Künstlerin Gloria de Oliveira entfaltet sich wie ein Werk des Magischen Realismus - bevölkert von Vögeln, Heiligen, Sirenen, blutigen Gesichtern, Geisterschiffen und gespenstischen Erscheinungen - und lädt die Hörer*innen in ihr bislang unmittelbarstes und komplexestes Werk ein. De Oliveiras drittes Album aber eigentliches Debut wirkt wie ein Werk der Gothic-Literatur, angestoßen durch das Bild einer Frau, die aus einem Spukhaus flieht; dieses zentrale Motiv prägte auch die visuelle Welt des Albums. Produziert von Randall Dunn (Anna von Hausswolff, Sunn O))), Marissa Nadler) und aufgenommen zwischen Island, New York und Berlin, ist das Ergebnis eine traumhafte Welt, in der Zauber und Gefahr nebeneinander existieren. Nach der EP-Compilation "Fascination" (2020, Reptile Music) sowie "Oceans of Time" (2022, Sacred Bones) - ihrer Zusammenarbeit mit David Lynchs langjährigem Sounddesigner Dean Hurley - führt "The Lying Swans" de Oliveira in neues Terrain. Sowohl thematisch als auch klanglich scheinen diese neun Songs aus den nebligen Gefilden von Hall und ätherischem Fuzz-Sound herauszutreten und eine erdige, greifbarere und damit verletzlichere Seite zu offenbaren. Dennoch bleibt ihre seraphische, sehnsuchtsvolle Stimme der Mittelpunkt, flankiert von einer beeindruckenden Riege an Musikern: Schlagzeuger Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam), Gitarrist Lennard Zander, Cellistin Gyda Valtysdóttir (múm), Harfenistin Marilu Donovan (LEYA, Eartheater, Julie Byrne) und Keyboarder Ulfur Hansson wirken mit, während Ambient-Ikone Tor Lundvall eine seltene Spoken-Word-Darbietung beisteuert. Lina Andonovskas Querflöte spielt eine tragende Rolle und verleiht den Songs einen ebenso luftigen wie beunruhigenden Klang - inspiriert sowohl von de Oliveiras brasilianischen Wurzeln als auch von den Giallo-Soundtracks der 1970er und 1980er Jahre, jenen atmosphärischen italienischen Horror-Krimis, die stilisierte, drastische Gewalt und Voyeurismus mit prachtvoller Schönheit verbinden. Inspiriert von Lyrik, Literatur, Film und bildender Kunst ebenso wie von Musik, haben de Oliveira und Dunn ein Album geschaffen, das sich mühelos zwischen dem Spektralen und dem Pastoralen bewegt - ein Werk, in dem Anklänge an Fantasy- und Giallo-Soundtracks, alte Folk-Traditionen sowie die rhythmische Zartheit von Bossa Nova, MPB und Tropicália verschmelzen. Auch die Texte verweben Mythologie mit Anspielungen auf Miltons Paradise Lost*sowie die Lyrik von John Keats, Emily Brontë und Anne Sexton. Ein durchweg erhabenes Werk. Als CD (Digisleeve) mit Booklet oder auf LP (in klassisch Schwarz, Coke-Bottle-Green oder weiß-blau marmoriert) mit bedruckter Innenhülle & inside-out Sleeve.

Das neue Album "The Lying Swans" der deutsch-brasilianischen Musikerin und bildenden Künstlerin Gloria de Oliveira entfaltet sich wie ein Werk des Magischen Realismus - bevölkert von Vögeln, Heiligen, Sirenen, blutigen Gesichtern, Geisterschiffen und gespenstischen Erscheinungen - und lädt die Hörer*innen in ihr bislang unmittelbarstes und komplexestes Werk ein. De Oliveiras drittes Album aber eigentliches Debut wirkt wie ein Werk der Gothic-Literatur, angestoßen durch das Bild einer Frau, die aus einem Spukhaus flieht; dieses zentrale Motiv prägte auch die visuelle Welt des Albums. Produziert von Randall Dunn (Anna von Hausswolff, Sunn O))), Marissa Nadler) und aufgenommen zwischen Island, New York und Berlin, ist das Ergebnis eine traumhafte Welt, in der Zauber und Gefahr nebeneinander existieren. Nach der EP-Compilation "Fascination" (2020, Reptile Music) sowie "Oceans of Time" (2022, Sacred Bones) - ihrer Zusammenarbeit mit David Lynchs langjährigem Sounddesigner Dean Hurley - führt "The Lying Swans" de Oliveira in neues Terrain. Sowohl thematisch als auch klanglich scheinen diese neun Songs aus den nebligen Gefilden von Hall und ätherischem Fuzz-Sound herauszutreten und eine erdige, greifbarere und damit verletzlichere Seite zu offenbaren. Dennoch bleibt ihre seraphische, sehnsuchtsvolle Stimme der Mittelpunkt, flankiert von einer beeindruckenden Riege an Musikern: Schlagzeuger Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam), Gitarrist Lennard Zander, Cellistin Gyda Valtysdóttir (múm), Harfenistin Marilu Donovan (LEYA, Eartheater, Julie Byrne) und Keyboarder Ulfur Hansson wirken mit, während Ambient-Ikone Tor Lundvall eine seltene Spoken-Word-Darbietung beisteuert. Lina Andonovskas Querflöte spielt eine tragende Rolle und verleiht den Songs einen ebenso luftigen wie beunruhigenden Klang - inspiriert sowohl von de Oliveiras brasilianischen Wurzeln als auch von den Giallo-Soundtracks der 1970er und 1980er Jahre, jenen atmosphärischen italienischen Horror-Krimis, die stilisierte, drastische Gewalt und Voyeurismus mit prachtvoller Schönheit verbinden. Inspiriert von Lyrik, Literatur, Film und bildender Kunst ebenso wie von Musik, haben de Oliveira und Dunn ein Album geschaffen, das sich mühelos zwischen dem Spektralen und dem Pastoralen bewegt - ein Werk, in dem Anklänge an Fantasy- und Giallo-Soundtracks, alte Folk-Traditionen sowie die rhythmische Zartheit von Bossa Nova, MPB und Tropicália verschmelzen. Auch die Texte verweben Mythologie mit Anspielungen auf Miltons Paradise Lost*sowie die Lyrik von John Keats, Emily Brontë und Anne Sexton. Ein durchweg erhabenes Werk. Als CD (Digisleeve) mit Booklet oder auf LP (in klassisch Schwarz, Coke-Bottle-Green oder weiß-blau marmoriert) mit bedruckter Innenhülle & inside-out Sleeve.

Introducing Relik.

A new sub-division from Earth Dog Records, reissuing overlooked gems from the North American underground

The ‘90s to early 2000s saw US dance music experience a uniquely innovative gold rush. Records from that period narrate a burgeoning rave-obsessed sub culture, experimenting with the psychedelic sounds of tech house and progressive, with further flirtations with trance, breaks and beyond.

Many of those era’s artefacts have been increasingly difficult to find, and even rarer to hear out in the contexts they were constructed for. Relik exists as a means to preserve the legacy of this formative era, honouring the artists and labels that helped shape an ethos and sound unique to North America, and pivotal to the Earth Dog vision, while exposing this music to a new generation of listeners.

Each reissue will be released with permission and in collaboration with the original artists.

R001: The Vortex Archives

Volume one shines a light on Gainesville’s legendary Vortex Records.
Founded in 1996 by Boyd Westerman and Kyle Hogan, lifelong underground innovators (with Boyd remaining the undisputed king of the Discogs comment section). Vortex was home to a catalog of sounds that helped define a unique tech house and progressive flavoured corner of the North American underground.

Vortex Archives compiles four of our favourite cuts from the label’s discography, that for our money showcases their unmistakable sound best; a seamless fusion of progressive house, tech house, trance and breaks.

Nearly three decades on, these tracks (and the label from where they came) are as timeless and prescient than ever. We’re honored to certify their legacy by bringing them back into circulation.

A huge thank you to Boyd for trusting us with this release and helping to bring a sample of the Vortex catalog back into the world.

Endless respect to all the OGs who archived their catalogues, continued to make incredible music and subsequently paved the way for future generations. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Vier Jahre brodelte es im Berliner Untergrund: Nach zwei DIY-Tape-Releases durchbrechen SEK die Flanke und präsentieren mit Wallensteins Garage ihr erstes Album auf Vinyl ein Debüt, das gleichermaßen Geschichtserzählung, Konzeptalbum und ausufernde Jam-Session ist. SEK benannt nach den Anfangsbuchstaben der Nachnamen ihrer Mitglieder - Paul-Willy Stoyan (Gavial, Jacke Schwarz), Georg Edert (Elder, Gaffa Ghandi) und Lucas Kazzer (Gaffa Ghandi, Borders Down) - vereint drei Musiker, die seit Jahren in der Berliner Underground-Szene aktiv sind. Ihre gemeinsame Sprache findet sich zwischen Improvisation, historischer Erzählung und druckvollem Rock. Was die drei verbindet, ist weniger ein gemeinsamer Stil als die Lust am Ausprobieren: ausufernde Proben, lange Improvisationen und die Suche nach Klanglandschaften, die ebenso sperrig wie eingängig sein können. Was 2022 während des pandemiebedingten Lockdowns mit stundenlangen Jams begann, entwickelte sich in den vergangenen vier Jahren zu einer eigenwilligen Mischung aus Psychedelic Rock, Krautrock und einer Prise Prog. Die Band selbst nennt diesen Sound augenzwinkernd HOR Historian Oriented Rock: Musik, die historische Stoffe nicht illustriert, sondern in Klang übersetzt. Die Inspiration für die Songs stammt aus dem Dreißigjährigen Krieg (16181648), insbesondere aus dem Leben des böhmischen Feldherrn Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein und den Ereignissen rund um die Schlacht bei Lützen (1632). Das musikalische Arsenal ist ebenso vielseitig wie die erzählte Geschichte: verfuzzte Gitarren mit wabernden Delays treffen auf einen galoppierenden Bass und treibende Drums, getragen von träumerischen Keyboards. Immer wieder öffnen sich freie, fast chaotische Passagen, in denen Harmonie und Rhythmus auseinanderbrechen wie Schlachtordnungen, die im brutalen Nahkampf ihre Form verlieren. An anderer Stelle schaffen sanfte Mandolinenklänge Momente der Ruhe, bevor sie sich in schwere, schmerzvolle Trauermusik verwandeln, inspiriert von Doom und Drone Metal. Zwischen hypnotischen Grooves, improvisatorischer Freiheit und cineastischer Dramaturgie erschaffen SEK einen Sound, der Vergangenheit nicht nachstellt, sondern neu erfahrbar macht. Die Platte erscheint auf Exile On Mainstream als schwarzes Vinyl mit beigelegter CD. Genre: Krautrock, Psychedelic, Alternative Für Fans von: Elder, Gentle Giant, Amon Düül, Zahn.

venturing is the side project of acclaimed artist Jane Remover whose 2023 album Census Designated, and 2025 album Revengeseekerz and new EP <3 has received immense critical acclaim and "best of year" lists. this is a brand new EP, surprise released.

La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004. The band consists of vocalist Jordan Dreyer, guitarist Chad Sterenberg, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, bassist Adam Vass, and guitarist Corey Stroffolino. Known for their intense and emotionally charged sound La Dispute has released five studio albums to critical acclaim, including “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” (2008), “Wildlife” (2011), and “Panorama” (2019). Their music often explores themes of loss, grief, and human relationships through a series of interconnencted stories. La Dispute has developed a devoted fanbase and is known for the powerful, unforgettable live performances.

The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.

Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.

Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.

The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”

Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.

More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.

The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.

Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.

Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.

The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”

Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.

More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.

Priding themselves in having cultivated a community and culture at their club nights, they play some of the best music ever cut to wax. It might not be quite what you’d expect from a typical northern soul night, it isn’t stepping back into the past, it’s the music stepping forward into 21st century.

“We’re not interested in nostalgia – we love soul music because it’s brilliant. It probably still resonates with young people because it has a message of something bigger than what’s inside your own head – that what really matters resides in relationships with other people, not material things. We think that is beautiful” – DNSC.

“Deptford Northern Soul Club have emerged as the new faces of northern soul” – Yuck.

As featured in Alan Byron’s documentary Northern Soul: Still Burning (2026).

“By recontextualising northern soul in a modern context, they empower the genre to continuously evolve, imparting new meaning to younger, perhaps previously unaware audiences” – Pilot magazine

A document of chill-out room dreamscapes transmitted from San Francisco circa 1993-1994.

Rooted in live improvisation and arriving at the sweet spot where nascent dance music collided with dub tradition, Selene Songs marked an early highpoint for Sunshine and Moonbeam Jones' enduring partnership as Dubtribe Sound System. This collection of dreamy, harmonious grooves and ambient excursions were recorded between November 1993 and January 1994, captured live in the chill-out room at the duo's legendary Come-Unity parties held at their home on Bryant Street in San Francisco.

Selene Songs was originally released on Chicago-based label Organico in 1995 as a CD and abridged 12" EP. Now it receives a full reissue that spreads the blissed-out majesty of the full seven-track album across a double vinyl pressing and CD digipak edition. Across all formats, Kristen Anderson's original artwork has been faithfully reproduced.

“… All the elements of classic ambient dub with the Tribe’s own sense of love wonderment. One from the heart." - Muzik Mag - 1995

“ We have faith that the universally accessible warmth oozing from these tracks will eventually entice a larger audience." - Billboard - 1995

Number 1 on the Eastern Bloc shop chart - Muzik Mag - 1995

Aaron Dilloway kehrt mit ,No Skill Comedy Mind Reading" zu Dais Records zurück - seinem ersten echten Album in voller Länge seit 2017, einer Sammlung von typisch verstörendem, absurdem Material. Geprägt von seinen typischen Verzerrungen und Verformungen - von Feedback umhüllte Fundstücke, Feldaufnahmen und Gesangsimprovisationen - versammelt ,No Skill" fast ein Jahrzehnt ausgewählter Soloarbeiten und wirkt dennoch ganz und gar zeitgemäß: ein sprunghaftes Produkt der Unbeständigkeit, zugleich hart und humorvoll. Nur wenige zeitgenössische Experimental-Künstler des letzten Vierteljahrhunderts sind so produktiv und verehrt wie Dilloway, ein Pionier der amerikanischen Noise-Szene im Mittleren Westen, ehemaliges Mitglied von Wolf Eyes und Gründer des in Oberlin ansässigen Labels und Plattenladens Hanson Records. Doch trotz seines immensen Gesamtwerks hat er nur zwei richtige Solo-LPs veröffentlicht, neben einer regelmäßigeren Produktion von Kassettenveröffentlichungen und Kollaborationsprojekten. Mit ,No Skill" vollendet er nun eine vieldeutige Albumtrilogie, die mit seinem wegweisenden Werk ,Modern Jester" aus dem Jahr 2012 begann. ,Ich habe fast das Gefühl, dass sie irgendwie Teil eines Ganzen sind. Alle drei Alben versuchen, in den schlimmstmöglichen Situationen Humor zu finden. Je nachdem, wer zuhört und wie die jeweilige Einstellung ist, könnten sie als lustig oder einfach nur als grauenhafte, schreckliche Alben empfunden werden." Halb im Ernst fährt Dilloway fort: ,Für mich ist dieses hier das Ergebnis von, na ja, verkorksten Sachen: psychische Erkrankungen, Medikamente, Scheidung, komischer Scheiß. Das Eintauchen in seltsame Dinge fasziniert mich immer auf die eine oder andere Weise." Neben den bereits erwähnten Einflüssen aus der menschlichen Erfahrung greift ,No Skill" auf verschiedene technische und ästhetische Kuriositäten zurück: das methodische Sounddesign von Alvin Lucier, Andy Milligans Low-Budget-Kult-Horrorfilm ,The Weirdo" aus dem Jahr 1989 und die pop-exzentrische Art des Filmkomponisten Hugo Montenegro. Dilloway stieß bei einer Lagerraumversteigerung auf dessen skurrile Habseligkeiten, darunter Notizen zu den frühen elektronischen Experimenten des Komponisten. Einige der beunruhigendsten Momente des Albums, wie das Lachen, das ,Bring Me The Head Of The Unknown Comic" heimsucht - klanglich eine Anspielung auf die Avantgarde-Größen Nurse with Wound und thematisch auf den Komiker aus den 1970er Jahren mit der Papiertüte über dem Kopf -, lassen sich auf den Einfluss dieses wahrhaft ungewöhnlichen Fundes zurückführen. ,No Skill" knüpft zudem an Dilloways jüngste künstlerische Ausflüge an: seine Umsetzung von John Cages 88-Band-Loop ,Rozart Mix"; die Originalmusik für ,The Absence of Milk In The Mouths of the Lost"; Gemeinschaftsalben mit Lucrecia Dalt (Lucy & Aaron) sowie Kim Gordon & Bill Nace (Body/Dilloway/Head). Während er an diesen und anderen Projekten arbeitete, legte er in Gedanken einen Ordner für sein nächstes Dais-Album an und sammelte Aufnahmen, die zu einer ziemlich vagen Vision passten. ,Dieses Album hat mich irgendwie völlig in Beschlag genommen, seit ich ,The Gag File` 2017 fertiggestellt habe. Zuerst dachte ich, es würde eher ein Pop-Album werden, aber dann hat mir das Lucrecia-Projekt diese Idee irgendwie aus dem Kopf getrieben. Es begann, eher wie meine Live-Sets zu fließen." Er entschied sich für eine Abfolge, die den Hörer ein wenig im Ungewissen lässt - ob erschrocken, amüsiert oder verwirrt; der Effekt soll absichtlich den Eindruck erwecken, dass etwas kaputt ist. Das Album beginnt mit schrillen Kreischen, bevor es in Drone-Passagen eintaucht, die durch zwei aneinander geriebene nepalesische Sarangi-Bögen entstehen, begleitet vom ersten Auftauchen seiner ogerartigen stimmlichen Präsenz. Anschließend werden mehrere Minuten von weißem Rauschen verschluckt (,Forced Auctioneer"). Dilloway verweist auf The Weirdos seltsamen Einsatz ausgedehnter Übergänge mit schwarzem Raum und seine lebenslange Liebe zum Bandrauschen. Er bekam Kassetten von älteren Kindern und hörte diese Geräusche als Teil der Songs, nur um später zu erfahren, dass es sich um klangliche Artefakte handelte, die von Generationen des Kopierens auf Kassette übrig geblieben waren. ,Ich stehe total auf die Idee, all diese Schichten aufzubauen und sie in etwas anderes zu verwandeln. Wenn ich zum Beispiel live spiele, kann es rauer zugehen als bei meiner aufgenommenen Musik, und dafür wollte ich genau dieses Gefühl einfangen - dass diese Ausbrüche laut sind, aber ein bisschen gedämpfter. Dieser totale Rauschklang, fast so, als wärst du unter Wasser." Dilloway sammelt Tonpoesie-Platten, und obwohl er seine eigene Arbeit nicht gerne in dieses Genre einordnet, spricht die Absurdität dieses Handwerks - die Verwendung von phonetischen Lauten und nonverbalen Geräuschen als Ersatz für traditionelle semantische Bedeutung - durch sein Werk. Auf ,Possession Audition Tape" liest er verschiedene Passagen aus einem Buch vor, das von einer französischen religiösen Gruppe aus dem 18. Jahrhundert handelt, die zu öffentlichen Unruhen neigte, und schneidet diese digital auseinander, wodurch er im Mix seine eigenen, echoartigen Stotterausbrüche erzeugt. ,No Skill Comedy Mind Reading" endet mit einem Stück aus Synthesizer und Orgel-Rhythmusmaschine, das auf Musik basiert, die er für den Film ,Supporting Actor" von Pieter Schoolwerth und Phil Vanderhyden komponiert hat - in dem ein Avatar von Dilloway in ein Portal gezogen wird. Dort trifft er in einem fantastischen Club auf posthumane Wesen. Die Szene, die sich irgendwie auf Audio übertragen lässt, versetzt das Set in einen passend verwirrenden Traumzustand. Ein Star der Noise-Musik, ein moderner Hofnarr, der aus dem Unbekannten berichtet.

Open Universe is a new record label founded in 2025 following an invitation to envision a series of releases for the German production music library Sonoton.

Curated by Jon Tye (Lo Recordings, Ocean Moon, Seahawks, MLO) with a remit to explore and create new worlds of sound in which to dwell and discover. Prismatic Fields is a collaboration between Ocean Moon and Silver Ley (Jon Tye & Bethany Ley), together they create metaphysical pop from another dimension where warm oscillations mingle and resonate to conjure a world alive with light and life.

An album that leans lightly into the worlds of fantasy synth and sacral medievalist electronics where silken harp glissandos, synth waves and enchanted vocal tones mix with lush fourth world textures and clusters of rhythmic invention.

Tripping into spaces modern and game-like, soundtrack moods that dip into the liminal dream states found in the work of Daniel Lopatin, Susumu Yokota and Boards Of Canada. Music that is both functional and formless, designed to stimulate and facilitate, to inspire and motivate.

Ocean Moon & Silver Ley will be performing live alongside Sonic Boom and Alexis Taylor at the Sonoton Music Label showcase @Schmidtchen, Hamburg 17th September 26.

WHIMM formed around the shadowy heart of the Toronto post-punk underground over a decade ago. The partnership between Mounir Al Shami and Andrew Matthews has emitted sporadic musical shards over time, while slowly evolving into something so much bigger than its beginnings. Ideas seep out of every corner of No Promotion, showcasing a burning desire to explore and challenge while delivering very direct sonic offerings. The result is an album that feels as if you took the entire Coil discography and smashed it into pieces, assembling these precious songs from the fragments. Or as if Vangelis beckoned Section 25 to the studio in hopes of recording the score to a seedy film. The resulting LP is in a state of flux – equal parts motion and decay.

Patrick Flegel, of Cindy Lee, welcomed Al Shami and Matthews into REALISTIK Studios in Montreal to engineer half of the tracks for the album, including lending guitar to the opening track "Five in Decline." That influence is evident early on, as the first three songs are taken from those sessions. "Five in Decline" throbs and barks before racing through the hallways closing in around it. "Another Labour" slows to a spidery waltz as anxious melodies call out to one another. "Returnal" pulses, floats through the night sky and haunts you forever. "Rye" carves a percussive pathway toward similar travellers like Terry Riley and Jon Hassell, before the lament of "A Death Remembered" forms the perfect midpoint for the record. A slow build countered by twitching drums and blanketed by organs recorded at Metropolitan United Church in Toronto, it feels like emotion right on the edge of resolve.

"Rhymes of December" screeches through on a solitary train under the towering cityscape as the flickering lights blur past, its doors opening to the candlelit altar of "After the Last Sky" (those beautiful organs again) with an operatic swirl. "K'20" throws you into a claustrophobic and chaotic cab ride (Who is talking? Are those sirens?) until you finally find the quiet of the early morning, waiting at the window for the sun to join you once again as the first notes of "No Promotion" are delicately plucked. The final song from the Flegel sessions, it is over eight minutes of contemplative beauty. A restless heart that is ready to rest. Closing with a final apparition in the key of The Caretaker, "After the Last Sky (Reprise)" is a return to melody when words lose all meaning.

Al Shami and Matthews weave their lyrics throughout, words describing a search for lucidity, and of reactions and reflections. Al Shami – speaking from the Palestinian diaspora – ruminates on displacement, both personal and collective. His journey from having "been without a land and I can still see clearly" in "Rhymes of December" to a more defiant "we will be back again, no matter how it ends or where we've been" in "Returnal" takes a very insular turn on No Promotion. That sense of alienation pulls at the very center of a relationship when land and circumstances separate: "And after our last breath, all that's left in me is our flesh and fears, your last words would swim for years, you'll never find a home in me." Hearts on the outskirts that know the direction.

As Eerie Enterprise, upsammy and Piezo have funnelled their singular styles into a classic-feeling but ultra-modern album of elegant, angular electronica. With a strong melodic sensibility and a highly developed palette of playful sound design in their toolkit, the unexpected pairing grew spontaneous jams into a considered collaboration, and Places Remember Events is the end result.

Individually, Thessa Torsing and Luca Mucci have carved out strong identities within contemporary electronic music. As upsammy, Torsing has applied a delicate precision to ambient and uptempo approaches alike, building up a striking catalogue of releases including her 2020 LP for Dekmantel, Zoom. Meanwhile, Mucci has taken a wayward path through contemporary bass music and techno that matches edgy sound design with playful unpredictability. As Eerie Enterprise, both artists tap into their respective creative instincts while arriving at a unique sound with a nurturing quality they were both missing from modern dance music.

Having appreciated each other's work for some years, in July 2024 Torsing and Mucci seized an opportunity to carve out two days in the studio. There was no expectation of an end product, but the sketches conceived during those open-ended, hardware-oriented sessions felt worthy of a deeper exploration developed and finalised over the following year-and-a-half.

Places Remember Events has an unapologetically nostalgic streak, calling to mind the warm glow of melodically-charged, golden-era electronica. The twitchy rhythmic make-up of tracks like 'Decay + Collapse' and 'Folding Origin' speak to the duo's shared affinity for ravey energy, but even within faster frameworks they lean into half-time space to maintain a light-footed agility that allows the relatively busy arrangements to feel grounded and patient rather than frantic.

There's an appreciation for mystery in the emotional make-up of many of the tracks, not least in the slithering textural exploration and spatial tension of 'Capsule', but elsewhere fragile melancholia guides the melody direction of 'Superradiance' and 'Things Fall Upwards'. The final impression is crisp and modern while delivering an accessible experience that seeks to soothe rather than shock when so much contemporary club music tips towards uneasy intensity.

Finding malleable approaches to their chosen sonics and applying them to intentional song structures, Eerie Enterprise collectively land on a sound that promises a lasting reward for the repeat voyager — satisfying headphone gear in the grand tradition of introspective electronic music, but also with a physical immediacy that will manifest in the live set upsammy and Piezo have put together to perform later in the year.

London duo Kassian trade darkness for daylight on Gradients, their third EP for !K7 Records

The EP arrives as a bridge between last year's debut album and a new live show and sophomore LP, due in 2027

As Kassian, Warren Cummings and Joe Danvers continue to sit apart from any one scene. Their fruitful relationship with !K7 has spanned eclectic and global club cuts, including the spatial breaks and bass of 2024's best-selling Supercontinent EP. 2025's debut album, Channels, emerged from lockdown so leaned slow, downtempo and introspective, but this new EP points toward a clubbier, more physical direction that will carry through into album two.

Crucially, the record was written and played live on an array of studio gear rather than assembled piece by piece in the box. It's a way of building towards their first fully live show in 2027 - a hands-on, jam-first approach that leads to "happy accidents" and the unpredictable textures that hardware throws up and no amount of in-the-box planning can replicate.

Gradients is built for the floor without playing to trends and marks some of the duo's most melodic work to date. Rather than sitting purely in heads-down territory, the EP folds in hooks and vocal fragments that lift you out of the smoke and the shadows of the club. The low ends are still rooted in techno with potent drums and bass, but deft vocal hooks and subtle melodies bring a brightness that deliberately steers away from the darker, meaner aesthetic dominating much of dance music right now.

Vocal touches throughout nod to what's going on in the wider underground without tethering to tried and tested tropes. Opener 'Blush' rides warm, soft yet bold melodic riffs, looping in arcs over a hunched, speedy tech house groove. 'Ritmo' is a muscular bouncer with spring-loaded bass, 'Inner Dance' has lurching drums and a cavernous rhythm with vocals that make a playful nod to sound system culture. Last but not least, 'Sweat' is the brightest and most bubbly cut on the EP, with a tight techno low end infused with a velvety whispered vocal.

The Gradients EP is a bright, hardware-built prelude to Kassian's next chapter and a typically well-crafted four-tracker that pairs physical weight with classy emotional release.

Craig Alexander drops back with the Soul Revival repress — a raw, deep house cut built for heads who know. Originally released on Transparent Records, now back on wax through Phonogramme.
Limited-run energy, timeless groove, straight-up dancefloor business.

Feedbacks:

Dave Huismans (ex_libris, In Transit) : Nice to get Soul Revival digitally, thanks!
Ben UFO (Hessle Audio / Rinse FM) : absolute classic
Laurent Garnier : SOUL REVIVAL is super cool track Will play
Mike Shannon (Cynosure) : Nice to have this one back! thx
Prosumer : this a journey into sound
Red Eye (Crash Planet Rec, R.E.A.D., Red/Shift, Lavish Habits, Multipass) : ahh i have this original vinyl. Glad to have a digi!!!
Dorian Paic (Raum Musik) : good re release too. Soul Revival is the one for me, in the past and now as well. ;) Thx for the promo !!
Hunee (Rush Hour) : lovely reissue
DJ Bone (FURTHER) : Lovin Feelin works for me, thanks
Chloe Caillet (Smile Records) : love these!
Franck Roger (Real Tone Records) : soul revivais is dope as always !!!
Terence :Terry: (La Vie En Ros / Freak N Chic) : what a good remember we use to played it a lot " Soul Revival" super track to surprise everyone Terence :Terry:
Tripmastaz (Plant 74) : tight cutz
Jorkes (Freeride Millenium) : soul revival is cute
Girls Of The Internet (Classic) : Classic!
Geir Aspenes (G-Ha (Sunkissed)) : Thanks
Terry Francis (Fabric) : nice
Sven Weisemann (Mojuba Records) : absolute classic!!!
Pacific Coliseum (Dublab, Teen Daze, Noire & Blanche) : DEEP!!! These are gorgeous, thank you so much for sending!
Pat Hyland (Northside Loft Society) : A welcome release from Craig. Three pure dancefloor heaters with Soul Revival topping!
Fred P : Dope...
Doc Martin (Sublevel) : Good Grooves!!!!
Mark Farina : good stuff. thanks!
Samuel Deep (SlapFunk Records) : yes
DJ Steaw (Rutilance / Steaward) : Nice ep thanks :-)
Lea Lisa (Phonica Records / Folklor Club) : Soul revival for me !
Brothers' Vibe (Luv4Wax) : Bangers!
Anthony Collins (Frank & Tony / Scissor & Thread) : great record
Carlos Valdes (Is Burning) : Loved it since the first time I've heard it! Happy to have the digital file!

More than five decades into one of Brazilian music's most remarkable careers, Joyce Moreno returns with a new collection of songs that reflect the warmth, lyrical sophistication and innovation that have made her one of Brazil's most defining musical voices.

Produced by Joyce Moreno alongside her husband and longtime collaborator Tutty Moreno, the album finds the Rio-born singer, guitarist and composer at her most reflective. Across nine beautifully crafted songs, Joyce pairs intricate guitar work, lyrical intimacy and effortless swing with the musical curiosity that has defined her work for more than half a century.

Invited into the studio by Roberto Menescal at just sixteen years old, Joyce emerged during a transformative period for Brazilian music, releasing her self-titled debut in 1968. She soon established herself as one of Brazil's pioneering female songwriters, writing unapologetically from a woman's perspective at a time when few women were afforded that voice. Her song “Me Disseram” sparked national debate, while later works including “Feminina” cemented her reputation as an artist unafraid to challenge convention.

While some of her politically charged songs were censored during Brazil's military dictatorship, Joyce continued to write with honesty and independence. After studying journalism in the late 1960s, her gift for observation and storytelling became an even more defining feature of her songwriting. Over the following decades she released a succession of acclaimed albums, including the now-classic Feminina and Água e Luz, earning widespread recognition both in Brazil and internationally. Antônio Carlos Jobim would later describe her as "one of the greatest singers", while generations of musicians have drawn inspiration from her fearless artistry and enduring originality.

That same artistic fearlessness remains at the heart of her latest work. The album brings together an exceptional ensemble of Brazilian musicians. Tutty Moreno's expressive drumming underpins Joyce's vocals and guitar throughout, while Jorge Helder's bass, Lula Galvão's guitar and Marcos Nimrichter's warm Fender Rhodes create a sound that is both intimate and expansive. Contributions also come from the legendary Toninho Horta, alongside José Arimatéa, Teco Cardoso, Nailor Proveta, Josué dos Santos and Raphael Sampaio, whose additions add colour and texture without overshadowing Joyce's understated brilliance.

Throughout the album, Joyce balances quiet reflection with effortless rhythmic vitality. “Chovendo na Horta” serves as both a heartfelt dedication and a celebration of Joyce's enduring musical connections, featuring the unmistakable guitar of Toninho Horta. Elsewhere, “Aldeia de Ogum” receives a fresh new arrangement by Nailor Proveta, revisiting one of Joyce's most beloved compositions. Originally released in 1980, the track has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in recent years, embraced by a new generation of listeners and became an underground favourite among DJs including Floating Points, Four Tet and Danilo Plessow. Now a staple of Joyce's live performances, this reimagined version brings renewed energy to a song that continues to transcend generations.

At seventy-eight, Joyce Moreno continues to write with the same curiosity, generosity and quiet innovation that have defined her career from the very beginning. "For me, it's never too soon to try something new, either in music or in life," she reflects - a philosophy that gives both the album and its title their enduring sense of optimism. This latest album is neither a retrospective nor a reinvention, but the work of an artist who continues to refine her voice with remarkable grace, proving that her most compelling music remains firmly rooted in the present.

Following the album's release, Joyce Moreno will embark on a European tour this November, bringing her celebrated live show to audiences across the UK and Europe. A rare opportunity to experience one of Brazil's most influential and enduring artists in concert, the tour showcases a songwriter whose voice, virtuosity and musical vision remain as compelling today as ever.

Yuki Kawamura - a multifaceted producer, songwriter, DJ, and the founder of Tokyo's iconic DJ warmup bar, Shibuya Oiran - presents a highly anticipated 12" vinyl release on her imprint OIRAN MUSIC.

As a globally active selector, her international footprint includes a monthly residency on Romania's Black Rhino Radio, alongside notable appearances on world-renowned platforms like NTS Radio and The Lot Radio.

Back in Tokyo, her venue Shibuya Oiran - featured in Time Out Tokyo's '50 Things to Do in Japan' as a premier spot to "pregame in stylish surroundings" - serves as a vital cultural hub where legendary international and local DJs gather. Its unique musical ecosystem is perfectly reflected in this release, which features a carefully curated selection of popular remixes from her debut album, Love Forever.

Side A delivers Balearic and dancefloor-ready grooves. It opens with 'Ra' a tribute to Sun Ra featuring musicians Watusi and George Kano, a track that has garnered massive support from top DJs including Red Axes...
The A-side also features brilliant Balearic-infused dance remixes by DJ SHIKISAI and XTAL (known for his work with Traks Boys and (((ssurround)))).

Side B shifts the focus to deep ambient and chillout soundscapes. It includes the previously unreleased full version of R.I.P Sunset',featuring an exquisite violin performance by Neko Saito.
The standout on this side is a stunning remix by renowned Japanese producer Calm. This specific remix holds a special history: Yuki debuted it as her opening track during her historic DJ set at the legendary Cafe Del Mar in Ibiza - making her the first Japanese Female DJ to perform there - where it received an incredible response on the floor.

The striking cover art is designed by HAMADARAKA, an acclaimed and rapidly rising female twin artist duo, produced by Nomadic Gallery in Tokyo.

Landing suitably on co:clear, At the Right Place at the Right Time is the spellbinding debut record from luminary figures of the Roman underground, Portamento.

As DJs and promoters of Scivoliii, the duo of Filipo Tosti and Álvaro Labao Garcia has been peddling a range of sounds over the last years. This time though, their attention firmly turns to transportative ambience, where melodic lines and mummering voices are rarely paired without weighty sub-bass. It's absolutely an ‘ambient’ record but the (soft) influence of the club sometimes peeks through.

Written between Forum Studios (fka Ennio Morricone Studios) and Álvaro’s tiny apartment in Trastervere during Rome’s torrid month of August, its sound owes itself as much to burning intimacy, as it does to the weariness of distance. It truly operates in those moments of devotion/desire between the late-night/early-morning, like a candle at the end of its wick that flickers, before it's finally extinguished as your eyes become too heavy to resist sleep.

Eine Hommage an innovative mexikanische Musiker, die elektronische und indigene Instrumente mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik verschmelzen Mit 13 visionären Künstlern, darunter Ana Ruiz, Oxomaxoma, Gerardo Bátiz, Antonio Zepeda und Airwaves, um nur einige zu nennen Enthält 4 bisher unveröffentlichte Titel Zusammengestellt und produziert vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und dem Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill Covergestaltung vom legendären Künstler Eduardo Terrazas, Design und Layout von D.Norsen Design Doppel-LP, gepresst bei Optimal, inklusive Booklet mit Liner Notes Audio remastert vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin Limitierte Farbvinyl-Auflage auf gelbem und blauem Vinyl ///// ,A LA ALTURA" (zu Deutsch: ,Zu den Höhen") würdigt mexikanische Musiker, die sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts mit elektronischen und indigenen Instrumenten auf experimentelles Terrain wagten - im Dialog mit Minimalismus, Ambient, Jazz und New-Age-Ästhetik. Über ein Jahrzehnt in der Entstehung und liebevoll zusammengestellt vom mexikanischen Journalisten, Musiker und DJ Carlos ,Tropicaza" Icaza sowie dem Gründer von dublab radio und Creative Producer des LA Phil, Mark ,Frosty" McNeill, basiert A LA ALTURA auf Originalbändern und Masteraufnahmen mit unveröffentlichten, längst vergriffenen und privat gepressten Aufnahmen. Die Bände 1 und 2 präsentieren 25 visionäre Künstler, die sich aktiv für eine Form der Bewusstseinserweiterung einsetzten - sei es durch das Streben nach den Sternen mittels ihrer Musik oder durch die Weiterentwicklung der Kunstform selbst. Ebenso kühn setzen diese beiden Bände ein Zeichen dafür, dass mexikanische Künstler und Komponisten wie Luis Pérez, Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes, Ana Ruiz und Antonio Zepeda in einem Atemzug mit Michael Rother, Terry Riley, Hiroshi Yoshimura und den vielen anderen Künstlern genannt werden sollten, die zu Recht für ihren Experimentiergeist gefeiert wurden.

Anlässlich des 10-jährigen Jubiläums von ,Lost Themes II" präsentiert Sacred Bones stolz eine neue, erweiterte Kunstausgabe von John Carpenters gefeiertem zweitem Album mit Nicht-Soundtrack-Kompositionen. Mit neu in Auftrag gegebenem Artwork von Randy Ortiz vereint diese Jubiläumsausgabe das Originalalbum auf limitiertem "Violet Sunrise" Vinyl mit einer Bonus-7"-Single, die ,Real Xeno" enthält - nun zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich, abseits der ursprünglichen, limitierten Veröffentlichung der Sacred Bones Society. Die B-Seite zeigt ein exklusives, speziell für diese Ausgabe entworfenes Gravurdesign. Die ,Lost Themes"-Reihe hat sich zu einem der prägendsten Kapitel in Carpenters Karriere entwickelt. Befreit von den Zwängen der Leinwand haben diese Kompositionen ein Eigenleben entwickelt und Carpenters Vermächtnis über Filmmusik hinaus erweitert. Das 2016 erschienene ,Lost Themes II" erweiterte die Klangwelt seines Vorgängers und verband Carpenters unverkennbares Gespür für Atmosphäre und Spannung mit seinem charakteristischen Minimal-Synth, reichhaltigeren Arrangements sowie elektrischen und akustischen Gitarren. Ein Jahrzehnt später bleibt ,Lost Themes II" ein Meilenstein in einer Reihe, die weit über imaginäre Soundtracks hinausgewachsen ist und als unverzichtbare Werke in Carpenters Katalog gilt - ein Zeugnis seiner musikalischen Vision und seiner bemerkenswerten Fähigkeit, Welten zu erschaffen, die weit über den Film hinausreichen.

Ghanaian producer, songwriter, and cultural innovator Delasi has earned international recognition for his forward-thinking blend of traditional Ewe rhythms, soul, jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music, with recent releases on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings and support from outlets including Bandcamp Daily, CLASH, CRACK, COLORS, and BBC Radio 6 Music. His music has also appeared in the indie feature Dreams in Nightmares and the UK Premier League. Joining him are Tokyo's acclaimed experimental pop outfit TAMTAM, whose distinctive fusion of reggae, dub, jazz, soul, exotica, and electronic music has drawn praise from Gilles Peterson, Bandcamp, NTS, Mr. Bongo, and Rolling Stone Japan, alongside performances at Fuji Rock and international tours across Canada, Australia, and South Korea.

This limited 7" brings the two artists together across two richly textured collaborations. A-side "Guardian of The Green" blends alternative soul, downtempo electronica, trip-hop, and cinematic post-rock into a lush, organic soundscape where futuristic electronics meet live instrumentation. On the flip, "Celestial Bodies" explores dream pop, ambient electronica, and jazz-inflected soul, pairing hypnotic rhythms with shimmering synths, expressive guitars, and warm lo-fi grooves. Together, the release showcases a cinematic, globally minded approach to contemporary electronic music that will appeal to fans of Bonobo, Khruangbin, Little Dragon, and Cinematic Orchestra.

Freerange is delighted to announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of Jimpster’s seminal Amour — remastered and available on vinyl for the first time.

Originally released in 2006, Amour arrived at a pivotal moment in Jimpster’s evolution, as Jamie Odell moved further into electronic and house territory while retaining the lush, downtempo, and eclectic character of his earlier work. Two decades on, Amour remains a beautifully understated record, full of warmth, musicality, and late-night appeal.

Jimpster – Amour
20th Anniversary Edition · Remastered · First-ever vinyl pressing

A landmark Freerange release, finally making the leap to wax.

“Quinto” is Escapismo’s finest release to date. An exceptional blend of shoegaze, darkwave and gothy electronics that poetically appeals to the emotions with thunderous guitars and captivating melodies. Limited edition of 99 numbered copies on 10″ vinyl (33 black, 33 crystal clear and 33 translucent red). No reissues planned.

Shape of the Unknown’ is kind of a double LP that fully embraces the idea of exploration. It is CHLOÉ’s most expansive and immersive work to date. ‘Shape of the Unknown’ is CHLOÉ’s fourth proper studio album. Its predecessor, ‘Endless Revisions’, was released in 2017. Nine years have passed. Nine years during which CHLOÉ has continued digging for music, DJing at internationally renowned clubs and festivals including Rex Club, Robert Johnson, Panorama Bar, Nuits Sonores, Glastonbury and many more, releasing EPs and remixes, while also allowing herself the time to explore entirely new creative paths.


The challenge is to capture the unknown, make it her own, endlessly reshape its textures, and ultimately preserve its mystery.


The first single ‘Drifter’, released back in June, already offered a striking glimpse of the sonic territories the album would venture into, driven by its hypnotically contoured basslines. The album's two other singles offer different windows into her world. 'Shapeshifter' captures CHLOÉ at her most hypnotic, balancing stripped-back techno and melodic house through deep rolling grooves, expansive bass chords and subtle rhythmic shifts that constantly reshape the listener's perception without ever disrupting the flow. Later, 'Repeating The Obvious' takes a more leftfield route, pairing staggered rhythms with retro-inspired harmonics and an understated indie dance pulse that feels simultaneously familiar and unpredictable.
CHLOÉ has ventured into live performance through new formats, notably alongside percussionist Vassilena Serafimova; immersed herself in film scoring with soundtracks for Paris la Blanche, Arthur Rambo, The Mountain, Blanquita, Guru and Unsubmissives; and developed compelling collaborations, from High Season, her project with Ben Shemie of Canadian band Suuns (which resulted in the album The Call), to her own organic, experimental audiovisual performances under the name Slo/Mo AV.


Throughout Shape of the Unknown, CHLOÉ blurs the boundaries between deep house, hypnotic techno, electronica and cinematic sound design with remarkable fluidity. The album unfolds as a continuous narrative rather than a sequence of tracks, moving effortlessly between beatless ambient passages, rolling analogue grooves and emotionally charged club music. Organic percussion, sweeping bass movements, melancholic harmonies and richly textured synthesisers create a body of work that constantly evolves, where no section feels static and every transition reveals another layer of depth. There is an unmistakable warmth running through the record, with grainy analogue textures and spacious production giving even its most driving moments an intimate, almost tactile quality.
The album’s title is no coincidence. It evokes a form that has yet to be named, something language itself struggles to grasp. CHLOÉ approaches it through an organic creative process. Each piece must first be performed in the studio, almost as if it were being played live. The album will be followed by a series of live performances and DJ sets, including a show at the Olympia on March 18, 2027.


She is joined by a handful of steadfast collaborators. Jazz trumpeter David Enhco appears on two tracks, ‘Undertow’ and ‘Inner Bass’. But above all, there are the voices: Ben Shemie lends his unmistakable presence to the radiant ‘More Than Just a Feeling’. Olivia Merilahti, singer, songwriter and one half of The Dø, appears on the otherworldly ‘TWYR’. Working with Olivia’s already hypnotic voice, CHLOÉ has approached it like a sculptor, enhancing its strangeness and dreamlike quality.
And finally, impossible to miss is the instantly recognizable voice of Kittin. A longtime accomplice, she lends her distinctive phrasing to CHLOÉ’s music here for the very first time. The strongest collaborations are often those that take their time, arriving only when the moment is right. Same kind, same bass, same vibe, same pride.


The result is an enigmatic, nocturnal record, drifting between introspective listening and dancefloor functionality, revealing an artist who remains far more interested in atmosphere, movement and emotional storytelling than conventional club structures. It is an album that invites us to dream more deeply and to dance again, both within ourselves and out in the open.

Battle of Clontarf collects a remastered series of late-90s guitar jewels by Loren Connors, most appearing on vinyl for the first time. At its center is an unrealized double 7" from 1996, Battle of Clontarf, named after the bloody battle fought outside Dublin in 1014. Gestures of blistered guitar billow, but underneath a defiant elation prevails. Loren’s partner Suzanne Langille composed and performed the poem in Part II and the song in Part V of the Clontarf sequence. The six pieces are followed by a curated circlet of recordings from around the same period, including the complete 1994 EP The Five Points (originally issued by Table of the Elements) and several other short works from the years surrounding Connors’ notable albums Airs (1999) and Lullaby (2001). These recordings occupy only a few minutes at a time, but manage to convey such vulnerability. Each seems to find its way toward the next, like a chain of small amulets.

The collection continues with the Star of Bethlehem suite from 2000, and concludes with Connors’ arrangement of Gershwin’s “I Love You, Porgy.” The latter is a personal favorite, with a breathtaking cadence that shares the beauty of Billie Holiday’s version, but transmitted from the solitude of a dream. Battle of Clontarf gathers all these scattered parcels of Connors’ work into one fluent LP, released on Recital alongside Connors’ new art book Wildweeds Vol. II in celebration of his 77th birthday in late October.

Second Storey launches new record label High Canopy - with Ladakh EP, 20 years since the artist's first vinyl release. Storey's working template has always been to take on the observations of his inner and outer world experiences, folding them into his expertise as a highly skilled drummer, knack for dream-scape sound design and love of rave and soundsystem culture. High Canopy promises to be an environment that platforms full artistic freedom and homes the mechanised, cerebral dancefloor workouts of Second Storey's studio life alongside his deeper, more experimental terrain. The EP's first stop is 'Blue Eye' named after the spring source of the Bistrice river in Albania. Crystal-clear sound design that echoes the flow of this natural water and sits alongside softly distorted low end. Contrasting 'Urban Hermit' was written in Berlin, during a bout of cabin fever and is a heavy case of gnarled up, spat out, paranoid machine funk. 'Post Columbia' - recorded after an eye opening trip to Bogota- then shifts the tone for the B side into more heady melodic territory with luminous, floating synths evolving throughout the track. ' ABC Conjecture' builds an intense atmosphere as it crawls and morphs across growling, distorted bass with a creeping shuffle of layered elements building overhead. Title track 'Ladakh' completes the EP, inspired by the remote town in the Indian Himalayas on the border of Tibet, AKA snow leopard country. It takes on a special and expansive ambient quality of this deeply precious and spiritual mountain land.

Omar Neri aka Omar J Born & live in Arezzo, Dj Professionist from 1991, play and produced under name PRESSLABOYS with Luigi Gori since 2011. In1996 instead, while they were in his basement during a storm, the study got flooded and they looked like homeless people holding all them instruments. Here born Presslab Records & two Years later Presslaboys Team, after various names used before. Today, never forget but never look back, keep moving forward, it’s time to fly… my creature, Tapemann, who lives the eternal dilemma linked to his nature, of tapa, grappling with the future, progress and the loss of certain values that leave room for AI. So, let’s start this totally hybrid journeys, in sounds ranging from house to prog house contexts (sometimes Deep and Dub) but with a sound and structure that recalls minimal, in the choice of reverbs and lengths of the sounds... all immersed in a decidedly acidic context. A melting pot from an artist who has spanned three decades of music, we couldn't expect anything different.

MALEDICTUS is a Portuguese metal band formed in Lisbon. Bringing together experienced musicians with a shared vision, the band creates dark, powerful and atmospheric heavy music. With a foundation of aggressive riffs, haunting melodies and emotional vocals, the band blends modern heavy metal with darker, more melodic influences.

The group was formed by musicians seeking to explore a heavier and more expressive sound, combining technical musicianship with compelling songwriting and a cinematic atmosphere. Their music strikes a balance between intensity and melody, moving between crushing guitar passages, dynamic rhythms, and dramatic vocal performances. ""Our music reflects who we are and how we process life and our own emotions. Music is life manifested through an artist's soul. We all process life with a sense of dark melancholy”, comments guitarist Ben Stockwell. As history has taught us, Portuguese metal bands are known for their melancholic sound, which reflects their cultural identity.

Since their formation, MALEDICTUS has been focused on creating music that reflects the darker and more emotional aspects of the metal genre. Drawing inspiration from classic and contemporary metal acts, the band aims to create a sound that feels familiar yet distinct, appealing to fans of powerful, atmospheric metal.

Boasting a line-up of seasoned performers and a clear artistic vision, MALEDICTUS is developing new material and establishing its presence in the Portuguese metal scene and beyond. Their debut album, „Lazarvs“, is set to be released on Friday 13th of November. The album title draws heavily on the biblical story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus performs the great miracle of raising his deceased friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days.

With Rez on vocals, the band has an exceptional singer with a distinctive, powerful voice. „He is undoubtedly one of the best out there having power, soul, range and timbre. Everything fits perfectly with our sound. We couldn't have asked for a better voice or frontman"", says the guitarist. Rez’s lyrics are another perfect addition to the band's dark, epic and partly progressive sound. The lyrical themes focus on life's darkest moments. „Death brings an opportunity for renewal, as do our most difficult struggles, which require part of us to die in order to be overcome.

X Clan emerged from Brooklyn, New York as one of the most distinctive and politically charged groups of the early 1990s. The original lineup, Anthony “Sugar Shaft” Hardin, Claude “Paradise” Gray, Jason “Brother J” Hunter, and Lumumba “Professor X” Carson, became the driving force behind the Blackwatch movement, a collective that also included artists such as Lin Que aka Isis and Queen Mother Rage.

Renowned for their Afrocentric vision, militant activism, and unmistakable sonic identity, X Clan quickly rose to prominence. Their 1990 debut album To The East, Blackwards sparked both acclaim and controversy, reaching No. 11 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 97 on the Billboard 200. The record delivered several standout singles, including “Heed The Word Of The Brother” backed with “Raise The Flag”, “Funkin’ Lesson” backed with “Shaft’s Big Score”, “Grand Verbalizer, What Time Is It?”, and the funk-driven, sample-heavy track “Verbal Milk”.

The group’s original formation dissolved in 1995, and tragically, both Sugar Shaft and Professor X passed away later that year.

To The East, Blackwards is now reissued on vinyl for the first time since 1991, honouring one of hip‑hop’s most influential and culturally resonant albums.

A State Of—Trance 25 Years - The Official Anthem Collection celebrates a quarter century of one of electronic music’s most influential movements, curated and driven by Armin van Buuren.

As the visionary behind A State Of Trance, Armin has shaped the global trance community through his radio show, events, and unmistakable sound. This definitive collection brings together, for the first time, the best of the official ASOT anthems, tracks personally championed on the world’s biggest stages and synonymous with unforgettable festival moments. From euphoric climaxes to deeply emotional journeys, these anthems trace both the evolution of trance and Armin van Buuren’s enduring influence.

More than a compilation, this release is a tribute to 25 years of leadership, passion, and connection on dancefloors worldwide.

A native of the island nation of Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora was known as the country's foremost practitioner of the morna, a combination of West African percussion with Portuguese fados, Brazilian modinhas, and British sea shanties. After a short singing career in the 1970’s, she returned in the late ‘80s with a string of critically acclaimed and increasingly popular albums.

Her 1999 album Café Atlantico (a reference to her home where she frequently entertained guests) is a much-acclaimed masterpiece, finding Evora venturing into more Latin American musical landscapes, as opposed to Portuguese, which dominated her previous albums. Evora draws from traditional Cuban and Brazilian music to mesmerizing effect. The music is heart-breaking and nostalgic, warm and tragic all at once.

Café Atlantico is available on black vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics.

Bill Beau was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but was raised in the western provinces, finishing high school in Edmonton, Alberta. It was while in high school that the "righteous rays" via radio struck Beau in the form of Meade Lux Lewis, Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons at the height of the Boogie Woogie rage. It was while in high school that Bill got his first gig. He played piano and worked with Wilf Harper, a guitarist of local renown. Beau played on weekends and during the week worked as a clothing salesman, stock clerk, refinery worker, service station attendant and freight checker. He travelled all across Canada, and finally landed in Los Angeles, California.

In 1958 his love of music compelled him to direct all of his energy toward the perfection of his musical talent, so he decided to settle permanently in Los Angeles. Beau first worked there as a vibraphonist, gigging with such stars as Ben Webster, Rex Stewart, Pete Fountain, and Stuff Smith. Once, when his regular organist failed to show up for a date, Beau ended up on the Hammond. Beau then formed his own group, and the trio got a standing date at the Blue Port Lounge. The other two members of the trio are Jo Stafford on guitar, Lorenzo Green on drums, plus the pretty and petite vocalist with the group, Chi Chi.

"Live at the Blueport Lounge" by the Bill Beau Trio is mod-soul-jazz at its very best! A stunning treasure rarely to be found - unless it's on Mo-Jazz!

Berlin-based trio Roomer weave noise, melody, and memory into expansive guitar-driven songs. Formed by long-time friends and collaborators Ronja Schößler, Ludwig Wandinger, and Luka Aron, the band brings together distinct voices from across Europe's avant-garde, folk, and electronic scenes, folding these lineages into a sound that moves between shoegaze density, diaristic songwriting, and sonic exploration. Their music often holds opposites in suspension: clarity and blur, structure and drift, intimacy and collapse.

Their debut album Leaving It All to Chance (2025,) introduced this language in full, pairing emotionally direct songs with shifting textures and dense layers of distortion. With Staircase Made of Rope, their second album on Squama, Roomer widen the frame further. Built largely from improvisations and first takes, the record embraces instability as method, moving between density and silence while allowing melodies to surface and dissolve in unexpected ways.

Five years in the making, ‘Lotus Rising’ is an alternative body of work presented by Subb-an, exploring his South Asian heritage, live instrumentation and a more introspective side of his production. Across a career rooted primarily in house and techno, the album finds him looking beyond the immediate demands of the dancefloor, opening up a more expansive and self-healing approach to his music.

The album brings together electronic production with live and organic elements, featuring contributions from London-based Indian classical sitar player Akash Parekar, vocalist and sound artist Kate Fleur Young, vocalist Anushree Datar, bassist Luke Weaver and Maribou State drummer Jonny Cade. The lotus represents growth and transformation, providing a fitting framework for a record shaped by a period of transition and reconnection. ‘Lotus Rising’ is released via Phonica Records Special Editions on 30th October 2026.

Mit ihren ersten beiden Alben verwandelten Dream Unending die vertraute Architektur des Death Doom in einen eigenen Ort. Eine Sprache, in der tiefste Schwere mit Progressive Rock, Ambient-Musik, jazzinspirierter Improvisation und unverblümter emotionaler Offenheit koexistieren konnte.
Auf dem neuen Album 'Certain Uncertainties' bleibt dieser Ausdruck intakt, doch der Blick hat sich verändert. Wo frühere Werke oft nach oben und außen zu greifen schienen, kehrt dieses auf die Erde zurück: schlanker im Aufbau, rauere Kanten und von einer ausgeprägt nächtlichen Atmosphäre geprägt. Man könnte es vielleicht 'Adult Contemporary Doom' nennen; Musik von erheblichem Gewicht, die dennoch gelernt hat, wie viel gesagt werden kann, indem man bestimmte Dinge ungesagt lässt.

Aufgenommen mit weniger Schichten und einem bewusst unmittelbaren instrumentalen Ansatz, gibt 'Certain Uncertainties' den einzelnen Darbietungen Raum zum Atmen. Derrick Vellas Gitarren bewegen sich mit ungewohnter Freiheit durch Blues-, Jazz- und Progressive-Vokabular und tragen zuweilen den offen geführten Charakter amerikanischer Roots-Musik in Gefilde, die man im Doom selten antrifft. Justin DeTores Schlagzeug ist durchgehend präsent, verleiht dem Album eine physischere Dynamik und hilft den Kompositionen, ihre Ziele mit größerer Sparsamkeit zu erreichen. Dennoch hat die Prägnanz die Vorliebe von Dream Unending für Entladung nicht geschmälert: Insbesondere das Eröffnungs- und das Schlussstück steuern auf enorme Druckpunkte zu, während die Zwischenräume Vellas Spiel zum Wandern, Reagieren und gelegentlichen Unvollkommenheiten einladen. Jeder Song funktioniert als eigene Vignette – teils Wüsten-Träumerei, teils After-Hours-Noir – durchzogen von Spuren westlicher Landschaften, dämmrigen Räumen und leeren Straßen.

Diese erdgebundene Qualität passt zu einem Album, das sich im Kern mit Instabilität und Wiederaufbau beschäftigt. Entstanden in einer Phase, in der Vella sein eigenes Vertrauen ins Risikoeingehen neu aufbaute, trägt 'Certain Uncertainties' Zweifel in sich, ohne der Verzweiflung zu verfallen. Die versehrte Balladenhaftigkeit von 'I Carry Your Burden' (mit Gastgesang von Brendan Radigan), die improvisatorische Offenheit des Titeltracks und die hässlicheren Ausbrüche des Death Doom gehören alle zum selben emotionalen Terrain: Schönheit und Unbehagen dürfen denselben Rahmen einnehmen. Wenn das frühere Werk von Dream Unending eine andere Welt jenseits der Grenzen schwerer Musik imaginierte, findet 'Certain Uncertainties' etwas ebenso Seltsames in der Welt unter unseren Füßen. Ein Album voller trockener Luft, langer Schatten, ungelöster Fragen und dem sturen Impuls, sich weiter durch sie hindurchzubewegen.

„Continue Here“ ist das Album, das es bisher noch nicht gab. „Continue Here“ schließt die Lücke zwischen „Begin Here“ und „Odessey & Oracle“ und enthält die bei den Fans beliebten Titel „I Love You“, „Leave Me Be“ und „I Want You Back Again“. Zum ersten Mal auf einem Album vereint, dokumentiert „Continue Here“ alle 18 Nicht-Album-Singles und B-Seiten aus den Jahren 1964 bis 1967 in ihrer ursprünglichen Mono-Mischung. „Continue Here (Mono Remastered)“ ist das nächste Kapitel in der Reihe der Zombies-Neuauflagen über das bandeigene Label Beechwood Park Records, mit demselben Team wie bei „Begin Here“ und „Odessey & Oracle“ – erneut unter der Leitung von Matthew und Jamie White, gemastert von Reuben Cohen bei Lurssen Mastering, mit brandneuem Artwork von Darren Evans und Liner Notes des legendären David Fricke. Die CD enthält einen Bonustrack: „I’m Going Home“.

Mehr als zwanzig Jahre nachdem Nouvelle Vague mit ihrem inzwischen kultigen Debütalbum den Post-Punk neu erfunden haben, schlagen sie mit A Date with Depeche Mode ein mutiges neues Kapitel auf – einer abendfüllenden Neuinterpretation eines der einflussreichsten und beliebtesten Songkataloge der modernen Musik.
Nur wenige Bands haben die Popkultur so geprägt wie Depeche Mode. Nur wenige Künstler beherrschen die Kunst der musikalischen Neuinterpretation so meisterhaft wie Nouvelle Vague. Diese beiden Welten zusammenzubringen wirkt zugleich völlig unerwartet und doch unvermeidlich.
Aufgenommen zwischen Rio de Janeiro und Paris, verwandelt das Album dreizehn Depeche-Mode-Klassiker in intime, filmische und tief emotionale Songs. Was einst von Maschinen und elektronischen Klängen geprägt war, wird hier warm, organisch und zeitlos – und legt das Songwriting offen, das den Kern dieser ikonischen Kompositionen bildet.
Gesungen von einer außergewöhnlichen internationalen Besetzung von Gastvokalistinnen und -vokalisten – darunter Skye Edwards (Morcheeba), Beth Hirsch, Flavia Coelho, Mélanie Pain, Phoebe Killdeer, Fredrika Stahl und weitere – bietet jeder Titel eine einzigartige Begegnung zwischen einer Stimme und einem Song und bleibt dabei dem charakteristischen Stil von Nouvelle Vague treu

New York-based Japanese jazz and electronic music polymath Takuya Nakamura presents his debut album Shape The Future - almost 35 years into his storied musical journey.

An expansive double album, the album’s first LP documents a spellbinding live performance by Nakamura recorded at fabric. A hybrid set combining DJing, live electronics, vocals, and trumpet, the set also features studio versions of special collaborations with Shigeto, Currency Audio and Tim Reaper. The second LP complements the first by assembling studio recordings of select album tracks. Altogether the two volumes make for a definitive display of Nakamura’s exceptional musicianship across jazz, DnB, jungle, broken beat, deep techno and more.

Across his career, Nakamura has played Brazilian music, merengue, salsa and straight-ahead jazz. He’s opened for Sun Ra Arkestra, performed with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Wu-Tang Clan, and Arto Lindsay, appeared on sessions with Terry Riley, ASAP Rocky, Goldie, and TV On The Radio, and remixed the likes of Quincy Jones, Sun Ra, Billie Holiday, and The Streets. He’s also played under director and playwright Robert Wilson.

Although the musical past and present of the Tokyo-born, New York-based DJ and trumpet player is undoubtedly eclectic, Nakamura is abidingly steeped in the sounds of jazz and jungle. This’ll be obvious to casual observers who may have seen any viral videos of him. But there’s more to this. The depth of Nakamura’s engagement with these kinds of music, the way they’ve made him into the person he is, the decades-long path they’ve taken him on; to now arrive at the summit of a solo album is all truly remarkable. Shape The Future resonates with every chapter in this story.

In high school, Nakamura’s friends started listening to jazz and jazz fusion, which piqued his interest, especially when they started going to clubs to see it live, where they managed to see US legends like Sonny Rollins play. Eventually he began to play jazz every day and his musical skill emerged early. He soon became obsessed with getting closer to the source of this music, which led to his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with George Russell, an influential figure who had taught Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Nakamura drank it in: not only the technical aspects but the sense of a direct connection to “a music culture where Russell and his friends changed harmony forever. I wanted to know how that was possible!”.

This was a radical experience in itself, but then another revolution happened for Nakamura. He was playing in a venue called The Western Front, near Boston and discovered that the elderly owner had his own soundsystem and was playing what was then - in 1992 - only just becoming known as jungle. This was as freeing a musical revelation as his proximity to the giants of jazz was, and in that instant the two things fused. He understood that using technology to fill a dancehall with sound and a jazz musician’s reflexes are all working to the same ends: “You’re always making decisions,” he says, “but it doesn’t have to be really difficult. It’s the truth of the frequencies, and how they’re affecting people’s minds.”

From that moment on, his life path was set. Moving to New York City, he sought out jungle and its offshoot sounds wherever he could find them, gigging and collaborating relentlessly, and gradually developing his own live and hybrid live/DJ shows. Through regular appearances at New York fixtures Zebulon and CBGBs, and continual shows elsewhere in the city, Nakamura developed his live performance and DJing and it was in these environments that he gradually weaved together his twin loves without compromising either, building an international reputation in the process.

It’s only fitting then that his first album, almost 35 years after he first found his musical direction, should be a live one: a window into this never-ending process. Even here, he had to be persuaded that he should make a record. A member of the fabric team got turned on to his music after their daughter saw him play. Of course, as a jungle lover, Nakamura knew fabric – which has a special place in the history of jungle and drum’n’bass – and “had wanted to play there since I was very young.” You can hear the club in the record: this isn’t just a live show, in keeping with his jungle roots, it’s Nakamura duetting with the soundsystem, and you can feel how the emotions in the room would have ebbed and flowed.

This dynamic translates to a transfixing record. Setting the tone with lushly textured ambient and reverberant jazz, Nakamura segues into cinematic breakbeat and stellar fusion, infusing it all with intoxicating low end and hypnotic rhythms. The LP’s midway point locks into mesmeric percussion heightened by resonant echoes of piano and trumpet. There’s an endless pull to this music. Nakamura adjusts the levels for maximum impact throughout, and the overall effect begins to evoke some harmonious hybrid between a jazz ensemble, a classic Metalheadz 12” and a Theo Parrish DJ set. His electric form continues through surreal jazz, intricate electronics and rolling sub-bass velocity, right up to the subtly devastating final cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, with Nakamura’s fragile vocal sitting in the heart of a huge sound.

From Tokyo jazz nights to formative studies and encounters in Boston to his artistic development in New York, Nakamura reaches another milestone with his monumental debut album. It’s a release that happened just the way a Takuya Nakamura record should. In the same way his instincts led him to musical revelations, taking his own sweet time has led him to make one of the most extraordinary debut albums imaginable, all executed in his own singular style. In Nakamura’s world, the universe finds a way.

Vokabularium returns with leksikon vol. 2, the second instalment of the label’s evolving VA series - a carefully curated body of work that reflects the deeper philosophy behind the Copenhagen-based imprint: emotionally driven electronic music built for introspection as much as the dancefloor.

Following the success of the first leksikon compilation, this new chapter expands the label’s sonic identity further, bringing together a diverse collection of artists whose productions move fluidly between melodic techno, leftfield electronica, deep house and experimental club music. Across the compilation, there’s a consistent thread of tension, atmosphere and storytelling - records designed less around fleeting trends and more around lasting emotional resonance.

Founded by Denis Horvat, Vokabularium has steadily established itself as a platform for detailed, synth-led electronic music rooted in analogue textures and cinematic depth. The label has become an extension of Horvat’s own musical language - one shaped by releases on respected imprints including Innervisions, Afterlife and Diynamic, alongside his increasingly distinctive output on Vokabularium itself.

You are Spring!" beginnt mit einer gewundenen Klangwand, A-cappella-Stimmen, die sich in üppiger Harmonie überlagern und den halb-titelsgebenden Frühling besingen. Sofort entführt uns Tasha aus dem tristen, grauen Winter in eine Welt voller Bilder und Empfindungen von neuem Leben. Stell dir vor: ein Feuerwerk aus glockenförmigen Blüten; Rosa, Citrin und Buttergelb; der Himmel klar, eine Lunge voll Blau; Wärme, überall, die die über den Winter geheilte Haut küsst und sich nach Berührung sehnt; Leichtigkeit nach dem Leiden; ein tiefer Atemzug nach dem Ersticken. "Don't die now / There's life to be found now,", beginnt sie. In Texten, die von Gwendolyn Brooks' Gedicht "To The Young Who Want To Die" inspiriert sind, formuliert Tasha die These dieses Albums mit exquisiter Präzision. Es gibt Jahreszeiten der Härte, Jahreszeiten der Schwierigkeit, ja. Aber hier, in diesem Album, meditieren wir über den Frühling über eine Zeit des Feierns, die umso süßer ist, weil wir wissen, was man ertragen muss, um dorthin zu gelangen. "Alive now / It's spring now / Alive now / You're spring now" schließt sie, getragen von den samtigen Stimmen von Jamila Woods und Taja Cheek von L'Rain, die auf diesem Track zu hören sind, und lädt uns in die paradiesische Schatzkiste ein, die sie hier geschaffen hat. Für Tasha ist der Frühling ein Ort, an dem wir ankommen, aber auch ein Zustand, in dem wir uns befinden, eine Art, wie wir geworden sind. Wenn sie darüber spricht, was das Album ihrer Hoffnung nach vermitteln soll, erläutert sie die Bedeutung von "You Are Spring!" weiter und sagt: Es ist eine Art zu sagen, dass du das bist, worauf sich andere Menschen freuen; du bist das, worauf wir warten; du bist das Schöne." Wenn es im vorherigen Album um Sehnsucht ging, darum, sich nach einer Fülle zu strecken, von der du weißt, dass sie kommt, dann ist "You are Spring!" eine Gelegenheit, innezuhalten und alles in dich aufzunehmen, sobald du in deine Fülle eingetreten bist. Das heißt, You Are Spring!" ist in seiner Aufmerksamkeit für die Glückseligkeit so eindringlich wie sein Ausrufezeichen, aber es hat auch einen klaren Blick auf die Welt um sich herum. Die zweite Hälfte des Albums bewegt sich auf diesem schmalen Grat zwischen Wonne und Untergang. Sieh dir zum Beispiel "Actor" an und seine Auseinandersetzung mit den Gesten, die wir in einer Liebe machen, die hohl geworden ist, gefolgt von Special" und seinem aufwendig arrangierten Klangteppich, komplett mit Tashas Klarinetten-Debüt. Im letzten Titel, Quick!", steigt Tashas Stimme in einer fast Stephen-Sondheim-artigen Tonfolge empor und drängt uns singend: "Quick! See how this beauty rushes by?" Es gibt Dissonanzen im Klimpern der Akkorde, das Keuchen ihrer Finger, die über den Gitarrenhals gleiten, eine raue, fast wie von einer Kassette klingende Qualität der Produktion, wieder von Gregory Uhlmann. Aber wir werden noch nicht aus dem Garten vertrieben; der Song klingt langsam aus, zurück in den Glockenblumenhain von Tashas sanftester Stimmlage. "You Are Spring!" fordert uns heraus, uns an unserer Gegenwart zu erfreuen, uns selbst als die lang ersehnte Jahreszeit des neuen Lebens und Wachstums zu sehen. Und wenn der Winter wiederkommt, wie er es immer tun muss, die Trauer sich einschleicht, Herzschmerz vor der Tür steht, gibt Tasha uns etwas, an dem wir uns festhalten können. Die Gewissheit, dass der Frühling wiederkommen wird, selbst dann. Dass die Schönheit und Fülle, die uns jetzt umgibt, uns wieder umgeben wird, noch einmal.

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go. Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Nino, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa. Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Nino, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators.

Mit INSTINCTA, ihrer Debüt-EP auf Sony Classical, zeigt sich Suena von einer völlig neuen Seite. Die gefeierte Produzentin und Songwriterin hinter Erfolgen von Apache 207, Herbert Grönemeyer, Capital Bra und Ikkimel kehrt zu ihren musikalischen Wurzeln zurück und präsentiert erstmals eigene Kompositionen für Klavier und Streicher, die in den renomierten Emil Berliner Studios eingespielt wurden.Dabei verbindet Suena in Songs wie Primapulsa, Calma oder Adulta die Eleganz klassischer Komponisten wie Chopin und Debussy mit einer modernen, cineastischen Klangsprache sowie den feinen Produktionstechniken ihrer Pop-Karriere. Das Ergebnis ist ein emotionales Hörerlebnis voller Melodie, Hoffnung und zeitloser Schönheit, dass sich zwischen moderner Klassik und Filmmusik bewegt und zum Innehalten, Träumen und Entspannen einlädt. Als Special Guest hat sie Esther Abrami eingeladen, die sie bei Victoria auf der Geige begleitet.INSTINCTA ist die perfekte Begleitung für alle, die die poetischen Klangwelten von Ludovico Einaudi, Yiruma oder Ólafur Arnalds schätzen.Die Bubblegum-Pink Colour Vinyl von INSTINCTA enthält einen handsignierten Artprint von Suena.

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.


Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Niño, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa.


Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Niño, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators

Pure loveliness. Proper music-making,
DIY Classical, but nothing slapdash or posey. Intimate and tentative, seamed with risk, occasional mis-steps, dodgy tuning, minor technical fuck-ups; but driven by gripping, stilled dedication and deep musical understanding.
Double bass, electric guitar, flute, melodica, singing; recorded at home in NYC, on dodgy gear, with snug, woody, shhshh-ing, analogue-style ambience.
The trio hovers between cheerful relish - who’s that giggling at the back - and hushed, humble reverence, basking in the processes of musical communion and learning. They play like they are gingerly passing on a precious, fragile gift; but without prissy conceit.
Luminous selections from the last six hundred years - John of Dunstable meets Friedrich Nietzsche - are lovingly arranged by the group, with a bent for stripped-to-the-bone, emotionally restrained sublimity, steady as she blows.
Very warmly recommended. Soul food.

*CASSETTE TAPE!**

SELN Recordings is proud to present Sillons, the debut release from French musician Pierre François.

Straight from Nantes with love and sadness; Sillons is the soundtrack to being shut inside and sheltered from all the dread beyond your bedroom door. What may at first appear as a collection of abstract loops unravels into something much greater throughout its entirety.

Underneath a thick atmosphere of tape hiss and crackle, minimal synth explorations emerge and float away while the occasional guitar-esq riff ebbs in and out of the foreground like waves at the shore. Percussive refrains come through with perfect timing, their occasional rudimentary timbre all in the spirit of ‘do it yourself magique’.

Picture the following: it’s been decades and you’ve forgotten how to communicate with the world outside, all you have left are message-songs which leave behind a story of what it was like to be separated from everything you’d ever known during an existential sabbatical. This is very near to the audio experience that Sillons gives and thus makes it so real. On this merit alone François deserves his flowers.

Even the shortest of songs manage to conjure up visceral imagery. For example ‘Abouile’, with an impressive runtime of 51 seconds, dives straight into the eeriest corners of a Cold-War era ‘Numbers Broadcast’ being sent out from malfunctioning military personnel venturing off into the depths of their consciousness.

All in all there is something distinctly ambitious and positive within Francois’ work. It takes you to a place where little else matters except the mood and feeling the music provides, a hopeful and emotive landscape.

Mastered by Amir Shoat

In Dead Deities, SATANIC PLANET’s new album for Relapse Records, we see a band coming into its own while offering an aggressive, pitch-black, deeply surly call-to-arms against autocracy in the age of Christian Nationalism. Lucien Greaves (The Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson), Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido de la Frontera, First Power Crew, Variations In the Key of the Afterlife), Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross), and Justin Pearson (The Locust, Swing Kids, Deaf Club) are now a fully together-in-the-studio band with razor-sharpened focus, creating a sound and lyrical catalog of ideas that Greaves says is both more personal and even closer aligned to the goals of The Satanic Temple, which through art, action, and activism seeks to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practiced common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.” The Satanic Temple and SATANIC PLANET are here to empower all those who are needed in the ongoing battle against theocracy, apathy, and inequality. Dead Deities begins as a brooding, doomy soundscape with backwards ritualistic vocals that churn forward like a barbaric horror flick scene before launching into the aptly named “Antichrist,” with a hypnotic, screamy post-post-post-hardcore intro that melds into a slow, nasty, heavy vision of what pop music might sound like in Hell. This 11-track stygian brute of an album is a journey through modern dark music with tolling bells, blackened synth, diabolical noise interludes, drums as heavy as a mountain, and group vocals torn straight out of your best-worst nightmares.

Originally released in 2000 on Smalltown Supersound, Kim Hiorthøy’s first record Hei captures an artist who had made very little music before – yet it seemingly was the starting point of a musical career that would stay away from easy categorisation. Now, Hei (2026 Remaster) returns on blickwinkel, released digitally and on vinyl on 30 October 2026, as part of an ongoing series revisiting and reissuing Hiorthøy’s work.

Made in Copenhagen with little equipment — an Akai MPC2000, a stereo microphone and a DAT machine — Hei was assembled from samples, sequences and rhythms, with no outboard mixing or processing. Without really knowing what he was doing, the music was created intuitively while drawing inspiration from instrumental hip-hop he was listening to, the techno and drum & bass he admired but did not yet know how to make, and a broader fascination with music that felt personal, homemade and slightly uncertain of its own identity. Hei sits somewhere between those impulses. It is beat-driven without belonging entirely to beat music, experimental without announcing itself as such, but unmistakably coming from a playful series of events and decisions.

In that regard, the title of the closing track might be a fitting description of the album itself and, in hindsight, also of how we can look at Hiorthøy’s subsequent work. Taken from a story by Tove Jansson, the title evokes a state of openness and curiosity, a state where thoughts and impressions are simply given the space to unfold:

“He didn't care to get up, all day he let new images and ideas come and go as they pleased, now and then slept a little and woke up again and had no idea who he was. It was a peaceful and very exciting day.”

There is something of Hei in that state of mind: a willingness to follow an idea without knowing exactly where it might lead, a willingness to follow guts and the heart rather than ratio. Perhaps that is also what makes Hei still feel relevant today. As Hiorthøy puts it when reflecting on the music he made then and the music he makes now: “If I compare the music on Hei to music I’m making now, the general sentiment or smell or air or tree or pull of what I’m looking for and listening after when I work is, I think, for better or worse, more or less the same.”

All music by Kim Hiortøy
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu
Portraits by Kim Hiorthøy
Design by Jelle Martens

Finnish-American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love join forces on their new album PING, released by We Jazz Records on 30th October on LP, CD and digital formats. Recorded in Helsinki, the album finds the seasoned duo firing on all cylinders and delivering a remarkable set of contemporary free music.

PING brings together nine excursions beyond “guitar + drums” and way beyond “free jazz”. That being said, those are still good touching points for the music that is wild, imaginative, raw, yet also at times delicate and introspective. Friends and collaborators for decades in groups such as the lauded Scorch Trio, Raoul and Paal have the history and the trust to create memorable and original improvised music that stuns and moves the curious listener.

Raoul Björkenheim (b. 1956) is a Finnish-American guitarist and composer who has been creating original music for the past four decades living in New York City and Helsinki, where he is presently based. Describing his on-going work as investigative guitarism, he is best known for an expressionistic and lyrical guitar style. Björkenheim’s eclectic discography numbers 50+ albums, ranging from ambient soundscapes to visceral free jazz, from duo to big band. His large-scale works for symphony orchestra have yet to be recorded, and he has also composed scores for over ten films and dance productions. Björkenheim has collaborated musically with Bill Laswell, Toshinori Kondo, William Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Gerald Cleaver, Henry Kaiser, Lukas Ligeti, Morgan Ågren, Paul Schütze, Edward Vesala and Juhani Aaltonen, for the labels ECM, Rune Grammofon, Cuneiform, Tum Records and Long Song records. Björkenheim has been awarded various prizes including the Emma prize for best jazz recording of the year, and been nominated three times for the Nordic Music Award.

Paal Nilssen-Love (b. 1974) is a Norwegian drummer, composer, bandleader, and producer known for his central role in Scandinavian free jazz and improvised music. Since the mid- 1990s, he has appeared on more than 280 albums, including 70 released through his label, PNL Records. He has performed with influential groups including Atomic, The Thing, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet, Scorch Trio, and Frode Gjerstad Trio, and collaborates regularly with artists such as, Ken Vandermark, Akira Sakata, Otomo Yoshihide, David Murray, Arto Lindsay and more. Paal Nilssen-Love’s fascination with traditional and experimental music has taken him around the world. Since his first visit to Ethiopia in 2009, he has built strong connections with musicians and artists in Addis Ababa, leading to collaborations, performances, teaching, and artist exchanges with Norway. Since his first trip to Brazil in 2013, he has returned regularly, developing collaborations with artists and musicians across the country. His musical explorations have also brought him to Tsugaru and Aomori in northern Japan, where he has developed an interest in the region’s traditional music. Nilssen-Love is also an active organizer and educator. He started both Oslo’s all-Ears festival, the Blow Out festival and FRAM Kunstfest, and has led workshops internationally and in Norway.