Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

State Change is the riveting new album from composer and performer Molly Joyce, out July 11, 2025 via FatCat Records’ 130701 imprint. Blending influences ranging from the 20th century modernist lineage to the spectral drones of Andy Stott, Missy Mazzoli, and Nico Muhly, State Change draws unflinchingly from the medical record of a childhood trauma for seven electro-acoustic tone poems — stark and oppressive in its medical aesthetic, yet ultimately cathartic and healing. Joyce crafted the album with Grammy-winning producer William Brittelle largely at Figure 8 Studios with engineer Michael Hammond.

When Joyce was seven years old, she was involved in a car accident that nearly amputated her left hand and required many intensive surgeries; to this day, her hand is still impaired. Joyce pushed through this life change, and over the past eight years, her reputation has swelled as one of her generation’s most daring, conceptually driven composers.

Joyce’s 2020 debut for New Amsterdam Records, Breaking and Entering, ruminated on this seismic shift in pieces for toy organ, voice, and electronic sampling of both sources. The New York Times noted her music’s “serene power”; The Washington Post described her as “one of the most versatile, prolific and intriguing composers working under the vast new-music dome.” Pitchfork lauded her 2022 album Perspective — a sonic portrait of disability built from interview recordings, also released on New Amsterdam — as “a powerful work of love and empathy that underscores the poison of ableism in American culture.”

When I finally lowered the Mordant Music portcullis after 20 years of sauntering alongside the mainstream I signed off with an EMS-based album entitled Mark of the Mould several tracks from which I re-worked for a Sony/KPM online-only library music release entitled Synthi Spores…during the ensuing C-19 castaway phase I composed a further hefty batch of library-style tunes intended for a mooted album with Sony/KPM, which was looking distinctly likely until my contact there vamoosed and corporate ‘reshuffles’ left the music abandoned and huddled in a folder on my desktop - classic ‘industry’ fayre I've witnessed many times and KPM itself has now moved St. Elsewhere…enter CiS, who had also previously re-released the Dead Air album and an eMMplekz 12” , to resuscitate ’n’ rally my underscores ’n’ jingles with their renowned gusto…myself and Phil Heeks fashioned a classic KPM-style ‘1000 Series’ sleeve and a random web pop-up provided the ad-hoc title (I was searching for raw plugs at the time)…I’ve made untold library tracks over the years for firms such as Boosey & Hawkes, Cavendish, Universal and Pifco etc and these are certainly some of my favourites, running a gamut of dinky styles for adverts, film and Netflix, whatever that means these days…njoi/endure, IBM

Rocket Recordings’ new Black Hole Series is a place where the unorthodox, otherworldly and esoteric can flourish, and there could be no more fitting first release for it than the most powerful metaphysical travelogue yet from Moundabout. Journeying still further into and beyond the landscapes from which this duo have unearthed inspiration, ‘Goat Skull Table’ is a transmission to give flight to spectral visions and include trance-states in abundance.The vibrations and manifestations of the duo of Paddy Shine(GNOD) and Phil Langero (Los Langeros, Damp Howl, Bisect) has always resonated within a very specific sense of place, transcending linear narratives and astral planes in a quest to unite timeless spirits with inner space. This third release for Rocket Recordings sees them colluding with
the landscape of their surroundings, transcending linear narratives and astral planes in a quest to unite timeless spirits with inner space.The title track marks a focal point here; a Shamanic rite on which Langero’s charismatically charged mantras collude with an audial landscape somewhere on the map between the abstract spell-casting of Nurse With Wound and the druidic gnosticism of Julian Cope. This is Moundabout at their darkest and most ritualistic. Elsewhere, the hypnotic repetition of the twin ten-minute extrapolations ‘Blood On My Blanket’ and ‘Wagon’, and the potent incantatory chants of ‘Am I Not’ and ‘Brave New World’ glow with a rugged and
charged dynamism redolent of the Swedish Psychedelia of Träd, Gräs & Stenar, uniting a minimal aesthetic with maximal impact.
Dauntless, feverish, and reaching new heights of primal intensity ’Goat Skull Table’ is a formidable field guide to the earthen and other

MR TOUT LE MONDE presents “YOU”, the final part of his SUN-HER-YOU albums trilogy, releasing September 13th.

This album marks a key moment for the French producer, blending indie pop and EDM styles. Following successful tours in Canada and Germany, he’s set for a 9-date US tour in September and his Paris headline debut at Le Trianon on November 15th, sold out 4 months in advance.

“YOU” showcases MR TOUT LE MONDE’s versatility across genres. The lead single “Before You Go” (featuring Oaks) deliver infectious electronic energy when “I Don’t Know” offers introspective indie pop. Fan favorites “Thinking Of” and “Wonderful World” reinforce the unique aesthetic that has become the artist’s signature.

The album’s concept revolves around fan experiences, with each track inspired by listener stories, reflected in the album’s striking cover art. Inspired by fan stories, the album resonates with MR TOUT LE MONDE’s core 18-35 demographic.

"Nadine Shah announce her fifth album Filthy Underneath will be released on 23 February as the inaugural release on EMI North. The follow up to 2020's critically acclaimed Kitchen Sink and 2017's Mercury Prize nominated Holiday Destination, the announcement comes alongside lead single 'Topless Mother' which was just premiered by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.


Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Nadine Shah’s life. And yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming – a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s thirty-seven years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and long-time co-writer and producer Ben Hillier have created around them, with renewed emphasis on placing melody and movement front and centre."

A decade after its original release, Flako"s seminal debut album Natureboy returns for its first-ever reissue on vinyl in a special 10th anniversary edition. In 2015, Natureboy emerged as a rare bloom in the electronic underground - a record that defied genre and expectation. Hailed by Bleep as "one of the most startlingly unique and original releases" and crowned their Album of the Year, it still stands as one of the most singular, emotive, and genre-defying releases of its era.

‘Rapstar*’ is the second album by NEW YORK, It follows their self-released debut ‘No Sleep Till N.Y.’ (2022) and features songs with No Bra, Lulu, LC, Lolina, and Ren G from Club Eat.

Fighting for love, a growing shoe collection, the end of the world — Rapstar* tells the story of inner city life and the performance of being a girl. The album is split into two sides: tracks 1-7 on Side A focus on the pop elements of NEW YORK’s production, while Side B tracks 8-14 reveal their interest in experimental composition. Mixing hip-hop, dub and glitch, the record evokes a nostalgia for lo-fi bedroom pop and amateur production techniques of early internet music. The sound is harsh and rebellious, a push for change. Rapstar* embraces chaos, restless in its struggle to look normal.

Debüt-Soloalbum der Multiinstrumentalistin und Leadsängerin Nicole Miglis von Hundred Waters. Die Songs für ihr Solo-Debütalbum Myopia entstanden stückweise: in eine neue Stadt reisen, Feldaufnahmen sammeln, eine Idee entwickeln, verfeinern und in immer neuer Reihenfolge wiederholen. Viele der Songs entstanden innerhalb weniger Wochen, während sich die reichhaltige Instrumentierung geduldig entwickelte, als Miglis an den vielschichtigen Klanglandschaften herumtüftelte. Myopia ist ein Album, das die komplexen Überschneidungen von Sehnsucht, Melancholie und Identität erforscht und gleichzeitig ihre faszinierende Fähigkeit unter Beweis stellt, experimentelle Produktionen, Popmelodien und klassische Formen zu einer ganz eigenen musikalischen Sprache zu vereinen. Die Veröffentlichungen von Hundred Waters wurden von zahlreichen Medien gelobt, darunter Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, NPR, New York Times und viele mehr. Für ihr erstes Soloalbum Myopia war Miglis entschlossen, alle Songs selbst zu schreiben, zu produzieren und aufzuführen. Obwohl viele der Tracks noch in der Zeit mit HW entstanden, fand sie nach ihrer Welttournee als Leadsängerin des für einen Grammy nominierten Elektronikmusikers Bonobo in den Jahren 2022-23 neue kreative Kraft und finalizierte ihr Solowerk. In Myopia kristallisiert Miglis ineinander verwobene Zustände von Besessenheit, Liebe und Verlust neben einer gleichmäßig eklektischen Reihe von Klängen, sowohl organisch als auch digital. Das Album ist der Höhepunkt eines lebenslangen künstlerischen Schaffens, das Momente aus ihrer gesamten Karriere in ihrer bisher üppigsten und überzeugendsten Sammlung von Songs zusammenfasst. Es vermischt Texturen und Genres mit Instrumenten und Einflüssen - von Klavieren und Streichern bis hin zu akustischen Harfenklängen und ätherischen Loops - und überbrückt die Kluft zwischen Klassik und Moderne mit einem Album, das Fans von elektronischer, orchestraler und Pop-Musik gleichermaßen faszinieren wird.

Nicole Scherzingers Debütalbum „Killer Love“ erscheint zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl. Diese 2LP-Ausgabe, die
ursprünglich 2011 veröffentlicht wurde, unterstreicht Nicoles kraftvollen Gesang und ihre charakteristische
Mischung aus Pop, Dance und R&B.
Mit Hits wie „Don’t Hold Your Breath“, „Right There“ und „Wet“ bietet diese lang erwartete Veröffentlichung eine neue Möglichkeit, eines der herausragenden Pop-Alben dieser Ära zu erleben.

Nils Økland is interested in the journeys and dialogues of music across time and space, a music without national and traditional borders. At the same time, he is also very inspired by local music from many places and often prefers old fiddlers and singers who have a unique personal playing style. The first concert with Nils Økland Band took place in 2014, and since then, they have released the Norwegian Grammy nominated "Kjølvatn" on ECM and "Lysning" on Hubro, which won the award. It has been seven years since their last release. On March 1st, the highly anticipated album "Gjenskinn" (Gleam) is set to be released. The band has been working on the album for a long time, resulting in a genre-defying, cohesive work inspired by influences from around the world. Nils Økland, known for his innovative playing style on the Hardanger fiddle, violin, and viola d'amore, comes from the folk music tradition and is internationally recognized. He has collaborated with major orchestras, composed music for various mediums, and played on albums with notable musicians. Additionally, he is a member of the rock trio Lumen Drones (ECM), their latest release (Umbra) was released on Hubro, and he was a member of the improvisation band 1982 (Hubro), bridging folk, classical, and improvisational music. The Nils Økland Band consists of several of the foremost musicians in Norway: Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophone), Sigbjørn Apeland (organ), Håkon Mørch Stene (percussion), Mats Eilertsen (double bass). These are musicians who, individually, have collaborated with Økland for a long time, but many of them had not played together before Økland formed the band. Rolf Erik Nystrøm has played in the genre-crossing contemporary music trio Poing for several decades, in addition to being a soloist with large orchestras, playing with world and folk musicians, and in various jazz bands. Sigbjørn Apeland has a long history of collaboration with Økland. They play a lot as a duo and have also played in the band 1982 for ten years, along with drummer Øyvind Skarbø. Percussionist Håkon Mørch Stene plays in the contemporary ensemble Asamisimasa and has also released critically acclaimed albums featuring music by Laurence Crane, Gavin Bryars, and Michael Pisaro on Hubro. Mats Eilertsen is the leading jazz bassist of his generation. He has played with a number of prominent jazz musicians such as Tord Gustavsen, Trygve Seim, Bendik Hofseth, and has released several albums under his own name on both Hubro and ECM. The Band - Nils Økland: Hardangerfiddles and violin, Rolf-Erik Nystrøm: Alto and baritone saxophones, Sigbjørn Apeland: Harmonium and Fender Rhodes, Håkon Mørch Stene: Percussion, vibraphone and electronics, Mats Eilertsen: Double bass.

After more than two decades of captivating fans with their signature harmonies and timeless love songs, 98 Degrees returns with Full Circle, an album that marks a new chapter in the group's storied career. This highly anticipated release features five brand new tracks that showcase the evolution of the band’s sound, while still staying true to the essence that made them icons of the '90s and 2000s. Collaborations with powerful vocalists Katrina Velarde and Janine Teñoso bring fresh, dynamic layers to the album, with each artist adding their unique touch to these modern pop-soul anthems. In addition to the new material, Full Circle includes five of 98 Degrees' classic hits, re-recorded and remastered for a new era. These beloved tracks have been given a polished, contemporary update, with richer instrumentation and renewed vocal energy, offering both longtime fans and new listeners a fresh experience of the band’s greatest hits.

From the soulful ballads to the infectious up-tempos, Full Circle perfectly blends the familiar smooth melodies that fans know and love with a more contemporary edge. The title Full Circle reflects the journey the group has taken—from their meteoric rise in the late '90s to their ongoing passion for making music together. With their signature harmonies stronger than ever, Full Circle is a testament to 98 Degrees' enduring legacy and their commitment to creating music that resonates across generations.

Nobukazu Takemura"s music is singular in its ability to create a musical sense of childlike wonder and curiosity, with gracefully executed yet complex compositions. His pieces embody an innocence and the intricacies of self discovery that every human is faced with as their worlds become more complex. An acclaimed producer and composer, Takemura is known for his idiosyncratic music and video artistry as well as his prolific collaborations including those with Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, DJ Spooky and Steve Reich. knot of meanings, Takemura"s first proper album in a decade, finds the Japanese artist wrestling with the rise of technological influence on art and culture in the modern era, in tandem with his own relationship to religion, and where those struggles meet. Like the colorful, irregularly shaped glasses on the cover, the album is a mosaic of technicolor elements that come together to form a complete picture, a dense portrait of interconnected struggles and triumphs.

Rhetoric & Terror is Berlin-based Hemphill’s second album since leaving Liars back in 2016.

No stranger to reinventing his approach towards composition, Rhetoric & Terror feels like we are – perhaps for the first time – opening a doorway into Hemphill’s personal life, to his disparate sonic influences, his wide-ranging journeys through philosophy, and his own reflections on his role as an artist.

Like different thoughts and feelings emerging in a state of meditation, Hemphill invites you to pause on one ‘scene’ for a moment before moving onto the next. There’s space to get lost here – both emotionally and in the colour of the album’s wide-ranging textures.

With his wife Angelika Kaswalder on vocals throughout the album and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson – a longtime friend of Hemphill’s since Henderson’s time in the post- hardcore band The Blood Brothers - adding woodwind, Nonpareils is no longer simply a solo project – and it’s apparent in this openness.

The name of the album – Rhetoric & Terror – describes this split that Hemphill is making from the conceptual nature of his first solo album (2018’s Scented Pictures), and the new direction that he – perhaps – hopes to continue taking. The title comes from a chapter in Giorgio Agamben’s book, “The Man Without Content”, where he describes the concepts of rhetoric and terror to describe two different types of writers: the rhetorician and the terrorist. The terrorist is a misologist who is only into the feeling; the rhetorician is committed to logic and form.

“With Rhetoric & Terror, I wanted to start with emotions and feeling. I was playing with my kids, listening to Cocteau Twins, I have a wonderful partner, and it seemed very contrary to any sort of growth to sequester myself from this life in order to get into character as a musician. Instead, I tried to remove the boundaries between my creative life and my. responsibilities and have it all be one fluid thing. All things at all times, and trust that this will guide my music rather than more intellectual concepts or limitations.”

Despite its catalysts being in philosophy and conceptual art, Hemphill has created an album that’s deeply “emotionally available”. It’s also helped him take a new stance on life that combines his life as a partner and parent in a kind of unity with his role as the artist. It’s plain to hear as a listener – Rhetoric & Terror, despite its intimidating name, is welcoming
and playful, even during its most intense moments.

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

Merzbild Schwet, the second album opus released in 1980, is considered one of Nurse With Wound's major releases, and is part of the famous "Silver Edition" on Rotorelief Records, with a luxurious chrome-plated cover in double Gatefold sleeves, and sumptuous 200g vinyl discs issued in 300 copies on silver and black vinyl, and 700 copies on black vinyl.

The first track, Futurismo, begins with clanking rhythms, record skip clicks, and horn riffs before veering off into a crazed quilt of women singing, laughing, and talking in French. About halfway through, wild screeches of distortion disrupt the piece, and then more bizarre sounds take over before the piece ends with a collage of over modulated electronic hum and rambling piano. The other cut, Dada X, goes further into weirdness with lots of silences, creepy creaking noises, tones that build up and collapse, and scattered spoken word in French and English from Eve Libertine from the political punk band Crass, and the piece certainly lives up to the Dada of its title.

NYZ (David Burraston) presents this collection of generative music pieces carefully extracted from a PreenFM2 gifted to him by Aphex Twin. PRN2_M15t is being released at the same time as an LP titled Stria from Dr. John Chowning who invented the original FM synthesis algorithms which were sold to Yamaha and used in the creation of the DX series of keyboards. An interview with Chowning, conducted by David Burraston, will be published at the same time.

David Burraston is an award winning artist/scientist working in the areas of technology and electronic music, operating Noyzelab as an independent art/science music studio since 1981. Numerous research publications include a 2006 PhD thesis Generative Music & Cellular Automata, which developed and applied fundamental new concepts from generative music practice to a key problem in complex systems theory.

His experimental arts practice encompasses field recording, landscape-scale sound art, chaos/complexity, practice-based research, sound synthesis and electronic music. He performs, lectures, conducts workshops and creates art installations in Regional NSW and around the world. David also designs and builds sound synthesizers based on his theories of chaos/complexity science. He was recently interviewed by Bandcamp Daily and The Wire Magazine.

David has worked with many diverse collaborators such as Aphex Twin, Chris Watson, Doug Quin, Russell Haswell, Robin Fox, Oren Ambarchi, Sarah Last, Cat Hope, Garry Bradbury, William Barton, Alan Lamb, MIT Media Lab and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2014 he independently published the legendary "SYROBONKERS!", the most technical and in-depth interview ever given by Aphex Twin.

Das dreifach Grammy-nominierte Duo ODESZA hat sich für eine neue 7-Track-EP mit der Apple TV+ Hit-Show, „Severance“, zusammengetan und den unverwechselbaren Klängen von Theodore Shapiros Emmy-Award-gekrönten Kompositionen ihre einzigartige Handschrift verliehen.

?Die Musik, die zum ersten Mal auf dem 8-stündigen Visual-/ Audio-Erlebnis, „Music To Refine To“, zu hören war, ist eine Anspielung auf die Idee eines Soundtracks für deinen „Innie“ bei der Arbeit. Der nahtlose 23-Minuten-Mix läuft in einer Endlosschleife und lässt die Hörer:innen in die verschiedenen Motive, Klänge und Atmosphären der Show eintauchen. Seit seiner Veröffentlichung vor zwei Wochen wurde das Video mehr als zwei Millionen Mal angeschaut, während ODESZAs soziale Posts über die Zusammenarbeit im gleichen Zeitraum mehr als 3,5 Millionen Aufrufe erreichten.

?In der mehrfach preisgekrönten Serie, deren zweite Staffel am 21. März 2025, zu Ende ging, leitet Mark Scout (Adam Scott) ein Team bei Lumon Industries, dessen Mitarbeiter:innen sich einer Trennungsprozedur unterzogen haben, die ihre Erinnerungen zwischen Arbeit und Privatleben chirurgisch trennt. Mit einer renommierten Besetzung, zu der auch Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus und John Turturro gehören, wurde die Serie von der New York Times als „ein fesselnder Thriller“ bezeichnet.

The Venezuelan composer Oksana Linde presents Travesías, her second album released by Buh Records, featuring pieces created between 1986 and 1994 in her private studio in San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela. These works belong to the same creative period as the pieces included in her acclaimed debut album, Aquatic and Other Worlds (Buh, 2022). Born in 1948 in Caracas to Ukrainian immigrant parents, Oksana Linde's journey is an example of resilience and innovation. After abandoning her career as a chemist due to health problems, Linde devoted herself to music, experimenting with synthesizers to create a deeply evocative sonic universe. She produced a vast number of recordings during the 1980s, many of which remained unreleased until the publication of Aquatic and Other Worlds. This new collection of pieces, taken from the extensive archive of cassette tapes preserved by Linde, unveils yet another perspective of her work. The pieces "Mundos Flotantes" (Floating Worlds), "Horizontes Lejanos" (Distant Horizons), and "Arrecifes en el espacio" (Reefs in Space) were specifically composed for the show Travesía Acuastral (Aqua-Astral Journey), presented by Linde in February 1991 at Casa Rómulo Gallegos as part of the 3rd Encounter of New Electronic Music. This event, produced by Maite Galán in collaboration with the Musikautomatika group, was a milestone in shaping an experimental electronic music scene in Venezuela, one of the most active in Latin America at that time. Linde also composed a series of pieces for use in meditation sessions, four of which are included in this compilation: "Luciérnagas en los manglares" (Fireflies in the Mangroves), "Estrellas I" and "II" (Stars I and II), and "Kerepakupai Vena." The latter refers to two words from the Pemón Indigenous community in southeastern Venezuela, meaning Angel Falls, the name of the world's tallest waterfall. Travesías solidifies Oksana Linde's position as an essential figure in electronic music and furthers the effort to bring to light one of the most fascinating archives of electronic music produced in Latin America. This compilation is released through Buh Records in a limited edition of 500 copies. Compilation and liner notes by Luis Alvarado. Mastered by Alberto Cendra at Garden Lab Audio. Cover photo by Elisa Ochoa Linde. Art and design by Gonzalo de Montreuil.

Reissue!

White/Blue Marble Reissue!

BAFTA winning Icelandic composer, musician and producer Ólafur Arnalds’ fourth solo studio album, re:member, was originally released by Mercury KX on the 24th August 2018. Released on special marble vinyl for the first time. The album uses the Stratus Pianos as well as string quatet, synths, electronics, live drums and a string orchestra recorded at London’s Air Studios. Plummeting the listener into a subversive world full of unexpected moods and emotions, Ólafur explored foreign musical soundscapes in every facet of re:member.

Composer Ori Barel rolls up the playful aestheticism of ‘90s electronica, taught pointillism of Rock in Opposition, dada collage of Krautrock, and the heavy lushness of Jack Nitzsche arrangements into a seamless sci-‑ fantasia.

"Orlando Weeks’ forthcoming new album ‘LOJA’ (Portuguese for ‘store’) was written in both London and Lisbon. Recording began in earnest in January 2023 at the beautiful Chale Abbey Studios with longtime live collaborator Sergio Maschetzko as producer, supported by co-producer and engineer David Granshaw. In its latter stages, Nathan Jerkins (BULLION) contributed additional production and mixing.
Lead single ‘Dig’, featuring Rhian Teasdale (Wet Leg), is 3 minutes of half argument, long worn-out promises being remade and road weary offences being retaken."

A forgotten tale, long buried beneath the snows of time, is about to be retold. “Midvintersagor” (‘Midwinter Sagas’) is the first music ever composed by Örnatorpet, a landmark in both personal and artistic discovery. Originally self-released in a small cassette run, this unaltered reissue allows listeners to experience the album exactly as it was conceived – pure, unrefined, and brimming with the wonder of creation.

At its core, “Midvintersagor” is a soundtrack to an unwritten legend. Each track weaves a narrative steeped in medieval fantasy, channelling the essence of forgotten folklore and the grandeur of winter’s stillness. Inspired by the interludes and atmospheric passages of 90s black metal, Örnatorpet sought to craft an instrumental world as evocative as the landscapes of his native Sweden.

Since its inception in 2018, Örnatorpet has become one of the foremost torchbearers of dungeon synth. With no formal musical training, he followed only instinct and inspiration, carving out a path that has since led him to the forefront of the genre. “Midvintersagor” is where that journey began – an unpolished gem gleaming with the spirit of discovery, now unearthed for a new audience to behold.

With "Beau Discours", Orphia dives deeper into the shadows, crafting a sound where cold wave and electronic music collide in a saturated whirlwind. Darker, more organic, this six-track EP marks a major shift in her approach, designed as much for introspection as for the club.

2023, past and future merge into one. Stripped of temporal markers, today's artists unabashedly draw from the past while boldly gazing into the future. Amid revivals and

innovations, trends and undercurrents, the game is intricate, the nuances abundant. Orphia's music is no exception. Behind the synthesizers, the Genevan weaves a musical tapestry on a tightrope. Cold wave, synth-pop, post-punk, eurodance, Indochine, Depeche Mode, Boards of Canada, Eurythmics... it all blends in a grand synthetic ritual where the festivities happily don't stop at the first light of dawn. Charging forward, swiftly, strongly, into an uncertain future, no questions asked but with a quick glance in the rearview mirror, just to be sure.

"L'Aventure des Gens Modernes" resides in this retro-futuristic melancholy, between nostalgia and a thirst for tomorrow. Without ever falling into foolish nostalgia or soulless revival, the EP reflects an absolute urgency. Urgency to produce, first and foremost, as studio work has become a true raison d'être for Orphia. Urgency to also shout out a certain rage against a world devoid of hope, and this on stage where the artist performs alone, synths in hand and sharp beats for the dancefloor. In an era where the past enables facing the future, the 5 tracks of "L'Aventure des Gens Modernes" breathe a breath of fresh air into a scene in ruins. Cyberpunk or punk in general, Orphia wants to go fast and take everything in its path.

NYC electronic music collective P.E. return with their third and final album Oh!, due October 3 on Wharf Cat Records. Oh! Is the sound of a startled exclamation punctuating an exit, and the embodiment of the music within: fun and fluorescent, fluid and flirty, dirty and a little dangerous. From their conception in 2017 through the NOPE Tape series, P.E. existed as an experiment in co-conspirited collaboration. Oh! continues to cast a wide net, featuring an expanded lineup from their original formation, including Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces on the lead single "Color Coordinator". The resulting music ranges wide as ever, from the jubilant grooves of the title track and "Color Coordinator" to "The Fiction Writer" - a tender duet between Veronica Torres and Jonny Campolo - through the city pop sounds of "(Do You Like) So So?" and "Purple On Time", and into the abstracted beyond. This isn't a goodbye, but a "see you around". A tear falls down the cheek of a stranger, dancing as they catch your smile in the reflection of a glass building. Ceremoniously, serendipitously, they sidewalk surf away, stepping on something sharp - "Oh!" - leaving a teardrop on the city pavement. Following the last P.E. show, Jonny Campolo fully embraced his persona of The Grayscale Clown. You can hear him crooning in pets (along with Nick Campolo and Chase Ceglie) and droning in Microfibers (featuring Keegan & Eugene of Decor). His brother Nick Campolo successfully uploaded his consciousness to the cloud. He & his simulacrum perform in the aforementioned pets and solo as Nick Nun Ca. Ben Jaffe was in a freak nuclear waste accident when his DNA merged with a puma - he is now known as The Puma Man. You can catch him prowling around NYC with Sleaze Generator and as a sax beast for hire. Bob Jones went on a silent meditation and forgot how to speak. He now quietly releases music under the name R.A. Jones (as on his recently released Whispered to A Child), and as Scythe with David West (on A Colourful Storm). Jonathan Schenke disappeared for six months without a trace; when he returned he had developed a nervous tic anytime he heard a 909 rimshot or a saxophone. His recent solo album Passages (on No Gold) features neither of the above, nor does his project Gift Horse with Matthew Hord. Veronica Torres headed west to pursue her studies, developing a ceramic polymer whose beauty has caused madness in certain individuals. Her band Cha Cha 9 is a darling of the Minneapolis scene. P.E. would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who listened to our records and danced at our shows - your love is felt. Thank you so much to Wharf Cat Records for all of the support over the years. Thank you to the fans. Thank you Pill and Eaters. Mitwirkende

Echoes, Spaces, Lines collects Trans-Millenia Consort, Plot Zero, and Spectre, the first three albums by the late West Coast composer, healer, and medium Pauline Anna Strom. Exploring all corners of the multiverse through transpersonal form and freedom, Strom’s first three albums share a singular sensibility, different streams flowing from the same oracular font. Echoes, Spaces, Lines establishes Strom’s rightful place in the canon of great synthesists. Restored and mixed from the original reels by Marta Salogni, newly remastered, and adding Oceans of Tears, a fully realized but previously unreleased album exclusive to this box set, these are the first official reissues and the definitive encapsulation of Pauline Anna Strom’s prolific and visionary early work. These four-disc LP and CD box sets include 12 and 16 page booklet containing liner notes, an unearthed interview with Strom, and unseen ephemera.

On April 4th, Brighton-based Australian vocalist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Penelope Trappes will release her fifth full-length album ‘A Requiem’. It comes alongside news of her signing to London imprint, One Little Independent Records. ‘A Requiem’ collects ten haunting, ambient soundscapes - incantations of dreams and nightmares, of death and grief, as well as power and autonomy. Carnal, transcendent cello drones are used to exorcise historical and generational traumas in an evocative and macabre piece of gothic experimentalism.

Seeking solitude for what she knew would be an intense and cathartic writing experience, Trappes travelled to Scotland and isolated completely. Amidst meditative and psychedelic states, she channeled demons and accessed parts of herself she’d long desired to cleanse. During candle-lit recording sessions she found herself drawn to cello, an instrument she has no formal training in, she explains, “I always felt an affinity toward the cello, I embraced it, held it, and became one with it as a way to accompany my voice. The nerve-like strings of the cello became external chords of my vocal folds… I scratched on them, leaned into them, and conjured all of the textures I could muster”.

‘A Requiem’ is a musical service in honour of the dead, a sanctuary Trappes built for herself to explore familial chaos and history. “I was looking for an equilibrium between a ‘heaven' and a ‘hell’” she explains, “screaming out to the wisdom of our foremothers - surfacing and leading me into true strength and beauty. I listened to the sorrow closely. Death is a part of our reality. Inevitable. Omnipresent. But nightmares can be beautiful”.

She continues, “This album is my personal requiem for my parents, my ties to the land where I was born, along with all of my epigenetically connected ancestors before them. The songs helped me summon up the strength to move through my own awareness of mortality, death, and impending loss. This album is a living funeral. It’s a ceremonial collection of music. It’s an externalising of the power and strength to fight the generations of abuse and darkness that my parents self-admittedly played out in their parenting and to keep it away from my own social patterns and my psyche. It’s not an uncommon thing in the world and this lamented warcry goes out to everyone to help exorcise patriarchal, political, and religious systems of abuses of power”.

Permanent Parts is the second album released by visual artist Katharina Grosse (synthesizer) and musician Stefan Schneider (synthesizer; So Sner, To Rococo Rot, Mapstation). Grosse and Schneider were joined at Galerie Max Hetzler on 29 April 2023, performing as part of the Spectrum without Traces exhibition, by three artists who all generally work within improvised music - Carina Khorkhordina (trumpet), Tintin Patrone (trombone and electronics), and Billy Roisz (noise generator, piezo and mini cymbal). Permanent Parts is an extraordinary set of recordings that inhabits multiple zones at once: within its thirty-five minutes, we can hear the interactions of non-idiomatic collective music making, and the electronic glimmers of electro-acoustics, while, at the same time, the music remains untethered to genre.

Phantogram returns with Memory Of A Day, the band's highly anticipated fifth album. Known for their genre-defying sound, Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel once again push boundaries with a mesmerizing blend of dark psychedelia, electronic pop, and hard-hitting beats, exploring themes of nostalgia and memories. Featuring the hypnotic lead singles "Come Alive" and “All A Mystery,” co-produced by Grammy-winner John Hill, this vinyl—out October 18 on Neon Gold Records—is a must-have for any collection.

Philip Clemo’s seventh studio album, Through the Wave of Blue, is a journey through a father’s response to profound adversity. His narratives traverse through fear, darkness and disorientation as his youngest daughter becomes seriously ill, culminating in the eventual light of joy as she recovers.

From the haunting depths of “Stalker” and intensity of “Maze” to the serene “Rest” and celebratory “Dawn, Through the Wave of Blue offers an immersive experience that engages both viscerally and emotionally.

Each composition has its own sonic identity, inviting listeners to delve deep into the intricate dialogues and textures that unfold. Clemo blends complex drones & atmospherics with brass, woodwind, strings, guitar, piano, electronics and hypnotic rhythms to create mesmerising soundscapes that captivate the senses.

Ende der 1990er Jahre lernte der österreichische Musiker und Schriftsteller Hans Platzgumer den halbjapanischen Sänger Carl Tokujirô Mirwald auf einer Aftershow-Party in München kennen. Bei seinem spontanen Auftritt hatte Carl den unwiderstehlichen Sound eines japanischen Tom Waits, der traditionelle Gesangstechniken des Nô-Theaters mit westlichen Einflüssen mischte. Die beiden gründeten das Elektro-Duo Shinto und brachten mehrere Platten heraus, mit denen sie eine eingefleischte Fangemeinde anzogen und mehrfach durch Japan und Europa tourten. Als jedoch die Fukushima-Katastrophe 2011 nicht nur ihre japanischen Labelbüros zerstörte, sondern sie auch zwang, anstehende Tourneen abzusagen, legten sie die Band auf Eis. Dennoch blieb ihre euro-asiatische Zusammenarbeit bestehen. 2015 begann das Duo, sich mit der Taishô-Ära zu beschäftigen, einer Periode in der japanischen Geschichte vor genau hundert Jahren, die eine Fülle von neuen demokratischen und anarchischen Bewegungen mit zahlreichen gegensätzlichen Protagonisten hervorbrachte. Jetzt, 8 Jahre später, ist Hans' Roman Großes Spiel über diese historischen Kämpfe erschienen (Zsolnay/Hanser), gleichzeitig mit einer Sammlung von 10 neuen Liedern. Taishô Romantica vertont japanische Texte aus dem frühen 20. Jahrhundert, die die Nähe von Leben, Tod und ideologischem Glauben in den dramatischen Taishô-Jahren schildern, mit einer extravaganten Partitur, die Muzak und Electronica mit theatralischen Elementen und Kammermusik mischt. Die aktuelle CD/LP/digital "Taishô Romantica" wird am 1. September 2023 über Noise Appeal Records veröffentlicht.

As usual with Poirier, it's hard to pin point all the genres and references on his new album. Soft Power has an irresistible warm vibe that will make anyone move and dance. It's warm, it's acoustic, it's electronic.

Emerging from the vibrant Leeds DIY scene, Pop Vulture wield influences from the dissonance of the No-Wave movement and the unconventionality of post-punk and drape them over tightly-wound grooves. All of this simmers away underneath stream-of-consciousness narratives, often of mental health and the relentlessness of living. Having received radio support from Steve Lamacq, Emily Pilbeam and Jericho Keys, as well as sharing stages with Yard Act, English Teacher, KEG and DITZ, Pop Vulture’s “potential is tantalising”, as noted by Louder Than War. Performances at Long Division, Live at Leeds and In Colour festivals have spotlighted the band’s “angular rock with a heavy dose of percussion”. The debut EP from Pop Vulture sees them pushing the boundaries of guitar music. This EP is a culmination of musical tastes. From the rowdy, driving nature of punk and its commentary on social issues, to the pulsing flirtatiousness of electronic music, and experimental edges of alternative rock. ‘Another Success’ sees an eclectic mix of songs inspired by the post-brexit mindset of Britain along with self reflection of mental state. It has a distinct and tasteful soul to it leaving behind thought provoking notions and romanticised ideals.

SMILE! :D by Porter Robinson, released 23 August 2024.

Following five years of improvised live shows, film scores and jams, Carl Brown and Josh Horsley align to offer a bittersweet record of shimmering noise and textured Fourthworld ambience set within a drenched and darkened, distinctly Northern context.

What began as sample-heavy collage music slowly shifted as the pair crafted new live sets to embrace classical and noise music, always treated with an experimental spirit and minimalist sleight.

Powders stripped back the set up for these album sessions, this time leaning more heavily on the use of granular synthesis with cello as the lead instrument and sound source.

‘Concede to Circumstance’ sees Powders exploring their hometown of Preston and it’s longstanding experimental underbelly - not as a location that demands elsewhere aspiration or an outward face but as a place to din to be.