40 years after the original release, Nanga Boko Records is very proud to
present you the official reissue of De Bonaberi A Douala, the first album from
the Cameroonian musician Nkotti François and his band The Black Styls.
Limited edition, high quality remastered sound, includes a very detailed
biography in both English and French languages with exclusive pictures for a
better comprehension of the work of the musician, and a voucher to download
the album in a HQ digital format.
Approved by the artist himself, 100 % legit, all 8 tracks are under exclusive
license of Nanga Boko Records.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Two decades after its original release, Herbert Boese’s “Charger“ / „Hypnotoad” returns to vinyl.
Originally released as the second record on Jaktronik, the label Herbert Boese ran together with Marc Romboy, the two-tracker captures a very particular moment in German electronic music: stripped back, physical and functional, yet deeply rooted in the sound of Detroit.
At the time Boese was a resident DJ at Düsseldorf’s legendary Harpune club and one of the people shaping the city’s underground electronic music scene. His Jaktronik productions became an extension of that world, music made by a DJ, for the dancefloor.
“Charger” was an immediate standout. Marc Romboy selected the record for his chart at the time, describing its combination of heavy bass and Detroit-influenced strings as a track that made dancefloors scream.
On the flip, “Hypnotoad” goes deeper and more hypnotic: reduced, trippy and relentlessly effective, built around repetition, tension and groove.
Twenty years later, neither track sounds like a museum piece. Quite the opposite. In a time when a new generation is rediscovering the raw, minimal and machine-driven sound of the mid-2000s, “Charger“ / „Hypnotoad” feels remarkably current again.
The original tracks, remastered and finally back on vinyl.
Sublime frequencies from the golden era of ambient electronica.
Plumbing hidden depths beneath a deceptively tranquil surface, MLO's mid-90s masterpiece Io is an overlooked gem from a golden era for ambient electronic music. Originally released in 1994, Jon Tye and Pete Smith's collaborative album responded to the growing chill-out movement by leaning into classical and avant-garde influences from Satie, Debussy and Cage through to Soft Machine, Incredible String Band and Eno. Recorded across various studios stacked with classic and rare synths, Io was patiently composed into slowly unfolding suites punctuated with ripples of arrhythmic interference to arrive at a purist vision of true ambient.
The next instalment in Forever Records' ongoing reissue series shines a light back on this landmark piece of UK electronica with the first official reissue since its original edition on Rising High. As well as the original double LP pressing and a new CD digipak version, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased versions of the album's opening cut, 'Wimborne'.
Press response to Io:
"Not so much ambient, more environmental music, Io lets you bring as much (or as little) of your surroundings in as suits your mood. Every listen can be different. Interactive ambient at last.”
IO is pure ambience. Relying on motif as opposed to melody, MLO have produced a truly evocative album.
Peter McIntyre, Mixmag, UK 1994.
"MLO's influences range from the likes of Eric Satie and the intellectual salon music of his era to the more predictable reference point of dubby, modern techno, though they feel, perhaps rather contentiously, that "ambient music can exist in isolation from the rest of the dance music arena". Can it? Take a trip to Io, and find out."
Generator Magazine, UK 1994.
"If you like your ambient deep and moody with long chords that creep along at approximately the speed of drying paint then check out MLO’s Io."
Mixology, UK 1994.
"MLO set the controls for the heart of headspace for their first full album release. Io is top grade ambient brain… Ace album…"
Select, UK 1994.
A collection of vinyl and limited digital releases, curated by Millsart, an alias of Jeff Mills, of his most eclectic and transcendent compositions that derive from his Every Dog Has Its Day project as well as new unreleased works. Vernacular creations that fall off from the "other side" of the Electronic Music tree, this project is designed for the experienced Techno music listeners, and its goal is to reflect upon the pure artistry of the craft of storytelling. A realization between music and life. Whereas "dancing" is the goal of Dance Music, the goal of this music is about "reflecting on the complexity and simplification of life".Soundtracks for people in their evolutionary process.
This release 'Drifter' is about 'Hype'.
Hype
An animal that prowls on the vulnerable - it excites those who might be looking the other way or with their eyes and minds wide shut.
What is life without hype?
As a transitional tool, hype can be most effective especially when impulse reactions are at play. Something of a psychological currency, there is a lot to gain by giving people what they want - the rush that comes with taking part in a process of making something bigger, more successful and more preferred. Even if there is nothing there.
What's wrong with getting exciting about something?
There are only a few rare masterclass cases that have lasted a lifetime.
As Andy Warhol proclaimed that "everyone will be World famous for 15 minutes" rings darkly true in an era when each one of us can be the talent scout, artist, critic, audience.......and then a revisionist, hoping to bring hype back again by reminding people how great the first round felt.
We are all free to use our attention and time anyway we please. This is the freedom we have, right?
In most cases, we wake up and at some point, the question of justification becomes a debate between those who found unconditional solace and those who re-discovered the subject of substance and "kicked the tires".
Should I care if others like or dislike something?
For some, the hype of something never ends. It hardens and becomes part of a foundation like a cement podium. Something to be stood on to speak over all dissenting voices.
‘I have always been drawn to those ambiguous territories between beauty and terror, and the Trinity test is their epitome: magnificent, sublime, terrifying, annihilating. A destructive power that, somehow, only love can compare with.’
The prescriptive art and performance of Berlin based, French producer, Julienne Dessagne, has concluded with a starkly beautiful reimagining of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game.
As Fantastic Twins, her continuing creative manifestation for music and performance, has released an array of electronic art for the body and mind. A sonic exploration of dual characters shaped through experimental pop, cinematic electronics and the outer edges of techno.
First appearing on the cult Hippie Dance label, before establishing a long and warm collaboration with Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch and his inspiring Optimo Music label, as well as her own House Of Slessor label, this release comes full of mythology and symbolism.
Immersive sound design, narrative tension, and emotionally charged atmospheres, the origin of the project – Wicked Game (Trinity Version) – was composed for a live performance at the Beta Biennale Of Architecture Of Timișoara in September 2024 and given a limited digital release soon after.
The impact on the artist and the music was multi-layered:
‘While recording this cover, images of the Trinity nuclear test, as reimagined by David Lynch in Twin Peaks (Season 3 / Episode 8) kept resurfacing, almost on a subliminal level, suggesting another wicked game: humanity’s love affair with science and technology, driven by the same mix of desire fascination and inevitability that animates Chris Isaak’s original song.’
Approached by Emotional Response, this updated “vinyl” edition is re-recorded / remastered and comes with new interpretations by Julienne herself, as well as remixes by Aho Ssan and Optimo (Espacio).
Dessagne offers a spectrum of mixes and moods; the centrifugal ‘Trinity Version’ a sweeping cinematic masterpiece, between beauty and terror, the artist transmits the aesthetics of sublime; while ‘Thousand Suns Version’ fuses industrial and techno soundscapes for a beatdown reimagining; the melancholia ‘Atomic Love Version’, where the beautiful vocals are matched with a glitchy, clipping ambience; and the finale, the ‘Core Version’ shines a personal, drifting odyssey.
The accompanying remixes see Aho Ssan (Niamké Désiré), composer and sound artist, his remake merging a love of darkcore drone with moments of uplifting energy, the ‘Core Version Aho Ssan Remix’, a fusion of craft and Dessagne’s vocals.
To close, taking up the Optimo remix mantle, Jonnie Wilkes embraces the propulsion, his ‘Thousand Suns Version Optimo (Espacio) Remix’, offering brooding, electro-driven percussion that overflows with emotion and completes this stunning, evolving, organic and singular remake.
Party Store Records is back with their third release and are digging deep into the current Detroit
underground with a debut EP from live duo Lock & Hammer and an ethereal remix from legend
Terrence Dixon as Population One.
The four cuts are locked in across a range of vibes making this record a useful weapon across
the spectrum of peak time intensity to deep after-hours absurdity.
The title track, “Hofmann’s Bicycle”, is a mind melter that has the promise of a psychedelic
anthem. A driving, swirling stomper that will push you to limits you didn’t know existed. Fire up
the grill as your brain’s about to get cooked.
Population one aka Terrence Dixon delivers a cathartic and ultra deep remix of “Hofmann’s
Bicycle”, injecting a classic Detroit take with heavy strings overlaying a dense kick and hypnotic
groove.
“Freq” is a trip into the void, with sinister synth lines and hard hitting percussion propelling the
journey. Peak time engagement awaits any dancefloor it’s played on.
To round the package out “Sour Monkey” dives right back into pure absurdity, hanging at the
edge of right and wrong with drug addled rhythms and low end attack, this is already a cult hit in
the darkest of rooms.
Since starting Bytes in 2019 we’ve fielded a lot of messages along the lines of, “Is this ever going to be released on vinyl?” The bulk of these requests have concerned remixes of artists on Bytes done by Andy Bell (RIDE/Oasis) under his electronic alter-ego GLOK. And on realising that he has done four for us now (Franz Kirmann, Steve Queralt & Michael Smith, Herrmann Kristoffersen and Seagoth), it seemed silly not to compile them all together on a four-track 12” EP. The super limited edition 12” is on black wax and comes in the original Bytes house bag with a vinyl sticker containing all the release info signed by Andy. Edition of 250. No repress.
A1. SOLITARY (GLOK REMIX) - FRANZ KIRMANN
The first remix Andy ever did for Bytes was a radical reworking of ‘Solitary’, the towering ambient closer to Franz Kirmann’s ‘Madrapour’ album, which was released on Bytes in 2019. Andy’s remix is a heartbreaking, melancholic 3am banger. This is one for fans of Four Tet and Jon Hopkins, a slowburner with billowing plumes of distortion that builds towards an ecstatic rush of a finale.
A2. CHALDEAN ORACLE (GLOK REMIX) - STEVE QUERALT & MICHAEL SMITH
In 2023 Andy took ‘Chaldean Oracle’, a track from the collaboration between his RIDE bandmate Steve Queralt and the writer Michael Smith, down the K-Hole, eschewing Michael’s vocal almost entirely and turning in a Detroit dub-techno monster with echoes of Bandulu and Carl Craig in its shimmering melodies, eerie distortion and pounding drums.
‘Gone Gold’ was the title track of the excellent second album by ambient-techno group Herrmann Kristoffersen (2021). Andy taps deep into the dub at the heart of the original, with echoes of John Carpenter's soundtracks and his own extended electronic excursions under the GLOK moniker.
B2. ETERNITY (GLOK REMIX) - SEAGOTH
It was Andy who brought Seagoth to the attention of Bytes when he played ‘Eternity’ on his Soho Radio show in 2020. It all came full circle when Bytes released ‘Eternity’ as a single in 2021, with a stunning remix by Andy in his GLOK guise on the flip. Andy strips the track back to showcase the resonant vocal in all its glory before the blissed-out outro that makes full use of the track’s dancefloor-friendly drum break.
For its second release, the Parisian vinyl-only imprint Mustard & Pickles takes a bold step into the V/A format, a challenging one where balancing diverse styles is key—here, the gamble paid off. The EP kicks off with a stellar deep house cut from Berlin based Hustache, using a hypnotic vocal to lure us straight into 'That Beautiful Place'. Over on the A2, things get bouncy yet mysterious, featuring an addictive vocal loop that keeps you hooked. Flip the record, and M&P label head Tom Cler serves up a tailor-made break-to-4/4 weapon, packed with deep leads and the VA's signature : insane vocal lines. Closing out the wax, Numero 6 drops a gorgeous deep house gem. With its lush pads, quirky textures, and enchanting vocals, it feels like he’s casting a spell on the dancefloor—and we’re totally here for it.
(remastered classic incl DL card) Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition. In the late nineties, the budding producers Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani bonded over their shared love of slower tempos and '70s and '80s NYC club culture. Obsessed with record digging and the sounds they heard on late-night "club classics" radio shows—and turned off by current releases they saw as artlessly "updating" sublime disco by sampling, filtering and subjugating them with huge kick drums —the duo set out to discover how their favorite old 12" records were made. They naturally gravitated towards extended dubs of songs—full of strange mistakes and echoing backing tracks—instead of the better-known vocal versions. Lacking the big budgets and gear that made so many of their favorite classic records come together, they were forced to take a guerrilla approach. They reprogrammed their techno-oriented arsenal of secondhand synths and samplers, using novel digital recording technology to capture live instrumentation and prioritizing mood over hooks, and the resulting music was just wrong enough to sound unlike anything else being released at the time.After just four underground 12" releases, the duo—now well-known as Metro Area—released their first and only album, Metro Area, in the fall of 2002. Fifteen years later, it's time to celebrate the culmination of their shared history and inspiration once again. Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The 12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition.
here is a direct and enduring connection between the roots of Italian electronic music and the underground club culture of today.
Boldly pulling that thread are Marta Paradise, the duo from Martina Franca (Puglia, Italy), who have established themselves as a go-to name for anyone craving an elegant, refined sound that remains unapologetic.
For their latest release, they team up once again with a true legend: Fred Ventura. As one of the most iconic artists of early Italo Disco, Ventura brings an unmistakable vocal timbre that turns every track into an instant classic.
The result of this cross-generational collaboration is Call In The Night, a track that bridges authentic Italian heritage with the sharpest edges of modern Indie Dance. It delivers everything discerning clubbers live for: shimmering synths cutting through the dark, an octave-driven bassline that locks you to the dancefloor and a nocturnal, dreamy, relentlessly catchy vocal line.
Elevating the package even further is a stellar remix package featuring some of the hottest names on the current circuit, including Mystery Friend, Day Ventura, the unmistakable touch of the legendary Flemming Dalum, and Slow Motion label boss Franz Scala.
Far from a simple nostalgia exercise, Call In The Night is a forward-looking journey with a vintage soul that never falls into cheap clichés. Past and present merge to set the world’s most visionary DJ booths ablaze.
Written by GIANLUCA SERVETTI
HEY CABRERA
Owner of the Magazine “rockerilla”
Primary Colours swerves with a no-nonsense transmission from Niko Dalagelis, functional hypnosis for overworked machines and the last surviving neurons scattered across the dancefloor. This release also feels a little cosmic for the label. A genuine full-circle alignment as Satoshi Tomiie enters the Primary Colours orbit. One of the true OG architects of deep electronic music that has been humming through basements, headphones, and afterhours rituals for decades. His and Niko’s appearance here just makes sense. Four well-crafted cuts, no excess, just pure, dub techno built for those translucent hours.
Primary Colours swerves with a no-nonsense transmission from Niko Dalagelis, functional hypnosis for overworked machines and the last surviving neurons scattered across the dancefloor. This release also feels a little cosmic for the label. A genuine full-circle alignment as Satoshi Tomiie enters the Primary Colours orbit. One of the true OG architects of deep electronic music that has been humming through basements, headphones, and afterhours rituals for decades. His and Niko’s appearance here just makes sense. Four well-crafted cuts, no excess, just pure, dub techno built for those translucent hours.
There’s this feeling that House Music is sometimes diluted into a pleasant, non-offensive and conformist formula. Well, Jackie Gritness - you may have heard of her big bro Gary - is bringin’ all the sweat, the attitude and the filth down - take it or leave it.
Jackie introduces herself from both sides on this well-strapped debut 12” - the slick swingin’ & sangin’
on the bass-heavy A side, and the raw clave trax and cunty snarls of the acid-laced B side.
No trace of over-production or tired sampling here: this is just Jackie, her mic and her lil’ groovebox -
gettin’ raw in the studio just like she does onstage. Only thing added is some wall-shaking mastering by New York OG Dietrich Schoenemann.
This is the kinda House that’s supposed to make regular folks wanna turn it off. This ain’t rated E for Everyone, it’s rated F for Freaks.
It’s music from the underground, for the underground - as it was first revealed on the runway of Glastonbury’s infamous NYC Downlow last summer.
And if that’s more than you can take - it’s alright. It’s not like Jackie will hold it against you.
Jackie Gritness
“Gary’s little sister.” His studio session resume reads like a House music who’s who - from David Morales to Fred P. He’s also been rockin’ clubs with the Playin’ 4 The City and MLIU crews - but she’s also been seen on Gideon’s fierce Homo-Centric Records. See, this bitch’s true feelings about House are stripped-down, bare-bones, and unapologetically sexual. With a radical ‘live’ attitude, she’s serving the realness with an irresistibly acidic zing.
A cornerstone of late-'90s trance, Binary Finary's 1998 remains one of the genre's most iconic anthems, rising through the UK Dance Chart and becoming a defining soundtrack of the global trance movement. Featuring legendary remixes by Paul van Dyk and Victor Ruiz, this vinyl edition also includes the new Paul Oakenfold & Marie Vaunt remix on the B2.
Dirty Sound Magnet's album to ease the soul. An album that showcases the depth of DSM's music. Between modern folk and ambitious art rock reminiscent of Sgt Pepper by the Beatles and early Pink Floyd and David Bowie.
Dark Entries is ecstatic to announce Terminal Fascination, a retrospective release of the music of Camille O’Grady, subversive artist, leather witch, punk poet, and gender saboteur. O’Grady cut her teeth in New York’s burgeoning punk scene at clubs like CBGB’s, where her band Leather Secrets would share the stage with acts like Television. She became one of the few women to be welcomed into the Mineshaft, Wally Wallace’s legendary Manhattan gay BDSM club. Towards the end of the 70s, she would trek west to San Francisco to be with her partner, performance artist and gallerist Robert Opel, who was tragically killed in 1979. O’Grady would pass away from COVID in 2020, with her voluminous works across various media - text, image, and sound - having been unpublished during her lifetime.
Working with O’Grady’s estate, Dark Entries has assembled thirteen of her finest recordings, including instant classics like “James Dean to the Rescue,” “Tourniquet,” and, of course, “Toilet Kiss.” Two songs, “Angel with a Key” and “Love Comes Like a Cutthroat,” were recorded at a studio in Los Angeles for a 7” release that never materialized, while the rest of the material was recorded live in 1979 at The Ambush, a San Francisco leather club. O’Grady’s songs, often written from the perspective of a gay man, explode like a genderfuck version of Patti Smith, like Buffy St. Marie in leather, like the hedonic utopianism of the 1960s dragged (blissfully) through the broken glass of the 1970s. The release of Terminal Fascination coincides with the publication of ‘A Cross-Worlds Angel,’ a 300-page book of O’Grady’s work by Phillip Zimmerman. The record includes an insert featuring liner notes, lyrics, and photographs. Celebrate Camille O’Grady, the artist Jack Fritscher described as an “earth mother, a leather lioness of the arts.”
Dark Entries is Filling Your Silence with the help of J.D. Slater. Legendary actor, director, and composer J.D. Slater is sometimes known as “the Lou Reed of gay porn.” Slater cut his teeth in the New York punk scene, even opening for the Talking Heads and Blondie at CBGB with his project Frenzy. A true polymath of the erotic, he co-founded Raging Stallion Studios with Chris Ward in 1999, which has remained a prolific outlet in the world of gay pornography. Having spent years in front of and behind the camera, 1999’s Filling Your Silence was his debut as maestro. This album collects the soundtracks from the first two Raging Stallion films - Sexpack One and Sexpack Two - to bring us nine tracks of sleazy beats and trance-like moments of pure ecstasy. Album opener “Seduction” begins with the iconic synthetic pan flute, one of the defining sounds of the 1990s, before pulling us along with its wild grooves.
Halfway through its nine-and-a-half- minute course, it breaks down to bust out a jazzy electric piano vamp. “Running with Scissors” ups the tempo with some crunchy breakbeats to undergird its portamento-laced lead synth. Elsewhere, like on “Mercy” and “Mercy (2nd Movement),” we see Slater embracing a bleep-adjacent sound close to early Nightmares on Wax or 808 State. Filling Your Silence’s endless grooves pursue that oceanic feeling. This record comes with a one-sided insert that includes archival Raging Stallion press materials. In the words of the Bay Area Reporter, Filling Your Silence is “quite possibly the best music for sex ever written.” A bold claim, but we can’t help but agree.
'The Shadow BoxerÔ - a tale of oppression, discipline, and inevitable revenge - is re-interpreted by British producer Heritage, whose musical style perfectly aligns with the Shaw Cuts squad.
Ku Ding trained in Tai Chi under Master Yeung for over a decade. This discipline prioritizes health, self-defense and above all, the virtue of tolerance. 'Looking Back, Moving ForwardÔ mirrors this holistic training for body and mind through its broken rhythms, dreamy pads, and warm bass.
Despite facing relentless harassment at work from his tyrannical boss Jin Dasheng, Ku Ding remains calm and endures the humiliation. The playful percussions, vocal snippets, and powerful low-end grooves of 'DancehallÔ underscore the protagonist's deep-rooted discipline and resilience.
However, after his lover A Bao is killed and both his master and his friend Hu Binglian are successively murdered, he is forced to rise up and fight back using his martial arts prowess.
'2003Ô comes in swinging, fueling Ku Ding with the perfect mindset for the battle ahead via punchy drums and an energetic bassline.
Driven to mete out justice, Ku Ding prepares for his revenge without betraying his sacred tolerance. The complex breakbeat patterns of 'HaywireÔ carried by recurring, subtle chords, give him a final boost. But can this rational approach succeed? You better find outÉ
If you don't know 'Clouds' then, quite naturally, you'd have to be living underground. The work of Venetian composer Gigi Masin went mostly ignored until Music From Memory's early-2010s reissue campaign pulled him and his ingenious ambient works out of the murk, among which many salvages include his now calling-card, 'Clouds'. Re-pressed astonishingly through P-Vine of all labels, this soul-quelling masterwork - first recorded in 1989 for a split release with Charles Hayward and mostly forgotten until said reissue - appears here at two various RPM speeds. The tune really does invite speeding up and slowing down at your leisure, especially if you're a dance music DJ's DJ who wants to prelude a set with a moment's iconic lushness.
At this point, the vast swathes of unreleased Muslimgauze material Bryn Jones left behind when he passed away over 25 years ago are as legendary as any of his work. And sure enough, there's still some being unearthed today.
The fourth entry in a 7" single series is taken from one of Jones' customary completely unlabelled DATs, which he sent to labels seemingly as fast as he finished them.
A new series of singles collecting one of Bryn Jones’ innumerable DAT tapes that would show up at the labels he worked with sans any identifying marks.
Side A layers multiple voices (a background, faraway wail that either is or is akin to a muezzin, and a flatly declaimed two-word phrase that periodically halts proceedings) over his classic, slightly brick-walled hand percussion for a strangely meditative experience, as Jones phases elements in and out, more or less prominently in the mix. Side B however, open in a surprisingly dreamy place for Muslimgauze, with a looped ascending synth pad and beautiful sampled singing only gradually acquiring percussive accompaniment. As with the other side, Jones is content to let these elements interact and swap spaces in the mix for the duration, trusting in the sturdiness of his chosen components to carry the listener through.
Dark Entries is Elbow Deep in the Hoopla thanks to J.D. Slater. Legendary actor, director, and composer J.D. Slater is sometimes known as “the Lou Reed of gay porn.” Slater cut his teeth in the New York punk scene, even opening for the Talking Heads and Blondie at CBGB with his project Frenzy. A true polymath of the erotic, he co-founded Raging Stallion Studios with Chris Ward in 1999, which has remained a prolific outlet in the world of gay pornography. Elbow Deep collects the scores from three late 1990s fisting-focused Club Inferno films: At Arm’s Length, Hand Over Fist, and Heads or Tails. Never before released, these works show Slater digging deeper into the electronic music production techniques that were blossoming in that era, like loop-based sampling. Says Slater, “Suddenly I could have access to every instrument in the world. My whole concept of sound and structure evolved with the technology.” The works here are trance-inducing groovers, laced with acid and dosed with brooding ambience. Check out the Gregorian vibes on “Grand Fuck,” the legato lurch of “Stallion Funk,” or the frosty atmospheres of “At Arm’s Length.” Elbow Deep in the Hoopla comes with an insert featuring an interview with J.D. Slater. Starkly sexy, these tracks remind us of Slater’s creed: “The main rule for writing a porn score is to remember what you are writing for.”
Hackney Electronica come to Dark Entries with the Feedback Memory EP, featuring 5 cuts of acidic rave-inflected wave. Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London), Unai Trotti (Cartulis Music), and Margo Broom (Hermitage Working Studios) formed Hackney Electronica during COVID era. Trotti and Whalley were spending countless hours digging through records and making music during lockdown. As their sound took shape – heavy and hypnotic – they invited Broom to join, cementing the motley trio. Following their debut EP, Synaptic Shadows, the five pieces on Feedback Memory muse on the loss of self in the digital era and the fine line between pleasure and paranoia. Each track pulses like a memory from the backstreets of Hackney, where the night transforms the city into an electrified maze of fleeting highs and inevitable crashes. Their hard-hitting dancefloor indulgences shine on “Trapped in the Circuit” and “Six Foot Seven,” which features Mutado Pintado on vocals, while tweaked-out wave sounds blossom on “Feedback Memory” and “Lost Trip - Destino.” Things close out with “Compressed Air,” a lush, breakbeat-laced affair that veers into trip-hop territory. Housed in a sleeve designed by Germán Bardo, Feedback Memory continues Hackney Electronica’s tumultuous journey through the flickering alleys of the mind, where tension and transcendence intertwine.
Following the success of Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2023, Cosmocities returns in 2026 with two new chapters in its acclaimed compilation series dedicated to the rich heritage and continuing evolution of Japanese electronic music.
Compiled by label owner Matt Soulie, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 further explores the depth, sophistication and diversity that have long made Japan's electronic underground one of the world's most inspiring musical landscapes.
Since its inception, the Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku project has celebrated the artists and sounds that have profoundly influenced the Cosmocities vision. Across four volumes, the series has journeyed through ambient soundscapes, deep house, boogie, jazz-infused electronics and forward-thinking club music. Volume 4 shifts the focus firmly towards the deeper end of the dancefloor, bringing together timeless classics, rare gems and sought-after reinterpretations from some of Japan's most respected producers.
Opening proceedings is Kaoru Inoue's remix of Soft's "Art Farmer", a rolling percussive Afro-house excursion rich in hypnotic groove and organic rhythm. XTAL's "Heavenly Overtone" follows with a beautifully cosmic house journey, combining shimmering keys and celestial atmospheres that perfectly capture the compilation's expansive spirit.
On the B-side, Slow Didi's "Follow Me (Hidaway Mix Instrumental)" delivers a deep and hypnotic groove before Tokyo Black Star's "Fantastique Voyage" channels the soulful, sophisticated energy of classic 1990s deep house. The journey continues with Manabu Nagayama and Soichi Terada's "Low Tension", presented here in a sublime instrumental remix by Satoshi Fumi and Yoshi Horino, where warm piano melodies and elegant synth work create a timeless late-night mood.
The final stretch moves into more driving territory. Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Orionids (2025 Revised)" subtly raises the tempo, blending deep house sensibilities with sleek tech-inflected textures. Kaoru Inoue's "Ground Rhythm", reworked by The Backwoods, plunges deeper into hypnotic territory with a heads-down groove designed for intimate basement spaces and low-lit dancefloors.
Closing the compilation is Bitowa and YAMADAtheGIANT's "Forest (Mixtacy Exclusive Version)", a trippy, immersive finale that leaves listeners suspended in a dreamlike state between nature, rhythm and imagination.
A carefully curated collection of deep, cosmic and forward-thinking sounds, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 once again showcases the enduring creativity, innovation and global influence of Japanese electronic music.
Artlab continues the celebration of its 10th anniversary with the highly anticipated second installment of its commemorative vinyl series. Building on the momentum of the inaugural release, this follow-up collection further cements the cultural center’s status as a beacon for cutting-edge sound, bringing together a refined selection of artists who perfectly embody the club’s forward-thinking electronic spirit.
The journey begins on the A-Side with the legendary Voigtmann, who steps up to deliver "Casual," an electro-tinged, hypnotic bomer designed to lock the dancefloor into a steady, driving trance. Following this peak-time intensity, Mateo Dufour—undoubtedly a man of the moment—takes the reins with "Space Child." Infused with classy, mysterious house vibes, the track offers a sophisticated sonic texture that bridges the gap between deep atmosphere and rhythmic precision.
Turning the record over, Franco Cinelli commands the B1 slot with "Ecos Perdidos." A master of his craft, Cinelli presents a dub-infused, hypnotic number that explores deep, resonant soundscapes, perfectly showcasing the label’s commitment to underground innovation. To close out this second anniversary chapter, Revivis brings us "L.T.F.U." A classy, driving production that captures an infectious energy, making it an essential anthem for the summer season and beyond.
With this second installment, Artlab reaffirms its dedication to its multidisciplinary roots, providing a diverse yet cohesive listening experience that continues to define the next decade of its artistic journey.
Marlon Plein also known as Driven By Attraction, one half of Watching Airplanes is releasing a new solo EP on klakson! Watching Airplanes' 'blue is dope' was already one of the pleasant surprises featured on the klakson 20in20 compilation and the journey continues with 'Last Days Of Innocence'. 4 distinguished contemporary electro funk driven dance floor stompers with an ultra deep twist. Mandatory for serious record bags!!!!!!
Daydream: 30th Anniversary Edition is a 2-CD set featuring the original multi-platinum-certified album Daydream, which includes the smash hits “Fantasy,” “Always Be My Baby” and “One Sweet Day." Disc 2 collects remixes and rare B-sides, including a brand-new remix, “Underneath The Stars (Eric Kupper Klassic Club Mix) (Radio Edit).” The second disc also features a writing session demo for “I Am Free.”
DJ Support: Glenn Underground, Leo Mas, Sean Johnston / ALFOS, Massimiliano Pagliara / Panorama Bar, Al Mackenzie / Field of Dreams, Shane Johnson / Fish Go Deep, Flash Atkins / Paper Recordings, Pete Gooding, Mark Broadbent, Max Essa and plenty more.
2026 has been a particularly busy year for Visions of Light, the Balearic/ambient/dub trio founded by Freebooter Records’ Simon Sheldon alongside Muzka and Dan Dub Lounge. Following the Dedications EP – their warmly received collection of Balearic dub reinterpretations of White Isle-friendly club classics – the trio return with ‘Mycelium Bloom’, the follow-up to their 2025 debut LP The Mandela Vortex. Mycelium Bloom sees Visions of Light expand their signature sound, blending downtempo dub grooves and sunbaked Balearic soundscapes with hallucinatory electronics and psychedelic touches. Layered guitars, deep bass, immersive textures and dreamlike melodies run throughout an album designed for both sunset listening and deeper late-night excursions.
Opener Split The Scene sets the tone with acidic electronics circling languid beats, heavy bass and spacious pads, while All The Best Thing taps into the spirit of early ’90s chill-out rooms, adding desert blues influences to its hazy, enveloping atmosphere. Holding Jupiter pushes further into psychedelic territory, built around low-tempo rhythmic drift, effects-laden guitars and expansive chords. Elsewhere, the trio reconnect with their rootsier dub foundations. B Town delivers a warm, summery skank, while Radiant Flux shifts towards Balearic dub dancefloor territory. Perfect You, featuring words written and performed by Richard Dormer alongside flute from Luis Vilca, is a gorgeous sunset-ready highlight, while Let Go closes in on pure Balearic bliss through gentle melodies and slow-burning atmosphere.
PSR003 – Lorenzo Panico – The Me Inside Forged for dark rooms and relentless sound systems, The Me Inside explores hypnotic textures, raw groove and deep-driving pressure. No compromises. No trends. Just pure underground techno built for those who know. Limited vinyl only. Secure your copy before it disappears into the crates.
Life In Patterns welcomes Uncertain for his first appearance on the label with “Defeat”, a five-track EP bringing together five warehouse-focused techno tracks, moving between darker industrial tones and the classic rave influences that have long been part of his sound. “Defeat” will release on vinyl and digital formats on 16 October 2026. Across the EP, Uncertain explores a broad range of peak-time energy. “Anxiety” and “Dismiss” take a darker route, built around tense atmospheres, heavy percussion, and industrial textures, while the remaining tracks introduce classic rave chords and a more open, melodic character. Despite the differences in tone, the five tracks share the same directness and focus, designed with the dance floor firmly in mind. Uncertain, formerly known as Boriqua Tribez, has been active in electronic music since 1989. Over the past two decades, he has released and remixed more than 50 tracks for labels including KMS, Recycled Loops, and Ingoma, before starting a new chapter under the Uncertain name in 2018. Since then, his more frantic approach to techno has found a home on labels such as Rekids, Symbolism, Beard Man, H-Productions, WRKTRX, ANAOH, Illegal Alien, Mind Medizin, Intec, and Uncage. Alongside his productions, Uncertain is an experienced DJ known for fast, precise three-deck sets, with international performances and support from artists including Ben Sims, Radio Slave, Truncate, Mark Broom, Carl Cox, Blasha & Allatt, Chris Liebing, Richie Hawtin, Luke Slater, DJ Rush, DJ Bone, and others. With “Defeat”, Uncertain makes his Life In Patterns debut with a focused collection of five techno tracks — from dark industrial pressure to classic rave energy, all built for the warehouse.
KYSH returns to wax with its third vinyl release — another milestone in the label’s steadily growing catalogue. More than a year and a half into the journey, KYSH feels more in its element than ever, bringing together five names that represent both the label’s own extended family and fresh acts joining the ranks. All well-established and highly respected figures in the modern techno landscape, they deliver a sharp selection of contemporary club weapons. Kashpitzky opens with “Blush”, a raw, boomy cut where rough-edged rhythmics meet crisp modern production, channeling the spirit of industrial techno at its best. “Tarmac” by Regent follows with a dense, restless groove, while Chontane’s “Gyuto” dives into hypnotic territory, layering rhythmic elements around subtle dissonant melodies. On the flipside, Temudo & Pierce join forces for the threatening, aggressively contemporary “Highest Clarity Grade”, balancing intricate sound design between rhythm and atmosphere. Closing comes GCOD with “Sleeper Agent” — dancing sub bass, a striking hook and a relentless hi-hat groove keeping the weight firmly down low. Another strong statement on wax, KYSH-003 confirms the label’s vinyl output as a mark of quality, with five floor-tested cuts drawing from a fresh, current take on the industrial influences that shaped techno a decade ago. A new lineup, a distinct direction, and five tracks ready to speak for themselves on a proper soundsystem.
Kito Jempere has spent more than two decades building a universe of his own, with releases on Mule Musiq, DFA and other influential labels, alongside remixes from Ewan Pearson and others. With Other People’s Aesthetics, that universe finally opens outward. After years of protecting his own musical language, Kito lets the outside world in—embracing the sounds, artists and scenes that have shaped him, from house and techno to Aphex Twin, Warp, Ninja Tune and Omar-S. The result is a personal universe merging with the world beyond it. The album opens with “Change For Now,” a collaboration with longtime friend Lipelis (L.I.E.S., Public Possession, Running Back), marking a friendship that has grown over the past decade. “Teaser,” originally released on Mule Musiq, returns in a new album “Dub” version, with fewer vocals and a stronger garage-house feel—a direct statement of love for David Lynch. “OPA” looks back to Kito’s original half-jazz, half-drum’n’bass sound and the Uniquetunes era of the early 2000s, alongside the music he absorbed from CDs by Amon Tobin, Squarepusher, Skalpel and The Cinematic Orchestra. “Listens To Selected Ambient Works Once” is a direct homage to Aphex Twin, given a Warehouse-style treatment for bigger dancefloors. “I’m Not A Doctor, Either,” featuring mishinuki—previously heard on Green Monster in its Moloko homage—builds towards an epic, euphoric string finale. “Kobayashi Porcelain” closes the record by combining memories of Usual Suspects with Moby-like atmosphere and an Omar-S-type beat. The release of Other People’s Aesthetics will be followed by a Japan tour in December 2026 and Kito Jempere’s ongoing residency at Honeycomb Hi-Fi in Dubai. Early support from: Ata, Reznik, Horse Meat Disco, Vladimir Ivkovic, Tim Sweeney, Max Pask, Rich Thair of Red Snapper, Ame, Ellen Allien, Benji B, John Tejada, The Blessed Madonna, Hard Ton
EELS, eine der eigenwilligsten und beständig gefeierten Bands der Rockgeschichte, melden sich mit ihrem 16. Studioalbum zurück. COOKIE HAPPENED findet E (Mark Oliver Everett) dort, wo er am stärksten ist: in den kleinen Siegen des Lebens, den unvermeidlichen Enttäuschungen – und dem stillen Wunder, überhaupt hier gewesen zu sein.
Den Albumtitel erklärt E mit einem Zitat des großen Philosophen unserer Zeit, dem Cookie Monster: „Me no cry because cookie is finished. Me smile because cookie happened." Alles wird vergessen werden – aber war es nicht trotzdem etwas Schönes, dass es geschah?
Die erste Single 'Cap In Hand' gibt einen bittersüßen Vorgeschmack: ein abgeklärt-bewegender Song aus der Perspektive von jemandem, der seine Fehler endlich eingesteht und versucht, die Dinge wieder geradzubiegen.
COOKIE HAPPENED folgt auf das 2024 erschienene und vielgelobte EELS TIME! und beweist einmal mehr, dass kaum ein anderer Künstler so gut darin ist, im Chaos des Lebens Bedeutung zu finden.
Sublime frequencies from the golden era of ambient electronica.
Plumbing hidden depths beneath a deceptively tranquil surface, MLO's mid-90s masterpiece Io is an overlooked gem from a golden era for ambient electronic music. Originally released in 1994, Jon Tye and Pete Smith's collaborative album responded to the growing chill-out movement by leaning into classical and avant-garde influences from Satie, Debussy and Cage through to Soft Machine, Incredible String Band and Eno. Recorded across various studios stacked with classic and rare synths, Io was patiently composed into slowly unfolding suites punctuated with ripples of arrhythmic interference to arrive at a purist vision of true ambient.
The next instalment in Forever Records' ongoing reissue series shines a light back on this landmark piece of UK electronica with the first official reissue since its original edition on Rising High. As well as the original double LP pressing and a new CD digipak version, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased versions of the album's opening cut, 'Wimborne'.
Press response to Io:
"Not so much ambient, more environmental music, Io lets you bring as much (or as little) of your surroundings in as suits your mood. Every listen can be different. Interactive ambient at last.”
IO is pure ambience. Relying on motif as opposed to melody, MLO have produced a truly evocative album.
Peter McIntyre, Mixmag, UK 1994.
"MLO's influences range from the likes of Eric Satie and the intellectual salon music of his era to the more predictable reference point of dubby, modern techno, though they feel, perhaps rather contentiously, that "ambient music can exist in isolation from the rest of the dance music arena". Can it? Take a trip to Io, and find out."
Generator Magazine, UK 1994.
"If you like your ambient deep and moody with long chords that creep along at approximately the speed of drying paint then check out MLO’s Io."
Mixology, UK 1994.
"MLO set the controls for the heart of headspace for their first full album release. Io is top grade ambient brain… Ace album…"
Select, UK 1994.
Amazing house anthems! The debut release, FD001 quickly gained international attention for its lowslung, dirty house groove, catching the attention of Claude VonStroke and the Dirtybird camp, with the track selected for Claude’s Live @ Movement mix. Since launching the label, Freak Division has continued to build momentum with a growing catalogue of original releases while also maintaining a strong presence on respected house labels worldwide. Drawing inspiration from their US house influencers, the duo’s recent productions have evolved to incorporate the warmth, swing and character of classic 90s house. The new direction has also seen the emergence of their latest moniker, House Monsters, showcasing a deeper connection to timeless house music while pushing their sound into new territory.
The third and final volume of remixes of 'Come Into My Life' by Nathalie Capello and Rose Lonegran is yet another doozy for lovers of emotive, meaningful deep house. Another bunch of heavyweights step up, starting with Mystic Bill who teases out a steamy-hot lead and builds a vibe around it. UK mainstay Jimpster plays with a dubby and bubbly low end, while Move D finds jazz-funk in the squelchy bass. Last of all, Underground Quality head DJ Jus-Ed steps up with his remix and explores more dusty textures, a slightly unsettling synth vibe and roomy, hypnotic grooves for late-night dancing.
Radiant, spring-loaded and alive with movement, Lab Boogie sees Jupiter’s Depth go full dancefloor as Vienna-based Nizar Sarakbi makes his first appearance on the label.
The A-side cuts a brighter path through house, with rolling low-end, dubby flashes and percussion flickering from every angle. Across the B-side, the groove turns techier and the mood slightly darker, before Bella Sarris closes the record with a warped, off-centre take on “Angel Dust”.
Ukrainian-born and now based in Vienna, Nizar follows releases on Outdom and Naked Groove Records, including the recent *Truth Seekers* EP alongside COZi. The record is already picking up support from label favourites Julian Anthony, Christopher Ledger, Roza Terenzi, Eoin DJ and Jennifer Cardini.
The fifteenth release of Barro comes with an exclusive: behind the Transylvanian mask of Orlok 101 lies Nöle himself, the boss of the label.
Remember that he used this vampiric AKA to kick off Barro—his The End Of The Beginning being the first release, published in late 2018. That same year, his techno-industrial sound—packed with references from the famous work of Bram Stoker and nightmare atmospheres—helped launch another label: Soil, the Valencia-based imprint, with a project that included a suitably fitting remix of The Horrorist. The following year, he released an EP with five original tracks, titled Runaway, while also “spreading blood” on Antikhrist Visions Vol I alongside his Industrias Mekanikas comrades.
His dark influence has been felt across Barro’s catalogue, whether through his own tracks or remixes—sinking his teeth into artists like The Hacker (under his real name, Amato) or Nebula Circuit. In 2025, Orlok made his debut on Aspecto Humano with a powerful EP, equally gritty and dark. In Barro, we’ve recently had Nöle—the most techno side of Imanol Pagola—with the EPs Electro Bloody Music and Demencial Chico Aceleradom, two great showcases of his ability to keep us dancing nonstop, following the popular Mendekua, released by Xtraperlo.
For Barro 15, the two sides of the producer and DJ come together on this EP, titled Sex With a Cop—four tracks released on vinyl and digitally, plus an alternate version of the final composition as a bonus track.
Nöle's knowledge of the dancefloor and Orlok 101's ability to create atmospheres that will give you goosebumps come together on this EP to create an explosive mix.
Sex With a Cop starts with Hilerri, a techno EBM track where Orlok provides repetitive, screeching sounds and a ghostly melody, while Nöle adds incisive synths and a catchy, addictive vocal sample that warns you of the danger of the material you’re listening to. Orlok then takes over with his industrial and metallic sonorities on the next track, Amets Fabrika, although Nöle’s influence still comes through with his powerful bass and addictive synth lines. A stifled scream and a production packed with a thousand details create an unsettling atmosphere that will surprise you on the dancefloor.
The flip side begins with No Voy A Quedar Con Nadie, a track closer to Nöle’s technooid world. Even with its unsettling opening, it doesn’t take long to turn into a danceable bomb, with that dark touch typical of the Navarro producer.
Surprisingly, he saves the best for last: Harina de Huesos Humanos is one of the most interesting tracks created by Imanol Pagoda, and we can hear it in two versions, one as a bonus track. Thanks to complex production full of details and sounds that come and go, a punchy, hard as granite kick drum, and a carefully crafted industrial atmosphere, it all ends up being the perfect union between the two sonic worlds. A spectacular finale for the label’s fifteenth release.
Pure world magic brims from every groove of this new set of pearlers from the Beauty & The Beat label. We know nothing about Loopico, who is behind the originals, but they blend plenty of Latin, cumbia and expressive percussive sounds into ass-wiggling grooves. Cow bells litter 'Curimbobata', which has stringy rhythms and external synths weaving in and out. 'Maquio' has busy, relentless handicaps and acoustic strings with shamanic spoken words, then 'Upaon-acu' and 'Calma-cara' bring sunny spiritualism to another pair of urgent rhythms. Leonidas lays down hefty, bass-driven rhythms that make these suited to club deployment and open-air dancing this summer.
What an unbelievable record. From the wild cover to the iconic breakbeats, Roots from Ian Carr’s Nucleus is one of the dopest albums we know. This is seriously thick, funky-prog jazz-rock heaven. Originally released on Vertigo in 1973, other than a couple of versions at the time for other territories, Roots was never re-pressed since so it’s gone on to become another one of those impossible to find records.
Maybe it was a little too out there for the time, but it’s aged very, very well indeed and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.
Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.
Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels.
Working together with producer Fritz Fryer and engineer Roger Wake, the seven compositions by Carr, Brian Smith and Dave MacRae that make up Roots flirt with perfection, and Nucleus at that time made up of the cream of 1970s UK jazz with Brian Smith on tenor saxophones and flutes, Dave MacRae on piano and electric piano, Jocelyn Pitchen on guitar, Roger Sutton on bass, both Clive Thacker and Aureo De Souza on drums and percussion, Joy Yates delivering the vocals and of course Carr on trumpet.
The spellbinding title track immediately renders the album indispensable. Riding the illest of loping breakbeats, “Roots” is low-slung, doped-out heist-funk. An absolute monster. If it sounds familiar then that’s likely down to it being sampled by Madlib for Lootpack and Quasimoto’s “Loop Digga”, as well as by a whole host of beat manipulators. “Roots” conjures prime instrumental hip-hop / beat music, only 20 years ahead of its time. Truly, these are the roots. Through sinuous bass, twinkling keys and a hypnotic guitar riff, a smoky brass motif weaves its way into a gloriously deep haze around Carr’s solos. “Roots” is over 9 minutes long, but there’s not a single wasted second, not surprising given that this is a condensed version of an originally 40 minute long commissioned composition.
The soothing vocal fusion delight of “Images” follows. Meticulously constructed, with gorgeous flute work from Brian Smith, with Joy Yates’ silky vocals and Dave MacRae’s Rhodes never sounding better. The cool, driving “Caliban” closes out the first side. Originally the third movement in a four part commission to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday it stands up on its own, all robust rhythms and blended brass. Keyboard colour and Carr’s trumpet are splashed across the funk drums and basslines (and there’s even some bamboo flute). This really is fusion: the elements of jazz and rock coming together in beautifully synthesis.
Side two opens in riotous fashion with the short, thrilling samba of “Wapatiti”. Next up, “Capricorn” forms a smoothed-out, jazzy constellation. Mellow and dreamy, its twinkling percussion and languid horns slowly build the vibe before head-nod drums and a killer bassline enter the fray. With a distinct heaviness that Black Sabbath would’ve envied, “Odokamona” is a venomous slice of riff-soaked jazz metal (yes, you read that right), elevated by Carr’s wah-wah horns.
The album closes with MacRae’s exceptionally cosmic “Southern Roots and Celebration”. Very much in conversation with Weather Report, it opens as a languorous, spiritual jazz of chiming keys and serene guitar that turns slowly, gorgeously into a mid-paced, brass-laced banger. It’s another sure-fire party starter and the sound of the band having a righteous blast, building an ecstatic chaos that ends with Yates screaming.
And of course we need to talk about Keith Davis’ cover for Roots. Perhaps the coolest record cover of all time? Certainly one of the most bonkers. Just your run-of-the-mill high-gloss, acid-tinged airbrush dystopian/utopian living-room party scene. Consider this your chemical flashback trigger warning.
Front-and-centre the hip-to-death green robot holds court with their giant ball of yellow barbwire wool, hooked up to… something(?) being teased out from under the stairs (probably best not to ask). A thoroughly zoned-out, long-legged Pop Art party-goer lounges half-plugged in to the painting behind her as a pair of legs flail into shot from the the top of the stairs opposite. We won’t even begin to guess what the chap’s up to in the middle, but the view out of the windows is rather nice, and someone’s already got the hoover out ready to tidy up. All of the Nucleus sleeves are something special, but this particular one? Crikey.
This Be With edition of Roots has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Pete Norman’s cut to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The crazy cover has been restored at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.
Driveline Records presents its first solo EP, welcoming Maltese producer Patient to the label. Across four tracks, Patient showcases his signature blend of deep low-end grooves, hypnotic atmospheres and driving rhythms, staying true to the label's vision of timeless, dancefloor-focused techno. The title track, "Genetic Mutation", opens the record with a powerful and atmospheric journey, combining hypnotic textures with a driving groove built for peak-time moments. On "Sphynx", rolling hi-hats, evolving percussion and subtle tension create a hypnotic, constantly moving groove that keeps the dancefloor locked from start to finish. Flipping to the B-side, "Drift" shifts the focus towards deep low-end frequencies. Rolling basslines, immersive atmospheres and subtle movement give the track a dynamic yet restrained energy. Closing the EP, "Not A Replica" delivers a classic syncopated groove, full of tension, punch and infectious swing. A functional dancefloor weapon that provides the perfect finale to the record. With DLR002, Patient delivers four distinctive cuts that balance atmosphere, groove and functionality, reinforcing Driveline Records' commitment to timeless, vinyl-focused techno.
On Last Night At Marienbad's latest, the imprint brings together three of the brightest souls found within the realms of Jazz, namely Mauricesax, 9ick and Milan93, with their collective talents synergising effortlessly on 'A Garden Between Us', alongside a stellar cast of remixers who add even further delight between the grooves….
As a genre, Jazz has perhaps lent itself the most to other musical universes, in that its curious heart, endlessly experimental nature, and parameter-defying spirit have wrapped itself deep within the core of countless albums, scenes, and music makers. It's a genre that welcomes reinvention, consistently defying its contents and always reaching out to find new methods of expressionism. Electronic music, in its many forms, has truly embraced Jazz perhaps like no other movement of music has, with a truly astonishing array of records surfacing in the past 40 years which have blended Jazz's unique motifs with grooves, chords, and emotive excellence. From 90s Jazz house and UR Techno, through to Future Jazz, downtempo, and Hip Hop, and around many other suns, there remains such an intrinsic and symbiotic relationship between the two musical realms that caters to those who wish to live music both within and out with themselves.
As practitioners of blending electronica and Jazz, few do it like the trio of Mauricesax, 9ick, and Milan93. All three are known for their distinctive soundscapes, yet share commonalities in terms of musical language, feel, and sense of progression. Bringing them together allows for overlaps in their sounds to emerge, and just like Jazz itself, this is where the intrinsicness of sound begins to blossom. 9ick brings his softly evolving vibe to the table, one which was so prevalent and celebrated on his 2025 album 'SMIL'; Milan93 draws from his focal point of exploring fill-laden grooves and a myriad of emotive sensibilities; and Mauricesax draws up his extensive musicality that exists at the corner of jazz, electronic, and experimental music, along with running musical workshops all over the globe.
'A Garden Between Us' represents the trio's core tenets, with this immediately obvious from the record's opener, 'Rhodora'. A gentle solo piano quickly evolves into a series of powerful rhythmic pulses, with brass lines bringing vitality and feel to proceedings. The track shifts gears with purpose, transitioning between musical vignettes of the highest order, with the synth work doing much to bind the transitions together. 'Tulip' emerges slightly differently, with glossy Rhodes tones and an unravelling rhythmic undercurrent setting an enthralling stage. The track flourishes amongst sweeping textures, coming up for air amongst a deeply hypnotic rhythmic section that holds on and never lets up. 'Honeysuckle' lands next, which sees the trio emerge with a boundless, dynamic soundscape. The drums shift within the undertones, as keys, chords, horns and hip-hop vocal samples dance around the pulse, capturing the imagination with their narrative-like placement. Wrapping up the A side comes 'Camellia'. A dazzling array of harmonic sounds converges around the transfixing rhythm section, which emerges from deep below to lavishly roll out over the midsection, with the delicateness of the instrumentation a real highlight here.
The B side features two exquisite remixes, with Pacific Coliseum's version of 'Tulip' landing first. Beginning with a signature four to the floor to get things going, his careful handling of the source material is seen in the tactful introduction of the blissful elements that made the original cut so impactful, with great focus placed on emotive fidelity. The result is a summer-bound house number that reimagines the original in all the right ways, flipping it into a euphoria-driven jazz-laden pacer that reaches for the heavens as much as it drives right into the heart. Teuteu then showcases their take on 'Honeysuckle', and at 9 minutes long, represents the longest cut on the record - and the experience is all the richer for it. Leaning heavily into dance music flavours, Teuteu shifts perspective totally into the realm of the club, with the walls beating hard to the kicks. The sax lines that drift ethereally up top keep eyes closed and souls full, as the dance shifts into the next phase.
An experience that drifts from the daydreaming, to soul-warming through to the club shaking - what else is left to experience, except for 'A Garden Between Us' and how it will brighten up life itself….
DJ Support: Dj Harvey, Bicep, TEED, Sarah Story, Joe Goddard, Make A Dance, Dj Subaru, Demi Requismo, Horsemeat Disco, Greg Wilson, Crazy P, Justin Strauss, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), Masilmiliano Pagliara, Red Rack’em Jordan Nocturne , Gina Breeze, Heidi Lawden, Eugene Whang, Neil Diablo, Gina Breeze, Marcel Vogel.
After a mysterious hiatus, one of The essential edit labels of the 2010’s has returned just as inexplicably as it disappeared..
The previous 4 volumes now change hands with private collectors for $$ .. These limited run edits will no doubt sell out in similar fashion..
The A side see’s the most dance floor oriented but often over looked track from Bjork’s album Debut receive the DJ edit it always needed . A2 a unique rework of a very rare nrg record that started out like as Aerobics accompaniment album..
On the Flip B1 take Turn toward the Funk , PBR giving the heavy dub treatment to one of The Whispers most criminally ignored tracks. Rounding things off the B2 drifts into the work of wonky, sleazy Italo.. Magari uses the little understood “wrong speed” technique to sublime effect, combined with some extra synth work it delivers a an entirely different track…one for the heads..
'Come Into My Life' is a deep vocal house spine-tingler from Nathalie Capello and Rose Lonegran that is the subject of three separate remix EPs on Jus-Ed's top drawer Underground Quality label. This one begins with German house head Damiano Van Erckert layering in some humid chord work, before Reggie Dokes's Jazzy Adlib has fingers dancing nimbly across the piano keys to bring a brighter sound and Machillado's House Again remix is pulled apart and rebuilt as a rough-edged and dusty beatdown. Kossi Emmanuel keeps things bouncy and chord-laced for the ultimate soulful release.
Das Aufeinandertreffen zweier Pop-Ikonen: Madonna und Kylie Minogue veröffentlichen mit "Love Sensation" eine gemeinsame Nu-Disco-Hymne. Die Kollaboration erscheint als limitierte 7"-Single auf Coloured Vinyl und kombiniert pulsierende Synth-Basslines mit glamourösen Vocals. Neben der Main Version auf der A-Seite enthält das Release einen Extended Club Mix auf der B-Seite und kommt in einem veredelten Sleeve mit exklusivem Artwork auf den Markt.
Erdgeschoss (The ground floor) makes no distinction between old and new. And certainly not between old and young.
On the new record, two generations of KöPi uninhibitedly indulge in a brand of dirty minimal purism between Schranz and Glanz (glamour) between bouncing and banging.
Romance for everyone, you revelers.
Purity and dirt - from 133 1/3 bpm upwards, things really take off, and another door opens and closes again. Because. Bass drum on, bass drum off.
Kölsch meets Pils.
Trance meets Kraut - Haspel Haze goes loud.
So what. Your backpack is about to burst open.
Erdgeschoss unterscheidet nicht zwischen alt und neu. Und schon gar nicht zwischen alt und jung.
Auf der neuen Scheibe frönen zwei Generationen KöPi hemmungslos dem Dirty-Minimal-Purismus zwischen Schranz und Glanz - zwischen hämmern und pimpern.
Romantik für alle ihr Jecken.
Reinheit und Dreck - ab 133 1/3 bpm plus geht die Post ab und eine andere Tür auf und wieder zu. Denn. Bassdrum an Bassdrum aus .
For the label's latest, Oath is proud to present 'Honey Tangerine', the newest mini-album from producer extortionaire Olsvangèr, who serves up his signature blend of hyper-kinetic, ever-shifting dance music.
Olsvangèr's sound and musical journey are forever rooted in the liminal spaces that make up the broad-reaching and ever-shifting electronic music landscape, with his records consistently channeling that in-betweenness that imprints lasting impressions. A classically trained musician with a profound passion for house and techno, Olsvangèr's sonic palette is one of both broad and delicate brush strokes, applying an array of compelling motifs within amorphous arrangements that blend and blur perspectives. His records seek out the faraway fringes as much as focusing on the intensity found in the detail, creating cavernous soundscapes that are impeccably tuned and effortlessly free-flowing. Seemingly genreless, his records are anchored in all that is known and loved, yet due to the music's perspective situated at the intersectionality of electronica, a beautiful anticipation resides within every stanza of his tracks at what may come next. His musical language has found him releasing on the likes of Kalahari Oyster Cult, Hooj Choons and Craigie Knowes, and follows through within his imprint Tofistock, which has been pushing some of the most forward-thinking dance music of recent times.
'Honey Tangerine' touches upon the classic motifs of Olsvangèr's sound, and as always, the room for growth within the record's parameters remains truly endless. Over six tracks, Olsvangèr lays bare the directions of travel, with paths unravelling that feel well trodden yet with some that branch out towards new horizons. 'Source of Thought' opens up proceedings with a captivating ambience, where twinkling hues and lively tones paint the parameters of sound. The chuggy breaks that land deep within the mix drop in and out of view, allowing a deft balance between pure ambiance and rhythm to exchange dialogue between one another. 'In a Nutshell' shifts gears in atmosphere and energy, with all eyes placed upon the club. The shifting rhythm section lifts the acidic melodic features up above, with driving bass notes and a euphoric vocal like lead linking the depths to the heavens. 'Tulpa Nine' swings into heads-down territory, where the drums swing slow and the throbbing bass hits heavy. The auto-tune vocal line up above creates an atmosphere of hazy, smoke-filled rooms, where the party yearns for downtime in anticipation of the next shift in energy.
'Sunrise on the Lips' gives over further chill out room vibrations, where the lights remain low, and smiles reside all around. The enriching drums provide the basis for sitars and glossy keys to glide across the top ends, with the mind invited to dip deep within this enthralling ensemble. 'Zoom It Out' provides the release into the room, with the ante upped. A breaky house leaning number, this cut grooves through its chiming melodic section and groove-laden bass line, with the polyrhythmic drumming pattern doing much to keep the energy residing very high indeed. The record is wrapped up with 'Some Air', which gives over one final jaunt through the airy, slowed-down slipstreams. A wondrous beat is complemented by melodic elements that chime, absorb and quiver, glowing through the night with such charm and feel. An engrossing composition that demonstrates what Olsvangèr is all about - a crafter of sound, where adventure is sought and found, never wavering but curating new connections, feelings, and tones, with an eye on what might come next.
Whether softly undulating or boundlessly expressive, Olsvangèr's music remains a beautiful enigma that serves up both the glorious knowns and the captivating unknowns - 'Honey Tangerine' is yet another chapter in his glorious discography.
Ariwa Sounds started in a front room in Thornton Heath, South London. Four tracks, some homemade equipment, and Neil Fraser, better known as Mad Professor, at the controls. That was 1980. Over four decades later, the label has more than 300 albums to its name and a legacy that stretches well beyond the reggae scene.
This compilation pulls twelve tracks from across the catalogue. Dub, lovers rock, heavy roots music, digital dancehall — it's all here. What ties it together is the Ariwa studio sound all going through Mad Professor’s desk.
Mad Professor is the backbone of it. Dub Me Crazy got him known and his production credits run from Jah Shaka and Horace Andy to Massive Attack, Sade and The Orb. The tracks here — the Dub Sampler, H2SO4, Disco Dude, Kathmandu Dub — show why.
The Jah Shaka collaboration Only One God is a landmark. Two of the UK's most important dub figures on one track. Dark and heavy roots music.
The Robotics appear twice — Hong Kong Flew! and Miss Mood. They are Ariwa's house band and have backed U-Roy, Lee Perry, Big Youth and more over the years.
Aisha closes things out with Can You Feel It. A track that crosses reggae, soul and boogie funk. Collectors have been after original pressings for years.
Starky Banton, Ragga Doll, Professor Doppler and Earl Lawrence complete the compilation. Exactly the kind of thing that reminds you how wide the Ariwa net was cast.
Sleeve design is by Trevor Jackson. One of the UK's most respected graphic designers. His work has defined the visual language of British music for thirty years. His involvement here signals exactly the kind of release this is. A serious serious catalogue and compilation of music, treated with the respect it deserves.
Ariwa sits alongside Greensleeves as the most important reggae imprint this country has produced. This compilation shows why.
Tenuous Links welcomes Torino’s very own VIOLA to the label with his new ‘Wrinkles’ EP. As the label owner of Reflue Records, VIOLA first caught my attention with his debut full-length release, a body of work that showcased a deep, rugged sound and a clear technical prowess shaped by his surroundings rugged coastlines and industrial landscapes of Torino in northern Italy. After speaking with Cristiano for over a year, it felt like a natural progression to bring his music to Tenuous Links. “The music I write almost always functions as a visceral soundtrack to whatever environment surrounds and infects me while I'm creating. Deeply rooted in the architectural contrasts of the places I’ve inhabited.”
‘Wrinkles’ is VIOLA’s second full-length body of work, yet the years of graft and dedication behind it are immediately apparent. Across three original tracks and a remix from London’s Jay Duncan, the EP delivers pure grit and crunch, inhabiting large, cavernous atmospheres grounded by pummelling bass, dynamic drums and intricate rhythmic detail.
The title track ‘Wrinkles’ is an ode to club spaces and the scene that revolves around them. Its broken rhythm channels the dancefloors of Cristiano’s formative years, spent partying in abandoned bunkers and warehouses in and around Torino. VIOLA explains: “Crafting such a raw, gritty bassline felt like an absolute necessity during the writing process, retracing memories of long nights spent dancing in silence.” The track’s cavernous atmosphere mirrors those pitch-black, unlit spaces, drawing us deeper and deeper into the abyss, with only brief glimmers of light offering reprieve from its relentless, all-enveloping bassline.
‘Mon Tom’ draws heavily from VIOLA’s hometown and his complicated relationship with Torino ,a city where tranquillity and beauty sit alongside heavy industry. The calm of the coastline is violently interrupted by vast steelworks and plumes of black smoke, leaving an imposing industrial mark on both the landscape and its people. The track reflects these contrasts. Metallic yet fluid, it moves at a faster pace, built around a driving 4/4 rhythm designed to suspend the listener while skittering percussion creates an increasingly uneasy sense of movement. It’s a meeting point between the beauty and brutality of the environment that inspired it.
‘P Maggiore’ was written between 2019 and 2020 while VIOLA was living in Rome’s chaotic Porta Maggiore district. Surrounded day and night by the grinding noise of trains, screeching tram brakes and beaten metal, he translated those raw auditory memories directly into high-pressure sound design. Yet, in contrast to the intensity of his surroundings, VIOLA deliberately pulls back the tempo.
Rounding off the EP is a skeletal remix of ‘Wrinkles’ from London’s Jay Duncan. She strips the original back into a techy, rolling cut, retaining its atmosphere and darkness while introducing a lighter touch of minimal-esque sound design. The result is a subtly transformed take on the title track that provides a fitting conclusion to the EP.
‘Wrinkles’ EP is a record shaped by place, by architecture, industry, memory and the physical spaces that leave their mark on us. From Torino’s industrial coastline to the chaos of Rome and the darkness of abandoned club spaces, VIOLA turns his surroundings into sound. Coming to vinyl and digital October 16th of October.
For its second chapter, Esoteric Ears switches up mood, presenting two tracks for extended sessions, memorable moments and special sunrises.
Lead track ‘Minute Machine’ comes from mysterious new entity Sektor 13. A sleek, contemporary take on Kraftwerkian Teutonic electronic funk, it slinks and slides its way onto any open open-minded dancefloor.
On the flip, bonafide legend Carl Finlow provides a remix, operating under his renowned Random Factor alias. This retains the spirit and vibe of the original, but amps up the funk and composition, swaggering its way into an epic emotional crescendo. Up there with Random Factor's finest work, it’s a true honour to share this with the world. Gracias Sr. Finlow.
“What Robot Says L” on What Robot Says Records is a deeply immersive Dub Techno journey crafted for demanding listeners who seek atmosphere, precision, and emotional depth beyond conventional dancefloor music. Across four carefully sculpted tracks, the release moves through shifting moods and textures, balancing raw energy with subtle elegance while exploring the deeper and more hypnotic side of techno.
A1. Nicolas Barnes – Dusted Maze opens the EP with a smooth and introspective approach, combining delicate textures, refined grooves, and floating harmonic layers that capture the timeless spirit of classic Dub Techno through a modern lens.
A2. Continuing the journey with TM Shuffle, Monoder – Vihreesametti delivers a warmer and more fluid interpretation of the genre, blending rolling grooves, dub-driven chords, and sophisticated sound design into a deeply immersive experience.
On the B-side, B1. Denizo – Versus follows with dark dub pressure, stripped-back rhythmic architecture, and evolving ambient detail, creating a hypnotic late-night atmosphere filled with tension and movement.
B2. Closing the EP, The Open Circle – Shinkai dives into deeper and more mysterious territory, emphasizing submerged atmospheres, minimal rhythmic tension, and profound spatial depth that slowly unfolds with every listen.
WRSL1 – “What Robot Says L” is not designed for casual listening, but for those who appreciate Dub Techno as an evolving exploration of mood, space, and sonic detail — a refined and highly immersive statement from some of the genre’s most skilled contemporary artists.
but wait a minute.. Does anybody know What Robot Says?
Bloodhound Gang’s irreverent brand of comedy-rock and rap-rock is collected here on this essential 1LP hits package, pressed on exclusive Milky Clear vinyl and including a collectible poster. Featuring the band’s biggest and most enduring tracks, the set is led by the international smash “The Bad Touch”, a multi-million-selling single that reached No.1 in Germany, Sweden and several other European territories, while also hitting the UK Top 5. Also included are fan favourites “Fire Water Burn”, “The Ballad Of Chasey Lain”, “Along Comes Mary”, “Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo”, “Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss” and “I Hope You Die”, spanning the band’s most successful era from the platinum-selling Hooray For Boobies through to Hefty Fine. Bloodhound Gang have sold millions of albums worldwide, with Hooray For Boobies reaching No.1 in both Germany and Austria and achieving Platinum certification in the US. Combining the group’s biggest chart hits, cult classics and live favourites, this specially curated single-LP edition delivers the definitive Bloodhound Gang experience in a concise, collector-friendly format.
,Prophetic Perfect Tense" ist das neue Album von Oren Ambarchi bei Kou Records. Der australische Gitarrist und Komponist gilt als eine der unermüdlichsten und einfallsreichsten Persönlichkeiten der experimentellen Musik der letzten drei Jahrzehnte. Als Gründer von Black Truffle Records und versierter Kollaborateur, der bereits mit Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Johan Berthling und Andreas Werliin - präsentiert sich Ambarchi hier in seiner reduziertesten Besetzung: Solo-Gitarre, zwei Seiten, zwei Takes, minimale Effekte. Während seine Studioalben typischerweise konzeptionelle, vielschichtige Werke mit Gastmusikern waren, bricht ,Prophetic Perfect Tense" dieses Muster vollständig - nach seinen eigenen Angaben ist es das konventionellste Soloalbum mit Gitarrenklang, das er je aufgenommen hat, und das, was im Studio der Live-Energie seines ,Ghosted"-Trios am nächsten kommt. Aufgenommen im Studio Dede in Tokio im Januar 2026 und produziert von Randall Dunn, begann das Album als Akt hartnäckiger Zurückhaltung - irgendwo zwischen Joao Gilberts leisem, selbstbetiteltem Album von 1973 und Alemu Agas ,Bägänna"-Sessions. Doch sobald das Band durch eine Leslie-Box, einen Fender Twin und einen Ampeg B-15 in einen Telefunken-24-Spur-Recorder lief, entstand etwas ganz anderes: ein lockerer, abstrakter Shuffle, warm und dreidimensional, bei dem Verstärkerbrummen, Saitenquietschen und Raumgeräusche unverändert blieben. Beide Seiten in einzigen Takes. Ein Gitarren-Overdub wurde auf Randalls Drängen hin hinzugefügt. Eine Platte, die wie ein Raum klingt, nicht wie ein Studio. Aufgenommen, abgemischt und produziert von Randall Dunn. Gemastert von Ben Greenberg. Dolby-Atmos-Mischungen von Ben Greenberg. Lackschnitt von Paul Gold bei Salt Mastering. Cover-Artwork ,Untitled, 1977" von Kazuko Miyamoto, Foto mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Nachlasses von Kazuko Miyamoto / Zürcher Gallery, NY. Porträt auf der Rückseite von Ken Langraf
Die lang erwartete, auf 1.000 Exemplare limitierte Neuauflage des begehrten Debütalbums auf durchscheinendem lila ,Ritual Wine"-Vinyl - zum ersten Mal seit über 8 Jahren erhältlich. Erstmals wieder mit dem Original-Cover kehrt die ,Original Messe Noire" zurück. Zum ersten Mal seit ihrer unheiligen Geburt erhebt sich "Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound... Satanic Doo-Wop)" erneut aus der Gruft. Das Debütalbum von Twin Temple ist ein brillantes, blasphemisches Meisterwerk, das die Grenzen des modernen Rock 'n' Roll neu definiert. Durch die nahtlose Verschmelzung der klassischen amerikanischen Klänge der Girlgroups der 1950er- und 1960er-Jahre mit einem unerbittlich kompromisslosen, zeitgenössischen satanischen Ethos schafft das Duo ein Hörerlebnis, das zugleich schockierend originell und zeitlos ist. Das Album wurde unter Verwendung traditioneller analoger Techniken aufgenommen, unter anderem durch eine Live-Aufnahme auf Band in nur zwei Tagen, die die Essenz der Live-Qualitäten von Twin Temple brilliant einfängt.
There's a moment during every great dance floor experience when the music takes over and everyone becomes part of something bigger. "SHOUT!", the latest release from 2SoulFusion Presents Ascension, captures that feeling in its purest form. Featuring the powerhouse voices and ad-libs of Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, along with an all-star ensemble of master vocalists including Josh Milan, Rahsaan Patterson, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Ramona Dunlap, and Lea Lorien, this joyful anthem is an invitation to let go, lift your spirit, and celebrate through music.
Produced, written, arranged, and mixed by 2SoulFusion—Louie Vega and Josh Milan—"SHOUT!" draws inspiration from the communal spirit of gospel while embracing the energy and freedom of house music. Driven by simple yet powerful affirmations—"Shout," "Sing," "Move," "Love," "Get Up On Your Feet," "Listen Up," and "Let This Music Take You Higher"—the song transforms into an experience where every voice becomes part of the celebration. It's a journey of anthemic hooks, soaring harmonies, infectious grooves, and unforgettable melodies designed to ignite dance floors, uplift hearts, and remind us that music has the power to unite people through rhythm, joy, and love.
The inspiration for "SHOUT!" was born from a creative exchange between Louie Vega and Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director of the internationally acclaimed fashion house Casablanca. Introduced by longtime friend Joseph Capriati, Charaf shared a bold vision—to bring together the worlds of fashion, gospel, and house music for one unforgettable Casablanca runway presentation in Paris.
Louie Vega recalls: “Charaf was introduced to me by my friend Joseph Capriati, who said Charaf was looking to meet me about an idea he had. His vision was to marry fashion, gospel, and house music within Casablanca's collection. At first, he wanted me to DJ and play gospel house music. I said, 'Instead of playing existing music, why don't I create an original song with a gospel house flavor?' I immediately got together with my 2SoulFusion partner Josh Milan, and together we came up with 'SHOUT!'”
That vision came to life during Casablanca's spectacular Paris presentation inside a breathtaking cathedral, where Louie Vega premiered the original twelve-minute and nine-second composition live. As the music echoed through the cathedral, Dames Brown joined the London House Gospel Choir in a soul-stirring performance while the models walked the aisle on Casablanca's carpet made of their signature green color and a dashing vibrating giant mirror echoing the runway visually. Renowned DJs Luciano and Chloé Caillet were among those who walked the runway, while friends of Charaf Tajer and special guests—including Jaden Thompson, Folamour, Dimitri From Paris, Kapela, and many others—were in attendance, making it an unforgettable gathering where music, spirituality, fashion, and culture merged into one extraordinary experience.
Inspired by that magical evening in Paris, Louie Vega and Josh Milan returned to the studio to expand the original composition into the powerful recording heard today. Built around rich live musicianship, Josh Milan's keyboards, organ, piano and synth bass provide the foundation alongside Axel Tosca's expressive grand piano recorded live, Sherrod Barnes' soulful guitar, and Gene Perez's unmistakable bass groove. Together they create an infectious, organic driving sound that allows the vocals to soar while delivering the unmistakable musical depth and musicianship that define 2SoulFusion.
Leading the celebration are Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, whose commanding performances are elevated by an extraordinary choir of world-class vocalists. Dames Brown's spirited sermon and ad-libs, and Dawn Tallman’s powerful ad-lib vamping out together with the soaring harmonies of Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Rahsaan Patterson, Ramona Dunlap, Lea Lorien, and Josh Milan, recreate the feeling of a joyful gospel congregation—not confined to four walls, but alive on dance floors around the world. Every chorus encourages listeners to get up, listen up, feel it, sing, move, love, and become part of the experience. Recorded between Honeycomb Studios in Pennsylvania, The Hub Ibiza and Manhattan Center Studios, New York City, and mixed at The Hub Ibiza, "SHOUT!" reflects the continuing vision of the Ascension project, where spirituality, musicianship, community, fashion, and dance music become one.
Ever-evolving Amsterdam duo ANOTR continue their forward momentum with the release of their highly anticipated third studio album, ‘Withness’, out via their own imprint No Art. Rooted firmly in dance music, ‘Withness’ sees the pair refine their sound into their most dance-floor focused and cohesive project to date.
Born during their global tour, ‘Withness’ was shaped in real time: written, tested and refined on dancefloors across the world. Following the expansive, genre-blurring approach of their 2025 LP ‘On A Trip’, the duo felt a pull back toward the club - not as a limitation, but as a unifying space. “We really wanted to have a wide variety of songs that we can play out and create moments,” they explain. “Every track needed to make sense wherever people come together to dance.”
That intention sits at the heart of ‘Withness’. A title that reimagines the idea of “witnessing” into something more active and collective. ‘Withness’ is an album about experiencing life with others. It’s about the moments you share, the people who shape them, and the energy that becomes real only when you’re fully present. The album captures the collective high of friendship. Whether in a packed club, at a festival, or in a living room with friends, the album is designed to soundtrack moments of connection.
“The memories you make with people, they’re the witness of those moments. Withness is about being in it together.” - ANOTR
Sonically, the album marks a clear evolution. Drawing from their early club roots while building on the songwriting confidence developed on their previous records, classic drum machines and 909 samples sit alongside warm, 80s-tinged textures, layered vocals and modern production techniques, creating a sound that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking.
A key part of the process was spontaneity. The duo embraced a free-flowing, collaborative studio environment, often working with a rotating cast of contributors. Their now-signature “open mic” approach encouraged anyone in the room to experiment with melodies, lyrics and vocal ideas. This energy translates directly into the album’s standout moments. From the euphoric pull of ‘Withness’ to the groove-led ‘Do It With Ya’, the uplifting ‘Paradise’, each track is built to live beyond a single setting.
The LP comes at a timely moment, as their single ‘Talk To You ft. 54 Ultra’ has become the biggest global breakout dance single this year. Sitting firmly in Spotify’s Global Top 200, it has surpassed 175 million streams, and is currently No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart. Spotify have tipped it in their much-coveted global ‘Sound Of The Summer 2026’ list and other highlights include peaking at No. 7 in Shazam’s Global Chart, No.1 on Beatport Top 100 and gaining over 600M UGC views so far.
Layne & Chang might not be household names to everyone, but in the underground they’re long-established fixtures. Chang—who’s released music under a string of aliases over the years—was tipped by Urb magazine as one to watch back in the mid-’90s and has been embedded in dancefloor culture ever since. Alongside him, Layne Fox (formerly San Francisco, now back in Florida) brings deep disco credentials, having helmed the cult-loved Disco Dimensions label and recording as 40 Thieves—best known for the underground anthem Don’t Turn It Off. In short, the boogie lineage on this record runs deep.
And that’s before you even get to Dan Tyler. As one half of the Idjut Boys and co-founder of Noid Recordings, Tyler helped lay the groundwork for London’s edit culture long before it became a global phenomenon. His involvement here only strengthens the package.
“Shake Your Body” opens the release with a locked-in, funk-driven groove—swirling melodic lines, subtly acidic textures, warm vocoder touches, and tight, punchy drums all dialed for peak-time movement. On the A2, “In The Desert” shifts the mood into something more transportive: a hazy, late-night burner equally suited to open-air parties, after-hours sessions, or home listening with the lights low.
Flip to the B-side and Dan Tyler delivers two cosmic reworks that push things further out. Psychedelic, elastic, and built for serious systems, both cuts hit that sweet spot between heady and physical—already circulating among a handful of tastemaker DJs and primed for heavy rotation as festival season ramps up.
A strong, floor-ready release that sits comfortably in the Whiskey Disco catalogue—rooted in disco, but reaching well beyond it.
Eric Whitacre verbindet William Blakes Poesie mit Stimmen, Synthesizern, Streichern und Klavier.
Mit *Eternity in an Hour* präsentiert der Grammy-prämierte Komponist ein neues, rund 60-minütiges
Werk. Inspiriert wurde es von William Blakes Gedicht *Auguries of Innocence* und dessen berühmter
Anfangszeile „To see a world in a grain of sand“. Das Album markiert zugleich den Beginn einer erneuerten
Zusammenarbeit mit Decca Classics.
Whitacre dirigiert seine Eric Whitacre Singers sowie Streicher und verbindet ihren Klang mit elektronischen Texturen, Synthesizern und Klavier. Das Werk wurde 2024 bei den BBC Proms uraufgeführt.
Ausgangspunkt der Komposition ist die Granularsynthese: Für jeden Satz werden kleinste Ausschnitte aus
Blakes Versen herausgelöst und musikalisch neu zusammengesetzt.
Zum Einsatz kommen unter anderem ein Lyra-8-Synthesizer, ein Tascam-424-Tonbandgerät und der 125
Jahre alte Flügel von Whitacres Großmutter, dessen Klang ihn seit seiner Kindheit begleitet.
Die digitale Ausgabe und die CD ergänzen das Werk um *Auguries of Innocence*, eine Sammlung atmosphärischer Neubearbeitungen mit IDRA, Jess Gillam und Elin Piel.
Ein facettenreiches Album, das Whitacres musikalische Entwicklung in konzentrierter Form hörbar macht.
A band born from a UK-only JBs compilation and a refusal to be bored by rockism, Boots For Dancing present “Dance & Resist” — ten tracks of funk, protest, and dancefloor testimony.
Boots For Dancing (BFD) trace their roots to probably one single record: Giving Up Food For Funk, a UK-only JBs compilation released in March 1976. The band cross-pollinated P-Funk with the raw energy of Richard Hell & The Voidoids and No Wave. They were chasing adeliberate drift away from the “1,2,3,4” boredom of rockist punk, and toward something else entirely, band members all pulling in different musical directions.
The band came up during the era of the euphemistically-named Standard Music Business Contract — young, naive, and part of Thatcher’s mass youth unemployed, willing to be exploited by the “honest capitalism” of the music industry with little expectation of reward. Anything to get off the Giro.
About the Album
The title Dance & Resist captures the band’s guiding contradiction: that you can acclaim and celebrate something while still seeking to change, challenge, disrupt, or overturn it — the same spirit found decades later in people doing the Electric Slide at BLM protests.
JUDDER announces the second installment of its vinyl series, bringing together a diverse selection of artists united by their passion for experimental bass music. This time, the record is fully focused on a raw, soundsystem-driven aesthetic. On Side A, French producer Amor Satyr—known for effortlessly navigating between dembow, breakbeat, and techno—ventures into dubstep territory for the first time. On 'Over', he translates his signature style onto the genre’s foundations while retaining the distinctive energy that defines his sound. The record continues with a collaborative effort from Thematic and Nattah. ‘Aurora Pulse' is a cold, restrained piece of leftfield bass at 130 BPM, where a sharp, syncopated subline forms the backbone of the groove, pulsing like the heartbeat of a northern metropolis. Opening Side B, Dawn RAzor and Mani Festo deliver 'Awared', a track where techno and breakbeat converge through layered sound design and spring-loaded drum fills. As it unfolds, the composition gradually draws the listener into a hypnotic journey, dissolving familiar genre boundaries along the way. The release closes with ‘Lockjaw'—a true soundsystem slow-burner from Kahter and Mercy System. Broken tribal rhythms and a constantly evolving arrangement keep the listener suspended in a state of mounting tension, one that intensifies with every new detail introduced. Tracklist: A1 Amor Satyr — Over A2 Thematic & Nattah — Aurora Pulse B1 Dawn RAzor & Mani Festo — Awared B2 Kahter & Mercy System — Lockjaw
Crash landing onto the scene in 2017 with his now legendary NTS broadcast of 2 hours of unheard music, the ultra-mysterious and enigmatic Michael J. Blood has gone on to release a series of sought after, lush and rugged future classics on his own imprints Blood Inc. and BodyTronixxx. Allegedly hailing from Manchester in the North of England, Blood’s sound is hard to pin down but instantly recognisable. Rooted in the twin foundations of modern dance music—Detroit and Chicago—while schooled in the sweaty basements of Manchester’s fêted club scene, his music feels both original and familiar, timeless yet unplaceable.
Weaving together a hypnotic narrative that feels both archival and futuristic, Cause & Effect Vol. 1 brings together some of Blood's rare and hard to find bangers from a variety of his early sold out projects. The collection mixes the pulse of Chicago with the grit and cosmic dreams of Detroit, while never losing sight of the North of England’s sophisticated late-night sleaze. Blood’s dance-floor eclecticism and raw, infectious mutant beats drive a soulful, jazz-louche energy into every track. The result is a collection of atmospheric grooves that weave together hypnotic rhythm and smoky texture, blurring house, techno, broken beat, and jazz-soaked electronics into a heady trip. Cause & Effect Vol. 1 maps out the restless evolution of Blood’s sound, a testament to his instinct for rhythm, atmosphere and dance-floor alchemy. House for the heart, techno for the mind, both built for the body. It’s in the Blood.
Revisiting the sound and spirit of Jazzy Sport, rooted in Japan and carried forward by a new generation. Compiled by Nina Yamada, featuring Cro-Magnon and Grooveman Spot, with remixes by DJ Mitsu the Beats and Idjut Boys.
Founded in 2002, Jazzy Sport emerged at a particularly fertile moment in Japanese music. Beginning as an independent label and record shop, with its first store in Morioka and Jazzy Sport Music Shop Tokyo opening in Shibuya the following year, it became a home for artists including GAGLE, DJ Mitsu the Beats, Cro-Magnon and Grooveman Spot. Its releases moved freely between hip-hop, house, jazz, broken beat and live musicianship, helping define a distinctly Japanese strain of open-minded club culture.
But the music was only the beginning. Jazzy Sport developed into a network of record shops across Japan, alongside its label and distribution work, apparel and design, dance studios, and a Morioka record shop joined to a bouldering gym. These were not unrelated side projects. They expressed the same founding idea: that music, sport and everyday life could come together to create community.
PAST FORWARD: SILVER marks the first release on the Jazzy Sport London label, distributed by Time Capsule. Established in 2022, the London project first took shape through parties, radio shows and community collaborations connecting Japan and the UK. This compilation carries the Jazzy Sport archive and its values forward through a new generation.
At the centre is Nina Yamada, the daughter of one of Jazzy Sport’s core members. She grew up within the community that shaped the collective, and her selection is not a conventional greatest-hits survey, but an inside view of the catalogue and an intergenerational handover made audible.
The music moves naturally between hip-hop and house, electronic production and live performance. That openness has always been central to Jazzy Sport, where club music, musicianship and community are part of the same conversation rather than separate scenes.
DJ Mitsu the Beats’ remix of Cro-Magnon’s “Eclipse” brings the refined, soulful depth that makes him such an important figure in Japanese beat music. Idjut Boys’ deep, dubwise Cro-Magnon rework reflects the long exchange between Japan and the UK, while Grooveman Spot’s “Do The Dance” finds a sweet spot between acid-tinged 808 groove and warm soulfulness.
Elsewhere, Nubian Lady’s “In☆Flu☆Enza” draws on Detroit techno and Chicago house but sharpens those influences into something lean and distinctive. Physical Sound Sport’s “Magical Kalimba” captures the communal energy and openness of a live session. Bottom Fly’s “Rhyme Or Reason,” rooted in Morioka, pairs rough-edged beats with mellow samples and a quiet sense of nostalgia.
What comes through is not only the strength of the individual tracks, but the sensibility that connects them. That keeps PAST FORWARD: SILVER from feeling like a nostalgic best-of. For longtime followers, it offers rediscovery; for new listeners, a way into the breadth of Jazzy Sport; and for DJs, a selection made for the record bag, not just the archive.
Ein Gefühl der Hoffnung, das aus dunklen Ecken heraufschleicht, durchdringt nahezu jeden Titel der neuen LP von Sour Widows, ,Sigil". Das Album entstand in Zusammenarbeit mit der renommierten Produzentin und Jay-Som-Mastermind Melina Duterte in der Innenstadt von Los Angeles; die elf Songs des Albums nehmen unerwartete Wendungen und sind die fesselndsten, die Sour Widows bisher geschrieben haben. Das Album zeichnet sich durch eine neu gewonnene Unmittelbarkeit aus, als hätten Sour Widows dringende Erkenntnisse zu teilen, und auf der gesamten Länge von ,Sigil" läutet eine scheinbare Katastrophe einen Neuanfang ein.
It was in the year 2008 when Too Much came out: a 15-track debut that turned Berlin's underground upside down and made excess into a musical principle.
The album sounds like a party that has already gone off the rails - and is getting better because of it. Tobias Jundt's deadpan, heavily accented delivery collides with jagged guitars, rattling bass, vintage synths and restless dance grooves. Rock'n'roll, electroclash and dance-punk blur into something that never quite sits comfortably in any genre.
The songs are deliberately ridiculous, catchy and hedonistic. Too Much is full of party anthems, absurd one-liners and hooks that get stuck in your head whether you want them to or not. The title track itself became one of Bonaparte's signature songs - one of the early Myspace-era tracks that helped turn the band into a genuine underground sensation.
But Too Much was never just a record. Bonaparte's world extended into circus costumes, provocative performances, striptease, queer aesthetics and wildly excessive live shows. What began with illegal gigs under Alexanderplatz quickly moved to the Montreux Jazz Festival, international tours and legendary parties - with the band becoming one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from Berlin in the late 2000s.
Now Too Much returns on vinyl. A document of a particular Berlin moment - chaotic, funny, sweaty and impossible to ignore.
15 songs. Zero restraint. Still too much.
Lord Sko’s Sophomore Album ‘UNITED PALACE’ is a record chock-ful of homage, past & present pop culture references & youthful exuberance expressed with a vintage New York attitude. With contributions from Meyhem Lauren, Da$H, Wiseboy Jeremy, LIFEOFTHOM & Kuriousul references to the entire cityscape, this is an album that thoroughly represents both Classic & Modern NY culture through the eyes of a Young Uptown MC. With contributions from Meyhem Lauren, Da$H, Wiseboy Jeremy, LIFEOFTHOM & Kurious Jorge, UNITED PALACE could sonically & aesthetically fit anywhere from the Golden Age to the Blog Era & Far Beyond into the future.
God Is Dead ist das zweite Studioalbum des amerikanischen ,Satanic Doo-Wop"-Duos Twin Temple, das am Freitag, dem 13. Oktober 2023 über ihr eigenes Label Pentagrammaton Records veröffentlicht wurde. Das Album kombiniert die musikalische Ästhetik des klassischen Rock 'n' Roll, Soul und Doo-Wop der 1950er und 1960er Jahre mit satanischen Texten, die Individualität, freien Willen und Rebellion gegen religiöse Dogmen feiern. Um einen authentischen Vintage-Sound zu garantieren, wurde die Platte komplett in Mono eingespielt.
Die südafrikanische House-Variante Amapiano geht bei ATFA mit "Teenage Dreams" in die dritte Runde. Nach TENO AFRIKA und DJ BLACK LOW schnappte sich das in New York beheimatete Label das 2019 gegründete Produzenten-Duo NATIVE SOUL, die mit "Teenage Dreams" ihr Debüt geben. Der Titel ist passend gewählt, schließlich sind Kgothatso Tshabalala und Zakhele Mhlanga (DJ Zakes) mit 19 bzw. 18 Jahren sozusagen selbst gerade erst den Kinderschuhen entwachsen. Obwohl die beiden in Pretoria aufgewachsenen Jungproduzenten zur Generation 'Ma2000' gehören, also nach Beginn der Demokratie geboren wurden und die Apartheid nie erlebt haben, überzeugt "Teenage Dreams" mit einer künstlerische Reife, die das jeweilige Alter der beiden Soundtüftler weit übersteigt. Die zwölf Tracks auf dem Debüt sind überwiegend moody, instrumental und mit Drums "made from basslines which stick out like a pocket turned outside of pants" versehen. Für Fans von BURIAL und MR. FINGERS!
Zur Feier des 25-jährigen Jubiläums ihres siebten Albums aus dem Jahr 2001 (ihres letzten mit Brant Bjork) veröffentlichen Fu Manchu die California Crossing 25th Anniversary Edition. Das Album, das von der Band gemeinsam mit Matt Hyde (Deftones, Slayer, Monster Magnet) in den legendären Sound City Studios in Los Angeles aufgenommen wurde, ist die kommerziell erfolgreichste Veröffentlichung der Band. Die aus 11 Songs bestehende Sammlung enthält "Mongoose" (bekannt aus einem Toyota-Super-Bowl-Werbespot sowie aus Sons of Anarchy, The Hot Chick, Boondock Saints II u.a.), "Squash That Fly" (ihre erfolgreichste Radio-Single), "Bultaco" (mit Gesang von Keith Morris von den Circle Jerks) sowie die Fan-Favoriten "Separate Kingdom", "Hang On" und den Titelsong. Diese auf 1.000 Exemplare limitierte Ausgabe erscheint als El Camino Sand Splatter-farbiges Vinyl im Gatefold-Jacket. Für die optimalste Klangqualität wurde das Audiomaterial des Albums nun neu gemastert. "a strangely nihilistic celebration of all things Cali." - The Guardian "Fu Manchu are the stoned Ramones, a matey Motorhead: a band who can rewrite that album into the infinite future and rule perpetually." - NME
Originally released in 2014, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles is now being reissued on limited-edition gold vinyl.
The album tells a story of the intersection of the material world and the world of the spirit. Includes fan favorites "I Never Wear White" and "Crack in the Wall,” plus "Song of the Stoic" and “Don't Uncork What You Can’t Contain,” and "Horizon", written for Vaclav Havel.
Produced and arranged by Gerry Leonard, the album features an illustrious group of musicians including longtime Vega bass player Mike Visceglia and drummer Doug Yowell, bass player Gail Ann Dorsey and drummer Zachary Alford (David Bowie), bass player Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), drummer Jay Bellerose (T-Bone Burnett), and Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) who plays banjo, mandolin, and cymbal throughout the album. Additional contributions feature drummer Sterling Campbell (David Bowie, B52s) and Alison Balsom, the virtuoso principal trumpet for the London Chamber Orchestra. Catherine Russell, known for her work with David Bowie and Paul Simon, adds background vocals.
The strings were recorded in the Czech Republic with the Smichov Chamber Orchestra. The album was mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Kevin Killen.
Recorded in one comfortably-seated take at Studio Ferber, Paris, France in 2015 - h hunt’s ‘playing piano for dad’ was initially conceived as a Christmas gift to the composer’s father. Intimately recorded, ‘playing piano for dad’ is a heartbreakingly gorgeous & sincere work of eleven vignettes which capture even the most nuanced sounds of the recording session - the composer’s breath, the shifting sounds of the piano pedals, the ambient noise and conversation within the studio. With minimalist tendencies, h hunt’s compositions are earnest and heartfelt, evoking both the jazz sensibilities of Bill Evans as much as Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou’s classical piano works - with pieces from the album having even been championed by Ryuichi Sakamoto for his Kajitsu Restaurant playlist
Recorded spontaneously in Brooklyn and created entirely without written compositions, this album is an essential release for fans of ambient music, spiritual jazz, meditation, and deep listening. Features Isaiah Collier on drums and tenor sax and produced by Sonny Daze.
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A spontaneous musical transmission exploring healing, unity, laughter, and limitless possibility.
Recorded in Brooklyn, New York in 2025, Openness is a fully improvised full-length album from legendary ambient pioneer and sonic mystic Laraaji. Created without pre-written compositions or arrangements, the recording captures a rare moment of collective presence, where every sound emerges from intuition, listening, and trust in the unknown.
Guided by what Laraaji describes as a state of openness, the album unfolds as a meditation on timelessness, inexhaustible supply, right guidance, seamless unity, prosperity, healing, gratitude, understanding, relationship, and transformation. Moving fluidly between meditative vocals, Fender Rhodes, Moog synthesizer, zither, gong, and piano, Laraaji channels a deeply personal yet universal musical language intended for a global audience seeking connection, renewal, and inspiration.
A defining element of the recording is Laraaji's celebrated Laughter Meditation, woven throughout the performance as both a musical and spiritual practice. His joyful vocal expressions become an instrument unto themselves, creating moments of release, playfulness, healing, and communal connection. The laughter serves as a reminder that openness is not only a path toward deeper awareness, but also toward celebration, recreation, gratitude, and collective well-being.
The session features acclaimed saxophonist and composer Isaiah Collier on drums and tenor saxophone, bringing a responsive, exploratory energy to the recording. Producer Sonny Daze opens the album with a spoken invocation and shapes its expansive atmosphere throughout with the legendary Roland Space Echo RE-201, adding warmth, depth, and cosmic texture to the music's unfolding journey.
Described by Laraaji as a "vital music transmission," Openness was revealed spontaneously in the studio while remaining fully present to each new moment. The result is an immersive listening experience that feels both ancient and immediate—a celebration of right community, right recreation, right medicine, and the transformative power of creative freedom.
"This music is revealed and recorded spontaneously in Brooklyn, NY, with the attending presence of dear Sonny Daze and dear Isaiah Collier. Being totally in the new moment and allowing fresh communication to arrive, I remained open while touching various studio instruments. Being in channeling mode throughout the recording session, I sensed the world audience for whom this vital music transmission is intended."
Chicago bassist EMMA DAYHUFF leads an all-star ensemble feat. PAUL CORNISH, COREY WILKES, JONATHON PINSON & ISIAH COLLIER on this stunning debut album blending modern jazz groove-based composition and fearless improvisation into a deeply personal and cinematic listening experience. She just opened for ROBERT GLASPER here in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 4.
Recorded in Los Angeles, the album draws inspiration from Dayhuff’s Montana upbringing while embracing the creative energy of Los Angeles and Chicago’s contemporary jazz scenes. The album also features a previously unrecorded composition by legendary composer and bassist Bill Lee. Includes plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Following the success of two collaborative releases (EMC “The Show”/2008 and Ace & Edo G “Arts & Entertainment” /2009), Masta Ace joins forces with the metal faced MF Doom for Son of Yvonne, a highly personal concept album that celebrates the life and legacy of Ace’s recently departed Mother. Like his 2004 landmark Disposable Arts, Son of Yvonne is meticulously constructed with stories, settings, and characters that resonate with flesh and bone humanity. Interstitial vignettes provide a thematic backbone to the experience, and each track complements and completes the previous to form a narrative whole: a sometimes visceral, sometimes nostalgic slice of Ace’s young life in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Entirely underscored by MF Doom’s iconic Special Herbs instrumentals, Son of Yvonne features the Juice Crew general Big Daddy Kane, new comers Pav Bundy (The Bundies), Reggie B and even MF Doom on the mic. It’s Masta Ace’s no frills flow, however, that looms largest above the dusty samples and digger loops that define Doom’s production. Ace’s photo-realistic rhymes about stick-up kids, spraycan artists and wack emcees add extra gravity to his already celebrated reputation as “truly an under-appreciated rap veteran and underground luminary” (Allmusic Guide). Like Eminem recalls in his 2008 autobiography The Way I Am, “Masta Ace had amazing storytelling skills. His thoughts were so vivid.” TRACKLIST: A1. DJ Ski's Intro A2. Ninteen Seventy Something A3. Son Of Yvonne B1. Da Pro B2. Store Frontin B3. Me & My Gang B4. Crush Hour feat Pav Bundy C1. Think I Am feat Big Daddy Kane & Mf Doom C2. Fresh Fest Reggie B C3. Hoe-Tel-leftovers C4. Slow Down D1. Home Sweet Home feat Pav Bundy D2. Dedication D3. I Did It D4. In Da Spot feat Milani The Artis D5. Outtakes
Though Scratch may have at times seemed crazy, it is worth noting that creative
genius appears so because geniuses see things others do not see and inhabit
realities unseen. As the music on this album reveals, Lee Perry's Black Ark creations
re-arrange the familiar into something new and magical.
Lee spent his early days working with legendary producers Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid,
Joe Gibbs, Clancy Eccles and Prince Buster, and by 1968 he was an independent
producer, naming his studio musicians The Upsetters and scoring instrumental hits
with innovative rhythms that helped forge the new reggae style. In 1970-1971 he
produced what many consider the greatest works by the Wailers; in 1968 one of his
Upsetters productions hit #5 on the UK pop chart and more hits followed. That gave
him the funds to build his own studio and in 1973 the legendary Black Ark was born.
Among the many landmark classics cut at Black Ark are such incisive political
commentaries as Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon," and Junior Murvin's "Police and
Thieves" (covered by the Clash). The Congos' "Heart of the Congos" album is a roots
classic and there are many wonderful obscure singles such as Carlton and the Shoes'
"Better Days." Many dub creations made innovative use of Scratch's sonic wizardry via
echo, phasing, reverb, fanging, wah-wah and various sound effects.
It all came to an end in 1978 as Lee, besieged by extortionists, freeloaders, religious
fanatics and assorted pilgrims, let the studio lapse. And then he set it on fre, some
say due to frustration, others say from mental collapse. He left Jamaica, collaborated
with musicians around the world, toured as a sort of mystic trickster/ shaman and
prospered. But his work at Black Ark will always stand as his ultimate creative
achievement.
Ismael Pinkler lives in Buenos Aires. Belly Dance Services head Nick Hanzo in Vienna. Turns out the exact midpoint between the two is somewhere in open ocean. So they abandoned the plan to meet on Earth at all, and met on planet 126 in outer space.
It turned out to be a strange, hospitable little world — spinning at its own pulse, 126 beats per minute, changing landscape every few kilometers, as if it couldn't decide what kind of planet it wanted to be either. Ismael and Nick wandered it together, letting each new terrain talk them into a different song, until ten tracks had quietly assembled themselves. What they brought back drifts somewhere between shoegaze, techno, ambient, trippy tribal house and pop — grounded and gravitational, emotional and mental, to put it in terms Earthlings might understand.
Now, speaking seriously: Ismael and Nick built Planet 126 by passing sounds and ideas back and forth across the ocean, night after night, for eight months. The entire process — composition, vocal recording, production and mixing — took just eight months, a dream scenario for any electronic musician. The collaboration stayed positive, proactive and fresh throughout, letting the project move forward effortlessly. All tracks were written and produced by both musicians together; Nick wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocals, Ismael handled the mix. No samples, no references — just two people building a world from scratch.
Planet 126 also marks a milestone for Belly Dance Services: the label's 30th release, and likely its last. BDS began with BDS001, a vinyl EP by label founders Hanzo & Yaman, and has been solely helmed by Nick Hanzo for the past five years. Now it comes full circle — laid to rest with a big bang: a double vinyl gatefold album co-produced by Ismael Pinkler and label head Nick Hanzo.
Strut proudly presents the first release in almost a decade from the legendary Senegalese group Orchestra Baobab with Made In Senegal. Few groups embody the spirit of African music like Orchestra Baobab. Formed over 50 years ago as the resident band of the Baobab Club in Dakar, their timeless fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Wolof griot traditions, mbalax, Congolese rumba and jazz continues to resonate across generations and continents. Now, the celebrated big band marks a new chapter in their illustrious history with Made in Senegal, their first new studio album since Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng in 2017 for World Circuit. Released on respected imprint Strut Records in conjunction with Madoky Music, the new album celebrates home, heritage, love and resilience and was recorded entirely in Dakar. On Made In Senegal new songs sit effortlessly beside re-imagined classics. Lead single "Togne Bakhoul", composed by late Baobab vocalist Rudy Gomis is a poignant ode to his wife and "Tioro Bye Samba" reprises a classic Thione Seck song while "Casamance" celebrates the culturally rich Southern Senegalese region, homeland of several Baobab members. "Baobab 50 Ans" marks the 50-year anniversary of this indomitable group. Made In Senegal is another modern Baobab classic combining a fresh approach with roots fixed firmly in Senegal"s rich traditions. It is the perfect time for a new generation to discover the elegant, hypnotic sound of one of Africa"s greatest ever big bands.
For South Central’s premier singer, songwriter, and producer, success was never an overnight accident; it was a blueprint executed with meticulous precision. With his highly anticipated project, Labor of Love, Blxst delivers a masterclass in modern West Coast R&B and Hip-Hop, proving that true artistry requires both sweat and soul. The album serves as a sonic manifesto on the price of ambition, the weight of loyalty, and the delicate balance of maintaining romance while building an empire. It stands as a definitive evolution of the distinct sound Blxst pioneered, blending crisp, trunk-thumping 808s with soulful, nostalgic chords and his signature, effortlessly smooth vocal runs.
Entirely self-produced and co-written, Labor of Love bridges the gap between the sun-drenched grit of Los Angeles street culture and the vulnerability of late-night bedroom playlists. From the bounce of celebratory anthems to introspective, late-night drive confessionals, Blxst curates a tracklist that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. It explores the sacrifices made in the pursuit of greatness, paying homage to the sonic pioneers of LA while firmly cementing his own place as the vanguard of the city's modern sound. It is a celebration of independence and the self-made mentality, reminding listeners that he remains the chief architect of his own destiny.
Ultimately, Labor of Love is a testament to the grind, capturing the sleepless nights and tested relationships that pave the road to success. Blxst puts his heart on the line to show that the work itself is where the true passion lives, creating an album for the city, for his family, and for everyone who stays dedicated to their craft. More than just a collection of radio-ready hits, this project is a cohesive, cinematic experience from one of music's most reliable hitmakers. It is a definitive reminder that Blxst isn't just riding the wave—he is directing the current.
Circling a mountain until disappearing into the dance: this is the starting point of 10LEC6's new album.
Several years after Bone Bame, released on Ed Banger, 10LEC6 returns with an album that is both digital and organic, conceived as a euphoric journey where language is manipulated, repeated, stretched like a sentence that spins on itself until it becomes rhythm.
The title, Ako Akas, is the name of a peak in southern Cameroon, whose legend tells of those who attempt to circle it disappearing in an endless dance. A perfect image for this immersive, fluid music where each loop propels the next.
