Search:mak

Boogiemonsters were an American hip hop group composed of Bronx‑born rapper Mondo McCann, Alaskan native Vex Da Vortex (Sean Pollard), and Jamaican‑born brothers Myntric (Sean Myers) and Yodared (Ivor “Al” Myers). The members met while attending Virginia State University, quickly connected, and began recording demos and performing at campus events. Their early momentum led them to win first place at Howard University’s Hip‑Hop Convention.

Pendulum/EMI record label signed the four MCs and released their debut album Riders Of The Storm: The Underwater Album in 1994. The first single, “Recognized Thresholds of Negative Stress,” introduced their thoughtful, alternative approach to hip hop. It was followed by “Honeydips in Gotham,” a smooth tribute to the fly sistas of the city, and “Strange,” built around a slick Cameo sample. Another standout track, “Salt Water Taffy (Slo Jam),” is noted as one of the earliest non‑Roots session appearances by future producer Scott Storch.

Riders Of the Storm: The Underwater Album delivers a focused blend of rugged beats, sharp lyricism, and atmospheric production that stands apart in the 90s hip hop landscape. Its mix of conscious themes and deep grooves makes it essential for fans of underground hip hop. The album’s mellow, funky, alternative sound sits comfortably alongside groups like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, giving it a timeless place in the era’s most creative and forward‑thinking releases.

In recent years, Midge Ure has spent his time playing live and not has time to fully immerse himself in the studios creating music To that end A Man of Two Worlds is his first album of new material in 12 years. Well worth the wait, the album is a formidable collection of outstanding music, divided into two clear parts.

The first half, World One: Music, consists of eight instrumental pieces, while the second half, World Two: Songs, features eight vocal songs. This concept was partly inspired by the time Midge spent during lockdown listening to instrumental music whilst presenting THE SPACE on Scala Radio. Hearing music that rarely finds a home on mainstream radio, he set about making something without lyrics, where the melodies had to speak for themselves. The eight vocal songs which form the second part of the album, came to Midge as the world reopened. A more divided world, in many ways a much harder and less empathetic one. Sharing an atmosphere with the preceding instrumentals, these songs are incredibly sparse and meditative, and whilst they are subtle, with some songs dealing with the frailty of the human condition, underlying many songs reflect Midge's concerns for the discord infecting world today.

Belgian electronic body-music pioneers A Split-Second deliver an expanded reissue of their influential 1987 debut Ballistic Statues, a landmark of the New Beat and EBM movement. Blending dark electronics, cold-wave tension and precision-driven sequencing, the album helped define a pivotal moment in the late-80s European underground.

This new edition brings together all tracks from the original album and enhances them with essential recordings from the same era, including the band’s complete 1986 debut EP (A Split-Second), the cult Smell of Buddha, and additional period material.

Pressed in a limited run of 300 copies on black vinyl, the release comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes a reproduction of the original lyrics insert along an exclusive poster and one postcard.

Ballistic Statues remains a defining statement—raw, innovative and far ahead of its time. This reissue brings together the core foundations of A Split-Second in one essential collection making it ideal for both long-time followers and new listeners discovering the band.

SACRIVERSUM were formed in 1992 in Łódź (Poland), playing old school Death Metal with progressive elements and atmospheric sounds, making their complex mixture special and unique. Their debut album „The Shadow Of The Golden Fire“ was released in 1994, at a time when a lot of Death Metal bands started to push their boundaries and became more experimental. Their music was a perfect fit along with legendary bands like PESTILENCE, DEATH, GOREFEST & ATHEIST. And this counts for SACRIVERSUM and their upcoming new album „Before The Birth Of Light“ even more. „Before The Birth Of Light“ will be released on May 8th, by their new label FIREFLASH RECORDS (HOLY MOSES, WOLF, RUTHLESS a.o.) and is available on CD, limited vinyl and digital. The album stands for raw Death Metal, with those incomparable Hammond organs. Death meets Deep Purple. Their sound is a mixture of the above mentioned acts and is not too far apart from the latest BLOOD INCANTATION album. Both combine tradition with fiction. You have to hear and experience this Death Metal gem. Since 2022, SACRIVERSUM are back and continue, where they ended up with their debut album. Those nine new tracks on „Before The Birth Of Light“ are possibly the best songs SACRIVERSUM ever composed – once you got into it, they don’t let you go. It is a dark ride into another dimension, another time and another space. You are captured in their own world, in a time before the birth of light.

Myth? Legend? No need to pump this up, the music is self evident. As is the crew of Marfox, NK, Nervoso, Fofuxo, Pausas and Jesse, who shaped the universe as we know it. The simplest of elements for maximum (minimal) impact, an imperative burst of energy that perfectly echoes the title of Marfox's first EP: I Know Who I Am.

These are statements of personality directly stamped on the dancefloor. "Hard Tecno" (without the H, yes) embodies the crystal clear intention of the set: to light a fire wherever the beats fall. To make people smile and move. And this was (and is) achieved without the need for obvious smiley culture signposts. The music just came through with fierce enthusiasm. All were youngsters (Nervoso being the elder) in 2007, and youth is definitely a factor in the fearless display of bare bones dance music production. Raw, is it?

A second volume of DJs di Guetto on Príncipe was always going to happen. The tough part was deciding how to organize the bangers on the tracklist without ending up with a quadruple vinyl set. Thus separate volumes 1&2. Volume 1 (2023) was culled from the actual DJs di Guetto compilation (self released in 2006), whereas Volume 2 comes straight from the crew's archives, nearly 100% unreleased tracks produced in 2007.

The crew disbanded as such a long time ago, but the legacy stands as sacred scriptures stand. FL Studio and standard laptop and tower desktop PCs combined as raw materials; a no-fuss approach added by these DJs and producers who sound unequivocally rootsy and primeval, drinking from the source. Also punishingly minimal, dry and alien. Happy-sad, sweet-sour, nice-angry, soft-aggressive. Words fail us. It's 2026, new humans seem to beon the rise but some old ways are still enthralling.

Those albums that never age, that never cease to surprise with their innovative freshness—listen after listen—defying the years that go by.

Released in 2016, Heimat’s debut album is one of those records you love knowing is there on the shelf or on the turntable, like a reassuring talisman.

To mark its 10th anniversary, and such an awaited repress, we decided to honor this landmark album as it deserves: with a powerful remaster by Tioma Tchoulanov (UVB76, NzeNze) featuring enhanced dynamics, and an ultra-limited edition on blue splatter vinyl.

What a beautiful object this is, celebrating—alongside Armelle and Olivier Demeaux—ten years spent exploring the outer limits of music, in France and abroad, from SMAC venues to squats and other joyful initiatives.

Their deeply sincere music loses none of its naive tension; the emphasis is there, yet it remains restrained, contained, almost nervous, without any show of. Here, then, is something to make this fantastic album, a subtle milestone in a teeming musical landscape.

A fine achievement indeed!

East London producer and DJ IZCO announces his debut solo studio album ‘POWERSCROFT’, set for release on 1st May via Brownswood Recordings. The album’s first single, ‘Strike a Pose’ featuring the vocals of Camille Munn offers an early glimpse into the project. To celebrate the release, he will go on a run of UK dates from March to May, culminating at London’s Jazz Cafe.
Named after the road where he grew up, ‘POWERSCROFT’ marks a defining new chapter for an artist who has spent the past decade shaping the sound of UK dance music. Drawing from jungle, broken beat, grime, garage, soul and dub, the album channels the energy of the dancefloor while remaining deeply rooted in memory, instinct and identity. It captures what it feels like to be inside IZCO’s world, where thoughts, memories and influences collide.

Hailing from East London, IZCO is a producer and DJ spearheading a new generation that is bringing soul back to the dancefloor. Shaped by the rich musical heritage of his hometown, he has developed a sound that feels familiar yet forward-looking, diverse yet distinctly his own. That sound has taken him across the globe, from New York to Tokyo, alongside standout sets at We Out Here, Outlook and Glastonbury.

IZCO began his journey making grime beats for local rappers including Capo Lee, Novelist and Reek0, before becoming a key figure in the UK’s evolving garage and dance music landscape. In 2018, he launched his long-running Rinse FM show and released his debut EP Tek 5, earning early underground acclaim. His production credits include PinkPantheress’ breakout track ‘Passion’, created alongside Jkarri, as well as collaborations and remixes for artists such as Katy B and Greentea Peng.
Beyond his solo work, IZCO is a label head, promoter and co-founder of the Brighter Days Family, a collective built on community, craft and cooperation. With ‘POWERSCROFT’, he steps fully into the spotlight, presenting his most personal and fully realised body of work to date. “This album is about channeling my true musical personality and character,” he says. “I’m marking a new chapter by paying tribute to my foundations.”

Lady Jane Beach land on Slacker 85 with their lo-slung label debut, ‘Binman’. A short, sharp shot of minimal rhythm and rhyme, ‘Binman’ is the sound of the enigmatic London-based trio soundtracking their trips around the capital’s outer ringroads seeking adventure, trouble and corrupted drum machines. Blessed with loose, confident production and verses like glue, Slacker boss Seth Troxler doubles down on his support with a beefed-up, roadtested club edit.

An undisputed trailblazer of UK rave, Zed Bias fires up his studio for two contrasting takes on ‘Binman’, each capturing split sides of the soundsystem culture he helped define. Zed’s ‘Weighty Dub’ goes unapologetically raw, transitioning between skippy beats, heavy bass drops and a fusebox melody out of the darkness. From the basement straight through to the beach club, the ‘Nostalgia Mix’ makes good on its promise of misty-eyed reverie, recalling the first-wave of UKG domination with lush strings and steppin’ drums that still sound like a bright future.

From one generation to the next, fast-rising DJ and producer HalfPint is already familiar to dancers of Circoloco's famed Terrace and Garden. His take on ‘Binman’ finds a fresh frequency, converting the rhymes of the original into a precision-tooled tech house groove, primed for the summer season.

First Word Records proudly present the second single from Above The Clouds (aka kidkanevil & Magic Manfred), taking on another underground hip hop classic, 'Change'.

'Change' was originally performed by Shadez of Brooklyn, produced by Da Beatminerz and most notably appeared on DJ Premier's legendary 'New York Reality Check 101' mix compilation back in 1997.

This 7" vinyl release follows on from last Summer's MF DOOM cover 'Arrow Root', which received strong support from the likes of Japan's DJ Koco and Philadelphia's DJ Jazzy Jeff.

This new instrumental reinterpretation also features cuts by Leicester-based turntablist, Jon1st - a DMC World Online Champion, as well as being a producer & musician in his own right, collaborating on music with a number of hip hop, D&B and electronic artists.

One of the original First Word roster, UK Producer/DJ and all-round laptop music geek kidkanevil has developed a distinctive and progressive sound over the years, gleefully exploring the beats and bleeps of the electronic music universe to international recognition. Leeds born, sound system bred and raised on a (un)healthy diet of video games and anime, his solo work inhabits the curious space between bass frequencies and otaku culture. But as a devoted teenage backpack rap nerd, somewhere in the back of kid's mind was a lingering desire to reconnect with his first love, hip hop.

Not long after moving to Berlin he joined a studio space in graffiti plastered Kreuzberg, where he met multi instrumentalist wizard Magic Manfred; a disciple of all things boogie, disco, funk and soul. Born and raised in Berlin, and currently a touring musician for many an act, Manfred's musical map joins the dots from piano lessons at four, to starting a band with his teenage friends, leading him to his true calling - the bass - via the club vibrations of his hometown, which introduced him to the world of DJing and production, and a stint studying in the explosive London jazz scene to finalise his Jedi training.

Bonding over their mutual love of '90s hip hop, a friendship and musical kinship developed, coupled with a desire to honour past eras but push things forward, Above The Clouds was born; named after their joint favourite DJ Premier beat, with a touch of irony regarding their basement based studio of a windowless variety.

kidkanevil explains further "We started the project with a few covers, just as a way to get warmed up and in a certain creative headspace, of which 'Change' by Shadez Of Brooklyn was one. We both loved DJ Premier's 'New York Reality Check 101' mix when we were teenagers and this track was a favourite. The elements really lent themselves to live interpretation, and as an instrumental there was space to bring some nice movement with the bass and stuff. Hopefully we found the balance between paying tribute and finding our own pocket. For the final seasoning we hit up the homie and turntable wizard Jon1st to recreate the cuts, of which he did an immaculate job of course.

The b-side 'Urgh' is one of our favourite beats we've made so far; the title is just how it makes us feel! We actually recorded the piano with two iphones as left and right and it sounded kinda cool so we went with it..."

'Change / Urgh' is released on limited 7" vinyl & digital platforms, April 24th 2026.

Dam Swindle tap Kerri Chandler, Louie Vega, Folamour, Cinthie & more on 100th Heist release.

The ‘House of House’ V/a takes in nineteen all-new tracks from some of house music’s most revered names and new-school talent.

Dam Swindle present ‘House of House’, a triple vinyl V/a compilation marking the one-hundredth release milestone on Heist Recordings, landing on 8th May 2026. Across nineteen all-new tracks, ‘House of House’ reads like a roll call of modern house royalty.
The compilation features contributions from scene legends and contemporary torchbearers alike, including Kerri Chandler, Two Soul Fusion (AKA Louie Vega & Josh Milan), Folamour, Cinthie, Kolter, DJ Sneak, and Supershy, the dance music alias of Tom Misch, alongside rising talents like Papa Nugs, Lolu Menayed, and many more.

From the old-school magic of tracks like Dam Swindle’s ‘Back to the Old School’ feat. DJ Minx and Kolter’s ‘Need U, Want U’, to the jazzy, soulful depths of Kerri Chandler’s ‘Kerriousity’ and Superhy’s ‘Pyrenees’, to the peak-time energy of Papa Nugs & Mixolydian’s ‘Let Go’ and Elisa Elisa’s ‘Coco Coco’, the compilation captures the full spectrum of house sounds that have shaped the world of Heist Recordings over the past 13 years.

Launched in 2013, Heist Recordings has become a high benchmark for quality house music – a home for legendary artists like Cinthie and DJ Sneak, and a breeding ground for new talent from Kassian to Make`z. Dam Swindle have cemented their place among the upper echelons of modern house, with three critically acclaimed LPs, collaborations with the likes of Kerri Chandler, Tom Misch, and a relentless tour diary.

‘House of House’ reflects the ethos that has defined our label since day one: a home for house heads who bring genuine soul to club music, whether they’re legendary originators or new-school up-and-comers. Heist’s one-hundredth release is more than just a number – it’s a testament to the community, creativity, and legacy we’ve built, release after release.

As always enjoy the music and play it loud.

Much love, Heist HQ

Commitment is an inevitability. Guitarist Jake Smith and drummer Pierce Jordan knew each other for years as friends and musicians in Philadelphia who desired to explore a more straightforward and hard-hitting sound as songwriters in positions they’d played in the past, but never together. Smith and Jordan spent months playing together and getting a feel for each other’s styles and viewpoints, specifically not making choices about a name or which influences to prioritize until the lineup was complete. As plain as it is that Commitment is about creating a pathway to new experiences, it’s also about strengthening existing relationships. For the band, Smith dragged his lifelong friend Zach Bailey out of rock n’ roll retirement to take up bass guitar. While not wanting to make any immediate decisions about other members, Smith and Jordan knew they wanted someone who had never played in a band before. A newcomer in any position results in a fresh perspective and approach, and at the front of a band typically includes a raw energy that often can’t be reproduced. They found this in Tati Salazar. Tati had mainly existed as a solo musician under the name The Childlike Empress (now known as Le Siren) and had built a significant listenership doing so. True as can be to the world of music, but new to singing in a hardcore punk band, Tati jumped in feet first, fitting in so naturally as the band’s vocalist that the rest of the band initially struggled to practice or even correctly perceive their new material without them.

Towards an Expanse Follows the acclaimed 2020 collaborative album “Buffering Juju” with Kechou, a fellow South African musician and artist, lauded as Global album of the month and “a wonderfully inventive debut” in The Guardian.

Sometimes gospel, sometimes electro-psychedelic space travel, the project starts with a languid lament that whispers a close-to-the-ear invitation up and between the folds of what unfurls into an ever-expanding sonic universe.

Towards an Expanse began in 2019 at Figure 8 Studios (Brooklyn, NYC) under the generous guidance of Shahzad Ismaily. It was written in Port Alfred and Cape Town and matured in Berlin and has evolved into a companion, a pulsating vessel of grief, vitality, and reclamation. The album meditates on learning to live with damage while regaining autonomy over how Black life is archived: a dialogue between the artist, her ancestors,
voices like Miriam Makeba, Busi Mhlongo, Princess Magogo, Madosini, and the psychoacoustics of South Africa’s lore as a timeless technology. It brings these elders into a conversation with Dumama’s global orientation
and experimental sensibilities.

Every mother has a unique story. One thing is true for every mother, though: There’s no deadline quite like a pregnancy.

Award-winning Toronto singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell was pregnant with her first child when she booked studio time on Vancouver Island to make an album about motherhood. The nine songs on Shadow Child — one for each month of gestation — had to be ready before then, and her return flight was booked on the last day she could safely fly in her third trimester.

Working with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, Black Mountain), Lapell finished her songs in the studio and on rural walks beside the Pacific Ocean. She enlisted some of her favourite singers, all British Columbians, all mothers: Frazey Ford, Jill Barber, Pharis Romero. “They’re all people with unique, distinctive voices,” she says, “which is what I’m drawn to.”

Musically, Lapell was looking for a stark, acoustic sound, as opposed to 2024’s Juno Award-nominated Anniversary (recorded in Niagara with Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker) and 2022’s acclaimed Stolen Time (recorded in Montreal with Howard Bilerman, featuring E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons).

Lapell’s road to motherhood was fraught, involving years of IVF and a 2023 miscarriage — that she experienced on stage while on tour. (She finished her set.) Her son was born in November 2024. The song cycle of Shadow Child covers joy and loss, using metaphors from Maritime tragedy, “little cannibals,” reproductive health, acquiring language, and lives altered by the arrival of a newborn. The title track refers to ultrasound imaging of “a liminal person that doesn’t quite exist yet,” says Lapell. “Their status is ontologically blurry.”

A new release curated by Mystic Jungle, founder of Periodica Records, who - together with a small group of artists - has spent the past decade shaping a distinctive sound in his recording studio based in one of the most remote areas of Napoli.

This second release on the West Hill Music catalogue features the voice of American singer Roxana, alongside guitar contributions by Yugoslavian musician Igor Sekulović.

The A-side, "Can’t Make You Out", unfolds as a crepuscular track with a laid-back, exotic atmosphere, marked by subtle funk-rock influences. On the B-side, a stripped-down mutant-funk track built around electronic drums and a repeated vocal chorus leaves space for minimal arrangements and textured guitar lines to emerge.

Limited vinyl-only release.

There is a strong sense of craftsmanship throughout this release, hardware-driven, deeply textured, and full of character. MS14 brings together Myles Serge and Jamie Bissmire for a powerful journey into wonderfully raw, analog-rooted techno. And When the Sky Was Open captures the spirit of classic Detroit-infused machine music while pushing it forward with depth, soul, and precision. The record feels both timeless and immediate, balancing driving rhythm structures with a spacious, atmospheric edge that gives it a distinctive emotional weight. Rather than relying on sterile functionality, these cuts breathe with warmth, movement, and a human touch, making the record equally effective for deep listening and focused dancefloor moments. It is techno with substance: hypnotic, elegant, and uncompromising.

Markus Homm, the veteran Romanian DJ and producer who now lives in Nürnberg, drops a 3 tracker on the ever dependable Sublease Music. Cubicle is the perfect summation of Homm’s aesthetic - tight rhythms, heightened tension and precise sound design combining to make the perfect dance floor weapon.

Markus Homm, the veteran Romanian DJ and producer who now lives in Nürnberg, drops a 3 tracker on the ever dependable Sublease Music. Cubicle is the perfect summation of Homm’s aesthetic - tight rhythms, heightened tension and precise sound design combining to make the perfect dance floor weapon.

This is hypnotic music in the purest sense: elegant, fluid, and deeply immersive, built on patience, precision, and a rare understanding of tension. Rather than forcing impact, the EP unfolds with quiet authority, drawing the listener deeper with every cycle and every subtle shift. Romanian producer Barac has long been regarded as one of the key figures in the country’s minimal and microhouse continuum, known for his hypnotic, deeply detailed sound and for shaping a distinctive artistic identity around rhythm, space, and subtle emotional tension. What makes this release so special is its balance of restraint and depth. The grooves are understated but powerful, the atmospheres weightless yet emotionally charged, and the overall flow simply brilliant. It is exactly the kind of record that shows why Barac remains such an important name in contemporary minimal and deep club music: few artists can create this level of hypnosis with such finesse. Look at the cross is a genius release, sophisticated, timeless, and absolutely captivating from start to finish.

Weiter geht's mit den Ipecac ISIS-Neuauflagen: ,Wavering Radiant" ist das letzte Album der Band aus dem Jahr 2009, neu gemastert von James Plotkin. Die 2LP 140gr-Vinyl kommt in einer Tip-On-Gatefold-Hülle in zwei Versionen: Standard-Schwarzvinyl und eine Indie-Exklusivausgabe in Ultra Transparent. Das Album wurde von Joe Barresi produziert, und die Band hat sich knapp ein Jahr nach der Veröffentlichung getrennt. Das Album setzt die Tradition von Isis fort, lange Songs zu schreiben, weicht aber ein bisschen von der Soft-Loud-Dynamik und der Post-Metal-Ästhetik ab, die frühere Veröffentlichungen geprägt haben. Es wird allgemein als das zugänglichste Album der Band angesehen. Obwohl die Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr existiert, ist ihr Einfluss auf den Metal immer noch spürbar, und die Verkaufszahlen machen sie weiterhin zu einem der Top-Künstler von Ipecac. Continuing in our series of ISIS reissues, Wavering Radiant is the band's final 2009 release, remastered by James Plotkin. The 2LP 140gr Vinyl packaged in a tip-on gatefold jacket in two retail variants. Standard Black Vinyl and an Indie Exclusive Clear The album was produced by Joe Barresi, and the band split just over a year after its release. The album continues Isis' history of lengthy songwriting, yet presents a slight departure from the soft-loud dynamics and post-metal aesthetic which characterized previous releases. It is widely considered the band's most accessible release in their catalog. Although the band has been defunct for over a decade, their impact on metal is still reverberating, and sales continue to make it one of Ipecac's top artists.

Special 30th anniversary collector's (Limited) edition: a 3x12-inch Gatefold Green Coloured vinyl. This release offers a carefully curated retrospectiveof Furax' career, bringing together his most influential tracks alongside exclusive selections. Making it an essential piece for fans and collectors alike.