Buscar:matter

From his home city of Montréal, NO brings us synth infused with lyricism mapped over the dark undercurrent of an intensively driving beat. From vocals suffused with a compelling nihilistic charge, NO draws the listener into narratives with a somber core. This is synth unprocessed and raw edged, with an immediacy that goes straight to the heart of the matter. This album is a collaborative release with Kernkrach Records and TONN Recordings.

Trumpeter, rapper and sonic wanderer Pan Amsterdam has carved out one of the most distinctive voices operating at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop today.

Pan Amsterdam is a musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle. His creator is a jazz musician from Houston who’s found fame working with Detroit punk rock God, Iggy Pop, and British indie royalty, Metronomy, and now makes shapeshifting, adventurous hip hop out of the music’s spiritual home, New York.

He’s an irreverent character born out of frustration and named after a misunderstanding, yet one who’s on the verge of releasing his fifth album of truth-slaying, genre-crossing rhymes and beats. The result is a catalogue that feels both deeply rooted in Black American musical tradition and completely untethered by convention.

Pan Amsterdam returns with ‘Panarama’, his fourth full length album and a bold reassertion of his hip hop identity, released via Def Pressé. Created by Houston-born, New York-based musician and composer Leron Thomas, the record finds Pan Amsterdam embracing the harder edges of his sound while continuing to blur the lines between jazz improvisation, abstract rap, punk attitude, and experimental production

Written as a response to contemporary life and the endless cycle of information, conflict and distraction that defines modern culture, ‘Panarama’ unfolds as a stream of consciousness journey through hyper-normalised realities. Across sixteen tracks, Thomas navigates social commentary, personal reflection, absurdist humour, and cultural critique, delivering his observations with the same spontaneity and freedom that have become central to the Pan Amsterdam project

Lead single ‘Szechuan Beef’, produced by acclaimed collaborator 1FS, serves as one of the album’s defining statements. Built around Thomas’ signature free-flowing delivery, the track explores the overwhelming nature of contemporary life, where domestic conflict, social division, entertainment scandals and political discourse become flattened into a constant stream of content.

In Thomas’ own words: “My stream of consciousness style comes quite naturally to me due to the conditioning of scroll down culture where everything, no matter how minor or extreme, is hyper normalised.”

Elsewhere, the track ‘Vanilla Ice’ was written in response to widely publicised ICE killings and the speed at which tragedy is absorbed and forgotten within online culture. Thomas channels the anxiety and emotional disorientation of endlessly consuming information, allowing his thoughts to unfold in real time as social commentary collides with everyday digital noise. The result is both deeply personal and sharply observational, reflecting the fragmented reality of modern life. Other album highlights include the cinematic, Interpol-esque opener - ‘Old Friend’ complete with shimmering guitar lines and an far-reaching introspective, no-filter vocal as Thomas teams up with Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Brad Truax (Interpol) across multiple tracks, often the production traverses left-field indie territory, but always maintaining Pan Amsterdam’s unique musical identity throughout. For the hip hop purists and beats lovers there are plenty of riches to discover from the clever nostalgic sample flips of ‘Cutlery’, the sleepy lofi of ‘Shuriken’ and the wonky LA beat scene / early Flying Lotus era beats of ‘Drunken Noodles’ - all boasting quick witted lyricism. ‘Deep Fried Shiney Things’ explores early electro and industrial sonics while album finisher is an upbeat new wave / indie band cut which sees Thomas take a break from rapping, but of course never letting up on the sharp observations nonetheless


While his previous record explored more alternative territory, ‘Panarama’ marks a deliberate return to rap, as Pan Amsterdam explains:

“I just wanted to do a rap album again.I enjoyed making my last album, but I felt like rapping again. I like to have the freedom to move in between musical worlds that suit the current state I’m in. Frequency accommodating frequency.”

This philosophy runs throughout the album. Tracks move effortlessly between jazz-inflected arrangements, experimental beats, punk energy and underground hip hop aesthetics, allowing ideas to evolve organically rather than conforming to traditional structures. Thomas describes himself as an improviser first and foremost: “I think like an improvisor. That’s how my albums pretty much move. It’s improvisation.”

Featuring additional contributions from Spice Programmers, AnOtter and Mr. Shn, ‘Panarama’ presents a wide-ranging cast of collaborators while remaining firmly rooted in Thomas’ singular creative vision. The record embraces contradiction, humour and unpredictability, capturing fleeting thoughts and observations with the same freedom and spontaneity that define jazz improvisation itself.

A musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle, Pan Amsterdam has built a reputation as one of contemporary music’s true outsiders. The project emerged from frustration, experimentation and artistic freedom, with Thomas drawing equally from his background as a jazz musician and his collaborations with artists including Iggy Pop and Metronomy. Operating from New York while carrying the spirit of Houston’s musical heritage, Pan Amsterdam has developed a distinctive voice that sits comfortably between avant-garde jazz, underground hip hop and experimental music.

Reuniting with Def Pressé for ‘Panarama’, Thomas explores what he describes as the more hardcore side of his artistic identity:

“They let me do anything and everything I wanna do so long as it’s on audio, and I need that freedom. What may verbally be perceived as vulgar to one group of people may be very thoughtful and a poignant description of the times that we’re presently in, so I’m glad that I’m part of a label home that understands that.”

The third chapter of The Third Room's curator-led series is shaped by Verraco, one of the key voices behind a new generation of artists reshaping contemporary club music. Through his productions, DJ sets and his work with TraTraTrax, he has helped define a sound where hybrid forms, rhythmic experimentation and cross-cultural influences are pushing the genre into new territory. Structured across two distinct sides, the release draws a clear connection between past and present. The A-side leans into a deeper, more classic space, while the B-side moves towards a more forward-facing, hybrid sound. It opens with Libration (Stone Version) by Substance & Vainqueur, a revisiting of their landmark 2007 release, a track that helped define the language of Dub Techno as it is understood today. Reduced, deep and spatially precise, it established a blueprint for how rhythm, delay and tone could function together. It's presence here acts less as a nod to the past and more as a reminder of a foundation that continues to shape the genre. Skee Mask's Clear Sky 909 continues this thread, softening the edges without losing depth. Warm, enveloping textures and fluid movement give the track a sense of openness, balancing clarity with emotional weight. The B-side shifts perspective. On Untitled (Teamgeist Mix), Verraco, joined by Tils, delivers the record's defining moment - a dense, intricately designed piece built on a driving low-end and evolving rhythmic patterns. Elements from Techno, Bass and Leftfield House converge into a detailed, forward-moving structure that actively bridges cultural contexts. It results in a form of dance music shaped by technical precision, but drive.n by a clear sense of intent, marking a distinct expression of Verraco's current sound. Untitled by 1morning introduces a rolling, tribal-infused groove with a strong sense of depth, while PatumPa by Regal86 closes the record with a bright, loop-driven energy that leans into pure motion. Across both sides, the release moves between reference and progression. Rather than separating old and new, Verraco connects them - tracing a line from foundational Dub Techno to a more fluid, contemporary club language. Copyright 2026 The Third Room A1 Written and Produced by Peter Kuschnereit & Rene Loewe | A2 Written and Produced by Bryan Mueller | B1 Written and Produced by JP Lopez & Jakob Ferdinand Tils and mixed by Lurka | B2 Written and Produced by 1morning | B3 Written and Produced by Regal86 Mastered by Andreas Kauffelt (Schnittstelle Berlin) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

Season Two continues with its fifth edition - a shift south this time, from KiF's English hedgerows to the island of Lutruwita, Tasmania, and the work of Soda Lite.

A gooseberry plant took root in the sand between the bricks of Alex's back patio - nutrient-deficient leaves and all - and fruited regardless. That's most of the appeal: "I'm drawn to species that survive in the interstices of human industrialisation." The husk itself carries the same idea, shielding the berry until it's ready to be let go.

Past Soda Lite records - Earthbound, Aqua Solar Cura, Vale & Stone - built outward from field recordings first. Here that flipped: you can't field-record a plant, only the noise around it, so only two tracks (Vibrant Matter and An Sí Gaoithe) carry field sound at all. The rest came from narrowing to a single species instead of the wider non-human world, and "trying to create and replicate sound and energy on the level of the plant and its perceptive world."

Two more things worth knowing. ‘Bryn Celli Ddu’ takes its name from a Neolithic burial chamber in Wales, aligned so the summer solstice sunlight reaches its back wall - the sun turning up again as its own recurring character. And ‘An Sí Gaoithe (Return)’ is a reworking of a Vale & Stone title, old fragments reprocessed into something new - "a bit like composting."

Soda Lite is the recording project of Alex Last, a gardener and composer working from Lutruwita on unceded Palawa land. Their music moves through field recordings gathered directly from the island's own biomes - coastline, forest, alkaline lake bed - alongside slow, warbling synth work, built less as backdrop than as document: proof of a specific place, at a specific time, being listened to closely. Past records have taken their titles and themes from geology and land relationships as often as botany - Aqua Solar Cura, Earthbound, Vale & Stone - so a plant with its own mineral-adjacent etymology (soda, found in dried alkaline lakebeds; lite, from the Greek for stone) suits the pairing.

The songs of Jules de Corte are condensed, folky gems with an almost effortless charm. Poised between the intimate and the universal, between lightness and darkness, they touch on religion, love, loss, and the small dramas of everyday life. Yet they resist easy translation. Packed with wordplay, de Corte’s signature alliterations, humor, and local cultural references, the songs inevitably lose something in another language. Still, when a Belgian quartet of improvisers takes them on, joined by American songwriter Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, the songs are reborn rather than merely transposed: literal fidelity gives way to interpretation, and what is lost in words is often gained in spirit.

Even without tracing every change, their overall effect is fascinating. Songs are slowed down, often doubled in length, and filled with unexpected musical intrusions. They gain fuller arrangements and are placed in an entirely new context. Replacing de Corte’s piano with guitar can create a radically different vibe, as in “Mariska.” An added solo can heighten the contrast between childlike perspective and the almost matter- of-fact brutality of “Little Anita.” In “The Stranger,” another use of contrast unsettles the everyday harmony, transforming it with a subtle, disorienting twist.

Ultimately, these performances show that interpretation is not successful simply because it is literal. With the groundwork laid by Linus, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy further liberated the songs from their original versions. Lyrics and melodies become malleable, shaped by his recognizable cadences, timbre, and personal quirks. Like his collaborators, he allows himself the freedom to bend the material to his own approach. There is no radical break between this performance and his other records. Listeners familiar with the originals may be puzzled at first; for those new to de Corte, it is a wholly different experience.

Does it really matter that the original “Little Jesus, Mighty God” is a 100-second nugget combining playful naivete with biblical fervor? In the hands of these five explorers, the song becomes an intriguing contemplation, with subtle musical shades and a recitation in which every syllable carries a maturity that offers a new perspective. Then there is “The Outsider,” which feels as genuine as any original American folk song. The musicians’ process is more than reinterpretation—it is reimagination, bringing new musical compatibility and emotional depth. Whether that depth was there from the start, waiting to be uncovered, or created in the process is beside the point. What matters is that Linus and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have made the essence of these songs their own, paying homage yet dancing to their own tune.

Linus is the Belgian duo of guitarist and banjo player Ruben Machtelinckx and reedist and synthesiser player Thomas Jillings. Across five previous albums — Onland (2014), Linus + Skarbø / Leroux (2015), Felt Like Old language at the crossroads of folk, jazz, minimalism, chamber music and free improvisation. Their music is adventurous, shaped by a particular sensitivity to texture, timbre and the subtle interaction between musicians.

What began as a duo gradually grew into a flexible musical world, bringing Linus together with musicians such as Nils Økland, Ingar Zach, Niels Van Heertum, Øyvind Skarbø and Frederik Leroux. Yet each new constellation has remained recognisably Linus: music in which carefully considered forms leave space for intuition, interaction and the unexpected.

For their sixth album, Linus takes a new step by moving into the world of song and text. Inspired by a shared love for the late Dutch songwriter Jules De Corte, the album is a reimagining of De Corte’s unique repertoire. More than simply interpreting De Corte’s songs, they absorb and reshape them, bringing them into dialogue with their own musical language. In keeping with this open approach, they are joined by celebrated vocalist Bonnie “Prince” Billy. With albums such as 1999’s I See a Darkness appearing on several greatest album lists, Bonnie “Prince” Billy is a cult figure in the alternative folk scene, and his highly intuitive way of singing seamlessly matches the subtle interplay Linus has developed over more than a decade.

‘Unfindable Ring', out October 23 on Bayonet Records, is an adventurer’s epic. The arc of the journey, like any good Spirited Away or Neverending Story, lands its wide-traveled protagonist right back at home before bedtime. Grumpy, like many great hero tricksters before him, has always been a project of juxtaposition: upbeat radio-ready hits whose buoyant, goofy hooks belie the dark thoughts they describe. Much of this, Schmitt acknowledges, owes its due to the matter-of-fact morbidity of the trans experience in America. It’s from these experiences—personal, romantic, political, and existential—that the tale of ‘Unfindable Ring’ unfolds.
Ambition and play have always defined the Grumpy sound. Late last year, the Fader praised their “demented, hooky” EP, “Piebald,” whose innovative fuzz-pop confections earned them coverage in NPR and the New York Times. Stereogum heralded them as “wonderfully weird,” and Paste designated them “the best of what’s next.”” Through boisterous collaborations with the likes of Sidney Gish and Claire Rousay, they’ve effortlessly ingratiated themselves with the titans of DIY, and, more recently, Schmitt has become an unlikely favored collaborator of chart-topping country giant Zach Bryan, who named his new record––which prominently features Schmitt’s harmonies–– conspicuously, ‘With Heaven On Top.’
In Grumpy, Heaven Schmitt is joined by Anya Good, Ellie Long (Kid Lake), Austin Arnold, Diego Clare (D.A. Crimson), and Lane Rodgers, who each contribute to every step of the process—engineering and recording, mixing, drafting artwork, producing, and making music videos. A kind of interdisciplinary thieves’ guild, the project, while once Schmitt’s solo eponym, is a labor of communal love.
“We are living these happy lives, and there are people we come across who don’t know us at all who want us to die,” Schmitt, explains. Often the visibility of the joy itself is what prompts the vitriol––“I’m so happy I could die,” Schmitt belts over and over on the chorus (a familiar figure of speech, sure, but one which, upon any scrutiny, shows Schmitt’s hand in the macabre.) A middle finger to fate, Good started asking, “What are you going to do with your One Beautiful Life?” Grumpy is going to keep playing, touring, searching, finding.

“Negative Music / The Poorest! If they still know silence at all, then only as holes in the continuum of noise…” — Günther Anders, 1965

Editions Mego presents GETGETGET, a new release by Thomas Brinkmann which serves as an inquiry into silence, code, and the limits of perception.

The title GETGETGET references the trilogy of ‘Get’ lp’s made by Rehberg under his PITA moniker; Get Out, Get In and Get On. The music is based on material by Rehberg and Brinkmann morphing these two identities into a third colour, a disappearing color.

Emerging from a live performance at the label’s 30th anniversary in Berlin, the work unfolds as both sonic artifact and conceptual system: a study in what remains when sound is reduced, extracted, and reconstituted.

Taking inspiration from Günther Anders’ notion of “negative music”—composition through absence—Brinkmann’s approach aligns with Heinrich Böll’s idea of “collected silence”: silence not as void, but as a material framed against the constant pressure of noise. In GETGETGET, pauses are not gaps but structural elements, cut from a continuum and reinserted as signals.

The two side long tracks weave a dark abstract and ‘twisted’ presence where the ghosts of the machines and their operators fuse into a fantastical whole. One can hear traces of both Brinkmann and Rehberg logic which seems to fuse in a hallucinatory manner.

Brinkmann’s work reflects a broader condition: the translation of material processes into informational ones. As images detach from bodies and code separates from matter, sound too loses its fixed resonance. What remains is circulation—of signals, of data, of meaning—within systems that increasingly define perception itself.

GETGETGET is an album where absence is equal to presence, a metaphor with suggestive tones of the influence Rehberg had and continues to have in the world of the radical experimental electronic avant garde. The “zero” is not empty; it is what makes everything else work.

Released in 2024 via the usually way darker and oftentimes Hardcore / Breakcore oriented Flop Beat Disk label is this widely unrecognized 10" gem which harks back to the golden oldschool era of German HipHop vibewise.

The Munich-based duo of Misanthrop & Pay No Attention lays down a foundation of positive sample-laden grooves, pays respect to the classic BoomBap sound at times, adds a trippy, dreamy and well psychedelic vibe to their production effort and tops things off with conscious German flows and lyrics aimed at dedicated oldskool HipHop headz from all over the globe. No matter if one understands German or not - if you understand the true spirit of HipHop this is for you.

Never officially distributed before this is the first time ever this unrecognized gem is available to a wider audience, albeit in highly limited quantities.

Limited pressing of 100 copies on yellow transparent vinyl.

Für manche zu gewagt, für andere unwiderstehlich - Twin Temple haben sich zu kulturellen Provokateuren und zu einer der meistdiskutierten Crossover-Bands der Musikszene entwickelt. Entstanden in einer der dunkelsten Phasen im persönlichen Leben der Bandmitglieder, ist ,DOOMED LOVERS" ihr bisher intimstes und emotional offenstes Werk. Das Album erweitert die filmische Bandbreite ihres unverwechselbaren Sounds und bleibt dabei doch verwurzelt in den zeitlosen Traditionen des frühen Rock 'n' Roll; es gilt als das bislang ambitionierteste und am besten umgesetzte künstlerische Statement der Band. ,DOOMED LOVERS" markiert das bisher kühnste Kapitel von Twin Temple. Produziert vom GRAMMY-preisgekrönten Produzenten Shooter Jennings im legendären Studio 3 bei Sunset Sound in Hollywood, setzt das Album das Bekenntnis der Band zur klassischen analogen Aufnahme fort und erweitert gleichzeitig ihre Klangpalette durch üppige Orchesterarrangements, die von einem 37-köpfigen Orchester eingespielt wurden.

Für manche zu gewagt, für andere unwiderstehlich - Twin Temple haben sich zu kulturellen Provokateuren und zu einer der meistdiskutierten Crossover-Bands der Musikszene entwickelt. Entstanden in einer der dunkelsten Phasen im persönlichen Leben der Bandmitglieder, ist ,DOOMED LOVERS" ihr bisher intimstes und emotional offenstes Werk. Das Album erweitert die filmische Bandbreite ihres unverwechselbaren Sounds und bleibt dabei doch verwurzelt in den zeitlosen Traditionen des frühen Rock 'n' Roll; es gilt als das bislang ambitionierteste und am besten umgesetzte künstlerische Statement der Band. ,DOOMED LOVERS" markiert das bisher kühnste Kapitel von Twin Temple. Produziert vom GRAMMY-preisgekrönten Produzenten Shooter Jennings im legendären Studio 3 bei Sunset Sound in Hollywood, setzt das Album das Bekenntnis der Band zur klassischen analogen Aufnahme fort und erweitert gleichzeitig ihre Klangpalette durch üppige Orchesterarrangements, die von einem 37-köpfigen Orchester eingespielt wurden.

Phenomena begins with two artistic voices that seem to speak different languages. Barcelona-based producer R-010 (Lucas Rojo) approaches composition through rhythm, space and electronic transformation; Madrid-born vocalist and multidisciplinary artist Venerandi through texture, breath and the expressive possibilities of the human voice. By the time the album reaches its final moments, that distinction has quietly disappeared.

Rather than functioning as a meeting point between two individual practices, Phenomena gradually
becomes a third language—one that belongs to neither artist alone. Voice no longer sits above the music
but moves inside it, dissolving into layers of synthesis, percussion and guitar until performance itself
becomes another malleable sound source. Likewise, electronic production never behaves as a fixed
environment; it constantly adapts, absorbs and responds, allowing acoustic gestures and digital
manipulation to reshape one another in real time.

This continuous transformation defines the record more than any particular genre ever could. Echoes of trip hop, bass music, psychedelia and experimental electronics drift across its surface, yet they are never
presented as stylistic markers. Instead, they appear as temporary states within an ecosystem that remains
in constant motion, where dense rhythmic passages collapse into suspended atmospheres and moments
of stillness carry as much weight as those driven by pulse.

The presence of Matteo Caro (guitar and percussion), Pablo Gorostiaga (guitar) and Alessio Rodolico
(percussion) further expands this dialogue. Their contributions are not decorative additions but structural
ones, gradually dissolving the distinction between composition, improvisation and production. Instruments
emerge, mutate and disappear inside the same sonic fabric, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish
what was performed from what was transformed.

With Phenomena, Lapsus Records presents a work that feels less interested in crossing genres than in
questioning the borders between artistic identities themselves. The album never asks the listener to decide
where the human ends and the machine begins. Instead, it quietly suggests that, after enough careful
listening, the question itself may no longer matter.

This is more a relic than a record. A token of respect to the music that made me who I am. Everything I do starts here — the urge to pull songs I love into the club shape I play today, for one reason only: to make someone else feel what I feel when I hear them. Two techno improvisations, ANG and OSC, built on two songs that mattered enormously to me and to electronic music — bands that started their own revolutions, in their own time, mostly off to the side of the mainstream.

These came out too good to keep to myself. Vinyl only. 300 copies. No repress, ever. First come, first served. Bandcamp and selected stores. No digital, no promos — this one stays sealed.

Only Music Matters continues its staunchly no-frills approach to releasing music under the eponymous production moniker and with no fancy track titles, but a high-quality and weighty vinyl pressing designed for serious club business. 'AAA001A' is a beefy minimal cut with voices turned into ghostly trails that shimmer amid dusty percussion in a sleek tech groove that dances just above the floor. 'BBB001B' has a bubbly feel thanks to airy pads that gently circle the zoned-out and dubby groove. 'BBB002B' is a more heads-down flip that revels in great snares and funky double kicks.

2026 Repress

Multi-faceted artist Calibre today shares his sixteenth studio album "Feeling Normal". The album is out now to pre-order on Vinyl, CD and on digital platforms via his own independent imprint Signature Recordings.

The record is his first bonafide 140bpm record and a staggering body of work that shows the genius levels of one of electronic music's most respected auteurs. Across the 13 tracks, he transcends through space and time, creating music that will take the listener on a weighty sonic journey. The album announcement is accompanied by two dub versions "Bad" and "Badder" deconstructed from the track "Badman" with DRS from Mark Ernestus available via his Hardwax store January 29th and Bandcamp February 12th. "Getting to work with Mark Ernestus is a real honour, I collected Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound and his other work for many years and still do. It's hard to avoid the influence of this guy in electronic music across genres and so it is a real pleasure to have him do his thing with the Badman tune which I think sounds closely related."

All of the tracks on the record have been road-tested in Calibre's DJ sets over the last 2/3 years with many of them being sought-out by his hardcore fans. It was only a matter of time then that he put them out for all to consume. With a nod to the dancefloor, the clear idea for the album came about following the release of his most personal album to date "Planet Hearth". "It still works in the headspace but ultimately it's been written for the sweaty club experience we miss now, also after an album like Planet Hearth it felt very liberating to do," he remarks. When writing albums, he often just puts it down to the general chaos of life, not citing any one influence but generally just waits to see what comes. With one of the tracks on the album written 7 years ago on the island of Valentia, It became a project that he spent the intervening years collecting tracks for, not really knowing when he was going to put it together as an album. "The whole album is special to me, everything on there has import and meaning beyond for me, I have spent much time on all these and hope they are special for other people too."

Belfast-born, Berlin-based Calibre - AKA Dominick Martin - shows no sign of slowing down. As a producer, DJ, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter, he is one of the most unique and inspiring living artists. With a career spanning two decades, his ability to remain underground whilst being one of the most-respected is testament to who this enigmatic artist is. To this day, he has never been remixed and has a seriously impressive amount of unreleased music under wraps. With everything on hold and gigs on the backburner, this record is exactly what the world needs right now.

DJ Support: Glenn Underground, Crazy P, Terry Farley, Aroop Roy, Chris Coco, Frank Tope, Greg Wilson, Dom Servini, Francois K, Max Essa, Oliver Dollar, Pete Herbert and many more

Danny Ward’s Balaphonic project, one of many the long-serving performer, producer, percussionist, drummer and DJ has utilised over a career spanning over three decades, has evolved considerably since his first release under the alias 11 years ago. Conceived as a platform to explore his love of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian musical culture, it gathered new impetus during lockdown and the recording of superb first album Resolution Revolutions, which fused these influences with nods to Balearica, dub, dancehall and deep house.

On the Organic Matters EP, Ward’s follow-up to that critically acclaimed set, the Balaphonic musical universe has expanded once more, with the Manchester native showcasing a wealth of eye-catching collaborations and an even more intricately layered and sonically detailed sound rich in live percussion and instrumentation. It’s an ambitious and widescreen musical vision wrapped in sun-soaked melodies, morning-fresh motifs and simmering, sunset-friendly soundscapes.

The dizzying new heights scaled by Ward on Organic Matters is evident from the opening bars of ‘Dew Drops’, a piece created in unison with internationally renowned composer and arranger Robin Dewhirst. Between them, the pair have conjured up a yearning, life-affirming samba shuffler where picturesque piano, xylophone and balafon melodies rise above Ward’s dense, layered Latin percussion and warming bass.

Next, Ward delivers a thrillingly different take on his 2005 composition ‘Switch’, featuring legendary Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim and her equally talented daughter Diana Moreira Booker. Whereas that was a jazzy deep house workout, Ward’s Balaphonic re-make is a shuffling, gentle exploration in 7/4 time – a heartfelt tribute to the Brazilian records with which Purim first made her name in the 1960s and ‘70s.

‘Balaventurers’ sees Ward join forces with an old friend from the North-West scene, R.S.L founder Joe Botham AKA Baleardelica – a multi-instrumentalist and producer whose Flamenco-inspired acoustic guitar motifs provided the starting point for another vividly colourful exploration rich in layered vocalisations, twinkling keys and impeccably arranged percussion.

It’s followed by ‘Life of Strings’, a more up-tempo and dancefloor-leaning excursion written and recorded alongside Amsterdam-based violinist, and composer Katya Gabeli. While Ward’s percussion-rich groove provides propulsion and a rock-solid foundation, it’s Gabeli’s evocative string arrangement that provides the focal point and emotional resonance. It’s a genuinely brilliant collaboration.

To round off a second stunning Balaphonic release on NuNorthern Soul, Ward delivers two simmering, slow-motion delights: the Afro-Cuban rhythms, cascading melodies and melodic percussion motifs of ‘Boxfresh’, and stunning EP closer ‘Home’ – an almost overwhelmingly poignant and beautiful number that gently ebbs and flows on waves of tracked piano, dreamy chords and a comforting sense of closure. It’s a genuinely sublime conclusion to another wonderful Balaphonic release.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s that time of year again! Are your copies of “Now! That’s What I Ca l Christmas” and “A Motown Christmas” finaly feeling worn out? Strut has the ideal antidote this year, as we dive into the world of festive records made by African artists spanning the late 1960s to the 1980s with our new Krismasi: Christmas Sounds From Africa compilation.

Taking in music from across the continent from Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa and Zimbabwe, Krismasi draws from a wide range of sounds from fun novelty records and spur-of-the-moment jams to spiritual and gospel favourites. Featured artists include Ghanian great Kwadwo Donkoh with a meditative highlife praise song from his much-loved Christmas Africana album. Elsewhere, pop star turned pastor, Jerry Boifraind, has some fun with a song celebrating seeing friends at Christmas and Nigerian pop favourite Martha Ulaeto features with the lilting lead track from her own Christmas Africana release. We pick out some choice Central and East African sounds with Kakai Kilonzo’s bri liant Kilimambogo Brothers Band and Congolese legend Baba Gaston’s Orchestra Baba National capturing the joy of the festive season. We stop off in Zim for a rare Dorothy Masuka acoustic piece and one of the country’s great musicians post-independence, Paul “Dr. Love” Matavire with ‘Christmas Yaswedera’ (‘Christmas Is Near’). Township jazz star Reggie Msomi appears with a joyous township instrumental and, fina ly, we couldn’t release a Christmas co lection without some carols. Here we include here a great version of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ by UK-based Nigerian highlife musician Flash Dominci and a hi-octane funky medley of favourite festive hymns by Ghana’s Oscar Suley.

The compilation is the first in-depth co lection of rare African Christmas recordings, uncovering a rich and often overlooked chapter of the continent's musical history. Krismasi is available on Red & White Inkplosion Vinyl LP and CD. Vinyl restoration is by Colin Young at See Why Audio, mastering is by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, and the album features striking new artwork by Liam Large.

Hailing from Sweden, Obergman operates somewhere in the space between deep electronics, Detroit-influenced machine music, and late-night dancefloor hypnosis. Since the mid 90’s, his unique explorations in sound and groove have seen him release on such esteemed labels as Skam, Börft, Abstract Forms and most recently Craigie Knowes and Orson Records.

For his debut release on Cyphon Recordings, Obergman delivers four cuts of atmospheric, machine-driven music under the suitably cosmic title Periodic Motion.

Norwegian instrumental art/prog/post-rock quintet The Samuel Jackson Five return with their first full length album in nearly a decade, "A Passage to Elsewhere", it's their most expansive and exploratory work to date, and the first release in collaboration with Norwegian label Karisma Records. Drawing from Kosmische Musik, '70's progressive rock, vintage library music, the jazz-inflected post-rock of Chicago and Toronto, imaginary folk, and experimental electronica, the result is a rich sonic tapestry. Rather than building towards predictable crescendos, "A Passage to Elsewhere" unfolds as an adventurous evershifting melodic journey, inviting the listener deeper in with each turn.

With one foot in the Mexican underground rock scene and the other one in the global tape trading circuit, Las Ánimas del Cuarto Obscuro found themselves in the middle of a crossroad after their first LP. México wasn´t the same country as when the band first started. Even though access to non-commercial music still was a difficult task in the late eighties, the fringes of culture had way more resources thanks to the stubbornness of certain anonymous heroes: dwellers of El Tianguis Cultural del Chopo, niche record stores, illegal underground parties and hosts of late night Mexican public radio shows.


Ubiquitous social unrest expressed itself in every way possible. The aftermaths of the 1985 earthquake weren’t the only matters on the table. Protests erupted after a rigged presidential election and a student strike hit Mexico’s biggest public university. This was just the tip of the iceberg of issues PRI’s perfect dictatorship was or wasn’t addressing. The clash of the authoritarian regime against new and fresh ideas.


If the first record was about the loneliness of self-destructive youth and it’s urban phantasmagories, LACO’s second LP dealt with change as the axis of human existence. Las Ánimas is just the beginning of the sonic metamorphosis Toño Sánchez went through until this very moment.
The departure of former bandmembers set a different approach towards more experimental and atmospheric sounds. As the project’s only member, Toño Sanchez took an alchemical trip aiming for more mysterious horizons.


Despite the fact that we can still find conventional dark pop and catchy songwriting, the record rests on sound landscapes closer to Jorge Reyes or Tuxedomoon and This Heat than the orthodox ways of so called post-punk, seasoned of course with the lack of music gear and the economic reality prevalent in Mexico of those convulsed times.


Las Ánimas is a goodbye letter to underground but not because the next move is the mainstream. Far away from it, it’s a farewell to traditional rock and a the first steps down into the depths. From now on, Toño Sánchez will dedicate his musical efforts to weirder sounds and scarcer audiences in the search of the arcane, possessed by a mania of constant change that infects the soul after crossing the black door’s threshold.

There are two version of the LP - limited to 100 numbered copies with transparent wax and classic black wax edition. Both 180g with special OBI strip.

Maciej Envee Goliński is an artist who probably needs no introduction. He has been working with U Know Me practically since the label's inception. His last album ("Time & Light") made a huge impact worldwide, but we had to wait eight years for the next vinyl release. In the meantime, Maciej has certainly been busy – he has released numerous club singles under several aliases, and has helped record and mix numerous albums from the world of jazz, soul, and electronica. "Wyszymory" is a carefully crafted concept album, inspired by our roots. "Wyszymory" is an album on which every open-minded listener will find something that has been playing in their soul for a long time...


"Of all things visible and invisible, my life is most filled with music and a fascination with sound. It matters not whether they are natural or artificial, isolated or resonating through space. Sounds that evoke
memories, as well as those entirely new. Some of them have resonated unchanged for thousands of years. Certain resonances and rhythms have remained unaltered for generations so distant that they have left no other trace in human civilization.

This bond with our ancestors truly fascinates me. Ever since I realized it, I have become more attuned to inspiration. Listening to traditional and classical music, I kept finding new anchor points. I was constantly surprised by new invitations to ponder what connects – or divides – the pulse of our region’s traditional music with the rhythms of Africa, the tribes of the vast East, or the frozen North. My great authority, Tomasz Stańko, in interviews conducted by Tomek Michałowski, used beautiful parables of love and creativity to bring me closer to the ­Cro-Magnon cave artists. The Icelandic literary magician Andri Snær ­Magnason, in his book On Time and Water, captivated me with the fascinating observation that through emotional contact, words, ideas, or memory, we reach back and forward two or even three generations – spanning a period of about 270 years. Then there is Sam Kowalski, who with his wonderful obereks played on the gitalele, took me on a hypnotic journey, from which one returns with a deep admiration for the art of musical storytelling, passed down from generation to generation. Finally, my own children surprise me with talents, behaviors, and increasingly distinct features of those generations that now dwell only in my hazy memory and on old photographs.

I wanted the protagonists of this album to be the very phenomena that modern humans share with their ancestors, ­regardless of the level of civilization. Most vital among them is the relationship between humans, nature, and their own emotions. Wyszymory has nothing to do with an academic study, though I did delve into Slavic mythology, archaeology, and history in search of inspiration. Nor is it an album of traditional music, even if such music is present thanks to wonderful instrumentalists. I managed to invite artists who cross boundaries daily, working not only with Polish music but also with Hindu and African traditions, and even jazz, with its long history of blending influences. Naturally, the album became a kind of sonic comic book, where individual scenes and stories – the sounds, pulsations, and ideas on how to use them – came to me over time, often under unique circumstances and in inspiring contexts."
Envee

The annual Bonkers Music compilation is back with another dose of high-energy bangers. For its seventh anniversary, the series takes a fresh step forward, exploring a slightly evolved musical direction while keeping the distinctive sound that defines it. “Year VII” lands on 12” vinyl.

A1 David Meyer & Ludviq – Mandanga 2.0 (Feat Nick Hanzo)

The collaboration between Ludviq and David Meyer strikes a compelling balance between tension and movement. Drawing from underground electronic influences, Mandanga 2.0 evolves through hypnotic layers, acid-driven momentum, and a powerful groove, resulting in a distinctive cut that feels both immersive and uncompromising. Mandanga 2.0 is a dark, hypnotic electronic track built around squelching acid sequences, deep rolling grooves, and haunting vocal elements from Nick Hanzo. Atmospheric textures and a relentless rhythmic drive create a tense, immersive journey through shadowy soundscapes, blending raw energy with a refined sense of space.

A2 Neskeh – Liquid Sky

A raw trip built entirely around samples from Liquid Sky, Neskeh’s one of all-time favorite films. Crunchy saturated highs, basement-shaking low end, heroin-soaked wonky vocals, and freaky alien leads drifting through the mix. A warped tribute to an iconic soundtrack. Welcome to the space trippy club

A3 Your Reference – Afterparty

Julia Konor aka “Your Reference” one of the hidden gems of Barcelona’s underground scene, lands for the first time on the label with “Afterparty”
”Afterparty” draws inspiration from abandoned industrial spaces, empty warehouses, and nights where the only thing that mattered was the music. No rules, no expectations. Just raw energy, dusty air, concrete, and people completely immersed in the moment. The track is a personal postcard from that world.

B1 Lebollet & Mar Bravo – Aleta

“Aleta” is one of those Colombian words that somehow made its way into our shared language. We use it for raw, intense, dark tracks. Hard to translate. Makes sense when you feel it.

B2 Funboys – Skin In The Game

“Against the persistent ebb and flow of a breaking heart’s pulse, echoes of half-faded memories tease your attention… On the edge of forgetting, you can almost remember. And then it hits you – the coalescence of feeling into colour and form, warm in its familiarity, powerful in its simplicity. Uncanny, because it was right there all along. Don’t hold your breath… Listen!”

B3 Milla Campollo – Brote Psicodélico

“Brote Psicodélico” emerges from a hypnotic intersection of acid rhythms, psychedelic textures and raw downtempo energy. The track slowly unfolds through repetition and movement, creating a constantly evolving state between tension and release. Dark, trippy and physical, it is built around a groove that pulls you deeper with every layer. Distorted elements and acidic patterns weave in and out of the rhythm, giving the track an organic yet alien character. A journey designed for listening, less about following a linear narrative and more about entering a state of mind, where the boundaries between rhythm, body and psychedelia begin to blur.

The final chapter of The Third Room's curator-led series is shaped by GiGi FM, an artist whose work moves fluidly between club functionality, emotional storytelling and immersive sound design. Through her productions and performances, she has developed a distinct language where rhythm, atmosphere and movement exist in constant dialogue. For the closing chapter, the focus lies on cohesion. Bringing together artists connected through a shared sensitivity for groove, detail and space, the release unfolds through percussive structures and atmospheric elements that move with clarity, depth and intention. The Half Bearded Man by Fergus Sweetland opens the record. A rough yet detailed rhythmic framework, syncopated percussion and a rolling bassline create forward motion, while softer elements and a subtle vocal layer introduce a contrasting sense of lightness, drawing the listener into the track. On Shark Attak, D-Leria places percussion at the centre, but with a more restrained approach. Polyrhythmic bleeps and high-frequency sweeps weave around the groove, maintaining depth and tension without becoming intrusive, giving the track a quiet but persistent drive. The B-side opens with one of its defining moments: Anukari, a collaboration between Efdemin and GiGi FM. Bringing together two distinct approaches, the track unfolds as a layered and atmospheric piece: detailed percussion, connecting textures and subtle melodic fragments create a sense of depth that feels both modern and slightly otherworldly, while remaining inviting and grounded. Closing the record, Even by Fireground reduces the elements further. Warm chords and a restrained rhythmic core create an open, enveloping space, balancing softness with tension and allowing the track to unfold with a quiet sense of momentum. Across all four tracks, the release remains tightly cohesive: built on groove, space and carefully placed detail. As the final entry in the series, it shifts the focus from structure to flow, offering a closing chapter that feels immersive, connected and complete. A1 Written and Produced by Fergus Sweetland | A2 Written and Produced by Giuseppe Scaccia | B1 Written and Produced by Giulia Fournier & Philip Sollmann | B2 Written and Produced by Angela Dragonetto & Danielle Paduano Mastered by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

Franc Fala & Benja land Crosstown Rebels debut with hypnotic collaboration, ‘Dirty Dancing’.
Out on 31st July 2026, the Dutch pair unite for a dark, groove-led first appearance on Damian Lazarus's label, backed by two distinct reinterpretations from Brazilian artist Malive.

Anchored in a heavy groove that never loosens its grip, Crosstown Rebels’ latest release, ‘Dirty Dancing’, brings together two Dutch artists whose ideas have been shaped by a shared creative language built over time. Amsterdam’s Franc Fala continues to build on what has been a rapid rise onto the global house circuit, with a run of notable releases coupled with a growing touring schedule, ensuring his records and name have been the talk of the town for many. Alongside him, regular collaborator, fellow countryman and close friend Benja has also ensured his approach to music has also landed with impact, leaning on energy and atmosphere to shape records designed to resonate beyond the dancefl oor. Here, the pair reunite for their biggest collaboration to date as they make their debut outing on Damian Lazarus’s revered imprint with a record crafted for the peak hours.

Everything revolves around a vocal hook that doesn’t sit in the background; it emerges to take over the track, keeping listeners locked into the groove beneath. Rather than pushing in obvious directions, it circles and tunnels deeper, drawing listeners in until it becomes the only thing that matters. On remix duties, Brazilian DJ/producer Malive delivers two contrasting interpretations that take command of the B-side. His ‘Noturno Mix’ pushes into shadowy, late-night territory, extending the track’s hypnotic pull through melodic textures and tension, whereas his ‘Goes To Rio’ mix takes a more fluid direction, loosening the groove and introducing bright keys alongside a slick rhythmic swing.

James Pennington, aka the Suburban Knight, returns to the Resistance as Dark Energy, a totally unknown form of matter that with this double pack again frustrates the programmers of sound as they have no counter for it. Pennington and another unknown escaped slave from Planet X skillfully hoodoo you with a cosmic trance-like spiritual state of dance that allows you to see more with the midnight sunshine.

With the stunning Planes In Reverse, Sascha Funke, the Berlin-born producer and DJ, and long-time member of the Kompakt family, releases his first album in almost a decade, since 2017’s Lotos Land. It’s a welcome return for one of the most eloquent and elegant producers in electronic and dance music, someone who’s always been able to say more with less, and the ten tracks here, moving effortlessly between techno, house, minimalism, disco house, and home listening tunes, are all gorgeously sculpted miniatures. With guest appearances from partner Julienne Dessagne (Fantastic Twins), with whom Funke has also worked in Saschienne, there’s something homely and family about it, too; a family of sounds, a home of tone. There’s also something consummate about Planes In Reverse, as though Sascha Funke has perfected the album format. There’s no flab here, no excess – it plays out like a perfectly designed experience, ten tracks, coming in under fifty minutes, an album where every moment matters.

It’s full of variety, but everything has the unmistakable Funke thumbprint, one that was developed during the late ‘90s / early ‘00s minimal techno and microhouse moment, but which was always open to other ideas and other sounds, too. Planes In Reverse came together quickly for Funke: “Last winter, I had two or three new tracks, which gave me a core feeling: ‘Ah, this could be the direction of something like an album.’ Sometimes it can be very easy that you wrap it up and then it becomes something coherent and solid. This happened within two or three months; it was very fast and direct.” Everything fell into place – the ten tracks revealed themselves, the album sat together as a whole, and the final piece of the puzzle was returning home again to Kompakt, who have supported Sascha Funke from the very start, releasing his first single, “Campus”, back in 1999.

Planes In Reverse opens stealthily with “What You See”, where rhythms percolate and bass prowls while gaseous textures fill the sonic spectrum. It’s also the first appearance of Fantastic Twins on the album; here, she speaks a hypnotic mantra, a prelude to the title track, where Dessagne has a pure pop moment, her voice ecstatic and vibrant. Indeed, Planes In Reverse plays out like thesis and antithesis ending in synthesis, the tracks nestling next to each other even as they shuttle between sounds, genres, perspectives. There are some beautiful moments dropped throughout Planes In Reverse – the heavenly textures that make the title track feel so cloud-bound; the glassy and orbital tones that drop from the skies through the disco house inspired “Karat”; the clamour and clatter of hyper-edited voices shuffling through “Splitter”; or the field recordings of Sascha’s son football training session that drop “Zockers” into a different place and space, slowly giving way to a beautifully paced electro-pop mantra. “In Germany,when the kids play a computer game, or when they play football, we describe it as zocken. They’re the players, they’re the Zockers.“ Funke explains.

Planes In Reverse winds down with the beautiful “Kruso”, where ticklish, loving arpeggios careen around the room, and drift-work chords shimmer and shuttle between your ears. It’s a perfect comedown to an album that feels breathes in and out at an organic pace, nothing above 130 BPM, everything sitting together just so. Indeed, that’s the feeling you take away from Planes In Reverse; it sums up the spirit of Sascha Funke productions perfectly, while also existing beautifully as its own world dreamt unto itself. It’s Sascha Funke down to the very essence. Nothing unnecessary, nothing extraneous: Pure Funke.

Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Inner Space’ collection is a mixture of Cosmic electronic music and proto-New Age sounds. The album features a wide range of European, British and American auteur electronic artists, including Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Steven Halpern, Michael Garrison, Ose, Klaus Schønning, Bernard Xolotl and others.

Their cosmic, exploratory music sits somewhere between the worlds of personal, inner space and galactic outer space. All of the music featured here was recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, much of it released on small bespoke private-press record labels, often owned by the artists themselves.

The album also features rare tracks from a number of Library Music artists, all of whom used electronic music to explore a variety of common celestial or Gaian themes – cosmology, spirituality, science, mother earth, wellness, technology, consciousness, exploration, healing and harmony – in their work. These include pieces by Sauveur Mallia, Keith Mansfield and Sven Torstenson.

Here on this album you will find the Sun Ra’s of New Age, the Picassos of Library Music and the Burroughs of space-related electronic music. Away from contemporary music fashions, these unique and highly individual artists remained free in their music to explore new ideas of sound and technological experimentation – together with the larger concepts of time, space and matter – a freedom rarely granted, and one that we celebrate here.

This disparate collection of material formed Kold Funk Vol. 1, showcasing The Surfers’ sweeping palette developed through 15 years of playing music. Igor Zhukovsky, the band’s frontman, himself selected the tracks. Enjoy your trip to the enchanting world of The Soul Surfers! TSS are the ground-breakers and a vivid example of how authentic world-class groove may be produced anywhere — what matters is the right feeling and the concept.

The return of Jonne Lydén aka 53X is an exhilarating welcome for Emotional Especial with 4 more seismic analogue psychedelic jams that are becoming recognisably a unique and hypnotic statement.

Lydén’s studio time is distillation for personal contemplation and perfection just 3 releases in 5 years that are worth the wait. The heady demand for his debut ‘Synapse’ and the following ‘Zen ‘23’ on Especial (limited repress incoming!) show constant development a sound of widescreen technoscope where dub beats trance pyrotechnics and 303 mind-melt swirling in a cosmic matter.

His return takes this further his music heritage in Finland’s hardcore punk scene to finding the techno of Detroit and Berlin before submerging in synths and drum programming jamming recording and mixing these trip-out electronic journeys live.

This heavy 4/4 jack is apparent on opening Sanctuary. Like his recent outings ‘Radar’ found on the Especial 50th “sampler” release ‘Gracias Especial’ (EES050) and also ‘Simulaato’ hidden away on blink and you miss it cult label Avidya (AVI003) this is a pure undiluted bang. Straight forward heavy bass kicking charged with acid 303 and monotonic vocal insights the track is a flourishing temple a call of embrace.

The eponymous Cyan Haze showcases 53X’s cinematic finest panoramic audio and sound design creating expansive phonics. BPMs drop samples flourish around break drops and rolling bass – breathing looping shouting lifting.

Owls enlightens. Hardware rumbles cerebral a temporal universe awakening. The collage of found sound successive sequential all encased by hypnotic broken chords rolling bass and melancholic piano refrain. Meta worming braindance ecstatic tribal industrial gliding by Shiva into the night.

Dust closes apt its basement collage pounds Lydén to techno genesis. Proto-zeitgeist steppa dark room incantation pulling and expanding the fantasy to strange dreamscapes. Reincarnation and hope in 2026.

A long-time figure at the heart of Samurai Music, Last Life makes his first appearance on SAIBAI trading his signature snarl for shadowy psychedelia and snaking beatdowns. Since 2015 Mauro Picciau has been cultivating a sound that maximises on the space that opens up around half-time 170, finding plenty of power while stretching out his rhythms. On this new release he pivots towards subtler tones and textures, and plugs directly into the wave of innovative artistry occurring at the intersection of D&B and deep techno. Writhing, taut sound design spells out the mood on opening track 'Gear Cutter', as Picciau gets expressive with metallic feedback tones that elegantly contort across the front of the mix. There's a strong sense of narrative that brings the track's dynamic movement to the fore, holding back energetic shifts with a measured intent to ramp up the tension. 'Norma' has a more ceremonial feel, locking into a steady pulse and letting distant clouds of melodic ambience create a bewitching atmosphere around the percussive mantras. 'Radian' speaks its own minimalist, techno-spirited language, drawing on alien murmurs and steely drones to strike a lighter note without breaking the mysterious fog that hovers over the EP. 'The Moat' leads on a heavier set of drums to close the record out, shaping space with skilful reverb and a tightly controlled synth pulse. Within this echo chamber, and across the whole release, Picciau has capitalised on this patient approach to bed infinitesimal ripples into the mix, rewarding the active listener and instilling his creations with a kinetic vitality that can always be felt, no matter how slight the sound is.

Seasun is a reminder that matter is only energy in disguise. It opens the sky and lets the sun fill your body with overwhelming joy. Endless Love follows without mercy: a relentless bassline shadowed by dub chords that builds tension that doesn't ask to be released. And then ATM – which sounds like the EKG of a robot alien race making first contact. And suddenly everyone on mother earth starts dancing. Music for DJs who know when the time is right and dancefloors who are ready to be taken over

Berlin-based Dutch-Italian composer and musician Aimée Portioli aka Grand River presents the new album Temporary, returning to the renowned Editions Mego label with her most expansive and focused LP yet.

Rooted in existential ideas of impermanence and flux, Temporary is a deeply emotive work centred on the rich interplay between resonant guitar work and innovative electronics. Written in the wake of profound personal grief and loss, the album sees Portioli infuse her music with a raw, expressive intensity anchored in this experience. Across eight strikingly melodic and affecting soundscapes, Portioli powerfully embodies a dramatic encounter with mortality.

Temporary reprises Portioli’s exceptional streak of material across acclaimed labels including Donato Dozzy and Neel’s Spazio Disponibile, Caterina Barbieri's light-years, Ghostly International, Tresor and Umor Rex. The LP represents the latest tour de force in her distinctive electronic practice. Alongside a raft of lauded releases, Portioli has devised visionary multichannel installations which dissolve the boundary between the art gallery and the performance space.

Her new album signifies a culmination of her work, imbued with the depth of Portioli’s artistry. Shaped by a paradigm shift rising from loss, the record reflects a contemplation of the human condition and the ephemeral nature of existence. Ruminating on the thoughts and experiences that have fed into the record, Portioli reveals a consequential recognition underpinning the record:

"Sometimes, when travelling in places far from home that I know I will most likely never return to, or while accompanying someone I loved towards the end of their life, I become intensely aware of the singularity of the moment, and of how precious and sad this feels at the same time. It carries a particular weight because it will never happen again in quite the same way. Through experiences like these, I have gradually come to understand the temporary nature of all things. They taught me that to live is to experience the present while already feeling the trace of its disappearance, something both painful and blissful." - Aimée Portioli, Grand River

The album is invested with a potent mood and momentum from the outset. Establishing an evocative tone with the subtle, pulsating synthesis, rustling undertow, and oceanic low end of 18 circles to heaven, Portioli gradually ascends through the incandescent modular majesty of Come to stay, and the turbulent, brooding guitar figures of The crossing of the body, the crossing of the mind. The album progresses through the rapturous electronic phasing of The little we last into the coruscating synth grandeur of Let me know when you’re pure, before a thrilling endgame.

Closing with the wavering harp runs, heavy percussive thud, and cataclysmic guitar discordance of Maybe I am dead and this is paradise, and the evanescent atmospherics and beautiful acoustic refrains of Work of ending, Portioli takes the listener through vast landscapes of sound and mercurial emotional states. Intimate and immersive in equal measure, the record traces a compelling sensory journey.

Each part of the album is part of a larger poetic sentence, with track titles forming fragments that together articulate a meditation on transience. From 18 circles to heaven and Come to stay through From the other side and Work of ending, they read like quiet statements about being human, about loving, losing, remembering and eventually fading. The record moves through these states as a continuous passage, depicting a poignant soundworld guided by temporality.

The awareness that our time is limited sharpens the value of what remains. Each encounter, each gesture, each fleeting moment becomes more vivid. Temporary lingers in the space where presence and disappearance coexist, where everything is already passing away and therefore becomes infinitely precious. Things matter because they do not last. Mortality does not diminish life; it intensifies it. In confronting these ideas, Temporary feels irrepressibly alive.

Composed, produced and mixed by Aimée Portioli
Production and mixing assistance by Luca Sammartin
Acoustic piano on Maybe I am dead and this is paradise by Andert Tysma
Mastered by Rashad Becker
Cut by Marta De Pascalis at Schnittstelle, Berlin
Artwork by Nicola Tirabasso
Layout by Riccardo Piovesan

Astro’, the new double LP by Donato Dozzy, is in many ways a culmination and intersection of life-long interests, and Tresor Records is delighted to announce that it will launch into the cosmos on November 20, 2026.
Donato Dozzy is beloved for his way of blending synthesised sounds into seamless, deep, hypnotic works, whether as a DJ or in the studio. So it might come as a surprise that at the root and source of Dozzy’s musical inspiration, we find Japanese children’s cartoons and toys.
In the late 70s into the 80s, Italian youngsters, including Dozzy, were captivated by a wave of Japanese cartoons featuring Jumbo Machinders, awe-inspiring robots on adventures beyond our solar system. Every episode came dubbed into Italian, and had its own specially written Italian theme song, each pressed onto a 7inch single. This was the launchpad for two lifelong obsessions: vinyl records and vinyl figurines, and still kept in his home today in immaculate, carefully tended collections.
In 2025, Dozzy took a sample from the first of the Japanese themes he ever owned, Astro Robot Contatto Ypsylon. Marking the first time he had directly sampled a song for his own work, later to become the track ‘Astro’, this created an impulse to begin a series of new music, sparked by the robots in his collection.
Dozzy’s meticulous respect for his collections is reflected in the precision of these tracks. Elements within each track are harmoniously organised together while ever retaining a sense of space that reflects the cosmic subject matter. Explorative tracks like ‘Raydeen’, and ‘Himika (M Song)’ exemplify this with powerful yet gentle arpeggios, while ‘Pegasu’ brings forth visions of robots assembling for a deep-space mission launch.
Much like the human characters in the cartoons who piloted the Jumbo Machinder robots, on ‘Astro’, Donato takes control of mighty machines such as the EMS Synthi AKS to create sonic journeys for us all to embark on. ‘Jumbo Crack’, written on the AKS, is a soaring beatless piece built of rising bass tones and white noise that combine to conjure taking off from earth or a long journey through space. The whole collection is rounded out with ‘Ryoma (Lò Song)’, a gigantic trance anthem that could easily be the closing credits of your favourite childhood cartoon.
With ‘Astro’, Donato Dozzy pulls together threads in his life: the warp of music and synthesisers intertwining with the weft of childhood memories. A tribute to that freedom to dream, and to the sounds that, from the turntable of his childhood, led him toward alien and technological musical territories.

What does it mean to act with intention?
Sometimes it's about filling the spaces we often leave untouched, simply for the sake of new experiences.

Baffa delivers four tracks with this in mind.

Raw textures, new sounds, old-school spirit…moving through tension and space in search of stories that matter, somewhere in the middle.

The "La Musica Habla EP Purple Splattered Vinyl Edition" by 5universos is released as a 12" and focuses on stripped-back club sounds that move between minimal house and tech house. Striking bass sequences, pinpoint percussion, and sparingly placed melodic fragments create room for subtle tension; Balearic-tinged textures and dub elements stand out as stylistic markers, giving the tracks an airy spaciousness and allowing DJs to craft clear transitions in the mix.

The project is headed by Cristian Cosignani, who releases his own productions under the name 5UNIVERSOS and also runs the label of the same name. 5 Universos simultaneously serves as a vinyl store and a platform for curated releases, enabling the label to maintain a close connection to the club and DJ scene while keeping its program firmly focused on physical editions.

Sonically, the release relies on clear arrangements and a DJ-friendly structure: long, hypnotic sections, subtle filter work, and a focused low-end range invite creative mixing. The Purple Splattered Vinyl Edition underscores its collectible nature without placing the musical intention to front and center; the result is a matter-of-fact, dance-oriented EP that puts the characteristic style of 5universos in the spotlight.

Francesco Messina is perhaps best known for his split album with fellow composer Raul Lovisoni, Prati Bagnati del Monte Analogo, originally released on the seminal Italian label Cramps in 1979. Along with contemporaries Franco Battiato, Juri Camisasca and Giusto Pio, Messina helped reshape the world of modern composition with an organic rawness and haunting beauty.

In November 2023, Messina performed Prati Bagnati live for the first time in Milan, Italy – along with pianist Michele Fedrigotti, who appeared on the original LP. The concert was a tremendous success and led the composer to further reflect upon the music he made over 40 years ago. From his home piano – a hundred-year-old Schimmel with magnificent resonance – new pieces began to emerge out of these meditative sessions.

As Messina says in the liner notes, "The idea of making a new album wasn't the driving force at all; what mattered was trying to reconnect with the 'freedom' I had experienced back then while creating that music. I started over without haste or deadlines, simply trying to find a deeper, inner connection."

W.25TH / Superior Viaduct is honored to present Le api dell'invisibile. From the hazy drone of "For Florian" and the title track to the gentle swells of "Letter for an Absent Friend," the album is a lush amalgam of new age and ambient minimalism that is vividly reminiscent of Messina's earlier work.

The title draws inspiration from a famous reflection by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke: "We are the bees of the invisible. We ceaselessly gather the honey of the visible, to store it in the great golden hive of the Invisible." It is a phrase that has long shaped the way Messina looks at his music – transforming lived experience into sound, making audible what normally eludes the eye.