Cerca:men at work

A label long synonymous with raw, off-centre electronics and uncompromising club tools, Bjarki’s bbbbbb recors welcomes a producer whose approach feels cut from the same cloth, London’s Henry Greenleaf. In an era where functionality often outweighs feeling, ‘Brawn’ is a record that doesn’t court approval; it insists on impact. Built for high-pressure systems and low ceilings, it channels force not as spectacle, but as design.

Greenleaf’s catalogue to date, spanning labels such as Par Avion, YUKU, and ARTS, sketches a restless trajectory between precision and collapse. His productions operate where rhythm becomes architecture: kicks land like poured concrete, subs buckle and flex beneath shifting percussive grids, and textures are stretched until they fray at the edges. Sound is treated as a physical material, layered and stress-tested, reshaped until the familiar mutates into something tactile and strange.

Across the EP, that philosophy takes full form. A1 ‘Brawn’ sets the tone with dense, piston-like drums and tightly coiled low-end pressure, balancing brute force with meticulous spatial control. ‘Jump Up To Be’ follows with a more fractured swing, percussive shards ricocheting across a framework that feels perpetually on the verge of rupture. On the flip, ‘Gawk’ strips things back to skeletal components, carving negative space between distorted pulses and menacing, warped rhythmic figures, before ‘UNTUNTUNT’ closes the record in driving fashion, delivering a raw, functional workout that reduces the groove to its bluntest, most hypnotic form.

True to the label’s ethos, ‘Brawn’ doesn’t chase trends or smooth its edges. It folds air and pressure into motion, pares club music down to its working parts, and leaves room for spontaneous chaos to erupt within the grid; moments where structure splinters, energy misbehaves, and control gives way just enough to keep things volatile. Engineered yet unpredictable, utilitarian yet unruly, the EP embodies the tension, unpredictability, and uniqueness that have long defined bbbbbb recors.

Igor Tamerlan is a stranger in his own land. Born in 1954 the Hague and spent most formative years in Paris, Igor suddenly had the urge to relocate to Bali in 1986. “I want to settle in Indonesia and marry a local girl,” he told his sister shortly before flying out.

His next journey would be as audacious as his time in the Fifth Republic. Born from a prominent Indonesian expatriate family in Paris with ties to Indonesia’s first prime minister Sutan Sjahrir, Igor earned a degree in architecture at Ecole nationale supe´rieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette.

He could have been a brilliant architect or a political scientist (he was accepted to Sciences Po), but his passion for music distracted him from his academic works. He was after all named after Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.

During his brief stint at Sciences Po, Igor spent most of times hanging out at recording studios and rub shoulders with the likes of singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michel Polnaref. He had a brief encounter with The Rolling Stones at the Cha^teau de Thoiry studio in the early 1970s.

But Igor’s musical education and his occidental eyes appeared to be ill-suited for Indonesia. His first record, titled Langkah Pertama (First Step) on the mainstream label Musica was met with a shrug and was a commercial dud. An experimental record blending the influence of Spanish motifs, Francophile production and a whiff of hip hop and ska was seen by critics as being too alien. His sarcasm-laden lyrics and his biting critique of excessive materialism among the upper tier of Indonesia’s nouveau riche in the album was met with confusion from the audience. He was just too far ahead of his time.

He left the label Musica – or may had been dropped – soon after Langkah Pertama and decided to go independent. He then relocated to Bali and set up a state-of-the-art recording studio in Sanur, across the street from Southeast Asia’s first boutique hotel where luminaries like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting, Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr stayed for their holiday.

From the studio, Igor recording everything from the sounds waterfalls, geckos, minibuses to motorized rickshaw and mix them with hip hop, jazz, electronica, dub and Balinese gamelan. A visionary, Igor was the first musician to use MIDI, which started to be available globally in the early 1980s.

On paper, songs like “Bali Vanilli” should not work, a mish mash of disparate elements mentioned above, sung in three languages, Balinese, English and Bahasa Indonesia while tackling the subject of overtourism. The song was also the first to introduce rap to an unsuspecting audience. But for some strange reason “Bali Vanilli” became a sensation and overnight Igor became household name. And in 1987, long before overtourism was an issue, Igor broached the subject to a national audience in Indonesia on the possible destruction of nature and culture from tourism.

Ever an iconoclast, Igor decided to step out of the limelight following the success of “Bali Vanilli” and in early 1990s he relocated to Indonesia’s cultural capital, Yogyakarta. Here, he worked on some more experimental music while juggling as music video director. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 64.

The 10 songs in this compilation, Bali Vanilli: Experimental Pop from Paradise Island (1987-1991), are some of Igor’s best works, music that would have gone into obscurity had it not been for the diligent work of film director Alfred Pasifico Ginting, who managed to track down some of the master tapes while researching on a documentary on the musician.

These recordings have never before been released outside of Indonesia. Igor would have been proud with this reissue project.

The breakthrough album. Enrico Rava's second solo record, recorded in Milan in January 1973 and released on the German BASF label, is nothing less than a cornerstone of Italian jazz-rock - the record that caught Manfred Eicher's attention and opened the doors to ECM. Rava himself has called it his breakthrough, and history proved him right.

The lineup is killer: John Abercrombie on guitar, Bruce Johnson on bass, Chip White on drums. Four musicians operating at the absolute peak of early seventies fusion energy - electric, cosmopolitan, burning with that particular fire that only existed in that brief window when jazz met rock and nobody knew the rules yet. Abercrombie, already on his way to becoming one of the most distinctive voices in electric jazz guitar, delivers some of his most ferocious early work here. White's drumming is relentless, pushing the music forward with an intensity that never lets up.

If Miles' Bitches Brew-era speaks to you, if Ian Carr's Nucleus gets you moving, if you know Sun Ra's Lanquidity and Don Cherry's Relativity Suite by heart - this is essential listening. Rava's vision was already fully formed: South American rhythms, Mediterranean warmth, free jazz ferocity, rock power - all flowing together without borders or categories. By the early seventies, Rava had absorbed everything - the New Thing, the European free scene, the electric revolution coming out of Miles' studio - and forged something entirely his own.

The seven tracks cover serious ground. "Bunny's Pie" introduces the music with an almost cosmic atmosphere of suspense, hovering in that liminal space before it trails off into the up-tempo vibrant frenzy of "Trial N. 5" - Abercrombie and Rava trading swirling solos at full intensity, the rhythm section locked in tight. "Dimenticare Stanca" moves from Rava's expressive balladic intro into pure funk, guitar and trumpet steering over the rhythmic drive with absolute confidence. The title track carries the lyrical feel and cadence of an Incan-Peruvian folksong - that cosmopolitan spirit made audible. "Fluid Connection" rides a funky bass riff into fusion heaven, with standout trumpet and guitar solos that build and release with perfect tension. "Cheerin' Cherry" pays homage to the great Don Cherry - Rava's spiritual mentor and fellow traveler in world music - exploring a North African soundscape that points toward the global jazz to come. Johnson's "Peace" closes the album with a minute and a half of serene, blissful calm - a moment of stillness after the storm.

This audiophile reissue - cut from the original masters, pressed by Pallas in Germany on 180gm vinyl, housed in a thick laminated hand-glued gatefold - does full justice to an album that remains a collector's holy grail.

Don't sleep on this one. Limited Edition.

Period Music is a research process involving Susanna Gonzo, Merma Suelo, Tuce Alba, Elizabeth
Gallon Droste, Agnese Menguzzato, and Farah Hazim. The six artists aim to attune to the different
temporalities experienced through our bodies, drawing from multiple meanings of period – from the
menstrual cycle to musical repetitions and astronomical revolutions.

r'tu
A central meaning of the Sanskrit word for ritual, r'tu, is menstruation, the original ritual. The root of
r'tu is in arithmetic and rhythm/.

Period Music has been staying with essential matters on how we listen to time and rhythms in our
bodies and in the world. Questioning the tempo of everyday life in an accelerated system like that of
modern society, the group has opened up co-creation spaces to listen to embodied memories.
Through dialogue, improvisation and jam sessions, the six artists attuned to e ach other’s processes,
composing music, word scores and drawings – ultimately sounding together.

This work embodies other notions of community through archetypes, embracing the impermanence
that reveals the countless rhythms of life. Period Music speaks of friendship and connection, and
invites you to take on a journey of interconnectedness between our rhythms and the broader social
structures influencing our lives.

The project emerges from conversations that began in Berlin in the fall of 2023, including a one-week
residency at Atelier Josepha in Ahrenshoop by the Baltic Sea in April 2024. The first physical iteration
of this project will consist of a book and a vinyl. The album features looping improvisational compositions encoded with messages about multiple temporalities. The accompanying book gathers poetic memories, letters, photographs, symbols, and drawings that emerged during the process

Celebrating the first year of ‘NOW That’s What I Call Music’ – 1983. ‘Now Yearbook’ presents a stellar selection of 1983’s biggest and best hits… 80 huge chart hits from the year, alongside enduring and well-loved classics on 4 CDs. 1983 saw British artists achieving unprecedented success across the world with ‘Every Breath You Take’ from The Police being the year’s biggest seller in the U.S., and ‘Karma Chameleon’ from Culture Club being the top seller in the U.K. Breakthrough acts, achieving their first big hits – all here – include a staggering line-up of future superstars: U2, Eurythmics, Wham!, Paul Young, The Style Council, Marillion and Thompson Twins, to name a few..' Released on a LTD 4CD SET: This will be a limited run of 5000 4CD units housed in ‘hard-back book’ packaging and featuring a 28-page booklet that includes an overview of the chart music of 1983, a track by track guide including chart stats and fun facts, a selection of original picture sleeves and a quiz. 2CD Standard set and also a limited edition of 3000 units, pressed on 3LP translucent red vinyl...

Taupe’s latest album release, waxing | waning delivers jazz experimentalism, ‘skronk’, avant-rock, and electronics, by the Glasgow-based trio, due out via Minority Records. Across its seven tracks, waxing | waning captures Taupe’s approach – bold and boundary pushing – shaped by a fresh shift in the band’s dynamic and compositional approach.

Taupe’s waxing | waning, co-composed and realised by its players in a studio that was once an undertaker’s premises in Glasgow, is an absolutely affirmative album, an act of cultural defiance in desperate times.

Comprising Mike Parr-Burman (guitar, bass guitar, electronics), Jamie Stockbridge (alto and baritone saxophones) and Alex Palmer (drum kit, percussion), Taupe work up a storm of skronk, free jazz and harmolodic frenzy whose closest relations include Zu, Melt Banana and John Zorn. However, waxing | waning is from its opening, stuttering blasts, an exercise in seeking out and claiming new territory, finding unique and novel permutations in which jazz, rock, electronics interbreed at breakneck pace. Here is a group determined to say and do things they don’t get to say and do elsewhere in their musical lives.

‘Lemonade Tycoon’ hits the ground skronking. It’s cubistic jazz, cumulative in its impact, avoiding the white lines of the conventional freeway, bridling, bustling, coming at you from all angles – a three way conversation of astonishing rapidity, fast track, telepathic communication – everyone from James Chance to Albert Ayler coming at you at once, before morphing in to a spidery scrawl of electronics and furious percussion. ‘Anti-Bird-Spike BirdNest’s‘ title somehow sums up the sort of mental images evoked by the music – its sheer creative disobedience, as if being chased in vain, like a delivery rider evading capture by ICE agents -– shapeshifting, assuming different shades, sprouting metal quills and, in its midsection, seeming almost to swallow itself alive, before regurgitating itself in a sublime mess.

‘Interlude (Stride)’ is not exactly ambient, more a horizontal enmeshment of percussion, drones, reverberant noise, electronics, a sonic mulch. ‘allcapsallbold' reminds of early Aksak Maboul, in its playfulness, a haywire series of short phrases, subject to mechanical interference, a complex weave of irregular rhythms, increasingly eloquent sax phraseology and caustic guitars, which land heavier and heavier. ‘Pet Boss' is the new jazz equivalent of a highly evolved, mature conversation among brilliant equals, sharp, empathetic, complementary, rising to a collective, joyful noise. On the title track, electronics descend like a shower of bright particles, intensifying in their luminosity, whitening the skies, as sax and drums kick up a tempestuous, spontaneously sculpted noise that summons the ghosts of the great free jazz players, before a dark calm descends slowly. Finally, ‘Turn Push Kick’, a burgeoning chatterstorm of electronics, before the group kicks in, at angles to one another, led by abrasive guitars, reminiscent of Sunn O))) in their ritualistic concussion, riffing, digging deep amid squealing sax and piledriving percussion.

Michel Houellebecq is, of course, well-known for his novels, translated into more than 40 languages, and his Goncourt Prize (The Map and the Territory, 2010), but perhaps less so for his debut album, released exactly a quarter of a century ago on Tricatel label. One can sense the influence of Serge Gainsbourg's L'Homme à la Tête de Chou, a disillusioned Procol Harum and a world-weary Burt Bacharach hovering over Houellebecq's poems in Présence Humaine, a now cult classic album orchestrated by Bertrand Burgalat and the musicians of Eiffel. Twelve thousand copies sold and a few concerts later, the writer decided (or so we thought) to bid farewell to the stage, only to generate more media attention though his literary success. Frédéric Lo is, of course, known as an exceptional lyricist, composer, arranger, and producer, author of a sublime fourth solo album (L'Outrebleu, released last March) and a master of collaborative work, notably with Bill Pritchard, Peter Doherty and Daniel Darc. Initially, Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Lo met for the tribute album that the latter was planning for the tenth anniversary of Daniel Darc's death, but their recording of "Psalm XXIII" was, to their great disappointment, rejected by the label and therefore did not appear on the final version of Cœur Sacré (2023). Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining, and the two men decided to take their collaboration a step further. Lo decided to set the writer's words to music, in his studio in Pantin. Raw, stripped-down music draped in electronica, adorned with piano and antediluvian drum machines, often minimalist, sometimes repetitive, provides the perfect backdrop for twelve tracks that question and reflect on humanity's past and future (if indeed there is one). Reflections on the human condition, 21st-century style, a work of speculative fiction conceived by two eternally modern "young lads," Souvenez-Vous de l'Homme (Remember Man) is an album that might occasionally evoke The Stranglers' La Folie, and, given the title, that's probably no coincidence. But above all, it's a hypnotic and melancholic album, uncompromising and captivating. Most importantly, it's an album like no other.

One Believer, the Elektra debut by the late bluesman John Campbell, was outside of virtually every trend on major labels and in pop at the time. Other than Chris Whitley's Living with the Law, it was the only roots record issued on a major label in 1991.

A deeply atmospheric record full of subtle shimmering organs and warm guitar textures that accent the dreamy spooky side of the blues more than the crunchy stomp and roll that Campbell was known for in the clubs and displayed on his follow-up Howlin' Mercy. Tracks like "Angel of Sorrow," "World of Trouble," and "Wild Streak" offer shimmering ambient textures from which the blues emanate from the ether. Campbell was living and working in New York and his music was certainly influenced by that late-night environment. These are beautiful songs, tempered in shadow and restraint while baring their teeth at all the right moments. On "Couldn't Do Nothin'," "Devil In My Closet," and "Person to Person the roadhouse magic comes out. The album's last two tracks "Take Me Down" and the title track are menacing in their conviction and creepy swampy in execution.

One Believer is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on blue vinyl and contains an insert.

From out of nowhere comes a unique collaborative album from Edvard Graham Lewis (WIRE) & Mark Spybey (ZOVIET FRANCE). Mixing lush electronic rhythms, sonic collage, ambient soundscapes and manipulated field recordings, these six compositions form an album with a strong identity. That this is such a vital and fertile partnership should come as no surprise. After all, both men have made careers out of creating confidently questing musics. Lewis with Wire, He Said, Hox, Dome etc. and Spybey with Dead Voices on Air, Beehatch, Altered Statesmen, Zoviet France and so on. This new album however, is something different again: experimental, yet tightly focused, and not averse to the groove or the sly hook. The pair met via an appearance on a podcast in November 2022, hosted by cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy. They hit it off immediately. “We did a live chat with Graham - which I think, went on for about three days” jokes Spybey. It was Spybey who first broached the idea of collaboration. “It was a bit like shy bairns get nowt: I just said ‘maybe we should make something together.’” And so, with no plan other than to see what might develop, the duo began to assemble the compositions at long distance. Indeed, Lewis and Spybey only met in the real world after the album had been completed. “Mark sent half a dozen tracks in a stereo mix,” says Lewis. “And I looked at the ’topography’, to see where the spaces might be. So then I’d add to those areas. But then, when do you take it away? Sometimes you let it drop off a cliff, land in the shingle, and it gets washed out to sea again.” The process moved at a pace. “Almost everything each of us brought, ending up being incorporated in some way.” Says Spybey. “We didn’t really go down any cul-de-sacs.” As Lewis observes “We have such a sympathetic tone.” Full of inventive sonics that draw on both men’s previous work, ‘Lewis/Spybey’ offers up a richly detailed soundworld

With `The devil's door' And Also The Trees, one true original Post-Punk/New Wave band, presents a quiet storm of an album. At times filmic, poetic and intense with an undercurrent of dark psychedelia. It completes a trilogy of works `The Bone Carver', `Mother-of-pearl Moon' and now `The devil's door' created by the current line-up. Here there are signature `And also the trees' poetic lyrics, orchestral guitar and soundtrack influenced songs inspired by newsreel, oil paintings and folklore. But with this work we have the addition of some surprising instruments that skew the album towards a world where John Barry meets Bela Bartok. And also the trees (AATT) formed during the original post-punk era in rural Worcestershire, an environment that has provided a constant inspiration to a group whose music has often explored the dark underbelly as well as the beauty of the British countryside. They are renowned for their captivating live performances, a unique style of mandolin-like electric guitar, evocative lyrics and dark jazz rhythms - not to mention a creative independence fiercely preserved for over four decades. Back then AATT immediately caught the attention of Robert Smith of The Cure, who invited them to tour with his group on several occasions. Smith was also involved with their early recordings alongside his bandmate Lol Tolhurst, who produced their first records. This longterm friendship and mutual respect was further solidified when AATT were invited to perform at the Robert Smith curated 2018 Meltdown festival in London. This July AATT appear as The Cure's special guests at the Nimes festival. Founded by singer Simon Jones and his guitarist brother Justin, AATT have maintained a continuous presence on the post-punk, and alternative rock scenes worldwide, with a solid fanbase e.g. in Germany.

Volcanic Sun Vinyl, limited to 500 copies. The Berlin-based power trio once more is driving their musical WEDGE in between many different genres: Garage rock turns progressive while psychedelic guitar lines are tripping over hard rocking riffs. Does this work together? Hell yes! For fans of Deep Purple, MC5, Led Zeppelin or Humble Pie this album is a sure shot. You like fuzz guitars? Hammond organ and vocals trough a swirling Leslie cabinet? More cowbell? You got it. But unlike our beloved rock records from around 1971, which we've heard a hundred times before "Like No Tomorrow" has one huge advantage: It's brand new and the 8 tracks, ranging from 3:00 to 9:00 minutes, deliver a fresh, unspent and unmistakably unique taste to the rock'n'roll menu. In the tradition of bands like The Raconteurs, The Hellacopters, Graveyard or Wolfmother, WEDGE are building on that vintage vibe we all know and love but evolve their very own thing and are able to connect it directly to here and now.

Malena Zavala is an Argentinian-born, London-based artist, producer, and filmmaker, known for crafting ethereal, genre-blending music that navigates the space between her Latin heritage and her British upbringing. With the forthcoming album If This Life Could Start Again set for release on 30 January 2026 on Paraná Records, Zavala presents her most intimate, cohesive, and accomplished work to date, marking a significant evolution in her artistic journey.
With her new album, Malena creates an atmospheric dream pop world, weaving singer-songwriter intimacy with synth pop, Argentine folk, indiepop, rock and experimental music, threaded together by her blissful vocals and dreamy guitar work. Gorgeously warm and vivid, If This Life Could Start Again charts the journey from pain to acceptance, mapping out the non-linear nature of healing through a sonic landscape. Each song embodies a distinct emotion within that journey, from grief and chaos to feeling lost, seeking refuge, finding confidence, and finally acceptance and letting go. Drawing on her Argentinian roots, Malena uses the Andes mountains as both a visual and thematic anchor – the difficult climb towards higher ground becomes a metaphor for healing, whilst being lost at rock bottom reflects the darkest moments of the journey. 
Completely composed and performed by Malena herself, the album was recorded in Girona’s L’Empordà countryside in Spain with producer Luke Smith. As a professional producer and audio engineer, this was Malena’s first time relinquishing production control – an intimate creative shift that allowed their shared vision to shape the album’s rich, enveloping sound. 
However, Zavala’s career to date has been a testament to self-sufficient artistry. Her critically acclaimed debut, Aliso (2018), was written, recorded, and produced alone in her parents’ garage, which honed her dreamy bedroom pop sound. The album, praised by The Guardian for its “gently warped and beguilingly melancholy guitar pop,” ****, immediately catapulted her from DIY beginnings to prestigious stages, supporting acts like Lord Huron at London’s Roundhouse and Men I Trust at Village Underground and subsequently continuing on their UK/EU tours. Later with standout performances at Latitude, Green Man, and All Points East. Her consistent radio support from key influencers including BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens, and Steve Lamacq has solidified her presence on the airwaves.
Her second album, La Yarará (2020), saw Zavala delve deeper into her roots, exploring Latin traditions like Cumbia and Bolero. This exploration of identity continues powerfully on the new album, but with a newfound lyrical depth and sonic confidence. The new album, If This Life Could Start Again, is a raw and transformative eight-track journey that maps the emotional landscape of healing. Written after a period of personal upheaval, the album traverses themes of grief, hereditary trauma, and self-discovery. The record’s narrative is structured like a mountain ascent. A challenging climb through varied emotional terrain, posing the central question: “Will you join the journey?” Sonically, this journey mirrors the non-linear path to acceptance, evolving from acoustic folk and synth-pop to funk-infused rhythms and rock anthems.
As a formidable live performer, Zavala has built a robust touring profile across the UK and Europe. She will embark on an extensive tour in February and March 2026 to support the album, with dates spanning major cities from London and Glasgow to Berlin, Paris, and Barcelona.
With If This Life Could Start Again, Malena Zavala fully realizes her artistic vision as a self-taught producer to an autonomous artist commanding her career through Paraná Records whilst reflecting the vast landscapes of her heritage and affirming her place as a compelling and evolving voice in contemporary music.

ince its opening in spring 2021, JUBG, a still young Cologne gallery for contemporary art, has specialized in the broad field of artists and collaborations working along artistic interfaces, especially those between visual art and experimental and/or electronic music. For example, JUBG has already hosted exhibitions by Markus Oehlen, Kim Gordon, Wolfgang Voigt, Matthias and Aksel "Superpitcher" Schaufler, Sven-Åke Johansson, and Emil Schult. Albert Oehlen, who is a kind of mentor and supporter of the gallery, was also a guest at Albertusstraße this summer, where he presented the exhibition D-I-E ORPHEUSMASCHINE together with Michael Wertmüller, Thomas Stammer and the poet Rainald Goetz.

It is only logical that the gallery now expands its sphere of activity to include its own label, on which music appears that comes from similar contexts as the artists listed above already suggest.

As catalog number 1, JUBG is now releasing the official soundtrack to "The Painter" from 2021. The film, German title "Der Maler", is a mixture of feature film and documentary and a collaboration between German director Oliver Hirschbiegel, best known for his Oscar-nominated film "Downfall", and Albert Oehlen, with whom Hirschbiegel has a long friendship, as they both once studied together at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Hamburg.

The docu-fiction shows Oehlen struggling with a painting and pondering the meaning of his work. Oehlen is played by German actor and musician Ben Becker, accompanied by the off-screen voice of Charlotte Rampling. In the film, Becker makes a painting that Oehlen himself creates step by step behind the camera, while the actor improvises the process in front of the camera.

The wonderful music for this film comes from no less than two outstanding personalities whose individual biographies and musical signatures could hardly be better suited to this project. On the A-side it is Gudrun Gut, icon not only of the German electronic music scene since at least the 90's, singer, composer, DJ, label owner (Monika Enterprise) and of course founding member of the legendary 80's New Wave band Malaria. On the B-side it’s the world famous and award winning US avant-garde trumpeter and improvisational musician Nathan "Nate" Wooley, who has played with Fred Frith and John Zorn among others.

Gudrun Gut's tracks bear such beautiful titles as "Bewegung", "Küste" or "Weinen" and she once again pulls out all the stops of her great skills and decades of experience as a producer of the most diverse electronic music genres. These are unusual and much more experimental musical paintings that she creates here than on her recent solo works. Edgy, angular, raw and unpolished, yet always elegant and clever, she subverts the male artist madness depicted extensively in the film in her own unique way.

Nathan Wooley answers with the instrument he has been familiar with since childhood, the trumpet, with which he is able to create a ravishingly virtuosic noise. His pieces are more like sketches, often only 90 seconds or a few minutes long, but in all their abstractness underpin the narrative of the film almost perfectly.

A limited edition of 20 copies in total, painted and signed by Ben Becker, can be purchased directly through JUBG.

JUBG, eine noch junge Kölner Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst, hat sich seit ihrer Eröffnung im Frühjahr 2021 auf das weite Feld von Künstler:innen und Kollaborationen spezialisiert, die entlang künstlerischer Schnittstellen tätig sind, insbesondere an denen zwischen bildender Kunst und experimenteller und/oder elektronischer Musik. So hat JUBG bereits Ausstellungen von Markus Oehlen, Kim Gordon, Wolfgang Voigt, Matthias und Aksel "Superpitcher" Schaufler, Sven-Åke Johansson und Emil Schult gezeigt. Auch Albert Oehlen, der eine Art Mentor und stiller Unterstützer der Galerie ist, war im Sommer dieses Jahres zu Gast in der Albertusstraße, wo er zusammen mit Michael Wertmüller, Thomas Stammer und dem Dichter Rainald Goetz die Ausstellung D•I•E ORPHEUSMASCHINE präsentierte.

Es ist nur logisch und folgerichtig, dass die Galerie ihren Wirkungskreis nun um ein eigenes Label erweitert, auf dem Musik erscheint, die aus ähnlichen Zusammenhängen und Sphären stammt, wie es die oben aufgezählten Künstler:innen bereits vermuten lassen.

Als Katalog-Nummer 1 veröffentlicht JUBG nun den offiziellen Soundtrack zu "The Painter" aus dem Jahr 2021. Der Film, deutscher Titel “Der Maler”, ist eine Mischung aus Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm und eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem deutschen Regisseur Oliver Hirschbiegel, vor allem bekannt für seinen Oscar-nominierten Film "Der Untergang", und Albert Oehlen, mit dem Hirschbiegel eine lange Freundschaft verbindet, studierten sie doch beide zusammen einst an der Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Hamburg.

Die Doku-Fiktion zeigt Oehlen, wie er mit einem Gemälde kämpft und über die Bedeutung seines Werks nachdenkt. Oehlen wird vom deutschen Schauspieler und Musiker Ben Becker gespielt und von der Stimme von Charlotte Rampling aus dem Off begleitet. Im Film erstellt Becker ein Gemälde, das Oehlen selbst hinter der Kamera Schritt für Schritt anfertigt, während der Schauspieler den Prozess wiederum vor der Kamera improvisiert.

Die wunderbare Musik zu diesem Film kommt von gleich zwei herausragenden Persönlichkeiten, die mit ihren individuellen Biographien und musikalischen Handschriften kaum besser zu diesem Projekt passen könnten. Auf der A-Seite ist dies Gudrun Gut, Ikone nicht nur der deutschen elektronischen Musikszene seit mindestens den 90er Jahren, Sängerin, Komponistin, DJ, Label-Betreiberin (Monika Enterprise) und natürlich Gründungsmitglied der legendären 80er Jahre New Wave-Band Malaria, auf der B-Seite der weltberühmte und Preisgekrönte US-amerikanische Avantgarde-Trompeter und Improvisationsmusiker Nathan “Nate” Wooley, der u.a. mit Fred Frith und John Zorn zusammengespielt hat.

Gudrun Gut’s Tracks tragen so schöne Titeln wie “Bewegung”, “Küste” oder “Weinen” und sie zieht hier einmal alle Register ihres großen Könnens und ihrer jahrzehntelangen Erfahrung als Produzentin der verschiedensten elektronischen Musikspielarten. Es sind ungewöhnliche und sehr viel experimentellere musikalische Gemälde, die sie hier entwirft als auf ihren jüngsten Solo-Werken. Kantig, eckig, roh und ungeschliffen und dabei immer elegant und schlau, unterläuft sie den im Film ausgiebig dargestellten männlichen Künstlerwahnsinn auf ihre ganz eigene Art und Weise.

Nathan Wooley antwortet mit dem ihm seit Kindesbeinen vertrauten Instrument, der Trompete, mit der er in der Lage ist, einen hinreißend virtuosen Lärm zu erzeugen. Seine Stücke sind eher Skizzen, oft nur 90 Sekunden oder ein paar wenige Minuten lang, die in all ihrer Abstraktheit das Narrativ des Films nahezu perfekt untermalen.

Eine auf insgesamt 20 Exemplare limitierte Edition, bemalt und signiert von Ben Becker, ist direkt über die JUBG zu erwerben.

Stoop Kid is the jangly indie rock project of Diest-born Jens Rubens. After Camp Careful (2021) and Mount Cope (2023), Stoop Kid returns with his third full-length album Office Overdue, a ten-song collection that captures the quiet fatigue, flickering humor, and
fragile hope of keeping it together in a world that won't slow down.

'Office Overdue' is a collection of songs Jens made at home in his modest home studio. For this album, he wanted to let go of pressure and expectations more than ever, and only work on music when he genuinely felt like it.No fancy studio, no producer, just walking upstairs and messing around. The result doesn't always sound perfectly polished: the drums are sometimes clumsily programmed and more than a few wrong notes made it onto the record. The guitars were allowed to hit a bit harder this time, with the '90s slacker vibes coming through more prominently. The result is a record that feels raw and honest, and above all, was made purely out of enthusiasm.

Office Overdue explores the attempt to keep functioning in everyday life while the world around us feels on the verge of collapse. The songs move between mental exhaustion and self-reflection, carried by a dry, sometimes bitter humour that helps lighten the weight. The album focuses on repetition and routine, and on the tension between wanting to care for others and being trapped inside one's own head. Themes of anxiety, guilt and dissociation recur throughout, but are always accompanied by small moments of connection, gentle resistance and acceptance. Office Overdue embraces the mess, the doubt and the false notes, without drawing grand conclusions. Not everything is resolved, but the persistence remains.

Força Maior combines the vital saxophone explorations of Pedro Alves Sousa with the infinitely subtle electronic processing of Pedro Tavares. Sousa (aka Má Estrela) is known for manipulating his woodwind through guitar pedalboards & amplifiers, creating far-from-ordinary sonics rooted in unceasing curiosity. For his part, Tavares (aka funcionário) conjoins video & sound work to create space for the pensive wanderings where memory and imagination interlace.

The album Morte Lilás was recorded over a week in June 2023 in Pedro Alves Sousa's family farm, located in the village of Ferreirim, near Lamego, in Portugal. The partly abandoned farm served as the residency, studio, and inspiration for the album: it is a 400-year-old granite farm that belonged to a member of the "40 conspirators"—a group that led the revolution for Portugal's independence from Spain in the 17th century.

Morte Lilás is a remarkable album of committed meditation. Each day on the farm was a recording day for the two Pedros: Sousa on sax & electronics, Tavares on sampler & processing. Apart from slight sonic incursions from the surrounds—the birds on 'Quinta à tarde'—and the sporadic use of sine tones, the source sounds all start from the saxophone. It is then processed both by Sousa & Tavares. The album unfolds as a saxophonic tapestry that breathes with quiet intensity. Each piece invites close listening, revealing fine gestures and tonal shifts that shape a contemplative, ambient space. Força Maior move with calm precision.

The album opens with the unhurried overture 'Quinta à Tarde' a Portuguese pun on Eno's Thursday Afternoon that announces the textures at play. Sousa's breathy entrance is paired with a soft, delicately shifting, backdrop. As the track progresses, time seems to stretch. The arrangement resists urgency, favouring subtle evolution over dramatic turns. Pensive layers shift & drift, creating a sense of suspended motion that brings the listener into the environs of Morte Lilás. 'Quinta à Tarde' is a long-form fade, shifting emphasis from Sousa to Tavares.

'Cubos' continues the gauzy feel, but with a more up-tempo tilt. Rhythmic clicks & pings setup a swung time for the sax to interpose melodic lines that are fed back & bent with cascading delays. Força Maior in distilled form.

Força Maior is in top form on the title track 'Morte Lilás', a sprawling centrepiece that showcases their command of atmosphere & emotional pacing. By turning up the reverberation & leaning into a continuous format, they dissolve the gap between hypnotic trance & articulate reverie. Then, a moment of stillness. The track pauses, not abruptly but like a tide pulling back, revealing the contours beneath. What follows is a return to the album's more relaxed architecture: understated rhythms, softened textures, and a sense of spaciousness that opens space for reflection. It is a transition that feels organic, as if the song itself needed to exhale before settling back into its contemplative groove.

'Menta' is another short-form miniature of the band's signature contours: beautiful loops of air pressure gradients that carry an emotive weight & light.

The album closes with 'Cascata do Inferno'. The title suggests violence, but the music whispers instead—an atmospheric cascade of breath & tone that emerges in slow, deliberate waves. Short melodic cycles are matched by shimmering electronic chords. It's a piece that rewards patience, draws the listener in to drift downstream, eyes closed, into the serene turbulence of its current.

Following her compelling debut EP Mending, Frida Touray returns with Homebody, a work of raw emotional clarity, crafted duringa time when her voice was literally fighting back. Diagnosed mid-process with a rare condition that forced her into silence andstillness, Touray chose not retreat, but rebuild. From the quiet corners of domestic life, she’s shaped a collection of songs thatradiate warmth, vulnerability and quiet endurance.Musically, Homebody expands on Touray’s jazz-soul foundations with sparse, atmospheric production that amplifies her voiceand message. There’s a newfound looseness in her phrasing, a deeper sense of presence in every word she sings. You can hearthe letting go, of perfection, of control, and the deepening of purpose in its place. Each track lands with unfiltered intimacy andemotional architecture, a subtle act of defiance wrapped in softness.This is music built on stillness and shaped by resilience. A reflection on self-worth, illness, femininity, community and healing.Songs that speak to the unseen parts of recovery and the small rooms we build ourselves back up in. Homebody is a record foranyone rebuilding from the inside.

A pandemic album of songs of heartbreak, virality, and dead rats, which Wood called "goodbye cruel world: the musical." The revealing chamber pop/folk album "In Case I Make it" (ICIMI), which Will Wood playfully dubbed "Goodbye Cruel World: The Musical," turned out to be a surprisingly strong followup to his chaotic and sardonic previous release, "The Normal Album." While divisive among some fans due to its gentler sounds and more traditional vocal stylings than most of his last work, ICIMI attracted new, older audiences and showed a more personal side that provided a new context to his discography. Widely considered to be some of his most powerfully emotional work, both the harshly introspective and humorous songwriting, as well as its unique delivery, are still distinctly Will Wood in their experimental nature and uncompromising unwillingness to conform to the expectations of both die-hard fans and audiences at large. In 2021, the underground singer-songwriter was suddenly the subject of unexpected online attention, which, in tandem with mental health struggles, inspired him to put out a "musical suicide note," intended to express parts of his artistic and personal identity that had gone largely unseen by a fanbase he felt misunderstood. Leading the album with intentionally algorithm-unfriendly singles and putting an eight-minute love ballad as the second track on the LP, Wood aggressively redefined himself as being more than just a handful of wacky, unwitting viral pops. Ironically, the surprise viral success of the deep cut "The Main Character," a relentless satire of online culture, drew attention to the album and its second biggest hit, the angst-ridden yet danceable "Against the Kitchen Floor." However, the immense orchestration and vulnerable writing have kept audiences coming back. Songs like "Euthanasia" and "Tomcat Disposables" have developed reputations as tearjerkers, and songs like "Cicada Days" and "White Noise" have become fan anthems in the years since.

The news arrives in tandem with the release of two powerful new singles, "The Toughening" and "The Softening", shared in recognition of World Mental Health week At its core, 'Everythinglessness' is a record about masculinity and the mental health crisis facing young men, a subject Wolfe has lived through and now gives voice to with unflinching honesty. Turning his own experiences of depression, anxiety and ADHD into something raw, intimate and cinematic, Wolfe invites listeners into a world where vulnerability is not weakness, but a form of survival. Written after a period of intense personal reckoning, including time spent in a mental health rehab facility in 2023, 'Everythinglessness' is Wolfe's most emotionally resonant work to date, an album that unpacks what it means to be a man in a society that often demands silence and stoicism instead of softness and support.

Wolfe's voice channels the emotional resonance of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Nick Cave, while his songwriting explores everything from grief and generational trauma to love, loss and survival. The singles have been getting loadsa positive press. Radio support includes interviews and live performance on BBC London, Times Radio & 5 Live. More to come. Album launch show in Hastings, followed by UK and Europe tour supporting Alice Merton.

Techno pioneer Robert Hood debuts on Rekids with a blistering release entitled ‘Nothing Stops Detroit’ ahead of an album this winter.

Over the last three decades the Underground Resistance alum has continually been at the forefront of the techno genre whilst releasing on many of electronic music’s finest labels to boot. In recent years his solo outings have appeared on a select few labels such as Dekmantel, Music Man Records, not to mention his very own M-Plant. Having made appearances on Rekids in the past remixing label boss Radio Slave - both as Robert Hood (‘Don’t Stop No Sleep’) and Floorplan (‘Feel The Same’) - the Detroit originator now drops a four track release in his official debut on the label.

With its machine aesthetic, ‘Nothing Stops Detroit’ is unmistakably Hood from start to finish. Precision kick drums propel the title track forward as stuttering effects and deep stabs work alongside a march band rhythm. ‘7 Mile Dog’ is next with its grainy synths and scintillating pads, making way for the meandering bassline, rattling atmospherics and trippy, oscillating top line of ‘Ignite A War’. Finally, ‘The Cure’ is a cacophony of twisted percussion and rumbling low-end that energetically concludes matters.

Noctourniquet And then everything went black, at least for a while, at least for The Mars Volta. In the months and years following their fifth full-length, Octahedron, Omar kept on at his usual fearsome creative pace. In fact, he ramped up his output considerably, starting up his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions label and releasing a slew of solo albums. It was a practice he’d begun shortly after De-Loused’s release, with his solo debut A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One, but as the decade reached its close, Omar grew to rely upon his solo recordings as an outlet for his prolific creativity, these albums often exploring musical pastures far beyond even The Mars Volta’s wide-ranging parameters. Before choosing to release music under his own name, Omar would always play it to Cedric first, to see if the frontman thought it had potential to become Mars Volta music. Shortly after Octahedron’s completion, Cedric flagged one batch of tracks Omar had cut with Deantoni Parks, a brilliant drummer and composer who’d briefly occupied the Mars Volta drumstool in-between Jon Theodore and Thomas Pridgen’s tenures, and whose volcanic creativity and unique, unpredictable approach to rhythm and composition had quickly made him one of Omar’s favourite artistic foils.

As with the music that made up Octahedron, the new tracks Cedric had optioned for The Mars Volta often veered far from the riotous, Grand Guignol visions of their earlier releases. It possessed the punchy, song-based focus of Octahedron, though this was a considerably darker, more menacing strain of pop, with synthesisers figuring heavily in the productions. Cedric took the tracks in 2009 and set about writing songs to the music. But no more new Mars Volta music would be heard until 2012. The years that passed in-between were nonetheless momentous, and busy, witnessing an unexpected reunion of the members of At The Drive-In, and Cedric joining his own side-project, Anywhere. But there wasn’t any sign of life within the Mars Volta until Omar, Cedric and their bandmates took to the road for a series of live shows in the spring of 2011, billed as The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, debuting the songs that would become Noctourniquet. The album followed the next year, and it remains one of The Mars Volta’s finest, its electronic textures staking out unfamiliar but fertile new ground.

An unsettling, subtly turbulent listen, Noctourniquet found Cedric sketching out a story about “some sort of device that stops the darkness from bleeding”, drawing influence variously from the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy, the Greek myth of Hyacinthus and the song Birth, School, Work, Death by British underground rockers The Godfathers. It was an album of dystopian futurism, signalled by the paranoid cyber-rock of opener The Whip Hand and its unnerving chorus, “That’s when I disconnect from you”. But it was also an album of inspired, unexpected moves and uncanny invention, like how Dyslexicon seemed to eerily evoke Blondie’s Rapture, before rushing headlong into its bruising chorus, tempos shifting restlessly throughout like quaking earth beneath the listener’s feet, or how Aegis put a brave new spin on The Mars Volta’s trademark rewiring of salsa’s overdriven passions, or how Cedric had never sounded as scary as he did on The Malkin Jewel’s mutant burlesque shuffle. Tracks like Molochwalker were sleek and concise in a way The Mars Volta had never really attempted before – which was all part of Omar’s plan.

“It had all been guitar, guitar, guitar, overdubs, everything fighting for space in the same frequency,” he explains. “So for Noctourniquet, it was all about subtracting elements, of sticking to how I made demos.” Deantoni’s presence helped revivify the group, playing against cliché and expectation, and taking each song in unexpected directions. “I’d beatbox a rhythm for him to play, to go with my guitar part, and he’d come back with three or four alternate options. It was so great.” Similarly, Cedric had never sung better than on Noctourniquet, staking out a fearsome spectrum from the chilling Tom Waitsian growl of The Malkin Jewel to the keening, beautiful vocalisation on Vedamalady, rising to match some of Omar’s most deft, most immediately effective and melodic songs yet. Indeed, Noctourniquet is the sound of a band discovering new ways to do familiar things, renewing their commitment to their mission, finding fresh inspiration a decade in, and shaking off any complacency that might have come with ten years of acclaim and success.

2026 Restocked!

If you've been following the Payfone story over the last 13 years, you'll know that Phil Passera and Jimmy Day's long-running collaborative project has specialised in one-off musical morsels - sublime songs cooked up in cahoots with all manner of guest musicians and vocalists. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Day and Passera have now delivered a full six-track tasting menu in the shape of Lunch, their hotly anticipated debut album.

Recorded over an 18-month period at Passera's Barcelona studio and Day's studio in Brighton, Lunch is an unsurprisingly assured and musically detailed affair that's entirely made up of previously unheard songs. Unlike acid-flecked recent single 'Volt To Volt', which delivered a tweaked take on late 1980s house music, the album's six tracks showcase the trademark sound the duo has been developing since first joining forces 13 years ago.

Trawl back through Passera and Day's high-quality catalogue, which includes outings on Leng, Golf Channel Recordings and Defected as well as their own OTIS imprint, and that distinctive musical recipe becomes clear. Rooted in their love of classic drum machines and their trusty JUNO-60 synthesiser, the Payfone sound combines equal amounts of electronic and organic instrumentation, warm and inviting downtempo and mid-tempo grooves, and pertinent and thoughtful lyrics delivered with panache by an impressive roll call of guest vocalists.

Lunch, then, is a standalone sonic statement - an initially vinyl only album on their own OTIS imprint - that continues this impressive lineage. Like all Passera and Day's collaborative work, it is free of samples, with the pair preferring to create their own sounds from scratch. Opener 'Movin' On', featuring the honeyed vocals of former XL Recordings artist Willis Earl Beal AKA Nobody and slap-bass from Jo Gabriel Harris (who also features on three other songs across the album), is a deep and effortlessly evocative mid-tempo delight that perfectly sets the tone for what's to come.

Brooklyn-born April Pittman and Russian/Armenian vocalist Zara Kian lend their talents to woozy, sun-baked shuffler 'Paperman' before regular Payfone collaborator Ludmilla Rodriguez headlines 'Joan of Arc', a veritable Mediterranean breeze rich in tumbling analogue synth synths, elastic bass and tumbling guitar solos. Those yearning for a touch of lightly disco-flecked dancefloor heat will savour 'Spend The Night', where Los Angeles singer Collette Tibbetts AKA Carmella The Balls, accompanied by virtuoso keys courtesy of Parisian pianist Gabriel Cazes, rises above a sweet, melodious, dub disco-adjacent backing track. In contrast, 'Pamela' is low-slung and hypnotic, with 'Sofian' vocalist Barbara Alcindor ushering us through a deep, heady groove-scape.

Fittingly, Passera and Day round off Lunch via a vibrant and potent sweet treat, 'Pony Bar'. Headed up by the J.J Cale-esque lead vocals of man of mystery Leon Lace, the pedal steel-sporting song joins the dots between dusty Americana, kaleidoscopic Balearic beats and lilting, slow-motion disco. Like the rest of the album, you'll be thinking about it long after you've washed down the last few musical mouthfuls.

Few producers have had the same seismic impact on techno and rave music as Joey Beltram. Hailing from Queens, New York, Beltram was a key architect of the early '90s rave explosion and responsible for some of the most influential electronic records of the era - and it was Belgium’s R&S Records that gave many of these tracks their first home.

Originally compiled and released by R&S in 1996, Classics brings together the core of Beltram’s groundbreaking early output - namely the Beltram Vol. 1 (1990) and Beltram Vol. 2 (1991) EPs, alongside the legendary Second Phase productions ‘Mentasm’ and ‘Mind To Mind’ (1991), plus a selection of aliases and collaborative work from the same period, including tracks under Mental Mayhem, Open Mind, and Disorder.

Now remastered and reissued as a 2LP set for 2025, Classics is available on vinyl for the first time since 2006, offering a long overdue opportunity to own these timeless cuts in their purest form. Across the 13 tracks, you'll hear the sheer force and innovation that made Beltram a household name in underground techno.

Integral to this collection are ‘Jazz 303’ and ‘Psycho Bass,’ co-produced with Norwegian techno innovator Per Martinsen (aka The Alien), which stand out for their experimental, forward-facing sound - highlighting a futuristic edge even within Beltram’s already pioneering catalogue. Elsewhere, his Second Phase project with Mundo Muzique delivers the seminal ‘Mentasm’ and ‘Mind To Mind,’ two foundational tracks that introduced the infamous “hoover” sound to dancefloors worldwide. Rounding out the set are deeper cuts under his aliases Mental Mayhem, Disorder, and Open Mind, capturing the breadth of Beltram’s restless creativity and technical command during his peak R&S years.
Classics’ by Joey Beltram is available on R&S Records from 25th July 2025.

Peter Beyls (1950) works on the intersection of computer science and the arts. He develops generative systems in music, the visual arts and hybrid formats. Beyls studied music and computer science at EMS, Stockholm, the Royal Music Conservatory, Brussels and the Slade School of Art, UC London. Initially he was active in electronic music, as a composer of tape music. Later on, he developed various analog live electronic music systems. In close partnership with Michel Waisvisz, he designed and built the early prototypes of the crackle box synthesizer at STEIM, Amsterdam (1973-1975). Around the same time, Belgian composers Karel Goeyvaerts and Lucien Goethals were his mentors at the IPEM Studio. Over the years, Beyls’ work has primarily centered on generative systems, including extensive series of machine drawings, human-machine interactive music systems using machine-learning and interactive audiovisual installations on which he has also given worldwide lectures. His work has been widely performed and exhibited at various universities and art institutions. The four previously unreleased tracks on this LP are amongst his first electronic music compositions using the Crackle Box, the Synthi 100 and the VCS3, a combination of live improvised electronics with precise tape editing and effects.

2026 Repress

Flickering in ultraviolet, there is an elusive place where blue pill meets red, ups become downs, and day merges with night. Those liminal spaces where anything is possible is where you’ll find Nightbus and their hypnotic debut album Passenger. Doom, uncertainty, and opportunity lurk in the shadowy corners of their murky existence with stops at disassociation, co-dependency, and addiction before reaching its final destination - a glimmer of hope.

The in-between of Nightbus’ own Gotham lies where Manchester’s city pulse meets Stockport’s outer realm. An audio-visual entity formed among a musical family of friends, freaks, and foes in messy mills and after hours on dancefloors alike, their sound bleeds from tension where collective creative forces are bound together and collide with the fallout of being torn apart. Before even playing a show, their So Young released single ‘Mirrors’ – a knowing nod of respect to some well-known gloomy Northerners - may have made old school indie heads shimmy at shows in Salford’s The White Hotel but also signalled the duo’s knack for offering listeners a Bandersnatch approach to hitchhiking their own personal Nightbus in whatever direction they choose to take. “Everyone can have their moment with our songs; the music is our response to who we are as young people, living in the city full of this energy right now,” they say.

Whilst reverb hefty melodies and dread-filled loops embody isolation from writing at each of their home studio set-ups, magic happens in the ether across 90s trip-hop, indie sleaze and electronica; Jake’s production layers Olive’s pop sentimentality with drums and samples whilst tales of a cast of faceless characters place Olive as puppet master; her severed self’s perspective manipulating their stringed limbs at arm’s length to see how their stories play out when scenes reflecting her own lie close to the bone. “It’s a bit fucked; like having this out of body experience with a made-up movie running through my head,” she says. “As I write I can see they’re all from a similar world, but they allow me to explore different feelings without giving away part of myself.”

Recorded at The Nave in Leeds with producer-engineer Alex Greaves (Heavy Lungs, Working Men’s Club), surprise and danger lies in every crevice. Brooding whispers turn to chants on 6-minute opus ‘Host.’ Improvised when performed live, its immersive shift in tempo leads to hefty dub courtesy of Jake’s pedals. Even then, you won’t know shit’s hit the fan until its mid-point reveal when ominous bass blasts a thunderous soundtrack as its protagonist defiantly walks away after committing the perfect crime. “It makes you wait, and more songs should have sirens,” Olive grins.

Leaning deeper into alter-egos via the video game-psychological horror of a Silent Hill dystopia, the band’s Fight Club moment ‘Angles Mortz’ turns its literal translation of death angles on its head as it reflects upon kink and internalised shame reincarnated as pride. Elsewhere the ice cool ‘Landslide’ is a Requiem for a Dream about the addiction of being in a band; ‘The Void’ explores co-dependency and estranged relationships; and carefully selected samples revive house track ‘Just A Kid’ from the band’s early incarnation. Passenger’s every direction is to face challenges head on. “That is what’s so great about horror; you can see through predictable patterns so when the unexpected occurs it's more realistic and uncomfortable… I want to own the dark stuff!”

As for Passenger’s first single, the pulsating ‘Ascension’ is a spiralling deep dive into death, suicide, and legacy around who or what we leave behind. A noughties club banger by way of NYC beats - ergonomically designed for those who like to stay out a little too often and too late - it throbs like a house party’s partition wall as the literal levelling up undergoes a neon transformation; blue glitching to pink, diffusing the white construct of the Nightbus Matrix. “It really does feel like the end of something and was purposely written that way,” they say, “the ascension is like a firework going off!”

With wheels in motion, Nightbus has become a movement surpassing sonic realms. Between shows from Porto to Brighton taking in The Great Escape, Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial and Paris’ Supersonic; DJing; remixing; guesting (BDRMM’s Microtonic album); and even enlisting talented like-minds to craft a 3-part queer coming-of-age music video series which ties in with a new ‘hyperpop’ phase in the evolution of their popular Nightbus Soundsystem club night, heads are now being turned from sports brands to high-end fashion designers. “There are things we can’t reveal just yet,” tells Olive, “but we’re excited about the direction this beast we’ve created is heading.” As the album philosophises and asks one ultimate question; what does it truly mean to be ‘Passenger’? Nightbus may not claim to offer a definitive answer, but it might make you feel a bit better about those demons.

Greywind is an Irish emo/alternative rock duo from Killarney, formed by siblings Steph and Paul O’Sullivan. Known for their atmospheric soundscapes, soaring melodies, and deeply emotive lyrics, the band first gained attention with their critically acclaimed debut album Afterthoughts in 2017. Blending post-hardcore energy with cinematic grandeur, Greywind quickly earned a devoted following, praised for their anthemic choruses and powerful emotional honesty. Their long-awaited sophomore album, Severed Heart City, was recorded in Los Angeles with acclaimed producer Sam Guaiana and is set for release via Frontiers Label Group in September 2025. The record showcases the band’s continued growth both sonically and thematically — evolving their signature blend of brooding textures and explosive hooks into something even more dynamic and expressive. From the haunting opener Acid Rain to the cathartic closer Cope in the Coma, Severed Heart City is a visceral, emotionally resonant journey. Themes of mental health, inner conflict, and fragile hope run throughout, elevated by Steph’s impassioned vocal delivery and Paul’s gripping guitar work. With Severed Heart City, Greywind cements their place as one of the most compelling and authentic voices in modern alt-rock. This is a band that turns vulnerability into power — and pain into unforgettable songs

Peter Rehberg is known for his pioneering electronic work with computer software which over time evolved into a modular set up alongside running MEGO and then Editions Mego labels.

Rehberg was a prolific collaborator, with other musicians and with contemporary dance and theatre productions, most notably with French artist and choreographer, Gisèle Vienne with whom he created a series of soundtracks from Showroomdummies, released under the name DACM in 2002 (Showroomdummies MEGO 056), to Crowd in 2017. A collection of Rehberg’s solo works for Vienne was released in 2008 (Work for GV 2004-2008 EMEGO 092). The outfit KTL, with Stephen O’Malley, was initiated by Gisèle Vienne for her work Kindertotenlieder and subsequently made a series of soundtracks for Vienne’s works branching off into a prolific series of live shows. The work Rehberg did for theatre and performance teased out aspects of his practice one may not have encountered in his own solo work as PITA or that of collaborations with other musicians.

Editions Mego is proud to present a previously unreleased theatre soundtrack made for Icelandic choreographer Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir, whom Rehberg had a decade long collaboration with until his untimely passing in 2021. The original composition for Liminal States was created by Rehberg for the performance Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli in 2018 and then revisited as a catalyst for the concepts behind Liminal States. This work is based on an ongoing artistic research conducted by the choreographer into altered states of perception through phenomenological embodiment. It is the last in a trilogy dealing with the notion of larger forces that act on us beyond our conscious mind. The trilogy consists of Pervasive Magnetic Stimuli (2018), Boundless Ominous Fields (2024) and now Liminal States (2024).

Rehberg's score for Liminal States is a vast canvas of spectral ambience at once tangible and unfathomable in its constantly shapeshifting lysergic dread. The results are a psychological journey through the mental effects of sound on space and subsequently the mind. The first part presents cascading waves of shimmering electronics laying the groundwork for the second part where the psychological illusion splinters into all manner of sonic effects taking the listener on a deep mental voyage. If references are witnessed the late period long form hallucinatory works of Coil, such as Time Machines and Constant shallowness leads to evil, are amongst a similar mind message delivered here. Unlike any other release in Rehberg’s output Liminal States is a single long form work which, despite the form, retains Rehberg’s idiosyncratic sound vision.

Guðjónsdóttir and Rehberg’s collaboration blurs that relationship into a greater force which truly enables the theme of liminal states to unfold in a brave new fashion. Rich in timbre and sonic invention this is powerful work easily holding its own outside of the intended performance whilst still complimenting the missions statement entirely. This profound collaboration has the cumulative effect where the concept and soundtrack are one and may be one of the strongest works in the entire Rehberg canon.

Swan Song

The vinyl LP at the heart of this éthiopiques 31 tracks 2 to 11 was one of the very last vinyl records ever released in Ethiopia. But above all it represents, we felt, the absolute masterpiece of the Ethiopian Groove – the Swan Song of Swinging Addis. The album leaves a clear idea for posterity of the level of sophistication and mastery that modern Ethiopian music had achieved, before being crushed under the Stalino-military heel of the Derg – as the bloody revolution that was unfolding came to be called.

Ethiopia1976.

The Revolution that broke out in February 1974 rolled on in a ruthless march. The whole of Ethiopian society was utterly stunned. The bouquets of flowers handed joyfully to the first tanks of the coup d'état were to wilt very rapidly. From September 1976 to February 1978, 18 months of Red Terror (the name given by the junta itself) spilled blood throughout the country. This fratricidal conflict took its heaviest toll among students and youth. The shift from feudalism to a cruel and primitive Stalinism left the country's citizens deeply traumatised, and snuffed out any pretence of activism, whatever the sector of society. This ice age was to last for seventeen long years.

ሙሉቀን፡መለሰ Mulukèn Mellèssè Muluqän Mälläsä

It was three tracks by Muluken that served as the opener for éthiopiques-1 more than 25 years ago. Seven more tracks appeared on éthiopiques-3 and 13, all accompanied by The Equators, which was soon to become the Dahlak Band.

The first track, Hédètch alu, also the very first piece that Muluken ever recorded, left audiences both unsettled and amazed. Reflecting the singer's extremely young age (he was just 17 at the time), this angelic voice mystified many, who thought they were in fact listening to a feminine voice. He was not yet 22 when he released his last vinyl record in 1976 with Kaifa Records (KF 39LP), one of the very last to be issued in Ethiopia, before the cassette tape became the dominant medium for music distribution – and before the new revolutionary regime put a stop to all independent musical life, via an unspeakable barrage of prohibitions and other persecutions.

Mulu qèn, literally, “A well filled day”. This tender maternal intention wasn't enough to ward off the cruelty of fate. His mother's premature death drove Muluken to leave his native Godjam, in northeast Ethiopia, to live with an uncle in Addis Ababa. Born Muluken Tamer, he took his uncle's last name – Mèllèssè.

The spelling Muluken appeared in his administrative records. Transcription of Amharic to the Latin alphabet, both in Ethiopia and for scholars, gives rise to controversies and quibbles that can never be neatly settled. French allows for a closer approximation of the original pronunciation, thanks to its battery of accent marks, confusing as they may be to anglophones.

Between rather accommodating administrative record-keepers and the various versions that pop up in interviews given by the artist, Muluken's year of birth oscillates between 1953 and 1955…

1954? One thing is certain: the artist's talent made itself known very early indeed, because he got his start in 1966-67, at the age of 13 or 14. Photos from the period attest to his extreme youth. It's a strange sort of initiation for a very young teenager to become a sensation in the heart of Addis's nightlife at the time, Woubé Bèrèha – the Wilds of Woubé. And what's more, in the club of the Queen of the Night, the Godjamé Assègèdètch Alamrèw herself, the very same that was portrayed by Sebhat Guèbrè-Egziabhér in his novel-memoir Les Nuits d’Addis Abeba2… The legendary female club owner who is remembered to this day by the capital's ageing boomers.

Muluken first tried his hand at the drums, before he grabbed the microphone. He emigrated briefly to the Zula Club, across the street from the old Addis Post Office, one of the ground-breaking bars of the burgeoning musical scene, before joining the Second Police Band in 1968, for around three years. He spent a few months with the short-lived Blue Nile Band founded by saxophonist Besrat Tammènè. As the musical scene grew increasingly successful, and pulled slowly but decisively away from its institutional ties, Muluken released his first 45rpm single in February 1972 (Amha Records AE 440). It was included in two LP Ethiopian Hit Parade compilation albums in September of the same year. All in all, Muluken released eight two-track 45s and the same number of original cassette tapes between February 1972 and 1984, the year that he departed for permanent exile in the USA. After converting to Pentecostalism in 1980, Muluken gradually abandoned all secular musical activity. In 1985, at the end of a concert in Philadelphia, he decided to quit concerts and recording for good. Mèlakè Gèbré, the historic bass player from the Walias band who was playing with him that night, recalls that everything appeared so irredeemably diabolical in Muluken's eyes, that it was to be the end of his contribution to Ethiopian Groove.

The end of the story, the beginning of a legend.

Dahlak Band, forgotten by History

Aside from his personal history and vocal talents, it must be remembered that Muluken Mèllèssè was one of the biggest names in the musical innovations that marked the end of the imperial period. These éthiopiques aim to convince those who are just discovering this hidden gem... As for Ethiopians themselves, they are to this day captivated by this singular and atypical figure in the Abyssinian pop landscape – even though he withdrew from public life some 40 years ago. Incorrigible devotees of poetic twists, of more or less hidden meanings, Ethiopians appreciate above all the care Muluken took in choosing his lyrics and the writers who penned them, such as Feqerte Haylou, Alemtsehay Wodajo and, here, Shewalul Mengistu (1944-1977). Love songs, written by women, a far cry from the conventional drivel that pleases sappy sentimentalists.

Muluken is equally acclaimed for his perfectionism when it came to music, the opposite of the overly casual approach that is all too common. He remained a faithful partner of musicians who came from a lineage that borrowed from several inventive and pioneering bands (Venus, Equators, Dahlak). Amongst them were certain artists who began their musical lives with Nersès Nalbandian at the Haile Sellassie Theatre and who come of age in around 1973 – at just the wrong time, you might say. Among them were the pillars Shimèlis Bèyènè (trumpet), Dawit Yifru (keyboards) and Tilayé Gèbrè (sax & flute). Most notably Tilayé Gèbrè, certainly one of the most important musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation, of the end of the imperial era, and of the early years of the Derg.

It was only in 1981 that a miraculous opportunity arose for Tilayé to escape the Stalinist paradise of the dictator Menguistou Haylè-Maryam. Once again it was Amha Eshèté (1946-2021) who provided a solution. The spirited and courageous producer, who had been in exile in Washington since 1975, succeeded, thanks to his incredible perseverence, in bringing the Walias Band to the USA. It was, in fact an extended Walias Band comprising ten musicians3, six of whom chose to slip away after a few concerts and the recording of an LP (The Best of Walias, WRS 100). Tilayé Gèbrè was one of these. He has been living in the USA ever since. There he joined the then-nascent Ethiopian diaspora, which lived largely unto itself, and was making only very modest headway in the American musical market. It seems unfair that Tilayé Gèbrè and the Dahlak Band were not able to benefit earlier from the public recognition that they do deserve.

A similar draining away of the top-rate talents would lead to the reorganization of the major groups of the “Derg Time”. The remaining artists spread themselves around between Ibex Band (renamed Roha Band), Ethio Star Band and a remodeled Walias Band. That spelled the end of the Dahlak Band.

With this record, produced by the essential Ali Abdella Kaifa a.k.a. Ali Tango, we can appreciate everything that the Derg not only destroyed, but also prevented from flourishing. This gem of Ethiopian-style afrobeat came out in 1976 (and, by way of a parenthesis, before the FESTAC 1977 in Lagos, which was attended by an impressive delegation of Ethiopian musicians — although Fela was already personna non grata in his own country). Despite everything that might distinguish this ethio-groove from Fela’s music – no colonial axe to grind, no question of political confrontation with the authorities, no claims to negritude or Africanism for the Ethiopian musicians, and less extrovertion! –, this LP fits beautifully into the saga of intense and electrified soul of the new “African” groove that Fela and Manu Dibango embodied so well from that point onwards.

In restoring this record to its place in the afrobeat epic, it can be seen that, if nothing else, the timeline bestows a legitimate pedigree and a historical primacy to works that had no international impact when they were originally released.

Warning! Masterpiece!

The song titles on Van Halen's aptly titled Fair Warning don't lie. The likes of "Unchained," "Mean Street," "Push Comes to Shove," "One Foot Out the Door," and more indicate the mood the band channels on its double-platinum 1981 record — the nastiest, darkest, and fiercest album of the group's storied career. For the fourth time in four years, Van Halen throws down the gauntlet to all challengers and emerges victorious.


Sourced from the original analog tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set plays with unfettered clarity, dynamics, and immediacy. Benefitting from superb groove definition, an ultra-low noise floor, and dead-quiet surfaces, this vinyl edition captures what went down in the studio with tremendous realism and involving presence.

Taking a more controlled approach in the studio and still completing everything in less than two weeks, Van Halen and producer Ted Templeman relied on studio amplifiers to direct the sound. Further diverging from the live-on-the-floor approach of its earlier albums, the ensemble also employed overdubs to great effect. The result: Dense, stacked architecture that underlines the hard-hitting tenor of the songs — and which comes alive like never before on this reference edition that looks as good as it sounds.

The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation befit the reissue's select status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. Aurally and visually, it is made for listeners who want to immerse themselves in everything involved with the album, including the iconic cover art adopted from William Kurelek's haunting painting, "The Maze."

Isolated frames from Kurelek's childhood-inspired work — including a man bashing his head into a brick wall, a guy pinning down an adversary as he delivers bare-fist blows to his face and others watch with apparent glee, a boy tied down on a conveyer belt and being sent through the equivalent of a meat saw — adorn the front and back covers. The sunnier visual disposition of Van Halen's prior efforts gives way to something sinister and tortured, traits reflective of the music within. The band members, too, are visually depicted not in glamorous shots but in a serious black-and-white portrait in which the quartet is clad in black leather jackets.

Tough, aggressive, stark: Fair Warning comes on like a series of bare-knuckled punches to the solar plexus and boasts lyrical narratives to match. Though not a concept record, the concise album revolves around themes of roughing it on the streets and struggling to survive amid dim prospects. Singer David Lee Roth reportedly penned many of the initial lyrics after traveling to Haiti and observing extreme poverty. The characters and situations populating Fair Warning reflect hardscrabble existence, last-chance desperation, and underlying danger.

Witness the crazies, poor folks, and hunters of “Mean Street”; the former prom queen turned pornographic actress on “Dirty Movies”; the menace and vice of “Sinners Swing!”; the streetwise hustle of “Unchained”; the isolation and alienation of “Push Comes to Shove”; the desire for escape on “One Foot Out the Door”: A carefree California beach party Fair Warning is not.

Having said he felt angry and frustrated during the sessions, guitarist Eddie Van Halen uses the forceful arrangements as a playground for his seemingly unlimited arsenal. Supported by a crack rhythm section and a hyped-up Roth, he performs with an almost impossible combination of punk-like intensity, technical finesse, lyrical fluidity, and unbridled emotion. The virtuoso was increasingly butting heads with Templeton and seeking a freedom in the studio he believed denied him.

No wonder he plays like a bat out of hell. Listen to the rapid-fire manner in which he slaps the high and low E strings on the 12th fret of his instrument on “Mean Street,” instilling the tune with funk flair and metal-spiked sharpness. For the pouty strut of “Dirty Movies,” Eddie Van Halen contributes slide guitar magic made possible after he sawed off the lower portion of a Gibson SG so he could reach further down the fretboard.

Related intensity, urgency, and daredevil momentum punctuate the surging “Sinner’s Swing!” A heavily flanged, delicately melodic introduction frames the attitudinal “Hear About It Later,” among the most creative arrangements of Van Halen’s career. And do riffs come any bigger or magnetic than those on the high-wire kick of “Unchained”? As for the out-of-left-field “Sunday in the Park,” an instrumental composed on an Electro-Harmonix micro-synthesizer: Who but Eddie Van Halen to supply creep factor in such an ingenious way?

Despite selling fewer quantities than Van Halen’s prior efforts, Fair Warning remains for many diehards the record that epitomizes all of the band’s immense strengths —Roth’s manic energy and tongue-wagging humor, Alex Van Halen’s rhythmic heartbeat-in-your-chest bombast, and Michael Anthony’s lucid bass lines included. Arriving when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and new-wave movements were taking flight, it signaled a shot across the bow from a band determined to stay a step ahead and provide proof nobody could touch what it delivered.

More than four decades later, Fair Warning still sounds that alarm.

Deey, a native of Futenma, Okinawa, is one of the most popular artists today, known for his collaboration with Leo Iwamura on "Deep Blue," and EVO, who has
made a name for himself with The Anthem, hosted by IMUHA BLACK, and is attracting attention. This LP features a remarkable album by three artists at the forefront
of Japan's underground hip-hop scene, all produced by MrRn, whose popularity is rapidly rising in the Kansai region.

"Working with these three artists, I was able to bring out the best in myself and express my passion for swaying, nodding, and communicating. "Sunshin" in particular
is a song I want everyone to listen to and feel for its vibe and message!" -- Deey

"The album title, 'Amon', literally means 'Gate of Asia.' When we listen to music, we're usually drawn to the sound and groove first, so we created a record that
will resonate worldwide, regardless of the current domestic scene. I'm not really into forming and organizing a crew, so I'd like to continue working with friends
who share Amon's concept, not just in music, but in other areas as well." -- EVO

"When you hear it, it'll hit you like lightning. Creating it with my friends, supporting each other, learning from each other, I've managed to express myself more

authentically than any other production I've ever done." – MrRn

This is the first new Andy Boay album since 2013’s In The Light. I recorded it in January 2024 to a Yamaha MT8X 8-track cassette recorder in my room at the New York Center for Creativity & Dance in the East Village of Manhattan.

I mixed it in June 2024 with Joe Santarpia and Roberto Pagano at the Idiot Room in San Francisco. The three songs on Side A (“HBM,” “If I Ever Come Off,” and “You’re In The Air Now”) were initially arranged over several live performances using a multi-track looper. When I then sat down to track them to my tape machine, I meticulously sang and played out all repeating parts, layering and ping-pong-bouncing each doubled take to another tape-track. In this way I hoped to maintain the hypnotic quality of the looped parts while keeping them organic, singular, and fleeting. Side B is a triptych of more carefully arranged pop songs: a tremolo & mod-delay elegy to youth called “Careless,” bookended by two variations on the same theme — the stark, mellotron prayer of “One & One” and the lonesome after-hours funk of “I Want More”. The line “You took that walk for the two of us” has a dual meaning. In 2011, my friend Spencer Gilley took a long walk through Montreal while listening to demos I’d recorded.

He described the experience to me as magical, ecstatic, inspiring. His encouragement from that moment still echoes every time I sit down to write or record. Less than a year later, I met Florida musician Thomas Fekete. We formed a deep, brief friendship that lasted until his death in 2016. Thom entered my life during a chaotic time and helped me find direction and courage. He took me on a tour that shifted the course of my life. We bonded over surviving cancer as young men, Florida’s noise scene, and the strange lives we led as touring guitarists (he in Surfer Blood, me in Mac DeMarco’s band). Thom could always warmly anticipate all of my joy, humor, and curiosity—and all of my pain, anxiety, and fear. In this way, it felt like he was also taking that walk for the two of us—gently guiding me down a path he had already traveled. Andy Boay (Andy White) began playing and recording music as a teen in Orlando during the early 2000s, exploring noise, psych, and pop in bands and solo projects.

He has played in the duo Tonstartssbandht with his brother Edwin since 2007. He spent six years playing guitar in the touring band for Mac DeMarco. Andy Boay’s music taps the euphoric and the sorrowful, both onstage amongst friends and strangers, and tracking alone at his 8-track in the studio. These days he lives and works in the East Village neighborhood of New York City.

When Niko Moon broke out with his triple-platinum hit “GOOD TIME,” the Texas-born, Georgia-raised singer/songwriter lit up the country scene with his larger-than-life energy and message of radical positivity. Since then, he’s earned a passionate following, major TV performances, and praise from outlets like Holler and American Songwriter. With AMERICAN PALM Deluxe, arriving right before his headline AMERICAN PALM Tour, Niko expands his latest LP with
two new tracks, “BREATHE” and “BARE FEET IN THE SAND,” furthering his mission of creating music that feels like a“mental vacation” filled with sun-soaked serenity and coastal escape.

“Breathe is all about finding that place where you can take a deep breath and let your worries drift away,” says Niko. “I find peace by the water, and I wanted the song to be a mantra of positive self talk and a celebration of the coast.”

Niko partly grew up in Georgia, spending summers on Florida beaches, an influence that shapes the concept-driven AMERICAN PALM. Written during his THESE ARE THE NIGHTS tour with producer Danny Majic and songwriter David J, the record blends coastal sounds—ukuleles, nylon-string guitars, ocean waves—with organic beats and a touch of ‘90s hip-hop, nodding to his Atlanta roots. The result is a seaside getaway in album form, equal parts carefree, romantic,and life-affirming.

Tracks like “I LOVE THIS BEACH” and “YOU, ME & A BEACH” capture that spirit. The latter, a love song linking his wife and the beach as his grounding forces, helped cement the record as his first concept album. “SANDBAR” delivers a euphoric summer vibe, while “SANDCASTLES” reflects on life’s impermanence. “KING OF THE ISLAND” is a family
milestone—co-written and sung with his father, Cris Cowan.

Niko’s journey began early, inspired by his dad, a truck driver and drummer who introduced him to John Prine and Emmylou Harris. Niko picked up drums at eight, guitar at fifteen, and started playing in bars while working construction. A chance encounter with Zac Brown led to songwriting cuts like “Homegrown,” before Niko launched his solo career with “GOOD TIME,” a No. 1 hit on both Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts. From the start, he committed to making only positive music: “In a way a song is like a mantra, and I want mine to carry optimism and encouragement.”

Since his debut, Niko has sold out the Ryman, played major festivals like Stagecoach, and performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Beyond music, he and his wife Anna founded the Happy Cowboy Foundation to support mental health and addiction recovery, and launched Happy Himalayan water and the American Palm clothing line, both of which benefit the foundation.

From 1968 through to the mid 1970’s the reggae beat began to slow down,some say due to the extreme heat hitting down onto Kingston Town and its surrounding enclaves. People needed something less strenuous to dance to. The Ska and Rocksteady Sounds (see 101 Orange Street KS007) that rocked Jamaica previously, had now found a slower tempo and become more ‘Dread’ lyrically to suit the times. Reggae music has always moved within the social climate it found itself in and this set here, as we ‘Return To Orange Street’ was ROOTS ROCK REGGAE TIME....

The Rastafarian message that runs through this collection of ‘Reality’, sometimes labelled ‘Sufferers’ music,is strong and works on many levels. It can come across on a heavy rhythm and vocal cut. Its example represented here by Prince Jazzbo’s ‘Dread in a Earth’ and ‘I Roy’s ‘Roots Man Time’, moving through to the popular new sounds of the DJ’s working over an old rhythm and alongside its existing vocal. As with Busty Brown working with Delroy Wilson's ‘Know Your Friend’ and Mr Jah Stitch working over Johnny Clarke’s ‘Roots Natty Roots’ to produce an even more dreader ‘True Born African’. The heartfelt lyric can also convey this message as we can see when Horace Andy laments ‘Where is the Love’ and Delroy Wilson again shows us on his ‘Who Cares’ cut. The great Twinkle Brothers also put the message across on their two cuts we have here, ’Too Late’ one of their lost classics if ever there was one and the thoughtful ‘It’s Not Who You Know’,being another prime example.

Orange Street itself is always at the heart of all reggae's musical changes and some singers also ride these waves as Mr Cornell Campbell shows us here with two cuts. The mournful ‘Too Be Loved’ and his uplifting ‘Girl of My Dreams’, which uses the same rhythm as our previously mentioned Prince Jazzbo’s 'Dread in a Earth’. Showing us that firstly you can’t keep a good rhythm down and secondly that two if not more great songs can work from the same source point. The light hearted ‘Vengeful’ lyric also worked in this period when artists spared off to each other on records to vent their frustrations. As we can hear here with Mr Lee Perry’s ‘You Funny Boy’. The song snipping back at a previous employer over what he felt were his misdoings to an under appreciated Mr Perry. We have culled these tracks together to show that the Dread Roots feel of the 1970’s came across in many guises and even in earlier songs these sentiments were also prevalent. As represented in Slim Smith’s almost bluesy feel in ‘Trying To Find a Home’, never a truer statement in Kingston's ghetto areas.

Well we hope you enjoy this musical journey and make a connection with messages portrayed here, as Mr Monty Morris points out on his contribution to this collection ‘Times Are Dread’.... Dread indeed.....

Colin Curtis Jazz Dance Fusion Vol 4

Colin Curtis is back! with another finely curated selection of the best Jazz Dance Fusion records he could find.

Volume 4 reflects a combination of new music, unreleased music, and tracks that have never been on vinyl before or have not attained the recognition they deserve. Packed with great Jazz Dance music from the UK and all around the world. The whole purpose of these compilations is to introduce you to fantastic talent and allow you to then go and explore all their works and keep this movement moving!

With brand new & exclusive releases, extremely rare tracks, and many only available on Vinyl for the first time from Brazil, Cuba, Japan, Italy, USA, UK, and beyond. Showcasing another insight into Colin Curtis's world of Jazz Dance Fusion and highlighting the sheer diversity & talent on offer from Vocal Jazz, Salsa, and Latin Spoken Word to Sambas & Fusion, It's All Here!

"Fasten your Seatbelts for a Jazztastic ride !!" - COLIN CURTIS









i 09: Chris Bangs & Nova Vida - My Only (Geemix) feat. Klei









i 09: Chris Bangs & Nova Vida - My Only (Geemix) [feat. Klei]









[i] 09: Chris Bangs & Nova Vida - My Only (Geemix) [feat. Klei]









[i] 09: Chris Bangs & Nova Vida - My Only (Geemix) [feat. Klei]

**Includes double sided insert with liner notes and photos*

Al Mati was the pseudonym of eccentric Portuguese-born, Dutch-based artist Alberto Mesquita. The name translates to ‘Alberto Friend’, with ‘Al’ short for Alberto and ‘Mati’ meaning ‘friend’ in Surinamese.
Alberto’s story comes across like a mythical character from a European Kerouac novel, but instead of writing it down, he poured those adventures and characters into his record. The music and the comic-style artwork, drawn by his friend Bruno Scoriels, work as one, with Alberto himself becoming both the story and the character within it.

Raised under Salazar’s regime in Lisbon, where all men were conscripted to Africa, he refused, a pacifist. This put him at odds with his father, born in Angola and a prominent lawyer tied to the dictatorship. Unable to accept his son’s stance, the rift forced Alberto to flee Portugal as a deserter, leaving everything behind.

He sought a new life in Paris, where he met Bruno Scoriels. The pair busked to get by, and young and broke, set off on adventures across Europe. On one trip to Barcelona, they crossed the Pyrenees on foot through a five-kilometre train tunnel, not knowing if they would make it out alive. The train later featured on the cover of Some Shit, a nod to that hazardous journey and the strange turns of his life.

From there he moved to Belgium, where he met Jolanda, his future wife who also features on the album. They lived in The Netherlands, then back in Belgium where they married, before returning to Portugal under false pretences. The regime promised deserters immunity, but it proved untrue, and Alberto was forced to flee again — this time with a young family, using Bruno’s passport to escape to The Netherlands.

They settled in the Gliphoeve flats in Amsterdam’s Bijlmermeer, a vibrant immigrant community. This melting pot of cultures inspired Alberto musically. He started a studio in their flat where musicians from Suriname, Angola, the Antilles, Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal came and went, jamming, rehearsing, recording and forming bands including Albatros, Comoção and Mati Africa, performing internationally and at iconic Amsterdam venues like De Melkweg and Paradiso.

Being an immigrant was tough. Alberto was stateless for years, drifting across countries. Some songs voiced his frustration with the Portuguese regime, others were playful or simply love notes to his wife and kids. He passed away in the Netherlands in 2021, leaving Some Shit open to interpretation. But when you picture Europe in the 1970s — the politics, the upheaval, and his need to connect people across cultures — you can hear an artist shaped by contrast, who poured his experiences, feelings and love into music.

2025 Repress
Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant is a figure in techno history that needs little introduction. As a member of the Sandwell District collective and the label’s art director he collaborated on works that were responsible for a global focal shift in the genre as their label adapted and challenged the paradigm of minimal techno, taking influence from other sources such as dub, post-punk, and even classical minimalism.

But Mendez’s relationship with music goes back much further than these seminal releases. With In Memoriam, Silent Servant’s latest release on Tresor Records, Mendez writes a deeply personal memoir of a 30-plus year career spent exploring and absorbing the shadowy side of music; a carefully crafted elegy to people, places, and times past and the lasting effect they have on the present.

Across the four tracks, Mendez pays tribute to the earliest Detroit techno and electro, the Belgian EBM movement and the wave music that followed, the monumental dub techno sound from Berlin, and the harder, abrasive sound of the UK at the turn of the last millennium; exploring and referencing the genres that informed his later work. Each track name gives a hint to the timeframe he is revisiting and re-contextualising as the E.P. repurposes the styles that exerted an influence on him.

This E.P. represents a pure distillation of Mendez’s memories whilst also cementing his place in the current and future sound of 21st century techno; aware of where we came from but focused on where we are heading.

Previously we’ve mentioned influences from the 1970s self-reflective work of Nick Drake & John Martyn to the lovelorn tragedy of troubadours such as Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley creating a fusion of 1960s/70s folk and blues.

Now Cardiff-based indie folk singer-songwriter Ivan Moult returns with his most personal work to date, Stood Out In The Storm, due to be released on November 7th through Bubblewrap (home to The Gentle Good). The album follows the acclaimed Songs From Severn Grove (2023), which drew praise for its warmth, intricacy and timeless songwriting, cementing Ivan’s reputation as one of Wales’ most compelling contemporary voices.

While Songs From Severn Grove captured moments of renewal and joy - written in lockdown and
during the early days of fatherhood - its follow-up takes a braver, more vulnerable step. Stood Out
In The Storm was written in the aftermath of a personal crisis and charts Ivan’s gradual process of
healing and recovery. The record traverses darkness and light, despair and resilience, offering a
deeply honest exploration of fragility, survival and hope.

Ivan’s signature sound remains at the core: a seamless blend of 1960s/70s folk and blues infused
with modern textures, drawing influence from John Martyn, the late great Terry Reid and Ry
Cooder. On Stood Out In The Storm, that familiar intimacy is expanded with a greater presence
of guitars and organs, adding new depth and urgency to the sound. As with his previous records,
Ivan wrote, played, recorded and mixed the album at his Cardiff home studio, and the record sits
as a companion piece to Songs From Severn Grove.

Over the years, Ivan has gained support from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales and KLOF
(Formerly Folk Radio UK), earned festival slots at Cornbury Festival, Festival of Voice and Sŵn,
and shared stages with the likes of This Is The Kit, Becca Mancari and Willy Mason. Now, with
Stood Out In The Storm (out November 7th), he offers his most powerful and affecting work yet –
an album born of struggle, but defined by resilience.

“Exquisite”- Folk Radio UK 

“Beautiful” - Huw Stephens, BBC Radio

“Utterly wonderful” - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales

”There is a wonderful delicateness that resonates through Ivan’s heartfelt lyrics, deamy music and vocals. Ivan is able to take listeners on their own journey of growth through his soft melodies and blissful atmosphere”
- Amplify The Noise

With Lentement, Julie Jains presents her debut EP, the result of a writing and composition process focused on repetition and the passage of time. Each track is built on simple phrases that return, evolve, and gradually generate their own intensity.



Julie's voice, at once fragile and assured, becomes part of this interplay of repetition and lends the project a distinctive identity. Rowan van Hoef's productions reinforce this approach with electronic textures that are both dense and precise, highlighting the voice while establishing a coherent, singular atmosphere.



Together, they offer a work that explores the power of slowness and minimalism, inviting attentive listening beyond conventional formats.

Ambre Ciel is a composer, violinist, pianist and singer who hails from Montreal, Canada and is a purveyor of dreamy, expansive, spacious pop music that draws influence from the contemporary classical influenced artists such as Agnes Obel, Patrick Watson, Sufjan Stevens and Thom Yorke. As well as the impressionist world of Debussy and American minimalists such as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich and in addition mentions "music that breathes" from such artists as Gyoa Valtysdottir, JFDR, or the collaborative work of Jónsi and Alex Somers.

The Heinz Beauvaix project dates back to the mid-1990’s when Niels Rønne and Flemming Kaspersen played in Danish ambient act Swimwear Catalogue. On an ever growing number of DAT tapes they recorded semi-improvised synth/sampler/sequencer jams that mixed influences from ambient, electro and industrial. Later they began working with more detailed studio productions.

The seven tracks on “Vision Man” combine complex synth pads, interweaving monophonic synth lines, discrete drum rhythms, and strange voice samples. The sound is experimental and melodic at the same time. Influences range from early industrial to IDM, techno and synth pop. Rønne and Kaspersen originally met through a shared obsession with Canadian industrial giants Skinny Puppy. And if there is one seminal album that has influenced the Heinz Beauvaix sound, it is the obscure Skinny Puppy side project Doubting Thomas and their solitary album “The Infidel”, released in 1990.

Others have mentioned influences from bands such as Coil, Severed Heads, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber’s Delerium and Future Sound Of London.

“Vision Man” is old school synthesizer music with tunes you can hum.

After completing his nationwide run with Ice Nine kills, the rocker has been hard at work prepping Cruel World. The collection of songs includes several notable features, including the likes of From First To Last, as well as Ice Nine Kills. The 9-song minialbum is chock full of TX2's well-known hard-hitting sinister sound, and he's bringing an added dose of heavy with these new songs as well. Fan-favorite track "MAD," which has seen 10,000+ video creates on TikTok and has created an unstoppable buzz around the project. Rising out of the shadows of a small town known for music, Fort Collins; TX2 brings an unmatchable intensity in his music through the form of powerful raw lyrics and explosive performances. After struggling for so many years as an artist, TX2 used his pain as fuel and finally found his sound. As a result, his music went viral on TikTok and he now has ~800K followers on the platform. TX2 has since begun a movement known among his fans known as the "X Movement", which is all about bringing awareness to mental health and creating a safe space for those in need to talk. The rules are simple, any member can vent and share how they are feeling, while other members are encouraged to push other members' self-esteem up. The movement is currently growing every day, providing a platform to speak about mental health, vent, and support one another. TX2 wants everyone to know they are not alone in their struggles. The nine rack minialbum is available on CD & LP!

Old-time and traditional music stay exciting for their contrasts. Exacting instrumentation honed through mentorships and late-night jams at fiddler's conventions tangles with a community-sourced inventiveness that influences variants and new sounds. Joseph Decosimo is a master of this genre for this very reason, blending deep technique with an openness and curiosity that keep his music crackling with life. A "marvelous fiddler" (No Depression) and banjo player who braids "exultation and veneration" (INDY Week) into his music, on his third solo album Fiery Gizzard Decosimo gathers a close-knit ensemble of friends from his musical career to infuse his interpretations of fiddle and banjo pieces with a contagious communal joy. As an artist working with traditional music from the South and Appalachia, Decosimo chooses songs based not only on historical significance and lineage but also his own sensory approach. For Fiery Gizzard, his ear was tuned to otherworldly tones and mystery, sourcing from field recordings such as Virginia fiddler Luther Davis' hypnotic version of "Shady Grove" while amping up the music's psychedelic potential. On the middle Tennessee banjo composition "Flowery Girls," a VHS of bluesman Abner Jay inspired Decosimo to rig up a pickup inside a fretless banjo and play it thr ough a tube amp to capture some of Jay's edge and funkiness. But to round out the sound and keep it kinetic meant galvanizing a genre-eschewing crew to jam out - and not in a "spaced-out drooly" kind of way, he laughs, but as a sort of "responsive conversation." Decosimo has always been a community-minded artist. He began playing as a seventh graderin Tennessee, fostering relationships with older players at jams and in homes, a learning mode natural to his inquisitive nature and desire for musical connection. A folklorist by intuition, he later became one by profession, studying with old-time legend Clyde Davenport, teaching in East Tennessee State University's renowned bluegrass program, and receiving his PhD at the University of North Carolina with a dissertation titled "Catching the `Wild Note': Listening, Learning, and Connoisseurship in Old-Time Music." In North Carolina, Decosimo kicked about in the verdant environment of Durham and Chapel Hill's folk and indie scenes, collaborating with artists including Alice Gerrard, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell. This community has influenced his own music, including his "sublime and strangely heartening" (Bandcamp Daily) 2022 release While You Were Slumbering and Beehive Cathedral, Decosimo's 2024 "Appalachian mountain music treasury" (New Commute) trio album with Luke Richardson and Cleek Schrey for Dear Life Records. Continuing on this path, Fiery Gizzard is home base for a loose outfit of mostly Tarheel-based musicians from within and beyond traditional music. Inspired by a tour with fiddler Stephanie Coleman (Nora Brown), guitarist Jay Hammond, and synth builder and multi-instrumentalist Matthew O'Connell, Decosimo assembled studiomates based on close friendships and comfort. Coleman, O'Connell, and Hammond contribute to Fiery Gizzard, along with bassist and producer Andy Stack (Helado Negro, Wye Oak), horn player Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne), Mipso and Fust's Libby Rodenbough, Joseph O'Connell (Elephant Micah), and trad/experimental artist Cleek Schrey. Decosimo's fiddle and banjo work is virtuosic, intricate and simple simultaneously, a testament to his many years of study. On some tracks, his playing or lovely, plain-hearted singing is the centerpiece, such as on his interpretations of Texan street preacher Washington Phillips' 1929 recording "I Had a Good Father and Mother" or the Eastern Kentucky fiddle barn-burner "Glory in the Meetinghouse," famously played by Luther Strong for Alan Lomax. But there's also a trusting open-door policy, like where Southern Appalachian tune "Ida Red" relaxes into Coleman's sweet, confident fiddling and Hammond's loping guitar. As a bandleader, Decosimo's confidence and enthusiasm for the music reveal the heart of traditional music and how it can come to life through community. Fiery Gizzard is Joseph Decosimo as a powerful champion of traditional music - a sponge who soaks up as much as he squeezes out, a responsive artist who makes his genre accessible, and a magnet who can bring musicians of all sorts into his orbit with his same passion.

Hüsker Dü. Live. 1985. Das transzendente Punk-Trio aus Minneapolis in seinem explosivsten Jahr, live aufgenommen auf der Bühne im First Avenue, in der vielleicht am besten klingenden Aufnahme der gefeierten SST-Ära der Band. Diese 4xLP/2xCD-Edition enthält Beau Sorensons Restaurierung der 21 Songs des gesamten Sets vom 30. Januar 1985, dazu 20 zusätzliche Live-Tracks aus dem weiteren Tourneeverlauf des Jahres und ein Deluxe-Booklet mit detaillierten Informationen zu den zwölf geschichtsträchtigen Monaten von Hüsker Dü. Wie klingt eine Legende, in dem Moment, wenn sie geschrieben wird? Betrachtet man das Jahr 1985 durch die dynamische Linse der Independent/DIY-Musik, so gab es Mitte des Jahrzehnts für Hüsker Dü einen kraftvollen und unbestreitbaren Sprint von der rauen Punk-Institution bei SST zur künstlerischen Empathie bei Warner Bros. Die New York Times bezeichnete die Band als "die beste, die aus der Hardcore-Szene hervorgegangen ist". Im Einklang mit diesem Lob zeigte Hüsker Dü ein kreatives Tempo, das in keiner anderen Musikära zuvor oder seitdem jemals erreicht wurde. Nachdem sie im Juli des Vorjahres mit dem Doppelalbum "Zen Arcade" die aufkeimende Alternative-Rock-Bewegung sprengte, veröffentlichte die Band nur sechs Monate später, am 14. Januar 1985, das epochale "New Day Rising" und hörte nie auf, dem Sonnenaufgang über dem Hidden Beach nachzujagen, der das Cover des Albums zierte. Am 30. Januar 1985 erreichte Minneapolis am Abend zum Zeitpunkt des Konzerts -11 °C, was einem gnadenlosen Temperatursturz von 19 Grad gegenüber dem Tageshöchstwert von 8 °C bedeutete. Die 1500 Besucher im First Avenue brauchten jedoch kein T-Shirt, geschweige denn eine Daunenjacke: Von den ersten blendenden Momenten von "New Day Rising" an war klar, dass Bob Mould, Grant Hart und Greg Norton fest entschlossen waren, jedes Molekül im Raum in Brand zu setzen. Ihre Setlist bot eine nächtliche Kaskade von Feuerbällen aus den Alben "Everything Falls Apart", "Metal Circus", "Zen Arcade" und "New Day Rising" sowie fünf neue Songs, die später auf "Flip Your Wig" wieder auftauchen sollten. Außerdem würdigten sie ihre rockigen Vorfahren: mit einer rasanten Version von "Eight Miles High" von The Byrds, einer turbulenten Interpretation von "Helter Skelter" von den Beatles mit Dave Pirner von Soul Asylum, einem Pop-Punk-Remake von "Ticket To Ride" ebenfalls von den Beatles und ihrem charakteristischen Cover von Sonny Curtis' Mary-Tyler-Moore-Titelsong "Love Is All Around" zum Abschluss. Die First-Avenue-Bänder von 1985 zeigen Hüsker Dü in Höchstform mit bereits beliebten Songs, ein paar Jahre bevor sie ihren Status als Blaupause für den kommenden Alternative-Rock-Boom endgültig gefestigt hatten. Dieses Box-Set feiert diese Aufnahmen, die vielleicht die besten Hüsker-Dü-Aufnahmen sind, die während der legendenhaften SST-Jahre der Band produziert wurden. "Wenn ich an diese Zeit zurückdenke", kommentiert Greg Norton, "waren das drei Jungs, die das taten, was sie liebten, Spaß hatten und im Grunde anderen Menschen zeigten, dass man sich selbst treu bleiben kann, seiner Musik treu bleiben kann und sich nicht der Mode oder den Erwartungen beugen muss, um etwas wirklich Großartiges zu schaffen."

2025 Repress

After 15 years of shaping Hungary's electronic music events scene, Technokunst proudly unveils its record label. The inaugural 12" kicks off a series of collaborative releases, featuring some of the collective's favourite Artists. Each release in the 'Split Series' will consist of both original tracks and reworks.

The first EP brings together Rrose and Luigi Tozzi for a dive into very deep waters across four cuts of mental Deep Techno. These are functional, floor-focused workouts - built for keeping the floor moving through all phases of the night.

Mastered by Giovanni Conti at Artefacts Mastering. Lacquer cut by Simon at The Exchange. Limited pressing on 180gr heavyweight white vinyl in full color sleeve. The artwork is based on a digitally scanned painting on canvas by Technokunst's own Dorka Berkes. The release is accompanied by a printed insert featuring the artwork and key pieces of information on both sides.

Early support from the likes of Adriana Lopez, Blazej Malinowski, Claudio PRC, Danieli, Deepbass, Kaspiann, Na Nich, Ness, Orbe, Reeko, Save Your Atoll, Vera Logdanidi and Volster.

Chris Menist pares his sound right back for A book of imaginary beings, his fourth Awkward Corners outing with a project of electronic and abstracted global grooves. Experimenting with simple melodies and uncluttered arrangements, as well as taking inspiration from the Borges' short stories alluded to in the title, the project took shape in the early part of 2025, in the shorter days and dark evenings of January.

The initial challenge was to knock a basic track into shape each evening after work, then refine it later. There's a melancholy in the air in late winter, compounded by the creeping threat of national and geopolitical instability. Ulla, Natural Information Society, Jabu, Torso and Dawuna formed some of the background soundtrack as each tune took shape.

The track titles came after sitting with the sounds for a while, giving shape to images of people, creatures and their stories for a book that is yet to be written.

Two former friends sets the tone for the album perfectly as a minimal electronic piece with a slowly simmering synth bassline underpinning the groove whilst the trademark Awkward sound of the Shahi Baaja enters drenched in effects. It's the first demonstration of Chris' unique ability to create a world from apparently very little.

Dance of the silver beetles is completely unique in that we can hear chopped up Illimba samples seemingly playing backwards and forewords sometimes alone, sometimes together in duet with Chris' conga rhythms. Add to that a more conventional Illimba melody and added shaker percussion and you have one of A book of imaginary beings most curious chapters.

Anxious shadow puppets is closer to the Awkward Corners sound from previous albums as electronic pulses move around the arrangement with the urgency that the track title suggests. Chris' percussive roots move to the fore with the congas that tie down the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band's sound. Here, the bassline is more playful and works together with one of Chris' many African Illimbas.

Fans of Chris' adventures on his Roland 808 will dig A leopard with no spots, although the minimal mood continues to flow through on this track. The lolloping, but hard-hitting rhythm track provides the grounding for strange and twisting feedback-sounding tones to work the soundscape.

Abandoned boy (left in charge of the family business) is Awkward Corners at his atmospheric best. Drift off to the sublime sounds of Chris exploring the Shahi Baaja, whilst a soft, repetitive synth line and abstracted pads give the listener that feeling of meditation and peace.

Flamingo with bandaged neck is A book of imaginary beings' perfect coda and is exclusively Shahi Baaja draped in reverbs and delays. It feels like the resolution and the closing of a book that – as of yet – remains unwritten.

Awkward Corners is Chris Menist, a musician, DJ and writer. It started life as a small project in Islamabad, where Chris was living at the time. Initial recordings were made with local musicians in Pakistan and then subsequently in Thailand. This culminated in the Sweet Decay LP that came out on Finders Keepers' Disposable Music in 2014, and in turn led to a limited tape release on Boomkat/Reel Torque of original compositions and re-edits of Thai 45s the same year. Chris released – Dislocation Songs – his second LP proper with Shapes of Rhythm in May 2020, collaborating on many of the tracks with award-winning performer Sarathy Korwar. The LP was picked up by many radio stations including NTS, Resonance FM, BBC 6 Music, Balamii and many more. It made Tom Ravenscroft's LPs of 2020. Amateur Dramatics, Chris' second LP arrived just a year later in 2021 and was a more ambitious project featuring more jazz-focussed compositions and featuring Tamar Osborn and Kitty Whitelaw. Shortly after that came another pivot with the heavier, dancefloor-friendly EP Somebody Somewhere. Somebody Somewhere is Dancing in a Field brought the House (yes House!) vibes, whilst Hector Plimmer turned in a remix of No Words in the same club mood.

As one of NTS Radio's longest-standing presenters, Chris continues to hold down the Paradise Bangkok show. Playing drums and percussion since he was a kid, Chris is the percussionist for The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band as well as co-founding the record label of the same name. Chris has curated compilations for labels such as Finders Keepers, Soundway and Dust-To-Digital. He has been featured on the Boiler Room, Vinyl Factory Collections, played at the Four Tet curated Nuits Sonores festival, and has put together an edition of Volumes which featured unreleased Awkward Corners compositions.






[d] 04: All the Goodbyes (You Tried to Defer) [Original]





[j] 10: Abandoned Boy (Left in Charge of the Family Business) [Original]

Mr Bongo proudly presents, ‘AFIM’, the second solo album by one of Brazil’s most exciting new talents, Zé Ibarra. You may be familiar with the hypnotic, entrancing tones of Ibarra’s vocals through his work with the Latin Grammy award-winning, four-piece, Bala Desejo and the band Dônica. He has also toured with the musical titan, Milton Nascimento, performing guitar and vocals, which is quite the honour and a testament to Ibarra's craft. As a solo artist, he has performed headline solo shows in Japan, Portugal and the US, as well as recently completing a support tour with the great, Seu Jorge.

‘AFIM’ is comprised of eight tracks, featuring Zé’s own compositions as well as cover versions of tracks by contemporaries and friends, Sophia Chablau, Tom Veloso, and Dora Morelenbaum. It combines elements of MPB, jazz, pop and progressive rock in a bold, authoritative style. The album represents the intersection between different facets of the artist, from the stripped-down, intimate, guitar singer-songwriter, to dense arrangements with sweeping strings sections. Writing this album allowed Ibarra "to explore sides of myself that had not yet been organized in an album: a certain darkness, a more cinematic musicality, a desire for new soundscapes.

The album features the single, 'Transe', a song with an instantly comforting tone reminiscent of classic Brazilian songs of the past (think Caetano Veloso). It is built on a rhythmic guitar that supports dynamic sound layers, opening space for Ibarra's intense interpretation. Cinematic atmospheres that lend an air of mystery come courtesy of string arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum.

His unique cover version of Sophia Chablau's 'Segredo' is equally compelling, taking Sophia's punky-indie original in a different direction and making it feel like his own. 'Essa Confusão', a song celebrating the intensity of love and co-written by Dora Morelenbaum, is steered into epic, 70's AOR, singer-songwriter territory with wind arrangements by Ibarra, Jorge Continentino and strings by Jaques Morelenbaum.

The album is the result of the collaboration of experienced musicians and long-time partners of Ibarra. Fellow Bala Desejo and Dônica member Lucas Nunes co-produced the album. The core band featured on the record consists of Lucas Nunes on organs, Alberto Continentino on bass, Daniel Conceição and Thomas Harres on drums and percussion, Rodrigo Pacato on additional percussion, Chico Lira on Fender Rhodes and Guilherme Lírio on guitar.

The overall feel of the record is archetypically quintessential without slipping into retro mode. It is a stunning album from one of the finest musicians of his generation. A true star of Brazil’s blooming contemporary scene.

Multi Culti dive deeper into muso alchemy with ‘Cimbal Tanz,’ a record release that bridges the cult solo 'cimbal’ performance of Emil Jourjou with fellow Moldavian producer Bliz Nochi’s electronics.

Bliz Nochi began learning music at age 7 playing the accordion, later mastering the guitar and piano. By 17, he was experimenting with new metal genres, Dub, electronic, and indie music. In 2016, he released his first works under the name Bliz Nochi, blending world music and exotica infused with Balkan elements, which led him to connect with master musician Emil Jourjou.

Emil Jourjou, a master cimbal player born in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, studied at the prestigious Ciprian Porumbescu music school. His years of experience and deep connection to Balkan musical traditions build a cultural bridge between classical and folkloric orchestral music, having performed at such events as the World Expo in Hanover, and for the Philharmonic in Lübeck.

In 2021, the pair began recording together, remixing their friend and mentor Andi Otto for Multi Culti (later licensed to last year's Buddha Bar compilation). That collaboration paved the way for this full-length LP, with one side focused on traditional cimbal recordings and the other side a fusion featuring Bliz Nochi's production, a format Multi Culti initiated to showcase the too often obscured talent of the solo musician.

Bliz Nochi's LP is more than an album; it’s a journey through sound blending tradition and modernity, offering listeners a unique blend of Moldavian music and contemporary electronic styles. This project highlights Bliz Nochi's dedication to his roots and innovative spirit, bringing a fresh perspective to the music scene.

Local Action is proud to present Daughters, the debut album by Jennifer Walton.

Walton is a beloved figure across various sectors of the alternative music underground. Outside of her own music and soundtrack work, she has been a live drummer for Kero Kero Bonito, collaborates with Sarah Midori Perry on the pair’s Cryalot project, has remixed Metronomy and worked with Iceboy Violet, BABii and more. She also makes music and DJs with close friends aya and 96 Back under the name Microplastics, and recently contributed to London collective caroline’s acclaimed caroline 2 album.

The first seeds of Walton’s debut album were sowed during touring North America in 2018, where whilst ticking off life-long music goals, Walton’s father was dying of cancer. Grief is a constant presence throughout Daughters, and specifically the surreal nature of having to process it amongst a blur of airports, flight connections, hotel rooms and battles for stolen medication with the American healthcare system. Strip malls, drug deals, panic attacks; the artificiality of downtown American city districts dovetailing with reality in its most brutal form. Miss America for a day while life is changed forever.

Weaving between real life diary entries, travelogue-style storytelling, imagery that ranges from mechanical to religious and a scattering of fiction (though we are obliged to mention that ‘Shelly’ is based on a true story), Daughters climaxes with the staggering run of ‘Saints’, ‘Miss America’ and its title track. Sampling unattended machines harmonising bleeps into the void in a London hospital ward, ‘Saints’ narrates Walton taking her father to and from cancer research trials, “sat, hunched and sick in the concourse as minutes became hours”. And to be very real for a moment, Jen is a friend, and first hearing the ‘Miss America’ demo is up there with the most emotional moments we’ve had in 15 years of running this record label.

Finished in London across the second half of 2024, Daughters features musical contributions from some of the closest friends and collaborators that Walton has made in her time as a musician: aya (who also mixed the album), Daniel S. Evans, Joshua Barfood and Nick Granata (all of Shovel Dance), Alex McKenzie (of caroline and Shovel Dance), Aga Ujma and Bob Lockwood.

A record born of insurmountable joy and simultaneous profound loss; World Maker marks a time of great change for Psychonaut, both personally and musically, as the band burn away the philosophical narrative complexities of previous offerings with a searing, panoramic clarity that implores us to savour the beauty of the now as a means of leaving a legacy for the future. The traditional, three-piece line up of Belgian, psychedelic post-metal collective Psychonaut has long belied the compositional prowess, captivating narrative depth and crushing live presence of a band now operating at the forefront of forward-thinking, contemporary heavy music. Having sent a shockwave through the post-metal and prog scenes with their three times repressed Pelagic Records debut Unfold The God Man in 2020 before following it up with the transformative metaphysical complexities of 2022's Violate Consensus Reality, Psychonaut have played prestigious Belgian open-air festivals like Alcatraz, Rock Herk and Boomtown Festival as well as boutique events such as Soulcrusher, Roadburn Redux and A Colossal Weekend whilst sharing stages across Europe with the likes of Amenra, Brutus and Pelagic labelmates The Ocean and PG.Lost. The seed of World Maker took shape just as the campaign for Violate Consensus Reality came to a close, with the news that guitarist/vocalist Stefan De Graef was to become a father. This tilting of life's axis led De Graef, like most fathers-to-be, to re-assess what was really important. As such, the music he was inspired to write felt free of the band's previous philosophical and spiritual foundations and instead took the form of life lessons for his unborn son, a legacy of love in case something were ever to happen. This hopeful euphoria shines keenly throughout World Maker as an uncharacteristically optimistic warmth; from the reverberating Rhodes organ on the titular opening track and the meandering, free-jazz inspired guitar solo that introduces `Everything Else is Just The Weather' to elements of world music, electronica and the otherworldly voice of Dutch multi-instrumentalist and old friend Anthe Huybrechts (Anthe/Helion Creek) most notably on tracks like `Origins' which also features tabla, a pair of indian hand drums, as its propulsive heartbeat. Whilst Psychonaut's giant riffs, punishing polyrhythms and guttural vocal rage are more resplendent than ever, there is a wider dynamic spectrum to World Maker that sees the band proudly exploring their more delicate, intimate extremes as well as their most aggressive and abrasive. Not long after the birth of De Graef's son came the devastating news that both his own father and Psychonaut bassist/vocalist Thomas Michiels' father had been diagnosed with advanced cancers. Living day-to-day and torn between joy and grief, the band found themselves shedding the grand scope and world-shattering agenda of Violate Consensus Reality to focus on the here and now. Lead single `Endless Currents', the first full track on the album, explodes in a barrage of staccato guitar tapping but mellows to let the powerful, newly pared back lyrics ring out as a call to embrace the flow and follow joy. The song's final few words `Lead the way. / Soar. / Everlong.' double as both a greeting and a goodbye as the trio build their formidable post-metal might to a thunderous breaking point. Similarly, the pulsing, propellant `Stargazer', named so for De Graef's son being born in stargazer position, pairs delicate guitar motifs and folk-inflected optimism with huge and sprawling breakdowns as some of the band's most genre-pushing work to date; asking difficult but important questions of what happens next. It is `And You Came With Searing Light' though that most immediately exemplifies Psychonaut's redirected ambition on World Maker, as euphoria collides with blinding fury. The first track written for the album, `_Searing Light' is easily the most complex and initially wouldn't sound out of place on Violate Consensus Reality. Originally meant to be the new album's opening track; the decision to defer its impact, not to mention its compositional and dynamic gravity, speaks of a fundamental change to the band's very core. The words "Discover the world with wide eyes" recurring throughout speak as much to those having lost a part of their world as they do to those seeing it for the first time. Amidst such turbulent times, the band found strength and support within their Post-Metal community. The album was recorded and produced by the band alongside their longtime collaborator and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Hippotraktor) with help and advice from Psychonaut's live engineer Victor, who will no doubt make this album sound just as awesome on stage. Even the artwork for World Maker was a family affair, being designed by close friend Sam Coussens of Belgian cosmic sludge metallers Pothamus. In the face of life's soaring highs and desolate lows, World Maker is direct and brave without sacrificing any of Psychonaut's raw power, creative innovation or inimitable musical depth. Where their previous full-length offerings have charted grand introspective courses through time and space, World Maker is breathtaking in its uncompromising clarity: a father singing to his newborn son as a son bids his own father farewell. FOR FANS OF Mastodon, Russian Circles, Tool, Gojira, The Ocean, Pelican, Hypno5e, Cult Of Luna, Amenra

Punk pioneer/Eater main-man, Andy Blade's 7th solo album and follow up to 2024's critically acclaimed & heavily rotated, Sparks bros endorsed "Being Alive Is Fun". It is imbued with the usual left-of-centre Blade-ism's & themes: star maps, UFO's & a slightly twisted nod to tragic 70's heroine Karen Carpenter. You get what you deserve with Blade, and with Tiny Specks you are rewarded with a rich code to decipher at your leisure. Most of all, however, it is all about the quality of his songwriting. Opening track 'Karen Is The Drummer' (featuring Blade's regular singing collaborator - PseudoPomp's Katerina Sharkova) seems unsettlingly self-explanatory, but all does not seem well in the Carpenter M.O.R world - 'It's just her & her brother & her folks indifference to that girl'. Occasional Dinosaur Jr vocalist Tiffany Anders gives 'I'm Not Myself' a poppy but eerie nuance. PollyPikPocketz's Myura Amara pops up on the short but very sweet 'About That'. Matilda Scotland, Quick Romance's uber-cool punky-chanteuse - adds her Gen Z aura to the summery 'I Like It When You're Happy'. Former Generation X guitarist Bob 'Derwood' Andrews, with whom Blade has worked with consistently of late, once again features heavily on 'Tiny Specks'_ Like with Katerina Sharkova's voice, Derwood guitar lines interweave with Blade's honeyed vocal as though they made for each other. 'This Place' is another key track, capturing the claustrophobic-genocidal mood of what has been taking place in Gaza/Palestine for over two years now, and counting. 'This is not so much a protest song as it is the noise in my head'. If John Lydon is the Widow Twanky of Punk, and Billy Idol, its Elvis, then Andy Blade must surely be the Sinatra of Punk.

For those that don't know who Ocean Dawn is, it's a new alias from Kid Drama (1/2 of Instra:mental), mainly focusing on atmospheric jungle. I've previously worked with Damon (Ocean Dawn) on Ambien Sequence (which came out on Meeting Of The Minds Vol. 10, before he had established this alias for his solo atmospheric jungle tunes) as well as a track called Transitions, which came out on the Nine Windows (him & DJ Trace) album called Rule Of Thirds.

Last year, I booked him to play at one of the Future Retro London nights in Peckham Audio and I really enjoyed his set & his selection, which was mainly made up of his own work. He was quite keen on doing a release for the label so we started with Fingerprints.

Even though this tune is by just him, the original version of it is actually my remix, which was going to be a collaboration & was actually started by him. I finished the track & he liked it but thought it could be taken down a different path, so I sent him back the sounds and he made his own version from it, which is now the original & the "collaboration" became my remix of the tune.

Shortly after we had Fingerprints & the remix done, he sent me Progressive Future Music & Wax Cool which he had recently made and I loved both of those tracks, which give us enough tracks by him to complete the release.

Big up to Damon for his work on this release & look out for more to come from Ocean Dawn, including a collaborative release me & him are currently working on! :)

Two of Lamp's masterpieces will be released on vinyl at the same time! Two of Lamp's masterpieces from the 2010s, "Tokyo Utopia Tsuushin" and "Yume",
will be reissued on vinyl! After becoming a viral hit on TikTok in the 2020s, Lamp now has over 2.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
In addition to his deep-rooted popularity in Asia (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, etc.), he was selected as a support act for Mitski last year
and accompanied them on their North American tour. At the same time, his solo tour "FUTURE BEHIND ME" North America 2024, which visited 17 locations
in North America, was all sold out. This summer's solo show at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA was also sold out immediately, and Lamp's two masterpieces,
which are currently gaining worldwide acclaim, will be released on vinyl at the same time!

This is the sixth album by Lamp, a mixed-gender trio that has inherited the Japanese pop music of each era and sublimated it into new pop music by sprinkling
elements of 70's pop and Brazilian music throughout.
This album depicts the mental landscape of a man and woman passing each other in a certain place in a city.
It suddenly reminds us of the cold and warmth of winter, a nostalgic feeling that everyone has experienced at least once.
The jacket features many illustrations by Suzuki Oji, who was active in the manga magazine "Garo," which had a great influence on young artists in the 70s and
produced many geniuses in the manga world, and is known for his representative work "Motorcycle Girl."
The unique, fantastical illustrations resonate with Lamp's music to create a fantastical world.

Erik K Skodvin's feature-length score to Thomas Roth's thriller "Schächten" feels like the epitome of all his musical projects, conjuring a dark cinematic trip through 1960's post-WWII Vienna in a film that touches on topics such as law, justice & revenge.

Releasing a soundtrack as a stand-alone album can be challenging; and "Schächten" is by no means a typical listening experience. The record contains 24 more or less short pieces evolving through dramatic movements, underlaying menace and deep emotive scenes. One thing that stands out is the linear atmosphere throughout the story which creates a wholeness that keeps your attention to the very end. Set in wintery Austrian landscapes in dimly saturated colours, the film's dramatic events with dark political undertones feels like a perfect situation for Skodvin's atmospheric collages - perhaps sounding closer than ever to his early works as Svarte Greiner or Deaf Center. Cello, violin, piano, analogue synth and plenty of hardly recognizable instrumentation come together in a record that feels very organic in its subdued tones. The score also features percussion by Andrea Belfi as well as a Chopin piano interpretation by Kelly Wyse to the bizarrely schizophrenic piece "Judenfreund".

With the contemporary world sliding into darkness again, listening to the soundtrack feels like coming to terms with ones own anxieties - something that in the end comes through as a cleansing experience. As quoted in the film "Everyone is their own devil. And we make this world our hell".

Short synopsis : "Vienna 1960s - The young Jewish business man Victor has to witness how the prosecution of a Nazi crime against his family fails. The political and legal system is still virtually run by former Nazis with large parts of society being entangled in the past. When Victor also loses his grief ridden father and his girlfriend’s family opposes their relationship and his identity, Victor begins to loose faith in formal justice and takes matters in his own hands."

Remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.

Ornette Coleman, who died in June 2015 from cardiac arrest, must be counted as one of the most influential musicians in the jazz genre. His importance does not only lie in his ground-breaking recordings in the late Fifties and early Sixties, but lies more significantly in the educational effect of his work – in the fact that he always went beyond himself to the very end.

Just a little more than a month after his ground-breaking release "Free Jazz", Coleman recorded the present album, in which he perhaps distanced himself somewhat from the conceptual idea, but still guided his quartet to ever more richness of detail and creativity. "Ornette!" was the first recording with bass-player Scott LaFaro and Coleman, and the difference in approach between LaFaro and Charlie Haden is noticeable from the very first note of "W.R.U.". His playing is more direct and agile, and one can hear how he drives Coleman and Don Cherry actively onwards and more aggressively than Haden’s warm, languid phrasing.

The tracks, with titles that are taken from the works of Sigmund Freud, are all gems and serve as a wonderful starting point for the musicians’ improvisations. By now, Coleman felt himself comfortable in lengthy pieces, and neither he nor his fellow musicians had trouble in filling out time, never once lacking for new ideas. Ed Blackwell deserves a special mention – he shows himself here at his very best. "Ornette!" is a superb release and an absolute must for all fans of Coleman and creative, improvised music in general.

A Milan-born multi-instrumentalist of Venetian heritage, Alberto Baldan Bembo was a gifted vibraphonist, organist, pianist, arranger, and composer whose work bridged jazz, pop, and film music. By the early 1960s, he was performing with Italy’s leading ensembles, including I Menestrelli del Jazz and Bruno De Filippi’s group, and soon became an in-demand session musician. For several years, he toured with the legendary Mina, providing the piano and organ backbone to her live shows—a role that sharpened the cinematic sensibility and refined musicianship that would later define his soundtrack work. In the years to come, he would be celebrated for his scores to films such as L’Amica Di Mia Madre (1975) and Lingua Argento (1976), earning a place alongside Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Berto Pisano, and other luminaries of Italy’s golden age of soundtrack and library music.

Io E Mara is the soundtrack to a film that was never made. Originally released on the CGD label in 1969, this debut album from the brilliant Maestro Baldan Bembo is a sophisticated concept-album tracing 24 hours in the life of two young lovers. Told entirely through music, the record unfolds as a continuous suite of ten tracks, where cinematic lounge, bossa, and jazz flavors mingle to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Baldan Bembo’s signature piano and organ are masterfully complemented by Mara’s ethereal vocals, while immersive soundscapes of crashing waves, seagulls, and rain showers enhance the feeling of a deeply personal and intimate journey. A cast of exceptional musicians brings this vision to life, including Bruno De Filippi on electric guitar and sitar, Carlo Milano on electric bass, Rolando Ceragioli on drums, and Pasquale Liguori on sound effects. This singular work not only showcases the burgeoning talent of a future soundtrack master but also features the original pop art front cover by Italian cult illustrator Guido Crepax.

"Pop" is a tag that's been assigned to Minus The Bear throughout their career. It's been used to set a distinction between the unique brand of complex indie rock they introduced on their first EP and the more angular and aggravated sounds of their previous bands Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. It's also a tag that was thrown around frequently in the wake of their streamlined fourth album, OMNI. And it's a descriptor that immediately comes to mind within the first few seconds of their classic second formal EP, They Make Beer Commercials Like This. Now celebrating its 10-year anniversary and first time in print since 2011, Beer Commercials is the evolutionary step between Minus The Bear's first two landmark albums, Highly Refined Pirates and Menos El Oso. Opening track "Fine + 2 Points" remains one of the band's strongest opening tracks in their discography,charging out of the gates with a syncopated stomp that comes across as a more agitated take on Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Outta My Head". If Minus The Bear were looking to make pop music without any of its major-scale bubblegum trappings, they nailed it here. The band follows it with "Let's Play Clowns" and "Dog Park" - nods to Highly Refined Pirates' formula of frenetic clean guitar work, bombastic choruses, and Jake Snider's lyrics of detached romantic nostalgia. These tracks may represent Minus The Bear's original trademark version of pop, but on songs like "I'm Totally Not Down With Rob's Alien" the band eschews it's restless energy for atmosphere and dynamics, creating a sound that's inspired more than a handful of contemporary melodic post-rock bands. By the time the band belts out "Pony Up!" the listener has watched the three-year sonic transition between Minus The Bear's first two full-lengths transpire within under half-an-hour, with the their earlier math rock predilections yielding to the tightly wound club-banging pedalboard trickery that defined their sophomore album. Even if Beer Commercials doesn't fit within your definition of pop music, the unorthodox energetic charm of this relatively low-profile release serves as an exciting reminder of why Minus The Bear became one of the most important and influential indie rock bands of the new century.

It began with a cassette tape entitled 'Pleased To Meet You' gifted to us at Sessa's Fasching, Stockholm show by Yann Dardenne, the multi-tasking tour manager/sound engineer/producer/merch stall worker and co-owner of Seloki Records. On first listen, the selection of underground Brazilian artists from the Seloki's roster was superb, however, one song stopped us in our tracks. The hauntingly captivating ' GOSTO MEIO DOCE' by Nina Maia and Francisca Barreto, gave us a taste of Nina's ethereal, addictive voice and we knew we needed to hear more. Born in Minas Gerais but now based in Sao Paulo, the 22-year-old has already packed a lot into a relatively short space of time. The singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer, has already collaborated on the soundtracks for six Brazilian feature films, including a track with the vocalists Maria Gadu, Iza, and Liniker. But things enter a new exciting era with this, her remarkable debut album entitled 'INTEIRA', which translates to English as 'whole'.

As much inspired by Billie Eilish and Rosalia, as Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta and not sounding like other records coming out of Brazil, 'INTEIRA' is unique. Though rich in its Brazilian heritage, inspired by samba cancao, MPB, and the Clube da Esquina movement, it also channels influence from bands such as Portishead and Massive Attack, mixed with jazz, contemporary leftfield and electronic pop artists. Musically, it is not easily pigeonholed, with beautiful, well-crafted songs, sophisticated arrangements, eloquent vocals and intimate lyrics. Each track reflects different moments and stories from Nina's youth but with dialogues, feelings, and questions that span generations and resonate with all. This ambitious debut album is Nina's vision and sound, expressing herself without constraints and making music with her friends. Featuring a lineup of Thalin (drums), Valentim Frateschi (bass), Francisca Barreto (cello and vocals), Thales Hashiguti (viola and violin), Yann Dardenne (acoustic guitar and co-producer) and Nina on piano, Rhodes, guitar and production. The album led to a nomination in Paulista Association of Art Critics (APCA) award's 'Breakthrough Artist' category, who also listed 'INTEIRA' as one of the 50 best albums of 2024.

It also received support from Bandcamp Weekly and Jamz Supernova on BBC 6 Music. Released digitally by Seloki Records in Brazil in 2024, Mr Bongo in partnership with Seloki Records now present this new, deluxe worldwide edition that includes four additional songs. These comprise the brand-new exquisite 'MANHA', as well as an original twist on Vinicius de Moraes' classic 'Serenata Do Adeus'. Elsewhere you'll find a live recording showcasing Nina's remarkable energy on stage courtesy of 'DE DENTRO' and 'GOSTO MEIO DOCE' with the amazing musician/vocalist Francisca Barreto, where our whole story began. Here at Mr Bongo, we are honoured to release music by such a remarkable new talent - one whose musical trajectory is most certainly about to soar.

South London singer, songwriter and cultural powerhouse Joy Crookes has today unveiled the news that her worth-the-wait second album Juniper will be released on September 26th ahead of a full UK & EU headline tour.

A stunningly candid and fearless body of work, the album reaffirms Joy as one of the UK’s most vital and original voices. A once-in-a-generation talent, Crookes delivers a record that is both emotionally raw and sonically rich; humorous, heartbreaking and profoundly human.

Following the success of her 2021 debut Skin, which earned BRIT and Mercury Prize nominations, went Top 5 in the UK charts, and drew acclaim from The Guardian, NME and many more, Joy set out to make an album that pushed her further both musically and personally.

Juniper is the result: a project defined by its depth and dynamism.

Written with a stripped-back approach and produced by long-time collaborators including Blue May (Kano, Jorja Smith), Tev’n (Stormzy) and Harvey Grant (Arlo Parks),

Juniper features standout guest appearances from Vince Staples on the incendiary ‘Pass The Salt’ and Kano on the bittersweet confessional ‘Mathematics’.

Crookes describes the record as “more nuanced” than Skin: “With Juniper, every situation is visceral and I’m very much in it. It’s me in the centre of it all.”

The title itself nods to resilience (an evergreen that thrives in harsh conditions) and the album dives deep into themes of body politics, mental health, queer love, anxiety, industry hypocrisy and the ecstasy (and terror) of falling in love.
Lead singles like ‘Pass The Salt’ and ‘I Know You’d Kill’ showcase Crookes’ lyrical agility – blending poetic detail with razor-sharp wit. Meanwhile, the euro-pop inspired ‘First Last Dance’ channels euphoric melodies to mask deep emotional struggle, and the cinematic ‘Perfect Crime’ sees Joy fully self-actualise in the style of a Western showdown.

On ‘Paris’, the closing track, Joy reflects on a formative queer relationship: “Something I feared so much finally, actually felt like love.” It’s a sentiment echoed across Juniper – a record that captures the beauty and brutality of emotional openness.

The album arrives after a period of personal upheaval for Crookes, including a mental health crisis that shadowed the album’s creation. “I was in the trenches,” she says. “But the studio became my solace. What you hear is live and direct from that time.” Despite the darkness, Juniper radiates warmth, levity, and life, powered by Crookes’ ever-restless creativity and artistic excellence. Ahead of her performance this weekend at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend event in Liverpool, followed by a slot at Glastonbury, Joy is pleased to announce a full UK & EU headline tour for the backend of the year.

In celebration of Juniper's release, Joy will head out to all major cities including Dublin, Manchester, Bristol and London where she’ll play the much coveted 02 Academy Brixton for the first time. See below for full routing and ticket info.

Superstar Silvestre strikes strong on Studio Barnhus, bringing moronic dance music and stupendously haunting
ambient ditties to the forefront once again, following his highly reputable It's 2024!! EP, released in 2024.
On his most expansive and accomplished work yet, tensions between Silvestre’s many expressions – bass-faced rave maker,
hazy lo-fi crooner, absurdist beat poet, etc. – reach catastrophic levels, resulting in an album that shimmers and convulses
with both inviting warmth and that rare, essential hint of danger at the core of club music's spirit.
There's just never a dull moment with this Silvestre guy, whether he's out blessing club crowds with electroid techno sets or
effortlessly delivering instant classic albums like this one. Delivered via 16 digital tracks and/or cassette tape designed by
Stefan Fält, Silvestre’s Fantasma arrives on Studio Barnhus on Sept 26

Born from a chance encounter in a Villejuif squat over a decade ago, Ciccio & 2mo have cultivated a singular musical language through spontaneous and genre-defying collaborations — notably around cult French band Cheveu.
The duo brings together two key figures from the fringes of the European underground: Olivier Demeaux (aka 2mo), a pioneer of France’s electronic avant-garde, leading projects like Heimat and Accident du Travail (Teenage Menopause, Bruit Direct), known for his explorations across lo-fi synthwave, spectral post-punk, and drone-infused textures; and Francesco Pastacaldi (Ciccio), a jazz-punk drummer and member of the explosive trio Jean-Louis and the angular groove unit Abacaxi (Carton Records), also a longtime collaborator of the maverick performer Fantazio.
Their debut album 24 96 (The Trilogy Tapes, 2021), born from a series of abrasive studio improvisations, was followed by a sold-out show at London’s Café OTO. That performance, released as Maremoto, captured the duo’s raw, physical energy in its purest form.
Since then, Ciccio & 2mo have brought their visceral live act to stages across Europe — from Sonic Protest in France to the Meakusma Festival in Belgium, where their live set was released as Live at Meakusma Festival 2024.
Now, the duo returns with Bouc & Rouages, a bold and hallucinatory second album commissioned by Hublotone. This new opus introduces three singular voices into the mix: operatic singers Léa Trommenschlager and Bianca Iannuzzi, and genre- blurring rapper Pauline Sampler (aka Frizzy P, known for her work with M. Cole). The result is a soundscape in constant tension — pulsing drum machines, organic percussion, saturated synth layers, and hypnotic, looping riffs.
Equal parts physical and disenchanted, the music of Ciccio & 2mo traces a thrilling, unstable path through noise psychedelia, industrial memory, and experimental pop.
Imagine Cosey Fanni Tutti rubbing up against pop, with Charles Hayward (This Heat) on drums — and you’re getting close.

Zwei Garagen-Generationen treffen aufeinander! Reverend Beat-Man, das Schweizer Ein-Mann-Orchester und der König des Blues Trash, trifft auf Milan Slick, eine echt dunkle Seele und vielleicht Reinkarnation von Nick Cave (ach, noch zugegen)/Johnny Thunders, um Rock'n'Roll zu spielen, der so frisch und lebendig, wild und düster ist wie nie zuvor. Reverend Beat-Man und Milan Slick lernten sich 2020 inmitten der Pandemie kennen, als sie einen Soundtrack für den Vampirfilm "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" von Ana Lily Amirpour schrieben. Zusammen spielten sie Gigs bei Super Sonic Records oder im legendären SO36 in Berlin, um dann gemeinsam mit Beatrice Graf und Benjamin Glaus ein Album unter dem Namen "Reverend Beat-Man & The Underground" zu produzieren (im Rahmen des Rocklette PALP Festivals), eine makabre Tanzparty zum Untergang der Menschheit. Als Nächstes nahmen der superprimitive Rock 'n` Roll-Trash-Hi-Energy-Lo-Fi Reverend Beat-Man und der raffinierte, clevere, verspielte und düstere Milan Slick ihr erstes gemeinsames Album im ehemaligen Züri West Studio mit Sebastian Zwahlen und dem einzigartigen Robert Butler von Miracle Workers auf. Reverend Beat-Man ist eigentlich eine Ein-Mann-Band mit einer Mission: Blues-Trash und wilden Rock'n'Roll. Geboren 1967 in Bern, Schweiz, im Sommer der Liebe und des Hasses, ist er seit 1992 auf Tour, zuerst als Lightning Beat-Man, dann als Reverend Beat-Man One-Man-Band und mit seiner Band The Monsters. Er spielte in ganz Europa, Nord- und Südamerika, Japan, Vietnam, Neuseeland, Australien, Afrika, CBGBs, Montreux Jazz, Muddy Roots usw. Er ist der Gründer von Voodoo Rhythm Records (1992). Wäre er Politiker, würden ihn sogar seine Feinde respektieren (die Regierung). Er wurde 2014 für den Schweizer Musikpreis nominiert, gewann den lokalen Musikpreis als einflussreichster Musiker in Bern (Hauptstadt der Schweiz) und betreibt dort einen Platten- und Souvenirladen. Der Singer-Songwriter Milan Slick (Jahrgang 2004) steht noch ganz am Anfang seiner Karriere, hat aber bereits mit namhaften Künstlern wie Mario Batkovic oder Birdman Jäggi oder seiner eigenen Band Fatigues zusammengearbeitet. In seiner Musik sind Einflüsse von u.a. Nick Cave bis David Bowie zu hören, aber auch, dass sich eine eigenwillige junge Stimme herauskristallisiert, von der wir in Zukunft hoffentlich noch viel hören werden. Als Classic Black or limitiertes Glow In The Dark Vinyl, jeweils mit vierseitigem A4-Insert & DLC, Digisleeve-CD, Kassette sowie Tonband mit Extras erhältlich!

Zwei Garagen-Generationen treffen aufeinander! Reverend Beat-Man, das Schweizer Ein-Mann-Orchester und der König des Blues Trash, trifft auf Milan Slick, eine echt dunkle Seele und vielleicht Reinkarnation von Nick Cave (ach, noch zugegen)/Johnny Thunders, um Rock'n'Roll zu spielen, der so frisch und lebendig, wild und düster ist wie nie zuvor. Reverend Beat-Man und Milan Slick lernten sich 2020 inmitten der Pandemie kennen, als sie einen Soundtrack für den Vampirfilm "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" von Ana Lily Amirpour schrieben. Zusammen spielten sie Gigs bei Super Sonic Records oder im legendären SO36 in Berlin, um dann gemeinsam mit Beatrice Graf und Benjamin Glaus ein Album unter dem Namen "Reverend Beat-Man & The Underground" zu produzieren (im Rahmen des Rocklette PALP Festivals), eine makabre Tanzparty zum Untergang der Menschheit. Als Nächstes nahmen der superprimitive Rock 'n` Roll-Trash-Hi-Energy-Lo-Fi Reverend Beat-Man und der raffinierte, clevere, verspielte und düstere Milan Slick ihr erstes gemeinsames Album im ehemaligen Züri West Studio mit Sebastian Zwahlen und dem einzigartigen Robert Butler von Miracle Workers auf. Reverend Beat-Man ist eigentlich eine Ein-Mann-Band mit einer Mission: Blues-Trash und wilden Rock'n'Roll. Geboren 1967 in Bern, Schweiz, im Sommer der Liebe und des Hasses, ist er seit 1992 auf Tour, zuerst als Lightning Beat-Man, dann als Reverend Beat-Man One-Man-Band und mit seiner Band The Monsters. Er spielte in ganz Europa, Nord- und Südamerika, Japan, Vietnam, Neuseeland, Australien, Afrika, CBGBs, Montreux Jazz, Muddy Roots usw. Er ist der Gründer von Voodoo Rhythm Records (1992). Wäre er Politiker, würden ihn sogar seine Feinde respektieren (die Regierung). Er wurde 2014 für den Schweizer Musikpreis nominiert, gewann den lokalen Musikpreis als einflussreichster Musiker in Bern (Hauptstadt der Schweiz) und betreibt dort einen Platten- und Souvenirladen. Der Singer-Songwriter Milan Slick (Jahrgang 2004) steht noch ganz am Anfang seiner Karriere, hat aber bereits mit namhaften Künstlern wie Mario Batkovic oder Birdman Jäggi oder seiner eigenen Band Fatigues zusammengearbeitet. In seiner Musik sind Einflüsse von u.a. Nick Cave bis David Bowie zu hören, aber auch, dass sich eine eigenwillige junge Stimme herauskristallisiert, von der wir in Zukunft hoffentlich noch viel hören werden. Als Classic Black or limitiertes Glow In The Dark Vinyl, jeweils mit vierseitigem A4-Insert & DLC, Digisleeve-CD, Kassette sowie Tonband mit Extras erhältlich!

Zwei Garagen-Generationen treffen aufeinander! Reverend Beat-Man, das Schweizer Ein-Mann-Orchester und der König des Blues Trash, trifft auf Milan Slick, eine echt dunkle Seele und vielleicht Reinkarnation von Nick Cave (ach, noch zugegen)/Johnny Thunders, um Rock'n'Roll zu spielen, der so frisch und lebendig, wild und düster ist wie nie zuvor. Reverend Beat-Man und Milan Slick lernten sich 2020 inmitten der Pandemie kennen, als sie einen Soundtrack für den Vampirfilm "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" von Ana Lily Amirpour schrieben. Zusammen spielten sie Gigs bei Super Sonic Records oder im legendären SO36 in Berlin, um dann gemeinsam mit Beatrice Graf und Benjamin Glaus ein Album unter dem Namen "Reverend Beat-Man & The Underground" zu produzieren (im Rahmen des Rocklette PALP Festivals), eine makabre Tanzparty zum Untergang der Menschheit. Als Nächstes nahmen der superprimitive Rock 'n` Roll-Trash-Hi-Energy-Lo-Fi Reverend Beat-Man und der raffinierte, clevere, verspielte und düstere Milan Slick ihr erstes gemeinsames Album im ehemaligen Züri West Studio mit Sebastian Zwahlen und dem einzigartigen Robert Butler von Miracle Workers auf. Reverend Beat-Man ist eigentlich eine Ein-Mann-Band mit einer Mission: Blues-Trash und wilden Rock'n'Roll. Geboren 1967 in Bern, Schweiz, im Sommer der Liebe und des Hasses, ist er seit 1992 auf Tour, zuerst als Lightning Beat-Man, dann als Reverend Beat-Man One-Man-Band und mit seiner Band The Monsters. Er spielte in ganz Europa, Nord- und Südamerika, Japan, Vietnam, Neuseeland, Australien, Afrika, CBGBs, Montreux Jazz, Muddy Roots usw. Er ist der Gründer von Voodoo Rhythm Records (1992). Wäre er Politiker, würden ihn sogar seine Feinde respektieren (die Regierung). Er wurde 2014 für den Schweizer Musikpreis nominiert, gewann den lokalen Musikpreis als einflussreichster Musiker in Bern (Hauptstadt der Schweiz) und betreibt dort einen Platten- und Souvenirladen. Der Singer-Songwriter Milan Slick (Jahrgang 2004) steht noch ganz am Anfang seiner Karriere, hat aber bereits mit namhaften Künstlern wie Mario Batkovic oder Birdman Jäggi oder seiner eigenen Band Fatigues zusammengearbeitet. In seiner Musik sind Einflüsse von u.a. Nick Cave bis David Bowie zu hören, aber auch, dass sich eine eigenwillige junge Stimme herauskristallisiert, von der wir in Zukunft hoffentlich noch viel hören werden. Als Classic Black or limitiertes Glow In The Dark Vinyl, jeweils mit vierseitigem A4-Insert & DLC, Digisleeve-CD, Kassette sowie Tonband mit Extras erhältlich!

Dillinger one of the most consistently successful DJ’s to come out of the Jamaica, fondly remembered for his massive ‘Cocaine In My Brain’ hit from the great CB200 album and the later reworked ‘Marijuana In My Brain’ which gave Dillinger crossover hits in both England and Europe. But the versatile DJ has many more strings to his bow.

Dillinger (born. Lester Bullocks,1953 Kingston, Jamaica) began his musical venture around 1971, working asa DJ to Sound Systems run by Prince Jackie and El Brasso.1974 saw his first vinyl release in the form of ‘Freshly’ for Producer Yabby U and in 1975 he came with the great ‘Brace A Boy’ for the young Mr Augustus Pablo.But his first album release was through Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One setup, where he let Dillinger fire some vocals over classic Rocksteady rhythms. It took the form of ‘Ready Natty Dreadie’. It was his time at Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Hookim’s Channel One Studio that produced his second album set(a crossover release and fore mentioned) the timeless 1976 classic ‘CB 200’. It contained three big singles in ‘Plantation Heights’, ‘Cocaine In My Brain’ and ‘Crank Face’. The reworked ‘ Marijuana In My Brain’ even became a No 1 hit in Holland in 1979.

We have taken our set of tunes from his classic 70’s period when Mr Dillinger could do no wrong.Alongside the big ‘Cocaine’ and ‘Marijuana’ hits the great opening track ‘Love Is All I Bring’ sees him working over Alton Ellis ‘Still In Love With You’ which Itself turned into ‘3 Piece Suite’. ‘Money Alone Is Not All’ where he works over Barry Brown’s ‘Mr Money Man’, ‘Hear and Deaf’ working over Johnny Clarke’s ‘Nobodies Business’. ‘King Pharaoh Was A Baldhead’ has him working Frankie Jone’s ‘ Jesse Black’ cut. ‘Concubine’ reworks the Mighty Diamond’s ‘Mother Winney’ and ‘Time So Hard’ sees Dillinger telling it like it is over Ronnie Davis’ original ‘ Time So Hard’ cut, empathizing the points in fine style.

A classic set of tunes all ‘Killer No Filler’ from the master of rhyme himself we hope you agree…..

D Stone debuts on Heist Recordings with a record that shows us why he's one of the hottest talents in house music right now

Chloe Caillet is in on it. Cinthie is in on it. SG lewis and Demi Riquísimo are in on it too. So are Folamour, Barry Can't Swim and, of course, Dam Swindle. In on what exactly?

In on the fact that D Stone might be the most exciting young producer and DJ you will find in the house scene right now. Oh, and he's also a great guy who says Heist was his dream label to release on. When we found out we were fans of on each other, it was only logical that we signed his 'Time Selection' EP; A 5-track record that shows us how cool and catchy underground house music can be if it's done well.

D Stone, born Daan Steenhuizen has had a meteoric rise in the scene in the past years and has only just finished his study at the Conservatory, where Lars was one of his mentors. His vinyl debut was on Cecille in 2023 with that absolute anthem 'Total unison'. He then released on Cinthie's 803 Crystal Grooves in 2024 and has a busy 2025 with releases on Chloe Caillet's label Smiile, Semi Delicious, a release planned for Barry Can't Swim's fresh label 'Earth's only paradise' and now, Heist. He's been touring relentlessly in between, already playing legendary places like Ibiza's Pikes, Amsterdam's Shelter and with big shows planned at Warehouse project and in Australia, you can just feel all the right things happening for him.

The 'Time Selection' EP kicks off with 'Yes I Am', an upbeat house track with plenty of hints of the old school, playful vocal chops and above all, some lovely piano work. It's stripped back, but full of energy, with driving 909 percussion, retro flutes and a rolling bass line. It's as much a pallet cleanser in a set as it is a teasing mid-set highlight.

'Move Over' features the vocals of ELY and sees D Stone dive deeper into vintage house territory, with a classic bassline and percussion that stays true to the core of the classic drum machines, hinting as much towards the electro-pop sound of New Order and the futurism of early Mr. Fingers releases. The vocal is daring and cute at the same time, and does a great job tapping into the nostalgia of the pop-house cross-over songs of the early 90s.

'Time Selection' is arguably the heaviest cut of the record, much in style of his breakthrough track 'Total Unison'. This track is built around a strong piano theme, supported by driving 909 drums, strings and cleverly placed disco bleeps to keep the track accessible and uplifting. Add to that a big breakdown, and you'll understand why we've been reaching for this track peak set for the past months.

On the flip, we've got 'One Thing', a subtle and introverted track built around a bumpy disco bassline with a hook that's silly on first listen but will end up being the one thing you'll keep humming for the rest of the day. In short, it's a banger in disguise.

The last track of the EP is 'Everything from the Organ', a track where D Stone is not afraid to show his love for throwback ravey elements. There's organ licks, horns and chopped vocals that propel you straight to the front-left of whichever dancefloor D Stone is reigning at that moment.

Don't sleep on the Heist debut of one of Amsterdam's biggest talents, cause this one will go like hot cakes! As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!

Yours, Maarten & Lars

To All That We Lose And All We Fight For is the debut album by Vera Logdanidi - the
culmination of nearly two decades of musical evolution. Her journey began in the world of drum & bass and jungle, gradually expanding into deep explorations of house, dub techno, and techno. Over the years, Vera has performed on leading stages across Ukraine and internationally, while also mentoring a new generation of DJs and producers, hosting radio shows, and supporting the scene through her label and community work.

This album was written during a time of deep upheaval. The outbreak of full-scale war forced Vera to leave behind a well-established life and begin again on the international stage. While the music often feels dreamy and introspective, To All That We Lose And All We Fight For is a profoundly personal record - a sonic refuge shaped by grief, uncertainty, and resilience.

The album doesn't follow formulas; it's driven by intuition, texture, and a genuine connection to sound. It's rich, emotional, and occasionally unexpected. The tracks form the core of Vera's current live set, which has resonated at major festivals such as Draaimolen or Strichka - captivating audiences with its depth and subtle, immersive energy.

The cover art, created in close collaboration with Vera's longtime visual team, is a real
photograph - not a digital effect. It captures the tension between anxiety and hope: a glance back, and a step forward into the unknown. This visual metaphor reflects the emotional landscape of the album - the fragility of what's been lost, and the courage to embrace what lies ahead.

This release also marks a new chapter for Rhythm Buro Records - one that moves towards music that is more personal, intimate, and unconstrained by expectations.

To All That We Lose And All We Fight For is released alongside another important Rhythm Buro release: RB011 - Your Curves EP by Na Nich. Ukrainian producer Oleksandr Pavlenko, formerly known as Sunchase, returns to his roots in broken beats and bass music, blending them with house and techno sensibilities. The four-track EP ranges from deep grooves to melancholic late-night moods - a compelling counterpoint to Vera's album and a testament to the label's evolving identity.
Order RB012 n

Percussive P (who has previously released on the label with FR037 & our remix on THCFR001) is a top quality producer who I wish had more music/releases out there. I used to play a tune of his called "Gunsmith" a lot in sets, as well as a lot of his collabs with Kid Lib which I was a big fan of. I'd previously collaborated with him on a tune for Dublinquents a few years ago and I was quite keen on doing a new collaboration with him for Meeting Of The Minds, so he sent me some tracks he had started, I picked my favourite to work on and that led to "Impatience".

Fluid Haunts is a solid producer who I was familiar with, but it wasn't until his music was drilled into my head by Dwarde who was playing a few select tunes from him in every single b2b set we had together, that I started to really appreciate his skills. Dwarde would play "Not Your Ordinary Love Song" without fail, in any given moment and time, and it would always get a great reaction from the crowd, so I had to get in touch to see if he'd be up for working with me & thankfully he was! We ended up making "Pineapple Soup" together & I can't remember why it's called that, I think he named the tune ????

Hobzee is one half of Silent Dust (him & Zyon Base) & I used to chat regularly with him and trade music with him on AOL Instant Messenger (showing my age here!) a long while back. He got back in touch with me about wanting to work on music together and he had an early version of "Sunspots" done. It was very promising sounding so I was quite keen to get involved with him on it and I'm grateful that I was able to get him on Future Retro London after many many years of IM chats!

Usually, I limit my collaborations on Meeting Of The Minds to producers that are fairly established and already somewhat known to other people, but for those who don't know who Eff is, she is a potentially familiar face to anyone who has attended a Future Retro London event, as she has been on the door for every single one. One day after a Distant Planet event in Bristol, she mentioned to me that she had an idea for a track inspired by a PFM tune and she already had the title in mind for it, which is "Wavebreak". I was curious about how this would sound in reality, so we met up to work on the tune & she said it was pretty much like how she had envisioned it & I liked how it sounded, so I thought it would be worth putting out on a future Meeting Of The Minds release, which ended up being this one.

Big up to all the artists involved on this edition of Meeting Of The Minds, it's quite a long and arduous task putting together each one, which is why there was such a gap between Vol. 9 & 10 and Vol. 11 & 12. I plan on getting the series back into something more regularly occurring, so hopefully I can actually stick to that plan!

Australia's powerhouse Hammond Organ trio Cookin' On 3 Burners serve up a heavy double-sider, offering DJs and collectors a taste of what's to come from their first studio LP in six years, due October 2025. With a 27-year legacy in the global funk and soul scene, CO3B have earned praise from the likes of Dusty Groove, Wax Poetics, and Rolling Stone Australia, and boast over 2 billion streams worldwide — thanks in part to their breakout hit "This Girl" (Kungs remix).

Side A – Cookin' The Books
A gritty, upbeat Hammond-led instrumental cooked low and slow in the heart of Melbourne's funk scene. It's all business up front — deep pocket drums, greasy organ licks, and guitar work that snaps and struts. No vocals, no fat — just a raw funk workout that's ready for the crates.

Side B – Give a Little Bit More (feat. Stella Angelico)

A classic-feeling, mid-tempo soul joint with a message that cuts deep. Longtime collaborator Stella Angelico delivers a powerful vocal performance about generosity, empathy, and turning things around when it matters. With uplifting lyrics, smooth horns, and a groove that nods to vintage 45s, this one lands straight in the heart — timeless, spiritual, and soul-drenched.

Captured live to tape at Soul Messin' Studios using vintage gear, the record oozes warmth and authenticity. Supported with airplay from Craig Charles (BBC6) and limited to just 500 copies on black vinyl in a Soul Messin' Records disco sleeve, this 45 is a must-stock item for funk, soul, and groove-focused retailers.

FFO: The Meters, El Michels Affair, Menahan Street Band, Quantic, Daptone Records

In truth, singing is not all that different from acting. Performing a song is very similar to playing a role in a theatrical production. A singer's delivery — the way they interpret and emphasize certain parts of a song — is much like what an actor does with their character.

That's why we often find singers who go on to gain popularity as performers — some on stage, but more often on the silver screen (film).

These are called 'singing stars' — vocalists who are also featured actors, usually given roles specially created to suit their primary strength: singing.

Among them, a few have become even more famous for their acting talents, which sometimes surpass their singing ability. However, the number who manage to do this successfully is very small. Oslan Husein is lucky enough to be counted among that small number. As his fame as a singer began to rise sharply, he also began his film career as an actor. It's true that he had previously appeared in a film, but only as an extra, alongside the orchestra he performed with.

Following that, he appeared in several other films, including Detik-detik Berbahaya, 1000 Langkah, Kasih Tak Sampai, Hadiah 2.000.000,-, Maut Menjelang Magrib, and Antara Timur dan Barat. Six films over a span of just about 2.5 years — quite an impressive achievement.

Over time, a number of songs that Oslan had performed in his films began to accumulate. Together with a few additional songs — also from films — there were eventually enough to compile into one long-playing (LP) record.

And so, accompanied by Jack Lemmers — who, for this project, created special arrangements and musical treatments unlike the usual (for example, the use of four guitars at once) — Oslan carried out the recordings at Irama studios.

By releasing this LP of songs from the silver screen, Irama took an exciting step forward and opened many new possibilities in its history. Because the world of recorded music and the world of film, wherever they are in the world, are like siblings — and they work best when they collaborate, shoulder to shoulder, in harmony.

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

A multidisciplinary artist, and avant-garde icon in her own right, Little Annie leaves little room for an introduction that is worthy of her prolific career. She has remained relevant for over four decades through her innate spirit of experimentation and the multiplicity of her genre-bending collaborations with artists traversing the globe such as Adrian Sherwood, Swans, The Wolfgang Press, Kid Congo, Current 93—the list goes on!

For this release, Noir Age is proud to present a 7” single of new material from Little Annie in collaboration with South Florida-based producer and label owner Richard Vergez, recording here under the moniker of Night Foundation. Annie and Richard met back in 2016 after a gig at the ICA in Miami through their mutual friend: Drew McDowall of Coil.

Sharing a requited spirit for visual art and music, they became fast friends and began collaborating, conjuring what you hear on this release: Inertia.

Edition of 300 records, each housed in a silkscreened, custom black 7" envelope jacket with newsprint insert.

Reviewed in The Wire magazine:

"Night Foundation is one of the current electronic projects envisioned by Florida's Richard Vergez. In this instance, his work is smooth and bassoid enough to have a vague dancefloor-friendly feel without being overtly prancy. This notion is enhanced by the presence of a dub B side, so things are not as dark as with most of Verge's projects. But they're still not sunny. Of course, Little Annie's lyrics and casual vocals have more in common with urban menace than sunshine pop, so the pairing works quite well."

Lard’s Pure Chewing Satisfaction is the second landmark album of the industrial-hardcore collision between vocals of Jello Biafra with the patented wall of noise assault and studio wizardry of Ministry founders Paul Barker and Al Jourgensen!
Originally released in 1997, Pure Chewing Satisfaction is a dark, frightening look at everything wrong in America, and it rings as true now as it ever has. Lyrically its pessimistic and apocalyptic, tackling topics like looking for work, the legacy of the Me Generation and their failures, to environmental disasters. Sonically, the album is an avalanche of both real and electronic drums, menacing effects galore, and layers of machine gun guitars. Not quite punk rock, nor completely industrial—this is Lardcore for the people!

A must have for fans of Jello Biafra’s work and of Ministry, the result remains another classic release from this legendary collaboration. This long awaited repress now features in addition to the wide release on black vinyl, a limited solid-pink vinyl edition!
Praise The Lard!

Men in Love is a collaborative concept album by Irvine Welsh and The Sci-Fi Soul Orchestra, exploring the complexities of love, relationships, and the human condition. The album blends classic Motown and disco influences with contemporary electronic dance production, creating a unique and powerful sound that is both nostalgic and fresh.

From soaring anthems to intimate ballads, Men in Love takes the listener on a journey through the highs and lows of romance, celebrating the power of connection, vulnerability, and the enduring search for love in a chaotic world.

The album will be released concurrently with Welsh's new novel, also titled Men in Love. The book is a sequel to Welsh's seminal work, Trainspotting, and continues the story of Renton, Sick Boy, Spud, Begbie, and other beloved characters. The album serves as a sonic companion to the novel, with its themes, lyrics, and musical atmosphere reflecting the experience and inner turmoil of its characters. The album also introduces The Sci-Fi Soul Orchestra, a unique musical entity with their own unique music releases in the pipeline

No one can help you build something beautiful quite like those who know you best. Alan Sparhawk knows this well. In his years in Low, he built decades of stirring music with his wife and lifelong creative partner Mimi Parker. In recent years, he has performed around Minnesota with his son Cyrus in DERECHO Rhythm Section, a funk band that also frequently features his daughter Hollis on vocals. There's an irreplaceable naturalism that comes with this kind of dynamic. Those who know you understand you. They love you. They want to help you bring your greatest passions to fruition. So it made sense that Sparhawk would turn to fellow Duluth musicians Trampled by Turtles to realize his latest record. As friends and mentees of Low's, taken under Sparhawk and Parker's wing from their earliest days as a bar band, Trampled by Turtles have performed with Sparhawk countless times over the years. The Duluth ties run deep: "There's a certain vibe that has to do with underdog syndrome, coming from a small town," Sparhawk muses. "Some of it is the weird grind and slackness that being at the mercy of Mother Nature puts in you. It humbles you." The two artists hold the kind of ironclad bond. Following Parker's passing in 2022, Trampled by Turtles invited Sparhawk to join them on tour to give him a space to be surrounded by friends. Occasionally, he would join them onstage. The outpouring of love was palpable every time they played together, a surge of warmth. When playing together is that powerful, why stop there? In winter, 2024, Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles created With Trampled by Turtles, a record exactly as its name implies: Collective. Communal. Fraternal. Empathetic. A vessel for comfort, a reminder of the harmony that can exist when surrounded by those closest to you. Where White Roses, My God, Sparhawk's last album, plunged headfirst into electronica and radical vocal modulation, With Trampled by Turtles leans into the folk and bluegrass stylings of its backing band, Sparhawk's voice now completely unvarnished. With Trampled by Turtles is far more than just Alan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles. It's an affirmation of all the people who have been vital in Sparhawk's life and music, and an opportunity to hold each of their gifts into the light. It's producer Nat Harvie, who has been collaborating and performing with him for years. It's Sparhawk's daughter Hollis, who duets with her father on "Not Broken." And it's Mimi Parker, too: "Too High," "Princess Road Surgery," and "Not Broken" were all tracks she and Sparhawk had been working on in the last few years. These songs finally found a setting that stirringly commemorates them, bolstered by a full ensemble to make every note sing. Their presence is a kind of eternal connection to Parker, a way her musical grace will keep flourishing.

Old-time and traditional music stay exciting for their contrasts. Exacting instrumentation honed through mentorships and late-night jams at fiddler's conventions tangles with a community-sourced inventiveness that influences variants and new sounds. Joseph Decosimo is a master of this genre for this very reason, blending deep technique with an openness and curiosity that keep his music crackling with life. A "marvelous fiddler" (No Depression) and banjo player who braids "exultation and veneration" (INDY Week) into his music, on his third solo album Fiery Gizzard Decosimo gathers a close-knit ensemble of friends from his musical career to infuse his interpretations of fiddle and banjo pieces with a contagious communal joy. As an artist working with traditional music from the South and Appalachia, Decosimo chooses songs based not only on historical significance and lineage but also his own sensory approach. For Fiery Gizzard, his ear was tuned to otherworldly tones and mystery, sourcing from field recordings such as Virginia fiddler Luther Davis' hypnotic version of "Shady Grove" while amping up the music's psychedelic potential. On the middle Tennessee banjo composition "Flowery Girls," a VHS of bluesman Abner Jay inspired Decosimo to rig up a pickup inside a fretless banjo and play it thr ough a tube amp to capture some of Jay's edge and funkiness. But to round out the sound and keep it kinetic meant galvanizing a genre-eschewing crew to jam out - and not in a "spaced-out drooly" kind of way, he laughs, but as a sort of "responsive conversation." Decosimo has always been a community-minded artist. He began playing as a seventh graderin Tennessee, fostering relationships with older players at jams and in homes, a learning mode natural to his inquisitive nature and desire for musical connection. A folklorist by intuition, he later became one by profession, studying with old-time legend Clyde Davenport, teaching in East Tennessee State University's renowned bluegrass program, and receiving his PhD at the University of North Carolina with a dissertation titled "Catching the `Wild Note': Listening, Learning, and Connoisseurship in Old-Time Music." In North Carolina, Decosimo kicked about in the verdant environment of Durham and Chapel Hill's folk and indie scenes, collaborating with artists including Alice Gerrard, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell. This community has influenced his own music, including his "sublime and strangely heartening" (Bandcamp Daily) 2022 release While You Were Slumbering and Beehive Cathedral, Decosimo's 2024 "Appalachian mountain music treasury" (New Commute) trio album with Luke Richardson and Cleek Schrey for Dear Life Records. Continuing on this path, Fiery Gizzard is home base for a loose outfit of mostly Tarheel-based musicians from within and beyond traditional music. Inspired by a tour with fiddler Stephanie Coleman (Nora Brown), guitarist Jay Hammond, and synth builder and multi-instrumentalist Matthew O'Connell, Decosimo assembled studiomates based on close friendships and comfort. Coleman, O'Connell, and Hammond contribute to Fiery Gizzard, along with bassist and producer Andy Stack (Helado Negro, Wye Oak), horn player Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne), Mipso and Fust's Libby Rodenbough, Joseph O'Connell (Elephant Micah), andtrad/experimental artist Cleek Schrey. Decosimo's fiddle and banjo work is virtuosic, intricate and simple simultaneously, a testament to his many years of study. On some tracks, his playing or lovely, plain-hearted singing is the centerpiece, such as on his interpretations of Texan street preacher Washington Phillips' 1929 recording "I Had a Good Father and Mother" or the Eastern Kentucky fiddle barn-burner "Glory in the Meetinghouse," famously played by Luther Strong for Alan Lomax. But there's also a trusting open-door policy, like where Southern Appalachian tune "Ida Red" relaxes into Coleman's sweet, confident fiddling and Hammond's loping guitar. As a bandleader, Decosimo's confidence and enthusiasm for the music reveal the heart of traditional music and how it can come to life through community. Fiery Gizzard is Joseph Decosimo as a powerful champion of traditional music - a sponge who soaks up as much as he squeezes out, a responsive artist who makes his genre accessible, and a magnet who can bring musicians of all sorts into his orbit with his same passion.