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Returning to Die Schachtel with his fourth full-length with the label, the Genoa born, Bologna based, guitarist and electroacoustic composer, Stefano Pilia, delivers “Lacinia”, a new, immersive cycle of compositions, delving deeper into the realm of metaphysical, spiritual, and divine meaning, weaving astounding arrangements of sonority from a palette of synths, strings, brass, organ, various electroacoustic instruments, and percussion. Resting at a refined intersection of the acoustic and electroacoustic, drone, and chamber music - overwhelmingly beautiful, delicate, and bold, - “Lacinia” stands as a high-water mark in Pilia’s already remarkable and forward-looking career.

Since its founding in Milan during the early years of the new millennium, Die Schachtel has occupied a singular place in the landscape of experimental music, issuing a carefully curated body of reissues and archival releases by historically significant figures and projects like Christina Kubisch, Luciano Cilio, Marino Zuccheri, Prima Materia, Claudio Rocchi, Lino Capra Vaccina, Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, Roland Kayn, and numerous others, balanced against bristling contemporary counterparts by the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Giovanni Di Domenico, Nicola Ratti, Luigi ArchettI, Valerio Tricoli, etc. Running like a spine through the label’s output is a deep dedication to the work of the Italian guitarist and electroacoustic composer Stefano Pilia. Now Die Schachtel returns with “Lacinia”, Pilia’s forth full-length with the label and their first release of 2024. Building on the ground of deeply personal engagement with metaphysical, spiritual, and divine meaning, explored within his previous LP with Die Schachtel, 2022’s “Spiralis Aurea”, “Lacinia” encounters the composer working in close calibration with various ensembles, including the Bologna based Ensemble Concordanze and Comunale di Bologna String Orchestra, weaving synths, strings, brass, organ, various electroacoustic instruments, and percussion into an astounding reconfiguration of immersive, contemporary minimalism that stands among Pilia’s most noteworthy releases to date. Issued by Die Schachtel in two special double vinyl editions and a CD edition, “Lacinia” features artwork by Bruno Stucchi/Dinamomilano, and is an absolute marvel that draws you in and doesn’t let go.

First emerging during the early 2000s, over the past two decades – via solo releases and numerous collations with artists like Oren Ambarchi, Valerio Tricoli, Alessandra Novaga, Z'EV, Andrea Belfi, David Grubbs, and numerous others - the Genoa born, Bologna based, guitarist and electroacoustic composer, Stefano Pilia has presented a singular voice within Italian experimental music, harnessing visceral energy and hands-on immediacy within delicately woven tapestries of sonority, each investigating the sculptural properties of sound and illuminating its relationship to space, memory, and the suspension of time. “Lacinia”, Pilia’s forth solo venture with Die Schachtel, encounters the composer reentering his longstanding practice of collaboration with various ensemble forms, including the Bologna based Ensemble Concordanze, for the albums central piece, “Lacinia Off Axis”, spinning stunning string confirmations by Pietro David Carami and Elena Maury on violin, Alessandro Savio on viola, and Mattia Cipolli on cello.

A new, important cycle of compositions by Pilia, “Lacinia” (meaning "lace" in Latin) builds upon the exploration of the metaphysical, spiritual, and divine dimensions through numbers, geometry, and the creation of tonal forms explored by 2022’s “Spiralis Aurea”, mirroring archetypal, immutable forms at the juncture of the abstract realm of mathematics and architectural structures in the physical world, expands the poetics and compositional ideas featured in its predecessor. Regraded by Pilia as both a series of individual compositions and a single work, “Lacinia” was conceived to “define a circular path (a sort of "rhizomatic lace") where the beginning and end touch, suggesting the concept of time not only as linear but also cyclical and ritualistic—an eternal return, a process of transformation where matter changes, its state changes, but without altering the invisible internal principle of mutation”, embarking upon a a series of “steps, degrees, and energetic quanta in a progression of archetypal whole numbers and transcendent creation.”

The resulting 16 tracks unfold as a series of complex sonic meditations. While deeply resonant with the minimalism of composers like Arvo Pärt, LaMonte Young, Pauline Oliveros, and Eliane Radigue, Pilia digs deep and moves far beyond the predictable tonal relationships and structures of that idiom, echoing the ancient liturgical and devotional music of composers like Gesualdo da Venosa, Monteverdi, and John Dowland, at a refined intersection of the acoustic and electroacoustic, drone, and chamber music.

Fascinatingly structured as a whole to include a number of motif returns, across which we encounter works like “Lacinia Off Axis” appearing in slightly different rendering, states, or evolutions three times, and compositions like “Eve” appearing twice in subtly different forms and arrangements - first for four oscillators, guitar and voice and then for string orchestra - as well “Maris Stella”, which similarly makes two appearances, first for horn trio, organ and percussion, and then for string orchestra, with “Lacinia” Pilia delves further into the world of chamber music than ever before, creating a deeply inward, mediative body of work the totality of which, guided by its rich string arrangements of arching, sorrowful tone, feels almost like a mass for some unproclaimed loss; simultaneously locked in the nuances of a moment, while managing to suspend time.

Perhaps most remarkable is Pilia's ability to create a remarkable sense of sonic cohesion while using such a varied number of ensembles and instrumentation. From the sprawling string arrangements delivered by Comunale di Bologna String Orchestra, under the direction of Paolo Mancini, and Ensemble Concordanze, and a flute trio (Cadux / Plectere) brilliantly played by Manuel Zurria, to pieces for sax, organ and percussion, violin duo and percussion, organ and percussion, Pilia manages to create a sense of singular, encompassing world that flows forward like a shifting stream.

Overwhelmingly beautiful, delicate, and bold, “Lacinia” is unquestionably a high-water mark in Stefano Pilia’s already remarkable, forward-looking career. Nothing short of a marvel of contemporary Minimalism that, through its shifting arrangements of harmonics, tonality, and texture draws flickering images of ancient forms of music into the present day, “Lacinia” is Issued by Die Schachtel in two special editions on double vinyl and a CD edition, featuring artwork by Bruno Stucchi/Dinamomilano. This is an immersive all-consuming listen that can’t be missed.

37 years after the release of her multi-million selling debut album "Ancient Heart" Tanita Tikaram will release the sequel entitled "LIAR (Love Isn"t A Right)". The long-awaited new album reveals the emotional and societal differences between the woman Tanita was at just 18 when she made "Ancient Heart" to the woman she is today, taking in four decades of life experience. Her first album in almost a decade, "LIAR (Love Isn"t A Right)" is an album of haunting beauty and exquisite musicianship underplaying her unique voice that tells a masterful story of emotional, political and personal truths. When it was released in 1988, the multi-million selling "Ancient Heart" was the story of an uncertain 18-year-old brown gay woman living in middle England feeling like a stranger in her own home. Almost 40 years later that same woman, now feeling like a stranger in her own country as politics and society become more divisive. "LIAR (Love Is A Right)" is a full circle moment: a comment on community and its importance for all our futures and the perfect accompaniment to her classic breakthrough.

37 years after the release of her multi-million selling debut album "Ancient Heart" Tanita Tikaram will release the sequel entitled "LIAR (Love Isn"t A Right)". The long-awaited new album reveals the emotional and societal differences between the woman Tanita was at just 18 when she made "Ancient Heart" to the woman she is today, taking in four decades of life experience. Her first album in almost a decade, "LIAR (Love Isn"t A Right)" is an album of haunting beauty and exquisite musicianship underplaying her unique voice that tells a masterful story of emotional, political and personal truths. When it was released in 1988, the multi-million selling "Ancient Heart" was the story of an uncertain 18-year-old brown gay woman living in middle England feeling like a stranger in her own home. Almost 40 years later that same woman, now feeling like a stranger in her own country as politics and society become more divisive. "LIAR (Love Is A Right)" is a full circle moment: a comment on community and its importance for all our futures and the perfect accompaniment to her classic breakthrough.

Valerie is not just a name. She is a bridge connecting two boundless realms: music and the cosmos. She is like a vibration of an otherworldly frequency, transmitting to humanity the elusive revelations of the Universe. Through Valerie, music ceases to be mere sound - it becomes the breath of galaxies, the pulse of distant stars, the whisper of infinity. In her presence, time loses its linearity, and space fills with mystery. Valerie is the moment when notes flare like supernovae, and melodies unfold like spirals of the Milky Way. She is living proof that music is the language of the Universe, and the human soul will always strive to be part of it.

The Complete Piano Etudes of Philip Glass available for the first time on vinyl, housed in a 4LP Box set (also available as a 2CD format).



After more than thirty years of working with and performing the great repertoire, the music of Philip Glass has, in a way, almost revolutionized my life as a musician,” confides Vanessa Wagner.

An emblematic artist on the French music scene, winner of a Victoire de la musique award and director of the Chambord and Giverny festivals, Vanessa Wagner is as inspired in her interpretation of Mozart, Debussy, Tchaikovsky and Dusapin as she is alongside Murcof and Rone.

With her innovative and daring approach, she has established herself as a major influence on the classical music landscape, crossing boundaries and blazing inspiring trails.

A tireless pioneer of new repertoires, she has been exploring the repertoire of minimalist composers for several years. For InFiné, she has dedicated 4 albums to the major figures of this movement, John Adams, Meredith Monk, Brian Eno, Ryūichi Sakamoto, as well as to the new generation Caroline Shaw, Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly.

After giving numerous concerts based on these works, she felt the need to record in their entirety this essential monument in the history of music, which bridges the gap between the 20th and 21st centuries: Philip Glass's 20 Etudes for piano
by Philip Glass.
His approach helps to place these two books in the great repertoire, alongside the great cycles of studies by Ligeti, Debussy, Dusapin, and before them, Chopin and Liszt.

Philip Glass was born in 1937 and grew up in Baltimore. He studied at the University of Chicago, the Juilliard School and in Aspen with Darius Milhaud. Dissatisfied with much of what was then considered modern music, he moved to Europe, where he studied with the legendary pedagogue Nadia Boulanger (who also taught Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and Quincy Jones) and worked closely with sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar.

The thread linking Philip Glass to Vanessa Wagner may be as simple as a detail: a moment, a pedagogy, a way of looking at the piano. In Words Without Music, Glass recalls his apprenticeship with Nadia Boulanger in Paris - a lesson in rigorous received just as the Nouvelle Vague was about to shatter the conventions of cinema the conventions of cinema, just as the composers of the minimalist movement had done with with the language of music. Nurtured by Ravel and Debussy, the great French pedagogue disciplined yet inquisitive minds, capable of embracing modernity without denying modernity without denying their heritage.

Schwarzes Recycling-Vinyl. Kommt mit Texblatt und Downloadcode. Great Resignation! So wird das massenhafte Kündigen von Bullshitjobs während der Corona-Pandemie bezeichnet. Die Verweigerung die eigene Arbeitskraft zu den widrigsten Bedingungen zu verkaufen, wenn es nicht mal zum Leben reicht. Auch wenn man sowieso bald wieder ran muss - nur für einen Moment spüren, die Macht zu haben alles lahm zu legen, hörten einfach alle auf: Wertschöpfung, Broligarchie, Kaufland, Deutschland. pogendroblem haben sich also nochmal zusammengerauft und ein neues Album gemacht. Drei Jahre für ein neues Album? In der Tat: Great Resignation. Oder zu wenig die Brotjobs gekündigt? Und wenn sie die Arbeit so hassen, warum haben sich pogendroblem dann noch weiter in die Musikindustrie reinbegeben? Widersprüche schärfen und aushalten. Ambiguitätstoleranz. Nachdem AWINHSMK Ende 2022 bei Audiolith erschien, ging es für die Band wild hin- und her zwischen Pop-Festivals, Punkbühnen, Preisverleihungen und Solishows für selbstverwaltete Kulturzentren oder gegen die extreme Rechte. Nun der Nachfolger Great Resignation bei Kidnap. Das Schulterklopfen der Kulturförderung darf natürlich auch nicht fehlen. Zwölf Tracks auf 1:22 bis 2:30. Ästhetisch nochmal diversifiziert und dennoch aus einem Guss, entstanden unter Regie von Gregor Hennig im Studio Nord Bremen, gemischt von Daniel Roesberg und gemastert von Christian Bethge. Musikalisch klarer und pointierter als zuvor. Obviously punk, poppige Niedlichkeit, Garage Vibes, bisschen Hamburger Schule, bisschen Kraut, etwas düsterere Gitarren und natürlich Brotschneidemaschine durch FX geballert. Wahrscheinlich Post-Punk. Doch Achtung, das ist keine Neue Neue Deutsche Welle! Große Resignation! Die große Traurigkeit zieht sich durch die Platte hindurch, auch in den auf den ersten Blick lustigen Liedern. Denn hier sind sich pogendroblem treu geblieben, es geht um absurde Alltagsgeschichten, um Subjektivierung, die nicht mehr zu funktionieren scheint. Um Fragmentierung von Gesellschaft, Arbeitsbeziehungen, der Linken. Wie durch die Zeit der Monster (Antonio Gramsci) navigieren, fragen pogendroblem. Wie weiter machen gegen Faschisierung und Klimakrise? Lösungsansätze werden diskutiert und ausprobiert. Es ist klar: Es kann nicht immer so weitergehen.

Monster Florence bewegten sich schon immer an der Grenze der Genres und vermischten Hip-Hop, Punk und alles, was zum Moment passte, zu etwas Einzigartigem. Ihr letztes Album "Master System" erntete Kritikerlob für seine bissigen Texte und düstere, filmische Atmosphäre, die die Ängste des digitalen Zeitalters einfing. Seitdem hat die sechsköpfige Band aus Colchester ihre explosive Liveshow auf UK- und Europa-Touren ausgedehnt. Ihre neue EP PETTY CASH, eine Währung für Sorglose, fängt den Nervenkitzel flüchtiger Freuden ein. Die 8 Tracks bewegen sich durch Höhen und Tiefen von Exzess und Nachwirkungen. Es ist der Klang der Nächte, die ineinander übergehen, der Momente, die einem durch die Finger gleiten, und der Echos, die sie hinterlassen.

Cloudy Gold Vinyl. This 10 Year Anniversary Edition features new, gatefold packaging with updated photos, lyrics and liner notes. Disc one incldues the originial album in full and the brand new second disc features rare b-side "Nail In Your Hand," a re-done version of "Heaviside" with artist Wisp performing vocals on the song, and seven never-before heard demo versions of songs from Citizen's second album. Ten years ago, Citizen released Everybody Is Going to Heaven _ a record that marked a bold turning point in their career. Following the breakout success of Youth, the band could have stayed the course. Instead, they doubled down on darker textures, heavier moods, and a fearless sense of experimentation. Released in 2015, Everybody Is Going to Heaven expanded Citizen's sound beyond their emo and post-hardcore roots, weaving in elements of grunge, and alternative rock. Tracks like "Cement" and "Stain" captured a raw, unsettled energy that explored mortality, depression, and identity with an honesty that still resonates today. It wasn't a record built for easy listens _ it was built to last. Now, a decade later, Everybody Is Going to Heaven stands as a defining moment in Citizen's evolution _ a record that challenged both the band and their audience, and helped shape the fearless, genre-blurring artists they've become. As they celebrate its 10th anniversary, Citizen remains a band deeply committed to growth, refusing to be tied to a single sound or era. Everybody Is Going to Heaven didn't just mark where they were; it lit the way for everything that came next.

Almost fifteen years since the release of her self-titled debut LP on Mr Bongo, reggae’s orator of love Hollie Cook is returning to the label for Shy Girl, her fifth studio album and her most authentic yet. Woven with tight grooves, beautiful vocals and catchy melodies, Shy Girl hears singer and songwriter Hollie Cook revel in her contemporary lovers rock sound, more confident and open to vulnerability than ever before.

A sun-drenched exploration of love in all its guises, Shy Girl tells stories of the magical and the melancholy, the heart-lifting and heart-breaking, across 12 luscious, analogue reggae compositions - the culmination of a soft-hued and instantly recognisable “tropical pop” sound that Cook has made her own.

Put together across three years and four cities – from LA and NYC, to Vejer de la Frontera in Spain and Cook’s hometown London – Shy Girl was written with long-time collaborators, The General Roots Band, and features a contribution from legendary dub MC Horseman, who lends his voice to the album’s first single ‘Night Night’.

The album opens with the title track ‘Shy Girl’, a buoyant and elastic slice of lovers rock that was written in a moment of spontaneous intuition, and bubbles with a charisma and positivity that Cook radiates. “I’m not a natural show-off,” Cook explains. “The Shy Girl theme is me. It’s just about being my most vulnerable self and being as true to the music that Iove as possible.” It is this honesty which shines throughout, from the chugging deep dub of ‘Frontline’, complete with raking electric guitar lines, to the bittersweet roots ballad ‘We Share Love’, which closes out the album.

It's clear to see that Cook’s songwriting draws on a lifetime of musical influences and inspirations. From her father, Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook’s record collection and touring with post-punk icon Ari Up’s The Slits, to her love for strong female-led pop music and the bassweight of London’s sound system culture. Enamoured with the music of Janet Kay and Phyllis Dillon, Shy Girl represents a homecoming and a coming-of-age for Hollie Cook, distilling and refining a shimmering reggae sound that will capture your heart, as it first captured hers.

Almost fifteen years since the release of her self-titled debut LP on Mr Bongo, reggae’s orator of love Hollie Cook is returning to the label for Shy Girl, her fifth studio album and her most authentic yet. Woven with tight grooves, beautiful vocals and catchy melodies, Shy Girl hears singer and songwriter Hollie Cook revel in her contemporary lovers rock sound, more confident and open to vulnerability than ever before.

A sun-drenched exploration of love in all its guises, Shy Girl tells stories of the magical and the melancholy, the heart-lifting and heart-breaking, across 12 luscious, analogue reggae compositions - the culmination of a soft-hued and instantly recognisable “tropical pop” sound that Cook has made her own.

Put together across three years and four cities – from LA and NYC, to Vejer de la Frontera in Spain and Cook’s hometown London – Shy Girl was written with long-time collaborators, The General Roots Band, and features a contribution from legendary dub MC Horseman, who lends his voice to the album’s first single ‘Night Night’.

The album opens with the title track ‘Shy Girl’, a buoyant and elastic slice of lovers rock that was written in a moment of spontaneous intuition, and bubbles with a charisma and positivity that Cook radiates. “I’m not a natural show-off,” Cook explains. “The Shy Girl theme is me. It’s just about being my most vulnerable self and being as true to the music that Iove as possible.” It is this honesty which shines throughout, from the chugging deep dub of ‘Frontline’, complete with raking electric guitar lines, to the bittersweet roots ballad ‘We Share Love’, which closes out the album.

It's clear to see that Cook’s songwriting draws on a lifetime of musical influences and inspirations. From her father, Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook’s record collection and touring with post-punk icon Ari Up’s The Slits, to her love for strong female-led pop music and the bassweight of London’s sound system culture. Enamoured with the music of Janet Kay and Phyllis Dillon, Shy Girl represents a homecoming and a coming-of-age for Hollie Cook, distilling and refining a shimmering reggae sound that will capture your heart, as it first captured hers.

»What about Love« is MONKyMAN's personal journey through solitude, love and connection: An honest, heart-driven record exploring spirit, romance and community in a chaotic world.

Written over the course of three years and recorded live on analog gear only with no loops or plugins, the album blends warmth, vulnerability, and a message of hope. Produced with Drew Deal at Sundown Studios with guests from all over the planet, it invites you into a space of reflection, belonging and joy.

Genre-defying and soul-centered, the album unites meditative moments and heavy grooves, moving from the question »What about love?« to the simple realization: »I feel better in love.«
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LA-based producer Real Bad Man and Michigan rapper Willie the Kid release their new collaborative album, Midnight, via the producer’s own Real Bad Man Records label. The album, which marks the producer’s second collaborative project of the year following Dear Psilocybin with ZelooperZ, includes guest appearances from UK rapper Sonnyjim, New York’s Lord Sko and frequent RBM collaborator Boldy James, who will be releasing his own Real Bad Man-produced album in May.

The album came together naturally for the pair, letting each new song inform the identity of the project as a whole. Speaking about how they identified that central theme of the album, Willie says, “I think where Adam and I agreed upon is that the stand out records were all themes for the night, late night drive, after hours dinners, shopping, private rooftop hotel suites, it’s a thinking album, a cruising album preferably enjoyed at night…midnight””

Midnight marks the early stages of what’s shaping up to be a prolific run of collaborations for Real Bad Man in 2025. His second album of the year builds off of the momentum he sparked last month with his first full-length album with ZelooperZ, Dear Psilocybin, which The FADER called “clear-eyed and focused in its own fantastical way”. Working as a duo with the dynamic lyricism of Willie the Kid after the psychedelic sounds of Dear Psilocybin, Real Bad Man returns to the essential underground beatmaking that he first emerged onto the scene with through his On High Alert series. His crackling, lo-fi production pairs perfectly with Willie’s gritty delivery, laying a foundation for the longtime lyrical stylist who has worked alongside some of the genre’s modern heroes including Nas, Lil Wayne, The Alchemist, Roc Marciano, Curren$y and more.

Listen to Midnight above, see below for more details on Midnight and stay tuned for more from Real Bad Man coming soon

Auf 500 Stück limitierte 2025er Nachpressung vom 2024er La Luz Album auf gelbgrünem Vinyl. LA LUZ aus Kalifornien wird von Fans und der Presse gleichermaßen seit ihrem Gründungsjahr 2012 geliebt, da sie den Spagat zwischen Chaos und Bittersüße schaffen. Jede neue Platte ist ein weiterer Feinschliff an der Mischung aus schwülstigen Riffs und engelsgleichem Gesang, der an Pop und Folk angelehnt ist; eine Band, die so verlässlich großartig ist, dass sie den gewaltigen Schritt nach vorne in Sachen Selbstvertrauen und schierer Musikalität, den "News of the Universe" macht, umso beeindruckender macht. Cleveland, die auch schreibt und malt, hat sich zu einer wahrhaft originellen Songwriterin mit einem eigenen Kanon geisterhafter Psychedelik entwickelt, die sich in den letzten Jahren von der sich wandelnden Landschaft rund um ihr ländliches Zuhause in Kalifornien hat inspirieren lassen, vor allem auf dem von der Kritik gefeierten Soloalbum Manzanita, einer magisch-realistischen Dokumentation ihrer Schwangerschaft und frühen Mutterschaft, die auf vielen Jahresendlisten stand. Selbst wenn Cleveland jahrelang Songs über Geister geschrieben hat, so ist das, was in den Schatten von "News of the Universe" lauert, nichts weniger als der Tod selbst: "There are moments on this album that sound to me like the last frantic confession before an asteroid destroys the earth." Klanglich ist die Platte voller Dringlichkeit. Die Songs stolpern über sich selbst, als würden sie versuchen, der Apokalypse zu entkommen: das atemlose Prasseln der Toms in "Strange World", das fingerfertige Eröffnungsriff des Titeltracks, getränkt in Verzerrungen. Eine Atmosphäre des Untergangs schwebt über dem Sgt. Pepper-esken Barock-Pop-Song "Poppies", in dem Cleveland von einer schwankenden orangefarbenen Idylle singt, die von der Spätsommersonne in Flammen aufgehen wird. In dem ähnlich kaleidoskopischen "Dandelions" hält sie die gelben Blumen für ahnungslose "kleine Sonnen", die sich im Laufe der Saison in "Monde" verwandeln werden. Die synthetischen Klänge, die auf dem letzten Album "La Luz" von 2021, verwendet wurden, um das träge Summen und Knistern eines Sommertages auf dem Lande zu imitieren, wurden im Weltraum verstreut. Düster, verletzlich, weiblich und unbestreitbar triumphierend ist "News of the Universe" eine weitere umwerfende Platte einer Band, die so verlässlich gut ist, dass die Leute vielleicht übersehen haben, wie bahnbrechend LA LUZ wirklich sind: farbige Frauen in der Indie-Musik, die ihren eigenen Weg gehen, indem sie ihrem eigenen künstlerischen Stern in Galaxien jenseits der aktuellen musikalischen Trends folgen - immer geleitet von einem aufrichtigen Glauben an die kosmische Kraft der Liebe und eines großartigen Riffs. Niemals trifft das mehr zu als auf "News of the Universe", dem vielleicht brutalsten Album von LA LUZ, das aber auch das glücklichste ist.

MJ Lenderman writes songs that are amorphous and elastic, rising to fill the venue they"re in, generous to accommodate the number of players on stage, less concerned with replicating the studio version than they are with meeting the crowd where they"re at. On And the Wind (Live and Loose!), the Asheville-based Lenderman handles most of the playing, but with The Wind, it"s a multi-headed beast. This live album is culled from sold-out summer 2023 shows on a brief headline run during what some might call a wild-*ss couple of months. It captures a near-euphoric moment in time - dizzying and exhausting and, most of all, having some real true-blue f**king fun with your best friends. It"s 90s college rock meets Americana hootenanny, an electrifying piece of the MJ Lenderman lore that needs to be experienced live with a light beer in-hand - but in the interim, And the Wind (Live and Loose!) does its best to commit the scene to tape.

Hinter dem Album steht Kilian Bungert, der sich mit seinem Alter Ego "stoic mind" einen Raum geschaffen hat, in dem sich Stärke und Verletzlichkeit nicht gegenseitig ausschließen. Die Songs auf seinem beeindruckenden Debüt "to know what i"m scared of" sind ein Blick nach innen - reduziert, ehrlich, suchend. Hier gibt es kein Pathos und keine Statements. Es gibt nur die leise, emotionale Einladung Teil einer Reise zu werden, die bereits vor drei Jahren begonnen hat und die mit Stücken wie der Single "see what you don"t see" oder dem ergreifenden "the boat" einen vorläufigen Höhepunkt erreicht. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen Indie, Folk, Country und kontemporärem Pop. Aber mehr noch als der Stil ist es die Haltung, die hier Relevanz schafft: Musik, die nichts beweisen will, aber viel zeigt. Von der Suche nach Klarheit. Von Selbstzweifeln, die zu Verbündeten werden. Von Momenten, in denen Kontrolle auf Intuition trifft. Und von dem Mut, loszulassen - ohne zu wissen, was danach kommt.

Nevertel, are set to release their Epitaph Records debut album, entitled Start Again. The Florida-based trio - comprised of vocalist Jeremy Michael, rapper/guitarist/producer Raul Lopez, and guitarist Alec Davis - are a rare breed in an era saturated with genre tags and algorithm-chasing playlists. Drawing on a cocktail of nu-metal nostalgia, hip-hop grit, and EDM adrenaline, their sound feels less like a blend and more like a carefully controlled detonation. It"s a vision honed through years of DIY hustle and an unshakable commitment to quality over trend. Bonded in adolescence over music and late-night gaming sessions, the trio turned those formative obsessions into a full-fledged project that has steadily built a digital groundswell. From self-releasing two fulllength albums and a pair of EPs to amassing over 1.5 million streams per week, Nevertel"s trajectory reflects a slow burn in a culture obsessed with instant virality. Citing touchstones like Linkin Park and Bring Me The Horizon, the band pays homage to the titans of their youth while shaping something unmistakably their own: emotionally raw lyricism, razor-edged riffs and breakdowns. It"s equal parts catharsis and chaos. Now signed to Epitaph Records as of 2023, Nevertel are poised to enter their next chapter with momentum at their backs.

Die Sängerin, Songwriterin und Multi- Instrumentalistin Sydney Rose schreibt Songs für die Momente, in
denen uns die Worte fehlen. Wenn sie singt, klingt es fast so, als würde sie dir ins Ohr flüstern, dir ein
wenig Klarheit verschaffen oder dich einfach daran erinnern, dass alles gut werden wird.
Ihr größter Hit „We Hug Now“ hat in Deutschland bereits 8M Streams generiert und ging mit 450k
Creations auf TikTok viral. Die Single erreichte in diversen Ländern die Top100 der Spotify Charts und
schaffte es in den USA in die Spotify Top3. Ihre bereits im April veröffentlichte EP „I Know What I Want”
enthält neben ihrer Erfolgssingle ”We Hug Now” auch noch fünf weitere gefühlvolle Songs.
Die EP ist als 1LP erhältlich.

Mit seiner kraftvollen Stimme und seinem gefühlvollen Songwriting kreiert Calum Scott die Art von Songs,
die tief in uns nachhallen und die bedeutungsvollsten Momente in unserem Leben begleiten.
Seit seiner Single „You Are The Reason“ hat der in Großbritannien lebende Künstler von unzähligen Fans
auf der ganzen Welt gehört, die seine Musik als Soundtrack für wichtige Lebensereignisse oder als Trost
beim Ertragen von großem Herzschmerz und Verlust nutzen.
Sein drittes Album „Avenoir“ enthält die Singles „Roots“, ‚Lighthouse‘, „At Your Worst“, „My World“
und „God Knows“ - eine beeindruckende Sammlung von Songs, die ein herzliches Plädoyer dafür sind, das
Leben in vollen Zügen zu leben.

Mit dieser besonderen Jubiläumsausgabe feiern Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 10 Jahre ihres
explosiven Debütalbums. Mit den zeitlosen Hits, die ihren kometenhaften Aufstieg einleiteten, darunter
das unaufhaltsame „S.O.B.“, ehrt diese Veröffentlichung den rauen Soul, die Vintage-Grooves und den
kraftvollen Gesang, die Fans auf der ganzen Welt in ihren Bann zogen.
Auf dieser Anniversary Edition kommen elf bisher unveröffentlichte Demos zum Original-Album hinzu.
Dazu ein paar Worte von Nathaniel Rateliff selbst:
”Die Reise eines Songs muss irgendwo beginnen. Lieder können Ideen sein, die jahrelang schlummern.
Manchmal verstecken sie sich in unserem Inneren und es liegt an uns, uns ihnen zu öffnen und ihre melodische Geburt zu begrüßen. Hier sind elf ungehörte Ideen, die vor etwas mehr als zehn Jahren auf meinem
Dachboden entstanden sind. Ich hatte ein Mikrofon, ein zweikanaliges Interface, einen zweikanaligen
Vorverstärker und meinen Laptop. Ich habe diese Werkzeuge damals gerade gut genug genutzt, um die
Ideen in dem Moment einzufangen, in dem sie auftauchten.”
Erleben Sie das Album, das den modernen Soul-Rock neu definierte und eine Band bekannt machte, deren
Musik nach wie vor Herzen und Tanzflächen auf der ganzen Welt bewegt.

Sublunar is thrilled to announce its next release: Kashpitzky's powerful new EP, Steampunk.
Affiliated with esteemed labels such as Blueprint, Be As One, and Token, Kashpitzky proves once again why he is one of the most exciting artists in today's techno landscape. With Steampunk, he delivers a set of tracks that showcase not only his signature sound design and unique energy, but also his ability to craft music that feels timeless.

The journey opens with Aborted, where intricate grooves and striking sound design merge into a truly distinctive piece, setting the tone for the record. Erath follows with a muscular and driving character, powered by a vocal that drops at key moments to amplify its raw energy.

On the flip side, Steampunk offers a minimal yet highly effective groove, a versatile track built to work in any context. Code 2 pushes deeper into hypnotic territory a perfect fusion of modern textures and classic sensibilities that leaves a lasting impression.

Closing the record is Last Day On Earth, an evocative outro where vocals and sounds echoing another era bring the journey to a haunting and memorable conclusion.

In syrupy slow pursuit of a strong 2023 debut, Yungwebster's somnolent sequel is bolstered by pitch-perfect production from Space Afrika and Nathan Melja, who vaporise the rapper's auto-tuned post-Future drawl with euphoric orchestral drones, brittle micro-trap beats and weightless pads.

Over a decade ago at this point, Future released 'Codeine Crazy', the decelerated finale of 'Monster', one of his best-loved mixtapes. The track neatly summarised themes the Atlanta rapper had been circling for years at that point, layering his slurred, lean-dizzy rhymes over producer TM88's rubbery, melancholy synths. "Take all my problems and drink out the bottle," he moaned robotically, using the track's minor key bounce to represent the crushing delirium that followed fame and its tasting menu of intoxicants. It's still Future's high water mark creatively, and its traces can be observed in a full spectrum of contemporary sounds, from 6LACK's downtrodden, self-aware R&B to Lil Uzi Vert's feverish trap. But it's Yungwebster who's taken the haze to its logical conclusion, reimagining the Magic City-sculpted bumps as hypnagogic Actavis- 'n Xanax-hued ambient music. You could argue it was bound to happen - the more you sip, the slower it gets - and plays as a cracked mirror to cloud rap's long-smoked hybrid of Southern psychedelia and post-OutKast eccentricity.

Webster's opiated POV is clearer than ever before on 'II'. Just peep the cracks in his voice on the Space Afrika-produced opener 'Skyfall' as he coughs and splutters over watery samples, booming subs and SA's patented collage of soundtrack-ready strings and sirens. Presented at regular speed and in chipmunked form, it sets the pace for an album that, like its predecessor, constantly fucks with the timeline, pitching the whole master into doubletime or slowing it down to a crawl to present a curved, inebriated narrative rather than a straight line. Even without the tempo switches, Webster singles out beats that accent his warbled rhymes that sound as if they'll fall apart at any moment. French DJ and producer Nathan Melja backs 'Disheveled' with Black Ark-styled oscillations and airlock'd echoes, filtering the bassline until it almost disappears entirely; with room to breathe, Webster's able to take the lead - you might not be able to pick out the words, not entirely at least, but you get the message.

In fact it's Webster's voice that's the revelation on 'II' - with a coherent mix from producer tnotsobad, the nuances and fluttering tonalities emerge more vividly than they have before. It makes the flip between the regular speed and fast on 'Txts Red on iMessage' a textural decision, the different pace shifting the warbled cadences so Webster's voice becomes far more important than the additional elements. And on the album's Space Afrika-produced eight-minute centerpiece 'Crochet / I Swear', Webster's mumbled bio-mechanical whines create a much-needed foil for the decelerated boom-clack and suspended save room ambience. We get to encounter a personality here, not just an aesthetic, so as the album moves into its twilit fourth side, the beatless, voice-led somniferousness of 'YA SA' and ululating 'Phone' come off like a descent into tranquillised sedation. Rap has rarely sounded so chimeric.

DEVO’s Hardcore documents the group’s beginning as pre-punk outcasts in the fertile Akron, Ohio, underground rock scene. Spawned at the nearby college of Kent State, site of the infamous May 4 Massacre, DEVO formed as a conceptual art project armed with the radical philosophy of de-evolution. Brothers Mothersbaugh (Mark, Bob and Jim) and Brothers Casale (Jerry and Bob) along with drummer Alan Myers soon whipped up an otherworldly brand of “devolved blues” that could hold its own alongside the beatnik groove of 15-60-75 (a.k.a. The Numbers Band) or the primal rock poetry of The Bizarros. Recorded on various four-track machines and in tiny studios, basements and garages between 1974-1977, Hardcore reveals their strikingly clear vision: rock ’n’ roll stripped bare of its collective cool and jerked back into propaganda fit for post-modern man. It’s no surprise that these transmissions would soon catch the eye and ear of Brian Eno, who later produced their landmark 1978 debut album. Noisy synth, strangled guitar chops and a primitive rhythmic thud power the early DEVO sound. Threaded beneath it all are lyrical themes of post-McCarthy paranoia, middle-class ephemera and DEVO’s long-running topic of choice: sex, or lack thereof. Few moments in pop music history can match the grinding, pent-up energy of “Mongoloid” and the spastic bounce and sputter of “Jocko Homo” (two anthems presented in their earlier and superior versions here). Cult favorites like “Mechanical Man” and “Auto-Modown” make Volume 1 essential listening. Superior Viaduct and Booji Boy Records are proud to present DEVO’s Hardcore to a new generation of spuds, lovingly packaged with Moshe Brakha’s stunning cover photography. As David Bowie said in 1977, DEVO is indeed “the band of the future.”

Cee ElAssaad's ENSOULED label kicks off with a head-turning first release that lays its cards on the table with a powerful title: Freedom, Innovation, Resonance Vol 1. Some of deep house music's most authentic voices contribute, starting with Trinidadian Deep who layers up spiritual synths, organic percussion and smooth beats ina typically cool fashion. The Cee ElAssaad remix brings brighter melodies, keys and jazzy overtones. Boo Williams's 'My Place' is like a busy lava lamp with gloppy keys rising and falling in a thick and velvety arrangement then Cee ElAssaad and Doug Gomez shut down with the steamy late night house of 'Jam It To The Riddim'.

Damian Lazarus continues ‘Magickal Remixed’ with second instalment featuring Cinthie, Timo Maas, and Anthony Middleton.

With his surprise fifth studio album ‘Magickal’ continuing to resonate across the global electronic landscape, Damian Lazarus now unveils the second half of the project’s ambitious remix series. Out 26th September via Crosstown Rebels, ‘Magickal Remixed (Part II)’ enlists the talents of Cinthie, Timo Maas, and Anthony Middleton, with each of the three celebrated artists bringing their unique perspective to the Crosstown head’s latest long-player. Arriving in both digital and vinyl formats, this three-track package builds on the energy of Part I, which featured takes from Harry Romero, Jonathan Kaspar, and Mëstiza, and THEMBA’s earlier remix of lead single Searchin’, continuing a journey that reimagines Magickal’s most defining moments through fresh, club-ready interpretations.

Opening the release, Berlin favourite Cinthie takes on ‘Y Don’t U’, injecting her signature analogue warmth and groove-driven touch into the album cut, reworking it into a silky, floor-focused workout that radiates her unmistakable house sound. Longstanding innovator Timo Maas steps up next with his remix of ‘Warrior Dance’, Lazarus’ amapiano-inspired collaboration with Ghanaian artist Jojo Abot. Stripping back and rebuilding the track into a hypnotic, low-slung affair, Maas balances subtle percussive detail with deep, pulsating basslines to create an intoxicating new dimension. Closing out the EP, Anthony Middleton, one half of Audiofly, reshapes the soulful ‘So Low’ featuring Zeo Kypri into a textured and emotionally charged journey, weaving its vocal lines through expansive sound design and rolling grooves.

Unknown Waveforms is the forthcoming album from Belgian trio KAU, set for release on October 10, 2025. Marking an evolution since their 2023 release The Cycle Repeats, this new record captures a more personal, immediate, and unfiltered version of the band's sound. In an increasingly digital world, KAU takes a different route, with an album rooted in human connection, live energy, and creative spontaneity. Here, the trio reflect their take on instrumental music, drawing heavily fromjazz, hip hop, and electronic influences.

At the heart of Unknown Waveforms lies the starting point of three musicians in a room, writing and composing music on the spot. For KAU, this idea mirrors their working method: long jam sessions, free-flowing experimentation, and shared moments of inspiration. Songs often take shape slowly, unfolding over hours or days, but always built collaboratively as a trio.

The album's title reflects the mystery behind how music comes together, but is also both literal and symbolic. Unknown waveforms are the sounds that arise when machines and people interact in unpredictable ways. Whether you're an experienced musician or just starting out, the creative process often feels elusive and hard to fully understand. But there are also certain moments: creative sparks that can't be planned or programmed. It ends up being more than notes, gear, or structure, it's about the process, the tension and energy that builds when people connect and create in the same room.

The title track, Unknown Waveforms, captures that exact process. It opens with a quote from synth pioneer Wendy Carlos: "I'm just trying to show you how we get some of these sounds", inviting listeners directly into the creative space. The track focuses less on a polished outcome and more on the moment before a song is "finished": it's a portrait of experimentation, feeling, and raw expression.

This commitment to honesty permeates the entire album. KAU kept overdubs to a minimum, avoided excessive editing, and prioritized spontaneous choices over calculated ones. In a time when the future of live, improvised music feels uncertain, they double down on the physical, the real, and the immediate. The album resists the pristine polish of modern production, favoring the warmth and imperfection of analog synthesis. The band embraces the character of their instruments, particularly vintage gear, where subtle flaws add beauty, depth, and personality.

One standout track, cr_eye, is driven by the Moog Subphatty-a key instrument in the band's toolkit for its analog warmth and powerful sub-bass. The track centers around the conversation between bass and drums, allowing the keyboards to recede and create space. It draws emotional threads from earlier KAU tracks like Kampala and Kautokeino, bridging past and present with a shared atmosphere and rhythmic interplay.

Another highlight, Stratford, finds inspiration in London's transport system and the UK jazz scene that has long influenced KAU. A field recording snippet of the London Underground kicks off the track, connecting it to the rhythm of everyday commutes. Built around a hypnotic sequencer line from the Roland JX-3P, the track evokes the motion of a metro journey. Artists like Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, and Alfa Mist, giants of the scenethat the band has admired for years, resonate subtly throughout.

Above all, Unknown Waveforms is a statement of intent from KAU: a celebration of imperfection, creative honesty and an insight in the process.

"Stories Of Life" - triosence malen Musik aus Geschichten, die das Leben schreibt Das Album "Stories of Life" des Genregrenzen neu definierenden Pianotrios triosence ist ein musikalisches Porträt von Momentaufnahmen aus dem Leben. In jedem Titel erkundet triosence-Bandleader und Komponist Bernhard Schüler die Tragik und Schönheit von Geschichten aus dem Alltag und malt diese Erlebnisse in betörend melodiöse, mitreißende Instrumentalkompositionen. Große Freude und tiefer Schmerz, scheinbar Banales und wahrhaft Lebensveränderndes liegen oft überraschend nah beieinander. Der Verlust einer Schwangerschaft in "Little Lost Wonder", die Liebe zu seiner kleinen Tochter in "Tamina's Lullaby", der Tod seines Onkels in "Dear Rainer" oder die Freude über wild wuchernde Garten-Gewächse seiner Lebensgefährtin in "Tomato Party" - "Stories of Life" ist die in Musik nachvollzogene Erkenntnis von Bernhard Schüler, dass im Leben all das verwoben ist. "Ich setze mich ans Klavier und spiele mir alles von der Seele. Schöne und traurige Erlebnisse, Beobachtungen, Empfindungen - Musik zu schreiben ist meine Art, über das Leben nachzudenken", erklärt er.Was "Stories Of Life" musikalisch auszeichnet, sind progressive Strukturen, die immer wieder in Stil, Tempo und Stimmung variieren; die mal laut oder leise sind, verträumt oder kraftvoll. Sie sollen den Hörer auf eine regelrechte Reise schicken, indem sie eine Reihe von starken Klangbildern erzeugen. "Wenn ich komponiere, habe ich das immer im Hinterkopf", so Bernhard Schüler. "Nämlich Geschichten mit meiner Musik zu erzählen. Das ist, was die Leute am meisten berührt." Auf "Stories Of Life" entwickeln er und seine Bandkollegen Tobias Schulte (Schlagzeug) und Omar Rodriguez Calvo (Bass) mit großer Leichtigkeit ihren melodiösen, stimmungsvollen Sound-Mix aus Weltbeat, Folk, Jazz, Rock und Pop konsequent weiter. "Wir gestalten ein totales Crossover", erklärt Bernhard Schüler, "das ist Musik, die zwar in klassischer Jazz-Formation daherkommt - mit Klavier, Bass und Schlagzeug - aber Jazz im herkömmlichen Sinn kann man das nicht mehr nennen. Mir geht es um starke Melodien und klare Songstrukturen. Eine Fokussierung auf das Wesentliche ist mir wichtig oder anders gesagt: musikalisch auf den Punkt zu kommen."Dem Maler Rainer Hoffmann ist nicht nur das Stück "Dear Rainer" gewidmet - mit "Stories Of Life" wird ihm auf besondere Weise ein Denkmal gesetzt. Sein Gemälde "Badere vid Ingetoprsjön" (Badende am Ingetorpssee) ziert denn auch das Cover-Artwork und im Booklet finden sich zehn weitere Bilder des Künstlers - jedes thematisch einem der Songs zugeordnet. "Leider hat die Kunst meines Onkels nie die Aufmerksamkeit und Anerkennung bekommen, die sie wirklich verdient hat", so Schüler. "Aber er hat ein sehr aufregendes Leben geführt und war ein wahrer Abenteurer, der bereits in frühen Jahren in die schwedische Wildnis gezogen ist und die ganze Welt bereist hat, um dort zu malen. Alles andere war ihm egal. Diese Leidenschaft für die Kunst - ohne Wenn und Aber - hat mich schon als kleiner Junge fasziniert, und wenn er damals Geschichten aus seinem Leben erzählt hat, saß ich mit großen Augen vor ihm." Eine dieser Geschichten greift Schüler in "Marrakesh Swing" auf - ein Flirt mit der Kultur einer Stadt, die er nie besucht hat, aber in seiner Komposition zu blühendem Leben erweckt. Der Hörer erlebt sie vor seinem geistigen Auge - in all ihren Facetten, Farben und ihrer Lebendigkeit.Mit "Tamina's Lullaby" ist nach langer Zeit wieder ein Stück für Soloklavier auf einem triosence-Album enthalten. Zudem schließt eine Referenz auf die Vergangenheit den Kreis der Geschichten auf "Stories of Life": Eine neue Instrumentalversion von "Like The Wind", das ursprünglich mit der US-Sängerin Sara Gazarek für das Album "Where Time Stands Still" aufgenommen wurde, bildet den Schlusspunkt des Albums.

Across six tracks, a dream unfurls into sound – patterns emerging like scattered water droplets, a flowing dance of chance and texture. For Turmalin Dub, Tom of Terram (Hektisch Sprengen) teams up with Listensport. This EP flourishes in the fertile space between the organic and the synthetic, where textures breathe and rhythms pulse like living beings. It is shaped by five original creations and a ’90s-inspired French Dreamspell house remix by RAMZi, carrying the timeless spirit of the dancefloor. Turmalin Dub stands as a musical crystal, refracting light into deep colour and pulse; a fortress for the spirited and unconventional, an elegant tapestry of sound. The opening track weaves psychedelic hues with Balearic warmth, dubwise basslines, and whispers of slippery roots-reggae dub. Trance-inflected echoes flow together like water: from immersive ambient waves to intricate patterns and softly blurred dub techno. The release closes with Spirit, a track echoing the warmth and sway of trancehall, bridging introspective moments and the kinetic energy of a floor in motion.

Bebert's bangers ! Massive dancefloor Hardfloor Tribe sound. A wall climber, a teeth washer, a full energy party time moment !
4 tunes, 4 dancefloor killers !

Harmony marches eastward with its 21st EP, reconnecting with its roots through a collaboration with Kohra and Monophonik. While firmly grounded in the label’s deep-techno foundations, this release leans into a sharper focus on functional, dance oriented grooves and basslines.

A-side is opening with weight and intent, shedding the EP’s melancholic hues for something darker and more forceful. The gently broken spirit of “Uyire” follows, gliding between drones and gated vocals, stitched together by tactile percussion and an underlying volatility.

“Wavefolding Dreams” lives up to its name—wickedly modulated waveforms rise from a slapping bassline that pour like upside-down rain, finally dissolving into soothing, dreamy pads.

“Eastern Timbers” starts B-side with a deep, driving momentum. Trancey basslines and swinging arpeggios ebb and flow with tidal pads, wrapping the EP in a hypnotic finish that pulses with forward energy.

Decompress with “Neuroresonance” situated on the inner ring of the B-side. Suspenseful sliding drones in a wide stereo field and a sustained chord that breathes nostalgia, covered by a playful filter in motion.

HILOMATIK is proud to announce its first-ever vinyl release: the HILOMATIK A-Sides EP. This milestone edition delivers a tangible piece of HI-LO’s world, including seven techno tunes ranging from minimal to peak-time, from Township Rebellion, Roemisch, Dok & Martin, Modea, Helang, Pagano, Deus Deserto, Frank Arvonio, Alex Lentini and STOMP BOXX - a mix of established and young, talented producers.

Taking inspiration from the sounds of Space 92, Eli Brown, Adam Beyer, and label boss HI-LO himself, this EP balances hard-hitting rhythms with hypnotic, minimalistic moments, making it a must-have for techno enthusiasts. Released on all digital platforms in May 2025, this first vinyl release on the label marks a new and very exciting chapter of HILOMATIK.

Die wilden Söhne Manchesters, Wode, kehren mit ihrem vierten Album „Uncrossing The Keys“ zurück und erweitern damit selbstbewusst ihren ohnehin schon beeindruckenden Sound, der auf einer düsteren Grundlage aus wildem Black Metal und eisernem Heavy Metal basiert. Nachdem sie sich von der eher geradlinigen Methodik ihres Debütalbums weiterentwickelt haben, haben Wode im Laufe ihrer Diskografie kontinuierlich Elemente aus verschiedenen dunklen Ecken des Undergrounds hinzugefügt, wobei ihr Songwriting schlanker, aber auch komplexer, fokussierter und melodischer denn je geworden ist.
„Uncrossing The Keys“ hat die Musik von Wode nicht milder gemacht, der Sound ist nach wie vor von Flammen und Wut durchdrungen, aber sie haben ein breiteres Spektrum an Stimmungen angenommen und malen mit schwärzeren, satteren Farbtönen als je zuvor. Zerklüftete Post-Punk-/Goth-Einflüsse leuchten düster in neuen Tracks wie „Saturn Shadow“ und dem verträumten Trance des atmosphärischen Instrumentalstücks „Phantom“. Das düstere Tempo und die majestätisch-nachdenkliche Stimmung der Single „Transmutation“ erinnern mit ihrer düsteren Unterströmung sowohl an Paradise Lost als auch an Amorphis, während das melancholisch-hymnische „Under Lanternlight“ mit dynamischen Melodien im Stil von Sentenced durchdrungen ist. Die Gitarren tragen manchmal einen traurigen Schimmer, ihre Hooks sind sowohl von Melancholie als auch von Bedrohung durchzogen und schweben mit Momenten elegischer Schönheit und dunkler Klage über dem Gemetzel. Der höllische, raue Gesang erhebt sich wie rituelle Gesänge aus einer anderen Zeit.
Wode beschwört Bilder einer Welt herauf, die sich ständig am Rande der Dämmerung befindet, und wirft im Verlauf der neun Tracks von „Uncrossing The Keys“ einen langen, kalten Schatten. Es herrscht ein Gefühl von Erhabenheit und Verfall, als hätte die Band ein Tor zu einem Reich geöffnet, in dem verfluchte Städte unter blutroten Himmeln schwelen und ihre Mauern ewig verlassene Hymnen widerhallen lassen. Als Ergebnis eines ständigen Evolutionsprozesses hat Wode einen wahrhaft gespenstischen und imposanten Blackened Heavy Metal geschaffen, der ein dunkles Banner hoch über einem riesigen und öden Königreich hisst.

Domino Records haben mit Upchuck eine rohe Punk-Wucht aus Atlanta unter Vertrag genommen. Die fünfköpfige Band um Sängerin KT entstand 2018 aus der lokalen Skater:innen-Szene – laut, wild und kompromisslos.

Mit „Plastic“ legen sie nun ihre erste Single beim neuen Label vor: ein wütender, knapp zweiminütiger Ritt durch schrammelnde Gitarren und aufgeladene Vocals. Produziert wurde der Track von Ty Segall, gemastert von Heba Kadry und visuell in Szene gesetzt von Ian Cone. Inhaltlich dreht sich alles um den verzweifelten Versuch, in einer künstlichen Welt echte Verbindungen zu finden.
Der Rolling Stone brachte ihren Sound nach einem SXSW-Gig auf den Punkt: „Everything explodes.“

[a] a1. Tired
[b] a2. Plastic
[c] a3. New Case
[d] a4. Fried
[e] a5. Homenaje
[f] a6. Kept Inside

[h] b2. Un Momento


[k] b5. Lost One
[l] b6. Slow Down

,Push pull/ Side to side/ This way/ That way/ Can't decide/ Pressure! Pushing in/ Flattened me out from end to end", singt Blair Tramel in ,Worldwide", dem Titelsong aus dem neuen Album von Snooper. Der Song fängt die schwindelerregende Stimmung der Band während ihres rasanten Aufstiegs vom DIY-Circuit in Nashville zu weltweiten Tourneen und Bekanntheit in den entlegensten Ecken der Untergrund-Musikszene ein. Aber obwohl die Band den Druck spürte - der Song ist teilweise von YouTube-Videos über hydraulische Pressen inspiriert -, waren alle Herausforderungen eine Chance für Veränderung. ,Worldwide" ist ein Leitbild für das Album, nicht nur thematisch, sondern auch ästhetisch, und zeigt Snoopers stilistische Experimentierfreudigkeit. Neu inspiriert von elektronischer Musik, ist der Rhythmus von ,Worldwide" unerbittlich und mechanisch - er fängt das rasende Tempo ein, in dem Snoopers Leben verlief, lässt aber durch Tramels Schreie und Connor Cummins' dreckigen Gitarrenbreaks. ,Worldwide" führt uns in das nächste Kapitel von Snooper ein - persönlicher, kathartischer, schärfer, mutiger, eingängiger. ,Es gibt einen Sweet Spot", sagt Tramel über die Entwicklung, die sich aus Snoopers turbulenter Erfahrung in den letzten Jahren ergeben hat. ,Für einen Moment schaffen Push und Pull diesen wunderschönen Tanz."

,Push pull/ Side to side/ This way/ That way/ Can't decide/ Pressure! Pushing in/ Flattened me out from end to end", singt Blair Tramel in ,Worldwide", dem Titelsong aus dem neuen Album von Snooper. Der Song fängt die schwindelerregende Stimmung der Band während ihres rasanten Aufstiegs vom DIY-Circuit in Nashville zu weltweiten Tourneen und Bekanntheit in den entlegensten Ecken der Untergrund-Musikszene ein. Aber obwohl die Band den Druck spürte - der Song ist teilweise von YouTube-Videos über hydraulische Pressen inspiriert -, waren alle Herausforderungen eine Chance für Veränderung. ,Worldwide" ist ein Leitbild für das Album, nicht nur thematisch, sondern auch ästhetisch, und zeigt Snoopers stilistische Experimentierfreudigkeit. Neu inspiriert von elektronischer Musik, ist der Rhythmus von ,Worldwide" unerbittlich und mechanisch - er fängt das rasende Tempo ein, in dem Snoopers Leben verlief, lässt aber durch Tramels Schreie und Connor Cummins' dreckigen Gitarrenbreaks. ,Worldwide" führt uns in das nächste Kapitel von Snooper ein - persönlicher, kathartischer, schärfer, mutiger, eingängiger. ,Es gibt einen Sweet Spot", sagt Tramel über die Entwicklung, die sich aus Snoopers turbulenter Erfahrung in den letzten Jahren ergeben hat. ,Für einen Moment schaffen Push und Pull diesen wunderschönen Tanz."

"ADRIAN YOUNGE PRESENTS SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL II" is the debut album showcasing the soul-stirring voice that has graced some of Younge's most iconic projects. From "Something About April" to "The Midnight Hour", Oden's vocals have captivated audiences worldwide. Oden strives to vibrate frequencies relatable to lovers from all walks of life: a forgotten tenet derivative of `70s soul. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

"I stood on top of the mountain and looked out over the landscape. It was so beautiful that my chest hurt. The light vibrated, time stood still, and the contours dissolved for a moment. Everything had changed; I felt it then. I took their little hands so as not to lose contact with the ground. Then we ran down the mountain, scraping our knees. Still, we didn't make it. You had already put away all the nautical charts, loosened the moorings and steered out among the skerries. Mum stood waving from the jetty. You were alone, you wanted it that way. It was to be just you in the boat this time. I called out to you. I think you heard me and felt less lonely. We couldn't carry each other anymore, no matter how hard we tried. We washed our wounds on the shore and scattered tears and rose petals in the bay. The children laughed and searched for treasures under water. We called to them that it was time to come up. They were cold, and we hugged them to warmth. One ran ahead, the other up on our shoulders. Up the mountain, our mountain."

In 2020 Anna Högberg put her widely celebrated band Anna Högberg Attack on hold, retraining as a nurse whilst continuing a solo practice and playing in other groups. With Ensamseglaren she makes a spectacular return with her own ensemble — this time a double sextet — performing an album length suite of new music written in dedication to her late father — the titular ‘ensamseglaren’ pictured on the LP cover as a young boy.

 (ensam in Swedish can mean both alone and lonely, seglaren = the sailor).

Shot through with renewed energy and a brutally affective emotional punch, Högberg’s formal experimentation opens up vibrant possibilities for the assembled musicians to let loose with some of their wildest and most ecstatic playing on record.

Högberg’s contention with grief leans into collective joy as method of mourning — the big band as extended family; where bonds are made through a shared experience of being together. Where everyone gets to be themselves without expectations of who they should be or what they can do. It’s a radical commitment to care — of her self and others — that animates and unifies this suite of music’s radical dynamics and variations in colour: from whisper-quiet textural intensity to harrowing distortion and double drum chaos; raucous and solemn song.

"Throughout history, humans have had different images of the transition between life and death. Imagine standing on the seashore on a summer evening and seeing a beautiful vessel being prepared for departure. The sails are hoisted. The evening breeze comes, the sails fill and the boat glides out onto the open sea. You follow it with your eyes as it heads towards the sunset. It gets smaller and smaller, until it finally disappears as a tiny dot on the horizon. Then you hear someone next to you say, ‘Now they have left us.’ Left us for what? The fact that they got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared is only how we see it. In reality, they are just as big and beautiful as when they were here, lying on the beach by our side. Just as you hear that voice say ‘Now they have left us’, there may be someone on another beach who sees them appear on the horizon, someone waiting to welcome them when they reaches their new port."

There’s a lot for MAYDAY PARADE to celebrate these days. The T allahassee, Florida-formed quintet recently
wrapped a career-defining tour marking two decades together, one that saw more than 70,000 fans pack sold-out venues to celebrate their storied catalog. They performed a triumphant main-stage set at the 30th anniversary of the V ans W arped T our, a full-circle moment for a band that made their name selling self-released CDs in those same sweltering parking lots nearly 20 years ago. Their landmark debut LP, A Lesson In Romantics, turned 18, still beloved for its iconic singles like the platinum-certified “Jamie All Over” and gold-certified “Miserable At Best.” And the group released Sweet, the first in a self-released three-album series that reaffirmed just how vital and creatively energized Mayday Parade still remains. Now, on Sad, the second installment in that trilogy, the band continue diving deeper into the emotional nuance that’s defined their most captivating albums, blending aching sentimentality with melodic urgency as only they can. Once again produced by longtime collaborators Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, Sad sees Mayday Parade stripping back some of the tempo that colored Sweet in favor of more deliberate grooves, more introspection, and a sharpened focus on mood and space.

To celebrate our 10th release, we are proud to welcome Slippy G (@slippygmusic) to the RAW SOUL family.
The Cologne-based producer, DJ and freestyle rapper was inspired by the German beat scene, J Dilla and niche underground rap while growing up with hip-hop.
He also delved deeply into electronic music, discovering the shared DNA between beat-driven hip-hop and early house productions - from the raw energy to the production techniques of the legendary Akai MPC.
Over the years, Slippy G has built his own creative playground, crafting a sound that blends groove, warmth and raw authenticity with his own vocals.
RAWSOUL010 delivers six versatile tracks designed for the dance floor, smooth warm-ups and sunrise moments at festivals. Across the release, Slippy G showcases the vibrant soundscapes in his repertoire. If you're looking for grooves that get you in the pocket or house tracks that pay homage to the early '90s with a playful twist, RAW SOUL 010 has you covered.
With a fresh new look and a timeless, forward-thinking sound, this anniversary release marks a significant milestone for the label and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Slippy G.

END[GER] Die Band Wednesday aus Asheville, North Carolina errichtet im Laufe der zehn Songs von "Rat Saw God" einen Schrein voller aufregender Details: Halb lustige, halb tragische Botschaften aus den Südstaaten, die sich klanglich irgendwo zwischen dem wimmernden Skuzz von Neunzigerjahre-Shoegaze und klassischem Country-Twang entfalten - mit verzerrter Pedal Steel und Frontfrau Karly Hartzman, die mit ihrer Stimme, den Lärm durchschneidet. Ein Song von Wednesday ist wie ein Quilt. Eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung, eine verschwommene Erinnerung, ein Flickenteppich aus Porträts des amerikanischen Südens, der disparate Momente einfängt und als Ganzes doch irgendwie einen Sinn ergibt. Karly Hartzman, die Songschreiberin, Sängerin, Gitarristin und Leiterin der Band, ist eine Geschichtensammlerin als auch eine Geschichtenerzählerin: Eine aufmerksame Beobachterin von Menschen und witzigen Bemerkungen. "Rat Saw God", das neue und beste Album des Quintetts aus Asheville, ist ekphrastisch, aber ebenso autobiografisch und vor allem sehr einfühlsam. Es wurde in den Monaten unmittelbar nach der Fertigstellung von dem zweiten Album der Band, "Twin Plagues", geschrieben und innerhalb einer Woche im Drop Of Sun Studio in Asheville aufgenommen. Die Songs auf "Rat Saw God" erzählen keine Epen, sondern das Alltägliche. Sie sind lebensnah, erzählen vom wahren Leben, sie sind verschwommen und chaotisch und seltsam zugleich - was Hartzmans eigenem Ethos entspricht: "Everyone's story is worthy. Literally every life story is worth writing down, because people are so fascinating." A Wednesday song is a quilt. A short story collection, a half-memory, a patchwork of portraits of the American south, disparate moments that somehow make sense as a whole. Karly Hartzman, the songwriter/ vocalist/guitarist at the helm of the project, is a story collector as much as she is a storyteller: a scholar of people and one-liners. Rat Saw God, the Asheville quintet's new and best record, is ekphrastic but autobiographical and above all, deeply empathetic. Across the album's ten tracks Hartzman, guitarist MJ Lenderman, bassist Margo Shultz, drummer Alan Miller, and lap/pedal steel player Xandy Chelmis build a shrine to minutiae. Half-funny, half-tragic dispatches from North Carolina unfurling somewhere between the wailing skuzz of Nineties shoegaze and classic country twang, that distorted lap steel and Hartzman's voice slicing through the din. Rat Saw God is an album about riding a bike down a suburban stretch in Greensboro while listening to My Bloody Valentine for the first time on an iPod Nano, past a creek that runs through the neighborhood riddled with broken glass bottles and condoms, a front yard filled with broken and rusted car parts, a lonely and dilapidated house reclaimed by kudzu. Four Lokos and rodeo clowns and a kid who burns down a corn field. Roadside monuments, church marquees, poppers and vodka in a plastic water bottle, the shit you get away with at Jewish summer camp, strange sentimental family heirlooms at the thrift stores. The way the South hums alive all night in the summers and into fall, the sound of high school football games, the halo effect from the lights polluting the darkness. It's not really bright enough to see in front of you, but in that stretch of inky void - somehow - you see everything. The songs on Rat Saw God don't recount epics, just the everyday. They're true, they're real life, blurry and chaotic and strange - which is in-line with Hartzman's own ethos: "Everyone's story is worthy," she says, plainly. "Literally every life story is worth writing down, because people are so fascinating." But the thing about Rat Saw God - and about any Wednesday song, really - is you don't necessarily even need all the references to get it, the weirdly specific elation of a song that really hits. Yeah, it's all in the details - how fucked up you got or get, how you break a heart, how you fall in love, how you make yourself and others feel seen - but it's mostly the way those tiny moments add up into a song or album or a person.

Following over 450+million streams on his debut album, explosive global audience growth, widespread support on radio and multiple viral moments, 'Speak' is announced alongside a 14 date European tour. Blending the raw emotion of classic soul and jazz with forward-thinking alt-R&B influences - from Frank Ocean & Prince to Dijon & Mk.gee - Sam delivers a lush, timeless sound which feels both nostalgic and addictively fresh.

Im Jahr 2025 veröffentlicht Richard Galliano sein legendäres Album „Viaggio“ bei BMG neu, das ursprünglich 1993 bei Dreyfus Jazz erschien. Eine zeitlose musikalische Reise voller Poesie und Emotionen,
die einen Wendepunkt in der Karriere dieses international bekannten Künstlers markierte.
BMG freut sich, dieses remasterte Juwel präsentieren zu dürfen, angereichert mit bisher unveröffentlichten
Bonusmaterial, das Fans und Neueinsteiger gleichermaßen begeistern wird. „Neues Viaggio“ oder „neue
Reise“: Diese Worte klingen wie ein fernes Echo, eine Einladung, in die Vergangenheit zu reisen und erneut
in die einzigartige Atmosphäre dieses mythischen Albums einzutauchen. Wer hat nicht schon einmal von
Zeitreisen geträumt, davon, kostbare Momente noch einmal zu erleben? Mit der Neuauflage von „Viaggio“
wird dieser Traum Wirklichkeit.
„Als ich die Aufnahmen der Studiosessions wiederentdeckte, empfand ich eine tiefe Emotion, eine Mischung
aus Freude und Nostalgie. Die Präsenz von Pierre Michelot und Charles Bellonzi, diesen außergewöhnlichen Musikern, die uns verlassen haben, ist spürbar. Pierre, Miles Davis’ Kontrabassist (Ascenseur pour
l’échafaud), und Charles, „Lolo“, Nougaros Schlagzeuger (Tu verras), bildeten mit ihrer umwerfenden Sensibilität eine Rhythmusgruppe von seltener Eleganz. Und last but not least war Biréli Lagrène, virtuoser
Gitarrist und langjähriger Freund, immer bei uns und verlieh dem Ensemble eine atemberaubende Magie.
Ich freue mich sehr, diese neue Version von

»Sie erschafft ein dunkles Sonnensystem, das mit funkelnden Sternen übersät ist«, schreibt die New York Times über Romy Hausmanns Kunst. Die Netflix Verfilmung ihres Debütromans »Liebes Kind« wurde 2024 mit dem EMMI ausgezeichnet.

»Was wäre, wenn man in besonderen Momenten zum Lesegenuss eines Buches eine maßgeschneiderte Musik abspielen könnte?« Mit »Himmelerdenblau - Der Soundtrack zum Buch« legen Romy Hausmann und Martin Bechler, partners in crime, eine tiefräumige, schwebende musikalische Eskorte vor, die die musikaffinen Lesenden begleiten und verzaubern wird.

Living in the present is an album built around the work of American minimalist poet, Robert Lax (1915-2000) who is widely praised for his artistic concept of reduction, in which a pause becomes as important as the things said.

The album brings together the sound of Robert Lax reading his poetry, narrative field recordings by Nicolas Humbert and subtle yet imaginative timbres by Carina Khorkhordina (trumpet) and Miki Yui (electronics) who is also behind the final mixing of the album.

Living in the present is drawing from an archive of audio recordings originally made by film maker Nicolas Humbert while shooting a film on Robert Lax entitled Why Should I Buy A Bed When All That I Want Is Sleep?, ( Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel, Germany, 1999) The film was made on the Greek island of Patmos where Lax has lived withdrawn for 3 decades.

More than 25 years after the premiere of Why Should I Buy A Bed When All That I Want Is Sleep?, Humbert, Khorkhordina and Yui are revisiting the original audio material and patiently open worlds within worlds, pointing to new harmonic textures and isolating timbres, synchronizing different layers of time and traces of various locations into a new composition in its own right.

In some ways this album feels like an expansion of the work Humbert and Penzel did with Lax across six years, between 1993 and 1999, where they developed a unique intimacy in their textual-visual collaboration. On two long pieces, for each side of the album, “Where do i begin” and “One moment passes, another comes on” respectively – Yui’s electronics and Khorkhordina’s trumpet interweave beautifully with Humbert’s field recordings, in a manner that shadows the reflective reduction of Lax’s poetry. Indeed, it's no surprise that Lax’s poetry draws musicians into its orbit; it offers the curious a welcoming reduction in which only individual words and syllables represent the essence of language.

Lax’s poetry is notable for its qualities of near-stillness and its capacity to pause the reader’s thought, asking them to hold the sensuality of language for an extended, quietly revelatory moment. His readings on this album share a similar cadence, interested in settling with syllables, with single or several words, for an extended time.

Ultimately, Living in the present unfolds with unforced grace and poetics – one moment passes, then another comes on. (Jon Dale)

DJ Steaw returns to the forefront with a sharp new Deep House EP, forthcoming onHouse Puff label.This project, available in vinyl for collectors and in digital format for everyone, showcases DJ Steaw's mastery of groove and atmosphere. The four tracks presented hereare true gems for lovers of authentic Deep House: deep, driving basslines intertwinewith soaring melodic pads and subtly percussive rhythms.Expect an immersive sonic journey, perfect for underground clubs as well as sophisticated chill-out moments. The release on House Puff is a guarantee of quality and a refined sonic aesthetic. An EP not to be missed for anyone who appreciates Deep House inits purest and most effective form.

Ostinato as resistance: Rafael Anton Irisarri’s landmark work reimagined. Marking the tenth anniversary of the American composer’s critically acclaimed album 'A Fragile Geography', this new edition arrives renewed, both sonically and visually.

First released in 2015 (Room40) during a period of personal upheaval and creative reinvention, it endures as a testament to resilience, transformation, and the connection we hold with the places that shape us.

Written in the aftermath of a devastating theft, A Fragile Geography was born out of loss. Just days before a cross-country move to New York, Irisarri’s entire Seattle-based studio was wiped out. Instruments. Recordings. Archives. Gone without a trace. He arrived on the East Coast to an empty room and the daunting task of starting over.

“This album wasn’t just a record; it was a lifeline,” Irisarri reflects. “It became a way to process the emotional chaos that followed: uprooting, instability, and ultimately, the slow, intuitive rebuilding of a life.”

Composed and recorded in the rural woods of the Hudson Valley, the album took shape in seclusion, surrounded by nature, and through a process guided by improvisation. Embracing limitations, Irisarri wove textural layers of field recordings with half-remembered melodies from his Seattle years, piecing them together like fragments of memory. Tracks like “Displacement,” “Hiatus,” and “Persistence” juxtaposed haunting stillness with restless momentum, mapping an inner terrain of grief, catharsis, and rebirth.

Among its defining sounds is “Empire Systems,” a monumental centerpiece built around a simple four-chord progression, organ textures, and guitar drones. Gradually, the track expands into layers of immersive loops and thick, enveloping distortion that wash over the listener like a rolling wave. Often cited as the album’s most majestic passage, it captures Irisarri at his most sonically ambitious. With a harmonically saturated structure crafted from restraint and repetition, it remains one of his most recognizable compositions: an exercise in the art of maximal minimalism.

From the outset, “Reprisal” received praise from BBC’s Mary Anne Hobbs, who championed the track on her radio show. Her support played a key role in introducing Irisarri’s work to wider audiences and solidifying his place within the lineage of electronic, drone, and experimental sound artists. A slow-burning elegy, the piece emerges from a haze of distortion and sub-bass, with dense, unrelenting drones carrying a sense of mounting tension. Just as it seems to collapse under its own weight, flickers of guitar emerge like distant light through fog. It’s a meditation on dissonance, resolve, and the elusive possibility of release.

The closing track, “Secretly Wishing for Rain,” is steeped in saudade: a longing for Seattle’s dour grey skies, lush green landscapes, and desaturated sunsets. Through it, Irisarri mourns a vanished chapter of life bound to the city, a time documented in scattered mementos and cherished collections, now permanently gone. A reflection on what could never be recovered: an era lost to time. Julia Kent’s looped cello motifs added a melancholic warmth to the track, marking the first collaboration between the two artists and sparking a musical dialogue that would keep growing in the years that followed.

More than a career highlight, A Fragile Geography has laid the foundation for Black Knoll studio, which Irisarri rebuilt from the ground up. The studio has since grown into a creative hub for countless projects, with Irisarri engineering records for iconic music figures like Terry Riley, Ryuichi Sakamoto, William Basinski, MONO, Devendra Banhart, Grouper, Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt, Julianna Barwick, and many others. Carried by its lasting influence, the album has quietly captured the ear of a younger generation, its sound and emotional arc finding new listeners in unexpected corners.

The album’s new visual language was reimagined in collaboration with Mexico City–based designer Daniel Castrejón. Irisarri captured ghostly images at Gaztelugatxeko Doniene, a historic coastal site in Bermeo, Euskal Herria. Castrejón then treated the photographs with distressed textures and spectral overlays. The final artwork channels the rugged, elemental forces that shaped both the music and Irisarri’s aesthetic, renewing his ties to ancestral ground inspired by the Basque homeland of his bloodline.

Mastered by Stephan Mathieu with exceptional attention to detail, this anniversary edition uncovers every nuance in the sound design, enhancing clarity and presence. With each listen, new elements emerge, inviting discovery and reconnection.

“I don’t experience this album as a document of grief anymore,” says Irisarri. “I hear adaptation and I'm reminded that when everything falls apart, something meaningful, maybe even beautiful, can emerge.”

Ostinato as resistance: Rafael Anton Irisarri’s landmark work reimagined. Marking the tenth anniversary of the American composer’s critically acclaimed album 'A Fragile Geography', this new edition arrives renewed, both sonically and visually.

First released in 2015 (Room40) during a period of personal upheaval and creative reinvention, it endures as a testament to resilience, transformation, and the connection we hold with the places that shape us.

Written in the aftermath of a devastating theft, A Fragile Geography was born out of loss. Just days before a cross-country move to New York, Irisarri’s entire Seattle-based studio was wiped out. Instruments. Recordings. Archives. Gone without a trace. He arrived on the East Coast to an empty room and the daunting task of starting over.

“This album wasn’t just a record; it was a lifeline,” Irisarri reflects. “It became a way to process the emotional chaos that followed: uprooting, instability, and ultimately, the slow, intuitive rebuilding of a life.”

Composed and recorded in the rural woods of the Hudson Valley, the album took shape in seclusion, surrounded by nature, and through a process guided by improvisation. Embracing limitations, Irisarri wove textural layers of field recordings with half-remembered melodies from his Seattle years, piecing them together like fragments of memory. Tracks like “Displacement,” “Hiatus,” and “Persistence” juxtaposed haunting stillness with restless momentum, mapping an inner terrain of grief, catharsis, and rebirth.

Among its defining sounds is “Empire Systems,” a monumental centerpiece built around a simple four-chord progression, organ textures, and guitar drones. Gradually, the track expands into layers of immersive loops and thick, enveloping distortion that wash over the listener like a rolling wave. Often cited as the album’s most majestic passage, it captures Irisarri at his most sonically ambitious. With a harmonically saturated structure crafted from restraint and repetition, it remains one of his most recognizable compositions: an exercise in the art of maximal minimalism.

From the outset, “Reprisal” received praise from BBC’s Mary Anne Hobbs, who championed the track on her radio show. Her support played a key role in introducing Irisarri’s work to wider audiences and solidifying his place within the lineage of electronic, drone, and experimental sound artists. A slow-burning elegy, the piece emerges from a haze of distortion and sub-bass, with dense, unrelenting drones carrying a sense of mounting tension. Just as it seems to collapse under its own weight, flickers of guitar emerge like distant light through fog. It’s a meditation on dissonance, resolve, and the elusive possibility of release.

The closing track, “Secretly Wishing for Rain,” is steeped in saudade: a longing for Seattle’s dour grey skies, lush green landscapes, and desaturated sunsets. Through it, Irisarri mourns a vanished chapter of life bound to the city, a time documented in scattered mementos and cherished collections, now permanently gone. A reflection on what could never be recovered: an era lost to time. Julia Kent’s looped cello motifs added a melancholic warmth to the track, marking the first collaboration between the two artists and sparking a musical dialogue that would keep growing in the years that followed.

More than a career highlight, A Fragile Geography has laid the foundation for Black Knoll studio, which Irisarri rebuilt from the ground up. The studio has since grown into a creative hub for countless projects, with Irisarri engineering records for iconic music figures like Terry Riley, Ryuichi Sakamoto, William Basinski, MONO, Devendra Banhart, Grouper, Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt, Julianna Barwick, and many others. Carried by its lasting influence, the album has quietly captured the ear of a younger generation, its sound and emotional arc finding new listeners in unexpected corners.

The album’s new visual language was reimagined in collaboration with Mexico City–based designer Daniel Castrejón. Irisarri captured ghostly images at Gaztelugatxeko Doniene, a historic coastal site in Bermeo, Euskal Herria. Castrejón then treated the photographs with distressed textures and spectral overlays. The final artwork channels the rugged, elemental forces that shaped both the music and Irisarri’s aesthetic, renewing his ties to ancestral ground inspired by the Basque homeland of his bloodline.

Mastered by Stephan Mathieu with exceptional attention to detail, this anniversary edition uncovers every nuance in the sound design, enhancing clarity and presence. With each listen, new elements emerge, inviting discovery and reconnection.

“I don’t experience this album as a document of grief anymore,” says Irisarri. “I hear adaptation and I'm reminded that when everything falls apart, something meaningful, maybe even beautiful, can emerge.”

Fresh off producing a seminal documentary about the origin story of Portuguese rave culture, Shcuro returns to his mother tongue, music, to give us four slices of fresh yet classic Lisbon underground flavour right as the summer sets in. 'Echo Chamber' EP, Para?so's 17th outing, comes with two equally excellent remixes separated by the atlantic: Brooklyn's MoMA Ready and Berlin's Mareena. Side A starts with two tracks first blueprinted this past year as Shcuro prepared a new live set. 'No Expectations' opens the record with a high-paced sweat-breaker that elegantly evokes early rave culture as stabs, funk and feelings abound. A2 'Persistence' follows suit with the work that exudes proficiency: sound design, dub techno learnings and masterful layering all conspire to create a moment of pure techno draw. Closing side A, 'Deviation' pulls some of the previous track's energy even though it's a rework from the artist's earlier unreleased catalogue: another sign that we're talking realness here. Clever percussion and refreshing washes drive us well into dubby territories. 'Suspension' opens the B side, picking up where it left off with the last original: a beautifully produced piece with fleeting mutating stabs that seem to swim alongside us in an imaginary oceanic dancefloor. Liquid, refreshing sensorial motifs seem to underpin this record and that spirit spills into the remix pack, starting off with MoMA Ready's take on 'Persistence', bringing out the rawness in the original while adding a special sauce with Robert Hood-like funky yet minimalistic bleep work. Tresor's Mareena steps in for a centered, dancefloor-geared - but still mysterious - twist on 'Deviation', perfectly rounding up the record with the expertise of a club resident.

With the Scratch EP, Scottish techno powerhouse Gary Beck delivers four razor-sharp cuts that bring raw energy and dancefloor pressure to FJAAK's label CROWD. Known for his unmistakable grooves and stripped-down power, Beck presents a no-frills EP that bridges classic techno aesthetics with forward momentum. Opening with the single 'French System', the EP kicks off in full throttle. It's a propulsive roller built around tough drums, catchy synths, a female vocal leading the way and Beck's signature percussive tension. Title track 'Scratch' follows with a twitchy, angular rhythm that spirals around a fragmented vocal motif and bold machine-funk energy with tense breaks leading to ecstatic drops. On the record's flip side, 'How Do You Feel' keeps the level high, fusing jacking rhythms with a funky vocal and a Beck's heavy signature kicks. Finally, 'Eclipse' closes the EP pushing the energy into darker territories with relentless drive, its distorted pulse and industrial edge. This release marks a fierce debut on CROWD for Gary Beck - four no-nonsense weapons crafted for peak-time moments and the rawer corners of the club. A heavy-hitting addition to the label's catalog and a must-have for techno selectors with a taste for precision and punch.

"Hyperglyph" is the first new album in 11 years from composer/trumpeter/synthesist Rob Mazurek and composer/percussionist Chad Taylor"s long-running Chicago Underground Duo project. Mazurek and Taylor have played music together in a multitude of formations over nearly three decades, including their ongoing partnership in Mazurek"s large-format-skyward-expressionism vehicle Exploding Star Orchestra, in the expanded Chicago Underground Trio, Quartet and Orchestra (all with guitarist Jeff Parker), as well as a plethora of other assemblages. The early albums by the Duo have proven to be embryonic blueprints for the avant-jazz / electronic / indie rock hybridizing of the time, making them majorly important moments in the articulation of the "jazz" dimensionality of the then-burgeoning "post rock" sound. That sound, of course, was being transmitted far and wide due to the success of these groups as well as the Mazurek/Parker project Isotope 217, and the Chicago Underground"s frequently-intersecting collaborators in Tortoise. Just as most of the still-working projects born of that era have evolved, reconfigured, and grown, the Chicago Underground Duo has undergone a number of musical moltings, with the project always in the background of disparate individual aural investigations. The concurrent personal evolutions of Mazurek and Taylor as the Duo project drops off and picks back up makes it a true reflection of their own lives and friendship.

Guitar Solos is the debut solo album of British guitarist, composer, and improviser Fred Frith. It was recorded while Frith was still a member of the English experimental rock group Henry Cow and was released originally in October 1974. Voted one of the best albums of 1974 by NME critics it also attracted the attention of Brian Eno, resulting in Frith playing guitar on two of Eno‘s albums. Frith‘s never tiring spirit in creating and performing music has made him one of the most notable and creative guitar players and musicians in the scene of improvised and composed music. For the anniversary of this release we have encouraged Frith to arrange a set up similar to what he used 50 years ago to record an album of new compositions which will accompany the original record.

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.

After a long moment with no Bebert Borthers release...
This Pumpin party cruiser navigate from 150 to 180 BPM.
The global ambiance is stellar, as the name of the label could suggest... with a South-Side accent :)

„Fearless“ ist die ultimative Anthologie, die Ronnie Woods Karriere umspannt – der legendäre Gitarrist,
meisterhafte Songwriter und weltweite Rock-Ikone. Dieses Doppelalbum erzählt die Geschichte von Ronnies
außergewöhnlicher musikalischer Reise, von seinen ersten Aufnahmen als Wunderkind in den 1960er-Jahren
bis hin zu vier brandneuen Tracks, seinem ersten Solomaterial seit „I Feel Like Playing“ aus dem Jahr
2010. Es enthält herausragende Momente aus allen sieben seiner Solo-Studioalben sowie Co-Autoren und
wichtige Momente mit den Rolling Stones, den Faces, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, der Jeff Beck Group
und anderen. Ronnie Wood wurde zweimal in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aufgenommen und ist
seit 1975 ein Eckpfeiler der Rolling Stones. Sein Name ist tief in der Rockmusik verankert. Von seinen
ersten Studioerfahrungen bis hin zu den vier neuen Tracks würdigt „Fearless“ einen virtuosen Gitarristen,
begnadeten Songwriter, Performer, gelegentlichen Frontmann und internationalen Star. Es ist ein würdiges
Kompendium einzigartiger Kreativität aus über 60 Jahren.

GAISTER (Olivia Salvadori, Akihide Monna and Coby Sey) release their self-titled LP.

The record captures the embodiment of an encounter, one moment of the trio’s ongoing relationship as artists who communicate with each other through sound, voice and music.
After orbiting in the same circles at each other's shows around 2016 in London, Sey and Salvadori eventually crossed paths. In 2017 Sey joined Salvadori’s artistic collective Tutto Questo Sentire on a residency in Capalbio, the southernmost part of Tuscany, Italy, and started working together. Down the line the pair ended up joining with Akihide Monna (of Bo Ningen), performing together in 2019 at Camden Art Centre on Cork Street in London.

When the trio come together something new is created, brought out after laying dormant, like an Icelandic Geysir. The setting of this particular encounter amongst the trio is essential in the album’s sonic palette, process and emotion. The album was recorded in Iceland at
Greenhouse Studios, where the trio formalised a set of intuitions; how nature can provide a guideline in the choices of the instruments, their materials and related rhythms; reflections on the voice as a sculptural element, pure sound and words.

As Akihide has said of the experience during their short and intense recording period: “The sound spontaneously spun out as if we were pulling at each other's hearts and minds with a strange internal connection and sensation. Something pure was brought out.”

‘Gaister’ itself is a made up word, sprung from the German ‘Geist’ to mean ‘spirit’, and made into a sound of its own. A purity, spirit and essence is pulled from the trio, in spite of their varying mother tongues (Italian, Japanese and English), musical genres and identities to create something new. Olivia Salvadori’s operatic vocals run free, flowing and moving in
synergy with Monna’s rhythmic drumming. Sey sings freely with Salvadori, their voices braided together like a waterfall.

This flowing nature is reflected in the album itself, its timestamps and scores are marked by encounters rather than tracks themselves. This album can be considered as one constant piece and a journey of its own that is not foreclosed, in keeping with the band’s ethos of
constant conversation and collaboration.
As Sey speaks of the trio’s relationship: “Olivia, Monchan and I had performed live together once before, several years before this song and this album came to be… and yet, we fully trust each other’s intuition when performing and creating music together because of our unified belief in the ability of sound and music to communicate and connect.”
credits
releases November 1, 2024

Olivia Salvadori: voice
Akihide Monna: voice, drums, percussions
Coby Sey: voice, percussions, synths, wurlitzer

Recorded at Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, Iceland

Recorded and producer: Sandro Mussida
Sound engineer: Francesco Fabris
Studio assistant: Domiziano Maselli and Jakob Vasak

Mixing engineer: Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre, London, UK

Was ist das Leben anderes als eine endlose Reihe von ,Oh oh"-Momenten? Von unseren frühesten Kindheitsunfällen bis hin zu unseren überwältigenden Ängsten als Erwachsene - dieser kleine Ausdruck prägt unser gesamtes Dasein. Fragen Sie einfach den Indie-Pop-Maestro Patrick Watson aus Montreal, der kürzlich mit dem größten ,Oh oh"-Moment konfrontiert wurde, den ein professioneller Sänger erleben kann. Eines Morgens im Winter 2023 wachte Patrick auf und stellte fest, dass seine Stimme - das engelsgleiche Instrument, das 2006 sein kunstvolles Art-Rock-Opus ,Close to Paradise" auf das Podium des Polaris Music Prize katapultierte - komplett kaputt war. ,Natürlich singe ich gerne für Menschen, aber ich hatte auch viel Spaß mit meinem Modular Synthesizer und tauchte tief in die Instrumentalmusik ein" - eine natürliche Neigung für Patrick, der bis heute über 15 Filmmusiken komponiert hat. ,Aber dann dachte ich mir: ,Oh, es wäre cool, Songs für all diese verschiedenen Sänger zu schreiben, die ich wirklich gerne singen hören möchte - so finde ich einen Ausweg aus dieser Situation.` Denn meine Stimme sollte eigentlich nicht zurückkommen. Und als sie es doch tat, dachte ich einfach, dass es für ein Album immer noch cooler wäre, all diese anderen Sänger zu haben, als mich selbst singen zu hören." Einzelne schwarze Vinylplatte in einer Gatefold-Hülle mit bedruckter Innenhülle.

Was ist das Leben anderes als eine endlose Reihe von ,Oh oh"-Momenten? Von unseren frühesten Kindheitsunfällen bis hin zu unseren überwältigenden Ängsten als Erwachsene - dieser kleine Ausdruck prägt unser gesamtes Dasein. Fragen Sie einfach den Indie-Pop-Maestro Patrick Watson aus Montreal, der kürzlich mit dem größten ,Oh oh"-Moment konfrontiert wurde, den ein professioneller Sänger erleben kann. Eines Morgens im Winter 2023 wachte Patrick auf und stellte fest, dass seine Stimme - das engelsgleiche Instrument, das 2006 sein kunstvolles Art-Rock-Opus ,Close to Paradise" auf das Podium des Polaris Music Prize katapultierte - komplett kaputt war. ,Natürlich singe ich gerne für Menschen, aber ich hatte auch viel Spaß mit meinem Modular Synthesizer und tauchte tief in die Instrumentalmusik ein" - eine natürliche Neigung für Patrick, der bis heute über 15 Filmmusiken komponiert hat. ,Aber dann dachte ich mir: ,Oh, es wäre cool, Songs für all diese verschiedenen Sänger zu schreiben, die ich wirklich gerne singen hören möchte - so finde ich einen Ausweg aus dieser Situation.` Denn meine Stimme sollte eigentlich nicht zurückkommen. Und als sie es doch tat, dachte ich einfach, dass es für ein Album immer noch cooler wäre, all diese anderen Sänger zu haben, als mich selbst singen zu hören." Limitierte Edition auf canary-yellow Vinyl in einer Gatefold-Hülle mit bedruckter Innenhülle.

New compilation by Coco Maria on her own new founded imprint Club Coco. Comes with a 4 page folded insert.

There are albums that aren’t just listened to—they’re lived in. Club Coco – New Dimensions in Latin Music is one of them. This compilation, curated by Coco María, marks the first release on her own label and serves as a sonic portrait of what Latin music can become when it’s guided by intuition rather than labels. Eleven tracks open the windows and cross continents as effortlessly as changing a song. Here, Neapolitan synthesizers coexist with digital cumbias, voices whisper from within the groove, and rhythms invite movement—without urgency or pretense.

This selection isn’t defined by a genre but by a feeling: that of someone dancing with an open heart and keen ears. Each track is a postcard from a corner of the world, and also a love letter to rhythm and the emotions it stirs. From Bogotá to Naples, passing through Lima, Amsterdam, and New York, this compilation offers a journey where past and future brush against each other in the present moment. Club Coco doesn’t aim to define a sonic truth, but to invite listeners to discover new ways of hearing and feeling.

The party has already started. Come on in.

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

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

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Einatmen. Ausrasten! Mit ihrer neuen Platte "The Power of Now" heben THE DEAD END KIDS die Messlatte für energiegeladenen Punkrock auf ein neues Level. Unbändig, mitreisend und voller Entschlossenheit nehmen Caro, Charlie und Fatima ihre Hörer*innen mit auf eine wilde Achterbahnfahrt durch den Zeitgeist. Egal ob Millennials in der Krise, Z-Promis im Trash TV, missglückte Datingversuche im Fitnessstudio, dem Empfinden, sich aus einer gescheiterten Beziehung nicht lösen zu können oder der Abschied eines geliebten Menschen, die vielseitigen Kids finden für jedes Gefühl und jeden Moment die richtigen Worte und die passende Tonlage, um die jeweilige Stimmung, zu unterstreichen. Jeder Song gleicht einer Explosion aus dynamischen Gitarrenriffs, treibenden Schlagzeugrhythmen und Texten, die von den Dramen und Triumphen des Alltags erzählen. Und seien wir ehrlich: keine Punkband hat so schöne Gitarrensoli wie das Trio Infernale.âÇ¿Aufgenommen wurde "The Power of Now" von Thies Neu und Rodrigo Gonzalez in der Tonbrauerei in Berlin, das Mastering hat Andi Jung übernommen.

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Einatmen. Ausrasten! Mit ihrer neuen Platte "The Power of Now" heben THE DEAD END KIDS die Messlatte für energiegeladenen Punkrock auf ein neues Level. Unbändig, mitreisend und voller Entschlossenheit nehmen Caro, Charlie und Fatima ihre Hörer*innen mit auf eine wilde Achterbahnfahrt durch den Zeitgeist. Egal ob Millennials in der Krise, Z-Promis im Trash TV, missglückte Datingversuche im Fitnessstudio, dem Empfinden, sich aus einer gescheiterten Beziehung nicht lösen zu können oder der Abschied eines geliebten Menschen, die vielseitigen Kids finden für jedes Gefühl und jeden Moment die richtigen Worte und die passende Tonlage, um die jeweilige Stimmung, zu unterstreichen. Jeder Song gleicht einer Explosion aus dynamischen Gitarrenriffs, treibenden Schlagzeugrhythmen und Texten, die von den Dramen und Triumphen des Alltags erzählen. Und seien wir ehrlich: keine Punkband hat so schöne Gitarrensoli wie das Trio Infernale.âÇ¿Aufgenommen wurde "The Power of Now" von Thies Neu und Rodrigo Gonzalez in der Tonbrauerei in Berlin, das Mastering hat Andi Jung übernommen.

Etched in the grooves of this 12” record, listeners will find an inspired moment in time. The 5-track LP, serving as the debut album of Estrada Orchestra, was recorded early one morning after a live gig. No session exactly the same as the next one, the founding members used their last chance to record together in their underground studio. Needless to say, these lunatics used it to fall into a frenzy of improvisation, a state characteristic of Estrada’s avant-garde spirit.

Formed of vinyl diggers, street musicians and self-taught aficionados, Estrada Orchestra started out as a spontaneous jam band in 2013. Their only intention was to enjoy leisure time and keep an open mind; unknowingly they ended up pioneering the return of jazz-funk in Estonia. (Henrik Ehte)

Auf ihrem zweiten Album begibt sich die singapurische Dreampop-Band BLUSH auf die Mission, makellosen Pop zu kreieren, der die bittersüßen Momente des Lebens erkundet. Mit komplex komponierten Stücken, die zwischen Traumlandschaften und unberechenbaren Klängen schweben, verwandelt das Quartett Herzschmerz in etwas trügerisch Befriedigendes. Dieses neue Album ist das erste der Band seit ihrem Debüt ,Supercrush" aus dem Jahr 2023 und präsentiert eine verjüngte BLUSH-Besetzung, wobei die Stammmitglieder Soffi Peters (Gesang) und Daniel Pei (Bass) Darell Laser an der Gitarre mit ins Boot holen. Der langjährige vertraute Kollaborateur Jared Lim kehrt als Produzent und Gitarrist zurück.

Essential Liverpool psychedelic folk collective mapping their territory with a record rooted in place and memory.
For fans of: CSNY, Tim Buckley, Talk Talk, The Byrds, Sufjan Stevens and Love.
Like Tame Impala doing Nick Drake covers.
Professor Yaffle have created their most focused and expansive work yet. Following acclaimed previous releases, ‘Everyone Wants to Dream’ finds the band at their creative peak.
The album turns on Everton Brow - an unremarkable Liverpool hill offering the city's finest view. Rogers returns to this vantage point throughout eight tracks, using it as both setting and metaphor for looking back on life without nostalgia. From here, you can see the Mersey stretch toward Snowdonia, the city spread below like a living map.
'Lost in a Dream (On Everton Brow)' weaves Lee Roger’s lyrics as an eighteen-year-old lyrics with newly composed music. 'Everyone Wants to Dream' confronts the disorientation when your children grow and your role shifts. 'On Top of the World' becomes what Rogers calls 'a stoned love letter to Liverpool'.
This is Professor Yaffle's first release with Violette Records, marking the beginning of a partnership between two Liverpool entities who've circled each other for years before finding their moment.
Featuring a 1979 Karl Hughes photograph of a policeman surveying Liverpool from Everton Brow, capturing something essential about the record: that those who maintain order might dream the biggest dreams of all.
"Songs that speak clearly about things that are difficult to articulate - the changing nature of purpose, the ways we dream our fears away, the view from unremarkable hills."
Because sometimes you need to be above it all to see what's been right in front of you.

Drummer-composer Tom Skinner announces Kaleidoscopic Visions, his second solo album, out 26th September 2025 via Brownswood Recordings and International Anthem

Kaleidoscopic Visions unfolds across two distinct sonic landscapes. Side A presents entirely instrumental compositions performed by Skinner's live Bishara band—bassist Tom Herbert, cellist Kareem Dayes, and Robert Stillman and Chelsea Carmichael on various woodwinds and reeds—with electric guitar on two tracks courtesy of Portishead's Adrian Utley. A drummer-composer bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the role of bandleader, Skinner composed primarily on guitar, embracing the freedom that came with writing on his secondary instrument.
These compositions include "Auster," dedicated to late novelist Paul Auster, and "Margaret Anne," which honours Skinner's mother Anne Shasby, a former classical concert pianist prodigy who abandoned her own promising career in the face of systemic misogyny, only to impart on her son what Skinner calls "the gift of music."

Skinner’s musical world opens further on Side B, where a collection of poised vocal collaborations stretch out from jazz and improvisation towards a more dream-like, soulful sound. The centerpiece is "The Maxim," a ten-minute collaboration with Grammy Award-winning Meshell Ndegeocello, a dubby, spacious meditation on life and death, delivered with a free-spirited grace. For Skinner, working with Ndegeocello—whom he first saw at Glastonbury as a teenager in 1994—represents a full-circle moment, indicative of the indirect paths and inspirational detours that have shaped his life.
The album goes on to feature South Carolina-based singer Contour (Khari Lucas) who appears on the low-lit soul ballad ‘Logue’, and closes with ‘See How They Run’, featuring London keyboardist-vocalist Yaffra (Jonathan Geyevu). It is the album’s most overtly lyrical track, an articulate exposition of jazz-inflected spoken word that speaks not only to the genre-fluid nature of the music but the breadth of Skinner’s palette.
This should come as no surprise. On Kaleidoscopic Visions, one of London’s most vital musical figures gives us a sparkling glimpse of the multi-coloured lens through which his unique sound is now refracting.

The official soundtrack to the first season of the acclaimed historical drama Vikings is now, for the first time, available on vinyl, offering fans and collectors a rich and immersive listening experience. Composed by Emmy Award-winning composer Trevor Morris (The Tudors, The Borgias, Dragon Age: Inquisition), the score captures the raw intensity, emotional depth, and mythic atmosphere that helped define the tone of the series. From sweeping orchestral moments to brooding ambient textures, the music reflects the harsh beauty of the Viking world and its complex characters. One of the standout tracks is the opening theme, “If I Had A Heart” by Swedish artist Fever Ray, whose haunting vocals and minimalist electronics set the tone for the series. The track became iconic, earning recognition for its unique contribution to the show’s identity. The series itself has received widespread acclaim and multiple awards, both for its storytelling and technical execution, with the music playing a vital role in its success. Vikings (Music From The TV Series) is available for the first time on vinyl as a limited edition of 750 numbered copies on blue coloured vinyl. This 2LP package includes a 4-page booklet with pictures and liner notes by Trevor Morris.

Michael Mayer, aka Mr. Lava Lava asked a bunch of his absolute favourite artists to have a go at some of the tracks from his recent album 'The Floor Is Lava'. First up is Barcelona's brightest flame, RAXON, who is melting 'Brainwave 2.0' into a stompin fun-filled primetime banger. Longtime collaborator DAVE DK is a masterful producer and remixer that appears regularly on Pampa and Kompakt. His take on 'The Solution' feels like a road trip to paradise and back. Montreal's PRIORI is one of the hottest names in showbiz right now. His ability to bridge genres and create pristine sound designs is fully on display in his remix for 'The Solution'. Last but not least, the legend that is SEBASTIAN MULLAERT took a moment off from his revered Circle Of Life jams to transform the albums deepest cut 'Ardor' into an extraordinary musical journey. Oldschool Border Community vibes in the rebound!

Orange Crush Vinyl. GoldFord writes soul music rooted in truth. His raw, unvarnished songs — equal parts introspection and catharsis — grapple with heartbreak, healing, and the quiet revelations that come with growth and maturity. Raised in St. Louis and now based in L.A., he spent a decade mired in corporate America before a devastating loss cracked something open. Since then, GoldFord has built a devoted following with his emotionally charged vocals and timeless style. His breakout single “Upside Down” offered a first taste of virality, while “Orange Blossoms” — inspired by an illuminating moment of presence under a fruit tree — has surpassed 50 million streams on Spotify alone and earned co-signs from Sam Smith and SZA. Tracks like “Ride the Storm” (33M+ Spotify streams) and “Walk With Me” have found homes in major ad campaigns, film, and TV . But for GoldFord, it’s not about placement: it’s about connection. “This is how I sort through my shit,” he says. “The music reflects back who I am.” With a new record on the way and a festival debut at Austin City Limits looming, he’s stepping into the spotlight, one soul-baring song at a time.

HMGRWN Welcomes up and coming Dutch talent Jamback to the label. With his debut EP which includes two tracks that have been huge peak time plays for ROSSI. over the past few months. The A1 is 'Can't Resist', a track with captivating vocals and gritty baselines, a track that has taken over dancefloors across the world this summer - On the B1 is 'Attention' a peak-time track with a groove heavy drop, with garage influences... A track made for peak-time moments that has seen much attention itself throughout the summer already!

First time reissue of this French cold-wave / minimal-synth treasure.



November 1981 – In the heart of autumn, we set off in two cars along the Nationale 1 (!) to reach Choisy-le-Roi, where a 16-track studio was waiting for us—a place where, over the course of a weekend, we would finally be able to carve our own grooves into vinyl. We were quite nervous, as Guerre Froide had already been around for a year and a half. Our elders in Kas Product had already released two EPs—one with four tracks, the other with three—in 1980, even though they’d started only a few months before us. Admittedly, there wasn’t really a sense of urgency—some of us came from the punk movement, where the prevailing mood was still very much No Future, even if we’d long since stopped believing in it... And yet others had truly lost everything, like those from the generation before us. The reasons, ironically, were often the same: heroin and/or love—hard drugs, in both cases.

Speaking of which, I had a terrible stomach ache—due to nerves or some form of tension—which forced us to make a pit stop in the Oise region so I could rush to the toilet of a local café. That same stomach discomfort would hit me again once we arrived at the studio—whose name, incidentally, I’ve since forgotten...

We had gotten there thanks to the generous initiative of a friend, Sylvain S., known as “Perlin” (what a phonetic coincidence!?), who had specifically created the Stechak Products label to produce our record. Stechak because it was consistent with his earlier association called Tchernoziom, and Products as a plural tribute to the trailblazers from Nancy.

Guerre Froide originally consisted of four members: Fabrice Fruchart on guitar-synth (Korg MS-20), Patrick Mallet on bass, and Gilbert Deffais, known as “Bébert”, on Korg drum machine. At the time, I was already singing in a rock/post-punk band called Stress, and that’s how Guerre Froide picked up the bad habit of rehearsing in the same basement in Amiens as Stress. Within a month or two, we had half a dozen songs. We then had the opportunity to record a 4-track demo with a friend from Radio France Picardie, and to perform in October at a festival held at the Amiens municipal circus. Then came the now-legendary concert on November 11 at B.J.’s Club. After that, we self-produced and released 50 completely DIY copies of a cassette titled Cicatrice. A few concerts later—after Jean-Michel Bailleux had joined us on bass and Patrick had switched to guitar, which felt more natural to him—and with more concrete plans starting to take shape, we had to find a new rehearsal space and start renting a room.

Then came the moment when Fabrice told us he was leaving to go study in Lille... After the June 19, 1981 concert, which was naturally dubbed “Farewell to 2F,” Marie-José, Bébert’s wife, offered to take over on synth.

That’s when Perlin, who was a close friend of the Deffais couple and a great fan of our music, offered to fully finance the production of a 4-track 12-inch EP—covering the studio time, mastering, pressing, and artwork. What up-and-coming band would have turned that down? An improvised contract was signed with each member of Guerre Froide. The first step was choosing which four songs we would record. Berlin 81 was an obvious pick, having already become the group’s flagship track. We wanted to avoid reusing songs from Cicatrice, so the focus shifted to new material—some written before, some after Fabrice’s departure. Ersatz, for example, was his composition, but Mauve and Peine Perdue, which were also selected, were both written by Patrick.

A photo in Rodney Stepp’s scrapbook sums this period in his life in music. It’s 1974, The Spinners were headliners at the “Zaire 74” music festival, a sideshow to Muhammad Ali’s fabled “Rumble in the Jungle” fight with George Foreman. Among the faded snapshots, there’s a picture of Stepp backstage posing arm in arm with Ali; another image shows The Greatest seated at Stepp’s Fender Rhodes alongside vocalist Etta James. It was all a dream for this Naptown wunderkind, who had previously recorded for Herb Miller’s LAMP Records as the Diplomatics and had issued the sweet soul killer “Young Girl” as Jazzie Cazzie and the Eight Sounds on a rare Knaptown 45. (These recordings have been documented on the Now-Again LAMP anthology and our Loving On The Flipside compilation.) But as exciting as his rise out of those local status was, as exciting as it was to headline festivals and arenas and appear on late night talk shows, Stepp grew restless with the mechanical routine of being a sideman. He grew tired of playing the same charts night after night. He was hungry for a creative outlet that mimicked his earliest days in recorded music. So, in 1978, Stepp left The Spinners and returned to Indianapolis, where he established an all-stargroup of musicians–including members of Jazzie Cazzie and the fabled Amnesty–and he named the band Rapture. They inspired countless others. They recorded an album’s worth of material. Now-Again’s Egon first got tapes from Stepp in 2002 and dutifully transferred them, but the time was not right for a foray into this wealth of material. Come 2025, and this is the first time it Rapture’s music is seeing the light of day, a triumphant, late career moment for Stepp and a cause for celebration of those intrigued by deep, sweet soul and disco funk

Trailblazing outlet for forward-thinking Danish Jazz, April Records proudly presents the debut from trumpeter/composer Rolf Thofte; a vivid and personal record that blends lyrical melodies, inventive rhythms, and subtle harmonic exploration. Written while Thofte adjusted to fatherhood - the album captures moments of joy, reflection, and experimentation, brought to life by a handpicked quintet of Denmark"s most exciting young jazz talents. Martha"s Dance is set for release on September 19th, 2025 via April Records. The title track is a tribute to Thofte"s three-year-old daughter - a playful, clapping, goat-hoof-stomping tune in quirky 5/4 that channels the spirit of childhood joy and spontaneity. "It"s just a fun tune to play, and I feel like it really captures Martha"s spirit," says Thofte. "This band came together at a time when I was trying to get a foothold in a new life situation as a father, so it felt perfect to make this the title track." The album moves between moods and textures with elegance: from the rich harmonic language of "Vice Versa" - inspired by Wayne Shorter"s ability to cast simple melodies in shifting harmonic light - to the understated power of "Changing Tides," a piece about imperceptible gradual changes in our lives, nature, and politics. "Bendico," written in 15 minutes as a conservatory assignment, showcases Thofte"s gift for strong melodic statements, while "Dunkelflaute" evokes melancholic Nordic greyness through sparse, emotive phrasing. From the swaggering second-line feel of "The Big 5" to the hypnotic pulse of "All...", the album explores rhythm as both a driving force and a canvas for creative interplay. Throughout, Thofte"s trumpet and flugelhorn lead the ensemble with warmth and clarity. The quintet features some of Copenhagen"s top next-generation players: Andreas Toftemark (tenor saxophone), a powerhouse improviser and composer who brings NYC-honed energy and detail to the group dynamic. Rasmus Sorensen (piano), a rising star of the European scene, known for his sensitive, exploratory playing and fearless interaction. Jakob Roland (bass) and Henrik Holst (drums) - two of Thofte"s oldest musical collaborators - round out the rhythm section with deep swing, taste, and musical empathy.

“Magic Happens” is the very first release by Fabrizio Fattore on his new label Life Cycle.
Life Cycle embodies the sacred union between Life and Music, both flowing within an eternal cycle of experiences, adventures, and dimensions — a boundless musical journey beyond time and space.
This debut release, Magic Happens, marks the moment when, within the act of creation, the unseen unveils itself — when magic arises and everything reconnects with the Universe through the language of music.
A true journey to be listened to and danced to, with three unique tracks, each one carrying its own vibration, inviting you to lose yourself in the infinite shades of sound.

It's spring of 2023 in the North Carolina Piedmont, and songwriter and singer M.C. Taylor - leader of the band Hiss Golden Messenger - is feeling alive. Joyful. Eternal, he might say. For the Grammy-nominated musician, whose albums have traced an internal path through adulthood, fatherhood, spirituality, and depression for well over a decade, this is something new. "The tunes on Jump for Joy were composed in free moments throughout 2022, a year during which Hiss was on the road more or less constantly," explains Taylor. "And perhaps because the post-pandemic energy out in the world felt so chaotic and uncertain, I found myself thinking a lot about the role that music has played in my life and how exactly I ended up in the rarefied position of leading a band and crew all over the globe through dingy graffiti-scrawled green rooms, venerated music halls, dust-blown roadside motels.

Sometimes playing in front of 5,000; sometimes 200. Sleeping sitting up. Laughing until my stomach hurts. Not being able to fall asleep at 3 a.m. in some anonymous bed because my mind is spinning with anxiety or depression or adrenaline, or because my ears are still ringing. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, then robbing Paul to pay Peter back. Over and over again. It's an outlaw life but one, I'm coming to realize, that makes me happy." The songs that make up Jump for Joy - the sharpest and most autobiographical that Taylor has written under the Hiss name - read as a sort of epistolary, postcards between the present-day songwriter and his alias Michael Crow, a teenaged dreamer very much like Taylor himself, who trips his way through the 14 tunes that make up the record. In this way, Jump for Joy is a meditation on a life lived with art, and the ways that our hopes and dreams and decisions bump up against_ and, with a little bit of luck, occasionally merge with real life. "Creating this character became the way that I could explore these vulnerable, tender moments that were so decisive in my life, even if I didn't know it at the time," explains Taylor.

Produced by Taylor and engineered by longtime Hiss compatriot Scott Hirsch over two weeks in the late fall of 2022 at the fabled Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, TX, just a short walk from the Mexican border, Jump for Joy dances with joyful, spontaneous energy that feels like a fresh chapter in the Hiss Golden Messenger oeuvre. Taylor is accompanied throughout the album by his crack live band: guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, keyboardist Sam Fribush, and drummer Nick Falk, a collection of musicians that have helped make Hiss Golden Messenger's live performances legendary affairs

This is Music: The Singles, ist ein Kompilationsalbum der englischen Alternative-Rock-Band The Verve:
Richard Ashcroft (Gesang), Pete Salisbury (Schlagzeug), Simon Jones (Bass) und Nick McCabe (Gitarre).
Ursprünglich wurde das Album im November 2004 veröffentlicht und enthielt zwei Nicht-Singles, die aus
den Aufnahmen zu ihrem dritten Album Urban Hymns stammten: „This Could Be My Moment“ und
„Monte Carlo“.
2024 markiert den 20. Jahrestag der Veröffentlichung eines Albums, das nie auf Vinyl gepresst wurde,
und unter der Leitung der Gruppe ersetzt diese längst überfällige Neuauflage die Bonustracks durch die
kraftvollen Singles aus dem 2008er Reunion-Album Forth - ’Love is Noise’ und ’Rather Be’ - und enthält
auch die zweite Single ’She’s A Superstar’ (1992) in ihrer ursprünglichen, achteinhalbminütigen Form (statt
der fünfminütigen Bearbeitung). Somit repräsentiert das Album nun die komplette Geschichte der Singles
von The Verve.
Benannt nach der sechsten Single der Band, der ersten aus ihrem zweiten Album A Northern Soul, dokumentiert es auf brillante Weise die Kraft der relativ kurzen, aber epochemachenden Reise von The Verve
durch den musikalischen Kosmos.

„A Danger to Ourselves“, das neue Album von Lucrecia Dalt, erscheint am 5. September 2025 bei RVNG Intl. und ist eine gewagte und doch intime Reflexion über die ungefilterten Komplexitäten menschlicher Beziehungen. Ohne die fiktiven Erzählungen der letzten Alben der Künstlerin kommt „A Danger to Ourselves“ von einem Ort der emotionalen Aufrichtigkeit. Dalts Stimme steht im Mittelpunkt und wird von einer üppigen akustischen Orchestrierung, perkussiven Instrumenten und einer Reihe hochkarätiger Mitstreiter unterstützt, die sich wie ein tiefes persönliches Gespräch entwickeln.



Die in Pereira, Kolumbien, geborene Dalt wuchs in einer musikbegeisterten Familie auf, die sie im Alter von neun Jahren dazu ermutigte, eine Gitarre in die Hand zu nehmen. Dalt folgte diesem kreativen Impuls, war fasziniert von computergestützter Produktion und verließ eine aufkeimende Karriere als Bauingenieurin, zog von Medellín nach Barcelona und schließlich nach Berlin, wo sie ihren unverwechselbaren, abenteuerlichen Sound entwickelte. Mit „Anticlines“ (2018) und „No era sólida“ (2020) und vor allem mit „¡Ay!“, Dalts bahnbrechendem Sci-Fi-Bolero-Album von 2022, hat sich ihre Arbeit auf immer anspruchsvolleres Terrain begeben. Auf dem Weg dorthin hat Dalt ihre Praxis auf die Vertonung von Filmen wie „On Becoming a Guinea Fowl“ (2024), die HBO-Serie „The Baby“ (2022) und den bevorstehenden psychologischen Horrorfilm „Rabbit Trap“ ausgeweitet, während sie Klanginstallationen und Performances kreiert, die ihre leuchtenden Modulationen und ihren unverwechselbaren, sich entwickelnden stimmlichen Ansatz zur Schau stellen. „A Danger to Ourselves“ entstand aus fragmentarischen Erklärungen, die Dalt aufschrieb, während sie das Leben auf der Tournee von „¡Ay!“ und die prägenden Momente einer neuen Beziehung meisterte. Im Januar 2024 begann sie, diese intimen Fragmente zu musikalischen Kompositionen zu kristallisieren, die allmählich zu einer zielgerichteten Konstellation von Songs wurden. Die Klangarchitektur des Albums basiert auf dynamischen Drum-Loops, die von Alex Lázaro beigesteuert werden, dessen perkussives Rückgrat wie bei „¡Ay!“ zur Leinwand für Dalts vielschichtigen Gesang wurde. Anstatt konventionellen melodischen Strukturen zu folgen, erzeugt das Album Musikalität durch das Zusammenspiel von Basslinien, Rhythmen und kompositorischem Design. „A Danger to Ourselves“ offenbart Dalts kompromissloses Streben nach klanglicher Klarheit, bei dem kühne Produktionsentscheidungen und sorgfältige Aufnahmetechniken Stimme und Instrument mit neuer Tiefe und Strahlkraft harmonieren lassen. „A Danger to Ourselves“ ist eindeutig anti-konzeptionell und ein poetischer Instinkt, mit dem Dalt den Fokus auf die Musik selbst lenkt, indem er Stimmen verwendet, die über die Parameter der Songs hinaus schwingen, und die perlenden Echos der ursprünglichen, romantischen Erregung beobachtet. Dalts klare Aufmerksamkeit für Details ist in jedem Takt spürbar, eine Hingabe, die sich in konzentrischen Kreisen dreht und ein Feld bildet, das das Persönliche und das Ätherische vereint. Das Album basiert auf intuitiven Experimenten und nutzt einfache Gesten und komplexe Kompositionen, um wandernde Linien zu weben, wie in „Divina“, das sich zwischen Spanisch und Englisch durch elastische Klanglandschaften bewegt. Der Titel des Albums geht auf David Sylvians Text „cosa rara“ zurück, der die Zerbrechlichkeit des Lebens, die Schwingungen der Liebe und die treibende Sehnsucht nach dem Wundersamen symbolisiert. „A Danger to Ourselves“ spiegelt diese transzendenten Zustände wider, indem es die Komplexität menschlicher Verstrickungen und den Wunsch nach Befreiung von Dopaminspiralen und gewöhnlichen Pfaden hin zu einer offeneren inneren Welt widerspiegelt. Sylvian selbst hat auf „A Danger to Ourselves“ eine Doppelrolle als Co-Produzent und Musiker gespielt. Es ist eine kollaborative Collage mit Beiträgen zahlreicher gefeierter Künstler. Weitere Kollaborationen ziehen sich durch das gesamte Album: Juana Molina ist Co-Autorin und Interpretin von „The Common Reader“, Camille Mandoki singt bei „Caes“, Cyrus Campbell spielt den grundlegenden Elektro- und Kontrabass, und Eliana Joy steuert bei mehreren Stücken Hintergrundgesang und Streicherarrangements bei. In den leuchtenden Tiefen von „A Danger to Ourselves“ inszeniert Dalt eine tiefgreifende Metamorphose, bei der das Persönliche durch klangliche Alchemie zum Universellen wird. Dieses Album ist sowohl Höhepunkt als auch Aufbruch - ein Portal, an dem ihre früheren experimentellen Reisen zu etwas verblüffend Intimem und doch Expansivem zusammenlaufen. Das Album ist ein Netz emotionaler Offenbarungen, jede Komposition ein präziser Indikator für Verletzlichkeit, in der Dalts Stimme eine Offenbarung in neuen harmonischen Gefilden verkörpert. Dalt hat ein lebendiges Dokument der Intuition jenseits konventioneller Grenzen geschaffen, das den Weg in Bereiche eröffnet, in denen die Musik sowohl Spiegel als auch Fenster ist.



Für Fans von PJ Harvey, Broadcast, St. Vincent, ML Buch, Stereolab, Cate LeBon, Aldous Harding, Mabe Fratti, Dry Cleaning, Juana Molina

Five years on from their iconic debut album, the Red Robin posse return with another epic full length LP - this time featuring the ruffneck deejay styling of their longtime friend Tippa Lee.

With ten hardcore riddims from Naram stretching the full spectrum of 80s roots, rub-a-dub, and digi - and uncompromising street level lyrics from the LA-based Jamaican veteran Tippa Lee - Musically Bad is an absolute must-have for any discerning reggae collector.

The culmination of nearly a decade of collaboration, with multiple trips to LA where they improvised studio set ups at a range of cheap motels. Tippa takes listeners on a journey through his history in reggae, lamenting the rise of slackness and gun culture, firing shots at politicians and oligarchs, and shining a spotlight on the struggles of people of all colours and creeds suffering in the ghetto.

Despite the serious messages conveyed, and the heavyweight militant riddims, the album contains plenty of moments of humour and levity thanks to Tippa's lyrical nous.

With all riddims recorded and mixed to half inch tape in Naram's analogue Whanganui studio, and crisp mastering from Downbeat Studios, the LP is fine tuned to mash up any dancehall or living room.