Suche:mos def

Since its founding back in 2014, Blume has carved a unique place in cultural landscape, issuing free-standing works, spanning the historical and contemporary, that represent singular gestures of creativity within the field of experimental sound. Joining their broad efforts in building networks of context and understanding that already includes the works by Werner Durand, Sarah Hennies, Bruce Nauman, John Butcher, Jocy de Oliveira, Mary Jane Leach, Valentina Magaletti, Alvin Curran, Julius Eastman, Alvin Lucier, and following the first ever vinyl release to attend to James Tenney's legendary Postal Pieces, the label now presents the first LP published by the visionary Swiss composer Jürg Frey. Drawing from the transformative power of breath and resonance, this release represents one of the most profound explorations of musical metamorphosis to emerge from the contemporary experimental landscape.

The completed work represents a "conjunction of these two artists" that has "activated a transformative form of experimentalism." These renderings "dance with an airy lightness, humour, and play, imbuing them with a beauty and emotiveness that can be rare within experimental music." They exist as "breaths, carrying the curiosities of life, belonging to no time and all time, to no one and everyone: a human music to be inhaled and pondered, for which the outcome remains unknown." In this liminal space between composition and interpretation, between breath and resonance, Zurria and Frey have created something that transcends the boundaries of experimental music itself, offering what might be called a metaphysical cartography of sound in its most essential form. As Bradford Bailey observes in his penetrating liner notes, "music is rarely a fixed entity," existing instead in a state of perpetual flux, "taking on the influences of its interpreters and performers." This fundamental truth finds its most eloquent expression in the transformative collaboration between Italian flutist Manuel Zurria and Frey, longtime member of the Wandelweiser Group. Where conventional recordings might preserve a definitive version, this release activates what Bailey calls "states of unknowing and continued experimentation," allowing Frey's compositions to evolve into entirely new dimensional territories. The original string quartet and piano works dissolve into breath-carried architectures of sound, where "the original remains in a constant dialogue with its transformation." This is not mere arrangement but ontological metamorphosis - an alchemical process through which crystalline harmonies are reborn as atmospheric phenomena.

The metaphysical dimensions of this transformation become clear through detailed analysis of the musical result. Where Frey's original compositions operate through what he calls "basic confidence in the clear and restricted material," Zurria's interpretation activates entirely new perceptual territories. Space holds almost atomic sense of weight against the airy punctuations of timbres, textures, and tones, creating "suspensions of time within which questions and identities posed by instrumentation fade." The Extended Circular Music pieces - each comprising "a small number of bars to be repeated an undetermined number of times" - become organizations of sound that defy being definitive or fixed. Originally scored for different combinations of violin, viola, cello, and piano, these works now exist as pure phenomena of breath and resonance, where "hanging, breath-length utterances dance and intertwine amongst complex harmonic clusters and conjunctions."

The philosophical implications of this transformation illuminate a lineage of composers who have moved "away from abstraction and responding to the need to create" something beyond mere technique. Drawing parallels to Morton Feldman's understanding of non-functional harmony, Zurria's approach represents "a transformative form of experimentalism" that activates what Frey calls the "thaumaturgic power" of music - its capacity to heal and transform consciousness itself. The result is "a radical reimagining of ambience: sprawling sonorities and resonances adrift in space, carrying the liberated traces of the work's former incarnations and their truths." In Zurria's interpretation, Frey's String Quartet n.3 becomes something approaching "an organ played in slow motion, its seals leaking," while the Extended Circular Music pieces transform into "glacial chords from a diverse palette of voicings, harmonies, timbres, and tones."

Performed by Manuel Zurria. Recorded and mixed by Zurria at BigCardo, Catania between 2022-2024, with mastering by Bruno Germano at Vacuumstudio, Bologna, this Blume release represents a profound exploration of musical transformation.

3XL boss and scene hyper-connector Special Guest DJ (aka uon, shy, Caveman LSD) lands on their own label with a debut album of hazed ambient noise and aquatic club anarchitextures, with a patented, heady style bent into new shapes.

For nigh on a decade, Berlin-based American producer, label boss, promoter and DJ Shy has operated at the centre of a scene that's still not fully defined. Their mythical DJ sets, where you're likely to hear precision-tweaked dubstep, dreampop, decelerated rap and dubwise ambient blended into vapour; gives some sense of the vibes at play, and a comb thru their spiderweb of a catalog - as Caveman LSD or uon, as part of Ghostride the Drift, Hoodie, crimeboys, virtualdemonlaxative and Cypher, or as the figurehead of 3XL, Experiences Ltd, xpq? and bblisss labels - further blurs that gist.

They've been caught in the crossfire of Big Ambient, sure, but there's always been something scrappier, sexier and more present going on under the hood. Shy and his network of associates - Huerco, Ulla, Perila, Ben Bondy, Naemi/Exael, Ponteac Streator and Arad Acid, among others - have asserted the interrelatedness of their discrete approaches. So-called "ambient" music doesn't exist in a vacuum, it un-focuses elements that undergird so many more corporeal sounds, and for Shy, their music reflects the druggy, DIY, genre-agnostic ethos of a trans-Atlantic neo-punk underground that exists in some liminal zone between the club, the bedsit and the basement.

Concerned with themes of “anger, sensuality, and dreaming”, the 40 minute roil of ‘Our Fantasy Complex’ frames Special Guest DJ at their most unapologetically oblique and illusive, expanding and contracting between whorls of shoegazing dynamics and extended portions of quasi-speed D&B x dub tech smeared on the mind’s-eye, with a vivid sense of bruised lushness that’s perfused all shy’s work thus far.

Joined by kindred collaborators Ben Bondy, Arad Acid and mu tate, and suspended in agitated bliss by Rashad Becker’s lucid mastering, the results feel out some of 2025’s most considered and distinctive within an amorphous zone that’s become a world unto itself. Ambient music’s fluffier signifiers are swapped out for a sort of sublime tension that, like the sound’s original ‘90s explosion, can be heard to reflect states of altered consciousness - both individual and collective.

Shy's layered, undulating productions are more like the chewed remnants of a thousand mixtapes cooked into a stream-of-consciousness hex. Save for the glistening, zoomed-out parting piece ‘Dream’, it all mostly avoids pretty melodies in favour of a spatio-textural sensuality that wraps us up, sometimes uncomfortably intimately, in shy’s thoughts. That oneiric closer is one of three gritty palate cleansers that swirl around its peaks, where elements of Reese-bass are suspended, writhing below looming atmospheric pressure in ‘How Long Can I Burn?’, emerging charred and flecked with rattled percussion on ‘Yoro (pt I & II)’, as though K-holing thru a blazing summer’s day.

In step with Perila’s notably darker turn of events on her ‘Omnis Festinatio Ex parts Diaboli Est’, album, or the unexpected ferocity of recent Space Afrika live shows, it’s not hard to hear a darkside gravitational pull on this one, where ambient music is no longer just a balm for troubled souls, but also suggestive of humanity’s most frightful odours.

Roughly two years after the release of their initial statement of intent, debut single “Toutpartout PT2” with its hypnotic ripples, Andi Haberl and Florian Zimmer aka Bella Wakame have successfully channeled the magic of a 2024 live recording (captured at Berlin’s Donau115 & Silent Green) into their first proper studio offering. You can hear inspirations ranging from Bitchin Bajas, Jeremiah Chiu to Groupshow (Jelinek, Leichtmann, Pekler), the hypnotic, intricate battle between form and freedom (the fun of momentary formlessness) continues to unfold over the course of 10 new tracks, featuring album guest Indra Dunis (Peaking Lights). Their first single "Shadows of Nambei" was very much inspired by the wonderful band Spirit Fest and their song "Nambei".

You can either shorten the reins, or you can loosen them – and give things more slack. With Bella Wakame, it’s definitely the latter. Constantly challenging each other, they’re tapping a whole new energy. Tons of different energies.

Based on the impulsive, propulsive interplay between drums/sensory percussion (Andi Haberl) and modular synthesizer (Florian Zimmer), the frenzied, free-form results take listeners into completely new dimensions – sonic worlds that don’t really sound anything like their other musical outlets (The Notwist, SUN, Saroos, Driftmachine etc.).

Whereas most bands tend to notoriously overthink names/monikers, these guys obviously only care about the ecstatic push-and-pull that occurs once their instruments meet and overlap: it’s wildly explosive textures with a booming heart. Moving restlessly between motorik club, electro-acoustic jazz experiments, ambient excursions, and fast-paced instrumental anthems that seem to explode at the seams, one can immediately tell how much they enjoy the newfound freedom, the turbulent encounters born on the spur of the moment.

It’s all about a quick-paced exchange of friendly blows, a chasing of tails into ever-new musical terrains. Relying on just enough form for that wildness to blossom within, their just-in-time dashes continually unfold, refold, return, grow bigger – and leave you startled.

Italian techno force Alarico makes a striking debut on KEY Vinyl with 'Sweaty Techniques', a seven-track LP that encapsulates his signature style: groove-centric, stomping and irresistibly danceable. Known for his prolific output, the Berlin-based artist delivers a fast-paced and energetic sound, interwoven by the thematic thread of the whole release: a sweaty encounter.

From the opening pulse of 'Cradle to the Grave', rhythm takes center stage-percussion-driven and primed for peak-time occasions. Snipped vocals and bouncy baselines carve out some sort of hypnotic patterns, while deep, rolling low ends keep the momentum locked in. Gritty textures collide with fragmented modulations, twisting into distorted, high-energy productions. Across the LP, tightly coiled bleeps and moaning snippets emerge, lending a sinister yet seductive edge.

Then there's 'Dammelo'-Italian for 'give it to me'-which subsumes the album's thematic essence into pure physicality, embracing its vocal motif with a knowing smirk. As the record progresses, Alarico shifts between functional, stripped-back rhythms and more tension-driven moments, culminating in 'Touch My Heart', where sharper drum programming meets hypnotic vocal loops. Closing on a high, 'Jamira' encapsulates the album's crisp percussive edge, rounding off a release that is as relentless as it is intoxicating.
With 'Sweaty Techniques', Alarico solidifies his place as one of techno's most electrifying new voices-an LP made of steel, but definitely built to move.

Alanis Morissette Delivers the Equivalent of a Spiritual Awakening on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie:
Introspective Themes and Compassionate Emotions on Eastern-Tinged Album Have Grown More Relevant
1998 Smash Plays with Enhanced Detail, Rich Textures, and Sharp Focus on Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM 2LP Set:
First-Ever Audiophile Edition Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies
1/2" / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Alanis Morissette refuses to adhere to convention on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. While most artists follow-up their breakthrough with an album that closely parallels the approaches that helped make them famous, the maverick singer-songwriter stayed true to herself and drew inspiration from travel to India before she began the recording sessions. As much as the preceding Jagged Little Pill put her on the global radar, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie confirmed her role as a vital generational voice — and proved her blockbuster success was no fluke. Having set a mark for most sales of an LP in its debut week by a female artist, the 1998 smash remains a pop-rock staple.

Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM 2LP set of Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie presents the triple-platinum LP in audiophile sound for the first time. Benefitting from defined grooves that befit the album’s nearly 72-minute length, this pressing plays with enhanced detail, refined clarity, sharper focus, and broader dynamics than prior versions.

Those traits are key given Morissette’s use of more textured and atmospheric soundscapes, not to mention her evolution into a more nuanced and controlled singer. Similarly, the scale and reach of David Campbell’s string arrangements come across as orchestrations should. Ditto the synth-based architecture shaped by producer and principal Morissette collaborator Glen Ballard. All in all, Mobile Fidelity’s collectible edition simply delivers more information via transparent means.

Notable for its balance, sophistication, and richness, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie at heart finds Morissette pausing, taking a breath, and learning how to navigate life in a healthy manner after enduring one of the most exhausting and rocket-to-fame stretches any musician ever experienced. It’s the sonic equivalent of a spiritual awakening, a call to betterment, a brave assessment of the self and humanity as a whole. As such, the tunes on her second international (and fourth Canadian) release teem with gratitude, compassion, love, empathy — emotions that lend themselves to the largely mellow, contoured scope and Eastern-tinged melodies of the songs themselves.

“How ‘bout how good it feels to finally forgive you,” Morissette sings on the lead single “Thank U.” “How ‘bout grieving it all one at a time.” Those sentiments, and the vocalist’s embrace of concepts such as divinity and acceptance, not only provide a foundation on which Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie rests. They also reflect the personal maturation she gained from her embrace of Buddhist culture in India and a mindset bent toward notions of reconciliation, peace, and sensuality that were nearly absent in popular music in the late ‘90s.

Those themes continue on “That I Would Be Good,” a confident reflection that takes stock of one’s mental, physical, and emotional state in the face of both changing and unpleasant circumstances — and concludes with Morissette performing a flute solo, further exposing the raw intimacy of the introspective tune. She channels relatable simplicity and joy on “So Pure,” with her invocations of “dance” and “freestyle” speaking to the freedom of expression that courses throughout Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. And perhaps no song finds Morissette showcasing her refreshed attitude toward life and opening up more than the relationship-themed “Unsent,” whose unconventional structures and lack of a chorus only add to its directness.

Akin to many albums that were ahead of their time, and despite the critical and commercial accolades afforded it upon release, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie attracted new appreciation and perspective as it got older. Issued during an era where its ideas of serenity, absolution, tranquility, and contentment seemed largely alien, the record — akin to the ways its predecessor foreshadowed a movement — now functions as a visionary beacon that foretells of way to maintain sanity, dignity, and goodness amid a contemporary landscape filled with constant distractions, polarizing views, and incessant calls to purchase, promote, and produce without questioning the what-for purpose.

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie dares to ask the questions and, at its best, supplies meaningful answers and alternatives that lead to longed-for enlightenment, healing, and laughter. For these reasons alone, it’s a record that never goes out of style.

Experience the Double-Platinum 1996 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time
Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Is Sourced from the Original Analogue Tapes
1/2” / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

If great art, as many believe, is inherently polarizing, then the Stone Temple Pilots’ Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop easily ranks as the California-based band’s finest album. Simultaneously celebrated and castigated upon release in spring 1996, the group’s third full-length finds vocalist Scott Weiland and company expanding their “grunge” palette with a smart blend of glam rock, psychedelia, jangle pop, and other related styles. Having benefited from long-view reassessments that shed the biases and meanness of initial criticisms, the double-platinum effort is now largely and rightly seen as a creative masterwork. All the more reason why it deserves reference-grade production.

Overseen by producer Brendan O’Brien, Stone Temple Pilots used bedrooms, hallways, bathrooms, and the lawn to capture a broad blend of textures, spaciousness, and ambience that helped underline the group’s obvious (and somewhat unexpected) leap from normal “alternative” status to an artist whose aspirations went beyond that of many of its contemporaries. You can hear the multitude of details and tonalities with previously unattained clarity, presence, and scope on this fantastic reissue, which also delivers the impact and punch every rock record deserves. Another tremendous asset: The depth, grain, and pitch of Weiland’s voice.

For all the contagious choruses and glossy melodies that help make Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop sparkle, the vocal performances of the late singer arguably rank as the best that the much-missed Weiland committed to tape. None other than the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan — who, like many peers and critics, felt a pressing need to reevaluate the record as both time marched on and the self-importance attached to the “alternative” scene faded — praised Weiland’s efforts by noting: “Like Bowie can and does, it was Scott's phrasing that pushed his music into a unique, and hard to pin down, aesthetic sonicsphere.”

Smooth and diverse, those traits are everywhere on Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. From the clever combination of emotional closeness and distance he brings to the catchy albeit ultimately melancholic “Lady Picture Show”; to the lounge-fly balladeering that causes “And So I Know” to lightly swing akin to a bleary-eyed house band’s final number at a 4 A.M. bar; to the effortless cool and laissez-faire casualness he articulates on the grinding “Pop’s Love Suicide”; to the dimensional raspiness, defiant energy, and let-loose wail that sail through the crunchy “Big Bang Baby.”

The latter tune, the record’s first single and per Weiland a conscious attempt by the band to deconstruct its prior approaches, clearly borrows from the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Because of it, the song drew all kinds of barbs from naysayers. Their disdain extended to most material on Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, which indirectly references other prized acts such as the Beatles, Cheap Trick, T. Rex, and Lush. Those cynics failed to grasp that Stone Temple Pilots were paying homage and having a blast, with even Weiland, then battling serious substance-abuse and legal issues, getting in on the action.

Stone Temple Pilots’ skeptics also turned a deaf ear to the records’ stellar pop craftsmanship, sticky hooks, and sly commentary on music-industry machinations and fame. Not to mention the band’s intent, made clear from the outset. In an interview conducted in 1994, guitarist Robert DeLeo stated: “The last thing I wanted to do with this band was make everybody believe we invented something.”

Seen through that lens and the hindsight afforded history, and appreciated independent of the self-righteous authenticity standards of the day, Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop sounds borderline fearless while authoritatively checking all the right boxes for fun, flavor, and finesse. Part winking send-up, part tribute to the glitter rock age, and part middle finger towards the hip crowd that didn’t know what they were missing, this mid-90s classic repeatedly invites you to drop the needle and press play.

Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Plays with Authoritative Tonality, Airiness, and Clarity:
Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl and Strictly Limited to
3,000 Numbered Copies
1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Joni Mitchell is the only artist who could’ve made Hejira. The legendary singer-songwriter said as much when discussing the album decades after its release. Yet that fact seemed obvious from the moment the gold-certified effort streeted in fall 1976. An adventurous travelogue, probing narrative, and offbeat homage to freedom, Hejira remains an inimitable entry in the catalog of recorded music — a spare, gorgeous, meditative series of sonic vignettes comprised of floating harmonic pop, cool jazz, soft rock, and sensitive vocal elements that beckon feelings of motion, discovery, and self-examination.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents the record ranked the 133rd Greatest of All Time by Rolling Stone with definitive detail, richness, accuracy, and directness. Marking the first time the revered LP has received audiophile treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on vinyl and SACD.

Playing with a virtually nonexistent noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superior groove definition, this collectible reissue reproduces in enveloping fashion the tones, textures, and craftsmanship that help Hejira function as the equivalent of a liberating trip down an open road with nothing but blue sky, natural landscape, and fresh air in the immediate vicinity. Passages bloom, carry, decay as they do amid an acoustically optimized environment. Soundstages extend far, wide, and deep, with black backgrounds and pinpoint images adding to the realism.

The reference-grade immediacy, airiness, and presence put in transparent perspective Mitchell’s dense strings of words, stream-of-conscious-like phrasing, and unhurried albeit forward momentum. Likewise, the instrumental contributions of her A-list support musicians — a cast that includes L.A. Express members John Guerin, Max Bennett and Tom Scott, plus Neil Young, Victor Feldman, and Abe Most — emerges with breathtaking clarity and dimensionality.

While Mitchell, whose intimate vocals and abstract guitar parts center everything, Mobile Fidelity's restoration of Hejira further reveals the visionary breadth of guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Jaco Pastorius. Though heard on only four tracks, Pastorius' fretless bass epitomizes the fluid, subtle, flexible, roomy, and shape-shifting characteristics of songs that often appear to transpire out of nowhere akin to the formation of a puffy cumulus cloud overhead. In sync with Mitchell’s voice, Pastorius’ fusion hovers and floats, suspended in a fog you want to deeply inhale. The "grace notes" Mitchell desired on Hejira can now be heard in full. Ditto the luxurious tapestries of alinear lines, fills, and supplements unreeled on Carlton’s six-string.

Visually, the packaging of this UD1S set complements its identity as the copy to own. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, the LPs come in foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This version is for listeners who desire to become immersed in everything about Hejira, including the unforgettable album cover — a pastiche of 14 different photos Mitchell used a Camera Lucida to assemble into one image that’s anchored by a portrait of her in a stoic pose — and the interior shots of Mitchell skating on a frozen Wisconsin lake wearing a pair of black skates, black shirt, and fur cape.

The notion of skating, feeling an awakening wind whipping against your face, and losing yourself to the surroundings are extremely apt for Hejira, which Mitchell wrote after a sequence of trips and relationships prompted her to reflect on the complicated conflicts between independence and marriage, success and satisfaction, duty and desire — and, more specifically, “the cost of being a woman.” The Canadian native delved into such themes before. But never as she does on Hejira, whose liberating, running-away aura doubles as another of Mitchell’s rejections of tradition as well as a suggestion of a better alternative.

At once observational and personal, expansive and insular, cheerful and poignant, Hejira spans a sea of human conditions, emotions, and circumstances. It addresses drifting, isolation, pleasure, place, time, and surroundings with strikingly poetic discourse matched with music that, save for the crooned ballad “Blue Motel Room,” forgoes conventional structures and choruses.

The jazz-based arrangements, marked by scaled-down percussion and all manner of bent, rounded, and unsettled notes, hint that Mitchell has no exact destination in mind. Excursions such as the moody “Furry Sings the Blues,” funky “Coyote” and edgy “Black Crow” throw open previously locked doors to possibility and journey. They signal it’s time for a welcome departure from norms and the past, one that leads to a heightened sense of clarity and perspective. Or, as Mitchell said upon choosing the album title, it’s time for “leaving the dream, no blame.”

Analogue Productions' UHQR, the pinnacle of high-quality vinyl! 45 RPM Ultra High Quality Record release limited to 5,000 copies Mastered from the original tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound Pressed at Quality Record Pressings using Clarity Vinyl® Purest possible pressing and most visually stunning presentation and packaging!

By the time Bob Marley died, he was one of the world's first global superstars, famous and lauded from Europe through Africa and the Americas. Some even saw him as not just a reggae singer but as a folk hero, a sort of freedom fighter, and to this day his enduring image feels greater than the music he made, writes Pitchfork. In the 21st century, Bob Marley is a global cultural icon and the first Jamaican inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 1977's Exodus — recorded in London exile after a failed attempt on his life — turned out to be Marley's biggest-selling studio album.

Time magazine named it the greatest LP of the 20th century. Other Marley discs had bigger hits and still others had better album tracks, but the balance Marley strikes between politics, religion, and romance on Exodus — compare and contrast the urgent title track and the laid-back "Jamming" — shows a pop star at the peak of his powers.

Now, Analogue Productions presents perfection — Exodus in UHQR 45 RPM format on Clarity Vinyl. This Ultra High Quality Record release will be limited to 4,500 copies, with gold foil individually numbered jackets. After the success of 1974's Natty Dread and 1976's Rastaman Vibration, Bob Marley was not only the most successful reggae musician in the world, he was one of the most powerful men in Jamaica. Powerful enough, in fact, that he was shot by gunmen who broke into his home in December 1976, days before he was to play a massive free concert intended to ease tensions days before a contentious election for Jamaican Prime Minister.

In the wake of the assassination attempt, Marley and his band left Jamaica and settled in London for two years, where he recorded Exodus. Exodus represented a subtle but significant shift for Marley; while he continued to speak out against political corruption and for freedom and equality for Third World people, his skill as a songwriter was as strong as ever, and Exodus boasted more than a few classics, "including the title song, 'Three Little Birds,' 'Waiting in Vain,' and 'Turn Your Lights Down Low,' tunes that defined Marley's gift for sounding laid-back and incisive at once," writes AllMusic. This UHQR is remastered at 45 RPM by Sterling Sound's Ryan K. Smith from the original analog master tapes. Each UHQR will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Acoustic Sounds' industry-leading pressing plant Quality Record Pressings (QRP) using hand-selected Clarity Vinyl® with attention paid to every single detail. These records will feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable. From the lead-in groove to the run-out groove, there is no pitch to the profile, allowing the customer's stylus to play truly perpendicular to the grooves from edge to center. Clarity Vinyl allows for the purest possible pressing and the most visually stunning presentation. Every UHQR will be hand inspected upon pressing completion, and only the truly flawless will be allowed to go to market. Each UHQR will be packaged in a custom clamshell box and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection. This will be a truly deluxe, collectible product.

Berlin-based Colombian DJ, producer, and curator Edna Martinez presents a sonic journey into the electrifying world of Picó—the vibrant and dynamic sound system culture that has defined the streets of Cartagena and Barranquilla for decades. More than just a musical movement, Picó is a way of life, a bold expression of identity, community, and resistance. From its roots in the working-class neighbourhoods of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to its deep connections with Africa and the Caribbean, this compilation captures the pulse of a culture where music is played at full volume, rhythms travel across oceans, and dance is both a form of celebration and storytelling. For those unfamiliar, Picós are hand-painted sound systems, often adorned with dazzling colours and striking imagery, each with its own name and sonic identity. These mobile discos became the heart of neighbourhood bailes, where the sounds of champeta, highlife, soukous, mbaqanga, zouk, soca, and cumbia would turn every street corner, market, and terrace into a dancefloor. Initially built by local craftsmen using modified speaker components, Picós became legendary for their powerful bass and exclusivity, with DJs sourcing rare vinyl from African and Caribbean ports and rebranding them with unique piconemas—new names adapted to local slang, making the tracks instantly recognisable within the community.

This compilation brings together a carefully curated selection of these rare and sought-after tracks, tracing the deep-rooted musical exchanges between Colombia, West and Central Africa, and the Caribbean. Featuring artists like Los Corraleros De Majagual, Peacocks International Highlife Band, Pedro Lima, Zaïko Langa Langa, and more, the album also includes edits by Edna Martinez, reimagining these timeless rhythms for contemporary audiences while staying true to their original spirit.

Strut presents ‘Picó! Sound System Culture From The Colombian Carribbean’ across 2LP Vinyl, 1CD & Digital focusing on a celebration of the raw, undiluted energy of Picó culture. Through Edna Martinez’s curation, and extensive liner notes, this compilation offers a powerful and authentic glimpse into one of the most vibrant musical traditions of the Colombian Caribbean

When you’re immersed into something you never actually realize if the essence will project as bright as the efforts, as deep as the process and as loud as the intentions. WOW, the Roma Est duo of China and Leo Non, have never had to create magic or delve into mystique along their meandering path, it’s just been a long solemn wait for what life throws at them and actually sticks. Cause and reaction, because the essence is quietly there when the clamour fades away. Their new album ‘Rosa di Luce’ is as pure as they come, a crystalline documentation of a new family, new meanings and new languages where the only rule is to gently adapt and just let things flow.

Welcoming Mina Wow, a tiny creature, into the fold was never going to be easy for a life lead on the road and for a band as radical as WOW where nothing is sugar-coated or constructed behind the scene, a different approach was desperately wanted, needed and searched. Almost total disarm, doing the small things, undress, get rid of the unnecessary feedback. That’s why ‘Rosa di Luce’ more than ever showcases WOW’s other-worldy spectral capability of creating songs that contain immense and minimal emotions, raw but welcoming, sincere but cutting and could play out to be a career defining album. Loosely recorded between their house in Rome and a campsite in Southern Puglia (where WOW organizes their yearly Shawala Festival) these songs are masqued my a minimalist entendre that leaves space for China’s stellar vocal delivery, a haunted range with frequencies to tickle a soul and pierce hearts, with Leo’s resolute guitar playing leading a timeless revolution.

The center-piece ‘Le Montagne E Noi’ is a perfect example of their stripped-back nakedness hiding complex arrangements (the beautiful sax played by Ryan Spring Dooley and celestial flutes by Alessandra Lazzarini) that sound effortless and imperative. Spiritual orchestrations that match our times and most importantly their new family and definition of space. Peaks that can always be reached, forests that need crossing (La Radura) in order to find a sound. There is no pretension or conceit to WOW’s style, it is entrancingly vibrant yet melancholy, taking notes from the most visceral strand of Italian traditional music, yet, still, walking down a trail that is very much their own. A planet where Branko Mataja and Alice Coltrane are backed by Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru and Mina on a perennial quest for the ethereal. Music to remember the essence, this is what we are, like the ocean. “

Named after the old district where Jesse lived during one of the most vibrant years of his life, La Pavonia EP captures the warmth, unpredictability, and deep musical curiosity that define him. Drawing from memories of joy, love, and discovery—and echoing the floral name linked to Runas' Spanish roots—the EP unfolds across four distinctive cuts.

“Crystal Swamp” opens the journey with eerie pads, buzzing synths, and a groove shaped by introspective winter days. “Body Blaster” follows with a raw, body-moving rhythm, born from a shift between Electro and Progressive moods and anchored by a punchy TX-81Z bassline. On the flip, “Warp” plays with imperfection and transformation, turning a single synth and stretched percussion sample into something strangely human. The EP closes with a remix of “Warp” by Belgian-Peruvian producer DC Salas who transforms Warp into a slow-burning, groove-heavy trip, layering thick basslines, subtle percussive shifts, and a progressive pulse. It's a hypnotic rework that keeps the original’s raw textures while opening it up for late-night floors and deeper moments.

Demon Records Single Club are delighted to present a reissue of
Shaun Escoffery’s club anthem Days Like This.
Originally released in 2002, Days Like This is a classic by the very
definition of the word. Days Like This was Shaun’s second single and itwent on to cement his place as one of the most exciting British artists to emerge in Soulful House.
Remastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering and now featuring
mixes from K-Klass and Spen & Karizma and, for the very first time,
we’re releasing MJ Cole’s majestic mix of Shaun’s debut single Space
Rider. Appearing on vinyl for the first time!

Originally released in 2003, Marcos Valle’s Contrasts combined early noughties production techniques with his trademark Brazilian songwriting brilliance. The album quickly became one of Valle’s most in-demand, with tracks like the triumphant “Parabéns” (which was sampled by Childish Gambino, covered by Tom Misch and remixed by Misa Negra) and bossa beach classic “Agua de Coco”, both becoming firm fan favourites.

Produced by Roc Hunter, and executive produced by Joe Davis, with musicians including Robertinho Silva (percussion), Alex Malheiros (bass), and Marcos’ wife Patricia Alvi (vocals), Contrasts encapsulated Valle’s ever evolving musical vision, bringing together samba, baião, bossa pop, broken beat, house, trip-hop and more, on one era-defining record.

After 22 years, Contrasts is finally set for a double LP vinyl and CD reissue, with the original mix of “Valeu” and “My Nightingale” making it onto the vinyl edition for the first time.

Purple vinyl, limited to 150 copies. Born from the murky industrial depths of Birmingham, UK, Margarita Witch Cult's self-titled debut studio album is a tour-de-force in classic metal, hard rock, doom, and mind-melting psych. A thunderous drum fill propels you into opener 'Diabolical Influence'- a lurching behemoth of a tune that makes easy bedfellows of crushing stoner riffs, Latin incantations, and a simply humongous chorus. The pace quickens with the frantic 'Death Lurks at Every Turn'- a hair-raising thrasher of breakneck snare rolls and unruly guitar solos. 'The Witchfinder Comes' only furthers the sense of foreboding, as tales of torture and pleas for exile fall on the ever-deafening ears of the listener. 'Be My Witch' comes in hot and heavy as a grungy ode to the forbidden, and the blistering 'Annihilation' concludes side A with speed-freak ferocity. The more adventurous and immersive side B is kick-started with 'Theme From Cyclops' - the deft chops of all 3 members being undeniable as we gallop into the ambitious, face-melting journey that is 'Lord Of The Flies'-a belting doom groover that culminates in a classic guitar & bass dual to rival even the most virtuosic of axe-wielders. As we near the end of our perilous sonic expedition, 'Aradia' serves up an instrumental serving of pure downtuned filth, with sleazy swagger and tasteful shredding that give extra provenance to its author's deep bag of tricks. The killer blow comes in the shape of the simply savage 'Sacrifice'- an unholy exhibition of undeniable force. The duality of the track makes for an experience that leaves our sweet listener reeling- the bludgeoning weight of its monstrous main-riff giving way to razor-sharp verses and a tripped-out, mind-bending psych jam- only to come crashing back to crushing reality as the final, fatal notes ring out. With their debut LP, Margarita Witch Cult have crafted a timeless, merciless beast- one that will chew you up and spit you out, yet somehow keep you crawling back for more.

The highly anticipated 3rd full-length by this Finnish band. Morbific is a rotten-to-the-core Death Metal trio deformed in the filthy and profaned boneyard of Kitee in early 2020, featuring Olli (guitar), Jusa (vocals / bass) and Onni (drums). The band’s Pestilent Hordes demo was unleashed in the summer of 2020, and it rapidly gained them some following amongst the finest gourmets of the variety of festering, moldering and disgusting Death Metal that’s malignantly influenced by Autopsy, Rottrevore, Deteriorot, Mortician, Grave, Maimed, Undergang, Impetigo and ancient Finnish masters of death and decay, such as Funebre and Disgrace. Shortly after, in the spring of 2021, the debut full-length Ominous Seep of Putridity saw the odious light of day to unanimous praise by both the fans and the media. Just a year later, and now aligned with Memento Mori, Morbific released their second full-length, Squirm Beyond the Mortal Realm. Aptly titled, the album quickly became a cult favorite of utterly uncomfortable, slimy Death Metal. Now, Morbific are prepared to eclipse such a sewer-dwelling “highwater” mark with Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh. Whereas its not-inconsiderable predecessor confronted the listener with a blown-out, almost demo-level feel, the Finns’ third full-length proves that they can move and mesmerize and maim no matter what the soundfield is. And on Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh, it’s a raw-yet-robust show of strength, “classic” Death Metal production in a most late 80’s fashion; just witness that gurgling, fuzz-tinged bass and feel its radioactive waves envelope you. But production is one thing and songwriting is another, and with the latter, Morbific are truly hitting their stride here. Lumbering and stomping, with well-timed bouts of disgusting gallop or even ragged blasts, their songwriting twists and indeed squirms with off-kilter insanity; some would call it chaos, if not for the exceptionally tight musicianship on display here, with the sum result being an uncomfortableness that bubbles up from a deeper gutter. Thankfully, Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh conveys its dark, disgusting and unconventional aura across every element -said chops simply heighten these sensations- and is, thus far, Morbific’s best melding of form and content. Cro-Magnon as ever but somehow enlightened in the creepiest sense possible, Morbific continue their reputation as Finland’s filthiest and Death Metal’s untrendiest weirdoes. Vividly captured by Chase Slaker’s cover artwork, Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh is the foulest stench only for the brave!

The Island Festival presents its first vinyl sampler — a celebration of groove and unity
Born from the spirit of one of northern France’s most beloved electronic gatherings, The Island Festival unveils its very first vinyl sampler on its freshly launched label, The Island.
Held annually on the stunning Île des Saules, The Island has become a beacon for house and electronic music lovers. This limited-edition record captures that magic with four carefully selected tracks, bridging international talent and local energy.

The sampler features:

• A standout cut by Italian duo The Deepshakerz (Great Stuff, Defected, Toolroom, Crosstown Rebels), bringing their trademark blend of funky, percussive house.
• A feel-good track from Etienne & Eddsax, offering sun-soaked grooves and uplifting vibes.
• A deep and dreamy voyage by The Sandman, blurring the lines between groove and introspection.
• And the iconic “Midnight in New York” by Michael Sanctorum.

This release is a sonic snapshot of the festival’s soul. From open-air euphoria to late-night intimacy, The Island Sampler EP 1 is both a collector’s item and a dancefloor weapon.


Français

The Island Festival dévoile son premier vinyle sampler — une célébration du groove et de l’unité
Né de l’esprit de l’un des festivals électroniques les plus emblématiques du nord de la France, The Island Festival présente son tout premier vinyle sampler, lancé sur son propre label : The Island.
Organisé chaque année sur la magnifique Île des Saules, The Island est devenu un rendez-vous incontournable pour les amoureux de house et de musique électronique. Cette édition limitée en vinyle capture l’essence du festival à travers quatre titres soigneusement sélectionnés, mêlant talents internationaux et énergie locale.

Ce sampler réunit :

• Un titre percutant du duo italien The Deepshakerz (Great Stuff, Defected, Toolroom, Crosstown Rebels), fidèles à leur style house percussif et groovy.
• Un morceau feel-good signé Etienne & Eddsax, aux accents ensoleillés et aux rythmes entraînants.
• Une plongée onirique et profonde avec The Sandman, à la frontière entre groove hypnotique et ambiance introspective.
• Et le classique intemporel “Midnight in New York” de Michael Sanctorum.

Cette sortie est un instantané sonore de l’âme du festival. De l’euphorie en plein air à l’intimité des sets nocturnes, The Island Sampler EP 1 s’impose comme un objet de collection autant qu’une arme pour le dancefloor.

Black Vinyl LP. The world has changed, we shouldn't try and pretend otherwise. While we were shut away in isolation our routines shifted, social patterns evolved, and our hopes and dreams were twisted into cobwebs we're still trying to wipe from our fingers. Ziúr tentatively approached this on her last album Antifate, an ambitious and complex hybrid pop fever dream that looked back to a Medieval escapist fantasy as the scent of revolution seemed to hum in the air. But when restrictions were eased, she found herself staring down a discombobulated society that had trapped itself in a spiral of microwaved nostalgia and detached, narcotic repetition. Eyeroll then is Ziúr's musical panacea, a tincture to wake us from our creative slumber and prompt external connection and reflection. It's a polyphonous hex that demands human interaction, and Ziúr's hand-picked alliance of collaborators - Elvin Brandhi, Abdullah Miniawy, Iceboy Violet, Juliana Huxtable, Ledef, and James Ginzburg - each provide distinct voices that together herald a bewildering sonic epoch. Ziúr's palette had to evolve to match the scope of the project, but it was pure necessity that informed the album's defining tone. Recording mostly at night, Ziúr was conscious of the noise she was making so developed a unique way to record organic percussion. Using a set of rototoms - low profile tunable drums - she scratched, scraped and gently tapped the skins to build up the undulating and unstable rhythmic backdrop for each track. It's the first sound we hear on the opener 'Eyeroll', rattling like lost marbles against Elvin Brandhi's primal croaks and screams. And when Brandhi's twisted articulations form words, Ziúr matches the energy with chaotic thuds and serrated blasts of saturated electronics. "I roll the shittiest cigarette," she squeals like she's about to start a mosh pit at Paris's GRM Studios. Without pause, Abdullah Miniawy takes over on 'Malikan', building on the promise of material with Simo Cell, Carl Gari and HVAD with corrosive trumpet blasts and charged, politically incendiary Arabic vocals. Inspired by pre-Islamic poetry and the Qu'ranic chanters he heard growing up in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he spins labyrinthine stories that cross between the worlds, breaking down physical and spiritual borders simultaneously. Miniawy's scope is expanded even further on his second collaboration, 'If The City Burns I Will Not Run'. "If it rains and the city drowns," he utters over gaseous electronics, "I will not run away, but I will be anxious for the heart of one close to me." After a supple vocal turn from Manchester's Iceboy Violet on 'Move On' and a surreal interlude from poet- DJ-artist-theorist Juliana Huxtable on '99 Favor Taste', Brandhi returns with two more hyperactive collaborations: ,'Nontrivial Differential' and 'Cut Cut Quote'. On the former she slices into Ziúr's skeletal jazz eruptions, screaming and crooning interchangeably, fluxing between the rap battle and the cabaret. The latter is completely different meanwhile, with Brandhi settling into her role as front-woman and groaning dizzying improvised passages that sound like grunge crossed with psychedelic no-wave. Brandhi's spiky musical history has prepared her well for this collaboration; she's a prolific producer and has been using her voice spontaneously since debuting with father-daughter improv duo Yeah You in the mid 2020s. She's found an ideal foil in Ziúr, a producer who matches her restless energy and willingness to bend formality, and leaves an indelible mark on Eyeroll. But the album's most tender moments are from Ziúr herself, who winds the album down on 'Hasty Revisionism', growling over collapsible beats and cascading strings, and comes to an unexpected conclusion with country coda 'Lacrymaturity'. Its feverish amalgamation of country music and euphoric, experimental electronics might seem incongruous at first, but in context with the rest of the album is the only possible conclusion. With Eyeroll Ziúr is making a firm statement about togetherness, humanity, and the renewal of hope when all seems lost. By bringing together such a wide but philosophically harmonic team of collaborators, she's conducted a body of work that speaks to the creative fringe in no uncertain terms. Now's the time to throw away what you think you know, and build bridges you didn't think you need. Now's the time for action. She may have spent her entire career avoiding the solipsistic trappings of "queer art", but by assembling a communal statement that questions so many normative assumptions about music, politics, and beyond, Ziúr has chanced upon her queerest album yet. Cringe? Eyeroll.

One of Romania’s most important composers in the last half-century, Octavian Nemescu (1940-2020) is among the few that were not “part of the system”, managing to survive and compose in a world that felt more and more “empty”, fragile, confused and scarce in prophecies. The mystical approach to his art defines Octavian Nemescu as an essentialist who believed in the power of archetypes in which he found inspiration. His pieces always start from an idea that has spiritual, cosmogonic implications and often involves synthesizers, sounds from nature (buzz of bees) and the “ison” (drone). When defining “meta music” or “imaginary music”, Nemescu was an advocate of looking from above, from the top of the mountain. Silence is very important in his work in order to keep the sound flowing and to reflect on the sound from before, as a space, as a pause for thinking. Nemescu put forward another kind of music: a song that has not yet surfaced through human voice, any musical instrument, orchestra or other electro-acoustic means: an intimate, interior, introverted inner sound that focuses on the individual and the imagination. Imaginary music is a reaction, it comes in contrast to the spectacular, it is anti-show. For him, music had a ritualistic function, it served no cultural purpose.

This 3LP set collects eight pieces for variable ensemble, tape and electronics, composed between 1968 and 2015, selected together with Erica Nemescu, who also mastered the tracks. Most tracks have been previously released on different CD’s but never before on vinyl.

Cosmin TRG is a Romanian producer who crafted some of the underground's most innovative sounds a decade or so ago, before going off to work in other creative worlds. Here, for the first time, he links with countryman DYL for a special EP that is decidedly futuristic. 'Manevre' is Romanian for 'manoeuvres' and comes in three different parts. Each one is fluid minimal sound with deft rhythms, fizzing pads, eerie melodies, sub-aquatic motifs and always absorbing atmospheres. Tammo Hesselink also adds a remix that has more prominent drums, lurching loops and menacing dystopian energy.

BIOGRAPHY BY IRVINE WELSH
I discovered the Beta Band, like I discovered a lot of great music, basically through eventually surrendering to the enthused urgings of a mate who was cooler than me. He continually evangelized about the EP's. I was lost to the concert hall and firmly ensconced on the dancefloor by then and highly resistant, but quite taken by the idea that a band would bring out extended plays rather than singles. When I did check them out, I was instantly smitten by their originality and power.

The band, therefore, were pivotal for me in terms of my own musical journey, in that they represented a gateway back into indie guitar music, which I'd basically given up since becoming obsessed with rave and acid house.

The Beta Band were definitely a band for the cool cognoscenti- like my buddy- the ones you make a bit of a tit of yourself trying to convert quite straight boring people to.

The emotions they induced were a kind of throwback to school days when you were very pompous and prescriptive about what you liked, and derisive towards non believers. It's a testimony to the power of the music that they could take me to the raw state of the younger man.

I took it personally that they didn't hit the mainstream commercial base. At least two of the three albums they made deserved quadruple platinum status. Hot Shots II and Heroes to Zeros are permanently lodged very high in my top one hundred albums of all time.

So, the return of the Beta Band has me moving into the same mode of immature, adolescent anticipation. Everyone should have the Beta Band albums and EP's in their collection. It still kind of annoys me - in fact it bugs the shit out of me - that most of them don't.

And that really is something.

Though they may not have intended to do so, Naptown's trinity, also known as 81355 (pronounced BLESS), rang out as revolutionaries with their 2021 debut record This Time I'll be of Use. When Oreo Jones, Sirius Blvck, and Sedcairn come together, genre evaporates into enthralling poeticism and sonic hypnosis. Their sophomore LP Bad Dogs, releasing July 11th on Joyful Noise Recordings, acts as an expansive continuation of 81355's signature sound: an angelic, gritty, enthralling urban hymnal for the disillusioned mind. The history of 81355 stretches far back into the history of Naptown's creative scene. Jones and Blvck struck a match as one of Indy's most influential hip-hop collectives, Ghost Gun Summer, before they brought on Sedcairn (Moose Adamson) in 2020. Before Adamson infused 81355 with his melodic soundscapes, he produced Grampall Jookabox, an underground indie meets jangle pop project. Though they may be known primarily for their musical notoriety, the members of 81355 are steadfast in their commitment to uplifting their community with collective creative expansion. Sean (Oreo Jones), alongside his partner Jane Sun Kim, produces and curates Chreece, the largest Midwestern Hip-Hop festival hosted in the heart of Naptown. Niq (Sirius Blvck) is pivotal in the empowerment and advancement of Indy Hunger Network, a local non profit that addresses food insecurity across Indianapolis. Moose (Sedcairn) is a key contributor to Joyful Noise, an Indy based independent label cutting records for artists of all genres. For the first time, the project's live band is part of the production, with Sharlene Birdsong on bass guitar, Dimitri Morris on guitar, and Pat Okerson on drums. The Bad Dogs listening experience also seeps into visual realms: a short film titled Sleep Study will be released in tandem. Sleep Study_soundtracked, written, and produced by 81355, who also star in the film alongside friends and fellow artists from the community_features afrofuturistic sci-fi undertones that explore the toxifying implications of algorithmic control, postmodern brain rot, and late-stage capitalism. As the texturally emotive punctum of its cover art (painted by Stockholm based artist Julia de Ruvo) conveys, the heart of Bad Dogs draws its perseverance from the wild reservation dogs pulsing through the rust-hued indigenous lands of New Mexico and beyond. They are untethered in their roaming, sacred in their fierce communal belonging, yet undefined by a physical place. A vital essence mirrored by 81355: boundaryless, primal creative cultivation that defies what some may attempt to categorize as hip hop or progressive rap.

The debut album from Addy Weitzman, ‘Light Months Will Fly Over Us’ explores new-wave, romantic pop and art rock with elegance and ambition, drawing from Weitzman’s scattered network of collaborators, as well as a “frighteningly vast” personal archive of compositions. Sequenced by Seth Troxler and released on his Slacker 85 label, it represents a pivot in musical direction for the imprint, and a showcase for the songwriting craft Weitzman honed as a member of cult electro duo Footprintz, and Montreal synth-pop projects The Beat Escape and Dawn to Dawn.

The title Light Months Will Fly Over Us is derived from a line in a poem by the Russian writer Anna Ahkmatova. Weitzman was immediately struck by its “hopefulness, its mystery… it gives the feeling of being suspended, hanging in a dream-like state”. This interpretation has been translated to the album, rich in memorable songwriting that nonetheless invites the listener to lean in further. Delicately mixed by engineer Pierre Guerineau, known for his work alongside Marie Davidson, each of the eight tracks gently interrogates life’s greater mysteries; fear, love and salvation, each defining and revealing the human soul.

Opener ‘End of The Line’ invites us into an immediately lush space of lounge lizard existentialism, soft brass and piano helping Weitzman introduce “where the journey begins and the fantasy dies”. Across orchestral arrangements arranged by Adam Wilcox, whose sensitive, ambitious compositions are weaved throughout the album, ‘Beyond The Speed of Life’ brings to mind the laments of Scott Walker. Navigating vulnerability via grandeur, Weitzman’s earnest vocals flourish in wide-eyed call-and-response with the object of a transcendent love affair.

Alongside collaborator, Richard Lamb, the next chapter of the LP plunges into contrasting machine-driven moods; the wry, bubbling ‘Entertainment Is All I Wanted (And I Found It)’ is imbued with the playfulness and experimentation of 80s electronic pioneers such as Fad Gadget, while the tougher, icier ‘Stranger To Your Kind’ shifts in a more instrumental direction, recalling Weitzman’s dancefloor experience, as well as contemporaries such as Matthew Dear.

Album centerpiece and striking first single ‘Running & Returning’ is the first of a suite of three tracks in collaboration with Weitzman’s The Beat Escape and Dawn to Dawn bandmate, Patrick Boivin. Blending lush saxophones and angular guitars with a wistful melodic touch and lyrics, its irresistible art-rock rhythm provides the foundation for one of Weitzman’s most involving vocal performances.

It’s followed by an anthem for existential absurdity: ‘Ice Cream Candle’ provides a driving acceptance that “the more and more you learn, the less you understand”; Weitzman submits to this uncertainty with equal grace on ‘No Man’s Land’, as baroque invocations of “words swept through the fields” and meeting “where the water lilies grow” give way to a blistering guitar solo, humbly riding hypnotic percussion.

For the compassionate finale of Light Months Will Fly Over Us, Weitzman narrates the experience of ‘Gabrielle’, a woman slipping between rooms between shuttered blinds in the towering city, “where cigarettes and roses fill the air.”

As lyrically delicate as it is musically ambitious, Light Months Will Fly Over Us is a sublime debut album, enriched with care, love and much-needed enchantment.

Matt Duncan is one of the biggest artists you have not heard of yet. This particular album, "Soft Times" has almost 20 MILLION STREAMS on Spotify alone. You might not know Matt Duncan, but you have definitely heard his music. His music has been on "The Vampire Diaries," "Private Practice," and HBO's "Bored To Death." Most recently Matt was a featured performer in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, "Hedwig and The Angry Inch." The album art was created by Robert Beatty, who has recently done art for Tame Impala, Flaming Lips, and more!Matt Duncan creates music that would have fit in perfectly on your Dad's AM Radio in the 1970's. Touches of Blue Eyed Soul await you on this LP. This album showcases the strength of Matt's arranging. Strings, horns, layered vocals all make this perfect mix of Motown and Bacharach. There is a track for any ear on this LP.

Signing with FatCat Records in 2022, and having released four singles to date, Nottingham-based Midnight Rodeo have now delivered their debut album, “Chaos Era”.

Extensive, relentless touring (sold-out hometown shows,The Great Escape, Dot To Dot, and Kendall Calling) created a tight-knit family, their pleasure in playing as an ensemble is instantly evident on the album. When asked about this they’ll explain, “We want people to tap into why we are always smiling on stage.”

The songs are collaborative efforts. Their different musical backgrounds result in a genre criss-crossing and totally unique creative collisions. Bassist Harry says, “What we do is Dada-istic. The drums play hooks, the bass plays parts usually taken by brass, the guitar’s playing West Coast psyche over disco rhythms.”

Written over a prolonged period of time, the songs on the album can be viewed as a kind of coming-of-age “suite”, as the unit of 20-somethings wrestle with subjects such as relationships, shifting social dynamics, changing hopes and dreams. The LP’s title refers to tumultuous personal events they’ve helped each other through. Reinforcing their bonding. With no pointed political agenda, the album is about “escape”. “We want people to dance”, they say.

The band recorded the album with Samana’s Franklin Mockett. Making full use of the acclaimed duo’s residential studio, located deep in the Welsh countryside, during an Indian summer heatwave. The aim was to remove all distractions, and, with Mockett’s assistance, capture the group as live, and as analogue, as possible. For 10 days, in sometimes 16 hour sessions, music, incense, and whiskey flowed, while vintage amp valves glowed.

Just like the band’s live performances, “Chaos Era” is packed with a palpable joy. The exhilaration of creation in each others company. Its punchy production is most definitely meant to be played loud.

When you think of Scandinavia, Slamming/brutality isn't the first thing to come to mind. That's until the slam crew of DEVINE DEFILEMENT spewed onto the Icelandic scene in late 2016.

Devine Defilement draw inspiration from a variety of death metal sub-genres they have concocted a brutal cocktail of groove, slams, blasts and ferocity that has made them a force to be reckoned with!

With several releases under their belt Devine Defilement has kept busy playing shows in their home country of Iceland, as well as heading on numerous European tours.

The band has played all the major metal festivals of Iceland like Eistnaflug, Satan, Reykjavik Deathfest & Noroanpaunk to name a few, and has also appeared on notable European death metal fests such as Deathfeast Open Air & Nice to Eat You and already have a more festival appearances lined up for 2025.

Devine Defilement's live show is highly energetic, heavy and brutal as hell and it's on stage that these maniacs are in their true element!

In 2025 the band is set to release their new full-length album "Ruthless" through Time To Kill Records, and it is their most savage offering yet!

Part of the Jean-Pierre Leloir 180 gram vinyl Collection, Time Out, released in 1959, was an unusual album from the start. While most tunes in occidental popular music are in 4/4, alternating with the 3/4 waltz form here and there, Time Out was devoted to rhythms that had never been previously heard in jazz.
Most of the songs were composed by Brubeck himself. However, one of the most catchy melodies, “Take Five”, was a Paul Desmond composition, and it would become the quartet’s most celebrated tune. “Dave Brubeck’s defining masterpiece,Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history”, wrote Steve Huey in All Music Guide, giving the album five stars.

Reissue of in-demand Italo title, with accompanying edits by Hysteric. "For the much-requested 12'' reissue of Roaring Mosquitoes, Best Record followed the hint by a die-hard German researcher and esteemed DJ of 'hidden musical treasures' Frinda Di Lanco. Further enriching this reissue - masterfully remastered by Dom Scuteri - with two of his splendid edits is the Australian DJ-producer George Hysteric, one of the world's leading authorities and a leading figure in Italo Disco. The juxtaposition of the two songs performed with grit and physicality by Agostina Casalino and her cousin Antonietta Casalino (aka Roaring Mosquitoes) highlights two aesthetically and rhythmically similar approaches, albeit with different roots and inspirations. "You Aren't With Me" has the merit of not wanting to reinvent the genre, but exploits the familiarity of pop-dance forms, obtaining an immediate catchiness. The piece stands out for its linearity while reworking melodic mechanisms typical of the 80s new wave: short instrumental intro, well-defined verse-chorus, obsessive repetition of melodic hooks that make it an immediate and "dragging" song on the dance floor. The arrangement focuses on a solid electronic drum groove, sinuous basslines, clean guitar riffs, "cutting" keyboards and the use of the chorus typical of the Italo Disco of those years. Some passages recall the melodic line and rhythmic progression of "Tonight... Crazy Night", an intriguing song that the Canadian artist Dorine Hollier created in 1984 at the Titania Studios in Rome with Pierluigi Giombini. Even with "Ah Ah Ah Ah" which features a vibrant and cheerful sound there's a playful use of citation for some idea that Diego Pepe took from a Micky & Joyce track. It evokes the "space disco" spirit of Jean-Pierre Massiera and the influence of the French scene of 1979: polyphonic synthetic strings, echo effects on electronic hi-hats and a vaguely futuristic atmosphere, but with an even more captivating sound revitalized with more scratchy modern touches and compressed basslines. A mix of vintage and contemporary that enhance its charm."

Heat Death Vinyl is Clear w/ Black Splatter. The drowsiest and earliest inklings of the slowcore movement can be traced to Codeine's 1991 debut. Combining the Louisville scene's relaxed tempo with doom metal's distorted slurry, the album is a depressing masterpiece of hushed vocals, noisy guitar, and punishing drums. Remastered from the original analog tapes and recreated in painstaking detail, Frigid Stars LP is the NYC trio's fuzziest and most affecting work. "A deft musical approximation of the sound of water turning to ice, the guitars are so weighed down with distortion that they struggle to march from one chord to the next." _ Pitchfork

Black Hole Superette, the latest album from Aesop Rock, delves into the invisible forces that shape our lives and psyches. It's about the small, often overlooked moments_the everyday experiences that blur the lines between the real and the unreal, waking and sleeping. Aesop's signature gift for transforming the mundane into something dreamlike gives the album a surreal quality, leaving listeners questioning what's truly real as they navigate its vivid, half-remembered imagery. Entirely self-produced, Black Hole Superette is one of Aesop Rock's most technically accomplished works to date. The album's intricate beats and complex structures provide the perfect backdrop for his expansive lyricism, balancing cerebral exploration with emotional depth. From the reflective 'Movie Night' and the eccentric 'Send Help' to the wistful 'Black Plums,' Aesop channels the spirit of a mad scientist, experimenting with sound and concept in ways that defy the ordinary. With a stellar lineup of collaborators that includes Lupe Fiasco, Armand Hammer, Hanni El Khatib, Open Mike Eagle and Homeboy Sandman, Black Hole Superette is dense and kinetic, an album that deftly navigates between complexity and instinct. It's clear this project stands as one of Aesop Rock's most multifaceted and ambitious works yet.

Step back into one of the most exciting years in pop history – a time when boundary-pushing alternative anthems, flawless dancefloor fillers, global megastars and fresh faces all collided on the charts. NOW - Yearbook 1997 celebrates an unforgettable year of hits with 43 massive tracks across a 3-LP set pressed on gorgeous green vinyl.

LP1 kicks off in style, with the stunning jazz-drenched ballad from legend George Michael, ‘Older’, before Natalie Imbruglia's huge debut single ‘Torn’. The Cardigans had a #2 smash with ‘Lovefool’ and Hanson hit the US & UK #1 with ‘MMMBop’. ‘Barbie Girl’ from Aqua and the Spice Girls’ anthemic ‘Spice Up Your Life’ were both #1s, and Boyzone’s ‘Picture Of You’ was a huge hit and featured in the film ‘Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie’. Eurovision glory happened for the UK in 1997, and winners Katrina And The Waves with ‘Love Shine A Light’ close the first side…while over on the other, a second George Michael classic from his ‘Older’ album, the beautiful ‘You Have Been Loved’, opens ahead of another contemporary masterpiece ‘Secret Garden’ from Bruce Springsteen. Texas scored a UK top 5 with ‘Say What You Want’, and Sheryl Crow had a top 10 hit with ‘A Change Would Do You Good’. Paul McCartney’s ‘Young Boy’ is next before ‘Ready To Go’ which gave Republica a Top 20 chart debut, and closing the first LP, Robbie Williams’ ‘Old Before I Die’, which became his second smash as a solo artist.



LP2 kicks off with Radiohead’s defining ‘Paranoid Android’, ahead of Kula Shaker’s hit cover of ‘Hush’, and alt-pop from Embrace (‘All You Good Good People’), The Charlatans (‘North Country Boy’) and The Seahorses (‘Love Is The Law’) before the side closes with Oasis’s huge #1 ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ – the lead single from their third album ‘Be Here Now’… Flip the LP over and discover some of 1997’s dancefloor gold – opening with the club juggernaut and #1 ‘Professional Widow’ from Tori Amos, remixed for single release by Armand Van Helden, along with Olive’s UK #1 ‘You’re Not Alone’ and the huge ’97 ‘Now Voyager’ remix of ‘You Got The Love’ from The Source feat. Candi Staton. En Vogue’s powerful ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ is up next, ahead of ‘I Wanna Be The Only One’, a #1 for Eternal feat. Bebe Winans. LP2 finishes with pure pop gems from 911 with ‘Bodyshakin’, Backstreet Boys with ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ and Steps with their debut hit ‘5, 6, 7, 8’.



The final LP opens with Pet Shop Boys’ and their brilliant version of the musical classic ‘Somewhere’, ahead of the genre-blending #1 ‘Your Woman’ from White Town, and the atmospheric ‘Out Of My Mind’ from Duran Duran. Suede’s plaintive ‘Saturday Night’ leads into three of the years’ electronic dance music highlights: Orbital provided the theme to the remake of ‘The Saint’, Moby with his re-imagining of the classic film-series theme: ‘James Bond Theme (Moby’s Re-Version)’ and The Chemical Brothers with the massive ’Block Rockin’ Beats’ completing the side…Turn the LP over for the final side featuring the debut from All Saints with ‘I Know Where It’s At’, and fabulous dance-pop from Whitney Houston with ‘Step By Step’, and both Ultra Naté and Dannii Minogue enjoyed euphoric hits with ‘Free’ and ‘All I Wanna Do’. Pan-European smash ‘Encore Une Fois’ from Sash! is followed by Ricky Martin’s global success ‘María’… but the final word on the collection goes to Elton John. His superb ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’ was one half of the biggest selling single of – not only 1997 – but of all time and ends the collection on a perfect pop high.



NOW – Yearbook 1997: A celebration of the diversity and creativity in the charts of a truly magical year in pop.

EGO IN MIAMI 2025 comes to life by showcasing current music trends through the most hyped EGO
tracks of the moment. Not only: it represents the beginning of the annual series of compilations signed
EGO, as a tradition for ten years. Again this year, at the Miami Winter Music Conference, we have
selected several tracks that will count down with you, accompanying you to the start of one of the most
anticipated EDM events of the year. The MMW brings together thousands of professionals and
enthusiasts who will participate in a series of events in Miami, concluding with the iconic “Ultra Music
Festival”.

The selection presented this year reflects current musical trends. Established names like TR3NACRIA,
Cecilia Krull and Tommy Vee with the talented emerging Defreeze, Bohemoon and just a boy, the great
returns of Sapienza, Solarys and Bacon Popper. The energy of Berin, the good vibes of Roberto Tropea
and the euphoric productions of Ema Feud and B-Rain. The ensemble takes place through the extended
version braid that creates a collection usable by both EDM fans and professionals: DJs and producers.

LA-based producer Real Bad Man and Detroit artist ZelooperZ release their joint album Dear Psilocybin via the pro-ducer’s own Real Bad Man Records. The album marks the duo’s first collaboration, culminating in a full-length project that also features guest appearances from Boldy James, MAVI and a verse from The Alchemist. On Dear Psilocybin, ZelooperZ invokes unconventional production out of Real Bad Man to match his own unpredictable and outlandish delivery, working outside of traditional song structures and existing in a lane of his own. The Detroit multihyphenate, who is an integral part of Danny Brown’s Bruiser Brigadecollective and also an accomplished visual artist, painted the album’s corresponding cover artwork as well.

“I definitely haven’t made anything like this before, it’s a very subtle version of my music as far as tone, ” ZelooperZ explained in a conversation with Real Bad Man for his RBM Radio show. He elaborates on the off-kilter approach to the way he recorded to say, “the album feels like a movie soundtrack for a film about a man losing his mind and getting spurts of memories along the way. ”

Speaking about how the project differs from the rest of his collaborative catalog, RBM says, “It’s trippy and it’s a little different – but the main goal was for it to be authentic to Z and his process. ” That dedication to authenticity rings true across his catalog, drawing back to the foundations of his beginnings as a producer, learning the fundamentals of sampling, experimenting with chords and learning to piece songs together by ear. RBM builds a cohesive production arc around each artist he works with, catered to their strengths as artists, working with a variety of lyrical stylists includ-ing Memphis rapper Lukah, Pink Siifu, Blu, Kool Keith, Elcamino & more.

Real Bad Man is the production moniker of visual artist and designer Adam Jay Weissman. A designer and visual artist first, he made his foray into music through his On High Alert series of imaginative, multi-generational compilations, which have featured the likes of Roc Marciano, ROME STREETZ, Pink Siifu, Maxo and more. In the years since, he’s partnered with some of hip-hop’s most talented and adventurous artists on full-length projects, refining and shaping the trajectory of some of rap’s most exciting independent artists.

Kesha’s sixth studio album, . (PERIOD) – yes, it's just a period. – is an unapologetic, unfiltered declaration of artistic freedom and fearless authenticity from the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated pop icon. Conceived, co-produced and co-written by Kesha, the 11-song collection transcends pop norms to create a raw, daring, and intensely personal sonic journey, a defiant act of self-expression that refuses to adhere to expectations or play it safe.
More than just a new album, . (PERIOD) is Kesha at her most powerful best, turning her experiences into vibrant, audacious art with a spiked heel at the neck of pop culture.
Among its many exhilarating highlights, . (PERIOD) includes 2024’s blockbuster hits “JOYRIDE” and “DELUSIONAL,” both available everywhere now. Currently boasting over 103M streams at Spotify alone, “JOYRIDE” proved a true sensation since its Independence Day release, reaching #6 on Billboard’s “Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles” and “Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” along with the top 30 on “Pop Airplay” and chart success around the world from the UK to New Zealand. Produced by Zhone and co-written by Kesha, Zhone, and Madison Love, the track marked the triumphant first chapter of a milestone new era for Kesha, celebrating both her long overdue empowerment as an independent artist as well as a powerful sonic evolution following 2023’s critically acclaimed fifth studio album, Gag Order. Along with its popular achievement, “JOYRIDE” has been met by high-profile critical applause from the likes of Rolling Stone, Variety, and Vulture, to name only a few. Perhaps NYLON said it best: “Everything about ‘JOYRIDE’ is a trip…The original glitter-faced party animal of the 2010s is back with a fiery vengeance.”
“JOYRIDE” joined by an equally acclaimed official music video streaming now on YouTube.
Directed by Dimitri Basil (Kylie Minogue, Vance Joy), Cooper Roussel (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Miami Horror), and Laura Gorun (Joywave, Kings of Leon), the high-octane visual received wide-ranging attention from major publications and top online outlets around the globe, including Billboard, Vulture, and Rolling Stone, the latter of which raved, ““Kesha is taking her foot off the brakes and going full-speed ahead on her new video for ‘JOYRIDE.’ The video sees Kesha racing through the desert in a hot red convertible while being chased by a helicopter, gun-toting assassins, and a shirtless dude hell-bent on catching up to the pop diva.”

Kesha’s sixth studio album, . (PERIOD) – yes, it's just a period. – is an unapologetic, unfiltered declaration of artistic freedom and fearless authenticity from the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated pop icon. Conceived, co-produced and co-written by Kesha, the 11-song collection transcends pop norms to create a raw, daring, and intensely personal sonic journey, a defiant act of self-expression that refuses to adhere to expectations or play it safe.
More than just a new album, . (PERIOD) is Kesha at her most powerful best, turning her experiences into vibrant, audacious art with a spiked heel at the neck of pop culture.
Among its many exhilarating highlights, . (PERIOD) includes 2024’s blockbuster hits “JOYRIDE” and “DELUSIONAL,” both available everywhere now. Currently boasting over 103M streams at Spotify alone, “JOYRIDE” proved a true sensation since its Independence Day release, reaching #6 on Billboard’s “Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles” and “Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” along with the top 30 on “Pop Airplay” and chart success around the world from the UK to New Zealand. Produced by Zhone and co-written by Kesha, Zhone, and Madison Love, the track marked the triumphant first chapter of a milestone new era for Kesha, celebrating both her long overdue empowerment as an independent artist as well as a powerful sonic evolution following 2023’s critically acclaimed fifth studio album, Gag Order. Along with its popular achievement, “JOYRIDE” has been met by high-profile critical applause from the likes of Rolling Stone, Variety, and Vulture, to name only a few. Perhaps NYLON said it best: “Everything about ‘JOYRIDE’ is a trip…The original glitter-faced party animal of the 2010s is back with a fiery vengeance.”
“JOYRIDE” joined by an equally acclaimed official music video streaming now on YouTube.
Directed by Dimitri Basil (Kylie Minogue, Vance Joy), Cooper Roussel (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Miami Horror), and Laura Gorun (Joywave, Kings of Leon), the high-octane visual received wide-ranging attention from major publications and top online outlets around the globe, including Billboard, Vulture, and Rolling Stone, the latter of which raved, ““Kesha is taking her foot off the brakes and going full-speed ahead on her new video for ‘JOYRIDE.’ The video sees Kesha racing through the desert in a hot red convertible while being chased by a helicopter, gun-toting assassins, and a shirtless dude hell-bent on catching up to the pop diva.”

Having crested the west coast modular-ambient wave in just a few releases - including 2018's Sharing Waves on the influential LA experimental imprint Leaving Records - Sean Hellfritsch has swapped the mossy analog synth improvisations of his prior output for refined melodic arrangements dressed in sprightly dawn-of-digital textures. Big Earth Energy plumbs the depths of Hellfritsch's multimedia mind and naturalist heart, spinning an impressionistic narrative world off of cultural touchstones like the PC game MYST, and the work of Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Inspired by the aforementioned, and guided by Hellfritsch's experience as an animator and filmmaker, Big Earth Energy is the soundtrack to a hypothetical video game with a pointedly ecological premise, and a twist of psychedelic charm. In Hellfritsch's imagined virtual journey, the player assumes the perspective of a treefrog sixty-five-million years ago, hopping epochs with each new level, forming a comprehensive picture of the massive changes the planet has gone through over the eons. The ultimate goal of the game is not to amass resources, defeat enemies, or gain power, but to fully witness the unfolding of one of the biggest systems of energy imaginable - or as the album's creator puts it - "to explore the incomprehensibly vast energetic expression and mystery that is Earth." Big Earth Energy is steeped in exploratory RPG intrigue, possibility, and contemplation, lovingly overlaid with Miyazaki-an sentiments and aesthetics. The through-composed, organic, meandering synthesis heard on previous Cool Maritime albums has been fully replaced by meticulous polygonal arrangements that recall the computerized sheen of late 80s work by composers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa - using true-to-period gear no less. Even given its referentiality, Big Earth Energy comes off as forward-facing where so much reminiscent music remains fixed to a bygone moment in pop culture. Hellfritsch has created a musical world where the endless verdancy of the biosphere finds its parallel in the golden age of early 1990s video games, and late 80s Japanese environmental music, all while pointing to a hopeful planetary and artistic future that vindicates the motives of all of these muses.

Mannequin Records reissues "My Government Is My Soul", a searing 1989 statement from Bourbonese Qualk, one of the UK’s most defiant and politically engaged experimental acts. Originally released on the group’s own label, this LP captures the uncompromising spirit of a band deeply embedded in the resistance movements of 1980s Britain.

Recorded during a turbulent period of social unrest, "My Government Is My Soul" stands as a fierce response to authoritarianism, surveillance, and the neoliberal decay that defined the Thatcher era. Bourbonese Qualk fused industrial rhythms, minimal synth, distorted tape loops, and spoken-word polemics into a sound that was both confrontational and deeply physical—a weaponized form of music rooted in activism and direct action.

Widely regarded by fans as one of the band’s strongest works, "My Government Is My Soul" has earned a near-mythic status in underground circles. Fans have praised the album’s stylistic breadth—“sometimes it kisses the hem of rock, at others it bows towards the likes of Steve Reich & Philip Glass".

This reissue, fully remastered by Rude 66, reintroduces a critical work of post-industrial dissent to a new generation. Still as urgent and unflinching as ever, the album resonates with today’s climate of mass disinformation and systemic control. It is a timely reminder that sound can still be a form of resistance.

All Men Unto Me is a project led by Rylan Gleave, composer and vocalist (most notably in Ashenspire and various Paraorchestra projects). Today, All Men Unto Me announces their second album Requiem, an album which re-imagines an ancient mourning in a real, contemporary setting. Taking the broad emotional arcs of the Missa pro Defunctis, these structures pave way for new songs, ruminating on patriarchal power systems and the conditions of transmasculinity within these, through the haze of Queer reverence and forgiveness. In Rylan's words, the Missa pro Defunctis "translates to ‘Mass for the dead’, and refers to the Catholic text taken from the Roman Missal. When set to music, it is called a ‘Requiem’. Requiem masses are usually performed at funerals. I’ve sung in a few Requiems — Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé — when I’ve been in choirs, and felt those dramatic arcs of the structure in my own voice. Writing a Requiem felt like processing my own complex feelings about the Church, patriarchal power within it (and more broadly), and the death of a part of me in a framework that allowed for mourning. The contours of sorrow, light, forgiveness, and reverence made space for these songs to speak to my own identity as a survivor, and use that structure in a way that let me direct an ancient narrative myself." Marrying traditional Anglican soundworlds of electro-pneumatic church organ and stacked choral vocals with heavier sounds, closer to experimental/noise rock and doom metal, Requiem sits at times near Swans, Kayo Dot, Lingua Ignota, Greet Death, and Scott Walker.







[e] SEQUENTIA [video]

WRWTFWW Records is very happy to release Swiss cult band Grauzone’s recording of their April 12th 1980 live show at Gaskessel in their hometown of Bern. The 9-track album, documenting the very beginnings of the group, is available as a limited edition white vinyl LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with special artwork by band member Stephan Eicher.

Experience the early Grauzone days, live from Bern, Switzerland, with a concert recorded at legendary local venue Gaskessel, with Martin Eicher on guitar and vocals, Christian G.T. Trüssel on bass, Marco Repetto on drums, Stephan Eicher on synth, and Claudine Chirac on saxophone. The performance is a true time capsule of the early 80s underground, showcasing the punk side of Grauzone with renditions of songs that were never officially released, as well as future fan-favorite “Moskau”. A piece of Swiss music history, This limited release is a must have for all Grauzone fans and DIY archivists.

About Grauzone:

The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".

Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label.

Wytch Hazel's stellar 2016 debut Prelude confirmed these Lancastrian apprentice wizards to be Britain's most promising new hard rock band. Two years on, that promise comes to abundant fruition on II: Sojourn, an album that moves Wytch Hazel on from the innocence and exuberance of the debut to a darker, more profound and complex place, carefully wrought into optimum shape by the band's singer, guitarist, songwriter and mastermind Colin Hendra. "I'm really into the idea of an album," notes Colin. "I don't do mix-tapes, I don't listen to singles, I'm interested in albums. I want to make a good, listenable, cohesive work, that is the whole thing." Asked what inspirations were brought to bear this time, Colin has good news, and even better taste: "I was listening to plenty of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash last year," remarks the frontman. "This seems to be more of a hard rock album, where the last one was more rock-folk. It's definitely more rock than folk!" The most crucial influence fully expresses itself via Les Paul guitars in sweet twin harmony through cranked Super Lead Marshalls - "Exactly the same type of amp that Thin Lizzy would have used," beams Colin - a benefit of working in James Atkinson's Hand Of Law Studio, a converted gaolhouse in Leeds. "We knew there would be a lot more great gear, more amps, more options," enthuses Colin of this productive new work environment. "We were more prepared, we planned better. I had a lot more vocals to record on this album, pretty much every song has at least three harmonies, but James is a really chilled out guy, he made it easy for us. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted each song to sound, I thought about every single aspect. I probably over-prepared for this album, and it paid off!" Wytch Hazel's proud, avowed Protestant Christianity continues to set them apart from the occult hocus-pocus of their peers, and the very title Sojourn has a Biblical inspiration: "It's used a lot in the Old Testament, people would travel somewhere to stay for a short period of time," explains Colin, comparing the idea to Wytch Hazel's development since Prelude. "We're going to reside here with this sound for a while, and the next album might not sound the same. Come and have a listen to this aspect of Wytch Hazel - it's a temporary stay. We'll be here for a while, then there will be something else. I'm always writing, it's a constant stream, but I'm always trying to raise the bar, because I don't want the next album to be not as good as the other ones!"

This is one of the most obscure singles ever released in Venezuela in the 60s. It followed the global triumph of The Beatles that made the wave of beat groups get bigger and bigger and lots of new bands emerged, some of which would last while others would definitively go into oblivion, and a small number of them would leave at least one recording that today is considered a highly valuable collector's item. This is the case of The Pets. The band's only album, released in 1967, shows perfectly what the influences of the Venezuelan nueva ola (new wave) scene were at the time, including versions of The Doors, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Paul Revere & The Riders_ as well as the outstanding original 'El entierro de un hombre rico que murió de hambre', one of the finest garage tunes to emerge from Latin America that was also released as a 7" single. Their stunning take on The Doors' 'Hello, I Love You' takes the B side of this mega scarce 45. A garage DJs favorite! First time 45 reissue, audios remastered from the original master tapes.

Once again, Riba left everyone bewildered with a work that, on its own, gave early substance to what would eventually be known as roc català, of which Riba may well have been its most authentic representative. The album was recorded in the winter of 1975 with the help of the same group of musicians who had accompanied him a few months earlier at a concert at Zeleste to debut new songs: a mix of Valencian musicians from bands like Paranoia Dea and guitarist Eduardo Bort's group. "Electròccid àccid alquimístic xoc" marks a shift in Pau Riba's sound-now electrified and fully embracing rock with nods to Lou Reed, Ray Davies, and Kevin Ayers, but the core of "Electròccid_" is defined by Riba's own authorship. With lyrics that veer from poetic to absurdly ironic, Riba explores themes like the moon, the stars, death, love, women, the devil, and the bourgeoisie-fueling the originality that made him such a unique artist. It's striking how naturally and effortlessly Riba incorporated the Catalan language into the rock idiom-and vice versa. First vinyl reissue in over four decades!

"Cuban Soul-18 Kilates" is Cassiano's third studio album, released in 1976, and stands as a milestone in Brazilian soul music. It combines Brazilian rhythms with classic American soul elements, creating a unique fusion. Cassiano's smooth, soulful vocal style and the album’s larger-than-life arrangements, reminiscent of Tim Maia's sound, give it a rich, deep feel.

The standout track, ‘Onda,’ is a relaxing anthem evoking beach vibes that has become a DJ’s favorite in recent years and also made it into several compilations. "Cuban Soul-18 Kilates" has earned cult status over the years, securing its place as one of the most coveted Brazilian records of all time. Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl. This release is part of a new reissue series that will include many other outstanding Brazilian classics like Evinha “Cartão Postal” or Gerson King Combo.

"Cuban Soul-18 Kilates" is Cassiano's third studio album, released in 1976, and stands as a milestone in Brazilian soul music. Influenced by artists like Otis Redding, Eddie Kendricks, Stevie Wonder, and others, it combines Brazilian rhythms with classic American soul elements, creating a unique fusion. The album features 9 tracks, with ‘A Lua e Eu’ becoming a major commercial hit and the theme song for the soap opera “O Grito”. Cassiano's smooth, soulful vocal style and the album’s larger-than-life arrangements, reminiscent of Tim Maia's sound, give it a rich, deep feel. The standout track, ‘Onda,’ is a relaxing anthem evoking beach vibes, with its captivating bassline, subtle percussion, and natural sounds of the sea, making it perfect for moments of relaxation. This song, along with the album’s other tracks, showcases Cassiano's mastery of Brazilian soul, making “Cuban Soul-18 Kilates” a definitive and cherished record in the genre. This album has earned cult status over the years, securing its place as one of the most coveted Brazilian records of all time. Once incredibly rare and expensive, it's now at the top of every serious collector's wishlist. After not being available outside of Brazil for years, it’s finally been reissued – don’t miss your chance to own this legendary piece of music history.

The new darlings of the American post-rock underground present a collection of well-wrought bangers on their debut full-length album. Powerfully melodic and heavy at the same time, Wield shows the Philadelphia-based quintet mastering their game of creating compelling melodies that sound larger than life. 2022 saw HIROE burst onto the scene with an explosive debut minialbum "Wrought" full of soaring anthems and sublime soundscapes. Combining the sonic expansiveness of Deftones with the dynamic heaviness of bands like ISIS and Caspian, HIROE already figured out how to make the most majestic sounding post-rock early in their career. "Our first, Wrought was a statement of creation," explains principal songwriter EricKusanagi about the intent behind their debut. "This second record is about what to do with that creation. The thought was, we've created this, now how do we wield it?" "We wanted to show a larger range of musical themes on this record," continues Eric. "You'll hear us dive into some synth work, some piano work, some really interesting effects that Mario helped us dial up." Wield packs a lot of details, which are fun to uncover over repeated plays. «Collider» is almost completely driven by high precision tapping leads, which are ingeniously mirrored by the chords on the final climax. «The Crush» sees the band's three guitarists chugging away happily over a clever 7/8 rhythm subtly exchanging thrashy, sludgy and prog-inspired stylings. Nevertheless, Wield is still an affair of instant gratification for fans of guitar driven post-rock. From the soaring leads of «Tides» to the epic finale of «I've Been Waiting For You All My Life», HIROE show they've upped their game in every department, but especially the one that tugs at your heartstrings. Wield presents the brave new future we all need in these confusing times. A new American frontier on which we can build our wildest dreams and our most daring ambitions! FOR FANS OF Caspian, Isis, pg.lost, Red Sparowes, If These Trees Could Talk, Shy Low, Ranges, Pray For Sound

The new darlings of the American post-rock underground present a collection of well-wrought bangers on their debut full-length album. Powerfully melodic and heavy at the same time, Wield shows the Philadelphia-based quintet mastering their game of creating compelling melodies that sound larger than life. 2022 saw HIROE burst onto the scene with an explosive debut minialbum "Wrought" full of soaring anthems and sublime soundscapes. Combining the sonic expansiveness of Deftones with the dynamic heaviness of bands like ISIS and Caspian, HIROE already figured out how to make the most majestic sounding post-rock early in their career. "Our first, Wrought was a statement of creation," explains principal songwriter EricKusanagi about the intent behind their debut. "This second record is about what to do with that creation. The thought was, we've created this, now how do we wield it?" "We wanted to show a larger range of musical themes on this record," continues Eric. "You'll hear us dive into some synth work, some piano work, some really interesting effects that Mario helped us dial up." Wield packs a lot of details, which are fun to uncover over repeated plays. «Collider» is almost completely driven by high precision tapping leads, which are ingeniously mirrored by the chords on the final climax. «The Crush» sees the band's three guitarists chugging away happily over a clever 7/8 rhythm subtly exchanging thrashy, sludgy and prog-inspired stylings. Nevertheless, Wield is still an affair of instant gratification for fans of guitar driven post-rock. From the soaring leads of «Tides» to the epic finale of «I've Been Waiting For You All My Life», HIROE show they've upped their game in every department, but especially the one that tugs at your heartstrings. Wield presents the brave new future we all need in these confusing times. A new American frontier on which we can build our wildest dreams and our most daring ambitions! FOR FANS OF Caspian, Isis, pg.lost, Red Sparowes, If These Trees Could Talk, Shy Low, Ranges, Pray For Sound

Sally Anne Morgan is an artist and naturalist in the purest senses. Raised on old time and Appalachian folk traditions, Morgan"s artistry embodies the rich life of the communities and natural world she surrounds herself with. Based in Alexander, NC on the edge of Appalachia and the Pisgah National Forest, Sally"s blend of traditional technique and distinctly modern compositional approach are infused with the sounds of her garden, surrounding pastures, forests and mountains. Guest synthesis Sean Dunlap (Field Patterns) and hurdy-gurdy player Brian "Geologist" Weitz (Animal Collective) embellish pieces with droning thrums and sonic moss. Second Circle The Horizon is an album built on Morgan"s singular artistic voice as an improviser and composer intertwined with deft intuition. Morgan"s music highlights her bond with nature, and how its beauty and the beauty of artistic creation are interwoven. The album celebrates creation, revels in discovery, and marvels at the complex patterns, intersectional cycles and simple beauty of a creative life intertwined with the natural world.

Sally Anne Morgan is an artist and naturalist in the purest senses. Raised on old time and Appalachian folk traditions, Morgan"s artistry embodies the rich life of the communities and natural world she surrounds herself with. Based in Alexander, NC on the edge of Appalachia and the Pisgah National Forest, Sally"s blend of traditional technique and distinctly modern compositional approach are infused with the sounds of her garden, surrounding pastures, forests and mountains. Guest synthesis Sean Dunlap (Field Patterns) and hurdy-gurdy player Brian "Geologist" Weitz (Animal Collective) embellish pieces with droning thrums and sonic moss. Second Circle The Horizon is an album built on Morgan"s singular artistic voice as an improviser and composer intertwined with deft intuition. Morgan"s music highlights her bond with nature, and how its beauty and the beauty of artistic creation are interwoven. The album celebrates creation, revels in discovery, and marvels at the complex patterns, intersectional cycles and simple beauty of a creative life intertwined with the natural world.

Introducing "Still Quiet", the latest sonic exploration from The Soundbyte, the innovative project of guitarist and composer Trond Engum from the legendary The 3rd and The Mortal. The album Still Quiet transcends musical boundaries, seamlessly blending Norwegian folk traditions with electroacoustic textures and metal influences, creating a sound that defies conventional categorization. Central to the experience are Trond Engum's distinctive guitar style and Rune Hoemsnes' (The 3rd and The Mortal, Manes) signature drumming. They are joined by a carefully chosen ensemble of renowned musicians whose contributions complement the captivating vocal performances of Kirsti Huke and Andreas Elvenes. The album weaves together unsettling rhythms, innovative guitar work, haunting soundscapes, and strong melodic lines-each track forming part of a greater whole. The music captures the fragile tension between stability and uncertainty, shifting effortlessly from quiet melancholy to uncompromising rawness and intensity. Still Quiet invites listeners into a moving and immersive sonic experience, challenging musical norms and rewarding those who revisit it again and again. With this album, The Soundbyte deliver their most compelling and ambitious work yet.

Initially influenced by the skinhead scenes of France and Italy, their new LP “Renaissance” borrows from sounds outside the subculture, orchestrating harmonies to unite the punks, skins and moshers. The comparison to L’INFANTERIE SAUVAGE is undeniable with odd song structures switching from slow melodies to fast punchy pogo beats. However on this LP, there is a subtle influence of early American hardcore bands, adding more stomping rhythms and upping the pace of the songs. Renaissance is an excellent example of how a band can evolve their sound without losing the aspects that define them: razor sharps riffs, unexpected disco drum syncopations and, of course, orchestral “Ohhs”. Every song verges on an anthem that will get stuck in your head for days.

OVERVIEW: DUB TREES is one of Youth’s most revered dub projects, it helped define the Liquid Sound Design sound that fans around the world hold dear. This project is the third in a triptych of albums Youth has made with a specific Celtic / Hindu fusion. Starting out with the classic Celtic Cross ‘Hicksville’ 20 years ago, featuring the mythical Simon Posford (Shpongle) through to ‘East of the River Ganges’ (ft Klaus Shultz / Tangerine Dream amongst many others) in 2004 followed by the last piece of this mystical puzzle ‘Celtic Vedic’ ,released on compact disc only in 2016 , which charts the journey of the Celt from Northern India to Snowdonia. The idea stems from Youth’s firm belief that there is a strong correlation between Celtic and Vedic cultures and their Northern Indian roots. Youth has assembled a host of collaborators to weave their labrynthine magic on ‘Celtic Vedic’: Jah Wobble (PiL) on bass, Matt Black/Coldcut (Ninja Tunes) on warped soundscaping duties, Galician Celtic pipe and flute player Daniel Romar, Bollywood contemporary Indian singer Shridevi Keshavan and Elfic Circle. It features many field recordings made by Youth on his various Indian odysseys and is all harnessed together with cutting-edge electronica that the Liquid Sound Design team pioneered 20 years ago. The team today are still pioneering new directions within ‘Downtempo Electronica Music’ and beats that create 3 dimensional landscapes for the helioscopic imagination to explore and psychoactive maps for the inner astronaut in all of us. ‘Celtic Vedic’ promises unchartered bass annihilation and heliotropic soundscapes, pounding basslines overlayed on 3D holographic beats and wrestles with serpentine melodies and psychedelic textures.

In 1970, Italian composer Sandro Brugnolini recorded the two psychedelic lounge masterpieces Overground and Underground at Dirmaphon Studios in Rome. Featuring a lineup of some of Italy’s finest musicians—Silvano Chimenti (guitar), Angelo Baroncini (guitar), Giorgio Carnini (organ and piano), Giovanni Tommaso (bass and effects), and Enzo Restuccia (drums)—these sessions were deeply rooted in the late 1960s psychedelic sound but uniquely fused jazz improvisation, funk, and Latin and African rhythms with cinematic melodies.

This fusion defines their distinctive character and cements them as two of Brugnolini’s most impressive works, remaining among the most sought-after artifacts from the golden era of Italian library music. Overground—which Sonor Music Editions reissued in 2024—was originally released as the soundtrack to Persuasione, a documentary commissioned by Ente Provinciale Per Il Turismo Di Trento. Meanwhile, Underground was issued in two separate releases, RT 104 and RT 16, on the library and soundtrack label Record TV Discografica, founded by Alessandro Derevitzky in the late 1950s. In 2014, we compiled both versions for Underground's first-ever reissue (SME 3), featuring the longer version of ”Psichefreèlico" from RT 16, instead of the shorter ”Sostenuto” and ”Ballata" versions from RT 104, along with new artwork. Now, in this 2025 reissue, Underground returns in its original RT 104 attire, with its original track listing and artwork. Sourced and carefully remastered from the original mono tapes and lacquer cut by Jukka Sarapää at Timmion Cutting, this edition features carefully restored Record TV Discografica label design artwork, printed on high-quality card stock.

The hypnagogic haze of purling, refractive dub is strong on Sleepdial’s debut for West Mineral, introducing a crafty new name to the scene after a teasing preview on that Peak Oil x NWAQ radio show, delivering a heavy-lidded dose of tattered ambient dub inversions.

Sleepdial chases a frayed thread of thought thru the fractal echo chambers of ‘RV Lights’, only their 2nd full-length under this alias, and first on vinyl. The 9-part album is optimised for getting smudged on sunny daze with its pursuit of elusive dub sprites that connote subaquatic or vaporous etheric themes in their elemental diffusions and world-building ecologies.

In equilibrium of ambient and dub-as-method, they tenderly tease the senses with a fine grasp of deferred gratification, oscillating abstract spatial navigations and ephemeral moments of heart-in-mouth euphoria. Where sometimes this stuff can err to a pleasant mess, the dub ballast here anchors proceedings in a rugged groove that really pushes the right buttons and elevates the whole thing in its own air.

Blessed with a compelling sensuality, tracks follow a course from the compressed contrails of ‘Purview’ to the helical shapes of ‘Dovetailing’ and thru beautifully pill-bellied sensations on ‘Icarus Rising’, into ruggeder, insectoid dub in ‘Blue August’ to short circuit agitated and soothing feels. That fractured sort of duality manifests at its most anxious yet enchanted in the unpicked strings and astral scree of ‘Lightplay’, and in the title and feel of ‘Lean Angst’, gently keeping heads on toes into the swirling pressure system of album sign-off ‘Airtank’.

Rando Arand is an Estonian electronic music producer from Tallinn. With a strong foundation in sound design, Arand released his debut record on Asphalt Soliloquies in 2017 and has since captivated audiences at clubs and festivals across the Baltics with his unpredictable and unique live sets. Drawing inspiration from a range of genres such as broken jazz, dubtechno, breakbeat and jungle, Arand incorporates modular synth patches into his performances. He has shared the stage with artists like Dorian Concept, Gerry Read and King Midas Sound. In 2019, Arand released the "Alles" EP on Ali Asker's LIITHELI imprint, which focuses on promoting local talent from Estonia's capital. Arand's latest EP, "Aru" (2022), showcases his exploration of a new "Linki" format. In addition to his musical pursuits, Arand was also a host at the underground venue Ulme in Tallinn.

About the album „Child of the Internet”

The new album by experimental sound designer and electronic music producer Rando Arand takes the artist on a completely different path compared to the previously known dance music influenced deep and contemplative instrumental tracks. Featuring several notable guest artists, the album is a sizzling hot record that makes feet tapping and bodies grooving. On the artist’s most listener-friendly work to date, an impressive lineup of Estonian vocalists makes an appearance: Hyrr IV, the lead singer of the indie band Ouu; Jon Mikiver from Elephants from Neptune; actress Mirtel Pohla; alternative pop artist Kitty Florentine; queer artist Helgi Saldo; comedian Maiduk; and hobby musicians Maihe and David.

The conceptual album "Child of the Internet" is dedicated to young kids for whom the internet has been a defining part of growing up. Genre-wise, the album is very flexible, weaving through various musical chapters and styles with the help of numerous musical sketches, touching on both the comedic and the darker oddities that circulate online.

The album features scorchingly hot, electrified synth-funk jams with a nostalgic touch reminiscent of Prince ("Slidin in Yo DM’s", "Refresh"). Kitty Florentine delivers a sensual neo-soul ballad ("Just Scrolling"), filled with soft tones, soulful warmth, and a smooth groove. For more demanding listeners, the record also explores elements of chillwave, glitch, lo-fi hip-hop, techno, house, and breakbeat. Longer tracks and shorter interludes come together like a bouquet of favorite memes or a collection of countless open web browser tabs that we all keep running. At the same time, the album hints at the immense impact the internet has on our everyday lives.

Rando Arand’s latest studio album is an intriguing listen — perfect for enjoying alone with good headphones or as an ideal background soundtrack for a larger gathering with friends.

Repress of 2018’s classic compilation from Brownswood.

A primer on London’s bright-burning young jazz scene, this new compilation brings together a collection of some of its sharpest talents. A set of nine newly-recorded tracks, We Out Here captures a moment where genre markers matter less than raw, focused energy. Looking at the album’s running order, it could easily serve as a name-checking exercise for some of London’s most-tipped and hardworking bands of the past couple of years. Recorded across three long, fruitful days in a North West London studio, the crossover between each of the groups speaks to the close-knit circles which make up the scene.

Surveying the way that London’s jazz-influenced music had spread outside of its usual spaces in recent years, this album bottles up some of the vital ideas emanating from that burgeoning movement. Giving a platform to a scene where mutual cooperation and a DIY spirit are second-nature, it’s a window into the wide-eyed future of London’s musical underground.

Ubiquitous, much-lauded saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings is the project’s musical director. His own recent projects span from South Africa-connected, spiritually-minded jazz players Shabaka and the Ancestors to Sons of Kemet, who match diasporically-connected compositions with viscerally-direct live shows. His entry on the album, ‘Black Skin, Black Masks’, is typically difficult-to-define: with an off-kilter, shifting rhythmic backbone, repeated phrases – mirrored between clarinet and bass clarinet – shape the track with an alluring hue. His input ties together a deft, genre-agnostic sensibility that’s shared through all the players on the record.

Theon Cross – who’s also part of Sons of Kemet with Hutchings – starts his track, ‘Brockley’, with the solo, distinctive low rumble of his tuba. Winding and mesmeric, it sees tuba and sax lines winding together in rhythmic and melodic parallels. Ezra Collective – whose drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso has toured with Pharaohe Monch – run a tight, Afrobeat-tipped rhythm on ‘Pure Shade’, with the final third changing gear into a melodic, momentous closing stretch.

Joe Armon-Jones, whose ludicrous chops on the piano have seen him touring with the likes of Ata Kak, showcases earworm-like, insistent motifs on ‘Go See’, balanced with a playful, improvisatory approach with room for ad-libbing and solos a-plenty. Taking a softer tact than many of the other entries, Kokoroko – whose guitarist Oscar Jerome has been making waves with his solo material – spin a lyrical, steady-paced meditation on ‘Abusey Junction’, matching chanted vocals with gently-played guitar.

Nodding to spiritual jazz influences, Maisha’s ‘Inside The Acorn’ is a wandering, explorative rumination, balancing delicate washes of piano and percussion with sharp interplay between flute and bass clarinet. In contrast, Nubya Garcia’s ‘Once’ is taut and carefully-poised, her tenor sax guiding a carefully-built energy to an explosive conclusion. And finally, Triforce’s ‘Walls’ is a performance in two parts: starting with Mansur Brown’s languorous, lyrical guitar, the second half switches up to a low-slung, g-funk-tipped groove.

E-bony joins the INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS family to present DIGITAL DAWN, an album that defines his identity as an artist. Twelve tracks in which electro and techno intertwine to create a unique and personal sound. A sonic manifesto composed of twelve tracks that explore the darkest textures and the most hypnotic rhythms of underground electronic.

In this work, E-bony is not alone. The talent of Noamm is woven into four of the tracks, adding an additional layer of complexity and experimentation. The collaboration between both artists creates a unique synergy, elevating the DIGITAL DAWN proposal to a new level.

DIGITAL DAWN is released in 2×12″ format, a format that is still preferred by DJs and lovers of high-quality sound, guaranteeing a quality and sound pressure that will explode on the dance floor.

2025 Repress
OSLO is happy to welcome new artist Federico Lijtmaer to the family with his wonderful EP Impermanencia.

Inpermanencia on the A-side is a superb deep house track with the right kind of funkyness for the cool. Federico combines smooth bass with shifty drums and classy synth action. This track will conjure a smile on your face and we are happy as hell to be able to release this little gem.

Unselfish on the B-side is as funky as its big brother on the flip-side. A throwback to bygone times in a way, if you consider labels as Mosaic or Trelik. However, Federico definitely succeeded in terms of a modern interpretation. The inclined listener will recognize his musical roots anyway.

2025 Repress

A tale of paramount love for machines and the inextinguishable power of subjugation that lies in these button-studded boxes teeming with cabled bowels that feel so intimidating to the uninitiated, Italo Brutalo's longed-for debut album "Heartware" is a 12-track voyage across 25 years of intense synth collecting, fiddling,
composing and endless loving for audio synthesis and the art of how robots make human bodies jack.
Throughout the twelve cuts that compose "Heartware", a feeling of retro-gazing, candidly playful glee prevails. Looking right in the eye of the era when dazzling flipper visuals and static-filled VHS glitches
reigned supreme, Italo Brutalo invites us to witness first-hand his own textbook smorgasbord of fast-wheeling arpeggios and vocodized hoodoo ("Heartware", "Reach Horizon"), dystopian digital sunsets by the beach ("I Feel Lonely"), early hip-hop-informed whackin' n' thumpin' ("Analog Bars") and the slo but hard churn of a robot heist score ("Nobody Moves").
A lush tapestry of woozy exotic pads set in contrast with a deft and aggro drum programming ("As Above So Below"), followed by a new-beat oriented hammer-drop that shall leave no raver unscathed ("Heat of the Knight"), Italo Brutalo shifts the scope to radical effect whilst maintaining that cohesive headspace flush with the iconic 80s-to-90s-sourced assets. The hardware used in the making of "Heartware" is obviously the star here, and the inner sleeve pays tribute to that: the ideas behind the album have been there waiting to find their way out for over twenty years!
From adrenalin-boosting fractals of keyboard razzle-dazzle ("Chemical Element") to straight out pumping EBM primed for hi-octane mosh pits down the basement ("You Are Welcome"), via polyrhytmic percs-driven assaults and sizzling hot synth-smithery ("Into a Sampler"), the pressure levels never falter. Yet, Italo Brutalo sure knows how to weave further oneiric, softer narratives for your mind to frolic in unhindered ("Dream Machine") and rounds it all off with a total, space-opera'esque epic bound to have you spinning out of orbit into the great unknown ("Eternia").
"Heartware" is released in a neat double-vinyl gatefold package presenting the concept and machines involved in its making, including a twelve-page booklet featuring Italo Brutalo's key pieces of gear.

I must admit to being a sucker for two-guitar bands. Ok, Hendrix pulled off a trio. But I don’t care what anybody says: The Yardbirds were a better band than anything that came out of them (Ok, maybe not Zep. But Cream?).

Maybe the reason I go back so far in my references is that, within the two-guitar band format, original new roles are difficult and rare. There’s the classic (socially problematic and often boring) “rhythm/lead” solution. There’s the JB’s or Nile Rodgers’ chicken pickin’ vs comping solution (which avoids chordal clashes by relegating one of the guitars to the role of single-note percussion instrument). There’s Ornette’s Prime Time division between Bern Nix’s rolled-off “jazz” tone and Charles Ellerbee’s trebly wah. Almost everything else is a variation on one of these.


In Ches Smith’s record Clone Row, each piece is built around a different concept for guitar interaction. The delightful and gifted weirdness of Mary Halvorson’s playing is counterpointed, contrasted, unisoned with, played off, juxtaposed (that is to say, enters every relationship possible) with Liberty Ellman’s equally amazing sound palette, chops, and imagination. This definitely ain’t your father’s guitar band.
The overall vibe of the record—despite Halvorson’s occasional noise outbursts or Ellman’s distorted guitar lines (see Mixed Fridge) is neither punk/funk, nor Zorn-ish metal—and certainly not the looser parameters of Ornette’s improvised harmolodics. Smith’s vibraphone playing, Halvorson’s guitar tone (whammy pedal squiggles aside), the brilliant electronics, and (most of all) the compositions themselves are somehow strangely West Coast cool. It’s as if I’m hearing a Jim Hall concert in which one of us did a lot of mushrooms, or (dare I write this?) some post-punk post-Dave Brubeck post-trip-hop experiment with classical form.

This recording is, most of all, about Ches as composer. He’s picked up a lot on his long, strange trip of the last few decades. The Haitian funkiness of his work with We All Break is audible—but deeply buried, encoded in the polyrhythms (check out Heart Breakthrough). His long-running side musician collaborations with John Zorn and Tim Berne are also evident but sublimated here into something new.

Not that improvising is absent. Check out the compelling collective statements in Sustained Nightmare and Ready Beat. Check out the brilliant interplay and bass soloing on Abrade With Me (a Weather Report for the age of extreme weather?) Nick Dunston is my favorite bassist of the new generation, and he plays brilliantly throughout. And Ches’ drumming here has all the groove, energy, and incredible range that have kept him in demand from Saturday night Vodou services to jazz and new music recording sessions (…the thinking man’s rock barbarian?).
The sus chords in Abrade With Me do build, for a moment, towards a fusion type of climax...but just at the moment I was gritting my teeth in anticipated defense against some horrible synth solo, the drums drop out, and we’re transported to the ambient lounge at the rave, and we suddenly understand we’re in the hands of a composer with the power to transport us just about anywhere.
So, this is a composer’s record most of all; a composer’s record performed by musicians who happen to be great improvisers. Ches Smith builds here on his reputation as a gifted new voice with an important vision, while showcasing some of the most creative musicians of our time.

In "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" (1976), Roy Ayers seamlessly blends genres, creating a timeless sound that continues to influence musicians and DJs around the world. He makes the vibraphone the central instrument, a jazz-funk approach that defines his unique style. Over time, the album has remained an essential reference in Roy Ayers' discography and in the history of 70s Black music. Summertime soul classic! 180g vinyl.
In 1976, legendary musician and composer Roy Ayers released one of the most iconic albums of his career: "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." This album not only solidified Ayers as a key figure in the world of jazz-funk but also marked a milestone in soul music and contemporary jazz. It features a sophisticated blend of irresistible grooves, smooth melodies, and a unique sound that has endured over the years, becoming a reference for multiple generations of musicians and listeners.

By the mid-70s, Ayers had already established his reputation with his band, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, and his distinctive use of the vibraphone, which became his personal trademark. However, with this album, Ayers ventured into a smoother, more accessible sound, partly in response to the rise of disco music and the growing interest in more experimental sounds within the music scene. Throughout its ten tracks, Ayers managed to create a sonic atmosphere that evoked both the warmth of summer and the sophistication of jazz from that era, set against a backdrop of modern soul. The production was carried out by Ayers himself, along with his producer and friend, David R. Williams, and features the wonderful sound of Phillip Woo's Fender Rhodes and the powerful energy of the rest of the band, achieving an unmistakable authenticity and freshness. Some of its most well-known songs include the title track, ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine,’ ‘The Golden Rod,’ and ‘The Third Eye,’ which quickly became classics of jazz-funk and soul. This album is crucial in Roy Ayers' career, as it demonstrates his ability to remain relevant and creative in an ever-changing music industry. Over the years, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" has become a cult album, frequently featured in DJ sets by artists like Gilles Peterson, Theo Parrish, and Lefto. Summertime soul classic!

OVERVIEW: DUB TREES is one of Youth’s most revered dub projects, it helped define the Liquid Sound Design sound that fans around the world hold dear. This project is the third in a triptych of albums Youth has made with a specific Celtic / Hindu fusion. Starting out with the classic Celtic Cross ‘Hicksville’ 20 years ago, featuring the mythical Simon Posford (Shpongle) through to ‘East of the River Ganges’ (ft Klaus Shultz / Tangerine Dream amongst many others) in 2004 followed by the last piece of this mystical puzzle ‘Celtic Vedic’ ,released on compact disc only in 2016 , which charts the journey of the Celt from Northern India to Snowdonia. The idea stems from Youth’s firm belief that there is a strong correlation between Celtic and Vedic cultures and their Northern Indian roots. Youth has assembled a host of collaborators to weave their labrynthine magic on ‘Celtic Vedic’: Jah Wobble (PiL) on bass, Matt Black/Coldcut (Ninja Tunes) on warped soundscaping duties, Galician Celtic pipe and flute player Daniel Romar, Bollywood contemporary Indian singer Shridevi Keshavan and Elfic Circle. It features many field recordings made by Youth on his various Indian odysseys and is all harnessed together with cutting-edge electronica that the Liquid Sound Design team pioneered 20 years ago. The team today are still pioneering new directions within ‘Downtempo Electronica Music’ and beats that create 3 dimensional landscapes for the helioscopic imagination to explore and psychoactive maps for the inner astronaut in all of us. ‘Celtic Vedic’ promises unchartered bass annihilation and heliotropic soundscapes, pounding basslines overlayed on 3D holographic beats and wrestles with serpentine melodies and psychedelic textures.

DESCRIPTION
Nick Mulvey’s fourth studio album, Dark Harvest (Pt. 1), out 6th June via Nick’s own independent label titled ‘Supernatural Records’. It also marks the release of its first single, ‘Radical Tenderness’, and the announcement of the Dark Harvest - World Tour, with dates across UK, Ireland, Europe, North America and Australia. Arriving three years after his previous album, New Mythology, Nick Mulvey is back with Dark Harvest (Pt. 1). The intervening time has been one defined by loss, challenge, independence and empowerment for Nick, who has undergone a transformative period to arrive here, embarking on the release of some of his most profound songs to date. Speaking on the album, Nick explains: “For me, Dark Harvest Pt. 1 tracks the descent and grief that hit me in the last three years, during the losses and challenges I faced. Often brutal, these years have tenderised me, as I know they have others. Making this music carried me through.”He continues, “Back when I was at the hardest point, when I was on my knees, a friend said to me, ‘there will be a ‘dark harvest’ to all of this Nick, there will be treasure from these struggles.’ And she was right.”

The Ottawa composer/performer and head of Black Bough Records plays every instrument on his CST debut: an accessibly avant-garde work of dark/ambient modern chamber music. Mark Molnar has been a linchpin of the Ottawa experimental music scene for over two decades, spanning contemporary classical, electroacoustic, industrial/noise, and improv. As a string player in a wide range of projects, an organizer and curator of innumerable shows, and via his own avantgarde label Black Bough Records, Molnar's unflagging contributions to independent music culture in Canada's capital city have been significant. EXO is his Constellation debut: a remarkable and bracing suite of post-classical composition on which Molnar plays every instrument. Meticulously self-recorded, primarily with strings, harp, and piano, EXO balances thematic melodicism, polytonality, and dissonance across three elegiac pieces of exquisitely expressive dynamism. This is exacting modern chamber music that blends formal and harmonic complexity with a solemn emotive sensibility accessible to a broad audience. Listeners that yearn for some edge and disquietude in a landscape of often all-too-approachable post-classical music should find EXO eminently worth their time and attention. While Molnar is a highly trained string player, and studied music under Aubrey Wolfe, microtonality with James Tenney, and composition with R. Murray Schafer, his trajectory has been entirely and intentionally outside the academy, signalling a socio-artistic commitment to DIY culture, forged from an early passion for the sonic worlds of post-hardcore, post-punk, no-wave, free improv, power electronics, and other independent/underground musics. His classically-informed works have been described as "tense currents of musical modernism invigorated with punk's raw vitality." EXO carries an undercurrent influenced by dark industrial and ambient metal in particular, with microphones purposely placed to pick up the low-end frequencies of the piano body, and of a bass drum positioned as a resonant skin in the acoustic space; an electroacoustic strategy organically meshed to the crisply defined and pristinely recorded pointillisms and polychords of strings, harp, and piano, which feed into this noisefloor of crepuscular sub-bass disquietude and decay. It's a production aesthetic that lends EXO a distinct undertow of tension and feeling, a sort of roiling maximalism where the chamber instrumentation traces arcs and waves of form and flow as if drawn from a dark, impervious ocean below. It also reinforces the profound hermeticism of Molnar's process, as a forbiddingly solitary creative act of immersion and navigation. The album artwork, featuring semiabstract stills of the sea by British photographer Ed Allen, further reifies this metaphor. The album's opening piece 'Sub Luna' (and its shortest at 8 minutes) showcases Molnar's adeptness at naturalistic and flowing complexity: tight cascades of climbing and descending chordal clusters hold their polytonal densities for various durations, yielding to more clarified harmonic suspensions and motifs, as melodic themes led primarily by violins in the higher registers provide a fractured lyricism. Molnar says: "the opening and closing figures of this piece act as opposing shorelines; the shorelines provide a reliable expression of range and key signature, and the tides come in and swallow them up, the motion of a body that addresses the relationship between states of lucidity and melodic figures." On 'Terre Sacer' everything happens in soupier waters, as a slow and doleful theme, anchored by grinding bass notes, circles in a gyre of dark resonances, until glistening strings gradually ascend to enrobe a plaintive and gently harrowing single-voiced ostinato over the composition's final third. Molnar's drone, ambient, minimalist, and goth-industrial influences are on display here. Side Two of EXO features the 18-minute multi-movement 'pallida Mors' (pale death): a waterfall of heterophony introduces dense chordal movements where strings are recorded and mixed to evoke pipe organ, in the album's most overtly dissonant and (anti)liturgical sequence. This gives way to ever more open and fragile spaces, before a resurgence of dark clusters and noise treatments introduces a final repeating piano coda, shrouded in devastated bass resonance, settling into what Molnar calls "a meditative hollow." Constellation is honoured to release this work by Mark Molnar, a longtime fellow-traveler whose selfless and boundlessly generous activities as an independent arts enabler sometimes obscure his own accomplished and uncompromising artistry. We trust EXO can help shed some much deserved light on this fine composer. Thanks for listening.

Renato Cohen, the Brazilian techno and house producer and DJ best known for his iconic track *Pontapé*, has been a powerhouse in the electronic music scene since the late '90s. Born in São Paulo in 1974, Cohen's career has spanned nearly three decades, marked by releases on some of the industry's most respected labels, including Carl Cox's Intec, Technasia's Sino, Marc Romboy's Systematic, Pets Recordings, and Defected. Known not only for his studio work but also for his dynamic live P.A. shows, Cohen is a true legend. We had the fortune to connect with him after a Boiler Room set in Brazil where he played *Sting the Floor*, a true floor-filler that electrified the room. Since then, our friendship has flourished, leading to this powerful EP. The EP features « Roaring », an outstanding house track that channels Cohen's heart and soul into every arpeggio and swirling melody, bringing to mind the best of Todd Terje's hypnotic grooves. It's a piece that builds momentum with finesse, crafting a sound both grand and intimate, resonating with every listener. « Roaring » is Cohen's homage to house music—a track that encapsulates his passion and mastery. Accompanying « Roaring » is « Wet Desert », a high-caliber production that's as immersive as it is intense. The track carries a deep, evocative energy, combining Cohen's deft touch with an expansive, desert-inspired soundscape. Through our connection, we've brought in The Floorfillers for an acid remix of « Roaring », putting a fresh twist on Cohen's original with a pulsating acid bassline that's reminiscent of our own « Edit1 ». It's a version that takes « Roaring » to new, harder-hitting heights, perfect for late-night dance floors. To complete this standout release, Skylax's own Maltitz has crafted a stunning Italo-Balearic remix, drawing from the spirit of the late David Mancuso. With its warm, nostalgic vibes, Maltitz's remix adds a lush, sun-soaked dimension to « Roaring », perfect for balmy evenings and open-air gatherings. This EP marks a powerful comeback for Renato Cohen, celebrating his career while pushing forward with new, fresh sounds that honor his legacy.

The Understated Debut That Launched a Peerless Career: Bob Dylan Is the Clearest Connection to the Singer-Songwriter's Folk Roots
Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl for Reference Playback: Mobile Fidelity 33RPM SuperVinyl Mono LP Features the Direct Sound Dylan Intended

1/4" / 15 IPS analogue mono master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Bob Dylan's self-titled 1962 debut is as understated of an entrance as any significant musician as ever made. Well-versed in American roots music, Dylan simultaneously pays homage to tradition and extends it by putting his own stamp on classic material that metaphorically functions as the soil of contemporary songs and styles. Free of ego, and performed with masterful conviction, Bob Dylan ranks with the initial efforts of giants like Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones.

Nodding to Woody Guthrie and re-imagining Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," Dylan straddles the past and future. He authoritatively displays the ability to handle weighty topics such as death, sorrow, and lamentation with the vaudeville flair, bluesy mannerisms, and poignant command of an artist three times his then-20-year-old age.

Sourced from the original master tapes, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM mono SuperVinyl LP brings the contents of this seminal release as close as they've ever come to live-in-the-studio quality. Transparent to the source, Dylan's voice, acoustic guitar, and harmonica come across with exceptional realism — the "husk and bark" to which Robert Shelton referred in his legendary New York Times review of a Dylan appearance at Gerde's Folk City — courtesy of the format’s nearly non-existent noise floor, groove definition, and quiet surfaces.

Heard in the original mono configuration, Dylan’s vocals are in the heart of the musical action and as one with the accompaniment. This reissue paints an incredibly accurate portrait of the concrete mass of sound that features no artificial panning and offers a straight-ahead immersion into the music producer John Hammond recorded in just two days in November 1961.

Though much has been made of the commercial indifference that greeted the album upon its low-key release, focusing on sales figures and the reaction of a public not yet hip to Dylan's name miss the forest for the trees. Distinguished from the era's other folk efforts by way of the singer-songwriter’s determination, brazenness, and lived-through-this worldliness, Bob Dylan lays the groundwork for the path he'd soon trailblaze and everyone else would follow.

As Dylan scholar and pop-culture critic Greil Marcus observed in 2010: "Everybody knew Joan Baez and the Kingston Trio; if you knew Bob Dylan, you knew something other people didn't, something that soon enough everybody had to know. Within a year, an album could put an adjective in front of the singer's name as if it were already common coin."

Mono is how almost everyone first heard Dylan’s opening salvo. A career like none other starts here.

MoFi SuperVinyl:

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are virtually indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

2LP silk screened + insert

Before Guaracha UFO propelled Meridian Brothers onto the international stage, Eblis Álvarez was already shaping his singular sonic universe in the shadows. Released only on CD in between 2009 and 2012 via local label La Distritofónica, Meridian Brothers VI and VII never had wide distribution or media exposure. Yet, these albums represent a crucial phase in the band’s evolution, capturing the energy of Bogotá’s experimental cumbia scene at the time.

On VI, Álvarez crafts a hallucinatory patchwork of cumbia and vallenato, using his guitar as the guiding thread before layering other instruments on top. VII pushes experimentation even further with a custom-built sampling algorithm, generating unpredictable loops and grooves. These two albums laid the foundation for the radical fusion and irreverent spirit that would later define Meridian Brothers.

Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, these historic recordings offer a raw and fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Latin America’s most forward-thinking musical projects

2LP silk screened + insert

Before Guaracha UFO propelled Meridian Brothers onto the international stage, Eblis Álvarez was already shaping his singular sonic universe in the shadows. Released only on CD in between 2009 and 2012 via local label La Distritofónica, Meridian Brothers VI and VII never had wide distribution or media exposure. Yet, these albums represent a crucial phase in the band’s evolution, capturing the energy of Bogotá’s experimental cumbia scene at the time.

On VI, Álvarez crafts a hallucinatory patchwork of cumbia and vallenato, using his guitar as the guiding thread before layering other instruments on top. VII pushes experimentation even further with a custom-built sampling algorithm, generating unpredictable loops and grooves. These two albums laid the foundation for the radical fusion and irreverent spirit that would later define Meridian Brothers.

Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, these historic recordings offer a raw and fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Latin America’s most forward-thinking musical projects.

Salsa Verde is the latest release from artist, Tom Caruana and, the newest instalment of Def Pressé’s series of projects made in partnership with KPM (and associated music libraries).



In 2021 Def Pressé entered into a deal with KPM whereby the deeper KPM and associated libraries can be used, exclusively, by Def Pressé. Sampled, replayed and reimagined, this vast catalogue has provided music for TV and Cinema for decades. Sampled, often illegally, by practically every Hip Hop producer ever, the library is available to select Def Pressé artists to utilise in order to create new pieces of music. This music is then fed back into the KPM/Sony AVI library for use in TV and Cinema, and the Def Pressé artist in question is then a KPM Artist in their own right. Completing the circle and hopefully providing music to inspire the new generation of beat makers/sample-based producers.



With several titles in the series, notable names like Blockhead, Damu the Fudgemunk and Stro Elliot since its inception in 2021, the Def Pressé Editions x KPM series, Crate Diggers continues into the seventh episode.



Producer & multi-instrumentalist Tom Caruana has been producing Hip Hop for over 25 years. Incorporating both samples and instruments in his production has helped him create a signature sound which covers a wide range of moods. He has produced quirkier and more humorous material for the likes of Dr Syntax & Professor Elemental, live production for his band Son Of Sam,

sample heavy material in a range of projects with MCs as well as notoriously remixing Wu-Tang Clan with The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

All Demilich demo material plus recordings from 2006 in a snappy double LP package. Compiled together with the band, this is the ultimate Demilich demo compilation. In the late days of the early life of death metal in the early nineties, the death metal "community" had strayed from an appreciation of the majestic possibilities of sound, and were making a mundane product instead. They wanted the most "brutal" sound so the largest crowd could hear it, consider themselves "extreme," and go back to work with a hangover. This made the music escape its tiny audience, but killed off exploration as well. In addition, it was defensive and under-confident, feeling its chops lagged behind the rock, blues and jazz genres. Stagnation struck even as the genre accelerated. Enter the dark horse, Demilich. These inventive Finns reintroduced amazement at the possibilities of music. Where most people look at a forest and see wood for sale, a death metal fan after Demilich sees an intricate organism in itself, with the smallest details corresponding to the broadest concepts. The labyrinthine riffs of Demilich corresponded to a worldview that saw the connection between details as a design, and a design as conferring a purpose to life, cycling between birth and death as it spelled out the cryptic intricacies of ancient mysteries.

All Demilich demo material plus recordings from 2006 in a snappy double LP package. Compiled together with the band, this is the ultimate Demilich demo compilation. In the late days of the early life of death metal in the early nineties, the death metal "community" had strayed from an appreciation of the majestic possibilities of sound, and were making a mundane product instead. They wanted the most "brutal" sound so the largest crowd could hear it, consider themselves "extreme," and go back to work with a hangover. This made the music escape its tiny audience, but killed off exploration as well. In addition, it was defensive and under-confident, feeling its chops lagged behind the rock, blues and jazz genres. Stagnation struck even as the genre accelerated. Enter the dark horse, Demilich. These inventive Finns reintroduced amazement at the possibilities of music. Where most people look at a forest and see wood for sale, a death metal fan after Demilich sees an intricate organism in itself, with the smallest details corresponding to the broadest concepts. The labyrinthine riffs of Demilich corresponded to a worldview that saw the connection between details as a design, and a design as conferring a purpose to life, cycling between birth and death as it spelled out the cryptic intricacies of ancient mysteries.

This authorised vinyl reissue of the ultimate Finnish death metal cult LP comes with the original cover art and all the lyrics. In the late days of the early life of death metal in the early nineties, the death metal "community" had strayed from an appreciation of the majestic possibilities of sound, and were making a mundane product instead. They wanted the most "brutal" sound so the largest crowd could hear it, consider themselves "extreme," and go back to work with a hangover. This made the music escape its tiny audience, but killed off exploration as well. In addition, it was defensive and under-confident, feeling its chops lagged behind the rock, blues and jazz genres. Stagnation struck even as the genre accelerated. Enter the dark horse, Demilich. These inventive Finns reintroduced amazement at the possibilities of music. Where most people look at a forest and see wood for sale, a death metal fan after Demilich sees an intricate organism in itself, with the smallest details corresponding to the broadest concepts. The labyrinthine riffs of Demilich corresponded to a worldview that saw the connection between details as a design, and a design as conferring a purpose to life, cycling between birth and death as it spelled out the cryptic intricacies of ancient mysteries. Demilich was like finding a submerged city, or discovering a new path through the mountains, or even confronting a glowering enemy on the open plain. It brought risk, uncertainty, ambiguity and a sense of sublime beauty back to death metal, pulling it away from the slump in which it treated itself as a hammer and every listener as a nail.

This authorised vinyl reissue of the ultimate Finnish death metal cult LP comes with the original cover art and all the lyrics. In the late days of the early life of death metal in the early nineties, the death metal "community" had strayed from an appreciation of the majestic possibilities of sound, and were making a mundane product instead. They wanted the most "brutal" sound so the largest crowd could hear it, consider themselves "extreme," and go back to work with a hangover. This made the music escape its tiny audience, but killed off exploration as well. In addition, it was defensive and under-confident, feeling its chops lagged behind the rock, blues and jazz genres. Stagnation struck even as the genre accelerated. Enter the dark horse, Demilich. These inventive Finns reintroduced amazement at the possibilities of music. Where most people look at a forest and see wood for sale, a death metal fan after Demilich sees an intricate organism in itself, with the smallest details corresponding to the broadest concepts. The labyrinthine riffs of Demilich corresponded to a worldview that saw the connection between details as a design, and a design as conferring a purpose to life, cycling between birth and death as it spelled out the cryptic intricacies of ancient mysteries. Demilich was like finding a submerged city, or discovering a new path through the mountains, or even confronting a glowering enemy on the open plain. It brought risk, uncertainty, ambiguity and a sense of sublime beauty back to death metal, pulling it away from the slump in which it treated itself as a hammer and every listener as a nail.

Darkest Days is an album by American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward, originally released in 1998. It followed their second album "Wither Blister Burn & Peel" (1996) and marked a more refined sound for the band, blending industrial rock elements with darker, more introspective lyrics. The album features some of the band's most iconic tracks, including the single "Save Yourself". It also features the singles "Haunting Me" and "Sometimes It Hurts". The album remains a fan favourite and for many, a defining release in its genre. Darkest Days is available as a limited edition of 1500 numbered copies on gold & black marbled vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.

Polish producer Newborn Jr. joins forces with the incredible vocalist Annjet for their highly anticipated debut full-length vinyl LP under the collective name Krush Klubb, set to be released through the renowned Bristol-based independent label, Shall Not Fade.

The Zone Out LP seamlessly blends the best of modern dance music, effortlessly merging the smooth, hypnotic rhythms of deep house with the frenetic energy of breaksy jungle cuts, all while showcasing the rich, captivating vocals of the talented Annjet. This dynamic collaboration not only highlights Newborn Jr.'s unparalleled production abilities but also elevates the musical landscape with Annjet's signature vocal style, which adds an emotive, immersive layer to each track.

With its intricate soundscapes and genre-defying approach, Zone Out stands as a testament to Krush Klubb's versatility and vision, offering a unique listening experience that crosses boundaries and defies expectations. The LP promises to be a perfect soundtrack for those who love to lose themselves in the rhythm of dance music, whether you're winding down or getting lost in the groove.

The Zone Out LP drops on Friday, 23rd May via Shall Not Fade, ready to leave an indelible mark on the dance music scene and introduce Krush Klubb as one of the most exciting new acts in the genre.

Drone legends Earth, the Seattle group led by Dylan Carlson, ready their first release on Fire Records. Deluxe Ltd edition 'Dark Star' effect vinyl with matte and spot UV sleeve, DL card. Unreleased live recording taken from their show at London's KOKO in 2016. Includes live renditions of fan favourites 'The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull' and 'High Command'. For fans of: Sunn O))), Sleep, Boris, OM, Spacemen 3, Witch, Hawkwind, Boris, Melvins. Seattle drone-rock titans Earth release their latest live document, WEM Dominator (Live in London NW1, 2016), an unrelenting display of the band's seismic force, recorded during their performance at London's KOKO in 2016. Sharing the bill with legendary heavyweights Neurosis, Earth delivered a set of hypnotic intensity, crushing volume, and towering, glacial beauty. For over three decades, Dylan Carlson and his ever-evolving ensemble have been crafting tectonic soundscapes that defy convention, forging a path between meditative drone and colossal doom-laden riffs. WEM Dominator is an album of mesmeric modal patterns, it's a recording that captures the trio's intricate, slowly evolving euphoria in a period when their experimentation swerved through endless possibilities. From the creeping grandeur of "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" to the ominous crawl of "Even Hell Has Its Heroes," the album presents Earth at their most immersive and powerful. This record reasserts Earth's mastery of atmosphere and weight, where every note feels tectonic, and silence itself becomes an instrument of crushing tension. It is a hypnotic, stripped down sonic symphony embracing influences as wide ranging as the Velvet Underground, Terry Riley and La Monte Young, a visceral slow-motion reading of the original sound that inspired Sun O))) and the generation that followed. The lineup of this performance was Dylan Carson (guitar), Jodie Cox (baritone guitar) and Adrienne Davis (drums), it was recorded live at KOKO, London on November 7th 2016 and is mixed and mastered by Mell Dettmer at Studio Soli in Seattle.

WHEN RIVERS MEET – BREAKING BOUNDARIES IN ROCK, BLUES & AMERICANA - When Rivers Meet aren’t just making waves—they’re blazing their own trail. The husband-and-wife duo, Grace & Aaron Bond, have carved out a unique sound that defies genres, fusing the raw power of blues-rock, the storytelling soul of Americana, and the heartfelt intimacy of folk. Their music is gritty, soulful, and electrifying, with Grace’s powerhouse vocals and Aaron’s dynamic musicianship creating something truly unforgettable. A huge part of their unmistakable sound comes from their dual vocal chemistry. Grace’s voice is raw, powerful, and deeply emotive, delivering every lyric with intensity, while Aaron’s vocals bring a rich, warm depth, perfectly balancing power with soul. Whether harmonising in haunting unison or trading lead vocals, their voices create a magnetic dynamic that sets them apart. Aaron’s expressive guitar work, especially his masterful slide guitar playing, adds another layer of grit and emotion, helping to shape the band’s signature sound—blending bluesy swagger with anthemic rock energy. Their breakthrough album, ‘Aces Are High’ (2023)—recorded deep in the heart of Suffolk—marked a seismic moment in independent music, launching them into the UK Official Album Charts Top 10, a first for an independent Rock/Blues band. Now, they’re ready to raise the stakes once again. Expect a bigger, bolder, and more dynamic sound, combining powerful harmonies, raw energy, and hard-hitting rock with foot-stomping Americana grooves. This album is When Rivers Meet at their most passionate, unfiltered, and intense. To celebrate, they’re bringing their explosive live show back to the stage: May 23 – Glasgow, Oran Mor, May 24 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms, May 26 – Southampton, The Brook, May 29 – Norwich, The Waterfront - A SOUND LIKE NO OTHER – MUSIC THAT TRANSCENDS GENRES

Inspired by Abba, early AC/DC, Beefheart and the dark heart of outsider pop, The Beyond and the Better Way is a record featuring warped orchestrations, extended autobiographical rants and sumptuous performances by a collection of Glasgow's (and Ireland's) finest musicians and singers The Gorgeous Pouting Mr AR is a pseudonym for Ronan Breslin - a recording studio owner, composer and academic who teaches sound and music at The Glasgow School of Art.

Ronan comes from an Irish family of musicians, with the most notable being his brother Niall Breslin, who helmed the iconic Irish band "The Blizzards" before becoming a highly regarded mental health podcaster and now presenter on BBC Radio 3. Niall's stellar guitar playing features on many of this record's tracks. The recording will be released on the 23rd May via Strength in Numbers Records on vinyl and digital platforms and will be accompanied by an online collection of song- related essays (aka rants). The album is distributed by Last Night From Glasgow. "The songs explore OCD, politics, anxiety, grief, regret, rage, lost love, but also reflect on joyous moments that define the transition from fearful child to fuck- you adolescence and finally reluctant adulthood. The album title song 'The Beyond and the Better Way' is morbidly confessional; however, it is also a statement of resilience, positivity and optimism for the human condition. There is always a better way." - Ronan Breslin

Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 release their new album "Fontana Rosa". Possibly the world's only musical group to fuse Latin music of all kinds with the Welsh language, this time Rio 18 draw inspiration from slightly different musical corners, including Chicano Soul, Nuyorican pop, and Salsoul disco plus Latin sounds filtered through the cultural spectrum of the USA.

Most significantly though, the album was among the last ever to be recorded by the acclaimed producer Liam Watson at his legendary studio and shrine to all things analogue, Toerag Studios - a huge inspiration and influence on Rio 18's Carwyn Ellis. The "Fontana Rosa" sessions saw Ellis draw together an all-star band at the fabled studio which is perhaps best known through its place in the White Stripes history.

Talking about the story and gestation of the album, Carwyn said:

"I was in Mexico City with Baldo Verdú when I heard that Toerag Studios in London was going to close. It came as a shock - Toerag and Liam Watson, its owner and resident producer had been a massive influence on me. Liam, along with Edwyn Collins, had taught me much of what I know about recording, had hired me as an instrumentalist on countless sessions and had helped me to get started when I began my own solo career. And over the years, I'd still go in to record with Liam whenever the opportunity arose. When I heard that Liam was shutting up shop, I took it upon myself to try and ensure he went out with a musical bang. I rounded up the best band I could get: the aforementioned Venezuelan percussion wiz and singer, Baldo Verdú: American drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Shawn Lee: the Isle of Wight's finest drum and percussion master, producer and composer Rupert Brown (whom I'd originally met at Toerag many moons ago): Elan Rhys, one of Wales's finest voices and long term collaborator with Rio 18, as well as being one third of the wonderful folk group, Plu: and Kassin - my Brazilian brother from Rio de Janeiro, bassist and producer with artists such as Jorge Ben, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and a multitude of others, including Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18.

So this was my dream team, assembled to make beautiful music one more time at Toerag (I have to add at this point that Shawn and Rupert hit it off so well at our sessions that they booked their own session shortly afterwards! Look out for the brilliant Shawn Lee's Toerag Orchestra 'Percussion Discussion' album). Toerag, if you're not familiar with the place, made its name as London's foremost analogue studio for some 30 years, recording directly to tape which in essence means musicians playing live, together in a room until they get it right. And the sound? Oh the SOUND!! And this is all Liam Watson's doing, his sonic aesthetic - a real master engineer. The studio is perhaps best known as the place where the White Stripes recorded their monster hit album 'Elephant' but for me it's where I got to record with James Hunter, Lay Low (from Iceland), Quruli (from Japan), Fabienne Delsol (from France) and made many lasting friendships, learnt a great deal about popular music, as well as making a bunch of my own best recordings with Colorama.

Over the course of five days we laid down as much music as we could. We had some visitors too: guitar slinger Little Barrie (Primal Scream, The The and Liam Gallagher among other things, but also my dear bandmate in Edwyn Collins's band): sax and flute maestro Jim Hunt (Amy Winehouse, Primal Scream, Duffy and very many others): and Diego Laverde Rojas, the Colombian Latin harp virtuoso.

This time the music had a slightly different edge - although we still maintained our Brazilian/Welsh connection on 'Deffro'r Dydd' (written with and sung by Elan Rhys), our Cumbia vibe and some Merengue ('Mariposa' and 'Te Adoro', sung by Baldo Verdú) and even a traditional Afro-Venezuelan tune ('La Quichimba', again sung by Baldo) - the main influence for me this time was Latin music as recorded in the USA, both new and old. 'No More Secrets' is a straight up slice of Salsoul disco, while 'Hei Ti' is a punky funky but of Nu Yorican pop somewhere between ESG and the Beastie Boys. But one of my main influences in the last couple of years has been the current wave of Chicano Soul coming from California, particularly via the Penrose and Big Crown labels. I was turned on to this music when I was in Japan in early 2023 - Takashi-san at Pleased To Meet Me Records in Nara played me the Altons' 'Float' and I was hooked!

And that music has a similar aesthetic to Toerag: music recorded live to tape by excellent engineers, performed by fine musicians and singers. So our songs 'Impossible', 'Heartbreaker' and 'Lovesick' are very much in this vein. And that just leaves the title track, 'Fontana Rosa'."

Private View is distinctly Blancmange while also expanding into new sonic terrain. There’s a deft marriage of futuristic electronic sounds, Neil Arthur’s unmistakable vocal hooks, and songs veer from buoyant and joyful to dark and brooding. Private View will be released on London Records almost exactly 40 years to the day since the label released Blancmange’s debut album Happy Families. This neat full circle of Blancmange re-signing to the same label that ignited things all those years ago is also reflected in the album itself, being the perfect crystallisation of four decades of creativity.

On Private View Neil returns with key collaborator Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx, John Grant), and David Rhodes (Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker) also returns as the guitarist, having previously performed with the band as early as 1982’s Happy Families (as well as several other Blancmange albums).

Private View is a record that manages to capture an artist who is potently in the moment when it comes to creating new work, while also being able to draw on 40 years’ worth of knowledge, experience, and built-in intuition. “I'm really lucky to be able make the music completely on my own terms,” Arthur says. “Being able to just continue being creative...that's when I'm happiest.” As he said before: “within myself there are no limits.”

Blancmange is also reflected in the ongoing influence the music has on younger generations of artists and fans over the years. Contemporary electronic producers like Honey Dijon and Roman Flügel have paid tribute with remixes, Moby once called Blancmange “probably the most underrated electronic act of all time.”; while John Grant continues to profess his love for Arthur’s music, old and new, and has invited Blancmange to perform as part of Grace Jones’ Meltdown festival.

Mr Bongo proudly presents the third album by Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist, Don Glori, entitled ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. A kaleidoscopic genre-surfing odyssey that brings together the worlds of jazz, soul and funk. Feeling both contemporary and classic, familiar yet novel, it’s an assured third release that sees an artist in full flight, showcasing their creative prowess and the uniqueness of their musical voice.

Steering in a new direction, Don Glori (aka Gordon Li) has delved headfirst into his songwriting with ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. Deftly showcasing his talents as a writer and bandleader, he brings with him a whole host of friends from the creative crossroads that is Naarm. It’s an album enriched with more soul, R&B, and funk-oriented songs than his previous jazz-rooted productions, yet there’s still plenty of jazz material for those familiar fans of Don's earlier works.

The album’s title is an old Chinese proverb, roughly translated as 'you can’t deny the truth'. This underlying thread is woven between the songs. “A lot of them are in some way about truth-seeking, observations and the masks you put on to deal with life (hence the cover art)”, Don mentions. Take, for instance, the sensational soul single 'Brown Eyes' featuring silky lead vocals by ML Hall. A dissection of the minority experience, and the power and comfort in building those communities. Elsewhere, 'Disaster' is a satirical take on the structures serving everyone but the artists, and 'Flicker' tackles notations of truth and clarity after introspection.

To marry that meaning with the level of musicianship on these tracks is what really stands out. Don has set out his stall here as an artist who can write songs that hit home in the heart, as much as they do in the head. It’s a journey infused with a glistening jazz finesse, layered with nourishing vocal harmonies and powered by an instantly relatable human soul.

Recorded over two hot summer days in Rolling Stock Studios in Collingwood, Naarm, the lineup of musicians is built up of Don's friends and family. Featuring the backbone team of Tim Cox, Al Kennedy, Joel Trigg, Robyn Cummins and Lachlan Thompson, who were part of Don's touring band before he relocated to London, and a stunning selection of vocalists in the form of ML Hall, Ruby Dargaville, Isadora Lauritz, and Bianca Kyriacou. Also gracing the album are trumpeter extraordinaire Audrey Powne, saxophonist Joshua Moshe, and Alcides Neto who sprinkles some Brazilian magic into the record.

Taking influence from artists including Azymuth, SAULT, Jordan Rakei and Lynda Dawn, as well as from London musical beacons such as NTS and Total Refreshment Centre, Don has run with this, leaned in and come out with a record truly unique to himself and his distinctive core, with no mask necessary.

wetdogg was born in a grotto in Detroit, Michigan with a mission to information to the masses. Through sonic awakening, wetdoggs mission is to enlighten the subconscious and shine light on the deepest crevices of the human psyche. Allowing pathways back into animalistic intuition and away from the technocracy, dig a hole, plant a seed, run in circles and free your mind.

Coming out of Detroit based label Hold Me Records started by Detroit Techno aficionado MGUN and Underground don of all dons Ryan Spencer, wetdogg releases her first Album pssssssp…

From the artist:
"When a dog runs into a river and comes out and shakes itself dry, there is no data collected, technology does not aim to control those that it cannot. Numbers are definite and infinite, a linear path to doomsday. With every move we make, we are tracked and traced and categorized in order to sell ourselves into data hell. Intimacy used to have meaning, the present moment, truth and love but so much of it has been taken captive by technology that seeks to psychologically manipulate and control. A dog runs into the water because that is what dogs do, but it seems these days we are starved from our natural instincts, instead relying on someone else's answer that we of course seek online. "

Using the primitive technology of the password journal (often marketed to little girls to keep their secrets) wetdogg uses the idea of the password journal to imagine a utopia free of the surveillance state in her upcoming album pssssssp…

Founded in 2022, Hold Me Recordings is an independent record label based in southwest Detroit, MI. It is run by Manuel Gonzales (MGUN) & Ryan Spencer, who with a deep-rooted connection to the city's musical history, showcase innovative sounds that challenge the status quo and push the boundaries of contemporary electronic music. Focused on promoting both emerging and established artists, Hold Me is releasing genre-defying tracks that blend unconventional productions with the sincerity of Detroit's legacy. From experimental techno, to downtempo and ambient, Hold Me is committed to offering music that sounds fresh, exciting, and unlike anything you've heard before.