BBE Music announces the first repress of the classic Roy Ayers albums ‘Virgin Ubiquity’ 1 and 2 since 2006, on luxurious 180g vinyl with brand new sleeve notes written by Sean P. The music on 'Virgin Ubiquity' was selected and mixed down from previously unreleased multi-tracks recorded between 1976 & 1981, which Roy had in storage. It's all unmistakably Ayers, but is diverse and fresh enough to be more than a mere adjunct to one of his most productive and popular periods - testament to his and his musicians' creative abilities, as much of most revered Ayers output stems from this time. These discoveries take their place beside some illustrious company in a timeline bookended by 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' and 'Africa, Center Of The World', several solo and Ubiquity albums, collaborations with Wayne Henderson & Fela Kuti, as well as guesting on LPs by Buster Williams and Herbie Mann. Out of print on vinyl and CD for over a decade now, BBE is delighted to re- present these groundbreaking Roy Ayers titles, neatly coinciding with the 45th anniversary of his classic album ‘Mystic Voyage’ and a UK tour to commemorate it during April 2020.
A foray into deep, organic, cinematic dance music. Subterranean bass, intercepted alien transmissions, and stripped down dance-beats meld with sheets of sounds that roll over the listener like waves lapping up on the shore. Shimmering, watery, brain hemisphere synchronization tones caress and melt stress away. Dance floor friendly tracks that work equally well in one s private listening space. Immersive music with a distinctive aquatic quality. Inspired by Detroit & Berlin s dance genres, but tempered by more ambience / atmosphere than one would expect from those genres. Music without harshness or rough edges. Fuzzy, out-of-focus, soft-sounds that slip in and out of the listener's consciousness. Uniquely melds current dance rhythms with lushness and spirituality. Synesthetic sounds that trigger sensory experiences in cognitive pathways other than hearing smells of perfumes, thoughts of colours, and altered perception of time and space. Psychoacoustic, cerebral, electronic listening music for those wanting a different experience than the current harsher, darker dance trends are offering. Responsibly made gentle music designed from the ground-up to have a positive effect on the nervous system and leave the listener invigorated and recharged. Chi-building sonic balm. Timeless, exotic dance tracks for a new school of electronic music enthusiasts who are searching for beautiful sounds, crafted with a higher purpose in mind.
"Lost in the spinning sound" is the 12th studio album by The Dining Rooms (Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti) who, over the years, have delved into an original style that balances cinematic atmospheres with funk, dub and ambient music. Here they have invited just one vocal guest, Chiara Castello from I'm Not a Blonde, for a collaboration that delivers a slow, nocturnal, orchestral, very minimalist album, oscillating between folk and blues, with deeply meaningful lyrics that explore the intricate nature of interpersonal relationships. The album cover, an illustration by Sara Vivan, conveys the idea of metamorphosis and invites us to dive into the sounds that surround and protect us. This is also the main message of the album: losing ourselves in order to protect ourselves a little. Drifting along and finding new, safer and more peaceful shores.
There’s a special kind of feeling when everything falls into place - when the drums bounce easy, the bassline rolls steady, and a bright guitar line cuts through the warmth of tape. That feeling became the heart of the FULLNESS, from Marcus I meets aDUBta. The sound of FULLNESS is built on simple, living elements: real drums, deep bass, a warm sound, and melodies that leave space to breathe. It moves between Early Reggae, Rocksteady, and Roots - sometimes straight and solid, sometimes stretching out into Dub and Echo. With its voice, from singer and lyricist Marcus I, FULLNESS carries the message about gratitude, love, freedom, and the small moments of everyday life. While Marcus’s singing style nods to the great singers, he stays grounded in his own experience, which perfectly complements aDUBta’s production, giving him space to shine. This LP is a complete, warm, balanced, and uplifting experience from start to finish.
FULLNESS grew from a steady musical exchange between Marcus I and aDUBta - two people on different sides of the Alps (Marcus I in France and aDUBta in Germany), finding a shared rhythm. What began in early 2022 with a few Riddims sent back and forth soon turned into a regular flow of songs. Every week brought new ideas, new words, and new melodies. When they finally met in person at aDUBta’s Attic Roots Studio in Bavaria, Germany, it all fell naturally into place. Most of the instruments were played by aDUBta, and the whole LP was mixed live on his Tascam 388, keeping that raw, handmade feel. With several friends helping bring even more color into the music, aDUBta brought in Viti Sanchez to lend his expressive saxophone and horn lines, Michael Salvermoser with his warm trombone tones, and members of the Black Oak Roots Allstars - King HuHa and Jannis Klenke on bass and guitars, along with Morry 'Da Baron' (Dub Inc.) on bass. FULLNESS means the fullness of music, of life, of friendship, of gratitude. It’s what happens when music becomes more than a project - when it turns into a shared space where things just flow.
Sexyrecs 'Third Base' marks a new chapter for the label.
Dutch producer Khas delivers a grounded and more restrained take on techno, built on organic structures, subtle tension and contrasting bleeps that slowly pull you in. It's a toned down approach compared to earlier releases of Sexyrecs, but the groove and sensuality are still very much there.
Berlin duo LYRIC take the remix deep into the details, stretching and reshaping the sounds until they become hypnotic and immersive, adding a darker and more introspective layer to the EP.
Less rush, more control. Still sexy.
"Leave The Ground" the 1st album of the powerhouse live-band Extraviolette. Get ready to groove along the funky rhythm section, the soulful vocals and the piercing brass that transport you back to the heart of the Disco Era. Based in Leipzig these nine musicians want spread their love for the music of the 70ties and are committed to energise their audience with new music they haven't heard, yet.
Welsh multi-instrumentalist and producer Huw Marc Bennett sinks his hands deep into the soil of South Wales, reimagining traditional melodies from the Morgannwg/Glamorgan region through an earth-toned palette of folk, jazz and psychedelic roots. ‘Heol Las’ is ancient music seen through a modern prism; acoustic textures rubbing up against hypnotic grooves, field-worn stories refracted into new shapes.
Every track on the album is either drawn directly from, or woven around, archival tunes of the region. Bennett’s approach is reverent yet expansive, pulling history into the present while staying grounded in community, landscape, and lived culture.
Bennett says, “On this record there are versions, interpretations and tunes influenced by cerddoriaeth werin, the folk music of Morgannwg; The place I was born, I was raised in and revisit to feel grounded. The melodies you hear were given, found and invented.”
DJ Support: Laurent Garnier, Dennis Cruz, Girls Of The Internet, Horse Meat Disco, Stacey Pullen, Elliot Schooling, Solomun,Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati, The Martinez Brothers, Dam Swindle, Soul Clap, Luke Solomon, Riva Starr, Franky Rizardo, Archie Hamilton, Silvie Loto, Fouk, Austin Ato, Salomé Le Chat, Blackchild, Jean Pierre, Black Loops, Kassian, Seamus Haji, Melvo Baptiste, Rimarkable, Sophie Lloyd
In-demand Amsterdam-based duo Makèz step into new ground with the release of their album ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’, via ANOTR’s No Art label. A kaleidoscopic project that moves between deep house, cosmic jazz, R&B, broken beat, and club-ready energy, the record is both a declaration of identity and a dissolution of boundaries - proof of the duo’s rare ability to merge worlds without diluting or compromising their true essence.
Where most albums that span electronic realms lean on functionality, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ reaches for something much more expansive. The project is a true hybrid: half shaped for the intimacy of a headphone listen, half designed for the electricity of the dancefloor. together forming a seamless continuum between reflection and release. Tracks like ‘REARRANGE YOURSELF’, ‘BE REAL’, and ‘LOOKS LIKE IT (SPACE TALK)’ are stripped to the core of house music’s driving pulse, made for bigger systems and peak-time release. In contrast, ‘Dreams’, ‘Fruits of the Universe’ (with douniah), and ‘Without The Sun’ (with Oliver Night) explore lush, textured arrangements where live instrumentation and improvisation carry equal weight to rhythm and groove.
Collaboration is at the heart of the LP, with Makèz inviting a constellation of voices who each expand the project’s palette. Ben Westbeech, Liv East, and SANITY bring soulful intensity; 30/70 and dreamcastmoe connect Amsterdam to Melbourne and DC; Cor.Ece and Oliver Night weave delicate threads of emotion; Goya Gumbani and Javonntte guide the production with their vibey, groove-led performances; while Life on Planets reprises his role as a core creative partner, appearing across the album on tracks including the standout ‘BE REAL’ and the previously released ‘ILLUSIONS’ alongside rising Amsterdam talent AVA LAVÁ. Together, these contributions shape an album that feels less like a singular statement and more like a living, breathing ecosystem.
For Makèz, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ is as much about philosophy as it is about music. The title encapsulates a tension central to their art: the feeling of belonging to multiple worlds without ever being confined to one. Jazz, house, soul, and experimental club sounds are not separate influences but parallel languages, and in merging them, the duo has created a record that mirrors the fluidity of contemporary identity and expression. And while it may speak in many voices, the LP tells one clear story - that of Makèz, arriving, again and again, home elsewhere.
DJ support – Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler Damian Lazarus, Marco Corola, Joseph Capriati, The Martinez Brothers and Rey Colino
S.A.M. returns to Up The Stuss this summer with the third release in the UTSOFF series, delivering a potent double-header that’s been rattling dancefl oors for months. Titled ‘Hit You With My Phone’, the release arrives on 4th July and features two dynamic cuts that further cement the Danish talent’s place in the label’s core family.
A mainstay in Chris Stussy’s recent sets and one of the most talked-about IDs in recent months, title track ‘Hit You With My Phone’ is pure dancefloor dynamite — a helter-skelter ride through organised chaos, laced with warped vocals, frenetic percussion and a relentless groove that grabs you and doesn’t let go. It’s bold, it’s unpredictable, and it’s quickly become one of the most commanding tracks in the Dutch label boss’s arsenal.
On the flip, ‘Got Me Down’ offers a skippy contrast — a low-slung groover that channels tension and release with tightly wound drums and rolling bass, keeping things locked for deeper moments on the floor.
Marking S.A.M.’s third outing on Up The Stuss following their collaborative ‘Get Together’ project with Stussy and the solo ‘Check It Out’ EP, ‘Hit You With My Phone’ sees them explore new ground while staying true to the raw, club-focused ethos of the label. As the UTSOFF series continues to shine a light on uncompromising, forward-facing club music, this latest instalment delivers two cuts built for impact and ready to cause damage.
Since first forming in 2016, London's High Vis have steadily polished their palette of progressive hardcore with shades of post-punk, Brit pop, neo-psychedelia, and even Madchester groove, mapping a middle ground between hooks and fury, melodies and mosh pits. Singer Graham Sayle describes their third album 'Guided Tour' as an axis of competing forces: "It's trying to be a hopeful record, while also being incensed." Rounded out by drummer Edward 'Ski' Harper, guitarists Martin MacNamara and Rob Hammaren, and bassist Jack Muncaster, the band's deep roots in the UK and Irish DIY hardcore scenes have kept them grounded but growing, inspired equally by restlessness and righteous anger. As Sayle puts it, "Everyone's scratching, everyone's working all the time, and their idea of relaxing is just getting fucked and avoiding reality. This album is an escape from that."From its opening seconds of a cab door slamming, a car revving away, and a baggy rhythm swinging to life, 'Guided Tour' sounds like a band reaching for new heights, bristling with energy. Recorded across a few weeks at Holy Mountain Studios in London with producer Jonah Falco and engineer Stanley Gravett, the results feel dynamic and dialed-in, like anthems burned into sense memory through sweat and repetition. Harper cuts to the chase: "We had a clear idea going in, every moment got used. Maybe when we're 60 we can sit around and get a drum sound right, but for now it's about getting things done."The album's 11 songs span the spectrum of contemporary guitar music, sharpened by experience, camaraderie, and societal frustrations. From swaggering street punk ("Drop Me Out," "Mob DLA") to jangling indie sneer ("Worth The Wait," "Deserve It") to heavy alt ("Feeling Bless," "Fill The Gap") to shoegazey spoken word ("Untethered"), the group's chemistry transmutes any style to their unique intensity. Sayle champions this evolving fusion: "For years coming from hardcore, we had pretty clear boundaries - other scenes were separate worlds. Now things are getting more blended, drawing from different places."Nowhere is this sentiment flexed more boldly than on "Mind's A Lie," a dance- punk anthem inspired by Harper's love of house, garage, and pirate radio. Stabs of sampled female vocals (by celebrated South London singer and DJ Ell Murphy) build into a razor wire rhythm of low-slung bass, tense drums, and sparkling guitar before Sayle's staunch voice starts barking harsh truths ("Face to face with all I've known / I can't call these thoughts my own"). After a sudden breakdown, the track regroups and takes off, cruising into the horizon in a haze of chiming guitars and Murphy's ascendant voice, from the streets to somewhere beyond.
For their fourth release, Slush turns back the clock to a cult classic - Phonogen, the groundbreaking debut album from German DJ and producer, Alegria. First issued in 2002, Phonogen captures the raw emotion of dancefloors around the turn of the millennium, fusing driving basslines with infectious grooves to evoke the era’s radiant energy. Now, over two decades later, it’s reborn for a new generation, newly remastered and complete with a refreshed sleeve design and insert.
ALBUM Obongjayar's forthcoming sophomore ‘Paradise Now’, is an ambitiously fresh global prospect, with roots grounded in his own wide-ranging world of influences. It’s everything from pop to punk, dance to Afrobeat, funk to folk, refracted through a thrilling new perspective. “I wanted an album that I could listen to from start to finish on a night out.” But he still considers it something of a Trojan Horse. Recorded between London and LA with UK alt-rap mainstay Kwes Darko ( Pa Salieu, John Glacier) and Grammy-winning production trio Beach Noise (Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem, Bakar), the record is as emotionally complex and broad as Obongjayar has ever been, even within its contagious candy coating.
There is a breaking point where the mind yields and the body takes command. This is precisely the territory of Frenetic Habits EP.
Asymetric80 lands at INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS with an unapologetic statement: a direct immersion into the aesthetics of collapse and extreme habits. The work places you in the center of a post-apocalyptic scenario, where survival no longer relies on calm, but on your ability to endure mechanical tension.
The sound is built upon solidity and saturation. You won’t find fragility here, but rather an architecture of EBM, New Beat, and Industrial Techno designed to dominate any sound system that dares to play it.
Side A establishes the hierarchy with Frenetic Habits. Far from linear, the track unfolds a broken, demolishing rhythm, generating a devastating sonic pressure that completely envelops you. It is a piece of constant drive, an armored machine advancing over the very ground you stand on. It is followed by Exile and Unmasked, which shifts the strategy towards depth: a hypnotic immersion where industrial textures densify, creating a dark atmosphere that traps you with no escape.
On Side B, Bleak materializes the heaviness of the environment. A slow-burning, corrosive track with deep bass, which you can feel advancing with the force of concrete. To close, Dementia releases the accumulated tension with overflowing kinetic energy; a final outburst of controlled aggression that closes the cycle with maximum intensity.
Frenetic Habits EP is a record of ironclad textures and terminal atmosphere. A work that documents not defeat, but the brute force needed to remain standing when everything around has come crashing down.
25 years ago, at the turn of the millennium, downtown NYC was spoiled with record stores. In this pre-digital age, vinyl was king for club DJs, and shops such as Downtown 161, Dance Tracks, and Vinyl Mania peppered lower Manhattan, thriving businesses that supported an expanding scene of local and international DJs. Perhaps the largest and most established of these was Satellite Records, an institution of club sounds that also spawned multiple record labels, including the deep-house imprint Central Park Recordings.
At this time, Central Park Recordings and Satellite Records owner Scott Richmond signed a demo in need of a vocal from young British producer Alistair Colling, and enlisted John-Christian Urich to write it, who had just had a massive hit with “I Might Do Something Wrong” the debut Tortured Soul single on Central Park. He in turn brought in Sabina Sciubba of then newly-formed band Brazilian Girls to record the vocal, and with Jon Cutler on remix duties the record was complete. Tortured Soul went on to release numerous deep house classics like “Fall In Love,” “How’s Your Life” and have continued to tour as a groundbreaking live-house act to this day (of which RNT co-founder JKriv was bassist and collaborator for 10 years).
For the 25th anniversary of this turning point release, Razor-N-Tape has rebooted and remastered the original and classic Jon Cutler mixes, which have never been reissued in any format since the original release. RNT also commissioned two new exemplary remixes from DJ Spinna and musclecars, connecting the dots between the deep-house lineage of the past and present. Presented in a gorgeous jacket that calls back to the graphical style of the original Central Park Recordings aesthetic, this 12” is an absolute essential for any lover of soulful club sounds or purveyor of NYC dance music history.
To mark 10 years since SOPHIE’s game-changing singles collection PRODUCT, Numbers are celebrating with a special edition featuring 11 songs across Deluxe Vinyl and Compact Disc.
This anniversary release includes bonus tracks, track-by-track slide posters, and a SOPHIE PRODUCT Card. Physical editions are now available for pre-order and released on 11th July 2025.
SOPHIE classics ‘BIPP’, ‘LEMONADE’ and ‘VYZEE’ are joined by two immaculate PRODUCT-era songs ‘OOH’ and ‘GET HIGHER’ recorded and produced at the time, each with colourful single artwork completing the set.
‘OOH’ is one of SOPHIE's earliest productions that has been through several revisions since 2011. It was one of three original tracks that Numbers had signed when SOPHIE uploaded the song alongside 'BIPP' and 'ELLE' to her Soundcloud, and while it had been through several iterations and speed changes, this finalised version was completed by SOPHIE in 2019.
SOPHIE once described ‘OOH’ as “hi tech club dance pop”. Musically speaking, the earworm hook is carved out by her signature portamento-infused synths and candy-coated lyrics, a firm cult classic approved by AG Cook and Charli XCX. Initially titled 'MAKE RESPECT', the track was first performed live by SOPHIE in 2011 to a handful of lucky people at a beach afterparty surrounding Sonar Festival, Barcelona and later that year at Manhattan's New Museum. The vocal was recorded as the first track in the same one-day recording session as SOPHIE's debut single 'NOTHING MORE TO SAY', released on the Huntley & Palmers label, where Sophie's songwriting was performed by the London vocalist Jaide Green.
The genesis of the ‘OOH’ and ‘NOTHING MORE TO SAY’ recording session is lore-worthy in its own right: after watching Jaide Green perform live with Olly Murs during the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009, SOPHIE reached out and invited Jaide to record in her home bedroom studio.
‘GET HIGHER’ was born during joyous sessions in 2013, when SOPHIE’s beat was introduced to the vocalists Cassie Davis and Sean Mullins. The track feels like a visionary precursor to ‘Vroom Vroom’, and doesn't sound out of place next to the sub-clang intensity of SOPHIE’s ‘HARD’ and ‘MSMSMSM’. Striking a playful balance between blissed-out hyperpop and club-ready Atlanta trap, it showcases SOPHIE’s signature, laser sharp sound design. Originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD edition of PRODUCT, ‘GET HIGHER’ has remained a hidden gem.
A groundbreaking producer, songwriter and performer, SOPHIE's visionary approach reshaped the landscape of pop and electronic music. Emerging in the early 2010s, SOPHIE introduced a hyper-detailed, futuristic sound defined by metallic textures, elastic basslines, and an uncanny blend of synthetic and emotional tones. Collaborating with artists including Charli XCX, Madonna, Vince Staples and Arca, SOPHIE helped pioneer a new pop movement while challenging conventions around identity, genre and production. SOPHIE's work continues to resonate deeply, leaving a lasting impact on a generation of artists and listeners alike. Discography: PRODUCT (2015), OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES (2018), SOPHIE (released posthumously, 2024).
Sublunar is proud to present Pareidolia IV, the fourth chapter of the saga written by its founder Sciahri.
With this new LP, the journey continues and reaches its most complete sonic expression to date a statement of evolution, depth and identity, featuring a special collaboration with Temudo.
The record opens with "Just 30 Seconds", driven by powerful low-end foundations balanced by warm, enveloping textures that immediately pull the listener in. "Groundbound" follows, deep and immersive, built around a memorable synth and arrangement designed to linger in the mind.
The voyage continues with "2014", a melodic and transportive track that drifts effortlessly into "Silent Embers", where raw power and mysticism merge into a uniquely intense atmosphere.
The second half opens with "Anime", propelled by a massive rumble beneath a delicate groove and finely crafted stabs. "Essenza" dives into darker, hypnotic territory, defining its own distinct mood and tension.
The only collaboration on the LP, "Encontro", sees Sciahri and Temudo blending their respective visions into something truly memorable, where both styles converge naturally and with purpose.
The journey closes with "Offset", a reflective and emotional piece that encapsulates a sense of travel and quiet melancholy a final moment designed to resonate long after the record ends.
Joji returns with long-awaited 4th studio album ‘Piss In The Wind’ via Palace Creek. The new LP cements his place as one of the most distinctive and genre-defying artists of his generation, balancing haunting melodies with gritty yet atmospheric production. The album captures the quiet contradictions that always defined his music, wrestling inner turmoil into something strangely beautiful. Features “PIXELATED KISSES,” “Past Won’t Leave My Bed,” and more.
Joji kehrt mit seinem lang erwarteten vierten Studioalbum „Piss In The Wind“ zurück. Die neue LP festigt seinen Platz als einer der markantesten und genreübergreifendsten Künstler seiner Generation, der eindringliche Melodien mit einer rauen, aber atmosphärischen Produktion in Einklang bringt. Das Album fängt die stillen Widersprüche ein, die seine Musik seit jeher auszeichnen, und verwandelt innere Unruhe in etwas seltsam Schönes. Mit „PIXELATED KISSES”, „Past Won’t Leave My Bed” und weiteren Titeln.
Throughout 2025, Tresor Records will reactivate Detroit house and techno originator Blake Baxter's vast Tresor catalogue digitally in chronological order, starting with 1992’s Dream Sequence, closely followed by his 1995 album, Endless Reflection. To inaugurate and celebrate this retrospective of one the genre’s true founders, an artist whose connections to Tresor go back to the very beginning, the label announces a special 12” release, Dream Sequence X, featuring remastered tracks from the early days and highlighting the harder side of his output.
Initially inspired by post-punk and funk, Baxter started making music as early as 1985. By 1991 he had already released several seminal records on classic labels like Underground Resistance, KMS, and Incognito, as well as providing multiple tracks to the groundbreaking UK compilation Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit, which was many European listeners’ introduction to the genre, solidifying the term techno, and launching the international careers of many of the contributors.
1992 saw Baxter make the first trip to play Tresor, on the first UR Europe tour ever, thereby pioneering the now legendary Berlin-Detroit Connection. This visit led to a long and fruitful partnership with the club’s new-fledged label beginning with Mills', Banks' & Hood’s X-101 and Baxter’s Dream Sequence, from which the first four tracks on the new 12” come.
Whilst he would become more renowned for his signature seductive vocals and a smoother music style closer to house music, these early tracks are heavier, classic 90s techno, revealing the influence of industrial, post-punk and pop of the time. Indeed the collection is something of a time capsule: jacking 909 drums, intense, ravey synth stabs, samples from classic soul breakbeat and the Speak & Spell voice synthesizer; classic sounds and styles of the era all make appearances on the record. All tracks have been remastered by Manmade Mastering breathing a new vitality and sharpness for the modern dancefloor.
In a world where longevity is difficult and superlatives are too easily deployed, it is still difficult to overstate the long-lasting influence that Blake Baxter has had on modern music. His visionary output can be heard across modern electronic and pop to this day and with this series of remasters, there has never been a better time for the world to hear it at source.
Delta Funktionen returns from a 5-year hiatus with a fiery new EP on his own Radio Matrix label. Four powerful, yet deep and somewhat dubby cuts that perfectly balance techno and stronger house. With this new EP, Delta proves he's a unique voice in the world of electronic music, one who maintains consistent quality in his output while being very diverse in his sound palette. The music is often straightforward, though there's still plenty of depth to be found. It's serious, yet very playful. It's grounded, but also very spacey. And all is presented in very solid mixdowns. All these ingredients combined make this an EP that will fit perfectly into the DJ bags of the true DJ soldiers.
Rising multi-media artist Shaboozey intends to build his own world.
Determined to carve his own lane in the Alt-Country / Hip-Hop space; he crafts a sound that pays homage to a cast of traditional Western influences, such as Bob Dylan, Lead Belly, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen, while looking into the future of what the two genres have yet to introduce.
Remaining true to his Virginia roots, Shaboozey hopes to continue the region’s long-standing tradition of producing some of the most prolific creatives of the new millennium. This time through elevating the scope of contemporary hip-hop and introducing a modern Americana culture to a global audience.
Fresh off of his inclusion in the groundbreaking Beyonce album, Cowboy Carter, of which he was the only featured artist to appear twice, Shaboozey is set to release his own album, Where I've Been, isn't Where I'm Going. An album that has been years in the making, it includes standout singles “Let It Burn,” “Vegas,” “Anabelle,” & the infectiously fun singalong anthem “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Millions of streams later, and appearances on esteemed programs such as COLORS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Shaboozey is set to become the new face of modern American country music.
Another DINTE tape curated by cult WFMU show and blogger Bodega Pop; Gary Sullivan's long-running project rooted in a passion for digging for music in bodegas and cell-phone stores across NYC's boroughs. This edition focuses in on late 1990s and early 00s hip-hop & rnb from across Southeastern Asia.
"While on a work trip to Chicago in the mid-2000s, I was craving a bowl of pho. A bit of sleuthing led me to hop on the red line "L" up to Argyle Street, ground zero of Chicago's Little Saigon. In the 1960s, Chicago restaurateur Jimmy Wong invested in property on Argyle Street with a vision to build the city's new Chinatown, a kind of mall with pagodas, trees, and reflecting pools. In 1971, the Hip Sing Association, a labor/criminal organization, established itself in the area, and along with Wong, they bought up 80% of the buildings on a three-block stretch of the street. Wong reportedly broke both hips in an accident, leaving his dream to wither; in 1979, Charlie Soo of the Asian American Small Business Association brought it back to life.
Soo expanded the area into a vibrant mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian businesses, pushing for renovations, including an Argyle station facelift and the Taste of Argyle festival. At the time I exited the station and crossed the street to get a better look at a shop with a poster for A Vertical Ray of the Sun in the window, the area was home to some 37,000 Vietnamese residents.
Opening the door, I was gobsmacked by a cavernous Southeast Asian media store, bigger than any I'd been to in Dallas, Montreal, New York, or Seattle. I spent some time at the bins, pulling out collections by some of my then-favorite singers — Giao Linh, Khánh Ly, Phương Dung — before approaching the register to ask the young woman behind the counter if the they carried any Vietnamese rap. It was a longshot, I knew, but if such a thing existed on physical media and anyone carried it, it would be this place.
'Have you heard Vietnamese rap?' she replied, her tone of voice and facial expression betraying a comically exaggerated level of distaste. I admitted my ignorance but assured her that I had long cultivated a high threshold for cheesy pop music of all kinds and genuinely tended to like hip hop from around the world.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to an area I had missed. I walked toward a far corner of the store and knelt over a small box on the floor sparsely populated with CDs, VCDs, and cassettes. I pulled out half a dozen Vietnamese hip hop compilations and a strange-looking CD with a cavalcade of odd typefaces in a queasy multitude of colors: THAILAND RAP HIT, it boasted, with 泰國 "燒香" 勁歌金曲 below it. The information on the back provided an address in Kuala Lumpur and the titles in Thai and English translation. The first track included three simplified Chinese characters after the English-language version of the title, "The Chinese Association": 自己人.
WTF was going on here? Walking back to the register, I waved the CD, asking "What's up with this one?" She gave me a look. I placed it on the counter so she could bask in the cover's full glory. She shrugged. "I'm guessing it's Thai rap?" She looked disappointed in me when I said I'd take it.
It turned out to be a Malaysian pressing of half-Chinese Thai hip hop artist Joey Boy's third album, Fun Fun Fun from 1996, and it completely changed my sense what the genre could sound like. The rapper's self-assured, effortless, silly-but-cool rapid-fire delivery weaved in and out of the most bizarre, antic beats I'd ever heard. The six Vietnamese hip hop CDs were a mixed bag, mostly "serious" sounding mimicry of US rapping over predictable production, but the highs were very high. When I got home and listened to it all, I made a point to find as much hip hop from this part of the world as I could.
The tracks collected here provide a limited but potent reflection of the two-decade ascendency
and ultimate world-takeover of hip hop, as it displaced rock and its endless variants for millions of listeners. This not a fair and balanced overview of regional production: I've only included tracks from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nor is this a biggest or most important artists collection; instead, I've tried to recapture the pure visceral thrill of that first time I heard Joey Boy, choosing bangers that sound like nothing else, from nowhere else."
Motor city royalty Floorplan, aka Detroit techno pioneer and creator of minimal techno Robert Hood and his DJ/producer daughter Lyric Hood, announce their forthcoming inclusion in the deeply respected ‘fabric presents’ mix series with the release of their new single ‘You’re A Shining Star’, out now. The full mix drops on digital/vinyl/CD via fabric records on 28th November.
Robert has been a long-standing fabric favourite since the institution's earliest years, clocking up over 20 sets in Room 2, including a live session on New Year's Eve, 2012. In 2008, he'd turn in Fabric 39 which is among the most revered contributions to the fabric mix canon. Now, with the forthcoming ‘fabric presents Floorplan’ mix, the story comes full circle - marking both the duo’s debut on the iconic mix series and a monumental moment for the family project.
About Floorplan: Emerging from a musically rich Detroit upbringing steeped in Motown and vinyl culture, Robert Hood became an early member of the seminal ’90s collective Underground Resistance, helping to spearhead the rise of techno. Going solo, Hood created minimal techno with his Minimal Nation LP. Groundbreaking productions, acclaimed performances, and his own M-plant label followed, until in ’96 he formed Floorplan - an alter ego to expand beyond minimal techno into gospel, soul and house-infused techno. Immersed in music from an early age, Lyric eventually caught the same electronic spark that’s driven her father for decades. In 2014, after the release of Hood’s debut Floorplan album Paradise, the project evolved as the then-16-year-old Lyric joined him to perform as Floorplan, including a supreme closing set at Dekmantel’s Boiler Room stage. Two years later, Lyric officially became a full member of Floorplan, cementing their father–daughter collaboration, and they’d release their co-produced album Victorious on M-Plant that same year.
The Éthiopiques series returns! Essential archive recordings from an extremely fruitful period in Ethiopian music.
Before “Swinging Addis” took over the world, there was Moussié Nerses Nalbandian — the Armenian-born composer who shaped modern Ethiopian music. Mentor, arranger, and pioneer, he laid the foundations of Ethio-jazz.
This Éthiopiques volume revives his forgotten legacy, recorded live by Either/ Orchestra First issue ever with new exclusive photos and in depth liner 8-page insert.
“Ethiopian jazzmen are the best musicians that we have seen so far in Africa.
They really are promising handlers of jazz instruments.”
Wilbur De Paris
(1959, after a concert in Addis Ababa)
አዲስ፡ዘመን። *Addis zèmèn* **A new era.**
The time is the mid-1950s and early 1960s, just before "Swinging Addis" bloomed – or rather boomed – onto the scene. Brass instruments are still dominant, but the advent of the electric guitar, and the very first electronic organs, are just around the corner. Rock’n'Roll, R’n’B, Soul and the Twist have not yet barged their way in. Addis Ababa is steeped in the big band atmosphere of the post-war era, with Glenn Miller's *In the* *Mood* as its world-wide theme song, neck and neck with the Latin craze that was in vogue at the same period. Life has become enjoyable once again, with the return of peace after the terrible Italian Fascist invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1941). The redeployment of modern music is part and parcel of the postwar reconstruction. *Addis zèmèn* – a new era – is the watchword of the postwar period, just as it was all across war-torn Europe.
The generation who were the young parents of baby boomers** were the first to enjoy this musical renaissance, before the baby boomers themselves took over and forever super-charged the soundtrack of the final days of imperial reign. Music is Ethiopia's most popular art form, and very often serves as the best barometer for the upsurge of energy that is critical for reconstruction. Whether it be jazz in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the *zazous* who revolutionised both jazz and French *chanson* after the *Libération*, be it Madrid's post-Franco Movida, or Dada, the Surrealists and *les années folles* that followed World War I, the periods just after mourning and hardship always give rise to brighter and more tuneful tomorrows. Addis Ababa, as the country's capital, and the epicentre of change, was no exception to this vital rule.
**Two generations of Nalbandian musicians**
Nersès Nalbandian belonged to a family of Armenian exiles, who had moved to Ethiopia in the mid-1920s. The uncle Kevork arrived along with the fabled "*Arba Lidjotch*", the** "*40 Kids*", young Armenian orphans and musicians that the Ras Tafari had recruited when he visited Jerusalem in 1924, intending to turn their brass band into the official imperial band. If Kevork Nalbandian was the one who first opened the way of modernism, pushing innovation so far as to invent musical theatre, it was his nephew Nersès who would go on to become, from the 1940s and until his death in 1977, a pivotal figure of modern Ethiopian music and of the heights it. Going all the way back to the 1950s. Nothing less. And it is Nersès who is largely to thank for the brassy colours that so greatly contributed to the international renown of Ethiopian groove. While the younger generations today venture timidly into the genealogy of their country's modern music, often losing their way amidst a distinctly xenophobic historiographical complacency, many survivors of the imperial period are still around to bear witness and pay tribute to the essential role that "Moussié Nersès" played in the rise of Abyssinia's musical modernity.
Given the year of his birth (15 March 1915), no one knows for sure if Nersès Nalbandian was born in Aintab, today Gaziantep (Turkiye/former Ottoman Empire) or on the other side of the border in Alep, Syria... What is certain is that his family, like the entire Armenian community, was amongst the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Turks. Alep, the place of safety – today in ruins.
Before Nersès then, there was uncle Kevork (1887-1963). For a quarter of a century, he was a whirlwind of activity in music teaching and theatrical innovation. *Guèbrè Mariam le Gondaré* (የጎንደሬ ገብረ ማርያም አጥቶ ማግኘት, 1926 EC=1934) is his most famous creation. This play included "ten Ethiopian songs" — a totally innovative approach. According to his autobiographical notes, preserved by the Nalbandian family, Kevork indicates that he composed some 50 such pieces over the course of his career. This shows just how much he understood, very early on, the critical importance of song as Ethiopia's crowning artistic form. Indeed, for Ethiopian listeners, the most important thing is the lyrics, with all their multifarious mischief, far more than a strong melody, sophisticated arrangements or even an exceptional voice. (This is also why Ethiopians by and large, and beginning with the artists and producers themselves, believed for a long time — and wrongly — that their music could not possibly be exported, and could never win over audiences abroad, who did not speak the country's languages).
Last but not least, one of Kevork's major contributions remains composing Ethiopia's first national anthem – with lyrics by Yoftahé Negussié.
Nersès Nalbandian moved to Ethiopia at the end of the 1930s, at the behest of his ground-breaking uncle. Proficient in many instruments (pretty much everything but the drums), conductor, choir director, composer, arranger, adapter, creator, piano tuner, purveyor of rented pianos,... he was above all an energetic and influential teacher. From 1946 onwards, thanks to Kevork's connexion, Nersès was appointed musical director of the Addis Ababa Municipality Band. In just a few years, Nersès transformed it into the first truly modern ensemble, thanks to the quality of his teaching, his choice of repertoire, and the sophistication of his arrangements. It was this group that would go on to become the orchestra of the Haile Selassie Theatre shortly after its inauguration in 1955, which was a major celebration of the Emperor's jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his on-again-off-again reign.
At some point or other in his long career, Nersès Nalbandian had a hand in the creation of just about every institutional band (Municipality Band, Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, Army Band, Yared Music School…), but it was with the Haile Selassie Theatre – today the National Theatre – that his abilities were most on display, up until his death in 1977. To this must be added the development of choral singing in Ethiopia, hitherto unknown, and a sort of secret garden dedicated to the memory of Armenian sacred music, and brought together in two thick, unpublished volumes. Shortly before his death (November 13, 1977), he was appointed to lead the impressive Ethiopian delegation at Festac in Lagos, Nigeria (January-February 1977).
His status as a stateless foreigner regularly excluded him from the most senior positions, in spite of the respect he commanded (and commands to this day) from the musicians of his era. Naturally gifted and largely self-taught, Nerses was tirelessly curious about new musical developments, drawing inspiration from the very first imported records, and especially from listening intensely to the musical programmes broadcast over short-wave radio – BBC *First*. A prolific composer and arranger, he was constantly mindful of formalising and integrating Ethiopian parameters (specific “musical modes”, pentatonic scale, and the dominance of ternary rhythms) into his “modernisation” of the musical culture, rather than trying to over-westernise it. It even seems very probable that *Moussié* Nerses made a decisive contribution to the development of tighter music-teaching methods, in order to revitalise musical education during this period of prodigious cultural ferment. Flying in the face of all the historiographical and musicological evidence, it is taken as sacrosanct dogma that the four musical modes or chords officially recognised today, the *qǝñǝt* or *qiñit* (ቅኝት), are every bit as millennial as Ethiopia itself. It would appear however that some streamlining of these chords actually took place in around 1960. It was only from this time onward that music teaching was structured around these four fundamental musical modes and chords: *Ambassel*, *Bati*, *Tezeta* and *Antchi Hoyé*. A historical and musical “details” that is, apparently, difficult to swallow, especially if that should honour a *foreigner*. Modern Ethiopian music has Nersès to thank for many of its standards and, to this day, it is not unusual for the National Radio to broadcast thunderous oldies that bear unmistakable traces of his outrageously groovy touch.
“I've always dreamed of making an album where I could bring together artists I deeply admire, curating voices, energies, and sensibilities that have inspired me,” says Brussels-born producer and multidisciplinary artist ShunGu of his new record, Faith in the Unknown. “It took time, and it grew into something very human, rooted in trust, patience, and creative risk. These songs are conversations, not just between me and the artists, but between worlds, eras, and ways of feeling.”
That spirit of dialogue and discovery is what defines Faith in the Unknown. Emerging from years of steady, meticulous work in the underground, the album is both a bold statement of identity and an invitation into Shungu’s world. Across 14 tracks, each a self-contained vignette, ShunGu guides the listener through shifting moods and perspectives- moments of intimacy, defiance, reflection and release, coalescing into a much larger story.
His distinct touch threads through the surefire cast of collaborators - Pink Siifu, Liv.e, Fly Anakin, Chester Watson, Fatima, Maxo, Navy Blue, Dreamcastmoe, Ruqqiyah, Zekeultra and Goya Gumbani — each track unfolding as a new dimension in the same universe.
ShunGu has long been a boundary-pusher, known for weaving jazz-inflected samples, skilfully constructed textures, and MPC-driven grooves into production that feels timeless yet untethered. With Faith in the Unknown he pushes further still: a project as much about collective energy as it is about personal vision. It’s a leap into uncertainty, carried by trust in the process and the people involved.
From the lo-fi beat tapes that first won him a cult following, to collaborations that span the globe, Shungu has forged a body of work rooted in exploration and community. Faith in the Unknown crystallises those qualities into his most ambitious statement yet; a record that doesn’t just blur boundaries between genres, but asks what happens when vulnerability and experimentation are treated as shared ground.
The result is a record that trades in subtlety. Each artistic contribution adds its own shade to the larger mosaic, pulling the listener deeper into an expanding narrative. If Faith in the Unknown has a message, it’s that art can thrive in uncertainty - that in the spaces where trust, risk, and vulnerability intersect, something entirely new can emerge.
“I've always dreamed of making an album where I could bring together artists I deeply admire, curating voices, energies, and sensibilities that have inspired me,” says Brussels-born producer and multidisciplinary artist ShunGu of his new record, Faith in the Unknown. “It took time, and it grew into something very human, rooted in trust, patience, and creative risk. These songs are conversations, not just between me and the artists, but between worlds, eras, and ways of feeling.”
That spirit of dialogue and discovery is what defines Faith in the Unknown. Emerging from years of steady, meticulous work in the underground, the album is both a bold statement of identity and an invitation into Shungu’s world. Across 14 tracks, each a self-contained vignette, ShunGu guides the listener through shifting moods and perspectives- moments of intimacy, defiance, reflection and release, coalescing into a much larger story.
His distinct touch threads through the surefire cast of collaborators - Pink Siifu, Liv.e, Fly Anakin, Chester Watson, Fatima, Maxo, Navy Blue, Dreamcastmoe, Ruqqiyah, Zekeultra and Goya Gumbani — each track unfolding as a new dimension in the same universe.
ShunGu has long been a boundary-pusher, known for weaving jazz-inflected samples, skilfully constructed textures, and MPC-driven grooves into production that feels timeless yet untethered. With Faith in the Unknown he pushes further still: a project as much about collective energy as it is about personal vision. It’s a leap into uncertainty, carried by trust in the process and the people involved.
From the lo-fi beat tapes that first won him a cult following, to collaborations that span the globe, Shungu has forged a body of work rooted in exploration and community. Faith in the Unknown crystallises those qualities into his most ambitious statement yet; a record that doesn’t just blur boundaries between genres, but asks what happens when vulnerability and experimentation are treated as shared ground.
The result is a record that trades in subtlety. Each artistic contribution adds its own shade to the larger mosaic, pulling the listener deeper into an expanding narrative. If Faith in the Unknown has a message, it’s that art can thrive in uncertainty - that in the spaces where trust, risk, and vulnerability intersect, something entirely new can emerge.
The first act signed to The Neptunes' newly formed Star Trak label was a Virginia based duo known as the Clipse. The first single “Grindin’” impacted the streets with its bare boned but infectious drum beat in the same way that “Sucker MC’s” did almost 20 years earlier. These brothers - Pusha T and Malice combined with The Neptunes groundbreaking production sent a clear message to the rap world – “we are not the same” (as rapped by Malice on his opening verse on “Cot’ Dam”). Clipse brings an authentic Virginia sound into the game and created a movement, with not only their darkly layered raps but The Neptunes as well. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were able to combine their cyberpunk production with just the right group to create a street masterpiece. Following in the footsteps of such rap criminologists as Kool G Rap, Nas, Jay-Z, and Mobb Deep, the Clipse offer the Virginia hustler's viewpoint with clever, hard-hitting lyrics that is sprinkled throughout the entire album. With so many standout tracks on Lord Willin’ the album starts pulling no punches. On Track 1 simply (or maybe not) titled “Intro” you get a very personal and deep testament of crack and the drug game, a theme that is throughout this album…HEAVY. Songs like “Virginia” or “I’m Not You” (featuring Jadakiss, Styles P and Roscoe P Coldchain), have lyrics that play as a musical notes alongside The Neptunes tailored beats. “Young Boy”, “Comedy Central”… all fit perfectly alongside “When the Last Time” and “Cot Dam” as each song plays its part as chapters to the Lord Wilin’ masterpiece. “Gangsta Lean” (another one of the albums standout tracks) features a slightly lighter feel while paired with Pharrell's trademark falsetto hook. The truth of it is, it’s hard to just pick one track, or point out which is the albums star. Each song on Lord Willin’ is essential to making it the classic that it is. The Neptunes (who were busy turning out every other Pop hit on the radio) crafted an album that was deemed an instant classic, and cemented Clipse as Rap’s newest superstars.
Default Mode by Raleigh & Takenaga continues the newly established X series – Harmony’s platform for new voices and limitless exploration. Hailing from Prague, the duo embodies the next wave of adventurous sound design and musical talent from the imprint’s home town.
Incentive Program opens the EP’s A side with a drifting, trance-tinged flow wrapped in sweeping pitch movements and fractured vocals. The track sets a shadowy, almost sinister atmosphere, pulling all witnesses into its slow-burn gravity. It’s a steady build, tipping the floor over the edge. Stiff Envelope pulls you into its depths as it continues to build tension with resonating synth hits that quiver over a powerful trance foundation. With a few moments of silence that let its unsettling atmosphere settle across the stereo field before swinging back in at full force, this one is tailor-made for big systems.
B side’s Ground Floor carries on with metallic swells and shimmers that ring underneath the surface as the tension built on the A side bursts, settling into a grounding four-on-the-floor moment and leaving just enough time to breathe before Raleigh stirs up a concoction of devious vocals, snappy percussion, and a seductive bassline that lifts the mood tastefully. Takenaga wraps up the record with Head Count, a razor-sharp blend of crisp percussive cuts and stuttered crumbles that are seeking the perfect pitch all the way, climbing up and down. Heads are counted on a lively groove that radiates playful momentum and commands the dance floor to get in formation, keeping a tight rhythmic focus. Infused with the pulse of UK club culture, this track delivers a fresh and forward-thinking sound perfect for adventurous turntables.
Opsin- the new collaborative alias of longtime friends and producers Keydell and Kincaid - announce their debut LP on wax, Through The Wall, from London-based record label Hypnic Jerks.
Artist Info:
Opsin is the debut project between artists Keydell (Liam Keydell Myers-Cook) and Kincaid (Joe Arthur). The Pair have previously released on the following labels: Well Street Records, Banoffee Pies, Redstone Press & Bliss Print.
Both have extensive work in sound design and collaborated on the soundtrack for Mithridate at London Fashion Week 2024. Kincaid also produced the soundtrack for Alexander Whitley's Anti-Body Ballet.
Release Info:
The album is named after the birthplace of its creation. Sharing files between bedroom walls during COVID-19. Keydell's meticulous Ableton-based resampling of found audio and modular synth racks, and Kincaid's Reaktor-driven synthesis in Logic.
Draws on a wide spectrum of electronic influences the album infuses elements of rave, techno, industrial and ambient sounds, whilst never quite landing in any specific genre.
Second release from London label Hypnic Jerks on 4 sides of 180 gram vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve designed by Jacob Wise and mastered by Rashad Becker.
A followup from their first release - Toumba's debut physical release 'Rosefinch', which saw later releases from Hessle Audio and Nervous Horizon.
British-Brazilian jungle artist Janaway announces his brand new EP International Luv via Up Ya Archives Records.
‘50/50 Vision’ is the defining statement of Janaway’s upcoming EP, a single that captures the project’s full essence in one. Blending pulsing jungle rhythms with the rich textures of Brazilian vocals, together, with his UK-centric underground lens, he creates this rolling, dancefloor-ready track that bridges continents and culture.
The title, a play on “20/20 vision,” reflects Janaway’s experience as a dual-heritage artist who views each of his cultures from a balanced perspective. This sense of duality runs throughout his work, expressed through a distinctive fusion of sounds, stories, and collaborations that mirror his own world. The accompanying visuals deepen this connection, featuring Janaway alongside his collaborators and friends, not only adding a personal and authentic layer but providing a snapshot of the community that shapes his music.
‘50/50 Vision’ is a collaboration with two incredible artists that represent each side of his heritage. MC Tchelinho’s (Rio’s Heavy Baile collective), dynamic flow injects raw Brazilian energy and is enhanced by Arinola’s signature mix of UK funk and Ragga vocals which layer in an infectious groove. Together, they create a dynamic intersection of contrasting sound that feels both global and grounded - full of rhythm, movement and connection.
Growing up between cultures, Janaway has always gravitated toward sounds without borders. Now based in Bristol, he’s part of the new wave pushing jungle forward while keeping its essence alive. His signature blend of heavyweight basslines and sharp breakbeats has earned support from Nia Archives, Tim Reaper, Sherelle and Fracture. His acclaimed high-octane DJ sets packed with unreleased tracks, move effortlessly through jungle, footwork, and jungle funk, keeping crowds locked in and dancefloors moving. After a European tour and standout appearances at Boomtown, Glastonbury, and Outlook Festival, Janaway is fast becoming one of the most exciting names shaping the next gen of jungle.
'Yara Asmar’s new album presents 11 pieces recorded over the past year between the small town of Alfred in upstate New York and Beirut. These sometimes fragile and tentative sound sketches reflect the times as Yara steps out, as if onto ice, into a new life on a new continent during a time of tragedy, turmoil and upheaval. She works with unfamiliar instruments, new materials and new sounds to build on her intimate style; homemade mechanical music boxes and a personal archive of family recordings form the backbone of its delicate textures. Asmar explores the peculiar resonance of the metallophone and her collection of deconstructed toy pianos, and guides her music into ever more surreal territories. The result is a work that is dreamlike, fragmentary and strangely timeless.'
Vibe Ride is the sixth release of Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational project and marks his 60th release as a leader or co-leader. Comes with insert and download code.
“With every record, the goal is to explore new creative territory,” explains Rudolph. Vibe Ride continues a deeper exploration of a trance-like groove and a conceptual framework known as Sonic Mandala. This album marks the most complete realization of that idea, partly due to the group's experience touring beforehand. That time on the road helped to refine ideas and strengthen musical chemistry. The recording process unfolded organically—likely due to the long-standing collaboration within ensembles like Go: Organic Orchestra and Moving Pictures, where the musicians have developed a deep familiarity with the shared musical language.
Sonic Mandala refers to a musical approach distinct from traditional linear structures of theme and development. Found in cultures across the globe, it may represent one of the oldest forms of musical expression—predating written history by tens of thousands of years. Today, it is most vividly preserved in the music of the Ituri Forest peoples (Aka, Baka, Ba Benzele, Mbuti), whose sound traditions revolve in cyclical, orbit-like patterns. Vibe Ride seeks to bring that ancient sense of circularity into a contemporary—and perhaps even futuristic—context.
The ensemble of Vibe Ride—Alexis Marcelo, Jerome Harris, Harris Eisenstadt, Neel Murgai, Tim Kieper, and Tripp Dudley—brings exceptional creativity and skill to the project. While grounded in the sonic languages of today, their performance channels an ancient vibrational lineage, connecting with ancestral sound makers who were attuned to the rhythms of the sun, moon, stars, and seasons. Human beings have always been deeply responsive to natural cycles.
Like a mandala, where the circle reveals itself as a spiral—always returning, but never to the exact same point—the Sonic Mandala musical experience spirals through motion. Refined signal patterns emerge through overtone-rich instrumentation. The groove becomes a threshold, shifting the listener from passive observation into active, even transcendent, participation. With open ears and an open mind, the sound spirals inward—toward a primal center—and outward into the cosmos. When this elevated state is shared among participants, it creates what mystics describe as resonance.
Vibe Ride thrives on the distinctive sonic voices of its players, interwoven with care and nuance into the compositions. Hu Vibrational merges elements of world music, electronica, and improvised jazz into something both funky and spiritual, intense and soothing.
Using signature techniques of organic orchestration, layered arrangement, and electronic processing, the compositions are sculpted from percussion, electronics, and ethereal textures. Rhythmic foundations drawn from diverse traditions serve not as endpoints, but as building blocks. As the saying goes, “Orchestration is the key.” In shaping the sound, the aim was to discover fresh ways of balancing structure and sonic color. As Don Cherry once said: “The swing is in the sound.”
The audiophile LP was carefully recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Dellatacoma—longtime engineer for both Bill Laswell and Rudolph—at Laswell’s Orange Studio.
“This crew artfully blends together to create a seamless tapestry of rhythm… the end results are mesmerizing. Hu Vibrational is all about communing with the groove spirits and creating worlds where earthy rhythms and other-worldly sounds are one.”
— Dan Bilawsky, All Music Guide
“You can be sure that when Adam Rudolph and an ensemble of breathtaking drummers get together mystical and wonderful things will happen.”
— Raul da Gama,
“A stunning effort, enjoyable and grows with repeated listening.”
— Stefan Wood, Freejazzcollective
Samuel Kerridge, with his signature sonic arsenal, stands alone in the worlds of rhythm and noise. A singular artist, his music is to be appreciated on its own terms. Here, he returns to James Ruskin's Blueprint Records with the eleven track album, "Memoir Of Disintegration".
The British producer has been carefully turning techno inside-out for over a decade. Taking a distinctly post-punk approach to the genre, he has become an integral part of Regis' legendary imprint Downwards. Kerridge has helped to define the label's contemporary sound: broken techno and snarling punk, informed by industrial music and metal.
Samuel Kerridge has released seven EPs and five albums (including a collaboration with Dva Damas' Taylor Burch) and his recent, "Kick To Kill", has become something of a statement of intent, blossoming into a new label and event series with a focus that broadens beyond techno tracks into full-blown song writing. Aside from his solo work, he collaborates with OAKE in what he describes as the "power metal techno" duo UF, and has recently started his own guitar band, Death Disco.
Kerridge ran the Berlin-based Contort label and party series and curated the legendary Berlin Atonal festival for three years, underlining his credentials as a stalwart figure in the world of experimental, boundary-pushing techno. He's also an accomplished live performer, most recently developing a hybrid live-DJ set that dismantles hundreds of tracks into a sampler to make new music in real time. It's an inventive process that places him in the lineage of iconic and ground-breaking techno acts, while still carrying the flag for the darkest corners of underground electronic music.
Lay Down The Groove returns with their first release in four years — and it marks a milestone. ChordPlay is the debut full- length album by the label heads, following their 2021 EP Pursuit of Sound.
Spanning seven tracks, the album captures a period of personal and artistic growth for the duo. Written and recorded across multiple studios and seasons over the past years, it flows effortlessly through tempos and moods while staying rooted in the pair’s emotive, synth-forward identity.
With a shift toward higher BPMs and more club-oriented energy — without losing the warmth and musicality that define the LDG sound dPlay signals a new chapter in the Lay Down The Groove story. Influenced by the rich legacies of Detroit and Chicago, the record features hardware-driven textures shaped by the Juno 6, SH-101, Prophet 8, Analog Rytm and MicroKorg.
Rooted in rhythm and feeling, ChordPlay captures Lay Down The Groove in evolution — looking forward while honouring their foundations.
MAXED OUT MAXI EP OF THE HIGHEST ORDER FROM TAPES, HONOURING JAHTARI'S 20 YEARS OF D.I.G.I.T.A.L. BUSINESS IN FINEST STYLE...LOADED WITH RIB-8-BIT PRESSURE!
Four digital dancehall scorchers with two accompanying 8-bit versions meticulously crafted with the soundsystem session in mind!
Tapes has been spreading wonky saturated riddim goodness since his ground breaking “Hissing Theatricals” EP in 2009. Now, after a brief hibernation in the northern spawning pools, he’s spinning up his reels once again to present a new killer set of amphibian friendly, nintendo-fied sound system depth charges!
The “Photos of My Frog EP” is croaking off with its oddly addictive namesake: a surefire pond party starter – Ribbit! Hopping along, the adorable but tuff “Cleat Skank” and its gameboy driven pollywog follow, swinging their 8bit melody lasso till the cows come home. Yeehaw!
“Ramp Up” on B is a dense and raw FM synth digi banger, sure to fry any nearby circuits, so best beware! “Back Cramp Riddim” then turns up the low end even more and swirls its drums and synths into the next delay vortex, warping into a pixelated 8bit conclusion.
Whatever your taste in insects there’s something on this record for any lover of vintage dancehall and amphibious wild life alike!
These are going to fly out - sticky tongues at the ready!
Esteemed soul man of Panama Mr. Ralph Weeks has in recent years been enjoying a much overdue retrospective of his remarkable six decades-long musical journey with the help of Names You Can Trust. Now onto their fifth record release together since 2019, the label has covered both Weeks' original holy grail material as well as re-cuts and reimagining of some of his rarefied and unreleased songs.
One of Mr. Weeks' two iconic 45 releases on Panamanian label Sally Ruth was a funky soul side called "Let Me Do My Thing," originally recorded in 1971 as Weeks' answer to Charles Wright's big tune "Express Yourself," which had just hit the airwaves in 1970. Weeks' musical response would help define his legacy. He was gonna express himself, he was gonna Do His Thing. This golden age ultimatum recorded with the Dynamic Exciters of Panama as the backing band was a simple, straight ahead number with a defining message that would be carried on throughout Weeks' independent career. The funkified air and creative freedom of the original tune is a prime example of the crossover Combos Nationales sound that flourished in the prolific Panama recording industry of the era, and in the ensuing decades Weeks' tune would live on as a cherished rare groove for souleros, funk fans, and bootleggers alike.
Fast forward to 2023, when Ralph Weeks and Names You Can Trust prepared for a Bay Area appearance at the wonderful Latinos Con Soul weekender put on by San Francisco's Discodelic record shop, the groundwork was laid in the studio for a revival, a reawakening of Weeks' funky fan favorite. A spectacular ensemble of NYCT's All-Star artists and alumni was convened in the studio, including Caito Sánchez on drums, Victor Axelrod (Daptone Records) on clavinet and Sam Day Harmet (La Banda Chuska) on guitar. Anant Pradhan (The Skatalites), Eric Biondo (The Budos Band) and Alex Asher (Los Cumpleaños) occupied the brass section, and Ralph Weeks even lent his still formidable chops on electric bass and keyboards, a little OG flare to back up his silky voice with a deft musical touch. What came out of the sessions was a chance for NYCT to pay homage to Weeks' iconic original, without replacing it, and build a brand new version from the ground up with the maestro and composer himself!
BQD050–Arno: "We Perfectly Understand Each Other Until We Start To Talk – The Remixes"
To mark the 50th release on Brouqade, we reach back into the catalog and release as a set of remixes Arno's album “We Perfectly Understand Each Other Until We Start To Talk” a work that touches on the finer problems inherent to human communication.For this unique Album, released in 2019, three distinctive reworkings offer new breath to the original tracks: Baby Ford conducts a lean and hypnotic revision played in minimal fashion, Kuyateh widens out textures with deep organic rhythms and Dana Ruh puts her distinctive groove-orientated stamp on the material.
The bonus on the release is from Arno — a meditative composition that acts as middle ground in terms of his musical language.
In operation midway between introspection and movement, BQD050 depicts the very spirit of Brouqade: depth, warmth, a timeless dancefloor poetry.
After a busy summer on the road, Silverlining launches Forgotten Chorus, a new imprint for deep, hypnotic and abstract body music. The idea was born at a festival, where low frequencies drifting through the natural filter of English woods prompted him to mentally fill the gaps of the higher registers. Three weeks later, he wrote ‘Salvaged Chimes (From the Rubble of Sound)’, an almost verbatim recreation of the track he’d imagined. For Silverlining, this moment of embracing discarded sound became emblematic of how overlooked voices, such as those of the oppressed and forgotten, can still resonate if we choose to listen differently.
This concept led to experimentation with flint-knapper John Lord and conceptual artist Antonia Beard, whose recordings he sampled of the ancient practice of striking flint, humanity's first technology. Those sounds were then cut and made into all the instruments, save for the TR-909, that comprise 'Attuned To Detune'. The EP’s lead track, ‘Folk Dust’, pushes high-tempo breakbeats through Silverlining’s own lens on UK broken techno, balancing raw energy with ethereal melodies.
Forgotten Chorus seeks to celebrate the beauty in sounds and stories that fall outside the dominant narrative. Its debut release, a fast-paced, three-track techno EP by Silverlining, embodies this spirit and marks another step in his evolving exploration of new sonic ground.
N1_SOUND & Ras Yunchie join forces on an 8-track LP that transcends both definition and generation. INNA DJ STYLE, out November 7th, marks the Toronto veteran singer’s first-ever vinyl release.
Pairing four vocal cuts with four dub versions on the b-side, INNA DJ STYLE bridges experimental dub, digi, and roots, embodying what Ras describes as an “open” sound—one that draws from reggae traditions while boldly breaking new sonic ground.
N1_SOUND first encountered Ras’ distinctive voice and soaring falsetto at Toronto sound system parties. A cornerstone of the city’s reggae scene, Ras Yunchie has been performing since 1983 and remains a vital presence more than 40 years on. His contributions have been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National DJ Association, alongside titles such as DJ of the Year, DJ Sound Champion, and winner of the 1985 DJ Sound Clash.
While the rhythms pulse with heavy bass and the three-dimensional lead melodies synonymous with N1_SOUND, it’s Ras’ vocals that make INNA DJ STYLE truly shine. Each track was recorded in a single take and left largely untouched—a testament to the raw talent and enduring artistry of the 61-year-old singer. Across the four vocal cuts, the alchemy of contrasting styles, influences, and lived experience highlights how collaboration can push sound and genre into bold, unexpected territory.
This is the story of how a tiny label from New Jersey changed the course of music history not once but twice.
Cheri Records was established in 1974 in New Jersey and run by one Boo Frazier. Cheri's output was limited, producing a catalogue of just eleven releases between the years 1974 and 1982. On the face of it, this appears to be insubstantial output. However, if you dig a little deeper, the quality released on Cheri Records reveals an exceptional legacy of groundbreaking music.
A dark horse in the world of record labels, a true unsung legend that would go on to alter the course of musical history and intersect with a remarkable array of talented artists, bands and DJs. From Rare Pleasure; Sandy Barber; Julius Brockington; Boo Frazier; Patrick Adams; Tom Moulton; Larry Levan and MF Doom: Cheri Records has directly impacted their artistry in significant ways. Cheri's influence even extends into the present, with DJ icons like David Morales, Dave Lee, Danny Krivit, and Colin Curtis continuing to champion its contributions.
This compilation brings together the most compelling tracks from the Cheri Records catalogue, shedding light on the label's extraordinary story and underscoring the idea that music, no matter how unassuming its origins, can transcend boundaries and reshape, influence and inform music to come for future generations.
This collection also represents the start of a new series here on Miles Away, a series that will delve into the labels and studios that were responsible for leaving a lasting imprint on the musical world. We've named this seriesEchoes From,and this compilation will be the first of many.
The vinyl package comes in a gatefold sleeve with in-depth liner notes and features interviews with Colin Curtis and David Morales. Also available on CD and digitally.
