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Sunburst vinyl version of “Make Metal Royal Again” (previously released August 15th, 2025 via Reaper Entertainment), HAMMER KING once again raise their banners high: the throne of power metal is theirs to claim. Following the chart-breaking success of their last two records – “Kingdemonium” (#17 DE) and “König und Kaiser” (#16 DE) – the German quartet returns in 2025 with even more grandeur, might, and majestic songwriting. Produced by Charles Greywolf (Powerwolf) and Titan Fox V, and mixed & mastered by Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Volbeat), the album delivers ten powerful new tracks and a surprise bonus cover. With “Danger Zone”, the band pays a thunderous, metallic tribute to pop culture for the very first time. From anthemic epics like “For Crown And Kingdom” to the cinematic grandeur of “Hoheitsgebiet” and the touching ballad “Schlaf Kaiser schlaf”, HAMMER KING offer a full royal banquet of sound and spirit. Introducing new drummer Count Shandorian, whose precision and creative drive elevate the band’s sound even further, Make Metal Royal Again marks a new peak in the group’s journey. The magnificent artwork by Péter Sallai (Powerwolf, Sabaton), inspired by The Last Supper, captures the album’s core themes: power, identity, and loyalty. This is not just an album – it’s HAMMER KING’s metal manifesto for a new golden age.

Vinyl reissue of the most acclaimed album by Brazil's legendary female vocal quartet, this LP captures the group at their creative peak, featuring sophisticated arrangements by Edu Lobo and Luiz Eça (Tamba Trio), A post-bossa gem filled with stunning vocal harmonies. Originally released in 1972 on the Odeon label, Quarteto Em Cy stands as a high-water mark in the group's prolific discography-and a hidden gem for collectors of Brazilian vinyl. Known for their intricate vocal harmonies and deep roots in the bossa nova movement, the quartet ventures into post-bossa territory here, where sophistication meets groove in all the right ways. Arrangements by Edu Lobo and Luiz Eça (of Tamba Trio) lend the album a richly layered sound-elegant, jazzy, and emotionally resonant-while the group's harmonies remain as mesmerizing as ever. It's a masterclass in vocal interplay and tasteful orchestration, with an unmistakable Brazilian soul running through every track. Highlights include their stunning interpretation of Milton Nascimento's 'Tudo Que Você Podia Ser,' along with deep cuts like 'Quando o Carnaval Chegar,' 'Canto de Obá,' and 'Cantoria.' These recordings capture a moment when the group, already respected collaborators of Vinícius de Moraes, Jobim, and Chico Buarque, hit a new creative stride. A MPB landmark and long out of print, often cited as QEC finest work, this self-titled LP has become a sought-after piece among collectors of MPB, bossa, and 70s harmony pop. For those drawn to groups like The Free Design or The Mamas & The Papas-but with a distinctly Brazilian elegance-this album offers a rare and rewarding listen. Reissue on 180g vinyl.

Roughly three years after the release of Balts, Schreel Van De Velde’s debut album on Blickwinkel, the guitar and drums improv-centered duo is happy to present their sophomore album A One And A Two.

The Brussels-based musicians sound more decisive than ever: the loud became louder, the quiet became quieter, the weird became weirder and the nostalgic became more nostalgic. The fruit peeled off one of its own shells, getting closer to its heart.

The album came about as a result of 2 separate studio sessions. For a first one, they restricted themself to solely electric guitar and drums, without overdubs, and with most songs ending up as one-takers. A second one took place some months later in a different recording space, using classical guitar with a matching small, cute drum set-up.

On both sessions, the duo played the same compositions, with some additional improvisations. Afterwards they made a blend of both sessions, mixing both energies: A One And A Two. A new language, organic and well-considered, was found.

Throughout the album, touches of minimalism, American primitivism, free-improv, and 90s indie rock can be found, but always within the limits of Schreel Van De Veldes freshly found voice: one that combines sentiment and cerebrality, overview, playfulness and mystery.

Lucas Schreel is a classically trained guitarist based in Brussels. His first solo album We're Never Afraid of Getting Up Every Morning was released through Sentimental Records in 2019 and was well-received both in written-press (Humo, Enola & Indiestyle) and radio (Duyster, Radio 1 & Klara). Besides his solo work, Schreel is also a member of the lo-fi indierockband Kloothommel.
Acclaimed Brussels percussionist Casper Van De Velde made quite a name for himself through his bands like SCHNTZL, Bombataz, Donder among others. His work received prices at International Jazz Contest d’Avignon and Storm! Contest (Jazzlab). Casper is currently also a member of the recently formed An Pierlé Quartet.

First EP from a new project formed in 2023 by Allan Crockford (The Galileo 7, The Prisoners,The James Taylor Quartet etc) and Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, Swansea Sound, Death In Vegas etc)

Both writers bring their influences to the four songs here, with dual lead vocals and a mix of Medway psych, horror- garage, and kitchen sink new- wave pop vignettes. There's paranoia and psychosis, a cautionary tale about gullibility, and a love song straight out of 1978...

Recorded in Rochester and Folkestone, and released jointly on Button's Gare du Nord and Crockford's Fool's Paradise labels, this 7" is the first to be pressed on the new bioplastic compound Evo-vinyl.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Masterpieces of jazz and performances are reproduced in exquisite detail with meticulous sound quality.
The 17th installment of Yasukuni Terashima's carefully selected "For Jazz Audio Fans Only" series!
Listening to the performances in this 17th installment of the "For Jazz Audio Fans Only" series will make you feel as if you're experiencing a live performance right
before your eyes. Launched in 2008, this series is a highly regarded compilation series, rivaling the "Jazz Bar" series in popularity, combining both musical quality
and sound quality, and this latest release lives up to those expectations. Experience the texture of the music and sound while experiencing the three-dimensionality
and depth of the sound, making this a must-listen for audiophiles. Released on limited edition vinyl! It features works by Grant Stewart, long-time acclaimed artist of
Yasukuni Terashima's, and Henrik Gunde, whose piano trio work on Terashima Records is still fresh in our minds.

In 2009 Jim Hart first came together with Michael Janisch and Dave Smith to create Cloudmakers Trio. Since then their powerfully original vision has grown and sustained an international touring career, keeping them at the forefront of contemporary instrumental music in an exciting, horizon-spanning space where jazz, European improvisation, rock and global beats co-exist in an ever-shifting skyscape of creativity. Through all their various collaborations, the vibes-bass-drums trio has remained the core of the Cloudmakers sound. Now, fifteen years after their inception, the concept has come full circle with the inclusion of a new collaborator, the Grammy-winning Argentinian piano master Leo Genovese, already a veteran of the bands of Esperanza Spalding, Jack DeJohnette, and Wayne Shorter. The quartet went into the fabled Abbey Road Studio 3 to record with legendary engineer Sam Okel.

The Brokedowns are the coolest punk band in Chicagoland and they're back with 13 new songs of fury and satire. The quartet has steadily grown in popularity and so has their appetite for mockery. We asked them about the record, and they explained the fi­rst track is a musical tribute to QAnon moms taking over the school board. Quite the tone-setter. While not a concept album, there is a thematic protagonist: Alpha Dog Serum X. No, Serum X is not a panacea to a world gone mad, it's a fi­ctional miracle drug endorsed by all the coolest billionaires and influencers. Safe to say, if dorks like Elon and Logan Paul heard this music, they would not get the joke. The Brokedowns fuse heavy rhythms with singalong melodies, and they use those tools like hammer and tongs to blast away at our societal ills. It may sound grim, but no one has more fun with our stupid culture than The Brokedowns, so you may as well get in on the roast.

Following last year’s CD release that generated tremendous response, Days of Delight is proud to present the analog edition of a long-hidden treasure from Three Blind Mice.
Motohiko Hino Quartet + 2 – Flying Clouds (recorded in 1976).
Just three months after the legendary album Ryuhyo (Drift Ice) was captured in Nemuro, Hokkaido, this fiery performance was recorded with the addition of Yuji Imamura, expanding the group into a sextet.
The source is a newly digitized transfer from the original 2-inch master tape. Supervised by TBM founder Takeshi Fujii and track-downed by Yoshihiko Kannari—the “guardian of the TBM sound” who also engineered the original live recording—this release faithfully revives the sound of Three Blind Mice nearly half a century later.
A rare document that vividly conveys the intensity of Japanese jazz at its peak in the 1970s.

Isao Suzuki Quartet + 1 – Blue Road (recorded in 1975).
A month after the recording of his masterpiece Orang-Utan, Suzuki and his fellow musicians delivered this powerful performance at the “5 Days in Jazz 1975” festival—a rare document of the group in its prime.
The source comes from a newly digitized transfer of the original 2-inch master tape. Supervised by TBM founder Takeshi Fujii and track-downed by Yoshihiko Kannari—the “guardian of the TBM sound” who also engineered the original live recording—this release faithfully revives the sound of Three Blind Mice nearly half a century later.
An invaluable record that vividly captures the raw energy of Japanese jazz at its peak in the 1970s.

The tracks on Night Song reflect Howl Quartet's narrative range, with each composition offering a personal or poetic point of departure. The title track, 'Night Song', captures the shifting emotional landscape of new parenthood, drawing on quiet intensity and tenderness. 'Falling Man' is a moving tribute to Brunt's great uncle, an RAF pilot who died in a plane crash shortly after the Second World War, while 'Renjo' channels the drama and exposure of a high-altitude journey through the Himalayas. 'Smallhope', dedicated to a much-loved family home, unfolds slowly with warmth and nostalgia. 'Embers' reflects on the quiet, transformative energy of a fire's dying glow.

'Oku' is a journey inward, drawing on the Japanese idea of inner space, 'Tolls' offers a sombre reflection on consequence and choice and 'Gwdihw' is a lively tribute to the much-missed Cardiff venue where the group's early musical friendships began. Each member of Howl Quartet brings their own musical voice to the group, but it is the strength of their long-standing connection, musically and personally, that defines the band's sound. With its balance of lyricism and exploration, Night Song is both a natural progression and a bold new chapter for the quartet.

First Word Records are very proud to bring you 'Ghouls', the 6th studio album from Bastien Keb.

Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, this album spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.

Part soundtrack, part beat-tape, part memoir, this is a dreamlike soundscape sewn together from half-forgotten memories & late night breakdowns.

Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.

He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection, Taxi Driver, The Warriors and La Haine. There are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.

Keb describes the sonic experience of this album simply as this… "You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm…"

For this 19-track opus, Keb is joined extensively by Malik Ameer Crumpler; a poet, composer, editor and professor based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media.

A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.

His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.

He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).

Keb concludes "this record is for anyone feeling lost in a world that seems to have lost itself without knowing it. It's for the people who know that the world is missing the beauty of the lights in the distance, whilst being distracted by new shoes and flashy phones..."

'Ghouls' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 14th 2025.

"Viva Marina" celebrates the 100th release of Marina Records. The label was founded in Hamburg in 1993 by Stefan Kassel and Frank Lähnemann. Over the years the label released many outstanding albums by artists like The Pearlfishers, Shack, Brent Cash, The Bathers, James Kirk, The Free Design, Malcolm Ross, Ashby, Paul Quinn & The Independent Group, Der Plan, and many many more - incl. the best-selling Beach Boys/ Brian Wilson tribute album "Caroline Now!". "Viva Marina" is the 4th of the label"s acclaimed compilations - following in the footsteps of "In Bed With Marina", "Ave Marina" and "Goosebumps". These compilations have all been elaborate classy affairs with lots of attention to detail (packaging / design / liner notes / photography / mastering). Artefacts of beautifully curated Pop Art. The new compilation continues in that tradition. It features 21 tracks from the Marina roster and kindred spirits like Van Dyke Parks, The Kingfishers, Frank Schmiechen and Michel van Dyke. Featuring many exclusive and previously unissued contributions. Enjoy 21 tracks / 75 minutes of pure aural pop pleasure. Viva Marina!

"Amir ElSaffar (b. 1977, USA) is a composer, trumpeter, vocalist, santur player, and modular synthesizer artist whose innovative compositions blend elements of jazz, classical, and traditional Arabic music. His newly established label, Maqām Records, released its first album earlier this year, Maqam Al-Iraq, by legendary vocalist, Hamid Al-Saadi and is now following up with an album of ElSaffar’s work, New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal. Recorded live in Berlin in 2023, the album captures the ineffable magic of ElSaffar’s first encounter with Greek pianist Tania Giannouli, a star on the European jazz scene, alongside his NYC-based collaborators: acclaimed drummer and bandleader, Tomas Fujiwara, and saxophonist Ole Mathisen, who is also a featured member of ElSaffar’s Two Rivers and Rivers of Sound orchestra. The quartet merges Arabic maqām with jazz harmony and features microtonal and prepared piano. In addition to the concert itself, the album features alternate takes that were recorded at Pierre Boulez Saal the next day without an audience.

RIYL: Classic artists: Miles Davis - “Sketches of Spain,” “Kind of Blue,” John Coltrane - “A Love Supreme,” “Ballads,” Don Cherry - “Relativity Suite,” Ahmed Abdul Malik - “Jazz Sahara,” “East Meets West,” Cecil Taylor, John Hassel, Hossam Ramzy, Ziad Rahbani.
Contemporary artists: Vijay Iyer, Ibrahim Maalouf, Ambrose Akinmusire, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Dhafer Youssef"

Fin" is the fourth album by Spanish band Exnovios, a group that has been described as a blend of Spacemen 3 influences and the best of Spanish '60s pop. The new dozen songs that make up their fourth LP happily shifts away a bit from to the usual unbeatable formula of this Pamplona-based quartet (garage reverbcore as if sung by Spanish legends Juan y Junior) and add new and fascinating layers-at once fresh yet entirely logical in the evolution of such a unique band within the local scene. Exnovios' new collection of songs wasn't created in a rehearsal space or recorded in a single week in the studio. Rather, it was composed and rehearsed slowly in bedrooms and living rooms-songs that were later brought into the studio with the idea of finishing building them there. Over the course of nearly a year, the band approached each song one by one, in a handcrafted manner, alongside their trusted ally, producer Guillermo Mutiloa. The result is a treasure trove of songs, perhaps more psych-folk than ever, as acoustic pieces abound-full of exquisite melodies without abandoning the consciousness-expanding journeys that have made Exnovios a cult favorite: from the instant classic 'Nubes' (with its very Byrds-like harmonies and gorgeous twelve-string acoustic guitar), to the delightful Big Star-style fiction of 'El cine se queda en silencio', or even the fabulous cover of Stephin Merritt's 'Tú tú tú tú.' These are often drumless tracks, perhaps with some light percussion, always featuring detailed and exquisite arrangements of guitar, electronics, percussion, and even touches of strings. And despite the reduced presence of drums (which, along with the laid-back recording approach, makes this almost Exnovios' "White Album"), fans of the band's legendary fuzz-guitar reverbcore sound won't be disappointed: there's the psychedelic 'Viaje Alucinante', full of their classic riffs; their brutal cover of Psychic TV's 'Godstar' (drenched in echo and eccentric vocal effects); and the perfectly crafted 'Naves Misteriosas', which pulls off the impossible feat of sounding like 'Cerca de las Estrellas'-era Los Pekenikes in the verses, Phil Spector in the chorus, and the Ramones in the post-chorus. And there's much more: percussion reminiscent of the most 'baggy' Primal Scream on the brilliant 'Aún no es tarde'; love lyrics wrapped in an exquisite drum machine soaked in reverb and Suicide-style Farfisa on 'Ha venido a quedarse'; the beautiful two-chord electronic Christmas carol 'Ya es Navidad'; and that lysergic waltz that sings of the peace brought by karmic revenge, carried along by waves of fuzz and delay, titled 'El día del juicio final.' "Fin" reveals more sides and nuances of Exnovios than ever before-a festival of eclectic styles that all remain true to the musical vision that has defined them over the past decade, with their melodic powers at the peak of their talent.

Hikmah is an astonishing solo piano work from virtuosic and far-ranging
sound scientist; deep and compassionate thinker and musical treasure: Pat
Thomas
Pat Thomas was Born in Oxford, UK to Antiguan parents on July 27, 1960.
Interestingly, just over 4 months separate his birth to that of fellow modern piano
master Matthew Shipp (Dec 7, 1960) - whose The Piano Equation was TAO Forms
inaugural release. Thomas is most certainly among the Black Mystery School Pianists
of which Shipp elucidates in the title essay of his recently published first book.
Eight thoroughly focused improvised and otherwise compositions recorded at Fish
Factory studio in London. The album's title, Hikmah, means "wisdom" in Arabic. The
title is also presented in two different forms of Arabic calligraphic script on the cover
artwork. This album brings the information. The vibrantly living jazz tradition and new
modes of expression in abundance are brought forth from a lifetime of work and a
decades long devotion to Sufism, understanding that the practice and performance of
this music is an elemental form of spiritual practice. As William Parker writes in the
liner notes, "the music becomes the prophet and the prayer all in one gesture." And,
"If you haven't yet heard the music of Pat Thomas, get hip to it quickly."
Attuned American audiences are most likely to have become familiar with Pat
Thomas through his work with the quartet [Ahmed] , whom over recent years have
amazed with their mesmeric, long-form explorations on the compositions of Ahmed
Abdul-Malik, and more recently, Thelonious Monk. Their debut US performance took
place in March 2025, and TAO Forms were lucky members of the rapt audience at
Roulette in Brooklyn that night; the group flew to Knoxville the next day to perform to
an equally rapt audience at Big Ears.
Available on 6- panel digipak CD printed on heavyweight board, with liner notes by
William Parker and LP with insert featuring liner notes by William Parker & Pat
Thomas Discography + download card. Ltd edition of 500.

Charmaine Lee ist eine in New York lebende Sängerin, Komponistin und Elektronik-Künstlerin, die für ihre furchtlosen Erkundungen von Stimme, Geräuschen und Improvisation bekannt ist. Zu ihren Kollaborationen zählen Ikue Mori, Conrad Tao, JACK Quartet, Spektral Quartet und Wet Ink Ensemble, mit Auftritten im Lincoln Center, MoMA und Storm King Art Center. Nach ihrem von der Kritik gefeierten Debüt KNVF (Erratum Musical , 2021) kehrt Charmaine Lee mit Tulpaa zurück, einem kühnen neuen Statement, das das Ausdruckspotenzial der menschlichen Stimme und der Elektronik bis an die Grenzen treibt. Während ihre früheren Arbeiten ruhige Texturen und gestische Nuancen erforschten, ist Tulpa viszeral und unmittelbar und verbindet rohe Stimmkraft mit dichten Schichten analoger und digitaler Bearbeitung. Inspiriert von der Körperlichkeit des Rock der 70er Jahre und den esoterischen Eigenschaften von Hochspannungs-Röhrengeräten, schafft Lee eine Klangwelt, die sowohl wild als auch futuristisch ist. Tulpa pulsiert mit gesättigten Obertönen, mikroskopischen Details und dynamischen Verschiebungen in der Skala, die zwischen Intimität und Unermesslichkeit hin- und herpendeln. Produziert und aufgenommen von Randall Dunn (SUNNO))), Kali Malone, Anna von Hausswolff), wurde Tulpa mit einer einzigartigen räumlichen Technik erstellt: Lees Stimme wurde in ein direktes Signal und mehrere Vintage-Röhrenverstärker aufgeteilt, die als Lautsprecher dienten, wodurch eine feedbackreiche, dimensionale Umgebung entstand. Das Ergebnis ist eine Aufnahme, die sich taktil und immersiv anfühlt - gleichzeitig geerdet und spektral. ,Ich war fasziniert von diesem Sound der 70er Jahre - wie lebendig und unvorhersehbar er sich anfühlte und doch so tief verkörpert war", sagt Lee. ,In Tulpa geht es darum, Grenzen aufzulösen: zwischen Körper und Maschine, Raum und Wahrnehmung, Klang und Illusion." Der Titel bezieht sich auf ein Konzept aus der tibetischen Mystik: Ein Tulpa ist ein Wesen, das durch konzentriertes Denken heraufbeschworen wird. Lee verwendet diese Idee als Metapher für ihre Praxis, in der Klang zu einem materiellen Akt der Vorstellungskraft wird, der zwischen Präsenz und Erscheinung wechselt. Das Album endet mit einem meditativen Duett mit dem weltberühmten Reed-Spieler Ned Rothenberg an der Bassklarinette , einem spärlichen und weitläufigen Track, der vom Noh-Theater inspiriert ist. Es bietet einen Moment der Stille, der noch lange nach dem Ende des Albums nachhallt.

"Imagine More is the follow-up to Lophae's acclaimed debut Perfect Strangers (January 2025).
Recorded live to 2-inch,16-track analogue tape with the band all in one room, engineered and mixed by Benedic Lamdin (Nostalgia 77), and mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones (Gearbox Studios), this second offering from guitarist and composer Greg Sanders' quartet ventures deeper into their distinctive blend of modern jazz, psychedelic exploration, and world music flourishes.
Four gifted improvisers navigate Sanders' compositions with mercurial dialogue and musical communion, weaving melodic elegance with rhythmic complexity, creating sound-worlds that echo Jeff Parker, Joao Gilberto, and Blake Mills while channeling the sophistication of Stan Getz, Bill Frisell, and Edu Lobo.
Fizzing electric guitar, flowing saxophone lines, and skittering rhythmic interplay transport listeners from north-west London's Fish Factory recording studio to the musical capitals of New York, New Orleans, Rio De Janeiro, Bamako, and Johannesburg - anchored by Sanders' unmistakable compositional voice and the quartet's intuitive sensitivity."

New single by Romperayo on 7-inch vinyl spinning at 45 rpm, released by the Austrian label discos
elgozo.
This record is a tribute to the sound of Cumbia Sabanera de Acordeón from Colombia, in dialogue with
Mexico’s Cumbia Sonidera. It also pays homage to the melodic line of the first generation of
Colombian accordion masters of Cumbia Sabanera such as Joaquín Betín, Emiro Caicedo, and
Policarpo Calle.

The two tracks are built on a solid rhythmic foundation of bass and percussion, accompanying a
melodic interplay between accordion and analog synthesizer.Mixed and produced by Pedro Ojeda Acosta at Romperayo Studios, both songs were recorded live, in
quartet format, at Mambo Negro Studios in Bogotá, Colombia, by Daniel Michel, featuring Iván
Medellín on accordion, Nicolás Eckardt on electric bass, Juan Manuel Toro on analog synth, and Pedro
Ojeda on percussion.
This single offers a first taste of Romperayo’s upcoming LP, set for release in early 2026 — once again
on discos elgozo.

With a multi-decade spanning back catalogue behind him, Bearface aka Raj Panasa shows no signs of slowing down. Over the years he has built a sturdy reputation around his distinct and innovative feel-good touch whether that be on his own Beartone Records, or the many other labels he has shared his classy sound with.

“Remakes and Raw Cuts Vol. 1” is the launch of a new vinyl series from the London-based producer, a safe place for him to showcase his eclectic sound, alongside edits and remakes of some of his favourites over the years, all finding a home on his Beartone label.

Starting off on the A side Bearface provides a funk fuelled latin explosion with his version of the classic “Tudo Que Você Podia Ser”, sassy disco attitude ready for the summer months, presenting some unforgivable dance floor mania. The A2 “Got To Be” is an original cut, meandering between playful guitar licks, and stripped back, hypnotic percussion, there is a curious atmosphere as the track continues to simmer.

On the flip side an edit from the revered beatmaker. First up he edits “Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’” by Jermaine Jackson, the infectious vocal injects a zesty life into a killer electro groove, a playful and animated trip ready to rock the floor! Closing out the EP is the retro sounding “Everything”, the robotic vocal flashes in and out, nodding towards Daft Punk, boasting beautiful strings and crispy hi-hats bringing that day time energy.

Bearface teasing those summer moments with a jam packed EP brimming with sunshine and positivity, dive in and feel the fun!

This is the story of an artist in search of sound and breath: an artist who dares to question the rhythm of silence—an invitation to rethink music, sound, and musical collaboration. This is the story of a journey that, after opening countless paths, has finally found its vessel—and its messengers. Three artists of profound musical truth and radical freedom, merging into an exceptional trio that crosses genres and transcends words in a journey toward pure emotion.

Le Rythme du Silence is the culmination of this long search. Yom delivers it here with violinist Théo Ceccaldi and cellist Valentin Ceccaldi—kindred spirits in sound. “I’ve been working on this idea of the ‘rhythm of silence’ for years,” Yom explains. “I first heard the phrase from a Sufi master, describing the foundation of meditation. It struck something deep in me. I’ve practiced meditation for a long time, and we often think of it as a kind of stillness—opposed to noise and life. But in truth, the rhythm of silence enables meditation. It means accepting that the world continues to move and live around you, even as you try to be still. I wanted to compose from that place. To imagine sound as vibratory matter—the primal substance of creation. That required letting go of fixed structures: forgetting melodies, abandoning the idea of a constructed solo. I needed to leave behind music as a system, and touch sound as a living, breathing entity. It took years. Many projects led me elsewhere. But with the Ceccaldi brothers, I finally found the right resonance. Working with them was simply obvious—it was indredibly powerful.”

Yom first rose to prominence reimagining Jewish traditional music with his 2008 debut New King of Klezmer Clarinet. Since then, his path has led through rock (With Love, 2011; You Will Never Die, 2018), electronic utopias (The Empire of Love, 2013), meditative and sacred soundscapes (Prière, 2018), and countless unclassifiable hybrids (Unue, 2009; Green Apocalypse, 2010). It was inevitable that he would eventually cross paths with the free-spirited Théo and Valentin Ceccaldi—two artists who also place collaboration and genre-blurring at the heart of their artistic development. Their projects are always bold, demanding, and full of life (Kutu, Tricollectif, ONJ, Velvet Revolution, Grand Orchestre du Tricot, Lagon Noir, Constantine, etc.). And so, when the three met within the iXi string quartet, something clicked.
“I was seated between the two of them in the quartet,” Yom recalls, “and I could feel their energy flowing from both sides—it was wild! They’re so tuned into each other, they don’t need words. It’s like they’re connected by musical Wi-Fi. The groove happens instantly. They’re precise when they want to be—thanks to their experience in pop-influenced projects —but they can also let go completely, diving into pure sound. That’s exactly what this project needed.”

Without a single rehearsal, the trio formed instinctively. They began performing Yom’s compositions live, unfolding them into a single continuous piece, where clarinet and strings stretch the limits of sound and breath.
Bowed, plucked, or prepared with clothespins, the Ceccaldi strings engage in a playful and intense dialogue with Yom’s custom B-flat clarinet. Through their imaginative listening and fearless invention, air and space open into a vast new soundscape—one that lies somewhere between meditation and healing music.

“When Yom shared the concept of the rhythm of silence, we were immediately drawn in,” says cellist Valentin Ceccaldi. “There’s a deep intensity and spiritual commitment in his music that really spoke to me. With this trio, we’re trying to dive into the core of sound—but also to create a kind of communion with the audience. It’s like gradually turning up the volume on silence, and realizing it’s made of countless tiny sounds—the music of particles in motion" This stripped-down intensity demands full presence—body and mind—of these three musicians, vibrationally connected in a state close to trance. With them, we enter a journey - not religious, but sacred nonetheless.
The Rhythm of Silence becomes an echo of our most intimate, most distant inner landscapes.
An album—and a trio—to return to without end.

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

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

Requiescat Record is the new EP by New Brutalism, a minimal rock quartet formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1998. The band comprises vocalist Shane Elliott, guitarist/vocalist Matt Hall, bassist/vocalist David Basford, and drummer Carey Balch. The three-track release - "088," "087" and "089," in keeping with their strict numerical naming convention - was recorded in 2021 by the late, great Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, and mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service in 2025. For the band, "less is more" became a guiding principle - channeled through an unwaveringly raw, direct, and honest approach to sound. Out of partly sound, partly aesthetic, mainly a thirst to build, New Brutalism performs on aluminum instruments built by the band members. They chose the material because itE¼s lighter than steel, more consistent than wood, and easy to machine. Above all, itE¼s precise - and thereby, can produce precise music. In 2021, New Brutalism entered Electrical Audio to record Requiescat Record. Named after a Latin term meaning a prayer for the repose of a dead person, Requiescat Record retroactively became a dedication to AlbiniE¼s memory. The band acknowledges that so much of the aesthetic, interests and sounds they admired are a product of his influence and the circle of artists around him. His death instigated a state of urgency. A desire to act became more pressing, to strike more often, and usher in a new era of productivity. Shattered and kinetic, forgedby time and tragedy, with god-given sonicquality, Requiescat Record may acknowledge the dead, but this music feels ever so alive.

Requiescat Record is the new EP by New Brutalism, a minimal rock quartet formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1998. The band comprises vocalist Shane Elliott, guitarist/vocalist Matt Hall, bassist/vocalist David Basford, and drummer Carey Balch. The three-track release - "088," "087" and "089," in keeping with their strict numerical naming convention - was recorded in 2021 by the late, great Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, and mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service in 2025. For the band, "less is more" became a guiding principle - channeled through an unwaveringly raw, direct, and honest approach to sound. Out of partly sound, partly aesthetic, mainly a thirst to build, New Brutalism performs on aluminum instruments built by the band members. They chose the material because itE¼s lighter than steel, more consistent than wood, and easy to machine. Above all, itE¼s precise - and thereby, can produce precise music. In 2021, New Brutalism entered Electrical Audio to record Requiescat Record. Named after a Latin term meaning a prayer for the repose of a dead person, Requiescat Record retroactively became a dedication to AlbiniE¼s memory. The band acknowledges that so much of the aesthetic, interests and sounds they admired are a product of his influence and the circle of artists around him. His death instigated a state of urgency. A desire to act became more pressing, to strike more often, and usher in a new era of productivity. Shattered and kinetic, forgedby time and tragedy, with god-given sonicquality, Requiescat Record may acknowledge the dead, but this music feels ever so alive.

Belgian drummer and composer Jelle Van Giel presents All I Hear, the first full-length album of his new band, Close Distance.

All I Hear unfolds in ten chapters - nine on vinyl, with an additional track on CD. Each track depicts its own world. Some burst to life, driven by energy that draws you in and melodies that linger. Others take their time, emerging like landscapes through morning mist, shaped by shifting textures and quiet detail.

Subtle soundscapes and cinematic colors blend with improvisation and groove, creating an immersive listening experience that speaks to both head and heart. This is music that paints with sound, drawing the listener deep into the world of Close Distance: a quartet in which Jelle invites his fellow musicians Roeland Celis (guitar), Ewout Pierreux (piano/rhodes) and Yannick Peeters (double bass) to join him on his journey and sometimes lead the way.

First time vinyl reissue, expanded and deluxe double gatefold 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork and fresh liners written by Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours)
Alan James Eastwood's glorious Seeds is a certified folk-funk lost-classic.

But who was Alan James Eastwood? He had never hit the big time and commercial success eluded him. By the mid-1970s, his musical career was pretty much over and he was almost unknown except among deep heads, amongst whom he would gain cult status.

Original copies of the 1971 vinyl release of Seeds exchange hands for high sums, if you can find one. This expanded 2LP contains an extra record, collecting 9 rare non-album singles and is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned liner notes courtesy of Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours).

With the long overdue deluxe reissue of this prized artefact, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Alan James Eastwood. RIYL Nick Drake, Rodriguez, Richie Havens.

Alan James ‘Bugsy’ Eastwood was a renowned musician and singer who came to prominence in the late 1960s with The Exception, an unsung but excellent band from Birmingham. The Exception released many singles, the first featuring friend Robert Plant on tambourine, before an album, The Exceptional Exception. However, by this time, Bugsy was feeling constrained and restless; he left the band within weeks of the release.

Having vanished from the scene, he was honing a deeper, introspective edge to his songwriting. His demos found their way to the sound engineer and producer Mike Cooper at Pan Music Studios in Denmark Street. Loving what he heard, Eastwood soon entered a recording session with Cooper. The session was just Alan, his guitar and harmonica and - by all accounts - it was remarkable. With the songs, the voice and such an exceptional talent, it was hard to go wrong. Says Mike: "We had John Hawkins do the big string arrangements and Richard Hewson arranged the string quartet. We overdubbed the orchestrations on Alan's original session recordings, adding Chris Karan on tabla and various percussion. We considered re-recording the vocals but found that the magic on that original session was so exceptional overdubbing would not be as good as the atmospheric 'live' performance."

Mike and Alan viewed each track as a different entity, giving the album a diverse sonic palette. Assessing each song individually, they decided which would be suitable for each arranger. Top-flight session musicians were added to the roster to complete the sound, with Byron Lye Fook (father of musician Omar) on drums, bassist Mike Ward, Brian Pickles on marimba and jazz drummer Chris Karan on tabla and percussion. Recorded in a matter of days in Pan's small 8-track studio, they carefully added overdubs, rhythm sections and four string sessions arranged by Hawkins, with Hewson's arrangements recorded at Trident Studios.

Seeds was Alan James Eastwood's debut solo album – indeed, his only solo album - and was originally issued on President in 1971. It melded Eastwood’s impressive rock sensibilities with a folk thread to superb effect. His arresting voice - its deep, rough-hewn soulfulness - coupled with gorgeous string-drenched backing, make this a phenomenal listen. It really is a great 70s singer-songwriter record - with touches of acid-folk and folk-funk throughout.

It opens with "She's Getting Married In August", a mellow tune with Richard Hewson's strings arranged around Alan's straightforward guitar structure. Up next, the joyous, sun-dappled guitar and strings workout "Evenin' Rain" glides by before the fragile, accordion-enhanced "Les Papillons" breezes out of the speakers. The bluesy "Zeena" follows, featuring vocals and acoustic guitar and showcasing Eastwood's effortless harmonica. Starting out as a ballad, "Virgin Morn" builds with soaring strings and gospel-tinged backing vocals from Marilyn Powell and jazz singer Josephine Stahl. The A-side closes with the title track, "Seeds". With a chugging mid-tempo beat, soulful vocals and a beautiful Bacharach-esque string arrangement, it truly is stop-you-in-your-tracks spectacular.

Side B opens with "Crystal Blue", gilded by Lye Fook's marimba, lush gospel-esque backing vocals and handclaps. Eastwood's acoustic guitar begins "Lady Carole", which starts as a bluesy ballad and builds with more string arrangement, lifting the track to another height. A towering highlight of epic proportions, "Lotus Child" is a true masterpiece of arrangement. It opens with simple yet stunning do-do-dah vocal harmonies blended with John Hawkins's strings, bass lines and rhythmic beats, forming a vibe very much in conversation with the sounds coming from LA's Laurel Canyon. Next up, the heartwarming "Last Prayer", dedicated to Alan's first and last love, contains a melancholic vocal with a wistful string-drenched arrangement that would sit comfortably in a Federico Fellini score. Bringing the album to a close, "Hymn For Today" is a melodic raga with tabla, strings and a soft-psych feel. Eastwood's prophetic whisper - "I am real. At last, I am real" - profoundly hits home.

Kicking off the extra disc is the sparsely funky and country-tinged "Boston", released as the flip to the astonishing "Seeds". Next up are the two tracks that comprised Alan’s debut solo 7" single from 1968. The laconic, Bobby Charles-esque "Blackbird Charlie" evidences a real depth and charm in Eastwood's songwriting whilst the starkly brilliant flip, "My Sun", was a horizontal, atmospheric folk-tinged soundtracky precursor to his later work on Seeds.

In 1972, two further standalone singles followed. The first was the evergreen flute-driven folk-funk bomb, "Closer To The Truth", backed by the funky blues of "Strange News". The second, a deeply moving Havens-inspired "Moonchild" - rightly fawned over to this day - was flipped with "Red Shoe Truckin'", a groove-infused track. Eastwood also paired up with Marilyn Powell for a single produced by Powell's partner, Mike Cooper. Under the name Eastwood & Powell, they released their staggering rendition of "Beautiful", a rock-blues-pop song arranged by Ivor Raymonde and written by Carole King. Over on the flip, a funky Eastwood original "Opal Blue Sunday" lurked. This is not to be overlooked.

Over the years, Alan remained active on the music scene, but problems with alcohol and health complications from diabetes severely impacted his career. He spent his latter years living in London until his untimely death from heart failure on 25 October 2007, just one day before his 62nd birthday and without his music having received the real acclaim it so dearly deserved.

This deluxe reissue, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to rectifying this tragic fact. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life at Be With HQ, with the addition of passionately written liner notes specially for this landmark reissue by none other than Paul Hillery.

late night drive home have never known a world without Wifi - without access to the endless stream of joy, sorrow, heartbreak, and hope that we all tune in and tune out to on the daily. In many ways, the guys can"t really extricate themselves from that reality - even their band name comes from a random Wikipedia page - but they"re trying to at least grapple with it. "Most of us grew up on the internet with unsupervised access at a very young age," says singer Andre Portillo. "As we started foreseeing all the outcomes - both good and bad - of this kind of access and advancement, we started writing... forming a sound and message that would become our next record." The culmination of that, then, is the buoyant yet ominous as I watch my life online, the band"s debut album. late night drive home was born in El Paso, Texas, and Chaparral, New Mexico, hardworking communities where folks built their houses by hand and collars were mostly blue. Comprising guitarist Juan "Ockz" Vargas, singer Andre Portillo, drummer Brian Dolan, and bassist Freddy Baca, the entirely self-taught quartet released their first digital EP as a full band, 2021"s Am I sinking or Am I swimming?, and blew up with the single "Stress Relief," a blast of early-Aughts indie that racked in tens of millions of streams. After they signed with Epitaph Records in 2023 - and releasing 2024"s grunge-inspired 3 song EP i"ll remember you for the same feeling you gave me as i slept - they found themselves playing stages their indie idols previously shredded: Coachella, Shaky Knees, Austin City Limits, and Kilby Block Party. Since the end of the pandemic, though, the band had been dreaming up as i watch my life online. "I started thinking about the time after the pandemic and how much things were changing," says Vargas. "So the whole album is a critique of social media and the way we use the internet to distance ourselves from each other." The resulting suite of tracks is a series of online vignettes that hammers home the band"s message: the photos on your phone shouldn"t be your identity; your posts aren"t your inner monologue. A bigger life is lived where there"s no service - in your hometown on a late night road with your friends, and on stage, where the band finally found their destination after that long drive.

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.

The discovery of Doris Dennison's score represents a genuine musicological breakthrough—what once would have been "a tree falling in the woods" thirty years ago now holds the potential to render "a thunderous clap in our minds." While researching Anna Halprin's lesser-known collaborators, scholar Tom Welsh uncovered the archives of AA Leath, one of Halprin's principal dancers. Buried within these materials was Dennison's handwritten score for Earth Interval, dated May 1956. Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1908, and raised near Seattle, Dennison (1908-2009) encountered John Cage while teaching Dalcroze eurythmics at the Cornish College of the Arts. She joined Cage's earliest percussion quartet—alongside Margaret Jansen, the composer and his wife Xenia—in the group widely regarded as having performed the first complete concert of percussion music in the United States. This historic December 1938 concert was followed by tours and the landmark May 1941 performance at the California Club, comprising Cage and Lou Harrison's Double Music, the premiere of Cage's Third Construction, and Harrison's 13th Simfony.

As Bradford Bailey observes in his extensive liner notes, Earth Interval demonstrates "an extraordinary balance of elements that imbues the piece with a sense of clarity, directness, and constraint that is both distinct and ahead of its time." The work's most remarkable innovation lies in its approach to extended techniques, particularly Dennison's notation for the central movement: "In 2nd movement, 1st player lowers + raises a gong into a tub of water while beating." This technique, absorbed from Cage's experimental vocabulary, generates what Bailey describes as "fields of acoustic abstraction that bend and warp time through sustained resonances, beat, and space." The temporal sophistication of these manipulations anticipated Karlheinz Stockhausen's Mikrophonie I (1964) and Annea Lockwood's water-based sound investigations by over a decade. After joining Mills College as dance accompanist, Dennison maintained crucial connections to the Bay Area's experimental scene, collaborating with figures like Merce Cunningham and programming Cage's music throughout the 1950s.

Comprising three movements—Land Form, Air Tide, and Earth Play—Earth Interval is scored for recorder, drums, gongs, maracas, muted gongs, and bowl gongs. In total, the piece is just under eight minutes: "a fleeting glimmer of moment in time, a life spent at the cutting edge, and a singular creative vision that packs a powerful punch." When viewed in historical context, placed in contrast to roughly contemporaneous avant-garde percussion works by Cage, Harrison, Louis Thomas Hardin (Moondog), and Harry Partch, or important precursors like Edgard Varèse's Ionisation (1931) and Henry Cowell's Ostinato Pianissimo (1934), it's clear that Dennison was following her own path. Earth Interval is not derivative. It is a precursor to what was yet to come, alluding to developments of avant-garde and experimental music that wouldn't begin to appear on the cultural landscape until the 1970s and '80s, with the emergence of Post-Minimalism and more idiosyncratic artists and ensembles like Midori Takada, Ros Bandt, Peter Giger, Frank Perry, Christopher Tree, Michael Ranta, Gamelan Son of Lion, and Niagara.

This recording by Chicago's Third Coast Percussion, captured in March 2022, represents the first complete documentation of this pioneering work. The ensemble's interpretation reveals the piece's remarkable contemporaneity while maintaining its historical specificity. Where Cage, Harrison, and Partch employed "self-consciously off-kilter polyrhythms," Dennison's rhythmic sensibility anticipates minimalist developments by nearly a decade, yet integrates "forceful rests, as well as sharp shifts in sonic character, tempo, and meter, that break the momentum and breathe a sense of life into the piece's structure." This positions her work closer to Post-Minimalism decades before its emergence. The architectural approach demonstrates Dennison's understanding that "the composer almost entirely disappears" in favor of phenomenological listening experience, creating what might be called an egoless music that places its realities and meaning entirely in the ear of the beholder. The present recording, realized by Chicago's distinguished Third Coast Percussion ensemble, represents a significant achievement in experimental music scholarship and performance practice. As specialists in the Cage tradition and contemporary percussion repertoire, Third Coast Percussion approached Earth Interval with the historical sensitivity and technical precision required to illuminate Dennison's subtle compositional innovations. The March 2022 recording sessions, engineered by Colin Campbell, capture both the work's intimate chamber music qualities and its bold exploration of extended techniques. The ensemble's interpretation reveals the piece's remarkable contemporaneity—its ability to speak directly to current musical concerns while maintaining its historical specificity.

This recording serves multiple scholarly functions: it provides the first complete documentation of Dennison's compositional voice, offers insight into the broader network of experimental music practitioners surrounding Cage and Harrison, and demonstrates the sophisticated level of compositional thinking that was occurring within the Bay Area's dance-music collaborations of the 1950s. The work's emphasis on phenomenological listening—what might be called an "egoless" approach to musical experience—places it within a lineage of American experimental music that prioritizes perceptual process over compositional personality. The work's original obscurity—limited to AA Leath's performances at venues like the 1957 Pacific Coast Arts Festival at Reed College—paradoxically allowed it to remain "entirely on its own terms," free from the constraints of historical categorization. Drawing on Jacques Derrida's Archive Fever, the argument emerges that "the archive can acknowledge, celebrate, and resurrect" overlooked voices, transforming our understanding of experimental music history. The present Blume edition, featuring Third Coast Percussion's authoritative interpretation, includes a lavishly illustrated 16-page booklet designed by Bruno Stucchi / dinamomilano, containing complete scholarly apparatus, historical photographs, and detailed production notes. This recording enables "cross-temporal intersectionality," allowing Dennison to "belong to a newly formed and more dynamic understanding of the present and past," demonstrating how forgotten voices can reshape entire historical narratives when given proper scholarly attention and performance advocacy.

Bitterviper is an all-new configuration of individuals and intent. Nikos Veliotis (cello), Taku Unami (synthesizer), Sarah Hennies (percussion) and David Grubbs (piano, guitars) have all participated - solo and as collaborators - in some of the most striking avant music-making of the past couple of decades. Their quartet"s collective minimalist interplay passes through dense harmonic fields, transcendentally ionized ambient moods and soundtracks.

Das anglo-australische Indiepop-Quartett Allo Darlin' meldet sich nach über zehn Jahren mit dem neuen Album ,Bright Nights" zurück. Es ist die Rückkehr ihrer intelligenten, schönen Popmusik mit Texten, in denen Erfahrung mitschwingt, und Melodien, die klingen, widerhallen und schweben. Da sie sich und die Musik, die sie zusammen gemacht haben, vermissten, kündigten Allo Darlin' an im Oktober 2023 ein paar Konzerte in UK zu spielen, und die Reaktion der Fans war überwältigend. Die Tickets waren innerhalb Minuten ausverkauft, und die Fans reisten aus der ganzen Welt an, so dass die Band ihr Konzert in London in einen doppelt so große Halle verlegen musste. Es schien, als hätten ihre Fans Allo Darlin' genauso vermisst wie sie sich selbst. In diesem Jahr war die Band außerdem Headliner einer exklusiven Deutschland-Show auf dem Cologne Pop Fest und antwortete auf die herzliche Einladung mit einem speziellen Song mit dem Titel "Cologne". Bright Nights folgt den emotionalen Gezeiten der vorangegangenen zehn Jahre: "Es ist ein Album, das von Herzen kommt und sich mit Themen wie Liebe, Geburt und Tod beschäftigt - "Dinge, über die wir mehr nachdenken als bei unserem ersten Album. Ich hoffe, dass das Album zeitlos und fröhlich klingt, aber auch nachdenklich und emotional", sagt Songschreiberin und Sängerin Elizabeth Morris Innset. Inspiriert von einer Mischung aus klassischem (Indie-Guitar) Pop, Folk und Country, knüpft Bright Nights dort an, wo Allo Darlin' mit dem We Come From The Same Place von 2014 aufgehört hat, und erinnert an den selbstbewussten und anspruchsvollen Sound ihres zweiten Albums Europe. "Wenn ich es höre, denke ich an die Wüste, aber ich kann das Meer sehen. Die süßen Klänge der hellen Sommernächte in der nördlichen Hemisphäre, aber auch das Bewusstsein, dass der Winter eines Tages zurückkehren wird". Die Aufnahmen auf dem Album sind Live-Aufnahmen, die nach Meinung der Band die beste Art war, diese neuen Songs aufzunehmen. Allo Darlin' bringen uns an einen Ort, an dem wir uns geliebt fühlen. In einer wechselhaften Welt ist die warme Umarmung ihres neuen Albums ebenso notwendig wie willkommen. "Breezy rom-pop brilliance." 8/10, NME - "Classic indie pop... doesn't rewrite the formula for wistful bedsit charm as much as show that it can still be carried out masterfully." Pitchfork - "A masterclass of modern cult pop." The Guardian - "Terrific, witty and heartfelt, like a less moody Belle & Sebastian." The New York Times

Das anglo-australische Indiepop-Quartett Allo Darlin' meldet sich nach über zehn Jahren mit dem neuen Album ,Bright Nights" zurück. Es ist die Rückkehr ihrer intelligenten, schönen Popmusik mit Texten, in denen Erfahrung mitschwingt, und Melodien, die klingen, widerhallen und schweben. Da sie sich und die Musik, die sie zusammen gemacht haben, vermissten, kündigten Allo Darlin' an im Oktober 2023 ein paar Konzerte in UK zu spielen, und die Reaktion der Fans war überwältigend. Die Tickets waren innerhalb Minuten ausverkauft, und die Fans reisten aus der ganzen Welt an, so dass die Band ihr Konzert in London in einen doppelt so große Halle verlegen musste. Es schien, als hätten ihre Fans Allo Darlin' genauso vermisst wie sie sich selbst. In diesem Jahr war die Band außerdem Headliner einer exklusiven Deutschland-Show auf dem Cologne Pop Fest und antwortete auf die herzliche Einladung mit einem speziellen Song mit dem Titel "Cologne". Bright Nights folgt den emotionalen Gezeiten der vorangegangenen zehn Jahre: "Es ist ein Album, das von Herzen kommt und sich mit Themen wie Liebe, Geburt und Tod beschäftigt - "Dinge, über die wir mehr nachdenken als bei unserem ersten Album. Ich hoffe, dass das Album zeitlos und fröhlich klingt, aber auch nachdenklich und emotional", sagt Songschreiberin und Sängerin Elizabeth Morris Innset. Inspiriert von einer Mischung aus klassischem (Indie-Guitar) Pop, Folk und Country, knüpft Bright Nights dort an, wo Allo Darlin' mit dem We Come From The Same Place von 2014 aufgehört hat, und erinnert an den selbstbewussten und anspruchsvollen Sound ihres zweiten Albums Europe. "Wenn ich es höre, denke ich an die Wüste, aber ich kann das Meer sehen. Die süßen Klänge der hellen Sommernächte in der nördlichen Hemisphäre, aber auch das Bewusstsein, dass der Winter eines Tages zurückkehren wird". Die Aufnahmen auf dem Album sind Live-Aufnahmen, die nach Meinung der Band die beste Art war, diese neuen Songs aufzunehmen. Allo Darlin' bringen uns an einen Ort, an dem wir uns geliebt fühlen. In einer wechselhaften Welt ist die warme Umarmung ihres neuen Albums ebenso notwendig wie willkommen. "Breezy rom-pop brilliance." 8/10, NME - "Classic indie pop... doesn't rewrite the formula for wistful bedsit charm as much as show that it can still be carried out masterfully." Pitchfork - "A masterclass of modern cult pop." The Guardian - "Terrific, witty and heartfelt, like a less moody Belle & Sebastian." The New York Times

LERA is a brand new sardinian quartet forging a unique blend of post-rock, post-metal and doom,weaving hypnotic and heavy riffs with atmospheric soundscapes.
Their music thrives on contrasts--crushing, repetitive riffs that spiral into obsession, dissolving into delicate ambient textures that evokes a dreamlike state.
Their debut album, Reverie, is set for release in May 2025 via Subsound Records.


ABOUT REVERIE
"Reverie" thrives on contrasts-crushing, repetitive riffs that spiral into obsession, dissolving into delicate ambient textures that evokes a dreamlike state.
If you're looking for hypnotic and heavy riffs, slow arpeggios and crushing crescendos, powerful rhythms and ethereal vocals, just go for it - you will not be disappointed.

LERA is a brand new sardinian quartet forging a unique blend of post-rock, post-metal and doom,weaving hypnotic and heavy riffs with atmospheric soundscapes.
Their music thrives on contrasts--crushing, repetitive riffs that spiral into obsession, dissolving into delicate ambient textures that evokes a dreamlike state.
Their debut album, Reverie, is set for release in May 2025 via Subsound Records.


ABOUT REVERIE
"Reverie" thrives on contrasts-crushing, repetitive riffs that spiral into obsession, dissolving into delicate ambient textures that evokes a dreamlike state.
If you're looking for hypnotic and heavy riffs, slow arpeggios and crushing crescendos, powerful rhythms and ethereal vocals, just go for it - you will not be disappointed.

VERY LIMITED 2025 REPRESS ON BEAM OF LIGHT VINYL .

Everything changed for The Beths when they released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. The indie rock band had long been nurtured within Auckland, New Zealand’s tight-knit music scene, working full-time during the day and playing music with friends after hours. Full of uptempo pop rock songs with bright, indelible hooks, the LP garnered them critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, and they set out for their first string of shows overseas. They quit their jobs, said goodbye to their home town, and devoted themselves entirely to performing across North America and Europe. They found themselves playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie. Almost instantly, The Beths turned from a passion project into a full-time career in music.

Songwriter and lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes worked on what would become The Beths’ second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, in between these intense periods of touring. Like the group’s earlier music, the album tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends. Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.

"If you're at a certain age, all your friends scatter to the four winds,” Stokes says. “We did the same thing. When you're home, you miss everybody, and when you're away, you miss everybody. We were just missing people all the time.”

With songs like the rambunctious “Dying To Believe” and the tender, shoegazey “Out of Sight,” The Beths reckon with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time. People who love each other inevitably fail each other. “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations/They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings on “Dying to Believe.” The best way to repair that failure, in The Beths’ view, is with abundant and unconditional love, no matter how far it has to travel. On “Out of Sight,” she pledges devotion to a dearly missed friend: “If your world collapses/I’ll be down in the rubble/I’d build you another,” she sings.

“It was a rough year in general, and I found myself saying the words, 'wish you were here, wish I was there,’ over and over again,” she says of the time period in which the album was written. Touring far from home, The Beths committed themselves to taking care of each other as they were trying at the same time to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. They encouraged each other to communicate whenever things got hard, and to pay forward acts of kindness whenever they could. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Their most emotive and heartfelt work to date, Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it -- a sentiment we need now more than ever.

One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind".



In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was 'going on behind'. We see that music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical.



Our liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz, and the tracks we've chosen cover the key period of the early 1960s to the 1980s. It was during these dark years of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and its satellite states produced a number of outstanding artists playing in a variety of styles. The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome.



We chronicle the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. What went on behind the Iron Curtain in these countries was once mysterious and unknown to the West, but the perseverance of their artists provided sound and light amid the secretive, dark days of the communist-capitalist standoff. There was no end of life-affirming spiritual jazz behind the Iron Curtain.



"Whether it's by improvisation in the African-American jazz tradition, or by a village kobza player standing on top of a damn hill - he feels connected to the stars."

Mia Zapata was the greatest rock singer of her time. She may have likely been the greatest blues singer in punk rock history, the woman who married the 78 and the '78. Tragedy did not make this true. Mia Zapata made this true, and the ferocious, spring-loaded shrapnel frame that was built around her by Andy Kessler (guitar: metronomic and furious), Matt Dresdner (bass: fluid, punching, beat-addicted and melodic), and Steve Moriarty (drums: martial and explosive) - who, with Mia, combined to form The Gits - made it true. The Gits were formed at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in mid-1986, grabbing and swapping pieces of art, thrash, noise, punk rock, classic rock, and all the sorts of magical silly and bookish jingle bells that an old-school liberal arts education handed you; for the next few years they worked on turning it all into something tough, sensitive, both brutal and kind. Andy, Matt, Mia, and Steve moved to Seattle in middish 1989, landing in a house on Capitol Hill where they (and fellow travelers) wood-shedded and rehearsed for the next few years. The Gits put out three EPs in 1990 and '91 before signing with C/Z Records and releasing their first full-length album, Frenching the Bully. Seattle quickly claimed the quartet as their own and embraced the Gits blend of ferocious fangs and soft heart, the slug/slap of the guitars, and the gorgeous, soft underbelly of the poetic emotions. These qualities not only fit in with the doe-eyed/sharp-clawed grunge ethos but earned the Gits the respect of their peers, including Nirvana, who tapped them to open a major local show in 1990. Then other stuff happened, and their frantic, confessional barbed-heart snowball began rolling up hill very, very fast; the Gits "quickly" (hah! After half a decade learning to implode and explode hearts and stomping their boots on manifold beer-softened, Marlboro-weeded wood stages!) inspired rapture, awe, and the levitation that happened when peak emotion meets peak grindage in front of amps spitting out something that sounded like the mad marriage of Bolan swagger and Dischord tension_ all fronted by a genuinely incomparable woman who held her heart in her mouth and shared it, in all its celebration and fear, without hesitation. The Gits were an angry, inflamed slinky fully in tune with and tuned by the Bessie Patti Smith of her time, truly the only singer who could summon Joplin, Poly Styrene, Sam Cooke, Iggy Pop and Ian MacKaye all in the same goddamn song. In 1993, less than four weeks after accepting an offer from Atlantic Records, Mia died. I leave it at that, because this is not about death; it's about an extraordinary life. I do not say, "You should have been there," I say, "We are lucky so many of us were, and I am so glad we have this extraordinary evidence of the power and gifts of Mia and the Gits that you now can hold in your hands." And I note that Frenching the Bully, this extraordinary testament to the soul, shock, fury and feeling of the Gits, has been long out of print on vinyl and CD, and this new edition - remastered by legendary Seattle engineer Jack Endino - joyfully rectifies that. -Tim Sommer

WOW. Daniel O'Sullivan's transcendent new album, Eros, is one of the greatest things we've ever heard. A simply stunning song cycle of hypnotic, experimental contemporary chamber music composed for a 14-piece ensemble. Combining minimalism, complex syncopation, detailed acoustic textures, weird intervals and samurai precision, this record will elegantly blow your mind. When Daniel first sent us this, he pitched it as “Liquid Swords meets Michael Nyman”. Trust us, he wasn't wrong. A "unique hybrid orchestral music", it presents a confluence of Daniel's longstanding fixations; indeed, there's elements of Nyman, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Magma, Aaron Copland and RZA. But this is wholly O'Sullivan's. Originally commissioned for the Sonoton Music Library in Munich, Eros now receives a deluxe vinyl release courtesy of Be With Records, bringing this meticulously crafted work to a wider audience. Limited to just 500 copies for the world, these are gonna fly.

An English composer and multi-instrumentalist, Daniel O'Sullivan’s career has been marked by versatility and innovation. In addition to his work with Sonoton, he has composed extensively for the legendary KPM music library, contributing to its storied legacy of production music. As a deep virtuoso and collaborator, O'Sullivan has also played in a number of influential projects, including Ulver, Sunn O))), This Is Not This Heat, Grumbling Fur and Miracle (with Steve Moore), leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary experimental music landscape.

O’Sullivan’s first foray into classically informed chamber music, Eros is a culmination of his long-standing fixations and expansive musical influences. The album features arrangements that are as detailed as they are emotionally resonant, showcasing his unparalleled ear for intervals and mastery of counterpoint. The music brims with complex rhythmic syncopation and a sensitivity to texture and space, resulting in a soundscape that is both intoxicating and dauntingly precise.

Recorded June 2023 and February 2024, in Brussels, London and Carmarthenshire, Wales, Eros features members of Echo Collective (Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant), Thighpaulsandra (from seminal post-industrial band Coil), and jazz pioneer Oren Marshall. Daniel's sonic weapons of choice, in his own inimitable words, were "Big Bad Drum, Pee Anne Oh, Low End Brass, Willowy Winds & Samurai Strings." You get the picture. As a cyclical suite, this is a record that really needs to be heard in its entitreity, from start to finish, to truly appreciate the genius at work here.

A jaw-dropping statement of intent, the minimalist "Golden Verses" sets the tone with its complex cue which has your neck snapping right when it feels like it needs to. Listen and you'll understand. A syncopated tangle of sharp strings, crunchy bass, drums percussion and bright piano and mallets vie for position with French horn and woodwind melody in the most compelling and unexpected ways. Quite simply, it's one of the finest album openers I've ever heard. It's followed by the atmospheric rippling minimalism of "Lyre Lyre", a gorgeous gem with shimmering chimes, bright melody, human percussion and syncopated pizzicato strings. It kinda comes on like a less-abstract Boards Of Canada, bursting with typical wonderment. The piano and string-drenched "Dolorous Stroke" effortlessly builds its warm, pastoral orchestration with flowing piano arpeggio, steadfast drums, expressive string quartet, rich low brass, woodwind and lyrical flute. Just sublime.

The insistent frenetic propulsion of "Plain Paper" is utterly beguiling, featuring a determined string motif, urgent drums and percussion, driving low brass and breathless, energetic flute. The haunting, interweaving string arpeggios that propel "Grapes Draped" presents a claustrophobic minimalism for chaos and darkness, with growling low woodwind and brass, spiky harpsichord, skittering flutes and tight drums. Up next, "Xanix Annum" is a stately minimalist waltz with expressive lyrical string quartet and delicate woodwind, anchored by drums and percussion. "Painting Rose" is a bouncy stop-start track with angular syncopated strings and a piano pulse underneath bright harpsichord and flutes. "Rotunda Garden" presents ethereal textural minimalism for landscapes and reflection with flowing string arpeggios, warm, low woodwind drones, floating choir and cymbal swells. Closing out this extraordinary side of music, the glowing, flowing minimalism of "Flowry Orb" features urgent organ, piano and woodwind arpeggios, half-time drums with shimmering cymbals, a soaring, beautiful violin solo and hypnotic vocal chant.

Side 2 opens with "Theia Mania" a determinedly off-kilter, angular track featuring low wind, brass and drum stomp in dialogue with lively string trio, woodwind and solo horn. The light, airy minimalism of "Painting Percy" is built around an interplay of rhythmic motifs for piano, low brass, bassoon, fluttering flutes, urgent strings, drums and percussion whilst "For Archetypes" is a delicate, gently syncopated chamber cue for nostalgia, nature, reflection and moments of calm, with steady piano motif, intimate woodwind and French horn, and warm, graceful strings. The urgent Ars Memoriae is a propulsive march for progress, processes and industry, underpinned by driving tuba, with determined strings, resolute drums, and vivid, expressive flute, clarinet and French horn.

The syncopated energetic minimalism of "Mirrored Seven" presents layers of melodic and cyclical piano, drums, low brass, harp, flute and strings. "Pure Ornament" follows, a slowly evolving chamber cue with flowing clarinet, string and harp arpeggio, plodding tuba and percussion, fluttering flute and graceful, lyrical solos. Stunning! Up next, "Brave Boy" moves from its tender, warm, lullaby-like intro with lyrical flute, clarinet and strings before opening into a playful backend driven by a bouncy tuba riff and syncopated piano, woodwind, string trio, and drums and percussion. Rounding out this astonishing piece, "Waxen Waned" is a warm, pastoral chamber cue with light lyrical woodwind, tender French horn and subtly pulsing string trio.

The album's title is a reference to Plato’s conception of Eros, which is more than romantic or physical desire. It is a dynamic and creative force that drives individuals to seek perfection whether in art, relationships, philosophy or the pursuit of truth. Wholly appropriate, here, we think. When asked what his influences were in making this astounding record, he answered thusly: "Non-musical: Householding, Pythagoras, Goethe, Grail romances, Hermeticism, Doctrine of Signatures (Parcelsus, Bohme, Pliny), Eric Rohmer, John Stezaker, Yasujiro Ozu. Musical: Duke Ellington (late suites), Smile-era Brian, early RZA, Wagner (Parsifal Overture), Magma, Mancini, Axelrod, YMO, Hildegard, Nyman, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Jobim (Stone Flower), Alessandro Alessandroni, Tavener, Moondog, Orthodox Music, Secular Music." That's some pretty deep shit. Makes you want to dive in, no?

Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. Truly, Eros is a work of extraordinary depth and sophistication. It invites listeners to immerse themselves in its intricate layers, to lose themselves in its hypnotic rhythms, and to marvel at the precision of its execution. With this release, O’Sullivan reaffirms his position as one of the most inventive and uncompromising voices in contemporary music. Do. Not. Sleep.

La Flemme is a dynamic quartet from Marseille, blending garage pop and psychedelic vibes. Comprised of Jules, Stella, Charles, and Ronie, they formed with a goal to release their debut album, La Fête, on April 25th, With their energetic sound and introspective tracks, La Flemme embodies the raw spirit of Marseille, marking their arrival as a vibrant force in the French rock scene. "La FLEMME emerges like a colorful whirlwind on the French musical landscape, drawing its audience into a universe where garage pop sounds, psychedelic textures and undeniable nervous energy mingle. Hailing from Marseille, this group of young musicians has already left its mark on the floors of French concert halls, each having previously explored the world of music within various projects. Jules, Stella, Charles and Ronie, respectively associated with Technopolice, Flathead, Tense of Fools and Avenoir, Tessina joined forces after a lazy night, deciding to create a new musical entity together. Their initial goal was simple: to get on stage for a concert within the next two months. And the result lived up to their aspirations: catchy tunes, imbued with the frenetic energy of garage rock and the desire for psychedelic sound exploration, etched in the auditory memory of their audience. La FLEMME unveiled a self-titled debut EP in 2024, with the hit tracks "Somnifères" and "Bruxisme". They now return with an album entitled "La Fête", due April 25, 2025 on EXAG' Records. "