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After years of steadily building momentum within the deeper side of drum & bass, Monika now delivers his long-awaited debut album, How We Saw Forever, landing this August on Spearhead Records.

UK-born and now based in New Zealand, Monika has developed a sound that blends deep rolling grooves, soulful textures, delicate musicality and moments of genuine emotional weight. Across the album he moves effortlessly between late-night introspection, euphoric warmth and darker, more experimental territory, showcasing an artist fully confident in his own sonic identity.

Having already made a strong impression through previous releases on Spearhead and appearances across the label’s 20-year anniversary campaign, How We Saw Forever feels like a major step forward creatively. From the haunting beauty of “What Turns Your World” featuring Oktae, through to the nostalgic rave energy of “Mango Pop” and the weightier pressure of “Syndicate”, the album captures Monika’s ability to balance emotion, atmosphere and dancefloor impact without ever feeling formulaic.

At its core, How We Saw Forever is an album about atmosphere, memory and emotion, music designed equally for solitary headphone moments and packed dancefloors at sunrise. There’s a cinematic thread running throughout the project, but also a raw honesty that gives the album its real depth.

Speaking about the album, Monika says:
“This project became a reflection of so many different seasons of life over the last few years. Some tracks came from really emotional places, others were written purely from joy and escapism, but together they tell the story of where I’ve been creatively and personally. I wanted the album to feel immersive, something people could disappear into.”

Released via BCee’s Spearhead Records — a label long celebrated for championing soulful and emotionally rich drum & bass. How We Saw Forever marks another exciting chapter for both Monika and the wider Spearhead family.

For fans of Signs of The Swarm, Thy Art is Murder and Lorna Shore The devastating new full length from one of Australia’s household names in the Deathcore genre. ‘The Darkest Side Of Humanity’ is a sprawling, hellish journey into the psyche of mankind, drawing influences from every colour of the heavy spectrum. ANIT have always been a razor sharp prospect, but with this album they seem to have found a powerful amalgamation of everything that made them so fun to listen to. The fat is trimmed, the concept is focused…the songs are HEAVY.

After orbiting the sun for six years, HMD returns in collaboration with Omformer to revisit and expand upon the enduring compositions from HMD002, Ascending and Distance, originally released in September 2020 (Late Lobster Theremin distribution). Since then, the search has been on for the right producers to breathe new life into these beloved pads and melodies. The remixers each build upon stems from Ascending and Distance, approaching the material with complete creative freedom.

Released spring 2019, HMD002 resonated through its airy, embracing, and intricately woven sound. In the years that followed, the release found its place within a rapidly evolving club music landscape, while Omformer also continued to shape their identity through releases on UTE.Rec and performances across the world.

HMD006 brings together a collection of forward-thinking artistic perspectives on today’s fast-tempo progressive club landscape, while remaining equally suited to afterparty sofa conversations or late-night kitchen burnouts. Each remix is soaked in rich, hopeful reinterpretation, combining inventive sample work, distinctive percussion, and the personal creative oddities of its four contributors.

Remixers

Alvar (Teo Bachs, Ekkel) — Co-founder of UTE.Rec
Mikkel Rev — One half of Omformer and producer on UTE.Rec
Human Space Machine — Nous’klaer Audio, De Lichting
Joachim Krüger — HMD Records

Multi-award-winning singer and songwriter Jorja Smith announces her new album, What Are The Odds featuring sole production from P2J and collaborations with Afrobeat star Wizkid and Grime icon Devlin.

With her third album What Are The Odds, Jorja continues to build on her legacy with a euphoric offering rooted firmly in dance music. Confidently channelling UKG, Grime, 2Step, Funky House, Soulful House and Afro House, this thrilling, pulsating record rarely dips below 140 BPM.

This is music to make you move says Jorja. I want people to hear it on the dancefloor, where the sun is shining, in the car and in their headphones on the night bus home. This is a record for driving and vibing.

Glasgow’s Hot Towel are a DJ & production duo, community dance party organiser and now record label reimagining the balearic spirit far from its original context and sunnier climes.

This debut EP contains 4 dance floor focused tracks tested and developed on the Hot Towel dance floor and beyond. Produced over the last 4 years in grey and rainy Glasgow these 4 tracks reinterpret the joy of warmth, connection and world building in dance music.

Warm in Your Office is a feet on the floor, head in the clouds, bouncing 90’s piano house inspired track with warm driving bass, punchy gated snare, percussion samples and a surprising nostalgic drop for fans of late 90’s and early 00’s Serie A.

The lo-fi beatbox rhythm of Low Pressure in Paradise features a melodic, rumbling bassline, vintage synth string stabs and a warm melancholic synth pad swell reminiscent of the day after the night before, or the thunderous ambience of an oncoming storm and the reflection that brings. Think warm orange and magenta sunset overcast with heavy mauve clouds and possibly a hangover from one too many negronis.

A sunbaked synth flute melody shimmers like heat haze in the latin / balearic inspired beach bar romp Last Minute Staycation. Cowbell and syncopated piano move the hips, while romantic synth strings pine for that magical other world away from the mundane. A shift in tone midway evokes the peril of a balearic dream turned nightmare, capped off with timbale and a shredding electric guitar solo serving Lambada meets Zappa.

Endless Cosmic Procession is a downtempo balearic builder that chugs along with minimal effort. Tuned percussion drives the groove, with bass and synth punctuations that reverberate into space and swirl with delay. A rising arpeggiator gently brings melody to complete the harmonic space of the track that rounds off the EP with a contemplative dance floor moment.

Als wir zuletzt von Marci (alias Marta Cikojevic von der Soft-Rock-Band TOPS aus Montreal) hörten, tanzte sie auf ihrem 2022 erschienenen Album ,Marci" den Schmerz weg. Vier Jahre später kehrt Cikojevic mit ,Mask Lady and Late Night Girl" zurück - einem Album voller Hymnen für Partygirls für die Zeit, wenn die Party vorbei ist, vorgetragen mit Liebe und Mitgefühl für die guten Zeiten und die schönen Erinnerungen. Erneut in Zusammenarbeit mit ihrem TOPS-Bandkollegen David Carriere entstanden, enthält ,Mask Lady" Elemente, die sowohl von den chaotischen Pop-Girls der Y2K-Ära wie Uffie und Kesha als auch von Cikojevics Liebe zu Powerballaden-Sängern der 80er wie White Snake und Def Leppard inspiriert sind, zusammen mit den Vintage-Synthesizern, die ,Marci" eine warm-futuristische Ästhetik verliehen. Glam-Metal-Einflüsse treten bei ,Chaotic Princess" in den Vordergrund, geschrieben und produziert mit Mike Silver (CFCF), einem über-die-Spitzen-gehenden, gitarrenlastigen Knaller über eine verrückte Nacht, in der Cikojevic einen Polizisten anfleht, sie nicht ins Gefängnis zu bringen - Eddie Van Halen auf dem Beifahrersitz, Britney am Steuer.

Multi-award-winning singer and songwriter Jorja Smith announces her new album, What Are The Odds featuring sole production from P2J and collaborations with Afrobeat star Wizkid and Grime icon Devlin.

With her third album What Are The Odds, Jorja continues to build on her legacy with a euphoric offering rooted firmly in dance music. Confidently channelling UKG, Grime, 2Step, Funky House, Soulful House and Afro House, this thrilling, pulsating record rarely dips below 140 BPM.

This is music to make you move says Jorja. I want people to hear it on the dancefloor, where the sun is shining, in the car and in their headphones on the night bus home. This is a record for driving and vibing.

Multi-award-winning singer and songwriter Jorja Smith announces her new album, What Are The Odds featuring sole production from P2J and collaborations with Afrobeat star Wizkid and Grime icon Devlin.

With her third album What Are The Odds, Jorja continues to build on her legacy with a euphoric offering rooted firmly in dance music. Confidently channelling UKG, Grime, 2Step, Funky House, Soulful House and Afro House, this thrilling, pulsating record rarely dips below 140 BPM.

This is music to make you move says Jorja. I want people to hear it on the dancefloor, where the sun is shining, in the car and in their headphones on the night bus home. This is a record for driving and vibing.

One original mix, never before released on vinyl, alongside three brand new remixes from Claptrap Allstars.

Francisco D’Argento may not have been a pioneer of the Italo Disco movement that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but his sun-soaked, refined approach captured the spirit of the era with unmistakable charm.

While D’Argento received critical attention from local press and music journals, his work unfortunately never connected with a wider audience. In later years, his output gradually slowed, and his early recordings slipped into obscurity.

With the support of the D’Argento estate, this forgotten gem has been lovingly restored and remastered from the original ½-inch tape, bringing new life to an overlooked piece of Italian electronic music history.

This release presents the original version, an uptempo, high nrg direct italo cut featuring D’Argento’s own vocals, alongside the voice of his second wife, actress and model Eleanora D’Argento.

Donald Dust delivers a powerful and thumping rework for the A2 the “Squish Mix”, a stretched-out, dubbed-out interpretation built for those late-night, hot and heavy dancefloors.

Dr Valentine takes things into the cosmos with the “Nello Spazio Mix”, slowing the tempo and drifting into hypnotic space.

Closing out the EP, Vanity Project presents a darker Robotalo Remix, stripping away the original’s outer layer and revealing a shadowy, dark-disco driven version.

Buon ascolto!

Boston’s Vermillion Sun Records has returned with its second offering, featuring Gummies Records boss and Steep co-founder Cutty (aka Cutwoes). As a child, Cutty was allergic to most common pets, prompting him to explore the world of amphibians, mainly…frogs. Each night as he dozed, his room was filled with the chirping of his slinking brothers and sisters. He has been immersed in sound ever since. Since traversing the deepest ravines of local music as a clubber, DJ, producer, label head and promoter, his productions, like his DJ sets, consistently bring unexpected twists and turns. Bouncy and psychedelic techy house goodness, beautiful ambient moments, downtempo groovers in the perfect time and place, breaks to make you dance and shake. VSR 002 encapsulates Cutty’s whole approach, delivering propulsive and tasteful tech house with ambient, dubby, tribal, and progressive influences.

Lillies in October sets the stage, book ended by gorgeous ambient waves before breaking into rolling tribal infused grooves. The Machine God delivers psychedelic wonk and circumstance providing the tech to soundtrack your deviousness. The B-side, Cutty provides a hypnotic and heady groove to sway away in Wooden Rollercoasters, while Wiersma delivers a remix full of funk and swing, showcasing how years on the dance floor can meld mind, movements and music. Whether as tools to assist the discerning DJ, or a journey for eyes closed and head down dancing, this is your gateway to hear what’s happening in the Boston underground.

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

Skyjack — the borderless five piece band spread across South Africa and Switzerland — announce their fourth studio album, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet, out 3rd July.

Recorded in December 2025 at a secluded studio outside Stellenbosch, South Africa, the album captures the vibrant live energy of the band at its most expansive — drawing together free improvisation, South African jazz traditions, chamber music, kinetic groove, and ecstatic collective interplay into a singular body of work.

“This record is a very articulate representation of our sound, having grown deep roots into the earth with high branches reaching upward and outward”, says bassist Shane Cooper. “My desire is always to create sonic universes that can envelope the listener.”

The album’s title comes from a line in a poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, reflecting the music’s balance between groundedness and transcendence. Here, Skyjack move fluidly between meditative improvisation and lush orchestration across twelve tracks of free-spirited, cosmic journeying. Inspired both by the cultural traditions and natural environments of South Africa, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet is a testament to the band’s intuitive connection and innate musical curiosity.

It arrives just over a year after Light Cycle (2024), a short gap that reflects the momentum built on tour. After exchanging sketches remotely across two continents, the band reunited in Johannesburg in late 2025, workshopped the new material onstage across South Africa, and then headed directly into the studio, where much of the album was recorded live in first takes — preserving the looseness and unpredictability central to Skyjack’s sound.

Comprised of Kyle Shepherd (piano), Shane Cooper (bass), Jonno Sweetman (drums), Andreas Tschopp (trombone), and Marc Stucki (saxophones), Skyjack first formed in Cape Town in 2013 during a fertile moment in South African jazz, as a new generation of musicians pushed against rigid genre definitions and opened the music outward toward broader sonic possibilities. Over the past decade, the band has built a singular sound drawing equally on South African groove traditions and European improvisation.

Individually, the members move between jazz, electronic music, film scoring, rock, hip-hop and experimental composition, with collaborations spanning artists including William Parker, Lionel Loueke, Zim Ngqawana, Ben LaMar Gay, Jorge Rossy, Shabaka Hutchings, William Kentridge, Makaya McCraven and Sylvie Courvoisier.

Since their self-titled debut in 2015, followed by The Hunter (2019) and Light Cycle (2024), the group has developed a reputation for immersive live performances and music that continuously reshapes itself in motion — rooted in what they describe as “warm menacing African grooves,” while refusing fixed stylistic borders.

"Motorway City" is a superb, driving-based collection of library music. The tracks on this album were all written between the mid-60s and the early 80s to hymn car travel, back when the petrol-operated motor car was seen as the transport mode of the future, when motorways were new and thrilling. It was car travel’s golden age.
The tracks are highly collectable rarities from the libraries of De Wolfe, Chappell and Hudson. It has been compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne who has also written the informative sleevenotes. It stretches from mod movers to proto-ambient, something for every car journey.

Library music soundtracked the many short films that extolled the virtues of TopTray restaurant at Watford Gap or the comfortable leather seats in an Alpine Sunbeam. These tunes illuminated the joys of motor travel, and were given titles such as ‘Fast Lane’, ‘Super City’ and ‘Clearway’.
Many of these tracks seem time specific. The sun peeks over the horizon for Basil Kirchin’s ‘Through New Territory’; Reg Tilsley’s ‘Hold The Road’ is so bright at midday that you’ll need to wear shades to stop the sun getting in your eyes; John Fiddy’s ‘City Skyline’ has to be seen (and heard) at dusk.

Ex-Soft Machine Karl Jenkins provides the tense ‘Wheeling’, and Peter Reno’s thunderous ‘Convoy’ shifts the mood up a gear. Maybe you should risk nudging the speed up, 80-plus, to the soundtrack of Alan Hawkshaw’s ‘Fuel Injection’ or Simon Park’s mellow-but-dynamic ‘Big Road’.
Beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve, "Motorway City" could be the soundtrack to your summer holiday.

In den letzten paar Jahren haben wir alle den Sinn für die Zeit verloren, aber es muss so um 2023 herum gewesen sein, dass Robert Rotifer, Journalist, Singer-Songwriter und zeitweiser Gitarrist/Bassist bei allen möglichen Bands, von Louis Philippe & The Night Mail über Swansea Sound, Penrose Web, Papernut Cambridge, André Heller, Keiron Phelan bis hin zu Fay Hallam's Band, seinen Freund Kenji, Ex-Sänger der deutschen Sunshine-Pop-Sensation Friedrich Sunglight, fragte, warum er eigentlich in keinen Bands mehr singt. Das war der Auslöser einer Zusammenarbeit, aus der zuerst langsam, dann immer schneller, eine üppige LP gewachsen ist, auf der neben Robert & Kenji noch der elegante post-Glam Veteran John Howard, das große junge Wiener Talent Leo Schlager alias The Zew, die lebende She-Punk-Legende Helen McCookerybook und der beliebteste singende Drummer der britischen Indie-Szene Ian Button zu hören sind. Die ursprüngliche Idee war, dass Robert Songs für Kenjis glockenklare, wendige Stimme schreiben sollte, was stilistisch automatisch eine melodiöse Baroque Pop-Richtung suggerierte. Als nächstes entwickelte sich ein textliches Thema, vom Opener "Considering", einem Lied an einen Freund, der seinen Weg verloren hat, über Songs der Ermutigung ("Things to do in Winter", "Stay With Us", "The More That I Think About What We Should Do") zu Songs über den feindseligen Zustand der Welt ("The Words", "Listen to the News", "Sense of Time"). Was für Rotifer als eine Reihe von Heim-Demos an Gitarre und Tasten in ungewohnten Tonarten (für Kenjis Stimme) begann, wuchs bald zu größeren Arrangements heran, angereichert durch Ian Buttons Drums, seine Stimme, weitere Instrumente und sein Ohr für einen guten Mix. Kenji und Rotifer hörten noch mehr am Horizont und beschlossen, dass dieses Material noch mehr verschiedene stimmliche Schattierungen gebrauchen konnte. Während Robert seine über den Kontinent verstreuten Freund:innen John (Südspanien), Helen (London) und Leo (Wien) für Vocal-Takes gewinnen konnte, die Ian in den Mix einfließen ließ, schrieb Roberts Tochter Emma gerade eine Seminararbeit an der Uni darüber, wie in der Independent-Musik-Szene Arbeit organisiert ist. Sie kam zu dem Ergebnis, dass das Musiker:innen-Netzwerk, in dem ihr Vater sich herumtreibt, einer Theorie der gegenseitigen Unterstützung gleicht, die man "Radical Friendship" nennt. Also widmete Rotifer dieser Idee noch einen Song, den er diesmal selber sang (nebst dem Schluss-Song "Is This Real Enough?"). Am Ende ergab es sich, dass alle Beteiligten auf jeweils einem Track die Haupt- oder Nebenstimme und auf allen anderen Songs unterstützende Harmonien singen. Auf diese Weise wurde das Album per se zu einer Verkörperung von Radical Friendship, nicht in der Theorie, sondern in der Praxis. Radical Friendship Theory is keine Band. Es ist ein liebevoll arrangierter Reigen von Songs in vielen verschiedenen Stilen, von Baroque Pop zu Psychedelia, Power Pop, Country Rock bis zu Bücherwurm-Indie, interpretiert von einem Kreis von Freund:innen, der sich immer erweitern und wandeln kann. Rotifer, der während der Fertigstellung des Albums von Canterbury nach Berlin gezogen ist, wird diese Songs in verschiedenen Städten mit verschiedenen Musiker:innen spielen, von Wien über London bis Glasgow, Hamburg, wahrscheinlich Berlin und Paris, wo immer seine radical friends zuhause sind. Indessen bringt das britische Label Spinout Nuggets die Studio-Version des Stoff in seiner Original-Besetzung heraus - eine Zelebrierung menschlicher, kreativer Freundschaft als lebensrettende Alternative zu einer Welt der digitalen Pseudokommunikation und künstlich geschürter Konflikte.

Not all tropical escapes are meant to soothe. Some are meant to seduce… and unsettle.

On Haunted Bossa Nova, Creepxotica reimagines the language of classic exotica through a darker, more cinematic lens—where swaying rhythms and lush melodies drift through shadows instead of sunlight. This isn’t background music for a carefree afternoon. It’s a late-night transmission from a hidden lounge at the edge of a dream.

Built on the bones of traditional bossa nova and mid-century exotica, the album pulses with nylon-string guitars, vibraphone shimmer, and hypnotic percussion—but everything feels just slightly off-center, like a memory slipping out of reach. There’s a tension beneath the beauty, a sense that something unseen is moving just beyond the music. Each track unfolds like a scene, contributing to a larger atmosphere that’s immersive, cohesive, and quietly haunting.

What sets Haunted Bossa Nova apart is its intention. This is not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake—it’s a deliberate evolution. Creepxotica honors the lineage of the genre while pushing it into more mysterious territory, blending tropical warmth with ambient unease and cinematic depth. The result feels less like a throwback and more like a lost soundtrack—discovered, not created.

Sonically rich and meticulously arranged, the album invites deep listening. Every tone, every pause, every echo has purpose. It’s exotica for those who crave mood over kitsch, atmosphere over imitation.

For listeners drawn to the edges of jazz, lounge, and ambient soundscapes, Haunted Bossa Nova offers something rare: a fully realized world that lingers long after the final note fades.

To mark its 10th Anniversary,
discover Awa Ly's Album "Five And A Feather" (Including one previously unreleased track) On Vinyl For The First Time !

One night, Awa had a dream.

The atmosphere was enchanted, almost mystical, enveloped in a setting that summoned the moon, the Earth, and the elements. An ancestral blend of Native American and African cultures, a shamanic being was there, speaking in an unknown language, narrating stories both real and imagined. She received these tales from others, made them her own, absorbed them, shared their joy, and soothed their harbored pain or sadness.

Upon waking, the shamanic narrator had vanished, but her presence was still palpable; Awa made her the storyteller of this new album: Five and a Feather.

Five, like all things counted by fives: the senses, the oceans, the lines of a musical staff, the fingers on a hand. And feather, the magical element that connects them-the very one Awa used to write and compose the ten tracks of this new album where, under the brush of SainaSix, she becomes the first Black woman immortalized in Mucha's Art Nouveau aesthetic.

Ballaké Sissoko's kora, Paco Sery's senza, Greg Cohen's double bass, Faada Freddy's vocals, the steel guitar, or the erhu (Chinese violin) are all elements that illuminate the shamanic storyteller's tales.

Produced alongside the duo Jean Lamoot and Pascal Danae (winners of the 2015 Victoires de la Musique in the World Music category with their band Rivière Noire), Five and a Feather faithfully captures the warm atmosphere of live-recorded sessions where instruments answer and interlock with one another, creating the perfect showcase for the album's principal instrument: Awa's voice.
Words that she delicately places or lets fall onto the notes like tears of joy or sadness, flowing from that source called love.

An album written, composed, and recorded like fine lace, starry with details that only reveal themselves to those who know how to seek them out.

UK Balearic boss Pete Herbert has been dropping sounds inspired by his worldly travels for years and now gems from the last 20 years all make it on to this essential long player. These are all sounds for sunny spots, watery retreats and beach bliss-outs with Pete's signature touch everywhere. 'Back To Bahia' is a bubbly and loose house sound, 'Later That Night' has an edge that makes is suited to sundown dancing and 'South Seas' is a horizontal escape, while 'Legzira Sunrise' is dubby downtempo with tender chords that sink you in deep. This is the sort of record that elevates your collection with magical tunes for many different moments.

Auckland-based indie-pop outfit Borderline officially plant their flag in the New Zealand music scene with their self-titled project, Borderline. Seamlessly blending the nostalgic warmth of classic indie-rock with the polished, infectious hooks of modern pop, the band delivers a sonic snapshot of youth, ambition, and navigating the fine line between late-night euphoria and introspective vulnerability. Driven by shimmering guitar lines, driving bass rhythms, and anthemic vocals, the project feels both intimately local and ready for a global stage.

Borderline serves as a definitive introduction to the band’s signature sound, trading in sun-drenched, feel-good anthems built for summer road trips alongside high-energy tracks that tackle the fast-paced nature of modern relationships. By balancing cinematic storytelling with irresistible hooks, the up-and-coming band crafts a listening experience that is both fresh and deeply relatable, securing their place as a compelling new voice to watch out of New Zealand.

Tiki Nation finds Truckstop Tomahawk charting new territory at the outer edges of modern exotica. Created by Robert Kress—one half of Kava Kon—the album treats tiki not as nostalgia, but as a living, evolving sound world. These tracks roam freely through imagined geographies: remote islands, half-remembered myths, roadside rituals, and sun-bleached dream states where vintage exotica collides with forward-leaning composition.

Rather than simply revisiting mid-century tropes, Tiki Nation recontextualizes them—layering cinematic arrangements, unexpected textures, and playful titles that hint at folklore, travel, and quiet surrealism. The result is music that feels exploratory and unbound, equally suited for deep listening, late-night reverie, or drifting into unfamiliar landscapes with a drink in hand.

The album’s visual centerpiece deepens this atmosphere. The cover art, Pele’s Release, was painted by Catherine Robbins, a self-taught artist and longtime Hawaiʻi Island resident who created the oil painting in her rainforest studio just miles below Kīlauea’s erupting summit. That proximity to raw, elemental power mirrors the album itself—beautiful, mysterious, and quietly volatile.

Tiki Nation stands as a bold statement of intent: exotica untethered from the past, alive in the present, and pointed firmly toward uncharted horizons.

DJ NOTOYA, who was among the first in Japan to spotlight Japanese music and gained international attention with his mix CD “Tokyo 1980s”—which became an
instant classic upon release. Now, his compilation “Tokyo 1980s Victor Edition,” which focuses on Victor Records’catalog and showcases his deep understanding of
the essence of 1980s Japanese music—blending elements of disco, boogie, and modern soul—is finally being reissued as a long-awaited color vinyl edition!

This release features a carefully curated selection of gems—tracks that received high praise internationally in previous digital releases—specially compiled for vinyl.
Notably, Reiko Takahashi’s “Sunset Road” is included on vinyl for the first time, a long-awaited treat for fans as the original 7-inch is now extremely hard to find.
This must-have collection for fans of Japanese music and city pop is now complete, featuring cover artwork by Hiroshi Nagai. It’s the definitive album, perfect for
everything from club nights to casual listening!

The A side opens with two ambient pieces: "Inception," gritty and haunting, built from field recordings and layered chords, and the dreamier "Regulator Dial." "Air Lock" and "DFtB" turn breaky and low-tempo, evoking early electronica. The flip moves through "Waterproof's" downtempo electro and "Make Right," the LP's most club-ready cut. Title track "Bean Soup" channels early Four Tet: bleepy, minimal, emotional, while "Sunlight" closes with blissful, calming sounds, rounding out a beautifully balanced record.

Tudor Gheorghe, aka Romansoff, is a Bucharest DJ, producer and vinyl collector with over 13 years on the capital's underground scene. Inspired by small local parties in the 2000s, he started collecting vinyl, then DJing, quickly becoming a key figure in the Bucharest club scene. Since founding his imprint Raw Tools in 2013, he's released on Lobster Theremin's Mork, Creme Organization, Les Yeux Orange and Solar Phenomena.

In 2018 he co-founded venue Platforma Wolff, a full club by 2021, as booker and resident, hosting headliners like Prosumer, Paramida and Tornado Wallace. Versatile and creative, he stays a fixture at Bucharest's best nights. His debut LP lands this year on Bar Ton's vinyl label.

Sacred Leather is a traditional heavy metal band from the heart of Indianapolis, consisting of Dee Wrathchild (vocals), Lynn St. Michaels (lead guitar), Cvon Owens (rhythm guitar), Magnus Legrand (bass) and Don Diamond (drums). Following a privately manufactured live cassette, 2018’s debut album »Ultimate Force« and numerous (digital) singles, the new »Keep The Fire Burning« is the band’s most definite statement yet. Produced by the legendary Arthur Rizk (Eternal Champion, Power Trip), every track on the record is a call to arms. High-octane compositions such as “Spitfire At Night”, “Phantom Highways” or “Malevolent Eyes” show that Sacred Leather are true defenders of the faith. All songs breathe the raw power of classic 80s metal. Bassist Magnus Legrand comments: “Judas Priest has been a massive influence on us - not just aesthetically or stylistically, but in their ability to cover a wide range of sounds while always remaining unmistakably themselves. That balance is something we actively strive for: to explore every facet of heavy metal without ever losing our identity. The same can be said for KISS, Scorpions, and Queensrÿche - bands that can rock, rip, soar, go epic, or strip it down to something tender, all while keeping their signature intact. That versatility, anchored by a strong sense of self, is the standard we hold ourselves to.” According to Magnus Legrand, »Keep The Fire Burning« is a clear progression from the debut album »Ultimate Force«: “It’s sharper in its songwriting, stronger in its musicianship, and more focused in its execution. Where »Ultimate Force« laid the foundation, this record pushes further into those same territories with greater intent and refinement. It builds on what we established before, expanding the scope while tightening the strike. As a whole, »Keep The Fire Burning« is a relentless ride through the heart of traditional heavy metal - familiar in spirit, but undeniably Sacred Leather in execution.“

Creatures of the Night is officially part of the vinyl community.

To celebrate this great debut as part of the label, we have Rubinskee & Soos with this EP that brings us summer vibes and heat from Mexico. Additionally, there's a remix by Running Hot, delivering house as it is a summer hit!

Baby Ford perfected the minimal sound with his impeccable early run of releases. Now, one of them gets reissued many years on and it still sounds as strikingly new as ever, not least because it has been remastered by the legendary Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin. The sought-after EP from Peter Adshead emerged during his shift toward stripped-back techno and tech-house and captures a deeper, more hypnotic side of his craft. 'Serpentine Tale' coils through hissing rhythms and shadowy bass pressure, while 'Night D3 Died' pairs crunchy drums with mournful synth chords. Closing cut 'The Introducer' drifts into warm, spacious territory.

Following a huge wave of global support since its digital debut, ‘Edge Of Desire’ from Jonas Blue & Malive finally lands on 12" vinyl. A fitting format for one of the most talked-about house records of the past twelve months.

Since its release in July 2025, ‘Edge Of Desire’ has become a genuine streaming and club phenomenon. The sun-drenched house cut built on shimmering guitar riffs, bubbling synths and an irresistible vocal hook quickly took on a life of its own, topping Beatport Overall Chart and spending weeks in the Top 10 while racking up 100 million streams worldwide and over 100,000 global radio plays. From major playlists to festival stages, the track’s uplifting energy has made it a staple for selectors and listeners alike, with early DJ support from tastemakers including Adriatique, Adam Ten and Carlita.

Now, ahead of summer 2026, the record arrives on a special 12" vinyl edition bringing together the original alongside standout reinterpretations from some of house music’s most respected names. Dutch favourite Franky Rizardo delivers a groove-heavy club workout, Florida legends Jazz-N-Groove add their unmistakable soulful house touch, while Grigoré & Serve Cold transform the track into a deep, rolling dancefloor weapon.

With the original continuing to dominate playlists and dancefloors around the world, the vinyl release of ‘Edge Of Desire’ feels perfectly timed. Ready to soundtrack open-air sets, beach parties and late-night club moments throughout the season. For DJs, collectors and house music fans alike, this pressing captures the record at the peak of its momentum: a modern Defected anthem finally given the wax treatment it deserves.

UK electronic duo Prospa unveil their long-awaited debut album Free Your Mind, a bold, emotionally charged, and club-focused statement from one of dance music’s most exciting acts out now via CircoLoco Records.

Years in the making, Free Your Mind captures the full scope of Prospa’s evolution: from breakout underground producers to globally recognized festival headliners and chart-topping innovators. Across the album, the Leeds duo seamlessly blend euphoric house, rave nostalgia, breakbeat experimentation, progressive emotion, and peak-time club energy into a body of work that feels both deeply personal and built for massive communal release.

The album’s final moment is the focus track “Dreams,” a euphoric anthem that drives home Prospa’s songwriting and production sensibilities. Balancing cinematic atmosphere with the duo’s unmistakable dancefloor instincts, “Dreams” channels the reflective, ecstatic energy that defines the album as a whole, equally suited to sunrise festival moments as late-night club systems.

The album arrives following a string of major singles that have propelled Prospa to new heights over the past year. Most recently, “Baby” with Murda Beatz became one of Miami Music Week’s most talked-about track IDs after being teased during a back-to-back set with Josh Baker, quickly spreading across social media thanks to its infectious vocal hook and stripped-back club precision.

Before that came the album’s title track “Free Your Mind” with Cloonee — a vocal house anthem that climbed into the Official Singles Chart top 20, alongside Beatport chart-topper “Love Songs” featuring Kosmo Kint. Together, the tracks established the foundation for an album that represents Prospa at their most expansive and fully realized.

Hailing from Leeds, childhood friends Harvey Blumler and Gosha Smith connected over their shared passion for electronic music – drawing inspiration from the likes of Daft Punk, Disclosure, The Chemical Brothers, and The Prodigy as they first started producing under the Prospa moniker in 2013. The duo broke out in late 2018 with the anthem “Prayer” earning support from high-profile tastemakers including The Fader and NME, while helping relaunch heritage house label Stress Records after a 13-year hiatus. Since then, Prospa have embarked on a rapid ascent to consolidate their status as one of the UK’s most exciting electronic acts.

Experts at crafting high-octane dancefloor-focused anthems as much as they are at composing more heartfelt, meditative moments, Prospa’s work continues to evolve, blurring and pushing the edges of these boundaries into their biggest statement yet

Lance Ferguson (The Bamboos, Menagerie, Rare Groove Spectrum) presents his lush Exotica inspired 2016 album on LP for the first time in a limited edition deluxe gatefold sunset swirl coloured vinyl edition, with each pressing having a unique pattern.

For fans of Air, Martin Denny & DJ Shadow.

'The Double Sunrise' is a re-imagining of Exotica seen through Ferguson’s own lens, which includes Pop and Hip Hop elements plus samplers, synths and drum machines thrown into the mix. That combination of beats and lush cinematics owes as much to Exotica pioneer Martin Denny as it does to Air and DJ Shadow.

Guest vocalists include Melanie Pain (Nouvelle Vague), who brings a sweet Francoise Hardy and Jane Birkin influence to her songs, and Australian singer Meg Washington. As well as her own successful career, Bamboos fans would know Washington from her vocals from “The Wilhelm Scream” and “King Of The Rodeo”, as well as “Beautiful Trash” from the 2011 Lanu album ‘Her 12 Faces’.

Ferguson's own instrumentals are also gems of lush, nostalgic delight.

Reviews for ‘The Double Sunrise’

“Even with the clear influence of South Pacific exotica, this second LP is still typical Ferguson: tight, snappy and doused in retro airs.” - Rolling Stone Magazine

“Bamboos supremo Lance Ferguson uses South Seas exotica as a jumping-off point for a record that deftly crosses datelines. Giddy effervescent soundscapes such as “Tiny Dots” sit back to back with breakbeat grooves like “Nightmarchers””. The Age

“This is one of those summer albums you will return to every year. Stunning.” The Daily Telegraph

“The concept for The Double Sunrise is very specific, but it's executed brilliantly...It's one of those records that evokes a place and a feeling that most of us only ever dream about.” - Double J Radio (Feature Album)

2026 Repress

A (new) vinyl version for one of our favourite Mika Vainio (Pan Sonic) albums; originally recorded between 1999–2004 and issued on CD only under his revered Ø alias for Finland’s Sähkö Recordings in 2005.

»Kantamoinen« is perhaps the most intimately beautiful yet little-known LP in the Ø canon, bridging the gap between his classic ’90s minimal techno productions and the project’s subsequent turn to more ambient, kosmic, and dubwise dimensions in the coolly brilliant »Oleva« and »Konstellaatio« albums.

Dedicated to Mika’s grandma, Laina Vainio (1913–1991), and adorned with a cover image of her garden in Artjärvi, Finland, the 16-part 2LP is the closest you’ll get to a type of nostalgia in Mika’s catalogue.

Whilst recorded 1999–2004 at an early crest of his game-changing work with Pan Sonic, the album clearly manifests a quieter space for Mika to emote far more nuanced feels, from the wide-eyed vastness of »Galaxy« to a breathtaking »Sound Picture«, transitioning from Hans-Ulrich Obrist’s snippet of Oskar Sala into icy bliss, and the rosy warmth of »Summerland« clearly dedicated to his nan’s garden. The rest is better defined as ephemeral snapshots adding up to a broader picture, like a mind’s eye filling gaps in the memory from illusive vapours and sensations, generating all-time gems in the steepled choral synth voice of »In Wind«, or a sense of magic realism in the swaying organ of »Antenna-ant«, with the blooz folk wheeze of closer »To Home« that could feasibly score the most haunting moments of a Béla Tarr flick.

Following releases of the UFO and Supercar soundtracks, Thunderbirds is the third in the series from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s iconic TV shows. It is newly compiled, mastered and designed by the creative team at Fanderson (The Official Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Appreciation Society), who have access to Barry Gray's original studio tapes.

The album features 37 tracks from 19 episodes (series 1 and 2), including the Thunderbirds main theme and closing titles. The tracks were not programmed to follow the episode order but to achieve an integrated listening experience. The best bits of the sixties’ soundscapes are here. The Thunderbirds soundtrack is an effective time capsule as Gray’s music veers into British spy genre, Latin pop, exotica, urban jazz and military marches. Beautifully composed and conducted, the score reflects the moods of the scenes, from dangerous to romantic and no-nonsense to silly.

Barry Gray was a classically trained composer and a versatile musician, and was amongst the first composers to use electronic instruments in music for television. Best known for creating the music for most of the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson television series in the 1960's and 70's (Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space:1999), Barry Gray’s complete musical opus is still not commercially available in its entirety.

Chunkers 010 – Running Hot – Hot Tracks Vol 1. EP

For the tenth release on Chunkers, Running Hot brings the heat. Hot Tracks Vol. 1 channels a range of peak-time energies from day to night across four insatiable house tracks: all killer, no filler. Those already familiar will know that Running Hot has practically developed his own subgenre at this stage: a classic, finely honed sound that draws from every corner of the house music archive while remaining contemporary, fresh, and 100% playable. This release is no different.

‘Feel The Rhythm’ is a peak-time tribal affair, irresistibly percussive with a sickening New York feel. This is the kind of track that turns a dancefloor feral when dropped at the right moment, its vocal pizazz and hammering toms providing just the right amount of tension and release to flip a room upside down.

Veering into warehouse territory, ‘Trip’ is a stripped-back stomper that nods to the anthemic sound of London club Trade in the ’90s. Expertly tuned stabs, vocals, and shifting percussion keep the energy locked in from start to finish without ever becoming too much.
On the B-side, ‘Bumpin’ brings the sunshine and once again demonstrates that if something isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it. Running Hot’s winning formula is employed to its fullest here: a well-rounded house groove layered with vibrant chords, lush strings, and smouldering vocal hooks that evoke golden beaches and open fields, perfect for daytime dancefloor moments.

Rounding off the EP in classy fashion, ‘Amor’ fuses UK hard house tropes with lush synths, a boisterous bassline, earworm vocals, and unrelenting grooves, creating a track that feels equally at home at a daytime do or deep into late-night territory.

Hot Tracks Vol. 1, Running Hot and Chunkers: a pairing that does not miss.

As long as she can remember, Jane Remover has practiced her own autonomy as much as possible. The nineteen year old songwriter is an omnivorous listener that produces everything herself. She has been lauded by fans and writers alike, for accidentally creating entire genres in the wake of her prolific two-year run.

The new album is more conceptually abstract than its predecessor as Jane sheds linear narrative writing. However, it takes place beginning at sundown and through the night, up until the next morningʼs earliest crack of dawn. Its winding songs are obtuse but carefully composed, and intimately follow Jane's train of thought.

Dynamic production is at the forefront. Noisy highs gleam, and are juxtaposed by dusky Post-Rock lullabies within the same songʼs runtime. Census Designated is a staggering display of maturation in every aspect when compared to her previous presentation, to a degree that makes it few and far between in the world of albums.

Despite the darker palette, Jane steps into a technicolor clarity for the first time. The album was made in both studios and at home—with recordings from Studio North (Kensington in Philadelphia), mixes from Kayla Reagan and mastered by Hector Vega.

A photo of her standing bareback while facing away towards the high plains, serves as the cover art for an album where she manages to simultaneously divulge her most confessional moments yet, and captivate the listener with unanswerable questions.

There are records that follow the rules, and others that rewrite them in real time. With O R G A S M A N I A, Byron The Aquarius returns to Skylax with a deeper, freer and more unpredictable statement — where jazz instinct meets raw machine funk, and structure dissolves into pure feeling. Rooted in the lineage of Detroit yet never confined by it, Byron operates in that rare zone where house music becomes expression rather than format. His sound doesn’t chase functionality — it breathes, it stretches, it resists. The EP opens with Back 2 Zion (Tomorrow), a spiritual and meditative journey built on loose drums and luminous chords, carrying a sense of elevation — early morning music where the dancefloor begins to think again. Enter the Co$mos (Fool) pushes further into abstraction, with drifting synths and broken rhythms unfolding in a non-linear structure, navigating between Sun Ra’s cosmic language and Detroit futurism. On the flip, Mr. Captain Crunchhh brings a raw, playful energy — crunchy textures, off-grid swing and an almost improvised groove, alive and unpredictable, a leftfield tool designed to disrupt expectations. Finally, O R G A S M A N I A stands as the centerpiece — hypnotic, sensual and immersive, locking into a deep repetitive groove while evolving in subtle layers, a late-night body experience guided by a sharp musical mind. Across four tracks, Byron The Aquarius confirms his unique position between jazz musician, house producer and sonic storyteller, with a trajectory spanning Sound Signature, Axis, Eglo, Apron and Shall Not Fade, continuing to resonate from Detroit to Berlin and beyond. Artwork by H5 — the iconic studio behind Daft Punk, Air and Vitalic — reinforces Skylax’s timeless and art-driven identity. This is not fast music, this is not algorithm music — this is music for those who still listen. Strictly for the heads. Vinyl only. No repress. Skylax Records.

Somewhere between the after-hours haze and the first flicker of sunrise, Nebraska re-emerges - this time with a twist in the signal. Long respected for his deep-cut sensibilities and dancefloor intuition, Ali Gibbs returns to Delusions Of Grandeur not just as Nebraska, but with a handover to his new alias: Dubl Drat. The Alter Alter Ego EP plays like a transmission from both sides of his creative psyche - one rooted in warm, groove-led house and disco mutations, the other drifting deeper into dubbed-out, heady abstraction.

The A-side opens with Alter Alter Ego in its Nebraska OG Mix form - a crunchy, funked-up mid-tempo burner. Chopped Rhodes solos flicker in and out of the mix while a rolling bassline locks into a low-slung groove - equal parts party-starter and late-night dancefloor hypnosis. Next, The Teckel Track slides the tempo down into a proper slo-mo four-on-the-floor bumpy groove. Fat stabs punch through layers of glitchy FX while a melodic bassline snakes underneath, forming a hazy, infectious earworm tailor-made for those early-night mood-setting sessions. Closing the A-side, Olive (Dubl Drat Dub) signals a shift. Here, Gibbs leans fully into his Dubl Drat persona, dissolving structure into a blissed-out dub excursion.

Chopped breaks scatter across the stereo field, chiming melodies echo into the distance, and granulated percussion parts build a dense, immersive landscape - one to get lost in rather than dance through. Flipping over we have Alter Alter Ego (Dubl Drat Remix) which reconfigures the title track into a stripped-back boogie workout. The groove is leaner but no less potent, driven by a killer bassline and punctuated with signature Rhodes licks - pure, understated club pressure. Finally, Olive (Nebraska Version) offers a gentle comedown. This alternate take softens the edges, introducing additional guitar textures that drift into Balearic territory. It’s nostalgic, introspective, and quietly expansive - a closing chapter that lingers long after the last note fades. The Alter Alter Ego EP isn’t just a new release - it’s a dual-state exploration, a conversation between rhythm and space, between Nebraska and Dubl Drat, and marks the last ever Nebraska release as Ali closes the chapter and the alias for the final time.

Originally self-released in 2023, Stella Kola, the debut album from Beverly Ketch (Jow Jow, Weeping Bong Band) and Robert Thomas (Sunburned Hand of the Man, Dalthom), now returns in a renewed edition—bringing wider attention to a record that already felt like a quietly essential artifact from the moment it first appeared.

Given the pair’s respective roots—and the presence of collaborators drawn from across the Northeast experimental underground—one might expect “a brutal blast of acid swirl.” Instead, what emerges is something far more unexpected. The album is “steeped, not in noise and dissonance, but in the fragrant, captivating folk of Linda Perhacs, Judee Sill, Karen Dalton, and Bridget St John.”

From the opening moments, especially on “Rosa,” the record reveals its core sensibility: “a ballad that digs deep into the psychedelic-folk tradition until it takes root in a freshly sporous permaculture.” What follows is a set of songs that feel both carefully assembled and organically grown—delicate structures held together by a wide circle of contributing musicians, including Wednesday Knudsen (flute), P.G. Six (harp, guitars, keys), Gary War (synth), Jen Gellineau (viola, violin), Willie Lane, L. Gray, and others.

Rather than functioning as studio additions, these collaborators form a genuine collective presence. “The family affair feeds into the album’s charms,” and the feeling is unmistakably communal. Like many of the ‘60s folk records it echoes, Stella Kola carries “the feeling of community and camaraderie” at its core, shaping a warmth that runs through the entire release.

The album’s emotional palette leans toward a quiet, persistent melancholy: “the best records from that era also carried with them an inherent sadness and Stella Kola’s songs wash over the listener with a beautiful woe.” Its sound edges into the terrain of Fairport Convention and Pentangle, with references to “Beggar’s, Kings, Dark Damsels, and Tarot,” yet never settles into revivalism. Instead, Ketch and Thomas extend the tradition outward, refracting it through their own distinctly American, underground language.

As one early description of the album notes, “the masterful restraint of ‘Rosa’ and the rest of Stella Kola’s shimmering debut evokes Anne Briggs, C.O.B., Pentangle and similar ancestors that knew the best way to honor traditions was to widen the heritage even further.”

Even among a prolific and unpredictable network of underground musicians, Stella Kola stands apart. “It’s early in the year, but it’s hard to see an album, especially a debut, capturing the heart as hard as this one.” With its return in reissue form, the album reasserts itself not just as a hidden gem, but as an essential document of contemporary folk experimentation—an intimate, collective work that continues to unfold with time.

‘Falling Backwards’ is the debut album from Him & Earl via Wah Wah 45s, serving up a mystic brew of desert blues, English folk, Americana and stirring southern soul, with tentacles stretching out into psychedelia and prog, across 11 hot and hazy tracks.

Singer-songwriter Olly Him and DJ, producer and composer Wyndham Earl both have deeply-dug roots in the south coast of England, with the former making his name as a solo artist before exploring his soulful folk/prog sound with a number of live acts, and the latter collaborating on albums and sharing stages with Bonobo, Khruangbin, Alice Russell and TM Juke, having remixes released by Tru Thoughts and Mr Bongo Records and releasing his solo projects on his Time Spun imprint.

The pair first met in 2015 when Wyndham produced some songs for now defunct hypnotic Afro-folk outfit Creatures Of The Deep, of which Olly was a founder member. They instantly clicked, but after the group broke up it was a few years before serendipity brought them back together; a chance encounter at a gig saw them begin hatching plans to make a full album under the name Him & Earl with Olly writing the songs and Wyndham arranging and producing the project.

After so long floating in the creative ether, the connective power of these songs has been strikingly immediate. The debut Him & Earl live show in early 2026, before any tracks had even come out, blew Olly and Wyndham’s expectations out of the water as their five-piece band found themselves toe-to-toe with a sellout crowd – a sweaty room full of happy music fans, on an otherwise bleak January night, throwing shapes to live percussion showdowns, losing themselves in psychedelic guitar and bass wig-outs, and singing along to choruses they’d never heard a note of before.

Since then, the first two singles “Bottled Up” and “Away” have had high profile airplay from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Huw Stephens and Cerys Matthews, and Radio X’s John Kennedy, adding to widespread tastemaker and specialist support around the world, as excitement builds for the album.The LP’s introspective and philosophical lyrics are brought to life by a sonorous yet strangely uplifting sound palette that morphs by stealth into a darkly propulsive, psychedelic and bluesy trip.

Opening song “Away” taps straight into a key theme of the record – journeying, in both a physical and mental sense, and the quest to move on and embrace the unknown – and its sunny guitars, trumpet and violin barely even hint at the tumultuous sonic adventure that’s set to unfold. A stronger indication comes in the title track,“Falling Backwards”, as its elegant web of staccato finger-picked hook, fluid piano melodies and strings unfurls into a six-minute exploration of what Olly describes as “going through every day normality while feeling close to chaos and like things could fall apart at any moment… when there is a myriad of different things holding everything together and if one thing goes wrong everything can fall apart around it.”



“Better Days” swiftly restores a sense of upbeat calm, with lively Kora and Afrobeat-inspired guitar licks, atmospheric trumpet and a harmony-clad mantra of hope on the horizon; the folky “Bottled Up” continues that blissful notion with undulating finger-picked guitar, earthy clarinet counter-melodies and celestial murmurations of delicately plucked strings. The magnetic pull toward more mysterious horizons comes via the dusty twang of Wild West-esque guitars on “Open Road”, a nomadic journey of self-discovery through spacious sonic plains embellished with eerie flickers of flute and clarinet. This leftward turn gathers pace in the trancelike

psych-prog depths of “Preside”, an instrumental cut at the album’s pivotal halfway point. Hypnotic, guttural desert blues-infused riffs on “Inside” channel the feeling of a psychedelic or spiritual trip where, in Olly’s words, “something clicks and you understand things on a different level – it makes you see inside yourself and see things in a different way.” “Shadow overhead” brings a lighter touch to a darker subject – the feeling of paranoia and being locked away from the world – drawn from Olly’s own experience and also his years of working in and around mental health.

Exuberant horns lend hope to loosely looping suspense on “Blindside” (about being caught out by the unexpected, and searching for something to see or hear to pick you up again) and then mesh with urgent strings, low-slung guitars and subterranean bass on “Around Again”, which explores the modern fight to stay afloat amid the endless churn of information and distractions. Still plumbing the bassy, bluesy depths of this journey into the psyche, “You Can Only Know” is a dreamlike revelation about finding someone or something that helps to make sense of the world. Luminescent synths duck and weave, while a rock-solid bass riff is tracked by a soul-soothing four-part “hey hey” harmony, reassuring as a glowing lamp in the window at the end of a life-changing trip.

Nobody knew. Not the crowd packed into Circolo Kessel that Sunday evening, not even the six musicians on stage. When Giardini di Mirò played on March 19, 2023, it was supposed to be just another homecoming show in Cavriago, the kind of night where you play for the people who’ve known you longest. Some were missing from the audience, though: “Our closest friends stayed home to watch the football match tonight,” Jukka quipped from the stage. “But that’s fine, we’ll deal with them tomorrow.” In hindsight, even Juventus fans who celebrated their 1–0 victory over Inter made the wrong choice.

Seventy minutes in, all the instruments converged into a one-chord riff, driven by the drums and punctuated by screaming guitars. A repetitive rhythm that paired brutal volume with hypnotic precision. Even those at the back of the room felt it: that trance-like state where sound becomes physical. Then the wall of sound collapsed. Guitar feedback lingered in the air for a few seconds before fading into nothing.

This was the last sound Giardini di Mirò made. They haven’t played since, and there are no plans to do so again. But in that moment, nobody knew.

The closing song that night was also the opener of their debut full-length, recorded more than two decades earlier. Its title, A New Start, carries an unintended irony the band would likely appreciate. It is also oddly fitting that their final show took place in the same building where they began. Circolo Kessel, previously known as Calamita, served as the band’s rehearsal space for many years. Yet since their rise to becoming one of Europe’s defining post-rock acts, they had never performed a concert there.

In a fortunate coincidence, Markus Mathis – a longtime fan who had recorded several of their shows before – also captured this final concert using two room microphones and a feed from the mixing desk.

Quasi Casa is the complete, unfiltered document of that night: an “official bootleg” spanning over 70 minutes of purely instrumental music, drawing on material from across their entire career, from the earliest releases to Del Tutto Illusorio. It captures, with striking clarity, the intensity that defined the band’s live performances.

Rather than simply uploading the recording and calling it a day, the band chose to assemble a physical release as a parting gift to their fans. The double LP includes a 16-page booklet with extensive liner notes and visual material.