Belgian musician and filmmaker Jef Mertens has been an active force in the experimental music and film scene for nearly two decades. Known for his documentaries on artists like Sonic Youth and Borbetomagus, as well as his work with the now-defunct Dadaist Tapes label, Mertens continues to push the boundaries of sound exploration. His previous solo works include NO MATHEMATICS, released on KRAAK/Feeding Tube Records.
With Orchid Alto, Mertens dedicates himself to the taishogoto, a Japanese stringed instrument that became a new focal point in his sonic explorations. Initially drawn to its unique tonal qualities, he approached the instrument with an open-ended curiosity, using it as a means to reshape his musical language. The transition to taishogoto marked a shift away from guitar-based compositions, offering a fresh perspective on texture and resonance. Through these explorations, Orchid Alto serves as a blueprint for new sonic possibilities.
A bold and immersive sonic journey, Orchid Alto merges traditional resonance with modern experimentalism, further shaping Mertens' artistic voice—one influenced by artists like Michael Flowers, Turner Williams Jr., and Bill Nace.
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- Prelude
- Meet Me In The Garden
- Joyride
- Her Story (Interlude)
- Warrior Princess
- Breathe
- Note To Self (Interlude
- Lifeline
- Give It All To You
Meet Me in the Garden is a richly textured exploration of love, loss, and renewal. Co-produced by Felix Bloxsom (SIA, Genesis Owusu), Daniel Mougerman (The Bamboos), and Rita Satch herself, and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King), the album features contributions from some of Naarm/Melbourne’s finest, alongside a sweeping 12-piece string orchestra.
Blending smooth soul, contemporary R&B, orchestral flourishes, and stacked harmonies reminiscent of D’Angelo and Bilal, the album unfolds with cinematic beauty and emotional depth. It opens with a stirring string prelude by Mougerman before transitioning into the dreamy title track. Standouts include the meditative Breathe, the funk-fuelled Joyride, and Warrior Princess - a heartfelt tribute to Satch’s late grandmothers that helped her process grief through song.
Rooted in personal loss and spiritual growth, the album draws from Satch’s Kabbalistic studies and her belief in reunion beyond this life. With its timeless soul and modern edge, Meet Me in the Garden is a bold, soul-stirring debut that leaves a lasting impression.
- River
- Spirits
- Pas De Deux
- Tahlila
Trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar joins electronics performer and composer Lorenzo Bianchi-Hoesch in a new project exploring electro-acoustic spaces, maqam, microtonal harmonies, and improvised and composed structures in a modular musical composition that accommodates a variety of musical styles across genres. Together, they create an immersive sound that transcends notions of form, musical language, electronic, and acoustic categories in music. This new work will be a modular composition combining pre-determined structural elements with freely improvised sections, played live by ElSaffar and Bianchi-Hoesch. The work will explore electro-acoustic spaces in a microtonal environment that embraces the sonic spectra of multiple musical languages. Bianchi-Hoesch and ElSaffar are interested in creating a transcultural collaboration combining jazz, contemporary classical music, maqam, raga, and other musical backgrounds, inclusive of all the richness, complexity, and idiomatic expression, without compromising or oversimplifying in order to be compatible with others. They are in search of boundary-less spaces in music.
- Katsura Otoko
- Tenome
- Isogashi
- Azuki Arai
- Baku
- Katsura Otoko Dub
- Tenome Dub
- Isogashi Dub
- Azuki Arai Dub
In a decidedly experimental approach, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota unveil a new vision of dub, reinventing the unexpected. While the sound treatment techniques inherent to the genre remain-evolving mixes, echoes, reverbs, and bass frequencies that are almost palpable-the Anglo-Jamaican roots of the style have indeed been replaced, re-conceptualized, recomposed, and rewritten. The duo seems to engage in a musical dialogue using a novel language, tinged with Japanese spoken word, creating moments of rare intensity, as unpredictable as they are hypnotic. By allowing for controlled improvisation, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota recreate the tracks of their latest album at each performance, oscillating between introspection and exaltation. With post-dub as the pretext, they once again explore, captivate, and surprise. For fans of: Massive Attack, Björk, Lee Scratch Perry... POST-DUB. With 16 soon 17 albums and nearly 900 concerts since 1999, French dub pioneer Brain Damage collaborates with artists like Horace Andy, Big Youth, Groundation and more recently with Mad Professor and Emiko Ota. Alongside his many productions showcasing his incredible vitality and unbridled creativity, the intensity of his live performances has earned him a strong international reputation.
- H3: @Rt$ W3Re M3@Nt T0 F7¥
- Lithonia
- Survive Feat. Chlöe
- Steps Beach
- Talk My Shit Feat. Amaarae & Flo Milli
- Got To Be
- Real Love
- In The Night Feat. Jorja Smith & Amaarae
- Yoshinoya
- Can You Feel Me Feat. Legend
- No Excuses
- Cruisin' Feat. Yeat
- We Are God
- Running Around Feat. Fousheé
- Dadvocate
- Happy Survival Feat. Khruangbin
- A Place Where Love Goes
It is with a certain sadness for his fans across mediums that Donald Glover has declared Bando Stone and the New World the last Childish Gambino album. The ostensible soundtrack to a feature-length movie of the same name, the hour-long project includes snippets of dialogue that hint at the film’s apocalyptic subject matter. The fact that the soundtrack is preceding the actual film is part of Glover’s strategy: He wants listeners to work to figure out what they’re listening to. “The soundtrack forces the audience to participate in a way that I don't feel like most things force you to participate,” he says. “It forces you to have an imagination. I already see people being like, 'This is very cinematic, this must be the part that... This feels like a credit sequence.' A lot of stuff feels flat because it's not asking you to participate. Art used to be you had to participate on some level and have some sort of thought process on it. You can't just be like, 'Oh, this is mid.'” Even without the benefit of the full visuals, these 17 tracks make for a satisfying swan song that synthesizes what came before with fresher ideas gleaned from the threshold of finality.
- Honey
- Come Down Softly To My Soul
- How Does It Feel?
- I Believe It
- Revolution
- Let Me Down Gently
- So Hot (Wash Away All Of My Tears)
- Suicide
- Lord Can You Hear Me?
Spacemen 3 began assembling their third album, 1988's Playing With Fire, at perhaps the freest, most confident point in their career. Recording began with the band road-tested and rugged, even amidst the functional volatility that famously motivated their course. The sessions' first offering came in the form of "Revolution," a single of heroic Stooges-devotion and the most commercially successful release the group had to date. High expectations for the album were soon exceeded, as Playing With Fire would become Spacemen 3's crowning studio achievement and cement their rightful place on the vanguard of otherworldly rock 'n' roll.
An exquisite mix of stuttering tremolo guitars and wistful melodies, Playing With Fire sheds any trappings of revisionism and furnishes a nuanced grade of psychedelia. Epic entries like "Suicide" (named after the notorious NYC band) and the mesmeric "How Does It Feel?" catch Spacemen 3 at their celestial apex, the very point where their collective writing, performance and production would crest and wondrously splinter.
Includes download card and new insert with liner notes by Marc Masters.
1990's Recurring, the fourth and final studio album by Spacemen 3, is often considered the introduction of two brilliant solo projects (Spectrum and Spiritualized) rather than the work of a functioning band. While Spacemen 3's departing statement surely reveals a deep divide within the S3 camp – each side of the LP was written by Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce separately and, unlike previous releases, the two do not play on each other's songs – Recurring maintains a cohesive, dreamy feel with its chief sonic officers backed by fellow travelers Will Carruthers, Mark Refoy and Jon Mattock.
Opening saga "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)" marries ambient haze with narcotized indie rock, while "I Love You" manages to arrange a beautiful flute alongside a defiantly throbbing bass track. "Hypnotized," a reimagined fuzz-pop hymn, would become the group's first entry in the UK Singles Charts. Recurring lays bare the essence of Spacemen 3's persistent sound, rooted in both aural expansion and phenomenal songwriting.
Includes download card and new insert with liner notes by Marc Masters.
The Rough Trade Singles collects The Fall's four singles recorded for this influential label in 1980 and 1983 – How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' / City Hobgoblins, Totally Wired / Putta Block, The Man Whose Head Expanded / Ludd Gang and Kicker Conspiracy – none of which appeared on any of the band's studio LPs. With 7-inches being the era's vehicle for buzzing communiqués, The Fall would use the format for short-form, standalone works rather than as mere promotional devices for forthcoming albums.
"Totally Wired" is often cited (and rightfully so) as The Fall's most infectious tune – an amphetamine-fueled anthem with stuttering nods to forebears, yet too incisive to have been made by anyone else. "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" is another mad hoedown, one reimagined for the post-punk age. While the playful rhythm machine on "The Man Whose Head Expanded" almost suggests danceability, Mark E. Smith's idiosyncratic shriek on "Kicker Conspiracy" pierces through the twin drumming of Paul Hanley and Karl Burns and the group's unpredictable / unmistakable racket. Together these songs remain some of the absolute best material The Fall would ever release.
Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that The Rough Trade Singles has been available on vinyl domestically. Liner notes by Brian Turner.
Black Vinyl[30,46 €]
One of the UK’s most exciting breakout stars of the past decade, Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem emerged from cult favourite status to mainstream hero following the huge success of her empowering, truth-telling 2021 single ‘I Do This All The Time’. The song resonated intensely as a perfect example of Taylor’s affectionately termed ‘trojan horse’ or ‘salad and chips’ approach, fearlessly packing important, emotive messages into witty, resonant pop music.
Self Esteem’s wildly acclaimed second album Prioritise Pleasure quickly followed, tackling the hypocrisies and joys found in her experiences of modern day womanhood across dating, friendship, comparison culture, self love, women’s safety and sexual assault and much more. Prioritise Pleasure received Mercury Prize, BRIT Award, Sky Arts and NME Award nominations, was crowned The Guardian and Sunday Times Culture’s Album of the Year, and ‘I Do This All The Time’ was also named The Guardian’s #1 song of 2021.
Quite the opposite of an overnight success, Taylor spent a decade as one half of indie duo Slow Club before adopting the pop star persona she’d always dreamed of. She released her first Self Esteem album Compliments Please in 2019, featuring fan favourite singles ‘The Best’, ‘Girl Crush’ and more.
Gathering a passionate and vast legion of fans ever since, Taylor has appeared on The Graham Norton Show, Celebrity Gogglebox, Friday Night Live & Taskmaster, performed three times on Jools Holland including the NYE Hootenanny, graced the covers of magazines from Grazia to NME to Sunday Times Style, and is one of a handful of artists to have been playlisted across BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music simultaneously.
Having reached new heights of acclaim, Taylor continued to grow, diversify, and create in 2024. Branching out into the world of acting, Taylor starred in a regular role in the Sky series SMOTHERED before completing a run playing Sally Bowles in the multiple Olivier Award-winning production of 'Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club' in London's West End. Starring alongside Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) as Emcee, the pair’s time on stage was extended due to popular demand and showcased the sheer range of talent in Taylor’s repertoire. Last year’s releases ‘Big Man’ and ‘Love Second Music First’ followed a collaboration with Becky Hill on her song ‘True Colours’.
- A1: Blake Baxter - Sexuality
- A2: Suburban Knight - The Worlds
- B1: E-Dancer - Feel The Mood (N.y. Groove Mix)
- B2: Yvette - Pump Me (Mayday Mix)
- A1: Qx-1 - I Won't Hurt You (I Swear)
- A2: Fred Brown - Roman Days
- B1: Mr. Fingers - I'm Strong (Instrumental)
- B2: Laurent X - Machines (Apocalypse Mix)
- A1: Revelation - First Power (Original Mix)
- A2: Egotrip - Dreamworld (World Of Dreams Mix)
- B1: 33 1/3 Queen - Searchin
- B2: Bobby Konders - Let There Be House
- A1: Steve Poindexter - Computer Madness
- A2: Age Of Chance - Time's Up (Timeless)
- B1: Lfo - Lfo (Leeds Warehouse Mix)
- B2: Alice D In Wonderland - Time Problem (Techno Speed Work)
- A1: Joeski - My English Lover (Acid Mix)
- A2: Pleasure Zone - Fantasy
- B1: Mellow Man Ace - Rhyme Fighter (House Dub)
- B2: The Gherkin Jerks - Strange Creatures
- A1: The D.o.c. - Portrait Of A Masterpiece (Cj's Ed-Did-It-Mix)
- A2: Robert Armani - Circus Bells (Full Length Original Mix)
- B1: Todd Terry Presents Cls - Can You Feel It (In House Dub)
- B2: Virgo - Free Yourself
- B1: A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dredd - Total Confusion (Heavenly Mix)
- B2: 2 Men From Jersey - Track Werk (After Dark Mix)
- A1: Human Resource - Dominator (Frank De Wulf Remix)
- A2: Frankie Knuckles - Your Love
- B1: Simon Sed - Criminal
- B2: Tyree - Hardcore Hip House (Joe Smooths Too Deep Mix)
- A1: Frankie Bones - Call It Techno (House Mix)
- A2: Frank De Wulf - The Tape (Remix)
- B1: A Guy Called Gerald - Automanikk (Derrick May The Force Be With You Mix)
- B2: Sheer Taft - Cascades (Hypnotone Mix)
- A1: Tronikhouse - The Savage & Beyond (Savage Reese Mix)
- A2: The Orb - A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix)
- B1: Mental Mayhem - Where Are They Hiding
- B2: Edwards & Armani - Acid Drill
- A1: Njoi - Jupiter Re-Dawn
- A2: Basex - U-R-Self-Go (All Night Mix)
(10x12" box set, limited to 1000 copies, with premium finishing, uniquely numbered, incl. 10 records in individually printed sleeves, a booklet detailing the club's history & exclusive stickers) Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venueslike Paradise Garage in New York and The Hacçinda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond.
Belgian label Music Man Records presents Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, a new compilation offering a fresh perspective on the legacy of the iconic Belgian club Boccaccio - often associated with the short-lived New Beat movement. The 40-track compilation highlights the raw and futuristic early house and techno sounds that were heard in the pioneering club.
Located in rural Destelbergen (Belgium), just a stone's throw from Ghent, Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venues like Paradise Garage in New York and The Hacçinda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond. Sundays at Boccaccio were unlike anywhere else-offering sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else.
Boccaccio Life 1987-1993 is carefully curated by resident DJ Olivier Pieters and club regular Stefaan Vandenberghe, standing as the ultimate testament to a club that was more than just a venue. For those who experienced it, it was a community - a way of life. Hence the club's full name: Boccaccio Life.
This compilation stands as a testament to an innovative time in electronic music, capturing the raw, futuristic sounds of early house and techno. It sheds light on another side of Boccaccio, one that goes far beyond the short-lived New Beat scene. A carefully curated selection of 40 tracks, resonating with those who were there by offering familiar classics, while also reaching a new generation-those who never experienced it firsthand.
With tracks from Blake Baxter, Virgo, Frankie Knuckles, Tyree, and A Guy Called Gerald, the unmistakable influence of black American pioneers is clear-the originators of the firstanalog house and techno sounds. On the other hand, UK sound innovators such as The Orb and LFO bring both sharp textures and rough breakbeats to the table.
Club staple tracks include dreamy excursions from Roger Sanchez under his Egotrip moniker, the relentless basement house of Circus Bells by Robert Armani on Dance Mania, an uplifting take on a hip-house cut from The D.O.C. (Portrait of A Masterpiece in the CJ Ed-Did-It Mix), a timeless remix of UK Formation's Age of Chance from 1994, and an alternate take on The Tape by Boccaccio club regular and Belgian producer Frank De Wulf, taken from his B-Sides project.
While not always the obvious hits, these tracks have gracefully withstood the test of time, and were exclusive to Sundays at Boccaccio. Now, they are finally available to experience together in one collection, offering a timeless snapshot of a unique era.
New York house music hero Joe Claussell reinvigorates the Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra’s legacy of timeless, no-holds-barred disco anthems, with an exclusive Record Store Day 12” release, reimagining the title track from the disco supergroups’ Black Sun album.
With his unique ability to harness the deep, spiritual power of dance music, Claussell transforms Black Sun into an emotionally charged, ecstatic odyssey, with the soaring vocals of Heidi Vogel guaranteed to further elevate dance floors into a state of pure, unbridled frenzy.
Since the orchestra’s acclaimed debut in 2014, The Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra—which hosts esteemed members including original members of Azymuth Jose Roberto Bertrami and Alex Malheiros—has enlisted an illustrious roster of remixers over the years, including John Morales, Theo Parrish, Al Kent and DJ Spinna. Claussell’s remixes continue this tradition, with a one-off, limited edition 12” release for Record Store Day 2025.
Danny Ward’s 30-year career has been far from predictable. While best known for the musical eclecticism of his Dubble D project, the dance floor-focused nous of his work as Moodymanc and as a member of the groundbreaking 20:20 Soundsystem, Ward’s bulging CV also includes stints drumming for artists as diverse as Fila Brazillia, Rae & Christian, and The Pharcyde, to Jazz luminaries Mat Halsall and Nat Birchall, alongside countless collaborations (Flora Purim and Nightmares on Wax to name but a couple) and numerous evenings spent adding live percussion to DJ sets at iconic Leeds club night Back To Basics.
Now the long-serving Manchester musician and producer has a new project to share via NuNorthern Soul: Balaphonic. Inspired by a mixture of lockdown-era studio experiments, online collaborations, his long-held love for Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian rhythms and a desire to do things differently, Resolution Revolutions is a gorgeously sonically detailed and immersive album that takes Ward’s musical output to a whole new level.
Like many musicians, Ward used the forced lockdowns of the global COVID-19 pandemic to retreat to his basement studio and make music. Focusing on utilising all of the acoustic and electronic tools at his disposal – not least his beloved percussion instruments – Ward took the opportunity not only to draw on a wide range of musical influences and ideas, but also rhythms, grooves and time signatures. As well as composing new tracks from scratch, he also revisited older compositions with fresh eyes and ears.
The results are simply stunning. Ward sets his stall out via the exotic, slow-burn Balearic warmth of ‘Sunflowers in Dub (Deep Summer Mix)’, where echoing whistles, harmonica motifs, sitar sounds, and cascading piano motifs rise above dub-wise bass and seductive, soft-focus beats. The heady, eyes closed vibe continues on the sunrise-ready awakening of ‘Disorganics (All Strings Mix)’, a samba-soaked summer shuffle rich in sparkling acoustic guitars and infectious Latin percussion, and the fretless bass-sporting Afro-Cuban yearning of ‘Six Fingers’.
As Resolution Revolutions progresses, Ward’s deep love of club-adjacent and dancefloor-focused rhythms subtly comes to the fore. There’s ‘Udders’, a hybrid – and hypnotising – fusion of chopped-up South American percussion, marimba-style melodic motifs, looped bass and spacey electronics, and Ocean Waves Brasil collaboration ‘Oxum’, a mid-tempo Afro-Brazilian deep house number wrapped in deliciously dreamy chords and gentle acid lines.
Similarly impressive and inspired is closing cut ‘Bloco Manco’, where Ward peppers a delay-laden Latin beat and a deep, weighty, dancehall style bassline in waves of echoing hand percussion and restless timbales patterns. Stripped-back, raw and seriously sub-heavy, it provides a jaw-dropping conclusion to one of Ward’s most perfectly formed albums yet.
a A1: Sunflowers In Dub Deep Summer Mix
[b] A2: Disorganics [All Strings Mix]
- A1: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
- A2: Suedehead
- A3: Everyday Is Like Sunday
- A4: Glamorous Glue
- A5: Do Your Best And Don’t Worry
- B1: November Spawned A Monster
- B2: The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
- B3: Sing Your Life
- B4: Hairdresser On Fire
- B5: Interesting Drug
- C1: We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
- C2: Certain People I Know
- C3: Now My Heart Is Full (Edit)
- C4: I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
- C5: Sunny
- D1: Alma Matters
- D2: Hold On To Your Friends
- D3: Sister I’m A Poet
- D4: Disappointed
- D5: Tomorrow
- D6: Lost
Following the launch of his solo career in 1988, “Moz” would spend the next 10 years composing and releasing six studio albums and a string of hit singles before going on a brief recording hiatus. On November 6, 2001, THE BEST OF MORRISSEY, a collection that brought together his most memorable work as a solo artist up to that point which was originally released on CD in North America only. In celebration of Morrissey’s career, we will revisit that classic compilation this year by releasing it, for the first time ever, on vinyl. THE BEST OF MORRISSEY will be available on 30th August as a black double-LP.
All the other studio albums the singer released between 1988 and 1997 are represented on THE BEST OF MORRISSEY with “Sing Your Life” from Kill Uncle (1991), “Do Your Best And Don’t Worry” from Southpaw Grammar (1995) and “Alma Matters” from Maladjusted (1997). Other tracks on the collection include the non-album single “Sunny” and the B-sides “Sister I’m A Poet” and “Lost.”
- A1: Arnold Layne Pink Floyd
- A2: See Emily Play Pink Floyd
- A3: Apples And Oranges (Stereo Version) Pink Floyd
- A4: Matilda Mother (2010 Mix) Pink Floyd
- B1: Chapter 24 Pink Floyd
- B2: Bike Pink Floyd
- B3: Terrapin Syd Barrett
- B4: Love You Syd Barrett
- B5: Dark Globe Syd Barrett
- C1: Here I Go Syd Barrett (2010 Remix)
- C2: Octopus Syd Barrett (2010 Mix)
- C3: She Took A Long Cool Look Syd Barrett (2010 Mix)
- C4: If It's In You Syd Barrett
- C5: Baby Lemonade Syd Barrett
- D1: Dominoes Syd Barrett (2010 Mix)
- D2: Gigolo Aunt Syd Barrett
- D3: Effervescing Elephant Syd Barrett
- D4: Bob Dylan Blues Syd Barrett
An Introduction To Syd Barrett, is a reissue of the 2010 collection that brought together for the first time the tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett on one compilation.
David Gilmour, who originally worked on Syd Barrett's two solo albums, as co-producer of The Madcap Laughs and as producer of Barrett, was the executive producer for the album. Damon Iddins and Andy Jackson at Astoria Studios remixed five tracks including ‘Octopus’, ‘She Took A Long Cool Look’, ‘Dominoes’ and ‘Here I Go’, with David Gilmour adding bass guitar to the last track. Pink Floyd's ‘Matilda Mother’ also received a fresh 2010 Mix.
The album features the original 24-page booklet and graphics plus all lyrics, and was designed including the cover art by long time Pink Floyd associate the late Storm Thorgerson and his estimable studio.
Born in Cambridge in 1946, Roger Keith 'Syd' Barrett was the primary songwriter, guitarist and original lead vocalist in the first incarnation of Pink Floyd. He formed the band in the mid-1960s with drummer Nick Mason, bassist Roger Waters and keyboard-player Richard Wright. With their groundbreaking, semi-improvised sets at the legendary UFO Club in London's Tottenham Court Road, they became the prime movers of British psychedelia.
Barrett wrote the warped pop vignettes ‘Arnold Layne’ and ‘See Emily Play’, the group's two hit singles from 1967, as well as 'Apples And Oranges', and the lion's share of the material – the dreamy ‘Matilda Mother’, ‘Chapter 24’ and the whimsical ‘Bike’ – on their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Recorded at EMI's famed Abbey Road Studios while the Beatles were making Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pink Floyd's first album has proved an enduring classic, referenced by everyone from David Bowie to Spiritualized via The Damned.
Barrett contributed ‘Jugband Blues’ to A Saucerful Of Secrets, the band's follow-up, but his behaviour became increasingly erratic and he left in April 1968, a few months after the addition to the group of his Cambridge friend David Gilmour on guitar and vocals.
Syd Barrett's first solo album, The Madcap Laughs, was a long time coming but made the Top 40 on its release in January 1970. Barrett followed in November that year, and contains tracks such as ‘Baby Lemonade’ and ‘Gigolo Aunt’ that provided the names for two cult US groups in the 80s and 90s.
Over the last four decades, Syd Barrett has become the ultimate rock enigma. In 1975, he paid an eerie visit to his former band mates at Abbey Road while they were recording ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, the centrepiece of the Wish You Were Here album he had inspired. He never entered a studio again. In 2001, he was the subject of a BBC Omnibus documentary.
He died in July 2006 but his legacy lives on in the music of R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, Julian Cope, Spiritualized, Blur and countless other groups. Earlier this year, Faber and Faber published Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head, an exhaustive biography by long-time fan Rob Chapman.
An Introduction To Syd Barrett provides a handy overview of this visionary talent, this madcap genius whose star shone brightly yet burnt out all too quickly.
Nu bossa icon Sabrina Malheiros has released four now classic original studio albums for Far Out Recordings. Her first, Equilibria, was originally released in 2005, ascending the daughter of Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros to international acclaim. Celebrating 20 years since it was first released—for Record Store Day 2025—Equilibria will be available on vinyl for the first time ever.
A masterful collection of sambas and bossas, Equilibria strikes the perfect balance between classic Brazilian songwriting and modern production courtesy of Far Out mainstay Daniel Maunick. The album features some of Brazil’s very best musicians including members of Azymuth, as well as Incognito frontman and guitarist Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick.
As one review put it, Equilibria is “guaranteed to turn your limbs to liquid…. Prepare to be swept away”
- A1: Shit On Me
- A2: Fucking Rotten
- A3: You, Me, Carpark, Now
- A4: Burn Your Home
- A5: Terror Australis
- B1: The Shaftmen - Shaftman - Toecutter Remix
- B2: Kill Intelligent Jocks (They Are The Master Race)
- B3: Scooter - Ramp ! The Logical Song (Progressive Mix) - Toecutter Remix
- B4: Nu-Lo
- C1: Donna Summer - Striving For Peace Between Mac And P C. Users - Toecutter Remix
- C2: Dave Dobbin & The Herbs - Beauty And The Beats - Toecutter Remix
- C3: Sokuseki Men - Big Toe Blues - Toecutter Remix
- C4: Kid606 - Lap Top. Hot. Shot. - Toecutter Remix
- C5: Dnil8R - Ft Mc Slurry
- D1: Baby, Don't Call Me - Xian Remix
- D2: Sodomecstacy - Shitmat Remix
- D3: Cum On Barbie - Sickboy Remix
- D4: Graveyard Haters - Maladroit Remix
- D5: Cut Up Cops
- E1: Ode To Brendan Phelan
- F1: I Milk Myself - Smoo Operator
- 1: Mass Death And Destruction
- 2: Nowhere To Run
- 3: Visions Of Chaos
- 4: But Still Work (Victims Of The Mine)
- 5: Apocalypse Of Death
- 6: Neverending War
- 7: Yesterday's Fairytale, Tomorrow's Nightmare
- 8: The Sound Of Disaster
- 9: Crawling Chaos
- 10: Wardead
Repress!
Layer upon layer of noise and distortion, like ashes of nuclear apocalypse raining down. The final LP Disclose released, in 2004, captured the band at a high point. When other d-beat raw punk bands were running low on ideas, Kawakami reinvented the sound, incorporating more metallic influences like Broken Bones while still sticking assiduously close to the template. Originally released for Disclose’s tour of the US west coast, ‘Yesterday’s Fairytale, Tomorrow’s Nightmare’ includes ten tracks and closes with a rampaging masterpiece, the 10-minute ‘Wardead,’ which exists on another astral plane from generic Discharge copyists. This authorized reissue reproduces the original artwork and includes a new insert with liner notes by Stuart Schrader.
- A1: Opening (3 11)
- A2: Crabby Beach (3 03)
- A3: Dark Ruins (3 02)
- A4: Cryptic Relics (3 08)
- A5: Stadium Attack (3 07)
- B1: Crumbling Castle (3 10)
- B2: Frosty Retreat (Inside) (3 09)
- B3: Frosty Retreat (Outside) (3 05)
- B4: Snowy Mammoth (3 24)
- B5: Specter's Factory (Outside) (2 05)
- C1: Thick Jungle (Woods) (2 55)
- C2: Thick Jungle (River) (3 04)
- C3: Molten Lava (2 52)
- C4: Results (1 03)
- C5: Molten Lava (T-Rex) (3 04)
- C6: Coral Cave (3 35)
- D1: Specter Circus (2 49)
- D2: Hot Springs (3 07)
- D3: Hot Springs (Maze) (3 08)
- D4: Laboratory (0 58)
- D5: Monkey Madness (2 58)
- D6: Wabi Sabi Wall (3 09)
- E1: Staff Roll (Normal) (2 59)
- E2: Opening (3 11)
- E5: Tv Tower (3 11)
- F1: City Park (3 04)
- F2: Stage Select (0 49)
- F3: Specter Boxing (2 54)
- F4: Primordial Ooze (3 22)
- F5: Western Land (3 12)
- F6: Fossil Field (3 10)
- G1: Staff Roll (2 59)
- G2: Dexter's Island (3 05)
- G3: Specter's Theme (2 57)
- G4: Ski Kidz Racing (Type A) (2 52)
- G5: Ski Kidz Racing (Type B) (3 04)
- G6: Ski Kidz Racing (Type C) (2 53)
- H1: Movie From Opening (1 05)
- H2: Movie From Shifting Time (1 34)
- H3: Crumbling Castle (Alternative Version) (3 11)
- H4: Hot Springs (Alternative Version) (2 59)
- H5: Specter Boxing (Training Version) (2 21)
- E3: Sushi Temple (3 17)
- E4: Peak Point Matrix (3 09)
4XLP. Hardcover slipcase box. Liner notes from Soichi Terada, Colour: translucent red, clear, blue, and yellow vinyl
It has been 25 years since the release of Saru Get You (サルゲッチュ), known stateside and in the UK as Ape Escape. Ape Escape marked a significant milestone for the PlayStation, as it was the first game to require use of the PlayStation's DualShock (analog) controller. In Ape Escape, the use of the analogue sticks goes beyond camera rotation and acts as an extension of Kakeru's (Spike's) own character, controlling his many gadgets like the stun club, time net, and sky flyer. It's a unique form of control that, really, didn't become popularized until the release of the Nintendo Wii. It feels like a distinctly Japanese design, the sort of off-the-wall design that is either embraced or rejected on a global scale. In Ape Escape's case, the mechanic caught on.
Ape Escape is fast, frantic, and—at times—downright frustrating. Pipo monkeys dash, taunt, and swim away from your advances. They ride water monsters, fly UFOs, and even shoot uzis! Whether it's Kakeru, his friends, or the monkeys themselves, the characters are always running across the levels. This mad dash is enhanced by the game's soundtrack, composed by legendary composer Soichi Terada. As he recalls, the director of the production said, "Spike and his friends always have the image of running." In response, Terada happily produced fast songs with an average speed of over 170bpm. The resulting gameplay and audio is a match made in heaven.
Ape Escape is the first game soundtrack Mr. Terada ever created. The producers of the game heard one of his singles, "Sumo Jungle," and thought his frenetic drum-and-bass (Jungle) would be perfect for the game. The marriage of Ape Escape's charming overworld and Soichi's upbeat compositions is nothing short
of sublime. Especially now, it is difficult to separate the mischievous Pipos and fast-paced action from Soichi Terada's silky smooth synthesizer and heart-pounding bass. Earlier this year (2024), Soichi Terada's Ape Escape work was celebrated by the six-track EP Apes in the Net, which includes music from Ape Escape 1 and 3 (Terada did not compose the series' second installment). The label, Rush Hour Music, has prestigiously championed almost all of Soichi Terada's music, especially his (specifically non-VGM) house, jungle, and drum and bass releases (Sounds from the Far East, Asakusa Light, and more).
Before Apes in the Net, Terada's Ape Escape music was only available on CD, released in Japan around 2010. This release featured reconstructed tracks created by Mr. Terada himself, identical to the music arrangements featured in the game. The biggest difference, of course, was that they were of higher fidelity than was originally available on the PS1 disk format. Completing all of the aforementioned releases is this box set, released by Far East Recording in partnership with Cartridge Thunder and officially licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment. This box set release includes four LPs, housed individually by a hardcover slipcase. This box set includes every song from Ape Escape 1, except those available on Apes in the Net. This box set release also includes one bonus song, previously unreleased anywhere else (including the game itself!).
The music on this box set was meticulously mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering. Using Mr. Terada's premastered source files, the music was completely and specifically mastered for vinyl. Rounding out the audio is absolutely stunning artwork created by Gobo3D. CT worked with Gobo to recreate some of Ape Escape's most iconic characters, referencing the original Japanese guidebook and other promotional materials. The result is visually delicious 300dpi artwork that takes you straight back to 1999. As uber-fans of the original PlayStation game, Cartridge Thunder and Far East Recording are proud to celebrate Soichi Terada's music and pay our respects to such a legendary PlayStation franchise—on the original hardware's 30th anniversary no less! It's with a happy heart, then, that Far East Recording and CT present to you Soichi Terada's Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks in a Box.
Please note: due to licensing exclusivity, this release does not include tracks previously released on Apes in the Net
Percussion mastermind Ploy arrives on Dekmantel with a double-pack of unbridled dancefloor heat that sees him reconnecting with his house roots.
Before he made a striking breakthrough as Ploy with wayward broken techno for Hessle Audio and Timedance, Samuel Smith's first releases as Samuel were leftfield house excursions. On this release for Dekmantel he wanted to reflect on a decade of releasing music and the many high-impact dancefloors he's shared with the label, from Selectors to De School, over the years.
The common denominator across these eight tracks is no-nonsense house, offering up grooves that will serve a DJ exactly what they want in the mix. At the same time, Ploy doesn't dilute the distinctive edge of his sound, from the abundance of perfectly balanced percussion to the nagging hooks of an off-key synth line dropped at just the right moment. Wry samples inject the mischievous humour he's always creeping into his craft. This is where dancefloor magic is nurtured, hitting the sweet spot between rock solid reliability and the wild card energy that brings a heads-down set to life.
From 'Admirer's big room peaks to 'It's Later Than You Think's cosmic incantations, this is the sound of Ploy showing exactly what it takes to make laser-focused club bombs without losing one iota of his inimitable style.




















