Following the exploratory framework of Closer Now, Everlasting Flame sees Bartosz Kruczyński aka Earth Trax moving further into introspection, embracing a more experimental language that drifts between ambient abstraction and rhythm-driven forms.
The album unfolds through cold, shimmering atmospheres and submerged low-end structures, navigating a subtle tension between melancholy and propulsion. Its sonic palette remains fluid, shifting between hazy ambient passages, dub-inflected textures and more fractured, bass-driven moments, while maintaining a strong sense of cohesion throughout.
A defining element of the record lies in its contrasts: low, brooding pads and diffused beats are set against piercing high-end details, distant vocal fragments and flashes of raw, distorted intensity. This interplay creates a sound world that feels at once fragile and forceful, intimate yet expansive, with a persistent sense of longing running beneath the surface.
With Everlasting Flame, Earth Trax continues to move beyond strictly club-oriented structures, shaping a body of work that exists in a liminal space between functionality and free-form expression — immersive, textural and emotionally resonant. A record that lingers in the in-between, where rhythm dissolves into atmosphere and emotion takes the lead.
West Coast tech house had long since taken shape by the time it made its way over to the UK at the turn of the new millennium, and that's in part because of the pioneering work of the Casa Del Soul crew. The "DJ-first, producer-second collective" was founded in Denver in 1999 by a bunch of artists including DJ Darrell Foxx, who put out several records that laid out the blueprint for this raw, gritty sound across several EPs. His debut, 'The Collective EP', was one of them - two live-session, warehouse-ready tracks of low-slung and stripped-back tech with swing in the drums and dust in the percussion. The original DAT tapes were lost in a blizzard, which meant original copies have become ever more scarce and pricey on the second-hand market... until now. This fantastic remaster brings them back to life with the same distinctive rawness that made them favourites with Doc Martin and Tyrant (Craig Richards and Lee Burridge) the first time around. Utterly essential.
UK dub techno heavyweight and Mosaic label head Steve O'Sullivan has explored plenty of fertile ground with Berlin-based Fletcher, and now they're back to do it again, but this time include Swedish artist and former Rubadub employee Sean Dixon in the team for the third part in the Mosaic versus series. 'Distance' (O'Sullivan vs Dixon) is a mid-tempo roller with clipped dub chords and swirling pads, while 'End To End' (also O'Sullivan vs Dixon) is more tight and direct, with kicks that sound like a bouncing basketball and implicit swing that immediately gets you hooked. 'Breakout' (O'Sullivan vs Fletcher) has a darker minimal dub edge and icy hi-hats over a warped bassline. A real hat trick of top dub techno weapons.
Curated by Brian d'Souza (aka Auntie Flo), Plants Can Dance is a forthcoming new compilation bringing together a global community of artists, exploring the creative possibilities of biosonification - transforming signals from plants, ecosystems and the natural world into sound. Out June 26th, the project marks the culmination of several years of d'Souza’s work across music, ecology and technology.
The album arrives at a time when more artists are turning toward nature as both subject and collaborator, such as Brian Eno’s Earth Percent, which formally recognises “Nature” as an artist. Plants Can Dance sits within a wider cultural shift, which is redefining the relationship between sound and the living world.
The project builds on several years of work by d'Souza, whose Plants Can Dance events have taken place across the UK, Europe, India and Africa, appearing in institutions including the V&A, Tate and the Design Museum. What began as a series of intimate gatherings has since evolved into a global platform, reflecting a growing appetite for work that reconnects music with the natural world.
The compilation features contributions from leading practitioners including Modern Biology (Tarun Nayar) in collaboration with saxophonist Zekarias Musele Thompson, OMMA (Olga Maximovam founder of Playtronica), Jason Singh, Dr Helen Anahita Wilson, Justin Wiggan in collaboration with celebrated Norwegian jazz musician Arve Henriksen, Lamine Touré, Bit Marten and Balam, alongside new work from d'Souza himself. Using a range of tools - from commercially available devices to bespoke modular systems - artists translate electrical activity, environmental data and organic processes into musical material.
The processes behind each piece differ - from interpreting plant biodata to translating wind patterns into compositional structures - and the results are as varied as they are compelling. The record spans ambient, jazz, electronica and modern classical, yet all pieces are unified by a shared intent: to reimagine music as a space of collaboration between human and more-than-human worlds.
At the core of Plants Can Dance is a question about how we define music, and how we choose to listen. Traditional musical forms, with their fixed tempos and predictable structures, give way here to something more fluid and less easily controlled. The listener is invited to surrender expectation and engage with sound as an evolving environment rather than a linear narrative. In this context, the compositions function as what d'Souza describes as “acoustic ecologies” - sonic systems shaped by biological, environmental and elemental forces unfolding in real time.
Accompanying the release is a printed zine offering reflections from each artist, and deeper insight into the ideas and debates surrounding this practice. Rather than presenting definitive answers, Plants Can Dance positions itself as an artistic exploration grounded in curiosity, experimentation and critical thought.
Ultimately, Plants Can Dance is less concerned with proving whether plants “make music” than with changing how we listen. By inviting audiences to engage with sound shaped by non-humans, it opens up new ways of perceiving the environments we inhabit - not as passive backdrops, but as active, dynamic participants in a shared ecological network. In doing so, it offers a quietly radical proposition: that by listening differently, we might begin to relate to the natural world differently too.
Aaron Coyes (PEAKING LIGHTS, LEISURE CONNECTION, NTS) is back with part 2 of this 3 part series under the EXOTIC GARDENS moniker.
This time, the listener finds themselves sauntering into the post-noon hours with a little more grit: Acid synths, distorted phones ringing, some hungover spoken word samples and even the sounds of a Monchichi if you listen closely enough.
But at the heart of it all remains the same backbone that made his 2024 "MORNING DUBS" a surprise hit for Pinchy and Friends: infectiously deep, perfectly produced psychedelic dub
grooves.
Coyes has had a busy year. He released another Exotic Gardens EP on the Emotional Response label, indulging his more distorted, shoe gaze and post punk passions (and sounding much different to his work with P&F). He also worked with fellow P&F artist COYOTE on the "Love Letters" EP. (2025- Is It Balaeric???)
Now that we are 2/3rds into the day, one can only wonder…what will the EVENING bring???
Olindo Records is proud to present the physical edition of Venezuelan drummer, producer and artist Orestes Gómez 2nd solo LP: No Me Fui Porque Quise.
This album is a deeply personal and rhythm-driven project where Orestes explores themes of migration, identity, and emotional resilience. Through a fusion of Afro-Caribbean percussion, jazz, hip-hop, and electronic textures, the album tells the story of leaving home not by choice, but by circumstance.
Featuring a host of exciting guests from his home country and beyond, each track blends organic drums with modern production, creating a sound that is both rooted in tradition and forward-thinking. The music moves between introspective moments and powerful rhythmic expressions, reflecting the complexity of displacement, memory, and cultural identity.
Orestes Gómez is much more than a percussionist; he is an architect of rhythm and a visionary of hybrid production. Originally from Venezuela, he has established himself as a leading Latin American voice by fusing the heritage of Afro-Caribbean drums with the avant-garde of electronic music, jazz, and hip-hop.
Ouragan’s first release, Clair Obscur, is an invitation to take time, to reflect, to wander. It was conceived as a shared story between distant landscapes: dreamlike, moving yet contemplative. A thread between closed eyes, through imaginary worlds that appear here – and elsewhere fade.
Despite their distinct identities, the four tracks share a sense of mystery. A warm tension characteristic of dub techno, no matter its form. Side A offers an introspective, dancefloor-driven vision of the genre; the flip side turns more meditative – emotional, melancholic, and beautifully touching.
Biz has some serious techno credentials, having landed on esteemed labels like Transmat and Acquit Records before now, and here he is back on his Subjekt label with a third outing in his limited series. This is cerebral techno steeped in Detroit style but looking to the future. 'No Pain, No Gain' is awash with crystalline pads over a surging groove, 'Monozukuri' gets more prickly with metallic percussive textures and a forlorn lead. 'Manipulate' unhinges from reality with trippy synth cascades that remind of 8bit video games and the flip then has a more introverted sound across three minimalistic, deep rhythmic excursions.
A decade has now passed since French-Algerian collective Acid Arab (a studio and live outfit helmed by producers Guido Minisky and Hervo Calvalho) wowed the world with their debut album Musique De France. Since, they've delivered two more albums, both of which take different approaches to fusing electronic beats and instrumentation with North African and Middle Eastern sounds and vocals. Resonance, their fourth full-length, sees them return to the raw, analogue-rich and bass-heavy club sounds that marked out their formative years at the turn of the 2010s - all heady Arabic vocals, traditional instrumentation, moody grooves, twisted acid lines and knowing nods to everything from acid house, new beat and EDM to industrial funk, dark new-wave throbbers, and the mid-tempo psychedelic pulse of new beat.
On this recording, one can hear both resolve and farewell. Just before departing for the United States, Masabumi Kikuchi pours himself into these now-legendary compositions.
Gifted with a singular artistic voice and a keen sense of his time, Masabumi Kikuchi established himself as a pianist of international stature. In 1973, he relocated his base of operations to New York. Recorded immediately before that move, End For The Beginning captures a studio live performance held in front of invited fans, documenting a pivotal moment in his career.
During this period, Kikuchi was exploring innovative sounds through the use of electric instruments and unconventional ensembles. Yet on this album, he returned to a more traditional format: a two-horn frontline backed by a piano trio. The program consists entirely of five original compositions by Kikuchi himself.
The determination surrounding his imminent departure fuels the music's intensity, while the sense of farewell evokes a distinctly Japanese emotional depth. Masterpieces such as “Shuuu”, “GinKai”, and “Green Dance” emerge like waves from beyond an atmosphere charged with tension and anticipation. Each performance unfolds with remarkable focus, lyricism, and power.
A work of striking conviction and emotional resonance, End For The Beginning stands as one of the defining achievements of Kikuchi's career and a fitting summation of his artistic vision.
he all-time house music legend Roger Sanchez drops his brand new studio album ‘Spectrum’ - his first in twenty years. Previewed by three high-energy bangers - ‘Grinnin’ (with Fedde LeGrand), ‘Come My Way’ and ‘Temptation’ (with Low Steppa, featuring Ragdoll) - the record features the new focus track ‘How Do We Say Goodbye’, a collab with Karen Harding.
The globally celebrated and Grammy-winning DJ, producer and label head has been working on the album for years, much of it during his time in Shoreditch which has informed its euphoric UK summer sonic influences. But its diverse tracks reflect a spectrum of sounds, from pulsating club tracks to dancefloor fillers, through to more emotional moments and atmospheric elements. Lyrically it’s also the result of translating his personal experiences into song.
Roger says, “I’ve been working on this for the past six years, so it’s definitely a labour of love. During that time I got the chance to travel around the world and work with some amazing vocalists and songwriters to help me bring this project to life. I’ve got flavours from the UK, Spain, the US - all of this is part of the spectrum for. This project is about music and frequencies and light: so everything from the light to the soulful to the club-ready infrared, the emotionally-weighted ultraviolet. That’s what ‘Spectrum’ is all about for me.”
The new focus track ‘How Do We Say Goodbye’ was created with the topline extraordinaire and always in-demand collaborator Karen Harding, whose all-star credits include work with MNEK, Armand Van Helden, Rudimental, Wilkinson and many more. It’s a massive highlight of the album, with Karen’s soaring vocal class bringing both an irresistible hook and a touching sense of nostalgia, while Roger’s dynamic production ascends from a trance-like ambience into an electrifying drop.
Beyond the singles, ‘Spectrum’ also features a diverse array of other talents spanning multiple genres and nationalities. These include Melanic C, Kele Le Roc, Chico Castillo, Kelli-Leigh, Carnao Beats, Donae’O and more. It’s a guestlist which lives up to the anticipation for the record.
‘SPECTRUM’ is available as a special 3LP limited-edition pressed on red transparent vinyl.
Jungle by Night Speaks Out on their latest full length album, Bar Dancing: An Ode to Friendship, the Dance Floor, and the Voice
Since their teenage years, the Amsterdam-based groove collective Jungle by Night has been conquering music venues and festivals with their ever-expanding mix of styles—krautrock, nu-disco, electro-pop. After six largely instrumental studio albums, the group—now consisting of six musicians—changes course on their seventh long-player. On Bar Dancing, set for release in early 2027 via the Amsterdam-based Rush Hour label, the band does something they have never done before: they sing.
Where brass, percussion, and synths previously told the stories, lyrics and vocals now demand their space as well. It gives the band room to put words to the topics that occupy their minds: the pitfalls of digital addiction, the dark sides of fake news, toxic masculinity, and the connection they experience while touring together.
The title Bar Dancing captures the essence of the album. It is an ode to friendship, connection, and the night. The record radiates the atmosphere of a pub where you sit at the bar discussing life, only to find yourself dancing in that very same bar moments later. Analog and warmly produced, the album builds on influences from '80s pop, krautrock, and Neue Deutsche Welle. Think of the playfulness of Talking Heads, the dub influences of UB40, the electronic layers of Air, and the tight "computer love" of Kraftwerk.
Band member Hy Tienson explains: "For the first time, we are literally giving a voice to our thoughts. It makes the music more personal, more direct, and more layered, without losing that signature, uplifting Jungle groove."
With Bar Dancing, Jungle by Night delivers an album that invites both listening and dancing. It marks a new phase for the band, taking another step forward with a renewed sound and their own lyrics.
Gorizont Sobytiy (Event Horizon), the duo of veteran electronic musician Nocow and his wife, DJ Designer, mark the project's debut with an album worth of material of 'frogg-step' / Pankratov Step. It's safe to say this is an intriguing proposition for even those well-initiated into the world of the contemporary Russian underground. What is perhaps most immediately obvious across the 11 tracks is a clear appreciation for golden-era Rephlex records, as if the duo are reflecting on how the iconic label was perceived in the Eastern bloc at the time. There's a nostalgic touch tugging at the heart strings with the warm ambient tones of 'Bananoivy Twist' or even the ballroom-esque organ melodies of follow up 'Chacha', both swiftly followed by a switch back into frantic gabber style kicks that recur across the album.
To give a little more away in terms of a background story, Nocow and DJ Designer draw influence from a film called Winter Evening in Gagra, a somewhat distant feeling artefact of late-Soviet cinema about a tap dancing champion's late nights spent gallivanting across the glitz of Moscow's pop music scene in the 1980s. Maximalist in its sound design, Pankratov Step draws its name from actor-protagonist Pankratov, not quite an out-of-time soundtrack as such but at the least a wry nod to the former world in which the film takes place. The cascading, brittle synthesis of 'Cemetry's Boss' forms an icy cinematic fusion again with a gabber influence at play whilst a fierce acid line works alongside myriad glitch rhythms and repeating keys on 'Octopus Werk'. Influenced by the local humour and sentimentality surrounding the film, a melodrama with themes of lost art and a kind of old-world transcendence the young circus performer yearns for, the duo use it as a vessel to describe the projects sound - a coalescing of vintage Soviet soundtracks, early IDM, Jake Slazenger and Expert Knob Twiddlers album. 'Pankratov-Step' becoming their own fictional genre. The LP marks another avant-garde chapter in Nocow's long back catalogue, as well as a fully formed collaborative debut for the currently enigmatic DJ Designer. Pankratov Step is the second release on GOST ZVUK sub-label MEMONT, curated by Kuzma Palkin.
In the evolving landscape of modern Southern hip-hop, the pairing of Starlito and Bandplay stands out as a unique bridge between street-level authenticity and refined, calculated musicality. Their collaborative project, Not The Country You Know, functions less like a standard release and more as a manifesto—a masterclass in the chemistry between a seasoned, introspective lyricist and a producer who possesses an intuitive grasp of the region's pulse. It is an exploration of legacy and adaptation, capturing the tension between where they came from and where the culture is currently headed.
Bandplay, long recognized for sculpting the sonic identity of Memphis icons, brings his signature, trunk-rattling 808s to the project, yet he manages to pivot here. The production feels remarkably expansive, masterfully blending the raw, stripped-back aesthetics of classic Tennessee rap with forward-thinking textures that refuse to be confined to a single sub-genre. Complementing this, Starlito operates with his trademark mix of cynical observation and genuine vulnerability. He navigates these beats with the weary grace of an artist who has weathered the music industry's relentless cycles, treating every bar like a necessary piece of a larger, ongoing story.
The album’s title serves as a direct commentary on these shifting tides. Across the tracklist, the duo investigates the growing disparity between the romanticized South and the cold realities of the streets, alongside the inevitable evolution of the music business itself. There is no frantic chasing of streaming-era trends or algorithmic bait here; instead, the project remains a stubborn, confident assertion of artistic identity. By weaving together Starlito’s "voice-of-reason" flow and Bandplay’s evolving, genre-bending sound, Not The Country You Know challenges the listener to abandon their preconceived notions of the region, offering instead a complex, urgent vision of a South that is as haunting as it is vibrant.
Two stone cold classics right here from the Roy Ayers masterminded RAMP, taken from the holy grail album Come Into Knowledge. Sampled the world over, influentially positive and as prized as they get, South Street’s new sub-label South Street Soul couldn’t have picked a more perfect double header to reissue as their inaugural release.
Although the RAMP acronym Roy Ayers Music Productions bared Ayers’ name, he did not perform with the Ohio band instead writing, arranging and producing the tracks alongside Edwin Birdsong and also William Allen. Drafting in some of the best session musicians in the game, from vocalists Sibel Thrasher and Sharon Matthews, The Spinners drummer John Manuel, guitarist Landy Shores and Cincinnati bass maestro Nate White, the result was pure ethereal excellence.
Rare groove at its finest ‘Daylight’ is one of the standout cuts from RAMP’s only album - soulful, sumptuous and laced with a celestial touch that takes this track to another realm of conscious. A track that was famously sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for their hit ‘Bonita Applebum’ and J Dilla’s remix of Common – Come Close.
On the B side, a Roy Ayer’s masterpiece 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' given the RAMP revamp, an end of the night masterpiece, a hazed-out dreamer - just downright blissful grooves from start to finish. Ready-made to ride out into the sunset with.
MAUROMUSICA first appeared in 1999, when DJ Maurizio Schmitz introduced the name as an underground party brand shaped by long nights, afterhours and a deep passion for electronic music culture. For almost two decades, the project lived through intimate events and dancefloors before eventually going quiet for a number of years.
Now, MAUROMUSICA returns - not only as a party series once again, but finally as the music label Maurizio had envisioned from the very beginning. A long-held dream, brought back to life through a carefully curated first various artists compilation.
The first release brings together six artists from different corners of the electronic music world: Egyptian producer Raxon, German/French duo RE-ST, Italian artists JA:CK and Fedele, alongside Romanian producers Radu Dracul and Sublee.
Moving between warm-up atmospheres, emotional techno, afterhour moods and timeless club sounds, the compilation reflects the musical vision behind MAUROMUSICA - honest electronic music with character, depth and longevity.
Artwork comes from internationally acclaimed artist Tobias Rehberger, while the label typography was kindly provided by Buero New York.
Special thanks to Sven Väth for his continuous support and for championing Raxon's "Based In Space" in his sets for more than a year.
P.S. The handmade coloured vinyl edition of Raxon's "Based In Space" - limited to 100 copies - sold out within less than two hours. The track is now exclusively available as part of this compilation.
MAUROMUSICA first appeared in 1999, when DJ Maurizio Schmitz introduced the name as an underground party brand shaped by long nights, afterhours and a deep passion for electronic music culture. For almost two decades, the project lived through intimate events and dancefloors before eventually going quiet for a number of years.
Now, MAUROMUSICA returns - not only as a party series once again, but finally as the music label Maurizio had envisioned from the very beginning. A long-held dream, brought back to life through a carefully curated first various artists compilation.
The first release brings together six artists from different corners of the electronic music world: Egyptian producer Raxon, German/French duo RE-ST, Italian artists JA:CK and Fedele, alongside Romanian producers Radu Dracul and Sublee.
Moving between warm-up atmospheres, emotional techno, afterhour moods and timeless club sounds, the compilation reflects the musical vision behind MAUROMUSICA - honest electronic music with character, depth and longevity.
Artwork comes from internationally acclaimed artist Tobias Rehberger, while the label typography was kindly provided by Buero New York.
Special thanks to Sven Väth for his continuous support and for championing Raxon's "Based In Space" in his sets for more than a year.
P.S. The handmade coloured vinyl edition of Raxon's "Based In Space" - limited to 100 copies - sold out within less than two hours. The track is now exclusively available as part of this compilation.
Bella Boo lands on Aus Music with a mix of party-starting and heart-racing house jams
Swedish artist KURT. brings her characterful style to the title cut
Bella Boo has lit up the house world since breaking through in 2018. She has become a Studio Barnhus mainstay with a sound that is both emotional and energetic in the way it contrasts light and dark. It's built on solid grooves with fresh sound designs and has taken her to dj everywhere from Panorama Bar to Printworks. Her debut LP, as well as follow-up EPs, have seen her nominated for several Swedish Grammys and seen her profile grow around the world. KURT. is a rising star from Stockholm with an electric sound that blends club, r&b, pop and soul. It's high on attitude and laced with her own provocative vocals. She guests on opener 'Shake Down', which is a chunky, bass-first rhythm packed with character: hints of jungle breaks, heat-damaged synths and blasts of gloopy bass all bring the fun before KURT.'s vocal motifs - which are variously sultry, whispered and visceral - inject even more heat. The Regrette Rien Mix takes on a late-night feel with sustained chords and a silky smooth vocal from KURT. that turns you inwards. Bella Boo then goes solo for the super vibey 'Atlas', a deep, cruising house cut with catchy percussion and lush, layered bells. The golden chords and shimmering pads are immersive and expansive as the bass powered on. Lastly, '8Ball' quickens your step with bumpy kicks and increasingly detuned, wonky synths that bring a future feel to a punchy yet cuddly and feel-good groove.
Queensbridge duo Mobb Deep were already untouchable by the time Hell On Earth arrived, but this was the record where Havoc and Prodigy stopped sounding hungry and started sounding completely numb to everything around them. The production is brutally spare. Tiny piano fragments repeat for minutes at a time while drums hit with the force of metal doors slamming shut somewhere down the corridor. 'G.O.D. Pt. III' still feels poisonous nearly 30 years later, Prodigy rapping with such flat menace it barely even registers as performance anymore. 'Drop A Gem On 'Em' turns a diss track into psychological warfare, and then 'Nighttime Vultures', alongside Raekwon, moves through the album's nocturnal haze with exhausted precision. Even now, the whole thing feels airless in a way few rap records manage.
Turkey’s first stereo LP. A foundational recording of Anatolian psychedelia. Audio transferred from the original analog master tapes, mastered and lacquer cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London, and pressed on 180g heavyweight black vinyl at Record Industry in the Netherlands.
Released by the legendary Yonca Müzik label in 1973 as Turkey’s first stereo LP, Türküz Türkü Çağırırız! now returns as the first official reissue. The album captures Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner at a pivotal moment before their later success with MFÖ, one of Turkish pop-rock’s most influential and enduring groups.
Mazhar and Fuat first met in 1966 through a shared love of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Inspired by the close vocal harmonies of The Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash, they initially believed this music could only work in English. Producer Ergin Bener encouraged them to develop their own musical language in Turkish.
Previously members of Kaygısızlar, the pioneering group that accompanied Barış Manço, Mazhar and Fuat explored a more intimate Turkish folk-rock sound on this album. Zafer Dilek’s arrangements bring his distinctive guitar and keyboard work to a recording in which acoustic guitars, organ and electric guitar touches frame Anatolian melodies. Country-rock influences and the English-language “Upside Down” add to its range.
The title roughly translates as “We are Turks, and we sing Turkish folk songs” — reflecting a search for a new, distinctly Turkish musical identity. The album draws on works by Âşık Veysel, a defining voice of Turkish folk poetry, and Yunus Emre, the great Anatolian Sufi poet.
“Adımız Miskindir Bizim” was sampled on Action Bronson’s “Easy Rider,” while Stones Throw producer Oh No sampled “Sür Efem Atını.”
Irish label Il Corpo returns for its third outing with a hard to pigeon hole 10” from 710 Exit. 2 tracks that sit on the electro end of things but with a generous nod to the sound of Detroit, early UK breakbeat, soul and the deeper realms of electronic music. Close To The Sun feels like more than just a cosmic position. A solid 808 foundation and loose percussion sit beneath a bed of synth lines and soaring pads that are guaranteed to stir the soul. The signal for nostalgia is strong but there are plenty more twists and turns to keep the listener engaged. Warped guitar and soul samples make Strat an infectious workout brimming with experimentation and originality. Effected chords take on an almost vocal quality which talks over the casual, understated funk on offer here. Ever changing tones draw you in and make it hard to distinguish between guitar, synth or human. A unique E.P. which will find its way into the sets of varying selectors at this summer’s gatherings.
"Cuba Greatest Hits" bringt die Hitze Havannas direkt ins Wohnzimmer und vereint die wichtigsten Klassiker der kubanischen Musik auf einem exklusiven Doppel-Vinyl. Von Son und Mambo bis Bolero und Latin Jazz bietet diese Compilation ein authentisches musikalisches Panorama mit Legenden wie Compay Segundo, Celia Cruz und Beny Moré. Ein atmosphärischer Katalogtitel voller Rhythmus, Lebensfreude und karibischem Flair - ideal für alle, die kubanische Musik lieben.
Welcome to THE VAULT for 1985. A collection that digs deeper into the year’s musical landscape – uncovering singles that may not have always reached the highest chart positions but remain essential to the rich and diverse pop story of 1985. Some were overshadowed at the time, some were highlights from albums that had already sold huge amounts, some found greater success internationally – but all deserve their place in this continued celebration of 80s pop.
45 tracks across 3-LPs – pressed in gorgeous green vinyl – NOW Yearbook – The Vault: 1985.
LP1 opens with a trio of tracks from huge-selling albums:- Bruce Springsteen’s ‘My Hometown’, the sixth single in the UK from ‘Born in the U.S.A’ - one of the best-selling albums of the decade, followed by Bryan Ferry with the stunning ‘Windswept’ from ‘Boys And Girls’ and Sting’s ‘Love Is The Seventh Wave’, taken from his solo debut ‘The Dream Of The Blue Turtles’. Next up, Go West with a U.S single release ‘Eye To Eye’, Scritti Politti with ‘Perfect Way’ – their biggest hit in America, and ABC with ‘Be Near Me’. The first side closes with two established bands; Heaven 17 and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark… Flip the LP over for Adam Ant with ‘Vive Le Rock’, Midge Ure, Blancmange and the second collaboration between Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder with ‘Good-Bye Bad Times’. The Style Council’s ‘Welcome To Milton Keynes’ leads to LP1’s closer’s from Simply Red and Fine Young Cannibals who followed their debut ‘Johnny Come Home’ with ‘Blue’.
LP2 opens with Cocteau Twins and the dream-pop atmospherics of ‘Aikea-Guinea’, ahead of The Jesus And Mary Chain with ‘Just Like Honey’, and The Dream Academy with ‘The Love Parade’.
Brilliant with their cover of James Brown’s ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ and jazz-influenced pop from Matt Bianco are up next ahead of the sublime ‘Castles In The Air’ from The Colourfield and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, who released the 1979 track ‘Green Shirt’ to promote their ‘Best Of’ collection … and the side closes with The Clash’s ‘This Is England’ which would become their last originally released hit…whilst on the other side…celebrate the dancefloor, with a vibrant mix of Hi-NRG, soul, electro and club-influenced pop:- Opening with Sheryl Lee Ralph’s ‘In The Evening’ and Barbara Pennington’s equally superb ‘On A Crowded Street’, the hi-energy continues with Miquel Brown and Hazell Dean ahead of a US hit from Laura Branigan (‘Spanish Eddie’) and Divine’s cover of ‘Twistin’ The Night Away’. LP2 finishes with a massive U.S. dancefloor smash for Eddie Murphy with ‘Party All The Time’.
The final LP kicks off with a bunch of singles that achieved bigger hit status in the US than here and opens with Billy Joel’s ‘You’re Only Human (Second Wind)’, a track written exclusively for his ‘Greatest Hits – Volume I & II’ compilation, ahead of pop-rock from John Mellencamp plus an anthemic smash from Bon Jovi. Pat Benatar’s ‘Invincible’ features ahead of The Power Station’s third US Top 40 hit…whilst back in the UK Chris Rea enjoyed his biggest chart hit to date with ‘Stainsby Girls’ and the side is completed by Marillion with ‘Heart Of Lothian’ the third hit from their huge ‘Misplaced Childhood’ album… Flip to the final side for the stellar vocals on ‘Act Of War’, the huge collaboration between Elton John & Millie Jackson ahead of dancefloor smash ‘New Attitude’ from Patti Labelle and ‘Show Some Respect’ a U.S. single from Tina Turner. Sophisticated pop-R&B from Michael McDonald and Daryl Hall & John Oates come ahead of the collection’s closers- and two outstanding vocal performances: Chaka Khan’s ‘Through The Fire’ and the U.S. breakthrough hit from Whitney Houston with ‘You Give Good Love’ – signalling the arrival of one of the decade’s brightest new stars.
NOW Yearbook – The Vault: 1985 – A deeper dive into an unforgettable year in pop.
Música para Plátanos takes its name — and much of its inspiration — from the group’s recording studio, situated in the heart of a banana plantation on the humid north shore of Tenerife, Canary Islands. The ever-present sight of the green, sun-drenched fields surrounding their weekly sessions seeped directly into the music: improvised jams that are playful, layered, and deeply connected to place.
This release gathers a distilled selection from those sessions — a kind of “greatest rotten hits” distinct from their ongoing Imaginary Island Music volumes.
The album functions as a living archive bringing together a distilled selection of recordings spanning more than five years: from dusty, long-forgotten sessions to evolving tunes that have become staples of the band's live sets but have never before been committed to record. These long-form sessions served as a petri dish for the Lagoss sound, allowing their experiments to putrefy into their chaotic signature strain of cyber-exotica, unstable kosmische or heavily-corroded dub.
The title obvs nods to Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, but the logic is inverted. Instead of clean, ambient drift, the record inhabits a dense and fertile environment: polyrhythmic structures, Latin-infused electronics, and shifting counter-tempos that feel weighted by the local humidity.
Ultimately, Música para Plátanos is as much about the process as it is the place. Like the plantation outside, the music is subject to the elements; the tracks change shape depending on the heat of the day, what we drank, what we ate. It’s an unstable, honest harvest of sound—shaped by the weather and the state(s) of mind alike.
Now, following great acclaim for Volume 1, CTR is proud to unveil another equally eclectic Post-Punk Era Selection Compiled by Jason Boardman ( Before I Die Records) Celebrated Manchester club-night curator & record Label Owner , DJ & digger - supreme.
A second compilation of late 1970s / early 1980s Post-Punk era bedroom & small studio innovations & DIY Inspirations - Featuring more rarely & never heard cuts from that period. Including tracks from the enigmatic Prana, Blank Students, Janet Armstrong & The Native Hipsters ..A rich vein .
Jason Writes Of Volume 2 :
"It was a delightful shock that No Ones Listening Anyway Volume One was so well received - thanks to everyone one who bought & enjoyed it. This led to John asking me to collate Volume Two, so here it is.
This time all the material was recorded & released in the UK between 1978 & 1984.
I was conscious that there was minimal female energy on Volume One so have tried to rectify that here on Volume Two. I have also tried to make it as varied as possible with none hit wonders, oddities, collectables, under the radar B-sides & a couple of previously unreleased on vinyl selections."
DOGMA marks a new beginning for Coloray. As the name suggests, the project explores the endless search for meaning in a world that does not always offer one. Across 11 tracks, the artist reflects on queer romance, grief, youthful hope, and melancholic joy. Emotional, chaotic, and imperfect, DOGMA mirrors both the artist and the messy reality of a life unfolding. Rather than forcing rigid structures, the album embraces looseness and human presence. Live recordings and improvised songwriting take center stage- every lyric was written in the moment, and the tracks remain intentionally raw to preserve their imperfections.
In this way, the album is both personal and political. It calls for belief in keeping humanity alive and for dismantling the societal dogmas that push artists away from the core of their creative identity. DOGMA is an honest journey of self-authorship, unfolding through the sounds of new wave, disco-punk, electro, and ambient music.
New Jon Savage Compilation release alert! Jon Savage's SF Sike 1966-72 (Double Vinyl) Limited Edition. Heavyweight Luxury Gauge Sleeve-Stock & Inners.
The real sound of San Francisco 1966-72." It was the new gold rush, but with drugs, music and freedom the goal. " (Jon Savage -The Guardian August 2012)
A limited edition double vinyl 18 track album celebrating the great pop music and idealism of that time & featuring Moby Grape, Skip Spence, Ron Nagle, Country Joe & The Fish & much more
Full contextual & track-by-track sleeve notes by Jon Savage. Ephemera & archive material from the period.
New 10th anniversary fully remastered special silver-vinyl edition of Soul Jazz Records" ground-breaking Venezuela 70 featuring Vytas Brenner, Pablo Schneider, Angel Rada, Miguel Angel Fuster and many more. Venezuela 70 was the first ever compilation of its kind to take a look at the fascinating music scene created in Venezuela in the 1970s, a stunning blend of Funk, Latin Rock, European electronic experimentalism, Jazz and more! Venezuela during the 1970s was both a modern cultural and economic powerhouse in Latin America, rich from vast oil supplies. Situated at the northern part of South America, with neighbouring Colombia to its west, Brazil to its south and a north coast bordering the Caribbean. The country"s position and wealth led to an explosion in cultural activity during this time. Taking musical influences from all these surroundings as well as healthy doses of American musical sounds, the 1970s saw the evolution of a new generation of creative Venezuelan artists such as Vytas Brenner, Angel Rada, Pablo Schneider and Miguel Angel Fuster, who all explored the possibilities of creating a stunning "melting pot" mix of underground rock, synthetic electronics, funk, jazz and Latin American while simultaneously exploring their links with Venezuelan roots music, creating a new sound.
Luke Una introduces a new series of original, dancefloor-focused productions on his É Soul Cultura imprint, in partnership with Mr Bongo. True to the label’s ethos, the series pushes sonic boundaries into deeper, more expansive territories, delivering forward-thinking music for discerning dancefloors. The first release brings together UK garage royalty Zed Bias and the underground talents of MJK, as we’re served up a double hit of hypnotic, futuristic techno and house.
Zed Bias is an artist that needs little introduction. The main moniker of Manchester’s Dave Jones, over the past 25+ years he’s cemented himself as a crucial figure in UK garage and dance music as a whole. He’s remixed hundreds of artists including Whitney Houston, The Streets and Azymuth, been nominated for a MOBO award and, through his more experimental take on 2 step garage, helped lay the foundations for the development of bass music into dubstep. For this new release he teams up with Ghanaian-British producer and DJ, MJK. Earmarked as ‘One To Watch’ by DJ Mag, and similarly championed by Mixmag, MJK’s sound draws from the worlds of bass, grime, house and beyond.
Opening track ‘Keep On Livin’’ sees Zed Bias and MJK coming together in the studio. Passed to Luke by his manager If Khan, it’s a sonic alchemy rooted in black heart soul music yet seen through a prism of bass futurism. A heads-down cut of driving techno, with nods to Detroit, and firm UK foundations, that is both bass-heavy and otherworldly. It’s a simple yet effective, entrancing combination of percussion, bass, and keys, peppered with old soul samples that lock you into a groove and never let go. A track built for dancefloors big or small.
On the flip, MJK steps up solo with ‘Late to Camberwell’, diving into deeper, late-night territory. Known for his three-deck DJ mixing style, MJK has a real understanding of how to layer elements to keep people moving. A swirling cosmic feel reverberates through ‘Late to Camberwell’. Drum hits, shakers and synth loops are weaved together in style, creating a dose of deep, immersive rolling house. In Luke’s own words, “I found it very exciting to hear a new artist create such a beautiful sound that reminded me of Detroit and Artwork's late ‘90s techno alias Grain. It’s stripped-back raw house music of the highest calibre”.
Samurai Music heralds a new seam of spacious, rhythmically curious exploration with the launch of the Saibai sub label, opened in mesmerising fashion by Brendon Moeller.
The overarching premise of Saibai is to nurture a more delicate, meditative inversion of Samurai's physical, dense sound, leaning less on the dynamics of the dancefloor while holding true to the intricate drum play and dubby principles that bind the label's sound together.
In this open-eared, inquisitive environment, Moeller is the perfect fit as an artist with decades of diverse offerings across all kinds of dubwise manifestations. On SAIBAI1, the US-based, South Africa-born producer stretches out with a live-sounding drum palette and exquisitely rendered synth work loaded with detail, character and organic flourishes. It's a light-footed approach with plenty of air flowing through the mix, but there's considerable weight in every notch of the production, not least the imposing channels of sub bass coursing beneath the frequency range.
SAIBAI1 is a feast for the senses, wholly immediate and front-loaded with fascination, setting the perfect tone for Saibai as a platform for charming, immersive electronics that take a fresh diversion from the fundamental core of Samurai's sharply defined sonic focus.
ALERT: BIG 90s ITALIAN RAVE COMP - a lot of very in demand tunes on here.
Navigators
Franco Falsini and the Interactive Test Universe
There are musicians who follow their time.
And then there are those who seem to move along a different trajectory—like navigators crossing sonic eras without ever truly belonging to any one of them. The story of Franco Falsini belongs to the latter. It is a story that begins long before raves, before techno, before the word “electronic” had even become a recognizable musical genre. A story that moves across continents, technologies, and sonic visions, eventually arriving at a small creative laboratory born in Italy in the early 1990s: Interactive Test. This compilation is a fragment of that universe. But as often happens with the hidden histories of music, understanding it requires going back. Far back.
The Beginning: Machines, Tape and Space
In the late 1960s Franco Falsini leaves Italy and moves to the United States. It is not merely a geographical journey—it is also a journey into a new idea of music. At the time, synthesizers are only just emerging from research laboratories. Multitrack tape recorders allow musicians to build entire sonic worlds on their own. Technology is still far from standardized: every studio is almost an experimental workshop. In Virginia, Falsini builds one of his own. Among cables, oscillators, electric guitars and reels of magnetic tape, a kind of music begins to take shape that resembles nothing else being made at the time. It is not simply rock, and it is not yet truly electronic. It moves somewhere in the space between the two. Out of these explorations emerges Sensations' Fix, the project through which Falsini releases a series of albums during the 1970s. Records that seem to come from a parallel dimension: cosmic landscapes, electronically treated guitars, synthesizers drifting like satellites. Many years later those albums would be rediscovered as visionary works. But at the time they were simply the result of relentless curiosity. A curiosity that would never fade.
The City That Never Sleeps
In the 1980s Falsini’s trajectory leads him to New York. The city is a sonic organism in constant transformation. In its clubs and recording studios something entirely new is beginning to take shape: music built from drum machines, sequencers, and samplers, created for the body before the living room. It is the dawn of modern dance culture. Falsini works as a sound engineer, producer and experimenter. From close range he observes electronic music transforming into a global language. Machines become more accessible, computers begin entering studios, and rhythm takes on an increasingly central role. Yet even in this phase Falsini does not simply follow what is happening. He absorbs. Observes. Reimagines. When he eventually returns to Italy, he brings back not only technical experience but also a clear vision: the conviction that electronic music is an open space, a territory still waiting to be explored.
Tuscany, Early 1990s
At the beginning of the 1990s something is happening in Italy as well. In clubs, abandoned industrial warehouses and clandestine parties, a new scene is beginning to form. It is rave culture: a spontaneous movement bringing together DJs, producers and listeners in a collective experience driven by rhythm, technology, and creative freedom. It is within this context that Franco Falsini, together with his brother Riccardo, creates Interactive Test.
The name almost sounds like a scientific experiment. In many ways, it is. Interactive Test does not emerge as a traditional record label. It begins as a laboratory—a place where ideas, sounds and musical identities can be tested and explored. Around the Falsini studio in Tuscany a small constellation of artists and DJs begins to gather, helping to shape the sound of Italy’s emerging electronic scene. Among them are Andrea Giuditta, Francesco Farfa, Gabry Fasano, Roby Mastelloni, Roby J and many others. Each brings a different musical sensibility. But they all share the same intuition: electronic music is not a genre. It is a language.
The Laboratory of Identities
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Interactive Test universe is its constant play with identity. Franco Falsini releases music under several different names: Open Space, Youth Wave, Agent Fylfoyt, Man Myth Magic. These are not simply pseudonyms.
They are different sonic perspectives, as if each project were a window opening onto a parallel musical universe. Open Space, for example, explores more atmospheric and visionary territories. Youth Wave moves between electronic groove and club-oriented rhythms. Other projects experiment with digital psychedelia or hypnotic techno textures. Interactive Test becomes something more than a label. it becomes an ecosystem.
Domestic Machines, Infinite Worlds
Looking back today at the technology used in those productions, one might almost smile. Many tracks were created on Amiga computers, MIDI sequencers and analog synthesizers wired together in home studios—tools that appear modest when compared to today’s digital possibilities.
Yet precisely these limitations became a creative force. Every sound had to be built, shaped and reinvented. Sequences developed slowly, almost like living organisms. The tracks did not always follow traditional dance music structures; often they felt like genuine sonic journeys. Music built from space.
A Hidden Constellation
Many of the records released by Interactive Test in the 1990s remained for years almost invisible objects, circulating quietly among DJs, collectors, and devoted listeners. Yet it is precisely this underground existence that helped preserve them. Listening again today, one perceives something rare: the feeling of music that does not fully belong to its own time. Music suspended between different eras. Perhaps because it comes from a vision that both precedes and transcends trends.
Continuing the Journey
Looking at Franco Falsini’s entire path—from the electronic psychedelia of Sensations’ Fix to the rave culture of the 1990s—a surprisingly coherent line emerges.
A line defined by exploration.
Each project, each pseudonym, each record appears as a new route within the same great sonic voyage.
Interactive Test was one of its stations.
A laboratory.
A community.
A creative platform.
This compilation gathers some of its traces.
Not as a simple archive of the past, but as a map of a musical territory that continues to expand even today.
A record that feels introspective and timeless, balancing dancefloor functionality. With Early Reflections Pt. 2, Insect O. continues the journey with the same quiet confidence and emotional depth that made the first chapter so compelling. Once again rooted in Dub Techno and Dub House, this second installment feels like a natural continuation, deeper in mood, even more immersive in detail, and beautifully refined in its execution. The result is a record that feels introspective and timeless, balancing dancefloor functionality with a deeply emotive listening experience. Insect O. proves once again that true depth does not come from excess, but from restraint, sensitivity and a strong understanding of space and motion.
Dr. Caligari was notoriously out of his mind — a genius fixated on experiments and a former lecturer at the Department of Experimental Phonetics. His students, Spacelunch included, spoke of him with cautious admiration: “Too smart to be normal; too bold to stop.” His laboratory looked like a hand-welded cosmos: cables everywhere, diodes, and the soft hiss of electricity.
“What’s that?” Spacelunch nodded toward the large glass dome.
“My new invention that allows sound to become tangible. Care to take a look?”
The Professor and Cat carefully stepped inside.
“You’re about to be the first to witness the voice of space!”
“Hey, we didn’t sign up for this!”
“Doesn’t that make the experiment more interesting?”
Caligari smiled and turned a dial. Their bodies stretched like strands of pasta and vanished. An instant later, they found themselves in another dimension: towers of transistors and coils rose into the sky, the air thrummed with low-frequency oscillations, and every flash of light carried the rhythm of a sonic lattice. Almost at once, the image wavered like old film, went black, and then snapped back to the laboratory. Caligari sat at the console, eyes fixed on the monitors. “It worked,” he whispered. “Perfect phase alignment!”
LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.
Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at retail. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order now.
The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.
The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.
The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.
The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.
Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.
When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”
Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”
Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”
Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”
Baby T is a space away from her work as B.Traits in which Brianna Price can lean more into the junglist, drum ‘n’ bass and hardcore sounds which she loves so dearly. With BSHEE02, the second drop on Price’s own Banshee label, Baby T delivers a darkside masterclass of an EP. This record is a quartet of system blowers which doesn’t let up for a single second from start to finish.
Opener ‘Times Up’ is urgent from the off - the initial strains of this joint find sirens wailing in the monitors over a twitchy kick/drum/hats combo. From here on it’s distilled raver perfection, the drums taking us on a wild Wipeout-style ride as the subbiest of bass skulks at the bottom of the mix. Imagine a more technoid take on the classic breakbeat freerides of Skanna and you’re not far off the ‘Times Up’ sound.
A remix of ‘Times Up’ from man like Aloka leans with devilish glee into the murky underworld that lurks beneath Baby T’s original. Aloka’s version is extremely eerie in a manner which makes you think of the darkest corners of a DMZ party. When things really kick into gear, driven by an irresistible kick dembow, the effect is hypnotic - think the dubwise junglism of the UVB-76 cohort.
BSHEE02’s B-side kicks off with ‘Coercive Control’. This is a cut which delivers on its title in spades, putting the listener in a trance with an interplay of low-slung bass, whirligig synth tones and more of those perfectly executed broken beats. The acid starts to kick in around the minute mark, and it turns out to herald a total earworm of a lead melody.
There’s plenty of dimly-lit malevolence to BHSEE02 closer ‘Dense Dickwood’s grinding atmospherics and gurgling bass throbs. However, Baby T opting for a half-time drum break here gives the cut a vibe not dissimilar to the weightiest jams of classic Massive Attack - that is, until an absolutely remorseless switch-up occurs halfway through, delivering volley after volley of intense drum hits.
The "TRACK TRAX EP" is the new vinyl of the "Computer Controlled Minds"
The yellow vinyl clearly indicates the direction – ACID!
As the name suggests, it will be a fast-paced race.
On the A side, our track days start with a driving track, it quickly becomes clear that this will not be a leisurely Sunday ride. It's going to be a tough race. When approaching the apex, it is always important to remain seated and open the tap slowly.
The second track is a confession of love to Kerb, he wants to be loved and touched. But this love also harbors great dangers. If you drive too hard over the limit, the Kerb will pay back mercilessly.
With B1, the DOWNSIDER brings ecstatic acid acceleration to the slopes. If the braking point is exceeded, it can fall massively to the ground. The experienced technoracer has everything under control and brings the necessary momentum to the next straight.
As the race goes on, the strength dwindles and a clean line becomes more and more difficult, but at the same time it is the key to the thrill. The struggle with body and machine becomes clear, every action makes the body burn. Giving up is out of the question, the race is only over with the chequered flag. But now off to the bar!
Last but not least on the B-side, two short bonus sounds for all mix DJs
The Computer Controlled Minds show their clear roots, ACID and hard RACE.
TCCM can be booked as a live act via insta: __NEXT_DOOR__. You will never forget the race!
Kercha’s debut album ‘Open The Door’ arrives this April via DNO Records. The Black Sea artist’s mystical, disorienting style has set the tone for the label since he dropped the inaugural release six years ago. Now, across 16 tracks — including collabs with Mystic State, Congi, NST, Khromi and Finnoh — his smoky sampledelic dubstep is tighter, heavier, and more curious than ever, with a new sense of danger and bubbling rage that feels fit for our chaotic times.
Themes of movement and change course through the LP. On the opening gambit ‘A Path Into The Unknown’, twinkling arpeggios emerge from the gloom like stars lighting the way. Tracks like the eponymous ‘Open The Door’ and ‘Mind Extraction’ deliver that classic Kercha sound, where left-field samples dart in at right angles. ‘Dangerous Road’ weaves between the call and response action of grotty stabs and devilish subs. ‘Take A Break’, featuring Mystic State, goes on the attack with searing acid. ‘Can’t Wait For Today’, though lethargic in its pace, sees San Francisco-based rapper Finnoh deliver stream-of-consciousness bars that skewer our present and nudge us to revolution.
Work took place over the course of several years, during which Kercha relocated with his family from Russia to Georgia, where he now resides in the capital, Tbilisi. “Sometimes I wrote music while travelling on a bus, sometimes late at night while my family was asleep, sometimes just sitting on the grass in a park, and of course in my home studio as well,” he says. “By the time the album was finished, it included music from different periods, and it may vary in sound and concept.”
Any major upheaval in life will result in moments of hardship, but also hope. Both can be found throughout ‘Open The Door’. There’s times when the darkness threatens to envelope everything: during the cold, crackling ‘Disclosed’ and the eerie, dystopian ‘Infection Of Lies’; on ‘Trigger Activation’, with its grunting lows and broken glass hook, and ‘Ballistics’, where a wall of sub-bass is pierced by shrapnel stabs.
The balancing light comes on ‘4 AM’, featuring Nottingham duo Congi, when clashing swords and cinematic strings, meet a soft Rhodes piano — the juxtaposition between heavy low-end and floaty keys and vox reflecting those moments of transcendence often found in the early hours. From the injection of garage energy on ‘Bubs’, with Edinburgh’s Khromi. And on with ‘My Feeling’, featuring South Russian vocalist NST, which closes the album on a deep but expansive note, bookending the experience with more starlight synth tones.
“It’s a reflection of my life journey and the changes connected with emigration and overcoming various difficulties,” explains Kercha. “This period means a lot to me, which is why the album includes tracks from the time of preparing to leave up to adapting to a new country.”
Still, he wants listeners to be able to derive their own understanding. “I think the essence lies in the ability to contemplate, not in any predetermined meaning,” he says. “I can only say one thing: thank you for appreciating what I do and for your support. I hope it inspires you to make the same firm decisions to change for the better as it did for me.”
Out via 4 x 12” vinyl, ‘Open The Door’ is a captivating artistic statement, showcasing the journey of an artist with a truly original signature sound — a rarity that should be treasured and celebrated.
Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.
Nonna Fab returns with the third release on his imprint, Movement and Soul Records, with a 5 track club-focussed EP 'Journey To The Outer Atmosphere'.
Following the success of his last release, we see a deeper dive into the more dance-floor orientated sound that Nonna is curating, spanning deeper soulful house across the release with influences of broken beat, jazz and percussive dance music.
The opening track 'Dawn Chorus' is a trip into a more natural soundscape and deeper arrangement of sound. A perfect track to take a steady dance-floor to higher heights.
The A2, 'Low Winter Sun', aptly named deep house music with no frills. Proper sub-bass tuned for tuned-up soundsystem use.
'Meditations' which is the final track on the A side has clear broken beat influences, percussive, deep and rhythmic. A breather for the dance floor.
The title track of the EP, 'Journey to The Outer Atmosphere' is a big peak time house journey to the cosmos. Expansive synths, 909 kit and if timed well, certified to blow the dance floor up. Clear François K inspiration here.
The final track of the release, 'First Light', is proper deep house music named suitably for an early sun rise roller with a huge hammond organ solo, enough to keep the leavers in the building.
A little over a year ago Tim Reaper made his first appearance in the town LoDubs is based in, Portland, Oregon, at the always forward thinking westside venue Barn Radio. The bill was rounded out by yours truly, Jon AD, who set the standard for the night, which was a boggy, thick warehouse vibe, even though the venue was more of a tightly packed repurposed storefront with an overactive fog machine.
This stop turned into a bit of a several day stopover for the TR, who saw the town, met up with other Portland people, and after that was left with a bit of a aural vision of the whole experience, the DIY ethos of the Portland, and the desire to document these impressions on the label of his bill mate for the aforementioned night, LoDubs.
Shortly thereafter "Triumphant March" arrived at the LoDubs mailbox, and reverb heavy, oozing slab of Jungle funkiness.
Upon realizing this would be good material for a dubby remix, the next step was reaching out for people to do so, and Beatrice M was at that time really getting noticed with their take on Dub. This year has seen them really move up the ranks, needless to say.
With great pleasure we welcome on board ADSR. This is not a standard EP but more a collection of 5 tracks made in the years between 1989 and 2001.
“Kicked” (1989) rides a driving dance groove with subtle Depeche Mode–influenced melodies, fueled by rolling arps and crisp string plucks. “Unit 3” (2001) hits with tough basslines and hard pads over a relentless beat, nodding to mid-80s EBM in the vein of Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, and Front 242. “Unchained” (1990) drifts on a late-night 808 groove with glassy pads and house-leaning chord stabs, sliding into early techno territory.
The EP closes with two well known tracks but those versions of them have never seen the light before today. “Windswept (Desert Mix)” – 1994 is a pounding early-session track built on tripped-out SH-101 leads, evolving arpeggios, long sweeps, and a steady 909, made for getting completely lost in.“Suboceana (Early Version)” – 1991 serves seductive chord progressions and drawn-out, reflective melodies, a liquid journey for both listening and the dancefloor.
Check The Description Before Asking For A Track ID is a thoughtfully curated four-track journey through modern deep tech house, balancing forward-thinking sound design with emotional depth and dancefloor functionality. The release unfolds across two distinct yet complementary sides, guiding the listener through evolving textures, moods, and states of energy.
On Side A, A1. Overt – Annular and A2. Third Echo – 31th Session introduce a spacious and immersive atmosphere. Built around shimmering arpeggios, airy melodies, and fluid progression, both tracks explore a subtle interplay between progressive motion, trance-like elements, and dub-infused textures. The result is a weightless yet driving experience — refined, hypnotic, and perfectly balanced for setting a tone that feels both futuristic and deeply engaging.
The B-side shifts into more introspective territory. B1. Eric Louis – Grooving In The Future and B2. Severin – Shiti bring a melancholic edge, focusing on emotive melodies and transitional energy. These tracks are crafted for pivotal moments within a set — where the atmosphere deepens, emotions unfold, and the narrative takes a new direction. Warm, bouncy grooves intertwine with cooler, more restrained tones, creating a contrast that feels both elegant and expressive.
Spanning a wide emotional and rhythmic spectrum, NRP006 is a versatile tool for selectors — designed to navigate the subtle shifts of a dancefloor with precision, intention, and depth.
NOREPRESS is a division of MixCult Records. Limited Edition.
Ready for a hot summer? It will get hot when listening to the new Mat Chiavaroli EP called "Ammaro"!
Mat has a long time connection with Quintessentials and released his first ever album "No stranger to madness" back in 2017. His new sound is more driving and club friendly, ranging form the mediterrainina inspired "Ammaro" the the UK garage styled "Need" to the classic deep house tune "We can figure it out". To top if off, Quintessentials buddie Ralph Session adds a NY influenced remix to heat things up even more! And yes, artwork provided by Mat's son Divo, a real family affair!
Some records feel like they should have existed. This is one of them.Originally buried as an album cut in the catalog of C. C. Catch, ‘Stop – Draggin’ My Heart Around’ never received the maxi single treatment it always deserved. For decades, fans of Dieter Bohlen’s signature sound have been left wondering what could have been… no extended mix, no dub, no proper club version… Until now.
Julie Chrome steps in with a strikingly faithful reinterpretation, capturing the emotional tone and melodic essence of the original, while Ryan Benson carefully reconstructs the sonic blueprint, staying true to that unmistakable mid-80s German disco aesthetic of Luis Rodriguez. Think shimmering synths, tight Linn-style drums and that bittersweet, dramatic tension Bohlen/Rodriguez and Co. perfected. But this release goes further than nostalgia. On this maxi, the track finally unfolds the way it always should have. Fully extended, club-ready, and built for the dancefloor. The Long Version delivers that essential 80s arc: slow build, emotional lift, and extended instrumental passages made for mixing. The Dub Version strips it back into a hypnotic tool, pure drums, synth stabs and atmosphere, tailored for late-night transitions and deeper sets. The Radio Version and Alternative Radio Version complete the package, offering two concise takes that still retain all the charm, drama and melodic punch of the original composition. This is more than a tribute, it’s a carefully crafted time capsule. From the production to the artwork and label aesthetics, everything here is designed to transport you straight back to 1986. For fans of classic German disco, collectors of lost Italo-adjacent gems, and DJs who know the power of a well-placed nostalgic moment – this one hits deep. A record that finally corrects history.
We feel like Frank & Tony and Smallville have been on the same musical wave-length since forever. Our musical paths have crossed back and forth over the years and we have always shared a lot of the same values- steadily putting out quality music, that stands the test of time - growing consistently - never stop following our very own way - always not-following trends forever..
Frank & Tony is the collaborative guise of Scissor & Thread co-founders Francis Harris and Anthony Collins aka Grant. Both have long been staples of the underground with material under their own names and numerous other guises shaping the musical landscape of House Techno and beyond since the turn of the millennium. Both lived together in New York and as Frank & Tony the pair have delivered multiple albums and many EP’s on their own label, Tokyo’s Mule Musiq and Pacific Rhythm- now they are warmly welcomed onto the Smallville Records roster with their latest collection of works.
‘Ways Of Mine’ leads on the A-Side and showcases the pairs signature deep hypnotic house style via soft billowing pads cascading metallic chimes psychedelic spoken word and dreamy dubbed out keys floating atop a robust bouncy rhythm
section.To open the flip-side title-track ‘After All’ lays down a subtly blooming chord sequence shuffled drums and bumpy bass stabs at its core all subtly nuanced while the latter half introduces more dynamic rhythmic elements and intertwined melodic touches. ‘Dimension’ then concludes the release diving deeper with saturated ethereal pads and bubbling resonant arpeggio lines alongside heavily swung crisp drums jazzy keys and delayed vocal chants.
After All comes with a full cover artwork by Stefan Marx.
All tracks written & produced by Francis Harris & Anthony Collins
Mastering and Vinyl cut by Helmut Erler at Lathesville
Packed with live classics and brimming with his frenetic brand of mutated, electronic, anti-pop, this album marks the next step in Anklepants' march to world domination.
Anklepants' act gets a reaction from everyone that witness it. The hysteria surrounding him has gained momentum since the release of his 12' vinyl 'SPEEK You Little Re-facéé' on Love Love in 2013, propelled by a European tour last year with Otto Von Schirach and his sensational Boiler Room set. The 'SPEEK You Little Re-facéé' vinyl single served as a taster of what was to come with its 2 bombastic extended cuts (both also featuring here). Now, having sown the seeds of his message around the world, his debut album has arrived on Vinyl and CD.
The CD version of this album comes with a second disc containing reworkings of Anklepants' original tracks by other artists similarly carving their own paths through the modern übergründé, including Eomac, Valance Drakes, Kraig Grady, Lenkemz, Monster X, Bintus, FUKNO + more.
Five years ago, Curren$y proved once again that while the rest of the world might hit the brakes, the Jet Life never stalls. Released in the early months of 2021, Collection Agency arrived as a masterclass in "work-from-home" luxury—a smooth, ten-track victory lap that solidified Curren$y’s status as the most consistent architect in underground hip-hop.
Clocking in at just under 24 minutes, Collection Agency is the sonic equivalent of a pristine, low-mileage 911 Turbo. It’s lean, expensive-sounding, and devoid of filler. While the world was still grappling with a sense of stagnation, Spitta was in the garage, documenting the rewards of a decade-plus grind.
The 10-track release marks his 11th solo studio album, and 90th overall project. Even more impressively, the quality has remained consistent throughout his prolific career. The Louisiana rapper links up with several notable producers on the project including DJ.Fresh, Harry Fraud, Rsonist of The Heatmakerz, Trauma Tone, Purps, & Black Metaphor. We also see an appearance by longtime friend and collaborator, Larry June. Once again, Curren$y delivers another unforgettable round of smooth joints and cruising music.
DJ Support: Noizu, Seth Troxler, Marco Carola, MEDUZA, Dombresky, Carlita, Bob Sinclar, ALOK, Oliver Heldens, BLOND:ISH, Nicole Moudaber, D.O.D, Gorgon City, David Penn, Mousse T, Mau P, Nic Fanciulli, Barry Can’t Swim, ACRAZE, Groove Armada & more.
Toolroom’s next Sampler showcases 4 big releases from Mark Knight, James Hurr, Roland Clark, Wh0, David Penn, CHANEY and Crusy.
“Nimm die rosa Brille … sag was Du siehst … alles viel besser”
44 years after its original release, one of the most idiosyncratic DIY minimal electronics / synth / new wave records of the early ’80s returns: the legendary 7” by German group DEUTSCHE SCHÄFERHUNDE (engl. German shepherds)—now remastered and reissued for the first time as a one-sided 12” on Anna Logue Records. Recorded in the winter of 1981/82 between rehearsal space, provincial disco and bar nights, and a humble four-track setup, these tracks capture the raw spirit of a generation that simply started creating—no formal training, but plenty of attitude. Minimalist, uncompromising, and inspired by krautrock, punk, new wave, electronic music and dub, the songs move between raw electronics, percussive noise, new wave experimentation, and sharp social commentary. „Rosa Brille“ (rose coloured glasses) in particular feels as urgent today as it did back then—a track that has lost none of its relevance, „Gasmasken“ tells of gas masks dancing in the woods to the sound of sirens, and a timeless Holger Czukay/Jah Wobble inspired „Mein Herz“ (my heart).
Originally pressed in a small run of just 500 copies and later becoming a sought-after collector’s item now worth 200€, the record now returns in a carefully crafted edition featuring a laser-printed reverse side and additional materials such as original lyric sheets and articles, postcard and poster. DEUTSCHE SCHÄFERHUNDE thrived on paradox—a provocative name paired with a clear stance, and lyrics that still resonate today. Shaped by Cold War tension, political unease, and youthful rebellion, their sound refused to fit into any neat category. Only few other bands, such as Der Musikant, Im Namen des Volkes, Thorax Wach, Klinisch Sauber oder Stephan Eicher spielt Noise Boys come to mind.
This release is more than a reissue—it’s a document of its time that still hits with full force.
12″ features: limited to 400 copies, hand-numbered, one-sided 180g black vinyl, laser-etched B-side, outer sleeve printed on reverse side of the board, printed inner sleeve with original lyrics sheets and original articles, DIN A3 poster, double-sided postcard
DJ support from Soul Clap (Soul Clap Records) / Walla P (Voyage Funktastique) / DJ Notoya (Tokyo Condition)
Minoru “Hoodoo” Fushimi is something of a cult favorite among purveyors of obscure Japanese sounds from the 80's. Running parallel to the city pop phenomenon but existing distinctly outside of it, Fushimi's sound is a lo-fi blend of electro synth funk, drum machine beats, & early hip hop. His “Thanatos Of Funk” album lives on many a record collector's want list, and has already been
reissued more than once. Upstart imprint Tokyo Love Song, a spin-off of XL Middleton's MoFunk label, brings one of Fushimi's signature cuts, “In Praise Of Mitochondria,” to the 7” format for the first time ever. On the flip, Middleton himself teams up with Japan's leftfield modern funk favorites Milk Talk to deliver a remake of the song, entitled “Funkin Me Up.” This quasi-cover blends XL's signature squiggly funk sound with the quirky vocal stylings of Q.i, along with guitar & bass licks courtesy of Hairkid, the other half of Milk Talk.
POEME ELECTRONIQUE was Dave Hewson (synthesisers, production), Sharon Abbott (lyrics, lead and backing vocals), Julie Ruler (backing vocals) and Les Hewson (bass), formed in 1980 by Dave Hewson in South London, UK, in 1980. Dave was studying music and as a rare kind of student species he had a deep fascination for New Wave and electronic music thus also playing and recording electronic music ever since like using the Boss DR-55, Cosmo Sound Super Drum, Elka Rhapsody 610, EMS Synthi AKS, Korg MS-20(X2)/Polysix/Polyphonic Ensemble 1000/VC-10 Vocoder, Linn Electronics LM-1, Octave Kitten, Roland RS-09/VP-330 Vocoder Plus, Simmons SDS-V Kit and Yamaha CS-80 on this retrospective POEME ELECTRONIQUE album with original material from 1981/82 only. Over the period of more than two years, Dave has remastered these tracks using the latest high-end tools making them sound better than ever before. The deluxe 2LP vinyl album comprises 16 tracks of which 14 have never been published before. “The Echoes Fade” and “Voice” are the original versions taken off their original 7” from 1982. The album “The Echoes Fade” cannot be described other than being a masterpiece and one of the best-ever early 80’s electropop records ever, and it surely has to be lined up with Rational Youth or Experimental Products’ cult albums (in terms of being minimal synth/wave scene reference albums), but to be frank, Anna thinks that POEME ELECTRONIQUE were even above their level.
Truly, they had deserved to go on the successful path like Depeche Mode, OMD or Soft Cell, but fate was against them as it seems. The main difference to other electropop groups of the time was definitely that Dave did not only master his synths technically-wise, no, he also knew how to actually play, and when you hear his amazing multi-track ‘manual sequencing’, programming skills, great harmonies and melodies throughout the tracks, along with the two girls’ performances – well they can really sing! – you will agree there is some something remarkably extraordinary in these tracks. You will find minimal electropop super hits like “Rendezvous”, “She’s an Image”, “Fragile”, or “Dilemma”; hauntingly beautiful melancholic tracks like “A Mourner’s Lament”, “This Night” or “It’s in the Atmosphere”; darkest minimal electronics on “Inside his Head”; and even more poppier tracks like “Follow”. This record will hopefully be loved by any electronic music lover and most probably marks the highlight in the growing Anna Logue Records catalogue – therefore Anna did not shy away from any costs and the album is truly an outstanding release in every single aspect including sound and artwork presentation. Apart from the bonus tracks you will find in the 2LP deluxe vinyl edition glossy inner sleeves with lyrics to all songs, as well as individual mini 7” sleeves for each song designed by our dear graphic designer Steve Lippert plus many additional group photos on the gatefold sleeves’ inner. After so many efforts and more than two years passing by, Anna is so over the moon to see this release being ready now and we have done all we could to make this an outstanding release, so now it’s up to you to give the band their final glory, but Anna is in no doubt that – at least after hearing the sound samples – you will.
American DJ Homicide aka Craig Anthony Bullock is best known as the former DJ for Sugar Ray but also does a fine line in club-ready hip-hop jams and remixes. 'Likwit Swordz' kicks off his latest on the small but well-formed CA label out of the USA. It's got nimble drums that have a clipped bounce and vamping chords, vocal grit that echoes Cypress Hill and an infectious roll. On the flip, 'Day Coastin'' is more deep and smooth - the bars as silky as BIG and the drums rolling with crisp boom-bap style. Both have been made on an MPC and that sampler's famous textures elevate the final jams no end.
The Trip To Vega is about deep outer space odyssey that occurs in the process of traveling from Earth through the Cosmos to another "favorable" star system 25.3 light-years away.
The time is year 2097, Sept 23rd.
To this day, Earthlings have managed to dodge some of nature's more dangerous extremities, massive volcanic eruptions, Earthquakes, solar burst that knocked out the Planet's entire electrical grid for 3 years, numerous plagues of disease, food and fresh water shortages, domestic and International Wars and many other life-changing operas, but for this event, what remains is a realization that has no remedy. The cause: Earth's physicality has changed. It is no longer favorable for living things.
It is the constant shifting of the planet's internal tectonic plates which has unfortunately produced an unexpected and impassable dilemma.
Because of the collisions, deep within the planet's core, the planet is now producing an extraordinary amount of sound that includes a specific harmonic frequency that erodes the natural senses of all life on Earth.
It is intensifying. It is intolerable and it is unlivable.
Yet, some humans prefer to stay, to "ride it out" like the Titanic captain going down with his ship. Some, in total disbelief as some have concluded it is the second coming of Jesus Christ. But for most, the decision is clear. Tolive another day, leaving is the only rational choice.
At an increasing rate, scientific research data shows that humans and most animals, excluding the Jellyfish will eventually lose the usage of hearing and are to greatly suffer from an array of other neurological and psychological effects. The sense of touch and taste, sleep depreciation, severe nerve damage, constant hallucinations. Everyone will lose many of their cognitive abilities within an estimated 12 months from now.
On this day and every 7 days afterwards until all registered passengers have departed, the first of a fleet of large number of massive size spacecraft carrying approximately 1 million humans per vessel will permanently leave Earth to begin the long and adventurous trek across outer space to a new home: Vega.
This is not a precautionary tale as there is nothing to learn. Instead, a decision has been made and a Trip To Vega is the consequence.
M-Plant's Perpetual Masters series continues throughout 2026 with Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP up next. Remastered once again by legendary German producer, Thomas Heckmann, the individual tracks have been dropping digitally through April and are now followed by a full vinyl release in June.
Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP, originally released in 2001, stands as a defining example of his stripped-back, conceptual approach to techno. It sees Robert Hood operating at his most stripped-down and hypnotic, built from tightly looped drum patterns and shadowy synth fragments that slowly evolve. Hood's precision is evident in every detail, as he balances repetition with crisp percussion and a tightly controlled groove.
More deep, immersive and hard-hitting minimal techno from the master.
Balancing glitch-pop and contemporary piano, the Belgian pianist explores the edges of her voice, language and twisted electronica
The Belgian pianist and producer maya dhondt releases a new album titled 'wow, x', marking her debut solo album under her own name. Navigating between bedroom glitch-pop and contemporary piano, she presents sounds of alienating beauty.
The album ‘wow, x’ will be released on September 13 on vinyl and all digital platforms via VIERNULVIER Records.
“I find beauty in the uncomfortable and disorienting" - maya dhont
The first single, 'desire,' is a mutated synth-pop track that gets under the skin. The song centralizes longing for something you don't know (yet). Perhaps it's the smell of damp earth, which can be both pleasant and unsettling? The single is now available on all streaming platforms and comes with a schizophrenic video by Sakis Brönnimann.
The first release show is scheduled for Saturday, October 5, at De Koer, Ghent.
More shows will be announced soon.
A postmodern cramp, that's how one could describe the music of pianist and producer maya dhondt. Her music is an intuitive and a never ending exploration that has the potential to be and become a multitude of things at once.
On her first solo album under her own name, 'wow, x,' she presents 10 varied tracks in which she creates equally idiosyncratic sound worlds. She takes the liberty to endlessly experiment with vocals, piano, and a mix of distorted lo-fi electronic sounds with an open mind. The result is sometimes synthetic and weird, sometimes compellingly beautiful, and always captivating, drawing you into its underlying melody. These intelligently crafted productions are connected by a penchant for alienating beauty: like a warm, but damp cave where it’s pleasant to linger just a little longer. Her original sound moves within a sonic spectrum reminiscent of contemporary artists such as Lolina, Astrid Sonne, claire rousay, aya or Carla Dal Forno.
"What I create never stands alone, it can be many things at once"
If the world were a sculpture garden, maya dhondt eagerly picks from it to draw inspiration from both visual and literary passages as well as personal experiences. Her highly personal bedroom productions are grounded firmly in the world due to philosophical references and politically charged messages. And the world she lives in is being questioned on 'wow, x', as the title refers to "What Or Why?". This is evident in the single 'desire': "What is the thing that matters / to exist / or to know you’re existing?" What does one choose in life: to live in the moment or to live to remember that moment?
In the lyrics on 'wow, x', maya dhondt plays - at times childishly - with language and its boundaries. On 'tip toe tip,' banal wordplay leads to an unexpected confession, and the seemingly simple phrases in 'untitled' conceal hidden life lessons. dhondt's world of words is multilayered and multilingual: Dutch ('kleine cijfers, groot verlies'), English ('desire'), and French ('untitled') are at her disposal. And on the fierce track that is 'minimalinvasiv,' not only she turns to hardstyle, but also to German - a language dear to her due to her Swiss heritage.
Slip My Soul Where A Sweet Sunday brings together four versions by Fundación Tony Manero in charge of three projects from the Catalan jazz scene: The Gramophone All Stars Big Band, The Changes and ·I·. At the hands of these interpreters, the songs by Manero (all taken from “Sweet Movimiento”, their second studio LP) wander through different spectrums of jazz. From the Jamaican-tinged ska of the Gramophone to the dragging, hip-hop groove of ·I· through the swing -more classical or more avant-garde depending on the subject- of The Changes, these four pieces prove that jazz and disco music are family. Or what is the same: that jazz has always been dance music. Slip My Soul Where A Sweet Sunday celebrates the legacy on the one hand, the Fundación Tony Manero, which is retiring from the stage after more than 25 years paving the way for new generations and new projects. Among others, those who now take the baton in this EP.
Combining Bach with traditional Gabonese music, Lambarena pays tribute to Albert Schweitzer, a doctor and musician who settled in Lambaréné in 1913. Conceived by Hughes de Courson and Pierre Akendengué, this extraordinary project brings together more than 250 artists and blends organ, baroque choirs, and African percussion in a musical celebration of rare intensity. A true timeless classic, it is now available for the first time on double vinyl, accompanied by a 4-page bilingual booklet (English/French) recounting the history of this unique album.
b 02: Sankanda (traditionnel) + Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen Passion selon St. Jean
[e] 05: Mabo Maboe (traditionnel) + Gigue de la quatrième suite en mi bémol majeur pour violoncelle [extrait]
[f] 06: Bombé (extrait) + Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine [Passion selon St. Jean, mouv. 62]
Destination Unknown is an EP by Unpronounceable born from an archive of sounds collected between 2019 and 2024—sonic fragments that took shape without a predetermined direction guided only by an open idea in constant transformation. The original track conceived as a “destination unknown” composition developed its own independent identity. However precisely because of its fluid and cross-genre nature Unpronounceable chose not to place it within a traditional EP context instead opening it up to a multiplicity of perspectives by inviting five artists to reinterpret it freely without genre constraints.
The result is an EP that unfolds like an alternative map of the same sonic territory where each remix explores a distinct direction transforming Destination Unknown into a multifaceted and ever-evolving experience.
In Carl Finlow’s remix Destination Unknown takes on a strong cinematic and narrative dimension. Inspired by the title Finlow imagines a mysterious journey toward a futuristic dystopian city turning the track into a kind of electro soundtrack—dark yet ironic rich in character and capable of evoking vivid images and motion.
MANASYt pushes the track toward more physical and ritualistic territories focusing on the dark pads and the more oneiric vocal elements of the original. The result is a hypnotic pulsating tribal-industrial reinterpretation where rhythm and sonic material become central intensifying the track’s most visceral qualities.
With Gay Horror the focus shifts to an emotional and narrative dimension. The vocals are deliberately made elusive and undefined while the structure develops through a slow controlled crescendo that recalls the atmospheres of ’90s trip-hop. This version also reflects a long-standing human and artistic relationship conceived as a story that travels through time and reaches the present day.
Kevin Follet adopts a more conceptual approach overturning the perspective of the original track. Rather than working with its main elements he brings the underlying structures to the foreground transforming what usually remains hidden into the core of his reinterpretation. His remix is elegant and deep balancing sound exploration with a strong attention to songwriting.
Closing the EP is GP The Synth Roller with a radical and highly experimental reinterpretation. The track behaves like an unstable system: parameters shift without warning surfaces lose coherence sudden accelerations collide with moments of arrest. There is no resolution only a sonic condition in constant tension eventually condensing into a dark compact mass.
Taken as a whole Destination Unknown is far more than a simple remix collection: it is a collective exploration of the potential of a single composition. Unpronounceable’s original track and the reinterpretations by Carl Finlow MANASYt Gay Horror Kevin Follet and GP The Synth Roller move across electro techno industrial and experimental territories offering six different perspectives from the same starting point. An open journey with no fixed destination where every detour becomes an integral part of the path.
Be The Mountain (2026) is the latest release from Detroit-based musician STS. The record explores a serene and introspective world shaped by organically morphed textures and slowly evolving soundscapes.
While largely drumless, the album maintains a subtle rhythmic backbone - not through traditional percussion, but through modulated pads, shifting synths, and carefully sculpted ambience. The music moves and breathes without overt propulsion, finding tension and momentum through tone, density, and motion rather than beats.
Much of the record was written during a period of sustained physical and mental strain. A time when daily effort fought against perceived limits. Instead of responding with heavier or more aggressive material, the music became a quiet counterweight to the intensity. These tracks function as an escape from chaos. They are built from patience, repetition, and a gradual transformation.
The title reflects a central idea behind the record: confronting something that initially feels insurmountable, only to realize that the enduring force is the one within us all.
Be The Mountain is about endurance, not as struggle, but as presence.
Precisely one year after Lézire, Crush of Souls is back with his third full-length album.
The musical endeavour of Charles Rowell – active in the indie/punk global scene since 2008 with bands like Crocodiles, Flowers of Evil, Issue – is just like its creator: always cooking up something. Relentlessly.
Now, as it was perceivable by the trajectory undertaken by after his previous LP, Captive Youth leaves goth rock and dark folk aside and head swiftly towards some old school 80’s EBM & 90’s Industrial dance vibe. After all, any album exploring themes of dystopia, politics and sexuality requires a strong rhythm. So how could this new chapter not mention seminal synth-pop and body music classics such as Technique by New Order, Belief by Nitzer Ebb, Towards Thee Infinite Beat by Psychic TV and Pressure Points by Anne Clark?
Forever a displaced soul, Charles’ album number three feels like a revision of Crush Of Souls and also a reanimation of his captive youth spent moving from town to town. The energy of the wandering worker poet. Warehouse basslines, artillery fire backbeats. Romance and melancholy wrapped in barbed wire. All this and more oozes from nine new tracks that inevitably deliver that blurry sexy urban vibe that’s become the project’s trademark.
Features collabo hit single Domination with Sade Sanchez from L.A. Witch.
For its eleventh installment, Raw Soul continues to carve out its place in the deeper end of the house spectrum, this time welcoming Stuttgart-based DJ and producer Jakob Mäder to the fold.
Titled "House Your Feeling", the five-track EP captures Mäder's wide-ranging musical language-rooted in house, yet drifting effortlessly into ambient textures, disco-tinted warmth, and subtly experimental structures. It's a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive, equally suited for late-night listening and early-morning dancefloors.
The collaboration has been a long time in the making. Built over months of close exchange, the project reflects not only a shared musical vision but also a genuine personal connection. That sense of trust and patience resonates throughout the record-carefully crafted, unhurried, and deeply felt.
Across the EP, Mäder explores different shades of house music: from reduced, dreamy cuts to more groove-driven moments, always maintaining a distinct emotional core. One of the highlights comes in the form of a collaboration with Markus Phillip, adding another layer of depth to an already rich release.
Known for his work with the Midnight Service crew and his eclectic productions spanning ambient, deep house and breakbeat, Mäder brings a refined yet playful touch to Raw Soul's catalogue. With "House Your Feeling", he delivers a timeless contribution that feels grounded in the present while nodding to the genre's enduring legacy.
Released independently and on her 30th birthday, "Water Baby" is Giorgia-May's stunning debut album. Spanning over 8 tracks & recorded live at The Famous Goldwatch Studios in Berlin, Giorgia collaborates with some of Berlin's finest musicians to enhance her craft at putting emotions into songs. Each track highlights something different in her ability to channel pain, desire, lust and heartbreak, all whilst (most of the time) making you want to dance & smile.
Stemming originally from Brighton (UK), Giorgia-May has been pursuing a musical career through the means of travel. Now based in Berlin, she combines sensual lyrics, mesmerising tones and exciting arrangements which draw upon her personal experiences of love, loss and coming into womanhood. Blending soulful melodies with jazzy chords and hints of RnB, she takes influence from writers such as Olivia Dean & Amy Winehouse.
Extensive independent European tour in August & September 2026 through the following cities: Berlin, Paris, Bilbao, Porto, Lisbon, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseille, Cannes, Milan, Lake Como, Zurich, Luxembourg, Brussles, Cologne, Amsterdam and more ...
Little Beat More welcomes a new 7” from Conjunto Media Luna, a release that moves along the deep axis connecting Colombia and Mexico where cumbia mutates, and projects itself into new dimensions.
On the A-side, “Kumbia Tequendama” sees the group joined by rebajada pioneer Amantes del Futuro, a key figure in shaping the futuristic vision of cumbia across generations and geographies. Born between Mérida, Medellín, and the legendary Mambo Negro studios in Bogotá, the track reflects years of friendship and shared sonic research. Hypnotic accordion lines intertwine with dense low-end pressure, channeling an energy rooted in tradition but fully tuned to the present, built for dancefloors, sound systems, and the growing decentralized community of modern cumbia.
On the flip side, French producer La Dame reshapes “No es Moda”, originally featuring La Terrorista del Sabor, into a forward-leaning DnB and Future Bass reinterpretation. Faster, sharper, and more weightless, the remix opens a new perspective on the original while preserving its nocturnal spirit and emotional depth.
The artwork is signed by Bogotá’s own Mateo Rivano, whose unmistakable visual language has defined the aesthetic of some of the most visionary projects in contemporary cumbia.
Part of the wider sonic universe of Sociedad Internacional de la Kumbia, Conjunto Media Luna’s upcoming album, this 7” captures the group’s ongoing exploration of cumbia as a shared space, where distance disappears, traditions remain in motion, and new frequencies emerge from collective memory.
Made with Love by Little Beat More 2026
“We Dance We Think”
Selekt Wax returns with its second vinyl offering, shifting the lens from introspection toward motion. Where its predecessor explored stillness and space, Varginha 96 leans into rhythm with a more fluid, tactile energy.
Loopedeville works within a minimal framework but pushes it toward something more animated. Groove takes the lead, while detail reveals itself gradually. The result is playful but controlled, built for movement while still carrying depth beneath the surface.
Inspired by the 1996 Varginha incident in Brazil, the record carries a subtle sense of the otherworldly. Not in a literal sense, but in texture. Unfamiliar tones, slightly off center moments, and elements that feel just outside of reach.
Etched on the sleeve, a poem sets the tone:
the analog moment is now
but, how? release
free form feelings finding
new places in yourself
a sort of synthesis
of interpretations
crash & collide
into the infinite groove of reality
but, is anything really real?
A1 – Varginha 96
A breakbeat driven opener centered on a looping vocal from the Varginha ‘96 incident. Off kilter synth textures circle the groove, giving it a subtle, otherworldly feel. Simple on the surface, with depth that reveals itself over time.
A2 – Varginha 96 (Ohm Hourani Remix)
Ohm takes it into a more stripped back, hypnotic space. Centered around the same vocal, the track locks into repetition and feel. Hazy, controlled, and built for late hours.
B1 – Thunders in Paradise
A driving groove built on dusty drums and a tightly controlled rhythm. It holds a steady pulse, with understated details and shifting textures giving it quiet depth.
B2 – Never Enough
A fluid, late night groove shaped by Loopedeville’s signature swing. Less driving than the previous cut, but still locked in, with warm tones and an easy bounce that carries through.
Some tracks don’t need fixing. They just need a bit more room. South African composer and keyboard wizard Don Laka has been quietly sitting in DJ bags for years, especially with people who like their synth music warm, slightly
mysterious, and impossible to date properly. Somewhere between jazz funk, township pulse and studio electronics, but really just its own thing.
Stages was an obvious candidate for extension. Prins Thomas what he does best here: opens the arrangement, lets the synth lines breathe, stretches the groove until it starts floating a little higher off the ground. Nothing forced, nothing added for
the sake of it. Just more of a very good thing. I Wanna Be Myself gets a gentle nudge from Gerd Janson. The idea was simple: keep the personality, and give DJs a version that lands naturally in a modern set without losing the original charm. It’s still the same track, just standing a bit straighter.
And because the source matters, the original version of “Stages” is here as well. Always good to remember where the magic started. Three versions, no drama. Just strong music that already knew what it was doing.
Hopeful, defiant, effusive, and ecstatic, Radio!! Radio!! is the 20th album from Erasure, one of pop’s most beloved songwriting partnerships.
The record finds Andy Bell and Vince Clarke continuing to refine and deepen the pop edifice they’ve been building over the past 40 years with a set of 10 songs about love, loss and injustice that speaks, powerfully, to our empathy-starved times.
A uniquely personal album, it was shaped by a period of profound grief. When the duo got together to write the album, it was as much in the spirit of uplifting an old friend as it was work – you can hear this thread of warmth and mutual care throughout.
The album that transposes the dazzling hugeness of the duo’s best work onto avowedly more personal, more reflective songwriting. Bell acknowledges that it would be easier, perhaps, for he and Clarke to go on autopilot, 40 years into their career. But how would that pass as Erasure? “It’s a two-person brain, and everything that we’ve gone through comes into it,” he says. “We have a sense of responsibility. We couldn’t ever do something throwaway.”
Radio!! Radio!! is rooted in Erasure’s unique synth-pop palette with some key augmentation: when working on the sound of this album, Clarke was unusually drawn to piano, as well as acoustic guitar. The use of these instruments adds drama and depth to their sound whilst leaving room for the kind of glassy synth pop that Erasure made their name on.
Hoffnungsvoll, trotzig, überschwänglich und euphorisch: Radio!! Radio!! ist das 20. Album von Erasure, einem der beliebtesten Songwriting-Duos der Popmusik.
Auf dem Album entwickeln Andy Bell und Vince Clarke das musikalische Pop-Gebäude, an dem sie seit 40 Jahren arbeiten, konsequent weiter und verleihen ihm zusätzliche Tiefe. Die zehn Songs handeln von Liebe, Verlust und Ungerechtigkeit und treffen damit auf eindringliche Weise den Nerv unserer Zeit, in der es so oft an Empathie mangelt.
Es ist ein ausgesprochen persönliches Album, geprägt von einer Phase tiefer Trauer. Als sich das Duo zum Schreiben der neuen Songs traf, ging es dabei ebenso sehr darum, einen alten Freund wieder aufzurichten, wie um die gemeinsame Arbeit. Diese Wärme und gegenseitige Fürsorge ziehen sich hörbar wie ein roter Faden durch das gesamte Album.
Das Album überträgt die schillernde Größe der besten Arbeiten des Duos auf ein bewusst persönlicheres und nachdenklicheres Songwriting. Bell räumt ein, dass es für ihn und Clarke nach 40 Jahren Karriere vielleicht einfacher wäre, einfach auf Autopilot weiterzumachen. Aber wäre das noch Erasure? „Es ist wie ein gemeinsames Gehirn zweier Menschen, und alles, was wir erlebt haben, fließt darin ein“, sagt er. „Wir verspüren eine gewisse Verantwortung. Wir könnten niemals etwas Belangloses machen.
“Radio!! Radio!! ist fest in Erasures unverwechselbarer Synthie-Pop-Klangwelt verwurzelt, erweitert diese jedoch um einige entscheidende Elemente: Bei der Arbeit am Sound des Albums fühlte sich Clarke ungewöhnlich stark zum Klavier und auch zur Akustikgitarre hingezogen. Der Einsatz dieser Instrumente verleiht dem Sound zusätzliche Dramatik und Tiefe, lässt aber zugleich genügend Raum für jenen glasklaren Synthie-Pop, mit dem Erasure berühmt geworden sind.
Hopeful, defiant, effusive, and ecstatic, Radio!! Radio!! is the 20th album from Erasure, one of pop’s most beloved songwriting partnerships.
The record finds Andy Bell and Vince Clarke continuing to refine and deepen the pop edifice they’ve been building over the past 40 years with a set of 10 songs about love, loss and injustice that speaks, powerfully, to our empathy-starved times.
A uniquely personal album, it was shaped by a period of profound grief. When the duo got together to write the album, it was as much in the spirit of uplifting an old friend as it was work – you can hear this thread of warmth and mutual care throughout.
The album that transposes the dazzling hugeness of the duo’s best work onto avowedly more personal, more reflective songwriting. Bell acknowledges that it would be easier, perhaps, for he and Clarke to go on autopilot, 40 years into their career. But how would that pass as Erasure? “It’s a two-person brain, and everything that we’ve gone through comes into it,” he says. “We have a sense of responsibility. We couldn’t ever do something throwaway.”
Radio!! Radio!! is rooted in Erasure’s unique synth-pop palette with some key augmentation: when working on the sound of this album, Clarke was unusually drawn to piano, as well as acoustic guitar. The use of these instruments adds drama and depth to their sound whilst leaving room for the kind of glassy synth pop that Erasure made their name on.
Hoffnungsvoll, trotzig, überschwänglich und euphorisch: Radio!! Radio!! ist das 20. Album von Erasure, einem der beliebtesten Songwriting-Duos der Popmusik.
Auf dem Album entwickeln Andy Bell und Vince Clarke das musikalische Pop-Gebäude, an dem sie seit 40 Jahren arbeiten, konsequent weiter und verleihen ihm zusätzliche Tiefe. Die zehn Songs handeln von Liebe, Verlust und Ungerechtigkeit und treffen damit auf eindringliche Weise den Nerv unserer Zeit, in der es so oft an Empathie mangelt.
Es ist ein ausgesprochen persönliches Album, geprägt von einer Phase tiefer Trauer. Als sich das Duo zum Schreiben der neuen Songs traf, ging es dabei ebenso sehr darum, einen alten Freund wieder aufzurichten, wie um die gemeinsame Arbeit. Diese Wärme und gegenseitige Fürsorge ziehen sich hörbar wie ein roter Faden durch das gesamte Album.
Das Album überträgt die schillernde Größe der besten Arbeiten des Duos auf ein bewusst persönlicheres und nachdenklicheres Songwriting. Bell räumt ein, dass es für ihn und Clarke nach 40 Jahren Karriere vielleicht einfacher wäre, einfach auf Autopilot weiterzumachen. Aber wäre das noch Erasure? „Es ist wie ein gemeinsames Gehirn zweier Menschen, und alles, was wir erlebt haben, fließt darin ein“, sagt er. „Wir verspüren eine gewisse Verantwortung. Wir könnten niemals etwas Belangloses machen.
“Radio!! Radio!! ist fest in Erasures unverwechselbarer Synthie-Pop-Klangwelt verwurzelt, erweitert diese jedoch um einige entscheidende Elemente: Bei der Arbeit am Sound des Albums fühlte sich Clarke ungewöhnlich stark zum Klavier und auch zur Akustikgitarre hingezogen. Der Einsatz dieser Instrumente verleiht dem Sound zusätzliche Dramatik und Tiefe, lässt aber zugleich genügend Raum für jenen glasklaren Synthie-Pop, mit dem Erasure berühmt geworden sind.
Berlin-based label Ascension on Wax continues its deep, jazz-inflected trajectory with the forthcoming release A Quiet Storm EP from DFRA, arriving June on 12" vinyl and digital formats (Cat No: AOW005). Available to buy and pre-order from May 15, the EP showcases DFRA's refined blend of soul, jazz, and classic house sensibilities, enriched further by a remix from Detroit's Jon Dixon.
Hailing from Colombia and now based in Buenos Aires, DFRA (Diego Ruiz) brings a deeply musical approach shaped by formal studies in composition and a lifelong immersion in hip-hop, gospel, soul, and disco. His productions balance two complementary sides, lush, jazz-rooted musicality and the raw, driving energy of Detroit and Chicago house. This duality is fully realised across A Quiet Storm EP, marking another step in his evolving sonic identity.
The title track, "Quiet Storm," opens the record with a deep, rolling groove elevated by exquisite saxophone work, setting an introspective yet dancefloor-ready tone. "Strings" follows with a dreamy atmosphere, rich piano textures, and a warm jazz undercurrent that highlights DFRA's compositional finesse. On "Charlene," soulful vocals intertwine with chord progressions reminiscent of early Motor City Drum Ensemble, delivering a nostalgic yet forward-looking house cut.
Completing the package, Jon Dixon reimagines "Charlene" through a distinctly Detroit lens. Stripping the track back and rebuilding it with deeper textures and signature keys, Dixon channels the spirit of Underground Resistance while pushing into more meditative territory, bridging jazz improvisation with machine-driven rhythm.
Founded in Berlin, Ascension on Wax continues to honour the legacy of jazz within house music, pairing contemporary producers with a strong visual identity and limited vinyl releases. With A Quiet Storm EP, the label reinforces its commitment to soulful, authentic club music rooted in the traditions of the 90s US scene while looking firmly ahead.
For his sixth solo album, Ezéchiel Pailhès returns with a new collection of songs infused by a sunny wandering spirit.
Within each of the twelve songs on SOL is a thread of melancholic happiness that has permeated much of Pailhès’ music and songwriting. He addresses love, the passing of time, hope, lost illusions, fleeting moments of grace, the temptation of forgetting, a need to escape, and desire. All this is
insulated by understated orchestrations that blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation with deft confidence.
The Portuguese and Brazilian concept of saudade—a form of melancholic longing and nostalgia— pervades, thanks in part to Pailhès decision to record the album in Rio de Janiero and to reinterpret some of the finest works of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). In particular, he revisits a handful of
lesser known classics from the mid-century samba and bossa nova era—originally written or performed by talents including Vinícius de Moraes, João Gilberto, Tom Zé, Dorival Caymmi, João Donato, Os Tincoãs, and Ataulfo Alves.
The shift from Brazilian Portuguese to French and the decision to adapt rather than perform a straightforward cover versions, allows Pailhès to invent a form of prosody and euphony (the musicality and harmonious combination of words) that feels vibrant and unlike anything else in today’s French
chanson landscape.
“Some lyrics are simple translations from Portuguese, in what I’d call an expanded version. For others, I started from a single word or a single phrase and embroidered an entirely new text that carried me elsewhere,” explains Pailhès. “I allowed myself great interpretive freedom, while preserving the humanist dimension of the original songs. I’ve always been deeply moved by the way Brazilians transfigure reality through heightened emotion. I love this visceral and spontaneous country, which always seems to live through emotion. And above all, I love its music both popular and unifying,
bringing together all social classes. In that sense, it’s very political music, but even more so utopian, made by the people and for the people.”
On this new album, however, the French artist was keen to avoid cliché. Each song is therefore built around a carefully balanced interplay between Pailhès’ piano and synthesizers, alongside restrained arrangements of percussion, brass, bass, and cavaquinho (a small four-string plucked guitar). These parts were recorded in Rio de Janeiro with two musicians who regularly perform alongside the legendary Caetano Veloso—Kainã Do Jêje and Alberto Continentino—joined by Thomas Harres, Antônio Neves, Eduardo Neves, and Gabriel Loddo.
Since the 1960s, France and Brazil have shared a long-standing cultural and musical relationship. Some Brazilian artists, most famously Gilberto Gil, took refuge in France during the dictatorship years (1964–1985). But above all, French chanson quickly fell in love with the richness and ingenuity of
bossa nova and samba, translating and reinventing them in the language of Molière. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, albums and hits by Henri Salvador, Georges Moustaki, Pierre Barouh, Pierre Vassiliu, and Claude Nougaro all drew from the MPB repertoire.
Fifty years later, with SOL, Ezéchiel Pailhès reinvents this rich Franco-Brazilian musical legacy, bringing to it a personality and modernity that stand confidently alongside those of his forbears.
After years of building this project quietly and patiently, ISLA004 feels like a reflection of everything that shaped the island along the way.
Between hypnotic techno, trance, electro and synth-pop influences, this release moves through nostalgic melodies, dark textures and emotional tension balancing moments of introspection with the energy of the dance floor.
More than defining a genre, this VA captures a state of mind: late nights, distant memories and the feeling of getting lost in sound.
VA – Paradisi Artificiali brings together four distinct sound compositions, each resisting the urge to resemble the others but united by the way they manipulate perception.
Polygonia crafts shifting rhythmic paths where the groove warps and regenerates in real time, maintaining an organic tension that keeps the body in motion without ever truly settling into place.
Feral operates through subtraction, slowing time and excavating sound’s spatial depth. Its tracks don’t progress so much as they envelop, drawing the listener inward into a layered, introspective space.
Agonis introduces a more unstable, sensory thread, weaving transitions and accumulations that build in stages. Frequencies become tangible matter, and the progression unfolds without ever erupting entirely.
Crossing Avenue weaves these directions together without hardening them, infusing the record with a more rooted, almost ancestral rhythmic element that surfaces in the structure of the patterns and the choice of timbre.
The result isn’t a neat synthesis, but a coexistence. The tracks unfold along a shared line without ever converging, articulating a dynamic balance between tension and release. It’s an album that works through gradual alterations, through subtle slippages in perception, as in “Les Paradis Artificiels”. The point isn’t escape, but intensification. The sound burrows deep, reshaping how things are experienced, until a denser, more ambiguous, more alive reality emerges.
If – in some parallel universe (or perhaps a not-so-distant-future version of the one we’re already sentenced to living in) – the evil overloads of artificial intelligence were actually successful in their attempts to create convincingly enjoyable “original music,” more specifically tasked with wholly encapsulating my own personal tastes by data-chugging some cocktail of – oh, I don’t know – the posters on my wall, the records in my “most listened to” pile, the mixtapes I made for others, intensive physical scans of my auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, heart strings, whatever else they have splayed out on their autopsy table with the intention of generating one all-encompassing “perfect band” based on the fruitful sum of their findings – that band, for me, would be (or would at least sound exactly like) the Tara Clerkin Trio. It is, quite simply, without exception, the music I wish to hear.
Formed in Bristol UK (where none of them are from yet all of whom are deeply engrained) in 2020, the Tara Clerkin Trio – as it somewhat democratically exists today, despite the singular authority implied by its name – consists of the titular Tara Clerkin, her partner Sunny Joe Paradisos, and Sunny’s brother, Patrick Benjamin. I’ll confess, I don’t know what their respective roles are within the operation and there’s only a very small part of me that cares to learn, as one of my favorite qualities in an objective listening experience is the mystery of who is playing what, which sounds are “authentic” versus synthesized, which chunks are performed “live” in a room together versus meticulously Frankenstein’ed from measure to measure, or how exactly the overall sound is so (seemingly) effortlessly achieved. Though, I suspect, if and when I do witness a live performance by this band at any point, my enjoyment of the music will not be lost in my better understanding of it.
With two extraordinary mini-albums – In Spring (2021) and On The Turning Ground (2023) – making a splash on London’s formidable World of Echo label in wake of their self-titled 2020 debut, this upcoming Somewhere Good LP is, in many ways, the band’s most realised work. In running their usual gauntlet of idiosyncratic (*an overused adjective for which here there is regrettably no sufficient alternative) approaches, Clerkin & co. colour in and outside of compositional lines over the course of 40+ celebratory minutes - never wallowing, despite inherently somber subject matters of self-defeat, disease, displacement, restlessness, gentrification - allowing their arrangements and improvisations ample space and time to situate, stretch out, breathe, cross-pollinate, and ultimately take deeper hold on the listener’s imagination – all while somehow sounding more like themselves than ever before.
Of course, there are traceable influences herein, if one felt that such comparisons were necessary to properly examine and enjoy this music (they aren’t)… Being the big dumb American from the small boring town that I am, cornfed on ‘90s alternative radio with the enchantingly exotic sounds of Maxinquaye and Mezzanine emanating from my chunky tube television, I can’t help but to make a blatantly obvious reference to a “Bristol sound”, ie the whole trip-hop trip, the pastoral crooning over the suggestive urban grime of cracked electro/piano treatments, the digitally-yet-primitively reconstructed James Bond soundtrack string-beats, etc.. But the Tara Clerkin Trio is so infinitely much more than that. There are elements of avant-pop, modern classical, kraut-folk, audio verité, dare I say indie rock (and not of the beer guzzling, masturbatory fuzz-flex variety but perhaps more like a Trish Keenan-fronted Faust, Adrian Sherwood at the mixing desk of If You’re Feeling Sinister, or – in expanding on our alternate reality – a world in which High Llamas cut a full-length for Warp Records with Andrew Weatherall on coffee duty).
The hazy, unmappable skyline-mirage of droning harmonium, upright bass, peculiarly accentuated wind instruments, acoustic guitar, hushed yet literally mighty keys combine to hypnotizing effect. The band may make underlying nods to jazz, sure, but it’s not appropriation, it’s that they have the actual chops to build it out. Beneath the janky samples and oddball percussive embellishment lies actually great drumming. Beyond the manipulated vocal witchery and woefully reflective plain-spoke moments are Tara’s subtly inspired melodies, sung with what might honestly be the glue to the whole crazy equation. A calming consistency throughout the otherwise unpredictably dynamic, boldly intuitive, uniquely British exploration of this (their own) universe in song. – Ryan Davis (Chicago, February 2026)
Baby T is a space away from her work as B.Traits in which Brianna Price can lean more into the junglist, drum ‘n’ bass and hardcore sounds which she loves so dearly. With BSHEE02, the second drop on Price’s own Banshee label, Baby T delivers a darkside masterclass of an EP. This record is a quartet of system blowers which doesn’t let up for a single second from start to finish.
Opener ‘Times Up’ is urgent from the off - the initial strains of this joint find sirens wailing in the monitors over a twitchy kick/drum/hats combo. From here on it’s distilled raver perfection, the drums taking us on a wild Wipeout-style ride as the subbiest of bass skulks at the bottom of the mix. Imagine a more technoid take on the classic breakbeat freerides of Skanna and you’re not far off the ‘Times Up’ sound.
A remix of ‘Times Up’ from man like Aloka leans with devilish glee into the murky underworld that lurks beneath Baby T’s original. Aloka’s version is extremely eerie in a manner which makes you think of the darkest corners of a DMZ party. When things really kick into gear, driven by an irresistible kick dembow, the effect is hypnotic - think the dubwise junglism of the UVB-76 cohort.
BSHEE02’s B-side kicks off with ‘Coercive Control’. This is a cut which delivers on its title in spades, putting the listener in a trance with an interplay of low-slung bass, whirligig synth tones and more of those perfectly executed broken beats. The acid starts to kick in around the minute mark, and it turns out to herald a total earworm of a lead melody.
There’s plenty of dimly-lit malevolence to BHSEE02 closer ‘Dense Dickwood’s grinding atmospherics and gurgling bass throbs. However, Baby T opting for a half-time drum break here gives the cut a vibe not dissimilar to the weightiest jams of classic Massive Attack - that is, until an absolutely remorseless switch-up occurs halfway through, delivering volley after volley of intense drum hits.
Hot on the heels of their debut LP Scimitar return with a lightning fast follow up simply entitled Scimitarium II.
Formed in 2024 by veterans of Copenhagen’s underground music scene including members of Slaegt, Gam, and Shaam Laerin, Scimitar released their debut LP in February 2025 to wide acclaim. Arriving as a fully formed force of nature with an album far beyond the reach and scope of bands significantly deeper in their discographies. It should come as no surprise that their follow up drinks even deeper from the same well of riches as their first effort. Somehow, this time around, there is more light in the dark, although the glimmers and rays only serve to amplify the heaviness of the utter pitch blackness.
Opening itself up in a wrenching moment of becoming, Scimitatium II begins like an infernal piece of machinery, a vast, complex engine of sound slowly but steadily finding its inexorable pace until vocalist Shaam A’s voice breaks upon its nascent rhythms like glass. Once velocity is reached there is seemingly no stopping this breathless journey as its angular guitar lines narrowly wend themselves through cavernous tunnels leaving echoing tendrils in their wake, all while the frantic rhythm section threatens to shake the whole damn thing to pieces.
The flaming Scimitar is born of smoke and ash, and mystic flame burning itself brightly for ritual rebirth; a self immolating operation capable of incredible creation and terrible destruction.
Das fünfte Studioalbum von Avenged Sevenfold, "Nightmare", stieg 2010 auf Platz 1 der Billboard 200 Charts und auf Platz 5 der UK OCC Charts ein. Nach dem unerwarteten Tod des Schlagzeugers Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan ist das Album seinem Andenken gewidmet und spiegelt in seinem Themen Tod und Verzweiflung wider. Mike Portnoy von Dream Theater sprang am Schlagzeug ein, um die Aufnahmen fertigzustellen. Metal Hammer bewertete das Album mit acht von zehn Punkten. Billboard bewertete es mit vier von fünf Punkten und Kerrang! gab dem Album vier von fünf Ks. Das Album gewann die Golden God Awards für den besten Schlagzeuger, den besten Gitarristen und das Album des Jahres. Es wurde für die Kerrang! Awards als bestes Album und beste Single (Nightmare) nominiert und vom Revolver Magazine für Buried Alive zum Song des Jahres 2011 gekürt. "Like their previous outings, the group incorporates a New Wave of British Heavy Metal influence throughout Nightmare while paying tribute to `80s hair metal with guitar god appeal; but playing retroactive music doesn't seem to concern them, as long as they play it more skillfully than their forefathers. The group's influences may be worn on their sleeves, (check out the chugging Metallica "One" breakdown in "Buried Alive," or the Queensrÿche-style power-ballad "Victim"), but there is no denying that they have some of the best chops in the metal world. M. Shadows continually amazes with his vocal acrobatics, the opening riff of "Natural Born Killer" ramps up to an inhuman speed. "Save Me" ends the album as one of their most epic songs to date, in a proper 21 gun salute, as thunderous blasts and guitar divebombs interweave into a heartfeltoutro. It's a fitting tribute for their fallen 28-year-old comrade, and excellent proof of the band's ability." - Für Fans von Metallica, Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, NWOBHM, Heavy Hair Metal, Metal
Roughly three and a half years since pushing the boundaries of 160BPM and stepping beyond the realm of footwork with the Reidai EP, Oyubi returns with an even deeper sound, dropping due yesterday.
This EP consists of four tracks that showcase a darker, more introspective side of the producer, stepping away from the ghetto and booty flavors found in his other releases. However, anchored by his signature sequence patterns, the sound design—striking a perfect balance between playful and profoundly dope—only serves to amplify the groove.
The ultimate embodiment of this evolution is the B1 track, "Taiko 2." While it inherits its name from "Taiko 160" on the Reidai EP, its form is entirely transformed. Relentless, high-speed drums and stripped-back minimal components take over the mind and body like a dark incantation. Packing a hypnotic power that far surpasses its predecessor, it's destined to be a killer weapon in any DJ set. It’s also worth noting that this track draws heavy inspiration from Kode9 & DJ Fulltono’s "TKO."
Naturally, the other three tracks are just as formidable. Infused with elements of dub, A1 "Erekiteru" centers around a pulsing bassline heartbeat, keeping the groove steady alongside crisp, dry claps. Meanwhile, A2 "Da Groove" and B2 "Wop Wop" heavily incorporate Baile Funk and Dembow influences. "Da Groove" is quintessential Oyubi: as the extended intro breaks and the four-to-the-floor kick drops in lockstep with the bass, it guarantees instant unity on the dancefloor. Finally, B2 "Wop Wop" relies on intentional distortion and subtle spatial processing to build its foundation, revealing a dark side akin to "Taiko 2"—complete with an exceptionally punchy snare.
Fully loaded with Oyubi's uncompromising dark-side approach, due yesterday is set to be a 160BPM masterpiece.
Factory Floor return to Phantasy with ‘Buzz Saw’, a driving new single that once more re-establishes the trio of Nik Colk Void, Gabe Gurnsey and Joe Ward as amongst the most vital forces in live electronic music.
Following on from 2025’s sold-out vinyl singles ‘Between You’ and ‘Tell Me’, the spacious groove of ‘Buzz Saw’ bridges the sharp, bracing synthesis of the band’s origins in London’s post-industrial warehouse scene. Once again mixed by legendary engineer David Wrench (Daniel Avery, Floating Points), it captures the band’s most dancefloor-forward instincts, recently rejuvenated via appearances at Berghain, festivals such as No Bounds and Simple Things, plus a headlining UK tour.
As before, Gurnsey’s peerless drum work - tracked in the studio by Stephen Morris of New Order - proves forceful and delicate in tandem with Ward’s percussion, encountering suspenseful breakdowns in the space between Voids enveloping basslines. In dreamlike accompaniment, Colk Void’s own voice drifts serenely upwards, itself slowly consumed and obscured into the band’s full-bodied electronic rush, which is also available here as a more minimal, no-less powerful dub version.
In sonic contrast, ‘Guitar_1342’ finds the band experimenting in their starkest terms, stripped back of their luminescent flow and boldly reduced to an abrasive, dissonant guitar feedback.
Factory Floor’s ‘Buzz Saw’ will be released via Phantasy on 29th May 2025, available as a limited-edition vinyl pressing in a risoprint sleeve, as well as digitally.
The open skies of Ochre's new album, Oversail, replace the dense canopies of his last, Understory back in 2020. This time, UK-born, Netherlands-based talent Christopher Leary trades rhythmic intricacy for something more exposed and reflective on a record that unfolds in measured steps, with each passage revealing fragile melodies set against sparse, shifting frameworks. There's a tactile quality to the sound design, hardware elements clicking and sighing like ageing machinery still in motion. Tracks feel suspended and the focus is on slow revelation across the quietly affecting 'Casadastra', airy beauty of 'Meristem' and hopeful synth sequencing of 'Canthropa.'
Local Sugar Diggers dive back into their closest friends' shelves for another round of sly re-edits and low-slung reworks that flip old and obscure sides into sharp new tools. Nothing overcooked, just tight surgery and a feel for locked-in grooves. A'Ola!' Is all big brassy horns and Latin-flavoured funk while 'Rio Ritmo' then cuts back with a more sunny, whimsical sound for lazy afternoons daydreaming at the park. LTF very much keeps the heat simmering after his Soviet jazz-funk excursions on BMM Records, USA The Content (L)abel and Rucksack Records with the same crate-digger mania here, all executed with a wink and a steady hand.
After years of shaping dancefloors worldwide and carefully curating the sonic and visual identity of Up The Stuss, Dutch favourite Chris Stussy presents his most expansive and personal statement to date with his debut album, ‘Lost, Found & Forgotten...’. Landing on 3rd April, the album unfolds across three interconnected chapters - ‘Lost’, ‘Found’, and ‘Forgotten’ - each revealing a different side of his creative world across 19 tracks while remaining tethered to a singular wider vision.
At its core, ‘Lost, Found & Forgotten...’ is an exploration of creative freedom. Visually and conceptually guided by the image of a kite, the album reflects movement, perspective, and balance. Floating freely yet always anchored, the kite mirrors Chris’s approach to music: unrestricted in emotion and imagination, but grounded in groove, craftsmanship, and intention. It’s a symbol that naturally extends the Up The Stuss identity; pointing skyward, embracing openness, and encouraging curiosity.
“This album has been a long time in the making, and I’m excited to finally share it with you. The process behind it - exchanging ideas with other artists and creating music outside of my comfort zone - has been an incredible experience. It gave me a true sense of freedom, allowing me to not think about boundaries or expectations. I’ve never been more proud of a project than this one. It’s deeply personal, and it represents my sound as a whole. I hope you listen with an open mind and find something in it that resonates with you.” - Chris Stussy.
The ‘Lost’ chapter opens the album by giving new life to music once left behind. These are tracks written across different moments in Chris’s journey, ideas that never quite found a home until now. Rather than relics of the past, they emerge re-discovered, refined, and fully realised. ‘
Found’ represents inspiration in motion. Sparked by collaboration, digging, and shared creative exchange, this chapter captures the moment when ideas connect, and colour floods the sky.
The album closes with ‘Forgotten’ - a nod to the deeper cuts, the B-sides, and the moments that reward patience. This chapter is for the heads and diggers; tracks that may not demand immediate attention but reveal their value over time.
Back for round two on WOLF Music, Toronto Hustle & Sean Roman present their ‘Social Narcotics’ EP. The deep house dons from Canada don’t disappoint with a hard-hitting slammer, and a suite of remixes courtesy of some of the scene’s most-respected producers.
The A-side starts with none-other than Byron The Aquarius on the remix. You see that name on a record and you know it’s going to be a hot 12”. Just look at some of the labels he’s released on; Sound Signature, Wild Oats, Eglo, Axis; that’s the only stamp of approval you need. His remix of ‘Social Narcotics’ is deeper than deep. Moody, musical and packed with detail. Proper house for those that know the good stuff.
Then POW! - you're hit with a legend of the game. Calling Nick Holder a legend isn’t hype, it’s just fact. Active since the early ‘90s and head of DNH Records, with releases on labels like NRK and Poker Flat Recordings, his influence runs deep. Any serious head will have some of his jams in their collection (‘Summer Daze’!!!). Teaming up with Tyrone Solomon under their ‘Trackheadz’ guise, the Canadian duo have delivered a trademark peak-time remix. Driving and groovy, this is tackle for proper dancefloors.
For the flip we have Toronto Hustle & Sean Roman's original track and a rather tasty dub version. ‘Social Narcotics’, blends sharp social commentary with a late-night, low-slung thumper of a soundtrack. With its warm, rolling and hypnotic feel, it has echoes of a prime 90s deep house cut, yet still sounds fresh and very much of the now. The dub mix turns the lights down even lower, stripping it back and letting the groove bubble away with a more heads-down sound.
This EP is a strong follow-up that keeps things deep, soulful, and club-ready. Exactly what you want from Toronto Hustle & Sean Roman, and another solid addition to the WOLF Music catalogue.
House favourites Kai Alce, JKriv, Sean McCabe and Medlar debut on Universo Positivo with their masterful reworks from Universo Positivo’s catalog. After two years of agenda-setting sounds, the label is set to drop this classy remix EP, and in that time, founder Joseph Salvador has established the label with a mix of his own music and fresh grooves from carefully A&R’d pioneers and new school names. He has been doing much the same since the 90s with various projects from his cult TINK Records and the Tomorrow Is Now Kid! nights in Amsterdam, in collaborative production outfits like Black Tulip & Wendell Morrison, and releasing records by DJ Steaw, Malin Genie, Fabio Monesi and more. This latest release brings together some of the most respected names in the scene for four standout reworks.
First up, Atlanta-based NDATL label head Kai Alce, who has long been one of deep house's most influential architects. He flips 'Sonido Latino' into a smooth groove with jazzy, Roy Ayers-style melodies that bring a soft-focus glow and late-night intimacy. Then comes Bristol-based don Sean McCabe, a master of vintage synths with a 20-year back catalogue on seminal labels like Local Talk, Strictly Rhythm and Z Records. His take on 'Ipanema Jazz' maintains the original's samba shuffle but reframes it in a deep house groove with extra expressive jazz keys, dainty chords and playful trumpet motifs.
Brooklyn-based groove architect and Razor-N-Tape co-founder JKriv brings his many years of experience as a guitarist, producer and songwriter to his take on 'Caparica Sunset'. It's a deep, driving sound that's playful and romantic with flirtatious horns and soft acid, dusty breakbeats and luscious grooves for loved-up good time sessions. Last but never least, is Medlar, the South London underground maverick with a wide-ranging sound and album credits on the likes of the hallowed Delusions Of Grandeur. He remixes 'U R The Revolution' into a warm, euphoric rush of throwback house that's warm, melodic and sure to get the floor going right off.
Following their 2023 LP Presents, Nathan Nelson's American Cream Band bring the Twin City heat back to Quindi with an album rooted in duality. From the yin and yang party-starting A side and meditative B side to the dual-attack boy-girl vocals, the nature of opposites and equals steer the expansive, artful strain of rock n' roll that spill out of this wholly unique Minnesotan export. For the ever intriguing Quindi, it's a strident step into Spring after the frosty introspection of Roudi Vagou & Läuten der Seele's Taghelle Nacht. While the world burns and injustice prevails, Twin is a celebration of unity and radical expression-all the more urgent against the backdrop of authoritarian overreach and righteous protest that has whipped through Minneapolis in recent times.
Twin continues Nelson's drive at the helm of American Cream Band to draw in a colourful cast of players to feed into his orgiastic sound, meshing the trance-induction of krautrock with the irrepressible funk of the post-punk-new-wave explosion. But principal among the cast of characters and forming a central tenet to the identity of this album is Liz Buhmann, lead vocalist and a formidable, playful foil to Nelson's own Midwestern twang. Around the electric spark between Buhmann and Nelson, a heavy duty ensemble wrangle guitar, bass, sax, a cornucopia of synths and a battery of percussion into all manner of sonic forms.
The double-sided concept manifests throughout Twin. On 'Call Me' Buhmann sings in French to contrast Nelson's English, while the strident strut of the NYC disco groove is offset by an inherent dreaminess that turns the track into a more cosmic kind of dancefloor workout. 'Ethical Vampire' is a spiky cut with a garage rock patina that spirals into a psychedelic, synth-soaked get-down. 'Don't Burn The House Down' is a loose and limber roller that captures Can at their funkiest along with the hypnotic vibe of other such esteemed long format jammers, but American Cream Band boils that energy into a hook-laden art pop sensibility before a gentle, drawn out landing.
Even the more pensive moments on Twin find space for friction. For all its tender, smoky temperament, 'Leda and the Swan' lets the electric piano and guitar fray at the edges and bleed into the red while Mat Heinrich's tumbling drums lurch with pent-up intensity on the one. 'No Funeral Necessary' skirts around the mellow pools of new age but prefers to let liberally doused Tape Echo tweak out Alex Meffert's honeyed sax inflections and Buhmann and Nelson's disparate sermons.
Nelson describes Twin as "an oppositorum coincidentia" - a reference to the mystical Latin concept of the coincidence of opposites that suggests contradictory ideas 'fall together' in a higher reality. Beyond the sound of the album, this idea also manifests in the cover photography by Sho Nikado and the swans on the LP labels by Autumn Garrington. As freewheeling and wide-open as American Cream Band feels, nothing appears by accident. The end result feels like a nourishing whole - rich with substance and nuance, deep enough to be explored and absorbed yet also so brazen and immediate you can't help but feel its surface charms from the first thrusts of 'The Hive Is Pissed' to the last ripples of 'We're Not So Sinister'.
Although humankind has made it to the far side of the Moon and back, there is still more to discover. Strap in… Rex The Dog is taking us further out into the lesser-known realms of space disco.
‘Far Out!’ is a reinterpretation of an early breakbeat rave tune from 1991 by Son’z Of A Loop Da Loop Era. It’s a tribute to a simpler time when all you needed was a cascading piano riff played through a powerful sound system, with your best friend by your side.
In Rex’s version, the breakbeats and piano have been replaced with a punchy 4/4 beat and an arpeggiated synth workout that cuts through the air like a laser. Houston, we have a hit.
‘I Need Your Body’ showcases Rex The Dog’s more introspective side, with yearning vocals spread across a heavily bouncing rhythm track full of mind-boggling dub effects.
This new EP cements Rex The Dog’s status as a unique voice in today’s techno world, as well as an incredibly reliable purveyor of highly emotional dancefloor smash hits.
Obwohl die Menschheit es bereits bis zur Rückseite des Mondes und wieder zurück geschafft hat, gibt es noch immer Neues zu entdecken. Schnallt euch an … Rex The Dog entführt uns noch weiter in die weniger bekannten Gefilde des Space Disco.
„Far Out!“ ist eine Neuinterpretation eines frühen Breakbeat Rave Tracks aus dem Jahr 1991 von Son’z Of A Loop Da Loop Era. Es ist eine Hommage an eine einfachere Zeit, in der man nur ein kaskadenartiges Piano-Riff brauchte, abgespielt über ein kraftvolles Soundsystem, mit dem besten Freund an der Seite.
In Rex’ Version wurden die Breakbeats und das Piano durch einen druckvollen 4/4-Beat und ein arpeggiertes Synth-Riff ersetzt, das wie ein Laser durch die Luft schneidet. Houston, wir haben einen Hit.
„I Need Your Body“ zeigt die eher introspektive Seite von Rex The Dog, mit sehnsüchtigem Gesang, der sich über einen heftig bouncenden Rhythmus-Track voller verblüffender Dub-Effekte erstreckt.
Diese neue EP festigt Rex The Dogs Status als einzigartige Stimme in der heutigen Techno-Welt sowie als unglaublich zuverlässiger Lieferant hoch emotionaler Dancefloor Smash Hits.
Focus 21 is back with a second sizzling disco drop, this time in the form of 'Boogie Magic Vol 1', which has its feet firmly rooted in the 80s and the iconic machine sounds of that era. All four cuts are super tight and super funky from Gateway Jones, starting with 'Transmission', which is turbocharged with razzle-dazzle. 'Contact Zone' is slightly deeper and more sensuous with its playful synths and wriggling baseline. 'Non - Physical Boogie' is a taught stepper with loose claps and funky licks, then 'Midnight Call' closes with more of the same - feel good, uplifting but classy and sophisticated disco-boogie brilliance. A vital EP full of craft.
The Illegal Disco Limited series never misses. It's all about the king of cheeky edits adding his own spin to a carefully curated mix of disco and funk nuggets and, once again, here Monsieur Van Pratt is back with the goods. Though he always nods to the past with these reworks, he beefs them up with grooves designed for loud systems and to move floors. This one opens with the funk licks and disco stylings of 'Watcha Gonna Do' then gets celebratory with the feel good hands in the air vibes of 'The Contest'. Last but not least, 'Dance With Me' explores a more lavish sound with big vocals and lavish string stabs for good times only. Another doozy from Mr Pratt.
SUNANDBASS Recordings proudly presents its next release, welcoming rising artist Napes with a brand new single: Hit The Corner / Clamber. This release marks the exciting introduction of a new artist joining the SUNANDBASS Recordings roster, signalling a bright future for both the label and its evolving sound. With previous releases on Shall Not Fade and Alix Perez’s 1985 Music, Napes is a promising name within the modern jungle scene. This release is a clear statement of his pushing boundaries combining grime influences and old school jungle, giving us his fresh sounds and melody-led drum and bass music, reaching new horizons while staying rooted in foundations. On the A-side, Hit The Corner showcases acid-tinged synths that meet a UK grime edge, driven by energetic beats and rolling breaks. In 6:20, Napes lets us travel through all the facets of a SUNANDBASS Recordings journey, with his ever-changing arrangement that evolves from heavy, club-focused energy into a euphoric jungle-inspired middle section, before concluding with driving arpeggiated synths. On the B-side, Clamber offers a deep, darker contrast. Between the atmospheric strings set intro which is dropping into a heavy, bass-driven groove, easily imagined shaking the dancefloor during an Ambra Night indoor session. The track reveals a more introspective side of Napes, blending refined sound selection with classic, weighty basslines built for the dancefloor. We’re honoured to welcome Napes to the SUNANDBASS Recordings family, an artist whose sound reflects our love for all corners of the genre while paying homage to the music that brings us together in Sardinia year after year. SUNANDBASS Recordings continues to push the boundaries of drum & bass, fostering connection through music that transcends borders, unites listeners, and celebrates rhythm, movement, and culture.
"I got to know visual artist, musician, and producer Guido Erfen and sound engineer, acoustic artist, and percussionist Michael Springer as part of a group of five by the name of SHM1. The members of the group organised concerts at Rhenania, a disused grain silo, where I performed with The Absurd in 1988 and 1989. The band was also featured on one of Erfen's tape releases. Erfen and Springer met when they were still at the same secondary school and soon became close friends and musical allies. With the other members of SHM they built an independent network for creating and distributing music beyond the mainstream in Cologne. Rent at Rhenania was incredibly low, allowing a recording studio to be established there.
The first traces of the Ukrainian Underground arrived at Erfen's door via a cassette tape with three bands from Kharkiv and Kyiv, the package including a long essay which detailed the rock scene in the two cities by Sergey Myasoyedow. In 1986, Myasoyedow, together with Sasha Panchenko, had founded the “Novaya Scena“ rock club in Kharkiv, presenting bands inspired by punk, the avant-garde, dadaism, and even medieval melodies. If Erfen hadn't been part of the independent mail-art scene, he wouldn't have had the chance to discover this unorthodox music. It was the summer of 1990, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent state the following year.
In 1991, singer and keyboard player Soloveyka from Kharkiv arrived in Cologne and gave Erfen half a dozen cassettes with underground bands from Ukraine and a handful with bands from the Soviet Union. Intrigued by the original music of many of the acts, he visited Ukraine twice, made friends there, compiled a tape with his favourite tracks and finally succeeded in convincing Hamburg label boss Alfred Hilsberg to present underground music from Ukraine on the CD “Novaya Scena“ via his label What's So Funny About (the original home of Einstürzende Neubauten).
The album compiled 20 tracks recorded between 1986 and 1992 by 14 bands out of Kharkiv and Kyiv– music beyond the usual Perestroika records, often with jarring dissonances over grooves that fans of Captain Beefheart or The Fall would certainly enjoy.
On the other hand, there are tracks featuring flute and trumpet that seem inspired by folk, classical music, and punk. Ghostly chamber prog miniatures by Cukor Belaya Smert (lit. Sugar White Death) from Kyiv featuring, among others, the classically trained pianist and singer Svitlana Nianio (née Ochrimenko) and guitarist, visual artist, and spokesman Yewgeny "Yenia" Taran. Nianio sang in her native Ukrainian, as did two more of the bands. Today, this seems more relevant than ever, more culturally and historically significant from a Ukrainian point of view than it was even in 1993. Young Ukrainians were amazed at that time that rock music sung in their native tongue could work!
It is in the aftermath of the “Novaya Scena“ album that the music on this LP was created. About a year after the release of the CD in August 1993, Nianio and Taran came to Cologne to work on music for the dance production "Transilvania Smile" by the dance theatre ensemble Pentamonia2.
The seeds for the Traces of Ukrainian Underground in Cologne were sown. Starting in 1994, a series of informal recording sessions took place at Michael Springer’s Phanton Studio and at SHM studio in Rhenania. Together, these sessions formed the basis of the four different incarnations of the Ukraine-Cologne connection heard on STROOMS’s compilation.
Ten years ago, in a sharehouse on Chapel Street, four 20-year-olds with zero expectations wrote and recorded an EP in a single afternoon. Those six blistering minutes of music became Giddy Up. An hour later, Amyl and The Sniffers had a name, a Bandcamp upload, and the beginnings of a legacy.
Following a year of backyard gigs, playing for friends and partying across Melbourne's sticky carpet music scene, the band released their iconic second EP Big Attraction in 2017.
Now, to celebrate a decade of raw power and reckless spirit, Giddy Up/Big Attraction returns in a definitive 10th anniversary 12-inch vinyl edition — fully remastered for maximum punch.
Featuring early classics like “I’m Not A Loser” and “Stole My Pushbike,” plus enduring live favourites “Balaclava Lover Boogie” and “Westgate,” this is the sound of Amyl and The Sniffers before the world caught up — feral, funny, and unstoppable.
The LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve showcasing Chris Sutherland’s iconic 2017 band photo, alongside an exclusive new essay from Amy Taylor and a heap of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes shots from the band’s earliest days by Jamie Wdziekonski. As Amy recalls: “We recorded and wrote over the afternoon… we’d never played together before that day… it’s spontaneous, and fun and achievable in that time because to us it sounded more than good and we weren’t perfectionists and it didn’t matter.”
From DIY house shows in Melbourne to international stages, it all started here.
TSSRCT returns with a significant new chapter: its third release, entrusted to Antigone. Across three carefully sculpted pieces, the French artist explores a territory where deep resonance, fragile melody and stripped-down structures converge. More than a return, this EP stands as a timeless statement, reaffirming both Antigone's singular voice and TSSRCT's evolving sonic vision.
Voices From the Lake (consisting of Donato Dozzy and Neel) mark the 10th anniversary of their influential self-titled album with a fully remastered reissue on Spazio Disponibile. It arrives in full on vinyl for the first time, as well as on digital formats, first quarter of 2023 as the pair continues to play select live shows around the world. The release will see the light of day as a 4-set vinyl LP release, including download. Italians Dozzy and Neel have been friends united by a shared vision of music since their teenage years. They are immaculate sculptors of sound who fuse evocative ambient and leftfield techno into multi-layered soundscapes. For many years they worked as established solo artists but came together in 2011 to craft what is now regarded as one of techno's most pure and absorbing listening experiences. It's often said that the best music comes about as a happy accident, and that is certainly true of Voices From the Lake. The career-defining album first arose in the thoughts of Dozzy and Neel when the latter was preparing a mix for the former's wedding and named it Voices From The Lake. It was a pertinent title that stuck in the mind: both grew up by waters around the coast of Italy, and in their early days the pair even held private parties on the shores of a lake. Fittingly, Japan's celebrated Labyrinth festival at that time was also held by a river and a lake in the middle of a forest on a serene mountainside. It was that exact setting the pair envisaged when making music to play live on stage. During preparations, they "accidentally" wrote an entire album. It has only ever been performed live a few times - once at Japan's Labyrinth festival in 2011, at London's Barbican, Barcelona's Mira Festival, Paris' Marathon Festival and once during 2022's Amsterdam Dance Event. Those shows saw the pair using banks of analogue and digital equipment to improvise in the moment and essentially remix the album live on stage. That spontaneity is captured in the original Voices From the Lake recordings and on later LPs such as Live at Maxxi in 2015, and the most recent EP Quarto Freddo from 2020. But the debut album remains a standout achievement. A decade on, it's quiet intensity, musical storytelling and slowly unfolding tension remain in a class of one. Each sound is meticulously designed and placed, and the spaces left behind are just as important in conveying such a captivating mood and emotion. Rather than traditional kick drums, hi-hats or snares, this is music crafted from layers of real-world sound - dripping water, chirping birds, rustling leaves or a distant breeze - and it's that which defines the album's organic allure. From deeply contemplative to cautiously optimistic, pastoral organic scenes to more underwater worlds, Voices From the Lake is a cohesive collection of tracks that add up to one inseparable whole.
Born in Madrid and now entrenched deep in Boston's underground, Ketzaal operates at the darker more, textural end of the techno spectrum. He shows off that signature again here with a tightly wound four-tracker. Opener 'Placed Upon Thee' lands with great tension, all driving stabs and forward thrust, while 'Final Ritual' dips into a rolling, bass-heavy stride that loosens the grip without losing pace. On the flip, 'The Throne' locks into a head-down groove before 'In Bloom' stretches into something more elusive and shapeshifting. Purposeful construction and a clear sense of function don't mean there isn't plenty of character in these dance floor bombs.
Sometimes the title of an album tells you everything you need to know. Laurence Pike’s Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet is like that: The music within represents a search for freedom, potentiality—liberatory strategies that transcend the ego and the solitary, atomized figure.
But in this case, the album title is also a red herring, because there is no jazz quintet here—just Pike, his drums, and his machines, not so much an ersatz ensemble as a purely notional one, a thought experiment equipped with drumsticks, circuitry, and the desire to go beyond hardwired limits.
And the results, strictly speaking, aren’t really jazz, though they incorporate the vocabulary of jazz, along with that of ambient, electronica, and post-rock. They are some other thing, cognizant of genre but never beholden to it. Again, we’re talking about a search for freedom here.
The Sydney-based musician has a long history of coloring outside the lines, not just in his solo recordings—including four albums for the Leaf label between 2018 and 2024—but also in the trio Pivot (later PVT); Szun Waves (alongside saxophonist Jack Wyllie and Border Community’s Luke Abbott); Triosk, which recorded an album with Jan Jelinek in 2003; and even post-punk titans Liars, whom he joined in late 2018.
Of his first album for Balmat, Pike says, “My loose concept was: What does music sound like when the expectations of late capitalism are removed from it? How might a jazz musician from an idealised culture of the future, or even another world, utilise musical language when the conventions of style and marketing are no longer a factor in music making?”
That inquiry, he says, connects to his “guiding principle: that the purpose of music is to access something bigger than the individual, and reveal a sense of possibility and freedom in the world to the listener. To create an understanding that the future can be something other than what we imagined or expect, even unconsciously.”
Heady ideas, but plug into his stream-of-metaconsciousness flow and you may start to intuit what motivates him. There is a deeply lyrical expression in these pieces—in the ruminative piano of opener “Guardians of Memory,” for example—but also a sense of exploded perspective, of ideas approached from more angles than any one mind could dream up. Of a collectivized consciousness, of mycelial networks branching across tone and rhythm and timbre, of ideas articulated in distributed fashion, nodal points dancing across drum heads.
Pike’s imaginary quintet is hardly without precedent; it’s a continuation of concepts floated across Jan Jelinek’s Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, Burnt Friedman’s many guises, and much of the recombinant improv of the International Anthem roster, not to mention the far corners of ECM’s catalog in the late 1970s and 1980s, which Pike says have been integral to his development since he was a teenager. Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet is a point in a continuum, a voice in a conversation, a question with no obvious answer: How can the search for otherness in music manifest something true about ourselves?
The fifth release from Diggers Society Records is signed by one of the most influential duos in the underground electronic scene of the past 20 years: The Analogue Cops. Lucretio and Marieu deliver a finely crafted, dancefloor-oriented EP, strongly defined by the techno, electro, acid, and house sounds that have become their unmistakable signature. The A-side opens with two full-on techno dancefloor bangers, ‘Fake Black Out’ and ‘Do What You Want’, while the B-side leans more towards house, driven by the hypnotic progression of ‘Milano Gipsy’ and the intense bassline of ‘Chinese Coffee’. The duo’s creativity and brilliance shine through in raw, unconventional solutions that surface in every moment of the EP.
This special edition also includes a 10" limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, featuring two exclusive productions: “Burning Jack” and “Yes Or Not”.
Brown Spirits are a super-heavy psychedelic three-piece band who play raw energetic super-charged psych rock heavily influenced by krautrock, freejazz and deep funk music from the 1970s that gives them a truly unique and highly addictive sound. The group record and mix their own music to ¼-
inch analogue tape at home maintaining a strictly DIY-ethic.
Brown Spirits are Tim Wold, Agostino Soldati and Ash Buscombe. The group are from the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, home to an ever-growing
music scene that includes Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Surprise Chef, Tropical Fuck Storm and more.
The group have already released two superb critically-acclaimed album on Soul Jazz Records – ‘Cosmic Seeds’ and Solitary Transmissions’.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing three new albums from the Australian group on one day. All three albums are super-limited one-off special coloured
vinyl pressings of just 500 copies each that will all be deleted on the day of release.
These three albums were originally released (between 2017-2020) in long-deleted very short run-editions - either self-released in Australia or on an
indie German psych label. No copies of Brown Spirits #2 or Brown Spirits #3 are currently available anywhere in the world. Both of Brown Spirits two
earlier releases for Soul Jazz Records are also sold out on vinyl and these three super-limited special edition LPs will also sell out.
Brown Spirits are a super-heavy psychedelic three-piece band who play raw energetic super-charged psych rock heavily influenced by krautrock, freejazz and deep funk music from the 1970s that gives them a truly unique and highly addictive sound. The group record and mix their own music to ¼-
inch analogue tape at home maintaining a strictly DIY-ethic.
Brown Spirits are Tim Wold, Agostino Soldati and Ash Buscombe. The group are from the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, home to an ever-growing
music scene that includes Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Surprise Chef, Tropical Fuck Storm and more.
The group have already released two superb critically-acclaimed album on Soul Jazz Records – ‘Cosmic Seeds’ and Solitary Transmissions’.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing three new albums from the Australian group on one day. All three albums are super-limited one-off special coloured
vinyl pressings of just 500 copies each that will all be deleted on the day of release.
These three albums were originally released (between 2017-2020) in long-deleted very short run-editions - either self-released in Australia or on an
indie German psych label. No copies of Brown Spirits #2 or Brown Spirits #3 are currently available anywhere in the world. Both of Brown Spirits two
earlier releases for Soul Jazz Records are also sold out on vinyl and these three super-limited special edition LPs will also sell out.
Xistence Records is destroying the boundaries between house and techno. The Rise E.P. simply goes to show you a good label does not lose it's competency after 4 years of releasing music. This 4 tracker sounds sublime! If you like deep emotional melodic music, you should have this 12”.
Difficult to pick a standout track as they all offer something different…
The original version of Resilience is a stunning track, reminds of the early Octave One sound with a great mixture of percussion, classy bassline, nice layering of textures and melodies.
While Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/Los Hermanos) retouch is a soulful stripped back tune with elegant drum work, linked together by a uplifting synth pattern.
Sunset To Sunrise, a delightful piece of haunting electronica. It’s a real journey back to the birth of Los Hermanos. Class!
Meteoric Rise original version came out as digital earlier on the label, Journey Around The Sun Mix here has the UR sound. It’s more complex, Detroit lesson in syncopation and rhythmic programming with chord stabs and shuffling drum work drives this one forward..epic!
Limited edition LP Marbled coloured vinyl in mirror board sleeve 180g marble coloured vinyl. Packaged in a heavy weight 350gsm CMYK-printed mirror board silver reflective outer sleeve with a 170gsm inner sleeve. High gloss finish on both the outer and inner sleeves. the freshly minted label NANOQ is proud to announce a new album by david sylvian titled 'the distance between the killer and the killing' it's the first album sylvian has released in 15 years. composed of sessions recorded between 2012 - 2025, the album is based on recomposed improvisational sessions with a variety of artists ranging from otomo yoshihide, ryuichi sakamoto, bilianna voutchkova and miako klein, to jamie drouin, lance austin olson and more. the 46min instrumental is unlike anything tackled by sylvian before and is seen by sylvian himself as the official follow up to his 2009 album 'manafon'. in pauline nadrigny's essay on the album, she describes something of the listening experience. '... voices surge that belong to no one in particular. One that hoots and hums across a violin, worked until it loses its voice, becomes mere matter among other matter. A voice inside the breath of a clarinet or a recorder. Grunts, gurgles, distant cries, somewhere between man and bird, woman and nuthatch. Fragments of choirs, far off, snatches of a song long since lost. Too far to be recovered.' 'What a remarkable piece of work. At times it feels like listening to a symphony; at others, as though (sylvian's) voice is speaking through the music. At first, I was trying to find my own sound, but somewhere along the way I completely forgot about that and became utterly absorbed in the music. Hearing Ryuichi's presence emerge here and there throughout the piece also brings a very special feeling for me. Thank you for creating something so extraordinary.' otomo yoshihide 2026
the freshly minted label NANOQ is proud to announce a new album by david sylvian titled 'the distance between the killer and the killing' it's the first album sylvian has released in 15 years. composed of sessions recorded between 2012 - 2025, the album is based on recomposed improvisational sessions with a variety of artists ranging from otomo yoshihide, ryuichi sakamoto, bilianna voutchkova and miako klein, to jamie drouin, lance austin olson and more. the 46min instrumental is unlike anything tackled by sylvian before and is seen by sylvian himself as the official follow up to his 2009 album 'manafon'. in pauline nadrigny's essay on the album, she describes something of the listening experience. '... voices surge that belong to no one in particular. One that hoots and hums across a violin, worked until it loses its voice, becomes mere matter among other matter. A voice inside the breath of a clarinet or a recorder. Grunts, gurgles, distant cries, somewhere between man and bird, woman and nuthatch. Fragments of choirs, far off, snatches of a song long since lost. Too far to be recovered.' 'What a remarkable piece of work. At times it feels like listening to a symphony; at others, as though (sylvian's) voice is speaking through the music. At first, I was trying to find my own sound, but somewhere along the way I completely forgot about that and became utterly absorbed in the music. Hearing Ryuichi's presence emerge here and there throughout the piece also brings a very special feeling for me. Thank you for creating something so extraordinary.' otomo yoshihide 2026
We are pleased to announce the first FEX live album, Don't Look Back. The release features selected recordings from two concerts in Paderborn and Uelzen, both captured in 1985. All tracks on the album are previously unissued, including entirely unheard songs such as It's a Hard Life, Just Get Back, Legend, and Waiting Song, alongside a previously unreleased version of Subways of Your Mind, widely known as "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet."
One of the most striking aspects of the album is the remarkable sound quality of the live recordings, as well as the strength of the performances themselves - particularly given that FEX were still considered a newcomer band at the time. The four-piece lineup consisted of singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich on keyboards and occasional second guitar, Norbert Ziermann on bass, and Hans-Reimer Sievers on drums. In 1985, the band was preparing for broader exposure through a nationwide tour organized by the small promotion company HBM-Musikbüro.
The album opens with the psychedelic Skyscraper, a track Rückwardt reportedly regarded as a personal favorite to perform. Hädrich contributes dynamic synthesizer layers, while Ziermann underpins the track with a distinctive slap bass groove. This is followed by the energetic rock number It's a Hard Life, which once again demonstrates that the band possessed multiple songs capable of matching the impact of their best known track Subways of Your Mind.
After this energetic opening, the album shifts into a more restrained mood with the synth-pop ballad I Got My Eyes On You. It is followed by Strange Feeling, presented here in a particularly compelling live version that arguably surpasses the previously released studio demo featured on the Skyscraper LP, with Rückwardt delivering one of his most expressive vocal performances. On Goldrush, another fan favorite, it is Hädrich's DX7 synthesizer work that stands out.
Don't Look Back continues to flow seamlessly, moving between styles such as new wave, synth pop, and a blues-influenced form of classic rock. On It's Good To Know, a song addressing the theme of stardom, the band returns to a heavier rock sound. In contrast, the synth-driven Just Get Back reflects on the conflict in Northern Ireland, then ongoing at the time. Lines such as "It's the money, it's the money why they come along" are directed at mercenary soldiers, while "even Sunday's a killing time" directly references Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2.
Previously known songs such as Dirty Slapstick and Heart in Danger lead into We Don't Want It No More, perhaps the band's most striking pop ballad. It is easy to imagine that the track had the potential to achieve radio success in the 1980s. The following piece, the epic Legend, explores themes of loneliness and love simultaneously. With poetic and abstract lines such as "some isolate in the falling rain" and "that's why I count all the reasons they call out for living, sadness is falling inside," it builds an almost eerie atmosphere.
One of the final highlights of the album is Subways of Your Mind, recorded in Uelzen. In this version, Rückwardt's vocal performance is even more on point than on the previously issued recording from Paderborn. Another notable moment is the driving, 1970s-inspired rock 'n' roll track Waiting Song. Both the composition and its live performance carry an energy that could easily stand alongside the repertoire of bands such as AC/DC. It was usually the track that FEX ended their concerts with, calling out each band member at the end of the song.
This leads to a broader reflection: it is striking that FEX did not achieve a wider breakthrough at the time. The performances captured here suggest a band capable of delivering consistently, song by song, note by note. It is not difficult to imagine FEX performing in large venues and engaging sizeable audiences. In reality, however, most performances in 1985 took place in front of relatively small crowds. The recordings featured on this album originate from the Roxy club in Paderborn and a small, unknown venue in Uelzen, likely in front of fewer than fifty attendees.
An essential figure behind these recordings is the engineer known only under his nickname Hase (German for "rabbit"), who was responsible for capturing not only these concerts but many other surviving FEX recordings. Bringing his own mixing desk to performances, he developed a deep familiarity with the band's material and was able to shape the live sound with precision, including the timely use of vocal effects. The original recordings existed only on cassette and required careful and extensive restoration work. Zoey Cairs was finally responsible for bringing them to their present quality.
This album marks the beginning of the Live Waves series, following the rediscovery of additional recordings that have gained international attention since November 2024, when they surfaced through what has been described as the largest "lost wave" music search to date. The title of this first live LP Don't Look Back carries a certain paradox. While the album invites listeners to revisit recordings from forty years ago, FEX themselves were always oriented toward the future. In that spirit, further releases of brand new material are already planned.
The cover artwork is once again based on an image by Magnussen from the Kiel archive, depicting the Prinz-Heinrich-Brücke. The bridge, once located in the northern part of the city, no longer exists. As a symbol, however, it remains fitting: a bridge stands for movement and connection - qualities that FEX sought to embody on tour, bringing their music to different places and audiences.
/// First track, Symmetry, debuted on BBC Radio 6 New Music Fix, 10th February: "A beautiful, beautiful album" /// I got my life back. On 17 February 2025, 1024 rays of ultra sound converged at an operation table in Bern, Switzerland, and disconnected a noisy circuit on my brain. 90% of the manifestation ceased – of a disease that I no longer wish to mention by its name. During the same period, I completed my new album: Self Help Manual. I’ve read more current research about the nameless disease than my neurologist, who despite that I didn’t follow his advice on suitable treatment, called me after the successful operation: a brave, brave man. I have composed the music in the same way as in my previous album – Songs for the Nervous System – through layers upon layers of improvisations in dialogue with my synthesizers, most of which are the same age as me. I made the majority of the songs in my studio in the remains of Old Hagalund in Solna. I edited the recordings in my bed during the waking hours of clarity at night. Some songs – NAC, Ketosis, Overkill – were recorded in the basement of my childhood home in Skutskär, in Norduppland, where I’d returned to be nurtured by my retired parents – who during a night when I couldn’t turn over in bed, or pull the blanket over me – made a list of what would happen to my belongings. To my friends who have stood out with me despite my disease, I want to state: you will not inherit me yet. On the new album, the electric bass takes on a leading role. ESG and Liquid Liquid have been important when I reinvented my baselines, limited and liberated by my poor fine motor skills. Plasma is my homage to Summertime Rolls by Jane’s Addiction, that I listened to frequently in my youth. I guess that no one will hear the resemblance. In several songs, the Fender Rhodes plays an important role, a magical instrument that I bought shortly after my diagnosis over a decade ago, and for a long time didn’t dare to touch out of respect for Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti. A couple of songs draw inspiration from the Horn of Africa – Inner Nile and Delta. At first, subconsciously in the reverb-drenched Inner Nile, then more consciously in Delta. I’m sorry it doesn’t swing the right way, but it was my attempt to return to the cradle of humanity. Longevity is possibly my favourite. The melody is played by an arpeggiator that I controlled by pressing down different keys in an exhilarating sense of freedom. One song in particular, the second track – One – has caused friends to associate freely: one thought it sounded like Patrick Cowley, another like Sly & Robbie meets Kraftwerk, a third like Air – Moonlight Safari. I made one song just before the surgery: opening track Symmetry. It’s the mightiest and most minimal song. I made one song after the surgery: finishing track Self Help Manual. My previous medication pump is heard through the microphone of my Ovation Magnum. It’s the most hopeful song on the album. I took the cover photos with my Hasselblad during walks in Tokyo suburbs of Ōmori and Kamata more than ten years ago. It was something about the faith of the traffic cones that fascinated me – born in the same streamlined form, they had over the years become increasingly individual and lovable. The mixing was finalized by Christoffer Roth in the newly built Studio Dubious in Nacka. Rashad Becker, who in an interview said that he listens as much with his mouth as with his ears, mastered the album at Clunk in Berlin. Right now it feels like anything is possible. My recovery is perhaps a small step for mankind, but a giant leap for me. I hereby leave the music to you. Joakim Forsgren
Nothing Under Heaven is the third full-length album from Scottish ambient and drone multi-instrumentalist Yulyseus.
It follows 2022’s In the Dark Palaces of Both Our Hearts, an introspective and immersive work shaped by travel, displacement, and unfamiliar surroundings. Where that release explored darker and more inward-looking terrain, Nothing Under Heaven opens outward into broader, more expansive soundscapes. Drawing on years spent moving between Glasgow, Berlin, Mexico City and Valencia, Niall Gahagan’s compositions here feel patient and quietly luminous, built from layered electronics, bowed strings and subtle field recordings.
Rather than seeking dramatic gestures, the album unfolds slowly, allowing atmosphere and emotion to emerge over time. Working within a crowded and ever-evolving ambient landscape, Yulyseus continues to focus on texture, weight and gradual movement.
Across eight carefully shaped pieces, Nothing Under Heaven explores how sound can hold both stillness and momentum, inviting attentive listening rather than functioning as simple background music. The opening track, Veillands, sets the tone with a quiet intensity that gently draws the listener inward. From there, the album develops as a continuous, immersive experience, rich in detail and emotional nuance. Nothing Under Heaven reflects an artist still in motion, responding to change, uncertainty and new surroundings with humility and care. It stands as a thoughtful and deeply considered addition to Yulyseus’s growing body of work which is rooted in patience, deep listening, and a continuing search for meaning through sound.
More Modern Soul madness from the team at Celestial Echo. No Stranger To Love is one of those rare tracks that crosses over both Modern and Northern scenes & has long been a favourite of collectors and selectors with original copies regularly changing hands for £100 + on the second hand market.
This lead to the synth laden funk track being picked up by Dam Funk & the Stones Throw crew, who shone a new light on the track via online mixes which has only increased the demand.
Officially reissued for the first time in 40 years and as always, officially licenced and remastered by Celestial Echo Records. Needless to say, buy or cry.
One year on from his first Samurai release, Vardae returns to plunge even deeper into his mesmerising strain of hyper-mobile drum mantras and textural intrigue. Cédric Arnous' prolific run over the past few years has rapidly positioned him at the forefront of a scene between scenes where the rhythmic intrigue of drum & bass collides with modern techno's hypnotic linearity. On The Energy Of Presence he relishes the flexibility afforded by this intersection to deliver four distinct, high-impact workouts made with his ever-evolving live set in mind. 'Grounded Attachment' leads with the sonar strafe and broken beat pulse readily associated with the Vardae sound, threading twitchy percussion and steely brushstrokes around the bedrock of low-end pressure. It's the slowly emerging drone sweeps that round out the character of the track, betraying a warmth encased within the metallic overtones that deepens the emotional weight immeasurably. By contrast, 'Magnetic Flux' swerves towards a more direct thrust with its high-tempo 4/4 undercarriage and a limber, acidic lead line that helps join the dots between Vardae's modernist sheen and the roughneck days of free party tekno. This is still charged, atmospheric dance music, but it has no problem showing its teeth, too. 'Electric Feelings' is similarly sprightly in its tempo, but as ever Vardae runs a tight game with the weight of his drums, finding lightness and dexterity even at 170BPM while the transcendental wormhole opens up around the rhythmic force at the centre. Ensuring there's no space for predictability on this release, 'The Energy Of Presence' plies its own trade in sumptuous dub techno chords and angular groove designed to make you move on a different kind of downbeat. The consummate title track, it's the most roundly melodic offering on the record, served as a crescendo to the whole listening experience comfortably nestled on the B2 of the physical edition. Capitalising on the hypnotic codes etched into the dub techno sound, Vardae dials up the delay feedback for a psychedelic release at the end of a record that covers a lot of ground without losing focus.
Despite the thousands of kilometers between them, Monterrey and Medellín have always seemed to move in parallel. Both cities rise around guardian hills that watch over their people, and if you look closer, even the concrete that forms the backbone of each city traces back to these rugged metropolises.
The list of coincidences could go on—small, almost conspiratorial links that chance has woven between the two places. Adding another chapter to this unlikely connection is Regal86, who had already crossed the bridge once before to dive into the depths of Colombia’s “city of eternal spring.”
Doble Filo, his first full-length cut to vinyl, now becomes his latest calling card. The eighth release on Discos Nutabe’s catalog arrives with six tracks—six sharp-edged pieces that lay bare Regal86’s sonic marginality.
It’s a form of exclusion that isn’t imposed but chosen, a deliberate stance to sidestep the demand for exotica that still shapes much of Latin America’s electronic landscape. This is spicy, rough-edged techno—ruleless and unruly—driven by dense, clipped progressions that plunge you into a vortex masquerading as a rayado ritual.
There’s no overload of concept here, nor any caricature of the extravagant. This album simply delivers music built to tear through any club or dive, without false promises or unnecessary labels. If there’s one thing worth highlighting about Doble Filo as a whole, it’s the way it consistently—and almost implicitly—reasserts its core premise from start to finish: these techno tracks are meant to be played wherever the hell you want.
In a moment when oddities tend to be rewarded more than usual, Doble Filo doubles down on fundamentals, reclaiming the spirit of early electronic music and carrying it into an era where immediacy seems intent on blurring the honesty of those who shape the sound.
For Regal86, sonic hustle is the only thing that keeps his spirit steady.
New Stand High Patrol album, featuring Joe Yorke, Nazamba, Jah Thomas - and remixes from Mad Professor, Androo & Jeanville.
Dub and House Music. Two aesthetics born in the shadows, shaped far from the mainstream music industry. Two underground cultures where independence is often a necessity and ingenuity is essential. Two scenes rooted in the margins of society, with dance, sound systems and minorities at their heart.
From the Jamaican sound system sessions of the late sixties, through the nights at Chicago's Warehouse, to the murmurings of the New York house scene in the early eighties — history shows that house, reggae and dub share far more than many people may assume. Collective action, resistance as a driving force, music moving straight from studio to turntable, shared messages: these are the threads that bind these landmark musical movements together. It is at this crossroads, driven by the spirit of experimentation that defines them, that the members of Stand High Patrol found yet another territory worth mapping.
"Skanking & Jacking", the new Musketeerz album, reveals a side of the Dubadub sound never heard on record before. Built for the dancers and for DJs, the LP brings together the pulse of house music and the vibrant groove of reggae. Uncharted territory, never interfaced like this before. The result of a meticulous blending of styles, house, reggae and dub intertwine across 12 extended tracks. The sound is carefully crafted. Built on immersive loops and interlaced with micro-variations that give it an organic texture. Born from the interaction between being and machine. This is not about simply bringing worlds closer together; it's about mobilising influences to chart a new sonic galaxy.
Beyond it's aesthetic statement, "Skanking & Jacking" also stands out for its international cast. The most extensive Stand High Patrol have ever assembled on an album. From England, Italy, Switzerland and Jamaica, the guest vocalists, producers and MCs deepen the sense of dialogue between cultures and styles. At the mic, Joe Yorke, Marina P, Nazamba and Jah Thomas join the Dubadub Musketeerz on their explorations. Each appearance subtly reshaping the contours of the project.
Never fixed, always in motion, "Skanking & Jacking" pays tribute to the traditions that shaped it and closes, as a final nod, with remixes from Jeanville, Androo and the legendary Mad Professor. The album stands as further proof of a crew that shows no signs of stopping its reinvention. Available on stream, digital and double LP on May 29th.
Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.
Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.
The Release:
Dancing on the wildest edge of the 90s outsider techno zeitgeist while proudly independent of any so-called scene, Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves: A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics is both of its time and out of time. Rooted in the experiments of electronic music pioneers, industrial culture and ethnic music from around the globe while responding to the house and techno explosion, Robbert Heynen, Reinier Brekelmans, Reinoud van den Broek and Tim Freeman's freewheeling masterpiece takes in lush electronica and murky abstraction on its singular voyage through parts unknown.
Forever Records presents an extensive reissue edition of the first 'fully released' Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia album. Originally released in 1992, this is the first time the full, previously CD-only, version of Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves will be pressed on vinyl. The original LP and CD artwork from the various editions released in the early 90s has been combined and designed by the band, and the audio has been remastered with their full approval. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition available housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.
Press response to Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves - A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics:
“That’s Magick! The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia are Holland’s best kept secret.”
Sherman, NME, UK 1992
“PWOG’s debut LP is an organic invocation rite — the soundtrack to a new world coming to life, an odyssey. Cross-cultural rhythms, ambiences and environmental samples segue into one another like a fluid relay, and unlike the majority of dance records, it never settles into a routine. It’s always evolving, always unpredictable, an indefinitely religious experience.”
John Selzer, Melody Maker, UK 1992.
"Grown men, who snorted their first ecstasy to this record, stammered with tears in their eyes about divine experiences and the cosmos, man."
Peter Erik Hillenbach, Marabo Magazine, Germany 1992.
Sacred Grooves’ introduces tribal dance music for the mind, body music leaning on the avant garde. Its ripples of sound drift through tranced out ritualistic beats into ambience and serenity resembling something akin to The Orb meeting Klaus Schulze at a brain tuning session.
Sherman, NME, UK 1992
"There's still dance for a moment, in the opening track "The Challenge," then Psychick Warriors roam the earth, where African drummers, tropical sounds, and science-fiction chords have found their place in a spiralling interplay of rhythms and sounds. A captivating, almost magical ritual." Corné Evers, Oor Magazine, Netherlands 1992.
"It's truly astonishing what these Dutchmen have come up with for their first LP. Their roots might explain the enigma, for Psychick Warriors are more in the tradition of Psychic TV than in the desolate temples of techno-house fetishists, to which they are wrongly relegated. Here, chromosomes dance, not instincts." CMK, Tip, Germany 1992.
"The transcendental essence of this album is spread throughout, with musical gravitations emerging unexpectedly from sonic experiments that are sometimes primitive, sometimes
futuristic in intention… But there is always an aura of cosmic magic that constantly puts all the parts involved in conflict and which, upon closer analysis, ends up being the main reason for the final result." Blitz Magazine, Portugal 1992.
Music springs eternal. Recognising the enduring power of timeless albums to guide us through life, Forever Records is a reissue series dedicated to rediscovering lost musical treasures from across the spectrum of head-feeding, heart-rending electronic music.
Established by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald and Delsin founder Marsel van der Wielen, Forever Records places heartfelt faith in a carefully curated sequence of seminal, largely forgotten records from disparate eras, scenes and spaces within electronic music history. Tipped towards the mellow and introspective, these are albums that stop time when the needle hits the groove, stirring only when it's time to flip over before you sink back into the experience. That's what albums were always meant to be about, back then, right now, always and forever.
The Release:
Dancing on the wildest edge of the 90s outsider techno zeitgeist while proudly independent of any so-called scene, Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves: A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics is both of its time and out of time. Rooted in the experiments of electronic music pioneers, industrial culture and ethnic music from around the globe while responding to the house and techno explosion, Robbert Heynen, Reinier Brekelmans, Reinoud van den Broek and Tim Freeman's freewheeling masterpiece takes in lush electronica and murky abstraction on its singular voyage through parts unknown.
Forever Records presents an extensive reissue edition of the first 'fully released' Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia album. Originally released in 1992, this is the first time the full, previously CD-only, version of Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves will be pressed on vinyl. The original LP and CD artwork from the various editions released in the early 90s has been combined and designed by the band, and the audio has been remastered with their full approval. As well as a new LP edition of the album, there will also be a uniquely numbered, limited edition available housed in a gatefold sleeve that comes with a bonus 10" featuring two previously unreleased tracks.
Press response to Ov Biospheres and Sacred Grooves - A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics:
“That’s Magick! The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia are Holland’s best kept secret.”
Sherman, NME, UK 1992
“PWOG’s debut LP is an organic invocation rite — the soundtrack to a new world coming to life, an odyssey. Cross-cultural rhythms, ambiences and environmental samples segue into one another like a fluid relay, and unlike the majority of dance records, it never settles into a routine. It’s always evolving, always unpredictable, an indefinitely religious experience.”
John Selzer, Melody Maker, UK 1992.
"Grown men, who snorted their first ecstasy to this record, stammered with tears in their eyes about divine experiences and the cosmos, man."
Peter Erik Hillenbach, Marabo Magazine, Germany 1992.
Sacred Grooves’ introduces tribal dance music for the mind, body music leaning on the avant garde. Its ripples of sound drift through tranced out ritualistic beats into ambience and serenity resembling something akin to The Orb meeting Klaus Schulze at a brain tuning session.
Sherman, NME, UK 1992
"There's still dance for a moment, in the opening track "The Challenge," then Psychick Warriors roam the earth, where African drummers, tropical sounds, and science-fiction chords have found their place in a spiralling interplay of rhythms and sounds. A captivating, almost magical ritual." Corné Evers, Oor Magazine, Netherlands 1992.
"It's truly astonishing what these Dutchmen have come up with for their first LP. Their roots might explain the enigma, for Psychick Warriors are more in the tradition of Psychic TV than in the desolate temples of techno-house fetishists, to which they are wrongly relegated. Here, chromosomes dance, not instincts." CMK, Tip, Germany 1992.
"The transcendental essence of this album is spread throughout, with musical gravitations emerging unexpectedly from sonic experiments that are sometimes primitive, sometimes
futuristic in intention… But there is always an aura of cosmic magic that constantly puts all the parts involved in conflict and which, upon closer analysis, ends up being the main reason for the final result." Blitz Magazine, Portugal 1992.
What do we need now more than ever? Exactly, OPTIMISM. This is the place we long for, the solution we need, and also the name of DIGITALISM's new album, which will be released on May 29. German electronic pioneers DIGITALISM spread the urgent energy of OPTIMISM with their upcoming album and live performances all over Europe. A DIY spirit, in-the-moment energy and a low boredom threshold - all have been crucial to Digitalism's practice since they built their first track in a studio inside a WWII bunker in Hamburg, 20 years ago. OPTIMISM is the logical consequence of the band's steady development.
Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!
Namae Koi - AAVA (Artificial Audio-Visual Artist), voice without a body, child of cinema and code - meets DJ Hell, godfather of electroclash, myth in motion.
This record is a split mirror:
Two originals by Koi.
Two reworks by Hell.
Four versions of desire, memory, and beat.
"U Can Dance With Me" is a digital western - a flirt in boots and chrome. A line pulled from a movie that never existed.
"Mars" travels forward by looking back - retro-futurist pulses, melancholic satellites, soft resistance.
DJ Hell bends both tracks into something darker, sweatier, more physical.
Koi stays crystalline. Watching. Whispering. Undressing the beat.
Now into its sixth year, NuNorthern Soul’s Summer Selections series has become a popular annual fixture. Like its predecessors, 2026’s edition showcases a variety of Balearic dancefloor workouts, sensual soundscapes and tracks tailor-made for poolside sun-down sets.
As usual, Summer Selections Six is a vinyl-first affair, offering wax enthusiasts a chance to cop killer cuts set to feature on a swathe of forthcoming NuNorthern soul releases – including some that would otherwise be unavailable on physical formats.
To begin, is It Balearic? label regulars and Rotation Sound System crew members Wrekin’ Havoc turn their attention to NuNorthern Soul favourite B.J Smith’s 2014 cover of Outkast’s ‘Prototype’. Their take, which will be featured on a forthcoming collection of reworks of Smith’s NNS material, places the long-serving producer’s beautiful, beguiling vocals atop lo-fi 80s electro beats, moody pads, squelchy synth sounds and far-sighted electronics.
Up next is label newcomer Sasha Foam, a fast-rising Lisbon-based DJ/producer whose Memoria EP is set to land digitally soon. ‘Curios’, his contribution to Summer Selections Six, is a propulsive and ear-catching affair, with joyful synth melodies, rushing piano riffs and cheerful TB-202 style acid tweaks rising above a crunchy, drum-machine driven mid-tempo groove.
Rounding off side A is ‘Call To Wind’, a rootsy, warming and sun-baked slab of Balearic dub gorgeousness from Strictly Dub Records founder Saimon AKA Roots Artefact. The track, which marks his first new material since last year’s NuNorthern Soul debut Different Perspective, is one of the many highlights set to be featured on the Estonian’s forthcoming Rocking Boat EP.
Turn to the flipside and you’ll find three more inspired, immersive treats. Dan Dub Lounge, Muzka and Simon Sheldon being their Visions of Light project back to NuNorthern Soul with the borderline genius ‘ReBorn Slippy’, an exotic, intoxicating and sitar-laden slow-motion instrumental cover of the Underworld favourite taken from their soon-come collection of ‘mild pitch’ takes of dance and electronic classics.
To complete another stellar Summer Selections 12-inch label founder Phil Cooper platforms two recent additions to the roster. First is Potteries-based producer Andrew Wright AKA Lonely Deckchair. Wright offers up ‘Adaflo’ from his forthcoming debut album. Atmospheric and magical, ‘Adaflo’ is a simmering, slowly unfurling fusion of poignant pianos, minimalist beats, shuffling bass and tumble-down chords.
Then there’s Aussie artist Perth Lewis, whose first two self-released albums (Moments In Time and Distance Between) were recently reissued by NuNorthern Soul. The Sydney-based producer is set to release a new EP, Cherry Moon, soon, and ‘Monolith’ is taken from that collection. Deep, dubby and beguiling, it sees Lewis pepper a head-nodding, effects-laden beat with spacey sonics, cascading piano motifs and some seriously sparkling synths.
DJ Support: Mousse T, Todd Terry, Young Pulse, Angelo Ferreri, Melvo Baptiste, Richard Earnshaw, Micky More & Andy Tee, Dr Packer, Hatiras, DJ Rae, Mark Picchiotti, Birdee, Shaka Loves You, Yasmin, Saison, Michael Gray, DJ Spen and Hatiras
A Touch Of Love goes from strength to strength with EP8 in the vinyl series. Label boss Seamus Haji reps the A side with his latest faves ‘Fire’ with his good friend Mike Dunn serving up the unmistakable vocals on a funk fuelled Firestarter followed by his collab with the New York diva Kathy Brown over the sexually charged disco chugger ‘Dancing’. On the AA side new kid on the block from Barcelona Osner hit big with his outing ‘It’s Good’ with a nod to the 70’s with a modern twist for peak-time dancefloors whilst Italy’s fast rising underground hero Gledd continues the theme with the blues & soul injected thumper ‘Move Me’.
TECH040, titled INTRO, is a functional exploration of electronic music’s most delicate moments. The concept was born from Nastia’s personal experience as a globally touring DJ, identifying a distinct gap in the modern market: a scarcity of sophisticated, atmospheric tracks specifically designed to set the tone during the first minutes of a performance.
This compilation is more than just a collection of tracks; it is a professional toolkit. From deep hypnotism to restrained energy, each contribution has been meticulously selected for its ability to prepare the space and the audience for the journey ahead.
Conceived as a functional extension of the DJ set, the Intro / Outro series explores the moments that frame the dancefloor experience. Focused on beginnings and endings, each release navigates the subtle tension between anticipation and resolution – from the first pulse that opens a space, to the final echoes that dissolve it. Stripped of excess and driven by intent, the series reflects a deeper layer of Techno: not just as a peak-time tool, but as a language of transition, atmosphere and control.
The record, bringing together techno legends and contemporary tastemakers around the art of the "opening set," featuring the long-awaited production debut of the label head herself.
Vinyl packaging includes 12" gatefold vinyl with matte UV and spot gloss finish, 2x black vinyl, dust sleeves, and digital download card. In the year 2000, Brother Ali Joined Rhymesayers with a self-produced demo called Rites of Passage. Three years later Ali took the underground by storm with an undeniable stage presence and his critically acclaimed debut full-length Shadows On The Sun. The impact was unquestionable and that next year Ali solidified his place amongst the independent Hip Hop elite with the release of 2004's The Champion EP. Like deja vu, here we are three years later and Ali is ready to take the world by storm with his latest creation. After struggling through a series of personal roadblocks, from parting ways with his wife of 10 years, becoming homeless and trying to secure custody of his only son... Brother Ali along with Atmosphere producer and Shadows & Champion collaborator Ant, present the long awaited sophomore full-length album The Undisputed Truth. Personal, political and more powerful than ever, simply put, the truth is here. "I wanted to make an album that gives you no choice but to feel what im saying at that given time", Ali explains of The Undisputed Truth. "I made choices that sent me through a lot of struggle in the past few years and Ant and I have made music that really communicates the exact feeling of those situations." -Brother Ali
Farron is back on Shaw Cuts with his next EP called ãHuman LanternsÒ - a tale of social jealousy and long-standing rivalry transformed into 4 bass-heavy broken techno tracks.
The two wealthy kung-fu masters Lung and Tan are embroiled in a long lasting game of perpetual one-upmanship. Vowing to show Tan up, Lung enlists the aid of a man he defeated in a duel years ago in fashioning a masterful lantern for the upcoming festival in which both masters will compete. ãWe Are The WaveÒ and its noisy fragments and broken rhythmics led by a hefty stormy bassline, underline the tension and aversion between the two competing masters.
But the eccentric artisan is more interested in seeking revenge for his old defeat, in taking away everything Lung holds dear. The bass-driven ãSwitch OddÒ and its sharp percussions and phat kick underline the ulterior motives of the shady character.
The evil villainÕs plan of revenge contains kidnapping several beloved women of Lung, skinning them alive and using their flaps of skin to create the ordered lantern. ãGX100Ò and its fast-paced drum pattern carried by virulent synth fragments and raucous pads, epitomises the merciless act of violence.
Tan and Lung falsely accuse each other but feel constrained to eventually team up and hunt the criminal together. ãTalking To ThemÒ rings in furiously and chases the enemy with its rolling bass, chopped vocals and stomping drums, but the villain is sneaky and recalcitrant. Silence before the attackÉ
Produced by Masters At Work (Kenny Dope and Louie Vega).
'Collaboration is stimulating, it's in my blood.' Thus speaks Brian Jackson and his philosophy for making music and it's indeed collaboration that runs through this amazing album of reimagined and revisited songs from his artistic past. Featuring artists such as Black Thought, Rahsaan Patterson, Josh Milan, Moodymann, Omar, J. Ivy and others and being produced by Masters At Work, Now More Than Ever takes the enduring classic tracks that Brian made with Gil Scott-Heron and places them in the now over nineteen tracks and across a triple vinyl LP or double CD.
Songs such as Lady Day & John Coltrane, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Home Is Where The Hatred Is, Winter In America, The Bottle and more soundtracked a generational movement of Black Consciousness in the 70s and 80s. As Brian says, 'This album is one way to connect to what we were about in the 70s; we were about change and this is part of the lineage of resistance. These tracks mark a period of time when resistance was essential and now a younger generation has picked them up.'
'As young men in their twenties we (Brian and Gil) just wrote about what we saw and were feeling and people interpreted these songs in ways we never thought about but as Sly stone said the song comes from me but it's for you.' This statement from Brian perfectly sums up the collaborative nature of Now More Than Ever and the relevance of these songs in a contemporary perspective can be perfectly summed up by the songs themselves. The formidable stable of artists contributing to each track and the excellent production from Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez make this album an event in itself. However, these songs are there to be enjoyed as a canon or as individual masterpieces, whether on the dancefloor or on a home system. ‘Now More Than Ever’ just has to be in everybody’s music collection.
Forged from the fire of internal struggles, Loraine James was wrestling with confidence and a desire for change when she embarked on “Detached From The Rest Of You”. A guiding hand came through producing 2025's “Clandestine” EP with singer Anysia Kym, which gave her the experience of a more 'pop' setting and the tools and insight to work her instrumentals into more conventional shapes; a shift from club driven sounds and winding instrumentals into more precise song forms.
Loraine’s production is stripped to the bone, soundscapes of clicks and glitches inspired by Aoki Takamasa, Ryoji Ikeda, and the early-00s Clicks & Cuts school. Here, often with not much more than sparse keyboard chords to fill in with subtle colouring, she uses the space around the sounds and vocals to draw the listener in to a succinct and direct album, her most confident yet.
Guest contributors include vocalist Sydney Spann on “In a Rut”, Alan Sparkhawk (Low) on downcast anthem “Peak Again”, Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto) on “Flatline”, Anysia Kim on “Score”, and Tirzah on “Habits and Patterns”. Finally her old spar, the rapper Le3 bLACK returns to spit fire with the jazz-indebted track “Ending Us All” with Fyn Dobson backing on tumbling drums.
