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On this 8 track EP every song has UK and USA lyricists side by side as equals. It includes older icons of Hip-Hop, established talent from the current underground rap scene, and young emerging rappers who haven't been given a platform until now. This project is a collaboration between producer Sam Seed, a dozen rappers, 4 record labels,

the 05:21 music platform and a DJ night. No filler, all killer.


Introducing Sam Seed

A rising name on the underground rap scene. North London producer Sam Seed has a list of top tier production credits to his name with artists including Vinnie Paz, Billy woods,

Mickey Diamond, Conway the Machine. The Unaligned Vol.1 is his eagerly awaited debut EP.

Inspired by the concept of the city as a living, complex entity - a feeling Youniss describes as the difference between "living in a city and just being in that city" - Good Effort! is an open-ended narrative drawn from the artist's own experiences, including growing up on the outskirts of Antwerp.

Like a vibrant city itself, the album is a culmination of organic interactions, layered with diverse perspectives from a collective of artists. Good Effort! features a dynamic cast of collaborators, including international heavyweights like Pink Siifu, Petite Noir, and Quelle Chris, alongside celebrated names from the Belgian underground such as Dienne and Porcelain id.

While retaining his critical edge - especially on themes like gentrification, an acute problem in his home city - Youniss explores the full range of his voice across the album's tracks, resulting in a warmer, more texturally diverse sound.

Tracks like “Notice,” “Glass Ceilings,” and “The Sun Is Falling” expand his textural use of distortion, while others, such as “At the Still Point of the World” and “Why Don’t You?”, float at a more tranquil register. The record's energy peaks on “TakeThat” where Pink Siifu and Youniss trade frenetic bars atop jazzy drum freakouts.

Despite the cynicism forged by witnessing his environment change - like the flattening of the beloved venue Onder Stroom for a parking space - Youniss offers a crucial message of perseverance. The album's title, Good Effort!, is a defiant embrace of trying again.

Igor Tamerlan is a stranger in his own land. Born in 1954 the Hague and spent most formative years in Paris, Igor suddenly had the urge to relocate to Bali in 1986. “I want to settle in Indonesia and marry a local girl,” he told his sister shortly before flying out.

His next journey would be as audacious as his time in the Fifth Republic. Born from a prominent Indonesian expatriate family in Paris with ties to Indonesia’s first prime minister Sutan Sjahrir, Igor earned a degree in architecture at Ecole nationale supe´rieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette.

He could have been a brilliant architect or a political scientist (he was accepted to Sciences Po), but his passion for music distracted him from his academic works. He was after all named after Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.

During his brief stint at Sciences Po, Igor spent most of times hanging out at recording studios and rub shoulders with the likes of singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michel Polnaref. He had a brief encounter with The Rolling Stones at the Cha^teau de Thoiry studio in the early 1970s.

But Igor’s musical education and his occidental eyes appeared to be ill-suited for Indonesia. His first record, titled Langkah Pertama (First Step) on the mainstream label Musica was met with a shrug and was a commercial dud. An experimental record blending the influence of Spanish motifs, Francophile production and a whiff of hip hop and ska was seen by critics as being too alien. His sarcasm-laden lyrics and his biting critique of excessive materialism among the upper tier of Indonesia’s nouveau riche in the album was met with confusion from the audience. He was just too far ahead of his time.

He left the label Musica – or may had been dropped – soon after Langkah Pertama and decided to go independent. He then relocated to Bali and set up a state-of-the-art recording studio in Sanur, across the street from Southeast Asia’s first boutique hotel where luminaries like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting, Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr stayed for their holiday.

From the studio, Igor recording everything from the sounds waterfalls, geckos, minibuses to motorized rickshaw and mix them with hip hop, jazz, electronica, dub and Balinese gamelan. A visionary, Igor was the first musician to use MIDI, which started to be available globally in the early 1980s.

On paper, songs like “Bali Vanilli” should not work, a mish mash of disparate elements mentioned above, sung in three languages, Balinese, English and Bahasa Indonesia while tackling the subject of overtourism. The song was also the first to introduce rap to an unsuspecting audience. But for some strange reason “Bali Vanilli” became a sensation and overnight Igor became household name. And in 1987, long before overtourism was an issue, Igor broached the subject to a national audience in Indonesia on the possible destruction of nature and culture from tourism.

Ever an iconoclast, Igor decided to step out of the limelight following the success of “Bali Vanilli” and in early 1990s he relocated to Indonesia’s cultural capital, Yogyakarta. Here, he worked on some more experimental music while juggling as music video director. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 64.

The 10 songs in this compilation, Bali Vanilli: Experimental Pop from Paradise Island (1987-1991), are some of Igor’s best works, music that would have gone into obscurity had it not been for the diligent work of film director Alfred Pasifico Ginting, who managed to track down some of the master tapes while researching on a documentary on the musician.

These recordings have never before been released outside of Indonesia. Igor would have been proud with this reissue project.

Field Green Vinyl. Big Crown Records is proud to present the instrumental version of El Michels Affair's 2025 instant classic 24 Hr Sports. The roster of vocal features on 24 Hr Sports is amazing, Clairo, Norah Jones, Florence Adooni, Shintaro Sakamoto, two different choirs, and even some singing from the man himself, Leon Michels. The background vocals contributions are amazing; Lady Wray and Kevin Martin from Brainstory to name a few. But alas, there's a new energy that shows up in the listen when you pair it down to the impeccable musicianship and Leon's tried and true "Midas Touch" production. Leon plays a ton of instruments across the album and is joined by the regular cast of heavy hitters; Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Dave Guy, Marco Benevento, Hether, and more. There is even a saxophone solo by the late, great Rahsaan Roland Kirk.Some would argue this is some of the best music being made by some of the best musicians of our time. We wouldn't argue with anyone...we let the music do what it does.

Die brandneue Kollaboration zwischen Freddie Gibbs und The Alchemist, „Alfredo 2”, ist der offizielle Nachfolger der gefeierten „Alfredo”-Veröffentlichung des Duos aus dem Jahr 2020.



Der Rapper Freddie Gibbs wird für sein technisches Können und seine provokanten Texte gelobt und hat sowohl Fans des Gangsta-Rap als auch des Underground-Hip-Hop für sich gewonnen. Er reimt sowohl auf dröhnende Breakbeats als auch auf Trap-Beats und hat mit zahlreichen Rappern und Produzenten zusammengearbeitet, darunter Young Thug, Jeezy, DJ Drama und Statik Selektah. In den 2000er- und frühen 2010er-Jahren machte er sich mit einer Reihe von selbst veröffentlichten Mixtapes einen Namen. Nach seiner ersten offiziell veröffentlichten EP Str8 Killa (2010) begann er, richtige Studioalben zu veröffentlichen, darunter die gut angenommenen Kollaborationen mit Madlib Piñata (2014) und Shadow of a Doubt (2015) sowie You Only Live 2wice (2017). Nach dem kommerziellen Mixtape Freddie (2018) tat er sich für Bandana (2019) wieder mit Madlib zusammen und produzierte mit The Alchemist das Album Alfredo (2020). Letzteres wurde seine erste LP, die die Top 20 der Billboard 200 erreichte und anschließend für einen Grammy Award nominiert wurde.

Known Associates ist der aufregende Nachfolger ihres gefeierten Albums The Interrogator aus dem Jahr 2024, das für viel Aufregung sorgte, und ein Fiebertraum aus Van Morrison-Hörnern und Leonard Cohen-Gefühlen und bestätigt den stetig wachsenden Ruf von Elizabeth Nelson als eine unserer wichtigsten Songwriterinnen. Wie ihre langjährige Heldin Lucinda Williams hat sich Nelson langsam aber sicher einen Namen gemacht und gleichzeitig einen immer größeren literarischen Ruf erworben, der sie zu einer gefeierten Autorin für die New York Times, den Atlantic, den New Yorker und Oxford American gemacht hat. Außerdem hat sie Liner Notes für Neuauflagen von Bob Dylan und den Replacements geschrieben. Majestätisch, bunt zusammengewürfelt und voller Geschichten über Pech, zerbrochene Erleuchtungen und Secondhand-Wunder, die jedem Fan von Richard Thompson, David Berman oder Tom Waits bekannt sein dürften, sagen Mystiker und Statistiker bereits: Known Associates ist eines der besten Alben des Jahres 2026, und Elizabeth Nelson ist eine der besten Singer-Songwriterinnen der Welt.

Baptized with a name derived from astrophysical theories about dark matter and black holes, THE HOLEUM was formed in 2014 in Alicante, Spain. Founded by former members of NahemaH, Demised, quantumXperience, Hela, Neptunian Sun, and Priest of Dawn, the quintet set out to push the boundaries of heavy music and to intensify the emotional impact of darkness in sound. Their concept is both cosmic and sonic: “THE HOLEUM is related to the dark matter that forms the black holes in the universe. THE HOLEUM is not a black hole, but black holes are formed by The Holeum. That is the idea from which we extract our concept – we are a sonic and cosmic vision of the sublime.” With their third album “Ensis” (2025), the band continues its journey through experimental metal, death doom, melodic metal, and post-metal. This work is more than a continuation – it is a condensation and expansion of their previous soundscape. “Ensis” reveals itself as finely nuanced, challenging, yet at the same time profoundly sensitive and multifaceted. The songs unfold like cosmic landscapes where heaviness and melancholy meet subtle emotionality. The intensity remains palpable, but it is complemented by a deeper sensitivity that draws the listener into a fragile balance between harshness and delicacy. “Ensis” is an album that demands and touches at once – a work that makes the complexity of human existence audible in the mirror of the universe.

On his second album for Bruk, hoyah חיה continues to take an unflinching look at his Jewish identity while confronted with the heinous actions of the Israeli state. Echoing the name of his Refuge Worldwide radio show, he examines the shared histories of the Jewish diaspora across the Middle East and North Africa — from Morocco to Uzbekistan and everywhere in between. Can I Get A Chayah? is an honest attempt to explore what Judaism could become at a time when the culture faces an existential crisis.

The sonic approach hoyah חיה takes on Can I Get A Chayah? is central to the album's theme, as hard-gated processing on every sound creates a disorienting effect aiming for a kind of 'functional transcendentalism'. From the opening strains of preceding single '808s n Trance Gates' the jagged stop-start intensity of the samples sets a head-spinning tone for the album. The source material comes from across the aforementioned Jewish diaspora, challenging the nationalist idea of the single Jewish state.

Balancing beauty and aggression, hoyah חיה also reaches to a strong cast of collaborators to round out his cultural explorations. Principle among these is the late David German, the US-born guitarist and songwriter behind Silver Jews, whose repeated, bewildered mantras on 'Shalom Aleichem' embody hoyah חיה's own struggles with faith in the face of current horrors. Internationally celebrated Turkish-descent German musician Derya Yıldırım graces 'Talmuds' with her haunting vocal — a tribute to ancient Jewish mysticism that gets passed through the album's unrelenting sonic framework. On 'The Lock' Muha tackles African transcendentalism, while Rael pulls no punches with the questions he poses on the barbed 'This Song Has A Different Title But It Can't Be Published Here Because Of "Reasons"'.

With further prayer recitals on 'Lekha Dodi' and 'The Nose' and videos examining the psychedelic nature of reading the talmud and repetitive prayer movement shuckling, hoyah חיה has taken his research deep into the spirituality of his heritage at a time of crisis for Jewish identity. Naturally, Can I Get A Chayah? is not an easy listening experience, but neither is it a bleak one. There is beauty, mystery, complexity and nuance woven within the stark approach — an intentional, considered statement on a culture much deeper and wider than the barbaric acts of an unrepresentative group of twisted ethno-nationalists.

Born in Douarnenez, at the far edge of Brittany (France), Komodor has quickly established itself as one of the most vibrant names in the French rock landscape. Their high-energy rock, fueled by fuzz, sweat, and vocal harmonies woven in the spirit of MC5 and T. Rex, immediately drew attention: Rolling Stone, Rock & Folk, Libération and Rock Hard Germany all praised the fiery impact of their debut album Nasty Habits (which sold over 2,000 vinyl copies). Since then, the quintet has mostly lived on the road: a long European tour, followed by the larger-than-life saga of Komodrag & The Mounodor, carrying them to stages such as Hellfest, Les Vieilles Charrues, and the Francofolies de La Rochelle, among many others.

Their second album, Time & Space, reveals a band in full metamorphosis. Without abandoning the explosive force that defines them, Komodor widens its scope: volcanic riffs, more sinuous grooves, mist-laden harmonies, psychedelic flashes… The energy is still wild, but more inhabited, more liberated, almost ceremonial at times. The record opens with two telling bursts: Bliss & Joy, a libertarian charge with the feel of a manifesto, and Soul Tricker, a rock incantation where trance overtakes sheer electric assault. Two sides of the same coin, pulled taut between urgency and enchantment.

On stage, Komodor remains a true shockwave, forged across European festivals (Freak Valley, Motocultor, Fête du Bruit, and more) and now awaited at the legendary Desertfest London. Their music feels made for such spaces: a visceral, flesh-and-amp kind of rock, drawing from the seventies’ heritage to speak even more vividly to the present. A band moving forward at full volume, without nostalgia or calculation, carried by a simple conviction: as long as the amps are hot, rock can still burn.

In short: Komodor is the band of friends from Douarnenez bringing pencil-and-paper rock into the streaming age while preserving its analog soul (with the album mastered at the legendary Miraval Studios), the smell of warm tubes, the grain of vinyl. With this second album, they hit harder, truer, and more vividly than ever.
Time & Space stands as a “must-have French rock record”, a tangible piece worth cherishing in any collection.

Born in Douarnenez, at the far edge of Brittany (France), Komodor has quickly established itself as one of the most vibrant names in the French rock landscape. Their high-energy rock, fueled by fuzz, sweat, and vocal harmonies woven in the spirit of MC5 and T. Rex, immediately drew attention: Rolling Stone, Rock & Folk, Libération and Rock Hard Germany all praised the fiery impact of their debut album Nasty Habits (which sold over 2,000 vinyl copies). Since then, the quintet has mostly lived on the road: a long European tour, followed by the larger-than-life saga of Komodrag & The Mounodor, carrying them to stages such as Hellfest, Les Vieilles Charrues, and the Francofolies de La Rochelle, among many others.

Their second album, Time & Space, reveals a band in full metamorphosis. Without abandoning the explosive force that defines them, Komodor widens its scope: volcanic riffs, more sinuous grooves, mist-laden harmonies, psychedelic flashes… The energy is still wild, but more inhabited, more liberated, almost ceremonial at times. The record opens with two telling bursts: Bliss & Joy, a libertarian charge with the feel of a manifesto, and Soul Tricker, a rock incantation where trance overtakes sheer electric assault. Two sides of the same coin, pulled taut between urgency and enchantment.

On stage, Komodor remains a true shockwave, forged across European festivals (Freak Valley, Motocultor, Fête du Bruit, and more) and now awaited at the legendary Desertfest London. Their music feels made for such spaces: a visceral, flesh-and-amp kind of rock, drawing from the seventies’ heritage to speak even more vividly to the present. A band moving forward at full volume, without nostalgia or calculation, carried by a simple conviction: as long as the amps are hot, rock can still burn.

In short: Komodor is the band of friends from Douarnenez bringing pencil-and-paper rock into the streaming age while preserving its analog soul (with the album mastered at the legendary Miraval Studios), the smell of warm tubes, the grain of vinyl. With this second album, they hit harder, truer, and more vividly than ever.
Time & Space stands as a “must-have French rock record”, a tangible piece worth cherishing in any collection.

RE-PRESSED ON CLEAR VINYL!!! The long-anticipated collection of rare A-sides, B-sides, covers and unreleased outtakes from influential punk rock favorites and emo granddaddies JAWBREAKER. A twenty-track Alpha-Omega of rare and previously-impossible-to-find songs presented chronologically from their first demo in November of '88 (before they were even named Jawbreaker ) to their final studio recording, a version of "Boxcar" re-worked at the end of the DGC Dear You sessions. Beautifully packaged with inviting artwork and track-by-track commentary and lyrics (printed courtesy of AARON COMETBUS). 24-Hour Satisfaction Therapy, indeed.

When Saracen released their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints & Fools’ back in 1981, the UK Rock scene certainly took notice. Their combination of Magnum-like melodies and Uriah Heep intensity and vocal stylings immediately endeared them to fans of the NWOBHM scene, and fans of classic British Rock in general.
All songs and lyrics were written by lead guitarist Rob Bendelow, who left prior to the release of their second album, ‘Change Of Heart’, in 1984. While this sophomore effort still contained a few Bendelow songs, the band had changed direction, moving away from the almost Pomp and NWOBHM of the debut for a more polished and Melodic Rock direction.
Unfortunately, this new direction didn’t resonate with the fans, and the band broke up not long after.
However, Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records had always been a massive Magnum and Saracen fan. Having already convinced Bob Catley to start a solo career in the late 90s, he also had very productive talks with Rob Bendelow. This great friendship resulted in the band reforming and the release of ‘Red Sky’ in 2003. Rob Bendelow and Saracen were back.
Later signing to Escape and releasing several more great albums, Rob Finally retired from the music scene a few years ago, but the band gamely soldiered on, keeping his songs and legacy alive for their many adoring fans.

In an instance of total cosmic kismet, that same Bruce Mee was also co-organiser of the inaugural ‘Tower of Fire’ UK festival, and in 2024 invited Saracen to play the event along with other well recognised names of the scene such as Nitrate, Remedy, Atack, White Skies and Gabrielle de Val. The event was multi-track recorded, and the results of the Saracen set were so good that it was decided to release a very first live album.

The title of the live album is taken from the name of their crushing opening song: ‘Crusader’. And in a further act of unbelievable karma, the magnificent album artwork and design are created by Sebastian Kozak, the very same creative artist responsible for the brilliant artwork on the band’s come-back album ‘Red Sky’ back in 2003.
All but one of the songs that day were from that incredible debut and those 5 songs, along with 3 others previously recorded live by the band, make up this totally amazing live album. For fans of Saracen and NWOBHM, this is a moment we never thought we’d ever see: a brilliant live Saracen album with vocalist Steve Bettney sounding as incredible as he did over 40 years ago.

"Orange Ave. is the fourth studio album by American post-grunge band Seven Mary Three. It was released in 1998. The album was named after a street running through downtown Orlando, Florida, their hometown. The album's only charting single was ""Over Your Shoulder"". ""Each Little Mystery"" was also released as a single, but did not chart. Their debut rode the Pearl Jam bandwagon to commercial success with a combination of crunchy guitars and angst-filled lyrics, and 1995's American Standard was more straiht forward Americana. On Orange Ave., they take chunks of their predecessors and come up with a post-grunge,soul-searching, acoustic-guitar-strumming personal statement. This album blends all this into a perfect mix. Orange Ave. is available for the first time ever on vinyl and will be released on orange coloured vinyl. Limited & numbered to 1000 copies and it will contain an insert"

Spanning dance and indie movements since their formation in Liverpool at the end of the last millennium, Ladytron have earned a unique position by carving out new sonic and conceptual space, and refusing to abide by formula or trend. In the early 2000s, the fiercely individual group were placed at the forefront of the so-called electro-clash scene (which now enjoys another revival), but with time, they came to appreciate the pop cultural moment that they had reluctantly become part of. The new album follows a period of renewed cultural presence for the band. Their 2002 single "Seventeen" unexpectedly went viral on TikTok, introducing Ladytron's sound to a new generation and amassing hundreds of thousands of fan- made clips. Their legacy was further acknowledged recently with "Destroy Everything You Touch," one of their most celebrated tracks, featured in the GRAMMY- nominated original Motion Picture Soundtrack of cult movie Saltburn, reaffirming Ladytron's enduring appeal

Benefit compilation with exclusive tracks from live performances & installations at eavesdrop festival 2024. All revenues go to charities providing medical aid and food sovereignty in Gaza.

In november 2024, eavesdrop festival presented its 3rd edition of contemporary electronic music and sound art, taking place in the striking architectural setting of silent green’s Betonhalle in Berlin. ”to eavesdrop” - is invoked as a mode of listening intently, attentively and with curiosity. With its ongoing commitment to adventurous listening cultures, the festival brought together a top-notch line-up of Berlin based and international artists, who share a common practice in electronic sound composition whilst spanning a diversity of inter-related contemporary tendencies. Whether it’s multi-award winning Mariam Razaei’s exceptional turntablism, Ilpo Väisänen’s legendary DIY analogue electronics, Jasmine Guffond’s generative sound installation, Nina Garcia’s extraordinary electric guitar manipulations, Lottie Sebes’ AI voice synthesis or Rashad Becker’s idiosyncratic synthesizer explorations, to name a few, eavesdrop invited listeners to consider, from multiple perspectives, new social and technical developments in international music and sound cultures.

This compilation documents those 2 nights with 9 exclusive tracks - 7 live performances and 2 stereo mixes from multi-channel installations, edited by the festival’s curator / organizer Jasmine Guffond, with a total running time of approx. 78 minutes. All revenues will go to charities providing medical aid and food sovereignty in Gaza: Medical Aid For Palestinians & Thamra.

Repress

Well. Where do we start with 'Deep Inside' Originally released in the golden NYC House era of 1993, this 5 tracker literally smashed everything in sight. And still does now! The epitome of an evergreen, all-time classic release. Masters At Work Louie Vega and Kenny Dope were on a major roll in this era, producing, remixing, dj-ing and everything in-between, these guys put in ridiculous work. They are joined on this EP by a roll-call of names and collaborators, Erick Morillo engineering the title track Check. Maurice Joshua on co-production duties You got it. Vocals by Ms. Barbara tucker They're there. Killer, rock hard drums Stacks of Soul Masterfully chopped up Disco samples All present. Serious stuff. Sometimes a record just manages to capture and distill the true essence of what this is all about and 'Deep Inside' is one such record, it bears all the hallmarks of golden era MAW, all the signposts of what was happening in NYC's clubs in the early to mid 90's were there within it's grooves. You know a record is good when it's still being, quite literally, hammered nearly 25 years later! Now, remastered, and reissued with the full involvement of Strictly Rhythm this seminal piece of NYC House history is made available again with all original, full sleeve artwork intact as per the 1993 original. This one's a straight up essential for any self-respecting dance aficionado. You know what to do!

Black Vinyl Repress


Das Berliner Indie-/Electro-Wave-Trio Dina Summer meldet sich mit einer ordentlichen Portion Synthpop auf ihrem zweiten Album ‘’Girls Gang’ zurück!

Dina Summer ist ein kollaboratives Projekt, das aus Kalipo, einer Hälfte der legendären Electro-Punk-Band Frittenbude, und dem griechisch-deutschem DJ & Produzenten Duo Local Suicide besteht, die das Label Iptamenos Discos betreiben. Ihre bisherigen Werke umfassen das von Kritikern gefeierte Album „Rimini“ aus dem Jahr 2022, das einen nostalgischen Einblick in Retro-Disco-Vibes bietet, sowie die EPs „Who Am I“ (2021) und „Hide & Seek“ (2024). Seit der Gründung der Band vor fünf Jahren hat Dina Summers Musik mit Millionen von Streams, weltweitem Radio-Airplay und zahlreichen Spotify- und Apple Music-Editorial-Playlists für Aufsehen gesorgt und wurde von DJs wie Charlotte De Witte, The Hacker, Âme, Dixon, Joris Voorn, DJ Hell, Joyce Muniz und Dubfire gespielt. Das neue Album umfasst 11 Songs die sich mit Themen wie Empowerment („No More Tears“ & „Girls Gang“), Außenseitertum („Alien“ & „Zombie“), Vergänglichkeit („Promise Me feat, Curses & Joshua Murphy“), Nostalgie („Halkidiki“) und Beziehungen („Nothing To Hide“ & „Hypnotized“) auseinandersetzen. Legte ihr Debütalbum seinen Fokus eher auf den Club zwischen Italo-Disco und 90ies Elektro, erkundet die neue Veröffentlichung eine größere Sound-Palette, die von New Wave & Post-Punk zu Electroclash und Synth- & Indie-Pop reicht. „Girls Gang“ ist ein gutes Stück songorientierter als das Debütalbum, die Band erweitert ihr Repertoire auf einigen Songs unter anderem um echte (!) Bässe und Gitarren, vorallem aber setzt Frontfrau Dina neben ihrem Markenzeichen - Spoken Word - immer öfter auf ihre Gesangsstimme. Trotzdem knüpft das Album nahtlos an das Erstlingswerk an, man hört wieder jene poppige Melodien und Hooks mit denen sich Dina Summer zuvor schon einen Namen gemacht hat, ausgebreitet auf einem Bett aus Indiepop-Hymnen und Club-Brechern.

Six years after his Grammy-nominated LP5, Sascha Ring - aka Apparat - takes a bold dive into the complexities of life with his sixth studio album.



A Hum Of Maybe is detailed, finely crafted, and wonderfully unpredictable. At its core, the record is about love - for himself, his wife, and his daughter - and holding onto it, protecting it, and constantly recalibrating as it is in a constant state of flux. As the title suggests, the songs explore being stuck in between: not a clear yes or no, but A Hum Of Maybe.



Ring elegantly combines the perspectives of an electronic producer and a classical composer, working closely with long-time collaborators Philipp Johann Thimm (cello, piano, guitar) - who also co-wrote and co-produced the record - Christoph “Mäckie” Hamann (violin, keyboard, bass), Jörg Wähner (drums), and Christian Kohlhaas (trombone). The album also features Armenian-American artist KÁRYYN - Apparat’s Mute labelmate - on ‘Tilth’, and Berlin-and Rome-based musician Jan-Philipp Lorenz (aka Bi Disc) on ‘Pieces, Falling’.



A Hum Of Maybe is complex, deeply personal, and embraces a state of limbo, marking an exciting new chapter for Apparat.

In 1962, Black Music was making its transition from R&B to soul and the Chicago music industry was exploding, producing thousands of records and dozens of new labels. The two biggest black labels Vee-Jay and Chess led in the creation of the distinctive, smooth, Chicago soul brand with names familiar and not so familiar: the former with Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler and the latter with Mitty Collier, Etta James and Billy Stewart. And yet it's the smaller labels that make up the bulk of the Chicago story: Hawk with Geraldine Taylor, Lu-Cee with Roberta, M-Pac with Dorothy Prince and it's here that we explore some of the finest sounds of the era in this collection. Extensive liner notes written by Robert Pruter, author of the acclaimed 'Chicago Soul'. Side One. 1. The Town I Live In - McKinley Mitchell 2. I'm The One Who Loves You - The Impressions 3. Shake A Tail Feather - The Five Du-Tones 4. Mama Didn't Lie - Jan Bradley 5. Make It Easy On Yourself - Jerry Butler 6. Seven Day Fool - Etta James 7. The Blues Don't Like Nobody - Tony Adams 8. I've Got To Get Away From It All - Mitty Collier 9. How Much Longer - Geraldine Taylor 10. I'm On The Prowl - Roberta. Side Two: 1. Fat Boy - Billy Stewart 2. Can't Take No More - Ted Taylor 3. I Don't Want To Suffer - Walter Jackson 4. Open Your Heart - Sugar Pie DeSanto 5. Shook Up Over You - Dee Clark 6. Something's Got A Hold On Me - Etta James 7. Why Not Tonight - Dorothy Prince 8. Delilah - Major Lance 9. Money In My Pocket - Moss Tolbert

Von der Disco in den Jazz Club - Flore Benguigui ist zurück!
2024 platzte in der Welt des französischen Pop eine Bombe, als Flore Benguigui ihren Ausstieg aus der
erfolgreichen Elektropop-Band L’Impératrice bekanntgab. Mit ihrem ersten Solo-Album ist sie jetzt in
Bestform zurück und verbindet swingende Jazz-Songs mit Pop- und Elektro-Elementen.
Die ausgebildete Sängerin und Pianistin hegte schon immer eine tiefe Liebe zu Evergreens und zu Unrecht vergessenen Klassikern von Nina Simone bis Chanson-Legende Barbara. Ihr erstes Album unter
eigenem Namen greift diese Musik jetzt auf und transportiert sie ins Hier und Jetzt. Ihre unverwechselbare
Stimme, flirrend und mädchenhaft, aber punktgenau und selbstbewusst, ist die Basis der Jazz-Ohrwürmer
mit einer Dosis Indie-Pop, die sie mit ihrer Band The Sensible Notes erarbeitet hat. Für Pop- wie für
Jazz-Fans ist ihr ein sehr hörenswertes Werk gelungen.

Dusty Springfield hosted this impromptu TV special to promote the Tamla Motown artists that were taking part in their first ever European tour in 1965. Motown sent over their six premier - The Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha & The Vandellas were all backed by the Motown house band, The Earl Van Dyke Sextet. Dusty was a huge Motown fan and was keen to play her part in bringing the acts to a wider audience. The Beatles and the Stones also went out of their way to give Motown a mention in their interviews. Remember, Motown had only just launched its label in Europe earlier that year and the artists were known only to a small number of soul aficionados, so ticket sales for the tour were very poor. Mary Wilson recalls that the acts referred to it as the ghost tour, but they all put a performance for this fabulous TV show.

Lange bevor er jemals ein Studio von innen sah, war Sam Snitchy auf der Straße unterwegs und schrie unter dem Namen Maniporno Gedichte - roh, furchtlos und im Einklang mit dem Chaos um ihn herum. Dann begann er, diesen Lärm in Platten zu verwandeln - zuerst als Melker, später als Sam Snitchy. Im April 2026 erscheint nun das dritte Snitchy-Album bei Voodoo Rhythm Records - ein weiterer Schritt auf diesem Weg, tiefer hinein in den Lärm, den Puls, die Verwirrung, mit der alles begann. Das neue Album ist ein klanglicher Exorzismus, aufgenommen mit Marco Fuorigioco, der Bass, Synthesizer und Gitarren verzerrt und das Tonband zerreißt, Philipp Schlotter (Me&Mobi, Music Against Airports) der den Raum mit geisterhaften Synthesizer- Halluzinationen erfüllt, und Domi Chansorn (Sophie Hunger, Knackeboul, Fai Baba, Bonaparte, Marie Krüttli, Béatrice Graf) der die Drums wie einstürzende Türme hämmert. Gemeinsam zerren sie dich durch psychedelische Punkwut, verschmelzen mit den Schatten dunkler Waves, mutieren zu Industrial Noise und Dub-Nebel, verwandeln sich in einen verzerrten Techno-Puls, bis du nicht mehr unterscheiden kannst, wo das eine aufhört und das andere anfängt - alles nährt das Feuer. Und über diesem Sturm spuckt Sam Snitchy seine Worte wie zerbrochene Spiegel - verzerrte und selbstreflexive Geschichten über Menschen, die in ihren eigenen Widersprüchen gefangen sind, über leere Routinen und bedeutungslose Lebensstile, die als Erfolg getarnt sind, über den absurden Tanz zwischen Ekstase und Verzweiflung. Die Texte erklären nicht - sie verstören. Sie halten dir ein zerbrochenes Glas vor und zwingen dich, dich selbst anzusehen, bis du nicht mehr weißt, ob du lachen oder schreien sollst. In VVR's own words: "Sam Snitchy transforms chaos into sound. Once a street poet known as Maniporno, he now blends punk energy with techno pulse, industrial grit, dub tension, and psychedelic garage haze. It's raw and hypnotic _ words like broken glass, beats like heartbeat and collapse spring to mind."

Demetrio Castellucci and Massimo Pupillo present the music of Sleep Technique, a performance by Dewey Dell inspired by the Chauvet cave and its ancient cave paintings.
The music comes to life anew on record, an immersion into the depths of sonic particles, moist electroacoustic rhythms, the repeated forms of speleothems, and the electric bass that scrapes the walls, shaping them into concave or convex surfaces. A voice that moves incredibly slowly, yet is in constant motion, like the millennia-old, unceasing erosion of water.
The album’s journey follows the geography of the cave in reverse, moving from its deepest chamber back to the entrance.

Demetrio Castellucci is a composer and sound designer who has been involved in theater productions, choreography, and film since 2004. Around the same time, he began performing as a DJ, favoring an omnitemporal approach geared toward dance that transcends musical genres. Since 2006, he has been a member of the dance company Dewey Dell, and since 2007, he has been active as Black Fanfare, a maximalist electroacoustic project. He has collaborated on performances by Andreco and Enrico Ticconi/Ginevra Panzetti, as well as on films by Ahmed Ben Nessib, Beatrice Pucci, and Ilaria di Carlo. After living in London and Berlin, he settled in Vilnius, where in 2018 he founded Unarcheology, a digital platform that publishes music and radio programs. He is also active as Airport Gad, an ambient project which, together with Unarcheology, launched its own “Airline Company”: concerts in a flight simulator built from cardboard, where the pilots are also the musicians.

Massimo Pupillo is best known as a founding member of the band Zu, with whom he has released 18 albums and performed over 2,000 live shows worldwide. He has maintained a highly open and multidisciplinary approach that has led him to work with some of the most acclaimed figures in the contemporary art world: South African photographer Roger Ballen, actors Malcolm McDowell and Marton Csokas, Romeo Castellucci and Chiara Guidi of Societas Raffaello Sanzio, American choreographer Meg Stuart, poet Anne Waldman, and Italian poet Gabriele Tinti, among others. He has collaborated live and in the studio with avant-garde musicians and composers such as Alvin Curran, piano duo Katia & Marielle Labèque, and classical virtuosos like Viktoria Mullova and Giovanni Sollima. He has also worked with some of the most influential names in the international rock scene, including Mike Patton, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth), Guy Picciotto & Joe Lally (Fugazi), Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Damo Suzuki (CAN).

In the field of improvised music, he has collaborated with Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, and Tony Buck, among others. Within the experimental music scene, his collaborations include Oren Ambarchi, David Tibet (Current 93), Thighpaulsandra (Coil), Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), Abul Mogard, Mick Harris (Scorn), Gordon Sharp (This Mortal Coil), FM Einheit (Einstürzende Neubauten), and many more. In cinema, he composed the score for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film LIMONOV, presented at Festival de Cannes in 2024.

Released in 1970 the band's only album, the extraordinary Afreaka!, demonstrates their excellence in playing psychedelic soul, dub- heavy funk, progressive rock, afrojazz and black acid rock. Demon Fuzz these days are amongst the most bootlegged and sampled bands from the early 70s British underground. It was a Billboard "4- STAR" selection in June 1971.

The band's name means "devil's children or bad policemen". They originally played soul, but the music they heard during a trip to Morocco lead to a change in their style to what has been described as a blend of funk, rock, jazz, and African music. Afreaka! is now available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on purple translucent coloured vinyl. The sleeve has a nice linen laminate finish

Hailed as one of the US's most exciting and provocative new bands, Prostitute's bracing debut Attempted Martyr finally sees its official worldwide release on Mute.?

Emerging out of Dearborn, Michigan, this five-piece deal in pure chaos and catharsis - fiery live shows, razor-sharp intensity, and a sound that's as incendiary as it is brutally tight. Their name reflects their fixation on identity, desperation, and survival under late capitalism.

Attempted Martyr was written in the midst of global and personal turmoil, capturing the zeitgeist of a world unraveling. A loose concept record, it chronicles the rise and fall of a doomed zealot whose pursuit of holy vengeance spirals into a psychotic orgy of violence, greed, and lust. It's dense, turbulent, and charged with blaring Middle Eastern, African and East Asian influences - all scorched into shape by producer Chris Koltay (The Armed, Mdou Moctar).

With mounting online buzz, critical acclaim and a run of sold-out bootleg editions, Prostitute's debut continues to gain momentum - now available on red viny

A mix of metallic doomgaze, epic gothic soundscapes and post punk attitude. Loud and crushing, yet sharp enough to stick in your head for days. There are two kinds of heavy bands: the ones that make a lot of noise and the ones that drag you somewhere you didn't know you needed to go. Cwfen (pronounced 'Coven') are the latter, and Sorrows is a record that doesn't just crush - it haunts long after the final note. The allure of Cwfen's sound lies in contrasts: the glacial ferocity of Amenra, with the velvet-and-razor vocals of King Woman, and the rotting grandeur of Type O Negative. It's as hypnotic as it is harrowing, but somehow even better than the sum of those parts. Since emerging from Glasgow's underground just 18 months ago, Cwfen's reputation is growing, selling out shows and pulling growing audiences into their doom-laden fever dream. Released in October, the band's debut single 'Reliks' was a hit with fans and critics, landing a spot on Kerrang!'s release of the week playlist. And rightly so. Their sound devours and delights in equal measure. "Cwfen have emerged from the darkest depths of the Caledonian underground with a beguiling blend of doom metal and gothic post-punk for those who like to live deliciously." Kerrang! Sorrows lives in the space around doom where the weight of the riffs is matched by the weight in your chest, where the lyrics and the songwriting are as important as the music itself. Loud and crushing, yet sharp enough to stick in your head for days. It builds, burns, collapses, resurrects. Big on riffs, bigger on feeling. The kind of songs you carry with you. Singer and rhythm guitarist Agnes Alder bears her claws one minute, then whispers the next, as the band follows like a storm front, rising, breaking, drowning you in the weight of it. From the guttural Penance to the lush Whispers, to the feral Wolfsbane and the insurrectionist Rite. It includes a long reworking of Embers and Bodies, the two self-recorded demos that launched them into the scene with a bang and their growing legion of fans already adore. Intricate vocal arrangements, heavy and harsh guitars, a mix of atmosphere and heft, it undoubtedly punches above its weight for a debut. As Agnes says: "When we stopped trying to fit into any one space, what came out was this beautiful mix of dark and light. Something visceral and cathartic." This is a band that sits right in the boundaries between the heavy genres, pulling in everyone from the young goths and to the die-hard metalheads alike and 'Sorrows' truly does deliver in spades. Make no mistake, Cwfen are set to be one of the names to watch in 2025. FFO: Chelsea Wolfe, Zetra, King Woman, Type O Negative, Alcest, Faetooth, Liturgy. Limited vinyl pressing, 500 copies in transparent red vinyl. Full colour Gatefold outer sleeve, with a full colour printed inner sleeve, Full download included as well.

James Ruskin's Blueprint Records continues its 30-year celebrations with a new EP by Kr!z who returns with his fourth EP for the label. Kr!z made his Blueprint debut in fine style with his "Neutrino EP" in 2022 and went on to deliver the "Revelation EP" in 2023 and "Horo EP" in 2024 so it's fitting that he's back to join in this landmark label anniversary.

Kr!z has been at the forefront of techno for more than a decade. Influenced by the hypnotic and energetic sound helmed by veterans such as Jeff Mills, Steve Rachmad and James Ruskin, he gradually but steadily developed his own identity in the international techno scene.

After making a name for himself as a skilled DJ with sharp focus and a quick mixing style in home country Belgium and the Netherlands, Kr!z launched Token Records in 2007. It has since been a leading outlet for heady, purist sounds. He rapidly established the label as a fixed value with a timeless and powerful sound and took it around the world with label nights on every continent. Token remains important in defining techno today - always straightforward, sometimes weird, often catchy - all under the helm of Kr!z as avid A&R.

After 12 years spent assiduously focused on curating the Token discography, showcasing artists he has nurtured and supported over this time, and incorporating the connoisseur's knowledge and experience he has cultivated in his work as a DJ, in 2019 he released his own debut EP "Mantra" on the label, earning high acclaim from both media and key DJs. Since then, he has continued to develop a strong body of work, regularly releasing on the influential Blueprint Records and SK_eleven alongside his own Token imprint, and producing aseries of notable remixes. This steady output has established him as a key figure within the techno landscape, recognized for both consistency and artistic depth.

Kr!z's latest Blueprint EP "Footprints" is released 13th March on vinyl and digitally.

MASKxSOUL is the new international project, featuring the baritone Alexander Korenkov (of Mariinsky Theatre, Theatre du Chatelet, and JFK Center fame, who performed with Vladimir Yurovsky, Valery Gergiev and Anton Batagov) and introducing the voice and music of Tatiana Selivanova (Vanilla Quartz), backed up by Jason Kohnen (The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, The Lovecraft Sextet, Mansur) and Dimitry El-Demerdashi (Mansur). One might say that MASKxSOUL blends dark-jazz, tsar punk, and Eastern folklore with the setting of the romantic landscapes inspired by the Russian classical tradition. MASKxSOUL presents a new vision of a perennial classic, namely, Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin, a romantic novel in verse that has served generations of artists across the globe as inspiration, with a debut single dedicated to Pushkin's 222nd anniversary on June 6th 2022. The complete eight track MASKxSOUL debut album "Onegin" is available now through Denovali.

In the ever-evolving yet foundational landscape of instrumental groove music, F-Spot Records is proud to debut "Monkey Part 2 b/w Lully" from up-and-coming, multi-faceted keyboardist and composer Max Naseck. Raised in Dallas, Texas, but having worked throughout the Los Angeles music scene for almost a decade, Max Naseck, joined by guitarist Brandon Bae and drummer Julian Allen, brings his new trio project to life. After chasing this sound and style of playing for several years, Appropriately given the name "The Left Hand of God" by some of his musical peers, Max takes the classic soul jazz trio setting of holding down both the bass and melody elements and moves them to a unique combination of funky Moog synth (Key bass) and a Wurlitzer 200A electric piano. This 45 provides a fresh yet retro sound that is sure to leave listeners grooving and locked in.
From the first notes and tight 4-on-the-floor rhythm, "Monkey Part 2" kicks off the A-side with a unique psychedelic blend of soul, funk, and a touch of disco. With Allen's groovy touch, Naseck perfectly locks in with his left hand, followed by Bae's precision-picked electric guitar, which completes the trio's solid groove, further propelled by Naseck's right hand taking the melodic lead. Then on side B, "Lully" brings the tempo down to a more soulful, atmospheric blend that's equal parts Khruangbin & modern jazz pioneers, a la John Scofield. Recorded live together in one room, Max brings his strong compositional style to the table, showcasing how three musicians can interact in a playful, melodic, and groove-focused way.

Shadow Child’s ‘Say It Now’ is an ode to the Portsmouth producer’s rave-heritage and how it has inspired him.

· Featuring a soaring vocal sample, ravey piano stabs and a dangerous bassline, this is a release that tells the story of Shadow Child’s music journey.

· London Records have pressed four mixes onto wax, including a thumping techno cut from Dusky, a floaty progressive house interpretation from Cinthie and asoundsystem-ready, jungle banger from S.P.Y, as well as Shadow Child’s original mix.

· This 12” features artwork from renowned print artist and designer Jimmy Turrell, who has worked with names such as Chanel, Adidas, Apple, Rolling Stones, Dazed and Chemical Brothers, just to name a few

2026 Repress

After the promo version flew off the sleeves, now comes the full picture sleeve, yellow vinyl version of French live trio, Oden & Fatzo’s chart topping, house smash hit, ‘Lauren’ limited to 1000 copies. A bootleg experiment that got out of hand, Oden & Fatzo’s Radio 1 A-listed single is the accidental hit that everyone is talking about.

So how do you go about making an ‘accidental hit’, by accident of course... The track came about when French DJ Fatzo tried to demonstrate the difference between an edit and a remix to his dad, “... I took a song from the band Men I Trust, sped it up and added a drum beat and violin. After playing it to Oden, they loved it, and in turn, added their secret ingredients.”

Unlike the name might suggest, Oden & Fatzo consists of three people: The Parisian underground collective are a powerful fusion of the electronic live duo Oden, and house DJ Fatzo. Back in 2020 a bootleg version of ‘Lauren’ was uploaded to the YouTube channel of the electronic label Novaj, kicking off an unforeseeable wave of enthusiasm. That video is now approaching 3 million views. Enthralled listeners begged for a commercial release, a year later Ministry of Sound/B1 cleared the sample and the track started its march across the airwaves and up the charts.

With its captivating beat and nostalgic catchiness, ‘Lauren’ makes up for the party nights lost to the pandemic lockdowns, and sees people dancing in their homes and on the streets, as concerts, parties, and live sets are finally making a return. As the trio put it: “This song was all about hope, freedom and a party atmosphere at a time when you couldn't go anywhere. We think it gave everyone who heard it a little bit of an escape, including us.”

Meanwhile in the UK, the track has seen early support, not only by names like Franky Wah, Danny Howard, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Jax Jones, Jodie Harsh, HUGEL, Bakermat, Cut Snake, Salomé Le Chat, Piem, David Gausa and many more, but also by the incredibly ecstatic party crowds.


Press:

6th week A List at Radio 1
Plays from Radio 2 and added to Hits Radio Pride playlist
Airplay up +3% week on week
#1 Cool Cuts Chart
#1 Upfront Club Chart
#1 Pop Club Chart
#5 UK Shazam Chart
Holding at #12 on Shazam – over 200k tags for the track in the UK to date
Over 8.6m+ streams WW now across all platforms
Over 200k+ views for the music video
Averaging 50k daily streams in the UK
47k+ sales across UK OCC to date
#1 on Beatports Deep House for 16 consecutive weeks

The name Ran is a new one to us and seemingly remains, for now at least, cloaked in secrecy, but when we see their influences range from Loefah, Photek and Carrier to Source Direct, Regis and Mika Vainio, we were instantly hooked. To this new EP on Gelassenheit, then, which speaks to a producer with a rough and tough analogue sound and love of bass-driven techno. 'Violence' is gritty and heavy as it pounds out a groove with eerie pads in the distance, 'Minus' has punchy broken beats that come at you through a murky fog, and 'Closure ' then ducks and dives with a post-dubstep nimbleness as spooky background details suggest there is an oncoming threat. 'Manoeuvres' is a sparse, heavyweight and soot-black dub with crispy hits that demand a physical response. Early support from Carrier!

Lincus is a new name for us, which is always exciting because it means you get to assess the sounds on their own merit with no extraneous baggage. Whoever is behind these betas on Slabs knows how to cook up heavy kicks. 'Feel The Rhythm' has a swagger and syncopation to it that is perfect for this label, with bold bass and hints of Kerri Chandler's kick to the kicks, all run through with some woozy late-night synth work. 'Pazazz' is another blend of low-end kicks and sleazy synths with some filtered vocals adding a touch of human warmth to what is a vibey cut.

Elliott Smith's 'Division Day' is not only one of the late artist's most beloved fan favorite songs, it's also one of Smith's first departures away from the soft-spoken melancholy of his first two albums and into the more sophisticated pop that led to his breakout success. B-side 'No Name #6' is a classic in its own right, encapsulating the humble brilliance of one of our generation's greatest singer-songwriters.

Julius Hemphill's debut record, 1972's Dogon A.D., was self-produced for his Mbari imprint, and it was issued with a beautiful black-and-white cover. Very DIY. The label's name writ large along the bottom edge, like it was the band's name. It's a quartet record featuring Hemphill on alto and flute, with Baikida Carroll on trumpet, Abdul Wadud on cello, and Phillip Wilson on drums – a classic jazz front line/rhythm section format, but nothing conventional about the way the music sounds.

The long track – from where the LP takes its title – is one of the key epic statements of new jazz in the era. Among its remarkable distinctions, it manages to draw on Wilson's schizoid experience having been a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the first drummer for the Art Ensemble of Chicago, in making an 11/8 rhythm into a staggeringly funky thing of joy. Over the course of fourteen and a half minutes, Hemphill builds a nearly continuous solo, his spiritual blood brother Wadud sawing the cello with a deep blues soulfulness that is raw and mantra-like in its repetitive incantation. It feels right and wrong in equal measure, the theme carrying its own piquancy with honked barnyard dissonances and some contrary motion between the horns and string. Most of all, it takes its own sweet time, in no hurry to get anywhere in particular, but out for a righteous stroll. – John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

Critically acclaimed Death Metal force TEMPLE OF VOID return with their new album, The Crawl. The caveman brawn of previous albums, namely Summoning the Slayer (2022), remains, but there’s a wider dynamic on the group’s fifth full-length album at play. Now a quartet—featuring guitarist Alex Awn, drummer Jason Pearce, vocalist/guitarist Mike Erdody, and bassist Justin Malek—the Michiganders aren’t shying away from their non-metal influences, seeking greater integration of grunge and post-punk with their brutish signature. Singles “The Crawl” and “Soulburn” demonstrate the proficiency of TEMPLE OF VOID's death-cloaked, spearheaded attack. From the high intensity of opener “Poison Icon” to the granite wall of “The Twin Stranger,” The Crawl isn’t just TEMPLE OF VOID evolved, it’s a harbinger of death metal to come. “The biggest shift for me on this record was not feeling like we had to fly the ‘death-doom banner’ as part of our identity,” says Alex Awn. “Death-doom, as a genre, gave us something to anchor our sound around when we started. It was always a reference and touchstone. At the same time, we always wanted to make sure we had our own spin on it. We’ve always been adding to the conversation, adding to the genre, giving our point of view. A huge part of what makes a Temple of Void record is the non-death-doom influences that make up our DNA. And on album five we never once asked ourselves, ‘Do we have enough death metal? Do we have enough doom metal?’ We simply wrote a heavy-ass record—let the chips fall where they may.” For lyrics, Erdody built on the psychology and fear themes of Summoning the Slayer. The overarching theme of The Crawl is, put rather simply, an “allegory about life, choices, and consequences.” It’s a qualitative view on the horrors of the human condition and the contemplation of our monstrous capabilities. “The Twin Stranger,” for example, is about being stalked by a person’s doppelganger; “Godless Cynic” draws on a short story by sci-fi author Harlan Ellison; and “Poison Icon” tackles the crushing effects of mankind’s intrinsic nature to deceive and control.

After traveling through Mexico, Miami, the Bahamas, and New Orleans, Nishioka recorded his fourth album South American Journey in Los Angeles,
released in 1979. From this album, two of his most celebrated tracks—“GYPSY SONG”, a fan favorite with numerous cover versions, and “NEVER LAND”,
featuring the distinctive sound of steel pans and a Japanese reggae vibe are now being pressed on 7-inch vinyl for the first time in a limited edition!

The recording features members of the So What Review band, including Junshi Yamagishi (guitar) and Osamu Ishida (guitar), along with renowned steel pan
player Robert Greenidge, known for collaborations with Van Dyke Parks and Taj Mahal.
(FLATT THE LAIDBACK)

Kyozo Nishioka Profile
(Born May 7, 1948 – Died April 3, 1999)
Singer songwriter from the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture, affectionately nicknamed “Zo-san”.
After enrolling at Kinki University and moving to Osaka, Nishioka became a regular at the folk cafe Dylan in Namba, opened in August 1969 by Masaji Otsuka
and Yoko Ishimura. Dylan was a gathering spot for folk music enthusiasts from all over Japan.
Nishioka formed the folk group The Dylan with Masaji Otsuka and You Nagai, performing at folk camps and the Nakatsugawa Folk Jamboree. In 1971, Nishioka
left the group, and Otsuka and Nagai continued as The Dylan II. Nishioka wrote and composed the song “Puka Puka” under the pen name Zokyozo, which became
one of his signature works. The song was first released in July 1971 as the B-side of The Dylan II’s single “Otoko rashii tte Wakarukai” on URC Records.
Nishioka began his solo career, releasing his debut album “Dylan nite” in July 1972, produced by Kinji Yoshino on Bellwood Records, which included his own
version of “Puka Puka”. In September 1973, he appeared at the farewell concert of Happy End titled CITY – LAST TIME AROUND at Bunkyo Public Hall in Tokyo.
His 1974 album “Machiyuki Murayuki” was produced by Haruomi Hosono, and his 1975 album “Rokka My Baby” featured support from Shigeru Suzuki’s band
HUCKLE BACK. Nishioka recorded three albums under Hosono’s production, deepening their friendship.
Together with his wife and lyricist KURO, Nishioka wrote songs for artists such as Eikichi Yazawa. The couple traveled the world, recording overseas albums such
as “Nanbei Ryoko” (1977), “Yoh-Sollo” (1979), and “New York to Jamaica” (1981), incorporating reggae, calypso, and other global sounds. In the 1980s, he released
works under the duo name KYOZO & BUN with Yoshifumi Okajima, and in the 1990s returned to solo projects with albums like “START” (1993) and “Farewell
Song” (1997).
After KURO’s passing in 1997, Nishioka continued his musical activities until his own death in 1999 at the age of 50. His music transcended the boundaries of folk,
blending jazz and tropical elements to create a unique world view, leaving an indelible mark on Japanese music history.

Die aufstrebende Singer-Songwriterin waterbaby aus Stockholm, Schweden, sieht alles durch eine romantische Brille. Das hört man in der Musik der aufstrebenden Künstlerin, die nostalgisch, zart und so fließend ist, wie ihr Künstlername schon sagt. waterbaby wuchs in einer musikalischen Familie auf, von ihrem Urgroßvater, einem Jazzpianisten, über ihren Onkel, der in Clubs arbeitete, bis hin zu ihrem eigenen Bruder, der unter dem Namen tt auftritt. Schließlich fand sie ihren eigenen Weg und Sound und veröffentlichte 2023 ihre Debüt-EP ,Foam" bei Sub Pop. Produziert von ihrem Hauptkollaborateur Marcus White (YG, Anna of the North), enthielt das spritzige, bekennende, gitarrenlastige Projekt die Singles ,911", ,Airforce Blue" und ,Wishing Well". Nach den 2025 veröffentlichten Singles ,Amiss" und der preisgekrönten Zusammenarbeit mit Hannes ,Wish" bereitet sich waterbaby auf die mit Spannung erwartete Veröffentlichung ihres Debütalbums ,Memory Be a Blade" vor. Dunkler und üppiger als ihre EP, entspringt waterbabys neue Musik einem Ort unbewusster Herzensqual, an dem sie über eine vergangene Trennung nachdenkt, während sie kurz davor steht, eine neue zu erleben. White holte ein hervorragendes Team von Musikern an Bord, um dem Sound Tiefe und Vollständigkeit zu verleihen, was waterbabys klassischen Musikhintergrund widerspiegelt. ,Es nahm quasi vor unseren Augen Gestalt an", sagt sie über den nahtlosen Prozess, diese emotionalen neuen Songs zum Leben zu erwecken. Diesmal waren die Texte eher improvisiert, was waterbaby mehr Freiheit gab, das auszudrücken, was sie sagen wollte. ,Ich habe das Mikrofon genommen, ohne zu wissen, was ich tun würde", sagt sie, ,und das ist zum ehrlichsten Ventil in meinem Leben geworden."

Norwegian hard rock band Gjenferd returns with their second album, Black Smoke Rising. Black Smoke Rising takes the band to a new level, building on the strengths of their debut while pushing the sound in a more direct and accessible direction. The album delivers stronger songs, sharper hooks and a tighter overall approach, without losing the darker edge that has defined Gjenferd from the start. Guitars and organ are at the core of the sound, driving solid riffs and catchy vocal lines with a clear pop sensibility beneath the heaviness. The band's debut album received strong reviews both nationally and internationally, including 4. place on Doom Charts in May 2024. Gjenferd draws inspiration from classic heavy rock acts such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, combined with a modern hard rock approach influenced by Ghost and Hällas. They're known for energetic live performances, including appearances at festivals such as Desertfest Oslo.

In the pantheon of classic free jazz, Noah Howard's The Black Ark looms large. Recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City in 1969 – just prior to the alto saxophonist's relocation to Europe – the album was eventually released in 1972.

The Black Ark exhibits not only the power and imagination of Howard's playing, but also his breadth as a composer and bandleader. Listeners expecting unrelenting blasts of "energy music" might be surprised to find a cohesion atypical of free jazz; amidst the wild, impassioned solos, Howard weaves in Latin rhythms and fat-bottomed grooves.

The first side, consisting of "Domiabra" and “Ole Negro,” sets the album's tone. Both tracks sound as if they could have appeared on some of Blue Note's proto-spiritual jazz, groove-heavy releases – evoking the likes of Lou Donaldson or Horace Silver – before ceding the floor to the horn players' anarchic firepower.

As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "Two players stand out. Bassist Norris Jones – who would soon consolidate his name into a one-word reversed amalgamation/permutation of the two, Sirone – is given ample room, largely unaccompanied; his corporal approach foreshadows later work with the Revolutionary Ensemble. But the secret weapon on The Black Ark is Arthur Doyle. Straight from basement rehearsal sessions with Milford Graves, whose ensemble he had joined and who remained a favorite of the drummer for decades, Doyle is a human flamethrower."

Trumpeter Earl Cross' guttural, vocal effects complement Doyle's take-no-prisoners approach, while the estimable combination of Muhammad Ali (Rashied's brother) on drums and Juma Sultan on congas adds an ever-shifting propulsion. The septet is rounded out by the enigmatic pianist Leslie Waldron, who anchors the group with imaginative accompaniment and occasional boppish flourishes.

Every bit worthy of its reputation as an "out-jazz" holy grail, The Black Ark only sounds better with age. It remains the ideal record to convert the remaining free-jazz skeptics.