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German/Canadian outfit ANiML is a collection of artists with long histories in electronic music. They founded the Stratasonic label as a way of working with friends, peers and legends without any genre restrictions. Following the ‘Star Walk’ album, which was a comprehensive deep dive into their sound with improvisation and off-the-cuff collisions of a wide array of moods and grooves, it now gets remixed by three underground mainstays.

Detroit's Seth Troxler is one of the most iconic characters in the scene. His left-of-centre sets and sounds have taken him to the world's most notorious clubs, festivals and labels over the last 20 years. His take on 'Breather' is a richly layered minimal groove with suspensory pads rising up through a cosmic sky. There is a mystic quality to the pads and tripped-out atmosphere that will hypnotise dance.

Next is the legendary Mathew Jonson, a notorious synth magician and live show maestro with a jazz schooling and countless seminal tracks to his name. His understanding of dance floor dynamics and meaningful melody runs deep and shines through his remix of 'Baby D.' It's a wonky, off-balance rhythm with shimmering melodies and soulful vocal snippets. Fractured percussive sounds, muffled horns and golden keys marble the mix, which is psychedelic and wonderfully woozy.

Brooklyn-based Galcher Lustwerk has been at the forefront for more than a decade with a signature blend of experimental house and stream-of-consciousness rap informed by funk, rhythm, and blues. His compelling take on 'Bruv' is powered by a bubbly, acidic low-end with shadowy vocal whispers bleeding in and out of the raw, ice-cold beats.

Efficient Space charts Ghost Riders’ North American roadmap, crashing into 1973 New York to ignite the unfiltered teen dreams of Dennis Harte.

In the late ’60s, 11-year-old prodigy Dennis Harte was handed a Sears-bought Silvertone 1448, its in-case amplifier primed for street-level incantations. Recruiting two neighbourhood friends, the trio hammered out raw rhythms, drawing in Brooklyn’s wandering bohemians, keen to glimpse a prepubescent Alex Chilton in the making.

Also jamming with his older brothers, Bart and John, a family friend introduced the siblings to budding music exec Carl Edelson, who had spent the better part of two decades hustling through a string of local labels. A father figure of sorts, Edelson backed them immediately, facilitating sessions at the famed A-1 Sound Studios and Sanders Recording Studio and pressing four 7”s on his newly minted Roundtable Records. To maximise his chances of courting major labels, he strategically assigned each release a different artist name - Dennis Harte, Pure Madness, Harte Brothers and the wryly titled Harte Attack.

Dennis’ emotional maturity and sheer talent bleed into the defining ‘Summer’s Over’, penned by Edelson and once recorded by mid-'60s New Jersey garage vocal group The Wouldsmen. Morphing into an unfathomably teenage, blue-eyed soul/psych lament, it aches for a season slipping away forever. Its Harte Attack edition counterpart - the candied ballad ‘Running Thru My Mind’ - delivers unison harmonies and kinetic guitar interplay with a streetwise punch, channeling the spirit of NYC-area icons The Rascals, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and The Youngbloods.

Roaring like the Spencer Davis Group, Pure Madness’ organ-driven bruiser ‘Freedom Rides’ screams of biker gangs, yet its true subject - ’60s civil rights activists the Freedom Riders - looms as another towering theme for an adolescent perspective. Meanwhile, the loose, bluesy ruckus ‘Treat Me Like a Man’ digs back into Edelson’s catalogue, covering the Beatles-inflected Levittown group The Shandels.

Though Dennis later found success touring with Wilson Pickett and now doubles as a piano tuner to the stars, these four snapshots frame ambition on its outer edge - a heartfelt homage to an unbreakable brotherhood.

“We go through life. We shed our skins. We become ourselves.”

This line from Patti Smith was going round and round Felix Manuel’s head as he gradually constructed Under Tangled Silence, his first album in six years and a record of a literal creative rebirth. Felix originally began it in earnest in 2020 Covid lockdown, but a catastrophic hard-drive meltdown destroyed almost all his work and sent him close to psychic collapse himself. However, ultimately this pushed him to rebuild from scratch and in so doing to confront and reassess every part of his musical and psychological processes.

The result is utterly extraordinary. Felix was a child prodigy as an instrumentalist and his advanced musicality has always been prominent in his music, but here he has put himself front and centre as pianist, harpist and more. And this sense of exposure as a performer interweaves with an unflinching emotional openness too. Where sometimes electronic production as advanced as this can use intellect and techniques as shields from soul-baring, this is the sound of someone who can boldly say “I feel things, I cry all the time, and I'm not afraid to say it or show it in the music.”

But this doesn’t mean there’s a move away from the soundsystems and dancefloors where Felix made his name as a uniquely innovative vinyl DJ. Even just in the opening track “A Tune for Us”, minimalist piano ripples and jazz drumming flow into the breaks of vintage jungle – and as the structure of the LP unfolds, a deep ambient meditation like “Hold” can sit very naturally in between the futurist dancehall of “L’Ancienne” and the high-definition acid house mind movie of “Galaxy in Silence”. In fact, as with the hands-on musicianship, that gutsy big-speaker electronic impact is delivered with more certainty, more expertise, more personal flourishes than ever. And all of those elements are more integrated than ever too: the sound of a total musical personality emerging afresh is truly something to behold. An already remarkable talent has been refreshed, reborn and is making the music of his life.

Mr Bongo proudly presents Ritmo Italiano ‘Unspoken Sounds of Italian Tamburo’ a captivating compilation of percussive-driven, Italian gems curated by Sardinian multi-instrumentalist, percussionist and producer, Gabriele Poso. A journey into the heart of Italian musical history, it celebrates Italy’s rich rhythmic traditions, showcasing a selection of genre-traversing, Italian treasures from the ‘60s to the early ‘90s. Honouring the timeless rhythms of Italian percussion masters, alongside a brand-new exclusive composition by Gabriele, ‘Ritmo Italiano’ shines a light on the universal, primal language of the drum.

A connection sparked from an early age; percussion has always deeply resonated with Gabriele. It led to years of studying percussion traditions across Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, crafting his own songwriting skills in the process. An acclaimed producer and compiler, his releases on Yoruba Records, BBE and Soundway Records have garnered global support. Yet a growing need to rediscover the essence of his country’s cultural heritage laid the foundations for this new compilation.

In Gabriele’s own words, “Italy has always been a crossroads of civilizations, with influences from the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe converging over centuries. Ports like Naples, Genoa, and Venice played a crucial role as gateways for musical exchange, a melting pot of sounds and cultures brought by sailors, merchants and travellers. These influences blended with Italy’s own folk and religious traditions, creating Italy’s unique and emotionally resonant rhythms.”

Across the 12 absorbing tracks, there’s jazz influences, Italian library music aesthetics and experimental beats mixing with Afro-Cuban and Mediterranean rhythms. It’s a broad selection anchored by the drums. The synth-heavy, ‘80s jazz funk flavours of Gegè Munari's ‘Police Man’, sit side-by-side with the samba-infused ‘Napulitano D' 'O Brasil’ by Don Marino Barreto Jr. Tribal, earthly energy radiates from Naco’s ‘Volando Con Milton’, with Tullio De Piscopo serving up cosmic disco brilliance, and blistering jazz funk mastery coming courtesy of Agostino Marangolo. Taking the name of the compilation, a new original track by Gabriele, ‘Ritmo Italiano’, blends traditional rhythms with contemporary energy, Afro-Latin influences with Italian jazz essence. Recorded live in one take, it captures a raw, unfiltered vibe.

“Each track tells a story, connecting the past with the present, and highlighting the deep-rooted traditions that shape Italy’s rhythms. The collection also offers a glimpse into the diversity of Italian music with a variety of styles from the organic, earthy beats to the more experimental and modern takes on traditional rhythms. It’s a reflection of how these rhythms have not only shaped Italian culture but also influenced global music.”

REPRESS

New Delhi-based Peter Cat Recording Co. will release their debut album, ‘Bismillah’ on June 14, 2019 via French independent label Panache Records. Debut UK live shows are soon also to be announced by the band.


Peter Cat Recording Co. could almost have a question mark on the end of its name. Not least as founder & frontman Suryakant Sawhney refuses to explain where that name really comes from or what it means (perhaps a reference to the Tokyo jazz club owned by Haruki Murakami), but also since the very existence of the band itself raises a raft of questions. When was the last time we fell for an indie rock band for the right reasons? Not because the band in question nostalgically imitate a perceived ‘golden age’ but because they innately embody the fundamentals of such music: fantasy, sincerity and the freedom to make music without rules or career aspi- rations. And when was the last time this kind of band sounded like Sinatra, Barry White, the sweetest doo-wop, humid fanfares and a psychedelic wedding band, all at once? And all of this coming from India?
In truth, the story of Peter Cat Recording Co. was written within the triangle of San Francisco, Delhi and Paris.
In the first of these cities, Sawhney (a native of Delhi) pitched up to study film-making. More distracted by the city’s peaking live scene of the early noughties, this is where he started to make music and to sketch out an idea for the band.“
The people I lived with supported my idea of writing music, they introduced me to great mu-
sic. There used to be a great garage scene in San Francisco, like The Oh Sees also Ty Seagall, Mikal Conin, all those bands. This is a world I had never seen in my entire life. A big inspiration from San Francisco was that you could record yourself. You don’t need to be in a studio and spend a lot of money to make an album. You can do it”.


At the end of the 2000s, Suryakant returned home to New Delhi, and started his band for real, more or less the same band that plays today. “I wasn’t so concerned about will we be performing, will we be the greatest band, will we be trendy. I just wanted to make something that was consequential and important for us, I think. Something which would last, something people could listen to and be like « this is life changing ». It was for the sake of beauty”.


For the first few years and in India alone, this is exactly what Peter Cat Recording Co. did, in total indifference to the rest of the world. This was until young Parisian label Panache stumbled across the band online via Vice’s THUMP subsidiary, stupefied by the band’s cosmic video for seven-minutes-and-counting track, ‘Love De- mons’. And so in spring of 2018, ‘Portrait Of A Time: 2010-2016’ was released on Panache - making the first international release from Peter Cat Recording Co., bizarrely enough, an anthology of re-mastered, hidden gems from the band’s ramshackle back catalogue, previously recorded in Suryakant’s own living room. With Peter Cat’s off-kilter charm hitherto unheard of beyond the fringes of India, the release provided a gateway op-
Whilst the title track found its way onto Tracks Of The Year lists at the Guardian & NME, it was tricky for new PCRC enthusiasts to get a firm grip on the startling push/pull between the immediate, uncanny music this release gathered, and the cultural backdrop of New Delhi at which it was so startlingly at odds.


Opportunity for a wider fanbase to fall in love with their cloud-like, drunken songs for the first time.
If discovering your favourite new band via a ‘Best Of’ feels a curious premise, then ‘Bismillah’ does more than hint towards the promise of Peter Cat Recording Co’s future. Blending gypsy jazz, psychedelic cabaret, space disco, bossa supernova, Bollywood and uneasy listening with kaleidoscopic ease, in many senses, the band’s knack hasn’t altered. Always different, paradoxical, unpredictable yet somehow familiar. The new album opens to the strains of bird chatter, the whisper of a city’s soundscape and the first few notes from an instrument which seem to be calling us to the departure lounge, a fore-shadow of the flight ‘Bismillah’ launches its listener
on. Suryakant sings with the detached, rueful elegance of Sinatra marooned on a desert island, whilst his band create small space-time capsules which navigate their way through genres and eras – including the future – and between nostalgia and eccentricity.


Peter Cat recently trailed ‘Bismillah’ with the release of ‘Floated By’, an appositely titled musing on failure & missed opportunities, punctuated by the fulsome brass section which weaves through so much of the album.


The languid, blue quality to the track is offset by the attendant music video, created with footage shot, implau- sibly enough, at Suryakant’s own marriage ceremony (needless to say, the wedding band hired for the day was of course, Peter Cat Recording Co.) Sawhney dryly notes; “Hopefully it’s not a many-a-times-in-a-lifetime event. You can’t fake that set, those people actually having a good time, being really emotional and intense.” ‘Bismillah’’s colour-drenched album cover also captures Suryakant’s father-in-law making his wedding toast on that same day - a nod back towards the cover of ‘Portrait Of A Time’, itself a black & white image taken at the wedding ceremony of Suryakant’s own father.


A stumbling but gracious collection of songs rooted in a kind of drunken soul music, the melancholy nature of some of the songs on ‘Bismillah’ renders them almost liquid, before they develop into more dance-like shapes. Suryakant’s rangy voice swoops from the falsetto glide of ‘I’m This’ to the beat-up baritone blown along by the warm breeze of ‘Soulless Friends’. The elliptical structure of album opener ‘Where The Money Flows’ also al-
lows for the use of brief bursts of autotune effect on his vocal without feeling incongruous, whilst the desultory lyrics of ‘Heera’ (a Hindi word for diamond) - sharing something with the Morricone school of grand storytelling - have an emotional weight that would impress even coming from a native English speaker. Perhaps the most gleefully unpredictable moment on ‘Bismillah’ comes with the illusory, vocal loops on the intro to ‘Memory Box’, errupting into 8 exhilarating minutes worth of unbridled, string-backed disco joy. A cat might have nine lives, but on ‘Bismillah’ and beyond, Peter Cat Recording Co. are hinting towards an un- knowable multitude of dimensions. Throw them all together, and it equates less to a listening experience and more to an out-of-body experience.


Peter Cat Recording Co. are: Suryakant Sawhney (vocals/guitar/organ), Dhruv Bhola (bass), Kartik S Pillai (organ/guitar/electronics), Rohit Gupta (horns), Karan Singh (drums)

The Spanish Queen (of the Piano)

She had small, square hands. She was 1.52 m tall. As a child, she banged her head on the floor to be allowed to play the piano. She was Catalan. She was a pianist—one of the greatest. Her mission? To spread the Spanish repertoire. Her name was Alicia de Larrocha.

When she passed away in 2009 at age 89, Nelson Freire wrote, "I truly loved her; she was a modest woman, and her playing shone like the sun." Acclaimed worldwide, she stood alongside Victoria de Los Angeles as one of Spain’s finest artists.

Larrocha’s journey began at three, seated at a piano. At four, she studied under Frank Marshall, a student of Granados. By six, she was performing publicly; by eleven, she played Mozart’s Coronation Concerto with Madrid’s Symphony Orchestra, astonishing audiences. Despite her small hands, she developed an airy, precise touch, even daring to record Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto. But beyond technical mastery, her playing held a profound sense of life and imagination.

Though trained in Bach, Mozart, and Chopin, Larrocha fought to bring Spanish composers to global audiences. Albéniz and Granados owe much of their fame to her. Her international breakthrough came in the 1950s when an American impresario heard her Spanish recordings and invited her to the U.S., where she triumphed.

Her performances honored Spain’s musical heritage. From Soler’s sonatas to Granados' Goyescas, she infused each note with nuance. She brought Goya’s paintings to life in El Pelele and mastered the dark contrasts of Surinach’s Canción y Danza. Albéniz’s Iberia demanded both power and delicacy—qualities she commanded effortlessly.

Her final tribute was to her friend Francis Poulenc, performing his Toccata—a soaring farewell.

As one admirer put it in 1982, "She walked toward a piano too big for her, sat, placed her hands on the keys… and became the queen."

Alicia De Larrocha, Piano

BerettaMusic has long been a cornerstone of Detroit’s underground dance scene, launching the careers of renowned artists like Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Luke Hess, and many more. With its latest release, the label continues to cement its legacy—this time with a standout record from label boss Ryan Sadorus.

Sadorus has been on a production streak, making waves not only in Detroit but across the globe. His recent work includes the deep and driving “Down Below” on Norm Talley’s esteemed Upstairs Asylum label. Now, he teams up with the incredibly talented vocalist Simon Black to deliver a fresh slice of Detroit house music.

Their track “Hot in the D” captures the raw, moody, and hypnotic essence of the city’s signature house sound. While Detroit is often synonymous with techno, its deep and soulful house scene has also made an undeniable global impact. The track has already been turning heads at underground parties in Detroit, with dancers and DJs alike asking, “What is this?!” and “When can I get it?!”

On remix duties, Delano Smith—a true pioneer of the Detroit sound and someone that needs no introduction—delivers his signature deep, rolling, and hypnotic style to “Hot in the D”, making this release a must-have for house music lovers globally. Stay tuned—this one is destined to move dance floors everywhere… Already getting heavy rotation from Jimpster, Gilles Peterson and DJ Harvey to name a few.

Mr Bongo proudly presents Ritmo Italiano ‘Unspoken Sounds of Italian Tamburo’ a captivating compilation of percussive-driven, Italian gems curated by Sardinian multi-instrumentalist, percussionist and producer, Gabriele Poso. A journey into the heart of Italian musical history, it celebrates Italy’s rich rhythmic traditions, showcasing a selection of genre-traversing, Italian treasures from the ‘60s to the early ‘90s. Honouring the timeless rhythms of Italian percussion masters, alongside a brand-new exclusive composition by Gabriele, ‘Ritmo Italiano’ shines a light on the universal, primal language of the drum.

A connection sparked from an early age; percussion has always deeply resonated with Gabriele. It led to years of studying percussion traditions across Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, crafting his own songwriting skills in the process. An acclaimed producer and compiler, his releases on Yoruba Records, BBE and Soundway Records have garnered global support. Yet a growing need to rediscover the essence of his country’s cultural heritage laid the foundations for this new compilation.

In Gabriele’s own words, “Italy has always been a crossroads of civilizations, with influences from the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe converging over centuries. Ports like Naples, Genoa, and Venice played a crucial role as gateways for musical exchange, a melting pot of sounds and cultures brought by sailors, merchants and travellers. These influences blended with Italy’s own folk and religious traditions, creating Italy’s unique and emotionally resonant rhythms.”

Across the 12 absorbing tracks, there’s jazz influences, Italian library music aesthetics and experimental beats mixing with Afro-Cuban and Mediterranean rhythms. It’s a broad selection anchored by the drums. The synth-heavy, ‘80s jazz funk flavours of Gegè Munari's ‘Police Man’, sit side-by-side with the samba-infused ‘Napulitano D' 'O Brasil’ by Don Marino Barreto Jr. Tribal, earthly energy radiates from Naco’s ‘Volando Con Milton’, with Tullio De Piscopo serving up cosmic disco brilliance, and blistering jazz funk mastery coming courtesy of Agostino Marangolo. Taking the name of the compilation, a new original track by Gabriele, ‘Ritmo Italiano’, blends traditional rhythms with contemporary energy, Afro-Latin influences with Italian jazz essence. Recorded live in one take, it captures a raw, unfiltered vibe.

“Each track tells a story, connecting the past with the present, and highlighting the deep-rooted traditions that shape Italy’s rhythms. The collection also offers a glimpse into the diversity of Italian music with a variety of styles from the organic, earthy beats to the more experimental and modern takes on traditional rhythms. It’s a reflection of how these rhythms have not only shaped Italian culture but also influenced global music.”

"Polymath artist, musician and iconoclast Raed Yassin releases Eternal Ghost, two long-form pieces of modular minimalism via Fourth Sounds. Drawing on influences of Terry Riley, Suicide, no wave and synth pop, the double A-side 12” reverberates with urgent, high-octane loops, repeating patterns and distorted vocal frequencies, each track unfurling over 15 frantic Minutes of maximalist electronics.

Born in Lebanon and based in Berlin, with a musical practice that spans free improvisation, Arabic pop and sample-based cultural archaeology, Yassin is an artist who refuses to be contained, working across disciplines to interrogate ideas of personal identity, collective memory and consumer culture.

Eternal Ghost is the latest addition to a shape-shifting body of work, released to accompany Yassin’s debut London exhibition of the same name at Cedric Bardawil in June 2025."

Over the last four years, the German-born and South Korea-based artist Sion has been steadily making a name for himself in the music industry. The Voice Germany Season 10 semifinalist is a self-taught singer, songwriter and producer who can do it all.
 Sion can play guitar, piano, synthesiser, DJ and much more, just name it.
 Early inspirations for Sion include Frank Ocean and Porter Robinson, and his music so far has been a wonderful mix of eclectic soundscapes.
 Now, Sion is back with his best project yet, his third EP ‘Sociavoidance’. The five-track extended play is full of lush vocals, vibrant production, a multitude of different layered textures.
 The genre-defying artist blends elements of indie electronica, hip-hop, alt R&B, glitch pop and more. Thematically, the body of work explores disassociation in the age of the internet, vulnerabilities, social interaction, self-reflection and relationships.
 It’s a heartfelt, genuinely beautiful, experience. Sion is inviting the listener into his colourful, exciting and often unpredictable world on ‘Sociavoidance’.

Haunting, discordant and deeply unsettling, `Les Maîtres Fous' (`The Mad Masters') was written by French post-metal collective Year of No Light in response to French filmmaker Jean Rouch's controversial 1950's docufiction of the same name. Commissioned by Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris for their 2012 `L'Invention Du Sauvage' exhibition, trance-metal pioneers Year of No Light approached the ritual practices of the Hauka movement as depicted in the film and responded with their uniquely hypnotic heaviness. Performed only twice, once at the exhibition on the 6th January, 2012 and again in Bordeaux on the 29th January, 2015; this release is a live recording of the second and final performance of `Les Maîtres Fous'. Whilst Year of No Light have a long history of collaboration with forward-thinking filmmakers and visual artists, the sensitivity of this documentary's problematic subject matter and the intensity of the band's performance made this performance both a physically and emotionally demanding experience; something that can be keenly felt upon listening. Founded in September 2001 by a collection of Bordeaux's heavy scene stalwarts as an ongoing side project encompassing elements of sludge metal and shoegaze, Year of No Light released their debut album, Nord, in 2006 to critical acclaim. The subsequent years however saw a significant lineup change with the band replacing their vocalist with a third guitarist to become a fully instrumental sextet incorporating aspects of black metal, drone electronica and dark ambient into their already formidable sound. 2010's four track epic Ausserwelt and the 2013 follow up Tocsin saw Year of No Light distilling their punishing sound even further; stalling the tempo to a glacial crawl and tuning guitars ever downwards to new uncharted depths. Consolamentum, the band's first full-length release in nine years and their first with Pelagic Records, brought the outfit's crushing double-drumming percussion to the fore as a masterclass in dynamic control saw Year of No Light embrace the highest highs and the lowest lows of the intervening years. Now approaching their 25th anniversary, `Les Maître Fous' is a pressing reminder that, despite the band's long and ongoing journey, Year of No Light have never been afraid to experiment, to take risks, to square up to life's ugliness and look it straight in the eye. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Cult of Luna, SWANS, ISIS, Russian Circles, My Bloody Valentine, Chelsea Wolfe

Haunting, discordant and deeply unsettling, `Les Maîtres Fous' (`The Mad Masters') was written by French post-metal collective Year of No Light in response to French filmmaker Jean Rouch's controversial 1950's docufiction of the same name. Commissioned by Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris for their 2012 `L'Invention Du Sauvage' exhibition, trance-metal pioneers Year of No Light approached the ritual practices of the Hauka movement as depicted in the film and responded with their uniquely hypnotic heaviness. Performed only twice, once at the exhibition on the 6th January, 2012 and again in Bordeaux on the 29th January, 2015; this release is a live recording of the second and final performance of `Les Maîtres Fous'. Whilst Year of No Light have a long history of collaboration with forward-thinking filmmakers and visual artists, the sensitivity of this documentary's problematic subject matter and the intensity of the band's performance made this performance both a physically and emotionally demanding experience; something that can be keenly felt upon listening. Founded in September 2001 by a collection of Bordeaux's heavy scene stalwarts as an ongoing side project encompassing elements of sludge metal and shoegaze, Year of No Light released their debut album, Nord, in 2006 to critical acclaim. The subsequent years however saw a significant lineup change with the band replacing their vocalist with a third guitarist to become a fully instrumental sextet incorporating aspects of black metal, drone electronica and dark ambient into their already formidable sound. 2010's four track epic Ausserwelt and the 2013 follow up Tocsin saw Year of No Light distilling their punishing sound even further; stalling the tempo to a glacial crawl and tuning guitars ever downwards to new uncharted depths. Consolamentum, the band's first full-length release in nine years and their first with Pelagic Records, brought the outfit's crushing double-drumming percussion to the fore as a masterclass in dynamic control saw Year of No Light embrace the highest highs and the lowest lows of the intervening years. Now approaching their 25th anniversary, `Les Maître Fous' is a pressing reminder that, despite the band's long and ongoing journey, Year of No Light have never been afraid to experiment, to take risks, to square up to life's ugliness and look it straight in the eye. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Cult of Luna, SWANS, ISIS, Russian Circles, My Bloody Valentine, Chelsea Wolfe. The Dim Gleam edition is kind of a beige vinyl colour

Compiled by Philip King
“And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated
machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese
passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang
bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.”
NICK KENT, NME.

All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the
underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip
King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop
Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with
new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new
music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare
tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter
chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure.
Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks
were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master
tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the
emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels
that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the
globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led
revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms,
ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels
jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course)
these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio
and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother
of invention.

At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an
orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The
Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning
of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his
female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records).
The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future
and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that
included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian
North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a
tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not
Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased
track You Will See, released April 12th 2025.

There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were
featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk /
underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and
featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy
The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now.
Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division
instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP.
Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to
make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD
gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist
Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7”
and lost until now.

The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even
fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy
London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major
label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like
this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with
doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the
course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the
main refrain.

The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s
Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The
Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was
later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco
Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl
compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have
sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes
imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive,
robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up
by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master
demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner.
All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth
and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School
Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of
Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a
plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label
punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the
two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?

"Chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams..."

December 25th, 2023 - an Instagram post. Stimulator Jones shared half a dozen FIRE tracks from his beat tape archive. We were immediately drawn to the rough hewn boom bap.

"I'd release that", Rob commented.

Hours of material was shared and the result is this: Cool Green Trees (1999-2005). A collection of beats and loops Stimulator Jones created between the ages of 14-20 at home in his basement, bedroom and computer room in Roanoke, Virginia.

You will not believe the profound soulful genius contained within these naive schoolboy melodies.

December 25th, 1998 - 25 years ago to the day and his much-coveted Yamaha SU10 sampler was finally bestowed upon young Stimmy AKA Sam Lunsford: "I immediately hooked up a CD Walkman to the input jack and looped the beginning two bars of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mercy Mercy Me". I don't know what exactly was so thrilling about hearing two measures of music repeating over and over but it was so infectious and hypnotizing and enthralling to me. I'll never forget that ecstatic rush of making my first loop - an uncontrollable, gleeful smile plastered all over my face." When you hear the pocket breakbeat symphonies featured here on Cool Green Trees, you'll feel the same sense of frisson.

In the wake of his Stones Throw breakthrough - Exotic Worlds & Master Treasures - Stimulator Jones was pegged by many as a 90s throwback artist. However, he literally IS a 90s artist. He's been recording music most of his life and he's now 40. He created the bulk of Cool Green Trees as a teenager. Everything before 2004 was recorded when Sam was still in school. He was in 8th grade when he made the 1999 tracks - he didn't even have his learner's permit. This album is a snapshot of a young man in a simpler time. Things were still mysterious back then and he was flying blind, relying on his ears and having to figure things out for himself: "I had no road map for becoming a beatmaker. I have been collecting music since I was a kid, I am a lifelong digger and seeker of cool and interesting sounds. I was there in the golden age of Hip Hop, and while I may have been a suburban white kid in Roanoke, Virginia, I was tuned in and I bought so many classic albums when they came out. I was attracted to Hip Hop because of the musical and poetic quality. I was hypnotized by the rhythms, partially because I was a drummer. I didn't brag about collecting my breakbeat records or making beats - it was something I did in isolation. It wasn't something I generally wanted to bring attention to and it didn't really score me any cool points. I certainly wasn't flexing on social media about it."

Hell, he can do that now!

Opener "Pharoah Jones" was inspired by Yesterday's New Quintet and Madlib's ability to capture that classic 70s sound whilst playing all the instruments. Sam created this one stoned afternoon by laying down a 2 bar loop and a shaker loop on his Yamaha SU700 sampler. He hung a microphone from the ceiling and played his Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit over the top before adding ender Rhodes and playing his dad's Selmer tenor sax through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. Yes! Up next, "Ghost Gospel" utilises a dope loop from a gospel record and adds some soul-funk drums overtop, whilst working that filter knob. Says Sam: "The loop reminded me of something Ghostface would rap over. The sample was in 3/4 waltz time but I flipped it for a 4/4 groove, a technique I picked up from RZA. "Ill Feeling" uses sped-up pieces from a dusty old funk record and putting them over a classic NOLA drum loop; gain chopping up a slow, bluesy 3/4 time signature and bending it to a 4/4 groove. Classy shit. "Capital Punishment" features drums tapped in live, inspired by MF Doom's Special Herbs series. "Do Not Adjust" consists loops found on a compilation of 70s French music at Happy's Flea Market, a classic Roanoke digging spot.

The sublime, evocative title track, "Cool Green Trees" was created when Sam was still living at home. He dumped samples off his SU10 into the family desktop and arranged them in a demo version of Pro Tools: "This track was sort of my ode to the DJ Shadow style of sample based production. Super spacey, slow, and moody. The heavily filtered drums were inspired by Alec Empire's 'Low on Ice' album. I later added some scratches and sounds from a Spider Man storybook record." "Chill Scratch" snags the final bit of a bossanova record and pairs it with a drum loop before adding experimental scratching run through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. "Poisonous Fumes" was made using a sampler, mixer and a turntable; a kind of mixtape beat collage with added scratches and sounds from various records. Using dialogue from superhero records was a nod to Madlib. "Welcome Aboard The Starship" is dark, downtempo trip-hop with a spooky bent. Sam paired a slow, hard drum loop with a guitar sample grabbed off a psychedelic rock record. To finish, he added various backwards sounds and weird atmospheric effects and a little scratching. Swoon.

Side B opens with "Keep On Runnin", made on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler. Having always loved the sound of the Lo-Fi filter on those machines, reminiscent of the Emu SP1200, Sam always imagined Del or another of the Hieroglyphics crew rapping over this beat. You can certainly hear why. "Sounds Impossible" sees Sam experimenting with layering multiple kick samples at different volumes to create patterns similar to those heard by Showbiz and Lord Finesse during their God-level 1995 period. "Painted Faces" was made by chopping up a REDACTED record which he had gotten from Happy's Flea Market and paired it with a REDACTED drum loop. By the time Sam recorded "The Knew Style", he had acquired a shitty old 1960s portable turntable off eBay. It didn't function properly when he bought it but his brother opened it up, cleaned it out and got it working: "I remember he told me that there was a bunch of sand inside of it when he opened it up, as if its previous owner had taken it to the beach. I would take that turntable on my Happy's Flea Market digs so I could preview records...that's how I found this loop."

"Chicken Wing Blues Sauce" loops up a classic blues joint and pairs it with some REDACTED drums. A bit of filtering and arranging et voilà! "Kool Breeze", from 1999, is one of Sam's oldest surviving beats, as is "Sexx Bullets". The Roots sampled the same record, leaving Sam frustrated yet vindicated. "Soul Child" was an early SU10 creation, looping a dusty old Soul Children 45 and pairing it with 70s rock drum loops to great effect. "Take Off Runnin" was another loop found digging with a portable turntable. Paired with some boom bap drums it makes for a hypnotic head-nod groove. "Centurian" was intended to be a little beat interlude a la Pete Rock. The sample is from a sun-dappled soft-psych record and it's paired with a Robin Trower drum loop that just happens to fit perfectly. Sometimes you slap things together kind of haphazardly and magic happens. "Bozack" was the first beat Sam made using Pro Tools, his first foray into using chopped sounds instead of loops, an exciting new world. "Church" is beat interlude using a Phil Upchurch loop with the "Long Red" drums - a favourite break of Dilla et al. Sam was really on a tear in late 2004, probably because he was unemployed and phoneless and able to just make beats all day. He made "Splash One" on a borrowed Yamaha SU700 and again was experimenting with tapping the drums in live with his fingers, instead of using a loop or sequenced pattern. Channeling 9th Wonder, Sam used a water splash sound effect from a Batman record as a percussive element, hence the title (also a 13th Floor Elevators reference). The main loop is a backwards portion of one of his favourite Roy Ayers songs.

"Hank" is another fun little beat interlude thing, created on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler with the fantastic Lo-Fi effect that resembled the Emu SP1200 at a fraction of the price. "73 goatee", from 99, is another of his oldest surviving beats, created in his bedroom with his Yamaha SU10 and his brother's Vestax MR-300 4-track recorder: "This one will always feel special. I can remember having a feeling all the way back then on the night that I created it that this was a solid beat with a catchy loop. There was something in the Fender Rhodes melody that resonated with me emotionally, and I had never heard a producer sample that portion before. I felt like I had found my own unique sound, my own unique loop. It came from an Ahmad Jamal '73. I actually even recorded myself rapping and scratching over this beat way back then, I still have that version in all its imperfect sloppy glory."

Sam explains just how much these tracks mean to him: "They all have immense historical and sentimental value and I'm proud of them. These beats come from an innocent, simple time when I was just figuring out how to craft these sounds. They're something very personal to me. They are the initial part of a journey that I really was taking *alone*. There was no YouTube. I couldn't Google shit. I didn't even know any other beatmakers, producers or DJs in my town that could teach me anything. It was always just me, alone, in a room with some equipment - chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams. What I was doing wasn't cool. Most of my peers thought I was a weirdo and couldn't care less. Creating these sounds was an anti-social endeavour. In a sense, I felt like it was me against the world, and all I had to instruct and assist me were the recordings produced by my heroes - RZA, DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, Beatminerz, Showbiz, Diamond D, Beatnuts, Prince Paul, The Bomb Squad, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, E-Swift, Mista Lawnge, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Peanut Butter Wolf, El-P and so many more...I dedicate this collection to them, and to my older brother Joe who has always been a musical and technical guiding light for me.

This was a time before every kid was a self-described producer and beatmaker, before everyone had a DAW, before Kanye and "chipmunk soul", before Red Bull beat battles, before there was any social media beyond chat rooms and AOL Instant Messenger, before Soundcloud, before SP-404 mania, before lo-fi beats to study to, before Splice, before targeted ads for MIDI chord packs, etc. In 99 when I told people that I had a sampler and made beats I was mostly met with bewildered confusion and indifference. Kids and adults alike would wonder why I got this weird machine for Christmas instead of something worthwhile like a Playstation or a mountain bike or even a guitar for that matter because at least that could be used to make "real music". Back then, sampling was still not widely respected as an art form - it was seen as lazy, talentless and unoriginal at best and outright criminal theft at worst. I had gotten respect for playing drums and guitar and things of that nature but this was a step in the wrong direction in the eyes of many."

The cover photo is a picture of Sam standing on his back porch in the latter part of 1998, just before he got his first sampler. He was 13 years old, in 8th grade. His dad took the picture with his 35mm film camera: "I actually wanted to be pointing my dad's .22 pistol at the camera lens but he wouldn't let me. He gave me an old walking cane to use instead. The Tommy Hilfiger puffer jacket came from the lost and found at William Fleming High School where my mom worked as a secretary. I was thrilled when she brought it home because we never spent money on expensive name brand clothing like that - we were for the most part strictly a sale rack, bargain bin, thrift store, yard sale, flea market kind of family when it came to clothes. My watch is some cheap off-brand fake gold department store watch." Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.

In the spring of 2019, a new rock band consisting of four otherwise ordinary Okies would arise out of seemingly nowhere, swiftly turning heads with a grotesque new take on noise rock fuelled by the existential anguish that has defined the 21st Century. Taking its name from the towering mounds of toxic waste that stand as monuments to capitalism’s cruel hubris across its home state, Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile made an immediate impression, soon culminating in the release of its landmark 2022 debut album, God’s Country and 2024’s expansive follow up Cool World
While the massive success of God’s Country would propel the quartet from the status of underground favorites to an international sensation, Chat Pile’s mission to take rock music to new zeniths of intensity was part of the plan from the very start. In fact, during its first handful of months as an active project, Chat Pile began writing and recording some of the heaviest, hellish, and harrowing music of its entire catalogue, laying the foundation of the themes and traits that would eventually manifest in the band’s debut LP. The result of these sessions would be a pair of EPs, This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please, released in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively.
Initially put out by Reptilian Records in 2020, The Flenser is proud to present a special reissue of Chat Pile’s pivotal first two EPs, each compiled onto a single disc. This dual EP compilation chronicles the earliest moments of the Oklahoma City quartet’s discography, a snapshot of the band’s pre-Flenser days and of the eight tracks of noxious, nihilistic noise rock that would propel the Midwest band to a globe-spanning, underground heavyweights.

In the spring of 2019, a new rock band consisting of four otherwise ordinary Okies would arise out of seemingly nowhere, swiftly turning heads with a grotesque new take on noise rock fuelled by the existential anguish that has defined the 21st Century. Taking its name from the towering mounds of toxic waste that stand as monuments to capitalism’s cruel hubris across its home state, Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile made an immediate impression, soon culminating in the release of its landmark 2022 debut album, God’s Country and 2024’s expansive follow up Cool World
While the massive success of God’s Country would propel the quartet from the status of underground favorites to an international sensation, Chat Pile’s mission to take rock music to new zeniths of intensity was part of the plan from the very start. In fact, during its first handful of months as an active project, Chat Pile began writing and recording some of the heaviest, hellish, and harrowing music of its entire catalogue, laying the foundation of the themes and traits that would eventually manifest in the band’s debut LP. The result of these sessions would be a pair of EPs, This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please, released in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively.
Initially put out by Reptilian Records in 2020, The Flenser is proud to present a special reissue of Chat Pile’s pivotal first two EPs, each compiled onto a single disc. This dual EP compilation chronicles the earliest moments of the Oklahoma City quartet’s discography, a snapshot of the band’s pre-Flenser days and of the eight tracks of noxious, nihilistic noise rock that would propel the Midwest band to a globe-spanning, underground heavyweights.

In the spring of 2019, a new rock band consisting of four otherwise ordinary Okies would arise out of seemingly nowhere, swiftly turning heads with a grotesque new take on noise rock fuelled by the existential anguish that has defined the 21st Century. Taking its name from the towering mounds of toxic waste that stand as monuments to capitalism’s cruel hubris across its home state, Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile made an immediate impression, soon culminating in the release of its landmark 2022 debut album, God’s Country and 2024’s expansive follow up Cool World
While the massive success of God’s Country would propel the quartet from the status of underground favorites to an international sensation, Chat Pile’s mission to take rock music to new zeniths of intensity was part of the plan from the very start. In fact, during its first handful of months as an active project, Chat Pile began writing and recording some of the heaviest, hellish, and harrowing music of its entire catalogue, laying the foundation of the themes and traits that would eventually manifest in the band’s debut LP. The result of these sessions would be a pair of EPs, This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please, released in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively.
Initially put out by Reptilian Records in 2020, The Flenser is proud to present a special reissue of Chat Pile’s pivotal first two EPs, each compiled onto a single disc. This dual EP compilation chronicles the earliest moments of the Oklahoma City quartet’s discography, a snapshot of the band’s pre-Flenser days and of the eight tracks of noxious, nihilistic noise rock that would propel the Midwest band to a globe-spanning, underground heavyweights.

"Different Talking", das sechste und bisher beste Album der vierköpfigen New Yorker Indie-Rock-Band Frankie Cosmos, scheint über Zeit und Raum hinweg zu existieren, so wie wir alle es irgendwie tun. Es ist eine Sammlung von Fragmenten und Erinnerungen, erinnerten Orten und neu interpretierten Gefühlen, die sich zu einem leuchtenden, summenden Ganzen zusammenfügen: eine robuste, weltgewandte Indie-Rock-Platte über das Altern und den Lauf der Zeit, die es dennoch schafft, sich hochaktuell zu fühlen. Die Sängerin, Gitarristin und Songschreiberin von Frankie Cosmos, Greta Kline, gilt seit langem als eine der gewandtesten und notwendigsten Autorinnen zeitgenössischer Indie-Musik, doch auf "Different Talking" werden ihre Texte etwas weicher, und der schräge Zynismus, der die letzten Alben prägte, weicht nun einer Anerkennung der großartigen und notwendigen Fehlbarkeit des menschlichen Gehirns und Herzens. "Different Talking" als Rückkehr zur alten Form oder zumindest zur üppigen Direktheit früherer Frankie Cosmos-Platten zu bezeichnen, wäre unhöflich, aber auch völlig falsch: Wie "Different Talking" deutlich macht, kann man nie mehr zu der Bequemlichkeit und dem Mut seiner frühen Zwanziger zurückkehren, aber diese Person lebt irgendwie immer in einem, egal wie sehr man sich verändert. Bei Different Talking geht es darum, diese Person zu finden, sie zu ehren und von ihr zu lernen. "Ein großer Teil des Albums handelt davon, erwachsen zu werden und herauszufinden, wie man sich selbst erkennt - wie zum Beispiel: 'Was ist ein Weitermachen?'", sagt Kline. "Wie kommen wir weiter, wenn wir süchtig nach einem Kreislauf sind, der uns in unserer Vergangenheit verfolgt? Das Schreiben von Songs ist nur ein Weg, um das zu überwinden". Kline ist seit ihren späten Teenagerjahren ein fester Bestandteil des amerikanischen Indie-Undergrounds. Ihre zahlreichen Bandcamp-Veröffentlichungen und ihr Debüt bei dem Indie-Label Zentropy aus dem Jahr 2014 führten dazu, dass sie als "Poet laureate of New York City DIY" bezeichnet wurde. Ein solches Etikett ist eine Menge für junge Schultern, aber es ist schwer zu leugnen, dass sie einen einzigartigen Einfluss auf die zeitgenössische Popmusik hatte. Wenn die Vorstellung, dass eine junge Frau in ihrem Schlafzimmer einen Synthesizer in die Hand nimmt, ein paar Songs ins Internet stellt und schnell zum Superstar wird, heute gang und gäbe ist, dann liegt das daran, dass Kline und ihre Kolleginnen das (weibliche) DIY-Genie normalisiert und verherrlicht haben, lange bevor sie in den Marketingbüros der Major-Labels an die Pinnwände geheftet wurden. Seitdem hat sich viel verändert: Nachdem Frankie Cosmos in den letzten zehn Jahren eine Handvoll verschiedener Permutationen durchlaufen hat, besteht die Band heute aus vier Mitgliedern: Greta Kline, Alex Bailey, Katie Von Schleicher und Hugo Stanley. Kline ist die einzige Konstante, aber Stanley, Bailey und Von Schleicher sind wichtige Mitstreiter, und es wäre falsch, die Namen "Greta Kline" und "Frankie Cosmos" synonym zu verwenden. Kline ist nach wie vor die primäre Songschreiberin, und die Musik auf "Different Talking" wurde von der Band als Ganzes arrangiert, aber dies ist das erste Album, das von der Band selbst aufgenommen und selbst produziert wurde. Nicht zufällig fühlt es sich wie eine reinere, destilliertere Aufnahme an. "Es fühlt sich an wie die beste Version von dem, was ich machen wollte, seit ich ein Teenager war", sagt Kline. "Obwohl dies in einem Wohnzimmer aufgenommen wurde, ist es so originalgetreu wie alles, was wir im Studio gemacht haben."

"Different Talking", das sechste und bisher beste Album der vierköpfigen New Yorker Indie-Rock-Band Frankie Cosmos, scheint über Zeit und Raum hinweg zu existieren, so wie wir alle es irgendwie tun. Es ist eine Sammlung von Fragmenten und Erinnerungen, erinnerten Orten und neu interpretierten Gefühlen, die sich zu einem leuchtenden, summenden Ganzen zusammenfügen: eine robuste, weltgewandte Indie-Rock-Platte über das Altern und den Lauf der Zeit, die es dennoch schafft, sich hochaktuell zu fühlen. Die Sängerin, Gitarristin und Songschreiberin von Frankie Cosmos, Greta Kline, gilt seit langem als eine der gewandtesten und notwendigsten Autorinnen zeitgenössischer Indie-Musik, doch auf "Different Talking" werden ihre Texte etwas weicher, und der schräge Zynismus, der die letzten Alben prägte, weicht nun einer Anerkennung der großartigen und notwendigen Fehlbarkeit des menschlichen Gehirns und Herzens. "Different Talking" als Rückkehr zur alten Form oder zumindest zur üppigen Direktheit früherer Frankie Cosmos-Platten zu bezeichnen, wäre unhöflich, aber auch völlig falsch: Wie "Different Talking" deutlich macht, kann man nie mehr zu der Bequemlichkeit und dem Mut seiner frühen Zwanziger zurückkehren, aber diese Person lebt irgendwie immer in einem, egal wie sehr man sich verändert. Bei Different Talking geht es darum, diese Person zu finden, sie zu ehren und von ihr zu lernen. "Ein großer Teil des Albums handelt davon, erwachsen zu werden und herauszufinden, wie man sich selbst erkennt - wie zum Beispiel: 'Was ist ein Weitermachen?'", sagt Kline. "Wie kommen wir weiter, wenn wir süchtig nach einem Kreislauf sind, der uns in unserer Vergangenheit verfolgt? Das Schreiben von Songs ist nur ein Weg, um das zu überwinden". Kline ist seit ihren späten Teenagerjahren ein fester Bestandteil des amerikanischen Indie-Undergrounds. Ihre zahlreichen Bandcamp-Veröffentlichungen und ihr Debüt bei dem Indie-Label Zentropy aus dem Jahr 2014 führten dazu, dass sie als "Poet laureate of New York City DIY" bezeichnet wurde. Ein solches Etikett ist eine Menge für junge Schultern, aber es ist schwer zu leugnen, dass sie einen einzigartigen Einfluss auf die zeitgenössische Popmusik hatte. Wenn die Vorstellung, dass eine junge Frau in ihrem Schlafzimmer einen Synthesizer in die Hand nimmt, ein paar Songs ins Internet stellt und schnell zum Superstar wird, heute gang und gäbe ist, dann liegt das daran, dass Kline und ihre Kolleginnen das (weibliche) DIY-Genie normalisiert und verherrlicht haben, lange bevor sie in den Marketingbüros der Major-Labels an die Pinnwände geheftet wurden. Seitdem hat sich viel verändert: Nachdem Frankie Cosmos in den letzten zehn Jahren eine Handvoll verschiedener Permutationen durchlaufen hat, besteht die Band heute aus vier Mitgliedern: Greta Kline, Alex Bailey, Katie Von Schleicher und Hugo Stanley. Kline ist die einzige Konstante, aber Stanley, Bailey und Von Schleicher sind wichtige Mitstreiter, und es wäre falsch, die Namen "Greta Kline" und "Frankie Cosmos" synonym zu verwenden. Kline ist nach wie vor die primäre Songschreiberin, und die Musik auf "Different Talking" wurde von der Band als Ganzes arrangiert, aber dies ist das erste Album, das von der Band selbst aufgenommen und selbst produziert wurde. Nicht zufällig fühlt es sich wie eine reinere, destilliertere Aufnahme an. "Es fühlt sich an wie die beste Version von dem, was ich machen wollte, seit ich ein Teenager war", sagt Kline. "Obwohl dies in einem Wohnzimmer aufgenommen wurde, ist es so originalgetreu wie alles, was wir im Studio gemacht haben."

Da Taylor Nordberg und Jeramie Kling den Titel der 1992er Massacre-EP "Inhuman Condition" als Namen für ihre neue Band wählten, nachdem sie das Death-Metal-Flaggschiff 2020 verlassen hatten, erscheint es plausibel, dass in den letzten fünf Jahren an diesem bewährten Old-School-Sound festgehalten haben. Das dritte Inhuman-Condition-Album "Mind Trap" ist jedoch mehr als nur Massacre 2.0 und markiert eine Steigerung auf allen Ebenen. Die Tatsache, dass sich das ursprüngliche Trio, das durch den altgedienten Bassisten Terry Butler (zu verschiedenen Zeiten ebenfalls Mitglied von Massacre) vervollständigt wird, bei der Arbeit an neuem Material nie Ziele setzt, hat sich als Segen erwiesen: "Wir haben das Gefühl, dass wir unsere Identität gefunden haben und endlich über die Verbindung zu Massacre hinweg sind", sagt Nordberg. "Beim Schreiben, Aufnehmen, Mischen und so weiter wurde nichts überstürzt. Dieses Album zeichnet sich durch eine gewisse Behaglichkeit aus, hat aber immer noch diese knallharte Kante." Die Songs auf "Mind Trap" sind dem Gitarristen zufolge ein "Kommentar zu der Welt, in der wir leben". "Einige meiner Texte befassen sich mit dem erdrückenden Einfluss der Technologie auf unsere Spezies. Die Platte hat alles - Blut, Eingeweide, Serienmörder, Sci-Fi-Horror, schlechte Menschen." Die Band produzierte das Album vollständig in ihrem eigenen Studio, und das Ergebnis kann sich mehr als hören lassen. "Mind Trap" kommt mit einem weiteren bestechenden Artwork von Dan Goldsworthy (Accept, Alestorm) und zeugt von der besonderen Chemie des produktiven Duos hinter Inhuman Condition.

The 2018 live performance captured on Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Chicago Waves marked another beautiful turning point for International Anthem. The set was recorded at our then HQ, Co-Prosperity, the day after Niño and Ferguson performed as part of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings ensemble to celebrate the release of his album by the same name and recreate their contributions to the music on the record’s “LA Side”.

The release of the recording as the Chicago Waves album at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic drove home the unmistakable sound of togetherness audible in its grooves in a way that only a society trapped in their houses for a year can truly understand. But as that year fades further into the rearview mirror, Chicago Waves still maintains its power. It’s not a mystery—this is what togetherness sounds like.
The IA11 Edition LP features our IARC 2025 obi strip, plus a new 16-page 11x11" insert booklet with additional photos and extensive new liner notes by IARC co-founder Scott McNiece.

New Traditions is a collection of pipe music, electronic music, mouth music and folk music from five emerging and prominent Scottish artists.

It started in Sutherland with a recording of The Waters of Kylesku. “Do you learn any Gaelic at the school?” asks Hamish Henderson of Christine Stewart. “No,” she answers. “That’s a shame,” he responds, “Isn’t it?” she says. Then she sings. Her voice is of the peat itself, grown from the earth as the language was. It soars raptor-like above drenched ground and scoured pink rock.

Next, to Nancy Dorian, a linguistic missionary of sorts, who came from America to watch a language die. She charted the decline of Gaelic in a cluster of Sutherland villages from 1963 to 2020 when the terminal native speaker passed. Gaelic has origins in nature, with each letter of the alphabet named after a tree. It seems significant that the land of the north is now all-but devoid of forest.

Enter Alan Lomax, who travelled the world documenting indigenous music. Material from his archives feature on (fucking) Moby’s platinum selling Play. Despite the record’s worldwide commercial success we know very little of the music he essentially exploited.

Then musician Martyn Bennett, who built tracks around Lomax recordings of Scots and Gaelic voices, and did so with love that shared his blood with the cancer that killed him. His records both popularised and preserved obscure indigenous Scottish music.

This collection of tunes has similar intent: to consolidate ephemeral words in physical grooves - real as the rigs that still scar the earth - but also a desire to interpret. These versions have the greatest reverence for the originals at heart, but like the architecture of a great gallery, serve to protect and elevate.

One of Norways most acknowledged and established drummers, is finally ready to unleash his debut album as an
solo artist. DUMMY THICC - who’s real name is Sigmund Vestrheim - has played for acts such as Boy Pablo,
AURORA and with his own R&B/Soul-group Giddy Gang.

This album tells the story of DUMMY THICC, with crisp
snares and drums being the focal point of the soundscape. He invites a bunch of his friends in on the
journey, members from Giddy Gang, Ivan Ave and Vuyo jumps on the mic and instruments to help DUMMY
THICC complete his awaited debut album. The album is a travel in sound, and a perfect introduction to the world
of DUMMY THICC as a producer and artist.

Sit back and enjoy 44 minutes of beautiful beats, R&B and hiphop in the spirit of DJ Harrison, Ohbliv, Madlib and other inspirational figures that have been a key source
for Sigmund.

Limited Super Sound 12" Single out in June 2025

The Chairman of Acid Norwich debuts on Offen with The Caustic Wymondham EP.
Four much beloved tunes to impress your friends.

AI for the Zoomers:

MOY, the groundbreaking artist/band/group, has set a new milestone in the music/entertainment industry with their latest record-breaking achievement. His/Her/Their newest [album/single/track], titled [Album/Single Name], has officially become the [fastest-selling/highest-streamed/most-awarded/etc.] [album/single] in [genre/category], cementing MOY’s status as a global phenomenon.

A1 Phaseacid
A2 Outburst
B1 Strange Geometry
B2 Platonic Solid

All tracks written and produced by Jonny Moy

Andy Jenkins neues Album Since Always entstand aus dem Loslassen von Selbstwahrnehmungen, Erwartungen und Annahmen. Jenkins fand Raum in sich selbst als Gitarrist seinen eigenen Songs zu vertrauen, und Produzent Nick Sanborn schlüpfte in eine neue Art von Produktionsrolle, indem er Ideen entwarf und filterte sie gemeinsam durch. Kurzum, es war ein sehr erwachsenes Vorgehen, zwei Fans, die zusammenarbeiten, um etwas zu schaffen; eine Platte, auf der der Verlust und die Liebe, der Kompromiss und der Gewinn des Erwachsenseins sichtbar werden. Beide waren in ihren jeweiligen, aber miteinander verflochtenen Musikszenen in Richmond und Durham, schon seit Jahren Fans voneinander, hatten aber nie offiziell zusammengearbeitet. Jenkins hatte ein paar Jahre damit verbracht, Songs für den Nachfolger seines 2018 erschienenen Debüts "Sweet Bunch" zu sammeln; die neuen Songs waren kunstvoll gestaltete Oden an die verschiedenen Zusicherungen und Ängste, die damit einhergehen können, ein gewisses Maß an Zufriedenheit zu finden, wenn man auf die 30 zugeht. Als Jenkins seine Stücke einspielte, hörte Sanborn zu und ließ seiner seiner Fantasie freien Lauf und überflutete Jenkins mit Ideen - Rhythmusverschiebungen, Keyboard-Verzierungen, Gesangseffekten. Es gab ein Doppel-Takt-Piano, einen Fehler in ,Too Late", den sie beide liebten. Da war die Vocoder-Auswahl während ,Emptiness Is", eine Wahl, die es dem Paar ermöglichte einen großen Teil des Songs allein mit Bass und Schlagzeug zu bestreiten. Da war die Sequenz, die unter ,Leaving Before" brodelt, ein Spiegel des lyrischen nervösen Herzens. Als Amelia Meath und Jenn Wasner von Flock of Dimes im Studio herumhingen im Studio herumhingen, fragte Sanborn, ob sie bei ein paar Stücken singen wollten. Das ist Meath bei ,Blue Mind", die Jenkins' Zeilen über den Zauber der Liebe singt, als würde sie eine Beschwörung anbieten, und Wasner erhebt sich durch die statische Morgendämmerung von ,Lovesick". ,Andy wollte jemanden, der Entscheidungen trifft, die er nie treffen würde", erinnert sich Sanborn. ,Es war diese Minenarbeit, die wir zusammen machen mussten." Als die Songs jedoch immer mehr zusammenwuchsen, bestand Jenkins darauf, dass es endlich an der Zeit war, seine Gitarren abzulegen. ,Ich war noch nie ein besonders kompetenter Gitarrist", sagt er jetzt mit einem kleinen Lachen, aber Sanborn liebte die eigenwillige Art und Weise, wie sich seine Gitarrenschläge mit seiner Stimme verbanden, also hielt er sie hin. Sie würden auf Jenkins' langjährigen Mitarbeiter, ein Ass namens Alan Parker, warten, der aus Richmond kommen und die Teile ersetzen sollte. Als Parker kam, hörte er dasselbe wie Sanborn - ja, er war technisch versierter, aber seine Overdubs hatten nicht dieselbe Persönlichkeit, nicht die gleiche erzählerische Wahrheit. Jenkins lenkte ein, und so blieben seine Gitarren und verankern das Album.

Markantonio returns to vinyl with Radici, a bold statement that dives deep into his origins, both in name and sonic identity. This four-track EP marks a pivotal moment in his artistic journey, bridging the raw energy of early techno with his signature funky groove-driven approach.

A vital force in shaping the Neapolitan techno identity since 2001, AnalyticTrail now takes a new step in its evolution with the release of Radici. Markantonio, the label's founder and one of Italy's most influential techno figures, makes a striking return to the forefront. This release doesn't just mark his comeback to vinyl, it reflects a renewed connection to his roots and a forward-thinking vision that continues to drive the underground movement.

Opening with Welcome to Disco, the A-side sets the tone with an infectious rhythm, pulsating basslines, and shimmering synths that light up the floor with hypnotic flair. Rising Dutch talent Isaiah delivers a bold reinterpretation with his Rework, injecting a darker, more driving edge layered with brooding atmospheres and relentless percussion. On the B-side, the title track Radici dives deeper into tribal-infused territory, blending hypnotic loops with raw percussive energy, while Groover rounds out the EP with a stripped-back, minimalist roller designed for late-night momentum.

A must-have for techno lovers, Radici captures the essence of where it all began and where it's headed next.

Peach Discs’ first EP of 2025 comes from DJ, producer, curator and all-round doer of great things James Priestley aka Secretsundaze.

The Mordisco EP accumulates inspiration from James' past and present, whether it be echoes of his time as a drum & bass DJ in the late 90s on "Closer," the UK Bass-referencing percussive drive of "Treat That Doll" or the title track's vocal contributions from partner Paula Juana, the result is a personal and true record that always retains the laser-focused dancefloor energy that James is so good at dishing up.

Lead single "Mordisco" serves to highlight both the UK x Colombia connection found in James' relationship to Paula, as well as his love for Latin American music in general. Paula's sultry vocals wrap themselves around tumbling drum fills, arcing synths and an insistent rhodes riff, creating something unclassifiably groovy, riding the line between house and techno while never settling into either. Sansibar takes the baton and runs further into propulsive, progged-out, dubbed-out territory on his remix – the first officially released remix on Peach Discs.

James founded Secretsundaze as a party series in 2002, and since then it's established itself as one of the most reliable names in electronic music, encompassing a record label, festival (Multi Multi), live band (Spirit of Sundaze Ensemble) and production outfit. The four tracks that make up this EP fit neatly into the lineage that James has cultivated over the past 23 years – paying tribute to history while not being beholden to it. Mordisco continues the deep, rhythmically ambiguous approach to house music that Secretsundaze championed since the first EP for Phonica Records in 2018, and continued with stand-out releases for Mule Muziq, Live At Robert Johnson and more recently Warning.

As long-time fans and affiliates of Secretsundaze (Shanti released her Alma EP on the label back in 2015), we're thrilled to be working together again and releasing this record into the world.

New R&B discoveries continue to emerge and entertain the many followers of the New Breed musical cult; nobody finds more than the Kent connoisseurs.
Berna Dean’s two previously unheard recordings are by far her best. They were laid down at Cosimo Matassa’s New Orleans’ studios by GNP Crescendo but eschewed in favour of two relatively average sides. The great 50s R&B songwriter Jesse Stone provides a rocker for the much-admired Jimmy Breedlove and a super-catchy ‘This Morning’ for an unknown mixed vocal group that has a joyous gospel feel. Jesse also penned ‘Private Eye’, a classic early 60s story-song, for Buddy Wilkins which was issued on Al Sears’ Tri-Ess imprint.
The title track is used twice, on two very different Fraternity recordings. Kenny Smith’s version was issued in 1964 and has many followers, but the equally meritorious Coasters-inspired composition by the Citations is newly discovered. Win Menifee’s ‘I’m Runnin’ Around’ from the same Cincinnati label comes complete with a fascinating back-story.
There are three cover versions. Vermettya Royster’s ‘All Around The World’ is backed by James Brown’s 1961 band, while Roosevelt Lee's 1970 update of the 1947-originated ‘Hey Little Girl’ funks the tune up a la Godfather of Soul. The cover that will make the biggest noise is undoubtedly west coast band the Afterglows’ version of Barbara Lynn’s evergreen dancer ‘I’m A Good Woman’ – this is a future monster.
Golden Crest provides two fabulous male vocal group sides – the swinging ‘What’s On Your Mind’ by Eddie Daye’s Four Bars and the delightful harmonies of the appropriately-named, but unknown Delights ‘Mary Don’t You Weep’.
Blues still thrived into the 70s as Albert Washington’s mean and moody ‘Case Of The Blues’ proves. Smokey Wilson took the music into the late 70s with the storming ‘Goin’ Away Baby (Round Like An Apple)’, which benefits here from a 45-style edit. His Pioneer Club on 88th Street in South Central L A provides the atmospheric photo for this collection.
More early 60s movers come from Wilbur “Hi-Fi” White with ‘Don’t Look Now’, future hit songwriter Johnny Madara’s raucous ‘You Make Me Mad’ and Big Boy Groves ‘Bucket O’ Blood’ which brilliantly describes the kind of club these tracks would fit right into.
The LP version loses a few tracks, but so many collectors have strong preferences we’ve thrown the vinyl junkies a lifeline.

From a 4x5m room stacked with vinyl, ashtrays, magazine drafts, and semifunctional synths, Stompin n Risin rises again—reincarnated but not revised.
Originally a spontaneous ritual from the days of blunted dreaming and one-eyeopen ambition, this track first snuck into the world under a different name (Jacobite Fool, courtesy of those tasteful Belgians at International Feel) and went on to become a cult curio. Now, it’s back—rebuilt with the very same machines that once hummed beside the mattress, but still left to run wild like they used to.
The rest of the EP stays close to that spirit: music as lived experience, jammed with friends, lovers, and ex-boyfriends (literally). Lucy’s Electricity is a shimmering daydream, born from a jam with Daniele Labbate, recharged by a whirlwind wedding, and soundtracked by a bittersweet guitar line courtesy of the groom’s bride’s ex. A track for walking into churches—or out of time entirely. A personal favorite of the artist, and maybe the only funeral anthem with this much static joy.
One takes things inward—made with the Moog One for open-air yoga sessions during the era of no-dancing-but-still-dreaming. It’s a sun-dappled, slow-motion dancefloor where breath and bass align. Love 2 Love closes the circle: an unearthed jam with long-time collaborator and platonic supermodel Hanne Uekermann, revived from hard drive purgatory and infused with new life. A love song to the music, the moments, and the friendship behind it.
This record isn’t just a collection of tracks. It’s a lived-in photo album, a soft pulse through oceanic memory, a reminder that all sound comes from life, and maybe all life comes from sound.

Named after a (US) West Coast grocery store chain, The Whitefronts started out in 1982 as a quartet of art and theater students attending UCSB. The band quickly mutated into a sextet. In 1984, they moved north to establish themselves as part of the SF DIY culture. Live shows usually consisted of open jams drawing from what the band was obsessing about at the time—free jazz, The Velvet Underground, Caribbean music, improv noise—as well as their own unheralded genres that popped in and out of existence like subatomic particles. Shows with local bands like Slovenly, Camper Van Beethoven, Caroliner Rainbow, Vomit Launch, Barnacle Choir and Barbara Manning provide some context as to their eccentric position within the indie scene of the era.

In 1985, the band released their sole LP, Roast Belief, on their own Bogden label. This was an ambitious attempt to document the various ideas that were happening live. Though practically unknown today, it’s an extraordinary record—a mid-80s classic serving up eclectic derangement on a par with contemporaries like the Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets, Sun City Girls, Tuxedomoon and Eugene Chadbourne.
The Mamo Waves LP was compiled from recordings made between 1982-1987. As with Roast Belief LP, it’s a mind-melting jumble of the genres explored by Whitefronts throughout their existence. It was originally supposed to be released by Camper Van’s Pitch-A-Tent imprint, as a couple of WF members were touring with CBV in 1987, but the release fell through the cracks when CBV was airlifted to Virgin Records in 1988. Today, it’s clear that Mamo Waves belongs to the same 1980s Californian sub-underground aesthetic that nurtured mythical 80s bands like Departmentstore Santas and Prominent Disturbance. It’s a real WTF m.o. that still sounds like the future.

2025 Repress

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to create electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre. His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With "9 Is A Classic", "Slaves To The Rave", "Pitch-Hiker", "Stereo Murder" and "We Have Arrived", just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties! The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp. All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

“Ti Ho Sposato Per Allegria” (1967) is a comedy directed by Luciano Salce, taken from the theatrical play of the same name (1965) by Natalia Ginzburg. The main characters are Pietro and Giuliana, respectively interpreted by Giorgio Albertazzi and Monica Vitti. A lawyer from a good family, serious, accustomed to a calm and regular life who got married to a indolent and dazed girl with a difficult past a month after meeting her at a party. Despite Giuliana's inability to transform herself into a good housewife, his relationship with Pietro continues to flourish, because he seems to find enjoyment in each of his wife's many mistakes. The reason for their union lies not in love but, perhaps, in a genuine sympathy, as strong as it is mutual. The story has become a minor classic with each new representation. On both stage and screen the themes of everyday life, and the more complex and existential ones, are addressed. The subtle irony of the work relies on recounting problematic events in a carefree tone: realities such as abortion, death, separation and the couple's incommunicability are underplayed with naturalness. The funny events of the film are commented on by Piero Piccioni's music, published for the first time on vinyl by Musica Per Immagini, with an harmonious tracklist. For this first orchestra rehearsal with the director, which will be followed by other important soundtracks, the composer makes an effective and elegant synthesis: on the one hand he reworks moods and aesthetic intuitions of some previous and happy experiences, while on the other he identifies and anticipates the first bars of that unmistakable sound between bossa nova, funk and lounge nuances that will characterize almost all the production of the Seventies. In fact, the Turin-native artist simplifies in a positive sense the articulated harmonic structures that have always distinguished his authorial figure – where the so called jazz features are to be considered more than central in the musical texture, as prominent elements of the harmonic syntax – and he tries a melodic reduction that will make the compositions more catchy or memorized, but not easier for this. Lightness of spirit and rarefied elegance are the keys of this new Dionysian world.

Over 25 years ago DJ Maaco and P Dog aka Detroit In Effect released the mean green "Only Time Can Stop A Dream" EP on their M.A.P. label. Tracks like "313 Frequency" and "Sike Yo Mind", just to name a couple, banged dance floors from Detroit to Europe! Now with new generations of music lovers almost three decades later catching on to sounds some would now consider vintage, we feel it's only right to pull out some throwbacks and make them available again! So here's to old and new, the reissue of Detroit In Effect - Only Time Can Stop A Dream.

Debut single from forthcoming full length out in May 2019. The first time we heard Bobby Oroza, it was his slow moody ballad 'This Love', that perked the world's ears and made a name for the dapper crooner that calls Finland his home. Since it's release, 'This Love' has become somewhat of an underground hit, the soundtrack to car shows and swap meets in the West Coast, numerous movies and TV shows, and it even made it to Earl Sweatshirt's most recent mixtape. This new single from Bobby Oroza picks up the tempo and showcases another side of his range with a record sure to move bodies and nod heads. The A side 'Your Love Is Too Cold' is a stomper that blends the groovy soul drumming of early Motown records with guitar that could have been lifted from a James Bond

soundtrack. Bobby pleads over the track of his decision to call it quits and keep it quits. The B side 'Deja Vu' finds Oroza leaning again into the B side ballad stylings that made him a name to check for. Heavy duty drums lay down the canvas on which Bobby's vocals paint the picture of a relationship that has come to a fork in the road. The Cold Diamond & Mink production and backing band are tight as ever and this is sure to be another classic with the slowie fans.

The collaboration between influential DJ/producer Eli Escobar and acclaimed vocalist/songwriter Nomi Ruiz has been a long time in the making. The two Puerto Rican New York native’s first collaboration, the electrifying track ‘Desire’ in 2011, set the stage for a series of projects, including their recent joint effort ‘Dance 4 Love ’99’. Now, they are set to release their debut LP, ‘Love Louder’.

‘Love Louder’ captures Eli and Nomi’s experiences of love and loss, reflecting their enduring connection to New York City and its vibrant, yet fading, nightlife culture. The album, while featuring dancefloor gems like ‘Heathens’ and ‘Full Fantasy’, takes an emotional turn, focusing on the themes of loss and presence in a rapidly changing world. The title track opens with lyrics invoking the late Donny Hathaway, reflecting a more profound introspection from the duo. They share their pain over loss, particularly the passing of mutual friend James Dewitt (DJ BluJemz), whose absence profoundly affected their creative process.

Escobar recently opened a club in Brooklyn named Gabriela, honoring a friend who passed away during the pandemic, emphasizing their commitment to preserving New York's cultural landscape. ‘Love Louder’ serves as a love letter to their hometown, intertwining celebration with mourning. In the poignant track ‘Go Be Gone’, Ruiz expresses the difficulty of embracing change and saying goodbye.

As they honor the past, they also aim for a brighter future through their music.

Mit "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" (1976) vermischt Roy Ayers nahtlos die Genres Soul, Funk & Jazz und erschafft einen zeitlosen Sound, der Musiker und DJs auf der ganzen Welt noch immer beeinflusst, mit dem Vibraphon als zentrales Instrument, ein Ansatz, der Ayers einzigartigen Stil definiert. Im Jahr 1976 veröffentlichte der legendäre Musiker und Komponist Roy Ayers mit ELTS eines der bedeutesten Alben seiner Karriere. Dieses Album festigte nicht nur Ayers' Stellung als Schlüsselfigur in der Welt des Jazz, sondern markierte auch einen Meilenstein in der Soulmusik und im zeitgenössischen Jazz-Funk. Es zeichnet sich durch eine raffinierte Mischung aus unwiderstehlichen Grooves, sanften Melodien und einem einzigartigen Sound aus, der über die Jahre hinweg nicht verblaaste und für mehrere Generationen von Musikern und Hörern zu einer Referenz wurde. Mitte der 70er Jahre hatte sich Ayers bereits mit seiner Band Roy Ayers Ubiquity und seinem unverwechselbaren Einsatz des Vibraphons, das zu seinem persönlichen Markenzeichen wurde, einen Namen gemacht. Und mit ELTS wagte sich Ayers an einen noch zugänglicheren Sound, auch als Reaktion auf den Aufstieg von Disco und das wachsende Interesse an Musik afro-amerikanischer Prägung überhaupt. In den zehn Tracks des Albums schafft Ayers eine Klangatmosphäre, die sowohl die Wärme des Sommers als auch die Raffinesse des Jazz jener Zeit heraufbeschwört, alles vor dem Hintergrund des modernen Soul. Produziert von Ayers selbst zusammen mit seinem Engineer und Freund David R. Williams zeichnet sich ELTS durch den wunderbaren Klang des Fender Rhodes Pianos von Phillip Woo sowie die kraftvolle Energie der restlichen Band aus, wodurch eine unverwechselbare Authentizität und Frische erreicht wird. Zu den bekanntesten Songs gehören der Titeltrack, "The Golden Rod" und "The Third Eye", die schnell zu Klassikern des Jazz-Funk und Soul wurden. Dieses Album ist für Roy Ayers' Karriere von entscheidender Bedeutung, da es seine Fähigkeit unter Beweis stellt, in einer sich ständig verändernden Musikindustrie relevant und kreativ zu bleiben. Im Laufe der Jahre wurde "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" zu einem Kultalbum, das häufig in DJ-Sets von Künstlern wie Gilles Peterson, Theo Parrish und Lefto gespielt Verwendung findet. Der Sommer-Soul-Klassiker jetzt wieder auf klassischem schwarzem 180g-Vinyl!