No Home is the new album by Lane Hartley, releasing October 23rd 2026 on Royal Oakie Records. Produced in collaboration with David Hartley of The War On Drugs & Adam McDaniel (Animal Collective, Angel Olsen, Geologist), the album was recorded at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville and features contributions from North Carolina’s tight knit music community–including Mary Lattimore, Seth Kaufman of Floating Action & Dream Sitch, David Hartley, Jack Victor Johnson, and more.
After recording his debut album Naming Horses, Lane left Los Angeles and returned home to the Carolinas, eventually landing in Asheville. It wasn’t too long until the songs started flowing and Lane found himself reaching out to Adam McDaniel at Drop of Sun Studios–a vaunted space that’s been at the heart of indie-rock the past few years, bringing to life recent albums from MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, Fust, and more. McDaniel introduced Lane to David Hartley, and what originally started with discussions to record one song quickly turned into a plan to track a whole album live with a six piece band. Once in the studio, co-producer McDaniel encouraged the group to lean on intuition–“All of the players on this record really brought it to life in such a cosmic way. They instilled so much childlike wonder and fun into the making of the album. It inspired me to keep going” says Lane.
Lyrically the album is a collection of vignettes about people who’ve become alienated from their deepest desires of connection, belonging, intimacy, and autonomy–inspired both by Lane’s own life and the lives of people he’s loved. The unique character of the album emerged when Lane made the decision to pair the dark lyrical content with bright & lush arrangements, inspired by Gene Clark’s No Other, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, and Amen Dunes’ Love. In Lane’s words, “The content of the songs got way darker, and my reaction was to make the songs catchier, and to lean harder into the music that influenced me. I wanted each song to feel like a room in a haunted house, with a beautiful garden growing outside”.
Album opener “I Am Not Ashamed” was inspired by the anti-memoir of actress Barbara Peyton, a 1950’s Hollywood starlet who met an untimely end; “It’s about knowing that whatever you’ve done to survive, you still deserve love” says Lane. “Mother” pairs lyrics about ancestral trauma with the sunshine-pop influence of Colin Blunstone, featuring backing vocals from Lane’s sister Barrett Hartley. “It's about coming to terms with the fact that the people meant to protect us are dealing with their own trauma…”
Meanwhile, “All Of This Is Yours” and “Tone Poem” form the spiritual center of the album, an attempt to transmute anger & pain to bittersweet acceptance in the wake of a breakup. “I feel like on the surface this is essentially a breakup album, a lot of these songs are about mourning the end of a relationship and reflecting on what went down. I was falling in love and getting my heart broken, then waking up and driving across the country and doing it all over again.” “Love Is Not A Song” was inspired by Margo Guryan’s Love Songs, pairing bright piano with playful lyrics about an old man who’s been beaten down by life but still believes his greatest love is yet to come. Last but not least, title track “No Home” sums up the album’s key theme of alienation, “It all goes back to this feeling of wanting to belong to someone or somewhere, wanting to belong in your own body.”
Following their self-proclaimed LP trilogy (2020-2024), Straw Man Army returns with a new songwriting experiment in the form of True North; a collection of 11 songs written for acoustic instruments over three 72 hour sessions at a cabin, isolated in the woods north of NYC. The result is a concept album in practice as opposed to subject alone. Attuned to both the spiritual and political dimensions of seeking refuge in our times, it asks what exactly we mean by “peace” in this era of increasing violence, incarceration, and skepticism towards a future worth living. Does it feel like relaxation, does it tend towards silence? Is it the cooling of our collective rage? Not here. On True North, peace is a spiritual contradiction; a chimera incorporating our innermost desires and the brutality of the world that surrounds us. The album’s central character is a “sleepwalker” trudging through the waking nightmares that have defined daily life since the release of 2024’s Earthworks. Because True North is music that dreams. Sonically, the band toys with the aesthetics of psychedelia, folk, and kosmiche music for contrast, creating a still pool into which their deepest anxieties ripple and flow and flower into ever darker shapes. And while the musical palette plays on tropes of peace—lush piano instrumentals, fingerpicking guitars, gong, vocal harmony—the subject remains steeped in environmental collapse, death, mental breakdown, and the rejection of our most closely held myths. The clash of these forces is the engine that turns the musical wheel. True North is the sound of music mourning a future that never took place and a bout of anticipatory grief for something that’s only just begun…
Black Sheep is the influential hip‑hop duo from Queens, New York, formed by Andres “Dres” Vargas Titus and William “Mista Lawnge” McLean. Although both members hail from New York, they met as teenagers in Sanford, North Carolina, where their families had relocated. The duo became part of the celebrated Native Tongues Collective, alongside Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul, a movement known for its creativity, positivity, and forward‑thinking approach to hip‑hop. After joining forces in 1989, Black Sheep made an immediate impact with their 1991 acclaimed debut album A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing. The record earned widespread recognition for its inventive rhythms and sharp, witty, often humorous lyricism.
Their second album Non‑Fiction arrived in 1994, continuing their signature blend of jazzy hip-hop and clever, tongue‑in‑cheek storytelling. The album featured two singles “Without a Doubt” and “North South East West”.
Following its release, the group remained largely inactive throughout the decade, with the exception of Dres, who recorded a solo project under the moniker Dres The Black Sheep. Black Sheep eventually returned in 2006 with their long‑awaited third album 8WM / Novakane. Shortly thereafter, Mista Lawnge departed, while Dres has continued to release music under the Black Sheep name.
Psyché is an eclectic project rooted in the Neapolitan music scene. Conceived in 2018, the project includes Marcello Giannini (Nu Genea Live Band, Guru, Bassolino, La Famiglia), Andrea De Fazio (Nu Genea Live Band, Parbleu, The Funkin Machine), and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea Live Band, Fratelli Malibu). They were recently joined by Roberto Porzio (Parbleu, Fitness Forever, 24 Grana, The Funkin Machine).
"Hurriya (We Must Resist)" is a sonic bridge crossing the Mare Nostrum, connecting the shores of Naples and Tunisia.
At the heart of this fusion is the voice and soul of Tunisian musician Ziad Trabelsi, whose Arab roots intertwine with the psychedelic, Mediterranean sound of Psyché.
In this track, Afrobeat and Arabic sonorities meet to create a hypnotic journey, one where Ziad's oud weaves an evocative groove that gallops like horses in the desert.
The song carries the echo of the ancient dominations and cultural exchanges that have shaped Naples—a millennia-old crossroads of civilization—where traces of Arab and North African influences continue to resonate in its streets and, most notably, in its music.
"Hurriya"—the Arabic word for freedom—is an anthem of resistance and resilience, a dialogue between East and West that dissolves the rigid boundaries of geography and politics. It is a collective song for the freedom of all peoples, against oppression, abuse, and injustice everywhere in the world. As Psyché emphasize: "Even if life tests us severely, and we often feel like giving up in the face of injustice, we must resist. We must refuse to disappear."
The single is available digitally and physically, on January 23rd, as a 7" vinyl. The B-side of the physical release includes an exclusive, extended version of "Hurriya (We Must Resist)", available only in this format.
* Edition of 500 colored vinyl (transparent purple)
* Artwork developed in collaboration with Paris-based visual artist Caroline Ventura
* Including download code
i got a song, it’s gonna make us millions is the highly anticipated new album by Sirens Of Lesbos, led by sisters Jasmina and Nabyla Serag. The dynamic release is a vibrant showcase of the group's expansive musical range, blending R’n’B/Soul, Afrobeats, electronic music, and lo-fi indie pop into a rich, genre-defying experience. With its eclectic sound and captivating melodies, the album solidifies Sirens Of Lesbos as a standout force in modern music.
Featuring on the album are the singles “Room 333” feat. Kendrick-Lamar-collaborator Zacari, a futuristic R’n’B song with progressive club beats; the epic “Call Me Back” (feat. Drake-co-signed rapper SadBoi and the Kabusa Oriental Choir); and dub-infused reggae song “Let It Hurt”, plus new song “My Moon”, which draws inspiration from artists like Bruce Hornsby, Justin Vernon, and Jai Paul. Sirens Of Lesbos have earned widespread acclaim from outlets like CLASH, COLORS, Dork, Tsugi and Earmilk, with BBC 1Xtra’s CassKidd calling the collective “magical.”
As Black women living in the diaspora, Jasmina and Nabyla navigate the intersection of their parents’ collectivist North-East African culture and the Western emphasis on individuality. Questions of identity have always been central to their journey. While society often demands clear-cut definitions, the sisters have come to embrace their multifaceted identities: “We have always been many things.”
Both artists are deeply rooted in the technical and philosophical dimensions of sound. Jasmina recently completed her Sound Arts degree, and Nabyla is now finishing hers. Their academic pursuits have included creating abstract sound installations in exhibition spaces. However, their focus for the foreseeable future is on elevating the Sirens Of Lesbos project, writing and producing standout indie pop tracks, performing live, and delivering unforgettable experiences for their audiences.
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The vinyl version of i got a song, it’s gonna make us millions is published by Präsens Editionen, a Switzerland-based publishing house and music label. Founded in 2011 in the process of launching zweikommasieben Magazin, Präsens Editionen has since released music on vinyl, cassette, CD, and digital formats—alongside magazines, books, and other printed matter. Recent audio releases include works by Martina Lussi, spalarnia, Magda Drozd, Anom Vitruv, Belia Winnewisser, and Red On, among others.
Bruno Berle is a singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and figurehead of a contemporary Brazilian music movement. With a quiet mastery of songwriting and an astonishing voice, his music has won hearts around the world. Since the release of his debut album No Reino Dos Afetos (2022), Berle has performed across the UK, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China, only leaving his home country for the first time in 2023. Shaped by these journeys, Berle’s third studio album, Sem Fronteiras (Without Borders), reflects a utopian vision of a unified world.
Recorded across London, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Germany, and Maceió, the album–co-produced alongside his longstanding musical partner Batata Boy–is the most expansive canvas Berle has worked on to date. Shot through with the imagery that has always animated his songwriting: open skies, morning light, vivid colours and the magic of human connection, Berle’s carefully crafted poetics and warm, delicate instrumentation drive this vivid body of work.
“I came from nothing”–Berle doesn’t take his rise to global prominence for granted.
Born to a working class family from Brazil’s northeastern Alagoas state, one of Brazil’s most economically deprived, Bruno moved frequently in his youth to follow any job opportunities his parents could find, before eventually settling in the coastal capital of Maceió. “I used to travel to Caruaru, Santa Cruz, Recife, Garanhuns, Arapiraca, which I loved and feel it made me ready to be in this rhythm i’, but at the same time I think not having friends from childhood and being in constant change made me a little numb to the constant upheaval”. On Sem Fronteiras, there is a similar duality at play. The album celebrates the collective joy and human connection that live touring brings, but it also sits with the darker realities of crossing borders. While music moves more freely around the world than ever before, our bodies are not granted the same privilege.
Though he’s never lacked self-belief, Berle recognises that talent alone doesn’t guarantee opportunity. “Before my second album No Reino Dos Afetos 2 everything I had ever recorded was made with the help and kindness of people who believed in my ability”. Determined to pay that kindness forward and help others from the sharp end of Brazil’s desperately unequal society, Berle produced and featured on the recent self-titled albums by his northeast Brazilian compatriots, Nyron Higor and Phylipe Nunes Araújo (both 2025), helping propel both onto the international stage. In turn, following the successes of Nyron & Phylipe’s albums alongside his own, Bruno finds himself at the forefront of a thriving community of artists now based in São Paulo, but primarily originating from northeastern states like Alagoas and Pernambuco.
Much like the famed Clube Da Esquina movement that spawned in 1970’s Minas Gerais, they operate with a free-exchange of ideas, writing songs with and for each other, performing on each other’s albums and on the live circuit together. Lead single ‘Manha’ flows from this ethos. It was written by Berle’s friend and fellow Alagoan João Menezes (writer of ‘Ate Meu Violao’ and ‘Te Amar Eterno’ from Bruno’s previous albums) and Marvin Viera, and originally recorded on their 2018 album Areia e Mar.
Sem Fronteiras opens with ‘Você Já Sabe Que Eu Te Amo’, just six beats of one nylon guitar chord ring out before changing key, paving the way for the gentle strike of fender rhodes and the arresting call & response duet between Berle and Higor. On ‘Amor Inteiro’, the album reaches a celebratory burst of catharsis, with the punch-packing drums of Pedro Lacerda and Nina Maia’s joyous backing vocals encapsulating the live energy that Berle and his band bring to the stage.
With the abundant talents of this musical community at its heart, Sem Fronteiras releases 10th July 2026 via Far Out Recordings, supported by a summer tour across Europe. Bruno Berle will perform in a four-piece band alongside Nyron Higor, Phylipe Nunes, and Batata Boy, culminating in an appearance at Roskilde festival, Berle’s biggest live show to date. He’ll continue to carry a hopeful vision of a world where artists and musicians can move as freely as their music flows.
Tracklist:
A1 “Você Já Sabe Que Eu Te Amo”
(Nyron Higor / Bruno Berle)
Nyron Higor – drums, bass, acoustic guitar, electric piano, synthesizers, vocals
Bruno Berle – piano, vocals
Batata Boy – piano
Jorik Bergman – score preparation and conducting
Klara Gronet – violin
Ségolène de Beaufond – violin
Cristina Ardelean Montelongo – viola
Ilektra Stevi – cello
A2 “Não Posso Viver Sem Você”
(Batata Boy / Bruno Berle)
Batata Boy – electric piano, organ, synthesizer
Bruno Berle – drums, bass, synthesizer, vocals
Jorik Bergman – score preparation and conducting
Klara Gronet – violin
Ségolène de Beaufond – violin
Cristina Ardelean Montelongo – viola
Ilektra Stevi – cello
A3 “A Noite de Estrelas”
(Nyron Higor / Bruno Berle)
Nyron Higor – synthesizers
Bruno Berle – bass, drums, vocals
A4 “Outra Noite”
(Bruno Berle)
Nyron Higor – drums
Bruno Berle – acoustic guitar, bass
Felipe Berle – congas
Lucca Francisco – guitar, vocals
B1 “Amor Inteiro”
(Bruno Berle)
Pedro Lacerda – drums, choir
Nyron Higor – bass, choir
Batata Boy – guitars, organ, electric piano, choir
Nina Maia – choir
Bruno Berle – guitars, acoustic guitar, congas, vocals
B2 “Ideias Mágicas”
(Batata Boy / Bruno Berle)
Heloisa Alvino – trombone
Batata Boy – synthesizers, beats, electric piano, organ, bass
Bruno Berle – synthesizer, vocals
B3 “Vim Dizer”
(Batata Boy / Bruno Berle)
Batata Boy – electric piano, organ, synthesizer
Thomas Stankiewicz – synthesizer
Nyron Higor – synthesizer
Bruno Berle – acoustic guitar, bass, vocals
B4 “Tô Assim”
(Bruno Berle)
Bruno Berle – acoustic guitars
Batata Boy – synthesizer
Nyron Higor – bass, synthesizer
B5 “Manhã”
(João Menezes / Marvin Silva)
Bruno Berle – acoustic guitar, vocals, congas, shaker
Batata Boy – piano, shaker, electric piano, vibraphone, synthesizers
Nyron Higor – drums, bass
B6 “Sem Fronteiras”
(Bruno Berle)
Filipe Mariz – guitar
Bruno Berle – acoustic guitar, vocals, bass
Jennifer Souza – vocals, acoustic guitar
Rudson França – drums
Credits:
Produced by Bruno Berle and Batata Boy
Mixed and mastered by Bruno Berle, Batata Boy and Felipe Berle
Audio engineering:
Nyron Higor (track 1 – production; track 4 with Felipe Berle)
Joe Osborne (tracks 7 and 9)
Victor Gelling (strings on tracks 1 and 2)
Filipe Mariz (track 10)
Photography: Claudio Virgínio
Design: Minchai
Recorded in:
Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
Tamandaré, Pernambuco, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
London, England
Cologne, Germany
Patchwork Inc. is a multi genre music collective based in Chicago. Inspired by the intricate and repetitive patterns on a quilt, deep grooves are stitched together with vibrant threads of analog synths, fat bass, Fender Rhodes, and a plethora of percussion to form a uniquely personal piece of art. "Whatever Makes You Happy," comes on like one of those unseasonably warm days in late fall. Flute, synth, and congas flutter like a cool breeze before giving way to a sunny and sultry hook. North Carolina native Taylor Williams brings a D'angeloesque vocal to a Roy Ayers style instrumental resulting in a mosaic of neo-soul and jazz-funk. The record's flipside evokes more of an idyllic fall day. The kind of day where you can throw on your favorite jacket and endlessly stroll down a tree-lined path as amber leaves fall to the ground. Chicago journeyman and musical prodigy Wyatt Waddell effortlessly layers his voice over the backbeat of "Last Forever," resulting in a medium-fidelity banger that could be confused for a I Want You-era Marvin demo.
Hit the North is a DJs’ movement
Not a label. Not a revival. A discipline.
Over the years, the collective travelled across multiple states in the US and parts of the UK, digging deep into private collections, basements, garages, storage rooms and forgotten boxes.
They weren’t looking for classics.
They weren’t looking for hits.
They were looking for attempts.
Artists chasing something bigger than themselves.
Trying to sound like Motown.
Trying to sound like Detroit.
Trying to sound like the records that saved them.
Many of them dreamed — at best — of becoming a one hit wonder.
Most never got that far.
Some never crossed a state line.
Some never crossed the street at the end of their block.
Some never played outside their hometown.
Some never played at all.
What they left behind were fragments.
Raw versions.
Unfinished recordings.
Alternate takes.
Rejected mixes.
Test pressings.
Acetates passed quietly from hand to hand.
Sometimes with real credits.
Sometimes with fake ones.
Sometimes with handwritten labels leading nowhere.
Titles that didn’t match the music.
Stories that changed every time you asked.
Often, the trail simply disappeared.
What remained was intention.
Energy.
Urgency.
Hope pressed into sound.
So the collective worked on it.
They edited certain parts.
Extended others.
Cut what didn’t serve the floor.
Not to modernise.
Not to rewrite history.
But to unlock the power that was already there.
The result sounds like Northern Soul pushed to its breaking point.
Fast. Physical. Emotional.
Built for movement.
Some circulated privately.
Others were never pressed at all.
Recorded in personal studios, borrowed studios, friends’ rooms, temporary spaces.
Always outside the system.
This is not nostalgia.
This is unfinished business.
Cinthie’s Collective Cuts sub-label of her 803 Crystal Grooves label welcomes the UK’s Black Eyes onto its roster this March with his ‘Hydrocity Reflex’ EP, comprised of four original soul drenched House Jams.
Cinthie’s 803 Crystal Grooves Collective Cuts welcomes Black Eyes with a fresh four-track EP that distils the Manchester-born, Berlin-based artist’s signature aesthetic into its purest form. Fusing deep, trippy and soulful house with a raw, Detroit-leaning sensibility, Black Eyes channels the influence of House music’s roots into rolling rhythms and fluid textures alongside shaped by his enduring love of water. Now firmly embedded in Berlin’s underground while carrying the grit of his northern roots, he delivers a release that feels both immersive and driving a natural fit for 803 Crystal Grooves’ dance floor focused sonic vision.
Opening the EP is ‘Can You Dig That Depth’, an emotive slice of House driven by saturated keys, soulful vocal lines, heavily swung drums and a buoyant bassline. ‘Pressure Malfunction’ follows, stripping things back to organic percussion, sweeping filtered funk loops and intricately processed spoken-word chants. The B-side begins with ‘Loyalty To Tha Deep’, living up to its name as it embraces classic Deep House sensibilities through choppy, airy chord progressions, hypnotic breathy vocals, fluttering melodies and slow-slung, crunchy drums. ‘Funky Oxygen’ then brings the release to a close, channelling the spirit of Motor City House with a refined blend of cut-up samples, shuffled percussion, jazzy keys and a snaking bass groove.
"The Land of the Sun, the Moon and Cosmic Melodies" is a conceptual Opera of III movements, inspired by a cosmogony that features the planets of the sun and the moon. These two characters guides us on a journey of light and shadow, rising and setting in a cycle of unexplored musical territories.
The Collective Move presents its debut album with a broad palette of sounds, ranging from jazz to opera, from southern Italian folk music to northern Indian classical music, orchestrating a 60-minute "sonic narration" that ends with the fable "What do the birds tell?".
The Collective Move is an international group of young musicians formed in the Amsterdam Conservatory in 2022. The Collective's vision is to unite diverse artistic expressions and musical genres, inviting diverse artists and musicians from diverse cultures and countries to collaborate in flexible and interdisciplinary formations.
DJ Support: Antal, I Cube, Noel Watson, Colleen Cosmo Murphy, Sean Johnston, San Soda, Takaya Nagase, Tina Edwards, Pete Herbert, Kenneth Bager, Severino, Aaron Paar, Felix Joy, Harri Harrigan, Laroye, Telford, Darker Than Wax, Rocky (X Press 2), Shane Johnson, Dan Tyler, Felix Dickinson and many more
Having previously released selected retrospectives focused on the musical output of Ryo Kawasaki and Joan Bibiloni, NuNorthern Soul has now turned its attention to the vast back catalogue of Jasper Van’t Hof’s pioneering electro-acoustic, Afro-fusion collective, Pili Pili.
The band was established in 1984 by Van’t Hof, a Dutch pianist who began his career in Europe’s jazz scene of the late 1960s, as a way of combining his love of jazz-fusion and the music of North-West Africa. Van’t Hof already had a reputation for combining roles in traditional jazz combos with more experimental and abstract projects. These included a spell in violinist Jean-Luc Ponty’s first band, years spent masterminding jazz-rock outfit Jasper Van’t Hof’s Porkpie, the recording of an all- electronic album (1982’s Visitors), and a celebrated collaborative live album with the great Archie Shepp, Mama Rose.
Pili Pili, though, was another step forward for Van’t Hof. Working with percussionists and vocalists from Benin and Mali (including the now legendary Angelique Kidou) and a string of adventurous jazz soloists (saxophonist Tony Lakoto and trumpeter Annie Whitehead included), Van’t Hof’s collective frequently combined live and programmed percussion, electronic and acoustic instrumentation, and the talented improvisor’s own memorable melodies and impactful solos.
NuNorthern Soul’s retrospective focuses on the most productive and celebrated period of Pili Pili’s near three-decade history, showcasing tracks originally recorded and released on studio albums released between 1984 and 2002. The six tracks on show offer an essential glimpse into the musical gold to be found across the Pili Pili catalogue.
In keeping with NuNorthern Soul’s previous retrospectives, the vinyl version of Selected Works 1984-95 comes with extended liner notes telling the remarkable story of this most unusual of cross-cultural collaborations. These feature extensive quotes, reflections and memories from Jasper Van’t Hof and were written by music historian Matt Anniss.
RedNilo is an Italian-Moroccan duo composed of Reda Zine and Danilo Mineo, two musicians based in Bologna linked by a deep passion
for world music, particularly African music. Their ongoing and tireless musical exploration has led them to collaborate for over a decade
on numerous artistic and recording projects. Their new album, eponymously titled RedNilo, features six tracks characterized by a sound
reminiscent of Gnawa, Hassani, Tuareg, and experimental rock. The psychedelic, raspy riffs of the electric guitar, the repetitive rhythms
of the percussion, and the rhythmic-melodic lines of the guembri represent and evoke their journey. The resulting sound material is the
culmination of their journey and their encounters with masters, artists, griots, artisans, and instrument makers in the Draa Valley in
southeastern Morocco, bringing together the two musicians' urban and experimental backgrounds and souls. The album's artwork was
designed by Moroccan artist Aali Wica, initiator and mentor of their spiritual and artistic journey to the southern African continent,
across the long black snake.
Réda Zine, a musician and documentary filmmaker born in 1977 in Casablanca, launched his musical career in the 1990s, contributing
to L'Boulevard, Africa's largest independent festival. Raised in the Casablanca medina, he was introduced to Gnawa music by various
Maallems. After studying at the Paris 3 Sorbonne University, he founded Café Mira, a project that has performed at several international
events.
From 2011 to 2014, Zine was artistic director for Creative Commons (Middle East and North Africa), where he won the #CC10 Korea
award in 2012 with the project "It will be Wonderful," which brought together musicians from over 12 countries. He has also been
involved in exhibitions on music and censorship, participating in events in major cities such as Paris, Buenos Aires, and Seoul. In Italy,
he continued his musical research with the Hardonik project and was part of the Afrobeat group Voodoo Sound Club, recording the
album Mamy Wata. Zine collaborates with artists such as Seun Kuti and has initiated educational activities related to Gnawa music,
contributing to initiatives such as the African Symphony Laboratory for improvisers. He is the co-founder of Fawda, a Gnawa-based
project, and is part of the Gnawa Rumi collective, which explores the music of the Moroccan diaspora in Italy. He directed the documentary "The Long Road to the Hall of Fame" about Public Enemy, which won an award at the Pan African Film Festival in 2015.
Danilo Mineo graduated as a national educator from the AMMnationalscholl music academy in Milan, with a thesis entitled "Afro-Cuban
Music and the Rhythm Section." Over the years, he has attended workshops and masterclasses with international artists and masters
of percussion and drums, including Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Airto Moreira, Trilok Gurtu, Luis Agudo, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Dudu
Tucci, Dom Famularo, Karl Potter, Rodney Barreto, and Eno Zangoun, exploring the rhythmic language of various musical genres and
styles.
In addition to publishing several educational manuals for percussionists, music critics consider him a versatile percussionist, active in
various musical productions and recordings: Mop Mop, Fawda, Guglielmo Pagnozzi "Voodoo Sound Club," Fabrizio Puglisi "Guantanamo," Panaemiliana, The Mixtapers, and many others, with whom he has performed at numerous national and international music festivals (in Europe and Africa). As a percussionist and side man he has recorded numerous albums and collaborated with Italian and
international artists including: Giancarlo Schiaffini, Gianluca Petrella, Roy Paci, Roberto Freak Antoni, Famoudou Konate, Melaku Belay, Baba Sissoko, Kalifa Kone, Jamal Ouassini, Deda, Dj Lugi, Bioshi.
Emerging from the suburbs of North London in the early 1990s, Hulusi was an experimental electronic music collective formed by four friends of multi-ethnic origin: Cypriot, Caribbean, Indian and English heritage. Cultivating their musical practice within very specific parameters of time and space, Hulusi instills the essence and spirit of the acid house movement (and its aftermath) that had taken much of England by storm from 1988 onwards. The ‘Dream’ EP was the collective's first release of their self-funded and limited output, offering up a categorically elusive record that could soundtrack the most esoteric and life affirming club moments, whilst simultaneously satisfying the ears and obscure desires of those found dwelling in the heavily occupied ‘chill out’ rooms and nocturnal after parties. As the emerging UK rave scene aligned with newfound accessibility of music production, the late 80s and early 90s became a fertile ground for experimental electronic music, spawning a generation of bedroom and basement producers interacting with and creating music for often the very first time. Like many, Hulusi was a musical project that connected the dots between DIY spirit, technological advancements and the burgeoning cultural phenomenon of acid house. The project operated outside of the then perceived, traditional band conventions, instead developing their sound and exchanging ideas through the format of demo tapes and floppy disks, nurturing their work through individual bedroom studios and feedback sessions. Considered a crucial and possibly defining element of the record, is Hulusi’s unconscious exploration of the groups hybrid cultural identity. Rooted in a shared desire for self-invention, the Dream EPreflects Hulusi's response to a world of rapid musical and technological change. Each track on the record draws inspiration from both Western and Eastern musical frameworks, symbolized through the record’s structure. The ‘Western Side’, featuring "Dream," echoes the ambient techno and acid house influences of early rave culture and bands like 808 State and Orbital. In contrast, the ‘Eastern Side’ of the record is highly decorated with samples, yet stripped back, through its purposeful use of organic sounds, reflecting the group's fascination with blending Western modernism with imagined Eastern themes. Despite operating in near obscurity, Hulusi - The Dream EP acts as an audible catalyst to transport the listener to a different time and place, offering a lucid snapshot into the musical and cultural explorations of the past whilst simultaneously remaining a timeless piece of music.
The album’s title deftly gestures to the sheer vastness of astronomical dimensions, while simultaneously capturing the musical breadth within, where the eight planets are imagined as the eight notes of an octave. The work draws inspiration not only from earlier compositions —most notably Gustav Holst’s The Planets—but also from the rich astronomical and cultural contexts surrounding these celestial bodies. Here, the focus transcends direct citation of melodic motifs, instead embracing an intriguing conceptual approach on a meta level, unfolding in a series of vividly contrasting soundscapes. These contrasts shape a sweeping sonic journey, one that fully embraces the album format with both arms, inviting the listener to venture into realms both strange and wondrous, feeling the immensity of the interstellar space that lies between them. Contrast, after all, is the brushstroke that enriches our world.
Embarking on an auditory voyage, "Astral Guide" establishes the sonic framework that propels us into the boundless expanses of the cosmos. Its ethereal tones evoke the vastness of space, crafting a mood ripe for exploration within the realms of sci-fi. The subsequent tracks unfold like constellations, weaving a rich tapestry of sound that seamlessly marries cinematic soundscapes with pulsating, club-oriented rhythms. This album invites listeners to traverse its immersive landscapes, whether nestled in the comfort of home or dancing under the starlit sky, each note a guide through the transcendent experience of a nocturnal journey.
"Solar Flares" draws its inspiration from the awe-inspiring expanse of solar phenomena, capturing the majestic power of the sun as it reaches into the cosmos. This track resonates with the idea that energy, while vital, can also be a force of destruction when unleashed with overwhelming intensity. The composition beautifully mirrors the sun’s duality, where brilliance and devastation coexist, inviting listeners to reflect on the delicate balance between creation and annihilation. Through its rich textures and dynamic shifts, "Solar Flares" serves as both a homage to the celestial and a poignant reminder of nature's formidable power.
"Mercury – The Winged Messenger" embodies a meticulously crafted soundscape where artistry meets astronomy. The tempo of 173.6 BPM, derived from precise astronomical data, propels the composition into a vibrant realm that resonates with cosmic energy. Synthwave sound design intertwines seamlessly with the fluid rhythms of Drum’n’Bass, imbuing the piece with an uplifting dynamism that evokes the ethereal grace of Mercury itself. In this sonic exploration, listeners are invited to ascend on wings of sound, navigating the celestial tapestry of the universe with each invigorating beat.
"Venus, The Bringer of Peace" strikes a decidedly cozy note, presenting a poignant contrast to the more tempestuous themes often found in cosmic narratives. This composition evokes a nostalgic vision of an optimistic era, one in which humanity transcended borders and embraced the infinite possibilities of space exploration, where no destination felt too distant. The dense, languid atmosphere envelops the listener, creating a tangible sense of serenity that unfolds gradually, allowing for a meditative journey through sound. Each note serves as an invitation to linger in this tranquil embrace, reflecting on the harmonious potential of our collective aspirations and the beauty of connection in a vast universe.
The central theme of „Gaia, The Bringer of Life“ —originally not part of the planetary cycle— is the profound enabler of life on Earth. The arrangement delicately mirrors the slow, tentative unfolding of this potential, marked by an initially sparse orchestration that gradually builds in momentum. This progression crescendos, embodying the explosive dynamism of the Cambrian burst of life, ultimately culminating in a euphoric fanfare—a triumphant, celebratory flourish echoing life’s victorious emergence.
"Blue Moon" unfolds as a contemplative reverie on the tranquil clarity of a night sky, now seldom glimpsed in its natural purity, unclouded by the relentless haze of urban light. The listener is drawn into the vast embrace of the star-strewn firmament, a journey that sways between euphoric awe at nature’s sublime beauty and a profound melancholy for its fragile and imperiled state. Musically, this duality finds expression in the delicate interplay of modal mixtures, while an ever-shifting triplet groove, poised at the intersection of Outrun and melodic house, lends a pulse that is both nostalgic and forward-looking—echoing the beauty and transience of a world on the brink.
Rather than replicating the original composition of „Mars, The Bringer of War“, this interpretation seeks to evoke its profound, foreboding atmosphere. Cyberpunk emerges here as an ideal genre, channeling the dark, relentless march synonymous with Mars, the ancient god of war. The piece reverberates with intensity, as distorted vocalizations rise, embodying the anguish and visceral torment that shadow war’s violent crescendo. This auditory descent into conflict captures the relentless pulse of warfare, where sound itself becomes an embodiment of suffering and fury.
Majestically, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" emerges on the celestial stage, sweeping away the somber tones with its radiant vigor. Drawing inspiration from the triumphant strains of the original, and borrowing a melodic motif in the refrain, the piece expresses joy and buoyancy through a shift to a major key and the lilting sway of a danceable 12/8 meter. Spirited and exuberant, it leaps boldly from major to minor and back again, playfully shifting time signatures to capture a mood of unbridled festivity and jollity.
Here, a more conciliatory concept is chosen than in the original inspiration. „Saturn“ aligns with the number six, being the sixth planet from the Sun and bearing the iconic hexagonal pattern at its northern pole. What, then, could be more fitting than to render this piece in a 6/8 time signature? The arrangement unfolds with a multifaceted richness, mirroring the countless stones and ice fragments that form the foundations of Saturn’s majestic rings.
„Uranus“ adopts the theme of a light-footed, dancing instrumentation, giving the impression of perpetual motion, never quite settling. This musical choice harmonizes with the planet’s own orbit, as it spins with breathtaking velocity, teetering and swaying, seemingly unable to attain rest or stability.
The chill and vastness of the cosmos find expression in „Neptune, The Mystic“. At its core, an electronic soundscape envelops a classical arrangement, its unreachability intensified by an ethereal, otherworldly choir. Hovering at the outermost boundaries of the solar system, where warmth is but a distant memory, the composition lingers in a slow, contemplative tempo, evoking a realm where space for speculation stretches wide and silence reigns supreme.
Though Pluto may have lost its planetary status, and its companion Charon never achieved one, this shift in classification subtly aligns with the cosmic scale invoked here—one that mirrors the musical tradition of an eight-note sequence. Fittingly, the album closes with „Kuiper Belt“, a composition emblematic of the turbulence and vitality of countless smaller
celestial bodies that, though diminutive, find their rightful place within the vast architecture of the solar system.
They say nature is the greatest composer, shaping the universe with a symphony of chaos and order, beauty and danger. It is this duality that fuels the artistic vision of Edictum—a producer who, armed with a doctorate in chemistry, delves as deeply into the mysteries of molecules as he does into the depths of sound. In the tension between the vastness of the cosmos and the microscopic processes that dictate life’s rhythm, Edictum creates sonic landscapes that dissolve the boundaries between science and art.
His music is a story of contrasts—a sonic tale where the raw forces of nature clash with the intricate structures of human culture. Opposites intertwine to form a harmonious whole: the primal rhythms of the earth meet the celestial melodies of the cosmos, the rigid laws of physics blend with the boundless freedom of art. Edictum explores these polarities with meticulous devotion, each composition an expedition into uncharted soundscapes—a quest to give voice to the unfathomable.
With over 20 years immersed in the realms of electronic music, Edictum has honed a keen sense for rhythm and movement. His driving beats compel both body and mind into a hypnotic flow. Yet beyond the pulse of dance lies a complex framework of conceptual thought. Today, his creative focus revolves around holistic album projects—self-contained worlds with overarching narratives that embrace contrast and complexity. Each track stands alone as a fragment of the whole, but together, they weave a cohesive tapestry, much like the chapters of a novel that guide the listener on an emotional and sonic journey.
Edictum’s distinctive musical signature has earned him international recognition. With over 150 releases, many on prestigious platforms like the iconic *NewRetroWave* label, and collaborations with artists such as Jan Johnston, Azumi Inoue, Powernerd, and Turbo Knight, he has solidified his place in the global electronic music scene. His latest work, *A Cosmic Scale*, marks his seventh vinyl album and is released under his own label, *Echoes of Expanse*. The label’s name is no coincidence—it captures the essence of his art: echoes of infinity, the vibrations of the universe distilled into a singular sonic experience that carries the listener ever further into the boundless expanse of sound and space.
Over three years in the making, Needle Mythology Records is delighted to announce a super deluxe, expanded remastered reissue of The Lilac Time’s 1991 masterpiece, Astronauts. Released as a triple vinyl, triple CD or single vinyl, only 1000 copies of each format will be produced, there will be no further pressings. Both the 3LP and 3CD editions will come with an extensive 11,000 word oral history of Astronauts and liner notes by Needle Mythology co-founder and longtime Stephen Duffy fan, Pete Paphides.
All three albums including a 2024 remaster, a collection of works in progress entitled‘Softened By Rain The Making Of Astronauts’ and a live compilation ‘Any Road Up The Lilac Time Live 1990/91’ have been mastered for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Roadand will be housed in a triple gatefold sleeve with a colour inner sleeve and new artwork for each disc, which has been especially created by designer Mike Storey. The main sleeve for Astronauts itself will replicate the original artwork but with the four distinctive “blobs” rendered in a red “foil” texture. In addition to these three disc sets, 1000 single vinyl remastered copies of Astronauts will also be made available, in a cherry red vinyl edition to match the outer sleeve.
With the shoegaze and baggy movements at their zenith, The Lilac Time’s fourth album was released at a moment when the left-field music zeitgeist was shaped by the nascent shoegaze, baggy and grunge movements. Whilst Astronauts conformed to none of those trends, neither was it the record Stephen had in his head when he finally finished working on it. We’ll never know how that record would have sounded, but it’s hard to imagine a better version of the album he did end up making. The songwriter who brought ‘A Taste of Honey’ and ‘Hats Off, Here Comes The Girl’ into the world envisaged the sort of choruses that would jump from the single speaker of your favourite transistor and lodge themselves into the collective memory bank.
But while he really was writing some of his most beautiful melodies, Astronauts is a family of songs that demands to be kept together in the sundazed cloud of inspiration that created it. It constitutes a partial retreat from the outwardfacing utopianism of its predecessors, choosing instead to dwell on the journey taken to get to this point. That this is an audibly different band to the pastoral expeditionaries of the group’s previous releases is almost entirely down to the departure of Nick Duffy and the arrival of Sagat Guirey. Suddenly, accordions, banjos and mandolins are out; jazz guitar is in. Sagat’s filigree work on the outro of ‘A Taste for Honey’ acts as a sublime parting shot to a lyric which acts as a wiser, wistful companion piece to Stephen’s 1985 solo hit ‘Kiss Me’, something tantamount to the camera retreating to reveal the years elapsed between the time depicted and the present day. The distance between the carefree youth of pop stardom and the first intimations of mortality can be measured between the first and second verses of the quietly devastating ‘Madresfield’; from the depiction of the deserted cricket pavilion obscured by fresh snowfall to the sudden shift in perspective from subject to protagonist: ‘No one ever told me/That killing time is harmful/For time cannot recover/What soon the ground will offer.’ For all of that, however, the resulting album didn’t correspond to the vision its creator had for it. At a loss as to what to do with it, Stephen surrendered Astronauts to Creation with no plans to promote or draw attention to it. The consciousness shift of which Stephen had hoped The Lilac Time might be a precursor hadn’t happened. Or, rather, it had – but it had happened elsewhere, in the Haçienda and Shoom and in Ibiza. Not on the hills of Herefordshire. In a nod to that sea change, Stephen handed over one song, ‘Dreaming’ to Hypnotone, who
As the tenth candle flickers atop the torta alla panna, Archeo Recordings play the Uno reverse card, breaking with tradition to give us a gift in celebration of its birthday: the first in a series of exquisite EPs on which the label's favourite contemporaries pay homage to past masters. Each re-polished gem is plucked either directly from the beatific back catalogue of the fine Florentine label or is at least Archeo-adjacent, perhaps a sign of future wonders to come. Like a musical version of Janus, who can be found at the heart of Bertoldo di Giovanni's frieze in the Medici villa, Archeo Recordings will continue to look forwards and backwards to provide sublime sounds for us all.
Pepe Maina officially joined the Archeo family in 2019 with the much-needed reissue of his 1979 masterpiece Scerizza (AR015), but his astounding music has been a constant companion to label head Manu for much longer. An inter-dimensional, multi-instrumental maverick, Maina weaves the frayed edges of prog rock, new age, organic jazz and global minimalism into a shimmering tapestry all of his own. The results are spread across fifty years and almost as many albums, largely self-released and always absolutely untarnished by commercial concerns.
Based in a small village in the hills of Brianza, just north of Milan, Maina translates the beauty of his surroundings into transformative tone poems, and the folkloric fusion of "The Infinite", originally released on his 2014 CD Tales From The Hill, is the perfect example of his practice. It opens with a recitation of Giacomo Leopardi's 1825s poem "L'Infinito" by famed Italian actor Vittorio Gassman. A leading figure in the romantic movement, Leopardi explores the idea of time and space within the natural world, and the peace that comes with an appreciation of the immensity of eternity. Manu, longtime digger and now a burgeoning producer, expands upon the original with tribal percussion, chirping electronics and a spheric bassline, folding Maina's elegant strings and gossamer pads into a new arrangement suited for a slow dance under the stars.
Unless you had a well-trained ear tuned to Italy's avant-jazz scene, chances are your first encounter with innovative flautist Roberto Aglieri came via the 2017 Archeo reissue of hisalmost untraceable LP Ragapadani (AR011). It's a true testament to Manu's digging credentials that he snatched this masterpiece out of the esoteric atmosphere and brought it attention it so richly deserved. A delicate union of digital synthesis and versatile flute - be it soft and silvery or
brilliant and clear - the 1987 album was a shapeshifting masterpiece, replaying scenes from Virgil, Verdi, Visconti and Pasolini with a neon glow. Quintessentially Italian, but uncanny and previously unimagined - Penthouse and Portico perhaps. Powered by a percolating prototechno sequence, cascading keys, hallucinogenic vocal snippets and a variety of tonal timbres from Roberto's reed, "Danza N. 1" long deserved the praise reserved for Jean-Luc Ponty's pinnacle, so many thanks to Manu for our collective introduction. The tall task of reinterpreting this particular paragon falls to Perugian polymath Daniele Tomassini AKA Feel Fly, whose peerless skills as both producer and musician have delighted DJs and dancers alike. Hot on the heels of his diverse and definitive remixes of Tony Esposito for AR027, Daniele delivers a radical rework of "Danza N. 1" perfect for both day rave sunshine and full moon party alike. Enhanced by snapping breaks and a rattling kick, the bassline gurgle emerges as a progressive powerhouse, laying the foundation for the trilling flute and circular keys to cast a psychedelic spell. As the slow-Goa revival picks up pace, this one is way ahead of the pack.
Archeo take us all the way back to the start of its story here - well almost. Though it bore the stamp AR001 (2015), this Radio Band reissue actually hit shelves months after Tony Esposito's "Je-Na' / Pagaia"; a false start perhaps but a true classic all the same. Radio Band were a group of DJs from Florence who all sailed the airways of Radio Fantasy in 1984 and whose one and only release was this super groovy slice of Italo-boogie. Following the example of Milanese DJs Band of Jocks but far surpassing their formulaic funk fizzle, Radio Band employed an intergalactic bassline, cosmic keys and that undeniably Italian style of rapping to deliver a sophisticated party-starter which even found its way to disco deity Ron Hardy. Back to the here and now, and if you've found yourself pumping an ecstatic fist to a supercharged Italian epic of late, chances are its from the mind of the mysterious Radiomarc. Operating on the ascendent Popcorn Groove imprint, this shadowy figure steers his country's lost classics into peaktime territories, finding a sweet spot between late Italo-disco, early Italo-house and contemporary cool. Pushing the tempo with a club-ready 4/4, setting the sequencer to stun and supplementing the original melodies with a series of synth riffs, the mystery producer send this one into orbit. Radio Band - Radio Rap - Radiomarc, the circle is complete.
Few have done more to develop cross-cultural musical exchange than Futuro Antico. A collaborative venture from musician, archeologist and ethnomusicologist Walter Maioli, keyboardist and tonal theoretician Riccardo Sinigaglia and multi-disciplinary artist and composer Gabin Dabiré, Futuro Antico formed in Milan in 1979, combining ancient international folkloric traditions with otherworldly electronics. The result is an arresting melange of Mediterranean, African and Asian instrumentation, mimicked by esoteric synth tones and hypnotic minimalism, which the group perfected on their acclaimed 1990 LP Dai Primitivi All'Elettronica. The meditative and transportive "Pan Tuning" belongs to their largely overlooked 2005 CD only release Intonazioni Archetipe, and has been amongst Manu's most loved tracks from the first moment he heard it. Who else is better placed to reshape this evocative opus into an immersive, transcendental dance floor journey than label favourites Mushrooms Project? The duo sows the original elements into a sprawling fifteen minute fusion of séance and science, at times propulsive with a ritualist rhythm of tuned percussion and crunching drum machine at others drifting off into ethereal ambience. Mushrooms Project continue to push the boundaries of the Afro-cosmic style, and this remix marks a new zenith.
Debut album from UK jazz saxophonist and composer Miles Spilsbury, featuring Carlos Niño. Produced by Slugabed.
Light Manoeuvres is about warmth, generosity and openness. The music which would become Light Manoeuvres was sketched in fragments, but began to take shape in earnest during a period of living under the Marseille haze in the South of France.
The specific character and opacity of the light in Marseille inspired the album title which imagines the movement of light passing over different subjects and spaces in intricate motion. Sand blows over from the Sahara on the Sirocco wind and is whipped up by the Mistral, the Marseille sky becomes golden and vapoured, then intermittently pastel blue. That image stuck while shaping this body of work, and became integral to the function of the compositions - which act as jumping off points for the players and myself, vehicles for improvisation and gateways to something else entirely.
Miles Spilsbury is a saxophonist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Light Manoeuvres may be Spilsbury’s first full-length as bandleader, but the Brighton-based artist brings more than a decade of experience to bear on this record. In addition to a list of collaborators which includes Carlos Niño, Iglooghost, Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina and Yasei Collective, Spilsbury has been a permanent member of celebrated avant-rock experimentalists The Physics House Band since 2018. He has performed at prestigious UK venues such as the Southbank Centre and the London Jazz Festival, and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Japan.
In time between other musical projects, Spilsbury spent several years sketching fragments of solo material. The music which would become Light Manoeuvres began to take shape in earnest during a period of living in Marseille. The specific character and opacity of the light there inspired the album title, which imagines the movement of light passing over different subjects and spaces in intricate motion.
At times where technology inexorably infuses into humankind, Ammar808’s next adventures lays within the realms of Stambeli’s invisible creatures, an old genuine Tunisian tradition that has roots spreading out within the depths of the African continent.
Stambeli is a Tunisian musical therapeutic ritual that was implanted by afro-descendant communities. During the ceremonies, music, dance and chants are blended so as for some participants to reach the alternate state of trance while they are possessed by super natural entities. It is a syncretism between Islam and animist Yorisha religion’s voodoo beliefs, that has been disseminated during slave trade by Yoruba populations originating from current Benin’s gulf. Stambeli is a precious legacy the symbolizes the outstanding diversity and complexity of the North-African identity.
Using drum machines and analog synthesizers, he summons super natural creatures to visit our material world and taste human incarnations, form the audience’s collective experience. The album features vocals and gumbri from Bellassan Mihoub, who inherited his father’s knowledge and mastery, and currently embodies the avant-guarde of Stambeli’s revival. Two additional choristers round off the stage band, also playing the krekebs: these are pairs of large castagnet-like instruments oscillating in the limbo between binary and ternary rhythmic patterns. They breathe life and motion into this pagan communion, blessed by VJ Sia original visuals synchronized to the thundering music.
Super Stambeli is a contemporary interpretation of the Stambeli traditional repertoire, processed through a time-travel washing-machine, a parallel-dimension earthquake portal, that aims to echoes ancestral ceremonies through sub-harmonic speakers. It’s a dialogue between the wailing of the gombri, known to call for the spirits to descend into the bodies of the participants, but this time AMMAR808 directs them straight into the digital circuits of his clockwork-crafted machineries.
BART & THE BEDAZZLED: PEOPLE PERSON + CARBOARD MAN (7")
Bart & The Bedazzled return with a sensational AA-side 45 with the highlife-vibed-plaintive pop of 'People Person' and the layered 'Cardboard Man', featuring the gorgeous guest vocals of Earth Girl Helen Brown. "World dance pop meets '80s indie" LA's northeast side is home to a dizzying number of independent artists and bands. One of the scene's most distinctive sounds emanates from Bart & The Bedazzled, a collaborative group led by talented songwriter Bart Davenport. After debuting in 2018 with the Blue Motel album Bart reconnects with the stellar musicians that make up the Bedazzled for two exclusive new songs of, what he terms, "world dance pop meets 80s indie". Consisting of Los Angeles' highly respected players, the collective are undoubtedly a "musicians' band" playing for joy, performing for and with other artists that inhabit underground haunts such as Zebulon or Permanent Records Roadhouse. This is their sound!
With these new tracks The Bedazzled usher in a new phase, adding a small dose of drum machinery to the mix, resulting in an uplifting, danceable endeavour. On top of this, hand played congas and shakers blend with ultra clean guitars to form a rich context for Bart Davenport's patented, smooth vocal. Newcomer band member and producer Nic Hessler (Catwalk, Captured Tracks) fits these pieces together in seamless mixes.
People Person celebrates the collective human experience, while subtly acknowledging that people often are "the worst". It's an upbeat ode to a beautiful world that sadly may never be saved. Meanwhile, the semi-fictional Cardboard Man critiques a society desperate for truth and a way out of dark times only to find omnipresent, puppet-like heroes offering nothing real. Featuring guest singer Heidi Alexander aka Earth Girl Helen Brown her distinctive tone and phrasing add a much needed weirdo energy to a decidedly consonant pop track.
It comes as no surprise the group have gravitated towards world-dance-ish sounds. Andrés Renteria is an accomplished crate-digger and DJ, as is bassist Jessica Espeleta. She kicks off People Person with a dubby bass line, setting the stage for Wayne Faler's African highlife inspired guitars. It's still Bart & The Bedazzled, but this time they come with a sound somewhat reminiscent of '80s bands that also incorporated international flavors, such as the post Young Marble Giants project Weekend or French electro-obscuros Antena. Like those bands, Bart & The Bedazzled have a wide range of influences and the artistic intention to make something contemporary with them.
Above all, they're a group of friends who enjoy the creative process together. For them the journey is as important as the finished work.
Some people are just not destined to have enough sleep.When you don't sleep enough the world appears to be a different place, compared to the way it is when the mind is fully rested. In such cases very different scenarios may occur.
Starting with a dreamy melody of Roma Zuckerman's 'Sleep not found', which inspired the entire 008 album, and ending with a thirteen minute live recording by a_000, the side project of Alex Backdrop, the entire record has a dreamy and tripped out flow. 008 continues the tradition of gatefold double EPs as conceptual album.All tracks are selected around a particular story, a trip, and presented as a continuous sonic landscape.All tracks are structured in a way that they can be mixed one with another an endless amount of times making a continuous loop, a trip, that needs only end when the party stops. Kraviz works without release dates or deadlines, enabling her to achieve a certain sound bank to shape the story, unmasking the thoughts and unravelling like a dream. A1. Roma Zuckerman - Sleep Not found (North Edit) Apart form the fact that he leaves in Krasnoyarsk in the middle of Russia, very little is known about Roma (short version of the name Roman). But listening to his music and engaging in random short conversations late at night makes it clear that there are really a lot of things going on Romas mind... Minimalistic yet emotionally complex, his music always stands out with it's murkiness and signature moodiness that Roma creates like nobody else.
A2. Deniro - G Deniro continues the record's journey with his new live cut that like pretty much everything he did so far is a beautiful sparse atmospheric groover. He says he wanted it to be angry and it its done with triggering synths from the tr909 and tr808.
B1. Maayan Nidam - Infinite Rattle
Maayan was born in Tel-Aviv. She does not like computers and prefers to record her music live using hardware only. In order to do so she built her incredible studio in Berlin where she recorded "Infinite Rattle'.There is much more to come from Maayan on
B2. Bbbbbb - Prins Polo Caramel milkshake.
Side project by Bjarki-bbbbbb. Like any other normal Icelander, Bjarki really likes ice cream. In Iceland they are absolutely crazy about it.They walk the streets, ice cream in hand, even when its freezing cold outside. But even more than that Icelanders like Milkshakes with all sorts of added cookies and candies. Bjarki's favourite is called Prince Polo after the name of a chocolate bar. He always believed Prins Polo was an Icelandic brand but a couple of months ago somebody proved him wrong.
C1. Exos- dub jazz
In Iceland Exos is a legend. Everybody knows him there. He's been playing incredibly powerful and technically advanced techno sets since the late 90s and releasing delicious dub techno on Icelandic label Thule. Nina always appreciated his subtler, dubbier side, and this short recording a the continuation of it.
C2. Maaayn Nidam - Justice for some
This second live recording was a perfect fit for this album. Maayan has managed to create a particular mysterious night time dreamer here. Sound wise it's even more unique. It took a few times to get the master right, because we wanted to keep the original breathing of the machine that has captured a seriously freaky vibe. Maayan has always been one of Nina's favourite DJs as they share a similar attitude towards music. But after this tune she has also reserved a place in Nina's collective of favourite producers. D1. A_000
This is a side project of Italian native Alessio Meneghello (Alan Backdrop) & Enrico Voltan. . A beautiful 13-minute sonic journey.
Wu Hen is the sophomore album from Peckham visionary Kamaal Williams -- an invitation to elevate to a higher state Cinematic strings from Miguel-Atwood Ferguson and virtuoso saxophone from Quinn Mason are textural additions that make for a deeper, multi-layered experience than previous releases.
Bringing groove back to the forefront, Wu Hen oscillates between celestial jazz, funk, rap and r&b reinforced with the rugged beat-heavy attitude of grime, jungle, house and garage - a self-styled fusion Kamaal describes as Wu Funk.
New players on this record include LA’s Greg Paul on drums (of Kalayst Collective), Rick Leon James on bass, Quinn Mason on saxophone alongside vocal features from cult rapper Mach-Hommy and Kaytranada collaborator Lauren Faith. Multi-talented renaissance musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (who has worked with Ray Charles, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and Seu Jorge) contributes signature strings, which add vivid colour and rich depth, evoking vintage David Axelrod.
Kamaal rose to prominence with the hugely acclaimed Yussef Kamaal alongside drummer Yussef Dayes and a catalogue of 12”s for imprints such as MCDE, Eglo, and Rhythm Section as Henry Wu that became essential DJ tools. In 2018 he launched Black Focus Records with the Kamaal Williams debut The Return, which charted in the UK and saw sold out shows and festival appearances across Europe, North America and Asia.
Alésia Cosmos was a collective of musicians led by Bruno de Chénerilles formed in the early 1980s in Strasbourg, France. The group consisted of Pascal Holtzer (guitar, synthesizer, tapes, drum machine, vocals), Pierre Clavreux (vocals, gong), Marie-Berthe Servier (vocals), Bruno (guitar, tapes, synthesizer, drum machine, vocals) and Tunisian percussionist Lotfi Ben Ayed (darbukas, bendir). In 1981 Bruno composed and wrote some sci-fi radio plays for French state radio channel France Culture. Under the influences of William Burroughs, John Cage, Pierre Henry and others, he developed tape music studio work. By 1982 he appeared for the first time under the name Alésia Cosmos Furi Show. It was a solo performance on guitar, voice, analog synth and tapes. This experimental show lead to a music project based on Bruno and Pascal's compositions to be performed and recorded with other musicians in the beginning of 1983.
Exclusivo! was the group's debut album recorded and self-released in 1983 on Planetarium. Pascal and Bruno would compose tunes in their personal home studios. Then they would bring the tapes, electronics, guitar lines and lyrics to experiment and rehearse with the other members of the group. Improvisations and adaptations brought more ideas and the album was recorded in a few days. The result was a musical mixing of electronic music, field recordings, North African and Asian percussion, electric guitars and voices, compositions and free improvisations. All four musicians take turns singing onomatopoeic phrases and backing vocals, even sometimes in an unknown language, a sort of mixed bag between Breton and Japanese. All songs have been remastered cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica of the 1983 cover and includes a 6-page insert with photos, lyrics, reviews and liner notes by Bruno de Chénerilles.
Plush shag carpeting, jazz flutes, analogue synths, funk grooves, exotica, and sultry, Italian-style vocalising: Erotica 70 is the new album from Larry Manteca, known for their inventive, tongue-in-cheek reimaginings of classic Italian soundtrack aesthetics.
This time around, the Milanese collective sets its sights on the distinct sonic landscape of 1970s commedia sexy—a film genre that, for better or worse, defined an era and fed richly into the cinematic education of Larry Manteca’s members.
Through this lens, Erotica 70 also becomes a way of celebrating Piero Umiliani in his centenary year—a composer whose name is closely linked to the erotic comedies of the time.
The nod to Umiliani is baked right into the details, starting with the choice of vintage gear like the Eminent synth and the Wurlitzer electric piano. These instruments deliver that particular blend of jazz, groove, electronics, and sensual charm that made the golden age of Italian film music so unique.
Standout track “Lando” is a joyful, playful homage to actor Lando Buzzanca, who starred in numerous films scored by Umiliani, including the iconic 1973 comedy La schiava io ce l’ho e tu no (My Darling Slave).
Larry Manteca is spearheaded by multi-instrumentalists Alessandro Paiola and Riccardo Danieli, flanked by the cinematic flute of Carlo Pelsa, the swinging drums of Andrea Quattrini, and the magnetic vocals of Valentina Castelli and Alessandra Maria Manzoni.
Recorded across various studios in Northern Italy, Erotica 70 is the imaginary soundtrack to an Italy that no longer exists, recreating its atmosphere while rendering it in full, vivid colour. It’s a record whose music seems to come straight out of a provincial cinema, a smoky late-night club, or a long-lost 70s film. But while it looks back to a bygone era, it does so only to bring it straight into the present, making the past sound surprisingly fresh and contemporary.
The Dutch composer and conductor, born in 1993, has assembled a powerful collective with his "hugely inventive and fast- thinking" (UK Jazz News) Brainteaser Orchestra, uniting the vanguard of the current Amsterdam scene - including guitarist Teis Semey , saxophonist Kika Sprangers , drummer Jamie Peet , violinists George Dimitriu and Yanna Pelser , trombonist Nabou Claerhout , clarinetist Federico Calcagno, and bassist Alessandro Fongaro. This lineup has been making international waves, highlighted by invitations to major European festivals and a recent performance alongside Pat Metheny at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Now comes Tonepool Paradox, the orchestra's second album, commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Amsterdam's legendary BIMHUIS. Wybenga's compositional approach radically breaks with big band conventions. His process mirrors that of a hip- hop producer: he records solo improvisations by his musicians, chops the material into pieces, and uses these fragments as samples to build entirely new tracks. Wybenga layers jazz, electronics, and contemporary classical music without ever sounding academic or overintellectualized. For Tonepool Paradox , he expanded this concept internationally, bringing in guests such as Berlin-based saxophonist Otis Sandjo, Parisian violinist Theo Ceccaldi, singer Lizz Wright , and hip- hop vocalist Pink Oculus . Mixed by Grammy winner Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy), the sound brings together the diverse musical styles of everyone involved, juxtaposing the angular lines of the horns with sweeping, melodic string passages.
South Asian super-producers Lapgan and Baalti – the former a Madlib-disciple spinning hip-hop grooves out of dusty desi samples, the latter duo purveyors of intricately tapestried dance music – holed up in the California desert in early 2024 for a songwriting session to blend their complimentary styles. They ended up with several albums worth of club material built upon decades of Indian music history – floor fillers that move like early Four Tet meets The Avalanches. They’ve been teasing this material around the world during live sets – from Paris Fashion Week to Glastonbury, London Clubs to BK Warehouse parties, sessions at Lot Radio and Karachi Community Radio, and anywhere else they find an aux. The result has been endless ID requests for unreleased gems like “Ipa Ma” and “Lime Tikka”, calls which should finally be answered with the release of Threads.
Lapgan Bio
Chicago-based archivist and producer Lapgan has become renowned for his signature style: unearthing rare and forgotten Indian & Pakistani sounds and recontextualizing them into hip-hop and dance beats that evoke J Dilla and Madlib. He has cultivated a reputation for quietly revolutionary sample-work across his beloved solo projects History and Duniya Kya Hai, as well as LAFANDAR, his critically acclaimed team up with Heems (of Das Racist / Swet Shop Boys). He has worked with a range of artists from both the West (Your Old Droog, Saul Williams, Cool Calm Pete, Kool Keith, Open Mike Eagle, Blue, Quelle Chris) and the East (EXCISE DEPT, Baalti, Sid Sriram, Sid Vashi, Dynoman), and has been featured in global media including Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, Passion of the Weiss, Mixmag, Homegrown, and Vinyl Me, Please. Over the past year he has headlined clubs and performed at festivals across the world from Chicago and New York to London and India, and was personally invited to soundtrack back to back Paris Fashion Week shows for the similarly norm-shifting designer Kartik Research. In 2026 he will soundtrack his third Kartik Research runway show, as well as reissue Duniya Kya Hai for its five-year anniversary alongside a companion EP featuring remixes from peers and supporters Arushi Jain, Loris, Mera Bhai, Malkfunktion, and Maral.
Baalti Bio
Baalti makes electronic music built around rhythm, pressure, and collective release – weaving through leftfield bass, dusty hip hop, tripped out dub and raw house all while maintaining a throughline rooted in South Asian culture seen through the lens of a sweaty dancefloor. In the last year they have experienced a whirlwind rise and growing global recognition: from their EP Mela vividly evoking West Bengal’s sound system culture to their Tamil-cinema-infused filter-house project with Anish Kumar Stunt Doubles, in addition to wide-ranging collabs and remixes alongside DJ ADHD, Naya Beat, and A.R. RahmanThey have also built a reputation for their frenetic live show, with appearances at international festivals like Glastonbury and MELT, headlining shows across Australia and Europe and supporting influences turned peers like Four Tet and Disclosure across North America. Their explosive, percussion-heavy sets have been platformed by Rinse FM, NTS, The Lot Radio, Beats In Space, and Refuge Worldwide, and their music has been renowned by publications including Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, RA, and MixMag. Their forward momentum continues into 2026 with slated headline tours in India, Australia, and Asia along with appearances at Coachella, Party in the Paddock, Fvded in the Park, and We Out Here festivals.
“A lush, heatwave-friendly piece of dancefloor innovation…” Clash Magazine
First Word Records is delighted to bring you the debut EP from Ships of the Pharaohs.
Ships of the Pharaohs are a London-based collective led by producer Last Nubian, who’s had releases in his own right on labels like CoOp Presents, Eglo Records & Touching Bass. Blending jazz, soul, bossa nova, d&b and house-influenced grooves, the band also consists of vocalist Achanté, keys player Goldbar & bassist, Dougan.
The 7-track EP kicks off with the high-energy, vitamin D-saturated lead single ‘Sun is Rising’, featuring the guest vocals of brilliant Berlin-based singer Red Bird, who appears on three tracks on this project (‘For You’ and ‘Seasons’). ‘Can’t Quit’ follows on a smooth soulful house/bruk tempo, and invites in the thought-provoking spoken word prose of AKEEM. ‘Seasons’, ‘For You’ and recent single ‘Joys’ add another element to the band’s eclectic take on fusion, leaning heavily into the bossa side of the quartet’s influences. The latter track sees Achanté’s soulful harmonies gracefully float across a warm bed of keys, percussion, guitar picks & synth strings. We take a short jazzy breather on the ‘Interlude’ cut, featuring the resplendent sax of multi-talented Norwegian artist, Bror Havnes, who also features on the outro cut ‘One’ - this one seeing the crew ride out with a sonic salute to jungle/d&b, closing this first opus from the group with the energy levels remaining high.
Tre Wright (aka Last Nubian) explains “Our debut EP is a reflection of who we are, both individually and as a collective. Drawing inspiration from jazz, jungle, bossa nova, house, r&b and the music that's shaped us, we've explored our own interpretation of these sounds and how they come together in a way that feels true to us. It gave us the space to experiment without boundaries, trust our instincts, and create something that genuinely reflects where we are creatively right now.”
Originally conceived to perform Last Nubian material live for a Touching Bass showcase at We Out Here festival in 2023, the project soon took on a life of its own, as the group effort unleashed a unique chemistry & sound of its own merit. Thereafter followed numerous sessions in a studio-converted bedroom of a Brixton flat, developing this new sound. The finishing touches were taken care of at the infamous Total Refreshment Centre in North London, resulting in the formation of captivating new original material, which appears across this first extended release.
Ships of the Pharaohs have additionally performed live across London at Brick Lane Jazz Festival, House of KOKO, Jazz on Wick Festival, Peckham Levels, 91 Living Room & GROW in Hackney. Developing their powerful stage presence has gone hand in hand with the creation of their own material.
The initial singles from this project received praise & support from a variety of DJs, press outlets & tastemakers from the worlds of jazz, soul and clubland, including Shy One (NTS), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Rohan Rakhit (Worldwide FM), Somewhere Soul & Clash Magazine to name a few.
With sonics somewhat reminiscent of Acid Jazz legends Incognito, merged with the class of Nuyorican Soul, and the dynamic fluidity of 4Hero, the 4-piece have cooked up a set of style & flavours uniquely their own, fresh for modern dances, incorporating organic improvisation with more contemporary club sounds.
The Ships of the Pharaohs are about to set sail for what is sure to be an exciting journey ahead.
‘Part 1’ will be released on 12” vinyl & all digital platforms on September 18th 2026.
It’s been one hell of a wild ride for Wine Lips. Originally formed in Toronto back in 2015 as a part-time project between Cam Hilborn (vox, songwriter, guitar) and drummer extraordinaire Aurora Evans, Wine Lips quickly escalated into a full-blown, full-time, full-on international phenomenon. Their debut album took them across North America followed immediately by an intensive and unexpected tour of Hong Kong and China in 2018. They released their massive “Stressor” album the very next year (2019) to rave reviews and massive critical acclaim. Multiple tracks from Stressor charted across North American and European radio, while several songs ended up being featured in broadcast and Netflix series. Endless touring ensued. Then 2020 happened. The band used their mandatory downtime to fully dedicate themselves to crafting their groundbreaking third full-length “Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party” (recorded by Simon Larochette at The Sugar Shack). The record was released in October 2021 and then shit really hit the fan. The international music press lost their collective minds, penning over 250 glowing features and super positive reviews spanning 35+ countries. At the time of writing, the album blew past 40 Million spins on Spotify alone.
The vinyl release of MDSBP is currently in its 7th pressing with 9 different colour variants. The lead track “Eyes” has been licensed to a metric ton of films, series and video games including ABC’s The Rookie, Hockey Night In Canada and Population 11. Even more endless touring ensued, except this time the venues were huge and mostly sold-out. The 2024 follow-up album “Super Mega Ultra” was an absolute beast. Recorded by Simon Larochette at The Sugar Shack in Ontario, the album packed 12 ramped-up supersonic ear-scorching auditory delicacies and racked up millions of plays.
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Pacific Northwester Drew Sullivan is the man behind the Slow Dancing Society and on his latest album, he interrogates nostalgia with clearer eyes while sculpting analogue glow, treated guitar and patient ambience into scenes that breathe. Tracks drift like headlights through snow - hums, howls, bass rumbles, rain-veiled keys all feature, each motion subtle, deliberate and devastating. The record's power lies in restraint: chord changes feel meteorological, melodies arrive as messages, then vanish. It's ambient music with a spine, grief without spectacle. By the time 'Blue Suburban Skies' lifts into Twin Peaks-levels of ache, Sullivan has rebuilt a world you want to hide away in forever.
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Ancient Infinity Orchestra return with their third album, It’s Always About Liberation, a new record that deepens the vision of their acclaimed recent work while moving into darker, more searching emotional territory.
Conceived as a partner to It’s Always About Love, this new body of work shares its predecessor’s generosity and spiritual openness, but carries a different charge. Where the previous album focused on healing and warmth, It’s Always About Liberation is largely animated by struggle, perseverance and the desire for transformation while still offering a path to betterment. It is music made in full awareness of a fractured world, yet unwilling to surrender to it.
Like It’s Always About Love the album title draws inspiration from words spoken by Moor Mother during their 2024 We Out Here festival performance that deeply affected bandleader Ozzy Moysey: “It’s always about love / It’s always about liberation.” Those twin ideas became a framework for the two albums Ancient Infinity Orchestra were creating. If one album explored love as repair, this one explores liberation as movement, continually striving toward freedom, clarity and deeper connection.
The 16-member ensemble is led by double bassist and composer Ozzy, with a distinctive line-up that explains their sound better than any artificial genre divisions: two double basses, harp, saxophones, clarinets, violin, viola, cello, oboe, flutes, mandolin, congas, piano, drum kit, with bells, shakers and other percussion instruments scattered on the floor of live sets and recording sessions, ready for members to use whenever the spirit takes them.
This orchestration, and the overlap between membership and friendship, gives Ancient Infinity Orchestra a sound that is at once expansive and intimate, earthy, and cosmic, constantly shifting yet grounded in shared intention. The attention to intention and the inviting sonic world connects the music to artists ranging from Alabaster dePlume to Gondwana label boss Matthew Halsall.
Gradually, the Orchestra became a grounding force in the emerging jazz scene in Leeds, bringing together individuals from different musical backgrounds co-founding the Café Oto-inspired Limpet Club or co-hosting the monthly Sonic Plunge (‘a platform for adventurous experimentation’) and co-founding the Leeds Improvisers Orchestra. Additionally, the ensemble acted as a bridge between musicians in Brighton and Leeds, after Ozzy spent a stint back on the south coast between 2020 and 2022.
Their debut, River of Light, was a vibrant celebration of togetherness recorded in three days and released on Gondwana in 2023. A Maida Vale session for Jamie Cullum’s BBC Radio 2 show brought them to a broader audience, as did bookings at North Sea Jazz Festival and Gretchen, Berlin. Since then, Ancient Infinity Orchestra has become a by-word for music that could be framed as ‘spiritual jazz’. Whilst Ozzy avoids the phrase when describing his music, he’s crystal clear that his heroes are associated with those words – citing Art Ensemble of Chicago, Pharoah Saunders, Coltrane (Alice and John), and Don Cherry as major influences.
Across trance-like meditations, rising grooves, moments of grief and collective uplift, It’s Always About Liberation speaks to the battle within the mind as much as the inequalities of the wider world. It acknowledges the darkness but lets connection and creativity have the last word Ancient Infinity Orchestra is a gathering of voices, traditions, and energies converging into something timeless. Their music is a journey inward and outward, always reaching toward the universal.
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and the second chapter in an ongoing improvisational document recorded inside one of Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s abandoned oil tanks.
Gaf & The Love Supreme Arkestra work outside conventional studio frameworks. Their music emerges from extended improvisation sessions that unfold sporadically, sometimes over several days. Built around drums, guitar, bass, modular synthesis and samplers, and expanded with vibraphone and winds (flutes, saxophone, Herreño whistle), the group continues to move between jazz, psychedelic rock and free-form experimental composition.
While Ganzfeld drew from the misty northern coast of Isla Baja, Retiro Espiritual turns toward Taganana, one of Tenerife’s most remote regions. Its isolation, Atlantic exposure and volcanic terrain inform the record’s pace and focus. The title reflects this shift: a space for retreat, collective creation and suspended time.
Sonically, Retiro Espiritual leans warmer and more reflective. Flutes drift over slow grooves, extended jams unfold patiently, and traces of 70s spiritual jazz surface throughout. The experimental core remains, now shaped by repetition, space and a calmer, sunlit atmosphere.
Another autonomous transmission from a band committed to ritual, territory and long-form collective improvisation at the edge of the Atlantic.
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Recorded live in 2020 in Tenerife Canary Islands
Produced by Mladen Kurajica
Mixed by Jorge Lozano
Master by Daniel García
Artwork Felipe González Cabezas
Ltd. Edition "Rabbit Hole" Vinyl. "A Tale" is the fifth album from the Finnish collective Onségen Ensemble. Based in the north and shaped by its environment, Onségen Ensemble has built a distinctive identity through constant transformation. Rather than a fixed lineup, the band functions as a living ensemble: a stable core surrounded by ever-changing contributors. Each album introduces new voices, instruments and perspectives, allowing the music to evolve freely and remain open to the unexpected. With "A Tale", the band's expression becomes more ethereal and profound than before. While Onségen Ensemble operates within a progressive mindset; they deliberately avoid traditional genre boundaries, creating music that moves forward by absorbing influences intuitively, free from stylistic dogma. As with their previous records, they've always introduced new elements along the way - instruments as well as musicians - and this album is no exception. "The central theme of the album is peace. In many ways, it feels like the only value that still truly holds meaning in today's world. Peace is diverse, what we dare not be."
Originally self-released in 2023, Stella Kola, the debut album from Beverly Ketch (Jow Jow, Weeping Bong Band) and Robert Thomas (Sunburned Hand of the Man, Dalthom), now returns in a renewed edition—bringing wider attention to a record that already felt like a quietly essential artifact from the moment it first appeared.
Given the pair’s respective roots—and the presence of collaborators drawn from across the Northeast experimental underground—one might expect “a brutal blast of acid swirl.” Instead, what emerges is something far more unexpected. The album is “steeped, not in noise and dissonance, but in the fragrant, captivating folk of Linda Perhacs, Judee Sill, Karen Dalton, and Bridget St John.”
From the opening moments, especially on “Rosa,” the record reveals its core sensibility: “a ballad that digs deep into the psychedelic-folk tradition until it takes root in a freshly sporous permaculture.” What follows is a set of songs that feel both carefully assembled and organically grown—delicate structures held together by a wide circle of contributing musicians, including Wednesday Knudsen (flute), P.G. Six (harp, guitars, keys), Gary War (synth), Jen Gellineau (viola, violin), Willie Lane, L. Gray, and others.
Rather than functioning as studio additions, these collaborators form a genuine collective presence. “The family affair feeds into the album’s charms,” and the feeling is unmistakably communal. Like many of the ‘60s folk records it echoes, Stella Kola carries “the feeling of community and camaraderie” at its core, shaping a warmth that runs through the entire release.
The album’s emotional palette leans toward a quiet, persistent melancholy: “the best records from that era also carried with them an inherent sadness and Stella Kola’s songs wash over the listener with a beautiful woe.” Its sound edges into the terrain of Fairport Convention and Pentangle, with references to “Beggar’s, Kings, Dark Damsels, and Tarot,” yet never settles into revivalism. Instead, Ketch and Thomas extend the tradition outward, refracting it through their own distinctly American, underground language.
As one early description of the album notes, “the masterful restraint of ‘Rosa’ and the rest of Stella Kola’s shimmering debut evokes Anne Briggs, C.O.B., Pentangle and similar ancestors that knew the best way to honor traditions was to widen the heritage even further.”
Even among a prolific and unpredictable network of underground musicians, Stella Kola stands apart. “It’s early in the year, but it’s hard to see an album, especially a debut, capturing the heart as hard as this one.” With its return in reissue form, the album reasserts itself not just as a hidden gem, but as an essential document of contemporary folk experimentation—an intimate, collective work that continues to unfold with time.
A decade has now passed since French-Algerian collective Acid Arab (a studio and live outfit helmed by producers Guido Minisky and Hervo Calvalho) wowed the world with their debut album Musique De France. Since, they've delivered two more albums, both of which take different approaches to fusing electronic beats and instrumentation with North African and Middle Eastern sounds and vocals. Resonance, their fourth full-length, sees them return to the raw, analogue-rich and bass-heavy club sounds that marked out their formative years at the turn of the 2010s - all heady Arabic vocals, traditional instrumentation, moody grooves, twisted acid lines and knowing nods to everything from acid house, new beat and EDM to industrial funk, dark new-wave throbbers, and the mid-tempo psychedelic pulse of new beat.
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Fingier Records, released through Acid Jazz Records, has established itself in recent years as a distinctive voice in contemporary soul, drawing from Northern and Rare Soul, 60’s R&B and Raw Funk, Mod Jazz and Boogaloo, conceived by Argentinian producer Kevin Fingier.
‘Nothing Like Be Present’ is a new dancefloor-filler from Jo Ann Hamilton (USA), backed by The Kevin Fingier Collective. A powerful slice of Rare Soul tailor-made for Northern Soul all- nighters. Vibraphone, backing vocals and tight horn arrangements keep the energy locked on the dancefloor, while Hamilton’s voice takes the record to another level.
The instrumental was simply too strong to leave out, so it features on the B-side - a DJ-friendly cut that will feel right at home in many 7” boxes.
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Under the mentorship and executive production of Grammy-winning hip-hop producer 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Kendrick Lamar) come North Carolina's fastest-rising hip-hop duo! THE ZENITH is produced entirely by 9th's daughter JADA and includes 15 tracks of lyrical raps from Fayetteville's own S14H over JADA's smooth sampling.
With features from established and revered hip-hop acts such as Murs and Swank & King Draft as well as from fellow members of THE COLLECTIVE, KMac, Carri Starr, and Iris Moon, THE ZENITH is living proof that the soul of lyrical hip-hop lives on in the next generation through artists like JADA X S14H.
'The Endless Dance' is the first collaborative album from Northern Irish producer and composer Hannah Peel and Chinese percussionist Beibei Wang. The record is grounded in the strength of ancient concepts, but comes alive with the joy and freedom of play as together, Peel and Wang travel through the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar with a cornucopia of sound in tow – synths and prepared piano alongside traditional and unconventional percussion.
The album is collaged together from recordings made over five days at legendary rural studio Real World, a setting which aligned with the duo’s inspiration from the natural world creating a permanent record of their shared musical landscape, informed by the flora and fauna that emerge and retreat through the seasons.
Both genre-defying, storied artists in their own right, Peel and Wang met while working on Manchester Collective’s 2023 album NEON and 'The Endless Dance' certainly represents a step-change from the duo’s shared classical backgrounds – but their knowledge and training is also the foundation of its freewheeling audacity, giving them the confidence to trust their instincts.
The album is produced by Mike Lindsay LUMP, Tunng, Guy Garvey, Jon Hopkins who, with free rein, brings added energy and creativity to the album, whilst Peel & Wang are also joined by Hyelim Kim on Daegeum, a Korean flute with “colourful overtones on every note”.
Track to track, 'The Endless Dance' is unpredictable and unexpected, which is in part due to the genuine curiosity and outside perspectives that each player brought to the sessions. “I am so familiar with Chinese heritage, but I don't see how it can present in electronics, for instance,” says Wang. “Hannah comes in with that direction, to imagine what the sounds could be together.” The characterful richness of the album stems from the commonalities they found in the sessions. “We both come from cultures where story is really important,” explains Peel. “The attention to detail comes from telling a story, and one note can set that off in a different direction.”
'The Endless Dance' is a major work from two accomplished, singular artists - but it’s also the sound of mutual curiosity and shared fun, or as Wang puts it: “Two women talking in totally different language that had a wonderful chat.”
Killer Groove Records proudly presents the self-titled debut album by Italian cinematic funk trio Atabasca. A sonic journey where funk, psychedelia and desert groove merge into a timeless narrative suspended between rhythm and vision.
"Atabasca" marks the debut release from the cinematic funk trio, dropping March 27th on limited edition LP, CD digipack and digital formats, the latter featuring an exclusive bonus track. This is a project built on evocative imagery: each song unfolds as an open scene, an emotional landscape where listeners can step inside and write their own ending.
Lap steel, kalimba, percussion and guitars interweave with bass and drums, striking an original balance between tradition and experimentation that evokes unwritten soundtracks for worlds at once distant and familiar. The record navigates between melancholy and irony, tension and release, with a sharp focus on dynamics and sonic narrative.
Deserts, seas, imaginary villages, getaways, pursuits and collective rituals: "Atabasca" emerges as a collection of musical landscapes that unfolds through vivid, evocative imagery.
Jazz-funk, world music, afrobeat, psychedelia and the Italian Golden Age of movie soundtracks merge into a singular emotional geography: warm, analog and deeply human.
The musical journey opens with "Dune", a melancholic statement that leaves room for imagination, before igniting with "Kundela Mawedi" and its cascading lap steel over haunting vocal chants. "Paco" tips its hat to classic westerns, tracing a bandit's trajectory, while "Cameo" drifts back to childhood through minimal rumba and shimmering kalimba. The cinematic imagery continues in "Cacopoulos", a nod to Spaghetti westerns and Eli Wallach, built on raw drum patterns and distorted guitars. Intensity builds in "Khettara", where afrobeat rhythms and Middle Eastern textures intertwine, before "Hell Dorado" tears off in pursuit of the American dream's funk-fueled mirage. "Papambra" weaves hypnotic polyrhythms between kalimba and lap steel, while "Porpora" delivers a sensual, visceral tango of passion and tension. The digital edition closes with "Reprise", a sequel that stretches the album's central theme into an expansive, meditative interpretation.
The tracks were recorded in single takes, capturing the raw energy and natural atmosphere of the performance. Artistic production was handled by the trio alongside Andrea Fabrizii (digger, musician, producer and catalogue curator for CAM Sugar), while Riccardo Ricci mastered the album at Velvet Room Mastering Studio in Brighton.
Like a desert blooming within the evergreen forests of the planet's far north, a unique, alien, disruptive environment. This is the vision behind Atabasca, the project of Luca Mongia (guitars, lap steel, keyboards, vocals), Paolo Mazziotti (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Valerio Pompei (drums, percussion, vocals).
Individually active for over twenty years on both the national and international scenes, the three Italian musicians came together in 2023 to create a project that merges experience, experimentation and creative freedom. Their music is imaginative and at times dreamlike, blending the classic concept of the instrumental trio with the worlds of film scoring and sound design.
Atabasca's sound moves through jazz-funk, world and cinematic territories, weaving together afrobeat, desert and psychedelic influences into a personal and timeless language. Each piece is a scene; each sound, a fragment of a world, a journey between reality and imagination where groove, texture and organic timbre merge into a singular sonic ecosystem: a perpetually shifting balance that generates new inner landscapes.
For fans of Khruangbin, Surprise Chef and instrumental psych-funk!
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The Story — From the Streets of Rome to the Male Productions Label
In the early 1990s, Rome lived in a kind of suspended moment. The city was still tied to its historic clubs, yet in the outskirts—inside abandoned warehouses, quarries along the coastline, and the wooded parks north of the capital—something new was beginning to stir. A nocturnal, constantly shifting movement fuelled by a hunger for freedom and a sonic curiosity that reached far beyond the mainstream.
Moving through this ferment was Francesco “Chicco” Furlotti. First an organizer of unconventional parties and underground nights, he soon became one of the driving forces behind Rome’s itinerant rave scene. Furlotti sensed that a wave of change was about to sweep across the city. It wasn’t just about parties: it was the rise of a culture, a new way of thinking about music, community, and belonging.
It was within those nights—later held with official permits, properly built sound systems, and an ever-growing crowd—that Furlotti recognized the existence of a distinctly Roman sound, and the need to capture it, preserve it, and give it tangible form.
So, in 1991, he decided to take a bolder step: to found an independent record label—small, determined, and far removed from the commercial logic that dominated at the time.
That was the birth of Male Productions.
Male was not a label like any other: it was a workshop, a gathering point, a creative hub where DJs, producers, friends, and wanderers converged. Within that environment, an artistic core took shape—Stefano Di Carlo, Leo Young, and Mauro Tannino, along with other collaborators orbiting around Furlotti. From their synergy emerged a project whose very name declared its mission:
The True Underground Sound of Rome.
The collective did not simply aim to release music; it sought to tell a story of Rome through sounds that defied categorization: house, techno, ambient, electronic mysticism, psychedelic visions… a unique blend, instantly recognizable, emotional, and experimental. The sessions unfolded using essential yet razor-sharp gear: Roland drum machines, analogue synthesizers, Akai samplers, stripped-down mixers. Few tools, endless imagination.
The first result of this work was the 12” Secret Doctrine, released in 1991 in an extremely limited run—around 500 promotional copies, according to accounts. The record captured something that until then had floated only in the air of Roman raves: enveloping atmospheres, deep rhythms, melodies built to make the mind travel far beyond the dancefloor. A sound that did not imitate what was happening in Detroit, London, or Berlin, but absorbed those influences and re-sculpted them with a distinctly Roman sensibility.
Yet, precisely because it was independent and detached from commercial circuits, Male’s output remained sparse: few EPs, few copies, irregular distribution. Over time, those records became rare artifacts—almost mythical objects within the Italian electronic scene. The legacy of Male Productions seemed destined to survive only in the memories of those early years, in the stories told after raves, and in the private archives of a handful of collectors.
Many years later, thanks to the almost accidental rediscovery of a few original copies of the first two releases issued by Male Productions, it became possible to undertake a meticulous process of recovery and restoration of the audio etched into those grooves, with the aim of preserving as fully as possible the quality and character of that unrepeatable sound.
We are therefore able today to present — at last in a complete and faithful form — the first two mixes created for Male Productions, now released on a double vinyl that brings back into the present the exact moment when it all began: the nomadic nights of the raves, Furlotti’s vision, the creativity of Di Carlo, Young and Tannino, and the sonic identity of a Rome in the midst of transformation.
This is not merely a reissue.
It is a historical document.
A fragment of a culture that changed the city.
The authentic sound of the Roman underground, finally returned to the world.
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The North Carolina trio Setting brings together their substantial collective skills as musicians and their collaborative mindset to bear in their inventive and rich improvisations. Known for work in Mind Over Mirrors, Califone, Black Twig Pickers, Pelt, Peeesseye, Sylvan Esso, and Jake Xerxes Fussell, multi- instrumentalists Jaime Fennelly, Nathan Bowles and Joe Westerlund subvert expectations while creating a sense of wonderment. Their intricate interplay of synthesizers, cassette loops, banjo, keyboards, electronics, zithers, and a litany of percussive instruments form a tactile amalgam of celestial transcendence and terrestrial rhythm, a loamy pulse fluidly guiding every minute fluctuation in feel. Setting"s self-titled album is a definitive statement of their improvisational acumen meeting compositional rigor, a robust wellspring of hypnagogic grooves and mosaiced textures. The eponymous album from Setting is the product of three intuitive players and deep listeners, artists who use those skills to create transformative music. The trio shirk any broader categorizations, as their unique dynamic pieces are alight with arrangements urgent and smoldering, patient and emotive.
The North Carolina trio Setting brings together their substantial collective skills as musicians and their collaborative mindset to bear in their inventive and rich improvisations. Known for work in Mind Over Mirrors, Califone, Black Twig Pickers, Pelt, Peeesseye, Sylvan Esso, and Jake Xerxes Fussell, multi- instrumentalists Jaime Fennelly, Nathan Bowles and Joe Westerlund subvert expectations while creating a sense of wonderment. Their intricate interplay of synthesizers, cassette loops, banjo, keyboards, electronics, zithers, and a litany of percussive instruments form a tactile amalgam of celestial transcendence and terrestrial rhythm, a loamy pulse fluidly guiding every minute fluctuation in feel. Setting"s self-titled album is a definitive statement of their improvisational acumen meeting compositional rigor, a robust wellspring of hypnagogic grooves and mosaiced textures. The eponymous album from Setting is the product of three intuitive players and deep listeners, artists who use those skills to create transformative music. The trio shirk any broader categorizations, as their unique dynamic pieces are alight with arrangements urgent and smoldering, patient and emotive.
