Search:on

Second chapter in the Alkaline series. Five electro cuts and one techno excursion, crafted by two artists with decades of dedication to electronic music.

On Side A, Raakel Bloody Raakel brings decades of discipline and formal training into a sharp, uncompromising sound. Active since the late 90s and rooted in both classical education and underground culture, his work reflects precision, intensity and structural control.

On Side B, Roi delivers three focused electro pieces forged through years of experimentation and dancefloor experience. His approach blends coherence, tension and forward motion, driven by a continuous commitment to evolving the language of electronic music.

Two trajectories. One alkaline framework. Built for those who understand the craft.

Cosmic Tribe · Research & Development in Sound.

What began as a pandemic-era radio show on Openlab FM and Ralph Lawson's sonic escape hatch into distant electro worlds has since become a consistent home for the genre. Exit Planet Earth returns from hiatus with a new chapter, and Manchester's Jonny Strinati, aka Kalcagni, is the ideal artist to reopen the transmission. Already well-versed in the EPE universe through the radio show and releases on Cosmoba and Distrito 91, Strinati drops relentless machine beats, intricate synth programming that references all forms of electro from Kraftwerk to Drexciya, with dynamic bass and cinematic designs. It's an intergalactic mind trip as much as a dance floor workout and the production is next level. Welcome back!

UK Garage has ridden a new wave of hype and exposure over the last few years. Artists like Sammy Virji and Interplanetary Criminal have crossed over to the mainstream, while dancefloors across the world have shaken to a switched-up version of the sound that defined the UK underground either side of the millenium.

Hidden beneath a pink balaclava, the mysterious DJ Jackum has lurked this rejuvenated scene while dropping some of the most defining bangers of the period. Often surfacing in the form of moody edits released on Soundcloud, Jackum productions inevitably demolish dancefloors whenever dropped, as they frequently are in the sets of Virji and the other big guns.

Landing on Hotflush, a storied label of UK underground music, ‘Context’ is his most substantial work to date. Six tracks covering the full spectrum of the Jackum sound, from 4/4 heaters to dubstep-adjacent eyes-down bass pressure.

And in the form of opening track ‘Floo’, Jackum spreads his wings into a place that transcends the narrow confines of genre definition. From the UKG building blocks of bass, drive, cut-up vocals, and melody, the track emerges as something both familiar and wholly unexpected - the mark of a producer at the peak of their powers.

‘Clip Empty’ is another highlight of this standout EP. Showing a flair for the cinematic, a breakdown of militaristic snares gives way to a trademark rolling bassline and earworm vocals.

Away from the 4/4 bangers, ‘Take Your Body Higher’ is a guaranteed half-step rewind, while ‘Step Up’ recalls memories of smokey Plastic People sessions of the mid-2000s.

DJ DIE SOON is the apocalyptic alter-ego Daisuke Imamura, whose performances of masked malice have been a fixture in the Berlin underground for the past decade. His latest record My Brothel The Wind takes inspiration from Sun Ra at his most grotesque, conjuring a distorted phantasmagoria with an eclectic crew of compatriots like Rully Shabara, Sara Persico, and longtime collaborator Kiki Hitomi. Film director Hiroo Tanaka’s visual contributions in the album art, poster, and music video complete the album’s narrative, telling a story not of villainy but of phantom caprice in a dying world.
My Brothel The Wind shows DJ DIE SOON as an alchemist of distortion, transmuting the club-forward beats of his 2020 debut Kappa Slap and the seething horrorscapes of DIEMAJIN, his 2022 collaboration with Tokyo vocalist MA. Imamura’s obsession with noise stems from his upbringing in Tokyo, where he grew up hearing the deafening roar of trains every day. “The buildings were really tall, so the sounds reflected so much and it was so loud that you couldn’t even have a conversation on the phone. Hearing this noise every minute when living in this flat, it became a normal thing,” he says. While most would content themselves with avoiding loudness, DJ DIE SOON seeks to unpack its visceral potential.
DJ DIE SOON’s subterranean productions form a monstrous gestalt with the eclectic contributions of his network of co-conspirators. “Unfinished” and “Directions” are pulsating chimeras that highlight animalistic vocalizations from Hitomi and Shabara; Italian MC Franco Franco’s verses snake underneath the noisy onslaught. The tectonic textures of “Dandelion Crackers” are courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Laure Boer’s handmade stone synth. Sara Persico’s mangled vocables hang as fleshy reminders of human fragility on “SAQ4IME”; in the Hiroo Tanaka-directed music video, the track’s sonic uncanniness is made cinematic, with an ambient dread that references Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1964 psychological thriller Woman in the Dunes.
While Sun Ra’s intergalactic Moog reached for the stars, DJ DIE SOON plunges into the depths of hell. “Everybody, Shake Your Body, We Chill At Party” feels like the sonic equivalent of a wax museum burning to the ground, rigid smiles melting into the fire. Rather than a vision of the future, My Brothel The Wind is a laugh-cry of despair in the face of a Hadean present. DJ DIE SOON confronts the world with a new hand-made mask, reborn in the ashes.

Wayne Shorter stepped out as a Blue Note artist on his masterful 1964 label debut Night Dreamer, a sublime set that signalled the arrival of one of the most important saxophonists and composers in jazz history. Timeless Shorter compositions are given transcendent performances by a quintet with Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, and Elvin Jones. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Ossios makes his Yay Recordings debut with two deep cuts that capture the magic of his creative process - summer house excursions shaped by back-and-forth flights and fleeting moments of inspiration.

On one side, Deadbeat opens up his studio a fires up the studio stove with "One Night at the Ranch (Betting the Farm)," featuring vocals from his love soul Elle. Tumbling drums, understated grooves, and subtle house hypnosis unfold with effortless ease.

On the flip, "Drama Is a Game" channels a hazy afternoon in Mexico City, exploring memory and duality through shape-shifting synths and warm, drifting vocals. The result is a deeper, darker journey where emotion and atmosphere remain in constant motion.

For its second release, the Parisian vinyl-only imprint Mustard & Pickles takes a bold step into the V/A format, a challenging one where balancing diverse styles is key—here, the gamble paid off. The EP kicks off with a stellar deep house cut from Berlin based Hustache, using a hypnotic vocal to lure us straight into 'That Beautiful Place'. Over on the A2, things get bouncy yet mysterious, featuring an addictive vocal loop that keeps you hooked. Flip the record, and M&P label head Tom Cler serves up a tailor-made break-to-4/4 weapon, packed with deep leads and the VA's signature : insane vocal lines. Closing out the wax, Numero 6 drops a gorgeous deep house gem. With its lush pads, quirky textures, and enchanting vocals, it feels like he’s casting a spell on the dancefloor—and we’re totally here for it.

2026 Repress

Life is like a mirror ball! The first one in a hopefully long-lived series of disco and pop influenced Super Sound Singles on Running Back, comes courtesy of the unmistakeable Gibson Brothers. Leaving their biggest wedding hits "Cuba" and "Que Sera Mi Vida" to the side, the philanthropic and smile-forcing "Ooh, What A Life" gets an extended edit service by Shan & Gerd Janson, who cut away some of the fat and make it fit for fun on contemporary dance-floors. The flip side sees them remixing and sandpapering "Heaven" into a disco-house interbred (filters and looping mandatory). To quote John Lyndon: "Disco sucks You never heard that from me."

DJ Deep and Traumer continue the Get-Rooted journey with a new four-track EP that once again reflects the label’s concept: two artists sharing their individual perspectives while complementing each other’s musical language.

The release opens with DJ Deep’s original version of “Come Get It”, a timeless House cut deeply inspired by the spirit of the early ’90s, with a subtle nod to the legendary sound of Murk. Traumer then delivers his own interpretation of the track, transforming it into a more contemporary and forward-looking production while preserving its original essence.

Bridging the two versions is a dedicated DJ Tool, designed to seamlessly transition from one interpretation to the other, or to be used creatively in the mix alongside other records.

The EP closes with “Le Coton”, an elegant and sophisticated House track whose timeless groove perfectly rounds off this third Get-Rooted release.

here is a direct and enduring connection between the roots of Italian electronic music and the underground club culture of today.

Boldly pulling that thread are Marta Paradise, the duo from Martina Franca (Puglia, Italy), who have established themselves as a go-to name for anyone craving an elegant, refined sound that remains unapologetic.

For their latest release, they team up once again with a true legend: Fred Ventura. As one of the most iconic artists of early Italo Disco, Ventura brings an unmistakable vocal timbre that turns every track into an instant classic.

The result of this cross-generational collaboration is Call In The Night, a track that bridges authentic Italian heritage with the sharpest edges of modern Indie Dance. It delivers everything discerning clubbers live for: shimmering synths cutting through the dark, an octave-driven bassline that locks you to the dancefloor and a nocturnal, dreamy, relentlessly catchy vocal line.

Elevating the package even further is a stellar remix package featuring some of the hottest names on the current circuit, including Mystery Friend, Day Ventura, the unmistakable touch of the legendary Flemming Dalum, and Slow Motion label boss Franz Scala.

Far from a simple nostalgia exercise, Call In The Night is a forward-looking journey with a vintage soul that never falls into cheap clichés. Past and present merge to set the world’s most visionary DJ booths ablaze.

Written by GIANLUCA SERVETTI
HEY CABRERA
Owner of the Magazine “rockerilla”

Black Box Records is back.

The label's seventh release is a five-track vinyl VA, a real coup de theatre. They've called upon a strong selection of artists behind the EP's artistic direction, including Alessio Collina , V.I.C.A.R.I. , Nicola Brusegan & Carlo Di Roma, Shacklo and the label's founder, Vito Fattore.


Black Box Records has proven once again that they are a company that produces classy, mature and dancefloor-ready house tracks, with many more to come this year.

Party Store Records is back with their third release and are digging deep into the current Detroit
underground with a debut EP from live duo Lock & Hammer and an ethereal remix from legend
Terrence Dixon as Population One.
The four cuts are locked in across a range of vibes making this record a useful weapon across
the spectrum of peak time intensity to deep after-hours absurdity.
The title track, “Hofmann’s Bicycle”, is a mind melter that has the promise of a psychedelic
anthem. A driving, swirling stomper that will push you to limits you didn’t know existed. Fire up
the grill as your brain’s about to get cooked.
Population one aka Terrence Dixon delivers a cathartic and ultra deep remix of “Hofmann’s
Bicycle”, injecting a classic Detroit take with heavy strings overlaying a dense kick and hypnotic
groove.
“Freq” is a trip into the void, with sinister synth lines and hard hitting percussion propelling the
journey. Peak time engagement awaits any dancefloor it’s played on.
To round the package out “Sour Monkey” dives right back into pure absurdity, hanging at the
edge of right and wrong with drug addled rhythms and low end attack, this is already a cult hit in
the darkest of rooms.

UK house mainstay Hodge releases his long-awaited second album, eight tracks of high-calibre house and club music with a focus firmly on the dance floor.

With absolute joy we can announce that one of our favorite dubplates of the last years is finally going to be released. If you heard Lion’s Den play, you heard this one. This is Violinbwoy’s take on a Belarusian traditional song. A beautiful interpretation by Laboratorium Pieśni remixed for sound system play by Violinbwoy in his laboratory.

A tune gathering the ancient spirits - from that time to this time… play it loud and feel the vibrations!

Frenchman Franck Roger seems to be in something of a purple patch right now, with a steady stream of succulent deep house vibes flowing from his studio, most often on Seasons Limited. 'In Motion' is a perfect set builder with its traditional deep house groove infused with whimsical melodies and a sprinkling of percussion that gets you ready for more. 'SH Time' is named after a choice piece of Roger's studio gear and swirls with lovely smeared pads, and '6th Track' closes with some persuasive swing and just the right amount of vocal heat. Early doors, late at night, outdoors in the sun, this is a useful EP for real house heads.

Ed Nine hails from the birthplace of house and brings plenty of Windy City magic to this EP on Spanish label MATE. It's deliciously emotive tackle drenched in meaningful pads and, in the case of opener 'Feel It In Your Soul', an aching vocal sample that really sets it alight as the organic drums jack down low. 'Free Acid' is a stomping workout with prickly 303 lines defining the peak time vibe, then 'Out Of Line' cuts back into a more sunny sound with synths rising up through the mix and bringing joy. Closer 'The Drum Tool 3' is just that - a raw jam to help you get the floor locked in while moving through the gears.

London mainstays Half Baked push beyond a quarter of a century here with Romanian house favourite Dan Andrei debuting on the label. He offers the beautifully clean and serene ambient, minimal and tech fusion that is 'Orange Sunshine' - the sort of 5am gem that soundtracks deep immersion in an alternative world, complete with real beauty in the chords. Sticky' has a more pronounced rhythm and bubbly blend of rubbery drums and bass, while spacecraft-life synths circle the groove and neat melodic patterns unfold with a curious nature. London duo Brainsurfers aka Harry McCanna and Sam Bangura add more drive but keep things deep and crank up the cerebral details.

A couple of femme-funk dancefloor fillers - guaranteed to pack a punch wherever they're played. Both now very rare on 45. Limited to 300 copies only!

Soul II Soul's classic gets the Cinthie treatment. The Berlin based DJ, producer and label owner behind 803 Crystal Grooves, Collective Cuts and We R House, and the mind behind the influential Elevate record store, turns her attention to one of British soul's iconic collectives. Missing You, originally released in 1990, gets stripped back to its raw emotion and rebuilt for the floor. The Club Mix retains the original's emotion while driving it with low-end and a peak-time arrangement. The two dubs go further; raw, tool-ready cuts built for DJs.



A classic reworked with real house lineage. Missing You is built for 2026 club sets.

Four bars of battery. Four bars of signal. Four bangers for your bag.

Phone Traxxx back once again with the polyphonic flavours.

Across the cosmic boundaries via spiritual exploration and in the void between shimmer and shadow you will find the astral soundscapes of Birds Of Pandaemonium...

Emerging from Brooklyn's late-night music ecosystem, 'Hazy James' Armstrong and Tim Wagner met nearly 20 years ago through the city's DJ and club scene. Each with different but complementary musical backgrounds which included a mix of folk, guitar, DJing, synths, drum machines, country rock, disco, jazz, and rhythm-heavy club music (being just a few!), the duo began various musical endeavours together & "exploring the darkness while pursuing light" which eventually lead to the birth of Birds Of Pandaemonium.

It was only a matter of time that the stars aligned (via an introduction from Shane Watson of Causeway) to bring the Birds onto the musical radar at Sprechen which led to the release of 3 renowned E.Ps and ultimately, their debut album, Eudaemonia. Obscure covers including Idris Muhammed's Loft classic 'Could Heaven Ever Be Like This', the rave defining Born Slippy by Underworld and the post punk/new wave 'On Islands' by New Musik sit alongside original songs shaped by fresh reflections on life, grief, and love with elements of dream pop, shoe-gaze & gothic pop to give wistful and pulse-driven listening experience that is hazy, romantic, and deliberately genre-blurring.

A truly unique listening experience that delivers broad strokes of sunsetting psychedelia and bleary-eyed optimistic, astral dream-pop across all 8 tracks.

Is it balearic? Not really, it's pretty much a genre all on its own (answers on a postcard).

The Bratislava-based band 52 Hertz Whale release their new album Present Sense Impression in a collaboration of the labels Weltschmerzen and Full Moon Forum.

Three years since their album I've Met a Lot of People, the band brings forth a lot of new ideas, finding a new resonant space, and utilising the fierceness // savageness of their live shows, in an intimate stare at contemporary guitar music.

52 Hertz Whale is a band well known in the Central European music context. Their ferocious sound, mixing the intensity of post-punk, heavy guitar wails, and melancholic // stark vocals of Dominik Prok has been tearing down the fixtures of many festivals and venues, all the while being a great example of a band driving at 200mph nonstop. On Present Sense Impression, the band, composed of Dominik Prok, Dominik Fabian, Patrik Nagy, Tomáš Tabiš and Adrián Krišák, have arrived at a record full of manifold manifestations of their live sound, but at times recalling the more marginal waves of 80s pop // rock sound. Resolute drums, heavyweight guitar and bass riffs now deem closer to the lightness of early ethereal darkwave, just to indulge in the classic melancholic heaviness they are known for only seconds after.

Some of the songs have been produced by "Prague's favorite rock'n'roll enfant terrible" Lazer Viking as well as Pulp Studio's Jakub Hríbik, and one features a special guest - the cemballo virtuoso Marcel Comendant. The traditionally stunning artwork was created by the accomplished Martin Mesaroš.

Present Sense Impression is the 20th album released under the Slovak romantic // experimental label Weltschmerzen focused on emotionally hypercharged, humanely intertwined, and acutely sounding contemporary music. This time in collaboration with the czech label Full Moon Forum. It releases August 26th on limited edition baby pink, standard edition black vinyl and on all streaming platforms.

The creation and release of this record have been supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council, and SOZA. Fullmoon Forum project was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Italian sound artist Giulio Aldinucci returns with his 5th album on Karlrecords: "Materia" is unsurprisingly a truly masterfully composed and sound-designed ambient masterpiece that adds perfectly to a series of critically acclaimed albums like “Disappearing In A Mirror” (2018) or “Shards Of Distant Times” – some of which made it onto several year’s best lists.

Giulio Aldinucci is an Italian composer and sound artist from Siena, Italy. His work focuses on ambient and experimental music, blending field recordings, electronic processing, and acoustic elements. Active since the early 2000s, he has released several solo albums on international labels including Karlrecords, Home Normal, and 99chants. His compositions often explore themes of memory, perception, and the relationship between sound and place.

Aldinucci's music is characterized by immersive, multilayered textures and meticulous attention to sonic detail. He constructs expansive soundscapes by integrating processed environmental recordings, choral elements, instrumental timbres, and subtle harmonic shifts. His style draws from both the aesthetics of contemporary ambient and the techniques of electroacoustic music, resulting in works that are at once atmospheric and conceptually grounded. The interplay between organic and synthetic sound sources is central to his approach, blurring the boundaries between the natural world and the constructed sonic environment.

His works have been presented at international festivals. He has also created art installations and multidisciplinary performances. In addition to his solo output, Aldinucci has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and artists, developing projects that intersect sound art, composition, and performance.

Aldinucci about "Materia": "Materia focuses on the idea of sound as a matter, which can be shaped into complex forms by removing excess material from the sound mass.The album originates from the dichotomy between accumulation and subtraction, creating compositions out of frequency-dense audio material in order to unearth what is “hidden” inside the raw sound mass. Unlike sculpture, in music time can be matter too by shattering sounds into milliseconds andrecompose them with a different fragments order, going beyond the traditional notions of rhythm and duration.“

Mark Funk and Danny Cruz's Cruise Music label continues to offer-up the best of its digital-first EPs via the popular Vinyl Jams sampler series. There's a real sun-splashed, dancing-on-the-terrace feel to much of the music contained on this 14th volume in the series. Mark Funk steps up first with the loopy, filter-rich disco-house release of 'Never Never', which rises and falls in all the right places in search of hands-aloft action, before Makito drops the vibraphone solo-laden deep house-meets-garage-house flex of 'Heavy Vibes' (think Masters at Work collaborating with Roy Ayers and you're close), Over on side B, Danny Cruz serves up 'Sugar', a tooled-up, house-style re-edit of a joyous disco gem, while Filth & Smell's 'Panama Sweet Spot' is an electric piano and sax-loop-fired slab of thickset house funkiness.

Breakbeat Paradise Recordings welcomes back Umbo for another heavyweight installment of the Toxic Funk series. One of the original pioneers of the Nu Funk movement, Umbo once again delivers two dancefloor-ready cuts packed with soulful samples, infectious breaks and unmistakable funky vibes.

Having released music on respected labels such as Good Groove Records and Timewarp, Umbo has built a reputation for crafting timeless party weapons that blend classic funk with modern breakbeat production. His previous appearances on Breakbeat Paradise have become fan favorites, and Toxic Funk Vol. 24 raises the bar once again.

Leading the release is Got Soul, a groove-laden funk workout driven by punchy drums, irresistible basslines and uplifting soul energy that's destined to ignite dancefloors. On the flip side, Save It delivers another dose of vintage funk attitude, combining tight breaks, funky rhythms and cleverly chopped vocals into an irresistible DJ weapon.

Whether you're spinning funk, breaks, nu disco or party edits, these two cuts are built to keep the energy high. Toxic Funk Vol. 24 is another essential addition to the Breakbeat Paradise catalogue and proof that Umbo continues to be one of the scene's most consistent producers.

Our initial Prepared Piano & Percussion Duet Session was at Duval's in London on Friday, November 7, 2025.
It was raining . . . When we both started to work on the pieces - that are this album - (a couple weeks later,) from our Homes is London and Topanga, it was also raining .

We asked Velvet Velour for an album you can listen to while cooking dinner; maximising the available time on a 12” record. He reached for the sky and pulled down a generous serving of clouds. Downtempo on the A-side, house on the B-side.

Season Two continues with its fifth edition - a shift south this time, from KiF's English hedgerows to the island of Lutruwita, Tasmania, and the work of Soda Lite.

A gooseberry plant took root in the sand between the bricks of Alex's back patio - nutrient-deficient leaves and all - and fruited regardless. That's most of the appeal: "I'm drawn to species that survive in the interstices of human industrialisation." The husk itself carries the same idea, shielding the berry until it's ready to be let go.

Past Soda Lite records - Earthbound, Aqua Solar Cura, Vale & Stone - built outward from field recordings first. Here that flipped: you can't field-record a plant, only the noise around it, so only two tracks (Vibrant Matter and An Sí Gaoithe) carry field sound at all. The rest came from narrowing to a single species instead of the wider non-human world, and "trying to create and replicate sound and energy on the level of the plant and its perceptive world."

Two more things worth knowing. ‘Bryn Celli Ddu’ takes its name from a Neolithic burial chamber in Wales, aligned so the summer solstice sunlight reaches its back wall - the sun turning up again as its own recurring character. And ‘An Sí Gaoithe (Return)’ is a reworking of a Vale & Stone title, old fragments reprocessed into something new - "a bit like composting."

Soda Lite is the recording project of Alex Last, a gardener and composer working from Lutruwita on unceded Palawa land. Their music moves through field recordings gathered directly from the island's own biomes - coastline, forest, alkaline lake bed - alongside slow, warbling synth work, built less as backdrop than as document: proof of a specific place, at a specific time, being listened to closely. Past records have taken their titles and themes from geology and land relationships as often as botany - Aqua Solar Cura, Earthbound, Vale & Stone - so a plant with its own mineral-adjacent etymology (soda, found in dried alkaline lakebeds; lite, from the Greek for stone) suits the pairing.

For its second chapter, Esoteric Ears switches up mood, presenting two tracks for extended sessions, memorable moments and special sunrises.

Lead track ‘Minute Machine’ comes from mysterious new entity Sektor 13. A sleek, contemporary take on Kraftwerkian Teutonic electronic funk, it slinks and slides its way onto any open open-minded dancefloor.

On the flip, bonafide legend Carl Finlow provides a remix, operating under his renowned Random Factor alias. This retains the spirit and vibe of the original, but amps up the funk and composition, swaggering its way into an epic emotional crescendo. Up there with Random Factor's finest work, it’s a true honour to share this with the world. Gracias Sr. Finlow.

++REC opens its catalogue with a four-track various artists 12", one cut per artist, two per side. Samuel Jabba sets the pace with System Thriller, a driving electro workout built on a relentless bassline. Tomie follows with Re:Frecuency, tighter and more hypnotic. On the flip, Buraye's Canopy Cells brings hardware-driven acid with a live feel, and Caruan closes with Rocco N'Roll Robot, the fastest and most playful track of the four. Mastered and cut by Marco Pellegrini at Analogcut. Distributed by Outside In Distribution.

“What Robot Says L” on What Robot Says Records is a deeply immersive Dub Techno journey crafted for demanding listeners who seek atmosphere, precision, and emotional depth beyond conventional dancefloor music. Across four carefully sculpted tracks, the release moves through shifting moods and textures, balancing raw energy with subtle elegance while exploring the deeper and more hypnotic side of techno.

A1. Nicolas Barnes – Dusted Maze opens the EP with a smooth and introspective approach, combining delicate textures, refined grooves, and floating harmonic layers that capture the timeless spirit of classic Dub Techno through a modern lens.

A2. Continuing the journey with TM Shuffle, Monoder – Vihreesametti delivers a warmer and more fluid interpretation of the genre, blending rolling grooves, dub-driven chords, and sophisticated sound design into a deeply immersive experience.

On the B-side, B1. Denizo – Versus follows with dark dub pressure, stripped-back rhythmic architecture, and evolving ambient detail, creating a hypnotic late-night atmosphere filled with tension and movement.

B2. Closing the EP, The Open Circle – Shinkai dives into deeper and more mysterious territory, emphasizing submerged atmospheres, minimal rhythmic tension, and profound spatial depth that slowly unfolds with every listen.

WRSL1 – “What Robot Says L” is not designed for casual listening, but for those who appreciate Dub Techno as an evolving exploration of mood, space, and sonic detail — a refined and highly immersive statement from some of the genre’s most skilled contemporary artists.

but wait a minute.. Does anybody know What Robot Says?

Following the success of Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2023, Cosmocities returns in 2026 with two new chapters in its acclaimed compilation series dedicated to the rich heritage and continuing evolution of Japanese electronic music.

Compiled by label owner Matt Soulie, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 further explores the depth, sophistication and diversity that have long made Japan's electronic underground one of the world's most inspiring musical landscapes.

Since its inception, the Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku project has celebrated the artists and sounds that have profoundly influenced the Cosmocities vision. Across four volumes, the series has journeyed through ambient soundscapes, deep house, boogie, jazz-infused electronics and forward-thinking club music. Volume 4 shifts the focus firmly towards the deeper end of the dancefloor, bringing together timeless classics, rare gems and sought-after reinterpretations from some of Japan's most respected producers.

Opening proceedings is Kaoru Inoue's remix of Soft's "Art Farmer", a rolling percussive Afro-house excursion rich in hypnotic groove and organic rhythm. XTAL's "Heavenly Overtone" follows with a beautifully cosmic house journey, combining shimmering keys and celestial atmospheres that perfectly capture the compilation's expansive spirit.

On the B-side, Slow Didi's "Follow Me (Hidaway Mix Instrumental)" delivers a deep and hypnotic groove before Tokyo Black Star's "Fantastique Voyage" channels the soulful, sophisticated energy of classic 1990s deep house. The journey continues with Manabu Nagayama and Soichi Terada's "Low Tension", presented here in a sublime instrumental remix by Satoshi Fumi and Yoshi Horino, where warm piano melodies and elegant synth work create a timeless late-night mood.

The final stretch moves into more driving territory. Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Orionids (2025 Revised)" subtly raises the tempo, blending deep house sensibilities with sleek tech-inflected textures. Kaoru Inoue's "Ground Rhythm", reworked by The Backwoods, plunges deeper into hypnotic territory with a heads-down groove designed for intimate basement spaces and low-lit dancefloors.

Closing the compilation is Bitowa and YAMADAtheGIANT's "Forest (Mixtacy Exclusive Version)", a trippy, immersive finale that leaves listeners suspended in a dreamlike state between nature, rhythm and imagination.

A carefully curated collection of deep, cosmic and forward-thinking sounds, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 once again showcases the enduring creativity, innovation and global influence of Japanese electronic music.

Esoteric Ears is a new label from Barcelona’s Conor Brophy.

Its first release comes from an unsung hero of the early 00s: Julian Foddy. As Katakana, Foddy released a string of now sought-after EPs, with a signature, brooding sound in the sweet spot between progressive, breaks and tech house. EARS 01 represents Katakana’s first release in over two decades, archival tracks forgotten for 20 years but that sound like they could have been produced yesterday, perfectly tuned for contemporary dance floors and listeners.

Side-long A1 ‘Incline’ is a driving but patient percussive progressive groove: heavy but spacious. On side B the stabs and bass pressure of ‘Xii’ are primed for peak time play; B2 ‘Fear of the Unknown’ is more heads down and pensive, with gradually unfurling hopeful melodies, perfect for mornings and after hours.

Veteran Chris Carrier keeps his steady reputation for well-produced EPs with this one. The latest Dancefloor Rituals sees the Parisian icon delivering a trance-induced selection of tracks. From two peak-time weapons to a warm-up groover and an afters tip. What we call a complete release.

For the third release on Earthbound, Mihail P steps into a slightly different frame of mind with Silent Mirrors — an EP that pulls his atmospheric, emotive sound toward the rougher edges of 90s tech house, breakbeat and electro.

While Mihail P has become known for spacious productions, warm pads and mellow melodic detail, Silent Mirrors is about merging that side of his sound with something more direct and club-focused. There is a clear nod here to the halcyon days of UK tech house and labels and artists such as Primitive Urges and Pure Science, but filtered through Mihail P’s own sensibility rather than treated as an exercise in nostalgia.

Powerful trio music by pianist Takehiro Honda, known for his strong touch and bluesy feeling, together with an American rhythm section. The album features a line up of compelling originals, including the overwhelmingly powerful "Minors Only" and the title track "Salaam Salaam," whose title means “peace” in Swahili.

Strut proudly presents the first release in almost a decade from the legendary Senegalese group Orchestra Baobab with Made In Senegal. Few groups embody the spirit of African music like Orchestra Baobab. Formed over 50 years ago as the resident band of the Baobab Club in Dakar, their timeless fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Wolof griot traditions, mbalax, Congolese rumba and jazz continues to resonate across generations and continents. Now, the celebrated big band marks a new chapter in their illustrious history with Made in Senegal, their first new studio album since Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng in 2017 for World Circuit. Released on respected imprint Strut Records in conjunction with Madoky Music, the new album celebrates home, heritage, love and resilience and was recorded entirely in Dakar. On Made In Senegal new songs sit effortlessly beside re-imagined classics. Lead single "Togne Bakhoul", composed by late Baobab vocalist Rudy Gomis is a poignant ode to his wife and "Tioro Bye Samba" reprises a classic Thione Seck song while "Casamance" celebrates the culturally rich Southern Senegalese region, homeland of several Baobab members. "Baobab 50 Ans" marks the 50-year anniversary of this indomitable group. Made In Senegal is another modern Baobab classic combining a fresh approach with roots fixed firmly in Senegal"s rich traditions. It is the perfect time for a new generation to discover the elegant, hypnotic sound of one of Africa"s greatest ever big bands.

Elastica’s iconic self-titled debut album is set to be reissued by Rough Trade Records on 2 October in a new edition boasting rarities and b-sides.

Striking their own, distinct path in March 1995, Elastica proved uniquely fresh-sounding as the London four-piece delivered on the reputation they had built up gigging around the capital beyond in the months ahead its release.

Home to the likes of Line Up, Waking Up and Connection, singles at once timeless yet in the moment, Elastica’s debut captured the fraying emotions, hazy experience and burning energy of life, love and after-hours adventure.

Absorbing atmospheres and attitudes of their post-punk and new wave forbears, Justine Frischmann (vocals, guitar), Annie Holland (bass), Donna Matthews (guitar, vocals) and Justin Welch (drums) poured their own identities into the album’s 15 tracks which balancing youthful swagger, with sage-like observation and a knowing cool that made Elastica and their debut effortlessly timeless.