Search:one day

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

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

"I'd release that", Rob commented.

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

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

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

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

Hell, he can do that now!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first and most independent of all independent producers, Joe Meek needs little introduction. He was the first to chart in both the UK and the USA with an independently produced song -which was actually recorded in his home’s kitchen- when The Tornados' Telstar took the world in 1962. Meek was, of course, one of the most in vogue producers of the first half of the 1960s, providing the soundtrack to the evolution of UK Rock’n'Roll to Swinging London, scoring hits with actors like John Leyton (Johnny Remember Me), showmen like Screaming Lord Sutch and bands like The Outlaws and The Tornados. He also produced a wide stream of R&B and freakbeat 45s that are nowadays hardly sought after by the collectors with the biggest bank accounts.

Joe Meek experimented with all kinds of recording techniques in his home studio, his tricks and gimmicks won his productions chart placement and critical and public acclaim, but none of his projects was so advanced and way out as the avantgarde experimentation showed in his I Hear a New World electronic symphony from 1960. Aided by The Blue Men formed by Rod Freeman (group leader, guitar, vocals), Ken Harvey (tenor sax, vocals), Roger Fiola (Hawaiian Guitar), Chris White (guitar), Doug Collins (bass), Dave Golding (drums) -also known as Rodd-Ken and The Cavaliers- who provided a tight base to his electronically produced sounds, Meek came up with what he envisioned as the soundtrack of the future, the sounds he envisioned were to be heard in outer space. It was too way out for its time, certainly. To the point that of all the opus, only four tracks saw the light of day on a 7" EP released on Triumph, Meeks very own label. It wouldn’t be until 1991 that the whole recordings from the I Hear a New World sessions would see the light of day on a CD issued by the RPM label.

Wah Wah offers a new reissue of this now classic early electronics masterpiece, housed in a beautiful front-laminated back-flapped sleeve and offered as a limited 400 copies only black vinyl version and an ultra-limited 100 copies only transparent purple vinyl. Get yours before they fly!

RIYL : Delia Derbyshire and The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Louis and Bebe Barron’s soundtrack to Forbidden Planet, Raymond Scott, Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan, Morton Subotnick…

The first and most independent of all independent producers, Joe Meek needs little introduction. He was the first to chart in both the UK and the USA with an independently produced song -which was actually recorded in his home’s kitchen- when The Tornados' Telstar took the world in 1962. Meek was, of course, one of the most in vogue producers of the first half of the 1960s, providing the soundtrack to the evolution of UK Rock’n'Roll to Swinging London, scoring hits with actors like John Leyton (Johnny Remember Me), showmen like Screaming Lord Sutch and bands like The Outlaws and The Tornados. He also produced a wide stream of R&B and freakbeat 45s that are nowadays hardly sought after by the collectors with the biggest bank accounts.

Joe Meek experimented with all kinds of recording techniques in his home studio, his tricks and gimmicks won his productions chart placement and critical and public acclaim, but none of his projects was so advanced and way out as the avantgarde experimentation showed in his I Hear a New World electronic symphony from 1960. Aided by The Blue Men formed by Rod Freeman (group leader, guitar, vocals), Ken Harvey (tenor sax, vocals), Roger Fiola (Hawaiian Guitar), Chris White (guitar), Doug Collins (bass), Dave Golding (drums) -also known as Rodd-Ken and The Cavaliers- who provided a tight base to his electronically produced sounds, Meek came up with what he envisioned as the soundtrack of the future, the sounds he envisioned were to be heard in outer space. It was too way out for its time, certainly. To the point that of all the opus, only four tracks saw the light of day on a 7" EP released on Triumph, Meeks very own label. It wouldn’t be until 1991 that the whole recordings from the I Hear a New World sessions would see the light of day on a CD issued by the RPM label.

Wah Wah offers a new reissue of this now classic early electronics masterpiece, housed in a beautiful front-laminated back-flapped sleeve and offered as a limited 400 copies only black vinyl version and an ultra-limited 100 copies only transparent purple vinyl. Get yours before they fly!

RIYL : Delia Derbyshire and The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Louis and Bebe Barron’s soundtrack to Forbidden Planet, Raymond Scott, Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan, Morton Subotnick…

With the world burning around oneself, the importance of the current moment is core, not to get lost. Focus on the important, i.e. the non-urgent, the ectoplasmatic material in the cracks between the whirlwinds of hurry, angst and greed around. Scarred ourselves, yet with unrelenting blissful resistance to the unforgiving circumstances, an apocalypse is not about giving up. Circling around the chaos to find one's own unique place(s), hailing and embracing the rare people that share those whereabouts. Connection, mutuality and community as the means to walk through the harsh cliffs of the world.

This is an album made during a crucial period in South Africa’s history during which there was a palpable feeling of a slow turning towards the collapse of the apartheid state side by side with an increasingly well-organised culture of resistance through the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and various affiliated bodies. However, as a result, there was increased pushback from the state security establishment, a turning to dirty tricks and the formation of hit squads whose members murdered and tortured many of our friends and created chaos throughout South Africa as well as neighbouring countries.

This album is situated in this political environment however it took advantage of the new do-it-yourself music technologies available at that time. Technologies that made it possible to make and release records without interference from traditional record company executives. Two musician friends of mine pooled their resources after their respective bands had broken up. Ivan Kadey (National Wake) and Lloyd Ross (Radio Rats) built an 8-track recording studio control room and fitted it out in a second hand caravan and called it Shifty. They parked it in a garage attached to the only house left in a demolished and derelict mining village near Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
All the work on this album was completed there, mainly after hours and mostly alone where I enjoyed an exhilarating freedom to develop a whole new set of musical skills and ideas, incorporating my love of a wide range of music I’d grown up with. Influences of 1970s progressive/kraut/and psychedelic rock combined with mbaqanga bass styles, early reggae/dub and Indian tabla rhythms. Stockhausen, early Zappa and Holgar Czukay were radio text and shredding influences, and Chris Cutler’s band Henry Cow & Art Bears helped me see a way to political expression. Mostly though was the exciting post-punk and no-wave music coming through to us from Europe and America: bands like This Heat, the Mekons, Raincoats, Sonic Youth and Pere Ubu were immensely important to me as was my reading from the period: J.M.Coetzee’s first 3 novels are strong influences on Free State Fence; the stark landscape, superstition, ritual, and sexual repression are in many of his settings. JG Ballard was a constant presence throughout that period, especially whilst living in such a surreal environment, surrounded by mine dumps, but mostly I think the whole French post-modern philosophical movement—Derrida, Foucault and of course, Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation—set out a new sense of possibilities, possible ways to express oneself, ways to think, and ways to try and analyse the political intersection of public and private life. Most important at that time was the influence of sound recordings I had made and experiences garnered from working as a sound recordist on documentary films. These financed my work and later the studio and were consistent employment throughout the 1980s. Film work also enabled me to experience much of South Africa that was hidden from most. The track Independence Day is a good example; drawn from some time spent in the rural homeland of Venda. This then was the first full length Kalahari Surfers album, completed in summer of 1984 it was taken to EMI pressing plant but rejected by the cutting engineer as being ""political, pornographic and anti religious"". Chris Cutler at Recommended Records took up the challenge and released the album through his label. He wrote the original liner note

Unreleased electronic / jazz / madness from two titans of jazz and experimentation: JOHN SURMAN and KARIN KROG.

I could now write a load of blown up puffery about how amazing this is, but everyone does that, and a lot of the time it’s all a load of bollocks. But basically this was sent to me by Karin / John when I asked if they had anything hanging about that had not been released. This came through and blew my tiny mind. Like something from prime Annette Peacock “Pony” period. Here is what John Surman said…

John Surman writes:

Back in 2012/13 there had been some talk about a big futuristic open air urban dance/theatre production for about 80/100 actors/dancers with lasers and all kinds of lighting effects on different stages. I was invited to get involved and, together with Ben and Karin, we eventually decided to get to work on some ideas. I think that the original plan was that in performance there would be a mixture of live music and electronica.

Not altogether surprisingly, bearing in mind the complexity of the project, it never moved forward and developed into anything more than an interesting idea. It was probably over ambitious & I guess the funding never came through.

The only information I that I can find relating to the production refers to two silent movies made in 1927/1928 by the filmmaker Eugene Deslaw, entitled `La Marche Des Machines´ and `Les Nuits Électriques.These were clearly intended to act as inspiration for the project.

After months turned into years it became obvious that the project was going nowhere, and so the recorded music laid around gathering dust until Johnny Trunk asked Karin if she had any interesting music that he might be interested in releasing. One thing led to another and so, finally, Electric Element found a home!

For anyone interested in the equipment used this will have to be an approximation since the memory might be playing tricks. Karin was probably using a Yamaha Rex50 f/x unit, a Roland VT-3 Voice Transformer and an Oberheim Ring Modulator. I was playing Bass Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet through various f/x units together with a Yamaha WX5 wind synth. All the instruments and voice were also processed through Ben´s equipment. After writing this I asked Ben for his recollections and he came up with the following:

John, Karin and I created this music in 2 or 3 days in the winter of 2013 at their studio in Oslo, Norway. I followed up with another 2 or 3 days of mixing, editing and post-processing . We kept a collaborative, improvisational and free-form approach to the sessions. I grew up immersed in music such as Cloudline Blue, the 1979 duo album of Krog/Surman, and this felt like a similar approach. I have mixed sound for many of their live duo concerts and I would use effects and electronics as an

accompaniment and counterpoint to the performed music. The relation of organic and artificial sound sources in music has always fascinated. In this case, I used some contemporary digital signal processing to introduce my own aesthetic into the conversation, in particular using granular synthesis to recombine small 'clouds' of sound into alternate forms. Some of the software tools I used included Ableton Live, Max/MSP and Reaktor.

Let me take you back to 1992, via 2019! We are back on the Heritage Pressings again this month and this is one from way back in the day... a 2019 Kickstarter project to be precise. Who remembers the mighty Holy Quattro??? The bundle that kicked off the Quattro craze! 3rd Rail alongside KZ1 were a part of that bundle, release 008 on the label to be precise. Can't believe what started out as a bit of fun turned into Vinyl Fanatiks! None of which would of been possible without your support.

Sherlock Hound is the animated series from the masterpiece directed by Hayao Miyazaki and coproduced by TMS Entertainment and RAI, wich was broadcasted for the first time in 1984. The series was a success and remains to this day one a beloved classic in the world of Japanese animation.


To celebrate the recent 40th anniversary of the series, we are pleased to offer this sublime edition with its 2 discs gathering the soundtracks from the TV series and for the initial animated film (The Blue Ruby & Underwater Treasure), completed by a 8-page booklet, illustrated with beautiful artworks.


The soundtrack to the animated series was composed by Kentarô Haneda (well known for his work on the Space Adventure Cobra series) and includes the two signature songs performed by Da Capo. The anime film soundtrack is the work of Kunio Muramatsu, and also includes two songs performed by Haruko Kuwana. Immerse yourself in the fascinating atmosphere of this cult 80s anime!

WRWTFWW Records is very happy to release Swiss cult band Grauzone’s recording of their April 12th 1980 live show at Gaskessel in their hometown of Bern. The 9-track album, documenting the very beginnings of the group, is available as a limited edition white vinyl LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with special artwork by band member Stephan Eicher.

Experience the early Grauzone days, live from Bern, Switzerland, with a concert recorded at legendary local venue Gaskessel, with Martin Eicher on guitar and vocals, Christian G.T. Trüssel on bass, Marco Repetto on drums, Stephan Eicher on synth, and Claudine Chirac on saxophone. The performance is a true time capsule of the early 80s underground, showcasing the punk side of Grauzone with renditions of songs that were never officially released, as well as future fan-favorite “Moskau”. A piece of Swiss music history, This limited release is a must have for all Grauzone fans and DIY archivists.

About Grauzone:

The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".

Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label.

A lush, energizing contemporary pop record, built on heart-swelling minimal/maximal electronic production + deep feels. Reality"s breaking and rebirth is happening, one day at a time - essential asks deconstructed and refitted in new ways. Unconventional songwriting/performance duo Sharpie Smile ride inspired waves of futurist sound art, a dreamy, ethereal vision-quest through serpentine soul-terrain. RIYL: SOPHIE, 100 gecs, Ouklou

VERY LIMITED 2025 REPRESS ON BEAM OF LIGHT VINYL .

Everything changed for The Beths when they released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. The indie rock band had long been nurtured within Auckland, New Zealand’s tight-knit music scene, working full-time during the day and playing music with friends after hours. Full of uptempo pop rock songs with bright, indelible hooks, the LP garnered them critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, and they set out for their first string of shows overseas. They quit their jobs, said goodbye to their home town, and devoted themselves entirely to performing across North America and Europe. They found themselves playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie. Almost instantly, The Beths turned from a passion project into a full-time career in music.

Songwriter and lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes worked on what would become The Beths’ second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, in between these intense periods of touring. Like the group’s earlier music, the album tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends. Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.

"If you're at a certain age, all your friends scatter to the four winds,” Stokes says. “We did the same thing. When you're home, you miss everybody, and when you're away, you miss everybody. We were just missing people all the time.”

With songs like the rambunctious “Dying To Believe” and the tender, shoegazey “Out of Sight,” The Beths reckon with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time. People who love each other inevitably fail each other. “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations/They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings on “Dying to Believe.” The best way to repair that failure, in The Beths’ view, is with abundant and unconditional love, no matter how far it has to travel. On “Out of Sight,” she pledges devotion to a dearly missed friend: “If your world collapses/I’ll be down in the rubble/I’d build you another,” she sings.

“It was a rough year in general, and I found myself saying the words, 'wish you were here, wish I was there,’ over and over again,” she says of the time period in which the album was written. Touring far from home, The Beths committed themselves to taking care of each other as they were trying at the same time to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. They encouraged each other to communicate whenever things got hard, and to pay forward acts of kindness whenever they could. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Their most emotive and heartfelt work to date, Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it -- a sentiment we need now more than ever.

Willie Nile"s "The Great Yellow Light" is the 21st full length release from veteran New York-based rocker that the New Yorker has called "One of the most brilliant singer-songwriters of the past thirty years". The album title is a reference to Vincent Van Gogh"s letters to his brother, Theo, and the light that inspired him in Arles, France where he lived from February 1888 to May 1889. The album was recorded at Hobo Sound, Weehawken, NJ produced by Nile and his long-time producer, Grammy-winner Stewart Lerman (Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Sharon Van Etten, etc.). Features special guests Steve Earle, Paul Brady, Waddy Wachtel, David Mansfield, and members of Black 47 and The Hooters.

Over the past near-decade, Lancashire's medieval metal phenomenon WYTCH HAZEL have been honing an uncommonly wholesome, rustic and devotional brand of timewarped hard rock that's all their own, with 2016's Prelude and 2018's II: Sojourn summoning to mind fevered images of Robin Hood and his Merry Men grooving to Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. Yet within moments of pressing play on their third LP, III: Pentecost, the musty mystical minstrelsy takes a back seat in favour of a rich, sumptuous, anthemic late-night drivetime vibe, passionately embracing the most high-end smash-hit classic rock and metal circa its late 1970s heyday. "I thought I put a lot into the second album, but this album has been an absolute obsession," stresses the band leader, Colin Hendra. "Every aspect had to be as good as possible. We've gone back and forth, Ed was tinkering with it for months on end. There's quadruple tracking going on with the rhythm parts, then we've doubled, tripled and quadrupled all our lead parts to get that richness and fullness of sound, all meticulously planned with pages and pages of organisational notes. It wasn't just `get in the studio and see how it goes!'" he laughs. "One day I did 14 hours of vocal recording. All vocals are double-tracked, I can't express how much hard work that is. The last album feels like a breeze compared to what we've done with this - and I don't plan on ramping it down!" Musically there are gorgeous self-professed touches of Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, AC/DC and early Scorpions_"With the soloing I was trying to go for Michael Schenker" beams Colin_while the scampering headbanger I Will Not initially took a nod from Angel Witch, who Hendra was helping out on second guitar back in 2015 when the track was composed, before studio treatment made it sound "a lot more Wytch Hazelly". But perhaps the most lateral comparison is to a band from the opposite spiritual realm, with Archangel an explicit homage to Swedish faux-Satanic devil cult Ghost. "I find them fascinating, Ghost; musically great, the songwriting is spot-on," enthuses the frontman. "We share an intrinsic connection, with Bad Omen honcho Will Palmer being the person who discovered us both. "Music is created for all, it's a common grace for everyone," he affirms, "which is why the music that shows the glory of God the most, in my opinion, is not music created by Christians. It's Black Sabbath!"

The sixth studio album by the British rock group, originally released in 1971. Produced between touring commitments and widely regarded as a notable progression from their previous work, the band devised a series of novel recording and writing experiments, which also inspired the album's signature track “Echoes”.

"High urgency music with a very personal expression of the artist: in one way or another", this has always been the important or maybe even the core factor of every Cortizona release so far.

So it was just a matter of time until DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess, longtime fan of The Fall and Jiskefet, topnotch producer, dj wizard with three turntables (and a lovely person in general) - and myself - would collaborate towards a Cortizona release.

I guess the initial idea of working together with DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess dates back to 2019. One day she called me four times in five minutes just to hear Mark E. Smith's voice message on my phone. Since then there has been no going back. I mean: what's not to love about her?

Some time ago, she sent me the digital files of her new LP 'Sorry, No Service'. One of the tracks, 'Sorry, No Silence', features the Nan Goldin sample: 'this is clearly ethnic cleansing', taken from Goldin's impressive speech to which the audience cheered in support at the opening of her exhibition at the Neue Nationalgallerie in Berlin end of 2024.
Two weeks later Marcelle contacted me again: her German label refused to release the track. This was the moment we had both been waiting for: at last Cortizona and Marcelle would work together!

The album is due to be released later this year, but, with things as they are in Gaza, it is important to issue 'Sorry, No Silence' as a stand-alone track as soon as possible.
Talking about urgency!

'Sorry, No Silence' resonates feelings of global despair over the genocide in Gaza and the moraland political bankruptcy of 'western values'. It does so over a repetitive, militant tribal beat, complete with heavy basslines. The spirits of Mark Stewart, On-U Sound and Muslimgauze loom over the track, but as is always the case with Marcelle, both on stage and in the studio: she has an authentic style of her own, where playfulness meets courage and - also in this case - anger meets rhythm.

'Sorry, No Silence' is a track I didn't know I was waiting for. A track reflecting the sign of the times. The 12'' also features an even more heavy (and faster) dub version and the avant garde track 'Never Again Means', featuring more Nan Goldin samples: 'never again means never again for everyone'.
For obvious reasons the proceeds of this 12 inch and the digital Bandcamp release will be donated to PCRF, Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

Support more than welcome.


(written by Philippe Cortens)

Civilistjävel! x Mayssa Jallad’s ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels (Versions)’ is a radical response to Mayssa Jallad’s 2023 original LP, a lyrical account of epochal events in Beirut at the dawn of Lebanon's civil war. ‘…(Versions)’ sees Civilistjävel! (aka Swedish producer Tomas Bodén) apply a stripped, dub methodology to Mayssa's rich stems, refracting the Arabic source through the hazy prism of Northern European electronica. Retaining ‘Marjaa…’s deep spatial framing and vaporous, shifting nature, traces are lifted and set down in a new landscape: a ghost of a ghost. Informed by Tomas' singular strand of ambient, minimalist, dub techno, ‘… (Versions)’ recalls the reductive, shimmering pulse of pioneering Berlin-based practitioners Basic Channel/Chain Reaction, but with the parameters stretched into the ether. Where versions typically focus on a rhythm, here the anchor is the tone and texture of Mayssa’s voice, around which a new world has been constructed. Disembodied and liminal, it conjures an eerie panorama that feels like a postscript to the original, further emphasizing the geopolitical events that have had such devastating effect in Mayssa’s homeland of Lebanon since that record’s release. ‘Marjaa…’ (tr. ‘reference’) combined Mayssa Jallad’s two main vocations: music and urban research/architectural history. The album was co-written with Fadi Tabbal and based on Mayssa's Historic Preservation master's thesis (‘Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield’). The thesis examined a 5-month conflict that took place within Beirut's skyscraper-laden luxury hotel district of Minet El Husn near the start of the Lebanese Civil War. Addressing a post-war generation who have never been taught this difficult history, ‘Marjaa…’ was an attempt to process trauma, and “a call to protest for the renewal, rather than the recycling of the political class that once destroyed the country and holds us, to this day, hostage of its violence.” Often perceived as a mysterious, shadowy presence, Civilistjävel! has come increasingly to the fore in recent years through a consistently dazzling stream of records, released both anonymously and via Fergus Jones’ FELT imprint, often appearing with scant information and tracks for the most part untitled. Having featured tracks from ‘Marjaa…’ on mixes, and included the album in his picks of 2023, in early 2024 Tomas asked Mayssa to provide vocals for a track on his album ‘Brödföda’. Mayssa remembers, “Tomas asked me to choose one of the tracks he was working on. I was in Boston at the time, so I took a walk and chose a track. I wrote the lyrics at the public park, wondering if I was the only one around that was losing sleep over the genocide in Palestine and the war in South Lebanon. I went back to the apartment and recorded the vocals on my phone, while listening to the track on headphones. Tomas reworked it with the voice and sent it back. I liked it immediately.” Despite the geographical distance from Beirut to Uppsala, Sweden, where Tomas resides, Mayssa’s contribution sounds very much at home in Civilistjävel!’s atmospheric, contemplative sound-world. Tomas’ request was reciprocated by Mayssa soon after, resulting in the spectral, glassy ambience of ‘Etel, Kharita (Version)’. This was followed by an invitation to work on more tracks, which Tomas immediately embraced, intensively jamming out versions live to two-track tape in downtime between travelling. If not entirely dissimilar to his regular working practice, the immediacy of it was unusual. Much was improvised live with just a keyboard (not tethered to a grid), and a restricted set-up that largely forbade later edits - only the rhythm tracks are programmed. A sharp conceptual thinker and composer, Tomas takes creative liberties with Mayssa’s songs in a way that is deeply felt and sympathetically aligned, whilst unashamedly outside of the original context of the record. The voice is leaned into as an instrument, without the clear, specific details of language, and this axis provides an uncertain, amorphous footing - structure is often suggested or hinted at, before disappearing or collapsing into fog, and folding back into the message within the song. A somewhat unprecedented source for an album of versions, even those familiar with ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’ may at points struggle to hear the songs these versions are rebuilt from, despite the vocal narratives remaining virtually intact. The light has shifted; eroded buildings are foregrounded; fragments of memories appear in chiaroscuro. Signs and signifiers have been replaced. Shorn of the original's warm guitar, ‘Baynana (Version)’ feels like an ominous visitation, the sun no longer visible. ‘Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29) (Version)’ is a molten, clattering invocation. The beat-less tracks nod towards the cold, otherworldly sound-scaping of late '90s isolationism. More propulsive and embodied, ‘Holiday Inn (January to March) (Version)’ and ‘Kharita (Dub)’ are strobing, iridescent techno - lithe, shifting and mutating with almost implausible finesse. A stunning addition to Civilistjävel!’s growing catalogue, ‘…(Versions)’ is a luminous counterpoint to ‘Marjaa…’, and a welcome reminder of how incredible that record remains.

Killer and classic 80s Roots Rubadub from the wonderful Reggae diva, Melody Beecher! An obscure cover version, with a star-studded rhythm section, including the likes of Sly & Robbie. Some amazing stories about these days, when working with Paul Beecher on reissuing this gem. All the way from Houston, Texas!

A Colourful Storm proudly presents a remastered first-time vinyl editions of Lone Capture Library's modern-day DIY environmental masterpiece, All Natures Most Mundane Materials. "Environmental"? While this certainly wasn't recorded for dinner party ambience nor was it commissioned by Harrods, it does document a haphazard wander through the English countryside, feeling the air and the earth, detaching oneself from confinement and attempting to make sense of it all. Its protagonist is Rory Salter, London's restless improvisor extraordinaire, who has contributed to dozens of solo and collaborative releases in an ecosystem branched from his Infant Tree private press. Under his alias Malvern Brume, he is responsible for some of the most enchanting sides of contemporary concrète that's graced our ears: dérives revealing beauty and curiosity within London's urban banality. And while we'd argue that Lone Capture Library applies this approach but seeks the peculiar within the pastoral, there also lies a certain hermetic recklessness, with its disruptive details and discarded sonic bric-a-brac.

"I'd walked from Swindon to Avebury and back, which is about a 21-mile round trip. I'd been a muppet and did the whole thing down the A4361, which is not a road suitable for walking on - there was a lot of jumping into the hedges to avoid lorries. Turned out, there was a really nice walk across the fields I could have done instead. But maybe that sums it up quite well. Instinctive and very impulsive. The day following, I was at home and recorded it in single takes, improvised and straight to the tape. There was a good deal of significance for me in walking to the stones, passing the Hackpen Horse, being in the landscape and dealing with some brain rot after being stuck in a house, anxious and depressed. There was a sense of freedom and detachment. It was all about the materials of the earth and the body and fucking the brain off for a bit - just wanting to move between places. I dunno, it's all very cliché."

Formed on a rooftop in the East Village of New York City over a decade ago,
SKYFACTOR was born when the musical paths of longtime friends Bob
Ziegler and Jason Taylor (formerly of Michigan's Brother Rabbit) and brothers
Jon Rubin and Cliff Rubin (formerly of NYC's Sky Blues) finally crossed. Almost instantly the songs started flowing, and they knew they were on to something.
Their debut album Daydreams received much critical acclaim and notice, including that of MTV's hit show Teen Mom, who chose the track "OK" as their
season 2 finale theme, resulting in thousands of downloads and streams from around the world. The band then honed its musical chemistry and style for
Signal Strength, which further spotlighted personal, insightful lyrics backed by a big acoustic guitar and one very powerful rhythm section. The guys even
had a song from the album prominently (and humorously) featured on
Adult Swim's Eric Andre Show, resulting in even more buzz for the band.
Cut to 20 25 and just one listen to Master Plan proves these guys know how to craft memorable and powerful songs that grab you from the get-go-and
won't let go.

Hollie Cook, one of reggae’s most exciting voices, makes a return to the label that released her cherished debut album in 2011. Landing back on Mr Bongo, 'Night Night' is a stand-alone aperitif and taster of what to expect from the next era in Hollie's musical journey

Revisiting her roots, this latest single embraces the trademark reggae / tropical pop sound Hollie found fame with on her first two albums. With a career that has gone from strength to strength since those formative days, the buoyance, charisma, and confidence gained in those subsequent years are on show for all to see.

Recorded at Crosstown Studios in London with the General Roots band and produced, mixed and dubbed by Ben McKone, ‘Night Night’ documents the longing of a lonely lover. Grounded in a sound system rattling bass line, strutting guitars and shimmering keys provide a sunshine-infused contrast. Hollie’s smooth sultry tones radiate throughout, backed by the legendary Horseman on toasting duties - a collaboration that hasn’t been heard since Hollie’s first album. Trading verses, the warmth of Hollie's velvety vocals balances Horseman's raw explosive energy in an absorbing harmony.

In true reggae style, the 7" single is backed with a classic dub mix, adding spacey reverb and delays, whilst giving Hollie and Horseman a more spacious streamlined flow in the mix.

'This exclusive re-issue of “Brighter Side of Blue” is limited to only 300 copies on baby blue heavyweight vinyl, with an individually-numbered obi strip, and bespoke essay from Amy Campbell.

This was one of our albums of 2023 (Double J agreed, too making #16 in their Album Of The Year Countdown). Released in mid-January, it soundtracked our late Australian summer. It’s not a record that’s easily pigeon-holed. Is it alt-country, with a nod to Gillian Welch? Is it classic rock, mined from a similar vein that Chrissie Hynde has drawn from? Is it indie-folk, a lighter, brighter Jen Choler? You tell us.

‘Brighter Side of Blue’ was recorded in Bellambi in the Illawara throughout 2022. Featuring Cecil Coleman from Body Type on drums, and Russell Fitzgibbon (who also released Skeleten’s ‘Under Utopia’) on bass and co-production, it’s a beautiful shiny record that glistens like the sea in that part of Australia, a place where the waves meet ancient escarpment.

The buzz about the Crystal Teardrop that has been growing for the past two years looks set to reach fever pitch with the release of their debut album _IS FORMING. Featuring a dozen memorable compositions by the bands Alexandra Rose and Leon Jones, the album more than lives up to the promise of their 2024 single releases and their ecstatic live performances on stages across the UK and Europe. The band formed in Stoke-on-Trent in early 2023, "inspired," explains Alexandra Rose, "by a mutual passion for the sights, sounds and creative experimentation of the late 1960s." In addition to Alexandra on lead vocals on guitar, the band comprises Leon Jones (guitar, sitar), Stuart Gray (keyboards, Mellotron), Ed Quigley (bass, vocals), and Huw Woodward (drums, percussion). Intuitively blending elements of garage rock, folk-rock, power pop and psychedelia, the band have created an appealing concoction infused with their own perspectives and personalities. To best capture their sound, they recorded at an all-analogue facility, Tilehouse studio in North London, working closely with White Stripes producer Liam Watson of Toe Rag Studios fame.

This is certainly both a mysterious one and an elusive one! Who were Grupo Natureza (Nature Group), and why is this release such a rarity? ‘Pode Acreditar’ was pressed on Som Livre Records in 1981 and it is believed very few copies were released into the commercial market. Those familiar with the productions of Lincoln Olivetti and Robson Jorge will no doubt recognise their hallmark sound here and that this single is ‘probably’ the work of the pair or one member at least. They were a regular in-house production team at Som Livre at the time, and there is a definite resemblance to Adriana’s song ‘Sei la Amor’ from 1978 which Lincoln Olivetti was involved in. Very little information is available about this release. A tantalising comment by Brazilian collector ‘bargainvinyl1’ on the original release’s Discogs page suggests ‘Pode Acreditar’ was a reaction to the Baby Consuelo and Pepeu Gomes pro-marijuana song ‘O Mal o Que Sai da Boca do Homem’, which caused controversy with Brazil’s governing military dictatorship at the time. Though condemning marijuana’s use, the word “baseado” (joint) is mentioned in the song, and this could be the reason behind the release being pulled by the heads of Som Livre and consequently it becoming one of the rarest releases on the label. Whilst its backstory is not crystal clear, it is an undeniable sun drenched, laidback boogie groove with AOR touches by the clandestine group. Pure 80s Riovibes, super-catchy and an earworm that sticks with you throughout the day.

- Next installment in BRAZIL45 Series.
- One of the rarest releases on the Som Livre label.
- Pure 80s laid back boogie grooves.

Khadim is a stunning reconfiguration of the Ndagga Rhythm Force sound. The instrumentation is radically pared down. The guitar is gone; the concatenation of sabars; the drum-kit. Each of the four tracks hones in on just one or two drummers; otherwise the sole recorded element is the singing; everything else is programmed. Synths are dialogically locked into the drumming. Tellingly, Ernestus has reached for his beloved Prophet-5, a signature go-to since Basic Channel days, thirty years ago. Texturally, the sound is more dubwise; prickling with effects. There is a new spaciousness, announced at the start by the ambient sounds of Dakar street-life. At the microphone, Mbene Diatta Seck revels in this new openness: mbalax diva, she feelingly turns each of the four songs into a discrete dramatic episode, using different sets of rhetorical techniques. The music throughout is taut, grooving, complex, like before; but more volatile, intuitive and reaching, with turbulent emotional and spiritual expressivity.

Not that Khadim represents any kind of break. Its transformativeness is rooted in the hundreds upon hundreds of hours the Rhythm Force has played together. Nearly a decade has passed since Yermande, the unit's previous album. Every year throughout that period — barring lockdowns — the group has toured extensively, in Europe, the US, and Japan. With improvisation at the core of its music-making, each performance has been evolutionary, as it turns out heading towards Khadim. “I didn’t want to simply continue with the same formula," says Ernestus. “I preferred to wait for a new approach. Playing live so many times, I wanted to capture some of the energy and freedom of those performances.” Though several members of the touring ensemble sit out this recording — sabar drummers, kit-drummer, synth-player — their presence abides in the structure and swing of the music here.

Lamp Fall is a homage to Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall spiritual community. The mosque in the city of Touba is known as Lamp Fall, because the main tower resembles a lantern. Soy duggu Touba, moom guey séen / When you enter Touba, he is the one who greets you. After a swift, incantatory start Mbene sings with reflective seriousness. Her voice swirls with reverb, over a tight, funky, propulsive interplay between synth and drums, threaded with one-two jabs of bass. Cheikh Ibra Fall mi may way, mo diayndiou ré, la mu jëndé ko taalibe... Cheikh Ibra Fall amo morome, aboridial / Cheikh Ibra Fall shows the way forward, he gives us strength, he gathers his disciples... Overflowing with grace, Cheikh Ibra Fall has no equal.

Interwoven with Wolof proverbs, Dieuw Bakhul is a recriminatory song about treachery, lies, and back-biting. Over moody, roiling synths and ominous, lean bass, Mbene throws out fluttering scraps of vocal, as if re-running old conversations in her head. The music shadows her despair to the verge of breakdown, at one moment seemingly so lost in thought and memories, that it threatens to disintegrate. Bayilene di wor seen xarit ak seen an da ndo... Dieuw bakhul, dieuw ñaw na / Stop judging your friends and companions... A lie is no good, a lie is ugly.

Khadim is a show-stopper; currently the centrepiece of Ndagga Rhythm Force live performances. The song is dedicated to Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, aka Khadim, founder of the Mouride Sufi order. Serigne Bamba mi may wayeu / Serigne Bamba is the one who makes me sing. The verses name-check revered members of his family and brotherhood, like Sokhna Diarra, Mame Thierno, and Serigne Bara. Though Islam has been practised in Senegal for a millennium, it wasn’t until the start of the twentieth century that it began to thoroughly permeate ordinary Senegalese society, hand-in-hand with anti-colonialism. The verses here recall Bamba’s banishment by the French to Gabon, and later to Mauritania, in those foundational times. During exile, his captors once introduced a lion to his cell: gaïnde gua waf, dieba lu ci Cheikhoul Khadim / the lion doesn’t budge, it gives itself over to Cheikh Khadim. Deep, surging bass, steady kick-drum, and simple, reverbed chords on the off-beat lend the feel and impetus of steppers reggae. A reed plays snatches of a traditional Baye Fall melody; the dazzling polyrhythmic drumming is by Serigne Mamoune Seck. Mbene compellingly blends percussive vocalese, narrative suspense, exultant praise, introspection, and grievance.

Nimzat is a devotional tribute to Cheikh Sadbou, a contemporary of Bamba, buried in a mausoleum in Nizmat, in southern Mauritania. Way nala, kagne nala... souma danana fata dale / I call upon you and wonder about you... If I am overwhelmed, come to my aid. The town holds special significance for Khadr Sufism. An annual pilgrimage there is conducted to this day. The rhythm is buoyantly funky; the mood is sombre, reined-in, foreboding. Punctuated by peals of thunder, Mbene sings with restrained, intense reverence; huskily confidential, steadfast. Nanu dem ba Nimzat, dé ba sali khina / Let us go to Nimzat, to seal our devotion.

Mbene Diatta Seck: vocals.
Bada Seck: bougarabou, thiol, mbeung mbeung bal, tungune.
Serigne Mamoune Seck: bougarabou, khine, mbeung mbeung, tungune.
Text by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons).
Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Everything else by Mark Ernestus.

The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland’s three official languages along with Gaelic and English. “Scots gives me a way of expressing myself which is connected directly with the landscapes I love. It brings the songs alive and it is a fascinating language. The name of the record is in Scots - Forefowk means the people who came before, or ancestors. When we say ‘mind me,’ we can mean a few things- remind, remember, watch over or care for me. The record explores how tradition needs to be constantly reconnected with, built upon, looked after, and shared.”
Quinie sings with a style inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. “I began singing unaccompanied Scots Song in 2015 after hearing Scots Traveller singer Sheila Stewart on the radio. Initially I felt like I shouldn't sing these songs because I'm not a Traveller, and I saw people around me doing that in a way that made me uncomfortable. But on the other hand this music made sense to me and I felt driven to learn. Over the years I have met Traveller friends who taught me that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. Scottish Travellers are marginalised and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story. From there I built on my repertoire and started writing my own songs”.
To develop this record, Quinie travelled across Argyll with her horse. They went on a pilgrimage of sorts through the ancient landscapes of the West of Scotland to explore the interconnected relationships between people, ancestors, animals, and place. The album’s vinyl release is accompanied by a book and film, documenting this unusual research process.
Forefowk, Mind Me was recorded in August 2024 at The Big Shed in Highland Perthshire with support from Creative Scotland. Quinie is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (viola), Oliver Pitt (duduk, bouzouki, percussion), Harry Górski-Brown (small pipes, violin), and Stevie Jones (double bass, recording, and mixing). Each of these artists brings their own distinctive voice, bridging contemporary experimental practice with worlds of traditional and early music.

Wh0 arrives on Rekids with ‘Girls & Boys’. The Grammy-nominated producer’s next single comes with a remix from Catz ‘n Dogz.

Wh0 lands on Radio Slave’s Rekids with new single, 'Girls & Boys', out 13th June 2025. A full-throttle piano jam, the track distils a range of House styles into one expressive, infectious, modern-day classic. Powered by a raw, rolling bassline and loopy chords, it brings unrelenting energy built to raise hands in the air all summer long.

Polish duo Catz ‘n Dogz step up on remix duties with a chunky dub mix. Stripping things back, they reimagine the original into a thudding Techno cut, complete with eerie vocal chops and a deliciously deep, driving groove.

Formerly a member of legendary House duo The Rhythm Masters, Wh0 has since made his mark as a solo act with sold-out shows at places like Printworks, XOYO and Fabric. The Wh0 Plays and Wh0 Worx label boss boasts production credits for artists like Ten City, Royksopp and Idris Elba and collaborations with the likes of David Penn, David Morales and Nile Rodgers, with his work often topping digital charts and his Spotify clocking up more than a million streams a month.
Radio Slave’s Rekids was founded in 2006 and has since spawned successful off shoots with the Techno-focused Rekids Special Projects in 2017 and its newest sublabel, REK’D, in 2024. With Matt Edwards as the sole A&R, Rekids has been crucial in developing early artist careers and has become a haven for established acts operating in House and adjacent genres, having recently featured the likes of Harry Romero, Tal Fussman, Spencer Parker, The Hacker, and many more.

2025 Record Store Day title - now available for general sale. A selection of top quality tracks from some of reggae’s legendary singers backed by some of the best musicians - Tyrone Taylor, Joseph Cotton, Errol Dunkley, Gregory Isaacs,Frederica Tibbs, J Nile featuring his son J Nile, Cornell Campbell, Jimmy James (of Jimmy James and the Vagabonds fame, one of the first Jamaican recording artists), Winston Reedy (Mr Dim The Lights – lovers rock king) , The Heptones - top Jamaican group who recorded countless hits for Studio One, and BB Seaton (one of Jamaicas best songwriters). Recorded at the Room in the Sky Studio, Tuff Gong Jamaica, Music Lab Jamaica, and Ariwa,. Musiciams: Sly Dunbar, , Winston Horseman Williams, Michael ""Megahbass"" Fletcher, Flabba Holt, Alan Weekes, Vin Gordon,,Noel Fish Salmon, ,Ashanti Selah, Bongo Herman.

First ever release of pioneering radiophonic / experimental / electronic / soundtrack composer you may never have heard of but really should have by now. 26 tracks in all.
As we began the mammoth task of whittling down material for this album Elizabeth recalled the time she met Delia Derbyshire. It was during a party for existing and former Radiophonic Workshop composers at BBC Maida Vale in the early 1980s. Delia introduced herself with typical energy and exuberance proclaiming "It's up to you now - I'm passing the baton. Show these men how we get things done". That must have been quite an honour and responsibility for a young, female composer establishing herself within the male-dominated environs at Delaware Road.
Looking back over a musical career spanning almost five decades, it's clear Elizabeth rose to the challenge and made her mark. She was consistently in demand with television and radio producers, composing for an array of ground-breaking, critically acclaimed and popular BBC projects. Whilst Delia's legacy has achieved mythical status with her position as an innovator and feminist icon secured, the majority of Elizabeth's recorded work remains unavailable so her contribution to the output of the Workshop and evolution of British electronic music is somewhat under-appreciated.
Perhaps this record will help start to remedy the situation. Included are early tape experiments, home demos and non-BBC commissions from the early 1970's to the late 2000s. Having listened to 260+ digital audio tapes from Elizabeth's personal archive we have barely scratched the surface but hope to provide an indication of the breadth of her compositional and sound design skills.
Classically trained in cello and piano, Elizabeth graduated from the University of East Anglia with a degree in Music in 1973. She was mentored by Tristram Cary who helped her to become UEA's first recipient of a Masters in Electronic Music and later awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Staffordshire University. Joining the BBC as a studio manager in 1975, Elizabeth transferred to the Radiophonic Workshop in 1978. One of her first tasks was to create special sound effects for Blake's 7 using tape loops, the EMS 100 and trusted VCS3.
Her celebrated score for The Living Planet in 1982 featured early use of the PPG synthesizer and earned an Emmy nomination. Over the following years studio technology evolved rapidly, but Elizabeth transitioned from analogue recording techniques to newer digital platforms with relative ease, using samplers, midi sequencing and computer controlled workstations.
With an incredible 1,400 commissions to her name, she created special sound for The Day Of The Triffids, Lord Of The Rings, countless radio dramas including Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea, Harold Pinter's Moonlight, all of Howard Barker's plays, productions of King Lear, Wordsworth's Prelude and The Pallisers. The success of The Living Planet led to further work for the BBC Natural History Unit followed by numerous commissions for The Natural World. At one point in the late 1980's at least five of her signature tunes were being broadcast every week including Points Of View, Horizon, Doctors To Be and Everyman.
After the closure of the Workshop in 1996 Elizabeth became freelance, arranging Faure's Pavane for the BBC World Cup '98 coverage (reaching no. 9 in the UK singles chart). She wrote additional music for Monty Python's Holy Grail DVD, scored Michael Palin's Full Circle and Sahara TV series, The Lost Gardens Of Heligan and The Human Body with Robert Winston.
Retiring from the music industry in the late 2000's, Elizabeth recently returned to her East Anglian roots and now lives near the coast. She walks daily, listening to all kinds of music, new and old, on her beloved air-pods.