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It all started with a small party in 2006. Peter Invasion simply wanted to create a home for his band. That small party grew into something bigger, and eventually Riotvan became a record label in 2012 — a home for many different people, all brought together by a shared love for music and art. When Panthera Krause joined the journey in 2017, Riotvan evolved once again, adding a new perspective and another creative force to what it had become. The journey began 240 months ago — or, for those too lazy to do the math, 20 years. A lot has happened since then, but one thing has never changed: the passion. People have come, gone, and stayed. And here we are, celebrating 240 months of Riotvan with our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves. To mark the occasion, we're hitting the road on tour and have put together an extended edition of our Familiar Faces series. It's a colorful collection of music that brings together everything we love and everything that makes sense to us. It couldn't represent the Riotvan spirit any better. We'll definitely see each other somewhere along the way. Here's to the next 240 months.

What does it mean to actually experience another City, one of such historical and cultural'd'asignificance as Detroit, A city that truly expands the capacity of Human love and resilience. Just to be there…?'d'aWhat sound do the birds make?…? What colour are the buses ? …?. What sounds do we hear in the streets'd'a?…? It's like one step beyond just experiencing a place but truly absorbing it as if it becomes a little piece of'd'aus. That's the only way you really get to understand the groove, the little everyday things that make the'd'apeople tick, their daily grievances and small moments of collective joy culminating over lifetimes. That is'd'awhere you get to the essence, the secret sauce and Lord knows this City is oozing with it.'d'aIn July 2025 Ziggy undertook a 6 week residency in the motor city with no concrete plan other than getting to'd'athe roots of a deeply layered and rich musical culture. One that has been a guiding light for many of us..'d'aWhether you are coming from the generation of Motown through the 1st generation of techno to hip hop'd'arevolutionaries, the city has left an undeniable mark on the history of American Music.'d'aAfter meeting at a weeknight vinyl session at a downtown bar, Ziggy and Malik realised they already knew'd'aeach other's work and immediately made plans to hook up in the studio. Malik being a Lifelong Detroiter with'd'aa background as a Gospel keyboardist and Singer turned House dancer, producer and DJ it was no wonder'd'ahe was a perfect addition to the Label Roster. To accommodate the sessions local turntablist and producer'd'aDJ Moppy kindly offered up his home studio and we shared many great records and vegan hot dogs in his'd'aleafy backyard.The music is primarily inspired by the enduring and charismatic folks we encountered in the city, their stories'd'aand personalities live on through the continued Musical Legacy of the city.'d'aSpecial thanks to Mike Banks, Cornelius, Crystal, John '?Jammin'? Collins (R.I.P) Rick Wilhite, Wajeed and all'd'aof the Underground Resistance family who hosted us. DJ Moppy, Meftah, Badriyyah, Raj Mahal all in the'd'abuilding!'d'aGospel and jazzy infused electro-funk and deep-house, a collaboration between one of Detroit'?s'd'aunderground dons Malik Alston and Ziggy Zeitgeist of EXREC. The result of a six week pilgrimage to Detroit'd'ain 2025, Zeitgeist set up shop in DJ Moppy'?s living room and the results are deep, dark and funky'd'a'd'a.

2026 Repress

Next year the iconic anthem Cafe Del Mar will celebrate its 30th anniversary, a landmark that will be celebrated with a series of brand new remixes alongside the finest existing remixes in specially remastered versions.
Launching the series of vinyl releases in September is a remastered vinyl-only release of the original mix, as well as the best-known version of this classic track, the iconic Three ‘N One Remix.
Nearly 30 years ago, Paul M aka DJ Kid Paul recording as Energy 52 unleashed a record onto an unsuspecting public that would go on to define club culture for an entire generation of dance music enthusiasts. Named as an homage to the legendary Ibiza sunset spot, Café Del Mar broke down boundaries between the underground and
the mainstream, charting in the UK singles charts on three separate occasions and named as the “best tune ever” by Mixmag at the start of the new millennium. In terms of cultural and emotional impact in dance music, it’s hard to find a record that comes close.
Café Del Mar has come to represent the most euphoric and hedonistic pleasures of dancefloors - in Ibiza and all around the world - and has been remixed by some of the biggest names in the industry. Now, 30 years after its original release, Superstition Records will be putting out a new series of releases, with brand new remixes as well as remastered versions of some of the many remixes from across the last three decades. The vinyl-only remastered version of the original and Three ‘N One mixes will launch the series, with further details about the rest of the series announced in the coming weeks.

In 2021 Paul Van Dyk’s Café Del Mar remixes launched a series of vinyl and digital re-issues on the Superstition Records imprint after an almost 20 years hiatus. From 1993 until 2003 Superstition Records was a groundbreaking Techno, Tech-House and Trance Label and released some of the biggest and most revered records of the early German electronic scene.

This November, Brownswood Recordings will release Mek Do & Mend, the debut album from self-taught producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and artist Wonky Logic. Although his name may not yet be familiar to everyone, Wonky Logic (AKA Dwayne Kilvington) has spent the past two decades quietly becoming one of the UK's most respected musical collaborators. His career has moved comfortably between London's jazz, electronic and contemporary music scenes, performing and recording with artists including Nala Sinephro, Yussef Dayes, Nightmares On Wax, Shabaka Hutchings and Emma-Jean Thackray. Alongside his work as a producer and composer, he's been musical director for projects with Eddie Chacon, John Carroll Kirby and I.G Culture's LCSM, scored the feature documentary Zandra With A Zed, contributed music to A24's The Smashing Machine, and continues to lead music workshops with young people, refugees and people experiencing incarceration.

Far more than a collection of compositions, Mek Do & Mend is a deeply personal reflection on the people, places and experiences that have shaped Kilvington throughout his life. It's the story of growing up on a Leeds council estate, where music became both a creative outlet and a way of understanding the world. Making music often meant working with whatever was available: a second-hand keyboard, a makeshift studio desk or ageing equipment that simply had to last a little longer. The title itself came from a conversation with his mother, capturing the resourcefulness that defined his upbringing and continued into the making of the album itself, which was written and produced to a tight deadline around touring, family life and Kilvington's work as a musician and educator.

Built from material spanning more than fifteen years, Mek Do & Mend brings together some of Wonky Logic's earliest compositions alongside brand new pieces written during the making of the record itself. Childhood ideas sit alongside music conceived only months before recording, creating an album that draws together a lifetime of writing rather than documenting a single moment. Running throughout are voice notes from family members, teachers, friends, mentors and collaborators—not simply as interludes, but as a reminder that no creative life is ever self-made. Rather than telling his own story outright, Kilvington invites listeners to discover him through the people who've shaped him: an aunt remembering him playing in church as a child, lifelong friends recalling early experiments making beats together, fellow musicians from different stages of his career and his mother describing him in her own words. Together they reveal the invisible network of relationships, philosophies, communities and experiences behind the music. "The album exists somewhere between being a biography and an autobiography," says Dwayne. "The biography is in the voice notes and how other people see me. The autobiography is in the music."

That same philosophy extends to the musicians who appear on the record. Every contributor has played a meaningful role in Wonky Logic's life beyond the studio. Long-time collaborator Luke Wynter, Steam Down drummer Benji Appiah, partner Vanessa Rani, Jonathan Enser, Joe Bristow, Brother Portrait and Nubiya Imani all feature not simply because of their musicianship, but because they form part of the album's story.

Across its fourteen tracks, Mek Do & Mend moves effortlessly between dynamic jazz arrangements, pulsating broken rhythms, delicate, twinkling piano passages, interstellar synth textures and elegant brass lines. Album opener and first single 'Strange Attractor' begins with a shimmering introduction before unfolding into an exhilarating surge of rhythm and momentum. Named after the mathematical concept of the same name, it serves as the conceptual point of origin for the album. Written when Kilvington was just seventeen, the composition reflects the idea that even the most unpredictable lives are guided by hidden patterns that often only become visible with time. Second single 'A Thousand Hands' features the unmistakable vocal tones of Brother Portrait, whose cerebral lyricism drifts over a low-slung, constantly shifting groove as woozy synth lines ebb and flow overhead. At its heart, the track celebrates the family, friends, mentors and collaborators whose often unseen influence shapes who we become, echoing the album's belief that every achievement is, in some way, a collective one. LP focus track 'BAME (Beyond All Marginalised Expectations)' is a lush, spiralling composition, brimming with both emotion and resolve. Reclaiming an acronym long imposed on racialised communities in the UK, the piece transforms it into a statement of possibility rather than limitation: a defiant rejection of stereotypes and a refusal to let identity be defined by other people's expectations.

The album itself only exists because other people believed in it. Isabel Gracefield made the RAK sessions possible, Rick David brought the record together with his characteristically thoughtful mix, and Gilles Peterson committed to releasing it on Brownswood before hearing any of the music. Away from the stage, Kilvington works with the charity Finding Rhythms, writing and producing original records with people experiencing incarceration, while also leading workshops with Arts Train and Dovetail Orchestra.

Recorded live in a single day in Studio One at RAK, Mek Do & Mend was mixed by Rick David through an analogue Cadac console before being mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis. The aim wasn't nostalgia or audiophile perfection, but to create a record people could return to throughout their lives, discovering something new with each listen.

As Dwayne puts it: "I don't want this body of work to be reduced to a jazz record. It's more like a novel about life told through music."

There are collaborations that make sense on paper, and then there are the ones that feel like they were always going to happen. CHRIS STASSY and Interplanetary Criminal now bring their first recorded meeting to Up The Stuss with ‘Dangerous’, a four-track EP that sees two artists with unmistakable identities find common ground somewhere between house, garage, breaks and pure dancefloor energy. With the sounds of this collaboration having quietly made their way into the world long before the full picture was revealed, its arrival feels like the moment the pieces finally fall into place.

Across the EP, the chemistry is immediate. STASSY’s knack for infectious grooves and vivid synth work meets IPC’s breakbeat-driven energy and distinctly UK-rooted sensibility, with neither side disappearing into the other. ‘I Just Can’t Get’ sets things in motion with skippy rhythms, breakbeat drums and those unmistakable STASSY synths, before ‘Movin’’ accelerates the pace with punchy percussion and a more restless, breaks-heavy charge. ‘From The South Coast Mate’ pushes the meeting point further, bringing weighty low-ends and unmistakable UK touches while keeping both artists’ distinct approaches clearly in view. Title track, ‘Dangerous’, brings the journey to its natural conclusion. Bright and dark elements pull against one another as the two approaches lock into a shared rhythm, delivering a track that feels simultaneously euphoric, gritty and slightly unpredictable. It’s the clearest expression yet of what makes the collaboration work: two established sounds remaining entirely themselves while discovering what happens when those worlds meet.

For CHRIS STASSY, ‘Dangerous’ marks the first EP to arrive on Up The Stuss under his new name, following the release of the euphoric ‘U know me’ on CCS, adding to this new chapter with a collaboration of serious weight. For Interplanetary Criminal, it adds another dimension to the Manchester artist’s ever-expanding take on UK garage, which has seen him become one of the defining forces of its current resurgence. It’s the sound of two worlds meeting at exactly the right point - and one that many have been waiting for.

COUNTRY GREAZE is the 2nd independent album released by multi-Platinum-selling artists, Sigma - their 5th studio album overall. COUNTRY GREAZE is a bold, high-concept body of work that visually and sonically collides the raw, underground energy of Drum & Bass with the refined grandeur of a country manor backdrop. Sigma’s idea of blending high-octane basslines, heavyweight lyricism and tongue-in-cheek cultural contrasts flips expectations — pairing gritty rave culture with aristocratic imagery to create a striking, rebellious aesthetic. Its muddy boots on marble floors, signet rings next to gold chains. Sigma say, “The COUNTRY GREAZE concept was to create an exaggerated version of our lives in the countryside and then pull our guest vocalists into to it to see what happened. Obviously, we don’t live in grand manors, but for this we do! Its great having the creative freedom to bring an idea like this to life and we’ve had a lot of fun making it.”



The 12 tracks incorporate a variety of influences including the reggae-infused WATCHIN’ U, the hip-hop inspired NEED U NOW and BACK 2 LIFE featuring legends of UK Sound System culture, Soul II Soul. These influences, together with garage, jungle and grime, can be heard throughout the album. One of Sigma’s aims for this album was to celebrate the scenes and artists that have shaped their journey whilst pushing their sound firmly forward. COUNTRY GREAZE has certainly delivered on this with the project showcasing fresh sounds whilst bringing together a heavyweight cast of UK talent including Danny Byrd, Professor Green, Kurupt FM, Basslayerz, Dutch & Graft and many more. In addition to the 6 singles that Sigma have released in 2026, COUNTRY GREAZE unleashes another 6 bangers which have only been heard in their DJ sets this Summer and whose release has been highly anticipated by many fans of Drum and Bass. In addition to the 6 singles that Sigma have released in 2026, COUNTRY GREAZE unleashes another 6 bangers whose release has been highly anticipated by DnB fans since Sigma started playing them at their 45 gigs this Summer.



The first of these is the album’s focus track, THE DAYZ, featuring the spoken words of Jude Moore who hits the proverbial nail on the head with his nostalgic look back at life growing up in the UK around the turn of the millennium. It’s no surprise that he has a massive 670k TikTok followers as his words speak profoundly to an entire generation. With talk of house parties and care-free fun layered over space-disco synths, THE DAYZ exudes a nostalgic vibe before skilfully blending it with punchy drums and a chunky bassline bringing it straight to the here and now. This uplifting track is guaranteed to inspire any listener to think about the best nights of their lives and say, “Ah geez, those were the days!” Similarly, FABRIC, named after the club that helped shape the Sigma sound back in the 2000s, has the same ethos – classic sounds with cutting edge production. Its euphoric multi-layered synths and deep sub bass fully encapsulate the many late nights spent by Cam and Joe in Room 2.



Sigma also unleash the mighty ALLIGATOR. This much-hyped track has been killing dancefloors one snap at a time since the start of the Summer. The old movie samples and ominous synths in the intro give warning of the impending doom before attacking the listener with its enormous bassline and ferocious drums. Its 36ft long and weighs over 2000lb and its coming to a dancefloor near you.

Siân Pottok is a citizen of the world.


Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, to a mother of Indian and Congolese heritage and a father of Slovak and Belgian descent, Siân grew up between Belgium and New York before finally letting her travelling wings come to rest in Paris. What could have become a story of fragmentation instead became a source of creative strength. Singer, songwriter, composer and photographer, Siân has always turned borders into bridges.


She first honed her voice in the jazz clubs of Paris and New York, performing alongside renowned artists such as Richard Bona, Jon Batiste and Mike Stern. Yet her path has always extended far beyond the stage. For nearly a decade, she led cultural initiatives with women and children living through exile, violence and poverty across India and Southern Africa, weaving together music, photography and artistic transmission as tools for dialogue and empowerment.
The true turning point came when she discovered the kamele ngoni, the West African harp whose ethereal sound seemed to echo something long buried within her. The instrument became her musical alter ego—the invisible thread binding together her many inheritances. Guided by Malian master Abou Diarra, Siân embarked on an inward journey towards her African roots. Yet this return to her origins was never an act of retreat into identity. Instead, it gave rise to a body of work that remains profoundly open to the world, where Africa enters into conversation with jazz, folk, soul, alternative pop and the rhythms of Brazil.
Along the way, she has crossed paths with remarkable artists including Rogê, Chico César, Fatoumata Diawara, Lokua Kanza, Flavia Coelho, Thomas de Pourquery and Philippe Baden Powell. On stage and in the studio, Siân continues to shape a musical universe that refuses labels. Like artists such as Björk, Joni Mitchell and Laura Mvula, she moves forward as an explorer, guided not by genre but by intuition.


Today, Siân stands as one of the most distinctive voices of the new Francophone music scene an artist capable of uniting musical sophistication with emotional power, introspection with collective celebration, depth with an irresistible urge to dance.


Animal — The New Album


With Animal, produced by British musician Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Africa Express...), Siân delivers her most intimate and assured work to date. Every song feels like a shedding of skin, a quiet metamorphosis, exploring self-acceptance, femininity, the freedom to be oneself, cultural heritage, and the reconciliation of one's own imperfections.
From Stereotype, a fearless manifesto against the expectations imposed on women, to the title track Animal, an anthem celebrating the beauty of imperfection ("I've turned my cracks into a crown"), the album gives a voice to everyone who refuses to fit into predefined boxes. In Terre, je danse sur toi, featuring Fatoumata Diawara, Siân pays tribute to Mother Earth and to the roots that unite us all. Oh! Congo, recorded with Lokua Kanza, reconciles her cultural heritage with an ancestral homeland that feels both distant and intimately familiar. En équilibre, with Flavia Coelho, embraces the exhilaration of risk and the courage to leap, while Put a Mask and I Could Kill confront hidden wounds and the invisible violences that quietly shape who we become.
In ADé, Siân addresses Adenomyosis as though speaking to an unwanted housemate. "My body is your battlefield," she sings, giving voice to an intimate shadow lodged deep within herself. This bittersweet lullaby transforms a pain so often left unspoken into an act of profound tenderness towards oneself.
The album also holds a rare treasure: Reste tel(le), an unpublished text by Pierre Barouh, the founder of the Saravah label. Never before set to music or performed, this elusive poem of free love finds new life through Siân's voice, becoming a dialogue across time between two artists united by the same devotion to freedom, métissage and openness to the world.
Driven by Tom Excell's vibrant Afro-pop pulse, the spiritual breath of the kamele ngoni, organic arrangements and deeply personal songwriting, Animal is an album of liberation. It invites us to lay down our masks, embrace our contradictions and reconnect with the free, instinctive and powerful animal that lies dormant within us all. More than a collection of songs, it is a radiant manifesto for the richness of identity, the passing on of memory, and reconciliation with oneself.
Animal is not simply the title of an album, it is a declaration of independence. An invitation to live fully, unapologetically, and without instructions.
A citizen of the world, travelling freely between continents, languages and memories, Siân Pottok delivers with Animal her most personal, and perhaps her most universal work to date: an album that reminds us that our fragilities, our roots and our differences are, beyond doubt, our greatest strength.
— Christophe Tison

There's Something Going On is the second studio album by Babybird, originally released in 1998.

The album is almost unrelentingly dark and mysterious, in much the same manner as his earlier lo-fi productions. Indeed, two of the tracks here, "You Will Always Love Me" and "There's Something Going On," were recorded straight to four-track. Jones' voice echoes out of lyrical valleys. "Take Me Back" is a horrific tale of an obsessive relationship, with lyrics about eyeballs scratched with rusty nails and a creepy chant of "dead, dead, dead" ad infinitum. It's a conceit that starts with the very first track, "Bad Old Man," where Jones sings of wife-beaters and a drowning in a duck pond. Musically, the album is more of a lean toward the baroque than Ugly Beautiful. One might describe it as stark, disturbed chamber pop. Beautiful melodies appear quite majestically out of Jones' psychological studies. "It's Not Funny Anymore" is bittersweet and touching, with Jones reaching for the album's emotional core over weeping, organic keyboards.

"There's Something Going On" is the tender conclusion, suggesting that Jones knows there's a better way of life than obsession and self-torture. There's Something Going On is definitely Baby Bird's most subtle album, and it's a fascinating listen from start to finish.

There's Something Going On is available as a limited numbered edition of 750 copies on turquoise vinyl and contains an insert.

16 scrap-rock sketches straight from the heart to the gut…
Maybe we can keep rock’n’roll alive for one more day?
Who knows? The Joe Glass experience is a telecastered-explosion of hooks and guitar charms
One G chord away from tearing a diamond-shaped hole in the stratosphere.
Originally Released as a Hallogallo Tape January 2026
Sharp Pins Bassists Strides out under his own banner

Finally a repress of one of the most selling club records of the late 90s and early 00s! Timeless 12 minute long Nalin & Kane remix. Number one of the German Dance Charts. Supported by Joris Voorn, M.I.K.E. Push, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Dave Angel, Umek, Mark Knight, Paul Thomas and many more.

Portugal-based percussionist Gabriel Ferrandini spent years honing his skills in various free jazz ensembles, where he demonstrated his absorption of the styles of pioneering rhythm liberators like Sunny Murray and Milford Graves while forging his own energetic and agile sound. During this time, Ferrandini performed with everyone from Evan Parker and Alexander von Schlippenbach to Thurston Moore and Dirty Beaches' Alex Zhang Hungtai. At some point, the percussionist grew restless and began taking a more compositional approach, using his drums as primary sources from which to produce spectral tones and timbres via electronic manipulation.

In Ferrandini's hands, cymbals become generative instruments with endless reverb tails and choir samples are distilled into vapor. With its subtle evocations of light and color and meticulous editing, Romance suggests an almost cinematic scale. The strings and grainy synthesizer of "Crying Game" lend an air of giallo dread to the deep sub-bass rumbles; "Afters Lisboa" processes cymbal crashes through a Leslie speaker to create a siren-like Doppler effect; "Fallen Angels," one of the few tracks to feature Ferrandini's mostly untreated percussion work, stacks layers of reverb effects of varying lengths (an old Autechre trick) to add friction and give the spatialized sounds a dissociative quality. Album highlight "Cova da Vaporwave" utilizes creative sidechaining, warbly VHS-like tones and drums amplified through a Fender Twin to gather apocalyptic momentum.

Romance is a formidable artistic statement, establishing Ferrandini as one of the most vital composers on the contemporary avant-garde music scene. He is influenced by Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo, whose passionate yet dissonant chromatic approach can be detected throughout the album's seven uncanny tracks.

Dutch-born and Singapore-based, Mike Risk has spent more than three decades immersed in house music. As a DJ, producer, promoter and agent, he has experienced the culture from multiple angles, building relationships and sharing dancefloors across Amsterdam, London, Ibiza, New York, Chicago, Singapore and beyond.

Now Is Forever is a full-circle moment. A statement. A celebration of a lifelong relationship with house music.

Mike first made his mark in the Dutch underground through Club Risk and later RiskSoundSystem, two platforms that helped shape nightlife culture in the Netherlands throughout the 1990s and 2000s. After decades spent championing the music of others, Now Is Forever is Mike adding his own chapter to the culture that shaped his life.

Created with longtime collaborator Greg van Bueren (Hardsoul) between Amsterdam and Singapore, the album is a deeply personal tribute to the music, people and places that shaped him. From the clubs of Amsterdam and London to the sounds of Chicago, New York and Detroit, it distils decades of dancefloors, record stores, studios and late-night conversations into one body of work.

From deep and soulful grooves to raw house cuts and acid-tinged late-night moments, Now Is Forever explores house music in its full spectrum. It reflects the way Mike has always approached a dancefloor as a DJ: not as a collection of tracks, but as a journey through the many moods and moments that make a greatnight unforgettable.

Featuring Mike Dunn, Bluey Robinson, Marc Evans and John Agesilas, the album brings together years of experience, inspiration and dedication. Crafted not out of commercial pressure but out of creative necessity, it is the product of pure love-for the culture, for the craft, for the music.

Now Is Forever is a past-forward record: rooted in the music, dancefloors and relationships that shaped Mike, while carrying their spirit firmly into the present. At its heart, it is about honouring the kid who first fell in love with house music-and never let go.

Because when you are truly lost in music, there is no past and no future. There is only now.

And now is forever.

“Interpretation”
The act of explaining, reframing, or otherwise showing your own understanding of something. This captured me. We can all look at the same thing but what we see, hear or experience may differ. This word ended up being the title of my new album. I want to share my interpretation of music with listeners and take them on a musical journey. Through my music, I hope to bring about many interpretations. Your interpretation.

With great joy and pride we announce that The Night Service Commute second album Interpretation is a fact. The release is set for November 13th. You can expect cinematic vibes driven by breakbeats, bass, rhodes, violin, poetry, trumpet and field recordings. This turned out fantastic, and gave the album the groove, feel and vibe I was looking for. During the making, It was so great to learn how to capture the sound and get it to sit well in the mix.

The cover was made by my dear friend Saša Ostoja. His illustrations resonate greatly with me and put a smile on my face. The setting of the cover artwork is urban with hints of forest. Behind the windows, you can see the characters playing music and doing studio stuff. It has loads of hidden jokes and details. I can look at it again and again and discover new things every time.

Originally released in 2005 on Playhouse, isolée's second album we are monster received widespread critical acclaim and was featured in numerous year-end lists, including Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2005, where it is praised for breathing "so carefree, years from now crits might accuse it of sounding timeless-- maybe even of being so." (Nick Sylvester in his Pitchfork review in 2005)

While closely associated with the minimal and microhouse movement of the mid-2000s, the sound on we are monster resists categorization; its musical vocabulary is too expansive to be confined to a single genre. Tracks such as schrapnell, mädchen mit hase, my hi-matic and enrico avoid many of the production conventions that define its period, allowing the record to retain a freshness that continues to resonate with listeners and music producers alike.

We are monster proved to be significant in more ways than one. Alongside its musical legacy, the album introduced the first record sleeve by Stefan Marx, whose artwork would become a familiar presence across countless releases on influential labels like Smallville or Mule Musiq, but also fashion labels like Comme des Garçons and many art galleries in the years that followed.

This anniversary edition revisits an album whose influence extends well beyond its original context!

Originally released in 2005 on Playhouse, isolée's second album we are monster received widespread critical acclaim and was featured in numerous year-end lists, including Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2005, where it is praised for breathing "so carefree, years from now crits might accuse it of sounding timeless-- maybe even of being so." (Nick Sylvester in his Pitchfork review in 2005)

While closely associated with the minimal and microhouse movement of the mid-2000s, the sound on we are monster resists categorization; its musical vocabulary is too expansive to be confined to a single genre. Tracks such as schrapnell, mädchen mit hase, my hi-matic and enrico avoid many of the production conventions that define its period, allowing the record to retain a freshness that continues to resonate with listeners and music producers alike.

We are monster proved to be significant in more ways than one. Alongside its musical legacy, the album introduced the first record sleeve by Stefan Marx, whose artwork would become a familiar presence across countless releases on influential labels like Smallville or Mule Musiq, but also fashion labels like Comme des Garçons and many art galleries in the years that followed.

This anniversary edition revisits an album whose influence extends well beyond its original context!

2026 Repress


Is this the greatest US Deep House track of all time? It's certainly a contender and arguably one of Kerri Chandler's finest productions.

A true Deep House classic, "You're In My System" has stood the test of time for more than 25 years, remaining a fixture in sets from the biggest DJs around the world. Now, Kerri Chandler brings this iconic release back to his own label in a deluxe edition featuring both beloved originals and previously unreleased vinyl versions.

Opening the A-side is a brand-new version featuring Mic Murphy, the legendary vocalist and songwriter behind The System, who co-wrote the original "You're In My System." It is followed by Kerri's timeless original mix featuring Troy Denari a staple for many in House music for over 25 years, a record that perfectly encapsulates the soul of house and Kerri’s distinctive sound.

The B-side opens with the previously vinyl-unreleased "623 Deluxe Vocal" featuring Mic Murphy. Driven by Kerri's signature soulful keys, rolling bassline, and expressive synth work, it offers a fresh perspective on a much-loved classic. Completing the package is the stripped-back Instrumental, delivering all the groove and energy of the original without the vocals.

Whether you're a longtime fan or discovering Kerri Chandler for the first time, this is an essential release for DJs, collectors, and House music lovers alike. A record that should never leave your bag!

Peach Discs sends their last record of 2026 to the pressing plant in the form of G-Zip's wigg(l)ed-out, tech'd-up, but very much tuned-in "The Mystic Dog" EP.

A new house-focused alias from Stephen Howe – who you may remember from his excellent "Mimesis" EP for Joe Delon's Welt Discos, or his abso-fucking-lutely everywhere remix of Oklou – the G-Zip sound sits in the centre of the Venn diagram between London's tech-house pump and the blissed/blessed relief of deep house.

Hats from early grime instrumentals, interviews in club smoking areas, compilation skit tracks, video essays and jazz interludes – "The Mystic Dog" EP is built from a library of samples that extend far beyond house, tracing a deeply personal line through Stephen's influences and inspirations both past and present. Meticulously sequenced synth lines sit atop tightly woven Digitakt grooves, all mangled together through FX boxes and the Mackie desk that sits at the heart of his Berlin studio.

The EP sets out its stall with "Juiced (Monomania Mix)." Written after Stephen's first visit to Open Ground and inspired by a standout set from Fumiya Tanaka, it pairs stomping, techy drums and phat bass with a restless collage of mono synth patches that donk, squiggle and gurgle throughout.

"Missing Track" leans into contrast as a staccato bassline rubs up against the tighter than tight percussion, before skyscraping synths enter the picture to respond to the rhythm section's call. Flipping the record puts us back into banger territory with "Talking About Drums", as the tuned percussion and heavier-than-heavy subs nail the track to the dancefloor. Until the halfway point that is, when post-dubstep-indebted synths briefly arc across the stereo field – a glistening glow-up amidst the locked-in groove.

Closer "Mystic Dog" showcases Stephen's knack for idiosyncratic melody, as a wonky modular sequence twists and turns across the track while smack-in-the-face drums offer a bashy counterpoint. A classic B2 track if ever there was one, and wicked way to round off the EP.

(Oh, and there's a cheeky alternative mix of "Juiced" as a digi bonus for the hip-house heads).

This album presents 22 live-in-the-studio BBC recordings from 1963–1965 that have never been released before. It includes all the hits and misses from that period, along with three tracks that were never recorded for EMI: Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode, Jagger and Richards’ So Much In Love, and the band’s own composition Falling In Love Again—previously undocumented. For fans of The Swinging Blue Jeans, this long-awaited release is a must-have.
Sleeve notes by Peter Checksfield.

Following the critically acclaimed Fantômes… Futurs, praised by FIP, France Inter, Radio Nova, ARTE and International jazz press, double bassist and composer Kham Meslien returns with Vévés électriques, a deeply immersive second album where memory, landscape and improvisation merge into a singular sonic journey. Joined by Laurent Bardainne, Roger Raspail, Naïssam Jalal and David Neerman, Meslien expands the intimate language of his double bass with subtle loops and organic textures, weaving together echoes of Iceland, the Caribbean and imagined territories. Blending spiritual jazz, contemporary classical influences and ambient soundscapes, Vévés électriques is an invitation to drift beyond geography and into a profoundly personal exploration of emotion, identity and freedom.

Set upon an oil-smooth sea, an immense range of directions opens up before Kham Meslien for “Vévés Électriques”, his second album after “Fantômes… Futurs.”

With only his double bass and bow as vessel and sextant, a distant journey nevertheless begins to take shape. Vibrations and the striking of strings against wood quickly trace lines and winding paths across the surface of the water—so many routes to follow before leaving them behind, allowing the outward journey to become an inward voyage as well.

After an improvisation intended to shed light on the course ahead, isolated lands came into view: the shores of Iceland, the lands of the far north, places cut off from the rest of the world by vast expanses of water. Islands battered by a harsh climate that can only be endured by drawing warmth from deep within oneself.

Then the Caribbean arc appeared. The archipelago, a setting for joyful and unsettling experiences, takes Kham back to a childhood from which the passing years have carried him away. Rather than following the conventional channel of the music of these places, the West Indies emerge through memories whose colors are still vivid.

Through the morning mist, Roger Raspail’s percussion locks into the same frequencies of the groove. Double bass and struck skins then become companions on a road that intersects with Laurent Bardainne’s saxophone. Carrying a dreamlike message, David Neerman’s vibraphone also joins the narrative to write a few chapters of its own, while others are enchanted by the flute and voice of Naïssam Jalal, or struck by the metaphorical rhymes of rapper Rocé.

On the surface, through the themes along which the pieces navigate, landscapes slowly reveal themselves and change shape as the shore draws nearer or recedes. Straying from the marked course and allowing oneself to drift, breaking free from pure acoustic sound by adding loops first played live and then sampled, allows Kham to explore the depths. The depths of the ocean, as well as those of his soul. To enter a world of improvisation that reveals itself even as he explores it. Examined up close, feelings become shells to pick up and hold to one’s ear, so that they can be felt intensely until they take material form.

This sea, which had appeared peaceful, became the stage for a succession of stories and images, which then accumulated to give birth to a larger narrative.

Land of Talk is still here. That wasn’t always a guarantee. Over the multi-faceted twenty year history of their project, Lizzie Powell has drifted from and back to music, always interrogating their role as an artist. In the time since 2023’s Performances, they found themselves utterly worn down by the vicissitudes of the music industry and wracked with worry around their aging parents. Yet the music didn’t stop: Powell heard songs in traffic and in birds chirping, in their downstairs neighbor’s daily prayers and in the babble of children on the street. Melodies slowly cohered over time. “Life can become so unbearable, and music is where I go to metabolize it,” they explain. “I know the music was the only thing that was going to help me.” Soon Powell reemerged with the sixth Land of Talk album, LASTS.

LASTS is full of double meanings — both resilience and finality, acting as a noun and a verb. Though LASTS is haunted by crises including climate collapse, political upheaval, and genocide, the mangitude of global turmoil led Powell towards smaller, humane depictions of suffering and grief. As both their parents became ill, Powell reflected on the last time a person might walk, might talk to a loved one. Yet watching their parents near the other side of life’s arc also made Powell consider all they had survived across their own decades on this earth, their new songs channeling both gratitude and rage. LASTS became a phrase, honoring Land of Talk’s circuitous route and all Powell’s reckoned with through the years. “I think of this record as a love letter to life,” they say.

The end result is an album both lean and winding, allowing Powell’s words and melodies to take centerstage, uncrowded in visceral, shot-no-chaser arrangements. LASTS jumps right in with “Broken Tongue,” a wiry track built on thrumming electric guitar and ghostly synths as Powell rails against the lack of justice for victims of abuse. The trio’s interplay is readily evident in “Saffron” and “4:44,” two earworm songs that also allow themselves to unspool into extended instrumental codas. Early in the record, there are seething tracks like “Dogs” — “Just your basic instinct / Even dogs know better,” Powell growls in the chorus, before the song quiets into a plaintive plea of “Leave us alone now” — and later there are more vulnerable, wandering moments. In “Projections” and “Cedars,” Powell ventures deep into their head, inviting their co-conspirators and listeners alike to follow the songs wherever they meander.

Praised by Rolling Stone, NME and the New York Times on release — the1996 debut from the members who went on to form bright eyes & cursive. Back on vinyl for its 30th anniversary!

Blanket Warm is a genuine buried-treasure reissue: a record contemporary critics compared to the Rolling Stones, Guided by Voices, and Tindersticks, and one a new generation of listeners has rediscovered as a missing link to Neutral Milk Hotel and Sufjan Stevens’ chamber-folk.

Lullaby for the Working Class formed in Lincoln, Nebraska in the winter of 1994, when multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis and singer-guitarist Ted Stevens began writing together. Working from two home-recorded demos — and without having played a single live show — the band signed to New Jersey’s Bar/None Records in 1995. Blanket Warm was recorded and mixed by the Mogis brothers between December 1994 and April 1996 at their own Whoopass Recording Studio in Lincoln. Bar/None issued the album on CD in September 1996, while the vinyl LP went out through Lumberjack/Saddle Creek imprint in a pressing of just 1,000 copies — long out of print, and the edition this reissue restores to the format.

The result splits the difference between rustic and ornate: acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, and upright bass sit alongside a chamber ensemble of violin, cello, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. Critics at the time reached for an unusually wide range of comparisons — the Rolling Stones, Guided by Voices, Tindersticks, Van Morrison — united mainly by the sense that nothing else sounded quite like it. Ted Stevens’ plainspoken, image-driven lyrics and unhurried delivery anchor songs that unfold with more patience and more instrumental color than the alt-country and lo-fi indie rock the band got lumped in with on release.

Stitched together from organic percussion, field recordings, and textures gathered from across the globe, Vikmatic’s most recent TSoNYC EP, co-produced with label head Danilo Braca, plays like a love letter to New York City, penned in the language of friends and family scattered across its boroughs. Rooted primarily in house, jazz, and Balearic sounds, but pulling just as freely from the sounds of Brazil, Africa, and India, Neighbors moves to the rhythm of a city swept up in the collective pulse of its most lively season.

Playful and minimalistic, “W4 Street” is a jazzy house track that adds a scintillatingly smooth, beachy flair to a nostalgic New York energy for a combination that leaves us unsure of what is improvised and what has been rehearsed to absolute mastery.

The EP’s second track, “Flushing”, represents a dramatic departure from the airiness of the previous one. Haunting and mysterious, with a leaden kick and a capricious synth, there is no question that we are finding ourselves in an entirely different neighborhood.

Early in the track, “Sunset Park” transforms from a deep rumbling into a catchy warm-weather groove with satiny synth layers, textured rhythm, and unhurried guitar and synth solos, evoking a sense of pure ease and beach season contentment.

Sultry and dream-like, “Harlem River Drive” is the ideal send-off for Neighbors, an album firmly situated in the living memory of an iconic urban summer. Warm and bittersweet, with woodwinds comprising the heart of its instrumentation, it’s not hard to picture a sunset in Upper Manhattan.

Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Inner Space’ collection is a mixture of Cosmic electronic music and proto-New Age sounds. The album features a wide range of European, British and American auteur electronic artists, including Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Steven Halpern, Michael Garrison, Ose, Klaus Schønning, Bernard Xolotl and others.

Their cosmic, exploratory music sits somewhere between the worlds of personal, inner space and galactic outer space. All of the music featured here was recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, much of it released on small bespoke private-press record labels, often owned by the artists themselves.

The album also features rare tracks from a number of Library Music artists, all of whom used electronic music to explore a variety of common celestial or Gaian themes – cosmology, spirituality, science, mother earth, wellness, technology, consciousness, exploration, healing and harmony – in their work. These include pieces by Sauveur Mallia, Keith Mansfield and Sven Torstenson.

Here on this album you will find the Sun Ra’s of New Age, the Picassos of Library Music and the Burroughs of space-related electronic music. Away from contemporary music fashions, these unique and highly individual artists remained free in their music to explore new ideas of sound and technological experimentation – together with the larger concepts of time, space and matter – a freedom rarely granted, and one that we celebrate here.

When the first JIM album Love Makes Magic was released in 2023, it was the end product of an experiment that had begun during the strange days of the pandemic. Cooped up in his studio, James Baron started fiddling about with an as-yet unnamed new album idea. It became Vicious Charm’s first LP release. Labelled variously as Balearic, folktronica, blue-eyed soul and Laurel Canyon, Love Makes Magic was perhaps all and none of those things: a record rooted less in Californian mythology than in Baron’s own musical world, somewhere between Sherwood, Nottingham, classic songwriting, electronic soul and the no-nonsense good times that have long run through his work under his other monikers (principally the anagrammatic Ron Basejam and, of course, Crazy P) One thing was indisputable, it connected with people... and still does.

The album was a minor hit, appearing in many a Best of 2023 chart and voted Album of the Year in Bill Brewster’s Furtive 50. A tour and a few memorable festival appearances – his 2024 We Out Here Festival being one of those wonderfully timed ‘moments’ - perfectly captured the horizontal vibes on the album, while injecting some live energy into its delivery. While there was a follow-up remix album for Love Makes Magic, JIM was already preparing a sophomore LP: “I wrote the majority of The Curious Case Of Existence in a couple of months at the beginning of 2024, then it was just a case of making the record over the next couple of years in between everything else.”

Two of the most prolific remixers in the world of Disco,Dave 'Love' Lee and John Moraleshave teamed up for one of their biggest projects to date - 'Mixed To The Maxxx'. After gaining access from the legendary original artists, the pair take the multi-track tapes of many classic Disco, Funk & Soul tracks and re-work them...to the Maxxx!

Where Remixed With Love stands as Dave Lee's own gold-standard body of work, Mixed To The Maxxx sets that legacy alongside Morales' own decades-deep M+M body of work: Lee brings his musically dense, groove-first touch to the likes of Harold Melvin, Syreeta, Lenny Williams and The Brand New Heavies, while Morales applies his extended, dancefloor-built M+M treatment and crushes the likes of Barry White, The Temptations and Loleatta Holloway, plus Dennis Coffey's breakbeat classic "Scorpio" for the DJs and collectors alike. Both work from original tapes, surfacing parts barely audible or entirely unheard in the source mixes, and both know when to let a classic breathe rather than bury it under modern production. It's a pairing a long time in the making. Lee and Morales first talked about working together around a decade ago, and getting Mixed To The Maxxx off the ground took five years of patient work: tracking down usable stems, securing approvals, and navigating a licensing landscape where much of the best material is now tied up with major labels increasingly cautious about clearing remixes. What's landed here is the product of that graft as much as the pair's shared ear for a great record, the sound of two people who know exactly what they're looking for and are willing to put in the time to find it.

A double 12" sampler in summer 2025 previewed the record's range. A bass-driven overhaul ofThe Brothers Johnson's "The Real Thing" and an extended mix of Philly legends Bell & James' "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" showcased Lee's side, while an anthemic take on Inner Life's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and a tempo-lifted Light Of The World"London Town" flew the flag for Morales. Both drew strong early support ahead of the full LP.

2026 Repress

Ezra Feinberg's third album Soft Power sees the composer-guitarist enlist an impressive array of fellow musicians including Mary Lattimore, David Moore (Bing & Ruth), Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Robbie Lee and share the life affirming lead single 'Future Sand'.

Defined by its abundance of melodies, repeating figures and ecstatic improvisations, Soft Power exudes an enlightened and transformative spirit to empower the listener. Feinberg, a practising psychoanalyst and former founding member of the San Francisco psychedelic collective Citay (Dead Oceans / Important Records) resides in the artistic enclave of upstate New York's Hudson River valley. Initial recordings emerged in the late summer of 2020, before added synthesis with collaborator John Thayer (Arp, Sunwatchers) during early 2021. Soft Power follows previous albums 'Recumbent Speech' (2020) and 'Pentimento and Others' (2018).

Feinberg artfully transcends the listener to an enriched place, his compositions distinguished by the deep humanity that lies at their core, plugging the listener into a state of wide eyed being, open and alive. Soft Power then is Ezra's own mantra but also one of power giving - a colourful catharsis translated into music.

Feinberg's music always speaks to the listener, but Soft Power, in whispering, speaks loudest.

"Much like everyday life, I wanted to convey these very plain, simple, tranquil, nearly quotidian aspects, but each piece contains this arc in which that form expands, is broken out of, so what starts out like a painting of flowers in a seaside motel turns into a riot of color and sound, or you feel slipped into a dream that feels like it could go on forever"

Berlin-based edit specialist Voodoocuts knows exactly how to tease out the best bits of any of the source tunes he works with. He's been doing it for years now on labels like Juice on Wax and Uluru, and now heads to Ritmo for his latest 7" bomb. 'Riddim Freak' gets this one going with a reggaeton rework of a Missy Elliott classic. It's an inspired pairing that has elastic bass and trampoline-like kicks with rave horns, fat-assed brass band energy and plenty of that original Missy attitude. 'Work This' takes another of the rap queens' most welcome jams and flips and reverses it into an early electro and hip-hop blend with old school drums and many magnificent samples all bringing it to life in full colour.

"Once Turin-based producers Mattia and Massimo joined forces under the Voodoos & Taboos moniker, they quickly became a notable force in contemporary club music. A crafty take on house music, combining groove with sculpted production work and a bent for lush melodies, drawing from a wide range of influences - anything that borders on the electronic genres really, and beyond - fueled their own namesake imprint with 6 EP's and landed them spots on a variety of top-tier labels. We have been keen to work with these artists for a long time, and are thrilled this finally materializes with the release of ALT027. Title track "Sempre Sognar" immediately sets out the duo's floor-focused intentions. Breakbeat-laced drums gradually build momentum before a formant lead drops in. It trades phrases with an equally infectious organ that's eventually joined by a 303 pattern for the track's finale. Similar vibrating, buzzy leads thrust "Take Me" forward. Amid heavily delayed vocal samples, the proggy beat takes a more trippy turn however. Synthesized idiophone interludes create room for moments of repose, although not entirely unambiguous ones. A subtly detuned lead and more sleek acid lines are supported by the type of arp bass that characterizes Voodoos & Taboos' sound on the B-side's "Revolution". A collage of broadcast and war-movie lines alike not only adds color, but underlines the sense of indeterminate imminence that looms throughout the track. B2 "Afterhouse" sees the BPM drop a notch, yet the palette shows no signs of winding down; it is downright exuberant. As different arpeggiated melodies play call and response, tape-delayed chords, alarm-like risers, and sprinkles of guitar add extra flavor. This does not lead to excess, however. Everything is carefully measured and kept in check: after all, at the helm are two artists who understand that perfection lies in getting a great many small things exactly right."

Semi Delicious brings its three-part VA series to a close with one final selection of carefully curated cuts. The closing chapter completes the series in style, rounding off a collection built for those who know.

Semi Delicious closes out a standout year with Café Gelato, a sprawling new VA compilation bringing together 17 tracks from the label’s extended family and wider orbit.

A&R’d by head honcho Demi Riquísimo, this three part collection captures the broad, playful club sound that has become central to Semi Delicious.

Across the compilation, familiar faces sit alongside new additions, with contributions from Kamma, Regularfantasy, Big Miz, Retromigration, BELLA, Manuel Darquart, DaisyBelle & Medlar, Baldo & Revivis, Kepler and Demi himself among a 17-track cast.

Landing as the label’s final release of the year, Café Gelato puts a full stop on a major chapter for both Semi Delicious and Demi Riquísimo in 2026, celebrating the community of producers that has grown around the imprint while maintaining the musical pillars at its core.

Big, colourful and built firmly for the dancefloor, Café Gelato closes the year by taking stock of where Semi Delicious is now, while offering a taste of where it heads next.

A DJ, producer and significant figure in contemporary electronic music, Marcel Dettmann steps forward to contribute to Running Back’s ongoing Mastermix series. Whereas previous editions of Mastermix have taken an ear to the sound of lapsed, legendary clubs such as Wild Pitch and Front, Dettmann’s curation deftly captures the man himself in ongoing perpetual motion, raiding the vault for his own precision-tooled edits, long-employed on dancefloors to devastating effect. Alongside a continuous mix, this release arrives as a 3LP gatefold, and as a limited edition cassette.

Closely associated with Berlin’s techno landscape, Dettmann was born and raised in the former GDR, then later immersed in the bleary-eyed counter cultural landscape of post-unification Berlin. Initially oriented by post-punk, industrial and new-wave music, Dettmann has been DJing since 1993, always expanding and perfecting his repertoire. He later began working behind the counter at the city’s tastemaking rave boutique Hard Wax, and a decade after he first dropped a needle, became (and remains) resident at notable local nightspot Berghain/Panorama Bar, where his instincts have helped sculpt the signature sound of both main dancefloors.

Of course, you’re probably not asking, “Who is Marcel Dettmann?” More importantly, you might want to know; just what treats has he gifted us here? The trip begins with a simple pitch-shift skywards, transforming Identified Patient’s creeping ‘The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania’ into a peak-time freakout, before an alternate take on Toctronic’s ‘Bis uns das Licht vertreibt’ emerges from the vaults for the first time. Dating from 1995, and one of Dettmann’s all-time favourites, Cristian Vogel’s ‘Untitled’ clambers back into the box with respectable cuts, while John Bender’s ‘Victims of A Victimless Crime’ kicks off the flip sporting a new arrangement, transporting us back to the foundations of a confident, stripped-back sound.

A few subtle edits to Clark’s perilously funky ‘Dirty Pixie’ takes us to Dettmann’s remix of Junior Boys. Produced in 2010, it transposes the Canadian duo’s sophisticated pop with our curator in his minimal prime, and has since become an irresistible prize for high-minded diggers. The same can be said for Experimental Products’ explosive proto-electro anthem ‘Who Is Kip Jones?’, empowered from pricey Discogs purgatory with just the slightest of tweaks. It’s deservedly sandwiched between the guiding influences of Chicago and Detroit in the form of Mutant Beat Dance’s raw ‘The Human Factor’ and a shimmering new version of previous solo production ‘Water’, featuring close friend and Ostgut Ton ally, Ryan Elliot.

The second half of the Mastermix seamlessly connects the mechanical past and digital present of EBM and industrial in the dance, with Dettmann’s instincts as a guiding hand. Severed Heads’ iconic ‘We Have Come To Bless This House’ emerges with mere nips and tucks, while Nitzer Ebb’s ‘Shame’ is significantly reimagined as a highwire act of rhythm and tension, setting up a sensual second take on a 2017 remix of ‘Limbo’ from Swiss synth heroes, Yello.

Core musical memories are shaken and stirred with a context-shifting take on Frank Duval’s emotional classic ‘Ogon’, while Ian North’s ‘Sex Lust You’ and Ford Proco’s notable Coil collaboration ‘Expansion Naranja’ effectively throb with only minor adjustments, respectfully imagined as “shadow versions”. Meanwhile, a simple breakbeat lifts Albert Kuningas’s ‘Astraalprojektio’ in the direction of wide-eyed dancefloors, while a fresh take on K-Alexi Shelby’s ‘Season of The Real’ inexplicably emerges somehow even funkier than before.

The conclusion of the compilation leads back to Das Tier from the prolific experimentalist Conrad Schnitzler, whose swirling synths and hypnotic vocals are duly tightened by Dettmann, but only as he puts it, “in conversation with the original.” Concluding three discs and thirty years of commitment to the dancefloor, this Mastermix not only offers us the opportunity to eavesdrop on this endless exchange, but to gain some sought-after material for our own record collections.

Bassist, composer and arranger Bill Lee (who is the father of celebrated Director Spike Lee) helmed numerous Strata-East projects, but this is the one that most stands apart. The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe is a one-off 1974 album uniting Lee with his siblings Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims and Consuela Lee Moorhead under a name that pays honour to their enslaved ancestors. Elements of jazz, gospel, soul and blues are threaded into a work of complexity but spirituality, with nimble, dancing grooves next to more pensive explorations. It's a sought-after rarity from the label's catalogue that has been freshly remastered for this reissue. Essential Strata-East history.

The wait is over, Return To The 37th Chamber is El Michels Affair's highly anticipated follow up to 2009's underground cult classic Enter the 37th Chamber. Churning out classic records since then for the likes of Lee Fields, The Arcs, The Shacks, and tons more, it is clear that EMA's signature sound is stronger & sharper than ever. This time, in addition to re-interpreting the Wu compositions for a live band, EMA pays homage to the production and sonic fog that makes a RZA beat so recognizable. Producer and bandleader Leon Michels recorded the album completely analog, sometimes hitting 6 generations of tape before it was ready for mixing, giving the Return to The 37th Chamber it's own hazy sound. Adding to the unique fidelity, the record is laced with psychedelic flourishes, John Carpenter' synths, heavy metal guitars, triumpha0nt horns, and traditional Chinese instruments that make up for the lack of the Wu's superlative vocals. From start to finish it's a dark trip that walks the line between RZA's timeless hip-hop aesthetic and the cinematic soul EMA has become known for. El Michels Affair tackles some classics like 4th Chamber and Wu Tang Aint Nuthin to Fuck Wit, as well as some deeper cuts like Ol Dirty Bastard's Snakes, Raekwon's Verbal Intercourse, and Shaolin Brew, Wu-Tang's contribution to the St. Ide's Hip Hop endorsement campaign from 1994. This time El Michels brings some of the Big Crown family along for the ride. Lee Fields handles vocal duties on Snakes and is joined by Shannon Wise of The Shacks for their version of Tearz, which pays as much homage to the Wendy Rene sample as it does to the Wu-Tang Clan. Lady Wray makes an appearance on the cover of Method Man's hit, All I Need, lending her vocal prowess to what gave the Wu one of their biggest hits of all time. Interspersed throughout the record are some original interludes that are like the rug that ties the room together,' giving Return To The 37th Chamber a cinematic narrative that makes it a proper El Michels Affair record and not just a collection of covers. From the music to the presentation, this album is a perfect example of what can only be achieved through diversity. The end result is as much a kaleidoscope of influences and multiculturalism as the city it was recorded in. El Michels Affair is once again, sounding out the city' that raised them, pulling elements of art and culture from across the country and around the globe to create an album truly unique in it's own right.

Det Gode Selskab continue their quest as they call on Berlin-based Italian artist Busso. An artist who continues to express himself through a multitude of vibes and sounds, fitting perfectly with the free-flowing DGS ethos. ‘Anna In The Jelly’ wanders between four different cuts, teasing animated deep house energy combined with stripped-back minimal flavours. A reflection of Busso’s versatile taste, he encapsulates four sure shots for your summertime record bag. A tale for the sun worshipping dreamers, soundtracking the warmer months.

Diving straight in with ‘Sexual Desire’, Busso delivers perky and playful peak-time action, with a clean-cut, feel-good energy from the word go. A vintage feel emerges through the vocals and crisp drums, working in sweet harmony. Slick hi-hats lead the way in ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ before you are confronted with a killer elasticated groove synonymous with the Italian’s sound. Beautiful chords appear at the midway point, spiralling into paradise.
The B-side kicks off with the title track, constructed in a distinct chunky manner. Squelchy mechanical tones manoeuvre around the mysterious drive of the track. Moody as it moves, it’s one for the darker nights on the road. Last but not least is ‘Red Print’, tightly packaged and incredibly detailed, with quirky obscurities flashing throughout. A steady motion perfectly sets the tone as you start to build the floor.
This record cements an exciting future for the label, as they look to continue elaborating on their catalogue, ever-evolving and expanding their width of sounds with one of the most exciting prospects currently in the German capital.

Half a century after its original release, legendary Lebanese musician and singer Marcel Khalife—renowned oud player and global icon of both music and activism—returns with a new recording. On this album, he reinterprets four of the five tracks from his debut, Promises of the Storm. A bold defiance of time and history.


Why revisit the same album, 50 years later? The reasons are many, but one stands above the rest: history itself seems to be repeating. The narrative unfolds once more in the same dire circumstances as half a century ago, as if time has folded in on itself, returning everything to its starting point. The urgency, the necessity—it all remains, pressing and inescapable. We must begin again.


In 1976, a young Marcel Khalife found himself exiled in Paris, fleeing the Lebanese Civil War and his family’s Christian village, where his progressive, left-wing ideas had placed him under a kind of house arrest. He was one of the few to openly and unwaveringly champion the Palestinian cause. The situation quickly became untenable, especially since, just a month before the war began in March 1975, Khalife—fresh out of the conservatory—had given his first public concert to great acclaim. Then, everything collapsed. What does one do when trapped at home? Read books, play the oud, and turn those readings into songs. In his family’s de facto prison, Khalife began setting the poetry of the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish to music. These songs, born of confinement, he carried with him into exile, driving to Paris where a producer offered him the chance to record an album. Naturally, the tracks were the ones he had been improvising at home from Darwish’s poems. The album’s title, Promises of the Storm, echoed the war that was just beginning. Khalife recalls that the album became a hit after a concert at the Fête de l’Huma, where 500 copies were sold in a single day. “Everything started there, and it never stopped,” he remembers. He would meet Mahmoud Darwish shortly after, at a dinner organized by mutual friends. From that moment, a deep friendship blossomed between the two men.


With Darwish’s words and Khalife’s music, the songs of Promises of the Storm are imbued with a powerful evocative force—melancholy, tenderness, and poetic resistance in the face of violence. The album catapulted Khalife to international stardom, leading to endless tours and recordings, yet he never abandoned his commitments.


Now, 50 years later, Promises of the Storm returns in a fresh recording, because history is repeating itself. After the Israeli bombings in Lebanon at the end of 2024, Khalife, who was on tour, found himself stranded in Paris. He remembered a recurring request from his son, musician Bachar Mar-Khalife, who had often urged him to re-record his now-classic debut album. One morning, oud in hand, Marcel knocked on his son’s door and said, “Shall we? I’m ready to record.”
These new versions are stripped down, raw, and intimate—just the solitary strings of the oud. Khalife sings as never before, his voice no longer marked by the fragility of youth but imbued with something deeper, freer, unshackled. It soars high yet resonates low, always clear, as if to escape sadness, to evoke love and violence, desire and exile. In just four songs, Khalife encapsulates a lifetime, and a philosophy of life. Rita tells of a love of Darwish’s, with the haunting line (translated from Arabic): “Between Rita’s eyes and mine, a rifle.” Oummi invokes the figure of the mother as a metaphor for the lost land. Promises of the Storm is a meditation on revolution, the hope for change, the melancholy of defeat, and the power of thought. Passport captures, through poetry, the feeling of being stateless—a citizen of everywhere and nowhere.
Time has only strengthened these texts and this music. History never repeats itself without a valid, indispensable reason for the present. That reason is fully contained in Marcel Khalife’s new interpretations, which have never sounded so clear, so right, so essential.

Acid Pauli's new album "Mystic Meltdown" is hypnotic mystery, textural mastery, all hurtling through your system at peak velocity, unrelenting yet full of mischief and spirit.
The first full-length Acid Pauli album since 2020's MOD, here the artist, Martin Gretschmann, who you might also remember from Console and The Notwist, reaches out to collaborators, unearths new sounds through travel and then brings it all together with one long, sweeping breath - an album to take in as a whole, to ride its compulsive energy to the end and then back to the start, over and over again.
While the album's been brewing for some time, "It took months and months to find the coherency and the story that this album is telling," Gretschmann recalls, "Arranging the pacing, feeling how the tracks come together into one album", it reads as effortless. It draws from Gretschmann's various musical languages, from the techno, house and ambient of Acid Pauli, even reaching back to the electronica of Console, but it places them in new contexts, at new speeds and in rich, giddy contrasts. Mystic Meltdown feels like endless pleasure, unflagging energy.
It's also an album rich with multiplicity. There are many voices that visit us at the Mystic Meltdown, from Hani Mojtahedy's Kurdish vocal on "Goman (Remix)", through to Lhasa de Sela's "Con Toda Palabra" in Spanish. A sample of Kingdom Molongi's voices opens the title track and returns on "Mystic Feedback" - this feels like a particularly profound connection, given the inspiration that Gretschmann has gleaned from the musical community surrounding the Nyege Nyege Tapes label and organisation over the years. He's also appeared at one of their festivals, by all accounts a revelatory experience.
Sometimes Gretschmann reaches back yet further. "Yes, Caroline" hints at an abstract relationship with the Beach Boys' pop masterpiece, Pet Sounds. Yet the way he draws these various influences into his own music always displays more than a touch of transmutation. Releasing the album on his own label All Is Acid which has recently been undertaking a reissue program of some of Acid Pauli's earlier works, "Mystic Meltdown" feels like a complete expression for Gretschmann; from beginning to end, from creation to reflection. "Building up, going into different spheres and emotions," Gretschmann concludes. "Working through some darker shades, trying to find light. Pouring in to get through."

Limited Edition 2026 Black Vinyl Repress.
Up in Flames is Dan Snaith's second album, originally released under the Manitoba moniker on March 31, 2003 .
Made with the same modest home setup as its predecessor, it nonetheless sounds like a different artist entirely - a kaleidoscopic rush of sun-bright melodies, tumbling percussion, and psychedelic pop that traded the hushed intimacy of Start Breaking My Heart for something warmer, bigger, and more joyfully overstuffed, encompassing 1960s psychedelia, Madchaster swagger and shoegaze swoon.
Snaith was later forced to change his artist name after a well-documented lawsuit, and Up in Flames stands as the final album released under the Manitoba name - a high point to go out on. The record was met with widespread critical acclaim, and has since been recognized by Pitchfork as one of the standout albums of the 2000s. It remains, by most accounts, one of Snaith's finest and most beloved records.

One of the most influential dub albums ever made. The remixing techniques used – radically new for 1973 – helped transform the role of the producer and the engineer to that of creative artists in their own right.

First released in Jamaica in December 1972, Upsetters 14 Dub Black Board Jungle is widely regarded as one of the first full-length dub albums and a true landmark in reggae history. Produced by the visionary Jamaican innovator Lee “Scratch” Perry, it marks the decisive moment when dub evolved from incidental B-sides into a fully realized long-playing art form. At a time when Jamaican sound system culture was flourishing, producers were beginning to strip down popular reggae tracks into instrumental “versions,” emphasizing the bass and drums for sound system deejays to toast over while adding echo and reverb effects to make things more interesting and dynamic. While King Tubby, who was in charge of mixing the tracks, was pioneering the technical foundations of dub, Perry expanded the approach by adding the hypnotic and psychedelic sound effects that made this record so rich in ideas, rendering the album more conceptually bold.

The album reworked previously released rhythm tracks by the Upsetters, which were recorded between 1970 and 1972, shortly before Perry opened his own studio – the legendary Black Ark Studio in Kingston. Their tight, groove-driven playing provided a solid backbone for these radical studio manipulations. Using the mixing desk as an instrument, tracks were deconstructed in real time – dropping vocals in and out, isolating drumbeats, pushing bass lines to the front of the mix, and sending fragments of sound spiraling into space through the heavy use of a spring reverb and tape delay effect units. Silence became as important as sound, and the interplay of rhythm and echo created a hypnotic, immersive listening experience.

Upsetters 14 Dub Black Board Jungle established dub as a genre defined by creative studio intervention. It demonstrated that the remix itself could be the main attraction, influencing generations of reggae producers and resonating far beyond into the techniques and aesthetics of post-punk, electronic music, hip-hop, and ambient sound design. By transforming the studio into a creative laboratory and elevating the “version” to an art form, this foundational album reshaped not only Jamaican music, but the whole of modern music production culture.

Balaise was the original title of Vers le Nord’s debut album. In French slang, balaise means something in between badass and flamboyant. The word keeps popping up throughout the record, like a teenager’s graffiti scrawled on a bus shelter after a few drinks. Balaise robots. Balaise ghosts lurking in the shadows. Balaise is the barfly who fantasies about becoming a street vigilante. In many ways, Matthieu Pellerin's new solo project is entirely contained within that word: a gigantic piece one man against the world cobbled together, a monument shaped by hand using layers of synthesizers sounding like cathedral organs cast in concrete.


Stitching this type of freak together took time. Five years, or what sounds like forever in an age obsessed with career trajectories and content strategies. But for Matthieu Pellerin, it was never about career plans or taking the easy road. Or he would have dug up the rotting corpse of Oi Boys, his now-defunct band, whose brief existence and explosive popularity once united sullen skinheads, gothic street punks, and old school punks alike. Or he would have fully embraced the Metz scene, now that the Great International Triple Alliance of the East (Noir Boy George, The Dreams, The Feeling Of Love...) and rising solo acts like Tune Zitoune, Josy Bazar, Fantôme Josepha, and Tony Gerrano have somehow transformed this sprawling open-air heroin camp into an unlikely capital of cool. But Vers le Nord doesn't point East, and it is as a lone rider that Matthieu Pellerin can fully reveal his songwriting scope.


With Le Seul Élément, his first solo project, the Lorraine native had already shown a rare gift for crafting worlds. Picture vast sonic masses stretching like industrial zones, noise-filled fog pierced by pale neon lights and landscapes caught somewhere between the gnarliest dive bar and a doomsday bunker. And slipping through the soul-crushing slowness and fractured blackened atmospheres, one could perceive a throwback to his years plotting in black metal-tinged Loth and Bishop.

Vers le Nord populates those landscapes that once were rough sketches. Damaged characters reign supreme, with a plethora of exquisite mutts brought to life, rather than outcasts committed to the cause. Where Nuits Blanches —his new supergroup featuring members of Rixe, Lion's Law, Headbussa and La Femme— pulls no punches with raw confessions, Pellerin switches gear for tales of robot apocalypses, vagrants and fam-seeking school shooters, delivered with William Sheller-esque rhymes and striking images. Yet even within fiction, he manages to create something deeply intimate, almost defining, showing very little effort: he is a natural. All in all, à l’aise (at ease). Songs resonate deeply with the listener, perhaps because of Pellerin’s odd way or always addressing someone without ever really naming them, a floating, obsessive and inescapable “you” calling us out.


Despite all of the darkness, Vers le Nord stirs deep emotions. There is something of Type O Negative or Anna von Hausswolff in its constant collision of the ludicrous and the epic gothic, its bleak romanticism that never tells a sordid tale. While the vocals remain rooted in a distinctly French punk lineage—think No Class, La Souris Déglinguée and OG Bérurier Noir—the reactor core is hidden somewhere else. Oneohtrix Point Never feels like a closer relative with his ultra-emotional music made of cold synths and disembodied anthems, swallowing and regurgitating forty years of icy, contemplative new wave across ten songs. It comes as no surprise that Lila Ehjä and Aimable, two rising specialists in lowering the temperature below seasonal norms, appear on “Enterrez-moi bordel” (“Bury Me, for fuck's sake”), a grandiose, spectral and magnificently arrogant finale. And in the end, Vers le Nord starts where the original idea was hiding all along: somewhere amid the ruins, definitely balaise and yet somehow, completely à l'aise.

Music From Memory presents ‘Sleep Machines’, a new collaborative album from UK ambient pioneers O Yuki Conjugate and German producer and DJ Philipp Otterbach.

Formed in Nottingham in 1982, O Yuki Conjugate have spent more than four decades developing a singular approach to what they now describe as ‘dirty ambient’. Emerging from the post-punk DIY scene and drawing early inspiration from artists including Cabaret Voltaire, The Durutti Column and Jon Hassell, the group gradually carved out a space between post-industrial electronics, ambient music and Fourth World experimentation. Centred today around founding members Roger Horberry and Andrew Hulme, their work has retained an outsider sensibility throughout its many periods of activity and hibernation.

Philipp Otterbach approaches music from an equally open-ended perspective. As a producer, collector and DJ, his work moves freely between drone, dub, techno, house and electronics. His sets and productions share a fascination with unexpected connections, allowing disparate sounds to drift into one another through intuition rather than fixed genre boundaries.

‘Sleep Machines’ began with a chance meeting at The Gun on Well St. in London. Otterbach asked, “Would you be interested in doing a collaboration?”

“A collaboration? Sorry, we don't do collaborations,” came the reply.

“But wouldn’t it be fun?”

“We don't do fun either.”

Despite themselves, O Yuki Conjugate tentatively sent over an initial track. An avalanche of ideas quickly came back, and what began as an unlikely proposal developed into 18 months of recording, file-swapping, mixing and repeated reworking between the UK and Germany.

Produced by Otterbach, the resulting ten tracks bring together recognisable elements of both sides while gradually dissolving the lines between them. O Yuki Conjugate’s hazy atmospheres, dubwise spaces and tactile rhythms meet Otterbach’s instinct for strange detail, low-slung electronics and shifting forms. Rather than functioning as a collection of separate pieces, the album moves without gaps, unfolding as a single continuous work in which one environment slowly slips into the next.

‘Sleep Machines’ is both O Yuki Conjugate’s first collaborative album and an unlikely meeting point between two generations of musicians whose work has consistently existed at the edges of established forms.

The Forbidden Planet is the new album by Tomorrow Comes The Harvest, featuring Rasheeda Ali. The album explores a wide range of electronic and acoustic improvisational conversations, creating expansive and constantly evolving sound landscapes.

The recording carries forward many of the qualities that have made Tomorrow Comes The Harvest so distinctive from its beginnings. The project originated through the percussive dialogue between Jeff Mills and the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. When thetwo creative forces first came together several years ago, what emerged was more than a collaboration or musical conversation. They opened a pathway-a way of creating through instinct, exchange, rhythm and freedom. That pathway continues to lead toward new horizons, and The Forbidden Planet is evidence of just how far it can travel.

The album is the result of an intricate creative process spanning nearly two years, connecting a series of recording sessions at notable studios including Criteria Studios in Miami, Soda Sound, and the legendary Studio Ferber in Paris, France.

The Forbidden Planet explores the more cerebral dimensions of the band's vast musical language. An idea is introduced, and almost immediately it begins to transform. Themes are questioned, reshaped and redirected as the musicians respond instinctively to one another.

As Tomorrow Comes The Harvest is known for, the performances were recorded largely through improvisation, often capturing the energy and spontaneity of an almost one-take process. These recordings were later carefully refined and shaped into the compositional structures heard throughout the album.

The creative seeds have been planted in fertile ground, allowing ideas to grow naturally and without restriction. In rhythm and in spirit, each musician contributes an essential voice to the conversation. Within that collective precision lies something even more important: a shared love of musical freedom and the possibility of creating without boundaries.

Prabhu Edouard - tabla and vocals
Jean-Phi Dary - keyboards
Jeff Mills - percussion and electronics

Featuring Rasheeda Ali on flute, with a special guest appearance by Laurent Vernerey on electric bass.

The Forbidden Planet will be released November 20th, 2026 on Axis Records on Double-Vinyl & CD + DVD. The DVD features selected live footage from Tomorrow Comes The Harvest, featuring Jeff Mills, Jean-Phi Dary, Prabhu Edouard and Rasheeda Ali.

Filmed & recorded live at London Jazz Café on September 27th, 2025, the footage captures highlights from the band's unique fusion of electronic music, jazz, percussion and improvisation.