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ANORAX is privileged to issue a very special 7” single.

Piano virtuoso Gail Jhonson’s stunning reimagination of EXPANSIONS celebrates the 50th anniversary of LONNIE LISTON SMITH releasing his groundbreaking epic classic. His revolutionary fusion of Jazz Funk & Soul with a cosmic message is in the music was hailed as an instant classic when released in 1975. Since then after being adopted across diverse dance music genres it has become an anthem of anthems.

Gail grew up listening to Lonnie’s music on quiet storm radio in Philadephida. After attending his concerts she began jamming with the great man and they became friends. Now based in Los Angeles and leader of all female jazz outfit Jazz In Pink she came up with the idea of paying homage to and reinventing EXPANSIONS.

“I decide to cover one of his many compositions and EXPANSIONS spoke to my spirit. As a smooth jazz artist I was able to slow the tempo down and reharmonise some of the chord voicings and play his vocal melodies as a piano lead. The bass line is infectious and carries the groove, accompanied by a four on the floor beat, a little wah guitar and the reimagining began…”

Covering a song as sacred as EXPANSIONS could be regarded as herey but when it is recreated with such reverence as this it simply adds to the legend.

Cosmic Echoes indeed.

Introspekt’s hotly anticipated debut album Moving The Center comes nearly a year after the release of her latest EP Tectónica. Set to be released on June 20th, Moving the Center sees Introspekt play homage to dubstep’s point of genesis in South London in order to then shift the center of focus from a singular point of origin, to a more global narrative of bass and vibration. The album blends UK bass with contrasting genres like garage and ballroom, creating the perfect feminine blend of these historically masculine genres. The album merges the Black diaspora from across the Atlantic, crafting a sonic world where past, present and future are parallel and immersed in an early millennium type dubstep soundscape.

Speaking about the album, Introspekt says, “‘Moving The Center’ embodies an alternate perspective to that which has been dominant in dance music, particularly so-called ‘bass music’. The narrative it presents is one which throws a wrench in the seemingly common perception of Dubstep as a masculinist sensibility. ‘Moving The Center’ pushes a feminine physicality to the front of the bassbins. Femmes to the front!”

Die 1992 in London von Sänger und Songschreiber David Christian gegründete Band Comet Gain war ursprünglich inspiriert von den frühen Creation Records, Television Personalities und der Mod-Kultur. Comet Gain schöpften aus denselben Idealen wie Dexys, The Style Council oder Vic Godard und aus Traditionen wie der von The Velvet Underground, The Byrds und den 13th Floor Elevators. In den darauffolgenden Jahren veröffentlichte die Gruppe acht Alben auf so angesehenen Labels wie Wiiija, Kill Rock Stars, What"s Your Rupture und Fortuna POP!. In diesen Veröffentlichungen vermischten sich französischer New Wave mit englischem Arbeiterherz, Riot Grrrl mit Acid Punk und Twee Pop mit Post-Punk und Northern Soul. Comet Gain überdauerten ihre Zeitgenossen und inspirierten eine neue Generation von DIY-Bands. Auf dieser Platte, Comet Gains zweitem regulären Album bei Tapete Records, hören wir David Christian (Stimme, Gitarre), Ben Philipson (Gitarre), Rachel Evans (Gesang), Robin Christian (Schlagzeug), Anne Laure Guillain (Keyboards) und Clientele-Bassist James Hornsey, mit zusätzlichen Gesangs-, Bläser- und Keyboard-Beiträgen von Produzent Sean Read (Dexys, Edwyn Collins, Rockingbirds).

Opaque White Vinyl. After three albums of reverberated guitar wandering, Master Wilburn Burchette's Psychic Meditation Music takes a turn towards the kosmiche. Two side-long synth explorations transport the listener to the avocado hues of 1974, expanding consciousness one oscillation at a time. Bug out your third eye!

NIGHTBEARER melden sich mit ihrem dritten Albumkracher "Defiance" zurück. Die deutschen Death-Dealer aus der ostwestfälischen Stadt Paderborn bleiben dabei dem typischen HM-2 Kettensägen-Gitarrensound ebenso treu wie auch ihrer unverhohlene Liebe zum melodischen Death Metal schwedischer Prägung. Dabei markiert "Defiance" dennoch einen weiteren Schritt in der ebenso stetigen wie umsichtigen Evolution ihres Sounds, indem sie ihrem Old-School-Stil beispielsweise angeschwärzte Passagen und doomige Momente hinzufügen. Das Ergebnis dieser Horizonterweiterung ist ein enorm atmosphärisches Werk, das perfekt zu seinem lyrischen Konzept passt. Denn dieses Album wurde direkt von der berühmten "His Dark Materials"-Trilogie des englischen Autors Sir Philip Pullman inspiriert. Auf einer tieferen Bedeutungsebene drehen sich die Texte um die Emanzipation der Menschheit von ihrer Unterdrückung durch Religion. Als NIGHTBEARER im Jahr 2017 von Sänger Michael Torka und Gitarrist Dominik Hellmuth gegründet wurden, bestand ihre Motivation an erster Stelle aus der brennenden Leidenschaft zum Old School Death Metal - und besonders dessen goldenen Zeiten in den glorreichen 1990er Jahren. Im Gefolge der 5-Track-EP "Stories from Beyond" (2018) erreichte ihr Debütalbum "Tales of Sorcery and Death" (2019) auf Anhieb eine Top Ten Position (#8) im Soundcheck des deutschen Rock Hard Magazins; neben reichlich weiterem Lob von Fans und Kritikern. Auf ihrem zweiten Studioalbum "Ghosts of a Darkness to Come" (2022) erweiterten NIGHTBEARER den Rahmen ihrer lyrischen Themen auf konzeptionelle Größe, indem sie den Hörer auf eine Reise in die dunklen Ereignisse von Robert Jordans epischer Saga "Das Rad der Zeit" mitnahmen. Mit ihrem dritten und bisher komplettesten Album beweisen NIGHTBEARER ein perfektes Gespür für das richtige Timing, indem sie der Welt mit "Defiance" einen ebenso wörtlichen wie metaphorischen Death Metal Akt des Widerstands auf Grundlage der "His Dark Materials" Trilogie präsentieren!

"For Japanese people, min'yo is both the closest, and most distant, folk music" explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka. "We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA".

Initially indifferent to min'yo, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: "Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts like Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yo with latin and jazz music."

Lead singer Freddie Tsukamoto fell for min'yo after hearing a song from his hometown on a TV competition whilst in a restaurant. It was a revelation – until then he had been an aspiring jazz singer yet was uncomfortable singing in English. The restaurateur told him a min'yo teacher was his neighbour and the two connected. Tanaka and Freddie formed Minyo Crusaders in 2011 in Fussa, a city where the US military Yokota Air Base is located, in western Tokyo.

Recruiting other local musicians versed in afro and latin rhythms, they began hosting jam sessions at the Banana House, a building that was previously part of the military base and that used to house US soldiers. The band started recording their music, and their debut album "Echoes Of Japan" was released in 2017. It received huge acclaim in Japan and abroad, and was also released by British label Mais Um in 2019. Several European tours followed, as well as some US and South America gigs.

In this second opus, the Minyo Crusaders take us on a trip to Japanese folk songs fused with latin rhythms. Their unique arrangements breathe new life to classics like Kiso Bushi, Sado Okesa or Soran Bushi, among many other min'yo songs from all over Japan that were originally performed by Japanese fishermen, coal miners and sumo wrestlers hundreds of years ago. The magical groove created here proves once again that the Minyo Crusaders are one of the most dynamic representatives of the current Japanese world music scene. Yoi Yoi, Enjoy!

PHASE SHIFTING INDEX is a time capsule record of Jeremy Shaw's vast original artwork that includes audio excerpts, voiceover passages and music composed by There in Spirit and Konrad Black. Shaw's seven-channel video, sound and light installation-that premiered at Centre Pompidou in 2020-uses science fiction, documentary, visual effects and synchronisation to induce an ecstatic experience in narrative temporality. Each video details the belief systems of one of seven fictional subcultural groups spread across time that aspire to induce parallel realities that could redirect the evolution of the human species through embodied forms of ritual, ideology and movement. The vinyl release serves as a gathering of the piece's key audio elements, focussing on their importance to the engineering of the artwork and their stand-alone listening qualities. Side A of the record follows the dramaturgy of the artwork in full-swing, including audio segments from four of its five distinct chapters. Written by long time collaborators Konrad Black and Jeremy Shaw together as There in Spirit, "Cross- Temporal Sync" soundtracks the strobing peak of the installation at the moment when all seven disparate videos fall into a unified choreography in which every person on every screen performs the same ecstatic series of slow-motion movements. The pulsing, hypnotic dirge aligns with the locked choreography in mood and action, caught somewhere between ecstatic trance and somatic takeover. A steady sub line, clipped stabs and a swooping choral gasp harmonise with the dancers movements onscreen while restrained filters open slowly to reveal a submerged melody that builds in intensity towards the chaotic rupture of Black's "Mosh". Here the score breaks into digital shards as heard through analog bodies colliding and pixelating into each other. The dancers eventual dissolution into "Particles" sounds like the field recording of a disembodied neural cosmos. The B-side of the record contains a narrative outline edit of the artwork comprised of music, excerpts and pieces of narration from each video. Listeners can follow along in an accompanying thirty-six page booklet of full-bleed film stills documenting each of the seven groups as they move through the five chapter dramaturgy. Composer Konrad Black's authentically backwards-glancing production and sound design is as disparate as the groups represented on screen. From the bespoke-16mm-tribal-techno of "The Cyclical Culture" and retro-cyber-funk of the "Zero-Ones," to the VHSdark- wave of "The Violet Lux" and skewed vocal/piano minimalism of the "Quantum Modern," each group exists in its own custom-made world out-of-time. The record ends where it began, with the full sequence of "Ramping" playing out as each subcultural world begins to lose control, galvanise, sync, rupture, atomise and scatter throughout the universe, only to loop back into another inevitable beginning. Phase Shifting Index premiered at Centre Pompidou, Paris, in 2020 and has since been exhibited in nine international venues including ARoS, Denmark, MONA, Tasmania, MAC, Montreal and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin

In ,What's The Matter, M. Ross?", dem dritten Album des eigenwilligen Autors M. Ross Perkins, befindet sich unser Junge auf einer Reise nach innen, auf der er das Transzendente und und Existenzielles mit seinem lyrisch bisher bekenntnishaftesten Album verbindet. Multiinstrumentalist Perkins muss man dem Singer/Songwriter-Zeitgeist zurechnen, der für MJ Lenderman und Waxahatchee schwärmt und gleichzeitig Optimismus vermittelt. "What's the Matter, M Ross?" wurde komplett von Perkins komponiert, gespielt und in seinem Studio in Dayton, OH aufgenommen. Die Kopfhörer-Symphonien bewegen sich mit einer bedächtigen, komponierten Raffinesse, während die Texte neues Terrain erkunden. Die Eckpfeiler des Psych-Pop bleiben: die Schnörkel von Nilsson sind noch da, aber auch Gram Parsons und Jonathan Richman. Wenn man "What's the Matter, M. Ross?" geografisch einordnen will, dann ist das Album zu gleichen Teilen Laurel Canyon und Big Pink, mehr Woodstock die Stadt als das Festival. Perkins ist ein in sich geschlossener Teenage Fanclub (aus der Spätphase) mit George Harrisons spirituellem Sinn für inneres Fernweh.

Sense and Sensuality (1982) was the second and final album by seminal British post-punk band The Au Pairs. The four-piece group from Birmingham were very much in tune with the early 80s growth pangs from the first punk explosion - stripping down their music from their debut LP to a funkier, more rhythmic essence, and shifting the focus of their lyrics to the personal rather than the political.

The addition of horns and imaginative synthesizers allowed for more satisfying sonic diversity, from the disco-informed dance-punk of “Instant Touch” to the cabaret swing of “Tongue in Cheek”. While “That’s When It’s Worth It” takes several elements of popular post-punk - looping auxiliary percussion rhythms and a sporadically used horn section - and crafts them into a wild sound that’s equal parts dance, psychedelia, punk and art pop.

Their distinctly punk take on sex and gender politics, meanwhile, was their strongest thematic strain - and that’s truly where Sense and Sensuality shined. Despite only reaching #79 in the UK when first released, it’s now widely seen as one of the best post-punk albums ever.

Sense and Sensuality is now available as a limited numbered edition of 750 copies on translucent magenta coloured vinyl and contains an insert.

Following their 2021 collaboration on “To Kill A Sunrise”, Brooklyn native Kota The Friend runites with iconic Boston producer Statik Selektah, now also a full time BK resident, on the follow-up “To See A Sunset”. The two have crafted yet another classic album, picking up where they left off with some fresh and soulful boom bap anthems, continuing with the always inspiring theme of turning your dream into a reality and the realisation that you’re living your best life!

A cosmic fusion of deep funk, interstellar jazz, and avant-garde soundscapes, On Jupiter stands as one of Sun Ra"s most iconic releases. Recorded in 1979 during a prolific period at Variety Arts Studios in New York, this album captures the Arkestra at the height of their creative powers, blending futuristic improvisation with infectious rhythms and otherworldly textures.

REPRESS of the debut full length. Even if the music is not very complex, you can see from miles away that Orchid are fairly good musicians. "Capricorn" is not only very different from the modern metal albums, but also has a character of its own. You would be able to say which song is which after just one listen. Recommended for fans of Black Sabbath, Graveyard, and Saint Vitus.

REPRESS of the Orchid second full length. Strong riffs, a tight rhythm section and psychedelic background guitar passages are the first things that come to mind when trying to describe how the album sounds. Theo Mindell's voice bears some resemblance to Blackie Lawless' and while W.A.S.P. isn't the first band that comes to mind when thinking of doom metal and stoner rock, his voice fits the music perfectly. The production is spot-on, guiding the listener's thoughts to the sound of Master Of Reality while still sounding modern.

Olive green vinyl, limited to 200 copies. REPRESS of the debut full length. Even if the music is not very complex, you can see from miles away that Orchid are fairly good musicians. "Capricorn" is not only very different from the modern metal albums, but also has a character of its own. You would be able to say which song is which after just one listen. Recommended for fans of Black Sabbath, Graveyard, and Saint Vitus.

Violet vinyl, limited to 200 copies. REPRESS of the Orchid second full length. Strong riffs, a tight rhythm section and psychedelic background guitar passages are the first things that come to mind when trying to describe how the album sounds. Theo Mindell's voice bears some resemblance to Blackie Lawless' and while W.A.S.P. isn't the first band that comes to mind when thinking of doom metal and stoner rock, his voice fits the music perfectly. The production is spot-on, guiding the listener's thoughts to the sound of Master Of Reality while still sounding modern.

In ,What's The Matter, M. Ross?", dem dritten Album des eigenwilligen Autors M. Ross Perkins, befindet sich unser Junge auf einer Reise nach innen, auf der er das Transzendente und und Existenzielles mit seinem lyrisch bisher bekenntnishaftesten Album verbindet. Multiinstrumentalist Perkins muss man dem Singer/Songwriter-Zeitgeist zurechnen, der für MJ Lenderman und Waxahatchee schwärmt und gleichzeitig Optimismus vermittelt. "What's the Matter, M Ross?" wurde komplett von Perkins komponiert, gespielt und in seinem Studio in Dayton, OH aufgenommen. Die Kopfhörer-Symphonien bewegen sich mit einer bedächtigen, komponierten Raffinesse, während die Texte neues Terrain erkunden. Die Eckpfeiler des Psych-Pop bleiben: die Schnörkel von Nilsson sind noch da, aber auch Gram Parsons und Jonathan Richman. Wenn man "What's the Matter, M. Ross?" geografisch einordnen will, dann ist das Album zu gleichen Teilen Laurel Canyon und Big Pink, mehr Woodstock die Stadt als das Festival. Perkins ist ein in sich geschlossener Teenage Fanclub (aus der Spätphase) mit George Harrisons spirituellem Sinn für inneres Fernweh.

Johnny and Robert began work on the album in the first weeks of the pandemic, wanting to make music that sang of those dangerous, disorienting spring days; when birdsong was brighter –– and the sense of bewilderment more powerful –– than any of us had known before. They drew inspiration in part from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving work of world literature; an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia that contains the earliest version of the Flood Myth. To Johnny and Robert, Gilgamesh resonated eerily with the present moment –– and it catalysed their song-writing. For Gilgamesh is a story of friendship, love, loss, grief, bad governance and good dreaming; of natural disaster and environmental crisis. It also contains the first recorded act of human destruction of the natural world: when Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Sacred Cedar Wood, slay the guardian spirit of the forest, and cut down the trees with their axes, thereby bringing catastrophe upon themselves. Johnny and Robert wrote the album between March 2020 and February 2021, during a year in which we all wandered unsure of our path, lost in the cedar wood. The songs were composed in large part as a correspondence, through a back-and-forth of notebook pages, voice-recordings and WhatsApp-messages, at a time when lockdowns made meeting in person impossible. The first eight songs were recorded in an off-grid cottage deep in a Hampshire forest, with the sounds of chainsaws felling trees drifting in through the windows along with the birdsong. The result is an album at once urgent and ancient, which fuses poetry, landscape, myth and music into something unique. These are songs that ring with hope, love and sadness –– and one need not know anything about The Epic of Gilgamesh to be touched by them.

Phantasy proudly presents a new AA single from Ewan McVicar, ‘Careless Drifter / Basic Foundation’. Undoubtedly one of the most prominent and successful figures in UK dance music in recent years, McVicar’s contribution to Erol Alkan’s long-standing London label is a love letter from his earliest days raving in rural Scotland. Debuted by McVicar at I Love Acid at Corsica Studios, and road tested at his own Handpicked parties, each track is a paean to communal party spirit that has informed his musical philosophy.

Patient but instantly trippy, ‘Careless Drifter’ coaxes dancers into a bottom-heavy bath of bassline and oscillations, revealing an alluring saxophone break that bridges the rawest end of the rave with unexpected opulence.

On the flip side, ‘Basic Foundation’ further strips back this instinct for club composition, dropping the tempo while dazzling with razor-sharp synths. The result is primo acid-house chug, alternating between light and shade, as McVicar’s knack for a melody emerges from his modular experiments.

Buckcherry will release their 11th studio album Roar Like Thunder on June 13th, 2025. The 10-track record was produced by Marti Frederiksen, who previously produced the band's 4th album, Black Butterfly, and co-wrote one of their biggest hits "Sorry." Frederiksen also co-wrote the songs on this album with vocalist Josh Todd and guitarist Stevie D. The album was recorded in Sienna Studios in Nashville in 2024. Says Josh about the new album, “Roar Like Thunder is going to lift your spirits, shake you up, and remind you why the hell you started listening to rock ‘n’ roll!”