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This year, we proudly celebrate 13 years of Artreform. A journey driven by our passion for music, artistry, and the timeless culture of vinyl. Our mission has always been clear - to support the artists we believe in and to present their music in the most cherished way we know - pressed on wax. Over the years, we've released more than 50 musical stories - carefully curated and brought to life on vinyl.
Each release reflects our deep love for sound, rhythm, and the spirit of artistic expression.
We're sincerely grateful to all the incredible artists who've released with us. Thank you for your talent, your trust, and for sharing a piece of yourselves through Artreform. You've helped shape not just our catalog, but our identity. And most importantly - to our followers, friends, and fellow vinyl lovers - Thank you.
You've danced with us, felt with us, and helped shape 13 unforgettable years of sound and soul. You've inspired us through the years - and you continue to do so. Your passion is the reason we keep going. To mark this milestone, we present something special:
Eight artists. Eight tracks. One timeless release.
A double vinyl EP celebrating our legacy - and sounding out our future.
Let the music play. We'll keep pressing what you love.
With love and respect, The Artreform Family!

Renée was born out of The Hague-based rock ‘n roll band René And His Alligators, founded by René Nodelijk in 1959. Throughout the 60s they were moderately successful both on stage and in the studio and served as an inspiration for many bands associated with the burgeoning beat scene in the coastal city. From 1967 onwards they performed under a few different names before going on a hiatus. In 1977 he made a comeback, this time joined by his wife Anja Nodelijk, née Exterkate. To reflect this fresh feminine impulse the band name was changed to simply Renée and recorded four full-length albums and a host of singles before disbanding in 1982 to make way for Anja’s solo career.

Reaching For The Sky from 1980 is their second and has been likened to many different things: Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, or even a fantasy collaboration between Pat Benatar’s guitarist, Heart’s Ann Wilson, and Steely Dan. Sprinkle some reggae and funk in the mix and it is no surprise that some of the tunes on this album ended up in niche YouTube algorithms, a Japanese book about obscure records, and in DJ sets by big names like Prins Thomas, who even released an extended edit of “Change Your Style” on a 12” single. This is obscure sophisti-pop at its best. Reaching For The Sky is available as a 45th anniversary edition on translucent magenta coloured vinyl.

Vibe Ride is the sixth release of Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational project and marks his 60th release as a leader or co-leader. Comes with insert and download code.

“With every record, the goal is to explore new creative territory,” explains Rudolph. Vibe Ride continues a deeper exploration of a trance-like groove and a conceptual framework known as Sonic Mandala. This album marks the most complete realization of that idea, partly due to the group's experience touring beforehand. That time on the road helped to refine ideas and strengthen musical chemistry. The recording process unfolded organically—likely due to the long-standing collaboration within ensembles like Go: Organic Orchestra and Moving Pictures, where the musicians have developed a deep familiarity with the shared musical language.

Sonic Mandala refers to a musical approach distinct from traditional linear structures of theme and development. Found in cultures across the globe, it may represent one of the oldest forms of musical expression—predating written history by tens of thousands of years. Today, it is most vividly preserved in the music of the Ituri Forest peoples (Aka, Baka, Ba Benzele, Mbuti), whose sound traditions revolve in cyclical, orbit-like patterns. Vibe Ride seeks to bring that ancient sense of circularity into a contemporary—and perhaps even futuristic—context.

The ensemble of Vibe Ride—Alexis Marcelo, Jerome Harris, Harris Eisenstadt, Neel Murgai, Tim Kieper, and Tripp Dudley—brings exceptional creativity and skill to the project. While grounded in the sonic languages of today, their performance channels an ancient vibrational lineage, connecting with ancestral sound makers who were attuned to the rhythms of the sun, moon, stars, and seasons. Human beings have always been deeply responsive to natural cycles.

Like a mandala, where the circle reveals itself as a spiral—always returning, but never to the exact same point—the Sonic Mandala musical experience spirals through motion. Refined signal patterns emerge through overtone-rich instrumentation. The groove becomes a threshold, shifting the listener from passive observation into active, even transcendent, participation. With open ears and an open mind, the sound spirals inward—toward a primal center—and outward into the cosmos. When this elevated state is shared among participants, it creates what mystics describe as resonance.

Vibe Ride thrives on the distinctive sonic voices of its players, interwoven with care and nuance into the compositions. Hu Vibrational merges elements of world music, electronica, and improvised jazz into something both funky and spiritual, intense and soothing.

Using signature techniques of organic orchestration, layered arrangement, and electronic processing, the compositions are sculpted from percussion, electronics, and ethereal textures. Rhythmic foundations drawn from diverse traditions serve not as endpoints, but as building blocks. As the saying goes, “Orchestration is the key.” In shaping the sound, the aim was to discover fresh ways of balancing structure and sonic color. As Don Cherry once said: “The swing is in the sound.”

The audiophile LP was carefully recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Dellatacoma—longtime engineer for both Bill Laswell and Rudolph—at Laswell’s Orange Studio.

“This crew artfully blends together to create a seamless tapestry of rhythm… the end results are mesmerizing. Hu Vibrational is all about communing with the groove spirits and creating worlds where earthy rhythms and other-worldly sounds are one.”
— Dan Bilawsky, All Music Guide

“You can be sure that when Adam Rudolph and an ensemble of breathtaking drummers get together mystical and wonderful things will happen.”
— Raul da Gama,

“A stunning effort, enjoyable and grows with repeated listening.”
— Stefan Wood, Freejazzcollective

“Everything flows – nothing remains, there is only an eternal becoming and changing” is a well-known formulation of the river theory of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, also known as panta rhei (ancient Greek: πάντα ῥεῖ, “everything flows”). This teaching states that everything in the universe is subject to constant change and that nothing stays the same forever. The metaphor of the river illustrates this: You can't step into the same river twice because both the river and you are constantly changing. The water is constantly flowing, but the river stays in one place. Thus, reality is constantly changing, even if sometimes perceived as constant.”

„Same Same but Different.“ Always different – always the same. Chill-Out DJ Heraklit

For the 26th time, the most consistent of all ambient compilations, in a constant flux of static change, is released on Kompakt. Joining good friends from the early days and reliable confidants are some new additions to the non-hierarchical charts of contemplative rapture culture.

Leading the way is Micå, a Japanese electronic musician whose finely chiseled, graceful musical style has made it onto the new collection with two pieces. Also making his debut is Richard Ojijo, a seasoned sound engineer known, among other things, for his long-standing collaboration with the artist Marcel Odenbach and the Cologne-based label Magazine. Oskø aka Max Hytrek, a multi-talented newcomer to Kompakt and the music scene, debuts with his rapturously ecstatic piece "Ar Vag." He's followed by Sebastian Mullaert, appearing for the second time—this time teamed up with Sebastian Lilja aka Hush Forever. After his surprise return last year after a 20 year hiatus, we are delighted that Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass Into Silence is back again this year with one of his distinctive sound gems. As are Dirk Leyers (Closer Musik) and Mikkel Metal. 18 tracks are featured on this CD. "Erlösung" (Redemption) is the title of Segensklang's closing track. A kind of ambient bolero into infinity. Or at least until next year...

And what would Pop Ambient be without the iconic, artistic cover design of Veronika Unland, who once again, in her unmistakable way, says through the digital flower: The eye always listens...

Magnificent Fall, The Notwist's new rarities compilation, compiles some special and wild moments from this unique German indie group's rich history. They've always snuck gorgeous songs and thrilling remixes onto split singles, extended plays, and other formats, across their career, and pieced together here – compiled thoughtfully, with sensitivity to flow and the listening experience – these thirteen selections work as a kind of ‘shadow narrative’ of The Notwist, an alternative index of the possibilities this shape-shifting group uncovered during their time together.

They've been smart to let go of chronology when sequencing Magnificent Fall, so the songs here move across phases and stages of The Notwist's career, helmed by brothers Markus and Micha Acher. This approach makes plenty of sense, as this music compiled here abstracts from two impulses – to push forward and not repeat what has come before, while building from the group's very specific musical language. Just one example: the loveliness of the instrumental “Avalanche”, from 2020's Ship, follows elegantly from the happy-sad glitch-pop of “Blank Air”, from a 2010 split with former member Martin Gretschmann's project Console. Different phases, different memberships, shared concerns.

The Notwist have always been interested in and open to community, and one of the many ways they reach out to others is through the remix. There are three here, sent back to The Notwist from different corners of the world, both aesthetically and geographically: Grizzly Bear take on “Boneless”, Ada tackles “Run Run Run”, and Odd Nosdam submerges “Sleep” in noise and clatter. Another connection, of course: Odd Nosdam is part of The Notwist's extended family, through Markus and Micha Acher's 13 & God project with fellow Anticon artists Themselves and Subtle.

So, the music on Magnificent Fall traverses varying terrain – abstract hip-hop, chamber pop, sweet and simple folk song, indietronica, free-floating improvisation. There are several unreleased songs, as well, drawn from across the group's history. Core to it all, though, the thing that makes The Notwist so singular, is the thumbprint of the Acher brothers, their gently poetic way of moving through the world and welcoming other musicians and artists into the fold, expressively and with generosity.

Historically aware without being nostalgic, Magnificent Fall is the perfect way to introduce The Notwist's reissue programme with Morr Music, too, including a box set, and the group's eight albums, documenting their three-and-a-half decades of music and community-making. Looking back to move forward? It's a very good idea.

Berlin-based Amy Dabbs makes a long-awaited return to Shall Not Fade with Green Room EP - four uptempo club heaters spanning UKG, high-energy house, and breaks.

The EP’s title pays homage to Renate’s Green Room, the floor within the renowned Berlin club where Dabbs has held her residency since early 2023. Each track was both written for and road-tested at her monthly Dabbs Traxx events in this space, where she’s cultivated a tight-knit community of UKG lovers in the heart of Berlin.

“When I started writing this EP, my goal was to create music that would fit perfectly into my nights in the Green Room, bringing in the London sounds I grew up on, across all the genres I usually play at Renate. This EP is a tribute to everything Renate has given me: opportunity, community, and a platform for my authentic UK sound.”

Opening track Take Me High launches straight into peak-time territory, with old-school-inspired rave stabs, staccato vocal flicks, and deep, subby basslines. Over You turns the heat up even further - a track built from choppy vocals and UKG basslines before melting into a warm chord progression; a perfect example of Dabbs’ ability to fuse high-energy rhythms with spine-tingling emotion.

On the flip side, Style & Pattern, featuring the signature tones of London’s Alfie Fraser, is a pure UKG cut - underpinned by lush pads and arpeggiators, topped with Alfie’s unmistakable live vocals to create an uplifting dancefloor heater dripping with London swagger. Closing the EP, The Way delivers a tear-jerking breakbeat finale, layering syncopated percussion, emotive vocals, and an old-school piano breakdown; it’s a sublime end-of-the-night moment and a fitting closing track for an EP which honours one of Berlin’s most beloved clubs.

London duo Babeheaven — vocalist Nancy Andersen and producer/multi- instrumentalist Jamie Travis — return after four years with their highly anticipated 5-track EP ‘Slower Than Sound’, released via Scenic Route on October 24.

Following their singles ‘Beloved’ and the 6 Music-premiered track ‘Picture This’, ‘Slower Than Sound’ marks a deeply personal and intimate turn for Babeheaven. Written and recorded largely in Nancy’s home studio, the EP embraces minimal instrumentation, acoustic textures, and spacious arrangements, capturing the emotional vulnerability and euphoria the duo describe as “Post Rave” — the music you listen to on the ride home from a
party.

“It feels like a rebirth in a lot of ways,” says Nancy. “Writing at home gave me space to experiment, make mistakes, and rebuild confidence. Once I brought the songs to Jamie, we shaped them together into what you hear now.”

The EP explores love, reflection, and personal growth. Beloved conjures a comforting, almost mythic presence, while Lost For Words reflects the struggle to connect with the world and oneself. Picture This offers snapshots of a relationship, looking back while imagining its future. The cover Tiny Demons by Todd Rundgren blends seamlessly with the EP’s introspective mood, and Loud Thoughts, featuring Samba Jean-Baptiste, captures heartbreak, burnout, and creative pressure. “I hope people can find their own meaning in these songs,” Nancy says. “I’m writing for myself, but music is for each listener to interpret.”

Since debuting with Friday Sky in 2016, Babeheaven have steadily built a loyal following through their acclaimed albums Home For Now and Sink Into Me, amassing over 65 million Spotify streams and earning support from BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, and KCRW. Their live shows have sold out Village Underground,

Bush Hall, and Jazz Cafe, and they’ve shared stages with Cigarettes After Sex, Loyle Carner, and Nilüfer Yanya. Visually, Babeheaven’s world has been shaped alongside creatives including Margot Bowman, Frank Lebon, Tegen Williams, Sacha Beeley, and Joyce Ng, cementing their reputation as one of the UK’s most distinctive acts.

After facing cancelled tours, industry pressures, and a period of creative doubt, Slower Than Sound represents a return to the core of their artistry: intimate, honest, and self-produced. Jamie reflects: “Not putting out music for so long was hard, so we hope this is the start of a more prolific period for us, reconnecting with the London music community and beyond.”

“The high priest of country cool” - Rolling Stone

“I like him very much. He’s very special. He’s singing with a voice I never heard before” - Townes Van Zandt

“A conscious, soulful brother” - Horace Andy

“He’s a brother to me - one of the best singer/songwriters I’ve ever met” - Adrian Sherwood

“Unearthed mine of gems from inner Wales - a songbook of ideas - that's Jeb!” - Gilles Peterson

Jeb Loy Nichols is a bonafide Country (Got) Soul legend. The Music Maker presents 21 incredibly deep, grooving and soulful songs from the cream of Jeb's catalogue; from its earliest days to his latest unreleased gems via countless rare and unbelievably good lost-classics. This 2LP set is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned artwork courtesy of Jeb himself.

In collecting these uncut, under-heard gems, we hope to do justice to Jeb's jaw-dropping artistic brilliance. A man who, in working with Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell, Dan Penn, Larry Jon Wilson and countless other legendary characters, has crafted some of the most deeply affecting folk, country, soul, funk, blues, dub, reggae, gospel, rap and electronic music, ever heard.

The first music Jeb really felt a connection with was southern soul: "I used to listen to the radio at night and fell in love with Bobby Womack and Al Green, The Staple Singers and Joe Simon – that whole Nashville/Memphis/Muscle Shoals thing.” But Jeb was so much more than a soul boy, Indeed, he "went to bluegrass festivals with my dad and come home and listened to jazz records with my mother.” And, when he was fifteen, he heard his first punk record: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols. “That and The Ramones completely changed me.” In 1979 he got a scholarship to go to art school in New York: “A great time. Punk was over but hip-hop was starting and I got into that in an obsessive way.”

His first recording, in 1980, was an unreleased rap song called "I’m A Country Boy". If that isn't an insight enough into Jeb's kaleidoscopic path through music, in 1981 he visited friends in London and found himself living in a squat with Adrian Sherwood, Ari Up (from the Slits), and Neneh Cherry. “Adrian put me to work immediately, moving boxes of records all across London. It was Adrian that was and is my biggest influence – in his complete disregard for genre purity.” So, presumably you're getting the picture? A veritable musical magpie with a voracious appetite and unimpeachable taste.

"Mine has always been a meandering career. I've done what I've done, and made the music I've made, due to chance meetings. I'm not particularly ambitious; it's more important to me that I work with friends and like-minded people. I've been a big fan of Be With for years. Everything they release is essential. When they asked about rereleasing "Countrymusicdisco45" I was both pleased and flattered. We began talking about how we'd do it; two years and twenty-one tracks later, here we are. I've always thought of the music I make as Country Music. Music conceived in the country, written in the country, recorded in the country. I left London and moved back to the country so I could live among the trees, the grasses, the animals, those things that don't go to war and get greedy. This compilation is the story of that life. Hand made, lo-fi, ramshackle, stripped down, real deal music. Heartworn and funky. Music made in the kitchen, not in the studio. As the great Skip Mcdonald said, Perfect ain't perfect. It's great to see all these tracks gathered together. It feels like a family reunion. Some older members of the tribe, some newer arrivals."

Opener "countrymusicdisco45" is a song Jeb wrote about how his crew lives, tucked up blissfully in the hills: "House parties full of country folk dancing to disco, reggae, soul, country, hip-hop. All night. I recorded it at home under the influence of Stevie Wonder." It's one of the funkiest records you'll ever hear. "Sometimes Shooting Stars" was recorded in Nashville and mixed by the legendary Dennis Bovell. It's deep, dubby, majestic. A thing of fragile, melodic beauty. The party ramps back up again with the undeniable groove of "Short Cut Home" before the profoundly moving "Disappointment" arrives. One of many songs he's recorded with good buddy Benedic Lamdin (aka Nostalgia 77): "We were going for a Leon Thomas meets Richard Brautigan meets Alice Coltrane kind of thing". We think they nailed it. "Days Are Mighty", like a lot of the tracks on this collection, "started life as a demo, an attempt to get something down while it was fresh. No frills, nothing fancy, just feel." And what feels!

The irrepressibly funky "Don't Dance With Me Tonight" is a deeply moving, slow-mo organ-drenched head-nod-funky country-ballad. Next up, the breezy "You Got It Wrong" was recorded in Wales with some of Jeb's good friends and neighbours, The Westwood All Stars, featuring Clovis Phillips and Will Barnes. Skanking fiddle-flecked gem "Ring The Bells" was the first thing Jeb recorded when he moved to Wales. A combination of all his loves; country, reggae, soul. It's followed by "Let's Make It Up", a truly sumptuous string-drenched emotional groover. "When Did You Stop Loving Me" is another Nashville track, written and recorded during a time Jeb was spending a lot of time with the Muscle Shoals crew, Donnie Fritts, Spooner Oldham, George Soule and Dan Penn: "It shows, I'm sure, their influence." Oh, you bet it does!

The swaggering country-funk of "Just Beginning" should grace many groove-focused DJs' sets whilst "Wintering Of The Year", again made with Clovis, is pastoral, campfire soul. The glacial, gorgeous "Let It Rain" is from an unreleased record Jeb made with the great British jazz bass player Andy Hamill and "We Tell Each Other Who We Are" is freaky country-soul made by a man with a love for strutting, wonky hip-hop stylings. Rounding out the side, "Trip To You" is pure, uncut amphetamine-propelled drum-machine soul.

The spare, beautiful "Dirt" is from an EP Jeb made with Julian Moore in his house in South London: "All first takes, straight to tape." Swoon! "Heaven Right Here" was a very minor league hit in America: "It was produced by the brilliant and much missed Wayne Nunes. It was started in the countryside of Missouri, finished in the countryside of Wales, and recorded in the countryside of Sussex." Double swoon! "If Later Ever Comes" is electronica meets J.J. Cale business whilst "Remember The Season" is truly wonderful and breezy guitar soul. "A Little Love" was made with Wayne Nunes as well, after a night of listening to Studio One and Northern Soul. Bouncy dub closer "Weary Traveller" was written by Bill Monroe, the hero of Jeb's youth: "Monroe's music was heavily influenced by black southern churches; I've tried to keep some of that feral feel." This was the final recording by Jeb's 1990s Country-Dub band, Fellow Travellers.

The name of this compilation comes from a time when Jeb lived in Peckham, south London and he used to DJ and sometimes perform at a local bar: "The owner of the bar, a Jamaican named Count Percy, once asked me what I called my music. I told him I wasn't sure, I guess just pop music. He thought about it for a minute and then said, 'no, more like mom and pop music'. Rather than call me a country singer or a folk singer he always referred to me as The Music Maker."

With the long overdue deluxe overview of his beloved music, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Jeb Loy Nichols. RIYL Larry Jon Wilson, Townes Van Zandt, Bobby Charles, country got soul artists, dub, deep soul, disco, dancing, heartbreak. This deluxe collection, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to ensuring Jeb reaches an ever bigger, ever more appreciative crowd of followers. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The artwork has been lovingly put together by The Music Maker, himself, Jeb Loy Nichols. "Be With is the perfect home for this mongrel music. I am forever in their debt." The pleasure is all ours, Jeb.

Operating on the fringes of pure improv, organised chaos, minimal composition, lo-fi electronics and Italian spaghetti westerns, wide-eyed and with a healthy dose of DIY aesthetics lies the world of Jaan. It’s a poetic & cosmic universe, exploring “discreet music” whilst wandering on the edges of the Cat People soundtrack & Brian Eno’s more experimental output, in which you might yourself find floating, wandering or in the middle of a market place.

Jaan is a collective of one, a deliberately anonymous activistic unit with strong ties to the international art scene. Purposefully bypassing the know-it-all of the the internet & embracing the bygone mystery of dusty old archives and deep-dive searching, remarkably little is known about this project. Jaan is lead by veteran experimental sonic alchemist Jaan; they operate between Greenland, the Middle East and Europe, with frequent associates Lisqa, Mashid & Schneorr N. acting as local hubs for collaboration and exploration.

The purpose of this wilful obscurity: full focus on the actual music, whether live events or on recordings. Which brings us to Baghali, their first for World of Echo. It’s a deeply personal album, much like slowly browsing old family albums filled with vaguely remembered tales, some still very much present, some faded, leaving but a ghost-like reflection of what once was. Baghali was compiled over the course of a year on the road, trapped in snow storms, waiting for cancelled flights and stuck rides. It’s made up of snippets of diary, quick recordings on road sides, abandoned buildings, garden ruins, vast desert and focussed studio sessions, following a collage-like aesthetic and steeped in an exploration of non-lineair storytelling. There’s broken memories, a sense of displacement and an occasional yearning for what can’t be again, clouded in fever and unrest, but there is also hope, wonderment and bright colours seeping through the cracks in the wall. Jaan weaves home-made instruments, old tape loops, broken synths, beat-up reeds, dusty beat boxes and the occasional doom guitar squall into a tapestry of fractured sound, with tracks following their own inherent logic rather than following formats. Sounds crash in and out, field recordings placing the listener firmly in an environment then throwing several perspectives at once onto them, with individual elements - a wandering clarinet, a lone mandoline, a beat out of place yet perfectly in place - slowly walking in and out & doing their thing.

The whole album is alive, breathes, takes a wrong turn, gets lost, somehow finds its way again - effortless and with a unique sense of space and flow.

Baghali is released digitally and on vinyl in an edition of 300 on 3rd October 2025.

This is the story of how a tiny label from New Jersey changed the course of music history not once but twice.

Cheri Records was established in 1974 in New Jersey and run by one Boo Frazier. Cheri's output was limited, producing a catalogue of just eleven releases between the years 1974 and 1982. On the face of it, this appears to be insubstantial output. However, if you dig a little deeper, the quality released on Cheri Records reveals an exceptional legacy of groundbreaking music.

A dark horse in the world of record labels, a true unsung legend that would go on to alter the course of musical history and intersect with a remarkable array of talented artists, bands and DJs. From Rare Pleasure; Sandy Barber; Julius Brockington; Boo Frazier; Patrick Adams; Tom Moulton; Larry Levan and MF Doom: Cheri Records has directly impacted their artistry in significant ways. Cheri's influence even extends into the present, with DJ icons like David Morales, Dave Lee, Danny Krivit, and Colin Curtis continuing to champion its contributions.

This compilation brings together the most compelling tracks from the Cheri Records catalogue, shedding light on the label's extraordinary story and underscoring the idea that music, no matter how unassuming its origins, can transcend boundaries and reshape, influence and inform music to come for future generations.

This collection also represents the start of a new series here on Miles Away, a series that will delve into the labels and studios that were responsible for leaving a lasting imprint on the musical world. We've named this seriesEchoes From,and this compilation will be the first of many.

The vinyl package comes in a gatefold sleeve with in-depth liner notes and features interviews with Colin Curtis and David Morales. Also available on CD and digitally.

Dot / Stephan Bazbaz - Split EP Vol. 2 (Depthful002)

Depthful returns with its second release, following the success of the first release by label owner and artist Dotan Bibi aka Dot.

In the second release, Dot returns to collaborate with his close friend and artist Stephan Bazbaz for their second split EP, following the great success of the first one released back in 2017 on Stephan's label, "No waves"

A1. opening With Dot's track 'Hoag’s Object'. is an intriguing fusion of house and dub influences, balancing the pulsating energy of house with the relaxed, spatial vibes of dub. From the start, listeners are greeted with a deep, groovy bassline and lovely acid line, that immediately establishes a rich foundation for the track.The rhythm section and congas is tight and persistent, with the signature rolling beats of Dot's sound laying the perfect backdrop for the track's sonic landscape.

A2. 'Fading Fast' isn't just a track; it's an experience. If Hoag’s Object laid down the groove with subtlety, 'Fading Fast' fully submerges you in its rich, atmospheric depths. From the very beginning, there’s a sense of movement - like something slowly emerging from the mist, with deep, resonating bass frequencies that pull you into the track.The rhythm section feels almost submerged, like you’re hearing it from underwater. The inclusion of short, scattered vocal samples in 'Fading Fast' adds an extra layer of intrigue and emotional depth, without pulling focus from the track's atmospheric core. Rather than traditional, lyrical verses, these vocals appear like fleeting whispers - fragments of a larger story, almost like half remembered phrases.

B1. opening with Stephan's track 'Overload' and it feels like an immediate shift in energy, where the vibe ramps up with pure house power. This track is all about the rhythm, the groove, and, most importantly, that bassline that keeps you locked in.
From the first beat, it’s clear 'Overload' isn’t messing around. The drums hit with a sharp, punchy attack, but it’s the bassline that truly makes this track shine. Deep, low, and relentless, the bassline pulses in a way that feels almost like it’s driving the entire track forward. There’s something about the way the low end sits in this track that makes it feel alive especially with the warmth of the lovely deep pad Holding the whole track underneath.

B2.'Better in Space' is the closing track of the record, it feels like a natural continuation of the vibe that’s been built, but also a final statement that allows the listener to fully sink into the deep, spacious world Stephan is known for. With this track, we’re stepping into a place where dub and deep house collide seamlessly, creating an atmosphere that's both expansive and intimate - taking us out there but also pulling us inward. From the very first moment, 'Better in Space' sets the stage with a warm, enveloping bassline that instantly grounds you.

Mastered By Pheek
Designed By Idan Am-Shalem

Dutch record label, shop and club platform One Eye Witness presents a lively new entry in their V/A series with WITNESS08. Honing in on more fresh talent from across the globe, Amsterdam’s wandering eye gathers producers Sinqmin, Salomee, Kate08 and elusive duo The Evil B-Side Twins (DJ Tool & Yazzus) for another trip into tech house — and beyond!

Kate08’s “Sticky Toffee” is suitably viscous, burbling and oozing its way across shifting sections. The London artist delicately balances percussion atop warbling bass tones and synth lines that pop in and out. Salomee gets moody on “Night Behaviour”; lurking in the shadows, the track’s acid squelch and interlocking melodies point to the psychedelic, with a purring bassline that keeps things grounded.

The Evil B-Side Twins lay in wait on the flip, springing into action with the tightly-wound “Spindrift”. Propelled by a spiky break and cascading delays, its 303 lines sound like rubber, bouncing between the other synths deployed by the duo. All manner of FX trickery is woven into the production: the Twins layer up and load the track with intricate details. Supplying an unexpected respite from the club action, final cut “Aesthetics For Destination” marks the debut foray into hip-hop for OEW. Produced by Seoul-based Sinqmin and featuring the sultry vocals of 문선 (MOONSUN), the track’s sparse beat and ghostly samples make for a mellow, head-nodding end to another hit from the label.

WITNESS08 — More talent, more trax!

Bringing together the elder statesman of the Zulu guitar Madala Kunene and internationally acclaimed Sibusile Xaba, kwaNTU pulls two generations of South African guitar mastery into a single point of focus. Under-represented on recordings outside of South Africa, Madala Kunene (b. 1951), the ‘King of the Zulu Guitar’, is revered as the greatest living master of the Zulu guitar tradition. Sibusile Xaba, whose collaboration with Mushroom Hour Half Hour reaches back to his first recording in 2017 (Open Letter To Adoniah/Unlearning), has garnered international acclaim for his unique voice and virtuoso guitar stylings, which bring together multiple South African guitar lineages in an original, spiritualised fusion. Collaborating with Mushroom Hour and New Soil for kwaNTU, the two players come together to weave a filigree sonic fabric which reaches down to the heartwood of Zulu guitar music but moves resolutely outward, building on the past to create a deeply rooted statement about present conditions and future travels. kwaNTU – which can be roughly translated ‘the place of the life-spirit’ – is also conclave of teacher and student, as Xaba has been taught by Kunene for the last decade. Meditative, rich and sonically sui generis, kwaNTU finds these two musicians linking up within the inimitable space of sound and spirit that they share through Kunene’s teaching.

The great masters of South African music have not all had equal exposure. For many years the generation of musicians who were exiled during apartheid took centre stage, as the regime made it very difficult for those at home to be heard. More recently, a new cohort of important voices, especially in jazz, has broken through to international consciousness. But for the generation of musicians in between – those who shone like beacons in the most difficult final years of apartheid and immediately afterward – international recognition has been slow in coming.

Madala Kunene, ‘the King of the Zulu Guitar’, is among this number. A revered figure for current generations of South African musicians, Kunene began his recording career in 1990, at the bitter end of apartheid, with a now classic self-titled LP for David Marks’ storied Third Ear imprint. Born in 1951 in Cato Manor, near Durban, he had determined to be a musician from early childhood, and by the time he first entered a recording studio he had already had a long career as a popular performer. His virtuoso absorption and transformation of the venerable Zulu maskanda guitar tradition and his richly spiritualised approach to music immediately marked him out as someone special, and in the years that followed, Kunene cemented his position as one of South Africa’s musical elders. He is without doubt the grand master of the Zulu guitar tradition, but his sound and sensibility ranges far beyond it into varied sonic terrain, and he has collaborated with a wide range of musicians both at home and abroad. Now in his mid-seventies, he remains a shining light for those that are making music in contemporary South Africa.

‘He is really an amazing person,’ says the guitarist Sibusile Xaba, who has been mentored by Kunene for over a decade, and now invites a collaboration with him on kwaNTU. ‘As a mentor, he's really powerful in showing us the way. For us to have this opportunity to make music together and have a project together is really a blessing to me.’

Xaba himself grew up in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, where his mother had been in a band and his father sang in a church choir, and from early childhood Xaba played homemade tin guitars. He only later realised that music was his calling. ‘I just loved music. I was fortunate. My parents loved music. And when it was time for me to leave home and go to study outside Newcastle, I knew that music was what I wanted to do. There was no second option. It was just music.’ Moving to Pretoria to study music formally, Xaba committed himself to his craft, developing a unique style that draws on both US jazz masters such as Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall, and the rich and varied heritage of the South African guitar, from inspirational jazz players such as Allen Kwela and Enoch Mthalane, to the music of the Malombo groups and Dr. Philip Tabane (Xaba has previously collaborated with Dr. Tabane’s late son, Thabang), and the Zulu guitar tradition embodied by Kunene.

‘I was really in love with the jazz guitar, I really admired it, and I was digging a lot in that direction,’ says Xaba, recalling his first encounter with Kunene’s music, over a decade ago. ‘And then one day on my timeline, Kunene popped up, and I was like – “What's this sound?” I was so connected to it. It really touched me deep. I started checking out his records, and then I found out he's from the same region as I am, which is Zululand.’ After Kunene played a show at the Afrikan Freedom Station in Johannesburg, Xaba make contact with him, and visited him at home in Durban. They struck up a friendship, and Xaba became the elder’s student, as Kunene began to pass on his knowledge and his inimitable way of playing.

kwaNTU is a tribute to this relationship and the deep learning that has defined it. The album was recorded in Zululand in the town of Utrecht, at a cultural centre called Kwantu Village, which gives its name to the album. ‘It's such a broad word,’ Xaba says, ‘but the elders teach us that Ntu is basically an energy, almost chi, an energy, a force that all living beings have within them. It's a living energy, so kwaNTU is like, almost the place of this energy.’ The two men sequestered themselves for five days of jamming, improvising and planning, and then the session was recorded in one take over a single night, with Gontse Makhene joining on percussion and backing vocals and Fakazile on vocals. Other voices and overdubs were later added in the studio in Johannesburg.

The result is a rich and meditative recording that finds two generations in a deeply engaged dialogue. Teaching and passing on his knowledge, the elder Kunene has brought Xaba into a space of sound and knowledge that they now share; Xaba’s own practice of deep communion with nature and his dedication to his musical craft make him the perfect interlocutor for Kunene. The result is an album that foregrounds the two musicians engaged at the highest levels of responsive listening, sympathetic unity, and collaborative concentration. Bringing an elder statesman of South African music to an international listening audience for the first time in decades by pairing him with one of South Africa’s most important new voices, kwaNTU is a meeting of generations and a powerful demonstration of musical lineage and continuity.

‘Before music, there is sound,’ Xaba observes, speaking of Kunene’s unique approach to music. ‘And sound is like a common compartment…it's not restricted to particular people or particular geographic places, you know what I mean? It's sound. Everybody can hear it. So when he constructs that sound into music, I think everybody resonates with the energy behind his construction of sound into song. Here at home, we really love him for preserving our history through the guitar, through his stories as well the music, the songs that he writes. We really, really admire him.’

The prolific, party-starting Det Gode Selskab collective continues to strengthen its wax artillery with another spaced-out exploration from label affiliate A:G. Based in Oslo, the label and artist have built a strong affinity over the years, with DGS regularly releasing his music and inviting him to perform at a host of events. His “Time Factor” EP is essential electro listening, wandering between rippling shades of acid and tripped-out minimalistic movements, synonymous with the Norwegian beatmaker’s sound. It’s a hazy quest through four original cuts, packed with raw and gritty attitude.

The slinky first outing of the EP goes by the name “Crash.” Anticipation builds as the winding bassline and quirky drum patterns create a sense of retro gaming exploration. “Sleepwalking” is another diverse entry from the talented producer—a pensive yet driven motion propels the track’s energy, laced with slick hi-hats and acid-laden beats.

On the B-side, outer-galaxy transmissions go full steam ahead with the title track “Time Factor”, animated grooves and continuous evolution, climaxing with bright, uplifting synths. Plucky, tight drums lead the way in the final frontier, “Cognitive Resonance”—another classy dance floor outing from A:G, once again showcasing why he’s a producer to keep close tabs on.

Striking while it’s hot, A:G delivers another heater on a label that shows no signs of slowing down in the years to come, and if their previous releases are anything to go by, this one will be moving fast!

Utter presents Marshall Jefferson's previously unreleased meditation opus 'Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation' alongside two remixes from French production maestro Joakim.

Marshall Jefferson: Chicago House music pioneer, creator of the anthemic ‘Move My Body’, an original collaborator of Adonis, Ce Ce Rogers and Roy Davis Jr., production mastermind of countless dancefloor classics such as Phuture’s ‘Acid Tracks’, Sterling Void’s ’It’s All Right’, Hercules’ ‘7 Ways’… and the soothing voice behind a 36 minute healing meditation guide. Yes, really.

But let’s rewind, slightly.

In 2017, Marshall was approached and encouraged by Ian ‘Snowy’ Snowball to write his autobiography and the pair set about putting Marshall’s account of the history of House music together. The book, ‘Marshall Jefferson: Diary of a DJ’ was published in 2019.

Following the book’s release, Ian and Marshall's collaboration continued and during the pandemic an outlandish idea arose to create a piece of music combining Ian's interest in meditation (he runs Club Chi specialising in Shibashi Qigong - a form of Tai Chi Qigong - which is a gentle form of movement therapy/exercise) and Marshall's willingness to experiment musically to see what might be possible.



The result is ‘Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation’, where Marshall vocalises Ian’s lyrics in his instantly recognisable voice. The keen-eared out there may also recognise aspects of the music itself as a stripped back, lengthened and far mellower version of Marshall’s 1985 obscurity ‘Vibe’:

“I would take tapes to the Music Box and Ron Hardy would play my music. ‘Vibe’ was one of those tracks. I recorded ‘Vibe’ in 1985, but it became one of my tracks that I just forgot about until some guy on Facebook sent me a recording of it that was taken from a club. The only person who I ever gave a recording of ‘Vibe’ to was Ron Hardy. The other people I know who had copies of the track were Gene Hunt and Emanuel Pippin (DJ Spookie).

"The original version of ‘Vibe’ was made using a Roland 707, Roland JX-8P keyboard and a Roland 727 drum machine. I was still working at the Post Office at the time, and this was pre-‘Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem)’. ‘Vibe’ has the building blocks for ‘Move Your Body’ because it was using the instruments on the track that I discovered what I could do with the bass sound, to make a track like ‘Move Your Body’.”



Still, Ian’s initial intention for ‘Yellow Meditation’ was function and it was designed to be a ‘Sequential Relaxation Exercise’ focusing on the Solar Plexus. Bearing this in mind, Marshall took a bare-bones and hypnotic approach to this particular re-recording of ‘Vibe’ so that the voice takes centre stage and listeners (hopefully) find themselves on a meditative journey. In fact, this long-form track was always intended as a private tool purely for meditation at Club Chi rather than released to the public - after all, Marshall had also created and released a more drum heavy, ’traditional’ club-focused 'Vibe Three' instrumental version for that very purpose - but a chance airing of the full 36 minute version changed its path.



Much like those 1985 ‘Vibe’ cassettes, Marshall had sent the track to a few close contacts, one of whom was Kieran at Phonica Records who aired it over the shop’s basement soundsystem. Its unorthodox nature caught the ear of colleague Alex (of Utter) and the seeds of a physical release were planted.

Eventually, with the full-version carefully whittled down to a vinyl friendly length of 24 minutes, full track parts in hand and a b-side to fill, Alex sought out one of his favourite producers to take up the remix reigns: Joakim. The Tigersushi co-founder and Crowdspacer boss has a long history of boundary-pushing remixes that straddle both dancefloor functionality and experimentation. This time the original material resulted in Joakim coming up with a number of ideas and he finally delivered two versions - one club focused (‘Vertical’), the other more introspective and meditative (‘Horizontal’), both of which appear on the final 12”.

The limited edition 12” also includes a download code giving buyers access to all of the vinyl tracks plus an 18 minute extended version of Joakim’s ‘Horizontal’ remix, its instrumental counterpart (for those who can live without Marshall's voice) and full 12 minute acapella (for those who can't!)


Alex

a A1. Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation (Edit) 24:00
b B1. Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation (Joakim's Vertical Remix) 9:09
9:05

Soul Jazz Records’ new Soul Jamaica brings together a wicked selection of
reggae funk and soul tracks from the legendary Studio One stable, featuring
a stellar line-up of artists including Jackie Mittoo, The Heptones, The
Gladiators, Sim Smith, Peter Tosh and The Wailers, Cedric ‘Im’ Brooks and
many more.
For a short period of time at the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, nestled
between the end of rocksteady and the arrival of roots reggae, Studio One
released a small stream of superb soul and funk reggae tunes – covering
everyone from Sly and The Family Stone, Diana Ross and The Supremes,
Nina Simone, Gene Chandler, Tyrone Davis and more.
Most of the tracks featured on Soul Jamaica were only ever released on
Studio One’s UK-subsidiary label Bamboo in small-run pressings and are
now consequently extremely hard to find.
The cover photograph features images of Air Jamaica, the new airline
created by the Jamaican government at the end of the 1960s, showing how
in the years following independence the
country assumed its place on the world
stage, with reggae music playing a key
role in creating the island’s new
cultural identity.

The latest release from the Villains Inc. camp delivers an Italian-made electro gem.

And as the saying goes: Villains do it better! After the soulful "Time To Go Back EP" back in 2022, the "Generation V EP" (limited to 300 copies) marks the arrival of fresh talents joining the collective. This new wave steps in after the tragic loss of some of the label key figures, carrying the torch and keeping the Villains Inc. spirit alive.

Side A opens with "Vaccin", a hypnotic yet funky electro-bass track by Deepvision and Lefka. Despite their young age, the duo U.A.G.L.I.O. shows remarkable musical maturity and delivers a powerful debut. Expect to hear much more from this awesome team in a near future.

Next comes "FM Resistance" by Jack Bags (half of Dr. Boomer). A synthetic ride of swirling URish style sequences, darkened by moody strings. Breakdance moves guaranteed on the dancefloor!

On the flip, Index Case teams up once again with the late X-Beat (RIP) to provide a furious "Against" anthem, calling for "revolution against the government, against the police". The frantic rhythm and unsettling atmosphere push the track into gloomier territory in a powerful way.

Closing the record, Antizer0’s founder Zora Neti concludes the 12" with "Stereocash_(Pt.2)", a downtempo storm built upon eerie voices and mental sororities. A haunting yet masterful finale.

The legacy of the original V members lives on. Special mention to Simonloop aka Urbanmagic, one of the OG Villains, whose artwork on the B-side captures the grit of the music and makes the vinyl worth owning on its own.

From start to finish, Generation V EP is a masterclass. Crafted with the unmistakable Villains Inc. sound by label owner Gab.Gato, it’s pure underground quality. This record is dedicated to the memory of X-Beat and Yo Flava. Once a Villain, forever a Villain. Support the underground!

Steve Moore reprises his beloved Lovelock guise by presenting his unique riff on the library breaks genre. Business And Pleasure contains grimy groove and sleazy, funk-laden lounge music.

This vinyl release is hyper-limited, with just 500 pressed for the world.

The LP is ushered in by the spacey synth-funk of the sleazy, woozy title track. This is that serious slo-mo cosmic-balearic head-nod shit. Laidback bass, heavy funk with dreamy synth and electric guitars. An outstanding opener. Up next, the dynamic, swaggering "Last Call" is a sophisticated, elegant stroll - sweeping, mellow strings, a smooth bassline and gorgeous percussion with urgent keys and swelling synths.

"Slinky Strut" is another spaced-out, sleazy funk groove with jazz rock by way of a heavy, heavy guitar riff, mellotron and bass breakdowns which build to brass crescendos. Gigantic. "First Class" closes out the side, and, like classic Hawkshaw / Bennett noir, it's got that mysterious and murky stretched out sleuth / detective soul with a great bassline and percussive elements, with swelling strings, ace synths and smooth Rhodes piano melodies entering the mix halfway through. Dramatic guitars and groovy percussion add extra intrigue. It's 7 minutes of funk!

Side B opens with the stretched-out psychedelic funk and jazz groove of "Stank 49". It takes its sweet time to unfurl, creating enormous - almost sensual - anticipation for the ensuing beauty but, as it does, we're left beguiled and straight-up hypnotised. Heaven-sent synth flourishes and a laidback bassline over smooth drums cement its simple, vivacious grace. "Dangerous Man" is that creeping crime funk we all love; heavy bass and fuzzy guitar riffs, mellow strings and sumptuous piano/synths. It's irresistible, it's ominous and it's pretty gargantuan. It's basically like an El-P hip-hop instrumental. We need to get some rappers over this stuff, stat!

"Stinkbug" is a dazzling and funky groove-fuelled jazz-rock workout with fizzing synth riffs joined by full percussion and drum breaks, building with strings to a strong swagger. Vigour! To close out this remarkable set, the breezy "Win Or Lose" is laidback soul-inflected funk, utilising urgent, skipping drums and galloping basslines. Just stunning.

This collection was written and recorded in Spring and Summer of ’24. Everything was tracked at Steve's home studio in Albany, NY except the drums and percussion, which were recorded by Jeff Gretz at his space in NYC. The whole collection is basically a rhythm section feature, so Steve's Rickenbacker 4003 and Fender Jazz Bass play very prominently. The bass guitar serves as lead instrument in a lot of these tracks. Also, lots of Rhodes and stringers (Solina, Logan etc) and guitar (Strat and Les Paul). He even dusted off my sax for this one, which he doesn’t do as often as he’d like!

This type of groove-oriented library music has been a steady part of Steve's diet since the late 90’s. In heavy rotation while writing this collection were the following classics: “Time Signals” by Klaus Weiss, “Tilsley Orchestral No. 10” by Reg Tilsley, and “Heavy Truckin’” by Simon Haseley. “Voyage” by Brian Bennett was also a big one.

Lovelock started as a dedicated Italo-disco project, but over the years Steve expanded it to include anything directly informed by the commercial/pop side of the music of his childhood (70s/80s). Writing and recording this album was, like a lot of Steve's music these days, basically a test to see whether or not he could do it.

The song titles, like the music, are meant to be evocative yet vague. But there is a bit of a travel theme. Steve imagined this record being the soundtrack to a sleazy salesman’s business trip. The kind of guy who, when asked if he’s traveling for business or pleasure, responds “both.” Beyond the traveling salesman comparison, the title directly relates to the creation of this album. This was something he wanted to do just for his own enjoyment. Yet, like our sleazy salesman, he still found a way to get paid.

The album’s cover was designed by Chris Stevenson, with no little direction from Steve. He knew that he wanted to go with something photography-based for this cover so, in true DIY/cheapskate spirit, Steve started by looking through his own photos. He found the cover image on his phone, taken through an almost empty bottle of beer, and it clicked. The whole album has a very boozy vibe (especially with titles like “Last Call”) so this shot seemed appropriate. We, hic, agree.

Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.

Providing more prolific dance floor energy this winter are Italian house pushers Black Box Records, a carefully curated VA of feel good vibe from producers Ruff Stuff, Floska, label founder Vito Fattore, and the eclectic sounds of, DJ GLC. Available on vinyl this Oktober.

Kicking off proceedings is Berlin based Italian, Ruff Stuff. A killer cut, with ice cold drum arrangement which becomes one with the playful chords which propel the energy of the ‘Son Of Will’ track, the female vocal sample sprinkled in for some added pleasure. Young Italian trio Floska deliver ‘Get Up & Dance’ dreamy and mellow sounds on a lo-fi tip, almost seven minutes of pure bliss.

The brain behind Black Box,Vito Fattore, steps up for the B1 as any leader should. Clinical dance floor moods, laced with emotion. Magical pads and synths work their way around the funk laden body of the track, explosive summer time feelings. Switching things up for the closing track is DJ GLC, with a deeper and darker energy than the other three track. Aptly entitled ’Suspense’ mechanical whirrs carry the track, as broken drums burst through the seams of the record. A trip through murky waters that compliments the EP in great fashion.

Another display of zestful house music from a blossoming label, sure to be a winner with tastemakers and groove explorers alike. One to watch out for in the coming periods as Black Box Records continue to supply you with what you need.

'Transplant Rejection’ is the work of Estonian artist and IDA Radio co-founder Robert Nikolajev, this collection of seven ‘almost’ dark ambient tracks embody the melancholy of autumn whilst hinting at the forthcoming eternal winter. A man with many hats, Nikolajev operates on the fringes of the leftfield house underground for labels such as Incienso, Collect-Call and Sad Fun as well as being one half of the sporadic DIMA DISK act with Ragnar Rahouja. Eschewing the more rhythmic side of his productions for this Muscut tape, Nikolajev taps into the fictional soundtrack atmospheres the label is known for and brings his own brand of wistful, introspective world-building by way of machine harmony to the now Tallinn based imprint.

There’s a lo-fi, grainy quality running throughout the collection, a kind of sepia-toned nostalgia that envelops the listener and disorientates any perception of time or place. Buried vocal fragments sit in the mix on ‘Stifled’ alongside decaying synthesiser drones whilst ‘DDM’ channels an edgy post-rock dirge with its use of sagged bass guitar. Overall, an inspired look into the more ‘at home’ side of this increasingly prolific Estonian artist.

The legendary SHOES crew returns to dance-floors, living rooms & lounges with 4 new edits in a range of tempos and styles. From filtered midtempo breaks laden disco to afro-beat 90s techno and all the way to baby making soul, SHOES are back and in rare form on this one.

In the heart of a post-apocalyptic city, Spacelunch was making his way through the ruins, wearing a heavy armour of metal plates and flickering circuitry. Cat settled on his shoulder, listening intently to every sound. This time, they weren't just looking for an artefact — their target was the Singularity Echo, a mysterious device created right before the catastrophe. Legend had it that the scientists of the past, sensing the impending collapse, had put all their accumulated experience and knowledge together to create it. It was said that one day “Echo” would awaken and allow descendants to touch the wisdom of the ancients, learn the secrets of forgotten technologies and, perhaps, avoid the fatal mistakes of the past.

— We’ve been wandering around for how long? — muttered Cat, looking around warily. — And nothing.

— Sitting up there complaining, aren’t you? — Spacelunch grinned, deftly bypassing the debris and intertwined roots that poked out from under the asphalt.



Suddenly, a glow flashed before them, gradually taking the form of a palm-sized transparent crystal. It floated in the air, surrounded by silver lining that wove into intricate patterns, like a network of ancient runes. The symbols on its facets, flickering, cast soft reflections on the debris around them. As the professor slowly reached out his hand, the crystal shone brighter, and the low whisper of distant voices cut through the silence. Their minds were enveloped by the echoes of past events, filling their minds with images of the vanished world.

The friends froze for a moment, overwhelmed by shock and a sense of profound change.

— Well, — said Cat, not hiding his surprise. — It seems we've gotten a little smarter.

— A little? Now we have what has been lost for an era.

— So, we have a new adventure ahead of us. Where do we start?

The ghost town, once seemingly lifeless, now seemed to come to life: every collapsed building and every corner sparked with traces and clues as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for a sign.

This album is not just a homage — it’s a gentle act of remembrance. A way of tuning in to what Lucier showed us: that listening is an art in itself. A meditation on resonance, memory, and the quiet power of pure sound. Or to quote Alvin Lucier himself: “I guess I’m trying to help people hold shells up to their ears, and listen to the ocean again.”

The influence of Alvin Lucier’s work on acoustic phenomena and the interplay between sound and space is difficult to overstate. His legacy continues to echo through the work of countless composers and sound artists today. Lucier’s music is marked by a sense of childlike wonder and sonic simplicity - shifting our perception from what we hear to how we listen.

At the heart of his compositions lies the sine wave: the purest, most elemental form of sound. Clarinetist Dries Tack pays tribute to this master of minimalism with an album centered around two works Lucier composed as intimate ‘In Memoriams’ for friends. Both pieces explore a single, elegant idea: the interaction between an instrumental tone and a sine wave.

Out of that interaction, ‘beatings’ emerge — a pulsating rhythm that accelerates or decelerates as the waves draw nearer or drift apart. Though built on the same concept, the two works are like mirrored reflections of one another: In Memoriam Jon Higgins, the sine wave glides in a slow glissando while the clarinet holds steady tones. In Memoriam Stuart Marshall, it’s the clarinet that dances around a fixed sine wave.

Dries Tack is a clarinetist specializing in contemporary performance practices. He performs with ensembles such as Nadar Ensemble, Curious Chamber Players, and Ensemble Fractales. As co-artistic director of the GLoW Collective, he explores collaborative practices across artistic disciplines in the broadest sense. In addition to his ensemble work, Dries curates solo projects that offer fresh perspectives on existing repertoire or give rise to entirely new works at the intersection of composition and improvisation.

During this summer’s European tour with Junior Dell & The D-Lites, we were honoured to share the stage at This Is Ska Festival in Germany with none other than The Pioneers.

After the show, fate had me driving Jackie and George back to the hotel. On the way, we got to reminiscing about our last collaboration — Jump Up!, released on Original Gravity Records in December 2023. Mid-conversation, Jackie casually said: “Hey Neil, I’m in England all of July, we could record something.”

I dropped the guys off, said goodnight, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, an idea sparked: wouldn’t it be cool to have them record Jackie Edwards’ northern soul classic I Feel So Bad — but reimagined in an early reggae style?

So in July, we set up a session at Farm Factory Studios in Welwyn Garden City. George and Jackie came down, and it was nothing short of magical to hear these legends harmonising together once again in the booth. The result captures that late-60s moment when soul and reggae collided on dancefloors, raw and full of energy.

To add another dimension, we also created a version as if it had traveled from Kingston to London. The “Boss” version imagines the raw Jamaican master — while the A-side reflects how Trojan Records might have “sweetened it up” with horns and strings for the UK pop market.

Two sides, one timeless tune — a tribute to both the grit and the gloss of reggae’s golden era.

Fetter’s Body of Noise erupts at the threshold between ravey hypnosis and avant-pop experiment, slithering through the hinterlands of unconscious desire. Nine shape-shifting tracks conjure haunted landscapes where beauty refuses clarity and dancefloor logic warps underfoot. Vocals swoon, drift, and demand—stacking into fragments that multiply and weave through saturated pulses and shimmering, snarling synths.

Opening track "Like a Rose" traces a dreamer’s transition into the unstable physics of a perplexing but familiar dream world, where they gradually become lucid. “Beast” follows up humming with shadowed urgency, threading a path through self-sabotage and metamorphosis. “Spathiphyllums” drifts a while in a lush lostness, aching for something new before fracturing into wild, cathartic collapse. Side B’s “Do I Exist? (D.I.E)” and “The Longing” spiral into existential wonder, searching for a human origin story—both personal and collective—against a backdrop of uncertainty, while “Headache” thrusts forward as an absurd and insistent manifesto to stay the course and harness one’s own power within the madness.

Body of Noise is crafted not only for sweating bodies in motion, but for distorting time and opening psychic portals, where surrender becomes strategy and uncertainty transforms into ecstatic navigation. Rooted in all-hardware improvised production and shaped by Fetter’s years of boundary-blurring visual and performance art, their debut LP feels alive and in flux. Reminiscent of a spectral pop chorus trapped in a loop of broken machinery, or a lost broadcast from a dancefloor in a parallel realm, Body of Noise is a journey into chaos, transformation, and a bold refusal to be contained.

About Fetter:
Fetter makes clubby self-destructing noise pop to dance and weep to. Oscillating between ethereal and pounding, their all-hardware, largely improvised live sets take listeners through a foggy wilderness of saturated rhythms and menacing synth lines, a golden voice guiding the way through. Fetter is the stage moniker of multimedia artist Jess Tucker. Their performances take place in clubs as well as galleries, often incorporating video, installation, and interactive performance art elements to create other-worldly surrounds of mesmerizingly unhinged bodies and faces.

When Radial Gaze meets Nicola Kubebe, the result is Iron Pinky Toad — a title that sounds either like a secret kung-fu move or a lost cartoon book. But don’t be fooled — this one hits hard.

The long-awaited collab brings three original tracks — Phantom Limb, Lights of Phoenix and the title cut Iron Pinky Toad — that effortlessly bridge the gap between slow-burning tribal techno and the raw pulse of new beat nested into an early techno nutshell. Imagine dancing barefoot in a ritual under a disco eclipse — you’re getting close.

To seal the record, Playground Records boss Martin Noise steps in alongside rising sensation Anastasia Zems, pushing the release into full-blown dancefloor sorcery. The groove is deep, the bass is sweaty, and the toad… well, the toad is on fire !

Dropping Friday, July 18, 2025, via THISBE Recordings — available on vinyl and digital. Spin it, stream it, or whisper its name into the smoke at 3AM — either way, the dancefloor won’t know what hit it.

Let the amphibian groove begin.

Artwork by Christoffer Budtz

Sigma proudly present DAY ONE - their highly anticipated fourth studio album and their first as independent artists. 2025 has seen Sigma embark on a bold new chapter in their career, starting their own label and embracing the freedom to create on their own terms. With the duo now fully independent, they are taking back control and taking it back to DAY ONE, making the music they love.

DAY ONE embodies this ethos and is inspired by their love of the underground. The gritty jungle beats and anthemic soundscapes of early rave culture that form the foundation of their artistry can all be heard in these 12 songs. From hard-hitting tracks like Chargie and Soundboy, to dancefloor weapons like Magnetic and Outtaspace, all the way through to the orchestral Back To Life, Sigma demonstrates an impressive diversity and quality that showcases their exceptional production skills and studio craft.

DAY ONE is more than an album; it’s a celebration of the duo’s journey and the people who have supported them from the start. Featuring collaborations with legends like Dizzee Rascal and rising stars such as Julia Church, the record balances nostalgia with forward-thinking innovation. “Being independent has brought us back to what it’s all about—making music for the love of it,” the duo says.

Following up the big room belters on Pablo and Shoey 'Raw Human Emotion' EP was going to be quite the task for those lovable Dublin disco messers at Fatty Fatty Phonographics, so they handed the reins over to one of the true maestros of the artform - NYC legend Mr. K.

The A-side is a propulsive extension of 'Let The Sunshine In', featuring ecstatic, gospel-shouting breakdowns. Dropped at the right moment, this is one of those tunes that brings everyone together with that look on their face, the hairs on the back of the neck standing up, arms instinctively flying toward the sky, disco fingers aloft...Excuse us, we just have something in our eye here...

Flip it over for a serious one for the heads...A few years ago Mr. K put out '1,2,3' on a 7-inch on the aptly named Most Excellent label. It was an edit of a roaring clav-funk number from the acetate collection of the legendary 'DJ's DJ' Walter Gibbons.

The Fatty folk persuaded him to revisit it, and he did a magical job of extending it out across the full 12 inches of vinyl, just the way the good Lord intended. 2 sides of utter dancefloor devastation here, be quick!

With their musical roots deeply immersed in the fertile soil of Afro-American music, the Buttshakers have found a new direction for their nostalgia-heavy soul music. With Lessons In Love, their third album on Underdog Records, their early heartaches and furies have faded in favor of a more composed harmony – a sound enveloped in love and soaked in the blues. Guided by their singer Ciara Thompson, the Buttshakers have taken a more intimate path, whose compass, in the chaos of emotions and the modern world, points only in one direction: the light.



Seen from the sky, the view appears limitless. Accentuated by the sun, the ochre and sandy hues of the open road only reinforce this feeling of immensity. The sky stretches and the green stands out in striking contrast. In lighter tones, a road is drawn -- without bends or contours. This is the worn and weary road of soul music, which The Buttshakers explore on each album in new and unique ways. Soul music – a rare place to find a French band.

Vast, the musical direction could have taken them to lighter pastures. Yet the Buttshakers chose to evolve in a different way; to take a heavier load. Two paths – one sparked by social unrest, the other purely sentimental, Lessons In Love explores the deep roots of soul music, in the steps of Curtis Mayfield or Al Green. It is here that the heart and mind cross paths, merge, and become one. A weary road -- that brings together the agitation of a world where good intentions never rise above the level of digital outrage, and a faith in love which, however it manifests and expresses itself, remains the only truth that never loses its power.



Less rage and more compassion, it is through the haunting words and now tempered inflection of Ciara Thompson's voice, which opens to distinct emotions and perspectives, that the listener is guided. With its gaze fixed on the horizon, the acoustic guitar of Gotta Believe invites us on an intimate stroll through the open plains, while Dream On carries us away with a clavinet riff and a possessed saxophone; reconnecting the electric heat and neurosis of a city full of dreams. The senses are moved by the conjuring potion of the guitar which distills throughout Troubled Waters; the body is brought back into a visceral dance by the keys and brass section that are put to the test by Sure As Sin and its irrepressible rhythm. Passing through clouds of dust and sand has left a bluesy imprint on their groove: the miles travelled became hundreds, then thousands.



All of this leaves the listener bewitched by the halo of resilience that now surrounds Ciara's performance, as the ten tracks let the light fade. But certainly not hope in a better day. Like the sunflower that always lifts its head towards the sun’s rays, the Buttshakers continue to resource their sounds in the deep roots of soul music. Into the rich layers of African-American music of the 60s and 70s, The Buttshakers capture the spirit as much as the musical aesthetics of the epoch. A sound that reaches into the meanderings of the soul, bringing light to dark places and hope for all. A sound for the most parched of hearts, living in a damaged world, Lessons In Love confirms that even the tiniest beam of light can illuminate one’s path.

Celebrated DJ, producer, and sonic explorer Auntie Flo (aka Brian d’Souza) — described by The Guardian as “one of global club culture’s most vital voices” — returns this autumn with ‘Birds of Paradise’: a rhythmically rich, emotionally resonant, and ecologically grounded new album, out 23 October via his A State of Flo imprint. The album will be launched with a special live show at London’s Jazz Caféon the same day.

‘Birds of Paradise’ draws on d’Souza’s global club experience while deepening his connection with the natural world. Built around classic Roland drum machines and iconic vintage synths, the record is a joyful, body-driven celebration of rhythm and movement, but one grounded in ecology and place. The album’s spiritual centre lies in Saligao, Goa, near d’Souza’s maternal homeland where his Auntie Florie (where the name is derived from) is buried. Where he found his ‘paradise’ nearby, staying in a converted fisherman’s hut and recorded dawn choruses from a riverside studio overlooking mangrove-lined waters. Environmental textures from Japan also make their way into the music, creating a sonic map rooted in lived experience.

“Birds of Paradise is about finding beauty and rhythm in a chaotic world. It’s about listening, to nature, to our bodies, to what’s real. It’s a reminder that dance music can be both joyful and grounded.” The album blends Afro-Latin polyrhythms with Western 4/4 patterns, fusing instinctive, dancefloor energy with field recordings that anchor the music in the earth. Described by d’Souza as “tropical with a few deeper edges, a balance of light and dark.”

The new record follows the acclaimed ‘In My Dreams, I’m A Bird and I’m Free’, which earned 4 stars and Global Album of the Month from The Guardian, featured in Disco Pogo’s Albums of the Year, and received support from Luke Una, Resident Advisor, Juno, Bandcamp, Mixmag, DJ Mag, Electronic Sound, The Skinny, Beatport, Ban Ban Ton Ton, and more. The album’s launch show at Omeara London sold out. Other recent projects include the ‘Outernational Dance’ EP on cult label Multi Culti, event series ‘Plants Can Dance (and Mushroom’s Sing)’ which explore plant and fungi bioelectricity as a means of live composition, and ‘Black Beacon’, a haunting cassette release and soundwalk series recorded on the abandoned military island of Orford Ness. There, d’Souza explored the eerie intersection of nature, decay, and deep time, gaining special access to restricted buildings to capture long-form soundscape compositions.

Alongside his production work, d’Souza has emerged as a leading voice at the intersection of sound and science. He curated music for Imperial College’s groundbreaking psychedelic therapy trials, developing six-phase playlists to guide participants through psilocybin-assisted sessions treating conditions such as fibromyalgia and gambling addiction. His five-hour ambient set at Watching Trees Festival, selected as Resident Advisor’s Mix of the Day, continued this exploration into the therapeutic potential of sound in altered states. He also spent six months collaborating with BBC producer Tom Raine on a documentary for BBC World Service, centred on a two-week journey through Kenya and Goa. There, he performed live, led plant music workshops, and joined a deep listening retreat rooted in field recording. “I realised my studio isn’t just four soundproofed walls filled with instruments — it’s the journey itself. It’s the people I meet, the natural world I listen to, and the connections I feel.”

This same commitment to deep listening fuels his live concept Plants Can Dance, a project that combines the biosonification of plants and fungi with modular synthesis. The next event, on 14 September at Hideout Hackney Wick, will feature performances by Stella Z and Lapalace, with d’Souza and resident Lamine playing live alongside responsive plants in collaboration with Repot Hackney Wick and the label Music To Watch Seeds Grow By. “I’ve spent years exploring how electronic music can connect us, not just to each other, but to the natural world. Whether it’s translating mushroom data into melody or capturing birdsong at dawn, it’s about finding resonance across bodies, ecosystems, and machines.”

Rooted in his Goan and Kenyan heritage and shaped by years of travel and collaboration, d’Souza’s creative mission is simple: to reconnect the electronic world with the natural one. Through A State of Flo, he continues to blur the boundaries between club culture, sound art, and ecological awareness.

"Pretty Close", Ethel Lindsey's debut LP, marks the beginning of a new musical journey, showcasing the talent and heartfelt nostalgia of this gifted singer-songwriter. Deeply rooted in the sound and spirit of the 1970s, her work draws from the golden age of Soul, Funk, Disco, and AOR, blending these genres with elegance and authenticity. Her songwriting and vocal delivery are so true to the era that one could easily imagine this album emerging straight from a California studio in 1976.

Entirely composed, written, and performed by Ethel Lindsey, Pretty Close is a deeply personal and cohesive body of work. From lush harmonies to groove-driven arrangements, the album captures the warmth and depth of vintage recordings while offering a fresh and intimate take on these timeless sounds.

Once again, Favorite Recordings brings its signature dedication to the project, ensuring every step of the process—from production to final mix—remains faithful to the sonic and aesthetic codes of the era. The album was produced using a maximum of vintage analog equipment, staying true to the texture and character of original 70s productions.

This is not merely a nostalgic tribute—it’s a sincere continuation of a musical tradition. With a deep respect for the past and a forward-thinking spirit, Ethel Lindsey breathes new life into classic genres, reaffirming their relevance in today’s musical landscape.

As Ethel herself puts it:
"The songs on this album offer but a fleeting glimpse into the whimsical, melodic reveries that may have danced through the mind of a young girl growing up in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France during the early to mid-1980s. They are, perhaps, the earliest echoes of a fraternal musical upbringing—an inheritance both consciously absorbed and unconsciously imprinted—shaped by shared moments, half-remembered sounds, and the mysterious alchemy of childhood imagination. This collection is, in essence, a first distillation of that early inner world: playful, imperfect, sincere."

The Danish/Norwegian duo of Ida Urd and Ingri Høyland believe that music is an extension of one’s immediate sensory environment. Duvet, their collaborative full-length debut, explores the way that creating sounds together is intertwined with various quotidian actions: establishing surroundings, rearranging furniture, moving towards the light, collecting flowers or other objects for aesthetic and sensuous impulses. Through a quiet and attentive process, music becomes a way of nurturing space: a soft architecture for play, writing, care, or simply rest.

Sonically, Duvet feels like an extension of Høyland’s last album, 2023’s Ode to Stone, which also featured Urd along with ambient musician Sofie Birch and visual artist Lea Guldditte Hestelund. But where that album, created in response to an open call for work themed around Denmark’s national parks, suggested rolling landscapes and endless horizons, Duvet turns inward, countering chill winds with glowing warmth. Its eight tracks seek a balance between abstraction and melody, intention and happenstance.

“We had a truly inspiring and rewarding process working with Birk Gjerlufsen Nielsen from Vanessa Amara, who co-produced and mixed the album with us,” Ingri adds. “He approached the material with great care and sensitivity, while also bringing his own distinct presence and creativity into the sound.”

Høyland and Urd both studied at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, which has turned out many acclaimed artists over the past few years, including Erica de Casier, Astrid Sonne, and Smerz. Over many years, the two composers have developed a collaborative method based on connection and trust. A practice, they write, “where composing, or rather suggesting, sounds and melodies for one another is a way of carefully talking, mending emotions and obstacles. Saying yes to one another. The compositional space becomes a nest for entangling whatever emotions, thoughts, or barriers one of the composers brings to the given day or moment.”

Quiet and contemplative, Duvet is simple on the surface but rich in timbral, textural, and emotional complexity. Høyland and Urd sourced their sounds from an array of instruments and techniques—electronic devices, modules, pedals, and also electroacoustic treatments of various wind instruments.

Mixing primarily through analog tape units added further mystery and depth, weaving together wordless voices and unknown sounds—breathing, rustling, perhaps the coppery gleam of Urd’s electric bass—into a dynamic matrix. Like a nest, pull one twig and the whole thing unravels.

In the winter of 2023, Ingri Høyland and Ida Urd retreated to a summer house along the coast to create the album. Picture the scene: an abiding quiet all around. Gardens carpeted by snow; beach grass silvery against the silvery sky; a tendril of smoke rising from the chimney. Not another soul in earshot. This sanctuary was the perfect setting to yield this meditation on shelter, trust, and communication. The two composers hope the album can be a similar space for others—a temporary space of residence, it can represent a summerhouse, a cabin in the woods, your favorite bench or wherever you need to go. “The album also works really well when picking out apples in the supermarket” Urd laughs.

In 2025, Roger 23 makes his return to Night Defined Recordings. Following his 2022 album “Bounds of a Moral Principle and Established Standard Behavior”, the unmistakable Saarländer revisits his teenage memories of the Saarbrücken-Leicester connection through a collaboration with his UK kindred spirit, Tom Dicicco. In just two months, the duo has created a collection of ten tracks rich in sonic depth, embodying their dedication to and belief in the power of exploration.

In a world where it’s easy to point fingers or resist change, Tom Dicicco and Roger 23 choose a different path. They see creativity not just as self-expression but as a way to inspire future generations. Their mission is to challenge norms, trust the process, and create with purpose.

This album is more than just a musical project — it’s a statement that true innovation arises from freedom and risk-taking. The journey has taught them more than music production — it has reinforced the importance of conviction and trusting their vision. Their work serves as a reminder that leadership is about breaking new ground and inspiring others to do the same.

WE CANNOT COMPLAIN, IF WE DON’T DO IT BETTER

for UK: please contact Rubadub

DJ support: Michael Bibi, Solomun, ANOTR and more
Rising duo Moontalk step into the spotlight on Planet X with ‘Hot Line 84’, a track that channels tightly wound grooves, warped guitar licks and infectious vocal touches into a rolling dancefloor cut. Built with a sharp focus on rhythm and texture, the single captures the duo’s forward-thinking approach and delivers a fresh statement of intent on one of the underground’s most closely watched labels.

Planet X head Ben Sterling completes the release with his own reinterpretation, steering ‘Hot Line 84’ into darker, hypnotic territory. Crafted live using various guitars and analogue synths, Sterling’s remix brims with raw energy, tunnelling its way through Indie Dance textures while retaining the future-facing edge of the original. A track already championed by the likes of Michael Bibi, Solomun, ANOTR and more, it’s another bold showcase of Sterling’s versatility as both a producer and label curator — and a reminder of Planet X’s commitment to cutting-edge, cross-genre sound.

Together, the original and remix strike a balance between groove-driven immediacy and late-night depth, capturing two distinct yet complementary sides of the Planet X universe. ‘Hot Line 84’ stands as a compelling snapshot of where the label is heading next: innovative, immersive and firmly in tune with the dancefloor.

Since his earliest days, Ben Frost has been fascinated by the cinematic qualities of the guitar. His output to this point has hinted at this, but with »Steel Wound« he makes a bold statement of intent.

Finding his way to a deserted stretch of Johanna Beach along the Great Ocean Road (Victoria, Australia) in early 2003 Frost set up a remote studio at a derelict cabin overlooking the icy waters of Bass Strait. With a constant wind flowing off the sea his only companion, Frost started work on a series of improvisations that would eventually become »Steel Wound«. A few months go by and Frost has made his way back to civilization. He begins editing the masses of treated guitar from the Johanna Beach improvisations and before long a theme takes hold - one that very much reflects the isolation of the environment where the tracks were created.

Each of the pieces on »Steel Wound« is a epic journey, coloured with a deep sense of filmic narrative and suggested dialogues. The textural quality of the works, laced with field recordings and lost vocal fragments, sketches out the emotional soundscapes Frost had unwittingly gathered during his time at Johanna Beach. Each piece is a splintered fragment in time – a forgotten memory beautifully rediscovered in a moment of introspection.

File under house, breakbeat, techno and warehouse rave music. The Mental Groove Classic series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard to find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene.



The compilation is inspired by a moment in time when musical boundaries were being redrawn in a wave of carefree optimism and the freedom that fueled new rave scenes across Europe and beyond.

The Mental Groove Classics series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard-to-find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene.



On Volumes Two and Three of the series released last year, Olivier Ducret (founder of Mental Groove and Musique Pour La Danse, half of WRWTFWW) takes us back to the turn of the '90s. It was a time when he was promoting parties in fields, squats, forests, warehouses and former factoriesin and around Geneva, all while working behind the counter of a record shop called Mental Groove. While others in Switzerland's emerging dance music scene gravitated towards trance and garage, Olivier and his crew opted for a sound focused on bass, breaks, and techno. This unique approach was inspired by their regular trips to clubs, raves, and record shops in the UK. Drawing directly from his own record box and a memory bank full of euphoric dancefloor moments, this fourth installment sees Olivier reaching for more cuts of near-mythical rarity, genuinely overlooked gems, and undeniably brilliant classics - each selection has left a long-lasting impression on the local raving landscape. It's an autobiographical audio document, a historical archive, and a personal musical statement all rolled into one. The compilation is inspired by a moment in time when musical boundaries were being redrawn, if not exploded, in a wave of carefree optimism and thefreedom that fueled new rave scenes across Europe and far beyond.



Original artwork by Mark Wigan, co-owner of Soho's Brain Club and an artist of early British club culture.

New split release — 4 tracks of raw underground sound.
Two sides, two visions — pressed together on one record.

Direct from Eastern Europe and the US underground.
Strictly limited edition, no repress, each copy unique.

Focus, integrity and substance, all allied to a relentless work ethic and that essential (if indefinable) sprinkling of magic dust, have kept Nick Warren at the top of the electronic music tree for not far short of forty years.

In that timespan, Nick has been tour DJ for Massive Attack, held a residency at Cream, been a Glastonbury regular, and become the UK’s most successful export to Argentina (in no small part due to his touring brand The Soundgarden). As half of Way Out West, he has helped write (and re-write) the rule book for club-based electronic acts, achieving true longevity without compromise. He has curated over a dozen essential compilations – a mainstay of the Global Underground series whose heavyweight influence is still felt to this day, an in-demand decknician for pivotal brands such as Renaissance and Balance, and the very first DJ entrusted with creating a blueprint for the now iconic Back to Mine series.

It's quite the CV, a career many can only dream of. But Nick has long had one further itch in need of scratching. Inspired at a young age by his dad’s Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream albums, coming of age with experimental labels like 4AD and Factory, roots deep in the dub-wise scene of his native Bristol, a long time collector of exotica and obscure film soundtracks…all that knowledge and passion has long been crying out to be channelled into a Warren solo album.

All of which brings us to the career-defining Turbulence. The world is certainly a turbulent place as Nick gets set to unleash his masterwork, but the musical turbulence at work here arguably takes its lead from other interpretations of the word – turbulence as a feeling of heightened intensity, turbulence marked by a sense of unpredictability.

Turbulence is a window into Nick’s musical soul, and the myriad styles and influences that reside there, drip-fed into a melodic melting pot to create a unique sonic stew. Tempos and styles switch and interlock effortlessly, the mood ebbs and flows like the best DJ sets, and the running order, from the ethereal opener Loveland all the way through to the achingly beautiful closing cut Sadly (in tandem with Tripswitch, one of several noteworthy collaborations) showcases an artist at the top of his game, and with a deep understanding of the concept of the long player.

We all need some turbulence.

On September 26th, 2025, two decades and seven albums into his career, American musician, composer, and academic John Maus will release his most transcendent work yet: Later Than You Think. Arriving via his new label YOUNG, the album explores themes of grief, justice, rebirth, transformation, and spiritual warfare - coalescing into a work of confession and confrontation: an aural metaphysics where affect, intellect, and spirit converge in search of the beautiful, the truth and the real. Written, produced, and recorded in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri, Later Than You Think spans 16 tracks and contains multitudes - the lush and the bare, the sacred and the profane, minimalist discipline and maximalist indulgence, counterpoint and simple pop harmony. At its core, the album reaffirms John Maus’ commitment to radical sincerity and emotional truth in an age of alienation. Powered by confrontation, faith and transformation - driven by the urgent belief that meaning still matters, and time is of the essence. Holding a degree in experimental music from CalArts and a PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii, Maus has been dubbed a “philosopher pop star” and “analog futurist” for the way he merges academic rigor with lo-fi synth-pop aesthetics. His influence spans genres and generations—from UK grime icon Skepta, who sampled his track “I’m Only Human,” and Gen-Z rapper nettspend, to filmmaker Josh Safdie, actor Natasha Lyonne, and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. His track “Cop Killer” features in the 2025 film Friendship, underscoring his continued relevance across high and low culture. With five previous albums under his belt - Songs (2006), Love Is Real (2007), We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011), Screen Memories (2017) and Addendum (2018) - Maus has carved out a singular path where irony, grief, joy, and absurdity can coexist and gained a cult following along the way. On Late r Than You Think Maus doesn’t just return—he confronts, confesses, and transforms. The result is not only a career-defining work, but a rare artistic offering: one that dares to believe in meaning, beauty, and the possibility of transcendence