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While 1967's Velvet Underground & Nico was a part of Andy Warhol's global artistic vision, 1968's White Light/White Heat was free of all Warholian influence, so in a way it could be thought of as another debut album. Here the music was left to fester on its own, with no artistic visionary interfering or trying to create a soundtrack for his pop art, and the Velvets filled that void with an album that is an aural subway car full of drunkards, junkies and whores rumbling through the bowels of NYC with a one way ticket to oblivion. Translucent purple vinyl LP.

Countless incredible records were made in Kingston between 1968 and 1971 that has never been able to lose the stigma of being described as 'Skinhead Reggae' but in Jamaica the term never meant anything. However Bunny Lee's Aggro Sound's both at home and away.
They were tougher then tough ,rougher then rough ,kicked like a 'bovver' boot and were sharper then a razor cut trim.
Raw, pure and undiluted every time...some even troubled the UK national charts..
To say the man and his music dominated at the time would be a complete understatement.
'Striker' was everywhere...travelling between Kingston, where he opened his Agro Sounds record shop at 101 Orange Street and London where he set up his Unity label with the Palmer Brothers for the exclusive release of his productions and his Jackpot subsidiaries with both Trojan and Pama records.
Ubiquitous does not start to come into it.
We sincerely hope that this compilation helps to point you in the direction of some of the best music from this often overlooked period from one of the greatest producers EVER!
'The Aggro Man' himself Bunny Lee

Schmer brought these two together to battle it out for Schmer019: Snazelle vs Loveland : Get this special 6 track maxi EP of pure techno and YOU will be the winner.




Brooklyn based techno producer and Snazzy Fx boss. Much of the hardware Dan uses in his productions and live sets was designed and built by him. His focus as an artist is on electronic music as a vehicle for achieving transcendent states. This comes out in his sets as a respect for both the funky and hypnotic aspects of dance music. As a DJ and live act, Dan has performed throughout Europe and is a regular fixture in NYC.

2018 saw Dan release the "Exposure to a Steady Stream Ep" on Jacktone records. Fact Magazine included the track " Broken Saucers" in their best of September round-up.

In early 2019 Nina Kraviz and Dan released their collaboration "u ludei est pravo"on the trip compilation "Happy New Year! We Wish You Happiness".

In August, Schmer released his newest EP, "Swarm Draze".


Jasen Loveland is a mercurial force about whom little is known with any certainty. Much of Loveland’s life and exploits are shrouded in an opaque and often contradictory mythology that includes many other characters who may or may not be Loveland himself. Born sometime around 1950, Loveland seems to have been operational within the dance music community for decades, allegedly interning for Giorgio Moroder in Munich after finishing a medical degree in the 1970s. It is rumored he was the individual who did the actual synth programming on “I Feel Love”, however this was never confirmed. Documentation of Loveland’s past was further obscured by a “studio fire” while operating out of Chicago in the mid-1990s that destroyed all of Loveland’s memorabilia from the past, except for a handful of lo-resolution, poorly-scanned photographs Loveland (an early user of Hyperreal.org and the #mw.raves listserv) had emailed to a friend. Fortunately, Loveland was able to save his two favorite synthesizers, a battered Roland TB-303 and it’s demented sibbling, the MC-202, but the rest of Loveland’s equipment, and the documentation of his past, was lost in the blaze, leaving Loveland homeless for several months. Regardless of the veracity of his tales, Loveland’s music speaks for itself; the intense, maniacial vibes that pervade the ouvre are undeniably suited for the most far-out, dancefloor head trips, thus making it only a matter of time before he joined the Interdimensional Transmissions family.



Most recently, Loveland has been presenting DJ-style musical performances under the name “Loveland & Friends”, which has become an umbrella term for all projects related to his work, including JL-303, DJ Curtis Chipp, Chip Curtis, MIDI Master, Remote Perception, The Limit, Acid Musik Department, The Gaze, Ace of Fades, East German Chemistry, The Universal Vision, Clonus, Gamma Polaris, R.O.M. and DJ Kline, and Da House Band. Many of these, such as the DJ Kline project (with Prof. Dr. Alice B. Kline, a self-described “unremarkable scientist” and researcher at CERN), seem to be collaborations or ghost productions, although even this is not clear. In fact, the only confirmed Loveland collaborations are LW Productions (with Clay Wilson) and Pervocet (with Patrick Russell), the latter presented as a 12” by Interdimensional Transmissions, Detroit.

Legendary psychedelic guitar music from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania finally available on vinyl!
Originally released as a double CD in 2010, Wallahi Le Zein! has persisted as a cult classic, a collection of a rarely heard and utterly unique underground music scene, raw and unfiltered.
For fans of the more raw side of Sublime Frequencies, Sahelsounds, the ripping tape-hiss psychedelia of Les Rallizes Denudes, and anyone remotely interested in GUITARS.
12” 160 gram black vinyl LP, with 2 spot color reverse-board jacket, and 8-page full sized booklet with extensive notes and photos, and a history of Mauritanian guitar playing.
‘’this is the first curated collection of unfiltered Mauritanian guitar music ever, and I'm glad it's been introduced with such thoroughness and care.’’ 8.0 Pitchfork
The LP version we now present is intended as an immersive entry into this music: gnarled and virtuosic electric guitars weave hypnotically throughout melismatic sung poetry and exclamations, pulsing hand drums, party chatter, buzzing rigged desert sound systems, and all manner of the ambient sounds of Nouakchott wedded to oversaturated cassette in all its swirling, breathing, psychedelic glory. Operating entirely outside of any local recording industry, these songs were collected from bootleg tape stalls, wedding souveniers, and networks of musicians, expertly curated, researched and produced by Matthew Lavoie.
Drawing from the deep well of Mauritanian classical music, the gamut of musical modes and the tidinitt lute repertoire are transposed to the electric guitar - often with frets removed or additional frets installed, “heavy metal” distortion pedals and phasers built into guitar bodies, blurring the lines between Haratine and Beydane musical cultures, the ancient and the futuristic. At times transcendent and transfixing, and conversely a furious and cascading intensity that commands jaw-dropping attention.

COS might not be the first genre defying progressive music group you’ve heard who share both wordless onomatopoeic vocals and a snappy three letter title (complete with philosophical leanings and alchemic penchants) but on listening to this first ever custom Cos compendium you might have just discovered a new favourite!

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that COS share close spiritual, stylistic or social connections to the aforementioned bands, as one of the few long-withstanding single-syllable ensembles to remain utterly idiosyncratic and incomparable within their hyper-focussed and impenetrable creative bubble. But as a 1970s group that effortlessly MIX head-nod prog, synth-driven jazz, cinematic sound-designs, dislocated disco, arkestral operatics and high-brow conceptual anti-pop grooves, it’s easier to remember the name COS than thumb the vast amount of genre-dividers in your local record shop which COS COULD occupy. With the crème de la crème of Belgian jazz/prog/psych/funk within their ranks, their combined idea-to-ability ratio litters the Cos-ography with concepts that aficionados, future fans, collaborators and critics still haven’t began to unravel.

With their earliest roots in the compact jazz group Brussels Art Quintet the group spent their sapling years creating art-school prog under the name Classroom, this flourishing collective, cultivated by multi-instrumentalist mainstay Daniel Schell, would soon shed its leaves, dropping band-members and typographics reducing its moniker to simply COS (a multi-purpose, globally recognised word, with links to Alchemy and philosophy, with a hard phonetic delivery to suit the groups heavier rhythmic approach). In it’s new skin COS also shed all forms of orthodox language to find its true exclusive voice. Fronted, in the conventional sense, by the daughter of author and part-time jazz player Jean De Trazegnies, the bands wordless singer changed her name to Pascale SON, to accentuate the French word for “sound”. Drawing comparisons with sound poets like Polish jazz legend Urszula Dudziak or Hungarian Katalin Ladik, but retaining the crystalline femininity (and funk) of Flora Purim, while effectively sharing an imaginary lyric book of non-words with Damo Suzuki, Magma or a future Liz Fraser... To use the word “unique” would, by COS academic standards, be lazy journalism.

“We’re proud to announce the release of our debut EP ‘Reporting
Live From The Living Room Floor’ via Nice Swan Records. A
prologue chapter within the world we call Hallan, ‘Reporting Live
From The Living Room Floor’ introduces the 21st Century to the
Gumshoe Boy. The boy is always the man for the job. He’s the man
on the inside. He’s the Agency’s number one frontman and he’s
armed with a tape provided by an anonymous source. An undercover
operative in a satirical, Orwellian world, ‘Reporting Live From The
Living Room Floor’ paints a semi-abstract but tangible image of the
new decade, holding a mirror up to not only our modern society but
our individual selves. The time is now right. From the corner of his
bleak bedroom the boy plans his plan, and from the corner of ours we
do the same.” - Hallan
The EP draws influence from everyday observation, mainstream pop
culture and laughable tabloid fiction. ‘Reporting Live From The Living
Room Floor’ paints an semi-abstract but tangible image of the new
decade, holding a mirror up to not only modern society but
individuals.
Frontman Conor speaks on the track: “Our sound changes depending
on our agenda at any time, finding a different stride with every step.
With ‘Hands Up’ we found ourselves dropped into a Western rerun
armed with a fiercely cowboyish twang on our six string shooter. We
wanted to forth a thematic, semi abstract prose, attacking
businessmen and penny pinchers in a flurry of suitably delirious
criticisms.”
While struggling to find a studio which didn’t just place Hallan in the
cogs of a much larger machine, the band found Rob Quickenden of
Ford Lane studios for their last single, ‘Modern England’. Returning to
the rural depths of Yapton, Hallan once again join forces with
Quickenden on their debut EP. In a studio setting where no ideas
were out of the question and experimentation and exploration were
the words of the day, expect ‘Reporting Live From The Living Room
Floor’ to be a no-holds-barred exploration into the minds of Hallan.
Back in the far forgotten world of live events, Hallan supported the
likes of Sports Team and Porridge Radio. Yet 2021 sees the band
carve their own path all together. Backed by Nice Swan Records
(Sports Team, Courting, Sprints) Hallan are finally ready to release
their latest imaginings to the world.

MCC returns with x3 roll cage rattlers from the elusive DJ SKIFT, rumoured to be operating remotely outta the True North-North East territories. Recommended if ur into anything good.

70s/80s influenced ambient mixed up with a healthy dose of UFO's, abduction, occultism, paranoia, astral flow, new age and long lost Atlantis. 2020 was the year when Albert Kuningas debut vinyl on Escape From Synthesis was released and now the second part of this ambient/
dark ambient masterpiece is available! Finally it's time to get physical vinyl copies of legendary Bandcamp-only release "Music for UFO document programs 2" with a never before heard bonus track called 'Sateenkaarisilta 2'! Don't sleep on this one as it's limited release of 200pcs only.

'The inventive record producer and vocalist Lee 'Scratch' Perry was involved in every musical shift of note in his native Jamaica, from the rhythm and blues that pre-dated the arrival of ska in the early 1960s through the slower and more spacious rocksteady style that appeared middecade and, of course, the frenetic sound of reggae, which he helped to birth as an independent producer during the late 1960s. Operating as 'The Upsetter' from his base in a downtown Kingston record shop, Perry found his greatest success with instrumental music during this phase, the organ and saxophone re-castings of standard vocal issues proving exceptionally popular overseas.

'Scratch The Upsetter Again surfaced early in 1970 as a largely instrumental set, but with dreamy reverb a hefty feature and keyboards veering away from standard organ motifs. Dave Barker, who was soon to hit the pop charts as part of Dave & Ansel Collins, tackles The Shirelles' 'Will You Still Love Me' in soul reggae mode, only for Perry to shift things towards the emerging dub spectrum with 'Take One.'

'As Perry inched ever closer to the dub experimentation he would turn into an art form at his own Black Ark studio later in the decade, Scratch The Upsetter Again shows him moving away from the standard approaches of his competitors in his quest to test the very limits of recorded sound. And reggae was all the richer for it.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)

Hong Kong based hypno-tropicalia duo Blood Wine or Honey are set to release their second album 'DTx2' on 30th June 2021. Made up of seasoned multi-instrumentalists James Banbury (synths, bass, percussion, cello) and Joseph von Hess (vocals, clarinet, sax, percussion), they create a heaving, heady brew of brazen sax themes, lo-fi/hi-tech electronics, densely layered cello inflections and motorik drums.

These explorations start with the dance-floor then go above and beyond, taking notes from post-punk and tropical polyrhythms, always anchored by the bass weight of the sound system. Their distinctive sound is created in the industrial warehouses and hidden rural settlements of Hong Kong, surrounded by the low-end throb of heavy machinery, the lingering scent of hand sanitiser and the humidity of the South China Sea.

Written and recorded during 2020-21, new album 'DTx2' looks ahead to an uncertain future, drawing deep on their experiences and influences and welcoming a host of co-conspirators.

Jean Daval, aka Preservation (credits include Yasiin Bey fka Mos Def, MF Doom, RZA, GZA, Raekwon, KRS-One, Aesop Rock), provided truffle-hunted beats, synths and basses, which, when put through the BWoH mangle, emerged as 'Messenger'.

Superstar and old friend of the band KT Tunstall came to work with BWoH after they contributed a DJ mix for her lockdown 'KTRave' on Instagram. 'Attraction' was the result. Wonky bass, found-bounce beats and Buddy Rich drums smashed out by Tim Weller (Marc Almond, Future Sound of London, Goldfrapp, The Chemical Brothers, David Axelrod) resulted in a bonkers production with passionate vocals and layers of harmony.

'I Shall Rush Out As I Am' is a collaboration with legendary pop provocateur Paul Morley and Janice Lau of Hong Kong band David Boring. The track is based on the words and the spirit of sci-fi writer, satirist, literary critic and radical feminist Joanna Russ and took shape quickly, with tinges of A Certain Ratio and memories of Suicide, provoking Janice to an authentic scream-of-consciousness delivery.

Multi-talented London singer, musician and composer Kamal (Neighbourhood Recordings) took time away from being the Next Big Thing to transform 'Testing Time' with funk-edged keys. A key figure in the extraordinary '90s Hong Kong music scene, Zoë Brewster contributed vocals.

Roughly divided, the album's first set of songs make relatively short statements, punchily self-contained with common threads. The final four tracks, Testing Time, Embers, Embrasure

and Echt Embrace disperse into flights of mantric fantasy, with quicksand time-signature shifts and key-changes emerging into a more introspective zone with a fervent pulse, a shift in energy: stamina over speed.

Cocoon’s unique brand of techno has always been at the heart for the operation and now, these brand new and exclusive tracks confirm that once again. Dark industry when André Galluzzi & Daniel Stefanik link on ‘The Regulator’ and high grade machine soul from Extrawelt.

Tampo is a mystic sextet from somewhere out of the hustle and bustle of the busy Helsinki scene. They operate on a level of their own, performing latin jazz inspired by cumbia and mambo. This 7" single release by We Jazz Records features two high calibre cuts, "Keumgang" and "Tampomambo", making this one a solid choice for all lovers of psychedelic music with character.

Alleged Witches debut album breaks down centuries of human labour into an eight-part instruction manual for company best practice, stock control and tips for the optimum commute. The final break from nature, it's Pagan funeral marches, insect rhythms and doomed ambience for one last trip up the river. Artwork from Bill Connors.

Operation: Mindcrime is regarded as one of the greatest concept metal albums of all time. The band’s third album, originally released May 3rd 1988, is based around Nikki, a recovering drug addict, who becomes disillusioned with a corrupt society and joins a revolutionary group to assassinate political leaders. Operation: Mindcrime was produced by Peter Collins (Bon Jovi, Rush, Alice Cooper) and was recorded, mixed and mastered digitally on a Sony 24-track digital tape machine. It was certified platinum in 1991 in the US and was ranked in the Top 100 Metal Albums Of All Time by both Kerrang! and Billboard magazines. Available on multi-formats, this new version was remastered at Abbey Road Studios and brings together all the available recordings to tell the story of this remarkable album. The deluxe version, housed in a 10″ x 10″ box, is the final word on this exceptional album. It also contains a DVD which features the accompanying promotional videos and a live performance of the album. The expanded booklet features new sleeve notes by noted journalist Alex Milas who spoke with Geoff Tate about the making of the album and the concept behind it.

"Empire was originally released on 20th August 1990, and is the band’s most commercially successful album to date, reaching triple platinum status.
It featured the top 10 hit, “Silent Lucidity”, which was nominated for 2 Grammys, and “Jet City Woman”. The follow up to the groundbreaking Operation: Mindcrime, the album was produced by Peter Collins, and recorded in Washington and Vancouver in the spring of 1990. Empire features brilliant and intelligent lyrics and songwriting complimented by incredible musicianship, with the songs ranging from beautiful ballads, strong melodic rockers, and classic heavy fist pumpers. This version, newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios, brings together all the available recordings to narrate the story of this remarkable album. It also contains a DVD which features the accompanying promotional videos and a live performance of the album. The deluxe version features new sleeve notes by noted journalist Alex Milas who spoke with Geoff Tate at length, discussing the making of the album and the concept behind it, and is housed in a 10″ x 10″ box, providing the definitive package."

LTD Edition!

Die Grammy-nominierte Band Hiatus Kaiyote veröffentlichen ihr neues Album auf Brainfeeder! Knapp 6 Jahre nach "Choose Your Weapon" (2015) erscheint endlich das brandneue Studioalbum!

Die zweifach Grammy-nominierte Band besteht aus Naomi „Nai Palm“ Saalfield (Gitarre, Gesang), Paul Bender (Bass), Simon Mavin (Keyboards) und Perrin Moss (Schlagzeug). Das neue Album ist der Nachfolger ihres 2015er Albums, „Choose Your Weapon“, das der Rolling Stone als „atemberaubenden Schritt nach oben“ beschrieb und sie von Glastonbury bis zum Fuji Rock führte, vom Roots Picnic bis zur ausverkauften Sydney Opera. Das neue Projekt konnte endlich entstehen, nachdem die Band auf Songs von The Carters (Beyoncé & Jay-Z), Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Chance The Rapper oder Drake gesampelt wurde - mit dem Nai Palm aber auch auf seinem Album, „Scorpion“, zusammenarbeitete. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das sich, untermalt von Verocais Streichern, in einem Groove entspannt: sonnenbeschienen, erhaben, meisterhaft. Hinter allem steckt Hiatus' gewohnter Sinn für musikalische Abenteuer, ihre Gabe, das Komplexe einfach klingen zu lassen, oder, in ihren eigenen Worten: „Wondercore“. Simons Experiment mit einem ungeraden Rhythmus, der in 5er-Gruppen gepackt ist, wird zu einem kaskadenartigen Jam namens „Rose Water“. Benders und Simons Austausch einzelner Noten, hin und her, um eine Melodie zu bilden, wird zu „All The Words We Don't Say“. Nais frecher Kommentar auf sexbesessene, dreiminütige Pop-Hits wird zu „Chivalry Is Not Dead“, einem Song über die bizarren Paarungsrituale von Leopardenschnecken (sie leuchten fluoreszierend) und Seepferdchen (sie verschränken ihre Schwänze und tanzen). Das Album endet mit dem zarten „Blood And Marrow“, einer Bender-Bassline, zu der Nai und Perrin improvisierten, und die Simon als seinen Lieblingssong anpreist: „Es ist ein klassischer Hiatus-Studio-Song, der eine schöne Erkundung ist und ein Geheimnis bereithält.“

Die Grammy-nominierte Band Hiatus Kaiyote veröffentlichen ihr neues Album auf Brainfeeder! Knapp 6 Jahre nach "Choose Your Weapon" (2015) erscheint endlich das brandneue Studioalbum!

Die zweifach Grammy-nominierte Band besteht aus Naomi „Nai Palm“ Saalfield (Gitarre, Gesang), Paul Bender (Bass), Simon Mavin (Keyboards) und Perrin Moss (Schlagzeug). Das neue Album ist der Nachfolger ihres 2015er Albums, „Choose Your Weapon“, das der Rolling Stone als „atemberaubenden Schritt nach oben“ beschrieb und sie von Glastonbury bis zum Fuji Rock führte, vom Roots Picnic bis zur ausverkauften Sydney Opera. Das neue Projekt konnte endlich entstehen, nachdem die Band auf Songs von The Carters (Beyoncé & Jay-Z), Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Chance The Rapper oder Drake gesampelt wurde - mit dem Nai Palm aber auch auf seinem Album, „Scorpion“, zusammenarbeitete. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das sich, untermalt von Verocais Streichern, in einem Groove entspannt: sonnenbeschienen, erhaben, meisterhaft. Hinter allem steckt Hiatus' gewohnter Sinn für musikalische Abenteuer, ihre Gabe, das Komplexe einfach klingen zu lassen, oder, in ihren eigenen Worten: „Wondercore“. Simons Experiment mit einem ungeraden Rhythmus, der in 5er-Gruppen gepackt ist, wird zu einem kaskadenartigen Jam namens „Rose Water“. Benders und Simons Austausch einzelner Noten, hin und her, um eine Melodie zu bilden, wird zu „All The Words We Don't Say“. Nais frecher Kommentar auf sexbesessene, dreiminütige Pop-Hits wird zu „Chivalry Is Not Dead“, einem Song über die bizarren Paarungsrituale von Leopardenschnecken (sie leuchten fluoreszierend) und Seepferdchen (sie verschränken ihre Schwänze und tanzen). Das Album endet mit dem zarten „Blood And Marrow“, einer Bender-Bassline, zu der Nai und Perrin improvisierten, und die Simon als seinen Lieblingssong anpreist: „Es ist ein klassischer Hiatus-Studio-Song, der eine schöne Erkundung ist und ein Geheimnis bereithält.“

Black Truffle is pleased to announce the first-ever vinyl reissue of Remko Scha’s Guitar Mural 1 featuring The Machines, originally published as a rare cassette edition by Taal Beeld Geluid in 1982. A computational linguist by profession, Scha played an important role in the development of sound, installation, and digital art in the Netherlands from the late 1970s onward, co-founding the performance and exhibition space Het Appolohuis in Eindhoven in 1980. Alongside Paul Panhuysen and Jan Van Riet, Scha was a founding member of the radical improvisation group The Maciunas Ensemble, though he is best known for his work with mechanised electric guitars, documented on the legendary 1982 LP Machine Guitars.

Guitar Mural 1 documents an installation of Scha’s mechanical guitar ensemble The Machines held at a Groningen gallery space in 1982. Five electric guitars hang from the wall, their strings sounded by rotating rubber strings and a sabre saw controlled by a mechanical apparatus, as well as four ropes criss-crossing the five instruments on the wall. Once the mechanism was set up, Scha’s only intervention was to vary the speed at which it operated. Where Machine Guitars presents short excerpts clearly distinguished by rhythmic and timbral variation, here we are confronted with four enormous side-long slabs of percussive string attack and the resulting clouds of harmonics. Variation is minimal across the duration of each side, making for a sculptural listening experience, as if we are patiently examining each facet of a static object. But significant variety exists between the four sides, each of which shows off a different facet of what The Machines were capable of. The first two excerpts feature open strings sounded at rapid tempos, dissolving the percussive attack into a continuous stream of sound reminiscent of Charlemagne Palestine’s ‘strumming’ technique. On the third side, the strings are partly muted and the tempo slightly lowered, resulting in layers of relentlessly chugging rhythm somewhere between an ensemble of hand drums and an early Velvet Underground bootleg. On the fourth side, havoc breaks loose in percussive waves of asynchronous repetition that bring Scha’s sound world close to that of another pioneer experiment in musical mechanisation, the Solar Music of Joe Jones.

Presented as a limited edition 2LP set in a deluxe gatefold sleeve accompanied by stunning visual documentation of the original installation, remastered audio and new liner notes from Alan Licht and Van Lagestein, Guitar Mural 1 is an exhilarating document occupying a unique space between kinetic sculpture, hardcore minimalism and rock & roll.

VEYL is pleased to welcome Harlem to the label for a new seven track album titled ‘Bait’. The Stockholm-based duo of Martin Thomasson and Johan Skugge bring a vast history of production behind them, operating since the early aughts and known for their work in dub and minimal techno. ‚Bait’ ventures into new territory for the project, delivering infectious strains of body music, new beat, industrial and beyond coupled with soul-stirring vocals which quickly dig beneath the skin. The release is about everyday manipulation, soft power and persuasion. We exist in a world in which corporate management techniques are deployed in our everyday lives, nudging each other for short-term gain, slowly hallowing out any lasting trust while ultimately all being crushed by a hyper-capitalist system. From the opening synths of the title track to the ominous ending notes of ‘Night Vision’, we also uncover funky grooves and diabolical floor shakers which remind us of something from the past but exist perfectly in this corrupted new world. As is customary, the striking cover art was photographed by Tomaso Lisca, and it’s a fitting piece for the record, depicting a tantalizing well-oiled machine, all while something menacing lurks under the hood.

Punk parodists Splondgenessabounds achieved more than most in the early 1980s, with three chart hits, including a top-ten smash and another in the top thirty. Formed above a mini-cab office in Peckham, southeast London, they scored a contract with major label Deram through a Battle of the Bands contest, debut single B-side ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps’ hitting number 7 on the singles chart in June 1980. An equally unlikely cover of Boer War saga ‘Two Little Boys’ hit the top thirty and initial single A-side ‘Simon Templar,’ based on the theme from The Saint, was also popular. This incredible debut album has each of these tracks and so much more, with plenty of fart songs and a closing dub of ‘Two Pints.’ This is the sound of the band at their magnificent best, a pick of the bunch for all Splondgs fans.

Punk parodists Splondgenessabounds achieved more than most in the early 1980s, with three chart hits, including a top-ten smash and another in the top thirty. Formed above a mini-cab office in Peckham, southeast London, they scored a contract with major label Deram through a Battle of the Bands contest, debut single B-side ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps’ hitting number 7 on the singles chart in June 1980. An equally unlikely cover of Boer War saga ‘Two Little Boys’ hit the top thirty and initial single A-side ‘Simon Templar,’ based on the theme from The Saint, was also popular. This incredible debut album has each of these tracks and so much more, with plenty of fart songs and a closing dub of ‘Two Pints.’ This is the sound of the band at their magnificent best, a pick of the bunch for all Splondgs fans.

A collection of songs / mixtape from Sunun + Jiinx - made up of all their own material, a combination of fully realised songs (some of which you might recognise from earlier outings on BKV, Idle Hands, Euphonic Rhythms etc) as well as unheard demos / ideas and alternate versions. The mix was compiled by Jiinx over a period of nightshifts - sat in his (now cubed) car with the computer running through the stereo. You can hear the dry eyes as the tape moves through sleep deprived jungle to new-age and ambient interludes - with voices (including Sunun's own) moving in and out like real world sounds intruding into a dream (there's also a cameo from Jiinx's daughter). The tape operates in the spaces between waking and sleeping and night and day - and manages to walk the line between euphoric rave afterglow and sleepless sickness and disorientation. Definitely one for the shift workers / ravers / insomniacs. Dedicated to the roofless Beemer.

Audio visual sculptor Kero operates the multidisciplinary arts collective Detroit Underground record label and continues to produce bit crushed experimental electronic music with over two decades under his belt.

Demo Vectors showcases Kero's sonic range—bouncing back and forth between IDM fractures, broken electro shapes and an all around low-end forcefield. Splicing machined modular tunes with syncopated rhythms and Detroit-inspired slivers, Kero's fingerprints can be found on imprints like Blueprint, Wild oats, Ghostly International, Shitkatapult, Semantica, Touchin' Bass, BPitch Control, and many others.

Using different studio setups from 1998 to 2021, Demo Vectors culminated from many different locations including Detroit, Windsor, Barcelona, Berlin and Los Angeles and reveals Kero's curriculum vitae packaged in a 60 minute robust collection.

The downtempo groove of "ABSTR_B&B" offers a classic bricolage of collapsed mechanical percussion straight from the foundry as the definitive sound design and glitchy bits of "BLISS" take shape. Fluid robotics and bass jabs progress on "GROUNDZEROBACK" pushing each pixel to their breaking point. You'll also find stark industrial elements on tracks like "PREFREAK.EPS" and spastic acid on "COMOFFICE-1" displaying the wide angle lens Kero employs to capture improvised dark drill'n bass techniques with a Squarepusher sheen. From the slow burning "PILL'LATHE2" humming its way across laid back digitized acrobatics to the aptly titled "COLOR_CUB" that clicks, cuts and collects subtle low frequency modulations, Demo Vectors is a tightly compacted and forward thinking IDM album.

Sandblasted electronics mixed with shattered glass and corrosive blips'n bleeps, Demo Vectors acts as Kero's raison d'etre as each piece eclipses itself.

*2022 2LP Version *

Seven years after the classic ‘Theater of a Confused Mind’ (as Population One), Detroit techno phenomenon Terrence Dixon is back on Rush Hour with a new album, this time under his own name.

It would be a massive understatement to say we’re proud of this one. After all our whole operation was named after one of Dixon’s early tracks (‘Rush Hour’ originally appeared on a double EP called ‘Hippnotic Culture’ on fellow Detroit legend Claude Young’s Utensil Records in 1995) and ‘Reporting from Detroit’ again finds the maestro in outstanding form.

‘Reporting from Detroit’ is another prime example of the distinctly unique sound language Dixon has developed over the last three decades - defiant, forward-thinking afrofuturist techno that could only have been made in the Motor City.

But this is not just mere Detroit techno - it’s a sound language that’s unique to Dixon. An instantly recognizable high-octane sonic language fueled by frantic funk that’s constantly pushing the boundaries of machine music without ever losing the connection to the magic of the Detroit streets at night.

It’s not easy to summarize any band whose career has stretched over two decades. In the case of Growing, though, it’s all in the name: since 2001, the core duo of Kevin Doria and Joe DeNardo have been making vibrating, explorative experimental music that is in a forever state of evolution. In that time, they have amassed a hard-to-define and influential body of work, and Diptych sees the band operating at the height of their “big amp ambient” powers.

Diptych is a masterclass in slowly undulating ambient drift, and quite possibly the definitive headphone album of the year. Guitars that sound like organs pointed at the heavens are cut with subtly damaged electronic moves, the end result being a record that is at once ecstatic, transportive and gritty.

Ambient and new age music have become part of the larger indie vocabulary. Things were different over twenty years ago in the Olympia, Washington punk community where Doria and DeNardo got their start. Both veterans of aggressive music by the time the band began, Growing emerged like a rainbow at the other end of the heavy music tunnel: loud as ever, but with a sonic and aesthetic position that ran counter to punk rock norms.

Created over the past year and a half, Diptych extrapolates on Growing’s formative drone-based work, showing a unit in full control of a language that they have built and reconfigured over time. The music here continues to be an intuitive outgrowth of a friendship that started in late-90s Olympia and still bears fruit today—even as each member lives in a different city.

- Available for the First Time on Vinyl - Deluxe Old Style Tip-On Gatefold Packaging with 180 Gram - "Yellow Raincoat with Blood Red Splatter" Colored Vinyl - Insert with Liner Notes and Original 1976 Recording Session photography // Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the debut release of ALICE, SWEET ALICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Stephen Lawrence. Alice, Sweet Alice is a 1976 American Slasher-Horror film directed by Alfred Sole and starring Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl who becomes the suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister at her first communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow. In the years since its release, Alice, Sweet Alice has gained a cult following and is considered a contemporary classic of the slasher sub-genre in critical circles. It has also been the focus of scholarship in the areas of horror film studies, particularly regarding its depictions of Roman Catholicism, child emotional neglect, and the disintegration of the American nuclear family. The film's chilling score was composed by Stephen Lawrence. Lawrence is an American composer that has scored more than 300 songs and musical cues for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. The music of Alice, Sweet Alice features heavy usage of dissonant strings, repetitive keys, church organ, and motifs that segue from eerily mischievous and playful to dread-inducing and utterly haunting. Available for the very first time in any format, the complete soundtrack to Alice, Sweet Alice comes available on 180 gram "Yellow Rain Coat with Blood Red Splatter", deluxe packaging with new artwork by Steven Reeves, old-style tip-on gatefold jackets, a heavyweight insert, exclusive composer liner notes, and original recording session photography.

Fistful of Metal’ is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax, released in January, 1984 by Megaforce Records in the US and Music for Nations internationally. It includes a cover of
Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen”.
Critical reception to ‘Fistful of Metal’ was mixed. Xavier Russel of Kerrang! called it a great debut album, with songs played “at a hundred miles an hour” Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised the well-produced sound and the “almost operatic anti-thrash vocals” from Turbin, considering the album responsible for “putting New York back on the US metal map, and quality back in the books of bruising and uncompromising underground metal.”
The term thrash metal was used for the first time in the music press by Kerrang!
journalist Malcolm Dome, referring to the song “Metal Thrashing Mad”. Guitar World magazine placed the album on their list of “New Sensations: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1984”.
In June 2019, Decibel inducted ‘Fistful of Metal’ in their Hall of Fame, due to its reputation as one of the best early examples of thrash metal.

Squid announce their debut album, ‘Bright Green Field’, already one of 2021’s most highly anticipated releases.
Produced by Dan Carey, ‘Bright Green Field’ is an album of towering scope and ambition, it is deeply considered, paced and intricately constructed. With all band members playing such a vital and equal role, this album is very much the product of five heads operating as one.
Some bands might be tempted to include previous singles on their debut - and the band already released two more in 2020 via ‘Sludge’ and ‘Broadcaster’ - but instead ‘Bright Green Field’ is completely new. This sense of limitlessness and perpetual forward motion is one of the key ingredients that makes Squid so loved by fans and critics alike, from 6 Music, who have A-Listed previous singles ‘Houseplants’, ‘The Cleaner’ and ‘Match Bet’, to publications such as The Guardian, NME, The Face, The Quietus and countless others. The band was also on the longlist for the BBC Music Sound Of 2020 poll.
‘Bright Green Field’ features field recordings of ringing church bells, tooting bees, microphones swinging from the ceiling orbiting a room of guitar amps and a distorted choir of 30 voices, as well as a horn and string ensemble featuring the likes of Emma-Jean Thackray and Lewis Evans from Black Country, New Road.
Squid’s music - be it agitated and discordant or groove-locked and flowing - has often been a reflection of the tumultuous world we live in and this continues that to some extent. “This album has created an imaginary cityscape,” says Ollie Judge, who writes the majority of the lyrics and plays drums. “The tracks illustrate the places, events and architecture that exist within it. Previous projects were playful and concerned with characters, whereas this project is darker and more concerned with place - the emotional depth of the music has deepened.”
For all the innovative recording techniques, evolutionary leaps, lyrical
themes, ideas and narratives that underpin the album, it’s also a joyous and emphatic record. One that marries the uncertainties of the world with a curious sense of exploration as it endlessly twists and turns down unpredictable avenues.

After the first two Earthly Tapes & a handful of EPs, Earthly Measures drops its first full-length album with Mente Organica’s El Espacio - a beautifully crafted album with glorious textures, steady grooves, calming vibes & a dancefloor filler or two.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia – producer & multi-instrumentalist Mente Organica has slowly been making a name for himself within the folktronica/Latin scene. Following multiple album and EP releases over the past few years, El Espacio marks his first release on wax and the music stands out from anything he has done before. These 8 tracks surprise & reward the listener as individual harmonies at first, and finally, as a whole and immersive symphony.

From 'Pablo Bebe’, a track he wrote which is inspired & dedicated to his best friend – to ‘Close the Door’, written in the depths of quarantine, reflecting isolation, loneliness & introspection, & ‘Yoga’ - a song written with his father that can be easily heard filling the dancefloor as well as easy bedroom sessions, this album truly does feel like his most personal work yet.

Eagle’- an utterly unique track born in Pucon, Chile, after meeting opera singer Katy Prado - blends sensibilities of 60s psychedelic rock vocals with Mente’s signature electronica. ‘Dame Un Segundo’ is the lobby track of the album, with Balearic vibes: chilled, jazzy & floaty. Title track ‘El Espacio’ pays homage to Mente’s influences growing up - think Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation & Air - giving us that Trip Hop vibe. ‘Huanini’ is a real groover - a low-key dance track that evokes that ‘start of the night’ feeling of excitement, with heavy experimentation of granular synths.

Finally, rounding the album off with melodies of hope, delight and positivity, ‘Partida’ reminds us that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Silent Room, the duo formed by Enzo Carniel and Filippo Vignato is a conversation.
Between the piano of the first and the trombone of the second, two living forces of the
European jazz scene; between France and Italy; between acoustics and electronics. A
patient dialogue initiated on the benches of the conservatory in Paris, which was nourished
by the music of German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff (to whom the duo paid homage for a
concert at the Cité des Arts in 2014), musical moments shared as a group (Enzo Carniel's
sextet at the Jazz à la Villette festival in particular) and in pairs - for numerous concerts
given on both sides of the Alps - before perfecting their common grammar, giving birth to
their own repertoire, creating their own space.

This first album, Aria, released on the Franco-Japanese label MENACE, was recorded in the
setting of the Villa Cicaletto in Tuscany, whose Silent Room the duo made their own in
September 2019. Carniel had just released Wallsdown, the third elegiac disc of his House of
Echo project (Jazz & People, 2020) and Vignato of an intense live duo recorded with
American cellist Hank Roberts (Ghost Dance, on CamJazz in 2019).

The album is carried by simple melodies, tenuous threads on which the two improvisers who
have slowly got to know each other crisscross and let their voices express themselves. Aria
can refer to the opening of Bach's Goldberg variations, to sung opera arias, but above all to
any expressive melody that develops the imagination. Aria is also the air in Italian: the air
that comes from the breath, the air that fills the room, the air that vibrates and is transformed
into sound. The repertoire is therefore this collection of Arias composed by Enzo Carniel and
Filippo Vignato.

If the duo advocates with this album its jazz heritage - that of improvisation and
conversation, of freedom and virtuosity - and claims to be Carla and Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett,
Gary Valente, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ornette Coleman or John Surman; it also explores the
contemporary colors of electronic music, ambient and Japanese minimalism. The use of the
prepared piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers colors the sound space of the acoustic
piano and trombone. The eponymous composition that opens the album in acoustic, closes
it in an electronic version, illuminating the path of the duo between the two universes.

In the almost plant-like composition "In All Nilautpaula", Enzo Carniel evokes the water lily
(in Sanskrit) coming to purify the water around him. On "Babele", Filippo Vignato invokes the
great question of language: thanks to Arias, and therefore melodies, language becomes
universal through music, and only the sensory experience counts.

Born from Carniel and Vignato's desire to create a sound space that would be filled with as
many melodies as silence, a place for listening, dialogue and meditation, Aria is one of those
rare records that contain entire worlds.

RNXRX returns to VEYL for his debut album, 'Impreciso'. No stranger to the label, the artist first made an appearance on 'Previously Undisclosed Rituals' and then again with 'Sigil', a collection of B-sides which act as the perfect prelude to this offering.
Derived from an alchemy of inspiration, the album is the result of endless nights unearthing samples, vinyl oddities, effects databases from a bygone era and the artist’s own post-processed vocals - imprecise components which all combine perfectly to form this LP.
Unconstrained by genre, 'Impreciso' journeys through strains of body music, psychedelic rock, soundtrack and more, delivering electronic experimentations which expose the artist’s darkest tendencies while
revealing a long admiration of post-punk, hip hop and science fiction’s finest.
Twelve tracks falling somewhere between homage and reinvention, 'Impreciso' operates with 80’s circuitry, throws back to 90’s beat nostalgia and drills into a cyber-verse for a familiar yet unexpected trip perfect for this moment.

Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization is the second album by Swedish rock band The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Heavily influenced bands from the sixties and seventies such as The Rolling Stones and Iggy and the Stooges, the band became popular in both Europa and the United States. Their fame was partially propelled by their songs being featured on popular video game franchises such as FIFA, NHL and Gran Turismo.

The title of this album comes from the Rolling Stones Records’ release of Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka, where the inside liner notes state that “Western Civilization has made us such Psychic Weaklings”. About 50% of the songs on the album were leftover material from the bands debut album, yet this record sounds far more dark and contains influences from psychedelic music. The album was well received and spawned one single: “Black Star”.

Ampoule, doing things their own way since 1998. After repressing two classic Pub records, they now shine a light on the Lucky & Easy archives.

Lucky & Easy's take on IDM and deep techno took in influences from The Black Dog, Torsten Profock and Detroit. Rather than operating out of London, Manchester or Berlin, this stuff was coming from East Kilbride, a new town next to Glasgow thats probably best known for its roundabouts and being the home of Jesus & Mary Chain and Rubadub's very own Mother Mark. Back then it sounded like nothing else and today it still sounds just as vital.

'Cheeky' Speaker' compiles long out of print rarities taken from early Ampoule 12's and their Talent Hoover sub-label and previously unheard mixes.

All remastered and cut by D&M

Some info on the tracks from Lucky & Easy

A1. Bully Swimmer
A2. Kiss It Better
A3. Night Rainbows
B1. Wigged
These are from AMP01EP - Ampoule Records first release, only 480 copies were made never been repressed since. And that master cut was pretty terrible to be fair.

B2. Don't Play With Tractors
Taken from 'Electro Lix Sick' a limited edition 50 x 3"cd on Talent Hoover Discs.

B3. Puddle Pup
Is an exclusive mix of the original 'Puddled Up' which was released on the cd compilation on Ampoule 'Hookahs'

C1. Pimp Soul Sisters
Is an exclusive mix of 'Pimp Sole Blisters' Taken from 'Electro Lix Sick' a limited edition 50 x 3"cd on Talent Hoover Discs.

C2. Kitefinger
Remastered from the original release on the cd compilation on Ampoule's 'Hookahs'

C3. In 3 Minds
Is an exclusive mix of 'In Three Minds' Taken from 'Triple Warmer ep' on Earplug.

D1. Titswing
Titswing was recorded at Rubadub's infamous 69 party in Paisley, Scotland

D2. Pericardium Eight
Pericardium 8* Is an exclusive mix of 'Pericardium Eight' Taken from 'Triple Warmer ep' on Earplug.

Gold Marbled Vinyl

Homoagent’s 3rd EP ‘European Extreme’ operates on the fringes of industrial techno and rhythmic noise. Once again combining the exquisite sound design of Triames and the vintage drum machine worship of Antoni Maiovvi, European Extreme is a four track trip through the dungeons of your mind. Relentless and naked, complex and pure, perfect for dance floors and private films alike.




c b1 2L8[4Shuggoth]

AL presents the first musical collaboration between Hamburg based Asmus Tietchens and Japanese artist Miki Yui, operating out of Düsseldorf for almost 20 years now. Highly respected and hugely influential artist Asmus Tietchens first made his mark on the electronic music scene in the late 1970s, whereas Miki Yui debuted her sonic settings in1999.

Their first joint album NEUES BOOT envelops the listener with a poetic sound sensibility and a conceptual clarity which was processed and passed back and forth between their individual studios in Hamburg and Düsseldorf.

Asmus Tietchens: After Stefan Schneider suggested to release a Yui-Tietchens album on his TAL imprint Miki and I quickly developed some ideas towards our eventual collaboration. We agreed upon an ongoing mutual exchange of material. We have both been very familiar with each other's music for a long time and we found our individual approach towards sound design to be uniquely compatible. We do not use our electronic tools in order to merely achieve the maximum of technical possibilities, but to illustrate aesthetic necessities. This entails a deliberate reduction and refined perception of the sonic characteristics of the material. Only this approach enabled us to fully realise the complete spectrum of the sounds and noises we were working with in order to construct this New Boat. Each and everyone of my treatments is e x c l u s i v e l y based on a track supplied by Miki. I added no new sound sources. Naturally the spatial and temporal dimensions of the source material were thus altered. These transformations are exactly what makes our collaboration special and unique. Very early on we had agreed on New Boat as a working title and a guiding light . Of course in the beginning we had no idea where this New Boat might take us. Now we do know. After several months of ship-building the boat has now set sails for new sonic horizons. Ahoi!

Miki Yui: The title of the album as well as the individual tracks have been inspired by conversations with Asmus. When we had a chat after one of his concerts, he told me about Kōdō, the Art or the Way of the Scent. It is a 8th century Japanese incense ceremony. Very frequently the names of Japanese incense sticks are derived from natural themes, e.g. Bairin is the plum grove, the scent of the first blossom heralding the end of winter. This poetry, the ephemeral nature of the world reminded me of Kigo, words from a Haiku (a form of Japanese poetry), which reference a particular season or a natural phenomenon. So I chose the names of the individual pieces from Kigo as if The Boat was exploring nature whilst sailing through the seasons. Only in retrospect I realised that the titles combined create this poem:

Early spring a hazy view in the night (Oboro)
Plum groves (Bairin)
Over a Dayfly (Kagerou)
A Milkyway (Amanogawa)
Dawn (Akatsuki)
Art of fragrance (Kōdō)
On fragile thin ice (Usurai)

Throughout his vast career, the New York based Australian composer JG Thirlwell has adopted many masks as a means of infiltrating and subsequently subverting a wide range of pop cultural forms. His work under the Foetus moniker has taken on everything from big band to opera to noise-rock. Steroid Maximus embraced exotica and the world of soundtracks, while his Manorexia project continued his quest to the outer limits of contemporary composition and musique concrete. Thirlwell has also carved out a significant output in the field of the soundtrack via the large body of work created for the animated television shows Archer and The Venture Bros. In addition he has been commissioned to create compositions by such notables as Kronos Quartet, Bang On A Can, Alarm Will Sound, String Orchestra of Brooklyn and many others.

Now we have ‘Omniverse’, the second release under the moniker Xordox. Xordox is a synthesizer-based project, and on this evocative album we see the project branch into many new avenues. The science fiction element brushes up against crime noir, even veering into areas that could well fit in the video game soundtrack genre. With an audacious attitude and an arsenal of machines Thirlwell serves up a selection of thrilling retro-future mind capsules. This is music made from a life saturated in culture, both underground and mainstream, high and low. Tense sequencing and noir tinged keyboard lines invoke a powerful visual image of films and memory, of screens and speakers, of sound and space, all entering the cosmos and the subsequent galactic race. Thirlwell’s decades long exploration of sampling and sequencing, composing and ingesting a daunting amount of audio and visual artworks speaks volumes for the bold assimilations exposed here. ‘Between Dimensions’ lays out a tense theme which starts off like a score to a a crime thriller before morphing into a simulacra of Kraftwerk scoring a video game. The living ghosts of Giorgio Moroder and John Carpenter haunt ‘Oil Slick’ as it permeates wormholes, updating lifeforms with its stealth sequencing and tense momentum.

‘Omniverse' is a synthesised soundtrack journey, one which embraces past forms whilst reshaping them for the new unknown. ‘Omniverse' is a thrilling liquid ride through fear and hope, and like all the best of Thirlwell’s output, is simply one hell of an enjoyable journey to take.

Olafur Arnalds' highly anticipated second full-length album '...and they have escaped the weight of darkness', continues his mission to lure an indie-generation of pop and rock fans into an emotive world of beguiling electronic chamber music and delicate classical arrangements. The sense of an organic crossover recording is reinforced by the involvement of co-producer Bar?i J?hannsson of eccentric pop/rock/electronica-formation Bang Gang. Bar?i has successfully coloured the brittle minimalism of previous releases through the addition of an array of new instruments.

Those expecting a mere continuation of the minimal melancholia of his previous albums are therefore in for a surprise, as the record may be the most uplifting and richly orchestrated work of his career: "The album has a very clear theme", Arnalds relates, "which is that there is always light after darkness. To me, it has a more positive note than my previous works." When ?lafur saw how the opening scene of a Hungarian indie film metaphorically described a solar eclipse, he instantly connected it to the concept, naming the album after a key line of the film's introductory monologue. Staying true to this positive note, '...and they have escaped the weight of darkness' will herald another intense year for ?lafur Arnalds, with the album being accompanied by a world tour, starting in China in March 2010.

Born in the suburban Icelandic town of Mosfellsb?r, a few kilometres outside of Reykjav?k, the 23-year old composer has always enjoyed pushing boundaries with both his studio work and his live-shows. His new opus is set to again challenge his fan base, which is still growing rapidly. Over the past eighteen months Arnalds has advanced from a former support-act for Sigur R?s to an internationally respected artists in his own right. He was privileged to be invited to write the 'Dyad 1909' score for award-winning choreographer Wayne McGregor, aired on BBC Four and on ITV1's South Bank Show. 'Found Songs', a collection of pieces each written, recorded and released in a single day via the Erased Tapes label website, as well as the video for 'Lj?si?' have since managed to generate half a million downloads and video views.

In many ways, the new record is clearly inspired and informed by these events. Several of the pieces were, in fact, written on and off throughout his tour and benefit directly from the intensity of the live situation and the emotional roller-coaster-ride of life on the road: "The first half of 'Gleypa okkur' was written in a sound check in Munich, for example", Arnalds relates, "while the second part was scored in Braunschweig, Germany." On the other hand it is the result of meticulous studio work, of refining compositions in close co operation with compatriot Bar?i Johannsson, known for his eccentric personality and unique electro-acoustic sound: "I definitely wanted to do something a bit different this time, something more. Working with a producer was a part of that." The enthusiasm translates to arrangements displaying a new sense of sonic diversity.

?lafur Arnalds has created an even more open and spacious sound and taken his distinct style to a new level. Compared to his previous works, '...and they have escaped the weight of darkness' makes use of diverse instrumentation ? drums, guitars, voice, Rhodes, a selection of subtle synthesisers, alongside Arnalds' trademark piano as well as Tony Levin on bass. Traditional terminologies become void on his latest offering, which blends contrasting elements into an original, entirely organic new language and a sensitive ballet of the mind.

Arnalds fusion of 21st century electronics and classical vocabulary thereby continues to decisively unwrap the sealed-off world of classical music.

Part of Ernesto Chahoud’s ‘Middle Eastern Heavens’ album series, BBE Music reissues Lebanese composer Ihsan Al-Munzer’s 1985 masterpiece ‘Sonatina for Maria’. Al-Munzer’s sixth solo release, the first entirely composed of his own original works, ‘Sonatina for Maria’ takes a step away from the sound of his earlier ‘Belly Dance Disco’ album (reissued by BBE in 2020). This innovative library album features eight synth-driven instrumentals that effortlessly flow through psychedelic pop, cinematic soundtracks and disco music. Taking in a range of styles, the album illustrates Al-Munzer’s skill in composition and arrangement that saw him become one of the busiest arrangers of Lebanon’s 1980s pop scene. The record goes deeper into the Western rhythm Al-Munzer explored at the beginning of his career and brought to his Middle Eastern fusion productions, with the synthesizer still taking centre stage, and the electric guitar, bass and drums ever more present. When Al-Munzer entered Copenhagen’s Sun Studio in 1985 to record ‘Sonatina for Maria’, the composer thought it would be his last ever album. Diagnosed with mouth cancer, he had travelled to Denmark for treatment and decided to make one final work while awaiting his operation. The composer wrote the record during a particularly challenging period in Lebanon too – the country was buckling at its knees: destroyed, bankrupt and beaten after 10 years of civil war. “When I made the album, I had a sad feeling because of the war in Lebanon and it was hard for me to be away from my country at that time” reflects Al-Munzer. Hence, the album has a particular originality and energy across its eight tracks, wrapped up in melancholy and nostalgia for a troubled homeland, as well as showing a lust for life. Dedicated to his then five-year old daughter, title track ‘Sonatina for Maria’ is an up-tempo disco instrumental with a classical theme. Several pop ballads feature on the album, as well as trippy 1980s TV-style soundtrack ‘Dindolo’ and Arabic disco instrumental ‘Mishwar’ (Picnic), revolving around a punchy Middle Eastern melody. The album includes the main theme from the 1983 Lebanese film ‘Al Makhtouf’, one of three films for which Al-Munzer wrote the soundtrack. Directed by Clauda Akl, the film starred iconic Lebanese singer and actress Sabah. ‘Streets of Beirut’ captures the atmosphere of the Lebanese capital’s deserted streets in wartime and the album closes on fast-paced Euro-disco instrumental ‘Gipsy Nights’. Al-Munzer’s five releases from the 1970s and 1980s are part of BBE Music’s Middle Eastern Heavens reissue series, a collection of ground-breaking productions from Lebanon, curated by Lebanese DJ, compiler and music researcher Ernesto Chahoud. Notes by Natalie Shooter, edited by Will Sumsuch.

black vinyl in mirrorboard gatefold jacket with die-cut! Much like the New Orleans-born artist who created it, Second Line is an unapologetic genre bender that pushes boundaries, expands possibilities, and shatters expectations. It's more than just an album: Second Line is a cohesive sensory experience that questions traditional ideas of sound, production, and visual aesthetics as they relate to music. Its interlocking parts tell an epic story about the quest for artistic expression, with Dawn describing her project as "a movement to bring pioneering Black women in electronic music to the forefront." She elaborates: "You never see women appreciated as producers and artists alike _ especially Black women in the electronic space. The time is now for us to start recognizing their talent, not only in electronic music but in all genres. I wanna be the reason why a young Black girl from the South can be whoever she wants to be musically, visually, and artistically." Second Line cuts to the chase with its opening suite of dancefloor bangers, immediately displaying Dawn's mastery of layered production and melodic hooks. Second Line treats Louisiana Creole culture, New Orleans bounce, and Southern Swag as elemental, allowing Dawn to weave in and out of house, footwork, R&B, and more. As she says, "I am the genre." The story of Second Line centers on Dawn's persona King Creole, assassin of stereotypes, a Black girl from the South at a crossroads in her artistic career. To move forward, she decides to look back, but where previous album New Breed took influence from her father, Second Line is illuminated by Dawn's mother. Her proud repeated proclamation of "I'm a Creole Girl" introduces the ecstatic dancehall pop of "Jacuzzi," and later, on the cinematic album centerpiece "Mornin | Streetlights," she answers Dawn's question of how many times she has been in love. Intimate conversations like this between the two are interlaced throughout Second Line, giving credence to how the protagonist came to be, and direction to build a lane forward. It's no surprise that King Creole's story parallels Dawn Richard's. As a founding member of Danity Kane, and later with Diddy's Dirty Money, Dawn was able to explore the ins and outs of commercial pop music. As a solo artist, she opted to selfrelease her music. Over the span of five critically acclaimed full-length albums, Dawn has made the message clear that she will not bow down or bend to industry norms. All the while, she's built her resume with enough extracurriculars to make your head spin: Cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets? Check. Animator for Adult Swim? Check. Owner-operator of a vegan pop-up food truck? Check. Martial arts expert? Check! Second Line embodies the heritage of soul music and the roots of New Orleans, all surrounded by the influences of electronic futurism. "The definition of a Second Line in New Orleans is a celebration of someone's homecoming," says Dawn. "In death and in life, we celebrate the impact of a person's legacy through dance and music. I'm celebrating the death of old views in the industry. The death of boxes and limits. I'm celebrating the homecoming of the Future. The homecoming to the new wave of artists. The emergence of all the King Creoles to come." Dawn Richard is bold, confident, purposeful, and a King throughout Second Line. Are you ready to dance?