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Colored Repress!

'DEEP TRAX VOLUME ONE' is a fine selection of 4 edited, remixed and previously unreleased Trax from the 90s.

The EP starts with a re-dub of the classic 'I Need A Rhythm' and gets you flying with warm 808 beats and minimal jazzy riffs.

The second track on the A-side “Reign Of Swing” comes with a deep, warm bass, dope keys and lots of shuffle!

B1 kicks out the subwoofers with 'All I've Got' and makes the crowd scream - Uuhhhh!

The E.P. ends with 'Swing Ting', a brilliant track that takes you into other dimensions with a flying jazzy flute solo!

"BASELINE CAVI" is a collaboration album between Inland Empire/Los Angeles rapper Trizz and producer MIKE SUMMERS (aka Seven) from Kansas City. The album has that classic Westcoast Hip-Hop sound and the intro track gives that feeling right away. Guest features on the album are from Bino Rideaux, XV, T.F, ICECOLDBISHOP, John Givez and Bale.

Though fans may not know it, this collaboration between Inland Empire California emcee Trizz and Kansas City production ace MIKE SUMMERS has been brewing for close to a decade. Back in 2013 SUMMERS (then known as Seven) was already a prolific producer signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music label and Trizz was part of horrorcore legend Brotha Lynch Hung's Madesicc Muzic roster. The two connected while working on Lynch Hung's "Mannibalector" album and a spark for future work was laid.

Linking up in spring of last year, the two creatively fed off each-other with the resulting album evoking classic West Coast melodicism and car-rattling thump. As Trizz states "this sh*t is so f*ckin authentic. It got bounce, it's swangin' and bangin! When you hear this album, you can feel it and damn near smell the palm trees and bomb ass weed."

As SUMMERS relayed "It's probably different for a lot of my fans to hear a more classic West Coast style of production from me, but that style of production has always been embedded in my sound. I grew up on 90's West Coast Hip-Hops studying producers like DJ Quik and Dr. Dre. The only reason I started using lots of live musicians on my tracks was because I watched Quik do it. BASELINE CAVI really let me dig into that classic L.A. sound that I've always wanted to build with.

Lyrically Trizz's immediately distinctive flow and storytelling abilities are at a new plateau with the emcee admitting "The lyrics on this album are probably more refined and defined because I just turned 30 and I have no more time to waste."

T Dunn’s Timehri Records continues its prolific run of other-worldly sonic expression rooted in UK club music with their fourth EP to add to its ever evolving back catalogue. This time it’s the enigmatic producer Thunderkats stepping up with the ‘Wormhole Dojo’ EP.

Three tracks drawing inspiration from across the club music multiverse… Choose your fighter.

2024 Repress

What if Kraftwerk's "Computer World" had a more dystopian message? Then you would get this album: "Control Paradox" by T/Error. This double 12 inch vinyl is filled with Kraftworkian moments, but is more updated to our current times. Today computers, smart phones, AI and algorithms have taken over our daily lives. This release features 9 original tunes and 3 remixes by none other than: Cygnol, Lloyd Stellar and Heinrich Dressel. The track "Cheerleaders Are Eating Flesh" is a homage to the legendary maestro I-F and his cult hit: "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass".

A collection of unreleased themes and scores from 18 short animated films from the world famous Zagreb School Of Animated Film. Includes Oscar winning short cartoon Ersatz / Surogat by Dusan Vukotic (1961) and many other jazz, electronica and experimental scores by composer Tomislav Simovic. Coined by the famed film theorist Georges Sadoul at the 1959 Cannes Festival, The Zagreb School of Animated Film(s) or The Zagreb School of Animation, was defined as an artistic and philosophical world-view that set its mark on the history of animation in the 60's and 70's. The key feature of the Zagreb School (not educational facility in any kind), was commitment to stylization in contrast with the Disney-style canon of realistic animation. Among many composers that worked in Zagreb Film productions, the name of Tomislav Simovic (1931 - 2014) stands out. In his oeuvre of 300+ film scores (not counting compositions and arrangements for pop singers and jazz orchestras), many were made exclusively for Zagreb film documentaries, fiction shorts, features and animation. Simovic was particularly adept at writing music for cartoons. He skillfully synchronized movement and sound and mixed different musical genres, although, like his peers at the time, he leaned towards jazz. 'The Zagreb School of Animated Film (Original Soundtracks 1961-1982)' is compiled by Leri Ahel (Mutant Disco Radio Show) and Zeljko Luketic (Electronic Jugoton, Ex-Yu Electronica III). Master tapes were considered lost, now found and restored for this epic 2 x LP release celebrating Yugoslavia's animated art shorts. Double vinyl gatefold with extensive liner notes, photographs from the films and exclusive cover artwork by Dejan Krsic (NEP / Nova Evropa).

Discover the emblematic first album of the Africanism All Stars collective led by Bob Sinclar and featuring, among others, Matin Solveig,DJ Gregory,Lego and Eddie Amador... Includes the hits : " Tourment d"Amour ", " Block Party " and " Edony (Clap Your Hands

Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market. Early house music in SA was no different.

When Ron ‘Robot’ Friedman, former bass player for local rockers Rabbitt, was winding down his label On Records in the early 90s, he reached out for new inspiration as the popularity of ‘bubblegum’ disco waned. For one of the label’s final releases he hired young DJ/producer Quentin Foster, obsessed with the new soulful house sound coming out of the US, to take the reins on a studio project dubbed Citi Express.

On Robot’s insistence it included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’ (from 1973’s Innervisions) as the title track. Foster set to work in his home studio, dubbed Tone Def, selecting and re-working other US and UK tracks — ‘It’s Too Late’ (originally released in 1989 by Kelli Sae), ‘Love is the Message’ (influenced by the 70s soul anthem and credited to Gamble & Huff but bearing a closer resemblance to Better Days’ 1990 release written by Steve Proctor), ‘People of The World’ (recorded by Sorell Johnson in the UK in 1990) and ‘Victim of Your Love’ (released in 1990 by Gary Vonqwest as ‘Victim of Love’) — adding some signature South African touches in the process that foreshadow the imminent rise of kwaito. One original composition was added for good measure, ‘Open Invitation’.

The result offers a glimpse into those early days of house, a uniquely South African take on a global sound that still resonates today — reissued for the first time on Afrosynth Records.

With one foot planted in jazz and the other in the township groove of Mbaqanga, saxophonist Sello Mmutung was a powerful crossover figure in the history of popular music in South Africa. Using the stage name Bra Sello, meaning “brother” and used as a term of affection and respect in the jazz community, he came up in the era of shellac 78s as an exponent of the 1960s sax jive sound that brought the swinging rhythm of kwela into the domain of South African jazz. Despite the injection of American rhythm and blues into South African pop in the late-1960s, Bra Sello’s first releases on vinyl on the CBS label saw him backed by the group Abafana Bentuthuko and holding down an unapologetic township sound.

Joining the independent Soweto label under producer Cambridge Matiwane in the mid-1970s, Bra Sello recorded two records in the hit-making bump jive style popularised by serious jazz musician Dollar Brand on the one hand and prolific studio group the Movers, operating in funk and soul territory, on the other. Blending modern American and traditional African elements into joyful hip-swinging rhythms, Butterfly (1975) and The Battle of Disco (1977) reflect the vivacity of urban life in South Africa and document an era when dance music was performed by bands as extended jams laced with jaw-dropping solos. With music trends shifting dramatically in the late-1970s, the title of The Battle of Disco was an ironic call to arms in response to the territory that group musicians were beginning to cede to synthesisers and DJs.

For enthusiasts of African music from the 1970s, a full appreciation of the continent’s output is incomplete without South Africa’s pop-jazz sound providing a regional counterpoint to the funk experimentation of West Africa. Reissued for the very first time, Bra Sello returns in 2023 with limited replica editions from Afrodelic using master tape sources from the As-Shams/The Sun collection. Afrodelic’s unique edition of Butterfly features a previously unreleased track on Side B.

Between 2009 and 2013 Kim recorded a bunch of music; in the old tramtransfer at the Kinkerstraat in Amsterdam (now de Foodhallen), in Berlin living in a biodynamic living community in Lichtenberg & in an apartment on the Hoofdweg in Amsterdam, that doubled as a grow-house.

The title ‘Oostwestkruisbest’ is a combination of the sayings ‘oost west thuis best’ and ‘ieder huisje heeft zijn kruistje’. The first translates as ‘home sweet home’, where the second means every home has its own troubles.

‘Infinity hours remaining’ was made during a prolonged period of sleepless nights. ‘Kopievankopie’ features, amongst other things, a guitar Kim borrowed from his sister. It directly translates as ‘copy of copy’. ‘Die Trommel, der Trum’ was made using a Casiotone 701 with a drummer boy in mind. The title is German for ‘the drum, the dream’. ‘Ongecontroleerde Dagrestanten’ was made with an elastic band (a broad one, that in the Netherlands were used by mailmen) and a clarinet without a mouthpiece. ‘Oostwestkruisbest’ features pots and pans from Kim’s kitchen.

Inherently dark but aflush with pop sensibility, Constellations is the 2014 full-length debut from synthpop duo Dead Astronauts (Jared Kyle and Hayley Stewart). The follow-up to 2013’s eponymous EP, it’s an album full of post-punk and new wave inspiration, sure to please fans of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Depeche Mode.

Midnight Mannequin Records is proud to present this deluxe reissue of Constellations, on vinyl for the very first time. A nearly decade-old synthwave classic is now poised to become a modern darkwave hit. Dead Astronauts has always had one foot firmly on synthwave ground, but the band’s willingness to eschew genre limitations and explore the vast spaces of darkwave, goth and everything in between is one of the main reasons Constellations still feels so fresh and unique. An album way ahead of its time. An album that sees two artists at the top of their game who complement each other perfectly. When Kyle’s deep baritone meets Stewart’s ethereal, subdued delivery, the results are magic. A timeless album now in a timeless format; that magic captured and preserved, tactile and eternal

Limited edition on 2xLP transparent neon pink vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket. Includes OBI strip.

‘Gentle Persuaders’ is the Love Love debut from London based neo-noise-jazz outfit Sly & The Family Drone. In the form of a four track long player, Sly vomit forth a smooth serving of curious and clattering noise not devoid of fun.

With the ingredients of shattering baritone saxophone, splurges of analogue noise, rolling drum derangements and snarling feedback it is immediately clear that these formidable noise-mongers have honed their methods of ear-attack adeptly. Textural spaces are peppered with bouts of densely packed controlled-chaos creating a tension that builds almost imperceptibly until the crushing pay-off that comes with the final track.

The politest of bludgeonings, ‘Gentle Persuaders’ has a real sense of cohesion and style, at times subtle and at others shudderingly direct.

With their unusual and interactive live shows, the group cut their teeth stunning the audiences of punk and noise scenes across the UK and Europe. Now, Sly & The Family Drone present their most complete recording to date; a rush of sheer ataxia ushering in a new age of noise.

Four tracks of esoteric and spatial electronica are served up on Quartz’s debut release for R&S Records.

Via releases for Metalheadz, Rupture London and System Music, amongst others, the ascending producer from Cardiff has impressed with his unique take on drum & bass, and more recently via grime influenced dubstep.

A thrilling hybrid of sounds and rhythms are pulled together on the ‘Deity Spear’ release as Quartz deploys angular breakbeats, gargantuan bass tones, convoluted rhythms, and panoramic sound design across four mesmerising tracks.

The opening track ‘Lilac Cobwebs’ is a reference and homage to his deceased mother, featuring a snippet of one of her last voice notes to him, and a reference to a colour he fondly remembers of her.

A spellbinding and dense release from one of the UK’s most audacious producers.

Most Excellent Unlimited is happy to announce the next release in its series of collaborations with master DJ and editor "Mr. K". Two exceptional deep classic album gems skillfully cut down to a maximum 7" 45rpm format, Luther’s “Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)” and Zulema’s “Giving Up.”

Long before “Never Too Much” and his other solo hits, Luther Vandross was an in-demand backup singer and vocal arranger, working with luminaries like Carly Simon, Bette Midler, and Donna Summer, along with his stand out performances in Change, Bionic Boogie, & so many more. Perhaps his most significant role, however, was backing David Bowie on the 1975 Young Americans album. It was during these sessions that Bowie heard Luther’s song “Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)” and re-tooled it to become the Bowie/Vandross joint composition “Fascination,” which went on to become a successful Bowie single.

For the latest edition of Most Excellent Unlimited’s series of edits, Mr. K has gone back to the original source, credited to the group (not the solo artist) Luther (which also features Christine Wiltshire). Mr. K's technique on this edit is cleverly subtle, in the process giving us the first opportunity to get almost the entire full-length song on compact 7-inch wax, keeping that irresistible building energy that places the track firmly on dancefloor-friendly territory.

“Giving Up” was the opening track on Zulema’s second LP, and given the drama of the intro, with its rolling piano, string ensemble, and piercing guitar, it’s not hard to hear why it was effective in that role. Mr. K’s edit benefits from a crystal clear remastering in which each element of the band is distinct in the soundfield, led by Zulema’s gutsy vocals upfront. Originally a 1964 Gladys Knight tearjerker that crept along at a tango’s pace, Zulema’s 1973 cover gives the song a new, powerfully soulful arrangement, championed by such disparate eras and tastemakers as Nicky Siano at the Gallery in the ’70s and breakbeat hunters the Beatnuts in the ’90s that has easily found favor with a wide variety of listeners and DJs, and this new issue should solidify that position. Never before available on 7-inch, “Giving Up” is a bonafide funk and proto-disco classic —

Mysteries Of The World is the stunning final studio album from legendary Philly supergroup MFSB. Expertly co-written and produced with the mighty Dexter Wansel, it features the untouchable, sparkling masterpiece "Mysteries Of The World". The whole album is truly exquisite; a stylish, classy collection of pure Philly soul and orchestral jazz-funk.

MFSB, an acronym for Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, was formed by producers Gamble & Huff of Philadelphia International Records. The band's roots can be traced back to the house band at the legendary Sigma Sound Studios, where they played on numerous hit records by artists like The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Stylistics. Mysteries Of The World comprises slick jazz-funk grooves, mostly penned by Wansel, who produced a fair chunk of the album in a similar style to his space-funk records. MFSB's smooth sound is retained but it receives a fresh, elegant and jazzy upgrade. While this album is as mellow as the rest of the latter-period MFSB recordings, it never forgets the group's soul music underpinnings.

Swaggering, well-timed horn blasts, sweeping strings and a percolating, hard thumping slap-bassline combine to devastating effect on amazing opener "Manhattan Skyline". It's a sexy mid-tempo instrumental which sets us up nicely for what follows. Essays could be written analysing the perfection of title track. Arguably the finest jazz-funk instrumental ever made, it's absolutely magnificent. Featuring musicianship of the highest calibre, the band play with their trademark tight discipline, cooking up a syncopating rhythm with an array of exploratory keyboard riffs wrapped around a punchy bassline sent from heaven. It sounds like house music, it's that ahead of its time. The string intro is sumptuous, hypnotic and divine and that's all before the beat hits. The track fuses classical, jazz and funk into a musical journey that you never want to end. Absolutely flawless, it's a dramatic disco dancefloor killer.

Says Dexter Wansel himself: "You know, of all the songs I wrote/produced/arranged for MFSB, this is for me the most different. I think it's an experiment in rhythmic, soft sonic synth and live string and harp combinations. I composed it in an effort to blend a funky groove, along with synthesis, and orchestral sounds. There are 3 synthesizers: Oberheim 4 voice, Polymoog, and of course Arp 2600v. And, as I remember, I recorded the track with the rhythm section, string, harp and flute players first. Then I added synthesis."

The profound elegance remains in abundance on the slinky, harp-laced "Tell Me Why"; Carla Benson's beautiful voice truly shines on this sophisticated cut. The side closes out in dramatic style with the string-drenched "Metamorphosis". It's a staccato, Blaxploitation groove workout featuring wah-wah guitar, creeping basslines, rich horn solos and soulful vocals drifting in and out of the mix. The bouncy, irrepressible "Fortune Teller" opens the B side in the bass-heavy orchestral funk style before the beautiful "Old San Juan" glides in, a Balearic-adjacent track with intricate arrangements, building its mellow soul groove around an atypical flamenco guitar hook. Melancholy, guitar-led instrumental "Thank You Miss Scott" is a real highlight, with gorgeous flute, string and percussive elements whilst closer "In the Shadow" works an otherworldly synth line into its bossa nova groove.

An essential record for fans of Philly soul and groovy jazz-funk, Mysteries Of The World was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Ralston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The stunning artwork, the work of renowned illustrator Robert Giusti, was restored at Be With HQ to round out this beautiful reissue.

Long Beach legend Scotty Coats links the West Coast eclecticism of Stones Throw to the NYC cool of DFA and Rong to the Balearic gods of DJ Harvey et al. He personally introduced Be With to Ned Doheny 10 years ago and he was immortalised on Smith & Mudd's last LP. And he's the main man behind the mysteriously titled duo Todd Russell & The Dangerous Coats, alongside Erick "Todd" Coomes (Lettuce founder/bassist).

In very real danger of being lost forever, we unearthed two of their private recordings and present them as a double A-Side 12", adorned with S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G artwork, courtesy of Arizona artist Frank Gonzales.

"Playa Larga" is a melodic, mellow masterpiece and is quintessentially Balearic. It's stretched out, low slung, guitar-soaked drum-machine soul music. It's multi-layered and contains multitudes: it builds and builds and builds and mesmerises as it does so. On the flip, "1900 Ocean Avenue" is a super slo-mo, sunbaked drug-chug which is already blowing minds thanks to early leaks of this cosmic, psychedelic detonation.

On first listen back, Erick said to Scotty: “So wait, nothing really happens, I mean nothing bad happens but nothing really happens”. Apparently these tracks were a bit foreign for Erick, musically, because of the lack of structure in the songs.

One morning, years later, Erick called Scotty and excitedly declared: “dude, I get it now!”. He was listening to random music with a lady friend while watching the sunrise in his 1900 Ocean Ave apartment and "Playa Larga" came on randomly. He'd forgotten all about it and said he had to get up and see what song it was because "it was the perfect soundtrack for a psychedelic sunrise over the ocean."

And that's exactly how we came across it, circa 2018, randomly popping up on a playlist while we were busy doing other things. It stopped us in our tracks but, when trying to find any info on iTunes, we were out of luck. It was only years later that we worked out Scotty had sent it to us. Ever since, we've been working on getting this out to you all. It's finally time.

We've only 500 pressed for the world, with many of them spoken for by those lucky enough to be already ITK, so these are gonna fly: be warned!

Scotty is a world class raconteur so we'll hand over to him to explain how these songs came about and why they mean so much to him in the context of his wider raison d'être:

"These were made 13 years ago when I was a new dad and left my job at Ubiquity Records to provide security for my newborn son, Nolan Liam Chai Coats. I became miserable working a job outside of music for the first time in my life and I was laid off 4 months into it. I was left wondering how the fuck am I going to provide for my family?

I lived in Long Beach and Erick lived a few blocks away. I would walk to his house when Jen finally got Nolan to sleep so I could escape my panic, drink some beers (is it beerlearic?) and make some music. He lived overlooking the ocean with the Queen Mary on the horizon, so I guess mellow Long Beach nights unintentionally inspired the music. These songs were the first two songs we ever made and they embody the desperation and hope I really needed at that time. 12 years later, when Rob at Be With expressed an interest in releasing it, we had Erick's brother Tyler Tycoon Coomes play drums on it at Jazzcats Studio in LBC, with Jonny Bell.

Shortly after I was laid off, I discovered The Stepkids. I was blown away by "Shadows On Behalf" and sent it on to Gilles Peterson. He played it on Worldwide the next day. The Stepkids pulled me back into music and made me realize I wasn't prepared to do anything but be involved with music. After I heard their unreleased album, I knew there was something there so I sent it to my good friend Jamie Strong who was at Stones Throw at the time. Jamie passed it along to Peanut Butter Wolf and the band asked me to be their manager. I didn't think I was the right guy for the job but wanted to see them do well so I told them I would help shop their album. Jamie suggested I take his place at Stones Throw, just as he did when he left Ubiquity Records. I always joke that Jamie can call me Scotty Coat Tails because I had been riding his for years.

Wolf told him that "Scotty is a nice guy but has horrible taste in music", which was ironic because he was literally trying to sign the band that I brought him. The Stepkids signed with Stones Throw and found a real manager. 6 or so months later Jamie sent me a note saying "Stones Throw is hiring and you should apply lol". I told him I was going to send my resume and the subject of the email was to read I HAVE GREAT FUCKING TASTE IN MUSIC. I did just that and got a call the next day from their new GM asking me to come in for an interview. When I walked in I was in Wolf's office where I had been 6 months before, signing The Stepkids
deal. Wolf and Jason McGuire were asking me some questions and wanted to introduce me to Jeff Jank. Jank walked in and said "Isn't this the guy that Jamie wanted to bring on 6 months ago?" They confirmed and he threw his hands up and walked out saying "I've seen enough". I got the job. I worked there for 2 or 3 years until I left to join forces with Jamie Strong at his label and stayed there for almost 7 years."

Scotty wanted to use a painting by his good friend, Frank Gonzales, for the front cover image. Frank was incredibly generous in letting us use this one, and Scotty was completely honoured. We think you'll agree, it's pretty striking. Simon Francis carefully mastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this double A-side 12" sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure these previously unheard, recently discovered recordings finally get a chance to shine.

Carved out from between the cracks of life over a 2 year period, Low Flung presents his eighth full length album ‘The Wheel’. Together, the 11 tracks provide a space to process and sit with difficult change. This takes the form of microscopic minimalist landscapes. Presented in both audio and physical form as micro grooves on a 12” vinyl.

At times the sound wanders and walks, other times it remains still, clear and precise. The omni-present artifacts found in ‘The Wheel’ are left to breathe a different life during each listen. Drones act like familiar trails losing their path as space transforms like a breeze over a table of sand. Hyper focused spores evolve around blurred waves of time. Electronic tones are captured flowing to the rhythm of a decaying natural world.

‘The Wheel’ is a patchwork of sonic experiments made using modular synthesis, fixed architecture synthesis, Buchla Music Easel (replica), outboard effects, cassette manipulation techniques, samplers and field recordings taken along the texturally rich and historically questionable eastern coastline of Australia.

The tracks have been composed with a materiality that embraces the acoustics of different listening environments. Much like mood, this means each listening experience is unique due to the natural acoustics of your listening space. The sounds on this album embrace this phenomena, creating a rich, visceral listening experience that slowly scratches away at discrete moments of time

Rather than attempting to traverse new sonic fields of experimentation in ‘The Wheel’, the album touches on the various spaces Danny has explored over the past ten years as an Audio Visual artist. Although technically eighth, it would be more fitting to say this album draws a clear line from ‘Blow Waves (2018)’ to ‘Outside The Circle (2020)’ to become the third and final chapter in the expanded non linear, unintentional landscape series. Serendipitous that each was conceived over 2 year periods of time.

While the key focus is sitting with difficult change, this album is also a celebration of any moment you might find yourself in. Good, bad, easy or hard, this album is an attempt to help with feeling content wherever you are along your path. With each cycle a new context.

Kapture proposes, for their third installment, the highly intense and deeply introspective vision of Mera, accompanied by a remix for the ages by SIT. Early support by a:rpia:r, Cezar, Mihai Pol and Los Bastoneros amongst others.

A new perspective is coming from the beaches of Acapulco bay.

Colourful shirts and sensual moves in the shade of palm trees. Presenting the new extravaganza duo “Acapulco Heat”. Comprised of none other than Felipe Valenzuela and new wonder boy, Ossios. 3 tracks to embody different moments and occasions for a set full of mindfulness and unique vibes. Serious but not so serious, futuristic but present, “Intellectuelle EP” will make you surf your inner self. Direct hit for the body with an innovative consistency. Undeniably timeless music to keep in your mind and in your record bag. Extra bonus remix by american producer Titonton Duvante.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’s acclaimed 2010 album Here Lies Love receives its first-ever vinyl release to coincide with a new production opening on Broadway this summer. Here Lies Love is a double-disc song cycle – improbably poignant, decidedly surreal, surprisingly thought provoking – about the rise and fall of the Philippines' notorious Imelda Marcos. It was conceived by David Byrne; composed by Byrne and DJ/recording artist Fatboy Slim, AKA Norman Cook; and performed by a dream cast drawn from the worlds of indie rock, alt country, R&B and pop. Byrne's taste in collaborators is as imaginative as it is impeccable, including Cyndi Lauper (who recounts, to lighthearted disco beats, Imelda's courtship with Ferdinand Marcos), Steve Earle (as the power-hungry Ferdinand), Dap-Kings vocalist Sharon Jones (recalling Imelda's introduction into New York society) and Natalie Merchant (as spurned Imelda confidante Estrella, anticipating the onset of martial law). Along with vocals turns from such stars as Tori Amos and the B-52's Kate Pierson, Byrne works with rising indie rockers St. Vincent and My Brightest Diamond; New York chanteuses Nellie McKay and Martha Wainwright; and dance-music divas Róisín Murphy and Santigold. Byrne himself appears as the voice of imperialistic America on ‘American Troglodyte’, a send-up that wouldn't have seemed out of places in Talking Heads' True Stories.



Byrne originally envisioned this as a musical theatre piece, to be mounted in disco and nightclub settings, reflecting the globe-trotting Marcos' taste for such velvet-roped spots as Studio 54 and Regine's. In 2006, he performed work-in-progress versions to enthusiastic audiences at New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. While plans for a US theatrical production continued to evolve, he delivered this unique recording. The award-winning theatrical production eventually premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2013, travelled to London’s National Theater for a sold-out run (2014–15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017).



Here Lies Love has an effervescent disco feel, redolent of Fatboy Slim's own dance-floor anthems, with warm undercurrents of the Latin rhythms that have percolated through Byrne's recent solo work. The sunny arrangements act in counterpoint to the reality of the Marcos' increasingly repressive regime, reflecting the imagined inner life of the glamour-obsessed Imelda. Explains Byrne, "For me, the darker side of the excesses are, for the most part, a matter of record. A lot of the audience is going to come with that knowledge already. What's more of a challenge is to get inside the head of the person who was behind all of that, and understand what made them tick." Byrne offers no judgment and avoids the obvious – there is no mention of Imelda's infamous shoe collection.



Many of Byrne's lyrics are, astonishingly enough, constructed from actual Imelda quotes, including the project's title, the words that Imelda, now returned to the Philippines from US-assisted exile in Hawaii, would like to have inscribed on her gravestone. In addition to his new liner note, Byrne illustrates the story with archival photos. In a detailed preface, he reveals what drew him to this subject and the bumpy route he took to launch the project and, ultimately, record this album. The booklet is indeed a page-turner, just as Here Lies Love is a wonderfully old-school album that rewards start-to-finish listening. Once again, Byrne – beloved as musician, thinker and bicyclist-about-town – reveals the breadth and singularity of his vision.



The new production of Here Lies Love will premiere at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Performances begin June 17, ahead of an official opening night on July 20. Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (direction) and Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson (choreography) reunite with Byrne (concept, music, and lyrics) and Fatboy Slim (music) to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway, continuing a ten-plus year collaboration on the project. Tom Gandey and J Pardo contribute additional music. Here Lies Love is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna for Plate Spinner Productions, Clint Ramos, and Jose Antonio Vargas. The staging at the Broadway Theatre will transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theatre’s reconstructed space. The producers of Here Lies Love said, “As a team of binational American producers – Filipinos among us – we are thrilled to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway! We welcome everyone to experience this singularly exuberant piece of theatre. The history of the Philippines is inseparable from the history of the United States, and as both evolve, we cannot think of a more appropriate time to stage this show. See you on the dance floor!”



David Byrne’s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love; Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent (2012); and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).



Byrne curated Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group Talking Heads (1976–88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing. He lives in New York City. In addition to 2019’s cast album for American Utopia on Broadway, Nonesuch has released eight other David Byrne records since 2003, including 2018’s American Utopia studio album and two versions of his musical Here Lies Love.



















q C6. Please Don't feat. Santi White Santigold

The dynamic duo of Komponente & Kurilo from the Ukrainian label Trance Pandemic are preparing for their next sold-out record. This “Defenders” EP is made from tracks, that were made before the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine and also it is the continuation of “For A Brave” EP.

The main track of the release, also called “Defenders” is a signature piece for their duo. Moderately slow and calm, that evolves into something bigger around the third minute. The mayhem of sounds with that hell’s bells also. And there’s a little Easter egg at 1:29. If you know the sample – you’ll smile for a bit.

The record starts with “Victory”. Bold, a bit broken at the beginning piece, that is also evolving. This time we’re talking about the structure. The straight one comes after that broken start. “Kharkiv Mnemonic” also has some bells inside, paired with a nice, bubbling acid and a heavenly melody a bit closer to the end. The calmest track on the release.

Last, but definitely not least (the choice for the pick was between these two from the B-side) is “Broken Dreams”. Still can’t get enough of that break that we know lately from Alec Falconer’s release on Art Of Dark (not that lately, to be honest) and a dozen of other tracks. Here it’s hidden a bit in the back, so we can hear another kinda trancey and melancholic melody in full.

This new released is dedicated to fans of minimal house and rominimal. Mihai Popoviciu, Christian Burkhardt, Octave and Nicolas Duvoisin are worthy representatives of these musical currents. On the A side, Christian Burkhardt brings with "Buto" a jazzy, happy orientation mixing funny keyboard, catchy bass and repetitive sound whereas "The Message" by Octave is a romantic and hypnotic ballad that will enchant you with its languorous atmosphere. On the other side, Nicolas Duvoisin's "Kempin" is a trippy dancefloor track as it has the secret of production. And finally, enter the acidulous mood of Mihai Popoviciu's "Fast Forward" with its rhythm always calibrated and like no other.

Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles, a deluxe collector's
edition box set, contains seven 12" vinyl discs presenting
singles--including Wrong, Peace, the double A-side Fragile
Tension/Hole To Feed--alongside B-sides, remixes, dub
versions and other recordings contemporaneous to Depeche
Mode's 12th studio album, Sounds Of The Universe, originally
released by Mute Records in April 2009.
Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles offers a full range of
ear-grabbing mixes--radio, club, dub and more--of Depeche
Mode originals with three discs (Discs Two, Four and Seven)
newly compiled for this collection, bringing together B-sides
and mixes first released across CD and maxi-singles
contemporaneous to the album's release.
When it came time to record the Sounds Of The Universe
album, DM's classic core (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew
Fletcher) returned to the studio to make their second album
with producer Ben Hillier, whose intuitive contributions to
their previous studio album, 2005's Playing The Angel, had
created new sonic possibilities for the band expanding
Depeche Mode's vision and repertoire while continuing their
tradition of issuing monumental 12“ singles.

After a 3-year break, the Germany-based label Malonian is back. The label's ninth release comes from the Berlin producer Mental Carnival, who should be known for his Big City Jungle / Fresh EP on La Pena Shots.

This EP features 4 unique tracks that sound like the producer made them specifically for the dancefloor of the romanian Sunwaves Festival. Because that's where the idea for the label with the subtitle "Based on friendships which started in Mamaia" was born in 2014. As usual, the record comes with the label's typical artwork and full cover.

Popular DJs like Ricardo Villalobos, Zip, Margaret Dygas, Sonja Moonear, Raresh, Rhadoo, Petre Inspirescu a:rpia:r, Dan Andrei, Pralsea, Fumiya Tanaka, Barac, Fabe, Arno and many others are already playing this record at this summer's festivals & parties .

Blending ambient, drone, krautrock, psychedelic, house music elements into a unique sonic universe... that's what Cloudland Canyon is known for! This American experimental music project led by Kip Uhlhorn comes with the release of their new self-titled LP on the always trustworthy Medical Records! The band continues to explore the boundaries of sound and space, taking the listener on a journey through lush soundscapes and immersive textures. Formed in 2002, Cloudland Canyon has released several critically acclaimed albums, including "Fin Eaves," "Lie In Light," and "An Arabesque."

Their recent releases have been produced by Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3/Spectrum. With each release, Uhlhorn has pushed the envelope of experimental pop music, collaborating with various musicians and producers to create intricate and otherworldly compositions. This time around Uhlhorn collaborated primarily with AI to generate and create a compositions that sound like they are meant for an alternate realm where both beauty and suffering are both present, but not at odds with one another. AI has helped Uhlhorn take one step further into the transfigurative looking glass.

The new LP, marks a new chapter in Cloudland Canyon's journey, expanding their sonic palette to include elements of techno and electronic music while still retaining their signature dreamy atmospheres. The album is a journey through a sonic landscape that is at once futuristic and nostalgic, evoking the feeling of driving down an endless highway into the sunset. Past musical collaborators have included some of the most exciting musicians working today, including Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3, Wayne Coyne & Kliph Scurlock of Flaming Lips, David Scott Stone of the Melvins, Unwound,& LCD Soundsystem, Dean & Britta from Galaxie 500 & Luna, and Jody Stephens from Big Star to name a few. "S/T" is a testament to Cloudland Canyon's ability to collaborate and create music that is both innovative and accessible. Whether you are a longtime fan or a newcomer to Cloudland Canyon's music, "S/T" is a must-listen for anyone interested in the possibilities of experimental music in the 21st century. With its combination of analog and digital textures, hypnotic rhythms, and expansive soundscapes, it is a journey you won't soon forget.

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion.

These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.

After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release, Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit, spirit, and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s.

Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as What's Going On, Call Me, Night Beat, and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks, Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency, effortlessness, and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization.

In combining four of the era's predominant styles – Philly soul, sweaty funk, Southern-reared blues, acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums, Still Bill occupies a distinct universe.

Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion.

Withers' balanced outlook on human desires, needs, and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability.

"I mean look, I'm really a factory worker," said Withers in 1972. "That's a real job." There's that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality, wedded to a belief in simplicity, and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple.

Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" and heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Don't Want You on My Mind" with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the record's other big hit: the sexual, funk-laden "Use Me," which reached No. 2 and reflects the singer's everyman persona. It's an identity couched in keeping it real, the very inclination that ultimately led Withers to retire in the mid-'80s rather than bend to industry pressures or risk credibility.

That commitment to truthfulness and realism helps make Still Bill feel as unaffected as the air we breathe. Looking back on "Lean on Me" years later, Withers said it seemed like "something that was there before I got here" – the kind of song that could be 100 or 10 years old, or one we encounter anew 10 years into the future. The same can be said for every note on Still Bill.

For fans of psych rock, space rock, psych-prog, noise rock etc
Their journey started a long time ago, some say on Saturn, some say in the subconscious of the human psyche, coming out in different manners through the ages, channelled by mystics, witch doctors, shamans, free thinkers, free spirits. But we do know that what has become Codex Serafini travelled here from their home world on Enceladus in 2019 and crash landed into the music scene of Sussex.
Invoking many styles of psychedelic rock from the recent human musical history to open the minds of their human audience to the other world, and higher plane.

After releasing two EP’s, ‘Serpents of Enceladus’ in 2020 and ‘Invisible Landscape’ in 2021 Codex Serafini embarked on their most immersive journey so far creating what would become ‘The Imprecation Of Anima’ an exploration of the self, the duality of the human existence. The album is heavy, much heavier than their previous output and the albums longest song, ‘Animus in Decay’ is longer than either of the bands previous EP’s.

It snakes and weaves an epic motif through the wilderness of the sometimes barren lands of the unconsciousness, focusing the mind with it’s almost heavy metal mantra and using this to open up the third eye to the realisation of our mortal existence. The whole album is a pilgrimage into one's inner self and its relationship with its own shadow in its truest form, two parts coming together as a whole.