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Creole Culture is the triumphant return of Dawn Richard’s King Creole era. Steeped in history but with its flag planted firmly in the future, Creole Culture pulls elements from Richard’s heritage as a Black and Native American woman who has spent a lifetime making and engaging with music. Following New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021), Creole Culture is akin to a panel of a triptych: a fully-realized sonic and narrative universe in which Richard, as King Creole, rebuilds her hometown of New Orleans in her image. She not only honors her city for what it was or what it gave her, but stakes a claim for it as a cradle of global culture now and for all time.


Creole Culture follows two acclaimed avant-garde R&B albums with composer Spencer Zahn — the later of which, 2024’s Quiet in a World Full of Noise, found Richard exorcising the specters of grief and trauma in the wake of her father Frank Richard’s health struggles and the killing of her cousin Cisco. It is a softer take on the brass-soaked swagger of Richard’s previous King Creole efforts, an evolution brought about when she realized she had left a crucial viewpoint out of her exploration of New Orleans: her own. “New Breed was the story of New Orleans through my father’s eyes,” Richard explains. “I used his samples, his music, his cultures, his work with Chocolate Milk, his side of the family. Second Line was my mom — her interludes riddled the album with her depiction of what is meant to be a Creole woman in New Orleans. The masculine and feminine sides of King Creole had expressed themselves through them, but the story felt unfinished, like my version of the story was untold.”
That story is, for lack of a better word, complex: at turns triumphant and tragic, sexy and mournful, braggadocious and contemplative. Creole Culture presents Richard’s New Orleans as a utopian soundscape — an intoxicating blend of R&B, soul, hip-hop, pop, and jazz — that’s survived and thrived despite the dystopian circumstances visited upon it. Richard presents the melange of influence and artifact on Creole Culture with the care of a botanist nurturing new hybrids in a rose garden.


What emerges from that care is at once delightful and unexpected, enlisting a crew of guest stars including Big Freedia, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and Durand Bernarr for features that play against type. Tank’s turn at spoken word verse on “l v r” serves to add dimension to King Creole’s New Orleans, as does Joseph’s undeniable voice on “chuuuurch.” “I’m not normally a features girl,” says Richard, ”but King Creole can’t build a world from scratch without help. What’s beautiful about the features here — which is also true of my band and producers — is they come from people who understand the materials of the world they’re from, they’re people I love, and they’re people who are just extraordinary at what they do. They’re part of the atmosphere of this place. You need them for the record to breathe.”
In the end, that’s what King Creole creates: a space where Dawn Richard can breathe, can be at peace with herself, and let loose with others. From finding love in opening single “enough” to relishing in the Afrocaribbean futurism of “fiesta,” Creole Culture is a tremendous, freeing breath of fresh air. It captures the resolve of a woman and a place who’ve survived the unimaginable and sees the future not as something to be endured, but as something to be created. Dawn Richard has been making that future one album at a time over the course of her career. Creole Culture is her most stunning one yet.

Danielle Ponder is done waiting for a future version of herself to arrive. Now, the Rochester-born, Atlanta-rooted singer-songwriter is unapologetically living in the moment. This realization powers Everything Has Changed, Ponder's anticipated sophomore album (and debut on Dead Oceans in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers). The LP is Ponder’s most self-assured statement to date: it was crafted through a period of immense transformation as the beloved vocalist propelled from being a lawyer to a full-fledged musical powerhouse. That artistic freedom threads the album, as heard on lead single, “Power”, which serves as both a declaration and an affirmation for the Black diaspora. Other highlights include the revelatory “Sun and Moon”, the towering blues ballad “God of You”, and the devastatingly vulnerable “Open Windows”. Everything Has Changed dismantles the stories Ponder once told herself and finds peace in what remains—all themes that have shaped much of her journey. Music was always a constant presence throughout her life, but practicality initially took over in adulthood. While performing with her family’s band and later developing her own projects, Ponder pursued a legal career focused on criminal justice reform.

It wasn’t until her late 30s that she allowed herself to seriously imagine music as more than a side pursuit. In 2021, at age 39, she finally took the leap, leaving law behind to pursue her artistry full-time. The gamble paid off: she signed her first record deal in 2022, becoming a trailblazer on her own unusual path to worldwide renown. Her debut album Some of Us Are Brave introduced Ponder as one of soul music’s most compelling new voices, thanks to singles like “Someone Like You”, “Roll The Credits,” and the empowering title track. The LP earned critical acclaim along with dozens of major sync placements, including the latest Apple campaign for the iPhone 16 Pro. She’s since had four major TV appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! Ponder has also sold out shows across North America and Europe, including festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Afropunk, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
But if that album documented her arrival, Everything Has Changed documents her evolution.

Danielle Ponder is done waiting for a future version of herself to arrive. Now, the Rochester-born, Atlanta-rooted singer-songwriter is unapologetically living in the moment. This realization powers Everything Has Changed, Ponder's anticipated sophomore album (and debut on Dead Oceans in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers). The LP is Ponder’s most self-assured statement to date: it was crafted through a period of immense transformation as the beloved vocalist propelled from being a lawyer to a full-fledged musical powerhouse. That artistic freedom threads the album, as heard on lead single, “Power”, which serves as both a declaration and an affirmation for the Black diaspora. Other highlights include the revelatory “Sun and Moon”, the towering blues ballad “God of You”, and the devastatingly vulnerable “Open Windows”. Everything Has Changed dismantles the stories Ponder once told herself and finds peace in what remains—all themes that have shaped much of her journey. Music was always a constant presence throughout her life, but practicality initially took over in adulthood. While performing with her family’s band and later developing her own projects, Ponder pursued a legal career focused on criminal justice reform.

It wasn’t until her late 30s that she allowed herself to seriously imagine music as more than a side pursuit. In 2021, at age 39, she finally took the leap, leaving law behind to pursue her artistry full-time. The gamble paid off: she signed her first record deal in 2022, becoming a trailblazer on her own unusual path to worldwide renown. Her debut album Some of Us Are Brave introduced Ponder as one of soul music’s most compelling new voices, thanks to singles like “Someone Like You”, “Roll The Credits,” and the empowering title track. The LP earned critical acclaim along with dozens of major sync placements, including the latest Apple campaign for the iPhone 16 Pro. She’s since had four major TV appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! Ponder has also sold out shows across North America and Europe, including festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Afropunk, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
But if that album documented her arrival, Everything Has Changed documents her evolution.

Moulded By Industry is William D Drake's six album, his first for ten years and a return to the richly layered sonic texture and epic production of his majestic Briny Hooves. He is joined by long time collaborators James Larcombe, Dean Gaisburgh-Watkyn and Steve Jackson, with the addition of a new crew member, singer Treana Morris. Moving on from his nine years of pianistic and compositional duties in Cardiacs, Drake's solo work has been known for its synthesis of Mellotron-driven grandeur with a surreal playfulness.

But the deep heart of Drake's work is in its powerful evocation of the landscape of the countryside and its connection with love, longing and loss. To this end, his own enigmatic lyrics have rubbed shoulders with poetry drawn from across the centuries. From obscure sources such as Samuel Spree to the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Rupert Brooke, his settings make old words shimmer with human emotion. The texture of his music also reflects an inspirational lack of concern for distances of time. The earthy breath of his harmonium is interwoven with tones teased from archaic instruments by James Larcombe – hurdy-gurdy, dulcitone and melodeon.

But Drake's sound-world is no museum. Here, ancient words and the timbres of ancient instruments become one with the rush of a moment's emotion. Moulded By Industry brings this approach a new sonic depth, intoxicatingly shaded by Treana's lush vocal harmonies and underpinned by Steve's rhythm. Dean's evocative guitar textures give an oceanic sense, tinged with Americana, recalling his work with Drake in their alt country band Nervous. These many layers of sound are drawn together into vivid soundscapes by the painterly mixing of producer Ott. Renowned for his work in electronica and dub, Ott's two decades of experience working with artists such as Sinéad O'Connor, the Orb and Brian Eno bring an organic touch here, more akin to the elemental forces of land and sky than grid electricity. More than any of Drake's previous albums, Moulded By Industry reignites the emotional urgency of old texts. The gorgeous single The Flickering Shade, haunted by glimmers of lost possibilities, is set from words by Thomas Ashe. Turtledove's heady evocation of the blissful madness of love sets the words of an anonymous 17th century ballad. above all, the album is a testament to Drake's love of John Clare, 'The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet'. Clare wrote as the centuries old process of enclosure, in which wild and common land was appropriated commercially, was accelerating.

His works, rather than representing simple sentimentality, are passionate love poems to the landscape and cries from a soul reeling from the creeping unfamiliarity devouring it. This sense of the tension between passion and ill-ease has its most potent expression in Green Shadows. The brooding, slow-tempo energy of Steve's drums drive a horizon-wide lament, alternately lulled by Treana's vocal textures and made restless by James' plaintive hurdy-gurdy and the emotive pull of Dean's slide guitar. The present moment is also a time of enclosure, both metaphorically, as our lives, memories and emotions are drawn into the commercial space of social media, and literally as land and water are swallowed by vast data centre developments. Moulded By Industry celebrates a regained sense of being in the moment in the landscape, in life and in love. The album closes with the utterly delightful single Love In The Universe. The kind of song that could make a cynic use the word 'joyous' without irony, this Harry Nilsson-esque romp reassures us, with a wink, that 'in an infinite universe everything has its place ... even the human race'.

OK, so the original pressing of the Heartstopper vinyl box set sold out in 2.5 hours.... Incredible!
We're making another version available. This is basically the same version, except it's NOT numbered. Also, this pressing will be released on October 9.

Heartstopper is the critically acclaimed Netflix coming-of-age romance that has captured the hearts of millions around the world. Based on the bestselling graphic novels and webcomic by Alice Oseman, the story follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson as they navigate friendship, love, identity, and growing up. Praised for its authentic representation and warmth, Heartstopper has become a cultural phenomenon, earning a devoted global fanbase and widespread critical acclaim. The series comprises three seasons, which aired between 2022 and 2024, followed by a feature-length film in 2026.

An essential part of the series’ emotional impact is its music. Across the series and film, Adiescar Chase’s music beautifully underscores the characters’ journeys, capturing the excitement of first love, the uncertainty of growing up, and the quiet intimacy of everyday moments. Her compositions have become an integral part of the Heartstopper experience, adding depth and atmosphere to the story’s most memorable scenes.

In collaboration with Netflix, Music On Vinyl proudly presents the complete Heartstopper soundtrack on vinyl for the very first time. This deluxe box set brings together the original scores from all three seasons of the series and feature film across four releases, pressed on stunning marble-coloured records in blue, pink, yellow, and orange, and housed in a beautifully crafted collector’s box. The set is complemented by an 8-page booklet featuring exclusive liner notes by Alice Oseman, four A4 art cards showcasing the original artwork from each release, and a Heartstopper diary for personal use, inspired by the series. Together, these carefully curated elements make this the definitive collector’s edition, celebrating the music and legacy of Heartstopper in a truly special format.

Sudanese rising star and oud player Sulaf transforms her refugee exile into ABA — blending Nubian roots with modern soundscapes in collaboration with producer Maxime Kosinetz (Imarhan, Tinariwen, Gruff Rhys). Drawing on the Sufi poetry of her great-grandfather, she captures loss, identity, and resilience, carrying Sudan’s spirit across borders with haunting power and emotional depth

„Öd“ marks the long-awaited return of Institut für Feinmotorik - the Black Forest collective known for using eight prepared turntables to investigate acoustic micro-phenomena generated by everyday objects - with a new album and their first full-length release on Faitiche. It is also the return of their almost comical understatement as personal artistic principle: „making almost nothing out of almost nothing,“ compressed into the dots on an umlaut.

The Öd-nis, the wasteland, is a field that the collective has been ploughing in sound since their first release in 1997. Eight prepared turntables, four mixers, no records, six hands (give or take) merge into what they call the „Octogrammoticum“. A rotating organism of surfaces in friction, fed with the clutter from a drawer: rubber bands or tin foil, CDs, a discarded socket board. Under IFF's scrutinizing stylus, mundane almost-nothings get scratched open to reveal the acoustic density of negative space itself.

Last year’s „Adhesive Tape“ drew IFF closer together after an almost ten-year hiatus. An eponymous event series at Berlin's silent green set in motion what would become their most twistedly funky release since „Penetrans“ on Staubgold in 2002.

The only thing öd about „Öd" (meaning „barren" or „boring“ in German) may well be its title: layers of improvised play and randomized loops convolve around porous, dubby groove locks, tugging at each other in a call-and-response with howling static that cuts through bulbous ambient techno into a scrap-metal Dixieland phantasm. Stratified yet spacious, these sonic double exposures always hover on the verge of collapsing. What you think you hear might not be what you actually hear.

The album’s track titles resemble Conceptual Poetry, extending this psycho-phenomenological gesture into the realm of spoken language. Conceived by renowned poet Dagmara Kraus, they become word molecules - „stern,” „dies,” „lose“ - tilting delicately between German and English, constantly changing depending on the ear’s perspective and pointing back to the deeply unstable fabric connecting meaning and sound. Which also makes „Öd“ an unusual cross-disciplinary collaboration - at least in the field of electronic music.

PS: Since its beginnings in Bad Säckingen, IFF has always been more than the sum of its rotating parts, moving tirelessly between multimedia art, theory, solo projects and collaborations. With IFF Expanded, the collective now opens its eight-doored apparatus, inviting artists working with CDJs or samplers to join - an ambitious live format that loosens its former purity law while carrying forward a long-standing curatorial practice. The same thread also runs into the related event series Acephalic Headspace.

Institut für Feinmotorik (*1997), artist-group originating from Black Forest working in various fields. In musical context known for transforming turntables into instruments by removing the records and instead applying rubber bands, paper scraps, household materials – resulting in a vivid laboratory for the productive misuse of everyday objects. This approach is documented in record releases and performed live.

It’s been 10 years since ‘Love Over Will’. In that time I have been experimenting with music outside of the purely electronic, working with musicians, other tuning systems and the role of sound in healthcare, amongst other things.

Is With Us is a return to what I love most about electronic music: the combination of sound design, rhythm and emotion. It doesn’t fall into any specific category but is rather a reflection on those elements I find interesting within the context of beats-led music.

Where ‘Love Over Will’ was slightly brooding, ‘Is With Us’ strikes a more positive note, something which wasn’t a conscious decision. It is just a moment in time.

Two is the second album by British electronic group Utah Saints, and was released in 2000. It's the result of a eight-year layoff that was this close to retirement (in techno terms). In 1992, Utah Saints' self-titled debut was one of the year's most exciting dance releases. Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt's anthems boomed out with the exuberance of copyright liberation, but their unreleased second album was permanently bricked up by record label ffrr for copyright violation.

But in 2000 they finally got to release this beauty! Two features guest apparances by Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Chuck D (Public Enemy) and Edwin Starr. On Two, you can hear samples ranging from Metallica, Average White Band, The Pretenders, The Stooges and Joyce Sims, so you can only imagine which samples were used on that unreleased album!

Two is available as a limited numbered edition of 1000 copies on clear/turquoise marble vinyl, and is packaged in a gatefold sleeve.

Troye Sivan's highly anticipated album She’s The Best, out October 9, 2026.

Ten years ago, Horse Jumper of Love released their self-titled debut, one that not only launched their career but also inspired a generation of shoegaze artists to come.


Recorded in a mill space studio by future longtime collaborator Bradford Krieger and first released in 2016 (before a re-issue by Run For Cover in 2017), Horse Jumper of Love introduced listeners to the band’s unique strain of expertly crafted minimalism and haunting lyricism. Tracks like “Orange Peeler” and “Ugly Brunette” capture a gritty melancholy and existentialism that is both youthful and timeless, angst-ridden and sincere. Now, a decade later, Horse Jumper of Love remains a beloved cult classic and a touchstone of the band’s continually developing brand of glacial, grungy indie rock.
This 10 Year Anniversary Deluxe Edition LP features new tri-fold packaging with collaged ephemera from singer and songwriter Dimitri Giannopoulos’ years in Boston while writing the record, a 20-page sewn-in booklet featuring never before seen photos and drawings, and handwritten tablature for the record’s original 9 songs. Disc one includes the original album fully re-mastered, and the brand new second disc features 13 bonus tracks recorded between the years of 2013-2015, mostly by Dimitri at home on a Tascam Portastudio, including single “Heathers (2013)” which was an early version of what would later become “i love you very much forever” and other never before heard demos, b-sides, and alternate versions of the original songs.
The record will also be released for the first time on CD, packaged in a 2-disc swing tray jewel case with a fold out poster.

repress 2026

not many artists are able to develop a distinct sonic identity releasing just 5 solo records. through his selective output in the course of 5 years on nina kraviz's Trip, vladimir dubyshkin gained not only an army of loyal fans analysing his live sets for new music, he also inspired many who followed and continued to develop his unique sound.

his tracks, many of which became underground hits like "lady of the night", "ticket to childhood" or "russian porn magazine", always stand out and are immediately recognisable. be it weird syncopated euro dance reminiscent bangers with crazy vocal snaps or haunting hypnotic beauties on a techno side. his music always has that genius dubyshkin groove, a pinch of irony and the ability to make just anyone dance, from a small underground club to a huge festival dancefloor. this universal appeal ensures his tracks resonate across sound systems of all sizes, embedding themselves in the listener's consciousness long after the music stops.

on "ivanovo night luxe", his first double ep on Trip, vladimir sounds as amazingly unhinged as ever embarking on a surreal journey, from the eerie echoes of a haunted funfair ride to the core of a peak-time set.

"ivanovo night luxe" continues to captivate and intrigue, solidifying dubyshkin's standing as an artist of unwavering integrity and reminding us that sometimes 'less is more'.

Stu Chapman, Nee & Wendy combine for 1 side of this banging breakbeat '92 style 4 track EP with Core Dimension's second outing on Return of The Vibes on the flip. Brought to you on black vinyl

Axis Expressionist Series

A collection of vinyl and limited digital releases, curated by Millsart, an alias of Jeff Mills, of his most eclectic and transcendent compositions that derive from his Every Dog Has Its Day project as well as new unreleased works. Vernacular creations that fall off from the "other side" of the Electronic Music tree, this project is designed for the experienced Techno music listeners, and its goal is to reflect upon the pure artistry of the craft of storytelling. A realization between music and life. Whereas "dancing" is the goal of Dance Music, the goal of this music is about "reflecting on the complexity and simplification of life".Soundtracks for people in their evolutionary process.

This release 'Drifter' is about 'Hype'.



Hype

An animal that prowls on the vulnerable - it excites those who might be looking the other way or with their eyes and minds wide shut.

What is life without hype?

As a transitional tool, hype can be most effective especially when impulse reactions are at play. Something of a psychological currency, there is a lot to gain by giving people what they want - the rush that comes with taking part in a process of making something bigger, more successful and more preferred. Even if there is nothing there.

What's wrong with getting exciting about something?

There are only a few rare masterclass cases that have lasted a lifetime.

As Andy Warhol proclaimed that "everyone will be World famous for 15 minutes" rings darkly true in an era when each one of us can be the talent scout, artist, critic, audience.......and then a revisionist, hoping to bring hype back again by reminding people how great the first round felt.

We are all free to use our attention and time anyway we please. This is the freedom we have, right?

In most cases, we wake up and at some point, the question of justification becomes a debate between those who found unconditional solace and those who re-discovered the subject of substance and "kicked the tires".

Should I care if others like or dislike something?

For some, the hype of something never ends. It hardens and becomes part of a foundation like a cement podium. Something to be stood on to speak over all dissenting voices.

Repress 2026
Two years after releasing the acclaimed Crash Recoil, Anthony Child aka Surgeon returns to Tresor with new LP, Shell~Wave. Retaining the minimal equipment list and studio-version-of-live-show-sets approach of the previous album in order to focus on the work itself, Shell~Wave is a deeply personal document of both where Surgeon is and has been, converging three decades of experience with a continued curiosity in the untested.
“To make this project, I had to dig really deep in terms of what my relationship was to techno; I’ve been involved with it for a really long time and there’s a lot about it I feel dislocated from, so I had to really think hard about what techno is to me. I often get asked “what is techno to you?” but I can’t answer that with words; this album is the answer.” From the complex, twisting track Infinite Eye to the caustic Soul Fire, the eight tracks that make up the body of the album are single-take explorations of the vast, hard yet minimal techno Child is synonymous with.
Neatly dividing the record in two, the emotional centre of the record comes in the form of Dying, a vibrating, beatless piece that with a mantra-like vocal loop steeped in reverberating effects. Further echoes of dub production appear throughout the record as tracks like Divine Shadow, and Empty Cloud have an almost ever-present mist of reverberation, driven by the appearance of a new delay unit in the equipment list; while much of the philosophy of Crash Recoil’s creation is present, the process and the instruments have changed as Child again switches up his approach to studio work.
This insistence on trying novel techniques doesn’t preclude returning to old ones, as this use of modern digital machines with live, hands-on takes that are as inspired by 60s producer Joe Meek and 70s reggae as they are by this year’s synthesiser expos.
“For me, it’s an interesting experience returning to old techniques again after 30 years. I’m always exploring and finding myself back at the beginning. Connecting the present with the past.”
This philosophy of ‘time travel’ is inherent to the music itself as the synchronised loops repeat while the delay and effects branch out, forming unique eddies; distinct quantum moments within the circular whole; the future leaking through the spaces between the sounds. All of the concepts on the album are perfectly communicated through the painting by Taiwanese artist Jazz Szu-Ying Chen which suggests the movement of water, sound waves, and the chitinous shells of sea creatures.

Fully licensed ! Ltd to 500 copies. Singer and guitarist Ram John Holder was born in. 1939 in Georgetown, British Guiana, then moved to Cincinnati
in 1954, and to the East Coast to work as folk blues singer in the early 1960s. In 1963, he took residency in England where he recorded several
albums. Released in 1969 Black London Blues is surely is masterpiece. A socio-political manifesto the album chronicles the trials and tribulations
that were the result of being a black-immigrant in London, and it contains all the pathos and pain one can imagine. Self-conscious, as concept
albums often are, the record is almost like an audio A-Z or pub guide. It’s funky/soul and represents his own black experience. It is a must have
for all the blues revivalist out there, a record to rank along the lines of early Mike Cooper and American stalwarts like Eugene McDaniels or Sixto
Rodriguez!
Tracklist:
SIDE A: 1. Loie - 2. Lloro Tu Despedida - 3. Goin’ Home - 4. Me ‘N You
SIDE B: 1. Liebestraum - 2. Shu Shu - 3. Blue Samba - 4. Favela - 5. Linda Flor
SOULGRA

Imagination Lady is the fifth long-player for Stan Webb's Chicken Shack and was originally released in 1972.

Much in the same tradition as the great British bluesmen Alexis Corner and John Mayall, Webb's revolving-door personnel landed the band several notable members. For this album, Webb (guitar/vocals) gathered a trio consisting of himself, future Gods and Jethro Tull member John Glascock (bass), and Paul Hancox (drums). As with the previous Chicken Shack long-players, this disc features several Webb originals augmented with some well-chosen cover tunes.

The album opens with a ferocious cover of B.B. King's "Crying Won't Help You." In a style akin to the Faces or even some of the rowdier moments from the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac, this trio grinds out the blues with a decidedly English edge, followes by the folkie "If I Were a Carpenter". "Daughter of the Hillside" & is Webb's most impressive contribution to the album. This straight-ahead rocker is an ideal trio effort recalling the intense instrumentality of Cream or early Led Zeppelin. The closing number "The Loser" is upbeat and almost pop-oriented, again displaying the immense strength of this Chicken Shack line up.

Imagination Lady is available as limited numbered edition of 1000 copies on red vinyl and comes in a gatefold sleeve.

OTHELLO is the debut album by pianist and composer Orson Claeys. Bringing together influences from jazz, hip-hop, urban culture, and everyday life, the record offers the clearest portrait yet of an artist shaped as much by the worlds around him as by music itself.

The title refers to Claeys' full name, Orson Dwight Othello Claeys, and reflects the album's central concern:identity. Throughout the record, personal experiences, cultural influences, and artistic inspirations converge into a body of work that seeks to understand how an artist is formed, both within and beyond music. Musically, OTHELLO builds on jazz, strongly intertwined with hip-hop, contemporary culture, and ideas beyond traditional musical frameworks. For Claeys, music is not a fixed genre, but an open and evolving form of expression.

This broad perspective is evident in the album's carefully chosen collaborations. A track like "WHAT A NIGHT" first took shape during a studio session with indie-soul singer Sevens, whose harmonic ideas laid the foundation for the track. As the composition evolved, Claeys felt it called for a stronger hip-hop voice. Through a recommendation from Mixmonster Menno of STUFF., he was introduced to L.A. rapper IAMOMNI, whose contribution brought exactly the energy and perspective the track needed. The result unfolds like a late-night journey through Los Angeles, with IAMOMNI's contribution adding a sense of movement, character, and place.

Elsewhere on the album, "SPIRAL", featuring Belgo-Brazilian vocalist Helena Casella, grew out of a long-standing mutual admiration. Conceived as a meeting point between R&B and jazz, the composition balances the groove and emotional depth of the former with the improvisational spirit and spontaneity of the latter. The collaboration developed naturally from the outset, with Casella instinctively understanding the atmosphere Claeys envisioned while enriching the music with her own warmth and nuance.

A long-held ambition materializes on "SHADOWBOXING", where Claeys is joined by drummer, producer, and one of the key figures in contemporary Belgian jazz, Lander Gyselinck. Gyselinck's work, particularly his collaboration with Zwangere Guy on Pourriture Noble, was instrumental in showing Claeys how the language of hip-hop could coexist naturally with jazz, an idea that runs through OTHELLO. Drawing inspiration from boxing, the track is a musical equivalent of a fighter's walk towards the ring: focused, intense, and driven by the sense of anticipation that precedes stepping into the fight.

After this heightened intensity, the album gradually moves toward its closing statement. OUTRO / HANIN", featuring oud player Akram Ben Romdhane, a longtime collaborator whose playing forms a natural bridge between Claeys' previous work and the broader musical landscape explored across the album. The title references the Tunisian Arabic word hanin, meaning "nostalgia", a fitting conclusion to a work deeply concerned with memory, identity, and personal history.

Beyond music itself, OTHELLO is informed by a wider cultural landscape. Urban culture, with its visual language, creative independence, and sense of community, forms an important backdrop to the record. Sport also plays a significant role, particularly boxing and basketball, whose emphasis on discipline, focus, and resilience mirrors Claeys' own creative process. Rather than being treated as separate influences, these worlds coexist without hierarchy, reflecting an artistic vision that resists rigid boundaries and allows different disciplines, communities, and experiences to inform one another.

Stu Chapman, Nee & Wendy combine for 1 side of this banging breakbeat '92 style 4 track EP with Core Dimension's second outing on Return of The Vibes on the flip. Brought to you on a stunning red splatter vinyl

Following the reissue of Fire & Sugar (1975), we present a special 45 focused on two standout tracks from the album.

If you’ve heard the album, you already know “Guaguanrock” had to make it to our favorite format. So here it is on 45.

Side A features “Guaguanrock (Le Spam Mix)”, a new version by Andrew “DJ Le Spam” Yeomanson, created from the original multitrack master tapes. The mix extends the intro break and brings the drums forward, enhancing the track’s raw, percussive energy for maximum dancefloor impact.

On the flip, “Bokolo” delivers a deeper, hypnotic groove, showcasing Caunedo’s unique blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz-funk textures.


A DJ-focused release, bridging rare groove authenticity with modern playability.

A space is often described by its dimensions. The height of the ceiling, the expanse between walls. Division into functional elements of varying density follows. We have ideas of how such dimensions should be balanced to work well for sound — the classical concert hall, a Northward mastering room.

It’s tempting to try and use this idea of space to understand Space the group (Lisa Ullén, Elsa Bergman, Anna Lund). To calculate their cartesian co-ordinates: dynamics that run from whisper soft to punishing, shaking force; Ullén’s piano running the full expanse of the frequency spectrum; the mix of sudden, surprising and suggested variations in density (the space) that generates their musical structures.

But (a) space is a social phenomenon where meaning is accumulated and possibilities created by and through a constantly shifting set of social relations and their histories and entanglement inside and beyond the physical structures of a room or building. Reduced to its raw dimensions, Cafe OTO shouldn’t sound good: the low ceiling, the hollow void underneath the stage-not-stage, the hard glass windows out onto the street. But OTO as a social space — for gathering close to listen; the serious pursuit of a convivial good time (its productive mythology that an OTO audience is both up for it but also expects more); and then the idea of all that has happened before and what will come; that this is also part of ‘the music’ and changes what sounds to the point that none of those cartesian co-ordinates matter.**

It’s less of shock that Space sound good. Lisa Ullén is easily the most singular pianist in Sweden right now and Elsa and Anna’s ability to reroute in realtime reaffirms just how well they function as a group. The trio might have got their shit together holding down the rhythm section for the first incarnation of Anna Högberg Attack — but much like Högberg’s ongoing pursuit of artistic renewal, the trio avoid being shackled to any ideas about what a piano trio should be and there is something that happens (happened) in that room, on that night, with those people that made for something beyond just good.

It’s a gift that the sound of every concert at OTO gets recorded. A choice handful of these transcend their decoupling from that social space and radiate the room’s attendant energies. This record is one of them.

** See Jack Halberstam in Fred Moten & Stefano Harney, The Undercommons (2013): “…we must refuse the idea that music happens only when the musician enters and picks up an instrument; music is also the anticipation of the performance and the noises of appreciation it generates and the speaking that happens through and around it, making it and loving it, being in it while listening."

Ricky Force joins the Basics Records roster with ’MDrum’ a dark and hypnotic rolling track. Ricky is known for writing some of the deepest cuts over the last decade alongside running Pressin’ Hard Records.

On the flip side Friske (Requisite/Metalheadz) steps up with a sharp apache remix of MDrum which twists and turns. On B2 is Gremlinz (UVB-76/Metalheadz) with an absolute monster remix rolling out the amen’s, a masterclass in drum work. Watch your bass bins!!

The “Time To Shuff” EP was the first ever release from UK deep house pioneers BRS (British Rhythm Services) in 2000, originally on Cyclo records.

Situationism Records are excited to be able to re-issue this timeless classic and sort after EP from BRS …26 years later and we have lovingly repressed on vinyl and emulated the original artwork.

Welcome to the DUB SOUND from Jamaica. The vocal records cut back to the bones of bass & drums, with the instruments and vocals faded in and out sometimes with echo and reverb to make a great new VERSION!!.

Although remembered as an early 70’s phenomenon, the du­­bbed sound can be dated back as early as 1968. But by the mid– seventies it became the norm for records to carry a Version (dub) b-side and in fact many records were brought for this reason especially if they were known to come from the hands of the dub master himself King Tubby. So, sit back and enjoy this dub excursion, many from the hands of King Tubby but, all classics in their own right.

At its heart, this is truly a classic love story...

Musician, songwriter, and entertainer George Butts has always worked in the spirit of independence and love.

Beginning his musical journey on the East Coast, George spent his formative years playing in bands before eventually making his way to Southern California, ready to step out and pursue his own musical vision.

It was here that music and fate would meet, leading him to something equally important: Kathie, the woman who would become his lifelong partner- personally, professionally, and creatively.

Together, they embraced that same independent spirit and began building something of their own. In the mid-1980s, they established K-Star Productions, a label that became the home for George’s music and marked the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

In 1986, that journey produced “I Love You So Much,” a song title that feels especially fitting once you learn the story behind it. Written as a dedication to their newly formed relationship, the song carries a sense of warmth that somehow feels familiar to us all. Built around the distinctive sound of a Linn drum machine, layered with lush synths and George’s unmistakable horn melodies, the record radiates heartfelt affirmations of love, capturing not only the spirit of independent ’80s Modern Soul, but the energy of two young hearts coming together and dancing in rhythm.

The record would soon become a dancefloor favorite among local DJs and clubgoers alike. But what began in Southern California would carry George much farther than they could have imagined. The success of the music helped establish him as a respected musician and entertainer, leading to performances and residencies throughout the 1980s and ’90s, from lounges along California’s golden coast to stages as far away as Japan.

Nearly four decades later, these recordings have been lovingly remastered from the original source material by Ron Leeper, the original recording engineer, allowing the warmth and spirit of the music to shine once again.

But this is more than the reissue of a rare independent record.
These classic songs evoke feelings of love and unity, filled with warm melodies, soulful grooves, and an undeniable sense of joy, all brought to life through the partnership of George and Kathie.

Together, they created their own label, followed their dreams, and lived life on their own terms- proving just how far a shared vision can take you.

Today, the music carries that same spirit: heartfelt, uplifting, and alive with the optimism of two people creating something they truly believed in. What they started with K-Star Productions helped launch a musical legacy that would take them around the world and back, a journey that continues today with George still performing live.

It’s not just since James Bond and the introduction of World Overshoot Day that we’ve known: The world isn’t enough. We need an Extrawelt! Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe have been tinkering with this celestial body for over two decades, and it seems to be slowly nearing completion. You certainly can’t accuse Extrawelt of lacking ideas. They are, so to speak, the legitimate descendants of the legendary planet designer Slartibartfast from Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. No doubt, the downright insanely creative bossa nova-techno bastard “Honey Hunter” will be mentioned in the same breath as Slartibartfast’s award-winning Norwegian coastlines by future civilizations. The other three tracks aren’t half bad either. Take our word for it.
Nicht erst seit James Bond und der Einführung des world overshoot days wissen wir: Die Welt ist nicht genug. Wir brauchen eine Extrawelt! Die Herren Arne Schaffhausen und Wayan Raabe werkeln seit über zwei Jahrzehnten an diesem Himmelskörper und er scheint so langsam bezugsfertig zu sein. Man kann Extrawelt nun wahrlich keine Ideenarmut vorwerfen. Sie sind quasi die legitimen Nachkommen des legendären Planetendesigners Slartibartfast aus Douglas Adam’s “Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis”. Der geradezu irrwitzig kreative Bossanovatechno-Bastard “Honey Hunter” wird von künftigen Zivilisationen in einem Atemzug mit Slartibartfast’s preisgekönten norwegischen Küstenlinien genannt werden. Auch die anderen drei Tracks sind nicht von schlechten Eltern. Glaubt’s und werdet selig.
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,Do to the Beast" war bei seiner Veröffentlichung das erste neue Album der Afghan Whigs seit über anderthalb Jahrzehnten. Die 1988 in Cincinnati, Ohio, gegründete Band hebt sich seit jeher deutlich von ihren Mitstreitern ab - durch ihre wilde, mitreißende Mischung aus Hardrock, klassischem Soul und den eindringlichen Obsessionen ihres Frontmanns Greg Dulli. Das Album war sowohl eine Art Heimkehr - es markierte ihre damalige Rückkehr zu Sub Pop, für das die Whigs der erste Neuzugang außerhalb der nordwestlichen Heimat des Labels waren - als auch ein Blick in die Zukunft einer der meistgefeierten Bands der letzten dreißig Jahre. Doppel-LP, gepresst auf ,Pearl Flip"-/,Lagoon"-Vinyl!

Monolink and CIOZ bring a stripped-back electronic edge to Crosstown Rebels with ‘Don’t Talk To Me’. The German multi-instrumentalist makes his Crosstown Rebels debut alongside Italy’s CIOZ, with OMRI. also returning to the label on remix duties. There are few artists in electronic music quite like Monolink. Moving naturally between singer-songwriter, producer and live performer, his music gives as much weight to voice, melody and narrative as it does to electronic production. For ‘Don’t Talk To Me’, he joins Bergamo-born, Berlin-based CIOZ, whose own work is driven by rich musicality and a willingness to move beyond convention. The link-up makes for an intriguing signing to Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, bringing together two different approaches to electronic music without either losing their identity.

‘Don’t Talk To Me’ is deliberately pared back, pairing Monolink’s voice and songwriting with sparse textures and gently shifting melodies. Rather than building towards a conventional dancefloor payoff, the track unfolds with a quieter sense of tension, sitting somewhere between alternative songwriting and electronic voyage. An artist whose productions and remixes have quickly made him a recurring presence in the Crosstown Rebels universe, OMRI. takes the track deeper with his remix, adding darker, hypnotic qualities while preserving the original’s restraint. ‘Wasting Time’ closes the release with another sweeping collaboration, built around subtle melodic details and captivating synth flourishes.

The collaboration marks Monolink’s first outing on Crosstown, adding to an impressive career that has seen him craft his distinctive sound via Berlin-based imprint Embassy One and on labels like Cercle Records. Performances have taken that music from Burning Man and Montreux Jazz Festival to Day Zero Bali, where he joined Damian Lazarus for its first edition, as well as sets alongside Lazarus at Club Space, Zamna and more around the world. Meanwhile, CIOZ brings his own expansive approach back to the label, with material also landing via Monaberry, Frau Blau and Stil vor Talent, plus remixes for Diplo, Oliver Koletzki, Patrice Bäumel and the Crosstown head honcho. With both artists comfortable moving between emotional depth and dancefloor function, ‘Don’t Talk To Me’ gives that shared instinct plenty of room to breathe.

After fifteen years of shaping dancefloors around the world, Mele is set to release his long-awaited debut album Alive On Arrival via Defected Records Far from an introduction, the album marks the arrival of an artist operating with complete creative clarity, bringing together the sounds, collaborators and influences that have defined his journey into one cohesive body of work.

"Alive On Arrival draws inspiration from what feels like my entire life as a producer, a DJ and a music fan, bringing together everything I love about house, hip- hop, UK music, soulful R&B and wider global sounds. The name comes from Wu-Tang Clan's C.R.E.A.M., which felt fitting to where I'm at in my musical journey. It's been 15 years as Mele, but I'm still alive and feel like I've got so much more to give. I've finally arrived at this point with my debut album. The album was made in, and heavily influenced by, London, Miami and Liverpool - three places that are close to my heart. Sonically, it's inspired by some of the best: Jungle, The Neptunes, Gorillaz and Masters At Work." - Mele aka Krissy Peers Set for release on 25 September, Alive On Arrival is Mele's most expansive project to date. Across fourteen tracks, he draws together house, hip-hop, soul and R&B into a record that reflects a lifetime spent moving between genres rather than being limited by them. Created between London, Miami and his hometown of Liverpool, the album captures the energy and musical history of three cities that have shaped both his sound and perspective. At the heart of Alive On Arrival is collaboration. Rather than simply assembling a list of featured artists, Mele has curated a cast of voices whose individual perspectives deepen the emotional and cultural narrative of the album. Long-time collaborators sit alongside new creative partnerships, each contributing to a record built on shared musical language and mutual respect.

Southern Fried Records return with the second instalment of Refried & Tested, a three track EP built for peak time festival business. Bass heavy and attitude driven, this one brings together friends old and new for a run of dancefloor tracks that don't let up. It's Southern Fried doing what it does best - club ready energy with real personality behind it. Elado opens Refried & Tested 002 with 'Don't Stare' - a bass-heavy, attitude loaded cut built for the dancefloor. It's peak time energy with a real sense of swagger, setting the tone for the rest of the compilation. Jordan Peak takes on Elado's 'Don't Stare' and delivers a whopping remix, reworking the original into a festival ready peak time weapon. A standout moment on Refried & Tested 002. lau.ra teams up with Bag Raiders for 'back2back', bringing dance floor energy and attitude to Southern Fried's Refried & Tested 002 - a collaboration between friends old and new that delivers exactly where it counts. Van Damn closes out Refried & Tested 002 with 'Hit You', a bass driven cut that keeps the compilation's dancefloor energy running right to the last track.

2027 marks two decades since musician and producer Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy struck out on his own and launched Claremont 56, a label initially dedicated to “music by Mudd and friends” and named after the house he grew up in. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Murphy has assembled the label’s first ever decades-spanning vinyl retrospective: a six-LP re-mastered collection bringing together key cuts, cult classics, personal favourites, hard-to-find gems and inspired remixes from across the catalogue.

Unlike the label’s previous 10th anniversary box set, which focused on unreleased material and never-before-heard remixes, 20 Years of Claremont 56 traces the musical story of the imprint to date. Across six records, it showcases the distinctive Claremont 56 sound in all its many forms: acoustic, electric and electronic instrumentation, Balearic sunshine, krautrock grooves, folk-inflected psychedelia, slow-burning chuggers and deeply considered dancefloor music.
The set comes housed in a custom box featuring cover art by long-term label illustrator Mark Warrington. Inside are six slabs of vinyl across three gatefold sleeves, accompanied by liner notes from music journalist and author Matt Anniss, Murphy himself, and many of the artists whose music features in the collection.

The journey begins with a selection of formative late-noughties releases, including Mudd & Pollard’s chugging, picturesque ‘Villa Stavros’, the folksy beauty of Smith & Mudd’s ‘Shulme’ and Murphy’s exotic reworking of Ahmed Fakroun’s ‘Drago’. From there, the collection moves freely through deep cuts, overlooked gems, album highlights and some of the most inspired remixes in the label’s catalogue.

Among those remixes is Murphy’s own über-Balearic rework of Zee Erf’s cover of ‘Southern Freeez’, a mix dedicated to his partner Emma; an extraordinary 22-minute, Manuel Göttsching-meets-ambient-dub revision of Smith & Mudd’s ‘Vegetable Square’ by friends-of-the-family Idjut Boys; Larry Heard’s typically deep and immersive house treatment of Jack Cutter’s ‘Serpent Strut’; and Quiet Village’s ambient-house ‘deep space dub’ of Mudd’s ‘Spielplatz’. Also included are lesser-celebrated but no less rewarding reworks by Recloose, Jex Opolis, Felix Dickinson and Deep88.

The collection represents every corner of Claremont 56’s self-contained musical universe, from the Murphy-assembled in-house collectives Hillside, Paqua and Bison - whose members famously included the late Holger Czukay and his life partner Ursula, to long-serving label artists such as Almunia and Hear & Now, as well as later additions and artists who took some of their first steps on the label through its much-loved Claremont Editions compilations.
That means the deeply cosmic krautrock of Bambi Davidson, the folk-meets-Americana of Torn Sail and the samba-electrofunk of Jpye sit alongside baggy Balearic sing-alongs such as Bel’s ‘Ready To Die’ and Sillyboy’s Ghost Relatives’ ‘In a Small Place’, recent high-profile guest releases such as Chaz Jankel’s ‘Rhumba Jam’, and string-laden ambient pieces such as Four Hands’ wonderful ‘Hizou’.

Packed with classic cuts, formative gems and overlooked treats, 20 Years of Claremont 56 is not only a fabulous label retrospective, but also an essential collection of timeless music from a label whose output has remained distinctive and unique for two decades.

Environments are sticky, they stick to whatever happens within them. They can’t help it. And neither can you.

Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel is a collection of musical ‘figures’ written and recorded in 2022 and 2023 using a method Lyckle and Kim call the ‘snelkookpan’, translated as the pressure cooker. The ’snelkookpan’ in essence is trying to write and live-record as many musical figures in a given timeframe in a specific place. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ this was an afternoon and evening in an exhibition Kim had curated about collecting and memory in The Hague. For ‘Songs of St. Michel’ this was 6 days in the basement of an art institution in Maastricht where they were joined by Otto de Jong on guitar. The figures are usually worked out by ear, sometimes improvised, sometimes written down, but often they are simply remembered and soon after recording forgotten. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ they recorded ten figures. For ‘Songs for St. Michel’ fifteen. Of each a selection of five ended up on this seven inch.

F. van Abeelen (one of whom’s drawings is pictured on the sleeve of this seven inch and of whom 750 drawings were part of the exhibition mentioned above) was forced as a boy to hide in a basement for years. Only a small window gave access to the outside world. That sliver was his reality. After these years in hiding he began drawing his sliver of reality obsessively. Daily series of similar drawings that he would meticulously catalogue in an organizer. We never met F. Our friend who discovered the drawings in a closet of psychiatric nursing home Dorestad never met F. We only recorded ten musical figures next to 750 drawings by F.

St. Michel is a house that stands on the outskirts of Maastricht. It is built on the floodplains of the river Maas and living there you see the river change daily. It is a river fed by rain. No rain means a low river. Rain means a river that sometimes comes frighteningly close to flooding. Which it sometimes does. Due to the ebb and flow of the Maas, stuff is deposited in the boggy areas that are its floodplains. A shoe, a CD, a drone, some wood.

Places impress themselves onto what you are doing. You become an unwitting prop in the place’s story.

The first ‘snelkookpan’ happened in 2017 in the water-basin of one of the earliest concrete structures in the Netherlands; a bunker that was part of Amsterdam’s defensive line, built around the 1890’s. Something that used to house water was now empty. For three days Kim and Lyckle recorded improvised music there, which is still alive on a hard drive somewhere. In 2020 they recorded ‘the third of May’ at an old pumping station in Den Helder; an eleven part piece of auditory historical-horror which was released by South of North in 2024. Since 2023 Lyckle and Kim have mainly recorded live shows. With a Clarinet, kawai K1, Ipad, organelle, samplers and a variety of instruments curated for their minimal size or odd sound they’ve made chains of brief and improvised mini compositions inspired by browsing environments (digital and otherwise).

Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel adds to this growing collection of recordings for environments that are somehow sticky.

The first release on Edition Hawara's new sublabel Hawara International is a record that leaves little room for ambiguity about its intended use. Produced by Takashi Shima of the band Piper and released as part of the Sun Tan Club series, "For Light Tanning" was designed to accompany the pursuit of the perfect summer tan. It came complete with tanning instructions and oil recommendations, and was the subject of a promotional partnership with Hawaiian Tropic. The music drifts between ambient, new age and lifestyle soundtrack genres, providing an elegant backdrop for beaches, pool parties and other seasonal activities. Having long been forgotten outside a small circle of collectors, the record now returns as an unusually thorough document of late-1980s leisure culture. Whether it actually improves the tanning process remains unverified.

Prozak lands on Saoirse's trUst recordings with a four-track EP, out 25th September. Following the label's most recent release 'Chica' — the record runs from the rolling low-end of 'Read My Mind' and 'Gimme That' into the later-night pull of 'The Nuance' and 'Sleepless Nights'. It arrives with support from Jamie xx, Solomun, Chris Stussy and Skream, ahead of dates at WHP, ADE and Hidden Valley.

Familiar. Usually reserved for things we think we know. A face, a place, a feeling, a record perhaps. Until, of course, they aren’t quite the same anymore. Or maybe you aren’t.
Jennifer’s debut album lives somewhere around there.
It’s a record about time, which is already a fairly ambitious subject considering nobody seems to have figured that one out yet. More specifically, it’s about what
time does to a person. The old versions, the new versions, and all the ones in between that you only notice when something suddenly brings them back. Someone you
haven’t seen in years. A room you used to know. A certain way the light falls. That sort of thing.

There’s a bit of a doppelgänger situation going on, too. Finding something completely new and somehow recognising it. Meeting yourself again without immediately realising who you’re talking to.
Which can be nice. Or strange. Usually both. The songs on Familiar sit comfortably with that contradiction. Looking backwards without wanting to go back. Missing things without necessarily wanting them
returned. Realising that people who once occupied most of your waking hours can become people whose address you don’t know. Meanwhile, some tiny, seemingly irrelevant detail from fifteen years ago remains perfectly intact.
Memory has its own filing system. Not a particularly sensible one.
Jennifer wrote a series of poems alongside the album. In them, familiarity appears in melting snow, rough coastlines, a kitchen already warm in the morning, somebody’s hands fitting into yours. Elsewhere she wonders about someone she
once knew everything about and now knows nothing about. They could live around the corner. They could live on another continent. They could, technically, be dead. Probably not. But that’s time for you.
Maybe Familiar is less about remembering who you were than realising you never entirely stopped being them. Things get added. Things disappear. Things come back looking slightly different.
And somehow, you recognise them.

SPF 50 returns to Bliss Point with Ett Inre Rum, a collection of pulsing, immersive techno, rounded out with a remix from renowned club synthesist Erik Luebs.

Recently enamored with the psychoacoustic power of drone, Ett Inre Rum finds SPF 50 pushing his sound deeper, heavier, and more psychedelic. With Ett Inre Rum, he explores sonics that connect internal states to the external spaces we inhabit, patiently building energy until the walls are stretching, the room is heaving, and the lines between inner and outer are thoroughly blurred.

Drawing inspiration from the natural world and culled from over a year of peak time live sets, Ett Inre Rum eschews dance floor tropes for a refreshing minimalism: club tracks as enveloping sonic environments, breathing deep as they propel forward through atmospheric washes, layered and manipulated to achieve peak emotional resonance.

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce a second volume of unheard concert performances from legendary Pakistani kyhal singer Salamat Ali Khan, recorded at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie as part of the MetaMusik festival in 1974. Like the first volume, the immaculate recording by Michael Hönig (of krautrock legends Agitation Free) captures Khan performing a single extended raag in the company of Shaukat Hussein Khan on tabla and Hussein Bux Khan on harmonium. In addition to his stunningly inventive and moving vocal performance, Khan is heard accompanying himself on a specially tuned alpine zither (in place of the traditional swarmandal, an Indian style of zither). The lack of an underlying tanpura drone gives the music its characteristic floating quality, with the three instruments and voice masterfully dancing around one another as they sketch the outlines of this grand, 40-minute Raag Chandrakauns.

If anything, this epic performance of the late-night Raag Chandrakauns is even more seductively spacious and psychedelic than the music heard on the first volume. Obeying the traditional shape of Hindustani classical vocal music performance, a gradual rise in both pitch and rhythmic activity, the music hovers for twenty minutes in a reflective calm, the pulse only gently stated by the tabla while harmonium ornamentation and zither strums float by. In this meditative space, Khan gradually orients us to the contours of the raag, beginning with long notes at the bottom of his register. His improvisation at once builds with a stunningly firm sense of internal logic and seems liberated to explore every melodic and ornamental byway that comes up along the way. By the time we turn to the record’s second side, the music has grown into something far more frenetic, with virtuoso tabla passages at times occupying centre stage between Khan’s increasingly rhythmic melodic variations. Concluding with a sequence of unison tabla and voice passages of breathtaking complexity, the performance is met with rapturous applause. Arriving in a blue-toned variant of the first volume’s sleeve, with acclaimed musicologist Peter Pannke’s liner notes in the original German, Metamusik Festival Berlin ’74 Volume II is not to be missed. Essential listening not just for Hidustanti classic aficionados, but for anyone who needs reminding of the magic of collective music making in the moment.