Cerca:out of this world

The new batch from the bottomless edit archives of Danny Krivit is an uptempo, guitar-heavy excursion into two cuts of danceable rock from opposite sides of a decade.

“Marbles” originally came out late in 1970, the result of a collaboration between the fiery British guitarist John McLaughlin and drummer Buddy Miles. Miles was hot off his time with Jimi Hendrix, and producer Alan Douglas, who’d been instrumental in putting together the Band of Gypsys group, attempted another crossover combination with a brand new, blazing guitar god. Also on the date was Larry Young, an organ player best known for his expansive jazzy albums on Blue Note, and several veterans of Buddy Miles’ funk-rock combos. The resulting mixture produced in “Marbles” a powerful, driving rhythm anchoring an addictive riff that steamrolls through the cut in a fashion not unlike the motorik sound of Velvet Underground or Can. Mr. K’s edit leans heavily on the drums, naturally, with a long, tailor-made intro and a mesmerizing focus on the main riff, extending things well past the seven-minute mark.

Ten years later, the world of music was in an entirely different place but a good guitar riff coupled with a driving beat was still powerful currency on the dancefloor. This time, the group was Scottish new wave-punk group APB, whose single “Shoot You Down” had garnered unexpected peak time play in cutting edge NYC hotspots Danceteria, the Peppermint Lounge, the Ritz and the Mudd Club. “Shoot You Down” combines the urgency of the Clash with the free for all vibe that characterized the downtown scene (and throws in a chant borrowed from P-Funk for good measure). Mr. K has created a long instrumental opening that leads into the vocals, giving the tightly-wound 7-inch single a proper extended 12-inch treatment it deserved but never had before.

The sound is crisply remastered for club play, and stretched over the breadth of a 12-inch single. Both of these tracks are appearing on the long-format player for the first time.

Nervous Records, the iconic label synonymous with the rise of house from the streets of New York City, will mark 30 years in the music industry by releasing the celebratory compilation LP ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ on October 1st (Part 1) and October 15th (Part 2).

Featuring original mixes of the label’s biggest tracks, plus remixes by some of its most celebrated acts, ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ is both a celebration of the past and of the future. Featuring a who’s who of electronic dance music, the long player sees names including Louie Vega, David Morales Darius Syrossian, Tensnake, Monki, Franky Rizardo, Danny Howard and more take on iconic Nervous cuts: ‘You Make Me Feel Mighty Real’, ‘Treat Me Right’, ‘Future Groove’, ‘Feel Like Singing’, ‘Get Up Everybody’, ‘Break You’, ‘Hot’, ‘End This Hate’, ‘Unspeakable Joy’, ‘Can Ya Tell Me’, ‘Jerk It’, ‘The Anthem’, ‘It Makes A Difference’, ‘Learn 2 Luv’ and ‘Don’t You Ever Give Up’.

The album marks one of the most enduring, extraordinary legacies to grace America’s illustrious music history, not just in electronica but far beyond. Founded in 1991 by Michael and his father Sam Weiss, and recognizable immediately by its distinctive character logo, the label grew rapidly, in no small part due to Michael Weiss’ practically unmatched passion for discovering new music.

“Louie Vega and Kenny Dope woke me at 4am on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning from their studio telling me they had something really different that I needed to hear,” Michael recollects. “I asked if they could play it over the phone. They said if I wanted to hear it I had to come to the studio. So of course I got myself up, got dressed and went there. That “really different track” ended up being ‘The Nervous Track’, a tune that became our signature release and was also highly instrumental in the emergency of London’s ‘Broken Beat’ movement.”

The label’s willingness to take chances on fresh sounds and innovative concepts rising up from the melting pot sidewalks of NYC ensured a body of work that has become a living musical history of the city. House cuts ‘Unspeakable Joy’ and ‘Nitelife’ (Kim English), ‘Get Up (Everybody)’ (Byron Stingily) and ‘Feel Like Singing’ (Sandy B) bump up against hip-hop anthems like ‘Who Got Da Props’ (Black Moon) and “Bucktown” (Smif-n-Wessun) and reggae cut ‘Take It Easy’ (Mad Lion); soulful flows from Mood II Swing (Kim English ‘Learn 2 Luv’, Loni Clark “Rushing”), Armand Van Helden (‘The Anthem’) and Nuyorican Soul (‘Mind Fluid’) sit alongside seminal techno singles like Winx’ ‘Don’t Laugh’. The young artists and producers who joined the Nervous Records’ family have gone on to become some of the most hallowed and celebrated dance acts of all time: Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, David Morales, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Kerri Chandler, Kim English, Byron Stingily, Josh Wink, to name just a handful.

“We did a release with Josh Wink under his Winx alias entitled ‘Nervous Build-Up’,” Michael said. “It did well and it was obvious how talented Josh was. Subsequent to that release I was pretty persistent in asking him to continue to play me his new demos. During one phone conversation he said, “Mike I’m gonna play you something over the phone but don’t laugh when you hear it.” That demo ended up being ‘Don’t Laugh’, which became one of our biggest international hits and still to this day is one of America’s earliest and most impactful techno hits.”

As much a celebration of the label’s future as it is of their past, Nervous Records: 30 Years is but a marker in the imprints’ history, a clear sign of where they’ve been and also where they’re going. With 30 years behind them, the label’s determination to unearth new raw diamonds in the rough is as unwavering as ever.

“I’ve always been one to look at what others are doing (the industry at large) and think, “ok, are they doing this specific thing for a reason, or doing it because everyone else is doing the same thing” and make my decision based on that,” says Nervous Records’ General Manager Andrew Salsano. “In an age where data metrics and analytics reign supreme, I remain steadfast that they should be complementary to your decision and not the sole indicator to make one. So many songs today are written with 15 second hooks in mind for social media, and while there’s nothing wrong with that business model you will always be chasing the wave instead of carving out your own path and identity.

“My primary focus for the sound of the label has and will continue to revolve around signing good songs and music that has the ability to react at the street level first. The best results come from artists that are firstly given a bit of local love that grows into a global impact. Fresh ideas that express child-like curiosity and artists showing vulnerability in their music are also something I look for, artists and producers that are not making music with certain markets in mind, but rather their own style and signature that is unique but able to straddle the fine line of underground and overground.”

Still as raw, as underground and as finely tuned to the dance floor as they ever have been, perhaps the secret to the success - and the longevity - of Nervous Records has something to do with that hard, dogged, no-holds-barred NYC edge that runs through the veins of the label. With the next generation of producers rising from the clubs of New York, one thing is certain; Nervous Records will be there to find them, nurture them and bring them to the world at large, over the next decade and beyond.

London's SlothBoogie return with the second instalment of their 'Dancing With Friends' series this August, featuring exclusive new music from Kemback, Felipe Gordon, Mak z, Bill Mango, The Revenge and more.

Following the success of the inaugural 'Dancing With Friends', which featured the likes of Kassian, Letherette, Joe Cleen and Ruff Stuff amongst others, the crew are back with that ever so tricky... second album. This sequel however, will not disappoint. The team have scoured the four corners of the globe to provide listeners with a comprehensive follow up that showcases more brand-new music from their favourite producers.

'Dancing With Friends Vol.2' is a deftly curated selection of the diverse styles synonymous with the SlothBoogie sound, ranging from the hazy deepness of cuts by Amy Dabbs, DJ Counselling, Bill Mango, Metropolitan Soul Museum and Kristy Harper to Disco tinged, jazzy, bumpy numbers from the likes of Jesse Bru, T.U.R.F. and Felipe Gordon through to more tripped out acid workouts by The Revenge, Fede Lng & Mojeaux, Togethrs and Pablot.

With this latest collection you can trust SlothBoogie to bring some much-needed dancefloor unity and sun-drenched energy to the world for the summer of 2021. The perfect soundtrack to reconnect and begin dancing with friends once again.

The vinyl format will come as a Gatefold Cover with 2 x 12" cream speckled clear vinyl and will include the full digital album download cards.

Debut release for The Fear Ratio's Mark Broom and James Ruskin under their 'Deadhand' alias, which proceeds on a strictly experimental hip-hop tip, accompanied as they are here by 4 x world scratch champion DJ Prime Cuts (of The Scratch Perverts) and illbient rap legend Sensational, who brings his characteristic broken charm to the EP's itchy, spartan production vibes: "Step into my office, now we sparkin' it... I spit the isms in yer ear... you better recognise it's raw shit from orbit."

This pairing with Sens makes total sense: Distinct from Mark and James' work as The Fear Ratio, their Deadhand project delivers something closer to 90s illbient in any case: extending the boom-bap era of hip-hop production with elements of hallucinogenic dystopianism, the energy of the EP nevertheless vibes playfully: Given the dispiriting global situation at present, the EP title 'Meanwhile' might simply refer to getting on with things in spite of all the cultural and political misendeavor the era will no doubt be long remembered for. Despite the global health pandemic and the looming spectre of wide-scale environmental collapse, little despair or surrender prevails here, but rather a hankering to attempt a few tripped-out experiments.

Three remixes bring further twists of the screw: A cosmic break flex from ETCH resituates Sensational amidst the magmic glow of Reaktor bass ensembles, while DJ Prime Cuts repurposes 7" soul gold by way of a more 'traditional' SP1200 approach. 90s trip-hop pioneer and graffiti legend REQ steps up with all the painterly flair he is rightly renowned for, obliterating the Monster Orchestra's classic 'I Can't Stop' stab towards a double dose of galactic melancholia.







g 07: Touch (ETCH's Pink Ladies in Space Remix) feat. Sensational
[h] 08: Meanwhile (DJ Prime Cuts Remix) [feat. Sensational]
[i] 09: Touch (REQ's Dub) [feat. Sensational]
[feat. DJ Prime Cuts]

Charlotte de Witte's mighty KNTXT label rolls on with another big new EP from Italian wonderboy Alignment. The Berlin based techno talent serves up four suitably supersized cuts that follow on from his Time EP, which landed earlier in the year.

For the last five years, this artist has been amassing a fine discography of thrilling techno. This has earned him a worldwide reputation amongst the techno cognoscenti, and despite the global
pandemic this year, he has still put out plenty of red hot new material that proves he has used his extra free time at home wisely. He can do old school inspired bangers as well as refined futuristic techno rollers with equal style, and proves that once more with this fantastic new EP.

He says it, “reflects more the ‘sentimental' moments during these hard times. Nevertheless, you can also expect trippy and hypnotic vibes that will make you dream to dance again until the early hours.“

While Charlotte adds, "Ever since I started playing these tracks, people started asking for track IDs. They stood out and always were one of the highlights of my sets. These tracks are made to
destroy any type of dancefloor. A true masterpiece by one of the most exciting artists around.”

Opener Nothingness is a hunched over techno power-groove, with high pressure kicks and scraping synths peeling off the drums. It's a big wall of irresistible sound, then Injection brings
even bigger and more kick drums that are sure to rattle any club to its foundations, while the rave synths will get hands in the air.

Reverberated keeps up the good work with a more all-consuming techno cut thanks to the laser-like synths that light up the track from above. It has superbly dark and unsettling vocals stitched into the groove for extra layers of mental intensity. Last of all is the dark and urgent Sensory Deprivation with its edgy synth motifs and unrelenting energy.

These are four more high powered tracks from man of the moment Alignment.

After several years of silence, Schema Records co-founder Luciano Cantone in collaboration with Gianluca Petrella and a new group of musicians, present The Invisible Session's second album "Echoes of Africa" on the newborn Space Echo label. This new chapter is borne out of afrobeat, Africa 70's records and Tony Allen's drumming; furthermore, other influences come into play, with melodiescentred on Eastern pentatonic scales, as well as funk, afrobeat, psychedelia, modal and Ethio jazz, plus forays into pop and cinematica. Ancestral melodies intersect and weave, encouraging escape and deeper feelings. Conceptually, "Echoes of Africa" deals with pacifism, human rights, anti-racism, nature and ecological themes. This is an album to be absorbed in its entirety – have a good listening!

Conform Re-Touched Series has delivered other 5 gems to collect with the Vol.IV! The result is brilliant thanks to the contribution of great artists such as Radio Slave, Honey Dijon, Mark Broom, Adriana Lopez and Shlomi Aber.

When it comes to Radio Slave, no one can ever remain indifferent to the quality of Matt Edwards' production. Once again it has hit the mark by re-interpreting "Inside" by Gaetano Parisio in a masterly way. The track is a continuous crescendo but always well anchored to its original groove. The great British producer, Mark Broom, once again leaves no doubt about his ability to create real dace-floor killers. Seems that his edit was created to challenge the sound systems of all clubs around the world. It is the dream of all DJs to play a track of such impact during a party. His version remains faithful to the original but it has that broomish which makes it super catching.

Honey Dijon, an absolute star in the world techno firmament, makes her debut on Conform with her Re Rub interpretation of a classic like Dual Ep by C&G Southsystem, the project created by Gaetano Parisio and Marco Carola. Honey puts all of her Chicago background into this version. By adding vocal she manages perfectly to make two such different schools coexist, the Neapolitan one and the Chicago one. The result is simply sublime.

Likewise, it's a debut on the label also for Adriana Lopez absolutely respected throughout the techno scene for her extreme quality music. Her interpretation leaves no room for doubt that she doesn't like middle ways. Her remix is dark and hypnotic at the same time. Adriana gave her best and the delivery is just outstanding.

The grand finale takes place with the digital bonus track. Ben Sims "Carnival part one" re-edited by Shlomi Aber. This is definitely the icing on the cake! If you are a DJ you'll immediately desire to play this track as soon as possible. His edit it's just perfect leaving intact the original vibe of the English legend's track. Its tribal groove echoes the early 2000s sound. For those who love the genre this is unmissable.

Repress!

A MAJOR EXPLORATION OF TOKYO'S CUTTING EDGE 80S SOUND THROUGH THE MUSIC OF CULT JAPANESE LABEL NIPPON COLUMBIA AND ITS BETTER DAYS IMPRINT, SELECTED BY BRITISH RADIO PRESENTER AND DJ NICK LUSCOMBE.

‘Tokyo Dreaming’ is a superb selection picked from the highly collectible Nippon Columbia label and its Better Days sub-label. For the occasion, we’ve teamed up with journalist and Japanese music expert Nick Luscombe who was granted rare access to the much-guarded Nippon Columbia's vaults for a masterful selection encapsulating the fascinating sound of Tokyo in the late 70s and 80s. The selection mixes electro, synth-pop, funk and ambient and features such artists as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mariah, Shigeo Sekito, Juicy Fruits, Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama and Yumi Murata. The tracklist includes many sought-after rarities and hidden gems which have never been released outside of Japan and the set has been newly remastered by Nippon Columbia. The album has been designed by famed London-based designer Optigram and is annotated by Nick.

Nippon Columbia, one of Japan's oldest music labels is also one of its most collectible thanks to its sub-label Better Days which, in the late 70s, became a hotbed for Tokyo's new generation of pop artists eager to experiment with ambient, electro and funk. Armed with a string of new Japanese-made synthesizers and drum machines that would soon take the world by storm, they made cutting-edge music, which has since become highly sought-after by a new generation of Japanese music lovers. Nick Luscombe, who has long been a leading advocate of Japanese music from this era, has handpicked a selection of some of the sharpest music released on these labels at the time.
According to Nick, “Tokyo Dreaming is a look back to an incredible era of Japanese music, that still sounds and feels like the future. It was a moment when brand-new music tech from Japan helped forge new ideas and experiments that permeated pop, soul and jazz and helped create new forms of music including electro and techno. The perfect meeting point that would help create a new soundtrack for modern living.“
?The selection starts with "The End of Asia" by Ryuichi Sakamoto from his 1978 ground-breaking debut "Thousand Knives Of" (reissued last year by Wewantsounds). The track became a staple of Sakamoto's and YMO's live shows and was even re-recorded by the group for their 1980 album 'X Multiplies'. The track is followed by Mariah's cult Armenian folk flavoured synth pop classic "Shinzo No Tobira" (1983), which first spread outside of Japan when the Scottish DJ duo Optimo started playing the track regularly at their shows.
?Chika Asamoto's "Self Control" (1988) and Jun Fukamachi's "Treasure Hunter" (1985) are perfect songs in the synth-pop canon, while Yumi Murata's rendition of Akiko Yano's "Watashi No Bus" and Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama's "Rainy Driver" both from 1981, move closer towards the slicker, funkier sound of City Pop.
?'Tokyo Dreaming' superbly showcases the breadth of 80s Japanese music and the way electro pop was a playing ground for musicians to experiment with many styles, as showcased by Akira Sakata's dub-enfused "Room" from 1980, Kazumi Watanabe's discoid "Tokyo Joe" (1980) and Juicy Fruits' "kawai" robotic Techno pop song "Jenie Gets Angry".
?The selection flows effortlessly between many shades of synth and ends with two cult classics in the form of Yasuaki Shimizu's "Semi Tori No Hi" and Shigeo Sekito's ambient-jazz masterpiece "The Word II" from his highly sought-after album "Kareinaru Electone (The Word) Vol.2" which, although recorded in 1975, perfectly announces the synth revolution to come. Tokyo Dreaming showcases the groundbreaking sounds of a city turned giant sonic lab which was restlessly inventing the music of the future.
Nick Luscombe is a highly respected and in-demand music influencer who discovers great music from all over the world and shares it internationally through his many radio shows and DJ sets. He has been in charge of music selection for various radio programs since 1999, and from 2010 - 2019, was the DJ for the popular BBC Radio music program "Late Junction”. He has also curated and presented music shows for Monocle and British Airways radio stations. He has worked as both Chief Music Editor at iTunes and Director of Music at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art, and is the founder of MSCTY.

It’s 2020, the year Pop Ambient turns twenty-one years old, a spritely young adult waltzing out of its teenage joys and tears. Pop Ambient has always stood for a certain classicism and elegance, a kind of beatless music that’s diaphanous and hazy, gossamer and glittering. It’s a music that’s no less inviting for its slow pace and becalmed nature, with a different kind of tension bubbling under the surface. For twenty-one years, KOMPAKT co-founder Wolfgang Voigt has curated a series of peerless compilations that repeatedly find refreshing answers to a simple question – What happens when the dancefloor is empty, and everyone’s home to drift away?

As with many other Pop Ambient compilations, Pop Ambient 2021 offers a welcome platform to contributions from both old friends and new faces. It opens with the gorgeous, slo-mo drift of “Of A Vessel”, from new Kompakt signings Blank Gloss. Sending their music out into the world from their home in Sacramento, this duo makes music that’s featherlight and luscious, the muted chime of a guitar over here, the steady hum of a halatial drone over there; everything in its right place, and nothing overdone. The poise is all. Neozaïre (Tobias Sawitzki aka Noorden) and Seventh World (Juho Hietala aka Blamstrain) are our other two new voices, the latter closing (the CD version of) Pop Ambient 2021 with a long, lambent dreamsong, Neozaïre offering us two gaseous, morphing driftworks, “Vor den Toren Europas” and “In Verschwenderischer Fülle” (CD only), etched across with bell-like arpeggios.

Pop Ambient has always felt like a field for play for the KOMPAKT cognoscenti, and 2021 is no different, with Joachim Spieth collaborating with Pepo Galán on the sidereal visions of “Libration”, while Leandro Fresco teams up with Thore Pfeiffer on the lovely “Abejorro”. Pfeiffer also contributes two lovely solo miniatures of abstract longing. Yui Onodera calls in again, long distance, for their fourth Pop Ambient running, with the refracted, glinting lightscapes of “Cromo 5” and “Monochrome”, while there are also star turns from Max Würden, both solo and in Reich & Würden (with Luis Reichard), and Morgen Wurde, who drops by with the ‘ethereal drama’ of “Mittsommer”.

Pop Ambient gets the balance right: visions and soundscapes, long-distance communications and intimate asides, sweetness and light, drama and dreaming, all wrapped up in floral abstractions – a most beautiful distraction.

Wir schreiben das Jahr 2020, das Jahr, in dem Pop Ambient einundzwanzig Jahre alt wird – das entspricht etwa einem lebenshungrigen jungen Erwachsenen, der gerade aus den letzten Teenager-Freuden und Leiden herausgewachsen ist. Pop Ambient steht seit jeher für eine gewisse Klassik und Eleganz, beatfreie Musik, die, transparent und leicht verschwommen, zart und glitzernd leuchtet. Musik, die trotz ihrer Langsamkeit und ihrer sanften Natur unter Spannung steht, weil hier immer etwas unter der scheinbar ruhigen Oberfläche brodelt.

Einundzwanzig Jahre lang hat KOMPAKT-Mitbegründer Wolfgang Voigt diese einzigartige Compilation-Reihe kuratiert, die immer wieder neue Antworten auf eine einfache Frage findet: Wie füllt man die Leere nach dem Club?

Wie viele andere Pop Ambient-Compilations bietet auch Pop Ambient 2021 eine Plattform für die musikalischen Beiträge von alten Freunden und einigen neuen Gesichtern. Es beginnt mit dem wunderbaren Slo-Mo-Drift von "Of A Vessel" von Blank Gloss, einem neuen Kompakt Signing. Das Duo stammt aus Sacramento in Kalifornien und sendet von dort seine überaus leichte und sinnliche Musik in die Welt hinaus – ein zartes Zupfen an einer Gitarresaite hier, das gleichmäßige Dröhnen eines prunkvollen Soundscapes hier; alles ist hier am richtigen Platz und passiert ohne übertriebene Betonung. Gelassenheit ist alles. Neozaïre und Seventh World sind zwei weitere Neuzugänge. Hinter Seventh World steckt der finnische Produzent Juho Hietala aka Blamstrain, der (die CD Version von) Pop Ambient 2021 mit einem epischen, flackernden Traum names “Light The Waves Before Dawn“ beschließt, während Neozaïre, ein Seitenprojekt von Tobias Sawitzki aka Noorden, zwei gasförmige, sich immer wieder morphende und abdriftende Tracks abliefert: "In Verschwenderischer Fülle" (CD only) mit seinen glockenartigen Arpeggios und “Vor Den Toren Europas“.

Pop Ambient fühlte sich immer schon an wie ein Experimentierfeld für eingefleischte KOMPAKT-Künstler, und auch 2021 ist das nicht anders: zum Beispiel Joachim Spieth’s Kooperation mit Pepo Galán ("Libration") oder Leandro Fresco, der mit Thore Pfeiffer das liebevolle "Abejorro" produzierte. Pfeiffer steuert mit “Grape“ und “Center“ zwei weitere Solo-Miniaturen voller abstrakter Sehnsucht bei. Der japanische Klangkünstler Yui Onodera meldet sich mit den gebrochen-glitzernden Lichtlandschaften von "Cromo 5" und "Monochrome" bereits zum vierten Mal auf Pop Ambient zu Wort, während Max Würden sowohl solo, als auch als Teil von Reich & Würden (mit Luis Reichard) ebenso wie Morgen Wurde schon zu den Stars dieser Compilation gehört.

Caiphus Semenya, AKA Mr Letta Mbulu, is a South African legend and Streams Today… Rivers Tomorrow, his second solo LP, is perfect. A ten out-of ten album if ever we heard one. It’s also incredibly rare, especially in good condition, so Be With is delighted to present this reissue.

Now a revered composer, musician, and arranger, Caiphus left apartheid South Africa in the 60s for self-imposed exile in Southern California together with his wife, Letta Mbulu. Settling in Los Angeles he started working with the likes of Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba and other exiled and semi-exiled South african artists, as well as, of course, his wife Letta.

Caiphus also found himself working with and composing for a broad range of jazz and pop artists, including Lou Rawls, Nina Simone and Cannonball Adderley. His facility with both jazz and African forms served him well. His LA stay also the beginning of an ongoing collaboration with Quincy Jones, the fruits of which can be tasted in Caiphus’s African compositions for the scores to Roots and Spielberg’s adaptation of The Color Purple.

Originally released in 1984, Streams Today… Rivers Tomorrow is not just a musical masterpiece, it is also the soundtrack to the life of many South Africans - both then and now. Fusing the US-heavy sounds of boogie, disco and funk with Afrobeat and traditional African elements, it’s truly a spectacular listen. Jabu Nkosi handles keyboards on the album, with synths by Caiphus and Craig Harris. Sipho Gumede is on bass and Condry Ziqubu is on guitars.

The Afro-Cuban grooves of “Mamase” open the record. Continuing where Listen To The Wind left off, this is another horn-heavy call-and-response ode to a positive life. Life as an invitation to party, to take part, to “get involved”. But only if you’re willing to let in the transcendent power of music. “There’s gonna be a Mardi Gras, there’s gonna be a carnival; there’s gonna be a jamboree, there’s gonna be a bacchanal”. Who can resist that? Vibrations everywhere.

It’s followed by the joy of “Aida”. Gleeful, dayglow keys and synths *just* on the right side of mid-80s sleaze are accompanied by a killer bassline, slick, skipping drums and proud horns. Infectious funk.

The tempo is taken down a few notches for the powerful “Nomalanga” and the lamentations of a heartbroken man who must leave his wife Nomalanga and their children to join the fight against apartheid. It’s an emotional song, no question, but it doesn’t bring you down. The uplifting music and optimistic vocal delivery from Caiphus and his backing singers in the second half offer hope.

Breezy drums and contemplative keys act as a backdrop for the stunning backing vocal harmonies in the intro of “Moshanyana”. This gives way to stuttering beats, a bassline to die for and Caiphus giving it his all, over guitars, marimba and synth strings. Another slo-mo winner.

Side two opens with “Dial Your Number”, an uptempo English-language boogie-funk workout, complete with mid-song cutaway to a random telephone call. Whether or not this propels the song into “key track” status, we’ll let you decide.

What’s not up for debate is the brilliance of “Matswale”. This was a hit in South Africa in the mid-80s and you can still hear why. It might just be our favourite Caiphus hit. Wow. This is some damn fine breezy, beautiful, emotional pop. The restrained playing, the guitar licks and the gentle keys are out of this world. The beats? Thundering, direct and slick. The singing? It’ll give you goosebumps. As for the sentiment? This is Caiphus singing to his in-laws about their daughter’s adultery, begging them to intervene and help him save his marriage. Not your typical pop single story-telling!

The ferocious “Ndi-Kulindile” closes the set with a nod to the coming sound of the States. The hard-edged, electro-influenced drum patterns and bouncing, elastic bassline are something of a departure from the album’s predominant sound, yet one wonderful constant, Caiphus’s exceptional delivery and his sparring with his backing vocalists, is satisfyingly present and warmly deployed.

With Simon Francis handling the mastering of this Be With edition, you know it sounds as fantastic as ever. The stunning sleeve has been restored, with its painting of a dream-like cosmic vista, as a lone figure takes in a scene that’s part distant planet, part urban sprawl. One listen and you’ll be transported.


Caiphus Semenya, AKA Mr Letta Mbulu, is a South African legend and Streams Today… Rivers Tomorrow, his second solo LP, is perfect. A ten out-of ten album if ever we heard one. It’s also incredibly rare, especially in good condition, so Be With is delighted to present this reissue.

Originally released in 1984, Streams Today… Rivers Tomorrow is not just a musical masterpiece, it is also the soundtrack to the life of many South Africans - both then and now. Fusing the US-heavy sounds of boogie, disco and funk with Afrobeat and traditional African elements, it’s truly a spectacular listen. Jabu Nkosi handles keyboards on the album, with synths by Caiphus and Craig Harris. Sipho Gumede is on bass and Condry Ziqubu is on guitars.

One listen and you’ll be transported.

Berlin club and party-starters Sameheads return to black wax on April 10th with “ZEUG!”, a 4-track EP from various celebrated artists, who join forces in new and unheard ways for a stack of outernational and spaced-out dancefloor jams for creative dance floors worldwide and beyond.

Berlin-based CROSSLUCID, AKA Sylwana Zybura and Tomas C. Toth, have delivered another stunning example of their perception-bending otherworldly viewpoint with the artwork for the release. A purely analog production, fusing clever lighting tricks, hand-made props, and a healthy dose of shaving foam and dry ice… This “Cult of the Cosmic Swamp” chimes with the weird tribal rhythms contained on the record.

First up is Mameen 3 (a side-project from Brussels selector DJ Sofa) & Romanian pioneer Rodion G.A with ‘Planet Cluj’, a suitably off-world excursion through a fun-packed disco hall in some far-off colony where layered synths are stacked, elements seeping through one another to form a mesh of groove.

Anatolian Weapons’ cosmic fireside ritual, ‘Chant 3’, heats up the A2 with vibrant and punchy percussion loops woven together with a worldwide chorus of chanters. Building continuously, the tough workout is dosed up with a bassline saturated in attitude for a high-energy finish.

Picking up on the B side are KRENG (a morphic form composed of Don’t DJ and Dane Close), who slow the pace down with a latticed beatwork combining robust dance formulas and blasting syncopation. Letting the rhythm do the legwork for the first half of the track, the pair then pour out a sludged mess of grime-infused bass over the percussive chaos.

Silvia Kastel and Wilted Woman close proceedings as SHAKEY with a dubwise workout that straddles b-side house obscurity and stoned live dub improvisation: steel drums patter at the windows of Paradise Garage as Larry Levan fights off the vampires alongside Scientist.

The release is celebrated at Sameheads on April 10th with an extremely rare live show from Rodion G. A., an appearance from INVERSIONS label owner Milo Smee, and a b2b from Don’t Dj & Dane Close. Limited to 300 pieces, this record will find a home in the stacks of DJ’s willing to step outside genre and convention.

Straight out the gate, Nas dropped a classic. Since the release of the seminal ‘Illmatic’ album in 1994, critics and fans have been wondering if Nas peaked too early and if anything in his subsequent catalogue could be held up against this masterpiece. To be fair, it’s hard to follow up something this flawless, a project that allied his most insightful, pitch-perfect heartfelt rhymes with the work of the best hip-hop producers on the east coast.

DJ Premier, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest and Large Professor all take their turns on the album, along with the unsung L.E.S., but it’s Pete Rock in his prime who provides the stunning backdrop for the cinematic ‘The World is Yours’. It’s a perfect nugget of a single, weaving in the brashness of Scarface, the repetition of a snatch of T La Rock’s early Def Jam gem ‘It’s Yours’ and piano courtesy of Ahmad Jamal’s ‘I Love Music’ from his own timeless ‘The Awakening’ album (1970).

Presented for the first time on 7”, the vocals of the album version and the instrumental on the flip provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy and compare the work of two masters at the top of their game. Pete Rock’s seamless weaving of disparate samples into a compelling whole, the then little-known Nas’ statement of intent. With a maturity beyond his tender years, Nas put himself straight at the top of the pile, this Queensbridge chronicle hinting at the ambition and greatness he harboured within himself.

Intriguing times out there! Much confusion, much uncertainty
and a little bit too much of everything. Even music. And
recording mediums. Greta probably wouldn't approve of
cramming your little apartment with thousands of vinyl discs
that will go to waste at some point. And honestly, does the
world even need another record label? The answer is no.
Except this brand new imprint right here is aiming to put things
a bit into perspective. Bisiesto, meaning leapyear in Spanish
will only issue its releases on every 29th of February. You
know what that means - one release every four years. Less
pollution, less redundancy, essential material that had its time
to ripe, plus it's a fun idea, too. Bisiesto is run and curated by
Carlo and will emphasize on the physical release on vinyl in
limited editions of 366 pieces, hand numbered by the man
himself. Bisiesto #1 is due with four jams by the label honcho
that showcase his variety in an unprecedented manner. The
laid back electro- and e-funk-induced groove of "Momo" opens
that spectrum, maintaining Carlo's unmistakable feeling for
soothing harmonies. "Casiopeia" brings in a bit more of his
signature sound, building up a straightforward feelgood
housetune on thick kickdrums, slapping hihats and energizing
vocal cutouts. You can sum this bad boy up under: Carlo on
top of his game. The following "Tengo" has been released
previously, but appears here in a completely new mix, letting
this bouncy, yet deephouse-tinged piece shine in a slightly
different colour. Closing off is "Domingo" a rather percussive
affair, bringing in some tribal grains, a funked up bassline and
an irresistible breezy disco feel.

F*CLR Records are delighted to release Dublin based producer and remixer Glenn Davis’s outstanding new EP, Namida (Tears of Happiness), the eagerly anticipated follow up to his hugely acclaimed Body & Soul’ 12”.

With remixes from Ashley Beedle & Darren Morris’s Afrikanz on Marz production unit, it has already been given the legendary François Kevorkian seal of approval with massive support on his Worldwide FM show. Mr Davis has been busy in the studio this year creating complete dancefloor and radio fire - house music to lift you up and save your soul.
The original mix of Namida (Tears of Happiness) would sit comfortably next to anything on the Nu Groove label roster, the Burrell Brothers would be saluting Glenn for his beautiful attention to detail.

Ashley Beedle x Darren Morris take their Afrikanz on Marz remixes onto a cosmic disco level and with a bass line that takes no prisoners, deliver a sparkling remix + dub. With the addition of the properly late night sleazy bizniss UGetting Down, it’s party time for deep headz. Enjoy!!

After a couple of great remixes for Noir Music Robert S (PT) delivers his first solorelease on the label and I am proud to present these three
amazing originals and two remixes courtesy of Drumcell and The
Advent. Robert and I have been compiling this release over several months and put together what we felt was a really strong 3-tracker. We have been testing the tracks in the clubs around the world making sure we had compiled the perfect release and we are both super happy with the end-result. On top of that we reached out to Drumcell and The Advent for remixes and they both delivered fantastic takes on the “Exoplanets” track.

German-Syrian band Shkoon will release their long-awaited debut album “Rima”, sending out a message of cultural diversity to the world. Shkoon’s concerts have attracted a diverse audience for many years, bringing together people of all religions, colors and backgrounds. For their album-tour through Germany and Switzerland, stops in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Zurich are planned.

Musically, the album is situated between influences of electronic downbeat, deep house, dub and hip-hop. The band members come from a variety of different musical backgrounds and have created their very own sound with a mix of influences between the Arabic and Western world. Piano, violin, synthesizers, percussion and vocals merge oriental melodies with western electronic beats, taking the listener on a journey that blurs the boundaries of cultures.

Shkoon is more than a German-Syrian live act with Arabic lyrics. In addition to their own lyrics, the band uses traditional musical folklore elements of the Arab community, which today appear more relevant than ever. The title song of the debut album is inspired by a story from Arabic folklore, in which a mother tells peaceful tales to her child as the world sinks into chaos. This song is accompanied by the singer and rapper Tareq Abu Kwaik, also known as "El Far3i", by the band
47Soul.

After the war in their home country drove the two Syrians to relocate to Germany, Ameen, Thorben and Maher met in the hanseatic city of Hamburg in 2015. During a spontaneous jam session, an unexpected energy and thus the project Shkoon emerged, which was soon followed by the release of the band’s very first EP a few months later.

During the first performances of Shkoon, a spark quickly jumped over to the audience, which soon allowed the group to play major festival stages all over Europe. Even as Shkoon’s musical expression knows no boundaries, it is not easy for the band to travel other countries, as Ameen (the vocalist) and Maher (the violinist) consistently face difficulties of getting visa documents due to their refugee status.

This is particularly lamented in Arab countries, where the band has long been celebrated as stars, for example when they played a sold-out show in Beirut for an audience of more than 3,000 people. But also in Europe, especially in Germany, there is immense enthusiasm in their fans-base is huge.

The next Planet X invasion is underway! Four mutated and banging hybrids have joined forces for the ultimate techno takeover.
First up is Q-Cumb, a former vegetable farmer from the southern parts of Iceland known for excellent cucumbers. Since he fled his homeland he has gained a notorious reputation in the world of electronic music all over the world. He is known as Odinn, cucumb45, Bbbbbb, kid mistik, slurp gurken, icelandic lamb, orange juice man, gurk, q-cumb, holidayboy slurp and last but not least, Bjarki. His track, Dreamers, is considered the track of the year by those who have experienced it on the dancefloors of the united consciousness. Lafontaine was spawned on the Icelandic highlands and channels Icelands musical energy through his earthy connections. His tune, Ailenated, describes his existence where he fights on a daily basis to combine his music with his daily life. The result is a musical outbreak consisting of terrestrial techno with an experimental feel. ThizOne cooks up the electro-mixture Bolt which is a political anthem that describes his anger towards Icelandic politics. Recently the Icelandic government has been brainwashing the population using corrupted electronic waves. ThizOne's track is an attempt to counteract these terrible acts of treason to our people. Matrixxman, one of the team members of Planet X, throws forward an Acid banger called 'Flexxin On Hoes' that will most definitely tear up the dancefloors of the galaxy.
On the next Planet X release Matrixxman will twist and turn a remix from Lafontaine and mutate that bitch into a nuclear nugget for the future. In other news the Planet X master himself is conjouring his own ep, his first in a while that will see the light of dawn later this year. Don't miss out on this release Space Cowboys!

Celebrating a Decade of Dark Entries with a compilation titled ‘Tens Across The Board’. We revisit our roster and chose 10 songs from 10 bands from 10 different countries spanning the years 1981-1993. The songs flow in chronological order and have never appeared on vinyl, with 7 of the songs previously unreleased.

The compilation begins in 1981 with Parade Ground from Belgium, the duo of brothers Pierre and Jean-Marc Pauly with help from Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc of Front 242. “The Light’s Gone” was one of their earliest experiments and employs a stark minimalism with modular synthesizers, guitar reverb and tape delay. Next we venture to Granada, Spain in 1982 to meet the trio of Diseño Corbusier. Influenced by Cabaret Voltaire and Dadaism, “La Esperanza está en Antenas” was the band’s take on melancholic pop fueled by a robotic DR-55 bass-line. Sailing the Mediterranean Sea to Athens to meet Greek electronic goddess Lena Platonos who shares a demo from 1983. “Μια Γάτα Σασ Περιμένει Στη Γωνία” translates to “A Cat Is Waiting On The Corner” and is possibly the witchiest sounds we’ve shared yet, ending with a blood curdling scream. Frozen in 1983 we cross Ionian Sea to Messina, Italy and visit Victrola, the duo of Antonino “Eze” Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio. They’ve unearthed a melodic instrumental version of “Luca” fueled by a Korg Polysix and TB-303. Traveling across the Adriatic to Slovenia circa 1984, where Borghesia are working on their album ‘Ljubav Je Hladnija Od Smrti’. “Magla” translates to “Fog” fitting for the thick, somber electronics of Aldo Ivancic providing a dense atmosphere for the baritone vocals of Dario Seraval.

On Side B we go down under to Sydney and excavate a hidden Tom Ellard song recorded in 1984 under the alias Lord Metal, an anagram of his name for copyright reasons. “Ga Duum Blitzfonika” is a slow-motion, unadulterated dance groove originally released on the cassette compilation "Independent World”. Skipping ahead to 1986 in Tours, France we salute X-Ray Pop the minimum new wave duo of Didier "Doc" Pilot and Zouka Dzaza. They contribute the hypnotically fragile “Corto Maltese” that originally appeared on the cassette compilation ‘Plop’. Crossing the German boarder we arrive in Dortmund at the apartment of Andreas Sippel of Second Decay who recorded the instrumental demo “Lübeckerstrasse” in 1988 with partner Christian Purwien. Utilizing an TR-808, SH-101 and Arp Odyssey this cold slice of futurism was named after the street Andreas lived on. Traveling westward to England, specifically Basildon, Essex to the teenage bedroom of From Nursery To Misery, the trio of identical twin sister vocalists Gina and Tina Fear and keyboard player Lee Stevens. “Contentment” is an introspective, ethereal pop song with child-like vocals that originally appeared on the Belgian tape compilation ‘Heartbeat Vol.4’ in 1989. Finally, we return home to San Francisco and close out the compilation with Cyrnai the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Fok. “Digital Grit Box (Demo)” was an outtake from the ‘Transfiguration’ album sessions recorded in 1993, utilizing dark dance drum beats made with MIDI sequencer programs Studio Vision and Sample Cell.

All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl is housed in a custom designed jacket by Eloise Leigh featuring our label’s colors black-white-red with connect-the-dots pattern linking the 10 songs via maps/timeline/location, all relating to the reissue process, plus source images from San Francisco, our hometown. For this landmark release we've also printed a 2-sided fold-out wall poster that includes every artist we've released in our first 10 years 2009-2019 in black, red and silver metallic ink, plus an 8x11 insert with lyrics, notes and photos.

2 artists, 2 tracks, 2 remixers. I am very proud to present this DUAL release from artists A_GIM and Alex Mine who both deliver some hard hitting peak time stompers for the dance-floors around the globe. And I am equally proud to have the 2 remixers I admire Yan Cook and Moteka onboard for the more underground remixes of the tracks. I honestly love all versions. The involved artists really delievered some special treats for Noir Music and I am so happy with the end results for this release. People who have attended my gigs the past 5-6 months have heard these tracks out loud. Now its time to unleash the goodness to the world. Dual is here.

Since 2019 the collective of Parisian partygoers, Pardonnez-Nous, have decided to launch their own label. Just like their parties, their goal is to shine a light on dancing music.

Constantly looking for new tracks to enlighten the dancefloors, their outings are in line with the vision of deejaying defended by its founders. Finding forgotten pieces that are the geneses of dance music and mixing them with more contemporary sounds. Re-editions, edits, remixes or original productions the label doesn’t just stick to one style but aspires to represent all the music of partying!

Mexico, Peru, Surinam, and of course Sweden: in 1986, musicians from around the world responded to the Swedish composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Torbjörn Langborn’s invitation. His idea was to bring together the two groups he played with: a jazz quintet, and his salsa ensemble.

The cocktail was explosive: after several days recording at the Humlan studio in Stockholm, Torbjörn Langborn & the Feel Life Orchestra produced an eponymous album, combining, in Langborn’s words, “disco and funk with congas and Batá percussions.” The B side was a three-part gem nearly seven minutes long titled “Feel Life”, where he gives free rein to his talent as a jazz pianist. Thirty years later, we asked the famous remixer Dimitri from Paris to express is talent to produce a new version of this classic music track. "Pardonnez-nous", here it is.

The sixth release of Form and Function, is the second one of the Function series. This time it's Qindek who provides his debut EP on the label. 'Reach For The Cosmica' is a lovely journey through Qindek's world. It's the perfect combination of both abstract and functional. The weird meets the wonderful. The package is topped of by Setaoc Mass who does an incredible job remixing Takes A pad.

On the A-side, the first track is 'Climate Shift'. A track that tells a story through dubby elements and chords, backed by a powerful and thumping low end. A movement of continuous energy and subtle but noticeable changes which have an impact on the track as a whole can be seen as the precursor for cosmic endeavors.

Next up is 'Reach For The Cosmica', the second track of this release. It's an epitome of the soundtrack of traveling through space. The minimalist build up tells us about how the journey just started outside of the atmosphere, transitioning into more depth that has been inaugurated by a sound that is the sonic equal of the rocket engine. As the beginning journey develops, there are few sudden bursts of power, together with the presence of the perpetual powers that cause the final move to outer space.

The arrival in outer space brings us to the 3rd part of the release and the first track of the B-side. Setaoc Mass gives the EP it's the concluding boost that gives us that last drop of power before the arrival. Elements of the original are still to be found, whilst given a little twist and a lot more of dancefloor energy. All while keeping the pace up to enter the final chapter of the journey.

'Take A Pad' exactly asks us what we need to do. Finding the ultimate balance between speed while preserving the right amount of power, is how sub-bass is working in harmony with the percussive elements.

Space is calling upon us with delicate voices. A beautiful ending of a classy and well crafted EP by Qindek.

From playing chaotic house parties in their home city of Oxford to becoming major festival headliners across Europe, Foals' trajectory has been remarkable. They've earned critical acclaim (NME and Q Award wins, plus Mercury Prize, Ivor Novello and BRIT Award nominations) and fan devotion (1.7 million sales of their four Gold-certified albums) in equal measure. And while the majority of contemporaries have fallen by the wayside, Foals continue to hit new peaks.

After more than a decade in the game, Foals again embrace that love for the unconventional with the bravest and most ambitious project of their career: not one, but two astonishing new albums: 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. A pair of releases, separate but related, they share a title, themes and artwork. 'Part 1' will be released on March 8th, with 'Part 2' following later in the year.

'They're two halves of the same locket,' frontman Yannis Philippakis explains. 'They can be listened to and appreciated individually, but fundamentally, they are companion pieces.

Fundamentally tethered but possessing their own personalities, the two bodies capture the most compelling, ambitious and cohesive creations they've ever produced. Eager to break the traditional pop song structure which they felt they were becoming increasingly tapered to, the 20 tracks defy expectation. There are exploratory, progressive-tinged tracks alongside atmospheric segues which make the music an experience rather than a mere collection of songs. Yet the band's renowned ability to wield relentless grooves with striking power and skyscraper hooks also reaches new heights.

The album's lead single 'Exits' is a case in point, featuring Philippakis conjuring the image of a disorienting world via a contagious vocal melody. It's a fresh anthem for Foals' formidable arsenal, but also an ominous forecast.

'There's a definite idea about the world being no longer habitable in the way that it was,' says Yannis. 'A kind of perilousness lack of predictability and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitudes of the problems we face. What's the response And what's the purpose of any response that one individual can have'

'Exits' signposts what to expect thematically from both instalments of 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. The title is a warning that anything - from the tiniest fleeting moment of inspiration through to the planet's own biological diversity - can be under threat of being irrevocably erased.

It's a theme that permeates throughout the album's material, as Foal mirror the public neuroses that have been provoked by our current cultural climate. Paranoia of state surveillance Fear of environmental collapse Anxiety over Trump's next potentially cataclysmic move It's all there in these apocalyptic songs.

'Lyrically, there are resonances with what's going on in the world at the moment,' summarises Yannis. 'I just feel like, what's the utility of being a musician these days, if you can't engage with at least some of this stuff These songs are white flags, or they're SOSs, or they're cries for help... each in a different way.'

The new albums' journeys began as the 'What Went Down' era ended. Founding bassist Walter Gervers departed on amicable terms after playing the Festival Paredes de Coura in Portugal in August 2017. Foals felt that he couldn't be replaced - a decision that ushered in a period of recalibration, reorganisation and, ultimately, rejuvenation.

After taking a little time out, Foals - completed by Jimmy Smith (guitar), Jack Bevan (drums) and Edwin Congreave (keys) reconvened - with Yannis on production duties, who, together with Edwin, also covered the bass parts. They began by writing in a rehearsal space before exporting those sketches into the recording phase at 123 Studios, Peckham, with the assistance of engineer Brett Shaw. They'd repeat the cycle between the two spaces, effectively creating an ongoing feedback loop as they sought to push every new idea to the finish line.

1 x 12" black vinyl 180gsm
- label 4/c
- discobag on reverse board with matt varnish
- gatefold on reverse board with matt varnish
- shrinkwrap

'World' is the debut album dreamt up by Barcelona based DJ / Production duo Memorial Home. Comprising of Paul Roux (France) and Jeremy Pinchasi (Belgium), 'World' is the exciting result of their shared desire to push the limits of their own brilliant musical foresight. It's an ambitious 20 track longplayer which effortlessly showcases the incomparable sonic space shared between both musical masterminds.

Sitting somewhere just to the left of Nicolas Jaar, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Mike Dehnert and Ostgut Ton, Memorial Home has managed to craft an album absolutely unique to their sound, impossible to categorise and sure to catch the attention of music lovers of all shapes and sizes. Techno without a dancefloor, experimental electronica fit for the warehouse raves. It's an exciting, perfectly confusing album which simply works wonderfully.

Heavily textured in incredible atmospherics, dub effects and crisp, clear percussion, 'World' spreads over an excellent array of individual tracks full of groundbreaking musical magic. Incorporating a stunning fusion of live instrumentation and electronic craftsmanship, 'World' is an audio adventure into emotive soundscapes, with a clear focus on the subtle saturation of melancholy. It's a soundtrack for a dystopian film yet to be written. A sonic painting for the coming winter months where the trees are all but dead and frozen; and the ground a thick layer of glowing white snow.

Memorial Home are the founders of the independent label Rapid Eye Movement, which has seen a breadth of incredible EPs riding the balance between experimental Techno and introspective electronica. They first met by random chance in their newly adopted home of Barcelona, Spain. This unexpected encounter quickly developed into a full-fledged musical kinship through their shared interest in crafting cinematic, experimental techno music. Each release from the label and duo showcase their clear passion to unearthing sounds beyond the expected. With their debut LP about to drop, the future is looking certain for the duo, the label, and the changing face of modern day electronic music.

Andrej Lasic (Laseech) is an artist, producer and audio engineer from Štinjan, Pula, Croatia. More intrigued with underground music he started producing music and in 2016 he released his first EP "Grotlo" on Hand Job Recordings and first single "Soulgroove" on famous King Street Sounds.

In 2018 he released his first vinyl single "Remember" on famous Australian deep house label Red Ember Records and singed his first remix for Jan Kincl & Regis Kattie's song 'Florette' on PDV records.
His work support and play world known artists such as Laurent Garnier, Kai Alce, Chez Damier, Scott Grooves, Gari Romalis, Dermarkus Lewis, Mike Huckaby and many more..
By now he had the chance to play on illectricity festival, Slurp! festival, Dimensions and Outlook festival and many other venues and clubs in the region, such as Klub K4 in Ljubljana, Hartera in Rijeka, Podmornica in Zagreb and many more..

From Jazzy, Funky and Soulful to Raw, Groovy, Deep and Acid, Andrej Laseech is considerate to be one of finest Croatian artists from the new generation. 'Can't Get This Feeling' EP represents a deep and meaningful connection between soul, jazz and that classic deep house sound, but also a connection between two artists and friends Andrej Laseech and Jasmina Makota. Syncopated groove, loving jazzy chords with Jasmina's beautiful voice and heart touching lyrics makes this EP a wonderful love story.

Positive Centre marks the 5th release on his In Silent Series label
with 4 tracks of weighted mechanical workouts that feature his
honed atmospheric style with brooding scenery and sharp
percussive accents. Isolated Loop takes a crunched and spat out
growl of an acid synth and blends it with ever developing drum
machine patterns as a weaponised techno tool. Tension Arm builds
on this with sharp percussion piercing over a hard edged bassline
and atmospheric scenery. Idle Roller is a deep, sub-aquatic rhythm
journeying to parts unknown with subtle switch in rhythm keeping
the momentum going through this textured sound world. Sum
Tolerance fractures open with stretched sounds of otherworldly
instruments, sludge laden beats and humming bass pressure.

It's time for a fresh new release from the Apollonia stable, and this time around we unveil four groovy gems from Shonky and Tolga Fidan working together for the first time, giving us a winning combination and one which is sure to satisfy fans of both artists. The first track 'Dynamo' sets the tone for the EP; the bassline has a deadly groove, while playful effects dance around at the top end creating an immersive atmosphere. Intergalactic vibes. After that comes 'Bastille', which features a similarly jaunty rhythm with a variety of bleeps, chirps and twangs layered on top on each other to give the track its depth and character, while a menacing b-line does its dirty work in the low end.On the flip we get 'Micro-Ondes', a mysterious into the undiscovered lands of planet funk. You feel as though you've been transported to another world, where warped creatures lurk, calling out for your attention. As for the bass, its rhythm is utterly contagious. Finally 'Americana' completes the collection, maintaining the unusual use of sound prevalent throughout the EP it utilises a myriad distorted instruments. Support in the low end comes via a tough, punchy bass riff.

Always a rare treat when a ready-formed and devastatingly good project comes our way

Three emails and a delivery truck later, we're very happy to be lending a hand getting this one to good homes the world over
No info to be had, other than a cleverly plotted out Ouija of the label name, some very fetching old school purple master bag sleeves & three incredible cuts of secret origin via the mystifying oracle that is Mutable...

Detroit's Burden Bros have long been looked upon with immense respect within contemporary dance music. Having been in operation since 1990 with their 430 West imprint they have long encapsulated the forward thinking vibe of Detroit Techno with their output over the last 20+ years, gaining praise from their motor city peers as well as fans worldwide. Having had success in the mainstream and an enduring underground presence they are well versed in the art of music.

This double-pack 'Cymbolic' originally came out in 1995 and found favour with electronic music fans who sought a deeper edge in their music. It's all here, the trademark drum programming, the epic sense that all of the Burden Bros productions have within them. This is dancefloor music, music for DJ's to utilise, tools, but tools with the deepest soul imaginable. Listen to 'Terraforming' or 'The Symbiont' - perfect examples of driving, almost tribal-esque rhythms fused with strings, synth pads and human feeling. 'Cymbolic' is for you if you're a fan of Detroit Techno, but it's also for those who enjoy the deepest electronic sounds. That's not to say it isn't funky though, these tracks will decimate most dance-floors, and therein lies the secret. Essential release here, that classic 430 (mid) West flavour re-mastered, re-pressed and re-released in conjunction with the Burden Brothers / 430 West Records, Detroit USA

"Day Of My Death" by Pavel Milyakov, also known as Buttechno, is his 8th release coming out this year. It consists of 6 pieces which were composed for Gosha Rubchinskiy S/S 17 show and performed in a extraordinary place in Florence which is depicted on the front cover. Mostly ambient, overdriving noise soundscapes and spoken word collages referring to the dreamy mood of the show. This work is more serious and mature than Milyakov's previous releases, exploring deeper and sacred images of his world.

1999...after the global supremacy of Oasis and Blur, the world is looking for some musical freshness. Some artists such as Daft Punk and Air have already contributed to globally popularise what the English called the "French Touch", a new term that refers to a large musical French movement. The first album of Cassius is one of the key pieces of this growing genre, and demonstrates once again the variety of the trend. Indeed, after have cooperated for a long time with MC Solaar, one of France's 90's best rappers, the hip-hop influence of both Cassius members had to have an impact on their personal concept, and it did seduce a lot of listeners hungry for new musical flavours: more than 250 000 units sold worldwide and numerous unconditional fans...Before the release of their new album Ibifornia coming out this summer, we're taking you back to basics with a new release of Cassius' first album, for the ones who didn't have the opportunity to hear it, or for those who only have the CD, and would like to get themselves the vinyl edition !

An obscure tape release discovery by Red Light Radio founder and close friend of the label, Orpheu de Jong, led to Music From Memory's latest release.This two track 12' highlights the work of electronic music pioneer Joel Graham, a San Francisco based artist who self released two cassettes in 1984/85.
Originally recorded and performed live on pre-MIDI analogue equipment in 1982 as an outline for a live performance, these visionary tracks provoke much of the same sensibilities found in both contemporary dance music as well as in works of more established vanguard artists of the time. Slowly unravelling and deeply hypnotic, Joel Graham's music seems to manifest a doorway to a profound new world and can be seen as a forerunner of what was to come in electronic music.

Hobo (Minus, Hot Creations, Tronic) launches his new imprint, Soundz, by finally releasing his highly acclaimed hit 'Mind Games'. After tearing up Ibiza and the world over this season, Mind Games is finally clawing its way out of select record boxes and into record stores everywhere. Joining Mind Games is its evil twin, 'Public Lies'. Equally epic, Public Lies builds to a fever pitch with familiar but not quite normal synth tones soaring wildly overhead. Two monster jams to kick off Soundz in that familiar Hobo style.

Just as you were getting your head straight coming off the 21st Trip … Brown Acid dose # 22 drops, continuing to fry your mind in a revolving trap-door Twilight Zone alternate world of early hard rock… populated by real life characters so far out they can look like a cheesy wedding band but sound like Blue Cheer! Uncanny! This music comes at you from many angles. Teens in a garage colliding with booze, drugs and girls for the first time, lounge lizard hustlers with snazzy stage clothes and fuzz boxes… gnarly backwoods troublemakers meet blow dried glam rock wannabes here, seamlessly clobbering your head with sound rather than each other! An electric post-psychedelic bar brawl for your mind awaits, unfasten your seat belt, crank it up and fly! Sounds Synonymous "Babylon" out of Flint, Michigan 1969 rip the devastating Blue Cheer classic a new one, immediately swarming you with organ swells and distortion before collapsing into a tuff funk groove, a psychedelic James Brown vibe shot through with dirty howling fuzz guitar, vocals nailing the messed up but confident relaxed sneering attitude of the original Cheer eruption. The Bumps "Shining" from Seattle 1969 resides right at the transition of ‘60s psych into early prog, well constructed, no diluting things artsy fartsy style, a compelling heavy riff, spacious vocal harmony hook floating above a turbulent take on getting your shit together and shining like a star. Fat chance, but you can dream, the band did and their dreams kick ass across time to right now or you wouldn’t be here.

Coulda been a hit back then, definitely a hit now. Riverside "Farmer" explodes out of Austin, Texas 1974, economical but brilliantly structured riffs and power chords, intense dynamic tension/release, fantastic screaming leads over shifting angles of attack during the middle break… it’s all here with a detached confidence in the vocal that swaggers back in time to the late ‘60s in its proto-heavy psych adjacent assault. Cincinnati Joe & Mad Lydia "Get It Together" for real in Cincinnati, Ohio 1970. The song says everything you need to know: “You may think that you’re the very best, miles and miles ahead of the rest, but be sure when you’re put to the test you get it together!” These words are deployed in a manner similar to Peter Green’s “Oh Well”, intermittently stated between killer gnarly guitar and gushy organ attacks. Bar band heaven and hell rolled up into one big ball, the vocals get all the way out there! Straight Up "Fire" takes the monster 1968 Crazy World Of Arthur Brown hit into faithfully executed but surreally minimalist territory, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1974. Genius version of a key song that presciently cuts to the chase regarding Brown Acid’s incinerations of psychedelic idealism, you’re gonna burn, burn, burn… as that moment climaxes you can gawk at their preposterous flashy lounge band stage outfits and realize side one must end because everything is totally scorched into eternity. Scrap Iron "Poopsie" is a primitive two chord stomper with spiraling fuzz and organ riffs, singer marking his territory caveman style. “Poopsie, you’re my woman” he commands, but gets weirdly insecure she’ll blow him off at the altar by the end of each verse. Snarly wah-wah ices this toxic cake out of Carteret, New Jersey 1973. Focused delivery so single-mindedly crude it creates an inescapable instant brain-worm. Lady "Live Show Tigers" is amongst the most potently life affirming trash rockers you’ll ever hear, one outrageously triumphant but fiercely sloppy anthem about living it up like a star, strutting the stage glammed up New York Dolls drag style but with a Dictators sense of humor. Tasty slightly off kilter guitar leads all through, going serendipitously berserk on the fade. Picture disc single out of L.A. 1980. Fantastic fun rock star rock at a very raw local street level where any time is party time.

Killer Frog "Hard Times" on Masochist Records from Chicago, Illinois 1972 takes less than two minutes, an action packed James Gang style bar band rocker with a bit of punky sneer in the face of misfortune. These guys never even heard of flower power. They are killer frogs. Good Humore "Killer" does kill in stripped down hard rock trio style, Warren, Michigan 1976. No frills guitar, bass and drums groove tight, snaky primordial riff, snarly licks. “She’s a killer of a woman, knows just what she’s doing…” The singer knows she’s a femme-fatale roadhouse predator but she’s so hot the inevitable wreckage seems a bargain. Ride it out like the extended jam on the fade knowing she’ll be back for more! Sarawest "Space Rider" winds up the 22nd Trip lost in a twisted two chord space adventure from the point of view of an alien visiting our planet seeking knowledge but finding out we are stupidly destroying ourselves, so he gotta split sneering back at us like we wasted his time “I got no time for loving… I wanna be a space rider, space rider”. Toronto, Canada 1974, a vibe lurking in some strange but funny void between late ‘60s outsider garage psychedelic rock complete with reverb-y acid guitar leads and late ‘70s retro-futuristic D.I.Y wisecracking from inner space… taking the piss out of outer space!

Just as you were getting your head straight coming off the 21st Trip … Brown Acid dose # 22 drops, continuing to fry your mind in a revolving trap-door Twilight Zone alternate world of early hard rock… populated by real life characters so far out they can look like a cheesy wedding band but sound like Blue Cheer! Uncanny! This music comes at you from many angles. Teens in a garage colliding with booze, drugs and girls for the first time, lounge lizard hustlers with snazzy stage clothes and fuzz boxes… gnarly backwoods troublemakers meet blow dried glam rock wannabes here, seamlessly clobbering your head with sound rather than each other! An electric post-psychedelic bar brawl for your mind awaits, unfasten your seat belt, crank it up and fly! Sounds Synonymous "Babylon" out of Flint, Michigan 1969 rip the devastating Blue Cheer classic a new one, immediately swarming you with organ swells and distortion before collapsing into a tuff funk groove, a psychedelic James Brown vibe shot through with dirty howling fuzz guitar, vocals nailing the messed up but confident relaxed sneering attitude of the original Cheer eruption. The Bumps "Shining" from Seattle 1969 resides right at the transition of ‘60s psych into early prog, well constructed, no diluting things artsy fartsy style, a compelling heavy riff, spacious vocal harmony hook floating above a turbulent take on getting your shit together and shining like a star. Fat chance, but you can dream, the band did and their dreams kick ass across time to right now or you wouldn’t be here.

Coulda been a hit back then, definitely a hit now. Riverside "Farmer" explodes out of Austin, Texas 1974, economical but brilliantly structured riffs and power chords, intense dynamic tension/release, fantastic screaming leads over shifting angles of attack during the middle break… it’s all here with a detached confidence in the vocal that swaggers back in time to the late ‘60s in its proto-heavy psych adjacent assault. Cincinnati Joe & Mad Lydia "Get It Together" for real in Cincinnati, Ohio 1970. The song says everything you need to know: “You may think that you’re the very best, miles and miles ahead of the rest, but be sure when you’re put to the test you get it together!” These words are deployed in a manner similar to Peter Green’s “Oh Well”, intermittently stated between killer gnarly guitar and gushy organ attacks. Bar band heaven and hell rolled up into one big ball, the vocals get all the way out there! Straight Up "Fire" takes the monster 1968 Crazy World Of Arthur Brown hit into faithfully executed but surreally minimalist territory, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1974. Genius version of a key song that presciently cuts to the chase regarding Brown Acid’s incinerations of psychedelic idealism, you’re gonna burn, burn, burn… as that moment climaxes you can gawk at their preposterous flashy lounge band stage outfits and realize side one must end because everything is totally scorched into eternity. Scrap Iron "Poopsie" is a primitive two chord stomper with spiraling fuzz and organ riffs, singer marking his territory caveman style. “Poopsie, you’re my woman” he commands, but gets weirdly insecure she’ll blow him off at the altar by the end of each verse. Snarly wah-wah ices this toxic cake out of Carteret, New Jersey 1973. Focused delivery so single-mindedly crude it creates an inescapable instant brain-worm. Lady "Live Show Tigers" is amongst the most potently life affirming trash rockers you’ll ever hear, one outrageously triumphant but fiercely sloppy anthem about living it up like a star, strutting the stage glammed up New York Dolls drag style but with a Dictators sense of humor. Tasty slightly off kilter guitar leads all through, going serendipitously berserk on the fade. Picture disc single out of L.A. 1980. Fantastic fun rock star rock at a very raw local street level where any time is party time.

Killer Frog "Hard Times" on Masochist Records from Chicago, Illinois 1972 takes less than two minutes, an action packed James Gang style bar band rocker with a bit of punky sneer in the face of misfortune. These guys never even heard of flower power. They are killer frogs. Good Humore "Killer" does kill in stripped down hard rock trio style, Warren, Michigan 1976. No frills guitar, bass and drums groove tight, snaky primordial riff, snarly licks. “She’s a killer of a woman, knows just what she’s doing…” The singer knows she’s a femme-fatale roadhouse predator but she’s so hot the inevitable wreckage seems a bargain. Ride it out like the extended jam on the fade knowing she’ll be back for more! Sarawest "Space Rider" winds up the 22nd Trip lost in a twisted two chord space adventure from the point of view of an alien visiting our planet seeking knowledge but finding out we are stupidly destroying ourselves, so he gotta split sneering back at us like we wasted his time “I got no time for loving… I wanna be a space rider, space rider”. Toronto, Canada 1974, a vibe lurking in some strange but funny void between late ‘60s outsider garage psychedelic rock complete with reverb-y acid guitar leads and late ‘70s retro-futuristic D.I.Y wisecracking from inner space… taking the piss out of outer space!

**RED VINYL**Bookending “This Is My Blood “ are two cinematic hypnotist slide lute pieces that evoke contemporary deserted landscapes. They were improvised and made for “ Maquina”, a film shot in the Colorado desert during a psychedelic trip by film maker Joaquim Pujol. The works on here, like the ecstatic second piece invite a return to long form listening. They explore contemporary darkness and contemplate personal loss. There is solely one vocal piece, “ Remission”. A worldwide concert tour of this material is slated for 2026/2027. Since studying the lute in New York with Patrick O'Brien in the 1990s, Van Wissem has gone on to create works equally as rooted in classical Renaissance and Baroque forms of lute music, as contemporary sounds spanning drones, electronics and field recordings. Throw in some of his formative influences from the no wave and industrial scenes, alongside a dedicated approach to minimalism and this has resulted in Van Wissem producing distinct and singular work whose sound is often a marriage of opposites; meditative and intense, forward thinking but with a sense of the arcane. The Quietus has called him "probably the most famous lutenist in the world”. Jozef Van Wissem is an avant-garde composer and lutenist who plays a unique all-black baroque lute. His timeless music is often described as hypnotic, minimal, and hauntingly atmospheric, merging beauty with a dark, meditative edge. His lyrics have a mythical Christian appeal, incorporating themes of love, faith, and the afterlife, often with a repetitive, mantra-like quality. Bridging classical traditions with modern sounds like drones, electronics, field recordings and voice. He collaborates with filmmaker and musician Jim Jarmusch, including the award-winning soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, for which Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award in 2013. He also scored the Sims Medieval Video game ( 2011), Uncle Howard ( 2016) Land (2018), Irma Vep (2022), Queens (2023) and Un Prince (2024). He did a world tour in duo with Jarmusch in 2025 and their 5th record “ The Day The Angels Cried” was released. Van Wissem tours extensively, performing in diverse venues from rock festivals to churches, and has worked with artists like Tilda Swinton and Zola Jesus. In 2019 he was commissioned by Cinematheque Francaise to score the silent horror film Nosferatu (1922). He released the soundtrack in 2022 on his own Incunabulum label. The New York Times wrote: Beginning with a solo played on the lute, his performance will incorporate electric guitar and distorted recordings of extinct birds, graduating from subtlety to gothic horror. “My soundtrack goes from silence to noise over the course of 90 minutes,” he said, culminating in “dense, slow death metal.” In 2024 Van Wissem did a sold out nationwide American tour with the film. A worldwide tour is slated for 2026/2027

James ‘ReKab’ Baker is a highly regarded British producer who made some of the finest tech-soul, electro & ‘Artificial Intelligence’ style electronic music of recent years. James sadly passed away August 2025 and has been a great loss to the community, his productions on labels such as Distant Worlds, Fourier Transmission, Yore, We’re Going Deep, Moatun 7, Magnonic Signals and Analog Concept were much loved by fans of this music worldwide and all sold out upon release.

Previously, his first 4 albums had only ever been available digitally, initially issued on the Icelandic label Moatun7 and are currently only available on Bandcamp. Now, for the first time, in association with UK electronic label System One, all 4 albums will be issued on vinyl as full length albums, fully remastered by Justin Drake & the digital versions will be once available again on all DSPs worldwide.

The first reissue in the series is ‘Analogue Isolation’, to be released March 27th. Written & recorded in 2020 through the Covid lockdown period, the album is a masterclass in pure home listening electronica. Blissful, emotive and melodic with crisp drums, gently pulsing basslines, lush pads and exquisite melodies, Analogue Isolation heralded the arrival of a truly talented producer who enchanted fans of the genre over the coming years

Analogue Isolation will be a limited initial run of 250 copies through all stores worldwide March 27. A pre-release stream is available on Soundcloud here. The subsequent albums will be released throughout the remainder of 2026 & will be accompanied in December by a strictly limited hardcase for collectors to house all 4 albums. Meanwhile, all 4 albums will be available on DSPs worldwide from March 27.

In recent years, Midge Ure has spent his time playing live and not has time to fully immerse himself in the studios creating music To that end A Man of Two Worlds is his first album of new material in 12 years. Well worth the wait, the album is a formidable collection of outstanding music, divided into two clear parts.

The first half, World One: Music, consists of eight instrumental pieces, while the second half, World Two: Songs, features eight vocal songs. This concept was partly inspired by the time Midge spent during lockdown listening to instrumental music whilst presenting THE SPACE on Scala Radio. Hearing music that rarely finds a home on mainstream radio, he set about making something without lyrics, where the melodies had to speak for themselves. The eight vocal songs which form the second part of the album, came to Midge as the world reopened. A more divided world, in many ways a much harder and less empathetic one. Sharing an atmosphere with the preceding instrumentals, these songs are incredibly sparse and meditative, and whilst they are subtle, with some songs dealing with the frailty of the human condition, underlying many songs reflect Midge's concerns for the discord infecting world today.

Evergreen In Your Mind, the new and third album from Norwegian singer-songwriter Juni Habel, exists in two worlds at the same time. Songs were recorded in quiet corners of her home, on the piano in the school where she works, and it uses the physical world around her to provide percussion. It also takes place, as she herself attests, within a dream; an imagined place in which her desire for oneness with each other and the world around us is finally realised.

Evergreen In Your Mind was recorded with co-producer Stian Skaaden, it’s Habel’s first album in three-years, following the breakthrough success of 2023’s Carvings LP. Formed of eleven new recordings, the songs here remain delicate, Habel’s voice playing an elegant lead role – but there are fluctuations too.

These small shifts in Habel’s sound result in a notable stride forward. More focus went into the groove of these songs. Playfulness was embraced and, perhaps most importantly, patience played a fundamental role in shaping the album with time and care given to every element of these songs. “We always aim to capture effortlessness - but the way of getting there is anything but effortless,” Habel reveals.

This extra time that was given to the project gave Juni the space to nurture her creativity. She would read and listen to music, hike into the hills, place herself within nature and seek out stillness. Not as a deviation from her work but as a fundamental part of the process. It’s a search for connection, and it’s a recurring theme across Evergreen In Your Mind; the polarity between stillness and passion, also our resistance to these desires, and the things we want to live and experience.

The album’s title-track and fist single feels indicative of this narrative. A gorgeous, delicate folk song, it finds Habel out in the woods, hiding from real life, caught in the space between the natural world and the pull of modernity. “It’s nostalgic. It’s about looking back and realizing things will be different,” Habel says. “Its about visualizing something beautiful in your head that you keep clinging onto.”

The album cover for Evergreen In Your Mind also adds shimmer. A striking photograph of Juni among the mountains, it was taken on a day trip to Rondane, a five-hour drive each way from her home. Habel explains. “It was awe-inspiring to drive all the way up into the high mountains, with its wide plains and intense colours. For an album with music that at times likes to hide itself, I think it fitted nicely with such an epic, grand, and powerful landscape.”

"Fans of Nick Drake, Karen Dalton and Neil Young will find much to enjoy in this musical equivalent of an evening spent alone by the fireside.” The Times

Aspen is very proud to introduce ‘Non Sonett’ by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. This ensemble is a pioneering Norwegian chamber group whose work on ECM and Hubro has redefined the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition and folk music.Across seven albums, the ensemble has developed a highly distinctive l anguage built on restraint, timbral nuance and collective interplay, placing it among the most influential European ensembles of the 21st century.

Bringing together some of the finest musicians in Norway, the ensemble draws on a rare collective sensitivity, where each player contributes to a deeply integrated and texturally rich sound world.

With Non Sonett, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble opens a new chapter that grows directly out of recent years of work in more solitary and cross-disciplinary contexts. In this period, Wallumrød has developed material for solo performance as well as for dance, allowing ideas to take shape in more fluid and exploratory formats. Some of this material now finds its way into the ensemble, where it is met by the possibilities offered by instrumentation, collective playing, and the distinct voices of the musicians. At the same time, older pieces—originating in entirely different settings— re-emerge here in new forms, reshaped by the ensemble context.

A defining aspect of Non Sonett is the way many of the pieces function less as fully determined compositions and more as open frameworks: starting points, suggestions, or “springboards” for music. These structures invite response rather than prescribe outcome, relying on the ensemble’s inherent sensitivity and capacity to realize and transform the material in performance. The result is music that feels both precise and fluid, shaped in equal measure by composition and by the interpretative presence of the players.

Central to this album is a continued deepening of Wallumrød’s long-standing interest in ambiguity and in dissolving boundaries between different musical elements and expressive worlds. By placing contrasting materials and associations side by side—sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly—the music opens up spaces where meanings remain fluid and interconnected. On Non Sonett, this approach is taken a step further, allowing these juxtapositions to play an even more active role in shaping the music’s character and flow.

This approach connects closely with the ensemble’s broader artistic trajectory. Over time, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble has developed a language that is immediately recognizable—marked by reduction, clarity and a deep attention to sonic detail. While each release has its own character, the underlying aesthetic remains consistent: a focus on the inner life of sound itself. Rather than foregrounding gesture or virtuosity, the music draws the listener toward the smallest elements, where meaning emerges gradually through texture, spacing and timbre.

The listening experience becomes one of concentration and proximity, where each sound carries weight, and the accumulation of detail forms a larger whole. References may be sensed—to early polyphonic music, Norwegian folk traditions, or more recent experimental practices—but these are absorbed into a singular musical language that resists categorization.

As with the ensemble’s recent work, Non Sonett also continues the integration of electronics as a fundamental part of the sound world. Each musician engages with electronic elements alongside their acoustic instruments, creating a layered and dynamic sonic environment. At times, this leads into extended, exploratory passages reminiscent of analogue musique concrète; at others, electronics operate almost imperceptibly, subtly altering and extending the acoustic textures in real time.

Aspen is very proud to introduce ‘Non Sonett’ by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. This ensemble is a pioneering Norwegian chamber group whose work on ECM and Hubro has redefined the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition and folk music.Across seven albums, the ensemble has developed a highly distinctive l anguage built on restraint, timbral nuance and collective interplay, placing it among the most influential European ensembles of the 21st century.

Bringing together some of the finest musicians in Norway, the ensemble draws on a rare collective sensitivity, where each player contributes to a deeply integrated and texturally rich sound world.

With Non Sonett, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble opens a new chapter that grows directly out of recent years of work in more solitary and cross-disciplinary contexts. In this period, Wallumrød has developed material for solo performance as well as for dance, allowing ideas to take shape in more fluid and exploratory formats. Some of this material now finds its way into the ensemble, where it is met by the possibilities offered by instrumentation, collective playing, and the distinct voices of the musicians. At the same time, older pieces—originating in entirely different settings— re-emerge here in new forms, reshaped by the ensemble context.

A defining aspect of Non Sonett is the way many of the pieces function less as fully determined compositions and more as open frameworks: starting points, suggestions, or “springboards” for music. These structures invite response rather than prescribe outcome, relying on the ensemble’s inherent sensitivity and capacity to realize and transform the material in performance. The result is music that feels both precise and fluid, shaped in equal measure by composition and by the interpretative presence of the players.

Central to this album is a continued deepening of Wallumrød’s long-standing interest in ambiguity and in dissolving boundaries between different musical elements and expressive worlds. By placing contrasting materials and associations side by side—sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly—the music opens up spaces where meanings remain fluid and interconnected. On Non Sonett, this approach is taken a step further, allowing these juxtapositions to play an even more active role in shaping the music’s character and flow.

This approach connects closely with the ensemble’s broader artistic trajectory. Over time, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble has developed a language that is immediately recognizable—marked by reduction, clarity and a deep attention to sonic detail. While each release has its own character, the underlying aesthetic remains consistent: a focus on the inner life of sound itself. Rather than foregrounding gesture or virtuosity, the music draws the listener toward the smallest elements, where meaning emerges gradually through texture, spacing and timbre.

The listening experience becomes one of concentration and proximity, where each sound carries weight, and the accumulation of detail forms a larger whole. References may be sensed—to early polyphonic music, Norwegian folk traditions, or more recent experimental practices—but these are absorbed into a singular musical language that resists categorization.

As with the ensemble’s recent work, Non Sonett also continues the integration of electronics as a fundamental part of the sound world. Each musician engages with electronic elements alongside their acoustic instruments, creating a layered and dynamic sonic environment. At times, this leads into extended, exploratory passages reminiscent of analogue musique concrète; at others, electronics operate almost imperceptibly, subtly altering and extending the acoustic textures in real time.

Pete Lambrou, the visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist behind VLMV (pronounced "Alma"), is one of the most singular voices emerging from the ambient, post-rock, and experimental scenes in the UK. With a career that spans atmospheric solo work, film and television scoring, and evocative live performance, Lambrou has carved out a distinctive sonic universe he describes as "ambient-ish post-something" (Pete Lambrou) a playful yet accurate summation of a sound that is at once genre-fluid and deeply immersive. The album takes its title from Sara Teasdale's 1918 poem and Ray Bradbury's later short story, both of which imagine a world continuing quietly after humanity's disappearance. This idea became the gravitational centre around which the record formed. Written during a period of deep engagement with climate fiction and ecological thought, `There Will Come Soft Rains` reflects on humanity's legacy, its technological ambition, and its uneasy relationship with the natural world. A century on from Teasdale's poem, the balance of power feels less certain, and Lambrou's music inhabits that tension with remarkable subtlety. "The initial ideas stem mostly from chaos, randomness or sound exploration and then get shaped as I go. Typically, and certainly for this album. It's evolved since album 1, which was more song / chord based. It's a fun process of finding the sound and then working out whether it's speaking to me - or merely just a cool noise. That's fun, but it sometimes can't evolve or progress, so then begins the long journey of shaping it into some sort of song format - which doesn't have to be a-typica,l but whatever feels right to me. The subject matter and overall theme is important too - it's got to all make sense within itself. There's no point having a slowly creeping theme and then rush the music." (Pete Lambrou) VLMV embody an emotional honesty that works with patience and nuance. Whether you're encountering his music for the first time or returning to its quiet depths, VLMV offers an aural space that resonates long after the final note fades. Lambrou's singular sonic language sits at the intersection of ambient, post-rock, modern classical, and experimental electronic music, while remaining unmistakably human at its core. "Instrumentally it's far more synth based - as soon as I had the concept, I wanted to make sure technology clash and marry with traditional instruments (at different times) in a sort of slow-moving dance I suppose. One is nature, one is human development and technology. Sometimes working together and sometimes in opposition. On my previous albums I'd say that at least half of the tracks started life as songs, whereas with `There Will Come Soft Rains` I think the majority (if not all) started as experiments in sound." (Pete Lambrou) Sonically, the album is VLMV at its most cinematic and textural. Warm, intimate piano figures and elegiac string arrangements are set against unstable modular synthesis, fractured rhythms, and evolving sound design. The organic and the artificial are locked in a slow, shifting dialogue, mirroring the album's central themes. At times the music feels tender and nostalgic, at others unpredictable and mournful, yet it never tips into despair. Instead, a quiet resilience runs throughout the record. "The album is slightly unusual in that it was mixed in Dolby Atmos before being mixed down to stereo. Most, if not all, do it the other way round. That's because I got to work with a superb mix engineer who just happens to live opposite. It was extremely random and lucky, moving to a tiny hamlet in the South of England and there being a Dolby Atmos studio opposite with a genius of an engineer. We had in mind that we would do it this way round and enjoy the mix process and give everything its own space - it still had issues when folding down to stereo, but overall a more pleasurable mix!" (Pete Lambrou) There Will Come Soft Rains has a geological sense of time: themes creep, expand, erode, and reform, resisting conventional structures in favour of something more patient and immersive. Each sound exists because it needs to; they move, recede, and emerge with a three-dimensional clarity that enhances the music's cinematic quality, giving each element room to breathe while maintaining an enveloping sense of cohesion. Lambrou's unique voice is Intimate and fragile, his vocals hover above the instrumentation, a guiding thread through the expansive soundscapes, drawing listeners closer into the emotional core of each piece. "Long time vocal collaborator Anja Madhvani did lots of harmonies on the album - I wanted to include her voice as much as possible on this album. In terms of string players - 3/4 have been long term collaborators with me. Marie Schreer actually recorded all strings on my first album ALMA, and Fraser & Clodagh have worked on every album (and occasional live shows) since Stranded Not Lost. In terms of art - Joel Cammarata designed the cover, and accompanying art - he designed Sing With Abandon and I absolutely adore his work, but also - he's so great at understanding and developing and capturing the concept." (Pete Lambrou) Layered harmonies drift through the music like distant signals or half-remembered voices. Madhvani's presence adds a human fragility to the album's vast soundscapes, reinforcing the sense of memory and longing that runs beneath the surface. The strings, performed by a close circle of trusted collaborators, further ground the record in warmth and physicality, acting as a counterweight to the synthetic elements that threaten to unravel it. "Despite the heavy subject matter, I wanted to create an album that imparts hope and optimism, marrying traditional instrumentation as nostalgia, with technological innovation through the randomness of modular synths." (Pete Lambrou) The partnership with Pelagic Records feels both organic and significant. Known for championing artists who value emotional weight, sonic ambition, and artistic integrity, the label provides a natural home for VLMV's work. Lambrou's music shares Pelagic's ethos: immersive, patient, and unafraid of scale whether intimate or vast. With There Will Come Soft Rains, Pete Lambrou has crafted a work that feels timely without being didactic, expansive without being overwhelming. It stands as a quiet, but powerful statement that lingers long after the final notes fade. FOR FANS OF Sigur Ros * Olafur Arnalds * Radiohead * Keaton Henson * This Will Destroy You

Pete Lambrou, the visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist behind VLMV (pronounced "Alma"), is one of the most singular voices emerging from the ambient, post-rock, and experimental scenes in the UK. With a career that spans atmospheric solo work, film and television scoring, and evocative live performance, Lambrou has carved out a distinctive sonic universe he describes as "ambient-ish post-something" (Pete Lambrou) a playful yet accurate summation of a sound that is at once genre-fluid and deeply immersive. The album takes its title from Sara Teasdale's 1918 poem and Ray Bradbury's later short story, both of which imagine a world continuing quietly after humanity's disappearance. This idea became the gravitational centre around which the record formed. Written during a period of deep engagement with climate fiction and ecological thought, `There Will Come Soft Rains` reflects on humanity's legacy, its technological ambition, and its uneasy relationship with the natural world. A century on from Teasdale's poem, the balance of power feels less certain, and Lambrou's music inhabits that tension with remarkable subtlety. "The initial ideas stem mostly from chaos, randomness or sound exploration and then get shaped as I go. Typically, and certainly for this album. It's evolved since album 1, which was more song / chord based. It's a fun process of finding the sound and then working out whether it's speaking to me - or merely just a cool noise. That's fun, but it sometimes can't evolve or progress, so then begins the long journey of shaping it into some sort of song format - which doesn't have to be a-typica,l but whatever feels right to me. The subject matter and overall theme is important too - it's got to all make sense within itself. There's no point having a slowly creeping theme and then rush the music." (Pete Lambrou) VLMV embody an emotional honesty that works with patience and nuance. Whether you're encountering his music for the first time or returning to its quiet depths, VLMV offers an aural space that resonates long after the final note fades. Lambrou's singular sonic language sits at the intersection of ambient, post-rock, modern classical, and experimental electronic music, while remaining unmistakably human at its core. "Instrumentally it's far more synth based - as soon as I had the concept, I wanted to make sure technology clash and marry with traditional instruments (at different times) in a sort of slow-moving dance I suppose. One is nature, one is human development and technology. Sometimes working together and sometimes in opposition. On my previous albums I'd say that at least half of the tracks started life as songs, whereas with `There Will Come Soft Rains` I think the majority (if not all) started as experiments in sound." (Pete Lambrou) Sonically, the album is VLMV at its most cinematic and textural. Warm, intimate piano figures and elegiac string arrangements are set against unstable modular synthesis, fractured rhythms, and evolving sound design. The organic and the artificial are locked in a slow, shifting dialogue, mirroring the album's central themes. At times the music feels tender and nostalgic, at others unpredictable and mournful, yet it never tips into despair. Instead, a quiet resilience runs throughout the record. "The album is slightly unusual in that it was mixed in Dolby Atmos before being mixed down to stereo. Most, if not all, do it the other way round. That's because I got to work with a superb mix engineer who just happens to live opposite. It was extremely random and lucky, moving to a tiny hamlet in the South of England and there being a Dolby Atmos studio opposite with a genius of an engineer. We had in mind that we would do it this way round and enjoy the mix process and give everything its own space - it still had issues when folding down to stereo, but overall a more pleasurable mix!" (Pete Lambrou) There Will Come Soft Rains has a geological sense of time: themes creep, expand, erode, and reform, resisting conventional structures in favour of something more patient and immersive. Each sound exists because it needs to; they move, recede, and emerge with a three-dimensional clarity that enhances the music's cinematic quality, giving each element room to breathe while maintaining an enveloping sense of cohesion. Lambrou's unique voice is Intimate and fragile, his vocals hover above the instrumentation, a guiding thread through the expansive soundscapes, drawing listeners closer into the emotional core of each piece. "Long time vocal collaborator Anja Madhvani did lots of harmonies on the album - I wanted to include her voice as much as possible on this album. In terms of string players - 3/4 have been long term collaborators with me. Marie Schreer actually recorded all strings on my first album ALMA, and Fraser & Clodagh have worked on every album (and occasional live shows) since Stranded Not Lost. In terms of art - Joel Cammarata designed the cover, and accompanying art - he designed Sing With Abandon and I absolutely adore his work, but also - he's so great at understanding and developing and capturing the concept." (Pete Lambrou) Layered harmonies drift through the music like distant signals or half-remembered voices. Madhvani's presence adds a human fragility to the album's vast soundscapes, reinforcing the sense of memory and longing that runs beneath the surface. The strings, performed by a close circle of trusted collaborators, further ground the record in warmth and physicality, acting as a counterweight to the synthetic elements that threaten to unravel it. "Despite the heavy subject matter, I wanted to create an album that imparts hope and optimism, marrying traditional instrumentation as nostalgia, with technological innovation through the randomness of modular synths." (Pete Lambrou) The partnership with Pelagic Records feels both organic and significant. Known for championing artists who value emotional weight, sonic ambition, and artistic integrity, the label provides a natural home for VLMV's work. Lambrou's music shares Pelagic's ethos: immersive, patient, and unafraid of scale whether intimate or vast. With There Will Come Soft Rains, Pete Lambrou has crafted a work that feels timely without being didactic, expansive without being overwhelming. It stands as a quiet, but powerful statement that lingers long after the final notes fade. FOR FANS OF Sigur Ros * Olafur Arnalds * Radiohead * Keaton Henson * This Will Destroy You

Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!

On the two-year anniversary of The Past Is Still Alive – named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far by Pitchfork, and one of the Best Albums of 2024 by the New York Times, The Atlantic, Associated Press, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, OUT, Mojo, Uncut and a multitude of others – Hurray for the Riff Raff releases a new live record, Live Forever. The album was captured over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago, Illinois. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s show-stopping, set-defining staples: decrying ICE on the poetic ‘Precious Cargo’ and The Navigator’s anthemic ‘Pa’lante’; the prescient digital age critique of ‘Pyramid Scheme’; and ripping through a folk-rock rendition of LIFE ON EARTH’s ‘Rhododendron’.

“I moved to Chicago in September 2024, the year I released The Past Is Still Alive and hit the road with a new band – a group of musicians recommended by my front of house/production manager, Johnny Wilson. Everyone had ties to the city, and had been playing together in the DIY scene for over a decade.

Since then we’ve traveled the world together, becoming family, playing the best shows of my life. Chicago has become home for me, and I feel grateful for the welcome I’ve gotten into the best music scene in the country.

I wanted to capture this time and this brilliant band, a moment that won’t last forever. This record is a love letter to the working class musicians out there, we who slug it out on the road against all odds. We deserve so much more from an industry built to exploit us. It’s a thank you to all the fans supporting live music, you who believe songs made by human beings are a vital life force.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Kaidi Tatham, with a brand new 12-track album entitled 'Don't Rush The Process'.

This is Kaidi's 4th solo album under his own name, following on from 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards.

To bring you up to speed, Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, recently with the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Andrew Ashong and with longtime accomplice, Dego. This in addition to session and remix work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Marcos Valle, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Frater-Taylor and Leroy Burgess, along with First Word label mates Eric Lau, Children of Zeus, Allysha Joy and Darkhouse Family. Kaidi is also a revered DJ known for rocking parties globally, whilst his solo catalogue spans tons of EPs and releases for labels such as Dego's 2000 Black, Alex Nut's Eglo Records and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature.

This new album 'Don't Rush The Process' opens with an intro of sweet strings on 'Mystery Solved', ahead of lead title track, which is on a mid-tempo boom bap vibe, before switching to a more uptempo boogie vein, with the assistance of The Easy Access Orchestra, who also appear on 'We Chillin' Out', which is on a similar boogie tip. 'All I Need' is some gospel flavoured hip hop, whilst 'Knocknee Donkey' steps things up in a jazz-funk fashion. The second half of the album takes on a very Brazilian flavoured stance, with a set of delicious latin flavoured grooves on 'Any Flavour', 'Runnin' Tru', 'What A Dream' and 'Sooretama', the latter featuring the additional prowess of pianist Robert Mitchell. There's a touch more of the hip hop beats thrown in via 'Funky Fool' and the album closes out in inimitable Kaidi style with a short message: 'Mind Yourself'.

A hugely prolific artist, here he adds to an already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement"), K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") and Kyle Hall.

'Don't Rush The Process' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, July 2022 via First Word Records.

Intimacy is manifested in every moment of Radiator, the debut album from Philadelphia's Sadurn. This feeling of closeness, of being able to lend your every sense to one's confessions of internal conflict, is due in large part to the circumstances under which this album was created. Much of the world fell apart in 2020, but Sadurn tucked themselves away in a Pocono's cabin, creating and recording what would become their first full-length. Within the confines of their close quarters, passing animals as the only auditory witness to a makeshift recording studio created by moving furniture, Sadurn created an album that will break your heart and then slowly piece it back together.Sadurn started as the solo project of Genevieve ??DeGroot. Picking up guitar in 2015, DeGroot started writing songs, eventually playing DIY shows throughout the city of Philadelphia. With time, the direction, sound, and members of Sadurn changed. The beginning of 2020 was meant to serve as their debut as a four member band (Jon Cox on guitar/tenor guitar, Tabita Ahnert on bass, and Amelia Swan on drums), but the world had other plans and the group adapted.Taking influence from artists like Gillian Welch, Alex G, and Jason Molina, Sadurn's emotive indie rock explores the struggles and eventual beauty of grappling with multiple emotional realities, particularly when it comes to relationships. That conflict, the idea of being forced to choose, even when terrified, is present on singles like "Radiator" and "Golden Arm." The latter is an unhurried ballad that shows its truest colors with time, eventually blossoming with unexpected admissions of desire and uncertainty. Indecision, heartbreak, and attempting to live out your days against the actual backdrop of a gradually worsening hellscape is a shared commonality among us all, but on Radiator Sadurn breaks down walls that others so often put up. It's a fleeting, impactful glimpse at one's whole heart, and its sweeping, special nature is evident from the moment the album opens.

Wah Wah 45s are very excited to announce a brand new remixes from dub donPrince Fattyfor beloved Afro-reggae outfitSoothsayers.

Love Is Still The Answeris a beautifully uplifting song, written and sung by long time Soothsayers member and collaboratorJulia Bielabout the eternal power of love and its ability to overcome hate. It appears in its original incarnation on the band's recent, critically acclaimed album,Fly Higher.

Mike Pelaconi, AKA Prince Fatty has been part of the Wah Wah 45s and Soothsayers extended family for many years, and here he delivers a typically crowd pleasing mix, in both vocal and dub form, from the world of Rockers Reggae, calling legendary reggae drummerHorsemaninto the studio, and crafting a lush rocksteady remix with a new horn arrangement and stripped back instrumentation.


"In a world that feels more divided and chaotic than ever,Love Is Still the Answer is a reminder that real change can still come from within. We may feel powerless in the face of global turmoil, but when we choose love - actively, consistently, even in tough situations - we reclaim strength for ourselves. This song calls us back to our shared humanity, to the energy that connects us all. It's an invitation to tune into what really matters, and to rediscover beauty where we may have forgotten to seek it." Robin Hopcraft (Soothsayers)

a A1: Prince Fatty Rockers Remix feat. Julia B.

a A1: Prince Fatty Rockers Remix [feat. Julia B.]

[a] A1: Prince Fatty Rockers Remix [feat. Julia B.]

Ronnie Davis is another mighty Jamaican singer, whose talents have been greatly overlooked. His rootsy yet soulful voice have been in demand by many of Jamaica's producers, and have graced their catalogues over the decades, yet outside of the close reggae circles he has remained a closely guarded secret.

Born Ronnie Davis, in 1950 (Savannah La Mar, Jamaica). His singing career began in the 1960's and like many aspiring young singers, the Talent contests taking part around the Island, was his first introduction to the music scene. This led to him joining the vocal group, 'The Tenors'.  Who shortly after his arrival, released their debut 'The Whole World is a Stage'. This was the beginning of a run of Jamaican 7'' releases that did quite well in the domestic marketplace. But Ronnie had set his sights on a solo career,which came to fruition in the early 1970's, with two big hits for him in the guise of 'Won't You Come Home' and 'Stop Yu Loofing'. Running on through to the mid 1970's with such hits as 'Jah Jah Jehovah','Forget Me Now', 'On and On' and 'Babylon Falling'. Building up to the 1976 classic, 'It's Raining'.

Around this time Ronnie's path would cross with Keith Porter and with his childhood friend Roy Smith they would form one of Jamaica's foremost vocal groups 'The Itals'.  A group who would run until the 1990's and evolve into 'Ronnie Davis and Idren'. Ronnie's releases are very sort after among the reggae aficionados and any tune carrying his vocal talents rarely
disappoint. We have compiled some rare roots dubs to many of his finest cuts. Such gems as 'Chasing You', 'What You See is What You Get', his take on the timeless cut 'Tribal War', 'Tell You' and the a fore mentioned smash 'It's Raining'. A version of Gregory Issac's 'Love Overdue' is also present. Ronnie cut an album worth of material with Mr Issac's, testimony surely to Mr Davis's standing in the Reggae community.

Let’s hope that this release spreads the gospel according to Mr R. Davis, a little wider.  A wicked set by one of Jamaica's finest .....

Respect Jah Floyd.

4LP vinyl boxset - pressed on opaque red, green, blue and yellow vinyl housed in printed inner sleeves with disco holes within a hardbound book jacket. The back cover is a Ludo board and the package contains Ludo game pieces, dice and instructions on how to play.

The Best of the Black President is the 13 track guide to Fela Kuti’s massive and manifold creative career. Fela was a musician, arranger, producer, political radical, outlaw and the originator of Afrobeat. This is the first time the complete compilation is available on vinyl. It is a 4 LP set, with updated cover art in a hardbound book jacket and printed inner sleeves. The individual LPs are pressed on red (sides A/B), green (sides C/D), blue (sides E/F) and yellow (sides G/H) vinyl. This edition features a Ludo game board as the back cover and comes with a perforated set of game pieces, dice, and instructions on how to play. Limited edition of 3000 for the world.



The release of this special edition coincides with the 12 episode podcast on the life and legacy of Fela, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, produced by the Obamas and hosted by Jad Abumrad (Radiolab, Dolly Parton’s America). The series features dozens of interviews including Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Ayo Edebiri, David Byrne, Santigold, and President Obama himself. It was initially released on Audible on 9/15/25 and had a wide release across all podcast platforms on 10/15/25

Brandnew album by Ian Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses, Make Up, Chain & the Gang, XYZ) latest project, his best yet, packed with super hits and provocative songs! ESCAPE-ISM - the found-sound-dream-drama - are back in action and out in front! And this time, they're leading a "Charge of the Love Brigade." Their fifth record, and fourth "sound" record - (the third one was "A Protest Against Sound"- an entirely silent LP) - "Charge of the Love Brigade" is revolutionary in its own right. Besides being packed with tunes with super-hits such as e.g. "Black Gold", "Last Of The Sellouts", "The Rebel Outlaw", & "Fire in Malibu", the new album proposes a reformation of the traditional notes and scales, an entirely new sound alphabet! "The violent overthrow of musical conventions will lead to the reintegration of humanity into the natural order, the reordering of life itself into a cosmic congruity. This means the convention of time itself will be ended." Play "Charge of the Love Brigade" and listen as ESCAPE-ISM go "over the top" against the note-letters of accepted musicality in a world premiere of a new upside-down antiscale! An album which furthers Svenonious' mission of upending and vandalizing indie-rock, garage and electronic norms and repurposing them in the context of a found-sound fever dream!

Nonesuch Records releases Let X=X, by Laurie Anderson with Sexmob. This triple-LP/double-CD set was recorded live during a 2023 tour by Anderson and the jazz band Sexmob – Steven Bernstein and Briggan Krauss on brass, Kenny Wollesen on percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. Its cover and interior packaging feature paintings by Anderson. The album features 23 songs, including many favourites from throughout Anderson’s career, performed in new arrangements – plus one by Lou Reed and Metallica, ‘Junior Dad’. Anderson and Sexmob play more US and international dates this spring and summer (details below).

The New York Times said Anderson and Sexmob’s concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) ‘wasn’t a historical recreation of past recordings; Sexmob’s sound is a beefier one than on Anderson’s albums. With musicians who can double on electric guitar and bass clarinet, its members offered a rich range of textural variation throughout the evening.’

Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned – and daring – creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 40 years. In a recent 60 Minutes profile, Anderson Cooper said she ‘is a pioneer of the avant-garde, but... that doesn’t begin to describe what she creates... It’s experienced by audiences who come to see her perform: singing, telling stories, and playing strange violins of her own invention... she blends the beautiful and the bizarre, challenging audiences with homilies and humor. She blurs boundaries across music, theater, dance, and film.’ The Washington Post has said she ‘doesn’t just tell stories; she draws out every word with a kind of physical pleasure, tasting its flavor as she probes the everyday mysteries of life.’

Anderson released her first album with Nonesuch Records, the critically lauded Life on a String, in 2001. Her subsequent releases on the label include Live in New York (2002); Homeland (2010); the soundtrack to her acclaimed film Heart of a Dog (2015); and her Grammy-winning collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Landfall (2018). Nonesuch released a re-mastered edition of Big Science in 2007 for its 25th anniversary, followed by a vinyl LP re-issue in 2021; the album includes Anderson’s beloved, surprise hit, song, ‘O Superman’, which also is featured on Let X=X. Her recent Nonesuch release was 2024’s Amelia, about renowned female aviator Amelia Earhart’s tragic last flight.

Anderson’s virtual-reality film La Camera Insabbiata, with Hsin-Chien Huang, won the 2017 Venice Film Festival Award for Best VR Experience, and, in 2018, Skira Rizzoli published her book All the Things I Lost in the Flood: Essays on Pictures, Language and Code, the most comprehensive collection of her artwork to date. Recent exhibitions and installations of Anderson’s work include Habeas Corpus at New York’s Park Avenue Armory; her largest exhibition to date, The Weather, at Washington, DC’s Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art; and Looking into a Mirror Sideways at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, which was her largest European exhibition to date.

Laurie Anderson was awarded the 2024 Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, along with Christopher Nolan and David Attenborough, and the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet in her honour: Asteroid 270588, Laurieanderson. That same year, she was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Primordial Mind forms the mysteries and intensity of inner life into eight mandalic instrumentals where Mas Aya and Khôra, artists who share 15 years of music making, orchestrate an inspired, prismatic palette of percussive and melodic sources. Each composition presented stages a vigorous meshwork of colours and textures, contrasting riveting polyrhythms with towering arrangements for flutes, synths, and processed acoustic instruments. Tendencies which the artists trace in their solo practices are amplified, blended, and refracted sublimely in unison, serving as energetic portals to the collective awareness.

Combining trans-ethnic scaling alongside a heady brew of rhythmic influences and advanced electronic processing, the recordings on this album operate with a tactility that vaults between free jazz, dub, raga, ambient, and ritual music. Assimilated powers of primal drum patterning and psychoactive, ceremonial melodies, invoke fourth world adjacencies with the work of Don Cherry, Jon Hassell, Popol Vuh et al. There is an alchemical, Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu inflection that guides the record’s narrative, formed through dialogue between the artists over lifelong shared interest in spiritual modalities generally and the tantric approaches of the global east in particular. The album title is derived from an unexcelled esoteric work known as the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time)Tantra and its associated commentary the Ornament of Stainless Light which detail forms of inner and outer transubstantiation within its complex cosmology and metaphysiology.

Mas Aya is the moniker of Brandon Miguel Valdivia, acclaimed Nicaraguan-Canadian composer, producer, and musician whose electronic and jazz inspired works creatively interlace Colombian, Cuban, and a wide array of traditional music. Khôra is the name of the occult entity that uses multi-instrumentalist, producer, and writer Matthew Ramolo to pronounce itself. Returning to Marionette following 2024's monumental Gestures of Perception, Primordial Mind reinforces the rigorous and magical approach to creation which defines Khôra’s two decades of sonic output. Brandon and Matthew met back in 2011 and the pair toured around eastern Europe with Toronto band Picastro in 2013, also performing as a duo with Brandon contributing drums to Khôra's opening sets. After a short spate composing and playing in the ensemble Bespoken together, they continued to discover shared inspiration in psych/art rock, jazz, experimental and electronic music, providing a fertile soil for friendship and collaboration resulting in their collaged, lo-fi album Tangled Roots in 2017. Mythic and talismanic, the duo's Marionette debut weaves a luminous tapestry of organic pulses, offering itself as a support for resonant meditation and a motor for lucid action and intuition.

Brandon Miguel Valdivia: Percussion, Flutes, Log Drum, Korg Lambda, Angklung, Tambor Alegre, Udu
Matthew Ramolo: Modular Synth, Archival Samples, Angklung, Guitar, Duduk, Bass, Percussion, Arrangements and Mix

Double live album out by one of the most exciting live bands in earth, Mohama Saz! "Ven al fuego" captures their unstoppable stage energy in its purest form. "Ven al fuego" is the perfect compilation and representative of the powerful unstoppable force from the band on stage. Play this album, play it loud and you will be enjoying one of the most memorable live shows that explores musical horizons emancipated from British rock tradition. Mohama Saz from Madrid, Spain are one of the most exciting live bands in the world today, a mind -blowing manifestation of pure psychedelic exotica. Within minutes of taking the stage they have the audience completely under their spell, dancing in wide-eyed bliss to their uniquely intoxicating music. With an electrified Baglama Saz as their lead instrument they fuse elements of Turkish and Armenian folk music, Mediterranean psychedelia and mesmerizing Middle Eastern-flavored ragas with galvanizing go- go discotheque grooves. Mike Stax (Ugly Things Magazine / The Loons) Experiencing Mohama Saz live is a meditative ritual of excitement and pure emotion. One of the best live shows I can think of today, they are truly something special! Jake García (The Black Angels) Album Credits: Recorded live in February 2025 in Madrid (Sala Copérnico, February 22, 2025) and Reus (Lo Submarino, February 15, 2025) by Tommaso Galati. Mixed by Tommaso Galati and Mohama Saz. Mastered by Carlos Díaz. Artwork: Mario Feal

East London producer and DJ IZCO announces his debut solo studio album ‘POWERSCROFT’, set for release on 1st May via Brownswood Recordings. The album’s first single, ‘Strike a Pose’ featuring the vocals of Camille Munn offers an early glimpse into the project. To celebrate the release, he will go on a run of UK dates from March to May, culminating at London’s Jazz Cafe.
Named after the road where he grew up, ‘POWERSCROFT’ marks a defining new chapter for an artist who has spent the past decade shaping the sound of UK dance music. Drawing from jungle, broken beat, grime, garage, soul and dub, the album channels the energy of the dancefloor while remaining deeply rooted in memory, instinct and identity. It captures what it feels like to be inside IZCO’s world, where thoughts, memories and influences collide.

Hailing from East London, IZCO is a producer and DJ spearheading a new generation that is bringing soul back to the dancefloor. Shaped by the rich musical heritage of his hometown, he has developed a sound that feels familiar yet forward-looking, diverse yet distinctly his own. That sound has taken him across the globe, from New York to Tokyo, alongside standout sets at We Out Here, Outlook and Glastonbury.

IZCO began his journey making grime beats for local rappers including Capo Lee, Novelist and Reek0, before becoming a key figure in the UK’s evolving garage and dance music landscape. In 2018, he launched his long-running Rinse FM show and released his debut EP Tek 5, earning early underground acclaim. His production credits include PinkPantheress’ breakout track ‘Passion’, created alongside Jkarri, as well as collaborations and remixes for artists such as Katy B and Greentea Peng.
Beyond his solo work, IZCO is a label head, promoter and co-founder of the Brighter Days Family, a collective built on community, craft and cooperation. With ‘POWERSCROFT’, he steps fully into the spotlight, presenting his most personal and fully realised body of work to date. “This album is about channeling my true musical personality and character,” he says. “I’m marking a new chapter by paying tribute to my foundations.”

Shimmering Xhosa traditions and deep electronic futures vibrate as South African sonic poet and composer Dumama unveils her groundbreaking debut solo album, Towards An Expanse. Sometimes gospel, sometimes electro-psychedelic space travel, Towards An Expanse unfurls from a languid lament into an ever-expanding sonic universe. Dumama defies conventional genre boundaries while excavating deep personal and cultural histories in this concise but boundaryless collection, recorded between New York, Johannesburg and Berlin. Dumama first gained international attention with her acclaimed 2020 collaborative album, Buffering Juju, created with fellow South African musician and artist Kechou, and lauded as Global Album of the Month by The Guardian. Her new solo work draws on a rich lineage of South African voices. Gugulethu Duma (aka Dumama) is a musician / composer / sonic poet / creative producer from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Dumama is one of the few uhadi players in the world. Her use of the traditional Xhosa bowed instrument guides her profound story-telling, blending ancestral roots into an urgent electro-acoustic palette. The album was born out of sessions with acclaimed musician and producer Shahzad Ismaily in New York and South African powerhouse Nandi Ndlovu in Johannesburg.

Charlotte de Witte announces three brand new tracks in the form of her richly resonant EP ‘Amor’, out April 30th on her KNTXT imprint. The vinyl will include an additional Instrumental Mix of her track ‘O Movimento’.

The world's number one techno artist recently celebrated her 15th career anniversary with two monumental Flanders Expo 23k capacity performances, her long-awaited debut album (plus a new Deluxe Edition), and press support from Vogue, Grammy Museum, BBC 6 Music, DJ Mag (with cover), Mixmag, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Zane Lowe, Clash, Flood Magazine (cover).

‘Amor’ EP: each track features the breathy, full-toned vocals and Portuguese lyrics of CERES. The Brazilian singer, DJ & producer favours techno with tasty slices of UKG. Add to that, subtle motifs link the three tracks, giving the impression they form a suite. ‘This EP is inspired by my love for Portugal and Brazil, the countries, the people, the food, the culture. Made with lots of amor.’ - Charlotte de Witte

Title track ‘Amor’ (feat. CERES) delivers a galloping beat starred with spacey FX, as a hoover siren builds tension and CERES begins her rhyming chant. A sprinkle of acid becomes a sulphuric tidal wave. Next, ‘Sem Ar’ (feat. CERES): ‘Airless’; frantic rattling percussion overlays the fast beat to breakbeat-adjacent. CERES’ resonant voice is showcased in an acapella breakdown before her soulful voice becomes an acid robot’s, sharp and penetrating. Finally, ‘O Movimento’ (feat. CERES); ‘Movement/motion’, speeding beat with hi-hat backbeat duels with CERES’ voice, now sounding almost breathless, before acid filters in as the track builds.

Commitment is an inevitability. Guitarist Jake Smith and drummer Pierce Jordan knew each other for years as friends and musicians in Philadelphia who desired to explore a more straightforward and hard-hitting sound as songwriters in positions they’d played in the past, but never together. Smith and Jordan spent months playing together and getting a feel for each other’s styles and viewpoints, specifically not making choices about a name or which influences to prioritize until the lineup was complete. As plain as it is that Commitment is about creating a pathway to new experiences, it’s also about strengthening existing relationships. For the band, Smith dragged his lifelong friend Zach Bailey out of rock n’ roll retirement to take up bass guitar. While not wanting to make any immediate decisions about other members, Smith and Jordan knew they wanted someone who had never played in a band before. A newcomer in any position results in a fresh perspective and approach, and at the front of a band typically includes a raw energy that often can’t be reproduced. They found this in Tati Salazar. Tati had mainly existed as a solo musician under the name The Childlike Empress (now known as Le Siren) and had built a significant listenership doing so. True as can be to the world of music, but new to singing in a hardcore punk band, Tati jumped in feet first, fitting in so naturally as the band’s vocalist that the rest of the band initially struggled to practice or even correctly perceive their new material without them.

Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound. It is at once intimate and cosmic, drawing on the challenges and possibilities of their artistic exchange, tearing down technique to access all the expansive possibilities of their sonic meeting point.



At Source is a document of the world of sound to be conjured when two artists strive for something together, discovering the expansions and limitations of performance by bodies and machines. It is not an exercise in assimilation, but in productive exchange and creative confrontation. It does not draw on outside energies or influences, but grapples with what there is to find in their respective playing. "It also reflects how natural the collaboration was," says Barbieri, "a meeting at the source which was spontaneous, graceful and natural".



Barbieri and Giske first met and were enthralled by one another's performances at Kunsthaus Glarus in 2019, a meeting that spurred conversations on the power of transitions as a compositional force. Giske later contributed a rework of Fantas for Fantas Variations (Editions Mego, 2021), an ambitious undertaking to rescore Barbieri’s work for his saxophone and voice, a challenge Giske had started undertaking two years prior as an ongoing practice of transcription. “The request came as a proof of aligned ideas”, says Giske.



Their new collaborative project then started during an artistic residency in Milan’s ICA in 2021, by invitation of swiss artist and curator Jan Vorisek, as the world was emerging from lockdown. This meeting, and the preceding closure of sites for cultural exchange, made their work together 'feel like springtime' says Barbieri. Giske, who was on the brink of releasing his sophomore album, Cracks, then joined Barbieri's light-years tour, which functioned as an inaugural incarnation of her newborn label and platform through a series of multi-artist curated shows with appearances of Lyra Pramuk, Nkisi, MFO, among other artists.



Through the tour, they continued to develop material live, and this release, laid down in the studio, is true to that ever-evolving process of creation, where live feedback stays essential to the vitality of this collaborative effort. The tracks are each named with two evocative words that contain the two poles of their sound. Theirs is both abstract and cosmic, in the synth as machine undermined by Barbieri's naturalistic playing, and in Giske's continuous exploration of the symbiosis between his instrument, voice, and body. These binaries, of body and machine, posed various challenges, notably in how the stepped patterns Barbieri uses were near-impossible to translate for Giske's body to perform, and other times where mathematical resolutions were needed to sync their playing. Explains Giske: "It forced me to go to the core of what I am and what I have to offer”. Barbieri says that it "explores the liminality between the machine and the human, and the vulnerability in this process".



At Source is testament to two divergent practices finding a whole cosmos in which to convene; music is crystalised and made utterly enveloping through the focused and critical work of two musicians working at their peak. The versions here are, temptingly, "just one of many versions" of this abundant source material Giske explains. Like the best collaborations, At Source is more than the sum of its parts – bringing more to the feast than the simple combination of two musicians, promising versions upon versions of the exquisite material captured here.

With his highly accomplished third album If This Is It, DJ Seinfeld (Armand Jakobsson) evolves further into the artist he always set out to be, refining his emotional, club-leaning sound across nostalgic house, UKG, and 2000s-tinged trance.

The 12-track LP — featuring SG Lewis, Confidence Man, TS Graye, Dan Whitlam, ARY, “Norwegian pop witch” Moyka, and Barry Can’t Swim affiliate just lil — explores letting go in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

“A million ideas turned into a few, a few turned into no ideas at all, and no ideas eventually turned into one,” says Jakobsson of the album, which he began the week his acclaimed 2021 record Mirrors was released. “Through writing it, I’ve tried to turn long-held anxieties into acceptance, and I hope listeners can take their own meaning from it.”

With his highly accomplished third album If This Is It, DJ Seinfeld (Armand Jakobsson) evolves further into the artist he always set out to be, refining his emotional, club-leaning sound across nostalgic house, UKG, and 2000s-tinged trance.

The 12-track LP — featuring SG Lewis, Confidence Man, TS Graye, Dan Whitlam, ARY, “Norwegian pop witch” Moyka, and Barry Can’t Swim affiliate just lil — explores letting go in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

“A million ideas turned into a few, a few turned into no ideas at all, and no ideas eventually turned into one,” says Jakobsson of the album, which he began the week his acclaimed 2021 record Mirrors was released. “Through writing it, I’ve tried to turn long-held anxieties into acceptance, and I hope listeners can take their own meaning from it.”

Drawing inspiration from the novel Neuromancer, Drew Id’s cosmic new single launches us deep in to the solar system.

Interstellar Dub started as an experiment in minimal dub techno, but was eventually overwhelmed by dirty spring reverbs and phasing hi-hat delays. A heavyweight rhythm and a hypnotic bass form the foundation, while extra-terrestrial melodies and synthetic skanks add spice and colour to this off-world stepper.

On the meditative Aphid Steppa, dreamy guitar and melodica licks interplay with snarling synths and a percussion based rhythm, propelled along by a solid bassline, before finally giving way to a deep space outro.

The Meanjin / Brisbane based producer first came to prominence as guitarist for reggae band Kingfisha, but has slowly been building a profile for his dubwise productions, inspired by the UK steppers scene and Australia's outdoor bass culture, with releases on Culture Dub, Dubmission and Sub Channels.

Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.

“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”

However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.

The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”

What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.

Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.

“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”

However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.

The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”

What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.

“The music on this record is a reflection of journeys and travel. The real world kind and the metaphorical ones as well. Having experienced the arrival of my children, the decline and departure of my parents, and the many years of venturing out and returning home in my own life, travel feels like the perfect tropology to consider the mysteries we inhabit. Travel and its impressions, rituals, superstitions—the possibilities and risk-all open up onto the landscape of our biggest questions, fear and wonder.

“Two songs established the spine of this music. Songs I’ve always loved, it seems even before I’d heard them. The first one, and the source of the title is ‘You Belong to Me’ by Jo Stafford. Colonial overtones unmissable to our modern ears aside, it’s also a beautiful mid century romance—and an ode to the threat of a shrinking world. The song represents the loneliness and the mystery of being alone and left behind. The singer is not asking their loved one to shut down horizons, merely reminding them to return when the traveling is done. To set aside The Silver Plane of transition, change and the in-between for the intimacy of solid earth.

“The second song is ‘Promised Land’ by Chuck Berry. Also about a journey and another one that moves easily between allegory and narrative. The singer is on the move across segregated America trying to get to the promised land of California. The song is both a tall tale that evokes Mark Twain, and an American epic that can keep good company with Herman Melville. When the hero finally makes it to California, his first instinct is to call home and reassure the Old World that he’s safely arrived in the new one.

“The songs on Fly the Ocean in a Silver Plane were recorded at home over the last couple years. I played electric guitar, rubber bridge acoustic guitar, Ableton Live and an Electron Digitone synth. My friend Mallory Linnehan aka Chelsea Bridge contributed beautiful violin and vocals to a couple of the songs. We recorded those performances on a summer afternoon in Chicago at the Not Not space with the windows open.

“The cover is a photo of my mom—one I never saw when she was alive. With the headscarf and that excited, nervous expression, she looks about to embark on a journey. Ready, finally, to cross the tarmac and board the Silver Plane. “Wishing safe travels to all.” — Mark N / Pan•American



b DEATH CLEANING listen


b DEATH CLEANING listen


b DEATH CLEANING listen


[b] DEATH CLEANING [listen]


[b] DEATH CLEANING [listen]


[b] a2 DEATH CLEANING [listen]


[b] a2 | DEATH CLEANING [listen]

Out now via 7 Mater, in collaboration with The Circle Music for worldwide distribution, this special edition of Stolen Season Pt. I captures both the essence of the project and the spirit of the upcoming full-length Stolen Season Pt. I. This first pressing is destined to become a collector's item: numbered and limited to 250 black vinyl copies and 250 gold vinyl copies, each edition comes housed in a deluxe sleeve with an exclusive 30x30 insert that perfectly frames the visual world of the band. It is a striking presentation that mirrors the richness of the music contained within. The creative force behind From The Land is Anatoly Pakhalenko, best known as the frontman of the acclaimed dark folk ensemble Nytt Land.

Conceived in 2025, this new project serves as an alter ego for Pakhalenko, allowing him to explore the darker edges of country, blues, and folk traditions while weaving them into a world described as "a black and white landscape, tired of all this s**t that's going on around and gradually sinking into an endless sleep". Together with Aleksandr Rosliakov, Pakhalenko composed Stolen Season Pt. I between January and May 2025 at Nytt Land Studio, handling recording, mixing, and production duties himself. The result is an album that resonates with uncompromising artistic vision and raw emotional depth. From The Land 's universe draws inspiration from the haunting literary realms of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as the surreal, unsettling imagery of David Lynch. This heady mixture of influences creates a soundscape that is equally cinematic and visceral, where ritual meets ruin, and folk traditions dissolve into the smoke of blues and country noir.

The brand- new album from Hiss Golden Messenger and the first release with Chrysalis Records. I'm People is a vivid, deeply human album born from a period of rupture, renewal, and vast American wandering. Written across Bolinas, the North Carolina Piedmont, and a Santa Fe motel room, the record traces the artist's search for clarity through landscapes both external and internal. These songs move through heartbreak, aging, fatherhood, desire, disillusionment, and the hard- won hope that remains after the spirit has been scraped bare.

Produced with Josh Kaufman at Dreamland, a decommissioned church outside Woodstock, the album carries the warmth of musicians playing live in a circle, stained- glass light filtering across guitars, drums, and upright bass. Contributions from Bruce Hornsby, Sam Beam, Marcus King, Sara Watkins, Amy Helm, Eric D. Johnson, and members of Dawes enrich a sound world that feels immediate, vulnerable, and fully alive. "I'm People is an intensely human record, and so one that needed to feel immediate, vulnerable, and fully dancing; something you could touch, sing along to, know about, recognize, relate with. I know what the record is to me and I bet it's not so dissimilar from what it's about to you, at least in the broad strokes: The heartbreak and exhilaration, the absolute black comedy of being a person on this razor's edge that is America circa 2025. What other choice do we have than to be hopeful?" - MC Taylor on I'm People. Hiss Golden Messenger is a Grammy nominated artist based in North Carolina, with multiple Album Of The Year and Best Americana Album awards, reaching #2 in the Americana Charts and performances and tours across the world, including the UK and Europe + performances on US TV; Late Night With Seth Myers.

They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.

Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.

Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.

As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.

My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”

They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.

Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.

Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.

As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.

My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”

Iconic Atlanta quintet SEVENDUST is back with its 15th studio album, ONE, set for release on May 1, 2026 via Napalm Records. The upcoming full-length LP forges ten simultaneously lean and gut-punching tracks out of gargantuan riffs, seismic grooves, and signature soul-stirring hooks, once again produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Falling In Reverse, Mammoth). The group, comprised of Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Clint Lowery (lead guitar, backing vocals), John Connolly (lead guitar, backing vocals), Vince Hornsby (bass), and Morgan Rose (drums), busts down the door with the first single “Is This The Real You”. Its swaggering fretwork alternately wallops and gallops in lockstep with a pummeling rhythm anchored by thunderous drums. The riff rolls and seethes, and the vocals swing from guttural growls into the embrace of a jazz-y chantable chorus.

A hummable lead ties the bridge together. Echoes of a tensely picked single-note set the tone for “Threshold.” Lajon’s delicate delivery gives way to a contentious distortion-boosted refrain. Then, there’s “Unbreakable,” which has all the makings of a clarion call for the collective and a future live staple. Strains of soft piano slip into the undertow of a towering hook punctuated by a promise, “We were meant to be unbreakable… even when we’re at our lowest lows. And if it gets too cold, I’ll never let you go.” The title track succinctly sums up the record as a whole. Bellowing out of a maelstrom of roaring distortion, Lajon’s voice reaches heavenly heights. For over three decades, SEVENDUST have made countless fans feel a part of something special. The group’s community isn’t passive. Members of the “7D Army” make a very active commitment to being part of this family – as evinced by sold-out shows worldwide and innumerable tattoos of the band’s logo and lyrics. Since 1994, the band has quietly built a legacy without parallel, encompassing sales of nearly eight million albums, a GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Metal Performance,” three Top 15 entries on the Billboard 200, hundreds of millions of streams, and the fierce loyalty of millions of listeners in every corner of the globe.

“Tako” means “octopus”, “kite”, and even “bunion” in Japanese. Bald men or men with shaven heads, as well as red-faced, staggering drunks, are also referred to as “tako”. It’s a word that appears in a lot of slang and sayings. Taco is also the name of an 80s music and performance collective whose performances were like nothing before or since. The Japanese band Taco, formed at the beginning of the 80s, is a loose group/collective of varying members that belongs to the post-punk alternative music movement. The network of members were all friends and acquaintances of Harumi Yamazaki, ex-member of Gaseneta and Taco’s central member.

Taco can be described as a band of guerrillas who, over the years, continued to connect, collect, interrupt, and scatter while sending out into the world music and sounds that can best be described as transient. Taco also performed without Harumi, and so it is as though the band is an anonymous group of mercenaries. Taco’s first album was released in 1983 and had a huge impact on Japan’s underground music scene as an anomalous and collaborative album involving various participating artists (the stars of Japan’s underground music scene!) and Harumi, who provided the lyrics. Although each track represents a reverberating conglomeration of sounds created by this transient local network, common to all the tracks are Harumi’s expressive lyrics. This has the effect of transforming all the tracks into a single powerful force which, in turn, spawns an “incident” which spreads like a giant ripple. However, because of another incident in which the records were recalled due to the scandal caused by some of the lyrics, only a limited number of people actually own a copy of the album. Taco’s second album (a 12” EP), released in 1984, features a live recording of a performance that was held at the end of 1982. Taco is a band of indeterminate members which only ever played one-off performances, but this is an album that reveals a unit whose performance was unusually musically coherent. This is an album which effectively conveys the power of Taco’s astounding and legendary live performances, as well as Harumi’s inflammatory, sensational, and masochistic presence on stage. Her mutterings and screams, which practically ignore the detached beat, confront the audience like an overwhelming groundswell.

The following is a description of Taco by one of its members following one of its live performances: “Taco’s like a project where the indeterminate participants fan each other’s heightened emotions of wanting to wreak personal revenge and retribution. It’s an ecosystem of tangible and intangible mouldy slime which accumulates in order for emotions to be acted out, both indoors in the studio, or outdoors on stage. That’s why the avenger can often end up being the victim.”

Nameless, March 1985

The vinyl version of this release compiles the tracks from their two earliest EPs originally released by Ankst whilst the 22 track CD features further unreleased & unheard bonus tracks from this early era.

Super Furry Animals also recently announced additional festival dates to follow their sold out Supacabra Tour dates including stops in Llangollen, Bristol, York, Glasgow and London (their first since late 2016. See full 2026 dates below.

Holding the world record for the longest ever EP title the first EP -Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space), was released in 1995, followed in the same year by Moog Droog, with both EPs making up the eight-song track listing of the vinyl version of Precreation Percolation.

Later that year, with a record deal on the table and future classics such as God! Show Me Magic and Hangin’ With Howard Marks already making up the SFA’s set list, the band’s path following “two years of chaos” (including a legendary 1993 debut ‘gig’ at Bangor University’s Banana Lounge, lasting all of five minutes due to technical and chemical misadventure) was set. In the album’s liner notes, singer, Gruff Rhys writes: “It would have been the best gig ever, had we not daisy chained so many synthesizers together, that it resulted in a terminal systems failure.”

By summer they’d joined Oasis, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain in the Creation Records family, leading to a huge London signing party that saw members of the band famously thrown out of.

The term of intriguing genre experimentation, spanning long-form electro, blissed out instrumentals and expansive prog-influenced rock, heard across much of Precreation Percolation was subsequently refined and channeled into their thrilling, 1996 debut album, Fuzzy Logic and their untamed live performances.


While consciously and frequently referring to the unheard, untold and unforeseen as a naturally nostalgia-resistant band, Super Furry Animals look ahead to reconvening with fans to celebrate their shared history as the Supercabra Tour gets underway.




(the vinyl comes with a copy of the CD in a slim card wallet)

The vinyl version of this release compiles the tracks from their two earliest EPs originally released by Ankst whilst the 22 track CD features further unreleased & unheard bonus tracks from this early era.

Super Furry Animals also recently announced additional festival dates to follow their sold out Supacabra Tour dates including stops in Llangollen, Bristol, York, Glasgow and London (their first since late 2016. See full 2026 dates below.

Holding the world record for the longest ever EP title the first EP -Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space), was released in 1995, followed in the same year by Moog Droog, with both EPs making up the eight-song track listing of the vinyl version of Precreation Percolation.

Later that year, with a record deal on the table and future classics such as God! Show Me Magic and Hangin’ With Howard Marks already making up the SFA’s set list, the band’s path following “two years of chaos” (including a legendary 1993 debut ‘gig’ at Bangor University’s Banana Lounge, lasting all of five minutes due to technical and chemical misadventure) was set. In the album’s liner notes, singer, Gruff Rhys writes: “It would have been the best gig ever, had we not daisy chained so many synthesizers together, that it resulted in a terminal systems failure.”

By summer they’d joined Oasis, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain in the Creation Records family, leading to a huge London signing party that saw members of the band famously thrown out of.

The term of intriguing genre experimentation, spanning long-form electro, blissed out instrumentals and expansive prog-influenced rock, heard across much of Precreation Percolation was subsequently refined and channeled into their thrilling, 1996 debut album, Fuzzy Logic and their untamed live performances.


While consciously and frequently referring to the unheard, untold and unforeseen as a naturally nostalgia-resistant band, Super Furry Animals look ahead to reconvening with fans to celebrate their shared history as the Supercabra Tour gets underway.




(the vinyl comes with a copy of the CD in a slim card wallet)

In this context Jeroen Swinnen and David Martijn needed to find a musical concept to go hand in hand with the story. They opted for a string quartet and an arsenal of old analogue synths (of the series’ era). Thé perfect match as it turned out. Emphasize the beauty, hope and respect on one hand. Translate the elusive, unjust feeling that is addressed in the series on the other. Apart from these 2 central instruments, an old muted upright piano, played by Jeroen, and a guitar, played by David, were also used to express emotion even more.

Preston duo White Flowers announce new album, Dreams For Somebody Else - due for release 1st May 2026 via The state51 Conspiracy.
White Flowers, the long-running collaboration between Joey Cobb and Katie Drew, exists within what they call “the realm” – a shared creative space, wherein time, rather than being a restrictive force, is fluid and boundless, and music exists as an endless conversation with their past and present selves. Adopting what the band describe as a “sketchbook” approach to writing, White Flowers is the product of a decade’s worth of recordings - snippets nestled away on hard drives, only to truly make sense years later.
On Dreams For Somebody Else, the band expand upon the dark-hued dream pop of their debut, channeling the catharsis of dance music via repetitive structures and “sad, euphoric sounds”. Working alongside LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip’s Al Doyle on production, the album maps out a mosaic of soaring choruses that swirl around imposing arrays of synths, guitars, and percussion.
Through this new lens, the band explore themes of isolation, dissociation and identity - drawing inspiration from Annie Ernaux’s The Years. “Whilst recording the songs for ‘Dreams For Somebody Else’, we really connected with the concept of Annie Ernaux’s book, ‘The Years’ - a ‘collective autobiography’ pieced together from mismatched fragments from her past, conjuring the effect that she’s merely an observer of her own life. This concept merges into the White Flowers world, where time, rather than being restrictive, is fluid and boundless, with our music existing as an endless conversation with versions of ourselves at different stages of our lives.”
“The album has that same feeling of disassociating from your own life, because you’re just blending into everyone else”, the band explains. “There’s a sadness there, because it’s as if you’re looking back on things that happened to you, and they feel like they don’t belong to you anymore”. It’s the dull ache of nostalgia intertwined with a sense of wonder at what could lie ahead - the hopeful optimism and endless loss that defines the human experience. “It’s this idea of identity not being a fixed thing, but something that’s always changing. It’s a fluid thing, similar to time. Things aren’t really fixed, but rather in a constant state of change. It’s important to remember that we’re all going through that.”

Are U Mad At Me marks a huge, cowboy boot-wearing step for the Brooklyn-based songwriter. Fields proves that genre is as fluid as sexuality, as the album saunters across country, pop, disco, grunge, and classical with ease. Across 12 tracks, Fields traverses bangers like power pop lead single “Party Girl” and two-stepping second single “Hands Off The Hat” (co-written with Grammy award-winning songwriter Melody Walker) all the way to tragic ballads like “Apalachicola to Tallahassee” (co-written with Karen Pittelman of Karen & The Sorrows) and the closing “Uncle Charlie’s.” He makes light of gender-neutral bathrooms marked with unicorns instead of stick figures in the guitar-driven “Pronoun Meltdown” and calls out a husband cheating on his wife with another man in the tragicomic ballad of “You Should Tell Your Wife.”

Are U Mad At Me arrives at a pivotal time in the roots music scene and the world at large. Fields, who is now rapidly becoming one of New York City’s queer country leaders — through his East Village residency at Lucinda Williams’ new honky tonk and dive bar and through his musical mentorship work through The Recording Academy — has been working tirelessly for this moment for more than a decade. Performing under this moniker since 2013, Fields has released three LPs and two EPs. He’s recorded on queer country pioneers Lavender Country’s 2022 reunion album, Blackberry Rose, and served as the band’s touring pianist. Additionally, his 2023 protest song duet with Mya Byrne, “Burn This Statehouse Down,” made it onto NPR music critic Ann Powers’ list of favorite songs of the year.