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‘Workaround’ is the lucidly playful and ambitious solo debut album by rhythm-obsessive musician and DJ, Beatrice Dillon for PAN. It combines her love of UK club music’s syncopated suss and Afro-Caribbean influences with a gamely experimental approach to modern composition and stylistic fusion, using inventive sampling and luminous mixing techniques adapted from modern pop to express fresh ideas about groove-driven music and perpetuate its form with timeless, future-proofed clarity. Recorded over 2017-19 between studios in London, Berlin and New York, ‘Workaround’ renders a hypnotic series of polymetric permutations at a fixed 150bpm tempo.

Mixing meticulous FM synthesis and harmonics with crisply edited acoustic samples from a wide range of guests including UK Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra (tabla); Pharoah Sanders Band’s Jonny Lam (pedal steel guitar); techno innovators Laurel Halo (synth/vocal) and Batu (samples); Senegalese Griot Kadialy Kouyaté (Kora), Hemlock’s Untold and new music specialist Lucy Railton (cello); amongst others, Dillon deftly absorbs their distinct instrumental colours and melody into 14 bright and spacious computerised frameworks that suggest immersive, nuanced options for dancers, DJs and domestic play. ‘Workaround’ evolves Dillon’s notions in a coolly unfolding manner that speaks directly to the album’s literary and visual inspirations, ranging from James P. Carse’s book ‘Finite And Infinite Games’ to the abstract drawings of Tomma Abts or Jorinde Voigt as well as painter Bridget Riley’s essays on grids and colour. Operating inside this rooted but mutable theoretical wireframe, Dillon’s ideas come to life as interrelated, efficient patterns in a self-sufficient system.

With a naturally fractal-not-fractional logic, Dillon’s rhythms unfold between unresolved 5/4 tresillo patterns, complex tabla strokes and spark-jumping tics in a fluid, tactile dance of dynamic contrasts between strong/light, sudden/restrained, and bound/free made in reference to the notational instructions of choreographer Rudolf Laban. Working in and around the beat and philosophy, the album’s freehand physics contract and expand between the lissom rolls of Bhamra’s tabla in the first, to a harmonious balance of hard drum angles and swooping FM synth cadence featuring additional synth and vocal from Laurel Halo in ‘Workaround Two’, while the extruded strings of Lucy Railton create a sublime tension at the album’s palatecleansing denouement, triggering a scintillating run of technoid pieces that riff on the kind of swung physics found in Artwork’s seminal ‘Basic G’, or Rian Treanor’s disruptive flux with a singularly tight yet loose motion and infectious joy. Crucially, the album sees Dillon focus on dub music’s pliable emptiness, rather than the moody dematerialisation of reverb and echo. The substance of her music is rematerialised in supple, concise emotional curves
and soberly freed to enact its ideas in balletic plies, rugged parries and sweeping, capoeira-like floor action. Applying deeply canny insight drawn from her years of practice as sound designer, musician and hugely knowledgable/intuitive DJ, ‘Workaround’ can be heard as Dillon’s ingenious solution or key to unlocking to perceptions of stiffness, darkness or grid-locked rigidity in electronic music. And as such it speaks to an ideal of rhythm-based and experimental music ranging from the hypnotic senegalese mbalax of Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, through SND and, more currently, the hard drum torque of DJ Plead; to adroitly exert the sensation of weightlessness and freedom in the dance and personal headspace.

London-based experimentalist Luke Younger (a.k.a HELM) returns to PAN with ‘Olympic Mess’.
Where his previous effort, 2014’s ‘The Hollow Organ,’ dealt in dense, distressed sonics, ‘Olympic Mess’ is Younger responding to a period spent engaged with loop-based industrial music, dub techno, and balearic disco. These musical references, all of which can induce hypnotic states and feelings of euphoria, inform ten evocative aural landscapes which unfurl over the course of an hour and act almost as a counterpoint to the turmoil that spawned them.
Crafted using an array of heavily processed samples, found sound and electroacoustics, personal conflict manifests in “I Exist In A Fog” and “Outerzone 2015,” where visceral noise disintegrates into veiled, ambient strata. The disquieting crescendos of “The Evening In Reverse” and “Fluid Cloak” offer no such relief, while the title track and “Don’t Lick The Jacket” are mineral, multilayered abstractions twisting around a brittle pulse.

Born out of the Northern California DIY scene, Moms With Bangs started as a ragtag group of high schoolers looking to build a musical community filled with loud, chaotic, unfiltered energy. Quickly becoming known for their loud experimental sound and unhinged live shows. Moms With Bangs become legendary for being high-volume, high-energy, and having zero barrier between them and their audience. It was these qualities that caught the attention of Jello Biafra
himself, who was so impressed he signed them to his label Alternative Tentacles Records, making Moms With Bangs the youngest signing in the history of the label. Recorded at Tiny Telephone in Oakland, CA over the course of two days in January of 2024, Leo Hirsch, Michael Cook, Austin Kennedy, Axel Sanchez, and Oliver John live-tracked these songs in one large recording room, recording at the same time facing each other, to make sure the recording captured the unfiltered energy of the live show as much as possible. As for the name of the 7”? “Do What’s Delicious” came from a suggestion from Jello Biafra himself, while the band was in the studio, as a name he once considered for a Dead Kennedys release. The two tracks on “Do What’s Delicious” capture the throttling high energy rhythms of bands like Thee Oh Sees. Showcasing an affinity for the off-kilter groove of bands like Deerhoof or Black Midi. Moms With Bangs aims to disgust and delight with no limits! We couldn’t be more excited.

Featuring the otherworldly vocals of the legendary jazz singer Norma Winstone whose vocals were recently sampled in Drake's 2023 chart topping single IDGAF (feat. Yeat) and Leo Taylor (Floating Points, Hot Chip, Joy Crookes) on drums, the EP is the amalgamation of Barrott's long term fascination with sunset music, and the ways the change of seasons impact the way we co-exist with the sun. As winter draws closer and we move on from the Autumn equinox to Winter solstice, Barrott's latest release captures the transformative yet paradoxical feeling of melancholy over the end of Summer and the start of winter while creating an eerie sensation of serenity.

The EP follows from the release of Barrott's critically acclaimed and deeply personal 2024 album Everything Changes, Nothing Ends.

The new EP sees Barrott return to his beloved sunset music, as he continues his eternal quest to find new ways to soundtrack this sacred Ibiza moment.



Crowned as the"master of sunset music"by Pitchfork, Barrott's new EP is filled with celestial grandeur that stops you in your tracks. A profound musical meditation and an homage to the sunsets of the Autumn months, the EP captures the sonic poetry of the changing skies and the seasons.

The haunting combination of Barrott's production & arrangement skills, Taylor's jazz drums and Winstone's endlessly ethereal vocals soar in a harmonious union across the title track of the EP while the openerI Am The Starssummons you in for a brief respite from the cacophony of the modern world. The wistful second trackMy Blue Heartlingers with you with its melancholic jazz horns swelling side by side with Winstone's vocals while the closing trackI Am The Airfloats through your ears with its sublime contemplativeness. I Am The Sun, You Are The Moonsees Barrott returning to his sonic ruminations on sunsets, however they are more profound and life affirming than ever.



"At the end of the summer, on a clear bright starry night I climbed to the top of a mountain in Ibiza with a pair of headphones and listened to these tracks and lost myself in the vastness of the night sky and the endlessness of Norma's voice. At that moment everything made sense in my world for the first time in a long while and it just felt right",Mark Barrott says.

"I was surprised and delighted to be asked to participate in this very musical project and to be given such a free hand. Trying to integrate the voice into what were already beautifully formed pieces was creatively very interesting", Norma Winstone says

What if fate had followed a different path? Alex Marker and Ben Reed were childhood friends who made music together before pursuing different careers, with Ben becoming a professional musician while Alex followed a career in stage design.

Originally a drummer, Alex set himself a challenge of writing a song for his wife for their wedding day. One song led to another and collaborating for the first time since they were very young Alex and Ben soon found they had a whole album's worth. Influenced by Alex's career in drama each track on Impostor Syndrome aims to tell a tale or paint a portrait encapsulating a moment of change or release. Ben brings a wider palette of musical styles and arrangements to augment a series of songs which draw from a wide range of musical influences including: singer/ songwriter, British prog, folk and rock. Ben Reed is a multi instrumentalist whose playing credits include bass duties on Frank Ocean's albums Endless and Blond as well as work with David Byrne, Sampha, Mustafa, Frank Dukes, Nilufer Yanya, Hayden Thorpe, FKA Twigs and many others.

He has previously released four full length albums of his own; Tall Story, Who Dreams of Hyssop, Station Masters, Loft, Bandaged and most recently You Do You. Alex Marker is a critically acclaimed theatre set and costume designer who has designed over 150 productions for a wide variety of venues including The West End, tours, regional theatres and the fringe. Further back he used to play drums in pit bands for productions and has occasionally been seen on stage too. The album features guests including: organist Ross Stanley (Steve Howe Trio), flautist R achel Hayter ( Alvorada ), bassoonist Philip Dale ( Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and Matt Weeks who plays brass alongside mixing duties.

Following their two previous releases, the group--led by the charismatic vocalist Ms. Kennedy and her brilliant musical partner Ondre J (known as Gregory Porter's longtime Hammond organist) - presents a work that fuses funk, soul, and jazz with gripping pop songs and heartfelt ballads, all driven by groove, depth, and Ms. Kennedy's unmistakable voice. The album will be released on CD and LP via Leopard Records. Born from genuine conversations, spontaneous ideas, and a desire to move people through authenticity, 'Humanity' was recorded in the band's Brooklyn home base. The album tells stories of joy and sorrow, self- doubt and self- love, loneliness and connection.

With 'Humanity', Kennedy Administration deliver a record that feels like a soul party, an embrace, and an existential reflection all at once. It's music for overthinkers, outsiders, smartphone scrollers, dancers, and anyone who wants to feel a little less alone. Highlights include Mark Lettieri's (Snarky Puppy) fiery guitar solo and a moving duet with US gospel singer Doobie Powell. Having herself overcome a period of homelessness during the pandemic and rediscovered her voice through music, Ms. Kennedy turns this album into a profoundly personal yet universal statement.

Xexa is still undefined, gliding over her origins, influences, and points of reference. Her music is informed by uploads from all that, processing heritage and future in much the same democratic way, sure of its (her!) path. Synthetic as it may sound, »Kissom« contains the very human element of Xexa's presence, not only through her instantly recognizable ethereal vocals but also manifest in the web of grooves stopping short of »dance«. »Kizomba 003« is the closest she comes to the dancefloor, a reduced take on the popular style of kizomba, a low-key interpretation but with the vocals atypically high in the mix. A brief breath of nostalgia. »Kissom« (title track) prolongs the slow pace, almost as an extended mix of »Kizomba 003«, stretching the sexy bounce for close to 4 extra-delightful minutes.

Everything seems to dissolve into space, as if every track gently expires only to be reconfigured somewhere else, molecule by molecule, perhaps in a different location within our mind. The artist somehow corroborates the feeling, particularly regarding »Será«, »Xtinti«, and »Txe«, which she says »finish exactly where I wanted. They all end with an EQ that mutes the frequencies until they cease to exist«. Here, there, sparse beats, successive waves of ambience, half-machine lips singing close to our ears, a blend of classic 4AD and a metallic environment warmly wrapping around the music. Extra-long, »Quem és tu?« poses the question – Who are we? Who is she? And the title »Kissom« stems from another question Xexa often hears from people, »Ki som é este?« (What is this music?). The answer might well be the artist's own paste of the words »kiss« and »som«. Lovely.

The Brokedowns are the coolest punk band in Chicagoland and they're back with 13 new songs of fury and satire. The quartet has steadily grown in popularity and so has their appetite for mockery. We asked them about the record, and they explained the fi­rst track is a musical tribute to QAnon moms taking over the school board. Quite the tone-setter. While not a concept album, there is a thematic protagonist: Alpha Dog Serum X. No, Serum X is not a panacea to a world gone mad, it's a fi­ctional miracle drug endorsed by all the coolest billionaires and influencers. Safe to say, if dorks like Elon and Logan Paul heard this music, they would not get the joke. The Brokedowns fuse heavy rhythms with singalong melodies, and they use those tools like hammer and tongs to blast away at our societal ills. It may sound grim, but no one has more fun with our stupid culture than The Brokedowns, so you may as well get in on the roast.

Dino Lenny debuts on Rekids with the ‘Not About The Volume’ single. The bona fide legend arrives backed with a remix from Rekids regular Tiger Stripes.

Dino Lenny debuts on Radio Slave’s Rekids with ‘Not About The Volume’ on 5th December 2025 alongside a remix from label regular Tiger Stripes. Active for over three decades, Italian/UK DJ, producer, singer, and Fine Human Records label owner Dino Lenny has released on R&S, Diynamic, Innervisions, and Bedrock, while working with artists such as Underworld, Missy Elliott, Wu-Tang Clan, and Madonna on remixes and collaborations. Since 2021, he’s hosted Tomorrowland’s Core, the festival’s alternative electronic stage's radio show, which has featured Nina Kraviz, Ellen Allien, DJ Tennis, and more.

Lenny’s ‘Not About The Volume’ boasts a loopy groove that forms the base for impactful, jazz-infl ected hits, and at the centre, a quirky, party-starting vocal that’s sure to cement itself in the minds of the dancefl oor. Tiger Stripes reworks ‘Not About The Volume’ with a fresh new bassline, quicker drums, and amplifi ed synth elements for a more hypnotic take on yet another Rekids anthem.

Laaps starts into 2024 with the release of the first collaborative recordings by Benoît Pioulard and Offthesky, two long-time explorers of the experimental ambient genre.

Benoît Pioulard is the primary audiovisual project of Michigan-born, Brooklyn-based Thomas Meluch. With six LPs on the renowned kranky imprint, as well as a catalog of works for Universal (UK), Morr Music (DE) and others, he has constructed a unique aesthetic steeped in the textures of analog decay and pop song structure using chiefly guitar, piano and tape processing. He has also built an extensive archive of Polaroid photographs (many of which grace his album covers), the first official collection of which is the hardcover book "Sylva", released in 2019. His most recent album "Eidetic" (Morr Music, 2023) was his first vocal-heavy work in several years.

Jason Corder aka Offthesky is an experimental-ambient multimedia artist based in Denver, CO. He has been producing music, video art, audio software, and the occasional interactive sound sculpture, for over 20 years. He teaches private courses on generative music and occasionally lectures on various sound design topics at Denver University. He currently is the Audio Director at the Denver based videogame studio Dire Wolf. Over the years, he has worked with labels such as Home Normal, 12k's term, Facture, and more. Over the years he has performed at Mutek, Decibel, Communikey and other festivals, sharing the bill with likeminded artists Pole, Matmos, William Basinski, and more.

Toxy Kated is a free-spirited, chameleon-like band that produces different styles of music without labeling them. Dani Casarano, Camilo Castaldi, Kitty, and Galo Akun—who have known each other for over two decades—decided to join forces to create something new, without rules. Everything happens collectively, in sessions where emotion intersects with sensitivity, and improvisation coexists with intention. Their upcoming EP is a testament to this unique sonic journey, a defiant refusal to conform and a bold declaration to expand the boundaries of music.

Acclaimed Scottish composer Craig Armstrong releases his new work Pacific via his own label CMA Records. Written for piano, cello, and electronics, the three-movement piece was originally commissioned in December 2024 by Christian Kellersman, a pioneering figure in contemporary classical and jazz music, for his new live event series Berlin Confidential, co-curated with Alexander Szlovák. The series aims to promote innovative new music projects, with a particular focus on emerging musicians and composers.

Armstrong was among the first artists invited to perform as part of Berlin Confidential, premiering Pacific at Berlin’s historic Meistersaal concert hall in March 2025. The concert featured Armstrong on piano alongside cellist Lena Angelina von Almen and producer and musician Guy Sternberg, combining acoustic instruments with live electro-acoustic treatments to create a rich and atmospheric sound world.

Recorded in May 2025 at Lowswing Studios in Kreuzberg, Pacific continues Armstrong’s ongoing exploration of blending acoustic and electronic sound in a natural, seamless way. Over several days in the studio, Armstrong, von Almen and Sternberg developed the work’s intricate textures and dynamic interplay, resulting in a recording that captures both the intimacy and expansiveness of the original live performance.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the piece, Armstrong says: “I wrote this work during a time of great instability in the world, I wrote “Pacific” as an Elegy dedicated to the many suffering in today’s conflicts and in the hope that peace will prevail.”

Across its three movements, Pacific 1 is elegiac in nature, with the main themes stated and developed throughout the piece, punctuated by recurring piano motifs. The movement is reflective and atmospheric, with subtle electronic interventions. The second movement is arrhythmic in nature, following shifting time signatures that reflect a sense of uncertainty - the music is searching and static, ending without resolution but leaving hope for one to come. Pacific 3 moves towards peace and resolution, bringing the work to a close with quiet strength and emotional release.

When speaking about the creative process and his collaborators, Armstrong said: “Lena’s beautiful playing , tone and expression worked so beautifully on Pacific, Lena was also a great collaborator and was always willing to experiment and try new musical approaches. Lena is such a natural musician and she brought so much emotion and beauty to the piece. I wish her all the best in her future musical journey.”

He continues: Guy is a unique combination of being a brilliant engineer and mixer and a prolific very talented musician/composer. I was very fortunate to spend time with Guy in his studio in Berlin. His sensitivity to the project and his electronic programming made a wonderful contribution to the composition. His collaboration and friendship made the days working in Berlin such a great experience I would like to thank Emma Ford for her dedication, enthusiasm and guidance on Pacific”

For both von Almen and Sternberg, the collaboration was equally meaningful. Von Almen reflects on the experience of recording the piece, saying: “As a musician, it is always a great privilege to work on a piece together with the composer, and of course I felt even luckier to go through the process of creating something new with an artist like Craig Armstrong. Figuratively speaking, it felt like knitting a silk scarf: using the finest materials and taking the utmost care during the recording, we have realised another beautiful and touching work by Craig, which will bring us and certainly many others great joy. I feel very honoured to have been part of this and to have experienced this warm encounter.”

Sternberg adds: “Diving into Armstrong’s music while working on this record felt like examining a diamond under a microscope, discovering endless beauty within simplicity. Perfection and complexity emerging from simplicity, where every note, tone, noise, and gesture has meaning. I’m deeply grateful to have been part of this process, and for the freedom Craig gave me to express myself through his music, to let our sonic visions merge into one. It’s been both a lesson in music-making and in setting the ego aside, if only for a moment.”

Reflecting Armstrong’s belief in the role of music as a force for empathy and reflection, proceeds from Pacific will be donated to charities working towards peace: Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross.

The limited-edition vinyl release has been pressed on Eco Vinyl at SeaBass Vinyl, a sustainable plant near Edinburgh. The record features striking cover art by Dirk Rudolph, who has designed several of Armstrong’s previous releases.

Back again with another release for the Meeting Of The Minds series, this time with lucky number 13!

First track on this is by me & Fez The Kid, who has been regularly sending me music for years, most of which I admit to sleeping on due to the sheer volume of demos submitted to the label. But when I was able to actually check some music that he sent me, there was one tune (at the time called All Round Juggling) of his that I gave me a few ideas on how it could sound. He was thankfully up for me working on it with him & the end result is "Skin Out Crew (Magnificent Mix)", which I've been playing a lot in sets this year.

"BDC" is a track done by me & The Last Ronin (aka Stretch & Enjoy) which they had started and I was really into it because it reminded me of some of the "ruff with the smooth" ragga jungle style tracks I'd hear on labels like Slam!, Tom & Jerry, Kemet & so on. It was really fun to work on this with them & we were also able to do a 2nd collaboration, which will be coming out on the next Defender compilation on Stretch's label AKO Beatz.

Settle Down is someone that was on my list of potential collaborators for a long long time but I just kept neglecting to reach out to him about actually doing something together. I eventually got round to getting in touch with him last year for collaborating on a track for Meeting Of The Minds, so he sent me something he had started, which I added some more to & sent back to him, so that he could add the finishing touches. The end result is "Shell Of A Man", which I like because it's quite sparse & ominous, dark but not in the typical "darkside hardcore" way.

"Altitude" by me & Flex Luthor has been through quite a lot haha. He initially reached out about working on a tune together in 2021 & at the time, I was keen but already quite occupied with other artists I was collaborating with for the series, as well as contemplating ending the series on Vol. 10, due to the amount of work it takes to compile each one (which also explains why Vol. 14 is not currently ready for release yet). But around the end of 2022, he sent me a track he had done where he said that he was struggling to get any kind of bassline that he was happy with. I liked what he sent so I asked him to send the track over for me to work on, but I then sat on the track for a whole year due to other commitments before finally working on it in 2024, during a long plane ride where I had time to actually focus on it. I was able to get the track to a place we were both happy with, until it became one of the tracks of mine that got lost when my backpack was stolen a few weeks later, with my computer inside. I didn't have the backup of the project, so unfortunately, we had to master this track for release from the mp3 file of the first & only version we had of it. I think it still sounds fine though, especially as this is not the first (or only) time I've had to send mp3 files off for mastering, but yeah, what a journey this tune has had!

Following his debut on our platform in 2021, our dear friend Juri Heidemann now returns to the label with our very first vinyl release, INSTINKTLAB023. Over time, his sound has evolved into a clear and distinctive signature, embodying modern, purposeful techno as it is perceived and defined in 2025. This release marks a milestone for both our label and our friendship.

We’re happy to announce the “Planetary Shift” EP by our friend O-Wells with an additional remix by Bangkok’s finest Sarayu from More Rice. An EP that combines friendship and a long overdue Ozelot-cosmos release. After we heard “Planetary Shift” a while ago for the first time, we kept insisting on releasing it- Now we’re happily presenting it to you in the form of a 4 track EP.

The record orbits around O-Wells’ signature style: dub-inflected drums, slithering synth lines, and percussive patterns that never sit still. There’s a sleek futurism to these tracks, but they feel worn-in, like spacecraft that have already charted the edges of known space. Across the EP, O-Wells embraces tension and release—rolling low-end pressure that swells, only to dissolve into weightless melodic fragments.

The result is music that feels in constant flux, forever shifting through sonic terrain without losing its pulse. Anchoring the EP is a remix from Sarayu, a key voice from Southeast Asia’s flourishing electronic music scene. Known for threading traditional rhythmic sensibilities into contemporary club frameworks, Sarayu flips O-Wells’ abstract groove into something tactile and urgent. His version turns the track inside out—primal percussion and humid atmospheres pushing the original’s spacious minimalism toward a more grounded, earthy palette. It’s a vital rework that expands the release’s global reach, bridging Frankfurt and Bangkok through the shared language of rhythm and friendship – Overall, the reason why we do what we do.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• GATEFOLD SLEEVE
• INCLUDING INSERT WITH LINER NOTES
• FEATURING JILL SCOTT, WYCLEF JEAN, GARY BARTZ, JAMILA WOODS, KASSA OVERALL, TEEDRA MOSES A.O.
• BRAND NEW 2022 ALBUM BY GRAMMY NOMINATED
JAZZ MUSICIAN THEO CROKER


Love Quantum is the seventh studio album by Grammy Award nominee Theo Croker since his 2007 debut. The album finds Croker making his first-ever foray into the concept of love, once again inviting listeners on a genre-defying journey across time and space in discovery of the self and our shared human experience. Of the album, Croker says, “It's a love story. It's a tribute to all the different levels of love that can exist - love of a friend, love of a partner, love of a parent, love of yourself and a love of life. It's really about the journey of love, the experience of it, and how powerful that energy is for us as human beings.”

Joining Croker across the album's 11 tracks are Jill Scott, Jamila Woods, Wyclef Jean, Ego Ella May, Teedra Moses, Chris Dave, Gary Bartz, James Tillman and Kassa Overall.

Love Quantum is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on solid gold coloured vinyl. The album is housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes an insert with liner notes.

Kevin Sery is the ambient guitarist behind From Overseas and now returns with a brilliant follow-up and stylistic evolution of his 2020 debut, Home. This one was inspired by fatherhood and the artist's studies in environmental philosophy, which is why the eight luminous soundscapes feel both intimate and immense. Layers of shimmering guitar, airy drones and organic resonance add up to a sonic meditation on awe that cannot help but have a profound effect. From the cascading beauty of 'Appalaches' to the radiant calm of 'Infinite,' this is ambient music that is too emotional and cinematic to be simply left playing in the background. It's a contemplative heavyweight that demands and rewards your full attention.

Repress!

In 2015 when potential remixes of BIPP were first floated the unequivocal response from SOPHIE was “No remixes..” a long pause followed “..unless it’s Autechre”. We asked, and five years later an email from Autechre arrived “sorry this is so late, hope it's still of some use”. An Autechre live show recording from a Numbers show in 2005 had first inspired SOPHIE to source the equipment used to craft new music including BIPP, LEMONADE & more. The BIPP Autechre mx is 3 minutes 33 seconds long, stripped back and loose. Sounding like Autechre paying tribute to some serious late 80’s influences. The duo's interpretation channels an imagined transition point between NY electro and UK street soul, that pitched down SOPHIE vocal reconfigured into a wanna-be Latin Freestyle Natasha King, jiving over a deep slice of TR-606 funk technology.

DJ Vibe, widely regarded as one of Portugal’s most influential and sought-after DJs, has played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s electronic music scene. Not only has he been instrumental in launching some of Portugal's most iconic clubs, but he is also behind some of the biggest anthems in the scene, such as “So Get Up” and “Dance With Me,” both released in 1994 on Kaos Records and Tribal America. Since the early 90s, he has released music on seminal labels such as Nervous, Twisted, and Innervisions, among many others.

From the underground rave scene to iconic club parties, from radio airwaves to packed dance floors, from DJing to production - DJ Vibe has traversed many paths in his decades-long career, contributing to the foundation of the modern "dance culture" that emerged in the mid/late 80s.

After over four decades of dominating clubs and festivals worldwide, what’s left to accomplish? For DJ Vibe, the answer is simple: a new adventure fueled by the same passion and excitement that defined his career. In 2024, he took a bold step forward with his debut album, Frequências—his first full-length work under his own name.

Frequências is an album defined by freedom and passion—two words that might sound cliché but perfectly capture its essence. A balanced body of work that seamlessly moves between high-energy moments for the dance floor and introspective chapters ideal for late-night reflection and relaxation.

Puglia-born Bress Underground brings his reverence for early US house and garage to a new outing for Spanish label Mate. 'This House' opens with chopped up vocal stabs, acrobatic drums and percussive rhythms. 'Connected' is smooth and seductive with dusty swing and muted chord work. 'Ready Or Not' brings some electronic futurism with sleek, liquid metal lines over deep, dynamic drums and 'Take Me Higher' is a big finish with Kerri Chandler kicks and chords, all finished with a true school house vocal. It's timeless, effective tackle for cultured floors.

Ground-breaking percussive ambient recordings from Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors, inducing altered states of consciousness through ecstatic dance. "Selected Works from 1985 to 2005" finally available on Time Capsule

Despite featuring an extraordinary cast of musicians (with credits including Pharoah Sanders, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Santana and Milton
Nascimento) and selling hundreds of thousands of albums, the music of Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors remains largely unheard beyond their sphere. Conceived as live, improvised soundtracks to Roth’s transcendental dance workshops, musical acclaim was never on the agenda.Instead, for a passionate dancer and spiritual polyglot like Gabrielle Roth, movement was a means through which to channel a wide spectrum of teaching, from experimental psychology to psychedelic counter-culture. It was from this heady mix that she devised a movement meditation known as 5Rhtyhms, which came to define her life’s work.

As “guide and catalyst”, Roth would dance to inspire the percussion-led instrumentals that would in turn fuel her 5Rhythms workshops, stimulating a secular form of ecstatic dance with roots in Native American shamanic traditions, Afro-Brazilian Candomblé and Yoruba drumming. Using anything from a Sioux pony drum to East African kihembe and Japanese Kabuki drums, Gabrielle’s lawyer-turned-drummer husband Robert Ansell set the foundational rhythms for The Mirrors’ recordings, each of which would then feature a rotating cast of friends and professional musicians.

“The secret of everything we’ve done is that we never told anybody what to play,” Robert shares. “Instead of our albums being a musical vision of one person like me or Gabrielle, they were the musical vision of a whole bunch of people.”At times the recordings have a Middle Eastern flair, at others, West African and spiritual jazz modes come to the fore. Hints of kosmische musik, proto-house and electronic ambience are laced like LSD through the organic rhythmic structures. This was kaleidoscopic ambient music to stir the body and free the mind.

In practice, the task of synthesising these different elements fell to Scott Ansell, Robert’s son and a recording engineer whose credits now include Nile Rogers, Duran Duran, Grace Jones. With meticulous attention to detail he captured and translated the dynamic energy of each drum onto record. Their sessions became legendary, and with access to the best studios in the NYC, The Mirrors sparkled.

Despite being initially overlooked by the burgeoning ‘80s New Age market, which preferred pipes and gongs to The Mirrors’ heavy-grooving drums, Robert Ansell set up Raven Recording to self-release the music, creating a vast sonic archive of sixteen albums over almost forty years. The breadth of Raven’s catalogue is such that curator Pol Valls had to cut an initial selection of sixty-six tracks down to the eleven featured here. What crystallises is a stunning, mind-altering collection which spans, in Pol’s words, “a variety of genres, styles, and vibes within their catalogue, whether it is emotional, esoteric, spiritual, melancholic, hypnotic, dark, or at times a combination of these elements together.”Music for immersive and intimate environments, Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors were born from the dance. In the hands of the right DJ, at the right time, in the right place, they might just return there.

Soft Rock to Riches announces our first original songwriting winner: Jonathan Kirby from Winston-Salem, North Carolina! “This Is Your Song” is an evocative beat ballad dedicated to seemingly endless Southern summers, late night drives, and romantic realism. In the early morning hours of August 9th, 2018, Kirby layered the drum patterns, chords, and hushed harmonies through a Tascam four track while his dad slept in the next room. Written and recorded in just three hours, “This Is Your Song” fits comfortably alongside privately pressed electronic soul ballads from home recording’s heyday.

The Devin Dare Dusk Mix introduces Vivienne on Side B, adding a graceful harmony that champions Kirby’s pining refrain. The Dusk Mix flips Kirby’s ballad over a head nodding breakbeat with a hypnotic synthesizer line and light, airy brushes of strings and delay.

Jonathan Kirby is a musician and archivist known for his ambient jazz LPs Safe to Disconnect and Safe To Disconnect II, his writings for Wax Poetics, compilations for the Numero Group and his exhaustive archival research on the music of his native North Carolina.

Eisenmund, the debut by Berlin-based Schimmel über Berlin is a thing of pounding, brittle beauty that seeks to continue on from where angst-ridden, early-eighties Berlin left off. Angular, monophonic synths, guitars that slice through with wiry yet melodic urgency, basslines that pulse with a taut, driven precision and drums that meld everything together. Liv Billerbeck’s vocals come from the middle distance, drifting between detached and desperate, as if transmitted through a wintery cityscape.

Title track Eisenmund jangles with reedy synths floating over a carpet of bass and mournful vocals dripping with a sense of loss. This mood spills over into the other tracks, like post-punk jewel Schreck with its iridescently lovely guitars.

Eisenmund is sharp, atmospheric, and quietly thrilling - proof that the shadows of the eighties can still dance under today's flickering lights. The album, immaculately produced by T-Rex, captures that classic post-punk mood of urban decay, late-night introspection and stubborn sense of motion, which for someone like me, who was there back in the day, seems utterly familiar without ever sinking into mere nostalgia.

Fiona Sangster (Xmal Deutschland)
Die Band Schimmel über Berlin ist eines der vielen Klanggesichter der Liv Billerbeck, ein Gesicht, das man niemals sieht, das im Verborgenen sich umblickt und agiert und das trotzdem aber in einer seltenen Klarheit erscheint. Man sieht es beim Hören, schemenhaft. Ihr Schaffen ist befallen vom West-Berlin der 1980er Jahre (Xmal Deutschland, Malaria etc.).

Eine Rolle, gerade in der musikalischen Brillanz und Produktionsraffinesse, spielt britischer Post-Punk, der sich sehr klar auch im treibenden Spiel von T-Rex ​​​(Bass + Produktion), Việt Phương Vũ (Gitarre) und Christian Ramisch (Schlagzeug – mit Phương übrigens bei der ebenfalls sehr guten Band NOJ) zeigt: The Sound, Killing Joke et. al.!

Es handelt sich bei dieser Musik um einen Sound mit retroesquem Anstrich, der spürbar eine vergangene Luft atmet, einer Nostalgie an eine ferne Zeit anheimfällt, die das Quartett ob ihres Alters nicht erlebt haben kann, und die vielmehr eine Sehnsucht bedeutet, in der Unerfüllbarkeit eine Melancholie mitbringt, eine Art treibende Traurigkeit spürbar macht. Das allein ist groß! Was weitergehend daran aber so interessant, besonders und wahnsinnig schön ist: Das klingt in Billerbecks Schaffen – und insbesondere hier, beim Schimmel über Berlin – nicht wie eine Kopie, ein Abklatsch, eine Reminiszenz oder das, was in der so called NNDW bald flächendeckend geschieht: das Anzapfen einer überholten Coolness. Denn etwas ist ganz gegenwärtig daran, in der Eigenständigkeit, macht einem eindringlich das Hier und Jetzt spürbar, auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen: Traurigkeit, ja, aber auch Bock, bis in die Morgenstunden auszugehen, schnellen Schrittes über rutschiges Kopfsteinpflaster zu traben. Musik dann wieder zum Verkrümeln in zugigen Altbauten, von Schreien über einen nebelbedeckten See im Umland Berlins.

Und eben kein Eskapismus, auch wenn die Musik zur Flucht taugte. Merkwürdig ist, dass in dieser Retroschleife dann etwas Märchenhaftes mitschwingt. Vielleicht liegt es auch in der authentischen 1980er-Jahre Produktion, in der immer wieder so ein Klimpern, ein Schellen durchkommt. Es mag aber auch an den Texten liegen, die etwas von Minnesang haben und in ihrer Klarheit, die aus der Kühle und den Kargheiten (der Vergangenheit, der Gegenwart, der Zukunft) entsteht, doch Wärme transportieren.

Wir hören darin heute, trotz all dem Bewusstsein für die Vergangenheit, den Sound einer seltenen Dichterin der Gegenwart. Das ist von einer Intensität, die einen bald absorbiert. Eisenmund etwa, das Titelstück, ist so ein Song, bei dem man sich hinsetzen oder gleich hinlegen muss. Da sind Dinge, die man nicht ändern kann. Wie geht das? Also: nach vorne, heftig, und dann aber so weich und traurig. Hätten Schimmel über Berlin die 1980er-Jahre dieser Stadt beschallt, sie wären hiermit, das mögen sie selbst vielleicht gar nicht hören, die Helden dieser Zeit gewesen. Eisenmund ist das tollste Album, das mir seit Jahren begegnet ist – und die bisherige Klimax dessen, was aus der Allee der Kosmonauten hervorgeht.

Und wenn man das alles so hört, aufmerksam hört, wird einem, obwohl das alles so ein einziger, riesiger Hit ist, völlig klar: Hier geht es nicht darum, irgendwo damit zu landen, irgendwo mitzumischen, erfolgreich zu sein oder in aller Munde. Hier geht es darum, einfach nur genau das zu machen, was es ist! Alles andere ist egal.

Der Klagegesang wird mich immer umwehen.

– Hendrik Otremba

Adam Greens Musik ist so untrennbar mit dem Wesen New Yorks verbunden wie das Rumpeln der U-Bahn, der Schmutz der Lower East Side oder der barocke Glanz der Midtown-Blocks, in denen einst die Geisterjäger ihre Runden drehten. Seine Songs spiegeln die Stadt in ihrer zeitlosen Mischung aus Chaos, Energie und Sehnsucht wider. Sie durchdringen die dunklen Geschichten Manhattans ebenso wie die von Gentrifizierung gereinigten Straßen und fangen die widersprüchliche Erfahrung des Großstadtlebens ein - die Gleichzeitigkeit von Nähe und Einsamkeit, Abenteuer und Entfremdung, Gesellschaft und Isolation. Sein 2005 erschienenes Soloalbum Gemstones ist tief in dieser Welt verwurzelt - eine musikalische Antwort auf Bright Lights, Big City. Die rockabilly-getriebenen Rhythmen rütteln wie die L-Train, die Melodien wehen wie ein Windstoß zwischen den Häuserschluchten. Doch auch wer New York nie betreten hat, findet in diesen Stücken den universellen Nerv des Alleinseins inmitten der Menge. Getragen von Greens markanter Baritonstimme entfaltet sich Gemstones als bunte Klangreise: vom drehenden, von einer Wurlitzer angetriebenen Titelsong über das orgelnde Over The Sunrise und das unwiderstehliche Rock"n"Roll-Stück Emily bis hin zur bittersüßen Ballade Losing On A Tuesday. Fantasievolle Bilder, surreale Sprachspiele und charmante Melodien schaffen eine Welt. Doch unter all dem Witz und der Verspieltheit schlägt ein echtes, warmes Herz voller Gefühl. Gemstones ist zugleich berauschend und tröstlich - ein Album, das Leichtigkeit mit Tiefgang verbindet. Nach seiner Veröffentlichung machte es Adam Green vor allem in Deutschland zum Star: Das Publikum erkannte in diesem modernen "Two Cent Opera" die Schönheit kleiner Geschichten und großer Melodien. Zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum erscheint Gemstones nun neu auf Vinyl - ein perfekter Anlass, diesen musikalischen Edelstein erneut funkeln zu lassen.

Le Corbeau, the brainchild of Oystein Sandsdalen (Serena Maneesh), has become a formidable collective. here with a trilogy of albums spanning eight years. Why such a productive group choses to release twenty-seven songs simultaneously may be a greater reflection on the myopic nature of record labels -The mystic deities of noir have returned. "The band"s sound bows to the vestiges of V.U., Sonic Youth, and Lynchian glamour- but each of the three albums show ambition to go beyond, by player freedom and improv, exploring textural layers, and nuancing each groove. Many songs remind us what we loved in 2009`s Evening Chill / Montreal of the Mind - surrealistic, seductive, draped in velvet. Some circle to the familiar with punk fuzz and playful themes, like "1000 eyed behemoth": about leaving Oslo"s night life behind. Other times, they are creators of their own classics. Opening track to VI: Sun Creeps Up the Wall, "Blossom with an Evil Light" recorded between 2017-2018, illuminates a a new path of change. The long anticipation is over- come enter the murky and magical waters of Le Corbeau." -Ann Sung-an Lee

It's taken over two decades, but at last, the wait is over: Sevan Mater has unleashed the first- ever vinyl pressing of Live Damage , the iconic live performance by DARK TRANQUILLITY, captured during their "Damage Done" era. Pressed on Gold and Black swirl vinyl, limited to just 500 copies, and housed in a stunning gatefold cover, this reissue is nothing short of melodic death metal heaven. Originally released in 2003 as a DVD, Live Damage immortalized one of DT 's most intense and electric live shows - recorded in Krakow, Poland. Now, for the first time ever, that raw energy, that iconic Swedish aggression, and that perfectly balanced blend of melody and brutality has been etched into vinyl grooves for audiophiles and collectors alike. From the soaring leads of The Treason Wall to the punishing drive of Final Resistance, every track explodes with clarity and presence on wax.

The vinyl mastering brings new warmth and immediacy to the performance, giving fans the closest thing to being there, without the sweat and flying beer. And the packaging? Absolutely elite. Sevan Mater delivers a luxurious gatefold, featuring rare tour photos, liner notes, and an aesthetic drenched in cold, melancholic elegance. If you're a fan of At The Gates, In Flames, or if Damage Done was the soundtrack to your early 2000s fury, this release is a must-own. More than just a live album - it's a time capsule of melodic death metal at its peak.

MJ Lenderman is a songwriter born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. The anatomy of an MJ record might go something like this: warped pedal steels and skuzzed out guitar; a voice reminiscent of the high-lonesome warble of a choirboy; the keen observations and reflections of a front stoop philosopher. Songs snake their way from a lo-fi home recording to something glossier made with longtime friends at Asheville's Drop of Sun studios, but the recording setting
doesn't seem to matter much - at its core, a Lenderman song rings true.

MJ Lenderman was recorded, mixed and mastered for digital in 2019 by Colin Miller in Asheville NC, and was self-released online to quiet but firm acclaim. Now available as a Double LP and remastered for vinyl by Heather Jones, it offers a glimpse into the formative steps of a style; focused and precise, yet expansive and rough around the edges, that remains consistent across MJ's catalogue to date.

Looking as firmly to the legacy of 90s slowcore as it does to the tenor of Magnolia Electric Co. and sound wall of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, these 9 songs clock in at just over an hour and offer warm, patient worlds of heavy colour that blow by breezily. These are songs that wrap mysterious and urgent feeling in layers of patience and clarity that unfold anew with each timeless listen.

Available on LP format - comes with Japanese obi-strip.

Jamaica's national treasure. Legendary Jamaican Jazz. Internationally acclaimed guitarist Ernest Ranglin with piano genius Leslie Butler in a dazzling quartet. Recorded in 1965. Ernest Ranglin is a guitar player who represents Jamaica as well as one of the forefront personals who took Jamaican music to the world. As an arranger and a musical director, he contributed with his talent in the development of Jamaican music, including Ska and Reggae, from the origins. Musicians who have started their career at the time, still look up to him as a mentor and pay their respects. The internationally acclaimed guitarist Ernest Ranglin is currently pursuing his career without any musical boundaries at the age of over 80.

---

Musicians:GUITAR: Ernest Ranglin, BASS: Stephen Lauz, DRUMS: Carl Mcleod, PIANO: Leslie Butler.

Produced by K. Khouri.

Recorded at Federal Studio.

Straight out of the local mud of the city of Antwerp comes dancing this next Souvenirs from Imaginary Cities slab of free-flowing bits of electronic wonder : Schönen Abend by Simon B. Just in time to ease you out of this endless winter and right into springtime. Like the previous hit by Purple Uncle, this flower takes some time to bloom and fill up your head and body with it's ear wormy fragrance.

It's hazy and cinematic, makes you think of Italian electronic pioneers and their library magic, Patrick Cowley's School Daze and Haruomi Hosono in some kind of gothic manner. It's quite stripped and lush at the same time, rhythms like minimal mechanics make you fly above the river and land just outside reality. It's a nice place where soft jazz tingles right around the dark corner, and that particular mix of exotica and melancholia — the trademark of this port city's best electronic auteurs is definitely in the air. The river still shines, but she’s deeply poisoned. The old town has lost every bit of fresh air but keeps on digging for old gold. This bitter pill is served with delicacy and lightness, the wound is dressed up seductively — feet in the mud, head in the air. Stuff is sensuous, with quiet places reminding of the good side of those times when the big wheel stopped turning ever so madly. A strange quietness whistles through the leaves. Some things take time to unfold. In or out of C.

Four years in the making, this is the solo debut LP of Simon B, a longtime contributor to Antwerp's improvised music scene (Groovecats Deluxe, Wij Blij Trio ). Primarily a double bass player, he also has a deep-felt passion for offbeat electronica and the rainbowy side of American minimalism, which takes front here. The smoky voice on the last track belongs to Nina-Joy Thielemans, Nina-Joy is part of Particals, a trio working with live electronics and field recordings, releasing an lp on Ultra Eczema later this year. Furthermore, you can hear the tenor and soprano saxophone of Adia Van Heerentals on 4 tracks, deepening out Simon's naturally flowing compositions and playing around with his melodies. You may know her from Bodem and her strong presence in the Belgian jazz scene lately.

Simon's electroacoustic experiments — using a clarinet and some outboard effects — were important tools in finding the very specific colour of this record. There's this airy character, like wind blowing through old layers of bricks and over the river, anchored with a deep sense of bass, gathering ages of dust and memories in these eight elegantly wobbling tracks, forming a perfect whole that’s really coming together in one deep listening from A to Z.

The centrepiece is perhaps Come to Me, instrumental and reprise with vocals, but no fillers on this one. Every part of the mystery is needed to come to its end and back again. It's a record that works in the morning, to open up a day and in the quiet corners of the night, with it's sleazy quirkiness, smiling towards you from the right corner of the eye. A perfect compagnon for your long-form wandering habits, light reflections on a wet surface obsessions, coffee slurping in the morning and the forgotten art of beachcombing. Quite essential these days, witnessing a world going apeshit.

A heretical masterpiece with an overwhelming presence in the history of Japanese jazz. Jiro Inagaki was one of the central figures in the development of jazz rock in Japan. Inagaki, who had doubts about the existing jazz music, turned the helm to jazz-rock at once with this album recorded in 1970. From the opening track "The Vamp" to the closing "Head Rock," Inagaki poured all his ideas and passion into this jazz-rock album that leaves no time to exhale.

Jiro Inagaki(Tenor Sax)
Tetsuo Fushimi(Trumpet)
Ryo Kawasaki(Guitar)
Masaru Imada(Organ)
Yasuo Arakawa(Bass)
Sadakazu Tabata(Drums)

YMO’s first overseas performances took place as special guests at The Tubes’ concerts held over three days—August 2, 3, and 4, 1979—at the outdoor Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, USA. “YMO LIVE AT THE GREEK THEATRE 08/04/1979” features the complete 7-song set from the final night, August 4.



Supervised by Haruomi Hosono, the recording was mixed and mastered from the original multi-track tapes by world-renowned engineer Goh Hotoda. The vinyl cutting was handled by Shinya Matsushita of “Piccolo Audio Works”, ensuring top-quality audio.

“Twenty-five years into their existence, The Album Leaf are an old comfy sweater. It might not be the most fashionable thing in your collection but it always feels good when you put it on. Jimmy LaValle’s synth textures are warm, nostalgic and steeped in Boards of Canada / Ulrich Schnauss-style soundscapes that are relaxing, otherworldly and melodic” – Brooklyn Vegan

The Album Leaf shares his new ambient LP, Rotations. The record is a mediative experiment into atmospheric sound. Creator Jimmy LaValle explains, “This collection of music is a true reflection of my creative process—rooted in sound exploration, experimentation, and spontaneous response. Each track captures a moment of creative discovery, free from the pressure of achieving a polished result. Throughout my career, I’ve often placed significant weight on what an album should be. With this release, I’ve let go of those expectations to share a body of work that feels genuine and authentic.

The Album Leaf began as the solo project of Jimmy LaValle, who came up in the San Diego music scene playing in hardcore bands and the instrumental rock band Tristeza. He had inked a deal to release his next solo album through the indie label Tigerstyle Records, so he put the modest advance towards a self-recording starter setup, building out the sound with occasional studio access. The music that emerged — vivid, rhythmic, soaring instrumentals guided by lines of Guitar and Rhodes — not only set the path for The Album Leaf over the next two decades of acclaimed releases (for Sub Pop, City Slang, and others), it became a touchstone for the next generation's wave of melodic and meditative electro-organic music.

Previously we’ve mentioned influences from the 1970s self-reflective work of Nick Drake & John Martyn to the lovelorn tragedy of troubadours such as Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley creating a fusion of 1960s/70s folk and blues.

Now Cardiff-based indie folk singer-songwriter Ivan Moult returns with his most personal work to date, Stood Out In The Storm, due to be released on November 7th through Bubblewrap (home to The Gentle Good). The album follows the acclaimed Songs From Severn Grove (2023), which drew praise for its warmth, intricacy and timeless songwriting, cementing Ivan’s reputation as one of Wales’ most compelling contemporary voices.

While Songs From Severn Grove captured moments of renewal and joy - written in lockdown and
during the early days of fatherhood - its follow-up takes a braver, more vulnerable step. Stood Out
In The Storm was written in the aftermath of a personal crisis and charts Ivan’s gradual process of
healing and recovery. The record traverses darkness and light, despair and resilience, offering a
deeply honest exploration of fragility, survival and hope.

Ivan’s signature sound remains at the core: a seamless blend of 1960s/70s folk and blues infused
with modern textures, drawing influence from John Martyn, the late great Terry Reid and Ry
Cooder. On Stood Out In The Storm, that familiar intimacy is expanded with a greater presence
of guitars and organs, adding new depth and urgency to the sound. As with his previous records,
Ivan wrote, played, recorded and mixed the album at his Cardiff home studio, and the record sits
as a companion piece to Songs From Severn Grove.

Over the years, Ivan has gained support from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales and KLOF
(Formerly Folk Radio UK), earned festival slots at Cornbury Festival, Festival of Voice and Sŵn,
and shared stages with the likes of This Is The Kit, Becca Mancari and Willy Mason. Now, with
Stood Out In The Storm (out November 7th), he offers his most powerful and affecting work yet –
an album born of struggle, but defined by resilience.

“Exquisite”- Folk Radio UK 

“Beautiful” - Huw Stephens, BBC Radio

“Utterly wonderful” - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales

”There is a wonderful delicateness that resonates through Ivan’s heartfelt lyrics, deamy music and vocals. Ivan is able to take listeners on their own journey of growth through his soft melodies and blissful atmosphere”
- Amplify The Noise

A transatlantic masterpiece, "Mystery Merxhant" is a vivid sonic journey that fuses the smooth, raw lyricism of Bahamian rapper Obijuan with the cinematic, dusty soundscapes crafted by UK producer Giallo Point. Together, they weave an immersive tale of introspection, hustle, and mystique.

Obijuan’s deep, measured delivery glides effortlessly over Giallo Point's expertly layered beats, which are steeped in rich samples, haunting melodies, and boom-bap drums. Each track feels like a page from an ancient, esoteric scroll, with Obijuan delivering cryptic rhymes that balance between wisdom and wit. Survival, self-reliance, and spiritual alignment blend with hypnotic loops, shadowy and noir-inspired tones and cinematic vibes.

This collaboration solidifies Obijuan and Giallo Point as formidable artists in the underground scene, bringing a fresh yet nostalgic sound that invites listeners to lose themselves in the depths of its artistry.

A legend of the Chicago house scene, befriending Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles in his teens before forming influential house trio Risque III, and still prolific today via releases on Marcel Dettman’s ‘Bad Manners’ imprint, K'Alexi Shelby partners with Tony Loveless for their Planet E debut, ‘Ancestral Rhythm’.

Across a rolling nine-minute odyssey of old-school but future-facing jack, ‘Ancestral Rhythm’ finds the pair tapping into their most uncompromising rhythmic instincts, melding the tough machines of their studio with organic percussion and oscillating plunges into raw, escalating electronics.

In complimentary fashion, Carl Craig expands on the existing material for a subtle, tight C2 edit of the pair’s original material. Roadtested over the summer season in Ibiza and beyond, Craig masterfully sharpens the original’s frenetic edges, while adding another chorus of chants to Shelby and Loveless’s psychedelic soup.

GOSPEL GREATEST HITS - Die Seele der Musik Mit Gospel Greatest Hits präsentiert Wagram eine außergewöhnliche Sammlung der kraftvollsten Stimmen und bewegendsten Songs der Gospelgeschichte - als Doppel-CD und Doppel-Vinyl. Diese Zusammenstellung vereint emotionale Tiefe, spirituelle Kraft und musikalische Exzellenz in einem einzigartigen Hörerlebnis. Zu hören sind Legenden wie Mahalia Jackson, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong und das Golden Gate Quartet - Künstler:innen, die Gospel nicht nur geprägt, sondern weit über die Kirchenmauern hinausgetragen haben. Gospel war schon immer mehr als nur Musik: In den USA war er Stimme der Hoffnung, Ausdruck von Widerstand und Quelle spiritueller Kraft - und ist bis heute ein Fundament für Soul, R&B und Pop. Diese Sammlung bringt die Ursprünge zurück ins Rampenlicht - mit Songs, die unter die Haut gehen.

Not much is known about the artist Ethan Syann. It's the musician's choice to stay behind his sounds, anonymous and far away from the lights. We don't know if he's behind some other projects or monikers. The only thing we know is that we discovered his works over a decade ago, via Soundcloud. At that time, the quality of the works, the unpredictable range of sounds and atmospheres gave his own imprint to Ethan Syann and the reason to have him on board at a point. It was an obvious fact to put the light on his first and only tracks, recorded between 2013 and 2015. Today, he seems to come back in the area, and started again to record recently for some future projects to come. Yorgos Yatromanolakis choose his works between some various musicians propositions by us, and it has been the perfect match for IIKKI. This is his first release.

SEX PISTOL"s Sid Vicious has come to symbolise the band since his untimely death. Always courting controversy, he out-did his old college mate Johnny Rotten in the attitude stakes. With only 3 memorable solo singles to his name, this 2xLP blood-splattered vinyl in gatefold sleeve shows where his music may have gone, had Nancy not died 12 days later. Detailed 8,000-word articles tell the life-story of Sid, firstly in an eyewitness account by guitarist Steve Dior, and secondly in a SID, NANCY & SEX PISTOLS day-by-day timeline from Sid"s early days to his demise. Following media furore over Sid"s death and numerous films documenting his life and death, this is the definitive Sid Vicious release for all fans and students of Sex Pistols and the punk-rock scene.

Reissue of the very first album ever released by Sly & Robbie’s iconic TAXI label back in 1979.



"Having saved enough money during a tour with Peter Tosh to buy 4 multitrack recording tapes, Sly & Robbie asked Gregory to voice a few songs for them. Because they had played on so many of his hits, Gregory generously agreed to do it for free to help bootstrap the new TAXI label.

In 1979, Gregory Isaacs was by far Jamaica’s most popular artist, earning his "Cool Ruler" nickname many times over releasing hit after hit, most of which were produced with Sly & Robbie, who at 25 years of age were already the hottest backing band. Out of these sessions came hits like "Soon Forward", a fabulous cover of Bob Marley’s "Slave Driver" and 4 other potent tracks. There were no flimsy soul or pop covers: Gregory Isaacs, whose voice and range were at their peak, sang with clarity, depth, verve and confidence, with no unnecessary mannerisms.

A must have for any serious music fan, this crucial album features extended so-called "Discomix" versions of all the songs, providing listeners with a generous serving of the Riddim Twins drum and bass extravaganza. In addition to the original album, we have added 3 dub versions that were only released in Jamaica, as B Sides of singles, in 1979. These have never been reissued until now and provide a fascinating glimpse into Sly & Robbie's drum and bass sound, which revolutionized Reggae music at the time."

ROTTEN, FOUL, DERANGED!

Around the end of the 1980s and the first years of the 1990s bands like PUNGENT STENCH, DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, DISASTROUS MURMUR or MIASMA made a name for themselves by putting out some classic albums. "Been Caught Buttering", "Changes" or "Expositionsprophylaxe" were records spawned by Austrian hordes which were globally hailed by devotees of Death Metal. As fertile a soil Austria once seemed to be, throughout the last 30 years not one single Death Metal album was put out that would match the quality of the pioneers.

Apparently, it took Brenton, an Australian settling in Vienna, to eventually put Austria on the map again. After having founded FESSUS with 3 other members in 2023, the quartet put out their first demo "Pilgrims of Morbidity" in the same year.

Now, two years after the very promising demo, FESSUS return with their first full-length. Cryptically entitled "Subcutaneous Tomb" the album's six lengthy songs stylistically continue where the demo left off. Whereas other bands focus on hyper-speed, over-technicality and brutality, FESSUS' brand of Death Metal is mostly played in moderate tempi with outbursts of speed and aggression scattered throughout the album. The songs are foremost characterized by memorable compositions and groove. Every song literally oozes with morbidity and conjures a dense macabre atmosphere. Brenton's vocals which are partly reminiscent of NECROPHAGIA's Killjoy are one of the highlights of the album. With his performance being equal parts versatile and deranged, Brenton spews vile bile and brimstone like not many lunatics before him. Although there are hints of other bands like AUTOPSY or PURTENANCE found on the album, FESSUS actually managed to come up with a sound that’s distinctly their own.

"Subcutaneous Tomb" is a perfectly produced album that those worshipping at the altar of morbid, rotten Death Metal can't afford to miss out on.

Recording, mixing, mastering: Thomas Taube (Five Lakes Studio)

For over two decades, Dub Inc has been a cornerstone of the French-speaking reggae scene, embodying both power and authenticity. Hailing from Saint-Étienne, the band has built a strong identity, whether on stage or through their productions, always driven by the will to deliver meaningful messages that resonate far beyond borders. Dub Inc now returns with their new project Atlas, the result of a full year of creation at their new Greenlab Studio. Writing and composing went hand in hand, guided by powerful themes and a constant awareness of today's world. To enrich this record, the band invited three renowned artists: L'Entourloop, Kabaka Pyramid, and Marcus Gad. The result is an explosive fusion of reggae, world, and urban sounds - a 9th album that stays true to Dub Inc's DNA while opening new musical horizons.

Known to fans simply as The Blue Album, Adolescents' self-titled debut album captured the raw pulse of Southern California's teenage rebellion at a time when hardcore was beginning to take shape yet still holding onto the infectious urgency of punk's first wave. Few records from the American punk underground have echoed as far and wide-or as enduringly-as the Adolescents' self-titled debut, first released by Frontier Records in 1981. Formed in Fullerton, California, Adolescents brought together members of earlier OC punk outfits like Social Distortion and Agent Orange, fusing their varied influences into something uniquely their own. With songs like 'Amoeba,' 'Kids of the Black Hole,' and 'No Way,' the album offered more than just speed and volume-it spoke directly to suburban alienation, youthful frustration, and the search for identity in a world that felt increasingly hostile and conformist. This new edition offers longtime listeners and new fans alike a chance to revisit-or discover-an album that helped define the West Coast punk sound. From its striking blue cover to its mix of melody, defiance, and urgency, "Adolescents" remains a vital listen, as relevant today as it was over four decades ago. It's an album that didn't just reflect its moment-it shaped what punk could be: loud, smart, emotional, and unflinchingly real. Reissued with care and respect for its original spirit, The Blue Album stands not only as a milestone in punk history, but as a testament to the enduring power of youth in revolt. This reissue includes a repro of the original insert and poster.

Reissued blue (!) vinyl! The "centrics"-albums saw the introduction of current vocalist Loïc Rossetti to the band's lineup, a game changer in their 17 years history. "Anthropocentric" is heavier than its same-year predecessor "Heliocentric", with the crushing 15-minutes openening track duality "The Grand Inquisitor" part I and II and following track "She Was The Universe", one of the most-streamed THE OCEAN tracks to date, setting the bar high for the rest of the album. Since 2001, the Berlin-based musician collective THE OCEAN have released 7 critically acclaimed studio albums, and a split EP with Japanese post-rock legends Mono. With an ever-changing lineup of various on- and off-stage musicians and visual artists, the relentlessly touring group have become well known for their immense, mind-expanding live shows, which they have carried into the most remote corners of the globe, from Siberian squats to colonial theatres in Ecuador. Over the course of their storied career, THE OCEAN have toured with Opeth, Mastodon, Mono,The Dillinger Escape Plan, Anathema, Between The Buried And Me and Devin Townsend, and have appeared on major festivals including Roskilde, Dour, Pukkelpop, Roadburn, Wacken, With Full Force, Summer Slaughter, Summer Breeze and Graspop. pn: this is coloured double vinyl, the stickersays Golden, but in fact it's Blue (Gold).

Since first arriving on the scene in 2009 with blistering inversions of shoegaze, Montreal's No Joy has always found formidable ways to reinvent itself. Now solely composed of musician Jasamine White-Gluz, No Joy has evolved over four studio albums and five EPs, defying expectation and genre, and cementing itself as something rare: a band without a category. Clearly sympatico at the time of collaborating, Fire-Toolz and No Joy (Jasamine White-Gluz) had both resituated to secluded woodsy milieus prior to the "Bugland seshies", as I now name the historic pairing. Together, they created an aural equivalent of a late 1980 I-d magazine front and back cover, with a non-problematic National Geographic hiding within. Fire-Toolz sums it up: "The collaboration really felt limitless. I didn't have to adhere to a certain vision in a way that made me feel like I couldn't be Fire-Toolz. I could easily relate to this album because Jasamine and I liked a lot of the same music, and I was able to be creative in ways that were freeing as if I was making my own album. " Both spent days driving through on empty rural highways listening to the mixes, and it reflects in the final product. With an open ear, many "influence eggs" can be detected by the listener. Garbage Dream House is Zooropian without any of U2's ego baggage. Seven-minute closing track Jelly Meadow Bright even manages to meld Stooges' Fun House out of control saxophone with the chill buoyancy of a high-end spa. Touching on respected, familiar genres and sounds while attempting to advance one's own isn't easy but Bugland manages to. What genre is it anyway? Is it even shoegaze when it could live happily on a shelf next to Boards of Canada and Autechre? The right answer is `yes'. What a lovely shelf `twould be as well. A marble shelf, with cyberpunk elements. Bugland`s a testament to White-Gluz's evolution and her ability to channel a wide variety of tastes into something cohesive that can descend into fine-tuned chaos, then out of that chaos with ease.

Peach Discs’ last EP of 2025 comes from DJ & producer Leibniz. Hopefully you can hear why we chose to wait till club season is fully upon us to put this one out – "Corridor" is a deeply heads-down, groove-forward record that casts an enveloping atmosphere across its minimal, tunneling arrangements built for dark rooms and long nights.

Across the EP's four tracks, Leibniz (real name Moritz Paul) picks a vibe and runs with it – themes persist, the focus narrows and what we get is something approaching a mood. Drawing inspiration from early 2000s techno records from the likes of Archetype while combining the ambient warmth of Kompakt’s Pop Ambient compilations and GAS releases with the clarity and weight of early dubstep and 2-step, he dived into a process of self-sampling, resampling shorter demos and ideas into full arrangements, or "making in-between tracks that help make the tracks.”

The pair of tracks on the record's A-side are made up of little more than razor-sharp percussion, billowing, restless pads and an infectious bassline, but it's the way these carefully considered elements are put together that do the damage on the floor.

Flip it over and Ten Ten breaks the 4x4 spell for a moment, leaning into a heavily swung, garage-indebted sound inspired by the king of swing himself, El-B. "If my drums resemble just a bit of the ones of El-B, I‘m happy." We reckon he can be happy. Finally, TTL takes us back to the persistent, driving energy of the A-side, with just a hint of hardgroove flavour and the kind of wonked-out fx that always suits the B2 of a record.

The first single from the forthcoming Skinshape x Horus dub album, "Act Like You Know" is a soulful reggae reworking of Fat Larry's Band's 1982 classic, featuring smooth vocals from Andy Platts (also Mama's Gun, Young Gun Silver Fox). Produced using fully analogue techniques and recorded in the spirit of vintage Jamaican dub, this 7" is a perfect blend of oldschool authenticity and modern production finesse. Skinshape (Will Dorey) and Ben Bell (Horus Records / Lion Vibes) bring over two decades of collaboration and deep roots to this project. Known for their love of rare roots reggae and dub, the pair are now crafting original material with the same dedication to sound and detail that defined the golden era of Jamaican music. Released as white label 7" vinyl in plain white sleeve with dub version of Act Like You Know on the flipside.

Status Quo has endured for over 50 years and is known for worldwide hits and tours to millions of fans across the globe. This 12" blue etched single collects together some of the band's rare tracks from the late 1990s and early 2000s, in support of the 14 track CD compilation of the same name. Until now, many of these tracks have only been available on CD singles or editions of albums only available in one country. This mastered for vinyl 12" single is supported by the band and has been overseen by the recordings' original producer, Mike Paxman. Limited Edition Of 1000 Copies.

Space is a place in Kongsberg/Norway. Meadows & io fire up their spacerock jet engines for a double album release. An enchanting escapade into the ether and fabric of dreams. Claus A. Breda Gulbrandsen with Vegard Eggum, Svein Olav Eriksen and Julian Bugge Moe deliver soothing and gritty guitars intertwined, Lucious synts, and a cinematic and pleasantly drifting trip into a celestial plane. "Above and Below" just keeps on giving with those delicious keyboard leads and atmospheres... This is superb stuff that shouldn"t be overlooked by any prog and psychedelic space-prog nerd." - The Progspace.

Le Corbeau, the brainchild of Oystein Sandsdalen (Serena Maneesh), has become a formidable collective. here with a trilogy of albums spanning eight years. Why such a productive group choses to release twenty-seven songs simultaneously may be a greater reflection on the myopic nature of record labels -The mystic deities of noir have returned. "The band"s sound bows to the vestiges of V.U., Sonic Youth, and Lynchian glamour- but each of the three albums show ambition to go beyond, by player freedom and improv, exploring textural layers, and nuancing each groove. Many songs remind us what we loved in 2009`s Evening Chill / Montreal of the Mind - surrealistic, seductive, draped in velvet. Some circle to the familiar with punk fuzz and playful themes, like "1000 eyed behemoth": about leaving Oslo"s night life behind. Other times, they are creators of their own classics. Opening track to VI: Sun Creeps Up the Wall, "Blossom with an Evil Light" recorded between 2017-2018, illuminates a a new path of change. The long anticipation is over- come enter the murky and magical waters of Le Corbeau." -Ann Sung-an Lee

Le Corbeau, the brainchild of Oystein Sandsdalen (Serena Maneesh), has become a formidable collective. here with a trilogy of albums spanning eight years. Why such a productive group choses to release twenty-seven songs simultaneously may be a greater reflection on the myopic nature of record labels -The mystic deities of noir have returned. "The band"s sound bows to the vestiges of V.U., Sonic Youth, and Lynchian glamour- but each of the three albums show ambition to go beyond, by player freedom and improv, exploring textural layers, and nuancing each groove. Many songs remind us what we loved in 2009`s Evening Chill / Montreal of the Mind - surrealistic, seductive, draped in velvet. Some circle to the familiar with punk fuzz and playful themes, like "1000 eyed behemoth": about leaving Oslo"s night life behind. Other times, they are creators of their own classics. Opening track to VI: Sun Creeps Up the Wall, "Blossom with an Evil Light" recorded between 2017-2018, illuminates a a new path of change. The long anticipation is over- come enter the murky and magical waters of Le Corbeau." -Ann Sung-an Lee

San Diego "squigglecore" pioneers release archived double live album recorded at Spasibar in Oslo nov 13th and 14th 2005. This live document musically spans their career from 1992"s "Of Thick Thum" through material on their 2010 release "O Zeta Zunis" on Asmathic Kitty. The band that NME said "Make Pavement sound like U2" have released some 13 studio albums over the years and fans include Beck, John Peel and Thurston Moore to name a few. The latter which contributed to their "Milktrain to Paydirt" album from 1995. Features John Sherman of Red Fang on drums.

Das Debütalbum von Spartan Warrior, »Steel N’ Chains«, ursprünglich 1983 veröffentlicht, ist ein übersehenes Juwel der NWOBHM. Spartan Warrior stammten aus Sunderland, im Nordosten des Vereinigten Königreichs, und veröffentlichten lediglich ein weiteres Album sowie zwei Songs auf einer Compilation. Allerdings waren sie live ausgesprochen präsent und erspielten sich so eine eingefleischte Anhängerschaft.

Spartan Warrior gründeten sich, als die lokale Band Deceiver – mit Bassist Tom Spencer und Schlagzeuger Gordon Webster – sich mit Sänger David Wilkinson zusammentat. Später traten Wilkinsons Bruder Neil und mit John Stormont ein weiterer Gitarrist der Gruppe bei. Mit dieser Besetzung wurden die beiden Stücke “Steel N’ Chains” und “Easy Prey” (auf der Plattenhülle fälschlich als “Comes As No Surprise” betitelt) für den Sampler »Pure Overkill« auf Guardian Records aufgenommen.

Das Label offerierte der Gruppe einen Plattendeal und mit Paul Swaddle für Stormont wurden weitere acht Stücke aufgenommen, die mit den beiden vorhandenen die Debüt-LP »Steel N’ Chains« ergaben. Die Scheibe verkaufte sich gut, wovon Roadrunner Records Wind bekamen, die Spartan Warrior für ein zweites Album unter Vertrag nahmen. Allerdings verließ Wilkinson in der Folge die Band und bereits Mitte der achtziger Jahre erfolgte die Auflösung.

Spartan Warrior reformierten sich um 2006 herum und traten auf dem eine oder anderen Festival in Kontinentaleuropa auf. Begonnen hatte allerdings alles in England mit ihrem Debütalbum »Steel N’ Chains« – eine großartige Platte von einer großartigen Band.

Just when you thought you'd heard the final word on Norwegian black metal's golden age, Sevan Mater erupts from the underground with a breathtaking reissue of TSJUDER 's Norwegian Apocalypse - now unleashed in a deluxe triple gatefold 2LP edition, pressed on stunning 500 Gold and 500 Red vinyl. Originally released as a live DVD in 2006, Norwegian Apocalypse captures TSJUDER at their most primal and ferocious. Recorded in Oslo and Sandnes in 2005, this live document is a raw testament to the unrelenting, chainsawing riffage and relentless blastbeats that made TSJUDER legends. From the first crackle of the needle, the remastering breathes new fire into tracks like "Sodomizing the Lamb" and "Helvete."

The guitars slice sharper, the drums hit harder, and Nag's vocals tear through the speakers like a storm of razors. The live energy is palpable, preserved in glorious analog fidelity that towers over previous editions. But let's talk presentation - because Sevan Mater has outdone themselves. The triple gatefold cover is a work of dark art: blood- red visuals drenched in shadow, with exclusive liner notes and rare live photos from the original shows. This is not a reprint for casual listeners. It's a statement piece, a collector's treasure, and a monument to the uncompromising spirit of true black metal. Whether you're a longtime disciple of TSJUDER or just stepping into the abyss, this reissue of Norwegian Apocalypse is absolutely essential. It's not just an album. It's a summoning.

Just when you thought you'd heard the final word on Norwegian black metal's golden age, Sevan Mater erupts from the underground with a breathtaking reissue of TSJUDER 's Norwegian Apocalypse - now unleashed in a deluxe triple gatefold 2LP edition, pressed on stunning 500 Gold and 500 Red vinyl. Originally released as a live DVD in 2006, Norwegian Apocalypse captures TSJUDER at their most primal and ferocious. Recorded in Oslo and Sandnes in 2005, this live document is a raw testament to the unrelenting, chainsawing riffage and relentless blastbeats that made TSJUDER legends. From the first crackle of the needle, the remastering breathes new fire into tracks like "Sodomizing the Lamb" and "Helvete."

The guitars slice sharper, the drums hit harder, and Nag's vocals tear through the speakers like a storm of razors. The live energy is palpable, preserved in glorious analog fidelity that towers over previous editions. But let's talk presentation - because Sevan Mater has outdone themselves. The triple gatefold cover is a work of dark art: blood- red visuals drenched in shadow, with exclusive liner notes and rare live photos from the original shows. This is not a reprint for casual listeners. It's a statement piece, a collector's treasure, and a monument to the uncompromising spirit of true black metal. Whether you're a longtime disciple of TSJUDER or just stepping into the abyss, this reissue of Norwegian Apocalypse is absolutely essential. It's not just an album. It's a summoning.

Mj Lenderman is the project of Asheville native, Jake Lenderman, whose 'Boat Songs' was released to wide acclaim on Dear Life Records in 2022. Now Dear Life is proud to offer a vinyl reissue of MJ's 2021 label debut, 'Ghost of Your Guitar Solo,' a collection of nine songs recorded and performed entirely by
Lenderman, and one live band track. The record was written and recorded quickly, songs often being fully constructed and recorded within frenzied single day sessions. Songs were born out of freewheeling jam sessions with his roommates, with Lenderman often freestyling lyrics that would later become the
foundations of the finished songs. Lenderman would write 20 disconnected lines a day, scrapping most of them but preserving a few to be used later. This process aided in what became an extremely prolific writing period for the artist in the spring of 2020. The record sounds like country music being played by a noisy punk band, unkempt and imperfect like the characters in his songs. Here, Lenderman broadened his lyrical scope beyond solemn introspection, adding humor to scenes larger than his own life. He points to authors Harry Crews and Larry Brown as inspirations, both of whom were southern, self-taught writers who balanced empathy, humor, and darkness. This leads to the erosion of the line that separates humor and sadness. The resulting songs are about over-
indulgence and drug/alcohol abuse, full of self-loathing and pity while celebrating the absurdity of it all.

2025 Repress

At the end of the day, it's about human touch, personal connection and emotional reactions.
With great pleasure we are more than happy to welcome Session Restore and Bernhard Hudalla to the family with a superb debut 12" for the Mojuba sublabel a.r.t.less. A friendship and collaboration that connects musical dots between Hanover and Leipzig resulting in this release called Pathfinder EP. Session Restore might be familiar to some of you through his label rauh, from the party series he's doing in and around Hanover over the last couple of years or as one of the finest vinyl DJs the city has to offer. The debut EP for the Mojuba sub label is a true love letter in four parts to deep and dubby Techno with an emotional touch. As always, let the music do the talking and enjoy! Limited edition in hand-pulled screen-printed cover.

Sam Robson continues to reissue gems from the vaults of his initially short-lived Pacific Coast House Recordings imprint, which released a string of superb West Coast house singles between 1999 and 2003. This split 12” originally landed way back in 2001 and has become something of an in-demand rarity in recent years. The now-familiar Teflon Dons handle side A, wrapping jaunty, spaced-out stabs, intergalactic pads, echo-laden vocal snippets and TB-303 style moody electronics around a hybrid acid house/tech-house groove on the swirling and immersive early morning delights of ‘Vice’. Over on side B, Robson dons his The Coastal Commission guise for a deeper, dub-flecked and breakbeat-enhanced house workout that adds cosmic spoken word snippets and effects-laden ambient chords to the San Fran deep house template drawn up by Dubtribe Soundsystem and Charles Webster.

First Word Records are proud to bring you 'Penny Ballads', a 5-track EP from Royce Wood Junior.

Royce Wood Junior is a Grammy & Mercury Award-nominated musician, songwriter and record producer from London, currently based in Brighton. As a multi-instrumentalist, he's collaborated with a litany of brilliant artists over the years, such as Jamie Woon, Nao, Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Olivia Dean, Joy Crookes, Jamie Lidell and Jordan Rakei, additionally to touring with the likes of the legendary Thomas Dolby. He's released two acclaimed solo albums to date ('The Ashen Tang' in 2015, and 'No Two Blue Ticks' in 2021).

'Penny Ballads' demonstrates RWJ's varied talents, with a collection of alternative soul compositions, each one as unique as the next. It includes the first two singles, the Poplife-Prince era flavoured 'Go Get Your Money', and the double-time future funk adrenaline shot, 'Clean Up', along with three previously-unreleased tracks. 'Beretta' is low-slung soul funk, beginning with quirky squelchy synths, before the soulful lead vocal of feature artist Lucey Way breezes in to melt everyone's hearts. 'Things' sweeps in next, an infectiously soulful midtempo heavy soul bop, with an instant earwork of a hook, like a modern-day Steely Dan / Doobie Brothers, complete with a head-nodding string section to end the track. The collection concludes on a more melancholy downtempo tip with 'Rolling'; an almost-folktronic anthem, with a key refrain that wouldn't be out of place on a 70's Stevie piece.

RWJ (aka Jim Wood) says of this project… "Back in the 17 and 1800's Troubadours and minstrels would go from Tavern to Tavern selling Penny Ballads, single sheets of music and lyrics written quickly and frivolously to make a quick buck.. It strikes me that we're in a similar phase in the way we value music in 2025. An old Penny Ballad was cheap and dog-eared, ink-smudged, sung aloud by firelight, Now songs live in the digital ether, dissolved in the air, a ghostly breath paid in micro cents. The new era of Penny Balladry is here, and weird.

This EP is a snapshot of my writing over a two year period. Focussed on minimal recording styles, one mic on the drums, generally first or second takes on parts and vocals, I wanted the music to feel like small moments with lyrics that talk about the weird nuances of being alive as a latter stage human on the cusp of the Ai revolution. Culturally so evolved, but physiologically still just a bunch of mammals walking about with primitive fears and needs. Just trying to reconcile it all moment to moment…"

Previous support for Royce's music has included Radio 1's Future Sounds, BBC 6 Music's New Music Fix, Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Jo Whiley (BBC Radio 2), Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Tom Robinson, Huw Stephens (BBC 6 Music), Zane Lowe and MistaJam. There have been sessions previously for the likes of Red Bull and press from Huck, Line of Best Fit, Clash, Aesthetica & DIY magazine.

Entirely self-written and self-produced, this EP gives a solid taste of RWJ's talents. A deeply funky diverse set of music from an immensely talented individual.

'Penny Ballads' is due to be released on vinyl & digital, 24th October 2025.

The vinyl version also includes an exclusive additional mix of the first single 'Go Get Your Money'.

Zwei Meister-Improvisatoren, die ihre wortlosen Gemälde aus dem Nichts komponieren, erforschen weiter den tiefen Raum der Zukunft/Vergangenheit. Ihre kollaborativen Kräfte sind noch lange nicht auf dem Höhepunkt, und diese Reise führt sie weiter ins Unerforschte. Diese Stücke entfalten sich als offenkundige Geistesblüten. Sie schaffen einen Baldachin aus Klangformen, in dem sie die seltene Sprache der Welterschaffung sprechen. Dies ist nicht einfach nur Musik, es ist eine Reise ohne Karten, Inside. Diese neue LP führt Nelson & Kramer tief unter die Meere der Erde und zieht den Hörer an ihrer Seite hinab, während sie die unbekannten Strömungen erforschen, die die menschliche Vorstellungskraft beflügeln, flüssig, immer in Bewegung und immer im Wandel. Es ist ein Ausflug in die tiefsten Tiefen der Ambient-Musik und ein Neuanfang an dem Ort, an dem das Leben selbst begann. Der Grund des Ozeans hat einen neuen Klang, und er ist atemberaubend schön. ENG Further explorations into the deep space of the future/past by two master-improvisors who compose their wordless paintings out of thin air. Their collaborative powers are nowhere near their peak and this voyage takes them further into the Uncharted. These pieces unfold as revelatory mind blooms. Creating a canopy of sound forms inside which they speak the rarified language of world creating. This isn't just music, it's a journey without maps, Inside. This new LP takes Nelson & Kramer deep under the earth's seas, pulling the listener down beside them as they explore the uncharted currents that fuel the human imagination, fl uid, always moving, and always changing. It is an excursion into the lowest depths of Ambient Music, and a new beginning from the very place where life itself began. The floor of the ocean has a new sound, and it is breathtakingly beautiful.

Born At Midnite ist das Nebenprojekt von Amery Sandford und David Carriere. Das in Montreal ansässige Duo begann Ende 2018 gemeinsam zu komponieren, wobei sie sich strikt an das ,Post-Party"-Prinzip hielten und jeden Song innerhalb eines Abends fertigstellten oder verwarfen. Mit Samplern, Bandmaschinen und einem improvisierten Ansatz beim Songwriting schafft das Duo eine unheimlich vertraute Atmosphäre durch eine ungeschliffene Linse aus dünnem Eis. Die Gruppe spielt mit dem allgegenwärtigen Narzissmus und der Selbstgefälligkeit unserer Zeit und näht dabei eine Art ,Produktplatzierungs-Punk" zusammen, der nicht gesponsert ist. Amery Sandford ist bildende Künstlerin und eine unkomplizierte Popsängerin. Vor kurzem veröffentlichte sie ihr erstes Soloalbum ,Amery - Continue As Amery". David Carriere ist Produzent, Songwriter und Gitarrist in den Bands TOPS und Marci. More of the same dope shit for your wimpy little ear holes.

Hot off the griddle, Cookin' The Books is the long awaited new album from Australia's kings of Hammond soul, Cookin' On 3 Burners. Their first studio LP in six years finds the trio in top form - deep in the pocket, wide in scope, and stacked with heavyweight collaborators. With a 27-year legacy, global tours, and over 2 billion streams (including the international smash This Girl), Cookin' On 3 Burners remain a defining force in vintage soul, funk, and groove.

Cookin' The Books features a collection of killer collaborators including electrifying live vocalist Stella Angelico, acclaimed soul artist Natalie Slade (Steve Spacek, Katalyst, Simon Mavin), hip hop mainstay Mantra alongside Jane Tyrrell (The Herd), rising alt-soul voice Wilson Blackley, and a sweeping string arrangement from composer/violinist Tamil Rogeon (Aloe Blacc, The Dandy Warhols).

Across the record, the group shifts seamlessly between gritty instrumentals and lush vocal cuts - from the cinematic funk of "Only Words", to the break-beat heavy title track "Cookin' The Books", the bumping bounce of "No Bread For You", and the introspective soul of "Phoenix". Every track reflects the group's deep funk DNA while carving out bold new territory.

With airplay from BBC6's Craig Charles, support from tastemakers (Wax Poetics, Dusty Groove, Rolling Stone Australia), and a world tour booked for 2026, this release is a must-stock for deep funk, soul, and cinematic groove audiences.

GATEFOLD VINYL 2LP - TRANSPARENT BLUE + ORANGE, A2 Colour Poster, 5x Film Set Photos, Flexi Disc, Sticker Sheet

Blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, the seminal film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn and developed alongside Fred Braithwaite aka Fab Five Freddy, offered an iconic snapshot of the emerging New York hip hop scene in the early ‘80s. Considered one of the first hip hop films, it documents the styles, culture, attitudes, and most importantly, the music of this evolving era. The accompanying soundtrack remains one of the most influential in hip hop history, featuring a who’s who of artists who stood out during the movement’s nascent block party days.

“Making hip hop’s first and most beloved feature film, Wild Style, with Charlie Ahearn and creating the original music is one of my proudest accomplishments.” - Fab 5 Freddy

In celebration of Arrow Films restoring the original Wild Style film in 4K, Mr Bongo is proud to present this special-edition reissue package. The release comes as a double LP pressed on transparent blue and orange vinyl, offering a freshly curated tracklist that brings together the finest songs from previous editions, the full sought-after instrumental album, and Kenny Dope’s top edits. Also included are an A2 colour poster, five film set photos, a flexi disc containing Fantastic Freaks Live at the Dixie, and a Wild Style sticker sheet.

Originally released on Animal Records, founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame, the soundtrack focuses on the hip hop scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. Co-produced by Stein and Braithwaite, it features the Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself Busy Bee, and the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks, to name but a few. The music offers a transportive glimpse into the streets of the South Bronx, capturing the free-form, roaming nature of the film - it’s rough around the edges, but utterly absorbing.

Behind those foundational voices of hip hop’s first wave was a selection of backing beats that have underpinned and influenced the genre ever since. Easily mistaken for lifted breakbeats from old records, the songs on the Wild Style soundtrack are all unique creations. Overseen by Braithwaite and Stein, with Stein also on guitar and effects, they were intended as a homage to those early breakbeats. Drummer Lenny “Ferrari” Ferraro, who played for Aretha Franklin before emerging on the punk scene, and bassist David Harper laid down many of the iconic grooves, two somewhat forgotten participants in shaping a legendary sound.

Over time, the Wild Style soundtrack, with its Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, recurring sounds and motifs, and indelible lyrics, has become a hip hop touchstone: endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. It perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene, and hip hop’s emergence from the Bronx to the attention of the wider world. It was, and remains, the blueprint.